"Why are you in a mood today?" Vince asked Roxie as he wiped down the glasses and placed them in the cabinet. "Still upset about your dad's new girlfriend?"

Roxie growled. "Don't you call her that! For all we know this could just be a passing thing that won't even last very long."

"And what if it does last?" Vince asked. "What if they get married and you have to see her every Thanksgiving for the rest of time?"

Roxie grinned. "Not gonna happen. Grandma has to approve all guests before they enter her house and let me tell you something: she will not approve of that barbie-wannabe."

"How can you hate someone you never even met?" Vince asked. "You might like her if you give her a chance."

Roxie shook her head. "I won't. I won't, I won't! But at least I don't have to worry about Dad bringing her here. He wouldn't dare."

Vince looked up as Klaus, Adrian and Caroline entered the bar. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," he said to Roxie. "Look who just walked in the door."

Roxie's jaw dropped. "He did it!" She stomped her foot. "I can't believe he did it!"

"Be nice," Vince said as Adrian approached the bar.

Roxie plastered a fake smile on and greeted her brother. "So what did Dad bring the tramp to the bar for?" She asked.

"To meet you," Adrian said. "Now come on!"

"No!" Roxie struggled as Adrian tried to pull her toward the table where Klaus and Caroline were sitting. "I don't want to! This is stupid!"

Adrian scoffed. "Fine," he said, letting her go. "Stay there! But you'll have to meet her eventually." His lip curled and he shook his head, walking back to the table alone.

"So she's not coming?" Klaus asked.

Adrian shook his head. "Of course not. But it's not like we thought she'd make it easy for us."

"Maybe if you told her I was friends with Selina, then she'd warm up to me," Caroline said. "Have you tried that?"

Adrian shook his head. "No, and if you want her to like you, don't emphasize your good relationship with Mom. It'll count against you 'cause Roxie thinks Mom is lame."

"Oh, really? Why?" Caroline asked.

"They've never really been close," Adrian said. He looked at his father. "Isn't that right?" he asked. "Or have I missed something?"

Klaus shook his head. "No, no. You're correct. But I don't think that Roxanne's objections have anything to do with Selina. Roxie's been in a sour mood ever since Lucy came along."

"You mean ever since Lucy came along and you started paying more attention to her than you did to Roxie," Adrian corrected him. "I think Roxie's just being spiteful now."

"Well, that is just ridiculous," Klaus said. "She had her chance for my attention, but she left home when she was six years old and I didn't hear a word from her! Can she blame me for wanting to move on like she did?"

"Roxie left home for ten years?" Caroline asked.

Klaus nodded. "She and I were very close before that. Selina would always say it was like we were glued at the hip. But then things went wrong."

"How about you try talking to her?" Caroline suggested. "Maybe if you told her how it made you feel when she left home, then she'll understand where you're coming from and things will be better between the two of you."

"Or at least you might get her to come out from behind the bar," Adrian finished.

Klaus stood up and rolled his eyes, striding purposefully toward his daughter.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked her when he sat down on a bar stool.

Roxie shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Adrian says you don't want to come over and meet Caroline," he said. "Why not? Adrian didn't have a problem with it."

Roxie locked eyes with him. "Of course he wouldn't. Adrian gets along with everybody. And everybody gets along with him. Isn't he lucky?" On the last word, she took an empty glass from one side of the bar and slammed it down on the middle, causing it to shatter.

"There's no reason for this!" Klaus said to her. "I know you're upset because your mother and I aren't together anymore, and frankly I am too, but we have to move on. I did. You have to accept it."

Roxie smirked. "No, you haven't! You're always gonna like Mom! This woman is just around so that you have someone to screw. You don't really like her. How could you? You hardly know her at all!"

Klaus nodded. "I realize that. But I want to get to know her. And that means I will have to spend time with her. And you might be around during some of that time. If you believe you're sticking up for your mother, she's all right with this. In fact, Caroline is her friend."

Roxie nodded. "I knew that. Mom told me when I first found out about you and Caroline and told her."

"So what's to worry about if you aren't worried for your mother's sake?" Klaus asked.

"Well, what about me?" Roxie asked. "I've stuck by you for years. I've seen your worst and did I ever tell you to change? No, I didn't! And it's like you don't even acknowledge that! There's always someone cuter or prettier that comes along that supposedly deserves more attention than me!"

"Why did you leave for ten years without a word?" Klaus asked her. "I wrote you every day hoping for a response, but I got nothing. What do you think that told me about how much you valued our relationship?"

"You tried to kill my friend!" Roxie said. "I was six years old! Can you imagine how traumatizing it was to know that my father wanted to kill my friend when I was six years old? It takes time to get over something like that. In my case, it took ten years!"

"And yet, this time when I actually did turn him, you're over it in less than five and begging for a reconciliation," Klaus said. "You amaze me with how fickle you are, Roxanne."

Roxie shook her head. "I'm not, okay? Back then, we all were okay. You and Mom were together and we were a family: you and me and Mom and Adrian. Now you and Mom are all broken up and with other people and I just, I need someone to tell me everything is going to be okay." She looked at Klaus appealingly.

"Of course it is," he said. "The only person who thinks it won't be is you. It will take some adjustment though. But you can do that, right?"

Roxie sighed. "I suppose."

Vince watched Roxie and Klaus for a moment, then went to find Charlie and Tony who were playing poker in one of the back rooms. "Come with me, would you?" Vince asked Charlie.

"Why?" She asked. "What did Roxie do now?"

"She hasn't done anything yet, but I have a feeling she might unless you distract her."

"Why can't you do it?" Charlie asked. "You have much better distractions at your disposal than I do."

"Roxie's dad has a new girlfriend," Vince said through his teeth. "Roxie found out and she's not taking it well at all. So will you come?"

Charlie sighed. "Oh, all right." She followed Vince out into the main room and tapped Roxie on the shoulder. "Vince told me what's going on," she said. "Wanna talk about it?" Roxie nodded.

"All right," Charlie said. "Tony's at one of the poker tables in the there and wait for me and we'll talk, all right?"

Roxie nodded. "Thank you, Charlie." She left and Charlie turned back to Klaus.

"Thank you, Charlotte," he said to her. "It gets more and more difficult to talk to her every day."

"So where is she?" Charlie asked him. "Your girlfriend, I mean?"

"Over at that table next to Adrian," Klaus gestured and Charlie's eyes widened. "Oh, boy. You're a brave man bringing a woman like that here."

"I knew that there would be some risk, but I thought it would be best to have Roxanne and Caroline get to know each other sooner rather then later," Klaus said.

"Have I told you about my mom?" Charlie asked him. "About why I grew up here at Enid's instead of in a normal home?"

Klaus shook his head. "No. Well, didn't your mother try to kill you?"

Charlie nodded. "But also, after that, my parents split up and my dad got a new girlfriend. He tried to introduce her to my mom so that they could be you know, friendly for my sake, but Mom killed her. And his next girlfriend, and his girlfriend after that. Until Dad finally just gave up, you know? Last time I saw him was at my wedding. I haven't heard from him since."

"Do you really think that Roxanne would be so petty as to threaten the life of anyone I become involved with?" Klaus asked her.

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe not. But you should keep the possibility in the back of your mind. Will you?"

Klaus nodded and got up from the bar and Roxie went to the back room, but found that Roxie wasn't there. "Where'd she go?" Charlie asked Tony and Vince who'd started another poker game.

Tony shrugged. "I don't know. She just said she had to leave. She didn't say where she was going."

Charlie sighed. "Wonderful. I'm gonna go look for her. Who knows when I'll be back."

"So how did things go last night?" Selina asked Damon. "Did things go okay?"

Damon nodded. "Yeah, fine. She slept through the night and we watched TV this morning. I have to ask, I have a meeting of my single parents' group today. Is it all right if I take her? I promise I'll watch her like a hawk."

Selina nodded. "Sure, why not." She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. She was glad that Damon had gotten Lucy back safely, but that was the least of her problems. She left the kitchen and went to the library, where Elijah was seated at the desk, leafing through a folder. "Still looking at the stories, I see," Selina said.
Elijah shut the folder. "That's not what's in the folder. It's just papers connected to a project I'm working on with Aleksandr."
"Really?" Selina asked, sitting on the desk. "I wasn't even aware the two of you talked anymore."
Elijah nodded. "Well, we do. Now I have a meeting to go to. I don't know when I'll be back. I might not even be back tonight, but I trust you can entertain yourself until I return?"
Selina nodded. "Of course I can."
He kissed her. "All right," he said. "I'll see you later tonight hopefully, and if I have to stay out longer, I'll call and let you know."
"All right," Selina said. "Good luck with whatever it is you're doing."
He said goodbye one last time, and as he strode out of the library, a scrap of paper fell from the folder and onto the library floor. Elijah was gone by the time Selina noticed it, and she figured he wouldn't want to be called back just for a scrap of paper. She picked it up and gasped. It was a newspaper article, and the title was in bold print: Lonely Heart Strikes Again!

"Oh, shit," she whispered. "This isn't good." She slid the article carefully into her purse and left the house, heading for Klaus', and when she reached it, Alistair opened the front door, grinning. "Not practicing any speeches today?" He asked her.

"There's no time, Alistair," Selina said. "Can I just come in?"

Alistair nodded. "Of course, but why? You aren't having any relapses, are you?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "of course not! Don't be sick." She took the article out of her purse and handed it to him. He looked it over and then looked back at her. "Where did you get this?" He asked her. "Don't tell me you've started collecting clippings about your killings."

"No!" Selina shook her head. "It was in a folder that Elijah had with him. He took it when he left the house. What if there are more articles about me in the folder? What if he finds out that Lonely Heart and me are the same person? You know how moral he is! Him finding out about me will be the death knell of the only decent relationship I've ever had!"

"All right, all right," Alistair told her. "Calm down. We could be worrying over nothing. This could very well be the only article of its kind in that folder. Think of it that way. That'll help stem the worry."

"Yeah," Selina took a deep breath. "That's right. It's the only article like it in the folder. Elijah won't find out that I killed a whole bunch of people, or any of the other stuff. Truthfully, it's the other stuff I'm worried about more."

"Well, why don't you sit down and I'll bring you a drink and we'll get this all figured out?" Alistair said. Selina nodded. "Thanks."

When they reached the kitchen, Selina saw Caroline sitting at the table with an ice pack on her head. "What's wrong with you?" Selina asked her.

"Adrian and Klaus took me to this bar cause they wanted me to meet your daughter and everything just went to hell," Caroline replied. "And how has your day been going?"

"I've had better...I've had worse, I'll live," Selina replied. "Even if the best relationship I've ever had in my life goes to hell as well."

"Aww, what happened?" Klaus asked as he walked into the kitchen and Alistair placed a can of pop in front of her. "Trouble already?"

Ignoring him, Selina took the article out of her purse and handed it to him. "Elijah had a folder with this article in it."

Klaus clicked his tongue. "A man's head was found dangling outside the bedroom that he and his wife shared just outside of the Rue de Fleur. His body, however, was nowhere to be found. When police went inside, they found the body of his wife tucked neatly into bed, strangled with a pair of dance tights, which were stained with blood from her cut throat. On the wall were the words 'Til death do us part'."

Caroline shuddered. "That's horrible. Who would do something like that?"

"Me," Selina said. "I had a dark period. A very dark period. It's not something I'm proud of, or something that's going to happen again. I just want to forget it and move on with my life."

"And you're afraid to tell your new boyfriend because you aren't sure how he'll react?" Caroline asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "I know how he'll react. That's why I'm scared to tell him."

"My brother is a very moral person," Klaus told Caroline. "He doesn't do well with people who kill, lie, cheat, steal, basically anything fun." He gave Selina a look. "Frankly, I'd have thought you'd be bored by now, but to each his own."

"What happened with Roxie?" Selina asked him. "I take it things didn't go well?"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "Roxanne still thinks that we're going to be together again. I tried to tell her it wouldn't happen, but..." He sighed. "She ran away from the bar and never came back to finish her shift. Charlotte's been looking for her, but hasn't found anything and Vince is out looking too."

Selina sighed. "Don't worry too much. She just needs to blow off some steam and she'll show up tomorrow demanding breakfast like nomal and everything will be okay."

"Do you think she'll try to hurt me?" Caroline asked Selina.

"I don't know," Selina told her. "I wish I could give you a better answer, but I can't."

Damon looked at his watch, and then back at Lucy. "I have to go somewhere," he told her. "Wanna come with me?"

"Sure!" She nodded. "Where are we going?"

"I have to meet with some people," he said. "Some friends of mine. They'll love you." She followed him out to his car like a baby duck following its mother, and three stoplights and a short traffic jam later, they reached a tall red brick building. Damon parked in the parking lot and led Lucy inside, to a room labeled "Parents Without Partners." He opened the door and brought Lucy inside. The room was sparsely decorated, except for a circle of brown metal folding chairs. A few other people waved.

"Did you hear about Wendy?" A woman asked Damon as he sat down. "It seems she's dead! Did you know that?"

Damon nodded. "And what about Allison? Will she be all right?"

The woman nodded. "She's living with her grandmother."

Damon breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

"Who's that?" One of the fathers asked, pointing to Lucy.

"She's a friend of mine," Damon said. "A single mom with a loser boyfriend. I thought I'd bring her along."

A woman put her hand on Lucy's arm. "Teenage pregnancy? What a shame. Everything will be all right, dear."

Just then, the door opened again, and another man entered. Damon tensed. The man came to stand in front of him and smirked. "Fancy meeting you here," he said.

"I've been here awhile," Damon told him. "When did you get here, Aleksandr?"

Aleksandr looked thoughtful. "I just joined last week. Me and my daughter Mary Anne are new to the area." He looked at Lucy. "You seem familar," he said to her. "Have we met before?"

"Just a minute," Damon said. "Excuse us, would you?" He led Lucy out of the room and into the hallway. "Don't talk to him," he ordered. "He is a bad man!"

"Who is it?" Lucy asked.

"That's your uncle," Damon said. "Your father's brother. He married your mother and then left her alone and very sad."

"You mean like you did?" Lucy asked immediately.

"That was different," Damon said. "If I hadn't left your mom, you wouldn't exist. The point is, you do not tell him who you are, all right?"

Lucy nodded. "Okay."

They went back into the room and Aleksandr came up to them again. "So, where have we met?"

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know."

"Maybe you haven't," Damon added.

"Oh, well in that case," he said. "I'm Aleksander Mikaelson." He gestured for a girl to come forward. "And this is my daughter Mary Anne."

The dark eyed girl gave them a stoic look from under heavy dark lashes. "You sorta look like Sera," she said. She looked at Aleksandr. "Doesn't she look like Sera?"

"Who's Sera?" Damon asked. But before Mary Anne could reply, the last person arrived and the meeting began. After it was all over, Aleksandr met with Damon and Lucy in the parking lot. "It was nice meeting you," he said to them. "Perhaps the two of you could come and visit sometime."

"Maybe," Damon said. "Or not. We might be busy."

"If that was the case, it wouldn't be a real loss to me," Aleksandr replied. "I was just trying to be polite." He turned his back on Damon and herded Mary Anne away.

"Are we going home now?" Lucy asked as soon as they were gone.

Damon nodded. "Yes, we're going home."

"Elijah!" Aleksandr said in surprise when he found him sitting with Mikael in the study. "What brings you here?"

"More research on Lonely Heart," Elijah said. "I've been studying the articles you gave me and she does seem to have a distinctive killing pattern."

"Tell him about the murder of the couple on the cruise ship," Aleksandr said to his father.

"Oh, you don't have to," Elijah said. "I read the article and I was there when it happened."

Mikael's eyes widened. "What?" he asked. "Did you see anything?"

"Lonely Heart didn't commit the cruise ship murders," Elijah said. "I know who did."

Mikael leaned forward. "Well, who was it? Go on. You can tell us."

"It was the woman I'm seeing, Selina," Elijah said after a deep breath. "She hadn't eaten for awhile and that couple was the first blood source she'd come across. That's all. Nothing nefarious about it."

"How can you be sure?" Mikael asked. "The killings are very similar. Even if she's not Lonely Heart, she could be looking to emulate Lonely Heart's methods."

"I don't think so," Aleksandr said. "I know her too, Selina, and she'd never hurt a fly."