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Elena woke up Thanksgiving morning to an empty bed. The spot were her husband slept was seemingly abandoned, and he'd draped his extra blanket over her before he'd left.
She blinked, her eyes adjusting the morning sunlight. As much as she wanted to stay in bed, she knew there was a lot to get done, so she willed herself to sit up and threw her legs over the bed. Upon doing this, she was immediately met with the autumn chill of the house, and wanted to retreat back to bed. Still, she knew she had no time to waste, so she settled for wrapping Stefan's blanket around her body and stumbling out of bed. She walked down the stairs and to the kitchen, where she could already smell the beginnings of Thanksgiving dinner.
Stefan looked up from the stove at the sound of his wife's footsteps. At the sight of her slightly disoriented, her hair still a mess and wrapped in a blanket, his face turned up in a smile. Abandoning his post, He walked over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Good morning."
Elena smiled, looking her husband up and down. "I like this look." She gestures to the apron around Stefan's waist. "Very sexy."
"Oh yeah?" Stefan raised a brow, and leaned into Elena as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Just as his lips were about to find hers, they heard the sound they dreaded: tiny footsteps running down the stairs.
Elena signed, and instead of going for a kiss let her head fall, resting her forehead on Stefan's shoulder. "They've awoken."
Stefan planted one last kiss atop his wife's head. "I'll get you coffee."
"Mama!" Their little girl peeked her head into the kitchen, followed by her brother.
"Lexi, I said wait for me!" He whined, but his words of protest turned into a giggle as Elena scooped him into her arms. "There's no need to rush, Zach. We have lots of time, daddy is just getting started with the food."
"Whatcha making, daddy?" Lexi ran towards the oven to investigate.
"Lexi, no-"
It was Stefan's turn to scoop his kid into his arms, swinging her away from the hot food. "Careful, careful!"
"No ER visits on Thanksgiving, please." Elena requested tiredly.
"I got her." Stefan assured his wife, then turned his attention to his daughter. "Go with Mama to get ready before she starts stressing."
"Okay!" Lexi kicked her legs to be let down, and Stefan happily obliged, setting her down- far away from the oven. Elena reached out her free hand, Zach still on her hip. Lexi gladly took it, and allowed her to lead them back upstairs.
By the time Stefan had Elena's coffee ready, both children had been dressed in their best sweaters and were back in the kitchen.
Although Stefan did most of the cooking, and for good reason, Elena was always appointed the responsibility of making the pie. Her mother had had the most perfect pumpkin pie recipe, and anything else just didn't taste like home. So while Stefan continued to cook the turkey and mash the potatoes, Elena worked on the pie with help from her two favorite assistants.
The family worked tirelessly in the kitchen for hours, taking breaks here and there when Lexi and Zach got restless. When the food had finally be prepared to Stefan's satisfaction, they set the table and dug in to the food. Everything was delicious of course, Stefan had been perfecting the meal for years and was very proud of it. The four of them ate until they couldn't bear it anymore, and poor Lexi looked ready to fall asleep.
"If she sleeps now, we'll never get her to bed tonight." Elena looked at Stefan with desperate, tired eyes.
"Who wants to go outside?" The sudden excitement in his tone jolted a sleepy Lexi awake, and she was out of her seat as soon as she saw Stefan reaching for the football. Zach followed soon after, and Elena watched with a smile as her children ran after Stefan our the door and into the backyard.
While they played, she started on washing the dishes and packing the rest of the food away. Once the table was cleared, she peaked out the window above the kitchen sink to see that they were still very much into the game. Zach had the ball in his hands, but Lexi was running towards him, and Stefan was somehow cheering them both on, a wide smile on his face.
Elena smiled softly to herself, and turned her attention to the pie on the counter. She brought out four plates, and divided the pie onto each. With the addition of whipped cream and a scoop of ice cream, Elena was satisfied and set the dessert out on the table.
She then stepped outside to announce dessert was ready. She was surprised when this news was met with disappointment.
"Mama! I was just about to win." Zach complained.
"No, he's wasn't." Lexi frowned. "Mama, I tackled daddy!"
Elena laughed at that, and looked over to Stefan. "Is that so?"
Stefan put his hands up in surrender. "She's surprisingly strong for such a small person."
Elena laughed again, then turned serious. "Well, if we don't get inside soon, the ice cream will melt. You don't want that, do you?"
Stefan picked the fallen football off the ground. "Your mom is right, besides I've been dying to try this pie you made!"
The kids reluctantly agreed, and Elena began to lead them back towards the house.
But first- she spun around, ran towards Stefan, and tackled him to the ground. The kids let out surprised but happy laughs as Stefan hit the ground. A look of shock crossed over his face, until he registered what happened. Elena sat on top of him, football in hand.
"Got it." She sang, and pressed a quick kiss to Stefan's lips before rolling off of him and speeding for the branch they'd deemed the goal line.
Stefan looked to the kids, "stop her!" her managed between laughs, scrambling to his feet to run after her.
Elena made it to the goal line with her family just behind her. She threw the ball to the ground. "Does this mean I win?"
Stefan finally caught up with her, catching her around the waist and pulling her close to him. "Cheater."
"Winner." She corrected, and pressed her lips to his.
"Okay, I'm ready for dessert now." Zach said, looking at his parents with disgust. Elena laughed against Stefan's lips, and pulled away.
"Okay, okay." She surrendered, and together they walked back into the house for pie.
"I'm not exaggerating- this is the best pie- no the best food I've ever tasted." Stefan said after one bite. The way Zach and Lexi were shoveling the food into their mouths, they seemed to agree with their father's statement.
"I mean, wow. Just-" He shoved another spoonful into his mouth- "amazing. Heaven. This pie..is heavenly."
Elena laughed, shaking her head at her husband. "You're ridiculous."
Stefan smiled and scooped up more pie onto his spoon, but this time slid it into Elena's mouth despite her having her own slice in front of her.
"You're right." Elena admitted. "It is really good."
"I told you." Stefan agreed smugly.
After finishing dessert, Stefan and Elena proceeded to put on Disney movies for the kids while they finished the dishes together. Once the kitchen was spotless again, they joined Zach and Lexi on the couch. There, they spent the remainder of the day.
When the sun went down and the house grew cold, Stefan lit the fire place. Not long after that, both Zach and Lexi drifted off to sleep. Once Stefan and Elena carries them upstairs and tucked them into bed, they moved to the floor by the fire place. Stefan draped a blanket over them, and Elena rested her head on his shoulder.
"Do you know how thankful I am for you?" Stefan whispered, his eyes watching the flames before them dance.
Elena smiled. "No." She answered, her voice light. "Tell me."
Stefan's lips twisted into a smile as well, but he had no problem telling her. He never had. "Elena Gilbert-Salvatore.." he began, "You're everything to me. You're the reason I'm alive, the reason I have this family I've always dreamed of. This life I've always dreamed of. I'm eternally grateful for everything you've given me. If I could, I'd thank you until my breath ran out."
Elena leaned deeper into Stefan's arms, taking in his words that somehow kept her warmer than the fire had. "I could say the same about you, and more. You've saved me more times than I can count, and you continue to save me everyday." She paused, "Even though we aren't immortal anymore, I believe that our love is. Because every night I go to bed thinking I couldn't possibly love you more than I already do, and every morning I wake up with more love in my heart." She took his hand in hers. "Thank you."
Stefan pressed his lips to the side of Elena's head, and he thought he might be the happiest in that moment than he ever had before. "Happy Thanksgiving, Elena."