Title: It's a Wonderful Life

Rating: T

Couple(s): Caroline/Damon; Mention of Delena and Steroline; Matt/Bonnie; Alaric/Vanessa

Warning(s): Language

Note: Thank you, everyone, for the kind reviews. I will be doing multi crossover fics with Caroline and if there are any you would like to see happen please leave suggestions in a review.

V

4 Days before Christmas Eve

He had to admit the second morning waking up to the smiling blond wasn't as surprising as the first—and a part of him found seeing her somewhat relieving. Even when she had not a clue of what he was going through Caroline offered familiar warmth in which he sought comfort. Her blue eyes gazing down at him appreciatively…

"Morning," She murmured softly, loose strands of blond hair cascading down to frame her youthful face. Her pink lips were set in an equally soft smile, eyes trailing to his lips as he spoke.

"It's rude to stare," The Salvatore blurted out, clearing his mind of any wondering thoughts of the very pregnant Caroline. He rose into a sitting position, palms laid flat against the mattress.

His thoughts shifted to his brother, who hadn't even had the courtesy to show his face the day before—leaving a very disappointed Rosey for him to entertain…they'd played tag…Damon Salvatore didn't do tag, but the look of disappointment that had been on the girl's face, his daughter's face, had churned unfamiliar feelings of pity within him…and anger.

(In what world would this ever be my life?)

Alaric's flight had landed in Maryland late and he would not be arriving until later in the afternoon. He'd called from some seedy hotel—Vanessa said he'd be here as soon as he could, and truth be told Damon couldn't wait to see his old friend again…well, his only friend actually. He wondered how much their relationship had changed after six years. Not too much he hoped—Damon quite enjoyed going down to the Grill with the history teacher and tossing back a few, or a lot of, drinks. He didn't know how much more change he could take. First Elena's new demeanor, Jeremy seemingly disliking him (or at least the obvious crush the man had on his wife), and Stefan—he hadn't even seen his brother yet. Was he even human? The thought of him did not ease the tension he'd first felt when he arrived, but…he had time to mellow out, thanks to Caroline's incessant babbling (same old Barbie) and Rosey's need for Daddy's attention.

The sudden warmth of a hand caressing his cheek pulled him back into the conversation and gentle fingers ran idly along his jaw line, tantalizingly.

"You should be happy," The blond snorted as she removed her hand, managing to maneuver her body out of bed. She rubbed her swollen belly gently. "I still like what I see."

She paused for a second, eyes lowering to where he sat, wearing a triumphant smirk. He'd never felt so self-conscious or scrutinized under the blonde's watchful gaze…he never really cared what anyone thought of him, not Elena and diffidently not Blondie. But she was not the Caroline he knew. She was the mother of his daughter and the future mother of his son…she was his wife.

(How could this have happened?)

"Please, try and be nice." Caroline spoke up after a moment of thought, "I want this Christmas to be special...everyone together. You, me, Rosey, and Stefan...I want to celebrate as a family."

A brow rose at the request. Any other time he would have said hell no! and kicked Stefan's ass for whatever stupid thing he had done. A part of him wanted to really do that now—the moment he saw Stefan just…but the pleading tone Caroline had used warmed something inside of him. His heart—his beating, human heart and unlike when he was a vampire, he acknowledged the tug at his heart. He was beginning to feel something other than annoyance or amusement toward Caroline. He nodded slowly, finding his voice.

"Yeah...of course."

The woman's mouth curled into a grin.

"Thank you," She muttered, bending down and capturing his lips in a tender kiss. He as getting used to kissing her—among other things, like being a father; something he'd always dreamt of when he was human, back in 1864 before Katherine and all the vampire bullshit began. He'd imagined a life like the one he was living now: beautiful, loving wife, a nice home, daughter to protect and a son that would have more love than he'd received from his father. And after everything he'd done as a vampire being human was the one thing he missed, if anything. "I'm going to go wake Rosey up…"

Damon nodded again, watching silently as the blond turned and departed from the room, closing the door behind her. He listened for a moment, to see if she'd come back, before hustling out of bed, crossing the room and locking the door expertly.

"Rose!" He exclaimed in a harsh whisper, turning on his toes to face the empty space. "Where the hell ar—"

"You called?" Rose asked, appearing before him wearing a smile.

His hand went to his erratically beating chest in surprise, reminding him of just how human he was.

"What happened to me?" He got out threw gritted teeth, trying his best to remain composed. "What happened to Caroline? How are we human?"

The brunette's expression remained unreadable as she answered his questions in an even tone. "You were shot."

"Well I know that," Damon exclaimed in frustration, face scrunching up at the memory. He lifted his shirt, revealing the mark before letting the hem fall back into place. "You and I both know that vampires don't bruise easily and they don't scar permanently."

"The one that shot you, the witch…she turned you, Damon." Rose informed him smoothly, a look of sympathy crossing her countenance for a split second as he took in the meaning of her words.

(Turned me?)

"The connection she has with the Original Witch is so strong that she is able to tap into her power," She said, eyes following him as he moved to sit at the edge of the bed, "Stefan was looking for other ways to take Klaus down…one way was to make him mortal… Klaus was a hybrid so any spell like that wouldn't have worked on him, but on a regular vampire…"

(What she'd been muttering must have been the spell—and being shot…)

"H—what about Caroline? That doesn't explain how she is human. She was at a Christmas party when I was shot."

"The spell had a fall back. When a vampire is made mortal anyone they'd turned would revert back to a human as well. It was your blood that had turned her. You're the reason she gets to live the life she dreamed of, Damon. A life you told me you used to dream about."

The Salvatore's eyes fell down to his hands, clasped in his lap, mind relaying everything she had said.

"Wait! Was? You said Klaus was a hybrid," Damon exclaimed, head snapping up to face her.

"You didn't expect him to be around forever did you?" Rose chuckled darkly, eyes narrowed as she stared back at him. "Even if the witch's spell wouldn't have worked there are other ways to kill an Original."

"How? The only weapon we had burned with Mikael's body."

"The only thing stronger than a vampire is a vengeful spirit."

"How could one—"

"Try thousands," Rose exclaimed, a hardened smile curving on her face.

"So a bunch of yappy ghost took down Klaus?"

It was hard to believe that, although from his experience with Mason Lockwood the not-so-friendly ghost, he knew they could pack quite the punch.

"Damon—" She began before being silenced by knuckles rapping at the door.

"Damon?" Jeremy's voice sounded from behind.

"Yeah?" The Salvatore responded. Rose's form evaporating from the space she'd occupied.

"Who are you talking to?" The Gilbert asked with a hint of suspicion in his tone. Damon internally groaned and moved across the room, unlocking the door and sliding it open slightly.

"Just—myself," Damon informed him, suppressing the sneer that wished to graze his lips at the intrusion. He'd have to wait until he was alone, again, to see what it was the brunette had been about to say.

"Ohh-kay," The young man drew out, trying to get poke his head inside of the bedroom as if there was something the Salvatore was trying to hide, eyes narrowed darkly before continuing. "Rosey wants her daddy."

(Asshole.)

"Oh, okay, thanks," He muttered remembering Caroline begging him to be nice. If she wanted nice Damon, well, that was what he was going to give her. No games. If this was what his life would be like in six years, he was going to take the time to enjoy it, even if that meant trying to get along with Jeremy (who was obviously in love with his wife) and his brother…who had yet to show his face.

VI

The aroma of gingerbread was thick in the air as Damon followed Jeremy to the kitchen. He could hear familiar voices chatting as the neared the entryway. Stepping into the room his eyes widened at the sight before him. Caroline sat at the edge of the island countertop, beaming down at the proverbial man pressing an ear to her stomach.

(Ric...)

The man was crouched before the blond and looked as he had the last time he'd laid eyes on him. There was a significant tiredness in his countenance that had not been there before; Damon guessed it was possibly from the long trip he must have taken to be here this early, to make the brunch. Suddenly, Alaric's head turned toward the door, eyes falling on Damon.

The Salvatore froze, unsure of what to expect. The last few days he recalled with Ric had not been the best. He'd killed the man, though he woke up again later. There was hostility between them that hadn't been there since the man had learned the truth about Isobel and Elena. Had they managed to patch up their friendship?

"Damon," Ric's tone said it all. A wide grin sprung on the man's bearded face as he stood to his feet, crossing the room and pulling him into an embrace. "Good to see you."

Damon's body stiffened for a moment in surprise at the gesture before quickly returning it with a few gentle pats to the man's back before pulling away.

"I thought you wouldn't be here until after the brunch…" Damon inquired confusion thick in his voice, not that he wasn't happy to see the man.

(And he let the beard grow.)

Alaric's features were more seasoned, though not a grey hair touched his head yet as he stared back at his long time companion.

"Some came to pick me up," Ric informed him, a guilty expression sliding on his face.

Damon's gaze drifted passed him, pausing on Caroline for a moment, before the sound of a door opening drew his attention. Rosey trotted in, tugging at the head of what looked to be a tree.

"Wha—"

"Put your back into it," An all too familiar voice prodded with a laugh. The source appeared a second later, joining Rosey as the head of the tree. He helped her pull it in through the kitchen's double doors.

"You're going to get needles everywhere," Caroline said sternly before allowing a grin to form on her face. "Let me go get something to put on the floor."

Sliding off of the counter, she paced the room, planting a kiss on Alaric's cheek and one on Damon's lips before exiting into the hall.

"Damon." Stefan breathed out

One month—that was how long it had been since he'd seen his younger brother; in this life that had amounted to six years. A strange tugging pulled at his heart strings as he stared back at Stefan. He was family...but he could not ignore the simple fact of what he did. He'd betrayed them all by killing Mikael. And, he'd left the witch behind for him to encounter.

(He is the reason for everything. I was shot and he left me to die—)

A hesitant smile formed on Stefan's face as he took a step forward. "I'm glad you came."

(But…I wouldn't be able to live this life if he hadn't…)

"I wasn't sure you would," Stefan continued, taking another step forward. He reached out an arm, resting a hand on Damon's shoulder. "Damon, I know what I did was wrong…"

The older Salvatore raised a hand, cutting him off

"I know Stefan," Damon surmised, guessing the only plausible reason for his brother to ever go Rambo, "You were trying to protect Elena."

Thump. Thump.

Stefan's brows knotted together as he shook his head as if the truth were obvious, "No…Damon …thump… I was trying to protect you."

(Me?)

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The familiar rhythmic beating of a pulse drew his eyes down to the hand on his shoulder. Stefan's veins were visibly throbbing and Damon's gaze shifted back to the pair of green eyes staring back at him with uncertainty.

(He's human.)

"You—"

"Here you go," Caroline's voice rang out as she reentered the room, a folded sheet in hand, "You can bring the tree into the parlor with this."

She slid in between the two men, thrusting the sheet into Stefan's hands, lips quirked in a wry smile. Caroline placed a hand on gently on his arm, as she added as an afterthought, "Try not to make a mess, Stefan."

The man stared down at her, a glint in his green orbs as a halfhearted smile grazed his face.

"No promises, Care," He grinned, sending Damon one last glance before turning to get to work on moving the tree. "A little help, Jeremy."

The Gilbert chuckled at the blunt exclamation, rolling his eyes before moving passed the couple to assist the brunet, patting Rosey's head gingerly.

"We'll have this tree up by the time you guys get back from brunch."

(Brunch? Oh—right. Judgy…and Matt…)

"Speaking of, I should go get dressed." Caroline murmured.

"I should, too," Alaric interjected, staring between the blond and Damon. "Vanessa will kill me if I'm late. I guess I'll see you two there."

Damon nodded in understanding as the man exited the room. Caroline grabbed a hold of the Salvatore's arm, pulling along behind her out into the hallway. "You need to get ready."

He peered over his shoulder, back into the kitchen where Stefan, Jeremy and Rosey worked at moving the tree onto the sheet, before returning to the blond.

"Are Stefan and Elena going to meet us there?" He asked as she pulled him along. She stopped in her tracks at the question, turning to stare back at him incredulously.

"Why would they?" The blond inquired dumbfounded, "Are—did Elena tell you they were together, again? Stefan hasn't said a word to me about it. I—I can't believe he would fall back into their cycle. I told him being with her was not good for him. I knew something like this migh—"

(There goes the babbling.)

"No," He spoke up, cutting her off as he raised his hands in mock surrender, "She didn't say that."

"Oh," Caroline murmured. "Good, good…what did you and Elena talk about?"

"We—just caught up," Damon said brightly, or as brightly as he could manage.

(How does Blondie manage to be all bright and bubbly all the time?)

The woman nodded slowly at his words, giving him an uncertain look before continuing on her way to their woman, the Salvatore following closely at her heels.

VII

"The party can officially begin," Matt informed over his shoulder as he opened the door to greet the couple, "The Salvatores have arrived."

Damon placed his hand on the small of Caroline's back as she stepped inside of the moderately sized home, placing a chaste kiss at the corner of the Donovan's cheek. "Matt."

"Care," He welcomed brightly, eyes trailing appreciatively over his ex's form. She wore an ivory sundress for the occasion, blond hair pulled back into a messy bun. She looked beautiful…

(She is beautiful.)

Matt suddenly shifted his attention to the Salvatore, a smile brimming on his face as he pulled the man inside, trailing after Caroline. "Good to see you, Damon."

Damon's eyes widened at warmth in his words.

(What the hell?)

In six years…he and Donovan would actually…be friends. A lot had changed, not just the people he knew, but the relationships he had. The only person who seemed to have remained the same, as always, was Caroline (Ric seemed the same but he was definitely more chipper than usual). Even being pregnant, she was still the same upbeat, extrovert girl she had been when he first met her. And he was grateful for that.

"Damon!" The recognizable voice exclaimed as Matt lead him back, outside onto the veranda. The Salvatore's face scrunched up in confusion as a pair of arms wound their way around him, squeezing tightly before pushing away from his form to take in his appearance. "I'm glad you could make it."

(What…the…hell?)

Bonnie stared back at him, brow arched in confusion for a moment taking a step away from him. She looked more like her mother than before, eyes dark, hair in dark, brown ringlets. Matt moved to her side, slinging an arm over her shoulder as she spoke up.

"I know how hard it's been for you to get past everything that happened."

"What happened…" Matt began before being cut off by the sudden reappearance of Caroline, along with Alaric and Vanessa, both dressed in white.

"What are we talking about?" The blond inquired with a grin, allowing Damon to pull her to him. She stared between her husband and Matt expectantly but it was Bonnie who spoke up.

"Nothing Care." Damon's eyes shifted to the woman, restraining his face from slipping into a confused stare. "How about we get this brunch started?"

Matt slid a note into Damon's coat pocket, from Bonnie, concealed in a tight envelope. The Salvatore had kept a hand on it since they'd left brunch; Caroline sitting silently beside him as he drove them to the boarding house.

He waited until he was alone, the blond having gone off to help Rosey and Vanessa decorate the tree before locking himself in their bathroom and pulling out the note.

His eyes skimmed the page, the all-too familiar handwriting, leaving him awestruck as he read:

Damon

I know that waking up to this life was a shock for you, it was for me too (me being…you). Being married to Caroline…meeting Rosey…Joseph…Thinking that this could never in a million years be my life…thinking Elena is the only one I could imagine being with…the distance that has grown between me and Stefan…But I am you and I have lived this life and I know how it ends. And I know that any other life would not be as fulfilling or breathtaking as the one you could have. The moment I realized I could love someone other than Elena was the moment I was free from the inevitable disappointment I would find with her…after I was shot and I was laying there dying, this light appeared, almost blinding me. Turns out it was the light of a hospital room but, I saw this face—Caroline's face. She had left the Christmas party to come and find me. But the way the light reflected off her hair…she had this halo that made her look like an angel. And I just knew…Stefan tried to call, but—I couldn't get over what happened.

I know now that I need to forgive him…you need to forgive him. You're human now, you don't have forever to be angry at each other and make up a decade later…

(Ho—how?)

"Damon," Stefan's voice called, putting an end to the older Salvatore's reading. Damon stuffed the note into his back pant pocket before moving to open the door.

"Yes?" He asked in the nicest tone he could muster up at the sight of his brother. He was still rattled with confusion at the fact that he had written himself a note. It was mind boggling—way too big of a scheme in time to even think about, or try and understand.

"Can we talk?" His brother asked, using the same pleading tone Caroline had used on him…the one that made him weak, and Damon didn't like the feeling of being weak.

"Talk about what?" Damon asked gruffly, exiting the bathroom and joining Stefan in his room, the younger Salvatore studying his movements carefully, assessing whether to continue or not.

"About what happened," Stefan reiterated, brows scrunched together as he ponder where to being. "About you being shot…about me killing Mikael…"

"You betrayed me. You screwed up the plan," Damon spewed out as he finally allowed the anger to pour out of him, "If it hadn't been for you—"

"You'd be dead, Damon." He interjected, silencing his brother with the truth. "If you killed Klaus he was going to take you down with him. I did what I needed to do to protect you. Katherine dying the way she did wasn't supposed to happen…"

(Katherine's dead?)

"But if she hadn't have died the spell wouldn't have worked and Klaus would still be after us...after Elena and Caroline." He continued, flinching slightly as his brother stared incredulously back at him. "I did what I needed to do to keep you all safe."

Thump. Thump.

(I couldn't get over what happened.)

The line hummed in his head as Stefan continued, sound evading his senses as the words echoed in his head. Katherine was dead…Klaus was dead…this is what he had wanted. The only fault he found in that was that he was not the one to drive the stake through Klaus' heart; learning that Katherine was dead sent a pang of remorse throughout his body. Even though he didn't like the manipulative woman it didn't mean that he wished her dead...even after everything she'd done to him and Stefan.

"When are you going to learn," Damon began, lips set in a thin line as he spoke, "to stop saving me."

Stefan stared at him for a moment before looking down at the floor, the space between them slowly minimizing. There was a determination in his face as his jaw tightened as he looked back up into his brother's eyes with the most serious expression he had seen on him all day.

"I couldn't lose my brother—I couldn't be alone," The Salvatore admitted, "I couldn't lose you, Damon. I didn't care if that meant you would hate me for the rest of our lives, as long as you were alive and safe—I could do what I needed to."

(I would have, too—whatever it took.)

"I—I forgi—it's okay, Stefan," Damon stammered as a strange sensation of heat weighed him down. He'd be a hypocrite…he would have done the same thing. "How about we go help the girls decorate the tree?"

The young Salvatore's face visibly brightened at the invitation. "That…would be great."

Music Used:

"Santa Baby"

"Alas We Aspire"