Over the next month, Selina and Elijah mostly stayed clear of one another. Until, to her surprise, he showed up at her door the week before Christmas, clutching an envelope.

"What's going on?" Selina asked.

"My mother wanted me to give this to you," he said. "She's throwing Gregory a birthday party and wants you to be there."

"Well, of course she does!" Selina said. "After all, I am Gregory's mother."

"I tried to tell her that we were separated," Elijah said. "But I couldn't get the words out.

Selina snatched the envelope out of his hands. "Are you insane? Do you want your mother to kill me?"

"Well, I had to say something to explain why you weren't there!" Elijah said. "I would have done you a favor. Father managed to wrangle an invitation for himself and Amelia too, so it will be absolute hell for you. I wanted to protect you from that."

"Well, thank you," Selina said. "But I think I can tough it out. It's not like I never spent time with my mother before. I'll get my neighbor to watch Laura and we'll have as good a time as we can. Is she ordering a cake, or did she want me to make one?"

"She's ordering one," Elijah said. "You don't have to worry about a thing."

Selina nodded. "All right. That works. And I assume we're arriving at the party in the same car?"

Elijah nodded. "Naturally. I'll come back to the house the day before the party, spend the night and go back to Alistair's afterward."

"Oh, and before the party, don't forget to remind Gregory I'm not dead. If you forget, it might invite some questions neither of us are eager to answer."

"Stay calm about that," Elijah said. "If Mother starts to get suspicious, we can just tell her you're pregnant again and then she'll cheer right up._

Midafternoon the day before the party, Selina heard the doorbell ring. She picked up Laura and looked at her eagerly. "That's Daddy and Gregory!" She said. "Let's go see them!" She went to the door and stood there for a minute or so, not wanting to seem too eager. Finally, she opened the door to find Gregory and Elijah on the other side. She barely had time to hand Laura to Elijah before Gregory ran at her, happily yelling "Mama!" They hugged each other tight and then she picked him up and hugged him some more. "Thank you," she whispered to Elijah over Gregory's head.

Elijah nodded and hugged Laura just as tightly, even though his separation from her had been a lot shorter than Selina and Gregory's.

Selina finally let Gregory go and then she looked up at Elijah. "We're a family again," she said, trying not to cry. "I know it's not gonna last for very long, but...we're a family again!"

Elijah gave her a long look, then put Laura in her swing before coming back and slowly approaching Selina. Once he'd reached her, he slowly reached out for her, then pulled her into a brief but firm hug. She hugged back, but let him be the one to pull out of it. Then he said, "I think I'll go and help Gregory unpack his things."

"No," Gregory shook his head, taking Selina's hand. "Mama help."

Elijah shrugged. "Well, all right. I suppose that could work as well. As long as it gets done. I'll just stay out here with Laura." He handed Selina Gregory's suitcase and Gregory began tugging Selina along behind him. When they reached his room, Selina stubbed her toe on the leg of the crib and the suitcase went flying. Since it was not completely closed, clothes flew everywhere. Once Selina had righted herself, she watched in amazement as Gregory gathered his clothes in a pile and seemed to try and fold them. He didn't quite have the handle on it, and began to get frustrated. Selina sat down beside him and slowly began folding up his little shirts and pants and putting them in his dresser. Gregory was deeply focused on this, and only seemed to lighten up once all his clothes were up off the floor. When he finally cracked a smile, Selina ruffled his hair and picked him up, taking him to the living room where Elijah and Laura were.

"Are you teaching him to fold stuff?" Selina asked. "I fell, and all his stuff fell out of his suitcase and went everywhere and he went nuts. Poor little kid was trying to fold everything, but he just couldn't do it. I felt so bad for him."

"He hasn't quite got the hang of folding clothes yet, but we're working on it," Elijah said. "He's coming along quite nicely. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm all right," she said. "Thanks for asking." What's next? Selina thought to herself. Teaching Gregory how to iron his underwear?

Later that night, after both Gregory and Laura had been put to bed, Selina ran into Elijah after she left Laura's room. "You can have our bed," she said. "I'll be in my spare bedroom. Have a good night. Sleep well."

Elijah nodded. "You too."

Selina gave her hair a little toss. "Thank you," she said. They stared at each other for a few more seconds and then quickly turned away, heading in opposite directions, but not before Selina briefly turned around to stare at Elijah's retreating back. She sucked in her breath. "Wow," she whispered to herself when he was out of earshot. "Just wow."

After Elijah got to his room, he shut the door and took a deep breath. He was beginning to wonder if coming here had been a mistake. If maybe he should have just dropped off the children with Selina and then miraculously appeared at the party, claiming that a business trip or something of that nature had kept him from arriving with them and Selina. He shook his head. No, that was cowardly. He could handle being around Selina. After all, she was only a woman. He'd been around a lot of them, and a lot of them had affected him the way she did over the years.

He shut his eyes tight and walked over to the bed, undressing quickly and folding his clothes, putting them in a pile at the foot of the bed. Then he climbed into bed, tucked himself in, and turned off the light.

He was on the beach. It was a sunny day. He lay on his back on a beach towel, sunglasses protecting his eyes. He was just about to doze off when all of a sudden, he heard shrieks and yells of astonishment coming from the other people around him. He sat up, put his glasses on his head and noticed immediately what was causing all the commotion. A woman with dark hair was flailing about in the surf, screaming at the top of her lungs. without thinking, Elijah stood up and bolted toward the water, grabbing the drowning woman's wrist. "It's okay," he assured her as he pulled her to him. "You're safe. I've got you. You don't have to worry anymore. Then, he got a good look at her, and realized that Selina was the woman that he'd rescued and she wasn't wearing anything, not even a two-piece bathing suit.

"Excuse me," she said, her voice breathy. "I got caught in a riptide that made my suit just fall off. I'm sorry if you think I'm indecent. Would you have a beach towel I can cover myself up with? Or if not you then someone else on the beach?"

"Certainly," Elijah said. "Let's just get you out of the water now." He did his best to avert his eyes, but for a few seconds, he couldn't help but look at her dripping, naked body. It was so beautiful. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked into her eyes. "Tell me what you were doing in the water alone," he said. "You know you need someone with you because you're not a strong swimmer."

"I know," she said. "But I figured this would be the time to conquer that once and for all. And then the big wave came along and, well, you know."

Elijah sighed, grabbed his towel and wrapped it around her. "There," he said. That will do at least until we can get you home and into some dry clothes."

"Thank you for rescuing me," she said. Her gaze went down to his bare chest and then she kissed him. "You know," she said, "it's been awhile since we've made love in the ocean and it's not like there's anyone here besides us, so-" She dropped the towel and grabbed him. His hands slid easily down her body, and as she nudged him to walk backwards into the shallow ocean water, he grabbed hold of her and lay her on her back, kissing down her neck and stomach, letting the warm sun beat down on his back. Eventually, she got off his trunks and threw them in the direction of the sand, and then they made love until the next tide came in, which soaked both of them, causing them to burst into laughter before she smiled at him and said, "This was fun. We should do it again sometime. But now, I need to go home and take a shower...

"Elijah? Elijah! Can I use your shower?"

"What?" Elijah sat up and gazed groggily at the blurry, light-purple figure standing at the foot of the bed.

"Can I use your shower?" It repeated. "Something is wrong with the water pressure in mine." He blinked a couple of times, Selina coming into focus she was wearing a bathrobe and clutching a bag of toiletries and a towel.

"Wow," she said. "You were really asleep there, weren't you?" She asked with a grin. "What were you dreaming about?"

"Nothing!" He said quickly. "Nothing at all."

"Well, all right," she said, her hands up. "No need to bite my head off. So can I use the shower in here or not?"

Elijah nodded. "I guess," he said. "If it's absolutely necessary. "I'm gonna go back to sleep. I can't believe it's morning already."

"Well, don't sleep for too long," Selina said. "It's ten in the morning and we have to be at your mother's by noon."

"Of course," Elijah nodded. "I'll remember that." Then he watched as she dropped her bathrobe and, completely naked, walked into the bathroom. "Oh, hell," he said to himself, running fingers through his hair, the sound of running shower water bringing back his dream. "I don't know how much longer I can take this."

When she and Elijah and Gregory arrived at the party, Selina could tell just by looking at everyone that they were putting on happy faces too, just like she and Elijah were. Anna especially. When it came time to hand out champagne, Elijah came over with his and hers, and after he'd drunk a bit of it, he gently put his hand down her back and let it slide down her butt.

"I like that!" She said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Whatever you're drinking, keep drinking it."

"I haven't had much," Elijah said. "This is my first glass. I'm only trying to keep up appearances. Trying to act normal. If we don't touch each other, Mother will get suspicious."

"Right," Selina nodded. "I agree that we have to make things seem as realistic as possible. Want to go to a bedroom somewhere and realistically make out for a bit?"

Elijah gave her a look and Selina flushed a bit. "Right," she said. "That's probably overstepping. Sorry."

Elijah nodded, his lips in a line. "That's all right. Just don't let it happen again."

"You two?" Elissavetta looked at them. "How about the two of you kiss for the camera?"

"Okay!" Selina said, pulling Elijah to her and kissing him deeply. He was a little resistant at first, but then relaxed into it. She didn't hear the camera flash at all. He felt so good. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. The kiss was broken and she turned to look sheepishly at Elissavetta. "Did you take the picture already?" She asked, feeling a bit dazed. Elijah let her go and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that, Mother. We'll try and restrain ourselves." They looked into each other's eyes once more and then separated.

"That was a nice little display," Anna said, coming up to Selina. Selina spit out the champagne she had in her mouth and then turned. "Well, hello," she said. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Was it for my benefit?" She asked. "Some half-assed attempt to get me to like you again?"

"Will you hush?" Selina said to her. She pulled her off into a corner and said quietly, "we're not doing this for you. We're doing it for your mother who doesn't know we've separated, and Elijah and I both agreed that that's how it's gonna stay."

"I just cannot understand for the life of me why you left him in the first place!" Anna said. "I did all that I could to make sure you ended up with a man who would treat you well for the first time in your life and what did you do at the first unpleasant moment? You just threw everything away! Why? Why? Why?" She grabbed Selina by the shoulders and shook her until her teeth rattled in her skull. When she finally let Selina go, Anna crossed her arms and began tapping her foot. "Go ahead and tell my why. I'm waiting."

Selina sighed. "Fine!" she said. "It just-it was just a bad day, that's all. Everyone wanted stuff from me and the yelling and the screaming and no one was saying thank you. It was just 'do this, Selina' or 'do that, Selina,' and the people who were capable of it didn't even say 'Thank you'. It's like, that's what they expect me to do because I'm the woman. ALL I wanted was to be noticed and appreciated. You can understand that, right? It's the same thing I was about when we were first friends, except without the murdering. Oh, and also Elijah also accused me of having an affair with Damon when I didn't because I wouldn't let him 'chaperone' when Damon and I went to go see Sam. You can understand why I had a problem."

Anna sighed. "No one understands that better than me," she said. "Remember, I grew up with Elijah. He's my brother. But he is the way he is and it's not gonna change. He'll say things or do things that are just awful, but he doesn't mean anything by it, not really. When that happens, all you can do is say nothing, smile, and move on as if it never happened. That's the best way to deal with situations like that."

"Now, if I were good at that," Selina said to her, "do you think we would have become friends in the first place?"

Anna gave a small smile and shook her head. "No, I guess not. But do you admit that Elijah is the best man you've ever been with?"

Selina nodded. "Well, duh!"

"All right, then," Anna said. "As long as you and he are working through things, I suppose I can forgive you. Just don't let it happen again."

"Oh, please," Selina said. "Going through all this once is bad enough. I don't think I will be stupid enough to repeat it."

"Good," Anna said. She looked over and saw Gregory with Elissavetta. "Looks like the birthday boy is having a good time with Mother," she said.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Did you know that Elijah compelled him to think I was dead? Can you believe that?"

"Well perhaps he only did it so Gregory wouldn't have to miss you," Anna suggested.

"Yeah, that was probably it, but still!" Selina said. "Who tells a kid that their mother is dead?"

"You girls have a nice conversation?" Selina heard Klaus' voice behind her and started badly, her arm jerking back and sending what was left in her champagne glass all over Klaus' clothes. "Oh, my god," Selina said, turning to face him. "I'm sorry, Nicky. You startled me. Here, let me help you get that cleaned up." Her eye found Elijah, who was talking with his father. "On second thought," she handed Anna the cloth, "I think it would be best if you did that."

She strode away, and went to see Elissavetta and Gregory. "How are things going here?" She asked Elissavetta. Is Gregory behaving himself?"

"Oh, yes," Elissavetta said, pushing her dark brown hair out of her eyes. "It makes up for the fact that Mikael is here with that woman of his. She's horrible. Have you met her?"

"Actually, yes," Selina nodded. "That's my mother. The woman who gave birth to me."

Elissavetta looked taken aback. "Are you sure?"

Selina nodded, looking at her mother with narrowed eyes. "Yes, I'm sure." She cleared her throat. "I should probably go over and say 'Hello' before she berates me for not doing it earlier. Excuse me." She strode away from Elissavetta and towards her mother. "Please tell me you're behaving yourself," she whispered.

"All this is a little elaborate for a two-year-old's birthday party, isn't it?" Amelia whispered back, gesturing around the lavishly decorated room. "Why go through all this if Gregory's not gonna remember it anyway?"

"Oh, come on," Selina said, although, to her shock, she secretly agreed with her mother. "It makes Elissavetta happy to have soirees like this, so what's the harm, really?"

"And while I'm on the subject of Gregory," Amelia said, "Go pry him away from that horrible mother in law of yours so I can have my turn with him."

Selina rolled her eyes and went back over to Elissavetta. "My mother would like a chance to wish Gregory a happy birthday," she said. "Would you mind letting him go for just a few minutes?"

"Why couldn't she have come over here herself to tell me that?" Elissavetta asked. "Why did she make you her errand girl? You tell her that until she comes and asks me to see Gregory herself, he's not going anywhere."

Selina felt her temper begin to rise. She walked over to Elijah and put a hand on his shoulder. "I want to warn you about an impending battle between our mothers over who gets to see Gregory. Would you do something about that?"

Elijah sighed. "Who started it?" He asked tiredly. "Your mother? Or mine?"

Selina pointed in Elissavetta's direction. "The one who currently has him."

"All right." Elijah squared his shoulders and strode over to his mother. "Mother, I know you're having a good time with Gregory, but please let Amelia see him too. She's just as much his grandmother as you are."

Elissavetta looked annoyed. "All right," she said, handing Gregory to him. "I just don't see why she couldn't have come over and asked me for him herself."

"Well it doesn't matter," Elijah said. "There are lots of people here who want to see him, so you have to learn how to share."

"I think I have," she said. "You're holding on to him, aren't you?"

Elijah sighed and took him over to Amelia. "There you go," he said. "There's the birthday boy."

"Thank you," Amelia said.

"I have to talk to you about something, son," Mikael said. "Were you serious when you mentioned hunting with me again?"

"Well, yes," Elijah nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Mikael shrugged. "I just thought being married to a certain someone would change your view on hunting."

"No," Elijah shook his head. "No, it doesn't. As long as we don't plan to go after that certain someone."

"Oh, all right," Mikael sighed. "I suppose she has been behaving herself. I suppose I could let her go. But if she so much as puts a toe out of line, I'm going to go after her."

"Noted, Father," Elijah answered. "But I doubt she's that much of a fool."

The chattering and passing around of Gregory went on for a little while longer and then Elissavetta brought out the cake and Selina helped Gregory blow out the candles while everyone sang Happy Birthday.

"Who wants to cut it?" Elissavetta asked.

"I'm his father, I'll do the honors," Elijah said. He cut the huge cake and everyone had a slice. Gregory ate messily, getting cake all over his clothes and in his hair.

"Looks like I'll have to give him a bath when we get home," Selina said, a smile on her face as she picked him up and took him away from the table. As she was wiping him off and getting the frosting out of his hair, Klaus came up behind her. "How are you?" He asked her.

"I'm fine," she said, not meeting his eyes. "How are you? Are you and Caroline fighting? Did she kick you out because of what we did?"

Klaus sighed. "No. I have to mind my p's and q's and you aren't allowed anywhere near our place, but she didn't kick me out."

"Well I'm glad," Selina said. Gregory began to squirm as she continued to work on his hair. "Would you hold onto him?" She asked Klaus. "I can't seem to get a good grip."

Klaus took hold of him and Selina tried to be as gentle as she could and not pull Gregory's hair. When the last bit of frosting was out, so he was sticky but no longer stained, she said, "Thanks for your help."

Klaus nodded. "No problem. I should probably go."

"Yes," Selina nodded. "That might be best. And about Caroline, Christmas is coming up. Maybe she'll be willing to patch things up with you then."

Klaus nodded. "I hope so. I hate being in a house full of tension and I bet you do as well."

Selina nodded. "You'd be right on that one."

They stayed until Gregory began fussing and then Elijah took him home for his nap while Selina went to pick up Laura. "That was some party," Selina said when she got back. "Let's hope that in the future, there are very few occasions where our mothers are in the same room."

Elijah nodded. "Good thing Mother didn't bring that boyfriend of hers, otherwise it would have led to a whole other set of problems."

Selina sighed. "So what are we gonna do about Christmas?" Selina told him. "Stay separate, be together but be here, what?"

"I think that's another thing Mother will want to celebrate together," Elijah said. "But I will make sure that it will be a much cozier affair than Gregory's birthday was, I promise."

It was a few days before Christmas when, through the sleet and snow, Damon drove to meet Lucy's plane at the airport. He stood with all the other people waiting for arrivals and when Lucy came through the door, it was hard to say which one of them was more excited to see the other. Lucy's eyes lit up and without saying a word, she sprinted the length of the airport lobby and tried to jump in his arms, but he wasn't prepared for that and they fell in a crumpled heap instead.

"I'm sorry," she said, planting kisses all over his face. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Damon said. "Even though your knee is going into my diaphragm."

"Oh!" Lucy got up quickly. "I'm so sorry!" She looked down at the bags on the floor near her feet. "I hope nothing got broken. I guess I should have thought about that before I tackled you, right?"

Damon grinned. "I have been tackled a lot while playing football, but you are by far my favorite tackle."

She handed him a bag. "I got you a present."

"Thanks," he said, taking it from her. "But I told you what I wanted. You didn't have to get me anything else."

"Well, it's not strictly for you. Look what's in it!" Lucy said excitedly. Damon began pulling out boxes with Christmas ornaments in them. "I got one from every country I visited in Europe," Lucy said. "England, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. I figured it would be a good start to what goes on our Christmas tree."

Damon smiled. "Our Christmas tree. I like the sound of that." He went and put her bags in his car, and then came back and led her back to the airport door, but once they got outside, they were confronted with a large patch of ice.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," Lucy said. "I'll put the sack with the Christmas ornaments in it over my arm, then I'll walk behind you, holding on to your hands, and very carefully, we'll make our way across the ice. I almost fell when I ran into this patch coming in here. Did you?"

Damon nodded. "Uh-huh. Your idea is good, but how about you put the bag over your arm and I'll carry you across the ice?"

"Are you serious?" Lucy asked.

"Well, yes," Damon nodded. "I don't want you or the Christmas ornaments to risk being broken in any way."

"I wouldn't want you to go to any trouble," Lucy said. "It's very sweet, but I really don't mind walking."

"I mind," Damon said. "Come on. Put your arm around my neck."

"Are you sure you're not gonna fall?" Lucy asked. "Because it'll hurt a lot more if I hit the ground coming from higher up."

"I swear I won't drop you," Damon said. Finally, Lucy put the bag of ornaments over her arm, wishing she'd put them in the suitcase before Damon took it away. Then she put her arm around his neck and he picked her up and carefully carried her over the ice before setting her down in front of his car. "There," he said, panting a little, his breath showing white in the cold. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," Lucy said, hugging him. "It was kind of nice, actually." She hugged him. "Thank you."

"Let's get you in the car," Damon said, opening the door for her. "Unless, that is, you want to stand out here in the cold all night?"

"No," Lucy said, hopping into the passenger's seat. "I don't."

As they pulled out of the airport, Damon said, "Just to warn you, your mother will probably call and ask me to bring you over to her and your uncle's just so she can see with her own eyes that you're okay. Are you up to that, or should I tell her that it can wait until tomorrow?"

"No," Lucy said. "Delaying stuff like that with my mother is not wise. I can handle seeing her tonight. I'm not tired at all."

"Lucy?" Selina asked when she opened the front door and saw Lucy on the other side. "How are you? Come in! And Damon, thank you for bringing her. I guess it's pretty cold out there, huh?"

"A bit," Lucy nodded, sitting down on the sofa.

"Are you hungry?" Selina asked her. "I made cinnamon bread and cider."

Lucy nodded. "I'll take a small piece of the bread and a large mug of the cider." She shivered under her dark green sweater. "So, what's new with you?" She asked as her mother cut the bread. "Things any better with you and Uncle Elijah?"

The knife paused and Selina looked up at her. "No big improvements yet, but I'm working on it," Selina said. "The only one he really talks to now is Laura."

"Who's that?" Lucy asked. "Am I missing something?"

"Your newest half-sibling," Damon said in a stage whisper.

"Oh," Lucy nodded. "I gotcha. Now we're on the same page. So, how long until I get to be human?"

"Christmas," Selina said. "And then you'll have until New Year's before you turn back. Astrid had to go through a lot of magical channels to make this work, so you have to be responsible with it. Just act like you normally would, only more cautious because you'll be human."

"Well, Christmas isn't too long to wait for," Lucy said. "Where's Uncle Elijah staying while the two of you are separated?"

"At Alistair's," Selina said. "You should see him. He'll definitely want to see you."

Lucy sighed and walked over to sit on a stool in front of the breakfast bar. "Okay," she said. "I wasn't gonna say anything about this, but I feel I have to. What happened between you and Uncle Elijah to make everything implode like it did? I know you probably have explained this a thousand times and think I'm being incredibly nosy, but I'm concerned."

"Things like this are bound to happen with us occasionally," Selina said, plunking a piece of bread on a plate and setting it down in front of her. She looked at Damon. "You want any while I've got it out?"

Damon shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm fine."

Selina nodded. "All right." She cut what was left of the bread in half and wrapped one half up in plastic wrap, and put the other in the bread box. Then she pushed the wrapped half in front of Lucy. "When you go see your uncle, would you bring this to him?"

Lucy nodded. "Of course."

"As for him and me," Selina said, "Like I told you, it was bound to happen eventually. He's proud, I'm proud. He's stubborn, I'm stubborn. He's traditional, I'm progressive. Sooner or later, you know we're gonna..." She knocked her fists together.

"So what started it this time?" Lucy asked.

"Well, the first thing was his fault," Selina said. "I wanted to go visit Sam for the first time after he became a vampire, but I was a little nervous about it, so Damon offered to go with me. When I told your uncle about it, he told me that I wasn't allowed to see Sam unless he was he was there to chaperone Damon and me. I can only guess that based on our prior association, the thought of us alone together made your uncle really nervous. But I vetoed that, and Damon and I went and saw Sam by ourselves, and the whole time your uncle was home alone, his mind was cooking up all these salacious scenarios that didn't actually happen, so when I got home, he was mad enough that he called me a harlot and accused me of cheating on him. Your father was there at the same time, and I got so mad at your uncle that I decided to get back at him for his false accusations by making out with, and having sex with your dad while your uncle was still in the house. Then, Elijah left and took Gregory with him, they went to Alistair's and I've been on probation ever since."

"How hard would it have been to let him come with you as a chaperon, if only to keep the peace?" Lucy asked.

"It offends me that he even asked to do that!" Selina said. "If he wants us to have a stable relationship, he's gonna have to learn that he needs to trust me. If he can't even let me have my own life without needing to peer over my shoulder every minute of the day, what sort of relationship do we have, really?"

"I'm sure he's not opposed to letting you have your own interests," Lucy said. "But really, I think you should give him a little bit of a break when it comes to Sam. The fact that Sam exists is evidence that when you are having an emotional crisis, you have a tendency to seek relief from the crisis by any means necessary, usually sexual ones."

"But let me assure you that this time, honestly, we didn't do anything," Selina said. "I've accepted that the two of you are together and I'd never hurt you that way, no matter how desperate or angry I was."

Lucy nodded. "I know. I trust you. I could talk to Uncle Elijah for you. If you wanted."

Selina shook her head. "Thank you, but I don't think that's a good idea. I think he just needs his space and the occasional reminder that I'm thinking about him, and eventually, he'll come around. You don't have to do anything. The cinnamon bread will do the talking. So, enough about me. Anything important happen in Europe that you didn't already tell me about? How did your last show on the continent go?"

"Mixed reviews," Lucy said. "My technique was universally praised, but some people had issues with my dark subject matter." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, don't listen to the doubters," Selina said. "The important thing is that you're painting what you want to paint and if people don't like it, then that is their problem."

Lucy finished her cider and her cinnamon bread. "If I'm gonna go see Uncle Elijah, we should probably go now, so I can get to bed at a decent time," she said. "I'll probably be like a zombie the next day or two because of the jet lag. Thanks for the goodies, Mom." She grabbed the bread for her uncle and held onto it.

"Well, thank you for coming to see me," Selina said. "I'm glad to know that things went well and you got back all right."

Lucy nodded and scratched the skin of her neck, wishing she'd worn a sweater that wasn't a turtle neck because turtlenecks were irritating, not to mention itchy. Then she looked at Damon and the two of them left Selina alone again.

Damon and Lucy headed back to his house and Lucy took his car to Alistair's alone. When Alistair opened the door and saw her on the other side, he grinned, hugged her, and ushered her into the house. "So, how was Europe?" He asked. "I bet you're getting tired of answering that question by now, right?"

"No," Lucy grinned and shook her head. "I don't mind. It was nice. Germany was wonderful once December came. It was one of the last places I went before I hopped on the plane back here. I saw Mom and told her I was okay, and then I thought I should come over here and tell Uncle Elijah too. And bring him some cinnamon bread Mom made that she thought he should have." She held it up. "Where does he camp out around here?"

"If he's not in his room, which is the first one on the right side of the hall, then he'll probably be in the library. He's turned that into a sort of office where he shuts himself in most of the day," Alistair said.

Lucy nodded. "Thank you." She checked the bedroom Alistair had pointed out, but it was empty, so she found her way to the library and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Elijah called. Lucy opened the door and came in. "Hi," she said. "I'm back."

Elijah saw her and his eyes lit up. He rose gracefully from his desk chair and walked around his desk, doing his best not to trip over Gregory, who was playing with toys right next to the desk. He strode over to Lucy and hugged her hard. "I'm so glad you're back safe," he said. Then he let her go and she looked at the cinnamon bread that he'd squished with dismay. "Mom sent this for you," she said. "It's cinnamon bread she made. It's really good. If you don't want it, I'll take it."

"No, it's fine," Elijah said. "I'll take it." He took it from her, and as he was going back to his desk to unwrap it, Gregory noticed her. He got up and began walking toward her. "Hi," he said, looking her right in the eye. "Who you?"

Lucy smiled. "I'm Lucy," she said. "What are you playing?"

He led her over to his pile of toys and she got on her knees beside him, making little tunnels with her arms and body for him to drive his cars through. Then he got in Elijah's desk chair and she pushed him around the office while he laughed himself sick. Finally, Lucy stopped the chair and took a deep breath. "Okay, we have to stop that now. I'm tired."

"I bet you are," Elijah said, nibbling on a piece of the cinnamon bread that he held on his hand. "Do you just want to spend the night here? If you do, I'm sure Alistair can find you a room."

"Thanks, but I think I have the strength to get home," Lucy said. Elijah looked out the window. "It's very dark out," he said. "I don't know if I'm comfortable with you being on the roads by yourself. Could you just indulge me and let me come with you? So at least in my own mind, I know you got home safely? We'll take my car and when it's light, I'll come get you and you can bring your car home. I know it seems like a ridiculous plan, but it would really make me feel better."

"I'll still be the one driving, right?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Of course."

She nodded and Elijah put Gregory in the living room where people could watch him and after he hugged her leg and told her goodbye, they left to go back to Damon's. The roads were hard to see in the dark, snow was falling, and when Lucy could actually see the road, she noticed that a startling amound of cars had run off it. She breathed a sigh of relief that her uncle was with her, and decided not to mention to him that when he'd first mentioned coming, she'd felt a flare of the irritation her mother must have felt when he'd insisted on chaperoning her and Damon when they went to see Sam, but she was glad she'd had the sense to squash it. When they reached Damon's house, she parked and put her hand on her uncle's. "Thanks for coming with me," she said. "It made me feel more at ease knowing I wasn't alone on the roads in case, you know, something bad happened."

Elijah nodded and hugged her. "That's exactly what I wanted to come with you. To make you feel more at ease. Now get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

Lucy nodded. "Goodnight, Uncle Elijah."

On Christmas Eve, Lucy came home from seeing her father and Caroline to find a small tree covered in white, twinkly lights on a TV tray in one corner of the living room. "When did you get the tree?" She asked him.

He shrugged. "I got it when you were at Alistair's a few days ago, and then I hid it until today. I wanted it to be a surprise for you. I know it's small and fake, but you have to start somewhere, right?"

"Right!" Lucy said, hugging him. "You have to start somewhere. I love it. Since we only have five decorations, a big tree would have looked kind of awkward, but with a small one, we can put each decoration on a different place on the tree and create the illusion that it's more decorated than it actually is."

Damon nodded. "Sounds like a plan." They decorated the tree and then made up a fire and sat by it drinking cider while she regaled him with stories about Europe.

As Vince brought in presents from his truck and Roxie put them under the tree, the doorbell rang. She paused and ran to the door, opening it to see Enid on the other side. "Hi," Roxie said. "Merry Christmas Eve. What's up?"

Enid was having trouble meeting her eyes. "Thank you," she said quietly. "You too."

Roxie looked down at the squirming bundle she held tightly in her arms and said, "Is that Jeremy you have there? Why don't the two of you come in? It's cold out there."

Enid came inside and sat down. She was shaking and seemed on the verge of tears.

"What's the matter?" Roxie asked, coming to sit beside her. "Enid, what's wrong?"

"It's time for me to give him back to his family!" Enid said. "But I'm going to miss him so much!"

"Who?" Roxie asked. "Jeremy? You mean those friends of yours finally came back from their vacation?"

"There were never any friends," Enid said. She was frustrated. "I just told you that because I didn't want to tell you the truth yet. Remember how you got the note from me that said Joey was alive?"

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "What about it?"

They sat in silence before Enid handed the bundle to Roxie. "Well, here he is. Merry Christmas." She got up to leave, quickly running toward the door. Roxie set the baby next to Addie and sped over to the door to keep Enid from leaving. "What the hell are you talking about?" She asked. "Is this some kind of sick joke, Enid? And if that kid you have is really Joey and you've had him all this time, why didn't you just tell us? Why all the secrecy?"

Having confessed, Enid was finally able to meet Roxie's eyes. "I brought him back from the dead, all right, Roxanne? Do you realize how serious that is? If I would have told you or anyone else before Joey was strong enough to live in the world, he would have probably just been killed again. Even now, if someone finds out about what I did, I will lose my magic for good, cause there are three big things you can't do with magic: You can't kill people with your magic, you can't bring people back from the dead, and you can't mess with love. Well, I shouldn't say you can't do those things, because clearly I did one and did it very successfully, but they shouldn't be done because it messes with the natural balance of things or people's free will. Yet I did it for you because it just broke my heart to watch you be so sad because you lost a baby. Won't you at least thank me?"

"Is he all right?" Roxie asked quietly. "Like, he's not a changeling or anything? He's still a baby?"

"Yes," Enid nodded. "I swear. He's still a baby and as healthy as can be now."

Roxie nodded. "Well, then thank you," she said, giving Enid a hug. "Thank you so much. I would say 'You have no idea how much this means to Vince and me', but obviously you do or you wouldn't have done it. I know there's probably no way I can ever repay you, but if there's ever anything that Vince or I can do for you-"

"Just one thing," Enid said to her. "Keep your mouth shut about it. That's important. Do you think you can do that for me?"

Roxie nodded. "Sure. Of course."

"Well, then, enjoy your newest addition, and your holidays," Enid said. "I myself have a boyfriend to get home to." She gave Roxie one last nod and left. Once she was out of sight, Roxie shut the door behind her and went back to the living room where her two babies were lying together on a blanket on the floor. She looked down at Joey and tried not to cry. He had blue eyes, just like Addie and just like her. She worried that he'd be shy or afraid of her, but he eagerly reached toward her and when she picked him up, he immediately cuddled against her. Huh, she thought. Enid must have done something so that he would recognize me. She put her hand against his heart and when she heard it beating, she gasped. He was alive. He really was alive. She finally couldn't hold her emotions back anymore and put him down, got on the sofa, and started to sob, which caused Joey to sob, and Addie after him.

Vince came in from the bedroom where he was resting from bringing in all the presents and he touched Roxie on the shoulder. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Are you getting overcome with holiday feelings?" Roxie sat up and pointed in the direction of the blankets. "Look," she said.

Vince looked at the blanket and noticed the extra baby. "Where did he come from? Did you take him from somewhere as a way to compensate for Joey not being here? Roxanne, we have to give him back!"

"No, we don't!" Roxie said. "He's ours! That's Joey! Enid used magic to bring him back to life even though she wasn't supposed to, and if we tell anyone, she'll get in big trouble!"

"Really?" Vince asked. He looked down at Joey, picked him up and held him. Then he looked at Roxie. "Well, I guess that means you'll have to remember to keep your mouth shut then." Roxie looked at him sourly and picked up Addie as he took Joey over to look at a mountain of presents on the other side of the tree. "These are for you," he said to him. "Ever since we found out you were still alive, I hoped every day that we would find you before Christmas. And now you're back, so we have."

He then turned to face Roxie. "We have to call your mother and tell her about this. I know Enid said we shouldn't tell anyone, but don't you think your mother deserves to know she's got another grandkid?"

"No," Roxie shook her head. "Enid said to keep this quiet and we need to respect that. She did this great thing for us and all she asked in return is that we don't tell anyone else. If Mom finds out herself somehow, there's nothing we can do about it, but we shouldn't purposely go blab about it so that everyone will know. Not everyone is as good at keeping secrets as we are."

Vince sighed. "I guess you're right. So, what do you say we open some of Joey's presents now? I'm too excited to wait until tomorrow."

"Merry Christmas, Cookie Monster!" Damon said. Lucy cracked an eye open, wincing at the bright light that was shining in her face from the open curtains. Then, she looked at her hand and realized that her ring was gone. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god!" She let out a shriek and ran to a corner of the room where there was more shade than light. "Where the hell's my ring?" She asked. "I need that, or I'm gonna fry!"

"No you won't," Damon said calmly. "You're human now and so am I, and humans don't need rings, remember?"

Lucy had been crouching before, but now she slowly rose to stand. "I completely forgot that that was gonna happen on Christmas," she said. "Wow. So, if I go near the curtains, nothing will happen to me?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Damon told her.

This time, Lucy went toward the window without fear, feeling warmth on her face that was from the sun, not from her skin peeling and cracking and burning off. It was a beautiful thing. She stayed like this for several minutes before turning to Damon. "I never thought I'd be able to do something like that. It feels good."

Damon smiled. "I'm glad you're happy," he said. "I hoped that when this happened, you would be."

Finally, she turned away from the window. "You want to unwrap your present now? Let me go change. You just sit, shut your eyes and no peeking. After I'm done, you can undress for me."

He grinned and shut his eyes and then she quickly undressed and put on the lacy red underwear and bra she'd bought. "Okay," she said when she was done. "You can open your eyes now." He opened his eyes wide and immediately felt unable to move. He tried to keep himself calm.

"Now you undress for me," she said. "Or can you even move? Do you need me to help you take stuff off?"

"Yes," Damon said. "Yes I do." She pulled off his shirt and as she stripped off his pants and boxers, she grinned. "Well, Merry Christmas to me!"

"Oh, stop and come here," he ordered and rolled her underneath him. They rolled around his bed and giggled for awhile, until finally, he put his hand on her stomach and gave her such an intense look that she stopped laughing immediately. "What's the matter?" She asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," he said as he lowered himself down to kiss her, driving into her at the same time. "But you will be the death of me. I love you."

"I don't know how to respond to that," she said, when he broke the kiss. "Except to say that I love you too."

They tired themselves out, rested, and spent the rest of the day in a Christmas-induced fervor, until in a moment of quiet, Lucy realized something. She and Damon had had sex and she hadn't used anything. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but she was human now and so was he! This was probably what her mother had meant when she had said to just do what they normally did but be more careful about it. She could get pregnant! Not that the idea repulsed her, but she and Damon weren't even married yet. It was way too soon! She shut her eyes tight and came to a decision. She had to tell someone. And there was only one person she could think of who would understand.

Gathering her courage, she grabbed the phone and dialed Roxie's number. "Hi, Roxie?" She said nervously when her sister answered the phone. "I don't mean to interrupt your holiday, but Damon and I get to be human for a week and we just had sex, but I forgot that we have to use protection now if I don't want to get pregnant, so I might be not too long from now. What should I do?"

Selina was in a much more cheerful and optimistic frame of mind. That night, she dressed Laura up in her warmest clothes and took her over to Alistair's to see Elijah.

"I thought your mother was gonna throw a big thing, but I haven't seen or heard from her all day. Did she decide to leave us alone or something?"

"She actually stopped by this morning all in a rush," Elijah said. "Told me that she was sorry but she and that Ronan were going to some tropical island for the holidays and that we'd have to do Christmas without her."

"Oh," Selina nodded. "Well, that explains that. Would you and Gregory be interested in coming downtown with Laura and me and looking at all the Christmas light displays? I hear all of them are fantastic."

"Well, all right," Elijah said after a moment. "I guess that could be entertaining." They put Gregory in his coat and took the two kids out to the car, driving downtown, where they ended up at a park where various light displays were set up. Elijah drove while Selina sat in the back with Laura on one side and Gregory on the other, his face pressed against the window as he watched snowmen, Santa Clauses and other Christmas figures made out of lights pass by. By the time they'd seen every display and were leaving the park, both Laura and Gregory were asleep.

"I think it might be best if I stayed at Alistair's tonight," Selina said. "Since Laura's already asleep anyway." Elijah nodded and they drove back home, put the kids to bed and then found themselves alone in the kitchen.

"I'm a little chilly, so I was gonna make myself some peppermint tea," Selina said. "Would you like me to make you anything?"

Elijah shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm all right." They sat down across from each other in silence, and then finally, Selina said, "You know what my favorite Christmas memory is?"

Elijah shook his head. "What?"

Selina took a sip of her tea. "Well, when I was four years old, the year before everything between Mama and me got shot to hell, she got me a bunch of presents and then we took the carriage over to Damon and Stefan's parents' house. Mama put all our presents under the tree with theirs and told me that I wasn't allowed to look until morning. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep, so I went to Damon's room and asked him if he would take me downstairs to look at the presents again. He helped me down the stairs because it was completely dark and neither of us could see a thing, but finally, we managed to make our way over to the tree and we could see the dark shapes that were our presents. We began feeling up the boxes and then, after we'd felt up every single one, he took me back up to my room and we took turns guessing what was in the packages. It was mostly just functional stuff, like hats and scarves, but I remember wishing so hard for a pony." She sighed.

"Once, when I was young, it was Mother's birthday and Niklaus and I decided we were going to do something special for her," Elijah said after a moment. "Of course, part of why we did it was selfishness because Anna was still small and demanding every second of her attention and we figured that if we gave her a birthday present, she'd spare us at least a little of her time. Since it was summer, there were flowers blooming. Niklaus picked a handful of them and I wrote Mother a poem and when we presented it to her, she looked happy for the first time in awhile. Father scoffed, of course, said we were dwelling too much on sentiment, but when she smiled at me, Father's stern words didn't seem to matter much. I felt...proud." Elijah lapsed into silence as if he were remembering that long ago birthday, until finally, he cleared his throat and stood up from the table. "Merry Christmas," he said. "I had an enjoyable evening. I hope you sleep well." He was about to turn and go when Selina put a hand on his shoulder. "Could you wait a minute? Please?" She asked. "And come with me." She grabbed his hand and led him to the front door where a sprig of fake mistletoe hung. "All right," she said. "We're standing under mistletoe. That means you have to kiss me."

"No one knows that better than me," Elijah said. "It was my people who came up with that tradition."

"Is that so?" Selina asked.

He nodded. Then, Selina slowly leaned forward and kissed him, deeply. His arms went around her and he pulled her to him. They kissed for quite a while before Selina pulled away, winked at him, and said, "Merry Christmas," before heading off to bed.