Prompt: Damon and Elena are married, on the verge of divorce. They visited with their parents, trying to act civil but knowing their marriage is over, they leave to go home a few days before Christmas. They have car trouble in a tiny remote town surrounded by mountains. Because the car parts needed for their car repair have to be shipped in, they're stuck in the town for several days. The town goes all out for the holiday, Christmas pageant, decorations, Christmas trees galore, you name it. The town's people take Damon and Elena under their wing so to speak. Somehow amidst the magic of this little town and the magic of Christmas, they realize that they still love each other too much to give up.

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Stefan, Caroline, alcohol use, mild language

Elena parked her car in front of the red bricked house. Night had long-since fallen. If not for the colorful Christmas lights adorning every other house on the street, she would have had difficulty fishing her house keys out of her purse. In better days, the door would have been unlocked—the house and its occupant ready to welcome her. That felt like a lifetime ago. As it was, she opened the gate to the white picket fence of what was once their dream home with one hand while keeping a tight grip on the keys with the other.

The realtor once convinced them this street was on the verge of a revival. Damon loved it because it was walking distance to his bar, and it was convenient to Elena's hospital. But like their marriage, the promised gentrification of the neighborhood hadn't quite worked out. Now, Elena was left with a house in a neighborhood in the midst of a holiday crime wave. She reached the front door, and her nerves were immediately set on edge by the thin ribbon of light peeking out from beneath the door. A sensible person would probably have turned around and gone back to the car or at least dialed 911—Elena was too tired for sensible. After a 12-hour shift that bled into almost 20 hours by the time she'd finished the emergency surgery on the toddler hit by a drunk driver, whoever was in the house could take whatever he could carry…once Damon moved out, there wasn't anything valuable left inside anyway.

The door swung open when she touched the knob, confirming her suspicions. Damn. Maybe whoever had broken in was gone by now. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket to report the robbery, and she swept her thumb over the keypad. Nothing. The battery had registered two percent as she left the hospital, but it had dwindled away to nothing during the drive home. Knocking on the neighbors' door at this time of night was just as likely to get her shot as walking in on intruders so inside the house she went, hoping what she found wouldn't be too bad.

Nothing seemed amiss apart from the lights being lit. She refused to look in the direction of the bay windows. In better years, a Christmas tree would be standing bright and proud in the little nook that seemed a perfect fit for a holiday tree. No matter how late she got home, Damon would have left the tree lit for her. Now it was just as empty as the rest of the house.

A pile of blankets littered the floor next to the couch—exactly as Elena had left them. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in the bedroom. The bed felt too big to sleep in it alone. Falling asleep while watching television was just easier, even if it was hell on her back. Maybe she should get a dog. Or two dogs. With the king-sized bed, she had plenty of room.

But her schedule wasn't fair to a dog.

It hadn't been fair to her husband.

Elena froze. Someone was in the kitchen…exactly where the phone was. Perfect.

Trying to remember all the self-defense skills she'd learned during the personal safety classes she'd taken back in college, she tensed her muscles, readying for a fight. She stepped around the corner and dropped her phone. "What are you doing here? Trying to scare me to death?"

Damon was lying sprawled across the kitchen table—one cheek resting on a pile of papers that hadn't been there when she'd left. It gave her some small measure of satisfaction that she apparently surprised him just as badly as he'd frightened her by leaving the front door open.

"Damn it, Elena, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He blinked through heavy-lidded eyes while smoothing his hair away from his face in a movement she recognized as one he did when most unsettled. That made her feel a little better.

"I could say the same to you." Elena slid her bag off her shoulder and placed it on the counter in a move specifically intended to annoy Damon. "Why are you here?"

"You didn't return my phone calls."

"From today?"

"Mmm hmm." His blue eyes glanced in the direction of the clock. She'd once found those eyes mesmerizing, but too many times lately they'd simply been filled with scorn and anger, making it difficult to remember those days that felt like a lifetime ago. "Or I guess it's yesterday now."

"I didn't think you'd want me to call you at midnight."

"I was awake."

Elena felt the muscles in her neck stiffen. They couldn't even have a conversation about the time without it turning into an argument. "I didn't know that." She summoned the last increment of civility. "I was trying to be polite. What's so urgent?" If everyone's hearts were beating and no one was bleeding to death, she'd stopped categorizing anything as an emergency.

"The papers are ready for you to sign." Damon smoothed the stack of papers he'd been using as a pillow and slid them across the table in an obvious suggestion for her to look at them.

DIVORCE.

Elena just managed to read the single word before she felt her eyes tearing. She turned her back to Damon and his papers in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. This shouldn't be a surprise to her. They hadn't shared a roof in three months…not since that last argument when Damon left, slamming the door so hard he knocked their wedding portrait off the wall, shattering the glass.

It should have been a sign.

It was over.

They were over.

She'd always thought they'd have another chance. Give him enough time to cool down…he'd come back.

Just like he'd always done.

But he didn't come back. Not that time. Elena couldn't even remember what they'd been arguing about—maybe it was how late she'd stayed at work or it could have been about the house…again. All she could remember was standing there watching the light fade to orange to pink and to completely dark. It had happened on one of her rare days off. They'd been supposed to go to a nice dinner…take time to really talk…and he left. When the street lamps turned on, she'd gone to the kitchen cabinet and pulled out the dustpan to clean up the shattered glass. She didn't even cry. Not again. She'd run out of tears for Damon.

"Elena." Damon's voice was laced with impatience. He tapped his pen against the divorce papers.

He wanted her to sign them now? He wanted her to sign them now. "Damon, I'm so tired I can't even see straight. Tomorrow's Saturday. Can you give me a day or so?"

Damon sat rigid, appearing to be preparing to argue, but then his expression softened. "Sure. Take your time. Read them over. I think it's a fair agreement. I tried to make it fair." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Why don't you give them to me when I pick you up on Sunday…"

"Sunday?"

Impatient Damon had returned. "Don't tell me you forgot. Christmas? We're going home to Mystic Falls. Damn it, Elena, it was your idea not to tell them."

Elena held a hand in front of her to stop the tirade. "I'm off. I remember now. It's just…it's been a long day, Damon." Now it was her turn to run her fingers through her hair. "And, no. I don't want to tell them. Caroline's already high risk. I don't want to do anything to risk the baby."

"Okay, then." Damon was on his feet, pushing his chair in beneath the table. "I'll see you Sunday." He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked past her. "Good night, Elena." He paused, switching his weight back and forth between his legs, "try to get some sleep."

"I will. Thanks." Elena watched as the door shut behind her husband and felt as exhausted as she'd ever been. Her next shift started in less than six hours. Without bothering to change clothes, she kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the couch.

Elena had just finished placing a metallic bow on her last gift when a knock sounded at the door. She glanced at the clock on the cable box. Damon. Right on time, as always, and she was happy she'd taken the time to pack before going to bed last night. It was bad enough they had to share a car for the eight hour trip—at least she wasn't going to be responsible for getting them off to a late start.

She got to her feet, brushing her palms against her jeans. "Coming," she yelled as Damon started to knock again. If he'd come in unannounced on Friday, why couldn't he just open the door for himself now? "It's unlocked."

"In this neighborhood?" Damon's brows knit together as he stared back at her.

"You're the one who picked it." Elena could feel her blood pressure begin to rise. He was the one insinuating it was a bad neighborhood? She'd begged him to sell the house and move…and somehow she was the one who seemed to be ending up with the house. At least she thought she was getting the house. She hadn't had a chance to read the papers yet.

Or maybe she just didn't want to read them…didn't want to sign them. Signing them would be so final. She'd be admitting defeat. They'd be admitting defeat. They'd never given up on each other before—not when the bank made a mess of the loan application for the bar and almost destroyed their credit beyond repair, not when Elena was so exhausted in her final year of residency that she'd forgotten her own birthday, not when they went to the doctor expecting to hear a heartbeat but heard only silence instead.

They always survived.

Until they didn't.

"Ready?" Like so many other days recently, Damon had reverted to single-word questions.

"Yep." Elena found single-word answers safer too…less chance for someone to insinuate some type of veiled insult.

"What's that?" Damon pointed an accusing finger at the package wrapped with red paper covered with white and green polka dots. The "for Stefan" tag was clearly displayed next to the metallic bow.

"A present for your brother." Elena answered through gritted teeth. Damon had lost the ability to be civil with her in the room, but she didn't think he'd also lost the ability to read. She studied the man in the room with her. Hostility practically rolled off him. His shoulders were squared. A muscle in his jaw tensed. They were going to pretend they were happily married for the next four days.

This was never going to work.

"I got Stefan a present." Damon sounded like he was accusing her of violating some rule.

"Then he can have two." Elena answered as carefully as possible. It was too early in the trip for them to start fighting. "Are you ready? The weather said we might have snow on the way. I don't want to get stuck somewhere."

"Because being stuck with me is your worst nightmare." His tone was caustic. She didn't want to fight, but he clearly did.

"Because I want to see my family…our family…I want to get to Mystic Falls before tonight." Rather than waiting for a reply, she nestled the last of the packages in the oversized plastic Ikea bag she'd saved from a trip to the store they'd taken when they were first married. Damon's eyes fixed on the bag and a hint of something that looked like nostalgia colored his eyes for an instant before it was gone. Elena hefted the bag onto her shoulder and took hold of her new rolling suitcase she'd purchased while Christmas shopping since Damon had taken the rest of the luggage with him. "Let's go."

Without another word, Damon followed her out the front door, shutting it behind them before locking it and tugging the door twice to test the lock. "It's locked."

"Yes, it is," Elena answered. They'd done this same procedure every time they left a house or their apartment for the entire eight years they'd been married. She led the way down the brick pathway to his waiting car where Damon stood alongside her next to the trunk.

He popped the trunk open and eased the bag off the shoulder and placed it next to a similar bag spilling packages over the gray fabric. An unexpected look of concern came over his face as he took her rolling bag from her hand. His close inspection made Elena feel uneasy. "There's a pillow in the back seat. Thought you might want to sleep on the way. You…you look pretty tired."

He'd uttered the kind of comment that would have sparked an argument months ago, but Elena was too tired to argue. And he was accurate. During her last shift, one of the other doctors asked if she'd had a black eye. She'd brushed it off, explaining she was simply tired. His words had been enough to prove she wasn't doing enough to hide the circles deepening by the day.

She opened the back passenger door and pulled the pillow off the seat, cradling it to her chest. It smelled like fabric softener. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He surprised her again by coming around beside her and opening the door for her. She settled in the seat and closed her eyes. Sleep found her before they left the city. Two states later, a hand nudged her shoulder. "Probably want to eat something." Damon pressed a paper bag into her hand. "Cheeseburger and fries. No pickles."

"Did you eat?" Elena struggled to focus her eyes.

"About a half hour ago. Kept thinking you'd wake up." Damon steered with one hand on the wheel, and he glanced quickly at her. "You never stopped snoring."

"I don't snore."

Damon didn't try to stifle his laugh. "Yeah, you do." He looked over his shoulder and changed lanes behind a moving truck. "Eat your burger."

Elena ate in silence. Her lunch had gotten cool but not cold. She didn't care. She'd gotten accustomed to eating meals that weren't at their peak during shifts at the hospital. Once she finished her lunch, she was surprised to find her eyes still battling with her. Before she could identify the song on the radio, she'd nodded back off.

The car rocked to a stop. Damon took the keys from the ignition and sighed. "You ready?" His mood seemed as dark as the sky around them.

Elena didn't need the white Christmas lights lining the roof to identify the Salvatore house. She could recognize the circular driveway and the mass of trees in her sleep. "Sure."

"And you still want to do this?"

"Celebrate Christmas?"

Damon narrowed his eyes at her. "Pretend we're one big happy family."

Elena's throat tightened. She struggled to swallow. She didn't want to pretend. She wanted to be one big happy family. But that door closed a while ago. Stefan and Caroline didn't need to know that. Not yet. "Yeah." Before she could say more, a beam of light cut into the night. Stefan's profile appeared in the doorway.

"Merry Christmas!" Damon almost jumped out of the car, probably relieved to have an excuse to leave the tension within the car. Elena waited in her seat, struggling to find a convincing smile. She was thankful for the dim light.

"Have a good drive?" Stefan's words were muffled through her closed door.

"You're here!" Caroline's abundantly pregnant form threw the doorway into shadow. Elena didn't have to pretend to be happy to see her sister-in-law. A sharp pain filled her chest. Her sister-in-law, but for how much longer? Once she signed her name on the papers, what would become of her relationship with Caroline? What would Damon tell them? Would they blame her? Would they still even be friends?

She couldn't think about that now.

Tonight, she just wanted to enjoy being with family who wanted to be with her.

"Took you long enough."

Elena did a double-take at the familiar, teasing voice. "Jeremy?" A woman stepped up behind her little brother. "And Bonnie?" Unexpected tears filled her eyes. "You're here. Why didn't you tell me?"

Caroline giggled from behind her. "Merry Christmas." She wrapped Elena in an awkward hug. "You two are always too busy to come home. We have enough room. We thought it would be fun." Her head cocked to the side as she studied Elena's expression. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Elena nodded, wiping the corner of her eye. "Just happy to see everyone." She took a step back. "I need to look at you. Come on, get in the light where I can see you." Elena was beyond happy to have a distraction. She cheerfully followed Caroline into the house where she was immediately surrounded by Jeremy and her other sister-in-law.

"What smells so good?" Damon asked from the hallway, his arms laden with both bags of presents.

Stefan followed with both sets of luggage. "Do you have to ask?"

"Did you make lasagna?"

"Mom's recipe."

The bags were quickly dealt with and the whole group was soon gathered around the table. Jeremy sat on one side of Elena and she'd been able to maneuver Caroline into the seat next to her. The blonde gave her a pointed look when the bottle of wine made the circle around the table and Elena filled her glass.

"You have no idea how much I envy you right now." Caroline stared at Elena's glass.

"Just a few more weeks." Elena held her glass in a mock-toast, regretting her choice of sitting so close to Caroline. For the second time in the hour, she felt herself in the too-sharp inspection of her oldest friend.

"We have to have a toast." Jeremy stood, holding his wine glass in the air. He nodded to everyone in turn. "After all, how often are we all together?" He tapped his glass against Elena's. "To family."

"To family." The words were echoed all around.

Idle chatter filled the room as the group ate together for the first time in years. The last time they'd all been gathered was for Jeremy and Bonnie's wedding. While they'd kept up to date with the comings and goings, at least most of them, the hours quickly slipped away while they recounted stories of Christmases past—first from around the table and later gathered around the massive fire in the hearth. Long after the clock struck eleven, Bonnie's eyes began to droop.

Caroline yawned and got to her feet. She glanced in Elena's direction. "Can you help me with the last of the dishes?" She picked up two abandoned mugs from the coffee table.

"I'll help." Stefan started to stand, but Caroline quickly cut him off.

"No, Elena can help." Caroline used a don't-question-me tone, and Stefan quickly sat back down. Using the mugs in her hands to gesture to Elena, she pointed at the rest of the dirty glassware before walking slowly toward the kitchen.

Not having a good excuse to avoid being alone with Caroline, Elena picked up the mugs in front of Bonnie and Jeremy and followed her sister-in-law into the kitchen. She tried to drop the dishes off and hurry out of the room, but Caroline blocked her path. "What's going on with you and Damon?"

Elena clutched at the counter for support. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't try to fool me." Caroline narrowed her eyes and took a step in Elena's direction, using the same intimidation strategy she once used as head cheerleader. "You've barely been within ten feet of each other. And he hasn't touched you once. That's not you two. Or at least it wasn't. He's never been able to keep his hands off you."

"We're not newlyweds anymore." Elena tried to laugh it off.

"Doesn't matter." Caroline wasn't buying it.

"Damon's just happy to see Stefan. He sees me all the time." Elena forced a smile. "And he knows I'm tired. Things have been busy at the hospital."

"You're sure?" Caroline still looked more than a little skeptical. "Promise me you're not lying."

"Things are fine, Caroline." She couldn't make the promise, and she hoped Caroline wouldn't notice.

"Have we given you two enough time?" Stefan rapped on the doorframe. "Or are you still trying to get a confession out of Elena?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Caroline shook her head and gave a half-smile in her husband's direction. "We just needed some time for some girl talk."

"You'll have more time in the morning." Stefan stepped closer to Caroline and rested a hand in the small of her back. "You're not getting enough sleep as it is. Let's call it a night."

Caroline yawned at the suggestion of sleep. "Don't blame me. Blame the fact that this one likes to jump on my bladder all night."

"Excuses, excuses." Stefan gave Caroline's shoulder a loving squeeze. "But it doesn't change the fact you're up three times a night." He stifled a yawn of his own. "And then I'm up three times a night."

Caroline turned to Elena and laughed. "That's because he keeps thinking I'm in labor," she spoke in a stage whisper loud enough for Bonnie and Jeremy to laugh from the living room. "The doctor says I have at least a week left."

"A week?" Bonnie came into the kitchen rubbing her hands with excitement. "Then you probably really do need to get some sleep." She motioned for Jeremy to follow her toward the stairs. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Good night." Jeremy gave a half-wave as he disappeared into the darkened stairwell.

Caroline turned back to Elena. "Damon carried your bags upstairs already. You're in his old room." She craned her neck, looking in the direction of the living room. "Where is Damon anyway?"

"He went upstairs about the same time the two of you went into the kitchen," Stefan answered. "I think the drive tired him out."

"Probably so," Elena agreed, not sure of what else to add. She didn't remember anything about the drive other than eating a cheeseburger halfway along the trip. "Goodnight you two. If the doctor's wrong, come and get me. I'm not going to miss being one of the first ones to meet my nephew if I'm in town."

"Nope." Caroline held up a hand to stop Elena mid-sentence. "No Christmas Eve babies. That's a horrible birthday—only thing that would be worse is a Christmas Day birthday. The doctor promised me a week, and this little guy isn't coming for one more week."

Elena paused with her hand on the bannister. "One more week. Understood." She laughed in spite of herself. "I just hope he knows the plan too." Elena pointed at Caroline's belly.

Caroline held up a finger in caution. "Don't speak it into the universe."

Elena laughed again. "You've got it. Nothing else from me." She turned away from the couple still standing in the kitchen but she could still hear Stefan whispering and Caroline laughing softly in reply. Caroline's optimism was impressive. Elena felt a second wave of laughter bubbling to the surface that instantly caught in her chest when she reached the top of the stairs.

They were staying in Damon's room. She had some good memories of that room…really good memories to be honest. And that's exactly why she didn't want to cross the threshold. The sound of a shower starting up carried into the hallway, bringing her a little relief. Maybe she could make it into the room and be asleep before Damon got out of the shower.

She hurried into the room and started digging her things out of her bag. She'd just found her toothbrush when the sounds of water stopped. Of course this would be the one day that Damon took a record-settingly short shower.

"Sorry." Damon walked into the room with a towel around his waist. "I thought you'd be talking with Caroline longer. I wanted to get out of your way."

"I had the same plan." Elena held up her supplies. "Guess the timing didn't work out."

"Guess not." Damon crossed the room and pushed the door fully shut. He waited until after latch clicked before speaking again. "I think it's going okay."

"Hardly." Elena rolled her eyes. "Caroline's already asked me if everything's okay with us."

"What did you tell her?"

"I lied." Elena could feel her heart speeding in her chest. "That was the plan, wasn't it?"

"Your plan." The familiar accusatory edge was back in his voice.

"The right plan." Elena had to fight the urge to throw her hairbrush at him. "You see how happy she is right now. How happy they all are. Do you really want to be the reason everyone gets upset?"

Damon looked down at the ground. "No. That's not exactly a great Christmas present."

"Exactly."

"So what are we doing wrong?" Damon dropped the towel and Elena turned away, feeling heat spreading to her cheeks.

She shrugged a shoulder. "Everything apparently. We didn't sit together at dinner. You sat on the couch tonight while I was on the floor by the fireplace." Her throat felt tight. "Neither one of us has touched each other since we've been here."

"Damn, maybe Caroline should be a cop too." Damon paused, and Elena could hear a suitcase's zipper. "You can turn around now." He waited for Elena to comply before continuing. "We'll just have to work harder. But that's a job for tomorrow."

Elena let out a long breath from between pursed lips. Tomorrow—the Mystic Falls holiday parade had always been the highlight of her year, but now it seemed like one more test to pass. She walked into the bathroom to change clothes and prepare for bed before returning to the bedroom. Damon had already gotten into bed, taking his once-familiar spot on the side next to the far window. While trying not to look at him, she circled the bed and grabbed a pillow then turning away from the welcoming mass of blankets.

"What are you doing?" Damon rolled onto his side, resting on an elbow.

Surely he wasn't that delusional. After living in separate quarters for so long, she couldn't share the bed, especially not tonight when her nerves already felt as raw as if they'd been rubbed by sandpaper. "I'm sleeping on the chair. It's big enough. It's not that different from the couch." She picked up the throw blanket draped across the arm of the oversized chair and made a make-shift bed. "It's just easier this way." She nestled under the single blanket and her head sank into the overstuffed pillow. Despite sleeping for hours on the way to Mystic Falls, she was asleep before Damon's breathing became regular.

Thanks for reading this first chapter in my story for the DE Exchange. I had a difficult time deciding whether or not to participate since I no longer watch the show, but it was equally hard to break this tradition. I know this wasn't very warm or fuzzy—my apologies. It has to be dark before things can get brighter.

I'm anticipating this story to be either four or five chapters. We've still got a way to go.

Happy holidays!

-N.E.P.