I know you may be disappointed. But this chapter I wanted to focus on Katherine and Stefan. As you know, pretty soon this story will be basically only Klaroline. Unless I keep Stefan around? Debatable...

The first chapter was called Try after a song by The XX. I felt the feelings in that song that relate to Katherine and Stefan needed to be addressed. Especially before she either dies or is saved.

Don't hate me(;

Chapter 8: "If We Try Once More"

Stefan hung up the phone. Caroline had made a deal with Klaus-the devil himself. She hadn't elaborated, then again he hadn't waited for explanations. He too elated with the news. They would be getting help. Katherine would be getting help.

Stefan walked over to her. She was laying on a bed, peacefully. Katherine was beautiful. Her long curly hair framed her now pale face. Her face was not curled into a snarl; she rested silently, tranquilly. He had loved her before.

The recognition of this fact had dawned on him once more when he had come to grips with her vulnerability. Katherine Pierce had tried to kill herself. After hundreds of years of just surviving-of shifty morals to achieve self-preservation-she was just going to off herself in a haste. He remembered the panic he had felt, but it was displaced. Stefan did not know what to do with his fears of her death. He just knew he had to save her. So he did.

In return, she had showed him her softer side. Katherine had saved him. She had assisted him in facing his fears of the coffin and drowning. Katherine had been there for him in a way Elena and Damon could not. He had distanced himself from them, trying to regain his mental position. He loved his brother. He had loved Elena. But he did not know where he fit into their new world. For Stefan, it was painful. He opted to just avoid the happy couple altogether.

Katherine had stepped in. She was weak and vulnerable. Her death could come easily at any moment, and it had woken her up. Vampirism had allowed her humanity to shine through perpetually. It had done wonders for her personality.

Stefan smiled to himself, remembering the feeling of how close she was to him in the coffin. They had shared a moment. That is, until Caroline had ruined it, unknowingly.

He couldn't suppress a grin as he recalled their tryst later that night. Katherine was gorgeous. They fell readily into their old patterns. They were not the same people that they were back when loved her and she used him, but their bodies felt the same. Stefan reveled in the feeling of her warm, fragile body intertwining with his. When they had made love years ago, he had been naive and oblivious to her true nature. Yet somehow, their latest affair had felt sweeter than all the others. There was something real about. For once, Katherine was vulnerable. For once, it had felt like she was actually sharing a part of her with him.

The memory turned sour as Stefan remembered the next morning. He had denied her forgiveness. Of course, he knew that was what he had to do. He couldn't have forgiven her then. He wasn't even sure he could now. There were too many things that she had done. For awhile, she had torn his family in two. She was the reason he was a vampire. Katherine Pierce had done little to deserve redemption.

It was the light that shone in her eyes that he clung to. He saw something in her-something to save. He knew she could be the person he desperately wanted her to be. He had hope for her. And really, who was he to judge. Stefan had probably done more terrible things than she had in all her years of deception and lies. The Ripper had a deadly reputation. It was something Stefan could never overcome, never forget. He was cursed to feel guilty forever, and he felt he deserved it.

He wished he had just accepted her. They didn't have much time now. And as much as he hated her, he thought he still might love her. She had become a different person since taking the cure, and it was a person Stefan could understand. He sensed her reaching out for help, for forgiveness. Why hadn't he just given in?

He had spent so much time trying to stop his cravings for her. Now all he wanted for her to be okay. Katherine had to survive this because Stefan didn't think he could move on if she didn't. He would never know. There might have been something more between them-something "epic," as Caroline would say.

Why had he wasted so much time trying to ignore her? Trying to fight off his feelings? She was dying.

Katherine had fallen unconscious at his boarding house. Eventually, she had come to. They had taken her to the hospital, and Stefan had refused to leave her side.

He remembered how she had stared him straight in the eyes before she fell unconscious for a second time. It was as if she could peer deep into his soul. Her lips curved into a smile as she whispered, "I would've been there."

Her eyes fell shut, but her smile stayed on her lovely face. Stefan shed a tear. He knew what she meant. If she had survived, she would have been there for him. A part of felt like he needed her. He wasn't about to let go of her. Not with the possibility of getting her back.

The memory faded into a very real situation mirroring the one before. Katherine's playful smirk tugged on her lips as she was sleeping. In return, his own grin tried to appear. Stefan fought the urge to cry. Everything seemed so helpless. Was he doomed to lose all those he loved? Was Stefan Salvatore supposed to live a life alone?

His heart thudded. Wait, he thought. Do I love Katherine? There were definitely some feelings there...

He wasn't sure.

But he needed to find out.

When this was all over, he knew that he would not leave her side. They would try once more to be together. Stefan wouldn't be able to deny his feelings for her, and she had made her feelings clear.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he eagerly opened the message from Caroline.

"We'll come to you," it read.

He sent back a quick "okay."

He stroked Katherine's hair, and placed a blanket on her. Then he returned to his chair right next to her bed. He took a deep breath praying Klaus and his witch would get here quickly. Katherine looked paler by the second. He closed his eyes for just a moment, resting peacefully.

Suddenly, the energy shifted. Katherine was convulsing in seizures. Stefan didn't know what to do. He knew he couldn't hold her down-it wasn't safe. So he just sat in his chair, helplessly. Trying to soothe her, and hoping with all his might that the original hybrid would make good on his word.

This is a short one. Sorry! Please review! I promise the next chapter will dive into Klaroline again...with a bit of Katherine/Stefan.

What do you think? Should Stefan and Katherine stay in New Orleans? Or leave? Or visit from time to time?

I'd like to hear back...so I'm thinking FIVE reviews? That's doable(;