Elijah woke up the next morning to hear sobbing coming from the bathroom. He went inside and found Selina leaning against the tub, tears running down her cheeks, her face red.

"What's the matter?" He asked her. "Did something happen?"

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with a corner of her sheet. "No, I just realized that you said you'd kill your father for me. That is so giving and sweet and...I just don't deserve you!" A new flood of tears fell from her eyes as she put her arms around him and sobbed into his bare shoulder.

"It's okay," he said. "It's all right. I'm going to go get you something to drink, all right?"

She nodded. "Okay." He left and came back clutching a blood bag and a tissue box. "Here," he said. "Take both."

"All right," Selina took the tissues and blew her nose.

Just then, they heard a knock on the bathroom door. "Come in," Elijah said.

Lucy entered the bathroom and looked at her mother, then at Elijah. "Why is Mommy crying in the bathtub?" She asked.
Elijah looked at Lucy. "You're mother's going to have a baby."

"What?" Lucy said. "How?"

Selina and Elijah looked at one another and then Elijah said, "I'll explain it later. You have to get ready for school, okay?"

Lucy sighed. "Oh, all right." She left the bathroom muttering under her breath and then Elijah turned back to Selina. "Are you all right, really?" He asked.

She nodded. "Well, yeah." She moved some hair out of his eyes. "What's happened to you? You look tired."

"It's because I got up once every hour to check up on you," he said.

Selina's eyes widened. "Why would you do that? You didn't have to."

"Well, I came in and tried to wake you once, but you wouldn't wake so I got worried," Elijah said

"I'm a sound sleeper," Selina told him. "Rarely can I be woken up in the middle of the night. Don't feel like you have to run yourself ragged. I mean, it's sweet and everything, but you need to look out for yourself, too."

He sighed. "Oh, all right," he said. "I should probably drop Lucy off at school. Will you be all right by yourself for a litle while?"

She nodded. "I swear."

He left, Selina went back to sleep, and when he came back, he was dressed in jeans and no shirt, clutching a breakfast tray. "Hungry?" He asked her, grinning.

"You didn't have to bring me anything," Selina said. "All I need is help out of the tub and I am perfectly capable of feeding myself." She looked him over. "But I have to say I really appreciate the new look."

"I thought you would," Elijah said. He helped her out of the tub and she walked around him. "Those pants make your ass look so good!" She pulled him to her and stuck both her hands in his back pockets. He made a noise deep in his throat. "No, no," he said, "you have to eat first."

"But I don't want too!" Selina said. "I'm not even hungry for food!" She kissed him, then run her tongue down his neck. He backed her up against the wall, his fingers dipping under the high collar of her pink, lacy night gown. "Would this be an appropriate time for me to mention I'm not wearing anything under my pajamas?" She asked him.

Elijah grinned. "It would be a very appropriate time for you to mention you aren't wearing anything under your pajamas, but you have to eat first. At least have a bite of something to keep your strength up. You're going to need it."

"Oh, all right," Selina said. She sat down and picked up the teacup first, taking a cautious sip. "That's not bad," she said. "Peppermint tea?"

He nodded. "I thought it would be good for your stomach."

Selina put the cup down and took a bite of what looked like eggs from the tray. Then, her face twisted and she spat it out. "Oh, my god!" She said. "What is this? Did you try to cook by yourself?"

Elijah winced. "No good?"

Selina sighed. "For a first effort, I give you points. At least you didn't burn anything. And you make good tea. I think I'll just have a blood bag for now."

"Are you sure that's enough?" Elijah asked.

Selina nodded. "Yeah, that's enough. I'll make myself something later, I promise."

"Have you done it?" Elijah said as he walked into the kitchen an hour later. "Have you made yourself something to eat?"

Selina turned. She was stirring the contents of a large blue bowl on the counter next to the kitchen sink. "Yeah. "I'm making something right now. See?"

Elijah looked at the dark substance in the bowl and winced. "What is that?"

"It's chocolate pudding!" Selina said. "I'm making myself chocolate pudding."

"That's not good at all," Elijah said. "You can't just eat chocolate pudding and call it a meal."

"Who says?" Selina asked. "You know, Nicky let me eat like this all the time when I was pregnant. He didn't even bat an eye."

"Well, now things are going to be different," Elijah said. "Don't you want to be more mindful about what you eat?" He asked. "I know you. Monthes from now, you'll be standing in front of the mirror in our closet, a pout on your face and and saying 'Oh, my god, how did I get so fat? You probably don't even want to come near me anymore, Elijah!'"

"I don't talk like that!" Selina said.

"Yes, you do," Elijah said. "I've heard you. And to prevent that, here is what I will do: I will take this bowl of pudding, I will put it somewhere only I know, and every day until it is no longer edible, you will get a small bowl. The rest of the time, you will eat healthy. It won't be such a tragedy, I promise."

"Wow," Selina said. "You really have balls ordering around a pregnant woman, don't you?"

"You'll thank me," Elijah said. "Now," he pulled a dvd out from behind his back. "I brought another one of my favorite operas for you to shamelessly mock like you always do. What do you say?"

"The Ring Cycle?" Selina said. "Really? That's like five million hours long!"

"Maybe so, but it's really wonderful," Elijah said. "I think you'll like it. It's German. You usually like German opera."

"Well, fine," Selina said. "I'll give it a shot, I guess." She went to sit down on the sofa and he put the movie in. Thirty minutes later, she decided she couldn't take it anymore. She put a hand on Elijah's leg.

"Honey," she said, "I'm feeling a little queasy. Could you get me clear soda and some crackers? Please?"

He kissed her forehead. "Of course."

She grinned. "Thanks for not putting a shirt on. I appreciate it."

"Well, I figure we're inside and no one's here but you and me, so going shirtless isn't so bad. But let me get something straight," he said. "This is as far as I will go outside of our bedroom, do you understand me? Don't expect me to stroll around the house naked or anything like that."

"What if we get overcome by each other's collective splendors and decide to make love on the living room floor?" Selina asked. "Then you'd have to be naked outside of the bedroom."

"Not necessarily," Elijah said.

"Well you would if you wanted any enjoyment from me," Selina replied. "It's easier for me when you're not wearing anything."

"You were saying you wanted a soda and crackers?" Elijah asked. "Anything else?"

"No," Selina smirked. "That's all I need, thank you. Or maybe some chips. Chips would be good. You told me you got me some of those, the ranch flavored ones I like."

"I put them downstairs," Elijah told her. "You said you weren't hungry for them yet."

"But now I am," Selina said. "Would you go and get them? Please?"

"Oh, all right," Elijah sighed. "I'll be back in a little while. Make sure you pause the movie, will you? I don't want to miss any of it."

"All right," Selina said. "I will." She paused the movie, he went downstairs, and once he was gone, Selina went up to her room to grab the dvd that had all the Looney Tunes on it, so she could play the one with Bugs and Elmer Fudd as Vikings. She brought it down to the living room, removed the DVD from the player and put her new one in, singing along. Just as she was singing, "Bwonhilda, beeee my wooooove!" At the top of her lungs, Elijah came up the stairs. "What's this?" he asked. "Cartoons? Selina, really!"

"What's wrong with cartoons?" Selina asked.

"Aren't you a little old for cartoons?" He asked. "You should like more sophisticated things that help you develop your mind. I don't think even Lucy would watch this."

"Well, good lord," Selina said. "I would have thought getting you out of that suit would help you loosen up a little, but you're still the same. It doesn't hurt a person to watch mindless entertainment every once in awhile. It's fun. Do you have any idea what fun is?"

"I do," Elijah said.

"I don't think so," Selina said. "You stole my pudding, you won't let me watch cartoons, what is the matter with you?"

"How about you eat your crackers?" He said. "And then I'll give you a back rub. Does your back hurt?"

"No, my back doesn't hurt...much," Selina said. She leaned forward, trying not to wince.

"It does, doesn't it?" Elijah said. He sat down beside her and took her in his arms, running his hand up and down her back. "Does that feel better?"

"Oh, no you don't!" Selina said, moving his hand. "You're just trying to soften me up so you can distract me from my principles! Well it's not gonna work. I don't need your stupid back rubs, okay? Now I'm going to get my damn pudding from wherever the hell you hid it and I will eat it with impunity!"

Elijah sighed. "All right," he said. "But when you get bored and decide it's doing you no good to act like a child, I'll be waiting for you."

Selina grabbed her sprite and dumped it in Elijah's lap so it soaked the crotch of his jeans. "Well that'll just be awhile, now won't it?" She stalked off and Elijah called after her, "Don't you want to know where I hid your pudding?"

She turned. "Like you'd tell me, you pompous, self-absorbed control freak!" She went to her spare bedroom and dug around under the bed until she found the large bag of candy she'd hidden there. She shut the door and sat on the bed, eating it, and throwing the wrappers on the floor.

Several minutes later, she heard a knock on the bedroom door. "Come in!" She called through a mouth full of caramels.

Elijah opened the door and came in. He was clutching a small bowl of chocolate pudding in one hand and smirking.

"What's so funny?" She asked, swallowing.

"Oh, nothing," he said. "Just you. I brought you some pudding."

"I thought you said I couldn't have any!" She said.

"I said you couldn't have a giant bowl in one sitting," he corrected her. "There's a difference between that and nothing at all." He pulled out a spoon, put some pudding on it and held it out to her. She stared at him for a moment and didn't take it.

"Fine," he said. "Open up, I'll feed it to you."

She opened her mouth and he began spoon-feeding her pudding. Then she took some and smeared it all over his neck, leaning forward and licking it off. He put the bowl down. "Well, this is a new development," he said, easing her down onto the mattress. "What changed your mind?"

"Well," she said, "chocolate looks good on you. And you didn't say anything about the candy wrappers all over the floor."

"Now that you mention it..." He grinned.

Selina ran her fingers through his hair. "Oh, shut up," she said and kissed him. When they pulled apart, she looked down. "Oh, dear, there seems to be a spot on your pants. How did that happen?"

"An adorable but angry young woman did this to me," he said. "Well, she seemed angry. But between the two of us, she'd do anything to get me out of my pants, so that might have had something to do with it."

Selina grinned. "She certainly would do anything. So what do you say? You want to get out of those stained pants and...?"

Elijah didn't even let her finish. His hand slid under her skirt, up her leg and came to rest on her panties. She whimpered. "You accused me earlier of using backrubs to distract you from your principles," he said. "But that's ridiculous. If I were going to distract you from your principles, I would do something much more enjoyable for you than that." He began to rub her and she let out a shriek. When it had gone on long enough, he unzipped his jeans, eased off her soaking panties and entered her. She moaned, holding tight to his neck with one arm and running her hands through his hair with her other hand.

After they finished, Selina looked at the clock. "Wow," she said. "If we're going to do that again, we should probably set a timer or something. We wouldn't want to get so distracted that we forget to pick up Lucy from school." She took another deep breath and then rolled over to look at him. "That was highly enjoyable," she said. "Did you enjoy it?"

He nodded. "I did."

She smirked. "Well, it's not going to last forever, so savor the moment while you can. Eventually I'll be as big as an elephant and-"

"Not if you moderate your consumption of junk food," he said. "Would you at least give the idea some thought? It really will make you feel better about yourself and it's not like you won't get to have any sweets at all. Just fewer."

"I don't want fewer," Selina said. "I like sweets!"

"Well, then you have a choice to make," Elijah said. "Either eat all the sweets you want and then don't say a word to me about how fat you think you are, or eat fewer sweets and you can still complain all you want."

"So I can't eat all the sweets I want and complain all I want?" Selina asked.

Elijah shook his head. "Not if you don't want to hear a bunch of long-winded lectures."

"Fine," Selina said. "Take my candy, watch my pudding, do whatever the hell you want." She sighed and he rubbed her stomach. "It'll be all right," he said. "You'll survive easier than you think."

Two months later, Elijah came to bed one night and found Selina standing in front of the mirror without her clothes on. "It's not fair, is it?" She said, putting a hand on her expanding stomach. "Just when my morning sickness goes away, I start to get fat. And it's only been four months, for crying out loud!" She pouted and Elijah took her hand and led her to bed. "It's all right," he said. "You've really been doing well with our little arrangement, though. I'm proud of you."

"Well, I can't take all the credit," Selina said. "Last month was absolute hell! I couldn't keep any sweets down at all! Even the stuff I was allowed to have just came right back out of me. Maybe the kid doesn't like junk food," she shrugged. "I was able to keep the vegetables and stuff down, though."

"Well, that's interesting," Elijah said. "It seems like our child is keeping an eye on you when I'm not around to."

"Great," Selina grinned. "Just what I need: another you." She grinned. "I probably could use another you, actually."

"Oh, don't be too hard on yourself," Elijah said, his eyes twinkling as he chucked her under the chin. "You're not so bad. A little childish perhaps, but in small doses, I suppose that's not the worst thing in the world."

Selina smiled. "Oh, go on."

Elijah grinned back and kissed her hand.

"There's just one thing I need to talk to you about," Selina said. "If, as the months go on, the pregnancy makes things difficult for Lucy, you know, things like concentrating on her school work and all, would it be all right if she stayed somewhere else for a while?"

"Like where?" Elijah asked.

Selina took a deep breath. "Well, I was thinking Damon's. Now I know you don't like him all that much, but Lucy does, and I don't think we'd have any reason to worry."

He sighed. "I can't say I'm not a little nervous, but you are what is most important to me right now. You and the baby. So I won't fight you. Go ahead and give Damon a call."

Sam watched Lucy come in the house with her teddy in one hand and her suitcase in another. "What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"Mommy said I could stay," she said. "I can't concentrate at home."

"There you are, Lucy," Damon said. "Would you like me to take your things?"

Lucy grinned. "I can do it!" She walked around and found the biggest bedroom and stuck her suitcase next to the bed, trying to climb up.

"Lucy, what are you doing?" Damon asked. "This is my room."

Lucy turned, eyes wide. "Is it? I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Damon said, picking her up and putting her on the floor. "You can stay next door." He walked her to her room and helped her unpack and then she and Damon spend the rest of the day watching television.

That night, Sam decided that he had to take matters into his own hands because he hated that Lucy was here buddying up to his dad when she already had all the time with their mother. While Lucy brushed her teeth, he snuck into her room and hid under her bed, then when Lucy's lights went out, he growled. He did it three times, then Lucy let out a shriek. She ran out of the room and knocked on Damon's door. He opened it and she shot in, struggling to climb on the bed.

"There's a monster in my room!" Lucy said. "It goes grrrrr! Can I sleep with you in your bed?"

"Oh, I don't know," Damon told her. Her eyes got wide and he swore he could see the beginnings of tears in them. "Please?"

"Oh, all right," Damon said. "But just for tonight." He picked her up, put her in his bed, put his arm around her, then made a noise in his throat as she snuggled against him and as she fell asleep, a naughty plan began to form in her mind.

The next day, Damon woke up to an odd sensation. He sat up and saw Lucy bouncing up and down on the mattress.

"All right," he said. "You know your mother doesn't like it when you do that."

"But Mommy's not here," Lucy said. "Let's just not tell her."

"You know I can't do that," Damon said. "I promised your mother that I would take good care of you while you were here. You don't want to get me in trouble, do you?"

"No," Lucy said, her eyes lowering. "I don't."

"Well, then don't jump on the bed, please," Damon said.

Lucy stopped jumping. "I've stopped."

"Thank you," he nodded. "Now let's go see about the monster under your bed, shall we?" He took her hand and led her back to her room. The door was closed and inside they could hear Sam talking to someone.

"What's Sam doing in my room?" Lucy asked.

"I have a feeling he was the one under your bed last night," Damon said.

"Well, that's not very nice!" Lucy frowned and put a hand on the door handle.

"Don't just go barging in there," Damon said. "We have to be careful about how we handle this, okay?"

Lucy nodded. "Okay."

Damon opened the door and he and Lucy went inside. "Good morning, Sam," he said. "How did you sleep?"

Sam yawned. "Not good."

"He was under the bed all night," Joshua said.

"What was that voice?" Lucy asked Damon.

"What voice?" Damon asked.

"The one that said 'He was under the bed all night'." She moved her voice to a lower pitch that made Damon grin. "And don't tell me you didn't hear anything," she said with her hands on her hips. "I'm not stupid!"

"I never said you were," Damon said. "I did hear it. It's your brother Joshua. He's a ghost."

"Joshua's not her brother!" Sam said. "He's my brother!"

"He's brother to both of you," Damon corrected.

"Why is he a ghost?" Lucy asked.

"Because your mommy had him a long time ago," Damon said. "Back when we were still human and she loved me. He grew up, got old and died."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said. She gave Damon a hug. Sam watched them for a moment, then grabbed Lucy's arm and tried to pull her away.

"Let me go!" Lucy said. "Let me go! Mommy said I couldn't hurt you, but if you don't let me go-"

"Sam!" Joshua said sharply, "Let her go!"

"Fine," Sam said, looking resentfully at his brother. He let her go and stomped off to his room.

"Are you all right?" Damon asked Lucy.

She rubbed her arm. "I'm fine." She paused. "So there's a ghost in here?"

Damon nodded. "Come here." He led her to the living room and showed her the picture of Joshua Selina had put over the fireplace. "This is Joshua. He's the ghost."

Lucy smiled. "He's handsome like you."

Damon grinned. "Well, thank you."

"Does Mommy know about him?" Lucy asked.

Damon shook his head. "No, and he doesn't think she should yet, so don't tell her."

"Actually," Joshua said, "now is a good time for her to know. Could you get her to come over one day, Father?"

"Can he stop being a voice?" Lucy asked. "It's scary."

Joshua grinned and made himself visible to her. "Hi, honey," he said.

She waved shyly. "Hi." Her cheeks turned red and she turned away from him.

"I didn't know she was this shy," Joshua said to Damon. "Is that normal behavior?"

"No," Damon shook his head. "She only seems to be that way around me. And, apparently, you."

"So will you tell Mother?" Joshua asked Damon.

He nodded. "I will."

"Did Mommy tell you she and Uncle Elijah are gonna have a baby?" Lucy asked Damon.

Damon nodded. "She told me on the phone. You get to be a big sister. Are you excited?"

"It's kind of like with Lenora," Lucy said. "I give her my old toys. And my dresses when they get small."

"Well that's very good you're learning to share," Damon told her.

Lucy nodded. "I'm a good sharer. Better than Sam."

Damon sighed. "He's just upset because you get to see your mommy more than he does. That's all."

"He's gonna see her when she comes to talk about Joshua," Lucy said. "If you and me go and get ice cream when she comes, they can have privacy."

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you," Damon said. "Sure, we'll go get ice cream."

"So you'll call Mother?" Joshua asked Damon.

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "And I have another call to make, too."

"She's what?" Roxie shouted into the phone. "Damon, what do you mean mom is pregnant?"

"Just what I said," Damon replied. "She's about four months along. And apparently, she and your uncle are very happy about it."

"Well, I'm not!" Roxie raged. "They didn't even stop to think about how I would feel before they went and did this. I mean, it's bad enough that Uncle Elijah conned Mom into leaving Dad. Now they're having a kid? For crying out loud! I bet Dad's just a wreck."

"I'm not so sure about that," Damon said.

"Of course he is!" Roxie barked. "What do you know?" She set the phone down hard in the cradle.

"Bad phone call?" Olivia asked.

Roxie nodded. "The worst. Mom's pregnant. Again. It's like she's a god damn baby machine or something!"

Anna poked her head in the room. "Roxie, did I hear you say your mom is pregnant?"

Roxie nodded. "Isn't it revolting?"

Anna shook her head. "No, not really. I think it's wonderful! First Mother makes it so Father is no longer a threat and then Selina and Elijah are expecting a baby? Wonderful things just keep happening for me!"

Roxie growled and stood up. "I'm going out," she said. "I need some air."

"So," Olivia said, turning to Anna, you say your father isn't able to cause trouble for anyone any more..."

Roxie ended up at a park and breathing heavily, she took a seat on a bench. A few minutes later, a very pregnant young woman sat next to her. "Hello," the woman said. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

Roxie nodded. "Yeah. The best," she said flatly.

The woman noticed Roxie eyeing her stomach. "I'm due in five months," she said. "The father is my second husband. He was in the army and he died. This baby is all I have left of him. All I have in the world, really. I just moved here so I have no friends or job or anything."

"Well, that's real sad," Roxie said. "You know what might cheer you up? Looking at this fountain over here. It's beautiful. And people throw change in. You could probably just reach in and take it. I doubt they care. And there's a design on the fountain floor but you have to lean in real close to see it."

The woman leaned forward and that was when Roxie shoved her head in the water. She struggled and thrashed, but Roxie, feeling very powerful, held her down, her hands around the woman's neck. Finally, with a gurgle, her movements ceased and Roxie pushed the body into the fountain. "You're as bad as my mother," she said coldly, her eyes narrowed. "Good thing no one will miss you."

"Mommy!" Sam said as he ran at her with his arms out.

"Hi, Sammy!" Selina said, giving him a big hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too!" Sam said. "I thought you were gonna live here!"

"Why would you think that?" Selina asked.

"You and Daddy kissed," Sam said.

Selina sighed. "Sammy, I love your daddy very much, but I can't live here with you."

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"It's complicated," she said. "But that doesn't mean I don't love you. I love you a lot. In fact, you need to come and see me at my house. I'll talk to your daddy about that."

"First we have something to tell you," Damon said, appearing with Lucy.

"It's really good," Lucy said, grinning.

"What is it?" Selina asked, sitting on the sofa. "Why's everyone being so secretive?"

"We have to tell you about Sam's imaginary friend," Lucy said. "But he's real!"

"You have an imaginary friend, Sammy?" Selina asked. "That's nice. What's your imaginary friend's name?"

Slowly, Joshua began to manifest himself in front of his mother. "Oh, my god," Selina said. "What's that?"

"That's him," Lucy said. "He's a ghost. His name is Joshua."

"It's what?" Selina said.

"Joshua Salvatore," he said when he'd fully appeared. "Hello, Mother. I hope this isn't too much of a shock."

"Oh, my god," Selina said. "Oh, my god. How? What? How?"

"He protects me from Lucy," Sam said. "He's a good brother."

Selina's mouth was opening and closing rapidly.

"Are you all right?" Damon asked her. "Say something!" They watched her for a few seconds. Then, she burst into tears and ran out of the room.

"Can we get ice cream now?" Lucy asked Damon.

"All right," Damon nodded. "But you have to promise not to sneak into my bedroom tonight like you have been."

"I'm not sneaking!" Lucy said. "I'm really scared."

"Never mind," Damon said. "Let's just go."