The following day, Dr. Saunders informs you that Randall is awake

Though you were tempted many times over the course of the night to hop out of bed and locate Randall's room, to see if he was awake yet, you held firm, deciding that it would be best to wait and be prepared. It was going to be a big enough shock for him when he did wake, without you being there as well. Unsure of what to say, or even how to look at what would now be this strange amalgamation of both your best friend and your Aunt Joan. Would you even be able to look at him without feeling sickened? The fact that he would be parading around in your dead relatives skin being an incredible difficult concept to grasp and get used to. You knew of course that your parents were right, your Auntie would have wanted to help Randall is she could, even if it meant this. It was just... well, it would be hard to grieve for her with this constant reminder walking around the place. That is, if he could still actually walk. Lord knows what the results of messing around with people's brains inside other people's body's would actually be.

As it turns out, you didn't have to wait long to find out. The following afternoon, Dr. Saunders appeared in your room, informing you that Randall was in fact now awake.

"He is? When? How...how long?"

"Since last night actually."

"Last night?!" you yelped, having not expected this. An hour or two perhaps, but not this. "He's been awake since last night? Why didn't you tell me?" You were his best friend. Why the hell had you been left in the dark for so long?

"Well obviously we had to evaluate him first." Saunders quickly explained. "Find out just how well the transplant had succeeded. Hand-eye coordination. Motor skills. Cognitive responses. Those kinds of things. As well as allowing him a chance to grasp the enormity of what has actually happened to him before he could even contemplate having any visitors."

This, you supposed, seemed reasonable enough justification. But still... he'd been awake since last night and you were only finding out now. It seemed so unfair.

Putting this thought out of your mind for now though, anxious to find out how he was, you then asked the doctor, "Is... Is he okay?"

"Physically he's perfectly fine," he smiled, happy to be delivering good news for once. "There seems to be no negative repercussions what so ever from the transplant. His new body is just as responsive and functional as his old one. It really is remarkable. We couldn't have hoped for a better outcome." This was definitely good news, not really knowing a whole lot about surgical procedures and what not, but just enough to know that tampering with the brain was a pretty risky move. For all you knew, he could have ended up a drooling vegetable or something inside your Auntie's body.

This was only half the story however. "What about mentally? Is he still... you know, himself?" The last thing you wanted to hear was that he was now some weird hybrid of both their personalities, or something like that.

Putting you quickly at ease, Saunders replied, "Yes. Yes. He is still the same boy you knew." With the proviso that "Obviously what has happened to him has come as a great shock, and it will take some time for it to all properly sink in, but so far our psychiatric evaluations have all shown him to be as mentally stable as he ever was."

Thank God for that, you thought, letting out a huge sigh of relief. Hearing that he was still, as far as the could tell, 100% Randall was a huge weight off your mind.

"Though of course we won't really know the full extent of his mental condition until he's had a proper chance to accept and come to terms with what's happened. It's still early days right now."

"No, totally. Of course," you agreed, before your anxiousness to see him quickly took over. "So when can I see him?"

"In a little while perhaps. At the moment his parents are in with him. Though he did ask if I could let you know he was awake." While this was encouraging news that he was actually thinking of you, it really did suck that you couldn't visit him right now. Feeling primed and ready to go. The fact that Alice was also in there with him was also a less than savory thought. Pretty sure that she would be the last person he'd want to deal with on waking.

"Don't worry, Tim. He's doing just fine." Saunders then told you, sensing both your disappointment and concern for your friend. "Now, I'll be back in a little while, once he's ready to see you. Okay?"

"Okay. Thanks doctor."

Smiling then, Saunders turned and walked back out the door, leaving you alone again to grapple with this new information. Hearing that your friend was now awake and apparently doing fine left you feeling excited, yet at the same time incredibly nervous, and you could only hope you'd be able to keep it together when you saw him. He may be be the same old Randall inside, but outside he was an adult woman. Your own Auntie. This would be without a doubt the strangest, most surreal meeting you would ever experience.

Over the next several hours, you tried your best to put it out of your mind, distracting yourself with TV, as well as another visit from your parents and siblings. They were happy to hear that Randall was awake, though like you, had a similar apprehension about seeing him. Your father hugged your mother tightly during the whole discussion, while your little and brother and sister tried to lighten the mood, making a few jokes about how Randall had always wanted to be a part of the family - which unfortunately didn't go down too well. This was true however, Randall's home life not exactly being the most fun one. He always seemed to have a much better time when he was round at yours.His mother had died when he was 10 and his father had remarried Alice about 2 years after that. Ever since then, she had basically ruled the roost - Randall's father having fallen completely under her thumb. Not that she was truly evil or anything, but her **** religious views didn't exactly mesh well with Randall's fun loving, free spirited (and often quite perverted) personality. Which was the reason why, in the last five years, Randall had become more and more of a constant fixture in your house.

For about an hour the four of you talked, reminiscing about the good times with your Auntie, as well as Randall, when Doctor Saunders finally returned.

On entering, you immediately jumped right up, on tenterhooks as to what exactly he was about to say. "Doctor... Is Randall okay? Can I see him now?"

"Yes. Yes you can. His parents have gone home for now and he's asked to see you."

This however caused your mother to nervously pipe up. "Only Tim, Doctor?"

"For the moment, yes, I'm afraid so Mrs. Connors."

"Is that okay?" you asked, feeling bad for your mother. It being obvious that there was an uneasy desperation lingering beneath the surface. Wanting to look upon her baby sister once more, and yet at the same time, not.

"Of course it is, Son. He's your best friend," your father told you, rubbing gently at your mother's back, "On you go. I'm sure we'll get a chance to visit later."

"Mom?"

Your mother just smiled, "I'll be fine, Tim. Go see your friend. We'll be right here when you get back."

Giving them both a hug then after being helped out of bed, you followed Doctor Saunders down the hallway, only vaguely remembering the route from the time before. As it turned out, Randall's room wasn't actually all that far away, and less than two minutes later, you found yourself stopping in front of a very familiar looking door.

"Okay, Tim, this is it." Saunders said, giving you a last minute pep talk before you went in. "Just remember though, this may be a bit of a shock for you as well. Randall looks and sounds just like your Auntie now. But inside he is still very much the person you knew. Be strong, and I'll be waiting out here the entire time."

Keeping this in mind then, you took a deep breath to prepare yourself, turned and then headed inside...