When the sun peeked through the windows, Elijah breathed a sigh of relief and got out of bed. He pushed his damp hair out of his eyes and went into the bathroom. He turned the shower on and stepped inside, letting the warm water run over his body as he worked shampoo through his hair. After he'd rinsed all the lather off, he opened his eyes and saw Selina standing next to him, holding up a wash cloth and looking strangely transparent. "Need some help?" She asked, grinning and holding up his wash cloth. "It's no trouble. I'd be glad to."

He shook his head. "No," he said. "No, you're not even supposed to be in here!" He shut his eyes tight and tried to control his breathing. When he opened his eyes again, she was gone and he was alone. He shut the shower off and carefully stepped out of the stall, dressing quickly and drying his hair. He was drinking his coffee with a shaking hand when the doorbell rang. He let go of the cup and went to open the door.

Selina was standing on the other side and she startled him so much that he jumped and hit his head against the door. "Are you all right?" She asked. "What in the world is the matter with you?"

"Nothing," he said unsteadily. "I'm fine."

She was wearing a long red trench coat over a lowcut white dress smattered with red flowers and a red ribbon around the bodice that showed off her small waist. "Can I come in?" She asked.

He nodded, slowly backing away from the door. "Oh, of course," he said. "Come in." Despite all his efforts not to, he found himself staring at her chest. He moved his eyes away for a moment and cleared his throat. "Nice to see you," he said. "Can I take your dress...I mean, your coat?"

She smirked. "You can take either one," she said. "Which would you like?"

He was breathing hard again. "Your coat, please. You know I meant your coat."

She grinned and took off her coat, letting it fall in a crimson puddle at her feet. "Did you really?" She said, coming close to him. "I don't think you did. You said you wanted my dress first." She got close enough to him that he could smell the vanilla on her skin.

"Never mind," he said, backing away. "What did you come over here for?"

She shrugged. "Just to get more details about that date with your brother in law, but it appears you have other things in mind for us." She peeled off her dress and handed it to him. "I don't really mind," she said, putting her mouth right up against his ear. "I'm flexible. Very flexible. Isn't that a good thing?"

She ran her hand over the nape of his neck. "Yes," he nodded. "That's a very good thing..." He shut his eyes and she kissed him deeply.

"You feel like you're about to fall over," she said. "Would you like to sit down?"

He opened his eyes, looking over her body. She was wearing a white lace panty set that left little to the imagination.

He stepped up the entryway steps and took her around the waist. It was the only way to get his thoughs under control again. He put her up against the door and kissed her deeply, his hands working on getting her bra off, then he threw it aside and lowered her down onto the steps, kissing her stomach repeatedly. Then, he reached under the waist band of her panties and gently stroked the skin underneath. He leaned over her, their lips just barely touching. Then, she slowly brought out her tongue and licked his bottom lip gently. He groaned and she unzipped his pants. He kissed down her neck and sucked on her breasts gently, but then her leg hit a table near the door and sent a vase crashing to the floor. The sound brought him back to his senses and with wide eyes he got up off her and zipped up again, shaking his head.

She sat up. "What's the matter?" She asked. "We were doing so well and now we're not doing at all!"

"And that's as it should be," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to, um..."

"Take a cold shower?" Selina asked, grinning wickedly.

"Yes," he said, taking a blanket from the sofa and throwing it over her. "Now you just put this over yourself until we find your dress, then you're going to put it on and we're going to pretend like this never happened and not speak a word of it to anyone."

She let the blanket fall around her too. "I can't have wool near my skin. It's too itchy. Are you ashamed of my body or something?" She ran her hands over her curves. "Cause I'm not."

"No, no," he said shakily. "You're body's very nice, it's just that, um...I have friends coming over any minute and if they find you here, I'll never hear the end of it, so could you please just dress and go?"

She eased him down the stairs and onto the sofa. "I would...if you really did have friends coming over, but you don't, do you?"

"Yes," he said. "Yes, I do!" he said. He was now lying on his back, and she was on top of him, her bare breasts brushing his chest. She unzipped his pants and threw them off him, gently stroking his inner thighs and nibbling on his ear. "You don't really want me to go, do you?"

He nodded, then shook his head. "Yes...no! Go...stay! I-I-I..."

She giggled. "You're so cute when you babble."

Suddenly, he looked wicked himself. "Obviously, you aren't going to leave until I give you something, are you?"

She grinned. "Nope!"

He pushed her off him so that she fell off the sofa. "Sit up!" he ordered, straightening his jacket.

She sat up. He pulled her to her feet, grinning. "Are we going to play rough?" She asked. "I don't mind that..."

"Listen to yourself!" He yelled, finding her dress and throwing it over her. "Are you listening to yourself?"

Her eyes were big. "What's the matter?" She asked. "We were having fun."

Her lip jutted out and he put her coat over her, pushing her toward the door. "We're going to go to your car and I'm going to drive you home. And when you decide that you want to be a grown-up again, then we can talk."

"But I am being grown up," she said. He shook his head and pushed her into the passenger's seat of his car, then drove her to her apartment. When Klaus answered the door, Elijah pushed Selina into his arms.

"Take her to your bed," he said. "Why don't the two of you spend the day together? Because that's all she's good for now!"

He turned away from them and walked off as Selina wretched herself out of Klaus' grip and ran after Elijah. "Wait a minute," she said. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me! Can we talk?"

He turned to face her, a stern expression on his face. "Maybe later," he said. "Now I need to be alone."

He strode off and Selina kicked the wall and growled.

"What was that about?" Klaus asked, coming up behind her, a big grin on his face. "Lovers' spat?"

Selina frowned. "Oh, shut up!" She headed back into the apartment and shut the door, and sat down on the sofa.

Klaus came up behind her and pushed down the sleeves of her dress, exposing her shoulders, massaging them gently. "If you need cheering up," he said, "I'd be more than happy to help."

She wretched her shoulder out from under his fingers. "Stop that!" She snapped. "You do not touch me, understand?"

"Sorry," he said, putting his hands up. "You just look like you need a hug, that's all."

She narrowed her eyes. "Or is it that you want a hug and are looking to take advantage of a vulnerable situation?"

"Well, I do like hugs," he said.

Selina stood up and walked out of the living room and came back a few minutes later, holding Lucy. "Here," she said, holding Lucy out to Klaus. "If you want to hug somebody, hug her."

Klaus took Lucy and smiled. "Of course I will," he said, hugging her hard. He gave her a serious look. "Mommy's in a bad mood today. Should we cheer her up?"

Lucy giggled. "Kiss Mama!" she said.

"Wait, what?" Selina turned around, looking surprised. Apparently Lucy knew more words then she let on.

"You heard her," Klaus said, grinning.

Selina nodded. "Yeah, I did. But she's one. I have no intention of complying."

"Oh, come on!" Klaus said. "Humor her, will you? Unless you're scared or something."

Selina scoffed. "I am not scared," she said. "Especially not of a caveman like you."

"Well, then kiss me," he said.

"No," Selina shook her head. "That won't prove anything."

"You know what I think?" He told her. "I think you're still wildly attracted to be me but don't want to admit it because it will interfere with your pursuit of my brother, and that you won't kiss me because it'll bring all those feelings for me flooding back and you don't want to be distracted."

Selina burst out laughing and gave him a look. "What the hell are you talking about, feelings?" She asked. "We don't have feelings for each other. Our relationship, if you can call it that, doesn't work that way. If it were actually as deep as you're convinced it is, then I wouldn't feel the need to pursue your brother. Do you understand me?"

He sobered. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you think I love you, you're wrong. Maybe I did once, but I don't anymore," she said.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because I can't love someone who doesn't treat me like a person," she said. "And you don't treat me like a person, you treat me like an object. I deserve better than that." She said.

"Well, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to."

"I know you don't mean to," she said. "But it's just the way you are. And I don't know if you can change."

"Yes, I can," he said. "And I will."

She put her hands on her hips. "But why? That's the most important thing. Is it because you know that if you say the right thing, you'll be able to get me back into bed again? Because that's wrong. If you really want to change, it should be because you want to be a better person, not because you know it'll get you some."

She paused. "That's why Elijah was mad at me. I went over to see him about this date he set up for me, and one thing led to another and we...for a little too long and I just...I lost it. It was like every intelligent thought I had left my brain and all I could think of was..."

"I get it," he said. "Foreplay go on a little too long?"

"No," Selina said. "Well, I suppose yes. In fact, that's all it was! And I was doing the majority of the work! You would think that if you go to a guy's house and the first thing he says to you is 'Can I take your dress?' that means you'll get somewhere, but nooooo, he has to wuss out and go noble at the last minute."

Klaus burst out laughing. "He actually looked you in the eye and said 'Can I take your dress'?"

"Yeah!" She nodded. "He tried to take it back and pretend that he'd actually been talking about my coat, but any idiot with eyes could tell he meant what he said the first time!" She scoffed. "Can you believe that? Susan must have been one hell of a patient person." She went to sit down on the sofa and ran her finger absent-mindedly around a circular cupholder. Klaus sat down next to her with Lucy on his lap.

She manged to squirm out and get on Selina's lap. "Kiss, Mama," she said again.

Selina kissed Lucy and gave her a hug. "There you go," she said. Lucy grinned and leaned against her. Klaus reached out and stroked her hair, gently.

Selina looked up at him and smiled. "You know, you're very good with her. You have been with all of our kids."

He looked at her in surprise. "You think so? But you're always saying that I messed Roxanne up pretty badly."

Selina sighed. "Well, Roxie is a piece of work, but to put all the blame on your shoulders would be unfair. I admit that sometimes I have moments of self-absorption that aren't much different from her little fits."

"Really?" Klaus asked. "Like when?"

"Well," she said, "If you'd been on the date I went on with your sister, you would have seen the prime example of a self-absorbed fit. But you wouldn't have blamed me, really. The guy ate like a slob! And he shot rats for fun! What civilized person does that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but I hope you ran as fast as you could."

She nodded. "You're darn right I did. Actually, the first thing I did afterward was call your brother and complain. That didn't go the way I wanted."

"Maybe you're trying too hard," Klaus said. "Maybe you should back off a little."

"You think?" Selina asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "And I swear I don't have ulterior motives or anything. I just know my brother."

"So you think that being aloof will make him admit that he likes me?" Selina asked. "Cause frankly, he does like me, he just doesn't want to admit it."

"And not just being aloof," Klaus said. "Don't wear your short dresses around him anymore. Wear your sweats instead."

Selina made a face. "But those make me look so fat!"

"Exactly," Klaus said. "If you feel unattractive, you'll be less likely to pursue him, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I guess so."

"And when you go on that date he set up for you, ignore him. Act like the guy you're with is the funniest person on the planet, but don't let Elijah know what the big deal is."

Selina giggled. "I can just imagine the look on his face! This is going to be awesome!"

Selina stood on Elijah's front steps and knocked on the door, and then waited. She'd changed clothes, from her dress to an old navy blue sweatshirt and jeans that were covered with holes. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

When he came to answer the door, he gave her a look. "That's a different outfit," he said

"Yeah," she nodded. "I thought that changing clothes would be a good idea after what happened this morning, which I'm really sorry for, by the way."

Elijah nodded, blushing a little. "That's okay, just don't let it happen again."

"Oh, I don't plan to," she said as she followed him to the study. "I think that my pursuit of you has become a real problem for me and I've been thinking about seeing a therapist to help me deal with my obsession."

He nodded and sat down at his desk. "That sounds healthy." He looked up at her, smiling a little. "I approve. If you can get yourself under control, there might be hope for us yet."

She nodded. "Good. Now, did you want to tell me anything else about the date with your brother in law?"

He shook his head. "I can't think of anything."

"Are you going to have a date too?" Selina asked. "Or is it just going to be the three of us? I wouldn't want you to feel like a third wheel."

"I'm going to have someone with me," he said. "I promise you that."

"Well, good," Selina said. "I know we're going to have a great time."

"What are you doing?" Klaus asked as he stood in Selina's doorway watching her stare into her vanity mirror.

"I'm trying to figure out my look for tonight," she said,

"I thought we decided on 'frumpy schoolmarm'," Klaus told her.

Selina frowned and shook her head. "No, I don't want to do that tonight. Not with this guy I've never met before. He could actually be nice and I don't want to wreck a good thing before it's even had a chance."

"Or it could not be a good thing," Klaus said. "What with your past experience of a sibling of mine setting you up on a blind date."

Selina shrugged. "I'm not going to blame Anna for that. She meant well." She sighed. "I don't think I'll do too much with my face. Just something very basic. And I'll put my hair up. As for my dress..." She began rummaging around in her closet.

"What about this one?" Klaus asked, pulling out a dark green, ankle-length dress with a high neck.

"I didn't even know I still had that," Selina said. "That might be a bit much. I mean I'm just going to dinner, not a first class suite on the Titanic."

"But if you let him see too much of your body, that might be all he goes after," Klaus said. "Don't you want him to appreciate you for your mind too?"

Selina gave him a look. "Yeah, like you would know so much about that." She looked at the dress that he held and shook her head. "No, not this one." She put it back and picked a plain blue one that stopped just below her knees. "This one is nice," she said. "I think I'll wear this."

"You'll regret that," Klaus said.

Selina shook her head. "I doubt that. Not every man in the world has his mind in the gutter like you do."

"Well, fine," Klaus said. "Maybe I won't help you anymore. I have a date anyway."

"Good," Selina shot back. "I didn't need your help in the first place." He left the room and she put up her hair and put on a pair of shoes, then went out to the living room. When the doorbell rang, she opened it to see Elijah and his brother in law on the other side, looking very good in their suits.

"You two look nice," she said. "Would you like to come inside?"

They came inside and the three of them sat on opposite sofas. "David," Elijah said to his brother in law, "this is my sister in law, Selina."

David, who had light brown hair and a nice smile held out his hand and she shook it. "Nice to meet you," he said. Then he turned to Elijah. "You didn't tell me she was so pretty," he said.

She blushed. "Well, thank you."

He shook his head. "I know that's a stupid thing to start out with. I probably should have said 'you didn't tell me she's smart' or something like that."

"Hey," Selina said. "No woman will ever object to being called 'pretty.' Besides, you didn't have much to go on, did you? You did well with what you had."

David grinned again. "Thank you."

"So you're Susan's brother?" Selina asked. "She was so smart. I have to give her credit. When I was pregnant with my son, I was over at her and Elijah's and wanted to watch the 'Die Hard' marathon, but she had me watch a movie about fish or something instead. Probably a better choice."

David nodded. "She really loved that intellectual stuff. Especially shows about the ocean. She'd never been there, but she'd always wanted to go."

Selina nodded. "Well, I can see why. I love being in the water. Just the feeling of it caressing my body is so soothing. And the fish are beautiful. Not a big fan of sharks, though. When I was with the circus awhile back, one of my tricks was to tightrope walk over a tank of sharks."

"Really?" David asked, looking surprised. "Obviously, you were successful, but I bet it was nerve-wracking."

Selina nodded. "A little. I mean, sharks always grow new teeth, so it's not like there's a point where they won't be able to take a chunk out of you if they feel like it. On the plus side, if they stop swimming, they die, so they aren't entirely invincible."

She paused and looked sheepishly at Elijah, who was eyeing her intently. "Sorry about that," she said. "You probably want us to stop talking so we can get to the restaurant, right? And what happened to your date? I thought we were going to be a foursome."

David sighed. "That's the problem about going out with human women, right?" He nudged Elijah good-naturedly in the ribs. "Sometimes they get sick."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Selina said.

"It's all right," Elijah told her. "I plan to have a good time, regardless."

She stood up. "Well, we should start the good time, shouldn't we?" Both Elijah and David offered her an arm and escorted her out to David's car, and they rode to the restaurant, talking and laughing all the way.

"This is a beautiful place, David," Selina said as they sat down. "Very fancy."

He nodded and sat next to her. "Glad you like it. This is one of my newer buildings" He pointed. "And look...a fish tank!"

"Wow," Selina said. "That's really big."

Just then, their waiter came by. "Sir," he said, looking at David, "Everything you order tonight will be on the house."

"Well, thank you," David said. He looked at Selina. "Do you drink?"

She nodded. "I don't mind a glass of white wine every once in awhile," she said. David looked up at the waiter. "White wine it is, then." He looked at Elijah. "Is that all right with you?"

Elijah nodded. "Of course. He looked at Selina warmly. "That's a very nice dress you're wearing."

Selina smiled. "Well, thank you. Certain other people seemed to think I should wear a dress I haven't worn since the Titanic set sail, but I didn't like dresses like that then, and certainly don't like them now."

Elijah nodded. "And do 'certain other people' know you were going out tonight?"

She nodded. "Certain other people had a date too."

"You aren't talking about your brother, are you?" David asked Elijah.

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "We are indeed talking about my brother."

"You know about me and his brother?" Selina asked in surprise."

"Well, yes," David nodded. "Of course."

"I wouldn't have left out something like that," Elijah said.

"I'm not a bad person, I swear," Selina told David quickly. "I just, I needed a change and-and..."

"Deep breaths," David told her. "Of course I don't think you're a bad person. Granted the circumstances are a bit unusual, but you seem perfectly intelligent and sweet to me."

Selina nodded. "Sorry. I get a little...insecure sometimes."

"It's all right," David said. "Now, what are you going to have to eat?"

"I don't know," Selina said. "I think something with chicken in it."

"Well, the chicken Alfredo is really good," David said, bending close to her so he could get a better look at the menu she held. "And the stuffed chicken is wonderful if you like cheese too."

"And I do," Selina nodded. "I think I'll take your advice and go with the stuffed chicken."

The waiter came a little bit later with the wine and everyone ordered dinner. While they waited, David told stories about his experiences in the restaurant business, including the time a chef quit on opening night and he'd had to step in and prepare the eel special, including killing the eels himself.

"Ugh, don't tell me you actually did that," Selina said.

David nodded. "I did. But I'd had practice with preparing live animals for dinner. My father was a hunter and everything we ate, he killed himself."

"Really?" Selina said in surprise. "I admire people like that. I grew up in a world where everything was done for me."

"Poor little rich girl," David said good-naturedly.

"Tell me about it," Selina nodded. "I nearly died my first week as a vampire when I had to go out in the woods and catch a bunny. When I sucked at that, that's when I decided a blood bank/people diet would be best."

"Seems reasonable," David said. "But I could show you a really efficient way to catch animals. Would you like that?"

"It would be an interesting experiment," Selina said. "Are you a patient man? i know I'm not going to catch anything on the first try."

"Well, you don't always have to," David said. "It's called practice."

"Touche," Selina said. The waiter brought their food and Selina was sorry she had to stop to eat.

"Dessert anyone?" David asked after the plates were cleared.

"Could I have a piece of chocolate cake?" Selina asked the waiter. He nodded and hurried off.

"Wow," David said. "I thought women didn't usually order dessert on a first date."

Selina smiled. "Well, I happen to like dessert. Especially chocolate cake."

"I know a place downtown that has nothing but chocolate desserts," he said. "Would you be interesting in going there with me?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "After a day of wearing myself out catching rabbits, a chocolate souffle would be great. If you aren't tired of me by then."

He grinned. "I think anyone who gets tired of you is an idiot," he said. "If it's not too bold to say."

She shook her head. "It's not."

He stood up. "I have to run to the bathroom," he said to Elijah. "Could you two find something to talk about until I come back?"

They nodded and he left. Elijah reached across the table and gently took Selina's hand. "You and David seem to be hitting it off well," he said.

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded. "He's great. I've never had two more dates before I finished the first one!"

He grinned. "Well, sometimes when people know what they want, they should just take it before it has a chance to get away."

"Are you saying that's what I should do with David?"

He sighed. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. You don't want to be cautious and then miss out on something wonderful that was right there in front of you the whole time."