FINDING LOVE

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Yes I know I still have two fics incomplete but this is one of my bigger protects so I'm gonna upload it. Sequel to "Adventures Of The Youngest Salvatore" taking place some years after it and will have some deviation from the actual series, mainly the friendship between the characters. Like "Adventures Of The Youngest Salvatore", I will only be covering certain episodes of the series. What would be the first season is sophomore year, what would be the second season is junior year, and what would be the third season is senior year. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new spin on things.

Night had just fallen when the van rumbled onto the familiar street that led to Mystic Falls.

"Oh, this van has just about had it," Damon Salvatore noted.

"Well, we'll be home soon and then we can get our real cars," Stefan reminded him.

"What kind of cars do you have?" Sam wondered.

"Boys and their toys," Anna muttered at the same time and Pearl, Lexi, and Katherine laughed.

"Hey, it's not that funny! I missed my car too you know!" Casey protested. Katherine was about to reply when they all heard it: the sound of screeching tires.

"That's coming from Wickery Bridge," Damon noted and he, Stefan, and Katherine removed their seatbelts, opened their doors, and were off in a blur. When they got to the scene, the car had already been submerged. Without even thinking about it, the trio dived in and Stefan and Damon yanked the doors off of the car as the others immediately dialed nine-one-one. As Stefan headed for the youngest of the three people, Damon and Katherine headed for the older couple. Stefan quickly unbuckled the girl's seatbelt and his eyes widened when he got a look at her. She smelled and looked like Katherine! The girl in front of him shared Katherine's scent of iron, steel, and powder as well as smelling like pine needles and Earth. But how? Then he mentally shook his head and carefully took her into his arms. He had to get the girl to safety. And she needed to get her head checked out. From the smell and looks of it, she was bleeding profusely. Fortunately, he could hear her heart beating, though it was fainter than a human's heartbeat should be. He could ponder her resemblance to his sire later. Katherine looked at the older woman and then shook her head at Damon sadly. It was too late for her. Her heartbeat was gone. She then joined Damon at the older man's side.

"Elena. Save Elena," the man insisted.

"My brother's got her," Damon assured, as he placed a hand on the man's head keep the blood from flowing. Then, the trio quickly went back to the surface and pulled the two onto the road. The girl moaned, but didn't awaken.

"Thank you," the man gasped. Then, "Miranda!"

"She was already gone, I'm sorry," Katherine told him. He has the same scent as Jonathan Gilbert, she thought to himself. Jonathan Gilbert had smelled like pine needles and Earth and there was only one reason that the man would smell like Jonathan. He was one of his descendants. The man let out a shaky breath.

"Thank you…for saving me and my girl…I know what you are. I'll never betray your secret," he told them.

"Your ancestors promised the same thing. I know that you can be trusted," Katherine stated. And it was true. While Jonathan had created devices that tracked down vampires and other supernatural creatures, he had been attempting to track down the ones who had been feeding on the populous of Mystic Falls, not them. There was no way he could've foreseen the mass hysteria that had followed. Just then, the ambulance came. They quickly went to Elena, put her in the stretcher, and loaded her in, her father at her heels. The vampires glanced at one another.

"Should we follow them?" Sam asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think we should," Casey replied and her older brothers nodded in agreement. With that, they all got back in the van and headed down the same road they had seen the ambulance go.

"Katherine, the girl-she looked like you," Stefan said.

"She must be a Petrova Doppelganger," Katherine replied.

"A what?" Damon questioned.

"I will explain at a more convenient time," Katherine told him. If she really is part of my line, she must be protected at all costs, she thought to herself. Then, her focus shifted as they reached the hospital a few minutes later. Inside Mystic Falls Community General Hospital, the doctors whisked an unconscious Elena into surgery.

"What happened?" a doctor asked.

"A car accident. They ran off Wickery Bridge," a paramedic replied. While this was going on, a doctor was checking on Grayson.

"Well, everything seems to be okay and you aren't exhibiting any signs of a concussion, but I'd like to keep you overnight just in case," the doctor told him.

"Of course," Grayson agreed just as Sheriff Elizabeth "Liz" Forbes walked in.

"Grayson, I realize that this is a bad time, but I'm afraid I have bad news," she said.

"She didn't make it, did she?" Grayson queried and Liz shook her head.

"Does Jeremy know?" Grayson queried.

"A deputy's with him now," Liz assured. While the woman said this, one of the deputies walked up to the Gilbert residence and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal Jeremy Gilbert.

"What can I do for you, Deputy?" Jeremy questioned.

"Jeremy, your parents and sister have been in an accident. Your father's car went off the Wickery Bridge," the man replied.

"WHAT!? ARE THEY OKAY? I WANNA SEE THEM!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Miranda didn't make it, but Grayson and Elena are at Mystic Falls Community General," the deputy told him.

"Take me there," Jeremy demanded and the deputy led the boy to his car, where they got in, and they headed towards the hospital. Within minutes, they were at the building and before the car was completely slowed, Jeremy had opened the door and rushed towards the entrance.

"Hold on!" the deputy called, running after him. As they ran in, Stefan, Damon, Casey, Katherine, Lexi, Pearl, Anna, and Sam headed out.

"I hope they'll be okay," Sam said.

"Well, I heard the doctor say Grayson Gilbert will be fine, though they're worried about the girl," Casey replied as they all got in the car.

"Speaking of worrying, I'm sure Zach is going out of his head due to our tardiness," Damon commented.

"Oh, my gosh! We better go!" Casey gasped. With that, Damon started the car and once more headed for the Salvatore Boarding House where their descendent, Zachary "Zach" Salvatore was pacing worriedly. Where were they? Had they run into some sort of trouble? An approaching car engine broke the man's reverie and he headed for the entrance to the boarding house. He opened the door as the vampires headed for the houses. He frowned. He didn't recognize a couple of them. However, from their gait, it was obvious that they were all friends.

"Uncle Zach!" Casey exclaimed happily and blurred towards him and then wrapped him in a hug, being careful not to grab him too tightly. He laughed.

"It's good to see you too," he said. "Why don't you all come on in?" he invited. With that, they all walked through the threshold.

"Thank you. We promise only to stay long enough until we can procure our own place," Pearl told him.

"Yeah, we don't want to impose on you," Lexi added.

"Nonsense. Any friends of theirs are friends of mine and you're welcome to stay here as long as you want," Zach told them.

"Are you sure? As I said, we wouldn't want to impose," Lexi stated.

"It's no imposition," Zach assured. "Now then, you five have seem to have picked up a couple of new friends," he continued.

"I'm Lexi," Lexi introduced herself.

"Zach Salvatore," Zach stated as they shook hands. "How long have you been hanging out with them?" he wondered.

"Awhile. I just usually don't choose to come here. I get a little stir-crazy in small towns," Lexi explained.

"I see," Zach said. "And you?" he queried, turning to the boy next to Casey.

"Uncle Zach, this is Sam Richards, my mate," Casey introduced him.

"Nice to meet you," Zach told him.

"Same here," Sam responded. Then, "He's your uncle?"

"Well, actually, I'm their descendent. Posing as their uncle just helps their cover," Zach explained.

"Oh, I see," Sam said. I suppose that makes sense, he thought.

"Sorry we're late, but there was an accident out on Wickery Bridge," Damon told him.

"What? Was anyone hurt?" Zach asked in alarm.

"It was Jonathan Gilbert's descendants. The father and daughter are relatively unharmed, but unfortunately, the mother was already gone when we got there," Katherine answered. Back at the hospital, Jeremy was in Elena's room, watching over her. Just then, the nurse came in.

"So how come she hasn't woken up yet?" Jeremy wondered anxiously.

"Well, there was no sign of significant head trauma, so it could simply be her body's way of resting and healing herself," the nurse replied as she went about her duties. When she was done, she left. Jeremy blew out a breath.

"Come on, Elena. You've got to wake up," he murmured. Just then, he heard running footsteps.

"Jer!" a voice exclaimed, causing him to stand up and turn around in surprise to see Bonnie Bennett, Caroline Forbes, Matt and Vicki Donovan, and Tyler Lockwood rushing in.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jeremy wondered. Especially Tyler. We're not even friends, he mused to himself.

"I heard about the accident from my mom," Caroline answered.

"And then she called the rest of us," Bonnie added. She bit her lip. She couldn't believe she was in the hospital again. The last time she was here, it was because her dad was dying. The girl mentally shook herself and refocused her attention on Elena. She couldn't think about that. Elena needed her.

"How is she?" Vicki wondered, hugging Jeremy. Sure, she wasn't really friends with Elena, but she wouldn't ever want anything bad to happen to her.

"She hasn't woken up. The nurse who was just said that since there wasn't any significant head trauma, it could just be her body's way of healing herself," Jeremy replied.

"Thank God," Matt sighed in relief. Even though they had broken up a few months ago, they were still good friends and Matt was still hoping that they'd get back together.

"She'll pull through. I just know it," Caroline predicted and the others made similar statements. Jeremy managed a small smile at the group. He didn't know whether or not they all believed what they were saying, but he was grateful for their optimism all the same. He turned his gaze to his older sister who-except for the fact that she was in a hospital gown-could've been sleeping at home. If he closed his eyes, he could make believe that they were at home and Elena was fast asleep. However, he knew that was pointless. She wasn't asleep. Back at The Salvatore Boarding House, the vampires had picked their rooms and had finished unpacking. Stefan was now in his room, writing in his journal.

Dear Diary, we've come home to Mystic Falls. And apparently, we got here just in time. A car had gone off of Wickery Bridge, trapping a family of three under water. We managed to save the father and his daughter, but unfortunately, the mother was already gone. I can't even imagine what that family must be going through now. I'm just glad we were able to save the father and daughter. The daughter…she looks like Katherine. How is that possible? Katherine says she must be a Petrova Doppelganger, though I'm not sure what she means by that and Katherine said she'd explain. I'm not sure who the girl is, but I have to know her…

Stefan placed his pen down and reread the last words he had written. It was true. For some reason he had been drawn to the girl-and it wasn't just the resemblance to his Sire-and he couldn't wait to get to know her better. He let out a small smile. Things were about to get interesting in Mystic Fall.