The next morning, the alarm that awoke Selina seemed to be more shrill and whiny than usual. She sat up, still feeling groggy and tired. When she tried to get out of bed, she stubbed her toe on the edge of the bed and fell down.

"That is not a good omen for today, is it?" She said to herself. She finally managed to get out of her room and into the hallway, where she saw Alistair. "I've already gotten Gregory his breakfast," he said. "And Colin. Why don't you go to the kitchen and get something for yourself?"

"Sure, why not?" She nodded. "I could use some coffee. I know I look like hell."

"You know I would never say that, but I can tell you haven't had the best night," Alistair told her. "Did you sleep much?"

Selina shook her head. "I had this very vivid dream about Elijah and it was really hard to go to bed afterward. If I got a half hour max, I would consider myself lucky."

She then stumbled into the kitchen. "Well, good morning," Klaus greeted her. "Are you all right?"

Selina nodded. "Bad night. No sleep. Give me coffee."

Klaus nodded and poured her some coffee. She took the cup and made her way to one of the chairs, but when she tried to sit in it, she missed it by a few inches and fell hard on the floor instead. Coffee went all over her nightgown and she let out a growl. "Shit," she whispered angrily. "I knew it! I knew today would be a shitty day!"

"Are you all right?" Klaus asked. "Here, let me help you up." She held out her hand and he pulled her up to a standing position. "Ow," she muttered. "I think I broke my tailbone. Could you check?"

Klaus nodded. "All right." He put his hand in the center of her lower back and eased it downward over her butt, even giving it a gentle squeeze. "Does that hurt?" He asked her.

"No," Selina shook her head. "It feels fine, actually. More than fine." She turned around. Their faces were close to each other. "I know that we have to be careful about how we handle each other because of certain things, but thank you for making sure I was okay."

Klaus leaned forward a little bit. "Of course," he whispered. She could feel his breath on her lower lip. "Any time at all." They leaned forward and were just about to kiss when they heard a whimper. They pulled apart and turned, seeing Laura, her face red and puffy and tears streaming from her eyes. Klaus hurried away from Selina and scooped Laura up. "Why are you crying, pet?" He asked. "What's the matter?"

"I hitted my head!" Laura cried. "Would you kiss it and make it better?"

"Where did you hit it?" Klaus asked. Laura put her hand at the center of her forehead. "Right here."

Klaus held her close and kissed her forehead. "There," he said. "It's all better."

Although there were tears in her eyes still, Laura grinned. "Very better," she said. "Thank you!"

Selina made a noise in her throat and muttered something under her breath while she observed the scene with a dirty look.

"Did you say something?" Klaus asked her. "I didn't hear."

"No," Selina shook her head. "I didn't say anything. I think I'll go get another cup of coffee now, since I'm wearing the first one. At least it didn't burn me when it spilled."

Klaus nodded and turned his attention back to Laura. "You're welcome," Klaus her dark hair and then letting her go. She ran off and Klaus turned. "It's all right, Alistair. You can come in now. Selina and I aren't doing anything."

"Well, good," Alistair nodded. "Cause if Laura hadn't stopped you, I would have." He looked at Selina. "Unless, of course, what you were planning to do was something that you wanted, then in that case, you could have just told me to leave."

"It was okay," Klaus told him. " She fell on her ass and she asked me to check if it was all right."

Alistair looked at him skeptically.

"He's right," Selina called. "I've been exceptionally clumsy this morning. I missed the chair completely. It was all my fault. You don't have to worry about us."

"All right," Alistair nodded. "I trust you."

After Selina finished her coffee, she went to her room and sat on her bed. The feelings that had welled up in her when she saw Klaus give Laura the kiss were a surprise. They'd made her...angry? No, that couldn't be. Laura was just a little girl. And when little kids are hurt, naturally, they run to someone they care about to make things better. It was a perfectly normal occurrence. There was nothing to be jealous about.

And yet...it wasn't fair! Here she was, a year and a half after Elijah had been taken away from her, being good, not doing anything that would have been considered unseemly for a widow when she'd been alive, doing everything right...and what did she get in return? Nothing. She had to sit and watch while everyone else got Klaus' attention but her, and she deserved it most! She pulled off her nightgown, balled it up, slammed it down hard on the floor, then growled as she pulled clothes off hangers in her closet, put them on, then went back to the kitchen to grab her keys. She needed to go out.

"Where are you going, Mommy?" Laura asked.

"I have to go see Aunt Anna," Selina told her, trying to seem cheerful. It wasn't Laura's fault that she was the mini me who was presently making her mother very frustrated.

"Can I come too?" Laura asked eagerly.

"No," Selina shook her head. "You have to stay here. This is something Mommy is doing by herself. But I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay," Laura said, her lip jutting out a little. "Goodbye." She hugged Selina hard and it took awhile before she let go. Selina felt herself start to soften. She sighed, patted Laura on the head, then got in the car to drive to Anna's.

"Well, well, well," Stefan said when he opened the door. "Look who decided to stop by."

"Is Anna home?" Selina asked. "I want to talk to her. It's an emergency."

Stefan gestured in the house. "Sure, come in," he said. "And of course it's an emergency. When do you ever just stop by to say 'Hello'?"

"I suppose if you tell me where Anna is, Nicky and I could work out a dinner date sometime," Selina said impatiently. "Now, where's Anna?"

"She's not here," Stefan said with a grin. "Maybe I can help you. What's your problem?"

"Never mind," Selina replied. "It's not so bad. I think I'll just go back home, and if you could call me when Anna gets back, I'd appreciate it."

"Hold on," Stefan put a restraining hand on her arm. "Not too long ago, you said that whatever you came here to say was some big emergency and now it's 'not so bad'. What changed?"

"I found out Anna wasn't here," Selina replied, moving his hand from her arm.

"Why don't you try telling me your problem?" Stefan asked. "I might be able to help."

Selina shook her head. "I'm not so sure you would. It's just a problem about me and Nicky and I'm not sure that I'm comfortable talking to you about that."

"Well, you came here for help, I'm offering help." Stefan shrugged. "Do you want to take it or not? Tell me your problem. Give me a try at least."

Selina sighed and collapsed on the sofa. "I have a feeling I'm really gonna regret this, but...okay, here it goes: this morning, Nicky and I almost kissed and while the feelings were still kind of raw, Laura came in. She was crying because she'd hit her head. She asked Nicky to kiss it better and he did, and then I felt all jealous. And that's ridiculous, cause she's three and a half and I'm a grown woman. I should not be jealous of a little kid! I'm above all that!"

Stefan nodded. "But tell me something," he said. "When was the last time you had sex?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Selina asked.

He grinned. "Just answer the question."

"Okay," Selina sighed. "A year and a half-ish. I haven't been with anyone since Elijah went away."

Stefan nodded. "Uh-huh. A year and a half is a long time for you to go without, isn't it?"

Selina shook her head. "Not necessarily. There was a forty-four year break between the time Nicky's brother Aleksandr left me and I got together with Nicky. Compared to that, a year and a half is nothing."

"But during that forty-four year break, did you live with a man you wanted to sleep with but have to stay away from due to the fact that you were in mourning for his brother while your lookalike daughter bonds with said man and gets all the affection you want? That's something different from last time."

Selina nodded. "So what do I do? I don't want to be jealous of a three-year-old, but I don't think I can handle being in my house and watching Laura and Nicky being all affectionate and loving with each other. It might make me snap. So what should I do?"

"The most logical answer would be for you to have sex," Stefan said. "Wouldn't it?"

"Well, yeah," Selina nodded. "I know that. But it's too soon for me to sleep with Nicky and Elijah's gone, so..."

"Do they have to be your only options?" Stefan asked. "Would you consider being with someone else?"

"It depends," Selina said. "What do you mean?"

"You could try having a one-night stand," Stefan said. "You and I could go out and find you someone, you could go home with him, have sex, and then your itch will be scratched without the worry that you slept with Klaus too early."

"I don't know..." Selina said. "I haven't done that in years, and..."

"Picture Klaus and Laura this morning and then answer me again," Stefan replied.

Selina nodded and shut her eyes, a replay of the scene with Laura and Klaus playing in her head. She felt her hands tighten and ball into fists. She opened her eyes. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give this a try," she said. "When do you want to pick me up?"

"What are you smiling about?" Anna asked Stefan when she returned. He was sitting on the sofa looking smug.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call myself a boy scout, but I have done a good deed today."

"Oh, really?" Anna asked, sitting next to him. "What did you do, exactly?"

"Selina came here looking for you cause she was having some big emotional inner conflict about Klaus and since you weren't here, I helped her with it, and I'd say I did a pretty good job," Stefan said.

"Just what was the problem?" Anna asked. "Tell me. I'm interested."

Stefan sighed. "Apparently, Selina's getting a little antsy since she hasn't had sex since Elijah, you know, went away, and that was a year and a half ago. Now, she and Klaus are living in the same house and Selina's starting to feel stuff for him again, but she's not taking action because of the whole 'grieving widow' thing, so this morning, Laura came in with a head bump, asked Klaus to make it better, he kissed her on the forehead, and that made Selina jealous."

"And when she came here and you offered to help her, what exactly did you suggest?" Anna asked.

Stefan shrugged. "Nothing too radical. I pointed out that Elijah and Klaus didn't have to be her only sexual options and that given the circumstances, a one-night stand could be the perfect solution. I'm gonna pick her up around eight and we're gonna hit a few bars so she can find someone."

"Seriously?" Anna asked and punched him on the shoulder. "You're suggesting that she, of all people, should have a one-night stand? Why would you do that? Are you insane?"

"Why is that a bad idea?" Stefan asked. "She used to do it all the time. You both did!"

"Well, yeah, but that was when she hated men!" Anna said through her teeth. "That was when she hated them so much that she didn't even think about getting attached to them, so one night-stands were easy and her only option. Well, besides Nik, I mean. Now she doesn't hate men, or the world, so a one night stand will be impossible. She gets too attached to men for that. That was the whole reason why she was Lonely Heart in the first place! She'd get really attached to guys and then they'd screw her over and it made her so upset she ended up wanting to just kill them all! This is gonna fail so badly!"

"I don't know," Stefan shook his head. "You might be wrong. She seemed pretty desperate. I don't think she'll be picky."

"Fine," Anna said. "You two can do your thing, but I'm coming too. I want to be there when this all crashes and burns and I'm proven right."

"Wow," Selina said when they all walked into the bar later that night. "It's been so long since I've done this, I'll probably do it wrong."

Stefan smirked. "It's impossible to do wrong. All you have to do is get a few drinks in you and dance on the bar. And then one of the guys throwing dollar bills at you will eventually invite you out to his car, where the two of you will have sex in his backseat before you put your panties back on and go your merry way. That's what used to work for you, wasn't it?"

"I guess," Selina replied. "I don't really remember." She sighed and looked around. "What should I do now?"

"Whatever you want," Anna said. "Would getting a drink help?"

Selina shrugged. "Possibly. And I can drink now. Which is one of the few things that has made the last year and a half bearable for me." She went to sit on a barstool and ordered a rum and Coke from the bartender.

Anna gave her a wink and then she and Stefan retreated to a nearby table to see what would happen next. They didn't have to wait long. A guy in a leather jacket with heavily gelled hair sat next to her. "Hi," he said with a grin.

"Hi," Selina replied, sucking the extra Coke from her straw.

"You know," he continued, "You're a very pretty lady. You here with anyone?"

"I came here with some friends, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I left without them," Selina told him.

He grinned. "Well isn't that nice?"

Selina cleared her throat. "So what's your name?"

"Jeff," he said.

"What do you do, Jeff?" She asked.

"I'm a mechanic," he answered. "I'm a Pisces, my favorite color is blue, I like long walks on the beach...anything else you'd like to know?"

She giggled. "It seems like you've done this before."

"Yep," he nodded. "I have. A buddy of mine tried to make me do speed dating last week."

Selina giggled. "Oh, god. Are you serious? That must have been so awkward!" She paused. "I should probably tell you my name, shouldn't I?"

"No," Anna said. "No, you shouldn't." She looked at Jeff. "Excuse us for a moment, would you?"

Looking a little shocked, he nodded and Anna led Selina away.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "This isn't how this works! You're not supposed to be bonding with him!"

"But Anna, he is a complete stranger!" Selina said. "I can't just get in a car with a complete stranger, take off my panties and let him do me! That's nuts!"

Anna nodded. "I knew you'd say that and that's exactly why I told Stefan this whole 'one night stand' idea was a bad one. You're not like you used to be. You don't hate men anymore. You love them. You need their affection...the whole reason why this happened is because you want Nik's affection and he's not giving it to you, remember?'

"But I can't go home," Selina said. "Because Laura is at home and she and Nicky are probably curled up on the sofa together, hugging and watching movies and stuff."

"Well, all right," Anna said. "If you're so desperate to avoid Laura, we'll go somewhere until her bed time and then I'll take you home. But when I do, you and Nik have to talk, cause that's the only way you'll feel better."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I suppose. Sorry for making you and Stefan come all the way out here for nothing."

"Oh, I wouldn't say it was for nothing," Anna told her. "I won a bet and Stefan looks like he's having a pretty good time." They looked over and saw that Stefan was on his second drink. "If you and I go now," Selina told Anna. "We should probably take Stefan with us and drop him off at home."

They waited until Stefan finished the drink and then took him out to the car and they went home. He went inside and then Anna and Selina drove away, spending a couple of hours (even though they didn't need all that time) walking around downtown, and then Anna took Selina home, where they met with Alistair who told them Klaus had been out for a while, but would be back soon.

"What's the matter with you?" Klaus asked when he got home and found Selina on the sofa with a sleeping Colin in her lap. She looked sad.

She sighed. "I did something stupid, Nicky. Something very stupid."

"Well, what did you do?" Klaus asked, coming to sit beside her.

Selina shifted Colin a little so she could sit up straighter. "When Laura bumped her head this morning and you kissed it, that upset me. Because it's been a year and a half of nothing for me and I want something! I want you to kiss my owies and make everything better, cause now, nothing else works! I even let Stefan take me to a bar tonight so I could find someone to have a one night stand with. Can you believe that? I was that desperate for affection." She rolled her eyes. "I have no idea what I was thinking. And it's not like it worked anyway."

"You should have talked to me before now," Klaus said. "You know I won't refuse you. And you've been a good wife, mourning Elijah being gone and all, but the fact of the matter is, we have no idea when he's gonna come back. And you can be as noble as you want, but sooner or later, you have to start thinking about yourself. You know you can't get affection from a man who's as good as dead, but any time you want, I'm here. All you have to do is ask."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "But based on how I did tonight, I don't know if I'm ready yet. For sex, anyway. I'm rusty from being on the shelf for a year and a half. But do you think that you and I could...maybe start over? Do the things we didn't do last time that have absolutely nothing to do with sex? Like, watching movies and having dinner together and stuff like that? Then maybe once we do that, I'll feel more comfortable with the whole sex idea between you and me. Is that okay? Please tell me that's okay."

"Sure," Klaus nodded. "If it means I get to be near you, I'm willing to give it a try."

"Why are we going into the woods?" Damon asked as he, Lucy and Lenora pulled into clearing in the woods at the beginning of February and got out of the car. "Is this some thing for your art? You gonna pick up a bunch of pine cones and leaves to paint or something?"

"No," Lucy said. "Mom took me to see her uncle Jake, who's like a werewolf genius or something and I told him that I was having trouble adjusting, so he suggested that I go live in the woods for a month or so, so that when I turn, I can just, you know, do what I need to do as a wolf without hurting anyone, and it's possible that once I do that, I'll feel better."

"Her uncle Jake?" Damon scoffed. "He gave you advice and you're actually taking it? Why?"

"Because Mom says he knows what he's talking about and I don't know what else to do," Lucy said. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes," Damon nodded. "How can you believe anything your uncle says. He's a Lockwood. All they do is spout bullshit. And you have no idea what you're doing. He could be telling you anything he wants, including stuff that wouldn't be of help at all and you wouldn't know the difference."

"Why would he lie to me?" Lucy asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

Damon shrugged. "Don't ask me to explain how a Lockwood's twisted mind works. I wouldn't be able to tell you."

"Well, thanks for the warning," Lucy told him. "But I'm going to choose to trust that what he told me might actually be helpful and if you don't like it, you can go home. No one said you had to stay."

"I don't want to go home," Damon told her. "I'll stay."

"Fine," Lucy nodded. "Why don't you start getting things out of the trunk of the car, then?"

"Fine," Damon nodded and started unpacking things, muttering words under his breath that Lucy pretended not to hear.

Lenora watched as he pulled out the tents. "Those are what we're supposed to sleep in, right?"

"Yep," Damon nodded. "Since your aunt was nice enough to drag us out here for a whole month, this is what we get to sleep in."

"I don't want to," Lenora decided. "I want something better."

"Yeah, me too," Damon replied. "But this is all we have."

Lenora grinned. "Don't be so sure about that." She waved her hand at the pile of fabric and metal poles and it slowly morphed into a motor home.

"That's better," she said. "I would have zapped us up a house, but that wouldn't be very convincing in the middle of the woods, would it?"

"No," Damon shook his head. "But I like this much better than the tents." He grinned. "Thank you for using your powers for good instead of evil."

Lenora grinned. "It's my pleasure."