"Don't skip any meals, mija, I mean it." Elizabeth hugged Ella tightly, closing her eyes to savor the moment. (My daughter)

"I won't. Say hi to the Auntie Soph." Ella moved to hug her dad, laughing when he lifted her slightly.

"She'll be waiting for you guys for the holidays." Her dad reminded his three kids. The three rascals were to be traveling to Spain to spend Christmas and New Year over there. It had been a silent agreement that every year was swapped in terms of locations. One year would be in Spain and the other one would be in the states, and it worked out for everyone.

"The tickets have been booked, Papa." Fransisco agreed, already knowing how much his parents freaked about all of that already being booked. "They have been since last Christmas." He murmured under his breath, earning himself a jab into the ribs from Stefanie.

"You guys look after each other! We'll see you all in weeks time, okay?" Their mom continued to yell, embarrassing the three adults. "Adios, mis amores!" She smiled, almost evilly when she saw Fransisco's face turn beet red. (Bye, my loves)

"Don't give it away, she'll only take advantage." Stef hissed through her clenched teeth that were bared for a smile.

"You guys are so dramatic." Ella chuckled, being the first one to turn around once her parents did.

"You've always been the favorite one. Plus, you don't mind all of that sappy stuff." Fransisco grumbled, pulling his coat tighter around his bulky figure. "I can't wait until we get to Spain."

"It's not like the weather is that much warmer." Stef yawned, feeling tired after having to wake up early to say goodbye to her parents. It was a Sunday morning, approximately two A.M. to be exact. She normally wouldn't be up unless she had a photoshoot, which she didn't. Therefore, on the ride back from the airport, she took a nap.

"See you guys Friday?" Ella shivered as she got out of Fransisco's car once they had driven all the way back to her house. He had gotten up even earlier to pick up Stefanie and his parents at Ella's just to not make everyone drive all their cars.

"Wait. I want to stay with you." Stef awoke from her nap, groggily stumbling out of the car as Fransisco chuckled at his sister. "Why is it so dark?" She whined, not even bothering to say goodbye to Fransisco as she went straight into Ella's house.

Ella looked at her sister, laughing quietly before turning back to her brother. "Drive carefully. I'll probably call you later." Ella closed his door, walking into her home and locking the door so that he could leave.

Finding Stef on the large sofa, Ella discarded her thick and long coat before she fell onto a different sofa beside her sister, picking up a fluffy blanket and covering herself. Not even five minutes later, she felt her sister's slim figure wrap around her, her familiar Chanel fragrance surrounding Ella.

"It's too uncomfortable over there." Stef mumbled, curling up to her older sister.

Ella laughed softly, mumbling a "sure" before wrapping an arm around her baby sister. Even though Stefanie was an independent adult, she was still the baby of the family and was still used to receiving love from all of the older members.

Damien, meanwhile, awoke bright and early at seven, beginning his morning with a jog. He had gotten used to using some of his free time to work out or try to read historical books in order to not work too much. Since his time with Ella, which had been about a little over half a year, he had gotten back into old hobbies. He didn't feel the suffocating need to be immersed in work all the time; he felt happier.

Just as he was coming back inside from his jog, his phone began ringing. Now that his mom was getting along with Ella better, the communication with her had gotten better too. It was much easier to talk to her now that she wasn't pestering him about marriage or getting together with Selena.

"How is Ella?" His mom abruptly questioned, making Damien ponder about his mother's intentions.

"She's well." Damien slowly responded, actually remembering something. "Actually, do you remember those home-made tea's you gave me for a sore throat?"

"Is she sick?" Celeste smiled, fist pumping the air. "That's even better! Listen, I made this Chicken Tortellini Soup, and Damien, she's going to love it. Let me just take it to her, and you'll see! Oh, her parents are going to love-"

"Madre, what are you planning? Her parents left this morning." Damien frowned, starting the shower. Something told him he was going to have to do damage control.

"They did?" Celeste paused but there was still shuffling her side of the line. "All the better. I'll call you later!"

'Madre? Madre!" Damien insisted, but it was no use; she had already hung on him. "Incredibile," Damien sighed, tossing his phone to the side before jumping into the shower. He had already made plans to go visit Ella today. He figured she would feel a little down from her parents leaving after having them so near for quite some time. What he didn't figure, though, was that once he actually showed up to Ella's house two hours later, his mother's car would be parked in the driveway. (Incredible)

Rushing inside, he found Ella and Stefanie sitting on the breakfast bar, eating something from a steaming bowl while his mom was right across, wiping down Ella's already clean counters.

"Oh, hey, Damien!" Stefanie noticed him first, a bright expression on her face.

If there was something that he had learned from Stefanie during the time that he had spent over at Ella's was that the girl did not bother to hide her emotions. Whether she was happy, sad, angry, or upset, the young model showed it unabashedly. That meant that if she was happy, then his mother hadn't ticked her off just yet.

"Hey," Ella smiled warmly at him, also seeming relaxed and at peace. "Come sit. Have you eaten? Your mom made some really good soup." Ella patted the seat next to her.

"I'll serve you a bowl." Celeste brightly announced, moving further back to go prepare it while Stefanie sighed dramatically.

"Fine, fine. I'll take you out." Stef got out of her seat to go take Rufus out for a little bit. The darned pup had been whining at her feet for a while, and unable to resist his cuteness for much longer, Stefanie gave in.

Damien waited until they were alone, a wall blocking his mom's view of them before he leaned approached Ella, cupping her face to tilt her head up so that he could kiss her gently, nipping at those plump lips he adored before she pulled away.

"You'll get sick." Ella scolded, and Damien scoffed, swooping down to steal a deeper and longer kiss at her soft lips.

Laughing, they both pulled away when they heard Celeste approaching them, chatting about how a warm bowl of soup in this weather was just perfect.

"And I'll leave a jug of this prepared, so just drink it all day if possible. Trust me, it'll take away whatever is bothering you in your throat." Celeste promised, closing the jug of pre-made and home-made tea that Ella would just have to pour and heat up. "You make sure she drinks it all." Celeste nagged at her son, already collecting her things.

"Thank you so much for coming and for the food. It was really delicious." Ella walked Celeste out, wincing when the front door opened, allowing some of the icy wind to enter.

"No problem, dear. I hope you get better; it isn't easy getting sick these days. You take care of her, Damien." Celeste kissed her son's cheek, patting it harder than needed before leaving.

"Come on," Damien pushed a laughing Ella behind him as he closed the door. "You're voice is getting worse." He directed her by the shoulders to her sofa, tucking her in with a blanket. "I'll go get you that tea, you stay here and rest." Going to the kitchen, Damien ran into Stefanie who was feeding Rufus.

"Hey, I'm heading out now." Stef pulled on her coat over a hoodie she already had one. "I think Ella is too sick to entertain."

"I didn't think you needed entertaining." Damien commented, chuckling at how Stef could literally sit in silence with Ella for hours and still be entertained.

"Who said I was the one who needed entertaining? She is too sick for me to be here." Stef mocked, laughing at her own joke. " Jk. See you later, dude." Stef scratched the back of Rufus's ear before leaving to go say bye to Ella. Damien heard some ruffling and talking before the front door opened, "I called an Uber, don't worry." Stef almost slammed the front door, jolting Ella slightly by the time Damien made it back to her.

"I've told her many times to not take those rides." Ella shook her head. Damien frowned, noticing that Ella looked paler than just five minutes ago. "She just doesn't listen." Ella paused, pensive before struggling to get up from her warm and comfortable spot. "Let me go catch her before she leaves."

"I'll take her." Damien offered, pushing her back in her spot gently.

"You don't have to. In fact, tell her to just take my car ke-"

"It's no bother, really. I'll take her home, and come right back, okay?" Damien promised, kissing her forehead.

"Drive safely." Ella called out, wincing when her voice broke. "Gosh, this weather always gets to me." She mumbled to herself, shaking her head as she drank the tea.

It was a while later that Ella had been falling in and out of sleep that she smelt his cologne before she could even open her eyes to see Damien.

"Sh, sh. It's just me." Damien lifted her upper half from the cushion to rest her on him, feeling how she felt much warmer than before. Waiting until Ella fell asleep again, he tried to get her back on the sofa as to not wake her, but to his surprise, she was completely knocked out. In fact, this was beginning to concern him. In all the time that he had known her, not once was she a heavy sleeper.

Just then, her phone began to rang and reading that it was Elizabeth, Damien answered with a sigh a relief, quickly explaining the situation. What surprised him the most though, was the sound of Elizabeth laughing softly.

"Don't let her scare you. When she was young, I also got the fright of my life whenever she got sick, which is often, by the way. Just take away the blanket and place a cool and wet rag on her forehead." Elizabeth proceeded to give Damien thorough instructions, patiently waiting until Damien was finished.

"Her lips are pink again." Damien sighed, feeling relieved now that she wasn't deathly pale.

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Elizabeth laughed, remembering how she would take Ella on multiple hospital trips when she was young just because of how often and severally ill she would get.

"Does she have an immune disorder?" Damien sat back down. He needed to know if that was the case in order to treat Ella properly. It was only December, barely the beginning of the winter months.

"Yes, and no. She gets sick easily, but her immune system is really good at fighting it all off. Just be mindful of her temperature, and she'll be fine." Elizabeth promised. "Actually... let me call Fransisco. He'll go over and pick her up-"

"No, no, Eliza," Damien still felt weird about calling her by her first name, but it was what the woman wanted, so he was just following directions. He felt like she needed to be respected more, especially for raising such an amazing person like Ella. "I'll take care of her. I'm here with her now, anyway."

"Are you sure? Tomorrow is Monday, and I really don't want you to miss work. Let me just call Fran-"

"It's perfectly fine." Damien insisted, noting how it was getting darker outside. He had never stayed over, and while it made him kind of nervous, leaving Ella alone when she was sick made him even more nervous. "I promise I don't mind at all."

Elizabeth smiled, feeling more at ease now knowing that there was another person added onto the list that would help take care of her daughter. It wasn't easy leaving her alone after being with her for months. It never was.

"Alright, then. Feel free to call me if you need anything. Also, let Ella know that we're back home now."

"Will do. Goodnight." Damien hung up, checking the time as well. It was quite late, almost nine in the evening, but judging by Elizabeth's words, Ella would waking up soon, so with that in mind, he made himself comfortable in her kitchen and began cooking. Having grown up with a nagging mother really paid off in that moment, he thought as he cut up some zucchini.

An hour later, just as the food was finishing up, Ella woke up, stretching as she stumbled to get a bottle of water.

"You're here?" Ella was slightly surprised to see him wandering around, but at the same time, it was almost normal.

"Hungry?" Damien didn't wait for her answer as he began serving her a steamy plate, ushering her to go back to the sofa where he served her comfortably. "How is it?"

Ella hadn't even taken a bite, still busy blowing on the forkful but she paused, laughing as her eyes squinted. "You're so cute." Ella's pearly teeth glowed brightly, matching the whites of her eyes. Damien waited until she chewed thoughtfully, then humming in admiration. "It's really good. Thank you." She reached to squeeze his hand. "I would kiss you, but I'm recovering- Damien!" Ella laughed as he disregarded her concern, stealing a short kiss.

"I'll cook often." Damien promised, leaning back against the couch.

"You're so silly." Ella smiled, shaking her head before putting on her favorite, Spanish show that took place in the nineteen-hundreds.

Two episodes later, Ella was back to lying down, drowsy again after drinking some medicine. Her legs were extended over Damien's lap, his hands occasionally rubbing them over the thick blanket.

"You should leave before I knock out, again." Ella murmured, more asleep than awake.

"I'm actually staying, if that's okay with you..." Damien cautiously watched as she frowned.

"Then why are you all the way over there?" Ella got up, crawling over to him before settling quite boldly and comfortably over his lap, dragging him down until they were both lying down. "Will it be okay? Don't you have work on Monday?"

"No." Damien pulled up the blanket to cover Ella more. "You were sick. You better not think about going to work tomorrow."

Ella chuckled, turning around so that she could see the TV screen, grateful that the sofa was wide enough to hold them them both comfortably and even with a little bit of space left.

"Just turn up the TV a little bit."