The knowledge of Elijah and Selina's divorce was common around Roxie's, as was the break-up of Klaus and Amy.
"What the fuck is happening?" Adrian questioned Roxie. "Dad and Amy split up, Mom and Elijah split up…it's nuts!"
"You know, if I were you, I would go and have a look at the guy your mom is shacked up with," Kai suggested to Adrian. "He could be shifty and evil."
"But he's not!" Roxie told him. "I mean, sure he's dangerous to other people cause he's a demon, but he's not dangerous to Mom. I have no doubt he really loves her."
"I think I'll go and see for myself, just for my own peace of mind," Adrian told her. "I haven't seen her in a long time anyway. It's about time I visited."
"Oh, all right," Roxie agreed as Kai continued to goad her brother. "Just don't go in there planning to kill him. Laura tried that and it didn't end well."
"Wait, what?" Adrian's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You mean sweet, wonderful Laura who would never hurt a fly tried to kill the new guy with scissors? Why the hell would she do that?"
Roxie smiled at her older brother and leaned close to him, a grin on her lips. "Remember when Mom got with Uncle Elijah and we both hated it?"
"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Do I ever."
"Well, it seems that Laura feels the same way about Mom being with Dorian and not her father," Roxie said. "Although, considering how horribly Uncle Elijah is taking the divorce and how pissed he seems to be that Mom's moved on already, I wouldn't be surprised if, somehow, he goaded Laura into the whole thing."
Adrian chuckled, his drink spraying out of his mouth. "You really think Laura's capable of being so mean?" She asked.
"Oh, yeah," Roxie nodded, frowning at her brother as she wiped up his mess. "I mean, look what Mom did when she was ticked off. Laura comes from the same gene pool. Plus, I think we're idiots if we don't acknowledge Uncle Elijah's got some crazy in him that he's repressing. It's gotta be in there somewhere."
"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "I guess you're right."
"You still going to see Mom?" Roxie asked.
"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "I believe I am. But I'll call first so she knows that I mean no harm."
"Good idea," Roxie smiled. "You need a phone?"
"No," Adrian held up his phone and started to punch in Selina's number. "I got mine."
"So your son is coming?" Dorian asked. "What's he like?"
"He's not one of Elijah's," Selina assured him. "He's Roxie's brother. One of my kids with Klaus."
"That fills me full of relief," Dorian let out a breath. "But I'm going to watch my back just in case."
"Oh, you don't need to," Selina told him. "Adrian's not like that. He's kind of got the same stance about things that you do. If you leave him alone, he'll leave you alone, or even try and get to be your friend. He only gets problematic if you piss him off or hurt him, and I know you wouldn't do that. At least not before you've even met him."
"No," Dorian agreed. "I wouldn't. Does he drink?"
"Yes, but he's more of a beer person than a wine person," Selina explained. "I know what kind he likes. I'll run out and get it for him. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks," Dorian nodded. He sat down and said, "So you truly think he won't cause us any trouble?"
"No, I really don't," Selina shook her head. "He may not be as enthusiastic as his sister, but he won't be antagonistic like Laura. He'll be polite." She went and got his beer, came back, put it in the fridge, and then they waited for Adrian.
When he showed up, the first thing he did was give Selina a hug when she opened the door for him. Then, he came inside, looked Dorian over for a few seconds, then smiled and stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Adrian," he said. "Are you Dorian?"
"Yes," Dorian replied. "As a matter of fact, I am."
"It's good to meet you," Adrian remarked and took a seat in Selina's chair. "Since you let her keep this, you don't have to worry about me treating you harshly. You must really care about her."
"Oh, I do," Dorian nodded. "You seriously don't have any worries about your mother being in love with a demon?"
Adrian shook his head. "You're a demon, she's a vampire-werewolf hybrid. I bet you're probably somewhat more powerful, but she's not completely at your mercy, is she? Besides, if you look at my own romantic history, it's not really my place to judge. Would you believe that I first grew attached to the woman I'm with now when she was a baby?"
"Oh?" Dorian raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, then she aged a bunch out of nowhere, and here we are," Adrian sighed. "Don't ask me to explain why. It still makes no sense to me."
"I got you that beer you like," Selina told Adrian after a few minutes of silence. "It's in the refrigerator if you want it."
"Can I talk to you in the kitchen?" Adrian questioned.
Selina nodded and they went to the kitchen, which was a short distance away from the living room. "So?" She got out. "What do you think?"
"Well, I don't hate him, since he obviously cares for you," Adrian replied. "I want you to be happy. I'm not gonna call him 'Dad' or anything, but I see no harm in being nice to him so that when he takes over the world, I get some cushy place in it all and not killed like everyone else."
"That's a logical way to look at things," Selina nodded. "Very practical. Thank you for making this easy for me. It's gonna be hard enough explaining what I did when Elijah sics the whole brood on me. Having you and your sister be okay with this lightens the burden a bit."
"Good," Adrian nodded and hugged her again before grabbing his beer and going to continue his chat with Dorian. "That's what I was going for."
The pregnancy test had confirmed what Amy already knew but she thought it would be best to go to the doctor and have herself looked over. She had no intention of telling Elijah or letting him come to the hospital with her, even though that would have been the nice thing to do. She went with Savannah instead and was told about the reality of her condition once more, and given prenatal vitamins and other things.
"I can't believe you're pregnant with Uncle Elijah's kid!" Savannah got out, her eyes wide with shock as she led her mother out of the hospital. "Maybe you and Selina should start some sort of club."
"Perhaps," Amy nodded.
They got in the car, but before Savannah began driving, she asked, "Do you know what you're going to do with it? Are you going to keep it?"
"I think I will," Amy nodded. "It's not like I'm a stranger to raising a child alone." She put a hand on her belly. "I mean, look how Vivi turned out."
"That's true," Savannah nodded and started the car. "You make a very good point. Or, if, after everything, you find out that it's a bit overwhelming, Jonathan and I could always take care of the kid for you. That's a possibility."
"I couldn't ask you to do that," Amy shook her head. "Not when this is my issue."
"Can I ask why you look at everything in your life as something to be conquered?" Savannah questioned. "Having kids, relationships, stuff like that? It's kind of a habit with you. It's like you don't know how to just enjoy things. Now, if I'm overstepping here, I'm sorry. But I just thought that it needed to be said."
"Oh, my god," Amy said. "I never thought of it that way, but I think you're right. Everything in my life has to be some sort of project. I have to control it. I can't just let it go." She turned to face her daughter. "That's why I broke off the engagement with Jonathan: he was too perfect. He was too good. He would take care of me. And it just…the thought freaked me out so much that I told him I wasn't ready and I ran for the hills!" She began biting her nails. "How the hell do I work my way through this? Cause I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone, or making one stupid mistake after another by just trying to mold guys and then having to run for my life when it doesn't work out. There has to be some sort of solution."
"Yeah, I bet there is," Savannah nodded. "Like, for example, it could be that sometime down the road, Uncle Elijah won't be a jerk and the two of you can actually have a good relationship."
"Oh, if that happened, you would hate it," Amy told her. "I know you. I know that's true."
"It is," Savannah confessed. "But if it made you happy, I would learn how to deal with it. I promise."
"You would?" Amy asked in surprise.
"Yeah," Savannah nodded. "I would."
After his very nice conversation and motorcycle ride with AnnaLynne, Klaus' opinion of her began to change. While he was still in no mood to move on to another relationship just yet, he felt all right with offering her a few crumbs.
Not long after their ride, he gave her a call. "Hello, AnnaLynne!"
"Klaus?" AnnaLynne asked in genuine shock. "Why are you calling? I haven't sent you any naked pictures lately. Do you want another one?"
He chuckled. "Well, of course I wouldn't mind it because you're a beautiful woman, but actually, I just called to see how you were since I last saw you."
"Well, that's nice," AnnaLynne remarked. "I'm well. How are you?"
"I've been better, I've been worse," Klaus replied.
They then lapsed into a long silence because neither of them knew what to say beyond 'Hello'. Then, AnnaLynne got out, "What are you wearing?"
"Oh, no, AnnaLynne," Klaus groaned. "Do you really think this is the time for that?"
"Why is it the wrong time?" AnnaLynne asked. "Cause apparently we don't have anything else to talk about. What are you wearing? Nothing? From the way things sounded when you talked before, you don't really take the time to actually dress anymore, do you?"
"Well, today, I happened to," Klaus told her. "Red shirt, denim shorts."
"Well isn't that nice," AnnaLynne replied. "I'm in my locked room wearing a t-shirt and just my underwear. Little white laces ones." She paused. "But I was thinking of taking them off. Why don't I do that?"
"So you're gonna sit around your room with no pants on?" Klaus asked. "What good does that do if you're alone?"
"I don't have to be alone," AnnaLynne replied. "You could invite me over and we could be at your house with no underwear on together. You could even take it off of me if you wanted."
A growl escaped Klaus' throat. "You have no shame, do you?" He whispered. "None."
"Nope," AnnaLynne giggled. "Not a single little bit. Now, don't make me do all the work. Give me something to think about, would you? Even if it's not real, make something up. Like, for example: when you get out of the shower, do you immediately go for a towel to put around your waist, or do you just walk around naked for a while and then get a towel?"
"That depends," Klaus remarked, flushing a little as he realized he was having to get a tutorial about how to do sexy talk with a woman. "Sometimes I just walk around without a towel, especially if there's someone else around that I want to impress."
"So if I came to your house and rang the doorbell and you just got out of the shower…you'd answer the door dripping wet and naked?" AnnaLynne asked, a shiver going through her body as she shut her eyes and tried to picture that. It was a good picture.
"Well of course I would, if I knew it was you on the other side of the door," Klaus replied. "The look on your face would be really interesting, wouldn't it?"
AnnaLynne swallowed. "You think I would have an interesting look on my face?"
"Yes." Klaus grinned. "You'd be overwhelmed and faint on my doorstep."
"I would not!" AnnaLynne cried. "And I will show you! Next time before your shower, you give me a call and tell me when you plan to get out so I can come to your house, knock on the door, and show you just how wrong you are."
"All right," Klaus nodded. "I'll think about it. And I'll make sure there are pillows in the doorway."
"I won't need them," AnnaLynne insisted.
"Yes, you will," Klaus told her. "Don't try and deny it."
"You know, I don't want to talk to you anymore," AnnaLynne spat. "I'm ending this call!"
"Fine, I don't care!" Klaus yelled. "Goodbye!" He grinned with satisfaction as he heard the click on her end of the line and put his phone back on his bedside table.
Over the next month, Selina threw herself into drawing up decorating schemes for the night club with enthusiasm because it was much more enjoyable than teaching at school. Although Dorian had given her free rein, since their styles were so different, she felt it would be wrong to take complete advantage and made sure it was something he was truly okay with before she went out and bought anything.
Finally, the club was nearly ready for its opening. It had everything in it but guests and paint on the walls, which would be different neon colors. As Selina sat at the bar with a rum and Coke in hand prepared by Dorian himself, who'd gone out to buy paint, she shut her eyes and envisioned opening night: She and Jeannette would go shopping for new dresses (cause of course everyone from the office would be invited), and Dorian would order a limo.
They would go to the club and as he helped her out of the limo, scores of fascinated demons would have cameras and want to take pictures of her. Dorian would be worried at first, but she wouldn't be scared at all. She would be charming and delightful for her first big foray into the demon world and everyone would love her.
"Darling?" She was startled from her dream at the sound of Dorian's voice. "What are you thinking of?"
"Just opening night," she smiled. "I think it'll be fun, don't you?"
"Yes," Dorian grabbed her free hand and squeezed it as he gave her a wide smile. "I really do." He paused. "Are you nervous? Cause it will be your big introduction to the demon world."
"I know," Selina nodded. "And I would be lying if I said that it wasn't a little intimidating. I mean, it'd be bad to have a whole bunch of demons hating me."
"And that's why I'm going to have everyone get to know you before we're married," Dorian told her. "Not that I think they'll hate you. I mean, has any demon that you've been around for an extended period of time since you knew about them hated you?"
"No, not really," Selina shook her head, crossing one leg over the other and adjusting her hot pink and black striped skirt.
"See?" Dorian shrugged. "You have nothing to worry about. You'll do fine." He paused. "And if you decided you wanted to come and work with me, would you like to have Jeannette as an assistant?"
"Oh, I don't know if that's a good idea," Selina told him. "I wouldn't want to make her work for me like that."
"She wants to," Dorian told her. "She begged me to ask you the other day. You'd be doing her a favor."
"Well, all right," Selina nodded. "If she wants to, and I like having her around, then who am I to let her down?"
"Good," Dorian nodded and pulled out his phone, handing it to her with a smile. "You can tell her. It'll make her day."
