Beautiful Accident

Chapter 26: Epilogue

7 years later..

"Daddy!" - Lara screamed while wiggling in Stefan's arms.

Stefan took the girls to the toy store, like he had promised in the beginning of this school year. If they finish the school year with straight A's, they will be able to choose any toy they want to buy. Emily picked a series of books she's been talking about for a long time now, but Stefan did not count books as toys, so he had practically begged her to choose an actual toy. In the end, she chose a teddy bear which will end up on the shelf with the rest of her toys, collecting dust, because she is a book worm. After all, she is her mothers daughter.

Lara was a little less humble than her sister, and asked for some doll that is basically the same size as her, and she walks, talks, cries and according to Lara it is the most amazing toy in the history of toys ever. Stefan only knew he payed a bunch of money for a pile of plastic crap with all functions of a human baby.

Stefan opened the back door of their SUV, and just as Lara unbuckled her seat belt, he had put his hands under her armpits and pulled her out of the car.

"I'm too old to be carried!" - she tried to wiggle out of her father's grip.

"I'm sorry lady Lara" - Stefan faked his apology as he lowered his daughter on the ground - "I truly hope I did not mess up your pigtails" - he willed a worried expression to his face.

These days, Lara was obsessed with being grown up and independent, which Stefan did not like at all. She was his 8 year old daughter, she had all of the time in the world. Her constant hurry to grow up was alarming, and it made him panic, because he was very well aware, before he knows it, she will be buying her first bra, and go on dates, and stop thinking about what she wants to be when she grows up because she will be all grown up. And he will stop being 'daddy', and become that guy who used to buy her fully functioned dolls when she was 8, but now waits in front of the window five minutes before her curfew.

Lara fixed the ruffles on her dress, and lifted her pouty look only to meet her father's worried face. She had put her hands on the top of her head, tapped a few times, until she found the pigtails, and after she convinced herself they're perfectly fine, a wide smile appeared on her face. "No daddy, they're perfectly fine" - she turned around on her heel and from the car seat grabbed a massive box in which her doll was placed and started walking towards the house.

Stefan watched her go into the house, after barely managing to open the front door. He turned his head around only to see Emily having a hard time carrying all of the ten books she had choose to buy, alongside with the teddy bear he had made her pick.

"Come on, princess" - he said, stretching his hand out for Emily to hold on to. She smiled gently at him and put her hand in his, and he pulled her out of the car.

Stefan and Emily had a special kind of a relationship, a special kind of understanding. Even though they look the same, Lara and Emily grew up to be pretty much completely different people. Lara was quick on her words, and she was not afraid to say every single thing on her mind. She knew to be quite mean when she wanted to be, and she knew her parents, especially her father, have problems with saying no to either of them, and she was using that fact to extreme limits. She was a typical girly girl, doing her hair and wearing dresses, trying to make Elena let her wear make up. Elena was able to satisfy her curiosity with nail polish and little bit of lip gloss, but she was unsure how long that will last since Lara was very persistent. Both Stefan and Elena were aware Lara is spoiled, maybe a little bit too much, and even Elena had problems with her, while Stefan knew how to handle her perfectly. Lara was so much like Stefan, especially when he was a kid. And Emily, she seemed to be a copy of her mother. Unlike her sister, who was always tying her long, brown hair in buns and tails, Emily wore her hair down, her curls jumping on her back. She hated wearing dresses and skirts, and she felt much more comfortable in plain trousers and shirts, even though she had admitted to Elena that in special occasions, she likes to dress up. She had a lot in common with her mother, Elena understood her better than anyone. But for Stefan, it was like experiencing one part of Elena he had never experienced before. He always took interest in her point of view and her taste, and was surprised with how mature she was for her age. Emily loved both of her parents, but her relationship with her mother was so easy and laid back, while her relationship with Stefan represented some sort of a challenge, since their opinions often drifted apart. But there was something between them that made both of them accept the other one's opinion, and the only reason why it was special is because for both of them, it was hard doing the same with other people. Which is probably why Emily had let her father call her nicknames like princess, pumpkin, sweetie, since she hated nicknames.