A/N: Hey my lovely readers. So, I've decided to just upload the rest of the story on here. I'm calling it "the final chapters of Begin Again."
So, please feel free to read & review. Since, I honestly love hearing all your thoughts about each update and the story as a whole.
Enjoy & Thanks so much for reading!
Begin Again- Chapter Thirty-Seven
Elena's P.O.V.
It's unusually quiet when we get back home the next morning. But as I look around the house and turn to Bonnie, telling her to keep quiet. My shoe gets stuck against something and when I bend down to pick it up, I'm irritated...
"They gave the kids, ice cream for dinner!" I hiss out, turning back to Bonnie who rolls her eyes and steps into the living room, letting out a soft "aww, look how adorable they look."
I hear Lexi behind me, placing her hands on to my back as she looks over my shoulder and whispers to Caroline to come over as quickly as she can.
All four of us stand in the doorway that leads into our living room, the view in front of us really is pretty adorable- for a moment until we walk closer and notice... Kol, Damon, Stefan and Tyler all laying on the floor, each of them has either a baby beside them or a pillow. Olivia and Sam are asleep beside Stefan, curled up against him under a bunch of covers as I look around to see Aiden sleeping on Damon's chest, Tyler holding Zach the same way and Kol sitting up with Abrielle in his arms, gushing over how cute she is on the couch.
It takes him a moment to notice us and when he does, I can see the hint of embarrassment on his face. "Umm..Hi ladies. You all are back early." He says in a charming way, getting up off the floor and holding a sleeping and content Abrielle, her dark brown set of hair brushing up against his arm when he walks over to Lexi and hands her the baby, kissing her lips gently before he steps away.
"What happened last night?" I ask him, hearing him laugh as he looks back at the same sight that we had seen when we walked in.
"We kind of all had a slumber party . Sam and Olivia couldn't sleep and so, Damon and Tyler came up with the idea of watching The Lion King until we all fell asleep. The babies woke us all up about an hour ago. But, those three didn't feel like taking them back upstairs. So, they fell asleep like that." Kol concludes with a charming smile as he winks at Lexi and she crosses her arms over her chest, giving him a knowing look.
"Why are there five empty cartons of ice cream in the garbage can in the kitchen and why is the floor all sticky?" Caroline asks him, her hands on her hips as she looks as if she's staring him down, wanting to pounce on him from her anger. "You don't give small children ice cream before bed! My god, that leads to cavities and really hyperactive kids..Haven't you read any books about kids or..something?"
"Easy there, tiger. Before you bite my head off, let me explain. We had an ice cream contest too. But, don't worry, Elena. Everyone brushed their teeth after and the kids went to bed at a decent hour. And, Stefan cute them off. Also, no ice cream was given to the babies." He elaborates some more when I look behind him, brushing past him and slowly walking further into the living room, hovering over Stefan.
"Momma!" Sam exclaims, his eyes widened as he pushes the covers back and grabs on to me, his arms tightly embracing me as I stand up straight, holding my son in my arms and kissing his face when I push my hand back against his hair.
"Hi baby boy. Did you sleep good?" I ask him. Sam nods and looks back at Stefan, Aiden and Olivia, grinning at me.
"Daddy, get up!" He exclaims excitedly, nudging Stefan's shoulder as I hear him groan, opening his eyes to see me standing above him. "Hi babe, nice to see you...For a moment there, I thought I was still dreaming."
I smile, leaning down as Stefan lifts his arm that's probably asleep from having Olivia sleeping beside him to caress my cheek. "I missed you, last night." He tells me sweetly.
"Have fun, last night?" I ask him when he finally gets up. He's smiling, his hair is a mess and when I look closely, I can see a smudge of a chocolate stain on his light gray colored t-shirt.
"Yeah, babysitting the kids and being with the guys was-." He begins to say as I turn around to see Tyler and Damon both get up at the same time, both of them rubbing their faces with one hand and each of them holding one of the babies with the other arm.
"We had a blast!" Damon cuts in with a sheepish grin and I lock my gaze on to Tyler who looks exhausted, but happy.
"We really did. Didn't we..Sam? Olivia?" Tyler asks them, hearing them giggle when Olivia adds. "Momma, we watched The Lion King and daddy and uncle Damon made funny lion noises."
"Oh? They did, hmm?" My eyes scan the room when I turn my attention back to Stefan and Damon who are fumbling with Aiden's pajama's.
"Yeah, it was really funny. Rawrr!" Sam concludes, stepping in front of Tyler who pats him on the head and leans down to lock his eyes on to him when he mimics Sam's lion noise.
"Who let the- Oh, it's just my husband." Caroline says, leaning against the wall and waving to Tyler when he smiles and goes directly to her, wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing her lips gently.
"Eww. Oh, gross!" Olivia shouts, throwing herself dramatically on a pillow that's on the couch and burying her head into it.
"Looks like someone's going to be an actress when she get's older." Caroline says with a smile, pointing to Olivia who has her little hand on top of her head, staring up at the ceiling when she says with a loud sigh. "Being in love is gross and mooshy."
"Just wait until you fall in love...One day." I remark, watching Olivia lift herself back up from the couch, her lips are pursed and her focus isn't on me at all. But, behind me and when I look over to see who she's looking at. I notice that she's got her full focus on her uncle Damon as she concludes in a completely serious manner. "Momma, if falling in love is like learning how to spell, I don't want to do it. It takes too long!"
Wedding rehearsal and dinner is being moved to a lot earlier because of work schedule. It's tonight, wedding is still in one week though. Make sure to be on time and wear something nice. I stare down at my phone as I pull my hair back and take my tooth brush out of the medicine cabinet, staring to brush my teeth, listening as the water in the shower turns on and Stefan's starts humming to himself.
"Are you seriously still wanting to do the whole 'stay at home dad thing' even after last night?" I question, spitting into the sink and hearing when he lets out a laugh, his voice bouncing off the walls when he finally says. "After last night, it made me realize that there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be than with the kids and with you, Elena. I want to do it, I want to be able to spend as much time as I can with them, making up for everything we lost- five years, Elena. I have five years of memories to make up for."
I shrug my shoulders back and exhale. He does have a point and ever since he came back into not only my life. But, into Sam and Olivia's as well, he's been determined to make sure that they know how much he loves them by just being there and spending more time with them than I can sometimes. Although, I think they already know how much he does, just by being in their lives.
"Jeremy and Anna moved the wedding rehearsal and dinner to tonight." I comment, stepping towards the shower curtain and poking my head into it as I watch Stefan wash his hair.
"You like the view?" He asks in a teasing manner, pushing the shower curtain back fully as I feel my body lunge forward and then before I can tell him "No!" My whole body becomes soaked from the water that's coming out of the shower head as he pulls me into the shower with him.
"Stefan! I was trying to look nice for today. We need to be at Caroline and Tyler's house in 20 minutes. I'm taking Caroline out for a bit as you guys decorate the nursery for them!" I scold him, watching as he grins and pulls me against his chest, kissing my lips and preventing me from protesting any further.
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that too. Hmm, looks like we'll be extra clean for your brother's thing that we have to go to tonight as well." He comments in a charming tone as I roll my eyes at him and turn to step out of the shower. But, his arms pull me back and he whispers against my ear. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To change my soaked clothing. Why, you want to join me?" He can tell that I'm being more than sarcastic as I lift my leg up and try to step out of the bathtub. But, his strong and muscular arms stop me, spinning me around to him as he leans into me and extends out his hand, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waistline before he continues.
"What are you doing?" I ask him, my lips curled into a huge smile that I can't shake and my eyes can't be torn away from my husband's perfectly sculpted abs.
"You said that you need to change. I was hoping to help you with that little problem. I mean, I am responsible for leaving you all wet." Stefan comments with a grin that makes me want to smack him. But, I find myself restraining my actions and leaning into him instead, trailing my fingers up and down his stomach, feeling his body tighten at my touch.
"We can't be late to this little painting thing..Mhhmmm." Stefan says as he pulls me even closer, our lips just about to touch when my cell phone goes off on the counter in the bathroom.
"Leave it." He commands, leaning into me as I wrap my arms around him, my white t-shirt sticking to my body as he smirks when he glances down at me.
"It could be-." I start to say just as he brushes my hair back, tilting his head to the side when he inches closer and before I can even think about what I want to say, he kisses me- fiercely, passionately and without holding anything back. I want to tell him to stop. But, my mouth can't form the words, neither can my brain when he steps to my side and scoops me up into his arms, bridal style. My lips never leave Stefan's as I feel the cold sheets of our familiar bed underneath me suddenly and watch him hover over my soaked body, his hands lifting my cold shirt over my heated body. They're warm, soft and as my head hits the pillow, I curse myself for what I'm about to say.
"Stefan...Babe...Stef..." It's like he doesn't hear me, like he's in this trance as he leans down and kisses my exposed flattened stomach, tracing his fingers over my scars and leaving a trail of kisses up and down my flesh.
"Yes?" He finally questions with a smug smile as I feel him lick my skin and I arch my back towards him, gritting my teeth at the sensation he's leaving upon me.
"You need to meet up with the guys and I..." My voice gets stuck in my throat as I feel his hands glide down my shorts and he wedges his fingers in between the elastic that lays comfortably against my hips.
It's like I can't breathe, I can't even think straight and whenever I attempt to do so. He does something that throws my brain into overdrive, causing me to only think about him and what his hands are doing to me.
"We need to..." I try again, clearing my throat this time. Who am I even kidding? I'm getting nowhere with this and I'm still failing at it! But, I'm relentless.
"Caroline's waiting...We ..." I'm still trying to form words. But, my brain and his hands all over my body, gliding my t-shirt off my stomach and up above my rib cage is all stopping me from rationalizing much of anything.
"Caroline..Caroline...Caro, ugh. I heard you the first time, Elena. But, I don't really give a damn about Caroline right now...All. I. Want. Is. You. All, I care about is you." He tells me, his voice is low, a growl sound escaping past his lips when I lift my head up and he pushes against me, grinning when a moan leaves my mouth and I utter out his name in a breathy tone, wrapping my arms and legs around him when he flips us over and I climb on top of him, straddling his lap.
"So, she's going to be really pissed off that we're late because of this." I comment, leaning my head down and watching Stefan brush my hair to one side, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply as I leave kisses against his stomach, making my way all the way down to his belly button.
"I know, believe me. But, right now. I could care less. So,for once in your life, Elena. Stop talking and enjoy this." Stefan lets me as I smile against his stomach and lean down again, lifting up my head for a moment and staring up at him as he asks. "What?"
He watches me shake my head, I'm smiling and I'm the most relaxed that I've been in a long time as I slide my body down against him. "You're right. We shouldn't care, I guess we'll get to their house, when we get there." I tell him with a laugh, my fingertips gingerly tracing against the towel that he's wrapped his lower body in.
"I'm glad you agree." He states with a lust filled glance as I smile and lift my head once again, this time towards his face, kissing his lips feverishly and roughly, my fingertips tugging frantically at the towel that he's covered himself in.
"You two are very late!" Caroline tells me, this amused look on her face when she inspects Stefan and I as we walk through the door, a hurried mess of hair and ball caps on our heads, a hicky more than evident on my neck that her eyes glisten at.
"Ohhh." Is all she says as she kicks up her feet and leans back into her chair, a spoon filled with chocolate frosting in her hands as she licks it off and pops the spoon out of her mouth.
"Elena, sweetie. You should have rechecked your makeup before you left your house. I think you missed a spot." Caroline points out as I catch a reflection of myself in the mirror, letting go of Olivia's hand.
"Oh god." Is all I manage to say when I hear her laugh and look up to see Bonnie leaning against the door frame, a pair of old looking jogging pants on.
"I'm staying behind to babysit the kids." She comments as she leans down and pulls Sam and Olivia into a hug.
"Bonnie. You should go. Come on, they'll be totally fine with us." Stefan tells her, glancing over at me as I give him a knowing look.
"Yeah, honey. Go out with your girls. The kids will be totally fine with us. We'll take rounds checking up on them and maybe we'll even put Sammy and Olivia to work." Damon says, coming up from behind her with a paint brush in his hands, his signature black shirt covered in white paint.
"Work?" His voice is barely there when he says it, his green eyes widening at the thought and just when I'm about to explain to Sam that Damon was just kidding. Olivia smiles, placing her hands on to her hips and tilting her head to the side, her long brown pin straight hair brushing up to one side when she states. "Sammy can go. I'm just going to sit here and look pretty." She tells us all with a grin, walking over to one of the brown and wooden dinning room chairs in Caroline and Tyler's house, sitting on it and crossing her legs when she points to Sam and smirks, twirling a piece of hair in between her little fingers, her hands under her chin when she yawns and then she adds. "Get to work, Sammy. Daddy always says that nothing is free. So, like momma says.. Get working, buddy!"
We're still laughing at Olivia's words when all three of us walk into a huge boutique that's filled with baby clothes from the floor to ceiling.
"It's like a warehouse for baby stuff." Caroline comments, taking one of the red colored shopping carts from a row of them inside of the store and leaning against as we walk beside her.
"It looks like blue, pink, and all those common baby colors puked all over this place." Bonnie examines, laughing and leaning against me when she locks her eyes on to me and asks. "So, you and Stefan were late because you two were having hot, messy and rough sex at home?"
I'm blushing, my face is heated and my eyes narrow when I glance down at my hands. I don't even need to add more to this conversation. Because, my face gives away everything...as my mind screams.. BUSTED!
Bonnie and I suddenly stop talking though when Caroline blurts out. "God, I miss uninterrupted sex!" We turn towards her, both of us trying really hard to not burst into a fit of giggles like two little kids when she smiles and shrugs her shoulders back, walking in front of us with the empty cart as if she had never uttered a word.
"What? It's my hormones, I can't help it. I want it all the time now that I'm pregnant. Tyler and I...We haven't really had much time for sex. With the baby and all.." She adds over her shoulder with a wink as I watch her pick up a stuffed animal that causes me to get a warm feeling in my stomach, hearing Caroline talk about how cute it is, is what sends me into my memories as I stand there and watch her place it back on to the table, I'm lost in my thoughts...
"Isn't it the cutest thing that you have ever seen?" I asked him, turning around and watching as Bonnie smiled at me, holding Damon's hands and pulling him into one of the aisles. Stefan stood beside me, looking around and placing his hands into his pockets.
"Elena, it's a bear. We don't really need to buy the twins a bear just yet." He told me as I shook my head, throwing it into the cart that was already overflowing with baby clothes, toys, bottles and everything else we'd need.
"Well, we might need it later on. You know, babies grow like weeds, Stefan. They'll be growing out of half of this stuff pretty quick." I said softly, glancing down at all the things that we had bought.
"You two are going overboard." Damon cut in, smiling at me as he held on to Bonnie's hand and I glanced up at him.
"Well,we don't need the brown bear, Stefan." I argued, turning my attention to Stefan as his smile faded and he placed his hand into the cart, grabbing it into his hands, examining it.
I watched as he held the bear in front of his face and his voice became light and high pitched. "Hello, beautiful pregnant lady. If you take me home, your babies will love me. I'm kid friendly and I'm super cute. So, please..Take me home with you."
I could hear Bonnie laugh as I glanced up to see Damon shake his head, exhaling deeply.
"Fine. We can keep him. He's cute for $3 dollars." I told him, rolling my eyes and watching Stefan's green gaze smile along with him as he placed the brown bear back into the cart, leaning over to kiss my cheek.
"He'll need a name." Damon chimed in as we continued to walk down the aisles.
"We'll figure it out. Or better yet, once the kids are old enough to talk. They can name him." I said with a smile as Stefan licked his lips and nodded, pulling me into his side and kissing my cheek as he whispered. "Thank you, for letting me come with you."
The memory fades as I hear Caroline shout. "Oh my god, it's so little. I want it, I want it now...It'll be perfect!"
When I look up to finally see what she's talking about, I smile at what's in front of her, a pair of small yellow colored boots, perfect for a little girl, a then I see it, a blanket with the letter "H" on it with pink lettering. I silently remind myself that if she does have a little girl that they name, Hannah. That, I'll come back here and buy it for her.
Stefan's P.O.V.
Paint rollers are in everyone's hands as Tyler sits down onto a closed bucket of paint, a white premier covering his hands as I watch him glance around the small room that's going to be the nursery for their son or daughter, in a few short months.
"So, have we picked out color to paint this room or is it just going to stay white forever?" Kol asks, wiping a bead of sweat from his face and leaning against the portion of the wall that is already dry.
"It's going to stay white until Caroline and I find out the gender of the baby." Tyler remarks with a smile as I exhale deeply and sit beside Kol.
"So, were you like this when you became a dad? Kind of little iron handed about where you wanted things to go and how perfect you wanted to make the nursery for your kids?" He asks me as I smile at the thought of it, shaking my head.
"No. I was surprisingly really calm." I tell him, laughing when Damon and Tyler cough out a breath and both of them look at Kol and I who are sitting on two paint buckets in the middle of the room.
"Bullshit! You were like a duck, squawking orders at me. I honestly wanted to punch you in the face just to make you stop talking." Damon elaborates as I glare at him and open my mouth to speak. But, Tyler cuts in.
"You were calm when Sam and Olivia were born. But, Aiden- that's a whole other story." Tyler tells me, pushing me with his hand as I lean forward and pick up a paint brush covered in white paint. "Touch me again, Lockwood and you'll be covered in white."
"He'll be like a bride, all dressed up in white. Aww.." Damon comments in between laughs as he watches me get up and I smirk.
"Okay, I'll admit. I did go a bit overboard when Aiden was born. But, I forgot what it felt like with Sam and Olivia. So, with Aiden, it was like my second chance at going overboard with painting and stuff." I comment, trying to play it off like it wasn't that big of a deal at how I had spent nights working on his nursery, in between working long hours at the station and being with the kids and Elena.
"Sure, a little overboard..That sounds about right." Damon comments with a smile as I get up, shoving my brother playfully, both of laughing as I feel a wet smudge of paint land on my arm.
"Shit..I'm sorry." He comments, trying to wipe it off as I lean into him and lay it on thickly against his shirt that's already all covered with paint. Hearing Damon laugh and feeling his arms around me when he pulls me into a hug, reminds me of the day that he came over and spent it painting with me. Both of us pretty drunk off our asses as we tried to see which one of us could paint a straight line the best- quickly giving up when we realized that neither of us could..
"I'm going to be a dad again and this time..I'm fucking scared out of my mind." My words all blended together when I said them out loud and he and I laid down on the floor that was covered with plastic, staring up at the ceiling and exhaling deeply when Damon suddenly blurted out, in a saddened tone. "I'm sorry, Stefan."
Damon watched me roll over, my smile falling into a serious frown as I leaned into my brother and locked my eyes on to him in confusion at the sudden change in his mood, just a half hour earlier- we'd been laughing and having a great time and now..He's apologizing to me for something. "For what?" I asked him, trying to get a better idea for the sympathetic look in his eyes.
I watched Damon get up suddenly, leaning against the mostly dried wall that was painted a light blue, the words Aiden in block letters above where the crib was going to go.
"For everything I did when you were missing. Stefan, I wanted to be there. I wanted to help them search for you. But-." I stopped him, lifting up my hand and shaking my head, getting up and walking over to my brother, sitting down next to him. Both of us sat against the wall to what was going to be Aiden's nursery as I exhaled deeply before speaking.
"Damon, you've already apologized to me. It's okay...It really is. I know that you wanted to be there, I know that. But, you couldn't. Because you were in shock. I know that if you hadn't been that you would have been there. But, my 'death', my disappearance was hard on all of us...including you." I told him, placing my hand on to my brothers knee as he turned his head towards me and then scanned the room.
"I'm going to make it up to you, Stefan. I'm going to be there for you more, whenever you need me. I'll be there, I promise...Besides, someone's going to need to keep an eye out on this kid. Aiden is going to be very spoiled...by everyone. And, I want to make us closer too." Damon said, watching me smile as I nodded my head.
"Yeah, he will be. And, he's going to be very loved by everyone. Including you. My kid's favorite Uncle..Just, don't tell Tyler or Jeremy. They'd be pissed if they knew that you were their favorite and that you're my favorite too." I commented with a wink, hearing Damon laugh as he pulled me closer to him, kissing the top of my head when he whispered. "I love you little brother..I've missed you a lot, man."
The memory fades as I lean my back against the wall that's near the door, sliding down it as I place my hands over my knees, watching everyone talk amongst themselves, suddenly stopping when I finally admit what I've been trying to decide for the past few weeks since I had seen Carol and talked about my family. "I finally made a decision about my life and about being a fire fighter. I've decided that I'm going to quit my job for good this time. I don't want to go back to that part of my life anymore. I want to be a stay at home dad with the kids, instead."
I swear it's like a pin drops. Damon's mouth drops open and Tyler and Kol just stare at me blankly. No one even moves when I get up and lock my eyes on each of them as I say it louder and Damon steps in front of me, placing his hands on to my shoulders as he asks. "Stefan, being a fire fighter is what you love. It's been the best part of your life since you were a volunteer at 18. Are you sure about this?"
I nod my head, licking my lips and locking my eyes on to my brother when I speak again. I feel like a weight's been lifted off my chest because my reply is the most honest, truthful and sincere thing that I have said in a long time. "It was a part of me a long time ago and it will always be a part of my life, that job. But, it's just a job, Damon and a lot of things changed for me after that accident. Now, I don't see my job as the most important thing in my life anymore. Because, it never really has been...My family, my kids and my wife are the most important thing in my life, they are the best part of it now and I couldn't think of a better choice to make. So, I'm not changing my mind. Olivia, Sam and Aiden need their dad and now is my chance to be there for them. I've never wanted them to think that I left because I didn't love them, Damon. I love my kids and I'll every single chance I get now, telling them that." I confess, feeling a smile tug across my lips at just the thought of being more involved with my kids and finally confessing to 'my brothers', what I had been internally fighting with myself about for weeks.
A/N: So, what are your thoughts about the story..Loving the flashbacks and what about the cute little SE family moments.. :')