Stefan slowly opened his eyes and smiled as he felt a familiar presence on his chest.
Elena was cuddled up against him and she looked so comfortable he didn't dare move a muscle.
He delicately put his arms around her contentedly watching her sleep.
After some time passed, Stefan checked his watch to see that it was already half passed ten.

Stefan gently stroked her hair and she began to stir in his arms.
"Hey, wake up sleepy head," Stefan murmured softly as Elena's eyes began to open.
"I hate to wake you but I want to take you someplace special."

Elena looks at him still half asleep, and he could see some confusion present in her eyes.
"But I already am someplace special," she slurred against his chest groggily.

Stefan's chest rose and fell as he chuckled softly, and Elena's heart became happy at the sound.
"I want to take you somewhere else," Stefan said as he began to shift under Elena almost to a sitting position, but Elena just groaned as she held onto him tighter.

"Or we can just lay here all day and to nothing," Stefan said jokingly, but Elena did not pick up on the sarcasm evident in his voice.
She just smiled and nodded her head into his chest, loving the idea of just lying here with Stefan under the sun all day on this beautiful mountain.

Amused at her reaction, Stefan playfully tossed her over his shoulder and twirled her around breaking her out of her sleepy trance.

"Okay! Okay!" Elena shrieked through giggles.
"I'm ready to go," she breathed as he softly put her down.
She could not get the smile off of her face as she remembered last night, and how wonderful it was and how wonderful Stefan was.

"Wait where are we going?" Elena asked.

"It's a surprise, but I'm going to need you to hold on tight," he said as he looped her arms around his neck and picked her up bridal style.

"Am I going to need to fasten my seatbelt?" Elena asked as a large grin spread across her lips.

"Normally I would say yes, but I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that you will make it off safely."

"Okay I trust you, I'm ready," Elena said as she tightened her grip around Stefan's neck, and before she knew it they were in front of the cutest little bakery Elena had ever seen.

Before Stefan could open the door a small whimper escaped Elena's lips as she gripped tightly to his arm.
Stefan realized that this might have been a bad idea.
Although she has become comfortable around him, doesn't mean that she feels comfortable yet with other people.

"Hey Elena, you have nothing to worry about here," Stefan said soothingly.

"W-What if s-someone t-tries to h-h-hurt me. Stefan I-I'm s-scared," she said as her body trembled against his.

"No one will hurt you here sweetheart. I promise you are safe; I will never let anyone touch you ever again," Stefan promised.

"W-What if s-s-someone t-t-tries to t-take m-me away f-from you?" Elena whimpered as she clutched onto him even tighter.
Stefan could see the growing panic in her eyes and it completely broke his heart.

He quickly wrapped his arms around her completely burying her small form in his being.
"I will never let that happen my sweet girl," Stefan whispered as he began to stroke her hair still holding her protectively in his embrace.
"I promise no one will ever hurt you again Elena, and no one could ever take you away from me. For as long as you want me, I will be here… okay?"

"O-Okay," Elena whispered while still clinging tightly to Stefan.
The thought of being anywhere else besides with Stefan caused a sense of panic to arise in her chest.
The mere thought of being taken away from him causes a darkness to consume her, leaving her with nothing but fear.

She breaths out a sigh of relief as she eventually succumbs to the feeling of Stefan's hands stroking her hair as she keeps her head buried in the comforts of his chest.
He just holds her like that in front of the bakery until her breathing becomes even again and her grip loosens a bit from his body.

"We can go back home Elena, just say the word and we are out of here," Stefan murmured as he continued to stroke her hair.

Elena thought about his offer for a moment before shaking her head.

"No I want to go. I need to see people sooner or later," she told Stefan.

"Now that's my brave girl," Stefan said as he held the door for Elena.

When they walked through the door Elena saw a woman standing behind the register who looked old enough to be her grandmother.
She had the rosiest cheeks, and the sweetest eyes Elena had ever seen.
This automatically put Elena more at ease allowing her to loosen her grip on Stefan's arm.

The woman smiled widely in their direction before she spoke in a loud cheery voice.
"Is that who I think it is?" she said excitedly as she walked out from behind the register and pulled Stefan into a big hug.

"Stefan Salvatore, my God it has been ages since the last time I have seen you!" she said pulling back taking a look at his face, "And you are still as handsome as ever."
Elena couldn't help but notice Stefan blush a little at the compliment.

"Miranda, I want you to meet someone very special to me," Stefan exclaimed as he pointed to Elena, "Miranda this is Elena, Elena this is Miranda."

Before she even looked at the woman she was reminded of her own mother.
Her name was Miranda too.

"Hi it's so nice to-," Elena tried to get out before she was cut off by Miranda pulling her into a giant bear hug.
"Meet you," Elena finished after Miranda finally let her go.
Stefan just laughed as he saw Elena's shocked expression.

"You are so beautiful Elena. Stefan has never brought anyone here before so you must be very special to him."

Stefan looked at Elena before he said, "Yes she is."
Now it was Elena's turn to blush.

"So, what is it going to be for y'all today?" Miranda asked.
Stefan handed Elena a menu and everything looked so delicious to her she could not possibly choose.

"Can I please just have my usual?" Stefan asked politely.

"Sure thing honey. And for you?" she asked Elena.

Elena began to feel overwhelmed by the choices and finally blurted out that she was going to have the same thing as Stefan.

After ordering the two seated themselves at the nearest empty booth and Elena realized that she didn't even know what Stefan's usual consisted of.

"Sorry about that, I know she can be a lot but she is like a mother to me," Stefan said before he continued, "When I first returned to Mystic Falls this bakery was the first place I came to before I settled in. Miranda made me feel at home right away. She's a handful but the sweetest lady you will ever meet."

"She sounds wonderful. It's probably a Miranda thing."

"Oh, so you know another Miranda?" Stefan questioned.

"Yes, Miranda was actually my mom's name."

"Tell me about her," Stefan insisted.

"We don't have to get into it right now. I know I have been a buzz kill for the past couple of days," Elena said with a small laugh.

"Elena you have been anything but a buzzkill. I want to hear about your mom. What was she like?" Stefan asked.
He could tell that she wanted to talk about her mother even though she said she didn't.

"Well if I am being completely honest with you, I don't remember her too well," Elena said with a sad smile, "I actually don't remember either of my parents that well."
She stopped talking for a short moment, so Stefan tenderly put his hand over hers which was already laying on the table giving her support.

"Klaus murdered both of them when I was only nine and Jeremy was six, so I don't remember too much, but I have these flashes of memories that will always stick with me.
This might sound dumb but they are less of a memory and more like a feeling.
Like I can remember the feeling of my mother's warm hugs, or the smell of her delicious cooking. I just remember she gave the best hugs in the entire world," Elena said smiling at the memory.
"I can remember the sun beaming down on me as I watched my dad try to throw a ball to Jeremy. He would never get mad when Jeremy didn't catch it though, because he could barely even walk at the time.
The one core memory I do have of my parents before they died though was how they read to me every night before bed. I could not sleep without them reading me a bedtime story.
When times would get really hard when I was with Klaus, I would just close my eyes and pretend like I was back there with them. I would picture myself tucked under the covers while my dad read me some Dr. Suess book as my mom stroked my hair. Almost immediately I would fall into a peaceful sleep."

Stefan smiled as he pictured a little Elena sleeping happily in her room.
All he wished was that that little girl never had to go through everything she went through.

"Thank you Stefan, it feels so good to talk about them again. I haven't talked about them in forever."

Before Stefan could respond Miranda came over to their booth with two plates stacked so high with chocolate chip pancakes drizzled in chocolate sauce, covered in chocolate shavings all over the top.

Elena's jaw dropped at the sight in front of her.
She had never seen so much chocolate in her life.

Miranda and Stefan both laughed as they saw Elena's expression.
"Elena, when you said that you wanted Stefan's usual, I just hoped you knew how much he loved his chocolate!"

"Well I definitely know now!" Elena said with a smile as Stefan had already begun to dig into his first pancake.

"I'll leave y'all to it. Will I be seeing you again soon Elena?" Miranda asked her.
Elena just looked over to Stefan who already put his fork down.
"Yes, you will be seeing plenty of Elena in the future," Stefan said as he smiled warmly at Elena making her heart bulge out of her chest.

She doesn't remember the last time she has felt this happy, hell she doesn't remember the last time she was genuinely happy before she met Stefan.

For a while they sat and ate their chocolate chip pancakes contently, every so often stealing glances at each other and laughing before going back to enjoying their breakfast.
Soon Stefan had completely cleared his plate before Elena was even halfway done.
After she took a few more small bites she put her hands on her stomach and he could tell that she was full.

"Can I get you a to go box?" Stefan asked Elena as she nodded her head gratefully.
She could not take another bite- she was stuffed.

Stefan came back with the to go box and after they finished moving her meal into it Miranda came around with the check.
Elena tensed up realizing that she had absolutely no money.
The last thing she wanted was for Stefan to have to pay for her meal- he was already doing too much for her.

Without a second thought Stefan wrote the check and left a hefty tip for Miranda and they were on their way.
Stefan put his arm around Elena as they started to walk the few blocks it would take them to get back to Stefan's house.
It was such a beautiful day and he wanted to enjoy it with Elena.

When he looked down on her he could immediately tell that something was bothering her even though she was trying her best to hide it.

"What's the matter Lena?" Stefan asked softly as they continued to walk down the sidewalk.

"I just wish that I could do something to repay you, but I have no money," Elena said avoiding eye contact with Stefan.

"You don't have to do anything sweetheart," Stefan said as he pulled her closer to him.

"No but I do! You quite literally saved my life, and I can't even pay you back for my own breakfast!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Stefan soothed, "All I want is for you to live your life to the fullest, that's how you can repay me."

Elena just looked at him and all she could see was the sincerity behind his gaze before she nodded her head.
"I just wish I could pay you back somehow."

"I am a vampire in case you forgot," Stefan said playfully bumping into Elena's side,
"I have accumulated some money over the century and a half I have been alive. You don't have to worry about it, okay?"

"Okay," Elena said although she was still not satisfied with his answer.

"Please don't worry," Stefan repeated as he pocked her lightly on the nose causing a small smile to break through.
"I just want you to enjoy this beautiful day with me. Can you please do that for me?"

Elena nodded her head as her small smiled changed into an even larger one.

"That's my girl, I love seeing your smile."

"I have a feeling that with you, you might start to see it a lot more often."

"I can't wait," he muttered as he plated a small kiss on her hair.

After walking for a little bit longer enjoying the weather and each other's presence, Elena decided to play a joke on Stefan.
Suddenly she stopped and looked at his face.
Stefan stopped confused and asked, "What is it Elena?"

It took everything in her to suppress in her laugh, but she managed to hold it in before she spoke.
"You have a little bit of chocolate on your chin," she told him as she continued to stare at his face.
He took his hand and wiped it against his face before asking if he got it.

"Nope still there," Elena said.

"What about now?"

"Still there. Try wiping a little to your left."

"Now?"

"Nope, still there."

"I had to have gotten it, didn't I?"
This time Elena just shook her head, she couldn't talk without bursting into laughter.
A second later Stefan realized that she was playing a trick on him!
Her expression totally gave it away.

"There isn't really anything on my face now is there?" Stefan asked Elena finally catching on to her little prank.

Suddenly the mansion came into sight, and she made a run for it giggling the whole way as Stefan chased after her.

Every time she looked back, she knew he could catch her but was letting her have her fun.
Within a matter of seconds she heard Stefan shout, "Elena watch out!" and the next thing she knew her and Stefan were lying in a large mud puddle right outside of the entrance.
He broke her fall by ensuring that she landed on top of him which she was extremely grateful for.

Stefan and Elena looked at each other for a minute before they both began to die of laughter.
They were both completely covered head to toe in mud, but they couldn't have been happier.

"Now you really have something on your face," Elena said through giggles as she smeared more mud on Stefan's face.

"Oh now you are really going to get it," Stefan said playfully splashing some mud on Elena.
The two of them continued their little game for a while until Stefan stopped to look into Elena's eyes.

He carefully tucked a strand of her muddy hair behind her ear before he spoke.
"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Tears sprung into her eyes at his words.
She remembered where she was not so long ago- she was so afraid of life that she just wanted to die.
Although while being with Stefan, he has shown her time, and time again that life is not only worth living, but that she can actually enjoy it.
She knows it's crazy, but she loves him.

As he looked into her eyes, all he could feel was love for the girl in front of him.
He never wanted to see her hurt, he only wanted to make her smile.
He knows it's crazy, but he loves her.

"Come on," Stefan said as he helped Elena up.
"Let's go get ourselves cleaned off."

Elena took his hand as he lead her up the stairs handing her a clean pair of his sweatpants and one of his t- shirts, as well as a towel.
He showed her to an empty shower in the room next to his, and she set down the clothes on the bed.

Stefan turned to leave the room before Elena stopped him.
"Stefan wait," Elena called after him, making him turn around immediately.

"Yes Elena?"

"I just wanted to say thank you again for today, and well for everything," she said looking away from him as her cheeks turned red.
"I truly cannot tell you in words how grateful I am to you. Not so long ago I wanted to die, and now I can't think of anything I want less. So not only thank you for saving me, but thank you for showing me that life is worth living."

Not even a second later Stefan's arms were around her and she was soaking in the comfort of his embrace.
She wanted to remember this feeling forever.
Stefan just held her close, and she thought she could feel his love for her radiating off his skin.

"Okay we should probably shower now," Elena said lightly as she looked down at the mud caked all over their bodies.

"Yah you are probably right," Stefan said with a small laugh and Elena thought she could see a few tears on his cheeks after they pulled away from each other.
Elena let Stefan leave the room this time as she made her way into the bathroom.
She welcomed the warm water on her skin as the mud washed down the drain.
Elena could not get rid of the permanent smile that was displayed across her face.
Stefan Salvatore was truly her angel.

After she finished showering, Elena got dressed and went into Stefan's room to brush her hair.
When she got there, her eyes wandered to the bathroom door that was slightly cracked open.
She smiled to herself when she saw his reflection through the bathroom mirror.
He just got out of the shower and was only wearing a towel around his waist, showing off his perfectly toned body.
His hair was perfectly messy after he shook it flinging little water droplets off the ends as he did so.
She had never seen anyone so physically attractive in her life.
He was perfect.

After a while of Elena dreamily staring at Stefan's reflection, he made eye contact with her through the mirror.
She quickly looked away and her cheeks heated up turning bright red.
Smiling softly to himself Stefan slowly approached Elena with a softness in his eyes.
"You don't have to be embarrassed," Stefan whispered while gently cupping her face in his hand, "You're allowed to look," he said softly as he lifted her face up so she could meet his eyes.

He chucked to himself as he noticed her face was still as red as a tomato.
"You're adorable when you blush," he said only making her blush harder.

He took her hand in his and lightly brushed it over his perfectly toned abs.

"Is this okay?" he whispered making sure that she was comfortable.

"Yes," she breathed out as she took in the man in front of her in awe.
She has never seen anyone so perfect in all her life.
Chills ran down her spine as his hand delicately guided hers all around his body.
She had never felt so safe around anyone as she does with Stefan.
She knows he will never hurt her.

For her whole entire life, everyone has always taken from her, but with Stefan it was different.
She wanted to feel his skin and she wanted to kiss his lips.
She wanted to kiss him so badly.
Slowly she raised her look up to his lips and her heart skipped a beat as she realized he was already looking down at hers.
Gently he tucked a wet strand of her hair away from her face as their faces inched closer to each other's.

"You are so beautiful," Stefan whispered as he looked her in the eyes in admiration.

She could feel his sweet breath on her skin.
He smelled so good- it was like every good thing she had ever smelled, smelled like Stefan.
She watched as he drank her in, almost as if he was memorizing every detail about her face.

Stefan wanted to remember this moment forever, so when someone asked him what he thought beauty looked like, he could describe Elena in this very moment.
Her slightly damp hair fell over her slim shoulders as her beautiful brown eyes peered up at him.
Her lips were a perfect shade of pink and a little swollen, just waiting to be kissed.
His whole being screamed at him to kiss her, but he needed to make sure she definitely wanted to first.
He would deny himself of anything and everything to make sure Elena was okay.

Before he could think anymore, he felt Elena's soft pink lips pressing lightly against his for the first time.
The second that her lips met his it was like a breathe of fresh air whooshed through Stefan's body.
It seemed as though he was holding his breath and now he can finally breathe.
Her lips matched every crease and crevice of his perfectly, finally completing him.
She completed him.

After a short moment Stefan pulled back and smiled as he took in Elena's face.
It mirrored exactly how he was feeling.
She was everything Stefan could have ever dreamed of.
She was perfect.

He gently wrapped his arms around her as she continued to breathe heavily against his chest.
The kiss did not last more than a few moments, but to Stefan, it was the best kiss he has ever had.
He just held her there in his arms never wanting to let go.
She nuzzled her head deeper into his shoulder soaking in the warmth of his embrace.
Stefan just held her for what could have been minutes, or hours, wrapping her small body in his arms.
He thought that if he could choose one moment to last forever it would be this one right here.

After a little while longer Stefan looked down at Elena and her eyes were closed, getting heavier with sleep.
He gently walked with her to bed as she crawled in under the covers.
Stefan put a warm blanket over her and left a small kiss on her forehead.

"I will be right back, okay?" Stefan said softly as he saw the disappointment on her face when he didn't crawl into bed next to her.

"Okay," she whispered as she watched him grab a pair of boxers before leaving the room.
Not even a minute later Stefan came in the room holding a tiny little book in his hand.
He joined Elena in the bed and gently positioned her so she was laying against his chest
Elena didn't think her smile could grow any wider as he began to read to her.

"Red Fish, Blue Fish, by Dr. Suess," Stefan read the title as she nuzzled her head into his bare chest.
Her eyes shut softly and a smile was present on her lips.
She never thought she would be read to again.

"One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish…" Stefan began as her breathing steadied against him.
She closed her eyes and let Stefan's voice overtake her senses as she listened to him read.
"Black fish, Blue fish, Old fish, New fish," he continued.
"This one has a little car. This one has a little star. Say! What a ton of fish there are."
He began to stroke her hair as he kept on reading softly to her.
His voice was so soothing that she had to stop herself from falling asleep.

He continued to read to her softly as she silently took in every rhyme that came out of his mouth. Elena just closed her eyes smiling to herself as she imagined she was a little girl again.
She felt as though all of the pain and suffering she had been through suddenly disappeared as Stefan read to her.
Everything felt right as she let Stefan's voice overtake all her senses.
When he got to the last line he smiled as Elena joined in with him, reciting the line from memory.

"Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Every day, from here to there, funny things are everywhere."

He looked down at her and his heart swelled as he saw the look on her face.
He could practically feel the peacefulness radiating off of her skin.
Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even- so even that he would have thought she was asleep if it wasn't for the adorable little smile on her face.
He softly kissed her on the head before placing the children's book on his nightstand and switching off his lamp.
Then he returned his attention back to the girl lying in his arms.
He gently wrapped his arms around Elena, listening to the steady beat of her heart against his own.
She shifted comfortably in his arms before peacefully drifting off to sleep.

"I love you," he whispered so softly to the angel asleep on his chest.
Although as she was drifting off, somewhere in the realm between sleep and reality, she heard him.

She loved him too.