Elena walked into the kitchen and sat two bags of groceries down on the counter.
"Hey" Stefan said, setting down the newspaper he had been reading.
"Hey" she smiled, leaning in and kissing him quickly. "I'm not too late, am I?" she asked, beginning to take items out of the bags.
Stefan shook his head. "Damon just fired up the grill. Perfect timing" he told her. "How did it go today?" he asked. Stefan had been anxiously waiting for her to come home so he could ask her that.
"Okay" Elena answered. "I had to fill out a ton of paperwork, prove to them I was who I said I was" she added. "They want to come out and do another home check within the next week or two."
Stefan nodded. The Department of Social Services had sent out a social worker a few days after Jeremy arrived to do a home check and interview all of them. Elena had been on edge the whole time, wanting to make sure she answered their questions correctly.
Stefan set his paper aside and stood. He placed a kiss against the side of her head. "They can come out every day if they want to" Stefan told her. "The only thing they will find is a stable home with people who love him" he added quietly.
Elena abandoned her task of emptying the grocery bags to turn and face him. "Thank you" she said, looking up at him. "I needed to hear that."
Stefan smiled. "You're welcome" he said, leaning down and kissing her lips gently.
"Where is Jeremy?" Elena asked.
Stefan smiled again as he nodded his head towards the window. "He's helping Damon man the grill" he answered.
Elena nodded and went back to unpacking the groceries. "Do you know who is coming to this barbeque?" she asked. Elena glanced up at the clock and knew people would start arriving within half an hour or so. While she wanted to celebrate how well Stefan was doing since his accident, she just was not feeling too terribly social.
"Some of the guys from work and their families" Stefan answered. "I told Damon I didn't want too many people" he added. Stefan watched Elena nod again and could tell something was wrong. "Hey" he said. "What's going on?" Stefan asked.
Elena shook her head. "Nothing" she told him.
Stefan could tell she was lying though. "Hey" he said again, grabbing onto her waist and turning her around. "You can tell me anything, you know that" he said, looking into her eyes. Stefan could see that her eyes were watering and that she was on the verge of crying.
Elena took a calming breath before she told him what the matter was. "Today, when I met with the social worker" Elena said sadly. "He said things that made sense…" she trailed off.
Stefan grabbed onto her hands and held them. "What kind of things?" he asked softly.
Elena let the first few tears fall. "That children do well in two parent households that are stable and consistent" Elena said. She heard her voice crack. "Stefan, I'm not a mother. And I'll be juggling him, and school and work … and us" Elena told him with a drawn out sigh.
Stefan squeezed her hands. "So … what are you saying?" Stefan asked hesitantly. He was not sure exactly what Elena was thinking.
Elena shrugged. "That maybe Jeremy needs more than I can give him" she admitted. It killed her to say that, but she was being honest.
He knew Elena could give Jeremy everything he needed. "Elena" Stefan said, ready to assure her. But it was Jeremy running through the sliding glass door towards them that prevented him from saying anything further.
"Elena!" Jeremy said, running towards her. He threw his arms around her and hugged her.
"Hey Buddy" Elena said, working to hide the fact that she had been crying moments earlier. "What are you up to?" she asked.
Jeremy looked up at her and smiled. "I'm helping Damon" he answered. "Did you get the hotdogs?" he asked.
Elena pulled the package out of the bag. "Right here" she said, handing them to him.
Jeremy's whole face lit up. "Thanks Elena!" he said, taking off back outside again to show Damon.
Elena watched Stefan look at her like he wanted to continue the conversation. She didn't think she had the energy though. "We should get out there and help" Elena said, grabbing the last few items and leaving.
Stefan leaned against the counter and sighed. He wanted to finish the conversation, but he also knew that Elena was telling him she wasn't interested right then.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elena watched all of the guests interacting and found it easy to smile, even after her heartbreaking admission to Stefan earlier. Jeremy was glued to Katherine and Damon and definitely charmed the guests. Seeing Jeremy happy made her happy.
Stefan waved at her from across the lawn and Elena gave him a small smile, waving back. She knew he was worried and she wished she hadn't brought up her fears about raising Jeremy to him.
The doorbell rang and Elena turned around to go back into the house to answer it. It took her a minute to cross the expansive downstairs to get to the front door, and when she opened it, she found the last person she wanted to see on the other side.
"Hey, Elena" Bonnie said softly. She was not sure what to expect when she saw Elena, but she was proud of herself for showing up. She had almost talked herself out of coming more than a few times on the drive down.
Elena gripped the door a little tighter. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I invited her" Stefan said from behind Elena. He made his way to the door. "Hi, Bonnie. Glad you could make it" he told her.
Bonnie smiled weakly at Stefan.
"I uh … I need to get back out there" Elena said, stepping back from the door and turning to leave. She couldn't stand there and pretend like she was okay with Bonnie being there.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea" Bonnie said with a slight frown. She didn't want to upset Elena.
Stefan opened the door even more and stepped aside. "My barbeque. I get to invite whoever I want" he said, giving her a small reassuring smile. "Come in" he said. Reluctantly, Bonnie followed behind him. "Let's get you something to eat and I'll introduce you to everyone" Stefan said with a small smile.
Bonnie found everyone at the barbeque to be pleasant and friendly, with the exception of Katherine who glared at her the whole time and Elena who refused to talk to her. Every time she tried to start a conversation, Elena walked away. While Bonnie appreciated Stefan trying to reconcile the friendship, Bonnie was losing hope on that ever happening.
"Hey" Stefan said, wrapping his arm around Elena. He was well aware that she had been ignoring him too. "Bonnie is going to have to head out soon. You should probably talk to her" he mentioned.
Elena walked away from Stefan and back into the house away from their guests. He followed and shut the door. She was upset and did not want their guests to see that. "Why would you invite her today, knowing that I don't want to see her?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Because I think you do want to see her" Stefan countered. He watched her eyes widen in surprise at his challenge and he hoped that this conversation would not turn into a fight. "I think you want to fix things, but you just don't know how" he added more calmly.
Elena broke eye-contact with him and shook her head out of frustration. "Why can't you just leave it alone?" Elena asked.
Stefan smiled softly. "Because I love you" he answered. "And I don't want to see you lose a friendship" Stefan told her. He walked towards her and took her hands in his. "If you can forgive me for what I did to you, I know you can find it in your heart to forgive Bonnie" he said, pulling her closer to him. He waited until she was looking into his eyes to continue. "You are the most loving, kind and generous person I know Elena" he said gently. He could see her eyes start to soften as well. "Please, just talk to her" he said, leaning forward and kissing her forehead.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elena tried to wait for the right moment to go up and talk to Bonnie, but she couldn't find one. She had been biting down her finger nail from the anxiety of it all.
It wasn't until Bonnie announced that she was leaving that Elena figured it was now or never. Elena watched Bonnie thank Damon and Stefan for the invite before collecting her bag and heading back into the house.
Elena could see Stefan from across the lawn, encouraging her to go before it was too late. Elena sighed and went into the house after Bonnie.
Elena didn't catch up to Bonnie until Bonnie was unlocking her car door. "Bonnie, wait" Elena said, closing the front door behind her.
Bonnie looked surprised, but she stopped. "It was a nice day for a barbeque" Bonnie said, because she wasn't sure what else to say. Small talk was her go to conversation for uncomfortable situations.
Elena nodded in agreement. "Yeah" she agreed. She stood there awkwardly, trying to find something meaningful to say.
"Look, Elena" Bonnie said, taking a step towards her. "I miss you, but you have to tell me how I can fix this. Because I don't know what to do here" Bonnie admitted.
"You can meet me for lunch next Saturday" Elena said before she could stop herself. "I can meet you halfway."
Bonnie slowly smiled a little when she realized what Elena had asked. "Okay" she said, nodding. "Yeah, I'll … I'll meet you Saturday" she said, taking a few more steps forward and throwing her arms around Elena. "Thank you" Bonnie whispered.
Elena slowly allowed herself to wrap her arms around Bonnie for a moment or two before pulling away from the hug. "Drive safe" Elena said, watching Bonnie quickly dry the tears that had fallen. It took a lot of self-control for Elena not to cry as well. "I'll see you Saturday."
Elena watched as Bonnie slowly turned and got in her car. The gravel crunched under the tires as Bonnie's car drove away. Elena ended up staying outside for ten minutes or so before Stefan found her.
"You figure things out?" Stefan asked, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
Elena didn't answer his question. "We should get back to our guests" she said, untangling his arms from around her and heading back inside.
Stefan sighed. He could tell she was pulling away from him and he wasn't so sure he could accept that. She could be mad all she wanted, but he needed her to talk to him.
He turned around and went back inside as well, deciding he would give Elena some space until the guests left.
Elena turned the water on and rinsed one of the dishes from the barbeque. She had offered to do dishes after they cleaned up. She turned her head when she heard Jeremy walk into the kitchen with a book. "Did you get your teeth brushed?" Elena asked.
Jeremy nodded. "Katherine's gonna read me this book" he said, holding it up for Elena to see.
Elena smiled and turned the water off. "Come here" Elena said, kneeling down. "Do you like Katherine?" Elena asked.
Jeremy nodded. "She's really nice and she reads me books" he said, holding up his book again.
"And Damon? Do you like him too?" Elena asked. She watched Jeremy smile and nod enthusiastically.
"He's gonna teach me how to play football!" Jeremy said excitedly.
Elena smiled, but this time sadly. She loved her little brother so much. "Jer" Elena said quietly. "I love you" Elena said, grabbing his hand and gently squeezing it. "I want you to know that I love you." She watched Jeremy stand there silently, not really knowing what to say to a sister he barely knew. "You should get upstairs so you can read your book" Elena said, leaning forward and kissing the top of his head. "Goodnight" Elena said.
"Night Elena" Jeremy told her. He turned around and walked back out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs, clutching his book to his chest.
Elena leaned against the counter and closed her eyes, not bothering to stop the few tears that escaped.
When she finally pulled herself together, she was able to finish the rest of the dishes. Then she turned off the lights downstairs and headed up to her room. Jeremy's door was open and the lamp was still on. Elena stopped when she heard Jeremy's voice as he tried to sound out the letters to a word in the book. He was struggling with the current word as he sat snuggled up against Katherine in bed.
"Tuh" Katherine said, helping him sound out the first letter.
"Tuh …. Tuh … tree" Jeremy said. He looked up at Katherine for feedback.
Katherine smiled. "That's right. Tree. Good job" she said.
"Tree" Jeremy repeated as he went on to the next word. Katherine helped him sound that one out as well.
Elena jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her back. Stefan stood behind her and peered into the room to watch Katherine and Jeremy as well. "She's so patient with him" Elena whispered as she leaned her head back on his shoulder.
"She's great" Stefan agreed. It brought back many fond memories of when Katherine would help him read stories. He had been behind in reading for his grade level, but practicing with Katherine every day had caught him up.
They both watched Katherine and Jeremy for a few more minutes before retreating down the hall to their own room. Elena shut the door and turned to face Stefan who was getting changed. "I'm sorry" she said quietly. When he looked at her, she continued. "I shouldn't have shut you out today because you invited Bonnie" she said, playing with the hem of her shirt nervously.
Stefan pulled a pair of sweats on and walked over to her. He grabbed her face in his hands gently. "I just want you to be happy" he said sincerely. "And I know how close you two were."
Elena nodded. "I miss her" she whispered as a fresh set of tears appeared.
Stefan brushed each and every one of the tears away with his thumbs. "I know you two can figure things out" Stefan said quietly. "I know your relationship with Bonnie isn't the only thing on your mind though."
She had dropped that news earlier before the guests had arrived. She sighed, her heart feeling heavy. "I love him" Elena said sadly.
Stefan leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I know you love Jeremy" he assured her. He studied her for a moment. "Whatever you decide, Elena. I will support you" Stefan told her.
Elena nodded as he leaned her head against his chest. "I love you" she whispered.
Stefan wrapped his arms around her back. "I love you, Elena" he whispered back.
