"All right," Elijah said as Selina shut the car door with her hip. "Since you have one baby and I have two, you're the one getting the door."

"Well, of course!" Selina replied, leading him inside.

"I can't believe you convinced me to take care of triplets!" He sighed. "This is going to be madness!"

"I don't see what the problem is," Selina shook her head as they set the babies down on the breakfast bar. "You know we've had lots of children. Another one is coming and of course, Remiel will have little Lucas any day now. This is practice!"

"I don't need practice," Elijah grunted. "I need peace and quiet before the baby storm hits. I need all the energy I can get!"

"And you'll have it," Selina promised and kissed him. "It's only for twenty-four hours; just so Adrian and Eloise can have a little rest. And look at them." She grinned down at the babies in their baskets. "It's not so bad; they're cute, right?"

Elijah grinned as he looked down at them too. "Well, yes," he said, reaching out to tickle their bellies. "I guess they are beautiful!"

"And you would know," Selina grinned. "You know a beautiful woman when you see one."

"Yes," Elijah grinned, leaning forward to kiss her. "One in particular...with pretty blue eyes."

But just as their lips touched, one of the babies began crying, with her sisters not far behind.

Then they looked up and saw a sleepy Remiel drag herself into the room. "Hello, Remiel," Selina greeted. "Were you napping? Did the babies wake you up? I'm sorry."

"No, I just need a drink," Remiel replied. "Or food or something that will make me forget how large and swollen I am." Then she turned. "Did you say the babies are here?" She grinned and came over to them. "Yes!" She said and waved. "Hello, cute babies!"

"Wow," Ricky remarked, coming up behind Remiel and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Three babies. That's a lot to handle at once. Are you sure you can?"

"Oh, of course!" Selina nodded. "How hard can it be? You feed 'em, you change 'em, they go to sleep, and there you go. Easy peasy."

"You think that," Elijah told her, thinking that she had clearly forgotten all the work that had gone into getting their own triplets through babyhood. "But ninety-nine percent of the time, it doesn't work that way."

"Oh, will you shush and stop worrying?" Selina asked. "Your brother is coming to lend us a hand."

Just then, the doorbell rang and Elijah just grinned and shook his head. "Well, look at that! We speak of him and he appears." He opened the door and found himself face to face with his brother, who was holding Natalie.

"Natalie, go meet your uncle," Klaus said, handing her off to his brother before Elijah could say a word.

"'Lijah!" Natalie got out and buried her head in Elijah's shoulder.

"Hello, Natalie," Elijah told her, and then kissed the top of her head before eying his brother. "You know, we weren't really expecting any more children."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that," Klaus said, picking up a baby and walking around with her. "I meant to come alone, but Amy had a last second appointment and couldn't take her so I had no choice."

"Oh, it doesn't matter," Selina smiled and came to greet Natalie. "The more the merrier." She paused and smiled at the tiny redhead. "Hello, Natalie."

Natalie looked at her for a few seconds and then buried her head in Elijah's shoulder again. "No," she said.

"Don't be offended," Klaus told Selina. "She prefers men to women at the moment. Doesn't even really give Amy a chance.

"Oh, I know how that feels," Selina replied. "Don't we all?" As she said this, she winked at Remiel, who blushed and kept her eyes on her feet before getting some cookies for Natalie, who accepted them eagerly.

After Remiel finished her juice and an egg, a wave of tiredness hit her and she lay her head down on the table.

"Are you all right?" Ricky asked her. "Do you feel sick?" He pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear as she tried to sit up again.

"No, I'm just tired," she said. "I think I'll go back to sleep."

"Sure," Ricky nodded. "And I'll come with you in case you need anything." He looked at his grandparents and the babies. "Is that all right? Or would you like me to stay and help?"

"Oh, please go," Selina said. "We'll be all right."

"Did the babies wake you up?" Ricky asked Remiel as he led her back to bed and pushed some strands of hair out of her eyes. "I know you'd be too nice to say so to Grandma's face but you can tell me."

"Well, it's not their fault," Remiel shrugged. "They're babies." She yawned. "I guess I was more tired than I realized. I think I want to just rest." She gave him a shy smile. "Care to tuck me in?"

"Always," Ricky replied with a smile and gave her a small peck on the cheek before throwing blankets over her. She smiled back, caressing his chin and cheeks. "You really are amazing, you know that? Did you ever think we would be this way?"

"No," Ricky shook his head. "Much less that I'd be good at it." Then his eyes widened as Remiel froze, eyes wide. "What?" He asked. "You're white as a sheet! In fact, I can't tell the difference!"

"You're really just full of compliments, aren't you?" She asked, wincing and growling while trying not to give in to all the pain she was feeling.

"I'm not teasing, I'm concerned!" Ricky insisted. "What's wrong?"

Wincing, she asked him to help her sit up. Then they noticed the big wet spot on the fitted sheet and water dripping off the side of the mattress. "Shit," Ricky muttered.

"Yes," Remiel nodded. "I guess Lucas is ready to make his entrance!"

"Just...just lie down," Ricky said. "I'll go get Grandma. It will be okay!"

"Are you sure?" Remiel called. "Does she know how to deliver babies?"

"Well she's had a lot of them, so I would think so," Ricky tried to reassure her.

"All right," Remiel replied and then yelled. "What other choice do we have?"

"Yeah," Ricky sighed and ran toward the kitchen, pausing just by it. It was obvious that the other adults were struggling to deal with all the children. The last thing his grandmother needed was news of one more. If he had to deliver Lucas himself, he would. If there wasn't a quiet moment where he could get his grandmother's attention, that's what he'd have to do.

"More cookies please!" Natalie got out after shoveling a bunch into her mouth and leaving the table covered with crumbs.

"Just a minute, sweetie," Selina said as she tried to comfort Celine, who was very upset. Elijah and Klaus weren't having much better luck with Michelle and Laurelle.

Just then, the doorbell rang. As he had the baby that was closest to calm (although that wasn't saying much) Elijah went to get the door, surprised to see Lucifer on the other side with Milo in his arms. "Great, more babies!" He groaned.

"This is not a baby!" Lucifer cried. "This is my son, Milo!"

"I don't see the difference, but come in if you want," Elijah said, too tired to fight him more. "But it's a war zone. Selina decided to give Adrian and Eloise a break for the day so we're watching triplets and Klaus also brought Natalie for a visit."

"Look, Milo, your friend is here!" Lucifer said to his son. "You can play with her while I go visit your aunt."

"So that's why you're here," Elijah said. "How surprising."

"Why?" Lucifer asked. "Remiel is my sister."

Meanwhile, Milo had spotted the cookies, and Natalie had spotted Milo. "Mine," she said, trying to hide the cookies from Milo's view. "My cookies!"

"Share!" Milo said, reaching for the plate, only to get face full of milk when Natalie threw her cup at him.

"That's not very nice!" Lucifer said, his eyes glowing red as he picked Natalie up by the collar of her shirt, her little legs dangling in the air. "Apologize."

"No!" Natalie shook her head, thrashing wildly. "My cookies! Mine!"

"Can I have?" Milo asked, looking appealingly at his father.

"Of course," Lucifer nodded. "Take a couple. But not all of them. I don't want your mummy to accuse me of making you sick."

"Okay," Milo nodded, then came to stand in front of Natalie, eating the cookies slowly so he could be sure she saw him do it.

"All right, all right," Selina said. "Milo's had his vengeance, now how about you put Natalie down...please, Lucifer?"

"But...you saw what this little miscreant did to Milo!" Lucifer cried. "She spilled milk all over him!"

"He tried to take stuff from her without asking nicely," Selina reminded him. "I'd say he got off easy. Now...put her down."

"Fine," Lucifer rolled his eyes and handed Natalie to a glaring Klaus. "For peace, I suppose."

Soon after, when Selina was sure there wouldn't be any more fighting between the toddlers for at least a few minutes, she sat down and took a deep breath. Her butt had been on the chair for hardly a minute when Ricky made his move.

"Grandma, you have to come to our room, quick! The baby's coming!"

"What?" Selina asked, wide eyed. "Oh, dear Steve, not now!" She quickly handed Celine to Lucifer. "Watch her, would you? Thanks!"

"I really...she's not mine and I can't..."

"Suck it up!" Selina called over her shoulder. "This is an emergency!"

Lucifer groaned and swore under his breath as the baby stared back at him. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it," he warned her. "Just don't."

"What's that, Daddy?" Milo asked and started to show an interest in Celine.

"This is...this is a baby," Lucifer replied, sitting down and breathing a sigh of relief that all the little girl was doing was yawning and falling asleep. "Be gentle with her. We don't want her to wake up."

Natalie took advantage of Milo's interest in Celine to steal from his cookie pile. Milo noticed and let out a terrible yell, which of course led to all three babies screaming like banshees while Milo and Natalie wrestled on the floor and ground bits of cookie into Elijah's nice new carpet, which was something he noticed immediately.

"All right, you two stop!" He said. "Get up and separate. You're both in time out!"

"You can't put my son in time out!" Lucifer told Elijah.

"Well, were you going to do anything about the fact that your son is clearly misbehaving?" Elijah asked. "If you're not going to make the effort, don't be mad at someone else for stepping up.

"Natalie, what are you doing?" Klaus asked as Natalie began picking up crumbs off the floor with her fingers and putting them in her mouth. "You don't want to do that!"

"Whatever gets the crumbs off the floor suits me," Elijah told his brother.

"Oh, come on, brother, she's not an animal," Klaus said as he set Michelle her basket to get Natalie up off the floor. "I mean, at least not at the moment."

Elijah gave him a look. "Clean the crumbs out of my carpet," he said. "The vacuum cleaner is in the hall closet."

"Fine," Klaus sighed. "But you know it means you have to watch another baby. I hope you don't mind that."

"Does it usually take this long to have a baby?" A worried Ricky asked Selina. He was pacing around the bedroom and trying to ignore the sound of Remiel's terrible screams of pain. "I came and got you because I thought that with all the pain she was in, Lucas was gonna pop out immediately!"

"Well, the first babies usually take the longest and yes, it can take a while," Selina told him. "If...if it's stressing you out, you can go somewhere else until it's all over. You wouldn't be the first." She knew he'd refuse, but she wanted him to know he had the option and it wasn't a shameful thing.

"No," Ricky shook his head and came to take Remiel's hand. "I won't leave her. Something is wrong. I know it in my guts. Can't you do something, Grandma?"

"Everything is going to be fine," Selina tried to reassure him. "I made Steve promise on pain of death that nothing would happen to Remiel or Lucas."

"Selina, where's Ricky?" Remiel asked, so distressed that she didn't even seem to realize he was right beside her.

"Here next to you," Selina told her. "Holding your hand."

Ricky was trying not to cry. Was this what it had been like when he was born? Had his father felt this anguish watching his mother deliver him, knowing that it wouldn't end well? For once, he understood what had happened with his parents, even if he didn't like it.

"Ricky," Remiel got out, moving the sheet to expose her hip with its tattoo. "Look what I did. Do you like it?"

"Yes," Ricky nodded, noticing the heart with all their names on it. "I love it."

"Yes," Remiel nodded. "I marked myself forever with the names of the man I love and our son." She paused and took a deep breath. "And just...just know that if I don't survive this, I'll be looking down on you and Lucas from Heaven with love. You'll never be without me."

"Don't say that," Ricky told her. "Don't say you're going to die. I know it hurts but the doctor...the doctor said everything was going well!"

"Well, now it doesn't feel like it!" Remiel said. "I think I'm going to die!"

"Shit," Selina muttered under her breath. She felt sure that Remiel was exaggerating because she still had faith in Steve's promise, even though she hadn't truly followed any sort of religion since she was a human ten year old and Uncle Andrew had been killed. But just to be safe, she thought it would be best to warn Lucifer just in case something did happen to his sister.

Head hung low, she headed into the living room again. When Lucifer saw her, he stood up. "So is it done then? Has the boy been born?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about and things will right themselves soon enough but it's a bit slow going at the moment. I'm gonna...I'm gonna see if my grandmother's notes have any suggestions. I brought them from my mother's house and typed them up when I found out Remiel was pregnant."

"Do you think she's going to die?" Lucifer asked.

"Well, your dad promised she wouldn't," Selina replied. "So it depends on how much you trust Him."

Lucifer scoffed. "I think you know the answer to that."

"Is there anything we can do?" Elijah asked.

"Call Junior, maybe?" Klaus suggested.

"I don't think that'll do any good," Selina sighed. "I be going back to the room now to see if anything's changed. Hopefully it has."

When she got back to the room, she found Ricky on the bed with Remiel, positioned between her legs to catch the baby as he gave her encouraging comments, even though she was crying softly.

"Come on," he was saying. "I know it hurts but you are a badass warrior woman, and you can do this! You can deliver this baby!"

Remiel then gave a big yell and pushed hard, and then Ricky noticed a head. "Okay, I see a head," he said. "I think I'll get out of the way now..."

"Good," Selina said and got a towel, sighing with relief, her tears matching Remiel's as they both heard the baby cry and Selina wrapped him up in a towel so he could meet his mother. "You wanna say 'Hi' to Lucas?" She asked.

"Hi, Lucas," Remiel said, reaching out to touch his head. "Thank you for not killing me. I appreciate it very much. It's easier to love you since I'm not dead."

"AWWWW!" Selina smiled, her hands clasped against her chest. "That is so sweet! I think I'm gonna cry again!" She did, then wiped her eyes. "Now...can I introduce your son to everybody and let them know that you're not dead?" Selina asked.

"Of course," Remiel told her. "Now I think I want to sleep."

"You do that," Ricky told her and took her hand after Selina got a good grip on Lucas. "And I'll be right here with you."

"You always have been," Remiel smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "And I don't expect that to ever change."

When Selina arrived in the living room, she saw a scene of madness. Lucifer, Klaus, and Elijah had evidently given up on trying to discipline Milo and Natalie and were instead doing the best they could to try and calm the triplets which was not going well. They all looked like they were gonna cry too.

Selina whistled and immediately the crying stopped and even the toddlers stopped pulling each other's hair and covering each other with crumbs and frosting for Selina to make her announcement.

"It may have been a rough start, but...everything went well and I want to take this time to introduce you all to Lucas Smith Mikaelson. Lucifer, you want to come see your nephew?"

"I suppose," Lucifer replied and came forward. "So, my sister...she's all right?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "She handled very well. Go see her. I think she'd like that."

"Is...is he going to stay here, then?" Lucifer asked her. "Lucas, I mean? Because you might be dealing with a child who has wings. Dad spared my children because of my own aversion to them until such time as they could make the choice themselves, but I don't think the same could be said for any of my siblings' children."

"Thanks for the warning," Selina said. "It's definitely something to think about."

He winked. "What sort of friend would I be if I didn't warn you about that?"

"Go see your sister," Selina repeated.

Lucifer wasn't sure how glad Remiel would be to see him. If they'd ever been close, it hadn't been for a long time, and she'd held his wife and his family in contempt, with the exception of Valerie, who she'd taken under her wing to guide. He reached the bedroom door and knocked.

"Sorry if you don't want me to come in," he called. "Selina said you wanted to see me, but I wasn't sure."

"Please come in," Remiel said.

So he entered and was surprised when she motioned for him to come forward and sit on the bed. "Well...this is unexpected," he remarked.

Remiel sighed. "I know," she said. "It surprises me too. I know I've been terrible. To you, to Eleanor...to all your children except Valerie because despite the fact that she shares some of your more repulsive habits, she's also the most responsible, honorable child you have." She paused. "I never thought Father would do to me what he did to you. I saw it as a punishment that you deserved. That's why I was mean I guess." She let out a breath. "And I'm sorry. I understand if you don't feel like you want to help me with what my life will be right now, but...if you could give me a hint or two...I'd really appreciate it."

Lucifer chuckled. "I'm both touched and shocked that you're asking me for advice. But really...there's no perfect way to do it. With your own skills you could probably manage a child better than I ever did. Pretend that Lucas is a soldier and you're going into battle. Does that help?"

"I...I think," Remiel nodded, eyes narrowed. "It's a start, anyway."

"Good," Lucifer nodded. "Now...you need to get your rest. I'm surprised you're still awake, honestly. After all our children, it took at least a couple of hours for Eleanor to stay awake."

Remiel nodded and leaned her head against the pillow. "You're right, brother," she said, her eyes slowly closing. "I think I need to go to sleep."

"Well, good night, sister," Lucifer told her. "Congratulations, and good luck."

"Just to warn you, now that I've sat down, I'm not getting up from this sofa until your mother brings the girls back," Eloise grunted as she sat down heavily. "Oh, it feels so good to just be able to sit!"

"Tell me about it," Adrian nodded, running his fingers through her hair. Then he just smiled at her.

"What?" Eloise asked. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"Sorry," Adrian shook his head. "I just...I can't believe how beautiful and perfect you are!"

Eloise snorted and burst into laughter. "It's...it's a nice sentiment, don't get me wrong," she said. "But have...have you gone blind? I've still got my baby fat, I haven't really and truly showered in who knows how long...I'm a mess!"

Adrian just shook his head, a grin still on his lips. "You know I'd be more than happy to help with the shower, but that would lead to things that Sean said we're not supposed to do until you've recovered from having babies. Not that that stops me from thinking about how much I want to make love to you for hours, but..."

"Yeah," Eloise groaned. "I hate that too. But...I suppose it's for my own good."

He put a hand on either side of her face. "You are the most beautiful woman in the world to me," he told her.

She blushed. "Well, you're pretty handsome yourself," she said. "I guess I'm really lucky!"

Adrian chuckled and put a finger under her chin to bring her eyes up. "Why are you blushing?" He asked.

"Well, it's just that...I never thought you would love me this way," Eloise explained. "Much less want to make love to me for hours."

"I...when you first came into my life, I didn't think I would either," Adrian replied. "There you were, this helpless little thing and I...I'd never really took to children. I wanted to scream, yell, send you to the orphanage, or...(in my darkest thoughts) put you in the garbage or something and hope someone better suited to parenting than I was would find you. But then..."

"Then what?" Eloise asked, not at all offended by his admission. "What changed?"

He sighed. "I discovered that I could raise you my own way and it wouldn't harm you. In fact, you really seemed to like it. So I grew to love you very much, and now...now I guess I would die for you."

"You better not," Eloise told him with a chuckle. "I'm not raising three babies by myself!" She paused. "I mean, I could, but I wouldn't want to. I love you, Adrian Mikaelson. So much. I love our life, and I love our daughters."

Now it was Adrian's turn to blush. Not always ready to answer very romantic pronouncements, he just blurted out, "Right back atcha, babe," before giving her a kiss. It was as they pulled apart that the doorbell rang.

"Who do you think that is?" Eloise asked. "I hope it's no one we have to have long conversations with. I really just want to be in your arms all day and all night."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of whoever it is," Adrian assured her after getting to his feet. "I'll let these people know that we're not in the mood for company for the next twenty for hours unless it's for a very good reason." He strode to the door while she stayed on the sofa, curious in spite of herself who had come to visit them.

"Thanks for letting us stop by," said Kai's voice. "I know you just had the girls and are probably exhausted and everything, so we won't stay long, but...I wanted Eloise to meet someone."

And when he and the blonde lady she'd never seen but somehow felt she knew entered the living room, Eloise, full of shock, rose to her feet with her hand on her belly as tears pooled in her eyes and began to fall down her cheeks.

"Are you all right?" Kai asked her. "There's no need to be sad. You know a lot of souls came back, right?"

"Yeah," Eloise nodded and sniffled. "Yeah, I know that. And I know who that is, too, I think. I...I was hoping she would come back too, and I would get to see..."

"You were?" Gabrielle interrupted. She was wringing her hands and tears were falling down her cheeks too.

"Yes," Eloise nodded. "I...I really look like you, don't I? It's like looking in a mirror."

"Oui," Gabrielle nodded. "It's the same for me." Then she chuckled nervously as she and Eloise stared at each other before Eloise jumped into her mother's arms.

As they hugged and kissed and cried, Kai let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god that went well. I don't think I would have known what to do if it hadn't."

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Thank him. He's messed with a lot of people but it's good to know that happy endings can happen too." He paused and shook his head before looking at Kai. "Want a drink?"

"Yeah," Kai nodded. "Thanks, I'd love one."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Malachai said automatically as he felt himself bump into someone. He was going back to his office at the Council after a meeting and had stopped by one of the soda machines to get a drink.

"That better not be all you're sorry about," came the reply.

He stopped and blinked several times at the blonde who had her arms crossed, before he eventually realized who it was. "Sybil! You're looking lovely today!"

"Oh, please," Sybil got out. "You don't have to lie. And I don't want to hear excuses. I'm very busy too! In fact, thanks to you, I'll probably be late!"

"Oh, to your meeting to inform the Council that you've come back to life?" Malachai nodded. "There have been a lot of those around here lately." He paused and got close to her. "That's really something; I'm sure you want to celebrate it."

"If that's you trying to ask me out again, I refuse to accept!" Sybil snapped. "If I want to celebrate, I'll do it on my own! And in a place where Avery can't come and spoil everything. I will no longer be part of any dealings with her or you or any other member of the male species ever again. I have a cat now, named Princess Leia, and that is enough! You just focus on growing a pair so you can finally tell Avery how you feel and stop stringing other people along."

Malachai smirked and raised an eyebrow. "I know I treated you badly and you deserve better. There's no reason to swear men off all together. In fact, I bet I can tell you someone who might just be perfect. Someone who will treat you wonderfully and be crazy about you, and..." He bit his lip on a smile and lowered his head, still chuckling about the fact that his friend Mikael had fallen in love with a demon.

"If you're gonna make me the butt of a joke you could at least have the decency to be out of my sight before you start laughing," Sybil told him, her hands on her hips as she glared at him.

"Of course not!" Malachai tried to reassure her. "I wasn't laughing at you at all. I was, um, thinking about something I did with a friend the other day and it made me laugh. I promise it had nothing to do with you."

"Gosh, what's wrong with me?" Sybil sighed. "Men don't even notice me when I'm standing right in front of them anymore."

"Are you sure that's true?" Malachai asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head.

"Oh, well, I hope so," Sybil replied, brushing lint off her black trousers and avoiding looking him in the eye. "I am a single, independent woman and I intend to stay that way."

"Of course," Malachai agreed with a smirk. "And you're right that I should own up to my feelings for Avery. But the tough thing is that I'm not supposed to feel about her the way that I do; she and I are not meant to be together." He paused. "You've never felt that way about someone? Anyone at all?"

Sybil nodded. "I mean, I understand what you're saying, but no," she lighted as spots danced in front of her eyes. "I've never felt that way about a man before."

Malachai grinned. She was lying; Obviously hiding feelings about someone, but he couldn't be positive that it was Mikael. "I am not hitting on you when I say this," he tried to assure her. "But you're a beautiful, funny, intelligent woman, Sybil. Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with just a cat for company? You're an immortal being, remember."

"Remember what I said about my cat?" Sybil repeated. "I'll still have a connection with a kind and loving soul and that's all I need."

"Right, I forgot!" Malachai chuckled. "Oh, it is just too funny that you have a cat because he's allergic and he's not gonna like it one bit."

"He who?" Sybil demanded. "Who are you talking about? Spit it out, Malachai!"

"I'm not talking about anyone," Malachai lied through gritted teeth.

"Wait a minute, you were friends with the old fossil, weren't you?" Sybil demanded, poking his chest.

"You have to be more specific," Malachai said, his eyes bright. "Which one do you mean? And are you crazy about him?"

"I don't know who you're talking about," Sybil told him, chin up.

"You know perfectly well who I'm talking about," Malachai countered. "But if you would like me to give you his name, I will. It's Mi-"

"Stop!"

"But-"

"Don't say another word. Just zip it! It's no one, and that's that!"

"You're getting pretty upset over no one," Malachai pointed out. "Your face is all red and-"

"I can't hear you!" Sybil yelled. "La la la la la!"

"Oh, come on," Malacha countered with a grin. "I'm not against this. I'm not going to mock you. In fact, I think you two are cute together."

"No, we're not a couple!" Sybil protested. "There's no us! That man is a cockroach I would crush with my shoe! That man is...he's crap that an animal left on the road!"

"Oh, you are so what he needs," Malachai insisted. "And he's really worried about you but too proud to say it."

"How much did he pay you to tell me that?" Sybil asked. "That's some kind of lie!"

"It's not a lie, it's the truth," Malachai said very seriously. "And he'd probably kill me if he knew I blurted it out to you."

"Seriously?" Sybil asked, starting to believe him, her interest peaked. "You're not just messing with me?"

"Yep," Malachai nodded. "I think he has a thing for you also."

"Good day, Mister Malachai," she said, turning on her heel and preparing to walk away.

"If you're acting that way, it means you have feelings for him too!" Malachai shouted at a level that echoed throughout the corridor.

"You want to see my feelings, go ahead!" Sybil replied without turning her back, giving him the finger and then striding toward toward the main office block, hoping that out of sight, Malachai would be out of mind. And so would Mikael.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"You're so beautiful, yes you are!" Sybil complimented her white cat, her hand sliding over her fur as the cat walked around her. "We girls gotta stick together!"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Oh, for god's sake, who's texting me?" Sybil grouched. "Usually in a case like that, a person would take a hint but not this person apparently.

Why aren't you answering my calls?

There was no name with the number but she knew for sure who it was. I never gave you my number, she texted back. Go away!

Then things went silent and she breathed a sigh of relief. He had given up! Finally!

The phone buzzed again, loudly, insistently, as Sybil swore under her breath. "He just doesn't know when to quit, that Mikael Mikaelson," she sighed as she reached out to scratch Princess Leia behind the ears. "I bet male cats aren't as annoying. You're so lucky. And remind me to change that ring to something more fun like 'La Cucaracha'. That vibration is just ominous." She let it ring for a little while before finally answering and yelling as loud as she could.

"What the hell do you want?"

Mikael was not put off by the volume of her voice, however. "Are you sure you want me to tell you? Because you know I'll answer honestly and I don't think you'll like what I have to say, though I assure you you'll enjoy it when we do get around to it."

"I hate to break it to you, but I am very busy," Sybil snapped. "I have a life and things to do and no time for stupid distractions such as yourself."

"I'm touched you hate to tell me that," he said smoothly.

"Goodbye, Mikael," she said through clenched teeth. She ended the call, then growled and was ready to chuck the phone out the window when it rang again. "He's impossible! When will he take the hint?" She then pressed the answer button. "What?"

"On the list of things you have to do, I'm at the top, right?" Mikael asked. "You're saving the best for last? A marvelous reward after you spend your days scrubbing and sweeping or whatever it is you do?"

"If that was my job and you knew it, I don't think you'd give me the time of day, being the elitist you are!" She snapped. "You...you...you..."

"Me, me, me!" Mikael answered. "Yes. What about me, me, me? Am I handsome?"

"You're disgusting!"

"I'll take that as a compliment!"

Sybil sat in silence, gnashing her teeth until a thud sounded behind her. Something had fallen off one of the tables.

"What was that?" Mikael asked.

"I...I have company," Sybil lied. "So you'll have to go now."

"What visitor?" Mikael asked suspiciously.

"None of your damn business, that's who," Sybil snapped. "Why do you even give a crap anyway?"

"If it's Malachai, you tell him that I want answers," Mikael called after her.

"Tell him yourself when you see him," Sybil shot back. "I'm not going to be your servant girl! After how he treated me, I wouldn't let Malachai come near here!" She paused. "What did you mean when you said, that thing...about you and I..." She blushed.

"Are you blushing thinking of us together?" Mikael asked, making her blush redder as she heard the smirk in his voice.

"Oh, go to hell!" she spat.

"I won't do that," he said smoothly. "You'd miss me too much!" He paused. "Anyway, the point of my call is to check up on you and see if you're all right." He paused. "Did you have another-" he paused again to cough. "-Did you have another relapse?"

"You truly called me up to ask me this?"

"I wouldn't do it if I didn't want to," he reminded her. "Did you disappear again? I mean, in a ghost way?"

"No, not recently," Sybil said before swallowing hard.

"Well, that's good," Mikael returned.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know why it happened, but I guess it's nothing to be concerned about," Sybil shrugged even though she knew he couldn't see it.

"I wouldn't treat this so lightly if I were you," he warned. "That's why I asked."

"Listen," she interrupted. "Thank you for pretending to care, but my life is mine and you don't need to be concerned about it. I can manage on my own."

"Facetime me," Mikael said firmly. "I want you to look in my eyes and repeat that."

"No!" Sybil cried. "No, I am not going to Facetime you!"

"Now, woman!" he yelled.

She took a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes, sure there was smoke coming out of her ears. Then, when she felt that she was calm enough that he wouldn't see her angry, she turned Facetime on.

"What?" She cried. "What do you want?"

Mikael looked her over appreciatively. Her hair was in a messy bun and she wore a large shirt that was falling off her shoulders. She also didn't have any makeup on, but that didn't matter. She was still incredibly beautiful.

"Nice to see you too," he said with a smirk. "Is that how you greet everyone?"

"Oh, believe me if I could, I would show you my chest instead!"

"Interesting," Mikael smiled. "Is that an offer? Because I'm all for it if this is turning into a sexual Facetime session."

Sybil blushed to her hairline. "I didn't say that!"

"You just implied it," Mikael reminded her.

"Yeah, but I was trying to insult you!" Sybil yelled. "Doesn't surprise me that you're too stupid to notice when you're being insulted."

"Well, just so you know, I will never be insulted if a woman decides to show me her chest," Mikael promised.

"Really?" Sybil raised an eyebrow. "How many women are you expecting to make you that offer?"

"None, except you."

Sybil took a deep breath and counted to ten. "Now seriously," she got out. "What is it that you want from me?"

"I need to get you out of my system!" He cried. "I've...I've been having to masturbate several times a day to get you off my mind!"

"Ewww!" Sybil cried. "That was more than I needed to know." She stood up. "I think I'm going to be sick!" She stuck a finger down her throat and ran for the bathroom.

When she returned, Mikael clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You should be flattered; I can have my choice of women and I've picked you!"

"Lucky me," Sybil drawled. "What was I worth? Two goats and a chicken?"

"It's not a joke!"

"Yeah, you seem pretty serious about this harassment if you ask me," Sybil agreed.

"It's not my fault if I have a persistent appetite that requires me to go to bed frequently," Mikael told her. "I don't see why this is a problem; I thought demons were highly sexual as well. Or are you a rare frigid lady demon?" He shook his head and chuckled. "No, I don't think so; Not with how you were rubbing up against me at the grocery store."

"Aren't you dating that Charlotte woman?" Sybil questioned. "Go rub up against her!"

"I would because it would be much less trouble," Mikael agreed. But I can't; We've parted ways. We've broken up."

"Really?" Sybil asked in surprise as she looked into his deep blue eyes.

"Yes," Mikael sighed. "We were two lost, disturbed souls who just needed to fuck from time to time. It worked for a while."

Sybil winced. "How romantic. Now if you'll excuse me, my cat needs me."

"You have a cat?" Mikael shuddered. "What repulsive creatures, cats."

"So you hate them?" Sybil brightened. "How good to know this! I'll buy myself a cat army if it will keep you away!"

"Very funny!" Mikael spat. "It's not just a general hatred. I'm deathly allergic to them."

"I didn't know vampires could be allergic to things!"

"I don't quite understand how either, but...we can!" Mikael huffed.

"You know, you could take medication to lessen the effects of your allergies and make yourself more comfortable."

"Still don't like them!" Mikael insisted.

"And I still don't care!" Sybil shot back. "Imagine that!"

"You look beautiful today," Mikael told her.

Sybil burst out laughing. "Oh, come on. You're so full of shit!"

"Don't argue with me! Now, will you flash me?"

"Will I what?" Sybil cried.

"You heard me," Mikael grinned. "And you promised!"

Sybil shook her head. "I never promised that! Or at least not seriously!"

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to keep the line open until you do," Mikael told her. "Wouldn't you rather just get it over with?"

"Interesting thing to say," Sybil drawled. "Are you practicing your pickup lines with that last sentence?"

"No," Mikael shook his head, refusing to give in to her insults. "Now...your shirt, please?"

"Oh, god, you're impossible!" Sybil groaned. She quickly raised her shirt, flashed him, and then shut her screen before she could see or hear his reaction.

Meanwhile, on his end, he grinned at the video he'd gotten. She was lovely to look at, now even more so. Her breasts were perfect. "Got you," he whispered. "Thank you, my dear."
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