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Hearing explosions wasn’t something new to McCree, but this one gave him an uneasy feeling. It wasn’t the explosion but rather the direction it came from.
“Fuck...” He mutters to himself. He increases his running speed when he sees a pair of broken wings in the rubble, confirming his fears.
“Angie!” He frantically digs through the rubble to uncover her face. When he hears her gasp for air he heaves a sigh of relief.
“J-Jesse. I can’t breathe. I...” She coughs. He carefully pulls her out of rubble and pulls her into his lap. She places her hand on his.
“I think my ribs...are broken.” Mercy is covered in dirt and rubble. Her hair had been pulled from her ponytail. He could see blood by her ear and he gently moves her head to find her usually blonde hair stained with a rust color McCree knew all too well.
“Looks like you got a cut somewhere on your head too. Think that’s all of your injuries?”
“I...might be bleeding internally.” Her breathing is still labored. “It hurts so bad I can...barely concentrate on any other part of my body.”
“Shit!” He searches for her caduceus staff only to find it broken in half several feet away. He manages to hit the call button on his communicator. “Need a medic here!”
“GPS indicates you are near Mercy, McCree.” A gruff voice responds.
Mercy starts to cough up blood, tears forming in her eyes from the pain.
“She’s the one that needs the medic, Gabe!” He screams at his commanding officer, panic evident in his voice.
McCree hears cussing and murmuring on the other end. “Stay right there.”
“J-Jesse...” She gasps.
“I’m here, babe, I’m here.” He starts rocking her but he isn’t sure who he’s trying to comfort at the moment.
“There’s a switch on the suit...” She stops. Her breathing is starting to slow.
“Stay with me, Angie.” He pleads.
“...It’s on the back of my neck....flip it.” He does as he’s told. The Valkyrie suit starts to make soft humming noises. He doesn’t know much about the mechanics of the suit, but he remembers something that she showed him when she was designing it. He knows what that switch is for.
She had him activate the life support system.
“How much time does that give you?”
“Ten minutes.”
"Shit.” He groans, becoming increasingly agitated. “SHIT! Where’s the medics? Are you the only one that does their fucking job around here?”
“Jesse...calm down...”
McCree’s chest starts to tighten. Dammit, Jesse, you can panic later. Right now you worry about her.
“Are you in pain?” He strokes her hair finding a lump on the back of her head. How many head injuries can one person have?
“The switch also delivers a bit of morphine.” She smiles weakly.
“Angie.” He murmurs putting his forehead against hers. “I love you. You’re an angel, but you need to stay an Earth angel for a little while longer. Okay?”
“That...is the corniest thing anyone has ever said to me.” She tries to laugh but it comes out as a cough.
“I try, darlin’.” He smiles. He hears the airship nearby. Fearing he may never get the chance again, he gives her a soft kiss on the lips, shuddering when he finds them colder than he would like.
“You keep fightin’ for me, alright angel?”
“Of course.” She whispers back.
The medic team rushes towards the couple and takes Mercy out of his arms. Jesse gets up to follow them but a hand grabs his arm.
“You can’t go with her, McCree.” Reyes holds him back.
“The fuck I can’t!” He struggles against Gabriel’s hold when a bigger hand grips his shoulder.
“You did all you could, son. She’s in good hands now.” Reinhardt’s words aren’t as comforting to Jesse as intended. He turns to the German man with pure defeat in his eyes.
“I...could have done more.” Jesse utters before completely succumbing to his panic.