A/N: I think jumping back and forwards in time will be quite a common occurrence in my fic (and not just for Tracer), tying in the story of the present day. I hope you enjoy this one!
From The Lonely
It was a quiet afternoon when they marched in. She had just finished a long surgery. Every second in there was carefully holding together the thread that kept someone alive. Every second counted. It took five hours, but they had finally made it. It wasn't usually as stressful, but today, due to complications, Angela couldn't help but feel like an eternity had passed.
Arriving in her office, she collapsed on the bed reserved for the patients, placing the back of her arm on her head to block out the cold light of the lamps above. Her rest was cut short by footsteps nearing the door. She sighed. Talk about complications.
There was a knock, followed by another.
"Ja, ich bin da…" she muttered to herself and walked to the door with heavy steps. On the other side stood three official looking people - a woman with a briefcase in the front, followed by two men. It annoyed Angela how they behaved like the place belonged to them, walking past her without an invitation.
"Good day, Doctor", the woman said with a very smooth voice, extending her hand for a shake. "Gabrielle Adawe, secretary-general of the United Nations", she introduced herself.
Angela reluctantly shook hands with her. "Doctor Angela Ziegler, although you already know that."
"I see that you weren't prepared for our visit", Adawe marked, taking note of her clothes and disheveled look.
She was still clad in the same clothes as when in the surgery, having only had enough time to dispose of the mask, gloves and the surgical gown. Sneakers paired with the mint-green hospital clothes wasn't the most stylish choice of attire. As a reflex her arms were crossed across her chest in defense. "I will not stop my work just because some warmongers want to disturb me."
"Warmongers? Doctor Ziegler, I think you've understood us quite incorrectly", the secretary said. "We are an organization-"
"Hoping to bring the world to peace. Yes, I have heard this before", Angela completed the sentence. "I admit that you did well during the Omnic Crisis, but I doubt you are needed anymore. Giving an operation of faceless soldiers power can't end up well for any of us."
"Overwatch is not just soldiers, but scientists as well. We have heard of your accomplishments in the field of nanobiology. You could have resources, enough to make even more breakthroughs."
"I have enough resources right now", Angela said. These people sure were adamant.
Adawe let out a small laugh. "You have no idea", she said.
How nice of her to belittle what she had worked hard to acquire. She adressed them coldly, "I don't know what image you're trying to give, but barging in here with two bodyguards in the middle of my day certainly doesn't help the cause."
"Bodyguards?" Adawe looked confused, before realizing what she meant. "Them?" Another laugh. "Surely you've seen them before", she said, turning her attention to the two men. "This man here is the leader of the Overwatch strike team himself, Gabriel Reyes."
The darker skinned of the two, one dressed in black clothes, flashed a grin. "It's a great pleasure to meet you, Angela", Reyes said.
"Please call me Doctor Ziegler", Angela answered dryly.
"Surely I can call you Angela, since you truly are an angel", Reyes said, blatantly flirting. He promptly received an elbowing from the blond man next to him.
"No." Angela delivered her line sternly with a deadpan expression. She couldn't even consider being so friendly with someone she had just met, let alone flirt back.
"So will you join Overwatch?" Adawe asked, apparently becoming impatient.
Her, becoming part of a military organization? It felt like such an insult to her parents. If their deaths had taught her something, it was to stay as far away from war as possible. The young doctor shook her head in refusal. "No." She was content enough where she was.
It seemed that they weren't going to pressure her more. The guests started leaving through the door. The blond who hadn't spoken anything lingered by the doorway as if he wanted to say something. In the end he settled for nodding as good bye before quickly striding away.
Angela sighed in relief and sank into the bed once again. Luckily it was finally the end of her shift. She could head home to sleep. With a book intended for research in her hand, she hung up her work clothes and changed into something more casual, before starting her walk home through a few blocks. She had rented an apartment very close to the hospital in order to be more effective at what she did.
Opening the door to her apartment, it felt too empty. She didn't dislike it per se, but found it somehow much less inviting than the hospital. It had all the comforts she could have ever wanted – her pay grade was high enough for her to afford nearly anything - so that really wasn't the problem. She cooked her food and afterwards ate it as quickly as she could, all the while reading the newest articles on medicine. She wanted to go to her bed as fast she could so that the hours in the hospital would come sooner.
If it wasn't for those people marching in, they surely would have. She couldn't sleep, her mind darting back to this "Overwatch" and their proposition. Was she making a mistake? What if they actually were offering something she should consider?
Her shift wouldn't start for another two hours, but she had already walked over to the hospital. At least she could do some researching and not waste her time in that empty apartment. She shuffled her feet uncomfortably in front of the building. There was someone there, someone she now recognized.
"Verdammt", she muttered.
The two men from the other day were in front of the building, chattering and drinking from paperboard cups in the crisp winter morning. Luckily for her, she knew the backdoors. She managed to avoid them until her shift ended, and would probably have done so for even longer if she didn't start feeling a tiny bit of pity towards them. They were still there after seven hours, waiting in the lobby. A whole mountain of cups had been assembled next to their bench. For anyone else, they would probably have looked like beggars or something, since they were clad in casual clothing, complete with broken shoes and worn out jackets. It was impossible to think that they were part of the international "peacekeeping" organization.
She walked over to them. "Are you here to see a doctor?"
"No, thank you. We're simply waiting for…" the blond started, apparently having faced the same conversation before. His words faded to a stop when he realized who he was talking to.
"Could I have a private examination?" Reyes asked with a wink of his eyes.
"I didn't bring you here for you to throw out lecherous comments", the blond hissed at the other before turning his attention back to her.
"Are you here to talk about Overwatch?" Angela asked coolly.
"Yes, we are."
"You are", Reyes corrected the other. "I had other things in mind."
"The timing is quite bad. I'm about to go eat as it's my lunch hour", Angela said and was ready to step out of their lives once again.
However, the blond stopped her by standing up and stepping in her path. "Then let us pay for it?" he suggested in a hopeful voice.
"Well, it's about time we got something to eat", Reyes said in agreement, and before Angela had any say, she was being escorted out of the building by the two. Not that she needed anyone to pay anything for her, but they had waited for her for quite a while. It would be polite to at least accept that one offer.
They settled into a nice booth of a small coffee shop slash restaurant. There weren't too many ears around them, which was probably why the blond haired man had led them there. At least that's what Angela thought before Reyes remarked something about the country music playing in the background and the other admitted he liked the place because of the atmosphere.
After ordering the food, Angela finally felt like she might relax a bit. The men were seated opposite to her, much to Reyes apparent displeasure and much to her relief. She had some room to herself and it seemed like they truly did think of it more as a normal outing than a forceful recruitment.
The blond turned his blue eyes to her while extending his hand. "My name's Jack Morrison", he said with a smile. Angela took his offer.
Reyes was very aware of this action. "Hey! Who's flirting now?" he said with jokingly accusing eyes.
"Unlike you, not everything I do relates to making a pass", Morrison remarked.
"Still not fair. I didn't get to shake hands with her", Reyes said with a fake pout and a wishful look then directed at her.
Angela couldn't help but genuinely chuckle at the two of them. Two grown men who both were so very comfortable with each other, even to the point of constantly bickering. She actually found herself enjoying their company, especially since having some was so rare for her these days.
"Why are you laughing?" Morrison asked, confused that their quiet companion actually did so.
"Must be because the two of you are so stupid", Angela said. She was absolutely not going to admit her thoughts.
"Do you know who you are talking to? I am the leader of Overwatch!" Reyes boasted, adding a flex of his trained arms as if it would prove his point.
"Leader or not, you're still too stupid to even wear a cap in the middle of the winter", Angela said as if she was talking to a little child. "So it is no wonder your brain cells have died."
"It cramps my style!" Reyes said. He crossed his arms with an exaggerated harrumph.
Morrison was absolutely beaming beside him. His grin was almost too big to fit on his face as he turned to his comrade in arms. "Reyes, we have to get her on board."
Reyes raised one of his thick dark eyebrows. "I thought you were already impressed by her medical abilities, what with the applied nanobiology nonsense and such."
"Yes. I mean, I was in disbelief when I heard that such a young woman was the head of surgery in a prominent Swiss hospital at the age of 24, but I have to say, her mouth really is the reason why. She can tell you off!" Morrison explained in an excited fashion.
"What? Have you been looking at her beautiful lips as well?" added Reyes, knowing full well his original meaning.
Flattery would get them nowhere. Still, she felt a bit of warmth at their words and couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from turning upwards. Well, maybe it helped just a little.
After their food arrived, the talking was interrupted for just a bit as they all eagerly picked up their forks, some more fancily than others. She swore that she had never seen anyone eat their food as quickly as those two.
"You do know that inhaling the food like air is bad for your health", she said, nodding at their empty plates. She still had over half of hers left.
"You're the doctor", Reyes said as he chucked down his drink. "Will we die now?"
Angela shook her head with a content smile.
"I guess we'll just come visit you if we get any symptoms?" Jack proposed with a hopeful expression.
He was asking permission for them to meet up with her again. Angela did something that surprised even herself. She smiled brightly and said, "I guess you should."
"Well then, I think a phone number would be good so that we can reserve a time!" Reyes said, grabbing the opportunity.
"I don't think so. You know where to find me", Angela said. She realized that the time had been running past and she would soon be late for her shift. Even as head of surgery – no, especially as head of surgery – she couldn't afford being late.
"Danke, meine Herren", she called out as she slipped back into the white world of winter. Her cheeks felt warm even in the coldness.
A/N: Reviews, favourites and follows greatly appreciated, as always! How do you find my portrayals of the characters, both in the past and in the present? Answering the guest review from yesterday, this fanfic will not be focusing on a love triangle, but rather the relationships between all of them and how everything changed over time. I do have an actual plot for the present day as well, and the seemingly one-shot updates will kind of tie the story together. For me this is first and foremost a study of presenting characters. Another update is certainly coming, but I'm not certain when. I'm visiting Germany and might not have a chance to post it. Auf Wiedersehen, Lieben!