A/N: Hey all, So I've decided that I will be bringing this story to a close soon..I think I will be writing two more chapters and then an epilogue for it. But, for now here's CH.21. Hope you all like it and thanks so much for reading! Enjoy!
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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE-The Ties That Bind Us
Caroline's P.O.V.
We've been sitting here, just Tyler and I for the last two hours..catching up about everything and to be totally honest. It feels nice to see him again, to laugh with him and just to be in his presence.
"So, a school principal? What happened to being a lawyer?" I ask him, watching as he places his glass down and smiles at me, shaking his head.
"Well, I decided that I wanted to work with kids and when I found out there was an opening. I wanted a change after Hayley left me." He states, sudden tension in his shoulders.
"You married Hayley?" I ask, my voice is stuck in my throat at my own question. It's not like I'm that shocked. But, I am taken back a bit because when I was dating Tyler. I knew about Hayley, they were best friends and she was actually the one who set he and I up on our first date.
"Yeah..But, it obviously didn't work out. I wanted kids and she didn't." Tyler says, looking down at his hands, clearing his throat as he glances over at my left hand and locks his eyes on my wedding ring.
"So, what about you Caroline..How are things with Klaus Mikealson?" Tyler asks, his voice low and curious as I smile in uncertainty and look up to see Tyler smiling back at me.
"We're in the process of getting a divorce..I mean, I haven't told him yet. But...I'm planning on telling him when I get back home." I state, watching quickly as Tyler's smile fade and he replaces it with one of disappointment.
"I..I'm sorry." He says quickly, watching me carefully when I lean forward, placing my hand on top of his, a strange sense of calm on my face as I say in a matter of fact tone. "Tyler, it's not your fault that I married someone I thought that I knew very well and he turned out to be a manipulative lying sack of shit."
Elena's P.O.V.
I've been sitting by the pool, watching the sun go down as I lean into the patio chair, closing my eyes tightly, exhaling deeply and trying hard to relax when suddenly, my cell phone rings and I'm in total surprise at the name that flashes across the screen...Bonnie Bennett.
"So, I've officially decided that I want to come back home again. Elena, I hate it here and I miss you, your family and Caroline like crazy! How are my girls?" She asks, her tone is loud and high pitched as I push the cell phone away from me ear and laugh a bit.
"We're fine. Caroline and I are at a resort and you will never guess who she coincidentally ran into tonight." I tell her, hearing as Bonnie sighs.
"Oh...One of her exe's." Bonnie comments as I nod my head. She honestly has no idea that Caroline was dating Klaus and Tyler at the same time..Once upon a time...
"Yes. Tyler Lockwood." I state, hearing as Bonnie gasps and chuckles a little.
"You're kidding right? She broke up with Tyler because of Klaus and now she's leaving Klaus and going out to dinner with Tyler? Is she planning on hyphenating her last name again...Like Caroline-Forbes-Mikaelson-Lockwood..I mean, come on how many times can a girl get married and divorced?" Bonnie says, a sarcastic tone in her voice as I laugh. She's right...Caroline's always been in the most relationship's than any of us combined. But, still it doesn't mean anything that she's having dinner with her exe..that she may or may not still have lingering feelings for.
"Oh come on, Bonnie! She's not going to marry him. It's just dinner to take her mind off of all the shit that Klaus is putting her through." I tell her.
"Aha..Well, never say never Elena..You said you'd never been with Stefan and well...you have two kids with the guy and he treats like you a queen. So, you know. Never say never." Bonnie reminds me, a soft tone in her voice.
"Yea..Well. Look, Bonnie. Crap, I have another call on the other line. I got to go. But, come home soon and I love you!" I tell her, hearing as she tells me that she loves me too and that she'll be home when she can get the time to visit.
I click over to the other line, more likely expecting Caroline to be the other one on the line. But, once I hear his staggered breath and his husky, raspy voice on the phine. I know that it's my lonely husband.
"You promised that you wouldn't call..." My voice trails off as Stefan laughs into the phone.
"Well, you promised me that you wouldn't be sending me that picture of you in your bikini or that text message about you-..Ah, never mind.. But, you did it anyways. So, fair is fair. Speaking of being fair..Come home." Stefan states in a firm tone as I shake my head at his words. This is the longest since Scarlett was born that he and I have been apart. Three days..is the longest that we've been away from each other about I can tell from the eagerness in his voice that Stefan can't wait for me to get home.
"Stefan, I have tonight here and then I'll try to convince them to leave early. So, how is my baby doing?" I ask him, hearing as he chuckles a bit when he replies. "Me? I'm missing you like crazy...I'm going crazy without you here..Please sweetheart, come home." He says, making me let out a loud laugh.
"Not you silly. How's our daughter..Scarlett?" I remind him.
"Oh, Scarlett. Ha..She misses her mom...Because dad sucks at putting on diapers and she hates Damon...So...We kind of need you and Lexi to come back home as soon as possible before Damon and I scar our daughter for life. She keeps crying when she looks at Damon and she loves to be carried around by me. I mean, it was cute in the beginning. But, now, we're both exhausted!" Stefan says, a tired tone in his voice appearing with his words.
"Well, one more night and I'll be home. Look, just pat her back and sing to her..She likes the same things that Lillian used to like when she was a baby. It shouldn't be that hard. Just, sing to her. Anyways, I got to go check on the girls. I love you guys. We'll be home soon, I promise!" I tell him, hearing as Stefan scuffs when I hear Damon let out a laugh and a loud "You've got to be kidding me..We are not singing!"
Stefan's P.O.V.
Sing to her? Seriously?
Look, I love my daughter. I really do. But, I cross the line at singing to her...I had tried that years ago with Lillian and I failed at it! So, I gave up.
I watch as Damon sits down next to me, leaning his head against the back of the couch, exhaling deeply as he speaks. "So, do we really have to sing to her..I mean, she's not crying now that she finally fell asleep."
"No. We don't. But, I have a backup plan, just in case." I tell him, pushing myself up from the couch as Damon looks at me in confusion.
"Where are you going Stefan?" He asks, getting up as well to follow me as I smile at him.
"Come on, we have a whole bunch of old DVD's and tapes in the attic that I know would help us with this whole 'we don't want to sing' dilemma." I tell him, making my way upstairs and into the attic, where I know I'll find a treasure trove of memories.
"What the hell are these songs? Give me that DVD over there." Damon states in annoyance, sitting on the floor of our living room with two different boxes next to him, watching as I hand him another DVD.
I listen as he mumbles to himself that this whole thing was a stupid idea because Scarlett is already asleep. But, he's still somehow managing to have fun going through all of these old memories with me, I can see it in the way his eyes light up when he flips through the large stack of CD's and DVD's. Suddenly, I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when Damon places the unmarked DVD into the player and he stands up, making his way to sit next to me on the couch.
I lean over, just about to tell Damon that I don't think it's working since all we are seeing is a large blue screen in front of us. But, just as I open my mouth, I feel nauseous and heart wrenching pain when the screen shows her face, the nursery in her old apartment in the background and her sitting on a newly installed bench, one that I had made her when I was helping her get her life back on track.
Damon and I got dead silence as we both look up at the screen and listen. The sound of her voice sending shockwaves through both of us as she speaks in a soft a loving tone, a huge smile on her face when she looks into the camera, clearing her throat before she even begins.
"Hi baby! I just wanted to tell you that today was your second ultra sound and it went great...I can't wait to meet you, little one. I can't wait to hold you in my arms and love you." She says, pausing for a moment when she places her hands gently on her stomach, looking away for a brief second to breathe.
"I know that new moms usually don't really do this type of thing. But, I wanted to make you a video Lillian..I wanted you to know how much I love you and how excited I am to start this new journey with you and everyone that I love. But, I'm also scared at the same time in my life. I'm scared baby..I really am scared to do this all alone. But, I know that I won't really be alone in this. Your auntie Elena will be there to help me and so will a few of our friends...And, I'm hoping that once I tell your father that he'll understand that I was scared, that I didn't want to pressure him into being with me..because we share a bond that can never be broken...You..." She says, her voice trailing off as she gets up to adjust the camera, wiping away a few tears in her eyes as she sits back down and exhales deeply.
" I guess I'm making this video too to say that if anything ever happens to me that I hope that your dad loves you and takes care of you, that he wants what's best for you..Just like I do. I also want you to know that your Auntie Elena is a tough girl and that she will always have your back and she will love you just as much as I do. Also, your uncle Damon and your aunt's Caroline and Lexi will be very important in your life as well and we all try to teach you everything that we know. I love you so much my sweet little Lillian Marie..I can't wait to meet you and spend the rest of my life being your mother..I like the sound of that..Mommy Katherine...I love you angel and I will be seeing you soon." She states in a soft tone, tears welling up in her eyes when she looks straight at the camera and blows a kiss into it.
Damon and I sit in silence, both of us staring up at the TV with tears in our eyes as my shaky voice breaks the silence between us. "I never knew about this video..I never knew that Katherine made Lillian a video like this..She's never even seen this before." I state, wiping away the tears in my eyes, sniffling a bit as I turn towards Damon whose got his eyes closed shut, his hands against his forehead as he talks.
"We need to show Lillian this...Since you and Elena haven't really shown her anything of Katherine's..We need to show her that Katherine loved her. Because, you don't want what Klaus told her to be stuck in her head and blur the truth. Which is that Katherine really wanted to be a part of her life, she wanted that baby and she really wanted to be a mother to her..She was planning on being the best mom that she could be..up until the accident happened." Damon states in a firm tone, watching as I clear my throat and nod at him, getting up and making my way to go look into the boxes some more. Hoping to find some more videos that Katherine made for her daughter. However, Damon's right and now I know what I need to do. First thing tomorrow when the girls get home. Elena and I will be sitting down and finally doing what we should have done years ago...Give Lillian a piece of her real mother that she's been dying to know more about.
A/N: So, finally a very OVERDUE family sit down is going to take place! Stefan and Elena will be sitting down with Lillian and sharing their memories of Katherine with her. :) There will be a lot more sweet moments coming up and also the next chapter will have a very big turning point for Caroline! :)
-Until Next Time!-