Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 21:31:55 -0800 (PST) From: Chase Donovon Subject: Welcome to Salem NOTE: This story is pure fantasy and doesn't reflect the actual characters or actors on Days of Our Lives. The show and characters are trademarks of and copyright Corday Productions Inc., in association with Columbia Pictures Television. I turned over on my back and indulged in one of those luxurious full body stretches that feel so wonderful first thing in the morning. I started to open my eyes, but quickly clenched them together again at the first assault of morning sunshine. What? Morning sunshine? The window in my dorm room faces West! Right? Yeah, of course it does. How many times have I had to close the blinds in the early evening because the sun was in my eyes while I tried to study? Dozens. Something wasn't right. I cautiously opened my eyes again. Sure enough, the sun was shining directly on my face. Had I slept through an entire day? Was the sun setting already? I sat up and looked out through the window which was letting in the offending sun. I should have been looking at the distant clock on top of the music building, but I wasn't. All I could see through the window was sky. Slowly, the effects of sleep began to wear off and I realized that everything around me was wrong. This wasn't my dorm room at all! I wasn't lying in a single size bed in a room the size of a walk in closet. I was lying in what had to be a King sized bed, in a very spacious bedroom filled with what looked like expensive antique furniture. Where the hell was I? My mind raced to the night before. Had I gotten drunk? Gone home with someone? No. I remembered the night very clearly. I'd had dinner with some of my friends from the dorm around six, then gone to a study group at seven. I'd been home a little after nine and had put in a couple of hours of work on my essay for history class. After that, I'd talked to a friend on the phone for awhile and then had gone to sleep. I had an eight am class the next morning. This morning, in fact. So where was I? What was going on? I got slowly out of bed and noticed that I wasn't even in my usual t-shirt and boxer shorts. I knew I'd been dressed that way when I went to bed. Now I was wearing grey sweat pants and no shirt at all. And... wow. My chest and stomach looked really great! Not that they usually don't look good, I keep in shape. But they'd never looked this fantastic before. Was that a hint of a six pack? I stumbled across to the window. Looking out where campus should have been, I saw instead the green expanse of a well kept lawn. Closer, almost directly below my window, was an large swimming pool. Next to that there was a small house. This wasn't right at all? I felt panic slowly rising inside of my chest. I forced myself to breathe in and out for a few minutes, calm, steady breaths. I had to keep myself from going over the edge, here. There had to be a logical reason for whatever was going on. A knock on a very solid looking door across the room broke into my thoughts. I felt my throat tighten, as if an unseen hand had suddenly gripped it and was prepared to choke the life out of me. Who was on the other side of that door? Did I ever dare to find out? "Who.." my voice cracked. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Who is it?" That was strange, my voice didn't sound right at all. "It's Henderson. Will you be taking breakfast this morning?" Huh? "Breakfast?" I asked, again noting that my voice was different. "Shall I tell Cook to prepare your usual?" the voice on the other side of the door asked. "N-no. I'm not hungry," I answered, my mind racing. "Very good." There was no further sound. I waited for a minute before slowly making my way to the door an opening it. I was presented with a long hallway, with several closed doors and even more expensive looking furniture along the walls. There was something nagging the back of my mind, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I'd seen this before, though, I knew that. Somwhere. I was still standing there, gawking and trying to figure out what the hell was going on when a woman turned the corner and walked towards me. Her attention was focused on some papers in her hand and I had a chance to study her face unobserved for a few seconds. It.. couldn't be. Suddenly, the face and the hallway, it all clicked. I knew where this place was, but it was impossible! The woman was almost in front of me when she looked up and noticed me. "Good morning, darling! Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?" It was her. There was no doubt about it. Why was she calling me darling, though? "Um. Good morning. Yeah, school," I mumbled. A strange look crossed her face and she reached out and touched my cheek softly. "Are you feeling okay?" I nodded and attempted a smile before backing into the room where all this had started and closing the door behind me. She seemed so real! When she'd touched my face I could feel the smooth, cool skin of her hand. I could smell her perfume. But it couldn't be, she didn't really exist. I turned around, feeling the panic building again. As I did so, I caught sight of myself in a mirror across the room that I hadn't noticed before. Only, it wasn't me. It was a face I knew well, but it wasn't my face. In the mirror stood Philip Kiriakis, or at least the actor who played him on Days of Our Lives. He was wearing grey sweatpants and no shirt. I slowly raised my hand to my forehead and watched as Philip did the same in the mirror. I coughed lightly and so did he. I squeezed my eyes closed, counted to twenty, and opened them. Nothing had changed. I slowly sank to the floor, my back against the door. Had I lost my mind? I'd been watching Days of our Lives since I was a child. My mother had watched it since she was a child. There was no doubt in my mind that the woman in the hallway was Kate Roberts. And, of course! The person who'd knocked had called himself Henderson! The Kiriakis butler! Plus, the hallway. That was a set that I'd seen on TV many times over the years. But it wasn't a set now. It was real. And I was here. Either I was dreaming the most vivid dream in the history of the world, or I'd lost my mind. I couldn't really be here. And why did I look like Philip? I'd admired the actor who played the role since he'd joined the cast. He was young, blond, and sexy as hell. And the character was pretty decent, too. I liked him. But he wasn't real. None of this was real. And yet, it felt very real right now. I was sitting here, in Philip Kiriakis's body, in his bedroom. His mother had just spoken to me, called me darling. I stood up and looked in the mirror again. The reflection was still the same. "Now what?" I asked myself out loud. The voice, which wasn't my own, was now at least recognizable. I'd heard it on TV many times. Go with it. The thought seemed to come out of nowhere, but it made some sense. If I'd lost my mind, there was nothing I could do about it now. It was a fait acompli. If I was dreaming, I might as well enjoy the dream until I woke up, right? If Kate was real, that meant that the other characters on the show would be real, too. Like Shawn Brady! That thought brought a smile to my face. Or Philip's face, depending on how you looked at it. There were so many possibilities! This could turn out to be a very fun dream. I glanced in the mirror again and realized just how sexy I looked. I began to run my fingers across the bare, smooth chest of the young God I'd suddenly become, playing with the nipples until they hardened beneath my fingers. Looking in the mirror, it was almost like I was being given a free show by the beautiful blond in the reflection. I felt a stirring between my legs and saw the evidence of arousal clearly become outlined against the fabric of the sweat pants. Yes, this was going to be a fun dream indeed, I thought, as I pulled the front of my sweats out slightly and got a good look at what Philip- at what I!- was packing between his legs. In fact, if this was a dream, I didn't want to wake up any time soon. To Be Continued??? If people are interested, I'll write more. I have lots of ideas about where to take the story, but I'm open to suggestions from anyone who loves Days and the guys on it!!! Write to chase_donovon@yahoo.com