Here's the epilogue I promised.

I love it. I really really do and I hope you do too!

This has been a wonderful story, and I think I might return with a sequel at some point ;)

But for now my concentration will be on Ode and East of Valhalla.

Either way, it's been fun and I appreciate all of you who have stuck with it and loved these characters with me.

Love ya'll!

A few month later.

"Will you come on?" Elena begged, laughing at her best friend.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Caroline jogged to catch up, nearly knocking over another couple passing them in the terminal, "Geez. Try to remember I have shorter legs than you Miss Speedy."

Elena smirked, tightening her grip on her carry on as they weaved around crowds of people, "You can hardly blame me for being in a hurry to see my daughter and her father, you know."

"I don't blame you," Caroline chuckled, "I'm just saying to try walking a little slower."

"Well you were the one who decided to wear heels," Elena pointed out.

Caroline shrugged, "Damon said he'd bring Klaus and I haven't seen him in weeks, so I have to look good."

Elena rolled her eyes playfully as they finally reached the clearing that would take them to baggage claim, "Whatever you say."

Christmas music played overhead, surprisingly still recognizable over the hum of voices, machines, and departing planes.

Elena smiled, staring around at the decorated walls of the airport, just happy to be back home.

The two weeks over Thanksgiving Break hadn't been nearly long enough, and though Damon came to visit when he could, usually bringing Gracie, she was glad to get to spend some real time with them at Belle Tara.

She felt a wave of excitement when they reached the final stairs to take them down to where Damon would be waiting, but was momentarily distracted by the giant glass wall in front of them.

The same one that had shown her the first glimpse of Virginia when she'd arrived at the start of last summer.

It was crazy to think of how much things had changed since then.

How much she had changed.

"Mommy!"

Gracelynn's voice grabbed her attention, and as she and Caroline reached the bottom of the stairs, she scanned the crowd for her.

Then she was there, in an adorable button up with tights tucked into boots, and Elena dropped to her knees so she could take the girl into her arms, those small hands flying around her neck in a death grip, "You maded it!"

She laughed, squeezing Gracie tightly to her, and kissing her head, "I did, finally! Mmmh I missed you!"

People around them were smiling at the exchange, and when she finally released Gracie she noticed that among them was second person she'd been dying to see.

"Damon."

He was standing a few feet away, that sexy smirk in place, and damn if he didn't look better than ever in dark jeans and a warm jacket.

She smiled, taking Gracie's hand and walking over to him.

"Hey darlin," he greeted, wrapping his arms around her waist the second she was close enough.

Then he kissed her and the month apart was suddenly worth it.

"I missed you, baby," she breathed, when he pulled away to rest his forehead against hers.

"I missed you too," he smiled, and finally released her.

Gracie was staring at them, and Damon reached down to pick her up, before locking Elena in another hug.

She had never felt happier, knowing that she was getting to go home with her family for an entire month.

"You need to get your bag?" Damon asked, motioning toward the claim area.

Elena nodded and forced herself to pull away from his warm embrace, "Yeah, I brought a suitcase. I think Caroline brought two."

He chuckled, "Not surprising. Where is that sister of mine?"

Elena looked around, "Where's Klaus?"

And sure enough, the two were together, wrapped up in a steaming kiss a little ways away.

Damon shook his head, "I'll go get her. You and Grace can go wait for your bags and I'll meet you over there?"

She nodded and he kissed her cheek before sitting Gracie down.

Elena smirked as the little girl immediately grabbed her hand.

"Let's go, let's go!" she urged, all but dragging Elena over towards the conveyor belt of luggage.

It didn't take long for their bags to come through, or for Damon to rejoin them, Caroline and her boyfriend in tow, and once they had everything, they headed out to the truck.

The same one Lily had picked them up in the first time Elena had come to visit.

She smiled at the memory and took Damon's hand, as Klaus and Caroline entertained Gracie in the back seat.

Laughter filled the cab, and Elena's entire body relaxed.

This was what she'd been looking forward to all semester, and she could hardly wait for the rest of her vacation.

Belle Tara looked the same as she remembered, only slightly more icy from the frozen rain that had blown in a few days prior.

Damon had told her over the phone that they were looking to be getting snow soon, and she couldn't wait.

The ground crunched as she got out of the truck, and then waited as Caroline unhooked Gracie's booster seat and helped them out.

Damon and Klaus grabbed their bags, and soon they were all bustling inside.

The warm air was welcoming, and the smell of apple turnover wafted towards them.

"Mmmhm," Caroline inhaled, "Mom's been cooking."

Her voice seemed to cue their arrival to the other inhabitants of the house, because the living room was suddenly being flooded with Salvatores.

"You made it!" April said, reaching them first.

She hugged both her sister and Elena before moving so Lily could follow in suit.

"How was the flight?" she asked, brushing back one of Caroline's curls, before smiling at Elena, "Weather didn't put you off too much?"

"It was fine," Caroline assured her, "It's good to be home though."

"Definitely," Elena nodded, and felt Damon's arm wrap around her waist.

The others greeted them in turn, the twins even offering a polite hello to Klaus as the front door was closed and everyone settled in.

"I'm gonna run Care's bags up," Damon told them, and Lily nodded, "Go ahead. Then meet us in the dining room. We're about to start dinner."

"Home cooked food," Caroline said dreamily, "Man, it is good to be back."

Elena couldn't help but agree, especially as the evening progressed through dinner with all of the Salvatores, Klaus, and even Tessa.

Gracie had moved to her lap during dessert, and hadn't let go of her since, not that she minded.

She'd missed her so damn much; and Damon, too.

He was also a constant, never leaving her side for longer than necessary, and his lips had set a habit of finding her body, be it her hand, her head, her cheek, and pressing small kisses to them.

In fact, the only time he and Gracie left her was when he announced that he was going to head down to their house and put her to bed, once the child could barely hold her eyes open.

Elena smiled, "Alright. I'm gonna help your mom clean up, then I'll be down."

"Did you want me to go ahead and take your suitcase?" he asked her.

"Sure. If you don't mind."

He nodded and kissed her, before picking up Gracie, then her bag, and saying goodnight to their family.

Elena watched them go with a full heart, before turning toward the kitchen to do exactly as she'd said.

It was good to visit with everyone, but after she'd finished the dishes, Lily was ushering her on her way, "Go on and spend time with them, darling. We'll see you in the morning."

She smiled and thanked the woman, then said goodbye to the others and followed Damon's path out the door.

It was nippier than it had been earlier, and she pulled her jacket tightly around herself as she hurried along the path down to Damon's house.

Blissfully warm air met her as she opened the door and realized that Damon had started a fire under the mantle.

"That was fast," his voice called her attention and she looked up to see him leaning against the archway that led to the hall.

She smiled at him, "They had the rest handled...and besides," she shut the door behind her then crossed the room to him, "I missed you."

A grin covered his lips and he drew her close, "I missed you too darlin, more than you know."

She nodded as he then led her to the couch, "I keep telling myself it's just one more semester, but being away from you and Gracie is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

He laid on the couch and she shrugged off her jacket before crawling up on the thing with him in front of the fireplace.

"But you're almost done," he said, wrapping his arms around her, "Like you said. Just one more semester."

She nodded, "I know. And I spoke to my admissions counselor. She said that with my GPA and test scores I could probably get into any grad school I wanted, assuming this semester goes well."

"You're still sure about joining the medical program at Whitmore?" he asked.

She nodded again, "Of course I am. A degree is a degree and Whitmore is more affordable than some prestigious school, not to mention a hell of a lot closer to you and Grace."

He smiled, "I'll admit, it would be nice to have you home more. But are you sure that it's what you want?"

She nodded, "It is. Then I can intern at MFH and hopefully that will open up a career opportunity that will let me be here, with you."

Damon kissed the top of her head, "You know, you probably won't make as much here as you would in the big city…"

She smiled at his teasing tone and pulled herself up enough to look at him, "Well someone once told me that there was more to life than money."

That brought his smirk back, "Hmm, sounds like a wise person."

She rolled her eyes, then pushed herself up his body so she could kiss him, "I guess he can be a little smart sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" he lifted a brow.

Elena just winked and kissed him again.

Damon hummed against her lips a little, "You know, I may not know a lot, but I do have one particular skill set that I've never heard you complain about."

Not it was her brow arching, "Oh yeah?"

He grinned, "Care for a demonstration?"

She had barely began to answer before he was on his feet, lifting her into his arms.

She laughed as he swung her toward the hallway, and knew that he was heading toward the bedroom.

A month without demonstration of those skills was too long for either of them.

The next few days passed in a happy haze, and Elena could hardly believe that this was her life.

Last year, the week leading up to Christmas had meant nothing but colder weather and winter course classes that only six other people had decided to take.

This year however, it had been non stop holiday festivities.

First, she'd helped Lily and the other girls bake holiday cookies for the Christmas Parade event in town, which she and Damon had taken Gracie to.

Snow had settled over the ground during the night, so the day had been a picturesque of winter wonderland and she'd enjoyed it immensely, first with watching the parade, where Damon had lifted Gracie onto his shoulders to see, then to helping decorate the enormous tree in the middle of the town square, to taking pictures of Santa with Gracie sitting in his lap.

It had been a perfect family day, followed by another warm night in Damon's arms.

Then they'd gone shopping for Gracie's presents from "Santa", and even though she was pretty sure they bought way too much, every moment was enjoyable.

She and Damon then went home and wrapped them while Gracie spent the day with Mary at some church event in town.

"She's going to love this," Elena smiled, staring down at the ribbon set Damon had picked out that allowed you to decorate a horse's mane.

"I thought so," he nodded, taking it from her to wrap in the paper, "Especially because she hasn't stopped braiding Cleo's tail since she learned how to."

Elena laughed, and grabbed the next present.

They were spread out on the living room floor, next to the Christmas tree she and Damon had picked out a few days ago.

He'd admitted that he usually didn't put a tree up in the house, as he and Gracie spend Christmas Eve at his parents, and "Santa" left Gracie's gifts there.

But she'd wanted the full experience, and he wasn't one to deny her.

As he finished wrapping the last of the gifts, she spent time on her phone, looking up how to make DIY ornaments and decorations.

Gracie could help her with most of them, and she knew the girl would especially love the popcorn on a string garland.

"Hey, babe, look at these," she motioned to Damon, and showed him her phone.

A few hours later they had went and gotten all the supplies they would need, just in time for Mary to arrive with Gracie.

Damon took the bags inside while she waited for them.

"Mommy! Look what I painted!" She exclaimed as soon as she was out of the car.

It was a nativity scene in messy water colors, but Elena had to smile at the sheer pride in the little girl's voice, "It's beautiful! Why don't you go see if Daddy will put it on the fridge."

Gracie nodded, and she looked up to smile at Mary, who had been a much more pleasant person over their last few encounters.

"Sounds like you guys had fun."

The older woman nodded, "It was very lovely, though I'm afraid she may have had a few too many cookies. She conned me."

Elena laughed, "It's okay. It's hard to say no to that face."

"Indeed," Mary nodded with a smile, "Did you get all of your shopping done?"

"Done and wrapped," Elena assured her, "Thanks for keeping her busy."

"Oh it was my treat, really."

They talked a little more before Damon and Gracie joined them back out in the yard, "Daddy said we are gonna make decorations for the tree!"

Elena smiled down at the girl, "That's right. I thought it would be fun to make some."

"You're welcome to stay," Damon offered to Mary, who waved him off, "Thank you, but I really must be going. I promised Laura Mills that I would go with her to help sort presents for the Angel Tree."

"Oh, right," he nodded, "I think Mom's helping with that."

Mary nodded, "I'll tell her hello if I see her. And I'll see you," she smiled at Gracie, "On Christmas evening."

Gracie ran over to her grandmother and hugged her, "Can we have pecan pie?"

Mary laughed, "Of course."

She said goodbye then, and they waved as she departed, before Gracie was once again in motion.

"Can we play in the snow for a little bit? Please? I want to make a real tall snowman!"

Damon chuckled, "Sure thing, kid. But why don't you go grab your gloves first so your fingers don't freeze."

She nodded and sprinted off to do as he said.

Elena smiled and moved over to him, meeting his gaze.

"What?" he teased as she stared.

She shook her head, "Nothing really. I just love this."

He leaned down and rubbed her nose with his, "And I love you."

She smiled again and he kissed her hard, warming her up, despite the cold weather.

"Mmhm," she molded into him, "I love you too."

They stayed like that until Gracie returned, and over the next hour used up basically all the fresh snow in attempts to make a giant snowman, which then turned into a snow family, which then turned into a snowball fight that Damon sorely lost, after she and Gracie teamed up on him.

They finished the night with warm baths, homemade ornaments, and hot chocolate.

Damon couldn't remember the last time he'd been happier, as Christmas Eve came and found them at his parents house, stuffed from a full Christmas dinner, and sitting in the living room, awaiting the gifts that were stacked beneath the tree.

His father was dressed in a horribly decorated Christmas sweater and a Santa hat, as he leaned down and began giving out presents.

This was a tradition they followed every year though, and he was particularly pleased that his mother had made sure to include not only her children, but all of their significant others as well.

Elena simply beamed over the earrings Lily had picked out for her, which coincidentally matched the charm bracelet Caroline had gotten her.

His mother particularly liked her gift as well, understandably, since all of the kids had gotten together at Thanksgiving to have a portrait photo taken and had gotten it framed and wrapped for her.

Lily enjoyed her family more than anything, so it was a fitting gift.

His father got a number of useful things from each of them, including a new watch, and an updated pocket knife.

All night, it went this way, present after present being opened, laughter and stories being shared over spiked eggnog, and eventually they winded down with It's a Wonderful Life on the television.

By eleven, Elena was asleep with Gracie in her lap, Silas and Tessa were passed out in the far arm chair, and Caroline had left to go to Klaus's while Stefan and April turned in for bed.

Slowly, Damon pulled himself out of Elena's embrace and moved her so she and Gracie could rest comfortably, then made his way to the kitchen.

His parents were in the dining room, talking with low smiles over coffee mugs, and he had to appreciate the fact that after all this time, through so much, they still loved each other the way that they did.

That they'd raised him to be the man he was and had made sure he always had a home.

They were truly perfect for each other, life partners, and that was all he had ever wanted.

Glancing back towards the living room, to see Elena and Gracie, asleep in each other's arms, he was pretty sure he'd found it.

"Hey sweetheart," his mother called over, spotting him.

He looked back at her as his father gave a nod, "Everyone passed out?"

"Just about," he admitted, walking over to the table, "I'll probably take the girls home in a bit."

He sat down and they both watched him, expectantly.

"You two love Elena," he started, knowing that they knew him well enough that stalling his point was useless.

"Of course we do," Lily assured him, "She's part of our family now."

Damon nodded, "I think I want to make sure of that...I'm going to propose to her."

His father smiled and his mother exhaled dramatically, "Well, it's about damn time."

He laughed a little, "I know. I just wanted to wait for the right moment...and I wanted your blessing, I guess."

"Well you have it," Giuseppe assured him, "She's already like a daughter to us, you know that."

He smiled, "I appreciate that. And everything else the two of you have done for me...for us. I couldn't have asked for better parents."

"Oh stop," Lily told him, "You're going to make me cry."

He just chuckled and pulled her into a hug, which she returned tightly, "I'm proud of you, baby."

"Thanks, Mom."

Elena woke up Christmas morning to a child jumping on the bed that she and Damon were sleeping in.

"Daddy! Daddy, Santa came!"

Damon grumbled some reply and Elena peeked her eyes open.

Gracie was practically sitting on him now, "He finded our house and left presents! Daddy!"

Elena yawned deeply and sat up, catching Gracie's attention, "Mommy, can we open presents now?"

She smiled and looked over at Damon whose blue eyes were squinting through narrowed lids.

She lifted a brow and he nodded, running a hand over his face.

"Sure," she told Gracie who cheered and jumped off the bed.

"Let's go put some coffee on for Daddy first, though."

Gracie nodded, and bolted from the room as Elena stood up and Damon groaned, "Please tell me it's at least six."

Elena checked the time, "Five-fourty, actually. How much you want to bed she barely even slept last night?"

He chuckled, "You're probably right."

He stretched and she leaned over to kiss him, "I'll go put on a pot. You want to get dressed and go grab some wood? We'll start a fire, drink some coffee, and watch Grace open the presents."

He nodded with a small smile, "Sure, darlin. Just give me a sec."

She kissed him again, then got up, pulling one of his long flannel shirts on over her nightgown, and headed for the hall.

Gracie was in the living room, admiring her gifts while Elena finished making the coffee.

It was still dark outside, but the sky was lightening.

She heard the door open, then close and knew that Damon had returned with the firewood.

Good thing too, because while the house wasn't uncomfortable, it was still chilly, and nothing went with a cold morning like warm coffee and a nice fire.

She made Damon a cup, refilled her own, then made her way into the living room.

There were presents pouring out from under the Christmas tree, which was decorated in so many popcorn garlands and paper ornaments that you could hardly see any green, and Elena wondered if Damon had put them there last night.

She had been half asleep when he'd woken her up to walk home and had crashed pretty much right after they'd put Gracie down in her bed.

He'd done a good job though, and she had to smile as Gracie picked up one of the wrapped boxes and tried to guess what was inside of it.

Damon worked on the fire and Elena moved to the couch, setting his coffee down and tucking her legs beneath her.

"Can I open it now?" Gracie pleaded.

"One second," Damon compromised, and soon there were flames blazing from the fireplace and he pulled away from it with a satisfied look.

"Alright, baby, go ahead."

Grace grinned and began tearing into the first one as he settled next to Elena, moving her feet so that they rested in his lap.

"Thank you," he said, picking up the coffee and she nodded, "Of course."

Gracie gasped, pulling free an All American girl doll, which looked similar to her, and showed it off, "Look! Look what I got!"

Damon smiled widely, "Wow. Look at that."

Gracie giggled and moved to the next gift.

Elena sat in calm contentment as each present was revealed and and Gracie showed it to them with renewed excitement.

Part way through, she'd pulled out her phone and began taking pictures, wanting to remember these moments.

It took nearly half an hour for all the gifts to be open, given that Gracie kept getting distracted by one or another and trying to play with it some before Damon had to give her a gentle reminder that she had more waiting to be opened.

Eventually though, they were all unwrapped and Gracie sat among piles of shiny paper and bows and toys, happy as could be, playing with all her new toys.

"She likes them," Elena said with a grin, as Damon ran his fingers up and down her leg.

She looked over at him when he patted her.

"Come with me?" he asked, and she gave him a look when he stood.

"Where to?"

"Just into the kitchen for a moment."

She nodded, and he smiled before reaching out for her hand.

It was cooler in the kitchen; heat from the fire not quite making it into that room, and Elena rubbed her arms when Damon let her hand go.

"We might need to turn up the heat a little," She told him.

"In a minute," he promised, "But right now, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

She crooked her head, "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

He smiled a little, and looked at her in an observatory way.

"Damon?"

"I love you. You know that, right?"

She nodded, "I think you've made that point clear once or twice."

He laughed lowly, "I'd hope...Do you remember that morning you and Gracie made me pancakes?"

She thought back to that summer, "Vaguely. Yes...why?"

"That's the first time I think it really hit me that this was something I wanted. This family. You were here in this kitchen, holding my little girl, and seeing the way Gracie cared for you right back...I liked it."

Elena smiled and reached out for him so that her arms wrapped around his middle, "Me too. You both mean so much to me. And this Christmas has been amazing. Like something out of a movie. Gracie was so happy, opening her presents...it made me happy."

He smiled in earnest now, "You know...I was thinking I might be able to give her one more gift...but I wanted to run it by you first."

Elena eyed him warily, "Is it another pony? Because she already has-"

"It's not." he chuckled, "Actually, it ties into the present I have for you."

She blinked, "You...you got me a present?"

"Of course I did."

She arched her brow curiously, "Do I get to see it? Or is this one of those guess what it is kind of things?"

He smirked, shaking his head, "No, you get to open it."

Damon reached behind him then, to what she assumed was his back pocket, and pulled out a little square gift wrapped box.

Elena smiled up at him as he handed it to her, a little curious.

She pulled off the wrapping paper, feeling a kind of how Gracie had looked earlier, filled with excitement.

She hadn't exactly celebrated too many Christmases, and that Damon had went out of his way to pick something out for her was-

Wait.

She stared at the box that was in her hand.

A jewelry box.

And she had a feeling it wasn't going to contain a pair of earrings, like the one last night had.

Her heart stuttered and her mouth fell open slightly.

Then slowly, she reached forward with her other hand, and lifted the lid.

"Oh, Damon…"

A beautiful ring shone up at her, a large diamond with two smaller ones on each side.

She looked up at him, with tears in her eyes, just in time to see him fall to one knee.

"Oh my god," she breathed, and he took her head.

"Elena-"

"Yes," she said without hesitation, and he blinked, then laughed.

"You aren't even gonna let me get the question out?"

But she didn't need the question.

She threw herself into his arms, taking them both to the ground, and kissed him with everything she had.

And Damon kissed her back with just as much passion and excitement for this new step in their lives.

She giggled as she lifted off of him, "Sorry."

He was grinning though, as he sat up, so her apology was moot, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she promised, grabbing his face with her free hand and kissing him again.

"So, for clarification," he said against her lips, "You're agreeing to marry me?"

Elena laughed, feeling happier than she ever had in her entire life, "Yes, baby. That's exactly what I'm agreeing to."

"Good," he breathed, then rejoined their lips.

And there, making out on the kitchen floor, is where Gracie found them a few moments later.

"What's the matter?" she asked when they broke apart and Elena had tears streaming down her eyes.

Damon smiled at her, then looked at his daughter, "Do you remember that thing we talked about last week? About Elena and the ring we picked out?"

Gracie nodded, "You were gonna ask her to get married and be my mommy for real, but it's a secret, so I can't tell her."

Suddenly she gasped and covered her mouth, "Oops, sorry Daddy!"

Damon and Elena both laughed, and Elena opened her arms for the little girl to come over.

"It's okay, sweetie, he already told me."

Gracie ran over and wrapped her arms around Elena's neck, "He did? Did you say yes?! Are you gonna really be my Mommy?"

Elena smiled and looked into Damon's eyes, copied perfectly into her little face, "Yes, baby. I would love to marry your Daddy and be your Mommy. Are you okay with that?"

Gracie didn't answer.

Instead she wrapped her arms around Elena's neck and squeezed her.

Elena held her baby girl, and smiled over at Damon with fresh tears in her eyes.

His eyes were also a little wet, but his smirk was in place.

Then he took the ring from her hand and removed it from the box to slide it onto her finger.

It was a perfect fit.

Just like the three of them together.

She could have yelled her joy to the heavens.

She thought of Caroline, of Lily and Giuseppe, and of the twins and April.

Then of Damon and this beautiful little girl.

They loved her, and she loved them.

They were her family and they wanted her.

They were her home.

She'd finally found a place where she belonged, and it had come when she wasn't even looking.

Not in a city, in a fancy hospital, or in her studies, but in the last place she'd of expected.

A random small town in Virginia, where the people were friendly, the pie was good, and the fireflies danced.

And she wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world.

Tears. I'm literally crying while finishing this.

Hope you guys enjoyed!