It was early in the morning when Ben heard the front door open. He struggled to open his heavy eyes as he stretched his sore back. He almost rolled off the couch, forgetting that’s where he went to sleep. The jolt of almost falling off the furniture woke him up quickly. He yawned half asleep as he saw that the sun hadn’t risen yet. He could see daylight coming through the windows but it was far less than what he was used to.



Ben’s attention turned to the front door as Laura… Lauren, he corrected himself, walked inside. Ben looked at the digital clock in the kitchen, it was around 5am. She didn’t look any different from when she left for her run, except for the dirt on her shoes and a couple of leaves in her hair. Her clothes were a little damp but not due to sweat but rather the morning dew. She looked black faced, still lost in thought as she kicked her shoes off and removed the hair tie, letting her hair loose.



“I could get used to that,” Lauran said to herself, or one of the personalities now living inside the Doll. She wasn’t out of breath and honestly could go for another hundred more laps. She swept the debris out of her hair and looked down at her clothes. “The longer hair isn’t so bad when you don’t need to worry about sweat.”



Lauran turned her attention towards Ben, and surveyed the couch, which had a pillow and blanket on them. He had slept downstairs, which is something he had never done before. Through his tired eyes, she could see the worry and concern on his face.



“You slept on the couch?” Lauran gave him a sympathetic smile.



“You were gone for so long,” Ben yawned. “I wasn’t sure when you were coming back. I stayed up until two, and when you were back…”



“You waited for me, you didn’t need to do that. I just needed to clear my head. Refocus myself, I do it all the time.”



“Not for ten hours,” Ben countered, gesturing towards the clock.



“Fair,” Lauran nodded. “Though it’s a little hard to clear your head when there’s three of you up here. She tapped the side of her head. “And I’m in a body that doesn’t get exhausted.”



“What about breaks?” Ben tilted his head. “You would’ve had to eat, so why not come back after going into standby?”



“Oh… I forgot to tell you that part… I guess I was lost in the heat of everything, we haven’t had a chance to properly catch up.” Lauran realized. “They’re taking this weekend to test a new neurochair, it looks after your needs for you. So I’m here for the entire weekend, or at least until Sunday night.”

“Oh…” Ben said surprised, recalling his incident with Laura when her batteries were running low. He wished that chair had that function. “What about sleep, your body might be fine but your brain still needs a break.”



“The running helped with that.” Lauran shrugged. “Speaking of sleep, you look like you could do with some more. Why don’t you go back upstairs, and have a few hours more. We’ll talk about everything when you get up.”



Ben yawned and stretched again. He really shouldn’t have slept on the couch. He grabbed the bedding and went back upstairs as he climbed into bed. He had a lot on his mind. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say, how to justify what he did. Though Lauren’s mood seemed to be calm. He thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep again but with only three hours on an old couch, exhaustion took him.

With Ben asleep, Lauran decided to do what she always did after a run. She went into the bathroom and made herself a nice hot bath. She got undressed and placed her workout clothes in the hamper as she dipped her toes into the water. She then slid her whole body into the water. She sat there calmly as Lauren did the week prior, inspecting this body once again. Lauren didn’t like everything she was missing but Laura loved her body for what it was. Lauran was finding herself leaning towards Laura’s side.



“This really is a mind fuck…” Lauran said.



“You’re telling me, when I looked at Ben I didn’t see myself, it’s why I decided to give myself a new name. I could feel a part of you in me so that’s why I went with Laura.” The body said in response.



“Laura?” Lauran blinked as she got up out of the bath as quickly as she could and looked in the mirror. She didn’t even care that she was getting the floor wet. “How?”



“I don’t know… I should be inactive,” Laura acknowledged. “You’re meant to have the pilot’s seat.”



“Maybe I’m asleep?” Lauren suggested. “My body that is.”



“Yeah maybe… but this isn’t right…” Laura scowled. “We look pretty cute when we scowl, that’s why I’d tease you on occasion, or purposely mess something up… Don’t tell Ben I said that.”



An example flashed through Lauren’s mind of a time Ben did the laundry incorrectly. “I knew it… how hard is it to fold clothes?” Lauren’s eyes went wide. “Wait, I can access Ben’s memories?”



“Oops, that was my fault, I probably shouldn’t let you see those.” Laura gave another face she found cute. “Though I did borrow your body so a few memories probably would hurt.”



Lauren put her hands down on the bench hard as she stared deeply into her reflection. She could see something alive behind the artificial eyes of hers. “Why did he do it? Why did he become you?”



“I’m not sure if I should say…” Laura said in a serious tone. “I know most of it, but some of me is you so it’s not entirely my place to say. I think you should probably talk to Ben about it, when he wakes up…”



Another feeling flashed through Lauren’s mind. Laura was jealous that Lauren/Lauran was able to interact with Ben while Laura could only watch him sleep. Though he did look cute sleeping.



“You find yourself cute?” Lauren teased.



“Didn’t I just say some of me is you,” Laura snapped back, she’d be blushing if her body did that. “Besides I find myself so much cuter, just look at your face, and your body.”

Lauren felt the attraction to herself from Laura. “This isn’t me though, it’s probably your body more than it is mine, as hard as that is to admit.”



“I understand…” Laura could feel Lauren’s dislike of the Doll’s body. “Though it’s still based on you and I find you attractive. To me I don’t see much difference besides the obvious, which I would feel 100% more guilty than I did if I had those. But I get this one is missing the things that make you, you. But because I’m not you, I don’t mind as much.”



Lauran gave herself a hug.



“I appreciate the sentiment, though there’s still a lot to unpack here. I’m not sure if being able to talk to you directly is helping or just adding another element to all this.”



Lauran returned the hug.



“I know how you feel, literally, I know how you feel.” Laura smirked. “I’d suggest we wake up Ben and have that talk now, but I know what he’s like when he’s tired.” Laura turned and gave the mirror another look. “Since you can’t wait that long, I’ll answer one question for him.”



Lauren took a deep breathless breath. “Why did you… he do it?”



“Curiosity…”