A/N: Merry Christmas! I was ecstatic to wake up on Christmas morning and see the positive reactions from all of you guys, and the notifications continued throughout the day, so thank you to every single one of you! I'm uploading now because I'm off on a whirlwind trip to Sydney with a friend for the next 48 hours and won't be able to update until after that... I hope you'll forgive me.

Here's part two. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or its characters; all rights to their respective owners.

"Mommy!"

She was only a little girl, but it sure didn't feel like it when Elena awoke to the impact of her overexcited daughter jumping on her chest.

"Oof," Elena groaned, pulling her comforter over her face and snuggling further into bed.

"Mommy," Sienna scolded disapprovingly, pulling the sheets back again. "Santa came! Come see!"

"Okay, okay." Rubbing the sleep from her eyes and pulling an old sweater of Damon's over the shirt she'd fallen asleep in, Elena wandered into the living room, wondering how hard it would be to convince Sienna to wait until Mommy had a cup of joe in her before present-opening-time.

The smell hit her first – the sharp scent of pine, the comforting aroma of hot coffee and syrupy pancakes. Then the sudden assault on her vision: shiny baubles in purple and silver, vibrant, multi-colored lights all around the room, reflecting in the decorations and the dozens of perfectly wrapped packages around the base of the six foot tree she definitely hadn't put there.

"I'm… what?" Elena whispered in wonderment.

Sienna wordlessly pulled Elena to the front door, her eyes alive with a secret. They wandered onto the front lawn – the crisp, overnight snowfall crunching beneath their hastily donned sneakers – and they stared at the fairy lights that adorned their small house, bright against the haze of the early hour. A beautiful Christmas wreath completed the look, set carefully on the door and tied with a wide red bow.

"Did Santa make our breakfast, too?" Elena asked dazedly, and Sienna giggled.

"No, Mommy! Don't be silly."

They ate quickly, and Elena was still too stunned to ask why Sienna didn't look quite as surprised by the mysterious appearance of decorations she couldn't afford. When Sienna knelt in front of the tree, frowning in concentration at the labels on the presents, Elena stood back, subtly pinching herself to make sure this wasn't all some elaborate dream.

"E…le…na. That's you, Mommy! Some of these are for you!"

Elena stared at them in confusion. "They are?"

"I thought Santa didn't bring grown-ups presents. You must be special," Sienna said, nodding sagely to herself.

"I guess so," Elena agreed quietly.

After biting her lip and considering her options for a moment, Sienna carefully selected the largest present first. Elena helped her open it, and the little girl gasped and squealed over the kitchen playset she'd been drooling over the last time they'd shopped at Toys 'R' Us, with Damon. Elena's eyes widened slightly, her suspicions beginning to form.

As Sienna opened present after present, revealing new clothes, board games, dolls, candy, stuffed animals, and a large box that Sienna peered into, smirked at, and quickly closed and pushed away, it became clear to Elena just who had been behind this whole surprise. She, too, had received the perfect presents: new shoes, a video camera, and a voucher for a day spa. Sienna grabbed the last parcel, poorly-wrapped and covered in stickers with Sienna's name painstakingly written on the label.

"Is this from you, baby?" Elena asked, her eyes filling with tears that she'd been holding back since she'd first left her bedroom. Sienna nodded, gesturing for her to open it.

A small book fell into her lap, decorated with crayon, ink stamps, and what looked like pictures cut from magazines. When Elena turned it over she saw, written on the front in Sienna's childish scrawl, the words 'Travel Journal'. The letters were mixed upper and lower case, and the 'e' was backwards, but Elena could tell her daughter was proud of what she'd made – with Damon's help, of course.

"What's this?" Elena asked, mystified, but Sienna shook her head, her eyes twinkling, looking ready to burst.

"Open that one, Mommy," Sienna insisted, pointing to the plain white envelope set high in the branches of the tree. Elena lifted it down, staring at the words in confusion.

"Open last?"

"Just open it!"

Inside the envelope was a single piece of paper, folded once. With shaky fingers, Elena unfurled it, knowing Damon's handwriting instantly.

Turn around.

Slowly, feeling all the blood drain from her face, she spun to face the love of her life, looking every bit as proud of himself as he deserved to be.

"You did this."

He opened his mouth to answer her, but Sienna jumped in first. "I helped, Mommy! I helped! Did I do good, Damon?"

"You were perfect, princess," he told her, picking her up when she ran to him and giving her a bear hug while she shrieked with delight.

"How long have you been planning this?" Elena demanded.

"A while," Damon admitted. "I brought Sienna in on it last week. She chose the decorations, played the decoy, and she even helped me set it up last night, while you were fast asleep."

Elena looked between the two of them, shaking her head in awe. She couldn't believe the two of them had been behind something so deviously sweet – but then again, she could.

"I knew you were up to something, but I had no idea it was anything like this."

Damon smirked before pulling out another envelope from his pocket and handing it to her. "My gift to you," he said, by way of explanation.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him playfully, but her jaw dropped as she realized she was holding three plane tickets to Orlando, dated for the next month.

"Damon?"

"We're going to Disney World. Don't even think about it," he added, seeing her expression. "I've already okayed it with the boss." Sienna giggled as Damon pointed at her, grabbing at his finger. "That's the reason for the travel journal, see? And it'll be the first of many trips that we take together, the three of us. I hope," he added, as an afterthought.

"Damon, I… we… I have to… Damon," Elena stammered, unable to find words.

"How about we leave you here to, uh, calm down a little? I'll take Sienna next door, and Katherine can get her dressed and ready. What do you want to wear, princess?" Damon asked, setting the little girl down, and she grabbed her new lilac dress and held it high like a prize. "Good choice. Get your coat."

"Damon," Elena tried again.

"Shh," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking deep into her eyes, blue searching brown. "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? I'll let myself in."

Elena nodded wordlessly and watched as he lifted Sienna onto his shoulders and marched down the footpath, turning and giving her a wink before she closed the door behind them. She used her spare few minutes to run a comb through her hair, slip on her favorite dress and her new shoes from 'Santa', and retrieve her present for Damon from her closet.

As she walked back into the living room, she saw him standing with his back to her, looking out the window. He spun around at the sound of her footsteps, his expression now guarded and completely unreadable.

"You look tired," Elena observed, and Damon grimaced.

"I was awake at four. Had to help Santa with the presents, you know."

Elena smiled and then bit her lip, holding out the large box hesitantly. "I… got you something. It seems a little pathetic now, after all this…"

"Don't say that," Damon scolded, smiling gratefully as he accepted it, though he still looked wary. "It's perfect."

"You haven't opened it yet," Elena laughed.

Damon gave her one, long, penetrating look before he lifted the lid and looked through the crepe paper inside. "Are these…"

"Yep," she smiled proudly, seeing the shock on his face. "I found them in your attic a month or so ago, and had them restored and framed."

Damon's face lit up as he studied each picture individually – a portrait of his mother, from when she was younger; another picture of her, this time with a blue-eyed infant in her arms; the last, with her arms around a young Damon and Stefan, the three of them all laughing together.

"Thank you," Damon breathed, brushing his fingers over his mother's image. Elena hadn't known him when he'd lost her, but she knew that he'd loved her more than anything and that her death had been devastating for him.

"You're welcome."

They watched each other in silence, neither wanting to be the first to break the tension, the silent truce that had formed between them. It was unfamiliar to them, the awkwardness, the uncertainty. There had been a line and it had been breached and they were moments away from the fallout.

"Why?" Elena whispered, unable to stand it any longer. "Why did you do all this?"

Damon slowly set the box of pictures on the couch, stepping forward to take her hands. "Because I love you," he said simply, as if stating that the sky was blue and water was wet. "And I love your daughter, and I wanted to give both of my girls a Christmas they would never forget."

He didn't miss Elena's sharp intake of breath, nor did he miss the tears that formed in her eyes for the second time that morning. "You succeeded," she murmured, and he leaned in towards her, caressing her face gently as her eyelashes fluttered shut.

He jumped slightly as she abruptly stepped backward before running to the doorway, and he blinked in confusion.

"Are you okay?"

Her eyes gleamed with mischief as she turned back to him, a sprig of mistletoe in her hand. "I'm just fine, thank you."

He grinned at her as she stepped into his embrace, the plant held over their heads as their lips met for the first time.

It was everything.

Her mouth quickly opened to his as he deepened the kiss, burying his hand in her hair and using the other to pull her closer to him. After a few seconds, Elena cast aside the mistletoe and wrapped her fingers in the lapels of his coat, holding him so he couldn't pull away, even if he wanted to. Their tongues danced together, and he lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist, twining her arms around his neck.

She broke away from him then, kissing his neck repeatedly as he breathed in her scent, his thumbs stroking her thighs. "I love you," she whispered into his skin, between kisses. "I love you; I love you; I love you."

He groaned and allowed her feet to fall to the ground, his forehead pressed against hers while they tried to regain their breaths.

"What's wrong?" she panted, sliding her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. He grasped them quickly, halting her progress, a pained look on his face.

"As much as I'd like to stay here and further acquaint myself with you, we have a holiday to celebrate, and a very impatient three-year-old waiting to show you something."

Elena frowned and paused in her exploration of Damon's well-defined abs. "Show me what?"

"You'll see."

Elena scowled at him as he threw her coat to her and wrapped her scarf around her neck, using it to pull her in for another quick kiss. "I have a feeling I'm not going to like this particular surprise."

Damon said nothing, taking her hand and leading her to his front door, decorated with a similar wreath to the one on her own. He stopped her from turning the handle, taking a deep breath and looking extremely guilty.

"The other box, the one Sienna didn't show you? It's full of… supplies."

"Supplies?" Elena questioned, suspiciously.

Damon stole one last kiss from her, pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear as he prepared to open the door.

"I took Sienna to get something yesterday."

"Damon Salvatore, I swear to God-"

"Okay, okay! Just remember, you love me, okay?"

Elena glared, pursing her lips. "I love you. Now open the door."

As Damon pushed the door inward, they were greeted with the sound of claws on the floorboards and a squealing child before being bowled over and subjected to lots of face-licking.

"Elena, meet Max."