Prologue

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June 2, 1992:

Samantha Gilbert had never done what she was told in her life, not once

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Samantha Gilbert had never done what she was told in her life, not once. She had been Grayson's and John's rebellious sister. She had been the artistic kid who dabbled in substances she wasn't supposed to, she had run away at 15 and met him three years later.

Their brief fling had given her what she would always treasure most in this world, even as her life flickered out like a candle down to its last bit of wax. Her daughter, Caroline Amelia Gilbert, would end up going to her older brother, but that was okay. She knew he and his wife Miranda would love her like their own.

He would never know about their daughter, he had denied the possibility that he was the father and swore that, if not for the child she carried, he would kill her for such a suggestion. He has exposed the supernatural to her, but she couldn't even bring herself to regret their brief romance.

He had shown her art that she hadn't dreamed to look at and the small glimpse of his vulnerability that she got would be a fond memory.

Her last smile at her baby girl was like that of the last rays of sunlight before night fall and with a quiet sigh, Samantha Gilbert took her last breath.
****
It had been devastating news to learn of his younger sister's death, but he couldn't bare to not have his little niece with her family.

From what his sister's prenatal doctor told him, the father had reacted badly to the idea of being a father and that his sister had been alone.

All he could see in his niece was his sister, the wispy blonde hair and light blue eyes were all Samantha and if she hadn't made her wishes for the baby's name clear, Grayson would have given her the middle name of Samantha.

He would honor his sister's wish, though, and Miranda would stay in Richmond with baby Caroline until John's girlfriend delivered her baby and then he would pass off both his nieces as twins.

June 23, 1992:

He carried Amy while Miranda carried Elena into the house. Even though Amelia was Caroline Gilbert's middle name, to differentiate between her and Caroline Forbes, she would be referred to as Amelia or Amy.

For a bit, Grayson was worried that Amy and Elena wouldn't take to each other and give away that they weren't twins, but that fear had proven unfounded as they immediately got along quite well and had been holding hands on the way home. 

John had been devastated to hear of their sister's passing and he had been the first to meet Amy. Their parents had refused to see Amy as a result of their daughter's death and Grayson (in turn) had refused to let them see Elena until they agreed to see Amy.

Sammy had trusted her daughter's care to him and Miranda, and he wouldn't let her down, he would make sure that Amy was given everything her mother wanted her to have.

****

May 23, 2009:

As Amy and Elena grew up, it was clear that they, while close, were the very opposites of each other.

Amy was like her birth mother, artistic and dreamy. She loved art and music, she preferred sitting in a quiet room, sketching with a pair of earbuds in. She did have a short temper, though, and was very competitive.

Elena was a people pleaser and loved to be the center of a party. She loved cheerleading and doing the events that Miranda signed her up for. Elena didn't have the temper that Amy had, but often had a way of calming her sister down in a way that no one else did.

It was their different natures that led to tonight after all, both Amy and Elena had been invited to the same after school party to celebrate the end of the school year. Elena had wanted to go, but Amy declined for two reasons, one was because it was family game night and two was her boyfriend, Tyler, would be there and they just had a massive fight two weeks ago. 

Elena had snuck out while Amy had stuck around for family game night, playing Scrabble with John and Jeremy and beating both of them at it.

That was the scene that Miranda and Grayson, left for the last time, not that either knew that.

It was nightmare when the call had come in and all four of the family had gone to the hospital to identify Grayson and Miranda and to see how Elena was doing.

Amy had refused to go identify Grayson and Miranda, choosing instead to sit with her twin in the hospital room. As she watched her sister; the brunette to her blonde, the cheerleader to her artist, her first and still best friend in the whole world, Amy knew that their lives would never be the same.

****

Sorry, it's not much of a first chapter, it's meant to be the opener. So, we got a brief glance of Amy's mom, Samantha, and then we get Grayson's thoughts on adopting his first niece.

So, Samantha's death will come in later chapters, just know that it wasn't natural and that it wasn't because of Amy.

Samantha will be played by Laura Vandervoort and right now, only Grayson, Miranda, and John are aware that Amy is adopted.

Liz Forbes will be very prominent as Samantha and Liz were good friends and Liz is Amy's godmother and Caroline Forbes is Amy's godsister.

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