Lucas and Sami just looked across the couch at each other for a moment trying to take it all in. Sami had stopped crying by now and appeared deep in thought about something. Although Philip had grown up around her, she had never really stopped to take in his appearance since he'd reached adulthood. He was a nice looking guy—a little too bulky for her taste but she assumed some girls were into that. He was more fair than Lucas and his hair was a lighter color which wasn't really her thing. She liked her men tall dark and handsome. In Lucas' case, two out of three wasn't bad.
But Lucas had many redeeming qualities himself. He had the perfect body in her opinion—not too cut or overly bulky but very strong. It was a pleasant transformation from the little pipsqueak he had been when they first met. They fit each other's bodies so well too. There was no need to do much adjusting since they just seemed to mold against each other in the perfect compliment.
Although both brothers were pretty arrogant they were both nice guys at heart. Philip had certainly had his bad moments but she secretly appreciated how much he had been there for Belle when her pathetic excuse for a boyfriend skipped town on her. She loved her cousin Shawn Brady but she was still mad that he didn't even have the decency to break up with Belle in person. Was he locked up in a cage somewhere in the boonies and couldn't get to a phone? He could have at least called her.
Lucas, on the other hand, had a history of being cruel especially when it came to her. But it hadn't always been that way and she knew deep in her heart that she gave as good as she got—even better most of the time. However, things were different now and had been for a long time. Most importantly, Lucas loved her. She was ready to trust that now.
One thing was for sure though. Lucas was one hundred times better in bed than Philip could ever hope to be. The thought of his clumsy advances made Sami break into a sudden smile.
Lucas looked at Sami with amusement as she began to laugh. "Hey, what are you thinking about over there?"
She tried to suppress her grin but wasn't quite successful. "Oh nothing really. I was just thinking about you...and Philip. I was thinking about how different you two are."
"Comparing us how?" Lucas asked suspiciously. He had a sinking feeling that he probably didn't really want to know but he wasn't going to be able to concentrate until he found out how well his little brother had gotten to know his future sister-in-law.
Sami could tell where Lucas' mind had gone. She was going to have a little fun with him but decided that that would be a little too cruel. "Don't worry, nothing happened. The last thing I remember is yelling at him and throwing him—I mean you—out of my apartment."
Lucas couldn't help but feel sorry for Philip. He was used to Sami's unpredictable and volatile behavior but someone like Philip might not be able to handle it. He tried to stick up for his little brother and find out what exactly happened while he was gone. "Aww, Sami. That was uncalled for. I'm sure he didn't do anything."
"Hmph, that was the problem in the first place," Sami replied impulsively. She directed her attention back over to Lucas and noticed that the concerned look had returned to his face.
"What the Hell does that mean Sami? You better not tell me that Philip was leaving his mark on my territory if you know what I mean."
"Marking your territory? You've got to be kidding, Lucas! It was YOUR body." She started to laugh again as his expression quickly filled with jealousy and annoyance.
"I don't care Sami. He shouldn't be touching you. You're his brother's woman! He should know better no matter what kind of crazy situation we're in."
"Okay, Lucas, calm down. It's not his fault. We really didn't get that far at all and the whole thing was pretty strange anyway. But this does now explain a lot about what was going on with you—or him rather." She decided that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to give him too many of the details although in an odd sort of way, she was flattered that Philip had found her irresistible. "I thought you had woken me up to make love but when I started getting into it, it seemed like you weren't feeling it anymore. So I got mad at you and ordered you to make mad, passionate love to me and when I thought you had stopped making an effort, I yelled at you and kicked you out."
Lucas looked at her suspiciously to see if she was lying or keeping something from him. It was hard to tell seeing as how she now looked like one of the sweetest, most honest citizens of Salem. Even so, he knew she couldn't pull a fast one on him. "Well..." He continued scrutinizing her as she stared back innocently looking like ever the truthful Belle. "I guess that's not ideal but I suppose I don't have to beat my brother into a bloody pulp just yet."
"You really think you could take him, Lucas?" Sami shot back jokingly. She was really walking a fine line but she couldn't resist. "Just look at yourself right now."
Lucas knew that Sami was playing with him now and he wasn't going to let her get the best of him. "You're looking pretty different yourself. I don't think I've seen you look this..." He looked her up and down as she lay on the couch in Belle's robe and nothing else. "...Innocent. Come to think of it, I've never seen you look innocent Samantha." Lucas then sat back and without even thinking, shot her a lascivious looking smirk.
She laughed even harder at him as he tried to soothe his bruised ego. She marveled at his ability to give her that infuriating smirk even while in Philip's body. She'd show him though. She had a few questions of her own.
Lucas felt Sami's mood turn from playful to serious as she fixed him with a semi-deadly glare. "Speaking of which. Exactly what were you doing when I got here? If my memory serves me correctly, you were somewhere in this room while I was standing here bare-ass naked." Lucas' satisfied smirk disappeared in a heartbeat and was placed with a look of fear. "That's what I thought! Would you mind explaining that to me?"
"Sami, no, you can't think—I would never..." Lucas stumbled around trying to find the words to explain the really compromising situation it looked like he'd been in. Actually, it didn't look like it, it was a compromising situation—except Belle had been feeling a lot more compromising than he had.
Sami knew that she was insecure when it came to Lucas and other women but she was fairly certain that he could never have taken advantage of Belle. She was a baby to him. That didn't mean that she wasn't going to make him sweat it out though, especially after his last remark. He only had himself to blame.
Lucas had been trying unsuccessfully to explain and after his third try he was finally able to get his story out. Sami noticed the look of relief on his face as she laughed harder and harder throughout the story. "Oh my God, I would have paid to see that!" she said.
"Well, I'm glad you found my painful situation so funny. I'll have you know that I am now traumatized for life."
"Oh please, Lucas, this is my beautiful little sister we're talking about. You cannot tell me that you weren't a little turned on by having a sexy, co-ed virgin chasing you around and trying to jump your bones."
"Yes, she's your beautiful sister and I'm not disputing that she's attractive. But it's the 'little' part that was so gross. Sami, we were practically grown when those two were born," he said pointing to himself too. "Well at least I was." Sami gave him an annoyed look and he figured he better move on. "It was like they were babies just a few years ago." Lucas then looked a little nostalgic. "They grow up so fast, you know."
"Yeah, they do. Especially around here it seems." Now Sami had a wistful expression as well. "Sometimes, even I feel like a few years of my life just zipped by." Lucas had no idea what she was talking about but just smiled and nodded.
"I'm sorry I teased you Lucas. I know you wouldn't take advantage of Belle." Lucas continued to smile warmly at her. "I was just playing. You know if I even suspected that you had touched her I'd cut you up in a thousand pieces, stuff you in those Ziplock bags—you know the gallon sized ones—and I'd ship you special delivery to your mother's doorstep in a pretty package." Sami couldn't read Lucas' amused expression but he was smugly thinking that he did indeed know her very well.
"Trust me, you have nothing to worry about." Sami continued. "At the risk of stroking your already gigantic ego, I must say that Philip could never even dream of being as good as you in bed. But you better watch out--he might develop a little crush on me and you know how obsessive Philip can be when it comes to the ladies." Brother or not, Lucas couldn't deny that one.
"Seriously, don't be mad at Philip." Her expression turned more than a little carnal at her next comment. "You of all people, should know how persuasive I can be when it comes to you."
Lucas just smiled back at her knowingly. "I'm sure Philip didn't stand a chance—you ARE pretty hot for my body." He paused letting the gravity of his words sink in but it only gave Sami time to throw one of the couch pillows at him. Lucas made a noble attempt to save himself. "Sami, I can attest to the fact that you are very persuasive. You certainly have your ways and you can have your way with me anytime, baby."
He then quickly looked down at his body. "Well, maybe not right now. I think we should try to do something about this whole 'body switching thing,' don't you?"
"Right. So what's the plan, General?"
He looked at her still laying on the couch in her robe. "I think the first thing YOU should do is get dressed."
"Good point," Sami said and headed upstairs to put some clothes on.
She went into Belle's closet and tried to find something that didn't make her look too much like a cute, college co-ed. "Geez, and they say that I show a lot of skin. I don't think any of these clothes would cover me up completely."
Sami had to settle for some jeans and a tight T-shirt that showed off her tummy. She chose the T-shirt because it was plain, white and unremarkable except for the two words written on the front—Bad Girl. She thought it was appropriate.
She ran back down the stairs and found Lucas waiting for her. He took one look at her shirt and chuckled. "Pretty subtle, Sami." She just shrugged and went to look for her shoes.
"Did you call over to my apartment," Sami asked. Lucas nodded and began looking around for Philip's car keys.
"I called your place and mine plus both of our cell phones. No one was picking up. Do you think we should be worried?"
"Maybe they're both asleep," Sami said hopefully feeling a sense of dread build up.
Lucas was starting to feel a bit apprehensive himself. "Maybe, but why wouldn't they answer their phone? "Maybe they're on their way over here," he thought out loud.
Sami let out a dismissive grunt. "You mean Miss Goody Two-Shoes and the ultimate boy scout. They can't even tie their shoes without having a complete intinerary. They would have called to let us know they were coming." She did have a point on that one.
"Look, I don't want to think about what they're doing in our bodies right now but if I find Philip abusing my body, I'll break both his legs even if they are mine."
Sami just rolled her eyes at him. "Believe me Lucas, in the long run, it'll probably hurt you more than it would hurt him."
Lucas seemed to think about this. "As John Black would say, 'that's a fact.'"
Sami groaned and went to grab her jacket. "Lucas, this night is already weird. I'd appreciate if you didn't bring that psycho's name up. It's bad enough that for at least a few more hours, he's technically my father." Sami then seemed to soften at her words. "I guess I should be nicer though since he's paying for our wedding and honeymoon."
'Yeah that too,' Lucas thought. He figured it wiser not to mention that 'technically' John Black was her father anyway. But judging from the look on her face, she already realized the significance of what she said.
"Let's just beat them to it and drive over there. That way we can find out what's going on." Lucas had finally located Philip's car keys and they headed towards the door.
Just as they were closing the door, the phone began to ring. Sami quickly pulled the door back open and ran to answer it hoping it was Belle or Philip. It was about 1:00 in the morning and the only people who could be calling were the people who happened to be inhabiting their bodies.
"Hello? Philip is that you?"
An unfamiliar women's voice responded and Sami's heart sank with disappointment and panic. She was not in the mood for playacting and the thought of pretending to be Belle would just give her a headache.
"No Belle it's not Philip, it's me," the voice replied on the other end. When Sami didn't say anything back, the voice said, "Uh, Belle, it's me—Mimi. Oh, I guess I'm 'three Me's' tonight." She let out a forced laugh at that one but she wasn't really feeling witty at the moment. "Did you and Philip have another fight?" Sami felt herself breaking out in a sweat thinking of trying to fool Belle's best friend. She had to get her off the phone fast before she suspected something was up.
"Uh, Mimi, uh, no Philip and I aren't fighting. Umm, he just went out to get us a snack and I thought he was calling to see what I wanted. What's up?"
Belle sounded a little strange to her like she was in a rush to get her of the phone. Maybe it was because of the late hour. Or maybe it was because Mimi was upset about what could possibly be making her sick lately. Well, she would know for sure soon enough. Until then, she was going to keep things to herself. "Oh nothing important. I hope I didn't wake you up, I just needed a favor." Mimi knew she sounded tired but she was worn out from crying and worrying and didn't have the energy for her usual enthusiasm.
Sami didn't know Belle's friend very well but she seemed like a nice girl—one who talked entirely too much in her opinion. But she sounded upset and Sami's maternal instincts kicked in automatically. "Are you alright, Mimi? I can tell that something is wrong. Is there anything I can do?
Mimi could only respond with silence while her mouth was gaping open in shock. She was expecting her call with Belle to be at least half an hour long. At the end of the conversation, she would ask her favor but the first 20 or 30 minutes would surely be devoted to Belle's problems with Shawn or Belle telling her what a wonderful friend Philip was. Belle cluelessly believed Philip was only trying to be there for her after Shawn left and had no intentions of trying to get into her pants. Mimi was sure she would figure out the truth sooner or later. From the looks of how things were going earlier in the evening, it was bound to be sooner rather than later.
"Mimi, are you there? You can tell me what's wrong if you need any help."
Mimi still didn't know how to respond but managed to get something out of her mouth. "Uh, umm, no Belle, I'm fine." She then remembered her favor. "I was wondering if I could borrow your car tomorrow. I have an, um, appointment and Rex needs my car tomorrow for a meeting."
Sami was sure that something was wrong that Mimi didn't want to tell her but she figured that it wasn't her business and Mimi would tell Belle when she was ready. "No problem, uh, Meems." She was sure she had heard her sister call Mimi that from time to time. "I'll just leave my car keys on the kitchen counter. You still have a key to the loft right?"
'I'm sure she still has the keys,' Sami thought. Mimi had been living here just a few months ago before she started shacking up with her half-brother Rex. Both of those kids were a little weird and probably deserved each other.
"Yeah, I still have the keys. Thanks a lot Belle. I owe you one." She couldn't believe that Belle had not mentioned Shawn or Philip once since the conversation started. On top of that she could tell Belle knew something was wrong but just wasn't pushing her on it. 'It must just be me,' Mimi thought. 'I'm starting to crack up. Rex isn't going to believe this either.'
If Mimi didn't want to talk about what was wrong and she had gotten her favor, Sami was uninterested in wasting another second talking to her. She had important business to attend to—finding out what her horny sister and soon to be brother-in-law were doing with her and Lucas' bodies.
"Well, Mimi, I'd love to stay and chat but it's late and I should go. I'll give you a call later on and we'll talk okay?" Sami then slammed the phone down and headed out the door where Lucas was waiting.
"What was that about," he asked.
"It was just Mimi. I didn't want to give her any time to figure out something was wrong so I had to get her off the phone quickly. Come on, let's go. We need to get to my place before those two horn-balls do various debaucheries with our bodies." She pulled him out the door and out the building to find Philip's car.
"Sami, not that I'm not disturbed at the idea of … I can't even say it. But it's not like we haven't done a few debaucheries ourselves." They had found Philip's car and both had gotten inside with seatbelts strapped.
"Shut up and drive." Sami knew Lucas had a point but she wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction of knowing he was right.
Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with me and this story--Chapter 12 is in edit mode. I just wanted to give the proper credit for Lucas' line about breaking Philip's legs even if they were his. It comes from an episode of Farscape, one of the best quality science fiction television shows ever created in my opinion. In the episode "Out of Their Minds," most of the crew switched bodies due to a technological accident (I'll spare you the details). One of the characters was caught "exploring" their new body and hilarity ensued. Maybe I was subconsciously thinking about that episode when I dreamed this story up.