"I have a question," Lenora asked James as the two of them prepared for bed that night.

"What is it?" James asked.

"You know when we were at the council building, and you wanted to punish those guys for hurting me, why did you tell them that you loved me? Did you mean that?"

"Oh," James replied. "Actually, I just said that so I could justify punishing them as harshly as they deserved to be punished. That's what you thought I meant when I said it, right?"

"Well, yeah," Lenora nodded. "Of course. Your reasoning makes perfect sense. We don't need to complicate things now by saying that we're in love with each other." She paused. "I mean, it's entirely possible that one day we could reach a point where we did say that, but it doesn't have to be now. There's no reason to rush it. I'm happy with things just the way they are."

She got in bed next to him and put the covers over herself, yawning widely.

"I guess you're too sleepy to have fun tonight," James told her.

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "I'm sorry. But this kid of ours is sucking the life out of me."

The next day, the phone rang during breakfast. "I'll get it." He picked up the phone and listened to the person on the other end of the line for a few minutes, then put the phone on his shoulder. "It's Astrid," he told Lenora. "She wants to talk to you."

"About what?" Lenora asked, getting up. "I don't think there's anything left to berate me for." She took the phone and put it to her ear. "Hi, Grandma," she greeted. "What's up?"

"Well, I got my job back at the Council," Astrid told her. "They really had no choice, seeing as how I was the only member who wasn't dead."

"And you want to berate me about keeping hold on my temper and not killing people," Lenora assumed. "Well, it was not my fault! They were torturing me! It was James who-Oh, that's not what you're calling about? Okay, what is it, then?"

"A reporter for the witch paper wants to do an article on why you two did what you did to the council," Astrid told her. "Is that okay?"

Lenora felt her jaw drop a little. "You mean someone voluntarily wants to come here and talk to us?" She asked. "Well, I'll just see if it will be okay." She put the phone down and looked at James. "Grandma says that some reporter wants to talk to us about what you did to the guys in the council. Are you up for that?"

James smirked. "Why the hell not? If this person thinks they're brave enough to venture here, then let them. It should be very amusing to have them around."

A few days later, the reporter came and it was James who answered the door. At the sight of him, the man dropped his notepad and camera as he fell on the front step in a faint.

"It seems like my reputation precedes me," James remarked dryly as Lenora came to join him at the door. She grinned. "I thought this was gonna happen. I don't see how he's gonna get his article written if he can't even get in the house. I don't see why he's that scared of you. You're not so bad."

"Shhh!" James remonstrated. "We don't want that getting around! I like being feared and if it gets out that I have a soft side for anyone, my entire mystique could be destroyed."

Lenora sighed. "Fine," she replied. "I'll tell him that you're terrible, and wicked and that my life is a living hell."

He grinned, took her in his arms and kissed her cheek. "You're an angel."

"I'll go get Max so the two of you can drag this lump inside," Lenora told him. She left and Max appeared a few minutes later. They grabbed the reporter's body and put him in one of the chairs in the parlor before splashing water on his face to rouse him.

"Are you all right?" Max asked. "You took a bit of a spill out there."

But the man didn't hear. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on James. "You're Mr. Black," he said in a tone of wonder.

"Yep," James nodded. "I am. So, what is this little story of yours supposed to be about anyway?"

"Just-just-just about what happened at the Council," the man stuttered. "I'm only here because I was ordered to be by my boss. I hope I'm not irritating you. Please don't hurt me!"

"Okay," Lenora told him. "Take a deep breath. You're perfectly safe. Can I get you a drink?"

The man locked eyes on her. "You're a woman!" He exclaimed. "Surely you've not done anything worthy of being here! When I get done with this, I'll tell people at the Council and they'll come and set you free!"

"How nice that you think so well of me," Lenora told him. "But I admit I did something that got me here for a perfectly justifiable reason. My grandmother is the head of the council and she knows I'm here, so that wouldn't be a good route to go."

"You're little Lenora!" The man cried, recognition dawning. "I remember when she used to bring you to work with her!"

"Well, I've grown up since then," Lenora told him. "Things happened and here I am."

"Are you-are you pregnant?" The man's eyes were wide now. He took a note pad out of his bag and began scribbling on it.

"What are you writing?" Lenora asked him. "If you think you'll get a story out of me being pregnant, I don't see why. It happens to women all the time."

"Yes, but never before has Mr. Black been the father," the man said. "He is the father, isn't he?"

"Never mind!" James snapped, pulling him up by his collar. "Come outside with me and I'll show you something really exciting. Much more exciting than this ridiculous pregnancy business." When he was out of the castle and into the yard, James turned and gave Lenora a sour look. "That's it," he spat. "I'm ruined."

"Well, well, well," Alistair said as he came into the kitchen one morning while Klaus and Felicity were eating. Stefan had already gone out. He strode over to Klaus and plunked a paper down in front of him. "Read the front page," he said. "I think you'll be impressed."

"That's the witch paper," Klaus told him. "What could possibly interest me in the witch paper?"

"I told you," Alistair repeated. "Read the front page."

Klaus sighed, picked up the paper, turned it to the page that Alistair had indicated and began reading. "Wait," he said after a few seconds. "Lenora? You mean like our granddaughter Lenora?"

"I'm afraid so," Alistair nodded. "I don't know how common a name Lenora is, but I shouldn't think there'd be that many out there."

"It says here she 'slowly and brutally tortured several council members who had previously victimized her for her association with the villain James Black'." He shut the paper and grinned. "Now there's a girl I'm proud to call my relative."

Alistair nodded. "I figured you'd be happy about it," he told Klaus. "That's why I showed it to you."

"You don't seem to be," Klaus remarked. "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" Alistair asked. "There are so many I can't even begin to list them. Most importantly, Lenora is killing people now. That's not something she should be encouraged to do!"

"Oh, lighten up, Alistair!" Klaus replied. "She's already with that Black chap who I understand is bad news. I think you're worrying too much, mate. How much worse could it get?"

Alistair collapsed in a chair, running his hand through his dark hair. "Don't ask that, Klaus," he said. "Please don't ask that."

"I'm sorry about the way I acted about Katherine," Selina told Elijah when she finally got up the nerve. "And you know why I acted that way, so I won't go into it, but I promise to do a better job of controlling myself in the future."

Elijah nodded. "Thank you," he told her. "Remember, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to her, at least not any more. How many times do I have to say 'I love you' before this insecurity of yours goes away?"

" I swear I don't have insecurities about us anymore," Selina promised him. "Talking to Katherine made me realize how lucky I am to have you and that nothing will ever chance that. Any other secret things I need to know about besides the fact that Katherine is gonna be around for awhile?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "None that I can think of."

"Well, good," Selina told him. Just then, her phone rang. "It's Anna," she said. "I should probably go visit her. I haven't done that in awhile."

"That's a good idea," Elijah told her. "You go and enjoy yourself. And tell Anna 'Hello' from me."

Klaus knocked on Felicity's bedroom door. "Pet?" He called. "Can I come in?"

"Just a minute!" Felicity called. A few seconds later, she spoke again. "Okay!" She said. "Come in!"

Klaus came into the room and nearly fell over. Stefan had long, curly pink hair and a sour expression on his face.

"Oh, my god!" Klaus laughed. "What are you letting her do to you, Stefan?"

"It's difficult to go up against a determined witch," Stefan replied sourly. "Believe me, I tried."

"I don't know what you're so upset about," Felicity told him, running her fingers through his hair. "You look very pretty."

"Men aren't supposed to look pretty!" Stefan growled. "Get that through your head! And fix me already! I've been humiliated enough!"

"Oh, it's not that bad," Klaus told him. "Stop being so over dramatic, Stefan."

"Easy for you to say!" Stefan told him. "I'd like to see you take some of her magical torture on yourself! She's your relative, not mine!"

"Oh, I've offered," Klaus told him. "Repeatedly. But she seems to be more interested in you and there's not much I can do about that."

"I know what I'll do!" Stefan proclaimed. "I'll tell Anna about her and then Anna will get so mad that she'll forbid me to come here ever again!"

"I thought you've been avoiding my sister because of her desire for children that you don't share," Klaus told him. "That and the fact that you can't have any yourself."

Stefan gestured wildly at Felicity. "And yet, I've become your babysitter anyway, so my feelings about children are pretty much moot now, aren't they?"

"How have you been doing?" Selina asked Anna. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded. "I've tried dating a few people, but nothing's really worked out. Stefan's not upset about this. Is he?"

"Sorry," Selina told her. "I haven't seen him lately, so I wouldn't know."

Just then, Anna's phone beeped. She looked down and burst out laughing.

"What is it?" Selina asked. "Care to share with me?"

Anna wiped tears from her eyes and showed Selina the picture of Stefan, Felicity, and Stefan's new hairdo.

"Would it be wrong of me to say I find this hilarious?" Anna asked when she could get a breath.

"No," Selina shook her head. "I don't think so. But I do feel sorry for Stefan 'cause he has to be subjected to Felicity's whims like that. I bet Klaus didn't do anything to stop it."

Anna grinned. "He's probably the one that took the picture." Then she sighed. "Needless to say, he's probably not very happy with me right now."

"That isn't your fault!" Selina told her. "So you want a family. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Exactly!" Anna told her. "I don't think I'm wrong for wanting a family. I just don't think I expressed it the right way."

"Were you blunt?" Selina asked. "Did you say, 'I want to get divorced so I can have a family'?"

"Of course not!" Anna replied. "I was more subtle than that. All I said was that I wanted to have kids and I haven't seen him since. I guess he put two and two together." She shrugged, reading out to put her hand on Selina's ever-expanding stomach. "Is it as nice as I think it is, or do you think I'm romanticizing it?"

"Well, let's put it this way," Selina replied. "At this point, I'm torn. I feel like a giant beach ball has attached itself to my stomach, everything hurts, I'm always tired and I have to pee every five minutes. But in order to relieve all that, the babies have to come out of me, and then I won't get any sleep because there will be three screaming babies needing every second of my time. I won't have a moment's peace for who knows how long? So you might be romanticizing it a little, but if you want to give motherhood a test run a little while down the road, I'd be glad to share one of my many children with you."

"Well, thanks," Anna told her. "Cause at this point, Stefan seems to have had more practice than me and I need to catch up."

Selina grinned. "And I bet he is enjoying his practice just as much as you will. Oh, and before I forget to mention it, Elijah wanted me to tell you 'Hi'."

"Mommy," Colin asked Selina the next day. "Would it be all right if I brought a friend over to play?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "If it's all right with their parents, you can bring someone over. I don't mind."

"Okay!" Colin nodded. A few days later, he and his friend showed up at the house. To Selina's surprise, his friend was a girl, not a boy, like she'd expected. "Mommy," Colin announced. "This is Valerie. Valerie, this is my mommy."

"Hi," Valerie replied shyly. She was a pretty girl with big brown eyes and dark hair up in pigtails. "Nice to meet you."

Selina smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Valerie," she replied. "Do the two of you want some cookies?"

"I do!" Colin answered. He looked at Valerie. "My mommy makes really good cookies. She has a bakery and everything."

"What bakery?" Valerie asked, sitting in a chair. "What is it called?"

"Sweet Emotions," Selina replied. "I've had it for awhile now."

"Are you gonna have a baby?" Valerie asked.

"Actually," Selina grinned. "I'm gonna have three." She plunked a plate of cookies down in front of the kids and Valerie looked at her, brown eyes wide. "You're going to have three at the same time? How do you do that?"

"Slowly and painfully," Selina replied. "But it's not like this is my first kid, so I'll get through it." She sat down. "How did the two of you become friends?" She asked.

"She helps me with reading sometimes," Colin replied. "She's really good at it."

"I like books," Valerie told Selina. "A lot."

"Well, that's wonderful!" Selina replied. "I like reading myself."

"These are good cookies," the little girl remarked.

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Selina asked. "Thank you."

They finished their cookies and then Colin and Valerie left to play for awhile. After her mother took Valerie home, Colin sat down next to Selina on the sofa. "So how do you like Valerie?" He asked. "Do you think she's nice?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I do. I think she's a very nice girl. Although if my mother knew I let you play with her and gave her cookies, she wouldn't be too happy with me."

"Why not?" Colin asked.

"Because, when I was a human, a long time ago, people like Valerie, whose skin is dark, weren't really considered people," Selina explained.

"Why not?" Colin asked.

"Because rich men in this area of the country had big farms which they were too lazy to work themselves, so they hired black men and women to do it for them. Children too."

"But that's so bad!" Colin cried. "Don't you think that's bad?"

"Of course I do!" Selina told him. "That's why I like doing things by myself now and have to really be convinced in order to let someone wait on me. I had a black nanny named Bess growing up, and I was a lot closer to her than I was my own mother. The only time I saw Mama was when she was drilling pathetic rules into my head."

"You mean like not being nice to black people," Colin said.

"Yep," Selina replied. "Like not being nice to black people. Or rather, black slaves. It wouldn't have been accurate to call them people, because as far as most plantation owners were concerned, they weren't. I never believed that myself, but I couldn't have done much to stop it at the time, even though I wanted to."

"Why not?" Colin asked.

"Because I was a girl," Selina told him. "People have always thought that boys were smarter than girls and that girls couldn't do much of anything except get married and have babies."

"That's silly!" Colin replied. "You're the boss at the bakery and Valerie is better at reading then me. Girls can be smart too!"

"Can I hug you right now?" Selina asked, taking Colin in her arms and hugging him as much as she could. "I really need to hug you right now. Finally, someone gets that." She let him go. "Whoever you decide to be with is gonna be lucky to have you, Colin."

Colin grinned. "Thank you, Mommy."

"So did you meet Colin's little friend?" Elijah asked Selina that night as he rubbed her back.

"Yeah," Selina told him. "I met her. She's nice. I think she'll be a good influence on him. Apparently, she likes doing schoolwork."

"And Colin doesn't?" Elijah stiffened. "Is he being lazy? Am I going to have to have a talk with him?"

"I didn't say he was being lazy," Selina replied. "I just-I think it's a good idea for Colin to have someone in his life who can show him that learning can be a positive experience, rather than something that's mindless and boring. He's not like you and Gregory. He didn't take to books like a fish to water. But I'm sure he'll put effort into his schoolwork just the same."

Elijah nodded. "I should hope so. He's my son and I wouldn't expect any less from him."

"Just be careful though," Selina warned. "It's good to have expectations for people, but if you push them too hard and expect them to live up to your standards more than their own, it could be problematic, and you don't want to have the sort of relationship with our kids that your father has with you, do you?"

"No," Elijah sighed. "I wouldn't put any of my children through that."

"That's good," Selina replied, sinking back on her pillow and shutting her eyes. "I'm gonna try and go to sleep now, all right?"

"All right," Elijah told her. "Good night, darling."