Claire was sitting on the plush carpeted floor outside Justin and Renee's hotel suite, drumming her fingers against it. Naturally they made no noise and being dead her sense of touch was somewhat impaired, but she had nothing else to do.

Well, that was a lie. She had worrying to do, and she was doing a lot of it. The Peeping Tom version of Justin apparently was not done with whatever he wanted to see yet, and she was stuck here until he was. He couldn't be left on his own. There hadn't been a heck of a lot to see while the couple were sleeping, so he had been hanging out in the living area of the suite. Occasionally he popped back through to ask her questions, and he swore blind he hadn't been in the bedroom but she wasn't so sure she believed him.

On a more practical level she was concerned that the longer he was here, the longer he was missing from his own reality. How differently time passed in this dimension was unclear, but she knew he would lose at least some. She made a mental note to arm him with a good cover story before she sent him back. This was not the main cause of her worry, however; that was based almost entirely on exactly what he wanted from this trip and how he would react to everything he had seen.

It wasn't hard to understand his baser motives. Apparently he'd been having a tough time dealing with everything non-celebrity Renee had told him about his other self and had been too curious to resist taking a look. Obviously, he also had unresolved issues with the girl, and it wasn't like he could talk to anybody about it. If he did, it was a one way ticket to a straightjacket. Claire couldn't blame him for his interest, although she could blame him for being stupid enough to act on it. In her humble opinion, a wish on the necklace was asking for disaster when used to pry into destiny and he of all people ought to have realised it.

What she didn't understand on the higher level was exactly what he was looking for out of this, what resolution he hoped to find.

She was also worried that if he had been tempted to use it once, he would be tempted to use it again. Acts like this were always hardest the first time, and when people grew in confidence with such things they also grew in stupidity. It was Claire's biggest fear that the next time he picked up the necklace, he would do something he'd regret. Not just him, but also Renee and possibly all those in charge. What Renee had done had been accidental, but she had taken the lemons and made lemonade. She'd listened, she'd learned, and she'd done the smart thing and put the universe back to rights.

Claire didn't trust Justin to do the same. He'd done this on purpose, knowing the disruption he would cause. He had intended to do a body swap, and it was sheer luck that he'd been so sloppy with the wording - clearly the Powers That Be had jumped on that little loophole. The magic forced them to grant his wish, but it didn't force them to take anything beyond a literal interpretation of the words. Of course they had known what he was intending, but they weren't obligated to adhere to that so long as their actions satisfied the phrasing.

Justin wasn't stupid. If there was a next time, it would be an unequivocal next time. The fact that he might make such a move did not inspire her with confidence that he would behave rationally.

To that end, Claire was facing a moral dilemma. As she sat outside the dark oak door with its gilt numbers, stared at the deep red carpet and generally looked out of place amongst the expensive vases and flowers decorating the corridor. It was expressly forbidden for her to interfere in the happenings on Earth, in any dimension. She could explain, offer advice and opinions, even guide people to opportunities the way she had when she had led this reality's Renee to Justin's studio that day… but she wasn't allowed to interfere with free will. She wasn't allowed to force people's decisions either way, she wasn't allowed to eliminate possible choices from the equation and she most certainly was not allowed to remove the necklace from whoever currently had hold of it.

Needless to say, she was very tempted to help Justin 'lose' the necklace, once they got back. She had absolutely no idea how in the world to do it without breaking the rules, however, and her bosses certainly wouldn't help. They were bound by the magic; they could not refuse any wish no matter how terrible, and they could not decide who was and wasn't allowed to make wishes. Claire thought that those were the dumbest rules ever, but then she supposed they were the all knowing and powerful ones - maybe they saw a purpose she didn't.

Sometimes, Claire really hated knowing secrets of the universe. It seemed like the more she knew the less she understood.

"Look who decided to show up," she said when her charge finally walked back out through the wall. He seemed to enjoy the novelty of that; most people when faced with this observational dimension still came through the door by habit.

"What time is it?" He asked. "There are no clocks in there."

Claire jerked her head silently towards the ornate ornamental clock on the wall between the emergency stairs and the elevator.

"Nine? I knew they ought to be awake by now."

"Justin…" Claire said, "Did you hear what you just said?"

"Huh?" He looked at her blankly.

"You're berating people for not being awake so you can spy on them. What's wrong with this picture?"

Justin pointedly ignored her. "Don't they have things to do? Isn't he supposed to be recording with JC?"

"How am I supposed to know?" She sighed in exasperation, toying with the hem of the turtleneck sweater she was wearing (a perk of the afterlife was magically appearing clothes). "Maybe they have a day off or maybe they've just overslept. Who knows?"

"And here was me thinking you knew everything. Were you this hostile with Renee?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she hoisted herself to her feet to look him in the eye. "Listen, bucko, Renee wasn't doing anything as monumentally moronic as you are right now. Not to mention she never invaded anybody's privacy like this or more to the point, forced me to. She's my best friend, lest you forget, and I am NOT comfortable with this, on any level. You were spying on her in the damn bathroom, man. Don't think I'm unsympathetic, I know you've had a rough time but this is really not helping you out here. And also it's mega creepy."

"You were the one who told me we should impartially observe," Justin pointed out, folding his arms defensively across his chest.

"No, I was the one who begged you to take the lesser of the evils, which would be this."

"Well…"

"Honestly, Justin," she continued, "what are you expecting out of this? I mean, you've seen it. She's happy here, the other you is happy with her. I mean, I know in some ways that has to sting for you but would you have felt better if she was miserable? I honestly don't get what any of this was trying to accomplish, other than to help you wallow in your pain some more. It's not healthy."

Justin bristled, feeling some grains of truth in what she said. In some ways he wasn't quite sure what he had been looking to achieve, but all he had known was that wondering was killing him. Surely it was better to see and to know than to let your own nasty imagination torture you with possibilities?

"I just… wanted to know how she was."

"Well obviously she's fine. So why are we still here? What precisely are you expecting to see from this morning that you didn't see last night?"

There was no way to answer that question without admitting that he had actually peeked in on the pair of them sleeping, once there was enough daylight to give some illumination. It had been physically painful to see; they had been coiled up together exactly the way he and his Renee used to. It wasn't just a lovers' vibe; the two pictures were literally identical, Renee's appearance notwithstanding.

His other self had been stretched haphazardly out on his back, one arm strewn across the pillow behind his head and a foot poking messily out of the sheets. His other arm curled tightly around his girlfriend, whose body was half sprawled across him. He couldn't see beneath the covers, but experience told him she had one leg hooked with his. It was almost like a movie scene, except the pose wasn't quite as tidy and streamlined. The room was sumptuous, the bed enormous and draped in rich burgundy. Idly Justin wondered if this version also insisted on providing his own bed linen.

He knew he probably shouldn't have looked in, but once again nosiness had got the best of him. With a pang he had realised how much he missed being that way with somebody, how long it had been since he and his own girlfriend had been wrapped up in each other like that (literally and figuratively). Once again he almost had to hate his other self: so peaceful and unperturbed even in sleep, looking so blissfully content. Clearly there was nothing keeping him awake at night.

"Earth to Justin?" His thoughts were interrupted by Claire waving an impatient hand in front of his eyes. "Is anybody home in there?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry," he muttered.

"Look." Claire pushed her back from her forehead, sighing slightly. "I don't want to push you here but I'm a little worried about how much time we've taking; the longer you're here the longer you're missing from your own reality. You think you're anywhere near leaving?"

"Just… give me a little longer."

With a huff and a groan, Claire sat back down and resumed staring at the expensively papered walls.

***

"Justin…" Renee tapped his chest gently with an index finger as he began to stir. She didn't want to wake him up unwillingly (because that inevitably led to grumpiness) but if he was coming out of it on his own she saw no harm in encouraging it.

"Mmmm…" Came the sleepy response.

"You awake babe?"

"No." He frowned before reaching over to kiss her forehead and then rolling back to his previous position, eyes never opening.

"Have you gotta be in the studio?" She had to persist because he had a habit of waking up, having a conversation with her and dropping back off in the middle of it. If that happened, he wouldn't remember a word she'd said to him.

"No." Justin's fingers trailed lazily over her bare shoulder. "JC has… stuff… "

"You wanna go out for breakfast? Maybe go back for those pecan waffles you said you liked?"

"Food… is good…"

Renee bit her lip coyly, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face. He was adorable when he was incoherent like this; there was just something she liked about seeing him in less than his usual sharp and alert state. Possibly it was the fact he looked like a five year old and said some fairly embarrassing things on occasion - she just found it funny.

Sometimes she found it silly that even after a year she still got a little giddy waking up with him in the mornings. They were long past the honeymoon stage where the love making was constant and everything was all romance and candles. There was, however, still much to be said for waking up draped all over a hot guy who adored you. She'd be lying if she said she got treated like a princess twenty four seven, but for the most part she had a pretty considerate boyfriend and she really enjoyed going to sleep and waking up all cuddled up to him (even though he often complained that she wriggled too much in her sleep).

It was just a nice way to wake up. She was sure her hair was a total mess, and she'd probably find crease marks imprinted in her skin somewhere from the sheets. But she was toasty warm, being held close by the man she loved and he was just really, really nice to look at in the mornings. She lusted for his body, she was unashamed of it. It was often a source of wry amusement to her that she had originally been shocked at how oversexed the Renee and Justin of that other reality had been, considering she was now just as guilty of it (at least when she could spend the time with him, anyway).

"I'm gonna jump in the shower, babe, are you joining me?"

Her only response was a relaxing of his grip and the sound of his slow, even breathing. Clearly the man had fallen back to sleep already. Experience had taught her she just had to leave him to it and let him wake up when he was ready.

"Fine." Renee dropped a kiss on his chest before sliding out of his embrace and clambering out of the tangled sheets. "Sleep's more fun than wet and naked me. I'll remember that Timberlake."

Justin slumbered on without hearing a word.

***

This time, Claire had actually followed Justin into the room, if only to try and censor his spying a little. She really wished she hadn't.

"God, my eyes…" She shook her head as if trying to burn the image from her brain. "Hasn't she heard of bathrobes?"

"Not like she knew there were people watching her on another plane of existence." It was Justin's turn to be the reasonable one for a moment or two. He hadn't followed her into the bathroom a la the previous night, but was remaining in the living room with Claire. Besides, he'd already seen it all, and there wasn't much to be gained from watching her in the shower by herself except a rare sneak peek into the female grooming routine.

"True, but… ugh. That was so wrong. Anyway, kiddo, you good to go?"

"When do we absolutely have to leave?" He asked.

"Well…" She desperately tried to think of an answer which was truthful but did not encourage him to stick around. "Technically you could stay here forever if you wanted, I can't take you back until you're ready to go, but… like I said, time's still passing in your world and I don't know how much. I imagine it's on a similar time frame but I can't guarantee it, and even by that standard you've been missing… got to be somewhere between twelve and eighteen hours. Somebody's gonna start wondering where you are."

"Yeah…" Justin's voice trailed off, as he started at the bathroom door. You would almost believe he could see through it, with a gaze so intense, but all it revealed to him was some cherry veneer under which was almost certainly wood of the cheapest kind dressed up to look expensive. For the price you paid for these hotel suites, it seemed wrong.

"Whenever you're ready, just say the word."

"Okay. I've probably seen everything I can from here anyway."

"Alrighty then." Claire began preparing for the unpleasant sensation of traversing dimensions. "You just grab my hand and away we go."

Justin's back was to Claire at this point, and she couldn't possibly have seen what his hands were doing. It wasn't hard to deduce however, once he opened his mouth and started talking.

"I wish to swap places with this reality's Justin Timberlake."

Just as she had feared - this time he hadn't left any wiggle room. He'd been terribly specific.

"Oh SHIT!" She screamed in frustration and fear to the cosmos, though none but the idiot wearing the necklace could hear her.

Inside the hotel suite, specifically the bedroom, the young man stretched out on the bed began tossing his head from side to side, squirming and wriggling. Then, almost as quickly as he had started, his body settled back down into its previous position.

The only visible difference was the tension which had replaced the previously peaceful expression on his face.