Chapter 43

Stefan rocked a fussy Lilly while Damon held a crying Katherine. When she didn't quiet after a while Stefan became worried. The incessant crying eventually brought Caroline.

"I think she's sick. She might have an ear infection," Caroline worried.

"Ear infection," Stefan said slowly. "Colic...I'll be back! Someone needs to see a Doctor!" Stefan made sure that his daughter had everything in her diaper bag before he ran out with Lilly.

"Doctor," Caroline frowned and then her eyes went wide. "Elijah, Klaus, somebody! Stefan didn't think about it and he's taking Lilly to a doctor! I don't think you can do that!"

Klaus began swearing and went after Stefan. He was not thrilled about it but this was Stefan and Lilly, his family.

He caught up to Stefan outside the ER. Stefan came full stop as he saw Klaus standing there.

"Stefan you can't take Lilly to a doctor," Klaus said.

"She's sick Klaus. She won't stop crying that's what you do when babies are sick."

"That's what you do when human babies are sick," Klaus said softly and Stefan froze suddenly realizing how close he had come to a possible full-on disaster.

"Now there's a clinic not far from here. One of the best pediatricians in the city volunteers there," Klaus said as he walked with Stefan back to his car. Stefan breathed a sigh of relief as he fastened the car seat in.

The ride to the clinic was uneventful. Klaus got them in through a back door and they compelled the physician, Dr. Elizabeth Bartlet. She smiled as she saw Lilly and after a couple of quick tests realized that Lilly was in fact suffering from Colic.

"See mate? No need to go to an ER." Klaus told him as they drove home. "Though we shouldn't ever mention this to her." Apparently, it was now a crime to even mention Rebekah's name and Stefan couldn't blame them.

What she wrote in her diary was bad and then bringing Mikael to the city-she just couldn't stop her cruelty to them all.

Whenever one of them would find a little bit of happiness, she had to ruin it.

Elijah had lost Elena three times but somehow in the end, he got her back.

Klaus had Lana but Rebekah had Mikael kill her, he then had Caroline but Rebekah made it seem that he lost her only for it to fail in her eyes.

Kol would have lost Bonnie and his humanity because of her.

"I agree but she should know that Lilly has Colic." Stefan whispered to him.

"Fine," Klaus said curtly, "you may tell her."

"I will when we get home." Stefan knew that the subject was finished with and once they returned home, he asked Damon to watch Lilly while he called her mother.

"Are you sure you don't want me to talk to her?" Damon asked. "I have no ties to her and can call her whatever I feel like calling her."

Stefan smiled. This was his big brother from when they were human together.

"One day I'll take you up on that offer." Stefan promised him as he went into another area of the house and dialed Rebekah's number.

"Stefan?" Rebekah sounded - happy - to hear from him. "Hold on just a second please." Stefan could hear what sounded like restaurant noise in the background.

"That's the number three with egg roll...third time this week, six seventy-five," the cashier in the background said. There was the jingle of bells on a door and then quiet.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't expecting a call," she said. "How are you? How's Lilly?" she asked in rapid succession.

"I'm fine. Lilly has colic," Stefan replied.

"Colic? what's colic? I mean I've heard of it before but I don't really remember and...is she going to be okay?" Rebekah was truly upset. Damon was shocked. This wasn't what he had expected.

"She's going to be fine." Stefan assured her. "Klaus was the one who found me at the ER when she wouldn't stop crying and took me to a clinic where he compelled a doctor who told us."

Rebekah sighed happily. "She's going to be fine."

Stefan felt a lump in his throat as he spoke next.

"Klaus read your diary out loud to everyone." Both Stefan and Damon heard her sharp intake of breath. "None of them are happy with you. Especially Elijah and it took Elena a while to calm him down."

"That was a century ago," Rebekah sighed. "I have really screwed up."

"Yes, you did," Stefan acknowledged.

"It's good to hear the sound of your voice," Rebekah said after a long silence. "I really miss you Stefan."

"I do as well." Looking over at Damon, he smiled. "Needless to say that being here isn't that boring. I've gotten along better with your brothers and trust me when I say that with the girls who are expecting, they are completely soft and domestic."

"I miss you but I've made my bed and now I guess I have to lie in it," Rebekah said, "so Elena and Bonnie are doing okay with their pregnancies? They must be what about twenty weeks or so along?"

"Twenty-one I think," Stefan said.

"I miss you and I miss Lilly. I don't suppose you could send me a picture? I...I don't even have a picture..." she started to breakdown into tears then, "I need something to remember her by."

Damon looked at Stefan and nodded. Stefan knew what he was saying with his eyes.

Take a picture of me holding her and send it to Rebekah

"I'll take a picture and send it to you." Pressing a button on his phone, he opened the camera app and took a few photos of Lilly in Damon's arms and then when he saw Katherine watching, Stefan made a motion for Katherine to hold Lilly and he'll photograph that too.

Taking the picture, making sure that it wasn't a full body picture, he sent a few of them to Rebekah.

"You should get them and yes, that is Damon and Katherine holding Lilly. No, your brothers aren't going to kill her as she promised to be good and has become friends with Elena." Stefan said but hid the fact that Damon impregnated Katherine and that Katherine was cured of her 'evil persona' as she's been calling it.