Jason Sullivan

**Jason Sullivan** was one of the two main male protagonists of *The Vampyre Diaries*. Jason was a 371-year-old vampire and the distant descendant and doppelgänger of Cyrus. Jason was born and raised in the supernatural town of Liberty Falls, Virginia and came of age during the time of the Civil War. Stefan was the youngest child of Giuseppe Salvatore and Lillian Salvatore. He had an older brother, Damian Sullivan, who is also a vampire and whom he shared a strained relationship

with, stemming from the appearance of Katherine Peterson in which they fought over whilst human.

During the years following his transition, despite the help from close friend Lexi Branson, Jason has constantly battled with his bloodlust, and during the 1900's after "falling off the wagon" due to Damian's unhealthy influence, he widely became known as the Ripper of Monterey due to his inability to control his blood thirst. For a brief time, Stefan was romantically involved with the Primordial, Veronica Mikaelson, and shared a close friendship with her brother, Niklaus.

After many years away, Jason returned to his hometown of Mystic Falls to visit his distant nephew, Zack. Jason then saw Lizzie Van Helsing for the first time while rescuing her after her parents' car drove off Wickery Bridge. After finding her personal records and observing her from afar, Stefan determined that Elena was definitely not Katherine. Still, he was strongly intrigued by her and decided to pose as a new transfer student at Mystic Falls High School to get to know her. They were instantly drawn to each other and they immediately bond, beginning a romantic relationship shortly afterwards. However, despite them becoming romantically involved, various and numerous obstacles begin to come between the two, making Stefan and Elena struggle and fight to be together. They grow distance after Elena's transition, and later break up, due to Elena's heightened feelings for Damon. He later discovered that this is due to the creation of a sire bond between Elena and Damon after Elena's transition to a vampire. He then embarked on a journey to Nova Scotia with Elena, Shane, Damon, Bonnie, Jeremy,Brandon and Veronica to seek the the cure that can help break the sire bond.

At the end of the fourth season, Jason ends up heartbroken when the sire bond is broken and Elena still decided to choose Damon over him. Jason decides to leave town and start over elsewhere. However, Stefan ends up being confronted by Silas, finally revealing his true form and locks him in a safe underwater.

Throughout the fifth season, Stefan loses his memories due to Qetsiyah's attempt at incapacitating Silas and suffering effects due to Silas' confrontation, he slowly finds closure with Katherine as she helps him overcome his demons. Being a doppelgänger, Stefan's blood is used for a spell by The Travelers in order to resurrect their leader, Markos. During this time, he begins to grow close to Elena again and they are able to form a close friendship. As things begin to spiral out of control, Jason was unexpectedly killed by Julian, a Traveler warlock, while trying to protect Caroline, but he was resurrected after Damian, Caroline and Elena's plan to bring him back from The Other Side is a success. However after Damon fails to return, he is left devastated at the loss of his brother as the Other Side collapses. Following this, Stefan moved away from Mystic Falls and had tried to start over and move on from the loss, pain and tragedy. Unfortunately for Stefan, he ended up being dragged back to Mystic Falls due to unexpected drama.

During the sixth season Stefan after having given up on his search for a way to revive Damon gets dragged in by a vengeful Enzo (angry at Stefan for giving up, and envious of how others regard him highly), when he kills and turns his new girlfriend Ivy. This results in their initially stable relationship into an antagonistic one before she was captured and killed. Stefan later has a heartfelt reunion with Damon when he escapes the Prison World he was sent to following the Other Side's destruction. Later when it's revealed that Stefan has another living relative Sarah Nelson (who was born as Sarah Salvatore), Enzo tries to use the information as leverage before Stefan shoots down his hopes of it ruining his relationship with Damon. Stefan also begins to develop feelings and a relationship with Caroline but things go awry when her mother is diagnosed with inoperable cancer and dies, causing Caroline to turn her humanity off and forces Stefan to do the same by kidnapping Sarah and threatening to have her killed due to Stefan being Caroline's "humanity trigger". They then continue their relationship (albeit physically only) as they go on a killing spree. Stefan is reunited with his mother Lillian, thanks to Damon and Elena causing his humanity to turn back on. Stefan then helps Caroline turn her's back on by showing her one of his last memories with her mother.

During the eighth season, Stefan worked for Cade, the Devil. To keep both him and Damon out of Hell, he flipped his humanity switch off. While a ripper again, he attempted to murder Elena in her coffin, ripping out Enzo's heart, killing him as he was in his way. He then attacks Bonnie before going after Elena, only for Bonnie to use the Cure, taken from Elena's blood, on Stefan in revenge and self-defense. Stefan faints from being cured of his vampirism. When he awakens his emotions immediately turn back on and he feels the full weight of everything he did while his emotions were off, filling him with immense guilt. He then has to face the consequences of his actions when his compulsion on others wears off and is temporarily detained before Caroline has him freed. He then sets out to redeem himself for his past actions and succeeds by killing Cade. Despite this Stefan ends up making the ultimate sacrifice when Katherine Pierce tries to destroy Mystic Falls with hellfire, killing both of them after he gives Damon the cure so that he can live a happy human life. While in Limbo he talks to Elena and informs her of his death and sacrifice before giving her a message to Caroline who he had just married on the day of his death. After saying their final goodbyes Stefan finds peace and had a joyful reunion with Lexi.

Stefan's life has been fraught with constant change and various complications: from falling in love and being with Elena to mending his complicated relationship with Damon; from sacrificing his freedom for his brother's life to growing apart from Elena after her transition to a vampire, and suffering the guilt that came from making a split-second decision that resulted in Elena becoming a vampire.

He is best friends with Lexi Branson until her death (now reunited in death), and eventually became best friends and married to Caroline Forbes. He was also close friends with Bonnie Bennett and his ex-girlfriend, Elena Gilbert.

Throughout the series, outside forces threaten those he loved and what he most desired: a normal, human life.

**Stefan** was a member of the **Salvatore Family**.

## Early History

* Human Life
* 1863
* 1864
* 1912
* 1917
* 1922
* 1942
* 1960
* 1977
* 1987
* 1994

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 File:7X03-72-StefanValerie.jpg  Stefan met Valerie and Julian in 1863, at the County Fair in Mystic Falls. Unknown to stefan -who was still human at the time - Valerie and Julian was a Siphoner Witch and a Vampire, who per his mother orders, came to Mystic Falls to make sure Stefan was doing well before they left for Europe. Valerie introduced herself to Stefan, despite Lily's instructions to simply observe him and not interact with him, and the two quickly became smitten with each other. Julian attempted to separate them early on, but Valerie used her magical amulet to cast a cloaking spell so they wouldn't be seen. Stefan ultimately lost his virginity to Valerie that night, though he was not aware that they had conceived a child during their lovemaking. Julian eventually caught them afterward and forced Valerie to leave with him, but before she left, she assured Stefan that she would find her way back to him. At the end of the summer that year, Valerie sent Stefan a telegram asking him to run away with her - Stefan then arrived at their meeting place two hours early with a bouquet of flowers and waited for her there, only to be devastated when she didn't show up. Stefan didn't know that Julian caught her trying to leave and then beat her, causing her to miscarriage - Stefan would only learn the truth about it a 150 years later.
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In 1912, Stefan returned to Mystic Falls to attend the funeral of his half-nephew, Zachariah. It was there that Stefan saw Damon for the first time in almost fifty years. Damon initially had no desire to rekindle any brotherly relationship with Stefan, but Stefan convinced Damon to join him for a drink, saying he had missed him.

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Later, while at a boxing ring, Damon tried to persuade a very resistant Stefan to have a drink of human blood with him again, selecting Marianna Lockwood and luring her away from the crowd. Stefan fed on her, but quickly lost control of himself and accidentally ripped her head off, astonishing both of them. Out of extreme guilt and remorse, Stefan irrationally apologized and tried to put her head back onto her body. Stefan, angry with Damon for forcing him to drink human blood, refused Damon's offer to help him learn to control it, then ran off into the woods. Damon watched him go, concerned for his brother's well-being, though not enough to pursue him. After drinking human blood in 1912, Stefan fell off the wagon and returned to his former Ripper lifestyle.

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Klaus revealed that Stefan had become notorious for his horrific killing sprees, including the massacre of an entire migrant village in Monterey in 1917, after which he became known among the vampires as the "Ripper of Monterey". 100 years later, Arcadius told Stefan that he actually attacked the village on christmas eve. Stefan was reluctant to believe him at first, but then Cade showed him that Seline had met him after the massacre. Instead of giving Stefan's soul to Cade, she took pity on him. After seeing how regretful he was, she altered his subconscious and made him forget, convincing him that he was worth living.

After he left Mexico, Stefan traveled to Chicago in 1922. It was there that he frequented a particular speakeasy, and one day caught the eye of a beautiful blonde vampire, Rebekah. She initially resisted his interest, but not long after that, they became romantically involved.

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Stefan eventually met Rebekah's older half-brother, Nik. At first, Nik disliked Stefan because of his relationship with Rebekah. As time went on, however, they bonded over their similar family histories, as well as Stefan's penchant for petty cruelty toward humans, and became best friends who enjoyed each other's company immensely. The three of them frequently partied together at the speakeasy, enjoying booze, blood and dancing all night long.

On one such night of revelry, the club was attacked by what appeared to be the police. Discovering that the police were using wooden bullets, Stefan realized they knew there were vampires inside. He sensed Rebekah's panic when she responded cryptically "*He's here*," but before he could find anything out, Nik compelled Stefan to forget about him and Rebekah. Unbeknownst to Stefan, Katherine was in the club while the police were searching it; she spotted Rebekah's necklace on the floor and went to pick it up, but fled when she heard Stefan approaching. He in turn saw the necklace and picked it up, observing it carefully. A detective then approached him, showed him a sketch of Nik and Rebekah and asked if he had ever seen them before. Stefan told him what he believed to be the truth: that he had never seen those people before in his life.

In April of this year, Lexi found Stefan again, "dragged him off the train tracks" and started to help him recover his humanity and get off of human blood. According to Stefan's journal entries, it took the better part of a decade to do so; around 1935 he still felt cravings for human blood, but it was getting easier, and by the 1940's, still under Lexi's guidance, he continued to make progress with his rehabilitation.

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Before he left for the war, Stefan, at Lexi's insistence, sought out his brother Damon in New Orleans in order to make amends with him. He approached his brother in a bar, and after an initial skepticism, Damon welcomed the reunion and seemed glad to have Stefan back in his life after thirty years apart. After Stefan told Damon about his plans to join the war effort as an ambulance driver, Damon proposed spur-of-the-moment that he could join Stefan. Unknown to Stefan at the time, Lexi talked Damon out of leaving with Stefan, citing his profligate lifestyle and how Damon's behavior would not be good for Stefan's rehabilitation. She seemed to be proven right when, after Charlotte had brought a bleeding victim back to the bar, Stefan started to lose himself at the sight and smell of human blood. Lexi's interference proved instrumental in the brothers' long estrangement, as Stefan left for the North African campaign believing Damon had abandoned him yet again.

 File:Stefan 60 5x19.png   As the elections for a new president go under way, a lady is walking alone through an alley, Stefan appears and attacks her, biting her and drinking her blood, he lets her go alive and compels her to forget everything, then a woman who seems to know everything about vampires appears and she knows who he is, she knows he is the brother of Damon Salvatore, who she is looking for. Stefan asks who she is and she tells him that her name is Maggie James, Stefan advised her to stay away from Damon as he is lost by his comportment, she confesses that she is looking for Damon only to kill him because he is a monster, so Stefan decides to attack her but only to scare her and leave the town.
Stefan returned to Mystic Falls this year along with Lexi. Stefan asked Lexi to go to New York City to help Damon get his humanity back and to get his act together.

He was in Chicago with Lexi at a Bon Jovi concert, which unbeknownst to them was Katherine watching them from afar.

 File:6X04-27-Stefan.jpg   In the Pilot, Stefan mentioned that the last time he saw Damon was sometime in the 1990s, 15 years prior to the Pilot. It's revealed in Season Six, that the brothers met again in May, 1994, when Stefan came back to Mystic Falls to be with his great nephew Zach. Damon, who didn't see Stefan for nearly 50 years, and has had his humanity switch shut, claimed he wanted to go straight and narrow. Stefan, who knew that Damon had sent Lexi flowers to apologize for leaving her to burn on a rooftop 17 years earlier, reluctantly let him back into his life. He thought Damon was living on animal's blood until he saw bite marks on the wrist of Zach's pregnant girlfriend Gail. It turns out Damon had weened Zach and Gail off their vervain and didn't consider feeding on his relative and a pregnant women bad, since he was keeping it all inside the house. Stefan had snapped his neck and had taken him to the shed of the boarding house, where he could take off his daylight ring, gave him time to cool off, and berate him for always ruining his life. Damon, who just missed his little brother and wanted him to go off on a road trip with him, snapped. That's when he killed all the people at the party, including Gail. He promised Stefan an eternity of misery—resentment for Stefan turning him into a vampire so he wouldn't be alone, but then not wanting to be the kind of vampire Damon became and left him all alone. Damon them left his brother. Stefan was able to compel Zach to forget about Gail and the deaths, but he couldn't hide the body count. Stefan then took Gail to the hospital, and all though the doctors couldn't save her, they saved her baby girl. He then made sure that the baby was adopted right out of the hospital by a great family, who named her Sarah Nelson. Stefan left town right after, and looked out for Sarah all her life, without Damon knowing anything, so he wouldn't jeprodize her life with the supernatural world.
## Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series

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In *Growing Pains*, Stefan and Damon are with Elena when she first wakes up in her bedroom. Stefan, with a few choice comments from Damon, tells Elena that she was in an accident, that Meredith Fell had healed her with vampire blood the other night and that she had died with vampire blood in her system. Downstairs, he and Damon argue about what to do next: Stefan wants to do everything they can to find a way out of Elena's transition, while Damon wants her to accept the inevitable, feed on human blood and not risk dying permanently. While Damon is gone, Stefan and Elena are captured by the Town Council and imprisoned in a cell, along with Rebekah. It is there that Stefan confesses his regrets about Elena not feeding in order to complete her transition. In a heartfelt moment, Stefan tells Elena that he loves her. Elena, who continues to weaken without blood, confesses that the reason she was on the bridge was because she was coming back for Stefan, and that no matter what happens, it's the best choice she has ever made. Desperate to save Elena, Stefan quietly plots with Rebekah.

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With Rebekah's help, Stefan brutally kills a guard by cracking his head open against the bars. Stefan alerts Elena to the growing pool of blood on the ground. Elena gathers what little strength she has left and manages to dip a finger in the blood and taste it, completing the transition. After Stefan, Elena and Rebekah escape and are let free, Stefan then uses his blood to heal Matt after Damon had bitten him. Matt then tells Stefan that he wishes that he would stop saving him, that Stefan should have let him drown and saved Elena. Stefan tells Matt that the only reason he saved Matt first was because Elena insisted upon it, that Elena sacrificed her own life to save Matt and instead of bemoaning what has happened, maybe Matt should try to live up to the sacrifice Elena made for him and earn the life he has because of it.

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Later, Stefan sits with Elena on the rooftop of the Salvatore mansion. They make small talk about what will happen next with the Council. Stefan tells Elena that he wishes that he could promise that everything would be okay, that he could save her from craving blood and a heightened sense of pain, but unfortunately, being a vampire will be all those things. Elena then tells Stefan that even though there will be struggles, the important thing is that she will get to live and be there for everyone she loves, including him. Stefan then gives Elena a daylight ring that Bonnie made. He puts the ring on her finger and tells her that they will take it one day at a time. They share a romantic moment as they kiss and watch the sunrise together.

In *Memorial*, Stefan wakes up in the woods with Elena, where they spent the night in preparation for an early hunt. The scene is inter cut with a scene from the night before, when Stefan argued with Damon about the best way for Elena to feed. Stefan tells Damon that he wants Elena to try the animal blood diet so that maybe she can avoid hurting or killing anyone, something that Stefan feels would be especially hard for Elena. Even after Damon voices his opinion to Elena herself, Stefan and Elena leave for their camping trip as planned.

Stefan helps Elena take down and feed on her first deer. While Stefan instructs Elena on using vampire speed, she is distracted by Stefan's touch. She describes the sensation, that it feels like he is touching every single nerve on her body. Stefan continues the sensual description, explaining that everything is heightened, including emotions, sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. Elena, overwhelmed by desire, begins to passionately make out with Stefan against a tree. Soon, however, Elena begins to feel sick, pushes Stefan away, runs away with vampire speed and vomits up the animal blood.

Later, in Stefan's bedroom, Elena finishes leaving a message for Caroline to ask for help adjusting as Stefan walks into the room with two glasses and a bottle of champagne. He wants to celebrate her first feed, but Elena is less enthusiastic, reminding him that it kind of made her sick. Stefan explains that it took him a while to get used to animal blood, but it gets easier over time. Elena observes that Stefan is awfully cheery, and he responds that he's just happy she is here. Elena gives into Stefan's high spirits and pops open the bottle, laughing gleefully as it overflows. Stefan and Elena kiss, but are interrupted by a phone call from Damon.

 File:Memorial6.jpg
Later, Stefan helps remove peculiar wooden bullets from Tyler's chest. Stefan explains to Tyler and Caroline that the bullets were specially carved, and that if he were a normal vampire instead of a hybrid, he would be dead. Tyler tells Stefan that the hunter who shot him was clearly looking for vampires, and that his gloves were soaked in vervain. Stefan scrutinizes the special bullets, intrigued by the etchings on them. When Stefan touches one of the bullets, it burns him, and Caroline speculates that the bullets might have been spelled by a witch.

Stefan visits Bonnie to ask her about the bullets. When Bonnie answers the door, Stefan sees how despondent she looks and is immediately concerned. He asks her to invite him in, and after she does he embraces her, comforting her as she cries. After relocating to the living room, Bonnie explains that watching the spirits torture her Grams was like she was dying all over again. Stefan tries to assuage her fears, suggesting that the witches might just be messing with Bonnie's head to teach her a lesson. Bonnie tells Stefan that she has been unable to perform magic without reliving the horror of watching her Grams be tortured.

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Bonnie apologizes for the state she's in and for avoiding everyone, and asks what he needs help with. Stefan tries to back out of it, but Bonnie insists that he tell her what's wrong. Stefan then shows Bonnie the special bullets that he took out of Tyler and tells her that the bullets burn to the touch. He suggests that the bullets might just be steeped in vervain, but asks Bonnie if she has ever seen the writing on the bullets before. She says that she hasn't, and that it is not magical writing. Stefan then tells Bonnie that he thinks they have a new vampire hunter in town.

When Stefan arrives at the church for the memorial service, he sees Elena walking away from Damon, who is putting a blood bag into a satchel. Stefan confronts him about it and Damon explains that he brought the blood bag for Elena, and they argue again about what is best for Elena. Stefan insists that if Elena hurts someone, she will be desperate to turn the guilt off, maybe even enough to shut off her humanity.

Damon suggests that what Stefan is really afraid of is that Elena will become like Stefan's ripper alter-ego or, worse, that she will be like Damon. Damon insists that losing control and killing people is inevitable for a vampire, and the sooner Elena accepts that, the better. Stefan remains adamant until Damon reveals that Elena hasn't been able to keep any blood down, including animal blood, human blood from a blood bag and Damon's blood. Stefan, already surprised that Elena had kept her difficulties from him, is especially shocked that Elena drank from Damon.

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Eventually Stefan walks into the church and, after briefly talking to Tyler and Caroline, finds a seat as Carol begins the service for Pastor Young and the council. Elena volunteers to say a few words in Pastor Young's memory as Damon enters the church. Damon sits down beside Stefan and they watch Elena as she begins her speech. Damon remarks that Elena is not looking so good, and they banter quietly about jealousy and keeping secrets.

As Elena is giving her speech, she and the other vampires smell blood dripping from the ceiling. Damon intuits that it's a trap and very quietly warns everyone not to move. Elena almost loses control before Stefan comes up to the podium and leads her back to her seat. Back in their seats, Elena is barely holding it together, and Stefan and Damon argue under their breath about what to do. Finally, Matt suggests that Elena feed from him. Stefan agrees to it and lets Matt take Elena. Matt pretends to console Elena while she feeds from his neck. Once she has fed, Elena releases Matt and tells Stefan that she can still smell the blood. She suggests it must be April Young, who was missing, and that they have to help her. Stefan doesn't want to risk getting caught, but Tyler decides to reveal himself by going up to the podium. The hunter shoots Tyler, and Stefan, Carol, Caroline and Elena go to check on him while the rest of the church becomes chaotic. Once Caroline has taken the bullet out of Tyler, Stefan tells Elena that he is going to find Damon.

Outside, Stefan calls out Damon's name, and the hunter, Connor, gets away in his truck. Stefan runs over to Damon and starts to help him up, but decides to punch him instead. Lying on the ground, Damon asks what that was for, but Stefan merely responds, "You know what," referring to Damon letting Elena feed on him, and he leaves.

Back at the Salvatore mansion, Stefan and Elena are in the living room. Stefan pours Elena a glass of bourbon, explaining that alcohol helps with the cravings. They sip their drinks for a moment before Elena addresses the tension between them. Stefan admits he's hurt that Elena has not been truthful with him, and Elena defends herself by saying that she didn't want to ruin Stefan's good mood. They argue about Elena going to Damon for help instead of Stefan, and Elena admits that she felt that Damon would understand. Stefan resents that Elena thought he wouldn't understand, and goes on to explain why he's angry that she fed on Damon. She apologizes and begins to cry, confessing that she can't stop feeling everyone's grief. Stefan finally lets go of his anger and comforts her before he asks her to go somewhere with him.

At the school, Stefan and Elena join Matt, Jeremy, Caroline, Damon and Bonnie to have the memorial that they didn't have a chance to finish. Stefan tells Damon and everyone else that they have lost so much, and suffered so long, without allowing themselves to grieve and heal. Damon objects to Stefan's idea and thinks that they have more important things to do, like tracking down the vampire hunter, but Stefan they need to do this first. Stefan then lights a Japanese floating lantern in memory of his Uncle Zach, his best friend Lexi and for Alaric. He, along with everyone else who lit a lantern, releases his lantern into the sky.

In *The Rager*, Damon finds Stefan working on his motorcycle in front of the house and teases him about it before informing him that Connor had abducted Tyler long enough for him to extract some werewolf venom from Tyler's mouth. Damon turns down Stefan's offer to help, reminding him of their deal that whoever Elena didn't choose would leave town. Stefan suggests that the situation has changed now that Elena is a vampire.

At school, Stefan and Elena endure harassment from Rebekah until Elena tries to retaliate: she throws a pencil forcefully at Rebekah, who catches it and throws it into Elena's chest. Stefan leaves the classroom with Elena, trying to talk her down from her building rage. They see Connor in the hallway, and as he starts to head toward Jeremy, Elena wants to interfere, but Stefan tells her that he'll deal with Connor and Jeremy while she cleans up the blood from her pencil injury. Stefan follows Connor and Jeremy to the classroom they're sitting in, and after deeming Jeremy safe, he leaves.

Outside the school, Stefan and Caroline try to soothe Elena, who is still furious about Rebekah's antagonism. Elena finally agrees to skip the rest of the school day and have fun, and leaves to go home and change. Caroline shares her concern about Elena with Stefan, and he explains that Elena is channeling all her emotion to rage, and that she'll learn to deal with it better. Caroline commends Stefan on being so good at helping new vampires adjust.

When Stefan and Elena arrive at the party, it seems that most of the school is already there. Stefan compels a boy to give him his cup of beer, and he gives it to Elena. She sees April and decides to go say hi to her while Stefan goes to find something stronger than beer. Later, Stefan halts Elena from going after Rebekah with the white oak stake. He says he won't stop her, but instead explains exactly what will happen, and in the end the guilt of killing Rebekah and her entire bloodline isn't worth it. He suggests they leave the party instead, and Elena finally hands over the stake. Before they leave, Stefan watches Elena do a keg-stand, to the cheers of the party-goers, as a last-ditch effort at irritating Rebekah. They take a ride on Stefan's motorcycle on a deserted country road; Elena stands up on the bike and laughs, reveling in the sensation, and Stefan smiles.

Back at the boarding house, Stefan and Elena are getting hot and heavy in Stefan's room, and they make out until suddenly Elena starts to hallucinate that Stefan is Damon. Stefan asks he what's wrong after she pushes him away, and they see that the veins in Elena's arms pulsate and look inflamed. Stefan remembers that the hunter had werewolf venom, and Elena must have been poisoned with it. Stefan calls Klaus numerous times until he finally shows up. Stefan begs him to heal her with his blood, and Klaus feigns reluctance before cryptically suggesting that Elena might still prove useful to him, and he heals her.

Later, after Elena has left, Caroline arrives at the boarding house at Stefan's request, and he shares his concerns with her about being able to help Elena enjoy being a vampire, when he himself has so much trouble keeping a balance between enjoyment and becoming the Ripper. He points out that Caroline is good at being a vampire, and she insists that it's because Stefan helped her when she first turned. Caroline promises to be there for Stefan, and tells him that he should come to her when he needs help, and she won't let him lose control.

In *The Five*, Stefan finds Damon in the living room unpacking boxes. Damon explains that he confiscated Connor's belongings from his RV after he and Klaus killed him, and that he's looking for clues that might explain who Connor was and what he was after. Damon thinks Connor was supernatural for several reasons, including that fact that Klaus mentioned something about Connor being connected with the Five. Stefan asks him what "the Five" is, and Damon says he's hoping he'll find something in the boxes that explains that. Stefan peruses the boxes while Damon fields a call from the sheriff, who informs him that Connor's remains were not found at the site of the explosion. Damon tells Stefan that he needs him to investigate the Connor situation while Damon takes Elena to college. This is news to Stefan, and Damon explains that he intends to teach Elena how to feed from humans without killing them, and that Elena needs to learn "snatch, eat, erase" now more than ever. Stefan starts to object, but Damon stops him, reminding him that they're not in a fight.

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Later, Stefan and Elena are in the woods practicing "hunter defense" with bows and arrows. Elena stands by the plan, insisting that she has to learn to feed without killing, especially since she almost lost control feeding on Matt. Stefan suggests that Caroline help her, but Elena says that Caroline is too good at self-control and wouldn't be as easy to relate to. She adds that they're crashing Bonnie's college visit, as the professor who took over her Grams' classes teaches there and invited her. While continuing to playfully practice defense techniques, Elena reassures Stefan that Damon is only teaching her how to feed, and that Stefan is really the one getting her through her adjustment period. Satisfied with Elena's reasons, Stefan reminds her to be careful, as it's easy to get caught up in the feed. She promises to be careful, and they share a moment leaning forehead to forehead.

While Klaus is checking on Connor, who is his hostage and chained to an Inquisition-age rack, he senses that Stefan is behind him. They banter about breaking and entering and keeping hostages before Klaus admits that Connor hasn't been forthcoming with information. They leave the room so that Connor can't listen to their conversation, and Stefan asks Klaus about the Five. Klaus lightly admonishes Stefan for his nosiness, but admits that he might be useful in persuading Rebekah to cooperate with Klaus.

Klaus proceeds to tell Stefan that the brotherhood of the Five was a group of highly skilled vampire hunters and that Klaus and his siblings had crossed paths with them in the 12th century in Italy. Stefan interrupts to confirm that these vampire hunters have been around for 900 years. Klaus answers in the affirmative, but adds that Connor is the first member of the Five that he has encountered since the 12th century. Stefan also recalls from the story that Rebekah had been involved with one of the hunters. Klaus elaborates that Rebekah had in fact been in love with the hunter, and during that time had learned many of the brotherhood's secrets. Klaus says that he will share these secrets with Stefan if he does Klaus a favor: he wants Stefan to persuade Rebekah to come to the house. Klaus needs important information regarding the hunter that only Rebekah would know, but she is still angry with Klaus. Stefan wants to know what's in it for him, but Klaus merely says to trust him when he says that Connor holds the answer to all of Stefan's prayers.

Rebekah and April are sitting at a table at the Grill when Stefan approaches them and sits next to April. He compels April to not remember anything that he and Rebekah talk about, before he turns to Rebekah and tells her that Klaus wants him to fake peace with her so that she'll talk about The Five. Rebekah resists, so Stefan asks Rebekah to forget about helping Klaus and to just help him instead. He even bribes her by offering her a clean slate, saying that while he is not necessarily willing to forgive Rebekah for what she did to Elena, he is willing to put his anger towards her aside and start over. She is still suspicious, so he dangles the offer to talk Matt into giving her another chance, and finally Rebekah gives in.

Stefan and Rebekah arrive at Klaus' mansion and she sees Connor chained up. She asks Stefan and Klaus if it's a trick, wondering aloud how this hunter could be one of The Five if he doesn't have the tattoo. Klaus informs her that his tattoo is invisible, and suggests they sit down to eat. Klaus and Rebekah bicker until Stefan reminds him that he would rather be eating dinner with anyone else. Klaus then apologizes to Rebekah, though somewhat backhandedly, and Rebekah replies that she is willing to take his apology under consideration. Stefan returns the conversation to the story of the Five, and Klaus explains that Rebekah's beau, Alexander, was looking for vampires with the assumption that they could not walk in the daylight, so Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah felt safe around Alexander while wearing their daylight rings.

After Klaus reveals that Alexander had claimed that the Five possessed a special weapon that could destroy all vampires. Rebekah interrupts to say that it was not just any weapon, but Klaus tells her to not get ahead of the story. Stefan wants to know how this weapon could be the answer to all of his prayers, as Klaus put it earlier. When they say nothing, Stefan gets impatient and asks them to get to the point. Klaus finally answers cryptically that they need to solve the "puzzle" which seems to have disappeared. Stefan guesses that the tattoo is the puzzle, and Klaus elaborates that the tattoo is a map that will lead them to the treasure. Rebekah points out that this will be difficult, as the tattoo is invisible, but Klaus has already solved this problem: Jeremy can see the tattoo, and Klaus has one of his minions bring Jeremy into the room. Stefan speeds over to Jeremy but Klaus blocks his way, warning him against trying anything. Klaus announces that Jeremy will draw the tattoo for them, though Jeremy insists he won't help him. The hybrid minion then removes Jeremy's Gilbert ring and tosses it over to Klaus, who reasserts that Jeremy will help, tacitly threatening him should he still refuse. Stefan watches the exchange with concern.

While Jeremy sketches the tattoo, Klaus finishes telling Stefan the story about the Five, and how they daggered all of the Original siblings. Klaus wasn't affected by the daggers, so he killed all the hunters and found out why Rebekah trusted Alexander: the hunter had told there was a cure for vampirism. Unfortunately, after Klaus killed all five hunters, their tattoos, and thus the map leading to the cure, disappeared and Klaus hadn't seen another hunter until Connor. Klaus and Rebekah argue, and Rebekah leaves the house angrily. Klaus sends Stefan after her to find out where the hunter's sword, required to decode the map, was hidden.

Back at the boarding house, Stefan is pouring drinks when Rebekah arrives, having been summoned. Stefan lures her into trust by admitting he would want to take the cure with Elena and be human with her, and Rebekah inadvertently admits that she buried the sword with Alexander in Italy. Klaus emerges from another room, clearly having listened, and after Rebekah argues with him some more he daggers her. Stefan looks troubled by this, but knows better than to try to intervene. Stefan agrees to deal with Rebekah's body and compel Jeremy to forget the day's events, as well as keep mum about the cure, while Klaus travels to Italy to retrieve the sword.

At the Gilbert house, Stefan opens the front door to find Elena talking to Damon on the porch. Damon leaves, and Elena admits that although she was able to feed successfully, she hated the experience and how it made her feel. He comforts her, reassuring her that she'll get through this.

In *The Killer*, Stefan writes in his journal his concern about Elena, but adds that there's hope now that there might be a cure. He writes that he'll do whatever it takes to get the chance for Elena to be human again. He is interrupted by Klaus, who contacts him from Italy to tell him that Connor has escaped and stolen werewolf venom from the hybrid guarding him. Klaus reminds Stefan that he is too far away to be able to cure anyone should they become infected with the venom, and charges him with finding and catching Connor, keeping him alive in order to use his tattoo. Stefan wants to tell Damon, whose own agenda involves killing Connor, but Klaus is adamant and threatens to dispense with their search altogether if Stefan tells anyone.

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Later, after ignoring Damon and Elena's calls all morning, he meets the others at the Lockwood mansion where Damon, Elena, Caroline, Tyler and Hayley are discussing their rescue mission to save Jeremy from Connor, who is holding him and possibly others hostage at the Grill. Without telling the others about his knowledge of the cure, he manages to buy himself time to come up with a plan to save the hostages whilst keeping Connor alive by reminding them he may have werewolf venom.

Later, Stefan is walking around outside Mystic Grill on the phone with Klaus, trying to negotiate getting Klaus' hybrids on board with his plan. He then calls Elena and Damon and tells them there are three hostages in the Grill, having heard Matt and April's voices as well as Jeremy's.

Stefan arrives at Alaric's loft to meet Damon and Elena, and explains his plan to have one of Klaus' hybrids enter the Grill first, as they are immune to werewolf venom. Damon, immediately suspicious about Klaus' involvement, tries to get Stefan to admit what he seems to not be telling them. Unsuccessful, Damon announces he'll go and kill Connor himself, so Stefan quickly subdues Damon with vervain to stop him. Stefan convinces a shocked Elena that she needs to stay behind, promises he'll get Jeremy and the others out alive, kisses her and leaves.

 File:Tumblr mdgo15WYgM1qkfvkzo8 1280.png   Stefan calls Connor and reveals he knows about the Hunter's Mark, yet Connor refuses to free the hostages until all of the vampires are dead and hangs up. After making his way through the tunnels and into the back room of the Grill, Stefan tells Matt and April to leave before he cautiously makes his way into the main restaurant, ducking behind the bar as Connor shoots at him. He tries to negotiate with Connor, to no avail.

Elena enters the Grill, safe as long as Connor doesn't know she's a vampire. Her try at negotiating fails, and Stefan reveals himself after Connor begins a countdown to shoot Jeremy. When Connor starts shooting at him, Elena runs at Connor, exposing herself as a vampire. Connor shoots Jeremy before Elena tackles him. Seeing that the bomb is about to go off, Stefan grabs the injured Jeremy and hurls them both over an overturned table for cover. Elena, distracted by the bomb blast, looks up to find Jeremy; Connor takes advantage and overpowers her. Stefan rushes over and manages to push him off of her. With vampire speed, Stefan grabs Connor and leaves.

Underground, Stefan is leading Connor by force through the tunnels when they run into Damon, who wants to kill Connor. Stefan won't allow it and wants to take Connor, but Damon, still suspicious about Klaus' involvement, doesn't let up. Stefan tells Connor to run and pins Damon to the wall, but Damon quickly overpowers him and plunges his fist into Stefan's chest, refusing to relent until Stefan reveals what he's up to with Klaus. Stefan finally confesses that he's been working with Klaus because Connor's tattoo is the key to finding a cure for vampirism.

Stefan and Damon later join Elena in the woods, where she is digging a grave for Connor's body. She tells Stefan angrily that she thought she could trust him. The brothers helplessly watch her break down as the enormity of taking a life sinks in, and neither mentions the cure to her. Later, back at the boarding house, Stefan thanks Damon for not telling Elena about the cure, and that by killing Connor she may have lost her only chance to be human again. Damon calls Stefan out on his motives for wanting the cure for Elena, and Stefan responds that although he will always love her, Elena is not meant to be a vampire, and he doesn't want her to be this person.

In *We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes*, Stefan shows up at the Gilbert House after receiving a call from Damon that Elena had stabbed and killed Jeremy. He heads upstairs to Elena and says he understands if she is still upset with him from the previous day and wants to help her. She accuses him of working with Klaus and refuses to talk to him after he tells her it isn't what she thinks.

Klaus calls him and soon appears at the Gilbert house. Outside, Stefan demands to know what Klaus knows about Elena's hallucinations. Klaus tells him when a hunter is killed by a vampire, the consequence is that the hunter will torment his killer from beyond the grave until the vampire commits suicide. Klaus wants to take Elena and lock her up to prevent this from happening, but Stefan refuses. Elena, suffering another hallucination, runs onto the porch and before either Stefan or Damon has time to react, Klaus snatches Elena and disappears. A short while later, Bonnie arrives at the Gilbert house at the Salvatores' invitation. She says if she could do anything to help she would, but the spirits won't allow her to use magic. She offers to ask Shane for help and Stefan leaves.

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Stefan calls Caroline and tells her that he needs Tyler's help to distract the hybrids at Klaus' mansion so that he can get inside and release Elena. He joins Caroline and Tyler at the Lockwood mansion, and Tyler tells Stefan about Hayley, who helped Tyler break the sire bond and has been helping another hybrid, Chris, do the same. After Caroline lures Klaus away to distract him, Stefan and Tyler arrive at Klaus' mansion and persuade Chris to get rid of the hybrids guarding Elena.

 File:Vlcsnap-2012-11-16-10h58m21s50.png   After relieving the hybrids of their guard duty, Chris gives Stefan the key to the room where Elena is being held. As Stefan enters, Elena backs away in fear, as she sees Connor instead of Stefan. She manages to stab Stefan with a metal pole from the bed and escapes through the open door. Stefan calls Damon while removing the pole from his abdomen, informing him of Elena's escape and asking Damon to take over in the search for her.

Later, Stefan arrives with Jeremy at the Lockwood mansion and incapacitates Chris with a stake. Stefan apologizes before nodding to Jeremy, who then decapitates Chris with a meat cleaver.

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Stefan returns to the Gilbert house the next day to talk to Elena. They discuss recent events, acknowledging that now they all know about the cure and will have to work together going forward. After Elena asks why he sent Damon to look for her, Stefan admits that Damon seems to have Elena's trust in ways that he doesn't anymore. She starts to apologize, but Stefan instead urges her to be honest and admit to where she stands when it comes to him and Damon. Elena confesses that while she loves Stefan for helping her through her transition, she can't deny her relationship with Damon has intensified since she became a vampire. Stefan tells her sadly that he "can't do this anymore," and they break up.

In *My Brother's Keeper*, Stefan works out in the woods while on the phone with Caroline, who is trying to persuade him to attend the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. He reminds her that he and Elena have broken up, and mentions that Elena admitted to having feelings for Damon. Caroline scoffs at this, promises to talk some sense into Elena, and advises Stefan not to let this setback get the better of him.

 File:Stefan-and-Klaus-in-TVD-4x07-My-Brothers-Keeper.png  As Stefan hangs up and stands, Klaus appears suddenly and grabs him from behind in a chokehold, demanding to know why he told people about the cure. He orders Stefan to find some vampires for Jeremy to kill, threatening worse consequences if he fails to do so.

As Stefan leaves the boarding house, Damon intercepts him and asks what he's up to. Stefan gives a few one-word answers and Damon calls him out on being shady again. Abruptly Stefan tells Damon that he and Elena broke up. Damon, accepting this with minimal reaction, brings Stefan up to speed on the hunter situation, suggesting that they find another hunter besides Jeremy to complete the mark. He also shares the new information about Shane's involvement with Pastor Young, and supposes they might get more information out of the professor. Stefan shows little interest in Damon's scheming, and after Damon suggests they blow off steam instead with some brotherly bonding, Stefan laughs and reminds his brother that he knows Damon is probably happy that Elena is now single.

Stefan is next seen at the hospital, checking through clipboards for potential vampires, and finds a police officer guarding a door. He compels the officer and the man handcuffed who reveals he is a convicted murderer. After learning the man has no regrets other than being caught, Stefan feeds him his blood and snaps his neck.

He then texts Jeremy to meet him and waits in the cellar for him to appear.

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He asks if Jeremy is interested in making Elena human again and he agrees, following Stefan deeper into the cellar to reveal the fugitive who is tied up and in transition. Stefan cuts Jeremy's wrist and gives his blood to the fugitive who completes his transition into a vampire. Stefan thrusts a stake in his hand and demands that Jeremy kill the vampire, who protests but stakes the vampire after Stefan threatens he will let the vampire loose. Whilst on the phone with Damon, he tells Stefan to leave Jeremy out of it, and Stefan responds with 'Elena needs the cure'. Hanging up, Stefan shows Jeremy a picture of Connor's tattoo and asks where the mark is up to. Jeremy won't tell Stefan anything as he can't be trusted, and Stefan tries to compel him into revealing how far the mark has grown, Jeremy however stakes Stefan in the stomach, saying he can't be compelled anymore before leaving.

Stefan then rushes into the house when the out of control Jeremy attempts to stake Elena and pulls the stake from her neck.

 File:TVD 407x10.jpg  She then tries to find Jeremy and Stefan catches up with her, he is silent when Elena asks if he has been making Jeremy kill vampires. She doesn't want her humanity back if it means Jeremy loses his, but Stefan says it's the only way to 'fix all of this'. He looks hurt when Elena tells him that the old Elena died on the bridge and that he should let her go, and leaves after seeing Damon approach.

Later on, Stefan leaves his house after Elena moves in due to not being able to live in the same house as Jeremy anymore, telling her to 'pick a room'. He moves into Caroline's house who tells her he can't give up on the cure- or Elena. Stefan retorts he couldn't even if he wanted to due to Klaus wanting more hybrids with Elena's blood. Caroline suddenly stands after talking about Tyler's hybrid friends being un-sired, and after talking to through with Stefan, he realizes that Elena is sired to Damon.

In *We'll Always Have Bourbon Street*, Stefan is first seen discussing Damon and Elena's sire bond with Caroline, and stops her from calling Elena until they know for sure. Caroline tells him she will talk to Tyler, and Stefan asks her to keep the information to herself

 File:408-0014.jpg  . Later, he walks into his house and shares an awkward greeting with Elena before telling Damon they need to talk. Off screen, he tells Damon about the potential sire bond who adamantly rejects his claims. After Stefan asks Damon to test the sire bond; for example tell Elena to drink from a blood bag (which she previously cannot do, due to Damon's indirect command), Stefan admits if he is wrong, he will be the first to apologize.

Stefan is on the phone with Caroline, having spoken to Tyler about his own sire bond, she reveals hybrids are sired due to being grateful to Klaus, and Stefan seems upset when she adds there is no vampire equivalent for the reasons behind a sire bond. He hangs up and enters the library where Damon is rummaging around through old papers. Damon tells him that he was right, Elena is sired and Damon holds up a photo Stefan realizes of being from New Orleans in 1942. Stefan asks about 'that girl you used to hang around with', to which Damon tells him was Charlotte, a woman he turned.

Damon reveals the time when Charlotte killed a sailor after touching Damon's drink, having told her to 'have no mercy', he tells Stefan that was his first clue she was sired. Stefan retorts 'I can only assume you took full advantage of that?' then Damon hands him a paper which reads Valerie LaMarche, Stefan looks up curiously and Damon tells him she was the witch who helped break the sire bond.

Later, Stefan and Damon arrive in New Orleans and Stefan says he hasn't been back since 1942. The two begin arguing with Stefan demanding to know 'one thing you've asked her to do, you haven't gotten?', he says he blames the sire bond for Elena feelings and that 'it's impossible for her to be so blind that she doesn't see how wrong you are for her'. Damon walks away, angry to which Stefan apologizes.

 File:Salvatores-in-the-40s.jpg  A flashback shows Stefan, dressed in his war uniform rehearsing lines to Lexi which to say to his brother. Stefan walks up to the bar and pats Damon's shoulder and tells him he wishes to 'bury the hatchet' before they hug. Whilst drinking and laughing, Stefan reveals his plans to join the war and seems surprised, yet joyful when Damon requests to join, and says he will speak to his C.O before leaving to get another round of drinks. When he returns, they clink glasses before Charlotte arrives, with a bloody corpse in her arms. Clearly trying to fight his blood-lust as Charlotte tosses the corpse over to him, his fingers bloody and veins appearing underneath his eyes. Damon takes the victim from Stefan before Lexi drags him from the bar.

In the present, Stefan apologizes again, saying he 'shouldn't blame him for the sire bond' and asks if Charlotte may still be in New Orleans, then leaves to see 'how literal the sire bond is', after Damon reveals he told her to count all the bricks. After reaching the corner, Stefan bitterly retorts that not telling Elena the truth- as Damon suggested 'is Damon speak for let's just do what's right for me'. After Damon leaves, Stefan looks at the ground, ashamed yet rushes forwards after he hears a commotion in Damon's direction. He pulls a vampire off Damon and asks what the hell happened, looking confused when Damon tells him the vampire kissed him. Stefan looks horrified as the vampire is revealed to be Charlotte, having counted every single brick in New Orleans, waiting for Damon.

Stefan and Damon enter a shop, approached by a woman who Damon quickly asks for Val. The woman, Nandi, tells them Val was her great grandmother and another flashback reveals Val told Damon of a way to break the sire bond with twelve human sacrifices. Back in the present, Stefan is horrified and demands to know whether Damon killed twelve people, looking disgruntled when he says he did.

 File:408-0099.jpg  Sometime later, Stefan re-enters the shop after Damon and finds out Nandi is actually Val's daughter. She tells them her mother sold Damon a bill of good because she wanted access to Expression, a form of magic which channels the power of human sacrifices. After asking about the sire bond spell, Stefan looks dismayed and upset when she reveals that the only way a vampire bonds to her sire is if she had feelings for them before she was turned, and the only way around the bond is to release her.

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As Stefan and Damon leave New Orleans, Stefan tells him he doesn't think he will be able to let Elena go, as 'selflessness isn't a trait of his'. As Damon tells him of the time when he let Stefan go to war alone, for his own good rather than joining him, Stefan looks shocked. He then says he is upset about losing Elena to him, but when it's all over and if she never feels the same way about him, it'll be her choice.

Stefan is last seen at Caroline's house, feeling sympathetic towards Damon, believing he will do the right thing. He tells her that Damon loves Elena as much as he does so he can't be selfish with her, and will let her go.

In *O Come, All Ye Faithful*, Stefan first appears at Klaus' house exchanging small talk about Klaus' 'snowflake' painting before revealing Elena is sired to Damon, and so he needs the cure now more than ever. Klaus tells him that they were 'in this together' and proceeds to show him Alexander's Sword, explaining that the sword decodes Jeremy's hunter's tattoo.

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Stefan is next seen in the Salvatore Houses' library when Caroline calls him, he repeats Klaus' words about the tattoo leading to the Cure. Caroline says they need to find the sword, as the Hybrids are taking out Klaus that night. Stefan agrees as he is later seen ripping off the handle of the vault in Klaus' mansion, looking frustrated when he sees that the sword is gone. He talks with Damon over the phone on ideas of where Klaus could have hidden the sword and rejects the idea at killing Tyler before falling silent after rummaging around a trunk and finding letters, none of which are addressed to Klaus and he begins to read one.

 File:409 - 047.jpg  He puts down a letter he had been reading and questions Damon over Elena's movements, he is sympathetic towards Damon after asking how she took Damon 'letting her go', and Damon quickly offers an excuse before he hangs up.

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Caroline and Stefan are later waiting by an alley nearby the Grill and Stefan demands that Tyler stop or delay the plan to attack Klaus. Tyler dismisses him and Stefan attempts to stop Tyler with super-speed however stops as Caroline motions towards the number of hybrids standing in the alleyway. Tyler takes them to the Lockwood Cellar where he tells the hybrids to keep them down there until they're ready to bring in Klaus, Stefan tries to persuade him that it isn't about revenge for them, to no avail. Some time later Caroline and Stefan are still 'hostages' in the Lockwood Cellar and Stefan answers the phone, it's Damon who tells him something unheard. Stefan hangs up; telling Caroline and the hybrid guards that they don't need the sword anymore.

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After being released, Stefan finds Klaus at the Winter Wonderland event, when Klaus threatens to compel the truth about why he has been 'dodgy' as a distraction tool, Stefan admits that he broke into Klaus' house for the sword and that he doesn't trust him. He says he found Klaus' letters from 'pen pals' over the centuries and is silenced momentarily as Klaus reveals that he memorializes his dead, much like Stefan because of 'loneliness', that keeping letters and writing names on a wall is because they are left utterly alone. As Klaus spots a hybrid; Adrian over his shoulder, Stefan watches him go with a thoughtful look on his face, clearly having listened to Klaus' words.

Whilst sitting with Caroline later on, they exchange words regarding Klaus, and Stefan admits he felt guilty watching Klaus get 'led away to his slaughter'. Stefan says that he has been trying to figure out what makes them better than Klaus, and that it is because they have family they can trust. Caroline eye's him wearily as she asks somewhat bitterly about having heard from Damon. Stefan seems confused at her question and by Caroline's look knows Damon and Elena are

 File:S030a-d13-vam1-10-29.jpg  together. Stefan looks away as Caroline doesn't answer 'how together are they?' and demands to know, yet finally realizing by Caroline's lack of response just how together they are. He paces and knocks over a chess piece, suddenly lashing out, tossing the chess board off the table and throwing the end table against the wall, angry at how far Damon and Elena's relationship has escalated.

In *After School Special*, Stefan is drinking alone at the Grill, expressing his bitterness over the phone to Caroline about Damon and Elena sleeping together. She berates him about missing the mandatory school assembly consisting of Carol's memorial and tells him to get it together. Whilst still at the Grill sometime later, he answers the phone to an unknown caller, revealed as a now un-daggered Rebekah who says she has Elena hostage at the school and expects to see him there soon. Angered, he calls Caroline and asks if she 'would like to drive the White Oak Stake through Rebekah's heart' whilst quickly leaving the Grill.

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Stefan shows up at the school in search of Rebekah, checking his text messages for any word from Caroline. Hearing a noise down the end of the corridor, he starts to text Caroline yet Rebekah soon shows up, pushing him against the locker, stating she wants the cure. Stefan switches their positions, pushing her against the wall as a means to distract her until Caroline reaches them, though releasing her when Rebekah holds up the stake, saying she already found her. Rebekah forces Stefan into the library where she quickly delves into finding out how far they have gotten into finding the cure. Things turn ugly when Rebekah learns Elena and Stefan broke up and taunts them into knowing the reason. Under compulsion, Stefan reveals Elena slept with Damon.

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Rebekah, continuing to divulge information sarcastically asks Stefan why Elena would hurt him like that to which he responds 'she was sired to Damon'. Rebekah looks at Elena, knowing she is hiding something and compels her into 'fessing up', Elena admits that she slept with Damon because she's in love with him, leaving Stefan looking visibly hurt and heartbroken at the admission. Rebekah then moves onto finding out about the cure, and Stefan tells her where they can find Professor Shane. Later, Rebekah re-enters the library and compels them into playing 'truth or dare', where she dares Elena into telling Stefan the truth about Damon. As Elena tells him she isn't in love with him anymore, Stefan is hurt and tells Rebekah to 'go to hell' after further goading. As Tyler arrives, Rebekah provokes him into transforming, compelling Elena, Stefan and Caroline not to 'vamp run' in the hallways. As Tyler begins to transform, Stefan quickly ushers Caroline and Elena out. As Caroline darts away in another direction, Elena and Stefan run through a hallway, slamming a door and trying to use their collective strength to keep hybrid-Tyler out.

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After they no longer hear Tyler, Stefan and Elena run into the lab after Bonnie's screams of help where they are stunned to find an unconscious April, Stefan feeds her his blood to heal her and forces Bonnie to get herself and April out of the school. After they leave, the room is tense as Elena tries to approach Stefan to talk about what has happened. Stefan is visibly angered at her approach and demands 'how many more ways is there for you to rip my heart out?'. Elena apologizes, and Stefan scoffs whether she 'sorry that it happened, or sorry he found out' before Rebekah appears, striding into the room with a grin on her face. She seems disappointed that after everything, Stefan still protects Elena and offers to take every memory of Elena away. Both Elena and Rebekah seem shocked as Stefan jumps at the chance, telling her to 'do it'. Elena protests immediately, and Rebekah begins to laugh, saying it would be far too easy, and that she refuses to make Stefan forget Elena, the way Klaus made him forget her. She smirks at Elena, at least she knows how

 File:Stefan-After-School-Special-4.png  Stefan really feels before looking back to Stefan declaring his pain is her revenge.

After being freed from the school, Stefan is at home with a drink when Rebekah walks through the door. Stefan called her and convinces her to join forces in the race to the cure, saying they both hate their brothers, both have nothing, so they're better off as partners as if they find the cure first, they can decide what to do with it.

In *Catch Me If You Can*, Rebekah comes to the Salvatore boarding house talking to Stefan while reading his diary and they decide to steal Silas' headstone, because the others are way ahead of them in search of the cure; Klaus has Jeremy (a hunter) and Shane has Bonnie. Rebekah tells Stefan when they get the stone Shane will have to join them and Klaus will be left in the cold.

Stefan and Rebekah talk
They go to Shane's office and try to find the headstone and Rebekah comes across some "herbs" and suggests that they have fun. She asks Stefan what's wrong with him as in the 20s he used to be 'fun'. Stefan responds that he was a psychotic killer with no emotions back then and Rebekah disagrees by saying that he might have been a killer, but he wasn't emotionless, to which Stefan admits that he really did have fun. She hands him the herbs and tells him not to worry because Shane won't be back any time soon, she has made sure of that.

They look at the professor's stuff and Stefan is amused by Rebekah's cultural knowledge. They also talk about Elena and Rebekah says that she wouldn't compel him to forget her, not because she want's him to suffer, but because she has realized that love and caring ruins people.

mysterious man She adds that they had fun in the 20s because they didn't care, they just did what felt good-drinking, feeding, sex. They younger Salvatore responds that sex wasn't good because they didn't care, it was good because she was crazy and crazy sex is always good. They almost kiss when someone enters the office. The person is also looking for the headstone and finds it, when the original sister catches him. They both question the man but are unable to figure out who he is and what he's doing there as he's compelled to kill himself, which he does by grabbing Rebekah's knife and stabbing himself.

Stebekah torture
They figure that there must be a third team in the race for the cure. At this moment Elena calls Stefan and he is wondering whether to answer or not when Rebekah picks up instead of him. Elena explains that Kol compelled Damon to kill Jeremy because the original doesn't want them to wake Silas and they are in the tunnels and she can't seem to find them so she needs help. Stefan however, doesn't respond in any way and Elena hangs up the phone, trying to make Damon resist the compulsion but he's unable to do so and demands Jeremy shoot him in the heart. Just before the younger Gilbert succeeds in that, Stefan appears and snaps Damon's neck.

'You don't know what I look like when I'm not in love with you'
Later, the brothers are in the cellar and Stefan is shown to have bled Damon out because he didn't have vervain and needed to find a way to weaken him. Damon wants to see Elena, but Stefan refuses to fulfill his wish as the sire bond still exists and the elder Salvatore could use it to get free. Stefan adds that it's better for Elena if Damon stays locked up, until they find the cure and she's not sired anymore-then they could both do whatever the hell they want. Minutes later, Stefan has a conversation with Elena who has come to speak with Damon, but Stefan refuses to let her see his big brother, she then asks him what was he doing with Rebekah-she's the one that tried to kill her. Stefan responds that this is the second time Damon had tried to kill Jeremy so nobody's perfect, to which Elena asks him if he's trying to punish her, because she doesn't know how many times she can apologize. Stefan retorts that he never asked her for it and he doesn't really care what she does. She says that he's hurt and he's acting out, that this is not his true self. Stefan responds by saying he's being himself, but she doesn't know what he looks like when he's not in love with her.

Stebekah sex
At the end of the episode, Stefan goes to Rebekah and she explains that she didn't dagger Kol because he threatened to kill her. The younger Salvatore asks where she has hidden the headstone, but she refuses to tell him as he has already betrayed her twice. Then they hook up and agree to not include feelings or any attachments in their relationship.

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In *A View to a Kill*, Stefan wakes up in Rebekah's bed. He's wondering how to get out silently but as he's about to succeed in that Klaus gets in his way.

The original sister also wakes up and starts arguing with her brother. Nik is there because he needs a dagger in order to put Kol down, but Rebekah refuses to give her last one to him as she doesn't want to leave herself unprotected. Klaus then asks Stefan to talk some sense into his sister, but the younger Salvatore explains that he has to take care of Damon as he's still compelled to kill Jeremy. Klaus convinces Stefan that he needs to help him dagger Kol because then Damon will be free, Jeremy will live and they'll be able to find the cure. Stefan agrees to try and get the dagger from Rebekah but first him and Klaus go to Damon as someone still needs to babysit him. Stefan is not talking to his big brother because he's still mad at him for sleeping with Elena. Klaus, however, reveals to Damon that maybe his little brother has moved on since he caught him sneaking out of Rebekah's bed this morning. As Stefan is leaving the house, Elena calls him and tells him her plan to kill Kol. She says that Bonnie can use her magic to hold Kol and Jeremy can kill him and then his mark will grow as Kol's bloodline will be very big. Stefan is concerned that if they do that Klaus and Rebekah will go after them and Elena responds that in this case Stefan will use the dagger on the original sister and Bonnie will be able to deal with Klaus. Stefan says that he can't dagger Rebekah and Elena responds that she knows vampires can't use the dagger and they'll make Matt do it. Stefan agrees and goes to Rebekah who is preparing for the 80s decade dance. He informs her that the event was cancelled. They talk and she says that she knows he was trying to sneak out this morning and asks him if he regrets spending the night with her. He responds that he doesn't and suggests that they go to the dance together even if it's cancelled. Both of them go to the school and start dancing while Matt is trying to find the dagger in Rebekah's place. The younger Salvatore tells the original sister about the 80's.

 File:Stefan and rebekah.jpg  He gives her a koala corsage and then they dance.Rebekah admits that Stefan is actually fun tonight and he responds that he can't listen to the 80's music without thinking of Lexi. She asks if Stefan has slept with her too, but he says no and adds that he was just a better person when he was with Lexi. He never thought he would feel like that again until he met Elena and now it was over. At this moment a balloon cracks and Stefan looks around scared but Rebekah then reveals she has the dagger with her in case Kol comes. They slide in the school corridor while Matt is sneaking behind them so that he could put her down when Stefan gets the dagger. Rebekah however knows what the Salvatore brother wants and she gives him the dagger herself. She agrees to Klaus putting down Kol as she actually doesn't realize that their goal is to get rid of her. In the last moment Stefan changes his mind and decides not to go with this part of the plan. In the meantime, however, Jeremy and Elena manage to kill Kol and Bonnie helps them trap Klaus inside the Gilbert house. When Stefan gets the news about Kol being dead, he tells Rebekah. She yells at him for betraying her once again. Stefan responds that he can't let the people he loves get hurt and she can hate him for it but now Kol can't hurt her either. He adds that he wants them to find the cure together-not for Elena, but for her too so that she can have what she wants. Rebekah asks why should she trust him and he answers that he could give her his word but at the end of the day she'll just have to take a leap. After that Stefan goes home and sees Elena, Damon, Bonnie and Jeremy there.

 File:Mfg.jpg  He brings the headstone and explains that he didn't dagger Rebekah, because he didn't need to as she is on their side. Elena can't believe him and asks how could he think that he could trust her. Then Damon says that Rebekah probably pledged her allegiance while she and his brother were "knacked in the sack". Stefan is mad at Damon and attacks him by saying that he should calm Elena down by using the sire bond. Then Damon hits him and as Stefan is about to respond Jeremy starts screaming because his mark is growing.

In *Into the Wild*, Stefan, Damon, Elena, Rebekah, Bonnie, Jeremy and professor Shane go to an island near Nova Scotia in search for the cure. Stefan is dealing with the rage between Rebekah and Elena.

 File:Inthewoods.jpg  The original sister is irritating Elena on purpose so the last one threatens Rebekah with the white oak stake. They start walking around the island and Shane is leading them while also telling the story about Silas and the magic well. As they are walking they find out that someone has put traps in their way. While Elena and Jeremy are talking in the woods a man with a bow and arrow tries to kill Jeremy but Elena manages to pull him away. Then they find out that the attacker was killed by someone else with a hatchet. After that Shane decides to stop and put up the tents. Damon is not trusting him and he wants all of them to move on, find the cure and get out of there, but Shane doesn't agree. Stefan and Rebekah sit around the fire and talk about the cure and the tombstone, which Stefan is holding, because he doesn't want to let it out of his sight. Rebekah hears some strange noises in the dark and catches Stefan's arm, admitting that she's a scaredy-cat. The original sister then asks him what will he do when Elena takes the cure and comes back to him. He had said that he also wants to become human and have a life with her. She asks it that's still true, but instead of answering he also question her why would she take it. Rebekah responds that being a vampire is miserable and she would give anything to be human again. After that Stefan also confesses that if he takes the cure now it will be for him and not for Elena. During the night, however, Jeremy gets kidnapped and the others decide to split in order to find him. Elena, Rebekah and Stefan go together, while Bonnie, Shane and Damon stay in the camp. While the original sister, Elena and Stefan are searching the girls continue their fight and the younger Salvatore is trying to ease the situation. However, when Elena almost dies and Rebekah saves her life, they split once more, because Elena decides to go back. When she goes to the camp she gets into a fight with Damon and he leaves. In the meantime Stefan and Rebekah are still roaming in the woods and Stefan "saves" the original sister from another trap. She says that this wouldn't have killed her, but he responds that his actions are a force of habit. Then they talk about Elena again and Rebekah says that they all seem to forget that when she drove her off the bridge she was trying to protect her family-something all of them would to if they were in her position. After that they decide to go back as Jeremy is nowhere to be found and when they get there Rebekah realizes the tombstone is gone. She assumes that Stefan has betrayed her once again, but he manages to convince her that he wouldn't risk anything get in the way to the cure after 146 years of the pain of being a vampire. Elena gives her the white oak stake as a sign of peace and they decide they need to stick together in order to succeed. At the end of the episode Damon is caught by a vampire hunter and Shane has managed to gather Jeremy and Bonnie together as his plan was to separate them from the others from the beginning.

In *Down the Rabbit Hole*, Elena is talking to Caroline who is still in Mystic Falls dealing with Klaus.

 File:Stefan rebekah and elena dtrh.jpg  She explains the situation they are in-Damon is gone as well as Bonnie and Jeremy and they have no idea how to get to the cure without the hunter's sword and the translation of Jeremy's tattoo. Stefan suggests that Caroline looks for the sword on her own as there are only a few places you could hide a three-foot peace of metal to which Caroline agrees.

 File:Elena and stefan dtrh.jpg  In the meantime Stefan and Elena talk on the shore and Elena asks him why didn't he tell her that he wants the cure for himself. He replies that he has seen every side of vampirism there is and that even the good parts sucks in the long-run so it's understandable why he would want to take it. Elena says that she knows why he would take it but she doesn't understand why he didn't tell her. Stefan says that it has nothing to do with her. Yes, he wanted a human life with her but being a human himself, being normal is something he has longed for a long time. Elena says that she's glad he told her now and he responds that this is a secret shared between friends. In the meantime Caroline and Tyler find the sword and with Klaus's help they manage to translate everything so they call Rebekah. Klaus however decides to share an important information with his sister which he didn't tell the others-there's only one dose of the cure. As a result Rebekah, who desperately wants the cure decides to snap Stefan's neck because she knows that his intentions are to give it to Elena. So the original sister leaves Elena and the younger Salvatore on their own.

 File:Stefan and rebekah dtrh.jpg  Damon is still dealing with Vaughn when Rebekah finds them. Elena and Stefan talk about the cure and Elena says that she can't take it if it's only one dose. But she says that maybe everything is a blessing in disguise and that even if she can be human again she won't be the same person because thing changed the minute she got off the bridge. It's about time to accept the person that she is right now and start living the rest of her life. Stefan says that she'll still live her life sired to Damon. Elena responds that she'll have to deal with that when she gets home. When she mentions home, however, she remembers that Klaus would still want to avenge his brother's death. So they need to find a cure and make him mortal so that he doesn't kill everyone. They manage to find Damon and Rebekah who were overpowered by Vaughn. Elena goes down the well in order to find the cure while Stefan is helping his big brother. He frees Damon and pushes him to keep going but the elder Salvatore refuses to go, saying that he needs a minute and that he'll just slow them down. Elena needs only one of them and it's better for her that one to be Stefan because he wants her to take the cure. Stefan says that it's not that easy anymore but Damon says that right now it is and that he needs to go down the well. Stefan agrees and goes down while Damon is left up with Rebekah. When Stefan gets down he sees Shane trapped, but he decides not to help him, because now the professor can understand what it feels like to have hope and then to lose it. In the meantime, however Katherine (who has appeared on the island without them knowing it) attacks Elena and steals her clothes. She goes to Jeremy and Bonnie who are trying to get the cure out of Silas's hands, but Vaughn is trying to prevent them from doing it. Katherine gets rid from Vaughn for the moment. Jeremy who thinks that this is Elena is trying to make her help Bonnie who was hurt but Katherine doesn't have these intentions. She bites Jeremy's neck and puts it in Silas's mouth. Silas drains the Little Gilbert and kills him while Katherine manages to take the cure and run away.