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 WARNING: This story includes sexually explicit material.

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   The Gift, Chapter Six

   Sue was the first up in the morning.  She was washed and dressed and
busy fixing breakfast before Dan had even made it to the bathroom.  Sue
took him a cup of coffee as a subtle hint to wake up.  He was sat on the
side of the bed clutching his stomach.

   'Do you always feel like this after you've had sex?' he asked.

   'I usually feel great the next morning.  Relaxed and energised.  How do
you feel?' Sue inquired

   'At the moment I would welcome death.  It feels like someone is trying
to claw my insides out with red-hot hooks.'

   'Do you think my stepfather could have damaged something when he kicked
you?' Sue asked anxiously.

   'He never hit me anywhere near my stomach,' Dan replied.  'Besides
wouldn't it have been hurting last night?  This has only started since I
woke up.  It's agony!'

   'Maybe we should call Amy,' Sue suggested.  'She might have some idea
what it could be.'

   'She won't be home yet.' Dan told her.  'It would be a bit ironic if I
have picked up a stomach bug after all.  I've never had one that hurt this
bad before though.'

   'Why don't you go to the toilet?  That might help.'

   'I hope so.  I don't know if I can straighten up.' Sue watched with
concern as he hobbled to the bathroom.  Not only was she worried about what
was wrong with her body but also there was the added problem that they had
to meet Mr Foster outside the hospital soon.  She was wondering if they
would be able to manage without Dan's help when he gave a panicked cry.

   'Sue, I'm bleeding!  There's blood everywhere!' Sue ran through to the
bathroom.

   'Are you sure?' she asked fearfully 'Where is the blood coming from?'

   'I don't know,' Dan wailed.  'Inside me somewhere.  Call an ambulance,
quickly.'

   'Hang on a minute,' Sue said abruptly.  'What's the date today?'

   'What the hell difference does the date make?' Dan yelled.  'I'm dying
here.'

   'Hang on, my diary should be in my bag.  I think you left it in the
hallway last night.' Sue said, leaving Dan for a moment.  She returned with
a relieved smile on her face.  'Thank goodness for that.  You had me
totally freaked out for a minute.  It's just my period starting.  Does Amy
keep anything here?'

   'What?' Dan asked stupidly.

   'You must know that women have periods,' Sue said.

   'Of course, but there must be something else wrong,' Dan insisted.

   'Oh, it's always like that when it starts,' Sue told him cheerfully. 
'Get cleaned up and I'll make you some hot chocolate.  That's what I
usually have, and a couple of painkillers.  I'll make you a hot water
bottle too.  The warmth helps to ease the cramps a bit.  You have to get a
move on though.  We can't be late.'

   'You're not being very sympathetic,' Dan groused.  Sue laughed.

   'Women have this happen to them every four weeks and I've yet to meet a
man who was the slightest bit sympathetic.  I know it hurts but it's
something you learn to live with.  Just think, if all goes well in a couple
of hours time it will be me who has to endure the cramps.  Oh by the way, I
found these on the counter top this morning.  Do you know where they came
from?  I'm sure they weren't there last night.' She held out a packet of
indigestion remedies for Dan's inspection.  He looked horrified.

   'Amy!' he groaned.

   'What do you mean, 'Amy'?' Sue asked.

   'The only other person with a key is Amy.  She must have dropped them
round last night on her way to work,' Dan explained.

   'Last night!' Sue echoed, horrified.

   'Exactly.  You know what she would have seen when she walked in?'

   'Her best friend and her boyfriend having sex,' Sue said slowly.  'She
would have been devastated.'

   'We have to go to her and try to explain,' Dan said.

   'She'll be finishing up at work about now,' Sue pointed out, looking at
her watch.  'We can't miss this chance to get Mr Foster's body.  Otherwise
we're stuck in the wrong bodies until the hospital releases him and who
knows how long that could be.'

   'But what about Amy.  I can't just let her go on hurting.  I have to
explain.'

   'I'm sorry but we have to sort our bodies out first.  You must see
that.'

   'I suppose you're right,' Dan acknowledged, sighing.

   'I know I am, so get a move on.'

   Due to Sue's chivvying and nagging they were only a few minutes late to
their rendezvous with Mr Foster.  Inside the hospital everything went
smoothly.  The patient 'Mr Foster', heavily sedated, was handed over
without a single question being asked.  They had a few awkward moments
getting him out of the hospital and into the car but they managed.  Within
a short period of time they were inside the warehouse, huddled around a
strange contraption.

   'What are we going to do about him?' Mr Foster asked.  'Once we swap
bodies back, I'll be sedated and you'll be outside.  He could steal my
invention without anyone knowing.'

   'We came prepared,' Dan said, producing a pair of handcuffs.  He took
one of Mr Foster's hands and handcuffed it to the metal table.  'This bench
is welded to the floor so he isn't going anywhere.  You can still reach the
knobs to activate the machine can't you?' Mr Foster stretched out his hand.

   'Only just, but enough to do the job.  Can you just turn that green one
round to the right?  That's perfect.'

   'Right.  Once we've swapped back, we'll 'phone the police and say we saw
something suspicious going on here,' Sue said.  'When you wake up you can
tell them what happened on Saturday and tell them that he kidnapped you
from the hospital today.  If this works that is.'

   'Lets synchronise watches.  I'll activate the machine at exactly half
past.  That gives you over ten minutes to get into position.'

   'That's more then enough time,' Dan told him.  'Good luck.  I just hope
this works.'

   As before there was a high pitched whine and they were swept off their
feet and hurled through the air.  Knowing what to expect they had braced
themselves and wrapped their arms over their heads to offer some
protection. Slightly dazed they scrambled back to their feet and faced each
other.  Their faces both broke into broad grins.

   'I've never been so happy to see your ugly mug in all my life,' Sue
said.

   'I can hardly believe it worked,' Dan observed, running his hands over
his body just to make sure.

   'No offence, but it feels wonderful to have my own body back,' Sue
exclaimed, throwing out her arms and spinning around.

   'I know exactly what you mean.  We still have some things to sort out
though,' Dan pointed out.  'Come on, we have to 'phone the police first,
then try to explain to Amy.'

   They were both nervous as they knocked on Amy's door.  When she answered
it was plain to see that she had been crying and when she saw them fresh
tears started following the tracks of their predecessors down Amy's cheeks.
Instinctively Dan stepped forward and folded her in a hug but she pushed
him angrily away.  Dan and Sue followed Amy into the sitting room, unsure
how to begin their explanation.

   'Things aren't the way you think,' Dan began.

   'Oh, I think they are,' Amy retorted.  'I had a pretty good view last
night, thank you very much, and I could see exactly what you were doing.'

   'You don't understand,' Sue tried to explain.  'We weren't ourselves
last night.'

   'Really!  So who were you?' Amy asked sharply.

   'We were each other,' Dan answered.

   'Oh well that makes everything all right then,' Amy said sarcastically.
'It's my own fault, I suppose.  I've spent hours trying to get you two to
be civil to each other.  I should have known that the moment you stopped
hating each other you'd start loving each other.'

   'I don't love Sue,' Dan protested.  'I understand her a lot better now
but you are the only woman I love, Amy.  You have to believe me.'

   'You seemed to understand her very well last night,' Amy cried.

   'We're trying to explain,' Sue said.  'Something happened on Saturday
night and we swapped bodies.  We've only just swapped back this morning.'

   'That's your idea of an explanation?' Amy asked indignantly.  'Do I look
stupid enough to believe that fairytale?'

   'It's the truth,' Dan insisted.  'I spent Sunday afternoon with you. 
You put me through agony waxing me.  And on Monday I met Sue's stepfather
and now I understand why Sue can always call on you whenever she needs to.

   'And I know you two are getting married because it was me you were
talking to about wedding invitations,' Sue chimed in.  Amy looked from one
to the other of them, totally bewildered.

   'You could have found out any of those things by talking to each other,'
she observed at last.

   'I suppose so,' Sue admitted.  'But what about the mistakes we made?  I
know nothing about football yet I talked to Mark about it for ages on
Sunday.  Dan forgot to put conditioner on my hair, which was why it was
such a mess.' Amy still didn't look convinced so Sue racked her brains
trying to think remember anything else.  'I know!' she exclaimed.  Roll up
your trouser legs, Dan.  Look, I started shaving my legs.  If you check
under his arms you'll find I did shave them.'

   'You did what!' Dan exclaimed.  He looked down at his leg, then checked
his armpits to confirm what Sue had said.  'You've made me look a total
idiot.  The lads are going to kill themselves laughing when they see this.
What the hell were you thinking?'

   'I'm sorry,' Sue replied defensively.  'I didn't do it on purpose, it
was just habit.' Dan was about to say something when Amy recalled them to
their reason for being there.

   'Are you seriously telling me that you swapped bodies?' she asked
slowly.

   'I know it's hard to believe but it's the truth.  It was part of an
experiment someone was running and we just got caught in it.' Dan
explained. 'If you want confirmation, ask your patient Mr Foster.  It was
his machine that did this to us.'

   'It's hard to believe but for the moment I'll accept it,' Amy told Dan
with great dignity.  'However it makes no difference.  Whichever body you
were inhabiting at the time you slept with someone else.  To make it worse
it was my best friend.  Up to a point I can understand what Sue did and
even forgive her.  But I don't see how I can ever trust you again.  If you
really loved me you would never have done such a thing.  I want you to
leave and I never want to see you again.'

   Horrified Sue tried to intervene but Dan silenced her with a gesture.

   'You're right, Amy,' he said, swallowing hard to choke back the unmanly
tears.  'What I did was unforgivable and I don't deserve you.  I just want
you to know that I'm more sorry than I can ever say that I hurt you.  I
feel like a louse, I'm so ashamed of myself.  I love you so much.  I always
have and I always will.  If you ever need anything I hope you'll call me.
Now I'll just get my things and I'll go.' As Amy started sobbing again, he
hurried into the bedroom.  For a moment Sue stood in silence, then she
knelt in front of Amy.

   'Listen to me Amy.  You are making the biggest mistake of your life. 
That man in there loves you like nothing I've ever seen before.  I used to
think that all those songs and stories about love were just wishful
thinking, until I saw you two together.  Are you really going to throw that
away because of one mistake?'

   'You don't understand,' Amy replied.

   'No I don't, because I've not been lucky enough to fall in love like you
two yet,' Sue agreed.  'But I do understand why he did what he did.  We
were both drunk and high on painkillers, which is no excuse I know.  But it
did deaden our consciences.  Can you honestly tell me, Amy, that if you had
a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience what sex was like for a man
you wouldn't take it?  Can you?'

   'I don't know,' Amy admitted.

   'Anyone would have been tempted.  Under normal circumstances Dan would
never so much as kiss another woman.  If you can understand and forgive
what I did, you can understand and forgive Dan.'

   'It's different.  You're my best friend; in fact you're more like a
sister.  We've been through so much together: being bullied at school and
my dad dying and your stepfather hitting you and all the rest.  But Dan was
my boyfriend.  How can we possibly get married if I can't trust him?' Amy
asked.

   'You know deep down that you can trust him.  You're hurting at the
moment and you're not thinking clearly,' Sue pointed out.  'The reason you
can forgive my betrayal more easily then Dan's is because you care more
about him.  Do you really want to lose him?  If he walks out that door you
may never see him again.  Are you one hundred percent sure that's what you
want?'

   'No,' Amy whispered.

   'Well get in there and sort this out,' Sue ordered.  I want to be chief
bridesmaid at your wedding as soon as possible.'

   Amy stood obediently.

   'Who would have thought that you would be the one to keep Dan and me
together?' Amy observed.  'This body swap thing seems to have done you both
good.'

   Copyright Vickie Morgan, March 1999 E-mail artemis55@hotmail.com

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