Several weeks later
"I'm pregnant," Penelope announced to Dave, Aaron and Emily, producing the pregnancy test that she had bought.
"Great!" Emily exclaimed, even as Dave hugged and kissed his wife. He was so radiantly happy that he practically vibrated it. "I just knew you were."
"I'm so happy!" Dave exclaimed, even as Emily hugged her friend next. Emily's stomach was large, as she was five months along now, with four more to go. They were making preparations to move to New Mexico, as the realtor had found a nice grand place in Albuquerque. Albuquerque was the 32nd largest city in the US, even though Santa Fe was the capital.
The home was located on an estate all its own, and even though it was in the city they'd have plenty of privacy. There was only six bedrooms and four bathes, but they could add on and were planning to do just that, since technically, there would be two families living there they needed a lot more space. Still, six bedrooms was more than adequate for right now considering that both Emily and Penelope were only pregnant with their first kids and by the time they both got pregnant again hopefully the new addition would be ready.
Penelope's family had been ecstatic when they'd learned about the pregnancy, and so had his own family Dave thought in amusement. Taro and his wife had been just as excited for them, as they had been when their own had been born and had congratulated them sending Penelope a very nice bouquet of flowers. They'd done the same for Emily when they'd learned that she was pregnant.
Dave suspected that they would play a major part in their children's lives until they passed on and he didn't mind that at all and knew that Aaron also didn't. They would likely be very indulging grandparents, especially to Emily's since Aaron's parents were long dead and her mother wasn't really grandparent material, though that might change, once their little girl was born. Yes, Emily was having a little girl and Dave knew that Aaron and Emily had already started picking out baby names. Of course, Dave was well aware that Aaron considered his own parents as his, even though they weren't related, so they would have at least one set of doting grandparents when Emily's little girl was born and that's only if you didn't include Taro and Aiya.
Dave kissed Penelope soundly again and Penelope looked rather dazed once the kiss broke.
"So what do you want a girl or a boy?" Aaron asked his friend.
"It doesn't really matter," Dave shrugged, truly not caring one way or the other. "Of course, since you and Emily are having a girl it would be nice to have a boy, just to even things out, but really, I don't care one way or the other. At least if it's two girls there'll be friends that will only be a few months apart in age, while if it's a girl and a boy there is a chance they'll fight like cats and dogs."
"Since they'll be so close in age they probably won't," Emily said coming over to where the two were discussing the subject. "They would've grown up together with only three and a half months or so between them. It's not like they'll to three years apart."
"Hopefully, you're right," Dave said. "I suspect we'll see."
It had been learned that Penelope was two and a half months along which meant she was pregnant for a few days before the actual wedding. None of them cared about that however, though Dave knew that Penelope's parents the Garcias would indeed care, particularly the father, so they were telling them that Penelope had gotten pregnant on their wedding night. It did happen a lot of time, so it wasn't unbelievable.
They were just trying to keep the peace with Penny's family.
"I can't wait to give birth," Emily said patting her stomach. "Not only do I want Aaron's and my little girl to arrive, I'm tired of swollen ankles backaches and being hungry all the time."
"I don't blame you," Penelope said having overheard. "I'm not looking forward to the same in a few months."
"It hasn't been too bad. Really, Aaron's been very good about massaging my ankles and my back. He did the same back when I was Berenice and it really helped back then and now. Of course, nowadays, there are other ways to help with the pain, but definitely not back in the far past."
"There are medicines you can take nowadays, that are not supposed to be detrimental to the fetus, though I'm not sure any medicine would effect one that was immortal, but why take chances," Penelope told Dave who nodded.
"They're also creams that will help your ankles not hurt so bad and reduce the swelling," Emily said. "Something I'm grateful for. Aaron enjoys rubbing it into them."
"Of course I do," Aaron spoke up. "I always will. I never imagined I'd get the love of my life back again. I'll be grateful every day for the rest of my existence that you're here at my side again. That you're pregnant is just icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned and also the fact that none of our children will be able to die, at least not by ordinary means."
Emily and Aaron started kissing and Dave and Penelope turned away to give them some privacy.
"That was so sweet and romantic," Penelope said softly.
"Yes, it was," Dave agreed. "If there's one thing I've leaned from my own parents and grandparents is that when you're truly in love, you just have to express it every day. It makes you want to do things for your spouse that most couples don't do, because they don't feel the way that Aaron and Emily do or you and I. We're just going to have to get used to seeing scenes like this all the time, since we'll be living together and Aaron and Emily will have to do the same for us. I've never seen Aaron so happy in all the time I've known him. Having his true love come back to him has changed him in so many ways, all of them positive. The fact, that Aaron isn't as poor as a church mouse anymore has a lot to do with it as well. He can support Emily in style. Emily's well able to support herself of course, but Aaron will enjoy spoiling her rotten and also any children they happen to have."
"And you won't?" Penelope asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course I will. The difference is you aren't reincarnated from my dead wife. Still, I'll love and adore you and any children we have just like Aaron will Emily and any children they have, but there is a difference you know. We haven't been parted for hundreds of years and just now got back together a little more than a year ago."
Dave was right, so Penelope just nodded.
"You're absolutely correct," Penelope agreed. "Their relationship is always going to be slightly different, because of the fact that Emily's reincarnated and they were married for years before the influenza hit."
"About 10 more or less," Dave agreed.
"So that means that they had one kid right after the other if they had half a dozen," said Penelope and Dave nodded.
"It happened that way a lot back so long ago," Dave said. "Particularly the poor had children, one on top of another, sometimes only with months between then. I've actually always been surprised that more mortal women back then didn't die in childbirth considering. Oh, some did, but not as many as you would expect, considering how minimal the technology was, particularly medical technology."
"Well, Emily can't afford to space them out too much this time either, because of her age," Penelope said. "She has to have at least four to get her portion of the inheritance, which is millions of dollars, something I know she wants."
"While that's true, the difference is Emily is in excellent health this time around. She's had regular doctor's checkups, regular dentist appointments and everything that goes into keeping the body healthy and so her immune system is strong. She's eaten regularly and at least since she's grown up more healthily. Her parents never starved her and she isn't poor this time around just like Aaron isn't. Trust me, all these things together, make a huge difference, even if she wasn't immortal now. This is especially true, when it comes to childbirth."
"So you're saying that she'll likely come out of this fine, because of all those things you mentioned," Penelope said and Dave nodded.
"I mean, she survived 6 separate births far back in the past and all in 10 years when she didn't have all these advantages. She might've died in childbirth if she hadn't from the influenza or she could have lived to a ripe old age for the time, which likely wouldn't have been more than late 40s, possibly early 50s. Most people didn't live longer than that back then, unless they were extremely lucky."
"Except for immortals," Penelope said and Dave nodded again because it was true.
"That's true and we always look 30 unless we were changed not born, like my mother, though we can look older, because of the crows feet around our eyes and mouth, that come from stress, frustration or laughing a lot," Dave agreed.
"So done being all kissy faced?" Penelope teased them once she and Dave saw that Aaron and Emily were done.
"For now," Emily grinned not embarrassed in the least at her friend's teasing.
"Yeah, for now," Aaron agreed also grinning looking like a cat that had gotten the canary.
"Good, because there are many things to do so we can move," Dave reminded them. "We need to hire a moving company for one thing, though first at least one of us needs to go down to New Mexico and view this house that the realtor found this to make sure it's in good shape."
"It will be exactly like they say or we can ruin the company's reputation," Emily said. "They'll lose clients if they sell us a dud, as word always gets around, even if we don't say a word."
"Still, it won't hurt for one of us to check out the house," Aaron agreed with Dave. "Make sure it's exactly what we want."
"Alright then, why don't Aaron and I go? We can go and be back in just a couple of days," Emily suggested.
"That's fine with me," Dave said and Penelope nodded.
"You can explain to them that there's actually two families moving into the house because we're all best friends. Get the neighbors curiosity out of the way before they start spreading rumors that we're some kind of cult that have sex with each other or something equally ridiculous," Aaron added serious. "I do not want to be chased out of somewhere I have just decided to settle for awhile, thank you very much, especially not with Emily and Penny pregnant."
The last four words were said in a very sarcastic tone.
"That's not likely to happen in a city the size of Albuquerque. That usually only happens in small towns where people are more superstitious," Dave told Aaron. "Still, it's a wise precaution nonetheless."
Both Penelope and Emily giggled at that, but Dave and Aaron exchanged looks knowing from experience that people could spread the wildest rumors, whether true or not, because of an overactive imagination.
"I'll make sure I mention to several people that we are both moving in, because we are as close as brothers and we wanted to raise our families together. We're each paying one half for the estate so that we both own it. Really, moving in together saves money, as why buy two places when we are so close anyway and want to raise our children as siblings?"
"People do move in together all the time for companionship," Emily said.
"Still, it's better to stop rumors before they start. Dave and I have both seen what rumors can do to someone who's totally innocent of whatever the rumor is. It usually leads to some people chasing that person out of town and even burning down their home or their business," Aaron told his wife. "Sometimes, it even leads to that person's death."
"It happens mostly in small towns, but it's still been known to happen in large cities to," Dave explained. "Small town people tend to be more superstitious then those in the big cities, but we might as well prevent any rumors before they start."
"We might want to tell people that we're half brothers just to prevent people from getting any ideas about us being in a relationship," Aaron added. "I mean, I think of your parents as my own anyway, so it's not really a lie."
"Fine with me. It's to prevent future problems because of people's suspicious nature," Dave told the two women. "It might not occur to people that Aaron and I could be in a relationship, even when we aren't, but this might prevent future problems."
"It's better to be cautious, because they'll be children in the house and while they'll be immortal, just like their parents, why take chances? They can still die after all," Aaron added. "Besides, dying and coming back to life would be especially traumatic for child I'm sure, certainly more so then for the adults. I'd just rather avoid that kind of thing happening and that's all," Aaron said.
"A very good point," Dave agreed gravely. "I wouldn't want any of my children to die, even if it wouldn't be permanently. Depending on how old the children are at the time it would definitely be traumatic for say a five or six year old to be murdered and then come back to life."
"Well, I admit that you know more about that kind of thing then I do, so whatever you think best. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my children," Penelope said. "I'm not usually a violent person, but anybody who attacks my children is going to be dead. People aren't always rational I know that."
"I think we can all agree on that," Emily said.
"Yes, we can," Dave said. "People don't necessarily need proof to attack what they fear. Aaron and I have seen this happen time and time again."
"We'll get a flight for tomorrow if possible," Aaron said. "We'll call you when we've had a chance to tour the house, see what kind of shape it's in."
"I'll call the realty company to let them know you're coming down to inspect," Dave said.
"That's probably a good idea," Aaron decided.
The four of them discussed it a little more before parting ways for a few hours.
~~~Dave and Penelope~~~
"Are you sure about this Em?" Theo, Emily's oldest brother asked her. "Are you sure you want to move so far away from everything you've ever known?"
"I need to do this," Emily told her brother seriously. "I'll miss you and my other brothers, but not our mother. I'll be home for visits lots or you can come visit us. Aaron won't mind, as you're family. I love you guys, but what mother did when she tried to arrange a marriage for me, just a few years ago was the last straw. I was thinking about leaving New York, even before I met Aaron, now I'm glad I decided to stick around or I wouldn't have met him. I hate being known as the only daughter of Elizabeth and Alan Prentiss, as so many people assume I'm just like them and that I'm into politics or that I'm some kind of rich businesswoman. I can't tell you how many times people have approached me wanting a donation for some cause of theirs, once they learn my name."
"It's annoying," Theo said not unsympathetic. In fact he was, very much so.
Emily nodded.
"Yes, it is, but really, I'm moving to get away from mother's influence. She's tried to interfere in my life more than once over the years and doesn't seem to accept that I'm an adult now. An adult that has a right to make their own decision, whether those decisions are mistakes or not. In New Mexico she has absolutely no influence. I'll be allowed to live my life the way I want without her possible interference and I'll be able to relax completely. Here in New York I'm always just waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know what I mean," Emily said.
"I understand," Theo said. "I know she can be trying."
"Trying is to mild a word Theo," Emily told her brother firmly, intense passion on her dark eyes. "Interfering old biddy is better."
"Now that's a rather colorful description," Theo laughed a little, though he did understand where his sister was coming from.
"Probably, but it doesn't make it any less true," Emily shrugged. "You know what my childhood was like, since you shared it. We might not have been physically abused, but we went where we were told, ate what was put in front of us, and went to bed when we were ordered. Neither one of our parents spent anymore time with any of us then they absolutely had to. They didn't read us any bedtime stories to let us know they loved us. Hell! They didn't even share dinner with us most of the time. They ate later then us.
"None of us had friends over growing up, because our parents had ordered the nanny not to let us outside without supervision and none of our friends from school were ever allowed to stay over even for an afternoon. It was as if mother was afraid we would get our clothes dirty, as if they couldn't be cleaned or replaced or maybe she thought that having a friend over for a few hours would destroy the house.
"I understand they were both busy, but they could've done some things for us, spent some time with us, allowed us to have friends over or allowed us to go over to a friend's house for a sleepover. When mother tried to arrange that marriage for me just a couple of years ago, as I said, that was the last straw. It showed a complete disregard for my feelings, as she didn't even bother to ask me. I have no doubt I wouldn't have had anything in common with whoever she chose for me, anymore then a pig loves a chicken."
Theo chuckled again at that colorful description, but he knew his sister was also correct. His and Emily's mother hadn't considered her daughter feelings on the matter or apparently known her well enough to know Emily would never agree to it. Woman had choices in this century and could do exactly what they wanted to, something Elizabeth Prentiss hadn't considered Theo was sure. A parent might still be able to disown a child, but there were plenty of opportunities for employment nowadays for females, so it didn't matter if a child was thrown out of their family. Theo tuned back in the the sound of his sister's voice, as Emily was continuing.
"I have no doubt that I would have divorced whoever it was within five years if not sooner," Emily said. "Either that or murder him."
"Now, be serious Emily," Theo said.
"I am serious Theo," Emily told him firmly, her dark eyes full of passion. "I have no doubt I would've felt like murdering whoever it was within a couple of years at most. You know I can't stand the political scene or political talk and you know the reason why. If you think I could stand listening to that kind of crap day in and day out married to some bozo, where that's all he ever thought about, think again. I doubt very much we ever would have consummated our relationship and if we didn't there would've been no children. I'm sure, he would've cheated on me within a couple years, if it took him that long. I can see whoever my mom chose for me having a mistress that he went to for his physical needs, because I refused to put out. I can see it still happening, even if I had agreed to have sex with whoever it was on a regular basis."
Theo was nodding at this, because he knew his sister couldn't stand politics in any form. He couldn't really blame her actually, considering that their upbringing had mostly been due to the nanny that had been hired. While the nanny had been nice she had to follow orders or be fired. She had probably felt sorry for their lot, but could do nothing about it. There had been no bedtime stories, even from her and Theo had no doubt she had been ordered not to read them to any of them. Their entire childhood had been cold and friendliness. Hell! Their parents never even celebrated their birthdays, nor had any of them ever had a party. Even if their parents had had a party for them, it probably would have been filled with their friends and associates, not any children their age, unless those invited had brought their children along. They had gotten presents supposedly from their parents, but Theo knew they were bought by their mother's secretary. It had never really been anything they wanted, mostly clothes. Emily had always hated what was bought for her, as it was usually a dress of some kind. It was no wonder Emily hated wearing dresses so much now, particularly those with lace and ruffles.
"So long as you're happy Emily, I'm happy for you," Theo said finally kissing her cheek.
"If you're asking if I'm happy with Aaron the answer to that is yes. Aaron isn't the problem, he's been very accommodating. Moving far away was my idea, but Aaron didn't have any objection and understands my need to get out of the same city that my mother lives. He wasn't too impressed with her attitude the one time he met her and described her, as cold and hard once we'd gotten back to my apartment and he wasn't wrong in his observations."
"Good," Theo said relieved. "I'm glad. I'll be sorry to see you go as will your other two brothers, but I do understand and so will they. Make sure you and Aaron visit often and introduce me to my niece once she's born."
"I will," Emily promised. "We're already planning on visiting mother once a month so she can spend a few hours with her grandchildren. I won't be staying in the house though, as there's no way I'd be able to sleep there again. To me, it just reminds me of how lonely and friendless my childhood was."
"I'm surprised you didn't tell your mother that she couldn't see her grandchildren at all," Theo said.
"I thought about it seriously and discussed it with Aaron," Emily said. "I know that grandparents tend to be indulgent a lot of times, but I don't think I'll ever fully trust her, considering how she was with her own kids. Her interference in my life is well-known amongst the family."
Theo was nodding at this, because it was true. Elizabeth Prentiss had particularly interfered in her daughter's life, whether Emily had asked her to or not. She had tried the same with him and his brothers until they had told her to stop. They had made her understand that if she interfered in their lives that there would be consequences. Their mother just couldn't seem to let them live their lives the way they wanted.
"The only reason I decided to let her see them once a month is that I would've felt guilty otherwise. We'll see how it goes. One of the things that Aaron and I agree on is that she'll never be allowed to be alone with them, not even for five minutes."
"I think that's a reasonable precaution considering," Theo said understandingly.
"Yes, it is," Emily said empathically.
"So I heard that your friend Penelope and her husband are coming with you," Theo mentioned.
"Yes, they are, Aaron and I certainly don't mind," Emily said. "Penelope has been my good friend for years and Dave has been Aaron's best friend for even longer. We've bought this huge old place together and are going to raise our children as one family."
"Sounds really nice," Theo decided. "Though a bit unusual. Two families living together."
"Probably, but when you are as close as Penny and I are or Aaron and Dave it's really not all that unusual Theo. We're family anyway, related or not."
"I suppose not. It is cheaper than buying two places," Theo said.
"Definitely," Emily agreed. "That was one reason we did it, but not the main one. We could've gotten two separate places if we really wanted to, but we didn't, as we discussed it beforehand. We just decided that living together was the way to go. Raise our children as brothers and sisters."
"Here's to having your little girl and praying she's healthy," Theo said.
"She will be," Emily said firmly, not telling her brother why she was so sure of it.
Theo said nothing and knew that Emily was probably right, that her little girl would be healthy when she gave birth in about three months.
"You and Aaron have a safe trip," Theo said. "Call me when you've settled in."
"I will," Emily promised. "Thanks for caring Theo."
"You're welcome," Theo said smiling. "I'm sorry mother is so hard to deal with."
"It's not your fault, nor is it mine," Emily said firmly. "From what I understand from mother her father was a bit of a bastard. According to what she told me he basically forced her into marrying Alan Prentiss."
"If that's true, then I can understand her attitude a little better," Theo said soberly.
"So can I, not that it makes up for our childhood," Emily said. "I never understood why they didn't just get divorced once grandfather was dead and mother told me that divorce wasn't done in her day, but personally, I would've divorced Alan Prentiss, as soon as her father was dead."
"That's what I would've done," Theo agreed.
"It was a different time I know that. Women had fewer rights back when mother was born, especially in wealthy families and there might have been something in the prenup agreement they had preventing it," Emily conceded. "If Aaron treated me like Alan Prentiss treated her, I would divorce him before you could blink, but the fact is, he doesn't and treats me a lot better, than I know father treated mother. Our parents just weren't suited to wed that's all."
Emily didn't tell her brother why Aaron treated her so well. At least part of the reason, was because she was reincarnated from his long dead wife Berenice. Theo would never believe her so it was better to keep that fact to herself.
"I'm glad Aaron treats you right or I'd have to murder him," Theo agreed soberly, but serious all the same and Emily smiled at him knowing already that would be her brother's reaction. "I'll tell mother that I couldn't change your mind and not that I didn't really try, since I knew I couldn't anyway. I know what you're like once your mind is set and I can't really blame you for wanting to get out of New York. It might not be the political capital of the world, but it sure comes close."
"Fine with me," Emily smiled. "If she really believed that you would try to convince me to stay then she doesn't know her own children. You, unlike her, know me too well."
"Yeah, I do," Theo agreed smiling.
~~~Dave and Penelope~~~