The faint scent of coffee drifted into the bedroom, tugging Damon from sleep. His neck gave a painful twinge as he untangled himself from the wad of blankets and knocked-over pile of pillows masquerading as a bed on the overstuffed chair.
Elena was gone. True to form, she'd already made the bed to mask just how many occupants it had held last night. She'd closed the door behind her too—no need to let anyone catch a glimpse of their sleeping arrangements and ask questions best left to any day that wasn't Christmas.
He got to his feet slowly, not wanting to face anyone this morning. After his confession to Ric, he felt raw. Transparent. The truth wasn't just close to the surface, not now. Now it was out in the open. If anyone wandered into the clearing, they might hear whispers of the impending divorce in the wind.
Ridiculous.
His mind was playing tricks on him again. Yes, he'd gone against Elena's wishes…their wishes…a low chuckle bubbled out of him. Funny that the only thing they'd agreed on in months was when to tell their family about the divorce.
Outside, wind howled but felt oddly hushed at the same time. He turned to look out the window and cringed. At least half a foot of new snow had fallen overnight. When had Mystic Falls turned into the North Pole? A Christmas Day joke was in there somewhere, but he just didn't have the heart for it.
Today was supposed to be so very different.
His eyes burned. Damn, he needed coffee.
He threw on his wrinkled clothes from the day before and headed for the kitchen, surprised when he didn't hear even the slightest murmur of conversation. Each morning, he'd been given a buffer around Elena by Bonnie or Caroline or even Jeremy. By the time he made it into the kitchen, she'd be sitting at the table, bubbling with conversation while clutching a cup of the palest coffee he'd ever seen. He used to tease her about just drinking creamer instead of pretending it was coffee.
The joke had been on the tip of his tongue even yesterday. But something stopped him. She wasn't his to tease anymore.
Was she?
What even were they to each other anymore? He'd spent more time with her these past three days than in the last three months. And it was all pretend. After the divorce was final, how would they interact?
Would they be civilized? Could they manage to be in Mystic Falls at the same time? Or would he have to talk to Stefan to ask Jeremy if Elena was coming into town before he visited?
And what if he took Ric up on his offer? Would Elena ever feel safe coming home again.
His pulse thudded in his temple. Coffee. It wasn't optional now. He'd stayed awake so late last night thinking about Ric's offer, he felt like a kid waiting to trap Santa Claus. This morning he was already regretting it. He had to be sharp. If Ric caught on last night, one simple mistake could doom their Christmas. Even if it was his worse Christmas on record, he refused to spoil it for everyone else.
He took one last step down the staircase and turned toward the kitchen. Only one person was already there. No wonder he hadn't heard anyone else talking, just the low hum of the television.
Elena stood in front of the television, arms crossed, wearing a glare she typically saved just for him. What in hell made her this annoyed on Christmas morning? Her thumb slid over her phone, and she muttered curse words also generally reserved for Damon.
Was coffee really worth it?
She spun around to face him. "You're already up?"
He looked at the clock over the oven—not even 5 a.m. yet. No wonder he felt like he hadn't slept. He'd still been lost in thought at 3 a.m. "You're up, aren't you?"
"Not by choice." She slammed her phone on the counter with more force than necessary. Thank goodness for impact-resistant cases or she'd be asking for a new phone for Christmas.
"You get summoned?" It didn't make sense. She wasn't even on the emergency recall list. With traveling out of town, the hospital knew she wouldn't be able to make it in to help with anything unless they wanted to pay for last-minute airfare. Elena's boss was too cheap for that.
"Weather alert." She spoke through a too-tightly-clenched jaw, nodding toward the television.
Now he understood. A weatherman who'd drawn the short straw was standing on the right side of the screen giving people a Christmas Day forecast that was anything other than a present. A blizzard was headed their direction.
"If we get caught in that, we won't be able to get back to Atlanta." A hand reached up and twisted her ponytail over her shoulder. Her lower jaw jutted to the side before she bit down on her lip. "I'll rent a car and drive home." Brown eyes almost met his. "I don't want you to have to leave early, but I can't stay. I don't know how many people are going to get stuck. Atlanta's going to get hit too."
He almost took her up on the offer. Spending all Christmas Day driving through snow with Elena could probably describe the closest thing to hell he'd experienced in a while. But coming back to Mystic Falls had been his idea…mostly. Even after she made the offer, he could see the strain it was putting on her.
If she bit her lip any harder, it was going to start bleeding. She'd twisted her hair into a bun so tight it would make his grade-school librarian proud. Elena hated driving in the snow ever since she got into the world's most minor fender-bender after dodging hitting a squirrel making a poorly timed run across their street.
"No." He reached for an oversized mug. "Probably time for me to be leaving too." The less time he was in Mystic Falls the better. Ric knew the secret now. It was just a matter of time before someone misspoke. Maybe the blizzard was a godsend.
They were able to get on the road in record time. As if his words had been a signal to the house, within a half-hour, everyone else was awake. With a single nod toward the television in the kitchen, all the occupants of the house were part of operation get-them-on-the-road. Caroline even called a few of her mom's friends to make sure all the roads were passable before they left.
Bonnie pressed a pan of just-warmed cinnamon rolls into Elena's hands before she got into the passenger seat of the car. That's when the tears that had threatened to fall the entire trip decided to finally appear.
Not at the hospital with Bryce.
Not when she'd pulled out the oversized envelope and grabbed a pen.
Not when she'd put the final touches on her present to Damon.
When she was holding a pan of cinnamon rolls. God, she looked like an idiot. Or at least overly emotional. She knew why. At least she thought she did. She'd almost lost it once already this morning—when she'd almost met Damon's eye contact…when she'd lied to him about what had awakened her.
Yes, she'd had a weather alert on her phone, but that wasn't what chimed that morning. At precisely 4:30 a.m., a calendar reminder buzzed. She'd been ready to curse at whoever scheduled a meeting for Christmas morning when she wasn't even in town, but then her eyes focused on what the reminder said.
Time to have a baby.
She'd almost been sick on the spot. Before she could stop herself, the memory replayed in her mind. They'd just gotten home from her first visit to the doctor's office. Damon had been rattling off every Christmas-themed name he could think of, and he could think of a surprising number of horrible names. He'd tickled her until she'd released her phone, and his eyes gave a Santa Claus worthy glint as he opened up her calendar and typed something into it. When he tossed her phone back to her, he refused to tell her what he'd done.
He said she'd find it someday.
Why did someday have to be today?
Why didn't he delete it?
She didn't need this. Not today.
"Elena?" Legitimate fear filled Bonnie's eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Sure." She lied. She gripped the aluminum pan tighter, thankful to have something to mask the shaking of her hands. "Just a little nervous about the drive, I guess."
"Yeah." Damon's hand rested on her shoulder, and she jumped, striking her back against the frame of the car. "She had a little fender bender last year in the snow. It was nothing, didn't want to worry y'all." He held his hands up like he was trying to fend off an impending storm. "Ever since then, she's been a little iffy about the frozen stuff."
Ordinarily, she'd be angry at him for speaking for her, but she didn't trust her voice.
"Everything will be fine." Bonnie wrapped her in a too-tight hug. "When you're ready to tell me what's going on, I'm just a phone call away." Her whisper was too soft for anyone other than Elena to hear, but Elena's stomach dropped anyway. She'd tried so hard. They'd tried so hard. She and Damon hadn't been this unified in months, but it hadn't done any good. Had they fooled anyone at all?
Stefan's eyes looked from Damon to Elena back to Damon. A question hovered around him…she could see it in his furrowed forehead and wrinkled eyelids. Nope. Stefan knew too. She could feel it.
Damon hesitated, appearing frozen in the weight of his brother's stare. For an instant, she thought Damon was going to come clean.
Do it.
Please, just get it over with.
"We'll let you know how we're doing on the road." Damon nodded for Elena to get in the passenger seat. "I think we're getting out in time."
"I think so too." Caroline's voice was too bright. Not Caroline too. She reached into the car and took hold of Elena's hand and squeezed. "You two are going to be just fine." Her lip trembled, and she didn't release her grip until Stefan steered her back, away from the car.
"Yeah, we'll be just fine." Damon nodded in agreement before he dropped into the driver's seat.
And for a few hours they were.
It almost felt like smooth sailing.
Christmas morning was beautifully blue. The kind of morning Elena imagined when she'd dreamed about having the baby that wasn't meant to be. But just before lunch, an indicator light lit on the dashboard, and Damon spent almost an hour wrenching the frozen bolts off the rim of the tire before switching out the flat for a spare.
Nothing was open now. The auto club call center laughed when they asked if someone could meet them with a full sized tire. They were doomed to drive on the spare—the car barely managing 50 miles per hour as it limped along. Elena couldn't stop checking her phone. The pinkish purple on the radar image was speeding toward the blue dot indicating their current location.
"We're not going to outrun it." Elena finally voiced what they'd both been thinking. She didn't even have to rely on the weather site any longer. Now she could see the gray of the building storm out the back window of the car.
"We've still got time." Damon's words said one thing, but his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel said something else entirely.
They weren't just contending with traveling on the spare tire any longer. Apparently, they weren't the only ones who'd cut their trip short to avoid the rare Southern blizzard. Traffic was crawling on the freeway at under 30 m.p.h. as the map they'd been following indicated a series of six wrecks in front of them.
Within a half-hour, they were at a dead-stop somewhere between nowhere and lost. This section of the drive typically breezed past in little more than a blink, but not today. Today, occupants of other vehicles were standing on the roadside, staring at the first flakes beginning to fall.
Damon gave an annoyed almost-growl as he put the car in park and turned off the engine. The fuel indicator hovered dangerously close to empty. They'd stopped for gas in the last town, but the station was closed on Christmas Day. Elena hadn't thought it would be much of a problem…now she changed her mind.
While outside the car, people milled around angrily, but inside it was strangely quiet. Damon hadn't said a word in the past half-hour. With his eyes closed and his steady breathing, Elena half-wondered if he'd fallen asleep.
If she were talking about anyone other than Damon, she'd wonder how he could sleep. Right now, it was so cold in the car that she could see her breath swirling around her in the dim light caused by the blanket of snow on the windows. Since he'd owned the bar, though, he'd developed the ability to sleep wherever and whenever time became available.
Her hands were shaking again, but not from emotion this time, now she was simply freezing. Her fingers were mottled blue, and she'd long-since lost feeling in her feet. She desperately wanted to ask Damon to turn the car back on for a little heat, but they'd need the gas to crawl down the road when the numerous wrecks cleared.
If they ever cleared. A wrecker had been spinning its wheels on the side of the road for the last few minutes, not exactly inspiring hope. Everyone back in Mystic Falls had to be worried by now. She'd been faithfully checking in with Caroline and Bonnie at the top of every hour, they'd even FaceTimed the opening of the Christmas presents before announcing that Stefan had tucked all their presents in the back seat when she'd been in the shower. Elena wanted to reassure them that they were fine. Cold, yes. Not really in any immediate danger, though, but they'd been in cell phone no-man's-land for too long.
They'd been in the cold for too long as well. She craned her neck to get a better look at the back seat. Did any of the packages look like they held a blanket or a sweater?
"You planning on peeking?" Damon cracked one eye open.
"It's already Christmas. I can open them if I want to." Elena's words came out sharper than she'd intended. That seemed to be par for the course now. No matter the subject, they couldn't carry on a conversation that didn't end up in an argument.
"I didn't say you couldn't." Damon almost seemed to flinch. "Just thought it would be better if we waited until we were home." He cleared his throat. "I meant until I dropped you off at the house."
"I knew what you meant." Elena's voice sounded so far away.
Or maybe he was hearing things that weren't there. She'd almost managed to be civil the entire car drive. She hadn't once said this was his fault, and it most certainly was. After watching the storm creeping closer to them, she'd admitted defeat and suggested they book a few nights at a hotel in the last town.
He'd been too stubborn to listen to her.
Again.
If he'd listened to her months ago, where would they be? He fought back a laugh. He definitely wouldn't be ready to sell his bar to the city for a fraction of what he paid for it, but at least he'd stop losing money on the place.
"Want to open them?" He wasn't sure what inspired the question. Cold-induced delirium, probably. They had neither the space nor the atmosphere to open Christmas presents, not to mention how long it would take for him to get little pieces of wrapping paper out of the crevices of his car, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the moment.
"Now?"
"Do you have something better to do?" This time last year, her answer would have been yes. They could have thought of any number of ways to pass the time—most of which would probably have generated plenty of body heat as well, since the windows were thickly blanketed now.
"Not really."
"Then let's do it." He blindly reached behind him, grabbing hold of the first oversized present. He recognized the handwriting. Elena's gift from Caroline. Elena took the gift from him, stared at it for a few minutes, then ripped off a corner of the paper. In no time at all, Elena was wrapped in a new oversized blanket.
"She knows I'm always cold." Elena was almost smiling.
The next gift was for him. He couldn't believe his eyes when he read the bourbon's label. His favorite. Worth a small fortune. Stefan must be doing just as well as he'd said when they'd been discussing his business at Thanksgiving.
And the presents kept coming.
One from Jeremy.
One from Bonnie.
Handmade gifts from the twins.
A gift that was borderline inappropriate from Jo. Elena blushed, speeding to close the lid on the lingerie. "She keeps asking me when we're having kids." The mood in the car turned as cold as the air around them. "I didn't have the heart to tell her."
"I know." He wanted to reach out and take her hand, but it was like an invisible wall was stopping him. "I couldn't tell any of them either." He was lying again. He'd told Ric. Just like he'd told Ric everything else. But he couldn't admit that to her, not in the small space of the car.
Neither of them had a place to run.
Only one more present sat in the back seat. Elena practically cringed when she saw it. It matched the scraps of paper he'd seen in the waste basket in their bedroom at the boardinghouse.
That's when he knew what it was.
A small, thin box. It couldn't hold much. But it could hold everything he'd wanted…or at least he thought he'd wanted.
He'd lied to Ric too last night. The divorce wasn't for Elena, even if he'd convinced himself that it was for her. It was for him.
It took the pressure away.
He didn't have to wonder when they'd work through things. He didn't have to put effort into trying to fix things. He wouldn't have to drive past their house at night, staring at the darkened windows, wondering if she'd made it home safely in the neighborhood that police wouldn't even buy a house in. Once those papers were signed, she wasn't his responsibility anymore.
Her eyes grew wide at the single box in the backseat. Her lips moved like she wanted to say something, but the words were caught in her throat.
"I guess that one's for me." He grabbed it. It was so light; he didn't have to wonder what it contained any longer. He waited for her to stop him from opening it, but she didn't say a word. Instead, she spun in her seat and pretended to look at the nothingness outside.
He broke through the tape with one fingertip. He wasn't cold any longer. He didn't feel anything. Nothing but impending dread that threatened to choke him. The box was thin. She'd wrapped it carefully…carefully enough it looked like some sort of exceptionally special gift—not one that filled him with dread. Elena's foot tapped so hard, she was shaking the car. He needed to open the box. Get this over with for both their sakes. He pulled the lid off the box and froze.
No papers. Well, not legal papers. Bright green tissue with embedded glitter greeted him. It wasn't how he'd wrap divorce papers. Maybe she wanted this more than he thought she did. He peeled back the tissue paper and froze in confusion.
Elena almost turned to face him. "It's the key to the house."
"I know."
She tugged the ponytail holder out of her hair, but she didn't finish turning to look at him. "I read the papers. I know you wanted to let me have it." She sighed, and her eyes were unfocused as she looked around the car. "I don't need it, though."
"And you think I do?" Why was he shouting? She hadn't said a word to criticize him. She wasn't asking for more money in the divorce. Hell, she was giving him the house that she'd paid for…and he didn't want it.
"Well, I don't need it anymore." Her fingers were playing with the fringe of her sweater. "The chief of staff in Mystic Falls offered me a position. I'm going to accept it. I'd like to be closer to the twins." She sounded almost sheepish, like she was waiting for him to say she couldn't do it.
Had he turned her into this? Where had his Elena gone? Did she disappear after one fight too many?
Damon couldn't help it. He laughed. That got Elena's attention. She spun around to face him. "You think it's funny?"
"No. No. Not at all." It had to be the cold. It was making him delirious. "It's just. I'm moving back to Mystic Falls too."
"But your bar."
"I'm selling it. The city needs the land for the new road." He shrugged. "It's the only way to keep from going bankrupt."
"It's that bad?"
"Yeah." He nodded, a weight lifting from his chest. "You were right," he nodded, turning to face her, "you were right about a lot of things."
"Like continuing to drive in the storm?" Elena was actually smiling at him.
"Like continuing to drive in the storm." He relaxed into his seat, feeling the cold seeping deeper into his bones. He kept his eyes on Elena. She wasn't just smiling. She was shivering. He took hold of her hand. It was a cold as the snow outside.
Without thinking about what he was doing, he slid his seat back, using the last of the battery reserve. He tugged her arm, pulling her his direction.
"What are you doing?"
"Come here. Sit on my lap. If we don't get you warm, you're not going to be doing any surgeries for a long time." She still fit exactly how he'd remembered. Perfectly. As if they were made for each other. He clasped her hands in his, willing whatever body heat he had left into her. At first, she was almost rigid, but as she grew warmer, she relaxed against his chest.
His phone chimed. Did they actually have cell service? He picked it up, unlocked it, and read the message. A flood of memories washed over him. He remembered the day he'd put the note on his calendar…he'd done the same for Elena.
"The weather alert didn't wake you up this morning, did it?" His voice choked with unexpected emotion.
"No."
Elena didn't need to say anything else.
He felt like crap. He felt worse than crap. No wonder she'd been so edgy today.
The timing couldn't have been more inappropriate. Unless it was perfect. Neither of them could leave. Neither could run away.
"Elena." She stiffened before he could say anything else. "I'm so sorry."
"It wasn't your fault." A single tear slid down her cheek. "It was all mine. If I'd been more careful…"
"Shh." He rested a fingertip on her jaw, turning her to face him. "It was an accident."
"But I fell."
"What do you tell your patients when they fall? Or when someone's car gets hit by a drunk driver?"
"It's not their fault."
"Exactly." He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "The only thing anyone did wrong was after it happened. That morning…I shouldn't have turned away from you." He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I should have done this."
She stayed in his lap. They talked about what they'd lost—not just the baby—they'd also lost themselves. Back then, it had been too raw and too painful. Today, it was as if the cold had numbed them…took the pain away. Or maybe it was simply the fact that they were finally being honest.
"So what are we going to do now?" Elena spoke after being silent for so long, Damon had begun to think she'd fallen asleep.
"Other than dig this car out of a snow drift?"
"I meant the house."
Damon shrugged a shoulder. "Who knows. But it's not just a coincidence. We're both going back to Mystic Falls. Maybe it's time for a fresh start for both of us." He glanced back at her bag.
"Yeah, maybe that's what we need." Her voice didn't sound convincing in the slightest.
"Did you ever sign the papers?"
Elena gave a faint nod. "I was planning on leaving them in the car."
"Why don't you hand them to me?"
She reached into the back floorboard, digging through her bag until she retrieved an envelope. Her fingers were trembling as she dropped it into his hands. He tore it open carefully, pulling the papers out and staring at them.
"I think I finally know what to give you for Christmas." He locked eyes with her before taking hold of the top two corners of the papers, giving them a swift tug. Her jaw dropped open. "Merry
Christmas, Elena."
"But…"
"Did you ever really want this?"
"We can't keep going like we have been."
"No." He shook his head. "No, we can't. But I think this is the first step. We've got a lot of work to do. I'm willing to try if you are."
She sniffed, wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve. "I'd like that."
A knock at the window startled both of them. Damon fought to open the car door, and discovered an older police officer looking down at him.
"You two okay?" The man carefully studied Elena's face.
"Just cold." Elena's teeth were chattering.
"Well, we can help with that. Chip's got a car that can get through this." The man used a flashlight to indicate a faint dark shape in the distance. "We've got ourselves a shelter down the way. He'll drive you there. Let's get you two warmed up."
"Sounds good." Damon helped Elena out of the car. He reached for her hand, gripping it tightly in his. "It's time to get in out of the cold."
Wow. I know that none of y'all were likely expecting this, and I wasn't either. I've actually pretty much finished the story. I'll have a SUPER short epilogue coming—probably in the next week. I'm trying for tomorrow, but I don't guarantee it.
I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for sticking around. (Reviews would be awesome to let me know that some of you are reading this Christmas-in-July story.)