A/N: A couple more chapters to go. Love the reviews and the alerts. =-))

CHAPTER 5

Stefan stared at Elena's sleeping form. He knew he should be sleeping already. He stole a glance at the clock by the bedside table and saw that it was already 2AM. He sighed, careful not to do anything to disturb her slumber.

He held his breath as she shifted in her sleep, turning away from him to face the table. He felt a squeeze somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. It seemed that even in repose, she wanted to turn away from him. It would have been the perfect time to move away from her; after all, his upper arm had gone numb from carrying the weight of her head throughout the night. But he found himself following her instead.

He thought he'd gotten over her. He was wrong. The past three days had told him that. He knew he was running out of time.

And so he moved even closer to her so that his chest pressed against her back. He wrapped his arms around her tightly in an effort to tell her without words that he wanted her to stay. He knew it wouldn't be long before she complained. It was too hot after all and they were both starting to sweat a little. But he hoped, he wished, he prayed, that somehow, just for tonight, she does not push him away.

The heavens must have heard him because she didn't resist.

And so he finally slept.

TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Stefan slowly opened his eyes and realized he'd been kissing her in his sleep.

"Must have been some dream," she teased him when he finally looked up at her face.

It was. He'd been dreaming about their first time years ago. He sighed and started to get off her but then froze. He met her surprised gaze as they both realized at the same time that he was uhm "awake". He was about to apologize but then she smiled before pushing him gently off her.

"Hold that thought," she laughed as she quickly got out of bed to run inside the bathroom.

He could only laugh in response as he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. She never ceased to amaze him. Her shyness seemed to have disappeared altogether. Part of him regretted it but a larger part of him was glad. He only had two days left to convince her to stay with him forever.

"Your turn." She grinned at him as she came out of the bathroom wearing the robe he'd left hanging behind the door.

"My turn?" he asked her stupidly.

"You honestly don't expect me to engage in sex," she began to tease him.

"Lovemaking" he corrected her quickly.

She looked surprised for a while and quickly recovered, "Lovemaking" she raised an eyebrow after saying the word, "with someone who had yet to brush his teeth , do you?" she continued with a smile.

"Give me five minutes." He decided to get into the spirit of things as he too got out of bed.

She gave a wolf whistle as he sauntered to the bathroom sans any covering.

He grinned at her as he walked even more slowly so as to give her a more thorough look at his physique. He then posed ala the Incredible Hulk to show off his abs.

"Talk about having a swelled head!" she rolled her eyes to show she wasn't impressed.

"And don't you forget it." He was quick to reply, wiggling his eyebrows in a mock leer.

She laughed at him before she lay back on the bed. "Hurry up and remind me then" she called out to him throatily as she untied the robe's belt suggestively.

He didn't need to be asked twice.

TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD

Stefan was back to staring at her sleeping form. He knew he should be sleeping too. It was already 3AM after all. He was tired. They'd spent the whole morning in bed and the whole afternoon swimming, then took a leisurely stroll until the sun set and lay on the sand, staring at the skies as they made a bet as to who could identify the most number of constellations. She won. So he ended up preparing their dinner. He didn't mind. He'd gladly prepare her dinner every night if she stayed.

He sighed as she again turned away from him in her sleep. There were a number of times during the day that he'd almost asked her to stay beyond the 5 days they'd agreed on. But it never seemed the right moment. So he just let things ride. He still had a day left after all.

And so, like he'd done the night before, he turned to wrap his arms around her, spoon-fashion. And like the night before, she didn't resist. "Good." he thought. She was getting used to the feel of him around her. Tomorrow, he promised himself, tomorrow, okay, make that in a couple of hours, he'd tell her how he felt.

And ask her to stay.

And with that promise, he was again able to fall asleep.

TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD. TVD

Stefan woke up reaching for her, and encountered nothing but space.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked. She was not there. But the imprint of her head on the pillow was still visible. He strained his ears to listen for her movements. Nothing. He sat up quickly as his heart started to beat erratically all of a sudden.

"No," he thought. "Please," he begged the heavens as he scrambled off the bed and went to the bathroom to look for her. He struggled to contain his panic as he saw that it was empty. With feet suddenly feeling like lead he walked towards the closet. He reached out to open it, afraid of what he might not see. "Please," he whispered again, hoping for the sight of her clothes hanging next to his.

His legs almost gave out.

He slammed the closet door in reaction and walked out of the bedroom quickly to scour the rest of the cottage. She wasn't there. Only her scent lingered to tell him she'd been there at all. He looked out of the window and swore violently. She'd taken the car!

He could only stand there dumbly. Numbly. Unaware of the cold. Unaware of everything except the fact that she'd left him.

She'd left him!

Again.

Several minutes had passed before he could make himself move. Before he could muster the strength to walk back to the bedroom to get dressed. He'd stood under the shower for the longest time trying to contain emotions that were threatening to choke him.

He was already dressed and waiting for Tyler to pick him up when he finally saw it.

He slowly walked towards the table next to the bed to pick it up.

It was note.

Written in her near little script.

With trembling fingers he opened it, and read.

"Stefan,

I am sorry. Take care of yourself.

Always,

Elena"

Stefan couldn't help it. He ripped the letter to shreds. Is this just a game to her? Why did she leave so soon? Why didn't she stay?

And in minutes, he found himself on his knees.

Picking up the pieces of the note, and of his heart.

A/N: How much do you hate me? Don't worry, to be continued. =-))