"I had the strangest dream," Tessa said to Adrian as she walked to the breakfast table, coffee cup in hand.

Adrian looked up at her. "Really? What was it about?"

Tessa shook her head. "I don't know if you'll want to hear about it. It won't make you happy."

Adrian shrugged. "I don't care. You can tell me."

Tessa pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes and sat down next to him. "The guy who brought me back came to me in a dream and told me that to pay him back for bringing me back to life, I have to kill Helene. Please don't be mad at me. He said that if I didn't kill her, she'd destroy the world or something like that."

Adrian scoffed. "Well, that's a tad overdramatic, don't you think?"

"No," Tessa shook her head. "Seeing as how last time she was disappointed about not being able to be with you, she killed me and stole my body, I don't think it's over dramatic at all."

"Well, you have to understand that she did die quite suddenly," Adrian said. "And violently. She was struck by lightening and drowned for crying out loud. That would make anyone upset."

"Are you defending her for murdering me and who knows how many other people?" Tessa asked him."

He shook his head. "Well, no, of course not. I'm just telling you what happened."

"No," Tessa shook her head. "You're defending her. You still like her, don't you?"

Adrian sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Not this again. Look, Helene and I grew up together. I spent more time with her than I ever have with you, so you can't blame me for having some feelings about her. But they aren't romantic. Not anymore. I swear."

"Are you sure?" She asked him. "Because if you aren't, I want you to be honest with me."

"I am," he said seriously. "And if you have to kill her in order to save the world, I wish you luck."

Tessa nodded. "Good. I was worried there for a minute."

Just then the phone rang. "Whose turn is it to get it this time?" Adrian asked. "You or me?"

"I believe I answered it last time," Tessa said. "So it's your turn."

Adrian got up and rolled his eyes. "Fine." He went over to the phone and picked it up. "Good morning, Rox. What do you want?"

"That's a fine way to greet me," she said. "And not very polite either."

"Well, I did say 'good morning'" Adrian reminded her. "Now tell me what horrible atrocity Vince supposedly committed against you today so we can deal with it and you won't have to bother us again until tomorrow."

"Why are you in such a mood?" Roxie asked. "Tessa feeling a little insecure about Helene?"

"Well, yes," Adrian said. "But don't change the subject. What are you calling about?"

"Nothing you can help me with," Roxie said. "Can I talk to Tessa, please?"

Adrian took the phone away from his ear and looked at Tessa. "Roxie wants to talk to you. She says I can't do anything for her."

Tessa took the phone from him and Adrian left to shower. "What do you need, Roxie?"

"We have a bit of a fullblood female werewolf problem," Roxie told her. "My friend Charlotte is getting married and her mother insists on coming for the wedding, which she and I are both nervous about since Charlotte's mother tried to kill her in a fit of jealous rage when she was three years old. Could you come and give us some advice about what to do?"

"Wow, you have an actual problem," Tessa said. "Sure. Give me an hour and I'll be at you and Vince's apartment. That's where you are, right?"

Roxie nodded. "Yeah, and thanks. This is really going to help us a lot."

"All right," Tessa said. "See you then." She hung up the phone and went to the bathroom to get ready, surprised to see that Adrian was still standing shirtless by the sink. "I would have thought you'd be washing your hair by now," she said. "Why are you dawdling? It turns out Roxie had a legitimate problem and I have to go meet her in an hour."

"And what sort of problem is that?" Adrian asked. "Some female thing that would disgust me if you tried to give me details?"

"Sort of," Tessa said. "Her friend's crazy werewolf mother wants to come to her friend's wedding and they aren't quite sure how to handle it."

"That sounds fun," Adrian said. "I can't believe you're agreeing to help them. You don't have to, you know."

"Why shouldn't I help them?" Tessa asked. "Adrian, this is a legit problem that happens practically every time two werewolves get married. There's always one parent who causes a fuss and if not handled properly, it can ruin everything." She sighed. "This might sound bad, but it's like the one reason why I'm glad your parents killed my parents."

"Well, looking back," Adrian said thoughtfully, "I don't blame your parents for wanting to put Roxie in a vervain bath. Anyone who's spent more than five minutes with her ends up wanting the same thing, even if they don't say it."

Tessa looked at him in surprise. "You do remember you're talking about your sister, right?"

Adrian nodded. "Yeah, I know. Now can we stop talking about her and get in the shower?"

Tessa nodded. "Yeah. That's a good idea." They undressed and showered, scrubbing each other thoroughly and got out to dress.

"What are you going to do while I'm helping your sister?" Tessa asked. "Mope around here and be lonely?"

Adrian shook his head as he zipped up his jeans. "No, I think I'll pay Mom a visit. I haven't seen her since she and Dad split up."

"How are you feeling about that?" Tessa asked him. "Does it upset you?"

"My parents splitting up?" Adrian asked. He shook his head. "No, not really. I'd say it's about time."

"Why?" Tessa asked.

"Cause they're messed up, that's why," Adrian said. "They aren't like you and me, or even Vince and Roxie, where we talk to each other and care about each other's thoughts and goals and feelings. They got together when Mom was on an 'I hate men' kick back in the twenties, so it was okay that their relationship was purely sexual. Then they did actually fall in love, but Mom ended up leaving Dad because of some reason I never quite understood, and when she came to apologize to him thirteen years later, Dad got so mad at her that he wiped all her memories of him away and they were never the same."

"That's so sad!" Tessa said. "And what makes you think that Roxie cares about Vince's feelings. She's always blaming him for everything. You said yourself that your sister's a big pain in the butt."

"She is," Adrian said earnestly. "And we both know that the two of them have been at each other's throats for years. But when Dad tried to make Vince a hybrid, Roxie got so mad at him that she didn't talk to Dad for ten years. What does that tell you?"

"That in her own weird way, Roxie cares about my brother," Tessa said.

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "The thing is, she won't admit it unless it's a life or death situation. That's just how she is."

Tessa sighed, pulled her shirt over her head and kissed Adrian on the cheek. "I'm going to go now," she said. "Have a good time at your mom's."

"Are you sure you want to put those two next to each other?" Roxie asked. "I've seen them together at Enid's, and they tend to drink quite a bit." She held up the two name plates, which had names of two of Tony's friends written on them and tried to put one at another table.

"Roxie, what did we say about you helping me plan this wedding?" Charlie asked her.

"That you're the boss and I'm just supposed to do what you say?" Roxie said.

Charlie nodded. "That's right. So put that name card back right where it's supposed to be."

"Why are all of Tony's friends back in one corner?" Roxie asked. "Except for Vince, I mean."

"Well, don't tell Tony this, but a lot of his friends irritate the hell out of me, and I figure that if I put them in the back near the door, it'll be easier to shove them out if they start to cause a problem," Charlie said.

"Maybe you should put your mother near the door too," Roxie said. "Have you thought about that?"

"Of course I have!" Charlie snapped. "My dad won't let me, though. He says this is the perfect time for her and me to mend fences so I should do whatever I can to make her feel welcome."

"That's ridiculous!" Roxie said. "She tried to kill you! Why should you have to make her feel welcome?"

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. Why do you talk to your dad when he tried to kill Vince?"

"So you want to mend fences with your mother?" Roxie asked.

Charlie picked up a pen and drove a harsh black line through the name card she'd made for her mother. "I don't know," she said. "She probably didn't mean to kill me. Maybe it's not her fault."

"When my mom tied me to the top of the car during a rain storm, she meant it," Roxie said.

Charlie snorted. "That was because you were acting like a spoiled brat. I'm surprised she waited as long as she did to do that to you. She is a really good mom. Do you realize how lucky you are? I mean, when you and Vince get married, none of your relatives will do anything to mess things up."

Roxie snorted. "Well, you've obviously never met my relatives. And Mom went into labor at Aunt Anna and Uncle Stefan's wedding."

Charlie's eyes widened. "She did?"

Roxie nodded. "Yeah, and Dad got really drunk and started singing off-key, and...trust me: my relatives might not be unpredictable like yours, but they sure can screw up a special occasion if they put thier minds to it."

"Am I interrupting something?"

Roxie looked up to see Tessa standing next to the table. "No," she said. "Have a seat. Thanks for coming. How's Adrian?"

"He went to see your mom," Tessa said. "Do you know that your parents are splitting up?"

Roxie nodded. "I heard something like that. I might have to give Dad a call, see how he's doing."

"Who are you?" Charlie asked her Tessa. "You look like Vince's sister, but she died."

Tessa smiled. "It is me, Charlie. It's kind of complicated how I got here, but I'm here. Roxie said you're having problems figuring out what to do with your mother at the wedding. Would you like my help?"

"Sure," Charlie nodded. "Dad says I should just let her do what she needs to do and not fuss about it, but if I let her run amok, she might ruin my special day."

"I know where there are a bunch of doggie tranquilizers available," Roxie said. "Put some of those in her champagne at the rehearsal dinner and she'll be out cold and miss the wedding completely."

"No," Charlie said through her teeth. "We aren't pumping my mother full of doggie tranquilizers. There has to be an easier way to deal with her."

"Oh, all right," Roxie rolled her eyes. "We'll call the doggie tranquilizers plan 'B'."

"No!" Charlie said. "No doggie tranquilizers at all!"

"Okay, okay," Roxie said. "It was just an idea."

"I could watch her for you," Tessa said. "Your mom, I mean. I won't let her out of my sight."

"That's not fair!" Roxie complained.

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked her, looking surprised.

"I know why you're offering to come," Roxie said. "Cause Adrian thinks I'm incapable of behaving myself and if you come, he can come as your date and keep an eye on me. He has no faith in me whatsoever."

Charlie shook her head. "Again," she said. "This is my wedding. There's nothing having anything to do with you! It's all about me!"

Roxie scoffed. "Jeez, Charlie. Bridezilla much?"

Charlie rolled her eyes and looked at Tessa. "So would it be too much of an imposition for you and Adrian to come and watch over my mother?"

Tessa shook her head. "Of course not. It would be an honor. Plus, I think it would be a good idea for Adrian to get out of the house and talk to other people. He hasn't done much of that lately. Not since I came back."

"It could be because he felt bad about having to send Helene away," Roxie said. "He really liked her. They had a history."

"He obviously didn't like her enough if he sent her away to be with me," Tessa said. "Besides, she's evil and is going to destroy the world."

"She's probably going to do that because she's upset that Adrian picked you over her, although I don't understand why," Roxie said, standing up. "Helene was intelligent and sweet and I really liked her. You're just a piece of ass and he's going to get tired of you eventually."

Tessa narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Roxie told her. "You know exactly what I said.

"I did," Tessa said. "And I think you should apologize."

Roxie scoffed and shook her head. "Hell, no. I'm not going to apologize for telling the truth."

"Well as long as we're telling the truth here," Tessa said, "I don't know what my brother sees in a self-absorbed brat like you. He deserves better and I'm going to tell him so."

"He's not going to listen," Roxie said.

"Oh, he will," Tessa said. "He will." She got up and began walking away, but Roxie came up behind her and shoved her down on the ground. Tessa rolled over, gravel and a scratch on her cheek. She got up off the ground slowly and grabbed Roxie by her hair, pulling her over to a fountain nearby and pushing her in. They proceeded to beat up on one another for quite sometime until a police car drove up. It took several policemen to subdue the two of them, but they finally got both women in police cars and took them down to the city jail on charges of battery and disturbing the peace.

"Don't we each get a phone call?" Roxie called to the jailer.

"Fine," he said. "But remember: you only get five minutes."

"Adrian!" Selina said in surprise when she opened the door. "I didn't expect to see you! Come on in!" She ushered him to the living room and made him sit down on the sofa. "So," she said, "what's new? How's Tessa?"

Adrian nodded. "Tessa's fine, I guess. Still a little nervous about the whole Helene issue, but otherwise fine."

"Nervous how?" Selina asked.

"She thinks I still have romantic feelings for Helene when they're really just friendly feelings. I mean, the two of us grew up together, so it's natural for me to be concerned about her welfare, right?"

"Well, of course," Selina nodded. "How did this come up?"

Adrian shrugged. "Well, Tessa was telling me about this dream she had where the guy who brought her back told her that Helene was going to destroy the world and that Tessa had to kill her as payment for being alive again. I said that I thought blaming Helene for the destruction of the world was a tad overdramatic, and then Tessa accused me of still liking the woman who helped kill her. Don't you think she's being oversensitive?"

Selina sighed. "Maybe not. I mean, do you remember the things she did when she first came back and found out that you were with another woman? Who's to say she won't do more of the same now that you've thrown her out of your life?"

"But she might not," Adrian said. "Am I the only one who believes that she can move on from doing bad things? Does that make me stupid or gullible, or what?"

Selina shrugged. "I don't know."

"Okay," Adrian said, "let me put it in perspective for you: let's say a new boyfriend of yours told you that he needs to kill Dad because Dad's a danger to people. Would you just let Dad die, or would you stick up for him?"

Selina shrugged. "I wouldn't just let your father be killed. He has his moments. Why are you asking?"

Adrian sighed. "Because as payment for being able to come back, Tessa has to kill Helene because apparently, Helene is going to do some very bad things that will hurt a lot of people, but I think that if I sit down and talk with her, I might be able to stop whatever is supposed to happen. That doesn't mean I'm still in love with Helene or anything, right?"

"Right," Selina nodded. "If you believe that Helene is worth saving, you should do what you can. Don't let other people run your life for you."

Adrian nodded. "Thanks, that's a big help."

Just then, Lucy came toddling into the room. She took one look at Adrian, grinned, showing all her small, pearly white teeth, and broke into an unsteady run. "Papa!"

Adrian picked her up and she cuddled against him. "Wow," he said. "I didn't think I looked that much like Dad."

"Don't take it too personally," Selina said, ruffling Lucy's hair, "She's saying that to every man she sees now. It's just a phase."

Adrian nodded. "Makes sense. I mean more than one man is acting in the father role simultaneously for her, right?"

"Hey!" Selina said. "It's a very delicate situation and I'm working on it!"

"I know, I know," Adrian said. "Don't bite my head off." Just then, his phone rang loudly. He turned it on and put it to his ear. "Hello? What? How the hell did that happen? Okay, just a minute. I'll be there." He sighed and turned off his phone.

"What happened?" Selina asked.

Adrian shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Apparently, Roxie and Tessa got in a fight and they're both in jail and want me to come bail them out."

"Are you going to do it?" Selina asked.

Adrian sighed. "I suppose. But I don't think I should leave right away," he said. "A little time in jail would do Roxie some good."

"What about Tessa?" Selina asked. "Don't you want to save her?"

"Right now, I just want to have peace and quiet. For two minutes, that's all. Then, I'll go back into the fray." Adrian said.

Selina patted him on the shoulder. "Do you want me to take Lucy?"

Adrian shook his head and leaned back in the chair. "No," he said. "She's cuddly. I'll keep her."

When Adrian arrived at the jail, it made him sorry he'd ever left Selina's apartment. "What took you so long?" Roxie asked. "We've been languishing here forever!"

Adrian frowned at her. "Oh, boo hoo. Tell that to somebody who cares." He reached for Tessa, but an officer stopped him. "I'm sorry, sir," he said. "I can't let you take her."

Adrian frowned at him. "Why not?"

"Because she is the perpetrator of this crime," the police officer replied. "She confessed to us that she started the fight and that the other girl is completely innocent. We'll have to keep her here for further questioning."

Adrian froze. "You aren't serious."

The officer nodded. "Oh, I assure you I am."

"Okay," Adrian said and yanked Roxie out of the cell. "What did you do to that policeman?" He asked angrily when they were far enough away. "Did you compel him so he wouldn't let me take Tessa out of jail? And the others too?"

Roxie smirked. "Duh."

Adrian growled. "That's it," he said. "That's it!" He grabbed Roxie by the arm, dragged her outside, threw her in his car and drove away from the police station.

"Slow down!" Roxie cried. "Where the hell are you going, anyway?"

"To Uncle Jake's," Adrian said. "Maybe he can explain what the hell is wrong with you."

"So you've been fighting, Roxanne?" Roxie and Adrian sat stiffly while their great-uncle looked them over.

"I have," Roxie said at last. "But it was only because the woman I was fighting said some stuff about me that wasn't very nice."

"Oh, psh," Adrian said. "She probably didn't call you anything that people haven't already called you before."

"Well, it's still not nice to call people names," Roxie said.

"Who were you fighting?" Jake asked her.

"Just Adrian's stupid girlfriend, Tessa."

"You have a new girlfriend?" Jake asked Adrian. "What happened to Helene?"

"She died," Adrian said. "Then she came back again and killed Tessa, then Tessa got a new body and has to kill Helene to keep it, it's a whole big mess. And Tessa is my mate, if we want to be completely accurate."

"Ah," Jake nodded. "So you've found your mate. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"It's good," Adrian said. "I like her, she's nice."

"No!" Roxie burst out. "It's a horrible thing! Tessa is a bitch and pretty soon, Adrian's just going to get tired of her and dump her. I wish he and Helene were still together. At least she was smart."

"Ah," Jake said, looking intrigued. "So you prefer Helene to Tessa."

"Yes," Roxie nodded. "I do."

"And why do you think that is?" Jake asked. "Could you give me a reason?"

Roxie shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe because since their relationship is based a physical connection, they might break up someday, like Mom and Dad are."

"Your parents are breaking up?" Jake asked Adrian.

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Mom has her own apartment now. Her and Lucy."

Jake nodded and turned back to Roxie. "So you think that because your parents' relationship was primarily physical and failed, Adrian and Tessa's will too?"

Roxie nodded. "He and Helene studied together and he taught her how to drive a car and she made sure he wore mittens in the winter, and he loved her so much that he was willing to let her go and live a full life and didn't even care that that would make him unhappy. She died saving him from dying. How can you compare a purely sexual relationship like the one he and Tessa have to the deep and meaningful one that he and Helene had? Tessa showed up and he just threw Helene away like trash!"

"Wow," Adrian said. "I had no idea you felt that way about Helene. I mean, she turned you into a goat once."

"So?" Roxie said. "She turned me back. Do you really want to end up like Dad, Adrian?"

"What makes you think I'm going to end up like Dad just because I'm happy with my mate?" He asked her. "What about you and Vince?"

"Well, that's different," Roxie said.

"How?" Adrian asked her. "Wasn't the reason why Dad turned Vince into a hybrid in the first place because you and he were pawing at each other all the time? That sounds more like Mom and Dad to me..."

"We are not anything like Mom and Dad," Roxie said.

"Why is that?" Adrian asked her slyly. "Because you love him?"

"Hey!" Roxie said. "Mom and Dad loved each other too, once."

"Wait," Jake said. "What's the problem? Is there even one anymore?"

"I just want to know why Roxie would be so mean to Tessa," Adrian said. "Is it a werewolf thing, similar to how female werewolves are so territorial about their mates?"

"Possibly," Jake nodded. "Or it could be because she's your sister and in her own unique way, she's trying to look out for you."

Adrian gave Roxie a look. "I appreciate the effort, but getting the woman I love put in jail and making it so I can't bail her out is a strange way to look out for me. Can't you just accept that Tessa and I love each other and be happy for me? Do you ever see me haul Vince out back and give him a beating because he's sleeping with you?"

"No," Roxie shook her head. "But Dad did that, though."

"I know," Adrian said, smirking. "I heard all about it."

Roxie sighed. "I still don't like Tessa very much, but I guess if she makes you happy, I'll behave myself around her."

"Thank you," Adrian said. "Now will you come back to the jail with me and take the compulsion off the police officers so I can bail Tessa out?"

Roxie stood up and rolled her eyes. "Okay, come on. Bye, Uncle Jake. We'll no doubt need you again, sometime."

"Yeah," he nodded. "I don't have any doubt you will."

"How'd the wedding planning go?" Vince asked Roxie as she walked into their apartment and threw her coat down on the sofa.

"Charlie still isn't sure about how to handle her mother," Roxie said. "I suggested some dog tranquilizers in the champagne, but for some reason, she didn't seem too thrilled with that idea. Then your sister showed up and suggested that she and my brother come to the wedding and be the ones who keep an eye on Charlie's mom."

"Oh, no," Vince groaned. "So they're both coming?"

Roxie nodded. "Yep."

"Great," he said, sitting down hard next to her. "Do you realize how hard it's going to be to get alone time with the two of them nosing around every minute?"

"I got an idea," Roxie said. "We make note of the locations of all the coat closets and when things get boring, we make some cunningly plausible excuse and slip away."

"Oh, good idea," Vince said. "But we can't do anything until after the actual wedding. We would be pretty terrible best friends if we spent our friends' special day paying attention to each other and not them."

"Well, of course," Roxie nodded. "That goes without saying. But who wants to sit through fifty gazillion reception toasts, really? Especially when you don't even know half the people?"

Vince shook his head. "I don't." He ran a hand down her thigh. "I have other ways I would much rather spend my time."

"At least you didn't have to spend any of your time getting me and your sister out of jail," Roxie said. "We called Adrian for that."

Vince took his hand off her thigh and frowned. "What were you and my sister doing in jail?"

She looked downcast. "Well, Tessa and I got into a fight at the park because she was saying bad things about Adrian's first girlfriend Helene and that upset me. And I was apparently more upset about my parents breaking up than I realized because I accused your sister of just being with my brother for sexual purposes and told her that Adrian was going to get sick of her and dump her eventually."

"Well, that wasn't nice of you," Vince said. "Did you apologize?"

Roxie nodded. "Yeah, I did." She lay her head on his shoulder. "I don't know why I react to things so rashly," she said. "It was probably my atypical upbringing."

Vince snorted and ran his fingers through her hair. "Calling your upbringing 'atypical' is the understatement of the century."

Elijah sat at his desk, writing down the first dream that he'd had where he'd called Selina Miss Stinson. As he wrote about her straddling him in the chair, he shut his eyes tight and tried to keep himself calm. If only something or someone could come along and distract him...

"Watcha doin'?" He sat up and made a grab for the papers as a hand snatched them away.

He looked up and saw to his horror that it was Selina who had hold of his writing and was reading it thoroughly. "Is this yours?" She asked, waving it around. "I had no idea you were into smut like this, either reading it, or writing it."

"When did you come in here?" He asked. "How long have you been watching me?"

She shrugged. "The door was open, I came in, you were writing. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that you can't just barge into rooms when people are doing things that are private," he said. "And I didn't write any of that. David did."

Selina looked intrigued. "He did? That makes sense. The Miss Stinson character seems a lot like me."

"Yes, well I thought so too. Now give me back the papers you took so I can finish with them."

" Wait, if David wrote the stories, then how come it's you who's writing now?" She asked.

"Well..." Elijah watched her twisting her hair and tried to think of an answer for her. "He wanted me to rewrite a section," he said finally. "You know, give suggestions, that sort of thing. Now, give it back and go away."

She held the papers to her chest. "Why should I have to?" She asked. "David is my boyfriend, okay? If he's writing sexy stories about me, I don't think he would mind if I took a look at them."

"Oh, yes he would," Elijah said. "He would mind very much!"

"I could call him and ask," Selina said.

"No, don't!" Elijah said quickly.

Selina grinned, running her fingers lightly through Elijah's hair. "Why so defensive all of a sudden? Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Elijah said. He wanted to push her hand away, but then decided it would be too much effort and let her go on for a little while. "Could I just say," he said to her, "How sorry I am about what went on between David and me the day you got locked out of your house? Do you know about that?"

"Yeah," She nodded and began massaging his shoulders. "He told me that you were a bit upset and attacked him. Why would you do that? I mean, you told me to go out with him specifically."

"Well," he said, "When Anna told me about what happened between you two, she may have embellished a bit, which might have caused me to be a tad defensive. I just didn't want you to be with another man who didn't treat you well." He paused and let out a groan.

"Does that feel good?" Selina asked.

He nodded. "Could you do it a little harder?"

She pushed harder for a little while, but then let go suddenly, pushing him forward in his desk chair.

"Why'd you stop?" He asked.

"Well I just realized I have to go by Anna's for a bit," she said. "I promised her I would and I almost forgot."

"Well, can I at least have my papers back before you leave?" He asked.

She shook her head, grinning. "No, you can't. But I give you credit for asking."

She sprinted out the door, and was on the steps, closing the front door just as he reached it. Then, she went to her car and drove to Anna and Stefan's.

"You'll never guess what I got from Elijah's!" Selina said, waving the papers over her head when Anna opened the door.

"What are they?" Anna asked.

"He's been writing sexy stories about me!" Selina said. "And here's a bit of one!"

Anna took it and looked it over. "He makes you out to be a real tramp, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I know, right? Who would have thought? I mean, when your mom broke all my limbs and I was weak and couldn't bathe myself, it took him so long to undress me and put me in the tub! And for god's sake, he did eventually break down and kiss me, but that was all! We were both unclothed in a bathtub and all he did was kiss me." She paused. "What did you tell him about David and me that made him so jealous?"

"Oh," Anna said, "I might have told him that David found you freezing on the sidewalk, and that after he took you inside, he took off your shirt and felt you up to make you warm again."

"Oh, my god!" Selina said. "No wonder he blew a gasket!"

"It's good that he did," Anna said. "It means we're making progress."

"Progress that could very well be hampered by Nicky," Selina said. "Especially since Lucy is siding with him now."

"What do you mean?" Anna said.

"Well, Nicky and I were home together with Lucy and she told him to kiss me," Selina said. "I don't know where she would have learned something like that, but..."

"Damn!" Anna said. "She wasn't supposed to tell Nick to kiss you! She was supposed to tell Elijah! For crying out loud, do I have to do everything?"

She brought Lucy out and sat her down on her lap. "Listen to me," she said. "You aren't supposed to tell your daddy to kiss your mommy. You're supposed to tell Uncle Elijah to kiss your mommy. Remember?"

Lucy nodded."Unk 'Lijah..."

"Good," Anna said to her. "Now don't you forget that."

Selina looked at Anna. "I can't believe you're training my daughter to run my love life. Why didn't I think of that?"

Anna grinned. "Well that's what I'm here for: to think of things that you don't because you're too busy trying to get Elijah into bed with you."

Selina put her hands on her hips. "That's not all I think about! It's mostly what I think about. But not all."

Anna gave her a look and handed her Lucy. "Uh-huh. Sure."

Selina took Lucy and stuck her tongue out at Anna. "I'm going to go home now and catch up on some reading. Don't try and call me or anything. Because it'll take me quite awhile."

She didn't see Elijah again for two weeks, and when she did, it was under the most unlikely of circumstances. It started one morning when she walked into her bathroom to brush her teeth and noticed that her drain wasn't working properly. She messed with it a little bit, but that didn't change a thing and pretty soon the sink was overflowing, but she couldn't turn the water off.

"Oh, crap," she whispered as she fiddled with the handles that made the water hot and cold. "Turn off, turn off, turn off!"

Eventually, she decided to give up, and sloggled through water that was just covering her feet. She got Lucy out of bed and ready for the day, and when she took her to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her hair, the water was up to Selina's ankles and soaking the carpet outside. She shut her eyes tight and thought about what she should do. After a moment, she took Lucy's baby bath out of the tub and put it on the floor so it floated and then placed Lucy in it, then got down on her knees in the cold water and brushed Lucy's hair and put a bow in it. "There," she said. "You look so pretty. But you have to stay in your bathtub because we don't want you getting wet like Mommy is."

Just then, she heard a knock on her door. She got up and went to put on a bathrobe and answer the door. When she saw who was on the other side, she groaned. "What do you want, Mr. Decker?"

Mr. Decker was the landlord, a short, skinny man with dark hair, dark eyes and a face like a rat. He looked her over appreciatively. "You look so lovely this morning, which is why it pains me to tell you that there have been some complaints from your neighbors downstairs. They say water is running down their walls."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just having a little flooding problem with my sink. But I'll take care of it. You can assure everyone of that." She shut the door in his face before he could make a move to come in. Then she dressed and looked around for a wrench to fix the pipe with. She went into the bathroom, wrench in hand and lay down with her head under the sink and tried her best to fix the problem, but instead, she made the problem worse, causing the pipes under the sink to leak too. She sat up, growling in frustration.

"How are the repairs going?" Mr. Decker asked, standing by the bathroom door. "Not well, I see."

Selina growled at him. "Get the hell out!"

"Nice thing to say to someone who can get you a plumber to fix all this," he said. "I knew you'd fail. Girls always do."

"You ass!" Selina stood up, strode over to him and knocked him hard against the wall. His face was covered with blood, but he was grinning. "You like playing rough, don't you?" He said. "Well, come here..."

He pushed her against the wall and tried to rip off her wet shirt with one hand and put his other one underneath the waistband of her jeans, but she flipped him over easily, then got down on her knees in the water, flipped him onto his stomach, straddled him, and held his head underwater until he was just barely alive. Then, she pulled his head up and got off him.

"You think men handle stuff like this better?" She asked. "Well, why don't I just call my boyfriend and the two of you can have a little chat, shall I?"

David was out of town, so she tried Elijah and managed to get hold of him. "Could you come over?" She asked. "I'm having some trouble in the apartment and I could really use your help."

"Do you really need my help?" He asked her. "Or is this just some ploy to get me into bed?"

"No," she said. "My apartment is flooded and my landlord won't get me a plumber unless I do horribly perverted things for him!"

"I'll be right over," Elijah said and hung up the phone. Selina walked back to the bathroom, grinning at nearly dead Mr. Decker who was sprawled out in the bathtub. "He's coming," she said. "The two of you will have a lovely little talk, I'm sure." She left the bathroom and went to the kitchen to grab a knife and went back to the bathroom, cutting her wrist and feeding Mr. Decker some of her blood. "We have to have you in tip top shape when Elijah shows up. The fight won't be much fun if you're dead."

"Selina!" Elijah called. "Selina, are you all right?"

"Yeah!" Selina replied as she watched Mr. Decker swallow. "I'm in the bathroom!"

Elijah appeared at the bathroom door a few seconds later, looking horrified. "What happened in here?"

"The handles on the sink are stuck and the water won't turn off," Selina said. Elijah was staring at Lucy who was still floating in her baby bath and looking remarkably unaffected by what was going on around her. Elijah removed his new shoes and went into the bathroom to pick her up. "Let's go put you in your room, okay?"

"No!" She shook her head and refused to be removed from the bathroom. "Fine," Elijah said. "You can stay. But I don't want you to see what's going to happen soon, so..." He turned the bath around so that Lucy was facing away from Selina and Mr. Decker and placed it on the one spot in the room that was drier than the rest. Then he turned his attention to Mr. Decker, nudging Selina gently aside. She went to the spot where Lucy was and put her in her lap with her hand over Lucy's eyes. Elijah pulled Mr. Decker up by the throat. "You were never taught any manners, were you?" He asked, slamming Mr. Decker hard against the tile wall. "Selina's told me stories about you, but I had no idea your character was so underdeveloped." He punched Mr. Decker in the eye a couple of times. "A gentleman doesn't force his company on anyone," he put his hand with his thumb under Mr. Decker's chin and two fingers on his bottom teeth and pulled, breaking his jaw. "He doesn't insult a woman. And above all, he does not hurt her!" On the last word, he wrenched Mr. Decker's neck roughly to the side, breaking it and throwing his lifeless body back into the tub. "He's dead," he said to Selina. "He won't be bothering you any more."

Selina took her hand off Lucy's eyes, put Lucy back in her tub and stood up slowly, watching Elijah in amazement. "That was great," she said. "I demand you kiss me right now!"

"Kiss Mama!" Lucy said eagerly.

"I don't know," Elijah said.

"Oh, come on!" Selina cried. "Would it hurt to indulge the kid just a little?"

"Okay," Elijah said and gave Selina a brief, hesitant peck on the lips. Then he began to walk away. "Oh, no," Selina said, pulling him back to her. "You got me hot and now you have to do something about it!" She kissed him deeply. He resisted for a moment, but then his hand came up around her, although he couldn't pull her any closer than she was pushing herself.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" At the sound of the voice at the door, Elijah gently pushed Selina behind him and cleared his throat. "Hello, Niklaus," he said. "Nothing happened here, I assure you."

"Well obviously something did," Klaus said. "Otherwise, the floor wouldn't be covered with water, now would it?"

"The handles on the sink are stuck," Selina said. "The water won't turn off."

Klaus looked at Elijah and smirked. "By the way, brother, that's a lovely shade of lip gloss you're wearing."

Elijah wiped it off, and said, "Like I told you before, Niklaus, nothing happened here. You know I wouldn't do that to you. But if it had been any other man and something had happened, you'd have no one to blame but yourself. For the life of me, I cannot understand how you can spend your evenings in another woman's bed when you have this lovely creature right here waiting for you." He indicated Selina.

Klaus smirked and walked into the bathroom. "About that, I've tried. But it seems she doesn't want to come near me anymore. She seems to think there's something wrong with me." He pulled Selina to him and kissed her hard, running his hand up the back of her leg and under her skirt, but she pulled away and gave Klaus a good hard slap. "Don't you dare touch me," she said. "Don't you dare."

He looked at Elijah and laughed a little. "Aren't you going to defend your lady love, brother?"

"She and I aren't like that," Elijah said through his teeth. "I care about her, yes, but she's seeing someone else. David, as a matter of fact."

Klaus was laughing even harder now. He looked at Selina. "You want to replace me and of all people, you chose Elijah's brother-in-law?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "It's a nice change from the usual."

Klaus stopped laughing abruptly gave Selina sour look. "It doesn't matter," he said. "You're married to me and will not be with anyone else until I say!"

"And when will that be?" Selina asked. "Never?"

"Elijah's right," he said to her. "You are a pretty little thing and I've been foolish to neglect you, but let me assure you I'll be paying much closer attention from now on."

"If you want me to like you," Selina told him, "This isn't the way to go about it. There are other ways."

"Indeed there are," Klaus said, picking up the knife Selina had used on herself. "If I were to cut myself and make you drink my blood, you'd really like me. And Elijah would find your behavior so distasteful that he'd never come near you again."

He cut himself and pushed Selina against the wall, pressing his wrist to her mouth and forcing Selina to drink. When her mouth was full, he stepped away and watched her, leaning in so that they were eye to eye, but instead of swallowing, she spit the blood right in his face.

He growled and made a move to attack her, but Elijah picked him up and slammed him against the wall. "If you so much as lay a hand on her," he said, "You'll be sorry. You really will."

Klaus laughed again. "So the real feelings come out, eh, brother?" He looked back and forth between Selina and Elijah. "The two of you really aren't any fun, are you?" He picked Lucy up and walked out of the bathroom. "I'll be with her for a bit," he said. "At least she appreciates me."

Once he disappeared, Elijah and Selina both took deep breaths. "You better go," Selina said. "But thank you for sticking up for me. Sometimes he's hard for me to handle by myself."

Elijah nodded. "I understand. And it was no problem, really. Now are you certain you're going to be all right?"

Selina nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

He nodded and gave her one last long look before he left the apartment and headed home.

That night he found himself at his desk again, pen in hand.

Sophie stared out the window of the cabin. "It's getting dark," she said. "Should we flag down a car to take us to the chalet? It's not snowing or anything."

Mr. Richmond shook his head and gently pulled Sophie away from the window. "If it's getting dark," he said, "There's no point in trying to get anywhere tonight. Let's wait until morning." He began kissing her neck and she sighed. "Okay," she said. "Sure, why not?"

He eased her onto the sofa and slipped off the blanket she'd been using to cover herself up with, kissing the soft skin of her stomach repeatedly. She moaned. Every part of her ached for him. She put her hands on his face and pulled his lips down to meet hers. He then kissed down her neck and paused to suck on her nipples and massage her breasts. All of her was aching with need.

Just as he was about to thrust into her however, the door to the cabin burst off its hinges. She screamed and pushed him to the floor, reaching for her blanket and sitting up.

"What do we have here?" The man who'd come in said to them. "Intruders in my home?"

"We didn't mean anything by it," Sophie said quickly. "We got lost and..." She gasped. "Oh, my god. Ted, is that you?"

"Yes," Mr. Richmond nodded. "It must be!"

Ted Nichols grinned evilly at them. "It couldn't be anyone but you, Richmond. First you steal my girl, then you run my business into the ground, now you've taken up residence in my home."

"Excuse me," Sophie said, standing up. "I was never your girl. I am a woman, first of all, and second, I belong to no one, you ill-mannered chauvinist pig!"

Ted grinned at her. "You're so exciting when you're angry."

Sophie frowned. "Oh, shut up!"

Ted strode over to her and put his arms around her, pushing her against the wall, pulling the blanket away and runninf his hands over her body. She punched him and pushed him off her. "This was exactly why you fired me," she said. "I didn't want to sleep with you then, and I certainly don't want to do it now. And the idea that made Mr. Richmond's company was one you could have used, but rejected. So it's really your own fault you live in a shack and have no money."

Ted went to hit her, but Mr. Richmond threw him up against the wall and knocked him out. When he turned back to Sophie, she was looking at him admiringly. "I insist you take me here and now," she said. "Do whatever you like with me. I won't take no for an answer."

He pretended to ponder for a moment, then grinned. "If you insist," he said. They went into the bathroom and ran the water. The tub had plenty of room for the two of them and Mr. Richmond scrubbed Sophie thoroughly, taking her to the bed afterward, and kissing every inch of her rose-scented skin. Just as they were about to fall asleep, he heard Ted get up unsteadily from the floor and stumble out the door. He hoped he froze.