Remember Me- Chapter Eleven
"Your bags are packed." Aubrey noticed as Stefan closed the door behind him, not making eye contact while he looked past her and towards his son who also had a backpack on his back.
"What's going on, Stefan?" Aubrey asked him, crossing her arms and giving him a worry filled look. He sighed deeply, telling Ben to go wait in the car as he gave him the keys and closed the door behind his son. "Ben and I are going on a little adventure together for a few days. I'm taking him to meet with his mother."
Her eyebrows raised up at the admission of his words. There was no reason to lie to her about it because she would have found out eventually. Although, she really hadn't expected that Stefan or Elena would be seeing each other again at all.
"I thought you to-." She began to say as Stefan cut her off and turned back towards the door, making sure that Ben was inside of the car.
"It's not what you think. Elena has a brother that lives in Seattle and we've been in touch about Ben over the last few months. So, I told her that it would be nice to meet up there and for Ben to visit his uncle." He commented, hearing Aubrey scoff as she pushed a few strands of her hair back and shook her head. "You've got so much work to do and you're just going to drop it all because she's back in town for a few days?"
Stefan shrugged his shoulders, licking his bottom lip nervously as he nodded. "I know that I have a lot of work to do and that it's just as important as anything else. But, Aubrey. I need this. I need to get out of Florida and away from-." She cut him off, anger sweeping across her features as she tilted her head to the side and finished his sentence for him. "Away from me. You need to get away from me." She commented, placing her hand onto his suitcase as she looked him over and noticed how pale he was. Over the last two weeks since he had found out about his diagnosis, Stefan had been feeling and looking fairly ill. However, he had ignored it and threw himself into his work instead. Telling everyone that he was fine as he struggled to keep up with Ben at the local park while they chased Duke around a playground.
"My son can't see me as being sick, Aubrey. You need to understand that I'm not just doing this for him. I'm doing this for me too. I promise you that Elena and I are just meeting up as friends to talk about what's going to happen to Ben once things get progressively worse for me." He told her, trying to make her understand that even though things haven't been easy on their marriage lately. That he wasn't going to do anything stupid with Elena.
"How long will you both be gone?" She asked him, nervousness in her voice as she tapped her fingers against the handle of his suitcase before handing it to him while he opened the front door to their house.
"Just for a few days." Stefan replied back, telling her that they'd be seeing her soon and to call him if she needed anything. He didn't kiss her as he left the house. He could hear her tell him that she loved him and he did say it back. But, something within these last few days had been growing between them. This distance and unpleasant tension that seemed to be getting worse and Stefan figured that maybe a few days away from it all could solve their problems.
"Uncle Stefan!" Izzie smiled, opening the door a bit wider for him as Stefan grabbed Ben's hand.
"Hey, Isobel." He smirked, getting a smack on the shoulder from his niece as she rolled her eyes at him and turned her attention to her cousin, Ben. "No one calls me Isobel, uncle Stefan. No one except for my dad when he gets mad at me."
"Hey kid. So, I guess your dad is dropping you off to stay with us for a few days. How's that sound?" She asked him as Ben shrugged his shoulders, both Stefan and Ben stopped when they heard another voice from inside of the living room that was coming around the corner. "He doesn't sound as excited as I thought he would be." Katherine commented, smiling at them both as she gave Stefan a hug and whispered into his ear. "Does your wife know about how much you're lying to her?"
Stefan took a step back, clearing his throat and handing Izzie Ben's sleepover bags. "I'll go get Ella and we can build a fort or something." Izzie commented, running up the stairs as she shouted for Ben to join her. Once they were left alone, Katherine dug into him.
"What in the hell is going on here?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she angrily looked at Stefan. He looked a little pale and tired. However, for the most part, he seemed like his old self.
"I'm taking a few days off." He commented simply, not giving Katherine the answer she wanted as she leaned forward and hissed out her words. "You promised me that you'd stay away from Elena Gilbert, Stefan Salvatore! You-." He cut her off, leaning forward and shaking his head. Katherine watched as Stefan placed his hand on to her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Just because Elena and I are friends now and have a long history. It doesn't mean anything to me. It doesn't change the fact that I'm married now." He replied, wiggling his left hand in her face as she scoffed at his words.
"To hell with your marriage and your wedding band. Let's be honest, Stefan. Elena was the only one who never once loved you just because of your money! She was the love of your life and just because neither of you could be together because it hurt too much. You married Aubrey. Who, I know that you love. But, you'll never love her as much as you still love Elena. So," Katherine backed away from him, looking up the stairs to make sure that none of the children were in ear shot. "To hell with being married to a woman who you love. But, only half-heartedly when you and I both know where your heart really is at and with whom."
"Kat-." He watched her shake her head, glancing down at her hand too as she pointed to her own wedding ring. "I've been married longer than I was single. You know, there was another man who wanted me as much as your brother did. But, he was the one I wanted because I never once doubted that he loved me and that I loved him more than the other guy. Stefan, stop lying to yourself and saying that you aren't still in love with Elena. Because, I can see it in your eyes. You still are. That's why you're going to Seattle, isn't it?"
He swallowed the lump in his throat, not making eye contact with her as he realized something. Katherine nor Damon knew about his newest diagnosis. Stefan exhaled deeply, telling himself that this wasn't the way he wanted to tell his brother or his sister in law. However, he needed them to know exactly what was going on with him.
"It's not just because of that. Katherine, Seattle has a very world renowned cancer center…" His voice trailed off as her eyes grew big and she gave him a perplexed look. "Cancer center?" She questioned, putting the pieces quickly together as she covered her mouth and exhaled out a shaky breath.
"Stefan. Are you sure?" She asked as he nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, it's back. But, this time it's in my lungs. Katherine-." She closed her eyes, feeling the tears begin to cloud them as she pulled him close to her, giving him the biggest hug she had in a long time. They stood in the living room, her embracing him as he felt himself relax into her embrace and slowly break down.
"I can't lose him, Katherine. We know what would happen to him if I died. So, I need to go to Seattle to see if the specialists there can help me, find a way to beat this. But, I also need to see Elena." Stefan choked back tears as he rested his head upon her shoulder and softly whispered out. "I need her, Katherine. I need her more than anyone else right now and I know it's wrong because I'm married. But, she's the only person that knows me for who I really am. She's the only one that can break down all these walls I've created and I need that right now."
"Okay. It's okay, I understand." She replied, letting him go as he took a step back and wiped away his tears. Stefan sighed out a breath as he looked around the room and then back to her. "Don't tell Damon about this until I get back. Look, if he asks where I'm at. Please, just tell him that I went to go find out some information regarding our new business venture." Stefan warned her sternly as he heard Katherine promise that she wouldn't.
Katherine backed away from her brother in law, watching him turn his back towards her as he told her that he needed to get going before he missed his flight out of town. She paused for a moment, unsure of what exactly to ask. Hesitantly Katherine spoke up. "How bad is it this time?"
Sniffling as he turned around, Stefan swallowed the lump in his throat while he helplessly shrugged his shoulders as he replied simply. "My doctor told me that if I don't start radiation and chemotherapy soon that it could spread even quicker. It's at a stage 2A lung cancer and according to my doctor. There is about a 30 % survival rate." He watched as she fidgeted nervously from side to side before she locked her eyes on to him and said with a sweet and reassuring tone. "I'm sure that you'll beat this, Stefan. You have to."
"I know." Was all he said as she watched him turn back towards the door, throwing her a knowing glance over his shoulder while Katherine said that she'd make sure that Ben was well taken care of over the next few days that he'd be away.
"I didn't think you'd actually show up." Elena commented, looking out at the vast body of water in front of her and admiring the scenic view of the city skylines and the space needle. She had mentioned that she'd be in town and be here, running some errands. Although, she didn't think that he'd actually find her.
"I remember when we were living in Portland together and you said that Hamilton Viewpoint in Seattle was one of your favorite places to come to and sit down at when you needed some time to yourself. So, I looked it up and when you didn't reply back to my text, I took a shot in the dark and decided to drive out here." He told her, calling up her brother along the way and asking where his sister might have gone. "Jeremy also helped a little bit too." Stefan replied, taking a seat beside Elena on one of the many benches as she peeled her eyes away from the view and looked at him.
"Stefan," She began to say as he took her hand into his own, not saying a word. Elena felt him rub his thumb up and down the top of her hand as he gently rotated it and placed his palm against hers, intertwining their fingers. She was silent for a long time, eventually leaning her head against his shoulder.
"I don't know what to say to you." Elena began, struggling for the right words because she knew that she couldn't talk about him dying or the fact that he started his chemotherapy and radiation treatments early in the morning the next day and that was one of the reasons why he wanted to see her first out of anyone else while he was in town.
"You know. Damon doesn't even know that I'm sick, I couldn't tell him yet. Katherine knows, Aubrey knows and now you do too." Elena heard him draw a sharp inhale of breath as he sat with her, still holding her hand. Stefan was quieter than normal, reflecting on the last few years of his life as he kept her close. "Elena, you're the only one who has ever known me. My own wife doesn't even know me like you do. So, I guess that's why I sought you out when I came here. I just-." The warm touch of Elena's hand upon his cheek made his words stop as he turned to look at her. She had tears in her eyes too, they were welling up in the corners and when she closed her eyelids, they began sliding down her rosy colored cheeks. "I know that you love her, Stefan. I know that you're a married man and I respect that. I respect your commitment to her. But, I can't help the way I still feel about you. I still miss you so much." She said, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat because it was making her choke back all the other unspoken words she wanted to say to him. Like, how heartbroken she was that he was sick, how much it hurt her to see him with Aubrey the evening of his wedding. How more than anything in this world, she wanted them to be a family again.
"I screwed up things with you and Ben. I let you both go and I'm going to regret that for the rest of my life. I was just in a bad place back then. I'm a lot better now, I have things under control. But, as hard as this is to admit to myself and to you. You need to know that I still love you, Stefan." She felt his hand on her cheek, caressing her warm skin as she closed her eyes and allowed the tears to fall. Leaning into him, Elena felt Stefan's other arm wrap around her while he kissed the top of her head, pulling her into his chest. It wasn't that long ago that Stefan told Elena that he never wanted to see her again and that being away from one other was the best thing for them both. However, watching her now broke his heart and he knew that seeing her here, was the best thing for them. Because he needed to get a few things off of his chest.
"I don't want to die, Elena. I've got so much to live for and so many things that I still want to accomplish. I'm 32 years old and I still have so much life left in me." He said in a sorrowful tone, gripping on to her hand as she squeezed his back and turned to face him. Tears were streaming down her face as Elena reached up and touched Stefan's damp cheeks, her eyes locking on to his as she spoke in a shaky tone. "You're not going to die. Okay? You're going to live. You're going to build an amazing business again, grow old and you'll watch Ben graduate, get married and you'll hold your grandson or granddaughter for the first time. You're going to make a lifetime of memories, Stefan. With everyone that you love. Including," She paused, stroking her thumb against his stubble covered cheek as she took a deep breath and concluded with. "Listen to me, I'm going to help you fight this. We're going to do this together and with my help, you're going to beat this disease. I promise." She vowed, leaning into him and kissing his lips softly as she backed away suddenly, letting go of his hands while she realized how close they'd just gotten in such an intimate way.
"I won't do that again, I promise." Elena stated, walking over to the railing near the park that overlooked the water. Elena watched the waves crash against the concrete barrier as she felt his hand resting on the small of her back. Stefan gently rubbed her back up and down as he stood beside her, finally once again taking her hand into his, Stefan kissed the top of Elena's hand and said with a soft tone. "The truth is that I need to stop lying to myself. I married the wrong girl. You know, it should have been you. Not her. It should have been the two of us, together forever. Because, I still love you too, Elena. I never stopped loving you and I don't think I ever will."
A/N: Please feel free to leave me a review. Until Next Time! :)