Part 3

"This is really nice," Rosa said appreciatively after Spencer had opened the door to his apartment. She could see that her mate hadn't been kidding about his apartment being covered in bookcases and there were also books everywhere that it was possible to have them. "You definitely weren't kidding about having bookcases everywhere."

"I'm always been a bibliophile," Spencer shrugged looking rather sheepish.

"Well, at least you have a nice comfortable couch with a big screen TV," Rosa said appreciatively.

"I might be a bibliophile of the first-order, but I do, do other things," Spencer said, even as he started to unfold the couch into a bed.

"There are some sheets in the closet in the spare bedroom on the right," Spencer told Rosa who immediately went to fetch them.

Rosa returned with the sheets in less than a minute and helped Spencer make up the bed. With both of them helping and it was done only a minute later.

"Well, let's get started shall we?" Rosa said, as she slipped out of her clothes at vampire speed.

"Lights off," was all Spencer said while he was smiling at her tenderly, so tenderly that it nearly made Rosa catch her breath.

Both of them climbed onto opposite sides of the bed and then there weren't many sounds after that except for purrs, moans and whimpers of pleasure.

It wasn't too long later that the bond between them was completed, and while it shocked them with its strength that didn't stop them for very long from making love to each other.

It was over two days later when both of them were finally sated satisfied for the moment anyway.

"Well, for such a self-contained man you sure are a wildcat in bed," Rosa admitted smiling hugely.

"I've often heard that it's the quiet, self-contained ones that can be wildcats in bed," Spencer admitted, much happier than he ever had been in his entire life. The feeling of completeness that all his friends had tried to describe him, but hadn't really been able to now made sense. He felt at peace for the first time in his entire life and knew that so long as he had Rosa then he would be happy with her alone, but to also have Dave and Penny and Aaron and Persephone was just an added bonus. His doubts that they truly wanted him around were now banished for all time, as he now understood that Dave never would have changed him if he hadn't had at least genuine affection for him and seen him as a son or at least a nephew, even if he had never said so. He now knew that if he had said no, to Dave turning him and he had died that he would have been devastated and so would Aaron and Penny.

"Well, in your case that's definitely true," Rosa said grinning from ear to ear.

"I never was before so it's you that brings it out in me," Spencer admitted a little shyly.

"Well, hopefully it will be repeated a lot over the centuries, but now I believe we both need some blood," Rosa said.

"That would probably be wise," Spencer admitted. "Afterwards, we can go over to your place and get some of your things unless you'd rather just live over there."

"I think we'll have to live in both places until we find a suitable house or perhaps have one built," Rosa said. "You have too many books to fit in my apartment and I have too many possessions to fit in yours."

"Yes, that's probably best for the moment," Spencer agreed. "I'm now glad I didn't rip your clothes off to you as it would have required a trip to your apartment to pick out replacements, before we could go anywhere."

"You can do that next time," Rosa promised with a saucy wink. "And sometime in the next few months I'm going to update your wardrobe by about 30 years."

"Only 30?" Spencer laughed. "Back when I worked at the BAU some of my teammates claimed that I was about 50 or 60 years out of date when it came to fashion as if I had come from the 50s and 60s. I remember well how Emily, JJ and Penny tried to get me to update my wardrobe and back then I totally resisted all their efforts. Mom was never into fashion, but I'm sure I would've dressed more modernly if she hadn't had schizophrenia. My father certainly wasn't any help in that department. I never really cared about how I looked before, but now I know it's important to make a decent impression."

"From what I know you tried your best to look like an old college professor so that people would leave you alone and you succeeded in that," Rosa said.

"Yeah, I basically lived my life alone, except when I was working which was a great deal of the time," Spencer admitted. "It's not like I had any friends to spend time with, except the team of course. As a child I was very lonely. I now know it was partly how I dressed and acted, but it's not like I had an adult in my life, a mentor to teach me how to act and behave. Children's learn by example and all I learned from my father was how to abandon the people you're supposed to love."

Rosa growled at that and Spencer smiled at her.

"My past no longer matters, as I have you now not to mention Dave and Penny, Aaron and Persephone, as well as all their children they insisted on naming me godfather for. I might not see any of them often, but I know they genuinely love me."

"I can't wait to meet them," Rosa said as she kissed Spencer tenderly, which he responded to instantly. "We had better get dressed now, before we start going at it like rabbits again."

"We can do that when we get back from gathering up some of your personal affects," Spencer said and Rosa nodded eagerly.

The two rose reluctantly from the bed and begin to get dressed in the clothes they had discarded over two days previously. Once they were suitably clothed and looked presentable they both left the apartment not caring that it was in the middle of the night as there was always nightlife in New Orleans.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

The Bahamas

"This is really nice, Aaron," Persephone said appreciatively, as the two of them strolled hand-in-hand along a beach under the moonlight.

"Yes, it is," Aaron agreed, as he gave his mates handed gentle squeeze. "So Christmas isn't too far away..."

Persephone knew what Aaron was asking and so answered him.

"I think that Dave, Penny and perhaps Spencer should join us somewhere, although we'll have to decide on a destination," Persephone decided immediately. "I have to admit that I miss my sister and Dave too of course."

"Well, it has been several years since we've seen each other," Aaron said understandingly. "We've spent the last few years basically by ourselves, which the others understood. If you want to spend time with your sister, Dave and Spencer then that's okay with me, as I miss them to."

"Then that's what I want so long as none of them are too busy," Persephone decided.

"I doubt they're busy enough to not spend Christmas with us," Aaron said. "I suspect that they'll be very excited by the invitation since we turned down the last three wanting to spend the time by ourselves."

Neither one of them even thought about Thanksgiving since that was all about food and they couldn't eat. No, Christmas was really the major holiday for them, not that they didn't see those who they considered family at other times of the year, but Christmas was special and they usually spent the whole month of December together, sometimes even extending it into January.

Aaron was thankful every day that he had Persephone in his life and he made sure she knew it. She responded by loving him even more. Unlike her sister Penelope she didn't have confidence problems when it came to her looks and that was one way they differed in personality, even though they were identical twins. She knew Aaron loved her for herself and that was all she needed, to know that how attractive she was to others didn't matter since she had Aaron. Aaron thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, so she believed it, because it was only his opinion that mattered to her at least when it came to her looks.

"You're right," Persephone's agreed, as she and Aaron continued to walk slowly under the moonlight. "We need to start making plans considering it's already nearly the beginning of November, but I believe that can wait until tomorrow."

"Oh and what do you want to do until then?" Aaron smirked knowingly.

Persephone simply laughed and attacked him ripping his clothes from his body. She wasn't too worried about anybody seeing them, as it was late and they had their own private bungalow right on the beach.

Aaron laughed right along with her and then turned the tables on his mate as the two of them made love right there on the sand.

After a considerable amount of time of rolling around on the sand by kissing, licking and nipping each other Aaron entered his mate smoothly coming immediately in her body. Neither one of them paid attention to the water that was lapping at their ankles and lower legs, because it wasn't like they could drown. They did appreciate the nice, warm night though, because even though they couldn't get frostbite or freeze they still appreciated not being chilled or cold, especially since they were naked.

"Another round?" Aaron asked with his best puppy dog expression.

Aaron Hotchner was no longer the serious, unhappy, sad man that had first met Persephone Garcia 200 years ago. No, he had changed considerably in those two centuries and although he was still calm and serious he was a much happier person than he had once been.

Persephone simply giggled and reached up and put her arms around his neck bringing his face close enough so she could kiss him deeply.

"I'm always in the mood for that and we still have plenty of time before the sun rises," said Persephone, simply spreading her legs again to give Aaron easy access.

Aaron was on her in a split second and started making love to his mate again, making her climax multiple times, before he entered her again to relieve himself in her body.

It was several hours later as the sun started to rise over the horizon, that the two vampires who had been extremely horny for each other we're finally satisfied for the moment anyway.

"Let's take a dip in the ocean for awhile before we head back to our cozy, little nest," Persephone suggested.

"Sounds like an excellent idea to me," Aaron smiled. "I doubt that anybody will appear on the beach for at least another hour, hour and a half or so as it's only 5:30. Most people come here for vacation and aren't early risers when they don't have to be."

Aaron picked up Persephone and threw her into the ocean causing her to rise to the surface sputtering.

She glared at him for a few seconds water dripping off her long blonde hair and down her beasts, but then gave in and laughed. Aaron joined in before diving into the ocean himself. The two of them frolicked among the waves for over an hour before they finally made their way down the beach back towards their cozy little bungalow.

"So do you think you're pregnant?" Aaron asked, as soon as the two of them had into the dead cozy little nest. "That would be a great Christmas gift."

"Yes, it would," Persephone acknowledged knowing that Aaron and her hadn't had any children in a few decades. "I'm actually hoping that I am, because we haven't had any children in several decades, even longer then Penny and Dave."

"I know and I really don't understand it, not that I don't appreciate the time I've had alone with you," Aaron said.

"You're thinking with the way we go at it like a pair of rabid rabbits, that I should've gotten pregnant at least two or three times in the last 50 years or so," Persephone said finishing her mate's thoughts easily.

"More like 10 times, maybe even more," Aaron corrected, but still Persephone was basically right. "I would've said maybe five times if it wasn't for your magic as we both know that a female with magic gets pregnant easier than somebody born a vampire or just an ordinary human that was turned into one or at least that's our theory. Still, it's certainly logical. I do appreciate the time I've had alone with you, and I know Dave certainly appreciates the time he's had alone with your sister with no children as well but still, it's very strange that's all that we haven't had any children in fifty years."

"Only if it really is the fact, that me having magic is what enabled us to have children so close together in the first place," Persephone said.

"Still, we're not doing anything different than what we normally do, and nothing can stop a vampire female from conceiving, not that I know about anyway," Aaron said.

"Well, I did wish upon that shooting star about 50 years ago that I didn't want to get pregnant for a few decades," Persephone admitted. "My main reason was I wanted plenty of time alone with you without the possibility of conceiving. I never really believed that it would work, but that's the only thing I can think of that could have prevented me or Penny for that matter from having children."

"Well, is a good explanation as any for you anyway, because it's only been about 20 years since Dave and your sister have had children," Aaron said not saying that that couldn't possibly be the reason for Persephone and Penelope's not having children for the last few decades. He'd been a vampire for over 600 years now and had seen a lot of rather unusual things in those 6 centuries, but still, wishing on a shooting star and it actually granting whatever the wish was, was a little farfetched, even for him.

"You don't really believe that's the cause though," Persephone suggested shrewdly.

"I'm not saying it's not," Aaron admitted honestly. "It's just unlikely. It doesn't really matter what's preventing us from having anymore children, as you getting pregnant will happen when it happens. There's no rush as the more time I have alone with you the happier I am. You know I love every single child we've had, but the fact, that it's just it been you and me over the last 50 years has been great."

"Now that I agree with," Persephone said, as Aaron opened the door of the bungalow like a true gentleman for his mate.

"Thank you," Persephone said automatically, as it wasn't uncommon for Aaron to open doors that weren't automatic for her. In fact, he did it every time unless they opened electronically, which a lot of doors did in this century.

"You're quite welcome, sweetheart," Aaron said with an exaggerated bow, causing Persephone to giggle at his silliness, which had been Aaron's intent in the first place.

"I think we need to get dressed and get ourselves fed," Aaron said and Persephone nodded in agreement. "I think we'll go to one of those really busy dance clubs that's open, have a few drinks, to supplement our dinner," Aaron decided.

"Alright," Persephone agreed without arguing as it was a very good idea. "Let's have some dinner then, as I am really in the mood to dance now that you brought the subject up."

"So am I, which is why I suggested it, as holding you close is never a hardship. We have plenty of artificial bloodstock, as we made sure of that," Aaron agreed. "We can head to an all night dance club after nightfall. We probably should have eaten yesterday, but we got so busy that we didn't."

"You mean we were fucking each other senseless," Persephone said, smiling as she remembered how she and Aaron had made love for a long time. Aaron chuckled knowing exactly were his mate's thoughts had gone.

"Well, yes, I was just trying be polite about it," Aaron said, even as he kissed his mate deeply.

"There's no need to be so... restrained," Persephone suggested with a big smile.

"What can I say I was raised to be a gentleman and those traits I learned simply stuck," Aaron said.

"I like the gentleman side of you," Persephone showed him. "I also like the less gentlemanly side of you. I really love it when you just let loose and I love that I'm the only one that can cause you to be less then polite."

"Is that what you call it that time I killed that man simply because he tried his best to have his way with you?" Aaron chuckled, as he remembered. "He kept being very persistent when you kept turning him down. He truly believed you were playing hard to get and that your assets were for sale for the right price. Even showing him your wedding ring didn't stop him, as he believed that all females virtue was negotiable. He was a rapist in the making at least and I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't already had his way with several unwilling females."
"I doubt he would've been so persistent if he had realized that I wasn't mortal, as he would've known that I would've torn him apart if you hadn't gotten there first," Persephone said.

"I just love that fierce side of you," Aaron grinned. "You certainly changed from the woman I first met."

"You can partly blame Steven for that," Persephone said and Aaron immediately understood what his mate was getting at. "I was so… innocent back then. Innocent of all the dangerous psychopaths that are out there. Oh, sure you saw them on TV shows but they really don't have to do with reality. Even if those shows are based on things that can really happen a lot of times you don't make the connection, because to you it's fantasy, not real. As for the rest…"

"The vampire transformation is also partly to blame," Aaron finished. "Our species are natural predators and while most of the time we don't kill we do occasionally depending on the situation. How much of a predator a vampire really is depends on personality, morals and ethics, just like it does with mortals."

"Exactly," Persephone agreed. "I never really agreed with some people when they said stuff like sometimes some people are so evil that they just need killing, but I know enough of the world now to realize that they were right. A serial rapist isn't going to change his spots for example."

"No indeed. Part of the problem you know is that you and your sister were raised pretty sheltered probably at least partly because you were female. You were born in the 60s when women were becoming more than housewives and mothers, but any good parent would want to shelter their children from the harsh realities of the world, especially their daughters. A lot of men believe that females should remain innocent and pure even today, much less back when you and Penelope were born."

"I know, but I think it's a rather antiqued view in this century and really it was old-fashioned even back when Penny and I were born," Persephone said.

"Yes, I agree with that," Aaron agreed, even as the two of them walked arm-in-arm to get themselves some dinner from the fridge. "You can't change some peoples views, but most women have careers nowadays and are perfectly able to balance their family with their work. Not always of course, as some people just can't do that and one or the other is neglected and it's not just women either who can't maintain a decent balance, but men too."

"It's often that person's family that gets neglected," Persephone said.

"Unfortunately, that's the truth," Aaron agreed. "Sometimes, you just don't realize how precious your family is do you until you've lost them. Plenty of spouses get so caught up in their work that they don't realize they're neglecting their family until it's too late to change anything. Nobody likes to feel like they're being ignored or neglected, by their significant other, as even vampires like to be appreciated every once in awhile, especially if they have somebody to come home to whether that's a mate or just someone they are spending a decade or two with."

"I was so unaware that there was true evil in the world when I was simply a witch who had taken over her parents business upon their deaths. Oh, I knew it in the back of my mind, but not in the depths of my heart," Persephone added. "As you said we were all pretty sheltered, but especially Penelope and I were sheltered more than the others, probably because we were the babies of the family."

"It's not something that most people think about," Aaron said. "Most people are so unaware of the criminal element that they're easy to be taken advantage of. To me that's plain stupid as you should always be aware that somebody can take advantage of you if you're not careful, though I do admit that as vampires we have certain advantages that humans, magicals and even werewolves do not."

"Some parents just raise their children in a pretty sheltered environment like me and my siblings were," Persephone said. "You're right though, that that just sets someone like me up to be taken advantage of, which is why Steven was able to get me into his clutches so easily. He paid me outrageous compliments and I truly thought he meant them. It didn't help that I was lonely as that made me more vulnerable to his honeyed words. I now know better, but if not for Penny who knows what would've happened with Steven. I'll always be grateful to my sister for warning me of the danger that Steven represented and also for introducing me to you. I truly believe that we never would've found each other if Penny hadn't happened to recognize the description I gave her."

"Yes, I'll be forever grateful to Penelope as well, because she led me to the love of my existence," Aaron told his mate in a very tender, loving tone of voice, causing Persephone to beam at him happily. "I've been so much happier these last two centuries ever since we found each other then I was in the four centuries before that, particularly the last hundred years of it. If she and Dave had not already found each other I probably would've tried to introduce her to some men I knew to see if there was any sparks or not. I would've done so in order to thank her for what she did, as I knew that she was rather lonely."

"She's certainly not lonely anymore," Persephone smirked.

"Definitely not," Aaron said returning the smirk.

"I'm actually rather glad that both of us met our mates, because Penny and I are exceptionally close, as you know and being identical twins is only part of that," Persephone said. "We might not see each other for a decade, but the connection we share is always there and it only got stronger when we were both turned into vampires."

"Yeah, I think it's pretty amazing that you can send see each other pretty clearly within 500 miles or so. I'm not sure it's ever happened to anybody else that's been turned into a vampire before, but then I'm not sure that twins, especially identical ones, have both been changed at the same time or even at different times. For all I know it might have something to do with the fact that you both have magic," Aaron said. "I'm not saying that it hasn't happened before, just that I've just never heard of it happening and if it has it's likely only been once."

"Well, that connection sure does come in handy occasionally," Persephone said smiling, as she remembered the times it had been very useful.

"Yes, it does," Aaron agreed.

"You know I miss Markos and my other siblings sometimes, but not as much as I would've missed my twin sister, because she would be dead by now or at least very old if she wasn't a vampire," Persephone said.

"That's only natural really," Aaron said. "I'm certainly glad that Penny was changed to, as we've gotten much closer than we were when we both worked for the BAU, because as you aware with me being the boss and she my subordinate we had to maintain a certain distance. Of course, we got closer once she and Dave found each other, mostly because I know that she would soon be a vampire and would be around for a very long time."

"Still, you had to maintain a certain professionalism," Persephone said.

"Yeah, I did, but that's way past, as I've been retired for a long time now and I so have Spencer, Dave and Penny as well as you and that's pretty unusual for vampires to be so close to so many people, as we're usually pretty solitary with maybe one close friend that is also immortal," Aaron said. "I think I've been pretty lucky actually."

"I'm certainly glad that you've retired as we didn't get to spend as nearly as much time together as we both would've liked," Persephone admitted. "I never said anything before, because I know you loved your job and I didn't want to force you into a decision. I will never stand between you and a job you love."

"Well, we don't need to worry about that right now, as I haven't found anything I'd really be interested in pursuing for a career," Aaron said. "That will likely change at some point, but not for awhile."

"If it does I'll support you," Persephone promised.

"That's the way it should be," Aaron said. "I certainly supported you when you wanted to open a chain of shops all over the world."

"Yep and thanks to your support my chain of shops is a huge success," Persephone grinned, as she was quite proud of herself for there was a shop with magical supplies, potions, amulets and other magicals things in just about every major city in the world and not just in the US. "I'm sure that I wouldn't have been able to open a shop just about everywhere there is a magical quarter without my immortality, but also without your support and Penny's and Dave's too."

"It was your dream and I was happy to help you fulfill it," Aaron told his mate in a tender tone of voice.

"I know and I'll be forever grateful that we met and not for that reason," Persephone said, even as she gave his hand a squeeze. "Let's go, shall we? And then we need to contact all the relevant parties to see if they want to spend Christmas somewhere exotic or even somewhere more mundane, like maybe a ski resort. We need to make a decision sometime in the next week or so before we can't make any reservations, because whatever place we choose is all full up."

"Your wish is my command," Aaron said in a very lighthearted tone of voice smiling widely.

"Of course it is," Persephone teased him in the same tone. "I'm ready to dance the night away in your arms, so we can finish this conversation later."

Aaron nodded and fell silent.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"We've received a Christmas invitation from Aaron and your sister," Dave told Penelope.

"So they want us to get together this year," Penelope said and Dave nodded. "Sounds like a fine idea to me. I miss them both, but especially Persephone."

"I understand," Dave said simply, as he took his gorgeous wife into his arms. "I miss them both to Aaron in particular, probably because we've known each other for a long time, though really only a few decades longer than I've known Persephone."

"I understand, the two of you worked together for several decades at least and then kept in contact, even after you retired the first time," Penelope said. "What about Spencer though?"

"I'm sure he got an invitation to," Dave assured his mate. "While we don't know where he is at the moment he still has the same cell phone number and email address and I'm sure that one of the Hotchners texted or emailed him to let him know about plans for the holidays. He'll be there and you know it, since we haven't seen him in several years. Neither Aaron or Persephone would forget about him."

"Yes, yes, you're right," Penelope agreed.

"I'll make sure he's coming, once all the arrangements have been made. All we need to do right now is make suggestions as to where we want to have our holidays this year. Preferably somewhere we haven't been before," Dave explained.

"Well, even if we choose somewhere we've been I doubt we've seen everything there is to see," Penelope shrugged. "The important thing is spending time with people we like and respect."

"You're right," Dave agreed. "Still, I'm hoping that we'll all decide on somewhere that we have yet to explore."

"Yes, that would be an added bonus," Penelope said. "Still, I can hardly wait to see my sister in a few weeks, Aaron and Spencer too of course."

"It's obvious who's the most important to you," Dave told her causing Penelope the giggle at Dave's gentle teasing. "I can't really blame you actually, since you are related by blood and you grew up together, so I'm not exactly surprised that you've missed Persephone over the last three years. Every woman needs a girlfriend that they can discuss female things with."

"And I haven't been able to do that for three years, though sometimes I discuss some things with our neighbors, but since we're not really close there're some things you just don't discuss with someone you're only casual friends with."

"Or with a man," Dave suggested smiling.

"Or with a man," Penelope repeated kissing Dave tenderly.

"Fine, keep your secrets," Dave pouted playfully. "I know when I'm not wanted."

"Don't be silly I'll always want and need you," Penelope assured him, "but they are just some things you don't discuss with another man, even your husband or mate. You wouldn't be interested anyway."

"No, I wouldn't be," Dave said. "Aaron, Spencer and I can hang out together while you're discussing girlish secrets with your sister. Maybe we can play pool," Dave added looking thoughtful. "We haven't had a chance to do that in awhile and it won't hurt any of us to brush up on our skills."

"Playing pool isn't really a challenge since you're all vampires," Penelope pointed out.

"Maybe not, but it's still fun," Dave shrugged. "Well, so long as those playing are all vampires."

"That's a point," Penelope acknowledged. "With your superior eyesight and coordination if you played against someone mortal unless you were holding way back a vampire would definitely win."

"With me playing against Aaron and Spencer who have the same reflexes, coordination and eyesight that I do, even if there might be some degree of difference between individual vampires depending on their physical attributes when they were changed we're still, basically on a level playing field," Dave said. "If there is any difference it is going to be minimal."

"Still, it's a decent idea," Penelope said. "It'll give the three of you time to bond even farther or at least spend time together, even though you've known each other for a very long time."

"While that's true, we also haven't seen each other in three years at least, which is not unusual I know, for vampires who like to travel. However, when you're as close to another vampire as we are to those three it's not unusual to spend a great deal of time together doing whatever we want."

"I know," Penelope said. "You've told me often enough that while it's rather uncommon for a vampire to form a close connection to anyone, especially mortals it does happen."

"Unless they're your mate of course," Dave said smiling.

"Yes, unless they're your mate," Penelope agreed. "You've told me why a lot of our kind doesn't like to form close connections anyone, particularly if they're mortal. While I can understand a vampires point of view, I think it's a shame for them to have only associates or acquaintances, but not close friends unless they're another vampire. Yes, I can understand that the grief of loss, would be hard for someone who's immortal to get over, basically because they never really do at least not completely. On the other side of the coin though, I think that some of our kind at least are denying themselves friendship and even love no matter how temporary, which is something that every sentient being needs to be happy. Doing so is stupid and insane in my opinion. I firmly believe that if you deny yourself something that is essential to who you are, to your health and happiness and that is what causes mortals and immortals alike to go bad because they stop caring about others and may start killing indiscriminately. Yes, I realize that vampires have a hard time getting over losing someone, but we're basically human or at least we have human emotions."

"Yes I firmly believe that we wore created in the human image," Dave said. "We could be some kind of experiment for all I know, but considering how long our kind has existed that is rather unlikely. It's more likely that vampires are simply a mutation of humans, which means that yes, we were once human or least once mortal, so it stands to reason that we have at least some similarities."

"I have to agree because why would a vampire be able to change a human or a magical or werewolf into one of them if we weren't once human?" Penelope asked rhetorically. "We look basically human after all, just with impenetrable skin, the ability to live forever so long as certain conditions are not met and the ability to not age."

"Yes, that is all the main points of our species, although there are other attributes that vampires have, but you know them so there's no point of me saying what they are out loud," Dave said agreeing with everything that his mate had just said, because she was of course, correct. "Now though we need to send a list of where we like to go for Christmas celebrations and the others will do the same. We all need to agree on where to meet and start making reservations at a five-star hotel."

Penelope snorted in amusement at that, because if there was one thing she had learned it was that David Rossi was never going to stay anywhere less than a four star unless it was absolutely necessary. He had done so when he had been a member of the behavioral analysis unit because he had no choice and he hadn't even complained to much according to Aaron, but then he hadn't really had to spend much time in whatever room was assigned to him, as vampires didn't sleep. Now that he didn't have a job though, he was free to stay where he liked and Penelope couldn't really blame him for not wanting to stay in somewhere similar to Motel 6 just to save money, considering between them they would never go to go broke. Besides he had been born before such things as fine hotels, fine dining or even money had really existed. Now while they couldn't eat that didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy the finer things in life so long as it didn't involve food. Penelope knew that her mate had camped out in somebody's barn more then once just to be able to rest his horse or to get out of the rain. Vampires might not be able to get sick, but that didn't mean that any of them enjoyed feeling like drowned rats, as she certainly didn't so why should anybody else.

"Alright then, let's start suggesting places that we haven't seen yet that we want to," Penelope suggested.

Dave nodded and started suggesting places that he knew his mate hadn't seen, but he had at some point as he had traveled the world both before and after the original Penelope's death. After his original mate's death, though he might have traveled a great deal trying to outrun his anguish, anger and sorrow, he hadn't really taken in the sites, as he hadn't wanted to. Really, all he had wanted to do was kill himself and only his promise to his mate had allowed him to survive. No, he had been a ghost of his former self and the sorrow and anguish just poured off him, which a lot of people could pick up on, even humans who had very weak senses compared to a vampire or even a werewolf.

Now though, he had been very happy have a since his Penelope had been reborn just over 200 years ago.

"Well, there's a many places that I still haven't seen," Penelope said.

"I won't mind visiting anywhere really, because after your incarnations death I might've traveled a great deal, never settling down, but I didn't exactly take in the sites as I was too full of anguish, anger and sorrow for a long time. Decades at the very least. I felt as if I had been shot in the heart and was only halfway living my life because your incarnation wanted me to. By the time you were born and we met again those negative emotions I had been feeling for so long had mostly been buried. They were still there, but at least I could operate mostly normally again, pay attention to my surroundings, carry on normal conversations. Still, I couldn't stop those emotions I was feeling from radiating off me and anybody with finely tuned senses, even human sometimes could sense it. That all changed though, the minute that you walked back into my life and all those negative emotions that I had been feeling for centuries just suddenly popped like a soap bubble."

"I'm glad that you don't feel those emotions anymore for they're not exactly good for you or for anybody," Penelope said gently, as she cuddled into his arms. "I'm not saying you didn't deserve to feel those negative emotions, just that I wish you hadn't had to go through that."

"I wish I hadn't had to go through it either, bella," Dave said, "but what's done is done and now that I have you I doubt I'll ever feel such intense hatred, rage, anguish and sorrow ever again. I'm sure I'll feel those emotions at some point if something happens, but I doubt I'll ever feel them as intensely or for as long. However, let's talk about something more cheerful, as there is no point of dwelling on what happened many centuries ago."

"No, there's not," Penelope agreed, as the two of them discussed what places they both really wanted to see. "While I would love to see New York or Chicago, neither of which we've seen, I think somewhere overseas is best. Maybe somewhere like Rome. We could even ask your parents to join us for part of the holiday since they live in Italy."

"We don't necessarily have to be in Italy to invite my parents to join us for the holiday," Dave said. "I'm sure that they would enjoy exploring somewhere like New York, which is fine, as I'm pretty sure they've never seen or if they have I don't know about it. Besides, cities change over decades and especially centuries and while I've been to New York it was hundreds of years ago and things have changed a lot since then. I'm not talking about for the purpose of work, but for enjoyment or even to settle down there for awhile."

"Yes I understood what you meant," Penelope promised him. "Going to New York for the purpose of work like you did with the BAU isn't the same as going for vacation. It's not like you had time to see the sites while you were trying to catch some serial killer or rapist."

"Oh, Aaron and I at least could've done so once everybody else was bedded down for the night we just never bothered," Dave shrugged. "Most places that we would've wanted to see would've been closed by the time we finished work for the evening anyway."

"That's something I hadn't thought of, but you're right," Penelope said. "Tourist attractions don't stay open all night, not unless it's something like a night club."

Finally, they came up with a list of five different options of where they would like to go for the Christmas holidays and immediately sent text to their friends of the places they had decided on.

"So now that that's done for the moment what do you want to do?" Dave asked smiling at his gorgeous wife.

"Well, how about we simply get out of the house for a couple of hours anyway," Penelope suggested. "It doesn't really matter where we go, as I'll allow you to choose the destination. It doesn't have to be anywhere really fancy, it could even be some bar where we can enjoy glasses of blood mixed with alcohol."

"I know just the place," Dave said immediately. "It's a place where the two of us can enjoy some drinks, but also dance as much as we want. I just love holding you as close as possible and you know it. We don't even have to worry about some minor criminal trying to put a roofie in our drinks, because even if they do we'll be able to tell immediately and it's not like that kind of thing will affect us."

"That's true," Penelope agreed. "We should be grateful that we aren't affected by alcohol, no matter how much we drink."

"One advantage of being a vampire," Dave grinned. "We can even see if we can discover who put those drugs in our drinks and if we do you know what will happen."

"Yeah, I do," Penelope sighed.

"I know you don't like what we do to people like that, but just because we can't be affected by drugs it doesn't mean nobody else can be," Dave gently reminded his mate. "The only reason somebody puts a roofie in somebody's drink is to either sell them into something like slavery or to rape them and sometimes even kill them after they're done having their way. I'm not a member of law enforcement anymore, so I'm welcome to deal with people like that anyway I want to. I've seen so much of that kind a thing in my centuries and rape always destroys sense of self and a lot of people particularly females never recover mentally or emotionally. Rape is one of the worst crimes out there in my humble opinion even worse then murder, because it destroys a person's self-confidence and a lot of rape victims kill themselves after they been so brutally violated. Even if they don't..."

"I know," Penelope said putting the gentle hand on Dave's arm. She couldn't really blame him for hating those that raped others and also those took advantage of children. She knew that Dave had experienced the brutal side of humanity in his centuries, as he had been born at a time before men and women were even a little civilized. Even today lot of people took advantage of others and got away with it so she could really blame Dave for hating certain types of crime more than others.

She knew very well that Dave didn't see himself as a white knight type, but he did have a chauvinistic streak, particularly when it concerned innocent females or children who couldn't protect themselves. That was one of the reasons he had taken to Spencer all those years ago because the young man still had an innocence about him, even if he was anything but. Back when Dave had been born, protecting those that were considered weaker than yourself was positively expected, although that wasn't true so much today, which was a shame in a way.

Also considering that he had been born as a vampire everybody, except another male vampire would be weaker than him, which only enhanced that chauvinistic streak. Dave often went out of his way to help a woman in trouble, no matter the species and Penelope absolutely loved that particular trait of her mate's as it showed that he was just a big softy or at least had a heart filled with compassion for others.

"Yeah, I know you do considering how much I've told you the same thing over the last couple hundred years," Dave smiled kissing his mate softly for putting up with him.

"I wouldn't try to change you for who you are for anything in the world," Penelope told Dave finally. "I've seen enough over the centuries to know that not all humans are good, not that working in the BAU didn't disabuse me of that notion anyway."

"You just like to see the best in people and while I love your gentle, caring nature mortals or vampires for that matter are messed up," Dave said and Penelope nodded, because she knew it was true.

Some people just loved to take advantage of anyone they could whether that was someone who was naïve, an innocent, an elderly person, a woman or a child. She knew that Aaron shared a lot of her mates attributes, particularly when it came to helping those that couldn't help themselves. She also knew that Persephone was a lot tougher when it came to distributing justice on someone who had taken advantage of an innocent, especially if she knew that they had done so on multiple occasions and would continue to do so if not dealt with permanently. It wasn't like either Dave or Aaron went looking for criminals to get rid of, but if they happened to spot a crime in progress then they were going to help out. Vampires were always aware of someone trying to sneak up on them, as they had very good hearing and senses of smell. No mortal was able to sneak up on a vampire, unless they were very distracted, which didn't happen very often

"I know, I'm not a total innocent as you're well aware of," Penelope said. "I've even helped you get rid of some of those criminals that take advantage of others."

"I always appreciate when you do help out," Dave grinned. "It shows a sense of unity for one thing. I just wish that you didn't feel so guilty afterwards."

"I can't help my feelings of guilt," Penelope said. "My subconscious keeps yelling at me that I have no right to make such decisions, no matter how evil that person happens to be. It keeps telling me to turn them over to law enforcement, even though I know that if they went to prison they wouldn't get more than a few years before they were released and since I'm well aware that rapist and murderers aren't suddenly going to change to become decent citizens. If I had been born a vampire like you were I know very well it would be different, but I wasn't. I'm only glad I can't actually sleep as I'm sure I'd have nightmares if I could."

"I do understand," Dave said as he kissed the side of his mate's neck, directly over where he had placed his mating mark, a mark that told others of his kind that this particular vampire female was taken. He wore his own proudly, so as it let other vampires know that he too was taken.

"I know very well that law enforcement does the best it can, but they're underfunded and underpaid," Penelope added. "It was like that even when we both worked for the BAU and it's probably always been like that."

"And you forgot to mention that they're are few enough that actually care what kind of job they do and make sure that they don't put the wrong man behind bars just because of circumstantial evidence. Something like that happens far too often and yes, I'm more aware than most that the system isn't perfect. Still, there are checks and balances in place and they work most of the time," Dave said.

"Yes, I'm well aware that a lot of law enforcement officers just mark time waiting for retirement," Penelope sighed.

"Why don't you get dress up. The place I want to take is really fancy," Dave suggested and Penelope nodded eagerly for she loved dressing up.

"I'm not even going to ask if you're sure you can get us in at this late date just by showing up, because I know how you operate by now," Penelope said in an exasperated tone before she headed upstairs.

Dave snorted at that, but had to admit that his mate was correct in the fact that she knew how he operated, even if she didn't like some of his methods, but that was only because she was too honest and a gentle soul to boot while he was not. There were certain things that he would never do, but bribery wasn't one of them, as it often opened doors that would otherwise be closed and also got you information out of the reluctant. Of course, he called them donations or incentives instead of bribes, but it amounted to the same thing and his mate was well aware of that fact.

Dave followed Penelope upstairs as he needed to get dressed up himself and he certainly didn't mind it, especially not with a beautiful woman like his mate on his arm. He knew very well he would be the envy of every man that saw him with Penelope and that was just the way he liked it, even though he knew that Penny didn't like to be pawed over like a piece of meat or at least looked at that way. It wasn't is if he would ever allow another man to touch his mate, except Aaron or Spencer since they had no romantic interest. He knew that Penny didn't appreciate being treated like an object, something he would never do, but that didn't mean that she wasn't his property, his to love and protect and his mate was well aware of how vampires thought by now, especially ones as old as he was.

She didn't mind it, because he treated her like a queen and an equal and knew that it was just part of a vampire's mindset, especially ones in the century in which he had been born. Females were to be protected at all cost back when Dave had been a child, not vampire female so much as they could protect themselves for the most part, but mortals definitely. That early childhood training had carried over into his personality to where it was as unchangeable as the sun rising and setting.

Still, vampires changed with the times, or they stuck out like sore thumbs and Dave had done a good job of modernizing his thinking, even if he was still very old-fashioned in certain ways. Penelope loved him for his old-fashioned manners, because so many people were so rude today. She also loved him for at least trying to be as modern as possible. Somehow he blended both into his personality to where he was mostly modern, but with old-fashioned manners and sometimes actions depending on the situation.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~