A/N- I own nothing associated with the Vampire Diaries or its characters.

Elijah tried not to let his nervousness show as he approached the school gate and leant against the street lamp, checking his watch and carefully not making eye contact with any of the other adults there.

The men complained to him about having to pick up their own kids and when the women found out that he wasn't a biological relative, they immediately started worrying that he was an axe-wielding kidnapper.

Fortunately, the prep classes are released first, so he doesn't have to wait long before he spots the familiar head of brunette hair,

"Nadia!" he calls, catching her attention and raises his hand as she heads over, eager to be freed from the tyrannical reign of school for another day.

"Hi Lijah," she looks around, "Where's mom?"

"She's at work," he explained, "I thought you and I could go for ice-cream."

Nadia beams at the idea and happily follows him to his car, climbing into the backseat and quietly submitting to his careful checks of the seat belt. He'd had his older brother Finn professionally check and clear the car for safety and security but he wasn't taking any risks with his girlfriend's daughter.

The ice-cream parlor is close to his hospital and, since dating Katherine, he's been there with Nadia enough times that the girl at the counter smiles in recognition.

He had been dating Katherine Pierce for the last year, after three months she'd introduced him to her daughter and a month after that, she'd let him babysit for her while she went to a movie with friends. Slowly and surely, he'd garnered enough trust that, when his schedule allowed it, he could pick Nadia up from school, allowing Katherine a spare half-hour in her day.

Which for her, meant the world.

Nadia likes to select a different flavor every time, so Elijah tosses his jacket into a booth and lets her impatiently lead him to the counter, where she leans in close to the display and peruses the ice-creams with an intensity he hasn't ever seen outside of an operating theatre.

"I want that one," she points to the violet one in the corner and looks up at the girl, "Please."

The poor girl smiles so sweetly at hearing the word that Elijah finds himself facing flashbacks to his own time in hospitality.

He still shudders when he remembers working the bar on game night.

When Nadia's ice-cream cone has been loaded with violently colored sprinkles and a gummy bear, he grabs a lemon sorbet and they settle into the booth.

He doesn't want to alert her to the fact that this isn't an ordinary day, so he asks the standard questions about her day, her friends, her activities and allows her time to get enough sugar into her system that she'd be feeling grateful towards him.

"So, Nadia," he clears his throat and leans forward before reminding himself that she's not a potential donor to the hospital and clasps his hands together to hide his nervousness,

"I was hoping to talk to you about something…"

Nadia's head shoots up and he sees panic in her eyes, "Is mom okay?"

Damn.

"Yes, she's fine sweetheart," he assures her, "Perfectly fine."

"Okay,"

She goes back to her ice-cream and he inhales through his nose to try again.

"So, your mother and I have been dating for a while now," he waits until she's looking at him, violet ice-cream- what flavor even is that? - around her mouth, "And I was thinking of asking her to marry me."

Nadia frowns in confusion, "Isn't mom married to dad?"

Shit.

He smacks his lips and glances up out of the corner of his eye, "No, sometimes mommies and daddies have babies without getting married…"

"Are you and mom having a baby?"

Fuck.

"No…" he answers a little quickly and amends that, "Not yet, maybe someday, but I thought it might be nice if your mom and I got married."

Nadia hums and licks absentmindedly at her cone, "Why?"

Um.

"Well…when two people love each other very much, sometimes they get married and live together and…"

"But…" Nadia interrupts, eyes wide with hurt, "Mommy lives with me!"

This was not going well.

"I know sweetheart," he assures her before she starts crying, "But if your mommy and I got married, you two could come to live with me, in my house, you remember my house? With the swimming pool?"

God bless his trust fund and pretentious mid-twenties.

Nadia did love his swimming pool, she ponders that thought for a moment before launching her next question, "Where would daddy live?

In Hell preferably.

Katherine had got pregnant in her freshman year of college with her longtime boyfriend Stefan Salvatore, he'd encouraged her to keep the baby and the two of them had figured out a plan that would see them raise the child while both achieving their career goals.

Except then Stefan had been accepted into pre-med and essentially bailed on her, forcing her to drop out of college and find work to make ends meet and it hadn't been any easier once their daughter had been born. After the first year, Stefan had stopped paying child support all together and Katherine had had to take on a second job as well, struggling to live always on the verge of destitution, going without the bare basics herself just to provide for her daughter.

Stefan currently lived in student dorms, under the guise of being close to the library but Elijah suspected the three bars nearby played a deciding factor as well.

"He would keep living where he lives now." He explains and Nadia purses her lips,

"I don't like where daddy lives," she says, "It's loud and smelly and he has even less food than mom and I."

Because he lived on a diet of take-out and beer, but Elijah hadn't brought her here to discuss her deadbeat father.

"So," he continued, "Do you think it might be nice if you and your mommy came to live with me?"

Nadia hummed and looked down at the last remains of her cone,

"I need to think," she decided and he wondered whether he could press the matter further before she looked over to the counter, "Ice-cream helps me think."

Okay. Blatant blackmail. This he could work with.

He stands up and heads towards the counter.

"Fudge please!" Nadia calls from the booth and the counter girl is already at work by the time he reaches her, scooping pink ice-cream that alarmingly isn't strawberry flavored into a glass dish and heaping on enough chocolate fudge that Elijah might have to swing past the hospital on the way hope and get Nadia's cavities seen to.

He notices the girl is adding more sprinkles and chocolate flakes and what appear to be cookie crumbs and he goes to stop her but she silences him with a look,

"Trust me," she says, handing him the dish, "You'll want as much as this dish can literally handle."

He hoped she was just being overcautious and not properly discerning his chances of attaining Nadia's blessing.

Nadia squeals with delight and digs her spoon into the dessert eagerly, and Elijah waits until she's taken a break to breathe before starting again,

"So…" he plays with the finger on his ring nervously, "Do I have your blessing?"

Nadia tilts her head, clearly thinking as she helps herself to another serve of ice-cream, meanwhile the girl comes over and starts clearing the booth next to them,

"Where will I sleep at your house?" she asks and he takes this as a positive sign,

"In your own room," he promises, "With a nice big bed and toys."

Nadia accepts this with a calculated nod, "Where will mom sleep?"

He decides not to answer that because he doesn't think explaining to his girlfriend's daughter about adults sharing beds will win him any favors.

But while he's floundering, the counter girl comes over, "Is your mommy getting married?" she asks brightly, "Lucky you, you'll get to be a flower girl and wear a pretty dress."

Nadia's head spins around so quickly that Elijah instinctively reaches out to adjust it into a safer position, thankfully stopping himself before it looks like he's strangling the poor child.

"Flower girl?" Nadia parrots, intrigued, "Dress?"

The counter girl winks at him and he grabs at this lifeline,

"Of course," he smiles, "If mommy and I get married, you'll be the flower girl with the prettiest dress and there'll be lots of cake and candy at the wedding."

She practically salivates at this, "Will it be ice-cream cake?"

"Sure." he lies smoothly, figuring that they can have multiple cakes at the wedding. He'll provide Nadia with her own personal ice-cream wedding cake if need be.

"Okay," she decides, going back to her ice-cream, "You and mommy can get married."

After she finishes the ice-cream and in the few seconds before the sugar renders her incapable of thought, he swears her to silence, picks her up to carry her to the car and leaves a one-hundred-dollar tip for the counter girl.

He takes Nadia home and keeps her amused until Katherine comes through the door, yawning and dragging her tired feet. She gives him a brief kiss and he can tell that she just wants to fall into bed so he leaves, grateful that she only has a half-day tomorrow.

So he's surprised when she rings him not even an hour later.

"Is everything okay?" he asks, immediately going into panic mode and he hears her snicker,

"Oh, everything's fine," she says, her voice thick with humor, "I just thought you'd like to know that Nadia's already practicing her flower girl duties."

"What?" he splutters, "She promised me she'd keep it a secret, I gave her ice-cream!"

"I gave her life," Katherine pointed out, "Which do you think matters more to her?"

"She's five," he counters, "Clearly I was betting on it being the ice-cream."

"Well, you were mistaken," she gloats, "And exactly how much ice-cream did you give her?"

He checks his watch, it's eight in the evening, Nadia should already be fast asleep, not still up and running around.

"So, about the thing I asked Nadia's blessing for?" he asks and she laughs,

"Well, I'd hate for all her practicing to go to waste."