Again, thank you all for your reviews! You're all great. This chapter is a bit of a filler chapter, but I hope you enjoy! Let me know your thoughts on what may be to come...
A few weeks had gone by and Elena and Stefan were basking in their engaged bliss. They decided that they weren't going to rush to get married, it had afterall only been 5 months after Clay, so they saw the engagement as more of a promise of a future together. For now, they were just going to enjoy their time together.
Elena and Stefan lay in Stefan's bed early one Saturday morning. While Elena appeared to be sleeping peacefully, Stefan had his propped up on his hand and was gazing down at Elena. He couldn't quite believe that they had made it here. They had made it to this normality.
"You done staring, Salvatore?" Elena asked, with her eyes still closed.
Stefan furrowed his eyebrows at her; "I mean, I prefer to say gazing, but how could you tell?"
"You think I need to be looking at you to know what you're doing?" Elena asked as she smiled and opened one eye.
"Apparently not." he said as he lent down and brushed noses with her; "hi"
"Hi" she replied as he kissed her.
"I could get very used to waking up to you beside me." Stefan said with a smile.
"Well you better get used to it, cause I have no intention of going anywhere..." she replied as she kissed him again. "How about we grab Theo and head out for some breakfast?" she asked as she climbed out of bed.
"Can't." Stefan replied; "Theo and I actually have a man date today."
Elena eyed Stefan suspiciously; "a man date? What kind of man date?"
"Come on, I'll show you." Stefan said hoping out of bed, taking her hand, and leading her down the stairs.
He lead her down the long corridor on the second floor and they stopped outside a room to the right, opposite the master bathroom.
"Well, this is a lovely door..." Elena teased as Stefan pinched her sides.
"You're funny. Come on." He said opening the door and allowing Elena to walk in.
"So I hate that when you're here, Theo is stuck in one of the boring old boarder's rooms. It's no room for a little boy, so I figured he deserved something a little more fitting. I'm thinking, the bed over here, some cabinets and stuff over there, Theo tells me he loves to read so a nice big book shelf, an area for his toys over there, he has been raving about this soccer ball bean bag that he wants, so he shall get it..." Stefan said as Elena took in the image Stefan was forming in her head. It was the perfect little boy's room.
"This sounds... amazing." she replied.
Stefan smiled, walked towards her and lifted her hands. "I know I said I wanted rid of this place but not when I have you and Theo now. You haven't found a house and I don't want you to because there is one right here waiting for you."
"You want us to move in with you?" Elena asked, failing to hide her smile at the idea.
"Yeah I do. You're staying here most nights anyway, why not make it official? Why not give you and Theo a home?" Stefan said.
"... this would be a pretty kick ass place for him to grow up in." Elena said.
"You bet your ass it would. My man date with Theo was to go and pick some stuff out for his new room." Stefan said.
"I think that sounds like an excellent idea... we would love to move in with you." Elena said as she wrapped her arms around Stefan's neck. "Thank you"
"You don't have to thank me... we're a family now." he said kissing her lighting before hugging her close.
They turned their heads when they heard the door slam open and Theo appear with a bright, smiling face.
"Steffy, stop hugging momma, we have to go get stuff for my new room!" Theo said happily as he ran back out of the room.
Elena and Stefan looked at each other and then laughed. "Well he's excited." Stefan said.
"and it is wonderful to see. Thank you for making him so happy... he really needs someone like you in his life." Elena said sincerely.
"I am happily there for Theo and anything he needs." Stefan said as he kissed her forehead. "What are you going to do today?" he asked as they walked out of the room.
"Uh your Nonna wants to take me out this afternoon. I'm not entirely sure where but I reckon anywhere in Mystic Falls is pretty safe." Elena said.
"Honestly, you never know with my nonna. She is very good at surprises." Stefan said with a smile.
"Do you think they'll stick around in Mystic Falls or head back to New York with Damon?" Elena asked, knowing that Damon was planning on leaving soon.
"I think the only reason they stayed in New York was because Damon and I were there. Mystic Falls is much more their style." Stefan replied.
"What about you? Is Mystic Falls much more your style?" Elena asked as she stopped and stood infront of him.
Stefan reached out and pulled her closer to him by the waist. "Anywhere where you are is much more my style..." he said as he kissed her.
"What about the restaurants? They were your dream Stefan, I don't want you to push them under the rug." Elena said.
"They won't be pushed under the rug, I can travel every now and again to see how things are going. I was also thinking that Richmond could benefit from Salvatore's and Mystic Falls has been due a new cafe since 1979." Stefan joked as Elena sniggered.
"Looks like you've plotted out your next move" Elena replied.
"Yeah. Looks like it." he said as they made their way downstairs and into the kitchen.
When they got there, they saw Theo sitting eating his cereal at the table, Katherine and Robbie drinking coffee by the sink and Averie reading a magazine, perched on the counter top.
"Hm... I didn't realise you'd opened up a hostel Stefan." Elena said sarcastically as she snatched the magazine off Averie and pushed her off the counter, only to get a glare from her younger sister as she sat down at the table.
"Uh... I didn't."
"Well this was called the Salvatore boarding house for a reason..." Katherine reminded them.
"And we're choosing to ignore the fact that it stopped being a boarding house in the late 70s" Robbie added.
"What are you all doing here anyway?" Elena asked as she looked around the fridge for something to eat.
"Stefan's casa es mi casa." Katherine said with a smirk. "I need a place to crash. My parents decided they had enough of me loitering about, think I should go and get a job or something, but I couldn't give them the satisfaction of me actually getting a job, it goes completely against my basic principle of pleasing myself above others." Katherine said seriously, as the others scrunched up their faces at their stubbornness.
"Well luckily for your parents and for you, I have a job proposal." Stefan said as he lifted a piece of paper from the table and handed it to her.
Katherine furrowed her eyebrows at the piece of paper which held a profile of an old store on it. "Stefan if you're trying to get me into real estate, you can think again."
"I'm not trying to get you into real estate, I was thinking of opening a cafe up here, this is a potential location, I was hoping you would go and check it out for me." Stefan told her.
"You trust me to find the perfect location for your cafe?" Katherine asked, surprised Stefan didn't want to check the place out himself.
"Yeah. You're a perfectionist Kat, you won't pick anything that's sub par, you'll know if it has potential." Stefan said as he took a cup of coffee from Elena.
"That's true... ok, I'll do it, I'll be sure to give the estate agent a good grilling too." Katherine said as she set her cup down and strutted out of the kitchen.
"Robbie, go with her and make sure she doesn't completely ruin our chances." Stefan asked as Robbie laughed and nodded.
"You're lucky I love you Steffy, otherwise there's no way you would be able to send me into the lion's den with Katherine." Robbie said as he high fived Stefan on the way out the door.
"And what's your reason for being here Ave?" Elena asked as she turned to her sister. "A reason that is no doubt highly valid."
"I was bored. That's... quite literally it." Averie replied with a pout.
"It's only 10am" Elena said with a laugh.
"Yeah that's how pathetic my life is right now." Averie replied.
"Well... Lincoln's coming back into town today. You could hang with him." Elena suggested.
"Yeah over my dead body." Averie replied with a smirk.
"That's too bad, cause he's on the way over here to help paint Theo's new room, and I told him you were going to help!" Elena said with an awkward smile.
"You have got to be kidding me." Averie said as her jaw fell to the floor. "I am not spending a day with Lincoln!"
"Come on, it'll be fun! Just... don't spill the paint all over him, that stuff is expensive." Elena said. "You can get a t-shirt and shorts from the drawer in Stefan's room." Elena told her.
"Elena..." Averie said between her teeth.
"Do it for Theo, he's so excited about getting this room, aren't you honey?" Elena said running a hand through Theo's hair.
"Yeah Auntie Ave! Please help Unkie Linc!" Theo begged.
"... you're lucky I love you Theo otherwise I would be telling Lincoln to take his paint brushes and stick them where the sun don't shine." Averie said as she stormed out of the room.
"You're such a meddler." Stefan said with a laugh.
"They're good for each other." Elena said with a shrug.
"All they do is bicker" Stefan reminded her.
"They bicker because they care." Elena replied. "Just like you and I used to..." she reminded him.
"That's true..." Stefan said with a snigger.
"They're functionally dysfunctional." Elena said. "I'm going to get dressed. You boys have fun today!" Elena said as she kissed them both.
"Ew mommmm!" Theo exclaimed as he wiped her kiss off his cheek.
"Yeah Elena that's so gross..." Stefan teased as he too wiped the kiss from his cheek, getting a high five from Theo.
Elena rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'll see you boys later."
Katherine and Robbie made their way through the town centre of Mystic Falls together to view the location for the cafe. They had always had a relatively tense relationship, due to jealousy over the other's friendship with Stefan, but Katherine always had a soft spot for Robbie, and throughout high school, she would try to get him to give in to her, but to no avail.
Katherine scrunched up her nose as she observed the town; "I forgot how much I hated this place." she said as she kicked a piece of rubbish away with her shoe.
"You only hate it because it brings back bad memories." Robbie replied, though Katherine wasn't really looking for a response.
"Of what?"
"Rejection. From both me and Stefan." Robbie said with a smirk.
Katherine rolled her eyes; "don't flatter yourself."
"You mean to tell me that you weren't in love with Stefan in high school?" Robbie asked her unconvinced.
"... I will admit that there was a time when I thought Stefan and I were meant to be together but when I saw how in love with Elena he was, I quickly shook that out of my system." Katherine said.
"You tried to sabotage Stefan and Elena from the start, I'm surprised you're not doing it now." Robbie replied.
"I didn't say I realised instantly that he was in love with Elena..." Katherine replied with a raised eyebrow. "And I don't need to sabotage it now, it's probably going to collapse on it's loney lonesome." she finished as she hissed through her teeth.
"and it's your friendly support that is really going to get them through." Robbie said with an eyeroll.
"You know Robbie, if I remember correctly, you weren't too keen on the idea of Stefan and Elena either..." Katherine said, as she decided to take a trip down memory lane.
11 years ago
Katherine sat in the grill with her sunglasses on, attempting to nurse what she thought was the worst hang over of her life. Stefan had thrown one of his killer parties last night and she was paying the consequences this morning as usual. As the waiter brought over her coffee, Robbie quickly sat in the booth opposite her, not looking too happy.
"Robbie... I am severley hung over right now and your intense stare is seriously hurting my head, please go away." Katherine said as she rested her head in her hand.
"Did you know about Stefan and Elena?" Robbie asked, not caring at all about Katherine's state.
"What about them?" Katherine said tiredly.
"That they were together... that they have been together for quite some time." Robbie said sitting back in the booth.
"Oh that... yeah I knew." Katherine said with a shrug. "Is that all?"
"Am I the only one who didn't know?!" Robbie said loudly as Katherine smacked him on the arm.
"Robbie geez! Hushed. Voices. Please. And no one knows, I'm the only one who did know, and it wasn't because Stefan wanted to tell me, I worked it out, those two were not subtle." Katherine replied.
"Obviously subtle enough, this is my best friend and my sister we're talking about, how could I not know?" Robbie said.
"Cause you're an idiot. I'm guessing you're not happy about it." Katherine said sighing as she placed her sunglasses on her head.
"I don't know what to think about it... they love each other Katherine. This is the real deal." Robbie said as Katherine's head shot up.
"Love? I don't know Robbie, Stefan doesn't really do love..." Katherine said, her words trailing off.
"He does with Elena. I know he's never been a relationship guy so... I have to believe that this actually means something to him. They've been together for 6 months Katherine."
"Stefan gets bored easily, he'll move on, you'll get your precious baby sister Elena back don't worry." Katherine said with an eyeroll.
"I can't let him hurt her Kat..." Robbie said as he shook his head.
"Well," Katherine said standing up; "if you need a partner to do some sabotaging, you know where to find me. If not... suck it up." she said before putting her sunglasses on and strutting away.
"You never did come and find me for some sabotaging..." Katherine said as she stopped and looked at him. "I was quite disappointed."
"I almost did but uh... I saw them laughing outside the house that afternoon and... they just looked so happy. Who was I to screw that up for them?" Robbie said with a shrug.
"Well aren't you saint like." Katherine teased. "Turns out they didn't need anyone else to sabotage it for them because Stefan went into self sabotage mode, then Elena went into self sabotage mode, then back to Stefan... i guess it's Elena's turn next."
"Not this time Katherine. There's nothing holding them back."
"There's always going to be something. Mark my words."
"Hey Theo, what about this one?" Stefan said as he held up a bean bag for Theo to inspect.
"Yeah, I like it!" Theo said with certainty.
"Well then we're getting it" Stefan said with a smile as he put it in the trolley and the boys kept walking through the store. "What else do you think we need?"
"This ball" Theo said as he lifted it from the shelf.
"Hm... we could have some pretty epic soccer matches with this..." Stefan said as he passed the ball between his hands.
"Will you be on my team against Unkie Rob and Unkie Jer?" Theo asked as he held onto the side of the trolley.
"Of course I will bud. Though, I think you could definitely take them on and win without me." Stefan said as Theo giggled.
"Yeah they're not very good..." Theo said, relishing in the praise Stefan was giving him. Stefan knew that he never heard things like this from Clay, so he wanted to be that figure in his life.
A short while later, Stefan and Theo were packing away their new purchases into the car, and Theo smiled when he remembered all that he had gotten. Elena had said to Stefan before they left that she couldn't remember the last time Theo was this excited about something, and it as Stefan's pleasure to make it as exciting as it could be.
"Right that's the last of it. Let's get you buckled up." Stefan said as he lifted Theo, opened the back door and set him in his booster seat.
"Steffy, can I ask you something?" Theo asked.
Stefan leaned back and looked at Theo; "Of course you can, what's up?" he asked.
"Mommy said that daddy did some bad things so he had to go away for a while... do you think he's ever going to come back?" Theo asked.
Stefan looked sympathetically at the little boy. He was too little to fully comprehend what was going on, but he knew that something bad had happened. He didn't know what questions he could ask, he didn't know what was going to happen next, and that clearly scared him.
"Uh... I don't really know Theo. What I do know is that you don't have to worry about anything." Stefan said.
"I don't want him to come back." Theo said surprising Stefan. Even if Theo didn't have the best relationship with Clay, there was a certain idolisation that a lot of little boys had to their fathers. This was clearly something Theo didn't have.
"Why not?" Stefan asked.
"He wasn't nice to mommy and... he never spent any time with me. All my friends have nice daddies, why couldn't I have one too?" Theo said sadly.
Stefan sighed, wanting to take the pain that Theo was feeling away. He was too young to feel like he wasn't wanted. "Theo... don't be sad. Your daddy may not be a nice man and you may not have him around to play with but you know what you do have? You have me. I will always be there for you no matter what."
"Just like you're there for mommy?" Theo asked as his eyes lit up, knowing how happy Stefan made Elena.
Stefan smiled; "Yeah just like I'm there for mommy. I love you both very much." Stefan reassured.
"We love you too Steffy... thanks for my new room!" Theo said happily.
Stefan sniggered; "That's ok buddy... let's get you home." he said as he buckled Theo in and got into the front seat.
He would happily be a father figure to Theo and he knew Elena would want that too. Everything seemed to be falling into place, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was all too good to be true.
Elena walked into a vintage shop on the edge of town, where Alessandra had asked her to meet her. She looked around her for a second, before seeing that the shop was completely empty.
"Mrs Salvatore?" Elena called as she tried to spot her. "Hello?" she said, but no one appeared. She figured she was running late, so she decided to look around a little bit.
She saw beautiful ornament and ceramics. Old books and boxes, the stuff was beautiful.
"You know, a lot of this used to be in the Salvatore house." Elena heard a voice behind her say, as she jumped slightly before turning round and seeing Alessandra. "Oh sorry dear I didn't mean to scare you." Alessandra apologised.
"No, it's ok." Elena assured her. "This stuff is beautiful... you said it was once in the house?" Elena asked.
"Yes, before Lily and Giuseppe died, Damon and Stefan were getting into an awful habit of breaking things around the house and there was just too much Salvatore history in that house to allow it all to be broken. So they took a lot of it out of the house and made a store out of it. Well, I'm not sure I would call it a store, they never actually allowed anyone to buy anything. Just admire." Alessandra said as she ran her fingers along some ornaments. "It's all gathered a bit of dust since they passed on." she finished sadly.
"Maybe we could bring some of it back to the house." Elena suggested.
"Oh no honey, this stuff has no place in a young couple's house like yourselves." Alessandra assured. "I've been telling the boys for years to redecorate that place but they think the history is too important."
"It's a beautiful house." Elena agreed.
"Yes but I trust you'll make a few changes once you officially move in." Alessandra said with a wink as Elena giggled.
"Maybe just a few..." Elena replied.
"Well there are a few things here that I wanted to give to you. If I can find them that is..." Alessandra said as she started to look around. She walked over to the bookshelves and lifted a tatty book out and brushed some of the dust off it. "The way to a Salvatore's house is through his stomach. Italian roots demand it." she said as she handed Elena the book. "This recipe book has been in the family for years. It belonged to Piero's grandmother, then his mother, then me, then Lily... so now it's your turn."
Elena smiled as she took the book and flicked through it; "Stefan always raves about his mom's spaghetti and her cake... now it's all here."
"Well the secret recipes now lie in your hands." Alessandra said as she continued to walk round the shop. "There is one more thing, if I can get my hands on it... ah ha." she said as she reached for a basket and pulled a blanket out of it. "Now this is special..." she said with a smile. "This was a baby blanket that Piero's grandmother made for him and it has been passed down through the family. Every time a baby boy got it, they stitched their initial into it." Alessandra explained as she held up the stitched end for Elena to see.
"P, G, D... S... so this was Stefan's baby blanket?" Elena asked.
"Yes and he wouldn't go anywhere without this thing... now it's yours, for any future Salvatores you may have." Alessandra said suggestively as she handed Elena the blanket. "Elena, I don't know what your future with Stefan will hold entirely... but I do know that it will be one filled with happiness. Don't panic about what is to come, take things as they come, enjoy your time together, relish in the little moments." Alessandra encouraged with a soft smile.
Elena smiled softly back at Alessandra. She knew she had a bright future with Stefan, everything about being with him felt good. While it scared her a little that she didn't know what was to come, she felt comfort in knowing that Stefan would be by her side through anything and everything.
"Thank you for showing me all of this Mrs Salvatore." Elena said sincerely.
Alessandra smiled; "Elena please, call me Nonna." she said with a wink.
Averie opened the door to the Salvatore house and was greeted by a smirking Lincoln.
"Averie, so nice to see you." he said as he stepped into the house.
"Wish I could say the same about you." she replied as she closed the door and walked in front of him.
"Ave you could make it a little less obvious that you want me, plus, this is Stefan's house, it would be totally disrespectful!" Lincoln teased.
"Are you deliberately looking for me to knock a few of your teeth out or...?" Averie asked pretending to be confused.
"Oh come on Ave, we were friends once upon a time, why can't we be friends again?" Lincoln asked as they walked upstairs.
"Because you are bad, bad news. We are toxic when we are even in the same room together, you are the fuel to my fire, you always have been." Averie said as they walked into Theo's room.
"I have matured."
"I find that hard to believe." Averie said rolling her eyes.
"I run a bank now." Lincoln reminded her.
"Your daddy runs the bank, all you have to do is smile and look pretty" Averie shot back.
Lincoln smiled; "You think I'm pretty?"
"Oh shut up" Averie said throwing a paint brush at him.
"Since when did you lose your sense of humour? Look, I'm not here to get you all hot and bothered though I know that's a natural response-" he teased
"Then why are you here?" Averie said quickly cutting him off.
"To see Elena and Theo." Lincoln replied simply.
"I know you Lincoln, there's always something more in it for you." Averie said as she rested her hands on her hips.
Lincoln sighed; "I uh... I need to talk to Elena about something." he said.
"What is it?" Averie pried further.
"Is your name Elena? No I didn't think so..." Lincoln replied as he opened the paint canister.
"Can't be a good thing if you're keeping it a secret." Averie said as she poured some paint into a box to take to the other side of the room.
"It's about Clay." Lincoln confessed.
Averie stood up straighter; "Well then it's definitely not good. I thought he got sent down for 7 years?"
"He did but uh... he's trying to appeal it." Lincoln explained.
"There's no way a judge is going to let him out after what he did." Averie said folding her arms.
"In theory a judge shouldn't..." Lincoln said looking down at his feet.
"... What are you not telling me Lincoln?" Averie said walking closer towards him.
"I don't know what's going to happen Averie, but you know Clay, you know what he's capable of." Lincoln said.
"What does that mean Lincoln?" Averie said louder, growing more exacerbated by the second.
"It means he's not going to stop until he gets out! He has contacts Averie, he has charm! Money means power, you know that." Lincoln said seriously.
"He got sent down once, it can happen again!" Averie replied.
"I'm not so sure about that. He's getting out Averie, and he's going to come gunning for Elena when he does."
Averie shook her head; "Elena is finally happy Lincoln. We can't let him destroy her."
"Clay's smart... no matter what we do... he'll find a way."
Stefan lay in bed that night reading a book when Elena walked out of the bathroom, lent on the door frame and smiled brightly at Stefan. He looked so calm sitting there with his bare torso, engrossed in his book. Though Elena knew it wouldn't take a lot to divert his attention to her.
"Theo can't wait for the paint to dry in his room, he wants to move in as soon as possible. I'm worried that he's never going to leave it." Elena joked as Stefan smirked and set his book down on the night stand.
"We'll get him in there in the next couple of days. Katherine and Robbie told me that the location is good for the cafe, so I placed an offer, hopefully it will all come through." Stefan said. "Did you have a nice day with nonna?"
"I had the best day with nonna... which she now wants me to call her by the way." Elena said as she settled into bed beside him.
"Yeah she was never one for formalities." Stefan said with a laugh.
"She actually gave me the secret Salvatore cook book... it has your moms spaghetti in it, the one you always raved about." Elena said.
Stefan smiled "My god I loved that spaghetti... problem is though, you can't cook."
"Hey!" Elena said swatting him in the stomach. "I'm getting better at it, did you not see the feast I made for my family when you came bashing though the door with a big romantic proposal?"
"I can't say the food was what was on my mind that evening..." Stefan replied.
"I'm sure it won't hold a shadow on your mom's but... I can try." Elena said to which Stefan nodded sincerely. "Do you miss your parents?"
"... yeah I do. I was still pretty young when they died. I would have loved to have more time with them but, it wasn't meant to be." Stefan replied sadly.
"They would be really proud of you Stefan. Both you and Damon, you've achieved so much." Elena assure him.
"You would have been their favourite part of me no doubt... you know, Theo was asking questions today, about Clay." Stefan told her.
Elena's face fell; "What kind of questions?"
"He just wanted to know if he was ever coming back... and why he didn't have a good daddy like the rest of his friends."
Elena looked down at her hands, she felt so much pain for Theo and what he didn't have. "I hate that this is so painful for him... he's too young to think that he isn't loved."
Stefan said up straighter and cupped Elena's cheeks in his hands; "Elena, Theo will never feel unloved. Not when he has you... and me. I want to be what Clay never was to him. I want him to know what it's like to have that father figure in his life. I will always be there for him... no matter what." Stefan assured her as Elena allowed a tear to fall down her cheek.
"I love you so much." she said as they rested foreheads.
"I love you more." Stefan replied as he softly kissed her, and allowed her to rest against his shoulder. "I don't know what our future is going to hold Elena. Life is never easy but it also has so many joys... we're all going to be ok, because we have each other, and nothing is going to change that."
"Nothing will ever change that..." Elena said sleepily as she drifted off into a blissful sleep, with Stefan by her side.
Don't forget to review!