A/N: You all have been so nice to me on Twitter lately so I wanted to get this update up as fast as I could. Thank you for your kind words. You are the best readers out there : )
That being said, don't be mad at me for this update hehe.
Warm lips kissed lightly against her face, making her smile. Fingertips moved softly against her back. Was there anything more perfect than waking up next to Stefan?
Elena smiled, content with keeping her eyes closed and staying tucked away in Stefan's arms all morning. "Elena" he whispered, his fingers moving lightly through her hair. "I gotta go feed and work on the fence" he whispered.
Elena snuggled closer, tangling her legs with his. "Not yet" she murmured before letting out a soft sigh. She was way too relaxed and comfortable.
Stefan smiled as he held her. It was a perfect way to wake up and he wanted to cherish the moment for as long as he could. He loved her. It was as easy to say it as it was to feel it. He had crushes on girls growing up, but with Elena, it physically hurt to think about spending long periods of time away from her.
"Another half an hour, please?" she asked quietly.
How was he supposed to deny her something he wanted just as much as she did? "I'll give you that" he whispered back. Along with anything else she asked for.
Elena shifted her body to lay on top of his and pressed her ear against his chest. "Can I help?" she asked softly, referring to him fixing the fence later.
Stefan smiled again. "Help as in, sit in my truck with the AC and radio on while you watch me work?" he asked.
Elena laughed and the sound made him fall more in love with her. "Maybe" she answered.
Stefan ran his fingers through her hair again. "I should teach you how to use a hammer and a nail. Make you useful 'round the ranch" he teased her.
Elena's head popped up and her mouth opened as she feigned offense to his statement. "I am useful" she informed him. "I feed the animals and clean the stalls" she reminded.
Stefan laughed. "When was the last time you picked a stall?" he accused playfully. He had been doing it because somehow, she always found a way out of it.
Elena smiled guiltily. "Fine. I'm not much of a stall cleaner, but I do keep you easily entertained" she told him. Stefan raised his eyebrows, inviting her to explain. "I'm funny" she told him, which he had to agree with. "I'm pretty, so you have something to look at all day" Elena added.
Stefan reached up and kissed her suddenly, pressing his lips lightly against hers. "You're very pretty, and I love lookin' at you all day" he told her.
It made Elena smiled. "And last but not least, I'm good in bed" she said confidently. "Not that you have anything to compare it to" she added quickly.
Stefan blushed, but he replied. "I don't want anyone else to compare you to" he told her honestly, his arms tightening around her.
It warmed her heart to hear him say that. "Good answer Cowboy" Elena told him. She leaned her head back down on his chest and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his hands rubbing her back gently.
His lips brushed against her hair as he too closed his eyes and surrendered to the need to fall back asleep for a little while. It was so easy to give in, when Elena was right there giving in with him.
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Damon hobbled as best as he could out the front door so he could sit on the steps and get some fresh air. It was already midafternoon and he was tired of being inside.
Ric had left, Stefan was fixing the fence and Elena was somewhere, probably brushing her calf and reading to it. He shook his head at the thought, wondering why in the hell his brother had thought that giving Elena a calf as a pet made any sense. He'd make fun of his brother later for being so whipped when it came to Elena.
Damon closed his eyes, breathing in the fresh country air. The only other sound he could hear besides cattle calling out in the distance was the sound of gravel crunching under truck tires. When he opened his eyes, he was pleasantly surprised to see Rebekah pulling up. She hopped down from her mud covered truck and walked his way. "Ain't seen you 'round here for a while" Damon said, looking her up and down. Faded jean shorts, a tank top and her worn cowboy boots. It was a sight he had missed seeing on a regular basis.
"I've been busy" Rebekah told him, coming to stand in front of him. She looked him over too. "Looks like you're doin' better" she said.
Damon shrugged. "You wanna go grab lunch in town?" he asked. "I could get out of this house for a few hours."
Rebekah sat down next to him, clasping her hands together. She was quiet for a while, staring off into the distance. "What am I to you?" she asked, surprising him with her question.
Damon turned to look at her and saw her concentrating on the grazing cattle up ahead. "I've fucked up Bekah" he said, knowing full well that he had hurt her. More than once.
"That's not what I asked" Rebekah replied.
Damon sighed. "I love you" he told her, reaching his hand over and grabbing for hers.
Rebekah moved her hand away from his though. "You can be a really great guy sometimes" she said sadly. Sometimes, he had made her feel incredibly loved. And it wasn't like she asked for much. Just him. He was all she had wanted."But even those rare occasions don't make up for all the times you're an asshole."
Damon sighed. "We were good together. It wasn't always bad" he reminded her.
Rebekah looked at him sadly. "I don't know if I see a future with you Damon. A few months ago, maybe. But now?" she asked.
"I can do better" Damon promised her.
Rebekah sighed. "I want a commitment, Damon. I want marriage and children and a future. And all you want is to have a good time. We're thinkin' 'bout different things right now" she told him.
Damon wasn't going to give up just yet. The fact that she was sitting there talking to him had to count for something. "When I'm healed, I'll get back to the rodeo and make enough money for us. We can get married and get a place of our own" he promised her.
Rebekah knew that was a fool's dream. "So I can sit at home every summer and wonder if you're gonna come walkin' through that door at a decent hour? Or whether I'll get a call that you're at the hospital again?" she asked him. "No, Damon. I don't want that."
"Then what do you want?" Damon asked, raising his voice slightly because he was so frustrated with her. "I ain't perfect. You knew that when you met me."
Rebekah remained silent for a few minutes, thinking about what she really did want. Marriage and kids and a future were too vague for him. "I want what Stefan and Elena have" she said quietly. "I want you to look at me like you can't live without me. And I want you to hold my hand and tell me how much you love me" she said. Then she frowned. "But I don't think you can give me that. Any of it" she told him. He was too selfish.
Damon looked away from her, not wanting to admit that maybe she was right. "I do love you Bekah" he said quietly.
Rebekah smiled sadly. "Did you tell Katherine you love her, too?" she asked. She didn't give him time to answer before she stood.
Damon watched her get back in her truck and leave him. If she could give him one more chance, he was sure he could do right by her. "I love you!" he called out as her truck left. "I do love you" he sighed.
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Elena skipped through the grass, on her way to see Stefan. He had moved further down the fence line from the day before.
It was almost dinner time, but she was hoping he would take her riding before it got too late. She hadn't seen him all day. "Stefan!" she called out as soon as she could see him.
He smiled at her when he saw her running towards him. Elena threw her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, locking her boots behind his back. She kissed him with all the passion she had pent up since they left each other's arms that morning. "Miss me?" Stefan asked, resting his forehead against hers.
Elena grinned. "Don't ask stupid questions" she told him, making him laugh. "I want to go riding. Take me?" she asked him, her eyes looking at him adoringly.
Stefan sighed, knowing he would have to disappoint her. "I gotta get this finished" he told her. They couldn't keep the cattle in one small pasture for very long. "Maybe tomorrow."
Elena's disappointment showed as she untangled herself from him. "Oh" she said, stepping back from him. "Maybe I can take P.J. to the river by myself then. I know how to get there" she told him. She felt confident enough to go by herself.
He shook his head. "I don't want you ridin' him by yourself right now. That storm still has him riled up and I don't know how he'll act on a trail ride" Stefan said. He was such a young horse and just because Elena had bonded with him didn't mean P.J. would always think rationally with Elena on his back.
Elena didn't let on right away that she was annoyed with Stefan's flat out refusal to let her go riding, but she was. "Can you take me tonight?" she asked. Elena watched Stefan pick up the hammer again and go back to work, which she found incredibly rude since she was talking to him.
"I don't know Elena. I'll be workin' out here till sundown and then I have all the chores to get through. I don't think I'll be up for it tonight" he told her. It wasn't that he didn't want to. He was just busy.
Elena crossed her arms defiantly. "You can't take an hour out of your busy day to take me riding?" she asked.
Stefan winced when he heard her voice sound upset. "I'll take you tomorrow" he told her, trying to compromise.
That wasn't going to work for her. "I want to go today. And tomorrow, and the next day" she informed him.
Stefan sighed as he began hammering on a post. "I get that, but I don't have time right now" he said, trying to keep his own irritation with her in check. He loved the hell out of her, but her acting spoiled and throwing a hissy fit every time he didn't drop everything for her was not going to work for him.
Elena glared at him. How dare he dismiss her like that. He should have wanted to be spending every moment with her since she was leaving soon. "I'm leaving in a few days" Elena reminded him, trying to lay on the guilt.
Stefan blew out a frustrated breath. "You ain't gotta remind me Elena" he told her. He was very much aware of how little time he had left with her. "But I can't put this ranch on hold just 'cause you're decidin' to leave" he said. It came out a little more bitterly than he had planned. But maybe he was bitter that she was choosing to go back home when what they had was so incredible.
Elena felt hurt that he would throw that in her face. They had talked about her reasons for leaving. "You know why I'm leaving" she told him, biting back the anger that threatened to spill out if she wasn't careful.
"Do I?" Stefan asked, turning around to face her again. He regretted asking her that, because a mix of betrayal and pain flashed across her face before it was replaced with anger.
Going home and making amends with her family and her friends was important to her. Getting her life back on track on her own was important to her. Being able to commit to Stefan even from afar was important to her. And all this time, she had thought she had his support, even if he was sad she would be leaving. So yes, she was angry and hurt to hear him question her reasons for going back home again. "Fuck you Stefan" she told him, shaking her head at how disgusted she was with him as she turned to leave.
He quite honestly felt like the biggest jackass alive, even though he knew Elena had led him straight into the trap. He should have told her he was sorry for not being able to take her riding. Stefan threw his hammer down and ran his hand across his face as he realized what he had just done. "Elena!" he called out after her.
But it was too late.
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Stefan finished repairing the fence a few hours later, just before dark and right before a rainstorm hit. Mostly just scattered showers, but the clouds up ahead looked mean as hell and he figured they were in for a wet night. He did welcome the cooling that the rain brought after having been working under the sun all day.
When he got back to the barn and got out of his truck, he was surprised to see Katherine riding towards him. Her new flashy buckskin mare walked with ease, though she was looking around, taking in her new surroundings.
It was then that Stefan noticed Katherine was ponying another horse behind her. P.J. The little Palomino looked nervous behind Katherine, but she didn't seem phased by it and neither did her horse. P.J. was saddled and still had a bridle on, which Katherine was using to lead him.
Stefan's heart began to pound heavily against his chest.
"You lose someone?" Katherine asked, hopping down off of her horse and bringing P.J. around for Stefan to see. "Found him wanderin' by himself, grazin' occasionally when he wasn't so nervous" she added.
"Where?" Stefan asked calmly. He didn't want to think about why Elena wasn't there with P.J.
"Couple miles from here, across from my house by the pond" she answered him.
Stefan's heart sank. The pond was near the woods, which Elena would have gone through if she had gone to the river like she had talked about earlier when he had told her no.
"Who was ridin' him?" Katherine questioned.
Panic slowly began to course through him. "Put him away for me" Stefan said quickly as he ran back for the house. He burst through the door, surprising both Ric and his brother. "Where's Elena?" Stefan yelled.
Ric and Damon looked at each other and shrugged. "She'd been upstairs most of the afternoon. Then I think she said she was headin' to the barn" Ric answered. Stefan cursed under his breath as he ran upstairs. Sure enough, she wasn't up there. "What's goin' on?" Ric asked, meeting him up there.
"Katherine found P.J. out by her house, but Elena wasn't with him" Stefan said quickly as he thundered back down the stairs. Worry spread across his face. "She wanted to go ridin' and I told her no. She must've gone anyways and …" he said, not being able to finish his sentence.
Ric got it. He understood why Stefan was so worried. "Damon stay here just in case she comes back" Ric ordered as he grabbed his hat and followed Stefan outside.
Images of Elena hurt and alone flashed through his mind and drove him crazy with worry. What if P.J. had spooked and Elena had fallen off?
They ran by Katherine who was starting to worry herself. "Darlin' we're gonna need you to come help us look for Elena" Ric said, remaining calm but also panicking a little too. How many times could he lose Jenna's niece in the course of a summer? Ric grabbed his horse while Stefan grabbed Red.
"You think Elena fell off somewhere out there?" Katherine asked as she watched the boys tack up their horses so quickly it nearly made her head spin.
"I'm not sure, but she ain't here and you found P.J. all by himself" Ric replied. "Here, take some flashlights" he instructed, passing a few to both Stefan and Katherine. "Stefan, take Katherine with you. I'll drive the truck and trailer as far as I can and then join you" he told him. They couldn't get the truck in the woods, but at least it would be close by just in case they needed to get Elena some help.
Katherine swallowed hard. "You guys are scarin' me" she told them, her voice shaking.
Ric placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Ain't no reason to worry just yet" he told her. "You and Stefan take the trail to the river and I'll meet you on the other side."
Stefan nodded as he lea Red out of the barn. Katherine was right behind him. "Come on" Stefan told her, hearing the stress in his own voice. They both climbed up into their saddles and gathered their reins.
They took off at a fast gallop, heading straight for the woods.
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A surge of sharp pain hit her without warning. Elena slowly opened her eyes and was surrounded by darkness. There wasn't a star in the sky, only dark clouds that barely let the moon shine through.
The grass beneath her was wet. She shivered, from the cold and from fear.
She blinked a few times before closing her eyes again, the pain being too much to focus on anything for too long. Elena tried moving her head to the side to ease the throbbing, but it made it worse. She felt tears escape down her cheeks as she cried softly.
Elena hadn't felt that much pain since the day she woke up in the hospital after the car accident. "P.J.?" Elena whispered, though she really didn't think he had stuck around. It was all kind of a blur. He had been throwing his head a lot, and moving sideways. He had tried to take off on her a few times, no matter how hard she tried to soothe him.
And then he had just gone nuts, bucking and rearing until she felt herself falling. Then she couldn't remember anything. Nothing at all.
Elena breathed in slowly a few times, trying to calm herself down. She told herself she was going to be okay. Someone would find her.
Elena shivered again, feeling her clothes soaking up the water from the ground. To make matters worse, she heard howling in the distance. She let out another soft cry, willing herself to be brave. But the howling seemed to get closer.
All she wanted was Stefan, and he didn't know where she was.
A/N: Do you think Stefan will feel guilty?
Also, wolves scare me.
