Silent Prayers

Chapter 30

The light filtering through Elena's window woke him. It was the first morning in quite a while that he woke up feeling rested, and he knew exactly why. Elena was wrapped up in his arms, tucked close to his body.

Somehow during the middle of the night, they had ended up that way. It was most likely his doing. Elena wasn't much for cuddling. Eventually she would roll away from him in the middle of the night. And somehow, he would gather her back up in his arms and keep her there until morning. He liked feeling her own heartbeat against his chest, finding it comforting while he was trying to go to sleep.

Stefan carefully untangled them, making sure not to wake her. He sat up and looked down at her. She looked so peaceful, and he was happy to see that after she had been through so much. He gently brushed her hair out of her face, moving it over her shoulder.

He thought it best not to be in bed with her when she woke up. So he quietly got out of bed and tiptoed across her room. Once he was in the hallway, he turned and found Damon coming up the stairs. Stefan froze, knowing he had been caught.

Damon stopped and stared at Stefan curiously. "Well this is interesting" he finally said.

"We just talked, and then fell asleep" Stefan explained. It was ridiculous to think anything else had happened with everything going on.

"Uh huh" Damon replied, letting it go. "How is she?" he asked.

Stefan nodded. "Okay, I think" he answered. "She slept through the night."

"Good" Damon said. "Rest is going to be good for her. Come on, come downstairs and have some breakfast."

Stefan followed Damon downstairs and settled in at the kitchen table. He grabbed a waffle and set it on his plate to be polite, but he really wasn't that hungry. "She's really worried about what she's going to do now" he said with a long, drawn out sigh.

"That's understandable" Damon said. "I called her work for her and let them know what happened. They didn't seem too sympathetic" he added. "She's got a job with me. All she has to do is ask" he reminded his brother. "And she can stay here as long as she wants." He was more than happy to have her.

Stefan stared at his waffle. "I was thinking about asking her to move in with me" he said. Damon didn't say anything for a long while, which made Stefan nervous.

"As your roommate?" Damon asked finally.

Stefan shrugged. "Yeah, I guess" he answered. Stefan really wasn't sure what they would be to each other down the road. He just knew he wanted her in his life as much as possible. "So I ... I was thinking, maybe if you needed any help ... you know, on the financial side of things, maybe I could work for you again" he mentioned. His savings wouldn't last him forever, and if he was going to ask Elena to move in with him, he'd need to be able to support them.

Damon just smiled. "You can come and work with me, not for me" he corrected. "You just tell me when. I've wanted you to work by my side since I started this business."

Stefan let out a nervous breath. "Thanks Damon" he said, knowing that his brother had brought up the idea of them working together on more than one occasion. Stefan had just been adamant about making it on his own. Clearly that hadn't worked out for him. Stefan tried a bite of his waffle, figuring he might as well since it was sitting there.

"Any good?" Damon asked, sitting down next to Stefan and grabbing a waffle of his own.

Stefan shrugged. "Elena's are better" he replied. Slowly, a small smile formed.

Damon laughed, and it felt good. "I don't doubt it" he agreed.

A car door slammed outside and both guys turned their heads towards the door. "Are you expecting someone?" Stefan asked.