Stefan's eyes slowly opened as he woke up, looking around to absorb his surroundings. He began to recollect the events of the previous night as he realized the he was in his living room.
A soft hum from Aurelia made him look at her and realize that there was a small frown on her lips. She was definitely asleep, but seemed to be having a bad dream. He softly sighed, taking her left hand and closing his eyes.
She continued to weep, tears falling onto the bed in her dorm room and she cried and cried.
Stefan frowned, looking around the dorm room, before spotting the calendar. He raised his eyebrows, reading the date.
May 15th, 2012.
He looked back at the blonde with her head in her hands. She wore the same thing she wore when she died and came back.
He knew exactly what was happening. He just needed to know if it was true.
He took quiet and careful steps towards the bed which she sat on. Next to her was a small letter, with familiar handwriting.
His handwriting.
She was crying because he left her.
He opened his eyes, looking back at the sleeping supernatural, letting out a breath as he stroked her hair.
Leaving her was the worst decision he had ever made.
He could see the changes in her since they began to talk again. She was different, more sensitive, more caring. She was also more fragile than ever, with everything that was going on.
He closed his eyes yet again, going back into her mind.
Aurelia was now silent as she walked around the room, looking at pictures that were hung up all over the place. She stopped at ones of her and Damon, and Bonnie, and a few of her and Lexi.
She sniffed once, knowing that Lexi hated pictures.
She finally turned her head to look at a slightly larger picture of her and Stefan, both smiling happily.
There were two drawings next to it; one of her, and one of her and Stefan. Those were the ones that he gifted to her.
She found herself mumbling, "Why?" over and over again as she sighed, closing her eyes.
"Why did you have to leave, Stefan?" She asked softly.
She suddenly jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." She heard his voice. She instantly spun around to meet his eyes, her lips parting to let out a gasp.
Stefan smiled, placing his hand on her cheek after tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Stefan." She said.
"I'm so sorry I ever did this to you, Aurelia." He said. "But I'm here now, and that's what matters." She began to smile as he wiped away her tears.
"You're here." She said.
"I'm here." He repeated, before she pulled him towards her, standing on her toes as she wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes. "I'm here, Aurelia." She hummed, as he pressed a soft kiss into her hair. "I'll be here for you. I promise you this."
He smiled, his eyes opening and darting towards her as she began to stir awake with a groan. She turned her head to look up at him, accidently bumping her nose with his. "Ah, sorry." She said, sitting up. "I just had the strangest dream."
"Huh, I had one that made a lot of sense, actually." He said. She rolled her eyes, before looking at her phone. "What?" Her eyes widened.
"Oh, crap." She said, getting up and therefore pulling away from his touch. "Oh, crap it's already 5:00 am." She said. "I have to run down to my place and grab a bunch of boxes."
"Boxes?" He asked in confusion. "Can you—"
"So, Caroline and I packed a bunch of things to take to mom's cabin." She said. "It's a two-hour drive, and I really should get there."
!
"Okay, we're here, and I didn't speed." Aurelia said, looking at the cabin. "Why didn't you let me speed?"
"Would you understand if I said I didn't want the air bags?" Stefan asked, making her lightly punch him in the shoulder, before getting out of the car. Aurelia then looked at her phone, at a text message Elena had just sent. "What's that?"
"It's Jeremy's last day here." She said. "I already called him in the car, so I think I'm done with the goodbyes." She then shut the door. "Huh, I really am gonna miss that guy, even though we don't talk anymore."
"..."
"But in the long run, I think applied at art university might be good for him, right?" She asked. He shrugged, before opening the trunk.
"Do you think you packed enough?" He asked sarcastically, making her grin, before looking at the several boxes.
"The whole point of this is for my mother to spend her last days in peace and tranquility, surrounded by things that she finds interest in." She defended as he picked up two boxes and piled them on top of each other.
"The anthology of Shakespeare." He read from the open box on top. "Volumes one through 12."
"I do not understand why Caroline put Shakespeare in, though." She said, folding her arms as she walked to him and picked out a book. "Little Women, now that's more like mom." She said, keeping it back in.
"Wait, so what's this?" He asked.
"All the book s she never got to read." She answered. "They've been collecting dust, and when I rearranged drawers and cabinets, I found that I should bring it to Caroline's attention." She added.
His phone began to ring, and he looked at her. "Hey, do you mind? My hands—"
"Are full." She said. "I don't mind." She looked for his phone in his pocket, trying to reach for it. "Sorry, just one sec." She said.
"Yeah." He said, before she pulled his phone out. She read the caller ID.
"And why might my mother be calling you?" She asked, before placing the phone next to her ear. "Have you and Stefan formulated a certain plan to go behind my back?" She questioned, glaring at him. He looked at her innocently.
"Well, hello Stefan. What a lovely voice you have." Aurelia huffed.
"What's going on?"
"I happened to hear you and Stefan sneaking in and out of the house without so much as a hello to me. I may be the retired sheriff, but I am a mother."
"Well, if I told you, Caroline would kill me and I would lose the pleasure of surprising my mom." She said.
"Well, at least tell me if you've dragged Stefan against his will or if he's decided to help."
"Neither." She replied. "He's here because he promised you that he'd take care of me. By the way, I'm not a child!"
"Sweetie, that's not true."
"If you're talking about the child thing, you're probably right, but I know what you said. I heard you. He promised to make me laugh and smile and happy after you leave."
"I'm sure that definitely not the only reason he's there." Aurelia turned to look at him, noticing that he was at the porch. She smiled.
"I hope so." She mumbled.
"Sorry, sweetie, could you repeat that? I think connection's a little fuzzy." She blinked several times.
"Mom, it's fine. Magic can't be the only thing helping me, now, can it?" She asked. "Caroline's shopping, so she's a bit busy, but I will call you soon, okay? Don't try to look for anything. I love you, and bye."
She hung up, before looking back at the Salvatore brother, who looked at her. She smiled once again, before taking a box and jogging to the porch to open the door.
!
"Hey, look." Aurelia said, slightly bending over to bring a small cycle to the porch from inside. "Isn't it—" She stopped, looking at Stefan, who had climbed onto a ladder and was fixing something.
He finally looked down at her, letting one hand hang onto the bean underneath the roof of the porch. "You know, if you're gonna go for a spin, you should get a helmet." She raised an eyebrow.
"Funny." She said. "But I've never actually ridden a bicycle." She added, clicking her tongue as she looked at it. "I went straight for the bike, heh." He hummed. "This is Caroline's first bike. She told me all about it when we were getting to know each other. She had those training wheel, but when mom took them off, you can probably imagine the tantrum that came with it." She said, looking at it. He climbed down and walked to her as she slightly raised her head to look up at the fuse box he was repairing. "So, what're you doing up there?"
"Oh, the box was loose, so I figured I would fix it." He answered, glancing up at it.
"You do know that you don't have to do this, right? She asked.
"Well, actually, there could be electrical fries because of the loose wires—"
"I mean, being here." She added. "With me. I'm sure you have your own life to get to, and I'm sure you have other—"
"I don't. I'd much rather be here with you." He said. She looked at her feet, before looking back at him, only to notice that he was looking at her.
She looked at the cycle, before sighing. "I should probably clean this." She bent over.
"I don't think that's a good idea—" He began to say, pointing at her footwear, but she suddenly squeaked as she lost balance on her pencil heels.
She fell to the ground before he could do much, before groaning as she looked at her heels. "Ugh, I should've worn wedges." She said, looking up at him. "I'm totally not used to this." She smiled, before she began to chuckle as he knelt down next to her.
"You good?" She began to laugh and nod as he looked at her strangely.
Her laughter was contagious, and he found himself laughing, too.
!
Aurelia sighed as she pulled out the books from the box. She frowned as she read through the titles. She suddenly stopped at the sight of a familiar book.
She pulled it out, before reading the title. "Jane Eyre?"
Stefan closed the book, and kept it on his nightside, as Aurelia looked up at him. "Was it nice?" She frowned.
"I liked it... but it was much too long to my dismay." She said honestly. He pressed his lips to her head. "I apologize. It seems that Pride and Prejudice has won yet again." He smiled.
"Every individual has their unique thoughts, don't they?" He asked. She nodded, before snuggling into his chest. "Pride and Prejudice, have I read that to you?" She shook her head.
"No, you haven't." She said. "Don't bother; I haven't found it in the library yet."
"And I apologize for its absence. Father had it discarded. It was my mother's favorite." He said, pulling her closer to him as he kept his hand on her shoulder. "Damon told me that she read it when she was sick."
"At least she read something she did like. It must be terrible to read a book you don't like during your last moments." She mumbled.
"Why do I feel that you could sympathize with that?" He asked. She shook her head.
"I don't, but I wouldn't like that to happen to me." She said. He smiled. "What?"
"I love you." She raised her head to peck his lips.
"I love you, too."
"Hey, so there's an entire crate of alcohol." Stefan said, walking into the room. "In the cellar, right?" She nodded, the book in her hands close to her chest. "You okay?" He then looked at the book. "You're holding onto the same book you told me you didn't like when I read it to you." He observed.
"The next book mom reads could be her last." She said. "What if she doesn't like it? Then it'll be ruined for her. I wouldn't want my last literary experience to be ruined by a book I don't like." She added, her eyes widening. "Her final precious moments would be a disaster! And what if she doesn't get through a book she likes?"
"Aurelia, I should take care of the books." He said. "You're too close to this."
"No, no, no." She said, backing away from him. "I've read all of these. I should know which ones she'll like." She then paused. "Oh my God, I don't even know that. I've gone through twelve books and I don't know which one she'll like! I'm a terrible daughter. I don't even know her interests." She ranted, looking at the book.
Stefan simply pulled it out of her hands. "You forget that I've read most of these to you." He said with a soft smile, tilting his head. "I'd be happy to take the responsibility." She let out a breath.
"Okay." She said. "But—"
"I'll handle it." He assured, his hand on her shoulder. She nodded, before looking down at the crate. She picked up a bottle of alcohol.
"I'm opening this." She said.
"I thought that was for your mom." She smiled, before walking out of the room.
"It was!"
!
Stefan took a swig from the bottle, looking at the sunset as Aurelia slowly walked out of the house and onto the porch, next to him. She leant against a beam, letting out a breath. "Hey, what're you doing out here?" She asked.
"Pondering." He answered, looking at her. "I heard you on the phone with your mom."
"Yeah, she's running a bit late." She said. "Apparently, she decided to going back to closing a whole career's worth of open cases." She added. He offered the bottle to her, and took a swig, before handing it back to him.
"Well, they're gonna have a lot of catching up to do." He commented. "So, I realized that it doesn't matter." She looked at him, puzzled.
"What doesn't matter?"
"It doesn't matter what your mother reads in her final precious moments. It doesn't matter if it's good or terrible. It doesn't matter, because life isn't about your final precious moments. It's about the moments that led up to them." She sighed, turning towards him as he took a step towards her. He kept the bottle down.
"Ah, finally." She said. "You're the one giving me advice." He chuckled. "I just wanted it to be perfect. It's the least I can do, honestly. I just wanted—"
"Control?" He guessed. She nodded. "Hey, if anyone can control death..." He looked at the ring on her finger, before intertwining their fingers. "It's you." She let out a breath.
"I know that she asked you to look after me, Stefan." She said.
"Aurelia, that's not—"
"I'm okay with it, Stefan." She cut him off, looking at their hands. "In fact, I'm more than okay with it. I'm happy she asked you, because if there's anyone who's gonna help me get through this, it's you. There's no one I'd rather have helping me than you." She admitted. "Because I don't think I can handle anymore loss." She looked at the sunset.
"I'm not here because your mom asked me to." He said. She looked at him, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Then what brought you here?" She asked. "I'm not really the best company."
"Well, because I care about you." He began. "A lot. I'm here because I know what it feels like to lose a mother that you were close with," He lifted his hand to push her hair out of her face, and tuck it behind her ear. "And because when you told me you hated me; it was the worst thing I heard in a long time. In fact, those four or five months would've meant a lot more if I spent them with you." He looked down. She smiled, before using her hand to lift his chin up slightly.
"Stefan." She said. "I'm quite sure that we both know it's not in me to hate someone, at least if that person's not Katherine Pierce." She let out a breath. "You're not Katherine- obviously- so I think we both know that I never really hated you." She finished, meeting his beautiful, green eyes that looked straight into her blue ones.
She felt his arm trail down her cheek and her right arm, as he let out a breath that fell on her lips, which were close to his. She let out a soft gasp as she felt his hand on her waist, pulling her closer to him.
She closed her eyes as she felt his nose touch hers, the scent of vanilla and old books stronger than ever.
His other hand went up to her neck, as he felt her take a small step towards him, connecting their lips.
For the first time in months, he was comfortable with the one person he found haven with.
They moved their lips in sync, before she broke contact, only for him to pull her into another kiss. Her hands rested on his chest, one of his own on hers.
Soon, they pulled away, never breaking eye contact as she smiled softly. "One of us... should probably say something." She said, making him chuckle as his forehead touched hers.
"Go for it." She grinned.
"You know that's not what I meant." Her phone suddenly rang, and she looked at it, frowning. "Damon?" She answered the call.
"Aurelia, you and Stefan need to get here." Damon said, his tone holding desperation.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"It's... Liz." Her eyes widened in horror.
"Mom?! Is she okay?!"
"...No."
"Oh God."
!
"Where is she?!" Aurelia exclaimed, running to the front desk. "Elizabeth Forbes, what room is she in?!" Stefan ran in behind her.
"Aurelia." The blonde spun around to face Damon.
"Damon, where is she?" She asked. "And Caroline?!"
"They're inside."
!
"She-She fell asleep." Aurelia listened to Damon as they walked towards Liz's room. "I couldn't wake her up."
"How could you let her lose consciousness?!" She asked, before opening the room door.
From there, the world around her spun as she saw her mother's still body on the bed, with a crying Caroline by her side. "Aurelia." Elena said.
"MOM?!" She nearly screamed, speeding to her side as she took her hand.
"They said she slipped into a coma, but they can make her comfortable—" Aurelia looked at Damon, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Damon, she's dying! She's not in comfort!" She said, looking back at her mother. "Oh God, I didn't get to say goodbye."
"I was in the store." Caroline said between sobs. "I just came a half-hour before you. I know what you can do." Aurelia looked at her sister, before she felt gentle tugging on her arm. She turned her head to look up at Stefan.
"Aurelia... come with me—" She shook her head.
"I'm not leaving her side!" She said, pushing him away.
"Let me talk to you." He tried to reason. "You can still say goodbye." Aurelia froze, before slowly looking at Liz. "You know that."
"I can still say goodbye." She repeated, placing Liz's hand in both of hers. "I can still say goodbye."
"Aunt Liz?" Aurelia asked, wiping her tears away as the door of her dorm room opened. "What-What are you doing here?" Liz smiled, holding up coffee and food in take-out bags.
"I got comfort food." She said. Aurelia sniffed once, as Liz smiled and walked in, setting her things on a table. "Do you want a hug first?" Aurelia nodded, before running into her arms, crying into her shoulder as she rubbed her back for comfort.
"He just left." She said. "And I thought he loved me." Liz sighed, pulling away.
"We're all mourning, and so is he, 'Lia." She said, smoothening out her hair. "He'll come back in some time."
"How did you know that I was here?" She asked. "Caroline and Elena have been MIA for four days."
"I haven't heard from you, and you're ignoring my calls and messages." She said. "So, like a concerned mom, I decided to check out what's going on."
"Thanks." She said. "I don't know why I'm crying so much. I'm 400 years old." She swallowed hard.
"It's only normal, Aurelia." She said. "It'll hurt, and then, you'll feel better. The pain still stays, but you'll feel better and better every single day." Aurelia nodded.
"I'll feel better." She said. "I'll feel better."
"Stay strong for me, will you?" Liz asked. Aurelia bit her lip, tear threatening to spill out again. "Promise me you'll stay strong."
"I'll stay strong." She said. "I won't let a guy weaken me." She paused. "I'll stay strong for you, mom." She said. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you, too, sweetheart."
Aurelia's eyes opened, darting around the room, and then at her mother as she felt tears fall onto her hands. "I love you, mom." She said, before closing her eyes once again. Caroline held her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as Aurelia did the same thing she did before she came.
"She's going to break." Elena said. Stefan shook his head.
"She's stronger than that."
"Mom, I don't think I can let you go." Aurelia said.
"You can. You're brave. Caroline gets it from you." Liz said.
"But—"
The heart monitor began to slow down.
"You can do this, sweetheart."
"I can't." She said, closing her eyes.
"Aurelia, listen and look at me." She said. "Aurelia, you're so strong, and sweet, and brave. I'm glad to have called you my daughter. I'm glad to have been lucky enough to have you in my life. I just want you to be happy. I don't want you to mope around."
"Please, just don't go."
"I have to." She said, placing her hand on her shoulder. "I love you, 'Lia." Aurelia let out a soft cry.
"I love you, too, mom."
"I'll see you one day, alright. Until then, I'll always be there." She assured softly, pulling her into a hug.
Slower, and slower, the heart monitor made its descent to a flatline.
"I'll see you, too, mom." She said. "Goodbye."
And then, it was one, continuous beep.
Elizabeth Forbes was gone.
~