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Not even remotely.

[He doesn't mind. He'd rather be addicted to caffeine than human blood. Elena had alluded to it, in their last few conversations. A silent implication that he couldn't handle whatever dark secrets Salvatore was still hiding.

Except - wait, did Remus offer? Stefan stares up in shock, trying not to betray how grateful he feels.]

I'll be okay. I promise, I'm uh - I promised myself I'd never drink human blood after I turned. I've got blood pills in my lab, and I've fed from animals every time we landed.

[He's not denying this because he wants to. He's denying this because he's afraid of what he might do to someone else.] God makes allowances for things needed to survive. The holy book talked about it in terms of pork, but I think He can make an exception for me.

I'm glad. [That he has alternatives, that he can stick to his promise to himself. Remsu offers a slight smile, shy and pleased in turn.] Has it been-- difficult? With your religion, I mean. That's a hurdle I've never had to face, honestly, and I can't imagine.

Sometimes. [He returns the smile, taking another sip of tea] Mom's gotten on my case because I can't give her grandkids, even though my brother's given her two already.....

Then there's the whole "can't really date" before marriage thing, except I blew that one by dating Alex.

[The guilt haunts him every day. Don't tell Alex that.]

They're not fun hurdles? But they're not exactly impossible either.

[He nods. Religion in general isn't something he's familiar with-- abstractly, maybe, and he's mouthed the words and done the gestures, but it's never meant anything, not really. To hear all this from someone he quite likes is fascinating.

Although something else there gives him pause--]

Sorry-- you can't have children?

[He shakes his head.] That's the price you pay for immortality. I stay the same age forever, but because I'm frozen in time, I can't have kids of my own.

I'm still trying to determine why [because he's a science nerd at heart], but it could be unique to my world.

Huh.

[Interesting.]

Quite possibly-- that's a sound theory. I suppose you'd need a closer examination of your biology before any conclusion could be made. Though-- is your brother not a vampire, then? I thought your entire family was.

Nope. I'm the only one in my family - rest're all human.

[Now that's a depressing thought. Stefan doesn't try to dwell on it often, because that means thinking about his siblings' funeral and - and he can't live with that.]

I was turned by another vampire from my world. Salvatore was turned by his ex-girlfriend, and in this life, my friend Remi turned me by complete accident.

[He thinks about fate-- about coincidences and the nature of them, about the patterns of the world. He knows, better than most, how such things play out. And he doesn't know that he believes that anything is truly an accident.

A talk for another time, though.]

I'm sorry.

[He can't imagine not being bitter over being turned.]

[Stefan appreciates the sympathy, though of habit, he manages to shake his head]

It's alright. I didn't choose this life, but... there's a reason for everything. [Spoken like someone with faith. A whole lot of it too, even if it feels weak some days.] After all, I was able to protect my family, so you know. You win some, you lose some.

[He ducks his head in a nod. He doesn't necessarily agree, but he won't argue, not when the thought so obviously gives Stefan comfort.]

If I can ask-- how did your parents take it?

Better than I thought.

[They weren't thrilled. Olette and Stefan weren't supposed to have memories of another life, much less the powers from it.]

Mom's gonna give me grief about grandkids forever, but... they're just happy I'm alive. For some measure of it, anyhow.

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