Perfect little street with perfect little houses that have swings on their front porch and expensive cars in front of their garage. There's nothing strange about this street, Alaric thought. Except from the fact that on the every lamp post there was a white paper with big black words MISSING. And every paper had a different face on it. There must have been at least 15 girls that are missing. Mostly teenage girls, around 17 years old. Some were older, but none of them was older than 25. And Alaric was probably looking for their murderer, to bring him home. He would ask for a great punishment for Stefan and for everything he did, but he knew Stefan is hurting enough. Being a monster who has to kill is probably something he'll have to fight against for the rest of his life, and if he ever comes back, he'll have to live with what he did. He also knew that distance between him and Elena is the hardest thing for Stefan.
„Stefan always liked young meet" – Damon said when he noticed Alaric staring at one of the papers. He saw a young girl. 18 or 19 years old. Big brown eyes, long brown hair. She was smiling in the picture. Alaric looked at Damon coldly, then smirked. Damon was always so calm, he kept it cool in the every situation.
„I don't see anything wrong with this street. If they were here, they left."
„Ah, but that's where you're wrong my friend" – Damon replied while pointing to the small house in the end of the street. It was a one story house, but Damon noticed an enterance to the basement on the right side of the house. The house was completely trashed, at least from the outside. The windows were broken, and there was no door. Damon came to the front porch of the house, and then stopped. Alaric was right behind him.
„What's wrong?"
„I smell blood" – Damon said while gazing to the entrance of the basement. He began walking towards it.
„I don't think that's a good idea" – Alaric said as Damon grabbed the handle of the small door in the ground.
„Of course it's not a good idea." Damon opened the door. Now Alaric could smell blood too. He looked in the ground and saw the stairs that were covered with blood. There were bloody fingertips on the inside side of the door.
„Ladies first" – Damon said to him while taking few steps backwards. Alaric smiled at him and stepped on the first step. It wasn't slippery, which meant blood was there for a long, long time. When he came to the last step, he had put his hand on the wall and felt a light switch on it. He turned on the light. In that moment, he wished he hadn't. The basement was small. On the left side of the room was a couch, two chairs, a small table and a tv in front of it. But on the right side there was a pile of corpses. Girls. Young girls. Alaric never saw anything like that before. Their hair was red, every inch of it. He couldn't even recognize their faces, if they had any of it left on their head. They were just laying there, on the top of each other, like they were made from rubber. It was hard to believe Stefan did that. Stefan, who used to save everyone.. people he cared about and people he knew nothing about was now ripping young girls open, piece by piece. He was just glad Elena is not here to see that.
„Looks like my brother" – Damon replied while staring at the pile of bodies. He looked shocked, which was huge. Damon saw and did a lot of nasty things over the years. But he tried to keep it cool.
Alaric stepped down from the steps to the room and went to the left side of the room. He tried to look for clues, although he was 100% certain Stefan and Klaus were here. Damon went to the other side of the room, and stopped in front of the bodies.
„This one was killed recently. Her blood is still fresh" – Damon noticed while flipping the girl who was on the top of the pile. The girl was stripped to her underwear and had bite marks all over her body, especially on her legs and stomach. There was a big and nasty bite on her neck. Damon looked like he couldn't believe his eyes, but he knew that was the work of his brother. Stefan doesn't know how to stop. Once he starts feeding, he has to drink every drop of blood from the body.
„What the hell is this?" – Alaric bend down and reached for the little glass ball that was under the couch. The ball looked ordinary, like a light bulb, but it was white and there was no way to see inside of it.
„I have no idea." Damon took the ball from Alaric's hand and trashed it to the ground. But the ball didn't break.
„Ha" – Damon said surprised. He picked up the ball, tried to crush it with his hand one more time. He felt the ball was made out of glass, but it looked like it was made of concrete. He sighed and put the ball in the pocket of his leather jacket.
„I don't think we'll find anything here" – Alaric said, trying not to look at the pile of bodies.
„Elena will be pissed."
„Why?"
„Because we won't bring Stefan home."
„She actually hoped we will find him here?" – Alaric asked surprised, but with a bit of worry in his voice.
„She hopes every single time. She'll probably be 80, reading the book on her front porch, waiting for him to come home."
„You think we won't find him so soon?"
„We will find Stefan when he decides he wants to be found. Or when Klaus does. I'm not sure how does their deal work."
Damon looked once again over the room, to be sure they didn't miss anything. Even if there was something, they couldn't see it from all the blood. There was blood on the floor, on the walls, even on the ceiling. Damon started walking towards the exit, and Alaric was behind him. He felt sorry they didn't find Stefan, he felt sorry for Elena. He knew how she feels. Every morning he wakes up and hopes he'll see Jenna's face on the pillow, but she's never there. And she won't be ever again. He often asked himself how Damon feels about all this. He knew Damon was in love with Elena, but he also knew he wants Stefan home. Damon felt guilty. Stefan was doing this because of him. But no one asked Stefan to save Damon's life. But that's Stefan, and he wouldn't be Stefan if he didn't at least try.
Bonnie and Elena were sitting on the floor of Elena's room. Elena was looking towards the window, worried about Damon and Alaric. It was almost midnight, and they weren't back yet. Bonnie kept talking about Jeremy who is spending a lot of his time with Matt. Bonnie actually stopped to visit Jeremy, but he wasn't home. Elena tried to listen to her, but it was like listening to the broken record. She also noticed Jeremy is acting strangely, but there wasn't nothing wrong with him. Nothing changed. Except him hanging out with Matt so much. Bonnie stopped talking when she noticed Damon and Alaric coming in Elena's room. Elena stood up on her feat and looked at them full of hope. Like a little girl who was expecting her birthday present.
„Anything?" – she asked.
Damon opened his mouth, but Alaric stopped him before he said anything.
„Nothing" – Alaric replied.
„That's not quite true. We found this." Damon reached to his pocket and pulled out a glass ball.
„What is it?" – Elena asked looking at it.
„We have no idea."
„Uh, I think I know" – Bonnie said with a trembling voice, but with a serious face expression. They all looked at her, waiting for an explanation.
„It's a globe. A wish globe. My Grams told me about them. They're like snow globes, you can build your own world there. The first wish globe was made by a witch, a long time ago, but soon, they became very popular among them, and everybody wanted one. It's a tricky little thing. People usually lock their deepest wishes in them, so nobody can take those wishes away from them. The trick is, once you hide your wish in the ball, it disappears from your mind completely." – Bonnie explained, grabbing the ball from Damon's hand.
„It can't break."
„They can, you just can't break it" – Bonnie replied. „If anyone could break it, this things wouldn't be safe. People hide their wishes here because they want to keep them safe, because they believe they're not safe in their head. Only the owner of the ball can break it. And once the ball breaks, the wish goes back to your head again. Only the owner of the ball can see inside of it.. it's like watching a movie over and over and over again, but every time you do, you have a feeling like you're watching it for the first time. Some people say that the people who are a part of the wish can also see in the ball, but Grams said it's just a rumor."
„Was Stefan there?" – Elena asked silently. „I mean, before you came there. Do you think he was there?"
„Yes" – Damon said with a cold voice mixed with a tiny bit of affection only Elena could recognize.
„Than this means this thing might be his" – she pointed to the ball in Bonnie's hands.
„It could be anyone's" – Damon told her, trying to reach for her hand. She had let him grab it, and looked at his eyes. „But yes, it could also be his" – he replied when he saw sorrow in her eyes.
„Then let's peek inside of it" – she smiled like a child. Damon loved that smile. It was so pure and innocent. It really lightened the part of Elena only few people saw. The part that is more beautiful than any other living, breathing thing in the world.
„But you're not the owner" – Alaric told her.
„But Bonnie said that people who are a part of the wish can also see inside of it. And it's Stefan's deepest wish.. who's more likely to be in it than me?" – Elena asked them with a certainty in her voice. It was more of a statement than a question. Elena didn't mean to sound cocky, but her deepest wishes included Stefan, so she knew his must include her too.
„She also told you it's just a rumor."
„Let her try" – Bonnie replied trough her teeth while looking seriously at Damon. He burned her with his eyes, rolled them once, and then nodded.
Elena sat on the bed and Bonnie handed her the ball. Elena expected she'll be able to see everything the very moment she gets the ball in her hands, so she was disappointed when she didn't see anything.
„Relax" – Bonnie told her with her calming voice. „Close your eyes. Now, forget everything that's going on around you. Forget that we're even here. When you reach that place of utter peace, you'll be able to see his wish. If you can't see anything, that means you're not in it.. which means this is not Stefan's ball." Bonnie always knew what to say.
Elena closed her eyes and tried to turn off everything that was going on around her, like she did when she was talking to Stefan in her mind. She succeeded. She felt alone, and she felt cold. But the only thing she could see was dark. Bonnie said she needs to find her peace. She knew she couldn't do that while her emotions are standing in the way. So she stopped being scared. She stopped thinking she's not a part of Stefan's deepest wish. There, she found it. She was at peace. And then she saw his face. Stefan was standing in the hall of Mystic Fall's hospital, but not as a patient. He was dressed as a doctor, handsome as ever. Elena remembered he told her he wanted to be a doctor before he became a vampire. He changed from his white doctor coat into regular clothes and sat in his car. He was driving towards a beautiful house that was on the edge of the town. Big, white house with two stories. It had a huge porch with a swing and lots and lots of flowers. House had a red front door and big Victorian windows. There was a white picket fence around the house, surrounding big front yard and ever bigger back yard. That house was so beautiful to Elena. Somehow, it felt like a dream come true. Then she realized it is a dream come true. That was her dream house. Big white house with big red door, with a big yard for kids to play, far away from the center of the town. She even forgot she told Stefan about that. And he remembered her every word, every detail. He remembered something even she forgot she told him. Then she saw herself. She was sitting in the living room, on the big brown leather sofa, with a laptop on her lap. She was writing. She was doing something she always wanted to do. Then the front door opened and a little screaming girl came inside. She looked exactly like Elena, just smaller. She was about 4. She had a long brown hair and big brown, shiny eyes. She wore a white dress with flowers, and nothing on her feet. Elena had put her laptop on the little coffee table made of glass just before the little girl crashed on her. „Daddy's home, daddy's home!" – she was screaming with a big smile on her face. Stefan came trough the door. „Where's that little monster?" – he asked while smiling. When he spotted the girl on Elena's lap, he ran to her, took her in his arms and started tickling her. „Mommy is ticklish too" – the little girl screamed while she was rolling and laughing in Stefan's hug. „Oh, is she?" – he asked, putting the little girl down. Elena was smiling. She was happy. She could feel how happy she is. It was like this big ball of happiness just rolling all over her, never stopping. Like there's nothing wrong with the world. Everything was so perfect. Stefan came to Elena and started tickling her too. Elena laughed. She truly laughed. „Run, Jenna. Save yourself!" The little girl ran upstairs, laughing. She named her daughter after her aunt. That sounds like something Elena would do, although she was never thinking about the names of her future children, and for sure she wasn't sharing that with Stefan when she knew he can't give her a child. But Stefan knew her so well. He stopped tickling her, and kissed her in the forehead. But how? How is this even possible?, Elena thought. Vampires can't have.. well, of course they can't. But this is Stefan's deepest wish. He's not a vampire in it. He's a human being. He's breathing, his heart is beating, he's mortal. In his deepest wish Stefan is a human. Oh Stefan, Elena cried. She cried deep in her thoughts. She loved him so much. Now she loved him even more, if that's even possible. And just like that, the end came. Her peace was interrupted by Damon's voice, and she opened her eyes.
They were all looking at her with big question mark above their head. She wanted to tell them, she wanted to tell them every single thing about what she saw in the ball. But she couldn't. She couldn't do that to Damon. She knew she would start to cry, she knew she wouldn't be able to keep her emotions in order. She didn't wanted to hurt Damon, not after everything he had done for her.
„It's not Stefan's.." – she said, looking really disappointed.
„Then what were you doing for so long?" – Damon asked suspiciously.
„Hoping, Damon. Hoping I'll see something."
„Maybe.. maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's not a wish ball" – she grabbed the ball from Elena's hands. „I'll check it when I get home." She nodded at Elena.
„Well, we should get going" – Damon said looking at Elena.
„Actually Damon, I think I'm going to stay here tonight."
„So, you're not going to make Stefan's room into a shrine tonight?" – he asked sarcastically.
„No" – she tried to keep it together, but she couldn't. She could feel tears coming to her eyes. „Bonnie, can you stay with me tonight?"
„Of course" – Bonnie nodded. She sat on the bed right next to her, and hugged her. Elena collapsed in her arms. That was the que for guys to leave. They both said goodnight to the girls and went downstairs.
Elena tried not to cry, be she could feel tear drops on her cheeks. She cleaned her eyes with her sleeve before she lifted her head up from Bonnie's arms.
„Elena.. what did you see in the ball?" – she asked her curiously.
„I told you. Nothing."
„Elena. You were smiling. Like, really smiling. Damon asked you hundred times why are you smiling, but you didn't say anything. I told him you can't hear him, so he stopped. But you were smiling like a little kid. And I know that smile. You smile like that every time you're around Stefan, or when you talk about him, or with him.. that's your Stefan smile. Pure, true, bright.. I haven't seen it for a while. Until tonight."
Elena started to cry. Big tear drops were rolling down her cheek, covering her lips. She tried to stop them with her sleeve, but she couldn't. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
„Oh Elena, I didn't mean to make you cry. Don't cry!" – Bonnie screamed.
„He was human" – Elena told her trough tears.
„He was what?" – Bonnie asked. In one hand, she seemed shocked. In the other, not so much.
„He was human. And he was a doctor. And I.. I was a writer. Do you know.. do you remember my dream house?" – she asked her while she was trying to remember how the house looked in Stefan's wish.
„Big white house with big windows and red door and big green yard? Of course I remember!" – Bonnie squeeled from excitement.
„We had it. It was ours. Right on the edge of the town. And we.. we had a daughter."
Now Bonnie started to cry too. Of course, her tears weren't as big as Elena's were, but she could see how much it hurts Elena to even think about it. To think about normal life with Stefan. Elena loved Stefan like nothing else in the world, and now she actually saw their life together. Stefan's wish was to give Elena everything she ever wanted. People could wish for million things. People's deepest wish are usually selfish. But not Stefan's. His deepest wish was to make Elena happy. To start a life with her. To have a child with her. He wanted her forever.. He could wish for her to become a vampire, which is possible. But he didn't, because he knew how much she doesn't want to be a vampire. So he shattered the lengths of possibility, and wished he was a human. Quite selfless, Bonnie thought.
„We named her Jenna. She looked exactly like me, only shorter. But she was beautiful, because she was ours. We made her Bonnie, me and Stefan. She looked like me, but she had his smile. I know you don't see him smile that often, but he has a beautiful smile. Sometimes I think he keeps it only for me, that he doesn't like to share it with others. Stefan appreciates small things.. like a hug, a kiss, a smile. And he likes to give them all to me. And now he gave it to our daughter. She had chubby red cheeks, like the one Jeremy had when he was a kid. And she had my eyes, and my hair. And I could feel it.."
„Feel what?" – Bonnie asked trough tears.
„Happiness. I don't remember if I ever felt happy like that. If I did, it was a long time ago. But I was truly happy. Everything was perfect. And I saw him.. I saw him kissing me on the forehead.. and I think I actually felt it. I felt like electricity is going trough my body. Most importantly, I felt safe. When he was near me, I felt safe. He was my sanctuary."
Trough tears, Elena smiled. She smiled with a Stefan smile. Like a child. Like an innocent child. Bonnie hugged her. She hugged her as hard as she could. Elena was shaking, but she was laughing. Bonnie laughed with her.
„It actually makes sense.." – Bonnie told her while she was cleaning her face with her hands.
„What does?" – Elena asked, doing the same.
„His wish. Elena, he loves you. I can't even compare it with some other love, because he loves you like no other man loved a woman before. When he looks at you, sometimes I can see his face, and I can swear it becomes lighter. More beautiful, more cheerful. And you make him like that. Everything he wants, he wants for you. His wish makes a lot of sense, because Stefan would do anything to give you that. Because he knows how much you love him. You gave him that part of yourself, that knowledge.. and he gave the same to you" – Bonnie was holding her hands.
„Thank you Bonnie. Thank you for this. Now, I truly know that my Stefan is out there. I know he's not gone, like Damon says he is."
More than ever, Elena knew that she loves Stefan. Only Stefan. And she wants to be with Stefan. And she'll find him, and she'll bring him home. They'll be together again. Nothing can separate them, and nothing can make her stop loving him. And one day, she'll return Stefan his wish.
„Stefan always liked young meet" – Damon said when he noticed Alaric staring at one of the papers. He saw a young girl. 18 or 19 years old. Big brown eyes, long brown hair. She was smiling in the picture. Alaric looked at Damon coldly, then smirked. Damon was always so calm, he kept it cool in the every situation.
„I don't see anything wrong with this street. If they were here, they left."
„Ah, but that's where you're wrong my friend" – Damon replied while pointing to the small house in the end of the street. It was a one story house, but Damon noticed an enterance to the basement on the right side of the house. The house was completely trashed, at least from the outside. The windows were broken, and there was no door. Damon came to the front porch of the house, and then stopped. Alaric was right behind him.
„What's wrong?"
„I smell blood" – Damon said while gazing to the entrance of the basement. He began walking towards it.
„I don't think that's a good idea" – Alaric said as Damon grabbed the handle of the small door in the ground.
„Of course it's not a good idea." Damon opened the door. Now Alaric could smell blood too. He looked in the ground and saw the stairs that were covered with blood. There were bloody fingertips on the inside side of the door.
„Ladies first" – Damon said to him while taking few steps backwards. Alaric smiled at him and stepped on the first step. It wasn't slippery, which meant blood was there for a long, long time. When he came to the last step, he had put his hand on the wall and felt a light switch on it. He turned on the light. In that moment, he wished he hadn't. The basement was small. On the left side of the room was a couch, two chairs, a small table and a tv in front of it. But on the right side there was a pile of corpses. Girls. Young girls. Alaric never saw anything like that before. Their hair was red, every inch of it. He couldn't even recognize their faces, if they had any of it left on their head. They were just laying there, on the top of each other, like they were made from rubber. It was hard to believe Stefan did that. Stefan, who used to save everyone.. people he cared about and people he knew nothing about was now ripping young girls open, piece by piece. He was just glad Elena is not here to see that.
„Looks like my brother" – Damon replied while staring at the pile of bodies. He looked shocked, which was huge. Damon saw and did a lot of nasty things over the years. But he tried to keep it cool.
Alaric stepped down from the steps to the room and went to the left side of the room. He tried to look for clues, although he was 100% certain Stefan and Klaus were here. Damon went to the other side of the room, and stopped in front of the bodies.
„This one was killed recently. Her blood is still fresh" – Damon noticed while flipping the girl who was on the top of the pile. The girl was stripped to her underwear and had bite marks all over her body, especially on her legs and stomach. There was a big and nasty bite on her neck. Damon looked like he couldn't believe his eyes, but he knew that was the work of his brother. Stefan doesn't know how to stop. Once he starts feeding, he has to drink every drop of blood from the body.
„What the hell is this?" – Alaric bend down and reached for the little glass ball that was under the couch. The ball looked ordinary, like a light bulb, but it was white and there was no way to see inside of it.
„I have no idea." Damon took the ball from Alaric's hand and trashed it to the ground. But the ball didn't break.
„Ha" – Damon said surprised. He picked up the ball, tried to crush it with his hand one more time. He felt the ball was made out of glass, but it looked like it was made of concrete. He sighed and put the ball in the pocket of his leather jacket.
„I don't think we'll find anything here" – Alaric said, trying not to look at the pile of bodies.
„Elena will be pissed."
„Why?"
„Because we won't bring Stefan home."
„She actually hoped we will find him here?" – Alaric asked surprised, but with a bit of worry in his voice.
„She hopes every single time. She'll probably be 80, reading the book on her front porch, waiting for him to come home."
„You think we won't find him so soon?"
„We will find Stefan when he decides he wants to be found. Or when Klaus does. I'm not sure how does their deal work."
Damon looked once again over the room, to be sure they didn't miss anything. Even if there was something, they couldn't see it from all the blood. There was blood on the floor, on the walls, even on the ceiling. Damon started walking towards the exit, and Alaric was behind him. He felt sorry they didn't find Stefan, he felt sorry for Elena. He knew how she feels. Every morning he wakes up and hopes he'll see Jenna's face on the pillow, but she's never there. And she won't be ever again. He often asked himself how Damon feels about all this. He knew Damon was in love with Elena, but he also knew he wants Stefan home. Damon felt guilty. Stefan was doing this because of him. But no one asked Stefan to save Damon's life. But that's Stefan, and he wouldn't be Stefan if he didn't at least try.
Bonnie and Elena were sitting on the floor of Elena's room. Elena was looking towards the window, worried about Damon and Alaric. It was almost midnight, and they weren't back yet. Bonnie kept talking about Jeremy who is spending a lot of his time with Matt. Bonnie actually stopped to visit Jeremy, but he wasn't home. Elena tried to listen to her, but it was like listening to the broken record. She also noticed Jeremy is acting strangely, but there wasn't nothing wrong with him. Nothing changed. Except him hanging out with Matt so much. Bonnie stopped talking when she noticed Damon and Alaric coming in Elena's room. Elena stood up on her feat and looked at them full of hope. Like a little girl who was expecting her birthday present.
„Anything?" – she asked.
Damon opened his mouth, but Alaric stopped him before he said anything.
„Nothing" – Alaric replied.
„That's not quite true. We found this." Damon reached to his pocket and pulled out a glass ball.
„What is it?" – Elena asked looking at it.
„We have no idea."
„Uh, I think I know" – Bonnie said with a trembling voice, but with a serious face expression. They all looked at her, waiting for an explanation.
„It's a globe. A wish globe. My Grams told me about them. They're like snow globes, you can build your own world there. The first wish globe was made by a witch, a long time ago, but soon, they became very popular among them, and everybody wanted one. It's a tricky little thing. People usually lock their deepest wishes in them, so nobody can take those wishes away from them. The trick is, once you hide your wish in the ball, it disappears from your mind completely." – Bonnie explained, grabbing the ball from Damon's hand.
„It can't break."
„They can, you just can't break it" – Bonnie replied. „If anyone could break it, this things wouldn't be safe. People hide their wishes here because they want to keep them safe, because they believe they're not safe in their head. Only the owner of the ball can break it. And once the ball breaks, the wish goes back to your head again. Only the owner of the ball can see inside of it.. it's like watching a movie over and over and over again, but every time you do, you have a feeling like you're watching it for the first time. Some people say that the people who are a part of the wish can also see in the ball, but Grams said it's just a rumor."
„Was Stefan there?" – Elena asked silently. „I mean, before you came there. Do you think he was there?"
„Yes" – Damon said with a cold voice mixed with a tiny bit of affection only Elena could recognize.
„Than this means this thing might be his" – she pointed to the ball in Bonnie's hands.
„It could be anyone's" – Damon told her, trying to reach for her hand. She had let him grab it, and looked at his eyes. „But yes, it could also be his" – he replied when he saw sorrow in her eyes.
„Then let's peek inside of it" – she smiled like a child. Damon loved that smile. It was so pure and innocent. It really lightened the part of Elena only few people saw. The part that is more beautiful than any other living, breathing thing in the world.
„But you're not the owner" – Alaric told her.
„But Bonnie said that people who are a part of the wish can also see inside of it. And it's Stefan's deepest wish.. who's more likely to be in it than me?" – Elena asked them with a certainty in her voice. It was more of a statement than a question. Elena didn't mean to sound cocky, but her deepest wishes included Stefan, so she knew his must include her too.
„She also told you it's just a rumor."
„Let her try" – Bonnie replied trough her teeth while looking seriously at Damon. He burned her with his eyes, rolled them once, and then nodded.
Elena sat on the bed and Bonnie handed her the ball. Elena expected she'll be able to see everything the very moment she gets the ball in her hands, so she was disappointed when she didn't see anything.
„Relax" – Bonnie told her with her calming voice. „Close your eyes. Now, forget everything that's going on around you. Forget that we're even here. When you reach that place of utter peace, you'll be able to see his wish. If you can't see anything, that means you're not in it.. which means this is not Stefan's ball." Bonnie always knew what to say.
Elena closed her eyes and tried to turn off everything that was going on around her, like she did when she was talking to Stefan in her mind. She succeeded. She felt alone, and she felt cold. But the only thing she could see was dark. Bonnie said she needs to find her peace. She knew she couldn't do that while her emotions are standing in the way. So she stopped being scared. She stopped thinking she's not a part of Stefan's deepest wish. There, she found it. She was at peace. And then she saw his face. Stefan was standing in the hall of Mystic Fall's hospital, but not as a patient. He was dressed as a doctor, handsome as ever. Elena remembered he told her he wanted to be a doctor before he became a vampire. He changed from his white doctor coat into regular clothes and sat in his car. He was driving towards a beautiful house that was on the edge of the town. Big, white house with two stories. It had a huge porch with a swing and lots and lots of flowers. House had a red front door and big Victorian windows. There was a white picket fence around the house, surrounding big front yard and ever bigger back yard. That house was so beautiful to Elena. Somehow, it felt like a dream come true. Then she realized it is a dream come true. That was her dream house. Big white house with big red door, with a big yard for kids to play, far away from the center of the town. She even forgot she told Stefan about that. And he remembered her every word, every detail. He remembered something even she forgot she told him. Then she saw herself. She was sitting in the living room, on the big brown leather sofa, with a laptop on her lap. She was writing. She was doing something she always wanted to do. Then the front door opened and a little screaming girl came inside. She looked exactly like Elena, just smaller. She was about 4. She had a long brown hair and big brown, shiny eyes. She wore a white dress with flowers, and nothing on her feet. Elena had put her laptop on the little coffee table made of glass just before the little girl crashed on her. „Daddy's home, daddy's home!" – she was screaming with a big smile on her face. Stefan came trough the door. „Where's that little monster?" – he asked while smiling. When he spotted the girl on Elena's lap, he ran to her, took her in his arms and started tickling her. „Mommy is ticklish too" – the little girl screamed while she was rolling and laughing in Stefan's hug. „Oh, is she?" – he asked, putting the little girl down. Elena was smiling. She was happy. She could feel how happy she is. It was like this big ball of happiness just rolling all over her, never stopping. Like there's nothing wrong with the world. Everything was so perfect. Stefan came to Elena and started tickling her too. Elena laughed. She truly laughed. „Run, Jenna. Save yourself!" The little girl ran upstairs, laughing. She named her daughter after her aunt. That sounds like something Elena would do, although she was never thinking about the names of her future children, and for sure she wasn't sharing that with Stefan when she knew he can't give her a child. But Stefan knew her so well. He stopped tickling her, and kissed her in the forehead. But how? How is this even possible?, Elena thought. Vampires can't have.. well, of course they can't. But this is Stefan's deepest wish. He's not a vampire in it. He's a human being. He's breathing, his heart is beating, he's mortal. In his deepest wish Stefan is a human. Oh Stefan, Elena cried. She cried deep in her thoughts. She loved him so much. Now she loved him even more, if that's even possible. And just like that, the end came. Her peace was interrupted by Damon's voice, and she opened her eyes.
They were all looking at her with big question mark above their head. She wanted to tell them, she wanted to tell them every single thing about what she saw in the ball. But she couldn't. She couldn't do that to Damon. She knew she would start to cry, she knew she wouldn't be able to keep her emotions in order. She didn't wanted to hurt Damon, not after everything he had done for her.
„It's not Stefan's.." – she said, looking really disappointed.
„Then what were you doing for so long?" – Damon asked suspiciously.
„Hoping, Damon. Hoping I'll see something."
„Maybe.. maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's not a wish ball" – she grabbed the ball from Elena's hands. „I'll check it when I get home." She nodded at Elena.
„Well, we should get going" – Damon said looking at Elena.
„Actually Damon, I think I'm going to stay here tonight."
„So, you're not going to make Stefan's room into a shrine tonight?" – he asked sarcastically.
„No" – she tried to keep it together, but she couldn't. She could feel tears coming to her eyes. „Bonnie, can you stay with me tonight?"
„Of course" – Bonnie nodded. She sat on the bed right next to her, and hugged her. Elena collapsed in her arms. That was the que for guys to leave. They both said goodnight to the girls and went downstairs.
Elena tried not to cry, be she could feel tear drops on her cheeks. She cleaned her eyes with her sleeve before she lifted her head up from Bonnie's arms.
„Elena.. what did you see in the ball?" – she asked her curiously.
„I told you. Nothing."
„Elena. You were smiling. Like, really smiling. Damon asked you hundred times why are you smiling, but you didn't say anything. I told him you can't hear him, so he stopped. But you were smiling like a little kid. And I know that smile. You smile like that every time you're around Stefan, or when you talk about him, or with him.. that's your Stefan smile. Pure, true, bright.. I haven't seen it for a while. Until tonight."
Elena started to cry. Big tear drops were rolling down her cheek, covering her lips. She tried to stop them with her sleeve, but she couldn't. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming.
„Oh Elena, I didn't mean to make you cry. Don't cry!" – Bonnie screamed.
„He was human" – Elena told her trough tears.
„He was what?" – Bonnie asked. In one hand, she seemed shocked. In the other, not so much.
„He was human. And he was a doctor. And I.. I was a writer. Do you know.. do you remember my dream house?" – she asked her while she was trying to remember how the house looked in Stefan's wish.
„Big white house with big windows and red door and big green yard? Of course I remember!" – Bonnie squeeled from excitement.
„We had it. It was ours. Right on the edge of the town. And we.. we had a daughter."
Now Bonnie started to cry too. Of course, her tears weren't as big as Elena's were, but she could see how much it hurts Elena to even think about it. To think about normal life with Stefan. Elena loved Stefan like nothing else in the world, and now she actually saw their life together. Stefan's wish was to give Elena everything she ever wanted. People could wish for million things. People's deepest wish are usually selfish. But not Stefan's. His deepest wish was to make Elena happy. To start a life with her. To have a child with her. He wanted her forever.. He could wish for her to become a vampire, which is possible. But he didn't, because he knew how much she doesn't want to be a vampire. So he shattered the lengths of possibility, and wished he was a human. Quite selfless, Bonnie thought.
„We named her Jenna. She looked exactly like me, only shorter. But she was beautiful, because she was ours. We made her Bonnie, me and Stefan. She looked like me, but she had his smile. I know you don't see him smile that often, but he has a beautiful smile. Sometimes I think he keeps it only for me, that he doesn't like to share it with others. Stefan appreciates small things.. like a hug, a kiss, a smile. And he likes to give them all to me. And now he gave it to our daughter. She had chubby red cheeks, like the one Jeremy had when he was a kid. And she had my eyes, and my hair. And I could feel it.."
„Feel what?" – Bonnie asked trough tears.
„Happiness. I don't remember if I ever felt happy like that. If I did, it was a long time ago. But I was truly happy. Everything was perfect. And I saw him.. I saw him kissing me on the forehead.. and I think I actually felt it. I felt like electricity is going trough my body. Most importantly, I felt safe. When he was near me, I felt safe. He was my sanctuary."
Trough tears, Elena smiled. She smiled with a Stefan smile. Like a child. Like an innocent child. Bonnie hugged her. She hugged her as hard as she could. Elena was shaking, but she was laughing. Bonnie laughed with her.
„It actually makes sense.." – Bonnie told her while she was cleaning her face with her hands.
„What does?" – Elena asked, doing the same.
„His wish. Elena, he loves you. I can't even compare it with some other love, because he loves you like no other man loved a woman before. When he looks at you, sometimes I can see his face, and I can swear it becomes lighter. More beautiful, more cheerful. And you make him like that. Everything he wants, he wants for you. His wish makes a lot of sense, because Stefan would do anything to give you that. Because he knows how much you love him. You gave him that part of yourself, that knowledge.. and he gave the same to you" – Bonnie was holding her hands.
„Thank you Bonnie. Thank you for this. Now, I truly know that my Stefan is out there. I know he's not gone, like Damon says he is."
More than ever, Elena knew that she loves Stefan. Only Stefan. And she wants to be with Stefan. And she'll find him, and she'll bring him home. They'll be together again. Nothing can separate them, and nothing can make her stop loving him. And one day, she'll return Stefan his wish.
