A/N: Hi guys. Okay, two things that I want to point out. In one authors note and in one paragraph, in two previous chapters I gave you false information. In the author's note I said that Elena's abusive boyfriend was before Matt, that it incorrect, he was after Matt. In the paragraph I said that Stefan and Elena live in the same building, when they really don't. I have no clue how I would fix that one, so just deal with me telling you now. They DO NOT live in the same building. I left y'all with a semi-cliffhanger last chapter and here is the continuation. Enjoy!
CAROLINE'S POINT OF VIEW
"It can't be that bad. Maybe they're wrong. Let me see." I say, pushing past a frozen Elena. I look at the first one and see a "+" symbol so I whisper, "Positive."
I move my eyes from one stick to the next and keep whispering as I go. "Positive. Positive. Positive." I take a breath and look back at Elena who hasn't moved one inch. "Positive. Positive. Positive." I have to stop myself and hold onto the counter. I never thought this could happen, especially with Elena. There are three little, white sticks left on the counter so I build up my strength and look at the rest. "Positive. Positive. Positive." I finish whispering.
Damn. Every single one says positive. I think to myself. I turn around to lay a hand on Elena's arm, she barely notices. "Elena, let's go sit down on the couch, okay?" I ask and she answers with a small nod. She is still unresponsive so I grab her hand and practically walk her out of the bathroom and to the living room. I push her on the shoulders and she falls on the couch. "Everything is going to be okay!" I tell her, trying to convince myself.
"Nothing is going to be okay." She whispers back to me. "How can any of this be okay?!" Her voice slowly rising as the sentence goes on. "I cannot be-," she starts, but isn't able to get the word out. "I just can't, Care." Her voice is now quiet and I'm sitting next to her with my hands holding hers.
"Elena Marie Gilbert," I start and scoot a little closer. "I remember all through middle school and high school that you would rave about how you couldn't wait to be a mother! Why are you acting like this now?" I ask her, because it's true. All throughout middle school she wouldn't shut up about how she couldn't wait to have a baby of her own. Then in high school she started making lists of names for her children she was going to have. There was a girl list and a boy list. She even went as far as reading a book about wanting a baby. The girl was crazy if you ask me.
"I still want that, Care, but it's all happening so soon and so fast! I'm only twenty-five... I've been in a relationship for no longer than a month, I've slept with the guy once and then this happens?!" She complains a little more, and this girl is getting on my nerves.
"Exactly! This obviously happened for a reason, Elena. The people up there in the heavens want you to have a little baby in your tummy. This isn't bad or unlucky… this is amazing. This is not a mistake! I promise you that. You are going to have this baby, and you're going to be a great mother." I explain to her. She will make an amazing mother. I know that her and Stefan aren't serious or anything, but I do believe that things happen for a reason.
"A baby out of wedlock? That'll go over real smooth with my family, Caroline." She whines while crossing her legs in front of her. "I bet Stefan doesn't even want a baby. This is terrible. Oh, God." She starts panicking again and I am half tempted to smack the stupid out of her head.
"Elena! Stop panicking for two seconds before I slap you. It's not like it's gonna be born tomorrow. You have nine months for God's sake! Plus, your parents support you in everything, why would they totally leave you now?" I yell at her, and when she shoots me a death glare because of our cranky neighbors, I put a hand over my mouth.
"Caroline, I don't have time to have a baby. We're getting into one of the busiest times of the season, so I won't be able to take care of my body. It's October, so July is nine months away, which will be another very busy time, because it's only a few weeks in to the start of the season." She tries to give reasons not to be happy about this.
"Like it or not, Elena, you're stuck with this baby." I snap at her and she gives me a look, showing me she has an idea. I can already tell that I won't like it.
"Abor-," she starts but I cut her off.
"ELENA MARIE GILBERT, YOU ARE NOT KILLING THIS BABY." I scream at her and she backs up from me a few inches. "I really don't give a fuck if you like this situation or not, abortion is never the answer. A helpless, little baby does not deserve to lose its life before it even begins. So I want you to get that idiotic fucking idea out of your head." I explain to her furiously. I can't even believe she thought of that as a choice. Throughout all her life she has been pro-life and now she throws this out there. What the hell has gotten into her?
"I'm sorry, Care. It came out, it's just an option." She says quietly.
"Yeah, an option you are not going to choose. Elena, your whole life you have been anti-abortion. Why the sudden change of heart? Because it's yourself we're talking about, because you never thought this could happen? Well, guess what, it's happening. You are sticking to your values because I know deep down that you don't believe in abortion and I know deep down, somewhere in your soul… I know you want this baby. It'll do you good. Give you something to look after, take responsibility… to love." I offer her warmly.
"Caroline," she starts off ice cold. I nod and she continues, "A baby is not a thing, it's a person." I smile because this is the Elena that I expected to see when she heard this news.
"There's my Elena." I say and she smiles and releases a small laugh. "So you aren't scared, or upset, or on a mission for abortion anymore?" I ask her and she takes a deep breath.
"No, abortion isn't even in my mind anymore. I don't know why I said that because it disgusts me. Killing a baby, I can't even think of it. I'm still scared as hell, though. Honestly… I'm terrified." Her voice wavers a little and I think she is going to cry, but she doesn't. She sniffles, sits up a little straighter and flashes a huge smile at me. "But I'm excited. Now that I think of it… I'm happy about it. The world wanted me to have this baby," she sets her hand over her stomach and I smile. "So I'm gonna have it, no matter what. And I am going to give this baby the best life that I can give it." She finishes and by the time she's done, we both can't seem to wipe the smiles off of our faces.
"When are you going to tell Stefan?" I whisper, reluctantly changing the subject.
"Never… I was hoping. Caroline, I don't think I'll be able to tell him. He'll probably hate me for this." She says with worry oozing from her voice.
"Elena, he was the one that set this in motion. His little swimmers obvious wanted to get with your eggs. Wait, did he- did you guys even use protection?" I ask her and she ducks her head down. "Elena! All those Sex Ed classes didn't teach you anything? Hell, Mean Girls didn't teach you anything?!" I shout at her.
"We got caught up in the moment, Care! Sorry that I was extremely nervous because it was my first time and I forgot about a condom." She surrenders and throws her hands up.
"Well… shit happens! Now we have this little one with us." I say, getting really close to Elena's stomach and laying a hand on it. She throws her head back and laughs when we both hear her phone ring on the ottoman. I remove my hands from her stomach and she grabs her phone.
"Fuck, Caroline! It's Stefan." She starts panicking and I roll my eyes at her. "What do I do? What do I do?!" She repeats.
"Um, how about answer it." I tell her through a heavily sarcastic tone. She throws me a death glare and I put my hands up.
"He's gonna know. Crap, he probably already knows." She says being melodramatic.
"Elena, I highly doubt that he knows that you are, what, two weeks pregnant." I tell her, grabbing the phone from her hand and answering it. She starts saying something when I push the green button and hold the phone up to my ear. "Well, hello Stefan!" I giddily say through the mouthpiece. Elena is mouthing for me to hang up so I give her an innocently confused look and go back to the conversation.
"Um, hi…" He begins and I figure that he doesn't know my name.
"Caroline! It's Caroline." I inform him over the phone.
"Hey, Caroline. Why are you answering Elena's phone?" He asks a harmless question.
"She just went to the bathroom," I start and Elena starts waving her hands back and forth. "But she's back now, here she is!" Elena is now practically begging me with hand motions not to give her the phone. "Kay, bye!" I quickly spit out then shove the phone to Elena's ear.
"Hey…" She starts while flipping me off with her middle finger then walks down the hall.
I hear her door shut and smile to myself. My best friend is pregnant, and I am going to be an aunt. This is the best thing that has happened all year.
ELENA'S POINT OF VIEW
"Hey, baby." I hear Stefan's smooth-as-silk voice come through the speaker of the phone.
"What's up?" I ask him while grabbing a bag from underneath the kitchen counter and dropping all the white sticks in it after putting the cap on every one of them.
"Nothing, I was just leaving the stadium and wanted to hear your beautiful voice." He says and I giggle through the mouthpiece.
"It's 8:30, why were you there so late?" I ask him while looking at the small clock on my bathroom counter.
"No reason… Hey what are you doing for the rest of the night?" He asks me and I get a little confused.
"Umm, I think just watching a movie with Caro-," I start but here a commotion outside the bathroom door and the next thing I know Caroline is busting through the door and reaching for my phone.
"Nothing, we're doing absolutely nothing." She practically yells into the phone while running out of the bathroom and to the living room. I follow her and keep reaching for my phone but I never get it.
"Caroline, give me my phone right now." I hiss at her as she keeps running throughout our condo.
"Yes, you can pick her up." I hear her say and I widen my eyes at her. "Thirty minutes? She'll be ready." She smiles at me and cross my arms. "Bye, Stefan." She finishes and hangs up the phone. "Stefan will be here in thirty minutes, go get dressed, he's taking you somewhere." She states matter-of-factly, then sets my phone back on the ottoman and sits on the couch.
"Caroline, no, I made him a deal that he couldn't take me out until he wins the World Series for me." I explain to her and she makes this face and releases an 'aww.'
"Well, sucks, you're going out with him. I already said yes for you and I don't break promises or tell lies." She tells me as I put my hands on my hips.
"What did he say to wear?" I ask her and she flashes a smile at me and I can't help but return one, because I really do want to see him. Honestly, I can't wait for him to show up at my door and take me somewhere.
"I knew you wanted to go! Ummm, he said nothing special. Oh and he specifically asked for no make-up." She tells me, setting her feet on the ottoman in front of her and switching on the T.V.
"Of course he did." I mumble, turning back to go to my bedroom.
"Elena!" Caroline catches my attention, so I turn around and raise my eyebrows at her. "You do know why I said yes, right?" I nod at her but she still takes it upon herself to continue. "You need to tell him about this, Elena. You need to do it soon before he finds out some other way and gets mad. And by soon, I mean tonight, Elena Marie." She informs me, sounding like my mother.
"Caroline, I don't think I can do that." I whisper, waking a few steps towards her.
"You're gonna have to do it sooner or later, Elena. Might as well get it over with. It's like ripping off a band-aid, the faster the better. You never know how he's going to react either! He could be the happiest man in the world when you tell him. But you will never know until you actually tell him, so go get ready!" She finishes with a smile.
I hold my hands out to her and she takes them. I pull her up and wrap my arms around her, embracing her in a huge hug. "Thank you so much, Caroline, for being here with me and for knocking sense into me when I sounded stupid. Thank you." I quietly tell her in her ear.
"It's nothing, Elena. You're my best friend. Why wouldn't I help you with this?" She whispers back to me. "I love you, Elena, and you are going to get through this." She promises me. I whisper that I love her back, then pull away and head to my room.
I end up throwing on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans with rips up and down each leg, a Los Angeles Dodgers t-shirt with Stefan's number, 24, on it. He gave it to me on our second week anniversary, cheesy I know, but he insisted. I was smiling like an idiot as I pulled the shirt over my head, but I don't care. I hear Caroline call my name, telling me that Stefan is here, so I pull my worn out Converse onto my feet and walk out to the living room.
I'm so quiet that neither Stefan nor Caroline hear me approach the room. I stand in the shadows of the wall behind me and listen to them talking about, what do you know, me! I hate being the center of attention and both of them know that. Stefan starts a conversation of how he misses me and how we haven't been able to see each other because work is busy. I smile as soon as I hear those words come out of his mouth. I take that as my queue and enter the living room, bringing both of their eyes to me.
"Hey." I say and Stefan stands up to greet me. He wraps his arm around my waist and lays a sultry kiss disguised as an innocent one on my lips. That was enough to leave me wanting more, but I can't have more. By the time he pulls back we're both smiling like idiots and I remember that Caroline is in the room.
"Hi." He replies, tightening his grip around my waist, but slightly moving it to my sides, I quietly laugh because he knows that's where I'm most ticklish.
Our attention gets taken by Caroline letting out a long and drawn out, "Awwww," followed by, "You two are just the cutest thing ever." She points out to us while clapping her hands like a toddler.
"How do we respond to that?" He asks while looking at me and I shake my head, laughing at the same time.
"Thank you… I think." I add in a confused tone and look at Caroline. "Are we gonna go anytime soon?" I ask Stefan, turning my head towards him.
"Yes," He starts then looks at Caroline. "Thank you for saying yes for Elena, we're going to have an amazing time. Don't wait up for her." He tells her then removes his hand from my waist and takes my hand instead. "Let's go." He whispers in my ear and leads me towards the door.
We both stay silent the whole walk to the car but our grip on each others hand never falters. He opens my door for me and I hop in, I watch him in the rearview mirror walk around and come to his side of the car. Once he is in and both of our seatbelts are on, he starts the car and goes through the twists and turns of the parking garage. Once we are on the dark road outside my condo building, I decide to break the silence.
"I thought we made a deal that you wouldn't take me on a date until you won the World Series." I say with an innocent voice as I grab his hand and mix our fingers together.
"Well, that was one deal I had to break. It's been too long since we've spent more than ten minutes with each other." He says to me through a wicked smile.
"So, where are we going?" I ask him, turning my head to the road in front of us.
"Not telling you." He says and I get frustrated so I let out a groan. "What are you groaning about, missy?" He questions through a smile.
"Is every one of our dates going to be a surprise? Because I don't really like surprises." I explain to him, bringing a hand up to my head and scratching my neck.
"All the more reasons to have surprises." He replies with a thick tone of cockiness to his voice.
"You are so lucky that I like you." I let out through a sigh while he pulls our hands up to his mouth and leaves a light kiss on the back of my hand, making me smile from ear-to-ear.
When we arrive to a certain intersection, Stefan pulls out a black blindfold and starts putting it over my eyes.
"Excuse me, what do you think that you're doing?" I ask, moving my head out of the way.
"If I let you see where we are going, it'll give the surprise away." He explains like it's nothing and I flash him a warning look. "Trust me, Elena. I would never steer you wrong." He sincerely replies to me and I reluctantly nod my head yes.
From the time he puts the black piece of cloth over my eyes everything is a blur. He parks the car somewhere and instantly wraps his hand around my waist so he can lead me to wherever we are going. I try to use all my senses while he takes me through twists and turns, up and down staircases, and finally, we end up walking on a squishy surface and Stefan tells me to sit down on what seems to be a soft sheet, maybe a blanket.
"I'm gonna take the blindfold off, but keep your eyes closed until I say so." He explains to me from behind. I feel a bit of a tug on my hair and then the fabric falls away. I feel a movement next to one of my hands and Stefan says to open my eyes. I do as he says and it only takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to where we are. Bright lights are surrounding us and we are sitting on a field of plush, green grass. Every seat is empty and I keep spinning my head from side to side. I look under me and there is a white and blue checkered blanket- the one thing I was right about, and a picnic basket set in between us.
"Dodgers Stadium?" I ask him with a raise of my eyebrow. "Really?" My voice sounds a bit muffled, probably because I feel like I'm going to cry. Damn pregnancy hormones.
"Yes, really." He replies and takes my hand in his while scooting a bit closer.
"Is this why you stayed so late?" I ask him again, my eyes filling with actual tears. He nods and smiles at me. "Was all this really necessary, though?" I ask him another question.
"Anything for my girl." He says, leaning into me. The second I feel his lips against mine, I lose it. I'm pushing him into a laying position and throwing my right legs across his body so I'm now straddling him. Our kissing gets more intense as the minutes go on and I finally have to stop this before it goes to far. If I get past a certain point of wanting him, I'll never be able to go back. I'll go all the way and that is not appropriate event for a baseball stadium.
"You are such a tease." He says through a labored breath while sitting up. "Let's go for a walk before we eat, okay?" He asks and I nod. He gets up and holds out a hand to me, I take it and he pulls me up like I'm nothing. We intertwine our hands like it's protocol and start walking towards from second back to right field. "I love that shirt you're wearing." He says bumping into my side.
"Thank you. I'll have you know this is probably the thousandth time I've worn it. I never wear it out, though." I give him a small hint and he raises his eyebrows wanting more information. "I wear it when I go to bed, wishing you were there beside me." I whisper into his ear then release a laugh.
We stay quiet for a while; it's a comfortable silence though. We don't need to say anything to be interesting. The energy floating between us is enough to be an eventful date. The next time someone speaks, it's Stefan and we're nearing left field.
"I've missed you a lot, Elena. You have no idea." He tells me in the most adorable voice ever.
"Aww, Stefan, we've seen each other more in the past week than we have in the previous two weeks." I tell him, squeezing his hand a little more to let him know I'm with him. "I'm right here, Stefan, and I am not going anywhere." I say with a daring amount of promise in my voice.
"Good, because neither am I." He promises with a smile and stops us on top of home plate. He takes his hand from mine and lays his hands on my shoulders to face me towards center field. I feel him move behind me and snake his arms around my waist. I set my hands on top of his and fit my fingers between his as best as I can.
"What are we doing?" I whisper over my shoulder.
"Just wait…" He says just as I see a white line shoot up into the sky and explode into dozens of different lines and sparks fly everywhere. I see colors of purple, pink, green, and blue.
"Fireworks, Stefan, really?" I ask him as the show continues.
"To represent my feelings for you." He whispers in my ear, causing my skin to adopt goose bumps. We don't say anything for the rest of the show. We sit in silence, rocking back and forth, with both of our heads turned towards the sky. By the time it's over Stefan is practically dragging me back to the blanket.
"What is the rush?" I ask him through my laugh and he falls on the blanket and I fall on top of him. His hands automatically go on my waist and his lips to my neck. "Stefan…" I start and he only mumbles something I can't understand. "Stefan, baby, let me get up." I say and he reluctantly draws his lips away from my neck and lets me sit down.
From here on out we talk about a plethora of things. Favorite foods: his is, what do you know, anything that is edible. High school experiences: Stefan was obviously a jock and he talked about how he made baseball cool at his school. Best alcoholic drink: we both chose beer. We got on the topic of family and Stefan said he has a very small family. His brother, mom, and dad, I of course knew that, but beyond those three people he only has a few cousins and a few distant relatives. I told him about my family and he was flabbergasted. I have a mom, dad, brother, aunt, and Alaric that he knew about, but beyond that there is much more. Just on my moms side I have two sets of grandparents because my mom's parents got divorced then remarried, I have at least forty cousins and many pairs of aunts and uncles, I even have one great-grandmother left. On my dad's side, pretty much the same thing. Two sets of grandparents because of divorce, but I have a lot less cousins on his side; twenty at the most and only three pairs of aunts and uncles.
We ended up talking about family for so long that the question just came out. I didn't want it to and I most definitely didn't mean for it to.
"Children?" I ask rhetorically. "Do you want children?" I ask him more clearly while ducking my head.
"Of course I do. Who doesn't? I think I want them more now that I am growing up. I always see dad's walking down the street holding hands with their little girls or chasing their son down the sidewalk and I realize that I want that. Now that you're in my life I can actually see that happening, in the future, of course." He completely changes the mood to have a serious ambiance.
"Probably a lot sooner than you think." I mumble and laugh at the same time so he, thankfully, didn't hear what I said.
"What was that? I didn't hear you, I'm sorry." He asks innocently.
This is it, Elena. You can do it. Just remember what Caroline said: he is going to have to find out sooner or later and sooner is better than later. Say it real quick, exactly like ripping off a band-aid. How bad can it be? He says he wants children, and more now that I am in his life. Truth is, I was terrified when I looked at those pregnancy tests. But now… Hearing Caroline explain it and hearing Stefan saying that he wants kids, I'm okay. Actually, I'm more than okay. I am so excited for this baby and I can't believe how fast my mind has changed. Maybe this is what I need. No, Elena, not a 'this,' a person. I can't wait to be a mother. Hey, I just said it.
I cannot wait to be a mother. Holy crap, I'm going to be a mother. And Stefan is going to be a father. We're going to be a family. This was completely unplanned, but it happened for some odd reason that the universe hasn't shared with me yet.
This man that I met only a month and a half ago is going to be the father of my baby, of our baby, this man has completely changed before me. This man who I think my heart knows how I feel about but it won't tell my mind yet, is going to be the father of our baby.
"Elena?" I hear Stefan say, pulling out of my daze.
"Stefan… There's something I need to tell you." I whisper, pulling my hand over my stomach.
A/N: Stefan is unbelievably adorable.