Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

I have to credit this idea to my brother in law. He was standing in the kitchen one day talking about the TV show Wife Swap or Trading Spouses I don't know which, but I got to thinking and tuned him out. What would happen if they swapped and something else happened? What if they fell in love? What if an affair started? So many questions… so, the birth of my latest story.

This chapter we will find out about Bella and how she finds herself in the middle of the popular TV show Exchanging Companions. We will find out about what she was doing prior to the show.

Happy Reading

Exchanging Companions

Chapter 1

BPOV

My life was comfortable and easy. I was a Kindergarten teacher at Forks Elementary School, and my husband, Jake; he owns an auto shop out of the small two-door garage at his dad's house. Billy doesn't mind having the makeshift garage there, but Jake is quickly outgrowing the building.

Jacob and I had been friends since we were little. We used to make mud pies in the backyard of my father's house. As we grew up our relationship became comfortable, he was my best friend and confidant. We never dated and never entertained the thought.

Straight out of high school, Jake married his high school sweet heart and my best friend, Sarah. Sarah quickly became pregnant, and before long, they were struggling to make ends meet. I came home from college when Sierra was born, and loved the little girl with all my heart. She has beautiful black hair and big dark eyes; she could make anyone instantly fall in love with her.

I went back to school to finish my degree. Two years later, I returned home to find Sarah pregnant again. Thing were extremely tight on the couple, and Jake had to take a job at the local mill to help support his growing family.

Sarah had taken to working at the local dinner when she found out she was pregnant, and figured she could work all the way to the end. A month before Riley was supposed to be born; Sarah was coming around a curve on Highway 101 from Forks, when one of those big mill trucks ran her off the road.

Thankful there was another car a good way behind her, and saw the whole thing. However, it didn't save Sarah, and just barely saved Riley. She spent months in the NICU.

Jake not only lost the love of his life that day, but he almost lost Riley too. I stepped in to help him deal with everything. I handled Sarah's funeral, and fixed everything so life would be easier for Jake when he came home. I took care of Sierra so Jake could focus on grieving for his wife, and focusing on taking care of his daughter.

When Riley came home, things didn't get any better. Sarah had been the rock that held Jake together and he didn't know much about taking care of the kids, because Sarah had spoiled him. I stayed with Jake so much and helped him learn everything that I even gave up getting a job. It wasn't until Ri was a year old that things changed in our relationship.

I couldn't leave him with the children, and we worked so well as a team. I guess at some point I fell in love with the man that he was. Riley and Sierra were just as much my children as they were Sarah's. Sierra remembered little things about Sarah, but Ri had nothing to go on. We didn't talk about the accident, but we did honor the fact that she was their mother and I wasn't. They never called me Mom, but I stepped into that position and I loved them as a mother would. They usually just called me Bella or whatever they could pronounce during that stage of life.

Two years after the accident, Jake and I got married. Ri was two, and I had finally gotten a job at Forks Elementary. We got married so the girls could reap the benefits of my health insurance. I never adopted them, but Jake and I did sign documents allowing me to be their legal guardian and make decisions in regards to them, which allowed me to place them on my health insurance.

Things were going great for us and the last five years had been interesting. Jake and I didn't want any more kids. I thought of the girls as my own so I didn't see the need for a child of my own with him. I stayed on my birth control constantly; because there was no way I has having a baby and Jake wasn't going to use condoms the whole time. We had moments that scared the ever-loving shit out of us, but I stayed consistent with my medication.

Everything was fine until two weeks ago. Jake was acting weird lately and I couldn't figure out what was going on with him.

He came home one afternoon with this bright idea, or so he thought.

"What would you say about doing a TV show?" he asked during dinner.

I laughed; like anyone would want to see a show about us.

"I'm being serious Bella," he lightly scolded.

"Who would want to see what happens in our family Jake? We are plain, nothing."

I shrugged I didn't understand what had gotten into him.

"They take applications over the internet, and we could earn $50,000 just for doing the show," he stated around a mouthful of lasagna.

"Is that so, and which show are you thinking of putting us on." I was still thinking he had completely lost his mind at this point. The money sounded good, and we could use it to pay off the doublewide we had just bought. God knows we were going to be in debit for thirty years for this little model.

"Exchanging Companions," he stated quietly, but I still heard him.

"What?"

"You know that show where the wives traded places for two weeks. Experience the other existence, and then at the end they decided where the money is distributed."

"I don't know about that Jake," I stated.

"Just think about it Bella. I have to head back out I am looking at buildings again."

Jake was looking at moving his current location to a bigger one hoping to bring in more business. Once he was gone, I sat there thinking about what he had purposed.

I couldn't even finish eating my food at this point. I didn't want another woman in my house, and I sure as hell didn't want some diva sticking her nose where it didn't belong. I wasn't jealous of Jake, I mean; it wasn't like he was going to leave me. I wondered if this was the reason for his funky attitude toward me.

Of course, it could be the fact that this is the time of year that the auto shop has the hardest time making money. One thing I noticed about the auto business was it had waves. Times when the money was really good, and Jake was so busy he couldn't even get home for dinner. Then there were times where he just stood around the shop with his arms folded across his chest, and the money would be nonexistent.

He also wanted to upgrade and get out of the little two-car garage he was currently working out of.

This was why I was currently working two jobs just to make ends meet. During the day, I was a teacher at the local elementary school, teaching kindergartners how to read and write. In the afternoon, I worked at the diner in town as a waitress. During the summer, when school was out I would take care of children in our home, that is if they were not having summer school, and I could teach older kids.

I figured the true reasons for Jake wanting to do the show was to make extra money. He always felt bad that I worked so hard, and he only had the one job. He would try to get others, but there wasn't much in the small town of Forks. His other option was to drive to Port Angeles, which was an hour away. He didn't want to be that fair away in case something happened and I needed the car. Plus, I used the car to get back and forth to work myself.

I couldn't believe what Jacob wanted us to do. I have never entertained the thought of being on TV, let alone being on a show where I would be living with someone else. I was going to live with some woman's husband, and take care of her kids while she was here at my place.

Sometime after dinner before Jake arrived home, I decided I would do the show. I mean, how hard could it be to take care of someone's house and children. I was a teacher; I took care of children all day long. I would treat the husband as if he was l Jake, well, with the exception of sex. I could be hospitable, kind, and caring.

I wanted to make sure that Jake and I were on the same page. I wanted to make sure he understood what we would be getting ourselves into. I stayed up until he was home, and once we were in our bedroom.

"So, why do you want to do this show?" I asked as he stood at the dresser taking off his clothes.

"We need the money Bella. I need to expand, and with you working two jobs money is still tight. I can't get another loan for a new building being we just got the house, but what if we could make the money by giving up two weeks of our life."

"The money won't cover a new building Jake."

"I know that, but dad said he would get the loan for me. All I would have to do was come up with the down payment."

"How much is the down payment?"

"All he wants is $20,000. If I can get the woman that comes here to look at my business, and tell her how much it would mean to us to expand maybe she might go along with my wishes."

"What if she doesn't Jake? The women on those shows are usually the opposite of me, what if she is a rich, snot nosed diva, who thinks more about spas, manicures, and massages. What if she leaves the money for a new wardrobe or a new car? Something we could do without because we can manage. We do it all the time."

I wanted to make him see that this could turn out to be a bad decision for us. If she didn't distribute the money like Jake was thinking, how would going on the show help us?

"I've thought about that too. See I want her to spend as much time as possible down at the garage under the pretenses that you worked there to part time as my accountant, secretary or something. Allow the TV show to film there and show the work that Rose and I do. Maybe we could get a spin off or something."

I scoffed, "Jake do you have stars in your eyes?"

He was being ridiculous with those thoughts.

"What if that doesn't happen? Jake, stop being such a dreamer," I scolded. Jake was never one to step out of our bounds or go off on wild tangents.

"For once in your life Bella take a chance. Take a risk. What if it does work? Would our life be better if it did?"

I knew. What if it did happen? Jake and I would make a good bit of money. But at what cost? I had been told that dreams could come true. I told my children in kindergarten that all the time, but I didn't believe in it. I sighed.

"How do we fill out the application?" I asked before I lost my nerve.

Jake ran out of the room to gather the laptop from the dining room. He sat on the bed and pulled up the webpage to the show. He handed the laptop over to me, and rolled over to go to sleep.

Jake and I had to be legal residents, be legally married, never been convicted of a felony, and I had to list every damn misdemeanor Jake had ever had. This includes all of his traffic violations, which would take some time. Jake wasn't known to drive slowly, and wasn't opposed to running the occasional stop sign or red light.

I was the daughter of the local Chief of Police and held myself to a high standard in driving. That's a lie … I just knew all the cops and could talk my way out of a ticket.

We weren't related to anyone who was involved with the show, we weren't running for any public office, and neither of us had ever been on one of their shows before.

The first part of the application was fairly, simple just the basic information our names, address, my occupation, Jake's occupation. Like I said basic information, but then it just seemed like the wanted to much information. They wanted everything down to our dates of birth and if there was any custody issues between the two of us.

The second part of the application was about household information. I had to list the closest major airport, which was Sea-Tec; located two hours away in Seattle. I told them how long we had resided in our current location, and that we were the owners. Apparently, had we been renting or had a property owner they would have had to contact them.

Now, to describe my house … I sat and thought about the things I loved about my house. I have a four-bedroom two bath doublewide trailer. It sets on a permanent foundation and is about 1500 square feet. We have a beautiful sunroom, den, living room, kitchen, and dining room. The doublewide is brand new and has the most spacious bathtub. It is white on the outside with a red entrance door, and red shutters. We are settled on five acres of land, and nestled in the woods.

I chuckled at the next questions on the list. Who wears the pants and why? Maybe it was a good thing I was filling out this application because Jake would put him, but we all knew I was the one who ruled the house here. If he got to do anything it was because he ran it by me first.

I took care of the entire responsibilities list: childcare, shopping, cleaning, cooking, money, planning social life, kid's homework, and anything else that came our way. Don't get me wrong if Jake wanted us to go somewhere we usually did, but he would always check with me first. For the longest time, my schedule was set it wasn't until I took the extra job at the diner that things changed.

We didn't have pets so that question was fairly simple to answer. So, if the person they selected was allergic to cats they wouldn't have to worry. We didn't even smoke, so that ruled allergies out.

When I got to the questions about dinner, I felt a little guilty. Prior to me taking the second job at the diner, we always had the traditional family dinners. Now a days the girls came to the diner with me, and had dinner while I worked. In between customers, I would assist the girls with their homework. Sometimes, Lauren would sit with the girls and help them.

I didn't want to put this as my answers, so, I replied with the way things were before my second job. I would come home from work at four, and bring the girls with me. I would prepare dinner while they sat at the dining room table, and did their homework. I would stop at times and help them. When Jake would get home we would all sit down and have dinner together. We would talk about our day, and share things with one another.

We didn't have a specific diet per se; we weren't vegetarian or anything like that. I didn't mind eating steak. I monitored the girl's intake of junk food and soda. We didn't have any dietary restrictions or allergies that I needed to make the show aware of.

During the school year the girls schedule was set, and so was mine. We woke every morning at six thirty, dressed and traveled to school. Where the girls would eat breakfast, and then begin their day. Once school was over, they went with me to the diner, and when Jake was done with work, he would come to the diner to eat and collect the girls. When I got home which was usually late. He would already have the girls in bed.

During the summer it was another situation; if I wasn't working we would get up late, and eat breakfast together. Then we would go to the beach, and play with the children on the reservation. Weekends were spent the same way as the summer was. We did our cleaning on Saturdays being it was the only day I had off, and then we would spend the night down on the reservation listening to the elders talk about tribal life. Unless there was something that Jake and I planned to do, then we would leave the girls with Billy to go have dinner or something else romantic.

The next question on the list wasn't exactly hard for me to answer, but I didn't want the other women whipping my children. Our girls were well behaved because we taught them from an early age to respect their elders. If they misbehaved, they would receive proper instructions three times. Once the third warning was issued if they didn't straighten up they would spend time in the corner. Corner time was calculated by the age of each girl.

I was never able to put my girls in the corner for more than two minutes when they were two years old. They wouldn't have been able to sit still long enough.

The warnings would always be issued on their levels so they understood that we didn't look down on them. We showed them respect, so they would learn to also show us the same respect.

The girls rules where simple or they were to us. If you make a mess, you clean it up, if you need help, you ask, and you are never to be mean to one another. No hitting or screaming at one another always be respectful. Ask before you take something, and if the person said no respect their wishes.

I didn't think that Jake and I were strict parents, and there bed times where set because the girls were still growing and needed there rest. We censored their TV time, and in fact, Jake and I hardly watched TV even though we owned one. The biggest work out the TV got was when Charlie would come over to watch the game on Sundays. The girls were allowed an hour a day for video games, internet, and things of that nature, but it was supervised by Jake or myself. It really just depended on who was home.

I lied on the next couple of questions on the application especially when they asked why my family should be selected to participate in the show. I put something down along the lines of being excited to spread our love of one another with the others that would join our family for two weeks. This was what to me set my family apart, we loved and care about one another greatly.

If I was given the chance to participate in this show, I wanted to show other children, and their families; compassion, understanding, caring, and the kindness we all have for each other. I don't know what the other family could teach us, and didn't know how to respond to that question. I racked my brain for hours trying to figure out something the other family could teach my own, but came up short and decided to leave the question blank.

Tired of filling out the application for tonight I saved what I had worked on and snuggled deep into the covers.

~EC~

The following morning I didn't have time to look at the application, and pretty much didn't think about it anymore until after working my shift at the diner.

If it wasn't for Jake, I would have left the application until months down the road. I wasn't in any hurry to have the show knocking on our door, and if something good came out of the situation, then so be it.

It wasn't until Saturday came around that I was finally able to get back to the application. I took a deep breath, opened the application, and was struck with the first question. How would you describe your relationship with your partner?

Jake was a good guy and a great father. He was loving and romantic. He never abused me or did anything out of the way toward me. He respected my wishes, and stayed away when I was mad. There were times he did stupid stuff or said stupid things and it was during those times I wanted to choke the ever-loving shit out of him. But, he was loyal and trustworthy. Our situation was such as, more friends with benefits than actual lovers, but I didn't put that on the application.

Our relationship with the kids was great. We went to church every Sunday, and it was usually on the reservation. We followed the traditions of the tribe as close as we could.

I would be whom I was when I was with the other family, but I wouldn't force them to do anything. I would explain my opinions, but leave the option to them. I didn't want to go into the house making waves with everyone. That wasn't who I was, and I might make suggestions. But, no forcing or demanding they follow me or else.

We all had seen an episode of the show, and I wasn't impressed to say the least. Jake seemed to like it all right, but I wouldn't let the girls watch at all. Some of the things exhibited in the show didn't set well with me. Of course, I didn't put that in the application. I just simply stated a yes, and didn't know which episode it was.

I hated answering some of the questions they asked they were almost too personal and not information I really wanted broadcasted to the whole world. We pinched pennies to have the things we had. We sacrificed and did without to make sure the girls had a good healthy home. That was the best way I would describe our financial situation. I would never spend extra for something that wasn't needed, and it was often times hard to make ends meet.

The only thing in the world that pissed me off about people was when they assumed we were poor. Did we have it rough? Yes. Did we do without? Yes. But, we had love and we had one another and as long as we had those things we could get through anything together. That was something Jake and I learned early on when Sarah died.

I had to explain how I was raised and it was the same things we had instilled in the girls. As a young child I was more of the tomboy who would rather dig in the mud and get my hands dirty than to sit with a pretty dress on and worry about getting dirty. I never cried if I broke a nail, and it wasn't the end of the world if something happened that I didn't like. The only things that changed from my high school days until now, is I didn't let people's opinions of me matter anymore. I wasn't in a popularity contest anymore, and I didn't see the need to impress people.

We never used drugs. None of us used prescription medication. None of us had anything wrong that I could think of. The children didn't have issues, we all were relatively healthy.

Neither Jake nor I have been arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime. We had never been in trouble so those questions were the easiest to answer.

We had never filed bankruptcy or chapter 11. Never participated in any TV, radio, or film before; we had never been a contestant on a game show, and never competed in a TV show. Hell this was the first show we had ever applied for.

When the application was completed and signed. I quickly mailed it off and waited to see if we would be selected to participate in the show.

~EC~

It took about a month to hear anything back from the show. Jake walked into the house hollering at the top of his lungs.

"Where in," he hollered.

"I heard you Jake, what are we in," I hollered from the kitchen where I was preparing dinner. Jake was home early tonight.

"The show; we made it, here look at the letter."

He handed me the letter after I wiped my hands on the dishtowel that hung from my waist.

Dear Black Family,

We would like to congratulate your family for being selected to participate in the show Exchanging Companions.

The episode you have been selected for will begin shooting in August 5th through August 19th, 2012.

Mrs. Isabella Black will be heading to Portland, Oregon on August 4th, your ticket will be covered by the show, and you should receive them closer to time of shooting. You will be staying with Mr. Edward Cullen and his two daughters for the duration of your stay.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Aro Volturi, producer at 1-888-785-8765 ext 456.

If for some reason you must cancel for the above dates please be advised that there is no guarantee that we will be able to use your family in another episode.

Once again congratulations, and we will be seeing you soon.

Sincerely,

Aro Volturi, Producer

A/N: All right, let me know what you think. How do you think things will go? Have you ever wondered what happened once the wives swapped in those shows? I have and now we potentially find out what could happen if the conditions are right. Leave some love in the way of reviews.