A/N: Another missing chapter from Until This Lie Do Us Part that was a suggestion from a very special reader : ) There is Lily and some Stefan and Elena time too. All of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Lily stood just out of view outside of her uncle's office door, peering in and watching him closely. Stefan was focused on his computer screen, oblivious to his little niece's spying presence.
Lily did a somersault across the entryway, rolling to the other side unseen. For the past week, she had been referring to herself as a ninja. She could go unseen whenever the time called for it. And at that moment, she needed to get the lowdown on the current situation that was her uncle. Lily Salvatore had a massive plan to execute and her uncle played an important role in it.
Lily studied her uncle with precision, then attempted another somersault that did not go as planned. She crashed into Stefan's large potted plant nearby. "Ow" she said, rubbing her injured foot.
Stefan was standing over her moments later, looking none too pleased with his niece's horseplay. Stefan crossed his arms, giving her a stern look. Lily looked up at him and smiled, forgetting all about her crash. "Hi Uncle Stefan" she told him, batting her adorable long eyelashes at him.
"I'm busy right now" he stated. "You need to go play in your room." He felt bad because it was a beautiful, warm summer day out. He should have been outside with her, not cleaning up work on is computer.
Lily frowned. "But I need to ask you something" she told him. "It's really, really important" she assured him.
Stefan sighed. "You've got two minutes" he said, reaching down and grabbing Lily's hands to help her up. Then he picked her up and carried her into his office, setting her on top of his desk. He rolled his chair over to sit in front of her. "Go" he told her, treating it as a business deal. Because ultimately, that's what it would be. She wanted something, and it would involve money.
"Okay" she said, holding up her little hand for added effect, letting him know that she was about to launch into a sale's pitch of some sort that would benefit her in some way. "So, you know how it is so hot outside and I get really hot?" she asked him. Stefan nodded. "Well, I was thinkin', you know, 'cause you love me and all, that you should buy me a new pool" she said quickly. "Like a big one" she explained, opening her arms wide to show him.
"No" Stefan said, surprising her.
"What?" she asked in disbelief. "Why not?" she argued.
"You already have a pool outside" he answered.
"But it is a small one" she reminded him.
Stefan groaned. "It's only warm enough to swim two months out of the year and bigger pools are too much work to set up and take down" he told her. Plus they were a pain in the ass to keep clean.
"But Uncle Stefaaaaaaaaaan" Lily whined, clearly not used to not getting her way.
"No buts" Stefan warned her. "Now run along. I have work to finish" he instructed, setting her back down on the floor. He secretly wondered when Elena would be home to keep Lily occupied.
Lily crossed her little arms and looked up, giving Stefan the glare of a lifetime. "You're gwumpy Uncle Stefan" Lily stated.
Stefan opened his mouth to say something, but realized it was no use. Lily was right. He was grumpy because he was irritated with work. Lily turned on her heel and ran out of his office, probably to find something else to get into. Stefan leaned against his desk and closed his eyes. He was fighting guilt and exhaustion.
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Elena juggled three grocery bags, a gallon of milk and her purse as she let herself inside. The house was quiet which was odd considering Lily was there. Elena walked into the kitchen and quickly put the few groceries she had bought away. She passed Stefan's office and saw him on the phone and at his computer. She gave him a quick wave to tell him she was home and then went upstairs in search of Lily.
Elena found the saddest looking kid in a room filled with toys. Lily was lying on her bed, holding her favorite horse while brushing the mane with her fingers. Elena climbed up on the bed with Lily and laid with her. "Why the sad face?" Elena asked quietly.
Lily didn't answer right away, but she did eventually. "Uncle Stefan is being gwumpy" Lily told her. "And he said I couldn't have a new pool for over here" she pouted.
"You Uncle Stefan has been really busy with work" Elena reminded her. She knew Lily didn't understand that though. Lily just wanted her happy and fun Uncle Stefan. "Tell me about this pool you want" Elena said, looking over at her.
Lily fought the urge to smile, and failed. "It's really big" she began, her smile reaching her eyes. "Like, really tall. And it has so much water in it that I can swim in it!" she said enthusiastically. "And I could bring all my toys in the water with me" she added.
Elena smiled. "That sounds like a lot of fun" she said. She hoped Stefan would cave in and get Lily the pool.
Lily sighed. "Yeah, but Uncle Stefan said no" she said, making a disgruntled face.
Elena brushed Lily's bangs out of her eyes. "Maybe you can ask him again sometime" Elena told her. Maybe when Stefan wasn't so frazzled with work.
Lily turned and faced Elena. "Or maybe you could ask Uncle Stefan" she suggested. "Cause you're married to him so he can't tell you no when you ask him for things" she reasoned.
Elena laughed. "Who says Stefan can't tell me no just 'cause I'm married to him?" she asked.
"Mommy" Lily answered. Elena should have been able to guess that one. "She says that Daddy can't tell her no 'cause he has to do whatever she says now" Lily explained.
Elena gave Lily a small smile. "That's not how it works with me and your Uncle Stefan" Elena informed her. "We talk about things and make decisions together" Elena told her.
Lily sighed. "So you can't tell Stefan to buy me a pool?" she asked.
Elena shook her head no. "I can discuss it with him, but I can't make him do anything" she told Lily.
Lily sighed again. "This is the worst day ever" she said with pouted lips.
Elena held back a laugh. "How about you and I go out for lunch?" Elena asked. Lily didn't answer, still content with pouting. "Pizza and ice cream?" Elena asked with a big smile. Lily's eyes showed interest, but still no smile. "With sprinkles?" Elena asked poking Lily in the side.
Lily rolled up into a ball and laughed. "No tickling Aunt Elena!" Lily cried out. Elena went into a full on tickle attack, making Lily squeal. "Okay okay!" Lily said, giving in. "We can go get pizza and ice cream!" she agreed.
Elena stopped the tickle attack and looked down at her beautiful niece recovering from fits of laughter. "Good" Elena said. "Go find your shoes" she told her. Lily rolled off of the bed and ran out of the room. Elena took out her phone and sent Stefan a quick text to let him know where they were going. She got a simple "k" in reply and frowned. He was working too hard and was too stressed out over whatever he was working on.
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Pizza and ice cream had been a success. She and Lily had gone for a walk around the park and fed the ducks, then played on the toys at the park. But Lily was still mad at Stefan.
The house was quiet when Elena came back home. It was nearly three in the afternoon, yet it seemed much later. She stopped by Stefan's office and poked her head in to find him still staring at his computer.
She sighed, letting herself in this time. Stefan looked up and saw that she was alone. "Where's Lily?" Stefan asked.
"I dropped her off" Elena answered.
Stefan frowned. "She wasn't supposed to go home until tomorrow" he said.
Elena crossed her arms and shrugged. "She wanted to go home" she told him.
Stefan sighed, running his hand over his face. "She's mad because I told her she couldn't have a new pool here" he stated.
Elena nodded. "She told me all about that" Elena mentioned. "But I don't think that's the entire reason she wanted to go home." Stefan looked at her with a look of guilt. Elena uncrossed her arms and gave him a pointed look. "Lily came over this weekend to spend time with you" she reminded him.
"I know that Elena" he told her, a hint of frustration in his tone. She gave him a warning look, daring him to get grumpy with her too. Stefan took a deep breath and continued. "I just have this stupid thing for work to get sorted out. I didn't plan on being stuck in front of my computer all weekend."
"So let it wait until Monday" Elena told him. "No one else is bothering with it right now, so you shouldn't have to either" she added.
Stefan looked like he was about to agree with her and shut his computer off, but Elena also knew he was too stubborn too. "I have to get it sorted out" he told her. "I'll make it up to Lily" he promised.
Elena felt bad for him as she walked around his desk and stood behind his chair. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're really tense" she noted. He didn't relax into her touch at all. "Why don't you come upstairs and relax?" she whispered into his ear. Stefan's eyes closed, wanting so badly to give in and go upstairs with her.
"Maybe in a few hours" he answered, though his voice was not as sure as he had wanted it to sound. He felt Elena's fingers unbutton the first two buttons on his shirt before her hands snuck their way inside.
Elena ran her hands along his bare chest slowly, getting herself a good feel. "Are you really not going to get Lily the pool?" she asked, her lips brushing over his ear.
Stefan's eyes remained closed. He was a mix of being turned on and wanting to fall into a relaxed sleep. "She doesn't need a bigger pool" Stefan answered quietly.
"What if I told you I wanted the pool too?" Elena whispered, lightly running her nails over his skin.
Stefan hissed under his breath. "That's not fair" he told her quietly. She was using seduction to get what she wanted. "You're seducing me."
Elena smiled right before she nibbled on his ear softly. "Is it working?" she asked.
Yes. "No" Stefan answered.
"Liar" Elena grinned. "Get her the pool" Elena told him, kissing against his ear playfully before she stepped back from him.
Stefan groaned, reaching for her. "Come back here" he whined, grabbing her arms.
Elena placed her hands on his shoulders and started massaging them, working out the tension ever so slowly. "If you come upstairs, I bet we can find a way to release the tension in these muscles of yours" she told him.
"One hour" he negotiated. Then he could say to hell with his work.
Elena leaned down again. "30 minutes" she countered, letting her warm breath fill his ear. Then she placed a soft, gentle kiss just above his eyebrow and left. It wasn't up for discussion. He had half an hour to get upstairs.
Stefan didn't know if he had ever typed so fast in his life, but he was determined to meet Elena's conditions.
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"What was I so stressed out about again?" Stefan asked with a ridiculously satisfied smile on his face. An hour in bed with Elena on a Saturday afternoon and he didn't know what stress was anymore.
Elena smiled as she moved closer to him, wrapping the navy blue sheet around herself. She rested her head against Stefan's chest and sighed softly when she felt his hand rub her back gently. "I'm glad you feel better" she told him, wrapping her arm around his stomach, feeling the hardened abs underneath her skin.
"I'm sorry I've been … what did Lily call me again?" he asked.
"Gwumpy" Elena said, using Lily's pronunciation that made him laugh. "I'm not the one you have to apologize to" Elena told him. "I understand that your job can be stressful sometimes. But Lily's mind doesn't understand that yet. She comes over here and expects you to be fun Uncle Stefan and play with her" she said.
Stefan was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. Elena was right. "I guess I forget that sometimes" he said quietly. "That I have a wife and a niece who need my attention now too" he mentioned. His job couldn't be his sole focus anymore, not even on occasion.
"You do a great job balancing it all out most of the time" Elena told him, turning her head to look up at him. "But sometimes you have a hard time saying no when it comes to your work." She smiled. "But that's what I'm here for. To help remind you" she added.
"And for that I'm thankful" he said, smiling at her. Then Stefan leaned in and kissed her gently. Her brown eyes sparkled when he leaned back and looked into them. Aside from Lily's, Elena's eyes were probably the most beautiful that he had ever seen. "I guess I have to buy the pool now, huh?" he asked with a knowing grin.
Elena laughed. "Yeah, you do" she answered. "Take her tomorrow so she can forgive you" Elena told him, sitting up. She reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her hair band to secure her hair back in the ponytail she had it in before Stefan had taken it out. She felt his lips press against her back, trailing their way up her spine to the base of her neck. Elena smiled, feeling her body react to every touch of his lips. "I was going to go and see what we might want for dinner" she told him, allowing her head to tilt sideways when he started kissing along her throat.
"Stay here … with me" he said, breathing along her skin. "I'm feeling a little … stressed" he told her with a sly smirk.
Elena rolled her eyes. "What, is my body your stress reliever now?" she asked.
Stefan pulled her back down on the bed and moved over her, looking into her eyes. She was joking, but he still felt the need to clarify something with her. Stefan leaned down and kissed her shoulder so tenderly that it made her shiver. "Your body" he said, then kissed where her heart would be. "Your heart" he added, then reached up and kissed her forehead. "Your mind" he whispered with a small smile as he rested his forehead against hers. "Everything about you Elena is good for me" he said, looking into her eyes once again.
Elena reached her hands up and held his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. "I love you" she whispered as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye.
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Stefan pushed the cart through Costco while Lily held on to the side of it. It was busy on a Sunday morning, but Stefan was on a mission to make things right with Lily. Even if that meant buying a large pool that she could only use for two months.
He stopped when Lily stopped. She had spotted a free sample station, offering fruit snacks. Stefan plucked a little plastic cup off of the table and handed it to her.
Lily tasted each one, analyzing it carefully. "These are good Uncle Stefan" she said. Then she reached up and barely got the large box off of the table without it falling on her. It was a box of 60 packages that she would never finish. Stefan helped her get it into the cart and then he thanked the woman handing out the samples.
They made it another ten feet or so before Lily found another sample station. Mini corndogs. Stefan didn't even wait for Lily to taste them before he was grabbing a box out of the cooler nearby for her. She'd want those too. Lily smiled up at him adoringly as she munched on her mini corndog through the store. "The pools should be over here" Stefan said, steering himself and Lily down another aisle.
Lily jumped for joy when she saw them. She wanted all of them, to be honest. "This one?" Stefan asked, resting his hand on a 3ft deep and 15 foot wide round pool.
Lily shook her head no. Then she walked further down the aisle, scanning all of the pools. "This one" she said. It was over 4 ft deep and 27 ft wide.
Stefan looked at it and then at the price tag. Of course it was the most expensive one, coming in at close to $3,000. But one look at her excited little face and he was flagging down an employee to help him get it loaded. Lily clapped her hands excitedly as she watched her new pool being taken up to the front. Stefan picked her up and set her on the handle bar of the cart while they waited to pay for it. "I'm sorry Lil, for being so grumpy yesterday" he told her. "Do you forgive me?" he asked.
"Yes" Lily told him. Then she pointed her finger at him. "Just don't be gwumpy anymore, okay?" she told him.
"I'll try not to be" he promised. "But I kind of feel like you're only forgiving me because I'm buying you the pool" he told her.
She shook her head. "No, I forgive you 'cause I love you" she corrected.
Stefan refused to get teary eyed in the store, but he could very well have. What a beautiful little girl he had in front of him. "I love you, Lil" he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug that she returned.
"Are you gonna set my pool up for me when we get home?" she asked.
Stefan gave her another tight squeeze before he set her back down on her feet. One day, she'd be too old for hugs like that. The thought was a crushing one. He just loved her too much to let her grow up. "Yep" he answered.
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Lily squealed as she jumped from the pool ladder into the water. Stefan was right there, just in case she had any trouble staying afloat. But she didn't. She was a little fish in the water, paddling her hands and feet to swim back to the ladder. Elena was floating nearby on an air mattress with her sunglasses on, soaking up the sun that would most definitely make her skin look even more amazing. Elena was watching Lily, looking every time Lily yelled for Elena to look at her.
It was the perfect day, and Stefan was sad to see it come to an end when Katherine swung by to pick Lily up. It was getting late though and the sun was starting to go down. "But Mommy" Lily whined as she climbed out of the pool.
Stefan got out behind her and Elena gave Katherine a small wave. Stefan wrapped a towel around Lily. "Go get your stuff" Stefan told her, watching Lily leave. Even her walk was pouty. "Do you think we can have her for the afternoons this week?" Stefan asked Katherine. It was supposed to be gorgeous all week, and Stefan wanted to get off work a little early to spend time with her.
Katherine examined her finger nails she just had done and shrugged. "I don't see why not" she told him.
Stefan smiled, feeling relieved. He didn't know why he was nervous about asking. Maybe it was because Lily wasn't his, and Katherine or Damon could say no at any time. "Thanks, Katherine" he told her.
Lily came out of the house, dragging her towel behind her for added effect. She was not happy at all. "Hey Pouty" Katherine called out to her. "You get to come here in the afternoon all week starting tomorrow" her mother told her.
Lily's entire face lit up as she dropped her things and ran for Stefan. She hugged his legs and looked up at him. "I do?" she asked.
Stefan nodded. "You do" he said, reaching down and picking her up. "Say bye to Elena" he said, walking her back over to the pool.
Elena pulled herself and her air mattress over to the edge as Stefan held Lily out so she could give Elena a kiss. "Bye Beautiful. See you tomorrow" Elena told her, having heard Stefan's request.
"Okay" Lily smiled, being pulled back against Stefan as he walked with her to Katherine's car.
Elena smiled as she watched the interaction between her husband and niece. She was so thankful that Stefan got to have a relationship with Lily and that she did too.
Elena smiled when Stefan made his way back to the pool and climbed in. He swam over to her and rested his arms on the air mattress. "Think this thing could hold us both?" he asked, pushing down on it.
Cool water touched Elena's nearly dry skin. "Hey!" she told him. "I don't think it will" she answered. It was only meant for one person. "The box said only one person" she informed him.
Stefan grinned. "Are you sure it didn't say one person and that person's extremely sexy, good-looking husband?" he asked.
Elena laughed as she leaned back in her air mattress. "Nope" she told him. Then she felt herself being pushed down and even more cool water rushing over her body. "Stefan!" she gasped.
But he was already crawling on the air mattress with her, positioning himself on top of her. Elena was submerged in water up to her chest, but surprisingly, they were staying afloat. "See?" he asked, looking down at Elena who did not look pleased.
"And what is the point of this?" Elena asked, looking up at him.
Stefan smiled as he leaned in and kissed her lips playfully. "What did the box say about … having sex on the air mattress?" he asked.
Elena blushed. Really? "It probably said not to" Elena answered.
Her answer made Stefan smile even more. "So let's do it then" he told her, leaning in to kiss her. His hands reached under her back and his fingers twirled the bikini top strings before he tugged on them, releasing the knots. Elena watched his face, wanting to see every reaction he had as he started to undress her. He pulled her top away from her and let it float somewhere nearby. Stefan looked at her appreciatively, licking his lips at the sight of her. "I'm starting to think this whole pool thing isn't such a bad idea at all" Stefan grinned.
Elena smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You had better get down to business before the mosquitos eat us alive" she told him.
Stefan's eyes turned mischievous as he lowered his head and kissed the top of her breast. A sudden nip had her gasping in surprise. He tilted her chin up and nipped lightly at the skin near her ear next. "No one's allowed to bite you but me" he whispered.
Elena's eyes closed as she let out a moan of agreement. Stefan continued his slow torture, right up until the last moment before the sun went down completely for the evening.