Next update will be Elena's graduation as well as the end of their six month marriage "contract". Hmm ... I wonder what will happen with that ;)
Stefan only half paid attention to the publicist speaking to the group. The sun was shining which was odd for an early March day. It was only more depressing that he was stuck in the city listening to some guy right out of school thinking he knew everything. Stefan already knew his family's company wasn't going to accept the offer. But Damon seemed to be somewhat interested as he was asking all of the questions.
Stefan had other things on his mind. Elena mostly. The past few months had come and gone with nothing really changing between them since they had decided that they could not be together. They went back to their regular routines. Elena slept in her own room. She went to class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She had tossed around the idea of going back to work but Stefan had suggested that she use her extra time to study or do things that she enjoyed. So she took his advice.
Stefan threw himself into his work, which was why he was sitting at this boring meeting. He checked his watch. He still had four more hours before he could leave.
It wasn't as if they ignored each other. They ate dinner together almost every night and sometimes they would watch a movie. But he was splayed out on the couch and she was curled up in the chair. They would chat about things that didn't really matter and sometimes they would spend a Saturday with Lily.
Damon's phone ringing brought Stefan out of his thoughts. Damon apologized and quickly left the room, leaving all eyes on Stefan. He sat up and pretended to look deep in thought, though he had no idea what the guy had been talking about. "Uh, yeah" Stefan said. "Yeah, can you go over the numbers again?" he asked. The guy started rattling off numbers again until Damon came back.
Damon sat back down and leaned over to Stefan. "That was Lily's school. She's not feeling well" he said. "Do you think Elena can go and pick her up?" he asked.
"I'll ask" Stefan said, grateful to be getting out of that stuffy room for a minute or two. He pulled out his phone and called Elena as soon as he was out of the door. It only took a few rings before she answered. He could hear music in the background and figured she was enjoying her day off. "Hey, can you do me a really big favor?" he asked her.
Elena smiled on her end of the phone. "I already married you. What else do you want?" she asked, her voice full of teasing.
He couldn't help but smile. "Lily's school called. She's sick. Damon and I are stuck in this stupid meeting for a few more hours" he explained. "Do you think you can go pick her up?" he asked.
He heard Elena turn her music off. "Of course I can" she told him.
Stefan sighed, not realizing how tense he was. Part of it was because he was worried about Lily. The other part of it was because he was talking to Elena. "Thank you. We both really appreciate it" he said. "We'll be home as soon as we can" he said, thanking her again before hanging up. When he walked back into the room, he nodded to Damon before sitting back down.
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Elena finished signing Lily out before being led to the back room of the office. There she saw Lily lying on the most uncomfortable looking bed. She was pale and looked plain miserable. "Hey Sweetie" she said, bending down to her level. "Not feeling so well?" she asked, placing her hand over her forehead. Lily was hot, but not burning up.
"Not so much" Lily said quietly. Elena gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Her temperature is 100 and it hasn't changed. I would watch it though and get her to the doctor if it does rise" the nurse said, signing off on a piece of paper and handing it to Elena. "Here is a list of recommended items for you to pick up at the store. My contact information is on the back if you need to get ahold of me."
Elena nodded, scanning the items. All the basics for any sick kid. "Thank you" she said, grabbing Lily's hand and helping her up. "Let's get you home" she said, holding lily close to her.
Half an hour later, Elena had Lily tucked into her bed. She had given Lily what the nurse had recommended, checked her temperature, and read her two stories. Elena took this time to study for her final exams that were coming up rather soon. Although she was excited about graduation, these tests still stood in her way.
Hours later, Stefan made good on his word. He and Damon were walking in the door, still dressed in their business attire and looking exhausted. "She's upstairs sleeping" Elena told them, closing her textbook.
"Thank you so much Elena" Damon said, taking his gloves off. "Katherine is ... out of town for the next few days" he said, choosing his words carefully. "I really didn't want Lily to have to sit at school until I got back."
"You're welcome" she told him, though she was looking at Stefan who was looking at her. "It was no trouble, really."
Damon smiled at her before going upstairs to get Lily. When he came back down, she was still wrapped in her blanket sound asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. Damon grabbed Lily's bag and looked at Stefan. "You should let her stick around" he told Stefan. "She's a great girl" he added before Elena came walking back into the room.
Stefan felt his heart sink just at hearing his brother's words. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about it. But the reality of it was, he was scared. Scared because she was the one person now who could hurt him the most. And he was not ready to give her the power to do that. "Here's the stuff I picked up for her at the store. Everything the nurse had suggested" Elena said, handing Damon the bag.
"Great" Damon said, accepting the bag. "Let me pay you back for everything" he said, reaching for his pocket to take out his wallet.
But Elena immediately stopped him. "No, don't worry about it" she said, turning down his offer right away. "Just get her home and make sure she's comfortable" she added, brushing her hand through Lily's messy curly hair.
Damon eyed Stefan, giving him a knowing look. But Stefan looked away from him, not being able to accept the fact that his brother was right. She was a great girl. "Call us tomorrow and let us know how she's doing" Stefan said, opening the door for him.
"Sure thing" he said before leaving.
Stefan waited until Damon got to the car before shutting the door. Then he sighed. "Really, thank you again for everything" he said, turning to Elena.
"Really, it wasn't a big deal" she said, fixing a button her shirt.
"It is to me" he said, his eyes catching hers off guard. He saw some concern in her eyes. He thought she would change the subject. Anything to avoid having to have a meaningful conversation with him.
"She's kind of part of the package when it comes to being with you" Elena answered instead. "I understand that" she said, smiling softly. There. Right there. When she said things like that, it made Stefan's head scream at him to not be such an idiot. It told him to grab Elena and hold her so tight that she would never be able to get away, even if she tried. Because being with her made more sense than anything else in his life ever had. But, something always seemed to stop him. Fear got in the way of logic. Elena seemed to sense that he was thinking hard about something, so she spoke up to try and get his attention back. "So really, it was no big deal. I'm happy to help out with her" she said.
He had to get out of that room and away from her. Because he knew that if he stayed in there with her for a moment longer, he was going to push her up against that wall behind her and kiss her senseless. So, he simply nodded and walked past her. It had hurt and she didn't know why. She was well aware of how things had to be between them. "Stefan" she said. Stefan stopped. Not just his body, but his heart. When she said his name like that, the affect was immobilizing. "Never mind" she said. "I should get back to studying." Stefan nodded before going upstairs. When he was out of sight, Elena continued to stare ahead of her as she said to herself what she had wanted to say to him. "I love you."
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"Mommy watch!" Lily said, bouncing up and down in her saddle as she trotted on by on Cash. She made kissy noises and brought Cash into a lope as she made circles around the arena.
Katherine smiled. "Look at her" she said, turning to look at Stefan who stood right beside her.
Stefan smiled as well. "She's a natural born rider" Stefan agreed. "Fearless too" he added.
"Well she gets that from me" Katherine smirked.
"You are so full of yourself!" Stefan accused, bumping into her with his elbow.
"You're one to talk!" she countered, giving him a good shove.
His mouth gaped open. "Did you just shove me?" he asked, stepping towards her again. Katherine rolled her eyes at what a big deal he was making over it. "Lily, I'm going to toss your mom in the water trough!" Stefan called out. Lily stopped her horse and Katherine's eyes grew wide.
"Do it and I will end you" she promised. "I just had my hair done."
"Do it Uncle Stefan!" Lily yelled excitedly as she got off of her horse and ran towards them.
Stefan grabbed Katherine before she really had time to react. She put up a good fight though as he struggled to hold on to her. Lily was laughing with excitement and Katherine was swearing at him in French. "I swear to God Stefan" Katherine warned as they neared the water trough outside the barn.
"Stop squirming" Stefan told her as they rounded the corner. He was laughing though, as was Katherine by this point at how ridiculous this whole situation was. But he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Elena standing less than a hundred feet away, looking both surprised and hurt to see Katherine in his arms and both of them laughing and smiling.
Stefan set Katherine down almost immediately, his face already trying to explain to Elena before the words would come out. Elena suddenly realized that her face was giving away too much. Hurt. Betrayal. "I umm ..." she began, not really being able to form the words in her current state. But she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Caroline called. She wants you to call her back when you get the chance" she told him, though she was looking everywhere but at him.
"Elena we're gonna throw Mommy in the water trough!" Lily said excitedly, completely oblivious to the change in the atmosphere around her.
"Lily, why don't you take your mom back to the arena" Stefan said.
Lily sighed and then raised her arms up in the air. "You mean we can't throw Mommy in the water?" she asked.
"Not right now" Stefan said, grabbing her chin and winking at her. "Katherine, watch her?" he asked.
"Yeah" Katherine said, fixing her shirt that had bunched up while Stefan had her. She shot a glance at Elena who looked devastated. Elena locked eyes with her though and watched as Katherine smirked deceitfully before following her daughter back.
Elena didn't know why she was surprised by Katherine doing that. It was no secret that Katherine wanted Stefan back. And who knew. Maybe they could get back together after Elena left. Clearly there was still something there between Katherine and Stefan.
Stefan waited until Katherine and Lily were out of earshot. "That wasn't what it looked like" he explained awkwardly.
Elena held up her hand to stop him. "You don't owe me an explanation" she told him. It wasn't as if they were in a relationship where those kinds of explanations needed to be made. "I should get back to the house" she told him.
"Elena wait" he said, feeling extremely guilty. It was clear that she was upset by what she had seen. "Honestly, we were just having fun" he told her.
Elena laughed bitterly. "Yeah, just having fun with a girl who clearly wants to get back together with you" she told him before she could really think about it. She didn't know why she was getting so upset.
Stefan really couldn't argue that. He was well aware of Katherine's intentions and yeah, it probably was stupid to play around with her like that. "I don't feel that way about Katherine. Not anymore" he told her. He thought she knew that.
Elena gave him the saddest look and it broke his heart. She didn't trust him. "I get it" she said, completely ignoring what he had just said. "It really would be hard to commit to someone when you're still in love with someone else" she said, anger making a presence in her voice.
She turned around and began to walk off, fighting back a few tears. "Elena!" he called out. But she didn't stop. She kept on walking. She wasn't even sure that she believed he was still in love with Katherine. But maybe it was easier to blame him for that than to accept the fact that he didn't want to stay married to her.