The tree house was quiet. Too quiet. The explorers were spread out around the common room in uncomfortable silence, trying not to meet the eyes of anyone else.

Everyone, that is, except Challenger, who could be located by the occasional bang from the lower level. The visionary was in his workshop tinkering away at his machine trying to make it reverse whatever it had done to Malone and Marguerite.

"Your welcome," Marguerite said suddenly, breaking the tense quiet. She, still in Malone's body, was lounging on the wooden couch with her injured ankle stretched out in front of her. The others just turned and stared at her.

"What?" Malone asked, taking the bait.

"For saving you," Marguerite answered smugly.

Malone blinked at her. "You made me jump into a raptor pit. Then you broke my ankle." Malone's feminine face started to redden and his voice grew sharper. "To top it all off you had me run through a stinking tunnel with a hungry predator at my heels!" He was standing at this point and leaning over Marguerite.

Undaunted by Malone's tone, Marguerite glared up at him. "If you wanted to be a dinosaur's lunch, you should have said so! I apologize for interrupting."

Malone threw up his hands in exasperation and slumped back down in his chair. "I can't believe you two went along with such a ridiculous plan!" he ranted at the others.

"Actually," Roxton said, with a glance at Marguerite, "the plan was to give the Lanadu the jewels and then secure your release with our guns."

"Before Marguerite decided to fool around with the jewels," Veronica chimed in, frowning at Marguerite.

"Oh, and I suppose the t-rex showing up was my fault too," Marguerite said defensively to the three sharp stares focused on her. She folded her thick biceps across her chest and looked away in annoyance.

Veronica sighed and shrugged. "Either way, the jewels are gone now. The bag was swallowed along with the chief."

Marguerite didn't reply but started to examine her cuticles.

Roxton face, which had been smiling thinly at Veronica's comment, fell. "The Lanadu's stones were in the bag, weren't they, Marguerite?"

"Marguerite?" Veronica started, sitting up straight in her chair.

"Could I trouble someone for some help over here?" Challenger's voice interrupted from the direction of the lab. The scientist appeared halfway up the stairs, stumbling under the weight of the machine.

Roxton quickly got up to help him, but not without a suspicious look at Marguerite as he walked past. The two men heaved Challenger's invention onto the kitchen table, and Challenger wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand.

"I thought I'd bring it in here seeing as how Malone-er- Marguerite isn't very mobile at the moment," Challenger explained.

"You fixed it?" Malone asked eagerly. The journalist practically jumped out of his chair to examine the machine that had caused him so much trouble.

"I believe so," Challenger replied unconvincingly. When all eyes turned on him, he quickly added, "The rest of us should step into the next room as a precaution."

Roxton helped Marguerite hobble over to the table to stand beside Malone, and Challenger rested his fingers on the machine's switch.

"Ready?" the scientist asked.

Malone and Marguerite exchanged glances. "Here goes nothing," Malone muttered.

Challenger threw the switch, and the machine came to life. It lit up and some of the mechanical pieces started to spin. Roxton, Veronica, and Challenger made a hasty exit, ducking down the stairs into Challenger's lab.

The machine's swirling was starting to become more demanding and the air was crackling with unseen electricity. Marguerite was about to ask Malone if he thought it was working when a bright glow appeared in each of their chests. The lights started to burn and a scream died in Marguerite's throat as the glowing orbs jumped from their bodies. Both of them slumped to the floor.

Hearing the two thumps, the other explorers decided to cautiously make their way back into the room. The first thing they saw was the machine, its light was fading and the spinning components were gradually losing speed. Malone and Marguerite were lying, unmoving on the floor, and the explorers exchanged worried looks.

"I don't think it worked," Veronica moaned.

Roxton hurried over to his unconscious friends but then hesitated. He looked from one body to the other and, finally making up his mind, the hunter crouched down beside Malone's body.

"Marguerite? Can you here me? Marguerite!"

"I don't understand it!" Challenger muttered to himself. "It appeared to be in perfect working order."

Suddenly, the eyes flew open in Marguerite's body.

"What happened?" Marguerite's body asked groggily.

"Malone?" Veronica asked slowly, leaning over the person on the floor.

"You've got to be kidding me! It didn't work?" Marguerite's body demanded. Her hands went to her head in frustration, and she froze as her fingertips touched her hair. "Wha-" Marguerite sat up quickly and began running her hands along her body. "I'm back!" she cried. "I'm me again!"

"Marguerite?" Roxton broke into a wide smile and quickly dropped Malone's head, which he had been cradling in his arms. He rushed over to Marguerite who was struggling, unsteadily to her feet.

Malone's eyes opened in response to his head being rudely dropped to the hard floor, and he took in his surroundings with disorientation. "Did it work?" he managed.

"Success!" Challenger cried.

Veronica laughed and kneeled down beside the confused reporter to catch him in a big bear hug. Malone cried out as she put pressure on his broken ankle.

---

The ankle wasn't actually broken, only sprained and bruised, but Malone muttered that for the pain, it might as well be broken. Veronica just smiled and continued to wrap the stiff cloth around Malone's injured ankle to support it. Normally, she would have told Malone to stop feeling sorry for himself but right now she had an eternal supply of tolerance. The craziness of the last few days was finally over, and she had her old reporter back. Veronica couldn't stop smiling.

"I should have known Marguerite couldn't be trusted with my body," Malone said and then he winced as Veronica tightened the bandage.

Veronica laughed. "I could have told you that."

Malone's eyes finally left his injured ankle and he glanced up shyly at Veronica. "Look Veronica," he began, "I'm sorry for everything she- well I'm just sorry for everything."

Veronica's eyes remained fixed on the cloth in her hands, her cheeks slightly pink. "It's alright, Malone. I think you already said enough at the bathing lake. Even if you were Marguerite at the time."

"Oh, right." Now it was Malone's turn to be embarrassed. Now that Veronica knew that he had said those things to her, he felt extremely uncomfortable but he certainly wouldn't take any of it back.

"Finished," Veronica announced, and she started putting all her first aid equipment back into its box.

"Thanks." Malone bent his knee and leaned forward to examine her handiwork. "You know, I wouldn't be upset if you wanted to take me back to bathing lake again," Malone said, playfully, his eyes lifting to look in Veronica's. "Seeing as how you appreciated my insightful conversation."

Veronica smiled wirily and swatted him on the shoulder. As she was standing up, she bent toward him. "We'll see."

Just as Veronica disappeared into the next room, Roxton slipped cautiously in from the balcony. He glanced around fugitively, until he was satisfied that Malone was the only one in the room. The hunter entered farther into the room but stopped a very comfortable distance from the reporter.

Malone immediately felt himself tense, and the goofy smile Veronica had given him, melted from his face. Before Malone could stop it, an image of Roxton leaning toward him replayed itself in his mind and he shivered.

"Roxton," Malone managed politely.

"Malone," Roxton replied.

Roxton cleared his throat stiffly. "How's the ankle?"

Malone patted the bandages as he answered the safe question. "Veronica says it isn't a break so I should be able to walk real soon."

"Good, good." Roxton nodded. He had positioned himself behind a chair. Malone couldn't help thinking that Roxton was using it like a shield, and he was glad for it.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two men looked everywhere, except at each other.

"Roxton I-" Malone began.

"Malone it-" Roxton said in unison.

They both stopped abruptly, both thinking about the same uncomfortable incident.

Roxton tried again, his eyes still avoiding Malone's. "Obviously I thought you were Marguerite and- uh-"

"It's probably better if we don't talk about it," Malone interrupted quickly. "Ever."

"Never happened," Roxton agreed, in his best 'manly' voice.

Malone figured that a confirming handshake was probably proper in this situation, but Roxton wasn't making any move to approach the journalist.

Roxton turned to leave but then he hesitated. "I'm sure Challenger won't say anything."

Malone shook his head. "Definitely not." Roxton turned again to leave, when Malone added, "But then there's Marguerite."

The lord's shoulders slumped.

"Maybe you could talk to her…" Malone suggested awkwardly.

Roxton let out a loud sigh. "Yeah, I guess I'm going to have to."

---

Marguerite couldn't get the image of Malone drooling on her pillow out of her head. True, he had been in her body at the time, but Marguerite had vigorously changed the bedding regardless.

She was finishing smoothing down her bedspread when she felt Roxton's teasing smile behind her.

"Doing housework?" Roxton asked with amusement. "So this was a positive experience after all."

"Don't get used to it. I'm just trying to get the Malone off of everything." She wrinkled her nose as she noticed her fingers. Malone had practically massacred her long, carefully manicured nails.

"Well, I suppose its good to have you back to normal anyway."

Marguerite turned to look at him, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "You're just glad I don't have Malone's fists to hit you with again."

"I'll admit I was taken a bit off guard."

Marguerite rolled her eyes. "Hmmm. And that's mascara around your eye."

Marguerite reached for her hairbrush and started to run it through her tangled curls. Roxton watched her silently for a few seconds and then he slowly started to circle her small room. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of looking at him, but she was aware of his every movement. She had to admit that she preferred this teasing, cautious Roxton over the threatening one that she had got in a fistfight with. There had been times in the heiress' life that she had run into frustrating obstacles where things would have been simpler if she was a man, and she had actually wished she was one. Never again.

"What are you looking for?" Marguerite asked nonchalantly as Roxton continued to circle.

"Just wondering if you would keep the Lanadu's jewels in here," he answered smoothly, idly looking under a scarf.

"You saw the t-rex eat them," Marguerite reminded him.

Roxton nodded. "But I don't think Veronica believes it. I'm sure she would know where to look in the tree house…" His voice trailed off and Marguerite put her hands on her hips.

She couldn't believe they were going to bother her with this. The accursed gems were presently being digested by a temperamental dinosaur….as far as her friends knew. Roxton was watching her out of the corner of his eye, and she suddenly knew what was bothering him. She fought a smile.

"If you can forget about the jewels," she offered seriously, "then I can forget any other…embarrassing incidents from the last few days."

Roxton considered this for a second as if she was driving a hard bargain. "What jewels?" he said with a smile.

Marguerite smiled back at him and then headed for the door. She paused in the doorway and threw back at him, "What kiss?"

Roxton's face fell, but she was already gone.

Marguerite breezed out into the common room, ignoring the others as she searched the kitchen for the teapot. She filled the battered kettle with water and hung it over the small fire. In her peripheral vision, she saw Roxton enter the room but she turned her back to him and smiled at her reflection in the tea kettle.

While she was rummaging around for a cup and saucer, she listened idly to the excited conversation near her.

"It's remarkable," Challenger told Malone and Veronica, his arms waving in emphasis. "Can you even fathom the possibilities such a device creates?"

Malone glanced at Veronica. "No, not really."

Challenger stopped in his tracks and scratched his beard absently. "Yes, well. Exchange of consciousness is still an amazing discovery." The others were all smiling quietly at Challenger's enthusiasm but they froze at his next comment, "I must start my experiments immediately."

"You're going to actually use it again?" Roxton asked in disbelief.

Challenger had made his way to the kitchen table and was attempting to pick up the cumbersome machine. "Of course," he answered distractedly. "I'll have to repeat the phenomenon to properly harness it."

"You've got to be kidding," Marguerite said.

Challenger heaved the heavy device into his arms and started to wobble towards his lab. Roxton moved to help him but the scientist waved him off. "I've got it," he huffed. Challenger started slowly down the stairs and out of sight.

Malone shook his head and picked up his journal, which Veronica had brought to him so he wouldn't have to walk on his ankle. He had to get this down before it faded. Well, at least most of it. Some of it.

"Well, good luck recruiting guinea pigs," Marguerite called after Challenger. Roxton and Veronica joined her in a laugh before continuing on their own activities.

Malone's brow furrowed and he started flipping through his journal pages faster.

Veronica noticed his sudden discomfort. "Malone?"

Malone looked up at her, his face struggling with anger. "Veronica," he asked, as calmly as possible, "is there a red pencil around here I could use?"

When Veronica paused to think, Marguerite, who was pouring her tea, answered without thinking. "There's one in the first drawer at the desk." As soon as she said it, Marguerite knew it was a mistake and she bit her lip.

It was then that Veronica noticed what had so enraged Malone. His journal pages were crowded with crisscrossing, thick red marks.

Malone started to get up but suddenly a large crash distracted the explorers. It had come from the direction of Challenger's lab and some loud curses soon followed. Apparently, they wouldn't have to worry about further body-switching experiments any time soon.

When Challenger reappeared on the stairs, he was holding his back and glowering darkly. "I fell," he growled.

Marguerite smiled weakly, picturing what had made the lab floor slippery. "Hasn't Malone cleaned up that broken experiment yet?" she asked.

The End