After Klaus and Aleksandr had had a bit more to drink, Aleksandr grabbed Klaus by the arm and helped him out of the bar. "The question is," he said as soon as they were both seated, "What do you plan to do with this information now that I've given it to you?"

"I think that should be obvious," Klaus said. "I have to stop Selina from leaving, don't I?"

Aleksandr nodded thoughtfully. "You could try that. But I doubt it would do you any good. She seemed pretty determined to go this time."

Klaus smirked. "Oh, I'm not worried. It's easy to get her to change her mind in situations like this. I just have to use my charm."

They reached Klaus and Selina's house. Her car was in the driveway. "Looks like you arrived just in time," Aleksandr whispered. "I won't be coming in with you. If she sees me, it could destroy your chances."

Klaus nodded and strode inside. He found Selina in their bedroom, packing. "What's the hurry, love?" he asked. "Going somewhere?"

She looked up at him. "Yes," she said. "I'm leaving for awhile. But I'll be back eventually. Don't you worry."

"Why are you leaving?" He asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said. Then she stood up from putting her folded shirts into her suitcase and turned around to face him squarely. "You know what?" She asked, hands on her hips. "You deserve the truth; it's not nothing. While you were daggered, I came to a realization that I don't like the way our relationship is going now. I need more. I deserve more. I'd just be selling myself short if I stayed. I need to grow up and figure out what I want in my life, and until I do that, I'm going to leave. I know that that'll be hard for you and I'm sorry, but I don't see any other way to deal with this."

He blinked. "You're just going to leave me?" He asked. He sounded shocked. "We aren't even going to talk about it first?"

Selina shook her head. "No, Niklaus. Because you don't talk. You manipulate so that everything always goes your way. When Elijah first suggested I leave, I was surprised. I thought that I couldn't do it because it had never been done before. But Roxie did it. Right after you tried to make Vince into a hybrid. And if she can leave you for her own good, so can I. You made it through okay then. You can make it through okay now. Oh, and I'm taking Lucy as well, so she doesn't end up like me."

"I made it through all right when Roxie left because I had you," he said. "If you leave and take Lucy, I won't have anybody!"

Selina pursed her lips and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that's not my fault." She hefted her suitcase and made her way toward the bedroom door. It was then that he seemed to snap. He sped over, snatched the suitcase out of her hand and slammed her against the wall. "You aren't leaving," he said. "And you aren't taking Lucy either."

But instead of looking scared, Selina just smiled. "You're only proving my point, you know," she said.

That made him relax and put the suitcase beside himself on the floor. His face relaxed into a look of innocence. "I'm sorry," he said. "I really didn't mean to. You caught me by surprise."

Selina took the opportunity to duck under his arm and grab the doorknob. "I'm sorry," she said. "I have to go. I have to get Lucy and go. If I give in, even the tiniest little bit and stay here, nothing will change. We'll be the same as we've always been and we both deserve better than that."

She stepped just outside the bedroom door and eyed him sorrowfully. Then she shut the door and went to grab Lucy.

She and Lucy got out of the house and into Elijah's waiting car without trouble. "Was he difficult?" Elijah asked.

Selina nodded. "Just a little," she said. "But I stayed firm."

He looked at her fondly. "Good for you."

Selina nodded. "Thanks," she said. Then, they drove away.

As soon as Aleksandr saw Elijah's car pull away, he snuck out of his hiding spot and went back into the house. Klaus was throwing things on the floor and yelling at the top of his lungs. "Fine, leave me! I don't care! Have it your way, you stupid...worthless...bitch!"

"Want a little something to dull the pain?" Aleksandr asked? "Scotch? Vodka? Bourbon? Rum?"

Klaus looked up at him, breathing hard and holding a small Dresden shepherdess aloft in one hand. "Just get a bottle of everything," he said gruffly. "I don't really give a damn about anything anymore."

"All right then," Aleksandr nodded, starting a little as the shepherdess hit the floor with a loud crash.

Once he was gone and Klaus had broken the entire shelf of figurines that Selina had gotten from her grandmother, he sank down to the floor and put his head in his hands. He felt horrible. He needed to talk to somebody. He slowly pulled himself up and stumbled to the front door of the house and pulled it open, falling flat on the front steps. Swearing, he stood up again and limped to his car, sitting behind the wheel and putting his foot on the gas.

He drove to Alistair's, where he saw only one car parked out front. He parked beside it and went inside. Astrid was in the kitchen and when she saw him, her eyes widened. "Klaus, are you all right? You look horrible!"

Klaus' voice was flat. "Hello, Astrid. No, I'm not all right. Selina's lost her mind! She left me!"

Astrid's eyes widened. "She did what? Really?"

He sat down on a stool in front of the breakfast bar and nodded. "That's right. I was at a bar havin' a drink with my brother Aleksandr and he told me that Selina had gone to her parents' house with Elijah and that he'd heard the two of them, Selina and Elijah, talking very seriously about how her and my relationship wasn't working out, so she should leave me! I think it's cause he wants her to himself instead!"

Astrid leaned forward. "Oh, that's not true! Elijah would never try and take Selina from you. I'm sure of that."

"Yeah?" Klaus said. "Well, when I got back to the house, I found Selina packing up. She said she had to leave because all I did was manipulate her and that she'd be selling herself short if she stayed with me. Said that I handled Roxie leaving just fine and so I should be all right with her leaving for a bit too. But that was different!"

"Oh, come now," Astrid said, plunking a hot chocolate down in front of him. "It won't be so bad. At least you'll still have Lucy."

He took a sip and shook his head. "No, I won't. She's taken Lucy too. Says she doesn't want me to be a bad influence on her. Don't you think that's unreasonable?"

Astrid nodded. "Perhaps a bit. But maybe Selina doesn't want to leave you forever. Sometimes in relationships, especially with people who have been together as long as you, things slow down. They change. Things happen that make people take different paths. I'm sure you and Selina have only hit a bump in the road and when the time is right, she'll come back."

Klaus looked up slowly from his mug of hot chocolate. "Or I could just use my own methods of persuasion. Elijah got her to leave me. I bet if I try, I can get him to convince her to take me back again!"

Astrid shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant..."

But he was sprinting away and didn't hear a word she said. Probably wouldn't have listened if he had.

Klaus burst into Elijah's bedroom, nearly knocking the door off its hinges. "All right!" He said when Elijah looked up. "Where is she? What the hell did you do with her? Are you keeping her in your bed now?"

Elijah looked up calmly from his paper. "Well, hello to you too, Niklaus. Can I do anything for you?"

"This is your fault!" Klaus cried. "You just came and stuck your nose in where it didn't belong, didn't you?"

Elijah put his paper beside him on the bed. "If you're referring to Selina, she's gone out and she took Lucy with her. And I have no idea why you would think she was in my bed."

"We were happy, Selina and me!" Klaus shouted. "But you brainwashed her so you could have her all to yourself!"

Elijah got off the bed. "I didn't! She won't be staying here, even! She'll have an apartment of her own. Really, Niklaus, who would put such ridiculous ideas into your head?"

Klaus shook his head. "Don't you lie to me, Elijah. I know you are." He sped out and came back a moment later, clutching a whimpering, frightened Susan. "Tell me where Selina is, or I will kill Susan."

"I already told you," Elijah said firmly. "She's gone out and I don't know when she's coming back."

"Not good enough," Klaus said. He ripped Susan's heart from her chest and threw her crumpled body at Elijah's feet, licking her blood off his fingers. He offered Elijah his hand. "Would you like some?" He asked.

Elijah growled and just as he was prepared to spring at Klaus, they heard the jingle of a key. The front door opened and Selina called, "Elijah, I'm back! Are we going to look at apartments now? Or do you want to wait a while? Either way is fine with me."

"I'm in my bedroom," Elijah called. "Why don't you come in here and we can talk?"

When Selina appeared in the doorway, the first thing she saw was Susan's body. "Oh, my god!" She cried, clutching Lucy to her chest. "What happened here?"

She then noticed Klaus standing next to Elijah. She'd caught him red-handed. "I should have guessed," she said quietly. "Did you come looking for me?"

"Not necessarily," Klaus sad. "I came to talk to Elijah about you. About what he did to you."

"What?" Selina was having a hard time taking her eyes off Susan's body. "He didn't do anything to me!"

"He did," Klaus nodded and glared at Elijah. "We were happy, you and me! But he brainwashed you into thinking something was wrong. This is all his fault!"

"No, it's not!" Selina shook her head. "It's nobody's fault. It's just something that I need to work through. And after I work through it, I will come back. But it's going to take time. And the longer you keep acting like an ass, the longer you're going to have to wait. Now go home!"

"You mean 'go to the big, empty house that used to be home'?" Klaus asked. "I think that's what you mean. There's nothing left for me there anymore."

"Fine," Selina said. "Don't go home. Go wherever the hell you want as long as it isn't anywhere near me!"

Klaus growled and stomped off. Selina looked down at Susan's body again, then up at Elijah. "Oh, I am so sorry about this," she said. "I had no idea he'd be this upset about me leaving. He did so well with Roxie."

"Don't," Elijah told her. "Don't you be sorry. You're not responsible for anything he does. Don't blame yourself. And I'm proud of you for not going with him. You're really growing."

"Oh, who cares about me?" Selina said. "You're the one who he took his frustrations out on. What can I do to help you? Well, for starters, we can hold off looking at apartments until tomorrow. But that means I'll have to stay here tonight. Is that okay?"

Elijah nodded. "Of course. Pick any room you want. I'll go take care of Susan."

"I'll help," Selina said. "Let me, please."

Elijah gazed at her earnest expression and nodded after a moment. "All right," he said. "Thank you."

They called Anna and Stefan and explained what happened. "Nick really killed Susan?" Anna asked in surprise. "Why would he do that? I mean, I know she wasn't a lot of people's favorite person, but I never thought he'd get angry enough to kill her. Mother isn't going to be happy about this. And to have that be on top of all her other problems..."

"Would you and Stefan come over and watch Lucy?" Selina interrupted. "Elijah and I have to go bury Susan's body and I don't want to bring Lucy along."

"Of course," Anna said. "We'll be there in a minute."

When they arrived, Elijah and Selina headed out to bury Susan's body. They drove into the woods, and when they were far enough in that there weren't even any animals walking about, they parked and pulled Susan's body out of the trunk, taking it to the center of the woods and lying it down on the earth. "I know how hard this is for you," Selina told him. "If you want to talk about it, go ahead."

Elijah shook his head and pulled a shovel out of the trunk and stuck it in the dirt. "I can do that," Selina said. "You watch Susan."

While Elijah cradled Susan's limp body in its black dress and pink cardigan, Selina dug her grave. By the time it was done, It was deep enough that Selina couldn't climb out by herself. "You'll have to bring her," Selina called. Elijah picked her up and slowly brought her over to the grave, propelling himself slowly downward and placing Susan gently at the bottom. He kissed her once gently on the forehead and then offered Selina his hand. "There's nothing more that can be done here," he said. "We might as well go home."

Selina took his hand and they got out of the grave and filled it in. Then, they got in the car and headed back to town.

Meanwhile, Stefan sat in front of the television at Elijah's with Lucy on his lap. "I just thought of something," he called to Anna, who was in the kitchen.

"What's that?" Anna called back.

"What do you think Selina is gonna want to do about Lucy and Sam's birthday?" He asked. "It's going to require some thinking about."

"Well we're obviously not celebrating on the actual day, are we?" Anna asked, coming into the living room and sitting next to them. "You and I are busy that day."

Stefan nodded. "Yeah, and if you think about it, you and I have to be there. Lucy's your niece and Sam's my nephew. Biologically, I mean."

Anna smirked. "Don't you find it kind of funny that Selina had children fathered by our brothers and later we got married?"

"It's interesting, I guess," Stefan agreed. "So, do you think your mother is going to want to throw a big party that day?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Of course. Mother doesn't do small parties!"

Stefan nodded. "And obviously, since Sam isn't related to her, she won't want him there."

"She doesn't know Sam's not related to her," Anna countered. "But I really don't think we should risk the chance of her putting two and two together, do you?"

Stefan shook his head. "I don't think it would be wise. So, the party that your mother throws will only have Lucy present."

"What if she asks about Sam?"

"I'll suggest Selina drop him off at Damon's," Stefan said. "There'll be a lot of people at your mother's party. We'll just say that Sam doesn't do well with crowds, and then later that night, we'll bring Lucy over to Damon's and you and me and Damon and Selina and Lucy and Sam can all celebrate their birthday together."

"That might actually work!" Anna said. "Selina will be so happy that we gave her one less thing to think about."

They were still praising themselves when Selina and Elijah walked in the door. "Did everything go all right?" Selina asked. "What are the two of you so happy about?"

Anna handed her Lucy. "You'll find out eventually," she said. "And everything went fine."

"Good," Selina said.

After Stefan and Anna left, Elijah looked at Selina. "I think I'm going to go lie down," he said.

She nodded. "Me too."

Klaus arrived at Roxie and Vince's apartment just as they were returning from Tony and Charlie's. "Daddy, what are you doing here?" Roxie asked. "You look terrible. Have you been drinking?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Every sort of spirit you can imagine."

"Well maybe you should come in and sit down." She motioned for Vince to open the door and helped her father onto a sofa. "So what happened?" She asked.

"Your mother left me," Klaus said. "And it's all your uncle Elijah's fault. First, he daggers me so he can romance your mother without any trouble and then he convinces her to leave me."

Roxie's eyes widened. "He daggered you?"

Klaus nodded. "Yep. Stabbed me right in the back."

Roxie put her hands on her hips. "That's not very nice!"

She began striding back toward her bedroom. "Don't do anything stupid!" Vince called after her. He followed her into her room. "What's going on?" He asked.

Roxie looked up at him. "See, neither my father nor any of my aunts and uncles on my father's side can be killed in traditional ways. They can only be immobilized with a dagger dipped in white oak ash. And my uncle stabbed my dad. You just don't do that."

"So are you going to take vengeance on your uncle now?" Vince asked.

"Perhaps," Roxie said thoughtfully. "I'm not sure."

"That would seem like a big risk to me," Vince said. "Hurting someone who's older and more powerful than you."

"I didn't say I was going to physically hurt him," Roxie said. "There are other things I can do besides that. You might even appreciate my method of vengeance." She opened up her closet door and began throwing out all her designer dresses.

"Is this an excuse for you to go shopping again?" Vince asked. "Remember how you maxed out your credit cards last month?"

"Oh, don't be such a weenie," Roxie said. She found a pair of old jeans with a hole in the knee that she'd thrown in the back of the closet and after undressing, threw them on. Then, she turned to Vince. "Can I borrow one of your shirts?" She asked. "Preferably something in plaid?"

She had to snap to get his eyes to move from her upper torso. "Focus!" She yelled. "My dad is right out there!"

He grinned and his eyes went right back to where he wanted them to be and he pulled her to him. "He's drunk off his ass," he said. "He's not going to know." He began kissing her neck, his hand going down her collarbone and under her bra to cup her breast. She moaned, putting her hand under his chin to bring his face up so she could kiss him. He eased her back onto the bed and climbed on top of her. He grinned with one side of his mouth up and unzipped her. He eased her jeans down her thighs and kissed a trail down from her belly. Then, he threw her jeans on the floor and whipped off her panties. She peeled off his shirt. "Just a little while," she said. "If we go too long, he'll get suspicious even if he is drunk."

"All right," he said and decided if they weren't going to be there very long, he'd better keep his pants on. They finished a little while later and came out to find Klaus staring aimlessly at the television. "Daddy? Are you all right?" Roxie asked again. She reached out to touch him and he started, jerking violently. Then, he looked over at her and winced. "Why are you dressed like that?" He asked, gesturing at the jeans and the red plaid shirt she'd tied in a knot so it stopped at her midriff. "Are you planning to move out of here and live in a trailer park?"

Roxie shook her head. "No, but can you imagine the look on Uncle Elijah's face when he sees me wearing jeans that have holes? And I don't believe this shirt's been washed in awhile, either."

"Actually, I washed it two days ago," Vince countered.

She shook her head dismissively. "Whatever." She turned back to Klaus. "So are you home alone now, or is Lucy with you?"

"I'm alone," Klaus said sadly. "Your mother took Lucy too."

"Well if you want," Roxie said, "Vince and I could come stay with you for a few days. We'd be happy to."

Klaus looked at her. "You would?"

"Yes," Vince said. "We would."

Klaus grinned at him. "You know, I think I like you."

"Did you hear that?" Vince said to Roxie as they followed him out of the apartment. "Your father likes me."

Roxie scoffed. "If he would have been sober enough to hear what you were doing to me, he wouldn't like you at all."

Vince smirked. "Oh, shut up. You loved it."

When they reached the house, they went inside with Roxie leading Klaus and Vince bringing up the rear. When they were all sitting in the living room, Klaus brought out three glasses, each filled with red liquid. He gave one each to Vince and Roxie and took the third one for himself. "I'd like to make a toast," Klaus said. "To the two who stayed with me when nobody else really gave a damn."

"Hear, hear," Vince said. He and Klaus downed what was in their cups, but Roxie spit hers out all over the rug. "Oh, my god!" She said. "That's Mom's blood, isn't it?" She asked, looking angrily at her father. She groaned when she saw that Vince's glass was empty. "You drank my mother's blood," she told him.

He shrugged. "So what?"

"Why did you drink it?"

He didn't reply, but kept his eyes trained on the hallway. Roxie turned just as Klaus appeared, carrying a large carving knife, stroking it lovingly. Then he looked at Vince. "I can make this quick if you're scared," he said.

Vince shook his head. "Of course I'm not scared."

"Good to know," Klaus grinned. But just as he reached Vince, he turned back to Roxie. "I was going to do the honors," he said. "But then I figured you might want to," he said to her, handing her the knife.

"No," she said quietly. "I won't."

"If you want me to allow the two of you to be in the same bedroom again, you will," he said to her.

Roxie nodded, and sniffling softly, took the knife. She intended to stab him in the gut so it would be quick, but Klaus told her, "No, no. Go for his jugular. Have you fed yet today?"

Roxie turned and stared at him, repulsed. Finally, he lost patience, came up behind her, took hold of the wrist of the hand that held the knife, and together, he and Roxie slit Vince's throat. Blood sprayed everywhere, and once Vince hit the ground, Roxie fell on her knees beside him, sobbing. She looked up at her father, tears falling freely from her eyes. "How could you?" She whispered. "How could you?"

But Klaus was grinning. "Relax, sweet pea," he told her. "Your true love will be up in a minute."

When Vince opened his eyes, Roxie threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Is it done?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes. But you're so stupid. You really are!" She lay her head on his chest.

"Well," Klaus said, "I'm going to bed. You children have a good night now."

Selina looked up at the knock on the door. "Come in," she called. "I promise I'm decent!"

Elijah came in a second later. "Do you have everything you need?" He asked.

She nodded. "I think so. And Lucy's sleeping all right, so that's good." She was wearing a very short night shirt which showed off her legs to their best advantage. Elijah managed to look away just as she turned back to face him. "I just came to say goodnight," he said.

"Well that's nice," she said. She pulled the covers aside and climbed in. She looked up at Elijah. "You know, this bed is awfully big for me to be in all by myself. Won't you come join me?"

He grinned and climbed in beside her. "I don't think so," he said. "But I will give you a good night kiss." He leaned forward and kissed her deeply. Her arms went around his neck and he pulled away from a moment. Then, he kissed all over the rest of her body and soon there was not one place on her his lips hadn't touched.

She whimpered. "I want more," she whispered, pouting.

He just grinned and shook his head. "Goodnight," he said, then left her room and shut off the light. She sighed and shut her eyes, his name on her lips...

Klaus woke up on the floor next to his bed. He had just had the most horrible dream. But he knew one thing for sure now: If she wasn't in his brother's bed now, she would be soon.