After a fitful night of sitting on the rocking chair with Lucy asleep in his lap, Elijah got up and went to the kitchen, taking Lucy with him. As he sat drinking wine and not coffee, Lucy watched him curiously. "Mama?" She asked.

Elijah put his glass down and walked over to her high chair, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "No," he said. "Your mother isn't here. She's missing, but I'm going to go find her, all right?"

Lucy's eyes got wide. "Mama gone?" She asked. She held out her arms and Elijah picked her up and held her to him. "Yes," he said. "Your mother is missing. I wonder if your father knows." He shifted Lucy to one arm and dialed Klaus, knowing that he'd probably have to wait several minutes before the call was actually answered.

"What?" Klaus asked sleepily. "What do you want?"

"Where are you?" Elijah barked. "I know you didn't come home last night because I'm at Selina's apartment and you're not!"

"Just a minute," Klaus said. "I stayed at Stefan and Anna's. Had a little too much to drink. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that Selina is missing!" Elijah snapped. "You didn't even know that, did you? I'm going to drop Lucy off with you after you sober up and I'm going to drop Sam off with Damon and then I'm going to go look for her!"

"Who?" Klaus asked. "What are we talking about? I forgot."

Elijah rolled his eyes. "Of course you did. Selina. Is. Missing. I think she might have been kidnapped. I'm going to go look for her."

The phone was silent on the other end. "No, you're not!" Klaus said at last. "You only want to in order to make me look bad. I'm gonna go look for her, so take that! Then she'll love me best!"

Then Elijah heard a loud crash. "What was that?" He asked.

"I fell down," Klaus said. "But don't worry 'bout me. I'm all right now."

"Good," Elijah said. "I want you dressed and sober by the time I get to Stefan and Anna's. Do you understand me?"

"You can't tell me what to do," Klaus said. "I'm gonna go find Selina. You take care of the kids."

"That's not going to happen," Elijah said. "You'll give up in five minutes!"

"No, I won't!" Klaus insisted. "I'm gonna find her, and then I'm gonna-" Elijah hung up. He couldn't listen to any more of Niklaus' absurdities. He stared at the phone for a few minutes, shook his head, and then turned back to Lucy, who was eating Cheerios and watching him curiously. Then, she held out her arms and he picked her up. "Let's get you dressed," he said. "Sam's probably awake now. I have to take the two of you to Aunt Anna and Uncle Stefan's."

"Were you serious when you said that Selina's missing?" Anna asked Elijah as she led him to the living room. "How did that happen?"

"Well," Elijah said, "yesterday evening, Selina and I were...talking and then the doorbell rang. Selina got up to answer it. I stayed in her room to wait for her to come back and a few minutes after she left, I heard a scream. I ran out of her room, but she was gone and the front door was closed."

"So you think she was kidnapped?" Anna asked. "Who would want to kidnap her?"

Elijah shrugged. "I don't know. But I think I might have an idea. Where's Niklaus?"

"He's in one of the rooms upstairs sleeping off what he drank last night, but I don't believe for a second that he could have done anything to her," Anna said. "He didn't leave the house all night. He couldn't have kidnapped Selina and taken her away."

"He might not have done it himself, Anna. But think of all the hybrids he controls," Elijah pointed out. "I wouldn't put it past him to have told one of them to take her and hide her somewhere so he could be with her alone."

"Do you honestly think he could be that shallow?" Anna whispered.

Elijah nodded. "Of course I do. You obviously haven't been around the two of them as much if you don't."

"But they've been together for years," Anna reasoned. "There has to be a part of him that cares about her enough that he wouldn't just take her like that. Did it ever occur to you that this might have absolutely nothing to do with him?"

Elijah just stared straight ahead, his lips in a thin line. "What room is he in?" Elijah asked quietly. "I need to talk to him."

Anna pointed to a room and flinched a little as Elijah kicked down the door and strode inside. Klaus was curled up in a ball on top of the bed and all the sheets and blankets were in a pile on the floor. "Where is she?" Elijah asked, picking him up by his shirt. "What did you do with her? Where did you tell your hybrid minions to hide her?"

Klaus looked at him through bleary eyes. "What?" He asked, blinking. "And you don't have to shout. I am right in front of you."

"Remember what I told you on the phone?" Elijah asked, his lips going back from his teeth. "Selina is missing and I know it was you who took her so the two of you could do whatever perverted thing you had in your head. Now tell me where you put her so I can take her home."

Klaus just stared at him for a second and then burst out laughing. "I don't know where she is," he said. "I told you that. What would make you think that I would know?"

"Oh, so many things," Elijah said, throwing him back down on the bed. "Jealousy for one. You can't stand the thought of her liking someone else, so you're sabotaging her chance to be happy."

"You're calling me selfish?" Klaus said. "You know how men treated her when she was growing up, yet you intend to find her, wherever she is, and drag her back to her apartment. Then what? Lock her in a tower, away from the world, until you say it's safe for her to come out?"

Elijah shook him a little. "No, of course not. I just want to know that she's okay. Who knows what could have been done to her since last night?"

"Well whatever it was," Klaus said, "I had nothing to do with it. I was too busy having fun."

"Well that's painfully obvious," Elijah told him. "Make sure you're aware of yourself before you go anywhere near Lucy."

"Is she here?" Klaus asked, standing up. "Did you bring her?"

Elijah nodded. "I can't very well carry her around while I search for her mother, now can I?"

"Um, guys? Take a look out the window." They looked where Anna was pointing and saw someone that resembled Selina staggering toward the house.

"Oh, my god," Elijah said. He looked out the window a second longer and then sprinted out the front door and ran at Selina, tackling her and sending her sprawling on the grass. "Are you all right?" He asked worriedly. "You're not hurt are you? What happened? Speak to me!"

"I would, but you're cutting off my oxygen," Selina said, coughing.

"Oh, right," Elijah got off her and gave her his hand to pull her up. "Now," he said when she was standing upright. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yes," she nodded and began walking toward the house, a dreamy look in her eyes. "Where's Nicky? I want to see him."

Elijah ran after her and blocked her way into the house. "Why would you want to do that?" He asked. "You hate him!"

"Why would I possibly hate him?" She asked. "He makes me feel so loved."

Elijah scoffed. "No, he doesn't! He opresses you and makes you feel like an object rather than a person. You tell me that all the time."

Selina shook her hair out. "Stand aside and let me in, please. I want to see my husband."

"He didn't even know it was your birthday yesterday!" Elijah said. "Doesn't that make you angry?"

She shrugged. "I don't care. He'll make it up to me. Make-up sex is always the best anyway. Are you going to move or not?"

"No!" He said, looking at her severely. "I am not going to move! I will not stand here and watch you throw away your life."

"How is that your choice?" She asked. "You know, you're beginning to sound as self-absorbed as the idiots I grew up around when I was alive. And I hated all of them."

Elijah heard laughter over his shoulder. "Ouch," Klaus grinned. "That has to hurt, doesn't it, Elijah?"

Elijah tried to hold his ground. "If you don't come home with me, you'll regret it," he said. "You really will. Why are you acting like this?"

"Those friends who came to get me last night?" Selina said, "they took me out for a drink." She grinned at Klaus over Elijah's shoulder and grinned. "I forgot how good you taste," she said to him. "Will you let me have some more?"

Klaus grinned back. "Of course, my love. Any time."

Selina made her way toward Klaus and Elijah pushed her back. "Now you are definitely not going with him," he said. "I remember what happened last time. Don't think I don't."

"What's your point?" Selina asked, looking nonplussed.

"The point is," Elijah said, trying to be patient, "that when you've had a lot of blood and the two of you are together, you do things that you regret later and I want to save you from that."

Selina smirked. "Well, thank you. But I don't think I want to be saved. You can go now."

"I will go," he said quietly. "And you will come with me." He then picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He started to walk away with a screaming, angry Selina gnashing her teeth and pounding on his back with her fists. Then Klaus bounded down the stairs and called out to Elijah. He turned and Klaus punched him in the face. "Put her down," he said.

Elijah shook his head. "I will not."

"You're no better than me, you know," Klaus said. "If I did something like this, you and she both would berate me for being overly macho. What makes it okay for you to do it?"

"It's all in intent," Elijah said. "I am carrying her off because I intend to save her from herself. You would carry her off just so you could rip off her clothes and make love to her like some sort of savage."

"I would not!" Klaus said and punched him back. Pretty soon, Elijah put Selina on the ground and ran at his brother and the two of them began punching, hitting, kicking and rolling around in the grass. Selina watched in amusement for a few seconds before getting up and walking over to them.

"I understand what this is about," she said. "And there's an easy solution that will make everybody happy."

They stopped fighting for a second and looked up at her. "And what is that?" Klaus asked.

"Well it seems to me," Selina said, circling them, "that the problem is you both want me and are having a difficult time deciding who should get me. Now don't get me wrong, I find it extremely barbaric, but we're all mature, sexually experienced people and I see no reason why everyone shouldn't get what they want."

"What are you implying?" Klaus asked.

"I'm just saying that there's no need to fight over me," Selina said. "There's enough of me for everyone, if you're willing to take turns."

Klaus and Elijah both stared at her angrily and shook their heads. "No," Elijah said, picking her up again. "This is no contest. You're coming back with me and nobody is sharing anybody!"

She looked at Klaus over Elijah's shoulder. "How come you're not fighting for me?"

"Oh, I don't need to," Klaus called after her. "You'll be bored of him in a couple of days. I'll come and get you then."

"Fine!" Selina said. Elijah plopped her down in the front seat, belted her in and handcuffed her to the hand grip just inside the door. She eyed it for a moment, then grinned at him. "I didn't realize you were kinky," she said. "This might not be so boring after all."

"That's not what the handcuffs are for," Elijah said, keeping his eyes from her as he got in the car beside her. "They're to make sure you don't get away."

She smirked, stroking his thigh with her foot. "I'm picturing you naked right now, and if you're as studly as I think, I have no intention of going anywhere."

"I have no intention of taking advantage of you when you're vulnerable like this," he said. "This is something that needs to be worked through, not indulged."

"You say that now," Selina said. "But I bet I'll have no trouble changing your mind."

Elijah wanted so badly to close his eyes, but he was driving and that would lead to a crash. Instead, he cleared his throat. "When we get home, you are going to take a shower."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "Will you be in there with me?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I told you. You and I will not be engaging in any foolishness like that. It's not good for you."

"So you're telling me that you won't sleep with me at all?" Selina asked, looking outraged and breaking the handcuffs. "Why'd you even take me away from Nicky then, if nothing good will come out of it? I would have done better to stay back at Stefan and Anna's!" She reached for the door and unlocked it, undoing her seatbelt and preparing to hit the pavement. Elijah hit the brakes and grabbed her wrist so that she didn't go through the windshield, but something on the road caused the car to veer off onto the grass and throw them out.

When they both came back to awareness, Elijah got up and groaned. "My car," he said. "And my suit. These grass stains will take forever to get out!"

Selina rolled over and looked up at him. "If the grass stains on your suit bother you, you can always take it off. I'll help."

"Don't touch me," Elijah said. "We have to figure out what we're going to do now."

Selina began fiddling with his tie. "I know what I want to do now," she said.

"Yes, I know," Elijah snapped. "But now is not a good time."

"You're so cranky," Selina pouted. "And you seem to hate me an awful lot. I don't know why you took me away if you hate me."

Elijah turned to her. "If I hated you, I would have left you right where you were," he said. "I'm doing you a favor."

"What favor would that be?" Selina snapped. "Taking me away from the man who actually gives me affection so I can be with you, who doesn't give me squat?"

"Excuse me?" Elijah said. "I give you plenty! I help you take care of your children, I listen when you talk! And sometimes, in a weak moment, I even..." He trailed off.

"Well, don't make it sound like you're doing me a favor 'cause you aren't," she said. "It seems like you don't enjoy being burdened with all my problems. I can save you the trouble, easily. I'm going to find the nearest hotel and then I'm going to call Anna and Stefan to come and pick me up. Then you won't have to bother with me anymore."

He sighed. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded," he said. "And don't you start acting like this blood high of yours has given you complete and total amnesia. You know I've touched you. You know that you and I have kissed. I haven't been cold to you at all."

"I suppose," she said.

"And you know that I'm right about us delaying gratification until the time is right," he pressed. "If we work hard at it, then the day you come back to your senses, you will feel so much better because you didn't kill anyone or let random men use your body."

She turned. "I won't feel better if no man uses my body," she said. "Why are you punishing me? I'm going through something and a little treat every now and then to acknowledge that I'm working hard would be nice."

Elijah nodded. "And if you work hard and do everything you can to aid in your own recovery, I will acknowledge it accordingly."

Selina's eyes narrowed. "Do you swear?" She asked. "You're not just bullshitting me to get what you want?"

He shook his head. "I don't do that. That's Niklaus' modus operandi."

She looked up at him and grinned. "Latin. How fancy." She sighed and began pacing. "So what are we going to do now that your car crashed?" She asked. "We're not going to stay out here forever?"

"Of course not," Elijah told her. "We'll find a way out of here."

Selina watched the road and waited until a car came. Then she waved and flagged it down. The drivers, two men with graying hair and wearing plaid shirts and baseball caps, stopped and rolled down their windows. "What can we do for you?" The driver asked.

"We had a little accident," Selina said. "We ran off the road trying to avoid hitting a deer. Foolish, I know, but I have always loved animals. Now our car is completely wrecked. Could you drive us to the nearest hotel?"

"Of course," the driver said. "You two go on ahead and hop in the back."

Muttering thanks, Selina and Elijah got into the backseat of the car. "It's such a shame this had to happen," Selina said as the driver started up the engine. "Not really a good start to our honeymoon."

"So you two are newlyweds, then?" The man in the passenger turned and smiled at them. "Congratulations."

Selina grinned back. "Thank you. We're very happy ourselves."

They drove along in silence for a little while, and when they stopped at the end of a traffic jam, Selina began to fidget.

"Sit still," Elijah said through his teeth.

Selina scoffed. "And who are you? My mother?" Suddenly, she sprang forward and chomped on the driver's neck, sucking greedily, and then letting him flop bonelessly back against the seat. Then, before Elijah could grab her, she sprang again and went for the other man and drained him too. Then, she turned around, grinning with satisfaction and wiped her mouth with a napkin in the cupholder that was already stained with ketchup.

"What?" She said when she turned back and saw Elijah's disapproving face. "I was hungry. I haven't eaten since last night."

"That doesn't mean you can just kill anyone you want," Elijah said.

"Yes it does," Selina nodded. "Don't be such a stick in the mud. And think about this: now we have a car and can drive to the hotel ourselves!"

"We're not going to any hotel," Elijah said. "We're going home. To your apartment."

She shrugged. "Tomayto, tomahto. There are beds at either place, I don't really mind where we do it."

"We aren't doing anything," Elijah said. "How many times do I have to say that?"

She grinned and pushed him against the window, unbuttoning his shirt and running her red-polished fingers over his abs. "Until you start believing it," she whispered and purred.

He was breathing heavily now. "You aren't seriously suggesting we get physical now? There are two corpses in the front seats!"

She started kissing his neck. "That doesn't bother me. Does it bother you?"

"Obviously!" He said, pushing her away and redoing the buttons on his shirt. "Now we have to bury the bodies! Move them to the back and we'll sit in the front and we'll drive out to the woods and bury them and then go home!"

Selina rolled her eyes and leaned forward. "Fine!" she said, moving the bodies to the trunk and then sitting in the passenger's seat. "Would you like to drive?"

"Yes," he said, climbing over to sit next to her and wincing at the huge coffee stain on the silver upholstry of his seat. "I will drive and you will sit. It's really not that difficult."

"Fine," Selina said. "I get it. You don't have to nag."

Elijah kept his eyes on the road as they drove around looking for some area to bury the bodies in. "I don't see any woods," Selina said. "Maybe we could try a lake. A nice lake that has families picnicking and fishing and..."

"You're not eating any more," Elijah said. "You've already had way more than is good for you."

"You don't know that," Selina said. "I could be just fine!"

Elijah shook his head. "I don't think so. Now are you looking out the window?"

"Yes," Selina said. "I'm looking out the window. Chill out, would you?"

They managed to find a lake nearby and drop the bodies in it when they were sure nobody was looking. Then they got back in the car and Selina grinned. "So, home now?"

"I believe I have another idea," Elijah said. "What we need to do now is bring you back to yourself. Remind you who you are because you've clearly forgotten."

"Oh, yeah?" Selina asked, looking intrigued. "How do you suggest we do that?"

When they stopped at the next stoplight, Elijah said, "I have to make a phone call. Would you watch the light?"

Selina nodded and kept her eyes on the light while Elijah dialed a number. "Damon, it's Elijah," he said. "Selina's had a little accident. Well, not a little accident. A really big accident and I need your help. Can she come and stay with you and Sam for a little while while I go and pick up Lucy from Anna and Stefan's? No, she can't stay at home by herself. She has to be watched every second. You'll see why when I bring her by. It should be painfully obvious to you." He paused. "Thank you," he said. "She and I will be at your house in a few minutes."

"We're going to Damon's house?" Selina asked. "Oh, goody. I didn't think you'd let me go to Damon's house."

"I don't want to," Elijah said dryly. "But it seems like every place I can take you has some sort of temptation. Damon is just the lesser of the evils." He started the car again and they continued driving until they reached Damon's place. Elijah led Selina up the front steps, knocked and then waited.

"Hi," Damon said when he answered the door. "Wanna come in?"

They came inside and went to the living room where they found Sam on the floor with another baby and a young woman with rosy cheeks and short brown hair. She turned around and grinned at them. "Hi," she said. "I'm Wendy. Who are you?"

"Wendy, this is Sam's mom, Selina," Damon said. Wendy wiped her hands on her jeans and grinned. "Nice to meet you," she said. "Damon hasn't talked about you much during group, so we've all been curious. Can you stay for a snack or something so we can get to know each other?"

"Actually," Elijah said, "Now's not a good time."

"No..." Damon shook his head. "Selina's got a little alcohol problem and she's just had a relapse, so would you mind taking Sam and Allison to your place while we deal with it?"

"Oh, of course," Wendy nodded. "Whatever you need. Take your time too. This needs to be taken care of." She picked up the babies and left the house.

"All right," Damon said, turning to Elijah. "What's going on?"

"Apparently, Selina has ingested a large amount of Niklaus' blood and when she does that, it makes her worse than Stefan and Anna," Elijah said. "Now I'm working on getting her back to herself and I thought a good start would be to remind her of who she is. Could you do that?"

"Of course," Damon nodded.

"Good," Elijah said. "Now I'm going to go pick up Lucy from Stefan and Anna's and try and distract her from the fact that her mother is gone and won't be coming back for awhile." He paused and looked at Selina's innocent face, then took Damon off into a corner. "Be on your guard with her," Elijah whispered. "She might seem sweet and innocent, but right now, she's a fiend. She will do anything to get you into bed. Do not, under any circumstances, give into her. That's not what she needs right now."

"Oh, right," Damon nodded. "Of course, I understand. Don't let her get me into bed. That won't happen, I promise."

Elijah gave him a severe look. "I hope it doesn't," he said. "Because you'd only be hurting her progress. Getting into bed with her now would delay her recovery time greatly."

"All right, I get it." Damon nodded. "Don't get into bed with her no matter what she does."

Elijah nodded and then slowly made his way toward the door of the house, keeping his eye on Damon the whole time. Then, with one last suspicious glance, he slammed the door shut behind him. Then Selina ran towards Damon with a big grin on her face and threw her arms around him, pushing him down on the floor and falling on top of him.

"I'm so glad he's gone!" She said. "Now we can have some fun!"

Damon shook his head and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away from him. "We're not going to do this," he said. "I told Elijah that I wouldn't and I'm going to stick to that."

"Oh, come on!" Selina said, pouting as he got up off the floor. "You never do what people tell you to. It's pretty sucky for you to start now."

Damon shook his head. "It's the perfect time for me to start. You've gone on for years about how I wasn't there for you when I was supposed to be when we were alive and I really let you down, and you've been right. This is another chance for me and I'm not going to screw it up. I care about you too much to let you wreck yourself. I want you to get better. Don't you want to get better?"

"I could take it or leave it," Selina said. "I wouldn't say I'm unhappy."

Damon sighed. "That's it. I'm calling your mother. And your uncle Jake."

"No!" Selina said, running to the phone and trying to keep it out of his grasp. "Don't do that! If you don't, I'll give you a present."

Damon kept his eyes on her. "The only present I want from you is to see you get better and be the same wonderful person you've always been. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some calls to make."

"But why does it have to be my mom?" Selina whined. "I hate my mom!"

"Fine," Damon said. "I'll just call your uncle Jake, then. You like him, right?"

Selina nodded. "I guess." She sat down on the sofa looking moody and Damon dialed Jake's number.

"What's going on?" Jake asked.

"I have Selina here. She's had a little too much blood all at once and it makes her nuts," Damon said. "Could you come over and have a look at her?"

Jake cleared his throat. "I'm not as full of vampire knowledge as I am werewolf knowledge, but I'll give it a shot."

Damon nodded. "Thanks."

He hung up the phone and sat next to Selina, who reached her hand out toward his leg. He gently moved it away. "Your uncle will be here soon to have a look at you," he said.

"I don't know why you called him," Selina said. "This 'problem' if you can call it that, has more to do with my vampire side than my werewolf side, so he won't be able to help at all."

"You don't know that," Damon said. "He might be able to help a lot. And be nice when he gets here, okay?"

Selina rolled her eyes. "I don't see why I should. Nobody's being very nice to me."

"It's good you called me," Jake said when he strode in the door.

"Well, I didn't know what else to do," Damon said. "I mean, I thought about calling her mom, but she doesn't really like her mom and what's the point of a treatment if the person being treated won't go along with it, right?"

Jake nodded. "No kidding." He turned around and looked at Selina. "How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I'm good," Selina said. "I don't know what all the fuss is about."

"You aren't good," Damon said. "If I'd have let you, you would have downed seven or eight blood bags in one sitting."

"Is that bad?" Jake asked.

"Well it's not good," Damon said. "She could lose control of herself if she has that much. And from what I've heard, she's already started to."

Selina shrugged. "So I killed a couple of humans a few hours ago. Big whoop, who cares? Nobody will miss them."

"Their families will," Jake said. "Selina, listen to yourself. You're talking about killing people and I don't think you regret it a bit."

"I don't," Selina said. "Why should I have to be cautious and bow to people's whims and laws when I'm stronger than them anyway?"

"Because, um..." Damon looked questioningly at Jake. "You wanna field that one?"

"Because you're a good person," Jake said. "And you've always been a good person. In spite of all the misery you've been through in your life, in spite of having all the cards stacked against you, you've remained sweet and loveable. I like that about you, and so does everyone else that knows you."

Selina stood up and scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. Put it on a Hallmark card, would you?"

Damon and Jake looked at one another. Then Jake tried again. "This isn't you," he said. "All this that you're feeling, the anger, the discomfort, the rebelliousness, that's the blood talking. If you hadn't had that, then you'd still be completely normal...well, for a vampire-werewolf-hybrid, that is."

"You're not helping," Selina said. "What do you want from me anyway?"

"I want you to realize that how you're acting now isn't you and that if you don't shape up, something bad will happen!"

Selina burst out laughing. "Uncle Jake, you're so silly! Nothing bad is going to happen. This will pass like it always does, and until then, I will just have to live my life."

Jake frowned. "You mean you're just going to wait around for something bad to happen and hope that will snap you out of whatever is going on?"

Selina put her hands on her hips. "Do you have a better solution?"

Jake sighed and pushed his hair back. "Well, based on how futile our efforts have been so far, I'd say no. But I really wish you wouldn't just wait for something to happen. It could really mess you up."

"Just how bad of a thing do you think will happen?" Selina asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Jake told her. "It could come from either one of your sides. I'm most worried about your werewolf side, though. Don't you have a little girl?"

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "Lucy. She's very sweet. Why?"

Jake looked worriedly at Damon. "Well, if a female in what we will call 'full-on werewolf mode' feels she has competition from her daughter for a male she likes, bad things could happen to the little girl." He paused. "How well do she and Lucy get along?"

"Very well," Damon said. "They're very close. I'm sure that if Selina realized Lucy was hurt and that she was responsible, it would be very damaging to her."

Selina shook her head. "I'm sure that the welfare of some rugrat won't be a worry to me. I don't care."

"Well, then obviously you're beyond caring for now," Jake said. "I guess I'll just let something bad happen and maybe it would be good experience for you to live with the guilt!"

"Well maybe it will, assuming I have any at all, which I might not. Mom never let me make my own mistakes. She was always policing my entire life like I was a criminal or something!"

"It was because she was worried for you and didn't want to see you get hurt!" Jake said. He was rubbing his temples now. "She had your best interests at heart."

"You know, I hate it when people use that as an excuse. What's in the best interest of one person might not be in the best interest of another and I think it's stupid, foolish and mean for one person to foist their beliefs on other people!"

"Well, when you're too young to know what to believe, parental guidance can be a good tool," Jake said cautiously. "I'm not denying that she should have given you more leeway to make your own decisions in your later years, but everyone has to start somewhere."

"Well then, why did I always believe she was wrong?" Selina asked. "Tell me that!"

Jake shrugged. "I don't know! Don't ask me to go inside your mind and tell you how it works! Can you even do that?"

"No!" Selina said. "I don't know!" She looked angrily at Damon. "When did Elijah say he was coming back? I'm bored!"

"He'll come back when he comes back," Damon said. "Just be patient."

Selina rolled her eyes. "I bet he's lollygagging just to make me miserable."

"So you're back," Anna said. "What for?"

"I came back for Lucy," Elijah said. "I want to bring her home. It might help bring Selina back to herself to have Lucy around."

"I wouldn't bet on that, brother. It might just make things worse."

"How so?" Elijah asked.

Klaus made another drink and gave Elijah a grin. "You don't know much about werewolves and their temperaments, do you? There's a reason why I like Selina when she's this way. She's attached to me. Very attached to me. Or possibly in this case, you. If you were to bring Lucy into the same house as her and show Lucy affection that you aren't showing Selina, Selina will get jealous, and she just might take that jealousy out on Lucy and I won't have a little daughter anymore. That would make me very unhappy. And you know what I do to people who make me unhappy."

"You're making that up," Elijah said. "Selina would never try and hurt Lucy, no matter how messed up she was."

"Would you like me to introduce you to Roxanne's friend Charlotte?" Klaus asked. "She could tell you a story that would make your blood go cold."

"She obviously wasn't killed by her mother," Elijah said. "Otherwise she wouldn't be around to tell the story."

"But she was badly injured," Klaus said, getting right up in Elijah's face. "And after her mother had realized what she'd done, she was so tortured by guilt that she went crazy and started drinking. Now she lives on the street. No pack will take her. She's all alone. Do you really want that to happen to Selina?"

"I still think you're bluffing," Elijah said.

"I admit that I could be exaggerating a bit," Klaus conceded. "I really don't know for sure. The difference between Charlotte's mother and Selina is that Selina isn't a full werewolf- she only had one werewolf parent instead of two, like Charlotte's mother. But something terrible could still happen if you put Lucy and Selina in the same house. And is that a risk you're willing to take?"

"Of course not!" Elijah snapped. "What kind of a fool do you take me for?"

"I'm not saying you're a fool," Klaus said. "But you are ignorant of this situation. Do you admit that?"

"I don't know as much as I could, but I do know that I won't allow Lucy to be hurt. I love her just as much as you do and if you say that Selina poses a threat to her safety, then we need to get her somewhere where Selina won't be able to hurt her," Elijah said. "And I think I know the place."

"You want what?" Damon asked, staring at Elijah, who stood outside the door of his house holding Lucy.

"I would like it if you would watch Lucy until we get this situation with Selina figured out. I assumed that wouldn't be a problem for you, but if it is..."

"No, no," Damon shook his head. "I can do it. Come in."

Elijah nodded and stepped inside. "Thank you. It's a relief, you taking her in."

"Why?" Damon asked. "Is Selina getting worse? I've seen her when she's in moods like this. One time she gave Stefan a good knock upside the head and he was out cold for a couple of days."

"Well, she's killed two people so far, I don't know if I told you that. And I don't know what you talked about when I left Selina here, but..."

"He called my uncle," Selina said, "you know, the werewolf encyclopedia? They were saying all this crap about how everything that I'm doing now is the blood talking, not really me and that I'm a good person and...it was just gross. So what are we talking about?"

Elijah cleared his throat. "We're not talking about anything. I'm just leaving Lucy here and you are coming back with me."

"Why are you leaving Lucy here?" Selina asked. "Why can't she come home with us?"

"Because Niklaus told me that there was a chance you might hurt her in the state that you're in," Elijah said. "And you and I both know you don't want that to happen, so we're going to keep her away from you until you're back to your old self."

"Hold the phone," Selina said. "Nicky told you that I could hurt Lucy and you listened to him? You know that jackass would say anything just to make me look bad! How could you not question it?"

"He seemed serious," Elijah said.

"And Lucy is the same person about whom you said, and I quote, 'I'm sure the welfare of some little rugrat won't worry me. I don't care'." Damon said. "I don't see why you care so much now."

"Probably because she doesn't like hearing that Niklaus was right about something," Elijah said. "Right now, Lucy isn't a little girl in her eyes, but a pawn to be used against Niklaus so she can say she won something." He frowned at her. "I think that's just sickening."

"Yeah, well, whatever," Selina said. "If you're going to give her over, then give her over and let's go."

Elijah handed Lucy to Damon. "Watch out for her, all right?" He asked.

Damon nodded. "I will." He nodded at Selina. "You watch out for her."

Elijah took Damon's hand firmly for a moment, then let it go and turned away, going down the steps and watching as the door to the house closed behind him.

"Are you coming?" Selina called impatiently. "If you don't hurry up, I'm going to drive home without you."

"No, you aren't." Elijah grinned as he jingled the key ring over his head. "I have the keys."

Selina scrunched up her nose. "Well, aren't you special?"

He smirked. "Well of course." He sobered. "Get in the car and put your seatbelt on."

"You know," Selina said as she buckled herself in, "my mama always told me to say 'please' when you ask somebody to do something."

"Well, I'm not asking you a favor," Elijah snapped. "This is something that will stop you from being hurt. It's not optional."

Selina giggled. "Well, that's cute. Considering I'm a vampire and a little car crash won't do anything permanent to me whatsoever."

"Maybe I don't want to get pulled over, then," Elijah said. "I've seen signs around that say wearing a seatbelt is a law. We'll be wasting time if we have to speak to police officers."

"We don't have to speak to them," Selina said as she straightened out her hair in the reflection of the window. "I could always kill any you find irritating. We could be a good team that way."

"You can't go around killing anyone you want just because they make you unhappy," Elijah said. "It's not right."

"It might not be right," Selina said devilishly. "But it's fun."

"There's no talking to you, is there?" Elijah asked.

"Not really," Selina said, putting dark red lipstick on. "I don't know why you keep trying. I would have thought you'd give up by now."

"I am," Elijah said. "At least for the moment. We're going to sit here quietly and not say a word until we get back to your apartment. And put your seatbelt on."

"I'd rather take a chance with a police officer," Selina told him.

When they reached the apartment, the message light on Selina's answering machine was blinking. "I wonder who that is?" She said. She pressed the button and a voice began talking.

"Hello, Selina. It's David. I know we didn't do much for your birthday, so I was wondering if you'd want to go out for dinner to celebrate what we didn't get to. You name the place. Love you."

"Well, isn't that sweet?" Selina said. "If I asked him, do you think he'd buy me something?" She paused and put a hand on her hip as she looked amused at Elijah, who was bristling. "What's the matter with you, Handsome?"

"Oh, nothing," Elijah said and strode over to the machine and pressed the delete button.

"Hey!" Selina cried out. "What did you do that for? I might have wanted to listen to it again!"

"Why?" Elijah asked. "You've already heard everything and it's not a long message. If you want to know what it said, you can ask me."

"Well, that defeats the whole purpose of the message," Selina said. "My boyfriend wants to take me out to a birthday dinner. And he told me he loved me. That would mean nothing coming from you if you were just repeating it since he said it." She strode over to him. "Now if you were to say it because you really meant it...that would be a different matter entirely..." she grinned. "Are you going to say it?"

"Well not now," he said. "You just told me that it wouldn't mean anything because David already said it."

"No, what I said was that it wouldn't mean anything if you repeated his message from the answering machine cause those are his words not yours. It's completely different," Selina said. "If you were to say it, I would totally be okay with that."

"I think I'll wait," Elijah said. "I wouldn't want to steal David's thunder, because as you pointed out, he is your boyfriend." He grinned at her. "And what am I, really?"

Selina narrowed her eyes. "You-you-"

He put a hand on her shoulder and nibbled her ear a little. She breathed in sharply and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out except for some grunts. "I'm going to go watch some television now," Elijah said softly, running his hand gently over her neck. "I'll leave you to do what you will." He took his hand away. "You have a good day."

He strode away and Selina let out her breath and watched his butt until it disappeared into the hallway. Then she growled. He just couldn't let her have a moment, could he?

Elijah shut the door to Lucy's room and laughed to himself. The look on her face had been priceless. Granted, it probably hadn't been the best idea to to tease her in her current state, but he couldn't have just let the opportunity pass by this once.

He looked around the pink painted room with the pastel rocking horse under the window and sat down in the chair next to the crib, pulling out his phone. He actually had more important things to do than watching television. He just couldn't tell Selina what they were.

First, he dialed Anna.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I need my papers back," he said. "The ones you took from my desk. I know you did."

"You mean the nice little stories of David's?" She asked. "Those papers?"

"Yes, those papers!" Elijah said shortly. "Bring them to Selina's apartment, please."

"Does David want them back?" Anna asked. "Cause I haven't finished all of them. I just met that Ted character. He doesn't really die when he falls down the stairs, does he?"

"You read them?" Elijah asked, shocked. "How could you read them? Those were private!"

"Why are you so worked up about me reading something David wrote?" Anna asked. "Could it be because he didn't write them at all and you did?"

"How did you know?" Elijah asked.

"Oh, please," Anna said, laughing. "You're so transparent, Elijah. Anyone can tell that the characters in the story are you, Selina and Nick."

"Yes, well, can I have them back, please?" Elijah asked again.

"Why?" Anna asked. "Are you going to write another one?"

"Yes, all right?" Elijah said. "I'm going to write another one. So bring them back, please!" After he hung up, he raced to the living room and waited by the door. He couldn't take any chance of the papers being intercepted.

"What are you waiting for?" Selina asked. "I thought you were gonna go watch television."

"Anna's coming by with something for me that I'm really eager to get," he said.

"You must be," Selina said. "I could have gotten it and brought it to you. You didn't have to come and stand out here. This must really be some thing Anna's got."

"It is," Elijah told her. "It is."

"It's about time!" Elijah said when Anna arrived. "What took you so long?"

"I was finishing the last bit," Anna said. "And I read the others over again several times. That's why it took me so long to get here."

"What did you read?" Selina asked her. "What is it?"

"Just the stories," Anna said to her meaningfully. "Elijah means to write another one."

Selina's eyes widened. "The stories? The ones where he makes me out to be all trampy?"

Elijah looked up. "You've read them too? All of them?"

"Well not all of them," she said. "But I've read enough." She put a hand under his chin and made him look into her eyes. "Why write a fantasy when I can give you reality right now?"

Anna looked back and forth between them, at Selina's smoldering look and Elijah's eyes begging her not to leave. "I think I'll be going now," she said, putting the papers down on the floor. "You kids have fun."

"No, Anna! Don't!" The door started to close. Elijah made a lunge for it, but by the time he reached it, it had clicked shut. He had no choice but to turn back and face Selina. "So," he said, trying to keep calm, "what is it that you had in mind?"

"Just a little shower," she said, grinning widely. "Nothing too strenuous. Yet."

"All right," he grinned. "Let's go. I'll let you lead the way."

She led him to the bathroom and he told her to get undressed while he turned the water on and undressed himself. He turned the temperature all the way to ice cold and waited for her to come sauntering in. He held the shower door open for her, grinning. "Ladies first," he said. She grinned. "Well thank you." He waited for her to step in, but she wasted a lot of time just staring at him. Finally, he decided to take matters into his own hands and picked her up and placed her in the shower, shutting the shower door on her ear-splitting shriek. While she screamed, he put his pants on, and then pulled her out.

"Hope that cooled you off," he said.

"That water was cold," she said. She was shivering and there were goosebumps all over her body. Her nipples were taut and erect. He did his best to keep his eyes on her face, but he couldn't help it when they drifted downward.

"Towel...please..." She said, rubbing her stomach and torso to get blood flowing again. Finally, he was able to look away from her and give her a towel to wrap herself up in.

"Thank you," she said, glaring at him. "Although I really shouldn't thank you, since it's your fault I'm cold in the first place."

Elijah grabbed a pair of jeans, a sweater and some socks and threw them at her. "Put those on," he ordered her.

She looked down at the pile of clothes on the floor. "What? You're not gonna pick out my underwear too?" A few seconds later, a pair of plain white cotton panties and a white bra joined the pile. Rolling her eyes, she dressed and left the bathroom to dry her hair. When that was done, she left the bedroom and joined Elijah in the living room.

"So what now?" She asked. "Are you going to write that story? Or are you going to irritate me some more?"

"Well, I don't know," Elijah told her. "That's really up to you. Maybe you should call David and tell him that you accept his invitation to dinner. That would be polite."

She stood up. "You're right, it would be. I'll go do that. Thanks." She went and picked up the phone and dialed. David answered right away.

"So you did get my message," he said. "Good! So what do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea," she said. "But I don't want to go any place too fancy. I just want to have fun." She paused. "I would love to go there! I haven't been out dancing in awhile. No, I've never been mini-golfing. Will you teach me? Great!" She paused and leaned out of the kitchen, catching Elijah's eye, and then, grinning, said, "and David...I love you too." Then she hung up and went back into the living room, looking smug while Elijah spat out tomato juice all over his dress slacks.

"Why tomato juice?" She asked.

"I got rid of the wine," he said. "You don't need any more temptation in this house than you have already and this is the healthiest thing I could find. Not very good though, is it?"

Selina shook her head. "No, mostly I just use it to get rid of my hangovers. I don't drink it for fun. I'll go get water so you can dab the stain out of your pants. Then, I have to go...do...something."

"And what is that, exactly?" He asked. "Nothing bad, I hope."

Selina shook her head. "Please. I've already eaten enough today. I just want to go visit Sam."

"I don't know if you should," Elijah said.

"Why not?" Selina asked. "He's my kid too."

"Well, if you want to see him, we could always bring him over here so that the two of you can visit."

"Or I could just go and see him at Damon's," Selina said. "Why don't you want me to go to Damon's?"

"Because Lucy is there," Elijah said. "And I put her there for a reason. If it was safe for you to be around her now, I would have kept her here."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Selina said. "The only way it would be is if I was around Nicky. Damon's not my mate, Nicky is. And I won't get jealous because I'll be paying attention to Sam and there is no jealousy issue with him, okay?"

"I don't really feel right about this," Elijah said.

"Well, that's 'cause you don't know a heck of a whole lot about it, do you?" Selina said.

Elijah sighed. "Fine. But I'll be waiting by the phone and if feel so much as a twinge of jealousy toward Lucy, you are going to call me and I'll come pick you up. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, okay, fine. I'll do that." Selina said, holding up her hands and backing away from him. "Geez, you really have trust issues, don't you?"

"Oh, god," Damon said when he opened the door and saw Selina on the other side. "It's you."

"What's wrong?" Selina asked. "I just came here to see Sam."

"I don't know about that," Damon said. "Hold on." He retreated into the house, came back with a few blood bags and threw them at her. "Here," he said. "Take them. Enjoy. You have a good day now."

"No," Selina stuck her foot in the door. "I didn't come because I needed to eat," she said. "I came to see Sam. And I swear he's not in any danger from me. You can keep Lucy occupied while we visit."

"You just want to see Sam," Damon repeated. "You don't want to hurt Lucy?"

Selina shook her head. "No. As I told Elijah, things would only be bad for Lucy if Nicky and I were still together and he was paying more attention to her. You and her on the other hand, cause no problem 'cause I don't like you that way."

"How flattering and good to know," Damon said.

"So do I get to come in, or not?" Selina asked. She was starting to get impatient.

"Fine," Damon said. "You can come in and see Sam. But I will be watching you."

"I promised Elijah I'd call him if I felt the slightest twinge of jealousy," Selina said. "And I will. Happy?"

"I suppose," Damon said. "And you're not going to leave, are you? Which gives me no choice but to let you in."

Selina stepped inside. "It's good that you're finally seeing reason."

Things went a lot better than Damon could have hoped. Selina stayed until late and made spaghetti for dinner, ordering everyone out so she could concentrate.

"Is this because of me?" Damon said as she pushed him out. "What did I do?"

"You were coming up behind me and smelling me," she said. "You aren't allowed to do that!"

Just then, Sam came sauntering in and opened one of the cabinets, sending pots and pans tumbling to the floor. He began hitting an overturned pot with one of his little fists but it barely made any noise. Selina watched him and then handed him a wooden spoon out of one of the drawers. "Here, Sammy," she said. "Hit it with that!" This time, the pot made a much louder noise, causing Sam to grin. Selina took the spaghetti sauce pot off the stove and then got down on her knees and grabbed a pot and spoon of her own. "We can start a band now," she said, grinning at Sam and ruffling his hair. He giggled.

Just then, Lucy came in and got down to play with them. Sam took his spoon and hit her lightly on the head a few times. Her lip trembled and she started to cry.

"No, no, Sammy," Damon said, taking the spoon away gently. "Your sister isn't a drum. And you never hit girls."

He took Lucy in his arms and looked hesitantly at Selina before carrying her out of the kitchen. Selina watched them go and sighed. "Wanna see another trick, Sammy?" She got five wine glasses out of the cupboard and filled them with water, running her fingers around the rim of each. The first time, they emitted a high pitched ringing that caused both Sam and Selina to wince. Then, Selina drank a little from each of the glasses and the tone became more pleasing to the ear. Then she played Sam "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and he burst into applause when she was done before taking one of the wine glasses and dumping its contents all over her blouse. Not thrown off for a minute, she grabbed another one of the glasses and dumped the water over Sam's head.

He giggled and they began throwing water all over each other until they were both soaked. Then Selina stood up and left the kitchen, shaking water off herself and Sam. "We're going to go change real quick," she said to Damon, who was still cradling a tearful Lucy in front of the television. "If you want to start eating without us, go ahead."

"All right," Damon nodded. "You still have some clothes here. Don't worry."

"Doesn't that make your girlfriend suspicious?" Selina asked.

"No," Damon shook his head. "I told the truth about it and Wendy didn't seem to mind."

"Well she might now that she thinks I'm a drunk," Selina said.

"What were we supposed to tell her?" Damon asked. "We couldn't tell her the truth."

"So you haven't told her the truth about yourself yet?" Selina asked.

Damon shook his head. "Not yet, but I will."

Selina watched him cuddle Lucy to himself and then she closed her eyes and an image of him naked flashed before her. Then it expanded and changed to show a room. It was her room. At his house. Back in 1864. He was about to ship off. They didn't have much time...

"How long until you ship off?" Selina gave Damon a desperate look. She squeezed his hand tightly.

"Not long," he said. He was wearing his uniform and he'd never looked more handsome. Well, except for the hat.

"Could you take off your hat please?" She asked. "I want to feel your hair." He obliged and removed his cap, and she ruffled his hair until it was very messy. Then she hugged him tight. She didn't want to let him go.

"I don't see why you have to go at all," she said. "We have enough men in uniform and they'll be able to get more if a several die. I can't say the same thing. I can't just get a new husband if you die."

"What do you mean 'if'?" He asked. "I probably will. If not from being shot dead then there are thousands of other ways to die. I could catch some horrible disease and-"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Selina said, putting her hands over her ears. "I don't want to hear any more! I have half a mind to march into your father's study and tell him that there's not a chance in hell you're fighting this war, and that he should think of people other than himself and his stupid image. I've already lost my father on the battlefield. I don't want to lose anybody else."

Damon leaned in close to her. "I don't know if I told you yet," he said. "But I'm not staying in the army."

"What?" Selina asked. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm going to leave early," Damon said. "I'll go for a few months to make Father think I've done what he asked, and then I'll come back home to you and stay for good. It won't be as long as you think. What could happen between now and then?"

She sniffled. "But...in case something does happen before then, could I ask you a favor? I feel so silly and my mother would probably take a hairbrush to my bottom if she knew I even brought it up, but...when my father left for his war, my mother had me to remember him by. Do you suppose if you and I...if we, um..." She looked down at the floor, a deep rose blush coloring her cheeks. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.

"If we what?" Damon asked quietly.

She looked up at him. "You know what I'm asking," she said. "I know you do. You've probably had the same experience with other girls before. And you know I wouldn't ask since we aren't married, but I won't deny that the odds of you coming back are very slim and I wouldn't want you to die before you knew how much I love you. I want to give myself to you as proof that I'm worthy of wearing your ring and sharing your life, should you not die on the battlefield and instead come safely home to me."

He looked at her in surprise. "Are you certain?" He asked.

She didn't hesitate this time. "Yes," she nodded. "I am. Help me remove my clothes before I lose my nerve." She waited, but felt nothing. She turned around and looked at him. He was still looking at her in amazement, like he was looking at an angel come down from heaven instead of a woman of flesh and blood.

With shaking hands, she removed his cap from his head and placed it on her dressing table, then, one by one, she unbuttoned the buttons on his coat and hung it on the chair.

"Turn around," he said. She faced the mirror of her dressing table and shut her eyes as she felt his warm fingers free the buttons from their loops on the back of her dress, then proceed to remove her layers of petticoats and underdresses. When he freed her from her corset and threw that aside, she let out a gasp, then turned around to face him. "What now?" She asked.

He walked to the bed and pulled the covers aside. "Get in," he said quietly. She nodded and climbed up. Then he climbed in after her and gently ran his fingers over her bare skin. Then, he leaned down toward her, meaning to kiss her neck, but he pulled back when she flinched.

"Have I hurt you?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, but for some reason, I thought you were going to bite me. Silly, isn't it?"

He smirked. "I don't need to ask what's put ideas like that into your head: it's Father and his ridiculous stories about vampires."

She looked at him, wide-eyed. "Do you really think they're silly?" She asked. "What if there's some truth to what your father is saying?"

He put a finger over her lips. "Let's not talk about this anymore," he said.

She nodded. "Of course not. Would you kiss me instead?"

He smiled. "With pleasure."

They'd made love for the first time that day, not knowing that afterward, things would never be the same.

"It was her fault," Selina said through her teeth. "She ruined everything! If Katherine had just had the courtesy to leave us be then we could have lived our lives and died and I wouldn't be a miserable, stressed out, man-using wreck!" She kicked the foot stool of the sofa across the living room, threw a lamp to the floor, which messed with the electricity so bad the lights went down to half power. Disturbed, Lucy wriggled in Damon's arms and started to cry. "It's all right," Damon said. "Don't worry, Lucy. Everything will be okay."

He put her down on the sofa and went to confront Selina, who was ripping up the cushions of the sofa and throwing the leftover ribbons everywhere. Damon put his hand on her arm to try and restrain her, but she pushed him hard to the floor, and as he started to get up, a cry got trapped in his throat as he heard the cracking of bones that meant she was about to transform. He knew what that meant. He knew that she had a mind to kill and that any attempt to stop her would only get him hurt. But he didn't care. He had to do what he could to protect the kids, so that she wouldn't feel worse when she came back to herself. When she was fully transformed, she made her way toward Lucy on the sofa, growling and drooling, her dark fur sleek and shiny, and her eyes locked on her prey. Damon tried to get her away from the sofa, but she knocked him against the brick of the fireplace and fell to the ground, stunned. As he struggled to get up, he watched in horror as Selina the wolf snapped her jaws in the direction of a sobbing, screaming Lucy, sinking her teeth into Lucy's arm. Lucy's cry gave Damon enough strength to get up, grab a gun that he kept in a cabinet near the fireplace, and shoot it at Selina. Three of the bullets hit her, and although the shots weren't fatal, they wounded her and got her away from Lucy long enough to allow Damon to get Lucy off the sofa and in her room. When he returned, Selina had limped to the kitchen, where Sam sat, clutching the wooden spoon in one of his tiny fists and not moving a muscle.

"Sam!" He called, "That's a drum! Go ahead and hit it!" Sam gave the wolf a couple of hard smacks with the wooden spoon. She growled but when she looked up at Sam, instead of snapping at him, like Damon thought she was going to, she leaned forward and nuzzled his middle with her nose instead. He giggled, but when Selina reared back, Damon rushed her and gave her a hard shove, getting her away from Sam. Growling, she gave chase and was just about to pounce on him when he dove out of the way and sent her flying headfirst into the fireplace. After the impact, she lay crumpled and bleeding on the floor, her body slowly and painfully shifting back to human.

Damon picked up Lucy with one arm, and fed her some of his blood because he wasn't sure how well she could heal on her own at this point, then sighed in relief as she healed right up. Then, after looking at Selina's bruised, bleeding body and listening to her sob, he covered her with a blanket, and called Elijah, telling him to come to the house right away.

They weren't the only ones having a bad night. Although it was the evening of Tony and Charlie's wedding, things weren't exactly going smoothly.

"I didn't mean to wake up so late!" Roxie said as she and Vince ran into the hotel where the wedding was being held and looked frantically for Charlie and Tony's dressing rooms.

"Well, you did!" Vince said. "I told you not to drink that much at the bachelorette party, but did you listen to me? No. Why should you have to listen to me? I only know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Oh, shut up and stop being so negative!" Roxie snapped, groaning because one of the lavender shoes that had been dyed to match her dress had lost a heel. "Let's just think of this as a learning experience, okay?"

"There you are!" Charlie cried, running toward them. She was wearing a bathrobe, half her hair was in curlers, and she had mascara running down her face. "Thanks for showing up! I wondered if you ever would!"

"You could have asked your mom to help you!" Roxie said. "She's here, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but, of course, she's drunk out of her mind!"

I could help with that," Roxie said.

"What about my make-up and my hair and my dress?" Charlie asked. "I'm practically naked here!"

"Okay," Vince said. "Everybody take a deep breath and here is what we'll do: have Adrian and Tessa shown up?"

"Yeah," Charlie said. "They have."

"Good," Vince said. "Go find them and ask Tessa to help you get ready. Roxie and I will deal with your mother."

Charlie nodded. "All right. Remember though, you only have ten minutes!"

"Gotcha, Captain!" Roxie called after her. "You can count on us!"

"Whatever!" Charlie cried. "Just go!" The three of them took off in opposite directions, and it was hard to say who was more panicked.

"Okay," Roxie said. "Now where would a lushy werewolf go?"

"Let's check the bar," Vince said. "If she's there, we pick her up, drag her to the bathroom, and stick her head under a faucet. Then we compel her to behave. Sound like a plan?"

"Perfect!" Roxie nodded. "Or it would be if we could compel other supernatural creatures, but we can't. My aunts and uncles can, but we can't."

"Well, then what do you suggest we do?" Vince groaned.

"Well, first I suggest we find Charlie's mother," Roxie said. "And may I say that you look very nice in your tux?"

Vince grinned. "Well, thank you. Are we still going to hide out in the coat closet after I give my best man speech?"

"Well, duh," Roxie nodded. "I think we've earned it after all this!"

"Here she is, I think!" Vince yelled out suddenly. They heard muttering under a table and lifted up the tablecloth to see a woman in a silver dress and clownish makeup clutching a bottle of wine and muttering to herself.

"Hi," she said to them. "My lil girl's getting married today. I remember when she was a lil girl and she wore frilly dresses and had bu'erflies in her hair and i didn' mean to hurt her, I promise," Charlie's mother suddenly burst into tears. "She almost died because of meeeee..." Vince managed to get Charlie's mother out from under the table and carry her to the bathroom, where Roxie pulled a tiny cup out of a dispenser by the sink and poured some wine into the cup, plunking a small, white pill in it. "Here," she said, handing Charlie's mother the cup. "Drink this."

"Wha's in it?" She asked.

"Just something to make the wine taste better," Roxie said. "It's safe to drink, I promise." Charlie's mother drank the wine and passed out in Vince's arms a few minutes later.

"What the hell, Rox?" Vince asked. "What did you do?"

Roxie held up the bottle and grinned. "I bet you're glad I brought the doggie tranquilizers now, aren't you? Now, stick her in a bathroom stall and let's go tell Charlie her mother won't be a problem."

Vince sighed and followed Roxie out the bathroom door after placing Charlie's mother on the floor of the handicapped restroom. "It's not like we're lying to her," he said to himself.

"Did you take care of my mother?" Charlie asked. "Please tell me she won't be a bother during the wedding!"

"Actually, she won't," Roxie said. "We had a little talk with her, and she's resting now. You won't even have to worry about her until after the ceremony."

"Excellent!" Charlie said, hugging her. "You're the best friend ever. What would I do without you?"

"I have no idea," Roxie said. "Your dress looks beautiful."

Charlie twirled around in her white, sleeveless, sparkly dress and smiled. "Thank you." She paused. "Could you do one thing for me?" She asked. "I have a bit of a headache. Do you have any aspirin on you?"

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "I do." She pulled out a couple of blue pills and put them in Charlie's outstretched hand. Vince got her some water and she swallowed them. A few minutes later, however, she began to sway. "I feel funny," she said. "The room is spinning." Suddenly, she collapsed on the floor, her eyes closed, her breathing regular. She was asleep.

Vince frowned at Roxie. "Explain that, please." He said.

Roxie laughed uneasily. "That must not have been aspirin I gave her."

"Gee, you think?" Vince yelled. "She has to get married in like, a minute and she can't go down the aisle now, all because of you!"

"Stop panicking," Roxie said. "I can fix this. You just go and be with Tony, but don't tell him anything. And one question: Has Tony seen her dress?"

"No," Vince shook his head. "I don't think he has. Why?"

Roxie shrugged. "No reason."

"How's everything going in there?" Tony asked as Vince left the room. "Did you take care of Charlie's mom?"

Vince nodded. "Yep. Now let's go and get you married, man." They went into the room were the wedding was being held and the music began to play. The wedding party proceeded to the altar. And then, everyone waited with baited breath as they prepared to watch Charlie walk down the aisle. When she appeared and walked toward an eagerly waiting Tony, Vince knew something was wrong.

"Whatever you do," he whispered to Tony, "When the judge asks if you two should be married, say 'no'."

"Of course I'm not going to do that," Tony said. "I love her."

"But that's not her!" Vince said. "Charlie didn't have a veil with her dress and now she's wearing one!"

"Actually, her dress came with a veil, but Charlie didn't want to wear it cause she thought it would be too girly. Obviously she changed her mind. What is your deal, man?" Tony was frowning at him.

"It's a funny story, really," he said. "I had this dream last night where Roxie put on Charlie's dress and married you instead of Charlie. It must have just shaken me up. Never mind. I'll be quiet now."

Everyone settled down and the judge began to talk. Eventually, he looked at Tony and Charlie. "Do you, Anthony James Hyde take Charlotte Anne Belby to be your wife?"

Tony nodded. "I do."

He looked at Charlie. "And do you, Charlotte Anne Belby take Anthony James Hyde to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

The room was silent. "Charlie," Tony said, "Did you hear what the judge asked you?"

"Yes, I heard," the voice said. It sounded odd, not like Charlie's at all. "I'm just...thinking."

"Well, it's a little late to be thinking!" Tony said. "Do we need to go outside and-"

"Stop talking, Tony," Vince said. "I know what's going on." Suddenly, he ripped the veil away and everyone gasped when they saw it was Roxie standing next to Tony and not Charlie. She looked at them, then down at the dress. "Wow," she said. "How in the world did I get in here?"

"Where's Charlie?" Tony asked her.

"I accidently gave her sleeping pills cause I thought they were aspirin," Roxie said. "She's probably still asleep in her dressing room."

Tony looked at her in astonishment, then back at Vince. "I don't know whether to hug her or slug her," he said. "Considering that the two of you handled my mother in law, I'd say both."

Just then, Charlie staggered woozily into the room, dressed in a slip. "I must've fallen asleep," she said. "Did I miss the wedding?"

"No," Roxie called back. "I held your place for you."

Charlie grinned. "Good," she said. "You're a good friend." As she reached Tony, he grabbed her and asked Vince to go get one of the white table clothes from the reception hall to cover Charlie up with. By the time he got back, Roxie had brushed her hair. After they settled the table cloth around her, Charlie and Tony were finally married and as they watched the couple say 'I do', Roxie turned to Vince. "Do I know how to make a memorable affair or what?" She asked, grinning.

"I think you're just damn lucky is all," he said.

Roxie nodded. "Yeah, that too."

"How bad are things?" Elijah asked. "Did Selina hurt anyone?"

Damon nodded. "She did get Lucy. But it wasn't fatal or anything. I healed her right up."

"Really?" Elijah asked. He took Lucy and gave her some of his own blood, just to be sure that everything was all right. "But that was all?"

"That was enough," Damon said. "I think she's done with this latest fit of craziness. She's pretty torn up about what happened too. She hasn't stopped crying since she turned back into a human."

"Where is she?" Elijah asked.

"In my bedroom," Damon said. "First door on the left."

Elijah found the room and slowly entered, finding Selina curled up in a ball and shaking on the bed. He reached out to touch her and she started violently.

"I hurt my baby," she said, looking up at him. "You're lucky you didn't have to hear her scream and watch her bleed. It was horrible. I should never be allowed around people again. I'm a terrible person."

"Look at me," Elijah said to her. "None of this was your fault. Niklaus even told me you might hurt Lucy if you were near her, but you didn't mean to, right?"

"Of course not," Selina sniffled. "I saw her with Damon and that got me thinking of our first child that I never saw grow up, at least not really, and everything that becoming a vampire made me miss, and I just-I just snapped."

Elijah put his arms around her, grateful that Damon had found clothes for her before he'd arrived. "I know this has been a horrifying experience for you, as it would be for any parent, but you have to forgive yourself. Otherwise you're just going to spend the rest of your life being miserable. Do you want that?"

Selina shook her head. "No, I don't."

He kissed her. "I don't either. Now will you try and smile for me?"

She tried to summon up a smile, but failed. "Is Lucy okay?" She asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "She's a little shaken, but Damon and I fixed up her injuries. There's nothing more we can do here, so let's go back to my house."

"Really?" Selina asked. "Your house?"

Elijah hugged her against himself. "Yes," he said.

She put her head on his shoulder. "I think I would sleep better if you were in a bed with me. Is that okay?"

"All right," he nodded, picking her up and carrying her toward the door. "I'll stay with you tonight, and we'll see how you feel in the morning."