Disclaimer: This is just my little opinion of how things could be after the cure is found. I am in no way connected to the show, the books series, or anything associated with the vampire Diaries franchise. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. The more feedback I get, the more I will be encouraged to write.

Chapter One: A New Horizon.

Golden slivers of sunshine peeped through the tree leaves landing on Elena's face where she laid on the hardened frozen dirt. Momentarily stunned by the way the chill had seemed like an arctic breeze rather than a light wind, she came to the sudden realization she was no longer a vampire. Tears of joy cascaded down her cheeks as she sat up wanting to scream her excitement from the rooftops despite the pain she was feeling. It was like she lived through the hundred year war as it's last survivor. Last survivor... Panic shot through her as the fear of the worse registered at the back of her mind. Damon. Bonnie. Jeremy. Where was everyone?

As the fear set shivers up her spine from worry, Elena was shook out of her thoughts by the sound of grunting coming from behind the trees beside her. She wasn't alone after all! They were alive! She shot up into a standing position, instantly regretting it when she felt her head start to spin. She rubbed her forehead trying to regain a sense of equilibrium and stumbled towards the noise she had just her moments ago.

Without watching where she was actually walking, Elena continued her quest forward until she tripped over a fallen tree landing directly on the suspect of noise making. Brushing away the hair that happen to have fallen in her face, Elena's eyes fell on on Stefan. The second brown and green connected, she felt her heart flutter to life. Despite her own protests of no longer being in love with him, the man beneath her had very much captured and held a heavy stake on her heart. A part of her was always going to be in love with the vampire, err, human?

She stumbled up to her feet and held a hand out to help him up. It was clear there was an awkward tension between the two of them, but right now all they had was each other. There was no point in dwelling on the hurtful things she knew she had done to him because an apology wouldn't fix either of their hearts. There wasn't a point in chastising his choices since they parted ways either, because she was no longer a part of his world. She was no longer a part of his world. The thought completely killed her inside and she stiffened as she always did at the memory of the love they once shared.

Stefan took her hand in his own, pulling himself up with her assistance. After over a hundred and fifty years of living in agony, he was free from his torture. He was human again, a sensation to him that felt more foreign than relieving. He furrowed his brows together as his eyes scanned their surroundings, analyzing any immediate threats to their safety. His first instinct was always going to be to protect Elena no matter how many times she ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped all over it.

After deciding that the coast was clear for now, Stefan straightened out his clothing and turned to face Elena. If they were going to make it off this island alive they were going to have to work together. Of course working together had meant addressing the awkwardness between them. For months he told himself that he was searching for the cure to win her heart back, but in searching for the cure he had won his own heart back. He was not the same Stefan she had fallen in love with and he was never going to be that man again. He cleared his throat and sighed. "Elena..."

"Don't" She was quick to cut off his words. It wasn't that she didn't want to hear what he had to say, it was more like she had already known what was going through his mind. No matter what forces tried to separate them, Stefan and Elena had the kind of unbreakable connection that knew no limits. She bit her lip and just nodded. "I understand Stefan."

Stefan walked over to her so they were standing face to face with little space between them. He cupped her face in his hands. All he wanted to do was kiss her, tell her he still loved her, beg her to sail off into the sunset, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to do that. He kissed her forehead and smiled reassuringly at her. "I will get you home safely. This is my final gift to you, the happiness of the life you had always wanted before I had intruded on your world."

Being human had made Elena far more docile than the feisty vampire version of herself, but this was the one thing she was determined to fight for. HE was the one thing she was determined to fight for. She shook her head and rested her hands on top of his. "No! Don't you do that! Don't you close the curtains before the final act. I know what I want. I know who I am. I am who I am because you loved me."

There wasn't a power in the world that could force Stefan to sit down and listen to this. He started to run, not to get away from her, but to get away from himself. It was always a war inside his own heart of what he really wanted and what he really needed. The time that he had been spending with Rebekah reminded him that there was a Stefan out there that could be happy without the love of Elena, a Stefan that didn't have to second guess his every feeling and thought. He couldn't just go back to her, to loving her. As fast as he tried to run, he was reminded that he was no loner a powerful supernatural being and that at human speed she was just as fast as he was himself.

"Is this all that we are now Stefan?!" Elena snapped. With everything that she had been through over the course of her high school years, she had more than crossed her breaking point. She was sick of losing people that meant the most to her. She was sick of trying so hard to find something to believe in. She knew that she had made mistakes and it was time that she had started to make up for it all. She slithered herself to be right in front of him so that he was forced to stop running.

"What's the matter Elena? Are you struggling with the idea that not everyone in the world caters to your every waking need?" He growled at her with a smooth jazzy voice. He couldn't be the nice guy when she was making it hard for him to just feel. She had completely destroyed the man that he once was and as much as he did still love her, he had nothing left to give her. She had chosen Damon and he didn't know what he was expecting after the cure had been found, but it wasn't that they would ride off into the sunset together. His dreams of their love being unbreakable had been shattered one too many times for him to believe in it anymore.

She supposed she deserved that and then some, but it still stung nonetheless. Elena bit her lip terrified to meet his gaze, too scared of what it might be that looked back at her. She mustered up what little courage she had, resting a hand on the side of each of his hands. As she gripped onto his face she let her thumbs graze against his hardened skin. At first she knew she had his attention but she wasn't sure the words to speak. It had been long overdue and there were so many things that she had yet to say to him.

"The truth is that I could blame Damon or the sire bond or find a way to blame you, but anything I could come up with would be an invalid excuse for the truth. I hurt you Stefan. I hurt you and you have every right in the world to be mad for that, to hate me. Things between you and I will never be the same because on our own you and I will never be the same. I know that I should give you space and that I should let you be on your way, but I can't do that. I can't do that because I am far too selfish and I need you Stefan. I have always needed you and I think in your heart you know that you need me to. Whether or not we are human or vampire, you and I bring out the best in each other. I am tired of losing people that I care about. If I lost you... I don't think that I could ever recover from that... For so long you have held the biggest piece of my heart, like it's not whole without you, like I'm not whole without you. You were right about me. You were right about the sire bond. You were right about Damon. You were right about everything but the fact that you seemed to think I stopped loving you. I could never stop loving you, not even if I wanted to. I am not asking for your forgiveness, or even your love anymore, but please Stefan, I am begging you for your friendship, for a mutual understanding. You said that you didn't become human for me... but what if... What if I became human for you?"

The entire time that he watched her lips moving back and forth, all Stefan could think about was how much he had missed her. He thought about how much he missed looking into her eyes. He thought about how much he had missed holding her close. He thought about how much he missed her voice. Then there was one line that she said that struck a cord with him, one line he knew was true above all else, that they brought out the best in each other.

Without a single word, Stefan rested a hand on either side of her waist and decided once and for all it was time to claim what was his, Elena. He pushed her up against the cool bark of the oak tree behind her, pinning her to the tree. His lips captured hers in a tantalizing tango and he lost himself in the passion of the moment knowing that she went with him into their sensual daydream as she herself returned the kiss with a fury. Finger tips clawed at skin. Lips were being bitten. Tongues massaged against each other. Their bodies collided in their cravings for each other.

Elena was sure that she would have let Stefan take her right then and there up against the tree... Or rather she thought she would until she heard the agitated clearing of a throat. Damon. She looked around Stefan to see the iciest blue stare she could imagine. Damon didn't have to say what he was thinking. His stare was laced with enough hatred and fury that it spoke volumes. The three of them stood there in silence, all too ashamed or angry or numb to be the first to break the silence. No matter what happened next, the only thing that was clear, was that the next events would change the course of their lives forever.