Okay guys, new story!

I'm super excited about this one, and can't wait to see what you think!

The chapters may be shorter right now, but I will try my best to make them long after the story picks up :)

The family set up is different than in most fics (Caroline being a Salvatore) but it will all be explained, promise!

So enjoy, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

DISCLAIMER: I do not, nor have I ever owned TVD or it's characters, though at one time or another they may have owned me ;)

"Elena...Elena...ELENA!"

Elena Gilbert jumped awake, as her friend's voice echoed in her ear.

"Caroline, what the-"

"We've landed," the blonde told her, with a hasty hand on her hip.

Elena blinked, then looked around.

Sure enough, the plane that had been airborne before she'd closed her eyes was now at a standstill on the runway.

"Oh."

People were lined up in the aisle already, a thin hum of excited conversation filling the air.

Elena stretched, and brushed her dark brunette hair out of her face, as Caroline also stood to grab their carry-ons from the compartment above their heads.

"Thanks," Elena murmured, as her friend handed her the smaller of the two bags.

"No problem," Caroline grinned, "Man, I can't believe we are finally done with classes!"

Elena laughed, "Don't get too excited, Care, they'll start again in a few months."

"Buzz kill," she teased, "But at least we have summer! And next year is our last one. Two more semesters to live through,and we are officially college graduates."

Elena smirked at her friend, "You know, I could have graduated early. But somebody insisted on dragging me to the middle of nowhere instead of letting me take summer courses."

"There's more to life than textbooks, Elena!" Caroline insisted, "And it's high time you learned that! Forgive me if I didn't want to come back to a brain fried roommate. Trust me, you need a summer vacation, and since you like to pretend that you don't have a family to go home to, mine is adopting you for the next few months!"

The line was moving along now, and Elena followed her friend out into the aisle, "Well, if they're anything like you, I'm sure it'll be great."

Caroline winked, "Just you wait."

Twenty minutes later, the two girls had finally gotten off the plane and down the hall to baggage claim.

Elena stared out the airport's glass wall, as they descended the stairs, at the green hills beyond.

Virginia.

She was going to spend an entire summer in Virginia.

On a farm, no less.

In a town with a "plus one, minus one" population, where, according to Caroline, everybody knew everybody.

Certainly not the way she'd grown up, but maybe that's why she'd agreed to come in the first place.

It was definitely the reason she'd chosen to attend Duke University.

It was far enough away from her past that she could pretend it didn't exist.

And Elena had gotten rather good at pretending.

"Mom!" Caroline squealed, as they reached the bottom of the staircase.

A good group of people were waiting to pick up passengers, but among them, a dark haired woman with Caroline's blue eyes stepped out, smiling.

Caroline ran to her, dropping her carry-on in the process, and the two embraced.

"Oh, I missed you!" The woman squeezed her, "How were finals? You didn't study too hard did you? How was the flight?"

Caroline laughed, "One question at a time, Mom, and I promise to answer all of them, but first, you need to meet Elena!"

Caroline looked back, and waved her over.

The woman's bright blue eyes shifted to her face, and Elena fought back a blush.

"Mom, this is Elena Gilbert. Elena, this is my mom, Lily Salvatore."

"It's nice to meet you," she said politely, holding a hand out.

But Caroline's mother bypassed it, and pulled her into a hug nearly as enthusiastic as the one she'd shared with her daughter.

"I'm so glad you could come visit! Caroline has told us all about you, of course. You're in the pre-med program, right?"

Elena smiled at the woman's kindness, and nodded as she was released, "Yes, I am, with a minor in business."

"Good on you," Lily grinned, "It's nice to see young women with focus these days. Stay in school, and stay away from boys. That's the ticket."

Elena laughed, and Caroline rolled her eyes good naturedly, "Because that worked so well for you."

Her mother winked, "I don't regret marrying young, dear, nor devoting my life to all you kids. It's made me happy. But dreams should be lived, and this just happened to be mine. Besides, who could have resisted your father's smile?"

"Oh trust me, I've seen just how effective it is," Caroline assured her, "My brothers took full advantage of it through high school."

Lily sighed, "Yes, well, they do have a certain charm with the ladies."

She looked at Elena, "Don't you take any of their bull, you hear me? From any of my boys. They mess with you, you have my full permission to put them in their place."

Elena laughed again, "I'll remember that."

They moved to grab their bags then, and soon were out the door.

Caroline chattered away freely, filling her mother in on every little detail about the past semester, as they reached a four door Chevy truck.

It had the words "Belle-Terra Ranch" printed in the back window.

Elena opened the back door, and lifted herself into the cab.

Caroline was still talking about their finals, and Elena was surprised that Lily was listening intensely, as if committing the stories to memory.

The woman didn't interrupt, or act the least bit disinterested, even as they pulled out of the airport.

She herself was guilty of tuning Caroline out on occasion, but Lily was soaking up every word.

But Caroline had only ever praised her mother, so it shouldn't be shocking that the woman actually was amazing.

Elena tried not to feel a slight pang of jealousy.

"So this loser wouldn't take no for an answer," Caroline continued, "Apparently having a boyfriend means nothing anymore. So I tried to set him up with Elena instead, but she was too busy studying to date-"

"I was not," Elena chided, "I did date. I just preferred not to do it right before a test that was worth half of my final grade."

"Like I said," Caroline continued, "She wouldn't go out with him either. So I was forced to spend the next half hour finding this poor guy a date for the dance, because I felt guilty. A feat that would have been impossible for anyone else, let me assure you."

Lily smirked, "I'm quite certain your matchmaking skills are superb, darling."

"Damn straight they are!"

"Language," her mother chided gently.

"Sorry," Caroline said, "But it's true."

Lily looked up at the rear view mirror, catching Elena's eye.

"So where did you grow up?" she asked, as they drove down the open highway.

"Oh, um, New York," Elena answered hesitantly.

She didn't like talking about her time there very much.

"I think Caroline may have mentioned that before," Lily nodded, "Did you like it?"

Elena shrugged, "There were good parts and not so good parts. I like Duke. And I'm sure this summer will be an interesting experience."

Lily chuckled, "I'm sure it will. But don't worry, we'll make a southerner out of you yet."

Elena smiled and looked out the window, excitement rolling in her stomach.

"Speaking of boyfriends," Lily started, "Guess who stopped by at seven this morning…"

Caroline straitened, "Enzo came by?"

Lily nodded, "Wanted to know what time your plane landed so he could be at the house when we got back."

Caroline rose a brow, "He's at the house now?"

"He was when I left," Lily confirmed, "Seemed like he was really anxious to see you."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Well I hope he's ready with an apology."

Elena knew what her friend was referring to.

She'd met Enzo once, when he'd come up for Caroline's birthday, and the two had gotten into a bit of an argument.

Apparently the long distance thing was taking its toll, but before that, Caroline had been happy to see him.

And he'd seemed like a nice enough guy.

Maybe they'd work it out.

"What about everyone else?" The blonde asked.

"Well, you're dad and the twins went camping with the Lockwoods yesterday," Lily answered, "They're due to be back later. April's at the house, and I'm not sure about Damon. But hell, I never know what that boy's up to."

"Language," Caroline shot back, with a smirk, making her mother grin.

Elena tried to recall what she had learned of Caroline's family.

Giuseppe and Lily Salvatore had been high school sweethearts, married young, and now had five children.

Damon Salvatore was the oldest, Caroline was next, and after her were the twins, Stefan and Silas, then the baby of the family, April.

She knew that Damon worked the ranch, and was aiming to take over once their father retired.

The twins were doing classes at the local college, Whitmore University, and April was still in high school.

And they would all be home for summer.

It was hard not to feel a little intimidated by the thought.

But she also knew that worrying wouldn't change a damn thing.

She'd just have to be herself and hope they all liked her as much as Caroline had when they'd first met.

The truck jostled as it turned off the highway, and soon, they were crossing into a rural area with rolling pastures, until they passed a sign that read "Welcome to Mystic Falls".

Caroline was practically bouncing in her seat now, and Lily had a soft smile on her face.

Elena stared out the window until the road turned into a long, winding dirt drive.

A metal sign hung over the wooden entrance.

Belle-Terra Ranch.

Caroline squealed, and Elena took a deep breath.

Well, here goes nothing.

First Chapter finished! Let me know what you thought! :)