Stefan's New Life

Chapter 17: Too Good To Be True

5 years later

Stefan's POV
I wake up by the sound of children jumping on my bed. When I fully open my eyes and sit up, I see my two beautiful children, Andrew and Emma jumping on the bed. They scream "Daddy! Daddy! Mommy said come down for breakfast!" Man I'm so glad I taught Freya how to cook.

I groan "Okay, okay, I'm up." I grab both of them and pull them onto my lap and kiss both of their cheeks. Emma says "Oh and daddy, Aunt Gabby, Aunt Jasmine, Uncle Kol, and Uncle Greg are here too. God-dad, Isaiah, and Aunt Amelia should be coming soon."

I'm glad Jay and Amelia got together. She makes him happy. They've been married for four years and they have a son, Isaiah, he's three years old. I shake that thought out of my head and smile at my beautiful children and say "Okay. Now, both of you go downstairs and tell mommy I will be down in a minute. Just let me get dressed."

I kiss both of their cheeks and say "Now go, go, go!" They leave and go downstairs while giggling. I go head in the shower and then get out and get dressed. As I am on my way out, I see a picture of me, Greg, Gabby, and Damon. I start thinking of all the good times we had together, but I shake it all away.

After everything Damon put me through, how he hurt me and Gabby and lied to Greg, it's just not the right time, yet. I keep walking and go downstairs and I see everyone here, including Amelia, Jason, and Isaiah. Everyone notices me and says "Hey!" "Good morning."

I smile at everyone and say while sitting down "Good morning everyone. What's going on?" Kol says "Well, everyone back in New Orleans is calling and wondering why me and Gabby haven't been there in two years."

I say, nervously "Wow! What did you tell them?" And Gabby says "Don't worry, we told them that we decided to make a permanent stay in, Illinois." I ask "Were they okay with it?" And they say "NO!"

Kol says "They were all screaming at us, all at once." Everyone except Gabby, Kol, the twins, and Isaiah say "Yikes!" Kol and Gabby say "Yep." Gabby says "But I'm sure they will eventually cool down. Right Kol?" He looks at her like 'Did you seriously just say that?'

Gabby sighs "Yeah, you're right." She gets up and puts her plate in the sink. Freya comes over to me and gives me a kiss and asks "Well, when was the last time you talked to them?" They say together "Five days ago."

I ask "Well, before they yelled at you, did they say anything about Hope? Or Elijah and Katherine's child?" Gabby says "Yeah, Hope's ten and Mariana-- Elijah and Katherine's daughter, is five." Andrew says "Oh! Like me and Emmy." I laugh along with everyone else and say "That's right kiddo."

I ruffle his hair and he smiles at me and I smile back at him. I see him get up and put his plate in the dishwasher. Emmy asks "Mommy? Daddy? Who's Elijah and Katherine and Hope?" I stutter a little along with everyone else. I look at Freya and I see her start to tear up a little.

I say "J- just some people we used to know, that's all Emmy." I caress her hair and kiss her forehead and say "Why don't you three go in the living room and we will all have a movie day. We will watch movies all day. What you all say?" Everyone except the twins and Isaiah say "Cool." The twins and Isaiah exclaim in excitement "YAY!" We chuckle at how cute they look when they say "Yay".

I still can't believe I'm a father. When I became a vampire I thought the dream of becoming a father was over. Now look, I have my beautiful Emmy and Andy. It's almost too good to be true. I guess if you keep wishing, it'll come true.

I get pulled out of my thoughts by Emmy and Andy jumping on me, screaming "YAY!" They say together "We love you daddy." I smile at them and start to tear up and say "I love you both so much. Come here!" I hug them both and they hug me back and we pull away.

They run into the living room with Isaiah and I ask "Jay, could you get all the family kid movies you can find at your place?" Jay says "Sure. Be back in a beat." I wait for him to be all the way out the door and I ask "Okay everyone, how is the decorations coming up? And who was in charge of the invitations?"

Amelia says "I was. Everything is all good." I say "Awesome. Everything is perfect. Jason's 23rd birthday party is going to be epic." Everyone nods their heads agreeing. I say "Wait. Who's going to watch Isaiah and the twins?" Freya says "I thought they could come with. Stefan, this isn't a teenage drinking party. We are all adults, the kids can come."

I struggle with it a little, but I give in and say "Okay fine. Just watch them. They will pick up the first thing they see and I don't want them getting their hands on any alcohol." They all say "Okay." They give me the signal to be quiet, so that means Jay is here.

I hear him say "Okay, I got the movies. Let's begin." We all say "Alright!" "Let's go." One more day then show time. I see Freya has Andrew on her lap and I go sit down next to her. Emma comes and sits on my lap and I smile at that. I see Isaiah sit on his mother's lap. Gabby and Kol sit together on the bean bag chair and they cuddle up together. Greg and Jasmine sit on the other one and also cuddle up together.

I play the movie "Home Alone" and I hold Emma close to me, protectively. She snuggles up close to me and rests her head on my chest and I smile down at her. I smile more when I see Andrew doing the same with Freya.

I smile at her and she smiles at me and we hold hands, then turn our attention back to the movie. I don't know why, but I can't help but wonder how things in Mystic Falls are.

Back in Mystic Falls~ Next Day

Damon's POV
I'm just sitting down looking out the window when suddenly I hear Jeremy calling my name saying "Damon, you might wanna get down here, asap." I roll my eyes and mumble "What in the hell has this moron gotten himself into now?" And he states, annoyed "You do know I can still hear you now, right?" I tease him "Oh, I know."

Jeremy rushes me "Just come on!" And I say "Fine, Fine. Give me a minute." As I'm walking out, I see a picture of me, Stefan, Greg, and Gabby back in 1862. All I can think about is how badly I screwed up and lost them. I just hope that they are okay.

I go downstairs and see the originals, Katherine, Nadia and some other people I remember seeing. I ask in confusion "What do you want?" Elijah answers "We thought Gabby and Kol might be here. I guess they're not."

I ask, worried about Gabby "What do you mean? Where the hell are they?" And Klaus says "No idea. They told us that they were making a home in Illinois and we all kind of bugged out when we found out. So, we thought we would make an apology trip and surprise them, only to find them not there. So apparently, that was a lie and we thought they might be here. Otherwise, why would they feel the need to lie to us about where they have been?"

Rebekah responds "Maybe they're in Portland, Oregon. Remember? We never heard from Gabby in two months and when Davina did a locator spell, she was there and Kol went and got her."

I say "Well, I'm coming. I want to know that she's okay." I see them struggle with it a little, but give in. Elijah says "Fine, you can come." I sigh of relief and say "Great, let me pack." Before I go upstairs, I see Elena walk in like she just saw a ghost.

Jeremy asks "Elena, what's wrong?" Even the originals and the others look confused. I ask "Elena, what's wrong?" She moves out the way, revealing the two people I thought were long dead. I gasp along with Jeremy and ask "Pearl? Anna?"