AN: Hi guys ^^ Thak you so much for your kind reviews, I'm glad you enjoyed How Stefan stole Christmas XD So, about this chapter, I brought in some Original backstory, I wasn't sure if I should do it or not and decided for it, I hope you like it. The chapter is based on one of my favorite Christmas songs, sung by Faith Hill...if you don't know it, check it out it's beautiful ^^

Sooo...some of you asked me to continue this story after the 24th...okay I will not continue this particular story, BUT I really enjoy writing it and I was thinking about a sequel. Maybe 'A Very Mystic Falls Summer Vacation' ? Would you like it? Let me know what you think, please.

Please take some time to leave a review :)

21: Where Are You Christmas

"Where are you Christmas

Why can't I find you

Why have you gone away

Where is the laughter

You used to bring me

Why Can't I hear music play"

"I'll kill him!" Damon squashed a glass in his hand. "I swear if something happens to her, I'll kill him!" He was a way beyond any sense of usual rage. Elena was missing and it was Stefan's fault, because he decided to compete with Jim Carrey.

Tyler slowly removed the broken bits of the glass. "Relax man, we'll find her."

Alaric sat on the couch and shook his head. "I'll failed again….I'm a terrible father. She went missing and I didn't notice."

Jeremy carefully patted his back. "It's not your fault, Ric. You didn't know what happened." Of course he was worried too, but Ric needed to get his act together.

Caroline was decorating the Christmas tree again, she wanted the house to look perfect again, when Elena returned. And it calmed her down. "What if Klaus gets her?" she asked hysterically.

"Nick won't hurt her." Rebekah said, sitting on the couch with crossed legs. "He needs her."

"But what if he tortures her or needs more blood?" Caroline said hysterically. Rebekah tried to calm her down again.

Klaus was really the last of Damon's worries. He was more afraid she would run into Stefan. He was more than unstable in his current condition. He knew what he was going through, he did a lot of stupid things when he tried to fight his feelings and humanity, but Stefan, Stefan was a whole new level of craziness. He was always unstable, that was the whole reason why he needed the animal blood and now his switch had basically a loose contact. He was almost maniacally, going from one emotion into the other. Damon wasn't sure if Stefan wouldn't hurt her when he lost control for just one moment.

"Okay, I'll have one of her shirts." Bonnie walked into the living room, one of Elena's shirts and Emily's spell book in her hands. "I can track her down."

Damon was relieved they had Bonnie on their team. It was much easier to search her via magic than just storming outside with not knowing where to search.

Bonnie walked towards to Jeremy, it was awkward being in the same room after their break up, but for Elena's sake they would try. "I need your blood' she said. Jeremy nodded and gave her his hand. She carefully cut it with a knife and dripped the blood on Elena's shirt. "I need a map." She said. Katherine speeded into another room to get one.

Then Bonnie closed her eyes and mumbled her spell. The map turned to ashes, only a small part was left. "She's in the woods." Bonnie said to Damon. "But I can't say where exactly, sorry."

Damon gave her a thankful nod. "That's okay, I know exactly where she is." He grabbed his jacket, ready to search for her.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. "I'll take it." Katherine said and opened the door. It was Matt. "Well, hello pretty eyes." She purred. Matt ignored her flirtations and walked inside. "Hey, I'm sorry I'm late, I was working. What happened, where is Elena?" he asked worried.

Damon rolled his eyes and clapped him on the back. "Useless, great timing. As usually you're useless."

"Call when you find her." Bonnie said. Damon gave her smiled and left the house.

Stefan walked into his motel room. He didn't care that the door was obviously smashed. Blood dripped from his mouth.

Klaus was busy cleaning the room up, he was really messy when destroyed it in his rage. "Stefan, where have you been?" he asked.

"Nowhere." Stefan growled, his eyes still dark. Klaus mustered him carefully. "How much blood did you drink, my friend?"

Stefan fell down on his bed. "Doesn't matter." He just couldn't answer the question. After his encounter with Damon he briefly blacked out, he knew he killed again, but he needed fresh blood. He needed the rush, needed to forget.

Klaus was worried. Rippah Stefan was sure more fun, but he wasn't sure if it was a smart move having him walking around unstable as he is. "I guess Damon found you then."

Stefan immediately sat up. "What?" Klaus looked innocently at him. Stefan walked towards him. "You told him where to find me." He stated. "How did you even know where I was?"

Klaus shrugged. "I know you and your sense for overdramatic measures, my friend." He patted his back. "I have to praise you. That Grinch act was brilliant. Bizarre, but brilliant."

Stefan grabbed Klaus by his shirt and shoved him against the wall. They hybrid stayed unimpressed. "Why did you tell him?" Stefan yelled.

Klaus chuckled. "Why so angry, Stefan? If I hadn't told him, their witch would have done it."

"You betrayed me!" Stefan hissed angrily. Klaus rolled his eyes and pushed Stefan lightly away. "Betrayal is such a big word, Stefan. I wouldn't call it betrayal."

Stefan crossed his arms. "What would you call it then?" Sometimes he hated the way Klaus talked. It was like a teacher lecturing his student.

Klaus scratched his skin, then he smiled, happy with his answer. "I call it preventing you form something you don't want to do or just being a good friend."

Stefan almost laughed. "You have no idea what you're talking about! I wanted this!"

Klaus waved with his hand. "Don't raise you voice that much, I can hear you very well. And no, you did not want to ruin Christmas for them. You are confused, you don't know if it was right choosing me over them and Stefan I am hurt you think that way, but I am your friend, believe it or not."

"You know what, stop playing Dr. Phil!" Stefan yelled. Klaus said exactly what he didn't want to hear, what he tried to forget during his blood rush, he was torn. Torn between his brother and Elena and Klaus. "Instead of lecturing me, how about your own little problem? And don't tell me there is none. You are out of character since we got here! Fix you own stuff!" He stormed outside, not waiting for an answer.

Klaus sighed. Maybe Stefan was right.

Jeremy needed some time alone, Alaric was driving him crazy and seeing Bonnie all the time made him incredibly uncomfortable. He went into one of the empty bedrooms and sat down on the bed for a moment. He sighed. Why couldn't anything go smooth for once? Elena just wished for a normal Christmas, why couldn't she just get it.

"She'll be alright." Anna suddenly sat next to him and grabbed his hand. He smiled at her. "I know." They sat for a while in silence. "Where have you been?" Jeremy asked.

"I needed some time." She confessed. He understood her, it was much to take for her too. She rested her head against his shoulder.

Bonnie realized Jeremy was missing and decided to look for him. She still cared deeply for him and if he needed comfort while Elena was missing, she would be there for him, knowing he would do the same. She saw an open door to one of the bedrooms and looked inside, Jeremy was sitting on the bed, a peaceful smile on his lips. Then he started to talk. Bonnie didn't want to eavesdrop but somehow she couldn't walk away. Anna was obviously with him.

"Jeremy, what can we do? Your sister…everyone is right. I hold you back from living." Anna said sadly. Jeremy shook his head, she softly caressed her cheek and turned her carefully around, so she was looking at him. "You are not holding me back." He said softly.

Anna stood up. "I do, Jeremy and you know it!" Her eyes were filled with tears. Jeremy stood up and pulled her into his arms, trying to calm her down. "You're not. Anna, if you would suddenly disappear again, I don't know how I could live on. I lost you once and I almost lost you again. I can't lose you for a third time, I love you so much."

"I love you, too." She said weakly.

Bonnie stumbled back from the door. Heartbroken that she witnessed a fiery love confession for the other girl and heartbroken that Jeremy suffered so much. She loved him enough to wish him happiness, even it would be with her. Suddenly she recalled something. She recently read about a spell, a powerful one. She ran downstairs, reaching Matt. "Bonnie, is something wrong?" He asked.

She made a gesture to tell him he should whisper. "We need to go to my house." She said quietly. "I need your help."

Matt raised his eyebrow, she seemed really excited, he just couldn't make out if it was in a good or a bad way.

Damon ran through the woods. He didn't look left or right and didn't care if someone could see him, he needed to find her, needed to make sure she was alright.

He reached the lake, hoping is instinct wouldn't fail him and she would be there. It was dark and it started to snow heavily again, it was one of these moments he was glad for being a vampire, the cold didn't hit him so hard and he could see everything like it was daylight.

The lake looked exactly the way Elena and him left it days before. Beautiful, like a picture from a fairytale.

He looked around, There was no one, he was about to go when suddenly saw someone on the other side of the lake.

He speeded over it, hoping he wouldn't fall down on the slick surface.

When he reached the other side he felt relieved. Elena sat on the snowy grass and stared at the lake. He cheeks were red and her lips almost blue. "Elena…" he walked towards her and before she could say anything he pulled her up into his arms. "Never worry me like that again." He whispered against her hair.

"I'm sorry, I needed some time alone." She whispered. They pulled away, he could tell she cried. "I wanted to walk home, but I didn't want to tell Ric and Jeremy what happened and somehow I came here."

He stroked some hair out of her face. "We thought something happened to you."

Elena smiled weakly. "How did you find me?" she asked.

"Bonnie did a locator spell." He quickly pulled his phone out of his jacket and wrote a message to Bonnie, telling her that he found Elena and she was alright.

"I never meant to worry anyone, especially not you." She apologized. Damon kissed her cold cheek. "You're freezing. We need to get you inside."

"Can we stay here...just for a bit?" She almost begged him. He was afraid she would catch a cold, but if she really needed time, she would get it. "Stefan did it, didn't he?" she asked.

Damon nodded. So she figured it out on her own, it probably wasn't that hard since no one else would be silly enough to steal Christmas decoration.

"Elena, I –" he wanted to tell her that he got everything back, but before he got the chance, she cut him off. "I was an idiot." She said, Damon looked at her in surprise, where did that suddenly came from?

"I was thinking that when I decorate everything….when I go to every Christmas event, when I get everyone else in the Christmas mood that everything bad that happened will vanish. A fresh start." She laughed bitterly. "But it was naive. It changed nothing." She sat down on the grown again and started to sob. Damon watched helplessly. "Holiday lights can't illuminate everything. It was stupid to believe that one simple time of the year could make everything better. We will never be free. Klaus and Stefan, they will always come back and ruin things for us." She looked at Damon with tears in her eyes. "Christmas can't do miracles. I wanted to believe in it so hard….and now look at me. I made a fool of myself." She buried her face in her knees and started to cry. Damon could tell her that the Boarding House looked bright again, but that wouldn't change her opinion. She lost her believe in the Christmas spirit and somehow it made him sad. He sat down next to her and cradled her in his arms, whispering comforting things into her ear.

Stefan stared into the big nothing. He just walked, and somehow he lost his direction. He messed up…again. His brother would probably kill him if he saw him the next time and Elena would hate him forever. There was no going back, not this time. And Klaus….Klaus of all people tried to comfort him in his own strange way and yet he pushed him away. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just say 'Guys, you are right, I did wrong and I'm sorry'?

He knew why he couldn't, because he didn't want to hear there were right. It was a wrong kind of pride. He almost laughed at the irony. It was something he always accused Damon of and in the end it was his brother seeing his mistakes and making up for them, not him.

He put his hands into his pocket. The wind was icy. A few kids were running down the street singing Christmas Carols. He watched after them and actually smiled. Damon taught him Christmas songs when they were kids. He always made sure Stefan had a great Christmas. Maybe it wasn't too late to give something back. Maybe he just needed to find Christmas again.

Bonnie was searching through Emily's spell book, it had to be somewhere, she didn't imagine that spell, it existed, she just needed to find it again.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked, not knowing what exactly he was doing there.

"There was this spell…." Bonnie mumbled. How did she find it the last time? She was angry with Jeremy and wanted to get rid of Anna and somehow the pages where moving alone. Maybe she could try it again. She closed her eyes and held her hand over the book. "Please, Emily." She whispered.

The pages started to browse. Matt watched it with excitement. He still wasn't used to magic like the others were and it fascinated him.

Suddenly it stopped. Bonnie opened her eyes and smiled. "There it is!" she exclaimed and thanked Emily.

Matt sat down next to her and started to read. "To call a lost love. When a beloved person is lost, use this spell to call out for him/her, but be warned the spell only works if the two lovers are connected as soulmates. If they are not the spell will bring great misfortune over the one of them." He gazed at Bonnie. She was lost in her thoughts. She could do that. She try the spell, but if it would go wrong? But their love already defied death in a way, could there be a better prove for them being soulmates? She couldn't believe she was actually considering doing that. He broke her heart and still she couldn't watch him break into pieces each day.

"Bonnie that sounds pretty hard." Matt said carefully. "Are you sure you can do that?" The real question he wanted to ask was not are you sure if you can do it, but are you sure you want to do it.

She nodded. "I'm sure." She looked at the spell again. There was a little side note she almost overlooked. Only works in the time of miracles.

She chuckled. There couldn't be a more perfect time to try it than Christmas.

Caroline was almost done re-decorating the Boarding House. "It looked fabulous!" she said happily.

Rebekah sat on the couch, away from the tree. Who knew, maybe there was Fuzzy 2.0 in it. "It looked fabulous before." She said.

Caroline clapped her hands, congratulating herself. "I know, but now it has my glamour touch."

"You mean your Barbie princess touch." Katherine said mockingly. Alaric sat next to her with a glass of Damon's bourbon in his hand. They decided to give him some booze to call him down and it worked.

"Are you done feeling sorry for yourself?" Katherine asked. He glared at her. "Relax, Ricky. Damon said she's alright, no epic daddy fail, smile again"

He just groaned and sipped his drink down.

Jeremy chuckled. "You know you're not helping, right?" he asked her. She shrugged. "Maybe not, I'll just try to make him laugh."

"You have changed." Jeremy stated. She smiled. "Christmas does that to people."

Rebekah watched them and thought if Katherine's words were maybe right. Maybe Nick could change too. Suddenly her phone vibrated. "Speaking of the devil…" she murmured and read his message. She didn't know what to make out of it. "Guys, I'll go outside, catch some fresh air." She said.

"Hey Becky, have fun and please never come back!" Katherine said cheerful.

"Was that necessary?" Tyler asked. Katherine just gave him a look. "Of course it was." He said.

Rebekah to the little park not far from the Boarding House. Klaus asked her to meet him there. She wasn't sure why she was even going, there was nothing he probably could say to change her mind about him.

"You came." He said watching her from a park bench. She sat down next to him. "Yes. And I don't even know why." She confessed.

He smiled lightly. "I want you to understand, why I did it."

She laughed. "What? Why you killed our mother or why you lied to me?" she snapped.

Klaus stayed calm. "Both." He watched the snow falling down in front of him. "What I tell you now should have stayed a secret…not even Elijah knows about it."

Rebekah didn't want to look interested, but somehow she had a hard time hiding it. He confided her in something he didn't told Elijah and that meant a lot. Klaus and Elijah shared everything. Every feeling and every secret, she always was jealous of their strong bond.

"You remember when mother cursed me, right?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Father was angry with her for betraying him…he threatened her and she chose him over you." Rebekah said, remembering everything like it was yesterday. Klaus was broken when their mother turned away from him. She was his shelter, his protector when Mikael was beating him up again, but she was too afraid to stand up for her son when he needed her the most. "She needed a human blood sacrifice…so she used that Petrova girl. Her family didn't live in our village, they were smart and stayed away from the werewolves and us. They lived all alone in the forest." Rebekah said and felt like she was telling a fairytale and not their own story.

Klaus nodded. "She put a dagger into her heart and made me watch as she slowly bled out. Mother didn't care that she murdered in cold blood and Mikael…that bastard…" he clenched his fists. Rebekah didn't understand what was just happening. She never heard Klaus speaking such a pained voice, like the image of the bleeding girl was still haunting him. "You killed in cold blood, too." She said. "And we didn't even know her why would you kill your own mother…?" he slowly turned his head to her. She was horrified. The look in his eyes was so painful, so broken, she didn't even know he was capable of such emotions.

She covered her mouth. "You knew her." She whispered. Klaus smiled sadly. "Charlotte…" he started, not knowing how to tell his story. He realized he hadn't said her name in centuries and it was still the most beautiful thing he ever heard. "Charlotte's father forbid her to go near the village, especially on a full moon night, but just like Henrick and me she was curious and sneaked away one night. I was out in the woods, Mikael and I had another fight and I didn't want to see him. It was snowing…peaceful, until I heard a scream. A werewolf attacked her and I didn't know why but I saved her life. I killed the wolf…she…she was so fragile, so frightened….but still so beautiful." He smiled lovingly. Rebekah caught her breath.

"I thought she would run away from me…because I was a monster." Klaus went on with his story. "But she didn't. She hugged me, can you believe it? And thanked me. She said I was her savior and for the first time I felt…that I did something right." He closed his eyes for a moment, seeing her face, hearing her laughter. He knew that both, Katherine and Elena looked exactly like her, but they smelled different and they would never be her. That was why he wanted the doppelganger dead, that face belonged to her and no one else. But she was gone, forever. "That night was just the beginning. We…we met more often, secretly…and our meeting became the best part of my day. She made me happy."

Rebekah grabbed his hand without noticing it. "You loved her." She said, almost crying.

"I did…I still do…more than anything in this world and she loved me back." He chuckled. "That pure angel loved me back. When Mikael found out about mother's betrayal…you know how he was, I couldn't take it anymore. So we decided to run away…start a new life together." His eyes darkened. "But Mikael found it out. He took her away from me…it was a perfect opportunity. Mother needed a person I love for the spell or it wouldn't work…he made me watch her die, Rebekah. I heard her screams, I saw how life was taken from her and you know what she said to me? Don't be afraid." He stood up and breathed heavily.

"Oh, Nick." Rebekah pulled him into her arms. "Why did you never tell me?"

"I couldn't. I couldn't talk about it." He answered honestly. Rebekah felt horrible. She wanted him dead and now…now she just wanted to ease his pain. No wonder he was so full of rage and hate. The only person he ever truly loved was murdered by his own parents, no one would ever get over that. She couldn't believe her mother did this. She always worshipped her and now that image of her that she kept with her since forever changed drastically. She grabbed around her neck and took the necklace of. Klaus eyes her surprised. "I can't wear it anymore." She said.

"I didn't want you to hate her." He said. "That's why I lied. I wanted to protect you."

Rebekah smiled softly. "What now?" she asked.

He sighed and touched her cheek. "You are happy here, right?"

She nodded. He smiled at her. "Then stay. You deserve a normal life and I'm beyond redemption."

She hugged him again. "So this is goodbye?"

He pulled away from her and dried her tears. "For now." He said softly. "Don't tell your friends I'm going soft okay?" he asked and laughed. "Take care, little sister."

"Take care, big brother." She whispered and he disappeared.

Elena was shivering. Damon pulled her on her feet. "You need to get home or you freeze to your death." He pulled his jacket off and put it around her. "But now you're cold." Elena said.

Damon chuckled. "I'm already dead, honey." He tried to make her laugh, but it didn't work. She was so caught in her disbelief it was almost not bearable. "How can I go home, Damon? It will remind me how stupid I was."

Suddenly Damon stood in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. "Listen to me." He said in a serious voice. Normally she was the one pulling him off the abyss, but now she needed him. He needed to make sure would find her belief in Christmas and herself again. "Elena, I'm sorry to break this to you, but you're talking bullshit." He knew it was a bit harsh.

"Excuse me?" Elena asked a bit shocked.

"You really let Stefan ruin Christmas for you? Make me laugh, he isn't green and he hasn't a dog, he is just a poor wannabe Grinch." He softly grabbed her cheeks. "Christmas is more than just decoration or lights or a tree. It's about family and friendship and being together and you know who taught me that? You Elena, you did. You made me like Christmas again, if that's not a miracle, then what it?"

She didn't look very convinced. "It's sweet that you say that, but still nothing has changed. We're still surrounded by the same mess we were before. Christmas didn't make it go away."

Damon laughed. "Elena, open your eyes. Everything has changed. Alaric is not a sorry excuse for a teacher with an alcohol problem anymore, but a father, Caroline and Rebekah don't want to kill each other anymore, me and Lockwood, we're sorta friends, Katherine is like a different person…Brad –"

"Matt." Elena corrected him and laughed a bit.

"Right. Matt…well he still is useless, but the point is…nothing of these changes would have happened if it weren't for you Elena." He said. She looked at him with big eyes. "Your holiday craziness…it brings out the best in all of us. I'm the best example for that. You gave me so much Elena…because that's what you do. You want your Christmas miracle, look into the mirror…you don't need a Christmas tree, you do it all by yourself." She was silent. He was getting nervous. His speech was extremely cheesy, he was totally aware of that, but she needed to hear it. "Elena?" he asked unsure.

Suddenly she swung his arms around him and kissed him. He was taken by surprise and almost fell over with her. When they broke apart she was crying again, but this time because she was happy. "Thank you….thank you so much….I don't think someone ever said something more beautiful to me."

"So, you found you Christmas spirit again and that Stefan broody thing is gone?" he asked. She smiled and kissed him again. "Well….looks like you need to get me a new tree." She laughed.

He was glad she was back to normal. He was worried about her. Her laugh was a relief. "Come on, I'll have a surprise for you at home." He took her hand.

She leaned against him. "I don't need anything….what you said was already enough." She said softly as they walked around the icy lake.