A/N: This is just a short piece I did, allowing us to see Brooke interact with her family. This is the final update for Until Never Means Forever. Yes, there is a bit of a twist to it, but, I think the story has ended for now :)
Thank you so much for reading. You all rock! Stay tuned for the Power Outage (being added to My Life Without You) and the new story (still to be named)!
Brooke loved the horses. Even at four years old, she had developed quite an interest in them. Every day, she would walk side-by-side with Stefan, holding his hand as she concentrated on where her little cowgirl boots were stepping. Though she knew quite well that if she did stumble, her daddy was going to catch her.
Elena would watch at every chance she got from Brooke's bedroom window. Rain, sun, or snow, they walked out to see the horses together every day. It was precious to see a grown man walking extra slow as a small child tried to keep up next to him.
Once they got to the barn, Stefan would pull a horse out for her and hold her up so she could brush the horse. He'd even let her sit on one of the horses. It made her smile every time. He'd even started taking Brooke riding, letting her sit with him in the saddle. Elena had been against it at first, but seeing how excited Brooke was every time she got to ride slowly made Elena ease up on worrying so much.
Then it was the same once they were done. Stefan would walk with Brooke, side-by-side at her pace back to the house. Sometimes she would find rocks or sticks along the way that she would have to stop and pick up. Sometimes, she would be so tired that Stefan would carry her and she would be sound asleep by the time Stefan came through the front door.
This particular day though, she was full of energy, picking up every stick she could find. "Daddy look" she said, waving a stick in her hand.
"That's a good stick" Stefan told her, smiling at how much she was concentrating on it.
"I know" Brooke answered. She picked up another one and looked it over. "This one's not very good, but you can have it Daddy" she said, handing it to him. She wacked a weed with her stick as they continued on their way.
"Thank you" Stefan said, hanging on to his stick.
When they came back to the house, Katherine was standing in the driveway. Brooke's eyes lit up when she saw her. "Aunt Katherine!" she squealed, dropping her stick and running as fast as her little legs would carry her.
Katherine was never one for affection, but she knelt down and accepted the little girl's bear hug. "Hi sweetheart" Katherine said, hugging her right back. "Were you out with the horses?" she asked.
Brooke pulled away from Katherine and nodded. "Uh huh" she answered. "Daddy's gonna take me riding tomorrow. He promised" Brooke said, looking back at Stefan.
Katherine smiled as she looked at him too. "He does keep his promises" she said, and there was a faint hint of regret in her voice. Because she hardly ever kept hers.
A car horn honked and Stefan looked up to see a bright red Audi R8 Spyder pulling up. Yes, Lily had turned 16 the day before and Damon had bought her a $200,000 car. Because nothing was too expensive for his baby girl.
When the car stopped, Brooke ran towards the driver's side, waiting for Lily to get out. "Hey" Lily smiled, popping her Gucci sunglasses up on top of her head and bending down to pick up Brooke. At 16, Lily was the spitting image of Katherine. Tall, slim, and long chocolate brown curly hair. "What do you think of my new car?" she asked.
Brooke smiled. "Very pretty!" she told her.
Lily shut her door and carried Brooke towards the house while Damon got out of the car. "Hey Uncle Stefan" Lily said, waving at him.
He waved back and shook his head. "What?" Damon asked innocently.
Brooke heard Damon and instantly wiggled her way out of Lily's arms. "Uncle Damon!" she yelled, running towards him. He grabbed her, swinging her up into his arms. "Will you buy me a car like that too?" she asked.
"You bet I will" he said, kissing the top of her head. He again saw Stefan shaking his head, but Damon ignored his brother. "Guess what?" he asked. "You are spending next weekend with us" he reminded her.
"I know" she told him. "I already packed!" she said excitedly. Brooke loved Uncle Damon and Aunt Katherine's because they didn't have rules. It was junk food until you fell asleep. Once in a while wouldn't hurt her though, Stefan figured.
"You did?" Damon asked with just as much excitement. He was amazing with her. "We're going to the zoo and the aquarium" he added as he walked towards the house.
"Both?" Brooke asked, a happy and surprised look on her face. They continued to chat as they went inside.
Katherine and Stefan eventually followed. "I hope the next one turns out just like the first two" Katherine mentioned as she walked alongside him. They were both loving and adorable kids.
"Elena and I will do our best" Stefan smiled. They were already trying again, and he couldn't have been happier.
They stopped as Katherine opened the door. She turned and looked at him with her infamous smirk. "I wasn't talking about you and Elena" she said.
Stefan's eyes showed his surprise as he looked down towards her stomach. "You're pregnant?" he asked, shocked and confused and a whole lot of other things. "Does Damon know?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Not yet" she told him. She saw Stefan's questioning eyes searching for more information and she just rolled her own eyes. "We weren't trying. It just … happened" she shrugged. "The only thing he's ever wanted from me was to have another baby. Better late than never I suppose" Katherine said, smirking again as she left Stefan dumbfounded at the front door.
"Everything okay?" Elena asked, finding him standing out there.
He just smiled. What else could he do? His family was perfectly imperfect, and even the ones he was sure of that could never surprise him, eventually did. "Everything's fine" he assured her, placing a quick kiss on her lips before leading her inside.
END