Extended Summary

Caroline has finally graduated college and joins her brother's, Stefan and Damon, on her first official tornado chase. Although being a certified meteorologist and a licensed paramedic, her methods are mostly ruled by instinct. Not everyone agrees with her way of thinking until she gets them results starting on their first day out in the field. The Mikaelsons manage to warm up to the idea of having her around, except for Klaus who finds her distracting and too risky for his family and coworkers to follow; until he learns exactly why she's like that. They go through towns capturing footage and data of the tornados they chase and stick around long enough to help look for survivors; with a lot of them helping the wounded the tornados leave in their wake. When 3 major systems set on a path to collide with a place linked to the Salvatore past, they all go in with a battle plan as the siblings face one of the hardest days of their past; ready to leave their ghosts in the pasts.

Chapter 1

Caroline adjusted the radio to play her mp3 player as she waited for the pump to finish filling up the truck so she could fill her bike up next. Her best friend Bonnie had run inside to get them some more snacks to stock up for the road; they wouldn't have time to stop on a chase. As she finished setting up the radio she heard the click of the pump and moved to climb in the truck bed to fill her bike. She saw Bonnie speaking to the gas attendant through the window and rolled her eyes; the downside to chasing the storms was always getting caught up with people wanting to talk when they didn't have the time. She waited patiently as her bike finished filling up, but when she had the gas nozzle back in its designated slot she rushed inside to finish paying for the gas and food. Bonnie looked at her relieved as she walked up to the register and paid; proceeding to drag Bonnie out of the store with her with a short apology to the attendant.

"Thanks Care… he was beginning to get on my nerves." Bonnie stated with a sigh as they moved to enter the truck.

"No problem Bon-Bon… we need to get moving; we still have about 2 more hours before we reach them." Caroline replied as she started the truck up and pulled away from their pit stop with the music already playing. From the look on Bonnie's face she could tell her friend knew where her mind was from the music choice. She couldn't help it, and she refused to be sorry for it, but storms were an important part of her life; she felt tuned into them. It didn't make it better that she hadn't seen her brothers in months so she could finish up classes in preparation for the chase. Now that she had her degrees she could be an official member of the team and also help with the aftermath storms always left behind; the only thing she hated about it would be that they couldn't always save everyone. Fixing her expression she studied the sky as she drove while Bonnie started pulling up the forecast to get an idea for the best route to meet up with the guys; needless to say, it would still be a long drive left to make.

Stefan POV…

He was watching the sky after finishing setting up all the equipment he thought they would need soon. He was glad they had grouped together a better team than the last year; finding old friends and casting out the troublemakers. He still couldn't get over how far they had come in the past couple of weeks while waiting on Caroline to finish up her classes and he knew her and Bonnie joining would likely cause a bit of a stir initially, but he felt it would be an unforgettable season. He saw his brother talking on the phone and shook his head; no doubt he was talking to his wife since he knew Elena was always worried when they went on a chase. It didn't help that Elena and Damon had just found out a couple months earlier that they were expecting their first child together; stress wasn't good on a baby, nor was being distracted while on a chase.

So instead of crowding and reminding his brother for the millionth time that he needed to focus he walked over to where Klaus and Kol were watching the monitors. Those 2 working together really cracked him up; they cared about each other in regards to being family but they drove each other crazy to the point everyone was constantly breaking up "their little spats". He briefly wondered how everyone would take the news of Caroline and Bonnie joining; being as him and Damon were currently the only ones that knew so far. They shouldn't mind seeing their team had consisted of family themselves; including Elijah's wife. It also helped that their brother Finn and his wife Sage worked back in the labs leading some of the research they would be experimenting on out in the field this season. He was so focused on his thoughts he didn't notice he was being spoken to until he felt his shoulder shook.

"What's clouding your mind?" Kol asked amused as Klaus rolled his eyes and continued watching the simulation they had made to predict where the storm they were tracking would go. "Do you get it? "Clouding"? Because we chase storms… does this make sense to you?" Kol continued until Klaus reached over and smacked the back of his head.

"Can you not be serious Kol?" Klaus asked as he finally brought his attention away from the screen completely.

"I am serious… but there's no harm in coming up with a few work-related jokes to ease the tension. Obviously something is on his mind and it doesn't look like it has to do with the system we're tracking." Kol explained himself while Klaus sighed and ran a hand through his hair; obviously holding himself back from further continuing since it was still early in the day.

"I'm just thinking guys… no need for violence." Stefan spoke up to break them up before they could get started again; clearly trying to aid in stopping a "spat" before it started too. "But there is something I need to talk to all of you about and I don't know what you all will think about it." Stefan spoke slowly as he hid his nervousness. The Mikaelsons had known Stefan and Damon in college, but none of them had met Caroline or knew much about her beyond the point that she was their sister. Having her and Bonnie coming into the fold would likely lead to a million questions he would have to answer; especially since they didn't know she had majored in this field or the fact she had chased since she was little.

"What is it mate?" Klaus asked with a suspicious face; damn that man's paranoia.

"It's nothing bad Klaus… it's just a little bit of a surprise." Stefan said calmly as he watched his friend cross his arms with a waiting expression plastered across his face. "Do y'all remember back when me and Damon mentioned our sister in college?" He asked as he watched the confusion take over their faces as they glanced at each other before looking back at him. "Well she's coming to join the team this season since she graduated and she's bringing her friend with her; they both specialized in meteorology and my sister doubled so she's also a licensed paramedic."

"Why are we just hearing about this?" Klaus asked and Stefan could tell he was aggravated with him.

"Because the season started 2 weeks ago and she still had a week left to finish everything up at school. After that she had to help her friend Bonnie finish up as well as get everything they needed for this season's chase. Normally Caroline would have already joined us but with graduation and everything she was delayed… it's really not a big deal; it isn't her first chase." He rambled until he felt Kol shake him back to being quiet.

"I'm sure it won't be a problem. Besides… she or her little friend might be hot; I'm in." Kol responded with a grin and Stefan just shook his head as he let out a sigh in frustration; Caroline was his baby sister, but they were practically raised with Bonnie's family and she was like a little sister too.

"Off limits Kol… this is your only warning. Care is my sister and Bonnie is like a sister to me so I don't want any problems started with you and them." Stefan warned but then chuckled as he thought more about it. "Actually… go ahead and try; maybe you'll learn a lesson or two with them."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kol huffed but Stefan could tell he was genuinely curious about his remark.

"They were raised with me and Damon… they can handle themselves without my help." Stefan replied with a laugh and turned to walk away. Glancing back he saw Kol drift away in thought and Klaus clench his jaw. He knew his friend was a little upset with the news, but he would likely come around in his opinion; there wasn't anyone he knew could resist being friends with his sister.

Hours later…

The crew was finally finished setting up their home base for the storm that was threatening to pass through. The sky had darkened considerably and had taken on a greenish tint; they all knew it was almost time. Stefan and Damon double-checked all the vehicles to make sure they were good to roll out while the Mikaelsons double-checked the equipment and made sure everything had begun recording. Stefan kept trying to call Caroline but she hadn't answered in a while so he began to worry, but soon his nerves settles as he saw her truck pull into their site with the radio blaring. He looked around and saw most of the Mikaelsons look confused while Kol looked giddy and Klaus looked upset; he didn't really care as he ran up to the truck.

Caroline stepped out and immediately jumped in her brother's arms as he twirled her around. He set her down and she immediately ran to the back of the truck to start unchaining her bike as she glanced up at the sky. Bonnie had come around the truck and gave him a side hug before following Caroline to release her own bike. Once Stefan had helped the girls get their bikes out they automatically went into motion to gear up and set everything to record in different POVs. Caroline quickly told Bonnie to hang back before she took off, starting in a wheelie, and then speeding away. When everyone starting gathering to figure out she was already leaving and had geared up, Stefan quickly told them that Caroline was like their own warning system; she could feel them forming and knew when to leave. It wasn't a detailed explanation, but he knew he didn't have time nor the want to explain further at the moment since it would be like giving away Caroline's life story.