Three Chances

BroodingCompassion: A Stefan Salvatore Story

Rated: M

Ship: Stexi

DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. If I did, Stebekah would have been endgame a long time ago, trust me!

The Beginning of it All

This was supremacy, this was domination, this was power. I had never felt such a rush, never in my life. The lift I got from ripping hundreds of bodies to shreds would never compare to this feeling right now. The thrill I got from sinking my jagged teeth into helpless victims, feeling their struggling bodies in every inch of my own. Their weakening heartbeat fuelling my every craving, causing me pain due to it being almost too pleasurable; literally taking them to the brink of death, feeling their last breath on my skin. Watching their eyes as they fought for survival, but no human could stand against a vampire; no human could stand against a Ripper.

The vial containing the cure fit so perfectly in my pocket, so small, so compact yet so powerful. However, drinking one drop would render me powerless. It was so ironic that the most wanted substance by the most authoritative of beings was actually the one thing to weaken them, but that was the deal. Everyone wanted it, because everyone had a dream or someone to taunt with it. I just wanted to be human again, that was, until I got the very substance in my own hands. I now understood and completely agreed with everything both my brother and Klaus had said. I was aware of the opportunity, but it was as if my opinions had been completely flipped ever since I touched the very outer glass of the liquid. I had even opened it and placed it to my mouth in a moment of adrenaline, but pouring the stuff into my mouth was something I could not do. Hesitation was an understatement; I knew in that moment that I never wanted to become human.

Stroking the mould of the bottle through my jeans I looked up at the woman who was so desperate to retrieve it. I smirked at her as she gasped at my very movement. I could gloat right now, that for this short while, I, Stefan Salvatore, was the most powerful thing on the planet.

"So what is it you have to offer me?"

I asked, pacing the room with my most arrogant posture. She was a witch, she could give me whatever I wanted, but what exactly did I want? She nervously pointed to a draw on her desk in the corner, signalling me to open it; I did, pulling out a long necklace, the end of it being a circular pendant, an hour glass in the middle. Whatever this was, she assumed it would be the one thing I would hand over the cure for, so I was more than interested to find out. But before I could ask, she moved closer to me, taking the extension of the chain and wrapping it around us both.

"It's a time turner, you can use it however you wish." She began as she twisted the mechanism slowly.

"Look outside!"

She continued, and as I did, I noticed the sky get lighter and lighter, the Sun's position in the sky also moving in the opposite direction.

"I'll let you use it three times in exchange for the cure."

She finished, a little firmer with her words this time. I thought for a moment about all of the great things I could do with a time turner, but with only three attempts, I would have to choose wisely. It was definitely intriguing to me, definitely something I would consider and definitely something I was going to agree to. She twisted the turner once more to position us back into the present day, removing the necklace from the both of us, placing it into my hands.

"Now, there are a few rules, but they're not that restricting,"

She stated, taking a seat on the leather singular chair in the middle of the room, sipping loudly on a cup of coffee.

"One, at no matter what point in time you are, you will always remain a vampire. Don't think you can go back to when you were human and prevent yourself from being turned, you're immortal, that's the end of it."

She paused, watching me as I sat on an identical chair to hers.

"Two, you are allowed 24 hours at each stop. Three, your third stop is your last; once you choose your third date in time, you cannot move forward, the turner will cease to work and you will be stuck, so choose your last destination wisely."

I raised my eyebrows, sipping on the whiskey I had earlier been poured, nodding to show I understood and agreed to her terms. It made perfect sense, statistically. Messing with time was without a doubt a dangerous thing to do, and yet she was offering it because she wanted this cure so much. What she wanted to do with it, I didn't care. Destroy it, use it on a vampire; perhaps even Silas himself. The pro's and the con's so this little deal were beginning to build up slowly. If she were to give this to Silas, he'd be able to kill himself and be reunited with this love of his. He wished to open this barrier of supernatural deaths, meaning everyone would come back. Enemies of Klaus, not that I cared much for him, and my brother; because lets face it... Damon had been a bit of a dick in the past. And also, mine. During my Ripper stage, I had made a few enemies and I had killed out of boredom. Though I was aware of my actions, I didn't care at the time. It was dangerous, and yet... It was worth it. Going back, I could redo all the wrongs I had ever done. I could stop Damon from mulling over a girl he believed to be trapped. I could help him live life and move on... I could help him get Elena. Though I loved her myself, she was not mine. She didn't belong to me. She belonged to him, and I had stopped that from happening because I had wanted a part of Katherine back. But I could go back, and stop it! I could stop my brother from hating me for eternity, and we'd be like the old ways. Brothers again. I could stop many things from happening. And instantly, my mind flicked to one in particular. I could stop someone I loved dearly from dying. I sat back in my chair for a while, pondering over my decision, but it wasn't long until I came to it. With that thought now in my head, of saving so many and fixing so much, I spoke the words openly and freely. And more so, eagerly.

"Deal!"

Author comments:

First of all, I want to thank my best friend, CorruptedHeart. Without her, I wouldn't even like TVD. She helped me write some of this and will continue to assist me throughout. I love you so much!

I hope you readers enjoy this, and I greatly welcome any reviews and feedback. Thank you to all of my readers in advance ~ BroodingCompassion