5% [location: Shelley; Spencer's... beautiful two story home??]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

After spending a week in a female body, Spencer had been thrilled to finally wake up as himself again. He was all out of sorts yesterday. He tried to read and work on running his stats of arrivals and departures, but he couldn't concentrate. Around 9 o'clock, he fell into bed.

This morning, he woke to the sensation that there was somebody in bed with him. He nearly fell out of the bed when he realized that it was Beckett. Quietly, so as not to wake her, he had slipped from his room into... a house? His apartment had turned quite suddenly into something that it was not last night. His furniture was now art deco and he had a television - one that he suspected only showed programs in black and white.

Spencer had made his way to the kitchen and brewed a cup of coffee in an ancient looking pot (which somehow worked like it was brand new). Now he stood staring out the large window in the kitchen, clutching his mug of coffee and contemplating the beautiful manicured green lawn in front of him, which stretched to a white picket fence.

He pushed his glasses up his nose and wrapped his robe further around him. Spencer had no idea what to make or this, or what to make of waking up to find Beckett sleeping beside him.

[OOC - This is for Spencer, Kate, River, Ax and Kara to have their family shenanigans. Although, any friendly neighbors who want to stop by are also welcome.]

Comments

[noheatnikki.livejournal.com]

Kate woke up when she felt Spencer shift next to her. She lingered a moment, waking up fully before getting up and putting on her slippers and robe. She went downstairs and smiled when she saw Spencer at the window. She brushed his hair back gently and kissed his cheek.

"You're up early. Give me ten minutes and I'll have breakfast started."

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Spencer jumped back when she kissed him.

"W-What? Beckett, w-why were you in my bed?"

[noheatnikki.livejournal.com]

She bustled around the kitchen, getting together the makings of breakfast.

"I haven't been a Beckett in almost fifteen years."

She looked up at him, concerned.

"Spencer? What's the matter, dear?"

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Spencer? He gawked at her.

"W-What's going on?"

He had a sneaking suspicion, one that was already forming an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

[noheatnikki.livejournal.com]

She set the eggs down and moved back over to him. She touched Spencer's arm.

"Are you feeling okay?"

She touched the back of her hand to his forehead, checking his temperature.

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Spencer moved back slightly as she touched him, not used to her being in his personal space like that. As she put her hand on his forehead, he noticed a diamond ring that had not been there before. He glanced down at his hand, to find a golden band there as well.

He closed his eyes in mild horror. This had to be another glitch, one where Beckett thought they were husband and wife and they lived in this lovely old-fashioned house...

Whatever the explanation, Beckett didn't seem to think that anything was wrong. He didn't want to alarm her any further, so he decided to play along.

"I-I'm fine..."

[noheatnikki.livejournal.com]

She frowned slightly as he dodged her. He was behaving so strangely. She leaned in, but did not try to touch him again.

"Are you sure? You're acting...off."

[ location: the house ] beware the teal deer

[skort]

It was more than a little startling when Kara woke up in a room that was so very similar to the one she hared with Lana back in Metropolis and yet... so very different. She sat up slowly, looking around warily. She'd just gotten her own body back and it seemed the hamsters were messing with everyone again.

Alright, Kara, she told herself, pull yourself together. You can do this. Think like Batman. What would Bruce do? She got out of bed and paused, unable to keep the wry smile off her face. Bruce would have beaten the tar out of the hamsters by now. But... the desk was probably a good place to start as any. It seemed innocuous enough, but desk were where Important Things went most of the time.

... Like a picture of her and her father, apparently. Like a diary with her handwriting in it.

Kara checked the clock as she picked up the diary and sat gingerly in the desk chair. 5 AM. She had time. Kara cautiously opened the slim journal and flipped past the 'DON'T READ PLEASE!' page. "Ow!" she whispered to herself, watching in morbid fascination as a small bit of red formed under the paper cut she'd just gotten. Which meant she was either under a red sun, writing in a magic journal or turned human somehow. None of these things sounded pleasant. She could only hope the diary explained a little as to what was going on.

It did. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, though, Kara wasn't exactly sure. When she was done reading she felt... numb, almost. Numb and drained and, god did she really want some coffee. There had to be a kitchen in here somewhere, right? Right. Adventure time.

And, you know, the journal may have warned her that she was living with Spencer now, but that didn't really do anything to ease the awkwardness when she padded into the kitchen in her robe and nightgown, seeing him all wrapped up in his own robe.

"Uhm... Spencer?"

[ location: the house ] beware the teal deer

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Spencer looked up and smiled at her.

"Kara... did you have a good rest?"

[ location: the house ]

[skort]

Sher wraps her arms around her middle and shrugs, the awkwardness of the situation playing out on her face. Does he not realize something is wrong or is he waiting for her to make the first move to see if she realizes it? Probably best to just wait it out and see.

"Good enough, I guess. Any coffee left? I... could really use some.

[ location: the house ]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

"Yeah..."

He got a mug down from the cabinet and poured her a cup, then handed it to her.

"Are you....?"

He squinted slightly, unsure of how to ask whether or not she was aware of what was going on.

[noheatnikki.livejournal.com]

Kate walked up behind Kara into the kitchen. She pushed Kara's hair off her shoulder and smiled.

"Kara, dear, I wish you wouldn't drink coffee. It stunts your growth. Omelet?"

[skort]

"Really creeped out right now? Oh, yeah," she says as she takes the mug with a relieved grin. "I, or glitched me, I guess, kept a journal, though. So I think I know what all is going on with... the house and everything."

She's going to say more, but Kate interrupts her and Kara plasters on a very fake smile, just going with the flow now. She can always talk to Spencer later.

"I'm already nineteen and 5'7", Aunt Kate. I really don't think I'm going to grow any more," she says a little wryly. "And I'm good without the omelet. Thank you, though."

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Spencer nods, curious.

"We'll talk later..."

He smiles as Beckett comes into the room, shaking his head a bit.

"Oh honey, it's fine. Kara's a young lady now."

long tag is long

[tailblade.livejournal.com]

It had been a relief to be himself again, to run free on his four hooves, to polish and sharpen his tail blade, to have his memory in its entirety. He enjoyed being human, at times, but it lost its appeal when he couldn't rely on his own brain to carry him through the day. Besides, human bodily functions were truly unpleasant, and when he morphed for only two hours at a time, he never had to deal with them.

So when he wakes up in a bed, as a human, yet again, he can't restrain a groan of frustration. Immediately he begins reciting Z-space physics equations in his mind to make sure his memory is intact. To his relief, it is. He examines his body. This is his standard human morph, the form he thinks of as his own. This is also something of a relief. He focuses on his body and tries to demorph, with no success. Then he tries broadcasting thought-speech. «Testing.» It seems that he can. This would seem to suggest he is simply trapped in morph, a nothlit, but he suspects this is not the case. He's woken up in a strange place. This must be a glitch.

Aximili leaves the small bedroom, making no effort to change from his pinstriped sleeping clothes. Just outside his room, he sees a photograph framed on the wall. It is a low-quality photograph, even by human standards, of Dr. Spencer Reid and a woman he does not recognize. Does this house belong to Reid?

"Excuse me!" he shouts. "Dr. Reid! Is this your residence?" He does not like shouting, and would have preferred to broadcast thought-speech, the one remnant of his Andalite self remaining to him, but he remembers Reid's discomfiture at his use of thought-speech.

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Spencer poked his head into the living room to see Ax standing there in his human form looking distraught.

"Ax.. yes... I live here. We live here.."

Perhaps he hadn't seen the books yet.

[tailblade.livejournal.com]

"What?!" Has this glitch made everyone go mad except for him? "I do not live in a human house!"

Then he freezes when he realizes that Reid does not yet know he isn't human. "I am not a human," he says, trying to calm his shock his confusion. "I am an Andalite. This is my human morph. Some form of glitch has trapped me in my human form and brought me to your house. I don't live here."

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Spencer held up his hands, trying to calm Ax down in case Kate heard. He crossed the room so that he could speak to him quietly.

"Listen. I spoke to Kara during the bodyswap... mess. She was in your body. I've seen your true form. And technically I don't live here either. This isn't my house. But this glitch seems to want to set us up as a family unit - I'm the father and you're my son. I know you don't like it... but we need to go along with it because the glitch has made Beckett think this is all real."

[tailblade.livejournal.com]

"My father?" Ax echoes in disbelief. He assumes that Beckett must be the woman from the photograph - his "mother." "You realize my human form bears no physical resemblance to either of you?" But then, since when did glitches make sense?

He wonders why Reid hasn't just told Beckett that none of this is real, and does a quick cost-benefit analysis in his head. The benefit of revealing the illusion to Beckett is that he will not be forced to act out this farce. However, it may take an entire week to convince her of the truth, and by then the glitch will likely be over. In the meantime, Beckett may think her "child" to be dangerously unstable and physically restrain him from leaving the house, a confrontation he cannot hope to win in his human form. Conversely, there are benefits to keeping up appearances. If Beckett believes she is Ax's mother, she will feed him and wash his clothing. Should something go amiss with his human body, she will help fix it. In short, she will take care of him for the duration of the glitch.

"I will maintain the illusion," says Ax. Then he adds, in thought-speech, «It seems that my ability to thought-speak remains. Since thought-speech can be restricted to specific targets, I may use this form of communication when Beckett is present.»

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

"I don't think the aliens have ever paid attention to logic or things of that nature, if my research on the arrivals and departures of this place indicates anything."

He stood back sizing up Ax's human form. He was right: there was no way that Ax even remotely resembled he or Kate. The aliens were quite ridiculous.

"When you use the... thought-speech... I'm the only one who can hear it?"

[ location: the house ]

[biverbam.livejournal.com]

Sadly, at this point it's not entirely unusual for River to find herself waking up in a place she doesn't know. The fact that the room is hers while still remaining so wrong is what sets this apart.

A pink radio, notebooks and textbooks and sketchbooks, pair of well-worn ballet slippers hanging from the knob of the closet door, the picture of a happy family that had her in it but wasn't hers. It all hat purpose, history without direct meaning or correlation but connection that didn't even try to hide itself.

Currently, River (still barefoot in her sensible pink pinstripe pajamas) is trying to make her escape. It's clumsy and hurried, an attempt at a mad dash with lots of pausing to creep around corners or hide behind banisters.

Someone should probably stop her before there is a scandal.

[ location: the house ]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

Spencer sighed as he saw River sneaking around the house. This was the "child" that he had been most worried about.

"River, what are you doing?"

[ location: the house ]

[noheatnikki.livejournal.com]

Kate bustled down the hallway, basket of fresh laundry in her hands. She looked from her husband to her daughter and shook her head.

"Honestly, River, you're not dressed? You'll be late for school at this rate!"

[ location: the house ]

[biverbam.livejournal.com]

Well, this wasn't going well at all.

First Spencer who had been Kaylee, clad in the disapproving role of 'father' when the shoes don't fit (that was almost painfully obvious) and then Kate, so unequivocally settled into the role of the mother. Her mother. The concept of River having any mother that does laundry is laughable, but she tucks that observation away for now.

"It's closed."

Being covert was an acquired skill, and River had taken classes in it. (Why she thinks she's doing well right now in this regard is anyone's guess. Over-confidence in finally feeling her own fingers and toes, maybe.)

[ location: the house ]

[numbersnfigures.livejournal.com]

"What's closed? School?"

He gazed over at Kate who was still glancing disapprovingly in their direction. Spencer had to process this with River and explain to her what was going on in a manner that River would understand. Or at least in a manner that would enable Spencer to understand that she understood.

"River.. uh... come sit by... daddy for a minute..."

Nothing awkward about that at all.