That next month Abigail Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore sat on their favorite branch on their favorite tree right on the edge of the Salvatore property. Abby leaned back onto the tree with her eyes closed, letting the sunlight wash over her face.
"Abby?" she heard Stefan say. She opened her eyes and smiled, "Yea?" she replied. Stefan looked at her and saw her jade green eyes glitter in the sunlight before he proceeded to say, "You're beautiful." She smiled and she blushed. "I think you've had too much sun, Mr. Salvatore." He just shook his head, "No I really mean it, you're absolutely beautiful Abby."
She just moved closer towards him and leaned in, giving him a kiss. "You know what Stefan?" She said leaning back. He smirked, "What?" he asked. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you," she said, matter-of-factly. He just looked at her and replied, "Sounds like a good plan to me." She leaned her head to the side and asked, "Really?"
Stefan just laughed a little and he nodded, "Really. I'm going to ask you to marry me one a day. And after that, we'll get married in Fells Church and live in a big house where we'll raise our kids and live the rest of our lives with each other," he talked slow and his voice was calm as if he was reading out of a book or reciting a poem that he loved and memorized.
She couldn't think of anything to say. She just leaned closer to him and kissed him. He grabbed the small of her back, bringing her closer to him and she ran her hands through his hair. She separated from him and quickly climbed down the tree with him following in suit. When they were down on the ground he grabbed her waist once more, pushing her back onto the tree. Her arms snaked around his neck and turned her head away from him looking towards the house.
She looked back into his eyes and said, "Stefan, I love you so much it hurts." Catching his breath, with their foreheads resting on one another he looked into her eyes, and with his lips only partially separated he nodded and said, "I know."
During the next month, March of 1863 Cassidy Salvatore held her three-month-old son, Daniel in her arms. She sat down in a rocking chair that was given to her and Damon from his father, it was the same chair that Damon's mother had once sat in. Cass looked down at her baby, who was quietly looking up at his mom and she smiled and kissed his forehead.
Right at that moment Damon walked into the room and looked lovingly at his wife and son. "Stefan and I did a great job with this nursery," he said quietly but with a big smile on his face. Cass looked up at him and met his eyes, "You guys sure did," she said looking around. Damon walked over to the two and kneeled down beside Cass. He held his son's head and gave him a quick kiss, but when trying to move away Daniel quickly snatched onto his father's finger, making his parents smile.
"He's got your eyes, Cass," Damon said softly, looking down at his son. Daniel still had his little hand wound tightly around his father's finger as Cassidy replied, "I know, but I bet he's going to grow up and look and act just like you, he's going to be courageous and have a big heart just like his dad." Damon smiled and stood up, kissing his wife on the forehead. "Look at us, we're pretty lucky aren't we?" Cassidy met her green eyes with her husband's bright blue ones and replied, "We are, Damon I don't think I've ever been this happy as I am right now, here with you and Daniel."
"I've arranged for us to have a family photograph taken sometime next month, they have to get a man from the city to come all the way out here," Damon said. Cass just furrowed her eyebrows, "We have to sit for a portrait?" Damon just laughed, "No it's the instant painting contraption, like what we had at our wedding." Cass just smiled, "Oh right, we should start taking more photographs, to preserve all of our good memories."
Daniel started to make little gurgling sounds while smiling and looking up at his parents. Cass stood up and started to sway back and forth, "Damon I want a big family! We have so much love to give," Cassidy said with a huge smile on her face. Her husband laughed, "Sounds like a plan," he replied as Cass put their son in his crib. She smiled at her baby boy and began to softly sing, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. When the blazing sun is gone, when he nothing shines upon, Then you show your little light, twinkle, twinkle, all the night. "
Damon just looked at his wife with a smile on his face as he walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. As she continued to sing, they just looked at their son, in a state of bliss and contentment.
PRESENT-DAY: IN THE CAR
Cassidy's POV
As my sister and I are heading back to Mystic Falls, memories keep flooding into my mind. My mind's eye is swimming in images from my life as a human in Mystic Falls. I look out the window and I'm not quite sure where we are, but I don't break the silence to ask, as I'm sure Abby's lost in her thoughts as well. There's one day I can't get out of my head.
I've already grieved from that day, and even though it's been more than a hundred years since that day, the pain is still there. I know it will never go away. But the time has helped, so no tears arise as I think of that one particular day. The day it seemed as if my whole life had ended.
It was May 17th of 1864 and my son was about five months old. My husband and I were extremely happy, everyone was. Everything was light, sunny, and beautiful. But the darkness was yet to come. It all started with that day.
BACK TO FLASHBACK
MAY 1ST 1863
GRACE WILLIAM'S POV
Today is the day that Katherine is finally going to explain to me her grand plan. She said that right now is the right time. So we're sitting down in our lovely living room as she explains the plan to me.
"Here's the plan, tomorrow you're going to go to Mystic Falls and kidnap the newest Salvatore child. I think taking him under the cover of darkness will be easiest…" she said pacing around the room. "You'll be in and out of that house with no one being the wiser. Everyone will think the child has been taken, they'll contact the authorities, wait for a ransom that will never come. Take the child a couple of towns over and hand him over to an orphanage, compel them never to give him away so we'll always know where he is. It's the perfect setup for me to swoop in and be the distraction everyone needs."
"They'll be in so much emotional instability and turmoil so when I get there I'll be the light that draws the brothers in. They won't be able to resist me. When Cassidy and Damon's relationship falls apart Abigail and Stefan will too. It's the perfect evil plan, don't you think? Only took me one afternoon to figure it out."
After all that talking Katherine looked at me with a huge smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. My god, I knew she was conniving but this is on a whole other level. I'm not sure how I feel about this. But Katherine has been my best friend for the past century. "Kat, wow I don't know what to say," I smiled and took a breath, "Of course, I'll do it but you may need to write all that down." She smiled sweetly but it made me uneasy. What am I getting myself into?
PRESENT-DAY: IN THE CAR
CASSIDY'S POV
It was May 21st when Daniel disappeared. I remember the day so clearly in my head. How could I not? Even though I should have been a mess I went into a focused catatonic state. When we woke up and realized he was gone it was confusion and panic but once the reality set in, I shut down. Once we told our families and the authorities and everyone was at our house I was sitting down next to Damon and I clenched his hand so hard that I drew blood. My nails dug so deep that his hand started to bleed. I could only sit there in shock as Damon and everyone else jumped into action. I wanted to be out there looking, doing something, but I physically couldn't. I remember Abby talking to me, and me not saying a word back.
