After they finished with dinner, Selina and Elijah drove David home and then headed to Selina's apartment.

"So what did you think of David?" Elijah asked her. "Did you like him?"

Selina nodded. "He seems nice. And may I say you are much better at fix ups than Anna is?"

Elijah grinned. "Well, thank you. I do what I can. And that really is a nice dress."

She looked down at it. "You think?" She twirled. "It was just in the back of my closet. It's not like I bought it new or anything."

He shrugged. "That doesn't matter. So are you going to be all right by yourself or should I come in until Niklaus gets back?"

Selina shook her head. "Thanks, but that's not necessary. Anna and Stefan are on baby-sitting duty for both Lucy and Sam because apparently Damon had a date tonight too, so I have to go and pick Lucy up, but thanks for offering."

He nodded. "Any time." He paused. "Well, if you're sure that you'll be all right, I'll just say goodnight, then."

Selina smiled and took his hand, gripping it tightly for a moment. "You have a good night yourself," she said.

He inclined his head slightly, turned and went down the stairs to his car, giving her one last wave before he got inside and drove away.

When Selina got into the apartment, she found a message on her answering machine. She pressed the button and it started up: "Hi, it's Anna! When you get back from your date, I want to know every last filthy detail, okay? That can be payment for baby-sitting. Call me as soon as you get in."

Selina grinned and rolled her eyes, then changed into jeans and a sweater and went to get Lucy.

"So?" Anna said as soon as she opened the door and ushered Selina inside. "Who'd my brother set you up with, what happened and how far did it go?"

"Would you at least let her sit down before you start pelting her with questions?" Stefan asked Anna.

Anna pushed Selina gently onto the sofa. "She is sitting down. So? Details, please."

Selina grinned and cleared her throat. "His name is David, we went to one of his restaurents and nothing sexy actually happened. He didn't even kiss me goodnight!"

"What?" Anna said in surprise, her jaw dropping. "Why?"

Selina shrugged. "He seemed to think a kiss would be a little forward. Plus, Elijah was watching us from the car. His date got sick, so he was kind of a third wheel. Maybe David thought it would be awkward as well. I don't know."

Anna sighed. "Well, I'm sorry you didn't get your money's worth, but maybe it's for the best. If you don't like him, you can dump him and keep your focus on my brother."

"I don't know if I want to do that just yet," Selina said. "It occurs to me that this could be a very useful relationship."

"Do you really think it's a good idea for you to store up any more men?" Stefan asked her. "You already have plenty."

"I wouldn't be storing him, Stefan." Selina said defensively. "I'd just be giving Elijah a little competition. I genuinely do like David. He's very sweet and so cultured. We connected in a way that surprised me. And Elijah is always saying I should date other people."

Anna nodded. "That's exactly what you're doing with David. And if you should happen to get close and it makes Elijah a tad jealous, then that's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "It is. Could you watch for that and give me reports?" She asked.

"I don't know if I like this plan," Stefan said as he tried to get a better grip on Sam, who was intent on squirming away. "You're still using this guy to make Elijah jealous. It's not going to end well."

"It would only be a problem if I didn't like him at all," Selina said. "And I do like him. He said he'd show me how to hunt animals."

Anna winced. "That sounds like one of Elijah's friends. You're not going to become a permanent vegetarian for this guy, are you? I mean, he's Susan's brother, and only slightly more tolerable than she was."

"I plan to remain happily omnivorous with my blood sources, thank you," Selina told her. "And after he teaches me to hunt, we're going to this restaurant where they have lots of chocolate things."

"Sounds like a good start," Anna nodded.

"I hope so," Selina agreed. She nudged Stefan over a bit and he made room for her on the sofa and handed her Sam. "So is Damon's date real this time, or did he make her up again?"

"Oh, no," Stefan shook his head earnestly. "She's real, this one. They met at this single parents' support group he's been going to."

Selina rolled her eyes. "I bet he only goes for the women."

"It might have started out that way, but Sam's gotten some new friends from the group too," Stefan said. "They have parent-child play group every Saturday."

"Hmmm..." Selina said thoughtfully, "Damon and a bunch of hot single women. He must be in his element."

"You're not jealous, are you?" Stefan asked.

"What?" Selina turned and scoffed. "Oh, heck no! No, no, no. I'm glad he's moving on. I'm proud. Really!"

"Come on, Stefan," Anna said. "She has enough romantic trouble as it is. We should be glad that a suitor is willing to take himself off the list and find someone else."

"I don't know if he'll ever entirely be off the list," Stefan said. "But at least he's trying."

"So, where's Lucy?" Selina asked. "I could take her off your hands, if you want."

Stefan nodded. "Please do. She's in our bedroom."

Selina stood up and gave him a look. "Why? Why isn't she out here?"

Anna and Stefan gave each other a long look, then Anna said quietly, "She and Sam kind of got in a fight that kind of ended with Lucy hurting Sam."

"Is that so?" Selina picked Sam up and looked him over. He seemed okay. She put him on the sofa and went and got Lucy, putting the two of them next to each other. Lucy immediately began pulling at Sam's hair and they both scratched at each other's faces.

"See?" Anna said. "That's why we had to separate them. And give Sam a little blood to heal him up."

When Selina noticed that Lucy was about to push Sam off the sofa, she picked Lucy up and said, "Okay, that's enough, young lady. You and I are going home now and you're going to bed."

Lucy immediately started wailing. Anna gave Selina a sympathetic look and then Selina marched Lucy out the door. She strapped her in her car seat and drove home.

When Selina opened the apartment door, she was met with silence. She found a note from Klaus by the phone that said he was spending the night with Myna. "Works for me," she whispered to herself, crumpling up the note and throwing it in the trash. "I need an evening of quiet, I think. Just to sort things out."

She struggled with putting Lucy to bed and when she wouldn't fall asleep, Selina just shut her door and let her cry. When Klaus got back, he'd probably hear her and calm her down anyway. She got dresed in her pajamas and fell asleep thinking about David.

It took a week, but finally, Lucy seemed calm enough that Selina thought about taking her and Sam out for a walk. She put Lucy in the car and they drove to get Sam. "So you just want to take them out together?" Damon asked her.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "It's sunny and reasonably warm. I think it would be a good day for a walk. Would you want to come too?"

He nodded. "Sure? Why not? It probably wouldn't hurt to have a referee if things get rough again."

Selina burst out laughing. "You're not kidding. I swear, if you could have seen the way they were scratching at each other's faces..." She shuddered.

"Want to come in?" Damon asked.

"Sure," Selina nodded. She followed Damon inside and saw Sam sitting against the sofa. When he saw Selina, he reached for her eagerly, but when he that Damon was holding Lucy, his lip jutted out, the start of a wail.

"Oh, come on," Selina said. "You can stop that now. Nobody is going to hurt anybody today, all right?"

She picked up a little toy football that squeaked and gave it to him. He put it in his mouth, distracted for the time being. She picked him up and and followed Damon out to her car. They placed Lucy and Sam in their carseats for a moment while Selina got the double stroller out of the trunk and unfolded it, placing Sam in the front and Lucy in the back.

They walked to a park that was near Damon's house and had a small man made lake in the middle. In the middle of the lake was a platform with a metal sculpture of a man holding the world. "When was that made?" Selina asked Damon. "And why did they put it in the middle of the lake?"

Damon shrugged. "I don't know. It's art." He paused and moved a strand of hair out of her eyes. "I think you should sketch it," he said. "You still sketch, don't you?"

Selina nodded and went to get a sack out of the back pocket of Lucy and Sam's stroller. The sack had a blank sketch pad and sharpened pencil in it. "In fact," Selina said, sitting next to Damon, "I thought today would be a perfect day for sketching."

Damon nodded. "You do that and I'll watch the rugrats."

She giggled as she watched him take Sam and Lucy out of their strollers and put them down on the grass. "Thanks," she called to him. "You're really taking a bullet for me."

Damon grinned at her. "That's okay," he shouted back. "You can owe me later."

She grinned and rolled her eyes, putting her sketch pad on her lap and taking out a pencil. She slowly began sketching the sculpture, the sound of Sam, Lucy and Damon playing behind her.

An hour or two later, she was only halfway done with her sketch of the sculpture. "Come on," Damon said to her. "Take a break and have fun with us for bit, will you?"

Selina looked forlornly at her half finished sketch. "I guess I could use a break," she said, tucking the sketch pad back in the pocket. "There is a corner of the statue that I just cannot sketch properly. I don't know if it's the angle I'm at or what."

Damon looked at her sketch, his chin on her shoulder. "Looks like you're making good progress to me."

She nodded. "Well, thank you. And speaking of progress, there hasn't been any bloodshed in the past hour, so maybe you have a gift." She got down on her knees in front of Sam and Lucy who were starting to look tired.

"Good tactic," she said to Damon appreciatively. "Wear them out so they can't kill each other."

He shrugged. "It worked in my army training. I figured it would work here."

Sam reached up and she took him. He put his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. Lucy did the same with Damon. "Maybe we should get them to bed. Seems like they're ready for a nap."

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "Seems like it." They walked back to the house and put Sam and Lucy in one of the bedrooms. Then Damon and Selina took seats on the sofa in the living room. "This was nice," she said.

He nodded. "Yeah, it was." He put a hand under her chin so they were looking into each other's eyes. "Promise me you'll finish the sketch," he said. "I want to hang it up here so everyone can see how talented you are."

She blushed. "Oh, stop. I'm rusty. Very, very rusty."

"Seriously?" Damon said in surprise. "If what's on that pad is how you draw when you're rusty, I'm really curious to know what your pictures look like when you're on your game."

She sighed. "I don't think I'll be motivated to finish the picture if you don't check up on me," she said. "Can I call you when I feel like sketching and we can go to the park together?"

He nodded. "Sure, I'd like that. We wouldn't always have to bring the kids, though. Would we?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I think I would sketch better without them, actually. So, on a completely different note, Stefan told me you have an actual girlfriend now. How's that going?"

Damon nodded. "Pretty well, actually. I don't know if we're going to be serious, but her kid and Sam get along well, so we see a lot of each other at group, so one day, we just figured 'what the hell?' and decided to go out for coffee." He paused. "What about you? Anything?"

"Actually, yes," Selina nodded. "No real headway with Elijah yet, but he set me up with his brother-in-law, who's actually very sweet. The reliable type, you know? It probably won't last forever, but it's just nice to be with somebody."

"I'm happy for you," he said.

She nodded. "Thank you. I'm happy for you, too."

Two weeks later, Selina returned home with Lucy after a sketching session with Damon. The sketch was done and now she had to figure out what to do with it. Whether to keep it as it was, or add color to it. She was pondering this when all of a sudden, she heard a sharp cry. She dropped the sketch on the floor and raced to the kitchen, where Lucy sat in front of the open cabinets beneath the sink, Selina's red paint can overturned, paint all over the floor and all over Lucy, including some on her hands and mouth.

"For the love of God, you do not eat that, Lucy-loo!" She said. She picked Lucy up, kicked the paint can aside and wiped the paint off of her the best she could. Then, she put some water in a glass and rinsed Lucy's mouth out.

She then took her to the bathroom, gave her a bath and stuck her in her room. An hour or two later, Selina went and dropped Lucy off at Elissavetta's. She seemed very skittish and ordered Selina to shut the door quickly behind her.

"What's wrong?" Selina asked.

"I was walking around downtown and I saw the strangest thing," Elissavetta said quietly.

"Is it a bad-strange thing?" Selina asked. "And why are you talking to me? I figured you'd want me to hand over Lucy and then get out."

Elissavetta sighed. "Niklaus told me that he was the one who killed Susan and that you were only sticking up for him. He will be dealt with once I figure out how, but it wouldn't be right for me to be mad at you when you didn't do anything wrong, would it? And I apologize for what I did to you."

"It wasn't all bad, honestly," Selina said. "Yeah, you broke every bone in all four of my limbs and I had to re-learn how to walk, but it made me more appreciative of things. And people. Now what is it you saw downtown?"

"I saw a woman," Elissavetta said, her eyes wide. "A woman I haven't seen in years. I thought she'd be dead now, but apparently, she isn't. I think she's been following me."

"Why would this woman want to follow you?" Selina asked. "Were you friends or something? Maybe she just wants to reconnect."

"No," Elissavetta shook her head. "We weren't friends at all! She doesn't want to reconnect! She wants to ruin my life! And over something that happened years ago."

"And what was it?" Selina asked. "What did you do to her?"

Elissavetta looked sheepish. "I might have fancied her boyfriend and stolen him from her."

"What?" Selina said in shock. "How could you?"

"Well he was a handsome man!" Elissavetta said. "If you'd have seen him, you'd have wanted to sleep with him too! And actually you kind of have. In a way."

"What?" Selina said. She put one hand up. "Okay, start again. You're not making any sense."

Elissavetta took Lucy in her lap and said, "This woman's boyfriend was Niklaus' biological father."

"Okay, so while you were married, you decided you were bored and stole another woman's boyfriend so you could have an affair with him, which resulted in Nicky. You really have no shame, do you?" Selina asked.

Elissavetta shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Well, I hope this woman gives you what you have coming to you," Selina said. "Cause you really do deserve it."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Don't answer that," Elissavetta said, standing up quickly. "It's her."

"I think I will answer it then," Selina said. She opened the door and found Enid standing on the other side. "Hi, Selina," she said. "Is your mother-in-law home?"

"Yep," Selina nodded. "Right in the kitchen. But she has to watch my daughter for a little while, so please don't kill her yet."

Enid nodded. "I suppose I can wait a little while longer."

Selina nodded and left the house and got back in her car to drive home and clean up the kitchen. But as she got out, the house and car keys fell off her key ring and onto the seat, and she didn't notice until she'd already closed the car door.

"Shit," she whispered. She hit the car hard once and sat on the front steps, thinking about what to do. Then it hit her. Elijah had keys. He could come let her in. But when she called, she got his machine. He wasn't home. She hung up and then decided that all she could do was wait the hour until Elijah returned. She shivered. They were now in the middle of a sudden cold snap and she didn't have her coat with her.

About an hour and half into her waiting, her phone rang. Shivering, she opened it up and looked at the number. It was David! She hit herself on the forehead. Why hadn't she thought of calling him? She pressed the call button with cold, stiff fingers.

"Hi," she said, trying to stop her teeth from chattering too much. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come to a gallery opening with me, but...are you all right? You sound funny."

"Actually, I locked myself out of my house and have been sitting in the cold for an hour and a half. My keys are stuck in my car. Do you know how to jimmy a lock?"

"Oh, sure," David said. "I'll be right over." He arrived ten minutes later and got her keys. Then, they got inside and David put a blanket around her. "We need to get you warm," he said. "Your hands are freezing."

He got her some tea and sat next to her on the sofa, putting his arms around her. "We'll stop that shivering," he said. "Just take some deep breaths and relax."

"I was so stupid," she said. "I should have at least brought a coat."

He shook his head. "It's not your fault. Things happen sometimes." When she finally stopped shivering, she sat back on the sofa and drank her tea. This was definitely something she would tell Anna about.

"I know something you don't know," Anna said, leaning against the door of Elijah's study.

"What?" he said, not looking up at her.

Anna stepped inside and put her hands on his desk. "Selina and David had a cozy little encouter yesterday," she said. "Selina locked herself out of her house and was stuck out in the cold. She tried to call you for help, but you weren't home. Then David called and she told him what happened and he came to rescue her. By the time the two of them got inside, she was shivering so much that David decided it would be best if they took off their shirts and hugged each other close so they could share body warmth."

Elijah looked up. "What? You're making that up!"

"No, I'm not," Anna shook her head. "I saw the whole thing with my own eyes. And you can ask Selina if you don't believe me."

Elijah snatched her phone away and dialed Selina's number. "You just bet I will."

"Hello?" Selina said.

"Selina, it's Elijah," he said quickly. "Sorry I missed your phone call yesterday."

"Oh, that's okay," Selina said. "David came and helped me out. I was pretty cold by the time he found me, but he really warmed me up-"

He didn't need to hear any more. He clicked off the phone, handed it back to Anna, grabbed his jacket and strode out of the library. He and David were going to have a little talk.

He arrived at David's house just as David was leaving. Elijah left his car, slammed the door shut and strode purposefully toward his brother-in-law. "Hey," David said. "Selina called me yesterday, and we-" He was cut off as Elijah reached him, picked him up by the collar of his jacket, and lifted him to his toes, pushing him roughly aginst the door. "I know very well what you did yesterday," Elijah said quietly. "Anna told me. But if you touched Selina, even for the briefest period of time, you will regret that. She's already been through hell with my brother. Now all she needs is a man who will treat her nice and not like a toy. Do you understand?"

David started sputtering. "I didn't do anything bad to her," he said. "She was shivering when I got to her house cause she'd locked herself out and didn't have a coat. I made her some warm tea and put my arms around her until she stopped shivering, but that's all. We were dressed the whole time, I swear!"

Elijah loosened his grip. "Really? That's all?"

David nodded earnestly as Elijah lowered him to his feet. "I promise," he said. "You told me about her history with your brother and I would never try to take advantage."

Elijah cleared his throat. "Right, I know that, sorry. It's just that Anna told the story a little differently and it made me a little defensive. Are you all right?"

David nodded. "I'm fine. Are you all right?"

Elijah nodded. "Yes. I think I'm just going to go back home now."

David nodded. "You do that. And maybe lie down for awhile. You seem a bit overwrought."

Elijah arrived home and undressed, lying down on his bed. Something was wrong with him. What had made him act that way toward David? He liked David. But he wished he would have been the one to answer Selina's phone call. She'd needed him for real and he hadn't been there.

He shut his eyes, thinking of her sitting on her front step, all shivering and cold and alone. If he'd been the one to answer her call, what would have happened?...

He sat up, struck by an idea. He grabbed a notebook and a pen and began writing down exactly what would have happened if he had been the one to answer Selina's phone call. But of course, he'd change names to protect the innocent...

"You know, sir, this was a marvelous idea of yours, going to your chalet for a ski weekend," Miss Stinson said. "I didn't know you even had a chalet."

He laughed. "Well, Sophie, this is actually the first time I've felt like coming back it since my wife died. It was one of her favorite places." He turned the snow mobile to the right down a path of thick snow.

"Be careful," Sophie said, holding tightly onto his waist. "If we crash into a snowbank, we'll have to walk the rest of the way."

Just as she said this, the snow mobile hit a bank and tipped over. They landed in the snow with a thump. He got up first and then offered her his hand. She took it and he pulled her up, brushing the snow out of her hair. "What are we going to do now, Mr. Richmond? Our snow mobile is unsuable and we're surrounded by miles and miles of nothing..."

"There are some abandoned cabins nearby here, I'm sure," Mr. Richmond said. "They aren't far, but you'll have to hold onto my hand. I don't want you getting lost."

"You don't have to tell me twice," she said. "I have a horrible sense of direction."

They spent the next hour struggling to walk in the snow until they finally came upon a rundown cabin. "Let's go in here," he said. "At least we'll be out of the cold."

They went inside the cabin that was full of wood furniture and moth eaten carpets and animal heads. A bear rug was laid out in front of the fireplace.

"How quaint," Sophie said, her button nose crinkling as she sneezed from all the dust in the air.

"Here, Sophie," Mr. Richmond said. "Let me take your coat. It's soaked."

She nodded and handed him her red coat. "And the rest of my clothes are soaked too. It would probably be more comfortable just to take them off." She shivered. "Not as warm in here as we thought, is it? Do you know how to build a fire?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry to say that's not my strong suit."

She shrugged and removed her coat and wet clothes. "I guess that means all we can do is depend on each other for warmth." She gave him a wink. "Do you mind?"

But he was already removing his tie and his shirt. "No," he said. "Not really. In fact, I think I'd prefer it."

"Here," She grabbed his tie and began unfastening it. He put his arms around her and kissed her deeply as she ripped off his shirt, sending buttons flying everywhere, and tossed it to the floor. He then lowered her onto the bearskin rug and removed his pants, kissing down her neck and sucking gently on her breasts. She squealed as he ran his warm tongue over her cold thighs and gently brought it inside her. She squirmed, making little squeaks of pleasure until he slowly backed out of her, running his tongue in a circular motion around her belly button. He sucked on her breasts again, a little harder this time, and she screamed, feeling a release. He paused for a moment to look at her. She was flushed and covered in sweat, but she was grinning widely."My turn?" She asked.

He grinned. "Oh, not quite," he said. "I'm not finished with you yet." While they rested, he gently massaged the area just below her belly button, and then when she got her breath back, he thrust into her and she screamed his name, her nails making scratches down his back as she struggled to anchor herself against him. When it was all over, he rolled off her and they both sighed with satisfaction, then she turned to him and said, "I'm not cold anymore. Are you?"

Elijah put his pen down and stacked the paper neatly before sticking it in a drawer of his desk that only he had the key to. Nobody else could know about this. It was his own little secret.