"Lucy," Damon said through his teeth, "You need to stop touching me."

"Why?" Lucy asked. She had her fingers in his hair now. "I thought you liked it."

"I do," he said. "And that's the problem. So take your fingers out of my hair right now. And I'm gonna leave and we're not going to do anything that would invade each other's personal space anymore. Am I clear?"

"Let me tell you something," Lucy said. "The more you try and push me away, the harder I'm going to try to get your attention, because I know deep down inside of myself that you're holding back on me. Am I right?"

"Yes," Damon sighed. "But Lucy, you have to understand where I'm coming from. You're practically a daughter to me. Which means that you and I can't, you know, at least not right now."

"But we already have," Lucy said. "I thought that would make things easier for you, but it's only made them worse."

"Do you love me, Lucy?" Damon asked.

She nodded. "Yes. You know I do."

"Well, then," Damon said, "could you please just leave me alone until I tell you it's okay for us to be together? The time will come, I swear. Until it comes, though, I give you permission to be with whomever you want."

"Even Jason?" Lucy asked, an eyebrow going up.

Damon tensed, but he finally managed to get out, "Yes, even Jason."

The next morning, Mimi opened the front door and found a very grumpy boy standing on the front step. "May I help you?" She asked.

"Is Lucy around?" He asked. "My dad and I are here to give her a ride to school."

Mimi grinned. "Oh, you must be Sam, Lucy's brother. Would you like to come in while I go see if I can find her?"

Sam shrugged. "All right," he said, coming in. "Thanks."

Mimi nodded and then turned. "Lucy!" she called in a piercing voice that made Sam wince. "Somebody's here to take you to school!"

"Is it Jason?" Lucy asked, running toward her.

"No," Mimi said. "It's Sam and his father."

"Oh," Lucy said, "that's very sweet, but I don't need a ride."

"Sure you do," Sam said. "How else are you planning to get to school?"

"Jason said he'd take me," Lucy said. "And he was so sweet about it, I really don't want to inconvenience him by taking a ride with someone else at the last minute."

"Well," Sam said, "you might not want to inconvenience him, but Dad does, so come on!"

"Now just a minute!" Lucy fumed. "You can't just go ordering me around. Where is your dad?"

"Waiting outside," Sam said.

"In his car?" Lucy asked.

"Uh-huh," Sam nodded.

"Well, we'll just get to the bottom of all this then," Lucy said between her teeth and strode out the door to the car where Damon sat waiting for both of them. As Lucy approached, he rolled down the window.

"So you are coming with us!" He said with a grin. "Great. Hop in!"

"Actually, I'm not," Lucy said. "Jason asked me if he could take me and I said yes. I really don't want to stand him up, so while I appreciate your generous offer, I'm going to have to decline."

"Oh, no you aren't," Damon said. "You aren't going anywhere alone with that Jason. I don't trust him. He seemed shifty to me."

"Why?" Lucy asked. "He's perfectly nice."

"Well," Damon said, "I don't trust him. He wears rock band t-shirts and has a look about him that I don't like."

"Well, what gives you the right to judge him like that?" Lucy asked. "You're not my father, Damon. In fact, I think my father would say the same thing about you."

"We've been through this," Damon said. "I know that I'm not your father, but I'm close enough."

"Can we just go?" Sam interrupted. "If she doesn't want to come with us, then she doesn't want to come with us."

"Oh, she's coming with us," Damon said. "Even if I have to tie her to her seat and lock her in the car."

"Fine," Lucy said, eyes narrowed. "I'll come. But we're picking Jason up on the way."

Damon rolled his eyes. "All right. Where does he live?"

Lucy told him and they drove to Jason's house. Damon parked in the street and Lucy got out and ran to the door.

"Well, this is a surprise," Jason said when he came out the door. "Lucy, I was gonna pick you up."

Lucy sighed. "I know, but Damon's fussing about it and he's got my brother involved too. It's just easier to play along when he gets like this. On the bright side, you'll still get to sit next to me."

Jason shrugged and grinned. "Well, all right. I guess I can deal with that." He followed Lucy to the car and she opened the door to the side where Sam was sitting. "Move over," she said. "I'm sitting next to Jason."

"No," Sam said. "I'm happy where I am, thank you."

"Move over please," Lucy said, grabbing his wrist and squeezing. "Or I will make you move. Do you want that?"

"No," Sam said weakly. "I'll move." He scooted over and Lucy climbed into the middle of the backseat and gestured for Jason to climb in beside her.

Sam looked at them. "You two aren't gonna start making out now, are you?"

"You know," Lucy said, looking at Jason, "That's not a bad idea."

They began kissing very enthusiastically and Damon gave Sam a sour look in the rearview mirror. "You just had to give them ideas, didn't you?" He hit the steering wheel with his palm. "So much for a peaceful ride to school."

"Hey," Sam said. "At least you don't have to sit with them back here."

"Well, that's your own fault," Damon said. "Next time, keep your mouth shut."

A few days later, Lucy stopped by Sam's locker. "I know you have that concert you have to get to tonight, but since you have your car back from the shop and your dad doesn't have to drive you anymore, could you give me a ride after school?"

"Why can't precious Jason do it?" Sam asked. "Isn't that your entire relationship? You make out with him and he gives you rides places?"

"That's not what's going on at all!" Lucy said. "I help him out with history too!"

"Uh-huh," Sam grinned. "And I bet he returns the favor in other ways."

"Oh, you mean just like the cheerleaders do for you?" Lucy asked.

Sam shrugged, hefting his guitar case. "What can I say, Luce?" He replied. "Ladies love musicians. Meet me out front after last period and I'll give you a ride home. But just to warn you: Dad's got a new girlfriend. Her name's Ginger. You'll like her. She's nice."

Grinning at Lucy's stunned expression, he strode off, happily whistling to himself.

After school, Sam dropped Lucy off at the driveway and then sped off. Lucy looked at the house for a moment, took a deep breath and then strode toward the house. She reached the door and put her finger on the doorbell so that it emitted a sustained buzzing noise.

"Just a minute!" A female voice yelled. "I'm coming!" The door opened and revealed a leggy, heavily made up brunette on the other side. "What do you want?" She asked, looking Lucy over. "Isn't it a bit late in the year to be selling Girl Scout cookies?"

"I'm not selling anything," Lucy said. "I want to come in."

"Nobody comes in unless I know who they are," the woman said. "So who the hell are you?"

"My name's Lucy," Lucy said. "I know Damon. If he's here, you can go ask him."

"No, it's all right," the woman said. "He did mention a Lucy that comes by here sometimes. I was expecting you to be a lot older."

"Well, I'm not," Lucy said. She stepped in the house and looked the woman over, tight dress, fishnet stockings and all. "So where did you and Damon meet?" She asked. "A bar?"

"Yeah," She nodded. "My name's Ginger."

"You're Ginger?" Lucy asked. "Sam said I'd like you, so I was expecting someone a lot classier. But apparently, I was wrong."

Ginger growled but before she could say anything, Damon appeared. "So the two of you have met," he said. "How nice."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "It was a pleasure. Now I have to do something real quick, so if you'll excuse me-" She left and Ginger looked at Damon. "Who's she? You told me you didn't have any other girlfriends."

"I don't," Damon said easily. "It's hard to explain what my relationship is with her, but she is not my girlfriend. I swear."

"Well, okay," Ginger said. "I've been in that situation before, so I just want to check."

But it was when they were watching television that everything seemed to get shot to hell. Lucy strode into the living room quite suddenly, naked and dripping wet. She stopped right in front of the television and faced them. "Damon," she asked, "are there any cookies left? I'm taking a bath and you know how I like to eat things in the bath."

"What's going on here?" Ginger asked as Damon reddened. "They're on the table," Damon said quickly. "Take them and get back to your bath, Lucy."

Lucy went to the kitchen, grabbed a handful of cookies and walked right up to Ginger. "I eat a lot of these, you know," she said, whispering it to her. "Damon even calls me Cookie Monster because of it. Isn't that the sweetest nickname you've ever heard? Speaking of," she said, looking at Damon, "if you want to join me in the bath, I'd be more than willing to wait for you." Then she noticed the angry look on Damon's face and straightened up. "I'm going to go now." She turned slightly to see what was on the television. "The two of you enjoy your movie. I'm sorry I interrupted." Then, she scampered to the bathroom, giggling unrestrained once the door was closed.

The next day was a Saturday and Lucy was awakened around half past eleven by a knock on her bedroom door.

"What is it?" She called.

"There's a guy here to see you," Mimi called. "Someone completely new. Not Jason, or Sam or his father. He says it's urgent."

"All right," Lucy said. "Would you tell him that I'll be down in a minute?"

"Of course," Mimi said. "I'll suggest he survey my gallery while you dress. I assume that's what you need to do?"

"Exactly," Lucy said. "Thank you, Mimi."

After she dressed, Lucy hurried downstairs and found Stefan sitting on the sofa in Mimi's sitting room with a Coke in his hand.

"Sorry you couldn't have a bourbon or something like that," she said. "Mimi doesn't really drink all that much. So, what's so urgent?"

"Your father wants to see you again," Stefan said. "He wants you to come by for lunch today. I told him that I knew where you lived and promised I'd relay the message."

"What's so urgent about that?" Lucy asked. "I would love to have lunch with Dad."

"But remember, he doesn't know that you're you. He thinks you're someone else. You have to watch that," Stefan reminded her.

"You mean you haven't told him the truth yet?" Lucy asked. "Why not?"

"Because," Stefan said seriously, "If I told him the truth about who you are, I'd be obligated to tell him the truth about other things too. Even you and Damon. You don't want me to do that, do you?"

"You know about me and Damon?" Lucy asked. "How could you? I haven't even told anyone!"

"Well, you probably don't remember this, but when you were about a year and a half old, Helene accidently put a spell on you that made you older, and you stayed with Damon so your father and your uncle wouldn't find out, and there were times when Damon gave you looks then that worried me," Stefan said.

"Well you shouldn't be worried," Lucy said. "It only happened once and it's not gonna happen again."

"You know once would be one time too many for your father," Stefan said. "Especially now. I mean, have you looked at yourself?"

"Well, yeah," Lucy said. "But Dad has no room to talk, really. Last time he was practically flirting with me himself. Does he have a girlfriend yet?"

Stefan sighed. "Occasionally he does. But it's nothing set in stone."

"Is it Caroline?" Lucy asked excitedly. "I like her."

"Yes," Stefan nodded. "It's Caroline. And I think she'll be around today."

"Well, what are we just sitting here for, then?" Lucy asked. "Let's go!"

"Ah, so you found her, Stefan!" Klaus said. "This is delightful." He looked at Lucy. "I'm so glad you could come."

Lucy grinned and followed Stefan inside. "When Stefan showed up at my apartment building and told me about your invitation, I couldn't say no."

Just then, Caroline came in. "Who's that?" She asked, looking at Lucy.

"She's a friend of mine," Klaus said. "Her name is-"

"Lily," Lucy said quickly. "Lily Warren."

"Warren?" Caroline said. "Are you related to Selina?"

"Yes," Lucy nodded. "Distant family of hers. I'm just visiting for school."

"Ah," Caroline said. "She lives near here. You should go over to her house and say hello."

"I've seen her," Lucy said. "Introduced myself to her in the park the other day." She looked around. "So is it time to eat yet?"

"No," Klaus said. "About another twenty minutes or so. But feel free to wander around and look at things if you'd like."

Lucy nodded. "All right." She left and Caroline said to Klaus, "She seems nice. Where did you find her?"

"Damon and I ran into her actually," Stefan said. "We decided to go out for lunch one day and there she was, sitting alone at a table reading a book. We sat with her and the rest is history."

"You know," Klaus said, "It's funny that she said she's a relative of Selina's, because the first time we met, I told her she reminded me of Selina." He looked at Stefan. "Do you remember that?"

Stefan nodded. "I do. And now we know why."

"This might sound absolutely ridiculous since the two of you have known Selina much longer than I have," Caroline said, "but if you ask me, she seems more like Selina than a distant relative should."

"What do you mean?" Klaus asked.

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know. Don't mind me. I'm probably just being silly. I'll go check on how lunch is doing. You two just keep talking amongst yourselves."

While she was wandering around, Lucy came across a door that was open. She went inside and found that no one was there, but saw an open book lying on the table. She read the page it was open to and then flipped through some of the others. Just then, she heard a voice. "What are you doing in here?" It asked. It wasn't angry, merely curious.

"Oh," Lucy said quickly, "I didn't mean to intrude and mess up your stuff. I'm sorry."

The man smiled at her. He had sandy-colored hair and brown eyes. He seemed like a very warm person. "It's all right," he said. "I have people like you come in here all the time."

"People like me?" Lucy repeated. "What am I like?"

He shut the book. "Werewolves," he supplied, putting a firm but gentle hand on her shoulder. "Klaus brings new ones home to me a lot because I'm a bit of a know-it-all when it comes to werewolf knowledge."

Lucy shook her head. "I'm not a werewolf. At least I don't think I am. My name is Lucy."

"Well, hi, Lucy," the man said. "I'm Jake. Now, are you sure you're not a werewolf?"

Lucy nodded. "I'm sure. I'm a vampire, yes. You can't be a vampire and a werewolf at the same time."

"Klaus is," Jake said. "And his wife-well, she's his ex-wife now. And any kids they had."

"Klaus is my dad," Lucy said. "So I guess that means I am a werewolf."

"Do you change at the full moon?" Jake asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No."

"Well then you're not a werewolf," Jake said. "You'd know if you were because not only would you transform at the full moon, you'd have to kill someone first."

"I've never killed anyone!" Lucy said, looking affronted. "And I never plan to, either."

Jake laughed. "You sound like my sister. She wasn't really a fan of our lycanthropic side either. That's why it was so hard for her and Selina to get along."

"How do you know my mom?" Lucy asked.

"I'm her uncle," Jake said. "Her mother Amelia's older brother."

"Sorry I didn't know about you before," Lucy said. "It's just that Mom doesn't talk about her family much."

"And that's a real shame," Jake said. "We're good people, I promise."

"I believe you," Lucy said earnestly. "So the only symptom of being a werewolf is changing into a wolf at the full moon?"

Jake shook his head. "There are others that you don't have to be an active wolf to show. Like, do you have a temper sometimes?"

Lucy nodded. "I'm usually pretty nice, but when I'm around my brother and he makes me mad, I just, I get this overwhelming urge to hurt him because he's so annoying. Is that a werewolf thing?"

"Yes," Jake nodded. "Anything else?"

Lucy blushed. "Well there might be one more thing. There's this guy I really like and every time I see him, I get a bit...agressive. Way more than I would normally."

"By your blush, I assume you mean you get aggressive sexually?" Jake asked. "Like you really pursue him?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. Like the other day, this other woman was at his house and I went to take a bath and walked in front of both of them naked while they were watching television. How immature is that of me?"

"Did you feel the urge to kill the other woman?" Jake asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No, but I knew I had to do whatever I needed to in order to get her away from the guy that I liked."

"That's strange that you're so mellow," Jake said. "Usually, a female werewolf who came from two werewolf parents, i.e. yourself, automatically feels the need to kill a rival. I mean, look at your sister Roxanne for a prime example of how werewolves of your type usually are."

"But why?" Lucy asked.

"Werewolves, for the most part, mate for life and once they choose the mate they like, females especially get very territorial of their mates. This man you like is obviously yours," Jake said. "And your response toward him is typical and nothing to worry about."

"Really?" Lucy asked. "Well, that's a relief. Wait until he hears."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Jake?" Caroline said, "Have you seen-" She trailed off when she saw Lucy. "Oh, there you are, Lily. It's time for lunch. Jake, you can come along too, if you'd like."

"Thank you, Caroline," Jake said, taking Lucy's arm. "I think I will."

After school a few days later, Lucy called Helene to ask if she could take care of Lenora. Helene said yes and Lucy came to pick her up.

"Where are we going?" Lenora asked.

"Back to Damon's," Lucy said. "I need you to do a favor for me."

"What?" Lenora asked, her eyes wide.

"I want to see you do some magic," Lucy said. "And there's just the person at Damon's house for you to practice on."

"But Mommy says I can't do magic on people," Lenora said. "Unless it's on accident."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind about this," Lucy said. "It's a very mean lady you're practicing on."

"Well, okay," Lenora said. "But only because she's a meanie." They arrived at Damon's and went inside, finding, as Lucy thought they would, Ginger sitting alone on the sofa, her long legs stretching the length of it.

"Oh," she said, looking at Lucy sourly. "It's you."

"That's the woman you practice on," Lucy whispered. Lenora moved her hand and Ginger turned into a dog, a horse, a monkey, and then finally a camel. She looked at them for a moment before spitting on the carpet.

Lenora looked up at her and then ran for Damon, yelling, "Damon, there's a camel in the living room!"

"And just why is there a camel in the living room?" Damon asked, wincing as it spit again.

"I falled down and my hand slipped," Lenora said. "It was a accident!"

"Where's Ginger?" Damon asked.

Lenora pointed at the camel. "Right there."

Damon frowned at Lucy, who was trying hard not to laugh and failing. "What's so funny?" He asked her.

"This whole situation," Lucy said. "I mean just think of it. I bring Lenora over here just for a change of scenery and that leads to your slutty girlfriend being turned into a camel! What are the odds?"

"Would you change her back, please?" Damon asked Lenora, disregarding Lucy.

Lenora sighed. "Okay, but I don't think she's gonna like you anymore!" She pointed again and the camel turned back into a very disgruntled Ginger.

"Do they come around a lot?" She asked Damon angrily, pointing at Lucy and Lenora.

"We do," Lucy said. "Is that a problem for you?"

"You listen to me, honey," Ginger said. "Apparently, there's only enough room for one of us in this house and it ain't gonna be me who leaves."

"Oh, I think it will be," Lucy said. "I was here first. And by the way, he really likes me better. He's just using you to run away from his feelings."

Ginger slapped Lucy hard, then she felt herself shrinking, and growing fur, ears and a tail. In the end, a white kitten sat on the living room floor where Ginger had been.

"And I'm not turning her back," Lenora said to Damon. "She was a mean lady and now she's something nice." She picked Ginger up and held her out to Damon. "See? She's soft. I think I'll call her Snowball."

"I'm sorry about what happened with Ginger," Lucy said later that night. "But she was all wrong for you. You have to admit that."

"I don't want to talk about it," Damon said. "I don't really care anymore. Let's just do what you came to do, and then you can leave."

He looked at Lucy, who now wore lacy panties and a matching bra with an open pink silk robe. "Before we do this," she said, approaching the bed, "Tell me something: Did you really love Mom? At all?"

"Of course I did!" Damon said. "If you think somehow that she was just another notch on my bedpost, that's not true!"

Lucy shook her head. "Of course that's not what I thought! I just, well-you proposed, got her pregnant, went off to war, and she didn't see you again. Was it because you were scared?"

Damon shook his head. "I promised your mother way before I left that I would leave early and come back for her. She'd already lost your grandfather to a war. I didn't want her to lose me too. It was just bad luck that pulled us apart...and why I've been trying so hard to make it up to her ever since." He sighed. "But, she hasn't accepted my apologies, finding your father and your uncle more appealing instead."

"Hey," Lucy said, putting a hand on his cheek and moving his head gently so he was facing her. "It's good that Mom liked my father better than you. If she hadn't, I wouldn't be here right now. I know that's self-absorbed, but it's true! Would it be too much to ask for you to stop focusing on what you don't have and focus instead on what you do have?"

Damon swallowed. "And what do I have?"

Lucy undid her robe and threw it on the floor. "You have me," she said. And then she kissed him. He was resistant. "Just a minute," he said. "Why are we doing this?" He asked. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Lucy said. "And I want to do this because I love you. It's not all about the sex. Apparently, you can blame my werewolf gene for that. I met my Uncle Jake today and he told me all about it."

"Oh, yes," Damon said. "Uncle Jake the Werewolf Encyclopedia. I remember him."

"He was surprised I didn't know a lot about it, but Mom doesn't mention it much," Lucy said. "He also said that it seems my werewolf gene has decided that I like you and thus I will drive off any other woman you try to bring home. So you best not do that anymore."

"Well, it's pretty much pointless now, isn't it?" Damon asked. He ran his fingers through her hair. "Say it again," he said.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"That thing you said earlier," Damon told her. "The reason why you want to have a relationship with me."

"Oh, you mean because I love you, not just because of the sex?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "That. Do you mean that?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "I have for as long as I can remember. You've always made me feel loved and warm and safe, more than anybody else." She smiled. "That probably seems stupid to you, but I have to say it."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Damon said, taking off his shirt.

Lucy watched him, wide-eyed. "Are you gonna take your pants off too?"

Damon shook his head and grinned. "I thought I'd let you do that," he said, grinning. "Unless of course you don't want to."

"Oh, I want to," Lucy said. She unzipped him and got him out of his pants and then kissed him hard. He rolled over so that she was underneath him, kissing down her neck and all over her body before removing her underwear so that she was as naked as he was. Then they made love for awhile and after they were done, Lucy looked Damon in the eye and said, "I promise not to tell my parents about this."