Natasha couldn't believe her eyes, seeing Brooklyn Salvatore in the flesh. The Bulgarian girl smiled smugly before saying, "Look at you! Brooklyn Salvatore, all grown up."

"Tasha, I can't believe you're actually alive!" Brooke admitted, stepping forward to hug the shorter girl. Natasha threw her arms around Brooke, holding her close.

"Where have you been? Why haven't you been here with your idiot brothers?" The Petrova asked. "That is because I'd met somebody." Brooke responded as Natasha's eyes trailed down to the shy boy who stood nearby.

"Did you happen to have a kid with this somebody?" The heretic asked, as Brooke looked over at Bruno, before she laughed.

"This isn't my kid. He's a lost boy, I'm trying to help him find his family. That was until, Stefan dragged me back here." The blonde explained as Natasha only seemed more confused.

"I'll explain over lunch? Maybe we could find somewhere with a playground." Brooke suggested, hoping she could tell Natasha everything, without Bruno hearing. "Sure." Natasha declared, "I'll drive."

"Um, you have been in a tomb for over a hundred years, I think I'll drive." Brooklyn said cockily, shooting Natasha a wink as the heretic pretended to be offended by this statement.

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Now at a playground, Bruno ran off to play on the equipment, though he didn't seem very familiar with it. Meanwhile, Brooke and Natasha sat on park benches, drinking blood from solid coloured cups.

"Something tells me that kid has had a rough upbringing." Natasha admitted, watching as Bruno tried to reenact what other kids were doing.

"Yeah, you don't say." Brooke confessed, watching him sadly. "So, when were you freed from the tomb I didn't know you were in?" The Salvatore asked, her eyes moving to Natasha.

"A couple of months ago. Damon rescued me, believing that I was Katherine." Natasha explained, "It's weird... I was thrown into a tomb to desiccate for a century and then here I am, in the twenty first century." She said with an awkward laugh.

"So much has changed... I mean, I was so shocked when I found out that you no longer use candlelight to see." The Pierce blurted, as she was still impressed by the invention of a light switch.

"Who was this special person you mentioned earlier?" Natasha asked, as Brooke's lips curved up into a small smile. "Her name was Lexi. She was Stefan's best friend."

"You fell for your brother's best friend? That is... ballsy, I think the right word is." Natasha responded as Brooke let out a laugh. "Lexi was special." She said, looking away. "Damon killed her."

This was a plot twist. The Pierce's eyes widened, "What? Why would he kill somebody you care about?"

Now this was an ironic question coming from somebody who would kill a person without a second thought, much like Damon.

Brooklyn shrugged, "That's just another mystery of Damon. So, we're not on good terms, and if it wasn't for Stefan I would have killed him."

Natasha looked sadly at the Salvatore, understanding how she felt. Of course, she'd just found out that Rebekah was dead, and the Mikealson had practically been her soulmate, as Lexi had been Brooklyn's.

"So if you hate Damon so much, why are you back here in Mystic Falls?" The Petrova asked. Brooke glanced at the girl, "Stefan practically begged me to come back here... when I got here, he told me about Klaus."

"Oh yeah, that is the Salvatore's latest problem on their never ending list of problems... most of which have to do with Elena?" Natasha added, a little uncertain.

Brooke shrugged, remembering Elena from Stefan's birthday party. They hadn't talked for long, but the Gilbert seemed sweet. Brooke felt sorry for the doppelgänger, that the universe kept dishing her some awful cards.

"Anyway... I wasn't going to stay, because right now my priority is helping this sweet kid find his family, but then Stefan told me that you were alive and here." The blonde confessed, keeping her eyes on Natasha. "I can't explain how happy I was to learn that you're alive." Brooklyn added.

Natasha's couldn't hide her smile, as she beamed at the Salvatore. "Really? Little old me made you that happy?" The heretic asked as Brooke laughed. "Of course, Tash. You were always like a sister to me... I was devastated when you were taken away."

Natasha felt a warm feeling rise in her chest, something she wasn't really familiar with. Brooke considered the Pierce to be her sister... her family. The heretic hadn't felt loved by her own blood related family, so this truly meant the world to her.

The brunette rushed forward, throwing her arms around Brooke to hug her. Brooklyn let out a surprised chuckle, before she hugged Natasha back. The Salvatores had always been Natasha's family, and she'd be eternally grateful.

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1864

A hiss left Natasha's lips, as her eyes glared through Katherine. The other Petrova rolled her eyes before she spoke lowly.

"What, are you going to cry? Because I told you the truth?" Katherine asked, as Natasha's glassy eyes moved away from Katherine.

"You're the weaker twin, trying to form connections and get close to people... it will be your biggest downfall. That isn't how you survive." Katherine continued, as Natasha kept her eyes away from her sister still.

"What if... life is about more than just surviving?" Natasha mumbled, as Katherine let a scoff escape her lips.

Katherine reached out and placed her hand on Natasha's cheek, so she could jerk her twins face in her direction. Natasha could have used magic on Katherine in retaliation, but Katherine knew her twin would never do that.

"You are proving to be worthless, Natalia Petrova. Until you start faking nice and playing pretend, like me, you'll simply be a liability." Katherine admitted, hoping that her words would make Natasha grow more cold and selfish, but they only wounded her.

"You're my sister, how could you say something like that?" Natasha asked, swatting Katherine's hand away from her now. "Because you imbecile, you're going to get us killed."

Katherine then stepped away from the heretic, refraining from slapping her. She wanted them to survive, together... but Natasha cared too much. In Katherine's eyes, if her sister wasn't going to become more selfish, she was going to wind up dead.

Katherine, in some wicked way, truly loved her sister and only wanted to keep her twin by her side... but she had a bitter and twisted way of showing it. Natasha turned and left, sick of her twin's antics.

The heretic stood outside now, away from the Salvatore house to cool off. It was then, she heard soft whimpering.

Natasha looked around, hearing the sobs coming from behind a large oak tree. The Pierce walked around the tree, and stopped when she found Brooklyn sitting in the grass, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Brooklyn? Are you alright?" Natasha asked, as the blonde looked up at the brunette, and shook her head. Bruises were evident on the Salvatore's face. "Don't worry about it. I'll be okay." Brooke responded, anticipating that Natasha would leave.

But she didn't.

"Tell me dear, what happened? Why are you crying?" The heretic asked, sinking into the empty spot beside her. Brooke's eyes met Natasha's, and she seemed unwilling to speak, as she was afraid of being judged.

The heretic sighed, before she looked into Brooke's blue eyes, deciding to compel her. "You know, you can tell me anything." She said, the words rolling off of her tongue in her thick Bulgarian accent.

Brooke lifted her hand to wipe away her tears before she said, "Dad caught me with Emilia Forbes. We have been seeing eachother secretly." She began, seeming nervous to talk about this topic.

"I love her, Natasha. And my father doesn't understand because... men and women are supposed to be together, not a woman and a woman." The Salvatore sniffled. "He hit me, and he told me that he'll be finding me a suitor to take my hand in marriage."

Natasha's face fell, as Brooke looked away for a second, as her shoulders sunk. "I'm in love with a woman... I must be delusional, right?" The girl huffed in annoyance now, as she seemed to be ashamed with herself.

"There is nothing wrong with loving a woman." Natasha insisted, as Brooke face her now. "I love women too, sweetheart. Maybe one day, we'll be accepted for who we are, and not discriminated against." She trailed off.

Brooke looked away from Natasha for a second, her lip quivering as she wanted to burst into tears again. The heretic's face softened, "Oh, honey.." She spoke sympathetically, before she placed an arm around Brooklyn to comfort her. Brooke leant into Natasha, as she let the tears fall.

And for the first time in her life, Brooklyn felt accepted for who she was.

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"So tell me..." Natasha began, as Brooklyn kept an eye on the play equipment, as she watched Bruno begin to play with other kids. "What happens now with the boy?"

Brooke moved her eyes back to Natasha. "Well, once I've annoyed you enough, I'll go back to helping him find any of his remaining relatives." The vampire decided, not wanting to leave until Natasha was in a better headspace.

The Pierce looked at the Salvatore again, noticing the concern on her face for this boy. "Did you... ever want kids?" She suddenly asked, not helping but to notice how motherly Brooke seemed towards Bruno.

"What? Kids?" Brooke asked, bringing her attention back to the heretic. "I'm a lesbian, babe. And a vampire. That's unfortunately going to remain a dream." The Salvatore admitted, though as a young girl she had looked forward to having a family of her own.

Natasha glanced at the young boy, wondering if Brooklyn would adopt Bruno if it ever came down to it, but she decided not to push the idea further.

"Well, you should be on your way. You're a pest, consider me annoyed." The Pierce joked, nudging Brooklyn's side. Brooke laughed before she eyed the brunette. "Nah, not yet. We've gotta hang out a bit before I can leave. I gotta make sure to be really annoying." She insisted.

"Okay, fine. Pest." Natasha replied as Brooke laughed. "What do you feel like getting up to? We can always skip town for a while." Brooke suggested, wondering if the heretic may be interested in a roadtrip or simply just a day trip away from Mystic Falls.

Natasha eyed Brooke before she finally said, "I may have an idea."

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AUTHORS NOTE

Out of all of the side characters in this fic so far, being Natasha, Brooklyn, Sienna, Giorgia, Bronwyn, Allira and Isabella, Who do you consider to be your favourite?