Author's notes: Sorry everyone. This story's not going to wrap up by Christmas. I'm as disappointed as y'all are…but, as typically happens, real life has just kind of gotten in the way. I'm hoping the story will be worth the wait. Please note that there is a short jump in time after the first scene.

Anyway…. I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: Stefan, mild language, alcohol use

Rating: Teen

"And then she told me to think about it." Damon spun around to face Stefan, almost spilling his bourbon with his exaggerated gesture. The flames burning brightly in the fireplace behind him only added emphasis to his words.

"Well…" Stefan's face was a mixture of trying desperately not to laugh overshadowed by an I-told-you-so he'd originally worn when Damon informed him that he'd accepted Carol Lockwood's invitation. "What did you expect?"

Damon froze. "Are you taking her side?"

Stefan slowly walked toward his brother, removed the tumbler from his hand so it couldn't become a weapon, placed it on the side table, and backed away. "You did leave her at the altar."

The only sound in the room was the crackling of the fireplace. Typically, this would be the moment when a glass was hurled toward the flames for emphasis, but since Stefan had taken proactive measures, Damon was stuck without an outlet for his anger. "That was years ago."

"But did you ever talk to her about it?" Stefan's furrowed forehead suggested he already knew the answer. Damn it, if his brother and his ex-fiancee were still so annoyingly close, why were they both still single? That wasn't part of the plan.

No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't forget Stefan's face…watching her. Typically someone stood in for the bride during the wedding rehearsal, but Elena wouldn't hear of it. She was getting married the next morning, and she was too excited to wait. So when Caroline tried to tell Elena to sit at the front of the church and watch as Ric escorted her down the aisle as a stand-in, the twenty year old bride-to-be practically pushed her blonde friend out of the way. This was her wedding, and she was the only one marrying Damon…even if it was only the rehearsal.

And Damon was forever grateful she took that walk down the aisle. Without it, he wouldn't have had the chance to glance at his brother…and see the expression in his eyes.

Stefan loved Elena too.

He'd always suspected it. In high school, they'd come to blows when Stefan suggested that Damon was too old for her. They finally reached a tentative agreement that Damon would wait…and if Elena was still interested in him when she turned eighteen, then it was meant to be. Damon was a very patient man.

And so he waited. So did she. On the evening of her eighteenth birthday, they went out on their first official date in years. They never looked back. On her twentieth birthday, a tiny blue box with a ring belonging to his mother marked the occasion. Within a month, they'd set the date. A Christmas wedding. Even before they were engaged, he'd known she wanted one. No, he hadn't expected a wedding quite so soon, and he knew the Mystic Falls gossips would talk, but they were young and in love….waiting four months seemed like more than enough time.

It was to be a simple wedding at the same church Elena's parents married in. Just a few candles for decoration. Only their closest friends were invited. Looking back, that made it so much easier for Damon.

The light from the flickering candles reflected off his brother's face just like the flames from the fireplace were doing now. Back then, Damon saw a mixture of regret and sadness in his little brother's eyes. Today…well, today, Stefan was wearing almost the same expression.

"Did you ever talk to her about it?" Stefan spoke quietly, repeating the question, probably already well-aware of the answer.

"I didn't need to." Damon retrieved his drink, and downed the rest of it in a single swallow. "And that was years ago."

Four days later…..

Elena sat in the darkened living room, staring at the television. On the screen, a car skidded in almost a complete circle on a sheet of ice. Then, the picture shifted the scene of an eighteen wheeler struggling to climb an overpass. Trying…and failing. As the truck slowly slid backwards, other cars slammed into each other like they were pins in a game of bowling.

"Can't sleep?" Elena hadn't even heard Jenna walk into the room.

Elena glanced over her shoulder at her aunt, shaking her head. "I think I'm still on Paris-time."

Jenna nodded, aware of the fact that it was much more likely that her niece was on German time…since that's where she spent most of the last year. Elena had only been in Paris for a little over a month. The fact that Elena still spoke as if the time in Germany hadn't really happened was more than mildly troubling to Jenna—she could see it on her face every time she didn't mention where the movie had filmed.

But Elena just wasn't ready to revisit those memories. Yes, it was a film. Yes, it was a fictional account. But the things they went through to create the movie…she wasn't sure if they'd ever really leave her. And that was why she was awake just prior to two in the morning. Elena wasn't lying to herself, even if she was lying to her aunt.

Jenna knew it too. Elena could see the worried expression lingering around her aunt's eyes. An expression she'd worn far too often over the past few years. Elena wasn't going to intentionally give Jenna even more to be concerned about. She had more than enough on her plate. So, she put on an annoyed smile and shrugged her shoulders. "I thought this would be a better time to get through on the airline."

"Any sign of your bag?"

"I think it's having a better European vacation than I did." Elena forced a laugh, turning back toward the television. "And then I got a call from David."

"At this time?"

"He knew I was up." Her manager knew her habits as well as anyone. Sadly, he'd been the recipient of the panicked phone calls in the middle of the night when the filming had just ended. "He's stuck." Elena pointed toward the screen. "That's Dallas."

Jenna flinched. "So….no David to smooth things over?"

"No David."

"You going to be okay?" Jenna looked more than a little skeptical.

"I'm going to have to be."

Elena walked through the doors to the hospital, relieved at the blast of warm air. She began to brush the oversized snowflakes out of her hair and cringed at the dampness beneath her fingertips. Normally she loved snow, but not when she was on her way to a photo shoot. Definitely not when she was on her way to a shoot when she was still uncertain about how to manage her barely-shoulder-length hair. Jenna assured her the almost-a-bob was stylish. Elena wasn't so sure. Judging by the way Damon reacted when he first saw her at the press conference, Elena was fairly certain her aunt was humoring her.

"Elena. So good to see you!" Klaus was waiting in the lobby, camera in hand and ready smile on his face. He immediately began looking around behind her. "Where's my favorite girl?"

"Brenna woke up with a cough this morning."

"Is she okay?" Klaus seemed honestly concerned. The front door hissed open a second time, and Damon came inside, wisely wearing a hat. As usual, he looked flawless as he walked next to the tree where the preparations for the photo shoot had been made.

"I think it's just a virus. The kids in her class have apparently been passing it around." Elena frowned. After the last year, the last thing Brenna needed was something worse than a cold. Jenna told Elena that the little girl wasn't even running a temperature, but Elena wasn't totally convinced. "But we decided she needed to stay home anyway."

"She has to be in top form for Friday night." Klaus pointed Elena toward the tree.

"Exactly." Elena nodded.

"Alright, let's go." Klaus stood a few feet away from the tree, studying Elena and Damon, waiting for one of them to make some type of move to stand next to the other. It wasn't happening. "Do you think you could get a little closer together?" He looked through the viewfinder. "I'd kind of like to get both of you in the same shot."

Klaus looked up. And waited. And waited. "Seriously, you could drive a bus between the two of you."

Elena took a step toward Damon, and he mirrored her movements…the opposite direction. She let out a long breath, trying not to glare. After all, half the parents of the patients seemed to choose that exact moment to gather in the foyer with their coffee.

A photo shoot was exciting.

A photo shoot with two hometown celebrities was more exciting.

A photo shoot with two hometown celebrities who were once engaged and were now trying not to start World War III over the holidays was Twitter-worthy.

"Can I talk to you for just a second?" Elena didn't even have to face Damon for everyone in the room to know who she was talking to. She started walking toward the sliding doors, hoping that Damon would follow.

"Sure." He jabbed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket with practiced ease. He glanced at Klaus. "This'll just be a second."

"Take all the time you need." Klaus knelt in front of the tree, taking a few snapshots of the mirrored ornaments.

Once the doors were safely closed behind them, Elena turned to face Damon. "Look. This fundraiser means a lot to me…."

"And you're implying it doesn't to me?" Damon seemed to be ready for a fight.

"No. Not at all." Elena couldn't fight the telltale signs of fatigue she felt creeping on her face. She'd spent too much of the last year fighting something…anger, desperation, fear of the unknown. She didn't have it in her to fight Damon too. "I just. I don't want to ruin this." She paused. "Can we call a truce? Just till the week's over?"

For the longest minute imaginable, Elena thought he was going to refuse. Then, with exaggerated politeness, Damon held out his hand. "Truce."