The first night
Looking up at the ceiling, Fareeha let out a sigh. She had been tossing and turning all night and now, as the early hours of the morning set in, she gave up, letting out a heavy sigh. As a child, she slept in this room with no problem; her mother would sleep in the bottom bunk and her in the top. Now the old bunk was gone, and so was her mother. As she got up, she contemplated how different her life would be if her mother had lived. Staying in the room alone felt impossible, so she threw on some shoes and walked, not even sure where she would go. She just walked. The air felt good - clean and fresh even if it was far too cold for just a tank top. The waves crashed against the cliff face and she felt almost comfortable. Her mind no longer went to think of her mother. Instead thoughts of almost nothingness filled her mind.
Then she heard a gentle sobbing from one of the small balconies outside the rooms that had been built in the larger cliff face. She followed it as her interest peaked as to who would be up as late as this. It seemed insane to be awake at this hour - the hypocrisy was obvious, going toward the gentle sobbing was hard. The waves were loud and it seemed a storm was brewing, eventually she found the source of the crying.
"Angela." The blonde quickly wiped away her tears and smiled as she turned on her heel
"Fareeha, why are you awake?" She asked trying desperately to mask the pain in her voice, failing completely.
"Same as you it seems - personal demons.”
“Do you want to talk about it?" She smiled gently at the older woman offering her hand. "Inside is far warmer"
Her voice was soft and soothing and as Angela took her hand she noted that despite her strength Fareeha was gentle and kind. The two had never been that close when Overwatch originally formed, and had never talked or had reason to before the recall. This was far from what Angela had expected; she expected the harsh, duty bound soldier the media portrayed her as. Soon enough they were in the common room, just the two of them. It was approaching 4am now and neither had slept. After small talking for a while Angela finally opened up.
"It's hard Fareeha, the people I've had to help. The damage I have seen, the damage we could have prevented. It's like a heavy weight on my shoulders. And what’s worse - more painful - is the people I lost; the people I couldn’t save. Even those that I did save seemed to change because of it. I'm a doctor and yet I seem to kill more people than I save. " A tear ran down her cheek.
In honesty Fareeha had hoped she wouldn’t open up about it. She had no idea what to say and could only act on impulse. She wiped the tear from the older woman's face and wrapped her right arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close against her chest. Her heartbeat was loud, rhythmic and soothing and soon Angela was asleep in her arms. She seemed peaceful. Slowly Fareeha scooped her up into a bridal carry and walked her to her bed. "Sleep tight," she whispered as she pulled the sheet up over her. She had only just opened the door when she heard it. A loud thud, coming from Lena's room. Loud enough to wake Angela.