"I can't believe it's Christmas already," Gena said as she finished the decorations on her tree.

"It's still a day away," Gavin said as he moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She turned around to hug him closer, feeling the wool of his sweater brush against her arms.

It was perfect at that moment; she had friends and family that loved her deeply, and that she could spend the holidays with. The room was warm with the glow from the fireplace. The decorations hung from every corner and the sounds of Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" from the stereo helped to create a cheerful essence to the room.

Gavin kissed her forehead and looked down at her.

"So, are you ready yet? Your brother told us to be at his house no later than seven and it's almost forty-five after six."

Gena but the last ornament on top of the tree and straightened out a string of lights.

"Yes, I'm finished."

"Now, let me have a good look at you." He held her out at arms length and she turned around, letting him see her entirely. The bottom of her red taffeta and satin dress lifted a little above her knees as she spun gently around and the ruby necklace around her neck bounced gracefully against her chest.

"You looked stunning." He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. "Grab your purse and the presents."

He moved towards the door in a mission to warm up the car. Gena watched as he tried his best to walk through the hard snow to get to the garage. She turned off every light in the house except for the Christmas tree. The lights twinkled multiple colors and scattered the light around the room. Her purse sat on top of the fireplace mantle. As she reached for it, her eyes lingered on the two stockings hung with care. It had always been just one before, but now there were two. She felt a distinct stirring in her heart. Then she felt something else, something darker, like this was going to be her last Christmas.

The honking of a horn brought her out of the feeling. Gena ran out the door to the awaiting car, hearing the snow crunch beneath her feet.

"Elena, people are arriving," Stefan yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll be right down," she replied as she touched up her makeup. She stood up and straightened her navy blue dress. Then she turned and headed downstairs.

Meredith and Damon were the first to arrive. Meredith looked absolutely radiant as she walked into the room. Her maternity dress was classy and refined.

Elena still couldn't believe she was pregnant. Meredith had announced her condition around Thanksgiving. Everyone present at the feast was floored. The most surprising thing was that Damon had already known about it and that he hadn't told anyone. This certainly surprised Stefan, who was concerned for Mere.

She could remember Stefan calling Damon into another room to 'see him for a moment' after dinner. Unbeknownst to the brothers, Elena had put her ear up against the door and had heard the whole conversation.

Stefan had been the first one to start.

"So, Damon, how long have you known about this?"

"Why does it matter, little brother? What's with the interrogation?"

"I just want to know what you're intentions are for her, that's all. I don't want you trying to get her when she's already so vulnerable."

Elena could tell by the silence that followed that the brothers were at a standstill.

"Look, saint Stefan, don't you think that if I wanted to take advantage of her, I would already? I mean, I had gone home with her while she was drunk and nothing happened! Give me just a little credit!"

"I just want to make sure she's all right, just like I wanted to make sure Bonnie was all right, and we both remember what happened to…"

"I KNOW! OK! God, you know Stefan, I did all I could! Do you think that I'm that SICK that I would WANT to see either of them HURT?"

"I'm just making sure that you weren't going to try something. And no, I don't think you'd want to hurt either of them intentionally…you've had plenty of opportunity and you're right, you haven't done anything. I'm just bit protective of the girls."

Then Elena heard them walking towards the door so she had fled, hoping they didn't suspect her of ease dropping.

"Darling, do you want to start serving dinner?"

Elena moved towards the kitchen, clearing her mind of the memories that had resurfaced. She helped Stefan with the food and carried it out onto neatly decorated buffet table, where everyone immediately swarmed.

She hadn't even noticed that all the guests, including Caroline, had arrived. Elena had not been surprised when Bonnie showed up with Matt, although she could tell that Damon was. He hadn't known they had moved in together right before Thanksgiving or that they had gotten close, really close. Their house was just a little bit away from Elena's, so they could still be in close contact.

They all gathered around the tree and fireplace to chat. Elena took a seat next to Stefan on their couch. Elena looked around the room and stopped when she got to Damon; his gaze was concentrated on someone. His black eyes were intense and seemed to be on fire. She followed his eyes and found out who it was and she was very surprised.

She was sitting on the loveseat next to Bonnie, her dress settled gracefully over her long legs. Her silky, dark hair was pulled back allowing the whole beauty of her face to be revealed. He got chills whenever he looked at her. He watched as she let Bonnie touch her slightly swelling belly.

Damon didn't know why he was infatuated with her. She was going to have a kid, and that was definitely not his type of woman; he didn't want to be tied down. Even so, he was mesmerized by her and there was no denying that.

He had moved out of her home about a month ago after she had gotten back on her feet again. At least someone had. He never thought he could be so attached to anyone else in his life, but since he moved away he missed her. Damon had never felt as much at home as he did when he was with Meredith. His own loft felt desolate and foreboding now.

That wasn't the only thing that had changed. He rarely went out woman hunting except for a quick snack; there had been no one in his bed since he was in Mere's. He once had three women crawling all over him and he turned them down. And then there was his daytime activity; sleep. It had been interrupted more than once in the past month. Every time he went to bed, he could swear that he felt her in his arms. It was almost too real for even him so he hadn't slept in a while.

'I must be losing my freakin' mind,' he thought to himself, tuning everyone out in the process.

"Hey Stefan, remember that time Father gave me a baby rabbit for Christmas and it got out of it's pen," Gena asked.

"Oh, God," Damon groaned. "Old family stories? I don't think this night could get any worse!"

Stefan laughed out loud. "Yeah, of course I do! And I remember where it ended up as well; in Damon's bed! He ran out of his room so fast because of a tiny bunny."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Ok, I was wrong, it did get worse."