A Normal Mission

2

Jim wasn't sure what he was expecting when he opened the door. Maybe to be ambushed by his overly emotional mother or for everyone to be waiting for him. Instead, he was greeted by a silent and dark house. It took a moment for him to remember that it was nearly 3 am and the busy doctor and teacher were likely asleep. A younger Jim would have let them sleep but he needed so badly to get this first meeting taken care of. He went upstairs, stopping outside of his own former room and pausing. Curiosity coiled in his stomach and after a heartbeat of consideration, he pushed the door open and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. Everything was as he left it, right down to the unkempt bed. A few steps in and Jim felt something crinkle beneath his sneakers.
His yearbook lay open still, sending a chill to his core as he saw the young Jim Lake Jr smiling up at him. Jim knelt down, brushing his thumb over the younger man he once was and envied so much. To have soft flesh again to feel the sun was a thought that never truly left his mind. It had been so long since he stood in daylight that he had begun to forget what it truly felt like, instead of his perception viewed with a rose tint.
And seeing this Jim was a bit of a painful reminder of all the things he could never return to. Jim shook his head hard, trying to banish the thought. Blinky had given him some solace in the idea that while he could not return to his past life, this one had new potential he couldn't fully understand.
Using that thought to steady himself, Jim closed the yearbook, pushing it under his bed and straightened up. The strangest part was that he could smell a human's scent in this room. It was only vaguely familiar, different than he knew but still tinged with a faded memory. It was jarring when Jim realized it was his own human scent. Truly no one had tampered with his room since he left.
Jim crept from his own room, closing the door behind him and turned his attention to his mother's ajar door. With barely a nudge, the door creaked open to reveal Barbara asleep with her head on Strickler's chest. Jim repressed a gag, reminding himself he had to get used to this, and walked over to the bed.
Barbara had always been a heavy sleeper, flopping down on her bed after a long shift and passing into such a deep sleep, Jim would call her comatose.
The teen slowly approached his mother's bedside, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently saying, "Mom? I'm home."
Barbara blinked, obviously trying to comprehend what had woken her before sitting up bolt straight and grabbing her glasses from the side table, "Jim!?"
Strickler stirred next to her, growling in his sleep and his wings twitching.
"Walt, wake up!" She shook him, her adrenaline from realizing Jim was home keeping her from being anywhere near gentle with him.
The changeling blinked a few times, his eyes slowly beginning to glow, "Barbara, what's wrong?"
"Nothing! Jim's home!" Tears began to flow from her eyes, fogging her glasses, "Jim's home."
"Ah, Jim." Strickler sat up, rubbing the bridge of his nose and trying to fully process what was going on, "Wait, Jim is back?"
Barbara nodded, engulfing her son in a hug.
Jim felt tears build in the corners of his eyes, blinking them away quickly.
"It's truly a pleasure to see you again, Jim. I hope things are well at the colony." Strickler stood from the bed, revealing himself to be wearing a pair of union jack fleece trousers, the sight so outlandish Jim had to bite back a laugh. A flicker of recognition flashed over his face but rather than the irritation Jim expected him to display, the changeling simply smiled, "I suppose I've changed a bit since our last meeting. But so have you, young atlas."
"Hopefully for the better." Jim smiled gleefully. 
"I'll put a kettle on." Strickler decided, smoothing the tendrils of hair from his face, "We could all use something to drink whilst we catch up."
Barbara nodded in agreement, "Jim, you look so skinny! Should we get you some food too?"
"Mom, I'm almost twice your width!" Jim laughed, his unease completely vanishing with that. Strickler took that as his cue to leave.
When Jim turned his attention back to her, he felt gratitude wash over him. Barbara looked healthier than when he left. The bags under her eyes were far less prominent and had been replaced with creases off of her eyes, wrinkles created by her energetic smile. Jim had worried about the stress of his absence and the responsibility of taking care of all the familiars and making sure they found good homes would be too much for her. Especially in addition to her encompassing job as a doctor at Arcadia's hospital. But she looked as bright and healthy as ever.  
"Let's head downstairs. Walt is probably waiting." Barbara offered.
Jim stood, thankful to still feel at peace in the home he grew up in.
Downstairs they saw Strickler sitting on the living room couch with two toddlers, one Jim recognized as Strickler's familiar and the other was a little Asian girl with electric green eyes and her black hair in pigtails.
"Is that... Nomura?" He realized with a start.
Strickler smiled, brushing aside the baby's bangs, "she certainly is. Though we call her Zeze."
"Zeze?" Jim knelt in front of Nomura's familiar who reached out to his nose, causing Jim to break into a smile.
"A nickname for Zelda, I suppose. And this handsome fellow," Strickler turned to present his familiar, "goes by Wally."
"Hey there, Wally." Jim smiled, poking his belly to make the child giggle.
"Boo!" Wally explained, "boo toll."
Jim looked to the changeling for assistance.
"Blue troll." Strickler translated for him, chuckling. A curious and somewhat mischievous thought crossed Jim's mind, prompting him to ask, "who's that?" and point to Strickler.
Wally looked at the changeling, smiled widely and cheerfully announced, "Dad!"
Jim was taken aback, surprised by the familiarity of all this.
Strickler pointed to Barbara, both children announcing, "mama!"
And thus, Jim realized he had returned to find his family grown but still welcoming him. And he couldn't imagine a better scenario.