Chapter 3

Dan was sitting up in his hospital bed and thinking about whether he could keep up his act. He just didn't know if he could continue to present himself to Don's family as that fifteen year old boy. In his own mind he knew who and what he was. But, here he was trapped in the body of a hospitalized fifteen year old.

He looked down at the book he had been reading and realized that he had lost his place. Then, he glanced up at the muted TV and noted that he didn't even know which cable channel he had been watching. It could have been the Discovery, the History, or even the Learning Channel. He sure as hell wasn't going to look at any of the news or entertainment channels. Not after all of the weird shit he had seen. Oh well, another opportunity lost. He had been trying to familiarize himself with this new, weirdly skewed world he found himself in.

The morning had started with another awakening by Maggie Wilson. Then there had been breakfast.

Later, he'd had another shower with the assistance of Maggie and Wendy. He'd actually learned Wendy's last name - it was Mathews.

Maggie had stayed during his shower and Wendy had simply cleaned and rinsed him off. He'd thought obtuse thoughts. He didn't notice that he got excited. He had to suppose that he had things under control.

Maggie insisted on removing his chin stubble. They got him into a fresh hospital gown. He was returned to his freshened bed in his freshened state.

Dr. Wilkins had come in with another Physician after a short while. Dan was introduced to Dr. Rogers, who had been assigned his case due to his general injuries. They had checked him over, while asking him questions. Dr. Rogers had then left.

Dr. Wilkins stayed. He'd then sat down beside him and discussed what he expected of Don. He explained a bit about his head injury. He told him not to plan on playing any sports for awhile. That didn't preclude tossing a ball or Frisbee. However, he shouldn't play any contact sports. No bicycling for awhile. He could shoot baskets, but couldn't play basketball. Be prepared to take it slow and easy.

Dan figured it would take a while of rehabilitation to get the left arm back into shape once the cast came off. He'd been injured in the past and knew a bit about getting it back together following injuries.

Dr. Wilkins had then asked about how he'd gotten along with his sisters. Dan had mentioned that he seemed to have a good sense of humor. The sisters seemed to recognize it. Dr. Wilkins had smiled at that. He said that seemed promising. If he could joke about things then at least he wasn't depressed.

Dan had agreed that he didn't feel particularly depressed. Confused, yes - depressed, no.

They had talked for awhile longer. Dr. Chen's visits had been discussed. Dr. Wilkins simply said that she felt that Don seemed to be functioning well enough, even though he suffered from amnesia and had some obvious evidence of confusion. More tests were scheduled and they hoped to learn more about Don's cognitive functioning.

Finally, Dr. Wilkins got up and said his goodbye to Dan.

And so, Dan had been laying there in his hospital bed and pondering his future.

He started when there was a knock at the door to his hospital room. He looked up to see the smiling face of Don's stepsister Janice. Oh boy, here we go again. Jan's a real babe. How could I ever have ended up with such a sexy looking stepsister? I didn't - poor Don did.

Jan's mother had married Don's father several years following Jan's birth. She had divorced Jan's father and then had an affair with another man, who was the father of Jan's half-sister Susie. That relationship hadn't even lasted long enough for a marriage or even Susie's birth. So, Don's stepsisters were themselves half-sisters. And they didn't look all that much alike. Jan's father had been African-American. Susie's father had been a high school sweetheart of their mother - he would have been burnt pinkish-red if he'd ever worked outdoors. The high school sweetheart status hadn't survived their re-acquaintance for more than a few months. He had disappeared and left Jan's mother expecting. So, Janice gained a half-sister.

Well, once Jan's and Susie's mother had found herself with two daughters - she had met Don's father. Don's mother had been killed in a traffic accident. His dad had done well with his young son, for he had lots of family to help with Don's care. Still, he had wanted Don to have a real mother. The two single parents had met up and things had progressed quickly from there. A three year old Don had found himself with five and three year old stepsisters.

Now, Janice's hair dropped down below her shoulders. It was brunette brown and had a kinky waviness to its texture. It was that wonderful, not quite African, but not quite European texture that caused some men to become excited. And she had added some slight blond highlights to the leading edges of her hair. Those highlights framed her face and she appeared even more beautiful because of them. Further, her facial features were both aquiline and dusky, at the same time. She seemed like an Ethiopian princess in appearance. And Dan knew that he was attracted to such a beautiful admixture of features.

Dan looked at Janice and reconsidered his previous thoughts. Ah, well... Make that Don's beautiful stepsister Janice. I suppose it's time to continue with this front that I've constructed. Or, is that confabulated? Whatever...

Janice stepped into his room and smiled at him. She was wearing khaki-colored Capri-style pants and what might have been a blue, man's button-down dress shirt. No man had ever worn and filled such a shirt so nicely. Dan wanted to groan.

"Hey Don, how're you doin'?"

"Uh, hi Jan - I guess I'm OK."

She leaned over the bed rail and took up the hand of his left arm. She intertwined her fingers with his - just below where the cast ended beyond his wrist. "Do you remember anything else? Has anything come back to you?"

"No, not really. Some stuff that seems to be common knowledge is obvious. Lots of news items seem to fit into what I have been able to remember. Still, there are some surprises. Some of the medical developments seem like miracles! It's almost as if I slipped between parallel, but different universes!"