AN: This is set immediately 2.16. Reviews are always appreciated, and ideas/suggestions are always welcome!

After the noisy rancor at her house, the silence of the Salvatore mansion soothed Elena's frayed nerves more than usual. Her footsteps on the stairs sounded ridiculously noisy, and she half expected to meet Katherine at the top of the stairs armed with a smirk and a taunt. No one was there, much to her relief. The hallway was completely empty, as was Stefan's room. Brief panic fluttered throughout Elena's body before she heard the shower running in Stefan's bathroom. She flung her bag and jacket to the side and crossed to the steam-filled room.

"It's me,"she called over the water as she took her clothing off. Stefan peered around the shower curtain, a smile playing on his face.

She stepped into the shower and wrapped her arms tightly around him, pressing her body against his and inhaling the scent of his shampoo. Tilting her head up towards his, their lips crushed together while he slipped his arms around her waist. The kiss made her forget all the angst and turmoil that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about on the drive over, Jenna's harsh words and Isobel's calculating stare. The kiss was exactly what she needed.

"Hi," was all she said when they broke apart.

"Hi," he whispered back, and brushed her hair away from her face. "What are-"

She held a finger to his lips. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Elena giggled. Yes, it was so very obvious he was happy to see her. Yet she playfully pouted and whispered in his ear, "Prove it."

So Stefan did.

Wrapped in a towel, Elena smiled at her reflection as she brushed her teeth. Maybe it was the complete lack of sleep, maybe she had finally gone completely insane, but she was feeling strangely hopeful right now. Bonnie had her powers back, Bonnie and Jeremy seemed happy, Stefan and Damon were working on the Klaus thing, Caroline and Matt were back together, and plus, there was the appealing possibility that Katherine and Isobel would somehow finish each other off or leave town or something. Things were definitely looking up in Mystic Falls.

Then again, shower sex usually put her in a good mood.

Wrapped in a towel, she wandered back into Stefan's bedroom, found him writing in his journal.

"Writing about our latest escapade?"

"If you only knew."

"How much detail do you go into?"

He looks slightly guilty and she rolls her eyes as she pulls on his discarded shirt, smiles as she thinks of her own journal and it's, well, descriptive entries. She crosses to him and plops down besides him on the bed, knowing the mood is about to change, knowing that she has to tell him.

"Isobel's back in town," she said softly.

Immediately his face darkens. "Are you all right?"

"I guess," she shrugs, looking away from him. "Jenna's completely freaked out- Alaric had told her that Isobel was dead and then Isobel just showed up tonight at our door and was all, 'Hello, I'm Isobel, Elena's mother, let me smile politely and screw with you mind'".

She knows she's babbling and not making much sense. "And she wouldn't say why she was back except that she was here to, and I quote, 'help'. Oh, and after being completely cryptic she ordered me to stay away from you. Then she just flounced away. Jenna's furious and confused- like I would be- and totally mad at Alaric, mad at me. We've... we've never fought like that. So I dumped even more vervain in all the alcohol in the house, put Jeremy on red alert, and well, here I am."

She finishes, breathing heavily, trying not to get upset again, because that would so not help the situation. Shower sex, think of shower sex, she told herself, trying to maintain the happy, relaxed feeling she had just moments earlier.

"Why is Jenna angry with you?" Stefan asked in a quiet voice.

"Because I didn't tell her that Isobel was alive or that we had met," Elena closed her eyes and leaned against him. "I mean, I completely get why she's so upset, I do, but I'm keeping so much from her so I can protect her, you know?"

"She's probably in shock," Stefan's voice was soft, measured, calm, as if he knew she was struggling to stay that way. He rubbed her hip and added, "She'll calm down, you two will be all right. It'll just take time."

Elena nodded, keeping her eyes closed. "I know, I know. It's just... weird. And I feel so guilty about not telling Jenna anything. I just... I didn't want to hurt her, I didn't want her to worry. I don't want her to have to be scared and freaked out and everything."

Sighing, she asked, "Can I stay with you for a while?"

"Of course."

"Knew you'd say that," she forced herself to smile, found it easier to as he moved to rubbed her shoulders.

Stefan knew he probably shouldn't push her, that it's been a very long day and likely what she needed right now was sleep. Yet he couldn't help but ask, "So Isobel didn't tell you anything?"

"She told me to stay away from you and Damon. Other than that, nothing."

He kissed the top of her head. "Glad you didn't listen to her."

"What can I say? Isobel brings out the rebellious side of me," she said as she pushed Stefan onto his back and straddled him. With a wicked grin she tickled his stomach before leaning to kiss him, planting delicate kisses on his jawline while he ran his hands over her legs.

"We should really come up with some sort of code," she mumbled between kisses, gasping slightly when he rolls them over and begins to edge the shirt's hemline up higher and higher.

"To go with our code phrases?" he kisses her neck, grazing his teeth over her skin and then soothing it with his tongue.

"Exactly," she says, arching her back and pushing his sweatpants down, running her hands over the exposed skin, words momentarily forgotten.

"I'm hungry."

"You've said that."

"I know. I just don't want to move. And I don't want you to move either."

"This is a problem."

"Yes."

Elena happily wriggled closer to Stefan, grabbing his hand and tracing his ring's markings. She loves these moments- the aftermath, the time when they're just together and sated, still ensconced in a happy bubble. When they're so close, physically and emotionally, that they seem like one person. Plus, Stefan's holding her, and that is always a good thing. Lying in his arms, the bad parts of the day fade away, leaving only the good parts in her mind. She glances up at him and sees a contented smile on his face that she's pretty sure matches her smile.

"I still think we need a codeword," she says, and his hand gently touches her neck. She doesn't want him to berate himself yet again for the incident this morning- not that she's fully okay with what happened either. Really, he should have known it was her, but considering it was Katherine they were dealing with, his reaction, sadly, unfortunately, makes sense.

Still, he should have known.

His fingers trace her collarbone and she knows he's thinking the same thing. How many times had he apologized? Only about a million.

"How about jumping jacks?" she suggests just for the hell of it.

"Really?"

"Why not?"

His eyes start to sparkle with mirth. "Karate."

"Jazz hands."

"Romeo and Juliet."

"Too depressing. Um, sandbox."

"Beach."

"Waves."

"Sandcastles."

By now they're both giggling. Elena rolls so she's lying on top of Stefan and tugs on his messy hair. "Hairbrush."

"Shampoo."

"Conditioner."

"Shower sex."

"Yeah, cause that wouldn't get any reaction from Katherine if you happened to say those words to her. No reaction whatsoever except to maul you."

"Something about petunias."

"Chocolate frogs."

"Frog and Toad."

"Jellybeans."

"Kitchen sink."

"Mars bars."

"Trying to tell me something?"

"Okay, I'm kind of starving."

"Come on."

Reluctantly, Elena followed him out of bed, mischievously snatching his shirt away to wear, like he hadn't seen that one coming. Hand in hand, they walk downstairs, Elena still whispering perspective code words into his ear. Why they hadn't thought of this before is beyond her. It's so practical and simple- barring Katherine didn't find out, of course. Katherine, the wild card. Elena sincerely hopes that Katherine (and Isobel) will leave town very, very, very soon. Today wasn't soon enough.

"I could make you something," Stefan offers when they reach the kitchen. He raises an eyebrow and smiles. "Or there's ice cream..."

"You are so cooking later," Elena kisses him. "But I think I'm in the mood for ice cream."

"Knew you'd say that." Stefan smiled, getting out the carton of ice cream, gestured for her to sit down.

Elena suddenly had a brilliant idea. She leapt up and grabbed a sheet of paper and pen, an utterly gleeful smile on her face as she scribbled something down, Stefan looking perplexed. When she shows him the paper, holding a finger to her lips as she does so, Stefan's eyes light up and he crushes her against him, kissing her neck sloppily.

"You're brilliant," he whispers into her ear. A quiet giggle escapes from her, the giggles turning into soft sighs as Stefan slide his hand beneath the shirt she's wearing.

"Not here," she manages to get out, folding the paper and sliding it into Stefan's back pocket for safe-keeping.

"Why ever not?"

A wicked glint in her eyes appears and she gently pulls away from him, saunters to the counter where Stefan's left the ice cream.

"Because I hear ice cream is even more fun in bed."

Giggling, she grabbed the quart of ice cream and darted to the stairs, unsurprised to hear Stefan close behind her, quickly reaching her and looping an arm around her waist before pressing her against the wall. Stefan grabbed the ice cream and carelessly flung it to the nearby side table, causing Elena to laughingly protest even as she eagerly kissed him. He cupped her face and kissed her fiercely, half wanting to just make love right there at the bottom of the stairs, courtesy and acceptable social behavior be damned. It didn't help that Elena had wrapped her bare leg around his hips and had moved to her lips and was whispering wonderful dirty words right in his ear. Yet, somehow, by sheer will power, he managed to drop back from her and rescue the ice cream before pulling her up the stairs. Almost casually, she ran her hand up and down his back, her smile sneaky and naughty, her cheeks flushed and hair even messier than before. Some of the buttons on her shirt had somehow gotten unbuttoned.

Unfortunately, Katherine stood at the top of the stairs, buttoning up her shirt and looking supremely irritated. Her face darkened as she took in Elena and Stefan's matching rumpled hair, how they're each only half-dressed, the carton of ice cream Stefan has in one hand. Then she smiles, setting her gaze on Stefan's chest.

"Elena, are you moving in now? Don't you trust them?" she asked with a smirk, emphasizing them.

Elena reached to grip Stefan's hand. "I don't trust you."

"Like we all didn't know that one," Katherine muttered and leaned against the wall, stretching her arms back. Elena rolled her eyes and tugged on Stefan's hand. As they brushed by Katherine, she spoke, "Did I hear your mother was back in town, Elena?"

Elena stopped. "She's not my mother."

"She say why she's back?" Damon suddenly stuck his head out from his bedroom, rolled his eyes at Elena's surprised glance. "I can't sleep with all this racket going on."

Elena sighed, really not wanting to get into this again, especially not with Katherine standing right there. "Just a cryptic message that could be interpreted in multiple ways," she sighed, shot Stefan a pleading look. Taking the message Stefan squeezed her hand harder, said to Damon, "Let's talk about this in the morning, okay?"

"Whatever. What is it about you Pierce women and your inability to give a straight answer?"

Katherine shrugged. "It's more fun to lie. Right, Elena?"

"You know what, Katherine? You should go talk to Isobel. You two would have so much fun together," Elena spat out before marching to Stefan's room.

Damon nodded. "I agree. In fact, go right now. Please."

Behind Stefan's closed door, Elena paced restlessly for a moment before flinging herself onto the bed. "She's such a buzz-kill," she grumbled. "Argh."

"Argh?" Stefan passed the ice cream to her in hopes of reviving her good mood.

"I'm not hungry now," she sighed and waved it away, then pulled Stefan down besides her so she could rest her head on his chest. He stroked the side of her head and felt her slowly relax, her heartbeat return to normal. The sounds of Katherine and Damon's voices faded as they lay together, Elena staring ahead of her and trying to erase Katherine's words- not that they had even been good taunts this time around. Katherine in general just got under Elena's skin. Yet as she lay there, Stefan's arms around her, the good parts of the day started to filter back into her mind and she smiled, reached to stroke the pocket of Stefan's pants where their code-word was, partly to remind herself of their new plan, partly just to see how he reacted.

"We have to get up in the morning, don't we," she murmured.

"What?"

"School."

"Oh, that."

"I really don't get how Caroline does it, day after day. Plus she's on like sixteen thousand committees. And I bet she still does at least some of her homework," she paused, thinking of the assignments she had so gamely written down and done none of. "I really think I should get out of Physics at least- I don't want to waste more time on light waves and sound waves if I'm going to be sacrificed."

"You're not going to be sacrificed," Stefan said sharply. Elena rubbed his stomach reassuringly, kissed his shoulder. Someday, maybe, they would look back at all this time and laugh, be able to joke about it.

"Did you do any homework?" she asked, a teasing note in her voice.

He chuckles. "Not exactly."

"Not that you need to," she countered.

"We could always just stay here," Stefan suggested. "You could, um, read journals with us. Or we could just stay up here..."

Elena smiled. "Let's see what we feel like in... oh, god, three, four hours."

She yawned and Stefan took that as a sign to pull the sheets over their bodies, turn off the light. He waited for Elena to settle back against him and fall asleep before closing his own eyes, allowing his thoughts to drift.

Tomorrow- today, really- would be another day.