Reid residence

Las Vegas, Nevada

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Spencer asked his soon-to-be stepfather.

Spencer knew that his mother was going to end up mating with Dave, as it was clear they loved each other. Spencer didn't know what Dave was waiting for, but he suspected it had something to do with his mother's heat, as he knew she wanted more children. Spencer knew that the courting process took time, so he wasn't worried.

"Yes, I did," Dave said, using his gentlest manner. "Why don't you sit down."

Spencer had never been in his father's study, as the one time he had tried to peak in the door he had been yelled at so severely he had never tried to peak again. Spencer wasn't entirely sure why his father was so protective of just a room with a lot of bookcases and a desk, but maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was his father's private space. His mother had only been allowed in here to clean once a week when his father was still at home and had yet to leave his family.

"Is there a problem?" Spencer asked Dave nervously.

"Of course not, son," Dave said and Spencer relaxed. "You don't always need to assume there is a problem, just because I want to talk to you."

"I'll try not to, sir," Spencer said politely.

"There's no need to be so formal," Dave reminded Spencer. "You can just call me Dave."

"But isn't that considered impolite?" Spencer asked pure curiosity in his tone.

"Not if I give you permission," said Dave said and Spencer nodded, filing the information away for the future. "Now, to the subject I wanted to talk to you about. How would you feel about going to a school once your mother and I mate that has much harder courses? I know you must be dreadfully bored in high school. I genuinely want your opinion."

"Don't those schools cost, si...Dave?" Spencer asked Dave nodded.

"Yes, they do," Dave agreed.

"Since that's case, I'll just stick to normal high school, sir," Spencer said forgetting to call Dave by his first name. Spencer didn't quite grimace, but it was implied. He had been so bored in normal classes and there was also the bullying to consider, but he was assuming that this would be in Virginia not Las Vegas, so maybe things would be a little better with a new school. He could certainly hope so anyway.

"Don't worry about the money, son," Dave suggested firmly. "I can more than afford to send you to a school like I suggested. It would be a day school, so you would come home every day and tell your mother and me what you're learning. If I mate with your mom then you become my son as well legally and it is a parents responsibility to make sure their children reach their full potential. Your mother has told you how intelligent you are, something I have now seen for myself, so your mother was not just bragging. Well, maybe a little, but she was also telling the truth. Your father didn't fulfill his duties like he should have and personally, I think he should be horsewhipped until he's bleeding in 100 different places and in severe pain, but that's neither here nor there."

Spencer actually laughed at Dave's rather vivid description or what he would like happen to his father.

He was sure that what Dave was describing would be very painful, but it was no less than his father deserved.

"Both your mother and I want you and your sisters to reach your full potential and all of you are much more intelligent than your peers. When this happens it is a parent's responsibility to see to that child's education, whether that is by hiring tutors if there is no day school close by or whether it is sending their child to a special school for those above average intelligence far away, for those that want to learn and are willing to put in the effort to do so. You can be the smartest person in the world, but if you aren't willing to put in the work required how will that person reach their potential?"

Spencer had often considered the same thing, so he nodded.

"I would like that, Dave," Spencer said, then added the Dave after pause.

When Dave just looked pleased Spencer relaxed.

"Good, then I'll start looking into schools in my area," Was all Dave said.

"What about my sisters?" Spencer asked.

"They'll probably be sent to regular school or possibly they'll join you at your school, we'll just have to see. While they're certainly intelligent they likely aren't at your level, so they'll probably do fine in normal high school. Of course, it's possible they might do okay in one with harder courses as well. I might just leave the choice of them, talk to your mother about it."

Spencer nodded at this, as that was reasonable. While his sisters were very intelligent he thought Dave was right, and they weren't at his level, when it came to sheer brainpower.

"So you are go to mate with my mother, Dave?" Spencer asked with more confidence.

"I want to and I know Diana does too, but I'm sure you know that courting is a delicate process. We haven't quite reached that stage yet, but I'm confident we will," Dave answered honestly. "I can honestly say, I've never been so interested in a woman, not even Carolyn, my first mate."

"I hope it does work out," Spencer said. "I wasn't sure if I was going to like you or not, but I have to admit you've gone out of your way to help me get over my fears."

"I have every confidence it will reach that stage," Dave said. "Your father is useless and certainly didn't do anything to install you and your sisters with confidence in relationships."

Spencer snorted very quietly at that very true statement, but said nothing otherwise.

"I've known somebody with your kind of memory in the past, though he died in Vietnam. It's probably a good thing he did actually," Dave continued, ignoring Spencer's snort of agreement, because he couldn't blame the lad.

"Why, Dave?" asked since Spencer curiously.

"Because Harry, was an Omega like you and I'm not sure what would've happened to him if he had survived the war. Some people never learn to compartmentalize and I'm not sure if Harry ever would've been able to learn how to do that, as it's a difficult skill to master. It's very possible that the memories of the war, where men would die every day, would've changed him for the worst."

"He might've handled it okay, learned to compartmentalize," Spencer said.

"That's entirely possible," Dave agreed. "He was a very intelligent young man, much like you."

Dave and Spencer talked for a little longer before Dave dismissed the ten year old to go do whatever he wanted.

~~~Dave and Diana~~~

Several months later

Virginia

Rossi Residence

"So are you going to ask Diana to mate with you?" Ariel asked her employer, a young man she considered a son.

Dave had been going back-and-forth for nearly six months now and he had fallen deeply in love with Diana Reid. He had also also fallen in love with her children. He had known he would after all that Diana had told him about them.

Spencer and he had gotten quite close. He had known about Spencer apprehension that he was just like his father and so he had made an extra effort to make sure Spencer knew he was nothing like the man that he shared his DNA with.

Spencer had relaxed a great deal around him after several visits. Spencer could see that he was putting in an effort to get to know him, something that his father had never done and it was something he knew the lad appreciated. Having that talk about sending Spencer to a special school had seemed to clench the deal. It had shown Spencer that he did indeed care about him since usually those types of schools required a tuition.

Being apprehensive about bringing a strange man into the house was something that Dave could understand and Spencer's memory didn't help the situation. Diana's two daughters hadn't been as apprehensive as Spencer had been, but then, they didn't really remember their father's attitude towards them, since they had been only five when William Reid had walked out on his family and they also didn't have their brother's memory. It helped that Diana's two daughters were taking after their father in the fact, that they were Alphas while their brother was not. There was nothing wrong with this, no matter what some Alphas believed, as there was no way to tell what was going to come out of the gene pool.

"Yes, I am," Dave told his housekeeper.

"Wonderful!" Ariel said excited. "It'll be nice to have a family living here again with possibly children in the future. So do you believe that Diana will accept your proposal?"

"Yes, I do, as we've gotten to know each other. During our first conversation, Diana said if our courting went well she would be willing to move to Virginia. We also both agreed that we wanted more children. We both hoped that it would work out, but you never know, as attraction isn't everything. I did have a feeling however, that it would."

"Well, it looks like you were right about that," Ariel said smiling happily at the thought of a family living here again, one with many more children.

"That's something I didn't do with Carolyn, you know. Make sure she wanted children and it turned out she didn't, or at least not right then, which is unusual for one of our species, I know. It's likely why I didn't think to ask her if she wanted children, as I just assumed she did. This time though, I was much smarter, more careful and Diana and me have talked a lot, about our expectations, hopes and dreams. I certainly know her better than I did Carolyn."

"It does happen," Ariel said,

"Yes, it does, especially when you are young," Dave agreed with a reminiscent look.

One thing that he and his housekeeper shared was a love of children. Ariel had been trying to get him to find someone ever since he and Carolyn had parted ways, when his twin sons were just two years old. They had just turned nine a couple of weeks back and Dave of course, had celebrated with them. He never forgot their birthday, as it was always a special time in children of their species lives. He would never forget Diana's children and soon-to-be birthday either.

"So I hope you plan on having children soon. If Diana is around your age she really doesn't need to get pregnant much past 45 or 46. She can of course, but it just gets more dangerous."

"We've agreed to have some as soon, as we've mated and if that happens during the mating I won't complain," Dave told Ariel who looked really happy at that announcement. "Diana hasn't been sexually active in five years, well nearly six now. She thought her children were to young and she didn't want to bring some strange Alpha into the home. They were only five when their father left."

"So that means they are nearly 11 now," Ariel said.

"Not for another three months, as their birthdays are in the latter part of the year, in late summer," Dave answered.

"So she knows you're going to ask to mate with her," Ariel said.

"I made my intentions plain and she's a smart lady, so she at least strongly suspects. Classes for the children also end for the summer in just six weeks or so. She won't even be showing her pregnancy by then, as she should go into heat sometime in the next three weeks."

"Well, you planned it well then," Ariel said smiling.

"I didn't want to wait too long," Dave said. "I was actually waiting for Diana to be finished with school for the year, which was another reason I waited till now to actually propose."

"So all you need to do is wait a month and half for her to finish teaching for the year," aaid Ariel.

"Yeah, and I can hardly wait," Dave said grinning happily. "If it wasn't for you I could never afford to be gone for so long because of my sons. I was very lucky when I found you."

"We were both lucky," Arial corrected with a smile making Dave chuckle. "You probably saved my life and you know it."

Dave had been looking for a housekeeper, someone who could come at least a few days a week to clean up the house he had bought, when he had first mated to Carolyn. The house was very large, as he had expected to have quite a few children with his mate, but Caroline hadn't been interested, so all he had was his two sons. He had put an advertisement in the newspaper and Ariel hadn't been the first applicant, but she had certainly been the best of the lot.

Her story was somewhat tragic. Her husband had died of a heart attack at just 55 years old, which was quite young really. Somewhat luckily, all the children were mostly grown by that time except for the youngest. Still, once the youngest went off to college the following year and she had been extremely lonely, as she was used to having a house filled with family. She was also looking for a job, because while her husband had left her a small insurance policy, it wasn't really enough to support herself. It was lucky that all her children had had scholarships, because she never could have afforded to send them to university without them. She had answered the ad, as she had been keeping house for her husband for over 25 years. And the rest as they say was history.

Dave had connected immediately to Ariel, as it was soon clear that she had a way with children and knew how to clean so she was hired. They had gotten quite close over the years, even if Dave was her employer. Dave trusted her to look after his two sons when he wasn't here and to report any bad behavior. Ariel had her own suite of rooms on one of the floors and was simply part of the family. He just knew that Diana was going to love her.

"We saved each other," Dave corrected smiling.

"If you insist," Ariel smiled.

"I do," Dave told her with a chuckle. "I needed help looking after my sons after their mother left and you were certainly heaven sent."

"So when are you going to mention to your sons that you are going to mate with her?" asked Ariel.

"I already did, a few weeks ago," Dave explained. "Of course, they haven't met her yet, but they seemed okay with the idea, which is partly thanks to you assuring them that Diana is a nice lady. I'm going to talk to them again and tell them I'm going to mate with Diana, see how they respond."

"They have been kind of sad that you've been gone so much, but I have tried to reassure them," Ariel said.

"I know," Dave said sighing. "It won't be long before I'll be home for more than just a few weeks. In fact, I plan on sticking around until about a week before Diana goes into heat, so that I will give me a few weeks to spend with my sons. I've already helped her with one heat I'll happily help her through another, except this time without using a condom."

"Well, I'll look forward to the birth of your children," Ariel said smiling.

"Since Diana plans on getting another teaching job I'm going to have to think about hiring a nanny, as you have enough to do," Dave said.

"Well, I don't blame her for wanting to work," Ariel said pursing lips. "Just think of what might've happened if she hadn't had a job after her mate left. Besides, you know what they say about the intelligent mind."

"Believe me, I know it," Dave growled, still rather disgusted with Diana's former mate and Ariel could see it. She couldn't blame him actually for that disgust. "Her parents would have helped her out until she got back on her feet, but I'm certainly glad they didn't have too."

"At least she had her parents support," Ariel said. "So many of our kind don't, you know."

"Believe me, I am well aware of it it," Dave said shaking his head in disgust. "I still have trouble believing that William Reid just walked away, not even bothering to leave a note. The honorable thing to do was to pay child support at least and he didn't even do that much."

"It happens," Arial said and Dave nodded.

"I know," Dave agreed soberly. "Even though she left, Carolyn offered to pay child support, I knew she was trying to get started elsewhere, so I told her not to bother. I had plenty of money and at least she did the proper thing and offered."

"Look at this way, if she was still mated to William Reid she wouldn't be free for you to court her and then mate with her," Ariel said practically.

"There is that," Dave agreed smiling a little, as he thought about the woman he had come to love so deeply. He had never expected in a million years to meet his perfect match, as he was signing books for all his fans.

"The boys will certainly be happy to have you here for awhile," Ariel said smiling.

"Perhaps, we can do something together," Dave mused.

"You know that your sons would love that," Ariel said.

"I can talk to them at the same time," Dave decided. "Telling them they are going to get a new mother in a few weeks."

"Whatever you think best," Ariel said.

Dave seemed lost in thought and Ariel guessed that he was already making plans on how to propose to Diana.

~~~Dave and Diana~~~