A/N: Since tonight's episode sucked in the way of SE scenes, I decided to write an alternate ending to the descent. Et voila.

"Why?"

He'd taken her up to her room after seeing the look on her face once seeing John. He'd seen the hatred, the overwhelming urge to slap both of them and leave. But this was her home. She had nowhere else to go.

Stefan knew by now that she was angry at him, and that she had contemplated two or three times to not speak to him at all. But she wanted answers. Elena was curious, a little too curious at times. And he knew especially that she would want to know why her Uncle slash father was sitting down in the kitchen, as if he wanted to help them at all.

Elena looked up at him, wondering if he had heard her question. It was simple, and it wasn't as if she had asked him to explain in great detail what he had done today, and why Uncle John was here. She had just asked why. The thought of Isobel was bad enough, but having the man that Stefan had been so intent on getting out of town in the first place in her very home was unnerving.

Stefan let out of a breath of air and sat down beside her on the bed, the old springs creaking as he did so. He was trying to keep quiet, as Jenna and Jeremy were both long asleep, neither aware of the fact that he was there, or that John was there. "Elena," he spoke softly, reaching over and cupping her cheek. "If he does anything to try to hurt you, I won't hesitate to kill him this time."

But that wasn't what Elena had asked, and he knew very well. She also knew that he was avoiding her question, not wanting at all to talk about this. But not right now, not when their reunion was still fresh in the air, a movie playing on constant repeat in both of their minds. He didn't want anything to mess it up; he'd meant what he said earlier that day. He wasn't planning on letting her go, ever.

Even though, he knew, her mortality was a problem when it came to forever.

They had never actually discussed the consequences of him forever being seventeen and her aging with every day that passed. And he supposed it was because it pained them too much to think of the future when she would be old and grey and he would still be the handsome boy she fell in love with in high school. He would have done anything for her. But he wasn't sure if he could ever come to terms with having to turn her. Not just yet; she had so much to live for.

"Why?" She repeated, breaking him out of his trance. This time, her hands were cupping his face, forcing him to look straight in her eyes. She didn't even need the human hold she had; her simple presence had him captivated. "Why would you bring him back? After all he has done. Stefan, he tried to kill you and-"

"I am aware of that, Elena." His tone was sharp, but it had an authoritative manner to it. Elena shied away from continuing her rampage, still holding tightly to either side of his face, as if he needed to be protected from anything. "Bringing John here might be a mistake in your eyes, but I need whatever help I can get to protect you." There was a slight quiver in his voice, and Elena had to stop and compose herself. "Elena, I have the wrong appetite when it comes to being a vampire, I know that. And I risk the urges most of the time – as of late that has not been the case, of course – but I do it because I'm holding onto the last bit of humanity left inside of me. And because I make that sacrifice, I can't always protect you. And that hurts me, to think about. That someday something will happen and I won't be able to save you, and I won't be able to protect you like I should. Like a normal boyfriend would. But I can't be a normal boyfriend. I've put you through so much. And it's not going to get easier. It's just going to keep building and building until combustion. But I'm selfish, because I would rather go through all of that with you, than be without you."

Elena heard the crack in his voice and tried to ignore the fact that tears were brimming. She saw the hurt look in his face, she heard it in his voice, and the reality became all too obvious to her. They had always talked about how she believed in him, and how she believed that he would keep her safe no matter what. But they had never talked about what would happen if he didn't. And she didn't want to now. Not with Uncle John looming downstairs, listening in on every word that the couple shared. She shuddered and looked over at Stefan, sucking in a deep breath.

"You're not selfish," she said softly, looking into his eyes. For the first time, she noticed the tears in his eyes too, and her heart panged with the pain and remorse because she was the reason they were there. "Not at all and if you think you are, I guess I'm selfish too because I want all the same things too." She paused and for a moment, she felt like her entire throat was closing in. Like the oxygen in the air was being sucked out. "And I want them all with you. It doesn't matter what happens, all that matters is that we're together. And we always will be."

And just like that, there was silence. It wasn't the kind of awkward silence that left them both with the inability to keep the conversation going. A nice silence left them both with a comfortable edge. Stefan leaned over and cupped her right cheek in his hand, kissing her in the softest way. She barely felt the way his lips pressed against hers in that comforting, familiar way.

"I love you." He said as he pulled away, and she looked up to meet his loving gaze. It was something she was sure that she would never get sick of. Something she didn't want to.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smiled. "I love you too." She said, tightening her grip around his neck as he pulled her into one of his bone-crushing hugs. She giggled softly against his shoulder, curling her head into the crook of his neck and wondering if there were a place in the world she'd rather be right now.

But there wasn't. She was home, and that's all she'd ever wanted to be.