"We're not negotiating here, Damon, you're spending Christmas with us, it'd be ridiculous for you to be all alone in this cold house, one that isn't even yours, only to have me to drag you back to my place on Christmas day. You know I will."
"I don't doubt that," Damon mutters under his breath, barely restraining his instinctive eyeroll.
"And don't give me that old spiel about you needing to be alone on Christmas. I've heard it enough times to recite it verbatim."
"Has it ever occured to you that maybe your wife would like to spend this family time with her husband alone?"
"Oh no you don't," he starts, tsk-tsking with his index finger, "You don't get to use Jenna as an excuse. She wants you there even more than I do!"
"Can you back off a little, please? We've still got time to decide," Damon sighs.
"What's going on here anyway? Do you plan to spend the day with someone else...," Ric considers Damon's unreadable expression. "That's exactly what this is about isn't it? You're hoping to spend Christmas with somebody. Who is it?! And for God's sake, don't tell me it's Andie..."
"Give me a little credit would ya? It's not Andie or anyone else. You're stuck with me being your ball and chain till the end of my days."
"Then why the hell do we have to go through this every fucking year?" he sighs, both disappointed and relieved at the same time. He'd hate for the guy to be alone at Christmas but on the other hand, he'd be thrilled if Damon found someone to share the holidays with him. Unless it's Andie Starr..
"Maybe because every year I feel more and more like a fifth wheel. I'm not a kid anymore Ric, I don't need you to hold my hand every year at this time."
"Oh stop, that's not what it is and you know it. No more whining, I'll pick you up on Christmas Eve and there will be no more buts about it."
Damon watches Ric's car disappear down the street shaking his head in amusement. Despite his dour mood lately, Ric's his constant and admittedly the one person who can kick his ass and not worry about the backlash. No one knows him better, he has the uncanny ability to sense when intervention is needed and when to back off. However, this time of the year, Ric becomes more insistent, which is predictable and therefore kind of hilarious. Before going inside, he really takes a look at his neighborhood. Wintry trees stand as ballet dancers poised to show the world their grace, strength showing in how they remain so still in the seasonal gusts. Now that the leaves have fallen, they are so proud, as if their silvery-brown skin was their glory all along. Damon lifts his head into the wind, eyes open as the last vestiges of daylight sink below the horizon.
With a sigh, he walks back up the steps and goes inside, locking the door behind him. Glancing at his watch, he still has time to get some more done before it's time to pick Elena up. In past few weeks they've seen each other several times, always after Elena's done for the day. They've been to mall to share coffee, enjoy a meal and do a little Christmas shopping, not that he has many people to buy for. They also do simple things such as taking a walk in the park or downtown to look at the holiday decorations.
His favorite thing though is simply enjoying their walks. The way the path sparkles and crunches, like sugar underfoot. One night while lost in his thoughts, a snowball exploded from the front of his parka and that's how he knew the fight was on. His woolen gloves picked up snow like they want to be snowballs themselves, frozen crystals dangling from wild loose fibers he normally wouldn't notice. Soon the coldness of the snow had chilled his fingers to a point where they no longer wished to bend. But cold or not, a snowball fight is a snowball fight and he wasn't going to surrender.
Soon another icy ball hits the side of the tree he's hiding behind and another flies through the air just above his head. With a stupid grin on his face, he quickly forms one, whips his arm back and sends it flying. Impact. He lets out a whoop and the fight intensifies...
Now that he knows her schedule, usually they arrange beforehand when they'll meet. It should all feel like progress but somehow, it doesn't. There's an invisible barrier he knows they'll never cross. And when he comes close... she takes the wind out of his sails every fucking time.
It feels like losing her over and over and over and over again.
It's just a little over a week till Christmas, people seem busier and busier and unfortunately even more careless. Almost everyday they're getting called to a minor or not that minor fire, a family crisis or accident. Not to mention the child they had to rescue from the roof, the little guy thought he caught a glimpse of Santa and wanted a closer look.
"Hey cousin, I brought you a souvenir," Jeremy throws an unrecognizable wet, soft thing on her desktop.
"What in the hell is that?" Elena eyes him suspiciously.
"It's a Teddy bear, duh!" Kai rolls his eyes at his brother. "I told him to throw it away but he insisted you needed to write up a fatality report on the poor departed toy."
"Don't look at me like that, I couldn't just leave it there and tell the little ones that their buddy didn't survive, could I? I couldn't exactly let them find him in the rubble either."
"Maybe not but you could have thrown that disgusting thing in the dumpster," his brother insists.
"And rob Elena of the pleasure of meeting him? No way," Jer mutters under his breath, picks up the toy and leaves her office. Elena can only shake her head at their antics.
"What does he want to do with it?" she turns to Kai.
"He wants you to make an example of it. He told the kids he'd take the Teddy to the hospital and bring it back once they heal it. Now he'll probably scour the town to find them another one."
Elena's left speechless at the capacity of compassion these two comedians have for the people they cross paths with in the course of service. Kai regularly contributes to the victims of fires account. The foundation started many years back, before Elena was born. Jeremy goes above and beyond the call of duty to do nice things for people he meets, often covering his soft side with jokes and sarcasm. Stefan would have been proud.
The wonder twins are on temporary assignment at her station when they were hardly able to keep the shifts going due to current, rather crucial 30% deficiency in human resources. After they lost Aaron, three more firemen were seriously injured, taken out of service for more than a month. If that weren't bad enough, seasonal viruses have also put on a strain on the fire department, not just her station but city wide. Everyone knows the Gilbert brothers and she was quite happy to get them on her team. Elena can already see the mood and attitude of her staff have improved greatly with these two clowns on board.
"Oh, stop with these I'm proud of my family dreamy looks," Kai rolls his eyes and follows his brother.
Elena chuckles, she has to admit she is pretty proud of the dynamic duo, although they successfully compensate for it by getting into scrapes all the time. "Tyler?" her friend's passing her door without so much as a hello. He pauses, looking at her cautiously. "Something wrong?" Only now does she realize that they've hardly said two words to each other in the last couple weeks. For a moment she's caught of guard unsure of what to say... They've always had a natural rapport and she misses it.
Tyler considers her, then gives her a tired smile. "I'm okay. It just got a little… hot in there. We'll talk later."
He wants to sound like the old Tyler but this one, she doesn't recognize. They all could use a long winter night's sleep.
The rest of Elena's shift's uneventful and when she leaves the building two hours later, she feels relief. It has really been an exhausting week. Her cousins accompany her to the car, which she's not exactly thrilled about, suspecting that Damon will be waiting for her. It would be unthinkable for her to hide him from her family, she has no intention of doing so but there's also no reason to give them anything to speculate about either.
"What?" Jeremy asks when she slows down.
"Here is where we say goodbye guys," she informs them when she notices Damon's approach.
"Why?" Jeremy's confused, eyeing Elena curiously.
Kai notices him too and pats Jeremy's back to alert him of some stranger's presence. "I think he is the‚ 'why'..."
Jeremy turns to Damon giving him a searching gaze. Then they both look at Elena.
Elena laughs nervously. "This is my friend, Damon Salvatore. Damon, these two are my cousins, Kai and Jeremy Gilbert."
"The Damon Salvatore? The one we talked about?"
Elena rolls her eyes. "Yes, the Damon Salvatore." She can see Damon's a little confused about what's going on. Her cousins aren't used to talking directly to him, allowing him to read their lips. "Damon," she touches his sleeve to catch his look, "Jeremy and Kai Gilbert," she points at each. "Jeremy's girlfriend Bonnie works with you, I think…"
Damon finally catches up with the conversation. "Oh yes, it's nice to meet you, Bonnie's a colleague of mine," he shakes Jeremy's hand. "And your name…," he turns to Kai.
Kai clearly has no idea why would the Damon Salvatore make fun of his name, not that he isn't used to it. Before he can vent his irritation, Elena interferes. "Kai, Damon can't hear what we're saying, he's deaf so chill."
When an "O" forms on his mouth, she nods. "His name is Kai, short for Malachai," she quickly spells the name for Damon, not only verbally but also with her hands. Now all three men look at her as if she had two heads. "His name is actually the result of a bet that my uncle lost…," her voice trails when she notices the looks she's getting. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You speak…with your hands now?" Kai voices what everyone's thinking.
"It's just a finger alphabet, no big deal, I thought it might come handy for spelling…," she hopes her skin isn't a blooming shade of red under their scrutiny. "So," she decides they had enough entertainment for one evening, "we're leaving, and I'll see you two tomorrow."
Kai and Jer leave them clearly amused. She sighs mentally, already imagining their next family gathering with everyone grilling her over the mysterious boyfriend... and the wonder twins having a good laugh at her expanse.
When she glances at Damon he does look a little bit reserved. Although she'd love to know what's going on in his head, she doesn't begin to know how to ask him or if she even should. Instead she offers, "Jer and Kai are a funny duo but they're among the best firemen in the city. The problem now is that they'll spill to the family and they'll drive me mad."
It's obvious to him that it causes her discomfort and two different feelings battle inside Damon. He'd like to spare her anything that makes her unhappy but given the fact it's actually him who caused it, should he apologize for being seen? Console her? For a second a cold hand grabs his heart. Does she feel ashamed to be seen in his company? As soon as the thought crosses his mind, he dismisses the idea. Elena is not Andie. And she doesn't want anything from him.
"Bonnie told me about Jeremy," he finally responds. "It's nice to meet him in person." Is that an appropriate thing to say?
Elena can't shake the feeling that something's wrong but Damon doesn't elaborate and by now she knows that he won't tell her what's bugging him until he's good and ready to. The last thing she wants to do is fight with him, she's been looking forward to their time together all day. Now she fears her cousins seem to have broken the spell...
"Where are we going?" she asks softly when he looks at her, unwilling to write off the evening yet. It's usually her that sets the plans but tonight, she needs to know he wants it too.
Damon's attuned to her just as well. He brushes doubts and worries aside to give her one of his crooked smiles. "I think we can both use a hot chocolate and the park will be lovely at this hour, illuminated by the street lamps and holiday décor."
Today it's too cold for a snowball fight, not only are their noses and fingers freezing, so are their limbs. The hot chocolate was a sweet way to warm up but once they finish their delicious drinks, they're freezing all over again.
"It feels so much colder than the last time we were in the park...," Elena admits and Damon can't disagree.
The last thing he wants is for her to get sick, so even though it means cutting short his time with her, he makes a suggestion. "As much as I don't want our day to end, we should probably head home. Unless you want to add another percentage point to your list of sick employees."
Elena shakes her head, she doesn't want to end the evening either. "We can just go to the mall, have a hot toddy or another hot cocoa..."
"Or," he hesitates, wondering if he should suggest it, "...we could stop at my place, I'd like to show you around. I can make us something hot to drink too..." His heart starts beating harder awaiting her answer.
"Well... we could," she doesn't leave him hanging for long. That's what two friends can do, right? "We can chat for a bit and not to freeze to death in the process."
Damon chuckles dutifully but his mind's already in full swing, trying to remember if he left a mess in the living room or if he has the ingredients on hand to make some homemade hot chocolate. Excitement and terror always go hand in hand in his case. He's both thrilled and anxious at the prospect of having Elena in his, well Marcel's place.
They're almost there when Elena stops and starts digging in her bag. Showing him the phone, she excuses herself to take it. "Rebekah...," she's a little concerned because her friend knew she had a da... agh… that she wouldn't be home until later. "What's up?"
There's a long pause before Elena hears a soft sniff. Her breath hitches, alerting all her protective instincts. "What's wrong? Bekah? What happened?"
"Can you please... come?" Bekah finally answers. "I... Tyler just broke up with me."
Elena's eyes meet Damon's but she knows what she has to do. She gives him an apologetic look "Sure Bekah, I'll be right there."
Dropping his head for a moment, Damon blows out a white puff of breath then extends his arm, signaling for her to lead the way back to the fire station.
They aren't meant to be.
"Are you sure it's appropriate for me to be here?" Rebekah asks for the umpteenth time since Elena picked her up at her house in the morning.
"Would you stop! It's not like you've never been here before," Elena rolls her eyes.
"Yes, I have but it's been a very long time."
"Oh really? I remember it was only a few years ago when you got mad at your parents for whatever reason and insisted on spending Christmas with me? You even tagged along when I had to go to work only to hook up with..."
"Shhh," Rebekah nearly goes airborne to slap her hand over Elena's mouth and she starts to laugh.
"You're being ridiculous. My parents love you, you're always welcome here. And considering your social status, you're more popular with my mother than I am."
Rebekah's worries are baseless and Elena mentally rolls her eyes. By sheer happenstance, the first Gilbert they bump into is the one who likes her most.
"Kai," Bekah smiles genuinely.
Elena's cousin seems to be pleasantly surprised. "Rebekah? Nice to see you, it's been awhile since you came to one of these..."
"Yeah, sorry to crash your fam..."
"Nonsense," he waves her off, "you're practically family," he looks away when he hears his name. Nodding at his dad, he turns back to the girls. "Well... ladies, enjoy yourselves, I'll see you later."
Both Rebekah and Elena are a little caught off guard by his abrupt departure. What's even more surprising is that he didn't tease her about the date last week, and he threw away the chance to spend some time entertaining Rebekah.
They don't have much time to dwell on it though. In mere moments, they find themselves immersed among not only the Gilberts but also friends and some new faces. Rebekah fits in just fine and after several days of gloom, Elena notices her friend's genuine smiles which by extension, makes her happy. A cloud drifts over her mind at the though of him.
She hasn't seen Damon since she left him the night Rebekah summoned her. He hasn't stopped at the station but she wouldn't have had time for him even if he had. She spent the last week between work and helping her friend pack her things and move temporarily into her home. Tomorrow's Christmas and Rebekah will be visiting her parents and she signed up to work a double shift.
Sighing she walks over to the punch bowl to pour herself a glass. It's improbable that she'll see him tomorrow to wish him a Merry Christmas. How stupid was she not to ask for his phone number?
She takes a long swallow, shivering when she tastes the vodka, no doubt added by one of the wonder twins.
"There she is," her dad appears out of nowhere with a big smile on his face.
She happily slips in his arms. "Daddy..."
"I'm glad you came, I heard..."
Elena braces herself for the third degree but it never comes.
"I heard Rebekah's nursing her broken heart at your place."
Elena, caught off guard but relieved that it's not herself on the agenda, nods. "Yeah, she's here somewhere."
"I saw her, she told me. I think you're the best friend she could hope for," John adds.
"She is to me as well," she looks around and smiles when she can see her friend immersed in conversation with a couple of the Gilbert cousins.
He shakes his head, contemplating if he should open the can of worms or not. He probably shouldn't. "Tyler is a good boy, I thought he might have been it, for you, I mean."
Elena considers him. "I don't know, dad, we work so much better as friends. And I'm not looking for anything serious right now." Or ever...
John knows his daughter's beliefs and he bites his tongue. He doesn't want to stir the hornet's nest tonight. If only she knew how wrong she is. This, what she's doing, isn't living, it's existing."
"Do you like the party?" he asks instead of the million things he'd rather talk to her about.
"It's… stunning, you and mom did an incredible job with the decorations, the tree, the food is delicious and I think half of your guests won't be able to leave due to the impresive selection of alcohol. Well, not by car anyway. You should have called me."
"We had help. Your aunt Miranda and Kai pitched in. And we know how busy you are."
"I'm not that busy…," Elena protests but they both know she's taken extra shifts to cover for her men. Plus, she doesn't have a family, she hates the thought of having Christmas day off when her staff with children at home are at work. Little kids should have their parents home with them. Even though they can't all be off, at least she feels better about it.
At that precise moment her mother interrupts their conversation. "John, can you show the boys which boxes to bring in for the open bar? Hello Elena..."
She shares looks with dad just as he's leaving. "Mom, the party's stunning," she kisses her on the cheek. The next twenty minutes she spends listening to her mother's complaints.
Sometime later, Elena finds herself alone. Rebekah's off somewhere. She doesn't mind, not in the least. It's nice to know her best friend is still the queen, popular with everyone and comfortable enough to play her usual role in top form.
"I thought you might bring Cass...," Jeremy materializes out of nowhere, coming to stand right next to her.
"Jer," she shakes her head regretfully. "I wanted to, but Katherine changed her mind, said they were going to go to her parents or something. Hopefully I can pick her up for a sleepover after the holidays."
He leans closer to whisper next to her ear. "Out of all the people you know in this town, you show up with the blonde bombshell?" He lowers his voice even more. "I thought you would bring someone else..."
She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I was wondering when one of you would bring that up."
He says nothing which is kind of unnerving.
"Damon's just a friend, we aren't dating," she says firmly.
"If you say so..."
"What is that supposed to mean?" she turns to face him, a rather disapproving look on her face.
In no hurry to answer, he grabs a handful of chips from a nearby table, throws them in his mouth and chews loudly.
"You really haven't told anyone? I thought dad might... but he's more concerned about Tyler."
"Pffft," Jeremy makes a disdainful sound. "You and Tyler, it was convenience. Symbiosis. Two people in the same phase of mourning. It would have never worked and you know that too."
She looks at him questioningly. "No matter," he waves her off. "What does though is that for the first time in years, you're showing interest in a man who isn't family and that includes Tyler. We thought you might appreciate some space."
Elena lets out a short laugh. "When have you ever given anyone space? And I'll repeat, Damon and I are friends, end of story..."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Elena."
"Where's Kai anyway?" She gives him a pointed look. "I prefer having you both here, that way I won't have to repeat it all again later."
"He's probably home by now."
"What? Why would he leave already? The party just started..."
"You really have to ask?" Jer's dark look turns back to her.
Elena's jaw clenches as she meets it. Shaking her head, she turns to leave, almost knocking Bonnie over in the process.
"Sorry, Bon," She smiles and quickly hurries away to find her cousin. The little coward isn't going anywhere. Just as she's ready to throw her arms up in frustration, she finds him with his coat in hand at the back entrance, about to sneak away, sparing himself the trouble of saying 'bye'.
"You're leaving now?" Elena stares at her cousin incredulously.
"I am, I came, I saw, I wished everyone that matters a Merry Christmas and now I'm out of here."
"You're not leaving because of Rebekah, are you? I thought you'd want to have a few words with her?"
"Elena, stop."
"This might be the opportunity you've been waiting for. Don't let it slip away."
"I'm only going to say this once so pay attention. If I can't win her fair and square, I don't want any part of it. Right now she's vulnerable and hurt, I won't take advantage nor will I allow anyone to use me, not even her. I have more self respect than that and lastly, I won't be her rebound. Surely you can understand that?"
"I'm not saying you should make the moves on her, but you can be her friend, frankly she could use one right now and you..."
"Nope, you be there for her and spare the next poor schlub the heartache after she gets her kicks and drops him into the friend category. No thanks, I want no part of that."
"You're leaving now?" Elena repeats, staring at her cousin incredulously.
"Elena," he fixes her with his stare, becoming deadly serious, "sometimes it hurts to be around someone you know you can never have." Without saying another word, he turns on his heels and walks out the door, leaving behind a stunned Elena.
Why does she have the feeling he isn't talking only about himself and Rebekah?
He's walking across the cold and stony hall, it's not like he remembers, everything's gone and an echo follows the sound of his footsteps. He tries to be quiet but it's still too loud.
Where is she?
Carefully, he checks the kitchen, it's empty and pure and no one's there. She must be somewhere else. He peeks in the living room but it's just as void. He feels relieved, still, he knows she must be somewhere in the house.
Now he remembers, it's Christmas. Maybe she wants to surprise him this year? She used to, when his dad was still with them. Together they would decorate the entire house, lights, pinecones, candles and tinsel, the smell of the spruce and cinnamon... and finally a huge dense Christmas tree, proudly rising in the middle of the living room. They would spend hours hanging ornaments on its branches. Blue, gold, red, green, silver, purple, every color of the rainbow included amongst the assortment. Not to be forgotten, the big box of candy canes she'd buy every year to dangle along with the brightly colored ornaments. Every year dad would take him into his arms and lift him up so he could place the big shiny star on the top all by himself.
Now it dawns on him... the tree. It always stands proudly in the living room and there's nothing, maybe it's not even Christmas after all... still he thinks it is.
Confused, he leaves the room and carefully takes one step after another upstairs. For some reason he can't shake the feeling he should be very quiet, maybe his mom's asleep, she needs her rest. His bedroom door is open and he pauses for a minute to decide if he should go inside or wait. Eventually he leans against the banister and takes a deep breath to find the courage.
"Mom? Are you in there?"
Nothing happens. He waits for what must be several minutes but his mom can't or won't come out.
"Mom? I'm home. I'm coming inside..." He puts his feet on the last step and turns to take it when suddenly his mom's looming over his tiny awkward self. He startles, opening his mouth to scream but it doesn't leave his mouth. He's too terrified. She raises her hand and he takes a step back, forgetting he's standing on the staircase...
He wakes up before he crashes onto the hard wood floor, as he usually does. It's nothing new, especially at this time of year and he immediately relaxes, running his hand through his hair. It's Christmas day, early morning. Damon imagines that kids of all ages all over the country are jumping out of bed, running to see what Santa brought them. He used to be that child too.
He has no way of knowing if Ric and Jenna are going to sleep in so he opens his door and tiptoes out of his room and down the staircase, only to find the kitchen deserted which means it's all his. Opening the fridge, he sees eggs, bacon and a package of fresh hash browns so he decides to make them Christmas breakfast. He makes a detour to the living room to plug in the Christmas lights. It's a beautiful tree that Jenna carefully decorated yesterday while Ric and himself kicked back and enjoyed eggnog, spiked with blackberry brandy and a football game. Before going upstairs for the night Damon stealthily arranged the presents he bought for them. Now there's a decent sized pile of colorful boxes wrapped with ribbons, Ric and Jenna obviously adding some of their own.
It's been years since he's had a Christmas look like this, still, this time of the year...
"Morning!" Jenna walks in the kitchen in the best of moods. "What's that irresistible smell!" she gushes, her eyes closing as she takes a whiff. "Wow, you've been busy. Thank you Damon," she gives him a big mama bear hug, which doesn't even feel uncomfortable.
They spend the morning enjoying family time, Damon happily watches Jenna burst into happy tears when she opens the envelope with Ric's present, a week long vacation to Bermuda, starting the day after tomorrow. Ric figured he should give her a day to pack. Damon knew about it and is ecstatic for Ric's surprise is such a success. Both tease a teary-eyed Jenna, just a little, they both think she's adorable. Hormones are fun.
The afternoon is lazy, After a delicious meal of turkey, dressing and all the trimmings that he and Jenna cooked, they have a lazy afternoon. Damon even dozes off for an hour. Jenna and Ric are spread out on the couch, while he's comfortable in the wide recliner seated next to the window. They're watching 'The Bishop's Wife' with Cary Grant, one of Jenna's favorites. His thoughts soon turn to Elena. He hasn't seen her at all this past week, not after she informed him that she'd be busy with her family's Christmas party and the extra shifts she's likely working.
It's Christmas day and he won't get to see her.
Perhaps it'll be next year before he sees her again?
"Hey," Ric comes closer to refill his glass, laying his hand on Damon's shoulder. "You okay?"
"Sure," Damon pulls himself together quickly.
"Nightmares...?" Ric guesses correctly.
He doesn't want to lie but he doesn't want to talk about them either, not today, not ever. He nods, finally settling for... "Decent. Managable. You don't need to worry about me." But Ric knows there's so much more behind his short answer.
"You know what?" Damon adds seeing his big brother isn't so easily fooled. "I'm stuffed, I think I could use a walk. The fresh air will be invigorating, I hope you don't mind?"
Ric's nodding before Damon even finishes. He knows his bro. He's been doing an incredible job communicating with people lately and Ric can imagine it gets a little overwhelming for his shy best friend. "Of course. We'll do some packing in the meantime. It kind of seems unreal that we'll be at the beach in less than forty eight hours," he grins and Damon pats his shoulder.
"You do that. I'll text you before I return so I won't walk in on..."
"I get it," Ric points him to the door. "Have a nice walk you ass..."
Damon chuckles when he slips on his coat, scarf and boots. As soon as he pulls the front door closed, he trots down the front steps and takes off towards the park
It's for the best, right? Elena tries to persuade herself that Damon's presence in her life means only complications. Sighing she gets up to look outside her window. Naked winter trees line the avenue. Even on the holiday a few people are out for walks, their breaths rising in visible puffs. Others walk into the nearby bar, the lonely looking for company she suspects. There is a freezing chill in the air that brings crispness to the leaves, bejeweled with frost, that crunch underfoot. Rosy cheeks, hands in pockets, collars raised as they try to keep out the light but brisk breeze. Icicles dangle from the shadowy skeletons of trees, each one like an ominous sword of Damocles.
Shaken from her stupor when man passes in front of her window, she refills her coffee cup and sits back down, her thoughts quickly resuming. It's nice to liven up her rather mundane routine. Spending time with a whip smart and kind gentleman once in awhile is lovely. Bringing her cup to her lips, she takes a swallow imagining an idyllic life for just a moment before real life crashes into her, interrupting her temporary escape. She loves being a fire fighter, it's satisfying to help people and save lives but it also means... she stops right there, she has a feeling if she repeats it often enough, maybe she'll believe. It's a crutch really, one she wields as a weapon to justify her life choices and that's not what it's about. She's confident and secure in what she does and...
The intercom interrupts her musings and she's immediately on alert. It's Christmas day, something, well more like many somethings always and without fail happen on Christmas day.
"Yes?" she raps out in the phone, time is crucial.
"Elena? Sorry to call you overhead but you have a visitor, it was faster than looking for the phone under this pile on my desk."
Elena rolls her eyes and swallows an irritated answer. It's Christmas day.
And then it dawns on her. She has a visitor. Could it be...? She'd ask, but Caroline's already hung up. She'll find soon enough.
She doesn't see anyone when she steps out of her office, that's not unusual especially given the day. Most everyone in town's enjoying the family time and celebrating the day. Her men are tense, as if a heavy black cloud is hanging over their heads, admittedly, some of them are probably tired from yesterday's... festivities.
"Care? You gave me a heart attack, calling me like that...," she starts having the blonde within view but falls silent when she sees it's really him, pale face and red nose, his eyes burning with fire inside them. "Damon," she addresses him and it sounds kind of relieved, luckily he can't hear the undisguised emotion that creeped into her tone.
He gives her a shy smile. "Sorry to show up unannounced, I needed a walk in a poor attempt to relieve my overstuffed stomach... I wanted to say 'hi'. It's Christmas day...," he adds offering some kind of explanation although she doesn't appear to need one.
"I'm glad you did. Now I can wish you a Merry Christmas. How did you know I'd be here?"
"I didn't," Damon shrugs. "But you said you'd be picking up shifts over the holidays to help out your crew with families."
"That I did," she laughs, her mood already improving. "How is your Christmas Day going?" she sits next to him, she can't exactly leave when she's on duty.
He shrugs. "It's okay. Ric presented Jenna with a vacation to Bermuda so I wanted to give them some space to pack." The crooked smile that's Elena's favorite is on full display, momentarily catching her off guard at how natural it feels, sitting with him, chatting, smiling. "How is your friend?" he turns serious.
"She's better, thank you for asking. She's going to be alright. Sorry I left so abruptly..."
"No, it's perfectly okay, she needed you." How many people need her? Including himself?
What is it about this night that makes him feel so... vulnerable? Maybe it was a mistake to come?
"Do you want a cup of coffee, tea? Vincent always makes us a big batch of his secret recipe homemade hot chocolate. And let me tell you...," she licks her lips.
"No," he shakes his head. "Really, I'm fine. I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas." And reassure himself that she's alright.
She opens her mouth to say something but suddenly the alarms go off. A siren wailing electronically along the corridors, leaping out from the corners, echoing everywhere. Overhead, a light begins to flash red.
Caroline looks out of her office. "Sorry 'Lena, it's a house fire, 1421 Anasazi Place, a neighbor called it in."
Elena jumps to her feet, already on the move when she turns back to Damon, her face full of regret. "I'm sorry, Damon, I have to go. Merry Christmas..."
They just aren't meant to be.
Day 4 of the SIMM blitz. Now you have an idea of how Damon lost his hearing... I don't know about you but I think Elena's resolve is beginning to weaken... ;)
I work tonight and New Year's day. I will try to update tomorrow but it'll depend on how tired I am when I get home in the morning and depending on if I have time when I wake up to get ready to go back to work. If you don't get chapter 11 tomorrow, it'll be Wednesday.
Chapter title: 'I Want to Know What Love Is' by Foreigner.
Thank you so much for your remarkable reviews, follows, favorites. All the love you're showing this Damon and Elena. Eva and I love them too.
We hope you all have a safe and fun New Year's Eve and a truly wonderful 2019. You're the best audience in the world. Thank you all again.