I never expected to revisit this story nor 'Burnt Ice'. DE are pairs figure skaters in that one if you're interested. So many of you asked for more of this story.

This one is dedicated to all of you.

A beautiful sound, the familiar chords of Elena's favorite Christmas carol waft through the house and out through the front door. The magical sound draws in her curiosity. She slowly advances and raises her hand to the door knocker. She doesn't want to disturb whoever is creating the symphony so she picks it up, knocking gently hoping that someone will hear it.

Elena breathes a sigh of relief when Damon's mother pulls it open and steps aside motioning for her to come in. She presses her index finger to her lips and curls her other one, gesturing for her to follow. They slowly advance toward the parlor. She's afraid that if she takes one wrong step or turn, the music will waver and cease. They halt when they reach their destination. She points to her son who's playing the music like a virtuoso. A young girl that Elena recognizes as Elijah's daughter, Hope Mikaelson, is sitting beside him on the bench, her eyes focused only on him. Elena smiles, it's pretty easy to see that young Hope is smitten, it's as if Damon hung the moon. Her face is literally beaming as she watches his slender fingers dance over the ivory and charcoal black keys.

"I didn't know he could play," Elena whispers, mesmerized herself by the magic he's creating with his hands.

"Damon has been playing the piano since he was just a young boy. He didn't need to speak when he played so it was an outlet for his frustration about his stutter. I was almost afraid he'd give it up after his speech therapist worked her magic but he kept at it."

"He's amazing."

"He is. Why don't you go on in, I'll make some hot chocolate. He told me you like it with a hint of Bailey's." She breaks out laughing when Elena's head jerks, their eyes meeting. Then suddenly the music stops, having been interrupted by his mom's laugh.

"Don't stop, Damon," Hope protests, pouting as she crosses her arms over her chest. Damon laughs and then turns around, a huge smile forming when his eyes join with Elena's. When he starts to get up, Elena shakes her head back and forth.

"You heard her, Damon, don't stop."

"Okay but why don't you join us?" Damon brushes his hand over the seat beside him.

"My mom sent me over with a couple of her homemade fruitcakes. They're in the back seat of my car," she explains, pointing behind her with her thumb.

"They're not going anywhere. Sit.. I'll bring them in afterwhile."

Elena bobs her head and sits down, her heart speeding up when he winks at her. "You're incorrigible."

"You love it."

"He told me so, Elena," Hope interrupts, smiling so wide that Elena can see that her two front teeth are missing.

"Is that what you want for Christmas, Hope, your two front teeth?" Elena's eyes are twinkling as she looks at the six year old.

"The tooth fairy gave me a dollar for each tooth. Uncle Niklaus said he was a little stingy but daddy told him that he should apply for the job if he wasn't satisfied."

A laugh bursts from Damon's mouth. "My brother in law, Niklaus Mikaelson Tooth Fairy at your service." He is literally shaking as he winks at the two girls beside him. Suddenly the sound of the door knocker interrupts quieting their zeal.

"That's probably your Grandma Esther," Lily Salvatore says, eyeing Hope.

"Damon will you play one more song?"

"Which one?"

"Rudolph?"

"Your wish is my command, milady." He stretches out his fingers for a second and then places his hands on the key, the music coming alive as his fingers find the keys.

"Rudolph the red nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose.. And if you ever saw him, you would even say it glows. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games.."

Damon finishes with a little finesse just as his mom and Esther Mikaelson join them in the parlor. "Are you ready to go home Hope?"

"Do we have to Grandma? Damon was playing with me."

"Yes, honey, we have to. Grandpa is waiting to play Candyland with you."

"Yay, let's go," she squeals then jumps of the piano bench and runs to the woman. She helps her slip her coat and scarf on.

"What do you say to Damon?"

"Thanks for watching me." She runs over and gives him a hug and then goes back to her grandma.

"Bye Hope. Come again."

"I will. Bye, bye." She waves to him and then disappears out of the parlor with Esther and Lily.

"I'm glad you came over," Damon says, leaning over to capture her lips in a quick but smoldering kiss.

"Um, that's nice. How about another?" She cups the side of his face and pulls his mouth back to hers. They mold and slide together and when she parts her lips, he thrusts his tongue in. She moans and moves her hand to the back of his neck to bring him even closer. His kisses are glorious. When they hear the sound of throat clearing, they jerk apart and start to laugh when Damon's mother shakes her head.

"Thanks mom," Damon mumbles, his eyes never leaving Elena's as she disappears leaving them alone again. "Do you want to meet Annabelle?"

"I would love to."

Damon takes her by the hand and leads her down the hall and into the basement. He has a huge aviary. Damon the raven squawks.

"Wow. You've had her a long time?"

"I raised her. She had a badly broken wing, the vet said she'll never fly so she would either have to be euthanized or kept as a pet. She'd be easy prey for a predator if she couldn't fly. She's five years old. During the summer, we have this aviary outside but during the winter, dad and I set it up down here." He opens the cage and lets the pet perch on his outstretched finger.

"May I?" Elena asks, raising her finger toward Annabelle.

"Of course." Elena smiles and pets the bird's head softly with her fingertip. The raven is curious, its eyes looking at her intently while she ducks and turns her head.

"I think I'm in love." Elena laughs. Damon puts her back in the huge cage. After refilling her water and food supply, he closes the door. Then without warning, he grabs Elena by the wrist and pulls her into his chest. With a twinkle in his eyes, he lowers his mouth and takes hers in another fiery kiss. When they need air, they pull apart. Elena's eyes are hazy when she raises her fingers to ghost along her still numb lips. "You can kiss me like that anytime you want."

"Good to know." He wraps his arms around her, dips her down and then latches onto her mouth yet again. Seconds pass like minutes before he finally lets go and helps her upright. "Let's go get those fruitcakes."

"Ah ha," she mumbles dazedly and follows Damon up the stairs.

Damon is laying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. It's blizzarding outside, the storm so intense that their electricity is out. Fortunately his father installed a generator a couple of years ago so they at least still have some power in their home. What rankles him is that he can't text Elena. He can't help but wonder what she's doing right now. Sighing, he gets up and walks over to the window seat. He presses his hand against the cold pane of glass. There's nothing friendly about the storm outside. It's blinding, he can't even see the picket fence that surrounds their home. The gale force winds whip each flake around. The sound of his mother's wind chimes echoes through the air but since the visibility is so bad, he can't see them dancing with each gust of wind.

He can't help but wonder how many days they'll be snowed in. Their tree farm is a few miles outside of Mystic Falls. It may take a couple of days for the snowplow to clear their road. He has another problem to think about. He asked Elena to be his date for the New Year's Eve dance and yet he hasn't danced at one of these events like ever. He doesn't want to make a fool of himself because if he does, he knows that he'll stutter. His head snaps to his right when he hears the bedroom door open.

"I made some homemade chicken noodle soup. Are you hungry?" Lily has always been able to see right through her son. She walks over to him and sits down on the other side of the window and faces him. "What's the matter?"

"I asked Elena to go to the dance as you know. I don't want to embarrass her with my nonexistent dancing skills."

"Well, the dance is still almost a week away. Katherine has always been an amazing dancer. I'll bet she'll help you if you'd like?"

Damon raises his eyes, a smile forming on his face. "I'd like that. I have no idea how to waltz."

"Let's go eat first. And because today is your lucky day, your sister is downstairs as we speak."

Damon nods enthusiastically and then follows his mother out of the room.

Damon pushes aside the dining room table and chairs to make room for them to dance. When he hears footsteps he looks up just as Katherine is walking in with a CD player. She sets it down, puts the disc in and pushes play. The soft sounds of the classical music fill the room. Damon spreads his arms and she smiles mischievously and waves her index finger.

"I expect a bow kind sir," she says, trying hard to keep a straight face.

"Katherine, you're never going to let me live this down are you?"

She shakes her head back and forth so Damon bows and spreads his arms again and this time she takes his hand.

After they take a cursory run across the floor, she lets go and grabs their mother, the two of them showing him how it's done. When Damon's father calls aloud, Lily hastens her retreat after giving Damon a light hug and whispering that he'll do fine.

He and Katherine join arms again. This time she treats his follow with respect, never forcing movement from him, but following him through every one. If she leads a step or a pattern and he interprets the movement differently than she had intended, she adapts to him rather than forcing change.

"That's right Damon, the follow, that's you, should always have a sense of security and safety while we're dancing. And also know that you can fully depend on the lead which is me."

Katherine directs him to stand with his feet a few inches apart. She then invites him to take steps that follow the 3 beats per measure tempo of the waltz. She tells him to count and take a step with each number and that he should step left, right, and left. And then they step right, left and right with Damon counting the moves. They continue the pattern till he gets the hang of it. Then they practice posture.

"Wrap your right arm around my arm so that your hand touches the middle of my back. Your left hand should be held out to hold Elena's right hand." Damon nods and does what she tells him and after a good hour of practice, he is dancing the waltz with her.

"Thank you. It's really not that hard."

"No, it isn't. You'll sweep Elena off of her feet," she smiles then steps away and turns off the music. Just as they're finishing up, Nick appears in the threshold and starts to clap. Damon bows with an exaggerated sweep of his hands. Katherine claps her hands and gives her brother a hug.

"It's late, Katherine. Are you ready to go to bed?"

"I am, goodnight, Damon." She smiles and follows her husband up the long staircase. With the weather treacherous, they're staying the night rather than risk driving home.

"Goodnight Katherine and... thank you." He says and when they're gone, he puts the furniture back in its place. After turning out the lights, he goes back to his room and collapses on the bed with a smile on his face.

Damon is looking at himself in the floor to ceiling mirror that's in his mother's huge walk in closet. Trying to calm his nerves he takes a deep shuddering breath. He's excited to spend the evening with Elena but he also can't deny that he feels nervous. The New Year's Ball is a Mystic Falls tradition dating back over a hundred years. It's not like he hasn't gone before but he's never gone with a treasure like Elena on his arm. She's so beautiful and he's crazy mad about her already. His heart speeds up whenever she's near.

After splashing on some cologne and putting on his tie, he walks back into his room when he hears his phone ringing. Hoping it's Elena, he picks it up, his eyes nearly popping out of his head when he sees that it's "Nadia" calling..

Standing in front of the mirror, Elena stares at herself. She's wearing an emerald green vintage style off shoulder ball gown formal dress with modest sweetheart neckline. Adorning her neck is a single bezel diamond set in 18K gold necklace. The only thing she hates is that she'll have to wear a wrap to keep her warm.

"You look beautiful, now let me put a little blush on for you and fix your hair. Damon will be speechless when he lays eyes on you."

"I hope so, mom. Because of the weather and all the after Christmas clean up that they do at their tree farm, we haven't been able to see much of each other for the last week. Sure he texts and calls me but it's not the same as spending time together. We agreed to meet at the ball but I don't know why? We talked about calling to make the arrangements. I tried to reach him several times earlier today but he didn't pick up."

He isn't going to stand me up is he?

Her thoughts are interrupted when they hear the doorbell. "That must be Caroline. I'll send her up."

"Thanks." Elena takes a breath and watches her mom walk out before facing the mirror again. She can't help the nagging feeling that something is wrong. When she hears Caroline's giddy voice, she spins around, smiling despite herself.

"Wow, you look amazing, Elena."

"Thanks Care. So do you." She's wearing a burgundy sleeveless gown with a billowing skirt that has tulle flowers adorning the bottom of it. She's wearing a ruby chip choker and a corsage pinned on the right side of her gown just above her breast.

"Can I use some of your perfume?"

"Of course, Care. Which one do you want?"

"I want Prada Candy. And speaking of candy, I saw the gingerbread house. Did you make it?"

Elena nods, smiling inside. She made it for Damon as a little momento of their magical moment in his sister's playhouse. She startles out of her reverie when she sees fingers snapping in front of her eyes.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah... the perfume is in there."

The girls step into the bathroom and Elena reaches into her perfume cupboard. She hands Caroline the one she requested while spritzing Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir on herself. While Caroline primps in front of the mirror, she pauses and quickly turns to Elena.

"Did you know that Nadia Pierce is back in town?"

"Really?" Elena sits down on the closed toilet seat. She remembers Nadia. She's a native of Mystic Falls who dropped out of school after being discovered in an amateur fashion show. Now she's a busy model and an arrogant backstabbing wench. She's also one of the few girls that dated Damon. Her unease starts to burn hot causing her belly to churn uncomfortably.

"You ready to go?"

"I guess," Elena answers uneasily. She picks up her wrap and then follows Caroline out of her room, pausing only to flip off the light switch and pull her door closed.

Elena and Caroline are at the ball a good hour with Elena even sharing a couple of dances with Matt, Mason and Tyler too. Her own date, Damon, is nowhere to be seen. She happens to notice Stefan and Rebekah when they step into the ball room. Rebekah is wearing a gorgeous navy blue gown with a matching sapphire and diamond collar necklace along with a wrist corsage. Stefan looks very handsome in his black tuxedo. Elena also notices Katherine and Nick standing beside her parents. The whole Salvatore family is here except for Elena's date...

Although she means well, Caroline isn't doing anything to soothe her frayed nerves. She keeps telling her to stop worrying and that Damon will come but Elena herself is freaking out. She can't help but wonder if he just plain stood her up to be with Nadia. When they see her cousin, Caroline drags Elena with her to talk to Amber. After their canned greeting and fake pleasantries because Amber is as much of a snob as Nadia is, Caroline asks her if it's true that Nadia is back and whether or not she's going to grace the community with her presence there tonight.

"No, Nadia isn't coming. She said she had other plans, most importantly, she has an ex that she wants to meet up with. Small town gatherings aren't really her thing anymore." Amber explains, raising her parasol to cover a yawn.

Immediately Elena feels crestfallen. How can she compete with a supermodel, one that looks like Nadia with her perfect figure and surgically enhanced breasts? She's six foot tall and her legs go on and on, she sees the image of her legs wrapped around Damon's middle and it almost brings tears to her eyes. She tries to talk herself out of it but when she excuses herself to try to call him and he still doesn't pick up. She no longer feels like being here so she goes to find her wrap. On the way to coat check, she runs into Stefan and Rebekah.

They're all close so Rebekah immediately picks up on the fact that something is bothering her. "Elena, what is it?"

"It's Damon. I haven't been able to reach him all day. He isn't answering his cellphone. I don't know if I should be worried or angry?"

Before either Rebekah or Stefan can respond, Caroline fills them in on the Nadia news. They share a glance. Elena doesn't miss the uneasiness that washes over Stefan's face. Although he tries to hide it, she's known him for their entire lives.

"Look, I'm just going to go home. Have a nice time," Elena says, wiping her eyes as she hurries away. Fortunately she runs right into Alaric as he's walking out of the men's room. He quickly texts Jenna to tell her he'll be back in a few minutes then follows Elena outside to drive her home.

Damon is sitting behind the wheel of his car. He got caught in a snowbank and can't get out. To make matters a hundred times worse, he has no cell reception so he can't call for a tow and worst of all, he can't call Elena. What must she be thinking of him?

The phone call from Nadia was a bit of a shock. She called repeatedly asking him to come over so much so that he finally got sick of it and turned off his phone. He's not even sure what she wanted but they were never serious when they did date because the only thing she was interested in was his looks and his name.

He bangs his head against the steering wheel in frustration because he should have called Elena before he left home and now he can't do that and she's left to wonder where the hell he is and why he stood her up.

"I'm afraid that maybe Nadia got to him. Maybe it's completely innocent but she's a snake and I don't trust her. Why don't you stay here and have fun, I'm going to go look for him just in case something is wrong? I'm going to kill him myself if I find the two of them together."

"I'll go with you."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

"Nope," Rebekah smiles popping the p. "We'll have our own party when we're alone. Now let's go find that brother of yours."

Stefan pulls her in for a deep kiss then takes her hand. After they retrieve their coats, they hurry into his car to go look for Damon. They drive past Nadia's parents but don't see his car anywhere. Just to satisfy themselves, Rebekah jumps out and knocks on the front door. Stefan's eyes widen when he sees the queen Bee, self proclaimed of Mystic Falls open the door wearing sweats. He starts to laugh out loud inside the car. Moments later his fiancé is back and now that they know Damon isn't with her, they start to worry. They drive through town and to all of Damon's usual haunts again finding nothing.

Then they pull onto one of the gravel roads that partially leads to the Salvatore Tree Farm. Although it's a quicker route, there isn't a lot of traffic on it during the winter because the county doesn't maintain it like they do the paved roads. They drive down it slowly and when they crest a hill, Rebekah points to some flashing emergency lights. When their high beam illuminates Damon, Stefan isn't at all surprised to see him standing on the edge of the road waving for attention with a flashlight.

Stefan stops the car in the middle of the road with his own flashes on so no one happens will end them on the slim chance that there is more traffic on this road tonight. "What happened?"

"I.. I wa was thinking about E Elena. I.. go got to too close to the side of the r road and slid in. Th there's n no sig si signal out here. E.. Elena must be furious wi wi with ma me."

Stefan lays a hand on each of Damon's shoulders and gives them a squeeze. "Calm down, okay? This was an accident. She'll understand."

Unconvinced, Damon looks at him sadly, dropping his eyes to his feet. "You're freezing. Let's get you home before you catch pneumonia."

"N.. no, I.. I have to e ex plain. Take me to to her."

"Okay, I'll drop you off at her house. Text me if you need a ride home though okay?"

Damon nods and crawls in the back seat. Rebekah looks over her shoulder and smiles at him reassuringly. "Elena is a good person, Damon. She'll understand when you explain it to her."

"We we'll sa see." He shares a look with his soon to be sister in law and drops his eyes to where his hands are clutched tightly in his lap. His stomach is roiling and his heart pounds the entire drive to her house. He breathes a little sigh of relief when he sees the lights are still on. He nods to Stefan and gets out of the car. Slowly and methodically, he walks down the sidewalk and up the stairs till he's standing in front of her door. He takes a deep cleansing breath then pushes the doorbell.

He waits and waits till he happens to notice the curtain move. He steps back slightly when the doorknob turns. He's mesmerized by the sight of her. She's still wearing the emerald green gown. He wishes he would have grabbed the corsage he bought out of his car but he forgot. When he hears her voice, he snaps out of his reverie.

"Why are you here, Damon?"

"I... I'm so so so sor sorry E.. Elena. I.. I we we went in into the ditch. I.. I sorry," he stutters out, his speech wracked by anxiety as he hopes she'll believe him.

"Really? Was Nadia with you in the ditch?"

"No.. no El Elena. Wa why wou would y you think that?"

"Because Amber said she was back to reconnect with her ex. That's you Damon."

Damon steps back slightly, closes his eyes and tries to get himself under control and Elena realizes, how silly her doubts were. He's hers and she's his. Damn her insecurities.

Several seconds pass before he shakes his head back and forth and in the next second, his hands are cradling her face, he brushes his mouth against hers. Her lips are full and soft and he savors every slide of them against his own. He tilts her head so he can deepen the kiss. He pulls back for a second and as soon as he sees the dreamy look on her face, his mouth opens over hers and his teeth catch her lower lip in a gentle bite. They sink into it and he soothes it with his tongue, savoring the fresh taste, hoping to prolong this moment forever.

Although the kiss is slow he is soon out of breath and needs to pause but his lips never stop touching hers. The air between them crackles with electricity, his desire for her is stronger than anything he's ever known before. He's unwilling to release her as he's afraid she'll run inside and slam the door in his face. When they part, Damon drags his mouth to her ear.

"You're so beautiful Elena. Dance with me?"

"Dance with you?"

"Yes, dance with me right here on your porch." He steps back and slips off his suit jacket. After draping it over her shoulders, he takes her arms and starts to hum the notes of the Blue Danube Waltz. To the world it would be just a young couple dancing but to Damon it feels like he's on the top of the world. He's Fred Astaire to her Ginger Rogers as they slow dance and sway to the music. When they finish, he kisses her again. He never wants this perfect moment to end.

"You must be freezing. Come on, let's go inside. I'll make some hot chocolate and I have my own gingerbread house to show you."

"Do you now?"

"I do indeed." She winks at him.

"As much as I want to see it, I'd rather do this once more. Damon takes her hand and leads her onto the sidewalk. Together they look up at the beautiful bright moon. Damon leans over and kisses her cheek. He places one of her arms around his neck, entwines her fingers with one hand while wrapping the other around her middle, pulling her flush against him. This time he hums "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" while they dance under the moon bright sky, a million twinkling stars illuminating the fire in her endless brown eyes.

When theirs meet, the air between them heats up. Elena moves her head to his shoulder, he drops his mouth to her ear, "Happy New Year, Elena." In this moment, she's his, he's hers and nothing else matters...

Thank you all so much. I don't have words enough to truly express how grateful Eva and I are for all that you do for us. Thank you for loving Damon and Elena too, for all of your incredible reviews. You're all the best of the DE world.

And Eva, I love you dearly and would not be here if not for your wide shoulders and incredibly big heart.

Since there was no A2A holiday exchange on LJ this year Eva and I decided to continue the tradition. We wrote seven holiday stories. In our own way, we did our best to keep the tradition alive. We Are Santa's Elves, Old City Bar, Friends and Lovers, Joy to the World, Please Be Home for Christmas, I'll Be Seeing You and finally this story. Thank you so much, we're in awe of all the love you've shown for them. I am already on the hunt for an idea for our Christmas 2018 short story. ;)

My very good friend Salvatoreboys4ever just posted a Christmas story, 'Christmas Wonder'. Another dear friend, Florencia7 posted 'Celebrate Me Home'.

Next week 'EWAF' will return and hopefully I can post the first chapter of November Rain: 'The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it.'

Thank you all again. Please have a fun New Year's Eve but do be very careful. We wish each and every one of you only good things for 2018.