Selina looked at Anna and nodded. "All right," she said. "I'll go apologize. Even though I really don't think he deserves it. I was only obeying orders."

Anna nodded. "Most of the time, he doesn't. But if it will restore peace and get him out of that office of his, what do you have to lose, honestly?"

Selina sighed. "Thanks for your help," she said. "I know that talking about me and your brothers can't be the easiest thing for you."

Anna grinned. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that at some point in the future, I'll finally come up with some reason to give you extensive intimate details about me and Stefan and then we'll be practically even, won't we?"

Selina's eyebrow went up. "'Practically'? I think in that case, we'd be all the way even."

"No," Anna shook her head. "Not really. Now stop stalling and go, all right? Even though it's gonna be painful, you have to go make up with Elijah."

"I never had to make things up with Nicky," Selina said. "He never cared. If I would have told him something about this-"

"He would have gotten just as mad about it as Elijah," Anna finished. "You know he would have."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I guess." Just then, Stefan came in. "Well, looks like we have a visitor," he said. "You want something to drink?"

Selina shook her head. "No, thanks. I was just on my way out."

Stefan looked at Anna. "Why is it that she always comes over here to see you when I'm gone and by the time I get back, she leaves? Is it me?"

"No!" Selina shook her head. "It's not you. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. If you wanna hang out so much, I'm sure we can find the time. Things are just a little frazzled right now and I have to get home and fix a mistake that I made."

"What horrible thing did you do now?" Stefan asked with a grin. "Tell me. I'm interested."

"I don't know if I have to," Selina told him. "If you've seen Klaus today, he's undoubtedly already told you. Cause you two tell each other everything."

Stefan nodded. "Well, he did mention something about you telling him you had a dream about being in a threesome with him and Elijah. Is that what you're talking about?"

Selina rolled her eyes. "Isn't it shameful enough for me that you know about the dream? Do you honestly need me to confirm the veracity of it?"

"Yes," Stefan nodded. "I do."

Anna gave her a look, and Selina grinned at Stefan and said, "I don't think I will, cause honestly, it's none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go."

She left and Stefan glowered at Anna. "Did you tell her not to tell me? I was looking forward to hearing more about it."

"What I told her was that when she has sexy dreams, she doesn't need to go blabbing about them to everyone who will listen," Anna said. "She made the mistake of telling Elijah, and then Nick heard about it, and it just snowballed from there."

"It's a shame she started listening to you before I got to find out everything," Stefan said.

"Why are you so interested?" Anna asked. "What reason could there possibly be? Are you bored? Do we need to find something for you to do with yourself?"

"Possibly," Stefan grinned. "What did you have in mind?"

Slowly strolling down the hallway, Selina reluctantly paused in front of Elijah's office. She reached out her hand to knock, and then pulled it back, groaning. She really didn't enjoy the prospect of having to apologize to him and stroke his stupid ego when she technically hadn't done anything wrong in the first place. She reached out to the door again and then pulled her fist back, groaning and stomping her foot. When she tried a third time, the door opened and Elijah gazed at her inquiringly. "Yes?" He asked. "What do you want?"

"How did you know I was out here?" She asked. "I didn't knock or anything."

"Maybe not," Elijah said. "But the growling and whimpering as you mentally kicked yourself for not being able to knock on the door was very clear. You didn't have to knock. So, what did you come here for?"

"I came-" Selina began. "I came to tell you that I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Telling you about the dream that I had was unnecessary. I should have kept it to myself. I'm not sorry for having the dream. I'm just saying I'm sorry about the way you got the message. I should have handled it more delicately in respect to your feelings."

"Were you considering not telling me about it?" Elijah asked. "How could you not tell me about it? You can't keep something like that to yourself."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Selina asked in exasperation. "When I tell you about it, you get cranky at me and hole yourself up in your office. When you know I'm planning not to tell you about it, you get offended. There has to be some answer."

"There is," Elijah nodded. "Tell me, but leave out the really intimate details. A general summary is just fine."

"Or how about I don't tell you anything because what's in my brain is techinically none of your business and I shouldn't have to explain it to you, unless, for some crazy reason, I actually expected you and Klaus to make the dream come true, and I'm not that stupid!"

"So you want it to actually happen?" Elijah asked, looking shocked. "You actually want me and my brother to-"

"No!" Selina shook her head. "That's not what I said. Look, can we just forget that I ever mentioned it at all? Please? It would make things so much easier on both of us, and I promise to be more discreet in the future."

Elijah sighed, reaching out to stroke her hair. "Well," he said, "I suppose I could forgive you just this once."

"Well, thank you," Selina told him. "Now that we have that cleared up, I think I'll go lie down. This hasn't been the most pleasant of experiences for me and I'm in a hurry to forget it." She turned to walk away, but he stopped her.

"Wait a minute!" Elijah said. "You don't have to go. I was just thinking of taking a break."

Selina turned, a grin on her face. "Is that so?" She asked. "And just what were you planning on doing during your break? Anything I could help you with?"

Elijah grinned. "As a matter of fact, yes. I thought we could...spend some time in my office, perhaps an hour or two..." He gently pulled her toward him to embrace her.

"You know, that sounds good," Selina told him. "But I remember you telling me this morning that one of the criticisms you have of me is that I tend to just give myself to whoever comes along, and I've decided you're right about that, and that now is the perfect time to start ridding myself of that annoying habit. But there's always tonight, I suppose. A little waiting never hurt anyone." She freed herself from his embrace, turned and walked away, making sure her hips were swaying from side to side as she did so. She could hear him making angry noises in the back of his throat. They made her giggle. If he expected her to wait until nightfall all the time, surely having to wait just this once himself wouldn't kill him.

That night, Selina went into her and Elijah's bedroom just before bed, and didn't see him. She heard the shower going and let out her breath. She was grateful that he was busy so that she wouldn't have to face him just yet, because when she did, he would undoubtedly be filled with annoyance at how she had denied him earlier that day. She undressed and then got into some pajamas and socks and climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her lap. When the shower turned off and Elijah stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, she spoke. "Hi," she said. "Did you have a good shower?"

"Well," Elijah told her, "It would have been better if I hadn't had to do it alone, but considering certain people think they're too good for me, it was my only option."

"I never said I thought I was too good for you," Selina told him. "Those words never came out of my mouth."

"Well why else would you deny me when I'm giving you exactly what you always say you want?" Elijah asked her.

Selina sighed. "It's not exactly doing what I want if you're the one who initiates it every time," she said. "Why can't you just let me start things once in awhile?"

"Because," Elijah sighed. "That's just not something I feel comfortable doing. I've always initiated every encounter I've ever had. Why do you have such a problem with that?"

"Well, maybe because every relationship I've ever had was more equal," Selina told him. "You know, your brother never had any problem with letting me initiate stuff once in awhile. He never acted like it was some big offense against his manhood. Why can't you be more like that?"

"Because I just can't!" Elijah said. "Selina, I am how I am, and if you can't accept me that way, then maybe you should admit it, so we don't keep continuing this ridiculous charade of a relationship!"

Selina shut her eyes. "I'm not saying our relationship is bad, I'm just saying I want more control."

Elijah nodded. "And what I'm saying is that I don't believe I can give you what you want, so you have to make a choice. Perhaps you should spend the night in your spare room so you can think things over. Then, we'll discuss what you want in the morning."

"Fine," Selina said, shoving the covers aside and getting out of bed. "I can spend the night in my spare room. It doesn't matter to me. By the way, you look really good in that towel."

"Thank you," Elijah said shortly. "And goodnight."

Selina had an uneasy night, tossing and turning in every direction, and when she finally did get relaxed enough to fall asleep, she thought things were looking up. She began having the same dream she'd had the night before: Her, Klaus and Elijah happily rolling around naked in bed...but that night, something was different. At one point, it began to rain and then they heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Can anyone tell me where my clothes are?" Selina asked. "I'll get the door."

Klaus threw something at Selina and she pulled it over her head so she was covered, then she went to open the bedroom door, just as a flash of lightning illuminated their visitor's face. Selina let out a shriek and ran to the bed, and he followed. Selina clutched at Elijah, whimpering and praying that Elijah wouldn't hurt her.

"Father," Elijah finally got out, "What is it that you want?"

"You," Mikael said. He produced a dagger out of thin air and shoved it into Elijah's chest. As blood spurted all over Selina's t-shirt, Elijah disappeared, along with Mikael, leaving Selina and Klaus alone in bed together...

When she awakened from the dream for real, she was so disoriented that she momentarily forgot she was in her spare bedroom. She began feeling around for Elijah on the mattress beside her and when she realized he wasn't there, she curled into the fetal position and lapsed into sobs.

A few minutes later, she heard the door open and let out a yell. "What do you want?" She yelled. "Go away! Leave me alone!"

The lights turned on and she felt strong arms around her. "Shhh!" a voice whispered. "It's okay. You'll be all right. Just relax."

Selina looked into Elijah's eyes, which were full of concern. "Oh, my god!" She said, sniffling and hugging him hard. "You're not dead! I'm so happy!"

"Why would I be dead?" Elijah asked.

"I had a dream where you died," Selina said. "Your father killed you. It was really scary. And I'm sorry about all the stuff I said to you before. It was stupid."

"I don't think you should be in here by yourself anymore," he said. "I'm going to have to insist that you come back to bed with me."

Selina nodded. "Okay, but...will you carry me?"

Elijah nodded, picked her up and carried her to their room. He lay her down on the bed, then climbed beside her. "Any better?" He asked. "Do you think you'll be able to get back to sleep?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Not by myself. I wouldn't mind some help though."

Elijah realized what she was getting at and sighed. "Really? Now, of all times?"

"Yes," Selina said. "Please? It would really help me be calm. And you're already out of your shirt." She eyed his bare chest eagerly.

"Well, all right," Elijah said as she began to unbutton the shirt of her pajamas. "I guess a little bit of a workout wouldn't hurt." He got her pants off and made love until they both fell asleep.

Selina groaned as the alarm went off. She shifted carefully and turned to Elijah, who had his arm wrapped around her midsection. "I bet you have to get up and get dressed for work now, don't you?" She asked. "Just like every day." She sighed and tried not to seem bummed.

"Actually," Elijah grinned, sitting up and pulling her up to a sitting position. "I have good news and I have bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?"

"The bad news, I guess," Selina decided. "Then we can get it out of the way."

"My father wants us to meet him for lunch today," Elijah told her. "He said that it was time for him to finally accept you into the family. I told him we'd be glad to come."

Selina groaned. "Do we really have to go eat with your father? I bet he's not gonna accept me at all. I bet he's gonna lure us to his house and then try and stake me while you're going to the bathroom or something. I don't like this idea. I don't think we should go, considering last night I had a dream with him in it where you died!"

Elijah whispered in her ear, "If we go, I won't have to go hunting with Father today. I'll get to stay home with you. What's your answer now?"

Selina heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Fine," she said. "We can go and have lunch with your father. But I am going to be on my guard. I don't trust him at all."

"Well, I suppose that's better than nothing," Elijah told her as she lay her head on his shoulder. He inhaled the scent of her hair and shut his eyes, wishing they could just stay like this all day. They stayed like this until a cry from Colin shattered their peace.

"Well," Selina sighed. "Duty calls." She pushed the covers aside and got out of bed. Elijah's eyes followed her intently as she walked around to his side of the bed to get her robe off of the bedknob. "Remind me why I can't have my robe hanging on my side of the bed?" Selina asked as she put it on and tied it closed.

Elijah grinned a wicked grin. "Well, that wouldn't be as fun for me, would it?" He asked.

Selina's eyebrow raised. "In that case, sir, you are lucky that I am not ashamed of my body, otherwise, I would not put up with that kind of behavior!"

Elijah grinned even wider. "Oh, come on! You love showing off for me!"

Selina grinned. "Well, okay. I suppose I do. And don't think I don't notice that you're doing your best to do the same for me. Thanks. You're a beautiful man."

Elijah grinned. "Well, you know the reason why I prefer to stay modest most of the time, don't you?"

"Cause you want to drive me nuts, right?" Selina replied. "You just want me to want you and want you until by the time night fall rolls around, I'm ready to explode!"

He got off the bed and kissed her. "So you're onto my evil plan, then."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Why can't you come up with a different evil plan that won't drive me crazy, though?"

Elijah sighed. "If it didn't drive you crazy, would it be evil? And I think it's a good idea for you to learn to control your base impulses. You're gonna thank me someday."

Selina sighed. "I bet if it were you, and it were your needs, we wouldn't have to control anything," she muttered under her breath. Elijah heard what she said, but chose to ignore it.

Without another word, Selina made her way to Colin's nursery, where, when she took him to the rocking chair to feed him, he gave her what she thought was a very reproachful look. "What?" Selina asked. "I'm sorry I was a little slow getting in here this morning. Don't blame me. Blame your father. It was all his doing!"

Colin went back to eating and when he was done and burped, Selina decided to give him a bath. After he was dressed, Selina put him back in his crib and went to go get dressed herself.

"So," She said to Elijah as she dressed. "What time do we have to see your father? I want to know how long I have to prepare myself before I'm unceremoniously dragged off against my will."

"What's wrong with you?" Elijah asked her. "We were getting along so well this morning. Where did all the attitude come from? I don't like it. Stop it, please."

Selina gave a mock curtsey. "If my lord wishes." She then continued dressing in silence and didn't say another word to him until the kids had been dropped off at their babysitter and the two of them were standing in front of Mikael's front door.

"Any more instructions for me before we go inside?" She asked. "I want to make sure I don't disappoint you."

"All I ask is that you be polite," Elijah told her. "That's not too much to ask of you, is it? Especially considering that my father invited us specifically because he's decided to put aside all his past feelings about you and accept you into our family. It's a big gesture for a man like him."

"Yeah, someone should give him a medal for being such a good sport!" Selina said.

"Selina..." Elijah told her through his teeth.

"Sorry," she said. "That's the last one, I promise. I'm done for now. I'll be good." She held out her hand and he reached out and held it tight, knocking on the ornate metal knocker with his free hand. They waited for a few seconds, and then a severe-looking older man wearing a tuxedo opened the door. "You're expected," he said, after looking them over. "Come this way, please."

They followed him to a dining room where Mikael sat amidst a table covered with food: Sandwiches, cakes, full slabs of meat, and several other things were all over the table. Selina sat down and did her best to smile. "Wow," she said. "This all looks delightful. You've really outdone yourself, sir."

Elijah nodded at her in approval. "You know, Father, she's right. Now, are we going to eat first, or are you going to make your announcement first?"

"I thought it would be best if we ate first," Mikael said. "If I made my announcement first, I wouldn't be able to keep any food down!"

Selina and Elijah looked at one another and then both gave short, awkward laughs. "Oh, that's funny," Selina said. "That's a good one."

"I don't know why you're acting as if I told a joke," Mikael said. "I'm absolutely serious."

"Oh," Selina said quietly, and then reached for a sandwich. She managed to keep herself silent for the rest of the meal and when the food had finally been cleared away, Mikael rose. Elijah rose with him and then he took Selina's hand and they followed his father into what seemed to be a room full of weaponry.

"What is all this?" Selina asked as she eyed the antique swords, maces, guns and other stuff.

"Oh, nothing," Mikael told her, turning away and fiddling around in a drawer. "My collection is all this is. Now, onto why we're here."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "You want to welcome me into your family."

"Yes," Mikael slowly turned, lovingly stroking a dagger in his right hand. "That is exactly what I want to do." He lunged at Selina with the dagger, but just as he was about to reach her, Elijah elbowed her aside and she heard a sickening crunch as the dagger entered between his ribs. He froze and and his body fell heavily to the floor.

"Oh, my god," Selina said to him, feeling hot tears well up in her eyes. "What the hell have you done?!"

Selina looked down at Elijah's prone body. She shook him and tried to turn him over, then clutched him to herself the best she could. "Elijah!" She said. "Elijah, talk to me!"

"He won't be able to," said a willowy woman with dark hair and almond shaped dark eyes. She grinned a wicked grin and waved her hand. Suddenly, he disappeared and Selina fell forward. "What did you do to him, you bitch?" She asked. "Where did he go?"

"Now, now," Mikael said. said. "There'll be no need for language like that. I would have thought that domestic life had calmed that temper of yours by now, but I was obviously mistaken."

Selina growled, then zipped over and grabbed the woman by the throat. "Tell me where she put Elijah, or I'll kill her!" she said, giving the woman a shake and then, without waiting for Mikael's answer, she snapped the woman's neck, tears still falling from her eyes. "Now what are you gonna do? I've killed your witch."

Mikael grinned and shrugged. "And? Am I supposed to be threatened by that? Do you think I'm just going to give up now? Honestly, you really are stupid, aren't you? If it weren't for my son protecting you, I would have been able to kill you a long time ago."

"You mean the same son you just murdered?" Selina asked, feeling sick. "How could you do that? Don't you care about him?"

"I care about people who obey my commands, people who don't defy me. The second Elijah made the choice to consort with you, I realized that I'd have to get rid of him. That was when he was dead to me."

"So now what?" Selina asked. "Are you gonna kill me too?"

"No," Mikael shook his head. "As much as I don't want to admit it, you have a use for me now. After all, if I killed you, who would watch my grandchildren?"

Selina narrowed her eyes and ran at him, her arms flailing everywhere as she tried to hit him just once. But she didn't even manage one hit.

"Such a shame it had to come to this with me and Elijah," Mikael said and for a moment, Selina thought he did look genuinely sorry. "He's usually such a bright boy. Shame you had to come along and ruin everything for him."

"You planned to kill him when you lured him here with some bullshit promise of being nice to me, didn't you?" Selina asked.

Mikael nodded. "Of course. The dagger wouldn't have the same effect on you as it did on him. It would hurt you, certainly, but eventually, you'd heal. Not really the most lasting punishment for someone who has intruded on my family."

"Yet you don't seem to mind that Elijah and I had children together," Selina said, feeling disgusted. "When you came up with this plan of yours, did you even think about them? How are my kids supposed to be without their father? They're gonna notice he's missing!"

"Oh, I'm sure with that even with that smart mouth and inferior female brain of yours, you could come up with some reason to explain why Elijah's not around, can't you?" Mikael asked.

"You bet I can," Selina said through her teeth. "May I go home now, sir?"

"Please," Mikael nodded. "Go. I can't stand the sight of you any longer."

Selina lay in her bed, sobbing. She wasn't under the covers because she didn't feel like she had the strength to tuck herself in.

"It's my fault!" She whispered. "It was all my fault!"

Just then, there was a quiet knock on her bedroom door. She did her best to calm down and said, "Come in!" The door opened a crack and Laura sauntered in. "Cookies, Mama!" She said.

Selina sat up and shook her head, taking Laura in her arms. "No, sweetie. Mommy doesn't feel like making cookies right now because Mommy is sad."

"Why?" Laura asked.

Selina shut her eyes. She hadn't thought about what to tell the kids in regards to what had happened to Elijah. But she'd have to tell them something. Eventually they would notice he was missing. She hadn't been lying to Mikael about that.

"Daddy's gone," she said. "That's why Mommy is sad."

"Where he go?" Laura asked.

Selina sighed and sniffled. "He just went away," she said. "Hopefully, he'll be back someday."

"Daddy gone?" Laura asked. Her lip trembled and tears spilled out of her big blue eyes.

"No, don't cry!" Selina said quickly. "It will be okay! Why don't we go get you those cookies now? That will make everything better."

Laura nodded and with the greatest amount of effort, Selina managed to get herself out of bed and go to the kitchen to make cookies.

While they were making them, Gregory came in. "Can I have batter?" He asked.

"Sure," Selina said, handing him a small amount on a spoon. "Who really cares, honestly?"

"Daddy gone," Laura said to Gregory.

"Where?" Gregory asked, looking at Selina with the same expression of concern that Elijah wore so frequently that she almost teared up again.

"He went somewhere with your grandfather and I don't know when they'll be back," she said. "Now let's not talk about that anymore, okay? Mommy wants to talk about happy things."

They finished making the cookies and ate them in record time. Then Gregory and Laura went to their rooms to play and Selina took care of Colin. After that, she put him down for a nap and went into Elijah's office, sitting in his chair and taking in everything that she never noticed before, cause usually when she was in here, she had other things on her mind. The desk had two pictures on it: one was a family portrait of the five of them and the other was Selina and Elijah's wedding picture. Selina picked up the wedding photo and gazed at it. The two of them looked so happy. But it was just her now for who knew how long. She would get through it like she always had. She knew she could. Dwelling on what she'd lost wouldn't help. She'd just have to devote every ounce of her energy to taking care of her kids. That way, she wouldn't think of him as much.

She sat in silence for a little while and then picked up the phone, calling Klaus.

"Hey, Nicky," she said. "Are you busy?"

"It's Nicky, now is it?" Klaus asked slyly. "Does Elijah know you're talking to me?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "He doesn't know much of anything at the moment. I don't even know where he is."

"How could you lose track of him?" Klaus asked. "I thought the two of you were glued together at the hip."

"We were," Selina said. "Until today. Elijah got a call from Mikael saying he wanted to finally accept me into the family. We went, we ate, and then..." Her voice caught.

"And then what?" Klaus asked, his voice angry. He knew what was coming. "Selina, what has Mikael done?"

"He plunged a dagger into Elijah's heart," Selina said. "And then this witch bitch of his made the body disappear. Elijah's gone, Nicky. He's gone and I don't know what to do now."