Ah, I really like this idea/headcanon. I think it was either canon or speculated/theorized by a fan made timeline that McCree left before everything started spiraling down into chaos? Either way, I can easily see this happening with a wandering McCree, wondering if he should return and settle things with his boss even though things had been going south too quick.
Can you imagine the distress he’d feel after hearing about it? Leaving is one thing, but he never imagined this – never wanted people he’s known for a good portion of his life to just suddenly be gone. His heart lurches when he hears the names of those who were in the building when the explosion happened. Reyes…Captain Amari…so many other comrades. He ends up passing out in that bar from the shock alone.
I wonder if he’d feel any sort of regret – guilt, of some sorts for who knows how long after the incident? He’d try so hard to reach out to people he knew were still around, even though it was hard. Mercy is one such contact but staying in contact with her was difficult enough – after the incident, it’s all but impossible. The two people he confided in most are gone, others are MIA or in hiding…he’s doing the same – without Blackwatch, he’s back on the wanted list.
The memory of that woman doesn’t come back to him for a very long time after that. Thinking about the explosion is at the forefront of his mind so much that he can’t really remember the day before that. But when he does, he always considers it such twisted luck that a random, pretty stranger would talk him into staying where he was at instead of heading back to Zurich like he wanted to.
Sometimes he wonders if he’ll ever meet her again. McCree likes to think about what he’d like to say if he did – would he thank her? Thank her for her cryptic words and enchanting smile that tipped him over the edge and caused him to stay put? Or would he yell at her? Grab her arms and shake her for not letting him have the peace of death. Everyone is gone – it’s all broken, and he feels like he’s left trying to piece back a vase shattered into a million pieces – impossible.
Few years down the road and he’s nearly pushing forty. He ends up in a bar, in a place much warmer than last time. The tequila’s pretty good and the scenery isn’t bad either. He finds himself chatting with a pretty lady and can’t help the feeling that he’s seen that devious little smile somewhere before…
~My Tumblr Back-Up And Stuffs~ 