Damon finishes filling out the forms, adds attachments, and hesitates for a moment, rereading it one more time. Elena appears out of nowhere behind him wrapping her arms around his neck, her chin leans against the top of his head.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

He's in no hurry to respond, weighing all pros and cons, considering what she's told him more than once since he'd returned.

That she doesn't love an attorney or mailman, and it doesn't matter what he does, she just loves him, Damon and all that she cares about is that he's happy.

"I do, Elena, I think it's something I'm supposed to do, something that may help me to get back to feeling like I'm helping people. I enjoyed being a mailman, for a while, but now I think it might have been my way to hide and run from responsibility and that's not who I am. When I moved back to you, it was my second chance not only as your husband but as a new person, too. I want to prove it to myself.

"Okay...," she whispers and gently kisses him somewhere behind his ear. She reaches over his shoulder, takes the mouse, and clicks on 'send', mailing Damon's résumé to the district attorney's office.

"Marry me?" he looks up at her with the most loving face and those electric blue eyes that make her blood dance, Elena's never been able to resist.

"Damon! We're already married, remember?" she chuckles but he catches her hands to draw her on his lap.

"Yes, but it's not enough, it will never be enough. I broke my promises, I strayed from the path, and I want our vows, my vows renewed. "

Elena is unable to respond verbally. So she just nods and squeezes him in her arms, her shoulders shaking with emotion.


Sometime later they find themselves at the mall looking for the perfect gift for their newly born nephew.

"Damon, look at his one," Elena pulls a hanger off the rack to show him the outfit. It's a white onesie complete with the bow tie, with 'Ladies, I have arrived' in bold print. The set comes with blue deer-patterned pants and a matching beanie.

"That's perfect, Rebekah will love it," Damon says absently, more than the outfit his eyes are on his wife, she has a certain gleam in her eyes going through these baby things and he'd love to kiss her senseless for being so adorable. With a sigh, he pulls out his wallet to pay for it.

"Can you wrap it please, we're on our way to the hospital," Elena asks the clerk after she hands Damon's credit card back to him.

"Of course," she pulls out a box from under the counter, wraps it in blue paper with a bootie print, and finishes it off with a ribbon and a big white bow.

"Thank you," Elena smiles when the woman hands it to her. Damon takes her hand and together they walk through the mall on the way back to the parking garage. They do make one detour, stopping at the chocolate store to pick up something for Rebekah's sweet tooth along with a floral arrangement. After everything is safely in the car, Damon drives them to the hospital to meet their new nephew, Preston Mikael.

When they arrive, they're directed to the postpartum area. Her room is more like a garden. Vases of flowers are everywhere along with all shades of pastel gift bags and balloons. The curtains are open, giving a clear view of the outside serenity garden. Damon looks out just in time to see a butterfly alight on a nearby leaf.

"You have a nice view here," Damon mentions before approaching the bed to stand beside his wife.

"Only the best," Stefan interjects, raising his chin defiantly.

"Stefan, chill," Rebekah scolds gently.

"He's beautiful," Elena gushes, gently petting baby Preston's cheek with the back of her finger.

"He is isn't he?" Rebekah beams, dropping her eyes to her son who's snoozing quietly in her arms. "Do you want to hold him?"

"Can I?"

"Of course," she leans forward allowing Elena to take him. She holds the newborn to her shoulder and he's smaller than a bag of sugar from the grocery store. Tiny toes peek from his blanket, dangling in the light breeze of the fan. His head is a crazy mass of blonde curls. She can't believe how tiny new humans are, how vulnerable, how awe-inspiring.

While Elena is gaga over the baby, Damon leans forward to kiss Rebekah's cheek. The two of them have always had a good relationship, sometimes misunderstood by Stefan but neither would change a thing. "Here you go," he hands her the gift.

"Thank you," Rebekah opens the box and awe leaves her lips. "It's adorable, Stefan," she gushes and lifts the outfit to show her husband.

"Thank you, brother," Stefan nods, smiling at his wife.

"Of course," Damon turns to look at Elena. He reaches over to touch him. Tiny fingers curl around his index finger. He's so precious. Then he begins to fuss. Elena tries bouncing him slightly to no avail.

"He's probably hungry," Rebekah puts the outfit back in the box and opens her arms for Elena to return him to his mom. She looks up at Stefan and then opens the top button of her gown.

"We'll go so you can feed him."

"I hate to chase you away," Rebekah drops her eyes to her son.

"You're not, you two should have some alone time with Preston too. The way it looks," Elena eyes all the gifts, flowers, and the like in the room, "you've had a parade of well-wishers."

"We have..." Preston starts crying harder so Damon gives Rebekah's shoulder a loving squeeze then takes Elena's hand, smiling down at her as they leave the room...


"We'll have to tell everybody soon," Elena lifts her head from the pillow to look down at her adorable bump.

"It's still so surreal, I'd like to keep it between us for a little longer... Not only that, Rebekah deserves to have her moment in the spotlight."

"Doesn't she always?" Elena quips, her eyes dancing with happiness.

Damon graces her with a quick bark of laughter before lifting her hand to his mouth. "Of course." He kisses her wedding ring and then her mouth. "I knew the first time we met that someday I would be married to you."

It takes her several seconds to find her voice, the sudden tears, and emotion clogging her throat. After Damon's descent into the madness of alcoholism, in those rare moments of darkness, she didn't dare to hope they would find their way back to each other.

Sometimes she's still shocked that they are, but she couldn't be happier that the someday he'd mentioned all that time ago turned out to be the truth. They're in this together - for better or worse and everything in between.

"Really?" she questions as his lips travel across her collarbone. He alternates tiny nips of his teeth with soothing strokes of his tongue.

"Always," he confirms. "It's always only been you."

His words pause while his lips and body speak for him. Then he pulls back slightly and gazes into her eyes.

"You're my world, Elena. Thank you for not giving up on me." And then he turns so he is looking at her from above, his eyes as deep and dark and full of possibilities as the night around them. As he lowers his lips to hers once again, she feels his body align itself along her skin, his weight solid and masculine.

The muscles in his arms glisten with strength. His words imprint themselves in her mind as his tongue slowly tastes the seam of her lips and then delves in further, dancing with hers slowly and sensually.

"Only your lips," Damon murmurs as he pauses for a breath, and then renews the delightful dance between their mouths, their fingers, and their skin.

"Mm hm," Elena hums, running her hands along his back, down his thighs, and back up to urge his hips to hers. She's been given another chance with the only man who knows how to make her fly, and she's going to use the time well.

The End.


Thank you, everyone, for reading and commenting on this story. You're all truly amazing for still being here for Damon and Elena. It's always bittersweet to come to the end of a story.

This time of year is always very hard for me because the anniversary of my mom's death is December 22nd. Years later, it still feels raw as she died brain-dead after a fall.

Thank you, Eva, for everything. Love you.

Chapter title: 'Someday' by OneRepublic

Hey, Santa is still in progress.

Take care and have a fabulous weekend.