"Oh, look who it is. Glad to see you've pulled through Ms. Henderson" said a disembodied voice from deep in the black void that surrounded Jason.
"Huh?"
"Hey, don't move too fast. You've been asleep for a few days. You're lucky you have such a good boy. He called for an ambulance within minutes of you hitting your head."
"Boy?" Jason slowly turned his head to see his own body standing in the corner of the room with a concerned expression. "Hey me. What am I doing over there?" The nurse walked over to Jason's doppelganger and kneeled down.
"Don't worry. Mommy is on some strong medications that are still wearing off. Most people act a little strange when they wake up from a long nap." The nurse's words did little to change the boy's concerned look. "Gracy, you're a lucky woman. Your chart says you were legally dead for almost a minute, some people don't recover from that at all."
"Grace?" Jason didn't understand. Everything about his situation and body felt deeply unfamiliar. He recognized the name Grace but it didn't feel right coming out of his mouth. "Jason, come here. I want a hug."
"Ja... Mom. Are you okay?" The look of concern grew.
"Mom can't get a hug from her boy?" Jason said with tears pouring from his eyes. Inside he was panicking. His memories felt distant. Few things made sense to him anymore. He was Grace Hanson and the boy across the room was Jason Hanson, his 10-year-old son. He remembered car rides to Jason's school and weekends playing at the park. His memories seemed limited to the past few years and there were certainly large gaps, but he was happy to still be alive. Something deep inside his heart told him that his child's safety was supposed to take priority, so he held his arms out wide and gestured again for a hug. "It's okay, baby! Mommy is right here!"
Jason's father felt a deep sense of dread. Had the fall damaged Jason's mind? He held the medallion in his pocket, but the only way he could think to get out of this situation was to turn into his potentially brain-damaged wife's body. If he did that, would he forget who he was, or would Jason think he was a middle-aged woman in a young boy's body? Neither option seemed like a particularly smart solution to their current situation.