Hospice - Mar Sara
An old man lay on a bed, features shrunken and weathered by age, years of hard work, and the ravages of illness. Heartsick, Jim Raynor was giving up on life at long last. His eldest son sat beside him now, hale and healthy, holding his withered hand; it used to be so strong, it felt like yesterday his father would toss him into the air with those hands.
Letting out a sad sigh, the red haired man gave his father's hand a small squeeze. After his mother, Sarah, perished in that accident, it was no secret that Jim was utterly crushed; he began losing the will to live as soon as they could not find her body in the transport wreckage. "You held on as long as you could, old man," he murmured quietly. That kind of love took a toll.
"I ain't dead yet son," eyes closed, Jim gave him a tired smirk.
"Sorry dad," frowning, he focused his attention strictly on his father; he was in a hospice, not a hospital, for a reason. These moments of lucidity and wakefulness were few and far between. They both knew, and acknowledged, that these were some of the last too.
With great effort, Jim opened his eyes and regarded his son; it hurt, everything hurt, but when he observed what he and Sarah created together, their legacy, that hurt the most. "You are the man of the family now, you take care of everyone, you hear me?" Their children and grandchildren were the only reason he lived as long as he did after Sarah's passing, it is what she would have wanted after all.
Chuckling softly, he squeezed his fathers hand again, "You know I will. Grace, James, the kids, all of them will be keepin' their noses clean; of course, you know they will be good with or without me, you raised us well."
Pride swelled inside of Jim, a fierce burning light; they were raised good and proper, he and Sarah made damn sure of it. He wanted to tell his son as much, "Son, I'm so pr-" but his chest spasmed and clenched hard, sending him into another coughing fit.
He felt his hand being grabbed, his son shifting beside him and saying something, but it was fading out; replaced by a strange ringing and humming sound. Jim's eyes flickered open between the hard coughs, trying to identify what was making the sound, but all he could see was a warm, golden glowing light pouring into the room.
From the center of that intense glowing light came a voice that resonated, surely shaking the room as hard as it shook Jim's soul.
"You look like shit, partner." Tychus Findlay, that old notorious outlaw and timeless friend, materialized before Jim; but this Tychus haled from his glory days of youth, piss and vinegar, he didn't look a day over 25. He was also where all that glowing was coming from.
Jim's coughing fit stopped abruptly, soothed away, and he stared in confusion before recovering and letting out a gravelly chuckle. "No offense man, but I was kind of hoping to see Sarah at the end of my tunnel, you know?" He was just delusional on his deathbed, Tychus couldn't be here; not after everything that happened.
"I know," Tychus smirked, staring down at the ravaged Jim with an unearthly calmness that the old man never would have pegged him to possess, "exactly what kind of friend do you take me for?"
From behind the large glowing frame of his lost friend stepped an angel, Jim's eyes widened as Tychus made a broad, expansive gesture. Sarah Kerrigan, a young woman again, her bright mane of red hair untouched by grey and her eyes smiling with the endless happiness he always saw there when they made eye contact.
"S-sarah," tears began to flood the corners of his eyes, and Jim found himself overwhelmed with emotion. He could not even stand up and embrace his love, he was the dying old man. "Men like me don't go to heaven darlin', what are you doin' here?" he croaked in a whisper.
"This is not your death Jim, it was not mine either," Sarah, that angel, smiled so warmly he could feel it heating up his cold body; Tychus grinned and looked smug, just like old times.
Sarah clasped her hands in front of herself and stepped aside, though she wanted nothing more than to collapse in on Jim and hug him for all he was worth, letting Tychus draw Jim's attention once more.
"Been waiting forever to come pick you up, Jimmy." Tychus smiled with a kind of patient understanding that the old con never had before, "I knew you wanted to get the most out of your life, bein' a boring family man and whatnot." He gave his head a quick jerk towards Sarah, "I wanted to come get you right after I caught her in that accident, but she said no. Gotta take care of your kids, right Jimmy?"
Sniffing and swallowing, attempting to recover his composure, Jim regarded the two angelic beings differently. Sarah's body was never found, could this really...Be real? Tychus became a godly being, of that there was never any question. Beside him, weeping without sound and holding his hand with both of his own, was his son.
"I highly approve of his name, by the way," Tychus held a hand to his heart and grinned even broader. "Very flattering," he sobered just as quick, "I didn't forget you partner, I've been watchin' this whole time; all this ain't some delusion."
Jim let out a soft sigh as a euphoric, giddy kind of relief flooded through him. He looked at his son, Tychus Raynor, and frowned then. "He doesn't see this happening, does he?"
"Just an old man talking to people that ain't there," Tychus spoke softly, eyeing the two.
"What's gonna happen to him?" Concern for his son clouded his otherwise relaxed features.
"He'll be fine, Jim." Sarah smiled reassuringly from the sidelines, that was all he needed to hear.
"Well, I figure it's time," Tychus stepped forwards, holding his warmly glowing hand out to his old friend. "You ready for round two, partner?"
Life, vibrant, wholesome and almost forgotten, flooded Jim even from the proximity of the large and still scarred hand; he let out a soft laugh when his weak eyes finally saw that Tychus kept every scar and every tattoo. "Hell, you know it," with strength his body did not truly posses anymore, he raised his free hand and clapped it into Findlay's.
Tychus the younger watched the exchange, thinking his poor father acting out a strange delusion, when an explosion of light blinded him and sent him stumbling backwards; half shielding his eyes and half trying to reach for his father in alarm, he yelled, "Jim!"
"Shhh now, you're gonna wake the whole damn building kid," an unknown voice, a low, gravelly basso that had an unearthly echo, chided.
Blinking away the temporary blindness, Jim's son staggered to his feet with fists raised, ready to fight whatever and whoever this was, when he froze; the sight before him could not in any way be real, his eyes widened to the size of small moons and his mouth hung open.
"I missed you honey," Sarah smiled, face twisting with emotion, but she remained firmly in place; her hand was tightly entwined with the hand of a young Jim Raynor, who fairly glowed with youth and happiness. Well, they were all glowing, with a grinning Tychus' arms draped over them from behind as they were.
"Mom? Dad?" Tychus the younger, fully unaware of his namesake being right there, remained completely bewildered.
"Yeah, your old mammy and pappy are comin' with me son, so say your goodbyes for now," Findlay jostled the shoulders of his two smaller companions in a friendly manner.
"I know it's gonna be somethin' else tryin' to explain why your old man's body ain't where it's supposed to be, but I know you'll think of somethin' son," Raynor smiled at his son, he had already said his goodbyes.
"You'll see us again in time, I promise." A silvery tear leaked down Sarah's cheek, how she missed those kids. Already, the three of them began to fade away.
"I-I don't understand," Tychus Raynor cried, realizing this strange and incredible moment was ending already, "but goodbye!" A moment later the room darkened and he lowered his hand to his side, tears sliding down his cheeks. Jim Raynor's body wasn't on that bed, and now all those crazy tails that couple told over the years did not seem so crazy anymore.
Swallowing hard, he smiled, both sad and happy; his parents were alive after all, somewhere out there. No one was going to believe this.
Later, when sorting through his father's belongings, Tychus Raynor would take a second look at an old yellowed photo; he now knew who two of those men were, and felt a tightness in his chest when he read over the names again.
A Bar - Somewhere
On chairs infinitely more luxurious than a bar has ever provided, Tychus Findlay sat across from James Raynor and Sarah Raynor, who had yet to not be holding hands in some form or another; all three had generous tankards of beer sitting in front of them.
Jim was smiling and shaking his head, "You know, I worried for a while there. Worried what all that power would do to you," he looked around then, clearly amused. "Seems I shouldn't have, you been drinkin' this whole damn time?"
"Nah," Tychus chuckled, a gleam in his eye, "You were right to be worried Jimmy, oh the things I did...They were all willing of course," he was grinning broadly before glancing at Sarah, "well, never you mind. It got borin' pretty quick anyway; didn't help that none of them girls had a good life, and I knew everythin' about them." His demeanor seemed to darken at the reminder. "Didn't sit right with me."
Brows knitting together, Jim thought hard. A memory surfaced quickly: a memorable change in society, not very long after the terrans were considering themselves recovered as a species. Headlines about leaders of prostitution rings disappearing, but instead of more scum filling in the power vacuum they left behind, Valerian took note and made some very benevolent changes to protect vulnerable people from falling into that sad business; it helped solidify his image as an emperor who cared about his people.
Tychus smiled pointedly.
Taking a swig of his beer and a puff of what was probably the finest cigar in existence, Tychus said, "Didn't take long before I went out and tried that whole xel'naga thing, makin' life and whatnot." He chuckled, "Seems like some kind of great cosmic irony, if you ask me. It's the only thing you can do that still has some wonder to it, you don't know exactly what will be made." He shrugged, "Guess I'm a gardener now."
Filled with a peaceful contentment, Jim felt a warm laugh bubble up and he raised his drink. All three of them clinked their glasses together and took long pulls. Swiping his mouth with the back of his arm, Jim said "So, we gonna help you garden then, old pal?"
Giving a friendly smirk, Findlay said, "Yeah, somethin' like that. I'll keep you busy, don't you worry about that none." His form began to glow softly and fade away, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly, "I figure I've intruded on your reunion long enough for now, though. Back later, Jimmy."
Jim grinned brightly, a spark in his eye when Sarah squeezed his hand. They were young again, after all, "Thanks man."