A/N: I do not have much to say except, thank you for reading : ) I look forward to your thoughts on this update, as always!
After an hour sitting with her, Stefan had stretched out in two chairs near her bed, facing her. He wanted her to be able to see him if she woke up. He drifted in and out of sleep and got up periodically to make sure Elena was still breathing. The monitors attached to her told him as much, but he still wanted to make sure.
After giving up on sleep for the last time that evening, he sat up in his chair and took out Elena's wedding ring from is pocket. He rolled it around in his hand for a moment before looking at it. He began to wonder if he should have bought her a brand new ring, one that was all her own, rather than giving her an old, family heirloom.
He never imagined that he would give it to a woman. He always figured he would hold onto it and then pass it down to Lily when she was old enough. It meant a lot to him. No one was supposed to be so deserving as to receive it in his life but Lily. Not even Katherine, who he had planned to marry.
And then Elena had come along and messed up his plan.
His plan to be single the rest of his life, with no kids, spending his money carelessly and having fun while he did it. Going from girl to girl before any of them got too attached. Not having to be home by a certain time or worry about anyone but himself.
Yet here he was, married and thinking about children, spending his money a little more wisely now. Having one girl that he loved more than anything and calling her to let her know where he was and when he would be home. Being absolutely terrified about her safety and full of worry as he looked at her right then.
He blamed Katherine for so long for taking his future away from him and replacing it with something else. But everything Katherine wasn't made Stefan appreciate Elena that much more. Where Katherine wouldn't hold his hand in public, Elena had always been eager to, loving the closeness that it brought as they walked side by side. Katherine had simply wanted sex and Elena was perfectly happy spending all afternoon in bed with him, slowly kissing and touching or even just talking. Elena loved talking.
He cherished his moments with Elena because they were real. She made him a better person, or at least, brought out his better qualities. He could tell you exactly why he had married her. If you had all day to sit around and listen.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep. "Stef …an?" a groggy voice said. His eyes opened instantly and found Elena's sleepy ones trying hard to look at him.
He scooted his chair to her bed and grabbed her hand. "I'm here" he told her quietly, extremely relieved to see her awake. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?" he asked.
Elena nodded. "Everything hurts" she whispered.
Stefan hit the nurse's call button repeatedly until a nurse came running in. "She's in pain" Stefan said. The nurse nodded, scurried out of the room, and then ran back in with another dose of pain medication.
"This should help" the nurse said, checking Elena's monitors and IV bag while she was in there. "Is there anything I can get you?" she asked. "Something to eat? Something besides water to drink?" she asked kindly. Elena shook her head. "Okay. Don't hesitate to call. I'll be back in an hour" she explained before letting herself out of the room.
Stefan stared at Elena and his heart sank a little when she avoided his eyes. "You're sure you don't want anything?" he asked. He stood up and poured her a cup of water. He handed it to her. "You should drink" he told her.
Elena held the cup of water in her shaky hands and Stefan finally grabbed onto it to help her get it to her lips. One small sip and she was already choking on it, pushing the cup away from her lips. She didn't want the water. Her body was struggling to take it in, no doubt due to the days she went without any water.
He wanted to tell her to drink it, that she needed it, but seeing her struggle so much made him set the cup back down. They were silent for a moment. Her eyes had closed again and he thought she had gone back to sleep. "Are you mad at me?" her weak voice spoke.
Her question hit him hard. He grabbed her hand in his again and squeezed it. "A little" he smiled. She smiled too. Even with her eyes closed, she knew he was joking. "I'm more scared than anything" he told her honestly.
"You don't have to be scared anymore" she told him. "I may … look like death, but I don't think I'm going to die anytime soon" she said, cracking her own joke. "You're not free of me yet" she added.
He laughed. He couldn't help it. She was joking and smiling and it was beautiful. "I don't want to be free of you just yet" he told her sadly.
Elena sensed that the joking was done for now. "She's safe?" Elena asked, opening her eyes and looking at him.
"Yes, she's safe. And she really misses you" Stefan told her, bringing her hand up to his lips and placing a lingering kiss on her hand.
Elena sighed tiredly. "Call her for me" she told him. "I want to talk to her."
Stefan shook his head. "You need your rest" he told her.
"No, I want to talk to her right now" Elena said.
The urgency in her voice had him taking out his phone and dialing Zach's number. "Hey, is Lily still up?" Stefan asked. "Elena is awake and wants to talk to her" he said. He put the phone on speaker and rested it on Elena's stomach.
"Hello?" Lily's voice asked.
Elena closed her eyes as tears instantly appeared. She really didn't want Lily to know she was crying, but she was so relieved. "Hi Lily" Elena said, doing her best to sound as cheerful as the little girl on the other end of the phone.
There was a momentary pause as her little brain registered who it was. "Elena!" she said excitedly. "Are you home yet?" she asked.
"No, not yet" Elena said. "I don't know when they will let me out of the hospital. I hope soon because it's not much fun here" she explained.
"It's not fun 'cause I'm not there" Lily insisted.
"You're right" Elena said, wiping at her lingering tears.
"Are they poking you with needles and stuff?" Lily asked cautiously. "Because Uncle Stefan can tell them to stop that and they'll listen 'cause he has big muscles and stuff" she told Elena. Both Elena and Stefan cracked smiles.
"Yeah, he does have big muscles and stuff" Elena agreed. "But I kind of need those needles to give me my medicines. So I feel better and can go home" she explained.
"Oh, yeah, then you needs those needles and stuff" Lily agreed. "But, you know what would make you feel better?" she asked.
"Umm, ice cream?" Elena guessed.
"Yes!" Lily yelled into the phone. She now had Elena trained in her thinking too.
"I don't think I'm allowed to have ice cream right now" Elena said, breaking the sad news to her.
"What?" Lily asked, as if she hadn't understood what Elena had just said to her. It was unacceptable to withhold ice cream from someone. "If you tell Uncle Stefan you want ice cream, he'll go get you ice cream" she informed.
"Maybe later" Elena said. "I should probably let you get to sleep" she added.
"No not yet!" Lily begged. "I want to tell you something" she said quickly.
"Okay, you can tell me" Elena said softly.
Lily was quiet for a moment and Elena had almost wondered if she had hung up. "I wanted to tell you thank you, for coming and finding me. Mommy says you saved me from the mean man" she said quietly.
Elena looked at Stefan who looked just as vulnerable as she did right then. "I just wanted you to be safe" Elena finally said.
"But you got hurt" she said sadly.
Elena's tears began to return and she felt Stefan grab her hand. "I'm okay" Elena told her. "I don't want you to worry about me. I want you to think about what movie you and I are going to watch when I get home, okay?" Elena told her.
"Okay" Lily said, still not convinced. "I better go to bed now. I love you" she said.
Elena wiped away at a tear. "I love you too, Lily" she said quietly. "Sweet dreams" Elena said just as Stefan grabbed the phone and hung up.
Elena pulled her hand away from Stefan and covered her face, breaking down and letting her tears fall freely now. "I don't want her to blame herself" Elena cried softly. Everything she had gone through was to keep Lily safe and happy.
Stefan scooted even closer to her and rested his head against her shoulder. "She's just worried about you" Stefan said quietly. "Once we're home, we can talk to her and make sure she understands what happened" he explained. "She'll be okay" he promised.
"I want to go home" Elena cried softly. "Please, take me home" she nearly begged.
Stefan sat up some and grabbed for her hands. She looked up at him and he smiled sadly. "I promise you, as soon as the doctors say it's okay, I will take you home where you belong" he said, kissing both of her hands. "Okay?" he asked.
Elena nodded slowly, pulling her hands away from his. She reached up and touched is face gently. "I love you" she said softly.
Stefan nodded. "I know you do" he said, smiling. "I love you too" he told her. "So much."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elena didn't sleep well the rest of that night. She was uncomfortable. Stefan of course didn't sleep well either, waking up every time she did. "I kept you up" Elena said, seeing Stefan standing at the window and looking out on that cloudy morning.
Stefan turned around. "I'm fine" he smiled, walking back to her. "How are you this morning?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed.
"Better, I think" she said. She was less drowsy, though still in some pain. "Could you do me a favor?" she asked, resting her hand on his leg.
"Anything" he smiled, covering her hand with his. "Can you go and find me a pair of sweats and a t-shirt?" she asked. "I think I will be more comfortable in those than this hospital gown" she added.
"I'll ask Alaric to go" he said, taking his phone out of his pocket.
Elena stopped him though. "No, I'd like you to do it" she told him. "You know my sizes and …" she hesitated. "I kind of need some underwear too" she added quietly, somewhat embarrassed.
"Oh" Stefan said. "Yeah, I'll do it myself then" he told her. The last thing he wanted was for his friend to be picking out his wife's underwear. "Do you want anything else? Something to eat?" he asked. She still really hadn't eaten, unless you counted the two tiny pretzels she ate.
"No" she said. "Just the clothes please."
"Okay" Stefan said, sighing. He would give anything to see her eat. "I'll be back in a little bit" he told her.
Elena gave him her best smile as he exited the room. Finally. A moment to herself. Stefan hadn't left her side since she had woken up. She leaned back and closed her eyes, only to open them when she heard her door open again.
"Hi" Damon said, letting himself into her room. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Fine" she answered. "Did Stefan send you in here?" she guessed.
"He didn't want you to be alone" Damon said, deciding not to lie to her. "He's worried" Damon added, taking a seat next to her bed. "He wants to make sure nothing else happens to you."
"That's what I'm afraid of" Elena sighed. "When we get home, he won't let me out of his sight" she added.
"He loves you" Damon said gently.
Elena looked at Damon for a moment. "I know he does. And that's what makes this so much harder" she said, fidgeting with her blanket. "I don't want him to see me like this. All beat up and stuff" she said, looking out her window. "He's trying so hard to be strong for me, but I know every time he looks at me, he thinks about how he couldn't be there to stop it."
"He's not the only one who feels guilty" Damon said, grabbing her attention again. Elena was about to say something but he cut her off. "Let me just say it, Elena" he told her, holding up his hand. "You relived a nightmare in order to protect my daughter. Not many people would put themselves through that for anyone, much less someone else's child" he said.
"I love her" Elena said, still looking into his eyes. "I brought Derrick into this family. It was my responsibility to protect her" she told him. "So don't feel guilty."
Damon nodded. He may not have agreed, but he understood where she was coming from. "He tried to kill him, you know" Damon said. "When he found Derrick at some bar. He pulled him outside and demanded Derrick tell him where you were. When he wouldn't, Stefan went nuts. I've never seen him so out of control" he admitted. "I knew he loved you. I guess I just never understood how important you were to him until I witnessed him doing that. I've never seen him so scared."
Elena took in everything he said carefully. "Did Stefan hurt him badly?" Elena asked.
Damon nodded. "He could barely breathe by the time we pulled Stefan off of him."
"Good" Elena said.
"The only reason we pulled Stefan off of him was because we knew Derrick would be the only one to tell us where you were" he added.
"Where is Derrick now?" Elena asked, suddenly getting a sick feeling in her stomach just from the thought.
"He's in jail" Damon told her. "I talked with the DA last night. Derrick won't be getting out for a really long time" he said. Elena broke eye-contact with him and sighed nervously. "Jail is the best place for him – besides Hell" he reminded her.
"Yeah, I guess" she said.
"So …" Damon said, feeling the need to change the subject.
"Is the party in here now?" Alaric asked, poking his head into her room.
"Hey man" Damon said, waving him on in. "We were just chatting while Stefan ran and got her some clothes" he explained.
"Oh, cool" Alaric said casually, walking to the other side of her bed and pulling up a chair. He set the bag he was carrying down beside him. "You look … alive" Alaric said, making a poor joke.
Luckily, Elena was okay with it. "Barely" she smiled. "But I'm getting better. I just wish they would let me out of here."
"I wish that for you too" Alaric said. "The people in the waiting room are scary. Can I sleep in here tonight?" he asked. "I'm afraid I'm going to wake up to my shoes being stolen" he explained.
Damon rolled his eyes. "That 80-year old woman is not going to steal your shoes" Damon said.
"You didn't see the way she was looking at them" Alaric scoffed. "They are one of a kind" he said, lifting is foot up for Elena to see him bright blue shoes.
Elena laughed. "Oh my God, where did you get those?" she asked.
"Some guy was selling them out of the back of his van" he explained. "I got you a pair too" he said, pulling out a pair of neon green ones for Elena.
Elena grabbed for the shoes and smiled. They were kind of ridiculous, but they were kind of cool too. "Thank you Alaric" she said, admiring them.
"I also brought candy" he said, pulling various packages of candy out. "From the gift shop, not the back of the van" he clarified. "Skittles, gummy bears, or peanut butter cups?" he offered.
"I'll have a few gummy bears" Elena said, finally seeing something that sounded okay to eat.
"Great, here you go" Alaric said, opening the bag for her and giving it to her. "Damon?" he asked.
"Skittles" he said, holding is hand out.
"So, Elena" Alaric said, thinking of a way to distract her and make her feel better. "Do you want to hear about the time Stefan peed his pants?" he asked.
Damon laughed. "Are you talking about that one time?" Damon asked.
Alaric nodded. They both scooted closer to Elena as Alaric jumped into the story. "He was 22. There was a storm and it had knocked out his power. So, Damon and I went over to his place to bring him a generator. We were getting it set up when I thought it would be a brilliant idea of hide in the stairwell once it got dark. He came walking around the corner, looking at his phone. I popped out and screamed" Alaric said, beginning to laugh so hard that he had to stop telling the story for a moment. "I have never heard Stefan scream like such a little girl. He was so scared, he had peed his pants" he finished, leaning over Elena's bed and laughing.
Damon and Elena were laughing too. It was infectious, and it was nice. "He really peed his pants?" Elena asked.
"Oh, he really did" Damon told her. "And not a little. Like, a lot. He full on peed himself" he added, bending over laughing. "It was so gross."
"I bet he was really mad at you" Elena smiled, looking at Alaric.
"He wouldn't talk to me for a week" Alaric grinned. "It was fun though" he smiled.
Elena sighed. "Thank you for that" she said, popping another gummy bear in her mouth. "I needed something to laugh about."
"Oh, we've got more" Damon assured her. He sat back in his chair and began to enlighten Elena on the funny happenings involving his brother.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Stefan arrived back less than an hour later with her clothes. When he peeked inside her room, he saw Alaric and his brother talking with her, and she was smiling. She was also eating something. Gummy bears it looked like. "Hey" Stefan said, making his presence known.
Elena's smile disappeared instantly, which he thought was odd. "We've been keeping her company" Alaric informed him.
"I appreciate it" Stefan said, holing up the bag he had. "Do you want to change?" Stefan asked.
Elena nodded. "We'll see you later" Damon said and both he and Alaric kissed the top of her head, much like they would have done to Lily. "Get some rest" he told her.
"Here, I have one more pack of gummy bears" Alaric said, handing them to her. "For later" he winked.
"Thank you" Elena said, putting them aside. "And for my shoes" she added.
"You're welcome" Alaric said, following Damon out of the room.
Stefan shut the door and drew the curtain so she would have a little more privacy. He unpacked her clothes and laid them out for her. Gray sweats and a pink t-shirt. White underwear and socks. Elena slowly tried to get herself out of bed, but found it quite a challenge. "Let me help you" Stefan said, pulling her covers back and placing his hands around her waist. She winced and he immediately let go of her. "I'm sorry" he said, feeling guilty for hurting her.
"It's fine, Stefan" Elena said, sitting herself up. She fought hard not to groan from pain as she untied her gown. She saw Stefan looking helplessly at her and she couldn't take that anymore. "Can you please go and get a nurse to help me?" she asked, avoiding his eyes.
"I can help you" he said, though he was unsure how. He was her husband after all. He was supposed to take care of her.
"I would rather have a nurse in here" she bit out with frustration. She regretted it instantly when she saw him step back, clearly hurt.
He nodded though. "Okay" he said, the hurt evident in his voice. "I'll go get a nurse" he told her, leaving the room.
Elena closed her eyes and sighed, completely frustrated with herself. She was in so much pain though, and not all of it was physical. As much as she wanted to go home, she was dreading it that much more. Being alone with Stefan, after everything that happened, was going to be difficult.