A Christmas Wish

A/N: This was written as a little Christmas present for my friend Hailey :) I am in no way a Delena shipper, and am strictly writing this for her. But I hope I wrote them decently for a person who is actually anti Delena XD

I hope you like it Hailey! :)

December was going to be a very busy month at the Salvatore boarding house this year. That was one thing in Elena Gilbert's current hectic life that she was sure of.

First off, there was Christmas. And there would be a Christmas celebration this year. She would make sure of it. Damon was such a scrooge normally, but she had faith that he could have fun and get into the holiday spirit at least a little if he tried. He had once told her that Christmas had been his and Stefan's favorite holiday as children, after all. And even Damon couldn't say no to her often when she was this passionate.

And then, there was the second thing, which was substantially even huger and more profound than a celebration of the holiday.

Jeremy and Bonnie's baby was due December 26th, the day right after Christmas. That meant that the baby would more than likely be born sometime during the month as well. And that was why, at the present time, Elena found herself standing in the now married couple's house that they now lived in together; helping Bonnie decorate what was going to become the baby's room.

"Do you think yellow is an okay color for the walls?" Bonnie suddenly asked, as she scrunched up her nose in hesitance as she gazed at her future child's bedroom walls, which had been painted only a few days earlier.

Elena laughed lightly at her best friend's conflicted expression. "It looks fine, Bonnie. Besides, since you refused to find out the gender early, it's not like you could have painted it blue or pink."

When offered, Bonnie and Jeremy had both declined the chance to find out the gender of the baby early, which had driven Elena insane. She had been dying to know whether she was going to have a niece of a nephew since the moment she had found out that Bonnie was pregnant. But the new parents had wanted to leave it as a surprise up until the baby was born, and Elena had begrudgingly accepted their wishes.

"I suppose you're right," Bonnie said with a sigh, shaking her head. "And I guess we could always change it later."

Elena couldn't help but lightly smirk at the idea of Bonnie going to Jeremy and requesting to have the color of the wall changed. The former Bennett witch had been so indecisive about pretty much everything concerning the baby as of late, which led Jeremy to making several different trips to the store in order to fulfill those wishes. And that, along with the constant demand from Bonnie's food cravings, Elena knew that her brother was secretly becoming more and more aggravated. But he kept it to himself, due to his desire to make the mother of his child as happy as possible after everything she had been through in the past.

Pushing her smug thoughts aside, Elena then decided to ask a question that had been plaguing the back of her mind for the past week. "Bonnie? I know that you don't know what the gender is yet, but I was wondering…have you and Jeremy thought of any names?"

Bonnie paused before answering the question, as if she was surprised. "I have this idea of naming him Jeremy Junior if it's a boy. And for a girl…" Bonnie trailed off as a slight mist of tears suddenly appeared in her eyes, but it was minimum enough that she could blink them back. "For a girl name, Jeremy and I decided on Sheila." She then smiled as she finished. "Sheila Elena Gilbert."

Now Elena's own eyes misted slightly. She hadn't expected to have one of the ideas entitle being named after her by their middle name. "Bonnie…" She was at a bit of a loss as to what to say.

Bonnie continued to smile, as she leaned over to hug the suddenly emotional vampire. "I know." The two best friends simply hugged each other silently for a few moments, until Bonnie spoke again. "You're also going to be the godmother…if you want to be that is. I know that…" As if suddenly realizing what she was about to say wasn't a good idea, Bonnie suddenly broke off again and shook her head, slowly parting herself from the hug. "Now, enough tears. How about we work on finishing this room up now?"

Elena managed a small smile and nodded, grabbing the blankets she had brought in earlier to place in the baby's crib.

Despite Bonnie's attempt at covering up her slight slip of the tongue, Elena was fully aware of what she had been about to say…or what it would have been about, anyway. It had been discussed between the two best friends before…how as much as Elena loved Damon, and how much she liked the idea of spending an eternity with him, there was a part of her that still grieved certain aspects of being human, and one the biggest ones was the ability to have children.

She had always pictured and dream about one day being a mother, but now, it was something that wasn't at all possible for her. She supposed that was part of the reason she was always here at Bonnie and Jeremy's house and helping out with the baby preparations…so she could, in a way, experience some of the things that she herself would never get to experience through them.

Elena was happy for Bonnie and Jeremy. She really was. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a spurge of jealousy towards everything they would get to experience.

"You spent all day at over there?"

Elena rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's complaint, looking up from the book she was reading to glance at him. "Yes. Bonnie needed help, and I was happy to give that to her."

Damon, in return, rolled his own eyes. "And she's needed help every day for the past week?"

Elena paused. Had she really been going over there every day for the past week? She hadn't realized that.

"Preparing for a baby is a lot of work Damon," she replied, only half lying.

"Yeah yeah." His annoyance clear, Damon then took a seat beside her, a mischievous glint suddenly appearing in his azure eyes. "I suppose I can let it go…but only if you promise to make it up to me tonight."

Elena couldn't help but smile, having been used to these types of comments from her boyfriend of four years. "Don't worry; I'll definitely make it worth your while."

The brown eyed vampire then returned to her book, her eyes skimming the pages quickly, but not really reading them. Her mind was still far too preoccupied.

"Damon?" She suddenly asked, biting her lip as she looked up from her book once again. "Have…have you ever thought about the idea of having children?"

At first, it was only silence that responded to her question, and her eyes widened a small fraction as she observed him, hoping she hadn't said anything wrong. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to…."

"Yes."

The answer was a single word, and a flat and emotionless one at that, but it was still a positive one. Surprised, Elena slanted her head to the side. "You have?"

Damon nodded. "A long time ago. But that's all in the past. Obviously, having kids is no longer in my future." A humorous smirk then crossed his lips. "Besides, I doubt I would exactly make father of the year."

And even though he was obviously aiming for humor, Elena's heart sank a little at his words. Deep down, she knew it was silly to feel disappointed, since having kids was probably impossible for them anyway, but for some reason, his answer still deflated her.

But she couldn't let him know that. She didn't want him to know how much she was currently longing to have a baby; to experience the same excitement and planning that Bonnie was currently experiencing. No. She didn't need him feeling bad over something he couldn't help.

So she forced a small humorous smile of her own, hoping it looked convincing. "That would be a sight to see."

It was now December 18th, and it was now obvious that the arrival of the baby was coming soon…along with Christmas.

Yes. The aura of Christmas was strong in the boarding house now; due to the decorations that Elena had placed inside and outside it after a few moments of drilling Damon and forcing him to get used to the idea of properly celebrating this year. She even already had all of her gifts to everyone purchased and wrapped, and they were now in their rightful place under the Christmas tree.

Getting the tree had been another funny story, considering it had consisted of Damon and Stefan having to work together to go find the right one, but it was now here and in one piece nonetheless.

As Elena stepped down the stairs on that crisp morning of December 18th, the first thing she heard was Damon's annoyed voice talking to someone at the door.

"He's not here, Katherine."

Elena cringed at the name. Katherine. She and Stefan had started a relationship of sorts, finally, after nearly two years of casual hook-ups and sex between the two of them. For a while, the hook-ups had worked fine for them both, but eventually, as Elena suspected, Katherine had grown possessive, and had demanded Stefan to commit only to her. Everyone had been surprised and even a little angry at first when Stefan agreed.

But despite Elena's obvious disdain for Katherine, she was glad that Stefan was happy. That was all that really mattered in the end, she supposed. At first, she had been a little afraid that seeing Stefan and Katherine actually together would spark some sort of emotion out of Damon, but her fears had been completely diminished after only a short time. Damon showed no emotion towards the couple, other than occasional annoyance. His obsession with Katherine was now a "very distant and nightmarish memory, nothing more." His words, not hers.

Now on the bottom floor of the house, Elena could catch a brief sight of Katherine standing on the doorstep, smirking snidely in Damon's direction.

"Are you sure Damon? Stefan's not really one to hide from me, you know. We're attached at the hip."

She's trying to goad him. She knows that Stefan isn't really here, Elena thought to herself angrily. Even though she knew Damon wouldn't rise to the bait, she was still annoyed at the fact that Katherine still did everything in her power to try to get to him.

Damon's face, though a little annoyed, was mostly passive as he answered. "Maybe you need to learn to keep your boyfriend on a tighter leash."

Katherine laughed, seeming amused. "Trust me, he doesn't need one." Silence passed between the two vampires before Katherine stepped off of the porch. "I suppose I should go find him so I can give him his present early. Don't expect him to come home tonight, as he will be very busy."

The smirk never leaving her face, the older doppelganger then turned on her heel, using her advanced speed to shoot off into the other direction.

After she was gone, Damon let out a low sigh, muttering under his breath as he shut the door. "Stefan better not bring her to the Christmas party."

Elena laughed shortly. "Since when do you care about the Christmas party?"

"I don't. I just don't need her lounging in my house for any length of time."

Elena rolled her eyes, tempted to scold him about getting into the Christmas spirit. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Something tells me that Katherine is about as much into Christmas as you are, if not less." She paused. "Besides…with that look on her face right before she left, I doubt Stefan will end up showing up at the Christmas party either."

She laughed again at Damon's disgusted wince, and was about to further try to horrify him when her phone suddenly beeped, signaling that she had just received a text.

And her breath caught at what she read.

"That was from Jeremy," she said frantically, looking back up at Damon. "Bonnie's water broke…she's having the baby a few days early. We need to get to the hospital. Now."

It wasn't a request. It was a demand.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "We? Why is it so damn important that I'm there?"

Elena grinned. "Because, they made me the godmother, and I guess that kind of makes you the godfather by default."

She didn't even give herself a chance to fully appreciate the mixture of shock and horror on Damon's face before she was dragging him out the door and towards the car.

The baby was perfectly healthy when she was born.

Yes, Bonnie and Jeremy had ended up having a girl. Sheila Elena Gilbert. And so far, she looked like she was going to be the spitting image of Bonnie, aside from Jeremy's big brown eyes.

Overall, she was absolutely stunning, and Elena found herself crying as she looked at the new, happy family, both out of happiness for them, and sorrow at mourning something she would never get to experience with Damon.

After allowing Bonnie a good, long time with the baby, Jeremy then picked up little Sheila into his strong arms, his own eyes swimming with tears of happiness as he held his daughter out to Elena.

"Do you want to hold your niece?'

Elena immediately clamped onto the offer, taking Sheila's tiny form into her arms, gazing down at her. This was probably the closest she would ever come to having a daughter of her own.

Little did she know that a certain pair of icy blue eyes watched her carefully as she held the baby, making some conclusions and decisions of his own.

When Christmas Day finally rolled around, Elena noticed that something was kind of off about Damon.

He seemed nervous. But not the same nervousness he would have based purely on annoyance at the Christmas Party that was going to take place at his house in only a short time, but nervous in a almost hesitant way.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked him as she put the final touches to the dinner table, wanting everything to be perfect before the guests arrived.

His expression was unreadable. "Other than extremely annoyed? Yes, I'm fine."

She somehow knew that he wasn't being entirely truthful. But considering his aggravation was probably already massively high by the notion of having this party, Elena decided that she shouldn't push it. For now. It could wait until after the party was over and all of the guests had gone home.

Caroline was the first one to arrive.

Elena had made both her and Damon promise to be civil to her, at least for the night. And they had reluctantly agreed.

And then came Bonnie and Jeremy, with little Sheila in a carrier in tow. And soon after, the house had quickly filled up.

Elena was so preoccupied that she wouldn't have noticed Damon slipping away if he hadn't told her first.

"I'm heading out," he said to her bluntly.

She frowned in response. "Where are you going?" She was annoyed. She knew that Damon wasn't much of a Christmas person, but he could at least act like he was, for her sake. And actually wanting to leave the house because of it was a bit much.

"Just out. I need to do something but…" He leaned closer to her, whispering in a way that only she could hear him over the talking and loud music. "Meet me right outside, on the porch once the party is over. I want to give you my gift to you there." He gave her a short peck on the lips, which made her even more aware of the fact that she was anxious to leave the house and not linger. "Oh, and do me a favor and make sure that no one spills anything on the rug."

And before Elena could say a single word in response, he was gone.

Elena was a bit anxious once people began to leave.

Damon had looked serious right before he had left the house; despite the fact that he said he was going to give her a gift. She only hoped that it would end up being a good kind of serious.

She followed his directions and went outside and onto the porch of the boarding house after the last person had headed home, her breath nearly bated in anticipation.

And Damon was standing there, in the same attire that he had on before he left. The only difference was that he now held a single rose in his hand.

"For you," he said flatly, handing it out to her.

After getting over her brief case of déjà vu towards the first time Damon had ever given her a rose, Elena took a single sniff out of the pretty flower, before averting her gaze completely on her boyfriend.

"Now, what's this about Damon?"

He couldn't have gone through this all this trouble just to give her a rose, could he?

Damon's eyes had a serious glint to them as he spoke. "First, I want to ask you a question, Elena. Why did you ask me about children a few weeks ago?"

Elena paused, not sure as to how to answer that and at the same time, spare his feelings. She hadn't even expected him to remember her asking the question.

When she didn't answer right away, he continued. "I'm fairly certain I know why. I could see it in your eyes when you held Baby Gilbert and Judgy's baby back at the hospital." He sighed. "You've been thinking about having kids, haven't you? And don't lie to me."

Elena let out a sigh of her own. "Yes." She knew she couldn't lie to him. He would see right through her at this point. However, she was quick to continue. "But I know it isn't possible and I accept that, Damon. I don't want you to feel bad for something you can't…."

Suddenly, Damon pressed two tiny pieces of paper into her hand. Elena glanced down at them, but it was too dark to fully read what they said. "What are these?"

"They're train tickets, to New Orleans. You and I are going next week."

"What?! But why?"

Damon smiled sheepishly. "I've been doing some research and…there's a group of witches there. A very powerful group of witches. I contacted one and asked her some questions, and she says she believes she could make it so you and I could conceive a kid."

Elena's eye widened. Could she dare hope? Was there really a possibility that she could have Damon's baby? Be a mother? Tears threatened to leak from her eyes.

"Don't get your hopes up too much," Damon was quick to warn. "We have no way of knowing if…."

But Elena didn't let him finish. Instead, she launched herself into his arms, and kissed him passionately, and he didn't make a move to argue.

Yes, there was no way of knowing for sure what the future held. But now there was hope, and it was all thanks to Damon.

And she found that it made her love him even more, even if she didn't initially think that was possible.

The End