AN: Sorry about the delay in fics! This is one that will *probably* be continued. Reviews and comments would be great! And, really, you guys have been so lovely with all your comments, reviews, etc so far- I really appreciate it!

At first Elena wasn't sure why she was awake. Her bed was comfortable, despite the lack of Stefan in it; the house was quiet but not too quiet, and her phone wasn't ringing and she hadn't left music playing. If Stefan had been there... well, that would change everything. If Stefan had been there, Elena wouldn't have cried herself to sleep. If Stefan had been there, she wouldn't just be going through the motions every single day, stumbling blearily along without caring- or letting herself care- about anything. If Stefan was there, his arms would be around her right now and he'd be nestled against her, whispering in her ear and kissing her neck, hands skimming the hem of her t-shirt and not minding being awake at all.

Stop it, Elena ordered herself. Once she got started down this particular road, it only ended in tears and-

There was someone else in the room. Elena's breath caught as she looked at the window and saw him standing there.

"Stefan?" she whispered.

He turned around. "Hi."

He looked exhausted and as handsome as ever; his shirt had rips and bloodstains on it and she still thought it looked beautiful on him (something about the color and his eyes).

"Stefan," she repeated and suddenly he was rushing towards her, enveloping her in his arms and crushing her against him.

"Elena," he breathed as he hugged her. "Oh my god, Elena, I miss you so much."

Elena slowly brought her arms around him, unable to believe that this was actually happening. "I miss you."

Stefan pulled slightly away from her, cupped her face gently and kissed her; it was possibly the most passionate kiss he'd ever given her, which was saying something. Elena found herself melting against him, grasping his shirt, relishing in feeling his lips against hers, his tongue slipping into her mouth, his hands grasping her back. When their lips eventually broke apart, Elena buried her face in Stefan's shoulder, tears spilling down her face and staining his shirt.

"It's okay, Elena," Stefan murmured against her ear. He hugged her waist and tangled his other hand in her hair. "I love you, I love you."

"What the hell is going on?" she pulled back to look at him. "Klaus, is he-?"

"Dead," Stefan said shortly. "I killed him."

Elena felt dazed and dizzy, confused beyond belief- this was all happening too quickly for her to begin to comprehend. "How?"

Stefan shrugged. "Ripped his heart out. He didn't even see it coming."

"Good," she said, surprised at the venom in her voice. "Good."

Stefan smiled, but it wasn't a usual smile. His lips seemed sly and wicked, his eyes danced at some sort of merry joke that Elena wasn't in on. "Didn't know you felt that way, baby. Normally you're so quick to let go of a grudge... or is that only for Damon?"

He didn't look like Stefan anymore; he looked more like a sunken, twisted version of Stefan, Voldemort instead of Tom Riddle.

"Stefan?" Elena said slowly, aware of how his arm around her waist had tightened considerably.

"Oh, he's not Stefan anymore," a crisp, cold voice stated and Elena felt a growing horror spread through her as Klaus emerged from the shadows, holding an unconscious Jeremy in his arms. "I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting the Ripper."

Stefan's eyes had turned blood red, his fangs extended, and he lunged for Jeremy's neck-

"Elena! Elena!"

Elena gasped as Jeremy's face appeared above hers. "Wh-what?"

"You were screaming," he said, wiping his brow. Alaric appeared behind him, concern on his face, crossbow in hand.

"You okay?"

"Bad dream," Elena answered quietly, her heartbeat eventually slowing back to normal.

Jeremy and Alaric exchanged a look, though neither comment that it was the fifth time this week that it's happened: Elena shrieking in the middle of the night, sending both Jeremy and Alaric scrambling for her room certain that Klaus was there attacking her, only to find Elena asleep and fighting an invisible foe. They know now that it wasn't necessary to grab every weapon in the house before running to "save" her.

"Seriously, I'm fine," Elena made an effort to smile ruefully. "Sorry I bothered you guys. Again."

Jeremy shrugged, looking unconvinced. "If you say so..."

After they left, Elena grabbed her bear and rolled over, pulling the covers completely over her head. So, okay, she had had a bunch of nightmares lately- everything from seeing Jenna die again and again to Klaus and Stefan attacking Jeremy to Stefan dying. Sleep was no longer an escape from the world, but a heightened horror version of it.

Elena felt herself drifting despite herself, knowing that sleep only brought more horrors. It was inevitable. She'd tried to convince Bonnie to make her some sort of potion, one that would keep her awake for as long as possible, but Bonnie had simply raised her eyebrows and Elena hadn't bothered finishing the request. She'd thought about asking Caroline or Damon to compel her, keep her from sleeping, but knew that would just result in being yelled at or some sort of intervention. That meant sleep was inevitable...

She was sitting in the Salvatore living room, thumbing through a copy of Middlemarch while Stefan wrote in his journal. She wasn't reading, despite the fact it was one of her favorites; instead she eyed Stefan, noting how his lips were pursed and his shoulders tensed, even though they were alone, even though she was only wearing one of his sweatshirts.

Setting the book aside, Elena walked over to Stefan and sat behind him, grabbing his shoulders and massaging them gently.

"You're tense, baby," she whispered. "What's wrong?"

Stefan stopped writing in mid-sentence. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," she dug her hands deeper into his skin.

"I'm trying, Elena, I'm trying to fight it," he told her.

"I know you are."

"But I think I'm losing," he dropped his head. "I'm enjoying it, Elena, enjoying hurting people."

"No, you're not," Elena whispered. "No, you're not."

Stefan was quiet and grabbed onto her hand, holding it to his face and kissing it. "I love you so much," he whispered so softly that Elena strained to hear him. "I love you."

"I love you," she said, loudly and clearly, twisting so she was in his lap and looking into his eyes. "You are going to beat this, Stefan."

He just looked at her and laughed mirthlessly.

Elena ignored her alarm clock. School seemed less and less important by the day; sitting around listening to droning teachers while Stefan was in danger wasn't an option anymore.

She threw some clothes into a bag. She grabbed her journal, some of Stefan's journals, and a photo of Stefan, one of her favorites, where he was looking at the camera with a goofy expression on his face, playing around just for her. Some other essentials were packed, and then she quietly walked downstairs, pausing only to place a note on the kitchen table before leaving.

The note is brief, as are the phone messages she leaves for Bonnie and Caroline: "I'm going to find Stefan. Please don't worry about me or try to find me. I love you."

As she sat in the car, trying to figure out if this was a complete suicide mission, Elena figured she only had a few options: wait at home, continuing to mope and expecting nightmares, waiting for Damon to call with good news. Or she could do this crazy, stupid, foolish thing that will probably get her killed and track down Klaus and Stefan herself.

Choosing option B, she headed for the highway, the image of Stefan making her drive faster.