"Nobody is to mention any of this to Sam. Got it?" Damon says after Katherine was out the door.

"Klaus. Damn it. I thought he was in New Orleans. What does he want with Sam?" Stefan asks, running his hands through his hair.

"He always had a thing for Sam. I picked up on it when he first met her. He was really weird with her." Caroline admits from her spot on the couch.

"Alright, I'm here. Wanna tell me what was so important?" Rebekah asks, walking in the living room.

"Why would Klaus hire Katherine to 'acquire' Sam?" Stefan asks and Rebekah's eyes widen.

"Nik has always felt superior, because of his father, he was different from us. A witch told him in 1922 that his 'true match' would be just as special. You're aware that Sam was adopted, just like Elena? Her parents were witches. Very powerful ones. Bonnie, are you familiar with the Blackwell coven?" Rebekah asks and Bonnie sucks in a breath.

"Sam's a Blackwell?" Bonnie asks worriedly. Rebekah nods.

"The witch predicted a girl born of the Blackwell line 70 years in the future, who had the greatest powers the coven would ever see, and she would prove to be his perfect match in every sense. She would be beautiful, intelligent, powerful, fierce, but also his opposite, kind, compassionate, selfless. The witch was able to provide him a sketch of her. She had long curly brown hair, and dark brown eyes. Nik became obsessed with this prophecy. At first, he thought the girl might be Elena, but she didn't have powers." Rebekah says eyeing Stefan sadly.

"But I do..." Sam says from the doorway, eyes glassy.

Everyone turns to look at me while Rebekah nods. I sit down next to Stefan and grab his hand.

"Keep going, Beka. I have to know." I tell her and she smiles slightly before continuing.

"Once he saw you he knew that you were his perfect match. His obsession with you is almost like when he was trying to become a hybrid. He'll do anything he can to get what he wants, in this case, you. You have two options: Wait around for him to hurt or kill everyone you love until he has you." Rebekah says, Damon glares at her stopping her from saying anything else.

"What's the other option?" Jeremy asks curiously from the chair.

"Sam gives herself up and willingly leaves you all behind. Nik will probably kill you all so she wouldn't be tempted to leave him. Especially Stefan. He won't want the competition." Rebekah says looking around. I sigh.

"Wow, impossible situation, huh?" I mutter bitterly.

"What do we do?" Caroline asks everyone anxiously.

"How about you fill me in on what the hell is going on?" Elena asks from the doorway with tears in her eyes.

After we explain everything to Elena, and then let her know that Klaus is coming after me she squeezes Damon's hand. The next morning, Stefan and Damon are training with Jeremy on the front lawn.

"I'm sorry about killing you Sammi.." Elena says and I smile from my spot on the brick wall in front of the boarding house. I look at Stefan, working out shirtless and sigh happily. Elena sees me and gasps.

"Oh my god! You and Stefan? That is so great, Sammi! Kinda weird, but great! I'm glad you two are together. You're like, perfect for each other." She says and I turn and look at her, curious.

"I knew you loved him. Not until I fell for Damon, because I wouldn't knowingly hurt you like that. I realized that you guys had this relationship that I would never have with him. You could tell when something was wrong with each other without having to say anything. You knew each other so well, and you had everything in common. You were just so in sync and I was always a little jealous of that. When Katherine pretended to be me that night she attacked Uncle John and she stabbed you, he was so worried that he yelled at me. I heard him talking with Caroline about coming clean and that you needed to know. That I deserved better than that. He may have loved me for a bit, but he's always loved you."

"Ellie, I don't know what to-" I was cut off by not being able to breathe. I look down and touch my stomach, my hand is covered in blood when I pull it away. I look over at Stefan and make eye contact right before everything goes fuzzy. I fall over the wall and land on the cement. Elena is screaming something, but it sounds hazy. I suddenly see Stefan standing over me, worry etched in his perfect features. I start gasping and coughing, feeling something wet on my lips. Jeremy is crying and I try to say something calming, but get an idea. I pull myself up against the wall and rip my shirt open. A bullet wound.

"Wooden...bullet...vervain filled. Need... pliers..." I manage to say and Damon speeds to the garage and back with whiskey, pliers, and a bowl. I take the whiskey, chugging it, then pour it on the wound. I hiss in pain and put it down, grabbing the pliers. Inhale weakly and plunge the pliers in my wound, causing Care, Elena, Bon, and Jer to gag and look away. I cry out in pain and dig deeper until I find the bullet and yank it out, and drop it in the bowl. I exhale shakily and chug more whiskey and laugh softly.

"Well, that was fun. Good thing I was pre-med, huh?" I ask hoarsely, causing everyone to laugh, relieved.

Caroline speeds into the house and brings me back a blood bag, and I drink it quickly.

"Who the hell would want to shoot you?" Elena asks, sounding worried.

"Well, who wouldn't want Klaus to have access to the most powerful witch/vampire?" I ask looking at Beka.

"Elijah." She says almost immediately.

"Shit. This is bad. Elijah wants to kill me." I say pacing in front of the living room doorway.

"Don't worry, Love. I won't let that happen." I hear and turn around to see Klaus standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Oh, god." I mutter speeding to the fireplace and turning around. He smiles wickedly at me.

"I won't hurt you, Samantha. You don't need to be afraid of me." Klaus told me, flashing forward and grabbing Stefan.

"But that doesn't mean that everyone else shouldn't be." He says menacingly,

"Klaus, if you hurt him I swear I'll do something that can hurt you without hurting them." I say glaring at him.

"And what's that, love?" He asks, amused.

"Ruining your ritual to bond us together. It has to have two willing participants." I tell him.

"I could easily compel you or force you by using the ones you love. You risk everything for them, even yourself. That's your fatal flaw, your greatest weakness. " He says, like it was obvious, which it was.

"But then you wouldn't get what you really want. You don't really want my power." I tell him smugly.

"Oh? Tell me, what is it you think I want then, Samantha?" He asks, slightly less sure of himself.

"You want me to love you. You're in love with me. If you compel me or force me, it won't be real and you want it to be real." I say and he smiles.

"You're as smart as the witch predicted. Sam, killing your best friend is necessary. I'm sorry. I'll make it quick." He says and his nails turn into claws and he positions his hand over Stefan's heart.

"No! Please don't. You don't need to do this Klaus." I tell him, tears pouring down my face.

"So, Elijah was telling the truth. The dynamic between you two changed, hasn't it? No matter, though I'll enjoy this more now." He says bitterly. I speed to the cabinet and grab the only thing I could think of and speed back, noticing Klaus didn't see me move.

"Klaus! Stop or I'll do the only thing that can hurt you." I tell him, my voice strong. He turns.

"And what is that?" He asks and I reveal the stake. He laughs.

"You'd need a white oak stake to kill me, but then you'd be killing all your friends. You too." He says smiling evilly.

"Actually, this stake isn't for you." I say, positioning it over my heart. He falters for a minute.

"No, Sam! Don't do this. It's not worth it!" Stefan shouts and I look at him.

"You're wrong, Stefan. You're worth it." I say and turn back to Klaus.

"Let him go, or I'll drive this through my heart." I say coldly and he smirks.

"I don't think you have it in you love." He says still hold onto Stefan.

"You have no idea what I'd do to protect the people I love." I say to him, pushing on the stake and drawing blood.

"Samantha, do you really want to threaten me? And with empty threats? Not smart. You'd never do that to Jeremy or Elena. Leave them all alone with no family." Klaus spits out.

I move the stake away from my heart, and he smirks but instead of dropping it like he thinks I am, I stab myself in the stomach with the stake, doubling over and gasping in pain. Stefan screams my name.

"Well, I didn't expect that." Klaus says, staring at me with wide eyes.

"You underestimated just how much I'm willing to risk for the people I care about." I say as he releases Stefan and speeds to the entryway.

"You may think you care about him, Samantha, but trust me you don't. We are meant to be, and we will be together. Even if I have to kill him and everyone you love. I know you feel it too, this connection we have. You'll give in to it sooner or later." Klaus says and speeds off. I drop to me knees.

"Sam!" Stefan says, speeding to my side as I pull the stake out. I grunt and throw it.

"Get me some whiskey, please." I tell him and he speeds over and back with my whiskey.

"That was incredibly risky. Why would you do that?!" He asks me, pissed, and I set the whiskey down. I stand up, painlessly now that I'm healed. I look at him and frown.

"I did that because I couldn't watch him kill you, Stefan. I did it because I-"

"You what?" He asks me and I release a deep breath.

"I can't do this without you. Stefan, you've been there for me for 3 years. I don't know what I'd do if.. and now that we're finally together... How can you think that I wouldn't do anything I could to save you?" I ask, a tear falling down my cheek. He wipes it away and looks me in the eyes.

"Sam, I'd do anything for you. I wouldn't want to do this without you." He tells me and I giggle, another tear falling. I lean up and kiss him and he pulls me closer, kissing me back. He speeds us to his room, and kisses me again. I pull at the hem of his shirt and he lifts it over his head. He unbuttons my shirt and takes it off. He kisses my jawline and moves down to my neck and my phone ringing interrupts us. I groan and speed to the table and grab it from my bag.

"Hello?" I ask, answering it.

"Hey, you got a minute? I was hoping we could talk.." Jeremy says hesitantly.

"Sure, Jer. The Grill in an hour?" I ask, hoping I don't sound too excited. Jeremy's been distant since I became a vampire. His hunter instincts are still there, and he needed to adjust to me, just like he did with Elena.

"Yeah, sounds great. See you then Sam." He says hanging up. I turn around and Stefan is in front of me in a second. He wraps his arms around my waist. He picks me up and places me on his desk. I laugh.

"Stefan. I have to get ready." I tell him as he starts kissing my neck, and I inhale sharply.

"We have time, Sam." He says into my neck and I pull him to me and kiss him passionately.

An hour later, I'm sitting at a table and Jeremy walks in, sees me and smiles.

"Hey Jer." I say smiling at him and he grabs me and hugs me tightly.

"I'm sorry about being so weird lately. I just didn't want to hurt you." He says and I hug him back.

"I know. Besides, you had to deal with the whole dying and coming back thing. I did too, just not the same." I tell him and he chuckles. We end up sitting and talking for hours. When we get back to the boarding house, everyone is gathered in the living room. I immediately find Elena, Damon and Stefan in the corner, and they stop talking when they see me.

"Oh you guys look like you're up to something." I say and Stefan walks towards me. I shake my head.

"You going to tell me what that was about, Stefan?" I ask him.

"Stefan told us what you did, Sam. What the hell were you thinking threatening to stake yourself?!" Damon yells at me. I cringe and look at Stefan.

"You told them? Of course you did, he tried to kill you. I did what I did to save Stefan. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. I wasn't worried about me." I admit with tears in my eyes and Damon's eyes soften.

"I know, kitten, you tend to get tunnel vision when it comes to the people you love. We just want to keep you safe. Klaus is very dangerous and him being in love with you makes him unstable. He'll do whatever it takes to get you." Damon says placing a hand on my shoulder. I nod, knowingly.

"I bought us some time, Damon." I tell him, crossing my arms. He sighs.

"Klaus saw that you would do anything for someone you love. What if you don't love them anymore? What he if he compelled you to turn off your humanity? Then you might go with him." Damon tells me.

"He won't compel her Damon. He wants her to do it herself. He'll try and force her." Elena says.

"Where did Jeremy go?" I ask suddenly.

"He went to pick Bonnie up from work. Why?" Caroline asks confused.

I speed out the door and over to the Grill, Stefan calling my name as I leave.

"Ah, there you are, Samantha. We've been waiting." He says looking towards Jeremy and Bonnie, who were sitting at the table. I nod towards the door and they ran out of the Grill.

"What the hell, Klaus? Kidnapping my little brother and my friend? Not how you get me to do anything for you. It just pisses me off." I tell him and he chuckles.

"That wasn't to force you to do anything. It was just to get you here." He says, but something is shot through the window and impales into my neck. I gasp and yank it out, only to find it's a vervain dart. I speed out of the grill, slower than normal and into the boarding house living room and Damon catches me before I fall.

"Sam?" He asks worriedly.

"Fine.. Just burns, is all. Man, vervain sucks." I mumble and look around. Elena, Caroline, Tyler, Rebekah, Matt, even Bonnie and Jeremy and... No, he isn't here.

"Stefan?" I mumble, looking around.

"He isn't here. You left and he stormed out, saying Klaus was right about you.." Elena says. I sigh.

"Oh, no.. Klaus said this bullshit about us having a connection and I'd give in and I didn't really love Stefan." I said and Caroline looked up.

"Did you just admit you love Stefan, out loud?" She asks and I nod, a tear falling.

"Yeah. I love Stefan. I'm in love with Stefan Salvatore." I say, laughing slightly.

"Now you just have to say it to his face." Elena says smugly.

"Excuse me?" I ask her.

"Oh, please, Sammi. 'You've always been there for me. I can't do this without you. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I would have done...' That all sums up I love you without having to say it." Elena says and I glare at her mortified.

"You were spying on us?! Oh my god, ew! Elena. we... and you were in the house? This is so not my day.." I say putting my head in my hands. Elena giggles.

"I wasn't trying to listen and when it became clear that you guys were going to... I sped out of here and over to Care's." She told me and I looked up at her.

"Thank god for small miracles." I say chuckling softly, but stopping.

"Where is he, Damon?" I ask worriedly.

"I'm not sure. It's been 2 hours since he left, he should be-" Damon was saying but was cut off by the door slamming.

"Ugh, you got heavy, Stefan." I hear a woman say and we all walk to the door and see a familiar blonde supporting a very drunk Stefan.

"Lexi?" I ask and she looks up at me, smiling.

"Hey, Sams. I found your best friend nursing bourbon at what's left of your old house." She says and I run to her and hug her tightly, once Damon has Stefan. She hugs me back, because she's always loved me, and wanted me and Stefan to be together.

"I should warn you though, the whole Stefan situation is kinda complicated. I think." I tell her.

"Are you guys dating? Together? Hooking up?" She asks and I shrug.

"We haven't talked about it yet. I think we're together..?" I say and she grins, hugging me again.

"I knew it! I knew you guys were going to end up together! You guys were so in love with each other! Oh, no offense Elena." She says after she releases me. Elena giggles.

"It's okay. I'm actually with Damon now." She says and Lexi tenses. Then relaxes.

"You did seem like you weren't a sociopath when I walked in." She said, which for Lexi, was damn near a compliment.

"Wait, Lexi. How are you here? Damon killed you like 2 years ago." I said and she smiled and nodded at Bonnie.

"Little miss Bennett over there brought me back with her. We met on the other side and she offered to bring me back. I'm glad too, with this whole Klaus drama. Word gets around that Katherine was here."

"What?!" I ask and Lexi covers her mouth.

"Sorry, Sams. I thought you knew.. Katherine was hired by Klaus to get you for him." Lexi said.

"No one bothered to tell me this? Oh, you weren't going to. You all made a deal to keep it a secret."

"Katherine pretended to be Elena and said all those awful things to you so that you would turn on Elena and you'd start to fall back into old routines of being a loner so they could kidnap you easier." Damon tells me and I laugh, hard. It starts out as a giggle and bubbles into complete sobs, racking my body. Lexi pulls me into a hug and I clutch her gray leather jacket and I let out every emotion I kept in since I was turned less than 2 weeks ago.

"Sams, it's okay. Let it all out. You were always bottling things up as a human and now as a vampire you 've been doing it again, only you can't shut people out. How many times have you cried since you turned? Have you mourned the human life you lost? Have you accepted and forgiven Elena for stealing from you?" She asks me and I cry harder. I hear Stefan shoot of the couch and I turn and crash into his waiting arms. He rubs my back and whispers my name while I sob, burying my face in his neck.

"I thought you left me, to go with him.." He says after a minute and I inhale sharply.

"You- thought I left?" I ask him and he nods. I slap him and he looks surprised, but then I kiss him.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. I don't run from the people I love. And I love you, Stefan Salvatore."

"I love you too, Samantha Gilbert." He says, and I laugh. I pull him to me and kiss him again.