Stelena: Eternal Love (2)

25- Family Meal

Two weeks later

Elena's POV

Today my parents were coming round with Jeremy and Jenna for a little family meal together. It was my parent's wedding anniversary coming up so we wanted to celebrate that with them, but they also insisted that we celebrated other things as well. Those things would include: Bethany and Isabella, mine and Stefan's future wedding, Jeremy's acceptance to his dream university, Jenna moving in with Alaric and just the fact that we've all remained a family. Even though it was going to be a nice get together with our family, I couldn't help but stress over the little things- I needed everything to be perfect.
Stefan was currently dropping some paper work off and finishing some work at the office and should be back home soon. I was cooking my family's favourite pasta dish, and so far so good. Isabella was happily playing in the living room with her dolls that we got her for Christmas whilst Bethany has practically been glued to me. Every time I walked away she immediately started whimpering and only calmed down when she was in my arms again. Luckily, I'd already finished preparing the food before she had started being clingy so, at least, I didn't have to worry about cooking with her in my arms.
I checked the time to see it was 11:32 am, which meant my parents would be here in roughly an hour, so I've got a little bit of time to relax. I looked down at the sleeping baby I had in my arms and let out a happy, content sigh. I gently stroked her cheek as I watched her every move intently.
"I love you so much honey, and I wish I could tell you how much I do. You'll always be surrounded by a big family who loves you so much; daddy and I love you two so much. You two, and your daddy included, are the reason why I wake up with a smile on my face, the reason I get up in the morning, the reason why I love how my life turned out. I know your daddy likes to say things like this to you and Isabella, but we can never say it enough. We love both of you so much, never forget that." I looked down at Bethany again to see small droplets of water on her baby grow. I wiped away my tears as I walked into the living room, where I saw my other precious daughter contently playing by herself, I smiled at the sight and sat down next to her. She looked up for a second with a cute smile on her face before returning to her dolls. Watching Isabella play as she waddled the dolls around and made adorable noises to pretend that they were talking, was just incredible. Stefan and I appreciated every little thing she did, whether it be chasing a butterfly or feeding herself or flicking through the pages of a book. We loved seeing every little thing she does because we never thought we'd be parents together. We cherished every moment of parenthood since we never thought that this would be possible, it has been the best miracle of my life.
"Hey," his perfect voice glided into my ears as he came through the door, shutting it behind him. I looked up from Bethany and smiled.
"Hey, get everything done?" I asked as he came and sat down on the floor next to me, we both had our backs against the sofa. He nodded in response as we both watched Isabella play. Since Stefan didn't go in his work clothes, we were all ready and all we had to do now was wait for my family to arrive.
"Do you want me to take her from you?" I nodded my head gratefully as I passed a sleeping Bethany over into his strong arms. I rested my head on his shoulder as I watched how content and peaceful they both were in each other's embrace.
It was a few minutes before we all heard a few knocks on the door.
"I'll get it." I kissed his cheek before standing up and going to open the door.
"Elena!" I opened the door to reveal my enthusiastic mother followed by my dad, Jenna and Jeremy.
"Hey, come in!" I replied, widening the door to allow them to enter. Stefan stood up and placed Bethany inside her bassinet in order to greet everyone with me.
We spent the next few minutes catching up and greeting one another before we made a start on dinner.

Dinner was great, everyone seemed to enjoy the food and had a good time. After dinner was eaten we put Isabella to bed for a short nap, which she definitely looked like she needed.
Currently we were in the living room talking about my parent's wedding anniversary and whilst everyone was laughing and smiling, I noticed Jeremy was looking really nervous.
"Elena, can I talk to you for a second please?" Jeremy asked and I felt a little confused for a second and began to think of what all the things he could possibly want to talk to me about.
"Yeah, sure." We both stood up before he led me upstairs and into our spare room.
"What's wrong? I could tell something was bothering you," I said, acting like the protective big sister I was.
"Um... well... over the last couple of weeks I've been doing some thinking and I think," he trailed off, unsure if he should continue or not. I reassuringly placed my hand on top of his, encouraging him to continue.
"Um... how did you realise you loved Stefan?" I knew that he wasn't up here to talk about mine and Stefan's relationship but I had a feeling that it was going to lead on to something else.
"I knew because everything in my body told me it was right, I felt amazing when I was with him. At the time, he made me forget everything that was upsetting me, all I wanted to do was be with him and see more of him. You just feel this indescribable connection towards someone and you know that what you feel is love." I was smiling like crazy when I finished my explanation. The only person I really talked to, other than Stefan, about my feelings was my mum, and we haven't properly spoken about it in a while.
"What's the matter, Jeremy?" I asked, concern and worry evident in my voice. I comfortingly placed my other hand on top of his and waited for his reply.
"I think... I think I might be in love with Bonnie," he said, keeping his gaze down. I smiled. This was great news! Why was he so upset about this?
"That's great news Jer, and I'm honoured to be the one you talk to about it. But what's upsetting you?" His gaze was still down and seeing him so upset made me upset.
"I- I don't know if she feels the same way." My poor little brother, he loved Bonnie but didn't think she loved him back. I knew for a fact how much Bonnie loved Jeremy but they've both got to say it to one another. Before I told Stefan I loved him, I was scared. No, I was terrified. I was terrified that he wouldn't feel the say way and would walk away from me. I now knew how terribly wrong I was to have thought that for even a second.
"She loves you, I know she does. You've both just got to admit it to each other." I smiled, hoping that I was at least making him feel better.
"Thank you, Elena. I'm glad I've got such a great sister like you," he replied. My smile grew as we shared a comforting hug before I offered to walk back downstairs with him. I was glad that, when we came downstairs, Stefan and my dad were in full conversation. We both quietly sat down, I sat with Stefan as Jeremy sat down on the arm chair. I was almost certain that Stefan and my dad were talking about something to do with law because when I looked at my mum, she gave me a clueless look along with a sarcastic eye roll. I couldn't help but to laugh a little at her reaction, it was because she didn't understand what they were on about and, to be fair, I had no clue either. I loved it when Stefan talked about his job because I loved how passionate he was about it and how he was so good at being a lawyer.
"Do you want some tea?" I mouthed to my mum and received a grateful nod in reply. We both got up and went to the kitchen, using tea as an excuse.
"Oh my god your father doesn't half go on about that stuff," she exasperated.
"It's cute though, they're bonding," I smiled.
"I can't even understand what they're going on about," she laughed.
"Stefan taught me a little about it but other than that I have absolutely no idea either," I laughed as well.
"So, how's everything going?" She asked me very sincerely, we haven't had many personal talks lately.
"We're good, tired but happy." She smiled at me and pulled me into a hug that I definitely wasn't expecting.
"Good, I love hearing you say things like that. I just want you to be happy, that's all I've ever wanted for you and Jeremy," she said against my shoulder. When we drew out of the hug Jenna came in with a puzzled look on her face.
"I tried! But I have absolutely no idea what Grayson is talking about. Bless Stefan, it feels like he's listening rather than talking." I laughed at her statements but I knew that Stefan's always been more of a listener than a talker.
"But hey, now Grayson's got someone to talk to about it, and this person actually understands him," my mum laughed. We all laughed at her comment.
"Is Jeremy still in there?" I asked, almost laughing at the fact that he'll be stuck in there with my dad talking non-stop.
"Yeah but he's on his phone and doesn't seem to be bothered," Jenna replied.
"I do love how well they get along though," I said, smiling at how my future husband and father got along like two magnets.
"Yeah me too, your father's always said that there was something different about Stefan." I've always known there was something different about him too, he was definitely not like any of the other boys our age.
"Rick and I always said that, but we also knew that if your dad approved of him, then he's got to be special." The fact that my whole family has spoken about Stefan in a good way made me smile. I've never doubted that my family would love him because honestly, what was to hate? Stefan was effortlessly perfect: he was a perfect fiancé, a perfect father, a perfect son-in-law and a perfect friend.
"I'm glad that everyone likes Stefan and that he feels welcomed," I replied.
"Well he's always welcome here. He's made a great son-in-law," my mum stated. I smiled, warmed by the fact that my mother thought Stefan was a great family member.
"I'm sure he'd be happy to hear that," I replied.
"So... Have you two set a date yet?" Jenna asked with an inquisitive and excited smile.
"We have, July 16th. Your invitations will be posted soon but we haven't quite finished them yet." Both Jenna and my mum had smiles on their faces.
Jenna placed her hand on my mum's shoulder. "Miranda, your little girl is all grown up," she said.
"I know, both my babies have grown up now," she said, pouting. I laughed shyly at the fact that she didn't want us to grow up.
"We're both grown up now but we're always here," I said placing my hand on her other shoulder.
"Ah I'm glad," she said.
"Hey, I wondered where you'd all went," my dad greeted us, Jeremy in tow. Stefan shortly followed and came straight to me and put his arm around my shoulders. I loved it when he did it, I loved being close to him whenever I could.
"Yeah, we were just talking about things that we can understand," my mum said, aiming it at my dad. Jenna and I laughed and anticipated my dad's defence.
"Yeah well not everyone can be lawyers," he countered.
"Ooh!" We heard Jenna cry. It was so funny hearing my parents joke around like this, we all knew they didn't mean it.
"Well to be fair, that is true." I could never be a lawyer because there was no way I was smart enough to be one.
"Mummy?" We heard Isabella's voice as we also heard her footsteps on the stairs. She walked into the kitchen rubbing her eyes and sleepily smiling at us.
"Did you have a nice nap, sleepy head?" I asked as I picked her up and kissed her forehead. She held on to me by loosely wrapping her arms around my neck and placed her head on my chest.
"I think someone's still tired." Stefan noted, looking at Isabella. I gently and slowly rocked her as she retained her grip around me.
"Aw seeing Isabella and Bethany makes me miss having babies in the house," my mum said softly.
"You know Rick and I were talking about kids the other day," Jenna replied.
"Really? Are you guys going to...?" My mum almost jumped in excitement.
"Not yet, but we were talking about making it a possible future event," she said calmly. Hearing Jenna talk about having kids made me so happy and proud, this was all she's ever wanted.
"That's so great! You'd be an amazing mum," I said.
"Aw thanks," she smiled shyly before tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.
"Elena's right, you'd be a great mother," my dad chimed in. She continued to shyly smile until my mum looked at her watch.
"Oh I didn't even notice the time, it's already half four," she said, alarmed.
"It's going to be getting dark soon, we better be going," my dad said, disappointment evident in his voice.
Everyone started to put their coats on. "Ah, I hate leaving you guys," Jeremy said.
"I know, we should arrange to see each other more. We'll arrange to come round when we're free," I said to comfort him. I placed Isabella down on the sofa for a minute in order to say goodbye to everyone.
"Yeah that'll be great, and then we can come up to see you more too," my mum replied. Stefan and I followed them to the door to see them out. We all exchanged hugs before we watched them get into the car, pull out of the drive way and drive off. I let out a sigh of tiredness and relief that everything went okay.
"Everything went perfect," Stefan said behind me as I shut the door.
I began to approach him. "You think?" I questioned.
"Of course, I'm not so sure as to why you were nervous," he said.
"I don't even know either," I laughed slightly. He wrapped his arms around me and I rested my head on his chest, taking in his scent.
"I told them the date we've set, they were really happy," I smiled into his chest.
"Next thing you know you'll be walking down that isle looking absolutely stunning in a beautiful white dress." I smiled again as I felt his grip tighten around me.
"And I'll walking to a man who will be looking amazingly handsome and sexy in a suit," I giggled.
"And we'll have our two beautiful daughters as bridesmaids," he said quietly.
"Yes we will. It'll be one of the best days ever," I said, smiling away. I couldn't wait for the 16th of July, the day that I would marry the love of my life.

AN: There was a lot of speech in this chapter, I hope you like that. Thanks for reading!
-Chelsea x