Selina's eyes widened. "Well I slept fine," she said. "Thank you for asking. But I slept in my own bed. At your other house. And you were in your own bed. At your other house. Now we're back at the boardinghouse." She eyed Damon suspiciously. "You're not trying to pull anything, are you?"

"What do you mean?" He asked her. "We've always slept in the same bed. We can do that. We're married, remember?"

Selina sat up in the bed and looked around the room. "This isn't our room. We haven't always slept together and we're not married, at least not anymore. So you tell me what's going on.

He shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I remember going to bed by myself last night, but I woke up and there you were next to me. I can't explain it, but it doesn't bother me."

"How can it not bother you?" Selina yelled. "We're in a strange place and we have no idea how we got here or how to get back home! You should be worried!"

He just grinned and shook his head. "Lina, relax. You worry too much. If we don't know how to get back, we might as well sit back and enjoy the ride until we figure it out. I mean that lady Helene took Sam, didn't she? So it's not like he's not being taken care of. Clearly someone wants us to be together."

While listening to him talk, Selina grabbed a bathrobe off the bedpost nearest her and put it on before getting out of bed. When Damon mentioned Helene, she turned around quickly. "Helene, that's it! How could I forget? She did this!"

"Oh, really?" Damon asked. "Well remind me to send her flowers when we get back home."

"Oh, I don't think you'll want to be sending her flowers," Selina said. "The point of the spell is to make me realize that it's foolish to stay so attached to you. To help me realize that I need to move on from you and live my own life."

"Well, you know, that's really hurtful," Damon said. "Why would you want to get away from me? Who knows you better than I do? We've known each other for years. That's what keeps you coming back to me, isn't it? That's why you can't stay away."

Before Selina could reply, there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Are you both decent?" Stefan called. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Selina called. "Why not?"

Stefan came in the room, but he hadn't come alone. Someone else was with him. "Morning," Elena greeted both of them. "Better get dressed, both of you. We have to figure out what we're going to do today."

"Well, I figured Selina and I would just stay in," Damon said. "If it's all right with the two of you."

"You just want to milk this as long as possible, don't you?" Selina said to him. "You don't even care about Sam or Lucy and how the longer we stay here, the worse it will be for them."

"Who are Sam and Lucy?" Elena asked.

"Oh, nobody," Damon said. "They're just products of Selina's mind. She still has trouble dealing with the whole Joshua thing."

"No, they aren't!" Selina said. "They're real and they're my kids!"

"You're a vampire," Elena reminded her gently. "You can't have any kids. The only one you've ever had was Joshua and he came before you were turned." Elena looked worriedly at Damon. "What could have caused her to act this way?"

Damon shrugged. "It could be that we found some old pictures of Joshua in a trunk in the attic and seeing them upset her. I think we should get rid of them."

"I could go take care of that right now," Stefan said. "I meant to after what happened. I thought she wouldn't want to look at them. I don't blame her for being upset." He looked at Elena. "Would you help me get rid of the pictures?"

Elena nodded. "Sure. Anything to help Selina through her difficult time. And after that, can we go hunting?"

Stefan nodded. "Sure."

They left the room and Selina tried to follow them, but Damon held her steady. "Don't," he said.

"Why not?" Selina asked. "They're going to destroy all the pictures I have of my only child. And Damon, that's all I have!"

Damon nodded. "I know. I know."

Selina sighed. "I've been in this spell world for less than ten minutes and already I hate it."

Damon sat back down on the bed and motioned for him to join her. "So where are we, anyway?" Damon asked when Selina was beside him. "What's going on?"

"I told you," Selina said. "Alistair's daughter Helene offered to cast a spell for me that would show me what life would have been like for me if you and I had stayed together the entire time. So far, all I've learned is that my only kid is dead and I can't have any more, and that Elena is my best friend. Even if she is a vampire, it's not a good enough exchange for Anna."

"Well, like you say, we've only been here ten minutes," Damon said. "Why don't you give this place a chance."

Selina sighed. "Fine, but I don't think I'll like it. No offense or anything."

Damon rolled his eyes. "If I'm supposed to say 'none taken,' I don't want to. Now get dressed. We don't want those two to think you're more messed up than they already think you are."

It took a lot longer than expected for Selina and Damon to get downstairs, and when they reached the kitchen, Selina saw someone familiar sitting at the breakfast table.

"I called Dr. Fale to come have a look at you," Stefan said. "It was Elena's idea. She's really worried about you."

Helene stood up and came to meet her. "Stefan said you've had another bad morning. Would you like to come into the living room and talk about it with me?"

"Sure," Selina said. "Why not?" She followed Helene into the living room and they both sat down on the sofa.

"What are you doing here?" Selina asked. "I mean, not that I'm not happy to see you because this whole place is a nightmare, but..."

"I had to come and make sure the spell worked," Helene said. "And to warn you about something."

"Warn me about something?" Selina asked, frowning. "I'm not going to be stuck here forever, am I? I hate this place!"

Helene sighed. "Not forever, but you won't be going back as soon as you want to."

"Why?" Selina asked. "Helene, what's wrong?"

Helene cast her eyes down and flushed a little. "I saw Enid's sister Hazel, you know, the witch? She visited me after I did the spell for you and she told me that I shouldn't have. Apparently, her father is still sore at me for what I did to all those people after I died, and although he let me keep my life, he put limitations on my magic until such time as he sees fit to remove them. And the limitations include not doing any big spells. I have to earn the right to do big magic. Until then, I'm about as powerful as a magician at a six-year-old's birthday party."

"But that's not true! You did the spell for me!" Selina said, gesturing wildly around the living room. "I'm in whatever place this is and my kids don't exist and Elena is my friend and everyone else thinks I'm crazy, so you did something right!"

Helene nodded. "I can do them. To say I don't have the magic is inaccurate. I have the magic and can do the spells. They just don't turn out the way they're supposed to."

"So where does that put me once all this is over?" Selina asked.

Helene shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I'll go now, before I can cause any more trouble." She disappeared and Selina walked back to the living room, her whole body feeling heavy.

"Are you feeling better?" Elena asked. "Did you and Dr. Fale have a nice talk?"

As long as I'm stuck here, I should probably do this more than halfway, Selina thought. "Yeah, we did. I'm feeling much better now."

Elena nodded. "Good."

"Now refresh my memory because I'm really forgetful sometimes, but how is it that you're here?" Selina asked Elena. "I assume that you made that reference to hunting because you're a vampire now?"

Elena nodded. "Yeah, I'm a vampire now." They all sat in uncomfortable silence a moment before Elena stood up. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"I don't know," Selina said. "We're in Mystic Falls. What is there to do around here, really?"

"I think you should stay in," Damon said. "And maybe rest a bit."

"I don't need to rest," Selina said through her teeth. "I'm fine."

"Well, are you hungry?" Elena asked her. "We could go get doughnuts or something."

"Oh, goody," Selina said dryly. "Doughnuts. The highlight of my day."

"Come on, cheer up!" Elena said. "A chocolate doughnut with sprinkles would brighten anybody's day!"

After another warning from Stefan to stay inside and, oddly enough, to neither answer the phone nor the door, no matter who called or knocked, they left to get the doughnuts, leaving Selina alone in the kitchen.

"My god," she whispered, running fingers through her hair. "I wish I was dead."

Just then, the phone rang Selina sat up like a shot and got up to go to the phone. She reached out for it, but then remembered what Stefan said about not answering the phone. But then she thought, what could be so bad that he didn't want her to answer the phone? She picked it up and put it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Who is this?" Asked the voice on the other side. "I don't think I've ever talked to you before. I'd like to talk to Stefan Salvatore. Could you get him for me, please?"

"I can't, I'm sorry," Selina said. "He went out. This is his sister-in-law, but I could give him a message, if you tell me who's calling."

There was silence on the other end of the line, and then a click. The other caller had hung up. Taking a deep breath, Selina put the phone back down in its cradle and went to put on her jacket. She needed some air. She couldn't be in this house another minute.

"So you're back all right?" Adrian asked when Helene came into the living room. "Did you find my mom?"

"Yeah, I did," Helene nodded and slipped off her white trench coat, hanging it up in the closet. "I told her everything. Well, not everything. I should have, but all she knows is that my magic is on the fritz and the spell is a tad unpredictable."

"Well, what else is there to tell?" Adrian asked. He and Sam were watching wresting and trying to replicate the moves and the latter was much happier now that he had been cured of his chicken pox. Helene gave them a small smile. "There's lots more to tell, actually," she said. "Your mother is going to be in for a big shock if she ever leaves the boardinghouse."

Just then, Elijah called. "Where's your mother?" He asked Adrian. "I've tried calling her at Damon's house several times, but she's not there."

"No, she's not," Adrian said. "Helene cast a spell for her that would show her what her life would have been like if she and Damon would have stayed together after they became vampires. So they're in some other place now, a place that is apparently unreachable by phone."

"Well, when is she coming back?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know," Adrian said. "But Helene's here with me. She could probably tell you." He handed the phone to Helene and told her who it was.

"Hi, Elijah," she said. "No, I don't exactly know when she'll be back. My magic isn't at its peak right now, so it could be hours, days, weeks, I don't know. I'm sorry." Her eyes widened. "Oh, please don't tell my father!" She paused. "All right, I'll try and fix it. I'll do what I can."

Elijah hung up the phone and headed to the kitchen to pour himself a drink.

"Another one?" Klaus asked. "What is going on? Problems in paradise?"

Elijah shook his head. "No, Selina's missing. Helene put some spell on her and now she's 'some other place'. And on top of that, Helene says her magic is not at its best, so who knows when Selina will be coming back? I hope she's not in trouble wherever she is."

"You have to have more faith in her," Klaus said. "She's much more resilient than you believe. Now, will you answer my question about Mary Anne, or not?"

"What question?" Elijah asked.

"You told me you saw her." Klaus said. "Where did you see her?"

"Aleksandr has taken a young girl named Mary Anne under his wing," Elijah said. "I heard them talking and he told her that he was married to a woman that she knew named Sera. And you and I both know that the only person Aleksandr's ever been involved with is Selina. But why call her Sera?"

"Because that was her name back when Mary Anne knew her," Klaus said, bouncing Lucy up and down on his lap a few times. "And back when she wasn't at her best. Now, where is Aleksandr exactly? I want to talk to him."

"Your father wants to see you," Mary Anne said to Aleksandr. "He found something else that might be helpful in catching Lonely Heart."

Aleksandr looked up. "Thank you," he said. "What did he find?" Mary Anne led him to the study. "I'll let him tell you that," she said. "But it's something really juicy." She left him at the study door. "That picture of Sera that's on the mantel, you don't mind if I look at it, do you?"

Aleksandr shook his head. "No, I don't mind."

Mary Anne headed for the living room and Mikael invited Aleksandr into the study. "Mary Anne said you found another clue in the search for Lonely Heart?"

Mikael nodded. "I did." He pushed another news clipping in Aleksandr's direction. "In the town of Mystic Falls, in the woods, police officers found some horribly mutilated bodies, all of young men who'd come to have a good time."

"That can't be Lonely Heart," Aleksandr said. "It doesn't fit her pattern at all."

"But you have to remember that a killer's methodology can change over time," Mikael reminded him. "Just because Lonely Heart enjoyed killing married couples several years ago doesn't mean that's still all she does. And it's not that much of a stretch. She killed men slowly and painfully back then and she kills men slowly and painfully now."

"So you think we should head to Mystic Falls next, then?"

Mikael nodded. "I think we should."

Aleksandr nodded. "All right. But let's wait until tomorrow. I have something I need to do first."

"So why is it that you told Selina she couldn't answer the phone or the door?" Damon asked Stefan. "It seems a bit much, don't you think?"

Stefan sighed. "I told her that because..."

"Just go ahead and tell him," Elena said. "He can handle it."

"What?" Damon said.

"It's just that Joshua's been in contact with me again. He wants me to convince Selina to see him so that the two of them can make peace. I don't think she's ready to do that yet. Do you think she is?"

"Wait!" Damon said, holding up a hand. "Joshua is talking to you? I think someone has had a bit too much to drink. Joshua's dead!"

"Ah," Stefan nodded. "So I see you're not ready to have a reconciliation either. I have to say that I thought you'd handle Joshua's transformation better than this. You sound just like Father did when he got angry with you for quitting the army."

"Oh, no!" Damon shook his head. "I'm not passing any judgment. I'm stating a fact. He died in '39 and..." Damon paused. "Joshua's transformation? Is he a vampire?"

Stefan nodded. "Yes."

"Well how did that happen?" Damon asked.

Stefan shook his head. "I don't know precisely. He's never actually told me. All I know is that he was doing something he shouldn't have. Something Selina probably wouldn't have approved of."

Damon smiled. "So he was living a little? What's wrong with that? I'm proud of him."

"Are you proud he's a vampire?" Elena asked.

"Well, it's not what I would have wanted for him," Damon said. "But I won't blame him because things happen."

Just then, Stefan's phone rang. "Hello?" He said. "Joshua, what is it? You what? Why didn't you call my cell first? Did she answer? Did you talk to her? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Where are you?" He paused. "Fine, meet us at the Grill in ten minutes and we'll talk. Uh-huh. Goodbye." He hung up, looking troubled. "Selina answered the phone," he said. "Joshua called and Selina answered the phone. It's a good thing he chickened out once she said who she was and hung up. I really think that somebody else should be with her when the two of them see each other again."

"So can I come to the Grill with you and see him?" Damon asked. "I want to."

"Sure," Stefan nodded. "Why not?"

Selina took a deep breath as she strolled away from the boardinghouse and down the sidewalk. She was thirsty. Not for blood, just a soda. She walked to the Grill, but to her surprise, there was a parking lot where the restaurant used to be. She turned and began walking back to the boardinghouse, hoping she'd run into someone who could give her directions on the way.

About two blocks away from the parking lot, she passed by an alleyway where a young man with his back to her was leaning against a trash can. He was eating something, something that he struggled to keep a grip on. Hesitantly, she walked toward him, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Excuse me," she said. "Are you okay? Could you help me?"

It was then that the young man turned to face her. His mouth was covered with blood and she saw that he was holding a struggling, bleeding rabbit. When they locked eyes, they both started, and the rabbit was able to jump out of the boy's arms and get away.

"Oh, my god," Selina said. She knew the face that was staring back at her as well as she knew her own. She began backing away. "Oh, my god. "Oh, my god!"

"Please, Mother," the young man said. "Please stay calm. Let me explain!" But she shook her head and ran out of the alleyway. He followed her, hollering at her to stop before she reached the street, but he went unheeded. Selina's momentum carried her into the street where she was promptly hit by a car, and crumpled to the ground.

Joshua Salvatore stood frozen, staring at his mother's crumpled body from the sidewalk. He hadn't meant for her to find out this way. When he could move again, he went to wipe the blood from his mouth and when he got back, the police and ambulances had arrived.

"Did you see what happened?" A policeman asked him. He nodded. "Yeah, I did. And I'll come with her to the hospital too. I'm family."

En route to the hospital, Joshua called Stefan again. "I have bad news," he said. "Mom saw me when I was feeding and it freaked her out. She had an accident. Ran into the street and got hit by a car. We're on our way to the hospital now. Could you meet us there? All right. Bye, Uncle Stefan."

Just as he was hanging up, he heard a moan. He looked down. Selina's eyes were open. "How did this happen?" She asked him. "You're not supposed to be like this. You're supposed to have been taken in by your grandfather and lived out your normal life."

Joshua took his mother's hand and sighed. "That was the plan, Mother," he said. "But Dad came back and got me away from Grandfather, don't you remember? Because you told him you wanted to raise me yourself. So I grew up with the two of you and then in 1883, I went off to college and while I was there, I joined a club. The members all claimed to be vampires, and I wanted to try and disprove the claim. I was on the paper, you know. I thought that debunking the myth of the club would be a good article. But the members found out, kidnapped me and turned me. I guess they weren't making stuff up after all."

"And you stayed in this club?" Selina asked. "For how long?"

"I only got out recently," he said. "The rest of them were all killed by a hunter. All except me. I managed to get away."

"Well, at least there's that," Selina said. "I thought this happened because you were getting involved in things you weren't supposed to, but if it was for the sake of journalism, then I suppose I can't be too mad at you."

"You wish I would have stayed human, don't you?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I kind of do wish that. But what's done is done. We can't change it now." She held his hand tighter, and closed her eyes. Then she felt a whoosh and when she opened her eyes again, she was back at Damon's house. Groaning, she sat up in bed. That had been some trip.

Damon came in a few seconds later. "I just had the strangest dream," he said. "Stefan and Elena were still together and he told me the strangest story about Joshua being a vampire and..."

Selina nodded. "If you and I would have stayed together, he would have been. Because you're too nice to me. In the dream, he told me that if you and I would have stayed together, we would have raised Joshua ourselves instead of keeping him with your father. In the story he told, when we sent him off to college, he became a vampire because of a newspaper story gone awry, but it probably would have been some other reason in different circumstances."

"So what?" Damon asked. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that for the first time since we were turned, I don't feel like I need to keep clinging to you and me and asking 'What if?'". Us being separated after we became vampires was probably the best thing that could have happened to Joshua. It was what made him stay human. That's something we should be grateful for. Joshua being human, me getting to see the world, branch out, meet new people. I always knew I was meant for more than life in a small town. And when I was forced to be on my own, I got my chance."

Damon eyed her bitterly. "Well it's nice you figured all this out, but what about me?"

"You've got Wendy now," Selina said. "And eventually, you'll find someone who will love you and make you happy, someone better than me. And the only reason why you and I got together wasn't because you were in love with me. You loved me, sure, but you were never in love with me. I was an obligation to you. You were the one person in town who really understood all of my problems and you didn't want to abandon me, so you stayed by me. I thank you for that, but it's not something I need anymore. I think It's time for both of us to move on."

"Okay, well fine," Damon said. "You go ahead and move on. Get out!"

"Want to come by in a bit and get Lucy?" Selina asked. "She'll cheer you up I bet."

"Fine," Damon said. "Will you just go away?"

"There you are!" Elijah said when he opened the door. He picked Selina up and carried her to their room. "I was worried sick about you."

Selina sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I was getting closure."

"How do you mean?" He asked. "Wait a minute, don't tell me yet." He kissed her once and then kissed her again.

"Wait!" Selina said. "Is Nicky outside?"

"Yes," Elijah was kissing down her neck. "Why? Why are we talking about him now?"

"I need to have a quick word with him," Selina said. "I'll be back in a minute, and you better be naked by then."

She left the bedroom and found Klaus and Lucy sitting in front of the television. "Nicky," she said, "We need to have a word. Shut the television off, please."

"Oh, all right," Klaus looked her up and down. "You look nice."

Selina ignored this. "I have a question," she said. "Do you like my friend Caroline?"

He nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Doesn't seem like it," she said. "What with you always looking me over every chance you get? Don't you want a chance at a real relationship?"

He nodded. "I suppose. But how am I supposed to have one if my attraction toward you gets in the way?"

"Go see Uncle Jake," Selina said. "You remember where he lives? He'll be able to help you. And it'll make you much happier, I promise."

Klaus sighed. "All right, I'll go see him. I doubt he'll be able to help me, but I'll go see him."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "That must be Damon," Selina said. "We sorta broke up and I thought an evening with Lucy would bolster him up." She picked up Lucy and brought her to Damon and Damon left without saying goodbye. Klaus left soon afterward and Selina went back to Elijah's room. He stood just inside the door, still dressed.

"Hey!" She frowned. "I told you to be naked! Why are you still wearing clothes? Do you have some aversion to doing what I ask?"

He grinned and pulled her to him. "Not exactly," he said. "It's just that it's no fun for me to undress alone. When you watch, you get a look on your face, a look of awe, of admiration." He unbuttoned his shirt and put it on the bedpost, grinning at the look on Selina's face. "That's the look," he said. "I like that look."

He undid his pants and pulled them off, then kissed her again. "You can't resist me," he whispered in her ear.

She grinned. "I guess not. Now, do you want my coat, or my dress?" When he didn't answer, she pulled off both and stood in front of him in her panties. "Now who's wearing a look of awe and admiration?" As he ran his hands over her body, she said, "You like me for my mind, too, right?"

He grinned. "I admire your mind and I admire your spirit, but the fact that they come in such an alluring package is delightful also." He picked her up and threw her on the bed, then got on top of her and threw her bra and panties over his shoulder, then planted kisses on her neck and stomach before licking her inner thighs and inside her before thrusting in her and making her scream.

Damon brought Lucy and Sam who they'd picked up along the way inside and put them down in front of the television, but as he went to take off his jacket, he heard the phone ring. He threw his coat in the closet and ran to answer it, but by the time he got to the living room to grab the phone next to the TV, he saw Lucy getting to her feet and toddling toward the phone, picking it up and putting it to her ear. Damon considered taking the phone away from her, but then he realized that it was probably Stefan who was calling, so he decided to let Lucy take the call, just for a laugh.

"Hi," she said. She waited for a little while without saying a word, then said "bye-bye," threw the phone on the floor and sat down, her thumb in her mouth, watching Damon carefully as he stood with his hand on the wall, shaking from laughter because he could still hear Stefan calling for him from the other end of the line. He picked up the phone and tried to stop himself from laughing. "Hi," he said. "I was thinking of hiring Lucy as my secretary. Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Focus," Stefan said. "Where have you been all day? Do you realize how many times I've had to talk to Wendy because she had no idea where you were and was worried sick? Call her, would you?"

"Fine, I'll call her." He hung up on Stefan and called Wendy.

"Hey," he said when she answered. "I had to go out of town on an emergency. Sorry I didn't tell you. What happened at group today?"

"We got a new member," Wendy said. "An Aleksandr Mikaelson who has a daughter named Mary Anne."

Before Damon could respond, the television blared to life. He looked over and saw Sam and Lucy fighting over the remote. He hung up the phone and went to separate them, but even before he reached them he watched in amazement as Lucy flew onto the sofa seemingly by herself, leaving Sam happily chewing on the remote.

"Oh, don't do that," Damon said, taking it away from him. We need to get you both to bed. I'm seeing things that aren't there. I need to get to sleep."

After he'd tucked them both in, he heard a slight noise. He looked up from Lucy's bed and saw something amazing near Sam's bed, a shaft of light that coalesced into a young man who had features very similar to Damon's own.

"How?" Damon asked the figure. "What? Who? Joshua? Did you do that to Lucy?"

Joshua nodded. "You weren't seeing things. I just thought I should be looking out for my little brother." He moved away from Sam's bed and over to Lucy's. "She's a little spitfire, isn't she?"

"How do you know about Sam?" Damon asked. "Who he is, I mean?"

Joshua shrugged. "I watch, I listen, I learn. And I'm going to be here awhile. Just promise me you won't tell Mom. I went through a lot to make myself visible to you."