"Who are you?" Damon asked after blinking several times didn't make the naked girl go away.

"It's me, Lucy," Lucy said. "I know this might seem a little strange, but there was an incident at the Kintzers' Halloween party and Sam and I ticked off Lenora and she made us big so she could take all our candy."

"You're talking like a regular person!" Damon said.

"Well, duh!" Lucy said. "How else would I talk?"

"Oh, I don't know," Damon said.

"Are you all right?" Lucy asked him. "You don't look well at all. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes," Damon said. "You can put on some clothes and then the two of us are gonna drive to Helene's and see if we can't get this whole mess sorted out."

"Damon!" Helene said when she opened the door. "Is everything okay?"

Damon sighed. "Well, yes and no. Look, I know you and Adrian are having a party, but I really think there's something you need to see. Could you come out here a moment, please?"

"Sure," Helene said. "Damon, what is the matter? You seem nervous."

Damon shook his head and tried to stay relaxed. "I'm not nervous. Why would I be nervous?"

Helene shrugged. "I don't know. You'd have to answer that."

Just then, Lucy appeared. "Hi, Helene! I bet you don't recognize me!"

"No," Helene shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't." She pushed the hood off her Red Riding Hood costume to get a better look at the girl. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lucy!" She said.

Helene gave Damon a look. "This is some trick you're pulling and let me say you have a lot of nerve!"

"It's not a trick!" Lucy said earnestly. "Sam, Lenora and I were at the Kintzer's Halloween party and after Trick or Treat, when we wouldn't give her our peanut butter candy, she waved her hands and all of a sudden, Sam and I grew up."

"Well, where's Lenora now?" Helene asked. "Still at the Kintzers'?"

Damon nodded. "I think so."

Helene nodded. "Let's go. We'll take my car."

"Thanks for letting me sit in back," Lucy said to Helene.

"You're welcome," Helene told her. "Although I don't know why you're thanking me. When we get Lenora, you and she and Damon will all be squished together."

"Oh, I know," Lucy said. And she whispered in Damon's ear, "I can't wait for that," and ran her hand over his thigh.

He groaned..

"Is everything okay back there?" Helene asked.

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Terrific."

"You need to behave yourself," Damon whispered.

"Why?" Lucy asked.

"Just because," Damon said. "You see this armrest that divides the seats here? It's the border. You cross the border, you're gonna be in trouble, okay?"

Lucy crossed her arms, sighed and looked out the window. "Fine," she said. "Whatever."

"Where's Lenora?" Helene asked Mrs. Kintzer when they arrived at her house.

Mrs. Kintzer pointed. "Out back on the swingset with Joey. Do you want me to go get her for you?"

Helene shook her head. "No, thank you. I can do it." She, Damon and Lucy trooped to the backyard and found Lenora.

"Mommy!" Lenora said, running toward her. "Look at all the candy I got!"

"It's not all hers," Lucy said testily. "Some of it is mine!"

Lenora grinned and shook her head. "Not anymore!"

Helene got down on her knees in front of Lenora. "Did you to do something to Lucy?" She asked.

Lenora nodded. "Yes, I did. I thought I wanted her to be bigger and I raised my hand and she was!"

"Well, change her back," Helene said. "That wasn't very nice to do to her, Lenora Rose."

Lenora shook her head. "I don't want to!"

"Well you have to," Helene said insistantly.

"I don't want to!" Lenora said, getting right up in her mother's face.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Lucy said. "If she doesn't want to change me back now, it's no rush. It doesn't matter."

"Well, it does to me," Helene said. She muttered a spell and sent it in Lucy's direction, but nothing happened.

"What was that supposed to have done?" Damon asked.

"Make her small again," Helene said. "But it didn't work."

"And would you like me to explain why?" a voice asked. Suddenly, Hazel appeared in the backyard and walked toward the group, her long blonde hair trailing behind her.

"Please do," Helene said. "We have ourselves a situation here. Lenora did a spell, but I can't undo it."

Hazel looked at Lenora with fondness. "Oh, a little one learning how to use her powers! This is an exciting time for you," she said to Helene. "You should cherish it."

"And I will after we get this whole situation sorted out," Helene said. She looked at Lenora. "Tell Hazel what happened before you did the spell on Lucy," she said.

"I wanted their candy and they wouldn't give it to me, so I thought for them to get bigger and they did." Lenora said.

"So you actually thought you wanted them to get bigger?" Hazel said to her. "It wasn't just an accident."

Lenora shook her head. "No."

Hazel sucked in her breath. "I was afraid of that."

"Why?" Helene asked. "What can we do to fix it?"

"Nothing," Hazel said. "Lenora consciously did a spell, so she's the only one who can end it. Now if it had just been the result of a sudden hand movement, then the spell could be undone by you, but since she consciously thought of the spell, and something like aging takes more than just a twitch of the hand to accomplish, it can only be undone by her when she comes to that decision. That's all I can tell you. I'm sorry."

She left and Helene looked at Lenora. "I'm going to ask you one last time to undo the spell you put on Lucy."

"And Sam," Lucy added. "I don't know where he is now, probably somewhere involving girls." She sighed. "This is so horrible. I had a hard enough time making friends in second grade. High school will be even more difficult."

"I'm so sorry about this, Lucy," Helene said, touching her shoulder. "We'll get it fixed somehow."

Lucy nodded. "Thank you. But honestly, I'm not too worried. Take all the time in the world that you need."

Helene nodded. "It might take awhile from the looks of things." She took Lenora's hand. "I think we'll go home now and Lenora can think about the consequences of her actions."

"But you didn't punish me when I turned Daddy into a bird!" Lenora said. "What's wrong now?"

"What's wrong now is that you did that to Sam and Lucy on purpose. What happened with your daddy was an accident. There's a difference," Helene told her. "Now get in the car and let's go home."

"What are you doing with all of our stuff?" Anna asked Stefan as she watched him throw their clothes into suitcases.

"Packing," Stefan said shortly. "We're going home."

"Is this because of Rusty?" Anna asked. "You really don't have anything to worry about there."

"Of course I do," Stefan said. "When I told you about him, you said 'Uh-oh'. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Well, no!" Anna said. "And may I say it hurts me very much that you'd think something like that."

"So it's all right if I kill him when we get home?" Stefan asked. "That's the one reason I let him stay at our house: so I would know where he was when we got back and I could kill him."

"That seems a bit much," Anna said. "Rusty is harmless, really."

"Do you still like him?" Stefan asked.

Anna scoffed. "Of course I don't like him! That was the whole reason I turned him into a dog in the first place. Because I was done with him and he would just not go away."

"Even so," Stefan said, "We're going."

"Going where?" Olivia asked.

"Stefan thinks we need to go home," Anna told her. "And if I want to be totally honest, we probably should go home. Selina's pregnant and I don't know how far along she is, but I don't want to miss the baby being born."

Olivia looked at her in disgust. "You've gone soft, both of you. At least I still have Roxie. She's willing to go the extra mile and not be a killjoy."

"Well, you two have a good time," Anna said. "This has been fun."

"Yeah, yeah," Olivia said sourly. "Whatever."

Elijah woke up, and feeling a rush of panic, felt around on the mattress beside him. Selina wasn't there. He got up and began walking around the house looking for her. He finally found her in the living room, sitting in the easy chair, flipping through the television channels.

"What are you doing out here, darling?" He asked her. "Come back to bed with me."

Selina threw the remote on the floor. "I would if I could but I'm too fat to sleep now. I'm too fat to do much of anything."

Elijah walked behind her and began rubbing her shoulders. "Oh, no you're not. Don't be silly. You have to sleep. This is the third night we've been through this and it worries me."

Selina scoffed. "Well, lord knows we need to be concerned about what's going on with you, I mean it must be so hard to walk around looking hot day after day."

"Well, thank you," Elijah said.

Selina's eyes narrowed. "Wipe that stupid smirk off your face and leave me the hell alone! You'd do better to go to bed with a beach ball at this point."

Elijah sighed and went to sit on the sofa, patting the cushion beside him. "Come here and sit by me. I won't leave until you do."

"You'll have to help me up," Selina said.

Elijah helped her out of the chair and led her over to the sofa. "Just think," he said to her. "Only two more months."

Selina groaned. "It's taking forever!"

"Lean against me and just close your eyes," he said.

She looked at him suspiciously and then leaned her head against his chest. Her eyes, which had dark circles under them, closed. He ran his fingers through her hair and held her until she woke up again.

"I'm sorry," she said when she looked at him. "I was totally ridiculous last night, but you handled it well."

"Oh, it's all right," he said. "No one can blame you in your current condition."

Selina's lip slowly began to jut out. "It's just that I feel so fat. I am fat, for crying out loud! You can't say I'm not."

"All right, come here," he said. He led her to their bedroom and stood next to her in front of the floor length mirror at the back of the large closet. He undressed in front of her and she whimpered. "What is your problem?" She asked. "Are you trying to flaunt your not-fatness in front of me? How horrible are you?" She gave him a sharp slap across his face and then he pulled her to him, bringing her as close as he could, which wasn't very close, and kissed her deeply.

"What did you do that for?" She asked in genuine bewilderment when he pulled away.

"Because I wanted to," he said. "But do I really need a reason to kiss you?"

"But I'm fat!" She repeated as if that would convince him.

"I don't think so," he said. "I don't think you've really looked at yourself." He turned her toward the mirror and she closed her eyes tight. He began kissing slowly down her neck and sneaking his hand under her top to rub her stomach and as she relaxed, he eased her shirt off, then her panties, so that she was as naked as he was.

"Open your eyes," he said, whispering it against her ear.

"I'm scared," she said.

"Do you trust me?" He asked her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared into the mirror. "I don't see it," she said.

"What would it take?" He asked. "What would help you see it? Because I want to make love to you so badly, but I won't until you feel comfortable with it."

Selina took a deep breath. "I don't think I'll understand it, but if you want to go to bed I won't say no."

He grinned and kissed her hand, then up her arm and across her shoulder, then down to stroke her breasts.

"Can I shut my eyes again?" She asked. "It's not because I'm scared, I promise."

He led her over to the bed and helped her get on, then reached under her pillow. "I got you a little present," he said. "I meant to give it to you after we found out we were going to have Gregory, but I figured now is a much better time."

Selina opened her eys and saw that he was holding a square jewelry box. She opened it and gasped. It was a large aquamarine stone surrounded by diamonds on a silver chain. "This is beautiful," she whispered. "Thank you. And I'm so glad we took your mother's advice about the name. It's the least we could do after she saved me like she did."

"There was one made of rose quartz that you'd have gotten if the baby had been a girl," he said. "Can I put it on you?"

"Yes," she nodded. He put the necklace on her and the two of them made love again. Afterward, Selina felt a warm glow inside. She felt beautiful, and loved, as she always did during the times she got to be one with her whole family. Even if it did take some convincing to get that way. That and she felt much more comfortable making love here at home than she did anywhere else.

"You seem less than your usual cheerful self," Klaus noted when Caroline sat down across from him in their booth at the diner where they usually met. He'd take her somewhere nicer eventually, but for now, the simple place served its purpose well.

Caroline shook her head. "Oh, don't get me started. Do not get me started."

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it," Klaus said, "I won't push you."

"It's Selina's mother, okay?" Caroline burst out. "I listened to Selina complain for years about what a big pain in the butt her mother was and I always thought she was exaggerating. But she wasn't! Now I agree with every word she said."

Klaus nodded. "I've met Amelia. She certainly is a piece of work."

Caroline scoffed. "That's putting it kindly. She's been judging me for coming out with you. She's saying I haven't mourned for Tyler enough. But I'd like to know why that's any of her business. My mourning process should be my business alone, shouldn't it?"

"Well, of course," Klaus said. "When you lose someone important to you, it's natural to feel sad about their loss, but it's also natural to want to move on and live your life. That's what strong people do, Caroline."

Caroline nodded. "I know, right? So I'm not going to take it anymore. I've decided to move out. But that means I've got no place to stay. I suppose I could always get a motel room and compel management to let me stay as long as I need to."

"You could," Klaus said. "Or you could come and stay with me. It wouldn't put me out any. I live alone and have lots of space."

"Are you positive it wouldn't put you out any?" Caroline asked. "I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience."

Klaus shook his head. "Oh, you could never be an inconvenience. So, when should I come get your things from Amelia's?"

"As soon as possible," Caroline said. "I'm begging you."

Vince looked sourly at the television. He'd been watching the news every day Roxie had been in Vegas and it had been pretty quiet except for the atrocious murder of a pregnant woman whose body had been found in the fountain of a park near the location of the hotel Roxie was staying at. And a few days later, two more women were found drowned in hotel pools in California.

"So have you heard anything from Roxie?" Tony asked. "She's been gone for months. Do you think she's even planning to come back at all?"

"I hope so," Vince said. "But part of me really isn't sure."

"What makes you say that?" Tony asked. "In her own weird way, she does love you."

"Yeah, she does," Charlie said. "And why would she leave the one guy who's actually shown her any sort of love since her parents split up? That would be a stupid move even for her."

"I tell you what," Vince said. "I'll give her a week and if she doesn't come back, I'll go wherever she is and make her come back. She's already killed three people. I'm not gonna let this go on just because she can't deal with the fact that her parents have separated. Somebody needs to sit her down and talk some sense into her. Maybe I should take her away from here, to somewhere quiet and isolated."

"And that's where you're gonna kill her?" Tony asked.

"No!" Vince shook his head. "I'm not gonna kill her!"

"Who did she go to Vegas with?" Charlie asked.

Vince shrugged. "I don't know exactly. At least her aunt and uncle. And her Mom's old friend Olivia."

Charlie's eyes narrowed. "Olivia? I hate her so much! Ever since Roxie met her, she threw me aside and it's like she's completely forgotten about me. But what's so special about Olivia I would like to know."

Roxie drove up to her Father's house and parked in the driveway, taking note of the new sporty compact car in the driveway. Her father must have bought it. She got out of the car and went up the front steps, letting herself in with her key.

"Daddy?" She called. "I'm back from Vegas and I brought you a present! Daddy?"

Just then, someone came toward her. "He's busy," she said. "Can I do something for you-"

Roxie narrowed her eyes when she saw who it was. "It's you!" she cried. "What are you doing in my father's house?"

"He invited me to stay," Caroline said. "If you have a problem with that, take it up with him."

"Oh, you just bet I will," Roxie said stiffly as she strode away. Then she turned back. "Where is he?"

"Upstairs," Caroline said.

Roxie nodded. "Right." She strode up the stairs, opening every door on the upper floor until she finally found the one her father occupied. "What are you doing?" She asked him.

"I'm fixing up this room," he said to her. "I've asked Caroline to move in with me and I thought this room would be a good fit for her."

"Even though it's my room?" Roxie asked.

"It's not your room anymore!" Klaus said. "You moved out! You haven't slept here in ages!"

"But it's still my space," Roxie said. "And I'm not gonna see it handed over to some dimwit just because you want to get in her pants!"

Klaus' gaze become hard. "That isn't why I invited her at all," he said. "She had a falling out with Selina's mother and now she doesn't have any place else to go. And since I'm all alone here, I figured it woudn't hurt to ask. So I did and she accepted."

Just then, Caroline knocked on the side of the door. "I'm just wondering," she said, "How much rent you're planning on charging me," she said.

"Oh, I couldn't charge you a thing," he said. "It's my pleasure to have you."

"All right," Caroline said. "I just thought I'd check."

"At least charge her something," Roxie said once Caroline was gone. "If you don't, it really does seem like all you want to do is get into her pants."

"You should probably go back home and see Vince," Klaus said. "I bet he'll want to know that you got back safely."

Roxie looked at him for a long moment and then got up to go peer out into the hall way, watching Caroline as she came up the stairs. "You know, you really are shameless," she said. She left the room and walked toward the stairs, casually bumping Caroline, who was carrying a load of things. This caused Caroline to lose her balance and fall, sending clothes and knickknacks all over the landing and making Caroline topple down the stairs. Just as Roxie reached the bottom landing, she peered down at her. "My, you are clumsy," she said. "Dad?" She called. "It seems Caroline has fallen down the stairs."

Klaus practically threw himself down the stairs until he was beside her. "Are you all right?" He whispered to Caroline.

She nodded as he helped her sit up. "Fine," she said weakly. "Just some bumps and bruises."

"Go home," Klaus said to Roxie.

"Okay, okay," she said. "You don't have to tell me twice."

She left the house and went back to the apartment, but just as she stepped inside, someone blindfolded her, her hands were tied with vervain soaked ropes and she was picked up and carried out to a car and thrown rather carelessly into the backseat. As she struggled, she heard Vince's voice say, "Sorry we had to do this, Roxie. But it's for your own good."

"Let me make this clear," Anna said. "You aren't gonna kill Rusty. I'll just turn him into a dog again and then everything will be solved."

"I would much rather kill him," Stefan said.

They got inside the house and found Rusty/Adam on the sofa. "Thanks for letting me stay here," he said. "You have a nice place."

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it," Stefan said. "Because you won't be enjoying anything for long. Normally I don't ask people this, but how would you prefer to die?"

"Die?" Rusty/Adam asked, his eyes wide. "Why would you want to kill me?"

"Because he thinks you're still interested in me," Anna said.

Suddenly, Adam/Rusty's features softened. "Oh, my god," he said. "It's you." He walked toward her and went to put a hand on her face and then Stefan grabbed him and sunk his fangs into his neck, letting Adam crumple to the floor.

"Now what did you do that for?" Anna asked. "I told you it was completely unnecessary!"

"Well what would you have me do with him?" Stefan asked.

"Why don't you and Damon fix him up a little?" she suggested. "You know, teach him how to be cool and all that? If you do, he'll probably get interested in some other girl in no time and then you'll have nothing to worry about."

Stefan sighed. "Fine," he said. "I'll try that. But if it doesn't work and he's still after you, say, six months from now, I get to kill him."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever."

Stefan picked him up. "Help me get him into the car," he said.

When they arrived at Damon's, Stefan and Anna took Adam/Rusty out of the car and managed to get him inside and on a sofa, which was no easy task, considering he was practically dead weight.

"You go find Damon," Stefan said. "I'll watch him."

But before Anna could move, a girl in a bathrobe came into the living room. "Oh!" she said, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Oh, my god! Uncle Stefan, Aunt Anna! If I'd have known you were coming, I wouldn't be waltzing around the house in my bathrobe." Her cheeks reddened. "Here, just a minute. Let me go change." She scampered off, leaving Anna and Stefan alone. "Who is that?" Anna asked, turning around slowly, eyes narrowed. "Old girlfriend? Funny pet name she has for you."

Stefan was frozen to the sofa. He groaned and shut his eyes. "Not again," he said through his teeth. Pictures from several years previous began to flash through his mind: Lucy rummaging around in the refrigerator, Lucy, eating a popsicle. She had been a year old baby in an eighteen year old's body then, the result of a spell gone awry.

"It's not a pet name," Stefan said to Anna. "It's what she's always called me. That's Lucy."

Anna's eyes widened. "You mean it happened again?" She asked. "She's big again?"

Stefan nodded. "Apparently.

"So how was Vegas?" Damon asked when he appeared a few minutes later. "Did you have a good time?"

"Clearly not as good a time as you," Stefan said. "What happened to Lucy? Have you done anything you shouldn't?"

Anna looked back and forth between them and said, "You know, this is really a private matter between the two of you. I'm gonna go and see how Selina is doing. Don't forget to tell him about Adam," she said. It was part of our deal." And then she left, slamming the door behind her.

"Well, oh, my god, look at you!" Anna said when Selina opened the door.

"I know," Selina said. "Surprised?"

"Well, yeah," Anna said. "But really, I am so happy for you!" She went inside. "Do you know what you're having?"

"A boy," Selina said. "As for names, we asked your mother and she suggested Gregory. I like it." She sat down hard on the sofa. "I just wish he'd be born already though. I feel like a whale or something."

"You're not a whale," Elijah said, coming to kiss the top of her head. "And look: I'm wearing the cufflinks you gave me." They were gold male and female symbols.

"I knew they would look good on you," Selina said. She turned to Anna. "So how was your trip?"

"Good," Anna said. "It was a fun time. Did you know Rusty's been turned back into a person?"

"Really?" Selina asked. "It's weird to even think of him that way. I'm so used to him being a dog." She turned to Elijah. "Speaking of which, can we get a dog? I mean, not right away of course, but eventually?"

"Perhaps," Elijah said. "But I have a sense that if I let you have a dog, I'm going to be the one who takes care of it."

"Oh, that's not even true!" Selina protested. "I'll take care of it, I promise."

"We'll see," Elijah said.

"That usually means no," Selina whispered to Anna.

Elijah looked at his sister. "Would it be an imposition to ask you to stay with us these last couple of months?"

"Of course not!" Anna said. "Why?"

"He thinks I need friends," Selina said. "Thinks I'm getting bored and restless and that I need to do something with myself."

"You know I'd be more than happy to stay," Anna said. "To tell you the truth, I'm grateful for the offer. Stefan's been in a mood ever since he found out about Rusty and now I've convinced him and Damon to teach Rusty how to be a person, you know. Maybe make him a bit suaver so he can start catching the eyes of other girls besides me."

"Well, all right," Elijah said. "That settles that, then."

Two months later, Selina came into the living room where Anna was staring at the snow out the window and she said, "I have some good news and some bad news, well actually, it would only be bad news for Elijah, but-" she paused and winced, then straightened up.

"What is it?" Anna said. "Are you going to have the baby? Should I call Elijah and Astrid?"

Selina took a deep breath. "I wanted to say it, but go ahead and make the calls."

By the time Astrid and Elijah had arrived at the house, Selina was already in bed and Anna was helping her with her deep breathing.

"How are we coming along?" Astrid asked. She looked Selina over and then said, "Wow, this baby isn't messing around. It's practically crowned already."

"What does that mean?" Elijah asked Selina who grabbed onto his hand and held it tight. "It means the head is coming out," Selina said. She screamed as a round of contractions overtook her, squeezing Elijah's hand so hard he felt for sure that it was broken, and then once that was over, Astrid said, "All right, go ahead and push."

Summoning all her strength, Selina pushed the baby out and his cries filled the room. Astrid smiled and took him in her arms. "I'll go wash him up," she said. "Then you can have a look at him."

"We have a baby," Selina said when she was gone. "Elijah, can you believe it? We have a baby!"

He kissed her forehead. "Thank you so much," he said. "You've given me a second chance that I never thought I would have."

"What?" Selina asked. "What does that mean?"