Summary: What if Elena hadn't met Stefan first? This takes place the summer before Elena's car crash when she, Jeremy, and their friends are on a little vacation in Atlanta before school starts.

Elena walked quickly through the bustling hallways of some hospital in Atlanta, searching for the right room. 106…107…108. Aha! Elena thought triumphantly to herself as she ducked into room 109 on the hospital's second floor. She eyed her brother, Jeremy Gilbert, who lay unconscious on a stiff mattress and in nothing but a flannel hospital gown. How charming. Remorse entered her system. She should've gotten there faster. If she wasn't so distracted she would've picked him up at the time he'd asked, just as she'd promised, but no.

Stupid Matt…stupid feelings.

No, she couldn't blame Matt. She didn't. Elena was wrong to have strung him along for so long, and she knew it. It was only a matter of time before it all came tumbling out of her. They'd broken up. After being together for almost a year, they were over. Her eyes were tinted over in sadness when she saw the boy on the bed shift, slowly awakening into consciousness.

"Jeremy," Elena called softly, trying not to startle him out of his sleepy haze. The sound of his name allowed for him to focus his senses on his big sister.

"Elena," he croaked. It sounded like his throat got into the wrong side of a fight with a cheese grater. "Wha—" the young boy began the painful process of coughing out a lung. Elena rushed to his side, easing a glass of water to his lips. The cool liquid helped tremendously in soothing his throat, and Jeremy shot his sister a grateful look as he continued to take long pulls of the fluid. Jeremy sat the plastic cup on the table next to him and turned to look at Elena with furrowed eyebrows. "Where am I?" He began slowly, peering around at the solid white walls of his hospital room. Elena's throat went dry and she licked her lips in preparation to answer him.

"You're in the hospital."

"I gathered that," the boy rolled his eyes, "but where?" He stressed his final word, trying to convey a different meaning to it than the one before. Realization dawned on her.

"Atlanta," she replied. Jeremy's lips parted, a silent ah passing his lips. Elena bit her lip.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, gazing at him imploringly, "I didn't mean to be so late." Jeremy quirked his lips, and he shook his head side to side with wry amusement. "What?"

"You shouldn't feel guilty about this," Jeremy said sincerely. "Late or not, you couldn't possibly have known this would happen to me Elena.
Besides, what if you had gotten to me on time. Those guys beat me up pretty badly, what's to say would've happened if you'd been there too? If anything, I'm grateful that you weren't anywhere near them." Jeremy's eyes hardened. He'd given as good as he got thanks to the karate lessons his parents forced him into. If Elena had been there as well, he didn't know if he would have been able to protect them both. He's appreciative of the fact that she wasn't lying there next to him with bruises and cuts to match his own. Or worse for that matter. Elena inhaled a shaky breath, the image of his bloody form laying in the mouth of that alley would forever be burned into the back of her eye lids. She'd rushed him to the nearest hospital immediately after lugging his prone form into the backseat of her car.

"Okay," Elena nodded her acceptance, "is there anything I can do for you?" She eyed the tray filled with hospital food: a cup of chocolate pudding, a biscuit, and a lump of something that Elena couldn't name. Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Don't answer that. Hospital food sucks. Are you hungry for anything in particular?" A boyish grin spread across Jeremy's lips. Well, you know what they say: a way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

"Now that you mention it, a cheeseburger sounds good," Jeremy said, his stomach growling loudly with the mention of food; Elena could hear the noise from across the room. She smiled knowingly.

"You've got it Jer," Elena agreed, grabbing her coat on the way out, "I'll be back soon." Elena took a couple wrong turns in her journey to find the exit and finally asked a kind nurse for directions. Alas, Elena entered the lobby. She reached into her coat pocket for her car keys, but it wasn't there that she found them. Reaching into her jeans' pocket, the brunette retrieved her keys, but in a bout of clumsiness, they slipped through her fingers and onto the tiled floor with a jingling clang. Swiftly bending over to grab at her keys, Elena didn't notice a lone paramedic making his way passed her. When she stood, she bumped right into him, and the force of his own pace caused her to stumble backwards, nearly causing her to tumble to the floor. Before she could lose her balance, the paramedic grabbed her waist and steadied her.

"Are you okay Miss?" a smooth voice asked. Elena's head snapped up to catch a pair of the most hypnotic pair of green eyes she'd ever seen to date. She felt like she could fall into a pair of those eyes, and she grew weak kneed. Elena wobbled again, only managing to stay on her feet due to the paramedic's ever careful grip on her body.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Elena laughed lightly, her embarrassment tinging her cheeks. "Thank you for saving me from what I'm sure would've been a very ungraceful fall." He smiled at her, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"You're very welcome." They stood in front of each other longer than two strangers should've, simply looking one another over. It was like something had taken them over. They were drawn to each other, like two magnets. All they knew was that there was something so undeniably good and right about the other. They were curious, and it was an insatiable curiosity. One that would only be cured by one thing. Unbeknownst to each other, their thoughts were practically in sync.

I have to know her.

I have to know him.

Elena became hyperaware of his hand on her waist, and the paramedic seemed to realize this because he snatched his hand away as if it were ablaze. The man gave himself a mental shake. What're you doing you idiot? Talk to her. So, he stuck out his hand towards her.

"Hi, I'm Tom Avery," he introduced himself. Tom Avery, Elena mulled the name over in her head. It suited him. She liked it.

"I'm Elena," the brunette smiled shyly, "Elena Gilbert." She shook his hand. He wasn't sure what came over him, but Tom brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

"Avery, there's an ambulance leaving in five. Stand by." A nurse called from across the lobby. The spell between both doppelgangers wasn't broken. It strived to bring them closer together, but Tom fought against the pull to this beautiful girl to do his job. A job he loved nonetheless. He dropped her hand.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Elena Gilbert," Tom Avery said, and he knew he couldn't stop his next words even if he tried, "I hope to see you again." As the dirty blonde haired young man walked away, Elena called out to him.

"Tom!" Elena called quickly, knowing he had to go fulfill his duties. He turned to her and shot her an inquiring glance in answer to her call with a slight tilt of his head. "I'll be hanging around room 109. Feel free to stop by." Without waiting for a response, Elena took a deep breath and walked out into the parking lot.

What was I about to go…burgers! Right, I was getting burgers for Jeremy and I.

And Elena did just that, hoping all the while that she'd get to see a certain paramedic again.

What'd ya think? Tell me if you think I should continue! Thanks for reading guys :-)