"Here you are!" Anna said as Roxie drove up to her house. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming. That you'd lost your nerve."

"Me?" Roxie asked, getting out of the car. "Pffft, no. I ran into my husband on the way out and he subjected me to a totally unjust interrogation cause he thought I was up to something bad, and then my daughter figured out I was leaving and threw a fit, so I had to drop her off at Dad's, and then I came here."

"So you are still up for this?" Anna asked. "Good. I didn't want to think you'd chicken out at the last minute."

"Why would I do that?" Roxie asked. "This whole venture was my idea."

"I know," Anna nodded. "But things happen and sometimes you just don't know with people."

Roxie narrowed her eyes. "Let's just get in the car, shall we?"

Anna gave her a look and after she put a few more things in the trunk, they got in the car and drove away from the house.

"You didn't tell anyone about this, did you?" Anna aked Roxie.

"No," Roxie shook her head. "Did you? But what does it matter, anyway? You said that it wouldn't get you in trouble!"

Anna sighed. "I know that's what I said before, but now I'm not so sure, all right? It could get me in trouble. Which is why we had to be absolutely sure about this enterprise before we did it, cause it could very well be the last thing I ever do if I get caught!"

"And yet you're doing it for me?" Roxie asked.

"Yeah," Anna nodded. "You and your dad. I always thought he could do better than her."

"Well," Roxie reached for Anna's hand. "In case something does happen to you, I think I'll thank you in advance in case I can't do it later."

"Oh, stop!" Anna said. "We can't lose our backbones now, can we? We can't let a little bit of doubt prevent us from doing what we're going to do!"

Roxie cleared her throat. "You know, you're right. Thanks for that."

Anna nodded. "Any time. Now, where exactly is this Tyler buried? Did you find out?"

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "In the one cemetery that exists in Mystic Falls. And I think the town itself is not that far from here."

"No," Anna shook her head. "I don't think it is either." They drove in silence for a little while before Roxie said, "You do know where we're going, right? Because I don't."

"Don't worry," Anna said. "I know. But it might be best to stop somewhere else for the day, you know, and then go into the town at night so we can dig the guy up without being disturbed."

"Oh..." Roxie sucked in a breath.

"What?" Anna asked.

"Nothing," Roxie said. "I just didn't realize that we were gonna be gone all day. I only thought it would take a couple of hours."

"I'm sure your dad would be all right with watching Addie all day," Anna said. "But if it will relieve your mind you can call him and anyone else you need to to let them know you'll be out longer than you originally thought."

Roxie nodded. "It might be best if I do that. If I don't let Vince know I'm gonna be out late, he'll definitely assume I'm up to no good, and although what we're doing might seem bad, if you look at it a different way, we're actually doing something good for someone, right?"

"Why are you babbling so much?" Anna asked her. "Are you nervous? Please don't tell me you're nervous."

"No!" Roxie said, looking affronted. "I am not nervous. Just drive!"

They drove in silence, no noise in the car but the radio, and even that got to them after awhile. When they were fifteen minutes away from Mystic Falls, they saw an out of the way strip mall and parked in the parking lot. They shopped in the stores until nightfall and then continued on their way to Mystic Falls.

When they drove into Mystic Falls, everything was quiet. They didn't see a single person out and about. They parked their car near the cemetery and got out. Anna immediately handed Roxie a shovel and gestured for her to go inside the cemetery gates.

"But I don't even know where I'm going!" Roxie whispered back angrily. "How about you give me the flashlight, I'll find his grave, and then you can meet me there with the shovels?"

Grudgingly, Anna handed Roxie the flashlight and she edged her way into the cemetery, being careful not to trip over tree roots or tombstones.

"This would be so much easier if I knew where Tyler was actually buried!" Roxie muttered to herself. "We're gonna be here all night!"

She began walking around the cemetery in an aimless fashion until she tripped over a tree root that sent her sprawling on her face in the dirt.

"Ow, shit!" Roxie yelled. Anna came running over, dropped the shovels, and pulled her up. "Ssssshhh! We don't want to wake anyone, remember? Now, have you found the tombstone yet?"

"No," Roxie said. "But give me a break. Graves are small and it's dark."

"Well, that's what you have the flashlight for!" Anna said, waving it in front of her.

"Wait a minute," Roxie said, realizing they were standing in front of a large mausoleum. "This looks plenty big and Tyler is from the ruling family of this town. Maybe he's in here." She shown the flashlight on the mausoleum and then groaned in disappointment. It said Forbes not Lockwood, like they'd hoped.

"Well, this is good," Roxie said. "At least it narrows down the amount of places we have to look, right?"

"Don't stand there talking about it!" Anna snapped. "Just keep looking. I'm gonna go put the shovels away!"

"But-" Roxie called after her. Anna didn't hear. She was already walking away. Sighing, Roxie continued to tromp around the cemetery looking for the right mausoleum while Anna put the shovels back in the car. As Anna shut the trunk of the car, she sensed someone behind her. She turned around and saw a middle-aged man in dirty overalls, a plaid shirt and a baseball cap.

"Hello," she said.

He tipped his hat. "Well, hello to you. May I ask what you're doing here this time of night?"

"We're doing what anyone who comes to a cemetery does," Anna said. "We're visiting family. Is that wrong?"

"Well, not technically, no," he said. "But here's the thing, little missy: Visiting hours are from dawn to dusk. So it might be best if you got on your way."

"I don't think I should have to," Anna said. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" The man, who Anna assumed was the cemetery caretaker, stood his ground. "If you don't go, I'll call the sheriff and he'll deal with you."

"I have a much easier solution to our problem," Anna said. She grabbed him and sank her fangs into his throat, sucking greedily. When she finally let him go, he stumbled around woozily until she banged him hard on the head with the shovel and he dropped to the ground. Then, she picked up his body and carried it into the cemetery.

"Oh, my god!" Roxie said when she saw. "Who's that?"

"The caretaker," Anna said, throwing the body on the ground. "He was gonna make trouble for us and I had to stop him."

"Well, I found the right mausoleum," Roxie said. "It's a ways from here. Are we gonna dump the caretaker's body in when we take Tyler's out?"

"No!"Anna said to her. "Don't be ridiculous. We'll bury him at the cemetery edge. I doubt anyone will miss him."

"So are we gonna bury him and then get Tyler's body?" Roxie asked. "I think we should do that."

They quickly buried the caretaker near the cemetery gates and then lugged the body they presumed to be Tyler's out of the mausoleum.

"So you're positive we got the right body?" Anna asked Roxie as they drove away.

Roxie shrugged. "I don't know. I only saw one picture of him, but it looked like it'd been in there the least amount of time. I think we picked the right body."

"We better have," Anna said. "It would suck to have done all that work only to bring the wrong guy back to life."

Selina got dressed for dinner that night in a blue dress with a swishy skirt. Then, she looked at herself in the mirror, groaned and sat down on the bed, refusing to leave the room. Finally, she heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Are you coming?" Elijah called. "Let's go!"

"No!" Selina called back. "No, thank you. I don't think I want to."

The door opened and Elijah strode in, looking down at her. "What's the problem?" He asked.

"I just...I don't like how I look," Selina said.

Elijah groaned and rolled his eyes. "Not this again," he said. "How many times do I have to tell you you're beautiful before you finally believe me?"

"I don't know," Selina said. "But one more time never hurts."

"All right," Elijah sighed. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. The dress doesn't make you look fat. If anyone at the restaurant stares at you, it's because they're jealous of how pretty you are. Now can we go? We're coming up on our reservation!"

"Those didn't sound like very sincere compliments," Selina said, eying him balefully. "I don't think you meant them at all."

Elijah began rubbing his temple. "You suck it up and come to the car with me right this minute or I will make you feel better about yourself, okay? I will literally compel you to be okay, because I do not find this 'poor me' act of yours charming. Do you understand me?"

"Well, fine," Selina said. "Geez! What's wrong with you? Did someone poke you with the grumpy stick today or something?" She picked up her purse, followed him out of the house, and the whole ride to the restaurant, she wondered what was wrong with him.

When they reached the restaurant, Elijah opened the car door for her and took her arm, and when they got inside, although the man at the desk looked happy to see them, the first question out of Elijah's mouth was "We're not late, are we? Some people chose tonight to dawdle." He gave Selina a harsh look and she just stuck her tongue out at him.

"No, no!" the man said to Elijah. "You're fine. Just in time. Come right this way, please."

As Elijah took Selina's hand, his expression relaxed. He pulled out her chair for her when they reached the table, and was smiling when he took the seat across from hers. "This is a nice place, isn't it?" He asked her.

Selina nodded. "Well, yeah, it is. Listen, are you okay? You seemed out of sorts earlier. Not as even-tempered as you usually are."

Elijah took her hand and kissed it. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just didn't want to be late. You know how I hate to be late for things."

"Yeah," Selina said. "I guess that's true." She sighed. "I'm just glad things are better now." She picked up her menu and grinned at him over it. "So what is it that you're thinking of eating tonight?"

Elijah grinned. "Put your menu down," he said.

Selina put her menu down. He leaned forward and kissed her, biting her lip so that he tasted a bit of her blood. The kiss deepened. Her arms went around his neck and his hands went to her breasts. When she felt that, she stopped the kiss abruptly.

"What did you do that for?" Elijah asked her as they sat back down. "I was enjoying myself."

"Everyone was looking at us!" Selina said.

"So?" Elijah asked her as he put his napkin in his lap. "In the past you've proposed doing things in public that were much worse than what we just did. Why are you choosing to be embarrassed now?"

"I don't know," Selina said. "I just-are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Never mind," Selina said. "Let's just think about what we're gonna eat, okay? Personally, I think the chicken looks good. I've always liked chicken."

"If you don't mind my saying so," Elijah said, "You're much tastier than anything the menu has to offer. I think I'll forego an entree and wait until I can nibble on you. And if you're worried about privacy, there's a nice little gazebo we could go to out back overlooking the lake that would keep us safe from prying eyes."

"Well, all right," Selina said. "But I'm sure that it can wait until after I eat, right?"

Elijah rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

Selina ordered the chicken parmesan and a glass of apple juice. She ate it slowly, savoring every bite and trying hard not to laugh at Elijah, who watched her intently the entire time, just waiting for her to finish. When her chicken was gone and the waiter came to take her plate, he asked if she wanted dessert. "Sure," she said. "The chocolate cake, please."

The waiter walked away and Elijah frowned. "You didn't really need the cake!" He whispered angrily. "You're just dawdling to irritate me!"

"No, I'm not!" Selina said calmly. "He asked if I wanted dessert, and I did. I happen to like chocolate cake. You and your needs can wait a little while longer. It's not gonna kill you."

Her cake came and he watched her eat it, his entire body tensed up, a muscle in his cheek jumping every time she swallowed a bite. But he dropped this attitude after a little while and finally relaxed. Selina thought everything was okay until she felt his foot moving gently up her leg.

"Oh, my god!" she said. "Footsie? Seriously?"

He grinned and raised an eyebrow, leaning forward until they were almost nose to nose. "You know," he said. "I bet if you came outside with me, you'd forget you even wanted the cake in the first place because I'd give you something better."

"No offense," Selina said, her mouth full. "But me giving you a blowjob is not better than chocolate cake. At least not at the moment. Now, the sooner you stop talking to me, the sooner I will finish my cake and the sooner we can go outside. Is that reasonable?"

Looking resentful, Elijah nodded and let her finish her cake in peace. They paid the bill and left the restaurant, going straight to the gazebo.

"You know," Selina said as Elijah shut the door behind them. "This is actually a cozy little place."

"Yeah, yeah, it's really nice," Elijah said. He eased her up against the door and kissed her deeply. They pulled out of that kiss and then he kissed down her neck.

Selina was breathing hard now. "Maybe this would be easier if we were lying down," she suggested. "There's a bench in the corner that would be long enough for us." They paused long enough to make their way to the bench and he lay her down on it so she was looking up at him. He got down on his knees beside her and slipped off her shoes, his hands going up her legs and over her thighs. When he reached her panties, he rubbed the fabric against her until she let out a squeal and then slowly slipped her panties off, pushing her skirt up over her stomach. He stuck his finger inside her and she moaned. Then, he got on his knees on the bench and unzipped himself, easing into her. She let out a shriek and then he pulled out and eased into her again. When she was panting and covered in sweat, he got off the bench and began taking off his pants. "Okay," he said. "It's my turn now."

"Seriously?" Selina asked. "Right this minute? Can't I have a little bit of a break?"

He let both his pants and his underwear fall and stood before her proudly, displaying everything he had. "Are you sure you want a break?" He asked.

In spite of the fact that she really was tired, Selina felt herself slowly sitting up and making little whimpers as she stared at him. He came to sit next to her, grinning wickedly. "So do I get my turn, or are you too tired?"

"Suddenly, I'm feeling so full of energy," Selina said.

Elijah nodded. "I thought you'd say that." As she pleasured him, the door to the gazebo suddenly opened and they found themselves face to face with two wide-eyed old ladies. They stared openly for a minute or two before they were finally able to get a word out. "Sorry," the one in the front said. "We didn't know anyone was in here."

Selina looked up angrily and hissed at them, her fangs bared. "Well then why don't you just go away?" But when they didn't move, she charged them, sinking her fangs into both of them and sucking until they were both too weak to get away. Then she looked guiltily at Elijah. "Sorry," she said. "I know you hate it when I do that."

"Now why would that be?" Elijah asked as he put his pants on again and came to look at the bleeding women. He looked them over. "It looks like there's enough left in them for me," he said. "Are they any good?"

"Passable," Selina said. "And they smell like violets."

"Have you had your fill?" Elijah asked her. "Can I have the rest?"

"If you want," Selina said. "Be my guest. I'll be in the car."

Selina sat alone in the car for several minutes until Elijah finally knocked on the window.

"You know," he said, "Since we were interrupted by those two horrible women, I propose we continue what we were doing."

"Must we?" Selina asked. "Wouldn't it be more comfortable to do it in bed?"

"Where's the excitement in that?" Elijah asked her. He started undoing his pants again.

Selina rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. He positioned himself the right way, and as Selina's tongue swirled around him, he felt content. But just as he was about to come, she suddenly stopped.

"What did you stop for?" Elijah asked angrily, sitting up. "You were doing so well!"

"I, oh god! Ow! For the love of god, why!" She was clutching her stomach and as he got closer to her to ask again, she let out a scream. In the middle of this noise, he put a hand over her mouth. "What the hell is going on?" He whispered, then took his hand off her mouth. "Labor," she whispered. "Baby coming. Take me home!"

Elijah frowned. "Now? The baby's coming now? It can't be right this second. Let's finish what we were doing and then I'll drive you home. How about that?"

She punched him in the face. "If you don't drive me home and call Astrid right this minute, I swear I am going to rip off your head!"

"How could I drive you home and call Astrid if my head is ripped off?" He asked.

"Oh, just fuck! This is no time for that! Just take me home unless you want your son to be born in the backseat of a car!" She said with gritted teeth before letting out another shriek.

Reluctantly, Elijah zipped his pants and got in the front seat having to hear Selina scream and yell all the way home.

When they reached home, Elijah hustled Selina inside, earning himself a dirty look or two. She managed to get herself in bed and undressed, then Elijah called Astrid, who came racing over. "Am I late?" She asked. "I know how your kids don't waste time coming." She looked Selina over. "Oh, no. You're not even fully dilated yet. This is gonna take awhile."

"Oh, really?" Selina exclaimed. "Shit!" Astrid was proven correct. Selina was in labor for several more hours. Every hour or so, Elijah would come in and ask "Is it here yet?" And then leave when they told him no. After Selina's seventh hour of labor, around two in the morning, Elijah looked at Astrid severely. "Listen here," he said. "I don't care what you have to do. You get that baby out right now. Do you understand me?"

"I'm sorry," Astrid said. "But this isn't something you can force. The boy will come when he comes. You have to be patient. Now if you don't mind, would you leave? You're just getting in the way."

"Fine," Elijah said. "Tell me when something actually happens."

And that wasn't for another five hours. Around seven in the morning, little Colin finally saw fit to poke his head out into the world. Hearing his cries was wonderful for Selina. Once he was out, she just fell asleep and didn't wake up again for a long time. Meanwhile, Astrid cleaned Colin up and went to introduce Elijah to his new son.

Adrian and Helene woke up the next morning and found themselves sitting next to each other in a large cell with a barred door.

"Remember when your mother told us not to drink anything they gave us?" Adrian asked Helene, putting his hand to his head. "She wasn't kidding."

"What the hell's going on?" Helene called, striding over to the bars and yelling at the jailer. "Why are we in here?"

"You're supposed to stay in here until you agree to marry Owen." The jailer said.

"Well, then, I'm afraid we're gonna be in here a long time!" Helene said. "Because as everyone clearly saw, I'm already married and I have no intention of marrying anyone else."

"Fine," the jailer said. "Whatever. Suit yourself." He turned away from her and Helene strode back to the bench and sat down.

"What's going on?" Adrian asked.

"Oh, nothing," Helene said. "They just want me to marry someone else and have decided to imprison me until I do. That's all."

"But you're not gonna do it, right?" Adrian asked hopefully.

"Well, of course not, Adrian!" Helene snapped. "It offends me that you even asked me that."

"What are they gonna do now that you've said you won't listen to them?" Adrian asked. "Are they gonna drug you with a love potion?"

"It's possible," Helene said. "But the chances are very slim. Love is something too powerful to mess with. Even though there *are* love potions out there, if you use one on someone, there's a practical guarantee you'll get caught and sent to Mr. Black."

"Who's Mr. Black?" Adrian asked.

"He's kind of like the bogeyman for witches," Helene told him. "If you break any of the cardinal rules of magic, especially messing with love, you get sent to him and I understand the consequences are terrible, so I don't think the witches would risk forcing a marriage between me and Owen even if that's what they really want. I doubt they'd be that foolish."

"But what if they are that foolish?" Adrian said. "Helene, don't drink anything or eat anything!"

"But come on!" Helene said. "I need to eat!"

"Well fine," Adrian said. "You can eat whatever you want, but I'm tasting it first, in case there's any weird witch poison in it."

Helene seemed pretty certain the witches wouldn't try to whammy her mind with a love potion, but when someone came with their lunch, before Helene could put any in her mouth, Adrian snatched it out from under her nose and scarfed it down in seconds.

"Hey!" Helene said. "That was my lunch! What did you go and eat it all in that greedy way for?" She watched him, but he didn't answer her. Suddenly, a look of peace eased his features. His eyes became bright, a smile curved his lips, and he grabbed her, kissing her deeply. "You're pretty," he said when he let her go. "Have I told you that before."

"Yeah," Helene said. "You tell me every day." She squirmed as Adrian began kissing her neck. "Honey, stop! We're in jail! There's nothing romantic about-Oh, my god!" She grabbed hold of the small piece of hamburger that was left on the plate and noticed red liquid flowing out of the meat. To the untrained eye, it would look like blood, but Helene knew better. "Love potion," she whispered. "They must really be desperate for me to marry Owen."

A few minutes later, a young man with dark hair and dark eyes came to the cell holding a key. "Helene, everyone said you wanted to see me. And they told me that once you did, I should let you out of the cell."

"Sorry, Owen," Helene said as she tried to push a very amorous Adrian away from her. "I didn't want to see you. It was a mistake. Apparently, the council is so desperate for us to marry that they put a love potion in my food and then sent you down here in hopes that you'd be the first person I'd see, forgetting that they stuck Adrian, my husband who I love in the cell with me. Their stupidity astounds me sometimes."

"Oh," Owen said. "Well, anyway, here's the key. And remember that if two people who love each other have love potion together, it makes things even more intense."

Helene took the key and said, "Thank you, Owen. Thank you so much." Once he was gone, she picked up what remained of the burger, ate it, and when the guard came to check on them because of all the noise they were making, he just grinned, shook his head and walked away.

"What was all the noise?" Esmerelda asked him. "Tell me this instant!" The guard just grinned some more. "Conjugal visit," he said.

"Oh," Esmerelda said. "It's a little early, but we did use a very strong potion."

Lucy knocked on Damon's door around noon and found him standing near his window, fully dressed. "How did you sleep?" She asked him. "All right?"

He turned and nodded. "Yes," he said. "And you?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "Not bad."

They stood in silence and then she walked over to him. "Listen, um, would you like me to, um, wash your clothes? You probably don't want to be in them for too much longer."

"It's a nice thought," Damon said. "But I don't know if it would be a good idea for me to accept. I don't have anything else to wear. If I would have known I'd be going forward in time, I would have packed a bag."

"Oh, it's okay," Lucy shook her head. "Just take off your shirt and take off your pants and I'll probably be able to figure out what size you wear.

Damon's lips curved into a grin. "I think I would like to take you home with me," he said. "I think my father would dislike you if he met you."

"Why?" Lucy asked. "What did I do?"

"Well, you can't deny that you just asked me to undress right in front of you," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "You're very direct. I like that in a woman."

"I wasn't asking you to undress so I could I have sex with you," Lucy corrected him. "I was asking you to undress so I could figure out what size clothes you wear and go and get you some new ones. Now come here!" She pulled him to her and began unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt. He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her.

"What did you have to go and do that for?" Lucy said when he pulled away.

Damon grinned. "Well, why not?"

"Because!" Lucy said. "I don't know if I can sleep with you. It might not be right."

"It's because I don't have money," Damon said. "Is that it?"

"No!" Lucy shook her head. "Have you not been listening to anything I say? I am not a prostitute! I am your fiancee! I sleep with you all the time! And only you, too! I know your body just as well as or even better than you do!"

"Is that so?" Damon asked, looking intrigued. "So you're my mistress."

"Well, yes," Lucy nodded. "In the sense that we have sex and we're not married, yes, I am your mistress. Although sexual rules are much more relaxed today than they were in your time."

"So I pay your expenses while you do your art," Damon said.

"No," Lucy shook her head. "Mom's rich, as you know, and my father's richer than you'd believe, so I'm financially independent. I'm also a fully certified genius."

"Really?" Damon asked.

"Uh-huh," Lucy nodded with a grin.

"Do you suppose there's any way I could take you to meet my father?" Damon asked her. "Despite your loose attitude about sex, if he met you, he might actually like you."

"Maybe," Lucy replied. "But let's focus on the present, shall we? I need your shirt and your pants."

Damon grinned. "Gladly," he said. He took off his shirt and his pants, handing them to her while she stared at him in awe.

"Excuse me," she said. "I need to go talk to someone about something. Now."

"All right," Damon said, getting on the bed and giving her a grin. "You go. I'll just be here waiting for you."

"Oh, for the love of god, why must he be so attractive?" Lucy muttered to herself as she ran out to her car. "He makes me question every moral I have!" She pulled out of the driveway and zipped over to Alistair's.

"Alistair!" She yelled. "Alistair, I need you for something. Quick!"

"Yes, what?" Alistair asked, running toward her. "Lucy, what in the world is the matter with you?"

"I want to have sex, but I don't know if I should," she said. "I thought I should ask you if it was okay."

"Of course it is," Alistair said. "You are a mature, responsible young lady. Don't let any of the ridiculous things your father thinks make you believe otherwise."

"No, it's not that, but thank you," Lucy said. "Here's the problem: You remember that when Lenora sent Uncle Elijah into the past to see Mom, he brought Damon back with him, right?"

"Uh-huh," Alistair nodded.

"Well, I just found out that Damon has done some things in his past that I don't like. I've decided to separate from him temporarily to evaluate whether these things are worth ending our relationship over. So that I am not distracted, I had Lenora send Vampire Damon back into Human Damon's time, and Human Damon is currently here, in this time, in my bed. Naked. He wants to sleep with me, but I don't know if I should. Would it mess up time if I did?"

"Usually, I would say 'Yes,' " Alistair said. "But there are rare occasions when messing with time is actually beneficial. Take your mother and Elijah for instance: If he hadn't gone back in time to learn about her human life, or if he'd done it the approved way witches handle time travel, then he and your mother never would have met and fallen in love at all."

"Oh, my god!" Lucy said. "That's true, isn't it?!"

"Yes," Alistair nodded. "As for you and Damon, didn't you ever wonder why it was you he was so attached to in spite of your age difference?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "I mean, we've kind of run the gamut of how to relate to each other, haven't we? He's been a father figure to me, he's now my fiance-"

"Exactly!" Alistair said. "Think about it. It's you making an impression on him now that makes him fall in love with you later. Sleep with him, spend time with him. Tell him everything about yourself that you possibly can. Then, make him forget about it when you send him back. When he becomes a vampire, he'll remember you and you'll be his ideal woman, even more than your mother. He'll have to wait quite awhile for you, but when you're born, he'll finally be able to put two and two together and realize that you'll grow into the woman who loves him more than any other ever has."

"So you're telling me I should sleep with him?" Lucy said.

"Yes," Alistair told her. "Just as long as you don't forget to pick up pills or something on the way home first. Remember he's human, so you could get pregnant if you forget and I don't think you're ready for that."

"No," Lucy agreed. "I'm not. Thanks again, Alistair!" She got in her car and grabbed pills at the drug store on the way home, and when she reached the house, she sprinted up the stairs and charged through the door, peeling off her skirt and top and placing them on a chair. Then she jumped into bed with Damon who was still waiting for her, just as he said he'd be.

She kissed him deeply. "Sorry I made you wait," she said. He flipped her over so that he was on top and grinned down at her as he ran his hands over her body. "You know," he said, "You're a very good kisser."

She grinned. "I'm the best one you'll ever have. And don't you forget it!"