As groggy as you were from the drugs and as unsure as you were about whether or not this was all just some terrible dream, as soon as you saw the look on your father's face and heard the pain in his voice you knew that it most definitely wasn't. Though he was trying to hold things together for your sake (having always been an incredibly strong individual who wasn't prone to overt displays of emotion), it was more than obvious just how upset he was as he clutched your hands in his and confirmed exactly what the two doctors had told you - that your mother was dead and some stranger's brain now inhabited her body.
You of course didn't know how to respond to this and neither seemingly did he as the two of you just sat there in silence, fighting back tears and trying to come to terms with not only the loss of your mother, but also at the almost impossible to process idea of some other lady going around masquerading as her, as if nothing at all had happened. It was insane! Completely and utterly insane!
Eventually though, after what seemed like the longest time, your father spoke up again, assuring you that you'd all find a way to get through this as a family and telling you that you would have to be strong, not only for yourself but for your younger siblings also. Heeding this advice and wiping away your tears, you asked him about this Stephanie Burke woman the doctors had mentioned before, curious to know if he'd seen her yet, and if indeed she appeared just like the mother you had known for the last 16 years of your life.
"Yeah, I have," he croaked, finding it difficult even speaking about her, "But only for a minute or two. She was still unconscious from the procedure....But it's her, Tim. It's your mom. She looks just like your mom..."
"Who...who is she?"
"Some kind of model or actress or something. I'm not entirely sure. Everything happened so fast and the doctors couldn't really give me too much information...you know, for legal reasons." You nodded at this, finding it a little odd - seeing as this woman had basically just become your 'mother' - but you supposed that even with something as extreme as this, the doctors still had to adhere to doctor/patient confidentiality. "As hard as this is for all of us," your father continued, emphasizing with this stranger, "I can only imagine how much harder it'll be for her when she wakes up - finding out what's happened to her."
"Yeah..." you agreed, having not really given much thought to this, having simply seen this anonymous woman as the person who'd taken your mother's life. It wasn't her fault though you realized. She hadn't asked for any of this, and thinking about it now, you began to feel some empathy towards her as well.
"It's what your mother would have wanted though son, as much as I wish it could have been the other way round. Your mom would have wanted to help her if she could. She had such a good heart, and this young woman had her whole life ahead of her." Your dad's eyes began to well up slightly as he said this, recalling her kind and generous personality - your mother having worked with quite a few charities in her time, and having never been one to put herself before anyone else.
Not needing to say anything else, aware of how selfless your mom was and how even in death she had helped another person live, you and your father both just sat there and stared at one another tenderly for a few minutes before he once again pulled himself together and sat up from his chair. "Well, you'll be needing your rest now, Tim, so I'd better be going," he told you, forcing a smile, "I'll be back later with your brother and sister to see how you're doing, and I'll try my best to find out some more about, uhm...about Stephanie, and about her future arrangements."
"Okay, Dad."
"You stay strong now son. We'll get through this, and we'll help Stephanie as best we can. It's what your mom would have wanted."
Left alone again, with these words echoing around inside your head, you lay there in bed thinking through all of what the doctors and your father had told you, and about this mysterious woman who for the foreseeable future you were going to have to pretend was your mom. Who was she? Would she be nice or would she hate you all for what had been done to her? Your dad had mentioned something about her being a model or an actress - if that was the case, did you know her? Had you ever seen her in anything before? There was just too many questions to ask and no answers forthcoming. Unfortunately that was all you had to fill your mind until a nurse appeared some time later and gave you something to send you back off to sleep.
When you awoke sometime later, you found your brother and sister there to greet you. They were of course thrilled that you were okay and wouldn't be in for too much longer (about a week at the most the doctors had informed you), but equally saddened by the loss of your mother - as well as very apprehensive passing off another woman as her. As painful and difficult as it all was though, it was good to see them and you felt rather frustrated that the visiting time had flown by quite so fast. Before they'd left though, Dr. Saunders had stopped by to give you an update on Stephanie's condition, informing you that she had awoken and that she was obviously rather shook up, but in perfect health. He also told you that she didn't appear to have any relatives that she was still in contact with, and obviously for legal reasons they couldn't call any of her friends, so he thought it might be best for her recovery if she were to share a room with you, starting tomorrow. "That'll give you both a chance to get to know one another and figure out this new arrangement of yours," he said, treading very delicately, before indicating towards you, "And it'll give her someone to talk to, seeing as she is all on her own and very vulnerable right now."
"What do you think, Tim? Would you be comfortable with that?" your dad asked, seeing as you'd be the one spending the most time with...with what was essentially a complete and utter stranger who just happened to look like your mom.
Though you weren't entirely comfortable with the idea, obviously, you knew that it was probably the right thing to do, seeing as she had nobody and seeing as you were going to have to get to know her and get used to having her around eventually anyway. So, with a heavy heart, you agreed and spent the rest of the night preparing yourself for the following morning and the arrival of your new 'mom'.
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