Chapter 7

Caroline and Bonnie had finally unpacked all of Caroline's belongings and had placed them meticulously in their specified places. It was lucky that the previous owners of the apartment wanted a quick sale, so they left the majority of the furniture for Caroline. The comfy sofa was screaming her name as she walked through the open plan kitchen lounge and flopped back into the cushions; Bonnie following suit in the armchair.

"I'm sorry I interrupted you earlier" Bonnie said, desperate to bring up the topic since they left the old apartment.

"What?" Caroline asked quizzically, although Bonnie suspected she was playing dumb.

"The little moment I walked in on…"

"Oh that" she laughed "That was nothing." She shook her head "You didn't interrupt anything"

Bonnie raised her eyebrow "really? Because from what I saw, it looked like a pretty intimate moment"

"Well it wasn't." Caroline said firmly "The baby was kicking that's all. I put his hand on my belly so he could feel it, just like I would have done if Elena had been there… or even you for that matter. It's his baby Bonnie, he's the parent. Him and Elena" there was an evident sound of disbelief in her own voice as she spoke, something her friend was very aware of.

"I know that, but do you?"

"Of course I do. What are you suggesting Bonnie?" Caroline questioned "That I've changed my mind? That carrying Stefan's baby has made me fall madly in love with him?"

Bonnie shrugged "I don't know, has it?"

"What? No!" she proclaimed "There is nothing going on there"

"You sure? I know you Care, and I can see you have feelings for him!" Caroline went to speak but Bonnie continued, not giving her time to begin ranting excuses and made up reasons. "Do not deny it Forbes, we've been best friends for years. I can read you as easily as I can 'sam I am'. You like Stefan and if I hadn't walked in on the two of you, you would have probably kissed him"

Caroline groaned and threw her head back "I don't like him like that Bonnie, yeah I feel something, but I'm pregnant with his baby, who wouldn't? I care about him like a friend does but that's it."

"Whatever you say." She said in a sing song voice "But my eyes saw what they saw and they saw a guy going goo-goo for you and your pregnant ass nearly kissing him"

"It's the hormones!"

"Stefan have those too does he? Yeah… didn't think so. The guy is falling for you Caroline."

"No he isn't! He's married, happily married well kind of! When I have this baby they'll be a proper family and I'll never see him or her, or the baby every again." She said firmly "That's the deal"

"And deals never get broken right?" Bonnie asked softly sitting down next to Caroline and placing her hand on her shoulder. "Admit it Care, he's going above and beyond for you and it's not just because of the baby, I think he wants you just as much as the child you're carrying" There was silence as Caroline let Bonnies words sink in, her hand moved soothingly over her stomach. "He wants you to meet his parents! God if that doesn't spell it out to you then I don't know what will."

"It was them who wanted to see me!" Caroline defended "I'm having their grandchild; I don't see that to be odd or anything"

"You wouldn't! You're so blinded by him and his blue eyes…"

"Green, he has green eyes actually" Caroline said, gasping a little as she realised what she'd done.

Bonnie stood up "I rest my case Forbes!"

"Where is she then?" His mom asked as he climbed back into the car.

Stefan shook his head a little "I told you she would be busy moving mom, she's on the way to her new place."

"Well we'll go there then"

"Lilly, sweetheart, give the girl some time." Her husband said from the back of the car.

"I'm just excited. I want to give her a huge hug and thank her for giving us a grandchild" Lilly said

"I know Mom, and you will tonight, I've asked her and her friend out for dinner with us." Lilly's face shone with happiness "Just promise me you'll be…well you won't be all overpowering"

"I won't be; your father will make sure of that will you not Giuseppe?"

"I'm sure I will my dear." He replied "Won't Elena be joining us tonight?" he asked

Stefan shook his head "No, she's out of town on a work trip at the moment." He sighed

"Work trip my ass" His mother said

"Mom!"

"What? I don't like the woman, never have done. And work? She doesn't know the meaning of the word. She's probably in a penthouse sipping Mai-Tai's"

Stefan rolled his eyes "Thanks for that image Mom. Elena works hard, she's working now so she can be around more when the baby's born."

Lilly scoffed "She should stay on her business trip."

"Please Mom enough, ok? Let's just enjoy the rest of the evening. Caroline has lots of scans she can show you, we had a 3D scan done recently too." He grinned, pulling off from some traffic lights "Caroline says she thinks she looks like me. She doesn't, she looks like Caroline, you can tell so much from the scan. Caroline has a proper button noes and you can see the baby has it too…"

Stefan glanced at his Mom and then Dad who nodded "She? You decided to find out the gender then?"

"Got that hint then?" He asked "Yeah we did, A little baby girl. She's going to be so beautiful…just wait until you meet Caroline and you'll see why." He said still smiling.

"You have a lot to say about this Caroline, it's all good too." Lilly began "It sounds as though she's the one who you're going to be raising the baby with"

"Well she isn't." His voice sounded almost disappointed "Caroline is amazing, and doing such an incredible thing for Elena and I but that's all.

"Hmm…If you insist. I know you my son, that's a look of love on your face."

The evening had been in one word: awkward. The initial atmosphere was so tense you could cut the air with a knife and still not get any relief. Lilly and Giuseppe were really pleased to meet Caroline and showed a lot of interest (probably too much) in her life and the pregnancy. By the time for dessert, Caroline made her excuses along with Bonnie, proclaiming she was tired and needed to sleep as she had an early lecture in the morning. They said their goodbye's and quickly fled the restaurant. Stefan gave his mother a lecture of her own and sent a very apologetic text message to Caroline. He took his parents to their hotel for the evening and set off to his own home- finally.

He approached the front door and pushed the key into the lock, opening it to see the lights were on inside and a several suitcases lay against the wall. He walked in and shut the door with a slam "Elena? Is that you?" As he walked through the lounge he found the brunette sat on the sofa "Hey, I didn't think you would be home until tomorrow."

"Yeah there was a change of plan" She sighed "Stefan there's something I have to tell you…"

Stefan frowned "Is everything ok?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat and sighed "I'm moving out." She said firmly, very little emotion in her voice.

"What?"

"I'm moving out" She said standing up and handing her house key to Stefan "I'll have someone collect the rest of my things by the end of the week."

"I don't understand…" Stefan began, watching her as she approached the front door and pulled the handle up on one of the suitcases. "why are you doing this? What about us? The baby?"

"I've been having an affair Stefan!" She shouted, closing her eyes as she confessed.

"How long?"

"8 months." She whispered "It's a guy from work his name…"

He shook his head "I don't want to know. Just get out Elena"

"Stefan, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just…this isn't what I want anymore…" she said sliding the ring from her finger and setting it on the counter. She leant across and kissed his cheek softly "You'll make a wonderful father."

Stefan watched as she gave a final smile and left, the door closing behind her.

To be continued...