A/N This is probably the longest episode I've written. I hope you guys like it. Please review!


Caroline was hurriedly packing a suitcase, holding her cell phone between her head and her shoulder.

"Who does she look more like? You or me?" She asked excitedly, throwing a summer dress into the suitcase.

"You. Very blonde, curly hair. Almost as beautiful as you are." Stefan told her. She smiled.

"Aww, thanks." Just then, Damon knocked on her door. She shot him a look. It didn't matter how long she had known him; she still hated him.

"I've got to call you back. See you when I get there."

"Damon walked in?" Stefan asked all too knowingly.

"Yep."

"Okay. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye." She hung up and then looked at Damon, narrowing her eyes at him.

"What do you want?" She asked him. For once, he didn't have his usual trademark smirk on.

"I… uh… I wanted to ask a favor." Okay, that was a surprise. Damon never asked Caroline for anything, unless you counted him asking her to shut the heck up.

"What?" She asked suspiciously, folding her arms across her chest. He held out two envelopes for her.

"Could you... give these to Grayson and Rose?" He asked. She took the envelopes from him. On the front the names 'Grayson' and 'Rose' were neatly written in Elena's handwriting. She nodded to him.

"Of course. I'll make sure that they get them." She promised. He nodded and turned to leave.

"Damon!" He turned again.

"Who knew that Damon Salvatore actually had a heart?" She asked teasingly. His smirk returned.

"Who knew that Caroline Forbes had a brain? Oh wait, everyone knows she doesn't!" He left the room. She rolled her eyes and then tucked the envelopes safely into her purse.


Grayson went into Rose's room early in the morning. Lexi had been staying with them and they were both in the bed, Rose's TV remote between them and surrounded by stuffed animals and junk food wrappers.

"ROSE! LEXI!" Both girls jumped and fell out of bed at his shout. He had to laugh at them.

"What is wrong with you?" Rose demanded, pushing herself up and onto her feet again. Grayson shrugged.

"It's called awesomeness. Don't worry; I already know you're immune to it." He told her. She shot him a look, but Lexi couldn't help but laugh.

"What do you want?" Rose asked after they had stopped laughing.

"It's Abby's birthday; we're going to the Grill to celebrate tonight, which means you have to drive me." Grayson informed her.

"I have to drive you?" She asked.

"Older sister; it's in the contract." He told her.

"You're not something I ordered willingly; I didn't sign anything when you came to the door." Rose told him.

"Would you please drive me?" He tried a nicer approach.

"Sure. Lexi and I are going there anyway." She told him. He nodded and left the room again. He went downstairs where Stefan was making breakfast.

"Hey, kiddo." Stefan greeted him.

"Hey, Uncle Stefan."

"I'm assuming that yell wasn't something I have to handle?" Stefan asked.

"Nah. Just me getting the girls up." He replied. Just then, Lexi and Rose hurried downstairs, now dressed and wide awake.

"Hey, Uncle Stefan." Rose greeted him.

"Hey, Stefan." Lexi couldn't call Stefan 'dad' around anyone but Rose, Victoria and the Mikaelson's. As far as Grayson knew, Stefan was the youngest brother and Lexi's real father was his much older brother. It was hard enough convincing Grayson that Stefan was a legal adult; it would be even harder to explain why Stefan was her father when they looked the same age.

"What's for breakfast?" Lexi asked.

"Eggs, bacon and toast." He dished it out to everyone and they went to the dinning room table to eat.


That night, they were at the Grill to celebrate Abby's sixteenth birthday. As Lexi, Victoria and Liv all agreed, the sixteenth birthday was always the best and there should be a big party to celebrate it. So there was. Somehow, Victoria and Jamie had gotten a live band to play. Balloons, party streamers and lots of glitter were around the Grill, who had graciously rented itself out to them for the night. It was going to be a heck of a clean-up, though… Rose made her way through the crowd and over to Abby, who was talking to some of her school friends. As they saw Rose, they quickly said their goodbyes and hurried off to let Rose talk to Abby. Rose handed her a poorly wrapped present.

"Sorry about the wrapping." Rose told her, speaking louder than usual to be heard over the music. Abby smiled as she took it.

"Like I care about what's on the outside. It's the inside that counts." She returned, ripping it off. Rose just stared at her. She was pretty sure she had just heard one of the wisest sayings in her life from her little brother's best friend and she was talking about a birthday present… Abby finished ripping off the wrapping to reveal the silver jewelry box with the letter 'A' spelled out in jewels on top.

"I love it! Thank you so much!" Abby hugged Rose as thanks, keeping the jewelry box in one hand.

"Glad you like it. And Grayson's coming over." Rose nodded towards her brother and Abby looked over at him. Rose smiled and then left so they could be alone. Abby put the jewelry box on a nearby table and took the small box that Grayson handed her. She smiled at him as she opened it. She pulled out the silver chain with the blue marble-like stone hanging from it.

"It's beautiful, Grayson! Put it on me?" She asked, handing it over to him. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, sure, turn around." She turned and pulled up her long brown hair. He put it around her neck and then latched it. His fingers brushed the scar on her neck. A memory of a humanoid figure attacking her and biting her flashed through her mind. She flinched.

"Sorry, is it too tight?" Grayson asked her. She turned around, dropping her hair again, to look at him.

"No, it's perfect. Thanks." She hugged him and then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She didn't see how red he got when she did that.

"If anyone asks, can you tell them I'm in the bathroom?" Without waiting for his response, she hurried through the crowd and into the girl's bathroom. When she was sure it was empty, she leaned against the sink in front of the mirror. She brushed her hair aside and ran her fingers over the scar on her neck. Despite the doctor's best efforts, the bite mark was still apparent if you knew where to look for it. She stared at it in the mirror. That was not an animal bite… The same memory flashed through her head again and again. She was breathing hard. She felt the walls closing in on her. She hurried out of the bathroom and through the back door into the ally behind the Grill to take a breath of fresh air.

"Are you okay?" She turned towards the concerned female voice.

"Oh, hey, Rose… Yeah, I just… uh… needed some air." She explained.

"Hmm, well, slight problem."

"Huh?" Abby asked, confused.

"I'm not Rose. My name's Susannah King and I think we're going to have fun together tonight."


Lexi talked with Stefan and Rose at a table inside the Grill.

"My mom's really coming to town?" Lexi asked excitedly. Stefan nodded. Lexi grinned and then saw Rose's face.

"Oh… My mom is coming to town. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so excited when-." Lexi started.

"No, no, you should. You get to meet your mother. It's good." Rose assured her. Lexi nodded. She saw Abby slip out the back door into the ally and frowned.

"What?" Stefan asked, looking over his shoulder to see what she was looking at. Since the door was already shut, he saw nothing.

"Abby… I'm going to go talk to her." She got up and hurried out of the Grill after the youngest Donovan girl. Victoria slid into Lexi's vacant seat.

"Abby knows."

"Abby knows what?" Rose asked.

"She knows she was attacked by a vampire." Victoria whispered. She told them this now because this was the first time she'd gotten Rose away from anyone who didn't know about the supernatural world and she was reluctant to tell them, knowing what Stefan would suggest. Stefan frowned.

"I could compel her-."

"No! Please don't mess with her mind. I'll figure it out. But we have to keep her away from the supernatural world."


Lexi went out into the ally.

"Abby, are you-." She started. She froze and shut up when she saw Susannah standing in front of Abby.

"Oh, hey, Lexi. Look, I swear I found Rose's long lost twin." Abby told her, oblivious to the danger.

"Yeah… Hey, go get Rose's Uncle Stefan. Right now." Lexi told her, edging forward to get closer to them.

"Why-." Abby started to ask with a confused expression. Then Susannah grabbed her in a choke hold.

"Lexi. Be a good girl and bring Rose out, would you?" Susannah asked. When Lexi hesitated, Susannah tightened her grip. Abby struggled against her, but it was no use; she was no where near as strong as Susannah was.

"Hey, hey, there is no need for violence!" Lexi tried to keep her voice level and calm for Abby's sake.

"You are totally right. There isn't. As long as you do what I say. If you don't, then-." She extended her fangs and prepared to bite into Abby's shoulder. Lexi ran forward and shoved Susannah off her, knocking them both to the ground and Abby towards the door.


Grayson looked around the Grill, searching for Abby. Finally, he asked one of the girls from their school if she had seen her.

"Oh, yeah, I think she went out into the ally." She hurried off again. Grayson frowned and then went out to the ally to check. The second he opened the door, Abby slammed into him.

"Whoa. What's going-?" He started to ask. Then he saw Susannah and Lexi. Susannah had Lexi by the throat.

"Rose, what-?!" He started to ask another question.

"Not Rose, but speaking of her, why don't you run along and get her?" Susannah asked, holding Lexi down on the ground with one hand. Abby and Grayson hesitated, but then hurried back into the Grill.


Caroline parked her car in front of the Grill. She was giddy with the thought of finally meeting her daughter. The nine months and two days she'd spent with her before she was born and when she was an infant didn't really count as 'meeting' her. She climbed out of her car and headed for the front door of the Grill. A crashing sound in the ally made her pause. She should probably check that out… She sighed and went around to the ally. There was time to check that out and then meet her daughter. Besides, she still had to rehearse her opening line to Lexi. Just saying 'hey, I'm your mom that totally left you here with a foster family with no intention of ever coming back' didn't sound quite right, even to her, the awkward say-what-comes-to-mind Caroline Forbes. She went into the ally. She gasped at what she saw. A girl that looked exactly like Elena had a girl that looked a little like Caroline herself by the throat as they both thrashed around in a fight. Recognition flashed through Caroline's brain. Lexi. Caroline charged forward towards the Elena-Doppelganger.


Abby and Grayson sprinted over to Rose, Stefan and Victoria's table, pale and breathing heavy.

"Hey, what's going on?" Stefan asked, instantly concerned. The three of them stood up from the table. Abby pointed towards the ally, but it was Grayson that spoke.

"A chick that looks exactly, and I mean exactly, like Rose is fighting with Lexi out there!" Stefan was off running before Grayson got out the last two words.

"Stay in here!" Victoria ordered the two of them before she and Rose hurried out after Stefan.


Caroline kicked the doppelganger in the stomach. Susannah went down to the ground but got up laughing.

"Let's see. Blonde, braver than she is smart and has a fashion sense. You must be… Caroline?" The doppelganger asked.

"Who are you?" Caroline demanded. Behind her, Lexi got to her feet, staring in shock at Caroline. Was that seriously her mother? She pictured her as… older.

"Susannah King. Petrova Doppelganger, as you probably guessed already." Susannah did a dramatic little bow.

"Lovely. I thought we were done with Doppelgangers when Katherine kicked the bucket." Caroline muttered. Susannah shot forward, punching Caroline and sending her to the ground. Caroline kicked her in the ankle and then jumped on top of her, wrapping her hands around her neck.

"Stay. Away. From. My. Daughter." She put an emphasis on each word, especially the last one. Suddenly Stefan ran into the ally. Susannah shoved Caroline off her and darted off. She knew when it was time to hold and time to fold. Caroline pulled herself off the ground.

"Caroline!" Stefan ran over to her. They hugged and then kissed each other. Just then, Rose and Victoria came into the ally.

"Doppelganger!" Caroline cried, pointing over Stefan's shoulder. He turned to see Rose's genuine 'are you seriously that stupid' look aimed at Caroline. Sometimes she was a lot like Damon…

"That's Rose. Elena and Damon's daughter." Stefan informed Caroline. Caroline looked at Rose again in surprise.

"Not to interrupt, but… Hi!" Lexi piped up. Caroline looked over at her, remembering she was there and smiling because of it.

"Lexi?" Caroline asked just to be sure.

"Hey, mom!" They hugged each other.


Later that night, Grayson sat in shock in his bedroom. Rose ventured in and sat down on his bed next to him.

"Hey." She greeted him.

"Hey." He returned dryly. Stefan had told him all about the supernatural world. It was a shock, of course.

"Are you-?" Rose started to ask.

"Fine? No. No, I am not!" Grayson told her. They were both silent for a minute before he spoke again.

"You lied to me. This whole time you were lying to me!"

"I didn't want to! But can't you see why I did? This… this isn't something you should be involved in!"

"It's not up to you to decide what I should and shouldn't know!" He shot back.

"Grayson-."

"The uncle I live with happens to be a vampire! My best friend's older sister is a witch! My sister is a doppelganger so people are trying to kill her! What part of that wasn't important enough for me to know?!" He demanded.

"I'm sorry, Grayson! Okay? I am! But in the past couple of weeks, I've almost been killed at least three times! I didn't want that for you." Rose explained. Grayson put his head in his hands.

"This sucks."

"Vampires tend to suck, yeah." Rose couldn't help herself. They both laughed for the first time all night. There was a knock on the door and Caroline poked her head in hesitantly.

"Hey, I… uh… was wondering if you guys had a second to spare for your ole' Aunt Caroline."

"Of course." Rose assured her. She came into the bedroom and pulled two envelopes out of her jacket pocket.

"These are from your parents." She handed them to Grayson and Rose. As they looked down at them, she slid out of the room again to let them have some privacy. Rose and Grayson exchanged looks and then Rose went to her own bedroom so that they could read their own letters by themselves.


Abby sat on Victoria's bed, crying as she thought about everything that had happened. Victoria held her close, trying to comfort her.

"So… I… I…might be a…a witch…and…vampires…exist?" She choked out between sobs. Victoria nodded, not releasing her sister from the tight hug as she did so.

"I…I don't know…what…what to do!" Abby complained. Victoria nodded again. She could understand that.

"I know it's hard… But it'll get easier." Victoria lied. It never got easier, looking over your shoulder every time you were alone… Looking at a stranger and not thinking 'hey, he's hot' but 'what supernatural creature is he'… Seeing that Abby was still crying, Victoria made a promise to her.

"I'll take care of you. Nothing will ever hurt you."


Caroline trudged downstairs and flopped onto the couch next to Lexi, who as scribbling away on a homework sheet. Lexi paused and looked up at Caroline.

"You look upset." Lexi noted, putting down her pencil. Stefan looked in on them from the doorway to the kitchen.

"I'm the type of girl that wants to help people. I want to help Grayson and Rose. The thing that will help Grayson and Rose is meeting their parents, my friends. I can't convince my friends to come meet them… Then there's the part where I look the same age as my daughter." Caroline complained.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You look much older than me." Lexi teased. Caroline laughed and hit at her with a pillow.

"Hey!" Lexi protested, raising her hands to shield her head. Caroline put the pillow down, both of them laughing.

"I'm glad I came back to MysticFalls." Caroline told Lexi after they'd caught their breath.

"I'm glad you came back too."

"Do you want some help with that?" Caroline asked, motioning towards Lexi's homework.

"I'm really good at anything historical that happened in the last thirty so years." Caroline added.

"Oh my gosh, it's like you're a historian! Everyone on Earth should go to you for historical help!" Sarcasm. She got it from the Salvatore side of the family. Caroline laughed and hit her with the pillow again.


Grayson sat in his bedroom, reading his letter from his parents.

Grayson,

I can guess it's been hard for you, losing Anne. I lost my mom and dad too. And my aunt. And my uncle. But the point is: it will get better. I'm sorry for not coming, but I made the choice to give you a better chance without me and I'm sticking to it, no matter how hard it is.

But just know this: I love you. Always.

~Your mother, Elena.

Grayson,

So I had planned this short, funny, sarcastic note, but now, staring at what your mother wrote above… it just wouldn't fit right. Now, I'm not the touchy-feely type of guy. I'm the ouchy-bleedy type of guy. I have a feeling you're not a touch-feely type of guy either because we're guys. Dudes. Men. Males without a 'fe' in front. So let's pretend that I wrote something really touchy and heart-felt for everyone who actually cares.

But, for the record, I do miss you, buddy. If I could take some magical cure, become human and live like a normal guy with you and your mother and your sister, I wouldn't hesitate.

~Your dad, Damon.


Rose sat in her bedroom, reading her letter from her parents.

Rose,

I can only imagine how beautiful you are as your becoming the woman you're meant to be. I told Stefan not to tell me anything about you guys beyond that you were safe. I'm sorry about Anne. If anyone understands losing family that close, it's me.

I love you, baby girl.

~Your mother, Elena

Rose,

I don't know how much my baby brother told you about me. I mean, he's not one to brag. But, in case you don't know, I am not a very emotional, touchy-feely person. I'm sarcastic, I'm mean, I'm sarcastic, I'm probably the closest thing to the boogey man you can get. That's why I left.

However, that does not mean that your mean, scary dad doesn't miss you every day of the week.

~Your dad, Damon.


A/N The letters from Damon and Elena to Rose and Grayson were tricky to write. It's hard to picture Damon as a dad, isn't it? Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. Please review as always.