Ahh. I am kind of back with a very short multichapter fic. Not looking to make this any longer than 15 chapters, but I do hope that you enjoy it and let me know what you think in the reviews! You can always follow me on my social media sites: tumblr – diariesofstelena | twitter – diariesstelena

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The sun was beating down on a very hot and sweaty Elena as she maneuvered through the parking lot trying to find a parking spot in an – apparently very busy – Ikea. It was June, and 26 year old Elena had just gotten to town after packing up her small and quaint life in Atlanta for something more busy, and elaborate like herself, in downtown LA.

She finally found a parking spot in between a mini-van and a motorcycle as she squeezed her way in and put the car in park. Elena pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened up her mirror to see how the LA heat was treating her. Elena looked in the mirror and almost jumped at the horrid sight of her own face. She was a mess. She was hot. She wasn't wearing any makeup, she had a messy bun on the top of her head, some paint on her denim shorts from painting her new place, and a loose pale pink tank top paired with her Birkenstocks.

Elena closed the mirror after realizing there was nothing she could do to combat the torturous LA heat, and left her car, quietly mumbling and complaining about the motorcycle beside her. She never understood motorcycles quite frankly. Such a small little vehicle takes up an entire parking spot, plus it was a hazard.

Elena walked into the air conditioned Ikea and let out a sigh of relief mixed with a tiny moan at the cold air that was blasting against her heated olive tone skin. She quickly made a mental check list of the things she needed to get so she could get home and quickly get her place together before dinner tonight with a friend. She needed shower curtains, bath mats, pillows, and bed sheets.

With a little extra pep in her step now that she wasn't a melting mess, Elena went off to get all the things she needed.

XXXXXXX

"Come on, move your ass," Caroline yelled at her best friend that was completely content with laying on a showcase bed at Ikea.

"Come lay with me, Care, it's so soft and warm," Stefan said with a quiet hum in his voice, indicating that he was more than okay with taking a nap right there.

"Stefan you are in public! I'm leaving!" Caroline said as she slapped his leg and moved to walk away from the 28 year old child she was apparently babysitting.

Stefan closed his eyes and let out a disappointing groan and mumbled some words as he dragged himself out of the bed and began to jog after Caroline.

"Remind me why we're here again?" Stefan said as he looked at the little kid beside him that kept on crying.

Caroline let out a sigh and faked a cry as she stopped and turned around to look at Stefan. Caroline loved the boy, but he knew exactly how to get under her skin.

"For the 100th time, I am going out to dinner with a friend who just moved into town, and I need to get her a nice house warming gift. Can you remember that much or would you like me to make a PSA about it?" Caroline asked sarcastically as she poked a perfectly manicured finger at his chest.

Stefan laughed as he took Caroline's finger and brought it to his mouth to bite, only to have her pull away before he could do the deed. "Right, okay, gotcha." Stefan said obediently as he silently followed Caroline around the store as she looked for a gift.

They had eventually made their way into the candles and flora area and Caroline decided to make a nice little basket filled with candles, and other homely trinkets, maybe adding in a succulent. She also picked up a large singular wooden shelf for herself.

They made their way to checkout as they made plans for tomorrow night, hoping to do something together.

"Maybe we can invite my friend? I mean, she's new in town, I think we should get her in our little social circle! Wouldn't hurt, right?" Caroline suggested as they walked towards the exit with Caroline holding the shelf on her shoulder, trying to be dramatic, and Stefan holding the bags.

"Yeah, I'm sure that would be nice. It can get lonely out here sometimes." Stefan said genuinely as he tried to assure Caroline it would be a good idea.

As they exited Ikea, Caroline quickly turned to look at Stefan excitedly at him saying yes to her friend, that she forgot she was carrying the wooden shelf on her shoulders. As Caroline turned to face Stefan, the shelf swung around with her, making Stefan try and grab onto it before it hit someone but it was too late when a perky looking brunette got clocked in the head, sending her flying to the ground.

"Care!" Stefan yelled in a reprimanding tone, but also in a worried tone as he grabbed the shelf, placed it down and went to attend to the girl that Caroline just delivered a knockout blow to.

"Oh my god, did I do that?!" Caroline yelled in her high pitch voice that was immediately filled with regret and worry.

Stefan knelt down on the ground trying to examine the damage, "Hey, are you okay? I'm so sorry my friend is such a klutz…" he trailed on before he saw the blood on the girls hand as the girl yelped in pain from where her hand held her head.

"Aw man, what the fuck just hit me? A goddamn meteor?" The girl groaned in pain and tried to sit up but failed.

"Oh no, I think you cut your head open. Here, let me see. I'm a doctor, I can help." Stefan said calmly as he took the girls hand away from her face to look at her closely.

As Stefan saw her face for the first time, he couldn't help but think how attractive she was. But quickly snapped out of it, going into doctor mode as he looked at the tiny cut above her left brow.

Caroline quickly came and knelt down on the other side only to gasp in shock as she yelled, "ELENA?! Oh my god I can't believe I just almost killed you, are you okay? I'm so sorry the shelf was really long and I turned and it jus –" Caroline said, rambling like usual when she was overwhelmed before Stefan stopped her.

"You know her?" Stefan asked incredulously as he looked up from Elena and at Caroline.

"Wow, there are almost 4 million people in LA, and you're the one to clock me in the head. I'm fine, Care. Thank you, for the very, very warm greeting into town," Elena said as she closed her eyes and groaned as Stefan pressed down on her cut to try and stop the bleeding.

"Yeah! This is my friend who just moved into town. Stefan meet Elena, Elena meet Stefan." Caroline said in a rushed tone as she tried to see if Elena was okay.

Elena opened her eyes only to see a pair of green eyes looking back at her. There was something in his eyes, this determinism yet shyness that made Elena relax, and not groan in pain again. "Wow, you're kinda cute," Elena said without shame. Caroline let out a guffaw at Elena's remark. Caroline had known Elena all her life before she moved out to LA five years ago, Elena was flirty, but she was never this direct.

Stefan blushed and pressed his lips into a tight line, "yeah I think you hit your head pretty hard. It's just a small cut, you need about 5 stitches. Here, let me drive you to the hospital." Stefan offered as he got up and carefully supported Elena with a strong arm around her waist – a strong arm that hadn't gone unnoticed by Elena – as she tried to stand upright. "Yeah, maybe," Elena said as she leaned on his arm for support.

"Caroline, can you please grab my purse?" Elena asked as Stefan led her to the parking lot, towards the car. Caroline quickly nodded and grabbed her purse and picking up the spilled contents.

"Elena, where's your car? I can drive us to the hospital, and Caroline can follow in her car." Stefan said as he turned to look at her. Elena was looking to the side with her eyes closed shut as if trying to pass through a moment of pain.

Stefan moved to stand in front of her, but still kept his arm around her waist in case she needed the support. He looked down at her and placed his left hand around her head, reaching for a handkerchief in his pocket and holding it above her brow as she hissed and winced from the pain. "Hey, you okay?" Stefan whispered as he held Elena's head in his hands, and looked down at her.

Elena nodded weakly and looked up at him, "I drive a black Ford Fusion, you'll see it," Elena said as she opened her eyes to find Stefan staring back at her intently. Just for an instant Elena forgot about her headache, forgot about the open gash on her head and focused just on him. Why? She didn't even know him!

Stefan was the first one to break the intense gaze when he heard Caroline honk from behind them in her white little Prius.

"Could you please tell her to fuck off and stop honking, dear lord my head is pounding," Elena said with annoyance at her best friend, making it no secret that she has no problem using expletives.

Elena loved Caroline to death, and she would do anything for her, and with her, but she really knew how to press someone's buttons. They had always maintained a close relationship even when Caroline moved five years ago, so when Elena announced she had found a job in LA, Caroline was more than happy.

Stefan bit back a smile at her annoyance, laughing. Stefan had been with this girl for not even five minutes and she's sworn quite a bit. No wonder her and Caroline are friends, they must get right along.

"Yeah, let's get you to that hospital," Stefan said looking for her car. Once he spotted it, he placed Elena in the passenger seat and told her to hold the cloth to her head as he drove to the hospital.

XXXXXXXX

"Ow, ow, ow," Elena said as Stefan cleaned up the cut on her head carefully. He had a cotton swab dipped in some rubbing alcohol on the end of a pair of tweezers as he gently dabbed at the cut.

"Take a deep breath in," Stefan said distractedly as he focused on the task at hand, quickly going into doctor mode as soon as he had a patient on his hands.

Elena took a deep breath in and let it back out when Stefan put the tweezers down and reached for the probes and needle, diligently getting back to work on her head.

"About earlier, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it when I said you were cute," Elena said without thinking, trying to fill the silence with something.

"Ouch, consider this doctors feelings hurt," Stefan said feigning offense as he began to close up the cut, feeling Elena begin to tense.

"Wait, no, not that you aren't attractive, it's just I don't know what came over me. I meant I was sorry for being direct, and you know what? I'm just gonna shut up now," Elena suggested to herself as she closed her eyes and gulped in pain.

Elena was usually very good with strangers and with people, she didn't know what was happening. Maybe it had something to do with the huge piece of wood that thwacked her in the head.

"I'm just joking, no need to shut up. Keep talking, it'll keep you distracted from the obvious pain you're in," Stefan said calmly, breaking his eyes away from her to look down in her large brown eyes. Stefan only just realized how good she smelled, when he was so close to her. She smelled like coconuts and spring.

"What obvious pain? I'm fine, I can handle it." Elena said reassuringly, quickly dismissing anything Stefan was saying that would point out some sort of weakness in her.

"And is that why you're grabbing onto my hip so tightly?" Stefan mused without looking away from the cut he was still sewing up. Elena gasped silently and looked down at her hand that was gripping his waist, as if to pull him in closer in between her legs. Elena hadn't even realized she was holding onto him, it was like second nature. But she quickly dropped her hand and mumbled an apology.

A few minutes later, Stefan dropped the needle and rolled around on his chair to grab a little hand mirror to show Elena the damage that had been done. "All stitched up and good to go, Elena…" Stefan trailed off, indicating that Elena had never told him her full name.

"Just Elena for now is good, don't you think?" Elena said teasingly as she grabbed the mirror from him, brushing his hand as she took it. Stefan nodded and laughed at this girl sitting before him as she brought the mirror up to her face and looked at the cut. He was right, it was small, but big enough to give her this stupid headache that just wasn't going away.

"Now, the cut might be small but you migh –" Stefan was saying before Elena cut him off and completed his sentence.

" – might have suffered a minor concussion, so I should take some painkillers and take it easy for today, right?" Elena asked in a sweet tone, not wanting to seem completely bitchy as she practically did his job for him.

"Right," was all Stefan could say as he narrowed his eyes slightly at the perky little brunette sitting in front of him. It had been a while since he had met someone quite like her.

"Sorry, I was a nurse back home, this kind of stuff is like second nature," Elena said quickly, trying to dismiss any negative thoughts he may have conjured up in his mind.

"Impressive, why didn't you tell me earlier? You could have sewed yourself back up!" Stefan quipped playfully as he got up and discarded his rubber gloves, coming back to where Elena was.

Elena just nodded and scoffed at this awfully innocent playful flirting that was going on between them since they first got to the hospital.

"Now, are you good to go or do you need me to drive you home?" Stefan asked shyly, but also seriously as he was responsible for this patient.

"Sorry, I don't bring guys back home on the first date," Elena said jokingly as she jumped down and grabbed her purse, before she turned to Stefan to say goodbye.

Stefan just laughed at this woman before him. Stefan was a really shy guy around girls, but he found himself letting a little loose with her. But, he was officially intrigued, to say the least. She was pretty, funny and clearly had a strong head on her shoulders, plus it didn't hurt that she was a nurse.

"I apologize, I didn't realize we were on a date," Stefan shot back with a raised eyebrow, as he crossed his arms over his chest. As soon as he crossed his arms over his chest, Elena could see the taut muscles beneath his plain white v neck. Okay yes, Stefan was good looking, but Elena wasn't looking for anything at all right now.

"Well, I guess it's a surprise, Doctor…" Elena trailed off, just as he had earlier, indicating that he too hadn't disclosed his full name to her.

"Just Stefan is good for now, don't you think?" he shot back, copying her very sentence from earlier.

"Fair enough, Stefan. Thanks for getting me all patched up, I appreciate it." Elena said slinging her bag over her shoulder and flipping her hair over her other shoulder as she moved to leave the room.

"Hey, Elena, why don't you give me your number? I could check up on you later today, see if you're doing alright…" Stefan suggested with complete sincerity, but he was also blushing from shyness. Stefan was never this direct, ever.

"My number is confidential…plus, if I need you, I'll get a hold of you, no worries Doctor." Elena said smiling at him a final time before leaving him standing alone in the room.

Wow, she is quite the girl, Stefan thought as he watched her leave and close the door behind her.

XXXXXXXX

The next couple of weeks passed by quickly and before Elena knew it, she was off to her first day of work here in LA. She was excited to get started but also nervous to be starting out in a brand new place.

Elena walked through the doors of the hospital and went towards the nurses' desk to introduce herself and sign herself in. She quickly put down her name and went to talk to the head nurse about her placement and any other questions she had.

"Hey there, my name is Elena Gilbert, I was the one who got the transfer and recommendation from Doctor Whitby in Atlanta?" Elena asked in a form of a question, just to see if they were still aware of her arrival.

"Ah, yes, yes. Welcome to Sinai Medical Center! I'm Alexia, but you can call me Lexi, and I'm the head nurse, nice to meet you, I've heard wonderful things! I'm not sure how you were placed back in Atlanta but here you're pretty much on call the entire time, and you more often than not tend to a specific doctor and help them out with patients and what not, performing the routine checkups and minor tests that are required." Lexi explained in one go.

"Oh that's great! Very similar to how I was placed previously so it shouldn't be a problem. Who's the doctor I will be working alongside with closely?" Elena asked with curiosity as she flipped through a chart Lexi gave her.

"Oh, hold on, it should be written here," Lexi said as she went to the right hand wall plastered with charts and schedules of all sorts before she found what she was looking for.

"Ah, you'll be working alongside Dr. Salvatore! Don't worry, he's an absolute delight, and a sweetheart." Lexi said giggling as she handed Elena another chart with patients and room numbers.

"Dr. Salvatore…" Elena said testing it out. Sounds like an old Italian man if you had asked her. But she was glad to have found a job and she wasn't about to complain in the slightest.

"Okay, great. Thanks a bunch, Lexi!" Elena said as she walked out of the nurses office and into the main hall to go check up on the first patient.

Elena was about halfway down the hall before she turned a corner and bumped into a strong chest, with arms that wrapped around her waist instinctively.

"Oh, hey Ikea girl! Why are you wearing those?" he asked once he let go of her waist, and moved back to get a good look at her.

"Because I work here now, Stefan! And I'm assuming you do too…just my luck" Elena trailed off looking at the white coat he had on.

"Well, that's the LA luck for ya! See you around," Stefan said as he pat her shoulder and walked around her, whistling as he went.

Elena let out a sigh and she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She already knew she was gonna love her job.