"So," Elijah told Selina. "Are you going to tell me what you and Niklaus talked about while Alistair and I were looking at my latest acquisitions? There wasn't any funny business, was there? I can completely see him being tempted, since I doubt Amy has let him near her since the incident."

"Nothing happened between Klaus and me," Selina replied. "I love you and I respect Amy too much to do something like that to her and add more troubles to the ones she's already having. And what did you mean when you said that you never liked Klaus and Amy together? You do realize that without her to distract him, he'd be coming after me, right?" She pointed out. "You should really be more supportive of the fact that your brother found a woman to be with who isn't me."

"Oh, you misunderstand," Elijah replied. "I'm saying that Amy is too good for my brother and he should consider himself lucky that such a good woman decided that she liked him and was willing to bear his children."

"Do you think I was too good for your brother?" Selina asked. "Should he consider himself lucky that I chose to grace him with my presence?" She paused. "You don't have to answer that, you know. I was just teasing. I feel that way about you, though."

"You do?" Elijah asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah," Selina nodded. "I mean, you and your family are the oldest vampires there are, and here I am, just a regular vampire who got lucky enough to know all of you. Sometimes, I feel like I'm not worth it all. That's why I've never officially taken the family name like all the kids have. I mean, I know you love me and consider me part of the family, but unlike the kids, I don't have the blood running through my veins, you know?"

"Well, that's the silliest thing I've heard in awhile," Elijah replied. "Nonetheless, I suppose whatever you feel is all right with me."

"Thank you," Selina replied. "I appreciate that." She paused. "Klaus hasn't talked to you about him and Amy, has he?"

"Not directly," Elijah replied. "I mean, I get reports from Alistair sometimes, but that's all."

"Poor Alistair," Selina replied. "He's been through so much shit because of Klaus, me, or both over the years. And when you think that when he had a chance to get out, he had to be talked into taking it...it's a bit mind boggling. I don't get it sometimes." She paused. "Did I tell you about the article Laura did for the salon? Apparently, Katherine set the whole thing up."

"Well, that was kind of her," Elijah replied. "I wonder when we'll get to see it."

"Who knows?" Selina shrugged. "I bet Laura will send it to us when it comes out, though."

"Oh, gosh!" Selina stood up. "Speaking of Laura, I've got baking to do."

"Do you need any help?" Elijah asked to her surprise. "Or will I just be in the way?"

"Whatever you want," Selina replied with a smile, giving him a quick peck. "I'd never say 'No' to assistance. Especially yours."

"Can we talk?" Charlie asked Elizabeth at recess. She was beginning to wear fancy dresses and high-heeled shoes, which was a bit much, even for her, cause they weren't even teenagers yet.

"I know what about," Elizabeth replied. "You've told me lots of times that you don't want me to model, but I'm gonna do it anyway, cause it's my choice! I don't know why you think you can tell me not to do it."

"Well, I know I can't tell you what to do," Charlie replied. "But I'm...I'm sort of scared of what wll happen when you start modeling. I'm worried that you'll like it so much that you'll forget all about me." He cast his eyes down.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth replied and actually hugged him. "I didn't know. Ask your mom if you can model all the boy looks, and we can do everything together!"

"I don't know," Charlie replied. "I'm not really a model sort."

"Why not?" Elizabeth asked. "You're very handsome."

Color filled Charlie's cheeks when he heard this. "Thank you," he mumbled. Then he looked up at her. "Let's change the subject: do you want me to check over your math homework for you? Or did your dad do it already?"

"He asked me, but I told him I wanted you to do it," Elizabeth replied, pulling the homework from her backpack. They were sitting together under a tree a few feet from the play area where the other kids were so they would have peace and quiet. She handed the paper to Charlie, who took a pen out of his bag and looked it over, and by the time he handed it back, he was smiling. "You only missed three problems," he said. "Good for you!"

"Well, thank you," Elizabeth replied, and then got close to him while he taught her how to fix the ones that she'd missed. "You think you've got it now?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Thank you for helping me." Then, the school bell rang, and to Charlie's surprise, Elizabeth gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running into school with all the other kids while he gathered up his things and followed after her.

"Amy!" Selina cried as her friend came through the front door clutching Vivi tight. "How are you?"

Amy was angry and shaking. She put Vivi in Selina's arms and asked for a drink.

"What kind of a drink?" Selina asked. "Juice, soda, water?"

"No," Amy narrowed her eyes. "When I say 'drink', I mean alcohol. Give me alcohol."

"I don't think so," Selina replied, looking down at Vivi. "I don't think that's a good idea. What in the world is the matter with you?"

"Do you know how hard it is to get a date when you have a kid with someone else?" Amy asked. "Do you?"

"Well, do you want a real answer, or do you just want me to sit here and nod?" Selina asked.

"No, I want your serious answer," Amy replied. "If you have one, that is."

"Actually, I do," Selina replied as she got Amy a juice and then sat down with Vivi in her lap. "The last thing I did as a human was have a kid. He was raised by his grandfather, but fortunately, I met him again when he was an open-minded young man, and when he and his fiancee got engaged, they invited me to come live with them."

"They did?" Amy replied. "And they weren't...scared of you?"

"No," Selina replied. "When I moved in with them, I had at least another...thirty or so years before I became evil. But they ended up having four kids, two boys and two girls. And I would watch the kids, you know, take them to the park and all that, and every man who was out and about would look at them and run the other direction. That contributed to my nearly fifty years of celibacy and complete hatred of men for an entire decade. So I know what you're going through...but you can't let it get you down. If guys are scared because you have a kid, then they're obviously not right for you."

"Well, if I thought that about every guy who dumped me, who would be left?" Amy asked angrily. "Klaus? The guy murdered me! I'm not gonna go back to him!"

"I'm not saying you should," Selina replied. "I'm just trying to think of something that would be helpful for you. But it doesn't seem like I'm succeeding."

Amy sighed. "Sorry," she said. "I know you're trying and I shouldn't be mad at you, but it's all just so frustrating. I would go to Jonathan, but he and Savannah are engaged now and it's weird."

"Even more weird than the fact that Savannah is now engaged to the guy you were engaged to first?" Selina replied. "My daughter Lucy is with my first fiance."

"That's kind of weird," Amy replied. "Is there a single negative event in my life that you can't relate to in some way?"

Selina thought a moment. "I don't know. My mom disinherited me for running off with Klaus, he and I weren't married when I got pregnant with Adrian, I thought about getting rid of Adrian cause I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle it, while Klaus didn't murder me, he hurt me pretty bad, our oldest daughter is way more attached to him than she should be, which left me no real chance to bond with her when she was young, and he cheated on me around the time I had our second daughter, so I basically raised Lucy alone. Damn...that's impressive."

"Now you know why I came over here," Amy replied and sipped the juice reluctantly. "I knew you'd understand."

"Do you want me to watch Vivi for a bit?" Selina asked, putting a hand on Amy's. "Maybe if you went to see Jonathan, he'd take you out. It's not the same as having a boyfriend, but it's something."

"Maybe that will be best," Amy replied. "Cause you're right...a few hours out with a man, any man at all, is better than feeling how I do right now."

"Good luck!" Selina called as Amy abandoned her juice, grabbed her keys, and headed for the door. When she was gone, Selina smiled down at Vivi. "What do you want to do now?" She asked the little girl. "Wanna call your daddy so he can come see you? It'll have to be a secret just between us, you know. You can't tell your mom. It's lucky Uncle Elijah is busy, cause we can't tell him either." She put Vivi down and dialed Klaus' home number. A very grouchy Alistair answered the call.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Get Klaus bring his ass to Elijah's and my house right away!" Selina said. "I have something here that might cheer him up!"

"Fine," Alistair replied. "As long as it doesn't involve murdering anyone, I'll let him know."

"Oh, it doesn't," Selina replied. "I promise. So please...tell him ASAP."