Enraptured in Ice Ch. 8
AN: So, I've been getting a lot of chatter about how I messed up Mei's name in the earlier chapters of the story. Some of it's been friendly, others...not so much. I understand that sometimes people are just trying to help as is the case with Minaly22 (thank you again), and maybe I'm just being sensitive, but there's a fine line between politely pointing out a mistake and being an ass. If you struggle between the two I'll give a few hints: rudely telling me to 'get it right' or sending me private messages that are blatantly insulting, that's being an ass. Pointing out the mistake without insults, judging my work based on content instead of one honest mistake, offering helpful criticism: polite. I'm sorry if this AN comes off as me being super shitty, I get everyone has bad days, but I'm honestly doing my best here guys. If you enjoy my work, don't be a dick to me. If you don't enjoy it, that's fine. I wouldn't even be mad. You can even tell me you don't like it, so long as you do so politely. Tldr: I'm not perfect. I make mistakes sometimes. Please be polite when reviewing. I'm doing my best here. -Kiba
Dan sprinted into the lab, causing everyone to look at him with a start. "Stop!" he shouted, panting. "I'm back. Let me do it."
"Dan, you're too close to this," Hana replied, turning slightly to scan more of the heart wall. "I'm going to shoot these anchors and get this over with."
"Hana, don't! You don't know what you're doing. If you shoot inside of her heart, you'll kill her."
"Dan," she protested, "I'm far more qualified for this than you are. I'm trained to keep a level head in these tense situations. You can still watch, if you like but don't distract me."
"I won't ask you again, Hana. Let me have the controls so I can save her. I know what's wrong and it'll take too much time to explain what to do."
She paused for a moment, "I hate to bring this up, but if you recall not even twenty minutes ago, you ran out of here because you couldn't handle the pressure. This is to protect you, Dan. You're sweet to care so much, but Overwatch doesn't run on sweet. Sometimes, the members have to make hard choices and it's clear you're not willing to do that."
He turned her chair to face him, his eyes full of flames. "You are NOT a member of this team!" he boomed. "You are being observed and considered for a position and until that judgment is made, I am your superior officer and I am ordering you to step aside and give me the controls!"
The entire room fell silent as Hana lifted the helmet from her head. She couldn't believe what he'd just said. Even still, she moved aside, allowing him to take her position. "Dan," Mercy whispered, trying to calm him, but he quickly shook her off.
"I was right! There aren't any anchors in her heart," he stated. "The machine isn't anchored to her heart. It's anchored to her pericardium. When I used the EMP it must have reversed its polarity and made it tug on the heart whenever electricity pumped through it. That's why her heart is swelling instead of compressing from the outside. An oscillating electric field causes a magnetic field and vice versa. That means when you turn off your staff, the electricity is feeding back in on itself and making her heart oscillate faster. Turn it off."
"Dan, if I turn it off she'll..."
"Doctor, in order for me to get into the pericardium, I have to cut a hole into her heart wall, and I can't do that if you keep closing the hole up on me. Turn it off."
"Please know what you're doing," she whispered, reaching up and deactivating the staff. As soon as she did, Mei's heart pumped even faster, causing the probe to struggle with holding steady. Just as Dan predicted, one of the nanobots cut a hole just large enough for him to enter through. When he navigated, he began destroying nanobots one after another, freeing him more room to maneuver. When he'd finally destroyed the last of them, his sights now turned to locating the producer.
"Turn it on again."
Activating it once more, Dan clutched the joysticks tightly, each movement calculated and precise. Mei's heart rate was lowered again and he knew that it was too dangerous to remove the producer. "Okay Dan, now to remove this you'll need to…"
"We're not removing it," he interrupted, causing Mercy to pull the helmet off of him.
"Dan! We have to remove it or else she'll die."
"Doctor you picked me to do this for a reason! I know machines. I know how this tech works. Please, you have to trust that I know what I'm doing." His eyes stared deep into hers and she could see the desperation there. "Please, just trust me." She nodded and let it go, allowing him to reassume control of the drone. "We aren't removing it. I'm going to fix it. Athena, lower the intensity of the laser to match the frequency of the oscillating fields please."
"Finished recalibrating, Dan."
Aiming carefully, Dan began to pulse the electric field emitted by the laser into the machine. Just as he thought, the frequencies began to slowly adjust to compensate. Mei's heart began to slow back down, no longer receiving the machine's interference.
"BPM's dropping," Mercy said astounded. "Her vitals are stabilizing."
"Returning drone to extraction mode," Dan sighed, taking off the helmet and collapsing back into the chair. "Athena run a full body diagnostic...twice. Can we please make sure that this doesn't happen again?"
"Told you he could do it," Winston grunted, moving to Dan's side. Placing his massive hand on his shoulder, he flashed him a thumb's up. "You did it, son. Excellent work."
"Thanks sir...I mean, Winston."
As everyone began to crowd around him to congratulate him, he managed to catch a glimpse of Hana slipping out of the medbay. "Sorry everyone, give me a moment please?" He broke away from them, going outside after her. "Hana?" he called, looking around, but there was no response. Moving further, he rounded the corner of a building to see her standing there, back against the wall. "Hey, I was calling you. Didn't you hear me?"
"Oh! So I guess I'm supposed to just come running whenever you call my name like a dog?" she snapped bitterly.
"No, but general courtesy is to respond when someone is looking for you," he teased, only for her to turn from him with a huff. He walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, but she pulled away again. "Hana, I'm sorry I yelled at you, it's just…"
"It's just you wanted the attention for yourself," she finished.
"No, it's that you would have killed her and I had to save her life," he protested. "She's my friend and you didn't have what it takes to save her."
"I didn't have what it takes?!" she shouted, wheeling on him and grabbing him by the collar. "Let me tell you something, Dan. I'm the best damned Starcraft player in the world. My recorded average reaction time is .2 seconds, that's a tenth of the typical person! I have an IQ of 165 and the scale only goes up to 160! I was chosen out of a pool of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, scientists, doctors, and professors to take command of MEKA at the age of 14! There is nothing I cannot do, and how dare you say something so stupid and ignorant like 'I don't have what it takes'. At the end of the day Dan, I am your superior, and don't you ever forget it!"
Dan said nothing, simply averting his eyes and staring at his shoes. Releasing him, Hana smoothed out his collar, before turning away again. "Are you out of your damned mind?" he murmured, causing her to freeze. "Is that all you can think about is yourself and your damned pride? I'm sorry that you somehow misinterpreted what I said as being an insult to your character or ability, but that was my friend dying on that table and your ego was going to get her killed. I know you're smart, Hana. I know you're strong and confident and brave. You're far more likely to become a member of Overwatch simply by applying than I am after years of studying and hard work. But this is not about you. This was about Mei's life and making sure that she got to live because if the positions were switched and it was you on that table, you can bet that I would have done the same thing to her."
"God, you're such an idiot," she muttered.
"Maybe so," he agreed, moving closer to her. Wrapping his arms around her, he drew her close to him. "But I'm your idiot."
A soft smile spread across her lips as she began to chuckle. "Damn it, how can you do that? I want to be mad at you, but you're just too dumb to stay angry at."
"It's a gift," he shrugged. "Now don't I get some sort of reward for being the hero for once?"
She rolled her eyes. "I suppose you do deserve something," she replied before pressing her lips firmly against his. When they parted, she nuzzled against his cheek before whispering in his ear. "Just to be perfectly clear, if you ever talk to me the way you did in there again, I'll cut your balls off. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good. Now, I'm going to get unpacked and take a shower. If you hurry, I may even let you join me," she purred, walking towards the guest barracks with a seductive sway in her hips. As Dan watched her leave, he could hear the sound of muffled footsteps behind him.
"Come out," he sighed. "I know you were listening in on us."
Sure enough, Tracer stepped out from behind one of the storage units. "I came to check on you," she explained. "You seemed busy, so I didn't want to interrupt. I see you and her are pretty serious, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Dan, are you sure about this? You know I care about you, and I'm just trying to protect you, but are you sure that she and you are on the same page here?"
"I know you're not suggesting that you intend to get involved in my love life."
"Not at all. I'm warning you to be careful which bridges you cross and which ones you burn. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I was impressed by your change in attitude during the operation. But I also speak for everyone when I say that that change has it's time and place and that if the old Dan were to disappear completely, it would be a loss. Not just for me, but all of Overwatch, too."
He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. "I just can't do anything right, can I?" he asked. "Everyone tells me to be more outspoken, so I try to be more outspoken. Now you're telling me I was perfectly fine the way I was, and to stop being as outspoken. It just seems that for people who are supposed to be my friends, you're all pretty hell bent on changing me."
"Not change you, help you. No one is perfect Dan. Not you, and not your girlfriend."
"Leave Hana out of this," he warned. "She has nothing to do with anything."
"All right, all right. Cool your jets, love. No need to be so defensive. All I'm trying to say Dan is to think of yourself every now and then, instead of other people. You always put everyone else first, and it's time you realized that there's nothing wrong with being a little selfish every now and then. Anyway, I know your lover has extended her invitation to you, I won't try to talk you out of it, but I will also say that I came here to tell you that Mei is awake."
"She is? Thank goodness."
"And she's asking for you."
"For me? How did she know I was here?"
"She doesn't," Tracer replied. "We didn't feel it necessary to tell her what happened. It'd only stress her out more. But it doesn't change the fact that she's asking for you. So you've a choice to make. I'll leave you to it." She gave a weak smile and a friendly salute before zipping away to who knows where.
Now Dan could truly feel the weight of the crossroads he'd arrived at. When he heard about Mei, he was so quick to drop everything and come running back. Would he do that for Hana if the opportunity arose?
He struggled, but in the end he found himself walking back to the med bay. As he entered, her found Mei, now in her tank top, tenderly rubbing the spot where Mercy had jabbed the needle. "You're going to want to put ice on that," he advised, causing her to look up at him, her eyes sparkling.
"Dan! What are you doing here? I thought you were in South Korea."
"Yeah, well...when they told me you'd collapsed, I came running. How are you feeling?"
"Other than a sore chest, I feel fine. I'm really glad you're here though, I've been wanting to talk to you. When we were talking on the phone, I realized something important and on the risk that something goes wrong, I don't want the last thing I told you to be that I didn't want you as my assistant."
Moving to her side, he sat in a chair beside her. "Hey, don't talk like that. Everything is fixed. You're going to be alive for a lot longer."
She shook her head. "You don't know that, Dan. Talons attacked us numerous times. The lives we lead are not safe ones, you know this." Her hand reached out to rest on his, causing their eyes to meet. "I...I've missed you, Dan. I've missed you a lot," she whispered. "I pushed you away, because I thought it would hurt less and you'd be better off that way, but…I missed you."
"I've missed you, too," he choked. "I'm trying really hard to be a better person for you, Mei. I learned to shoot a gun, I even killed people...I have a girlfriend now and…"
Her hand squeezed his gently, cutting him off with a soft smile. "Dan, you don't have to be better for me," she assured him. "I like you just how you are. The sweet lab assistant who brought me out of the ice; the pacifistic, gun-shy, spontaneous bèndàn that I first met...that's the Dan I like."
"I'll be honest, I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me," he admitted bashfully. "I know I must have surprised you by just blurting out that I love you, but...if I'd known that it'd make you push me away, I would have rather just kept my mouth shut."
"Actually, I'm glad that you said something," she murmured shyly.
"You are?" Dan was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected to hear her say something like that. "I mean...I just kind of assumed…"
"Don't get me wrong, Dan," she quickly interrupted. "I was being honest when I said that I don't feel the same way for you."
"I...I know…" he stammered, trying to save face. "I mean, I wasn't expecting you to be in love with me, and I'm sorry I made things so weird between us."
"Dan…"
"Yes?"
Her face was very solemn as she began to tear up. "I'm really sorry," she whimpered. "I know I have no right to ask this of you, and if you say no, I promise I'll understand...but I really do miss you. I can't say that I return your feelings, or that I ever will...but I don't want you to stop being my friend. I want you to be my lab assistant again."
Dan was completely stunned by her sudden outburst. A tinge of guilt ran through him. He'd made the same mistake she did, he never realized that maybe he should have been the one to reach out to her. "Please don't cry, Mei. Of course I'll be your assistant. I didn't first volunteer because I loved you. I volunteered because...well, you're Mei Ling Zhou! You're the only woman to have survived cryostasis, ever. You're a master explorer and a brilliant scientist and people all over the world have read your journal and dreamed of being you. To be perfectly honest, I really miss you too."
She smiled shyly. "I appreciate the compliments Dan, but I'm really not all that. I'm just a nerdy girl who likes the weather."
"Sure and Winston is just an ape who likes science."
She giggled. "Okay, you have me there. Either way, it's good to see you again. I'm sorry you had to leave your girlfriend behind to visit me."
"Hmm? I didn't leave her behind. Hana's here with me. It's been a long day for us so she's resting right now."
"Oh, I see," Mei mused. "So tell me about her. I want to hear everything. How did you two meet? What was it like?"
Dan blushed as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, it all happened really fast," he admitted. "She's really clever and likes to tease me. We first met because, as you know, I was sent to observe her. We were attacked by Talon and I ended up in the hospital." Noticing her look of concern, he quickly added, "All minor injuries. Just scrapes really. It was amazing watching her fight though. She just climbed into this crazy robot and started blasting away at the bad guys. It was like some sort of action cartoon. Anyway, I woke up to her sitting in my lap in the hospital. She was making sure I didn't get up, or so she claims. After that, she told the reporters I was her boyfriend and we spent most of the day going to arcades and stuff."
"It sounds like a wonderful start," Mei grinned. "I'd love to meet her some time."
"Well, she'll be staying here for a bit I imagine. I don't think Winston intends to ship us back to Korea any time soon. Maybe I'll introduce you some time."
"I'd like that."
The two shared a smile before Dan cleared his throat and stood. "Well, you're probably pretty tired after that operation. I'll let you get some rest, okay? Seriously though Mei, I don't hate you. I'd never be able to bring myself to hate someone as amazing as you. Once you're up for work again, you know how to contact me, right? I'll be there whenever you call for me."
As he went to leave, her hand tightened on his causing him to look back at her inquisitively. "Dan, I just wanted say...it's nice to have you back from Korea." Releasing him, her hand drew back to her side as he beamed at her.
"It's good to be back."
Once Dan left, Mei let out the breath she'd been holding in. Her chest really did hurt from Mercy's injection, and following Dan's advice, she walked to the freezer carefully to make herself an ice pack.
Placing it on the side of her breast, she shuddered, returning to her bed just as Tracer entered the room. "Did Dan talk to you?" she asked, rather directly.
"Feel fine, thanks," Mei teased before wincing. Even talking to Dan had stung, but she put on a brave face anyway. She didn't want to worry him. "Yes, he came and spoke to me. It was a good conversation."
"Did you tell him?"
"Tell him?"
"That finding out about his girlfriend caused you to have a panic attack and that triggered your condition, obviously."
Mei frowned. "Why on Earth would I tell him that? It'd just upset him and he'd blame himself. I couldn't put that pressure on Dan. We had a talk about us and then I asked him to tell me about Hana."
"Did you tell him how you feel about him?"
"If you mean that I missed him greatly, then yes. I did tell him such. I even asked him to be my assistant again." A soft smile crept onto Mei's face. "I'm really glad he agreed. I was so worried he'd tell me to screw off."
"I refuse to believe that you're as oblivious as he is. Mei, why won't you just admit that you have feelings for Dan? To yourself if not to him. It's easy to see it, honest."
The smile quickly vanished as Mei glared at Tracer. "We've been over this, Lena. I don't have feelings for Dan."
"People don't get panic attacks when they find out that people they don't have feelings for are in a relationship. That's strictly a 'feelings' effect."
"I don't have feelings for him," she repeated. "Besides, even if I did, I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship. He's my assistant. It's better this way."
"You're as bad as he is," Tracer grumbled. "Can't either of you stop thinking about the other just long enough to realize that you're both over complicating the matter? If you want to be happy, the only way to do so is to just do what will make you happy! It's not hard!"
"Really? It seems like you're awfully concerned for only one party's happiness in all this," Mei pointed out. "Why is it so hard to believe that there's nothing between Dan and I? You haven't stopped trying to hook us up since the whole incident occurred. Personally, I think you just pity him and you don't want to do something as extreme as going on a pity date with him, so you want me to do it instead, and I refuse to do that to Dan. If you were really his friend, you would too."
Fire erupted in Tracer's eyes as she swiftly zipped to Mei's side, her face just a breath from hers. For the first time since she'd woken from the ice, Mei could see absolute rage in her friend's face. "You have crossed a line, Mei," she hissed. "I'm willing to let it go, but let's set some facts straight. I told Dan from the get go not to assist you. I told him to keep what he had to himself because, to be perfectly honest, I knew you'd hurt him. Dan is my friend and I am very protective of him. Just like I thought, you did hurt him. You broke his heart and you're lucky that I'm forgiving you for that. I watched you spiral into depression in less than a week after having kicked him aside for nothing more than having feelings for you. I listened to you formulate some grand conspiracy theory from a thirty seconds news clip because he found a girlfriend. When we called Dan, you nearly had a heart attack because he tore your theory to shreds. All it took was the mere mention that you missed your window to send you into a panic attack, and do you know what happened? We called Dan and he flew his ass back here as fast as he could to save your life. It wasn't Mercy who operated on you, it was Dan. He blatantly spat in the face of his 'girlfriend' to save you." Mei could feel her heart racing, doing little to help the pain in her chest as she held the ice pack tightly against her. Despite herself, the last thing Tracer added caused a smile to creep onto her lips. "Don't start patting yourself on the back," she snapped. "You don't get the right to do that after what you've accused me of. You don't really care about Dan's happiness, or if you do, you are for some reason convinced that he's not happy with Hana."
"I…" she began to protest but Tracer interrupted her.
"The only way you can be convinced of that is that you're convinced he'd be happier with you. Well, tough tits, you may have very well missed your shot with him. If you ever want to ensure that you don't find yourself years down the line full of regrets, you will find Dan and you will tell him exactly how you feel. No more games, no more bollocks. I look up to you, Mei. I respect you and you're an inspiration. You're a hero in my book. So I suggest you take a good long hard look at yourself and your feelings and when you can look yourself in the eyes and say that you have no feelings for Dan what-so-ever, then I'll get off your case. But don't you ever mistake my friendship for pity again." With another zip, Tracer now stood at the doorway to the medbay, her eyes still shooting daggers at the climatologist. "Feel better soon."
"Wait," Mei called, making her pause. "Why haven't you told Dan all of this?"
The pilot took an exasperated breath, running her hand through her hair. "If you truly don't know the answer to that question, then maybe you really don't have feelings for him. Figure it out for yourself."
And with that, Mei found herself all alone again. Drawing her legs up to herself she closed her eyes tightly, trying to fight back the tears that had again begun to form. Right now, part of her wished that she'd never been pulled out of the ice.
Hana had just climbed out of the shower and was drying herself when she heard the door open. "Hello?"
"Just me," Dan called back.
"Where have you been?" she asked, wrapping her towel around herself and emerging from the steamy bathroom. "I thought you would have joined me. Did something come up?"
"Nothing too important. Mei woke up and she asked for me."
"Mmhm...so you went to see her instead of spending time with me?" she teased. "One may think you've still got feelings for her."
"Even if that was the case, far be it from me to turn down the summons of a woman who very nearly died today."
"So what did she want? Did she thank you for saving her?"
"No, she doesn't know that it was me. She apologized for having ignored me last week and she asked me to be her assistant again."
"What did you say?" Hana asked, moving to sit beside him on the bed. The towel was short, barely covering her breasts and when she sat down, it parted to reveal her silky thighs. Catching Dan's gaze, she grinned, leaning against him coyly.
"I said 'yes', of course," he replied, mirroring her movements.
Hana frowned, pulling away from him. "Oh."
"What? What's wrong?"
"I thought you were going to be my assistant," she muttered, leaning back provocatively. "I mean, you are my boyfriend, I just figured…" she let the words trail off, watching his reaction intently.
Dan found himself having to reign in his impulses before clearing his throat, "Well, I mean...I could do both. What would I even assist you with anyway? You have a near infinite amount of mechs at your disposal."
"I could think of a few things," she purred, tugging on his shirt to pull him towards her. "I mean, sometimes I just get this awful itch, and I can't ever seem to make it go away." As Hana pulled him to kiss her lips, she let out a soft sigh, holding him there easily.
Perhaps her concerns were unfounded. She doubted that Dan would be the type to betray her, but at the same time, she didn't get where she was by letting people do what she expected them to. She had to make him stay.
Tugging on his hair, she pulled his lips to her throat. She moaned in his ear, pressing her hips against his in an attempt to excite him further. The feeling of his body on top of hers was one that she enjoyed.
Just as she was about to remove her towel and really get things heated up, a knock came at the door. "Dan?" Mercy's feminine voice called. "Are you there?"
He stopped immediately, causing Hana to shoot him a pleading look. He silently mouthed her an apology. "Yes?" Dan called back.
"S-sorry to intrude! I just wanted to talk to you about the operation if you don't mind."
"Just stay here," Hana whispered. "You can talk to her tomorrow."
"I'm really sorry, this is important." Standing up, he straightened his clothes and walked to the door, leaving Hana completely stunned. Biting her lip, she watched him leave the room.
"God damn it," she growled under her breath.
Shutting the door carefully behind him, Dan smiled softly at the doctor. She gestured with her arm to take a walk with her, and when he moved to her side she wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "You did great work today," she complimented with a smile.
"Thank you, Doctor. I really appreciate that."
"I have to give credit where credit is due."
"But...I should never talk to you like that again. That's what you were going to say, right?"
She looked at him puzzled, pausing for a moment. "What are you talking about Dan?"
His head bowed low. "I disrespected you," he murmured. "You're my mentor and I...I insulted you by saying you didn't know what you were doing. I...I should trust your instruction, and I didn't."
Mercy contemplated his words for a moment, again wrapping an arm around him to guide him further down the path. "May I ask you a question, Dan?"
"Of course," he answered.
"Have I been a good teacher to you? I don't choose to mentor others very often, or those I do are doctors within their own merit. Often, people simply watch me and then repeat what I do. They don't ever question my judgment or ask me about alternatives. They just do what I do."
"You've been a great teacher!" Dan quickly replied. "I've learned so much working under you, Doctor! I'm sorry I was so disrespectful, it won't happen again. I wouldn't dare insult you."
"Calm down, Dan," she urged him, the smile returning to her lips. "Like I told you, you did great work today. I only asked because I was concerned that you may resent me."
He was completely floored. "Resent you? No ma'am, never! I respect you greatly, more than I could ever hope to describe. You can ask Winston and Tracer! They'll tell you that I always get excited to see you when you visit. I love learning from you!" She smiled even brighter, but behind it, Dan could see a dimness in her eyes. "But...something is still bothering you," he muttered.
"You're getting better at reading people," she sighed. "You were right Dan. There were no anchors in her heart. Had I stepped in and commanded you to return the controls to Hana, it was entirely possible that Mei could have died. It would have been my fault, too."
"But she didn't!" he protested.
"Dan, I know you're trying to make me feel better, but the truth is I made a mistake. I let my pride take over me and it nearly cost a member of Overwatch their life. You saved Mei, Dan...in more ways than one. You saved her from me, too. That's why...I'm leaving Overwatch once and for all."
"No!" he shouted. "You can't leave!"
"I've already made my decision, Dan. I joined Overwatch because I felt I could do more good in it, even though I despise war and violence. But now, the organization has fallen to disrepair. There is no good I can do here anymore, and you were the one who has shown me that. Thank you."
"So you made a mistake! We all make mistakes! Think of all the times I messed up trying to help Mei, only for you to fix it."
"Dan…"
"I've fixed mistakes Wilson has made too! And Mei, and Tracer and Jesse! That's my job! My job is to give everyone's work a second look and help them when they need it. Please…" he sobbed, throwing his arms around her causing her to run rigid before gently ruffling his hair. "Please, Mercy, you can't leave us! I don't like war either, but I believe in what Winston is trying to do. They don't have to go to war. You don't have to leave, you can still help them."
"I know I'm not much older than you, Dan...but I've always seen you like a son to me. I think that's the problem. I've been treating you as a child and the truth is you're an adult. I've lectured you like a kid for so long, when I saw you take charge today it struck me as a realization. You don't need me anymore, Dan. You've learned enough from me that I have nothing to teach you."
Dan's eyes began to water as he shook his head fervently. "Don't say that, please. You can still teach me! Even if you can't, that's okay! You don't have to stay just for my sake! Everyone else would miss you, too. Please, you can't leave."
Watching him cry broke Mercy's heart as she embraced him tightly to her. "I tell you what," she whispered. "I'm leaving...there's nothing you can do to stop that. But, if ever Overwatch needs help, I will, under one condition...you have to be the one who asks. Only you, Dan. Not Winston, not Tracer, you. If you ask for me, I'll come running."
"I don't want to lose you," he whimpered.
"You're not losing me," she assured him. "I'm just...going home. Overwatch was never where I belonged, but I stayed anyway. For a while, it was for all the people I could help. When it was restored, it was because of you and Winston...but you don't need me anymore Dan. You're your own man now, and I want to respect that. Mei is your patient now, understand? I am giving you the task of seeing to her. Don't let her overwork herself or get sick, because she is now your responsibility."
Tears were streaming down his face now. Leaning closer, Angela placed a kiss on his forehead. "I don't want you to leave," he repeated, clinging to her tightly. "Is this because of how I acted? I wasn't trying to push you away, I was just trying to show that I was worth something. Please don't leave me because of that."
"But you were right, Dan! You were right and I was wrong. For too long Dan, we've...I've treated you like a child. You've shown me that you deserve better than that Dan, and before you say another word, you do deserve better than that. You deserve to be seen as an equal, not as an underling. As far as I'm concerned, you're every bit as qualified to be a part of Overwatch as any of us are."
Dan's eyes fell to his feet as she released him and stepped away from him. "I'm sorry about how I acted," he tried, but she just sighed.
"Dan, this isn't a punishment. This is something that should have happened a long time ago. Take care of yourself, okay?" Without anything else to say, she turned from him and walked away.
In a daze, Dan follow suit, returning to sink back onto the cot, completely stunned. Hana smiled at his return, wrapping her arms around him. "Finally," she huffed, nuzzling against him. "Now we can get back to the fun part."
He however, quickly took her wrists and gently pulled away from her. "Please don't touch me," he whispered, moving to a different cot. "I just...I need to be alone right now. I'm going to get some sleep. Good night, Hana." Rolling over away from her, Hana let out an irritated huff.
She'd have to put her plan back into action tomorrow morning.
To be continued...