"Yes or no for what?" Roxie asked.

"You know for what," Vince said. "Will you marry me or not?"

"I can't believe that's how you propose to me!" Roxie said. "I mean, it just came out of nowhere! We're in a cemetery watching my mother kill someone and boom! You propose. Maybe I should start questioning what you find romantic."

"It didn't just come out of nowhere!" Vince said. "I've been wanting to marry you for years, but you wanted to grow up and see the world first. It's been awhile since I asked, but when I heard your mom talk about her feelings for your uncle, I was inspired to ask again."

"And maybe if you asked the right way, I'd say yes," Roxie told him. "You know, get down on your knee and all that. Did you get a ring?"

"No," Vince shook his head. "But it's on my list of things to do."

Roxie rolled her eyes. "You didn't even get a ring," she said flatly. "You've been wanting to propose to me for years and you didn't even get me a ring."

"Well, I thought you'd want to pick it out," Vince said. "Just in case you had something particular in mind."

Roxie sighed. "That's reasonable, I guess. I'm sorry."

Vince stood up and left the room, coming back with a shiny pink plastic ring made up to look like it had a big diamond on it. "I found this in a box of cereal," he said. "Will it do for now?"

Roxie nodded. "Yeah."

"All right then," he got down on his knee. "Roxanne Amelia Mikaelson, will you marry me?"

And Roxie nodded. "I will."

He put the ring on her and they both sat down. "So, we're engaged," he said.

She nodded. "Yeah, we are." She let out a breath.

"Do you think your dad will hate me for this?" He asked. "Should we not tell him about it?"

"We have to tell him!" Roxie said. "He and I just made up, kind of. So I think it would be very hurtful to him if I didn't let him know."

"Well, all right," Vince said. "You can go and tell him. But maybe you should make sure he's drunk or something before you do it."

"Why are you so scared of my dad?" Roxie asked. "He asked you to marry me four years ago. Why should things be different now?"

"Roxie, he had his goons break my legs!" Vince said. "You don't forget something like that!"

"Well, do you want to marry me or don't you?" Roxie asked.

"I do!" Vince said. "I just want to wait to tell your dad about it until after it happens, in case he gets it into his head to interfere."

"Well, I think you're worrying for nothing and that we should tell him now," Roxie said. "In fact, that's just what I'm going to do right now."

"So," Caroline was saying to Lucy, "what's the big news you came to tell me?"

"Well, I don't know if Dad told you or not, but I'm going to Europe for a year," Lucy said. "A friend of mine, my mentor, actually, has friends in Europe who own galleries and one of those friends came over and got a look at one of my painting and told Mimi, that's my friend's name, that she liked what she saw and wanted to use my work to promote her gallery and in exchange, she'd give me lessons!"

"That's fantastic!" Caroline said, giving Lucy a hug. "I'm so happy for you."

"Well, I should be thanking Dad for letting me go," Lucy said. "He and Mom and Uncle Elijah."

"I thought it would be a good chance for her to see the world," Klaus said. "And who knows?" He said to Lucy, "Caroline and I might come and visit you sometime. If that's all right with you, of course."

Lucy nodded. "Of course. But if you're coming solely to see my work, you wouldn't have to go all the way to Europe. I have some stuff back at my studio that you can have a look at right now."

"That sounds good," Caroline said. "Let's go!"

Just then, they heard a car drive up and a car door slam shut. "Hello?" called a voice. "Anybody home?"

"Roxie," Caroline breathed. "It's a good thing we can tell her we're just leaving."

"Now, just a minute," Klaus said. "Maybe she came over here for a reason. Maybe she's got something important on her mind that we need to hear."

Caroline sighed. "Fine," she said, and then reluctantly sat back down.

"If you don't want to stay, no one is forcing you," Klaus said. "Why don't you go with Lucy to her gallery and have a look at her paintings, and I will stay here and see what Roxanne is up to. Would that be a satisfactory arrangement?"

Caroline stood up again. "Yes, that would be good." But they didn't make it out of the house before Roxie got in. "Don't tell me the two of you are leaving!" Roxie said to them. "You have to stay! I want you to hear what I have to say too!"

"Well, what is it?" Klaus asked. "Something exciting, obviously."

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "But Daddy, you have to promise that you'll listen to this with an open mind and not get all upset."

Klaus, who had been grinning, sobered up at the comment. "What is it, Roxanne? What have you done now?"

"I got engaged!" Roxie said, taking off her gloves and holding out her hand. "See?"

"Where did you get that ring?" Caroline asked. "It looks like something that came out of a cereal box."

Roxie nodded. "It did come out of a cereal box. But it's just temporary. I'm gonna go pick out my real ring later."

"Who are you engaged to?" Caroline asked.

"Is it Vince?" Lucy asked. "I hope it's Vince. I like him. He's nice."

"Of course it's Vince!" Roxie said, feeling offended. "Who else would it be?"

"I don't know!" Lucy said. "I don't have the energy to keep up with your love life."

"Yet you are perfectly all right broadcasting yours to everyone!" Roxie said. "Don't think you can try and start things with me, because-"

"Now everyone, just calm down," Klaus said. "This isn't a time to fight."

Roxie nodded. "You're right, Daddy. I'm sorry. How do you feel? Are you all right?"

"Of course," Klaus said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I know you've had problems with Vince in the past," Roxie said carefully. "And I just wanted to make sure-"

"I'm fine!" Klaus cut her off. "If I told him he could marry you four years ago, then of course he can marry you now!"

"That's what he said," Roxie replied. "But I just wanted to come over here and let you know in person."

"How kind of you," Klaus said. "Thank you, Roxanne."

"Do you have any ideas about what you want to do for your wedding?" Caroline asked her tentatively.

"No," Roxie shook her head. "We've only been engaged for a few hours, so we haven't even started talking details yet."

"I could help," Caroline said. "I'd be glad to."

"Well-" Roxie began.

"Roxanne would be grateful for your help," Klaus said. "In fact, after you and Lucy get back from her gallery, why don't you and Roxie go to the living room and throw some ideas around?"

"Sounds good to me," Caroline said.

"Good," Klaus told her. After they left, Roxie glared at her father. "Why did you tell her it was okay for her to help me plan my wedding?"

"Well, you yourself said that you didn't have any ideas yet," Klaus said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I need her help!" Roxie replied. "She's just gonna ruin everything. I can feel it!"

"What do you think she's going to ruin?" Klaus asked.

"Well, obviously she and I don't have the same tastes," Roxie said. "She could take over the whole thing and it would look like something she'd like rather than something I'd like."

"Which is why it is important for the two of you to communicate with each other," Klaus said. "Caroline volunteered to help you. I'm sure she's not interested in taking over."

"I don't know about that," Roxie said skeptically.

"Are you going to call your mother to buffer the wedding planning like you called her to buffer the dinner party?" Klaus asked.

Roxie nodded. "I just might." She left the kitchen, went to the bedroom she usually slept in when she visited and called her mother.

Selina and Gregory were grooving to holiday music when Selina heard the phone ring. She picked up a very unhappy Gregory and carried him with her to the kitchen.

"I know you don't like being taken away from the music," Selina said. "But I can't just leave you alone in the living room, now can I?" She put him in his high chair and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Mom?" The voice on the other end of the line sounded uncertain.

"Roxanne!" Selina said immediately. "What a surprise that you called. What is it that you want from me now?"

"I wanted to tell you that Vince and I are engaged," Roxie said. "It just happened today."

"Really?" Selina asked. "That's so exciting. I'm very happy for you. Have you told your father? Did he throw a fit?"

"Yeah, I told him," Roxie said. "He said he was okay with it, and he didn't throw a tantrum, but I just don't know. I have a feeling that something might happen later."

"We'll have to keep a close eye on him," Selina said. "So do you have any ideas about what you're going to do?"

"That's the other reason why I called," Roxie said. "Caroline was there when I told Dad and Lucy and she volunteered to help me plan things out. Dad told her I'd be glad to have her help and now I'm stuck with her."

"You need me to buffer again," Selina said dryly.

"Well, it wouldn't have happened if Dad had just told Caroline to mind her own business," Roxie said. "I don't know why he insists on throwing the two of us together at every single possible opportunity."

"He just wants you to get along," Selina said. "That's all."

"But it's absence that makes the heart grow fonder, not constantly being put in the same room as someone!" Roxie said.

"I know," Selina said. "I myself had to get used to Caroline when I first met her, but she means well."

"Did you ever have an experience like this?" Roxie asked.

"I have a feeling that if I would have gotten to be married as a human, I would have had very similar feelings to the ones you're having," Selina said. "But outside of hypotheticals, there was a time years ago that my mother signed me up for a beauty pageant without my consent."

"Your mother forced you to be in a beauty pageant?" Roxie asked. "Did you protest?"

"Vociferously," Selina nodded. "But it was to no avail. It was something called the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. A lot of girls who were from families that founded the town were in it besides me. Mama said that since I was a descendant of not just one founding family, but two, it was my duty to put on my dress and be paraded in front of a bunch of judges like like a prize cow."

"Your mother sounds like a real pain in the butt," Roxie said. "Did you even win the competition after all that trouble?"

"No," Selina said. "Caroline did, actually. I think. I can't really remember now."

"So you understand why I called and need your help," Roxie said. "Will you help me?"

Selina said, "Of course, dear. Where are you?"

"I'm at Daddy's," Roxie said. "Caroline's not here. She and Lucy went to Lucy's gallery to look at her paintings, but she could be back any minute, so please hurry as fast as you can."

She hung up then and Selina looked at the phone for a moment and set the phone back in the cradle. Then she went and picked up Gregory, taking him back to the living room and turning on the music again. When Elijah got home, she would go and rescue Roxie.

"So has Lucy told you about her opportunity to go to Europe yet?" Mimi asked as she and Damon sat and chatted in her living room.

"Yes," Damon nodded. "That's what I came to talk to you about, actually. There wouldn't be any way I could come with, would there?"

"No," Mimi said, looking at him sadly. "But I understand why you want to come. I bet it will be hard for you, being without her for a year, won't it?"

He nodded. "But if it will help her art, she should go. I mean, what kind of person would I be if I interfered with her dreams?"

"You are a very nice young man," Mimi said to him as she looked at him fondly. "A lot nicer than that other young man she used to bring around sometimes. I can't remember what his name was."

"Jason?" Damon supplied.

"Yes!" Mimi nodded. "Jason. He had a bad look about him. Did you know that Lucy was with him the night she got attacked in the park? That wolf showed up out of nowhere and he just ran off scared."

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "I heard she was rescued by some drunk stumbling around the park at the right moment."

"Don't put yourself down that way," Mimi said. "Everyone has their bad moments. I've had a break up or two where the first thing I did was drown my sorrows. The important thing is that you showed up when you did and saved her."

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "I guess that is the important thing."

"So as far as Lucy is concerned, when she and I are in Europe, I suppose I could send you updates of her progress," Mimi said. "If you wanted me to. She'll probably be too busy working to do it herself."

Damon nodded. "Yeah, I would like that. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Mimi said, grinning at him. "Lucy's lucky to have found a man like you."

Damon shook his head. "Not as lucky as I am to have found her," he said.

Just then, the door to the house opened and Lucy and Caroline came in. When he saw her, Damon stood up. "Hi, Lucy," he said.

"Hi," Lucy replied. "What brings you here, Damon?"

"I was just telling him more about what you're going to be doing in Europe," Mimi said. "He's very interested."

"Is he?" Lucy asked. "Well, I've brought Caroline over to show her some of my paintings." She looked at Damon. "Do you want to come too?"

Damon nodded. "Of course. You lead the way."

Lucy nodded and led him and Caroline up to her studio space, which by now was much bigger than anyone else's.

"Looks like you've done a lot of work in here," Caroline said. "You should really show your father sometime."

"I've shown him most of it already, except for a couple of things," Lucy said. "So it can wait until after Roxie's wedding. My sister is starved enough for affection from him as it is. I don't want to give her more of a reason to hate me."

"Roxie's what?" Damon asked. "Did you just say the words 'Roxie' and 'wedding' in the same sentence?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "Her boyfriend proposed with a ring from a cereal box and she said 'yes'."

"The guy must be a saint," Damon muttered.

Lucy nodded. "As long as I've known him, I've thought so."

"I offered to help her plan it," Caroline piped up. "And she accepted."

Damon's lip quirked. "Seriously? What's the vibe you're going for? Barbie's Dream House meets Harley-Davidson?"

"Roxie has a Harley?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "She and Vince both do. They're in a garage downtown."

"Oh, my god," Caroline said. She was picturing a bunch of leather clad, tattooed bikers charging into the reception hall she worked so hard to prepare and just trashing the place. It would be like Altamont all over again.

"Maybe you should sit down," Lucy said, helping her to a chair. She gestured at a particularly violent scene. "This picture has been known to make anyone who looks at it woozy and it appears you're no exception."

"No," Caroline shook her head. "It's not that. It's just, now I think I might be in over my head with Roxie."

"You realize that now?" Damon asked. "I thought it would have always been obvious."

"Oh, shut up!" Caroline shot back. "I was only trying to help!"

"Let's calm down now," Lucy said. "There's no need to pick fights with each other. Yeah, Caroline. My sister has a Harley, so does Vince, and they spend most of their time at the werewolf bar. I know Dad's taken you there."

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "I've been there. I didn't like it much."

"What a shame," Damon said. "That's probably where they'll be having the reception."

"From the sound of things, you'd be better at planning Roxie's wedding than I would," Caroline said to him. "Why don't you give her your resume?"

Damon narrowed his eyes, but seeing the look on Lucy's face, he kept his scathing retort to himself and looked at the gory painting she'd just indicated. "I bet I know what inspired this," he said as he looked at the graphically gory painting of a wolf standing over a seemingly unconscious young man, his snout and the man's middle covered in red.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "It's hard to forget something like that. I painted it the nights afterward, when I couldn't sleep. It helped keep the nightmares away."

"You had nightmares?" He asked her. "I'm sorry. You could have come back to my house, you know. That might have been easier than you being here by yourself."

Lucy sighed. "Thanks. But sometimes, I just have to suffer for my art, you know?"

"This should be one of the ones you have the lady at the gallery put on display," Damon said. "I think it will really stir people up."

"You can't put something that graphic out for the public!" Caroline said. "It will scare people away!"

"Matthew Brady took pictures of dead soldiers on the Civil War battlefields," Lucy said quietly. "And during World War I, there was an art movement called Dadaism that was a sort backlash against the war. The artists painted really grotesque pictures of people bleeding or being without their limbs or whatever, or if they didn't do that, they just painted stuff that was very abstract and didn't really seem like anything unless you looked really hard. So there is a place for something like this out there, and I think it's what I'll start out with."

"I think it will really get you somewhere," Damon said approvingly.

Lucy smiled at him. "You think?"

Damon nodded. "Of course."

"Don't you have anything cheerier?" Caroline asked. "More along the lines of Monet and his waterlilies?"

"Sure," Lucy said. "Come on." She led Caroline to another corner of the room while Damon stayed and looked at the first picture.

"I painted this one when I woke up at just the right time in the morning," Lucy said, as she showed Caroline a picture of the early morning sky. "The sun was just starting to come up. It was so beautiful."

Caroline nodded. "I bet."

They looked at few more pictures and then Caroline said, "We should probably get back to Roxie. I bet she's been waiting for us forever."

"I have an idea," Damon said. "How about you go back to Roxie and Lucy and I will stay here and look at her pictures?"

"Okay!" Lucy said.

"You don't want to come back with me?" Caroline asked, looking a little hurt.

"Caroline, if I come with you, I will witness something that will inspire another picture with lots of gore in it," Lucy said calmly. "And I don't think that's something I can deal with. I would much rather stay here."

"Well, all right," Caroline said. "I'll just be going then."

"Bye," Lucy called after her. Once the sound of Caroline's footsteps had faded away, Damon grinned at Lucy. "So, we're up here alone. What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," Lucy said, grinning. "What do you wanna do?"

He pulled her to him and kissed her once, then his eye caught the picture of him and the wolf again. "Did you really have nightmares after, you know?"

"After I was nearly attacked? You can say it, Damon," Lucy said. "It's all right. And yeah, I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Damon asked. And don't give me some line about suffering for your art. What was the real reason?"

"I just didn't want to bother you," Lucy said, not meeting his eyes. "You shouldn't be worrying about me so much. You should worry more about Sam."

"Sam doesn't want to have anything to do with me anymore," Damon said. "I bet he doesn't even know how close I came to dying. That means the only person that's left without someone to worry about them is you." He put his hand under her chin so that her eyes met his. "Don't keep anything like this from me again," he said. "I don't like knowing that you're here suffering by yourself. Let me help you."

"I don't have the nightmares anymore," Lucy said. "They've ended."

"Well, just remember for the future," Damon said. "If you start have nightmares again, let me know."

Lucy nodded. "I will. Even if I have to call you from Europe at two in the morning, I will let you know." She paused. "Can we not talk about this anymore?"

He nodded. "Sure. Would you rather go to your room and..." He trailed off as she threw herself into his arms and they fell to the floor. Their hands went everywhere on each other and by the time they stopped for breath, Lucy's top and bra were in a corner and Damon was also shirtless. They stared at one another for a second or two and then kept going. Soon, they were naked and rolling around on the studio floor. They were so involved with one another that they didn't hear the footsteps coming up the studio stairs or the opening of the door. It was a woman's shriek that finally brought them to their senses. They looked up and found an amused Mimi standing next to an older couple who looked horrified.

"Hi," Lucy said, as if Mimi had just come by for a normal visit. "Mimi, who are these people?"

"Lucy, these are my parents," Mimi said. She was trying not to laugh. "I thought I'd come up and show them some of your work. Sorry for interrupting you."

"Oh, no," Lucy laughed. "It's fine."

"We'll just leave now and let you...finish." She hustled her parents out of the attic. The couple couldn't leave quick enough.

"Well, that was something, wasn't it?" Lucy asked Damon once they were gone.

Damon nodded. "Mimi seemed to enjoy it, anyway."

"It's always enjoyable to get the rise out of prudish people," Lucy said. "I don't understand people like that at all. There's no reason to be ashamed of your body. I'm not."

Damon looked her over. "And I'm certainly not. Just promise me you won't become the muse of any promising male sculptors when you're in Europe, all right?"

"Okay," Lucy said. "I promise." She paused. "You know what? Maybe I'll spend the night with you after all. Would you mind?"

Damon shook his head. "No, not at all. Just tell me when you want to leave here."

Back at Klaus' house, Roxie, Selina and a less enthusiastic Caroline began to plan Roxie's wedding. "I don't want anything fancy," Roxie said. "Or big."

"So what?" Caroline asked. "Only two or three hundred people?"

"I don't think I know that many," Roxie said. "Vince is really the only person I'm close to."

"What about Charlie and Tony?" Selina asked. "You should at least let them know. I mean, you were maid of honor at their wedding."

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "I'll try and get a hold of Charlie. So it will be Charlie, Tony, Vince, me, Dad, you, Uncle Elijah and-"

"Me?" Caroline finished.

"Sure," Roxie nodded. "I mean, somebody has to serve drinks at the reception, right?"

Caroline opened her mouth to protest and Selina said, "Let it go, Caroline. Just let it go."

Caroline pursed her lips and sat back in her chair.

"So your parents, your siblings, and your two best friends," Selina said, drawing on a notepad. "Sounds like a good wedding to me."

"And when I go into work tomorrow, I think I'll ask Enid if she'd be willing to host the reception," Roxie said. "That way, Ronan can be there. I like him."

"You want to have your wedding reception at a bar?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah!" Roxie said. "I'm sorry if it's gauche or something in your universe, but it's what I want and if you don't like it, you don't have to come. In fact, I would prefer it if you didn't!" She got up from the table and stomped off.

"Sorry," Caroline said when Selina frowned at her. "That was one of the times I should have kept my mouth shut, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Selina said tersely. "It was." She paused. "You don't need to do anything else, Caroline. Thanks for your help." She left too, and Caroline was alone in the kitchen. They wouldn't let her do anything else for the wedding, but there was one thing she knew she could do. She wrote up a wedding announcement and stuck it in her purse. She would take it to be put in the local paper tomorrow.

Elijah woke up when something cold and wet hit his bare back. "What?" He asked sleepily.

"It's snowing!" Selina said. "Get up and come outside with us!"

Elijah slowly sat up and when his vision adjusted, he saw Selina standing at the foot of the bed, fully dressed and wearing a winter coat and boots, and Gregory who was dressed same. At least he assumed it was Gregory who was buried under the bundle of clothes Selina held.

"What did you just hit me with?" He asked her.

"Snowball," Selina said.

"Ah," Elijah nodded. "Well, since you have as much as challenged me to a battle, I suppose I have no choice but to accept."

Selina nodded seriously. "If you want to keep your honor, you really have no choice."

Elijah got out of bed, dressed and then took hold of Gregory. "I think you overdressed him," He said. "He's probably suffocating."

"I just don't want him to be cold," Selina said.

Elijah removed some of Gregory's layers so that he wore a hat, a scarf, a jacket, mittens and boots. "There," Elijah said when he could finally see his son's eyes looking back at him. "That's better". Gregory grinned. He seemed to think so too.

"Are we gonna go or not?" Selina asked impatiently.

"Why are you so eager?" Elijah grinned over Gregory's shoulder. "I thought you hated snow."

Selina nodded. "I do, mostly. But all that's outside is new enough that it's not irritating yet."

"Ah," Elijah nodded. "I see."

He and Gregory followed Selina outside and had been playing around in the snow for a bit when the most extraordinary thing happened. After Selina threw a snowball at Elijah and Elijah threw a snowball at Selina, they saw Gregory struggling to get to his feet. He finally managed it, took three steps, and then fell on his bottom, right in the snow. His lip began to quiver and suddenly he burst into tears. Selina started to reach for him, but Elijah put a hand on her arm. "Don't do that!" he said. "Leave him where he is."

"But he's crying!" Selina said. "Look at him, poor little guy!"

"He just fell in the snow," Elijah said. "It's not like he split his head open or anything. He's not injured in any way. Don't coddle him. This is the sort of situation he has to figure out for himself."

"Okay," Selina said and reluctantly walked past Gregory as he wailed louder and louder, reaching out for her, his face getting redder and redder. Finally, Elijah picked him up so he was standing on his feet. Then he took his hand and the two of them began slowly walking across the snow, Gregory's boot prints looking impossibly tiny next to Elijah's much larger ones.

Once Gregory realized he was moving, he stopped crying and his face lit up. He looked down in fascination at his feet and began kicking up snow. Finally, they reached Selina and Elijah let Gregory go so that he fell into Selina's lap.

"Now, you may coddle him," Elijah said. "And I think we should go inside. His face is red. And not just from crying either." Selina picked Gregory up and looked him over. You know, I think you're right." They went inside and Selina gave Gregory a bath and got him into dry clothes before putting him down for a nap. Then she made some cider and while she and Elijah were drinking it, Selina said, "Roxie's getting married. In two weeks. Will you be my date?"

Elijah spit out cider all over his chair. "Did you say there's someone on this earth with the courage to marry Roxanne?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "So of course I have go to the wedding. Would you be my date?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Roxanne getting married. That is something I will have to see to believe."

Mary Anne was glad she'd saved the paper that morning. Usually, she just threw it in the trash, but an item in the life section had caught her eye.

Marriages:

Roxanne Amelia Mikaelson to marry Vincent Allen Talbot, January first at her father's home. Reception to follow at Enid's Bar and Grill.

It was perfect. She could go to the wedding without any trouble. Klaus would let her in easily. Then, at just the right moment, she would lure the bride away, and no one would ever see her again.

Mary Anne grinned with satisfaction. She really was doing the right thing. And Roxie would be able to say something not a lot of people could nowadays: That she and this Vince would be married until death do us part.