Title: Maybe We Could Stop this Goodbye
Author: Katie/TheIrishShipperholic
Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story and my original characters
Show/Movie/Book: The Vampire Diaries
Couples/Category: Tyler/Elena, Stefan/Caroline, Damon/Katherine, Mason/Jenna, Matt/Rebekah, Alaric/Adelaide (original female character, played by Serinda Swan), mentions of Alaric/Isobel and Isobel/John. All others mixed within and throughout; alternate universe (AU)/all human (AH).
Rating: M, for later chapters with periodical alcoholic consumption and sexual scenes
Summary: AU/AH. Their five-plus year marriage didn't bring them closer. Instead it drove them further apart. But now the hearts of former spouses Elena and Tyler are going to be sewn as one once more…with their son's diagnosis. [Tylena, Datherine, Steroline, Adaric, Masenna, Mabekah and co.]
Author's Note: I've fallen in love with this "ship", even if they aren't – and never will be – together on the show. Even then, I'll still want to write stories about them and I hope you all enjoy taking this journey with me!
Chapter One
Elena Lockwood (nee Gilbert) used a gentle set of fingers to brush the dark hair out of her 5 year old son Caleb's face as the young boy was deep in slumber. Her gaze went over to see a sympathetic look from her former step-father's fiancé, Adelaide Talbot. "How are you holding up?" the blonde-haired Adelaide asked in a soft tone so she didn't wake Caleb. Elena looked down at her precious little boy as she let one shoulder lift then lower slowly back down. "It's okay to be scared, but just know that we're all here for you," Adelaide said, her tone still soft.
"I know, and I appreciate it," Elena said softly. A soft knock came to the wood paneling of the door and the two women turned toward the archway to see former spouses Isobel and Alaric walking in. Elena got up carefully from the bed, walked over and clung tightly to Alaric as she wept quietly in his strong chest.
Isobel grasped her daughter's hand, squeezing it before letting go and walking over to sit down in the chair next to the hospital bed. The fiercely protective mother in her worried that Elena's ex-husband would use his financial funds to whisk Caleb away, but Isobel was also proud that one of her four daughters had kept Tyler in the dark. He didn't need this right now, she mused to herself as she thought about her earlier visit to the Lockwood mansion:
– – – – –
Three Hours Earlier
The brass knocker in front of her looked so inviting but the dark-haired beauty opted for pressing on the doorbell. And then she stood back to wait for someone to answer, which wasn't too long of a wait. Carol Lockwood's fake/forced smile had Isobel wondering if she was even doing the right thing by sneaking around her daughter's back. "What can I do for you, Isobel?" the older of the two women asked as she lets Isobel into the mansion.
"Is Tyler around? I was hoping to speak to him about something important. And before you ask, it can't really wait another time," Isobel said, giving Carol a smirk.
Carol huffs. "Tyler is out at the moment," she told Isobel.
"We can do this the easy way, Carol, or the hard way, but either route, I need to speak to my former son-in-law," Isobel said firmly.
"Very well," Carol said before dialing her only son's cell phone.
– – – – –
Tyler, who'd been out shopping with his bride-to-be Olivia "Liv" Parker, answers his phone with a gruffly spoken "What?"
"Darling, it's your mother. Are you going to be at a stopping point soon? Isobel is here and…"
"No, Mom. Liv needs my opinion," Tyler said; ready to hang up on his mother when her next words stop him in his tracks.
"Isobel Fleming is here, Tyler. I can't send her away because she asked to speak to you specifically," Carol told him.
"If it's about Elena, tell Isobel that I'm happily engaged to Liv and Elena should move on as well," Tyler said before hanging up, ignoring any further calls by turning his phone off. And then he met the cool stare of Katherine Gilbert Salvatore when he glanced up. "What is this, corner Tyler day?"
"I'll have you know that I was helping Amara shop for a wedding dress," Katherine said with a slight scowl. "I also don't appreciate seeing you flaunting Blondie the way you are now, especially when she hasn't slept in a week."
"What do you mean she hasn't slept in a week?" Tyler asks in a low, demanding tone.
"That's for you to ask Elena about and not me," Katherine replied.
And that was how a fuming Liv found herself pacing up a storm in the children's ward waiting room at the Richmond hospital where Tyler and Elena's son was resting. Down the hall, Elena glares at her ex-husband as he steps closer to draw her into a fierce embrace. "I don't want you here," Elena said; attempting to push him away was a difficult task, as he only tightened his arms around her. Elena then buries her face in his neck and tightens her grip on him. A sniffle and then a choked sob escape Elena from deep within her chest, Tyler pressing her head of dark, messy hair further against his chest in a firm, gentle push. Deep down, Elena knew that she couldn't stay strong forever when it came to seeing her ever growing family, but Tyler was the only one who saw through the walls known as her emotions.
"I'm here, Lena. I'm right here," he murmurs into her hair and Elena let the flood gates swing wide open. Tears flow freely down the tan skin of her cheeks as she felt the tender caresses of his hands running through her hair and combing it back out of her face.
"They're calling it chiari malformation," she explained between sobs as Tyler wipes her tears. "Too many surgeries, Tyler…he doesn't deserve that. He's only 5 years old."
"I know, but he's a Lockwood AND a Gilbert," Tyler told her with a soft, reassuring smile. "That makes him twice as tough to be able to fight for his life."
Elena is about to respond when she noticed two familiar faces appear into view behind Tyler. "Hey, we just heard the news," her very pregnant godmother, Jenna Lockwood (nee Sommers) said and Elena buries her face in Tyler's chest once more, sobbing quietly. Jenna places a comforting hand on Elena's shoulder, squeezing it with sympathy and affection. Jenna then stepped inside of Caleb's room, going around the former spouses still embracing to walk (waddle) up to her great-nephew's hospital bed.
All of Caleb's family had been rocked to the core when they heard the diagnosis but none so more than his mother, and even then, her female relatives had to distract her with food – mostly the junk kind – so she wouldn't explode in anger. Jenna eased down into the chair next to Caleb's hospital bed. "So young, strong and determined, just as you were when you were little," Jenna murmurs as she reaches up to smooth back the dark hair Caleb had inherited from both of his parents.
Tyler's uncle, Mason approaches the door to the hospital room and came to a stop. Dark blonde-haired Carson was nestled in her father's arms, half asleep while her younger sister slept peacefully in her car seat. Elena leaves Tyler's arms and reaches for Carson, who snuggles against the dark-haired writer. Mason then placed Melinda's car seat onto the floor next to his wife's feet, kissing the top of her head before looking at his nephew and nodding toward the hall. He and Tyler step out of the hospital room after Tyler tells his ex-wife that he'd be right back. "What's up, Uncle Mason?"
"Do you really want to drag your fiancé into long nights that are spent at the hospital when Elena needs your love and support?"
"No." Tyler drags the word out. "But this IS a big deal to Liv and her family. If they found out why I called off the wedding…"
"So don't call it off. Tell Liv that you want to postpone the wedding until you know Caleb will be okay," Mason told him.
Tyler nods, letting the idea sink in before he headed toward the waiting room in search of his fiancé. But it was completely empty, causing Tyler to frown, and he was turning to go when he noticed an envelope with his name written on the front in Liv's handwriting. Reluctantly, he picked up the envelope and turned it over to pull the folded pieces of paper free.
Never in his young adult life did Tyler Lockwood expect to get his heart broken. Not once, but two times…and the first time didn't count, since she was right down the hall.
Author's Note: The next couple of chapters will begin on the starting point with Tyler and Elena's relationship as well as the downfall of their marriage and Caleb's unexpected arrival into their lives.