Part 2

"So I hear you had breakfast with one of guests," came the voice of David Rossi who stood in the doorway of Aaron's office.

"Yes, I did. She offered to buy me breakfast and I'm returning the favor and buying her dinner tonight," Aaron answered truthfully.

"So do you think it's going anywhere?" Dave asked seriously with the faintest hint of an accent. He would like to see his friend settled down, but he was well aware that being immortal, well, a lot of people would never accept that such a thing could exist. It would take an unusual woman he knew to believe in immortality even with a demonstration.

"I don't know yet," Aaron admitted, looking pensive. "She's only here as a visitor giving a series of lectures on linguistics at Columbia University. She only be here for a few weeks and that's not much time to woo anybody. We'll have to see how it goes."

Dave was nodding at this, as his friend was very right.

"So you are interested in her romantically?" Dave asked and Aaron nodded.

"Yes, I am, as she just struck me you know. I've never been this attracted to any woman. And you know what else?"

"What?" Dave asked.

"Dr. Alex Blake could be the exact duplicate of the witch that cursed me. Even the last name is the same."

"Now, that's a very strange coincidence," Dave said slowly, suddenly very thoughtful.

"Yes, it is. I'm wondering if she's some kind of ancestor. It's quite possible you know," said Aaron. "Even likely really."

"Yes, it is, she could even be reincarnated," Dave suggested.

"Believe me, I've thought of that possibility already," Aaron said. "I'm not saying it's not genetically possible for a descendent to look so much like someone from far in the past..."

"But reincarnation seems more likely to you," Dave finished.

"I don't know what to think right now. We've known each other for less than a day," Aaron said. "She's certainly much more pleasant then her ancestor, but on the other hand, I'm not the same man I was back when she cursed me either. I'm not even sure she's a witch, though she could be and probably is considering she would be her ancestors identical twin."

"You told me you were rude to everybody you met, unless they were in your class," Dave said.

"I was, as that's how I had been raised," Aaron said. "Everybody except those in my class were beneath me in those days. If I wanted something I took it and I didn't give a damn who I offended, as they couldn't do a damn thing about it anyway, which included women and not just whores either. I thought my family's money would protect me and it did for most people."

"But the witch..." Dave began.

"Blaire Blake," Aaron supplied.

"...Cursed you to be immortal, because of your rudeness," Dave said.

"At the time I didn't think it was much of a curse, but as the years then the decades passed I realized what she had really done. I watched people I considered friends die, I had to learn to change with the times or I would've stuck out. I had to learn to be polite, considerate, kind. I've been poor, so now, I know what that's like. I had to take odd jobs in order to have money in order to keep eating, to keep myself in clothes. That's despite the fact that such things were much cheaper back in those days."

"That was probably this Blaire's intent in the first place. To force you to see how the other half lived. You never would've learned a lesson if you had remained mortal or at least that's not likely. You thought yourself above the common people, just because your family was wealthy."

"Probably," Aaron admitted. "That's sounds like her actually."

"How do you know?" Dave asked intrigued.

"She was quite well-known for a woman of her time. She was known as kind, compassionate and generous with her time, but no one to mess with. It was rumored she was very powerful magically, one of the most powerful witch's that the world had ever known at that time. I've since learned that magic runs strong in the Blake line," Aaron explained. "I had heard things before I ever ran into her and was so rude, though I had no idea who she was. I was in such a hurry that my horse almost ran her down and she got thrown into a mud puddle. I didn't even bother to stop and help her up, even if it was an accident. I thought at the time that's what she deserved for getting in my way, even though it was I, that was not paying attention, so that I knocked her down. She was only a commoner after all and I believed I was above the common rabble. I had no idea she was a witch, as it's not like she wore a sign saying she was. Even if I known I'm not sure if I would've done anything differently."

Dave could imagine the scene his friend was describing very well. Aaron Hotchner had been a different sort of man back then, rude, arrogant, uncompassionate, ruthless. Kindness or consideration were not words you could use for Aaron back in those days. That had changed after this Blaire Blake had cursed him. His friend had come to see how the other half lived, those who were barely scraping a living from the land, those who lived on the street due to circumstances beyond their control and those who had had something tragic happen to them, so they had fallen on hard times. People could lose all their money due to conmen after all or just because of bad advice from their financial advisor or bad investments.

"I was so full of myself back then, Dave," Aaron continued his dark eyes distant and Dave knew his friend was remembering what he had been like so long ago. "I had no compassion or kindness in my heart for those that made their living from farming the soil, for slaves or serfs or any of the common rabble that worked the land often under tyrannical masters. They were nothing to me, not even really human with feelings of their own. I had been raised to believe I was better then almost anyone, except those in my class. I wasn't raised to believe in the sanctity of human life. My parents were very wealthy and arrogant with it, particularly my mother."

"You didn't have any experience with the other side of humanity. I bet you, your parents kept you away from the common folk. I bet you were never allowed to play with the servants children," Dave commented.

"No, I wasn't, so I was basically alone," Aaron said sadly, with a reminiscent look in his eyes, still remembering the time of which he had been born very vividly. "I was an only child, so I didn't even have a sibling I could play with, a brother or a sister. I was raised by a nanny, until I was seven, not by my mother. Not much was known about a lot of things back then, like what loneliness can do too anyone, but children especially. I was taught to read and write by tutors, but they were not my friends. I did not dare go to them for advice or be seen as being too friendly with them, because if either one of my parents had found out they would've been fired, for getting above their station. I wasn't cruel enough to want that to happen as I know that unlike my family a lot of people needed the money to help feed their own families. I buried myself in my father's library for lack of playmates. Their really wasn't that much else to do, though at least there was a river I could swim in on the property, though that was only a possibility in the summer and perhaps in the spring, but definitely not in the winter, as I would've frozen my butt off. The river ran very cold in the winter and could even ice over."

"I can see very easily how you turned out like you did. The only influence you had in your life really, was your parents, who were cold and cruel. The tutor doesn't count, as I doubt he was any influence positive or negative," Dave said.

"No, he just came did his job and went home," Aaron said. "I actually had a series of tutors. One for reading and writing, another for mathematics, one for economics and another to teach me how to act in society. Dad's financial advisor also taught me how to invest my money and look after those investments once I became lord of the estate on my father's passing. Of course, that was his responsibility, but he still taught me how to do so, because as he pointed out he wasn't going to be around forever. Good financial advisors weren't exactly easy to come by in those days. People died before they were 50 most times, though some lived longer."

"Those were different times," Dave said.

"Yes, they were so primitive," Aaron admitted. "I didn't think so at the time of course, but I had no idea the technology that would be invented in the future. Humans have done a lot for themselves in the last few hundred years. We only had very minimal technology medical or otherwise back then. People died in droves from things that be can fixed or corrected in this day and age, particularly the poor."

"You've made yourself what you are. You changed so much from the man that I first knew, 500 years ago."

"You helped with that," Aaron said. "You helped change me just by being my friend. I had changed a lot before you and I met, but you helped complete the process."

"You just needed someone who would listen to you, who wouldn't make judgments," Dave said. "So many people are judgmental when they don't have experience in the world and even when they do they still often are."

"You are the first person I ever told my whole history too," Aaron said. "The first one who ever understood that people can truly change if they want too. Everybody else I tried to tell were very judgmental, so I quit talking about it. It wasn't that I tried to talk to many people, just the ones I thought were my friends. It's not like I just blurted it out, as I had known them for several years. All they did was prove that they really weren't my friends at all, as they were either horrified or disgusted. I even tried talking to a Catholic priest and he refused to absolve me, which was his job, so long as I was truly repentant."

"Well then, he wasn't much of a priest," Dave said. "Priest are supposed to be forgiving, in the Lord's name so long as whoever is confessing truly does repent of their actions. However, preachers are also people and they can be judgmental as well."

"And they can also have sex with women, which their vows forbid them, depending on their religion," Aaron said his tone sardonic.

"Or do any of the number of horrible things like rape or molest a young girl," Dave added.

Aaron nodded because it was true. You read about such evil actions in the paper and also saw it on the news all the time, no matter how the church tried to cover it up. Of course, the church managed to cover up quite a bit Aaron knew.

"They got away with that kind of behavior much more often before the inventions of radios, TVs and social media," Aaron said. "Anybody with the cell phone could take a short video or a picture and spread it all over social media. They had to be basically caught in the act before."

"That's true," Dave said reflectively. "I'll let you get back to work. You can tell me how your date with Miss Blake went tomorrow."

"I will, though I'm sure it will go fine," Aaron said smiling as Dave left the office.

Dave was such a good friend someone who would never abandon him. He had agreed to immortality more than 500 years ago. He was loyal to the people he loved and Aaron was grateful that that included him. He loved David Rossi as a brother. Dave had quickly become his sounding board, his conscious and his best friend. Aaron would have it no other way.

~~~Aaron, Dave, Alex~~~

"This is really nice, Aaron," Alex complimented her date smiling.

"You're welcome," Aaron said. "I owed you for buying me breakfast. I know very well the Rosewood Villa is not the cheapest place to stay."

"It was nothing," Alex dismissed Aaron's comment about money.

"University Professors don't make that much," Aaron pointed out.

"No, they don't, but I've written several books that were well received," Alex said. "It's how I can afford to stay someplace like your hotel, which is very exclusive. I don't splurge too often just occasionally, and I heard about the Rosewood Villa some years ago and have been wanting to stay here since. I could have stayed somewhere cheaper I know, but I figured this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as I doubt I'll ever make it back to New York."
"Life gets so busy," Aaron agreed.

"Yes, it does," Alex said. "Still, I just wanted to let you know I can afford the expense or I would've stayed somewhere cheaper otherwise. I've never been foolish with my money. I was thinking about writing a book of the history of the villa, which is one reason I wanted to stay there, so I wasn't about to turn down my chance. I still have a lot of research to do, so it will be awhile before anything gets published. The Rosewood Villa has a fascinating history from what I've uncovered so far."

"Yes, it does," Aaron agreed impressed.

"I know it was built by David Rossi, because it was someplace he was fond of in his homeland of Italy. I think he grew up there or perhaps just stayed there with his family regularly."

"Maybe his family were employees at the one in Italy," Aaron suggested. "His mother or his father."

"Or even both," Alex agreed. "The mother could've been employed as a housemaid or maybe a housekeeper and the father could've been in any number of positions. If I remember from the information I read the one in Italy, even had a stable for horses, because there were no cars when it was first built and horses were how people got around."

"No it was built in the 15th century I believe and became quite popular with the wealthy class that liked to travel. The wealthy liked their privacy, so it wasn't located in a city, though the city was pretty close within a couple of hours of riding," Aaron said.

"Well, you sure do know a lot of the history of the original one in Italy," Alex said impressed.

"The hotel here is still owned by the same family," Aaron explained briefly. "David Rossi the fourth explained all the history of the one in Italy to me. Apparently, stories have been passed down through the generations."

What Aaron said was not completely true, but it wasn't really untrue either. His friend Dave had actually lived at the villa in Italy, in the servant quarters with his family, as the nearest town was several hours away, by horse. Living there had really been necessary, as it was too far to walk every day from the nearest city and servants couldn't usually afford horses. When one of the servants had to go into town to get supplies they were usually gone all day and they borrowed a horse and a large cart from the stable.

"Well, I'll have to talk to this David Rossi then. That is if he doesn't mind," Alex said eagerly.

"He won't mind trust me," Aaron snorted with laughter in his eyes. "He'll enjoy recounting the stories for you."

"You must know him well, if you know that will be his reaction," Alex said looking at her date curiously.

"We do, we've been friends for a long time," Aaron said truthfully. "I think we both just needed a friend and we just got along when we first met."

"So you know him well then," Alex said.

"Very well actually," Aaron agreed. "I don't think anybody else knows him better."

"Well then, you can perform the introduction," Alex suggested.

"I'll be happy to, he's been wanting to meet you anyway," Aaron said.

"He knows about me?" Alex asked in surprise.

"He knows a lot of things," Aaron said smiling. "He asked me about you after our breakfast the other morning. I was truthful and said that I liked you a lot, but I didn't know where our relationship was going, if anywhere. He was rather pleased that I was dating anyone, as I haven't dated in a long time."

"Well, he seems to have high expectations when we have only known each other a day," Alex said.

"He knows very well it might not go anywhere, as you're only visitor to New York after all," Aaron said. "But he would like to see me settle down have a family, something I've been wanting for a long time, but I've never found anyone I could do that with. I could just adopt I know and while I wouldn't mind that, I'd still like a wife that I could love and that would love me enough to accept the kind of baggage I come with "

"Everybody has baggage Aaron," Alex said. "Mine is the loss of my brother Danny, the one I mentioned when we first met. He was the detective on the police force and he died in the line of duty. My father was chief of the same station that my brother worked until he retired and Scott is still a detective, again at that same station."

"So you come from a family of law enforcement officers," Aaron said impressed.

"Yeah, I thought about going into the same field joining the FBI, but my mother begged me to do something different, as she already worried about Scott and worried about Danny before he was killed. My brother's death nearly killed her. My dad had already retired by that point in time, though she did worry about him when he was still working, even though he was the chief and wasn't as likely to go out in the field."

"But I'm sure he walked the streets in uniform then, made detective and eventually he rose in the ranks until he became chief. That's not a position that's just given out unless it's some kind of small hick town."

This was true Alex knew so she nodded.

"He was a detective first grade before I was born," Alex said. "I believe he made chief by the time I was 20."

"That's pretty impressive," Aaron said.

"I'm glad you think so, because if our relationship progresses, well, you'll meet them eventually."

"Let's not worry about that right now, as we've only just met after all," Aaron said. "It would mean one of us moving, since we come from two different cities, but that's for later."

"Yeah, let's not worry about it right now," Alex said. "While traveling back and forth is something of a pain, I too want to see if there is anything between us besides a little lust and attraction. I certainly hope I'm not being too bold, since we've only known each other for a day or so."

"Of course not, you're a woman that knows what she wants and this is the 21st-century after all," Aaron promised. "Let's not worry about us having to travel back and forth, as who knows if it'll be necessary or not."

What Aaron had said was logical and there was no point of worrying about it right this minute when she and her date had only known each other for such a short time.

The two chatted over their dinners before Aaron escorted Alex back to the hotel.

~~~Aaron, Dave, Alex~~~