Summary: All Celia Saltzman wanted was her mother back in her life. Moving to Mystic Falls and making new friends had never been part of the plan. Neither was finding new family. After finding out the truth about what happened to her mother, Celia soon discovers that it wasn't the only secret that lies within her family.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize here. TVD belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW.

Setting: TVD AU

Notes:

Four

"Any luck?" Damon asked smiling softly as he approached her.

Celia shook her head sighing softly as she put the boxes away in the closet. "Not really. I think whatever she knows about Katherine isn't written down."

"Well that sucks. At least you tried." He assured her.

She shut the closet door then turned around to face him. "Hi."

"Hi."

Celia gave him a curious look. "Why would Mom think you're in love with me and Elena?"

"I might have tracked her down yesterday afternoon and threatened her if she hurt you guys." Damon admitted.

Her blueish green eyes widened a bit. "Damon..."

"I'm not sorry, okay? I know she is your mother, but I thought she should know that someone was watching your back." He pointed out.

Celia sighed running her fingers through her hair. "I appreciate you looking out for us. Just please don't threaten anyone I care about again."

"I'll try not to, but I make no promises."

She rolled her eyes playfully and shoved him the best she could. "Don't be an ass."

"I wouldn't be me if I wasn't." Damon chuckled softly at her.

The lighter haired brunette bit her lip glancing up at him. "Was my mother right?"

"Cece..." He trailed off stroking her face gently.

She looked at him stunned. "Mom was right, wasn't she?"

"The last person I loved was Katherine and she completely shattered me. Elena is in love with my brother. Then there's you who came into town and just changed everything."

Celia gazed up at him. "Damon..."

"I do love you, Celia Grace." Damon admitted kissing her softly.

She kissed him back and giggled a bit. "I can't say I'm there yet, but I do like you very much, Damon."

Alaric entered the apartment a little while later only to find his daughter making out with Damon on the couch. There was a movie playing on the TV though they clearly were ignoring it at the moment. The pair suddenly broke apart and sat up looking at Ric in shock. He wasn't sure what to think as a mix of emotions coursed through him.

She smoothed out her hair looking over at her father sheepishly. "Hi Dad. This, uh, really wasn't how I wanted you to find out about us."

"How long has this been going on?" Ric was eerily calm as he looked over at them.

"Since the night of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant." Damon admitted with a sigh.

"I should kill you right now." He glared at him.

Celia's eyes widened as she gasped. "Dad no!"

"Sweetheart, I'm not going to let you be another plaything for Damon Salvatore." Ric scoffed.

"It's not like that. I love her, Ric. I would never treat Celia like a plaything." He countered honestly.

"Damon, just get out before I stake you. Celia Grace, you're grounded."

Celia stood up clearly upset. "You'd think that you'd be happy I was with a guy who can't knock me up."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Ric said watching as his daughter stormed off to her room.

Despite being grounded, Celia was still allowed to attend the Founder's Day parade. She had helped with the float, after all. Celia greeted Stefan then smiled softly when Elena curtsied to them. Her sister had her hair curled and was wearing a dress straight out of the 1860s. The Salvatores were clearly caught off guard and Celia couldn't help wondering if the sight of Elena dressed like that made them think of Katherine. Pushing those thoughts aside, Celia joined the crowd lined up to see the parade as Elena and their friends got into position on the float. Damon grasped Celia's hand appearing beside her in the crowd just as the float began to move by them. He waved cheekily at Stefan and Elena. Noticing their interlocked hands, Stefan smiled knowingly at his big brother. After the parade, they got split up, but regrouped at the Mystic Grill.

"So I ran into Uncle John. Apparently Isobel gave him the device." Damon informed them.

Stefan frowned at that. "He's going to use it tonight, isn't he?"

"What would make you say that?" Elena asked curiously.

"The celebration gives them the perfect cover. If anyone asks why the vampires are acting weird, it could be said that they were just drunk." The elder Salvatore brother explained.

Celia glanced around before looking at them again. "So what are we going to do?"

"We aren't going to do anything. You're going to go home where it's safe." Damon pressed a kiss to her head.

"Well Bonnie deactivated the device so it shouldn't cause too much trouble actually." She reminded them.

"Go home." It was all he said before he left.

As the mayor got prepared to take the stage to make a speech to the crowd, Damon entered the Gilbert clinic unsurprised when he found John standing in there. In the man's hands was the Gilbert device. He smirked when he saw Damon approaching him.

"Don't do this, John."

"Why shouldn't I? I'm doing this to protect my daughter and her half sister." John admitted.

"You're Elena's father?" He sounded surprised though he hadn't given her biological father much thought.

"Yes I am. My brother and Miranda were able to give her a better life than I could. Now I'm doing the best I can to protect her and you can't stop me." John said then turned the device on.

Damon took a step toward him only for an ear splitting high pitched noise to fill the air. He grabbed his head dropping to his knees in pain. Not far from them, the sound affected Tyler Lockwood who was driving Matt Donovan and Caroline home. The blonde grabbed the wheel as the car swerved, but she was unable to keep them from crashing. Back near the Mystic Grill, Elena and Celia were walking with Stefan when the sound suddenly affected him. They hid him out of sight the best they could and waited it out taking turns to make sure no one saw them. It was during that when they saw that the vampires were being rounded up. Once John turned the device off again, Elena looked over at Stefan and Celia.

"She lied." Elena looked at them in shock.

Celia nodded her head and sighed. "Well you can't blame her. It was because of helping a vampire that her Grams died."

Stefan sighed feeling his strength coming back. "We need to find Damon. Where are they taking the vampires?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Somewhere close by, but all the buildings have windows. Wait are there any buildings nearby that won't have anyone in them and also has a basement?"

"My dad's old clinic. It's been closed since he died, but Uncle John has access to it."

The three of them made their way through town over to the old Gilbert clinic. The front door was locked, but Elena led them around the back where there was another door. This one was open though Bonnie stood outside not wanting to let them in. They sympathized with her, but they also knew time was ticking once they smelled smoke. Bonnie was still adamant on not letting any of them through though.

Celia sighed looking at their friend. "I am so sorry about your Grams. I know I never got to meet her, but she sounds like she was an incredible lady. Do you really think that she would want you to kill in her name though? Come on, Bonnie. This isn't you."

Bonnie softened a bit. "She didn't trust the vampires. With mom who knows where, Grams was the closest I had to a maternal influence in my life. Well besides Mrs. Gilbert and Sheriff Forbes. I just thought hey if I don't deactivate the device then the vampires will be gone and I won't have to lose anyone else that I love."

The girls hugged her and she let herself cry. While she was distracted, Stefan vampire sped inside and down to the basement where he found his brother barely conscious. He also spotted the now late Mayor Lockwood as well as Anna, Jeremy's now late girlfriend. Stefan grabbed Damon and quickly got him out of there taking him straight back to the boarding house. While he recouped, Stefan contacted the girls then made his way over to the Gilbert home. Damon got his strength back then headed over to the Gilbert home as well.

"Oh hey." He smiled slightly as he saw Elena approaching the front porch.

She smiled at him. "Hey. Crazy day today huh? Are you alright?"

"Yeah you can say that again. Uh yeah, I'll be okay. Are you alright?" Damon asked furrowing his brows at her.

The brunette nodded her head. "Yeah I'm fine. It's just been a long day."

"Right. Well don't let me keep you then." He chuckled softly at her.

Her head tilted as she stared up at him. "Was Isobel right? Are you in love with me and Celia?"

"Elena..."

Just as she leaned up and nearly kissed him, the door swung open to reveal Jenna. She gave Damon a dirty look and ushered Elena inside. He shook his head and sighed walking away. A short while later, the brunette entered the kitchen to find John Gilbert there. She grabbed a sharp knife catching him by surprise when she chopped his hand removing the Gilbert ring.

She smirked as her face vamped out. "Hello John. Goodbye John."

Katherine stabbed him watching him fall to the ground. She washed the blood off of her hands along with the knife. The brunette walked out of the kitchen only to smirk again when she caught his scent. She turned around only to come face to face with Stefan.

He glared at her as realization struck him. "Katherine."

She giggled clearly appreciating the sight. "Hello Stefan."

Stefan vamped out and sped over to her. The two vampires fought around the room only for Katherine to get the upper hand. She winked then ran out of the house using her vampire speed. Stefan caught his breath straightening up then he got help for John. It wasn't long after when Elena and Celia walked into the house. He explained what happened and Celia was livid.

"At least she didn't harm Jenna or Jeremy." Elena sighed in relief.

Celia rolled her eyes at her sister. "Are you kidding me right now? She let her in because she thought that Katherine was you. Look, I know you think Jenna is safer not knowing, but this has gone too far, okay?"

"I just can't, okay? I still feel like she is safer not knowing."

Stefan chose then to intervene before Celia got even more upset. "How's Bonnie?"

She bit her lip calming down a bit. "Understandably upset, but she acknowledges that she is still grieving. She'll be okay with time. Is Damon okay?"

He nodded his head giving her a reassuring smile. "Yeah he'll be fine."

It was the next day when they found out about the accident that Tyler, Caroline, and Matt had gotten into which left Caroline with serious injuries. Celia was relieved when she saw Damon enter the hospital waiting room. She greeted him with a hug then sat down to wait for news about her friend. It turned out that despite having surgery, it wasn't looking good for Caroline. So Elena begged Damon to help her. Naturally Damon refused not wanting to give the blonde any of his blood.

Celia teared up at him. "Really Damon? There's a chance to save my friend before she dies too young and you're just going to say no?"

"I... Damn it, Celia." He wiped her tears away pressing a kiss to her head then walked away.

"Wow. That actually worked. I'm impressed." Elena smiled softly at her sister.

She bit her lip watching him walk away. "Then why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"Because you worry too much." She laughed softly at her.

It wasn't long before Damon returned. Sheriff Forbes showed up a short while later sharing the good news that Caroline was going to be okay. There was a collective sigh of relief and hugs all around. Celia glanced over Tyler's shoulder at Damon and mouthed thank you. The girls got to visit with Caroline later cheering her up even more by brushing her hair and doing her nails.

"Thank you. You guys are just the best." Caroline beamed at them happy to be visited by her friends.

Celia smiled softly at her. "Of course, Care. There's nowhere else we'd rather be."

"It was so crazy. We were heading home from the Grill and suddenly Tyler just grabbed his head in pain. I had to grab the wheel and steer. It was so scary." The blonde recalled.

"I'm sure it was just a freak thing. Tyler seems okay now." Elena assured her then shared a knowing look with Celia.

"Yeah you're probably right." Caroline relaxed a bit more.

They left her room shortly afterward and Celia made a beeline for Damon. "Hey you."

"Hey." He smiled softly at her.

She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thanks again. Um, can I ask for a little favor though?"

"No problem. Uh sure, what is it?" Damon eyed her skeptically.

Celia smiled at him. "Great. Okay so apparently John survived his attack and he is in this hospital somewhere. I want to ask him some questions about my mom. I just don't want to go alone. If you don't want to do it, I can just ask Stefan or Elena. It's no big deal."

"I'll go. It's alright. Besides it might be fun to let that bastard know I'm still alive." He chuckled softly at that.

She took his hand and they walked around the hospital. Stopping at a nurse's desk, Celia faked being John's niece and was able to get his room number. The pair found their way to John's room and walked in. He didn't look surprised to see Celia, but was certainly surprised to see Damon.

"Boo."

"Very funny." John rolled his eyes.

Celia nudged Damon then bit her lip sitting down in the chair beside the bed. "Hi."

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to come find me. I know you must have a lot of questions." He smiled slightly at her.

She nodded her head. "Yeah I do. How does my father have a Gilbert ring?"

"It was my ring. I gave it to Isobel after she had Elena. She must have given it to your father." John explained.

Realization crossed her features just then. "You're her Dad? That... actually makes a lot of sense."

"Yeah I am. I'll tell her soon."

"Did you have contact with Isobel after she left town?" Damon asked clearly unimpressed with him.

"Yes I did. She initially called me when she found out she was pregnant with a girl again. We'd talk every so often. I'd let her know how Elena was doing."

Celia tucked her hair behind her ear. "Did Mom ever talk to you about vampires?"

"Oh I was the one that told her all about vampires. She was fascinated by the topic." He admitted.

She frowned at that. "So did you know that she was going to turn?"

"No. Of course not. Isobel was looking into something at the time and I tried to help her the best that I could. She wouldn't tell me what she found. Just that Elena and you were in danger." John revealed to her.

"From what?" Damon narrowed his eyes at him.

"I don't know! She never went into specifics." He sighed.

Celia stood up walking away from him. "Well thanks anyway."

"Isobel really was concerned that being around the Salvatores would be dangerous for you girls." John pointed out to her.