Thank you once again to my regular reviewers. I hope the silent readers will also break their silence and let me know their opinion on the story too.
I forgot to include in my Author's Note in the previous chapter for references to F.R.I.E.N.D.S's Ross & Rachel and a line I used from their episode (about the line being a dot to Damon). I love F.R.I.E.N.D.S almost as much as I love TVD!
Some people read this story for the humour, some for the angst, some for the romance and some for the bromance. Oh and I know one or two of you who's here for the teddy bear Mr. Cuddles (you know who you are *wink*). Well, whatever reason you're reading the story for, I just want to thank you for supporting.
Thanks for making my number of reviews hit the 200th mark! Beers all around! Next target: 300 reviews!
Oh and I would like to dedicate this chapter to one of my reviewers: DelenaEndgame (you'll know why as you read on) *wink*
Chapter 12: Of Snakes and Pastas
For the next week or so, Elena and Damon hardly saw each other despite the fact that they lived in the same house. He'd sneak out early in the morning before she woke up and spent long hours at his office, immersing himself in work and having late dinners with clients, sometimes with Ric and even with his brother and mother.
He used to enjoy working at the office, especially when he was still engaged to Katherine, but these days, he found himself completely distracted and staring off into space as he thought about the teenager he left alone back home. He never expected that things would get this bad so fast in his very first marriage; he felt monumentally disappointed with himself for letting his temper get the better of him. Ric and Stefan had been absolutely right; he was utterly lost without her. He had to drag himself to work every day and forced himself to stay later than usual just so that things wouldn't be so awkward at home. He no longer felt any passion or found any satisfaction in his job anymore-something he never thought was possible.
They haven't spoken to each other at all since the day of the wedding-presents-opening, and frankly, he missed her. He told himself that he was merely concerned about her as the mother of his child, but he knew better. She had gotten under his skin and he found himself hovering outside her room late at night, listening for any sounds of her through the closed door, but she was always already asleep by the time he got home. He wondered how she spent her days at home without him, whether she had the girls with her or if she went out shopping.
What does a pregnant teenager do in her free time? Belatedly, he realized that there was nothing much she could do without any money, so he transferred some money to her bank account as her allowance and left her a note on the kitchen counter for her to use it for her personal needs. The next morning, he found another note from her with a detailed statement of account on what she spent on; weekly groceries with receipts attached, toiletries, and some books on pregnancies (also with receipts attached). To his reluctant amusement, she enclosed the unused balance in cash and coins in the envelope along with a calculation sheet:
USD 1,000,000.00 less USD 184.75 = USD 999,815.25
God, she was a stubborn woman, he thought as his shoulders shook from laughter. Well, she'd find out soon that he wasn't lacking in the stubbornness genes either; he replied her the following morning with a platinum credit card with her name on it and a set of instructions on what to spend on:
Dear Ms. Gilbert / Mrs. Salvatore (please cross out whichever is not applicable),
Here's a credit card with a credit limit of USD 50,000.00 for your future usage on groceries, books, toiletries, maternity clothes, etc. You may also use it to shop for whatever baby items needed to furnish the empty nursery pending his/her arrival. As the father of the baby, I hereby grant you full creative license to design the nursery however you deem fit. However, I do have one request pertaining to the colour theme: NO PINK.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your housemate / husband (again, please cross out whichever not applicable).
Elena smiled hesitantly when she found his reply to her during breakfast and read his formal note to her with the credit card attached. She could almost see his trademark smirk as he was writing it, obviously his good humour had returned judging from his playful tone in which he wrote it. If she was being honest to herself, she missed his company, and the house seemed even bigger, emptier and less homey without his charismatic presence. She hasn't seen him for a week, and that was a long time compared to how close they were before the wedding.
She didn't know for sure if he was deliberately avoiding her by working late every night, or if he was spending time with his girlfriend at his other apartment. Well, whatever the reason for why he wasn't around, she had no right to question him since it was her decision that they maintained a platonic relationship. She didn't even have the right to feel jealous if he was indeed canoodling with the rich bitch heiress.
She sighed heavily. Failed marriage aside, she wished that their fight over rich bitch's wedding gift and note didn't happen the way it did; with her slapping Damon's face in front of their friends. Perhaps she had overreacted to the prank, knowing full well that his ex intended to get her riled up and sabotage her relationship with Damon. Perhaps Damon's reaction had been a more appropriate one all along, to view the whole thing as a joke played by an insecure manipulative child. Well, it was too late now! The fight did happen and she did slap him, but how long was she going to let this mutual silent treatment go on? For the whole duration of being married to him? They had to face each other somehow, even if she had to apologise for her reaction just to get them to at least be on talking terms. She was living with him, for Christ's sake - they had to at least be able to tolerate each other enough to be in the same room without it being awkward and stuff.
Maybe they can start off by having dinner at home. She can offer to cook a simple meal, like buttered toast and eggs...with Chinese take-out or...oh! She could order a take-out from Tony's restaurant and have a friendly dinner at home! Brilliant! She grabbed her phone and decided to send him a text message instead of leaving notes to him every morning. She quickly typed her message and pressed send before she chickened out.
Need to talk. Free for dinner at home tonight?
She waited nervously as she stared at the phone, willing it to vibrate with a text reply.
On the other side of town, Damon sat in his office and stared at his phone in disbelief as he read and reread the message from Elena. Did she just text him on her own free will? What did she mean by talk? Was she leaving him? Was she going to sit him down and tell him that she'd had enough of him? Was she angry that he left her alone for too long? Urghh, there were so many ways to interpret her simple words, and most of them did not bode well for him. He needed help. He needed...Ric! He reached for his office phone and told his secretary to page for Ric and that it was urgent. By the time Ric showed up at his office, Damon was pacing nervously around his office, his appearance dishevelled as if he hadn't slept for days.
"Hey! What's the emergency?" Ric asked as he walked in.
"Oh good, thank God you're here! Elena wants to talk! What do I do?" Damon showed her text message to Ric, who read it and then looked at Damon in puzzlement.
"Err, I guess you could, I don't know, talk to her? You know, the thing people do when words come out of their mouths, preferably after they processed it through their brain first. Why are you so nervous? Isn't it great that she's talking to you again?" Ric sighed as he sat down in front of Damon's desk.
"I suppose, if what she had to say was good. What if it's not good? What if she wants to go through with the divorce now? Today? What if she decided to get an abortion? What if-" Damon rambled on in a panic.
"We can play 'What ifs' the whole freaking day and you still won't know for sure what she wanted to talk to you about. What don't you reply her message before she thinks that you're ignoring her? Then, you'll find out tonight for sure," Ric suggested, speaking slowly as if he was talking to a tempestuous child.
"Yeah, yeah you're right. I should reply her. But what do I say?"
"Oh jeez, now you need a third party to speak to your wife? Go on, give me the damn phone!" Ric rolled his eyes as he took Damon's phone and typed a reply on his behalf.
Dinner sounds great. Be home by 7.
"There! All done. Now you have a date with your wife. Can I go back to work now?" Ric got up and passed the phone back to him.
"Wait! Should I get her some flowers? I mean this is the first time we'll be speaking to each other since last Sunday. I think this qualifies as a special occasion, don't you?" Damon said thoughtfully, wondering why he felt as nervous as a school boy over a simple dinner at home with his young bride.
"Yes, Damon. Get her flowers! Get her some chocolates! Get her a one-week anniversary present! If you're over your teenage dating crisis, can I get back to my own office now? Some of us have actual work to do you know? Just promise me that you won't screw it up this time," Ric warned before he slapped Damon on the back and left his office.
"Don't screw it up, don't screw it up. Yeah, like that's gonna happen," Damon muttered to himself and he spent the rest of the day worrying about his first post-wedding 'date' and driving his staff insane with indecisions.
Elena smiled with relief as she read his late reply. He sounded...pleasant, enthusiastic even! She promised herself that she would be cordial no matter what he said or did. She at least owed him that since he provided a roof over her head, and let her have the master bedroom with the awesome walk-in wardrobe and even gave her the credit card. Yes, she would make sure that they would be on speaking terms by the end of the night.
A short while later, a car honked outside; it was Bonnie. Elena had asked her to accompany her to her first prenatal visit with the new OB/GYN doctor recommended by Dr. Ferguson, the doctor who first confirmed that she was pregnant. She didn't know what to expect for the visit, so she decided that she didn't want to be alone to meet the doctor. Elena hurried outside to Bonnie's car and then they were on the way to town.
Thirty minutes later, they walked into a bright lobby and were greeted by a friendly receptionist who asked Elena to fill in her particulars on a patient card. She had to remind herself to tick the box that said 'Married' instead of 'Single' and wrote her name as Elena Salvatore.
"Are you nervous?" Bonnie asked from right beside her.
"Yeah, I kinda am. I just don't know what to expect and I don't even know the doctor. What if he's a mean doctor, or an old pervert? I mean, he's gonna be touching my lady parts and all that, isn't he?" Elena said with a disgusted look on her face.
"But what if he's hot? Like really hot? I think you'd prefer an old pervert than a hot stranger looking at your assets, if you know what I mean," Bonnie grinned, intending to put Elena at ease with her teasing. It worked.
"Yeah, with my luck, I'm gonna get a gorgeous OB/GYN to probe around my insides," Elena rolled her eyes but smiled despite being worried.
"Mrs. Salvatore? Dr. Michaels is ready for you now," the receptionist spoke up then, gesturing towards a room at the end of the hall.
"Thanks," Elena replied as she gathered her purse and jacket before she headed towards the room with Bonnie. "I'll have to get used to people referring to me by that name soon enough," she added as she knocked on the room door and then entered.
The girls were greeted by a young handsome doctor with a charming smile and dark hair and eyes. He came forward with his hand outstretched as he stood before Elena and introduced himself. "Mrs. Salvatore? It's nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Kol Michaels."
"H-hello, Dr. Michaels. Please, call me Elena. Mrs. Salvatore is the name of my mother-in-law. This is my best friend, Bonnie," Elena shook his hand and turned to her friend who was staring at her doctor with her jaw opened.
"Hello, best friend Bonnie," the charming man smiled lazily as he reached out to shake Bonnie's hand.
"You-you're definitely hot," Bonnie muttered, apparently still not recovered from seeing his boyish good looks.
"Your best friend is very kind," he chuckled, addressing Elena since Bonnie didn't seem to be able to react other than to stare unblinkingly at him. "Congratulations on getting married, Elena. I heard that it was a big and successful event. May I just say that you look even more gorgeous in person," he complimented and indicated to two chairs in front of his desk. "Please have a seat."
"Thanks. You heard about the wedding? Do you know the Salvatores?" she asked.
"Not personally, but everyone in New York knows the Salvatores. You married into quite a prominent family. They're almost like celebrities here to us mere mortals, but enough about that. Let's focus on you, how's impending motherhood treating you?" Kol quickly put on his professional doctor face and prepared his usual pregnancy questionnaire.
"I guess it's alright, except for the constant morning sickness and tiredness. I haven't been eating that well, too," she admitted, sharing a look with Bonnie.
"That's perfectly normal. The morning sickness will pass as soon as you enter the second trimester; at least that's normally the case. However, there are some cases where it will continue throughout the pregnancy, but that hardly ever happens. Now, seeing as this is your first visit, I'll need to go through this pregnancy questionnaire with you to try to get some medical history and some background information on your lifestyle. Is your husband here as well? I'll need his input to some of his family's medical history."
"Err...no, he's at the office. Can I get the information from him later? We can do my part now, and fill in his input on another visit?" Elena asked hopefully since she really didn't want to call him now to come to the clinic before they've had 'the talk'.
"Yes sure, it's no problem. This visit is more about gathering information and doing some basic physical exam anyway. So, let's just start getting this questionnaire answered as much as possible, and then we'll move on to the check-up, okay?" he smiled reassuringly as she nodded in relief. It doesn't sound so bad after all.
For the next fifteen minutes, she tried to answer his questions as best as she could to her knowledge while he made notes and inserted ticks or crosses on relevant boxes on the list. Talking openly to a handsome stranger about her menstrual cycles, use of contraceptives, past pregnancies or abortions, drug use, allergies, family history and other medical conditions was quite unnerving for her, so she felt very much relieved when it was done.
Then, he set aside the list and proceeded to check her weight, height, heart rate and blood pressure before taking four vials of blood to test for Hepatitis B, Toxoplasmosis immunity, anaemia, and sexually transmitted diseases. She was also required to submit her urine sample to test for protein, urinary tract infection and sugar levels since some people develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
"Okay, Elena, here comes the more uncomfortable part of this visit; we're gonna do a pelvic exam, a pap smear, a breast exam and a uterus exam to check for any infections or abnormalities. Don't worry, there'll be a nurse present at all times throughout these exams, so I need you to be relaxed when we do this. Do you trust me?" Kol asked as he levelled his gaze on his young patient who was blushing furiously at the thought that this young hot doctor was going to be seeing and touching her intimately when the only other person who've seen her naked was Damon. But she had to remind herself that he was a professional and it was just a routine for him. Still, she couldn't help blushing.
"Yes, I trust you, Dr. Michaels."
"Great, but Bonnie? Can you just step outside for just a moment? I'll get the receptionist to call you back in as soon as we're done," Kol said kindly to Bonnie, who flushed when he spoke directly to her, but she nodded and gave a comforting pat on Elena's arm before exiting the room.
"Elena, I'll need you to change into this hospital gown behind the curtain over there, and lie down on the bed when you're ready. I'll go get the nurse in and then we'll begin. It's nothing to worry about, every pregnant women need to go through this, and I have done this thousands of times before. Just try to relax, okay?" She nodded obediently and gave a tentative smile before she practically dove behind the curtain to get changed. Kol shook his head in amusement, surprised that the wife of the dashing Damon Salvatore would be so shy and easily embarrassed. She was definitely different than the forward, bold and flirtatious ex of his, Katherine Pierce whom he had the misfortune to meet once before. He thoughtfully gave Elena a few more minutes to calm down and get comfortable before he re-entered his office with his nurse in tow.
"Elena? Are you ready?" he called out, standing just beyond the closed curtain. He heard a sharp intake of breath and then a muffled "Ready". Elena closed her eyes and tried to remain still and detached as she felt Dr. Michaels start his examinations, keeping her mind occupied with thoughts about how her discussion with Damon would go later. She was running a few different scenarios in her head and soon, she had almost forgotten about how uncomfortable it was for her to be so exposed to a stranger and before she knew it, he was replacing her gown back over her thighs and helping her up from the bed.
"You were such a good patient, Elena! The whole process went a whole lot smoother than I expected because you were so relaxed the whole time. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you fell asleep!" Kol chuckled as he removed his gloves and threw them into the bin beside the bed.
"Oh, I was just thinking about...my husband," she admitted after a pause.
"It's nice to see a young couple so in love," he sighed. "Now, you can change back to your clothes again, and I'll get Bonnie back in and we can go through any questions you might have and some other things I wanted to discuss."
A few minutes later, Elena and Bonnie were in the same position as they were before, and Kol was briefing them about the importance of prenatal vitamins, nutrition, exercise and other issues.
"Now, according to my calculations from your last menstrual cycle, you're actually ten weeks into your pregnancy. Now, usually I only schedule for an ultrasound from the twelfth week onwards because that will be the time that the baby's genitalia will be formed and we can see the image much clearer. So, I'd like to have you back here in another two weeks, and you can fill me in on our husband's side of family history then. So far, everything looks great, but I'll have the detailed results of the tests by the time I see you next. Just remember to get plenty of rest and don't worry about anything. I'll see you soon, okay?" Kol stood up and shook both their hands while Elena thanked him and pulled a reluctant Bonnie out of the room.
"Oh God, Elena! If I weren't so deathly afraid of relationships, I would totally tap that! I really don't know how you were able to stay so cool and collected in one piece when he put his hands on you, but if I were examined by that man, I would literally melt into a puddle. I kinda wished that Damon were here so that he'd feel threatened by that gorgeous hunk of a man. I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't want his young beautiful wife to be touched intimately by him. Hey, maybe you should bring Damon along for the next appointment; give him something to worry about for treating you like crap the other day," Bonnie said as soon as they were out to the lobby, waiting to make payment at the counter.
"Bonnie, I doubt that Damon would care about prenatal check-ups and how hot the doctor is. I told you; we're just 'housemates'. We made it pretty clear last week. But I kinda hate not talking to him, you know? I haven't seen him much this week, and when we do kind of bump into each other in the house, we just avoided each other's gaze and kept walking without a word. Personally, I don't think that's healthy at all, especially when we're both living together and having a baby. So, I thought that we'd have dinner together tonight, and attempt to move past this awkward phase and at least be on talking terms again. I don't want to keep avoiding him for a year!" Elena explained, hoping that her best friend would support her decision.
"I think that's great, Elena. It certainly beats tip-toeing around each other all the time. Besides, you're gonna have to talk to him if you want to find out about his family's medical background. To show some support, I'm not even gonna invite myself to dinner with you guys. Are you cooking? Because I'd advised you not to, unless you plan to kill him and make yourself a widow with access to his money," Bonnie teased, knowing full well what a terrible cook her friend is.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence! But you're right, of course. I'm not cooking; I thought I'd get some take-outs from this awesome Italian restaurant Damon once took me to. Can we drop by there before we go home?" Elena asked as they got in Bonnie's car.
"Sure, but only if we invite Caroline over for a little gossip session at your house before Damon gets home."
"Deal," Elena agreed with a grin.
At exactly 5.30 p.m. that evening, Damon walked into his home not knowing what to expect. That was due to two reasons; one being that this was the first time since he got married that he'd got home before the sky got dark outside, and two, he knew that Caroline and Bonnie were here from seeing their cars parked right outside the house.
He thought that he was having dinner with Elena alone, but apparently, he was wrong. Obviously, she still didn't feel comfortable enough to face him alone and she felt the need to have her backup 'wingmen' around her when she 'talked' to him. That meant that whatever she intended to say to him must be bad. Oh boy.
He left his briefcase beside the door at the entrance and went in search of the girls, which wasn't very hard to do when all he had to do was to follow the high-pitched voice of his childhood friend or god-sister Caroline Forbes. He approached the kitchen door cautiously, hoping to eavesdrop on them for a clue as to what was going down tonight at dinner. However, the information he obtained from eavesdropping wasn't at all what he had expected nor wanted to hear.
"It's getting more and more uncomfortable!" Elena whined, while Damon assumed that she was talking about the lengthy silence between them. "I swear my breasts have grown a full cup size since I became pregnant, and now, they just feel really heavy and full! Sometimes, I just don't even feel like wearing a bra since the material rubs against the skin, making the nipples really tingly and sore."
"Yeah, I read about that in a magazine. Sometimes, it might even be itchy and turn a darker shade of colour. As for the tenderness, I think wearing a sports bra might help," the annoying voice of the blonde said.
"My cousin Lucy told me once that as your pregnancy progresses, the nipples will get bigger and so will the areolas. Eventually, the nipples will become extended and erect, as if they were exposed to cold temperature, so you might want to buy a good support bra, otherwise you'd have two pointed peaks showing through your shirt the whole time," Bonnie said while giggling.
"Oh great, more fun to look forward to. Extended nipples, and enlarged areolas," Elena commented sarcastically. "Come on, don't you have any good news for me? Like how to ease the soreness?"
"Well, if you were on talking terms to Damon again, you can ask him to massage your breasts and suck on your nipples gently. I heard that it helps and improve your sex life," Caroline giggled playfully, while Damon found his pants getting uncomfortably tight, especially in the crotch area as kinky images ran through his head.
"Care! That's so inappropriate. Not to mention a bit crude! Besides, Damon and I will not be doing anything of the sort anymore. We're just...friends now, if that," Elena protested.
"If not Damon, then hunky Dr. Hotness then?" Bonnie beamed and blushed prettily. "Care, you have got to see this man for yourself! Someone that hot should not be allowed to be a doctor; he could single-handedly cause multiple divorces among his patients and that was even before he laid his hands on them, presumably to give women a breast and uterus examination, but I have a theory that it was just a license to legally feel a woman up. God, just thinking about him makes me wanna get a pap smear just so that I could feel his fingers on me," she sighed.
"Really Elena?" Caroline shrieked excitedly, positively panting from Bonnie's depiction. "He is that hot? Hotter than even Damon and Stefan? Because your gynaecologist better be scorching to get Bonnie so worked up over a guy she just met today. Look at that flush! Careful Bon, you might just spontaneously combust if you think about him too much," she teased.
"Oh, I'll be thinking of him; tonight in bed, moaning loudly," Bonnie giggled loudly.
"Bon! Will you behave? Yeah he's good-looking but so is Stefan. Stefan's a more old-fashioned broody kind, whereas Dr. Michaels is more...more...boyish, I guess. Charming. Damon's...different. His features are more pronounced, almost model-like. But he has some aristocracy look about him too. They're all different," Elena describes hesitantly, unwilling to admit to her friends that she found Damon's appearance to be totally mesmerizing, especially his hypnotic blue eyes.
Damon frowned as he listened to the girls fawning over this mystery Dr. Hotness, who apparently is Elena's gynaecologist. He didn't feel comfortable to know that she found another guy to be good-looking and especially not one who has access to her private areas that only he was allowed to see and touch. But then again, his access had been denied.
"So, are we going to go shopping soon? You've got that flashy credit card now and you'll need new clothes and bras very soon," Bonnie spoke.
"I told you, Bon, that credit card is not meant for splurging! I'm to use it for furnishing the nursery and groceries and such only. That card came with a specific set of instructions, you know?"
"Oh come on, you know Damon would want you to wear comfortable clothes as your pregnancy advances. Shopping for maternity clothes is a need, not a want! So, you'll be completely justified if you wanted to buy some dresses, some new pants and undergarments that will actually fit your growing body. Besides, he's not that calculative. He won't care if you spent some of his money on yourself once in a while. And when I say once in a while, I really meant every week!" Caroline smiled at her own wit.
"Well, I care! He worked hard for his money, and I'm not going to just spend unnecessarily just because my body needs it. Besides, I can still fit into most of my clothes, so I don't have to worry about that yet. Hey, you guys better go before he comes home for dinner. I still have to heat the food up and set the table," Elena told them anxiously when she saw the time and was half eager and half reluctant to chase her friends' comforting presence off.
"Okay, we take a hint. We're not wanted here. I feel so used. After driving you to Dr. Hotness's clinic, and back, you still don't offer me dinner!" Bonnie said with mock anger. "I'm kidding, Elena! Okay, okay we're outta here!"
Damon realised too late that they were on their way out of the kitchen and he would most likely be discovered to be hidden behind the door shamelessly eavesdropping on everything they said so far. He watched in horror as the door to the kitchen swung open and hit him on the head which caused him to yell out in pain, scaring the three girls who were walking towards the main door.
"Damon! What are you doing back so early? And why were you standing behind the door? Were you listening to us?" Caroline's accused as her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him while Elena just stood back in surprise.
"I just got home and was on the way to the kitchen when you violently assaulted me with the door," he lied smoothly, hoping that they believed him, which they did, those naive little suckers!
"Oh, well, sorry! Bye Elena, I'll see you tomorrow for the SSF event discussion. Bye!" Caroline exclaimed and pulled Bonnie along with her out the main door, leaving Elena and Damon alone in the foyer, not knowing what to say to each other. After a long pause, Elena cleared her throat.
"Umm...you're home early. Are you hungry? I can heat up dinner for you," she offered, making the first move at being friendly.
Oh, he was already heated up, just not for food. "I was curious about what you wanted to talk about, and I couldn't concentrate at work so I came home earlier. Shall I help you with dinner?" he offered politely, feeling incredibly tensed from their reserved conversation, as if they were both afraid to say the wrong thing for fear of spoiling this temporary truce between them.
"No, I can handle it. It's just heating up food; I'm sure even I couldn't mess that up," she gave a tentative grin and the sight of it made Damon feel more at ease, since she was obviously not gearing up to a big emotional break-up with him tonight. "I'll just be a few minutes."
"Okay, I'll go upstairs and get changed," he told her, and then sped upstairs into the privacy of his own room, glad for a moment of reprieve so that he can calm himself down and think about other things beside his arousal in his pants that resulted from overhearing the girls' conversation about Elena's breasts. He contemplated taking a shower, a cold one, but then decided that he wanted to get 'the talk' over with to have some peace of mind. All this wondering had screwed with his brain the whole day so he was anxious to get it out of the way. He changed into casual black jeans and his John Varvatos buttoned shirt and then made his way back downstairs to smell the aroma of Italian herbs coming from the dining room.
"You cooked this? It smells delicious!" he looked impressed as he saw the pasta and salad on the table.
"Are you nuts? Of course I didn't cook this, Tony did. You don't want your house to burn down, do you?" she asked incredulously, as if he was insane to suggest that she could actually cook.
"Oh, I thought-never mind. Take-out from Tony's, huh? That's just great! As if I didn't have enough problems!" he rolled his eyes and groaned as he willed himself to stay calm, but failed anyway at the memory of the sounds she made when she first tried Tony's cooking.
"What's wrong? I thought you loved Tony's food?" she was staring him in confusion, wondering how the hell she could screw up the dinner merely by getting take-out from what she thought was his favorite restaurant.
"Yeah, I loved Tony's cooking, but that was before you spoiled it for me by making all the...sex noises when I brought you there the last time. Now, I can never think of cheesy pasta or Tony's restaurant the same way again without getting aroused at the thought of you eating and the passionate night that followed! And this is right after I overheard you talking about your breasts; how they got bigger and tingly and then Caroline had to go and suggest that I gave you a massage and sucking on your tender nipples, and well, the mental image is too much!" he shook his head violently as if to clear his head.
"You heard us talking? But when Caroline asked, you said - you told her-" she stammered in confusion, her head still reeling in shock as he practically admitted not a moment ago that he was sexually frustrated.
"I lied! I don't owe them any explanations, but you...I said I wouldn't lie to you again so yes, I got home and heard your voices in the kitchen so I listened for any clues as to why you wanted to have a talk tonight. But then you girls just started talking about breasts and nipples and Dr. Hotness, that I couldn't stop listening! By the way, I can't believe that you went for a check-up without me. I'm the father - shouldn't you involve me in anything that involves our baby?" his face was stretched tightly from the tension in his body as he confronted her about the doctor's appointment.
"I-I didn't think you'd be interested. Honestly. We-we weren't talking, and you've never given any indication that you'd want to be involved in that aspect of the pregnancy, so I went with Bonnie. In fact, that was one of the things I wanted to speak to you about tonight since Dr. Michaels advised me to bring you along for the next check-up since he wanted to ask you about your family's medical history as background information for the baby. The girls were just playing around when they spoke about him earlier," she felt her face reddened as she thought about how she described about how differently hot the three men were.
"Oh, so Dr. 'Hotness' has a name. I don't want you to see him anymore, Elena. I'm not comfortable about having a good-looking man poking around my wife's vagina, so go find another doctor," he instructed arrogantly, feeling sick at the thought of this mystery man's hands and fingers all over Elena's body.
"What? Do you even realize what you're saying? You want me to find another doctor just because of the way he looks? We had a nurse the whole time he was examining me and he was a total professional throughout the whole thing. I'm not changing doctors just because you feel insecure and jealous over absolutely nothing!" she argued back, her stubborn streak making an appearance. "And FYI, it's not my fault if you get sexually frustrated every time you see pasta! And I didn't force you to listen to us girls talking amongst ourselves - without knowing that we had a creepy stalker listening right outside the door, I might add – about how my body is changing. The fact is that I'm pregnant, and I don't know anyone else who might have been through this, so I would like to be able to discuss this openly with my girl friends! Maybe you should learn to control your emotions rather than blaming me for arranging a nice dinner with you!"
"Yes, I am sexually frustrated! In fact, I'm goddamn horny all the time now. But I suppose that's due to the fact that I haven't been having sex for over a week now, since my wife decided that she would rather sleep alone than with a man who craves for her touch so much that I'd rather spend all day at the office rather than come home and see you and know that I can never have you again," his tone softened towards the end as he finally admitted out loud what he had been struggling with the whole week.
"Wait, so you haven't been having sex? You weren't with Katherine?" she whispered.
"Of course not! Whatever that happens between us, I'm still a married man! I wouldn't cheat on you and frankly I feel insulted that you'd even think that I would. Besides, Ric thinks that she has an acidic cooter and no man in their right mind would go near her if they didn't want their manhood to melt off," he smiled a little at the end as he recalled his conversation with Ric at the bar the day he met Elena.
Seeing his smile and knowing that he wasn't with Katherine this week made Elena's heart filled with joy, and suddenly she didn't feel like fighting with him anymore.
"I'm sorry," she said softly as he looked up at her in surprise. "I shouldn't have hit you that day."
"Why not? I would hit me. I was being a dick to you; you didn't deserve what I said to you. I didn't mean to give you the impression that I was still having a relationship with her. You have to believe me when I said that she and I are over, completely. I don't feel anything towards her except for hatred, annoyance, disgust and a little fear; kinda like if you saw a huge snake in the garden eating your favourite pet," he shrugged.
"You paint quite a picture! But I meant what I said, I'm sorry. I may have over-reacted to that stupid prank she pulled. I must admit that the thought of her unleashes the ugliest part of me that makes me wanna...wanna...wanna...gouge her pesky eyes out and feed it to that snake!" she looked adorably furious enough to actually pull it off. "Anyway, this was what I wanted to talk to you about. I really hated not talking to you this week. And if we're gonna live together for a whole year, the least that we could do is to try to be friends, even if we're attracted to each other and drive each other crazy."
"You're attracted to me?" he wondered, with his eyes wide from the sudden revelation.
"Who said that? I didn't say that," she hastily replied, mentally kicking herself for blurting that out.
"Yeah, you did. You just said it!" he insisted.
"You must have heard wrongly. I said we drove each other crazy. So what do you say? Friends? Or at least, civil housemates? Ones that see each other a few times a week, share a meal together, maybe even watch TV together in the evenings?" she offered hopefully.
"Okay, I'll make an effort to be home earlier. Hell, I'll even tolerate watching sappy romance movies or cartoons or whatever it is you kids watch these days. But can you also compromise by having a meal once a week with my family? My mother misses you, and I didn't tell her about our...err...arrangements. I didn't want her to worry."
"When you say family, do you mean the WHOLE family, or just Stefan and your mother? Because I can probably do the latter but not the former, unless I have your permission to eat some pickles and barf all over your father," she threatened with a wry smile.
"No barfing on family members, not even my father who is not, by the way, included in the family meal. And how come you don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?" he eyed her as if there was something seriously wrong with her.
"Let's just say that pickles to me are like...Katherine to you," she explained, getting her point across eloquently.
"Oh ewww, then no pickles for you then," he chuckled as she returned with her own grin, both happily satisfied with their mutual declaration of peace for the moment.
Finally, these two managed to find a common ground to hopefully co-exist peacefully for the moment. I think it was a pretty healthy fight; the stuff they brought out of each other finally cleared the air.
So, Kol made an appearance. May not be how you expected, but for some of you, you should be happy he's in the story at all! I didn't plan on writing him in, so it was as unexpected to me too.
I hope that this less antsy chapter can make more of you comment, not just the regular reviewers (whom I love sooooo much!) but I'm hoping that those who read the story would come out and press the little button below this Author's Note and type a few sentences. Come on, you know you want to...NO? Well, too freaking bad! Do it anyway, because I said so! Too harsh? Didn't mean it! Okay, maybe I did, just a little! Besides if you don't review, then I'll make Damon die in the next chapter! *sinister laugh*
Okay, maybe he won't die, because then the story is over, but I might make his manhood melt by sticking it in Katherine's acidic cooter... don't say I didn't warn ya!
So again, please R E V I E W. Thank you very much!
