It had been Sophia's first full day at primary school and Elena was the proud mother on her way to collect her beautiful little girl. Elena rounded the corner to the school as the rain started to fall, England really did have unpredictable weather, only this morning it had been perfect sunshine and she had sent Sophia to school without a coat, she scolded herself mentally, promising she wouldn't do that again. Elena and Sophia lived only a few streets away from the school in a small village, well away from her old life in Mystic Falls as Elena Gilbert.
Elena checked her watch and noticed she was a few minutes late. As she passed all of the other children and their parents, Elena searched the crowd for her raven haired daughter who was nowhere to be found.
'Excuse me?' Elena asked the lady next to her who had a child which looked of a similar age to Sophia. 'Has the infant class been let out yet?'
'Oh yes,' the woman replied 'They were let out a few minutes before everyone else so they wouldn't get caught up in all of the other classes.'
'Thank you' Elena said as she moved forward towards the doors. She spotted Sophia's teacher who had greeted them this morning.
'Excuse me?' Elena called to her
'Oh hello again Miss Pierce did Sophia leave something behind?' The teacher replied with a smile.
'Erm no, I'm actually looking for Sophia, she hasn't come out yet' Elena answered puzzled.
The teachers smile faded and was replaced with a look to match Elena's.
'Oh I'm sorry Miss Pierce, but I am quite positive you already collected Sophia, in fact you were one of the first…..' The teacher stopped herself mid-sentence and began to turn red, it was obvious she was out of her depth with this situation, either Elena was mentally unstable and had a memory like a goldfish or she had a twin sister who liked to play really sick jokes.
Elena began to panic, she knew she didn't have a memory problem but she did have a twin, well not a real one but a distant relative who happened to look exactly like her.
'Katherine' Elena mumbled. 'Sophia's with my sister Katherine, she's my twin.' Elena lied. The teacher relaxed and the smile found it's way back to her face.
'I'm sorry, I didn't realise you had a twin, it's quite remarkable how similar you are. I'll make sure I know it's you next time.'
Elena turned around bringing her hands to her face. As she pushed her fingers through her hair she opened her eyes only to be face to face with her mirror image.
'Hello Elena.'
'Where's my daughter?' Elena answered in a low tone.
'Now that's not very nice is it? I've come all this way to see if you're still breathing and you greet me like that, tut tut.'
'Where…..is …..Sophia' Elena said through gritted teeth and closing the distance between her and Katherine. She knew she was no match for her but when it came to her daughter she would do anything to make sure she was safe.
Katherine held Elena's gaze before she stepped to the side revealing a black land rover 'She's in the car.' Elena could see the top of Sophia's head in the back seat obviously moving side to side with the music on the radio.
'What do you want with her?'
'She's my leverage' Katherine answered stepping back in front of Elena, blocking her view again.
'What do you want me to do? What is this about Katherine? Who have you bargained us to this time?'
'Do you really think that low of me?'
'Yes I do, and I still haven't forgotten the last time you bargained my life for yours. So come on what do you want from us?' Elena was losing her patients now.
'I want you to come back to Mystic Falls, we want you to come back.'
'Why? And who's we?'
'Stefan and I'
'Stefan?' Why Stefan she thought, and why would he send Katherine and not come here himself? What did Damon have to say to all this?
'Yes, so are you getting in the car or am I leaving without you, I feel that I'm being very reasonable here.'
Elena shoved past Katherine and headed for the front passenger door.
'Good' Katherine remarked to herself before turning towards the car.
'Hey baby girl' Elena said as she climbed in the car.
'Mummy you never told me you had a sister and one that looks just like you that is sooo cool, I wish I had a sister but not one that looks just like me because I would get mixed up all the time. Aunty Katherine, are you going to be staying at my house and be visiting us?'
'Sweetie,' Elena paused looking toward Katherine and then back at Sophia 'Do you remember how I told you about Mystic Falls, the place I grew up?' Sophia Nodded 'Well Aunty Katherine is taking us to see your uncle Stefan in America.'
Sophia's eyes lit up 'Really? I get to see Uncle Stefan will I get to see my Daddy too?'
'Well we'll have to see if he's in town. He might not know we're visiting as it's a very big surprise.' She had no idea what to say to the very expectant 4 year old in the back seat. How could she tell her baby that her own farther didn't know she existed?
Two hours later Katherine had managed to acquire 3 first class tickets back to the Atlanta. Elena couldn't believe this was happening, she was sure she had cut this drama from her life. She hadn't heard anything from the Salvatore's or Mystic Falls except from her brother Jeremy who had also moved away from the small super natural town to attend college, he was the only one who knew of her existence until now. With Sophia soundly asleep, Elena rounded on Katherine.
'So how did you find me and why?' Elena demanded as she took her seat on the plane.
'As soon as you left, Stefan and Damon were looking for you. I ran into Damon in Boston, about 2 years ago and he told me about you disappearing out of the blue. The least I could do was help after stringing him along for 145 years. He loves you Elena for some strange reason and I owed it to him to find you. He hasn't stopped searching for you, it just turns out that I'm better at it.'
'So he knows you're here?'
'Not exactly.' Katherine shifted in her seat to face Elena. 'Damon hasn't been around much. He tends to drift in and out, never really explaining what he's doing or where he's going next. Stefan and I have been creating our own research in the hope that we'd bring you back to him.'
'So you just owe Damon a nice gesture for the years of torment you put him through and that's it? That's why you've found me?'
'Yes and no.' Katherine paused trying to arrange the right words in her head. 'Stefan and I are kind of together now. Since Klaus died I haven't needed to hide, I've been free to come and go as I please without the fear of some almighty vampire hunting me for his revenge, I've changed. As for Damon, he's completely lost without you. Stefan feels guilty for making things complicated before you left and blames himself for making you choose between him and his brother. But now I can see it wasn't about the choice of brother it was about Sophia and her life, you didn't want the drama of Mystic Falls, you want a normal life for her.'
Elena nodded, she couldn't believe how right Katherine was about Sophia. 'So, you and Stefan?' She asked for clarification, Katherine nodded. Elena chortled, 'I didn't see that one happening.'
'Well having a child with a vampire isn't exactly normal either Elena.'
'So how did you find me and Damon hasn't?'
'He's not exactly the brightest spark Elena when it comes to this stuff. You know what he's like, once he has an idea in his head he has to see it through, he hasn't been thinking clearly and he hasn't been thinking like you. Me on the other hand have you pegged, it was just a case of you popping up on the map and when I found an Elena Pierce, nice choice of name by the way, that was my cue.' Elena nodded, mentally telling herself that she probably should of changed her first name to. 'Now, Sophia was a surprise I wasn't expecting that when I turned up in England, I had no idea I would find you with a child. How did, could you and Damon have her, I've never heard of anything like it?'
'Did Stefan tell you how we got rid of Klaus?' Katherine nodded, 'Well Bonnie cast a spell to turn Klaus human and Damon must have been near him and it turned him to, Stefan and Caroline weren't effect. That night was the first time we slept together, there was no one else so I know she's his.'
'Well it's obvious she's his, just look at her, curly black hair, blue eyes, pale skin and the confidence of a teenager, she's Damon all over.' Katherine stated.
