A/N: Thank you so much for reading, and for your patience on updates! This is the final chapter, though I'm still considering an epilogue.

"We need to approach this with an actual plan." Caroline said with a pointed glare at Damon. "We know there's a weapon that can kill Klaus, but for some reason that kills us, too. We also know that we can beat Klaus with Stefan on our side. What we need is to either help get Stefan away from Klaus, permanently. We also–"

"We were there, blondie," Damon interrupted impatiently. Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him, and Caroline's expression grew even more determined. Sure, maybe she was overexplaining, but she needed to think out loud! Such a self-centered jerk. "We also," Caroline continued, "know some of the reasons Klaus has a hold over Stefan." Caroline started ticking off the reasons. "Threatening his epic love, Elena; using his ripper issues against him; and their…history together."

"And, you know, the teeeensy issue of Klaus being able to compel any of us" Damon interjected. Caroline shook her head. "Klaus doesn't just rely on that. He will manipulate and threaten and generally ruin our lives to get us to do what he wants instead. Like some other vampires I know," she said, barely resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She knew her jab didn't really make sense given how heavily Damon relied on compelling when screwing around with her, but she hadn't forgiven Damon for being such an asshole to Stefan when he first came to town.

"We're a game to him," said Bonnie bitterly. After a heavy silence, Caroline nodded decisively. Good, she needed them all to remember that Stefan needed their help against Klaus.

"But...we've tried so many different directions," Elena said, "and they've all backfired. Bonnie, are you sure that this thing is accurate?" Bonnie shrugged, her expression torn.

"Maybe we haven't been ambitious and precise enough." Caroline proposed, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"I made a meteor crush Klaus worse than those overcooked hamburger patties at The Grill! What, should I have wished for a Hulk Smash instead? Whip him around like Loki until he's more dazed than a deer after Stefan gets to it?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Your wishes were so imprecise. Specific isn't the same thing as precise. Elena was on the right track with her second wish about his humanity switch – I know it."

I wish Stefan was safe and happy at home with Elena with his humanity on

Caroline's wish echoed in their minds. Damon, Bonnie, and Elena held their breath as they waited to see what happened.

And waited.

And waited.

Caroline glared at the coin in her right palm.

"I said, I wish Stefan were safe and happy–"

Bonnie interrupted. "Remember how it can't do anything too improbable, like world peace?" At a sharp look from Caroline, she continued "-or wishes that have multiple parts, if they're, um, at odds with each other?"

Caroline scoffed, flipping the coin from hand to hand. "It's just a matter of finding the right wording and approach–Rome wasn't built in a day. I need to come at it from several directions."

I wish Klaus wasn't interested in hybrids

"And this spell will force a desire for complete obedience on vampires that are already turned, even on an Original vampire?" Klaus asked eagerly. The witch across from him nodded. Klaus turned around to face his captive vampires with a gleam in his eye and a smile on his face.

Stefan smirked back. The best way out of this mess was to play to Klaus's ego. "Ah, Klaus, you know you don't need a sire bond to keep me as your drinking buddy. Besides, you'll have your whole family dancing to your tune soon enough."

Klaus raised his eyebrows. "Ah yes, your notable loyalty to me is why I had to compel you to turn off your humanity. How could I have forgotten?"

Stefan laughed. "That's only a problem if it turns on again. I have no desire for that to happen, ruining the fun we could have together."

"Well." Klaus said, walking up to Stefan. "Then you should have no problem helping me make a sire bond with my other…guest." He gestured to Caroline.

"Oh, come on Klaus, you know half the fun with her is that she never does what you expect. Do you really want to take away her authoritarian charm?"

"It will be a shame, I admit, but one can never be too cautious when it comes to loyalty. Besides, I need a test subject. Someone with enough willpower to present a challenge, but not quite on the level of my dearest siblings. Someone who I actually want to spend time around. So," he said, leaning in to stare intently at Stefan, "Give me a hand with these candles, if you please?"

Stefan stared back sullenly, tugging at his bindings. He felt a discomfort he couldn't quite place, an unhappiness and guilt that shouldn't be plaguing him with his stupid humanity off.

"It's a little hard to help when I'm still tied to this chair, Klaus." he commented drily. Klaus's grin twitched and his eyes twinkled with malice.

"Ah, but you don't want to help, do you? Do we need a repeat of that scene in the gym, with the lovely Elena? I had no idea our dear Caroline inspired such loyalty in you as well. I suppose you'll be our first volunteer after all. I do look forward to the time when you all finally grasp that it's in your best interest to do as I please."

The scene around them blurred, and then –

"Ugh! That was enough of that." Caroline threw her shoulders back, refusing to admit how much that vision shook her. She decided to retreat to safer grounds to sort out why her previous wish didn't work.

I wish I could understand why my first wish failed

Caroline wasn't sure exactly when they were – she knew her women's fashion history, but the nuance of menswear in the 1940s vs. the 60s were lost on her – but she knew where they were, even if the classroom arrangement was different from modern day. The overconfidence wafting off college guys in a Philosophy class was unmistakable. Wrinkling her nose, she turned her attention to Stefan, deep in discussion with two other students.

"What's the good of self-sacrifice if it's not actually helping?" the classmate to his left asked with a derisive expression. He shut his textbook with a huff, revealing the excessively long title, Duty and Morality: An In-Depth Exploration of Deontology.

"Billy, it's not about what you accomplish; it's the principle of the thing. It's knowing you didn't compromise in the face of uncertainty, fear, and temptation." Stefan said fervently.

"'It's about the journey, not the destination' much? That's so passe. What if the destination is like, choosing to save the life of the girl you love? You telling me you'd just watch someone die like that, man?"

Stefan leaned forward, his eyes filled with unwavering moral rectitude. "Are you saying that any action, no matter how unethical or reprehensible, can be justified if it saves one life you care about deeply? Jumping straight to 'what if it saves someone you love' without looking at specifics is just as morally bankrupt as letting them die for no reason. What if it's a choice between someone you love, and an innocent child? What if they ask you to save the other person?"

"I think that's called suicide my dude." Bran shook his head. "Did you even take last semester's class? We're talking basics, man, the quintessential expression of deontological ethics, 'The path to hell is paved with good intentions.' Your intentions don't like, absolve you from moral ramifications and whatever."

Stefan's brow furrowed. "To disrespect someone's dying wish is inexcusable. It's the last moment they have with you, and you'd just listen your own selfish motivations?"

"Now, see, it's not their dying wish if you save them, is it?" Billy said smugly, prompting the surfer dudes in the row behind them to go "ooooh" and high-five him. Stefan shook his head and smiled condescendingly, pretending to cede the point. Let them live another 50 years and hopefully they'd come to understand the importance of self-sacrifice.

"No love for me, Bran-my-man?" Billy asked the last member of their philosophy group. Brannigan stroked his goatee, frowning. Stefan sported a tiny smirk – Brannigan couldn't stand it when anyone else looked smart.

"I don't think you've fully considered the nuance of the meaning of intentions in the greater context, taking into account the innumerable differences between true intention and the lies we tell ourselves to excuse our inability to reach our full potential." Brannigan finally said, with a decisive nod. Stefan turned his laugh into a cough. Was this better or worse than ill-informed high school history teachers?

Damon was crying… with laughter. "I can't believe I missed Steffie's second philosophy phase. Thanks, cupcake, I needed a laugh."

Caroline didn't even have to change her expression to glare at him – at this rate, her face would stick like this. She huffed and turned to Bonnie, expecting backup. To her horror, Bonnie looked to be choking back her own laughter. Was Bonnie laughing at her? At Stefan? What the hell was so funny here? She was glad to see that Elena, at least, looked properly solemn. Sad and a bit… introspective?

"Of course you don't understand, Damon: the concept of self-sacrifice means nothing to you. You just—you just do whatever you want with no thought of how it affects anyone else!"

Caroline was getting herself worked up, but she couldn't help it.

"Care, you've got to admit, it was kind of a funny scene." Elena said gently, a hint of amusement in her eyes now.

"I have to admit no such thing!" she said, whirling back to her Elena, caught up in the passion of the moment, saying things she'd never dared to before. "I know you love him just as much as he loves you, but you need to understand him better! To see him clearly! He's so caught up in protecting you from himself that he can't see the real villain here. I wish–" Caroline cut herself off before she accidentally used up their one chance, turning to the therapy box instead.

I wish everyone could see Stefan the way I do

"I've been thinking," Klaus said, his eyes intent, "that perhaps the best way to catch doppelgangers is with honey, not vinegar. Your dear Elena is so very persistent, and I do want my friends to be happy. We are friends, aren't we, Stefan?"

Stefan, finished with his drink, dropped the body back onto the table. "Wouldn't have it any other way," he said absently, ignoring the blood dripping down his chin as he considered whether he could be bothered to go out and compel himself another. "Perhaps I should order delivery…" he mused, pulling out his phone.

"Stefan, it's time we stopped playing around and focus on what's important in life. Love, loyalty, and family. There will be time enough to complete the ritual to free my wolf nature after you've found the fulfillment I know you deserve with Elena, your epic love."

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Epic love? What are you even talking about? Have you been reading the texts Caroline keeps sending me?"

Klaus clapped a hand solemnly on Stefan's shoulder. "Stefan. You don't have to pretend it doesn't bother you to be away from her. I may not be able to experience the humanity switch myself, but I've been around enough vampires to understand how it affects them, and that it can't completely erase that kind of emotion. You belong together. The way I've come between you two is inexcusable. I put my desires before your needs. For once in my very long life, I realize that my own happiness isn't all that matters. Work with me, my friend. We'll get you back on your little regimen of squirrels and what not, and you can be with Elena for the blink of the eye her mortality allows. I know you can be happy."

Stefan rolled his eyes, pulling up BloodHub on his phone. He had to be careful – too many more delivery drivers gone permanently missing and he'd get a low rating on the vampire-run app.

Elijah strode into the room, adjusting his cufflinks. "Come now, brother. If you truly cared for our friend here, you'd encourage him to turn Elena as quickly as possible so they can begin their immortal life together. I know his morality balks at the idea, but I think he'd be rather easier to persuade in his…current state. Besides, are you not a man of action? Perhaps, in this case, easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. He deserves better company than yours I'm sure—you're corrupting the poor boy, turning him from his noble path."

The scene changed to the Salvatore boarding house. Elena bustled around the living room tidying it up as she gave orders.

"Bonnie, I need you to continue researching those sleep spells. Damon – don't touch that, I just cleaned that stupid thing of all your gross fingerprints – go, I don't know, corrupt some innocents elsewhere. Caroline-"

"Excuse me? Since when do you do the planning!?" Caroline exclaimed. "And what are you even doing right now?"

"I'm cleaning. I'm stressed. I'm stress-cleaning." Elena shot back.

"This is ridiculous!" Caroline burst out. She shot a look at Bonnie. "This thing is broken. I didn't ask for–for whatever that was!"

Despite her words being directed at Bonnie, Damon was the one that responded. "I don't know, blondie, that seemed pretty accurate to me: neurotic, monologuing, delusional…"

"Damon!" Elena interrupted, throwing him an exasperated look. He quirked an eyebrow, unrepentant. Elena rolled her eyes and turned to Bonnie and Caroline, her hands out in a placating gesture. "Bonnie, do you think there is something wrong? These last scenarios have been pretty…unusual."

Bonnie inspected the therapy box thoughtfully. "Maybe we should do a test? We've been going all over the place, so it's hard to compare the results. We could have Caroline repeat a wish we used before."

"I vote for the meteor." Damon said with a wink. Elena elbowed him. "You're not going to do that again!"

"Watch me" he said, smirking. She quirked an eyebrow and stared him down. Caroline growled in frustration, interrupting whatever that was. "You idiot, I have to make the wish to test it."

"We're out of time!" Bonnie cried, "They've hit the wards!"

Damon shoved Elena behind him. Caroline's eyes darted side to side and she bit her lip and her mind raced to come up with a plan. They were all counting on her. All her big talk of approaching this methodically, and she felt even more lost than when she started. All she really knew now was how much Stefan needed therapy!

"Caroline?" Elena said nervously. Caroline had suddenly gone motionless in the eerie way vampires could, still precariously close to the door. "Caroline, we need to get out of here."

Caroline instead whirled to Bonnie, wearing her most I-will-be-class-president expression. "Do you trust me? If you've ever believed in me, I need you to let them in."

"I wish Stefan and Klaus would be forced to use the therapy box until they're no longer a threat!" Caroline forced a confidence she didn't feel into her voice as she clutched the coin tightly.

There was a flash of light from the therapy box and the coin in her hands. Moments later, Caroline stared at the two unconscious bodies on the floor. Stefan and Klaus both looked so young in sleep, Stefan without his forehead wrinkles and Klaus without a maniacal fervor twisting his boyish face.

Damon whirled on her. "Did you just waste that wish on making them temporarily unconscious? We could've done that with a little love tap to the head!"

Caroline bristled. "Oh yeah, because it's so easy to fight Klaus." She glared at him for a moment before continuing "and no, I'm not a total dumbass like you. I–" she swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "Since I wished them in the therapy box, they're stuck until they use it properly. You know, sort out their issues or whatever."

"So we're relying on therapy to get Klaus to stop trying to use Elena as a battery and squish the rest of us like bugs?" Both of Damon's eyebrows were raised now.

"And to get Stefan to realize he's we're better off with him at our side!" Caroline countered. Elena's eyes were wide. "Care, you really think it will work?" she asked softly. Caroline threw her hands up in the air.

"You all saw him in there! He doesn't know how to approach things in moderation. He's either a ripper or a vegetarian. He's either glued to Elena's side or across the country to keep her safe. He knows how to sacrifice for love, but not how to ask for help. I'm not expecting him to come out ready to snatch-eat-erase, but maybe he can just understand all I–all we need from him is to be here. To be the supportive friend I know he can be!"

Elena looked aghast. "He's been trying to balance things for months! He's given up his life to keep Klaus away from us!"

"Oh, because that worked out so well! Thanks to Damon, Stefan thinks he only brings danger to people around him, and Klaus is just feeding off of that!" Caroline said, throwing her hands in the air.

"Hey! I didn't tell him to go party it up with British Machiavelli and his band of merry misfits. I'm trying just as hard as you are!" Damon protested sharply.

"Oh yeah, Damon? What did you bring to this plan? I found the wish. Bonnie found the therapy box. And–"

Bonnie cut in. "Guys, can we fight about this later? We need to get out of here while we can."

Damon hauled Stefan over his shoulder. "Let's leave sleeping beauty here to await his true love and get our reluctantly reformed ripper out of here."

Stefan twitched on Damon's shoulder. In a flash, Damon set him down, Stefan wobbling a little as he came to. Caroline saw the easy smile Stefan wore and her heart sank. He still had his humanity off – she just knew it.

"Thanks, bro." he said, clapping Damon on the shoulder, and walking past him towards Bonnie, Elena and Caroline. Caroline looked from Stefan's carefree grin to Elena's worried face. Oh, poor Elena! She would be blaming herself about Stefan's next ripper binge if they didn't somehow get his humanity back on. Caroline looked back at Stefan again, surprised to find his eyes on hers, even as he stopped next to Elena. Uh oh. Wait, was that a wink? Maybe…he was pretending to have his humanity off? That sounded more like something Damon would do.

"Elena." Stefan said, his smirk softening to a gentle smile, Elena's tense expression only growing as touched her cheek gently. "This isn't gonna work out. Thanks for a good time, doll." Stefan chuckled and ruffled her hair as Elena's doe eyes grew unbelievably wide.

Suddenly Stefan was right in front of her. What was he doing? Just toying with them? Caroline knew he'd told Elena to give up before, in the throes of his ripper binge, but this was the first time he'd just…seemed bored by her.

"Now, you," Stefan said to a frozen Caroline.

And then they were kissing.

Caroline was lost to sensation. Feelings she had denied for the past several months were whirling through her, rising in a tide that obliterated the tiny part of her saying she was betraying Elena. She felt safe. She felt loved. She felt ecstatic.

Then Stefan pulled back abruptly. Oh, how could she have let this happen?! He was just jerking around Elena's feelings, and using her. She would never forgive him. Never. But even as she thought that, another part of her knew she would cling to her stolen kiss for the rest of her undying life. She took a deep breath. Time to put on her big-girl panties and face the music and all those annoying cliches that she lived by. Forced her mouth into a stubborn line, ignoring the tingling from their kiss. Opened her eyes. And lost all her righteous anger.

Stefan looked so lost. His eyes swum with unshed tears, and he had a hand to his mouth, softly touching what Caroline now knew were the best lips in Mystics Falls. His humanity was back on.

"Elena…" Stefan said tentatively. Elena shook her head, stepping towards him with tears in her eyes. "Stefan, it's okay. I'm just glad you're safe." she said, hugging him. He relaxed easily into her embrace. She'd always been good at hugs. He hadn't realized how much of his supposed attraction was to that feeling of safety and peace he found when she comforted him, so different from Katherine's calculating affection. She didn't deserve the way he'd treated her, but she did deserve someone who could make her happy. And that wasn't him.

"I still love you." she whispered, and he tensed up, "but not the way I thought," she rushed to continue, before stepping back. "I spent too much time faking it with Matt to have fallen into the same trap again, but I did. Be happy, Stefan – I owe you my life, and I don't want to keep you trapped."

"Elena," he said insistently. "You didn't trap me. You gave me hope that I was worth choosing." She looked stricken at this, which he didn't understand. He hoped she knew he wasn't comparing her to Katherine – or at least, not unfavorably. She wasn't a conniving cheater who manipulated and lied to them. Cheater. Oh man. Did it count as cheating to kiss Caroline the way he had? Technically, he did break up with Elena first. Stefan winced, suppressing the fluttering he felt remembering the stolen moment. Before he could apologize, Damon butted in.

"Baby bro! Welcome back to the land of the living! I see that beauty sleep didn't do anything for your valiant battle against old age." Damon quipped, poking at Stefan's furrowed brow. Stefan frowned deeper. His time in the therapy box made him realize he hadn't been fair to Damon. He…he owed his brother an apology. More than one, possibly. Though nothing could make up for the way Damon had treated their remaining family, Stefan knew he had his own sins to atone for. He may not be as bad as Damon, but he realized he had to get help to prevent future episodes. As he returned Damon's bear hug, he saw Caroline over his brother's shoulder. Time to man up, he supposed. He didn't want to rush straight out of one relationship to another – Caroline deserved better than to be a rebound girl – but he couldn't just pretend that kiss hadn't happened. He sighed as Damon released him, then turned to Bonnie like the coward he was at the moment. He felt raw from the years he'd spent in various scenarios, and no one could blame him for needing a minute to gather his thoughts.

"Bonnie, I can't thank you enough. I know that can't have been an easy artifact to get ahold of." Bonnie looked surprised at his attention, raising an eyebrow. Clearly, she expected him to talk to Caroline, too. "Sure," she said, pursing her lips and giving him a pointed look, "But Caroline's the real hero here."

There went that plan.

Caroline looked fierce. He admired that about her, that fiery determination that set her blue eyes aflame. He just wished that determination wasn't turned on him at the moment.

"Caroline," he said softly. "We should talk."

"Uh, yeah." she said, before whirling and leaving the room. "Are you coming or not, Stefan?" he heard from the other chamber.

Bonnie, Damon, and Elena watched him go. The silence grew awkward as Damon and Elena avoided looking at each other.

"Well!" Bonnie said with fake cheer. "I'd better, uh, tell Professor Vardemus that his therapy box will be tied up a little longer." She sidled out of the room as Elena gave her a panicked look.

"I'm not sure that therapy box worked if he thinks hooking up with Vampire Barbie is a good idea. Maybe it crossed a few wires." Damon finally remarked, twiddling his hand by his head as he smirked. Elena glared at him.

"That's my best friend you're talking about."

"Oh I know. Your judgment is as bad as Steffie's sometimes – I suppose it would have to be, to take that CW special in stride."

Now Elena crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, I'm the one with bad judgment. That's why I spent 60 years waiting for someone who didn't want to be found, with no life beyond screwing with my little brother. And–and his humanity was off. I know he wouldn't have treated me that way otherwise." She looked down, not sure if she was more embarrassed by how Stefan had brushed her off or relieved to see him so clearly move on.

"Like I said, a few screws loose to give you up." Damon said, less flippantly than usual. His eyes pierced into her, scrambling the retort she had planned and making her blush. He stepped closer. She panicked. Stefan might have had a huge dose of therapy to sort out his issues, but she'd only been confused by the whirlwind of revelations and emotions brought on by the wish-simulations. She'd sorted out that she didn't want to be with Stefan, and that…that was all. What kind of a hypocrite would she be if she went running from one brother to the other, like Katherine?

"Damon…" she managed. "I don't…" And then the words dried up again. She didn't what? Didn't want him? Didn't like him? Lies. Didn't want to move so quickly? Maybe. Didn't…want to lie to herself anymore. Truth.

He smiled sadly, his eyes flicking to her bare neck and back. "It's okay, Elena. You don't have to say anything. I just need you to know: you are worth loving. I know that because I love you." He gently tucked her hair behind one ear and looked into her eyes, his pupils flaring with the power of compelling. "And even thought you're not going to remember I said that, you're going to remember how it feels to know you deserve the world."

Elena stared back, tears in her eyes, and slowly lifted her left hand. Her sleeve fell back to reveal the broken necklace wrapped securely around her wrist. Damon's hand froze, hovering just next to her cheek before he dropped it, pasting a panicked smirk onto his face.

"Well, aren't you prepared," he chuckled nervously. Elena threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder, her tears escaping at the same time an uncontrollable smile crept over her face. Damon didn't move. She started to pull back, worried she'd somehow misunderstood, and his arms wrapped around her as he pressed a kiss to her hair. Safe. She felt safe. And free.

Sorry-not-sorry about the ending being a bit cheesy while still lacking a Delena kiss. It didn't feel right to go straight to a romance for them. Let me know if you want an epilogue with Klaus's therapy box adventures!

Many many thanks to CosmicAdventurer for her encouragement and excellent advice! Credit to her for Caroline's stress-cleaning line from S6 being give to Elena in the brain-washed scenario. Check out her work With Great Power to see a little more of Bran-the-man, philosophy douche (not the same universe, just a cameo).