Stefan had a very difficult time sleeping that night – they all did. The detective suggested they try and get some rest and then reconvene in the morning. The police were out searching all night. So were all of the people that Damon and Stefan had hired to track Derrick and find Lily. Still, Stefan felt like he should have been out there looking for Lily all night too.
Stefan had changed into sweats and was sitting on the edge of the bed when Elena came out from the bathroom. He looked like a ghost. Pale, tired. Nothing like the spirited man she had met in the café a year ago. Nothing like the loving husband she had fallen in love with. The one who was always kissing her and trying to initiate just a little more to see how far he could get with her. Or the one who was always caught staring at her; the one who would make her blush with just a few simple words that he meant with all of his heart.
Elena sat down across his lap and wrapped her fragile arms around his neck. She buried her face into his shoulder and kissed the bare skin. "I love you" she whispered.
Stefan could feel warm tears against his skin as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He buried his face into her hair and breathed for the first time in what felt like hours. "I love you too" he whispered back.
Elena had pulled her head up off of him and gently held his face in her hands, mere inches from her own. He couldn't help but feel her pain as well when he watched her beautiful brown eyes pool with tears before releasing them. "Please. Lay down and try to sleep" she whispered, her voice pleading with him.
Stefan nodded. Yes, sleep. The last thing he wanted but the one thing he needed if he was going to resume the next day. Elena crawled off of him and he instantly missed the contact. He wanted nothing more than to be tangled up with her right now. To forget the fact that Lily had been taken. To forget the fact that Derrick was well and alive.
Stefan wanted only to remember the time when he had been so lucky. When everything was better than okay. Like when Elena was giggling softly when he would kiss her stomach because no matter how many times he did it, she was still ticklish. Or how she would wrap her arms around him when he would push against her, and she would sigh contently as he held her securely, trailing his lips along her throat and back behind her ear as he whispered what she did to him as they found their release together. Yes, he craved that physical, intimate attention from her.
But right now, it seemed wrong. For him to want to feel something when his whole world was coming crashing down on him. A world without Lily was not a world at all. For seven years, his universe revolved around that one little girl. Now, his universe had stopped. And it wouldn't resume until Lily was back safely, wrapped in his arms. Stefan climbed into bed and noted that both he and Elena were keeping their distance. He closed his eyes, but he was never able to drift off.
Elena watched him toss and turn all night. Finally, she wrapped her arms around him, moving as close to him as she could, and just held him. He broke down and cried right then, mumbling how scared he was. She cried too, but she continued to hold him. She wanted so desperately to tell him that it would be okay. But, she couldn't tell him that, because, she wasn't sure that it would.
Stefan held on to her, his grip tightening over the course of the night. She became extremely warm and wanted to move away from him for a little while, but she couldn't stand to think of how he would feel if she left him.
So she bared the uncomfortable heat until early morning, when Stefan could no longer stand to be in bed, doing nothing.
When they arrived at the police station, they were both brought into a room where Damon was already seated. "Thank you two for joining us. I just have a few questions" he stated. "Damon believes that a man by the name of Derrick Adams may be involved in the kidnapping. We tried to get a sketch based on what Mrs. Katherine Salvatore gave us. Does this sketch look familiar?" he asked, holding up the photo.
Elena swallowed hard. "That's Derrick" she said, feeling sick to her stomach. Stefan's arm instinctively went around her.
"Any idea of what may be motivating him at this point? Ransom?" the detective asked. "Is it money he wants, do you suppose?" he asked, looking between the three.
Stefan felt his own stomach lurch. "He wants my wife" he said. The sick son of a bitch wanted his wife.
The detective looked at Elena. "What are your thoughts, Mrs. Salvatore?" he asked.
Elena swallowed again and nodded. "He doesn't care about the money. He wants me back. He would do anything, to get me back" she said, her eyes flashing with fear. He would hurt Lily if it meant ... trying to get Elena back. "Which is why we should offer a trade. Me for Lily" Elena said, her voice becoming alive.
Stefan's arm left her as he turned to gape at her in utter shock. "Are you kidding me right now?" he asked, anger flashing across his face.
"Stefan, we can get her back" Elena pleaded with him.
The detective seemed to consider this for a moment. "We would have the entire place secured, Stefan. We could make the trade safely and then get Elena back" the detective offered. Stefan glared at him now.
Elena shook her head. "No. He's smart. He would never fall into that trap. We would have to do this for real. Let him take me, in exchange for letting Lily go" she told them all. "It's the only way."
"No" Stefan said harshly. He wouldn't agree to this. Never in a million years would he agree to this.
"It's my daughter we're talking about here!" Damon finally said angrily, facing his brother. He was tired of no progress being made. His little girl was out there with some sick freak.
"And Elena's my wife!" Stefan yelled at him. Both brothers seemed to remain staring each other down for quite some time.
"Stefan" Elena said, trying to calm him. She gently touched his arm.
"No!" he yelled, turning to face her now. "I made you a promise, Elena. I will not let him hurt you again" he said. He looked at the detective pointedly. "The answer is no" he said, slamming a chair into the table before storming out. There had to be another way.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Stefan had been on the phone all afternoon with private investigators. Anyone he could find to help him find Lily and that piece of scum. He was also offering a reward; the sum significantly larger if Derrick was brought in alive.
He was also keeping a close eye on Elena, who hadn't talked to him since he stormed out of the detective's office. She was going to try one more time to convince him that this trade, the one where they would get Lily back, was the only option. She had to make him see that she was strong enough to do this. That she believed in him and the police to track them down later on and save her. Hours, days, or weeks. She could be strong for that long, if it meant getting Lily home and safe.
Elena entered his office. He was still on the phone, but he ended the call when he saw her. He looked like hell and she wondered if he had showered yet that day. Or eaten, for that matter. "Hi" she said timidly, working slowly to bring her confidence back up to where she needed it to be. "Can I talk to you?" she asked.
"Yeah" he nodded. Elena made her way into the office and came around to his side of the desk, leaning against it. His legs spread as he rolled his chair closer to her, effectively trapping her. That was better though, because she needed to talk to him, even though she really wanted to run back upstairs.
"She's only seven, Stefan" Elena started, effectively catching him off guard and making him vulnerable. "Derrick is desperate. He won't hurt her if he knows he can trade her for me. But the longer we hold off, the angrier he is going to get ..." she began, only to stop suddenly by his response.
His docile vulnerability was gone. His anger was back. He stood abruptly, really trapping her between him and the desk now. "I said no" he told her, his voice serious and leaving no room to argue. He searched her eyes to see if she understood now, but all he saw was determination. "I will not let that bastard hurt you again" he said, his voice weaker this time as he imagined what Derrick would do to her. Bits of her revelations some time ago about what Derrick had done to her flashed through his mind. The ones where Derrick had her on the ground. The ones where Elena had admitted to wanting to end it all just to get away from him. No, he wouldn't let that happen to her again. "We'll find Lily. Without having to put you in harm's way."
Elena held his gaze, her confidence weakening by the second. "I want to do this" she said, her voice almost betraying her. The truth was, she was terrified to walk into Derrick's awaiting arms. But the bottom line was, she would do anything to protect Lily. Loving Lily was never part of the deal when it came to being with Stefan. She had learned to love Lily all on her own. "Everything will work out" she said, placing her hands on his arms.
Stefan leaned forward, resting his head against hers. "I won't risk it" he whispered. "Please, for my own sanity, let this go" he added, kissing her forehead before walking away from her. He had his phone open once again and was making a call.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Stefan came into their bedroom an hour to check on Elena. He hated being so cold towards her that morning, ordering her around and forbidding her to do anything. But he loved her and he refused to let anything happen to her too. The only thing getting him through the minutes, even seconds, was the thought of beating Derrick to a pulp when he did find him. Which, he would.
The shower was running in the bathroom. He sighed. At least she was still in the house. A shower actually sounded nice and for a moment, he considered joining her. Maybe some alone time with his wife would clear his head and release some of the stress that was continuously building.
"Elena" Stefan said, knocking softly. There was no answer. "Elena" he said, a little louder and checking the door. It was locked. There was still no answer. "Elena!" he yelled, banging on the door. His mind raced with thoughts of why she wasn't answering. Was she really that mad that she would ignore him? Was she hurt? His protective instinct was on overdrive. He stepped back and ran at the door, attempting to bust the door down. It took a few more tries before the wood split around the metal and he was able to push the door over. He ran inside and opened the shower door. She wasn't in there.
Fear coursed through him as he ran back out of the room and downstairs. "Elena!" he yelled, searching frantically. "Elena!" he yelled again. He checked downstairs and noticed the keys to his car where gone. When he looked outside, his car was no longer sitting in the driveway. She was gone.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elena had ditched Stefan's car a few miles back, choosing to walk to give herself more time to get away. The leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked along a dirt trail that would lead her to an abandoned construction site. She was roughly 30 miles outside of Mystic Falls. It wasn't far, but it was far enough if she hurried. She knew Stefan would be furious. Scared and heartbroken, too. It killed her to know that she would make him feel that way, but she couldn't just sit around and do nothing when she was the only person who could do something.
Getting ahold of Derrick was easy. He hadn't changed his cellphone number, probably because he wanted Elena to be able to contact him over the years. Elena had left her phone at home so that they couldn't track her.
Elena didn't know what would await her when she saw Derrick. Would he hurt her? For leaving him? Would he want to start over? Whatever her fate was, her number one priority was to get Lily home safe. In fact, Elena had negotiated this with Derrick on the phone and he seemed all too willingly to oblige. If she came to him, he was to let Lily go, unharmed. That was the deal.
Elena felt her anxiety spike when she came off of the trail and saw the abandoned construction site before her. Even more overwhelming was the sight of Derrick, leaning against an old Bronco. His arms were crossed and his lips were turned up in a satisfied smile. "Hello, Elena" he said slowly.
Elena stopped. "Where's Lily?" she asked. She scanned the windows of the vehicle before her and couldn't find Lily. Her heart stopped. Where was she? Dead? Hurting somewhere?
"Did you really think I would bring her with me?" Derrick asked, raising his eyebrow. "I wanted to make sure you lived up to your word. He searched around. I don't see any police" he said, somewhat impressed. "Because if the police were to show up, I have Lily hidden someplace. She would starve to death before anyone found her" he informed her. He was no dummy.
"I said I would come alone" Elena told him, feeling her anger begin to rise. "You said you would let her go."
Derrick laughed. "That brat is my insurance" he enlightened her.
"Insurance for what?" Elena asked. She was standing right there before him. What more did he want? "Is it money you want?" she asked. Maybe money was a motivator for him, too. After all, he would probably want to take Elena and get as far away from Stefan and Mystic Falls as possible.
Derrick smiled again. "She's my insurance to make sure you cooperate. To make sure you don't leave me again" he explained. "You see, Elena. I know you, better than you think. Even if I did lie to you about releasing Lily, you'll still come with me willingly" he said.
"What makes you say that?" Elena spat at him. He was deranged. Sick and deranged.
"Because, you'll want to make sure Lily is safe. We both know I have no idea how to take care of a child" he told her. "So, you'll get in this car with me right now to make sure Lily is okay. The more time we waste out here, the more time she sits alone, scared. Crying. Wondering if she will ever see someone she loves again."
"You are sick" she said, her voice filled with venom.
Derrick took a step towards her, but she didn't flinch. "Your choice, Elena" he told her, his eyes boring into hers.
But it wasn't her choice. Not where Lily was concerned. She straightened and stepped towards him, attempting to show that she was not afraid of him. "Take me to Lily, now" she demanded.
Derrick smiled. "As you wish."