All right, so I'm in a very festive mood and this idea started swirling through my brain so I decided to write it, this is a fluffy sappy Christmas one shot based on the universe of You instead, I really hope you all enjoy it and please let me know what you think.

P.S : I used a lovely quote of Federico Moccia because well, my Damon is Italian and I couldn't resist.

Love,

Sam

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

-Dr. Seuss-

.

They were one week away from Christmas; snow had been falling the night before; a very rare thing since the snowing usually happened in January or February but the entire city had been marveled at the event. Christmas music blasted out of every shop in the city and people wearing Santa costumes were in every corner. Damon Salvatore considered himself as a man who enjoyed Christmas, especially since his daughters arrived in his life; however this year the holiday didn't seem very promising for him.

"Damon, please don't forget about the gala tomorrow" Bonnie Benet said as she entered her boss's office "I keep reminding you and you keep forgetting" She admonished while placing the tickets in the big mahogany desk.

"I think Elena is going to break up with me" He blurted out as he eyed the tickets on the table.

Bonnie lifted her eyes from the chart she was holding and for the first time today took a good look at the man in front of her. He was sitting behind his desk looking as hard and imposing as always but there was an edge of vulnerability in him. If you didn't know him very well you wouldn't be able to notice but it was there, in the slightly wrinkled blue button down he was wearing and the two day stubble gracing his jaw.

"What are you talking about?" She asked as she took a seat in front of him "Are we talking about the same Elena Gilbert who is crazy in love with you and your daughters?"

Damon gave her a pointed look "I'm not joking Bonnie, there's something wrong here"

"Okay, okay" She raised her hands in front of her defensively "Tell me what's going on"

Damon took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak when the door opened once again and his best friend and colleague Enzo walked in carrying a stack of papers "Damon, I need to revise with you some of the numbers of the L.A resort-" The British man stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Damon's appearance and the look Bonnie was giving him. "What's going on?"

"Elena is leaving me"

"What?!" Enzo dropped the papers in the table and sat in the chair next to Bonnie while the girl rolled her eyes

"She's not leaving you" She told her boss and best friend

"What's going on?" Enzo asked

"That's exactly what I am waiting to hear, Damon has this terrible notion in his head that Elena is about to dump him"

"Why would you think that, mate?"

"She's been acting weird these last few days" Damon said while running his hands through his hair "She talks in whispers on the phone, gets jumpy when I walk into the room and just yesterday we were watching a movie with the girls when a call entered on her phone and she just shut it off without saying a word"

"So?" Bonnie asked with a raised eye brow "That doesn't mean she's about to leave you. Don't be ridiculous"

"But it is kind of weird love" Enzo said what earned in a kick in the shin from Bonnie

"And she's been having a lot of late nights with Elijah at work" Damon told them with a grunt as he moved his hands towards his tie and started to play with it, something he only did when he was nervous.

"I knew it, I knew there was a reason for all this paranoia" Bonnie said with a smirk "You're just jealous of Elijah and keep making up things in your head. You know that after Christmas she has a presentation Damon, that's why she's been working late"

"I cannot believe how you are jealous of that man mate, he's so plain" Enzo said with a laugh "Trust me, he got nothing on you"

"Oh actually Elijah is pretty hot" Bonnie commented as Enzo gave her a challenging look and a raised eye brow "But that's not the point, you have been threatened by this man for over a year and believe me when I'm telling you there's nothing in there Damon, Elena loves you deeply"

"That is true Damon" Enzo told him "The girl can't hide it, she's madly in love with you. So maybe she's nervous because is the first holiday with your family or I don't know something else, girls get angsty for everything"

Bonnie kicked him once again before directing to Damon "Stop worrying over nothing, just go home and enjoy your family and don't forget about the gala tomorrow"

Damon nodded unable to think of something to refute his friends' comments but with the dread still consuming him and the doubt harboring in the pit of his stomach, something was wrong with Elena and had to find out what it was.

He arrived at his house that day to be greeted with the sound of laughter and Michael Bubble's Christmas album sounding in the background. They had been making some renovations in the house so they hadn't been able to put the tree and decorations before so now that it was all over Elena informed him that she and the girls were doing all of that today since Christmas was only a week away.

Damon entered the living room and found the girls hanging ornaments in the biggest tree he had seen in his life, Stefan was on a ladder putting Christmas garland on top of the window and Elena and Valerie sat cross legged in the floor untangling Christmas lights while they moved their heads to the tune of Santa Claus is coming to town.

He stood in the entrance contemplating his family for a few seconds, fear nagging him from the inside, telling him that he might never see his family this way again because good things never stayed with him. Elena lifted her eyes from the lights and spotted him across the room, her eyes lit up and she smiled warmly at him while motioning with her hands for him to enter.

He stood there with his eyes focused on her and a small smile on his face, just admiring the beauty that was her and thinking about all the happiness she brought into his life from the moment she arrived.

"Daddy!" Violet shouted the minute she spotted him, bringing him back to reality. He turned his body towards her just in time to catch her when she threw herself into his arms "Are you helping us?" She said while raising an ornament for him to see

"Of course I am" He smiled at his daughter before pressing a loud kiss onto her cheek which caused her to giggle.

"Do you like our tree daddy?" Briar asked from across the room

"Of course I do its lovely sweetheart" He said truthfully as he walked further into the room.

"What about my decorations, are they pretty daddy?" Stefan asked with a chuckle from the ladder and Damon couldn't help but roll his eyes at his brother, sometimes he wondered who the child in this house was.

"Yes, they are gorgeous Stefan" He answered while Stefan grinned and went back to his task.

"And look what Valerie showed us to do?" Briar walked towards him with a Christmas boot made of deep red velvet and his name embroiled in the front.

"Wow, this is beautiful" He said and Briar beamed at him

"We got one for everyone" She said proud while showing him the work they had been making all morning before placing them in the coffee table and moving back to the tree with Violet

Elena got up from the floor and walked towards him "I saw Blondie's car outside, where is she?" He asked as Elena wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his chest.

"Kitchen" She answered as she nuzzled into him, he rubbed her back and pressed a kiss on her hair, relishing in this moment that life was gifting him with.

"I think she's trying to drive Allie nuts" Valerie joked "With the whole Christmas dinner preparation"

"Yeap, that's true" Stefan agreed "I will like to see who is going to win that match, they're both pretty stubborn and controlling" He said wistfully

"I think Caroline will be the winner" Valerie said with a smile

Elena laughed and Damon felt the movement all over his body, he tightened his hold on her "I'm glad you're home early" She told him, making his body feel warm all over.

"Is something wrong cara?" He whispered in her ear

She stiffed the minute the words were out of his mouth "Nothing's wrong" She broke apart from him and stared at him "Why would you say that?"

"You've been acting weird" He told her softly

"I haven't been acting weird" She said in a hushed tone "You're the one who's been acting weird"

"I haven't-"

"Yes you have, you're being weird right now" She babbled unable to let him finish his sentence, she moved back a few steps "Don't be all weird Damon"

"Elena what are you talking about?" He told her, still in a quiet tone so the girls didn't realize that they were arguing, because that's what it felt like they were doing.

"I'm going to check on Caroline" She said with a big smile plastered on her face. Damon stared at her confused at the sudden change of mood "I wouldn't want she and Allie to kill each other" She hurried out of the room after that, leaving Damon even more dreadful than he was when he first walked in.

He sighed and ran a hand through his face "I'll go change and then I'll come back and help" He told the girls who nodded in response, too busy with the tree to truly pay him attention.

He walked upstairs to his bedroom and shut the door behind him once he was inside; he loosened up his tie and dropped himself into the bed, their bed. The sheets smelled like her and he could not imagine a time when they wouldn't anymore.

"Okay, what's going on?" He had been too absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear Stefan following him into the room

"I think Elena is dumping me" He told, defeat evident in his voice

"What?" Stefan laughed "That is ridiculous"

"That's what everyone thinks but something's wrong with her" Damon said while shaking his head slightly and throwing the tie across the room

"And because something is wrong you automatically think she's leaving you?" Stefan was leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest "We really need to work on your insecurities brother" He said under his breath as Damon shot him a murderous glance

"It's not funny Stefan"

"No it's not, because I can't believe that after all this time you still doubt her"

"It's not like that, it's just… this is too damn good to be truth" He said with a sigh "And that damn Elijah is always lurking around the corner-"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right now" Stefan raised both hands in front of him and started walking towards the bed "Elena wants nothing with Elijah, she loves you! Damn, I felt like rubbing the honey out of my body every time you're in the same room together"

"Don't be ridiculous"

"No, you're being ridiculous" Stefan told him "Elena loves you Damon, she's not leaving. Stop trying to find trouble where there ins't one"

In that moment Valerie and the girls shouted from downstairs, they needed help with more decorations and they needed the boys to do it. Stefan gave his brother one last warning before disappearing behind the door, Damon stayed behind thinking about what everyone was telling him, could it be that this was all in his head?

The rest of the week was painful for Damon, including the night of the gala where everyone could see he was nervous about something, even Elena commented on it but he couldn't bring himself to approach the subject so instead he let the dread keep consuming him.

Finally Christmas Eve arrived and the girls couldn't be happier, it was the first time they were hosting a big dinner instead of going to some restaurant. Damon was wearing a deep red sweater Caroline instead he wore, he had been about to tell her no when Elena appeared with puppy eyes and a pouty mouth he couldn't refuse, the only silver lining for him was that at least he wasn't Klaus or Stefan who were forced to wear sweaters with reindeers on the front.

Elena as him was also wearing deep red, a dress with low neckline and long sleeves, it hugged her body beautifully and Damon almost groaned in pleasure while looking at her. The girls were wearing frilly dresses, Briar in red and Violet in green both paired them up with white and red striped thighs. The whole thing was over the top festive but the girls never felt happier so Damon agreed with everything they asked of him tonight.

They were all gathered around the big table in the dining room, the wine and food were flowing among conversations and laughs and the ache in Damon's chest reduced slightly, it was a night to be happy and he had every intention of taking advantage of every minute.

But he couldn't help but feel nostalgic and a bit sad as he watched Elena cutting pieces of meat for Violet and kissing Briar's cheek. Elena was everything for those girls and he had no idea what he would do if she decided to leave them.

"Oh Damon I know I said I had cleared you schedule but there's a meeting the day after tomorrow, you'll need to be there. Sorry" Bonnie said with an apologetic look bringing him out of the trance he was in.

"Yeah don't worry. Just send me the info" He answered nonchalantly

"Hey Damon" Caroline chirped earning his attention "Don't you think sometimes you work too much?" She asked and Elena's eyes widened before she threw a nasty glare to her friend.

Damon watched the weird exchange between the friends and frowned "I don't know I never thought about it. Why?" He asked

"Just a thought. Maybe you'll like to have more free time… for the future you know. Anything could happen-"The blonde girl was interrupted for what Damon was sure was Elena kicking her under the table.

Is this what it's all about? He thought to himself. Elena is angry because I work too much? Because if that was the case Damon was more than happy to cut down his hours to keep her next to him.

"Hey Klaus. Why Elijah couldn't make it?" Stefan asked from across the table and Damon could do nothing more than glare at his brother

"Oh he was going to but then his girlfriend Hayley called and told him she couldn't find a train ticket so he decided to drive to her" Klaus told them

"You see Damon, Elijah couldn't come because he's with his girlfriend. Who he loves" Stefan told his brother in a mocking tone which made Damon glare at him even harder.

"Emm and what about Rebekah? Where is she spending Christmas eve?" Matt asked feeling the tension between the Salvatore brothers rising.

"I think she's with some friends. Honestly family gatherings are not her thing" Klaus said as Caroline mouthed a 'thanks God' without her boyfriend seeing her "Rebekah is a free spirit, as you well know" Klaus muttered referring to the brief romance the blonde girl had with Matt a few months back.

"Yeah, I know" The blonde boy said as he blushed slightly

"Okay before we continue I want to say a few words" Stefan said while standing up "I know we already did this at Thanksgiving but not everyone was here so I'll like to say thanks again" He smiled at everyone in the table "I know I speak for my brother and I when I say that this is the best Christmas Eve we've had in a long time"

"YES!" Briar and Violet yelled at unison making everyone around the table laugh.

"So thank you for sharing this moment with us and for supporting us all through the year, we wouldn't be this happy if it wasn't for you" His eyes went to Valerie who smiled lovingly at him "So here's to us and to many more days like this one" He raised his glass in the air as everyone did the same and exchanged pleasantries around the table.

The night continued flowing as happily as before and once the food was over they moved to the living room for drinks. The girl's eyes were already closing so Elena and Damon took them both into their room and tucked them in.

"Remember, you can't cheat right" Elena told the girls who were already in their beds wearing their Christmas pajamas "We don't want Santa to get caught while delivering the presents"

"We promise Lena" Briar said as Elena leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Sleep well Briar Rose" She whispered before moving to Violet's bed "You too little V" The girl smiled as Elena kissed her forehead and caressed her forehead for a few seconds.

Damon watched from the doorway, marveled at how much love there was in Elena's eyes when she looked at the girls. There was no doubt that she came straight from heaven to save them. He couldn't let her go.

Elena walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist and he pressed a kiss on her forehead "Go, I'll be there in a while"

"Okay" She told him and disappeared into the hallway.

"You had fun today?" Damon asked as he walked further into the room

"Yes daddy!" They both said at the same time

"It was the best Christmas ever" Briar told him with tears in her eyes and his heart ached at the sight. He leaned down a kissed his daughter cheek.

"Then we'll have to try harder next year so we can do even better" He told her, she grinned at him and his heart soared "Good night little munchkins" He told them before going to Violet's bed and kissing her as well.

He went back downstairs where they keep enjoying of the company of their friends for many hours more, until everyone was getting sleepy and Caroline and Enzo had too much to drink. Once everyone was gone Elena put on the Michael Bubble album again as he walked to his office to get the bag filled with presents to put under the three.

When he walked back into the living room carrying the bag he stopped dead in his tracks, the sight before him leaving him completely breathless.

'I'll be home for Christmas' sounded in the background as Elena swayed slowly to the music, her hands were crossed on top of her belly and she was in front of the tree with a smile so big it could split her face in two. He dropped the bag in the floor and moved until he was behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm not giving up on us" He whispered in her ear

"What?" She asked, confusion evident on her voice

"I won't let you leave Elena, I love you too much"

"What are you talking about? Why would I leave?" She turned around in his arms until she was facing him

"You've been acting so weird… I though… I thought you were leaving me" He confessed

"Oh Damon" Her eyes grew soft as she raised her hand and caressed his cheek "What do I have to do to convince you I'm not leaving? Ever" He dropped his forehead into hers

"I'm sorry" He whispered

"I've been acting weird because I have a present for you and I don't know how you'll react" She said as a vulnerability he had never seen before appeared on her face.

"Tesoro mio anything you give me I will love" He told her and she almost melted at his words.

"Well hold that thought" She released herself from his embrace and walked towards the tree "I'm sorry you thought I was leaving" She kneeled down and took a small bag with Santa Claus decorations.

She went back to him and handed him the bag "God I know it's soon and not planned at all which is why I was so scared, I don't know if this is something you wanted or-" He interrupted her rambling by putting a finger to her lips.

"Is this what I think it is?" He asked in awe as he extended the small Christmas boot Valerie had helped her make today.

"I'm pregnant" Elena said with a small smile as her eyes filled with tears "And I've been terrified, I know you already have the girls and I have no idea if you wanted another-" Her words were interrupted once again but this time for his lips pressing down on hers.

"Ti amo" He whispered against her lips "Ti ameró per sempre amore mio della mia vita"

"I have no idea what you just said but it was beautiful" She said between sobs as he lifted her and twirled around the living room while Michael Bubble continued singing in the background "So are you happy?"

Damon threw his head back and laughed the most beautiful and carefree laugh she ever heard "I'm ecstatic. I want to have all the children in the world with you" He told her before kissing her face allover "This is the best present you could ever give me" He kneeled down and kissed her tummy "I can't believe this is actually happening. I've never been so happy"

"So happy you could touch the sky?" She asked with a grin

"Non, molto di piú, almeno tri metri sopra il cielo"

"I still don't know what you said but okay" She grinned again and kissed him "I love you"

"I love you too, tesoro mio" He said as he nuzzled his nose against her "So this is what all the secrecy and hushed phone calls was about? Caroline knew right?" He asked

"Yes" She said slowly "I just needed time to process and God Damon I swear I didn't have an idea of how to tell you this, we never talked about children before"

He kissed her lips once again "This is the best thing that could happen to us Elena, please don't ever be afraid of talking with me about things"

"Same to you buddy" She told him teasingly "I can't believe you thought I was leaving you" She said with a chuckle

"Well, you've always been too good to be true cara" He said before dropping another kiss onto her lips and locking her in a tight embrace.

They remained in front of the tree with their arms around each other for a long time. Damon couldn't believe that he thought she was leaving him. So many bad things had happened in his life that he was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. But not anymore, he was letting go of the past and all the demons living in it.

The next day the girls woke them up way too early but they didn't cared, they all went down wearing matching Christmas pajamas (again Elena had pouted until she convinced him) and they ate pancakes as they opened the presents and then as the snow started to fall again the four of them cuddled in the living room couch and watched Christmas movies for most of the day.

Damon rested a hand on Elena's stomach and placed a kiss on her forehead as she smiled at him and everything was all right in the world once again. His family was growing and now he only needed to put a ring on her finger to finally have it all.

This was indeed the best Christmas ever and it had nothing to do with the presents or the food or the beautiful huge tree gracing his living room but it had everything to do with the people sharing this moment with him in this living room.

And in that moment he made a wish, he wished for the chance to spend every year like this, surrounded for the people he loved the most in the world.