A/N: Just a short little update! Happy New Year Everyone! :)
Remember Me- Chapter Sixteen
"I want us to stay like this forever. You in my arms and the world moving around us. But, none of it will matter. Because, it's the two of us in this apartment and that's all I care about." Stefan had told her, leaning into her lips and kissing Elena delicately. His hands tracing down her backside as Elena rolled into him, pure joy on her face.
"We'll need to go out and get food sometimes. You know, so that we don't die." She remarked as Stefan laughed, kissing the top of her head and running his fingers through her hair. "Of course, Or, we could just have it delivered and save us both the trip of long lines at the grocery store."
Elena lifted herself up on her elbows as she laughed, leaning towards him to kiss his cheek. "But, I like doing those things with you. Simple, domesticated stuff. Grocery shopping, holding your hand in public. I don't really care what we're doing. As long as we're together." She commented, feeling Stefan's hand slip underneath the sheets. He rested them against her bare skin, gliding down to her hips. His mouth hovering over hers as she wrapped her legs around him and laid her back flat on the mattress.
"Do you know how much I love you?" He asked her, caressing her face as he watched her eyelids flutter shut and she smiled at him, guessing in a playful tone. "Just a little bit." Elena said, feeling his hands tickling her skin as she began to laugh and he leaned down to her neck, kissing and nipping her soft warm flesh.
"A lot more than just a little, Elena. You mean the world to me and I don't ever want us to be apart. No matter what happens, I'm always going to love you." He said, working his mouth up to her lips before he left a soft and gently kiss upon them. Elena placed her hand onto his chest, grinning from ear to ear as she said. "And, nothing ever will tear us apart. Nothing, Stefan. I don't want to ever be away from you."
Tears were streaming down her face when she slipped back into their bedroom. Stefan's back was turned towards her as she wiped her cheeks and exhaled deeply. The last thing Elena wanted to do was wake him up. So, instead she carefully slide one of her arms underneath him and then placed the other on top of him, pulling him back towards her. Stefan stirred in his sleep a bit, finally turning towards Elena.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" He asked, a groggy tone in his voice as he yawned out a breath and she cupped his face into the palm of her hand. She couldn't take it anymore, knowing that lung cancer was going to take him away from her was soul crushing and there didn't seem like there was much anyone could do about it. It was a grim diagnosis. Everything about his type of cancer didn't really promise a good outcome. All it seemed to promise was a painful and slow death.
"I don't want you to die. I just got you back. We just got each other back into our lives and…I can't do this, Stefan. I need you with me." Her voice cracked when she said it, her lips quivering as he lifted himself up from the mattress and sat up, turning to look at her. Stefan exhaled a staggered breath as he turned to her. His green gaze filled with sleepiness. After all, it was a little after 3am and here they were, talking.
"Elena," He began. Unsure of what to say, since Stefan felt like he had said so much already to nearly everyone. According to his oncologist, there really wasn't much else they could do. Except for wait and see if the chemotherapy made the cancer stop from spreading into his other organs and to see how he reacted from it. He shrugged his shoulders helplessly, not saying a word as he leaned over and pulled her towards him. Stefan felt her head rest against his bare chest as she listened to his heart beat and one of his arms rested against hers, his hand gliding up and down her skin in a comforting motion.
"I can't promise anything, Elena. Cancer is so unpredictable. One day, you're fine and the next, you're sick with I.V.'s and medicine being pumping into your already fragile body. Uncertainty filling your mind about how much longer you'll be around. So, I can't promise you that I'll beat this. But," He paused, feeling the damp tears she was crying slide down from her cheeks and rest onto his skin. Stefan held her tighter, kissing the top of her head. "Look at me." He pleaded with her, watching as her tear stained cheeks glistened in the moonlit room.
"But, what I can do is promise you and Ben that whatever time I am given with the two of you. That I swear, I'll make the best of it and that I will fight as much as I can. You need to understand that I don't want this illness to take away all of my happiness too. It doesn't deserve that." Stefan lifted his head up from the pillow behind him, bringing his lips to hers and kissing her with a hunger filled passion.
"I want to remember this, for the rest of my life. I want us to stay like this forever." He recalled, causing her to smile as she straddled his pelvis and rested her body against his, feeling Stefan pull the cotton sheets over them to keep them both warm.
"You said that to me in Portland." She reminded him as he laughed a little, nodding. "Yeah, I did. Because it was true then and it's true now. I love you." He said, placing his hand onto hers as he wrapped his arms around her protectively and intertwined their fingers. Stefan kissed her forehead while he whispered against her ear. "Go to sleep now, baby. I promise, I'll be here when you wake up. I'm not going anywhere, Elena. Not for a long time."
"Klaus!" Caroline shouted out, attempting to get him to answer the door. Whoever it was, was interrupting her workout and Caroline was getting quite irritated by it.
"What?" She asked in an angered tone, opening the door wide open to reveal Aubrey on the other side.
"Oh, it's you." She remarked, allowing the blonde to come in as Caroline shut the door and just when she was about to open her mouth to ask what it was that Aubrey wanted. She spoke first. "I've been trying to reach Stefan's cell phone for days and all it keeps doing is going to voicemail. I needed to speak with him."
"So, you couldn't have called to tell us that?" Klaus asked her, taking a step in front of his wife as he appeared from the kitchen, wiping his hands onto a small light green colored towel.
"I thought that maybe I could see you guys." She commented, her words forcing Caroline to roll her eyes and scoff. "We're not friends, Aubrey." Caroline reminded her.
Aubrey glanced down at the ground, shrugging her shoulders back. "I don't have anyone anymore. Please, Caroline."
"What do you want me to do, Aubrey? Tell you how sorry I am that your marriage to Stefan is crumbling when in fact, you should have been the one to keep things going and to not have lied. Tell you that part of me is kind of happy that he's in Seattle with Elena!" The room fell silent as Aubrey stared at her blankly and Klaus stared at his wife too in astonishment. They both had known about it since, Klaus had been the one to help Stefan purchase the penthouse and he had heard from Stefan just the other day, who had casually let it slip that Elena was there with him.
Her eyes grew wide, words escaped her. She knew he had gone there alone. Eventually finding out that he was there with someone. But, finding out that it was with her of all people. Well, that had set Aubrey off and not in a good way. "He's with her? His ex-fiancé and the mother of his son?" Aubrey asked, wanting to clarify the information for herself.
"Looks like the cat's out of the bag. You better just fess up to it, love." Klaus leaned forward, whispering the words into his wife's ear. "Things are about to get really interested around here." He chuckled a little, taking a step back when Caroline elbowed him in the chest. "Be quiet!" She warned.
"Yes. He's in Seattle with Elena. The love of his life and the mother to their son. Aubrey, let's face it. If he really had loved you as much as he had claimed that day when you two exchanged your vows. He'd have you by his side right this instant and not her. I'm sorry. But, I know in my heart, for a fact that she's the one for him."
Aubrey's anger grew as she pivoted on her heels and glared over at Caroline. "If she was so great to him. Why'd she leave? Why didn't he marry her instead?" She shouted out, marching over to the front door and shaking her head. Klaus and Caroline stood side by side, staring at one another as they watched Aubrey Whitmore self-destruct. "This isn't over. Believe me, this is just the beginning. Once Stefan is too sick to take care of that little boy. She'll see. I'll be waiting to bring him back to Florida, where he belongs, with me." She stammered out, slamming the door and leaving both of them stunned.
"Did she just say she wants to take Ben away from Stefan and Elena?" Caroline questioned, her face filling with anger as she turned towards Klaus and locked eyes onto her husband. "Over my dead body will she ever do that. Call Katherine and Damon. Tell them that we're coming over. We have a problem that needs to be dealt with. And, her name is Aubrey Whitmore."
Three knocks on the door awake Stefan up the next morning as Elena was cutting up some fruit for Ben and she ran into the room to gently wake him.
"Babe. You need to wake up." Elena quietly spoke, her breath tickling his ear. Stefan rolled over onto his side, groaning out a sigh as the knocking continued and Elena leaned down, kissing Stefan's lips.
"I don't want to do that unless you're right next to me." He told her, pulling her down against him and onto the mattress. Stefan hovered over her, brushing her hair back as his lips kissed her neck, inching their way up to her mouth. Elena giggled out loud. "Stefan! I need to go answer the door." She told him, feeling his body pin her down as he continued to kiss her, suddenly moving his mouth towards hers and leaving a sweet kiss on her warm lips. "NO, you don't. Stay here with me." He suggested as she laughed a little harder. He continued kissing her until she finally broke free. "Fine." He watched her get up from the bed, waving her away. "Go tell whoever it is to leave the three of us the hell alone!" He ordered as Elena shook her head, laughing. Smiling over at Ben, Elena exhaled deeply before turning towards the door and opening it.
"Hello Elena." He said, his voice a deep rasp as she noticed someone else behind him and her legs nearly gave way when she saw who it was.
"Kai?" Elena stammered out, locking her eyes onto her ex as Aubrey stood behind him with a smirk upon her face. "Where's Stefan, you home wrecking whore. Where's my husband?" She asked without skipping a beat, pushing her way inside as she noticed children's toys on the floor and medicine bottles on the counter tops.
"He's still in bed with our son." Elena quickly stated, making sure to put an emphasis on the words 'our son' just for good measure.
"Your son?" Aubrey laughed a little, flicking back her long blonde hair as she took a step-in front of her and pointed around the room. "He's mine now, sweetheart. I'm his step mother and I'm here to take back what's mine. Now, I suggest you tell my cheating husband and my stepson that I'd like to see them. Because, I'm sure they both miss me."
Elena slowly went into the master bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it. Stefan could tell that something was wrong just by the look in her eyes. "Your wife's here. She apparently wants to spend the New Year with you. She also wants to be the one to take Ben back home, to Florida." Elena explained, causing Stefan to briskly jump out of bed and put his clothing back on. His hands shook as he took a deep breath before turning towards Elena and telling her to keep Ben in their bedroom.
"It's going to be fine, I'm going to settle this, right now." Stefan commented, closing the door behind him and walking out into the living room. Aubrey and Kai sat next to each other on the couch, talking amongst themselves and just when she saw Stefan approach, Aubrey got up and rushed over to him.
"My poor baby. Honey, I am so sorry that I haven't been-." Stefan felt Aubrey's hand caress his cheek and before he knew it, he grabbed a hold of her wrist, exhausting himself as he shoved her against the wall and angrily spat out his words in her face. "Take one step closer to me and I swear to god that you'll both regret it. Now, I'm not stupid, Aubrey. My last wife was after my money and that's all she ever wanted when it came to us. But, you. I know exactly what you want! You want Ben! You want MY son!"
There was a sense of fear in her eyes when he released his grasp of her wrists and watched her rub them a little. "Get out of here, both of you." Stefan's voice was booming and filled with hatred toward the woman that he once held in a very high regard. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she too loved Ben. He was a very lovable little boy. However, for her to think that she could just waltz into his apartment and take him like this, was totally wrong. She barely had any rights to him as it was anyways.
"I said, get the hell out of here!" He shouted, pointing to the door for her and Kai to leave. He didn't say a word, just simply got up and opened the door as Aubrey crossed her arms and stood there, staring at Stefan. "You know, that after you're gone. He would be way better off with me. All Elena ever did was leave him. To be honest, I won't be surprised if she does it again."
Stefan shook his head, closing his eyes to contain the anger that was boiling up within him. "You know what, Aubrey? My son is perfectly fine where he's at right now, with his birth mother. Besides, everyone makes mistakes and to be honest, looking at you. I see one in front of me right now. Trust me, darling. If you want to fight me over custody of Ben. You can go right ahead. But you don't have any rights to him as you're just his stepmother. So, that would be rendered useless. Like I said before, I'll see you in Florida in a few weeks to negotiate the terms of our divorce, Aubrey." Slamming the door shut in her face, Stefan leaned against it, inhaling sharply. The bedroom door could be heard opening slowly as Ben hesitantly made his way into the living room, giving his dad a heartbreaking look.
"What's wrong, Ben?" Stefan asked him, bending down in front of his son as Ben wrapped his arms around his father, tightly embracing him. "I don't you to be mad at me, daddy." He said in a voice just above a whisper. Stefan kissed his cheek and then backed away from him. Both of his hands were on each side of Ben's face as Stefan cupped his face into the palm of his hands and stared directly into Ben's eyes while he spoke. "Never in a million years would I or could I be mad at you. Buddy, I'm just going through a lot of adult stuff that you don't understand. However, I promise you that one day. You'll get it. But, you need to know that you didn't do anything to upset me. You could never make me mad." Stefan glanced up to see Elena leaning against the door frame of his master bedroom, wiping away tears. He was so good with Ben. Stefan was an amazing father and watching the two of them together made her heart swell with pride and joy.
She slowly began walking towards him, noticing the weakness and pale color of his usually vibrant facial features. Elena walked closer to him, bending down as she asked Stefan if he was okay. The image he had in front of his face of her and of Ben was spinning. The whole room was spinning suddenly and his chest felt like it was on fire. A deep chest pain struck him hard as he clutched onto his left side and fell on to the ground. "Stefan! Stefan, please. Stay with me!" Elena shouted out, grabbing her cell phone and telling Ben to go into the other room.
"He's going to be okay, baby. Your dad is going to be okay." She reassured the little boy while her shaking hands dialed 911. The ringing on the other line felt like it was taking an eternity until she finally got through and said in a trembling voice. "I need an ambulance! Please hurry. He's unconscious and not breathing. Please, you need to help him!"