** A/N ** The time has come – the end of "It's Not All About You", so I made it a very long chapter to do it justice! I hope you've enjoyed my first fanfiction and I can reveal that I'm currently writing my next one, which is a crossover of "The Vampire Diaries" and "Game of Thrones" – but I shan't give more away! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed throughout this story xox

CHAPTER 09 - 164 Candles

We decided that it would be best if we stayed permanently with Caroline and Klaus, seeing as the boarding house now carried the ominous risk of meeting Elena. The four of us had gotten along like a house on fire together, which was a particularly relevant comparison when Stefan and I decided to light a fire of an evening and after a particularly...exciting night, we fell asleep and the embers fell out of the grate and set Caroline's $3000 rug on fire. We were swiftly forgiven once Stefan paid for them to spend two weeks in a secluded holiday cabin in Vermont, all expenses paid.

The day they were due to come back was Stefan's 164th birthday, the first of many birthdays I would be spending with him, and I had become a Caroline wannabe in the way I was planning an unprecedentedly huge party to celebrate his 164th birthday or his 20th birthday, depending on who you were. The best part was Stefan was fully under the impression that all that was intended for his birthday was a quiet and laid back night for the two of us at home. Caroline had wanted to come back a few days early from the getaway, to help me, an "inexperienced, clueless, boy" as she put it, organise the party of parties. Klaus was very disappointed when she intimated that opinion, but luckily for him, I persuaded her to just stay with Klaus in Vermont.

I was sitting in Klaus' study which, normally, we were forbidden to enter "on pain of death, dun dun dun!" but with the alliance of Caroline, I had persuaded him to turn it over to me for two weeks while I turned it into Party HQ, as Stefan would never wish to jeopardise his own life by invading Klaus' personal study.

Stefan had gone to hunt for a couple of hours, so I used his absence to ring the marquee provider and finalise the guest list, as Caroline's emailed instructions had told me to do. Tyler, Matt, Damon, Caroline, Klaus, Rebekah and Elijah were only a few of the invited guests. We also invited Elena but I had yet to hear from Damon as to whether she would show up.

I had been surprised when a classically scripted letter had arrived in the post addressed to me. These letters sometimes came for Klaus, but when I opened the expensive looking envelope, I saw the communication was from Elijah. He accepted what he deemed a "cordial" invitation to Stefan's party and expressed his congratulations on our relationship and his pride at how a spawn of his had overcome the trials and tribulations of transformation. He did allude to Caroline's injuries at my hand, showing that Klaus had been regularly reporting back to his older brother, but his comments were positive. It was a strange sensation for me, me who had never been concerned with teachers and their approval, not before Ric anyway, feeling such a need for validation that could only be given by Elijah, my maker.

I heard the front door slam, announcing Stefan's return, so I hastily hid the documents pertaining to the party and flashed out of the study, making sure to lock the door behind me. I went downstairs and greeted him with a chaste kiss on his lips. "Happy hunting?" I asked with a smile.

He returned my smile and replied, "The bunnies were hard to catch, but quite tasty,"

I laughed at his bunny joke, and took his hand, pulling him with me into the drawing room and onto the sofa. As we sat, I wrapped my arms around his body and pulled him into my embrace which longed for him whenever he left, even when it was just to go hunting.

I turned his head gently to face mine and kissed him, my hands playing with his hair as our tongues danced to the same rhythm. He pushed me down onto the sofa so that he was pressed down against my body and I could feel the desire in him for me and I felt loved and utterly lost in my love for this one man. We lay in that attitude intermittently nipping playfully at each other's lips for a long time.

We were stopped at long last by the ring of the phone, which Stefan rose to answer, but I pushed him back onto the sofa as I went to the phone. Good thing I had because it was Damon, calling to talk about Elena.

"Hi, Jer, how's life?" He asked pleasantly.

"Busy at the moment. How's that selfish bitch of a sister of mine?"

"Careful, Jer, you may be my brother's little boy toy and my girlfriend's brother,"

I cut in, "Estranged brother,"

I could almost hear him roll his eyes, "Whatever! Anyhow, I'm just ringing to say I'll be seeing you on Wednesday night, ok?"

I immediately understood that he was telling me Elena would not be attending Stefan's party. To be honest, though, I was gladder that Damon had been tactful and not explicitly detailed what was happening on Wednesday when Stefan would have been listening to the conversation. Damn! Quick, make an excuse why Damon would be coming alone here on Wednesday...crap!

"Ok, Jer, I'll be seeing you."

I said goodbye dismissively and returned to Stefan, who was lying across the sofa, looking at me with curious, suspicious eyes. "What was that about?"

"Oh, Damon's coming to see Klaus about something to do with werewolves on Wednesday, so he's coming here."

Stefan shrugged off the matter, thankfully, and beckoned for me to rejoin him on the sofa. I gladly went and laid myself next to him, my back lightly against his front, as he wrapped me snugly in his arms – now, the safest place on Earth for me...

We went up to our relatively new bedroom, which was not my old one here as I could not even bear to be reminded of the events that had unfolded there and how it was a room that I inhabited at my most miserable. I did not want my new life with Stefan to be at all clouded over by remembrances of miseries I had put behind me to focus on how happy I was now with Stefan.

The next day we woke up, entwined in each other's arms as we been for the past two weeks. Usually, I woke up with no worries and the deepest serenity, however, not today, for today was Tuesday and the day before Stefan's party...the party, that was swiftly becoming a gargantuan problem.

I flashed out of bed, leaving Stefan slumbering, sprawled across the king size bed, and got into the shower. I thought while the steaming hot water gushed over me that I ought to give Caroline a call, even though I had promised Klaus I would try not to bother them while they were away on a lover's retreat, as I honestly was failing at getting this party anywhere near good enough for Stefan. Caroline should have been given the responsibility of it from the start, but I had wanted to do it myself – stupid, lovesick idiot that I had become!

Being deep in thought and brooding about the party problem, I had failed to notice a certain vampire enter the bathroom. So, I jumped when I felt lips on my back making a journey down my spine, "What the -" I turned my head sharply at the unexpected intrusion into my shower, but relaxed once I took in the presence of my beloved.

I chuckled at his bravado at being in the shower with me, as he had never attempted it before. The newness of the event excited me and I pulled him with me further under the water, watching in awe as his handsomeness increased as the water covered him, making his hair and skin shine all the more, for to me it was always a beautiful prospect.

"Sorry, did I interrupt something important? Were you contemplating asking out the bottle of shampoo?"

I laughed heartily, "Why would you ask a stupid question like that?"

"Well, you were so deep in thought, so something important must be occupying your mind, and that seemed like the only thing a carefree, easygoing guy like yourself must have to mull over in the shower."

I keeled over, nearly head butting him in the process, laughing so much that my stomach began to hurt. The knowledge that he had no clue why I was tense and then, his comic answer to my distress, absolutely bowled me over. Stefan could be the most serious, broody man, but I relished the times when he would suddenly embrace his light-hearted, playful and funny side.

Stefan allowed me a minute or two to laugh myself into quite a bit of pain, before he held me tightly by the shoulders and brought me up to eye-level. I suddenly became quiet as my eyes bored into his and I felt our souls and hearts connect. There was no need for spoken words, nor gestures, just by looking into each other's eyes, we knew what the other felt.

It therefore surprised me when Stefan frowned slightly and looked away coyly. I was not willing to let that sweet moment go so quickly, so I softly brought his head back up to look at me. "What's wrong, Stefan?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say..."

It was bizarre for the usually so confident and word-sure vampire to be lost for words, so much so, that I became agitated. "Stefan, you're being weird and it's making me feel uneasy, so please, will you just spit out whatever it is you're trying to say?" I asked anxiously.

He looked apologetic for an instant, but then his expression changed to the familiar one of confidence and surety, "I just wanted to say – I love you."

I felt the water wash over me as time seemed to stand still. His declaration was what I had awaited for almost a fortnight after we had more or less burnt our bridges together and taken a vast leap of faith by confronting Damon and Elena. I had known from the second I kissed him for the first time that I loved him and wanted never to leave him and to spend the rest of my life with him, but it had not escaped my notice that even though we had spent every night since then having sex and in each other's company during the day, that not once had he actually uttered those all important three words, which I had been aching to hear, but too scared to say myself.

Words could not express the elation I felt at finally hearing them, so I reacted by gripping his hips firmly and bringing my mouth down on his in a strong and feeling kiss, the words "I love you" being pushed out from every pore of my body at his. His body instantaneously reacted to my advances and he hungrily intertwined his tongue with mine as we brought each other closer. His hands found the back of my head, forcing me to stay close and intimate with him, not that I wanted us to be apart. What happened next is between him and me, but we didn't emerge from the bathroom for a long time...

We spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing, except I did call Caroline very apologetic and beg her to just sort out the final details for tomorrow's party, just to make sure I had not entirely cocked it up. She thought it was so romantic that it was all a secret and that I had gone to so much effort that she willingly told Klaus to "fuck off" and let her do it, or as I heard her say over the phone, "she'd make sure he would have nothing to arouse ever again". It was a constant source of amusement in the Mikaelson mansion that Caroline could imprison and compel an Original Vampire over twenty times her own vampire age to do her bidding through the amazing power that sex gave her...

I now felt more at ease, knowing that with Caroline at the helm on the final day of party preparation, nothing could possibly go wrong for Miss Mystic Falls and her ability to pull off spectacular events. I did feel a twinge of guilt that I had given Caroline a purpose other than pleasuring Klaus on the final day of their little trip.

The day of Stefan's 164th birthday finally dawned and I doubt he was as excited as I was for his own birthday. I had not heard back from Caroline since I had given her autonomy over the final arrangements, but that did not worry me too much, it probably meant that the party was going to be a huge success. We expected them back in the late morning, so as to give Stefan and me the morning to spend together in relative peace as I had told him we would be doing on his birthday, just not in the evening as I had intimated.

I awoke the love of my life by pushing him over onto his back and giving him a fervent "Happy Birthday" kiss. After the surprise at being so awakened, he returned my affectionate morning greeting with a smile and after a few moments in each other's arms, I rolled back onto my side to look into his wholly pleased face and whispered softly, "Happy birthday, Stefan,"

He grinned, "Is it my birthday? Truly?" He asked jokingly.

I laughed along at his pretence, giving his arm a playful smack, and replied, "Unless I'm much mistaken."

He sat up in bed and looked at me mischievously and asked, "So, love, what have you got me for my birthday?"

He was being unusually playful this morning, so much so that I half suspected he knew that I had planned something other than what I had let on, but I had taken every precaution to keep tonight a secret and no one else would have been so thoughtless to discuss what I had been very studious to make clear was a surprise party!

We did spend a morning in the bliss of each other's company and we did begin the day making love, as Caroline had thought we would. After we had fatigued ourselves, we laid together, Stefan with his back to me between my legs, his face looking backwards at me as I stroked his brown locks and massaged his shoulders.

The sound of company downstairs and the familiar voices of Caroline and Klaus coming home made us get out of bed and dress quickly. The prodigal couple had the good sense not to come upstairs, well aware that we had heard their homecoming. Stefan and I shared one final private kiss before descending to greet them.

When we saw them, it was clear that something other than the anticipation of this evening, or the joy that it was Stefan's birthday had gladdened them. The thrilled expression which Caroline bore accompanied with the exceedingly fulfilled one which Klaus had, made me curious as to why the pair were so elated, for two weeks vacation although being able to renew their spirits, wasn't enough alone to warrant this kind of euphoria.

A sideways glance at Stefan was enough to confirm my curiosity; he had noticed that thzey were out of sorts too. So, I asked them, "What is going on with you two? You look like all of your Christmases have come at once!"

Caroline giggled gleefully and with a brief look to Klaus, who smiled and gave her a slight nod, she held out her left hand, which now was adorned with an ornate silver ring with a dazzling, solitaire diamond that cast a rainbow on the wall opposite us.

"Well...say something!" She happily said.

Stefan and I in unison shouted, "Congratulations!" I went to embrace Caroline, while Stefan shook Klaus' hand and then we switched.

Caroline looked almost contrite, "Look, Stefan, Jeremy, I'm sorry we stole your birthday thunder, you must be livid!" We reassured her that we did not feel that they had in the slightest bit stolen Stefan's birthday thunder.

We spent the afternoon indulging Caroline by letting her talk weddings at us, Stefan, Klaus and I just saying yes or no at convenient places, though she clearly saw that all three of us were not interested in what she was saying. Once the carriage clock struck five o'clock, Caroline at long last ceased her wedding related tirade and turned to me and asked, "Shouldn't we head out now?"

A confused Stefan looked from Caroline to me to Klaus and enquired, "What? Where are you going?"

"Caroline and I have got to go and fetch something from the boarding house."

I observed Stefan intently as he tried to bury a hurt expression and he said, "Now?" the pair of us conspirators nodded and Stefan looked at me, hurt, and continued, "What could be so urgent that you need to go to Damon's now?" When Caroline and I gave no reply, he said dejectedly, "Fine! Go and do whatever you need to, to hell with tonight!"

He got up and stormed out angrily. It was unkind of me, but I smiled at his distress and irritation, knowing that it wouldn't last long. Caroline and I with a nod and a kiss (not me!) to Klaus left the mansion to get to the boarding house, which was the location for Stefan's party.

We had gone early to organise the absolute, final details and make sure no glass was out of line, no chair askew...tonight had to be perfect. Soon enough the guests began to show up. Damon was the last but two to arrive, the absence of Elena was noticed and commented on by most of the company, but soon, their gossip abated.

The plan was for Klaus to console my poor love by offering to take him out for a bunny hunt, which would be round the Salvatore place and Caroline and I would quieten the guests so Stefan would remain oblivious to what was actually going on. Klaus was instructed to call Caroline once they were ten minutes away. We had both torn off parts of our sleeves and left a trail of blood from just outside the boarding house, leaving the door ajar, to lure Stefan and a clued in Klaus into the building, where we would all jump out and surprise him with the party.

I was not particularly fond of the idea of frightening Stefan by the idea that something had befallen me and Caroline, but we had to get him in somehow. We received the blank call from Klaus and we quickly silenced everyone and ensured everyone was adequately hidden from view and waited.

I stood the closest to the door with Caroline, so that should Stefan or Klaus show any supernatural qualities we could avert the situation before anyone became alarmed. The vampires in the room – Damon, Caroline, Elijah, Rebekah and I – could easily hear the two outside as they discovered the torn pieces of our clothing and followed the trail of blood quietly into the house, fearing a trap in which we were the bait. Thankfully, Stefan had not bared his fangs or had his face changed when he entered the boarding house, so when the hiding party guests jumped out, shouting "Happy Birthday, Stefan!" he did not give any of the unaware humans a heart attack.

He merely looked back at a smiling, but apologetic, Klaus, who said, "Surprise, mate. Sorry for worrying you – only way and all that," and with a wink went over to Caroline and put his arms around her body heaving with laughter at the aghast expression on Stefan's poor face.

I approached him and he looked at me with wonder and relief and grasped the sides of my face and I as I looked at his face I could see him blinking away now unnecessary tears and I felt such remorse that I said, "Oh, my love, we didn't mean to scare you so much, just to surprise you."

He nodded, still in shock, but once the Originals had encouraged everyone to start having a good time outside in the marquee, Stefan began to relax but as if he needed assurance that no harm had indeed come to me, he pulled my head against his shoulder and we stood there for a short time. He soon released me and I planted a repentant kiss on his lips and said, "Happy Birthday, Stefan." I placed a red parcel into his hand, smiling.

He had recovered and beamed at the gift which I passed to him and his hands glided over the package, elegantly unfolding the paper.

"We're not reusing the paper! Just open it, for heaven's sake!" I was eager to see his reaction to what I had gifted him.

He laughed freely at my encouragement and he saw the velvet box that was within and opening it, he gasped and shook his head in surprise at what he saw in the box. I had to borrow some money from Klaus to purchase the gift, which I refused to compel out of a salesman at the jewellery store, this was an honest gift. I had bought a large and ornate ring that was similar to the one that Katherine had once given him with an "S" engraved on it, his daylight ring. This one was also a daylight ring, as Klaus had got one of the many witches in his acquaintance to cast the spell on it, but it had "J&S" engraved on it in silver and was round with an onyx setting and simply a silver circle around the letters.

He took the ring from the box, removed the ring on his finger, with a glance at Damon and then exchanged it with his new one. I understood the gravity of the moment for him, so I showed him my hand and a ring with the same design hugged my index finger and spoke kindly, "Stefan, this ring," I took his old ring in my hand and gestured to it, "is your past – it is Katherine, it is a world where the only soul you had was Damon, it is you without me." I then put the ring in the box and closed it, locking the clasp, "That is a part of your life behind a shut door." I then took the hand where his new ring now sat and held it tightly in my ornamented hand, "These are our lives – the same – the silver circle is an eternity band and it means that nothing will ever be able to separate us. This is what your new life – sorry, our new life – has in store for us."

Stefan began to weep hearing the promise in my words and understanding the full meaning behind the rings. He said nothing, but neither of us ever really needed to say anything, that was just the way we were together – perfectly in harmony in silence. All he did was set the box down, take his hand from my grip and then taking my waist with both of his hands, and pull me in for a passionate and long kiss.

On that day, the day Stefan turned 164 vampire years old; my life – our lives –truly began.