"I got him!" Damon called when he emerged from the water.
My heart pounded in my ears as I ran into the lake, reaching for the heavy safe that Damon was dragging. In that moment, I didn't think I could feel worse. All that time I didn't hear a word from Stefan, I thought he just needed time to accept the choice I had made and went to live his own life. Instead, he was suffering right under my nose.
Damon and I hauled the safe onto land and my shaking hands frantically grasped the vault, turning it with every ounce of strength I had. We both pulled the door open and inside, sunk to the bottom, was Stefan, pale, bloated and unconscious.
"Stefan!" I screamed, reaching in and pulling his lifeless body out of the metal box.
I laid him down on the grass, searching for any sign of life left in his body.
"He might not wake up right away, Elena." Damon said. "His heart needs to–"
"I know that!" I snapped. I began pushing on Stefan's chest, hoping to speed up the healing process. "He needs blood, now!"
"There are blood bags in the car."
"No! He needs animal blood!"
"He can have animal blood later. Right now, he needs human blood!"
"When he comes back, you know he'll refuse to drink human blood! Get him animal blood! There's some in the glove box!"
I continued to press on his chest as Damon sped off to the car. But Stefan remained unchanged, still a shell of the man he used to be. The man I fell in love with. Every second that went by felt agonisingly long. I couldn't stand another moment of him not being here.
As tears streamed down my face, I held his face between my hands, begging whatever higher power there may be to bring him back.
"Stefan, it's Elena." I sobbed, resting my forehead against his. "I'm here, Stefan. I'm here. Just fight a little bit longer. I promise, you won't suffer anymore."
Suddenly, I realised something. Stefan wasn't dead, I knew that. And if he wasn't dead, it meant that he was lost somewhere in his own mind. His guard would be completely down. That means…
I held his face between my hands again and closed my eyes, searching through an ocean of memories of Stefan and me. I couldn't decide on what memory was strong enough; the first time we met, our first kiss, the ferris wheel at the carnival, the decade dance, sharing happy memories at the lake house, Stefan calling me on my eighteenth birthday, Stefan returning after being freed from the tomb.
Eventually, I kept coming back to one memory that I thought of often when I was missing Stefan. Even when I was with Damon, this one memory plagued my mind.
Don't.
Elena, I can't.
Yes, you can. Don't hide from me.
That was the first time I saw Stefan for who he was. I wasn't afraid. Not even a little bit. In fact, I thought it was beautiful. That was the moment I realised I loved Stefan for everything he was, even the dark parts.
This time, however, I added something more to that memory, hoping that this would bring him back.
"Come back," I whispered, tracing my fingers along his face. "I'm waiting for you. Please, Stefan, come back to me."
He inhaled a shaky breath. "But when I wake up, you won't be there."
"I will this time," I whispered. "Please…open your eyes."
All at once, Stefan's eyes flew open and he lurched forward, violently coughing up copious amounts of water and gasping for air he hadn't breathed in months. His bloated body began to deflate back to the way he used to look, and his frozen skin began to pink up again.
Each time I thought he was finished expelling the months worth of water from his lungs, his body found more water to vomit. His whole body shivered vigorously. I worried that he would pass out again before he had the chance to comprehend that he was alive and out of the hell he had endured.
But now that he was here, I couldn't think of a single thing to say that would make up for all that time spent in unimaginable pain. The guilt sat heavily in my gut. I had spent this summer thinking nothing could destroy the much-needed happiness I had been missing, but I would give the entire summer back if it meant that Stefan didn't have to suffer.
I stopped that thought in its tracks. Was that true? Would I really give up the greatest moments of my life with Damon? Was Stefan really worth all that?
"You're going to be okay, Stefan." I said, rubbing his back as he spluttered. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
Finally, Stefan drew a long breath, finally inhaling air into his lungs. He panted a few times before his glassy eyes finally met mine. He had dark circles under his eyes and his face was thin. He still looked half dead after all this time with no blood.
"E…E-Elena…?" he said between shaking breaths.
"You're okay, I got you." I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I'm here, Stefan. You're okay."
"I knew…" he sobbed into my shoulder. "I knew you'd come for me."
"I'm sorry I took so long to find you. I'm so sorry."
I pulled back and held his face in my hands, and he held mine in his. I gazed into his glossy eyes and in that moment I felt complete.
This whole time without him, I felt so distracted, it was like I wasn't allowed to miss him, or I didn't have time.
Since becoming a vampire and being sired to Damon, I felt like my human self had died, and I had to come to terms with this new person that I had become. But now that I had Stefan in my arms, I felt like the person I used to be was within reach.
I don't know how long we stayed that way until Damon showed up again.
Stefan looked at him, and then back at me. Stefan let go of my face, and I felt an ache inside me.
Damon handed Stefan a bottle of blood. "It's good to see you, brother."