"Here," McCree served a plate on the island in front of you. On the platter was a hefty sandwich, chips, and cut-up pickles. He fished bottled water out of his garment pocket then set the drink near your plate. "You're eatin' for two, so... eat up."

When his words registered, you lost all focus on your work and stared at him warily. "Are you going to tell Jack?"

"Ain't my business," McCree replied as he took his seat beside you. "Look, all I'm askin' is that you be sensible. You're one of the smartest and prettiest women I know, and you can get anyone you want. Forget that miserable old goat."

You raised an eyebrow at him, knowing full-well who he was referring to. "First, you tell me something that may jeopardize my friendship with Jack. Now you're hitting on me? Not cool, Jesse."

Sensing your playfulness, a smile threatened to break beneath that bearded face of his.

"I have a question. Can you answer me truthfully?" You asked, your voice soft as you turned to face him. You were desperate to understand the chain-of-events that ultimately led to the rift.

How did such strong ties unravel? What the hell happened in your decade-long absence?

"I'll, uh, do my best."

You didn't like the hesitation in his reply.

"Are Gabe and Jack the way they are because of me?" You shot your question and watched his face carefully in case he had a mind to lie.

Seeing the intent in your gaze, he paused to really think about your question.

"Heh... you're wonderin' if you're the reason they ain't best buds no more?" He lifted his fingers to stroke his bearded chin, seeming to ponder deeply about the subject matter.

"Hey, I'm being serious here," You swatted his arm lightly as a reprimanding gesture. Though you hit the red fabric draped over it, his arm felt unmistakably metallic. It took you by surprise. "What happened to your arm?"

McCree fought the urge to smile and sighed, "That's a story for another time, [Y/N]. And the answer to your question... is yes, partly."

He paused, and the air instantly felt ten times heavier. You felt the gravity sink your spirits, and you suddenly felt implicated. You had a hand in Overwatch's disbandment. Somehow. And it showed on your face.

"The fault ain't yours," McCree brought your negative thought process to a halt. "A lot of bad things went down when you were gone. You already know that. But I guess I can't place the blame on Reyes entirely... 'cause he was tryin' to save you."

You listened as he recounted the events of the past.

"When Morrison denied him permission to find you, the reasonin' was that he wouldn't be able to survive the Antarctic storm that trapped your team. No livin' bein' could withstand that much ice and cold. But he wasn't givin' up on you. He didn't give two shits that Overwatch declared you dead."

McCree explained how Gabriel had exhausted his options. He'd asked Winston to craft him a suit to withstand subzero temperatures. He'd begged Angela to somehow alter his being to be able to withstand the cold. All to save you, in the hopes of finding you alive. Listening to McCree's account of the past was painful.

And when he noticed the tears beginning to well up in your eyes, he took your hand and held it tightly.

"Don't stop." You pleaded, appreciative of the physical comfort he provided. "I want to know everything."

When he didn't continue right away, you gave his hand an urging squeeze. "Please."

He sighed, continuing against his better judgment, "Someone shady came into the picture. Said she could help 'im out as long as she got funding for her experiments."

"This shady person's a scientist?"

He nodded before an involuntary shiver ran through his form. "Rememberin' her gives me the chills. The shit she did in her lab, the animals she tortured..."

"You're not talking about Moira, are you?" Mei suddenly chimed from the door to your office. "Sorry for interrupting." Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I was coming to bring food for [Y/N]." She lifted a tray and you could see steam rising from the bowl of soup she carried. Her face fell when she saw the plate of food near you. "Oh."

"I'll eat that too, Mei," You gave her a thankful smile. "I'm eating for two after all." Mei's eyes widened and briefly darted in McCree's direction. "He already knows."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed." McCree assured, letting go of your hand as you both watched Mei come into the room and set the tray down near you.

"This person you're talking about," Mei crossed her arms pensively before shooting an onslaught of questions. "Was her name Moira O'Deorain? Did she have short, red hair? Really tall?"

"Yes to all of the above," McCree responded. "You knew O'Deorain?"

"Well... yes, she was the one who taught me what little I know about genetic recombination." Mei admitted, worry beginning to form on her face as she delved into the past. "Before her experiments grew too out of hand. She was brilliant, but... there was recklessness in her designs and ideas. A lot of recklessness."

"How come I never met her?" You chimed in, unable to recall a certain genius, tall, red-haired scientist.

"She was let go before you were hired on. Everything she worked on was shut down, especially when Dr. Ziegler found out about the plans she had. The ethics committee got involved, the higher ups were angry. It... wasn't good."

"Wait... so Gabe knew about her shady experiments? And he turned to her for help?" You looked to each of your friends for answers, your heart beating so violently from anticipation.

McCree and Mei both fell silent when the grim reverie occurred to you.

"So this cunt was responsible for Gabe's condition..." Impassioned, you stood up suddenly and knocked your stool over. "Gabriel Reyes, you idiot!" The crashing stool and your outburst startled Mei, but you were too angry to care.

When the blood rushed down from your head from your quick position change, you grew lightheaded and stumbled. McCree shot his arm out, holding you close to him to steady your stance. "Hey, settle down before you hurt yourself."

"How could he be that stupid?" You were so frustrated. And it almost felt like you were being cheated on, honestly. Or maybe betrayed felt more fitting.

"[Y/N]," McCree set his hands on your shoulders, looking at you earnestly as he spoke calming words over you. "He truly loved you. Simple as that. Not sayin' it was right to agree to bein' experimented on, but I could empathize. He wanted to save you."

You glared at him for a moment, utterly overwhelmed by the myriad of emotions assaulting your psyche. "...then why do you hate him so much? You're telling me to forget about him like it's such an easy thing to do."

The sharpshooter sighed. "'Cause he wasn't the same person, not anymore—the experiments, they changed more than his physique. Made him into a cold-hearted son of a bitch." McCree explained patiently. "It was a gradual change. But everyone under his command saw what he was turnin' into. We ended up gettin' a lot of heat from the public. Before we could really confront him, the incident in Zürich happened."

You weren't sure if his last words were supposed to comfort you or throw more angst your way.

"I think you've said enough," A gruff voice came from the doorway. In civilian clothing, unmasked and angry, Jack walked inside the room. "You were supposed to take her back home hours ago, McCree."

As if caught red-handed, McCree instantly removed his hands from you. But he answered with a smirk on his face. "You could hardly call that dingy old motel room 'home'. Besides, [Y/N] made a scientific breakthrough. She's gonna make you young again, old man."