In her basement room, Lily quickly packed away her belongings, her laptop, headphones, her sketchbook, and a hairbrush along with her makeup bag. She moved to the small desk and picked up the folder there, quickly glancing inside at the birth certificate, a few legal documents, and finally a photo. The photo showed two babies, identical except for a difference in hair color. She packed the folder in her bag too, and moved to the bed, where her duffel bag awaited.

She was finally doing this. After so long, she was going to find her family. Smiling slightly, she put on her worn out converse and hoodie, shouldering both her duffel bag and backpack before approaching the desk again. She could still hear the TV on in the living room above her, and knew that the small dirty window was her only way out. Climbing on top of the desk she struggled briefly with the window before managing to get it open. SHe then shoved first her back pack, then duffel bag out the window and pushing them far to the side. Now it was her turn. Lily had already placed an old milk crate on top of the desk, and now stood on that to give her more height before she climbed out the window, shimmying a little to pull herself out fully. With the cool air hitting her face she grinned before shutting the window and collecting her bags.

With a fast pace she quickly made it down the street, feeling lighter with each step. She had saved up for a while to buy some transportation, and was over the moon about the old volkswagen parked at the corner. Stuffing her bags into the passenger seat she let out a breath before starting the engine and driving away. It was only three hours to Mystic Falls. Three hours wasn't much, so she could have left in the early a.m. hours, but she was so ready to be there, to be away from here.

Lily had spent the first fifteen years of her life thinking she belonged to Frank and Lydia Winston, only to find out on a drunken night of arguing that she wasn't a Winston at all. Her 'mother' had given her all the information she had and apologized, saying it was time for her to know the truth. Lily had spent every minute since then wanting to find her real family, and now she would. With a smile she thought about her birth certificate, a fake, with a fake last name. Legally her last name was still her birth parents.

For the next three hours Lily drove, only stopping once for a drink. Trees surrounded both sides of the road, Lily thought there was probably only a few miles until she saw the town. As she continued on, she caught sight of something in the road. At first it looked like an animal, but as she slowed down and then stopped, she saw it was a man. Quickly leaving her car she ran to the body of the man.

"Are you okay?" Crouching down next to him she rolled him onto his back, her fingers shaking as she tried to locate a pulse.

The man opened his eyes and looked up at her. He was handsome, with dark hair and blue eyes she could see in the dark. "You shouldn't have stopped."

She withdrew her hands, and as she made to get up, was suddenly pulled down into his grasp. She found herself half sitting on him and half on the ground. "Please, don't do whatever it is you think you want to."

He ignored her and let out a breath, Lily could smell liquor and something metallic on his breath. He opened his eyes a little wider and looked at her. "What's your name?"

She hesitated. She could say the name Lily Winston, the name she grew up with, but some pull in her mind told her not to do that. "Lily Gilbert."

His gaze intensified then. "Gilbert? Do you have family, Lily Gilbert, in Mystic Falls?"

She nodded, her mind wanting to keep her secrets, but her mouth telling them. "I do, but I've never met them."

The man stood, and suddenly so was she. "How did you-"

"What's your families name?" He cut her off.

Again, she wanted to keep it in her mind, but it came out. "Gilbert. My parents, their names are Grayson and Miranda."

The man let her go slightly, looking her over. She knew what he would see. A teenage girl, about five feet five inches, with long blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun. Her eyes were grey, and her skin was fair. He looked into her eyes again, and she felt him in her mind. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Get in your car, and drive where I tell you to."

Lily nodded, turning as he released her and getting into the drivers seat. The man moved to her passenger seat, opening the door and stuffing her bags into the small back seat. He gave her simple directions and she started to drive.

-0-0

Damon looked at her again, seeing it again. She looked like Elena, but didn't. Sisters he guessed, but they couldn't be too far apart in age. He would get her to Elena, but not until the morning. Tonight, he'd push Rose into the back of his mind, and focused on this girl. He'd find out all he could before she left in the morning.

When she finally pulled into the driveway of the Salvatore house he grabbed her bags and told her to follow him. She followed, like he knew she would, considering her system was free of any trace of vervain.

Damon brought her to his room, it smelled like blood. He set her bags on the floor and turned to face her, seeing her dove grey eyes land right away on the bloody sheets. He ignored her frightened look and got her attention again. She looked tired and dirty, with dust and mud on her clothes, he didn't know from what. Holding her gaze, he began to speak. "Go get cleaned up, Lily."

She nodded, looking around the room before locating the bathroom and walking towards it. He turned and with vampire speed stripped the bed and remade it with fresh sheets. He did much the same to the rest of the room before going downstairs.

-0-0-

Lily had stripped off her clothes and taken a shower. She scrubbed her body until it was fresh and pink, following up with washing her long hair too. SHe felt better as she exited the shower, wrapping her body in a large white towel before drying her hair with another. A part of her knew she should be scared, being in some strange man's house naked. But she felt strangely safe. It was with that feeling that she left the bathroom. The bedroom had been cleaned in the time she was in the shower, the bedding was fresh and clean, and her bags had been placed on a chair in the corner. Moving towards her bags, she quickly found a blue tank top and leggings, along with underwear. Returning to the bathroom she dressed quickly.

When she entered the room again the man was there, with a plate holding a sandwich and a glass of water. He sat on the edge of the bed and motioned her towards him. Once she had sat down he passed her the plate. He didn't say anything until she'd eaten the whole sandwich and taken the water. WHen she had finished he took the plate and glass, setting them on the nightstand.

"Tell me about your family."

-0-0-

Damon had heard every word she said, and seen all the things she had. She was Elena's twin, and had been raised three hours away. He knew the way she'd found out, and had heard her describe every step she'd taken to finding out all the truths she needed. She cried a little when she talked about finding out her parents had died, and smiled when she mentioned her twin sister. She'd been tired by that point, so she'd fallen asleep, leaving him staring at a picture of Lily and Elena as babies, probably just after they were born.

If he was honest, he'd say he thought seriously about compelling her to leave town, go back to where she came from and forget that she'd came. But a large part of him knew that Elena would want to know, that Lily would be miserable if he sent her away.

He stayed awake all night, showering and changing clothes just as she'd woken up. He came out of his closet pulling a black t-shirt over his head to find her sitting up, face soft from sleep and hair a little messy. "Well good morning."

She climbed out of his bed and looked around the room, finally meeting his eyes. "Good morning."

Damon quickly moved to stand in front of her, looking down into her eyes again. "Go get ready, you've got to meet your sister."

-0-0-

Elena came into the kitchen, straight at John Gilbert. He turned off the TV as she came to a stop in front of him. "Morning."

"What are you doing here?"

"Coffee?"

She shook her head, "We're not doing that. We did that last night, no more avoiding. Why are you here?"

He turned to face her. "I'm here to protect you. That's all I can say for the moment."

"What do you mean that's all you can say?"

John nodded. "I'll tell you more when I'm convinced I can trust you."

Jenna came in then, saying she was late, followed by Alaric. She caught sight of him and stopped. "What the hell?"

He nodded, "Good morning to you Jenna, Alaric."

She ignored his greeting. "It's okay that I'm confused right, cause we weren't expecting you, like ever."

He nodded again, ignoring Elena's glare and Jenna's too. "I got in late last night, Elena let me in."

Alaric touched Jenna's shoulder. "I'm gonna go ahead and head out." He made eye contact with both Elena and John before leaving out the back door.

Jenna shook her head, "I'm still confused here."

"I decided to come back and stay for a while."

Jenna glared. "No you're not."

John met her eyes. "Actually you can't stop me from living here."

"Actually I can." Jenna said. "I'm their legal guardian."

"Acrually about that, um, Elena, do you want me to explain the situation, or would you like me to do the honors?"

Elena messed with her pony tail, and Jenna shook her head. "Okay, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Jenna, I should have told you, but-"

"I'm Elena's biological father." John cut in. "There, now you know."

Elena watched him leave the room before making eye contact with Jenna.

"What?"

-0-0-

"John Gilbert? That was your big save Elena move?"

Stefan nodded. "I went to look for Isobel, found John instead. He could help us, and we're desperate."

"Not that desperate Stefan, the guy tried to barbeque me."

"Damon, Bonnie's new witch friend is working with Elijah. We have to assume that the moonstone was never destroyed." Damon turned and Stefan followed. "Elena is putting all her faith, into some deal she made with Elijah to keep everyone safe. I mean, do you trust Elijah? I don't trust him, he's an Original, he can't be trusted. It's not like we can just go up and kill him, because apparently he can't die."

Damon crossed his arms. "Still waiting for the part where John Gilbert is the answer."

"He knew about the sacrifice," Stefan explained. "Isobel told him. He said he knew of a way to keep Elena safe."

Damon shook his head, "And how do we do that?"

"He's not talking. At least not to me."

Damon nodded, "Great work Stefan, as if I didn't have enough problems."

Stefan let Dman start to walk away. "I'm sorry about Rose."

"Whatever, I knew the woman for like, five minutes."

Stefan turned and nodded. "Well you cared about her, after five minutes." HE shrugged. "Wonder what that means?"

Damon turned, "It means I care, Stefan. It mean I'm changing, and evolving into a man capable of greatness." Stefan nodded and Damon continued. "You better watch your back, cause i may just have to go get a hero hair do of my own, and steal your thunder."

Damon left the room then and went upstairs, where he found Lily brushing out her long hair. She was dressed in dark blue jeans, her converse and a long sleeved grey v-neck.

"We got a problem."

SHe sat down on the bed she'd clearly made, and frowned. "What kind of problem?"

Not only had Lily told Damon everything, but Damon had told Lily the things that she needed to know. She knew about him being a vampire. And she had accepted it pretty well he thought. She had only panicked briefly before accepting it. And she had accepting her changed parentage again too.

"The kind where John Gilbert is back."

"Does that mean I can't meet Elena today?"

HE shook his head, "Nope, that's where we're headed now."

-0-0-

Damon stood on the Gilbert doorstep, Lily beside him, her hands shaking she was so nervous. He quickly reached back and squeezed her much smaller hand. "It'll be okay."

She nodded, and he knocked. When the door opened a few minutes later he walked right in, tugging her behind him. "Where's John?"

Lily and the brunette she knew was Elena made eye contact briefly.

Elena shook her head. "He's not here, I don't know where he went. He just blew in, announced to Jenna that he's my dad, then took off."

Damon had dropped her hand and left her standing in between himself as Elena as he swept the room. He turned and made a face. "What like its common knowledge now?"

She shrugged, "Apparently."

HE took a few steps towards her, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah.. I mean, Jenna's head is spinning, but I'm okay."

Damon looked around, "Did he say what he was doing here?"

Elena took a drink of her coffee. "No. Stefan thinks he's telling the truth about wanting to help me." She then glanced over at Lily and smiled slightly. "Do you I know you?"

Lily shook her head. "Nope."

Damon continued. "Do you believe him?"

Elena shook her head. "Not even for a second."

"I dont either."

Elena stuffed her hands in her pockets. "What are we gonna do?"

Damon headed for the door, motioning Lily with him. "Kill him."

"Damon,"

Damon turned, "I'm joking. Okay, I'm a little serious."

"Damon, " Elena said his name this time more seriously.

"Im not gonna hurt him, Elena. I'm a good guy now, remember?"

Elena crossed her arms. "What does that mean?"

He smiled slightly in a disturbed kind of way even Lily could see. "I'm going to have a civil conversation with your father."

Elena shook her head, "Wait, I'm coming with you."

-0-0-

The three of them got into the car and Lily couldn't help but think of how crazy this was. Her sister was in the same car as her. But she couldn't say they were sisters. It sucked, but Lily could understand why. Damon had helped her so much already, explaining to her the things she needed to know... She'd keep quiet about this for as long as he asked. She owed him.

Besides, her life went from miserable to exciting in one night. She didn't want to chance having this taken away from her, not by anyone, not by John Gilbert.

AN- Just getting back into writing, and this is my first Vampire Diaries fic. It will follow the show mostly, just with my added in OC, Lily. Reviews would be amazing, so i know if I should continue or not.