"So let me get this straight," Lucy told Alistair. "You have a problem you need Lenora to fix that's a matter of some urgency and all you're gonna do is sit here and wait until she comes back?"

"Yes," Alistair nodded. "And we can discuss your wanton use of time travel while we do that." He cleared his throat. "So, what's going on?"

"Yeah!" Selina added. "Lucy, what is wrong with you? You can't just send vampire Damon back into the past and keep human Damon here. It's not right, especially when you consider what things were like for vampires in Mystic Falls in 1863. I was there and I can tell you that things were not good. That's why Doctor Stensrund kept things quiet and I only found out after I got sick and he gave me his blood to cure me."

"He'll be all right," Lucy said. "He's very smart most of the time. He won't let himself or Lenora get hurt."

"Well, why did you send him back in the first place?" Selina asked.

"Because I found out what he did to Caroline, you know? The bad stuff. And I was worried that if he did it to her, he'd do it to me too, if things ever got bad between us." She cast her eyes down.

Selina sighed and put her arms around her daughter. "I know it's hard to find out things like that about people," she said. "You think someone's just the greatest thing since sliced bread, and then you realize sooner or later that they're a person just like everyone else, with faults and secrets and bad habits. And then you have to decide what you're gonna do with that information; whether it will be enough to make you throw away all the good stuff, or if you can accept the good with the bad and still be with a person you love dearly."

"How did you react when you realized Damon wasn't exactly a shining example of virtue?" Lucy asked her. "Was it hard for you?"

"Well," Selina replied, "I think I always knew he wasn't an angel. He gave me my first bottle of whisky when I was fourteen. Fourteen, for crying out loud! And I heard everything his father said about him. How he drank, how he gambled, how he fought."

"Didn't that bother you at all?" Lucy asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "Not really. To me, all those things made him seem, I don't know, more exciting, more unpredictable. Then again, I've never been a shining example of goodness myself, so it would make sense that I would still be drawn to him in spite of his wrong doings."

"But I am, so what am I supposed to do?" Lucy asked.

"Well," Selina scoffed, looking at Lucy in surprise. "Don't we have a high opinion of ourselves?"

"Well, you know what I mean," Lucy sighed. "I've not actually experienced the dark side of things, like you and everyone else has, so it's harder for me to accept it and just let it go."

"I understand that," Selina told her. "And there are times when I wonder if it might have been better for you to grow up with your father for precisely that reason. But we can't just go back and redo what's been done, so no point in dwelling on it, is there?"

"No," Lucy said. "I guess not. But that's why I kept human Damon here. To remind me that there is nice in him. Plus, human him thinks more about me. To vampire him, even though I love him, I've always had this vague feeling that I was more of a way to assure him of his goodness rather than an equal partner in our relationship. Maybe knowing he has a rival will make him care more, you know? Or at least try harder."

"I know relationships are hard," Selina told her. "Sometimes, you get disappointed. Bad things happen. You get your heart broken. But what you have to decide is, if the relationship is worth keeping. Do you think your relationship with Damon is something you want to hold on to?"

"I don't know," Lucy replied, locking eyes with her. "What do you think?"

"I don't know if I'm the right person to ask," Selina told her. "I've had lots of relationships through the years, and very few of them have actually worked out for me. I made every effort so that things would be successful, and then, sooner or later, I would discover that all my hard work was for nothing because the man would move on to someone else without so much as a word for me. By the time I met your father, I was at my wits' end. I didn't want to care about anyone, nor did I want anyone to care about me. That way, if they left me, I wouldn't be disappointed. In it's own weird, twisted way, the relationship I had with your father when we first met was the first good relationship I had, kind of. It gave me a foundation. It let me know that I was worth having attention paid to me and that I wasn't the sort of girl men just were with until they found someone better. He made me feel beautiful, powerful. And for a short while, that was enough.

"And then?" Lucy asked. "Then what happened? You wanted more?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Being in relationships where I didn't really let myself get involved was nice for awhile. I think it helped heal me. But we were in Paris, of course, and every day you would see couples in love walking down the street, kissing and holding hands, and as the twenties ended, I would sit on park benches during the day and watch those couples, thinking that it must be nice to be like them and maybe it was time to let myself trust again, regardless of what happened. So, after the longest off topic tangent ever, I guess what I'm trying to say is, you have every right to be concerned about the things in Damon's past he neglected to tell you about, and I think it's wise you decided to take a break from him and get your head together. But I know you love the Damon you sent away, and sooner or later, you're gonna start missing him, so based on personal experience, don't throw him away just yet, all right?"

Lucy nodded. "Thank you," she said. "I'll think about it."

"Now," Alistair said, "back to the reason we're here; I think it would just be easiest for me to go back and see if I can find Lenora. Everyone else can stay here."

"You're leaving?" Elijah asked. "Wonderful!"

"Yes, I'm leaving," Alistair said. "But before I do, we need to make satisfactory living arrangements for the two of you."

"What's wrong with how we're living now?" Elijah asked, looking outraged. "We're fine!"

"Speak for yourself," Selina said. She gave Alistair a look. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I thought that while I was gone, you would stay at your house and Elijah would stay somewhere else," Alistair told her. "Is that a problem?"

Selina narrowed her eyes at Elijah. "Not at all. I think we could use a cooling off period."

Alistair nodded while Elijah glowered behind him. "Very well then," he said. "You go back home, Elijah, come with me."

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I don't want to. You can't make me."

Selina burst out laughing. "He just slammed your entire body into a wall without any effort. I think he can make you and he will."

"And in case you think it will be easy to defy me because I will be gone, my wife will be at the house with you, Elijah," Alistair told him. "She is as powerful as I am. Don't cross her."

"You think I'm afraid of a woman?" Elijah asked, laughter in voice. "I'm not."

"Well, then I feel sorry for you," Alistair answered. "Now let's go. Selina, would you mind sitting in the backseat?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "Whatever. I'll be out in a minute." She watched Alistair lead a resistant Elijah out the door and then turned to Lucy. "Are you gonna be all right?" She asked.

Lucy nodded. "I think so. Look, I know that what I did was wrong, but everyone has to make mistakes now and again, right? And it doesn't mess up history too bad, his being here. Does it?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Not in a major way, anyway." The horn of the car honked loudly. "I suppose I better go before your crazy uncle gets even more impatient." She rolled her eyes and headed out the door. Lucy went to the window to watch their car drive away and then she sighed.

"Are you all right?" Damon asked, appearing behind her. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "I just, I don't know what I'm doing. Like, sometimes you do something that you think is the right thing and then you don't know if it is or not."

Damon gave her a smile and came to stand next to her, taking her hand. "Back home, the Confederacy is everything. Every man and their brother is signing up to fight for the ultimate cause. But I know I'm not going to."

"Why not?" Lucy asked. "You sound very sure about that."

"Your mother," he said. "She already lost her father in a war. I don't want her to lose me too. So I'm not going to fight. And if my father makes me, I'll humor him by doing it for a little while, then quit and come home. Hopefully, if it comes to that, your mother will understand."

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "I bet she will. I was just talking with Mom about whether or not keeping you here was the right thing. Do you think I'm being selfish? Do you want to go home?"

Damon shook his head. "As long as the other me is there, I doubt anyone misses me too much. They probably can't even tell the difference."

"Well, really, should there be one?" Lucy asked. "In reality, you are the same person, it's just that other you has had a lot more life experience."

"I guess you're right," Damon nodded. "But in answer to your question, no, I don't want to go home. Not if you'd still like to have me here."

"Well, Mom did tell me that nothing in history gets irreparably messed up by the change, so yes, I'd like you to stay." She put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "In fact, I insist on it." Then, she looked up at him and kissed him while a pleasant warmth spread throughout her body.

"So, how have things been with you since last week?" Alistair asked when he and Astrid met at their usual table at a fancy restaurant called Enchant, where they met a couple of times a week when he could get away from the craziness of his charges and she could find time off from her job with the magical government. "What's new?"

Astrid ran her fingers through her hair. "Oh, don't ask," she said. "It's nothing you'd want to hear about, trust me."

"Are you sure?" Alistair asked her. "Because it sounds like it might be. And I promise you that whatever you have to say is not any worse than what I have to say. I can handle it."

"How about you go first so I can think of the best way to phrase what I'm going to say?" Astrid asked him.

"Well, all right," Alistair nodded. "It seems our incredibly precocious granddaughter has done a spell that has gone awry, but at the moment, thanks to her aunt Lucy, she's taken a time travel trip back to 1863. I have to go back and get her so she can remove said spell. While I'm gone, would you mind watching Elijah? Whatever it was that Lenora did to him has caused him to undergo a radical personality change and not necessarily for the good. I've decided he and Selina need to be separated and while I'm gone, someone will need to watch him so he doesn't try to leave our house and go back to his."

"Well, goodness," Astrid said. "Alistair, just what kind of spell did Lenora put on Elijah?"

Alistair sighed and reached for a piece of bread, deftly buttering it and then putting his knife down. He took a bite, swallowed, and put the bread down. "It was some sort of spell to take all of his seriousness and common sense away or something," he said. "Apparently, he did it because he worried that Selina was becoming bored with him and he wanted to seem more fun to her and didn't believe he could do so on his own."

"Well is it just me, or is everyone way too dependent on magic?" Astrid asked. "It's not a quick fix for anything. In fact, it causes more trouble than it relieves if you don't do it right."

"Yes," Alistair nodded. "You know that, and I know that. Why do you think people always avoid us and go to Lenora when they want something done? Because they know we'll say 'no' and she's young enough and inexperienced enough to say 'yes' to everything because she still believes magic can be a cure all for every ill. Helene will really have to have a talk with her about that, and soon."

"And that is a perfect segue into what I have to tell you," Astrid said. "I don't think it would be advisable at this point for me to let Helene or Adrian come back home. Not for awhile, anyway."

"Why not?" Alistair asked, putting his palms down hard on the table and leaning forward. "What's happened? Is Helene hurt? Did Adrian kill anyone?"

"No, no!" Astrid shook her head. "They didn't do anything to anyone. Both of them are all right. Although they might have done a certain something to each other while under the influence of a love potion without taking the proper precautions."

"How did they get anywhere near a love potion?" Alistair asked, eyes wide. "Helene knows she's not supposed to go anywhere near those!"

"Well, it's not as bad as it could be, considering that Adrian and she both took some."

"I guess not," Alistair conceded. "But you have warned them about the dangers of becoming dependent, having you?"

Astrid nodded. "Of course I have, Alistair. But that's not the real issue. Didn't you pay attention to the rest of what I said?"

"No, dear, I'm sorry," Alistair told her. "What else did you say?"

"While they were under the influence of the love potion, they-" Here Astrid struggled to find a delicate way to describe how she'd found Adrian and Helene under the shower spiggot in the cell. "They had sex while under the influence of the love potion. Quite frequently. And they didn't use any sort of protection, so I have no doubt that we'll have another grandchild on the way at any time."

"Damn it, Astrid!" Alistair whispered. "Couldn't you have phrased that more delicately?"

Astrid shrugged. "I tried, believe me, I did. But I couldn't think of a way. I'm sorry. Why are you acting so surprised? How do you think Lenora got here? The stork?"

"No, of course not!" Alistair shook his head. "I am perfectly aware that Adrian and Helene engage in certain expressions of physical love. I just prefer not to think about it, all right?"

"How long has it been since I told you that I think you're adorable?" Astrid asked and kissed him.

Alistair flushed a little. "I don't think you've said it recently," he said.

"Oh," she grinned. "Well, I think you're just adorable. And it wouldn't be any trouble for me to watch Elijah.

Alistair sighed. "Good. So, we're going to have another grandchild soon. I wonder how Helene and Adrian are taking that?"

"What do you mean you think you're most likely pregnant?" Adrian asked. "Please tell me your kidding."

"Why?" Helene asked. "What's wrong with me being pregnant?"

"We decided we weren't gonna have any kids after Lenora!" Adrian replied, trying to keep a grip on his temper.

"Well, maybe I've decided I want to have another one, all right?" Helene said. "What is so bad about that? It's not like when I was pregnant with Lenora and we had no idea what the hell we were getting into. We're experienced this time."

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "We're plenty experienced. And if experience has taught me anything, it's that I don't want to go through it again, end of story."

"I don't like what you're saying," Helene told him.

"Well, I don't like always being Lenora's experimental guinea pig!" Adrian said. "Every time she wants to try some new magic, you always say, 'Here, try it out on your father. He won't mind'. Do you have any idea how irritating that is? And whenever I try to teach her how to use what I gave her, you're always, 'Oh, no, you can't do that. It's wrong'. How is that fair, Helene?"

"Well, you have to admit there is a big difference between teaching her how to do something useful like magic and teaching her how to kill things and suck the blood out of them," Helene shot back. "I just don't want Lenora to be scarred for life."

"What gives you the right to decide everything for us?" Adrian asked. "You decided when we were gonna get married, you decided we were gonna have Lenora, you decided we're gonna have this kid, and you didn't consult me about anything! What is my point in this relationship, Helene? Do you actually want me to be involved, or am I just breeding stock for you?"

Helene's jaw dropped. She stuttered a few syllables and sat down on the bed. Finally, she found her voice. "You're wrong," she said. "I love you. What would possibly make you think that I would trick you into something like this?"

"Well," Adrian sighed. "When we got married, I was drunk. After you died and I wanted time to grieve, you possessed my girlfriend's body. You manipulated me into agreeing to have Lenora, and now, with this kid, you're doing it again. Was it your plan to get pregnant again all along? Is that why you brought me to that stupid convention? Cause you knew that that stupid woman wanted you to marry her son and would give you love potion somehow, so you made sure that we both had it cause you knew it would turn us into sex-crazy people who didn't use protection, and then voila! You're pregnant again without having to actually ask me and run the risk of me saying 'no'."

"Well, would you have said 'no' if I had asked you?" Helene asked.

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "But that doesn't matter to you anyway, does it? What I feel doesn't matter to you as long as you get what you want."

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way," Helene said. "I didn't know I was so horrible to you. And don't worry. I'll never tell Lenora that you didn't want her. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to send the cat away." Then, she left to send the cat to Lucy's where Lenora could have him for company until she and Adrian got back home.

Adrian stood alone in the room, his eyes closed tight, his head aching, wishing that he was home so that he and his father could go to Enid's, get hammered, and he could forget all about this, at least for a little while.

That night, Elijah couldn't sleep. He wasn't used to it, honestly, considering that he spent most of his evenings pleasuring Selina until sunup, but she wasn't here. He sat up as he realized that she could be, though. How hard would it be to sneak past Astrid, leave, and then go visit Selina? Astrid wouldn't even know he was missing. He got up, dressed, and then crossed his dark room to the door. Upon opening it, he heard a yell.

"What the hell?" He whispered as he noticed the shape lying in a prone position in front of his door. It picked up a flashlight and turned it on, revealing Astrid. "May I help you?" She asked. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Oh, I was just...I was going to the bathroom," Elijah said. "May I do that now?"

"You could...if that was the real reason you were leaving. How about being honest with me now," Astrid said to him. "You were trying to leave and go see Selina, weren't you?"

"Yes!" Elijah said. "I know Alistair said not to, but I don't know why! It's just not fair!"

Astrid sighed. "Come here and I'll explain it to you." She led him to the kitchen and they sat down at the table after she made a cup of tea for herself. "You see," Astrid told him patiently, "You're not acting like yourself right now and it's making Selina unhappy, so Alistair wants you to stay apart until you're better."

"But there's nothing wrong with me," Elijah told her. "I'm perfectly fit."

Astrid took a sip of tea and pushed her blonde hair from her face. "I'm sure you are," she said. "But it has nothing to do with your appearance. However long ago, you asked my granddaughter Lenora to do some magic for you. She took all your common sense away and now Alistair has gone to find her so that he can figure out how to give it back to you."

"You mean he's looking for the box?" Elijah asked.

"What box?" Astrid replied.

"The box Lenora put all my sense in," he said. "It's somewhere at Lucy's house I think. Or Alistair's. I can't remember."

"Well, that's useful to know," Astrid said.

"Since I said something helpful, can I go see Selina now?" He asked.

"No," Astrid shook her head, but she got up and walked over to the phone, taking it out of the cradle and sitting down with it. "But I will call her and see if she wants to talk to you. If she does, I'll hand over the phone."

When Selina answered, she answered immediately. "Hello," she said. "Astrid, what's the matter?"

"Would you want to talk to Elijah?" Astrid asked her. "I caught him trying to sneak out to see you."

"What does he want to talk to me about?" Selina asked. "If it's anything sex-related, all he needs to do is go on his phone. There are enough pictures of me on there sans clothes that it should keep him happy for awhile. Not that he's paid me the same courtesy, but that's something else entirely."

"So you don't want to talk to him?" Astrid confirmed.

"No," Selina said. "I don't really have anything to say."

"Well, goodnight," Astrid told her. "Sleep well." She went and hung the phone back up and then looked sorrowfully at Elijah. "Sorry she didn't want to talk to you, but she said that if you needed to be entertained, there were lots of, we'll call them artistic pictures of her on your phone for you to look at."

"You mean the naked pictures?" Elijah asked, looking disappointed. "I already looked at those! Just let me go see her and I promise I'll behave myself."

"No, you won't," Astrid said firmly. "Now get back to your room."

Elijah got up, glared at Astrid and stomped back to his room. He rolled around in his bed, muttering angrily to himself. He had to punish Selina somehow. He was her husband! She couldn't just ignore him! Finally, it occurred to him how to do it.

Selina had been sleeping a sound, dreamless sleep until she heard the door to her bedroom open. She sat up, preparing to throw the covers aside and rush whoever was coming in. But as the figure got closer to the bed, she saw that it was a man and she felt herself being drawn toward him. When he was right beside her, he took her in his arms and kissed her soundly, lowering her onto the bed. "I wonder what you taste like," he whispered.

"Elijah?" Selina whispered back. "Is that you? What are you doing in my room? Alistair promised me you wouldn't be able to leave his house."

"I haven't," he whispered back. "Relax, this is just a dream. This is all in your head." He began stroking her and she whimpered. He leaned over her and said, "As I was saying, I wonder what you taste like, hmmm? I bet you're very sweet. Will you let me have a bite?"

"Yes," she nodded. "But just a little one. Don't take too much."

"Don't worry," he assured her. "I'll be gentle." He kissed her on the lips and then planted little kisses down her neck before biting deep and drinking. She was sweet. Very sweet. Why Niklaus had never mentioned this before, he had no idea. After he'd had his fill, he cleaned her neck off with a cloth and climbed into bed beside her, taking her in his arms. "Are you all right?" He asked her.

"Yes," she said. But her voice was soft, weak. He let her rest for a moment and then stroked her again before finally driving into her.

Selina woke up with the sound of her shrieks of pleasure still ringing in her ears.

The next morning, Selina left the kids with her mother and drove over to Alistair's to give Elijah a piece of her mind. She parked the car in the street and stomped up to the front door, leaning on the bell so that it kept buzzing until someone answered.

"Well, well, well," Elijah said with a grin when he opened it. "Look who it is. Did you sleep well last night, lover?"