One and a half hours later, Tom found himself back in his oncologist's office, with Alice by his side. Soon enough, Dr. Pinkerton sauntered in, greeting the couple with the same handshake gesture as before.
"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Allen. As you can probably infer, I have some good news for you. We were finally able to find a suitable host for you, with 72% compatibility. Not the most ideal, I know, but time is of the essence, and I think it is adequate enough to ensure a successful operation."
Seeing that the couple before him had no comments for the moment, the doctor continued. "We admitted this host about three days ago when a good Samaritan found her deeply inebriated and unconscious in a parking lot. Through testing, we found that her BAC was dangerously high, enough to induce copious amounts of brain damage. Even after lowering the BAC over time, the patient was still left unconscious. But the body itself was in a fairly healthy condition, and it was even able to breathe and reflex from our tests. Simply put, she is currently comatose for about 3 weeks now." Dr. Pinkerton handed over a profile of the patient in question.
"Susan Kelley, age 26. She was employed as an insurance sales agent for roughly 2 years. She was born in the countryside, but moved into the city for college..." Tom continued perusing the information before handing it back to the doctor, asking, "Is there anyone else? I wish you had told me that the host would be a woman..."
"I deeply apologize. This patient currently has the highest compatibility with you at this moment. We understand the potential complications that may arise, but we believe that it is worth the tradeoff for guaranteeing the success of the procedure."
"I see..." Tom sat back to deeply ponder his options. "But...what about her contacts? Surely, she has family and friends who would..."
Alice interrupted, "Hold on! Are you sure about this, Tom?" Staring squarely into Tom's weary eyes, Alice sternly asked, "You need to put more thought into this. We're talking about the rest of your life here, and it is something you have to adjust starting from day 1. For starters, this host is a female. You told me before that you wanted to have kids, so how is that going to happen with this? Besides all the physical differences that I don't even want to talk about, there are also the social implications. We're about to get married soon, for god's sake. How should I explain this to my family, your family, and to Matt especially? For all the options that we could have, we just had to be stuck with this one..."
Tom placed a hand on Alice's shoulder as he let out a deep breath. "I know, I know, honey. I have the same questions that you have when I saw the report. Honestly, I have been thinking about this ever since I was diagnosed with cancer and was informed of such a procedure. I know we were probably joking when we said that I would be stuck with the old fat guy who can't have kids, but in the past couple of weeks, I actually took it seriously. As my health kept deteriorating, I thought about my future. I thought about your future, Matt's future, as well. But each passing day felt harder and harder, to the point where I don't think I can make it through 6 months, even with chemo. That was when I got scared, thinking that I might not be around one day to be with you two if I can't get better somehow. I really want to marry you. I really want to see Matt graduate from school, to find a decent job, and to find his own fiancée someday. And I know that you both want me to be there by your side as much as I do. That is why I chose to cling onto this final piece of hope, no matter the final outcome. Anyone, even that fat, infertile, old man, would be better than me just passing away. As for the future, I'm sure we can figure something out, together."
Alice's eyes became flooded with tears, as she mumbled between sobs, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize how you felt..."
"It's ok, honey. It's also hard for me to accept at first, but I suppose life works in mysterious ways sometimes. Now that I think about it, it could've been worse. Aside from the whole gender thing, this host is actually a pretty good fit. She worked in a similar field as me, so it wouldn't be hard to adjust occupation-wise. The age is fairly similar, just several years younger. And from her picture, she looks pretty fit and hot... but not as hot as you, of course."
Alice managed to crack a brief chuckle, temporarily stopping her weeping for the moment. "I see that you're just as amusing as ever, and I guess you have already made up your mind."
"Almost. I still have some questions for Dr. Pinkerton." Turning his attention towards the doctor, Tom continued, "I'm sorry for drifting a bit off-topic just now, but I want to ask, is the body fully healthy, aside from the brain damage? Also, what about her family and friends? Do I have to go through an approval process with them?"
"Ah. You don't have to worry about that. I have witnessed countless emotional scenes in my lifetime. Comes with the profession. But regarding your questions, the body is mainly healthy, as the original owner seemed to have done a good job taking care of her body. Aside from some minor liver issues, I think you will be happy with the outcome. As for her contacts, we tried reaching out for them. While some of her colleagues and friends have visited her, we weren't able to locate any of her immediate family. According to the police, she is still single, has no siblings, and her parents are seemingly missing from the countryside. The police have provide the utmost effort in finding them, but they have not yielded any results thus far. It has been several weeks now, and the patient's brain signals have been dwindling. We don't think she could survive on life support for much longer, not to mention the financial burden of maintaining such support. That was when we considered contacting you as soon as we get word from the police if they could locate her parents' whereabouts."
"That...is just tragic. She is still young, just like me..."
"Yes, Mr. Allen," the doctor replied somberly before a nurse interrupted them to quietly inform him something. As soon as the nurse left, Dr. Pinkerton continued, "I just got word that the host might not have much longer left before sustaining total brain failure. We should make haste if you still need to make a final decision. Remember that it is voluntary, but I want to warn you that such an opportunity is rare, and it might take months to find another one."
Staring firmly at the opposite wall for a couple moments, Tom finally replied, "I'll do it." Quickly facing his distraught fiancée, "Look. I know you still have reservations, but you heard the doctor that time is precious right now. I really don't want to risk any further, so let's just go with it, okay?"
Alice's eyes offered a worrying look before acquiescing. "I trust you on what is probably the biggest decision in your life so far. Don't make me regret this in the future, alright?"
Nodding at her approval, Tom proceeded to sign the paperwork before disrobing and carted into the operating room. Before entering, Tom gripped Alice's hand tightly as he comforted her, "I promise that no matter what happens, I will be back, hopefully in a much healthier state. Just wait for me, ok?" Alice slowly nodded as she was forced to let go and watch as Tom disappeared past the double doors, presumably for the last time in his current form.