They were at their sixth month checkup with their doctor. Stefan went with her on his lunch break but started to think that he had to take the rest of the day off since it was taking a little longer than he thought due to the tests that she had to take. He didn't mind, he wanted to know everything that she knew so he could be prepared for anything. Both Bonnie and the baby were doing fine which they both were relieved to know and now they were waiting for the ultrasound.
Bonnie looked over at Stefan offering a smile and he smiled back and ran his hand down the side of her face.
"Do you need to leave? I can call Caroline." Bonnie offered.
"No, I want to be here."
Bonnie nodded then turned her head towards the door when their doctor walked in.
"Hey guys, how are you feeling?"
"Good," Bonnie answered.
"Alright, well Bonnie your blood pressure was a little higher than we want it to be- it's not dangerous or anything, but we want to keep it a little lower so do you think anything is stressing you out?"
She thought. "Nothing that I can think of."
"Okay, well try to take it easy, get plenty of rest and drink water to keep you hydrated."
Bonnie and Stefan nodded taking note. Stefan grabbed her hand when the gel was squeezed on her stomach and watched their baby on the monitor smiling.
Minutes later they went out for a late lunch. Bonnie was craving a burger with extra cheese and Stefan made sure that she got it. She told him about her craving almonds and he was glad that she didn't go through with eating it. He moved to sit beside her instead of in front of her when their food came and said a small prayer before eating.
"Are you sure you don't have to get back to work, Stefan?"
"Baby, don't stress about it, I'm fine, I'm where I want to be." He kissed her placing his hand on her stomach.
Bonnie nodded then started eating. He personally wasn't hungry because his worries took up most of his appetite, but knew that Bonnie hated eating alone so he ate as much of his burger as he could.
When lunch was over, he hated that he had to drop her off at the house, but he needed to get back to work with the possibility of staying late to make up for the hours he missed. He kissed Bonnie goodbye after telling her that he loved her when she was settled under the covers. Bonnie declared her love back and closed her eyes knowing that by her doing that was the only way that he'll leave with minimal worrying.
She really didn't want to stay in bed, but the doctor told her to take it easy and she knew that if she stood, she'll be doing everything she could. If she was left alone with nothing to do, her thoughts would overpower her and cause stress which she really didn't need. Before thinking about all that is wrong, Bonnie reached for the remote hoping that there would be something entertaining on TV.
Stefan placed his pen down and ran his fingers through his hair letting out a breath. He tried to bury himself in work, but after a while he started thinking about Bonnie. He wanted to call her, but knew more than likely that she was still asleep so he decided against it.
He was a bit relieved when there was a knock on the door and quickly gave them permission to come in. He couldn't stop his mind from thinking back to when Bonnie gave him a surprise visit then quickly shook his head seeing his new coworker, Lily smile slightly.
"Is this a bad time?" She asked before walking further in.
"No, I just- my mind is everywhere right now. What do you need?"
She closed the door behind her walking further in, "Well a couple of us are having a drink after work and I wanted to know if you wanted to come?"
"You know that's probably exactly what I need, but I have to decline."
She sighed, "That's too bad. I was really looking forward to seeing you." Stefan narrowed his eyes slightly confused but decided to let it go when she started walking out. "In case you change your mind, we're meeting at Echo Bar just outside of town around 9. I'll be in something far shorter than this." She said looking over her shoulder.
Once the door was closed, Stefan picked up the phone and dialed home smiling when Bonnie picked up. She didn't sound tired and her voice wasn't dry which made him relax.
"How are you, baby?"
"To be honest I'm kind of bored but I turned on the TV and now I'm watching Spongebob since Austyn likes it." Stefan smiled. "I almost forgot how great this show is."
He chuckled. "Well I was just calling to check up on you-"
"And?"
"And?"
"I can tell that you want to tell me something else. How are you, baby?"
He smiled then shook his head. "Well I think that I just got hit on."
"You think?"
"Yeah, I mean at first I thought it was just a friendly thing but now I'm thinking otherwise."
"What did this bitch say?"
He laughed. "She just invited me out for drink with some others and when I turned her down, she said that she was really looking forward to seeing me and then she told me what bar they're going to just in case I change my mind and said that she'll be wearing something short."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Was she white?"
"B-"
"Never mind, it doesn't matter. She was definitely hitting on you, but you can't blame the girl, you're hot."
He chuckled. "Anyway, babe, I have to stay a little late today to finish some things."
Bonnie frowned. She was bored enough as it is, she needed her entertainment and if Stefan was going to be late then that meant Austyn would be late too.
"Okay."
He sighed, "Baby, I'm sorry." He said hearing her disappointed tone. "I'll try to be quick."
"I know."
He sighed again, "You know what, I'll come home and just work harder tomorrow."
"No, stay tonight, I'll be fine. I'll just be a little lonely, but I'll be okay."
He frowned. "I love you."
"I love you too. Bye."
Stefan sighed when she ended the call before he said his goodbye. The last thing he wanted was for her to be mad at him and cause unreasonable stress. He thought a little before picking up the phone making another call.
"Is it wrong of me to be mad?" Bonnie asked Caroline who was on the other line.
After her phone call with Stefan, she needed to do a little vented so decided up call Caroline. She worked from home so she knew that her line was available so after a small chat, she started to vent. She knew that she was probably overreacting, but wanted a second opinion.
"I don't think you're wrong, I see why you would be upset."
"I mean I told him that he could go back to work and I'll just call someone else to keep me company, but he refused and now this happened."
"Do you think this has anything to do with the flirting?"
"No. I know Stefan wouldn't consider cheating or anything."
"I know that but someone was still flirting with your man so maybe the thought of that is getting a little reaction out of you."
Bonnie thought then realized that she might be up to something then frowned. "I was a jerk wasn't I?"
"You're pregnant, you have a solid excuse."
"I should apologize."
Caroline smiled, "I have a better idea so that you can get his forgiveness and mark your territory."
Bonnie was all ears.
[[]]
Damon looked around before removing the loose brick beside the door reaching in the rectangular hole pulling out the spare key. He placed the brick back and unlocked the door walking in calling out his sister-in-law's name.
She came downstairs shortly dressed in a flowy yellow dress making her skin pop.
"Damon? What are you doing here?"
"Stefan called me and told me to pick you up and take you over my place so you won't be by yourself."
She smiled and suddenly felt even worse about how she handled things. "Actually, I need you to take me somewhere first."
Damon nodded then followed her out the door after she grabbed her coat.
Stefan walked out his office hoping that coffee was already made. He stayed away from coffee for as long as he could but figured drinking coffee was better than drinking energy drinks. He stopped his sigh when he saw Lily making her way over as well and was going to turn around, but she spotted him and smiled. He smiled slightly back and walked up to her placing his mug down on the counter.
"I guess we both had the same idea, huh?"
He stopped himself from saying that getting coffee isn't that out of sorts to be considered as something special. "Yeah."
She watched his arms as he poured the coffee into the mug loving the fact that he was wearing a tight enough shirt to show off his muscles. "So have you changed your mind about the drinks?"
Stefan looked up at her then down at his coffee before double taking. "Bonnie?"
"What? No, the club is called-"
Stefan ignored her walking past her up to his wife and narrowed his eyes. "Babe, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to apologize. I was a jerk on the phone."
Stefan shook his head then pulled her in for a hug. Bonnie saw a woman looking at them and she knew right and there that she was the girl that was flirting with her man.
"You don't have to apologize." Stefan said pulling away from the hug then kissed her.
Bonnie wrapped her arms around his neck and turned them to the side so whoever she was could have a clear view. "I wanted to. I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"
Stefan sighed. "Of course I forgive you, babe." He moved his hand to the side of her face and kissed her again before grabbing her hand and walking her into his office.
Lily folded her arms under her chest rolling her eyes. Of course the hottest guy here was taken and she must admit that his girl was pretty, but she knew that she looked better. She smiled realizing that he left his mug behind so she dumped the coffee down the drain and took it in her office.
[[]]
Bonnie sat on his lap as they madeout. His hand was wrapped around her body and his other was in her hair. When she took off her trench coat revealing her dress, he instructed her to sit on his lap before connecting their lips.
"Damn, you're sexy." He said then kissed her again.
"You're just saying that."
"No, you're seriously so, so damn sexy and so damn beautiful at the same time." He shook his head, "Man, I'm so lucky."
She smiles and kissed him. "I should let you get back to work even though I don't want to."
Stefan stood when she did and walked with her up to the door pressing her back against it kissing her some more. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Stefan smiled then ran his hand down the side of her face kissing her before reaching to unlock the door before opening it holding her hand as they walked out. "Did you take your car?"
"Actually Damon drove me."
"He's been waiting in the car this whole time?"
Bonnie shrugged making him chuckle and shake his head. He rode the elevator and thanked Damon for everything before watching them drive off.
Bonnie laughed watching Austyn perform her "make-up as you go" dance routine to a song that she didn't even know, but it sounded good and Austyn seemed to really enjoy it. She clapped when the dance was over and opened her arms and Austyn ran up to her hugging her mom.
"That was really good, baby!"
"Thank you."
Bonnie smiled and kissed her cheek hugging her tighter.
"You know I love you right, Aus? You know mommy loves you so very much, right?"
"Yes. I love you too, mommy."
"Even with the baby, I'll always love you, okay. I'll always be here for you."
Bonnie moved her hand to the side of her small face and offered a smile. Austyn smiled back then kissed her mother making the smile grow wider on Bonnie's face. She picked her daughter up and moved her to lay beside her.
[[]]
Damon watched his brother from the mini bar in his laptop brooding. Bonnie was upstairs asleep beside Austyn and Stefan didn't want to bother them so he decided to wait until they woke up so they could go back home. If they so happened to sleep later than expected, Damon offered that they could spend the night.
He walked up to his baby bro shaking a glass of Whisky in front of his face and was glad when he accepted it.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Just Googling what I can expect when it's time for the delivery." He says then takes a sip.
"You should stay off that stuff, Stefan."
"I just want to be prepared, you know? The last thing I want is to be clueless. Like here, it says that she will more than likely bleed before and maybe during the delivery."
"I get it, but just don't stress yourself out too much. Everything will be fine."
"And how can you be so sure?" He didn't want to be negative, but all he's been hearing was how "fine" everything was going to be, but what of things aren't fine? What if everything goes wrong, how is that in the slightest bit "fine"?
Damon exhaled, "I don't know and quite frankly I can't tell you that either, but that's just what we have to believe. That everything will be fine and Bonnie and this baby will make it out alive and well. It might be a rough ride getting there, but let's believe that we will get there."
Stefan let out a breath and looked down at the glass in his hand before downing what was left inside and closed the laptop. Damon stood up when he did, "I think we'll just sleep here tonight."
Damon nodded and patted his back and watched as he walked upstairs and shortly he heard the door close. He frowned slightly feeling bad for his brother, but that frown mostly faded when he heard Emily walk in.
"Hey, babe."
"Hey."
They walked towards each other meeting in the middle for a hug. "How was school?"
"As it always is; stressfully wonderful." She kissed him. "Sorry I had to stay a little late, how was your day?"
"My day is still here."
"What do you mean?"
"Stefan's family is still here and they're spending the night."
Emily nodded. "I'm kind of glad. I haven't been able to see Bonnie since she got back."
"Are you hungry, I made some dinner that Bonnie managed to not eat up."
She chuckled, "How is she doing?"
"Good I think. She's like an optimist so she avoids any signs of negativity."
"That's great, I need to learn that from her."
"I think we all do. Now let's get you fed, baby."
She smiled and kissed him before walking away. Damon bit on his lower lip watching her hips sway before chasing after her.
[[]]
Stefan laid in bed after showering and changing into some of his brother's clothes. He looked at Bonnie's sleeping face then down to his daughter's smiling when he heard her low snores…or maybe that was coming from Bonnie, or even both. He was surprised that Austyn was still asleep but that told him that she had one exciting day with Damon and some with Bonnie. He stretched out his hand securing them both under it and scooted in closer before closing his eyes praying then going to sleep.
[[]]
Austyn was the first to wake and smiled seeing that her father had joined them. She crawled up to his face and kissed his cheek before hugging him. Stefan soon woke still tired but managed to smile feeling his daughter's arms around him.
He moved his hand to move up and down her back, "Daddy's going to try to get more sleep, okay?"
She nodded but kept her hold missing him since she barely got to see him yesterday.
An hour later, Bonnie woke up surprised that she was next to Stefan but then wondered why she was so surprised knowing that he wouldn't just head home leaving them here. She loved the fact that he was willing to squeeze in the bed with them than go home and have the king sized bed to himself.
She sat up hearing Austyn's voice but laid back down knowing that it was coming from downstairs with Damon hearing his voice shortly after she heard hers. She was glad that Damon was a great uncle and brother for taking care of Austyn and letting them sleep over. She started to wonder if he wanted kids himself and wouldn't be all that surprised if that answer was yes since he's so great with Austyn. She just wondered if Emily wanted kids.
Stefan opened his eyes to see his wife in thought. Her head was somewhere else but the rest of her was present. He didn't want to frighten her by his sudden voice so he stirred some hoping to gain her attention and when he did, he smiled and leaned in to kiss her.
"Good morning, sleepyhead."
She chuckled. "Good morning."
They kissed again. "Where's Aus?"
"Downstairs with Damon."
Stefan nodded then turned to look at the clock before looking back at her. He sighed then moved his hand to the side of her face.
"You have to go to work soon?" Bonnie wondered.
"Unfortunately. I'm pretty bummed about it since I barely saw Austyn yesterday."
"Yeah, she was talking about you."
He frowned. "I'm just glad today is Friday. I'll spend more time with her tomorrow."
Bonnie nodded then kissed him. "You should get ready if you want some breakfast before you leave."
"Make me a plate?"
"Always."
They smiled and kissed one last time before he walked out the room and into the bathroom. Bonnie sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments before standing and walking out the door with her hand on her stomach. Emily was coming out of her bedroom at the same time and they smiled walking up to each other.
"Bonnie, I'm glad you're back."
"Me too."
Emily smiled then rubbed her back a few. "So how's everything?"
"Pretty good, just taking things one step at a time hoping that everything will work out." Bonnie said as they started walking again.
"That's all we can do. I'm glad, I see the baby is growing in there."
Bonnie smiled and circled her hand around her stomach, "Yep, every day."
"Do you mind if I-"
"No, go ahead." Bonnie answers knowing what her question was going to be.
Emily smiled and placed her hand on her stomach letting out a small breath. "I sometimes want kids." Emily said like she read Bonnie's mind. "I mean I see how wonderful Damon is with Austyn and I know that he wants children so bad, but I'm scared that I won't be as good as him."
Bonnie focused on going down the stairs before she spoke. They stopped at the end of them and she turned to face her, "I was the same way. I mean Stefan didn't have a niece or anyone to look after, but just by looking at him, I knew that he would be one of the best fathers out there and when I thought about myself I wasn't that confident and unfortunately, my story doesn't help since I went away on tour for a few years," Emily chuckled, "but I have been trying and by the smile I see on Austyn's face whenever we play and hang out, I know that I'm doing my job right. It's hard, but it's so worth it."
Emily nodded and Bonnie offers a smile before they walked to the kitchen. Damon pointed in their direction causing Austyn to turn and hop off her seat running up to her mother. Bonnie smiled through the slight pain she felt when Austyn bumped into her but figured she wasn't doing as good of a job as she thought when Damon gave her concerned eyes and Emily's hand moved to her back. She took a deep breath and let it out before walking to the island grabbing a plate ignoring Damon and Emily's eyes and started adding food to the plate.
She made Stefan's first, then hers and by the time she was done, he just walked in and stopped at the entrance when they locked eyes. He narrowed his then walked up to her getting close asking her in a whisper if she was okay.
"Austyn just bumped into me, that's all. I'm fine." She whispered back.
Stefan placed his hand on the side of her stomach, "Are you sure? Maybe I should stay home today."
"No, I'll need you more when the baby comes."
"She can stay here, Stefan." Damon offered. "I can keep an eye out and I'll call you."
Stefan nodded, "Thanks. Is that fine, Bon." She nodded. "Are you hungry?"
She shook her head, "Not really."
"I'll take you upstairs."
Two sets of eyes watched the couple walk out then those eyes met with worry written all over their faces.
Emily walked up to her fiancé and hugged him, "Do you think she'll be fine?"
"I do. I hope she will."
Emily let out a sigh and hugged him tighter. They pulled away hearing Stefan enter and watched as he sat beside Austyn and began to talk. They couldn't hear what he was saying but they knew her was telling her to be more gentle around Bonnie. He kissed her on the cheek when he was finished and started eating.
"Did I hurt mommy, daddy?"
Stefan sat his fork down and shook his head, "No, baby… Oh, honey, don't cry." He saw the look on her face and wished that he could rewind and change his wording but he thought he was pretty cryptic about it.
"I'm sorry, daddy,"
"Sweetie, there's no need to apologize… Aussie," he took her in his arms when she started crying and stood up, "You know what, Damon, I'm just going to stay today, we'll be out of here when Bon wakes up."
"Or you could stay?" Damon said stopping him from going into another room. "It's been awhile since we had a family dinner so I think you all should just stay and drive back tonight."
Stefan nodded then walked to the library to calm Austyn down.
[[]]
This is exactly where he wanted to be. Right here with his girls so he could keep his eyes on both of them making sure that they're okay. He was sandwiched between them running a gentle hand along his wife's stomach as she slept and Austyn watched TV. He was watching the program before he turned his head to the left landing his eyes on his beautiful wife.
"I'm sorry, Bon." He whispered. "This is all my fault." He wanted to kiss her but stopped himself from doing so.
Bonnie woke up minutes after that and thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her. "You're here?"
He smiled, "I'm here." He kissed her. "How are you, baby?"
"I'm good."
"I'll be right here with you," he moved his hand to the side of her face, "all day, I promise."
"I love you."
"I love you more."
They kissed and Stefan wrapped an arm around her as she rested her head on his chest as his other hand was on her stomach.