Disclaimer: I do not belong the characters or anything else you recognize in this fic. Passions belongs to NBC, JER and a couple of other people, I'm sure. I am not making any money off of this. I write fanfic purely for pleasure, although I'm not opposed to receiving feedback :)

Posted: Thursday, June 19, 2003

Summary: A spell gone awry leaves both Grace and Ivy acting strangely. Sam/Grace and Sam/Ivy.

Note: This is my first Passions fanfic. I hope you enjoy. It takes place after Grace and John did the DNA test to determine whether or not he was her son, but since it doesn't deal with any of the stuff after Theresa declares herself Mrs. Julian Crane, let's just say it branches off there. I have, however, messed with the timeline a bit and had Grace's conversation about Kay's feelings for Miguel happen already.

Only the epilogue left to come.

Also note that I have Support Services. That means that if you want to receive notice of when the next part is out, add me to your Author Alerts. Even if you don't have Support Services, you will receive an e-mail when I update.


Corpus et Animus
Part 5/6

While intellectually Ivy knew that her stint in Grace's body couldn't go on indefinitely without anyone finding out, fear still seized her when she entered the Bennett's living room and saw everyone gathered there, staring at her with the hateful glare she was very used to receiving in her own body. Just in case she was mistaken, she swallowed the cold lump that had formed in her throat and asked, "What's going on?"

"Save it, Ivy," the wheelchair-bound blonde spat. "They know."

"Sam?" Ivy sought out her love's face and was hurt - if not surprised - to see his anger.

"What did you do to her? What did you do to my wife?"

"I didn't do anything," Ivy insisted, dropping all pretenses. There was no point in continuing the act.

"Don't play innocent with us, Ivy," Eve sneered. "We know you're you and we know Grace is Grace; you obviously did something."

"I didn't. I just woke up and here I was." She motioned to the body she was currently inhabiting and shrugged in a self-deprecating manner, hoping it would help her to look more like an innocent victim.

Grace snorted - and it made Ivy's body look very undignified, Ivy thought. "Like we're supposed to believe that. You had to have done something. It's all part of another one of your schemes to get Sam."

Her voice became very shrill at the end and Ethan automatically snapped, "Mother!" He stopped about halfway through the word, looked utterly baffled, and tried to correct himself. "I mean Mrs. Bennett. Umm Grace. Umm . . ."

Gwen patted Ethan on the hand comfortingly, then firmly interrupted him before he could make a further fool out of himself. Looking Ivy directly in the eye, she said, "It is a little hard to believe. I mean people don't just wake up in each other's bodies for no reason."

"But that's what happened." Ivy had no idea how to prove her innocence, which in itself ought to have tipped off the others. She always had an excuse for her own schemes, even if the excuses didn't always work as well as she hoped.

"It's Harmony," Rebecca supplied. "These things happen all the time. Houses being sucked into hell . . . strange mists . . . I don't see why Ivy and Grace switching bodies is any different."

Ivy looked at her unlikely ally suspiciously. Rebecca was standing at the side of the room, drinking heavily from a snifter. Where she had gotten the drink Ivy didn't know; Goody Grace was not the sort to stock heavy alcohol in her house. "Exactly. Thank you, Rebecca." Her voice betrayed her bewilderment over why Julian's mistress wanted to help her.

Hearing the unspoken question, Rebecca slammed down the glass, spilling some onto her hands, and said vehemently, "There's no way I'm sharing a house and an ex-husband with Grace Bennett!" She pointed at Ivy, stopped, and moved the finger to Grace in Ivy's body, at which point her finger faltered and began to droop.

Ivy decided to give her the benefit of the doubt - just this once since she was helping Ivy - and assume the confusion was due to the fact that Rebecca was clearly well on her way to being completely sloshed.

"Even if that's true, that still doesn't explain why you pretended to be Grace and didn't tell anyone." Sam's voice was rough with anger.

"That's because she's behind it! It was all one of her schemes to get Sam." Grace was practically in hysterics and Ivy got the feeling that the only thing that was stopping her from attacking was the paralysis.

"At first I thought it was a dream," Ivy replied, a bit angry. For once she was innocent and she wasn't going to take the blame for something she didn't do. "What else could it be? Like Gwen said, you don't just wake up to find yourself in somebody else's body. By the time I figured out it wasn't a dream - well, who'd believe me? You'd all think I was crazy."

Ethan and Gwen shifted uncomfortably while Eve said, hypocritically Ivy learned quickly, "You expect us to believe that, Ivy?"

At the same time, Rebecca slurred, "Ivy's right. We were calling in the men with the straight jackets when Ivy said she wasn't Ivy." She drained the rest of her drink, then looked down at the empty glass despondently. "Grace is Ivy is Grace. I need another drink."


"Timmy's confused."

Tabitha tore her attention away from the drama in the Bennett's living room. "What's confusing?"

"If Ivy didn't cast the spell, then how did she and Grace switch bodies?"

"Haven't you been paying attention, Timmy? Kay cast the spell," Tabitha explained impatiently.

"But why would Kay want to switch Grace and Ivy's bodies, Princess?"

"Kay thought she was casting a spell to get Zombie Blondie back under control, but she had the wrong book and the wrong spell."

"That's the other thing Timmy doesn't understand," the Pinocchian boy said. "How did that book get into Princess' attic? Timmy's never seen Spells of Suffering before."

"That's where I come in."

Tabitha silently groaned before turning around to face the fake Charity. If there was one thing the zombie knew, it was how to make an entrance. She had struck a pose against the doorpost, arms outstretched as if to say "ta-da!"

"Zombie Charity! What do you have to do with this mess?" Timmy exclaimed.

Tabitha rolled her eyes. As much as she loved the lad, some days it was obvious he had stuffing in the place of brains.

Zombie Charity sauntered over. "I knew it was only a matter of time before Kay tried something. She's been getting too bossy lately. So I planted the fake book."

"But why did Zombie Charity want to switch Grace and Ivy?"

"I didn't. At least that wasn't the plan, just a happy byproduct. I just wanted to spread evil and chaos. Our friends in the basement have filled me in on what's happened, and what a good job I've done, if I do say so myself!" She squealed and clapped her hands.

"It has been fun," Tabitha admitted. She sighed. "Pity it won't last."

"Why won't it last?" Timmy started to ask, but Zombie Charity, tired of the explanations, shushed him. "We're missing the fun!" She pushed Tabitha aside and peered into the scrying bowl. Tabitha thought of saying something, but was also anxious to see what was happening, so let it lie. She stared into the water and allowed herself to be drawn back into the drama unfolding next door.


"That has nothing to do with why you didn't tell anyone," Grace snapped. "You aren't fooling anyone, Ivy. This was all one of your schemes. I don't know how you did it, but it's all your fault."

"Now listen," Ivy started, losing her patience. "I had nothing to do with it. I have no idea how this happened or how to get it to stop. Do you think I like being stuck in your body? Seeing your face whenever I look in the mirror? I don't. I want my own body back but I have no idea how to get it." As she spoke, she too a few purposeful steps closer to Grace. Sam hurried over to restrain her, but as it turned out, it wasn't Ivy he had to worry about.

Grace, in a move Ivy thought physically impossible, launched herself out of her chair and knocked Ivy to the ground. "Give me back my body," she screeched. Ivy felt Grace's thumbs press into her throat. She couldn't breath. Everyone was shouting, but Ivy could make out what anyone was saying.

Her last thought was that the pressure on her throat was lessening, and then everything went black.

End Part Five