A/N: Christmas season is in the air and I saw that Carol already had beautiful Christmas story started. I was debating when to start my contribution to Delena's Christmas too and so this is chapter one. It still somewhat action and adventure, like I enjoy but also soft and romantic and real life for some families and how their holiday season could look.

I hope you enjoy!

Damon laid his head back on the seat and pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been a hell of a day already and the night was not nearly over. He closed his eyes and tried to take the quiet few minutes of peace he was offered, not knowing when he would find them again.

His breath got shallower as he felt sleep try to claim him. His mind would rarely give him peace when he tried to rest. He could still hear the gun shot and the dull thud of the body falling. He had been so close and yet so far at the same moment. He hadn't dreamed of anything else since that night and would wake in cold sweats from reliving it again and again. Every time he had to push the horror back from his mind. It was still too fresh.

Dark hair swished back and forth as he fought to pull himself from the reoccurring nightmare. He had seen death before, but not like that and it had shook him to his core. Throwing his head back up, he turned fast just in time to see his buddy open the car door.

The man literally fell into the seat, pulling the door closed, fighting the wind whipping around outside. Tugging his jacket hood down, he turned and grinned back at Damon. "You are so damn lucky buddy. It was their last one of the night. She said she had saved it just for you."

Damon smiled at his friend, his partner. He had been doing this job 10 years and he would not have wanted anyone else to have his back all these years. They had both saved each other more times than he could count in dangerous situations.

A look of concern fell over his friend's face, almost hidden in the shadows of the dark car. "What? More flashes of that night?"

Damon nodded silently, and brushed his hair back from his forehead.

"You managed to fall asleep that fast? I was only in there a few minutes."

Damon didn't want to talk about it, not now. Not to the damn work counselor and not while he smelled the delicious aroma from the bag on his partners lap.

"She saved it just for me?" he asked quickly changing the subject. "Those blueberry muffins are to die for. You got your favorite right? You don't need mine?" Damon was already reaching across to grab the bag before Enzo replied. He was just being polite. Damon really did want the muffin all to himself.

"Yes Damon, I got mine too. Fresh from the oven and so warm! Take your coffee, before I spill mine." He pushed it into his hand and Damon slipped it into the cup holder and then reached over and put Enzo's coffee that was balancing precariously on the dashboard into the other one.

"Mmm. Thanks for being the gopher this time. I'll get you next time," Damon said reaching again for his muffin. "You know I'm a sucker for their homemade muffins. That bakery has been around for decades already and they know whats good and don't stray from it." He finally snatched the bag and opened it as Enzo moved to adjust the heat in the car while taking a big bite of his apple fritter.

It was a bitterly cold November night and the wind was whistling through the trees and across the street. There was no snow yet but the icy wind of winter had arrived and the snow was due any day now it sounded like.

Damon loved the look of fresh snow on the ground, the peace of the falling flakes and the way it just blanketed everything so delicately. Their job was anything but peaceful and so he took in any kind of calm solace when he could. Right now the street they were on was quiet, the only lights on were the dim glow of the street lamps. Even most of the houses lights were off.

He popped another bite of the muffin in his mouth. Delicious as always. Maybe the rest of the night would be uneventful? One could only hope.

Damon was so ready for his day off tomorrow. The week had been long and exhausting and he felt like he could sleep for a week. The counselor he had been seeing had been good for something and prescribed mild sleeping pills to help him get some actual rest. Damon couldn't wait to try them out. Anything was better than waking up dozens of times a night to the horrible screams in his nightmares.

He was reaching for his coffee when the radio crackled to life and he let out a sigh before answering. It was an emergency. Someone had called in about a domestic disturbance and their sister and her kids were in danger.

Damon dropped the coffee before taking even his first sip and put the car in gear, flicking on the sirens. He looked both ways and steered them back onto the street in seconds. He hated these kinds of calls. They always made his stomach spin and he had seen a lot in his years on the force.

Enzo was struggling to not spill his own coffee as Damon spun them in a U turn fast on the windy road. "Easy Salvatore! We need to get there alive too you know."

Smiling tersely he knew that and he was letting his feelings from other calls flood his mind. He was learning to compartmentalize but sometimes that just did not happen. He already knew there were kids involved and that made getting there as fast as possible even more of a priority.

His hands were steady on the wheel, steering the car with streamlined precision. Damon knew how much his cruiser could take. They had been on high speed chases before weaving in and out of traffic. He was the master of his car and he would not put them in any unnecessary danger.

But his mind was already there, at the house and he had to force the thought away, imagining what the creep could be doing this late at night and with kids around. The address he was given was not far from the little bakery they always stopped at. It was just on the outskirts of the city he saw as he rounded another corner, flying down the road toward the house.

Enzo looked worried. Damon could see it in him actually gripping the door as they made another fast turn. He knew his partner trusted him with his life but Enzo had seen what the last few months had done to him and how unhinged he could be. Him taking time off work after and only being back a few weeks was quite an adjustment to both of them, since they worked side by side almost since the academy.

"Damon, it will be okay," Enzo was trying to placate him as Damon took another corner as high speed.

"I'm fine Enz. Really." Damon looked at him from the corner of his eye and nodded. "I've got this buddy. I just want to get there. I got a bad feeling. I can't explain it...its just there."

Enzo nodded back to him and they pulled into the driveway, turning the sirens off. The house was far back on a long winding driveway. Damon had never been here before. There were lights on all over inside and he saw another vehicle parked haphazardly on the driveway ahead of them. It was almost halfway in the grass.

The two men got out, and Damon checked his gun, unsnapping the holster and pulling it out. Enzo was mirroring his movements as they stepped closer. His buddy motioned that he was going to cover the back and slipped around the side of the house.

Damon felt his heart pounding in his chest as he took wide quick steps up the front porch, his boots clicking on the wood beneath them. He could hear voices, yelling and then crying and more yelling. He heard a woman's voice and she was pleading with the man to give her her baby!

Oh shit! So he was walking into a situation where the perp had a child in his arms?! Fuck, that was not what he wanted to hear. Lifting his walkie, he whispered the new information to Enzo. They needed to proceed with extreme caution. Damon was already calling for back up too, but it would take precious minutes they did not have for the other team to get there.

The wind was whipping at his dark hair as he moved stealthy up and across the porch, pressing himself against the wall by the door. Damon's jacket was open and he shivered at the coldness rushing through his body as the wind blew stronger. His hand snuck out to try the knob and it was locked. Moving slowly to peek in the window just beside the door Damon squinted through the sheer curtains to see a woman with long brown hair, fighting a man turned away from them. He could just barely make out the shape of a footed sleeper and the leg of the baby he must have up in his arms.

The man threw the woman to the ground and she cried out, landing hard against the wall behind her.

"Damon are we a go? My doors locked too. No idea about any weapons. I can't see much from here." Enzo's voice was loud and clear through the radio and Damon covered it with his hand to muffle it so it wasn't too loud that the man inside could hear them. He was sure he had heard their car arriving but otherwise seemed to be focused on the woman and her baby.

They had to get in there, Damon felt this pit in his stomach that this could end very badly. "Yes," he hissed through the walkie. "Go on three. The report said kids plural, so watch for where others are too."

He heard Enzo confirm and he took in a deep breath. Standing back away from the door he counted and just as he heard another scream he kicked with all his strength and the door flew open, almost off its hinges. Damon had to stop it from slamming back at him as he leveled the gun at the man who had just now swung his direction, holding a little infant in his arms.

"Freeze! CPD!" he called out and his eyes locked on those of the man his gun was leveled at. The man had dark close cropped hair and dark hollow looking eyes. He was wearing ragged jeans, with holes in them and a black hoodie. He was taller and looked stronger than him and Enzo too.

The woman on the floor he had in his grip as well, his other hand curled around her hair, yanking her head up in an awkward angle. She looked almost unconscious. Her eyes were opening and closing weakly, as her robe was off her one shoulder revealing a ribbed tank top, her legs bare beneath short plaid blue shorts.

Enzo burst in a second later and the man spun to him as well. There didn't seem to be any weapons nearby and the man had both the woman and the baby in his hands, so he had no room for weapons either.

Damon remained calm, calling on all his instincts and training to help his brain focus on how to defuse this situation. He held his gun up, right between the mans eyes as he moved further into the house toward him.

Enzo had made his way to the hallway beside the kitchen and Damon nodded to him to move in. They both had their guns drawn as he now stood only a few feet away from the man. The assailant looked drunk and had blood on his face. He was swearing and warning Damon to stay back.

Damon took in the expression of the woman on the floor. She was young, mid 20s maybe older. Her brown eyes were red rimmed and teary and she looked weak and yet furious at the same time. He could see a bruise on her cheek and he smiled softly at her, nodding his head.

"It's going to be okay ma'am. No one is going to move too fast here. Your baby will be just fine." Damon said confidently as he assessed the intentions of the man holding them. He knew he shouldn't promise things that he couldn't guarantee but in this situation he just felt he had to tell her that things were going to be okay. His gaze went back up to the man, seeing him curling the baby wrapped in a soft pink blanket to his chest. The little one had been crying and wriggling in his arms.

Enzo moved around the man, his gun up till he was just to his side. He nodded to him again and Enzo laid his gun on the table in the living room.

Damon just glanced enough in that direction to see another woman huddled in the corner holding another small girl in her arms, shielding her away from the stand off in the kitchen before focusing back on the man that had burst in on this little family.

His ice blue gaze narrowed as he studied the man. He didn't seem intent on hurting the child. He looked almost caring the way he held the tiny bundle.

"See, we aren't going to shoot. But you need to give my partner the baby. Gently and slowly now." Damon ordered the man. He still could not see any weapons. The only danger was dropping that little girl. He knew it had to be her mother, held by the hair in the man's grip, the way she was crying for him to not hurt the baby.

Slowly Enzo moved forward and the mans eyes were wild looking back and forth between them. Damon prayed he did not try anything stupid. "Hey! Hey!" he called to him. "Look at me. Here!" He waited till he was focused on him. That was good. At least they were getting cooperation.

"Hand my partner the baby. Do it please," he begged him, his muscles bracing for any action he might take. He did not let it show but he was scared. The guy looked out of it and being drunk or high was never a good sign in this kind of stand off. Damon saw him start to move to hand the baby over and then stopped, his eyes darting up to his.

"I just wanted to see her..." he said sadly, his dark eyes wide. "I wouldn't hurt her. I love her." He looked ready to cooperate and Enzo moved in, his arms up and open. "I love her," the man kept saying.

"That's great, I'm sure you do love her. That is all we want is for her to be safe," Damon choked out, not knowing if he believed the mans pleas. But he was going to do the best he could. "I can see that you don't want to hurt her, so how about you pass her over and we can talk more about this. You didn't have a weapon here. So lets not make this worse."

Damon knew how to negotiate but was still scared of what could happen. Getting him to relax was the best thing for everyone. His gun was still leveled at his head, as Damon watched the man finally pass the crying baby to his partner. They both breathed a sigh of relief as Enzo quickly moved back, spinning around and within seconds had passed the baby to the woman on the floor in the living room and moved back to be Damon's back up, grabbing his gun back up.

Damon hoped the man would surrender now but as soon as the baby was safe he yanked the woman in his arms up from the floor and held her tight against his chest. "It's her fault!" he screamed out. "She won't let me see her! It's my right to see her!"

The raven haired officer held up his hand and moved in more, seeing the fear on the poor woman's face as she struggled in his arms. The man held her tight, his one hand wrapped around her hair and the other was holding her wrists tight. Even his leg was around hers preventing her from kicking him.

Damon cast a fast glance to Enzo and he nodded. They often knew what each other was saying or doing without uttering a word. He leveled his gun at the man as Damon put his down on the floor, kicking it away from him, his hands up showing the man he was unarmed.

The woman's chocolate eyes were wide and glassy as she was fighting more in his grip. Then Damon heard more sirens and knew back up would be here soon. They had to end this and quick. More people, more attention could cause this creep to escalate his behavior.

He was motioning with his hands to pass the woman to him, just as he had done with the baby. They could end this without anyone else getting hurt. The man was shaking his head at them, cowering behind her body so that Enzo didn't have a shot. They didn't want to shoot him and Damon could hear the other woman trying to calm the baby and the little girl from behind the couch. The room was a mess indicating a fight had indeed gone on before the man grabbed the baby.

"C'mon," Damon tried again. "You can walk out of here. No one else has to get hurt." Damon could see the woman had blood slowly dripping down her head from a cut by her hairline. He passed the woman another reassuring look. "It's okay," he told her. "You are going to be okay."

Just then there were more footfalls and a half dozen more more men were instantly at the doorways and making their way in. Guns raised Damon saw the man looking back and forth at everyone and then roughly thrust the woman hard across the small space to fall in Damon's arms.

He caught her, nearly falling back and held her close, running his hands down her hair. She was crying and scared but she was okay now. "You're okay, its all okay" he murmured softly over and over, his lips in her hair as he held her close.

Enzo had tackled the intruder down and the man was now cuffed and pulled up from the floor, his hands behind him. Damon was about to ask the woman in his arms her name and if she was okay when she literally jumped back from his embrace!

The woman flew at the man, who was now cuffed and on his knees. She punched and slammed him against the wall and he stumbled, falling back.

"Don't you ever come near my babies again Mason! I hate you! I will never forgive you! You can't take it back and you sure as hell can't have them!"

Damon was already coming forward, pulling her back as she struggled against him. He wrapped her in his jacket, pulling her arms back from pummeling the man on the ground. The man Mason, had grunted and swore at her but he could not fight back. The other cops led him out the door and down the steps to the waiting cruiser. The lights were flashing all over as cop cars were spread all over the grass of the woman's yard.

She was strong he would give her that. But he wanted to calm her down and held his jacket tight around her shoulders. She was furious and rightly so but he could hear her yelling was scaring the children more too. The woman collapsed to the floor, pushing his arms away and Damon backed off. She had fire and he could see it burned wildly in her eyes right now.

She had rejected any comfort from him but still held his jacket tight around her shaking body. He had been so focused before on everything to get her safe that he had not realized how thin her robe was that she had around her small frame.

He moved across the floor and gave one look to the other woman holding the little baby girl in her arms. She passed her to Damon right away and smiled back at him.

Damon crossed the living room and was kneeling beside the scared mother in seconds, cradling the little bundle to his chest. The woman looked up through her tears and smiled so widely at him, opening her arms.

Damon smiled back, feeling a tug on his heart toward the sad young mother and gently passed her the squirming baby. She took her, nuzzling the baby's face against her tear stained one before turning and looking back up at him. The baby settled almost instantly in her mothers embrace, looking to be the calm the woman needed more than anything else.

The other young girl in a bright yellow and pink striped nightgown ran into her mothers arms too, cuddling in against her baby sister as her mom opened her arms to hug them both close.

Damon leaned back, giving the little girl room to cuddle her mother. He felt a softness in his heart toward the three girls curled together on the floor beside him, all wrapped in his jacket.

The woman looked back up at him as he cleared his throat nervously. "I'm Damon," he said and then stumbled on his words. "I mean...Off...icer Salvatore." When had he ever introduced himself to a victim by his first name? He wasn't sure quite why that happened.

"I'm Elena," she said quietly, while rocking the baby more in her arms as the toddler laid more on her moms lap. "This is Gracie," she pointed to the little girl on her lap. "And this is Belle," she indicated of the tiny pink bundle in her arms. Both girls had thick brown hair and wide brown eyes just like their mother.

Damon was opening his mouth to say something but he felt tongue tied and not at all professional at the moment.

"Thank you, Officer Salvatore, really. You have no idea how much..."

Damon stopped her, shaking his head.

"I'm just glad you are okay...Miss..." He stopped himself not knowing her surname. Should he just call her Elena?

"Lockwood...well Gilbert. I can't seem to escape being a Lockwood. But please call me Elena." She started to pull herself from the middle of the floor and Damon helped her without even thinking, placing his arm on hers to steady her holding the baby against her. He helped her into a nearby chair and stayed kneeling on the ground in front of her.

"Look, Miss..." he caught himself. "Elena." Her name sounded beautiful, so elegant as it slipped past his lips. "You don't have to worry about anything else tonight. We can get your statement in the morning. You might want to stay at a hotel tonight since I umm,'" he indicated of the very smashed in front door. "Sorry about that."

She nodded right away at him and turned to the other woman there. She had been talking to Enzo for the last few minutes and now came over as Elena motioned her.

"This is my sister Jenna. She helps me take care of these angels." She introduced them and he stood to shake her hand. Elena explained to her that they should pack and go to a hotel for the night.

He took that time to see his buddy more or less had everything squared away and had ushered the other cops out. The man Mason, sat in their squad car waiting for them to bring him to the precinct with them. He was already fighting the urge to haul the bastard more than calmly when they got him there. Maybe accidentally slamming his hand in the door or something poetic like that. How dare he threaten that sweet little family! The way he sounded he was the ex and likely the father of that little baby, maybe both of those precious girls.

Damon looked around the living room now too and saw the Christmas tree that looked to have been standing in the corner was down on the floor, its balls broken, glass littering area around it. There were branches broken off and pieces crushed.

"I guess that tree met its match."

He turned and saw Elena standing up and rocking the baby in her arms. The little girl looked almost asleep against her chest.

"Gracie wanted to decorate it so early and now it looks like that wasn't such a good idea." She shook her head, a sad expression on her beautiful face. Elena was holding the baby in one arm when Damon was startled as she stuck out her other hand toward him. "Thank you really Officer. I have no idea what might have happened if you hadn't gotten here when you did."

Damon smiled at her and shook her hand before bringing it up to his lips and brushing the gentlest kiss on her knuckles as his eyes were locked on hers. "I am so glad we did. You are very welcome." He dropped her hand, seeing her eyes widen from his unexpected kiss. He scrambled to say something else. "Are you sure I can't stay? I can help clean up the tree?"

Something made him feel like he didn't want to leave. He felt a strange sense of calm watching her with her children. The woman looked like she had been through a lot that night. She still had blood on her head and he bit his bottom lip between his teeth, fighting the desire to stroke his hand down her cheek, wishing he could wipe away the bruise there too.

"No, its okay. I'll leave it for tonight. I just want to get out of here," Elena said and turned away from the tree. Her older daughter was still holding her mom close, her little arms now around her leg as the girl turned away from the tree too and Damon saw tears down her cheeks.

He knelt down to her level. "It's okay Gracie. I'm sure your mom will find you an awesome new tree. There is still lots of time before Christmas." The little girl smiled at him and hid her face behind her moms leg, her brown eyes so big as she looked at him.

He was ready to move out the door and take her jerk of an ex uptown and for this night to end. Damon paused and wrote his number down on his notepad and ripped it off. "In case you need anything...Elena. And please call me Damon," he said handing it to her.

She smiled again. "Thank you... Damon. I will. Thank you so much again." She passed his jacket back to him and he had totally forgotten he wasn't wearing it.

He was moving backward toward the door, shrugging into the sleeves and zipping it up. It was time to go. They were going to get packed and be safe and sound in a hotel. "Anytime." He smiled once more at her and then gave a little wave to the little girl that had peeked out from behind her moms leg.

"Night Gracie," he said softly before looking back up, almost gasping at the intensity of Elena's brown eyes staring back at him. "Umm, goodnight Elena." She smiled back and half closed the broken door.

Enzo was already in the car waiting for him. The asshole ex was quiet in the backseat but Damon saw him looking at him though the mirror and he glared hatefully back at him. How fucking dare he hurt those girls!

He squealed the car out of the driveway and headed to the precinct. He would book this creep and make him nice and cozy in his cell and then check on Elena and make sure they got to the hotel okay. His shift was over in only a few hours and he could only hope the rest would go by without incident.

"You okay Damon?" He turned and saw his buddy looking at him curiously.

"Yeah, yeah," he said again. "I'm great." He reached for his coffee which was now cold and finished it in a few swallows. He was fine. He had protected that little family and got them out of there safely. He was almost done a weeks worth of 12 hour shifts and was so ready to get out of the damn car.

They drove in silence as Damon thought back again to Elena and already found himself deciding he was going to come in to work on his day off, just to find out more about her. Those brown eyes held so much warmth and yet sadness too, and he saw such a fire in her attacking her ex after he had her baby and her safe.

He wanted to know her more...understand her, be there for her and he shook his head realizing how much that did not sound like how he should be feeling.

But right then he could not seem to stop his mind from going back to her face, her smile, the way she cuddled her baby to her chest and held the toddler close. He found himself wondering what had happened to them to get them to that place and how anyone could ever hurt her...

Please review and tell me what you think...I am not sure how long this will be yet but it I am so excited to share it with you.

I haven't posted anything all new that isn't connected to any of my other stories till now. So I really hope you guys love it. I am hoping to still do a Delena family Christmas one shot or so with my precious post finale series human DE but this was my Christmas story for you guys.

I was inspired by Carol's Christmas story Somewhere in my memory that she and Eva posted this week. You should check it out. Its beautiful start to what I know will be another amazing DE love story. She inspired my Captive of her Beauty story too from just the one image of Damon walking in prison orange and chains.

Please leave a review, favorite or follow and I will update as soon as I can. Stay warm and enjoy the sounds and sights of Christmas in the air :)