"I'm ready to marry you and for you to turn me immortal," Samira told Dave quietly. "No matter how I've argued with you about being unworthy of you I love you with all my heart. It would shatter me to lose you. If there's one thing you reminded me of recently is that love is in no way logical. My parents relationship for instance probably never should've worked as dad came from a well-to-do family while my mother didn't. My grandfather probably thought that my mother was beneath him. My father is mixed race and my mother is white. Dad has much darker skin than my own."

"You losing me will never happen," Dave told Samira sincerely, as she cuddled into his side.

The two of them were sitting on the comfortable couch in Dave's office and Dave had just demonstrated that he had been speaking the truth. The couch was a dark leather to go with the dark wood paneling and the dark wood bookshelf on one side of the room. It was a very masculine room, but since Dave lived here alone and this was his office that was understandable. It's where he did a lot of his business. He had the newest computer system on his desk and also a link all of it part of the command center. He had an autochef where he could get coffee or food.

"Even immortals can be permanently killed, just so you know, but it's a very difficult thing to do," Dave said. "We can recover from injuries that would kill someone else, but if we get a head chopped off we're dead."

"So I suppose you're not really immortals then," Samira said.

"I suppose not," Dave said tapping the side of his nose thoughtfully. "It's just what we've always called ourselves, because there isn't another word that I know of that mostly fits. It's only in specific circumstances that we can actually die. By the way, you've made me a very happy man when you said you're willing to marry me and be turned immortal."

"I did accept your proposal sometime ago," Samira said. "I just wasn't ready to start planning a wedding."

"It's gonna have to be large," Dave said. "I have too many people I have to invite. I think it's better if we hire someone to plan every detail. You'll give your input of course."

"That takes a load off my shoulders," Samira agreed easily. "I just have to tell the wedding planner how I want things to be and give them the guest list. You'll have to give them a budget of how much they can spend so they can purchase things for the wedding, invitations cake, food, music that kind of thing. To tell you the truth I'd be totally lost trying to plan such a big event even with Emily's help."

"Which is one reason I suggested the wedding planner, as I didn't think you had any event planning experience," Dave said.

"What I know about planning a event could fill a thimble," Samira said cheerfully. "So essentially nothing, though I did help out my friend with her party, but that was a small affair compared to what our wedding is going to be like."

"I wish I didn't have to have so many people at our wedding but unfortunately, I have many friends, business partners and associates that I will have to invite," Dave said.

"That's just the cross you bear for being so filthy rich," Samira told Dave teasingly. "Me, I never wanted to be rich, though I wouldn't mind having a little more money than I do."

"You don't have to worry about money anymore Samira," Dave told his bride to be gently. "What I have is yours everything that I am and everything that I ever will be. I will put you on all my personal accounts."

"You don't have to do that Dave really," said Samira truly touched with Dave's generosity.

"It's what all married couples do no matter their financial situation. I won't have you going without. Remember I have more money than I could ever spend in 1000 lifetimes and am always making more," Dave reminded her.

"All right," Samira gave in knowing Dave could be very stubborn and yes, it was the way things were usually done when two people married. That didn't mean she didn't feel guilty however. "I know I'm going to be your wife but that doesn't mean I don't feel guilty for spending your money."

"It's not just my money anymore it's both of ours. You have to realize that you're going to live a very long time. Thousands of years and you'll need money to purchase things. Expensive things. You won't be able to keep your job for the next 500 years, as you'll have to retire and fade into obscurity just like I will."

"I haven't thought that far," Samira admitted.

"That's not surprising as I'm sure you're still absorbing that I'm not exactly mortal," Dave said. "You accepted I was different much easier than I expected you to, but still I know it's a lot to take in."

"It is," Samira agreed. "But I love you, so I'm willing to accept a lot of strangeness, even if I kept telling you you could find someone better than me. I see myself as ordinary, even though I know you don't see me that way."

"Definitely not!" exclaimed Dave, as he kissed her thoroughly to show her what he meant. "You are the light of my life and I don't give a damn what anybody else thinks."

Well that said it all, Samira thought smiling she cuddled into Dave's naked chest.

They spent the next few minutes kissing and cuddling on the couch in Dave's office.

~~~Dave and Samira~~~

"Dave proposed," Emily said obviously very happy for her friend.

"He did and I of course said yes," Samira said.

She showed Emily the ring that Dave had presented her before she had left to gather her things so she could move in with him before the wedding. She was already practically living at Dave's anyway and had already taken a lot of her things over. She might think that she was unworthy of him but that didn't mean that she was going to turn down his proposal. Besides, she now knew why Dave had pursued her so relentlessly and the reason he had refused to consider anyone else when it came to marriage. His situation was unique as far as she knew. She now understood why he had been so frantic to find her after they had met and that it had been something of a fortunate coincidence when he had seen her on the sidewalk.

She had been amazed when Dave had cut himself deeply enough that the blood had just flowed out of his arm and how it had healed in just a few seconds. It hadn't looked different from normal blood, but she was sure it was different if you studied it under a microscope.

Dave had been generous and had already had a lot of things made for her. Pants and shirts and shoes. She had a pair of half boots that were real leather that she adored and in fact she was wearing them now.

Samira had also met his chauffeur and all-around gofer Jerry who worked for Dave in any capacity that was needed. It turned out he was also immortal as Dave had turned him centuries ago.

Samira knew there was a story there but hadn't had a chance to inquire as of yet that didn't mean she wasn't curious. Samira suspected that Dave had somehow saved Jerry's life as that seemed to be Dave's kind of thing. He changed peoples lives for the better. She didn't know the circumstances there, but she wanted to find out eventually though that wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

"This is a really great day," Emily said hugging her friend. "My best friend is getting married. I'm glad you didn't turn him down just because you think you are unworthy."

"I know I am, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid Emily. I love Dave so much that if he really wants to make me his wife I wasn't about to tell him no. It's obvious he doesn't think I'm unworthy of him or he would have proposed to someone else. That doesn't mean I think that I am worthy of such a rich, handsome guy, but since he doesn't care what anybody else thinks I'm just gonna go along with that."

Samira said nothing about Dave being immortal and how he had started to turn her into what he was simply by having unprotected sex with her. She had promised to keep his secret as she understood his thoughts on the matter. Even though she knew Emily was trustworthy there's no way her friend would believe her so why go there?

"Need help planning?" Emily asked.

"I would, if not for the fact that Dave insisted we hire a wedding planner and I wasn't exactly against the idea. You're welcome to give me some ideas and I'll be happy to pass them along or you can tell whoever is hired yourself. I told Dave I didn't know the first thing about planning such a big event and that my knowledge wasn't even enough to fill a thimble."

"At least you were honest," Emily snorted at the description. "That's really spectacular ring. Dave has very good taste."

The ring in question was an emerald instead of a diamond. It was surrounded by emerald chips and the band was platinum. The emerald had to be at least 3 carats which told Emily what Dave thought of her friend as emeralds were very expensive stones, especially one that big and flawless. Emily didn't see a single flaw in the stone and it was glimmering with its own light. It was clear that Dave adored Samira and blindly.

"It's a 4 carat heart cut emerald," Samira said. "I thought it was too much, but since it's Dave's money and he can certainly afford it I really couldn't protest too much."

"It is Dave's money but this just shows clearly that he adores you and that ring will send a message to others. Being the wife of David Rossi will bring its own respect and nobody will be able to look down on you just because you're a nobody," Emily said.

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Samira said.

"Course not, as that's not how you were raised to think," Emily said. "I guarantee you that Dave would have thought about how best to protect you from those that think you're not good enough for him, mostly women."

"Well, he has certainly upgraded my wardrobe," Samira said.

"Yeah I noticed the boots," Emily said a little enviously. "They are real leather as I can tell from here. Dave would never give you anything cheap only stuff that is the highest quality."

"I love the boots," Samira admitted, as she looked down at them. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had them made just for me as they are very comfortable and feel like butter. I could walk 1000 miles in these and probably not even get sore feet."

"Probably true," Emily admitted.

"Boots like this probably cost him several thousand per boot and he has filled what has become my closet with different kinds of shoes and clothes," Samira said. "I have shoes for every single occasion I'll ever have to attend heels and tennis shoes, boots and loafers. I probably have at least 200 different pairs and don't even get me started on the clothes he's provided."

"He loves you and that's why he's doing it," Emily said simply. "If he didn't love you so much he wouldn't do all he's done for you. Accept it and move on. Don't protest his unselfish generosity. You're going to be his wife and it is his duty as well as his pleasure I'm sure to provide for you. Yes, I know you're capable of providing for yourself, but it is often still seen as a man's duty to provide for his wife or any children especially daughters."

"I stopped protesting awhile back, as it doesn't do any good so why create bad feelings or at least tension?" Samira asked. "It's clear where Dave's interest lay, even if I think of myself as ordinary. An ordinary woman trying to live in ordinary life."

Emily snorted and rolled her eyes at Samira putting herself down or at least not realizing how beautiful she really was inside and out. Emily wasn't surprised that Dave had fallen in love with her friend so deeply as Samira was a beautiful person and not just on the outside. It was the reason that Samira didn't see herself worthy of Dave though and why she had kept telling him that he should marry some heiress.

"So back to the wedding discussion," Emily said. "Have you decided on a venue?"

"That's one thing I'm not gonna have to worry about as it's going to be at Dave's home," Samira said. "Dave kind of insisted on that actually and I certainly don't mind. It's a lovely place to hold such an event with a very gorgeous garden."

"I've heard Dave's estate is lovely," Emily said. "Both the garden and the house.

"It really is," Samira said. "The house though is really to big to be called such. It should be called something like a mansion instead. I suppose it doesn't matter what it's called and since I've been spending so much time over there I'm comfortable even in the midst of so much opulence. At least Dave has good taste and it's not gaudy or tacky. I don't think I could've fallen in love with him if his home was out of a horror film."

Emily laughed at that though her friend did have a point. "If that was the case you would just have to redesign all the rooms. I'm sure Dave would have let you."

"Luckily, that's not going to be necessary," Samira said grinning from ear to ear as she looked down at the emerald ring on her hand.

The two friends chatted and Samira said Emily she was welcome anytime and that she would give her a tour of the house.

"That sounds good," Emily said enthusiastically. "I always wanted to see the inside of David Rossi's home, but never imagined that I'd have a chance. So any children in the near future?"

Samira blushed at her friends question, though she should've known it was coming. "Not before the wedding," Samira answered firmly. "Dave doesn't want any accusations that the only reason he's marrying me is that he got me pregnant. I happen to agree with him so I'm on the pill until just before the wedding."

This wasn't true at all as they had been having and unprotected sex ever since Samira had a learned Dave was immortal.

"That is certainly an old fashion view as women have babies out of wedlock all the time in this century. I can understand where Dave's coming from as he wants people to know that he's marrying you for love and not just because he got you pregnant."

"If there's one thing I've learned is that the rich in someways are very old-fashioned and stuck in their ways. I know some of them believe that I'm not good enough for Dave, simply because I'm not also powerful and didn't inherit my wealth. If that's the case at least they've kept their opinions to themselves. I'm sure there are those that feel he's marrying beneath him, not that Dave seems to care about that."

"Well good, this shows me that Dave knows exactly what he wants and doesn't care what others think of him," Emily said pleased. "This doesn't surprise me though, as he wouldn't be as wealthy as he is if he cared what others thought of him. Someone who doesn't care about others opinions is rare in this world."

"Very true," Samira agreed soberly.

~~~Dave and Samira~~~

Several weeks later

Samira was hip deep in wedding planning when she looked up at the sound of footsteps. The wedding stuff was spread all over the dining room table as that's where she and the wedding planner had set up shop. Dave didn't seem to mind the mess which made him unusual. He hadn't said one word about all the papers and samples that were spread over the large dining room table.

"Good afternoon Jerry," Samira greeted the man cordially with a smile.

"Good afternoon Miss," Jerry said as he removed his hat and bowed slightly.

"Why don't you sit down for a minute so we can chat," Samira offered. "I need a break from all this wedding stuff. I can't really do anything anyway until the wedding planner gets here in half an hour."

"If you don't mind Miss," Jerry said, as he sat on one of the dining room chairs.

"I don't mind at all and I wish you would just call me Samira not Miss. There's no reason to be so formal Jerry," Samira said.

"You're so like Master Dave it's amazing," Jerry said, as he held his chauffeur's hat on his lap.

"In what way?" Samira inquired interested, as she too sat down in one of the chairs.

"In the way that you insist on informality," Jerry answered, even as he twisted his hat around in his hands. "Dave never liked it when I called him master even though I work for him."

"So how did you come to work for him?" Samira asked gently.

"I was born in the early 1600s in Massachusetts," Jerry begin. "I was a slave from the minute I took my first breath because my parents were slaves. I grew up on a plantation doing small chores never really allowed to be just a boy. I started working in the fields of the plantation when I was 15 and the work was hard. The owner of the plantation was fair so long as you did your share of the work. Then a tragedy occurred and the master died of what would be considered a heart attack today. After the funeral the son took over and the son was nothing like his father. Not only did the son not have his father's business sense he had a cruelty to him, a pettiness."

"The son was a bully," Samira said and Jerry nodded his expression grim.

"The son was Abraham known as Abe to his friends and associates. Life got much harder after that and I saw several slaves put to death for minor things. I kept my head down in those days not wanting to draw the master's ire, but finally I stepped in when the master was whipping this boy of no more than 5 for supposedly stealing. The parents or anybody else were afraid to do anything as they knew that they would receive the same treatment and it would likely be worse. The boys pleas of innocence were going unanswered and finally I couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in. For my trouble I was ordered to be whipped. I was, severely, until I was half dead and then the master finished the job by beating me to a pulp and had me dumped in a ditch not far from the plantation. I was left for dead and Master Dave happened to come along in his carriage. He saw me in the ditch and told the driver of the carriage to stop and he got out himself to examine me. He then ordered the driver to help him lift me into the carriage and to head back to his home once he realized I was alive. He actually put me inside the carriage with him and back in those days that never happened as the wealthy never treated their servants as one of the family.

"He took me to his home and put me in his own bed and then examined my wounds more closely and saw all the whip marks. This angered him greatly but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He also realized that there was nothing a doctor could've done for me as medicine was very primitive back then. Even if a doctor would've seen me, not caring about the color of my skin, there was no medicine that would heal me. Besides, doctors were just ordinary people and could gossip just like anyone else. We didn't need word getting back to my former master as I'm sure he thought I was dead. He might want to reclaim his property and Dave would have no legal right to keep me.

"Finally, Dave knew that there was no other recourse and he cut himself with a dagger that he always carried with him. He got a silver cup that was sitting on the desk that was being used to hold things like pens and pencils. He poured his blood into it, but he healed so fast he had to cut himself several times until he felt he had enough. I was mostly unconscious not only from the whipping, but from the beating and then being thrown away like I meant nothing. Dave got on the bed beside me and lifted me up enough that I could drink what was in the cup though I didn't realize it until I took a sip that it was blood. Dave was gentle as he made me drink the entire thing down. I gulped it down as it was blood after all and tasted nasty. He then laid me back on the bed and covered me with a handmade quilt as if I was his own child and left me to sleep.

"When I woke again, a long while later, I felt like a whole new man I wasn't in pain from my broken bones or aching from my bruises. Once I was feeling better, I used the bathroom with Dave's help, as I was still weak and had eaten some of the best food I've ever had at that time Dave explained what I now was.

"I didn't believe it at first. Who would? Dave then calmly pointed out how else could his blood have healed me? I had been close to death he explained not only from the whipping I received but also the beating. I had had several broken bones and Dave had straightened my limbs so that they would heal was nothing he could do about the cracked ribs but they healed on their own.

"Once I was better he hired me. I acted as his slave out in public but in private we were friends. He didn't believe in slavery he told me but considering the times it was better if we acted like slave and master when other people were around. I didn't want to end up in a similar situation that I had just been rescued from so I agreed with him. Dave made arrangements to leave town as it was too close to my old master and that took awhile, but we got away before anybody from the plantation recognized me. I stuck mostly to Master Dave's house until we were on our way to somewhere else.

"Master Dave's need for my services has developed over the centuries to where I am now his driver when he needs one and I fulfill other task for him when he does not. Since he pays me very well I don't mind. I am honored to work for Master Dave in whatever capacity he needs me, as he's an honorable man. He certainly more honorable than other men that I've known over the centuries," Jerry finished.

"I already knew that Dave was a good man, as if I needed anymore proof," Samira said finally with a smile. "I now understand why he can't just marry any woman. Most normal woman would never accept such a concept as immortality. Another woman might not treat you as anything but a servant and would just spend Dave's money for endless fripperies. They'd likely would just sit on their butts or shop all the time. Dave explained all this to me awhile back and he's right. I know very well that a lot of women that come from wealth do absolutely nothing with their lives other than adorn their husband's arm at social functions and give parties. They do absolutely nothing constructive that is useful or beneficial to society. I know if I was the one with a cargo load of money and I married a man like that I wouldn't be able to put up with him for very long. I'm used to being active and making something of my life."

"If I may say so Miss, you've made Dave so happy. He was lonely before as he had so few people he was close to. Any woman he got involved with was only a temporary distraction. That's all well and good for a few years but it can get tiring, never being able to be yourself fully in front of anyone but those in the know. Now he'll be able to share anything with you and that is no small thing."

"I am glad you approve," Samira told Jerry warmly with a smile. "Since you are Dave's man we'll have to get to know each other better soon, but now, the wedding planner should be here any minute. I have enjoyed our conversation Jerry and hope we can be friends."

"Of course Miss Samira," Jerry said, as he rose from his seat and put his chauffeur's hat back firmly on his head.

"That's a little better, at least you addressed me by my name, though I do wish you would drop the miss," Samira teased him.

Jerry smiled before he walked towards Dave's office which was likely where he had been headed before Samira had interrupted him.

The wedding planner arrived just then after having been let in by the droid butler.

"Samira honey," the wedding planner greeted.

They immediately got down to business as this wedding wasn't going to plan itself and they had hours of work ahead of them.

~~~Dave and Samira~~~