Elena's sight was surprisingly clear when her eyes opened, though she closed them almost instantly due to the bright sky blaring into her vision. She reached around her and realized she was surrounded by high grass and a warm sun. She clutched her chest and looked around swiftly for something, anything to show her where she was.

Finally, with a deep breath, Elena realized she was in a dream. She was in her meadow… her and Stefan's meadow. But where was he?

Mind reeling, Elena scrambled to her feet and almost tripped when she got up. "Stefan?" she whispered, turning around over and over again, hoping to see him approaching her somewhere off in the faded horizon. Panic filled her chest when she realized he was nowhere to be found. "Stefan!"

Almost by some crazy miracle, just then, Elena could see Stefan's silhouette approaching from the horizon in the distance . Not even bothering to make her own presence known, she ran to him as fast as she possibly could, flinging herself into his arms desperately. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and inhaled the sweet aroma that emitted from his skin, trying to commit the homey scent of waterfalls and wisdom and his subtle cologne to memory.

Stefan tightly circled his arms around Elena as he buried his face in her hair. "The spell… once I fall asleep, I stay asleep until I absolutely have to go. I've been waiting here for you… But you didn't show up. I didn't know what happened to you." His usually steady voice cracked slightly when he spoke. Stefan pulled away quickly to place desperate kisses on Elena's lips, all over her face. She couldn't fight the tears that spilled over her eyes when she realized just how afraid he was. He knew something was wrong. She had to step away for a moment to just stare at Stefan in wonder.

Slowly, Elena began to trail her fingers along his inhumanly gorgeous face, starting at those crimson-stained lips of his, lips that she knew like the back of her hand. Then, her fingertips slid over Stefan's chiseled jaw and she could feel him clench and unclench it beneath her touch, a nervous habit he had formed over the years. With a sad expression, Elena wondered if this was the last time she'd ever really get to look at him.

"I'm scared to wake up, Stefan," she whispered brokenly. Her brown eyes came in contact with his hazel ones and she could see the confusion in them. "We walked outside and then… I don't know what happened. I saw these blue eyes and then I blacked out." She shivered.

Stefan's eyes went wide with alarm. "It's happening," he gulped. "Elena, you have to stay strong…" His gaze filled with helplessness, for he knew there was nothing he could do to save her. "I'm so sorry I can't be there for you."

She frowned at Stefan's words and pulled him close. "You are there for me. Remember what you told me? You'd always love me, no matter what decade your mind is in. So you're there. We're still a team. We'll still get through this together."

He gave her a halfhearted smile and suddenly realized their dream was fading, his golden heart lurching in dread. "I know you can get through this. You're the strongest woman I've ever met. I love you so much." Stefan barely got out those last words before fiercely crushing his lips against Elena's, fearing that one of them would not make it out of this alive.

Just when she started kissing back, her eyes drifted open and Elena was roused painfully from her slumber.

.

.

.

Elena groaned in pain when her eyes slowly drifted open. A dull ache was pulsing from the back of her head and she felt as if every single thought was weighted down in lead. Her cheek was pressed up against something unpleasantly cold, and it took her a long while to realize that it was a concrete floor. Very slowly, she sat up.

Her vision was extremely blurry at first, though it quickly cleared and the very first thing that registered in her hazy mind was red. The floor was covered in a sheet of glistening crimson. She gasped and ran her hand along the shiny liquid, still in a daze. Blood, her instincts were telling her, causing her heart to drop; Elena wondered just how badly she was injured.

But as her gaze trailed across the room, Elena realized that none of it was her blood.

It was Stefan's.

There he was, discarded on the other end of the room like a used napkin, his body completely limp, limbs twisted at unnatural angles. His face was a ghastly pale and dried blood had collected around a huge gash on his head, making his usually light chestnut hair ominously darker.

The grievous sight of Stefan was what brought Elena to her senses.

Hurriedly, she rushed to his side. Oh god, she kept thinking over and over again, her heart practically racing out of her chest. Don't be dead… Please don't be dead…

To Elena's relief, shallow and ragged breaths escaped from Stefan's mouth in pants and she turned him over quickly so that his head was resting in her lap. Her heart broke when she really got a good look at his face: his complexion chalky from blood loss, his mouth a deadly red from coughing up his own blood, and those eyes –those lively eyes of his–, were distant and unseeing. It sent a chill up her spine.

Just then, the clicking of heals could be heard against the concrete floors, and Elena lifted her head. Standing above her was a smirking Charlotte, whose midnight hair flowed past her waist. "Good morning," she cooed. Her silky voice made Elena cringe.

"What did you do to him?" Elena demanded angrily, nodding down to Stefan in her lap.

Charlotte rolled her icy eyes and crouched down so that she could run her long fingernails lightly over Stefan's damaged face. "Beautiful, isn't he?" she whispered to Elena, that snide smirk still perfectly in place. "I told him that too."

Elena's face twisted in fury and hatred and she slapped Charlotte's hand away. The snarky vampire chuckled at Elena's response and stepped back again. "He saw you passed out over there… and he just kind of flipped out. Tried to fight, and I'll tell you, it was impressive for a little while. Then I got bored and just finished him off. But don't worry," Charlotte chided. "I decided not to kill him, so he can watch you die."

Elena froze upon hearing those words and suddenly snapped. Lightly, she set Stefan down on the floor as if he would break if she was any rougher. With a newfound confidence fueled by her love and rage, Elena stood up so that she was now level with Charlotte, their faces inches away.

The resemblance was uncanny, Elena realized. The only real difference between them was the bitterness twisted in Charlotte's beautiful face and those unnatural blue eyes that had the ability to haunt anyone's dreams for decades. "You must be Charlotte," she said levelly. "The… bitch who sent my boyfriend back to 1864 so he could feel lost and alone. The bitch who decided that Stefan wouldn't love me if he didn't remember me. Well let me tell you something… You're a fool, Charlotte. Because when nothing makes sense, Stefan is the one thing that makes everything snap into place. No matter who he is or what he knows he's done, when I'm with him, none of that matters! Whether he's seventeen or a hundred and seventeen, he'll always be mine. Whether he's dying or high on blood, he'll always protect me. Always. And nothing, not even death can take that away from us. So go ahead, kill me right now. Let's see you try and get away with it."

Charlotte arched a brow and paused for just a moment, and then, as if on cue, was pushed against the closest wall by a very weak Stefan in her moment of distraction. He had just enough strength to twist her arm and then collapsed again, but then someone else suddenly appeared to take his place.

James, with his ash blonde hair falling into his eyes, held Charlotte in an iron grip against the wall. Struggling but still having the upper hand, he turned his head to yell to Elena.

"Get him out of here," he demanded urgently and nodded to Stefan. "Heal him… Then you'll be able to bring him home."

Though Elena didn't recognize him or even fully understand the second half of what he said, she followed James's orders and got out as fast as she possibly could.

A/N: Ok, I don't know about this chapter. Not much romance, I know… But I really wanted to update tonight. What do you think James meant?

There's only a few chapters left of this story! Ahhh :( it's going to be sooo sad to end this! I'm sorry if this seemed lacking of details close to the end… it's past midnight and I feel like I hit a wall- I'm sooo tired! LOL!

I promise that the next chapter will be almost COMPLETELY full of Stelena goodness! And that it will be better quality.

Did you like it? Please comment so I'll feel inspired to get the next chapter up. Like I said, I promise it'll be much better!

Thank you!

-Sara