"So how did this happen?" Elijah asked as he and Selina reached the car. "Remember that we agreed you would call me if you felt jealous about Lucy?"
Selina sighed. "Please don't yell at me. Don't you think I feel bad enough about this myself without having to hear a bunch more from you?" She sniffled and wiped her nose with her hand. Elijah watched her for a moment and then handed her a handkerchief. "Use this instead. It's more sanitary."
Selina gave him a look and then got into the car, looking down at her lap and not catching Elijah's eye. He didn't speak to her until they were a few miles away from Damon's house. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked quietly. "It might help you to talk about it."
"What's the point?" Selina asked. "What could possibly be accomplished by me telling you what a terrible mother I am? Really."
"You're not a terrible mother," Elijah said. "You didn't mean for any of this to happen...did you?"
Selina looked at him incredulously and shook her head. "Of course not!"
"Well, there you go," Elijah said. "You just answered your own question. You'd only be a terrible mother if you meant to hurt Lucy, and you said you didn't."
Selina nodded. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't feel bad about it. When we get home, I think I'm going to call David and cancel mini-golf tomorrow. I don't think I'm going to feel up to it."
"Why not?" Elijah asked. "Besides, it's late. He's probably asleep now. Give yourself the night to think about it and maybe things will look better to you in the morning."
Selina sighed. "I suppose." They reached his house, parked the car in the garage, and he led her inside. "Am I still sleeping in your room?" Selina asked. "Remember you said I could."
He nodded. "I know I did," He said. "You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the floor."
"That wasn't the deal we made," Selina said. "The deal was that you'd sleep in your bed with me."
"It seems to me," Elijah told her, "that you're less distressed now than you were in the car on the way over here."
"Oh, no!" Selina said quickly. "I'm still very distressed!"
"It doesn't seem like it now," Elijah said. "Now it seems like you're taking advantage of my sympathy toward you to get me into bed."
"I didn't mean that," Selina said. "I swear!" She sighed. "All right, then. I'll take the bed and you can be on the floor next to me. But won't that be uncomfortable?"
"I have a mattress," he said. "And a pillow. I'll be fine."
"All right," Selina said. "If that's what you want."
He took her hand and gently stroked her palm with his thumb. "It's not what I want at all," he said. "But that's how it has to be for now."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Selina asked. "You say it over and over again and it doesn't make any sense! Do you want me?"
"Yes," he nodded. "I do!"
"Then why do we keep going round and round like this?" She asked angrily. "This is one merry-go-round I don't want to be on anymore!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elijah asked.
Selina picked up her coat and marched back toward the door. "I don't care if it is nighttime," she said. "I think I'll go ask David if he'll be more receptive to giving me a place to sleep!"
"No," Elijah ran after her. "You don't have to go. You shouldn't."
"Yes, I should," she said. "But I'm only going to David's. If you're worried about me going to spend the night in Nicky's bed, don't worry, I'm not that mad at you. I'll have you know I have more respect for myself than that."
"Well, that's good to know," Elijah said. "I'll have that to keep me warm, at least."
Selina nodded. "But I could have kept you warm," she said. "And I would have done a much better job. I'll be back in the morning. Good night, Elijah."
She left the house and Elijah was left staring at the front door. Then he shut his eyes for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair. Then he slowly turned around and made his way back to his room, undressing and climbing into bed. Then he sat up. This wasn't going to work. Her apartment was empty. He had a key. He got out of bed and dressed again, then when he was sure she was gone, never mind how she got to David's without a car, he got in his car and drove to her apartment building, then let himself in with his key, crawled into her bed, and pulled the covers over himself, inhaling her scent from her pillow and letting it ease him into sleep.
Selina was pressed against the side of the house, watching the driveway when she saw Elijah pull out of the garage and drive down the driveway and turn onto the street. Slowly, she stepped under the light next to the garage and put her arms around herself. She'd only meant to bluff about going to David's, to scare him a little. But obviously he'd taken her seriously. She wondered where he was going. And how she was going to get there.
She'd have to call someone. She tried every number on her phone but one. No one answered any of them. They were probably all asleep and much smarter than her. Or just not willing to answer their phones. She had no idea what time it was. She looked at the one number she hadn't dialed and groaned. She couldn't call him. He was probably so drunk right now that he wouldn't even come. Or if he did come, he'd try to at least cop a feel as payment for "rescuing" her. She sat down on the curb to try and think about what to do. Finally, she came to the sad conclusion that she had only one option. She pulled out her phone again and dialed Klaus' number.
"Yes?" he said. "He sounded wide awake.
"Good, you're up," she said. "I hoped you would be. I need your help."
There was silence on the other side of the line for awhile. "Selina?" he said finally. "Is that you?"
"Yes," she said impatiently. "It's me! I'm outside of Elijah's house and I don't have a key to get back in."
"Well, what makes you think I do?" he asked.
"I don't," she said. "I don't even want to go in. He just left to go somewhere a few minutes ago and I want to find out where. Or go back to my house. I don't know which one."
"So you want a favor from me?" Klaus asked. "Are you asking me to come and pick you up?"
"Yes," she said. "And please hurry. It's cold!"
"So this is how it is," he said. "You treat me like dirt until you need something and then when you say 'jump,' you expect me to say 'how high?' Well, I'm not so sure I want to. I might want to leave you outside right where you are until morning. It might be a good lesson for you."
"Please, Nicky? Could you just come this once? I've had a really bad day and I just...I want it to be over."
"What could possibly have happened?" He asked.
She swallowed. "Well, I suppose you should know," she said. "It's only right. On Halloween, I got kidnapped by Aleksandr and that Myna woman, and they injected me with a ton of your blood, so I've been a little crazy all day, killed a few people, stuff like that. And tonight...tonight I really went off the edge and bit Lucy."
"What?" Klaus snapped. "How could you do that? Is she okay?"
"Yes," Selina said. "Elijah came and managed to get her all healed up. She's at Damon's now, and Elijah said we should keep her there for a little while."
"Who said he gets to make all the decisions regarding Lucy?" Klaus asked angrily. "Is he her father or am I?"
"I don't know," Selina said. "You haven't been around much, have you?"
"Well, I would be if you'd let me!" He shot back. "But you never let me!"
Selina shut her eyes and took a calming breath. "I suppose you're right," she said. "If you come and pick me up, we can talk on the way back to my house and work something out, some visitation or something, if you really feel serious about wanting to be a parent to Lucy."
"Really?" he asked. "Do you mean that?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I do. Because I've told you before that I think you're good with her. And I know what it feels like to grow up without a father. I'd never do the same to Lucy. I've learned from my mother's mistakes."
Klaus sighed. "Stay right where you are. I'll be there in a little while."
Selina hung up her phone and waited until Klaus' car pulled up in the street. He got out and offered her his hand. "Need a lift?" He asked, grinning. He pulled her gently to her feet and she pulled open one of the backseat doors and climbed in.
"How come you don't want to sit up front with me?" he asked.
"More leg room back here," Selina said. "Not as much up front. And my legs are starting to cramp from the cold, I think."
"Well, make sure you run a bath before you go to bed, then," he said.
She nodded. "I'll think about that."
"Now about Lucy," he said. "Can we talk about her now?"
"Sure," Selina nodded. "Feel free."
"Are you sure she's all right?" he asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "When Elijah and I left, she was sleeping pretty soundly, and all healed up. I saw it with my own eyes."
"You know I told Elijah that it would lead to trouble to have you and Lucy in the same room when you were full of blood," Klaus said. "I guess he didn't listen to me."
"It wasn't entirely his fault," Selina said. "Some of it was mine. I wanted to go visit Sam, and Elijah had sent Lucy over to Damon's too, just to get her out of the apartment, and I thought erroneously that if I just paid attention to Sam, nothing would happen with Lucy. Then Damon started cuddling with her and I saw it, and that made me think of how the last time his and my relationship was really good was before we became vampires, and then I got angry about how Katherine wrecked everything and it just snowballed. Lucy only ended up with a bite on the arm, but if Damon hadn't stepped in and fought me, it probably would have been worse." She looked up at him. "Are you going to yell at me?"
"Why would I do that?" He asked. "Things happen and you seem upset enough already. I can't punish you any better than you punish yourself."
She nodded. "Well, thank you for that. It makes me feel a little better."
"Do you really think you should be alone tonight?" Klaus asked. "If you wanted company, I could grab a blanket and a pillow and sleep on the floor next to your bed."
"Really?" Selina asked. "You'd do that?"
He nodded. "Of course. And Roxie called and told me about Charlie and Tony's wedding." He smirked.
"Didn't go well?" Selina guessed.
"It had its bumps," Klaus said. "But our ingenious daughter saved the day."
Selina rolled her eyes and grinned. "I bet she started at least some of the trouble, but as long as everything worked out."
"The story is actually a lot more interesting when she tells it," Klaus said. He paused. "How long has it been since you and me and the kids had lunch together?"
Selina shook her head. "I don't think we ever have. But I think it would be fun. Could you call Roxie and let her know? I'll call Adrian and then everything will be properly arranged."
"And what about Lucy?" Klaus said. "Will you bring her?"
Selina nodded. "Well, of course. If she'll still come near me after tonight, that is."
Klaus nodded. "She will. Children forgive easily, and besides, she's probably too young to realize that you and the wolf that bit her are the same. She might not even be mad at you at all."
"I hope you're right," Selina said.
He grinned. "Of course," he said. "I'm always right."
Selina opened her apartment door and Klaus followed her inside, turning on the light. "Don't want you to trip over anything," he said. "Or are you one of the coordinated ones who never do?"
"I have a few times," Selina nodded. "There are extra pillows and blankets in a cabinet next to the bathroom. Take as many as you want. I'm going to go get in my pajamas and get into bed."
"But what about your soak?" Klaus asked. "Or do you not need it anymore since you're out of the cold?"
Selina yawned. "I don't think I'll bother with it. I think I'll just go to bed. And Nicky, thanks for coming to pick me up."
He looked surprised, then grinned and nodded. "You're welcome. I'll be in your room in a few minutes." They then separated, with Selina going off to her room and Klaus going to the cabinet by the bathroom to get blankets and pillows.
When Selina reached her room, the lights were already off and she didn't feel like turning them on again just to put on her pajamas, so she just changed her clothes in the dark and crawled into bed, where she heard something strange. She usually slept with two pillows, and when she reached over to grab the other one, she heard a thump and a grunt on the mattress beside her. Taking a deep breath, she reached over and swung her hand around in the direction of the noise until it came into contact with something that felt like somebody's face. She heard a groan and realized that it was a man, so she brought her hand back to hit him again, but he grabbed her wrist before she was able to make contact, and pulled her to himself, kissing her deeply. After he pulled out of the kiss, he held her at arms' length. She still couldn't make out his features.
"You try that again and I'll hurt you," she whispered. "I can do it. I'm very strong, you know."
"I'm sure some people would find that impressive," he replied. "But I just can't, I'm sorry. And you wouldn't hurt me anyway."
"How do you know?" She whispered. "Just who do you think you are?"
He cleared his throat. "It's me, Elijah."
Selina frowned and turned on the lamp on the bedside table. "Oh, my god," she said. "What are you doing in my bed? I mean, not that you aren't welcome, but people usually warn other people before they come and spend the night."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I thought you were going to spend the night at David's, and then I tried to get to sleep myself, but I couldn't, so I came over here and..."
"And you were sleeping very soundly until I came and stole your pillow and punched you in the face." She said. "It all makes sense now."
"How did you get here?" He asked her. "I took the car."
She sighed. "I had to call Nicky to come and get me," she said. "He's pulling blankets and pillows out of the bathroom cupboard now."
"Why?" Elijah asked. "You weren't planning on letting him sleep here, were you?"
"Just for company," Selina said quickly. "He promised he would sleep on the floor, not in my bed. Of course, now that you're here, things are a bit different, aren't they?"
"Well, I should hope so," Elijah replied.
Selina started giggling. "He'll probably get in here soon. Wanna trick him?"
"How?" Elijah asked, leaning forward.
She grinned. "Okay, go turn off the lights and then come back and I'll scream like you're a burglar or someone who's trying to hurt me. But when Nicky gets in here all prepared to rescue me, he'll turn on the lights and see us making out. That will be so funny! Won't it be funny?"
"You know I can't do that," he said. "It wouldn't be good for you."
She pouted. "But you just kissed me! Why can't we do it some more?"
"The only reason why I kissed you before was to get you to stop hitting me!" Elijah said.
"Well, what do you expect me to do when I come home find what seems to be a strange man in my bed?" Selina asked. "Just lie down passively and let him take me?"
"Well, no, but..." Elijah put his hand against his nose. "Did you know that you hit really, really hard?"
"Doesn't she just though?" Klaus asked. "But you must like it hard, Elijah. And you too, Selina. Strange how every time I come near a bedroom, there the two of you are." He cocked an eyebrow at Elijah. "You know, brother, for someone who claims to be keeping his distance from Selina for her own good, you aren't making much of an effort."
"I only came because I didn't think she was going to be home tonight," Elijah said. "And I couldn't sleep!"
"And is it your custom to come tuck yourself into Selina's bed when you can't sleep?" Klaus asked. "It must be." He paused and gave Elijah a look. "Why did you think she wouldn't be home?"
"Because she told me that she was going to spend the night at David's," Elijah said. He threw the covers off himself and strode over to stand in front of Klaus. "There was nothing else that I had in mind."
Klaus grinned. "Yes, of course. I really believe that."
"Well, I was mad and I made up the David thing," Selina said to Elijah. "I didn't actually think you were going to believe me and take action about it!"
Klaus smirked. "Well, that just shows how naieve you are, doesn't it?" He asked her.
Elijah frowned. "Was she talking to you?" He asked.
Klaus shook his head. "No, but I see no reason why I shouldn't voice my opinion every now and then."
Selina looked at the clock on her bedside table. "Look, it's late," she said to them. "If you want to fight, I give you permission to duke it out in the morning, but I've had a long, terrible day and I just want to get some sleep."
"Yes, of course," Elijah nodded, dressed and walked over to the door. "Good night."
"Night," Selina said, pulling the covers over herself and shutting her eyes.
When Klaus didn't move, Elijah grabbed him. "You're coming too, Niklaus," he said.
Klaus grudgingly followed Elijah out of Selina's room, and Elijah shut the door after turning off Selina's bedroom light.
"So, what's really going on with you two?" Klaus asked as he and Elijah sat on the living room sofa. "You have to tell me. I have a right to know."
"No, you don't," Elijah said. "It's none of your business what goes on between us."
"Or, from the looks of things, what doesn't go on," Klaus said.
"Selina's going through a tough time right now, and I wouldn't want her to think I'm taking advantage of her in a vulnerable moment," Elijah said. He narrowed his eyes at Klaus. "She's had far too many men in her life that have done that."
"What are you looking at me for?" Klaus asked. "She left me! If she wouldn't have done that, then we would have been just fine! Aleksandr was the one who left her!"
"He left her because he made some sort of deal with you!" Elijah said. "And now that I think about it, every romantic misery in her life somehow involves you, doesn't it?"
"You can't possibly blame me for all the romantic misery in Selina's life!" Klaus complained. "How is that possible?"
"Well, you needed a doppleganger to make your hybrids and seized on Katerina," Elijah began, "And then she feared for her life, so to save herself, she kidnapped her best friend's daughter and had magic done on her that would make her an alternate doppleganger creator. That girl, Andria, is Selina's ancestress through her father. Then, after Selina was born, Katerina latched onto her family and lured Damon away so that Selina would be all alone. Then along comes Aleksandr, first intent on saving her from you, but later willing to give her up to you when you tell him that you'll spare his life in exchange..."
"That didn't go well," Klaus protested. "He didn't even tell me where she was!"
"Well, I suppose that's the nicest thing Aleksandr ever did for her, then," Elijah said thoughtfully. "The years go by and you lose all hope of ever finding either of the dopplegangers. Then, lo and behold, 1923 happens, or '24, whenever, and you get a penthouse apartment in a building in Paris and develop affection for a beautiful, struggling waitress/singer named Sarah Gardner, who later went by the name Seraphine, who just happened to be Selina going incognito. Did you want to kill her then?"
"No!" Klaus said. "Well, at first I did. But then..."
"Then you fell in love with her, didn't you?" Elijah asked.
Klaus nodded. "Yes," he said. "She was so sweet and funny and clever. Kind of shy, but she let me show her how to have a good time. We were a team."
"What happened between then and now?" Elijah asked. "I remember hearing about you back then and the two of you seemed stable enough."
"She left me," Klaus said. "After your father started chasing after Anna and me. I was going to meet Selina at the train station and we were going to leave together, but when I arrived, all that was there for me was a note she'd written, telling me that she was leaving me and that it was best for both of us. No specific reason why. I didn't see her again for years after that."
"And by the time you did see her again, you were so angry and bitter, all you wanted to do was punish her, enslave her, forgetting that she was still the same woman you'd once loved."
"And now she's leaving me again, all because of you," Klaus said, eyeing Elijah balefully.
"Well you can't blame her for wanting to be happy," Elijah said. "How much longer are you going to punish her for something that wasn't even her fault?"
"I just...I want her to remember the good times too," Klaus said. "Because we did have some good times."
"Well, how do you expect her to remember them when you can't or won't because you're so busy hanging onto your anger?" Elijah asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Klaus said. "I don't know."
"You'll always have Paris," Elijah said. "That'll never change. Those years won't go away just because she's with someone else. And you have children together. Every time you look at Roxanne or Lucy, there she is."
"Roxie is almost exactly like Selina was back then," Klaus said, smiling fondly. "That's probably why I took to her so fast."
"I thought you said she was shy," Elijah said. "I definitely wouldn't call Roxanne shy."
"Oh, Selina was only shy at first. You get her used to you and she really opens up."
Elijah nodded. "She does, doesn't she?"
"Well," Klaus said, standing up, "speaking of Roxie, I have to remember to call her about the family lunch we're having tomorrow."
"Family lunch?" Elijah asked. "You mean, the five of you together? In the same space? For an extended period of time?"
"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "Why not? You seem skeptical."
Elijah scoffed. "Well in terms of how well you all get along, you're only slightly more civil than when Mother makes us have family gatherings...aren't you?"
"But now that I've spilled my guts and had revelations courtesy of you, things might be better, mightn't they?" Klaus asked. "We'll get to see tomorrow, won't we?"
Elijah nodded. "I suppose." He stood up. "I think I'll follow you out," he said. "There's no reason for either of us to be here any longer tonight."
Selina kept having nightmares about when she'd attacked Lucy. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see her poor little girl, eyes wide with terror, as she'd pounced and hear her cries of pain and fear afterward. Finally, it all just became too much to handle and she got out of bed and dressed, striding out of her room and down the elevator to her car. She had to go see Enid. Enid would know how to make the nightmares stop.
When she reached the bar, the parking lot was empty and everything was silence. She knew that there was an alarm on the door, so she snuck around and opened a window, boosting herself through. "Enid?" She called. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late, but I've done something terrible and I really need to talk to someone about it." However, no one came in answer to her call. Finally, she just grabbed a glass and poured herself beers until she finally fell asleep sitting on a barstool with her cheek resting on the bar.
She woke up the next morning when a voice sounded right next to her ear. "Hey, Enid! Looks to me like we've got us a thief!"
"What did they get their hands on, Ronan?" Enid called. "Do whatever you have to with them. Boy am I glad I brought you back when I did! It's nice to have a bouncer." But when she saw Selina trying to raise her head from the bar, she took pity on her and ordered Ronan back. "Don't worry about this one," she said. "We know her. She's nice. And besides, you'd definitely regret it if you killed her."
Selina gave them both a look. "Somebody please kill me. I feel like I'm dead already!"
"Well, that's what you get when you drink too much," Enid said.
Selina sat up and scoffed. "Do you have to give me that? It's not like I'm pregnant right now or anything."
"Of course you aren't," Enid said, not looking up. "I would know if you were."
"Why would I regret it if I killed her?" The man called Ronan asked. "I don't think I know her." He spoke with an Irish brogue, but his English was very good, despite his somewhat medieval look that said it shouldn't be.
Selina stared at him for awhile until he came into focus. His blonde hair and blue eyes looked familiar, but she'd never seen him before in her life...
"She's the mother of your grandchildren," Enid said shortly.
"Oh, but that can't be right," Ronan protested. "I never sired any children! And even if I did, they would have died years ago! What kind of stories are you telling, Enid?"
Enid pushed her dark hair out of her eyes and looked at Ronan reproachfully. "I'm not telling stories, although I can't blame you for not being able to keep track of your numerous relationships over the years."
"Why would I?" He asked. "Only one ever really meant anything."
Enid gave Selina a look and tilted her head in Ronan's direction. "Piece of work, isn't he?" She asked.
"Is he the guy who inspired you to create werewolves?" Selina asked. "Should I congratulate him?"
Enid shoved some tomato juice in Selina's direction and smirked. "No, Ronan doesn't exactly have that honor, but let me assure you he's caused other problems for me."
"What are you going on about?" Ronan broke in. "Tell me more about this child I sired."
"He's not exactly a child anymore," Enid said. "In fact, he's Selina's husband."
Selina's eyes widened. "Nicky!" She said, bringing her palm down hard on the table. "You're Nicky's biological father, aren't you? No wonder you look so familiar!"
"I'm surprised it took you so long to figure that out," Enid said. "His attitude alone should have been a clue. A big clue."
"Ah," Ronan grinned. "So my boy is a strapping man like me, is he?"
"That's what he tells himself when he looks in the mirror every morning," Selina said. "I'm just around to hold up his giant ego." She rolled her eyes at Enid. "Tell him about the other problems he caused for you."
"I probably should," Enid nodded, not moving her gaze from Ronan's face. "Let's see if you can remember one particular relationship," she said. "It was when you and I decided to take that jaunt to Bulgaria about a thousand years ago. You wandered away from me and into the bed of a noblewoman whose husband was away. Do you remember her name?"
"Elissavetta," Ronan said immediately. "Beautiful Lissy."
"Yes, well, she became with child and after your son was born, she passed it off as her husband's, so he wouldn't figure out that she'd been unfaithful. Years went by and everything was fine. Until..."
"Until what?" Ronan asked.
"Until Enid's sister Ena came along and messed everything up," Selina replied, taking a gulp of tomato juice.
"Well, what happened?" Ronan asked. "Was Lissy hurt?"
Elissavetta sighed. "Well, on the day your son Niklaus was to be married, he decided to abandon the wedding and hide out from his bride in the woods. It was while he was in the woods that he made the acquaintence of my sneaky twin sister. He saved her from drowning and in return, she gave him three wishes: to have him and his family live eternally, just the age they were then, and also that he should never be held back by falling in love. Ena granted him those wishes and thereby created the first vampires to ever walk the earth. But as a vampire, your son killed to eat, and you know what happened after that first kill...?"
"Yes," Ronan nodded. "The curse came to light, didn't it?"
"Yep," Selina nodded. "That was probably not the happiest of days."
"So where do you come in, then?" Ronan asked Selina. "You're not the girl he was gonna marry, are you?"
"Oh, no," Selina shook her head. "I'm way too young for that."
"She's right," Enid said. "Your son went after a much younger woman...1846 she was born."
Ronan looked at her with interest. "He went after a woman almost nine hundred years younger than himself. Are you a vampire as well?"
"I'm both, actually," Selina said. "Just like your son."
"After the curse came to light, my father decided that Niklaus couldn't be both a vampire and a werewolf, so a spell was put on your son that made his werewolf side be dormant." Enid continued.
"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Until he broke that spell and took me along for the ride. We got along well enough at first, had three kids, but then things...changed and they've been getting worse. Although after what I did last night, we've sort of pulled back together."
"Why?" Enid asked. "What did you do?"
"I got frustrated about all the stuff vampirism made me miss in my human life and then I got so mad I transformed and...accidently attacked Lucy." Selina said, averting her eyes.
"You did what?" Enid asked, grabbing her shoulders and looking panicked. "Is she okay? You didn't kill her, did you?"
"No," Selina said. "I gave her a bite on the arm, but it got healed up. Lucy's probably going to hate me now."
"You can't think that way," Enid said. "Or you'll end up like Charlie's mother. Have you ever met Charlie's mother?"
"No," Selina shook her head.
"She's an absolute wreck," Enid said sadly. "Just stays in all the time, drinks and never really talks to anyone. I'm not saying it would have been much better if she'd pulled it together. She might have felt so guilty that she would have had Charlie on a very short leash. Kept her eyes on her every minute, controlled everything she did, insist that the two of them denounce their werewolf heritage so that nothing could ever hurt them again, even though the first time wasn't their fault..."
"That sounds like my mother," Selina said quietly.
"Does it really?" Enid said, wide-eyed. "I had no idea!"
"But what would my mother possibly have to feel guilty about?" Selina asked. "When I was alive, she was never a werewolf. Her family stayed away from it completely. Well, except for Uncle Jake, but he was...different."
"When did your relationship with your mother start to change?" Enid asked. "I assume it wasn't always so difficult."
"When I was five years old in 1852," Selina said. "That was a bad year. Mama lost her best friend in a riding accident. The horse reared and crushed Charlotte's skull pretty badly. And then, when I was visiting my aunt and uncle, their overseer got drunk and hurt me while I was out playing. I nearly killed him. Nearly activated the curse. If it hadn't been for my cousin Michael taking the knife away from me, it would have happened. That's when Mama really went off the deep end."
"Probably because it was she that gave you the werewolf gene that almost got activated on that day," Enid said. "What did your father have to say about it?"
Selina shook her head. "Not much, honestly. He never really knew the whole truth. He just thought she was a little moody during full moons, that's all."
"A little moody?" Enid burst out laughing. "He was human, wasn't he?"
"He was," Selina nodded. "But by the time I almost killed the overseer, he'd been dead for almost five years. War casualty."
"Oh," Enid said. "And you say your mother's family wasn't too keen on their heritage?"
"Nope," Selina shook her head. "They denied it always. Especially after Uncle Jake was murdered."
"So between your human father and her family who was in denial, your mother never really had support to help her get over her guilt, did she?" Enid asked.
"No," Selina shook her head. "I guess she didn't. Now I feel terrible for being so mean to her all these years."
"You should call her and have a talk," Enid said. "You might really be able to help each other."
Selina hopped off the barstool. "I think I'll go do that," she said. "Thank you, Enid." She gave Klaus' father a salute. "And Ronan, nice to meet you." Then she skipped out of the bar, feeling much lighter. She got in her car and drove to Damon's house to tell him the good news.
The noise outside made Sam look up and get to his feet, running to the closed door, yelling "Mama! Mama! Mama!"
"How could you possibly know that?" Damon asked, picking him up. "You're too short to even see out the door!"
"Mama!" Sam insisted, pointing. Just then, there was a knock on the door, and to his surprise, Damon saw a grinning Selina on the other side. "Well, what do you know, buddy?" he said. "You were right." He put Sam down and opened the door and Selina ran at him and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"I am so happy!" She said. "I found out why Mama and I have been fighting all these years. I think I'm going to call her and apologize for being such a dork."
Surprised, Damon stood frozen inside her embrace for a moment, then loosened up and hugged her back, taking time to smell her perfume, roses and vanilla and resting his head on her shoulder. After she pulled away, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She grinned at his stunned look.
"I know I probably shouldn't have done that," she said. "But I'm just so happy!"
"And your first action is to call your mother?" Damon asked, looking confused. "Do you think I would have called my father if I was having a good day?"
"Well, this is different," Selina said, picking Sam up and taking him over to the phone. He picked it up and hit it against the counter a few times, grinning. Selina took it away from him. "Stop that," she said. "Otherwise it might not work any more."
She gave him a kiss and put him back down on the floor and he ran to the sofa to climb up next to Damon.
"Are you sure you want to call your mom now?" Damon asked. "Wouldn't it be easier if you went over to her house and talked to her?"
Selina put the phone down. "Perhaps that would be better. But I don't have time to go visit her. She'll want me to stay forever, and I have a date tonight."
"Damn," Damon muttered.
"What?" Selina asked. "What's wrong with me dating? I can date!"
"I'm not saying you can't," Damon said. "It's just that I have a date too, and if we're both dating, who's going to watch Sam and Lucy?"
"I don't know if we can!" Stefan said when he opened the door and saw Damon and Selina on the other side holding Lucy and Sam and asking if he and Anna would babysit. "Maybe we had things we wanted to do tonight. Did that ever occur to you?"
"But wouldn't it be more fun to do them with your adorable niece and nephew?" Damon asked. "Unless of course you're talking about sex...then that would be gross and..."
"Can we just come in, please?" Selina interrupted.
"All right," Stefan waved them in and they all sat down on the sofa. "So what's going on?"
"We both have dates tonight," Selina said. "And if we both have dates, then somebody has to watch Sam and Lucy."
Just then, Anna came in. "Well, isn't this neat? We're having a party!"
"They want us to babysit," Stefan said. "Should we acquiesce?"
Anna picked up Lucy who looked at her mother and for a moment and then buried her head in Anna's shoulder. "Looks like she hasn't quite recovered from the attack," Anna said, looking at Selina sympathetically.
"I hoped she would," Selina said. "I hoped she wouldn't put together that me and the wolf were the same."
Sam looked up and that and did a fake growl, walking over to Selina. "Grrr!"
"Yes, you're very scary," Selina said, patting his tummy. "Now can you sit down?"
Sam went to sit in Stefan's lap. "So can we babysit?' Stefan asked Anna again. "Or did you want to do other stuff?"
"I suppose we can spare the evening," Anna said. "I don't remember us having anything else to do." She looked at Selina and Damon. "You two aren't going out with each other, are you?"
"No," Damon said. "I'm going out with Wendy and I don't know who Selina's going out with."
"David," Selina said.
Anna winced. "I can't believe you're still going out with him. I would have thought you'd end things by now."
"Why would I do that?" Selina asked. "I've hardly given it a chance. We haven't even kissed yet!"
"Ah, okay!" Anna said, nodding knowingly. "That explains why you're still with him."
"What explains it?" Selina asked. "Is he a bad kisser?"
"I'll let you see for yourself," Anna told her.
"Okay," Selina said uncertainly. She was a little nervous now.
Just then there was another knock on the front door.
"Geez, what are we?" Anna asked, standing up. "Grand Central Station?" She went to open the door. "What do you want, Nick?" She asked.
Klaus came in. "I just came to ask Stefan a favor." Then he noticed Selina. "But it can wait until we're alone, I suppose."
"Why?" Selina asked suspiciously. "What's going on in your head, Nicky?"
"Nothing," Klaus said. "Why would you possibly think there's something going on?"
"If you can't talk about it in front of me, naturally I'm going to be suspicious," Selina said. "So what's going on?"
"I just wanted to wish you luck on your date with David," he said. He looked at Anna. "Elijah says that he'll take Lucy if you want."
Anna shook her head. "We can take both of them. It's fine."
"Actually, I think he insists," Klaus said. "I would give him a call and work out the details if I were you."
"Well, fine," Anna said. "I'll see what's up."
Klaus nodded and looked at Selina. "Did you call Adrian about the family lunch? Roxie's up for it."
"Oh, right. I haven't done it. I'll do it right now so I won't forget." Selina said, getting up and picking up the phone.
"Adrian," she said after a moment, "Hi, it's your mom. Would you be free for lunch tomorrow? Your dad thinks it would be fun for us to hang out for a bit, plus I really want to hear what happened at the weddding. No, I think this will just the family. Great! See you tomorrow."
"Adrian's on board," Selina said. "He wanted to bring Tessa, but I think based on what I've seen between her and Roxie, it would be best for them not to be in the same space."
"Thanks for doing that," Klaus said to her. "And good luck on your date tonight."
Selina grinned. "Thank you. By the way, if you stop off at Enid's, you might meet somebody special. Just a suggestion." She got up and stretched out. "I think I'll be on my way," she said. She grinned and gently ran her fingers through Lucy's hair. Lucy flinched and put her head on Anna's shoulder again.
"I'm sorry," Anna said. "Things will get better between you two, I promise."
Selina nodded sadly and left the house. Klaus followed her. As soon as he was gone, Anna called Elijah. "What's going on?" She asked. "Nick said you wanted to talk to me. Is something wrong?"
"No," Elijah said. "Nothing's wrong, I just need you to do a job for me. Are you doing anything tonight?'
"Well, Stefan and I are watching Sam and I'll bring Lucy over to your house, but nothing more specific than that. Why?"
"David and Selina are going out mini-golfing for their date, the indoor course next to the bowling alley," Elijah said. "Would you take Sam and do some reconnaissance for me?"
"Why would we take Sam mini-golfing?" Anna asked. "The club would be way too big for him!"
"Because I'm your brother and you love me and if you want Selina and me to ever be together, this is important," Elijah said.
"You're nuts, you know that?" Anna asked.
"Says the girl who came to my house, broke into the locked drawer in my desk and took my stories to read for her own personal amusement," Elijah said. "You owe me for those."
"Fine," Anna said. "But I still think you're being ridiculous."
Anna brought Lucy over to Selina's apartment that night and gave Elijah a look as she handed her over to him. "I can't believe you want Stefan and me to spy on Selina and David. I mean, yeah, I don't think they're a good couple either, but don't you want her to figure that out for herself? And here's an even better question: why did you set her up with him in the first place? Why can't you just admit you want to be with her?"
"Because it's not right yet," Elijah said. "She and Niklaus are still married and I feel that..."
"Blah, blah blah," Anna said. "We've done this song and dance so many times, I've memorized the sheet music." She handed him Lucy. "Even though you can't date her, could you at least do something about making Lucy like her again? Lucy's freaked out because of what happened after Selina got all that blood in her and she won't even look her mother in the eye and it's making Selina really sad."
Elijah nodded. "I'll see what I can do," he said.
When Selina came downstairs wearing a grape-colored sweater, jeans and sneakers, Elijah said, "Look, Lucy. It's your mama. Doesn't she look pretty?"
Lucy lay her cheek against Elijah's shoulder so she was watching Selina with one eye. Selina leaned down to kiss her and Lucy moved her head out of the way. Elijah watched as Selina's eyes got big. She seemed about to cry.
"Come on, Lucy," he tried again. "How about you show your mama how much you love her by giving her a kiss?" He began slowly rubbing Lucy's back until she brought her head up. Then, Elijah moved closed to Selina and Lucy hesitantly brought her face closer and closer to Selina's cheek until her lips touched it in a brief kiss. Then she moved her head back to Elijah's shoulder.
Selina shook her head and turned away. "It's not your fault," she said to Elijah. "You gave it your best shot. Now, all I can do is wait it out, I guess."
"I guess," Elijah agreed, putting Lucy down on the floor and sitting down on the sofa. "But let's not dwell on that. Let's think about what a good time you're going to have tonight instead."
Selina sat down next to him and clutched a pillow to her chest, looking forlorn. "I'm not going to have a good time," she said. "I just know it. I mean, what's the point of being in this relationship with David, really?" She gave Elijah a severe look. "I mean, I know that the only reason why I'm with him is to help you. You didn't expect me to be physically attracted to him, and I bet if I told you I felt anything like that, you'd drop dead from shock. David's just supposed to keep hold of me until you reach a point where you feel you're ready for a real relationship and then you'll take me away and everything will be better for me. But what am I supposed to get out of this, really?" She asked. "Other than a relationship that makes me unhappy and bored while the guy I really like stays away from me and secretly writes dirty stories where we're happily together in some other universe, completely disregarding the fact that I would be more than happy to make something like that happen in real life! You say that we can't be together because of your morals, but I don't get that. Do your morals say anything about stringing a girl along for weeks and weeks without any real resolution? Obviously not, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it now!" Angrily, she threw the pillow at him and when it hit him on the head, she gave him a smug look. When the doorbell rang, she got up and trudged to the door, opening it to see David standing eagerly on the other side holding flowers.
"Hello, David," she said flatly, snatching the flowers from him. "Thank you for these. They're beautiful."
"Are you all right?" David asked her. "If you aren't feeling well, we can always go another night."
Selina shrugged. "Don't be silly," she said. "I never don't feel well. I'm fine, thanks for asking."
"Are you sure?" David asked. "You seem a little...off."
Selina grinned and shook out her hair. "If I were so off, would I do this?" She grabbed hold of a shocked David and kissed him. When they pulled apart, she grinned. "We're still going mini-golfing, right?"
David stood in shocked silence for a moment, then came back to himself, shaking his head and clearing his throat. "Yeah, of course," he said. "Whatever you want."
"All right then," She grinned. "Let's go!" She gave Elijah a smile as she let David pull her out the door. "You and Lucy have a good night."
Once Selina was gone, Elijah picked Lucy up again and sat down on the sofa. "I suppose I deserved that...in a way. It's just that...I don't really know what to do with your mother. I want to be with her, I really do. It's just that she and your father are legally still married and your father is a very stubborn man."
Lucy babbled a little and Elijah nodded. "I know that's not your mother's fault, and I shouldn't punish her for something that's your father's doing, but it's just...it's complicated."
"Kiss Mama!" Lucy said.
He grinned and ruffled her hair. "When she gets back, I think I will. I at least owe her that much."
The phone rang and he let her go for a moment and went over to answer it. "Hello?"
"It's Anna," she said. "Stefan and I are at the mini-golf course with Sam. Do you still want me to spy on Selina and David for you?"
"It's not spying," Elijah said.
"Well then, what is it?" Anna asked.
Elijah thought a moment. "It's, um...watching out for her safety. Do you know how many people fall and hurt themselves on golf courses every year?"
"Lame!" Anna said. "You don't know anything about golf courses."
"Well, that doesn't matter, does it?" Elijah snapped. "Now please get off the phone and go have a look at Selina and David, then let me know if anything interesting happens!"
"Would you relax?" Anna said. "She hasn't kissed him yet, but when she does, that relationship will be history. Once they break up, though, what are you going to do? Set her up with somebody else so you can watch them and get insanely jealous? Is it some weird turn-on for you to see her with other men?"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Elijah said. "Of course it isn't. And I won't know what to do until she and David break up. So far, they haven't. Now are they at the golf course or not?"
"Yes!" Anna said. "I can see them from here."
"Good," Elijah said. "Now hang up and go make detailed observations!"
"I don't understand you at all," Anna said. "But goodbye." She shut off her phone and went to join Stefan and Sam at the first hole. "What did Elijah say?" Stefan asked.
Anna rolled her eyes. "Of course he wants us to spy on her. That and give him detailed reports about what's going on. I most definitely will be doing that."
Stefan was watching them."Not much is going on," he said. "Nothing that would cause Elijah to be concerned."
Anna frowned. "I know that. And it's why I'm making stuff up!"
"I wouldn't," Stefan said. "Do you remember what happened to David last time you gave Elijah an account of his and Selina's time together?"
"Yeah," Anna grinned. "Elijah got real jealous and almost beat David to a pulp!"
Stefan turned his attention back to Sam, who was holding his club and squirming a little. He put the ball down and told Sam to hit it. Sam swung the club erratically, probably because it almost weighed too much for him, and missed the ball completely.
"Try again," Stefan said. "The ball is right here."
Sam nodded and managed to hit it a short distance that time. "Good!" Stefan said approvingly. "You hit it!" Then he looked up as he heard Anna dialing on her phone. "What now?" He asked.
"I'm calling Elijah with the first details of Selina's date!" She giggled gleefully. "Oh, this will be so good!"
Stefan rolled his eyes. He was thankful Damon had a real live girlfriend now. Otherwise he would have probably been recruited to spy as well.
"Elijah, hi, it's Anna. You told me to make note of details for you and right now, we're on the first hole. Selina must not ever have done this before because she's holding onto her club and he's standing behind her with one hand on her waist and the other helping her aim her club at the ball. They're standing really close to each other. Their hips are touching, they're rubbing up against each other, and..."
She trailed off as she watched Selina hit the ball, screaming with happiness as it flew through the air and landed right near the hole. Anna held the phone in the air so that Elijah could hear the scream.
"You okay?" She asked him. She could imagine the look on his face.
"Yes, yes I'm fine." But his voice sounded like he was tightly controlling it.
"If you want to punch something, I won't mind," Anna said. A few seconds later, she heard a loud bang. "Better?" She asked.
"No," Elijah said. "Not really."
"Hey, you said you wanted details. I'm just telling it like it is," Anna said.
"Well, do you have anything else to say?" He asked.
"No," Anna shook her head. "Not at the moment. So why don't you lighten up by playing with Lucy until I call you again?"
"That is a very good suggestion," Elijah said. "I think I will do that." He hung up the phone and went back in the living room to Lucy, who held up her arms to be picked up. He picked her up and walked with her to Selina's bedroom where he looked through her desk drawers, then looking at a picture of Selina and Lucy that was sitting on the far corner of the desk. Look, it's you," Elijah said, picking it up and showing it to Lucy. "You're so pretty, just like your mother."
Lucy nodded. "Mama pitty."
Elijah grinned. "Then why are you scared of her?"
"Scawy," Lucy said. "Mama scawy."
Elijah grinned and shook his head. "Your mother's not scary. She loves you, but she just made a mistake. She'll get better."
Lucy held up her arm. "Owie," she said.
Elijah put her down and looked at her arm. "Does it hurt?" He asked. "It looks all right to me."
He tickled under her chin and she started laughing. "See?" he said. "That's better." He carried her to her room and sat her down on her rocking horse. She sat and stared at him for a few moments as if unsure what to do, but then she began slowly rocking back and forth, then picking up the pace and grinning.
"It doesn't surprise me that you're an excellent horsewoman," Elijah told her. "Your father is good with horses, a strong and very capable rider, and while I've never seen your mother astride, I'm sure she can keep herself upright at the very least."
After awhile, the phone rang again. "What's happening now?" Elijah asked immediately.
"Looks like the date's going to be cut a little short," Anna said. "Selina tried to go after a ball on the ninth hole that fell into the water, forgetting that she isn't a capable swimmer. David jumped in after her and now they're flailing around like a couple of crazies while the people from the clubhouse try and fish them out."
"Is she going to be all right?" Elijah asked worriedly. "Go and see, would you?"
"I suppose," Anna said. "But if she figures out we've been spying on her and gets angry, I'm blaming you."
"It doesn't matter," Elijah said. "Just go, will you?"
"Okay, I'm going," Anna said. She shut off her phone and picked up Sam. "We're going over to the ninth hole!" Anna called to Stefan. He got his ball in the hole and grinned. "Birdie," he said. "Awesome. I did that in...two strokes."
"This is mini-golf," Anna said. "It shouldn't take many strokes to get to any hole. But good for you."
"Maybe we should try and get you involved in a sport," Stefan suggested. "If golf isn't right, how about tennis?'
"Possibly," Anna said. "It would be something for us to do together, and maybe once Elijah and Selina sort themselves out, we can play doubles." She looked down at Sam, who was grinning. "What?" She asked.
"Mama wet," he said, looking up at her.
"Yes, yes she is," Anna said, watching closely as Selina was hoisted up out of the water.
"You could have gotten yourself out," Anna said, coming up next to her. "It might have been easier that way."
"I'm sorry I didn't think of using my powers," Selina replied. "I was too busy trying not to drown." However, she grinned and took Sam from her. "How are you doing?" She asked him. "Are you getting lots of holes in one?"
"Actually, I think he just likes hitting things," Stefan said. "Did you get your ball?"
"No," Selina shook her head. "I think it's still down somewhere in the murky, disgusting water."
"I got it, actually," David said, coming up behind her, clutching a wet, dirty ball in his grasp. "Want to go to the next hole, or...?"
"Actually, I'd rather go home and shower," Selina said. She held Sam at arms' length and saw that the fronts of his little shirt and jeans were soaked from contact with her wet clothes. "I feel gross."
David nodded. "I understand. I wouldn't mind a shower myself."
Selina handed Sam back to Anna and wished her and Stefan goodnight before following David to his car and staring at the moon out the window as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward home.
Elijah was playing hide and seek with Lucy when he heard David's car pull up. He paused and as Lucy toddled toward the sofa, he opened the curtains and picked her up. "Your mother is home," he said. "Let's see what's going on with her and David, shall we?" He and Lucy watched out the window as David parked in the driveway and helped Selina out of the backseat. They both looked soaked. A few second later, they both leaned forward and kissed each other. The kiss wasn't very long and after it ended, David got in his car and drove away, and while Selina made her way up the drive, Elijah turned away from the window and toward the television.
"So how did it go?" Elijah asked. "It must have gone well since you two are kissing now and everything."
"Oh, yes," she nodded. "David's just wonderful at kissing. And other things. His hair is so soft, and his eyes sparkle and his lips-"
While she'd been talking, Elijah had felt his eyes wandering over her body. Her clothes were clinging to her like a second skin. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He sped over, grabbed her and pushed her against the wall, kissing her deeply, then moving his lips down her chin and neck. "Don't lie to me," he said. "David's a terrible kisser and you know it."
"Yeah," Selina said. "Anna did mention that, and I have to agree."
Then, he grabbed the bottom of her wet shirt and started to peel it off, the paused.
"What?" Selina asked, looking a little stunned. "Morals again?"
"No," he shook his head. "Just a minute." He stepped away from her and grabbed an interested Lucy, taking her to her room and putting her in her crib. "Now," he said when he came back, "Where were we?"
"I don't care," Selina said. "I'm just glad we get to continue."
"I remember," he said. He grabbed the bottom of her wet shirt and pulled it off, running his hands over her bare stomach. She moaned. Then he leaned forward and got her bra off, laying her down on the carpet.
"Nice to see you're making this easy for yourself," Selina breathed.
"Stop talking," Elijah ordered, kissing her again. He got on his knees and stripped off her jeans and well, placing his hand on the front of her panties and rubbing a little. She squealed and squirmed, begging him to do it again, which he did.
"You're going to kill me, you know that?" She asked, "But what a way to die." When he paused for a moment, she got herself up and shoved him to the floor, ripping off his shirt, straddling him and running her hands over his abs. But just as she was about to unzip his pants, she heard a voice coming from the television.
"Oh, my god, Adrian wasn't kidding about you two, was he?" Selina turned. "Alistair?" She asked. "What in the hell?"
Alistair was staring in amazement. "I could ask you the same thing," he said quietly.