Part 7
Three years later
"Did you ever think about adopting?" Spencer asked Dave and Aaron.
Their relationship had been going splendidly for the last three years, not that there hadn't been a few arguments, but mostly they got along peacefully. Dave and Aaron knew each other so well that they barely ever argued, especially not over anything really important and it was mostly stress of some kind that caused them to argue at all not because of genuine differences. They eventually worked it out though and Spencer often played the peacemaker.
"Yes, we had actually considered doing that, just never did," Dave admitted looking at Aaron who shook his head. "Why?"
"Well, I was just thinking that it might be nice to have a child of my own even if that child is adopted. I thought about adopting back before I met you, but figured that I wouldn't be able to afford to hire anybody to look after them when I was working. I knew it was unlikely that I would ever meet some woman that I would consider marrying and even if I had I would've tried to convince her to adopt, as I didn't want to run the risk of any child of mine coming down with my mother's schizophrenia. I was also thinking we could at least get one child out of a bad situation because foster care and group homes are not necessarily good places, as the guardians might not be good people or some of the children could bully the weaker, smaller children. Foster care is always underfunded, group homes and state schools are the same. I was thinking that eventually he or she could take over for the three of us and even find a mate of their own perhaps. We would still keep our hand in, but we would leave the running to whoever we adopted along with the more experienced staff."
"I don't think it's a bad idea," Aaron mentioned and Dave nodded seeming deep in thought.
"No, it's not really a bad idea at all," Dave decided. "It's something that you or I had considered doing at one time, but then we didn't, not that that necessarily means anything. We certainly have the money to support a dozen children if we wanted to. We have the funds to feed, clothe and educate them and the experience to teach them right from wrong and about responsibility."
"We could tell them about immortals once they're old enough to understand and we are sure they're trustworthy," Spencer added. "Even offer to turn them at some point, maybe after they finish university."
"Well, I'm not against the idea, actually it's a very good one," Dave told Spencer smiling who glowed at the praise. He was still getting used to being sincerely complimented, even though it was three years, since he'd been turned immortal.
"So if we do this what are you want a girl or a boy?" Aaron asked.
"It doesn't matter really," Dave said. "Probably a boy though, as he can carry on the family name while we quietly disappear into obscurity."
"We could always try for both, a brother and a sister perhaps," Spencer mentioned.
"That's possible, as we have three extra bedrooms besides the master and that will leave us with one guestroom," Aaron said.
"I no longer use the suite that I did when I first arrived since I sleep with the two of you now, so it can certainly be set up for child if need be."
"We can keep that one as a spare as I think the other two will do or perhaps it can be used for a nanny," Dave said. "This place is certainly large enough for a child or two, although no more than that or we'd end up moving. I doubt we'd get a baby or toddler since everyone wants those and the waiting list would be extremely long, but it's more than possible to get a child that's five or six, maybe a little older."
"I don't think that there's anyway that the people in charge of adoption are going to turn you down, as you're extremely well-connected, wealthy and provide numerous jobs to communities around the world. No, they won't dare turn you down, just because of your liking for your own sex as you could release your wrath on them and make them lose their jobs if you were so inclined. There's no way they could screw you over like happens a lot of time with people who have a more ordinary income," Spencer said.
"Unfortunately, a lot of people respond to money," Dave said and the other two nodded in agreement. "I'll get the process started and we should have a child much sooner than is average."
"We should be able to meet the child after we are matched, but we don't have to adopt them if they're not a good match. Meetings usually take place somewhere like the park or in the conference room of the adoption agency. At least we don't have any family to force us into accepting the child, people who spend a limited amount of time with them."
"I'm assuming they're ways to tell if they are good match or not," Aaron said and Spencer nodded.
"Yes, we might find certain traits of the child annoying for example. We will find ourselves not enjoying spending time with the child in question, or their religious values might not match and they might just be overall annoying. Of course, traits we find annoying some other family will not, so we'll have to watch out for all these things and I believe that it should only be you and Aaron trying to adopt at least until the adoption is finalized. I suspect that if they adoption agency finds out about the fact that all of us are in a relationship we'll be automatically turned down, no matter how much money you throw at them. I am not saying it wouldn't still possible for us to adopt a child if you do throw money at them if they found out about our three-way relationship but still I wouldn't risk it."
"You're right," Dave said. "There will be home visits involved, and even we are not going to be able to avoid that no matter how much money Aaron and I throw at them."
"I'll stay mostly out of the way down in the library maybe," Spencer said. "You can introduce me as somebody who's working for you getting the library in order, even though I've already done so."
Spencer had just finished getting the library in order a few months back and it had taken him much longer then he thought because he didn't spend as much time on it as he originally planned. He hadn't even read most of the volumes yet, as he had been spending so much time with Dave and Aaron and that was just fine, as he had forever after all.
There were now several comfortable chairs and little side tables to put books on in the library so that someone could just curl up and read for a few hours. The chairs were very comfortable and Spencer had spent all day down there more than once just immersed in several good books.
"That's a good idea," Aaron said and Dave was in total agreement with that.
"I hate to let anybody think that you're not part of this family, but you're right that threesomes are not really accepted, not among mortals anyway," Dave said.
"I promise you I won't be hurt, since I'm the one that made the suggestion in the first place," Spencer smiled. "We don't want to be turned down just because humans and magicals think that threesomes are wrong. Some people will accept our relationship, but still, we don't want to risk it."
"It might be better to go through a private agency," Dave suggested. "It will certainly be expensive, but it's not like we can't afford it."
"We can try that if you like," Spencer said. "It will certainly be faster than going through foster care, but if we do we'll likely going to have to interact with at least one of the parents and a lot of them will likely object to two men being a couple. Personally, I would try foster care first and only if that fails would I go do a private adoption. There're approximately 100,000 kids that are ready to be adopted in foster care while the rest of them are usually sent back to their parents once they are cleared by the proper authorities for any number of reasons."
"We'll try foster care first then," Dave decided.
The three main continue to discuss it for a few minutes before Dave went to get the ball rolling.
~~~Dave, Aaron and Spencer~~~
"Well, everything certainly seems to be in order," Becky the child adoption specialist said after she had gone through the penthouse. "It will be easier if you decide to become foster parents first, even if that's only for the purposes of adoption."
"So a friend of ours informed us," Aaron said smiling at Becky charmingly.
"Well, your friend was right," Becky said smiling in return. She really felt that both David Rossi and Aaron Hotchner were two of the most handsome specimens of humanity she had ever seen, but she also could tell that they were totally devoted to each other. Someone had apparently already informed them of everything they would need for the process, because they had it all ready for her, marriage certificate, income and various other papers that were necessary. Of course, she had heard of David Rossi, although she had no idea he was married, as he didn't wear a wedding ring, but then some men didn't so it wasn't unusual. She could understand wanting to keep their relationship private as a lot of people would send them hate mail if they did not considering how well known he was, females mainly. Many females would demand Dave, as he had told her to call him to get a divorce and marry one of them, so he could have children and Becky couldn't blame either him or Aaron for not wanting to deal with it. Becky was not naïve enough not to know that there would likely be some serious threats involved and Dave would be forced to deal with it.
"I don't foresee any problems, because you have plenty of love to give a child," Becky said. "You can also certainly feed, clothe and educate them considering that I know your company is worldwide."
"Well, yes, my so many times great-grandfather started this company 400 years ago," Dave said smiling, though this statement was not precisely true. "It's been in my family ever since then and we've managed to keep it going. I hope to keep this company going for many more centuries, but in order to do that I need an heir."
"Yeah, you do since you don't ever plan on getting married and producing that heir naturally," Becky commented.
"We are what we are," Dave shrugged. "Aaron and I have been together for a number of years and that's never going to change no matter what other people would like to happen. I know very well that there're plenty of females out there that would like me to marry them just so they can get a large chunk of my portfolio, but even when I was a young man I was never stupid enough to fall for that kind of thing. Even if I had married I would've made sure they signed a prenup agreement, before we did so they would know that if they divorced me that they would get a certain amount and that would be it and it would certainly depend on the reason for the divorce. Someday Aaron and I are going to want to retire, maybe do some traveling, but I want somebody that will take good care of the company when I do."
"Somebody that can keep it going," Aaron added, "whether that's our son or daughter or our grandchildren, as after all we are a large part of the economy now."
"So you were telling me that you would prefer a boy then?" Becky questioned making sure she had all the information correct.
"We would like a boy and a girl," Aaron corrected, "Preferably siblings if you can manage that."
"If you can't then we'll still take both, even if they're not related. We have two extra bedrooms so two children seem perfect."
"So the third bedroom is a guestroom or for the nanny you're probably going to hire?" Becky asked.
"Oh, that ones being used," Dave said causally.
"By who?" Becky asked intrigued.
"We hired someone to get the library we have a level down in order," Aaron explained.
"My ancestors have collected books for hundreds of years and the library was a mess. My father had all the books brought from various places and figured to do one level as a library since both, most of my ancestors have loved to read. I'm afraid that my father just stuck books on shelves and didn't bother to really organize them, or perhaps didn't have time," Dave said lying just a little, since it was him that hadn't bothered to organize it. "In any case, I finally realized what a mess the library was in and hired someone to get it in order."
Of course, Spencer had gotten the library in order just recently and it had taken him over three years, but Becky didn't need to know that. He just let her assume that it was a work in progress.
"In any case, we let him live in the other room so that he would have access to the library anytime of the day or night and since he's a major bookworm he can sit and read for hours at a time it's an ideal arrangement for him instead of him staying at a hotel, since we brought him in from another city," Aaron added.
"We often have to ring his phone to tell him that lunch or dinner is ready, because he can become so absorbed in what he's doing that he doesn't realize he's starving," Dave added with twinkling eyes. "He'll eventually get the library in order for there's quite a few books and then I have plenty of other projects he can do if he wants to stay with my company, because trust me, he's a very learned and accomplished man. Of course, if he wants to go on to other things after he's done then that's okay too, because he's only under contract to get the library in order."
"I see," Becky said smiling.
"Still, that doesn't mean we can't have a nanny that comes in the daytime when we're busy and then leaves at night, as she doesn't necessarily have to live with us," Aaron said. "They will be able to take the children to school, or out on some activity while we're busy at work."
"Since this man is staying with you at least temporarily I need to meet him as well, just to be sure that he suitable to be around children."
"You'll see he's a nice guy or would never have let him stay here if we hadn't done a thorough background check on him," Dave said. "After all, you don't let a total stranger stay in your home unless you're sure that they're not some kind of criminal. I promise you he's very trustworthy, but if you want to meet him then I'll call him up. I warn you though he's kind of shy around strangers and it takes him awhile to warm up to people, so I just don't want you to be surprised. The only way I got him to leave his job and take me up on my offer was to promise to let him read some of the rare books that my family has collected over the last few hundred years. Let's just say the offer was too good for him to pass up, even though I offered him an above average salary."
"But not everybody is motivated by money," Aaron said and Becky agreed with that, as she certainly wasn't paid much as a child adoption specialist, not as much as she could have made in other professions.
"I think I'm going to like him very much, so what's his name?" Becky asked smiling.
"Dr. Spencer Reid," Dave answered immediately. "He has a lot of different degrees and is a true genius, but not arrogant with it like so many are. Well, let me call him so you can meet him, although he's likely going to be upset at being disturbed, if he's involved in reading one of those rare volumes I mentioned."
Dave took out his phone and called a number that was already programmed in and it was only minutes later that the elevator dinged and a tall thin man, one with dark brown hair and brown eyes emerged.
"You wanted to see me Dave?" Spencer questioned, even though he knew perfectly well why he had been called away from the book he was reading.
"Yes, Becky here, wanted to meet you to make sure you weren't some kind of killer since Aaron and I are trying to adopt a couple of children," Dave explained humor twinkling in the depths of his eyes, but nobody who didn't know him really well would ever have noticed. "She insisted that she had to meet you, since you're living here until the library is completely in order. I explained our arrangement and how you were living in the third bedroom so that you could have access to the library 24 hours a day and wouldn't have to come and go at certain times."
"Okay," Spencer said turning to Becky. "What do you want to know?"
Becky thought that Spencer was also a very handsome man, but that he also appeared rather shy, but then a lot of people who were academics were like that, so it wasn't at all unusual. It never even occurred to her that Dave and Aaron could be involved with Spencer in a sexual relationship, because most people's minds didn't automatically leap to the idea of a threesome.
"So you're working for Dave then?" Becky asked and Spencer nodded.
"Yes, the offer of being able to read some of the rare volumes that are part of his collection was too good to pass up, as some of them are hundreds of years old, so I have to be careful, as it's only paper after all," Spencer answered honestly. "He's paying me quite well, but still, money isn't everything. It's certainly a massive project, but it's something I'm really enjoying, as I don't have many opportunities to read such rare books."
"So what do you think about your employers adopting a couple of children?" Becky asked.
"It doesn't bother me," Spencer said truthfully. Not since it had been his suggestion in the first place. "I got quite good at interacting with kids, as I used to work at the library in Richmond and I could certainly discuss any book that they'd read as I've read them all."
Becky blinked at that and stared at Spencer. Surely he didn't mean what she thought he did.
Spencer just stared at her owlishly not saying anything at all.
"You read all the books at the library you worked, there must be hundreds of them?" questioned Becky.
"I read much faster than average," Spencer explained. "I've been clocked at 20,000 words a minute and while I can read slower and often do so if I'm really into a book, a lot of times I read just because I like to know everything. No knowledge is ever wasted after all."
"But how can you possibly remember it all?" Becky sputtered still in amazement.
"My memory is eidetic," Spencer explained simply. "I remember everything I've read or see or hear, well so long as I'm paying attention for those last two and I just don't let my eyes skitter past something or I'm paying attention to the conversation."
"Well you certainly do have an unusual set of skills, Dr. Reid," Becky told him.
"Believe me, I'm well aware of it as I've been told so often enough and not always for a good reason. I hope you'll keep this information in confidence because a lot of people would consider my eidetic memory weird at the very least. A lot of the kids that I went to school with certainly thought so and so did a lot of the teachers so I don't bandy it about anymore," Spencer explained calmly, as if he was talking about the weather.
Becky could very well guess that he had been bullied, or at least picked on, because that's what happened a lot of times to people who didn't fit into what other people considered normal, which probably explained why he was so shy around others and it was likely a rare thing to be accepted for who he was.
Becky asked a few more questions and Spencer answered them honestly, not glancing at Dave or Aaron the entire time, because he knew he wouldn't be up to hide his feelings if he did. He'd had a hard enough time keeping his feelings from showing on his face when Dave had called him up so he could meet the child adoption specialist, though only someone really observant would have noticed.
Finally Becky left and all three men relaxed when she did.
"Well, we should've expected that she would want to meet the other person living here," Spencer sighed, not believing that that hadn't occurred to him.
"I thought you did very well," Aaron complimented him and Spencer blushed.
"Yes, I think you did well to considering that Becky wanting to meet you was something of a surprise, but as you just said we probably should've expected it," Dave said. "It should have occurred to us that she would want to meet anybody that would have regular contact with the children, especially someone that's living here where the children are going to be spending a lot of their time, doing homework, playing and spending time with us."
"Of course, she believes I'll be gone just as soon as I get the library in order, but all of us know different and so will the children," Spencer said.
"I did mention that I might have other projects for you to do so she knows that you'll likely be around, although not necessarily living with us," Dave corrected and Spencer nodded. "Still, she probably doesn't suspect that you'll have regular contact with the children once you finish the library, even if we both know you just got done a few months back, but are still reading some of the volumes."
"Well, that's just fine," Spencer said. "Trust me, it's better that she doesn't know that I'm also involved in relationship with both of you, as she and her bosses would likely consider us perverts or at least weird. It is only fairly recently that two men being sexually involved has become more acceptable and where a lot of States allow them to adopt a child or children and New York happens to be one of them. A lot at States used to not allow two men to have joint custody of a child."
"It would've been much simpler back a few hundred years ago," Dave sighed. "Back before all this technology. You could just pick a child up off the street for example educate them and how to speak properly, how to read, write and figure and then make them your heir and no one would ever suspect that they weren't your child. A lot of children weren't registered with birth certificates back then or they simply got lost."
"I know things were much simpler back when you were born and even back less than 100 years ago, but you have to update with the times, because it will cause less problems in the long run," said Spencer and Dave and Aaron nodded because that was very true.
Dave and Aaron told Spencer all about the meeting and he listened intently, nodding occasionally.
"So what do you think? Do you think the meeting went well?" Aaron asked.
"For a first meeting yes, it did," Spencer said. "The fact that Becky doesn't seem to be prejudiced against same-sex relationships will only make the process easier. It's not that she could prevent you from adopting, because there are laws against discrimination now and so long as you meet all the requirements there is nothing she can do. However, it will certainly make the process easier and maybe faster. Being friends with your child specialist is not a bad thing as they'll be more inclined to go out of their way for you. The fact is, that you're perfect adoptive parents material, your patient and kind and aren't going to get annoyed with some things that children do just to get attention if they're feeling left out or neglected."
"And they will have three fathers instead of a mother and a father," Aaron said smiling at the thought.
"Yes but we'll have to make sure they understand that they're not to bandy it about. Of course, I know it depends on the age of the child, but I figure we'll get one that's about 7 or 8 as that's about normal and we didn't request an infant or a toddler."
"I think getting a child that's already halfway grown would be perfect," Dave said. "Of course, we'll have to be there for them if they have nightmares or something because every child in the system has been through some kind of trauma."
"Yes, it could be something like their parents dying in some kind of accident, which could be something simple like a car crash or it could be something like at least one of their parents being addicted to drugs and trying to get their kids addicted to," Spencer said. "We'll have to be sure that we discipline them appropriately when they do something wrong. Not doing so would be a bad idea as it would make a kid think that they can do anything they want, no matter how right or wrong it was."
"Well, my parents used to spank me when I did something wrong although I know that most parents don't do that today," Dave said. "Actually, correction they tore my butt up so that I would know that I was to never do it again. Still, that only happened a few times as I was more the type to obey my parents and not get into mischief, though I couldn't say the same for some of the children I grew up with and that was just from minor mischief not for something more serious."
"Yes, I remember the story you told me about how some of the children you grew up with got themselves made outcasts, because of their near assault on that girl, Tara I believe he said her name was."
"Yes," Dave agreed. "I was really sorry that happened to my friends at least, not that they didn't deserve it, but still, I would've given all of those boys another chance. Back then things were a lot different and humans definitely didn't know anything about behavior so many centuries ago, not like we do today anyway. We know a lot more about the different types of behavior, much of which can be corrected with proper discipline when a child is young and sometimes even adults see the error of their way depending on the person."
"Those boys you told me about suffered a terrible fate, but as you said things were much different back then," Spencer sympathized. "Some of them might never have corrected their behavior, but then some might have if they'd realized how close they were to doing something unforgivable."
"I know," Dave said looking pensive.
"So where did you get the marriage certificate?" Spencer asked suddenly smiling already knowing the answer. "I know you never got married, so it has to be fake, but it sure does look real."
"Where do you think?" Aaron who had been mostly silent asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Penny," Spencer said smiling.
"Yeah, and she sure did make it and the other documentation look real," Dave said.
"And I'm sure she also entered it into the appropriate systems," Spencer said still smiling wondering why he wasn't upset as technically, Dave, Aaron and Penny had broken the law and then figured that it was probably because they weren't hurting anyone, not even themselves. There had to be a lot of things that they were going to have to do that weren't exactly on the right side of the law, because of the fact that they could technically live forever and this was the age of technology, so it wasn't as easy for someone to go unnoticed, as it had been even 100 years ago. Immortals had to live in the modern world and that wasn't very easy.
"Well, if you're done with me for the moment I think I'll go back to the book I was reading and you can call me up for dinner," Spencer said smiling, as he kissed each of his lovers tenderly.
"You go ahead," Dave said affectionately. "At the rate you're going you'll soon have all the books read."
"I think it'll probably take me at least next five years or maybe even more, considering that's not all I do anymore, because you insist that we do other things together," Spencer said smiling, as he left them. "And you know, I realize, I don't really mind it."
"Good to know," Aaron said.
Dave and Aaron watched him go also smiling.
~~~Dave, Aaron and Spencer~~~
"Wow! This place is really great," Jack said looking around.
Jack didn't know anything about antiques, but was still able to tell that everything was much more grand and that likely meant more expensive than in the foster home he and Jenny had been staying in. Jack had Jenny by the hand and she was looking around in wonder not saying a word. She was still rather afraid of the two men that had adopted her, but with Jack there she felt way as she knew that he would do anything he could to protect her. The two of them had formed a connection the instant they met and Jack had protected her from an older boy and girl also living at the foster home.
Jack was eight years old, very intelligent, an only child. His mother Haley, had gotten addicted to drugs so Jack had been put into the system, three years ago. Becky had thought that Jack would be a perfect match for Dave and Aaron as he was intelligent just like the two of them, but it was unrealized potential because Jack didn't see the point of learning all he could or doing good in his schoolwork, as no one had encouraged him, not in the right way.
All of them including Spencer had met Jack at the park and after talking to him for a few minutes Dave and Aaron had agreed that Jack was a perfect fit. Spencer had stayed in the background but Dave and Aaron had insisted that he had to come as well and had told Becky that Spencer was likely going to be around for all of Jack's childhood, working on various projects for the company and he would be like an uncle to the young boy.
Jack however, had refused to be adopted unless a girl who he considered his sister was also adopted. It turned out that Jack was something of a white knight and was protecting her from bullies who would have picked on her so badly that she likely it would've taken her own life as she was that delicate, emotionally and mentally anyway. Jack feared what could happen to Jenny if he left her to the mercy of the others in the house.
Jenny's background was even worse then Jack's was, as she had been abused by her own father, since she was three and her mother had died. Now she had trouble trusting anyone, which was understandable. She had instinctively trusted Jack from the first though, as she could tell that he was a good person, despite the raw deal that he had gotten, which might have to do with the fact that he had rescued her from the other two children in the house who had tried to bully her and had been her protector ever since.
Spencer believed that Jenny was stronger mentally and emotionally then she thought herself to be, because otherwise, her treatment at the hand of her father would have broken her, but that didn't mean she wasn't very delicate right now either. Getting her trust would be a challenge, but well worth the effort in the end.
"It's home," Dave said simply.
"Now this is your room," Aaron said leading Jack to a room that had a large bed and lots of toys that had been lined up on a bookcase. All the toys were age appropriate.
"Wow! This is really neat!" Jack said, as he entered the room. He saw some of the latest toys that he had seen on commercials sitting on shelves still in their boxes which meant they were brand-new. His mother never could've afford some of these toys thanks to her drug habit. Jack even saw some of the ones he had been wanting but didn't mention it.
Jack had known for a long time that something was wrong with his mother, although he hadn't known what it was until recently, as Haley Brooks had done her best to protect her son. He had a feeling he was going to love his adopted fathers and hopefully, they could help Jenny come out of her shell, because right now she was almost afraid of her own shadow. Jack could hardly blame her for that considering what little he knew about the past as he had only coaxed a few tidbits out of her.
It was hard to believe that Jenny's childhood so far had been worse then his own, but hopefully, things would get better from here on out.
"And this is your room, Miss Jenny," Aaron said causing the six-year-old girl to giggle, which delighted the two men as well as Jack.
Jenny entered the room and gasped in delight as the walls were a soft blue, and it was also set up just like Jack's room with every toy imaginable for her age and a double bed.
"Thank you," Jenny said softly the first words she had spoken.
"You're quite welcome, Miss Jenny," Dave said smiling ruffling her hair playfully.
Jenny reacted as if she had been shot at first, but then tentatively smiled up at two men who had been so kind to her and Jack and Aaron and Dave felt that was a victory in itself.
"Where is Spencer?" Jack asked a little tentatively.
"He's probably down in the library," Dave answered smiling. "We bought a lot of books for Jenny and you to read that all appropriate for your ages and I'm sure he is still sorting them out. I'll call him and have him come up if you like."
"You have a library?" Jack asked.
"Yes, we do," Aaron answered, "But neither one of you is to go down there without some adult supervision as a lot of the books are rare and valuable."
"We have books that are worth thousands of dollars, so they need to be very carefully taken care of," Dave said.
"Wow! I had no idea that books could be worth so much!" Jack said his eyes wide.
"They can be," Dave answered smiling. "It all depends on how famous the author was and the edition of the book. They are usually long dead before their books are worth so much. Still, that's something I'm hardly an expert on, but Spencer is and I'm sure he'll be happy to talk to you about it if you're interested."
"Also we're going to introduce you to Miss Penny," Aaron said. "You'll love her like she's the one that went shopping for all these toys. She knew just what children would like."
"I think I can wait at least a couple of weeks though," Dave said smiling. "I don't think they're ready to go clothes shopping with Miss Penny quite yet. We need to give you time to get settled in, we know that."
"Now it's nearly time for lunch and Dave is a great cook," Aaron said. "You have maybe half an hour to play with your new toys before it's time to eat."
Jack and Jenny both took that as the permission it was and entered their new rooms.
"Well, that went well," Dave said softly as soon as see and had moved out of earshot.
"I thought so," Aaron agreed smiling also speaking softly. "Still, we have a long way to go before Jenny at least truly trusts us, but considering her background I can't really blame her."
"No, I can't blame her either considering that her father beat her every chance he got and only because he's in prison is the only reason I don't go after him so that he ends up in the nearest river."
Aaron said nothing, but agreed with Dave's opinion, although both men well aware that Spencer likely wouldn't, so they had no intention in mentioning it to their third mate. Spencer had been raised in a different time from the two of them, so he was more a civilized then they were. Sure, they had a veneer of civilization and in most ways were very modern, but they were still barbarians at heart and there was something that shouldn't be allowed and the father abusing his daughter was one of them. At least it was only physical abuse and not sexual, so that was something anyway.
The two of them had had to change with the times, though Aaron had been pretty civilized 500 years ago when Dave had found him. Still, it would take Jenny a lot to get over her treatment by her own father, but Dave, Aaron and also Spencer were determined to help her overcome her past.
"Well, I had better go fix some lunch," Dave said smiling.
"Yeah, you better because they'll be hungry pretty soon I'm sure," Aaron said, as he followed Dave into the kitchen area. "After all, I've heard kids have bottomless pits for stomachs."
"Yeah, they do and I doubt very much that their foster parents let them eat between meals, though they might have I know. It all depends on what kind of foster family they landed with."
"Neither of them have said and they might never reveal what it was like," Aaron said thoughtfully as he sat in the large kitchen table. "All we know is that Jack had to protect Jenny from the other children in the house and those older children genuinely might not have meant any harm, but likely wouldn't have realized that Jenny was emotionally delicate."
"No, most children aren't as sensitive as Jack to others around them as often that takes time and experience to develop and a lot of children never develop that sensitivity. Jack has been through experiences that no child should have to go through and so has Jenny, though at least Jack's mother Haley tried her best to protect her son from her drug habit at least until the end. What this says is that at one point Haley Brooks really loved her son and until her drug habit overcame that love. It might have been possible to work herself back out, but instead she signed over all parental rights and I'm sure she did that for her son. It's possible that she might have believed she wasn't strong enough to beat the habit or she was and she believed she'd give into temptation again at some point."
"We'll never know her reasons I'm sure," Aaron said still speaking softly, as he didn't want either of the children to hear what they were talking about, as it would just upset them.
"We probably won't. It doesn't matter anyway, as they're ours now and we'll do everything we can to make sure they live happy, healthy lives," Dave said by way of agreement.
"Well, I had better call Spencer, as lunch will be ready in a few minutes," Aaron said smiling thinking about how that relationship had progressed with their third mate.
"Yeah, it'll only be about 10 minutes," Dave said, as he continued his food preparations.
"So when are we going to tell them about immortality?" Aaron asked softly.
"I'm not sure yet," Dave said softly. "Probably not until they're at least 13 or 14, as it all depends on when all of think they are responsible enough to know. We can't have them blabbing to other people about it so we'll just have to wait and see how things go. They'll have to prove they are trustworthy before they are told."
Aaron nodded at this, even though Dave wasn't looking at him because he had made a very good point.
"I'll call Spencer now," Aaron said finally.
Dave nodded, so Aaron took out his phone to do that very thing.
~~~Dave, Aaron and Spencer~~~
