"I'm honestly kind of surprised you aren't acting like a love-sick puppy right now." Erica nudged Ella on the sofa where everyone was gathered. Most of her family was busy picking out the presents that were underneath the Christmas tree.

"What do you mean?" Ella cooed at the baby in her lap. At just four months old, little Melissa was the apple of everyone's eyes, especially Ella's. "Your mommy is being a little dramatic, isn't she?"

"I'm just saying, you guys seemed to be in the honeymoon phase of your relationship last time I saw you both. I'm surprised you didn't invite him to come here." Erica was waving a little rattle around to keep the newborn entertained.

Ella shrugged. She couldn't say that the thought didn't cross her mind because it did, but she had also been aware that Celeste had been planning their annual Christmas party, and she was pretty sure that Damien wanted to spend Christmas with them. Not to mention that if Ella took Damien away for a whole month, not only would Celeste completely despise her but Damien would fall super behind on work.

"I think he wanted to spend time with his family. It had been a while since they had gotten together, you know." Ella commented, shrugging off a nagging worry about him. She wasn't too sure about who exactly had been invited to their annual festa, but Ella was trying really hard to think positive thoughts.

"I'm sure there's a reason of why he didn't want to spend time with them. I saw the way he looked at you when Fransisco mentioned us leaving for a whole month. The poor man looked like someone had kicked his puppy." Erica snorted, finding it funny how Ella didn't seem to see how hard Damien had fallen for her.

"He did not." Ella chuckled, shaking her head. Damien did look disappointed, but she wouldn't dare say that he looked devastated. "I think he was just shocked. I hadn't mentioned anything to him, so it was a bit sudden."

"Did you guys fight?" Erica asked curiously, imagining a crazy scenario before another thought entered her mind, this one making her facial expression turn serious. "Do you guys even fight?"

Ella shook her head. "We haven't really."

Erica looked at her sister-in-law in annoyance before flattening her lips into a straight line. "Must be nice. Your brother can be an a-"

"Everyone ready?" Stefanie clapped her hands eagerly, a giant and bright Santa hat on her head as she stood by the bright and towering Christmas Tree. "I want to go first!" Stefanie picked up a large box.

Every year, the family did the Dirty Santa game. It was the most fair way to do gifts so that no one would feel left out in case someone didn't end up getting a gift. At the end of the night, though, almost everyone would end up receiving around three gifts each.

As the night progressed, it became late and Erica had long gone left with Melissa to go to bed. Timotheo had also turned in quite some time after complaining that he had gotten a headache due to the consumption of a little too much alcohol.

"Ella, don't you want one more plate? I know you do!" Stefanie sang from the kitchen, dancing her way to the living room where Ella laid with her feet over Fransisco's lap.

"Stef, hush. Melissa is sleeping." Fransisco grabbed a pillow, ready to throw it to Stefanie's face before he noticed the plate, slowly placing the cushion back down.

"She won't hear a thing over that loud air purifier." Stefanie huffed, sitting down on Ella's blanket a bit. "Does that even work? We were raised just fine, and we are sti-"

"Ella, your phone is ringing." Elizabeth walked in with her own plate of food. Ella, confused, frowned. She wasn't expecting any calls these days.

"You better run. I bet it's lover boy." Stefanie sang again, receiving another glare from her older brother.

Ella, rushing to get to the phone before she missed the call, stumbled while trying to leave the couch. "Stef, you're sitting on the blan-"

Stefanie got up, the blanket loosening a lot more causing a tugging Ella to fall off the couch. Fransisco, watching the entire fiasco couldn't help but to let out a loud and deep laugh.

"Fran, hush. Melissa is sleeping." Stefanie mocked him lowly, making a face while Ella crawled up and left for the kitchen where her phone was.

"Hello?" Ella's answer was a bit rushed an out of breath from the little show she and Stef had just made in the living room.

"Hey," Damien's low and baritone voice answered calmly. "Are you alright?" He frowned upon hearing her deep breathing.

"Sorry, yeah. I just... I fell." Ella admitted bashfully, laughing softly at herself while shaking her head and rubbing her forehead.

Damien chuckled, only being able to imagine the event. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I just slid from the couch, trust me. It wasn't a big thing." Ella explained, still feeling a bit heated from rushing and the embarrassment now.

"Did I wake you?" Damien wondered if he had imposed. Just because he didn't enjoy spending time with his family did not mean that everyone else was the same. He had spent time with Ella's family, and he saw the type of people they were. In fact, not once did he even bother to look at the clock or wish to leave early; they were that comfortable to be around.

"No," Ella moved to go tell the remaining, awake members of her family that she was going upstairs. She could tell by his voice that dinner with his family hadn't gone all too well. "I actually needed to come up to get ready for bed."

Damien didn't say anything. He didn't really have the energy to talk or even try to make small chat. He honestly just wanted to hear Ella speak. Her voice was soothing and calming.

"Tell me about your day." Damien said instead.

Ella agreed.

"She's adorable. I don't even think you've met her, but trust me, as bad as my brother's appearance can be sometimes, he's actually pretty good looking. They were bound to make adorable babies." Ella sighed, finally reaching her childhood bed after washing up and changing into some comfortable, night clothes. "Will you tell me now? What happened, I mean?" Ella toyed with the lavender comforter, the soft material still smelled of that laundry detergent that Ella's mom used. Ella had nearly gone crazy trying to find it in the states, but it was to no avail; they didn't have it.

"Selena..." Damien sighed, really wishing he could see Ella, even if was for a brief second. "I don't want to lose her. We've been friends since childhood," Damien couldn't bare the thought of losing another friend. He genuinely cherished and loved them, and he wished that Selena could see it what Vincent couldn't.

"Did she do something?" Ella carefully and softly asked, turning in her bed. The night was impeccably dark and surprisingly chilly.

Damien took another hurt breath, focusing on not crying. He hadn't cried since Vincent's funeral and then again when he opened up to Ella, and while it may seem ridiculous to any other person, it hurt. It hurt Damien deeply and irrevocably to see one of his best friends, someone who deserved so much, think that they deserved nothing and just... disappear.

"I love you, Damien. I want you to know that. I will support your decision and aid your pain. Know that." Ella whispered, remembering how Damien how hugged her extra tight before revealing that he loved her too one day recently. Without her even realizing it, Damien had become more dependent on that beautiful and young girl that amazed him endlessly.

Damien sighed out heavily, a jagged breath. "I bought you a gift." He revealed instead. He didn't want to make Ella feel bad even though his problem was not at all her issue. The fact that Selena didn't accept her and made him uncomfortable with her delusional ideas that they were going to end up together was something that Selena needed to resolve by herself.

"Did you?" Ella was a bit taken aback by the sudden change in conversation, but it was the second time that he had done it, so she now knew for sure that he did not want to talk about whatever was plaguing his mind.

"I thought it would be a good idea to give it to you after you returned, but now I'm wishing I had given it to you sooner." Damien laid back in his own bed. He had actually returned quite early from his family dinner, but he wanted to wait until he estimated when Ella's dinner would be finished before calling her.

"I got you something, too." Ella revealed, chuckling. "Maybe we both should've given them early."

"What did you get?" Damien wondered. It had taken him a bit to think of something to get to her, he was actually curious of what she had thought of for him.

"You'll figure it out when I get back." Ella scoffed quietly, as if she would ruin his surprise.

Their night proceeding with just hushed whispers as they spoke about their week and what was to come. Damien talking a little bit about the Jamie Parker case and how he was planning on visiting her now with his facts straight: Jamie Parker killed Dean Parker, twin of David Parker, who was actually the husband of Jamie. Officially, now, David was being located and had an arrest warrant after him. By the time the young couple hung up, both were very sleepy and tired considering it was a little past midnight.

That was how the rest of the month went by for both, too. Damien's passed by a little slower considering how much of his time lately had been spent with Ella and her family. He didn't realize that in a way, he had already been openly accepted into the Cortesa family and that he also considered himself a little more than just Ella's boyfriend even though they had only been dating for more than half a year.

"Somebody grab my suitcase, for the love of-"

"I got it, baby." Fransisco cut Erica off, hauling off the large suitcase from the electronic slide that held many luggage bags.

The month had passed, it now being the eighth of January, and half of the Cortesa family officially had left Spain.

"Ella's bag is there, though." Stefanie frowned, reaching to grab it but missing. "Well, I guess I'll wait." She sighed, knowing that Erica was carrying the baby's luggage, Fransisco was carrying his and his wife's, and Ella was busy with a little and whiny Melissa.

"I got it." Suddenly, Damien appeared, easily grabbing the seemingly weightless luggage.

He had arrived a little earlier than the estimated time of arrival, but that was because he wanted to make sure that they wouldn't have to wait in case their flight arrived earlier but also because he was very much eager to get to Ella.

"She'll be back in a minute." Stefanie informed Damien upon noticing his confused expression when he couldn't find Ella.

Just them, though, Ella returned, a small, pink bundle in her arms and a police officer escorting her back to them. Erica, alarmed by the police officer, rushed forward, asking what had happened. Ella was only supposed to go the restroom.

"Don't worry, there seemed to be a crowd because of a celebrity. The officer kindly walked us back through the crowd." Ella explained, gladly handing a calm Melissa now back to her mother. "Thank you, again." Ella smiled kindly at the police officer who seemed more smitten than ever. Ella, however, turned and caught sight of Damien in that moment.

Smiling a lot more brightly, Ella crossed the space separating them, wrapping her arms around his neck as he did her waist, lifting her slightly. Their hug, though, was brief since they were well-aware that everyone else would be waiting on them. Damien had offered to drive them back to their houses so that they wouldn't be forced to call a taxi or Uber. Plus, it served as an excuse to see Ella as soon as possible.

"Thank you so much, but bye. Ella, let's not see each other until next month to make up for seeing each other all month this time." Stef groaned dramatically as she got off, yanking and tugging her own excessively large bag until she made it safely inside after being the last one that Damien needed to drop off excluding Ella.

"I can't imagine being stuck together for so long." Damien almost shuddered at just the thought of spending a whole month in the same household as his family now. It was a totally different story to do that after he had moved out and gotten used to living alone.

"I'm sure there's a part of her that isn't kidding, but she mostly is." Ella patted his hand that was wrapped in both of hers. It seemed as though he was more touchy now than he had been before. Perhaps it was true that absence made the heart grow fonder. "It is admirable to live with someone for so long, though."

Damien hummed in agreement. He figured that Ella wouldn't really have a problem. Come to think of it, Damien didn't really see himself living with anyone else unless it was Ella. He could see himself living a calm and long life with her, which honestly, didn't seem bad at all.

"Are you coming in?" Ella yawned once Damien parked his vehicle behind the garage.

"Yeah, let me just help you bring that in." Damien took her luggage, helping her with that bag. "Have you eaten?" Damien checked the time, noting that it was a little past lunch time.

"Um, no. Can I go shower first? It's cold." Ella commented, watching as Damien headed to her thermostat, fixing that before ushering her to go get washed up and comfortable while he made lunch.

Ella took her time, letting the heat and steam of the water relax her before she finally left. After changing into another oversized and soft sweater, Ella sat down on her bed, sighing. She was so tired. She had barely slept during the twelve hour flight, and she was so comfortable right now.

Using the excuse that she would only lie down for just a minute, Ella ended up fast asleep.

That was how Damien found a couple of minutes later. After he had waited and called out to her, when she didn't respond, he became slightly concerned and went to check up on her. What he didn't really expect was to see her in a deep sleep. She didn't even wake up when Damien lifted her to tuck her under her covers or when her curtain hangers slid across as Damien closed the cotton curtains block the sun from entering the room.

"I love you," Damien hummed quietly as he pressed his lips to her temple, prolonging his kiss there before leaving her to rest.