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:

Thirteen

"Well look what the cat dragged in." An older dark skinned woman called out from behind the bar.

"Gloria! Long time no see. You haven't changed a bit." Klaus greeted her with a smile.

Celia's brows raised at that. "Gloria? As in the name of the bar? Is she a vampire too?"

"Goodness no, I'm a witch. Oh. You finally completed the ritual, haven't you?" Gloria looked back toward Klaus.

"Yes I have, but I can't make other hybrids." He huffed shaking his head.

"Ah so that is why you are here. I can't promise you anything. You know witches love to keep nature balanced." She pointed out to him.

Stefan's brows furrowed as he looked at one of the pictures on the wall. "How is this possible? I don't remember ever being here."

Her eyes widened a bit. "Stefan, that's you and Klaus. Was this taken in the twenties?"

"Clever girl. Yes it was. Stefan and I used to be the best of friends." He smirked at them.

"Give me a few hours and I'll hopefully have some answers for you. I'm going to need that necklace though." Gloria interjected.

"Very well. I know where to find it. Come along, you two." The hybrid led the them out of the bar.

He vampire sped away to a warehouse where five coffins were laying. He walked over to one and opened it revealing a beautiful blonde with grayish skin in a sparkly white gown impaled by a dagger. The necklace in question wasn't on her. Klaus swore then removed the dagger. He then gave instructions to one of the guards before leaving.

Klaus then returned to Stefan and Celia. They didn't get too far as Klaus led them to an apartment building nearby. Celia was quietly just taking everything in while she and Stefan were led to one of the apartments. It was nice and spacious all things considered. She didn't understand why they were there though. Klaus walked over opening a door revealing shelves lined with various wine bottles which only confused her further. It was when he pointed out the expansive list of names written on the walls that she and Stefan realized that he was telling the truth.

Shaking her head, Celia left the apartment. She headed back downstairs and out of the building. Somehow she wasn't surprised when Klaus caught up to her.

Her blueish green eyes widened as it clicked in her mind. "You compelled him. That's why he doesn't remember."

"I had my reasons." Klaus sighed at her.

Celia looked at him curiously. "Selfish or valid?"

"A bit of both, I'm afraid. My sister was infatuated with him. Our father, Mikael, had tracked us down intent on killing us. She wanted to stay with Stefan. Selfishly, I wanted to protect her so I daggered my sister and stashed her away. Then I compelled Stefan to forget all about us." He admitted recalling what had happened to them in the twenties.

She wasn't sure what to think as she sighed softly. "She's going to be pissed when you remove that dagger."

"Yes I know. Unfortunately, the necklace that Gloria was referring to is Rebekah's so I had to wake her." He chuckled slightly.

Klaus returned to the warehouse not long afterward only to find his sister's coffin empty. He shut it and glanced around calling out for her. Suddenly he groaned as her dagger was roughly shoved into his midsection. A pissed off blonde was holding the dagger and she twisted it. The color had even returned to her skin.

"Rebekah, you know that won't kill me." Klaus groaned out.

"No it won't, but I sure as hell hope it hurts." She sneered at her older brother.

The blonde let go of the dagger and took a step back. Klaus dropped to his knee then grasped the dagger. The sound of a heartbeat caught Rebekah's attention. She sped off and then returned clutching Celia. Klaus pulled out the dagger feeling himself begin to heal.

"I see you've brought me a snack. Thank you." She smirked at her brother.

"Don't touch her!" His eyes turned golden as he vamped out.

"Your eyes. What's the meaning of this?"Rebekah looked at her brother with a mix of awe and confusion.

"I completed the ritual. You're looking at the original hybrid." Klaus glared at her.

"Oh well that's just bloody terrific." She rolled her eyes then shoved Celia toward Klaus.

"Whoa. I've got you, love. Are you alright?" His face returned to normal as he caught Celia.

She steadied herself while leaning against him. "I think so. A little dizzy from the vampire speed."

"Here." Rebekah suddenly appeared beside them setting a chair down.

Celia let go of Klaus and sat down. "Thank you. I'm Celia Saltzman."

"Pretty name. I'm Rebekah." The blonde smiled slightly at her.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, I do have something for you. Come on out." He called out.

Stefan approached them looking at Celia with concern. "You okay, Cece?"

She gave him a reassuring smile. "Yeah I'll be okay. Just need to sit for a few minutes."

"Stefan? What is the meaning of this?" Rebekah stood there in shock.

Celia's eyes widened a bit. "Stefan's my best friend. He's like a brother to me, I swear."

"Stefan, it's time for you to remember." Klaus stepped forward looking into the younger vampire's green eyes.

He blinked and forgotten memories filled his mind. "Rebekah?"

Her hand went to grasp her necklace out of habit only to come up empty. She frowned glancing around. The blonde opened her coffin searching it. She didn't find the necklace in there either.

"Where is it? Where's my necklace?" Rebekah huffed looking around.

"That is exactly what I wanted to ask you." Klaus pointed out.

Celia bit her lip then spoke up. "What did it look like?"

"It was a round silver pendant and on a silver chain. It had a red gemstone and was a locket of sorts." The blonde described the necklace.

Celia shared a brief glance with Stefan. Had he really given her sister the necklace that belonged to Rebekah? Before his sister could say anything else, Klaus cleared his throat.

"We'll find your necklace. For now, we need to get you some more modern clothes. Celia, are you alright to move?" He pointed out then looked over at the younger girl.

The brunette slowly got to her feet. "Yeah, I think I'm good."

"Is this what really passes for fashion these days?" Rebekah stepped out of the dressing room area of the store in a tight dress that stopped just above mid thigh.

Celia giggled softly as she stepped out in a dark red dress that was a bit longer than the blonde's dress. "There's all sorts of styles these days. We'll just have to help you find yours."

Klaus coughed nearly choking on his sip of champagne. His sister gave him a knowing smirk. Stefan downed the rest of his champagne then excused himself to get some fresh air. His brows furrowed as he stepped outside of the store only to see a familiar face standing near the corner. She gestured for him to follow her.

Once they were out of listening range, Stefan narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you doing here, Katherine?"

The brunette relaxed a little. "I know it might sound hard to believe, but I'm checking on Celia."

He gave her a skeptical look. "She's fine. I wouldn't let anything happen to her."

Katherine smirked playfully at him. "Neither would Klaus. Gee, I wonder why that is, Stef."

Stefan rolled his eyes at her. "You know something. What is it?"

Her shoulders shrugged. "I know a lot of things. I'm just surprised that you guys haven't figured it out yet. It's right there in front of your face. That's all I'm going to say about it though. It's more fun this way."

He folded his arms across his chest. "You want me to believe you care about her when you're also playing games involving her?"

Katherine smiled softly at him. "As hard as it is to believe, yes. I'm not going to spell it out for you when it's so blatantly obvious. Anyway, It was good seeing you, Stefan. I'll be in touch."

She turned on her heel and walked away with a satisfied smirk. Stefan shook his head and sighed returning to the store. By then the girls had finished up shopping. Klaus led them back to the hotel letting Rebekah get settled in.

Back at Gloria's the next day, Klaus was sitting at the bar enjoying a drink. It didn't take him long to notice the presence sitting beside him at the bar. He took another sip of his drink.

"I didn't know they were letting the riff raff in now." He quipped setting his glass back down.

"Oh honey, I've been called a lot worse." Damon smirked knocking his own drink back.

"What do you want, Damon?" He rolled his eyes.

"I want my girl and my brother away from you." He set the glass down on the bar.

"I'm afraid she's not your girl anymore, mate." Klaus chuckled softly at him.

"She's never going to want you. Not after you killed her mother." Damon pointed out.

"Didn't you do the same? I think you should leave before she sees you and gets upset." He turned to look at the younger vampire.

"And I think you should back off." Damon scoffed.

Klaus grabbed the younger vampire sending him crashing down through a wooden table. They fought a bit then Klaus grabbed a leg from the broken table fully prepared to stake Damon with it. The only thing that stopped him was Celia saying his name.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, love." Klaus dropped the table leg and let go of Damon.

Celia frowned unsure of what to think. "You shouldn't be here, Damon. I told you that I needed space."

"I know and I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk to you, Cece. You've been gone all summer." He softened toward her as he got to his feet.

Her eyes narrowed at him. "There's nothing you can say to make it better, Damon. You kissed my sister."

"I know and I'm so sorry." Damon gave her an apologetic look.

"Hey, no fighting in my bar." Gloria called out.

"Apologies. The mess will be cleaned up and he will be leaving." Klaus assured her.

Celia went off to the ladies room. She took a deep breath then patted some cold water on her face. Drying off, she walked back out only to find the broken table was gone and so was Damon. Klaus was back sitting by the bar enjoying another drink.

She walked over to him clearing her throat. "Klaus."

"Hello love. Are you alright?" Klaus glanced at her in concern.

Celia smiled softly at that. "I'm okay. Listen, I've been thinking about your hybrids issue and I have a theory."

"Good. Oh? Well I'm all ears. What's on your mind?" He fully turned towards her with a smile.

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Okay well I'm assuming that becoming a vampire made you a hybrid, right?"

"Yes. My first kill, which was unintentional, triggered my dormant wolf side thus making me a hybrid." Klaus explained.

Celia nodded her head in understanding. "Okay so my theory is that if you had tried to make other hybrids right after that like you did in the woods then it would have worked. I think the magic from the ritual changed the rules, so to speak."

"Oh?"

She took a breath then continued. "Because think about it. You needed a wolf and a vampire which represents what makes you a hybrid. Then the ritual threw in a third ingredient, a Petrova. Magic is all about keeping nature balanced and what better way to keep you from making more hybrids than by forcing you to sacrifice the doppelganger whose blood I can only assume you'd need to make the transition stick."

"Well when you put it like that, it does make sense, love." Klaus looked impressed by her.

Celia smiled softly. "Yeah it does. It's still just a theory though. Back then, when you first became a hybrid, it was a brand new species, so to speak. There was nothing saying what you could or couldn't do. Now I'm rambling. Sorry. I just find it kind of interesting and I get the love of research from my parents."

"It's quite alright, Celia. I think it's a theory we should definitely keep in mind. I appreciate the help." He smiled at her.

She bit her lip. "Hey Nik? Can we maybe try something? Compel me."

"We already know it doesn't work, but alright I'll give it another try. I want you to forget that you ever saw Damon here today." Klaus chuckled then grew serious staring into her eyes.

Celia blinked then shook her head. "Yeah you were right. Wait, were you trying to spare me the pain from him showing up today?"

"I thought as much. Well I figured it couldn't hurt to try." His shoulders shrugged.

She smiled softly at him. "Thank you. I kind of appreciate that although I'm sure that if it had worked that it probably would have hurt more when I did realize the truth."

Stefan cleared his throat catching their attention. "Everything okay?"

Celia blushed realizing how close she had been standing to Klaus. "Oh hey Stef. Yeah, everything is fine. I think I'm going to go check on Rebekah. I'll catch up with you boys in a bit."

They watched her walk away and Stefan sat down beside him at the bar ordering a drink. "You like her, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, old friend." He chuckled then took a sip of his own drink.

He gave the hybrid a skeptical look. "You changed your hairstyle just because she suggested it. She stabbed you and you didn't harm a hair on her head. You're always making sure she is okay."

"Celia is... intriguing." Klaus admitted with a fond smile.

Stefan thanked the bartender then took a sip of his own drink. "She's also your mate."

"That's absurd! The whole mate thing is just a romantic fairytale conjured up by an author looking to make a quick buck." He scoffed rolling his eyes.

The younger Salvatore shook his head. "Really? Because since you've completed the ritual, Celia's been the one that's calmed you down like it's nothing. You really think it's normal that you nearly lost it when Bekah tried to feed from her?"

"There were stories of my biological father's pack having mates. Rebekah thought it to be romantic. I wouldn't be surprised if Mother was Father's actual mate instead of his wife. A child born from mates was always more preferable in packs, but not everyone found their mate so it wasn't looked down upon if they had a child with someone else. There's no way my mate would be this far into the future." Klaus shook his head taking another sip.

Stefan took another sip from his own glass then looked at him again. "Your wolf side was suppressed before you really had a chance to even explore it. So even if you had a mate back then, you wouldn't have known. Now your wolf side is back so it latches itself to the girl you like."

"It doesn't matter. She can't find out. Do you know how much danger she would be in? My enemies would surely use her against me." He huffed.

His green eyes rolled at him. "Even if she doesn't know, they will. So she'd be in danger either way."

"You could be wrong." The original hybrid pointed out.

Stefan smirked at him. "Then get her to go home. See how the distance affects you two and then tell me I'm wrong."

Celia was reluctant to go home, but Stefan had assured her that he would be okay. She sighed in relief when she saw her father waiting for her at the gate in the airport. The brunette ran into Ric's arms hugging him tightly.

"I'm so glad you're home. I missed you so much." He hugged her back pressing a kiss to her head.

She smiled relaxing a bit. "I missed you too, Dad. I hope I'm not in too much trouble."

"Well that's to be decided. For now, I'm just glad that you're back home where you belong." Ric smiled at his daughter as he pulled away moving to get her luggage from the luggage carousel.

Celia nodded her head in agreement walking out of the airport with him afterward. "Me too. How is everyone?"

"Good. Everyone is doing pretty well. Your friends are all excited to see you." He put her bags into his car.

She smiled softly as she got into the car. "I'm excited to see them too."

"I'm just glad that you're away from Klaus." Ric admitted maneuvering the car out of its parking spot and heading out of the lot.

Celia rolled her eyes at that. "It was actually his idea for me to come home. With school starting soon, he said I shouldn't miss out on my senior year. Maybe my homesickness was a little more obvious than I thought."