After walking for about a mile, Klaus led them into the woods.
It was dark and Stefan protectively cradled Elena's unconscious body in his arms.
He looked down at her and despised himself for not being strong enough to protect her.

A few minutes later they approached an abandoned-looking car.
Klaus opened the passenger door for Stefan to get in, but instead Stefan just glared at Klaus and opened the door to the back seat to sit there with Elena.
He sat down and positioned Elena as comfortably as he could against him in the small vehicle.
He placed her small head in his lap allowing her to rest her legs on the remaining seats.

As they drove Stefan did not take his eyes off of her as he delicately stroked her long chestnut hair.
He just gently caressed her cheeks with the back of his pointer finger as more tears continued to fall down his face.
He knew too well how traumatized she was after she came back from Klaus for the first time, and he couldn't bear the thought of her experiencing that kind of pain all over again.
He constantly promised her safety and protection, but here she was lying unconscious in the back of Klaus's car.
He truly failed her.

After about an hour her head began to squirm slightly in his lap as a small groan escaped her lips.
Stefan knew that her head must have been pounding due to the blow.
Carefully Stefan repositioned her to where she was fully on his lap so he could bury her completely in his embrace.

"S-Stefan?" she croaked out against his chest.

"I'm right here sweetie," he answered as he held her close.
He was doing everything in his power to make her feel safe in his arms.

She looked around and the second she saw Klaus in the driver's seat she quickly buried herself deeper into Stefan's chest.
She clung to him as she began to shake in fear, tears staining his shirt.

"I-I-I'm s-so s-scared," she cried softly into Stefan's chest, causing his heart to break into a million tiny pieces.

"I know angel, I know," he cooed while stroking her hair as she continued to cry.
Watching her like this broke Stefan, he had to think of a way to make her feel safe and fast.

"Elena, I want you to close your eyes, can you please do that for me?" he asked her sweetly.
Elena nodded her head against his chest and quickly shut her eyes.
"Now I want you to take a deep breath and think about where you feel the safest in the whole world," he said as he continued to hold her.

She shut her eyes and let the feeling of his arms surround her as they blanketed her with so much love and safety.
She melted into his arms as the fear and pain temporarily vanished while she was in his embrace.
She realized she didn't need to think about where she felt the safest because she was already there.

"I feel the safest when I am in your arms," she whispered softly against his chest causing Stefan's heart to swell.

"Well then that is where you will remain," he whispered back as he held her tighter.
"I've got you Lena, I've got you," he repeated to her as he placed one hand on the back of her head, stroking her hair ever so softly while he wrapped his other arm securely around her back.

"P-Promise you w-won't l-leave m-me," she whimpered as her grip tightened around him.
Memories from her past continued to consume her and the thought of going through that alone again completely terrified her.

"Elena look at me," he told her with tears rimming his eyes, "I will never leave your side, I'm right here beautiful girl, I am not going anywhere," he whispered as he pulled her back into his embrace.

"Hmm I hate to interrupt, but we have just reached your stop, Mr. Salvatore," Klaus sneered as he parked the car.

Elena wrapped her arms and legs tightly around Stefan's body as she buried her head into his neck.
Klaus went around to Stefan's side and opened the door waiting for him to get out.

"What do you mean my stop?" Stefan asked icily as he held Elena tighter.
He was completely terrified as to what Klaus had in mind.

"I mean it's your turn to get out of the car… alone," Klaus said as he glared at Elena who was still wrapped tightly around Stefan's body.

"Like hell I am," Stefan growled still not letting go of Elena, "I am not leaving her."

"Get out before you regret it," Klaus threatened, causing Elena to whimper against Stefan's chest.

Stefan stepped out of the car with Elena's arms and legs still securely wrapped around his body.
"You will have to kill me before I leave her alone with you," Stefan snarled as he held her even tighter.

Stefan looked down at her and his heart broke as he quickly took in how completely terrified she was.
"I'm here, you're okay, shhh, shhh," he cooed as he gently bounced her shaking form up and down in his arms doing everything he possibly could to soothe her.

"D-D-Don't s-s-say t-t-that," Elena barely croaked against his chest.

"Don't say what Lena?" Stefan asked softly as he continued to rock her in his arms.

"T-T-That h-he… would h-have to… k-kill y-you," she cried softly into his chest, "H-He w-will d-do it."

If anyone has seen the worst of Klaus Michaelson it was Elena Gilbert, and she knew that he would never miss a chance to inflict pain on others, and in her case, he wouldn't hesitate to kill Stefan.
She knew this and it terrified her more than words could say.

As if on cue, Klaus quickly zoomed to their side causing Elena to cry out as he suddenly was not even an inch away from them.

"You've got yourself a smart girl," Klaus purred as he began to play with the ends of Elena's hair causing her to whimper softly as he twisted it through his fingers.
She was clutching onto to Stefan's shirt so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

"Don't touch her," Stefan hissed as he turned her away from him putting his body in between them.

"Do you know why she is so smart?" Klaus asked Stefan rhetorically, "Because she's right, I will kill you," Klaus spat before he sped around Stefan and ripped Elena out of his arms throwing her to the ground.

"Klaus, please no, I'll come alone, just don't hurt him, I'm begging you, please don't hurt him, please," Elena cried as she saw Klaus capture Stefan.

"Say goodbye to Elena," Klaus whispered in Stefan's ear before he relentlessly snapped Stefan's neck causing him to fall lifelessly to the ground.

"STEFAN NO," she screamed at the top of her lungs as she quickly scrambled to get to him.
In that very instant she felt everything around her shatter.

"Stefan wake up," she sobbed as she cradled his still face in her lap, "Please Stefan, you have to wake up. You're okay, you're okay, I know you're okay," she repeated as denial consumed her.

After minutes of desperately trying to wake him up, she stared at his unmoving body as more tears began to stream down her cheeks.
He wasn't waking up.

Gut-wrenching sobs began to escape her lips as she took in his still form, her cries getting louder by the second.
She quickly curled herself up next to him and weakly moved his limp arms around her shaking body.
She wept into his chest unable to accept the fact that she will never see him again.
That she will never feel his arms around her, or hear his voice, or see his eyes light up as he smiled.
He was her everything.
And now he was gone.

"I l-love y-you," she cried as she continued to helplessly sob into his still form.
She just buried her head in his chest as heart-wrenching agony consumed her.

Suddenly she felt herself being snatched away from Stefan, and all she could think about was getting back on the ground next to him.
She began to kick and scream at the top of her lungs as Klaus roughly dragged her back to the car.

Suddenly a burning hatred arose in her that she had never felt before as Klaus's hands dug into her skin.
"KILL ME!" she shouted as grief filled her voice.
Although quickly that grief turned into sorrow as tears continued to stream out of her eyes.
"Please kill me, kill me, please… n-need to be w-with Stefan again, and m-m-mom, and dad, and- and Jeremy, p-please kill me, please," she sobbed as she breathlessly pleaded with Klaus to kill her over and over again.

Klaus quietly smirked to himself as he realized that Elena thought Stefan was really dead.
She didn't know that snapping a vampire's neck merely knocks them out for a few hours.
His initial plan was just to get Stefan off of their backs, but this worked out so much better now that she thought he was dead.

"You know I wouldn't let you off that easy," he whispered menacingly as he stuffed her in the back seat, "Say goodbye to your beloved Stefan," he said with a grin as he slammed the door shut and zoomed away.

_

Stefan groggily woke up, although the second reality hit him he sprung up in the air as panic consumed him.
Klaus took Elena.
Oh god, Klaus took Elena.
"No, no, no, no, no!" he shouted as he slammed his fist into the nearest tree completely knocking it down.

The last thing he remembered was seeing the heartbreaking fear in her eyes before everything suddenly went dark.

He sprinted up and down the area for miles and miles desperately trying to find even the smallest trace of her scent.
He ran and ran until he could no longer breathe and his legs gave out beneath him.
She was gone.

He sunk down to his knees burying his head in his hands as tears freely spilled from his eyes.
The thought of what Klaus could be doing to her at that very moment sent him into a state of panic.
He knew she was probably so scared and alone, and it killed him that he wasn't there with her holding her.
Instead, she was facing Klaus all alone without a single soul to protect her.
He had to get to her, and he had to do it fast before she was too far gone.