Elena knew that time was passing outside of her conscious, but she kept reliving the best day of her life over and over. She remembered how Stefan had bumped into her that day in the hallway, causing her whole life to make a turn for the best. Yeah, she might have had some hard times, okay maybe a lot, but she knew she loved Stefan and would do it all over again to just have him as hers again. Though she missed all her friends, she knew that they were living their life without her. Until one day the normal bumping into Stefan changed.

Stefan opened the lid of the coffin looking down at her peaceful body. For the last year, sense Elena has been in this coma, he has been working with Bonnie on trying to find a way to wake Elena up. Finally, after months of continuous research, they found something that could work; a true loves kiss. He told Damon, but his brother seemed to be to stuck on how much that seemed like Sleeping Beauty bullshit to believe it. So here Stefan stood looking at Elena with Bonnie standing next to him.

"What if it doesn't work," Stefan asks looking at her, "What if I'm not her true love and all this time was a waist?"

"Have a little faith Stefan," Bonnie encouraged and she gave him a kind smile, "You told me yourself that you will always love her, so just believe in it Stefan."

"Okay," he nods looking at Bonnie for a moment before looking back at Elena in her peaceful state.

Stefan bends down towards the coffin, wishing this wasn't how he was going to kiss her again. He wanted to kiss her when she was awake, when she was the one to tell him too. He wanted her to want him back, he wanted to have her back. He closed his eyes before pressing his lips against her soft ones, just as he remembered them to be. When he pulled away she was still laying there with her eyes closed, the hope he had for them flushed right out of him. It didn't work.

"There's my answer," he whispers looking over at Bonnie.

"Just give it time," she whispers and her phone buzzes, "That must be Enzo."

"You go out on your date," Stefan smiles at her, "I'll wait here to see if anything happens."

"Okay," she hesitates as the noise from her phone still goes off, "Let me know if she wakes up."

"I will," he smiles before Bonnie walks away and out of the crypt.

Stefan stands there for a moment before walking over to the other side of the room, sitting on the ground with his back against the wall. After a few minutes, he closes his eyes thinking about Elena. He remembered when she told him not to hide from her, after she found out he was a vampire. Seven years ago, Stefan and Elena were just really starting their relationship telling the truth to one another. After a few moments, he hears something moving and he opened his eyes thinking someone had gotten in, but there she stood in her black dress with a hint of blue looking at him.

"Stefan," she asks confused looking around, "What happened? Why am I here?"

"It worked," he smiled, "it really worked."

"What worked, Stefan," she asks with wide eyes as he stands up slowly, "Where's Bonnie? Is she-"

"Bonnie's fine," he smiles, "She's out on a date. Her and I have been trying to figure out a way to wake you up. I can't believe it."

"What do you mean Stefan," she asks confused.

"You're Sleeping Beauty," he says and it dawns on her what he's meaning.

"Where's Damon," she asks and his smile slips a little.

"Probably out somewhere," Stefan says and he can tell she's worried.

"I thought Kai put a spell on me and Bonnie," she says eyeing Stefan and he takes a step closer, "I thought Bonnie had to… die, before I could come back."

"Yeah," he says pulling out his phone, "Do you want me to call her? Let you talk to her?"

Elena nods and Stefan dials her number. Elena stood there watching Stefan as if he held all the answers. On the third ring Stefan started to get worried thinking that Elena woke because Bonnie died, but his worry didn't last long because Bonnie answered.

"Hello," Bonnie said through the phone and Stefan smiles.

"Hey Bonnie," he sighs and Elena smiled widely at him, "She's awake."

"It worked," Bonnie asked laughing and he smiled at Elena.

"Do you want to talk to her yourself," Stefan asked as he put her on speaker.

"Yes," she laughed and Stefan looked into Elena's bright eyes that held excitement.

"Bonnie," Elena asked smiling into the phone.

"Elena, oh my God," Bonnie squealed, "How are you? Are you okay? Stefan, is she okay?"

"She's right here," Elena laughed remembering how Caroline had done the same thing when Elena came back to school after her parents died, "And I'm fine. Thank you."

"I'll be over there to come get you guys in a minute," Bonnie said and Elena's face held worry in it.

"You don't have to," Elena reassured her best friend, "I have some things I need to talk about with Stefan."

"Are you sure," Bonnie asked.

"You have fun on your date," she smiled, "I'll see you soon. You better tell me all the juicy details."

"I will," Bonnie laughed, "I've missed you Elena. It's great to have you back."

"I've missed you too Bonnie," Elena says before Bonnie hangs up the phone.

Stefan puts the phone back in his pocket remembering the other two objects in his pocket. He pulls them both out handing her the necklace he had given her years ago, and her phone. She looked at the objects curiously before reaching out for them. The moment their hands touched they both had to fight the urge to entwine their fingers together, not sure if the other wanted it.

"I've been paying the bill on your phone," Stefan says after a moment of silence, "Figured you'd want to keep your number and all the contacts are still the same."

"And the necklace," she asks challenging him a little to see his excuse for giving the one thing that held their wonderful past together.

"You're human," he shrugs, "You need the vervain to protect yourself."

"From Damon," she finishes for him and he shook his head.

"Maybe if he tries to bite or compel you," he smiles, "but he really loves you Elena, I doubt he's going to try anything."

"I don't know," she whispers feeling her heart sink at his words about his brother loving her.

The time she's been asleep, she's had a lot of time to think. She loved Damon before she took the cure, but now she wasn't so sure what she felt for him anymore. When she was asleep she had thought about Stefan and now she couldn't figure out what that meant for them. She knew she loved Stefan, she always has and she believes she always will.

"So," she hesitates a little, "What has happened sense I've been gone?"

"Caroline and Alaric got married and she's pregnant," he says starting off with the good.

"I thought vampires couldn't get pregnant," she says with a questioning look.

"They can't," he assures, "But somehow she's carrying Jo's twins. We believe someone done a spell, but Caroline already seems attached to them."

"How far along is she," Elena asks happily.

"Seven months," Stefan smiled.

"I've missed a lot haven't I," she asks smiling, but her voice holds sadness.

"A little," he smiles trying to reassure her.

"And Matt," She asks, "What's going on in his life?"

"Sheriff," he smiles, "He was dedicated sheriff about a month after you went in your coma."

"Sheriff Donovan," She smiles testing the name on her tongue, "He's saving other humans like him, huh?"

"Yeah," Stefan laughs.

"How's Damon been," she asks and Stefan holds his breath for a moment.

"To be expected I guess," Stefan says watching her carefully, "Sense you've been gone he's been doing his old Damon stuff. He's been back on the mission of making my life a living hell."

"What do you mean," she asks feeling herself grow with concern for the man in front of her, "What has he done to you Stefan?"

"Let's just say he's been in the mission of leaving a path behind him to make it look like something a ripper would do," Stefan says and Elena's eyes widen.

"He's been," she hesitates letting the words come out carefully, afraid she might be right on how Damon is now, "ripping heads off?"

"Remember when I flipped the switch and went with Klaus," Stefan asks and her eyes tear up at the memory.

"I could never forget," she says truthfully, remembering the endless nights she stayed up crying and wondering if she would ever get Stefan back.

"Well he's doing what I done," he hesitates remembering himself how hard it was to disappoint Elena when he left her, "He's ripping off their heads, then he puts the head back on the body. Everything I done he's been trying to do."

"I can't believe this," she sighs sitting down next to the coffin she had been stuck in for a year, but truthfully, she could believe it.

She knew how sensitive Damon really was, she also knew he didn't know how to express his emotions the way he should. When he was mad, he went on a binge leaving death behind him. When he was happy, he would celebrate with either drinking liquor or blood. Yeah, she knew how Damon was better than he did.

"He's been hurting," Stefan says trying to justify for his brother, "We all have. He just couldn't handle the pain anymore…"

"So, he shut it off," she finishes for him looking up into his green eyes that held pain in them.

"He'll turn it back on," Stefan tries to reassure her, "Once he sees you, he'll turn it back on."

"He might turn it back on," she says looking at the ground, "Just because he loved me doesn't mean when he sees me that his emotions will just come back. You know as well as I do it's not that easy."

Stefan doesn't say anything, because what she said was true. He remembered what happened when she turned off her own humanity, it took Damon killing Matt for Elena to finally turn it back on; luckily Matt had been wearing the Gilbert ring. When Stefan turned off his own humanity, it only took Elena and her words to bring him back little by little. Elena held his heart still, her words could bring him back from hell, and now her presence gave him peace. She was okay, even if she wasn't his, she was okay and that thought was all he needed.

"Does Damon still stay at the Boarding house," she asks and he nods a little.

"Whenever he isn't out killing he is," Stefan said and his words for his brother sound harsh even to his own ears.

"Has anyone tried to stop him," she asks unable to stop the words.

"Yeah," Stefan laughs a little, "I've went head in with him trying to stop him. Did no good because he snapped my neck and left me there so when I woke up I was lying next to the headless bodies and their heads where on two plates."

"Don't give up, Stefan," she whispers hearing the hurt in his voice.

"I haven't yet," he smiles at her and he can tell she doesn't believe him by her pleading eyes, "I won't Elena. I didn't give up on you, and I won't give up on my pain in the ass brother."

Elena smiled at him, believing his words. This was the Stefan she remembered, the one that loved his brother and would do anything for him. Yeah, sometimes Stefan and Damon didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but Stefan never gave up on Damon. She felt the urge to kiss Stefan, but she pushes that urge down not wanting to do anything until she figured out her feelings for the brothers. Stefan sat down next to Elena watching her.

"What," she laughs looking at him blushing at the attention he's giving her, "What are you staring at?"

"You," he smiles at her with amazement in his eyes, "It's great to have you back, Elena… Really great."

"I never gave up hope Stefan," she says and it hides a double meaning behind it.

"Me neither," he says and he know what she's meaning.

The kiss he gave her told him everything he needed to know. He knew that they both still loved each other, they just didn't know how to approach it. Elena knew she'd see Stefan again, but she didn't know how she managed to get the spark back that they once held. She was so confused on her feelings, she was still with Damon and cared about him, but here Stefan was acting like they use to and she couldn't deny her feelings for him were strong.

"Can I stay at your house," Elena asks ending the silence and catching him off guard.

"Of course," he nods, "You're more than welcome."

"Thank you," she says and silence falls over them again as she looks down at the floor.

"Are you ready to go or something," he asks wishing they didn't have to because once they stepped out of that crypt reality would sink in again.

"I might have been asleep for a while," she hesitates looking at his amused expression as he watches her, "Okay, a long while; I am still tired."

"It'll probably take a while to get you back in the normal routine," he says as he stands up reaching for her hand.

"Thank you," she teases as she grabs his hand and he pulls her to her feet carefully.

He smiles at her and he entwines their fingers together as they walk to Stefan's car. Elena looks over her shoulder at the crypt that had held her for a year, feeling like she was running away from her home. They get in the car and drive in silence both lost in their thoughts. Before either of them knew it they were pulling into the driveway of his home.

"Home," she whispers and he looks at her before remembering she had lived here with him and Damon for a while before she went off to college.

"Yeah," he sighs leaning against the back of his seat turning his head to gaze at Elena, afraid if he didn't look at her long she would be gone and this was just another dream of Elena.

It only took a moment of silence for both to walk in. When they entered, they heard something moving from in the living room. They walked towards the noise carefully, not sure what exactly it was. There the man stood with blood on his mouth putting a head on the headless body.

"Damon," Elena asked finally understanding what Stefan had been talking about, she had never seen Damon this bad and it frightened her.