Silent Prayers

Chapter 56

Warm, soft lips pressing gently against her forehead woke her up that morning. Elena smiled and slowly opened her eyes to find Stefan hovering over her.

Stefan leaned back and returned her smile. He noted how sleepy she looked. "Morning" he said, holding up a cup of coffee for her. "Thought you might like this." He always wondered how much sleep she actually got during the night. She tossed and turned a lot which woke him up. Sometimes he would rub her back gently until he could hear her breathing even out and her body lay still.

Elena sat up in bed and graciously accepted the cup of coffee. It smelled amazing. "Is Jeremy up yet?" she asked before taking a sip. It was amazing. He knew exactly how she liked her coffee. The white chocolate caramel creamer he added was a pleasant surprise that morning.

"No. He's still asleep" Stefan informed her. Then he smiled. "I told you he had a lot of fun yesterday."

Elena smiled too, but it didn't last long. "I um, I need to ask you something" she said, looking down at her hands holding her coffee cup. After a moment, she set it aside on the table. She watched as Stefan scooted closer to her and leaned in, giving her his full attention. "I uh, you know I ..." she said, finding it hard to find the words she wanted to say. Her fingers found the cotton sheets still covering her lower half and she picked at the expensive thread count. She was nervous, because his opinion meant everything to her.

Stefan's hand reached over her lap, stilling her fingers. When she looked up at him, he smiled softly. "What's on your mind?" he asked. Although they were is a seemingly good place in their relationship, he was still nervous anytime she said she needed to talk to him.

She twisted her hand around so that she could hold his. "Jeremy" she said, just barely above a whisper. The kid broke her heart, because she wanted so much for him. "I'd like to ask your brother and Katherine to adopt him" she said nervously. When he didn't reply, she continued. "They're great with him, and Jer really likes them. I just ... is it okay for me to ask them?" she asked, looking up at Stefan again.

Stefan let silence hang in the air for a moment or two as he gathered his thoughts. "Is this what you want, Elena?" he asked. He wanted her to want this, and not feel like it was the only option. "Because I'm ready to raise Jeremy with you, if that's what you want. We can figure it out" he promised. Sure, it wasn't the ideal time for them, but they could make it work.

Elena squeezed his hand and leaned in closer so she could rest her head against his shoulder. "I want him to have a mom, and a dad" Elena told him. While it was difficult to think about their own parents, Elena knew that things would be easier on Jeremy if he had parents again. She wanted him to have normalcy. "I want him to be happy, and to feel secure" she added quietly.

Stefan wrapped an arm around her and hugged her closer to his body. "He would have the most wonderful life, with Damon and Katherine" Stefan told her. God knows he did when he came to live with them. "And I think they would love to have him around more permanently" Stefan added. "We can ask them together, if you'd like." Stefan wanted to support her in any way she needed.

Elena took a short, calming breath as she lifted her head off of his shoulder. "Tonight, after dinner" she told him.

Stefan smiled. "Tonight" he repeated.

XXXX

Elena could hear voices in the kitchen when she came down the stairs after her shower. She found Stefan and her little brother at the kitchen table, eating pancakes and bacon. It warmed her heart knowing that Stefan was so good with Jeremy.

Stefan looked up when he saw her. "Hey" he smiled, patting the empty seat next to him that had a plate of food waiting for her.

Jeremy finished the mouthful of pancake he had before he said anything. "Morning Elena" he said as he stabbed his fork into another piece of pancake.