Damon awoke about an hour before Elena, getting the opportunity to watch her sleep. She was so peaceful and relaxed…something that had seemed so foreign to him the previous day. Elena was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, even more beautiful than Katherine somehow. There was something about her that had always distinguished her from Katherine, though it took him a while to realize it. He gently caressed her face with the back of his hand, hardly believing he'd get to wake up to this every day for the rest of eternity.

Elena was having that dream again, so much mist and so many crows…the mysterious red liquid and the dark blue eyed figure…her Damon. She stirred, her eyes opening slowly as she felt his hand on her face and a familiar fluttering sensation in her abdomen. She smiled.

"He's kicking." Damon immediately placed his hand on her tummy, breaking out in a grin as he rubbed it. Elena grinned back, so happy to see Damon without a care in the world. It was always refreshing to see that side of him. The side of him he only shared with her.

"Damon…can I ask you something?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Anything." She smiled.

"I've been having this dream…and I wanted to ask you if it meant anything." Damon sat up, his forehead creasing with slight worry but his eyes alight with curiosity.

"I'm all ears, baby girl." He said with his signature smirk. She giggled and sat up too, lacing her fingers between his.

"It's you and me in a cemetery. It's very foggy and there are lots of crows looming around the grave markers. Then you make me drink your blood from a goblet and you bite me on the neck…your thoughts?" Damon was completely taken back, his mouth open and his eyes wide.

"A covenant." He whispered. Elena shot him a questioning look.

"What's that?" Damon sighed, a confused smile crossing his lips and he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"A vampire's covenant ceremony is something that hardly any vampires do anymore…I can't believe you dreamt of it. It's when a vampire takes his mate onto sacred ground such as a graveyard and shares blood with them. When two vampires drink one another's blood in a scared or holy place it creates a bond. A deeper bond than anything you could ever imagine, far deeper than the blood bond you and I currently have because of the blood sharing. It ties their souls together for all of eternity, and you'll never be able to be without each other. It's very romantic but it has its drawbacks…like if the person you have this bond with dies you have to suffer an eternity of pure misery and anguish, never being able to fill the missing half of you the person left behind."

Elena was quiet for a few moments, letting all the information sink in.

"Why don't vampires do it anymore?" Damon snorted.

"Because idiots abused it. Some vampires tried to perform the covenant with humans, killing them afterwards to make them vampires and blindly thinking it would have the same effect. Needless to say, it didn't. The people they turned ended up being sired to them, which is not the same thing at all." Excitement bubbled up inside of Elena and she inched closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Can we have one? After we get married?" His lips twitched up into a loving smile.

"Are you sure you want to? I mean, that is irreversible, Elena. You'd never be able to get rid of me." He teased with a chuckle. She leaned her forehead against his and met his gaze with an adoring look in her eyes.

"Of course I'm sure. It will always be you, Damon. Only you." She whispered. Those words were as intoxicating to Damon as the finest bourbon. His eyes fluttered closed and he kissed her roughly, hungry for her love, her affection.

"You have no idea what that means to me, Elena. I'll take you out to the cemetery on our wedding night…and then you'll be mine in every way possible." His voice clearly showed her his longing, proved to her that she was the first person in all his years to ever love him like this.

Suddenly he scooped her up in his arms and took her out in the living room to finish up Christmas. The couple opened their gifts and laughed with each other, forgetting their worries and kissing under the mistletoe. Only one thing could have made that Christmas more pleasant…more prefect. Damon's eyes darkened sadly as he gazed at the stockings he'd hung above the fireplace back when they'd first decorated for Christmas. His was in the middle; Elena's was hanging to the right of his…and on the left was the untouched stocking that read "Stefan". Katherine's was on the other side of Stefan's and was also untouched; Damon had filled both her stocking and Stefan's with baby gifts. Elena caught the unreadable expression on Damon's face and she gently rubbed his arm.

"What's wrong?" He sighed and leaned back against the wall, tearing his gaze from the lonely socks.

"This was supposed to be a family Christmas, Elena. I was supposed to spend it with my fiancée, my brother, his girlfriend, and our children. Katherine ruined everything." His voice grew hostile as he spoke her name.

"Damon…we have to forgive them both." Elena said quietly. Damon's head snapped around to look at her, his eyes simmering.

"Stefan almost murdered our child, Elena! How are we supposed to come back from that?! And Katherine…I don't even want to think about her." He spat. She gently stroked his face and snuggled closer to him.

"You killed my brother, Damon. If it hadn't been for his ring he wouldn't have come back. But I forgave you, didn't I? Listen, what Stefan did was awful. But he's your brother and he's hurting. He needs you, baby." The anger seemed to drain from his features as he thought about it for a moment.

"I know," He whispered.

"But I kind of already got back at him." He said with an evil smirk. Elena rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh god…what did you do?" His smirk simply spread.

"Adriana might have cursed him just a tiny bit." He murmured sheepishly.

STEFAN'S POINT OF VIEW

I wondered aimlessly through Mikaelson Manor, trying to pretend like Katherine wasn't there. I had turned my emotions off, I was no longer in pain, no longer angry, I was numb. But I still hated looking at her, a giant reminder of why I was numb. I guess not even a vampire can ever truly turn off all their emotions, can they? I was just a waste of precious space, I shouldn't have completed the transition in 1864…I wasn't worth keeping around. Katherine and Elijah were in the foyer making preparations for Scarlett's birth; Apparently Elijah needed to have a plan written out four months in advance, the freak. I was looking for Klaus, whom I now presumed was in his bedroom since he wasn't with his brother.

I had begun to climb the stairs to his room when my hand grazed the banister. Searing pain shot through my hand where I'd touched it and I yelped, the pain catching me off guard. Curious, I ran my other hand along the banister.

Fuck!

It was literally burning through my skin! I ran to the bathroom to slash some water on it but the sink handles burned too. The water finally came on and it soothed my wounds for a while…until I tried to drink it to cool myself off. It blistered going down my throat and I began coughing blood. Klaus bolted into the bathroom at the sounds of my screaming.

"What the devil's going on in here, mate?"

"V-Vervain!" I sputtered, trying to grab on to him but failing as he also burned me and I fell to the floor. Klaus tasted the water…nothing.

"Why would there be vervain in my water supply mate? I'm a hybrid." I ignored Klaus, screaming in agony as my skin sizzled on the floor. Klaus grinned wide.

"Ooh, looks like you've been cursed, Stefan. I can help, you know. I know plenty of witches. But…I'll require something from you in return. I looked at Klaus in a desperate plea, reaching for him as if I were an infant.

"I'll do anything!" A deep evil chuckle ripped through Klaus's chest and he pulled Stefan to his feet.

"I look forward to it, brother."