STEFAN'S POV:
"Pizza!" Leo proclaimed as the apartment buzzer rang "Pizza!"
"You stay here and help Caroline finish getting sorted, and I'll go." I informed him
Making my way out of the kitchen, I buzzed the person into the building and opened the apartment door, seeing Martin make his way up…
"Moonlighting as a pizza boy, are you?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him
"Saved the guy a job." he replied "I paid him too. You owe me $30."
Pulling my wallet out, I handed him the money and he handed me the pizza boxes… "Did you find out what I asked?"
He nodded his head… "The information you need is in that envelope."
"Thank you." I replied
CAROLINE'S POV:
Stefan walked back into the kitchen a few minutes later, pizza boxes in hand. Taking them from him, I began to serve up, leaning back against him as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind…
"Hi." he greeted me
"Hi." I mirrored "You seem chirpier than you did earlier…"
"I am." he admitted "How's your face?"
"It's sore, but I'll live. Nothing I can't handle." I replied, turning my head to press my lips against his cheek "Right, food…"
"Yes!" Leo proclaimed as he moved to the table
Setting his plate down in front of him, I turned and Stefan handed me mine, both of us taking a seat at the table with Leo too…
"Leo, can I ask you something?" Stefan questioned after a few minutes of comfortable silence
"What?" he asked as he continued to eat
"What would you say if I told you that you were staying here permanently?" he inquired
"Like forever?" Leo questioned
Stefan nodded… "What would you say?"
"Great." he replied "I love it here…"
I smiled warmly as he spoke… "So you're happy?"
He nodded his head… "Can I have some ice cream please?"
I laughed and nodded my head and watched as he moved from the chair he'd been sat on to the freezer, pulling the tub of ice cream from the drawer…
"He's happy." I sighed, turning to Stefan and entwining my hand with his "You're happy. I'm happy, so can I have my surprise now?"
"I knew you hadn't forgotten about that…" he admitted, smiling at me warmly
"Well, can I?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him
"It's on your nightstand." he informed me
Pressing my lips against his cheek, I made my way out of the room and into our bedroom, finding an envelope with my name on it. Picking it up, I opened it and pulled out two plane tickets to New York…
"Stefan?" I called
"Yep?" he questioned from behind me
"Are you serious?" I inquired, turning to find him stood in the doorway
He nodded his head… "I remember you saying it had always been your dream to go, so I thought we could make it our own celebration what with winning residency."
"If we're celebrating, shouldn't we be doing that with Leo too?" I asked "There's only two tickets here…"
"We'll celebrate with Leo," he informed me "we'll do something with him one day before we go, and have the party, and then you and me will fly to New York for the weekend."
"I'm not dreaming, am I?" I questioned
He shook his head and smiled at me warmly… "You're not dreaming."
"I can't believe it," I admitted "I'm going to New York!"
Smiling at me warmly, I moved over to him and threw my arms around his neck… "Thank you."
"You're welcome." he replied "Now I need to pop out, as there's a problem at the office."
"So late?" I asked
"Afraid so," he admitted "but I won't be long. Are you okay to put Leo to bed?"
I nodded my head and pressed my lips against his… "Thank you."
"You're welcome." he replied
STEFAN'S POV:
I pulled up outside the homeless shelter, not being able to believe that this was Elena's last known address. Climbing out of my car, I locked it behind me and made my way to the door, pulling it open and making my way inside…
"Stefan…" Elena's voice spoke as I walked down the corridor "What are you doing here?"
I turned to face her and sighed, running my hands over my face as I took in her appearance… "What has happened to you?"
"I'm fine." she replied
"You can't be serious." I proclaimed "You're a state!"
"Be blunt, why don't you?" she sighed
"How do you expect me to be when I find out you punched my girlfriend?" I asked
"It's all about her, isn't it?" she questioned "Once, it was all about me…"
"And it still could be, but you chose to sleep with my brother." I informed her "You've got no one to blame but yourself for me ending things."
"Don't you think we could get things back to the way they were?" she inquired "Because I've been thinking about it and I do. All we need to do is get out of here and start afresh – you, me and Leo."
"Not gonna happen." I replied "I know you know about the residency and Leo now being with me and Caroline permanently, which is why you punched her. I don't want anything to do with you, Elena."
"Do you not care about me anymore?" she questioned
"Part of me does," I admitted "but ultimately, no, I don't, especially after everything you've done and I'm here to tell you, until you get yourself sorted, if you do, that is, I want you to stay away. Leo's got Caroline and me, and until you're ready to be a Mom again, I don't want to hear from you."
"Are you serious?" she asked
"Deadly." I informed her "And you're lucky I don't call the police for what you did to Caroline, but she's told me not to so I'm respecting her wishes and doing as she asks, not that I should, because you deserve to be punished. Just sort yourself out, Elena, please…"
Stefan went to see Elena to confront her about why she punched Caroline, and told her that he doesn't want to hear anything from her until she gets sorted – do you think she will? And what about Leo? How adorable is he?
