After Our Love Prevails {Stelena} (2)

13- Time Spent With You

Stefan's POV

I place Layla's little shoes on her tiny feet, which luckily she doesn't fuss about, before wrapping her up warm with her coat, hat and gloves. Elena gushes at the sight our baby wrapped up in her winter accessories.
"Shall we try her on the reins today?" She asks, putting her coat on.
"I don't see why not. It's only a short walk. I'll carry her if she fusses." She brings it over, both of us anticipating the fuss Layla's going to bring when we try to put the fabric straps across her arms and chest. I can already anticipate her confusion as she tries to run off but is constructed by the confines of the reins.
"Right, let's go." Elena and I hold hands the entire way whilst I hold Layla's reins as she toddles along in front of us. Although, about five minutes in she decides she's had enough of walking and wants to be carried instead so she ends up spending most of the walk in my arms (although I'm certainly not complaining about that).

I open and hold the gate open for Elena, smiling as she blushes from the gesture, and immediately place a squirming Layla on the ground so that she can roam free. We both follow in tow, knowing full well that she'll dictate where we go over the next hour or so. She makes her way over to the swings and wraps her small hands around the base of the swing seat. Knowing exactly what she wants, I lift her and place her into the swing, smiling at small she looks in the cage-like seat as she swings back and forth.
"Is that fun, Layla?" Elena's grinning at Layla's excitement as well as taking as many photos of the precious moments as she can. Every time I gently push the swing, increasing its momentum slightly, a big grin takes over her face.
We spend the next hour taking Layla to the different apparatus of the park, some more than once, watching in delight as she giggles with delight as we push her, very very slowly, on the roundabout, or when she grabs one of our fingers and pulls us along to the various parts of the park. At one point she makes friends with another little girl in the park, and we genuinely worry that Layla will simply refuse to part from her, given that they become practically attached to the hip at one point.
"Say bye bye to your new friend!" We call, smiling as Layla flaps her hand towards her friend. The little girl does the same in reply before being led away by her parents.
"Right, little miss. I think it's home time." I lift her into my arms, kissing her temple as her head instantly makes contact and settles on my chest. The walk back is brief since Layla is being carried and by the time we get back it's early evening and Layla's already drifting off, her head resting against my shoulder.

An hour later

I stir the pasta sauce once, double checking it hasn't burnt before adding the basil, garlic and oregano. A soft smile emerges from my face as I feel two arms silkily snake around my waist, her body pressed against my back.
"Smells delicious," she presses a kiss against my back, her nose lingering for a few moments. "Food smells nice too." I laugh low before turning in her arms, bringing her into my own embrace.
"Someone's in a good mood."
She tilts her head, her hair falling over one shoulder. "Who?" I softly shake my head before planting a kiss on her brow.
"I don't know, they seem a bit annoying in my opinion." She leans back and looks at me with mock surprise, a small, high pitched squeal escaping her lips.
"Is that so? Well, maybe they have an annoying husband."
I shake my head. "No, doesn't ring a bell."
"Right, okay..." She begins to move out of my grip, although doesn't get very far as I grab her hand, bringing her back into the circle of my arms. I press my smile against the crook of her neck, grazing my lips over her soft skin. "I'm joking." She sighs and shudders against me, her tightening grip encouraging me to continue. I trail my kisses up her neck, teasing her with mere kisses under her ear lobe. Her breath hitches as I glide my nose, and briefly, my mouth up and across her cheeks. I kiss her cheeks, nose and finally, after hearing her impatient gasps, her mouth. She invites me in instantly, wrapping her arms around my neck, flanking our bodies against each other's, lips caressing one another's in beautiful harmony. Heat rises in my chest, threatening to completely consume me as the slow burn of the kiss fizzles out, leaving us both chasing out breath and clinging to one another. I tilt my head forward, resting my forehead against hers. Our breathing slowly evens out and neither of us make any attempt at movement, both of us content to just hold each other. Elena yawns softly, nestling her head against the centre of my chest, her grip around my waist tightening. I kiss the top of her head, slowly trailing my hand up and down her spine. "I love you."
The words, although said often between us, still hold the power to make contentment tiptoe into and consume the chambers of my heart. "I love you too." I kiss her temple and my hand rises to stroke her shoulder.
"Mumumumumumumum." We glance towards the door frame, smiling as Layla toddles in, blissfully unaware of what was going on in front of her. Elena unwraps her arms from around my waist, lowering herself down from the balls of her feet before meeting Layla half way and scooping her up into her arms. "Hey, baby. Have you woken up for some food?" Kissing her hair, she places her into the highchair, making sure to strap her in securely.
Smiling, I turn away and begin plating up the food, all the while hearing Layla's excited babbling in the background. "I know, right? I agree... yes, definitely!" Elena nods, chin resting on her palm,  a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. My chest warms at the sight and I place their respective meals in front of them, before setting my own down. Almost as soon as her plate makes contact with the highchair table, Layla is digging into her food. Luckily, Elena had already fashioned her with a bib before giving her the food.
"Thank you," Elena says, pulling her plate forward an inch. "Is that nice, Layla?" We briefly draw our gaze to our daughter, who's too focused on eating to notice that she has both of our attention. Gratitude soars through me at being able to spend such moments with my family and seeing them so happy together.

Elena's POV

Bath time comes and goes, and now we're all sat in our bed, Layla in between the two of us, reading a bedtime story, all in the hope of calming her down for the night.
Although she's fighting it, she's slowly succumbing to the powers of sleep as we progress through the story and by the time we're on the last page, she's well and truly asleep. I put the book away as Stefan carefully lifts her and takes her back to her room for the night. When he returns, a soft but tired smile rests across his face as he makes his way over and into bed. The tension releases from my muscles as soon as our bodies make contact, our limbs tangling together subconsciously. I rest my head on Stefan's head, sighing with pleasure as he runs his fingers through my hair. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm good. I had fun today, it was so nice to go to the park as a family. You?" I say. I tilt my head, allowing myself the pleasure of seeing his face, his strong jawline softening as he smiles.
"Me too. It'll be nice to do it more, especially before the baby arrives so we can spend as much time with Layla as possible."
I nod, bringing my hand to rest upon my stomach, my mind beginning to wonder about how much is going to change in the next few months. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm worried about the baby coming and the impact it'll have on Layla, but I can't help but try and prepare for every possible scenario.
He presses a kiss in my hair. "What's going on in your head right now?"
"Everything's going to change when he arrives." His hand moves beneath the covers to rest on top of mine.
"A lot will change, but how much we love Layla won't." I can't argue with that, because it's factual. Hopefully, no matter how many children we have, they will always know how loved they are and know that, even if we can't be with them all of the time, it doesn't change the love we have for them.
"I know. I just worry about she'll feel about a new baby."
"At first, she'll probably have no idea what the baby is." I laugh at the truth in his statement. "But I'm sure over time she'll learn to accept them and welcome them into our family."
"I can't wait to see the two of them together for the first time." I'm smiling simply at the thought of it.
He places a kiss on my temple. "Me neither. I can't wait to see the three of you together for the first time." I let out a yawn, nestling my face in the crook of his neck, sighing against his smooth, sweet-scented skin. "Let's get some sleep." As soon as his words are muttered, the lull of sleep catches up on me and quickly fall into a blissful, deep sleep wrapped up in my husband's embrace.

AN: Hope you like the chapter!

- Chelsea x