Author's Note: Hey y'all! Sorry I took so long (again) but good news! This chapter is like twice as long as the rest, so it's (hopefully) worth the wait.

Also, I see there have been some issues posting anonymous reviews? I'm not exactly sure why that is, perhaps I haven't been approving them on time or something... I don't check super often so that might be why.

That said, go ahead and enjoy "If You Climb in the Saddle, Be Ready for the Ride"...

Chapter Three: If You Climb in the Saddle

Two days. That's how long Angela stayed cooped up in some small room in a warehouse, with nothing but a bed and a window to look out of, with the hot southwestern sun glaring at her day in and day out. Two days was how long she had to wait for the Deadlock gang to make their move, two days was the amount of time between her capture and the sting mission.

Two days was how long she cried for.

On the second day of what Angela Ziegler considered must have been hell, she was finally payed a visit by something other than poorly made beans and rice and a glass of water.

Lucky Sam, or, at least, Angela was pretty sure he was called Lucky Sam, opened the door, not bothering to knock or holler in the least. He raised an eyebrow at her, curled on the hard mattress with her back to the sun and her red eyes glaring up at the boss.

"Angela I'm willing to bargain for your release." He stated simply.

She wasn't very intrigued. What would release do for her, anyways? She'd just go back home and cry there. Maybe the bed would be softer, but she'd have to maker her own food and that just sounded like work. She was so exhausted.

After a few moments of silence, Lucky Sam continued. "Here's the deal. You keep us patched up and healthy on our upcoming raid and we'll let you run on back to Overwatch, or what's left of 'em, anyways."

Angela raised an eyebrow.

"Couldn't bargain you for much money." The boss explained. "Should have mentioned your family was poor and your organization is full o' heartless bastards. They say they can't risk puttin' money in our hands. If I didn't know any better I'd think they just didn't like you."

She groaned. Was it pettiness? Was that it, Jack?

"What you say, Angela?"

"Fine." She choked out past the lump in her throat. Amazing how after two days she still had tears to shed.

"Well, that was easy." The boss shrugged. "I suppose you don't have much of a reason to be loyal to Overwatch anymore, do you?"
A tear trickled down her cheek. How could they do this to her? It was only because of one lustful cowboy that she even remained untouched. But they didn't know that! And still they couldn't even be bothered to pay for her release…

They? No… That was unfair. Jack. Jack couldn't be bothered.

"Fine, whatever. Clearly you're not in a talkin' mood. But you need to get up and at 'em, darlin'. The cavalry is waiting."

Squished between two men in the back of a van was not exactly what Angela had in mind when she had envisioned cavalry. While she doubted actual horses would be in play, she had expected some sort of motorcycle brigade, smoky exhaust and all. In fact, she was a little disappointed to be in a truck, seeing as how the Deadlock Gang was fairly well known for their love of bikes. Back at headquarters, she and Jack used to liken them to the bad guys in an oldie but goodie movie by the name of Mad Max: Fury Road, rebels with a side of punk rock doped up on some dangerous concoction of drugs. It was only now that she could see that was far from the truth.

"Angela, these two fine gentlemen next to you are Whitaker and Forest." Lucky Sam said from the comfort in the front seat. "They sure as hell ain't as pretty as your man McCree, but they're nice men all the same."

She couldn't hold back the snort that followed his comment.

"What you don't think we can be nice men?" One of the ruffians next to her questioned. He was a big one, at the very least two hundred pounds, and muscular to boot. Upon noticing that, Angela suddenly found the floor to be an excellent thing to stare at.

"Well, now, Whitaker, she don't know us very well now do she?" The boss chimed in. "Can't very well make an accurate judgement I'd say."

Whitaker grunted in response.

"We are good people now, Miss Angela." He continued. "Sure we work on the other side of the law, but the government doesn't always do what's best. Sometimes you gotta make things right for yourself."
"Oh and kidnapping innocent women is making things right?" She countered. It escaped her mouth before she could reconsider.

"Still mad about that, are you?" He chuckled. "If anything you should be thanking us for exposing a glaring flaw in your man."

"He's just doing what he thinks is right." She muttered softly. Why she felt the need to defend Jack, she didn't know. Was it out of pride? Self preservation? Did she want to assert she had good taste in men, a successful relationship? Either way, it lacked serious conviction and the statement mostly came out as bitter.

"I'm sure." Lucky Sam replied. "Takes his job too seriously, that one."

"He's been through a lot." Again with the defending! She'd probably be happier if she just shut up.

"We all have, darlin'. All I'm sayin' is that if my wife were kidnapped I'd blow up half the damn nation to rescue her."

"You're married?!" She exclaimed.

"What, this comes as a surprise to you?" Lucky Sam chuckled. "Of course I'm married! I'm a lover boy indeed."

She cringed at the thought. Who would marry a gang boss? Who would do that? And who calls themselves a lover boy?

"Are a lot of the gang members married?" She asked tentatively. Angela wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know the answer. It seemed to humanize them too much.

"Well, I reckon we're a less married lot than normal but I daresay there are a fair number with wives or husbands."

This was what made working for Overwatch hard. Destroying Omnics was one thing, even if she thought they should have more rights, some of those robots were loose cannons. The extreme ones were downright evil, if you asked her, which was so different from people. Humans were complex and strange and the ones that commit truly atrocious acts are usually some of the most disturbed individuals out there. No human was completely evil.

But that's what made it difficult for her to work for Overwatch. How could she go into battle and help people like Jack kill people like Lucky Sam? She certainly didn't like Lucky Sam that much and perhaps the world would be better off without him and the Deadlock Gang, but it just wasn't that simple. Lucky Sam had a wife. And children, in all likelihood. What soldiers often saw as a blight on the country Angela always saw as a person, with real problems, and real emotions, and real family members who will cry for hours at their funeral.

It was beyond her how anyone could kill another human being.

"You lookin' to marry into the clan, are you, Angela?" The gang boss taunted.

She frowned. "What would give you that impression?"

"Well all this curiosity must come from somewhere."

"Can't I just be curious? Not very many people get to see the inner workings of a gang, you know. For the most part we think you're anti-establishment high school dropouts high on a mysterious concoction of drugs."

"Well now that's just false propaganda!" Lucky Sam exclaimed. "And of course you can't be curious, a woman always has her motives."

She snorted at that. It figures he'd be the sexist type.

"I bet this has everything to do with our Jesse."

"Look, I will say this once and for all." She glared at him through the rearview mirror. "I do not have a thing for your cowboy."

"He's a cute one, that Jesse, I don't blame you for fallin' for him." Lucky Sam chuckled as if he hadn't even heard her declaration. "Too bad he ain't here with us."

Oh he was baiting her and she knew it. Crossing her arms, Angela refused to give in.

"Ain't you curious where he done run off to?"

"No."

"Not in the least?"

"Absolutely not."

"You sure? The man only saved your life twice. You could at least show some concern for

him."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Fine, what's he up to?"

"Now what makes you think I'm gon tell you somethin' like that, huh?" He laughed. "That's

sensitive information, Miss Angela! Were you married into our gang I'd know I could trust you, but seein' as how you're not, I'm goin' to have to say you're being cheeky."

The ruffians on either side of her chuckled deeply, clearly entertained by her boss's humor. She blushed angrily. Damn her for falling for that.

But she'd show him, she'd shut up and stay quiet for the rest of the trip. Angela knew how to give the silent treatment, and she'd use it to full potential.

Determined though she may have been, Lucky Sam didn't test her willpower again. At first she'd been hoping he would so she could prod him with her pettiness, but after about half an hour, when she started to slump back into the depressive thoughts she'd become so accustomed to over the past couple of days, she'd wished he'd interrupt and strike up another conversation, if only for distraction. Pride prevented her from doing it herself, so she sat quietly in the back, staring at the ground, wondering if Forest and Whitaker could tell she was staining the carpet with her quiet tears.

Jesse was perched atop an outcropping in the Arizona wilds, inspecting the rugged landscape and its inhabitants. An old road cut through the middle of the gorge, with abandoned bars and cafes strewn along the side like a child's toys. Several members of the international force known as Overwatch bumbled around one of the old hangouts, clearly prepping for the most dangerous part of their escort.

The Deadlock Gang had never explicitly said they'd fight Overwatch here. They wouldn't go to the battlefield like soldiers, fire a gun, and have at it. No, this was more like guerilla warfare than anything, but it was obvious on both side this is where the fighting would happen. Firstly, there were no passable routes for the organization to take through this part of town. They'd either have to cut about 100 miles north or rough it in the desert. The first was too far out of the way to get the payload to its destination on time, and the second was probably even more dangerous than cutting through the gorge. At least in this area a man had cover.

That said, it also suited the Deadlock Gang to catch them in this area. All of the cover it offered to Overwatch, it offered to the gang, but better. There were many Arizona natives in the gang, and some knew these roads very, very well. Hell, Jesse'd had more than a few altercations on this stretch of pavement in his life.

A small electronic device in his pocket vibrated.
He picked it up and answered. "Boss?"

"McCree, you in position?" Lucky Sam wanted to know.

"Sure am, boss."

"How's it lookin'?"
"Good I'd say. Looks like they've hired two Apaches to help 'em with the terrain, but it should be easy enough to disrupt that."

"Smart of 'em." Lucky Sam remarked. "We'll keep an eye out for 'em on our end. Anything else worth noting?"

"Not at the moment, but I'll keep you informed."

"You should also keep in mind your doctor here has agreed to help patch us up and all that. If you find yourself in need of some help, she'll be in the back, most likely."

Jesse paused. Angela was helping them? Why?

"Right." He confirmed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Of course you will." And with that, Lucky Sam hung up.

He thought again about Angela. Had Lucky Sam coerced her into it? His gang mates had more or less left her alone since she'd been left for dead by her commander, but Jesse couldn't find any reason for her to help out the gang other than that she'd been forced into it. Just the thought of it made him mighty mad, and he considered he might have to give Lucky Sam a piece of his mind when it was all said and done. Well, at least after he figured out what they'd threatened her with. For the time being though, Jesse had to do what Jesse did best. Fight.

When actual skirmishes broke out, Jesse most times found himself hidden around the sides. This came down to one particular asset that he had, which, quite honestly, took a lot of people by surprise. As a matter of fact, Jesse had been reluctant to utilize this asset seeing as how he reckoned Overwatch might be able to maim his gem in some way, but when things were all said and done, there was no way Jesse could leave his asset behind. It was as simple as this: Jesse'd darn well be roadkill without his horse.

Real Quiet was a special kind of animal, the kind that seems to just understand you. But there was more than that as far as Jesse was concerned. He'd met plenty a horse he'd bonded with on a deeper level, but Real Quiet was practically a ghost. He was damn silent, quieter than still air. That was what made Real Quiet a notable animal in his mind, especially when he considered how rare sneaky horses even were. It escaped him how one could even exist.

Surely not with your classic variety of horseshoes, they couldn't, but Real Quiet, magnificent as he was, took easily to galloping in boots. No, not those ankle pads racers use, but real boots, specifically tailored for the horse, with a soft sole for silent steps. Moreover, Real Quiet had the touch of a feather; he didn't even need specialty shoes to sneak up on you in a grass field.

Jesse was damn blessed to have him, especially in times such as he found himself in.

As it happened, he was being chased by three women. Normally, that'd be a perfectly fine phenomenon in his mind, but these women had guns. He'd say this for Overwatch, they were a diverse crowd.

The Egyptian commander known as Ana Amari had spotted him as he'd been sneaking up to disrupt her. Jesse McCree made a living out of catching people unawares, and yet this woman had heard him scrape against a couple of rocks, spotted him, and called for reinforcements. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have been so cocky about it, should have known, but as it happened, she, with lightning fast reactions, shot at him with a sidearm.

It grazed past his ear.

"Gabriel!" She shouted. "Reinforcements!"

"Shit." Jesse mumbled as he turned to run.

"Catch him!" The woman exclaimed. "He's running!"
Bullets dug into the dirt all around him as he stepped gingerly around the jagged terrain, weaving expertly between devious rocks.

Jesse whistled loudly, signaling to Real Quiet. He kept sprinting, however, knowing the horse was probably still a ways off. Best to have him hide, anyways. If Overwatch expected him to make a grand escape on a horse and had set up a trap for exactly that, then they damn well deserved to catch him.

Looking back, the cowboy noticed two other women had joined Amari in her pursuit. They charged at him, shooting wildly and furiously. As reinforcements arrived, Amari was enabled to hang back and start sniping, which Jesse knew meant bad business for him.

Sharply rounding a corner, Jesse tried to escape the women, and while he did succeed, momentarily at least, he came face to face with a different foe. A tall, hispanic man, who, if sources were to be believed, sometimes functioned on the other side of the law, sort of like a gang member. Gabriel Reyes was not unlike Jesse in that respect, but he doubted their small kinship would save him from getting his brains blown out.

Reyes smirked, raising a gun to Jesse's head.

Well, that's where he made a mistake. The cowboy tumbled under Reyes's arm, throwing a smoke bomb forcefully on the ground and temporarily stunning the man. He took off down a narrow corridor, which, if his directional sense was right, was driving him closer to the main fight.

He whistled again, trying to alert Real Quiet to his change in position.

Shrapnel sprayed past his ear, nicking him slightly. He barely noticed the blood trickle down his neck, or the fatigue beginning to burn his calves, or the heaving in his chest. This was about survival, damn it, and those were small things compared to the threat of death.

Jesse ran and ran, cutting corners close, trying to confuse his chasers, but if the sound of gunfire was any indication, it wasn't working that well. He'd just about made it to dark tunnel, which he knew emptied into what should have been the camp, more or less, of the Deadlock Gang. If they'd been pushed back in the time he'd been distracted, well, god save him.

In the dark tunnel, just barely visible in the shade, stood Real Quiet, his loyal steed ready to rescue him. Jesse panted a sigh of relief, trying to summon a final surge of energy to make it to the animal.

It was then that things took a turn for the worse. Just one shot, sharp and pointed and accurate, clearly from the sniper, cut a clean hole through his lower back. And did it hurt like who knows what.

Jesse tripped in shock, startled by the sudden spark of pain. He hit the ground hard, hands scuffing as he slid across the rough desert floor, elbows bruising from the impact. It amazed him how quickly he was able to get back on his feet and start heading for his horse after a fall like that, but the vigor with which he ran had significantly lessened. Hell, he didn't even run anymore, so much as stumbled toward Real Quiet.

The animal, seeing Jesse struggle, clopped forward to help him out. They met only ten feet outside the entrance to the tunnel, and the cowboy just barely latched himself onto Real Quiet and pulled himself up on the saddle.

"Damn it!" He heard Reyes curse. "He's got a horse! AMARI! SLEEP HIM."

He wanted to laugh, he really did, at how his steed had once again taken the enemies by surprise. But as it was, he was just barely able to keep himself tethered to Real Quiet, and as the horse took off trying to escape the danger, Jesse knew it would be a damn miracle if he managed to hang on through that.

Real Quiet galloped into the tunnel, swift and lithe, trying to make it back to the camp. The shouting of voices started to fade and the gun shots, from the sounds of things, were hitting further and further behind him. Just as Jesse was sure they'd made it out of trouble, a bullet, if that was even what it was, stuck him in the upper arm. It didn't cut through his flesh, it didn't rip through his muscle, it didn't hurt much at all. Rather, it seemed to embed itself like a shot you might get from the doctor. Strange, Jesse thought. Unfortunately for him, that was the last thought he had before everything went dark and he dozed asleep.

Much to Angela's surprise, the Deadlock Gang did not pay much attention to her whereabouts. She'd known they'd be busy, she'd been in plenty a scuffle in her lifetime for sure, but Angela had just suspected that they'd at least keep an eye on her, you know, for ransom's sake.

They didn't. She could have up and left and gone back to Overwatch anytime she had pleased. If she had known how to get there. As it happened, Angela didn't have much of an idea of how to get over to the other side without going through the middle, and she knew that was a surefire way to get herself killed.

So she stood in the back, attending to the Deadlock Gang's injured, wondering if she might be able to hijack a truck while nobody was looking. It seemed unlikely.

Angela was tending to some nondescript gang member when Lukcy Sam showed his face for the first time all fight.

"Johnson, we need you to go find McCree. He ain't answerin' his comms." The boss didn't so much as even look at Angela.

"Right. I'll get on it now." And the man, with half of his damn arm still unattached, stood up in the middle of surgery.

"Excuse me, sir!" Angela exclaimed in surprise. "Sit down!"

"We ain't got time for this, Miss Angela." The boss scolded.

"It won't take but a second." She glared at him. Using her caduceus staff, she channeled medicine into him, temporarily rendering his arm useful, but Angela knew he'd need a lot of doctoring when he got back from battle. A part of her disliked using the caduceus staff to make people healthy for a couple of hours, only to find them in their original state, if not worse, after the fight, but that's often how things worked.

Lucky Sam raised an eyebrow. "Neat trick. Let's go, Johnson. I'll bet he's somewhere on the west side. I've got Harvey on the right for help, but he ain't as good as you and we both know it."

Their voices dimmed as they walked away from the medical tent, and for a few pleasant minutes, the area in which Angela had taken up temporary residence was quiet. She sat down on a nearby folding lawn chair to relax.

It was then that she heard it, a snort of sorts, that could only have been from an animal.

Instinctively, Angela reached for the staff beside her and looked around vigilantly. She saw nothing.

Then she heard it again. It sounded almost like a neigh. Was it a horse? Why would a horse be out here?

Standing, Angela took inventory of her surroundings. Nothing in front of her, nothing behind, nothing near the trucks to the right, but, wait a second, what was that? Sure enough, on the left, standing at the top of a jagged hill, was a pinto horse. At least, Angela was pretty sure pinto was the appropriate title for a horse with brown and white splotches, but truth be told, she didn't know a hell of a lot about those animals.

Curious, Angela started walking over to the steed.

"Hi there." She cooed. Did one even talk to horses? Was that what she should do?

It snorted at her again, nodding it's head.

"Er, are you lost?" She asked. For a second, Angela considered alerting a gang member to the presence of this steed, but something told her she might be able to use the horse to her advantage.

Of course that was crazy talk. Sure, it was saddled so she knew it was a tame animal, but Angela didn't know the first thing about riding a horse. And now she was thinking about using it to escape? Craziness.

The horse turned around on her, making to leave, but then looked back at her, almost as if to check if she was following.

Angela stared blankly at the animal, perplexed. Curious, she followed it, caduceus staff still in hand, as if she would heal her enemies to death, if, in case, you know, the horse was a trap or something.

The horse clopped down a trail, curling around and in between daunting red rock walls, periodically checking on her to make sure she was still with him. He, at least, Angela assumed the horse was a he but she hadn't bothered to check, led her to the entrance of a cave, and neighed twice once they had reached it. Then he stepped into the cave, and that's where Angela decided she wasn't going to follow the animal anymore. There was no reason to be following mysterious horses into caves. That seemed awful dangerous to her.

The animal, just five feet inside the cave, noticed she hadn't followed, and then neighed again. It looked down at something on the rock floor, then back at her, expectantly. Another neigh.

"Fine, fine, you silly horse." So Angela followed the beast five feet inside the cave and looked at it stubbornly. Five feet inside was fine, she thought, probably still safe, but she would not go any farther!

The horse then looked at something a ways back in the cave, then back to her, but Angela just crossed her arms and shook her head. But that's when she heard it. A groan. And not just any old groan either, a human groan of pain. She knew that sound well.

Frowning at the animal, she stepped toward the sound, then turned her attention towards it.

Sure enough, just barely visible in the dark cave, crouched in a nook of the cave was a wounded man.

"Oh my goodness." Breathed Angela.

"Well help me, why don't you?" A raspy, yet familiar, voice suggested.

"Jesse? Is that you?" She asked tentatively.

"Damn it, woman help me out of this tunnel!" He ordered.

"Alright, alright." She conceded, walking over to him and helping him around her shoulder. It wasn't that easy to maneuver in the dark cave, even less so with a staff in her hand. The whole situaiton resulted in both her and Jesse picking up a few more bruises than they probably needed.

"Be careful!" He groaned as they bumped against a rough rocky wall.

"If you had taken better care of yourself, we wouldn't be in this mess!" She retorted.

Jesse just grumbled in reply.

They wandered out of the cave, and all of a sudden the harsh afternoon light seemed too bright to bear. Angela squinted as she set Jesse against a red rock wall, then looked curiously at the horse, who had stepped outside the cave and was now looking down at her intently. Must be an awful loyal steed.

"Right, now, what's wrong with you?" She asked Jesse as she set her staff aside.

"Been shot." He grunted. "Through the abdomen."

Angela raised an eyebrow. "Anything else?"

"Other than a couple of scrapes, not in particular." He shrugged.

The medic looked back at the cave. "How'd you get in there?"

"Came from the other side. Real Quiet carried me. You gonna patch me up or what?"

"Overwatch still following you?" She wanted to know.

"I have no clue, alright. Passed out for a couple of seconds there, next thing I knew I was dismounted and Real Quiet was gone. Been lyin' there for some time and it's a tricky tunnel to navigate through, so no, I don't reckon they're following me."

A shame, that. Angela had hoped they'd catch up to her and Jesse, and take her back home. It seemed all of her experiences in the American Southwest were full of disappointments.

"Fine." She grumbled, sitting down in front of Jesse, and then pausing to locate the wound. There was a large bloody splotch just above his belt on the left, and she thought that was a probably a good place to start.

Angela sighed and started to pull at his shirt, aiming to get a better look at his injury. It was tucked in the belt pretty well though, and probably pinned against the wall by his back, which made it unreasonably hard for her to access his bullet wound. She was crouched in front of Jesse, balancing on her knees and toes trying to get some kind of look at his wound, to see if the bullet had made it all the way through or not. At the rate she was going, it would be sometime into next week before she'd be able to start healing him.

"Would you mind?" She glared up at him, a blush of frustration cresting over her cheeks.

Jesse looked down at her inquisitively. "What?"

"I need you to remove your shirt." She stated clearly.

The cowboy, with a damn bullet wound in his abdomen, somehow had the wherewithal to smirk. She glowered at him.

"Of course, little lady." He smiled down at her all charming like, unbuckling his belt, pulling on the shirt, and peeling it over his head and off his body.

"How you can be so obnoxious at a time like this, I will never know." She remarked. "Lie down, will you?"

Jesse did as asked without any sass or trouble. Angela scooted around to his side, pulled a slender needle from a thigh holster, and stuck it into his abdomen. She injected the anesthetic into him, waited a few seconds, and then pressed at his wound.

"This hurt?" She wanted to know.

He grunted. "A little, but it's bearable."

"Well that will have to do." She said as she set to examine him. The first point of order was

to figure out if the bullet had lodged itself in his flesh or had passed clean through. She pulled out a magnifying glass with a small flashlight to aid her. It was a peculiar tool, the magnifying glass, and probably alien to most doctors, but Angela didn't have the luxury of hospital regulation machines. She had to make do with handy, portable items.

Angela heard a whinny from behind her.

"Strange horse." She muttered softly.

"Mmm, Real Quiet is a magnificent animal." Angela could hear the smile in his voice.

"If he's named Real Quiet, how come he can't be real quiet right now?"

"He's just concerned is all, wants to make sure you ain't killin' me." The cowboy explained. "You ain't killin' me, right?"

Angela shot the flirtatious cowboy a glare. "I shouldn't have numbed you."

Turning around to reach for the staff, she said. "Sit up."

"Of course, milady." The cowboy mocked.

She turned on him. "You want to get healed or not, cowboy?"

He smiled at her. "Can't I just be happy I've been saved, and by a pretty woman no less?"

Angela set the caduceus staff to his wound, looking down. "No." She muttered, embarrassed by the small twinge of happiness his statement had given her.

They sat in silence for two minutes while her staff did its work. She avoided eye contact the whole time.

Once she was done, she said, "Right, how are you feeling?"

Jesse shrugged. "A lot better than before."

"Think you can get on the horse?"

"I reckon I can." The cowboy set his hands to the ground and tried to stand. Angela stood with him, spotting him and ready to catch him if he fell. But Jesse managed alright and straightened himself without much trouble.

The cowboy walked over to the horse, petting him and thanking him for saving his life. It seemed odd to Angela to do that, she didn't think the horse would understand him. But she didn't pay much mind to that. Instead she glanced at the cave, curious. He'd called it a tunnel, hadn't he?

"You comin'?" Jesse asked.

Angela turned back to him. "Where does that tunnel lead?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You ain't gon' be able to escape that way, darlin'."

"Why?" She wanted to know. "You said that Overwatch chased you from there, didn't you?"

"I did." He affirmed. "They chased me a long way."

She glanced at the tunnel. "So I could get back to Overwatch that way."

When she looked back at Jesse, he was standing right in front of her. It seemed the man was just as quiet as his horse.

"It's dangerous." He tucked his hands in his pockets casually, and yet his facial expression was anything but.

"I don't know if you have noticed this, but staying with the Deadlock Gang is also dangerous."

Jesse shrugged at that. "It's best you not go through that tunnel alone. Easy to get lost, like I said."

Angela looked at him intently. "Will you take me through?"

The cowboy stared at her wordlessly. She'd only ventured it on a whim, with the full expectation that he'd throw her over his shoulder, set her on the horse, and take her back to the gang. Instead, it seemed there was some manner of care for her in the cowboy's heart, which quite shocked her. And, much to chagrin, churned butterflies in her stomach.

"It's dangerous for me to go back that way." He stated.

Right, of course. He'd only just fled from that direction, after all.

"I could cover for you. Or vouch for you." She offered.

Jesse shook his head. "That ain't enough and you know it."

Angela then asked a question she probably shouldn't have.

"What is enough?"

He stepped forward slightly. "You really want to know?"

She held her ground. "I'm not going to have sex with you! And certainly not out here!"

The cowboy chuckled. "That's not what I said, now is it?"

Oh and it was that deep, rich chuckle too. That alone was enough to make Angela blush, never mind the fact that his hand had found hers and raised it to his mouth while he set a small but chaste kiss against her skin, not once breaking eye contact.

"Really, Jesse?" She hissed. "We're in a bit of a situation here, and you're trying to romance me?"

The cowboy chuckled again, the tones of his voice vibrating through her hand that sat against the soft skin of his lips.

"Kiss me." He stated simply.

"What? No!" She exclaimed, voice cracking a bit. "I'm not going to kiss you. I have a boyfriend."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're still loyal to that man, after he left you for dead?" Was it her, or was the cowboy starting to get mad? "It wasn't him that saved you, now was it?"

"Yeah, but I saved you back!" She argued. "So we're even!"

"And now you're askin' me to save you again." He countered, dropping her hand. For a second Angela thought she was safe, but he just hooked his arm around her waist to pull her close. She squeaked in response.

"One kiss." He bargained, eyes locked onto hers.

Angela glared up at him furiously. "Fine!"

Placing her hands clinically on his shoulders, she stood on her tippy toes and gave him a quick, chaste peck on the cheek. "There, you have your kiss."

But Jesse didn't let her go. Instead, he cupped her face in his free hand and bent down to her lips. Just when Angela though he would kiss her, and vaguely realized in the back of her mind she wasn't doing anything to stop him, he paused.

His eyes flicked between hers and her lips.

"Just one kiss, Angela." He repeated, warm breath tickling her skin.

"I don't know why you care so much. It seems like a pretty bad deal for you." She whispered.

"Well if you're getting the better side of the bargain," He started. "Better kiss me before I change my mind, don't you think?"

"You're so persistent!" She exclaimed.

But the cowboy just chuckled. And that was enough, that cool, dark rumble of his voice that distracted her from Jack, it was enough for her to bite the bullet, so to speak, it was enough to make her lean forward and peck him on the lips.

Oh but Jesse weren't gon' stand for no peck, no sir. Sure he'd known all along that's what Miss Swiss was vying for, that's what she'd try, but he wouldn't be much of a man to let a woman like that escape with only giving him a peck. So he kissed her back with a fervour she hadn't shown him, molding his lips to hers and running his tongue along her upper lip.

She squealed in shock, fingers gripping into his shoulders, almost painfully, but not so, and just when Jesse thought she'd peel away, the doctor surprised him by gasping softly and sucking timidly on his upper lip.

He had not been expecting that. His knees even buckled, and he had to grip on to her even more firmly just to retain his balance. Hell, and he'd thought he'd have the upper hand the whole time, but that was kind of hard to accomplish when a beautiful woman was pressed flush against a man's body and sucking on their upper lip. There were other things in that particular situation that were kind of hard as well, but Jesse weren't a shy man. Where most might have pushed Angela away, rubbed the back of their head awkwardly, and held up their end of the deal, the cowboy instead pulled her closer, the hand that had been at her waist dipping lower in the process. It wasn't quite at the point of holding on to her rear side, but he held her low enough to the point that the threat, or promise, depending on how she looked at it, was certainly there.

Surprisingly enough, Angela seemed to like his ministrations, if her reaction of looping her arms around his neck and tilting her head were any indication. She kissed his lips, then the corner of his mouth, then just to the side of the corner of his mouth, her eyes glazed with arousal. The doctor pulled her head back slightly, presumably to place another soft kiss on his cheek, but then, in the process, realization seemed to dawn on her.

Her bright blue eyes locked onto his, and suddenly her face morphed from satisfaction to confusion.

Jesse slid his hand along her jaw, staring down at the woman, knowing she was about to pull away. She opened her mouth to speak, but the cowboy pressed his thumb over her lips.

"Shh." He cooed. "You don't have to feel bad to likin' the way I kiss."

She flushed a deep red at his comment.

Pushing away his hand with one of hers, she said, "I do not feel bad!"

"Good." He shot her a lopsided smirk. "Then I reckon my kissing is having the intended effect."

"I… You… Ugh!" She sputtered helplessly. To add to her vexation, Jesse lowered his hand a touch and gave her backside a firm squeeze.

She squealed. Oh and that gave him more satisfaction than any man could imagine.

Bending close to her face, Jesse whispered. "How about you try saying that again, darlin'? Didn't quite catch it the first time."

She glared at him, and just when she was about to voice her complaints, Jesse kissed her a second time. And lucky for him, too, that he caught her when he did. Her mouth was open, lips pressing against his, hot air exchanged between the two. The cowboy snuck his tongue inside, ghosting along the roof of her mouth. She shuddered in response, vibrating softly against Jesse's entire body, causing him to enter a fight with his own body.

As he kissed her, it became less of a matter of seducing the woman, and more of a desperate search to extract more soft sighs from Angela. He'd played around her tongue, pressed her tight against his body, and even tilted her head upwards just for better leverage. Each movement she made unraveled him more. When she'd responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, he'd just begun to fight his baser instincts, but then she'd continued on to catch his tongue delicately between his teeth and let it slide out slowly and sensually. Damn Jesse if that didn't force him to remove and arm to brace himself against a nearby wall. So of course, he responded in kind, sucking on her lower lip and nibbling on it softly, causing her to sigh in pleasure.

He pulled away slightly, just enough to see the look on her face, and it was only then that Jesse realized he was damn near panting.

Angela, for her part, looked rather flustered as well.

Jesse looked down at her, wondering if he should push his luck a third time or let her come to him. She seemed to be unhinged enough that she might just do it, might just start kissing him of her own accord. The doctor opened her mouth, and for the smallest of seconds, Jesse wondered giddily if she'd start at it again, or maybe if she'd talk dirty to him. But, unfortunately for the cowboy, she did neither of those things.

"Did you hear that?" She asked quiety.

"No, darlin' I didn't." He replied, slightly frustrated.

But the doctor pushed off of him, which marked the end of their incredible makeout session. Jesse was more than a little disappointed.

"I think those are footsteps."

"I'm sure it's just some local animal, or gunfire." He shrugged casually. Couldn't she just go back to kissing him?

"Those are definitely footsteps." She stated, looking towards the tunnel.

It was then that Jesse noticed Real Quiet was A) there, and B) also looking at the tunnel. The horse whinnied quietly.

Annoyed, Jesse stood silent for a minute to listen. Sure enough, there were footsteps. And voices, but not ones that he recognized.

The next thing he knew, Angela was shouting. "REYES! AMARI!"

Oh fuck.

"I'M OVER HERE!" She exclaimed.

Jesse grabbed her arm firmly. "Now what do you think you're doing?" He hissed.

"Getting rescued." She stated simply.

That's when the cowboy realized it was time for him to go. He whistled at Real Quiet and made to get on him and out of there, but the Overwatch soldiers were out of the cave in no time.

"Ziegler!" Amari said in a surprised tone.

"McCree!" Reyes ground out at the same time.

"Get off the horse before I shoot you, McCree." The hispanic ordered. Jesse didn't even need to look to know he had a gun pointed at him, but when he did check, he was right.

"Gabriel!" Squeaked Angela. "Don't shoot him!"

"Don't... what?" He asked, confused.

"He helped save my life!" She explained. "The least you could do is not shoot him."

Reyes grumbled. "I'm not gonna shoot him. That much, at least. Blackwatch has some interest in him, you know."

Angela frowned at the man. "Don't torture him either! That's against the law."

The hispanic sighed, clearly annoyed. "Chill, Ziegler. He's going to be fine. Why don't you run off with Amari? I'm sure Morrison is dying to see you."

Jesse's heart ached at that. He'd forgotten all about the commander. But all he could do was watch as Angela shot Reyes a chilling look and then proceeded to walk away with the Egyptian woman. She even looked at him apologetically as she left, but she left all the same. So the cowboy steeled himself and turned towards Reyes.

"Alright Mr. Blackwatch. What is it you want from me now?"

The cowboy had been expecting a verbal response, but all he received was a smile that could not be described as anything but deadly.

"You'll find out in time, McCree." He said finally. "You'll find out in time."