Angela was surprised, to say the least, to see that her words had brought out the way that Fareeha was feeling. Perhaps not being afraid to speak of what pained herself, with what she'd done to Genji and her own doubts in her medical leadership, had made the combative woman in front of her realize that she too needed to let her feelings exist. She too needed to feel human for once, and not like a machine, fighting mindlessly like the omnics that opposed them.
"Fareeha..." Angela murmured as the woman sat down again, though she silenced herself to listen to the rest of what the Egyptian woman had to say. It was heartbreaking. The tale of the child, given mercy from his suffering. That was a word she knew very well; mercy. It was almost ironic, in her line of work. She eased the suffering of others, but sometimes, mercy wasn't always meant to save the life of a victim. Sometimes, mercy meant taking away their pain quickly. Angela wished that she'd done that for Genji, but by the time she'd began to feel regret, it was far too late. She knew how to rebuild a body from scratch, but she would never want to do something like that ever again.
"I understand, Fareeha. In a way, I am dear to you. Dear to your memories of a time when things weren't so difficult. I will do everything I can to save your people, you know that. I won't let any other children die if I can do something about it. And I assure you, what you did to that child... You did the right thing. Mercy is a word I know very well... Sometimes the hardest decision to make is the one that frees people from their pain. Even I have taken life, instead of saving." Angela looked down at her hands. She could practically see the blood that had once stained her palms, as if it had embedded itself into the crevices of her fingerprints and into every wrinkle where her knuckles bent.
"I know you do a difficult job, and it will only get harder as the fighting grows more desperate. I believe that the omnics targeted this place because they knew the defenses were lacking... I think they know that no one was prepared for the scale of the war that they are waging. They expected this to be a quick victory... but I know, so long as you and your jumpers remain, they won't take Cairo. You embody the soul of this country. All of its hope and will, Fareeha. You are the strongest woman I have ever met, to go through this war and keep on fighting with no end in sight. You are stronger than your mother ever was. I believe in you. And you should believe in yourself."
Angela stood up from the cot and walked over to Fareeha, reaching hear hands out to take Fareeha's own. She guided the woman to her feet, and the Swiss woman smiled up at her. Then, Angela wrapped her arms around the much taller woman in a warm hug. It was likely something Fareeha hadn't felt in a long, long time. Affection, care, warmth. A simple gesture, but scarcely seen in this cold, hopeless conflict.
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