After Selina left the house, she wondered where she should go now. Alistair's wasn't an option; she didn't feel like being lectured just now. Finally, she decided to go back to Stefan and Anna's and pick up Roxie. When she got there, it was Anna who answered the door, brushing her hair out of her face. "You came back much quicker than I thought you would. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it. Ever."

Anna smiled knowingly. "You ran into Nic when you were at Enid's, didn't you?"

Selina nodded. "Yeah, I did." A flush began creeping up her cheeks.

"And how did things go after that?" Anna prodded. "Did you ask him about what happened with Vanessa?"

Selina sat down hard on the sofa. "I tried...but I got distracted."

Anna rolled her eyes. "You slept with him, didn't you? If you're mad at him, you can't do that! What kind of message does it send?"

Selina looked up at her. "That I'm a weakling who has no control over my impulses?"

"Exactly," Anna nodded. "I think what you should do is move out."

"What?" Selina asked in surprise. "Move out, like entirely?"

"Yes," Anna nodded. "But not before you ask Nic what happened between him and Vanessa."

Selina rolled her eyes. "He already told me. He called it 'business sex.' If he was smart, he would have at least tried to lie to me. Or tell me that Roxie lied. But he didn't."

Anna nodded. "He probably knew you wouldn't believe him. Why would Roxie lie about him having sex with Vanessa? Nic is like God to her, so if anything, she would have covered up his indescretion and told you something else, but she didn't.

"Right," Selina nodded. "I don't know what I'm going to do with Roxie now. I mean, Nicky and I both grew up in environments that weren't healthy. I don't want Roxie to be around while he and I are fighting, so I think I'll just send her away somewhere until things get better."

"We could take her," Anna offered. "It really wouldn't be any trouble."

Selina shook her head. "Thank you, but I don't think so. Nicky knows where you live and visits frequently, and I want him to have as little contact with Roxie as possible. I'll probably just see if Enid will take her."

"Ah," Stefan came in, grinning. "Throwing your daughter to the wolves. Literally. Wonderful idea, Selina."

Selina frowned. "Oh, shut up. Now, what did you do with her?"

Roxie came from behind Stefan. "I'm right here! Are we going home now?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "For now."

Selina and Roxie headed inside and Roxie went up to her room. Selina came towards her door and heard moaning from inside. She waited a few seconds, and then opened the door. "Hello, you two. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Vanessa looked up at Selina and glared. "Actually, you were. You can go away now."

Selina scoffed. "Actually, I was planning to. I just came to get my things. I'm moving out so the two of you will be free to do whatever you want. And I'm taking Roxie with me. I don't want her to be exposed to stuff like this."

Klaus shoved Vanessa off him for a moment. "Just a minute now. You can't just take Roxie and go! She's my daughter too!"

"And if you cared about her at all, you'd want what was best for her," Selina shot back. "Do you really want her growing up in an environment like this?"

Klaus said nothing.

Selina nodded. "I thought as much. I'm going to drop her off somewhere where she'll be safe and then I'm going to move into an apartment with a friend so we can both think about what's happening to us and where we want to go from here without distractions." She turned to put her hand on the doorknob and Klaus said, "Wait!" She turned and glared at him. "What is it that you want?"

"Where are you taking Roxie?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you."

She then left the room and shut the door behind her, telling Roxie to pack up all her clothes because she was going away for a while.

"How long?" Roxie asked curiously.

Selina shrugged. "I don't know. But quite awhile."

Roxie packed her things and then they got into the car. As they drove toward Enid's, Selina explained what was going on.

"So you and daddy are fighting because of what happened with Vanessa?"

Selina sighed heavily. "No, we aren't exactly fighting. We're re-evaluating our relationship. That's all."

They pulled up to Enid's and then Selina helped Roxie out of the car and grabbed her bags. When they got inside, she saw Enid standing against the bar and she smiled weakly. "Thanks for your help with all this. I know we must seem ridiculous."

Enid just shook her head. "Trust me, it's not a problem. When dealing with my sister, you need all the help you can get. Do you need help with your bags, Roxie?"

Roxie nodded. "Yes, please."

Once Roxie's bags were in place, Selina gave her a hug and a kiss. "I promise to call and write every day."

Roxie looked at her hopefully. "You won't leave me like Daddy did?"

Selina hugged her tight. "No, I won't. I promise. Goodbye, sweetheart."

Roxie waved goodbye again and just as Selina reached the door, Damon caught up to her again. "There you are! You took your sweet time getting back."

Selina nodded. "I know. It's just an example of my weak moral character."

Damon took her chin so that she was looking him in the eyes. "Are you all right?"

Selina shook her head. "No. Can we just get out of here?"

Damon nodded. "Sure. Let's go."

They each took their own cars and parked them at the front of Damon's apartment building. Then, they walked around the city. It was nice. But when they were taking a coffee break, something ruined it. Selina looked up from her coffee and gasped, gesturing at Damon who was coming back with his own coffee.

"Quick! Get down so nobody can see you!" She shoved him under the table.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Did you see that snooty looking woman with dark hair that just came toward the tables?"

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "What about her?"

"That's my mother in law!" Selina said through her teeth. "She can't see me here with you. What to do, what to do?" She paused. "I know! Pretend you're a waiter! That won't be suspicious."

Damon shook his head. "But I don't want..."

"Just do it!" Selina barked. Then in a quieter tone, she said, "please. Or you can just watch. I don't care."

Damon sighed and rolled his eyes then got up off the ground, shuffling a discreet distance anyway from the table. Once was gone, Elissavetta finally noticed Selina and came to sit next to her. "So how are you?"

Selina gulped. "Fine. Yourself?"

Elissavetta's eyes narrowed. "I would love to say that I am fine, but I received a very distressing phone call from my son a few hours ago."

"Did you?" Selina asked.

"Yes," Elissavetta nodded. "Niklaus told me that you intend to take Roxanne away from him. Isn't that extreme, dear?"

Selina shook her head. "Not at all. Did he, perhaps, happen to mention why I want to send Roxie away? He cheated on me with Vanessa! Twice! Maybe even more times than that, who knows?"

Elissavetta grinned wickedly. "Perhaps that was because you weren't fulfilling your duties as a wife. I saw that young man you were with. Maybe if you'd spend more time at home, and less time gallivanting around with gigolos, Niklaus wouldn't feel the need to invite other women into his bed. Do you understand what I'm saying, darling?"

Selina felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. "Are you saying that our situation is my fault? Well, I can assure you it isn't. Roxie saw the first of Klaus' dalliances and told me. That's how I found out. She doesn't seem too happy with him."

Elissavetta smiled sweetly. "Well that's something that will need fixing, isn't it? Now go get her from wherever it is you put her so she can hear what her father has to say. She loves him. I'm sure he can get her to change her mind."

Selina rolled her eyes. Back to Enid's it was, then.

Roxie was confused when she saw her mother again. "Are you and Daddy better now?" She asked hopefully.

Elissavetta didn't give Selina a chance to speak. She got down on her knees next to Roxie instead. "Darling, your mother tells me you aren't very happy with your father right now."

Roxie shook her head. "No, I'm not. He hurt my feelings and I don't want to see him until he likes Mommy again."

"See?" Selina said. "I told you, didn't I?"

Elissavetta ignored her and kept a hold on Roxie. "Well could it be, dear, that your father made a mistake and feels very bad about it? Don't you want to give him a chance to explain why he did what he did?"

Roxie shook her head vigorously. "No, I don't!"

Elissavetta ignored her. "Yes, you do. Let's go now."

By the time they got back to the house, Roxie was crying. She didn't want to see Klaus at all. When Elissavetta tried to get her out of the car, she clung with all her might to the grip above the door. Finally, Selina managed to coax her out. She promised her a hundred dollars if she would go through this without fussing because there really was no other way.

Roxie finally wiped her tears away and nodded, taking her mother's hand. "He better be wearing clothes when we get in there," she said, scowling.

When they got inside, they saw nobody. The house was silent. "Klaus!" Selina called. "Are you here?"

He came down a few minutes later. He wore cargo pants and was pulling a navy blue sweater over his head. When he saw them starting at him, he grinned. "So what do I owe the pleasure?"

Elissavetta cleared her throat. "I just thought you'd like to explain what happened to your daughter. And she's decided to give you that chance."

Elissavetta stepped aside to reveal Roxie, who still clung to Selina and gave Klaus a sour look.

When Klaus saw her, his eyes lit up and he got down on his knees and put his arms around Roxie. She kept herself immobile inside his embrace. After a moment, she said, "You can let me go and start talking now. So why did you do it?" She put her hands on her hips and waited.

Klaus looked up at his mother and Selina. "Would the two of you step out for a moment? It might go easier that way."

Selina sighed. "Oh, all right." Elissavetta nodded and they both left the room.

Once they were gone, Klaus took Roxie in his arms again. "The reason why I did what I did isn't because I don't love your mother. I do. It's just that Vanessa is helping me with a goal of mine, so..."

"Why can't Mommy help you?" Roxie interrupted.

"Because she just can't," Klaus said. "Now don't interrupt me, darling. That's not nice."

Roxie nodded.

Klaus took a deep breath and continued. "See, Vanessa wants vampires to be the most powerful species on earth. And she told me that once that happens, I would be ruler of the world with her. That means you'd be a princess. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Roxie shook her head. "No. Not if Mommy's not there. Vanessa's a big meanie. And what about the werewolves? What will happen to them?"

Klaus shrugged. "I don't know. They'll be gone, I guess."

Roxie thought about Vince and Pete and everyone else at Enid's. She didn't want them to be gone. "I like the werewolves!" She burst out, pushing herself away from her father angrily. "And if you make them be gone, I'm never speaking to you again!" She stalked away from him and went to find her mother and grandmother. "Let's go," she ordered. "I don't want to be here anymore."

Not speaking, they followed Roxie out to the car, leaving an unhappy Klaus behind.

Roxie sat in the backseat of Selina's car, clutching a stuffed bear to her chest and hitting her head repeatedly against the window. She just wished it would be quiet. But no such luck. Elissavetta and Selina were arguing in the front seat.

"...And I don't have to guess who's fault that disaster was!" Elissavetta screeched. "What horrible things have you been telling Roxanne about her father?"

Selina tightened her hands on the steering wheel. "Look," she said through her teeth. "I'm sorry your sad little attempt at reconciliation didn't go as well as you thought, but if you may recall, Roxie didn't want to go in the first place." They paused at a stoplight and Selina looked over her shoulder. "Isn't that right you didn't want to go?" She asked Roxie.

Roxie pulled her head off the window for a moment. "No, I didn't want to go. Why did you even make me?"

"Because," Elissavetta said, "sometimes in life, people make mistakes and if you love them, you should forgive them in spite of that. Why are you so mad about this anyway?"

"Because," Roxie said, looking at her grandmother with hard eyes, "If Daddy doesn't like Mommy anymore, then he doesn't like me. Mommy and I look exactly alike except I have brown hair!"

Elissavetta shook her head. "Who said he doesn't like your mother anymore?"

"Well," Roxie said with devastating logic, "He didn't go look for her when she was lost, and ever since he's been doing stuff with Vanessa that he should be doing with her. I know. I saw it."

Selina rolled her eyes. Elissavetta told Roxie to mind her own business and leave the talking to the grown-ups. Pretty soon, the traffic started picking up again. Elissavetta and Selina continued to bicker. Finally, something ahead of them caught Roxie's eye.

"Mommy, slow down!" She cried. "You're going to hit that truck!"

But Selina didn't hear her, and by the time she saw the truck, it was too late. They rear ended it and the car was smashed to pieces. When Roxie was next aware, she felt strange. She got out of what remained of the backseat and began walking unsteadily toward Enid's. When she reached it, she collapsed in the front entryway. She lay there for a few minutes and then Vince came downstairs, licking a chocolate ice cream cone. He didn't see her until he tripped over her and the ice cream fell off his cone and onto her face. Then, she moaned and slowly reached up to wipe it off. When she saw him, she moaned again. "What happened to you?" He whispered. "I...hurt," she whispered back. He nodded. "Stay here. I'll go get Uncle Pete. He'll take care of you." He saw she was shivering and threw a purple and white patch quilt over her and then left to get his uncle. As he was leaving, she said quietly, "Wait." He leaned over her. "What?" She winced a little, then said, "Thank you."

Vince nodded. "No problem. He left her, even though he wasn't sure he should, and went and found his uncle.

"What's the matter?" Pete asked, running after him.

"It's Roxie!" He said urgently. "She's hurt!"

Pete followed Vince to the entryway and saw Roxie lying there. He picked her up. "Let's get you in a bed, okay? Then we'll have somebody look you over."

Roxie nodded woozily and Pete took her up to Enid's apartment and tucked her in.

Enid came an hour or so later. "What happened, sweetie?"

Roxie sat up slowly. "Mommy and Grandma were arguing and we got in an accident. The car got wrecked. I hurt."

Enid looked at her sympathetically. "It'll be okay, sweetie. Don't bother sitting up. I'll bring you something for the pain, okay? Where are Mommy and Grandma now?"

Roxie shrugged. "I don't know."

Enid nodded and left the room, giving Selina a call and hoping her phone still worked. Selina answered a second later. "Please tell me you have Roxie or know where she is!"

"It's all right," Enid said. "She managed to make it here. We're taking good care of her."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Selina said. "And if Klaus ever shows up, would you not tell him that she's there?"

Enid nodded. "Oh, all right."

"Thanks," Selina said, then she hung up. Afterwards, Enid went to get Roxie's medicine and tell her what her mother had said.

Selina was sitting on the sofa at Damon's apartment when her cell rang. She picked it up. Klaus was on the other end. She rolled her eyes.
"What do you want? Can't you control yourself for at least a day?"
"It's not about that. But you do have to come back for tonight."
"Why?" Selina asked. "It's obviously not because you're afraid to sleep alone!"
"No," he said. "It's not that. My mother wants to come by for dinner and she still thinks we're getting along. And you know what will happen if she thinks otherwise, don't you?"
Selina growled. She did know. "Fine, I'll come over. But it's only going to be until she leaves. I'm not staying any longer."
"Fine," Klaus' tone was biting. "You don't have to. See you in a little while. And wear something nice."
Selina hung up on him without saying goodbye just as Damon came in carrying a six pack and another bag. When he saw Selina, he grinned. "All right, I've got the beer, I've got the ice cream, chocolate chip for you, fudge mint for me, and of course, Kill Bill, volumes one and two. This is going to be such a good night."
When he saw her expression, his face fell. "What?"
She sighed. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to put it off for now. My mother in law decided to come for dinner and if she thinks Klaus and I aren't happily together, all hell will break loose."
Selina got up off the sofa and came out awhile later in a knee length white dress with long sleeves. "What do you think?"
He grinned. "It makes your legs look really good."
Selina grinned. "I forgot you were a leg man." She spun. "How about my ass?"
He grinned and nodded. "That's good too."
She nodded. "Thanks. I'll be on my way now, but I'll be back in good time, I promise."
Damon waved to her. "Goodbye! Don't have too good a time!"
"Believe me!" Selina called back. "I won't!"

She pulled into the driveway of her old house ten minutes later. Klaus answered the door, looking perturbed. "What took you so long?" He asked. "We don't have much time! You look good."
She nodded. "Thank you. It's nice of you to notice. So do you. How long do we have?"
He looked at the clock. "Five minutes. Just enough time to head to the closet."
Selina frowned. "Closet? Why would we need to go to the-Oh, god! I knew you'd find some way to get sex out of this!"
"We have to if we want to be convincing!" He said. "Have we ever answered the door on the first ring?"
"Well, no. But-"
"Exactly," He interrupted her. "So let's. Go."
Selina shook her head. "Or we could tell your mother we're behaving ourselves in honor of her visit."
Klaus chuckled. "Do you hear yourself, lovely?"
Selina nodded. "Yes, I do." She began shoving him toward the door, wishing that Elissavetta would just show up already.

Finally, the doorbell rang and Selina opened the door. Elissavetta looked at her in surprise. "I thought that would take longer. Of course with the state of you two, I shouldn't be surprised." She stepped inside, followed by Anna. "Personally, Mother, I find Selina's stance on this to be refreshing. Why should she have to settle for less just because she's a girl?"

"Thank you," Selina said, while Klaus scowled.

Elijah followed Anna and gave Klaus and Selina both penetrating looks. "We will be talking after this," he said. "In fact, I think it's long overdue."

Selina nodded and then they all headed to the dinner table. She didn't know what was being served. She just hoped it was good.

Over drinks, Elissavetta said to Selina, "As distressing as your current situation is to me, I am pleased you two were able to pull yourselves together for at least one evening."

Selina poured her another glass of red wine. "Well maybe if I filled your glass enough times, it wouldn't be so distressing. But then again, you've never said no to a drink, have you?"

Elijah rolled his eyes. Elissavetta burst out laughing. "I suppose I could say the same for you, dear. I don't think I've ever seen you without a drink in your hand."

"Well, be proud of yourself," Selina shot back. I owe all my drinking to you. Maybe if you weren't such a nagging hellhag, I could be sober once in awhile!"

It was then that Elijah slammed his fist down on the table, stood up and took the wine away. "I think everyone has had enough."

Elissavetta reached out. "Oh, no dear. The bottle's not even empty yet." She burst out into a fit of giggles.

Elijah kept the bottle away. "No, I'll just keep this, I think."

He looked at Klaus. "Niklaus, would you come to the kitchen with me?"

Klaus nodded and followed him. When they were alone, Elijah said "Do you not realize that this is all your doing? What were you thinking, calling Mother?"

Klaus nodded. "That was rash, I see that now. But I really thought she would help Selina see reason!"

Elijah rolled his eyes. "If you and Selina have problems, you discuss them with me or Alistair. That has been our self-appointed duty since the early days of your, for lack of a better word, courtship, and it's best if it stays that way."

Klaus looked morose now. "Alistair never answers my calls anymore."

"I see why," Elijah said. "I've heard what he's been going through with his daughter and how Adrian is making it worse."

Just then, they heard the crash of china and glass and a yell as Selina launched herself at Elissavetta. Elijah sighed. "You take Selina. I'll do what I can to handle Mother."

After the party ended, Selina headed out the door. Klaus followed her. "Can we talk?"

She turned. "Vocal cord-wise, yes. With each other? No."

"But we have to talk."

She turned and kept walking. "About what? The fact that it's so cold? That I will never attend another dinner party with your family again? The fact that you slept with Vanessa!"

"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "That one."

Selina rolled her eyes. "What the hell were you thinking? Am I not good enough for you? Did you think you could screw her on the side and I would never find out?"

"It wasn't going to be forever," Klaus protested. "Just until we got the whole 'rule the world' thing under control."

Selina scoffed. "You're disgusting, you know that? That's why I have to leave. I can't be with you when I feel this angry."

He blinked. "Will you at least tell me where you put Roxie? I'm not going to try and see her or anything, cause she's clearly as mad at me about this as you are. But I want to be able to write to her. Just to get things out. Even if she doesn't answer back."

Selina sighed. "You'll find her one day, I know it. I don't need to tell you where she is. Now, goodnight."

She went to her car and drove away, leaving him shivering on the driveway.

But she was right about one thing. He did find her, eventually. He went into Enid's for a drink and heard two voices talking. He went and peeked in a room off the bar and there they were. "Roxie!" He said happily. "Here you are!"

She looked up at him. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"Nothing," He shook his head. "I just came to say hi."

Roxie nodded. "Well, now that you've said it, will you just go away? Please?"

He looked her over. She wasn't wearing dresses anymore, but jeans and t-shirts with her hair pulled back. The girl beside her was dressed the same. She definintely wasn't his little girl anymore.

"I like the outfit," he said cautiously. She nodded. "I grew up. Like you never let me. I'm glad Mommy sent me here."

Klaus nodded and left the bar. He felt so depressed. He drove back home and Vanessa met him at the door. They still had sex, because Klaus figured he couldn't lose anything else. Nothing else bad could happen to him.

Vanessa grinned at him. "Why the sad face? I have news that will cheer you right up. You know how I've been feeling sick, lately?"

He nodded mechanically.

"Well, I went to the doctor, and he told me that I'm pregnant! Isn't it wonderful? Your family abandoned you a year ago and now you get to start all over again!"