PLEASE READ MY NOTES BEFORE, OR YOU'LL BE GREATLY CONFUSED!
This is a recap of all the events that has happened in the story so far. I thought that it might help to keep up with how things are going, because, hell, even I had forgotten some of the things lol. Feel free to ignore this, the next real update will be up sometime this week. :)
Stefan Salvatore is a guardian angel of Elena Gilbert, who had lost her parents in a car accident and who is now living with her brother Jeremy. The story begins when one night Stefan saves Elena from a thug who attacks Elena. It is not usual for Stefan to make himself known to his charges, but at that time, he had no choice. So, Elena and Stefan meet officially. A lot of questions are asked, from both sides and eventually Stefan left, leaving Elena alone, which wasn't a good idea, since it is later seen how she broke down in her kitchen. It is revealed that Elena works as a nurse in a hospital, where her patients are mainly sick children. Stefan, who is constantly looking after Elena, sees a sick boy, Zach, who for some reason can see Stefan. Later, Zach dies, which has a devastating effect on Elena and she recklessly sits in her car and speeds away. She wrecks her car while trying not to hit an animal and Stefan is right there to witness everything, although he can't prevent the accident from happening. He tries to get her out of the car but at the same time Elena's heart stops beating with one word on her lips – „Stefan."
She falls into a coma, but we see how she's in this other world, a limbo of a sort, where she is neither dead nor alive. She's in a big meadow, with only one dark winding road. Elena wants to take that road, but a voice stops her – Stefan's voice. He explains where she is, that she isn't dead yet but if she goes down that road, she will die. Elena doesn't really believe him and Stefan is forced to reveal his secret, although she isn't willing to trust him on that either. Eventually, Elena listens to Stefan, who helps her get back from the coma, promising that she won't remember any of that. Also, we learn how Stefan is suspecting Destiny of all the problems Elena has in her life and he wonders why Destiny wants her dead so bad.
Elena wakes up in the hospital, not remembering the events in the meadow, but she does dream about them. After being released from the hospital, Elena winds up back there again pretty soon after an especially vivid dream about her conversation with Stefan in the meadow. Jeremy tells Elena that she had been unconscious for two days and no one knows why that occurred, also there is a visitor waiting for her – Stefan.
Stefan, after trying to talk himself out of everything, can't fight the urge to talk to Elena, so he decides to pay her a visit. We learn that after the car accident it was Stefan who brought Elena to the hospital, which leads to a discussion why Stefan was even on that road. He tries to convince Elena that he was visiting the graveyard in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason, but Elena doesn't believe that. That is also the first time when Stefan and Elena feel the current flowing through their bodies each time they touch each other. Those events also bring up another question – who is Stefan exactly? He tries his best to deflect Elena's questions, but when she mentions the dreams she's been having, his interest is sparked, for it means that Elena actually remembers the events in the field, and although she does not know that they are actually memories, she still chooses to trust them, therefore Stefan's secret is out in the open.
Stefan leaves abruptly after Elena finds out the truth and they do not see each other for approximately a week. Elena is still kind of amazed by the fact that there are such things as guardian angels and Stefan is hers. She still has dreams about the meadow, but this time, they are darker, with Stefan being cold and cruel.
Stefan battles with himself; he doesn't know what he should do – should he watch over Elena from distance or should he be there for her - physically there. In his search for answers, he visits the place where Elena crashed her car and he finds something curious – a single white lily, which brings back memories he'd rather forget. Stefan then decides to visit the cemetery as his gut is telling him that there's something more to that flower and he is right. In the Salvatore crypt he finds his long lost brother – Damon.
Next we are taken back in time. The Salvatores, originally from Italy, moved to America in search for greater wealth and opportunities. When Stefan was 19 years old, his and Damon's mother passed away, this had a deep impact on their father, Giuseppe. His mind started to deteriorate and in times he didn't even recognize his own sons. A year after their mother's death, Stefan and Damon decided to talk to their father and Stefan, being the son who Giuseppe tolerated more, made the first move. Unfortunately, Giuseppe did not recognize his son and in a fit of rage, killed both Stefan and Damon.
Damon and Stefan woke up in a forest, where they were presumably dragged by their father in an attempt to hide their bodies. They were disoriented and confused – how was it that they were still alive? The brothers heard footsteps approaching them and they met Niklaus and Rebekah – archangels. They explained that Stefan and Damon were the humans who were predicted to become angels – one guardian, the other one an angel of death. Stefan understood that there was definitely more to that prediction, but neither he nor Damon could find out anything about it, so they eventually stopped asking.
350 years later we meet Katherine Pierce, whose stepmother was Stefan's charge at that time. Katherine herself was meant to marry to a man she despised. Stefan is reunited with Damon, who he hadn't seen for two years. It turned out that Damon was there to carry Katherine to the other side, but he couldn't do it. Instead, he fell in love with her and Katherine with him. Damon reveals his plan to Stefan – to escape with Katherine. To go into hiding from the archangels who wouldn't allow them to be together. Stefan was afraid for his brother, as it was against the rules to be with a human, but he did let Damon go.
It was almost ten years later that Stefan found Katherine and Damon – near Mystic Falls, their old home. Stefan, not knowing that he was followed, led Klaus and Rebekah to Damon and Katherine, which led to Katherine being killed and Damon clipped of his wings, making him a fallen angel. Stefan was, as a punishment for trying to help Damon, held prisoner in heaven for 50 years.
Now, back to present. Damon and Stefan meet again after a very long time in the Mystic Falls graveyard, in the Salvatore family crypt. Stefan realizes that Damon has changed a lot. The brother he knew has been replaced by this cold, menacing man whose eyes are only full of hate for him. Damon reveals that when an angel falls – he or she is ripped of everything that was once good, what remains is only the hateful, bad parts. Damon also says that the only thing he wishes to see is, and I quote – "The only thing I want to have, is to see your life crumbling down like mine did." Stefan wants to know why he decided now to make his move. He must have had plenty opportunities to get his revenge. It turns out that Damon's reasons are hidden in Elena.
Stefan now knows that he can't keep hiding from Elena, and he realizes that the only way to protect Elena is to be close to her, so after having the conversation with Damon, Stefan returns to the hospital, where Elena still is, but their reunion is cut short by Damon who has followed Stefan to the hospital and who now is looking for Elena.
Stefan takes Elena away from the hospital, she of course has a lot of questions and Stefan has to admit to her that his brother may or may not want harm on her. He also reveals his past to Elena – how he was once human, how he became an angel and why Damon fell. Telling the story to Elena really upsets Stefan, but being the caring person that she is, she finds a way to make things better. This is also the night that Stefan and Elena both realize on an unconscious level that they have feelings for each other, although it's way too early for them to voice it.
Stefan wants Elena to go into hiding from Damon, because he is afraid of what he might to do her, but Elena won't budge. She says that she can't leave Jeremy, that she can't run, because it would never end and Stefan accepts that it's her choice, that he can't make her do what she doesn't want to.
Meanwhile, Damon has found Elena's house and has decided to pay her a visit. He is greeted by Jeremy who is instantly suspicious of him. After finding out his name, Elena won't let Damon enter, but that doesn't stop him from barging in and knocking Jeremy down, making him unconscious. Damon wants Stefan to be there also but who is missing, is exactly Stefan.
It turns out that Stefan was summoned to heaven by Klaus who knows that Stefan is getting way too familiar with Elena. He sends him a warning, reminding him what happened to Katherine and Damon.
When Stefan returns he discovers Elena in tears, Jeremy unconscious and Damon being the cause of all that. To Stefan's great surprise, Damon hasn't harmed a single hair on Elena's head, the reason which Damon reveals soon after – there's a prophecy, which declares that there are three people destined to take down heaven and Damon is certain that those three are him, Stefan and Elena. The prophecy goes like this:
One fallen shall be the redemption of the other.
One soul shall set free what once was imprisoned.
Three human souls will find salvation,
Two will flourish,
One will perish.
Damon tells Stefan and Elena that this is only a part of the prophecy he managed to get his hands on, and that he has an ally in heaven.
Damon reveals that the prophecy includes two fallen angels, one being Damon, the other one unknown and three human souls - Stefan, Damon and Elena (Stefan and Damon were once human; it's a matter of interpretation).
After getting nothing more out of Damon, Elena commands Damon to leave, which he does. Elena and Stefan stay and discuss Jeremy's involvement in all of this, and Elena decides that she can't keep secrets from Jeremy. They discuss some more about the prophecy and their involvement in it, unsure of what standpoint to take.
Finally, Elena takes Stefan by surprise by kissing him and although it seemed like a step forward in their relationship, Stefan is still haunted by his own demons – he needs to do the right thing, he thinks that he shouldn't be selfish with her, that him being in her life would only bring more suffering and pain and that he shouldn't let himself be controlled by what he feels for her. Elena sees that and tries to talk some sense into Stefan, which he, with a heavy heart, finally accepts - that he can't control everything. That night they fall asleep in each other's arms.
Next morning Stefan wakes to Damon barging into the house yet again. Damon says that he knows about Stefan's encounter with Klaus and tells them that Rebekah is his ally.
Damon also says that heaven is basically in a state of war –Klaus has started to get agitated and is beginning to plot their demise.
Another unexpected guest arrives – Rebekah. She tells them the whole story behind the prophecy – archangels were supposed to be the only angels in heaven, but one of them, Klaus started to like the power a bit too much. New angels started to appear from nowhere, only loyal to Klaus. Nobody questioned Klaus' motives but Mikael, who Klaus killed. The only one Klaus didn't consider was Destiny, who made a prophecy about two humans who will turn angels. Stefan and Damon. The prophecy also included a woman, who will set free, with the help of those two angels, what once was imprisoned – heaven. Klaus was sure that he will be able to control Stefan and Damon, but when Katherine appeared, his confidence took a hit, for he was sure that the woman in prophecy was Katherine, but it didn't turn out to be the case. Rebekah also says that when Stefan and Elena met officially, something in heaven changed and Klaus knew that Elena is the woman, so he had set Destiny to kill Elena, but Stefan stopped her every time.
The only way to free heaven is to kill Klaus and to kill him they need a weapon which Klaus carries with him all the time. Rebekah reveals that it has to be Elena who kills Klaus, it can't be anyone else.
Just as Rebekah finishes her story, Klaus appears. In the attempt to keep Jeremy safe, Stefan orders Jeremy to get downstairs as fast as possible, but that proves to be a mistake, as Klaus kills Jeremy on a whim. Stefan, seeing how things could get even worse, orders Damon to get Elena out of there, who obeys his orders, now Stefan and Rebekah are left with Klaus. Klaus begins to inflict pain on Stefan, wanting to know where Damon took Elena, although Stefan has no idea. Rebekah tries to stop Klaus from hurting Stefan and for a moment she succeeds as Klaus' temper gets best of him and he calls Rebekah a traitor and injures her with a blade that was hidden under his jacket – the weapon which can kill him.
At the same time, Stefan realizes the location Damon probably took Elena, and using the opportunity Rebekah gave him, he flashes away with Jeremy's body to Damon and Katherine's old house, which according to Damon is archangel-safe.
Elena is completely broken by the loss of Jeremy and is resolved to kill Klaus. Stefan tries to take the blame for Jeremy's death, but Elena won't let him, blaming herself instead. Finally they reach to an agreement that they both can be guilty.
Meanwhile, Damon has decided that Elena has had enough time for grieving and it's time to get their archangel-killing business back on track. He shows them how he protected the house from archangels – by carving a sign into the wall of the house. He explains that it will protect the house from direct discovery from archangels, but it won't prevent the archangels from being led there. Stefan and Damon agree on that it's only a matter of time before Klaus brings the battle to their doorstep, considering that he probably knows that they are hiding in that house.
Damon asks Stefan to find Destiny, with no further information on why. He only says that finding her could be the only way to defeat Klaus. Elena begs Stefan not to go on the crusade and Stefan reluctantly agrees to it, but in the cover of darkness he sneaks out to find Destiny, feeling that he has to do something, that he can't sit idly by and wait for their doom.
Stefan arrives at heaven, which is for some weird reason completely empty. He enters a corridor with thousands of doors and begins his search for her. After searching for Destiny for a great amount of time, he begins to feel desperate, that Damon has lured him into some trap. It's until he hears Elena's voice when things start to look brighter again. He looks back to see Elena standing in the corridor, but he finally realizes that it's not Elena but Destiny instead.
This is where the story continues.