Chapter Text
They slowly made their way back to the airport in Sydney, traveling at night to avoid the heat.
The desert seemed endless, every mile looking just like the last.
Sydney had begun to appear on the horizon when they heard screaming.
“Jamie, ya hear that?”
“Ya. What d’ya th...” His sentence trailed off as he caught the smell in the air. He knew that smell quite well.
Lúcio looked around.
To their left, a few hundred meters away, there was a house on fire. Flames billowed from the windows, and the smoke was so thick they could barely see through it.
“Over there!” he shouted and pointed to the burning building. “Come on, Jamie, we gotta help!” He grabbed the taller’s arm and pulled him in the direction.
Lúcio, even without any of his combat gear, is still quick on his feet. Jamie staggers behind a little, being slower on his peg leg.
The house exploded as they got closer, the force knocking them back a few feet. Lúcio stood quickly and ran to help.
As he got closer, he saw that it was more than one house, but he couldn’t tell how many.
Didn’t matter. He had to help as many as he could.
The heat from the sun was already searing, but the fire made it almost impossible to function. Dehydration was starting to get to both of them, and now the panic of the situation made their mouths bone dry.
Jamie lagged behind, not having the speed or energy to keep up with Lúcio.
Just as he approached, he saw Lúcio run inside the burning building. Jamie shouted after him, but he didn’t stop. He had to help.
A few minutes passed. Panic set in. What if Lúcio never came back? That would kill him. To have come all this way, to have to face his past just to have his reason for getting better to slip away.
Lúcio emerged from the burning building a while later, his hair slightly charred and his clothes dark with soot. He held a crying baby in his arm, the other reaching for Jamie as he got close.
Jamie latched onto him, just happy that he was alive. He released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
Lúcio rested his head on Jamie’s chest and caught his breath.
“I...couldn’t save...her parents...They were--God--gone before I got there.”
Jamie petted Lúcio’s hair, comforting him. They stood there, holding each other for a while before the baby started kicking and screaming louder.
Jamie looked down at her. She had a pile of curly red hair on top of her head and her face was dusted with freckles.
“She gonna be okay?” he asked.
“‘Sides the smoke, yeah, she’ll be fine.”
“She’s cute.”
“Yeah, she is.”
“So ya know how we were talkin’ ‘bout kids?”
“What are ya gettin’ at, Jamie?”
“She jus’ lost her parents, Lú.”
Lúcio looked up at Jamie. The look on his face was enough to convince him.
“I’ll give Winston a call. See what we can do for her.”
Jamie began to tear up. “Thank ya, Lú. Ya got no idea how much that means ta me.”
“Anythin’ for ya, Jamie.”
Jamie patted Lúcio’s back. It’s gonna be okay.
They found shelter nearby, resting for a while.
The child had stopped crying, and Jamie held her. He looked at her, watched her as she slept in his arms. She snored quietly, her breathing uneven from smoke inhalation.
Lúcio lounged on the couch, starting to nod off. Jamie looked up at him.
“Hey, Lú.”
“Yeah Jamie?”
“Ya see ‘er?”
“Yeah, I see her.”
“Nah, cm’ere.”
Lúcio huffed and got up, kneeling next to Jamie. “She’s cute.”
“Heh, yeah, she is.”
They watched her for a few minutes until Jamie spoke.
“Ya know how we were talkin’ ‘bout kids?”
“Yeah. It’s a lil soon, though, don’t ya think?”
“Maybe, but I can’t jus’ leave ‘er ‘ere, Lú.”
“Winston said we can bring her back with us. He’s sendin’ a transport tomorrow.”
Jamie tried not to tear up. “Thank ya, Lú. Ya got no idea ‘ow much that means ta me.”
He leans over and gives Lúcio a light kiss on the cheek.
Everything was gonna be okay.