Begin Again

Chapter Thirty-Four

A/N: Hey all! So, I just wanted to add this little chapter into the story. I'm moving it a long a bit because I've decided that it will be coming to a close soon. :( I think I'll be writing about 6-7 more updates and an epilogue. :)

Anyways, enjoy & thanks so much for reading!

Begin Again-Chapter Thirty-Four

Stefan's P.O.V.

With my hands leaning against the fence that separates me from the two large brown horses on the other side, I glance over at Elena who's wiping her hands off of her jeans, the grains falling out of Olivia's hands when she steps in front of her and excitedly says "Momma, can I feed them. I even brought food."

Her brown eyes are filled with pure excitement, just like any kid as Elena shoots me a look and loudly exclaims. "I would have been horrible at this farming thing, Stefan. Thank god, that I'm a city girl!"

A city girl? Ha! I smile at her words, hearing both Suzanne and Zach laugh when I step away from the fence and walk over to them with Aiden strapped to my chest, glancing over to see Sam standing next to Zach, holding his hand tightly.

"She hates farms and horses, doesn't she?" Zach asks me with a laugh, shaking his head when we all watch Elena shriek when one of the horses comes up to her, nibbling the grains out of her hands, Olivia standing beside her mother, giggling and nearly falling on to the grassy ground from laughing so hard.

"She grew up in the city, all her life..Believe me, Elena likes animals. I mean, I got the kids a dog and it took a lot of convincing. But, she likes them. It's just, she doesn't do well with animals. I swear, it's like they smell her fear or something." I comment, exhaling the clean and cool air around us, looking back at Elena who's now got Olivia in her arms, allowing our daughter to pet the horse on the head for a bit, extending out her little arms towards it as Elena holds her tightly.

"Smell her fear, what do you mean?" Suzanne asks me, smiling when we all watch Sam slowly walk over to Elena and Olivia.

"Our dog, Charlie. He loves Elena. But, she- well, she has a hard time with him. When we first moved into the house that we live in now, Elena had packed up all of her really expensive dresses and well, Charlie was really riled up one morning and decided to be a bit destructive with her clothing, he shredded her dress, bit a hole into it so big that he got his head got stuck in the sleeve and the only way we were able to get him out of it was to cut the dress. Apparently, it was a dress that Elena had been saving for our very special anniversary, that's in a few months. Ever since that incident, the poor dog's been on house arrest in our backyard because my wife doesn't trust him inside of the house with our things."

Zach's face is red from laughing as Suzanne leans against him and laughs along with me. "So, when she says she's a city girl, what she means is- she can't really stand dogs or any animals, really. But, she tolerates them for me and for the kids. Sam and Livia love that dog and so do I." I comment, hearing Elena groan as she places Olivia back on to the ground and hears her shout. "Momma, I want to feed him again, Please! Momma, Pleaseee, can I feed him again!"

The look in her eyes is sympathetic, feeling bad that she wants to quit and go into the house, maybe curl up against the couch and write in her journal. But, I watch from afar when Sam smiles up at her too and she leans down beside them both, brushing their hair back with her finger tips and kissing their faces, picking Sam up first and having Olivia hand her a carrot from a little bag full of food that Suzanne had given her, laughing when one of the horses comes up to them and gently takes the food from Sam's hand.

"She wants to go back home. She misses it, her friends, our house...I kind of miss it too…" My voice trails off as I feel Zach place his hand on to my shoulder and he exhales deeply, nodding and watching Elena from the distance between us that we've created when he adds. "You two are going to be just fine; Stefan and all you have to do is tell me when you want to go home. I won't be hurt if you want to even leave earlier. Son, because it's time you two go back to your lives and learn to be with each other in your normal environments. This trip was good for both of you. Because you resolved a lot. But, you've also left a lot of problems back in New York and I think it's time you two go back home and face them together. Learn to live as a couple, as a family again."