Please note that I'm bumping this story up to M for Chapters 8 and 9. If that's not your cup of tea, you can skip these chapters and head right on to Chapter 10 (whenever I manage to get it posted). You won't be missing anything important plot-wise.


Chapter Eight

The clock on the nightstand read 7:04 am. Zane leaned over the bed to place a peck on Jo's cheek and headed for the shower.

It was a rare morning when he got up before Jo. Right from the beginning of their relationship, he noticed that she didn't seem to need as much sleep as the average person. Even if they'd spent half the night "playing", she'd be up well before dawn to exercise or work or attack whatever happened to be on her long to-do list. The previous day must have really taken its toll on her if she was still in bed after almost twelve hours of sleep and the rising of the sun.

His alarm went off an hour ago and she barely stirred. When he came back from his morning run, she was still buried under the covers, although he could tell that she was awake and just dozing. He wouldn't begrudge her the extra snooze time so he went for the shower.

Letting the water cascade over him, Zane took a few moments to further cool down and relax after his jog. It was bound to be another busy day of dodging Fargo so he could finish his assessment of the Matrix equipment. There was also his evaluation with Warren this morning but he wasn't worried about that at all. Besides some lingering annoyance with Carter, he was dealing reasonably well with his issues related to their abduction. Getting back to work wasn't really a problem for him, trauma aside.

What Zane worried about was a lack of explanation on the whole brain-swapping incident with Jo and Fargo. That meant that it could happen again and they'd be just as clueless about how to fix it. He'd warmed up to the little guy and they'd become good friends but the idea that Jo could get stuck in Fargo's body was horrifying.

In the meantime, Grace had a bunch of tests lined up for Jo. She was going to be so grumpy by the end of the day because of it, he noted to himself.

Zane washed his hair, mentally cataloguing all the things he needed to do after leaving his apartment: pick up breakfast at Vincent's; stop by the store for a few random items he and Jo needed; check in with his two interns who were supposed to be moving some boxes down to storage this morning to deflect attention away from his work on the Matrix mainframe. The first stop at GD would be the infirmary to see if there'd been any progress on Grace and Henry's research. Jo might bristle at his hovering, however, she was just going to have to get over it. If he made good progress and kept things under control, maybe he could sneak away with her for a quick lunch.

Wiping the water from his eyes, he saw some movement from the far end of the hallway. It looked like Jo had gotten out of bed and was puttering around, doing her usual morning thing. He picked up his soap and began lathering up his body; he'd have to hurry if she wanted to shower soon. Or better yet, maybe she'd join him and they could take turns washing each other's backs. After all, he deserved some kind of reward for giving her that massage last night without jumping her bones.

Sure enough, he heard the soft tap of bare footsteps against tile and the cold swish of air as the shower door opened. The thought of getting naked with Jo Lupo first thing in the morning put a smile on his face. He wandered under the water spray to rinse himself off and get ready to entertain his very welcome guest.

Instead, he was greeted by a dizziness that lasted for several disorienting moments.

In the distance, he heard a loud thump and felt the steam-slicked smoothness of the shower glass against his fingers. He couldn't tell if he had slipped or if there had been some kind of malfunction with the shower. Whatever it was, it had created an instant pounding behind his eyes and a fogginess around his thoughts. Struggling to clear his mind, he shook his head a few times and called out to Jo to see if she was alright.

"Jo?" There was a weird ringing in his ears and even though he'd been in the shower for a while, his skin felt dry and cool.

"Zane?" The panicked timbre of his voice echoed off the bathroom walls. Zane jumped back, hitting the door. He had no recollection of speaking yet he'd heard his own voice loud and clear.

"Damn!"

There it was again. He was positive he hadn't spoken. Unless …

He stared through the clear shower pane at the wooded closet doors in front of him and then turned around. There he met …

Himself …

Standing naked in the shower …

With an expression of horror on his face.

"Oh boy."

He heard his mouth forming the words yet the voice was both alien and all too familiar. Glancing down, he saw the beautiful, fit body that he loved staring at for long stretches of time. He dreamed about this body and all its curves and angles. There were the times he'd touched every part it, tasting and teasing; feeling it heat up and watching it cool down. Never would he have thought he could actually experience it from this vantage point.

Zane raised a hand and marveled at the fingers waving in front of his face. He then reached across the enclosed space and placed them against the cheek of the person in front of him. Closing his eyes, he could feel damp skin at his fingertips and rough stubble against his palm. Either this was the weirdest dream ever or—

He opened his eyes. Nope, that was his body alright. And it was now probably housing his girlfriend.

"Jo?" he called out again.

Zane watched her draw his features into a downward motion forming a frown. It was fascinating and his mind reeled with the wonder of their circumstance. That is until Jo opened her mouth to respond to him.

"Who the hell do you think it is, genius?"

Zane snatched his hand back and matched her scowl with one of his own. "Hey, no need to get snappy. This isn't my fault."

Sighing, she clenched her fists at her side, water beating steadily against her back. "This is just great. We should call Grace and have her meet us at GD right away." She backed up into the spray of water and started rinsing off the lingering soap clinging to his skin.

Incredible. Here he was completely floored by the oddities of which the universe is capable and she was acting like it was just another day at the office. He really needed to get her out of Eureka for a real vacation because she had clearly been here too long.

Zane didn't bother watching his own body bathe as he was going to continue being befuddled by what was happening to him. This turn of events was concerning; he'd been fearing it not five minutes ago. Yet, it was also incredible. Focusing his spinning thoughts, he broke down the situation to its simplest element: he was currently standing in the shower in the body of Jo Lupo.

The naked body of Jo Lupo.

Jo was right, they needed to get to GD right away and figure out what the hell was going on. This could be permanent and they should be thinking about causes and cures and prevention. They should be thinking about security leaks and potentially having to come clean to Warren Hughes.

But instead of prioritizing any of those things, Zane pushed them to the back of his mind and focused on exploring his new body. Fargo feeling Jo up was one thing but it was an entirely different matter if he was the one doing the groping. He practically had permission given the nature of their relationship after all. There was so much about being in her body that piqued his interest. The tickle of her hair was a surprise. It was pulled up slightly but falling onto the base of her neck and upper back. His eyes swept down to the water pooling around Jo's dainty toes mingled with the soapy residue she was rinsing off of his body. Seemingly of its own volition, he'd moved one of his hands to brush against her abdomen, grazing the muscles at her stomach. Finally, his exploration led to the efficiently groomed vicinity of his favorite sex area. He allowed his fingers to wander downward and linger, then thought better of it. Instead, he brought both hands to his hips and moved them upward against the soft skin of her torso until he let them rest against her breasts. He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed at the unexpected pleasure he felt from this touch.

"What are you doing, Zane?" His eyes snapped open to meet Jo's humorless expression which seemed so very stern on his face. "For some mysterious reason, our brains have hopped bodies, mine for the second time in twenty-four hours, and you're standing there feeling me up?"

Zane grinned at her, not at all embarrassed about loving the feel of her body, even more so now that he got to experience it from her point of view. "Did you really expect me not to cop a feel in this situation? This is like every guy's dream."

"Except for the part where we don't know how to switch back!" She had crossed her arms and was glaring at him in that way of hers. He never knew he could look so intimidating.

"Would you rather be stuck in Fargo's body? Face it, if there was anyone on this planet that had to stay inside of you, I'm guessing you'd choose me." There was that phrasing again. This time he didn't mind so much.

She scoffed and turned her back to him, rinsing her hair even though he'd done that already. "Don't flatter yourself," she mumbled. His gravelly voice couldn't conceal that all too familiar tone of annoyance he was used to.

Rather than taking the hint and leaving her alone, he moved forward, embracing her in his arms from behind. Although he was flush against himself essentially, it didn't feel weird to him. It was his own body and he'd felt Jo against him like this dozens of times.

Jo, however, was not so comfortable with the arrangement. She stiffened and stepped out of his arms. Relinquishing her, he turned her around until she was facing him. There was a deep blush creeping into her cheeks; Zane had to suppress a grin at that. Maybe she liked being close to him like this a little more than she was willing to admit.

Zane continued to swivel around until Jo was standing with the shower door to her back and he had maneuvered himself under the spray of water. Unfortunately, he hadn't prepared himself for the rush of new sensations that simple water pressure could bring. It was difficult to suppress a shiver as he felt the moisture sliding down his body and teasing places he'd never had to worry about before.

Across from him, Jo was smirking. It wasn't a half bad smirk either by his own standards. She looked good in his body.

"And here I thought Fargo was the perv," she commented, grinning.

Zane laughed. "Hardly." Now that he'd had a taste of what it felt like in her body, the wheels in his head were starting to turn faster by the second. "I was just satisfying my scientific curiosity." He reached across the shower stall and took her hand. "Perhaps we can satisfy this curiosity together?" He guided her hand to his hip—her hip in actuality—and pulled her closer to him.

Jo jumped again at the contact but Zane quickly grabbed her other arm and didn't let her retreat.

"I know I can't handle making out with Fargo in your body or making out with you in Fargo's body. But I can definitely handle making out with myself; been doing it for years."

"What are you talking about?"

Zane rolled his eyes. "You know what I'm talking about."

He dropped her arm to demonstrate. But before he could gesticulate his explanation, she slapped his hand down and scowled. "God, Zane, you're so juvenile. I get it! I meant what's Fargo got to do with this?"

He ignored her irritation. "Nothing actually. Just Sohpie's Choice … from before. Never mind." There was no way he was going to spend one more second thinking about that disgusting image Fargo had planted in his brain. Rather, he advanced towards her, grinning as she panicked and tried to take a step back in the tiny shower. "Jo, this is an awesome, once in a lifetime opportunity."

Taking another step forward, he blocked her exit with his arm and backed her against the wall of the shower. She searched for something to hold on to. But finding nothing, she fidgeted uncomfortably, water now splashing at their feet.

Zane continued his plea. "I think we should take advantage of this most unique circumstance."

Jo wasn't a scientist like most of the people with whom she worked. But Zane was aware of how much she loved being knee deep in a good puzzle. They'd spent months together studying for the Astraeus mission and he vividly recalled her intense focus when working through something new. She'd make him pull up schematics or hunt down a simulation or a model to get a particular lesson across. She was a hands-on kind of gal like that. And if he had his way right now, he'd be putting those hands to good use for a while.

"You cannot deny being just a little bit curious," Zane prodded. He punctuated his question by creeping a hand around her waist, and pulling her more firmly against him.

Jo looked everywhere but into his eyes as he held onto her. "Zane," she ground out between pursed lips. "I don't think I can." However, her anxious response to the sensation of him holding her told a different story. It was pretty obvious that the idea of a little scientific exploration appealed to her on some level given the physical response he could feel against his thigh.

"Oh, I'd beg to differ," he snarked, glancing down at the evidence between them.

Jo tried to jump back again but he didn't let her go far. "Jesus! How do you control this thing?" Zane suppressed his laughter while he watched her shift from one foot to the other, covering herself. Her eyes were darting back and forth as she tried to get control of her unfamiliar body parts. The full blush to her cheeks kept Zane from teasing her further; he found her shyness rather endearing.

"There's no controlling it Jo, especially where you're involved. I learned that the hard way, no pun intended, of course." She glared at him again and this time he did chuckle at her reaction. "I have a few ideas of what you can do about that though. Believe me, it's nothing you haven't done before—and enjoyed if memory serves."

There was a slump to her shoulders before Jo steadied her gaze on his. "You're loving this, aren't you?"

"For the moment, yeah," he responded. The way he figured, he could spend the next hour worrying about the repercussions of this switch, which they'd have plenty of time for after he satisfied his curiosity. Or he could engage in the most outrageous fantasy he could ever have hoped to experience. It was a no brainer.

Letting go of her, he reached around to turn the water off. He pulled her into the dry hallway, grabbing a towel for himself and for her. When she wrapped it around her whole body as she would her female form, he did his best not to laugh. He had important plans for them and could not risk pissing her off. Instead, he covered himself before taking her hand again, the one not holding the towel together around her bulging form. Her grip was tense but firm while his tried not to betray a mounting excitement.

Guiding her away from the bizarre scene of their switch, he led her into the more promising venue of his bedroom. Things were about to get very interesting.

TBC …


AN: I thought this and the next chapter would be more of a bear to write, not that it didn't have its challenges. But this is not my first body-swapping story (strangely) and I had some great pop-culture references in two particularly amusing episodes of Farscape and Misfits. I owe a bit of inspiration to those two sources.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing and alerting. Per the phrase I'm stealing from Lady of Imladris, I want to hug all of your feedback. (And sorry for the further digression, but at least it's an amusing digression)