I don't own The Vampire Diaries.
I don't own Damon and Elena or any other characters used.
I only take credit for the story line and plot.
It might start off slow but things will pick up. It won't be a happy story from the get go but it will be interesting.
If any of this is copyrighted or already written tell me and I'll take it down but I don't believe it is. The hallucinating that Elena is experiencing will be explained throughout the story.

Read and Review please.


Chapter 7- Say what now?...

I sat in the passenger seat trying to figure a way out of this car. Katherine had shown up at the lake house too, how the hell did she know where it was? Stefan, that had to be the answer. I didn't want to come with her but she threatened Damon and...I couldn't let her hurt him. "So tell me again why it's so important I go to New York with you Katherine?"

"Because Elena, you need to meet someone, or rather three someone's." She doesn't take her eyes off the road.

I'm at a loss as to who that could be. Last night had ended so good, and this morning had started so horrible. I knew it would take a while to get to New York, I'd never been but I knew it was a good drive away. I was slightly curious as to why Katherine was acting so...civil. This car seemed oddly familiar though. The color and the size it's almost like I'd seen it before, but that was impossible. She exited the freeway and pulled into a McDonald's.

"You want something to eat Elena?"

I look at her in disbelief. "You're offering me food? You show up at MY house and threaten Damon if I don't come with you on this weird ass trip and now you're offering the person you kidnapped food?"

She rolls her eyes. "I didn't kidnap you. You're 18, you're an adult not a kid. Now, do you want something or not?"

"Fine. A number 2 with a Coke."

She puts in my order along with hers and after a few minutes we're back on the freeway. I eat the burger and fries and my thoughts drift back to Damon and Stefan in the living room. I didn't want to leave but I knew he had to talk to Stefan alone. Before Katherine had shown up I looked through the pockets on Damon's shirt and I found the papers. I still had them with me, I didn't know if he was going to show me or not. He wanted me to go to a rehab center. I was honestly thinking about it...I knew that the drugs were bad for me. I knew that they made me different around the people who I love but it also helped me forget the pain temporarily.

But I also wasn't the girl who he had left behind, she had been a child who knew nothing but happiness except for that one morning that had made the first crack in my now broken heart. I knew the pain he went through 12 years ago, at first I didn't completely know how he felt losing both his parents but now...now I did. I had watched mine die and not been able to do a damn thing. I had lost my aunt too. I had lost all the people who I looked up to, but I still had Jeremy. I had to grow up and be the big sister he needed. I put on a happy face for everyone when really I was dieing inside. I had a period of time where I was always angry and I had been in fights with people, mostly girls. I had even had a huge fight that ended up getting me suspended for a week but at least I kicked Andie's little sisters ass. She had been talking about Damon and Andie and it pissed me off to the point where I just wanted to shut her up. I got into arguments with Ric even though I had felt bad about lashing out at him but there was always one thing that pulled me back...Damon. I had always known that he wouldn't want me to be that person so I tried to put it all behind me. I tried to be a better person, for him.

"Well Elena?" I snap out of it and look at Katherine.

"What?"

She rolls her eyes again. "I said we are almost there. No traffic and luckily no cops and I sped all the way here so we're almost there. Are you ready to meet them?"

God, she made it sound like I was meeting some long lost relatives or something. I copied her eye rolling and mumbled whatever. I just wanted to get this over with and get to a phone so I could call Damon. I'd tell him where I am and he'd come for me. She drove through the city and pulled up outside a house. What the hell? She got out and waited a few steps in front of the passenger door. I wearily get out and shut the door behind me. She walks to the door and I follow her somewhat reluctantly. After a few knocks the door opens and I see a boy answer, he looks a few years older than Damon. He hugs her and then looks at me, his jaw drops. Katherine invites me in and I can't move. I don't want to do this. I wonder if she'll catch me if I make a run for it?

"Come on Elena. Come meet them. Levi pick your jaw up off the floor and move so she can come in."

He moves to the side and Katherine grabs my wrist and yanks me in the door. I grit my teeth because she grabbed where the bandage had been before I took them off, luckily the bleeding had stopped but they still hurt. I saw her smirk and scowled at her. She knew she hurt me and I think she had meant to. She pulls me into a living room and I stop immediately. "Un...uncle John?"

"Elena!" He walks up and hugs me. He had always been my uncle but I'd never met him. He didn't come around at all and the only reason I knew his name was because I saw pictures of him and I had heard my dad argue with him on the phone a lot.

"What...how do you know Katherine?" He lets me go and looks at me with an odd look in his eyes.

"She's my daughter. So are you."

My mouth drops open. What the hell did he just say?! I look at him like he's crazy, hell maybe he is. Maybe he's the one who needs mental help. "What did you say? I'm sorry I think I heard you wrong."

"You're my daughter Elena...so is Katherine. She's your older sister." I shake my head and back away from him.

"No. No my dad died when our car went over Wickery Bridge. My dad is Grayson Gilbert. My dad is gone and you are just my uncle who I'd never met until now. I'm going."

I turn to leave but I accidentally run into a woman. Oh shit, she looks like me...and like Katherine. That's impossible though. I'd never met her and we have nothing in common. Except for maybe the eyes, and hair, and jaw line... I shake my head. Nope. Not happening. My parents were Miranda and Grayson Gilbert, not these people.

"Elena? My little Elena." She grabs me in a hug and I see Katherine seething behind her. It's like she's a jealous kid who feels left out of her family.

"Uh, who are you?"

She pulls back and smile warmly at me. "I'm Isobel. I'm your mother."

I stare at her. I look at the boy who came to stand next to Katherine. It all clicks now. I see it. We all favor each other at least a little bit. Brown hair although the boy's is a little lighter than both Katherine and I and Katherine's is a shade or two darker than my hair, brown eyes, Katherine's jaw line is different more like John's while the boy and I's is more like Isobel's. Could they be telling me the truth? Are they my family? There's only one way to find out, I have to hear them out. "How do I look like all of you?"

"I can explain." It's John who answers and I turn to look at him. "I can explain everything to you Elena. Grayson was supposed to but before he could he...please don't be upset Elena. Please let's talk." I nod my head and sit next to him on a couch he had sat on. Some part of my mind is keeping an eye on Katherine, she has to have an ulterior motive right? She has to be planning something.


Why did it have to be New York? Why couldn't it be somewhere closer? "Stefan wake your ass up you need to keep me company." I hit his chest as he starts to doze off in the passenger seat. If he thinks I'm going to let him sleep after he led the bitch to Elena's lake house he's fucking crazy.

"Aren't you going to stop for a break Damon? You can't drive straight through to New York. You need to stop for food and dare I say restroom breaks."

I scoff at him and reach behind his seat. I throw him an empty water bottle I saw Jeremy throw there earlier. "You need to pee, pee in the damn bottle. And if you get hungry Jeremy always keep some chips and twinkies in the glove box. Any more smart ass comments from the Scarecrow without a brain? Wizard of Oz pun intended."

He throws the bottle to the floor and resumes his broody look out the window. He's silent for a while and I plug in Jeremy's iPod. Gilbert's going to be majorly pissed when he finds out I ran off with his damn car. Oh well, blame it on Stefan he's the dumb ass in this situation. I try to think of who Katherine would know in New York but she never mentioned anyone. Except a guy named Levi who I had never met and she never told me exactly who he was. I always assumed he was an ex-boyfriend but who the hell knows anymore.

"If I'm the scarecrow with no brain who is Katherine?"

I look at my little bro and roll my eyes. He wants to play a game apparently. "The wicked bitch of the west." I smile at my play on words and he smirks a little bit. "Next."

He purses his lips. "Tyler and Ric."

"Hmm...Ric is the tin man with no heart since Jenna was his heart and he lost her. Ty, he can be the fucking cowardly lion." There we have the trio. My brother the slow one, Ric the depressed tin man, and Ty the coward who when it comes to me he always cowers away because he knows I can kick his ass well into the next year.

"Elena?" I see Stefan raise an eye brow at me.

"Glenda, the good witch. That was her name right? Glenda?"

He nods. "Yeah, I just thought she'd be Dorthy."

I blanch. "You think I'd leave her clustered in a group of men. Are you that crazy?!"

He laughs. "So who are you then Mr. Smart One!"

"I'm the great and powerful Oz of course! Duh! I always thought he and Glenda had a thing going on behind the scenes ya know." I nudge his shoulder and he pretends to gag himself.

"Well I think the three of us would be smart enough not to take advice from you no matter how desperate. Wait, who would you say is Dorthy?"

I smile before I look him in the eyes. "Caroline Forbes." I bust out laughing as he blushes. "So you DO like Ty's girlfriend! I knew it! My little brother who thought she always had cooties actually liked her!" I put my elbows on the wheel as I clap my hands.

"Not talking to you anymore. Just drive Mr. Fast and the Furious."

I roll my eyes and turn up the music as the song changes. Shake it by Metro Station. Gilbert's got good taste in music. I see Stefan trying not to bob his head and mouth the words. Brother bonding...I said it myself. Oh hell why not. I start singing loudly.

"Now if she does it like this will you do it like that. Now if she touches like this will you touch her right back? Now if she moves like this will you move like that? Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake it!"

Soon Stefan joins in and we are dancing in the car and singing at the top of our lungs. For the whole 3 minutes and something seconds of the song it feels like we are actually brothers. Ah too bad it had to end. My phone started ringing and I picked up without looking at the caller ID.

"Damon! Where the hell are you?! I called the lake house 5 times!"

Shit. "I'm on my way to New York with Stefan. He showed up with the queen bitch herself and she took Elena. I'm going after her." I cross my fingers on the steering wheel, hopefully he won't be too pissed.

"YOU FUCKING WHAT?! THAT'S MY CAR DAMON! AND HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU LET KATHERINE ANYWHERE NEAR ELENA? DID YOU HAVE YOUR HEAD UP YOUR ASS! YOU..."

I hold the phone away from my ear and I grab the empty chip bag from the center console where Stefan left it earlier. I crinkle it next to the phone as I now had him on speaker. "Oh...oh Jer?...Damn I can't hear you. I think...I don't think I get reception here...sorry!"

"DAMON SALVATORE DON'T YOU DARE HANG UP ON ME! YOU MOTHERFU..."

CLICK. I hang up and sigh loudly. "Well. Guess he's a tad bit mad." Stefan laughs and for a while it's silent. I throw him my phone and tell him to do what I've been trying to put off. "Call 411 for me and get a number for an Elijah Mikaelson."

He doesn't ask why. I hear him talk to the person on the phone and he seems to be begging the person. I don't really care if it's a cell or land line just anything will do. After a few minutes he holds the phone out to me and whispers the words it's connecting. I take the phone and put it on speaker phone.

"Hello Mikaelson residence. Rebekah speaking."

The girl answers and it sounds like she is hoping it's just a sales person or something. "Uh hi. I'm looking for Elijah Mikaelson. My name is Damon Salvatore, we went to UCLA together."

"Hold on." I hear her call for him and tell him who it is. There is no doubt that I was the last one he was expecting a call from.

"Damon Salvatore? How the hell are you man?"

"Good actually. I finally went home. I saw her again and it was epic. But I'm in New York with my little brother."

"I told you that you just needed to gather up your balls and go home. I bet she was glad to see you huh? Hell if you're in New York come over, it's just me, my sister Rebekah, and our brother Finn."

"That'd be cool. But hey...remember when I helped you whoop that guys ass who was hitting on your girl Tatia and you said you owed me...well I need to collect. I need your help. Elena's in trouble and I think you're the only one who could find her."

I hear him take a deep breath and I hear a door close. "Okay. What is it you need bro?"

"First your address so I know where to go. Secondly, everything you can find me on Katherine Pierce from birth certificate to present day. I want to know who she is and what the hell she wants with Elena."

"6622 Oak Street. And I'll have everything when you get here. See you soon man."

He hangs up but I already heard him typing away. I turn to Stefan and explain. "Elijah can hack into anything and dig up dirt that no one else can. I swear he should be a private detective but he went to college for teaching. Boring, I know."

After 30 more minutes of driving and a reluctant stop by Starbucks to appease the 18 year old who insisted he'd literally DIE without coffee we pull up in front of the house. Stefan walks up to the door with me and we wait for someone to answer. I see Stefan turn red when the blonde opens the door. Apparently Stef has a crush and can't speak.

"Hi. I'm Damon, Elijah's friend. The mute over here is my brother Stefan. He's expecting us."

"Yes, I know. Come in." She leads us to a room that is full of computers and has a long table in it. Damn do they all know how to fucking hack. I see Elijah sitting next to another guy and they are both typing quickly on the computers and documents are printing out of the printers at record speed. "Eli, Damon is here." He turns around and nods his head. "You can take a seat anywhere. We're still working on finding everything about Katherine. It's quite a lot really."

I exchange a look with Stef. I'm not the only one who has a really bad feeling about this. After a while Elijah turns his chair around and so do the blonde who I assume is Rebekah and the man who I assume is Finn. They each hold different documents and each look more shocked and scared than the next. Elijah clears his throat and speaks first.

"Damon. I had to have my siblings help, there is quite a lot about Katherine and I now know what she wants with Elena but it might shock you and I guarantee you will be upset. Now, I have everything from her birth to her adolesence up to her mid teens. Finn has everything from mid teens to now and Rebekah has the information that ties her to Elena. Are you prepared for this, emotionally?"

Okay, the guy is officially freaking me out. I nod my head and he slides me one piece of paper. A birth certificate but it can't be right. It says Katherine Gilbert..."This isn't Katherine Pierce..." I then see Finn slide me a piece of paper and I read it. Damn, the bitch changed her name when she turned 18. "But why would she change her name and what does she have to do with Elena?"

"She lost someone whose last name was Pierce." I look at Finn and he hands me another paper. It's a death certificate for a man, Nicholas Pierce. Along with this a wedding announcement, they were engaged.

"O...kay. I get it I do, she was in love she lost him so she changed her name. I'm still not understanding why she would TAKE Elena and bring her here?"

"Elena's adopted Damon!" Rebekah yells the words at me and I sink into the chair. She hands me a document and I read it.

Johnathan Gilbert, Founder and CEO of Gilbert Enterprises has announced that he will be handing the company over to his youngest daughter, Elena Gilbert. Some readers may not know her name but she is the heiress to the Gilbert fortune. Johnathan has released the following statement about his daughter. "This may come as a shock for people but Elena is my daughter. While her sister Katherine is more than able of running the company I have the utmost confidence that Elena will do just fine. She was adopted a young age because my wife and I could not financially support three children. My brother raised her as his own all the while knowing what would eventually belong to her. I was just starting the company and it was a rough patch. Now that my brother is gone, may God rest his soul, I intend to seek out my daughter and bring her back to what is rightfully hers."

It all makes sense now. Elena was adopted, I should have known that. I've heard the arguments that she's heard between Grayson and Johnathan. Johnathan wanted to give Elena the entire company while she new nothing about it and Katherine had known everything. It's like gears clicked in my head. Katherine was evil and she was definitely a threat to Elena. I knew Katherine and I know if she really wants this company she will stop at nothing to get it. I know Elena too and I know that if she was brought here to meet them and Johnathan told her the whole truth then Elena would step up. She would work through her problems and busy herself with learning everything about this, so that she could give Jeremy everything she's always wanted to give her brother. Most of all I know myself and I know that I would stop at nothing until I find Elena. I will protect her from that psychopathic bitch Katherine and I would help her learn how to run a business.

"I won't let Katherine hurt her. I know she'll try to so that she can have all this but I won't let her. No matter what. I need an address NOW."

No one says anything for a while until Elijah stands up and looks me in the eyes. "Well you aren't alone. I'll help you. Let's get going, I'll drive." He walks out of the room and Stefan and I follow him. Unknown to me, Rebekah and Finn are following us.

He unlocks and SUV and I climb in the passenger seat. Before Stefan can climb in the back Rebekah and Finn slip in and announce they too are coming to meet the infamous Gilbert clan and more or less protect Elena. We set off and I can't help but squeeze the ring that's in my pocket.

The moment I get to her, I'm going to put this ring right where it's always fucking belonged. On Elena's finger.