Part 11

Three months later

"Welcome back to the BAU, Dave," Hotch told his own mentor cordially.

"Thank you, Aaron," Rossi said with a smile.

David Rossi was double his age, but really looked no older than him and that was about 30 or 35. His hair and beard were short and black, he had dark brown eyes and was several inches shorter than Hotch's. "It's good to be back."

"I can certainly understand that point of view," Hotch said. "I mean we're vampires and we live forever unless we are murdered by fire. The older you get the harder it is to keep busy."

"I definitely agree with that statement," Rossi said immediately. "I came because I heard you need help because Gideon left. I've heard Erin's version of what she thinks of the team why don't you tell me yours?"

"What exactly did Strauss tell you?" asked Hotch his face expressionless.

"Just that she thought the BAU was going to hell in a handbasket and that it had become a real couple's club. She's hoping I can straighten everything out."

"She would," Hotch snorted. "She only told you part of the truth as I'm sure you know."

"So what is the full truth?" Rossi asked looking genuinely interested, as he hadn't believed Erin at all considering he knew her very well from decades ago and she could be extremely vindictive and could hold a grudge until the day she died. Also the fact that she hated Aaron Hotchner wasn't exactly a secret and Dave had known this even before he left the BAU a decade ago, so he took her words with a pound of salt as he was sure it couldn't be as bad as she was describing it. If Erin really believed that he was going to fall for her brand of bullshit then she wasn't as intelligent, as he had always believed her to be. He was a vampire and was many centuries Erin's senior, and he had traveled the world and learned a great deal in that amount of time, so he couldn't be easily fooled. He had known that Strauss had an agenda by trying to paint the BAU as going down the drain due to its current members particularly Aaron, even though he didn't believe that for a second.

"The truth is somewhere in the middle," Hotch said. "Yes, I have found my mate and she works with our team, her name is Emily Prentiss by the way. However, what Strauss doesn't like is she has found no reason to censor us or a reason to write us up. Both Emily and I are totally professional when we're actually working, so she has no legitimate reason to get one of us transferred or fired or at least give us a black mark on our records."

"I figured it was something like that," Rossi admitted. "You're too much of a professional to let a relationship interfere with the job at hand."

"Which is why Strauss tried to paint the team as a couples club," Hotch said cynically. "She was trying to convince the director that we shouldn't be on the same team because we were mates, but the director wasn't buying it, because he hasn't heard one complaint other than from Strauss of course. Emily and I always act totally professionally when we are working and when we're on our time it's a totally different matter."

"Erin, also mentioned something about Dr. Spencer Reid being in a relationship as well and that the woman in question is your sister. She seems to find that highly suspicious," Rossi said with an ironic smile.

"Why am I not surprised?" Hotch snorted his tone of voice deeply disgusted. "What Strauss said is true to an extent anyway. My sister Keziah came by one day to see me and to meet Emily, out of the blue I might add and the minute they set eyes on each other they knew. However, what Strauss didn't tell you, is that Keziah doesn't work with the BAU or even the bureau. The two of them are actually living together in a condo that they're renting as Reid's place was much too small for two people."

"So the two are mates then?" Rossi asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes, they are, but Reid also felt the bond and no he's not a vampire, but he is a shifter, a wolf shifter to be precise and he to felt the connection he had with my sister."

"So I'm assuming he's going to be going to the transformation at some point?" asked Rossi.

"Yes, probably sometime in the next six months," Hotch confirmed. "He's already agreed to it, as he's not to going to be parted from my sister without a fight and I can't really blame him, as I'm not about to be parted from Emily either, not even if someone tries to force the issue. However, no matter how much he struggles on concentrating and not letting his mind wander for the last few months because he misses Keziah so much he's still managed to do his job and Strauss has no right to complain, although that doesn't mean she hasn't tried. Once you get to know him you'll see that normally he has no trouble concentrating on what he's doing, but the bond with my sister is still only a few months old, so it's going to be harder for him for awhile."

"And once he's turned into a vampire it'll be even harder sense a vampire's emotions are magnified quite a bit, especially a newborns, or at least that's what I've been told," Rossi agreed.

"Yes, that's what I've been told as well, although I've never had a chance to experience it for myself, because Emily was already a vampire when she and I met and was born one just like you and I were," Hotch said. "In any case, I believe you'll get along with the team just fine as Gideon I were always really careful about who we hired. Really, we don't only work together, we're friends outside the job, a family really and now Reid really is related to me through my sister."

"Well, you're right I don't see why Erin is complaining so long as there are no complaints that you let your personal lives interfere with your professionalism," Rossi said.

"You'll soon see for yourself that that's not the case," Hotch said. "You know me well enough to know that I'm a professional and I would never let my personal life interfere with my job and neither would Reid or Emily for that matter."

"So I heard a certain rumor that you had triplets just recently," Rossi mentioned.

"Emily and I did," Hotch admitted with a smile that reached all the way to his eyes, "We expected twins, but not triplets. It's two boys and a girl in case you're wondering."

"I thought you and Emily had just met?" Rossi asked knowing that vampires didn't get pregnant too easily. Of course, when the two were mates it was an entirely different matter and they had sex as often as possible. What this would likely mean was that a vampire female would get pregnant much more frequently and more easily, but still, that Hotch's mate had gotten pregnant so easily was amazing.

"We did, just a few months ago actually. I know what you're thinking and that's vampires aren't usually so fertile and mostly that's true, although it does vary some from vampire to vampire of course," Hotch said. "However, the piece of information you're missing is that Emily isn't a full vampire she's half magical and she appears to be more fertile then a full one is. We had no intention of getting pregnant quite so soon, but it happened during the weekend we first mated. Emily has had her uterus removed since then and in fact had it done right after her c-section, so she shouldn't be able to get pregnant again for at least a few years."

"Yes, I see how that could happen," Rossi said slowly, as he digested the information. "They really aren't to many half vampires around, but there're are a few."

"And Emily just happens to be one of them, one with magical powers no less," Hotch added his pride in his mate shining through.

"So will Reid be coming back to the BAU after his transformation?" asked Rossi. "I want to know if I need to put in the effort to get to know him, but if he's going to be gone permanently there is no point."

"He is planning to come back," Hotch said. "His work was his life before he met Keziah and he did little else except work, eat and sleep. Unlike the rest of the team he didn't use to have any outside interests and I feared he would burn out, which would be a sad day for the BAU because he'd be very hard to replace, if not impossible."

"What's so special about this guy?" Rossi asked genuinely curious.

"Oh, Reid is a very special young man," Hotch smiled. "He's a genuine genius with a IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory. Yes, I realize that his memory will be like that once he's turned, but that type of memory is pretty rare among mortals and none of us knew that his mate would be a vampire, much less my sister, as it's not like you can predict those kind of things. He went to college at just 13, along with his three siblings who are the same age and who are also super intelligent, which comes from the mother I believe. He came away with five different degrees and I know he's working on another in his spare time. The father left the family when the oldest four were ten and was going to leave them without any funds except the shifters in the neighborhood forced him to pay child support. Reid had to grow up fast, as he had a sick mother to look after and although his siblings helped it was still a lot of responsibility for him and his three siblings to take on and they also had to look after their younger brothers and sisters."

"So he was very responsible from an early age," Rossi summarized.

"Oh, he was the most responsible, even before the father left, because the father was...well...he wasn't much of one, more neglectful than anything else, even from the time that the oldest were very small. However, unlike a lot of geniuses are he isn't arrogant with it and in fact he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, someone who will bend over backwards to help you, but doesn't make friends easily, mostly because he's innately shy. Part of that is due to his early childhood training, but also because of the fact that most people don't understand him when he talks, especially when he gets all technical. The shifters in the neighborhood helped out very subtly, because Reid was really too proud to accept help openly, even though he knew the neighborhood shifters particularly the wolf shifter family that lived close by would be more than willing to help support him and his siblings. It was the father Vince that taught the Reid children all they needed to know about shifters in general and wolf shifters in particular, as unlike William Reid, Vince Clayborne took his responsibilities seriously. In any case, Strauss would rather have us miserable or at least working all the time, instead of in happy relationships with work still being important, but not all-consuming and our personal lives are a big part of why that is."

"Yes, that sounds like Erin as she can be extremely vindictive," Rossi admitted slowly. "If you get on her bad side well you stay on it or at least it would take something extraordinary to get back on her good side."

"That's the truth," Hotch snorted his contempt for Strauss obvious.

"Most relationships don't last very long when you have a job like the team does where you are gone so much of the time. A lot of people have trouble trusting their boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse that they'll be loyal to them while they're out of town for work, but with mates its different and the relationship isn't going to break up just because you're so busy all the time," Rossi continued.

"Which is what has Strauss trying to paint us as a couples club, as she's trying to give us a bad reputation, even through the statistics for solving cases, is up in the 90s, and in which Reid is a massive part of doesn't bear Strauss's complaints out. Yes, it's hard to maintain a personal life outside the job, but that doesn't mean it is impossible and Strauss is trying to ruin a good thing. Some of the members need way to let off steam, after a particularly tough case not me or Emily so much, since vampires are natural predators and we don't sleep and therefore, can't have nightmares, but for the rest of them definitely. Having someone waiting for you to come home to, is going to make it easier for Reid in particular, since Keziah knows how to get him to relax. Really it was Reid I worried about the most, because unlike the rest of the unit he didn't have any life outside the job, as he isn't the type to hang around in bars like Morgan is and he definitely didn't used to have any kind of social life."

"A lot of those problems will be solved once he's turned into a vampire," Rossi said and Hotch nodded in agreement.

"True enough, but you really don't have any idea when you're going to meet your mate or even if you ever will and if he hadn't met Keziah, well, he likely would've burned out in another few years, but now you're right that's not likely to happen now and he'll retire when he's good and ready, not because he can no longer take seeing some of the things that we see every day."

His old protégé did have a point, Dave admitted.

"You'll fit right in with the team," Hotch promised. "I think you'll realize that we work so smoothly together, without letting our egos get in the way, because we're friends and family outside the job and not just workmates."

"I'm looking forward to it, as I admit I was getting a bit bored and I've only been gone something like 10 years," Rossi admitted. "It's not that I was happy to hear that Gideon left, because of personal problems, just that I knew would create a vacant spot on the team."

"That's easy to do when you can't sleep and you live practically forever," Hotch said and Dave nodded in a agreement

"I got a lot of writing done and while I enjoy it, I can certainly still work at the BAU and write as well, since as you said we don't need to sleep," Rossi said.

"At least we're not going to have to train you since you already know how to do the job," Hotch teased him.

Dave snorted in amusement at that and said, "Since I'm the one that helped create the BAU in the first place I would say so."

"Well, why don't I introduce you to the team as I'm sure they're waiting to meet the legendary David Rossi who helped create the unit that they all work for," Hotch said.

"Sounds good," Rossi said amiably.

"And perhaps, you could come meet Emily and our children as they're already getting so big and she only gave birth a few months ago. Of course, Emily was right back to work the very next day, which is one of the advantages of being a vampire."

"I'll be happy to," Rossi immediately.

"They're already walking and talking, but then vampire babies grow fast, much faster than any other species," Hotch added with a genuine smile, as he thought of his children.

The two old friends continued to chat for a few minutes before Hotch rose from behind his desk and headed to the bullpen so he could introduce David Rossi to the rest of the team.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

Dave stared at Jennifer Jareau in shock and couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. He had always been partial to blondes and had had sex with plenty of them over the centuries, he'd even had a few children by those women, which more often then not he ended up taking care of until they were grown, though he always hired a nanny for that. He'd liked children, he always had, which was probably why he agreed to take on the responsibility from those mothers who didn't want anything to do with the children once they were born. He had never been married, never wanted to be, he admitted. He'd had a few serious relationships that had lasted for decades, but then he was 1500 years old after all so that wasn't really surprising.

JJ hadn't been there the day he had come to work at BAU after leaving a mere decade ago, as she'd had some kind of personal appointment. If he had met her then, he would've known days earlier that she was the one, the one he was meant to spend the rest of his existence with, even though he had known many more beautiful women over his 1500 years of existence. It wasn't that JJ, as she was known wasn't a very pretty woman, she just wasn't as gorgeous as some of the women that he'd had sex with over the centuries. However, Dave was well aware that once she was transformed into a vampire she would go from already being very pretty, in a girl next door sort of way, to a stunningly gorgeous one, but that was for the future, as they had only just met after all. His old protégé had suggested that they all go out to a restaurant together, even though he, Aaron, Emily and Keziah didn't eat. It was more for the company and so he could get to know the team in an environment that was conducive to relaxation where they didn't have to worry about a case. Aaron had also thought that it would cause less friction if Dave got to know the people he would be working with now instead of on the job and Dave had to admit that his old protégé had made a very good point. He had been enjoying the evening until JJ finally showed up having been running late. Dave didn't pay attention as Emily muttered to Aaron about what the odds were as all he could do was stare at the beautiful figure that was Jennifer Jareau.

"Hey, Dave, you okay?" Hotch asked his old mentor his voice genuinely concerned.

Dave shook himself and looked over at the tall, relaxed figure of Aaron Hotchner who had a smirk playing on his lips, while Emily just stared at him in astonishment, as if he was some kind of strange alien from the planet Mars.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rossi promised and although his voice was normal inside he was still reeling with shock internally.

"We do need to talk at some point you know," Hotch told Dave softly who nodded.

"I know," Rossi added just as softly.

JJ for her part stared at the handsome form of David Rossi and trying not to blush, as she thought that the Italian vampire was the most handsome man she had ever met in her life and she worked with Aaron Hotchner who was also extremely drop dead gorgeous. She'd never been sexually attracted to him or anything, well, beyond a little crush, which she had gotten over in the years they had been working together.

There was just something about David Rossi that attracted her and she wasn't even sure what that was as she hadn't dated any since Will LaMontagne Jr. who had been a cop on the New Orleans PD. Thanks to him she had twin sons Henry and Michael who were only three years old and their father knew absolutely nothing about them, as she had broken off the relationship with the excuse that it was to much trouble to maintain it long distance. It was hard to raise twin sons on her salary, but she was managing just fine and if he ever did get into a relationship whether that was with Dave or someone else it would also have to accept her children, as she wasn't about to give them up for anything.

The food for the human members of the team finally arrived while the four vampires received glasses filled with a combination of blood and alcohol that had been mixed together. It had been discovered several hundred years ago now that vampires could drink alcohol straight up, but now ever since the late 20th century there were drinks that were made and ordered specifically for and by vampires, alcohol of one type or another mixed with blood.

Dave had always liked a good scotch and had ever since they were invented, which was sometime in the late 18th century in Scotland, so he got one except in this case mixed with blood instead of straight up and as he sipped his drink as he studied JJ's superstitiously out of the corner of his eye watching as she chatted with Reid and Hotch's sister Keziah.

"So Rossi, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself," Emily suggested with a smirk in his direction. "After all we've all heard the rumors, but I for one need facts."

JJ tried to pretend that she wasn't interested in hearing more about the tall dark and mysterious David Rossi, but listened avidly while pretending that she wasn't paying attention to anything except her meal.

"What would you like to know?" Rossi asked Emily.

JJ listened avidly to Emily's reply.

"You okay JJ? You've been awfully quiet," Morgan asked his friend.

"I'm fine, Morgan," JJ promised her friend with a smile. "I just have a lot on my mind that's all."

JJ was grateful that Morgan hadn't been paying attention and had not caught the way she had been staring at David Rossi, as he would tease forever and she knew it.

"So how are your sons doing?" asked Garcia. "I haven't seen either Henry or Michael in awhile."

"They're both fine and growing like weeds," JJ told Garcia and Morgan. "You should come by sometime soon as they miss their Auntie Penelope and are often asking when you're going to come visit again and you are their godmother after all."

"So you have two sons then?" asked Rossi who had been listening asked entering the conversation, even as he talked to Emily answering some of her questions.

"Yes, they're twins and I was dating this cop, a detective of the New Orleans PD for awhile, but I discovered I didn't really love him and I got tired of going back in forth. He doesn't know about Henry and Michael, as we broke up before I discovered I was pregnant."

Dave was very pleased with that response, because that meant that his mate wasn't married and he would have two sons out of the deal right away, although he certainly hoped that someday JJ and him would have some of their own. Unfortunately, JJ was completely human and therefore, couldn't be feel the bond that he shared with her unlike Reid and Keziah who both had their own version of the mating bond and therefore, Reid in particular had no problem getting together with Aaron's sister.

Who knew maybe someday Henry and Michael might want to be transformed into vampires, although he hoped they were at least in their early 20s before they made that decision and then he and JJ wouldn't lose them when they eventually died of old age.

Now wasn't the time to think about that though, as he and Jennifer Jareau had just met and she definitely didn't know about the bond he had with her, although he intended to tell her about it sometime soon. However, he would like to truly get to know her first, but was still very interested in making love to her. However, it might take her awhile to accept the fact that she was his mate and while it was going to be hard to wait, as he was a healthy vampire after all with a very active libido, he would do so. He'd had sex frequently over the centuries and no it didn't matter that he was 1500 years old as a vampire's libido never died down, since they never aged once they were grown and that meant their sexual drive always stayed at its peak.

"I've met JJ's sons and they're total cuties and sweethearts," Emily put in and Reid agreed with that considering he was their godfather.

"It must be hard being a single mother, although I know a lot of women do it nowadays, but then most women don't travel for work as much as you do," Rossi said sympathetically.

"It can be difficult, but I have a neighbor who watches them when I'm gone," JJ said silently wondering why she was telling this near total stranger this information. But some instinct was telling her that she could trust this David Rossi and Hotch definitely seemed to trust him, which was several points in his favor, since she trusted her boss. Still, she wasn't normally one to give out personal information until she really got to know someone.

Hotch and Emily watched JJ's interaction with Dave and thought that she was a lot more relaxed than she usually was around strangers and she really didn't know David Rossi at all, but in this case it was a good thing because they had seen how Dave had reacted at the first sight of Jennifer Jareau and they knew immediately what that meant, although the odds of it happening three times so close together were so minuscule that they had never even thought of the possibility.

The odds of two of the team having vampires as mates, well, two that weren't vampires themselves, were so astronomical that they probably couldn't be calculated and for three of the team in total to have found their mates within less than a year of each other were astronomical.

The absolutely ironic and hilarious thing was however, was that Strauss would be ready to spit tacks at this development, but there was absolutely nothing she could do and both Aaron Hotchner and his mate both thought that it was only what she deserved for being such a disagreeable woman.

If she tried to transfer JJ away just because she was a media liaison and technically not a profiler he knew that Dave would have something to say about that and Strauss wouldn't know what hit her. Of course, he had been trying to convince JJ for years to take classes to become a profiler, because she was excellent at it, even though she wasn't an official one and then Strauss wouldn't have a leg to stand on, but she had turned him down every time.

The dinner party broke up and everybody had truly enjoyed themselves, but all of them had to work tomorrow, so they needed to go home and get some sleep, well those that needed sleep that is.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"What do you suggest I do?" Rossi asked his old protégé and with his mate sitting by his side. He knew he couldn't afford to mess this up and he would likely only get one chance, so he was asking for advice from one of the people that knew her best.

"You're actually asking me for advice?" Hotch asked Dave in surprise.

The three of them were sitting in Hotch's living room sharing drinks. It was over a week later and the day after Dave had come back the team had gotten a case and he had been happy to dive right in, anything that kept his mind off his teammate who was also his mate Jennifer Jareau.

"You know her best," Rossi explained. "She's not another vampire or shifter or she already would have known about what I feel for her, because she would've felt it as well. I don't want to ruin this and have to be forced to change her for my own well-being, as I'd much rather have her go through with the transformation willingly. If I absolutely have to force the issue I will, I'd just rather not."

"Well, first off treat her sons as if they were your own from the first moment you meet them," Emily offered. "She adores her sons and if they dislike you it won't matter what you feel for her as her sons come first—always."

"I was already planning on doing that, as I've raised quite a few sons and daughters over the centuries, because either the mothers didn't want them once they're born or they died during childbirth, because they were mortal," Rossi said.

"That's not in the least unusual, since most grown up vampires have had a few children, whether or not they are mated," Hotch commented and Emily nodded in agreement. "Most of them rarely think of using protection no matter who they're having sex with, since it's not like we can get any of the human diseases."

"That's true," Rossi admitted. "We're a very carnal species and don't really care if we get someone pregnant or not unlike the humans or the shifters, probably because we don't get somebody pregnant at least usually from a one night stand."

"Yes, we use sex as a way to control ourselves so that we're not always thinking about drinking human blood, which is forbidden and has been for 100 years as both our mating and fortification instincts are equally strong," Emily said. "I for one would rather bring babies into the world then go back to drinking human blood and then be hunted down for my trouble and you know that's exactly what would happen to, as I'd would eventually be caught as drinking human blood makes us all look bad."

Both men nodded, as they definitely agreed with that statement because there had been plenty of vampires that hadn't followed the rules in the last hundred years and they had been hunted down, torn apart and the pieces burned to ashes.

"Will, her former boyfriend and father to her sons was a no good, bloodless egg sucking asshole, so I can't really blame JJ for breaking up with him, but she hasn't been very happy since then, at least not when it concerns her personal life, but you have a chance to change that. However, you must go delicately as she'll rightfully be suspicious of your motives. I'm not even sure she's had a date since her breakup and that was more than three years ago, nearly four actually. I know you are going to have to turn her into a vampire at some point as I know very well the strong pull of the mating bond and Emily and I will support you, just as I know Reid and Keziah will, as we all know what you are going through right now."

"Yes, I you do," Rossi agreed. "So let me thank you in advance for helping."
"No thanks necessary," Emily told Dave with a smile. "All of us know what you're going through. Aaron and I were lucky that we were both vampires, Keziah was lucky that Reid was a shifter and so understood immediately about the implications of not being turned, as he to felt the bond, but JJ is different, as she's completely human."

"However, not all is lost as I've noticed her watching you when she thinks you aren't paying attention, so I would say she is interested at the very least, if her rather wistful expression is any indication," Hotch added. "In all the years I've known her I've never seen JJ so distracted as she's usually able to keep her mind on the task at hand."

"I haven't noticed her distraction," Rossi said.

"It's very subtle, but you've only known her a few days, but trust me she has been very distracted," Hotch promised him with a smile. "I've known Jennifer Jareau for 8 years, so I know her better than almost anyone, except perhaps, for Morgan, Garcia and Gideon."

Dave grinned at that. "It's that old Italian charm," he joked

"It helps that you don't look much older than she is," Emily said, "and trust me to a human age matters. We both know that you're considerably older than you look, but to someone like JJ the fact that you don't look more than 35 or so helps."

"She's right," Hotch agreed. "We both know that you're over 1500, but JJ is only 31 and you don't look more than four or five years older, which will help in this particular situation."

"So what's the best way to approach her?" asked Rossi.

"Well, I would ask her out on a date, dinner for example and yes, I'm aware that you don't have to eat, but she does and since she's already well aware of what you are you're not going to have to eat with her and then throw it up later," Hotch said.

"Thank goodness for that, because I've done that more than once in my centuries on this world and it's never a pleasant experience," Rossi said, making a face. "That was by no means a pleasant experience, none of the times I've had to do it in the last 1500 years."

"All of us have at one point or another," Emily said by way of agreement, grimacing as she thought about her own experiences.

"I would also make sure to include her sons on at least some of your dates, go someplace child friendly," Hotch suggested. "As Emily said she's very close to her twin sons Henry and Michael."

"I will," Rossi promised.

Both Emily and Hotch continued to offer suggestions and Dave made sure he paid attention, as Hotch in particular really did know their teammate best and he was desperate to have a relationship with JJ. He didn't like to think of himself as desperate but in this case it was applicable.

"Don't worry you'll be fine," Hotch promised. "If you need a character witness I'll be happy to fulfill that role for you."

"Believe me, I'll take you up on that offer if necessary, as we're talking about my life here as we all know," Rossi said. "As I've already stated I would prefer Jennifer to go through the transformation on her own free will and not be forced into it."

"Well, for one thing no one calls her Jennifer and she only uses it when she's introducing herself," Hotch recommended. "I'm not sure if she dislikes it or if she just got used to being called JJ, but I wouldn't risk my chances by calling her that at least not until you get to know her much better."

"Probably sound advice, although personally, I like the name Jennifer," Rossi admitted.

"And do we want to know why?" Emily asked Dave teasingly.

"I've always liked the name actually, so no, it's not just because that's JJ's first name, just an added bonus," said Rossi.

"Emily and I will help you out anyway we can," Hotch promised his old friend able to perceive the pain in Dave's eyes. Being parted from your mate, especially when that person didn't even know was torture, but then again JJ wasn't dumb and in fact she was extremely perceptive, so she had probably caught Dave watching her more than once in the last few days. Hotch wouldn't be surprised if JJ figured out exactly why her new teammate was watching her or if she confronted him about it, but only if Dave procrastinated which wasn't normally like him, but then this was his one and only chance at true happiness, so Hotch knew he wasn't going to rush into anything and possibly ruin his only chance of getting JJ to agree to be changed willingly.

"You do know that Strauss is going to go ballistic when she discovers this don't you?" Hotch asked his old friend with the distinct twinkle in his eyes.

"Like I care about that," Rossi snorted. "I care about her opinion as much as you do, which is none. I don't particularly care she finds it suspicious, although I will freely admit that the circumstances are rather unusual. First for you to find your mate, then for Reid to find his and then me mine, but it's not like she believes, it's just the coincidences stacked on top of each other, even if I don't normally believe in such things. We all know that the director isn't going to do anything so long as our crime solving rate doesn't drop and there are no complaints and I have no intention of letting either happen. Of course, once JJ is a vampire whether that's voluntary or not I'll feel much better about her going out in the field, because not much can hurt one of our kind other than fire."

"Don't rush into anything," Emily cautioned. "Give JJ a chance to get to know you first."

"I won't, no matter how much my inner vampire protests that I just take her and make her mine, but I am well practiced in keeping that part of myself in check, although I'm not sure how long I can hold out with working beside JJ every day, although that's infinitely better than being separated from her."

"I definitely agree with that statement," Emily said looking adoringly up at Hotch. "Of course, the difference here is that Aaron and I have completed our bond and have triplets to show for it, while you have not."

"Believe me, I know it," Rossi groaned. "Don't think I'm not aware of the fact that you and Reid have completed the bond with your mates while I haven't, but then again I've only known JJ for a few days and she's also human so that adds another layer of complexity to the problem."

"Just as Aaron said we'll help you in anyway we can," Emily promised.

"Thanks," Rossi said sincerely.

"You're more than welcome," Hotch said, "and just think compared to Reid we have it easy, as we get to work with our mates while he doesn't, so think of the positive instead of all that could go wrong."

"I'll try," Rossi promised, "but in the meantime, I need to find something to keep me very busy at least until JJ and I have actually completed our bond and it isn't like I can go out and have sex with another woman or even several considering that I'm not interested in anybody except JJ, as that's the way it works when it comes to vampires and their mates."

"Yes, that's true, you lose any interest in having sex with anybody, except the one meant for you," Emily agreed. "More than one man has tried to get my attention since Aaron and I met and I always brush them off, even though some of them have been incredibly handsome, though not as handsome as Aaron, of course. Not to mention the way the women tend to swarm around Aaron and he always brushes them off as well, although he's had to be downright rude a few times."

"Yes, I have to agree," Hotch said making a face, "some of those women or men for that matter can't seem to take a no, I'm taken for an answer and before Emily and it met it was more of an annoyance then anything else, but now it's a pain in the ass."

The other two vampires in the room definitely agreed with that statement.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~