Stefan carefully got up from the couch, trying his best not to wake a sleeping Elena. Once they had returned from their ride, Stefan had suggested they have dinner and watch a movie. Elena had fallen asleep halfway through the movie and he had been afraid to move and risk waking her.
Now that he had been able to get up off of the couch, he went around the house, locking all of the doors and windows. He never worried too much about it before until this whole thing with Derrick emerged. He would have to call a security company and have something installed around the house and property. Maybe some dogs to let roam around.
Stefan made his way back to the couch where Elena hadn't moved. He slowly slipped his arms under her and picked her up so effortlessly, he would have thought it was something he did all the time. Elena stirred awake, clearly startled. "It's okay" he told her quietly, searching her eyes for any indication that she recognized it was him. "I'm just taking you up to bed" he reassured her. Elena seemed to relax instantly, resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes again.
He took the stairs slowly, making sure not to trip and drop her. When He reached the bedroom, he slowly set her in bed. He went to stand back up, only to find that Elena had locked her arms around his neck, smiling as she refused to let him go. He smiled as he fell on top of her, kissing her passionately. Apparently she wasn't as tired as he had thought. Her hands slid up under his shirt, making their way over the muscles in his back. "Mmmm, we can't do this" Stefan mumbled, pulling his lips away from her.
She looked up at him with concern. "Why not?" she asked. Had she misread his interest tonight? Had she completely scared him off by telling him that she was in love with him?
Stefan simply smiled, easing her worry. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "Because it is way past your bedtime" he reminded her. "You've got class tomorrow and then a hot date for the Ballet" he added.
"Hot date?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. "Someone is a little sure of himself."
"Okay, first. That was a little mean" he said, causing her to roll her eyes. "And second, if you were fishing for a compliment, I would give you one" he said, smacking her with the nearby pillow before rolling over to his side of the bed.
Elena threw the pillow back at him. "First" she said, mocking him. "I have a shortened day tomorrow because it is Friday" she reminded, dismissing the need for a lot of sleep. "And second, I don't fish for compliments because I don't need them" she said, matter of factly.
Stefan pulled on the covers, taking them away from her. "Fine. I'll stop giving them then" he told her, burying himself under the blankets.
Elena pulled on the blankets, though she gave up pretty quickly. Instead, she joined him under them. "I like your compliments. I just don't need them" she explained, resting her head on his arm.
He pulled her closer and smiled. "Everyone needs a compliment once in a while" he told her, sighing as his eyes closed.
"Stefan?" she asked. He opened one eye and stared at her. "About tomorrow. I don't want to go to the Ballet anymore. I'd rather come back here after class and pick up Lily. Maybe take her out to an early dinner" Elena suggested.
Stefan thought about it for a moment before he answered. "You sure?" he asked. "You were pretty excited about the Ballet. And now you want to trade that in for babysitting an extra night?"
"I don't see it as babysitting" Elena laughed. "She's pretty awesome" she added.
"Yeah" Stefan agreed. "She gets that from me" he said, smiling proudly. Elena rolled her eyes again and moved away from him. What she didn't say was that Lily had a way of making her forget about her pain and hurt just by smiling and laughing. It was infectious. Stefan had the same effect on Elena. Stefan grabbed her, pulling her back so that they were face to face. "If you are really sure, I think that sounds like an excellent idea" he whispered in her ear before kissing just below her ear.
"I'm sure" she confirmed, sighing as his lips moved so softly down her neck. But she could not let this continue, because kissing would lead to more touching which would definitely lead to clothes being taken off. Stefan was right. She needed her sleep she supposed. Elena grabbed his hands, causing him to stop kissing her and look at her. "I have to get my sleep, remember?" she smirked.
Stefan groaned as Elena got out of bed and changed. He didn't bother to look the other way as she slid her jeans off and then pulled her shirt over her head and tossed her bra aside. Elena didn't bother to conceal herself. He propped himself up on his elbow and smiled. "You don't have to put your pajamas on" he said.
Elena stepped into her pajama bottoms and pulled a tank top over her head. She turned around and shook her head at him. "I'd get too cold" she informed him.
"Oh, I'd keep you plenty warm" he said, winking at her. Elena picked up her clothes and walked them to the bathroom to put them in the hamper.
When she came back, Stefan pulled the covers back for her. He had already rid himself of his pants and shirt. "Just so you know, it's creepy when you wink at me" she said, climbing in. Stefan rolled his eyes as he got up and shut the light off. When he got back in bed, Elena began thinking that she should say something to him about earlier when she had revealed her true feelings to him. He seemed to be handling it pretty well as far as she could tell. "Hey Stefan?" she asked. She couldn't make out his face in the dark, but she figured it might be easier if she couldn't see him. "I'm sorry, if I freaked you out tonight. You know, telling you I might be in love with you" she said quickly. "It wasn't my intention and I probably never would have told you if I hadn't been so upset with Derrick and everything" she added, just as quickly. "This was a business deal" she reminded. She wasn't supposed to have feelings.
It was silent for a few minutes and Elena half wondered if Stefan had fallen asleep. But then he rolled over closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. Elena closed her eyes as she felt herself being pulled into his chest. He placed a gentle kiss on her temple and sighed. "You didn't freak me out, Elena. It's kind of nice to be loved, believe it or not" he told her, getting a small laugh from her. "And that contract we made?" he asked her. "I don't even know what I did with it. To be honest, Lily probably used the back of it to color on" he added.
"Well that does us a lot of good" she said.
Stefan laughed. "I believe you stated very clearly that I couldn't kiss you or touch you. And clearly you've changed your mind" he said, pulling her even closer and kissing near her ear.
Elena wrapped her arms around his, trying to remember a time when she had felt this content. Despite the issues she was facing right now, namely the Derrick issues, she felt happy. "Still know where the prenup agreement is?" she asked.
"Nope" Stefan said. "Besides, I don't really think you're the kind of girl who would take everything I had" he added.
Elena smiled. "I'm glad you sound so confident" she said, earning her another kiss on her temple. She felt him relax, indicating that he was ready for sleep. "Stefan?" she asked. She wasn't. "I wanted to talk to you about Thanksgiving" she mentioned.
"Yeah, what about it?" he asked, suddenly awake again.
"I was thinking about going to California and seeing my brother and Bonnie" she said, holding her breath and waiting for his reaction.
"Yeah, that's one option" he said, not sounding too thrilled about it. "Or, you could invite them to come stay with us" he offered.
Elena sat up quickly and turned her lamp on, causing Stefan to groan and shield his eyes from the intrusive light. "You want them to come here?" she asked in disbelief.
Stefan sat up too. "Well, yeah. I told you I wanted to meet them. What better time than Thanksgiving break?" he asked her. "I'll take care of their flights and they can stay here. I'll do dinner. Completely low-key" he shrugged.
"I don't know" she said hesitantly. "I don't think it's a good idea. I told you. My brother is not going to be happy about us. About you" she explained.
"Then I'll make him like me" Stefan said. "If I can make you like me, I think I can make anyone like me" he winked again. Elena raised her eyebrow in warning. "Come on. Just invite them out. We'll all have a good time. I'll make sure of it" he promised.
Elena thought about his offer and then huffed. "You're not going to stop until you get what you want" she said. Stefan winked again. "Stop that!" she said, turning to turn her lamp off. "I'll call my brother" she sighed, snuggling down into the covers.
"Good" Stefan said, snuggling down with her. He smiled at the thought that he had one this round. He liked winning. Especially if it meant winning with her.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Where should we take Lily to dinner?" Elena asked as they entered into Mystic Falls. Elena stifled a yawn, having had an intense class discussion hours earlier.
Stefan looked over at her. "You know, we could just pick something up and head home" he offered.
Elena shook her head. "No. I just need coffee" she said, waving off his offer.
"Okay" Stefan said, turning down the road that Damon lived on. Elena felt herself become anxious. The last time she had seen Damon, he had kissed her. Something that she still hadn't told Stefan about. Why? She didn't know. Maybe because things were going so well between her and Stefan. When Stefan parked the car, he looked over and saw that she looked nervous. "You okay?" he asked.
Elena quickly looked over at him before nodding. "Yeah. Maybe I should stay in the car. Katherine probably wouldn't appreciate me in her house" she explained quickly.
Stefan quickly brushed her concerns off. "Katherine is probably passed out drunk" he said, getting out of the car. "Come on" he said. Elena silently groaned as she got out of the car and followed Stefan to the door.
Stefan knocked on the door, remembering how irritating he found it to be when Damon barged in to the boarding house. As they waited, Elena took the time to look around. There was a large well-manicured front lawn with a pond and fountain along with various marble statues. The lawn was perfect, as were the trees planted strategically around the property. She thought it must have cost Damon a fortune to keep it up.
The door swung open and Katherine smiled as she saw Stefan, then glared when she saw Elena. "Well well, what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked, turning her attention back to Stefan.
"Just picking up Lily" Stefan said, brushing past Katherine in an attempt to get away from her.
Katherine bit her bottom lip as her eyes followed him. Elena felt herself getting a little jealous at the way Katherine was watching Stefan. "Can I come in?" Elena asked, clearly annoyed with Katherine.
Katherine turned around, giving her a snarky look. "If you must" she said. Elena slid past her uncomfortably. "Just don't touch anything" she said, narrowing her eyes at Elena. "I know you have Stefan's money now, but I still don't trust you not to swipe a crystal vase from me" she smirked.
Elena smiled. "I tend to go for the paintings, but thanks for the heads up on the crystal" she chirped, turning and going in search of Stefan.
Katherine crossed her arms and clenched her fists, but she could not think up a snarky reply on the spot. Another time, she thought.
Elena walked through the kitchen and through what she thought was a study. The house did not look this large from the outside. As she walked around the corner, she bumped into someone. "Elena" Damon smiled. "Nice to see you again."
Elena stepped back, putting a good few feet between them. "I'm looking for Stefan" she said.
"Oh, and here I was hoping you were looking for me" he grinned. Elena did not find it funny. "Look, I'm sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have kissed you and it won't happen again" he told her. "Unless you want it to" he added more seriously.
"No, I do not want it to happen again" she said sternly. Although she did not believe his apology, she knew it would be proper manners to accept it. "Thank you for your apology."
Damon nodded. "Well, since I have you here, can I get you to sign a form for me?" he asked, stepping around her into his study. He grabbed a folder off of a desk and opened it. "I would like to add you to the emergency contact list for Lily's school" he said, handing a paper to her. Elena took the paper cautiously and examined it. "No funny business, I promise" he smiled. "This is for Lily. I know how close you two have gotten recently."
Elena thought she was picking up on sincerity in his voice. But she was still skeptical, especially when she realized that she was listed above Katherine on the contact list. "I'm number three?" she asked, looking up at Damon.
"Well, yeah" Damon stated. "They call me first and if I cannot be reached, then Stefan is called. Then you" he said, then smiled sadly. "Katherine probably couldn't be bothered with a phone call from the school. Might interrupt her hair appointment."
Damon had a way of making her empathize with him. But she did not give into it. Instead, she grabbed the pen from him and added her phone number and a signature. "I would be happy to help" she told him, handing the paper back.
"Oh look, Elena and my husband" Katherine quipped, leaning against the doorframe. "One brother isn't enough for you?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. Her eyes sparkled with intent.
"Was one enough for you?" Elena challenged. Katherine's eyes challenged Elena back. So Elena stepped towards her. "Damon had me added to Lily's emergency contact list. Not that you care or that it is any of your business, but that's what we were doing" Elena said evenly.
Katherine grimaced as she looked past Elena to Damon. "I don't want her on that list" she said, warning Damon that bad things would happen if he did not remove Elena from it.
Damon just chuckled. "Well Katherine, we don't always get what we want. I know that's a hard concept for you" he added.
Katherine huffed. "Damon, Sweetie" she said, calming herself, though Elena could tell that she was seething underneath. "Take her off the list" she warned again.
"Katherine, Sweetie" Damon mocked. "Why don't you go and get yourself a drink" he suggested. "Maybe a few pills to wash down with it."
"I'm going to go and find Stefan" Elena said, not wanting to be in the line of fire. Damon and Katherine were full on glaring at each other now.
"Are you sleeping with her?" she said, demanding to know. Damon laughed and Elena felt her anxiety make an appearance. They had kissed. Did that count as cheating?
"No, she's sleeping with me" they all heard. Stefan walked past Katherine to Elena. "There a problem here?" he asked, wrapping his arm around Elena.
"No, no. Just Katherine's usual theatrics" Damon stated. Katherine stomped her foot and stormed off. "She'll get over it" Damon said. "You two have fun with Lily. Drop her off anytime on Sunday" he said, leaving the room.
When he was out of earshot, Stefan rubbed Elena's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Elena nodded. "Yeah. Is Lily ready?" she asked, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Stefan nodded. "Yep. Come on, you can help me get her bags" he told her, leading her to a staircase.
"Bags?" Elena asked, following him. "How many does she have?" It was a two night stay, after all.
"When I left her room a few minutes ago, she had six. I'm willing to bet that she has packed at least two more since then" he smiled, pulling Elena under his arm as they walked side by side.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Stefan logged off of his computer and smiled when he heard laughter coming from upstairs. Elena had agreed to occupy Lily while he got a little bit of work done. It seemed that they were having plenty of fun without him as he climbed the stairs. Their laughter continued. Stefan pushed the door open to Lily's room and found it to be dark, except for the two lamps that provided some light in the room.
Stefan smiled when he saw the makeshift fort in the middle of the bedroom. Blankets and sheets were hung over chairs. There was even a colorful piece of paper hung on the front of the fort stating that no boys were allowed. He could hear Elena reading to Lily. But what touched him the most was hearing Elena encourage Lily to read to her and helping her when she got stuck. Then Lily and Elena would giggle before going back to reading.
"No boys allowed?" Stefan asked, making his presence known.
"No!" Lily and Elena both shouted.
"That's too bad. I guess you don't want the cookies downstairs that I baked earlier" he said.
He heard mumbling and he thought it might be Elena and Lily discussing. "Okay Uncle Stefan" he heard Lily say. "You can come in if you bring the cookies with you" she negotiated.
Stefan grinned as he walked towards the fort and pulled the sheet open to look in. He could see Elena and Lily huddled together with a book open. "How about you go and get the cookies while I wait here and kiss Elena?" he suggested.
Lily's eyes got big. "Eew yucky!" she screeched, crawling out of the fort and running out of the room.
"Great. You've scarred her for life" Elena laughed.
Stefan moved into the fort, advancing on Elena before she could protest. "Good" he smiled, kissing her. "Boys shouldn't be a problem then" he added.
"You're terrible" Elena mumbled against his lips.
"So I've heard" he replied, pushing her backwards into the blankets as he kissed down her neck. Elena counted the minutes in her head, trying to decide when to stop her make out session with Stefan. Lily beat her to it.
"Are you done kissing?" Lily asked cautiously from outside the room.
Elena pushed on Stefan's chest and sat up, fixing her shirt in the process. "Yep, all done" Elena called out to her.
Lily padded into the room and approached with the plate of chocolate chip cookies. Stefan grabbed it from her as she crawled in and found her spot next to Elena again. Stefan passed them out and everyone remained in a comfortable silence.
"Uncle Stefan, when is Elena gonna have a baby in her tummy?" she asked, munching away on her cookie.
Stefan and Elena both choked on the cookie they were eating. "What?" Stefan asked her, his eyes wide with worry.
"When is Elena gonna have a baby in her tummy?" Lily repeated, turning to pat Elena's stomach. "David in my class said that when you kiss a girl, a baby goes in her tummy" she explained to him.
"Well, that's not quite how it works" Stefan said, clearly uncomfortable with this topic.
"Then how does the baby get in Elena's tummy?" she asked, turning her full attention to Stefan.
"Oh God, it's happening" Stefan said, wiping the sweat off of his head. He thought he wouldn't have to have this conversation with Lily until ... never.
Elena found the entire situation hilarious, but she decided to put Stefan out of his misery. "Lily, honey, there isn't going to be a baby in my tummy any time soon" she assured her.
"Why not?" Lily asked.
"Because ... because I have to finish school" Elena answered.
"Okay" Lily nodded. "So when you finish school, how is the baby going to get in your tummy?" she asked.
Elena cursed inside her head. The kid was relentless. "Well ..." Elena trailed off.
"Two people have to really love each other" Stefan explained, knowing it was very far from the truth in some instances. Elena smiled at Stefan's answer.
"But you do really love Elena" Lily said sincerely as she looked up at Stefan with her big brown eyes. "And Elena loves you" she added.
Stefan's eyes met Elena's for a moment before she looked away. "Yeah, but then both people have to really want a baby" he said, feeling guilty because he knew that he would probably never want one. "Hey, how about you go downstairs and grab a couple of juice boxes" Stefan said, deciding he was done trying to explain what he couldn't. The fact that he knew Elena wanted children and a real marriage and he didn't.
"Okay" she said, putting her cookie in her mouth and crawling out of the fort.
As soon as Lily left the room, Stefan cursed under his breath. "I really wish she would ask her father about this stuff" Stefan sighed.
Elena smiled. "It's okay. She's just curious" she said. "Maybe tomorrow night she'll ask about drugs" Elena smirked.
"Very funny" Stefan said, though he did smile. He fell back on the blankets and closed his eyes. Then he opened his eyes in alarm. "We're ... not at risk of ... putting a baby in your tummy, are we?" he asked, using Lily's words carefully.
Elena laughed. "No. Trust me, no" she assured him. "I'm being careful in that department" she added. Very careful, because the last thing she needed in her life right now was to be pregnant.
Stefan sighed. "Good to know" he replied.
Elena patted his stomach before resting her head on his chest. "We should get a puppy though" she told him.
"No" Stefan said flatly. "It will piss all over my Persian rug and eat my good shoes" he stated.
"Good" she said. "That rug is ugly and you need new shoes."
"Elena?" Stefan asked. "Stop talking with Caroline. She's rubbing off on you" he told her.
Elena simply smiled. So maybe she had been talking to Caroline on the phone a little more often. It was nice to have some girl talk every now and then. "It's nice to do girl talk" she told him.
"I could totally do girl talk too" he told her. "Like, did you see what that girl was wearing? That was so like, two months ago. Like, OMG" he said in his best valley girl voice he could come up with.
Elena laughed as she sat up. "You are too much sometimes" she told him, shaking her head.
"And, like, that guy? He was totally pretending not to look at me, but he totally like so was" he continued.
"I'm going to help Lily" Elena said, crawling out of the tent.
"Like, seriously? OMG Elena" he called after her, increasing the valley girl accent. He heard Elena laugh though as she left the room. He stared up at the top of the fort, enjoying the temporary quiet. But, he realized, it was too quiet.
And then, he heard Lily's shrieking call, calling out Elena's name in panic.