One and Only

Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX-One And Only

Elena's P.O.V.

"Tell me that nothing will happen...That you'll come home safe...always." I told him, watching as he patted the bedside, my side of the bed and smiled at me.

"I can't guarantee anything..It's not that kind of job...No job has any guarantee of safety, Elena...You know that." He said, watching as I folded one of his shirts and threw it at him, sniffling a bit.

"You just lost one of your best friend's who's a fire fighter...I don't want to bury you too! Stefan, tell Damon that you don't want the job." I told him, watching as he gave me a shrug of his shoulders, leaning over and grabbing my hands into his, pulling me down on the bed right beside him.

"I'm careful, It's just working in the same fire station at Damon. Plus, my brother taught me everything..I know and having him with me will be a good thing. But, I have you to worry about and our unborn babies. So, I wouldn't risk it. But, Elena..If-" He began to say, watching as I pushed my legs underneath the warm covers, wrapping my arms around his waistline as he played with the tips of my brown hair.

"No! 'if's!' I don't want to talk about that." I told him, watching Stefan turn his head towards me, kissing my temple, placing his hand on my large round 6 month pregnant belly.

"We have too. I know that you don't want to talk about it. But, Elena..We have too. So, If anything ever happens to me. I want Matt and Damon to take care of you, Sam and Olivia." He said, holding me in his arms and rubbing my stomach with his other free hand, almost admiring the fact that I was getting fatter and wider.

"Sam and Olivia? I thought that we weren't going to name the babies until they were born." I stated, pushing myself away and looking up at him in confusion.

"I started early. Plus, I like the names and I know that you said that you didn't want to know the sex of the babies, months ago when you went in for a checkup. But, I kind of was curious and I asked them to tell me." He confessed, pushing my hair back with his hands as he leans into me and kissed my forehead.

"A boy and a girl?" I ask him, surprise in my voice, tears in my eyes as I watched Stefan shake his head.

"Yes..A little boy and a little girl..That I want to be well taken care of. If something happens to me on this job..I want to know that my wife and my kids are safe, are well taken care of and are in good hands." He told me, watching as I wiped away my tears and leaned into the curve of his neck, sighing loudly as I shook my head. "Okay..We'll talk to Damon and Matt together."

It's like a dream, when the person that you've been mourning for five years is in your arms again. You find yourself looking around everywhere, pinching yourself because you want to wake up from this surreal dream. But the longer I find myself sitting on the steps of the house that we once shared, the kids in the house, playing with their toys...my sobbing and shaking body increases tenfold.

Stefan's arms hold onto me tighter as he slowly helps me up. I don't protest when he picks me up into his arms, my head resting against his chest as he opens the front door and we step into the warmth that's coming from the fireplace. I don't speak..I don't know what to say to him, I still can't even believe that he's here, near me, holding me like I've been craving for so long.

I'm too wrapped up into this moment, into the feeling of my head against his shoulder, my hair flying every which way that I don't even feel his hands on the middle of my back, lowering me onto the familiar comforter in my room.

"We buried you." I say suddenly, the words rushing out in no particular order as I watch Stefan's face contort with pain. He's hurt, painfully so at my words and then he lets go of me, turning away from my face so that I can barely see him. I watch as he sits down on the edge of the bed, nodding his head without even looking at me. But the silence between us is tense, it's too tragic to even bare when he turns towards me again and says "Did Matt ever do what I asked of him..Has he taken care of you, has he taken care of them?"

Stefan's P.O.V.

I watch as she nods at me, tears falling down her beautiful rosy colored cheeks when she speaks. "Yes, Stefan...There's something that I need to-" Elena comments, starting to get up off the bed and walking towards me. My brain quickly wonders where her children are...Our children are and what she's told them about me, if anything at all.

But it quickly stops when we both hear the back door that leads to the backyard, swing open and I can hear the little girl and the little boy from earlier run into the house, screaming and playing with each other.

"Can we.." Elena's voice trails off as she sniffles and wipes away the tears in her eyes as I nod at her. "Yeah, I can come back later, if you want..I think I need to go and find a place to stay for a while. We can talk, later." I tell her, watching as she gives me a saddened look and turns to leave the room.

I don't really know what it is. Maybe it's the yearning to be close to her, the longing of my hands against her skin. But, when she turns to leave the room, I stop her with one quick motion of my hands against her cool room temperature flesh.

"Wait..Elena." I say, my voice getting stuck in my throat. My hands shaking and then my eyes stop. My whole body nearly goes into a fit of rage when I run my fingers over her left hand and notice it. The beautiful, diamond ring that's sparkling in the light.

"I can explain..Please." Elena begins to say, tears streaming down her face when she watches me drop her hand and glare at her, my whole body instantly goes into numbness and I can see the fear in her dark brown eyes as she watches me back away, crossing my arms over my chest, my body tense, jaw locked when I watch her, run her hands through her hair and hear as she sniffles loudly.

"We buried you! I thought that you were dead! What other choice did I have? huh? I couldn't raise those kids alone! I haven't even told them that Matt asked me to marry him..It happened the other night." She tries to explain in a hurried tone, stepping in front of me as I lock my eyes on her. I'm exhausted, I'm worn out from flying and over thinking everything, every single thing. But, if there's one thing that makes sense in this moment, in this one brief second is that Elena, the woman that I love has chosen someone else to live her life with, to raise our kids.

"Do they know?" I ask, watching as she too places her hands on her hips and looks down at the floor, more tears streaming down her face as she shakes her head, no.

"Olivia and Sam have no idea who you are...How was I supposed to tell them..that your their father who we all thought was dead...It was easier not too..Not until they got older, to explain the situation. So, I told them that your mommy's special friend that went up to heaven too soon..Stefan, I'm sorry." She says, her eyes glued on me, watching closely as she places her hand on her mouth to cover her earth shattering sobs that have once again over taken her body.

"I understand...I know..I'm sorry too. I need to go, Elena..I, uh..I have a lot of things to figure out, where I stand with you, what this means for me..for us, for the kids." I tell her, feeling as she places her hands against my arms, looking up at me, our eyes locking on each other for a brief moment.

"Stay, Please., let's talk" She begs, her voice just as broken as I feel inside. I want to hold her, to hug her and never let her go. But that damn ring is shining, it's like a huge lead weight between us and part of me can't stand to be near it or her anymore. So, I slowly shake my head, my voice struggling to make it past my already paralyzed vocal cords.

"You and I both know that I can't do that..It wouldn't be right. I'm going to go find a hotel in town and in the morning, I'm going to try and piece my life back together..Everything that I've left behind...Everything that I've lost in these last five years." I inform her, watching as she nods, sniffling more when I turn to leave. But, just when I leave the bedroom. I get one more glance at her, watching as she wipes away more tears.

"Just...answer me. One question, truthfully." I tell her, turning back to face her as she nods, her sobs subduing when she looks up at me. "Do you love him, like you loved me?" I ask her, watching as Elena nervously looks down at the floor before she opens her mouth to respond.

A/N: Thanks for Reading & Please let me know what you all think! :)