Title: He's Easy Like That

Disclaimer: I do not own TVD – I'm just borrowing!

Rating: M for language.

Author's Note: So many reviews – so many thank yous. I try to reply to everyone so thank you for continuing to read this weird yet somehow wonderful (yet ridiculous) fic!

Now this chapter is serious – which isn't really in the style of the story but I figured that if Stefan was going to return, it wouldn't be pretty. And let's be realistic, I think Stefan couldn't really handle seeing Elena with his brother. But, don't worry, it won't all be terrible. I hope.

Split into two parts!

Enjoy!

Ave x

'I'll get it!' she half-mumbled as she struggled to pull herself out from the comfort of the cushions on the couch.

'Elena I could be on the other side of the house and still get to the door before you,' he yelled back from somewhere upstairs, 'and that's without my neat trick of superhuman speed,'

And it was true. She mentally cursed those extra few pounds that seemed to creep up on her these past couple of weeks. Pretty soon she wouldn't be walking anywhere, she would be waddling. She just thanked the lord that the dress she'd ordered for the wedding was somewhat flattering and flowed from under the chest. A corset bodice might make her look less pregnant but come on; she was having comfort issues even in sweatpants.

'Fine,' she replied grumpily and settled herself back down with the baby name book which she had been trying to get Damon to look at, getting more and more frustrated with him simply telling her he had the name 'covered' and would tell her closer to the time what they were going to call their kid. As if that was gonna fly.

Bu she practically jumped out of her skin when she heard Damon and the almost unnatural squeak to his voice.

'Stefan? Brother, what are you doing here?'

Hearing his name, knowing he was here – it sent a chill down her spine. Yet she still managed to get back up off the couch and make her way to the entrance.

'Trying to get in my front door. Care to explain why, Brother?'

Elena appeared in the hallways just as Stefan finished talking.

'Because the house belongs to me Stefan. I'd have to invite you in...'

She hadn't wanted to accept the gift of the boarding house but outside pressures had something to do with it. Her aunt Jenna made it quite clear that if Elena was moving in with Damon and having their child in that house, she would feel safer knowing any vampire couldn't just waltz in and have either of them for dinner. And it totally had nothing to do with Jenna reminding her that if this whole thing went to the wall then at least Elena would walk away with a pretty nice nest egg in the form of the Boarding House. No, it had nothing to do with that...at all.

Damon hadn't quite vamped out but she could see the way he was gripping the door that he wasn't going to take any chances. Likewise, she knew to keep her distance, a distance she knew Damon would be comfortable with as she finished what she started.

'...and I can't think of one good reason why I should.'

'Elena please, I've come home to fix things, to try to make amends...'

She was standing with the book open in front of her, and she found she had little she wanted to say to the vampire who abandoned her when she needed him most. The one who almost killed her. Instead, she simply closed the book and put it on the sideboard, making it clear for Stefan to see why it would be ten times harder for him to make any kind of inroad into making things right.

Stefan stood in shock as he could see the slight yet noticeable rounding of her stomach.

'You're too late Stefan,' she said defiantly as she turned and walked back inside the house, picking up the book she'd moments ago put down, 'almost 5 months too late.'

Damon hung his head, torn between beating the crap out of his brother and following her inside. He was brought out of his turmoil as the growling rose in Stefan's throat.

'Don't you start,' he responded with little concern, 'I have nothing to say to you so you best be on your way grumpy. And don't be chewing on anyone on the way out of town either. I'm so over cleaning up your messes.'

'What did you do to her? Did you compel her?' he yelled, loud enough that Elena most likely could hear every word. Stefan had vamped out completely and was gripping the timber of the door frame, desperate to get into the house.

'Now why does everybody think I'd need to compel Elena for her to be with me? Is it so hard to believe that she could want to be with me? After all, when you regressed back to your Hannibal Lector days all those months ago, I was there for her Stefan. Because I was her friend. I told you that I would be. I'm a man of my word – not one to break a promise like that now am I?'

Stefan was processing all the information, and he wasn't taking it well. Damon could care less. It is what it is he thought.

'Now why don't you do us all a favour and get the hell off Elena's property. This isn't your home anymore.'

Damon could vaguely see the old brooding Stefan somewhere in his blood lust, a little bit of guilt surfacing from within his younger brother. It almost made him feel bad about baiting him. Almost.

'How is that even possible? She can't possibly be...'

'Well she is so deal with it. Better yet, we're registered at Babies R'Us – send the kid a gift.'

That reminded him, he really must stop by to thank Sheriff Forbes for the Diaper Genie, whatever the hell that was.

'Damon, please...' honestly, when has begging ever worked, Stefan should know better, 'I just need to talk to her for a minute.'

There was a tiny part of him that felt bad about this shock for his brother. Hell if things had been the other way around he would have probably reacted the same. He didn't deny that his brother loved Elena, although the thought made him want to be violently sick. Thank god vampires don't have a gag reflex. But this wasn't even about sibling rivalry now. It was about the girl that he loved sitting in their house, carrying his child and having to face the man that nearly killed her. Even without a baby to think about, he was almost positive Elena wasn't going to go running back into his arms. He hoped.

'Well Stefan, she doesn't want to see you. I'd save your energy. And talking about energy I've already wasted enough of mine on talking to you. Ciao brother,' he snarled as he slammed the door in Stefan's face, hoping it hit him on his ass as it banged shut.

As he walked back inside he heard Stefan roar and presumably punched the wall. He found Elena sitting on the couch, reading the book as if nothing had happened. Before he could even start talking she cut him off.

'I don't want to talk about it.'

'Whenever you're ready,' he replied, before fixing himself a bourbon and downing it in one.

It was a two hours later when he got the call, picking up his cell and moving out of the parlour to answer it. He didn't want to disturb Elena as she had fallen asleep not long after Stefan so rudely turned up on their doorstep.

'Damon, is she ok?'

'What? How do you...'

He had no idea how she knew anything had happened.

'He came here to speak to Ric but he's at some parent teacher conference. I told him where to go, politely of course.'

'I'll bet,' he murmured, wondering which choice expletives Jenna had used to insult his brother this time, 'You didn't let him in did you?'

'What? Invite a recovering human-blood-a-holic into my house? No Damon, I didn't invite him in. Although he's been invited in before, it's not like I could stop him.'

'I don't think he'd just come waltzing in, but then again I didn't think he'd ever come back so be careful Jenna.'

'Do you take me for an idiot? I have vervain and a stake Damon.'

Damon didn't want to tell Jenna that just because she had the tools, didn't mean that she would have any chance against his brother.

'Did she speak to him?' she enquired.

'No,' he managed to grit out, now worrying about the fact Stefan was just turning up on the doorstep of everyone he cared about.

Jenna sighed.

'Ok I'll rephrase that - did you let her speak to him.'

'No. And for your information Jenna, she didn't want to talk to him.'

There was silence for a few moments.

'Do you think maybe she should? That you both should? I mean maybe not face to face or anything,' she paused, clearly hesitant about pissing off the vampire on the other end of the phone, 'but there's the e-mail, Skype maybe...' she trailed off realising how ridiculous she sounded.

All he could do was snort at the suggestion.

'Are you forgetting the fact that right before he skipped town he almost bled her dry?'

He could hear her sharp intake of breath and silently cursed himself. Jenna walking in on Stefan feeding from Elena had haunted her for weeks. Jenna was never supposed to find out about vampires.

'Of course not, but...'

'Good, because she's not going anywhere near him.'

And neither are you he thought to himself, knowing that Jenna just about had it in her to go meddling in this.

'Fine, then you talk to him. Someone owes him an explanation.'

'I don't owe him anything!' he retaliated, incensed at the suggestion.

'I don't care what you do or don't do, but someone is going to get him off my porch. He's been there for the past hour – I'm losing patience Damon. The neighbours are giving me funny looks.'

'Jenna they always give you funny looks, given the number of empties you put in your recycling and the fact you're living with a history teacher...'

'Go on, crack another funny...I dare ya,' she growled back at him cutting him off mid-flow.

'...And what the fuck Jenna? He's been there an hour and you're only just calling me?'

She sighed, but he could tell she was standing sending daggers down the phone at him.

'Fix it Damon,' she barked, 'before Ric gets home and things get really interesting.'

He knew she was serious. And he knew that Ric wasn't about to let the vampire leave alive. Not after Stefan had threatened Jenna after dropping Elena's almost lifeless body to the floor that terrible night. Ric would have staked him if it hadn't been for Damon stepping in, trying to talk down his brother. That would be his one and only mistake when it came to protecting the people he cared about. It wouldn't happen again.

'I'll be there in 10 minutes.'

'I'm counting,' she reminded him before hanging up.

He trailed his fingers through his hair and turned around to find Elena watching him, with her shoes and jacket on.

'Are you driving or will I?'

'Elena, just go back...'

He tried to turn her back towards the couch but she stood her ground.

'I'm coming Damon. This needs sorted once and for all. We can't all move on until we face what happened. Me, you, Jenna, Ric...and Stefan,' she all but whispered.

'You don't have to do this,' he replied, echoing his words from all those months ago when she was faced with meeting her mother.

'He's not going to leave without talking to me,' she tried to reason.

Damon still wasn't convinced. All his deep-seated fears coming to the surface at once. His trust issues were hard to handle at the best of times, but could he trust she wouldn't break his heart and run off into the sunset with Stefan. He did try to kill her but Damon had done equally bad things to her, if not worse. He wasn't prepared to lose what he didn't ever think he would find.

'Elena you can't trust him.'

'No, maybe not,' she came closer, taking his hand and pulling him into her, 'but you can trust me. I promise,' almost reading Damon's mind.

He let his hand come to the side of her face and brush the hair from her eyes, meeting them with his own. Elena could see the fear in the pool of blue.

'You win, as usual,' he said hesitantly, with a light smirk, 'but one wrong move and this time he'll be going down...for good.'

Her face was almost void of expression, but held his gaze.

'Okay,' was all she managed to force out, 'let's go.'

He wasn't going to let anything come between them. Or harm their baby in anyway. He'd die protecting them if he had to.

Ok, so quite heavy this chapter. But I didn't think I could deal with Stefan in any other way. I read too many fics where Stefan just rolls over and walks away. I just don't see that for him. Plus its Stefan on human blood, so who knows what will happen.

I'm still wondering where I could fit Jeremy into this fic so there might be some of him coming soon, but we'll see.

Thanks again for reading, review if you can.

Love, Ave x