Even though there was still several days until the club opened, since Dorian had told Selina that she could invite whomever she wanted, she knew that with her large crowd, if she didn't start now, she wouldn't be able to send out the invitations in time.

She began feverishly scribbling one invitation after another and putting them in a pile beside the desk. When a good bunch were settled on the floor, Selina paused when she heard a voice. "You want a break, Miss Executive?" She grinned as she looked up and saw Dorian standing across from her with a tray that had two glasses on it, along with a bottle of white wine. "You should talk to Jeannette about helping you sort and stamp those before you send them off."

"Yes, that would be a wonderful idea," Selina remarked and wiped her brow. "And I'm not done yet."

"Can you take a break to have some wine?" Dorian put the tray on the desk and opened it. "Please?"

"Sure," Selina nodded as she picked a glass and held it out. "I would love some. Thanks." She gave him a smile and took a sip. "This is perfect."

She took a few sips and then got up to pace around the office as Dorian took her chair and watched her. After a few minutes, she came back and he let her have the chair again, making his way toward the door. "Just a minute," she said, giving him pause. "Don't go now."

He turned, a grin on his lips. "Why not?"

"Because I have a question for you," she said, coming to put her arms around him. "You…you don't mind that I'm working at your desk, do you?"

"Not at all," Dorian replied as he looked over her low-cut black silk blouse and gray pencil skirt and she crossed one leg over the other. "But, if I'm going to be totally honest, that outfit you're wearing is giving me ideas. Ideas that would require you to take a break from all this work." He grinned. "Are you ready to do that?"

"I don't know," Selina grinned. "I have an awful lot of work to do. It could take me hours and hours!"

Dorian pulled her to him and whispered in her ear. "Oh, I think you're having too much fun with all this. Is that why you're making me wait?"

She licked her bottom lip and smiled. "You know, maybe you're right." Then she stuck out her tongue and pulled out of his grip. "But it really is just fun," she assured him as he followed her, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her to him backward. "I wouldn't tease you like that forever and then not see it through."

"Oh, I know," Dorian assured her and nibbled on her earlobe. "You wouldn't want both of us to suffer."

Then she paused. "Now, the question I'm about to ask might sound like it comes from a jealous or insecure place, but I really just want information, okay? I want to make that clear. Between the three marriages I've had that have produced children, fifteen kids have been born. How many kids do you have? Too many to keep track of? Cause I know that after all the time you've been alive, it can't just be Eric and AnnaLynne."

Dorian smiled and kissed her. "I have more than you do, but it's nothing that should worry you. Does the precise number matter?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Not really."

Dorian nodded and went to look out the office window as Selina continued to make invitations and throw them into the pile, only pausing when Dorian spoke again.

"So…with all the children you've had, I guess you're done then, aren't you?"

"Done with what?" Selina asked. "Having kids?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "After all those pregnancies, you probably don't want to go through that again, especially with a demon child and you know what…never mind." He turned back to the window. "I shouldn't have asked. The thought of having a demon baby probably terrifies you."

"Actually, it doesn't," Selina replied. "What has terrified me about childbirth in my life is being a human in the nineteenth century and giving birth in the middle of a war, knowing there was a high chance that me, my baby, or both of us wouldn't make it through the delivery. Being a vampire and figuring that because I died, I wouldn't be able to give birth again, and then suddenly finding myself expecting a vampire-werewolf hybrid when a child like that had never been born before. Those things were terrifying. But I've had too much experience now to be truly frightened of anything anymore. So if you're asking me if I'd be willing to bear your children…of course I will." She grinned and ran over to hug him. "But if anything shocking or super painful happens during a demon pregnancy, I would like to know ahead of time so I can mentally prepare. That's all I ask, really." She got up from her chair and joined him, grabbed his hand, squeezed it, and then he grinned as he finally turned away from the window.

"Do you mean it?" He asked. "I don't want you to say it just for my benefit."

"Oh, believe me, I'm not that sort of person," Selina assured him. "Not anymore. If I didn't want to have your children, I would tell you that I didn't feel up to having your children. But I really do want to. Maybe not as many as I had with Elijah but…two to four, maybe? Is that a good number?"

Dorian hugged and kissed her as she cupped his face with her hands. "If that's how many you feel up to giving birth to, that's how many we'll have. Sounds good to me." Then his hands slid down her back and over her bottom. "Do you still have invitations to write?" He asked. "Or could we get started on that now?"

"Well, there's still some time before the opening," Selina grinned, unbuttoning a few of the buttons on his dress shirt and sliding her hand in the hole. "I don't see why I can't take a break."

He smiled and said, "Would this be one of those situations where it's okay for me to throw you over my shoulder and take you to bed?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded and let him pick her up as she gave him a spank on the bottom. "It sure is!"


When Mikael received his invitation to the club opening, he showed it to Gwen. "What do you make of this? Shall we go?"

"Sure, if you want to," Gwen nodded. "It might be fun. I'm surprised you want to, though. Since the invitation came from Selina and you hate her and she's siding with demons now. I thought the last thing you'd want to do is be near her."

"Oh, but that's the point, Gwendolyn!" Mikael told her. "I need to be close to the enemy now! I need to figure out what those wicked demons are up to and this is demon central! The foolish girl is giving us the key to going behind enemy lines!" He grinned widely. "We'll win this, Gwendolyn!" He kissed her and then ran off to see John to tell him about the party and how they both could use it to take down the demons who dogged them so badly.

When he arrived at John's house, John was more than pleased to see him. "I can't believe that they're just giving you an invitation to this demon hideout," he remarked as they sat in his office and looked the invitation over. "They must be slipping, don't you think?"

"Oh, definitely," Mikael nodded. "It's like they want us to just come in there and pick them off one by one. And did you notice the date of the opening? Look at how much time we have to prepare!"

"Do you really think we need much time to prepare?" John questioned. "Presumably the building stands empty now. Want to destroy it? Immediately? Or no, maybe we should wait. We'll do more damage that way."

"Sounds good to me," Mikael agreed and held out his hand. "You get men, I'll get men, they'll get bombs, and the demon club's opening night will go off with a bang!"

"Exactly, my friend," John grinned as they shook hands, then shared a drink as they imagined the look on Dorian's face when he realized that the club had been blown to pieces.


"I really hope you've got nothing else to do for the next several days," Klaus said when he called AnnaLynne soon after receiving his invitation. "Because I have a proposal for you."

"A proposal?" AnnaLynne asked in amazement. "Are you serious? You don't think it's too soon? What's the ring look like?"

Klaus chuckled. "No, sorry. Poor choice of words. I received an invitation to the opening of a new night club that your father appears to own along with my ex-wife. Did you get an invitation as well?"

"I did," AnnaLynne nodded. "I was thinking of not going cause I didn't want to be alone and look like a loser but if you're offering to come with me, I might be motivated to go. Is that what you're asking?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Will you come with me to the club opening?"

"That depends," AnnaLynne told him. "Is this a date?"

"What does it matter?" Klaus snapped.

"If it's not a date, I'm not going," AnnaLynne told him.

"Fine," Klaus sighed. What was so bad about going as friends? "I suppose it can be a date."

"All right, good," AnnaLynne nodded. "We'll have dinner, go for a walk, you can lead me back to my door afterward, maybe come in for a drink…and if you do that thing you said where you answer the door naked beforehand, that would just make my day. Or night, or whatever."

Klaus chuckled. "So nice to hear you're looking forward to that."

"Well, only because that's fair," AnnaLynne told him, her tone more matter-of-fact now. "I've sent you some naked pictures of myself. It's about time you do something to return the favor."

"Oh, it's not like I've left you completely clueless!" Klaus protested. "I've let you put your hands in places that would give you a basic idea of what I've got, even if you haven't actually seen it."

"That's the thing, though," AnnaLynne told him. "I want to."

"Why are you so eager?" Klaus asked. "Have you never seen one before?"

"Oh, no, I have," AnnaLynne assured him. "Lots and lots of them. But I've never seen yours."

The idea of him being just another notch on her bedpost was irritating, but Klaus decided to push onward anyway. "Fine," he told her. "I'll take you home and then we'll have a drink and see what happens."

"Good!" AnnaLynne smiled. "Can't wait!"


Just like his brother, Elijah didn't want to go to the opening of the club alone. He knew he should ask Amy as an apology for how he'd behaved before, but he knew she'd most likely refuse him, so he called his favorite niece first. "Lucy, dear, would you come with me to the opening of a night club?"

"That's an unexpected question coming from you," Lucy remarked. "Is this a joke, or are you serious?"

"Oh, I'm serious," Elijah told her. "It would give you a chance to meet your mother's new boyfriend."

"I heard about what happened between you and Amy," Lucy told him. "I think asking me is just a way to avoid dealing with it. Call Amy first and ask her and if she refuses, then I'll go with you."

"Oh, all right," Elijah sighed. "Keep the phone nearby. You'll be getting another call soon."

Then he called Amy, and to his surprise, she answered, although she understandably wasn't as enthusiastic to hear from him as she normally was. "What is it that I can do for you? Thank you for calling this time instead of just storming my house when you want something."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied as he gave a nervous chuckle. "I just…I just wanted to know how you've been since we've not spoken in a while. Are you feeling well?"

"Well enough, all things considering," Amy replied. "Thank you for asking. Anything else?"

"I thought I had something to ask you, but now I'm not so sure," Elijah replied. "I have an invitation to a night club opening and I thought I would ask you if you wanted to come with me. Or at least if you would be okay with us being in the same space if you've also been invited."

"Of course I have," Amy replied. "And if you want to go, I think we can handle it, right? We are two mature adults who can face each other when problems arise instead of avoiding one another. Don't you think?"

"Yes, I…I suppose so," he sighed. "I really am sorry about what happened between us before, Amy. I want you to know that."

"What in the hell was going through your head, Elijah?" Amy asked. "What would make you act like that toward me? I'd expect that sort of behavior from your brother, but…not from you."

"I'm not going to say that what I did was right," Elijah replied. "But I would think you of all people would understand the stress and strain of being held to a high standard at all times and the frustration of not being allowed to have an off-day."

"An off day for you would be drinking blood from a living, breathing body," Amy pointed out. "You kidnapped me! You made me feel unsafe! And now you're trying to make me feel guilty for making efforts to get away from it? No. Just don't. Don't talk to me about it again until you can start taking responsibility for what you did instead of excusing it. Hopefully you'll get there by the night of the opening, because I really don't want to spend the whole time avoiding you."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I don't want that either."

Amy waited for him to do what she'd suggested, but he didn't. He didn't seem to have a clue. So finally she got out, "I'll give you more time to get your thoughts together. I need to do the same with mine. Goodbye, Elijah."

"Goodbye, Amy," Elijah responded. "See you at the opening. I'm glad you're well after all that's happened."

"Thank you. See you then," Amy told him, her voice tired as she ended the call. She didn't know if it was talking to him or because of the baby, but she felt incredibly drained and all she wanted to do was go to bed for hours and not come out until dinner.