Selina put up a hand. "What do you mean only one of the twins is Klaus'? Where the hell did the other one come from, then?"

Enid put a hand on her forehead and poured herself a beer and gulped it down. "It's my fault, really. Don't blame yourself. Damon came in here and asked me if I could make him have kids and..."

Selina nodded. "Yeah, I know that. He told me the morning after we...you know. The question is, what am I going to do about it? I can't just stroll up to him and say 'hey honey, I'm having twins and one of them isn't yours because I had a drunken night of sex with my ex-husband. He's a proud man! He's going to go ballistic! He might even throw me out and then what will I do?"

"Well why were you and Damon sleeping together in the first place?" Enid asked. "He told me he had a girlfriend."

Selina scoffed. "I met her. She was insecure and stupid. After she found out that he and I were still friends, she dumped him and that's why he and I were drinking together in the first place: I was celebrating Roxie not being pregnant and we were both celebrating him being dumped by a stupid girl so that he now has the freedom to move on to someone more worthy of him who accepts him the way he is."

"You mean like you?" Enid asked pointedly. "Are you and Klaus okay? Are there any problems you're having at home?"

"Not now," Selina said. "But there will be when he finds out I'm having another man's baby. Although personally, I don't think he has any room to be mad. He slept with Vanessa and got her pregnant and I still forgave him. I guess that just means I'm a more highly evolved person than he is."

"Or more easily manipulated," Vince said, appearing out of nowhere with a dish towel over his shoulder. "Take your pick."

Selina stood up and put her hands on her hips. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What I'm saying," Vince told her, "Is that he has you under his thumb. You and Roxie both. He knows that even if you're mad at him, all he has to do is be flirty and charming and you'll both melt into a puddle. When you're not being terrified of him, I mean."

Selina put her hands on her hips. "I'm not scared of him. I just don't like there being trouble when there doesn't have to be any. What's wrong with being peaceable?"

Vince shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just making a suggestion."

"Did you hear us talking about Roxie?" Selina asked.

Vince shook his head. "No. What about her?"

Selina shook her head. "Nothing. I think she should be the one to tell you."

"All right," he nodded. "Next time I see her I'll ask."

Vince was working late that night, cleaning up the bar alone when the phone rang. He picked it up. "Hello, Enid's bar. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Vince. It's Roxie. Could you come straight back to the house after you finish your shift? I have something I need to talk to you about. It's really important."

"Uh, sure, Rox." He cleared his throat. "I saw your mom today and she told me you might have something to say."

"Oh, I sure do," she said. "See you in a bit."

He hung up the phone and continued working a little while longer. Then, he got on his bike and rode it straight to the house. He noticed a few strange cars parked in the street, but that didn't bother him. Maybe the people across the way were having a party. He stuck his key in the door, and opened it, to be greeted by an empty house. "Roxie?" He called. "Are you here?" As he headed over to flip the light switch by the door, he felt someone grab him from behind and hold him down. Then, somebody else began pummeling him mercilessly. When he was just about to pass out, the lights came on. Vince blinked woozily. He was still being held fast by two pairs of strong arms. Then, someone came to stand over him. His vision finally came into focus. Roxie's father was standing over him.

"So," Klaus said, "You must be Vince. You'll have to excuse me and my friends for showing up here uninvited, but I figure that since it's my daughter's house too, that gives me a right. And speaking of my daughter, what made you think that you had any right to touch her? Tell me. I'm dying to know. If you don't, you'll be dying. And slowly."

"Where's Roxie?" Vince managed to get out. "She called. It was her on the phone!"

"Right here." The voice was soft and it sounded on the verge of tears. Then, she stepped out of the shadows. "Vince, I'm sorry. I had no idea that this is what they had in mind. I thought they just wanted to talk."

"Go to the car, darling," Klaus told Roxie. "When we get home, we're going to have another little talk."

Roxie opened her mouth to protest, but then Klaus ordered one of the hybrids to pick her up and carry her to the car.

Once she was gone, Klaus turned back to Vince. "So, you haven't answered my question: What made you think you could touch my daughter?"

"I-I," Vince couldn't get out anything else. He didn't know what he could say.

"Very well," Klaus said. He looked at Alistair. "Tie him up," he said. "We need to teach this young man some manners."

The next time Roxie saw Vince, he was on crutches and hobbling toward her locker. When she saw him, she winced. He looked like he had two black eyes, a dislocated shoulder, and a broken leg. "What are you even doing at school today?" She asked. "You should be home in bed."

"I couldn't," he said. "I still have some things I want to say to you."

"Look," Roxie said. "What happened last night wasn't my idea. Dad found out about you and me from someone at Enid's, I think, and it upset him."

"You didn't tell me he was completely insane!" Vince cried. "Look at me!"

Roxie groaned. "I know. You look horrible, and I'm sorry for what happened, but this is why you need to give up this hybrid idea. Dad seems nice until you do something to piss him off and then he retaliates without mercy and you have the scars for years. You're lucky he didn't kill you."

"He told me to stay away from you," Vince said flatly.

"Are you going to listen?" Roxie asked. "Please tell me you aren't. Mom and I will have a talk with him."

Vince closed his eyes. "I'm not sure yet."

Roxie frowned. "Are you telling me that after just one pummeling from my father's goons, you're going to give up on us? You're not even going to fight for me? Where's your sense of romance? I thought guys like you, you know, heroes, were supposed to believe in love in spite of everything. Even crazy fathers. Or do you just not love me enough?"

She pouted.

Vince rolled his eyes. "I have to go. Unless you have something you want to tell me first. Like how you had a pregnancy scare and left me completely in the dark about it? I heard your mom and Enid talking about it while I was working!"

"I was going to tell you," Roxie said. "But I wanted to wait until we were sure there was anything to worry about and there wasn't!"

Vince nodded. "Okay then. I'm going to go. Goodbye, Roxie. See you at work tonight."

"Bye," Roxie said sadly. Once he was gone, she stomped her foot and pouted again. That hadn't gone the way she'd planned at all.

Selina came into the library where Klaus was smugly sitting and reading a book. "What is your problem?" She asked him.

He looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I know what you did yesterday," she said. "About Vince, I mean. How could you take goons over to his house to beat him up like that?"

"He put his hands all over Roxie. Am I supposed to support that?" Klaus asked. "Am I supposed to just sit back and say 'Please put your hands all over my daughter even though she's only sixteen. That sounds like a jolly good idea'?"

"You don't have any say," Selina said. "Vince is Roxie's mate, which makes them no different than the two of us."

"Yes it does!" Klaus stood up. "It makes it very different!"

"She hasn't been with anyone else," Selina said calmly. "And I don't think she will be. She loves him even though I know she won't say it."

Klaus burst out laughing. "Don't be ridiculous. I was a sixteen year old boy once, and we never think of girls and love in the same sentence."

Selina looked thoughtful. "So, using your logic, I can call my father, tell him you got me pregnant and he can come and beat up on you because that's what responsible fathers are supposed to do?"

Klaus shook his head. "Oh, don't be ridiculous. Your father could never..." He trailed off and his eyes widened. "You're pregnant? Really?"

Selina nodded. "Yeah, Enid told me yesterday. Twins."

"Twins? Really?"

Selina nodded. "I should probably go tell your mother so that she doesn't think I'm leaving her out in the cold on purpose, but this conversation is not over!"

Selina was let into Elissavetta's house by her butler. "She and Miss Anna are in the library doing a dress fitting," he said.

"Dress fitting for what?"

He shook his head. "Go and see for yourself, Miss."

Curious, Selina made her way to the thick walnut library door and knocked. "Come in," Elissavetta called. When she saw who it was, her eyes lit up. "Oh, there you are, dear! I'm so glad you came. I was going to call you."

"Or I could have, Mother," Anna said, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Wouldn't it have been better if I'd done it?"

"Why?" Selina asked. "Then, she saw the dress Anna was wearing. "Are you getting married?" She asked.

Anna grinned and nodded, holding out her hand. "Stefan proposed last night!"

"That's nice," Selina grinned, looking at her rather sizeable ring. "But Klaus didn't say anything to me, and he usually mentions stuff like that. He doesn't know, does he?"

Anna shook her head. "Not yet. And if I feel like telling him at all, it won't be until it's too late. Otherwise I know he'll just cause a fuss. Now, what did you come here for?"

Selina shrugged. "Nothing important. I don't need to say it now. I'll just let the two of you bask in the joy of wedding details and be on my way."

"Oh, not yet," Anna said. "You can't go yet. You're going to be a bridesmaid. What size dress do you wear?"

"Oh, um..." Selina paused. "That depends. When are you planning on getting married?"

"About six monthes from now," Anna told her.

Selina shrugged. "Sorry. I don't know how big I'll be by then. You'll probably just have to take the whole bolt of dress fabric and wind it around me."

Elissavetta's eyebrow went up. "How big you'll be? Are you pregnant again, dear?"

Selina sighed and nodded. "Twins."

Elissavetta grinned widely. "Oh, this is wonderful! Of course that means we'll have to move the wedding up."

Anna's eyes widned. "What? Why?"

Elissavetta turned. "Well we don't want Selina being uncomfortable during the ceremony, now do we?"

"Oh, yes," Anna said, her eyes narrowing. "Let's make sure Selina's comfort is the number one thing we think of during my wedding!" She stomped out of the library and slammed the door behind her.

"What a temper that girl has," Elissavetta remarked. "Not one of her most endearing qualities."

"This is exactly why I didn't want to bring this up now!" Selina said. "I didn't want to start any trouble!"

"Oh, she'll get over it," Elissavetta said dismissively. "Now, have you told Niklaus the news?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Before I came here. It's just, there's something that..." She trailed off.

"What, dear?" Elissavetta said.

Suddenly, visions of Vanessa's mangled body along with her baby's swam in front of Selina's eyes. She couldn't tell Elissavetta about what she'd done. "Nothing," she said quickly, then turned to the library door. "If you need any more help with wedding stuff, don't be afraid to let me know."

"I'll say the same to you, dear," Elissavetta said back.

Selina nodded and left Elissavetta's house, heading to Damon's to share the news.

"You're pregnant!" Damon asked.

"Yeah," Selina said. "Apparently, Enid didn't shirk with that spell. I'm having twins and apparently one of them is yours and one of them is Klaus'."

"So what are we going to do?" Damon asked.

Selina sat down. "Well, for one thing I'm going to have to stop drinking for awhile. And for another, you'll have to babyproof this place because I doubt Klaus will want to house a kid that isn't his."

"Have you told him that part yet?" Damon asked, sitting down next to her.

Selina shook her head. "No, I'm going to delay that as long as possible."

"So you're saying I'm going to have to raise the kid myself," Damon said. "I suppose that could work. I've noticed that women find attentive single fathers very attractive."

"You probably won't have to do it on your own," Selina said. "Klaus'll throw me out once I tell him. So can I move in here afterwards?"

Damon nodded. "Duh."

Selina smiled. "Thanks. That makes me feel a little better."

"Any time," Damon said. "So what are you going to do now?"

Selina shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I should probably tell Adrian as long as I'm telling everyone. Roxie's having enough trouble. I'll wait with her. Klaus sicced his goons on her boyfriend last night."

"She has a boyfriend?" Damon asked with interest. "I didn't figure her as the type."

Selina nodded. "Well, maybe boyfriend is an optimistic term for him, but she's slept with him and says she isn't planning on sleeping with anybody else, so isn't that close enough?"

Damon nodded. "I guess so."

Selina stood up. "Well, I better be on my way."

"Take care of yourself," Damon said.

Selina paused by the door and turned. "Oh, and Stefan's engaged, by the way. To Klaus' sister Anna. Looks like I'll get to have him as a brother in law after all."

"Are you here by yourself?" Selina asked Adrian when he answered the door.

Adrian nodded. "Sure. Why? Is something wrong?"

Selina shook her head. "No, but I have something to tell you and I don't think I could do it as easily if there were other people around."

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "Come in."

Selina came inside and was greeted by Rusty. She grinned and picked him up, carrying hom to the sofa and putting him in her lap.

"So what's going on?" Adrian asked.

"You and I are close, right?" Selina asked. "Do you feel like you can tell me anything without worrying whether or not I'll judge you for it?"

"Yes," Adrian nodded. "I'd say so. Why?"

Selina sighed heavily. "Because I have something I need to get off my chest and there's only a handful of people I can tell."

"Geez," Adrian came to sit next to her. "What is it?"

"I'm pregnant," Selina said. "With twins."

"That's it?" Adrian smiled. "What's so bad about that?"

"Only one of them is your father's."

Adrian's eyes widened. "Really? Mom, what the hell did you do?"

Selina turned. "Well, your sister had this pregnancy scare and I was freaking out about that, so I was spending time with my ex-husband, you know the guy I moved in with after I found out that your dad was sleeping with Vanessa?"

Adrian nodded.

"Anyway, we both got really drunk and one thing led to another, and after that, he told me he'd gotten a spell from Enid that allowed him a one time chance to conceive a child and I ended up being the recepient. You won't tell your father, will you?"

"No," Adrian shook his head. "In order to tell Dad something like that, I'd have to be close to him, and I'm not, really. So what are you going to do?"

Selina shrugged. "I don't know. But enough about me. Where's Helene?"

"Meeting her boyfriend's sister," Adrian said. "She was really nervous about it."

"They're still only boyfriend and girlfriend after what, ten years?" Selina asked. "Why is she letting him string her along like that? I thought she'd be pestering him about marriage by now."

Adrian shrugged. He looked gleeful. "I don't know. But it might have something to do with the fact that I've heard Hanz talk about wanting to move out a couple of times now that he thinks he's 'better' and every time he brings it up, Helene says she doesn't want to move out. I wonder why?"

Selina scoffed. "Do you think she still has feelings for you?"

"I think she does," Adrian nodded. "And this thing with Hanz is just a lame attempt to make me jealous."

"So what are you going to do about that?" Selina asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Adrian said thoughtfully. "I might encourage her. Try and make friends with the enemy. I wonder what she'll do then?"

Helene sat nervously at a table for two in Burgogh's, a swanky place that was Greek even though the owner wasn't and waited for Hanz' sister. She put her napkin on her lap and took it off several times before she looked up and saw a dark-haired woman with green eyes in a red dress striding toward her. The woman gave her an appraising look. "Are you Helene Fale?" She asked.

Helene nodded. The woman made her very self-conscious.

"I am Myna Lutze," the woman said, sitting down. She had just a hint of a German accent. "I hear that my brother Hanz is very taken with you."

Helene managed to nod. "We've been together for quite some time."

"Would you say you're good with commitment?" Myna asked.

"Yeah," Helene nodded. "I think so."

"Yet you live with another man while you're dating my brother. Who is he, the blonde man that comes out of your house every day? That certainly isn't my brother."

Helene giggled nervously. "He's nobody. Just our other roommate. He's single if you're interested in him. I'd be glad to introduce you."

Myna crinkled her nose. "I think not. Now, what are you exactly?"

"What do you mean, 'What am I'?"

"Well, you're obviously not a vampire," Myna said. "You seem much too plain and clumsy for that. So what are you? A human, I bet."

Helene narrowed her eyes. "I happen to be a witch, thank you. And so are you. But not the good kind." She mumbled something under her breath and pointed under the table. Her spell hit Myna and suddenly, Myna could no longer speak. She grabbed a napkin and a pen out of her purse, scribbling on it only a vampire would be good enough for my brother. Are you going to turn?

"What will happen if I don't?" Helene asked.

Myna shrugged. You won't be with my brother. That's for sure.

"Since when is that your decision?" Helene fumed. "Mind your own business and leave us alone!"

Okay. Myna smirked. I certainly will...not. I'll be keeping a close eye on you, little witch. Make no mistake about that. You have a good day now.

Helene tried to come up with a scathing retort, but couldn't. She settled for a magic aneurysm instead, along with a spell to bring Myna's voice back, smiling as Myna's screams echoed through the restaurant, then slowly faded away.

By the time Helene got back to the house, Hanz was back. He met her at the door. "Adrian told me you met with my sister. Are you okay?"

Helene nodded. "Oh, yeah. I'm a witch, remember? She's definitely the one who came out worse for wear." Then she blushed a little. "Listen to me bragging about hurting your sister. I'm sorry."

Hanz shook his head. "It's okay. If she hurt you first, I don't mind."

"She's the one who turned you into a vampire incidentally," Helene said. "She's one too."

Hanz frowned. "But that's not possible. She died of consumption, just like the rest of us."

"Apparently not," Helene shook her head. "And now she says you and I can only be together if I change as well. According to her, that's the only way I'll be good enough for you."

"So, how about it?" He asked.

"I don't know," Helene said. "I need time to think."

"Think about what?" Adrian asked, coming in. He had just returned from dropping Selina off at their house.

Helene looked at him. "Apparently, Hanz's sister the vampire bitch thinks I'll only be good enough for him if I turn too. That's what she told me when I met her today."

Adrian scoffed. "I hope you gave her one of those magical brain aneurysms you're so good at."

Helene nodded. "Don't worry, I did. And I tried to make a case for you to her, but she wasn't interested. I'm sorry."

Adrian looked up. "I can find women on my own, thank you. I don't need you to set me up."

"Well, can you blame me for being a little concerned?" Helene asked. "You haven't been with a woman since-"

"Since you killed my mate and took her body?" Adrian finished.

"Yeah," Helene said. "And that's why I feel responsible for you romantically. I messed up your last chance, although honestly you could do way better, and I want to make it up to you."

Adrian pursed his lips. "I'm going to choose to ignore that remark and go back to the more pertinent subject. So Hanz' sister says you can't be with him unless you're a vampire. Do you want to change this time?"

"'This time'?" Hanz repeated. "What are you talking about?"

Helene sighed. "The reason why Adrian and I fell apart was because I wanted to become a vampire to be with him but he decided to respect my father's wishes and let me live a normal life instead. Well, that and he told me after I died that he'd rather sleep with some slutty werewolf girl than commit himself to finding another body for me so we could be together again."

Adrian frowned. "Tessa was not slutty! She was my mate! I bet you don't even know what that means." But Hanz and Helene were ignoring him.

"So when should we turn you?" Hanz asked Helene.

"Soon," Helene said. "I need time to make peace with it. Then, we'll do it."

Adrian said in a singsong voice, "Not if your father has anything to say about it."

Helene turned. "You aren't going to tell him are you?"

Adrian nodded. "He loves you. How could I not? It was hard enough for the guy when you died the first time. Are you just going to punish him again?"

"I'm not really dying," Helene said. "I'm just changing."

Adrian scoffed at Helene and Hanz. "I can't believe you're going to throw your life away for the likes of him. I thought you were smarter than that."

"So you're still going to tell my father?"

Adrian nodded. "I'm going to leave right now."

Three days later, things between Roxie and Vince were still tense. He hadn't even talked to her once. She came by his locker every day, but he always ignored her. Then, she saw a girl who would be reasonably good-looking if she changed out of her ankle length drab skirts and did something with her frizzy hair, coming out of the office. The girl tripped on her skirt and her glasses went flying off and broke, and her books went in every direction. Roxie giggled at her. She looked ridiculous.

Just as the girl was struggling to right herself, Vince happened by. He'd healed nicely. Alistair had felt bad and fixed him up. "Do you need some help?" He asked the girl. "What's your name?" She took the hand he offered to pull her up and looked at him like he was an angel. "Agnes," she said. "Agnes Brown. I start here today."

Vince grinned. "I'm Vince. Nice to meet you. What class do you have first?"

Agnes looked down at her schedule. "Biology. And it's a good thing, too. I love science. Do you?"

Vince shook his head. "It's not my best thing. Perhaps you could tutor me." He grinned and Agnes giggled. "Sure, why not?"

That was enough for Roxie. She strode over to them. "Morning, Vince. How about you introduce me to your friend?"

Vince nodded. "Sure, okay. Agnes, this is my friend Roxie. Roxie, this is Agnes. She's new."

Agnes stuck out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Roxie didn't take it. "Charmed, I'm sure. Sorry I can't longer. I've got history. See ya!"

Agnes turned back to Vince. "I don't think she likes me very much."

"Don't worry about it. It takes her awhile to warm up to people if she warms up to them at all. You're better not knowing her."

"Are you and she together?" Agnes asked quietly.

Vince shook his head. "Not anymore. Listen, there's a coffee shop down the street that's kind of a hangout. Do you want to meet me there after school and we can study? It'll be fun."

Agnes nodded. "Sure, but we really should be getting to class."

Vince held out his arm. "I'd be happy to escort you to biology, my lady."

Agnes giggled and put her arm in his. "Why thank you, my good sir. You're a regular knight in shining armor."

They strode off together as Roxie watched from a side hallway and pretended to retch with Charlie at her side. "Did you see that?" She whispered. "Vince just went off with that girl!"

"So?" Charlie said. "Roxie, you don't own him. Technically the two of you aren't even dating."

Roxie turned to face her. "My father was freaked out enough about us that his goons beat Vince up! That must count for something. Go and see what they're up to."

Charlie shook her head. "I have study hall. Tony and I are going to leave and go to a movie."

"Oh! Take me too!" Roxie said.

Charlie shook her head. "No. You have History. And as I recall, you aren't doing so well in that class despite having a father and aunts and uncles who can recall any event in the last thousand years practically verbatim."

Roxie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She grabbed her book bag and headed off to history as Charlie waved goodbye and left with Tony.