Part 4
"I just got a text about Christmas," Spencer told his mate.
"So it's something you do every year?" Rosa asked.
"Most years," Spencer corrected, "but for the last three we didn't get together. Mostly it was Aaron and Persephone who just wanted to be alone for the holidays. I didn't take offense, because I know that happens sometimes, even though they been mated for just over 200 years now. Looks like our little gatherings are back on at least for this year."
"So what do you do for Christmas?" Rosa asked.
"Well, we don't do the food side of the holiday as there is no point. Still, Christmas is about spending time with family not necessarily about food or exchanging presents. The Hotchners and the Rossis are my family and now you are to. Basically, we spend time together just talking and exchanging presents, perhaps seeing the sites wherever we decide to have our holiday. We usually spend at least the whole month of December together and sometimes January. We have many little Christmas traditions wherever we decide to go for that year. While we mostly spend the time as a group we do give each other private time when necessary or wanted. Still the main point is to spend time with the people you don't see very often, just a few times a year and sometimes not even that much."
"Sounds really nice," Rosa decided.
"Yeah, it really is," Spencer smiled. "It forces me to interact with other people, but since I'm already close to them I don't mind. We always have a lot of fun I have to admit and the ladies in particular like to force me out of my comfort zone."
"Well, I think I'll like Penelope and Persephone a lot," Rosa grinned.
"I'm sure you'll get along like a house on fire," Spencer's predicted. "I'm sure you'll be dragged by them for a girls night out while we men entertain ourselves as it happens every time we see each other. I won't be surprised if some gambling is involved when it's just us men because sometimes we choose somewhere that has a casino, even if it's not like the ones in Las Vegas. Sometimes we just buy into a high stakes game of poker that's being played in some back room somewhere."
"So do you lose or win?" Rosa asked.
"I usually win actually," Spencer grinned smugly. "I grew up in Las Vegas after all and I did get a math degree a couple of centuries ago now. Unless I'm downplaying my talent I usually get everybody's money by the time we're done. Of course, I end up losing a few hands during the course of the night on purpose just so they won't think I'm cheating or something. Not Aaron and Dave of course, but whoever else is playing."
"Well, I can't wait to see that," Rosa giggled. "Playing against mortals is really no fun because you can tell when they're nervous or lying."
"I know it's another reason I really don't do it often is it doesn't seem fair since as vampires we have numerous advantages. Of course, if I'm playing against other vampires like Dave and Aaron it's a totally different matter. Unfortunately, by now, they know better then to play against me very often as I usually clean them out."
"I like to play poker sometimes," Rosa admitted.
"Maybe we can do that sometime in the future," Spencer offered, smiling at the thought.
"So I take it that Penelope and Persephone don't like to play poker much?" Rosa asked.
"It's not that they don't like to play just that they're not very good at it, have too many tells," said Spencer. "They don't have the best poker faces I'm afraid, although I never tell them that as they would just be upset with me and I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings deliberately."
"Well, not everybody is good at poker," Rosa shrugged and Spencer agreed.
"So you want me to text him back to let them know that I'll be there and that I'll be bringing a surprise guest?" Spencer asked.
"Absolutely, I'd love to meet them," Rosa said. "I doubt very much that I'll be much of a surprise though, because they're bound to guess that you met your mate, considering all you've told me about yourself and your family."
"You're right, I won't surprise them, since I've never brought a guest before," Spencer answered immediately knowing that Rosa was right. "Still, as I told you when we first met just three months ago they'll be very happy for me. You'll immediately become part of the family."
"Which is just fine," Rosa said smiling. "I would love to invite my father as well, so he can meet you, but this first time it's better if it's just us and your family."
"Maybe next year," Spencer said. "I would be glad to meet your father at some point."
"You will eventually meet him, but it doesn't have to be right away," Rosa said. "Let's just concentrate on us for the foreseeable future and me meeting those that you consider family."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Spencer said a smile stretching his face, which was unusual, although not so much in the last three months. "I'm hoping we get lucky and you'll get pregnant over the holidays."
"That would be great," Rosa decided. "I'm not really surprised I haven't gotten pregnant yet, since vampire females don't conceive very easily for the most part."
"Unless you have magic," Spencer reminded her and Rosa nodded.
"Unfortunately, I don't have magic like Persephone and Penelope do, but still, as mates we should conceive more easily simply because mates have sex a lot and we are also very compatible," Rosa said.
Spencer would have blushed if he could have, because he was still rather uncomfortable about discussing such a thing, even though it was just with Rosa with no one else present.
Rosa and noticed his reaction and said nothing, but was determined to get Spencer to where he wasn't uncomfortable about talking about such things at least with her.
His father's lack of parenting was affecting Spencer even today as she suspected that he would be much more confident in certain ways if not for his lousy scumsucking daddy, who didn't realize what a treasure he'd had and instead resented his son at the very least. Rosa almost wished that William Reid hadn't been dead for a very long time now so that she could beat him up or even torture him for a very long time for what he had done to his only son. She only hoped that the man was burning in hell. Rosa just knew if his mother hadn't been so sick that Spencer would've had a better childhood, but she didn't blame Diana Reid at all because she had been ill. No, his father was to blame no one else and Rosa would hate him until her dying day, even though he had been dead for many years.
Rosa didn't voice her opinions though, as Spencer already knew what she thought of his father's parenting skills, but instead she gave her mate a tender kiss.
"Why don't you send your family a message back and tell them you'll be there and that you'll be bringing a guest and after that I think it's time we get out of the house and do something else for awhile. As much as I love staying here with you I just think that we need to do something else for a few hours anyway."
The two of them had found a house just last month and paid for it in one go, so they didn't have to worry about a house payment. The house was quite large and there was plenty of room for numerous children in it as they didn't need to sleep. Rosa doubted that she and Spencer would have more than one at a time, but since Spencer had been a werewolf before he was transformed into a vampire it was possible they would have multiples at least sometimes. Still, she wasn't pregnant yet, as she would have known within a few days since vampire fetuses grew so quickly, but she was really hoping to get pregnant soon, as she would love to have a child by her mate or even several of them. It would really be a dream come true and she knew her father would be thrilled not only that she had found her mate, but had had at least one child by him.
"Okay," Spencer agreed and rapidly started talking to his cell phone. It didn't take more than a couple of minutes to tell the phone the message and have it send it to the appropriate parties. "So now that that's done what do you want to do for a few hours?"
Rosa thought about it and then came up with the suggestion and Spencer nodded.
"Sounds like fun, let's go," Spencer agreed, smiling.
Both of them walked towards the front door of their house Spencer making sure to set the alarm and lock up before heading for his car, Rosa following behind.
~~~Dave and Penelope~~~
"Well it look like Spencer's bringing a plus one," Penelope said, after she had read Spencer's text message.
"He is?" Dave asked immediately interested.
"That's what his text message says," Penelope said showing Dave her phone. "Do you think…"
"That his plus one is actually his mate? Yes I do," Dave immediately answered, knowing what Penelope was implying. "We know how shy he is around other people, particularly the opposite sex and I don't see him suddenly changing habits of a lifetime, unless of course, this woman is his mate, especially with none of us there to force him to try new things and get him out of his comfort zone."
"You're right. If what we suspect this true I'm so happy for him," Penelope finally squealed.
"I don't see Spencer introducing us to anybody unless it's his mate," Dave said. "He might have been involved in at least one relationship over the years, but if he was he was very subtle about it."
"Well, I can't wait to meet her," Penelope said still very excited for the man she considered a brother.
"Neither can I," Dave said. "And I'm also very happy for him as I know he's been rather lonely. However, if he has met his mate like we both know he has, well, he'll slowly transform from that sad lonely man into a much happier one. Remember, I was basically, the same way before we met again, even if it was for totally different reason. Having you in my life though, slowly changed me into how I was before your incarnation was killed so many centuries ago now, but with differences."
"Yes, you've changed a lot in the last 200 years," Penelope agreed slowly. "It was a very subtle change that happened over several decades. I think it's because you started to take joy in life again once we had met. After my incarnations death you couldn't seem to be happy, which I now understand was because you had lost your mate. I understood before that's true, but not on a really deep emotional level like I do now. The two of us have been together for so long that I know it would destroy me to lose you now, so I better understand how you feel when you lost my incarnation. It would be like ripping apart my own soul if anything were to happen to you, so I can understand why mates don't usually survive their partner's deaths. You're the only case that either one of us is aware of that has ever survived the loss of a mate and only because my incarnation promised to come back to you. That doesn't mean however, that you weren't in a great deal of emotional anguish for those 600 years. The thought of losing you terrifies me, just so you know."
"You don't have to worry, bella, I'm not going anywhere," Dave promised, in a sensual tone of voice.
"I know that," Penelope promised. "I was just telling you that I understand better the anguish you went through for those six centuries before I was finally reincarnated. I can't imagine how you got through those 600 years after my incarnations death, but you did and that's all that matters. As for Spencer, yes, I suspect he'll subtly change over the next few decades until he's the confident man he always should have been. Yes, he's confident in most ways, but in others he definitely is not, but I can see his mate whatever her name is forcing him out of his comfort zone on a regular basis, until he's comfortable in all kinds of situations."
"That's what I suspect will happen over time as well," Dave agreed kissing his mate gently. "However, when you love someone as much as mates love each other, you do what they want you to whether or not you're comfortable doing it. So long as his mate has a strong enough personality to force him to do things he's not comfortable with I agree he'll slowly change over time just like I did when we met again. Also having children will change him as well."
"I'm wonder if his mate is a vampire or a mortal," Penelope asked rhetorically, not really expecting an answer.
"I don't know, but will find out in a few weeks," Dave said. "I really hope she is a vampire so that we don't have to worry about changing her into one, as there is that whole newborn year to get through, not to mention having problems that all newborns have it first, even once they're passed the first year or so of their existence."
"Yes, you told me that a lot of newborns, ones less then a decade old often have trouble controlling their emotions a lot of times," Penelope remembered.
"That didn't matter so much for you or Persephone because you were already mated, so that meant your emotions were steadier and that meant you were less likely to go off on some wild tangent that could have landed you in trouble," Dave said.
"Well, the same should be true for Spencer's mate and that's only if she's not already a vampire," Penelope offered.
"True," Dave agreed. "Still, I wouldn't want to go through the whole newborn stage again as you know we'd help Spencer out, since he's basically family. You know that Aaron and Persephone would say the same."
"That's something I hadn't thought of, but you're right," Penelope considered. "Let's hope that she's a vampire then, so we don't have to worry about turning her into one."
"Well, no matter whether she's already a vampire of not we'll still accept her into the family," said Dave and Penelope nodded in full agreement. "I'll have a ring with the Rossi crest made for her and I already know that Aaron will do the same thing with the Hotchner one."
Dave and Aaron knew each other so well that they could often predict what they would do in most any situation.
"Yeah, he will," Penelope agreed. "Spencer has been part of the family since we all worked in the BAU together, but he became even more so when you saved his life all those years ago, something I will always be grateful for. That's not to say I don't miss the others Morgan especially, but Spencer was always my baby while Morgan was my best friend. I'll always miss him, Emily and JJ and the others that came after them, but I'm grateful Spencer at least we saved from dying too young."
"You're trying to say that since Spencer is already family then that makes his mate automatically family to," Dave said knowing how his mate thought and Penelope nodded.
"Exactly," Penelope agreed. "I can hardly wait to get to know Spencer's mate and I'm sure that Persephone feels the same. She'll definitely be included in girl time when we get together for the holidays."
"I'm sure she'll love that," Dave told Penelope.
"Probably, although not every woman enjoys the sort of thing like getting her nails done," said Penelope.
"Well, it will only be a few weeks before we know what she's like," Dave said. "I know you are excited to meet her, but you can wait that long."
"If you say so," Penelope said in a teasing tone.
"I know it will be hard for you, but you'll manage," Dave teased his mate right back.
"So when do you think Spencer met her?" Penelope asked.
"Well, sometime in the last three years, but I suspect that it's only been a few months since they met," Dave said. "I don't see Spencer keeping her to himself for three years without introducing her to all of us, although one year is certainly a possibility. Now, if we weren't stepping in and out of each others lives frequently then maybe Spencer would've been able to keep his mate to himself for years without us finding out, but considering how often we see each other I just don't see that as a possibility."
"I think you're right, as I don't see Spencer keeping such an important news from his family for more than a few months anyway," Penelope decided and Dave nodded. "He knows we genuinely love him for himself and don't care about all his hangups since all of us have them. Finding your mate is not exactly very common, so I think that he would be really excited to tell those he was close to, though not right away of course."
"No one's perfect," Dave said, "Not even vampires."
"It's a good thing though that you and Aaron pounded everything you knew about vampires into his skull, particularly about mates, because I'm not entirely sure he would trust this female at all despite what his instincts would be telling him if not for those lessons."
"He would give in eventually, but it would caused a lot of emotional pain for both of them," Dave said soberly. "No vampire, can deny their instincts forever, as the mating instinct is incredibly strong, as you well know. Now, while Spencer has a very strong will his vampire instincts would be fighting with the rest of him, so no, he wouldn't be denying his instincts for very long. Even if he was to flee his mate would only follow him. On the other hand, you've made a very good point, thanks to the lessons that Aaron and I made sure he learned about vampires I doubt very much he'll be fighting his instincts like he probably would have otherwise. That those lessons were taught by people he trusts will only help, so no, I won't be surprised if his mate is already pregnant when we do meet."
"Now that would be a great Christmas gift," Penelope squealed.
"Yes, it would be, but there's no guarantees since vampires aren't exactly as fertile as other species. That we can have children at all is a miracle really," Dave said.
"You're right," Penelope agreed. "Even mates have trouble having children a lot of times, except for the two of us, Aaron and Persephone, because we were witches before we were vampires. We have had a lot of children before 20 years ago," Penelope said.
"We did and I have no explanation as to why we stopped having them," Dave said.
"Let's not worry about it. I'm sure that we'll start having children again at some point. Let's just enjoy our children free lives while we can, just like we've been doing," Penelope suggested. "Maybe my body just wanted to allow me to rest or something from having children for awhile or maybe it was my innermost desire to not get pregnant for a few decades and God or whatever granted that wish. I'm not saying that's what happened, just that it's at least a reasonable explanation for why we haven't had any children for 20 years. Worrying about it will only cause us not to have children for longer, because you know what worry and stress can do to a woman's body, even a vampire's."
"Alright, we won't worry about it," Dave finally agreed.
"Besides, we can always adopt you know like we have in the past," Penelope suggested. "Adopt some well-deserving werewolf children that are orphans through no fault of their own. Just because we haven't adopted in the last two decades doesn't mean we can't do so now."
"Yes, we can," Dave agreed. "We'll worry about that after the holiday though."
"Sounds like a plan," Penelope agreed smiling.
~~~Dave and Penelope~~~
December 1st
San Juan, Puerto Rico
"Spencer!" A female voice squealed, one that Spencer recognized instantly. He was being hugged just seconds later, as a hefty blond woman jumped into his waiting arms, which had automatically come up in front of him.
Rosa watched this with amusement, already knowing that this was one of the women that her mate often talked about, although at the moment she didn't know whether it was Persephone or Penelope.
That mystery was solved though, just seconds later.
"How are you doing Penny," Spencer greeted hugging his sister in every way back.
"I'm much better now that all of us are together again," Penelope answered honestly.
"Yes, we are," Spencer agreed smiling, a genuinely happy smile that was pretty rare on his face, though not so much in the last few months since he had met Rosa. "So where's Dave, Aaron and your sister?"
"They're waiting for us in the bar," Penelope explained. "They knew that I wanted to be the first to greet you."
"You wanted to be the first to meet my mate," Spencer corrected still smiling, his brown eyes twinkling. "I'm sure that all of you already guessed that I had met her, considering I've never brought another women to our little holidays before."
"Yes, we all suspected, but you just confirmed it," Penelope said kissing Spencer on the cheek.
"Figured you would," Spencer said simply. "All of you know me too well. This is Rosaleen O'Carroll, Rosa this is Penelope Garcia Rossi," Spencer introduced formally.
"It's nice to meet you," Penelope said extending her hand to the beautiful woman that had been watching the scene of her greeting Spencer with amusement.
"It's nice to meet you too, Spencer talks about you all the time," Rosa said.
"Well, we are very close," Penelope said by way of explanation. "We've known each other for well over 200 years, even back before I met Dave."
"I understand that," Rosa promised. "I've been looking forward to meeting you and the others that Spencer talks about all the time."
"I think we're going to get along splendidly," Penelope said smiling. "I hope all of us can become good friends, as close as Spencer and I are in a platonic way."
"I would like that very much," Rosa said smiling. "And you can call me Rosa."
"And I'm Penny," Penelope said in return.
"Now why don't we go to meet the others in the bar, before Rosa and I check into our room," Spencer suggested.
"Alright," Penelope agreed, "but Persephone, Rosa and I are going to have to get together sometime before we head our separate ways to get to know each other better."
"Sounds like fun," Rosa said, as Penelope started to lead Spencer and his mate in the direction of the bar where the other three were waiting.
Penelope led the pair directly to the table where the others were sitting having a few drinks before they decided what they wanted to do for the next few days.
"Well, it's about time you got here," Dave teased Spencer who simply looked at Dave with a raised eyebrow.
"You knew the time of our arrival it's not like Rosa and I are late," Spencer calmly replied. "Everyone this is Rosaleen O'Carroll, as I've already been informed by Penny you guessed that she was my mate."
"Well, yes," Aaron said, as he kissed the back of Rosa's hand. "If it had been me or Dave before we met our mates of course, it would've been very possible that we would've brought some female to a gathering like this if such a thing had occurred. But then we've always had more confidence then you have in that area, which is just a matter of different personalities and the way we were raised. Nice to meet you, Rosaleen."
"Is nice to meet you all," Rosa said smiling. "You can all me Rosa, as that usually what I do so by."
"Rosa then," Persephone said smiling
"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman," Dave said turning on the charm, which was natural for vampires, some more, some less of course, even if he didn't really mean anything by it.
Penelope said nothing, but slapped him on the arm and Dave immediately dropped the act.
Rosa watched this, her amusement carefully hidden behind her eyes and she watched the scene. She had a feeling that she was going to like these four very much, which was a good thing considering that her mate was so close to them.
"So why don't you two order what you want to drink and we can discuss what we want to do over the next few days," Aaron suggested hiding his amusement as he watched Dave and Penelope interact. They could be very amusing occasionally, but then he knew he and Persephone were the same. Dave didn't mean anything by acting charming Aaron knew it was just natural for him to do so. All vampires were charming to various degrees anyway. Dave was totally devoted to Penelope and he would never want another just like he never would, but that didn't mean he couldn't charm the birds out of trees if the situation required it and sometimes even when it didn't.
"Well, I've been to Puerto Rico before, although not for a very long time and I know that San Juan had changed a lot since I've last been," Rosa said.
"I've been here too, but not for a long time," Dave admitted. "It's been a few hundred years at least."
"I don't think the rest of us have been or at least I haven't," commented Spencer said looking at Aaron, Penny and Persephone.
"No, none of us have," Aaron said. "I'd been overseas before of course, I just never made it to Puerto Rico before I got a job with the FBI. Now, that was a job that lasted quite a few decades."
"I had never been overseas before I met Dave," Penelope said simply.
"I hadn't traveled much at all as I was happy running my parents shop once they passed away," Persephone said. "Of course, I realize if I hadn't come to Virginia to see my sister I never would've met Aaron and that would've been awful."
"For both of us," Aaron said, giving his mate's hand a gentle squeeze to show he agreed with her statement. "I wasn't expecting to meet my mate, as I was over 400 after all and she kind of just dropped into my lap."
"That's the way it always happens unless you go see a seer," Rosa offered having listened to the conversation quietly. "I never expected to meet my mate as I am a little over 800. I'd kind of given up, you know?"
"Me too," Aaron agreed. "For all I knew my mate could've died a hundred years ago or even more by the time that Persephone almost dropped into my lap. It never even occurred to me that I could go to seer and possibly find out who my mate would be for an appropriate fee. A seer would've been able to see into the future to see when she would have been born and that at least would've given me hope."
"It never occurred to me either," Rosa said and Dave nodded in agreement.
"Or to me," Spencer added. "I knew that magic was real and that some magical's could see into the future, but it wasn't something I really thought about, which is probably why it never occurred to me. I also knew that Persephone and Penelope had a little talent in that area but they weren't technically seers, just able to see who their future mates were."
"The vampire transformation could have enhanced that particular gene, making both sisters able to see into the future," Dave mentioned, "but in the case of Penny at least it didn't."
"Dave's right, the vampire transformation could have enhanced that particular gene that both Persephone and I share since we're identical twins, but it didn't. I'm grateful it didn't, as I'd rather face life as it comes and not see the future. Some of my ancestors were seers and the talent was always more trouble than it was worth. It is a very huge responsibility to use your talent in the right way and not in a way that harms others or for yourself, as that would be selfish and the Gods or whoever controls such things don't like that. The talent is supposed to be used to help others, but many seers use it in selfish ways and they always face the consequences of their actions."
"I agree with my sister," Persephone concurred immediately. "I'm grateful that my seer gene didn't fully activate when I was transformed into a vampire."
"Why not?" Rosa asked. "It seems like a rather useful talent to have. It could show you that troubles coming for example."
"Because according to our ancestors journals you can have visions at any time in your sleep, when you're out shopping, when you're driving your car, well you get the picture," Persephone explained. "You can't stop it, although you might be able to delay it long enough to stop the car on the side of the road just for example."
"You can also cause a vision to come through a ritual and an object that belongs to another," said Penelope.
"Now that's the kind of seer I could handle being, but unfortunately, visions often come when you are least expecting them and it usually ends up being at the most inconvenient time," Persephone said.
"Also if people ever find out you're a seer a lot of them will bother you for visions of one thing or another, usually for very petty reasons. We would be constantly bothered, by people who want to know the future for stupid reasons, like the latest baseball scores so that they can make a lot of money by gambling," Penelope offered.
"Also a seer's life is often in danger if somebody finds out about their talent and they don't like the answer they receive. More than one seer has lost their lives by some criminal who don't like what they hear about their future," Persephone said. "Besides, Hecate the Goddess of magic would be very displeased if you use the talent in the wrong way, as many others with the talent discovered when they used it for their own selfish purposes."
"Also seers have to be very careful about what customers they take and even then they have been often kidnapped in the past for their talents. You don't want to know what happens to those that use their talent in the wrong way. Of course, if a seer has been kidnapped or threatened those are extenuating circumstances, so that Hecate don't punish you unless there is no choice. Still, it's not an easy talent to have, as there is a fine balance between what is right and what is wrong and you always have to be very careful that you make the right choice. Now, while being kidnapped or forced to use our talent by those that wanted to know their future wouldn't happen with Persephone and me, since we're vampires with very overprotective mates, that doesn't exactly protect other seers who don't have such protection," Penelope explained.
"Penny and I are in an unusual situation that we're perfect capable of protecting ourselves from most people with the exception of male vampires, because most of them would automatically be stronger then us, so that lessens the risk considerably," Persephone said.
"However, neither Persephone or I would want the talent to be able to see the future because we would see a lot of horror that way. Being a seer is hard on the mental processes and even if you only try to see things like finding a lost loved one, the talent doesn't work like that. No, I wouldn't want to be a seer for anything in the world because it's not a talent you can really control or turn on and off," Penelope added.
"Also as my sister said a minute ago a seer can't use her talent for selfish reasons, as it always comes back to bite them in the butt. Hecate doesn't like people to misuse her gifts."
Hecate was believed she was the mother of all magicals as well as the goddess of magic.
"Fortunately, real seers are fairly rare or at least ones that advertise are. A lot of magicals just fake it for their customer," Persephone said.
"Not every seer uses their talent to make money and for that I can't blame them, because it's fairly hard on the seer in question depending on what they see. You really need to be strong mentally and emotionally to handle some of the visions you can receive."
"I didn't know any of that," Rosa admitted. "I had no idea being a seer was so hard on that person."
"Not many people do," Penelope said smiling. "People just don't realize that being a seer isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sure, it's a lucrative field, I won't deny it, but really it's more trouble than it's worth or at least that's my opinion."
"Which is why both Penny and I are glad that neither one of us has the talent," Persephone said.
"I have better things to do then getting visions every few days, of stuff I really don't want to see. Now if I was just to get visions that concerned the people I loved or at least cared about it would be a different matter entirely, but unfortunately, that's just not the way the talent works."
"I might also mention that a lot of seers, depending on how tough they are mentally and emotionally, have been known to take their own lives," Penelope said.
"Seers also have trouble finding an understanding partner as even magicals don't always want to put up with somebody who has visions on a near constant basis or sometimes more rarely depending on how strong the talent is or what Hecate wants you to see. In that way, we are just like anybody else as everybody has their strengths and weaknesses," Persephone said.
"The ones that do find an understanding partner tend to live longer, because they get the support they need, mostly emotional, as being a seer is a great burden that is hard to bear, but possible with proper support," Penelope added. "Unfortunately that doesn't always happen."
"So did this happen to one of your ancestors them taking their own lives?" Spencer asked curious.
"Yes, several hundred years ago before Persephone and I were born," Penelope said. "If I'm remembering what I read right my ancestor only killed herself, because her husband of over 40 years left her, not wanting to deal with her visions anymore. All her children were all grown with careers of their own, so while they saw their mother fairly frequently they didn't see her often enough to prevent what happened."
"So what happened to the husband?" Rosa asked curiously.
"The husband felt incredibly guilty because he still cared about my ancestor, but there was nothing he could do, as necromancy is forbidden and it is considered a crime so great that whoever is caught performing such dark magic is immediately put to death. It is one of the few crimes in the magical community that is an automatic death sentence. In any case, the husband had to live with his guilt for the rest of his life and it was believed at the time that he died sooner then he could have simply because he let that guilt eat him up, as he knew that if he hadn't left my ancestor would likely have lived."
"Ouch!" Rosa winced.
"Now I see you understand why neither Penelope or I would want the talent and nothing can convince us otherwise," Persephone said.
"It wouldn't matter if you did have the talent to see the future," Aaron said immediately. "We are mates and mates can't abandon each other for any reason. We also can't resent or hate each other on a permanent basis. I think anybody who can't handle someone with that type of talent doesn't deserve to be with someone so special, because seers help numerous people throughout their lives whether that's in small ways or large or at those that use their talent in the right way do."
"I agree with Aaron," Dave said putting his own two cents worth, "but then I realize that we have centuries of experience to draw from while mortals do not, even if magicals live about three times as long as werewolves or humans."
"Living for centuries does not necessarily bring you wisdom," Spencer said quietly. "Many people don't ever do introspection, because they're afraid of what they'll find or simply because they believe they don't need to, because they don't see anything wrong with their behavior."
"That's a very good point," Dave said smiling at Spencer appreciatively.
"And many people don't learn from their own actions or somebody else's as they are unobservant or because they don't want to change," Rosa suggested. This was something she had seen numerous times over the last 800 years. "There is so much to learn if you just observe the people around you, which many don't do."
"Another good point," Aaron said liking this Rosa O'Carroll more and more, which was a good thing, because it would make Spencer happy if everyone got along with his mate. He had a feeling that all of them would become quite close to Rosa over time and again this was a very good thing.
"It's getting late, so I think it's about time that we retire for the evening," Dave suggested, as he looked at his watch.
"You just want to get Penny alone," Aaron smirked at his old friend.
"That might be true, but if you tell me you don't want to get Persephone alone I will know you're lying," Dave immediately shot back.
"Alright, boys, enough," Persephone said intervening before Aaron and Dave's teasing of each other could get out of hand. "I agree it's getting late and we can always meet in the morning or sometime tomorrow at any rate. We can stay here as long as we want, as we don't necessarily have to leave when December ends, so we have plenty of time to get to know Rosa."
"Besides, we have to consider that Rosa and Spencer just met, so I'm sure that they would love to be alone for awhile," Penelope added.
Spencer said nothing, but the expression on his face made it clear that yes, he would like to be alone with his mate.
"I forgot to ask how long ago did the two of you meet?" Penelope asked.
"Just four months ago more or less," Rosa answered.
"I was coming out of the scientific lecture in New Orleans at the University there and I literally ran into her as I was thinking rather deeply about what I had learned," Spencer added. "I was rather shocked when I looked into her eyes after automatically apologizing for literally running into her."
"That's the way it almost always happens," Penelope said, the other three nodding in agreement.
"It'll almost always happens totally by accident," Aaron agreed smiling. "I won't claim that some vampires don't think about going to a seer to see if their mate is in their immediate future, but a lot of vampires like Dave and I just don't think along those lines."
"I'm glad that most vampires don't as being a seer and having visions is hard enough, though it does tend to be easier if you have an object from the person that you're trying to see for, something personal, that they used or at least touched often," said Persephone.
"I agree with my sister, as seers are capable of burning out, which doesn't always happen, but it does to a lot of them. This is yet another reason I'm certainly glad I don't have a full blown talent," Penelope said.
"Now, Penny and I will bid you all good night and we'll see you in the morning," Dave said finishing his drink and rising from his chair, holding out his hand for Penelope so he could help her to her feet just like any gentleman would do.
Penelope accepted the hand and got to her feet, taking Dave's arm as soon as she was clear of her chair.
Penelope of course, didn't need the help to get to her feet but accepted it, because Dave was nothing if not a gentleman and she really did appreciate those little gestures from him as it showed that he cared.
"Shall we head to bed, bella?" Dave asked politely, but with a certain gleam in his eyes.
It was a gleam that Penelope had no trouble recognizing, considering it happened a lot. The gleam basically meant that Dave couldn't wait to get her alone, so that he could have his way with her and Penelope certainly didn't mind.
"We shall," Penelope agreed. "I'll see you all of you tomorrow."
"I think it's time we head to bed too," Aaron told Persephone who nodded trying not to appear to eager.
"We'll see you two tomorrow," Persephone told Spencer and Rosa.
"Tomorrow," Spencer said, already planning how he wanted to make love to Rosa, as there were techniques he wanted to try, things he had read about, but never had a chance to practice. They had been through a whole lot of different techniques over the last four months but there was still a lot of things they hadn't tried yet that both were eager to.
"We'll be right behind you," Rosa said rising from her chair. "I think it's time for Spence and I to retire for the night."
"You won't get any objection out of me," Spencer said, as calmly as possible trying to keep his expression normal.
Aaron shot him a look though that told him that he hadn't succeeded in not seeming to eager to get Rosa alone.
"Good night," Persephone said.
"Night," Rosa answered.
The two couples headed for the elevator to go to their rooms for a few hours before they met again.
~~~Dave and Penelope~~~