Author's Note: Hey, guys! Thanks so much for hanging with me through this story! Unfortunately, this is the last chapter of A Puppy Named Mistletoe. Hopefully I will find inspiration to write more stories for Vampire Diaries. Until then, feel free to check out my other stuff! Thanks, guys!

Chapter Six:

It had been several days since the last conversation between Elena and Damon. She needed space to think and he did not desire to get in her way. It was now Christmas Eve, a mere few hours until Christmas.

A few hours until Elena was supposed to fall in love with Damon.

Who would have thought that Elena would be placed in this position? One month ago, she was madly in love with Stefan; but now she found herself questioning everything she has ever felt. Damon said that Mistletoe was only supposed to give her a nudge into the direction she was supposed go to all along. That meant that even if Mistletoe hadn't shown up and turned her entire world upside down, she would have eventually wound up picking Damon over Stefan. The mere idea of this should have sent her reeling. She should have been disgusted. She should have been determined to find a way out of this crazy supernatural voodoo.

But she wasn't.

Elena wasn't any of these things. When she thought about the possibility of being with Damon rather than Stefan, she was not disgusted.

It almost felt natural.

But how could this be the case? Elena had such strong feelings for Stefan. In all the craziness that has been going on, that was one thing she was sure of.

But could her feelings for Damon be stronger?

She was starting to wonder if perhaps there was some truth to what she was thinking earlier: she had been suppressing the feelings she had for Damon for so long that she never even realized how strong they actually were. If she was being honest with herself, she had been having to try extra hard to repel these feelings since Stefan had been gone.

But what does that mean? What does that say about her relationship with Stefan? Would it be the same if Damon was the one who was missing? Would that be all it would take for her heart to wander?

Somehow she felt like it wouldn't be the same. Maybe that was because her love wasn't the same.

But Stefan came back to Mystic Falls for her. Well, at least he stayed in Mystic Falls for her. He had suffered so much since he had been back. He lost his best friend. He's been able to get through all of it because he has had her. If she fell in love with Damon, would all of that suffering have meant nothing?

She didn't want to hurt him. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that hurting him was inevitable. Now that she had taken the time to recognize the feelings that she had for the other Salvatore brother, she didn't know if she could continue to hide them. She could continue to shove more and more of her emotions into a box, but that box would eventually burst open.

Her feelings for him were now far too big to fit inside any box.

Slowly but surely, Elena Gilbert was beginning to come to terms with the fact that she loved Damon Salvatore. She didn't enjoy being put in this position and having to hurt one of the most special people in her world. She didn't enjoy thinking about what Stefan was going to do when he found out. She didn't even enjoy the fact that she was in love with someone as crazy and impulsive as Damon. Yet, for some reason, she felt peace.

The clock read 11:59. She had one more minute until Christmas and there was no time to lose. Elena got up from her spot on the bed and raced down the stairs.

"Damon!" she shouted, desperate to find him as fast as possible. "Damon!"

He came running when he heard her shouting. Once again, in a manner similar to a few days prior, he met her at the bottom of the steps. "Elena! What is it?"

Elena looked down to see Mistletoe barking and nipping at her heels. Of course she would be just as excited as she was. "I'm ready, Damon," she said clearly and without reservation.

"Ready for what?"

She simply smiled at him and said, "I'm ready to fall in love with you."

In the background of their bliss, both could hear little Mistletoe escaping the house through the doggy door.

So that's it! Thanks so much! Feel free to leave reviews and tell me what you thought! :)

~You'veGotMeAndJesus