Karaoke
DG32173

Sarah: This song isn't as old as most of the country songs I prefer, being from the mid-2000s. But it's still what I call a 'true country song', rather than the country of today that's more pop or rap than country. Probably because the artists who sing it are of an older generation that has already made their fame with a certain style and won't be swayed by the more modern artists. Unlike every other song-chapter in this fanfic, there will be no real pairing, just an anti-pairing in this ficlet.

Song: Cowgirls Don't Cry

Artist: Brooks & Dunn featuring Reba McEntire

Album: #1s … and then some

Genre: angst

Pairing: ANTI-Stefan/Elena

Note: Alternate universe where everyone is human.

Elena Gilbert was four-years-old and living on a ranch with her parents and little brother when her daddy, Grayson Gilbert, gave her the very first pony that was hers alone and taught her to ride her. She climbed high in the saddle. She fell off so many times she could never really count them. Her daddy taught her a lesson that she learned maybe a little too well.

"Cowgirls don't cry, Elena," Grayson said when he spotted tears in her eyes. "Ride, baby, ride. Lessons in life are gonna show you in time. Soon enough you're gonna know why. It's gonna hurt every now and then. If you fall, get back on again. Cowgirls don't cry."

Elena eventually grew up and got married to her high school sweetheart, Stefan Salvatore. He moved her to the city. She wanted a house to make into a home; he got an apartment. She wanted several babies. He only gave her a single daughter. During her pregnancy, he started coming home later and later at night. She didn't let him see it break her heart. Nor did she let him see her fall apart because she remembered the lesson her daddy taught her:

"Cowgirls don't cry, Elena. Ride, baby, ride. Lessons in life are gonna show you in time. Soon enough you're gonna know why. It's gonna hurt every now and then. If you fall, get back on again. Cowgirls don't cry."

Phone rang early one morning. Stefan was already gone and Elena grabbed it. It was her mama, who Stefan hadn't let her see in years. She could hear the tears in her mama's voice. "It's your daddy. You need to come home. This is it. I think he's dying," she sobbed.

Miranda Gilbert laid the phone down by Grayson's head. The last words he ever said to his daughter were: "Cowgirl, don't cry, Elena. Ride, baby, ride. Lessons in life are gonna show you in time. Soon enough you're gonna know why. It's gonna hurt every now and then. If you fall, get back on again. Cowgirl, don't cry."

Making a snap decision, Elena took off her wedding ring and left it on her pillow, packed up what few things she couldn't bear to part with, her daughter, and her daughter's things, before making the long drive home. She never wanted to raise her children in the city and now it's too late for her daughter to have memories with her father. She's going home and taking her daughter with her. She'll file for divorce when she gets there. If Stefan wants contact with his daughter, which he never has since her birth, he can go through the legal system to get it. It's time to stop beating a dead horse. She will teach her daughter the same lessons her father taught her, but with a few added lessons as well, such as when to stop beating a dead horse in time.