Stefan held her as she slept, keeping her fragile body close to his chest.
He needed to be close to her in order to reassure himself that she was safe again.
Her body being buried in his embrace was the only thing that could possibly soothe him.
Her gentle breathing against his chest keeping him sane.
He just looked at her and listened to the steady beat of her heart while watching her chest rise and fall against his own.
After a few more moments Stefan gently placed his hand on her stomach caressing it with the gentlest touch that he could muster up.
He just stared down at her barely visible baby bump and before he could help it a few tears that he didn't know he was holding back leaked out of his eyes.
From the moment he saw Elena with Klaus the only thing he thought about was keeping her safe.
When Elena was captured everything else stopped and the only thing that mattered was getting her back.
Although now that she is safe and here with him, he is able to think about all the other terrible things that happened to her.
Stefan knew that the horrors of what Klaus did to her will have an everlasting effect on her, and the thought of her having to go through what she is about to breaks Stefan's heart.
The tears continued to trickle down his cheeks as he continued to caress her bruised stomach.
He has been around long enough to know the signs of a miscarriage, and unless there is a miracle, his sweet Elena will start to experience them soon.
He wiped his eyes and gently took her hand in his, careful not to wake her up.
He continued to hold her hand as she slept, knowing that her hardest days were yet to come.
She slept peacefully against his chest as he continued to hold her tightly in his embrace.
Stefan did not let her go for even a second, the thought of her being anywhere other than in his arms was unfathomable.
All he could do was hold her close reminding himself that she was safe and most importantly alive.
It was half-past noon when she finally began to squirm in his embrace signifying that she was waking up.
A weak whimper escaped her lips as she began to open her eyes.
Instantly Stefan held her closer to his chest hoping to soothe her as he stroked her hair.
She looked extremely disoriented and Stefan needed her to know that she was safe.
"Stefan?" she croaked as she turned her head up to look at him.
"I'm here, I'm right here sweetie," he soothed as he continued to gently caress her hair.
She looked back at him and once she realized that she was in his arms she wasn't scared anymore.
She let herself relax a little as she met Stefan's warm gaze before closing her eyes again, resting her head on Stefan's chest.
"Good morning beautiful," Stefan whispered after a few more moments causing her to blush a little against his chest.
Stefan's heart filled with warmth as the heat from her cheeks seeped into his skin.
He missed her so much.
"Good morning," she whispered back as she smiled a little against his chest.
Elena sighed in contentment as he began to rub gentle circles around her back.
She let his soft touch soothe her skin the way only he knew how.
She buried herself in his embrace as she wrapped her arms around him.
Being back with Stefan was a blessing that she did not take for granted, especially now that she knows how easily he could be taken away from her.
After a few more moments of bliss Elena's stomach began to cramp.
She tried her best to hold in her pain, but a faint groan escaped her lips before she could suppress it.
The last thing she wanted was for Stefan to worry even more about her, although she knew he would anyways.
"Where does it hurt?" Stefan asked her almost instantly with worry in his eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Elena said as she took a deep breath letting out a small chuckle.
She was trying her best to hide her pain although by the look in Stefan's eyes she knew that he wasn't falling for it.
"I just need to go to the bathroom," she said quietly in hopes that she could wait out the pain in there.
"Okay," Stefan said as he gently left a kiss on her forehead before reluctantly letting her out of his embrace.
"If something were wrong you would tell me, right?" Stefan called after her as she had already begun to make her way to the bathroom.
Elena turned around and she could spot a few tears in his eyes.
She just looked at him and then looked back down at the floor.
Tears began to form in her eyes as she stared at the ground beneath her feet avoiding Stefan's gaze.|
"If something were wrong with your stomach would you tell me?" he asked her quietly rephrasing his first question.
She paused for a few seconds before she looked up and met his eyes.
She wanted to believe that the pain in her stomach was nothing more than a little cramp, although she knew it was so much more than that, and so did Stefan.
His heart broke as he saw the tears in her eyes, and in that moment he knew that she needed him more than ever.
"Come here angel," Stefan whispered as he held out his arms for her to crawl into.
She quickly walked towards him desperately awaiting the comfort his embrace would bring her.
He just wordlessly held her as she cried knowing that nothing he says could take away her pain.
All he could do was be there for her, and make sure that she knows that she isn't alone.
"I am here Elena, you will never be alone again," he whispered to her as he gently caressed her hair.
He was trying his best to stay strong for her, but he couldn't suppress the tears that were trying to leak from his eyes.
He cried as he held her in his arms, knowing that there was nothing in the world that he could do.
Stefan felt helpless as her tears continued to stain his shirt.
Nothing he could do could take away what happened to her, and nothing he could do could bring her baby back.
Elena just held onto Stefan tighter as she focused on the feeling of his hands gently caressing her body.
She tried her best to escape reality as she buried herself in his embrace.
She blocked everything else out so much to where she couldn't think about anything else besides the fact that she was in his arms again.
Eventually, Stefan began to smell blood, and a sadness unlike he has ever experienced consumed him as he realized where it was coming from.
Elena was having a miscarriage.
Not even a moment later Elena sprinted from his arms and ran to the bathroom slamming the door in the process.
She quickly approached the toilet and sat there as she watched the water below her eventually turn from clear to red.
More tears began to stream down her cheeks as the reality of her situation hit her all at once.
Her child didn't survive.
Stefan's heart shattered as he heard her quiet sobs from behind the door.
He could hear the all-consuming pain behind her cries and at that moment something in Stefan broke.
He slowly approached the bathroom door and his heart shattered into a million pieces when he entered the room.
There she was sitting on the toilet sobbing into her hands as blood streamed down her legs and into the toilet.
Quickly he sat by her feet in front of her and let the tears fall from his eyes as he took on the pain she was feeling.
He just rubbed her legs as they cried together sharing the pain of losing their child.
It didn't matter that they both knew this was inevitably going to happen, nothing in the world could have prepared them for this kind of pain.
He just sat with her as they cried letting their emotions take over.
Every so often he would leave gentle kisses on the tips of her knees while he rubbed her legs hoping to bring her at least a little bit of comfort.
Eventually, he stood up and wet a paper towel in the sink to clean her off, although when he began to wet the washcloth, he couldn't hear her crying anymore.
In fact, he didn't hear anything coming from her.
He turned around to look at her and noticed that not a single tear was in her eyes anymore, and instead, she just looked numb.
Worry spread through every part of his body as he looked at her still, emotionless form.
He has never seen her this closed off before and it frightened him more than words could say.
"Hey sweetheart," Stefan cooed softly as he kneeled down in front of her before continuing, "I am going to clean you up and take you to the doctor okay?"
Elena didn't even nod.
It was like Stefan wasn't in the room.
She was just staring blankly at the wall with nothing behind her eyes.
Stefan knew what was happening and it broke his heart beyond repair.
She had finally reached her breaking point.
After everything she has been through, his sweet Elena had finally had enough.
She turned off her feelings because feeling nothing was better than the pain.
Stefan knew that he needed to be there for her in every way possible to help her out of this state no matter how long it takes.
He took the wet washcloth and kneeled down next to her before delicately wiping the blood off of her inner thighs.
"You are going to be okay beautiful," he whispered as he continued to clean her, "You are going to be okay," he repeated as he left a gentle kiss against the area that he was wiping.
He then stuck one of her large pads on her underwear before pulling up her pants, and carefully lifting her into his arms.
Stefan slowly carried Elena down the hotel stairs as he softly murmured words of comfort to her until they exited the building.
"I am taking you to the hospital, is that okay?" Stefan asked her desperately hoping for some sign of approval.
His heart dropped as she continued to stare blankly ahead, not reacting in the slightest to the words coming out of his mouth.
Stefan knew that she needed to get checked out by a professional, and she needed medication to ease the pain that she was going through.
That was enough for him to open the passenger seat door and place her in the seat before going to the driver's side.
Stefan buckled her in and then drove them to the nearest hospital in their new area.
_
With a heavy heart, Stefan carried Elena's unmoving body into the hospital.
He looked down at her and all he could feel was despair because he knew that losing this baby would break his poor Elena's heart.
There was a numbness behind her eyes that Stefan had never seen before.
It was as if she were just merely a body and his sweet Elena was nowhere to be found.
As he brought her into the waiting room he sat down and positioned Elena comfortably on his lap.
He began to stroke her hair as gently as he could hoping that he could provide her with some sense of comfort.
"I love you, Elena," he whispered softly to her as he continued to stroke her hair, "Everything will be okay my sweet girl, I promise."
He just continued to hold her as she remained silent in his arms.
Not a single emotion was displayed across her face, only a sense of numbness could be detected across her beautiful features.
Stefan could not stop the tears from spilling out of his eyes as he looked at her.
The weight of everything that has just happened continued to crush him.
She deserved so much more then the life that she has had.
He promised her so much more and yet here they are.
She is in hell again and all Stefan can do is watch her suffer.
"Mr. Salvatore?" A doctor called out into the waiting room.
Stefan quickly wiped away his tears and stood up with Elena in his arms.
He followed the doctor into the back where the hospital rooms were located while holding Elena close.
"What is going on today?" the doctor asked as they approached the room.
Stefan looked down at Elena and then back up at the doctor with a pained expression in his eyes. "She is having a miscarriage," he said softly with a great sadness in his voice.
"Oh, I am so sorry to hear that," the doctor replied with sympathy in his eyes.
"I am going to need to examine her so could you please set her down on the bed Mr. Salvatore?" the doctor asked as he nudged his head in the direction of the hospital bed on the other side of the room.
"Of course," Stefan replied as he made his way to the bed to place Elena on it, although the second that he was about to let her go her grip tightened around his neck drastically.
Although she couldn't express it, Stefan knew that she didn't want him to let her go, and he didn't want to let her go either.
The doctor saw what was happening and told Stefan that he could lie with her on the bed while he examines Elena's body.
Gratefully Stefan lowered themselves onto the bed and cradled Elena close to his chest.
Stefan knew how scared she got when other people touched her, so he did everything possible to ensure that she felt safe while the doctor examined her body.
Elena squeezed Stefan as the doctor lifted up her shirt to look at her stomach.
Despite the fact that Elena's face remained emotionless, Stefan knew how terrified she was.
Klaus already traumatized her the first time, and a physical pain spread across his chest at the thought of what he did to her the second time.
He knew that the doctor touching her was causing her to internally panic, and Stefan just held her tighter doing everything he could to make her feel safe in his arms.
"I'm here Lena, it's okay, your safe," Stefan soothed as he continued to stroke her hair, "I will never let anything bad happen to you again, I swear," he continued as he held her close.
After a few more agonizing minutes the doctor finished his examination of Elena and turned his attention to Stefan.
"Unfortunately, I can confirm to you that Elena is going through a miscarriage," the doctor explained sadly.
Stefan just held Elena tighter in his arms and kissed her hair hoping to give her at least a little bit of comfort.
Despite the fact that they both knew this already, it still broke his heart to hear it be confirmed.
"The only issue is that I can't prescribe Elena any pain medications or perform any treatments on her until she can verbally consent to them," the doctor stated.
Stefan just looked at Elena and he knew that she heard the doctor, but instead of responding she just kept looking straight ahead with a blank stare written across her face.
Stefan knew that she wasn't refusing to speak, it was more that physically she couldn't bring herself to talk.
He knew that she must be hurting and medications would at least help her with the physical pain, so to Stefan, it was worth a shot to get her to try and speak.
"Hey sweetheart," Stefan whispered as he stroked her hair, "Can the doctor give you medicine to help take the pain away?" he asked her sweetly.
She still didn't respond, and Stefan didn't want to push her, but he didn't want her to be in pain either.
"You don't even have to speak baby, just nod your head yes if you want pain medicine."
It was almost as if they were in a completely separate room.
Elena just continued to look ahead without the slightest glint of emotion behind her eyes.
It seemed as though Stefan didn't even speak a word to her.
"I am so sorry Mr. Salvatore but there is nothing I can do. You can give her some Advil or Tylenol at home to ease the pain, but I can't prescribe anything stronger without her consent," the doctor told him as he exited the room.
Stefan looked down into Elena's eyes and his heart shattered into a million pieces.
All he wanted to do was hug her until all of her pain left her body.
He wished with everything in him that he could just take it all away, but he knew that wasn't reality.
"We will get through this Elena," Stefan said as a small tear escaped his eye, "I promise it will all be okay."
He laid there with her on the hospital bed for a few more minutes before carrying her back to the car.
Stefan just held one of her limp hands in his own as he drove, not wanting her to feel alone for even a second.
Every once in a while he would bring her hand up to his lips and kiss it hoping that somewhere deep down she could still feel his love.
He knew that she could though, and even if she couldn't express it he would still do everything he could to ensure that she felt loved.
For as long as it takes, Stefan vowed that he would not leave her side.
Once they got back to the hotel Stefan brought her to the bathroom and gently placed her on the toilet to change her bloody pad.
After he finished he brought her back to the bed and tucked her in under the covers before crawling in next to her.
He began to rub small circles around her back as she continued to blankly stare at the wall in front of them.
He thought about how she wanted him and the hospital, and that was enough for him to know that his presence was comforting her in some way.
"You mean the world to me," Stefan whispered as he continued to run his hand up and down her back, "I will always be here for you Elena, no matter what."