"Now remind me why we're here again?" Vince asked Roxie as she led him through the smoke-filled bar.

"I met some new people," she said. "And since you and I are involved, I think you should meet them too," Roxie said.

Vince looked around the room and winced. The building was a dive, much less neat than Enid's. He had a feeling lots of unsavory types made their home here.

"Roxie!" called the bartender. "Back again so soon?"

Vince gave Roxie a look. "You've only been here once or twice and the bartender knows you by name?"

Roxie grinned. "What can I say? It's just the sort of person I am." She sat down on a barstool and nodded at the bartender. "I certainly am, Vic. And I brought someone special with me." She gestured at Vince. "This is Vince. He's my boyfriend."

Vic shook Vince's hand. He was an older man, with thin gray hair, a scar down one cheek and green-gray eyes. Vince studied him. Vampire, he thought. He looked around. Everyone in the place seemed to be vampires.

"You're a lucky guy," Vic said. Just then, the bell over the door rang as it opened to allow entrance to a redhead with green eyes. She wore a tight black body suit and sunglasses, which she removed before signaling to Vic. "Hey," she said. "Beer, please."

Vic cleared his throat. "Olivia, I think there's someone here you should meet." He pointed at Roxie and as Roxie turned her barstool around to face the newcomer, Olivia's eyes widened. "Sera! Long time no see! Where have you been all these years? You look good as a brunette. I like it." She grinned.

"Actually, her name's Roxie," Vince said.

Olivia let go of Roxie and stepped back. "Sorry," she said. "It's just that you really remind me of a friend of mine. I haven't seen her for years."

She took a leather bag off her shoulder and pulled a faded black and white picture out of the main pocket, looking it over. "It's scary," she said. "You look a lot like her at first glance, but also different." She handed the picture to Roxie. "Take a look."

Roxie looked the picture over and gasped. "Vince, look at this!" She said, wildly waving the picture in Vince's face. "It's my mother! She's blonde, but I really think it's her! She looks like she did in this dream that I had once!"

Olivia burst out laughing. "Your mother? Really? It's hard to picture Sera having kids. I mean, you should have seen how pissed she got when Nick insisted they take in that Mary Anne girl. But I really can't blame Sera. The girl was the daughter of her cheating loser of an ex-boyfriend. Wouldn't you be mad if you were her?"

After a moment, Roxie nodded. "I suppose I would. And Mom and I haven't always gotten along well, either. When I was little, she tied me to the top of her car during a rainstorm and drove home."

Olivia sucked in her breath. "That sounds more like my friend."

Vince smirked. "What Roxie forgot to mention was that she deserved every wet, cold minute."

Roxie glared at him. "Whatever," she said and turned her attention back to Olivia. "So, would you like to see my mom again? I can take you to her. Or at least find out where she is so the two of you can meet."

"Would you?" Olivia asked. "You're so sweet for offering."

"Word to the wise," Roxie said as she and Olivia walked out of the bar standing close together with Vince trailing in their wake, "Mom's lame now, a complete tool. She and my Dad have broken up and now she's sleeping with my uncle."

"And your dad is...?" Olivia asked.

"Nick," Roxie said. "He's my daddy. We're very close. Or at least we were until my stupid little sister came along. Now he has no time for me whatsoever, apparently."

"So your parents have two kids?" Olivia asked. "You and your sister?"

"And we have an older brother too," Roxie said. "He's married to a witch. A literal one. Not a figurative one." She paused. "I'll call my mom now, so we can find out where she is." They left Vince at the bar and once he realized they weren't coming back, he went home, knowing that he'd have to call Selina about that Olivia. He didn't trust her one bit.

"So how long did it take for Elijah to let you out of the house this morning?" Anna asked Selina.

"A long time," Selina said. "You should have seen the look on his face when I told him that I wanted to come over here and see what was in the briefcase. He looked absolutely horrified! That and he was kind of mad at me for sending Lucy off with Nicky. He thinks I don't keep her at home enough." She shuffled through some of the old photos of her. "I looked good in the twenties. You think I should go blonde again?"

"Well, I don't know," Anna said, picking up a photo of the two of them and Selina's friend Olivia. "I wouldn't recommend it. Remember, Elijah didn't like you back then, so calling up your old look might turn him off."

"If I start chosing my looks based off whether or not Elijah will like them, then I'm back to being just as childish as I was before I got together with him, right?" Selina asked her.

Anna nodded. "I suppose that's true. You did look awfully good as a blonde, though."

Selina paused at a picture of her and Klaus dancing cheek to cheek on New Years' Eve. "Things were different then," she said. "I was different. New to being able to be out in the world and do whatever I pleased with no one to tell me no. I reveled in it. But now...Now I sort of see how stupid I was. I mean, it was a good time, sure. But what did I accomplish, really?"

Anna lifted an eyebrow. "You mean besides gaining a reputation as one of the most notorious killers the world has ever seen, as yet uncaught?"

"You act like that's something to be proud of," Selina said.

"Well, it kind of is," Stefan said, entering the living room and sitting down on the sofa. "So, have you told Elijah about all this yet?"

Selina shook her head. "No, but based on what was in that briefcase, I'm wondering if I have to."

"There were pictures of you in the briefcase?" Stefan asked.

Selina shook her head. "Just articles, Stefan. You don't get to become a notorious, uncaught killer by letting people plaster pictures of your face everywhere! Well, Dillinger did it. And Al Capone. So I guess you can have your pictures up everywhere and still be a notorious killer."

"But let's not forget," Anna said, "Dillinger supposedly got shot down by the cops at the Biograph in '34 and Capone died at the Rock in '47, so it's not like they got off scot-free." She looked up at Stefan. "I found the pictures among my stuff. Looking at those articles made me feel a little nostalgic."

Stefan got down on the floor next to them and picked up a handful of photos, smirking. "You aren't smiling in any of the ones you and I are together," he remarked. "Why was that?"

"'Cause you were kind of a pain in my ass back then," Selina said. "Always nagging me about Damon when really, he was the last person I wanted to talk about..."

Klaus looked up and grinned. "There's the last member of our party!" He said, getting up to embrace Stefan. Selina rolled her eyes. "Damn. I would have hoped you'd forget to give him an invite this time. It would be so nice if you would once in awhile."

Klaus sat back down and grinned, running his fingers through Selina's hair. "What's the matter with you?" He said. "He's my friend. Why can't you just get along with him?"

Selina leaned forward. "It's not my fault," she said. "He's always nagging me every time I see him. He won't stop. He doesn't even think I should be with you!"

Anna looked at Stefan. "Really? Why? You don't like her, do you?"

Stefan shook his head. "Romantically? No. She was supposed to marry my brother before we all turned."

Klaus looked at her in surprise. "When were you going to tell me that?"

"I was gonna get around to it," Selina glowered. "Not that it's of consequence anymore. Damon was the one who left me. If he were still around, believe me, I'd be with him. But he's not, so I can't. Let it go." She said the last sentence through her teeth. "I don't even know why you care about what's going on with him all of a sudden. I would figure after what happened with Katherine, things would be pretty tense between the two of you."

"Why?" Anna asked.

Selina grinned. "They're super-competitve." She gave Stefan a smirk. "Katherine played the two of you like a drum at a Fourth of July parade. Why would you let that happen, Stefan? Was it because your father witheld affection? Or, as Doctor Freud would say, was it a penis thing?"

Klaus tried not to laugh, but ended up chuckling anyway. Stefan shot him a glare.

"Relax, mate," Klaus said. "Have a drink. Sera's just having a little fun." He gestured at a waitress and when she came by, he said, "A drink for my friend. Or two, or three...I tell you what: just keep them coming."

"You still haven't answered my question after all these years," Selina said. "The one about you and Damon and Katherine."

Stefan sighed. "Because I prefer not to," he said. "Living with us doesn't entitle you to know every aspect of our lives. Some things just aren't your business."

Selina rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, fine." Just then, her phone rang. She opened it and put it to her ear. "Hello? Roxie, what did you do now?" She paused. "Did you really? Where? Sure I want to see her! Aunt Anna's with me. I'll let her know to. All right, see you in a few minutes. Oh, I'm at Anna and Stefan's. All right. Goodbye."

"What's Roxie up to now?" Anna asked.

Selina grinned. "She told me she was walking around downtown and bumped into Olivia, and that Olivia wanted to see me!"

Stefan frowned. "You mean the crazy Olivia that the two of you were friends with?"

Anna nodded. "Yeah! Oh, I can't wait to see her. It's been years!"

"So when you knew her, Mom was evil?" Roxie asked Olivia, looking intrigued.

"I wouldn't say she was evil," Olivia corrected, "I would just say she was more in touch with her true nature. She used to kill a lot. Men especially. And if you were a guy and made the mistake of cheating on her and she found out about it, which she usually did, you were as good as dead. She had a long string of bad luck before she met your dad, and she even hired herself out for awhile."

Roxie's eyes widened. "You mean my mother was a prostitute?"

Olivia laughed and shook her head. "No, no. Nothing like that. She was a sort of private investigator/hitwoman for women who feared their husbands or boyfriends were cheating. She'd hunt the jackasses down and make quick work of them. She was really thorough."

Roxie raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? I just can't picture my child-raising, pancake making morally upright mother as a psycho killer. I just can't."

Olivia sighed and put a hand on Roxie's shoulder. "I feel sorry for you," she said. "You seem like the sort who would have loved her back then."

They reached Stefan and Anna's driveway and parked, getting out and running to ring the doorbell. Selina, who was on the other side, answered immediately.

"Olivia?" She said once Olivia was inside. Olivia nodded. "You've changed," she said, looking Selina over. "Why'd you dye your hair?"

"This is my natural color," Selina said. "The blonde was the dye. Want to come in and sit down? Have a drink, maybe?"

Olivia nodded. "Sure."

"I'd like a drink too," Roxie said.

"No," Selina said. "You're going to have a soda and like it."

"Wow," Olivia said. "You really have become less fun, haven't you?"

Selina frowned as she came back with the drinks. "I've matured, if that's what you mean," she said. "I'm still a lot of fun! I drive my boyfriend insane on a daily basis."

"Who are you with now that you're not with Nick anymore?"

"His brother," Roxie said. "My Uncle Elijah. The most tightly wound man I've ever met."

Olivia gave Selina a look. "How can you be happy with a guy like that? Don't you find him boring?"

Selina nodded. "Sometimes, but I make my own fun. Just like I did back when I first met him."

"And when was that?" Roxie asked.

"It was after I'd been with your dad awhile," Selina said. "One day, Nicky told me that he thought we'd been together long enough for me to meet another member of his family. I was nervous at first because your dad told me Elijah was very serious and tightly wound, but then when Nicky dawdled so much that we were really late for our meeting with your uncle and laughed the whole way to the restaurant, I knew I'd probably be all right."

"That was so funny how worried you were at first," Olivia told her. "Remember when we were down to the wire and you were standing behind Nick and being all 'We have to go, we have to go! I don't want to make a bad impression on your brother' And he just looked at you and started laughing..." Olivia began chuckling herself, laughing so hard she started crying and had to wipe her eyes.

"Yes, well even in my bad period, I was a stickler for punctuality, at least where good first impressions were concerned." Selina said primly.

"Tell Roxie what you did later that night." Now Olivia had a wicked glint in her eye.

"No," Selina said, turning a little pink. "I don't think I want to."

"All right, then I will," Anna said.

"I don't think I want to hear this," Stefan said. "I think I'm going to go."

"Goodbye," Anna said without looking at him. She ginned. The story continued.

Anna and Olivia decided to go home with Selina that night. Stefan was still drunk and upset from the fight he and Selina had had earlier, and Nick stayed with him. When Anna, Selina, and Olivia reached the house, they went into the living room, sat down, and grinned at each other.

"So," Selina said, "is Elijah always that pleasant?"

Anna grinned. "I'm afraid so."

Selina sighed. "You know, I feel really bad about how I acted. Maybe I should call Elijah and apologize. Do you think I should? Do you have his number?"

Anna wrote it down on a scrap of paper. "Are you all right?" She asked. "This is so out of character for you."

Selina grinned. "Not if I'm drunk when I do it." She paused and looked at the clock. "It's two in the morning. Do you think he'll be up?"

Anna smirked. "No. Does that matter?"

Selina shook her head and gulped down almost an entire bottle of wine. "Of course not. It just means I'll have to let the phone ring a very long time." She picked up the receiver and got herself connected to Elijah's number. She had to let it ring for quite a long time before Elijah finally answered it.

"Hello?" He said sleepily. "Who is this?"

He winced at the sharp, high giggle on the other end of the line. "This is Sera, you know, Nick's girlfriend? I'd like to apologize. I seem to have left a dress of mine at your place."

"How could you?" He asked. "We've only just met. You've never been to my house. Are you drunk?"

"Would you like me to leave a dress of mine at your place?" Selina asked. "Preferably after I've been out of it and in your bed for several hours? And don't worry about me and your brother. We're not exclusive."

He seemed much more awake now. "Where are you calling from?"

Selina took the phone off her ear and handed it to Anna. "Tell him where you live," Selina said. "I think he's gonna come over here and yell at us!" The three of them burst into giggles.

"We're at your house," Anna said, handing the phone back. "You tell him!"

"Oh, yeah," Selina said, taking the phone back. "I forgot." She put the phone back to her ear and gave him her address. "See you in awhile, honey," she said.

When the doorbell rang, Selina had just finished putting on her rose lingerie. "Prince Charming is here," Olivia said to her. "Wanna go let him in?"

Selina grinned. "Of course." She strode to the front door and opened it. "Hello, Sugar," she said. "What can I do for you?" She put her hand on her hip and grinned at him.

He didn't even crack a smile. "Where's your sense of decency?" He raged, storming into the house and slamming the door behind him. "What kind of a person makes obscene phone calls, drunk, at two in the morning?"

"A fun person," Selina said. "Do you know any?"

Before he could respond, Anna said, "Hello, Elijah. Nice to see you. What brings you here?"

Elijah eyed his sister sourly. "You know very well what brings me here. Certain people and their complete and utter disregard for proper behavior!"

Selina grinned. "Well, you're certainly a wet blanket. I don't envy the girl that gets cuffed to you."

Elijah frowned. "What in the world does that mean?"

Olivia grinned. "She says you're boring and she pities any woman who marries you."

Elijah looked livid. "I'll have you know I'm quite a catch!"

Selina smirked. "Oh, of course you are. I'm sure there are aged spinsters and plain girls of all shapes and sizes who would trip over themselves to have a night with a bluenose like you." She blew a raspberry.

Finally, he gripped her shoulders and backed her up against the wall, kissing her hard. When he let her go and pulled away, she took a deep breath and sank to the floor, looking up at him. "Check, please," she whispered.

"I'm never going to kiss you again, if that's what you mean," he said. "I only did it this once to prove a point." He looked around at the three girls. "Now all you young ladies get into bed and I better not see a single lit window by the time I reach my car."

They just nodded silently and watched him go.

He went out to his car and watched until all the lights winked out, and then drove home himself.

"How do you know that's what he did after he left?" Roxie asked.

Anna shrugged. "I don't know. It's just a reasonably good guess.

"Where's Elijah now?" Olivia asked, looking eager. "Can we go see him?"

Elijah heard Selina calling him. He put his book down and hurried out to the living room, stopping still when he saw that she was standing next to a woman with green eyes and deep red, chopped hair.

"Look who's here!" Selina said to him. "Roxie was out and about and she found my old friend Olivia! You remember her, don't you?"

Elijah's eyes narrowed and he nodded. "Yes," he said. "I think I do..."

Elijah sat on the edge of the small wooden chair, looking between his watch and the door. Niklaus should have been here thirty minutes ago. Why did he always have to run late? A few minutes later, though, he heard someone call his name. He looked up. Niklaus was coming toward the table and following behind him were two women, a redhead and a blonde. They sat down on either side of Niklaus and gazed at him expectantly.

After a moment of silence, Elijah cleared his throat and said, "So which one is the marvelous girl I'm supposed to meet? And tell me quickly, Niklaus. Due to your tardiness, I'm almost late for a meeting.

"It's me," the blonde said. "I'm Sera. I'm new in town." She pointed to her friend. "And this is my friend Olivia.

"Charmed," Elijah raised an eyebrow and turned back to Selina. "How do you like it here?"

She looked thoughtful. "Well, I've been in Paris, so anything else is kind of lame. No offense."

He shook his head. "None taken. Although there are some fascinating intellectual pleasures here that are worth a visit, like the-"

"Bored now!" The girl said, standing up. "Besides, we wouldn't want to keep you from whatever errand you so desperately need to do." She met the redhead's eye. "Right, Olivia?"

Olivia nodded. "Right."

Sera continued. "It takes so much longer to see boring stuff, so we should give you all the time you need."

Elijah's eyes narrowed. "Now see here, young lady-"

Olivia scoffed. "Uh-oh, Sera" she said. "Here comes the lecture."

Elijah shook his head. "There will be no lecture. "What's the use? If you wish to throw away a chance to enrich your mind, that is your prerogative."

"Could you sound any more pretentious?" Selina asked.

"I will not dignify that with a response," he said. He stood up and looked at everyone seated around the table. "It's been lovely seeing all of you," he said, "But I have to go now. Goodbye." And he strode out the door with his spine straight and his head held high, the picture of exaggerated dignity.

"I think he does remember you," Selina said to Olivia as she watched Elijah's face.

Elijah nodded. "Of course I do. How long are you staying?"

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know. But what I was wondering was if I could borrow Sera tonight. I haven't seen her in awhile."

"Of course," Elijah nodded, then thought, anything to get you out of my house.

"All right," Olivia nodded. "Will I see you around seven?" She asked Selina.

Selina nodded. "Sure. Try and stop me!"

Once Olivia was gone, Elijah gave Selina a severe look. "What are you doing with her?" He asked. "I forbid you to go anywhere near her. She's a bad influence on you."

Selina scoffed. "You forbid me? You can't forbid me anything. You don't own me! If I want to see my friend, I will and there's nothing that you can do to stop me, so just deal with it!" She stalked off to her room and didn't come out until it was time for her to leave for for Anna's, where she, Roxie, Anna and Olivia were having a girls' night.

"Bye," Selina said to Elijah as she was heading out the door. "I hope being alone tonight gives you the opportunity to think about what you said to me." Then she slammed the door closed and drove off to Anna's.

..."So all these articles are about Mom?" Roxie asked Anna as they leafed through the articles in the briefcase.

Anna nodded. "Every single one. But we'll have to shut them up once she gets here. She doesn't like to think about these days much any more."

"Gee, what a shame," Roxie said. "If I were her, I'd talk about them proudly."

"She doesn't want Elijah to know about them cause she knows it'll upset him and possibly lead to the demise of their relationship," Anna said. Just then, there was a knock at the door and Anna and Roxie put the articles away.

"Can I take this with me when I go home?" Roxie asked Anna, pointing it the briefcase.

Anna nodded. "Sure. Why not?" She went to answer the door and let Olivia and Selina inside.

The evening started out fairly innocuously. They ate junk food and watched movies, but then, during truth or dare, Anna, who had already had quite a few glasses herself, dared Selina to drink a bottle of wine and make a prank call to Elijah.

"I don't think I want to," Selina said. "Think of something else, please."

"Oh, come on," Olivia said. "You're not a chicken, are you?" She saw Selina's keys on the counter. "You won't get your keys until you call Elijah."

"I'm not going to get drunk and prank call Elijah," Selina said. "That's irresponsible and stupid."

"Fine," Olivia said. "I guess you won't get your keys to go home, then."

Selina stood up. "In that case, I guess I will call Elijah after all." She dialed the number and waited for him to answer.

"Hello?" He said at last.

"Elijah, it's me," Selina said.

"Are you drunk?" Elijah asked her.

"No," Selina said. "But I need you to come and pick me up. My keys got taken from me and I can't seem to get them back."

"All right," he said after a moment. "Stay right there. Don't do anything else until I get there."

"I won't," Selina said and hung up.

"Awww!" Olivia groaned. "You're no fun any more!"

"Because I've grown up!" Selina said. "And I'm okay with that. Maybe it's about time you gave it a shot!"

They sat in awkward silence and then Roxie gave an exaggerated yawn and stretch. "I'm gonna go home," she said. "See you all tomorrow or whenver." She grabbed the briefcase and took it with her.
When Elijah finally arrived and they got into his car, Selina took a deep breath. "All right," she said. "Give me a lecture."

He shook his head. "I don't need to," he said. "There's no reason for it."

"But I went to a party with Olivia after you told me not to!" Selina said.

"That's true," he agreed. "But you didn't do anything wrong," he said. "You found yourself in a situation that made you uncomfortable, but instead of joining in, you did the responsible thing and called me to come and take you out of it. I'm proud of you."

Selina grinned. "How proud?"

"I'll show you when we get home," he replied.

"Did you eat?" Elijah asked her when they got home?"

Selina shook her head. "Nothing that was good for me."

They made up some pasta and sat across from each other to eat it. Once Selina's was gone and Elijah's was nearly gone, she began rubbing her foot slowly up and down his leg. He grinned and stood up, coming around the table to pull her up with him. Then he kissed her deeply, running his hands down her body. He sat down and she straddled him, his hands creeping under her skirt and over the warm skin of her thighs. She moaned as he kissed down her neck.

Just then, the doorbell rang, bringing them back to their senses for a moment. "That's probably Nicky bringing Lucy back," Selina said. She got off him and they went to open the door. Caroline was on the other side, holding Lucy. She had two shopping bags on each arm.

"Am I interrupting something?" She asked.

"No," Selina said. "Thanks for bringing Lucy back. Did she behave herself?"

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "Your mom came by and she and Lucy and I hit the mall." She handed Lucy, looking smart in a sailor dress with a red bow in her hair, to Selina and plopped the bags on the floor. "All this stuff is Lucy's," she explained. "Your mom went a little crazy, I hope you don't mind."

Selina shook her head. "Oh, no. That's fine. As long as I'm not the one who has to brave the malls, I'm perfectly all right with there being someone who does."

Caroline's eyes found Elijah's and she blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She said to him. "I'm Caroline Forbes. I'm dating-"

"-Nicky," Selina finished for her. "Elijah, this is Nicky's and my friend Caroline, Caroline, this is Elijah, Nicky's brother and my everything."

Caroline grinned. Elijah took her hand and kissed it and she flushed a little. "We should go out for lunch some time, just the four of us. Would that work?"

Elijah nodded. "It would be a pleasure."

Caroline grinned. "Well, all right then. Good night," She patted Lucy on the head. "Good night, you," she said to her. Once Caroline was gone, Selina picked up Lucy, who was practically asleep. "You want to put her to bed, or shall I?"

"I will," Elijah said.

Selina grinned. "And I'll be waiting for you in our room."

Elijah took Lucy upstairs, put her in her pajamas and tucked her in, then ran downstairs and into his and Selina's room, where he found her in bed wearing a red silk teddy.

"So," she grinned. "Where were we?"

He grinned and kissed her, pushing her back against the bed and continuing to kiss her neck as she unbuttoned his shirt and unzipped his pants. He ran his tongue over the inside of her thighs and inside of her before backing out slowing and pushing into her. This went on for some time and when they were finally exhausted, they lay on their sides, facing each other. "So tell me," he said, "what made you call me tonight?"

She shrugged. "I just realized that ever since I've been with you, I've grown up a little. There's nothing wrong with that. It's not shameful."

Elijah shook his head. "Of course it's not."

She grinned. "Of course, I'm not entirely grown up," she said. "I'll never be able to resist doing certain things just to see the look on your face. And you'd be bored if I didn't. Admit it."

He sighed. "What I admit is that you do bring a certain unpredictable quality to my life that I didn't have before. It certainly livens things up. Keeps me on my toes." His eyes widened.

"What?" Selina asked.

"A thought just occurred to me," he said. "When we were at Anna's, I forgot to get the briefcase back! Let's go right now and get it."

"There wouldn't be any point," Selina said. "It's not there anymore. Anna gave it to Roxie. Roxie's got it now."