Author's Note: Let the weirdness begin. So I thought I'd warn y'all that from this point on, this will be a primarily Lumi-focused story. C'mon, like you didn't see it coming—it's pretty much been a Lumi story all along, right? Fortunately for me, Philip and Belle are now much more secondary characters in a greater Lumi scheme. There will still be some funny Phelle moments but from here on out, I'm shifting gears. It's for the best really. They're really hard for me to write for because I don't know as much about their characters—certainly not as much as I know about Lucas and Sami. I don't want to butcher them so if you were waiting for some good Phelle stuff, I apologize profusely for leading you on but I hope you still read and enjoy.
Also, I whipped this puppy out at around midnight when I swore I wasn't gonna write another chapter today and I would finally go to bed at a decent hour. So much for that plan—I got sucked in. Forgive my typos and rest assured that I'll fix them later and don't be too surprised if you see a re-write of this chapter.
I almost forgot. I rewrote the last paragraph of Chapter 8 to make a smoother transition to this chapter. I'll include it here in case you don't want to go back and read it.
CHAPTER 8 (excerpt)
The last time Philip looked, Sami had been heading to her bedroom in a huff. Since his back was to her he didn't notice the shimmering cloud that Sami walked right through but he instantly felt strange as he was unable to move his body from his position in front of the door.
CHAPTER NINELucas felt as if he had regressed about 20 years as he crawled around the floor in what seemed like a futile attempt to escape Belle. Unfortunately for him, she just kept sing-song-ing Philip's name over and over again like that was really going to make him swoon with desire. If he caught her first, he might have to ring her neck just to shut her up—she was giving him a headache. What he wouldn't give to be back on that warm, comfortable couch with Sami in his arms instead of trapped in his brother's body running from his horny future sister-in-law.
He could hear the faint shuffling of her bare feet against the floor and he could tell that she was gaining on him. 'Maybe I should just make a mad dash for the door. It's not like she could follow me.' But in the state she was in, she would probably do just that. Women.
What Lucas couldn't see from the floor was Belle shamelessly stalking him around the couch not even noticing when she stepped through a shimmering cloud of empty space. It looked kind of weird but Belle figured that her vision was being blurred by the desire she felt for Philip. She could never have suspected what was in store for her in the near future.
But, of course, Lucas didn't see any of this so when the yelling started he found himself completely unprepared.
"He is such a fucking stupid, selfish...man! I hate Lucas Roberts right now!" Lucas was shocked not only at the strange change in Belle's mood but also her use of such colorful language. He had never imagined Belle would curse like that with such venom—it sounded so odd to hear those words coming out of her mouth. Not to mention the fact that she had cursed his name and seemingly out of the blue.
"'I'm just going to go back to my apartment'" Sami whined in a mocking voice. "He is so clueless and I'm going to make him sweat this one out. And why is it so fucking cold in here! Stupid Lucas probably left all the windows open just to irritate me."
Lucas could not believe what he was hearing. He wasn't able to see from where he was crouched down on the floor but he could swear that even though he hadn't heard a knock or the door sliding open, Sami Brady had somehow gotten into the room. And she was not happy—apparently not happy with him in particular. And for some reason she sounded a lot like Belle. But that was ridiculous, of course. It couldn't be...unless...
No fucking way!
It sounded like Sami had stopped ranting long enough to figure out something was wrong with her current situation. "Oh great! Now I'm going crazy. Maybe I fell and hit my head or Lucas threw something at me to get even because it looks an awful lot like I'm at Belle's place." She finally looked down at herself and discovered that not only was she obviously in Belle's loft, but that she was not wearing a stitch of clothes. "Where is my damn nightgown! Why in God's name am I walking around Belle's apartment naked."
Lucas, having gone through this already, thought it might be a good time for him to make an appearance and explain things. At least she hadn't woken up in a lip-lock with her future in-law--and if she had, Philip was in serious trouble. It grossed him out just thinking about it.
As Sami continued to inspect herself and her surroundings, Philip, a.k.a. Lucas popped up from the other side of the couch. She didn't notice him standing there so lost in her inspection but when she did she let out a blood-curdling scream that was probably breaking glass and popping eardrums over in the next block.
"Philip, what is going on? How did I get here? And why are you hiding in the corner while I'm standing here completely naked." She looked around frantically for something to cover herself up with and found the robe that Belle had discarded a few moments ago. "Did you enjoy the view? I always knew you were a little pervert just like your brother."
"Wait, no, you don't understand. I can explain..."
"Oh, you better explain you creepy bastard," Sami yelled as she slid the robe on. "You wait until I tell Belle about this and you can just kiss that little obsession goodbye."
Lucas began walking towards her to grab her arms but then thought better of it. "You're going to have to calm down. This is some messed up stuff and we need to figure it out."
"I've already got it figured out. Somehow you drugged me or knocked me out, took off all my clothes and brought me over here, Lord knows why. I bet your psycho of a mother has something to do with it. Seeing Lucas propose to me finally pushed her over the edge. I don't know what kind of sick, twisted game this is but when I get to the bottom of it, somebody's coming out in a body bag. And to think I always figured you were a nice kid—a little pathetic but nice." She watched suspiciously as he tried walking toward her but she backed up quickly and held her arm out in a clear warning. "You keep your distance Philip Kiriakis or I can guarantee that you'll lose a limb."
Lucas had heard enough. She needed to get a grip and now. "Would you shut the Hell up Sami! God, if you would stop ranting for a second you'd realize that no one in their right mind would punish themselves by trying to kidnap you. Or if they did, they'd turn around and bring your smart ass back after they had a sample of that gigantic mouth of yours."
Sami stood there in shock at Philip's words. She would expect such statements from Lucas but she never figured that Philip would have it in him to talk to her like that. Whatever the reason, he was giving her a headache. She already felt really weird. She sounded strange too but she thought it might be because of whatever drug they had used on her.
Now that he had her attention, he needed to break it to her gently that for some odd reason, they had jumped into their siblings bodies. He didn't even think Sami realized yet that she had miraculously transformed into Belle Black in the space of a few seconds. Lucas tried his best Sami-soothing voice on her even though it sounded funny coming out of Philip's mouth.
"Sami, I know you're feeling strange and confused but you need to listen to me right now. It's very important that you hear what I have to say." He walked up to her and took her by the arm. From the looks of things she was finally understanding that something was amiss with her body. He pulled her towards the bathroom and was a little surprised when she didn't protest.
"Sami, I know it sounds impossible but for some reason you have been put into Belle's body. I assume that she was put into yours too and is at your apartment right now but you need to realize the seriousness of this situation." He looked into her eyes for any sign that this was sinking in. Unfortunately, Sami was giving him a look that told him she clearly thought he was a psychotic freak and had lost his mind. Really, he didn't blame her. He had a hard time believing it too and he had been living it for the past half hour.
To Lucas' surprise, Sami then burst out laughing. "Surely you and Kate could have thought of something better than that story? I would have expected a lot more from the Mistress of Manipulation and her spy wannabe son. But I will give you points for originality." Lucas could see the rage boiling up on Belle's face and if there was any doubt that Sami was in there it had been completely erased by that one look.
"That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. I can tell you one thing though. If you don't get your crazy, kidnapping hands off me right now, you do not even want to think about what I'm going to do to you." She looked up at him bitterly with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "And I thought you were on our side Philip. Lucas is going to kill both of you, you know. Kate needs to get it through her slutty skull that Lucas loves me and there's nothing she can do about it. Did you know that she promised Lucas that she was going to make a truce with me? I knew she wouldn't be able to hold up her end of the bargain. I should have told off that cow a million times and I almost screwed up my future with Lucas because of my loathing of her. But I realize now that I don't need to get even with her as long as I have Lucas' love and support. Maybe one day she'll learn that."
Lucas was stunned by her outburst but only momentarily. He knew he could lose Sami at any moment and he had to make her see the truth. So without concern for the safety of his brother's body, he grabbed Sami by the shoulders and turned her around to face the mirror.
"Don't you grab me you pint-sized gorilla! I don't care if you're a Marine, you can't treat me this way and I'll make sure you pay. I can't believe how awful this night has turned out to be. I was so happy celebrating my engagement to Lucas in the privacy of my home. Then Lucas had to go and prove what a big disappointment he can be sometimes just in time for you and your bitch of a mother to kidnap and humiliate me." Sami glanced into the mirror and continued with her angry tirade with no sign of stopping. "And now to add insult to injury, I seem to have magically transformed into my sister Belle. Oh, I bet you love that Philip since you—" Sami stopped and looked back into the mirror. For the first time she was registering that she had indeed swapped bodies with her sister.
"Oh. My. God." Sami got as close to the mirror as she could get and tapped it with her finger to make sure it was real. She then proceeded to poke and prod her face and body while the reality of the situation became clear to her.
"See Sami, I told you. Listen we have to figure something out. I've been thinking about it ever since I woke up and—" But Sami had already calmly walked out of the bathroom. He followed her as she went over to the sofa and lay down across it. She grabbed a blanket that had been hanging on the back and covered herself.
"What the Hell are you doing? This is serious Sami, we've got to find out what's going on." He was already irritated from dealing with Belle and his patience was wearing very thin right now. He could endure the insults she had spewed out about his mother and brother because he knew she was in shock. Plus he was kind of touched by her words—call him crazy but leave it to Sami Brady to melt his heart while calling his mother a crazy, manipulative bitch.
"I've got it figured out Philip," Sami said calmly. "I must be dreaming. My subconscious almost had me—this is so vivid—but I'm not falling for it. I wonder why you're here though. No offense but I can't imagine why in the world I would need to conjure you up."
Sami was cracking up. He had to act fast. "Sami, listen to me. I am not Philip. I'm Lucas. The same thing happened to me about a half hour ago. You are not dreaming and neither am I." For extra emphasis he gave her a pinch on her ass which conveniently for him was the closest place he had access to.
"Oh you're Lucas, of course. Now it all makes sense." Sami turned back over and closed her eyes as if Lucas hadn't spoken to her at all. That pinch sure did feel real though. "This must be one of those lucid dreams I read about " She snuggled into her blanket and resumed her obvious trip to fantasyland. "Well 'Lucas'," she said with emphasis, "I'm just going to go back to sleep and maybe when I get up, I'll be myself again and I'll be back in my apartment with some clothes on. Goodnight and see you around." Sami rolled over with her back to Lucas who was sitting at the edge of the couch.
'Ok, now I've got to resort to drastic measure.' He knew it was very likely to piss her off but now was not the time for subtlety or fear of Sami Brady's wrath. He grabbled the bottom of her blanket and the bottom of her robe and pulled until Sami flopped unceremoniously to the floor.
"Philip, you bastard. Get out of my dream before I do serious harm that you'll feel in the waking world." She scurried to get back on the couch but Lucas just grabbed a hold of her shoulders and forced her to look at him. He scared even himself with the intensity of his words.
"For God's sake Sami, I AM Lucas, you are NOT dreaming and we both are in some deep shit right now. You know it's me because I'm the one who you told all your little secrets to when we were teenagers. I remember the first day I saw you backstage at that Cherish concert—not really my finest hour but what a way to make a first impression, right. I was there for you after Alan raped you and all those times that Austin disappointed you. You always confided in me then before things got bad between us. I can recite to you right now, every horrible insult that I threw at you over the years—all the horrible things my mother and I did to you." He could tell that he had her attention as she listened to him ramble on about their long history. He hated to remember some of those times but she needed to understand.
I know you know about Franco's death and our little trip to Italy. Philip wouldn't know those things. He also wouldn't know those sweet things you said to me in that cave during Will's camping trip--even those things you won't admit to saying. Philip wouldn't know that for some reason I'll never understand, you only use soap that doesn't have a scent but your neck always smells like the lavender lotion you use before going to bed. I know that you hold your breath and swallow 5 times to get rid of hiccups and that you check on Will two times every night while he's sleeping. I bet no one knows how perfect you felt on that one night when I wanted you to feel just how special you were to me—or how you felt all those years later when we made love for the second time. I told you I loved you that night, remember? You called me out on it. There's never been anyone that makes me feel the way that you do Sami Brady. That's what I figured out when I asked you at least three times tonight to spend the rest of your life with me."
Sami couldn't believe that these words were coming out of Philip's mouth. There was no way he could have known some of that stuff. Only Lucas would know.
"Lucas?" Sami whispered while holding what looked like Philip's face in her hand—Belle's hand actually. "How can it be you?"
She was starting to cry now and even though she was in Belle's body, it didn't make it any easier for him to watch. He slid her over on the couch and held her in his arms. "I don't know, baby," Lucas said while rocking her and wiping her tears away. "I just know that we need to get through this together. We need to figure this out, sweetie. Can you help me?"
Sami looked up at him with Belle's tear-streaked face. Maybe it was his imagination but he swore he could see her in there. She stared at him for a moment and then slowly nodded her head. "Ok, General. So now what do we do."
Lucas let out a huge sigh of relief. Now that he had jumped that hurdle he could move on to the next one. But at least he wouldn't be doing it alone.
"We'll figure it out Sami. I promise." He then absentmindedly kissed her on the top of her head. It felt a little weird but it felt right too. Still, neither noticed the strange glances they were giving each other.
"Lucas?"
"Yeah, baby."
"I love you and I'm so glad that I'm not going through this alone." He gave her a supportive squeeze and continued to caress her arms and back. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Could you let go of me? No offense to your brother but I feel very weird laying here naked in his arms if you know what I mean."
Lucas immediately let her go with relief written all over his face. He moved to the far end of the couch and wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. "I thought you'd never ask."