"We're gonna do something special today, Lenora," Damon said. "But you have to come with me out to my car. We're going on a field trip."

"You mean we're leaving home?" Lenora asked. "Where are we going?"

"To my house," Damon said as he led her out to his car and boosted her into the backseat. "I have a surprise for you."

"What kind of surprise?" Lenora asked as they drove away. "Will I like it?"

"I think you will," Damon said. "I can't tell you what it is, though. Otherwise it won't be a surprise."

They drove to Damon's house and all the while, he did is best to ignore her pleas for him to tell her what the surprise was. When they reached the house, he helped her out of the car and led her inside. "The surprise is up in the attic," he said. "But you have to keep hold of my hand. I don't want you to get lost or hurt, all right?"

Lenora nodded. "Yes, sir," she said. They walked slowly and carefully up the attic steps and Lenora let out a shriek and clutched Damon's arm as something scampered across the floor right in front of her. "What was that?!" She asked.

"It's just a little mouse," Damon said. "You'll be all right. It won't hurt you." He led her to a far corner of the attic where a dark walnut trunk sat. "What's in the box?" Lenora asked. Damon took the lid off and said, "Have a look inside."

"There's lots of stuff in here," Lenora said and let out a sneeze as a layer of dust rose up. "What is all of this?" She asked, pulling out a tiny doll with a painted porcelain head and a straw-filled body and an old tea cup that had a crack in the edge.

"Just some stuff I've saved over the years," Damon said. He pulled a picture out and showed it to her. "Anyone in this picture look familiar?" He asked her. Lenora took a look at it. "It's Grandma!" She said. "And you!"

Damon nodded. "Yep. This picture was taken a long time ago. On my birthday. Which is a little over a month away, incidentally."

"Really?" Lenora asked. "I'll make you a party!"

Damon grinned. "You don't have to do that, sweetie."

"But I want to," Lenora said. "Please let me."

Damon thought a moment. "All right," he said. "If you insist."

Lenora put her arms around him and to his surprise, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "It'll be fun," she said. "I promise." They spent the rest of the afternoon looking through the trunk and Lenora decided to take a few of Selina's dolls with her to play with. When they got back to Adrian and Helene's, Lenora set them neatly against her pillow and nodded with satisfaction. "That looks nice," she said to Damon. "Don't you think that looks nice?"

Damon nodded. "Sure," he said.

"All right," Lenora replied and took Damon's hand, pulling him out of her bedroom. "It's time for your party. Come on!"

When they reached the living room, she told him to sit down on the sofa and then ran off, coming back a few minutes later with her tea table, a few chairs, and one more box of stuff. "You need help?" Damon asked her.

Lenora shook her head. "No, thank you. I'll be okay, but you'll have to stand back." She waved her hand and the table and chairs set themselves up nicely, table cloth and all, and then Lenora set out the cups and plates by hand.

"Who are going to be in the other two chairs?" Damon asked her. "Or will it be just you and me?"

"No," Lenora shook her head. "Rusty and Snowball are gonna come too."

"I don't know about that!" Damon said. "Are you sure it's a good idea to have Rusty and Snowball in the same room?"

"Yes!" Lenora called. "It'll be okay!" She came back with Rusty and put him down next to the tea table, and then returned with Snowball, who was wearing a bonnet and a frilly dress. "Rusty doesn't like it when I dress him up," Lenora explained. "But Snowball is okay with it." She sat down with Snowball in her lap, and said, "Oh! We need cake, don't we?"

"That's okay," Damon told her. "We can just pretend. I don't mind."

"But we have cake!" Lenora said. "Well, cupcakes. From Grandma's bakery."

"Since when did she have a bakery?" Damon asked, grinning like he always did when he heard Lenora refer to Selina as 'Grandma'.

"Since about a month ago," Lenora said. She came back with two cupcakes and two candles, which she stuck in Damon's. "Sorry I can't light them," she said apologetically. "Daddy says I can't go near matches and Mommy won't teach me how to do spells with fire until I'm older."

"Well, that's very wise of them, don't you think?" Damon asked her, blowing on the unlit candles.

"Did you make a wish?" Lenora asked him excitedly. "Was it for Aunt Lucy to come back so the two of you can make babies?"

Damon put a finger to his lips. "Shhh!" he said. "Don't say it out loud or it won't come true!"

"Sorry!" Lenora said quickly, her eyes wide. She zipped her lip and made a motion like throwing a key away. She sat in her chair and put her napkin in her lap before peeling the paper off the cupcake and eating it slowly. "This is good!" She exclaimed. "Don't you think so? Isn't Grandma a good baker?"

Damon took a bite of his, swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, she is," he agreed. "When she and I lived together a long time ago, she cooked for me all the time."

"She did?" Lenora asked. "When was that?"

"A long time ago," Damon said. "Like, way before she met your grandpa and had your daddy."

"Who was that person in the picture over the fireplace at your house?" Lenora asked him. "The one of the boy who looked like you?"

"That's Joshua," Damon told her. "He was the first baby your grandmother ever had, before she even became a vampire."

"Oh," Lenora nodded. "Is he a vampire too? Can I meet him?"

"He's not a vampire," Damon said. "He grew up with my father and stayed human all his life."

"Oh," Lenora said, her face falling. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Damon said. "You can meet him. He's visited me every so often since your grandmother and I split up. I bet if I called him, he would come."

"Really?" Lenora asked eagerly. "Can you try it?"

"Yeah," Damon nodded. He called for Joshua a few times, but nobody came.

Joshua was at the hotel where Sam and the rest of the band were staying, standing patiently outside his brother's bedroom door and waiting for all the noise to subside. Finally, he let out a groan of frustration and decided to pop into the room anyway. Sam let out a shriek and tried to cover up both himself and Corrie.

"What are you doing in here?" Sam yelled. "Don't you know the meaning of privacy?"

"Well, I waited as long as I could," Joshua replied. "But at last I had no choice but to just come in. I'm sorry if I'm inconveniencing you."

"You're damn right you're inconveniencing me," Sam said, gesturing at Corrie, who looked frightened. "Don't you see I have company?"

Joshua nodded. "I heard you had company from outside. It would be hard not to with the noise you're making."

"Just tell me what you came here for and then go away," Sam said grumpily.

"Who are you talking to?" Corrie whispered. "Or are you just talking to yourself?"

"Remember how I told you I had a crazy family?" Sam whispered back. "Well, my brother is a ghost and he visits me sometimes. Usually to nag at me about something."

"You do realize that Father's birthday is in a month," Joshua said, his arms crossed, staring at Sam severely. "What do you plan to do about that?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Sam said. "I haven't forgotten. I'll send him a card."

"No, you won't," Joshua said. "You are going to come home and see him in person. Whatever this is between you and him is ridiculous and it needs to end."

"If I come to Dad's birthday, will you go away?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Joshua nodded. "And I probably should anyway. He's been calling me for awhile now. So can I tell him you're coming?"

"Yes," Sam said, looking defeated. "You can tell him I'll be there."

Once Joshua was gone, Corrie said, "What did your brother the ghost have to say?"

"You're taking this very well," Sam remarked.

"Hey," Corrie shrugged. "My husband was the lord of the dead. I was around ghosts on a daily basis. Now, what did he want?"

Sam shrugged. "He just wanted to make sure I came to my father's birthday in a month," he replied. "Will we be able to spare a few days? Because seriously, if I don't go, Joshua will hunt me down until I do. "Sometimes, it's just easier to do what he says."

"I bet I'll be able to arrange something," Corrie said with a grin. "That is...if I get to come too."

"You want to come to my father's birthday?" Sam asked in surprise. "You don't think it's too soon for something like that?"

"Well, if you think it's too soon, I suppose you could go alone," Corrie said. "But I just thought-"

"No, no," Sam shook his head. "Now is as good a time as any, I suppose. My family is always gonna be the way they are. You might as well find that out sooner than later."

"Sorry it took me so long to get here," Joshua said when he appeared in front of Damon and Lenora. Rusty let out a whine and ran from the living room. Snowball let out a hiss and followed him.

"Hi!" Lenora waved. "You're the boy from the picture!"

"Who's that?" Joshua asked Damon, looking curiously at Lenora.

"This is Lenora," Damon told him. "She and I were at my house looking at stuff and she saw your picture and wanted to meet you."

"This isn't another one of Mother's children, is it?" Joshua asked.

"No," Damon shook his head, a grin curving his lips. "You're not gonna believe this, but this is your mother's granddaughter. I watch her while her parents work, or whatever it is they do during the day."

"What would cause you to do something like that?" Joshua asked, looking confused. "Not exactly a normal occupation for a man, is it?"

"He watches me because he misses Aunt Lucy," Lenora said. "This gives him something to do with himself. At least that's what Aunt Anna says."

Joshua nodded. "I should have known it would all come back to her," he said. "But anyway, I told Sam about your birthday being next month and he swore he would come. And if he doesn't, I will hound him until he does."

"That's not the way to go about it," Damon said. "I don't want Sam to feel like he has to come to my birthday party. He should come because he wants to."

"I'll want to," Lenora said.

Damon ruffled her hair. "I know," he said. "Thank you."

"Are you certain you're all right?" Elijah asked, clutching Gregory and giving Selina a look. "What just happened?"

Selina looked up at him and took a deep breath. "I'm all right," she said. "I just need to sit down. I'm not sick or anything. It was something else."

"What could possibly make you almost drop Gregory?" Elijah asked, feeling a little horrified. He'd come into the kitchen for coffee that morning just in time to see Selina's face twist into a grimace and watch her nearly lose grip on Gregory, whom she was holding.

"You might want to put him down before I tell you," Selina said. "You hear what I'm about to tell you and you might almost drop him too."

"Well?" Elijah asked. "Stop being secretive and just tell me!"

"It was the baby," Selina said once Gregory was toddling around the kitchen floor. "The baby kicked and it surprised me so much that I almost dropped Gregory."

Elijah froze. "You're kidding!"

"No," Selina shook her head. "There it goes again." Elijah ran over and put his hand on her stomach. "Well, what do you know?" He asked. "We have another baby."

Selina grinned.

Just then, the kitchen door burst open and Roxie appeared, panting and looking frightened. "Mom, you have to help me!" She said. "I think something's wrong with me!"

Selina looked her over. "Oh, my god! You're pregnant!"

"I know," Roxie said. "I told you that. I'm as big as a house, I know. I've heard all that at work."

"All right," Selina nodded. "I'm done, I promise. So, what's the problem?"

"My stomach feels weird," Roxie said. "Like there are things moving around in it or something."

"Because there are," Selina said. "The baby is just saying 'Hi'. It should be developed enough to do that by now."

"That's the baby?" Roxie asked in surprise. "Or in my case, babies?"

Selina's head snapped up. "Did you just say 'babies'? Like, more than one baby?"

Roxie nodded. "Enid told Vince and me a month ago. You're only having one, right?"

Selina nodded. "Yep, only one."

They stood in silence and then Roxie came toward her mother. "Is yours kicking too?" She asked shyly. "Can I feel it?"

Selina nodded. "Sure. Go ahead."

Roxie tentatively reached out and put her hand on Selina's stomach. "Yeah," she said, looking amazed. "It's in there. Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"A girl," Selina and Elijah said at the same time.

"What?" Selina asked, looking at him in surprise. "You do?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Well, we already have a boy, don't we?"

"Vince and I want a girl and a boy," Roxie said. "That way, everyone will be happy. He wants to name the boy after his dad, but he let me name the girl."

"What name did you pick?" Selina asked.

"Addison," Roxie said. "Vince had this book of names and he told me to take a look at it. When I told him what name I wanted, he just rolled his eyes cause I didn't even get past the A's before I picked a name."

"Well, if you like the name Addison, then you like the name Addison," Selina said. "And he told you you could name the girl. You didn't do anything wrong."

Just then, the phone rang. Selina went to answer it. "Lucy?" She asked. "What's wrong? What do you need?"

"Nothing," Lucy replied. "Well, nothing super important. I'm not in trouble or anything. I just wondered when Damon's birthday was."

"In a little over a month," Selina said. "Right near yours and Sam's. I don't think I need to ask why you're asking me that."

"Well, I want to do something nice for him of course," Lucy said. "I was thinking of coming home for a weekend."

"I think he'd like that," Selina said. "How's your mural coming along?"

"It's a pain in the butt," Lucy said. "A lot harder than I thought it would be. My boss is a real ass."

"I'm sorry," Selina said sympathetically. "Just hang in there."

"I will," Lucy said. "The best art comes from lots of suffering, and believe me, I am suffering."

"I love you, Lucy," Selina said. She looked up at Elijah, who was gesturing for Selina to give him the phone. "Your uncle wants to talk to you," she said. "Is that all right?"

"Of course," Lucy said. "Hand me over."

"Lucy," Elijah said when he took the phone. "How are you?"

"As well as I can be," Lucy said. "Working hard and all that."

"Have you been eating?" Elijah asked.

"Yes," Lucy said. "And I haven't run with bad crowds or started drinking or gotten any tattoos. I promise."

"Well, that's good to hear," Elijah said. "Not that I was worried about that. You're much too responsible to do something as juvenile as any of that."

"That's me," Lucy said. "Super responsible." She gave a brief, awkward laugh.

"Are you all right?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah, fine," Lucy said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," Elijah said. "But you sound nervous."

"Nervous?" Lucy replied. "Why would I be nervous? Listen, I've got to go now, but I'll see you when I come home in a month. Bye." She hung up quickly leaving Elijah to wonder what in the world was wrong with her.

Lucy slammed the phone down and took a deep breath. That had been close. A few more seconds of talking to him and she would have blurted out everything. She pulled up her shirt and looked down at the belly button ring she'd acquired just a few days before, after a night out with Pierre and some of the other singers from the opera house. They'd encouraged her to try absinthe, foolishly she had, and the next morning, she'd woken up with a pierced belly button.

Not that she minded of course. She actually kinda liked it. It made her feel edgy and kind of badass. But her uncle was a whole other story. To him, she was the responsible one, the intelligent one, the hope for the family. Every time he looked at her, he got this sickeningly fond expression on his face and she just knew that if he ever found out she'd pierced her belly button, he'd be disappointed with her. But it wasn't anything that could be fixed now. What was done was done. She stepped away from the opera house phone and went back to the wall where the mural was taking shape. She groaned. The whole corner she'd just been working on had disappeared...again. Sighing, she got down on her knees and prepared to start painting again, but her brush was gone. She watched it move across the floor, seemingly of its own accord. Every time she reached it, it just moved again.

"All right," Lucy yelled out. "I've had enough! Pierre or whoever is playing tricks on me, this is not funny! I just want to get this stupid mural over with and I'm so close! Please don't wreck it for me!"

The paintbrush stopped moving right in front of a pair of patent leather shoes. Lucy looked up into the hollow eyes of a man with slicked back hair, wearing a torn and bloodied tux.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked him. "Are you the person who's been messing with my work?"

He nodded slowly and pointed at the part of the wall she had never successfully painted. Then he took her hand, pulled her toward him, and whispered in her ear, "Aidez-moi," he whispered. "Aidez-moi."

His hands were cold and his breath made Lucy move her head back a little, but as soon as he'd delivered his message, he let her go and disappeared. Then Lucy looked around and took a deep breath, then decided it would be best to go home. She looked at the clock. It was almost one in the morning anyway. She'd take a cab, and if Monsieur Matthieu didn't like it, that was his problem.

The next morning, she called in sick and then went to see Mimi. "How much do you know about the opera house?" She asked.

"Quite a bit, I should think," Mimi said. "Why?"

"How old is it?" Lucy asked. "Have you ever heard anything about someone being murdered there?"

"No!" Mimi shook her head, shock on her face. "What would make you think something like that happened? I mean, I know there are stories about it being haunted, but Monsieur Matthieu just made those up to bring the opera house publicity! You know, Phantom of the Opera and all that."

"I don't think it was something he just made up," Lucy said. "I think there's more to it than that. See, ever since I started painting that mural, there's been one spot on the wall that just will not stay painted. I'll do the work, leave, come back the next day, the paint will be gone from that spot. Well, I was working late last night because Monsieur Matthieu demanded I do it under threat of him telling Lucia that I'm a miserable failure. But while I was working, my paintbrush got away from me and started moving by itself, and when I finally caught up to it, I saw a guy in a torn and bloody tux with slicked back hair staring at me. He pointed to the bare spot on the wall and asked me to help him, then he disappeared. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what I saw!"

"I believe you," Mimi said. "I believe you, don't worry. I've always thought that Pierre was hired under suspicious circumstances."

"What?" Lucy asked, surprised. "What kind of circumstances?"

"Well, the star tenor before Pierre was a guy named Antoine Lebois, and he and Monsieur Mattieu never got along. Matthieu claimed that Antoine was much too demanding and overstepped his bounds as an employee, asking for way too much money and that sort of thing. Antoine said that Monsieur Matthieu took advantage of his talent and worked him like a slave just so the opera house would be successful. About this time three years ago, Antoine was set to star as Don Giovanni, but just before opening night, he disappeared. No one ever saw him again. Monsieur Matthieu chalked it up to Antoine being ungrateful. Meanwhile, Pierre, as understudy, sang Don Giovanni on opening night and got himself a cushy career."

"Wow," Lucy said. "So no one questioned Antoine's disappearance?" Lucy asked. "Were they stupid or what?"

"Well, Antoine's mother suspected that something had happened to her son. She had heard many stories from her son about Monsieur Matthieu's cruelty, but could not prove anything definitively. She tried to put her suspicions out in the news, and when Matthieu's lawyers tried to give her a big cash settlement to shut her up, she refused it. It was after her rejection of the money that the rumors of the opera house being haunted began to crop up. In the beginning, Monsieur Matthieu encouraged the stories of the hauntings because they were publicity for him, but now...now I think realizes that encouraging the stories was a bad idea."

"Because his guilt about killing Antoine is coming back to haunt him?" Lucy asked.

Mimi scoffed. "Men like Monsieur Matthieu don't feel guilt. All that matters to them is money and success and right now, Matthieu has a lot of both."

"Do you think the reason why the ghost pointed to the wall is because that's where Monsieur Matthieu stuck his body after he killed him?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I don't know," Mimi said. "Your guess is as good as mine." She stood up. "Listen. While Antoine's mother was talking to the news media, she claimed to have seen and communicated with his spirit. Maybe she knows something that could help corroborate your story."

Later that afternoon, Mimi and Lucy found themselves in the sitting room of an older lady whose house smelled like violets.

"You have come to ask me about my son?" Danielle Lebois eyed Mimi and Lucy keenly. "Are you friends of his? He's been dead for a few years now. At this point, no one cares."

"We both do," Mimi assured her. "Lucy here is doing a mural at the opera house and she told me she saw Antoine's spirit last night."

Danielle's eyes widened. "You have seen my son? What did he look like?"

"Dark hair, slicked back, dark eyes, and wearing a tux that was torn and covered with blood," Lucy said. "Most of the blood was around the spot on his shirt over where his heart would be." She winced. "Sorry if my talking like that is painful for you."

"No, no," Danielle shook her head. "That is fine. I wanted to make sure you'd really seen my son and you describe him perfectly. That's just how I've seen him too. Every night for the last three years. He's come to me and we've talked about his death. He told me he was murdered."

"Was he put in the wall?" Lucy asked. "Is that what Monsieur Matthieu did to him?"

"How do you know?" Danielle asked.

"When I saw him last night, he pointed at the wall where I've been painting and asked me to help him. The spot where he pointed is a spot that I've never been able to paint."

Danielle nodded. "Yes. He told me that he and Monsieur Matthieu got in an argument, and while they fought, Matthieu produced a knife and stabbed him several times, then bricked him up in the wall to cover up his crime. And he did a good job too, I guess," she said, her mouth twisting into a grimace, her blonde hair falling loose from its updo. "No one even gives a thought to my son anymore."

"Well, maybe if we produced your son's body, they would care," Lucy said. "We just need to find a way to get into the wall."

The next day, Lucy did something she knew her uncle Elijah would never approve of and compelled the local police to come down to the opera house and break down the wall. Just as they arrived, however, Monsieur Matthieu came to meet them. "What are police officers doing here?" he asked Lucy.

"Oh, nothing," she said. "They just came to inspect the wall where I've been painting the mural. I have reason to believe there's something fishy about it."

"Preposterous!" Monsieur Matthieu spat. He looked at the police officers. "I'm sorry this little girl brought you on a fool's errand, but I can assure you on my honor as a businessman that there is nothing wrong with that wall."

"If there's nothing wrong with the wall, why can't we have a look at it?" Mimi asked him. "Stand aside, please, Monsieur and let the officers do their job." Elbowing the stunned Monsieur aside, Mimi and Lucy led the officers to the wall, where they began breaking it down. Eventually, as Mimi, Lucy, and Antoine's mother suspected, they found Antoine's body in the cavity. along with the bloody knife Monsieur Matthieu had used to stab him. Monsieur Matthieu was arrested and put in jail to await trial and a new director was hired for the opera house, who promised to pay Lucy both for the work she'd done on the previous mural and the new one that he commissioned from her almost immediately.

The night of Matthieu's arrest, Lucy was about to fall asleep when she saw a shimmery figure out of the corner of her eye. She sat up and he became more clear. Soon, Antoine Lebois was standing by her bed, a grin on his face. "Merci," he said to her. "Merci, Merci." He took her hand in his cold one and kissed it, then he disappeared, and Lucy snuggled under her covers and shut her eyes, getting her first good night's sleep in awhile.

"Can I come with you to go see Lucy?" Damon asked Selina, who had come over to talk to him about what he wanted to do for his birthday. "I mean, if anyone deserves to come with you, it's me. You asked me what I want for my birthday. This is what I want."

Selina looked up at him. "No, you can't come," she said curtly. "I have my reasons. You and Nicky and Elijah in the same space would just be awkward. I'm sorry. But I'll be sure to let Lucy know you're thinking of her. If you can think of anything other than seeing Lucy that you want for your birthday, just let me know."

As soon as Selina left the house, Damon called Lucy. "I can't believe your mother!" He fumed. "All I want is to come and see you for your-I mean our birthdays, and she says I can't! Where does she come off saying something like that? Who is she to control whether or not I can see you? I don't care what she says. I'm buying a ticket, I'm getting on a plane, and you're gonna see me in a week."

"No, wait!" Lucy said, before he could hang up. "Damon don't! That will ruin everything!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Damon asked, sounding offended. "Are you saying you don't want to see me?"

"You know I do!" Lucy replied. "It's just that...the reason why Mom doesn't want you to come with, and the reason why you shouldn't hop on a plane and come see me, as romantic as that gesture would be, is because they're gonna bring me back to see you. I wasn't supposed to tell you. It was supposed to be a surprise. Do you think you can still act surprised?" She asked hopefully. "I don't want Mom to know I've given anything away."

"Okay," Damon said, feeling a lightness in the pit of his stomach. "When you get here, I'll act surprised. Your mom won't know a thing."

"Thank you," Lucy said. "In the mean time, keep your chin up. You only have to wait a week or so. And here's another surprise: I bought something special for when we have our own private little celebration at your house. I think you'll like it."

"Really?" Damon asked, grinning. "What is it?"

Lucy giggled. "Oh, no. You'll have to wait and see. But I bet you can use your imagination, can't you? Bye, Damon. See you in a week!"

Damon hung up the phone feeling much less hostile than he had before, and went to his room to think about just what it was that Lucy had bought for their birthday.

"Hi, you guys!" Lucy said when she opened the door of her apartment to see Elijah, Selina, Klaus and Caroline on the other side. "I'm so glad you came!"

She hugged everyone except Selina, who was almost too big to hug. "Girl or a boy?" Lucy asked. "Or do you know yet?"

"It's gonna be a girl," Selina said. "We're happy about it."

"But enough about us," Elijah said. "What about you? What is it we'll be seeing at this premiere tonight? Your opera house mural?"

"Actually, that's taking longer than I thought," Lucy said. "My boss got convicted of murder and to prove it, we had to destroy all the work I did on the original mural. So I've started over completely, but I'm being paid really well for it and I get to paint whatever I want this time, so it's totally worth the extra work."

"Why was your boss convicted of murder?" Klaus asked. "What kind of people are you working around?"

"Opera people," Lucy said. "Need I say more? Anyway, the work you're going to see tonight is some of the pieces I've done for Lucia's gallery."

"You're saying that you've been doing this opera mural and you've still had time to do other work?" Caroline asked, looking amazed. "When do you sleep?"

"Not much," Lucy admitted. "That's why I'm gonna be glad for this little break."

"It sounds like you've earned it," Klaus said. "Do you have anything here in the apartment we could look at. or is it all at Lucia's?"

"Actually, there is one that I have here," Lucy said. "It's the focal point of the whole exhibition." She led the four of them to a corner of the room where a framed picture of a young man hung.

"Wow," Caroline said. "Nice, but a little gruesome, isn't it? Of course that's not new for you." She paused. "Who is it?"

The picture in question was one Lucy had painted after the final visit of Antoine Lebois. She'd woken up immediately the next morning and painted him from memory. The sight of him was not something she wanted to lose, and she'd not missed a detail.

"His name was Antoine Lebois," Lucy said. "He used to be the star tenor at the opera house, but then he and Monsieur Matthieu exchanged some bitter words and Monsieur Matthieu ended up killing Antoine by stabbing him through the heart and then bricking Antoine and the knife up in the wall to conceal his crime. Antoine's spirit haunted the opera house until me and Mimi and Antoine's mother brought him some justice. The portrait is of how his ghost looked when I saw him, blood and all."

"Oh," Caroline said, swaying a little. "How lovely."

"I have one more picture I want to show you," Lucy said.

"If you don't mind," Caroline said, "I think I'll stay back here. But I'm sure that whatever it is is well done."

"No, you'll want to see this one, Caroline," Lucy said and went to get the canvas. She pulled the cloth off it to reveal a painting of a bunch of pastel flowers on a sunny day. "I painted this at the park," she said. "Just because I wanted to try something a little different." She presented it to Caroline. "You can have it, if you'd like."

"Really?" Caroline asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "In fact, I painted it especially for you. Just a little something to remember me by when you're at home and Roxie is giving you crap. She hasn't been too bad, has she?"

"Well, considering that she's pregnant with twins, she's actually been pretty well-behaved," Klaus said.

"Wait a minute!" Lucy said. "Let's step back. Roxie is what with what?"

"Roxie is pregnant with twins," Selina said, looking at Lucy's shocked face apologetically. "I knew there was something I forgot to tell you about when I called."

"Oh, my god," Lucy said, sinking down on her bed. "Poor Vince! How's he handling it."

"Admirably," Elijah said. "Very admirably."

"And Roxie is too," Selina added. "And she and I have been getting along better than usual now that we have something in common."

They talked a little longer, and then the four adults left and because it was time for Lucy to get ready for her premiere.

Lucy spent most of her show hiding out in the bathroom. It was nice that her parents and Caroline and Uncle Elijah had to come to support her, but without Damon there, it just didn't feel the same.

Just then, someone came into the bathroom and knocked on her stall. "Are you all right?" Caroline called. "Your father sent me in here. He's concerned."

"I'm fine," Lucy said. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"You want to talk about it?" Caroline asked. A few minutes later, Lucy got off the toilet and left the stall to find Caroline sitting on the sofa that took up most of one corner of the ladies' room. Lucy sat next to her. "You're probably like, the one person who would sympathize with me about this, but just...I feel like something is missing for me, you know? This should be a night of triumph for me, people I love have come to support me. I know I should be happy. But the guy I like isn't here, and I would feel so much better about this if he was. Is that stupid?"

"No," Caroline said, putting her arm around Lucy. "It's not stupid at all. So you like a guy, huh? Who is it?"

"Damon Salvatore," Lucy said. "I know that's weird because he used to be with Mom a gazillion years ago, but I like him."

"I didn't say anything!" Caroline said. "Did you hear me say anything? Just promise me you'll be careful, all right? He's an older guy and...well, I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Lucy nodded. "Thanks for the concern, but I think we'll be all right."

"What do you say you go back out there now before your father gets so concerned he comes and knocks the bathroom door off its hinges?"

"All right," Lucy said, putting her hand in Caroline's. "Let's go."

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Stefan asked Damon.

"No," Damon said. "I didn't. How could I? I was too busy thinking of Lucy coming today!"

"Well at least you didn't want any expensive presents," Stefan said dryly. "Well, maybe you could say Lucy was an expensive gift since she had to be flown in from Europe."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "It's her!" Damon almost yelled, jumping up. "It's her!"

"Don't seem so eager!" Stefan said, rolling his eyes. "Try to be a little cool, would you?"

But Damon wasn't listening to him. He ran to the door and pulled it open. "Sam!" He said in surprise. "I didn't think you were gonna come."

Sam shrugged, stepped inside, and he and Damon embraced for a few seconds and then parted. "I figured there would be cake, so what the hell? And I wanted you to meet my girlfriend. Dad, this is Corrie, Corrie, this is my Dad."

"Lovely to meet you," Corrie said, shaking his hand. She held up a box. "Where do you want your presents?"

"I'll show you," Stefan said. "Come with me."

Once Corrie was out of earshot, Sam said, so what do you think of her?"

"She seems all right," Damon said. "A little older than I expected, but she seems nice. And beautiful."

"Thanks for being so glad to see me," Sam said quietly. "I know you were probably expecting Lucy."

"Well, I am, but that's because I know for a fact that she's coming," Damon said. "With you, I had no idea, but this is a nice surprise. Thank you."

"No problem," Sam said. "Will we be seeing Mom too?"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Damon said. "But she did bring me a card this morning."

Damon was right when he said Selina wouldn't make an appearance, but he, Stefan, Sam and Corrie had a good enough time during the day, and just as the sun was going down, he got the phone call he'd been waiting for.

"I'm at my mom's," Lucy said. "Are you ready for me?"

"You have no idea," he replied, grinning. "How long will it take you to get here?"

"Give me ten minutes," Lucy said. Then she hung up the phone and Damon stripped down and wrapped a towel around himself, then went to stand on the other side of the door. When he heard a knock, he checked the peephole to make sure it was Lucy, and when he had ascertained that it was, he opened the door and let the towel fall at the same time she opened her gray trenchcoat.

"Surprise!" They said together. "Happy birthday!" Leaving the towel and coat on the floor, they threw themselves into each other's arms, kissing one another furiously. "So I see you didn't miss me at all," Lucy said as they rolled around on the living room floor. "Well, I didn't miss you either."

Damon rolled her over so that he was looking down into her eyes. "Are you kidding?" He asked. "I have missed you so much, you don't even know."

"Yeah, I do," Lucy said quietly. "Because I missed you too. She brought her head up to kiss him and he pushed into her. "Oh, yes!" Lucy yelled. "You have no idea how much I've needed this!"

After they had both calmed down, he looked deeply into her eyes and said, "I know this is kind of sudden, but...Cookie Monster, will you marry me?"