If you recognize it, I don't own it. I own the OCs, though!

Miriam had fallen down the stairs once, as a kid. It hadn't been a long fall, granted, but as an admittedly short child, it felt like falling off a cliff. Worse was the end result of falling down a flight of stairs. She had sprained her wrist and gained a mild concussion.

This, though. This was worse. Her head throbbed like one giant heart beat. Her back felt like someone had taken a bat to it. She was pretty sure that her bare arms were scraped up. All in all, she felt like the roadkill that she probably was.

She groaned, faintly aware of voices around her.

"Babe!"

"What?! I barely grazed her!" despite the blasé words, the tone was panicked.

"No, you hit her, Jack," the second voice was unimpressed.

Hands were on her, patting her body.

"Hey, miss. Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

"My head…" she could barely move her lips, but was able to whisper the words.

"She needs a hospital, Baahir," the panicked one was getting more anxious.

"I can see that, gorgeous. Miss, can you open your eyes?"

She did, reluctantly. It was night, but the headlights from the car were too strong for her injured head. She focused on the face of the man above her. He was mid-to-late twenties, roughly 5'8", and handsome. His brown face had a thin layer of scruff. His black hair was short on the sides and longer at the top, but slicked back. His brown eyes were serious, but when she opened hers, his softened. He smiled, revealing deep smile-lines.

"There she is," he encouraged. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a car," she groused, her head throbbing. "My head hurts more than anything."

"I bet. Jack here hit you rather hard. I'm surprised you haven't broken anything. Now, it would be a shame for such a pretty thing like you to have permanent brain damage, so I'm going to do something odd, but you will feel better."

"What?" Miriam looked over at Jack, whose face was as confused as hers must be.

The handsome one, Baahir, rolled up the sleeve of his dress shirt. Then he bit his wrist. The sound was sick; it was a combination of a squelch and a crack. She looked up at him in horror as his wrist began to bleed. He lowered the bleeding arm to her face. She made a noise of disgust, but he just shushed her and pressed his wrist to her mouth.

"What are you doing?!" Jack sounded horrified.

"I am healing her. Drink up, sweet girl. You will heal, and I will make sure that you don't remember this encounter." When she didn't drink, he pinched her nose shut with his free hand. Miriam held out as long as she could, because this man had to be crazy, but she had to breathe eventually.

The blood hit her tongue. It was warm, coppery, and had an underlying flavor that she couldn't place. The liquid slid down her throat and settled in her stomach. He kept her pinned for several swallows. She expected to heave when he pulled away, but she didn't feel nauseous. Slowly, the pain in her head dimmed, as did the pain in the various other injured places on her body. After a few moments, it went away completely.

"Up you go," Baahir pulled her to her feet. "Now how do you feel?"

"Better," she breathed. "What did you do?"

"I healed you with my blood, darling. You're welcome," he bowed mockingly.

"You're insane! I knew it! My roommate told me not to go on this date!" shouted Jack. He spun around, no doubt to run for the car, but Baahir was suddenly in front of him.

"I'm sorry you didn't enjoy yourself," he grasped the struggling man by his shoulders, "but you need to calm down. Stay still, don't make a noise."

To Miriam's surprise, Jack went still. Baahir let go of him, and strode back towards Miriam, who stood stock still.

"Now, let's get you home," he said cheerfully. "Where do you live?"

"Uh…" she looked around, and startled. She had been in Arizona, surrounded by barren hills and cacti. Now she was standing in the middle of a road surrounded by large pine trees. "I don't know where I am."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "You're in northern Virginia."

Miriam's heart skipped a beat. "What? Is that a joke? I was in Arizona earlier today. Did you guys kidnap me?!"

"Don't be ridiculous. 'Kidnap', pff. What would I do with a kidnapped woman? Let's find your home address," he knelt down and retrieved her bag, which they must have removed from her earlier. He riffled through it before pulling out her wallet triumphantly. He pulled out her driver's license, and froze. He looked up at her, his handsome boyish face suddenly very serious. "Why does this say that you were born in the year 2000?"

"Because I was," scared and confused, she took a step away from him.

"Sweeting, that would make you eight years old," he said seriously.

"I'm twenty, nearly twenty-one," she was starting to panic.

"What year is it?"

"What kind of question is that? It's December 4th, 2021!"

"It's January 3rd, of 2008," he replied.

"No, it can't be. That doesn't make any sense!"

"Miss Sanchez, you're hyperventilating."

No duh, Sherlock! She wanted to shout, but her voice wasn't working and her breathing was speeding up. She looked around in a panic, and tugged furiously at her dark curls. How could she be thirteen years in the past?! How could she be in another state, across the country?! Nothing made sense. She didn't understand, couldn't understand-

Hands were on hers, gently pulling them free of her hair. Baahir's face was right in front of hers. His dark eyes were calm but focused. "Miss Sanchez. Calm down."

Miriam clutched his hands. "How? How can I be calm about this entire thing!"

He blinked. "You are full of surprises, darling. Not many are resistant to mind compulsion."

"What?" He was the only thing solid in the sea of madness, and she held onto his hands like a life raft. He allowed her to, and even gave her hands a gentle squeeze in return.

"Do not worry. This is what we are going to do: I'm going to take Jack home, then you are returning to my apartment with me. Tomorrow we will visit a witch that will hopefully have answers for us."

"Witches?" she said faintly, but Baahir was already herding her towards the car.

The next couple of hours passed by in a blur. Miriam was aware of him compelling Jack to get into the back seat. She was aware of driving past trees and houses until they arrived at a more densely populated town. She barely noticed when Baahir returned Jack to his apartment, though she was aware that Baahir went into the apartment building with Jack for several minutes before returning. She had no memory of driving to Baahir's apartment complex, but the next thing she knew she was being nudged out of the car.

Baahir led her inside his apartment. The space was large but sparsely decorated. The building was old, and that showed through the outdated appliances and chipped paint on the walls. The couch she was encouraged to sit on was beat-up. The coffee table had nicks in it and several water rings.

"Here, drink." A glass of water was pushed into her hands. She drank obediently. She could hear a microwave working, and the smell of something cooking.

Baahir sat on the coffee table across from her. "There is only one bedroom, so you will take my bed and I will stay out here. No, don't argue. I have tickets to buy and work to do. You need to sleep and come to grips with your new reality. Now," he got up when the microwave dinged, and returned with a TV dinner, "eat up. You need your strength."

Miriam ate. She didn't know what she was eating, but she mechanically ate the entire thing. After, Baahir gave her some lounge clothes and showed her the bathroom. He gave her an extra toothbrush, then left her alone. She changed, went through a night routine of brushing her teeth and washing her face, before collapsing on the bed. She fell asleep immediately.

Miriam woke up slowly.

She was comfortable; the bed was soft and the pillows were plush. The only thing wrong with the idyllic morning was the smell. The pillows smelled of cologne, not the lavender scent she would spray to relax her into sleep. And the sun was coming into the room on the opposite side that it usually did. She sat up and looked around.

This wasn't her bedroom.

The events of the past night came flooding back, leaving her reeling. She wasn't in her world. That much was evident to her. People in her world couldn't heal with their blood, or compel others to do their bidding. Witches didn't exist.

Panicked, Miriam jumped from the bed and got dressed quickly. It was only in the bathroom, during her morning routine that she slowed down and started to think through her situation. Baahir hadn't harmed her. He had healed her. He wanted to help her. He had given her shelter, food, and clothes. Whatever he was, she was going to trust him… for now.

She found a brush among all the hair products in Baahir's bathroom and brushed through her thick, curly hair. She wished she had some of her hair products with her; curly hair was a trial to tame without some type of product.

Feeling refreshed- though her rumpled clothes put a bit of a damper on the feeling- Miriam exited the bedroom. Baahir, dressed in a more casual, less date-y outfit, was cooking in the kitchen. He smiled softly at her.

"How are you feeling, my little anomaly?"

"Better, thank you," she sat down at the table. "Thank you for taking care of me. I know I wasn't myself last night."

"You were probably in shock, understandably," he cracked several eggs into a pan. "Are you allergic to anything?"

"Kiwis, but it's mild, and usually not an issue," she smiled slightly.

"Dang, there went my kiwi pancake idea," he winked at her and poured her a glass of orange juice. "Do you want to talk through what led you to Virginia?"

She took a sip, and pondered the question. "It doesn't make any sense. I was in Arizona. I was at this overlook, doing a sort of memorial to my parents and grandparents. I went to leave, but my car wouldn't start, so I started to walk back down the hill. That's when I got hit by your car."

"From my point of view, you appeared out of nowhere. It was dark, and we were driving home from our date. There is nothing in that forest, besides for deer and other wildlife. But you were suddenly there, in the middle of the street. Poor Jack didn't have fast enough reflexes. I knew I shouldn't have let him drive my car back," Baahir shook his head. He put a plate of toast and eggs in front of Miriam, who ate gratefully.

They ate in compatible silence. In the light of a new day, Miriam had several ideas about her situation, but she was afraid to voice any of them out loud. Out loud meant the possibility of that theory being real, and she was completely okay with being in blissful ignorance.

Once they were finished, Miriam helped Baahir wash the dishes. He brought up her weird situation again.

"I contacted my witch friend, and she's expecting us. I also bought us plane tickets to Florida, where she lives. We leave tonight. Hopefully she will have answers."

"Hopefully," Miriam echoed.

"What in heck's name did you bring me, baby Baahir?" the witch, Hera, asked, causing Miriam to laugh at the nickname.

She and Baahir had spent her first full day talking. He was a vampire, because of course he was. Once she had digested that piece of information, he had explained his vampirism to her, and what other creatures walked the earth. The world she was in was starting to sound familiar, and the thought horrified her.

That night they flew into Florida, and stayed overnight at a hotel. It was the next morning, and they were sitting in the witch's living room. The woman, Hera, lived in the suburbs outside of Orlando. The neighborhood was a family neighborhood. Kids were playing outside. Dogs barked. Dads worked on things in open garages, while the moms congregated together in lawn chairs.

Hera was an ancient-looking woman, with deep laugh-lines and gentle blue eyes. Her skin was a pale brown, and the curls on her head had turned white with age. She greeted them kindly, and had both of them drink a glass of home-made lemonade before talking.

"I found her, if you must know," Baahir said haughtily, though his eyes shone with mirth.

"His date hit me with their car," Miriam fake whispered to Hera, who laughed heartily.

"Let me have your hand, sweet girl," Hera held her hand out. After a confirmation nod from Baahir, Miriam did as the old woman asked. As soon as they touched, a feeling similar to a strong static electric shock bolted up Miriam's arm. She tried to pull away, but the old woman wouldn't let her.

"Sweet tea and crackers!" the woman cursed. Her blue eyes went white and her skin seemed to glow. "You are a long way from home! The Powers That Be pulled you into the past, across the country, and then threw you into a different universe. Before, it was all a story to you. Now, though, it's reality. Your theory is correct, child. You are now in your beloved story."

Miriam swore under her breath. "Can I go home?"

"No. Even if you could, would you want to? Back to a life without any close family, or a significant other. All your close friends went away for college, but you stayed in your home town and took care of your ailing grandfather. Yes, the car crash killed him, but his heart was failing him, and you knew that. You are free, young Miriam, to make choices here that no one else can. You can change the fate of so many lives, if you are brave enough. Are you brave enough?"

"I-I…"

The unearthly glow left Hera's eyes and skin. She smiled gently at Miriam, and loosened her death grip on Miriam's hands. "You don't have to decide for a good while. But you will have to decide eventually. You have a lot of knowledge in that pretty head of yours. It can be used for good."

Miriam and Baahir left not long after. They sat in the car that Baahir rented, totally silent. He drove to the nearest McDonald's. After eating their fast food lunch, he asked a question that she was expecting.

"What do you know?"

"Everything, for the next twenty years," she couldn't fully believe it, but she was in the world of the Vampire Diaries. She had so much foresight… she could barely wrap her head around it. She had read an embarrassing amount of fan fictions of her exact scenario. For some reason, she didn't feel as lucky as the original characters. She didn't have a beautiful or exotic name, or a normal name spelled in a unique way. She was just little Miriam Sanchez, barely pushing 5 feet. She was mostly Mexican and Black, partly white. She was only twenty years old. Her main weapon in the new world she was in was her abundance of knowledge. That wouldn't keep her alive if certain characters- people, vampires, whatever- found out about her.

Klaus Mikaelson. The Big Bad. She had knowledge that could help him, or harm him. If he knew about her knowledge, would he protect her, or would he kill her? She wouldn't blame him- she was a wild card. She had no loyalties to exploit, or loved ones to leverage. She didn't have any powerful friends to protect her, or a family to avenge her if she died.

She was alone in a very dangerous world.

When Miriam entered the new universe, she went largely unnoticed. However, two vampires, both filled with anger and vengeance, felt a tug on their hearts. The elder spent a moment to ponder the new manifestation. It was almost like he was tethered to another living creature… He was distracted before he could further speculate. The younger brother disregarded the feeling completely; he needed no distractions from his quest.

In a dark storage container, two daggered vampires flinched. They both felt the connection, and they both wanted to find out who or what it was…

AN: WOW. So people actually read the first chapter?! I'm honestly amazed at that. Thank you!

OK, so no TVD characters YET. Still building, lol. My thought behind this is a more realistic scenario of an OC dropping into a new universe. Only the truly fortunate OCs get dropped into the lap of their favorite character, and poor Miriam is going to be the opposite of fortunate. But her reward is going to be 4 Mikaelson men, so don't feel too bad for her :)

ALSO, do not expect daily updates. IDK when the next one will be, but I'll try to update frequently.