"Tell me," Felicity said to Lucien when she saw him next. "Are you a warlock? How the hell are you able to contact me through the mirror?"

"I'm not," Lucien replied. "Just a vampire." He chuckled. "Well, not just a vampire. Even though I'm not an Original, I was one of the first ones made outside the family. You know, before the change."

"What change?" Felicity asked.

"Never mind, I won't tell you now," Lucien told her quickly. "I wouldn't want to intimidate you or make you get your hopes up for something that's never going to happen."

"You know, I could say the same thing about you," Felicity retorted. "Don't think I have no idea what you're trying to accomplish with these little visits of yours, however you do them."

"If you'd like to know how, I'll tell you," Lucien replied. "Isn't it a thing in the magical world for people to contact others by thinking about them?"

"Yes," Felicity nodded. "It is."

"And I heard that you're a witch," Lucien continued. "So it stands to reason that I could think about you and that would be a summons on your part to allow me to see you, wouldn't it?"

"I guess," Felicity nodded and sighed. "I don't have my powers anymore. Or at least I'm not allowed to use them in a way I'd like. I used them to torture someone a long time ago and the government took them away after that. You'd think that would make me exempt from stuff like what you're talking about, but apparently, I have just enough magic to put myself at the mercy of other people, even though I'm not allowed to do anything fun."

This news intrigued Lucien. "You tortured someone with your powers?" He asked. "Why would you do that?"

"They were mistreating someone I like very much and I felt I should mete out vengeance for that person," Felicity replied. "Cause they were like a mother to me."

"And who was it?" Lucien asked. "Anyone I would know?"

"Grandma Amy," Felicity said. "Isn't she there with you?"

"Yes," Lucien smiled. "I like her. She's pretty."

"I don't believe you!" Felicity scoffed, her jaw dropping a little. "Here you are trying to put the moves on me and you tell me you like Grandma Amy too?"

Lucien chuckled. "Calm down, Kitten. I meant it aesthetically. And I only say these things because I like to see the look on Klausy's face when I do."

"I wish you were here with me now so I could kick your ass," Felicity said as she narrowed her eyes.

"Soon, darling," Lucien told her. "Be patient. If I had magic and could bring you into the mirror so we could have alone time, I would, but I can't."

"And that's good," Felicity shot back. "When Alice went through the mirror, everything on the other side was twisted and weird, which would accurately describe any time I spend with you."

"Awww!" Lucien smiled, unperturbed. "Aren't you sweet?"

Before Felicity could spit out a scathing retort, there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Sweetheart?" called her father's voice. "Are you all right?"

"That's my dad!" Felicity cried, her eyes widening. "Go away!" She whispered furiously to Lucien. "Go away!"

"Your father still checks on who you like?" Lucien asked, raising an eyebrow. "You must've really screwed up somewhere along the way."

"No, I just don't want him to see you," Felicity replied.

"Why?" Lucien cried, putting a hand to his heart. "Are you ashamed of me? Cause you know, that really hurts!"

"I don't want anyone to get ideas that we could be a couple because I hate you," Felicity said patiently. "How could you not understand that by now?"

"Because I don't think it's true," Lucien smiled. "But I'll go, if you want me to. Don't miss me too much."

"Oh, I won't," Felicity told him. "You don't have to worry about that."

Just as Lucien disappeared, Adrian made his way into the bathroom. "Are you okay?" He asked. "If you're ill somehow or having some other problem that makes you lock yourself in the bathroom and carry on conversations with no one, we can talk about it."

"Thank you," Felicity said, coming over to give her father a hug. Though they'd definitely had a rocky relationship for most of her life, she could really tell he was trying to turn it around now. "But really, nothing's wrong. Just a guy who's taken a liking to me that I find annoying. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Adrian asked. "Cause I'd be more than happy to punch him in the face for you if you want."

"I know you would," Felicity agreed. "But you can't. He's…kind of in the past with Grandpa Klaus, Grandpa Alistair and the others."

"Ah," Adrian nodded. "Well, let's just hope they keep him there when they come back."

"I hope that too, but he seems very determined to come with them, so we'll see," Felicity said. "I'll stock up on pepper spray and go over my self-defense tapes in the meantime. Or I'll just bite him and kick him in the crotch when he comes. I don't know yet."

"It's good to know you've got that under control," Adrian told her. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Felicity replied. "And I promise that if I need help from you, I'll let you know."

She was immensely relieved when Lucien didn't stop by again. Before bed, she took a bubble bath and put curlers in her hair, then read a chapter of the romance novel she was in the middle of before turning off her lights and settling down to sleep.

But the calm of her world when awake belied what was going on in her head as she began to dream.

She was sleeping soundly when a shift in the mattress beside her made her open her eyes. She began to scream but soon a hand was put over her mouth as she felt warm lips against her earlobe. "Don't worry, kitten," a voice whispered. "It's only me."

"If that's supposed to make me feel better, it's not working," Felicity whispered angrily. "What makes you think you can just stroll in here and get in my bed?"

"Because it's my bed too," Lucien said, turning on the light and showing her a picture that was on his bedside table. It was her, but in what looked like a budoir photo.

"Give me that!" She said, and stared in horror at how she was posed languidly on the bed in brief, slinky black lingerie. "How the hell did you get this?"

"You gave it to me for my birthday," Lucien smiled. "Best present I've ever gotten. Makes me wonder what you'll do for our anniversary."

"Anniversary of what?" Felicity replied. "I refuse to believe you're the marrying type."

"Oh, of course not!" Lucien shook his head. "It's not our wedding anniversary. It's the anniversary of the day you first went to bed with me. I thought it would be a nice thing for us to celebrate."

"How many have we had?" Felicity asked. "And what the hell would convince me to stay with you for so long?"

Lucien grinned wickedly. "Would you like me to show you?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "I can just imagine."

"Oh, come on, Kitten," Lucien said and slid his finger down her cheek and neck. "Please?"

Felicity gave a little squeak, not wanting to give into him, but at the same time, wondering. Finally, she let him put her to himself. His body was warm and lithe, and his chest felt taut under her fingers as he turned off the light and she ran her finger tips down his chest in the dark.

Then she felt him take her and kiss each of her fingers before taking her head in his hands and holding it so he could kiss her. She resisted at first, her hands flying in every direction because she wanted to slap him but couldn't. Then, she felt herself relax into the kiss and kiss him back, because, horror of horrors, she had to admit that he was a good kisser even if he was an otherwise terrible person.

"You see?" He whispered after he pulled away. "That was great, wasn't it?"

"It was all right," Felicity replied resentfully. "I guess."

Then he kissed her again and her body was full of shivers.

"Here," he said and held her close against him. Then he laid her back onto the mattress, looking down at her, a looming figure in the darkness. She reached up and turned on the light, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What was that for, kitten?" He asked. "Was I making you uneasy in the dark?"

"No," Felicity replied quickly. "I just didn't want to deprive you of a chance to gaze into my pretty face while we get this business over with."

Lucien heard this and chuckled. "Thank you," he said and kissed her. "How kind." She then threw her arms around his neck and felt him slip inside her, pulling out and thrusting in over and over again until, when she woke up, she was covered in sweat and a few of her curlers had fallen out of her hair and lay on the mattress beside her.

She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief that it had all been a dream, hoping that she hadn't been yelling too loudly and that her father wouldn't come in and ask if she was all right. She couldn't explain her dream to him. She just couldn't.

"You look like death warmed over, Kitten," Lucien remarked the next time he saw her. "Did you have trouble sleeping?"

"Yes, I did," Felicity hissed at him. "And it's really not nice of you to mention stuff like that to people. How would you like it if I told you that you were ugly? How would you feel?"

"I never said you were ugly," Lucien corrected. "I just meant that you might want to bathe before you leave the house and do something about those under eye circles of yours. Did you stay up all night because you were dreaming of me?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Felicity snapped. "And they weren't dreams, they were nightmares!" She splashed some cold water on her face groaned as Lucien continued to talk.

"Why would you be dreaming of me?" He asked. "I don't think they were nightmares at all."

"You're lousy in bed," she told him and threw a towel at the mirror. "Really fucking lousy."

"Maybe in your head," he said. "But just wait until you get a taste of real life." His eyes twinkled. "Now that I know you want it so bad, I'm even more eager to give it to you."

"Great," Felicity sighed. "I'll be having more nightmares tonight. Thank you so much. I hope you're proud of yourself."

"Of my bedroom prowess?" Lucien smiled. "Of course I am. I have no reason not to be." Then he turned and said, "Company's coming, Kitten, so I have to go. You make the most of your time in the waterfall box and we'll talk later."

"Goodbye," Felicity said, then put on the under eye concealer and went to meet Adrian for breakfast.