After the doctor came and checked her again, Claire was finally moved to a hospital room. She couldn't go home yet because the doctors were still scratching their heads.
They were totally baffled because a girl who was brought in so badly injured after a car accident, someone they thought wouldn't make it, was now sitting up, looking fresh, with no wounds. They really wanted to figure out how.
Once she was settled, Sarah (Claire's mom) typed a quick message, then immediately asked Claire what happened. But since Jenna, who was now in Claire's body, didn't know, she just shook her head and told Sarah she'd lost some of her memory.
A moment later, "Screech!" the room door opened. Dean, who had come to the room with Claire, turned to see a middle-aged man, about 50, walk in, still in his office clothes.
The man's face looked so relieved when he saw Claire sitting on the bed and Sarah sitting next to her. When Claire saw the man,
"Brother Jordan!" Claire (Jenna) blurted out, pointing at him.
Of course, Sarah and Jordan were shocked because Claire, who was actually Jenna, pointed at Jordan and called him "Brother Jordan" instead of "Dad." Dean rubbed his temples and shook his head. Seeing everyone in the room acting weird and surprised, Claire immediately covered her mouth with both hands.
"Um... I mean Dad, hehe," she mumbled.
"She lost a little of her memory, please understand, honey," Sarah said, holding Jordan's hand.
"Oh my gosh... are you okay, Claire?" Jordan asked, immediately bending down next to Claire and holding her hand.
"I'm fine... D-dad," Claire replied, though her face showed she felt strange calling Jordan "Dad."
"Do you remember me?" Jordan asked, just to be sure.
Claire didn't answer, afraid of saying the wrong thing. She just nodded vigorously. Then Claire glanced at Dean, making Sarah and Jordan turn to look at Dean.
"And who are you?" Jordan asked.
"Oh... have you been here this whole time? How did I not notice?" Sarah asked, just realizing Dean had been standing near them.
"Um... uh... I'm..."
"He's my boyfriend... and my future husband, too," Claire blurted out, cutting Dean off.
The atmosphere immediately became awkward and tense because no one spoke. Sarah and Jordan's previously friendly gazes suddenly became full of questions. They scrutinized Dean's face, his school uniform, looking him up and down and back up again, as if sizing up the young man their daughter claimed was her boyfriend.
After that, they turned to look at Claire, then back to Dean. Then, both of them fell completely silent, looking at each another.
"Hey, NS, do something! This atmosphere is getting uncomfortable and awkward. It's suffocating," Dean complained in his head.
[No problem. At least she's honest, unlike your ex, right?]
"This is not the time to talk about that!" Dean yelled in his head.
"Sorry, Dean, I slipped up," Claire said in her head, specifically to Dean.
"Yeah, it's already out, so it's fine," Dean replied to Claire.
Suddenly, Jordan stood up, then walked towards Dean, who was at the end of the bed. He immediately put his hand on Dean's shoulder.
"Did you help Claire and bring her here?" Jordan asked with a serious face.
"Uh... um..."
"Yes, Dad, he brought me here," Claire cut in again, looking at Dean and winking secretly.
"Claire, let me talk to him. (He turned back to Dean) What's your name?" Jordan asked.
"I'm Dean, sir," Dean replied, glancing at Claire, who covered her mouth with both hands, afraid of slipping up again.
"I'm Jordan, Claire's father, and the one sitting next to her, Sarah, my wife and Claire's mother," Jordan said kindly, introducing himself and Sarah, who also stood up now.
"Y-yes, sir, nice to meet you, sir and ma'am," Dean said awkwardly.
"Nice to meet you too. How long have you and Claire been dating? How old are you?" Sarah asked directly.
"Um (he turned to look at Claire, and Claire's hand made a 'one' sign) one year... maybe, and I'm only 18," Dean said awkwardly.
"Oh... so you're the same age as Claire, huh? Where did you meet Claire?" Sarah asked again, smiling, but her gaze showed she was interrogating Dean.
"Tell them you met me at the running track during a competition a year ago. It seems Claire was in the running club," Claire said in Dean's head.
"Um... at the running track during a competition a year ago, ma'am," Dean replied.
"Hmm... that makes sense, since you go to different schools," Sarah said.
"Wait, how did you know that?" Dean asked Claire in his head.
"I don't know, Claire's memories are starting to flow into my mind, but only some of them," Claire replied in his head.
"Alright, Sarah and I are going out for a bit to get some food for you two. Please don't go anywhere, Dean, and please look after Claire," Jordan said, putting his arm around Sarah.
Sarah turned to look at Jordan. Then Jordan looked at Sarah as if saying, "We need to talk... outside... give them space." After understanding her husband's intention, Sarah nodded, turned to Dean and smiled, then she turned to look at Claire, who was still sitting on the bed.
"I'll be out for a bit, you stay with Dean for a moment," Sarah said.
"Y-yes, Mom," Claire replied, nodding.
"Just a moment, Dean," Jordan said, smiling.
"Y-yes, sir," Dean replied.
After that, Jordan and Sarah left the room. When the door closed, Dean felt an immense relief. He turned to look at Claire, who seemed stunned and was rubbing her forehead.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked.
"Lots of Claire's memories are flashing through my head... and her feelings are starting to appear... I don't understand," Claire replied.
[That's because Claire left everything in her body when I swallowed her soul. Isn't it good? So you can now live as Claire fully.]
"Yeah, but can we not talk about Claire being swallowed... it makes me feel weird hearing it," Claire (Jenna) said in her head.
[Hohoho... alright.]
"By the way, I watched everything earlier when I was still a ghost. Why did Raymond's form become a terrifying zombie in the dream world and then normal when Dean cut him open?" Claire asked in her head.
[Because evil and corrupt souls attract other evil spirits to gather around them and merge with them. What Dean did was like opening his shell and revealing his true, dirty soul. Because you're a ghost, you could see everything. Normal humans wouldn't be able to.]
"I see, I'm sorry I just learned that, and there's still so much I don't understand," Claire said.
[You'll understand it yourself later. You work with and under Dean, just as Dean is under me.]
"Please don't make my position so clear," Dean said, annoyed.
[Hohoho... everything must be transparent. I don't want to be an arbitrary boss who hides how things work from his employees.]
"Whatever," Dean said, annoyed.
[You two need to get along now.]
They both immediately fell silent. Claire's face flushed with embarrassment, while Dean seemed unfazed, even expressionless, as he was still uncomfortable with his new arrangement.
[And for you Dean, please get along with your in-laws as well.]
"Whatever... and shut up," Dean grumbled in his head.
"Thanks Dean, for saving me, made me alive again and now stayed with me," Claire said with genuine smile.
"O...okay, you're welcome," Dean replied with red cheeks.
At this moment, Dean had no idea that Claire wasn't his only soul partner. Many more soul partners were waiting for him to come. And of course, his debt would swell even more than it was now.
A female detective almost dead because her superior trapped her, a lonely and miserable mystery-loving high school girl, a medical student intending to end her own life due to blackmail, the spirit of a little girl abandoned by her parents, and finally, a female reporter and photographer covering a dangerous persons.