Damon awoke the next morning to the sound of the shower. He felt around on the bed beside him and saw that Selina was gone. "Lina?" He called. A moment later, the shower stopped and Selina poked her head out the bathroom door. "Yeah?" she said, her damp hair hanging in her eyes. "What's the matter? Are you all right?"
"Yeah," He nodded, getting out of bed. "I was just disoriented for a minute. You can get back to showering if you need to."
"As a matter of fact, I'm done." She opened the bathroom door and stepped out. She was barefoot and wearing a white terry cloth robe with pink around the edges. "Sorry I woke you up. I was hoping to shower and dress and then steathily slip out of here with you being none the wiser."
"That's friendly," Damon said wryly. "You aren't planning on doing anything illegal, are you?"
"No," Selina shook her head. "It's just that it's kind of early, and I know how you like to sleep in. I was planning on leaving a note with Stefan for when you came downstairs. I wouldn't leave you completely in the dark. Elena called an hour or so ago and asked me if I would come meet her for coffee. She said she had something to tell me."
"Did she say what?" Damon asked.
Selina shook her head and then went into her closet. "She just said she had something to tell me."
Damon walked over to Selina's closet and put his hads on the doorframe. "Are you all right?" He asked.
Selina turned. "Sure I am," she said. "Why would you ask?" She began rifling through her skirts.
"It's just that last night, you talked in a way I haven't heard you talk in years." He reached out and put a hand on her wrist. "It looks cold out today; I'd wear jeans if I were you."
"Thanks," Selina stopped going through her skirts and headed to her chest of drawers. She picked out a pair of dark wash jeans and turned back to him. "About last night: I'm sorry. I did get a little overemotional, didn't I?"
Damon shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about. If you're really freaked out about something, we can talk about it. Is something really wrong?"
"No," Selina shook her head. "Thanks for the reassurance and all, but I think I can handle it. If things do get bad enough, you'll be the first I tell." She smiled. "Now that you've instructed me about my legwear, do you have opinions on anything else?"
"Sweater," Damon said immediately. "Try the red cableknit sweater. That should keep you warm enough."
Selina soon emerged from her and Damon's bedroom in the red sweater, dark wash jeans and chocolate ankle boots. "How are you planning to meet Elena?" Damon followed close behind, throwing a t-shirt on as he headed out the door and down the stairs. "She's coming to pick me up," Selina said. The honk of a horn outside drew Selina's attention. "There she is. I'll be back in awhile."
As soon as Selina disappeared outside, Damon stepped into the kitchen. Stefan, who was reading a paper, looked up at him. "Are you all right?" He asked. "Is something wrong?" Damon sat down next to him. "Lina was acting weird last night."
"How so?" Stefan asked. "Was it because of the accident?"
Damon shook his head. "She kept talking about our last days as humans and worrying about whether or not the world was going to end today. I haven't heard her talk like that for years."
"But you weren't around her for years," Stefan reminded him. "When she was stuck alone in Dr. Stensrund's house, she probably thought and talked like that all the time. Did she really say that she thought the world was going to end today?"
"Yeah," Damon nodded. "Or something like that. What are you reading?"
Stefan shut it and pushed it toward him. "Just a little something I picked up at the supermarket. Look who's on the cover."
Damon looked down and swore sharply. A picture of Selina took up the entire cover of the paper, which was actually a supermarket tabloid. "Blake Mystery Woman Named; Sylvia Spence a Married Woman! the headline screamed. "Is this the whole reason why you bought it?" He asked Stefan, gesturing at the cover.
"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "And wait until you read the story."
Damon opened the paper to the page where the story on Selina began, leafing through it quickly and not reading any of the words. When he was finished, he shut the paper and looked up at Stefan. "Do you think Elena had anything to do with this? And don't say no just because the two of you are dating."
"If you'll actually read the story," Stefan said, turning to the second page, "the magazine says that their source was a couple named Hank and Minnie Scruggs and their daughter Marti."
Damon groaned. "They must have been the people who drove Selina and Elena into town," Damon said. "I saw them; they were absolute rubes." Just then, they heard some noise at the kitchen window. Cameras began to flash and a crew of journalists clambered and pushed to get to the front and began shouting questions at them: "Did you know that your wife was cheating on you with Christian Blake?" "Do you consider your sister-in-law a stable individual?" "Where is your wife now?"
Damon and Stefan managed to get the doors and windows shut tight and locked. "What do you want to do now?" Stefan asked. "Should we try and sneak out of here so that we can warn Selina before they catch up to her?"
"No," Damon said. "Let's wait a little while; Selina said that Elena wanted to meet her because Elena had something that she wanted Selina to know. Maybe this is it."
"So," Selina said when she and Elena were seated with their coffees, "what is it you wanted to tell me about?"
"You made the paper," Elena told her, pushing it forward. Selina looked down at it and gasped. "Oh my god," she said. "That's me! And this isn't a paper! It's a sleazy supermarket tabloid! How the hell did this happen?" She began banging her head against the table.
"Apparently Hank, Minnie and Marti sold you out," Elena said. "And now the journalists probably have the boarding house surrounded, I bet."
"So I can't go back there," Selina said. "What am I going to do?"
"You could come home with me," Elena said. "It's probably the last place the journalists would look for you."
"Oh yes, I'm sure your aunt would love to have me," Selina said. "Seeing as last time I stayed with you, I almost killed your brother."
"It'll be fine," Elena said. "Don't worry about it; I can talk her into it. Besides, how many other options do you have?"
"Not many," Selina admitted. "All right; I'll take you up on your offer." They finished up their drinks, got into Elena's car and drove to the Gilbert house. "Hello?" Elena called when they got inside. "Jenna, are you home? I brought Sophia to stay for a little while if that's all right."
"Jenna's not here." The voice was light, but it made Elena freeze. "But it is all right that you brought your little friend over. I've been wanting to meet her."
"Uncle John," Elena looked at the man who sat at the kitchen tabe nursing a beer. "What are you doing here? Where did Jenna go?"
John took a sip of his drink and looked up. "She and that history teacher of yours went out to breakfast two hours ago and haven't come back yet. I thought I'd come over and watch things while she was gone." He moved his gaze to Selina who was standing behind Elena. "Go ahead and come in," he said jovially. "Take a seat in the living room; Elena's told me so much about you that I feel like I know you even though we haven't actually met."
Selina laughed nervously. "I wish I could say the same thing about you."
John opened his mouth to speak, but Elena cut him off. "Sophia, this is my uncle John Gilbert. Uncle John, this is my friend, Sophia Warren."
"Don't you mean Selina Warren?" John asked. "And technically I'm not Elena's uncle. I'm her father."
Selina's eyes widened. "Only biologically," Elena said quickly. "He's far from living up to the title in any other way."
It took awhile before Selina was able to find her voice again. "So you're Elena's father," she said.
"Yep," John nodded. "And you've heard a lot about me?" Selina said. "Just how much?"
"He's read a lot about you," Elena said again before John could speak. "In the Gilbert family journals and everything. About how the original Jonathan Gilbert told your son that you were a vampire and not just dead. And not only a vampire, but a good vampire as well. I told him too."
"Thanks," Selina said, smiling. "I feel like getting a drink," she said, standing up. She turned to Elena. "Do you want me to bring you anything?"
"No," Elena shook her head. "You go ahead; I don't need anything."
Once Selina was gone, John stood up. "And just what was that?" He asked. "You were acting like her friend or something."
"I'm not acting like her friend. I am her friend," Elena snapped. "And I would appreciate it if you would be a bit more dscreet. I just got her to like me again after the last time I screwed up, and if you tell her about the other things I told you, it's going to get me a lot worse than gum in my hair and a black eye."
"Fine," John said. "But remember: everything I'm doing is for your own good."
Elena rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said.
After that, Selina came back with the juice. The three of them sat in stony silence until the doorbell rang. "Who's that?" Elena asked.
"Just an old friend," John said. "Stay right there. I want you to meet him."
He soon returned to the living room, followed by a tall, wiry man with thick dark hair and strange golden eyes. "Girls," John said as the new guy sat next to him, "this is my friend, Gabe Hardy. Gabe, this is my daughter, Elena and her friend, Selina Warren, the girl I was telling you about."
Gabe's eyes lit up when he saw Selina. "You weren't exaggerating about her, John."
Selina watched him for a moment, and then whispered something to Elena. "We need to go to the bathroom," Selina said, standing up. "Will you excuse us a minute?" Before the two men could say anything, the girls left the room and locked themselves in the bathroom that was farthest away.
"Are you sure that guy's a werewolf?" Elena asked.
"Yes," Selina nodded. "I can sense it. But why would your uncle/father bring him here? Actually, I have some idea. Just like your biological mother, he totally rubs me the wrong way."
Elena nodded. "Believe me, you aren't the only one. What should we do?"
"The only thing we can do," Selina said. "Sneak out of here and go to Tyler's. Uncle Jacob or one of my other cursed relatives is probably hanging out there. They can help us."
Caroline quickly let Elena and Selina in when they arrived at the Lockwood Mansion. "I'm so glad you two are here," she said. "I've been trying to pick out a china pattern for the wedding and there are two that I really like."
"Have you asked Tyler what he thinks?" Selina asked as she stepped inside. "I've read in several magazine articles that if you let your fiance have a say in the wedding planning, it actually improves your bond as a couple."
"She did ask me," Tyler said, coming down the stairs. "But I told her I liked them both."
"Hi," Selina said, grabbing his arm to guid him down the stairs. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thanks," Tyler said. "What brings you here?"
"We have a problem," Selina said. "One of your uncle Mason's werewolf buddies from Florida has shown up and we don't know why he's here or what to do about it." Selina sighed. "The one time I need him and he's dead; that's just so typical. Granted I was the one who killed him, but still." Suddenly, she felt a touch on her shoulder. She looked up and squealed. "What are you doing here?"
Mason just grinned. "You called, I came. I'm easy like that. So, what's the trouble?"
Selina cleared her throat. "When you were in Florida, was one of your little werewolf buddies named Gabe Hardy?"
Mason's expression darkened. "Yes," he said. "Why do you ask?"
"He and my uncle are friends," Elena said. "Now he's visiting and Selina and I suspect he's up to no good."
"I would be inclined to agree with you," Mason said. "Gabe's unstable, even for a werewolf. They threw him out just before I came back here because they thought he would expose the pack to the community."
"Wait," Selina said. "So you're telling me that an unstable werewolf is going to be set loose on Mystic Falls?"
"Yep," Mason nodded. "I take it you've seen him?"
"Yeah," Elena said. "That's why we came here. What should we do about it?"
"I'll let Uncle Jacob know," Mason said.
"I got him and Aunt Amelia watching the pack down in Florida when Michael ousted me from my body," Tyler said.
Mason grinned and came to stand next to his nephew. "I heard about that," he said. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," Tyler nodded. "They let me out of the hospital this morning. But it wasn't all bad. I got engaged because of it."
"Really?" Mason asked.
"Yes," Caroline nodded. "And don't worry; Jacob's already given us the vampire-werewolf marriage lecture."
Mason laughed. "I'll go keep an eye on Gabe," he said. "Where is he now?"
"At my house," Elena said. She gave him the address and Mason disappeared.
"Jeez," Caroline said, looking at Selina. "Between the headline in the tabloid and the crazy werewolf, you're having a rough day, aren't you?"
Selina nodded. "Tell me about it."
The beginning of the week of Tyler and Caroline's wedding brought a distubing new development in the Christian Blake murder trial. After days of painstakingly examining the crime scene, the investigators concluded that their initial assumption that Christian Blake was murdered during a night robbery was false. There were no signs of forced entry from outside, and after questioning the house staff, it was determined that Sylvia Spence was the only person who could have committed the crime, as no one had actually heard a break in that night. After the story broke, things just got worse.
"What am I going to do?" Selina asked Caroline and Elena while the three of them worked out the seating arrangement for the wedding. "What if the police haul me in for questioning? What am I going to say?"
"Just tell them the truth," Caroline said. "No one can get in trouble for telling the truth."
"Except for if the truth is that I committed the murder but don't remember doing it because the full moon made me nutty," Selina said. "No one will believe that."
"So you could cop an insanity plea," Caroline said. "People who cop insanity pleas don't get sent to jail."
"No," Selina said morosely. "They just get institutionalized until the day they die. And that can't happen to me."
"You could stake yourself after twenty or thirty years," Caroline said.
"Do me a favor," Selina told her. "I know you're trying to be helpful. Stop it." She peered at Caroline's name plates. "And I wouldn't put Richard and Carol next to each other if I was you," she said. "They got along because of Tyler's difficulties, but any little thing could set them off."
"Oh, my god," Elena said, pointing. "Look out the window." Selina and Caroline looked and were blinded by a camera flash. A moment later, the person with the camera pulled it away from his face. It was Hank Scruggs. "Hi girls," he said. "Nice to see you again." He then disappeared from the window. Selina and Elena looked at one another. "That fink is so dead," Selina breathed. "You want to come and catch him with me?"
"Of course," Elena said. She grabbed an umbrella from the holder by the door and the two of them went outside the house, finding not only Hank, but Minnie and Marti as well. The other three saw them and took off running, but Selina and Elena caught up to them. In the scuffle, the camera was broken, and the Scruggs family ended up unconscious. With Caroline's help, Selina and Elena got them inside. "I so want to kill them," Selina said.
"That's understandable," Caroline said. "But with the Christian Blake thing going on, I don't think any more murders should be able to be attributed to you."
"Then what are we going to do with them?" Selina asked.
Elena smiled. "I've got an idea."
That night, the girls put the Scruggses in the backseat of their car and Selina drove them out to the middle of a forest, parking the car. "All right," she said, twisting around and clutching Hank's shoulders. "You don't remember anything out of the ordinary happening in the last few weeks," she said.
Hank nodded. "I don't remember anything weird."
Caroline took hold of Minnie. "Nothing weird has happened the last couple of weeks and you were going for a nice drive."
"Yeah," Selina told them all. "Nice until the aliens showed up. They brought you up to their saucer and probed you, among other grotesque medical experiments. Before they brought you back down, they warned you that they might just come back. Unless you never speak another word about Sylvia Spence ever again. Any of you." After that, they moved Hank and Minnie to the front of the car, with Hank in the driver's seat. "You," Caroline said to Hank, "will drive home after we leave this car. And your daughter will have no unusual memories either."
The girls left the car, and as soon as it drove away, they burst into giggles. "Goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Hill," Selina said.
Tyler and Caroline's wedding went off mostly without a hitch. Everyone was getting along, the bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome. Then, during the vows, it happened: the minister was saying "if anyone has cause why these two should not be wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace," and a SWAT team burst in, guns drawn. "Sylvia Spence," one of them said. "You are under arrest for the murder of Christian Blake."
