#luci is supposed to be the bad one; making her babs lose parts

[razzmatash]

Recovery

Day Seven: Recovery

Pairing: McCree x OC

Word Count: 1879

Juno belongs to @artsybizaar

             Staring at the ceiling, Evan tried to breathe evenly. It was hard to do with her nightmare lingering at the edge of her thoughts. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t really want to stay in bed but where was she going to go? Where would she even want to go? She was still staying at Juno’s, not just because it was doctor’s orders but also the Strike-Commander’s. Until they were completely sure whoever had tampered with her lab had been fully dealt with, they didn’t want her being alone.

           She didn’t really want that either but even being around other people wasn’t helping with her nightmares.

           Her hands were shaking a little as she pushed herself up, shifting to swing her legs over the side of the bed. She didn’t want to lay here anymore. Maybe she’d make a cup of tea, cuddle with her cats, do something that wasn’t just sit here and try not to think about her nightmares or what happened.

           Moving as quietly as she could, she left the room and crept down the hallway. She heard the quiet footfalls of her cats as they followed her but other than that the apartment was silent around her. She tried to stay quiet as she turned the kettle on, setting up what she would need for her tea. It was easy enough to do since Juno hadn’t moved anything since she’d lived here.

           A small smile touched Evan’s face as she thought about that. She hadn’t actually lived with Juno for long in the grand scope of things, but it had been so good while she had. She’d had so much fun, grown to love the woman so much, and she wished she’d come back here for a different reason.

           Her hands shook again as she grabbed her cup and nearly dropped it. Why had that happened? Of all the people in Overwatch, why had that happened to her? Was it because of her connections inside the organization? Was it because of what she had made or was trying to make? Why?

           She nearly jumped out of her skin when hands cupped her own, helping her keep her hold on her cup.

           “Woah, there, Bambi. Jus’ me,” a sleepy voice murmured.

           Evan stared at Jesse in the low light of the kitchen, no words coming.

           “’Nother nightmare?” he asked gently.

           She nodded.

           “Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

           Evan shrugged. What was there to talk about? It was the same as the others; being trapped in the lab, in the fire, not being able to get out, not able to get away.

           He sighed and moved one hand to cup her cheek. “How’s yer head?”

           She shrugged again. It hurt but that was what happened when you had a concussion.

           “Ev, darlin’, talk to me,” he urged gently.

           “I don’t know what to say,” she said honestly.

           He took the cup from her and set it on the counter. “I ain’t sayin’ we gotta talk ‘bout what happened. I ain’t no therapist but you can always talk to me. You know that.”

           She did know that but she really didn’t know what to say. From everything she’d been told, her lab had been tampered with by someone within Overwatch and they’d tried to both destroy her work and kill her. If they had a suspect in mind, they hadn’t told her and she wasn’t sure if it was because they didn’t know or didn’t want her worrying about it.

           Jesse’s thumb rubbed against her cheek. “Want to watch a movie?” he suggested.

           “We’ll wake Juno,” she said, shaking her head.

           He hummed lowly. “Alright, get your coat.”

           Evan blinked at him. “What?”

           “We’re gonna take a walk. Get you some fresh air.”

           “Ah,” she said, hesitating. She hadn’t really left Juno’s place since she’d been released from the medical wing. She’d gone on the balcony but she didn’t think that counted in his mind.

           “Hey, trust me?” he said softly. “I ain’t gonna let anythin’ happen to you.”

           She knew that. He wasn’t the problem.

           “Ev, you can’t stay in here forever,” he reminded her. “If you do…they win.”

           Her eyes squeezed tightly shut and she took a deep breath. She nodded quickly. “Okay,” she said.

           He kissed her forehead. “C’mon, Ev. Get your coat and shoes on.”

           She stayed near him for a second longer before shuffling away. It wasn’t until she was putting on her shoes that she realised she was still in her nightgown. “Uhm….”

           “You’re fine, darlin’,” he told her, slinging his coat on as well. “It’s warm out.”

           She wasn’t so sure about that but she finished getting her things on without further comment. Her gaze moved across the apartment when she heard a noise and saw Juno standing in the hallway. So much for not waking anyone. She’d woken everyone in the house.

           Jesse followed her gaze and made a noise under his breath. “We’re just goin’ for a walk, Juno,” he told her. “We’ll be right back.”

           The older woman glanced between the two of them. “You have your phone and your gun?” she asked bluntly.

           “Yes, ma’am.”

           Wait, he did? Had he grabbed the gun before he’d come to her in the kitchen? He must have because he hadn’t left her. Had he been worried about something?

           “I’ll wait until you get back,” she said, moving toward the couch. “Don’t be too long. It’s late.”

           Jesse nodded before gently pushing Evan toward the door. She didn’t even get to grab her keys as he scooped them up, practically herding her out of the apartment. She stayed quiet as they went downstairs, grabbing his hand as soon as they were outside.

           It was a warm night but she still got a chill as they walked. She was sure it was just her imagination playing tricks on her and kept her mouth shut about it. No need to babble at him about something that wasn’t real.

           They quietly wandered away from the living complexes and Evan wasn’t sure what to think about that. Was he quiet because he didn’t know what to say either? Was he quiet because he was tired of dealing with her nightmares? She shook her head at herself, wincing at little as her head throbbed.

           “Easy,” he said softly as she stepped into him. “Ain’t nothin’ gonna come at you here, Ev.”

           “Except they did,” she said, her voice just as soft. “They came into my lab, tampered with my equipment and tried to kill me in the one place I should have been safe.”

           His grip on her hand tightened and he tugged her around a corner.

           “How am I supposed to go back to work when I know that someone got that deep into Overwatch to get to me?” Evan continued. “What am I supposed to do? Close off my lab so no one can ever go into it? Not work on anything with the black matter tech? Not work on anything?”

           She saw him throw her a look as they passed under a lamp but he still didn’t say anything.

           “I’m used to people not liking me, not thinking that I belonged here because I wasn’t supposed to talk about my tech or I was too young but none of them ever tried to kill me. They just gave me the cold shoulder.” Which hurt in a different way but nothing like this.

           Jesse made a quiet noise and kept leading her.

           Her heels suddenly dug into the sidewalk when she realised where they were going.

           “Ev, c’mon,” Jesse said, tugging on her gently. “You need to see it.”

           She’d seen photos of it. She didn’t want to actually see it.

           “Hey,” he said lowly, “we ain’t gonna go in. We’re gonna stay outside but you need to see it.”

           She was definitely dragging her feet as he coaxed her to keep going, her fingers squeezing his tighter with every step. When he finally stopped, it took her a long minute before she looked up.

           It wasn’t easy to see the damage in the dark but the lights on the side of the building showed her enough. Scorch marks above and below a set of blown out windows. Twisted metal inside. Fire damage on everything. Her imagination could fill in the rest.

           “Breathe for me, Ev,” he said quietly. “Keep breathing.”

           It was hard but she managed to after a moment. “I don’t like this,” she whispered.

           His face tightened and he nodded. “Alright, let’s go back.”

           “No, Jesse, I mean….” What did she mean? She was scared, she knew that and she knew she had every reason to be. But…. “I don’t know how to stop feeling like this.”

           “You can’t just stop being scared, Ev. Don’t work like that.”

           “I know but…inventing has always made me happy. I love doing it and now because of this I….”

           He sighed. “Bambi, it’s little steps,” he said patiently. “You were hurt pretty damn bad but you need to think ‘bout the other things. They did try to kill you. Try. It didn’t work. You were smart enough to keep that from happening.”

           “It was luck I had the shield grenade,” she muttered.

           “Maybe, but you were still smart enough to use it, to use it in a way that saved your life,” Jesse stressed. “Most people woulda panicked with all the shit goin’ wrong ‘round them like that but you didn’t.”

           She made a face.

           “Don’t do that, Ev. Don’t play down what you did. You saved your own life doing that.”

           She…supposed that was technically right.

           He let go of her hand to cup her face. “You are the smartest person I know,” he said quietly. “And I ain’t sayin’ that cause I love you. You are crazy fuckin’ smart, Ev, and I know you’re scared right now, but I want you to remember that.”

           So smart that someone had tried to kill her. Her eyes squeezed shut at that thought and she took a deep breath. “I don’t think I can go in the lab yet,” she admitted slowly, “but…I want to work again.”

           He was smiling faintly as she looked at him again. “Doc said your head is still gonna hurt for a little while so you’re really gonna have to work less,” he told her. “None of this bullshit you usually pull when you’re working.”

           A small laugh left her at the annoyed tone in his voice. “I’ve gotten better.”

           “Yeah, cause me and Juno are on your ass to eat every now and then.” He paused and kissed her forehead again after rolling his eyes. “But I’ll talk to Juno about gettin’ you a computer to work on.”

           She smiled up at him. “Jesse?”

           “Mm?”

           “Do you really have your gun?”

           He laughed and gave her a lopsided smile. “You bet yer ass I do.”

           Somehow that actually made her feel better.

           “C’mon, Bambi,” he said softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get you back home before your ma sends someone lookin’ for you.”

           Evan threw one last look at the lab and, even though it still chilled her to think about what happened…she was going to start working again. She needed to start working again.

#ocwatch17 #ocverwatch #evan shaw #day seven: prompt b #prompt: recovery #overwatch #mccree #mcshaw #my writing #fanfiction #luci is supposed to be the bad one; making her babs lose parts #i just almost blew my bab up so i'm not sure who's worse