Learning more about being DJ (Part 2)

Over the next few days, you spent half your waking life, it seemed, taking test after test to make sure that the operation took and there were no ramifications or issues that went undiagnosed. Poked, prodded, and generally fed up with needles and machines, it was a relief that there were other people coming to visit you that spelled a break from the monotony. Pam was often there to visit, filling you in on the after effects of your passing. It pained you a bit to hear about the funeral that you hadn't gone to, you had been in the hospital for 2 weeks at that point, but the turnout was surprisingly big and warm. Your parents (well, FORMER parents, you supposed) had been there and your body, per discussions, had been cremated and ashes taken back to the lake by your old family home to be spread. It was a bit of a surreal moment, she admitted, as she both knew the Steve Meadows body was dead but yet still lived on, inside the body you now possessed.

Like you thought, strange.

Another visitor who came to see you was Monica, who was admittedly a bit on edge around you, seeing her son of 20 years laying there in a hospital bed but knowing that some part of another person's brain was inside. She sat down next to the bed, a bit timid, but you smiled and gently took her hand and held it, a throwback to being a teacher and someone who cared for elderly relatives growing up, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It'll be a change for all of us but your son...he gave me a chance and returned me to life. He's still here," you smiled, tapping your head, "just with another passenger."

Monica was a crier, you learned, and she wiped her eyes and smiled, laughing along with you as you worked your skills in changing the atmosphere of the room. Through conversing, you learned that DJ was a very family-oriented individual outside the court and classroom, taking care of his sisters' education while she was working late hours and often cooking and cleaning up the household for her. As she spoke, you had images of things popping up in your mind: scrubbing dishes, washing the dog, and of a house you personally hadn't seen before but was definitely a memory. As you relayed it to Monica, she grew excited and held your hand and you felt her pulse rushing. Dr. Saunders, the older of the two doctors, nodded as he explained it simply: Your brain hadn't been completely removed, just a portion, so it was likely that a big part of DJ's pre-operative mind was still intact, including skills and memories, that you were now accessing and would soon mesh together. Your description to Monica had actually been very astute: a passenger riding along.

She came again several more times, each time spending it holding your hand in hers, always with the physical contact. You didn't mind it at all, having told Pam about this one evening. Your wife was a very good reader of people and she nodded understanding. "Like I said, she's very dependent on DJ. After the father of Shawna, the youngest, bounced shortly after she was borne, DJ's been the sole man in her life. He's been like a rock. She's going to depend a lot on you, Darrell." Pam started to refer to you as Darrell and the finality of the situation came when she said she was going to be going away for a bit, to visit with her sister out east for a few months to settle things down. You knew it was also to give you the chance to adjust to being a new person. She leaned forward and gave you a kiss on the cheek and wished you well before she left.

(A/N: Sorry for the bit of exposition, just wanted to create the scene for MC being thrown into a new life. More plot, less backstory from here on out..)