Stefan growled as he plunged the stake into Katherine's right shoulder.
The sounds of her cries only made him want to keep going.
She deserved everything that was coming to her he thought to himself as he stabbed her one more time in the stomach.
She was the one separating him and Elena by threatening everyone that Elena loved.
Stefan would not let her see another day.
Katherine has been playing these games with him for over a century and he was done.
He was finally happy now with Elena, and he would not let Katherine take her away from him.
Damon had her pinned to the floor and Stefan lifted the wooden stake right above her chest, although just before he was ready to plunge it into her heart he heard Jeremy scream.
"STOP!" Jeremy yelled as he breathlessly barged into the room, "Everything you are doing is hurting Elena! You are hurting Elena!"
A look of horror spread across Stefan's features as he realized what he had just done.
Katherine was linked to Elena.
"Oh no… no, no, no, no," Stefan murmured as his body went cold.
He looked down at the bloody stake in his hand and then back up at Katherine's wounded body.
Instantly Stefan dropped the stake and sprinted out of the room as fast as he could in search of Elena.
The thought of her in pain only made him run faster.
He felt physically sick when he realized that Elena felt every ounce of pain that he inflicted on Katherine.
Not even a moment later he picked up on the scent of her blood and knew that she was close.
Although nothing could prepare him for what he was about to see.
He turned the corner and at that moment everything around him collapsed.
All he could see was her fragile body doused in her own blood lying on the cold hard ground.
He rushed towards her and quickly scooped her up in his arms.
His heart shattered as he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.
He couldn't imagine the pain she must be in.
Quickly Stefan bit into his wrist and brought it to her lips.
He couldn't stand the thought of her in pain for another second, especially as a result of something that he did.
"Here baby, please drink," he rasped as she desperately surrounded his wrist with her lips.
Guilt consumed him as he took in her body.
Although her wounds were beginning to heal, she still looked so scared and hurt, and it made Stefan want to die.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Stefan croaked as she continued to drink from him.
He just held her as she finished up and he couldn't stop the tears from escaping his eyes.
He remembered how badly he hurt Katherine, and couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Elena's human body experienced as a result.
"I-It's okay Stefan," Elena murmured groggily as she nuzzled her head into his chest,
"You d-didn't know."
"Oh baby," Stefan rasped as he gently wrapped his arms around her while slowly rocking her back and forth.
A steady stream of tears continued to fall down his cheeks as he held her as close as he could to his chest.
He looked at how her fragile body was curled up in his arms and wanted to die as he thought about what had just happened.
He was the reason that she was hurt.
It was all his fault.
"Can you please take me home?" Elena asked quietly against his chest.
Stefan just nodded his head as he picked her up and held her tightly in his arms.
He couldn't speak due to how emotionally wrecked he was by what had just happened.
He carefully placed her in the passenger seat and buckled her in before going around to the driver's side.
He held her hand in his the whole ride home, never wanting to break the contact.
Once they got back to Elena's house Stefan lifted her out of the car and carried her into her house.
She was still weak and Stefan needed to hold her in his arms.
When they walked in they were home alone because Jenna and Jeremy were still at the party.
Stefan silently thanked god that Elena decided to go to the masquerade despite the fact that everyone told her not to.
Chills ran down his spine as he thought about what would have happened if she stayed at home.
Jeremy never would have found her and they never would have figured out that she was linked to Katherine.
The mere thought of him following through with his plan of killing Katherine was too painful for Stefan to bear.
He just hugged Elena tighter as the image of her lying lifelessly on the ground ran through his head.
If he killed Katherine Elena would be dead right now, and he would have killed her.
A pain unlike he has ever felt before ripped through his chest as he thought about how easily that could have happened tonight.
He just closed his eyes and reminded himself that she was alive and in his arms, but he couldn't get the image out of his head of opening Elena's door to tell her the news about Katherine's death and finding her dead in her room as well.
Elena could feel Stefan shaking as he held her, and the expression written on his face absolutely broke her.
She slowly brought her hand up to his face and gently caressed his cheek.
"Shh Stefan, open your eyes, it's okay, I'm okay," Elena cooed softly.
Her heart broke as a tear fell from his closed eye and splattered on her palm.
She hated how upset he was, and how he blamed himself for what had happened.
"Please Stefan, none of this was your fault. There was no way you could have known. Everything is okay now baby, everything is okay," Elena reassured as she continued to stroke his cheek leaving a small kiss in its place.
"What if I didn't stop," he croaked as another tear left his eye.
He couldn't stop thinking about how easily tonight could have gone differently.
Instead of her being here in his arms, she could be lying dead on the floor.
The thought quickly became too much for him to bear.
Elena could tell that he was losing this mental battle, and she knew that the only way she could help him was by asking him to help her.
That way his mind would be off what happened, and he could be focused on something else.
"Hey Stefan?" Elena asked as she waited for him to open his eyes and look at her, "Can we please go upstairs and get me cleaned off so we can cuddle?"
Stefan took a deep breath and nodded his head before lifting her up into his arms.
He held her close to his chest as he carried her up the stairs and into her bathroom.
He gently kissed her forehead once they got upstairs and continued to hold her close as they approached the bathroom.