"I'll get the door!" Lucy called when the doorbell rang. She opened the door and saw Adrian on the other side. "What do you want?" She asked her brother. "Have you come to drag me away now that you found out about what happeend to me?"
"Are you thinking that I shouldn't?" Adrian asked.
"No!" Lucy said. "Because it's none of your business! Now go away and don't you dare tell Mom and Dad about this! It'll ruin everything if you do!" She slammed the door in his face and refused to open it again.

"See?" Lenora told her father. "I told you she was okay."

"Who was that?" Damon asked Lucy. "From the sound of things, someone you don't like."

"It was Adrian," Lucy said. "He was gonna take me away and ruin everything. Would you have let him do that?"

"No." Damon said, pulling her to him. "Not a chance in hell. If you don't want to go back with your brother, of course I won't make you."

"It's because you love me, isn't it?" Lucy asked.

Damon sighed. "Yes, but don't tell anyone."

"Oh, of course not," Lucy said, laying her head on his shoulder. "If I do, they might take me away and I don't want that."

"Me either," Damon said.
"So it's okay if I stay here?" Lucy asked.

Damon sighed. "Well, we don't really have much choice, do we?" Damon asked. "I mean, if you went home, your mother and your uncle would find out and Lenora doesn't seem willing to turn you back, so we might as well hang tight until she feels like it. There's no point in starting a fight if it won't do any good."

"All right," Lucy said. "So are we going to buy me clothes like you promised?"

"Sure," Damon said warily. "Why not?" Then he suddenly brightened. "What if I just go and pick out things for you?" He asked. "Wouldn't that be easier than the two of us going all the way to the store and trying on every single thing?"

"But you don't know what size I am," Lucy said.

"Well do you know what size you are?" Damon asked.

Lucy stood up and removed her clothes, checking the tags. "You could have asked me to do that, you know," Damon said through his teeth.

"What?" Lucy asked. "Take off my clothes? I'll remember that for next time. Or, I could always put them on again and then you could take them off," Lucy said.

"I just meant that I could check the tags," Damon said. "You don't need to actually remove your clothes to check tags."

She gave him the sizes and then he said, "Well, let's try bringing you up a size. I don't think you're that much bigger than your mother."

He left and came back a little while later with two bags full of clothes. Lucy took them and went to the bedroom mirror to put them on. The dresses and shirts swallowed her body and the pants were way too loose.

"None of these fit!" Lucy said. "You can't see my body at all! If they fit properly, you could see my body!"

"Well, maybe that means you should start wearing different clothes," Damon said. "Bigger ones."

"But why?" Lucy asked.

"You don't want men looking at your body, do you?" Damon asked. "Wouldn't you rather they looked beyond your body and liked you for your mind?"

"Well, yeah," Lucy said. "But is there some way I can have men like me for my mind and still wear pretty clothes?" She looked morosely at the brown dress she wore. "I don't like this color at all." She took the dress off and let it crumple at her feet. "You've had your turn," she said. "Now when we go to get clothes, I'm gonna come with you and get stuff I actually like."

"Well, I think someone's a bit ungrateful for all I just did," Damon said. "I bought you an entire wardrobe. I would think you'd have the manners to at least say 'thank you'."

"Well they were all too big," Lucy said. "You knew I wasn't gonna be able to wear any of the stuff you bought when you bought it. Also, the colors are ugly and I still see the security tags on everything. You didn't even buy it at all. You stole it all!"

"I did not," Damon said. "I used my compulsion. That's not the same as stealing."

"I can't believe you did that!" Lucy said.

"Well, there you go!" Damon told her. "I'm a terrible person! I lie, I cheat, I steal, I kill, and damn it, I'm proud of it! I'm not the sort of guy you should be interested in. You should find a nice guy who studies and pays for things with money and who didn't date your mother! Don't you find that the least bit creepy?"

"I can't believe how you got this stuff," Lucy said. "You could have used your compulsion to get anything in the whole store and you get the frumpy stuff that doesn't fit me? You could have done better!"

"Wait a minute now," Damon said. "The fact that I as good as stole this doesn't bother you at all?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "Why should it? You have vampire powers, you should use them. Just not for everything."

"But I thought that growing up with Elijah made you learn to hate stuff like stealing. Didn't he repeatedly hit you over the head with the fact that stealing is wrong?" Damon was dumbstruck. This wasn't the reaction he'd planned on at all.

Lucy nodded. "He did, but that doesn't mean I listened all the time. Mom doesn't either. She does what she sees fit and I think that's a sound way to live."

"You think like your mother?" Damon asked.

"You seem surprised by that," Lucy said. "Should I not think like my mother?"

Damon shook his head. "No, it's fine, really. I just never thought-Oh, never mind."

"And besides," Lucy said, "I find the idea of you stealing stuff kind of hot. Just so you know."

She winked at him and Damon felt his body go hot as he tried to avert his gaze from her bottom while she walked toward his car to head to the mall.

"This is the kind of stuff I wanna wear," Lucy said, looking at the pile of stuff she'd picked out. Most of the clothes were body hugging and had a zipper on the back. She put on the first dress, a light purple one. "Damon," she called to him, "Will you come in and zip me up?"

"Do I have to?" Damon called back. "Can't you do it yourself?"

"No," Lucy said. "Please come in. I can't reach the zipper!" She heard a sigh from outside the dressing room. "Fine," he said. "I'll come in. But unzipping you is all I'm gonna do."

A few seconds later, Damon came inside and, averting his gaze, quickly pulled her zipper down and and she looked up. "Sit," she said. "Please."

"I would be more comfortable outside," Damon said.

"Trust me, it would just be easier for you if you stayed in here," Lucy told him. "If you leave, you'll have to keep coming in here every time I need something unzipped and most of the stuff I picked have zippers on the back."

"I'll just bet they do," Damon said.

"Well, what's the matter?" Lucy asked as she removed her dress. "You seem upset."

"No," Damon shook his head. "I'm not upset. I just-I'm a bit uncomfortable right now."

"Why?" Lucy asked. "Is there anything I can do to make it better for you?"

"Honestly, yes," Damon said. "And believe me, I really, really want you to, but I don't, at the same time."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

Damon watched helplessly as she removed her panties and her bra, a low growl escaping his throat.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked. "Damon, what's the matter?"

"You think you're cute, but you're not," he said. "You're beautiful and you're torturing me!"

"I don't mean to," Lucy said. "I was just joking around!" She watched him nervously and put her underwear back on, and then he said, "Stop!"

"Okay," Lucy told him. She was breathing hard now. Damon took off his coat and came toward her. He pulled her to him, kissing her hard, first her lips then down her neck. She moaned as he unhooked her bra and lowered her to the floor.

Lucy looked into his eyes as he got down on his knees next to her. "I don't want it to be like this," she said. "It's too soon."

"Is it?" Damon asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You seem ready to me."

"But I was only joking," Lucy said. "It wasn't a very good joke, but that's all, I swear."

Damon sighed. "No, you weren't. Don't look me in the eye and tell me you were joking. I know you weren't."

Lucy sat up and put her clothes on, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't want to cause you any pain, but I just-I love you so much and and you said you loved me-but you probably meant it in a fatherly sort of way, right? Oh, my god, I feel like such an idiot!" She ran out of the dressing room door, crying. Damon went into the main store and walked up to the woman at the counter. "We'll take all the things in the dressing room," he said. "And could you tell me which way she ran?"

"Out the door and to the left, but I doubt if you'll be able to catch her," the woman said. "She was a zippy little thing." It took a little time, but finally, all the clothes Lucy had chosen were put in bags and Damon took them back to his house and put them in Lucy's room. He went to the kitchen, got himself a bourbon, and just as he was thinking about what to do next, he found a note by the phone.

Damon,

I don't want to cause you pain anymore, so I've gone. Don't search for me. I've behaved childishly and I need time to grow up. Maybe someday soon, we'll see each other again, and by then, I'll be old enough that it won't have to hurt when you look at me.

Until then, all my love.

Lucy

"Are you gonna look for her?" Adam asked. "She really shouldn't be alone in the city. Are you going to call her mother?"

Damon shook his head. "That's the last thing I'm going to do. Selina doesn't even know Lucy's aged and now is not the right time to tell her."

Elijah tossed and turned but couldn't get to sleep. He finally stopped trying and sat up, running his fingers through his hair. He felt the mattress move and then the light on the bedside table came on.

"What is it?" Selina asked. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," he said. "Go back to sleep. You need it. I'm sorry I woke you."

Selina gave him a long look and then finally decided it was no use arguing. She turned off the light and faced away from him. Then, he got out of bed and began walking around, eventually finding himself in Gregory's room. It had been a whole month since he had been born and Elijah still found it hard to believe he was here.

He picked his son up out of his crib and sat down in the rocking chair with him. Gregory looked up at him, and Elijah found it a little unnerving to have his own brown eyes watching him. "I have something I have to say," Elijah began. "It's something I have to tell your mother, but it's been hard, and I figure if I tell you first, it will be easier to tell her. A long time ago, before I even met her, I got turned into a vampire. And when you get turned into a vampire, sometimes, in the beginning, you hurt people. You don't mean to, of course, but sometimes it happens. Ihurt people. I didn't just hurt people, I killed them. And not just any people, my wife and children. The people who counted on me to protect them. Don't worry, Gregory. I won't hurt you. Or your mother either. It's been long enough that I can control myself, but sometimes, it's just hard to forget. You understand, don't you?"

Gregory gave him what seemed to be a smile, and then Elijah put him back into his crib and left, bumping into Selina, who stood just outside the door.

"Oh, hello," Elijah said. "I thought I told you to stay in bed."

Selina grinned. "You were talking like you were hiding something from me so I decided to be sneaky and follow you. When were you planning on telling me about what happened to your wife and kids?"

"I was going to tell you," Elijah said. "You heard what I told Gregory! I just couldn't figure out a way to phrase it that wouldn't scare you."

Selina scoffed. "Scare me? It wouldn't scare me that in the heat of bloodlust you accidently killed your wife and children. That is what happened, isn't it?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "It is. And after that, I felt so bad, I just killed anyone I came across. I became addicted. It took me years and years to stop."

Selina put her hands on her hips. "Well, you know, I have to say I'm hurt that you were carrying all this pain around and you didn't think once to share it with me. I don't like you to hurt. I could have helped you." She kissed his cheek.

"As much as I enjoy your charms, I don't think they would have helped me with this," Elijah said. "Besides, you shouldn't worry about me. My past is my own cross to bear. You should be worrying about more important things, like Gregory. He needs you much more than I do."

"You know," Selina said, "You're more stubborn then me, you silly man. You do realize that you're more stubborn than me, right? Not a lot of people are, but you're really up there."

"It's late," Elijah said. "If you need to feed Gregory, you should do that, and then come to bed."

"Oh, don't you tell me to come to bed like I'm a child!" Selina said. "I'm not tired and I will come to bed when I choose. And that will not be until you let me help you." Elijah rolled his eyes and began walking away from her.

"Don't you turn your back on me!" She said. "I'm trying to tell you something important! If you let yourself wallow in guilt like this, you know what will happen? You'll end up just like my mother! And she became so unpleasant that now no one wants to be near her including me, and I'm one of the most patient people I know!"

When they got to the door of their bedroom, Elijah grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. She resisted for a moment, but then put her arms around him, feeling his hands go down her back and over her bottom. She moaned and pulled away. "Astrid said we shouldn't. We have two more weeks to go."

Elijah grinned. "Look at you being cautious now," he said. "What brought it on? Because I'm sure it wasn't common for you and Niklaus to wait six weeks to be intimate with each other."

"No," Selina said. "We never did."

He picked her up and put her over his shoulder. "Well, I don't see what the problem is now, then." He laughed as she began beating on his back. "Would you put me down?" She asked. "You are so stupid!"

"Of course I'll put you down," he said, tossing her onto the bed and looming over her, pushing up her pajama top and kissing her stomach. She moaned and he continued kissing upward, massaging her and then slipping off her pajama bottoms and her panties. Her body was hot all over. She was breathing hard.

"You know," she said, "I really don't find this attractive at all."

"Yes you do," he said, removing the last of his clothing and climbing into bed with her, kissing the inside of her thigh. She moaned again.

"Come inside me," she said. "Please."

"Are you certain it won't hurt you?" Elijah asked.

"Yes!" Selina said. "Just do it, please!"

He pushed into her and she let out a shriek that of course woke up Gregory. Selina sighed. "Since it's my fault, I'll go calm him," she said. She grabbed her bathrobe off the bedknob and put it on.

"You do that," he said, running a hand over her arm. "I'll be here waiting for you."

She gave a self-conscious laugh, blushing a little, and went to tend to Gregory.

The next morning, Lucy woke up to the sound of a voice above her. "What are you doing here?" it demanded. "Didn't you have anywhere else to go?"

Lucy felt a little groggy, blurting out the first thing that came to her mind: "I'm sorry, Officer. I won't do it again."

The laugh that greeted that statement sounded like nails on a blackboard and made Lucy wince. It also brought the speaker into focus. She was a tall, gangly woman with long, faded blue hair and a beaky nose. She wore fake lashes above her large blue eyes and dressed in clothes that were covered in paint.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked.

"My friends call me Mimi, that's all you need to know," the woman said cheerfully. "Now sit up, you're covered with snow. We had a storm last night."

Lucy looked down and saw snow covering her from neck to feet. When Mimi pulled her up to a sitting position, she realized how stiff she was. "Well, that's the last time I ever sleep on a park bench," she said.

"You sound like you have other options," Mimi said. "That's good. But if it's not too personal a question, if you do have other options, why spend the night on a park bench?"

Lucy looked up at her. "Well, you don't know me, or my parents or anyone like that, so oddly enough, you're the only one I can tell. I ran away from home last night."

"Why would you ever do that in the middle of January or at any other time?" Mimi asked. "Your mother and father must be worried sick about you. Do they even know you're gone?"

Lucy shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. "No, they don't. I don't even live with them. For the last several months, I've been living with a guy. My parents are divorced."

"This man you're living with, is he your boyfriend?" Mimi asked. "Did you run away because you two had a fight?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly a figh," Lucy said. "He's older, and he wants to be with me in every way a person can be with a person, you know? But he can't, cause he thinks I'm too young just now, only I didn't know that was the reason, so I've been doing the most disgusting things to get his attention and I made a complete fool of myself, so I left and here I am."

"This man cares about you?" Mimi asked.

Lucy nodded. "And I didn't just leave him point blank. I left him a note explaining why I had to run away, and I told him not to look for me and that I'd see him again someday when I'd grown up."

"Everyone has a time when they need to grow up," Mimi said sympathetically. "And sometimes, once you realize that, you have to do really drastic things to make it happen. For me, it was the day I realized that I preferred the romantic company of women over men. I told my parents and being very traditional people, they were displeased and threw me out of their house. I was about your age and I pretty much raised myself after that."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lucy said. "That must've been awful."

Mimi sighed. "At first. But then I realized it was one of the greatest gifts I could have ever been given. It gave me the space I needed to become comfortable in my own skin. Are you comfortable in your own skin?"

"I guess," Lucy said. "I don't know."

"Well, until you figure it out, you can come stay with me," Mimi told her. "I'm not a shady character, I promise. I have a boardinghouse not far from here, full of artsy types like myself. I hope you don't mind artsy types."

"No," Lucy said truthfully. "My mother is one. When I was little, she painted her entire bedroom and let me and my twin brother help. And after that, she put paper on the walls so we had canvas space to draw whenever and wherever we felt like. That gave my uncle the worst fits you can possibly imagine. He's a very serious person, you see." She giggled.

"So you sketch?" Mimi asked as they walked out of the park. "You'll have to show me your drawings sometime. I'd love to see them."

Damon had slept fitfully and he woke up in a really bad mood. "Are you still here?" He snapped at Adam. "What the hell am I supposed to do with you anyway?"

"Help me be cool," Adam said. "Help me be attractive to women other than my ex-girlfriend, who, may I say, has a very jealous husband."

"Oh, that's right," Damon said. "Stefan and Anna. He's my brother."

"Is it normal for him to be that angry?" Adam asked.

"Actually no," Damon said. "You were just a victim of years and years of repressed anger. Fun, huh?"

"Are we going to start my training today?" Adam asked eagerly.

"I think I have other things on my mind then making some nerd look cool," Damon said. "In case you haven't noticed, Lucy is missing!"

"Oh, I know that," Adam said. "She hugged me goodbye before she left and made me swear I would keep you from looking for her."

Damon burst out laughing. "She honestly thought you could keep me from doing something? That's adorable. Total Lucy thinking."

"So even though she told you that she doesn't want you to look for her, you're going to do it anyway?" Adam asked.

"Of course I am," Damon said. "She's sixteen years old. Not even that! What does she know? I'm not going to have her wandering around the city by herself. I don't care how strong she is."

"And if you manage to find her, what will you do?" Adam asked. "Pick her up and drag her back here?"

Damon nodded. "And give her the talking to of a lifetime for leaving." And then kiss her and hug her and lock us both in my room so I can be sure she'll never leave my bed...

He blinked. No! He couldn't think like that! She was a little girl! She was his Cookie Monster! He couldn't think naughty things about his Cookie Monster! "Tell me something," he said sharply to Adam, "Do you have any of your dog abilities now? Like could you track Lucy?"

Adam shook his head. "Unfortunately no. You'd need a witch or something for that. I do know a couple. I could give you their address."

"No need," Damon said. "I know them too."

Lenora heard the phone ring and when she realized no one was around to answer it, she picked it up herself. "Hello?"

"Lenora, is that you?" Damon asked.

"Yeah-huh," Lenora said. "Who is this?"

"It's Damon Salvatore," he said. "You know, your grandma's friend?"

"You know my mommy too!" Lenora said brightly.

"Yeah, I do," Damon said. "Could you get your mommy for me? I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Lenora asked. "A magical favor?"

"Yes!" Damon said.

"I can do magic too!" Lenora said. "Wanna see?" She jabbed her finger in the direction of the phone and suddently Damon appeared. "Hi," Lenora said shyly.

"How did I get here?" Damon asked her.

"I did it!" Lenora said, jumping up and down happily. "It was me! Wanna see something else?" She pointed at the cupboards and they began to open and close.

"Wow," Damon said. "That's very good. But where's your mommy? Lucy is missing and I need your mommy to help me find her."

"Aunt Lucy is missing?" Lenora asked loudly

"Yes," Damon whispered. "But we have to be quiet. I don't want your daddy to know. Just your mommy."

"Daddy doesn't like you," Lenora said.

"I know," Damon told her. "I know." Just then, the cupboards closed and Helene stood at the entrance to the kitchen. "Damon, how did you get here? I didn't hear anyone come in."

"Lenora brought me, actually," Damon said. "And it was a good thing she did too. I need your help."

"Aunt Lucy is missing," Lenora said.

"And you want me to help you find her," Helene said. "I'm guessing as covertly as possible?"

"Yeah," Damon said. "That would be nice. Selina especially can't know."

Helene sighed. "All right," she said. "I have some things I need to pick up for the spells I'm gonna have to do. Go back to your house and I'll meet you there in an hour."

"Both of us will!" Lenora piped up. "I wanna help look for Aunt Lucy!"

"How you'll help is by distracting your daddy," Helene said. "You think you can do that?"

"All right," Lenora sighed. "But it won't be as much fun."