The season ending was horrible. A moment of silence for Stefan and Elena. :(

Elena

A week later.

"Elena, wake up!" An urgent voice enters my restless dreams. I roll over to my left side and groan.

"Leave me alone." I mumble into the pillow.

A hand grabs me and starts to shake me.

"What the hell?" I turn around and open my eyes, irritated, but then I see those green eyes peering into mine and all my anger vanishes.

"Stefan." I breathe.

"Good. You're awake. Let's go." He nods his head towards the door.

He is almost out of the room when I finally manage to get over my initial surprise and ask – "Go? Where?"

Stefan smirks in that annoying way – "We have an archangel to kill." But instead of leaving he leans against the wall, examining my reaction. It seems to amuse him.

I blink a few times, unable to register the words.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Stefan's smile gets a bit wider – "You heard me. Game on." He wiggles his eyebrows.

"Today?"

"Why?" I suddenly am really afraid, although I've been expecting this moment for a while now.

"Because we have something that may give us the upper hand." Stefan seems really proud of himself.

"And what is that?" I ask, wondering how long have Stefan and Damon been keeping this from me.

"Get up and you'll see." Stefan again prepares to exit the room, but I stop him yet again.

"Stefan?"

I can hear him inhaling deeply, but he turns around and faces me. I wait for him to say something, but all he does is staring at me. I realize he is waiting for me to speak up. I quickly gather my thoughts and carefully select my words before I open my mouth, this is something I have wanted to ask for some time now, but I didn't have any courage to do so. I guess it's now or never.

"Stefan, I..." the words get stuck in my throat. I pull the covers closer to my body as if they could protect me. "I just wanted to know..." Another pause, fortunately he still hasn't moved. "Did you really not feel it?"

"Feel what?" he asks, his voice cold but something in his expression changes.

"When we touch..." I whisper.

"No." The answer comes way too fast and way too harshly.

"You're lying." I state. I am intending to get this out of him.

"I'm not." Stefan snaps.

"I don't believe you. I can always tell when you're lying, Stefan." I get up from the bed and walk over to him, ignoring the fact that I am only wearing a sheer tank top and panties. It seems to me that he wants to take a step back but he meets the wall instead so now Stefan is basically pinned between me and the wall, although I am sure that I am not an obstacle for him. My heart skips a beat at the thought that he is still here, willingly and that he hasn't run from me yet. I want to know how far I can push him.

I grab his hand between my hands, Stefan instantly flinches, but he doesn't pull back.

I look into his eyes which are still too empty, too cold, but I convince myself that this emptiness is not going to last.

"You do feel it." I whisper in amazement, partly because Stefan's demeanour has changed so much from when I first saw him after he fell, and where he is right now.

"Yes. Fine, I feel it. Are you happy now?"

I smile at his response – "Yes. I am, actually."

I don't let go of his hand and neither does Stefan. I wonder why he is suddenly so tame, if you could say that. I had expected him to bolt the second he got the chance, yet he is still here.

"Why does it matter to you so much that I can feel this, this electricity or whatever it is?" Stefan suddenly asks, but his voice is so much gentler, quieter. It's almost as if the old Stefan is here with me.

My eyes fall to our hands, mine so small compared to his. "It means that you're still here." I whisper, "It gives me hope that one day the real you will be back."

I can feel Stefan's eyes on my face, but I am too scared to meet them.

"What if he will never return?" Stefan asks, barely audible.

"He will." My voice is strangled, my eyes still on our hands.

"How do you know that?"

I reluctantly raise my eyes and when I see his face I almost start to cry – Stefan's expression is so sad, hopeless even. I finally feel that I have managed to get through at least one of the walls he has built around him and no matter how fast he will build it up again at least I know that I am able to climb them – with time and patience.

"I just know." I respond softly. "And whether it takes years for you to come back, I'll always be waiting." I say, meaning every single word.

"It could take a hundred years."

I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting the emotions that are threatening to burst out of me. Of course I have considered that I might not get Stefan back, not in my lifetime.

"Then I'll die, knowing that you will be okay. That's enough for me."

Stefan pulls his hand away – "You'll be living a very sad life then."

I hear footsteps and a door closing.

When I open my eyes I'm alone again.

When I finally manage to pull myself together and leave my room I am only able to find Damon who is sitting in the kitchen, having his usual breakfast – a glass of bourbon.

"Where's Stefan?" I ask, my eyes wandering over the room, waiting for him to pop out.

"I don't know. He stormed out after he had awoken you."

"Oh." I have no idea what to say. I make my way over the kitchen counter to find something to eat, but there's basically nothing left.

"There's nothing to eat." Damon states the obvious. "But we'll be out of this wretched house today, so I don't think there's any need to worry."

I sit down at the table and pour myself a glass from Damon's bottle. He sends me dirty look like I've just stolen from him, but he doesn't object.

"Stefan was serious then? About going against Klaus today?" I take a tentative sip and grimace when the liquid burns its way down my throat.

"Yep. Judgement day is here." Damon jokes.

"Care to fill me in how we are supposed to do that? I have a feeling that you guys have kept me in the dark for a while now." I wish I could be angry at them for keeping secrets from me, but the truth is that I am too tired for that, so for now I just want answers.

"Not before you tell me what you said to Stefan." Damon crosses his hands and eyes me suspiciously.

"When?" I'm confused.

"Earlier, before he ran out of the house like it's on fire. I want to know what you told him to make him so upset."

I go over our little conversation in my head – "I reminded him of something." I say.

Damon frowns, like he doesn't get what I am saying.

"I got through to him." I allow myself to smile.

"Really?" Damon drawls. "I'm impressed."

"Why?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"Because I didn't think it would be possible since Stefan is so adamant on being a complete douche." Damon grins. "But you seem to do something for him, you're able to see through him in ways I can't."

"Do you think that is why he ran away?" I ask, "Because he's scared of me?"

"Probably. Stefan doesn't want to face his feelings. It takes a long time for a fallen angel to find themselves again; it took me a very long time to do that, but you, Elena, sped things up for Stefan."

"Maybe if Katherine had been there..." I let the sentence hang in the air.

"Yeah... maybe..." Damon says. The air in the kitchen has suddenly become so thick, so I decide to change the subject.

"Your turn." I say, ready to hear of their plan.

"My turn?" Damon asks.

"You said you'd tell me about how we're going to defeat Klaus."

"Do tell." An icy voice comes from the direction of the kitchen door, raising goose bumps on my arms. "I would really like to know how you are going to beat me."

Both Damon and I simultaneously jump up from our chairs and face the intruder.

"Klaus. What an unpleasant surprise." Damon quips and steps in front of me, shielding me.

Klaus' lips curve into an evil smile –"Now that is now way to treat a guest."

"As I recall, I didn't exactly invite you here." Damon responds quickly. He seems confident enough, but I detect a hint of nervousness in his voice.

I am still behind Damon, my whole body paralyzed with fear, all I can do is to stare that monster of a man. Pictures of the last time I met Klaus flash before my eyes, how he threatened us, how he killed Jeremy and slowly that fear starts to turn into rage. I suddenly see red and all I want to do is to jump forward and rip his head off. I already start to shift anxiously towards him, but Damon senses that and stops me before I manage to do some serious harm to myself.

Klaus ignores Damon's jibe and focuses his attention on me – "Ah, the lovely Elena. Too bad our last meeting was cut so short."

"Go to hell." I hiss behind Damon, seething with rage.

"What do you want, Klaus?" Damon interrupts, although the answer to this question is painfully obvious.

Klaus reaches his hand to the inside of his jacket and pulls out a shiny blade; he runs his finger along the edge of it, admiring it like it is his most precious object. Without raising his eyes from the blade – "I think you already know the answer, Damon." Klaus pulls his eyes away from the weapon and glares at Damon. "I will walk over your cold corpses before the sun sets."

Klaus' full attention is now on me and Damon. I suddenly see a movement behind the archangel and when I recognize him, I almost say his name out loud, but I manage to stop myself before it's too late.

I see that Damon has noticed him too and I realize that the only way we can survive this is to give Stefan some time, I need to distract Klaus.

"Klaus," I say, trying to maintain eye contact with him, to keep him occupied so he wouldn't notice Stefan lurking behind him. "You know you're going to lose, don't you?"

I earn an angry glare from Damon, but Klaus only laughs.

"Oh, darling, I never lose. I am always one step ahead of you." He says and takes a step towards us, but before he manages to get any closer, Stefan launches himself on Klaus.

"Run!" Stefan roars, but my legs are glued to the ground, they feel so heavy and I just can't tear my eyes off Stefan and Klaus' struggling bodies. Damon is off in a flash, and I feel hopelessness come over me. Why would he leave us like that?

"Stefan, no!" I scream when Klaus pushes him against the wall, strangling him. "Let him go, please, I am begging you!" I plead when I hear Stefan grunt in pain.

"There's no use in begging, Elena." Klaus snaps. "You're all dead, sooner or later, but I may just have a little fun beforehand."

Tears are streaming from my eyes, blinding me, but I can see how Klaus raises the blade to strike the death-blow to Stefan.

"No!" I cry and jump onto Klaus, knocking the weapon out of his hands. It slides further away with a clang. I hear Stefan coughing, so that means that he is freed from Klaus' hold, but when I start to search for him, Klaus hits me so hard that I fly into the table, hitting my head, hard. I feel something warm and sticky starting to flow from my head and that's when I realize that we're going to lose this fight.

Stefan

Well, this was unexpected. Damon and I definitely didn't consider the fact that Klaus will show up here first. The plan was all along for us to lure out Klaus, take him down together and shove the blood down his throat and then getting the blade from him so that Elena could stab him.

Fuck.

Now Elena's head is cut open and bleeding heavily and Klaus is circling Elena like she's his prey. And where the fuck is Damon? He has the stupid bottle of Esther's blood and now he is just gone? Great, this is definitely not the day I imagined I'd die.

"Stupid move, Elena, stupid." Klaus says, his eyes roaming over her. He stalks over to Elena, and deals another blow to her. Elena whimpers in pain and all I can do is watch. I see the blood flowing to her forehead and neck and I can see how she has trouble breathing and I suddenly have the biggest urge to protect her, I can't stand seeing Elena like this. I won't let Klaus hurt her again.

"Klaus," I croak, my throat is still sore from his chokehold. "Leave her alone."

Klaus spins around and look at me with disgust in his eyes. "Even when you're fallen you seem to have a need to protect her, interesting. I didn't expect that." He muses and walks past me, collecting the blade from the ground. "I wonder which one of you I should kill first - you or Elena? Who would hurt the most from seeing their loved one die?" Klaus' eyes wander between me and Elena who is clutching her wound, her hands and face covered in blood. She looks up to me and looks at me with such desperation. "I'm sorry." I mouth to her and attack Klaus yet again.

I push Klaus against the wall, but the upper hand I got for a second changes in an instant as Klaus throws me over kitchen so I land right in the middle of the table, destroying it in the process. I feel the air escaping my lungs and a sharp pain in my left arm. Elena is right next to me, her breathing shallow. "Stefan?" she squeaks, the pain audible in her voice.

"'Lena," I groan, trying to prop myself up, "I'm okay."

"No you're not." She cries, taking my hand into hers, that's when I notice that my left arm is sticking out in an odd angle, I try to move it but the pain is unbearable.

"Isn't this a sweet moment?" Klaus sneers, twirling the blade in his hands. "Let me end the pain for you." He says and starts slowly walking over to us. I give Elena one last glance – "You're going to be fine, Elena." I smile tentatively.

"Please." She only says, squeezing my hand and the electricity between us intensifies and this time I am not afraid of it, I welcome it.

From the corner of my eye I notice Damon standing behind Klaus. He gives me a slight nod, and shows me that he has the vial with blood in his possession.

Klaus is almost upon us. I feel my body tensing. I gather what strength I have left and push Elena away from me, making way for Damon to pick her up.

"Damon, now!" I holler and within a flash my brother grabs Elena and carries her away. Klaus roars in anger and kicks me into the ribs with his foot, over and over again until I wish he would just kill me.

"You think that she'll survive?" He yells. "Think again, Stefan! I'll kill every single person you ever have cared for, starting with her!" Klaus delivers another blow to my stomach.

"Stefan!" Damon shouts running back to the kitchen. "I can't get away from here, it's like some kind of a wall is surrounding the house!"

Klaus lets out a laugh – "You really were that dumb to think that I'll just give you a chance to escape? I came here to finish all three of you once and for all." Klaus looms over me, smirking. He raises the blade to deliver the final blow and I close my eyes, anticipating it. At least the pain will stop, I think to myself.

"Not so fast." Damon growls and smashes a chair against Klaus' head, breaking it into a thousand pieces.

Klaus' attention now diverts to Damon, whom he hits in the face. Damon falls on his knees, spitting blood, but to my surprise he laughs, bitterly.

"Oh, Klausy, you really are reaching here." He teases him and I want to smack Damon in the face for saying that, do we really need to make Klaus even angrier?

Klaus strikes Damon again. I try to move myself so I could at least help Damon out in any kind of way, but every move I make sends a jolt of pain through my body. I grunt and grit my teeth together and with great effort I finally manage to stand up on my feet. My left arm is on fire and now I finally see that the bone in it is probably completely shattered. I limp closer to Klaus who is still beating my brother.

I suddenly know what I have to do. This is the only way.

"Stop." I pant and Klaus instantly spins around. "Just stop already." I close my eyes and exhale through the pain.

"Stefan, what are you doing?" Damon groans from behind Klaus.

"We can't win, don't you see that?" I tell Damon. "So, kill me, Klaus. Kill me and then you'll know that the prophecy can never come true."

Klaus shrugs his shoulders – "As you wish."

Everything is in slow motion - I see the blade whooshing through the air before it stops deep in my stomach. Klaus pulls the weapon out of me and I take a staggering step back, holding onto the wound; everything is hazy before my eyes, my conscious is starting to slip away and before I take my last breath I see Elena's agonized face at the doorstep and everything I once felt for her comes rushing back in.

"Elena..." I whisper, falling on my knees, my eyes never leaving her face. "I love you..." I manage to say before darkness swallows me whole.

Don't kill me please, this is not the end for Stelena! Although I've never said that this story will have a happy ending...