Elena's POV
"Ready?" I hear and turn my gaze from my sleeping newborn to my husband, who's shouldering my bag and pushing the wheelchair into the room. I smile. "Ready." I say this knowing that I am nowhere near ready to take my eyes off of our beautiful son's face and make no attempt to do so.
"You're so not ready." His arms snake around my waist, his chin nestling into the crook of my neck. "Look down." I reluctantly drag my glance down to my feet, and laugh at my fluffy socks on my feet. Okay, I am so not ready. "I think I got distracted."
"I think it's fair to say that distraction is justifiable." He kisses my temple before joining me in gazing at our son. I can tell from the movement of his cheek against my own that he's smiling.
"He looks so much like you, baby." I turn and his soft smile stretches into a grin. I've already sent our close friends and family a picture of our beautiful son, and almost all of the replies have been about how much he looks like Stefan.
"Thank you. For our family." I turn my head to face him, our lips meeting in the process. Our tongues glide together in perfect symphony and I can't help the small whimper that escapes my mouth. My hand reaches up and I run my fingers through his hair as his hands grip my hips, turning me all the way round to face him. Our bodies are pressed together, breathing heavy as our lips eventually separate.
"You're welcome. Although, there's now going to be significantly less of this with two of them." A loose giggle escapes me as he wraps me in his arms, my laughter buried in his chest.
"We'll see about that." I smirk, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his jaw.
"Welcome home!" I'm so shocked by the sudden surprise that it takes me a minute to react properly.
"I thought you guys were all at work!" I say. Stefan told me that he was going to pick Layla up from my mum's house later on, so I had no idea that she, as well as his parents, and our friends were here.
"Where's Layla?" I question, not being able to see her in my direct eyesight.
"Mumma! Dadda!" I turn my direction to the quiet patter of small feet and see her toddling towards me.
"Hi, beautiful." I crouch down to her level and embrace her in a tight hug, smiling from ear to ear. "We missed you, so much."
"Has she been good?" I ask, looking at my mum.
"An angel like always."
I stand up with her in my arms. "Baby," she says, pointing at Grayson, who's currently curled up in Stefan's arms.
"That's right. It's your little brother, Layla." I move towards Stefan so she can get a closer look at him and become absolutely mesmerised by the sight of the two of them together.
"Shh," she says, putting her index finger over her closed mouth. Stefan and I both smile at her.
"Yeah, he's sleeping." Although, at that moment he chooses to fuss slightly, stretching his arms out, mittened hands reaching out in front of him.
"Silly baby." Her face scrunches up as she giggles. I laugh quietly with her, hugging her tighter to my chest.
"I think he's hungry," Stefan says. We both do a swap of the babies so that I can sit down and feed the baby whilst Stefan can give Layla all the attention she deserves.
Everyone else follows us to the living room, all of them practically buzzing with anticipation.
"So, you guys have kept it to yourselves long enough. What's his name?"
I look towards Stefan and we share a smile, mainly from the excitement of being able to finally share the name of our son.
"This is Grayson Leonardo Salvatore." Almost as soon as the words leave Stefan's mouth, my mother's hands fly to her face.
"In honour of dad." She pulls me into a hug, and I can already feel my shoulders becoming damp from her tears. Poor Grayson being stuck in-between us, most likely confused as to why it's suddenly gone dark.
"He would be so proud of you." She cups my face in her hand, smiling affectionately.
"Thanks, mum,' I whisper. She glances at the sleeping baby in my arms, who's making adorable faces in his sleep.
"Oh, he's so beautiful." She gushes, and gasps in delight as I place the tiny figure in her arms. "Hello, baby." She begins to sway him gently from side to side. "Hello, little Grayson." Hearing my mother say my father's name brings tears to my eyes, I haven't heard her say his name in what feels like forever.
"I love the Italian in his name too," Lilly chimes in, leaning in to get a closer look at Grayson. Stefan and I share a smile.
"We thought it'd be a nice way to include both of our families."
"I agree, it's beautiful." Lilly replies. "It suits him."
"Welcome to the family, Grayson."
Later that evening
As I'm sat feeding Grayson on the sofa Layla approaches us, a story book in hand before launching herself at the edge of the seat. Very skilfully, if I do say so myself, I manage to help her up onto the sofa with one hand, all the while without disturbing her brother. He remains completely oblivious to Layla shuffling next to him, trying to get comfy, even when she absent-mindedly holds his foot in her tiny hand. I smile at the sight, opening the story book that I must've read to her 100 times before. I'm almost certain I know it off by heart at this point.
"Ready?" I ask, leaning down to kiss her fluffy, freshly washed hair. She nods against my arm.
"Once upon a time..."
Stefan's POV
I finish cleaning the kitchen, which also included tidying away the mass of Layla's toys which seem to accumulate in a blink of an eye, and hear Elena reading a story to Layla.
Wiping my wet hands on a towel, I approach the living room and stand within the doorframe, admiring the sight in front of me. Layla's currently curled up at Elena's slide, thumb in mouth, with one hand gently holding Grayson's foot as he lies horizontal to Elena as she feeds him.
Moments like these make me realise how lucky I am to have such an amazing family. The three of them are my home, my safe haven, everything I have ever wanted in life. I could sit quietly in the corner and admire the three of them all day.
Although, my cover is soon blown as Layla twirls slightly on the sofa, eyes lighting up as she sees me and begins to reach out in my direction, babbling in the process. As soon as Elena realises Layla's interested in something else, she turns and smiles as we make eye contact. Damn, my window to admire my family without their notice is gone.
Dropping a kiss on Elena's head, I sit down next to her. Layla instantly jumps into my lap and listens as Elena continues reading the story, although half way through Grayson finishes his feed so I take over for the last few pages.
"The end." I close the book, kissing Layla on the temple, smiling at the sleepy look on her face.
"I think it's someone's bed time," Elena says, soothing a sleeping Grayson on her chest, smiling down at Layla.
"I'll take her upstairs," I move to a standing position, keeping Layla close to my chest as she, unsuccessfully, continues to fight off sleep.
"I'll follow you up in a minute."
After putting Layla to bed, I make my way to our bedroom. Elena is gently getting into bed, with Grayson on her chest, head resting against the backboard of the bed, eyes closed.
"Layla went down quickly, she was exhausted bless her."
"That makes two of us." She lets out a sigh, tilting her head to face me. Although I know how exhausted she is, I can tell there's something bothering her.
"You okay?" I take her hand in my own, my fingers gently gliding over her knuckles.
"Yeah, just wish my dad could meet them both, you know?" She leans her head on top of my shoulder, and I take the opportunity to wrap her up in my arms.
"I know. He would be so proud of you." I hug her tighter as I hear her quiet sniffles.
"I hope so." She sniffs, wiping her eyes.
"Baby, I know so. He always talked about how proud he was of you and Jeremy, about how all he wanted for you was to be happy."
"I do love our life, I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel like my heart could burst on a daily basis." Grayson yawns on her chest and she smiles, absently stroking his back. I gaze at my beautiful wife, at the soft blush on her cheeks, at her beautiful hazel eyes framed with thick lashes, at her soft lips curved in an amused smile. "What?" She laughs, blushing more at my gaze.
"Just admiring my stunning wife." She laughs, her eyes roaming across my face. My skins feels like it's been lit on fire when her palm softly rests against my cheek, her thumb swiping back and forth.
"If you don't kiss me right now, my post-natal hormones will kick in and I'll cry. And then I'll kick your ass for making me cry." I laugh and lean in until there's barely an inch between our lips.
"You know... motherhood looks so good on you." I tease as I move away from her lips. She groans in frustration.
"Don't tease me. It's your fault my hormones are all over the place. You owe me." She pulls my face back towards her, and I let her.
"Oh, I owe you?" I mumble against her lips, not quite ready to give in just yet.
"Stefan." Her stern tone makes me laugh. "Please."
"Well, because you asked so nicely..." My restraint leaves me, giving in to her wishes. Our lips lock in a slow, sweet kiss before it turns hungry. A sweet, little sigh escapes her lips as my hand rises to rest of her cheek, slightly tilting her face to give me better access. Her little exhales are like music to my ears and I greedily desire more. She moans into my mouth, gripping my hair tighter.
"Shhh," I whisper. "You'll wake the baby." I kiss her on the mouth, then her cheek, one last time before we both smile down at the baby on her chest.
"Hey buddy, mummy and daddy love you so much." I whisper, gently stroking his tiny hand in mine.
"We do."
AN: Thanks for reading! Sorry that it's a bit of a shorter chapter!
- Chelsea x