Jim waited patiently in Bay-12 for Matt, Rory and Valerian to arrive. It felt strange to be here as a visitor, as someone saying goodbye, but where he was going was going to be better.
"Hey, Cowboy," came the accented voice from Rory as he came bolting though the door, followed by Matt and the as pristine as ever Valerian. "You missed one hell of a party the other night," Rory said jovially. "In fact, you missed quite a few." He had missed Jim in his life and wanted to drive the point home.
"Sorry about that," Jim responded.
"That girl of yours keeping you busy?" Rory asked, hoping to inquire about Jim, his disappearance, his lack of communication, Sarah and their relationship, all in one question.
Jim chuckled, "she is that." Only in the way he liked to be busy. He looked to Valerian and shot him a smile in friendship.
"Jim," Valerian greeted him warmly with a smile.
"Hey, junior," Jim greeted him as usual.
"Where is she then?" Rory asked, hoping to get a glimpse of a Xel'naga. He had heard she looked like an angel, shimmering gold with wings.
Jim laughed again. "'Fraid you're in for a disappointment there, no wings today."
Rory felt uneasy for a moment. Matt had told him Jim was now also part Xel'naga or something and could read his thoughts, but actually experiencing that made him feel distant from the man he once knew.
"I ain't changed," Jim said cheerily.
"This mindreading thing is gonna take some getting used to," Rory added. He'd never really had much to do with anyone with any real psionic powers. He tried to change the subject. "You happy with her?" Rory didn't really know Sarah. Sure, they'd met, he wasn't sure he'd liked her when they had, and she had spend years as the Queen of Blades. He'd witnessed Jim drink himself stupid over her.
"Hell, yeah," Jim quickly responded. "You never really got the chance to really know her," Jim was saddened by the fact most of his closest friends didn't know how amazing his Sarah was. "But she's the most amazing person who lights up my life."
Rory could tell from the expression on his face that she made him happy and he was OK with that.
"You aren't dressing up for the occasion?" Valerian questioned, always taking pride in his own appearance. He'd always thought Jim was scruffy, his shirts always seemed to be dirty and Valerian was certain those were the exact same pair of jeans he'd worn everyday for a decade.
Jim laughed. "Sarah is marrying me, not some suit that isn't me. I offered, but she wanted me just like this." That last part wasn't entirely true, he thought her exact words were more like 'I wouldn't mind if you were totally naked for the ceremony, but I'll settle for those butt hugging jeans.'
"But she's wearing a gown?" Valerian asked.
Jim nodded. "We both imaged this day and we both always saw her in a white gown."
Matt suddenly pondered about Jim's appearance. "Do you look like her now?" He asked curiously. "I mean, glowing with wings?"
"I look like this," Jim told him frankly. He and Sarah were no longer fixed to one physical form, but why bother choosing another when they liked these two so much.
Matt didn't want to mention to Jim that he appeared to look younger, he just smirked the thought away.
"Why did it take you a year to come back?" Valerian wondered.
Jim paused, wondering how best to explain it. "Time feels different," he began. "Besides, it took a while to control the energy Sarah gave me. I didn't want to blow up the old Hyperion with a sneeze," he laughed.
Valerian wondered how much of that was true. He wondered how much energy Jim actually had. He realized Sarah was probably the most powerful entity in the universe, but how much of that she shared with Jim was probably something he'd never know. The scientist in him wanted to know it all.
"Why'd it take two years for Sarah to come back?" Rory asked.
Jim's smirk fell from his face and was replaced with a momentary frown. "I said time feels different," he repeated.
His friends all knew him well enough to know he was hiding something.
Jim felt his eyes on him, demanding the truth from him, but he remained silent.
Matt worried for his friend. He didn't know why, there was just something in his eyes.
Jim caved to the pressure of their stares. "We both thought that moment in the void was our last ever moment together. She told me to go, and I did because she asked," he paused remembering the sorrow he had felt. "She thought she wouldn't need companionship as she was, she thought I could move on without her," he shook his head at the insanity of it. "It took her a little while to realize she was wrong on both counts," he explained and smiled, glad she had seen that. "We can't be without each other."
Rory felt all warm inside. He'd been married twice before. He hoped third time lucky he'd love someone as much as Jim loved Sarah and have them love him that much in return.
Jim was interrupted by the door opening and he turned himself to see her entrance.
Once the door was fully open, she slowly stepped into the room, pausing after only a few steps.
Again, Jim was being surprised by her very appearance through a doorway. He looked over her and smiled.
Her loose red hair hung around her face which was decorated in a light dusting of make up. She wore a long white satin dress that reached the floor. The dress was held up by two thin spaghetti straps one on each shoulder and showed a subtle amount of cleavage. Sarah was never the type of woman who would flaunt her assets, but the dress was tasteful and appropriate.
She held a small bouquet of white flowers and green leaves in her hands and her finger nails had a glittery polish upon them.
"Whee-ee-ell, ooohhh," was all Jim could articulate.
She blushed and stepped forward to stand in front of him, giving him time to formulate words.
"You look beautiful," he simply said. He could have told her she was the most beautiful woman in all of creation and that no one else would even come close, but he knew she knew he thought that already. Now she was beautiful, just beautiful. Nothing else could even compare to her.
As she read his thoughts she felt the smile on her lips deepen. She wasn't bothered by her own beauty, she wasn't even sure if she was even that pretty, but it pleased her that the man she loved found her beautiful. She hoped that the fact she found him gorgeous, a ruggedly handsome and yet beautiful man, pleased him too.
It did. Although no longer tied to one defined physical appearance, they always came back to looking just how they remembered each other. They'd joked their glowing angelic forms were for the day job. Truth is, whenever they thought of each other they always imaged their human forms. Jim never wanted to stop looking into her green eyes and Sarah never wanted to stop looking his brown ones.
Sarah was so wrapped up in Jim she barely noticed Rory and Valerian there. She looked at them and forced a smile. She didn't have a connection to either man and both had reason to distrust her, even dislike her, but they were Jim's friends.
Rory felt uncomfortable and awkward. "Err, so, good job on that whole Amon thing," he had no idea what to say to a Xel'naga. One of the last times she was even on-board the Hyperion it was after she'd caused the death of one of his engineers, Annabelle Thatcher, but the dust had long since settled on that. At least he didn't call her Skippy.
Sarah tensed at his thoughts but pushed them aside, forcing a smile for Rory, the past was in the past. "It was nothing," she stated warmly. She looked at Valerian and waited to sense his reaction to her but was shocked by his kindness despite one of the other last times she was on-board the Hyperion she'd tried to choke him.
"You're looking well," he complimented her. It was his first time seeing Sarah Kerrigan in real life look as she had all those years ago, no signs of any Zerg mutagen in her, her hair a firey red - he liked this look better than others he'd seen and could understand the lengths Raynor had gone to to bring her back. "I'm glad things have worked out well for you and Jim."
"Me, too," she stated. "You're not doing too badly yourself, Valerian, I've been rather impressed."
Valerian nodded his acceptance of her compliment.
Jim sensed that was probably all the small talk all three of them had in them for each other. "You ready to do this?" He asked Sarah.
She turned to him and simply nodded, finding herself suddenly overcome with emotion.
"I love you," he told her softly as he extended his left hand towards her.
"I love you, too," she replied as she removed her right hand from her bouquet and took his hand.
They both turned gently towards Matt who was waiting patiently. Matt smiled and held up his hand, gesturing them towards a small podium near the open bay doors.
The view out to space was everything Jim had hoped for, but it paled to the beauty that would soon be his wife. He led his wife by the hand towards the podium and they stood in front of it facing each other.
Matt followed and stood between them and the podium. "Are you ready to begin?" he asked kindly.
Jim looked at Sarah and smiled at her.
She smiled back. "Oh," she quickly said looking down at the bouquet in her hand, unsure of what to do with it. She knew she needed two hands for the rings bit. Luckily, Matt offered to take it from her and he placed it down on the podium behind him. She looked back at Jim, "ready."
Sensing everyone present was settled, Matt began. "We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of James Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan in marriage."
Both Jim and Sarah felt butterflies in their stomachs as those words were spoken.
"If anyone knows any reason why these two should not be wed, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace."
Jim knew no one would object, but the short silence was deafening.
Matt waited the appropriate amount of time then turned to Sarah. "Sarah Kerrigan, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live?"
She looked at Jim lovingly, and spoke softly, "I will."
Matt accepted her answer and turned to Jim. "Jim Raynor, will you have this woman to be your wife; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall live?"
"I will," Jim replied.
Matt nodded his acceptance. "The bride and groom have prepared their own vows," he looked to Jim.
Jim gazed at Sarah, remembering the words he had prepared earlier. "I, James Eugene Raynor, promise to love, respect and cherish you for all eternity. I will never leave you, I will always support you and I will walk beside you wherever you go. I swear I'll protect you, better than I done in the past, and I'll always have your back. I promise to be a husband and partner in every sense of the words."
Sarah felt tears burning at her eyes, moved by the words of the man she loved. She stared intensely at him, noting he too had a line of moisture in his eyes. She took a breathe to steady herself and smiled deeper at him before she begun her own vows.
"I, Sarah Louise Kerrigan, will love you, forever," she paused, taking a breath. "I promise I will never leave you again. I will always be with you. I will never give up on you. On us. I will share every part of me with you, and trust you with my heart, knowing you'll keep it safe. There will never be anyone in this universe that I could ever love as much as you, and I'll spend each day proving that to you."
Jim would have held her close to him right then and there and never let go but he settled for gazing into her loving eyes.
Matt picked up a small white cushion from behind him, on it sat two shining metallic rings, one a simple band, the other ornately decorated with three diamonds. When Jim had given them to him earlier he couldn't guess the material, they seemed too reflect too much light for silver or platinum.
Of course, Jim didn't tell him they were physical manifestations formed from a little bit of their energies. Each person forming the ring intended for their spouse.
"The exchange of rings represents the vows and promises the bride and groom have exchanged here today," Matt added formally.
Jim picked up one of the rings and placed the ring slowly onto Sarah's finger, not wanting to rush the moment but looking forward to what it meant when they were done. "With this ring I thee wed, and with all I am I give to you." As the ring fell into place he took a breath, the woman in front of him was now his and soon he would be hers.
'I've always been yours,' she told him telepathically.
He locked eyes with her and chuckled slightly. He guess he probably already knew that. This whole thing with the rings was symbolical, a circle of unending love.
"Sarah, if you would like to place the ring on Jim's finger," Matt encouraged her.
She broke her gaze with Jim and looked at the remaining ring. Compared to the one she wore it was simple, a plain band of silver. She carefully picked it up and looked down to Jim's hand. She took his hand in her free hand and gently raised it.
Jim was sure he could feel her tremble slightly as she held his hand.
She blushed, knowing she was trembling, not in fear, but in joy. She fought to contain her emotions and positioned the ring at the end of his finger. She looked into his eyes and began to speak, "With this ring I thee wed, and with all I am I give to you." As she spoke, she lowered the ring down his finger until it was fully in place.
Both rings in place the pair looked deeply into each other's eyes.
"You have heard the words about love and marriage, have exchanged your vows and made your promises, and celebrated your union with the giving and receiving of rings. It is at this time that I now pronounce you husband and wife." He felt a small smile creep across his lips. "You may now kiss," he said cheerily.
Jim felt a sudden jolt of joy at the words. He had longed for this moment for years, for the day he could call the woman he loved his wife.
Sarah shared his joy, every inch of her tingled as the new Mrs Raynor. Unable and seeing no reason to delay she leaned forward and placed her hand on Jim's shoulder.
He responded by moving closer and placing his arms around her.
The two placed their lips together and shared their first kiss as husband and wife. It was slow, unhurried, passionate yet soft.
Jim savored every feeling the kiss had to offer, both physical and emotional.
Sarah did too.
Needing to look at his wife, Jim broke the kiss softly. He held her tightly and just looked at her.
She did the same. Only when she remembered they had an audience did she look away. The old Sarah Kerrigan would have looked away in embarrassment at performing a public display of affection, but not now. Now she wanted to show off to the universe for this one final time that she of all people had bagged the one and only beautiful James Raynor. Well, not quite the universe. But Jim's friends were enough. She would show them that he would be happy with her. She smiled at them.
Jim turned towards his friends and looked at them like the cat who got the cream. He was glad they were happy for him and that not one of them doubted his decision to leave, even if they were going to miss him.
"Congratulations," Valerian said stepping forward.
"Congratulations, Cowboy," Rory added.
Both men were happy for Jim and he nodded his acceptance at them. Heck, they were even happy for Sarah. Jim could tell that warmed Sarah, her past was being washed clean.
The talks of congratulations were short, but heartfelt. They passed the next thirty minutes or so engaging in small talk. Rory passed on his words of wisdom about marriage, as did Matt who thought the success to marriage was lots of distance - Jim wouldn't follow that one.
They got to know Sarah slightly better and started to see what Jim had seen in her all along.
After some time, Rory looked to Sarah. "You know it is traditional to throw the bouquet at weddings? See who's going to get hitched next."
Sarah smirked, "you boys up for this?"
Valerian and Matt seemed not so keen, but played along.
"Stand back a bit," she instructed them and they did.
"No one tell Mira I did this," Matt stated as he got into position.
Jim still found that whole thing with Mira amusing.
She turned and in one long movement threw the bouquet over her head.
The flowers landed gracefully into the hands of Valerian who looked highly embarrassed. The emperor of the Terran Dominion should not be the type of man to be catching bouquets. He took his gaze away from the flowers and met the eyes of Matt who seemed to be bemused by the situation. Matt gave him a wink and a smile.
Sarah giggled gently at the recipient of her bouquet and let the group of men tease each other over it.
"You aim that?" Jim asked as he came to join her, snaking his arms around her waist from behind.
"No," she laughed. "All three of them deserved to catch it," she wished they could all feel the same amount of joy as she did right now.
Jim kissed the side of her head, appreciating how amazing she was. "I know we agreed to leave after the ceremony...," he began while she was in a good mood.
She braced herself, suddenly worried he'd changed his mind and didn't want to leave with her.
"Never," he whispered into her ear as he heard her thoughts.
She relaxed again, ready to hear him out.
"Matt talked me into staying for our first dance," he grinned. He had once believed they had danced their last dance in the void, now faced with the prospect of an actual dance, their first of hopefully many, he didn't want to turn it down.
"I don't dance," she replied flatly.
Jim winced, he'd expected that. He also knew it not to be true. Many many years ago he'd held her against him in the cantina, dancing to his jukebox. It had lasted only a moment, the venue shifting quickly to his quarters, but it had happened.
"That was different," she said adamantly. It wasn't even what she'd call dancing, more like swaying.
"Join me for a sway then," he joked.
She pouted, unable to think of a counter argument. Maybe she did want to 'sway' with him.
"Stay right here," he told her as he slid his hands away from her and headed to his friends. It was then she felt a stab in her heart that came from Jim. He was going to say goodbye before the dance.
"We'll be heading on out soon," he told them seriously, "after our dance".
They all knew what it meant.
"It's been a privilege, Jim," Matt said as he shook his hand. "I learned so much from you, we couldn't have done any of this without you," he spoke of course of the peace the sector now knew.
Jim smiled, he liked to think his legacy was one of peace but he couldn't take all the credit. "We all did this," he told the younger man. He looked to Valerian and Rory.
"Sure ain't gonna be the same without you," Rory stated as he offered his hand to Jim.
Jim took it and shook it, nodding at his words. "Third time lucky," Jim winked, wishing Rory all the luck of finding Mrs Right.
Rory chuckled, understanding his words. "You always have a place with us," he added, letting Jim know he could always come back.
Jim knew he wouldn't be back, but he was flattered by his words. He turned to Valerian. "You proved a lot, Valerian" he said proudly. "I don't think the Terrans could have asked for a better leader."
"Thank you, Jim, it means a lot coming from you," Valerian replied. "But Matt's right, we couldn't have done this without you, without both of you," he looked to Sarah who was still stood further back.
She let a small smile creep over her lips. It felt good that her time before now wasn't completely wasted and bathed in darkness, that she had done something right. She nodded to Valerian.
Silence washed over the bay before Jim spoke softly. "Goodbye, my friends."
They smiled back at him but only Matt spoke. "Goodbye, Jim."
He smiled and turned to his wife, walking the few steps to her.
"Are you alright?" Sarah asked him softly. "I know that was hard."
He nodded, "yeah," he answered faintly at first. "Yeah," he said again with conviction, "it's strange but it feels right." He was sad to leave them, but they had their own lives to lead and now he had his with her. He looked at his wife as the music began to play. He didn't know the song, the song didn't matter, only she mattered. He reached his hands forward as he stepped towards her and she gladly took them. His heart was so full of love for her right then he didn't think it could hold anymore; until she smiled at him.
She placed his hands on her hips and she snaked her hands up his arms and rested them on his shoulders. She felt awkward for a moment, trying to work out how to move to the music. Last time she did this, she'd had a beer.
Jim chuckled. He knew she didn't need alcohol to do this. He took the lead and gently began to move in time with the music.
She relaxed against him and tried to match his movements. She soon forgot they had an audience as she stared into his eyes. Only he mattered in the entire universe.
They moved fluidly with each other, moving gracefully in time with the music, embracing their time.
Realizing their song was coming to an end, Jim spoke, "think it's time to go?"
She snuggled against him and forced a smile. "I think so," she smiled sweetly at him.
They held each other tightly as the Hyperion disappeared around them, fading into brilliant white light.
The men watched on as their friend disappeared with his wife. They were curious where they had gone and what they'd do there, but they only really needed to know that they went there together and would bring each other nothing but happiness.