Disclaimer: Only original characters and plot belong to me!

A/n- This is loooong overdue, but before I forget, I have to thank Lovely Vero for all her encouragement, counseling and help that she's given me with this series so far and that she will undoubtedly give me for this and future stories. I appreciate it so much.

Selina and Klaus were on a stakeout. They were sitting in her car across the street from Alistair and Astrid's house, waiting to see if and when they would come out.

As the front blinds closed, the large, light blue Tudor split level that Alistair called home seemed emptier and more forbidding then usual. Selina sighed and hit her head a couple of times against the dashboard. "Can we just go home already? It's two a.m. and I'm tired and I want to go home to bed!"

"No!" Klaus said. "We're staying right here. They're going to come out, I know it!"

Selina yawned. "No they won't. It's the middle of the night, for crying out loud! They're probably asleep, which makes them more sensible than we are at the moment."

"If they're there, then why haven't they answered my calls?" Klaus asked. "There have been a lot of times recently where I've needed Alistair and I haven't been able to get hold of him!"

Selina sighed. "I don't know. Maybe they haven't been answering the phone because their only child died a horrible death just last week. Lord knows Adrian hasn't handled it well at all."

"Yes, I know," Klaus agreed. "He never sleeps anymore, and one night when I got up to go to the bathroom, I heard him talking to himself. He's too old for an imaginary friend, right?"

Selina nodded. "Well, it's not common for young people his age to have an imaginary friend, but if something like that is his way of dealing with Helene's death, then I'm proud of him. Some people can't cope at all after seeing someone they love die. They just shut themselves off. I mean, look at what my mother's family did after Uncle Jake got murdered."

"You mean the same Uncle Jake that you and Roxie visit several times a week in an attempt to have a relationship with one another?" He smirked. "How is that going, by the way?"

"Well," Selina took a sip of coffee from the mug in the cupholder and winced. It was cold and there were grounds in it. "Uncle Jake thinks we're making progress, but I don't think so. Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to get through to her."

Selina looked at him. "Maybe if you were out of the way, I'd be able to make some headway with her."

He burst out laughing. "Come now, Bunny," he said. "Your poor relationship with our daughter has nothing to do with me."

"Yes it does!" Selina nodded furiously. "She's head over heels for you, so if you're there, she doesn't even want to try with me! It's when we have chocolate and strawberry ice cream in the freezer. In that scenario, you and I would be the ice cream and Roxie would be me trying to make the choice. I know I like chocolate better, so I don't give the strawberry a second glance unless the chocolate is gone. It's my second choice. So would you please find some excuse to get out of the way so I can try to make headway with Roxie? Please, please, please, please, please?"

Klaus rolled his eyes and pushed her gently out of the way. "Fine. I'll make up some cunningly plausible excuse as to why I need to leave so you and Roxie can have bonding time, but honestly, the thought just makes me laugh."

Selina bristled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well think about it," he said. "She's six and you're really bad at being a vampire and a werewolf. The two of you wouldn't last five seconds without me or Adrian here to look after you."

Selina growled. "You're full of crap. We could manage just fine!" Just then, her eyes widened. "I've got an idea," she said. "You want to do something with Adrian that will take his mind off the fact that Helene is dead and I want an opportunity to bond with Roxie which, as we've established, will only happen if you're out of the way. So why don't you take him on a hybrid-making mission? I know we saved up my blood from when I was human for that brief period several years back. And thanks to being around Enid and everyone at the werewolf bar, we know the locations of several packs. So why don't you give it a go?"

He was looking at her with amazement. "What?" She said after a moment.

He blinked. "Sorry. I just am so proud that it's you who suggested it. I was actually thinking about that myself, but I thought that if I did, you'd freak out on me."

"I wouldn't," Selina said. "I know that this is a goal of yours and I would never dream of standing in your way."

"Well first off, you wouldn't be able to," Klaus said. "It would happen whether you consented or not. If you hadn't brought up me bringing Adrian with me, I would have just taken him without telling you."

Selina frowned. "And why wouldn't you have told me?"

"Because," Klaus grinned. "I know how you are about Adrian, Bunny. You still see him as around three years old, don't you? And the thought of your precious baby boy going out and committing acts of evil against innocent people would just be too much for you. You would have fought me."

Selina sighed. "You think that I would have kicked up a fuss like I did when you made him kill those kids at the playground when he was five and activate his werewolf gene. Well, I understand that he's grown up now. I also trust that he's responsible enough to run his own life. I'm not going to tell him how to live anymore. That's not my place. If he wants to go hybrid-making with you, I wish the two of you the best of luck."

"Really?" Klaus asked. He seemed deflated. He'd been hoping she'd put up more of a fight. "That's all you're going to say?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. She turned on the overhead light and began flipping through a catalogue. "If you want to go confront Alistair and Astrid about why they haven't been calling, why don't you just barge in and do it? It's not like that's abnormal behavior for you. What is abnormal is for you to be sitting in a car doing nothing but talking to me when we both know that's not what you want."

"Fine, I will," Klaus said. He got out of the car, crossed the street to the house, and began knocking on the front door like mad. Selina didn't even look up. The sooner Alistair let him in, the sooner she'd be able to go home and get some sleep.

Alistair had been sleeping on the sofa in the living room since Helene died. He couldn't face being upstairs because every time he got on the landing, he always felt like he needed to look in on Helene's vacant room. It was silly, he knew. She was dead and she wasn't coming back. At least not in body. Adrian had called and told them how she'd died as soon as he'd gotten home from prom. She'd been electrocuted, he'd said. And she'd fallen into the river after Pollock Bridge had fallen apart. Her body had been washed away and even after days of searching, they still hadn't found it. Maybe the terrible way she died would bring her spirit back. Possibly he was a terrible father for hoping that was the case and he refused to tell Astrid, but he really wanted to see her spirit more than anythingin the world. See her face one last time.

He sighed. He saw her every time he closed his eyes now, but it wasn't the same. He tried it again, but several sharp knocks at his front door prevented it from happening. He stared at the clock next to the television. It was two in the morning. Groggily, he got up and made his way to the door, opening it slowly. "What is it?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

"I knew you were here!" Said a loud voice, turning on the living room light and striding in to sit on the sofa. "Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

Alistair blinked and stared up at Klaus, who stood in front of him, looking self-righteous. "Well," he said, after a moment, "As you are aware, our daughter died on prom night. We've been grieving."

"Yes, I know," Klaus waved that aside. "And Adrian's been locked in his room talking to himself day and night. You need a distraction."

"What kind of distraction?" Alistair asked suspiciously.

"Oh, Selina wants to bond with Roxie and feels that it would be best done if I was out of the way, so I'm going to take Adrian and we're going to go on a hybrid-making mission. You should come with us. It'll be fun." Klaus looked at him eagerly.

Alistair shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "The two of you can manage by yourselves."

Klaus' jaw dropped. "But what if we need emergency magic done or something?" He asked. "You have to come with us!"

Alistair narrowed his eyes. "Do I really have a choice about this?"

Klaus shook his head. "No. Once I convince Adrian, we'll call you and be on our way. It'll be just like old times, you'll see." He paused. "Well, Selina's in the car and we should probably be getting home. Goodnight!" Before Alistair could say anything, Klaus had sped out the door and shut it behind him. Then, Alistair heard a car speed off into the night. He sighed. What had he just gotten himself into?

A few days later, Selina and Roxie were following Klaus and Adrian to the door to tell them goodbye. Or at least Selina was. Roxie had attached herself to Klaus' leg and was whining vociferously. "Why? Why do you have to go? I want to come too! Don't leave me here with Mommy!"

He looked down at her. "You're too young to come with Adrian and me. We're doing something really grown up. You and Mommy will have a great time here, I promise."

Roxie turned her eyes toward Selina and then quickly turned back to him and burst into fresh sobs. Klaus picked her up. "You have to stay here," he said firmly. "I'll call you every day, I promise."

When she heard the firmness of his voice, Roxie stopped crying and stomped off to her room.

Klaus kissed Selina goodbye. "Good luck," he said.

She nodded. "Thanks. I'll make it work out. Good luck to you too."

Just then, Alistair poked his head in. "Are we ready to go?" He asked.

Klaus nodded. "Yes, let's go. We're as ready as we'll ever be."

They headed out and Selina sat by the window and watched the car drive away. Then, she sat in silence and asked herself what she was supposed to do now.