I need to stop with these epilogues. But there are really just two more. One of them isn't really an epilogue... you'll see.

Epilogue 2: Sweet, little, beautiful, wonderful, perfect.

"Aren't you angry that I took the cure?" He dares to voice this question once, when Damon is visiting and forcibly joins him in the task of setting up the crib.

"Pff. What do you mean?"

"Damon, I know you wanted to steal it from Caroline at one point."

Granted, one can't trust Silas words much, but Stefan still thinks this part was true, even if he never got to ask his brother, perhaps because he didn't want to feel guilty by his response.

"Okay, so I might have fantasized with making Elena happy, and maybe in this alternative version of events I would have been the coolest father ever. But I'm pretty much satisfied with my vampiric life now, thank you very much."

"This should have been your life."

Damon raises an eyebrow.

"Is the panic for your impending fatherhood finally kicking in? Is that what this is about? Because from my point of view, you and Carebear look like you've been made for this plain, boring, homey life."

"What if I'm not cut out to be a good father?"

It's not like he didn't think about it in the past. The thought certainly appeared after learning about Valerie's unborn child, his child, one he would have never had the chance to meet. But he learned about it too long after everything happened, and any lingering feelings that would have made the loss worse have vanished with his first human life. Killing Julian was all he could do to right a wrong, and it became the end of the story.

This, on the other hand, is something both he and Caroline wanted. And yet he's afraid to screw it up.

"You're going to be a good dad, little brother. If anything, Caroline won't let you screw it up."

He thinks he might spend his whole life helping to save lives and it won't remotely compensate for all the ones he took during his darkest days.

And sometimes he definitely believes this is a dream: being with Caroline, living a normal and tranquil life, just sleeping with her in his arms and waking up with her still there, next to him. It has to be a dream because it's hard to believe he will ever do enough to deserve so many blessings. In this sense, he hasn't gotten any better than he was years ago, but it's true.

The baby girl that's sleeping now in Caroline's arms is his. Theirs.

"Congratulations. You're a dad now."

Suddenly he is choked with emotion and can't even find the words to describe what he's feeling at the moment.

"I love you so much."

Blue-green eyes smile at him when he comes home. Lizbeth is five years old now, and she looks every bit like Caroline did at that age (he knows because when they went to visit Mystic Falls a couple of months ago, she and Bonnie were digging into the old family photo albums that Caroline had left stored in her mother's house for years).

"Dad! You're back! Look, I made this at school today!"

She comes running to him with paper flowers in her hands, and Caroline is coming right behind her.

"Are these for me?"

"I made some for mom, too."

"Lizzy, go and wash your hands, dinner is ready."

"What's for dinner tonight?"

"You'll find out after you wash your hands and sit at the table."

No one, not even Lizbeth Salvatore dares to make Caroline repeat herself. So off she goes, running at a very dangerous speed.

"No running inside the house, Lizzy." He holds Caroline's hand and pulls her close for a kiss.

"Between the two of us, I think the nanny is letting her eat candies in the afternoon." She whispers. "When I get proof, we are going to have a talk."

"She's five. With or without some sugar, she's going to be running around anyway."

"I don't know why I'm telling you this. You are the first to spoil her."

How can he defend himself about this accusation?

"It was Sunday's movie night!"

"Uh-hum." Caroline crosses her arms, but she's smiling now.

From the kitchen, Lizbeth doesn't sound too happy.

"Mom! Why is it mashed potatoes again?"

The truth is Stefan doesn't need to measure the worth of his life anymore.

If he's come to understand something, is that being Caroline's family, being able to build this home with her, for their daughter, this is all he's ever needed to be complete.