"I'll see you tomorrow," Aaron told Emily. It was just after their date and Aaron had dropped Emily off at her apartment and walked her to her door. The two of them had been dating for over two weeks.

"Don't you think it's time you kissed me good night?" Emily asked. "There is such thing as being too much of a gentleman."

"I'll be happy to," Aaron grinned winking at her. "I was just waiting for you to be ready for that."

"I've been ready for that for what seems like forever," Emily told him and Aaron nodded, because he felt exactly the same.

The two of them shared a soft, tender kiss and Aaron got lost in it. Emily lips felt exactly as Berenice's had when they had kissed, he remembered their texture, their softness, the lusciousness of them.

Finally, the kiss broke and Emily stared at him with a dazed expression.

"That was something else," Emily finally said seeming to come out of her daze. "Why do your lips seem so familiar? Why does it seem like I have kissed them 1000 times?"

Aaron said nothing simply kissed her again in order to distract her, as now was not the time to reveal all.

"I must depart," Aaron finally said feeling incredibly reluctant.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Emily agreed looking just as reluctant to let him go. "You could perhaps stay over?"

"If I do then I'll do something that neither one of us is ready for," Aaron told her gently. "Believe me, your offer is a very tempting one, but since I'm staying with a friend, I really need to get back. I don't want to keep the servants up just to let me into the house, as that would be rude."

Emily nodded at this, because it was true. It would be incredibly rude to keep the servants up waiting for him to come in so they could go to bed. She had driven up to the place he was staying on the first date and she had been surprised that he was basically staying in a mansion. He had explained that Taro and his wife were friends of his and Dave's and they were staying with them for awhile. Emily could understand why they weren't staying in a hotel if they had that kind of offer. Hotels could be expensive and if someone offers to give you a place to stay for free why not take them up on it, so long as you knew and trusted the people involved of course.

Aaron knew he must leave, as he and Emily had only been dating for a short amount of time. It was hard to pull himself away, but he did tell Emily goodnight and once she was safely inside her place he headed for his car.

Emily watched him go from her window and finally headed to get dressed for bed.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~

"I think her memory is beginning to return," Aaron told Dave the next morning, as soon as his friend opened the door after he had knocked.

It was just shy of 6:00 in the morning, but Aaron had known that Dave, just like himself, was an early riser. The two of them always had been, though it depended largely on what they had been doing the night before and how late they had stayed up talking or doing whatever.

"Oh? How do you know?" Dave asked interested.

"We finally kissed and it was like kissing Berenice for the first time all over again," Aaron said closing his eyes, as he remembered the kiss, that had been perfect. Passionate, tender, loving all at the same time "I remember the sensation of those lips against mine, I remember the curve of her mouth, the softness, the way her luscious lips moved against mine. She asked me why she felt like I had kissed 1000 times. I had to kiss her again in order to distract her or I probably would've revealed all and she's nowhere near ready for that yet. It was incredibly hard to pull myself away. I've been so long without her that it was like trying to force myself to swim a wide river filled with crocodiles and man eating piranhas."

Dave didn't chuckle at this description, because Aaron was describing how hard it was to pull himself away from his lady love, one he had been without for many centuries. He wondered if he would have fared so well in a similar situation. Aaron really must have a will of iron.

"I sympathize," Dave said sincerely. "As to your unasked question yes, I believe her memory is starting to come back. You'll have to be very careful from here on out, as this could go one of several ways and you've only been dating about two weeks. Trust has only just started to be built."

"Perhaps the next time we get together I can really introduce her to you and we can spend the day together, the three of us," Aaron suggested. "I know you've already been formally introduced, but you two need to start to get to get to know each other."

"I wouldn't mind that at all," Dave immediately agreed. "Just make sure Emily agrees before we make any plans, because you've only been dating a couple of weeks. It would be rude to just assume she'll go along without at least asking her first."

"I will," Aaron agreed soberly. "You're right, I need to ask her opinion before we start making plans. I haven't met a women yet, that wouldn't feel insulted if we didn't at least consult them."

"So many men ignore their women, as if they're feeling inconsequential and because of that idiocy their either cheated on, because their feelings and opinions are being ignored, or the female in question dumps them if they don't happen to be married to the idiot, because of that same discourtesy," Dave added.

"Or the women in question simply take it, but if things get too bad they end up murdering the insensitive bastard. Male or female it doesn't matter, but they can only take so much before the abused murders them," Aaron added.

"And the threshold is different for every person," Dave added. "Some females in particular can take a great deal before they have finally had enough and others can take far less."

Aaron nodded. "Let's not make that mistake then, because Berenice had a ferocious temper when she got mad I have no doubt that Emily does as well, since so many of her other traits have bred true."

"Of course, back then, females had far fewer rights then they do now, so I can see why Berenice held her anger most of the time or at least her disgust. Men can be boorish pigs and we both know it," Aaron said.

"The females have their bad traits too, so it's not entirely one-sided," Dave said.

"Yes, they do," Aaron agreed easily letting Dave know that Aaron had expected that opinion on females.

The two of them really did know how the other thought most of the time now, Aaron thought ruefully.

That made the two men chuckle quietly together, before Aaron headed back to his own suite of rooms to get ready for breakfast.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~

"I think this was a good idea," Emily said, as she Dave and Aaron sat together in the back of the theater.

"We thought so," Aaron smiled at her. "Dave is my best friend and has been for a long time. I don't see the reason why I can't maintain my friendship with him, even while we are dating. He's going to be a major part of our lives."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Emily agreed kissing Dave's bearded cheek. "I have my own group of friends and I don't intend on abandoning them either."

"Good, we're glad you feel that way," Dave said pleased. "Both Aaron and I have seen relationships that both people forget about their friends, because it is so involved with each other. Of course, sometimes one of the couple tries to deliberately isolate the other, from the people they know, their friends, their family."

"I know and those people should know better," Emily agreed. "The females are just as guilty of that sometimes as the males."

"We figured that you needed to start to get to know Dave," Aaron said. "Dave reminded me that we needed to ask your opinion, as we didn't want to make you feel left out."

"Females can resent being basically ignored," Dave explained what he had been thinking. "I've seen this multiple times over the years."

"Yes, they can," Emily agreed with an arched eyebrow. "You don't resent your best friend finding a female to hang around with?"

"Not really," Dave promised. "I've known for years that Aaron would like to find someone, get married, start a family, but like me, he's far too choosy in who he wants to settle down with."

"I could introduce you to some of the females I know that are unattached," Emily suggested.

"I think that you and Aaron need to get to know each other better first," Dave said. "I won't say no, as I would like to settle down to, but it would have to be someone really special. Any other female I've dated over the years would've driven me batty in no time. They were okay for a temporary relationship that didn't last very long, but they're not women that I could live with for decades."

"I've met males like that too, ones that would drive me crazy in no time," Emily admitted. "My mother Elizabeth Prentiss tried to arrange a marriage for me and I told her no to her face. She knows a lot of people and could have easily done so. No one tells my mother no without consequences, but since I'm her only daughter she was rather upset at me, but I got away with it. I told her I refuse to marry due to an arrangement, as I would only be miserable and I know it. I would end up divorcing whoever it was eventually. Probably sooner rather then later."

"I don't know why some parents even do that anymore," Aaron said. "I could understand it centuries ago when there wasn't as many people around, but nowadays, it is just ridiculous.

"Some parents just enjoy making their children miserable," Emily suggested seriously, grimacing. "Her marriage was arranged by her parents, my grandparents and so she figured she'd do the same to me. What she didn't count on was her headstrong and stubborn daughter telling her no. Once she had the required four children, she had no more after that, which doesn't surprise me."

"Why is it required for your family have four children?" Dave asked in surprise.

"Family tradition," Emily answered simply. "We have plenty of money so having that many isn't a problem, it's just the fact, that it's so archaic. It's written into our family statutes, as the Prentiss name is very old. We're originally from England. I think it's because back centuries ago, children died from just about anything, so any wife was required to provide at least four children or more if they wanted to. Of course, sometimes they didn't due to medical complications, so the wife couldn't provide that many children and if there were legit then the reasons that were acceptable were written into the statutes as well. In order to inherit my portion of the family fortune I must get married have at least four children. If I never marry or I never have that many children, then that portion is to stay and be split between my siblings. Of course, I don't have to stay married if I don't want to once I produce those children."

"That seems rather unfair," Aaron commented. "If you can get your inheritance until you have at least four children, well, what if you can't afford to have that many without the inheritance?"

"Each member gets a large stipend," Emily shrugged. "The stipend is certainly large enough to support that many children so long as you're careful on what you spend. Of course, your husband is also supposed to help out with finances, since he'll supposedly have a job of some kind. One, that is supposedly well-paying. The stipend has been adjusted over the years as prices have risen, which is a good thing otherwise there wouldn't be enough to take care of one child."

"Sounds rather silly, especially in this century," Dave suggested.

"It is, but it's still legal according to our family lawyer," Emily said. "It's not that I mind having children. I'd love to have a few children. I just don't want it dictated to me how many I'm supposed to have."

"I don't blame you," Aaron said finding what he was learning fascinating.

"So what happened if the wife couldn't provide four children," Aaron asked.

"It depended on the reason," Emily said. "There are some medical causes, even today that can prevent a women from having more than one or two or even any. If a wife of a Prentiss just decided that she wasn't going to have that many then the main part of the fortune moved to a collateral line, as we have plenty of cousins, ones that have the required four children or more," Emily shrugged. "Of course, the same applies to the Prentiss females, as well, even if their names change upon marriage. The inheritance moved back to the main family line about 200 years ago, when that side of the family failed to have the required four children, for no medical cause that could be identified at the time and it hasn't had to go to another branch of the family since. This doesn't please a lot of the family, but that's just the way it is. It is only there so long as they have up to four children, they are of course, welcome to have more than that if they desire, though four is enough for most people."

"So is it only the oldest that gets the largest portion of the family inheritance?" Dave inquired.

"No, it's equally divided, among the four children, but it's so huge that it's not a problem. Unless one of the siblings is massively stupid, it's enough to live on the rest of their lives. The family has always been good at investing so it continues to grow. It has multiplied quite a bit, since the family first started and any that loses their portion of it is not given anymore."

"I certainly wouldn't if they gambled it away or lost it through bad investments," Aaron snorted. "Why throw good money after bad?"

"Both Aaron and I have quite a bit of wealth ourselves, but that's only because I knew how to invest from my own family, as my dad taught me basically everything I know and I taught Aaron," Dave said. "I also loaned him the initial capital, which he had paid back long since."

What Dave said was only partly true. Back when Dave had been born, money hadn't been such an issue as people lived mostly by bartering for what they needed. But his father had taught him what little about investing that was known back then, so it wasn't a total lie either. The Rossis had always had a small stash of gold coins that they didn't use unless they had to. Of course, today that small stash of gold wasn't necessary, but that didn't mean he didn't follow his father's example and have a lot of gold coins in a lockbox. Gold was valuable and the coins were very old and worth a fortune.

"That was really generous of you," Emily said looking Dave in surprise.

"Aaron will tell you that I'm a generous guy," Dave said in a joking tone.

"He is," Aaron confirmed smiling.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~

"I'm definitely becoming convinced that Emily is indeed your late wife," Dave said. "I wasn't really sure before, no matter how much you said that Emily looked and acted like Berenice. Her family is originally from England and if that's a coincidence then I'll eat my shirt, as that's where I originally found you. Of course, it is possible it's a coincidence, it's just not too likely."

"I knew you had doubts," Aaron said simply. "We simply know each other too well. I'm glad to know that now most of those doubts are banished."

"I don't mean to have doubts it just seemed rather fantastical that Berenice would just appear, hundreds of years after I rescued you. I would've thought it would've happened sooner, but then, it's quite possible that whoever controls such things wouldn't let her return until now," Dave said.

"I think she's started to remember now, as I saw looking at me strangely several times when she thought I didn't notice. It was like she recognized me from a dream and wasn't sure if I was the same person," Aaron said.

Dave nodded at this becoming even more convinced.

"It's entirely possible actually," Dave confirmed. "You've been going out for several weeks now and the amount of time you are spending together is bound to make her start remembering more and more. I suspect, it will be a slow trickle of memories at first, likely coming out in her dreams as I told you before. It might be a little longer before she remembers completely probably at least another month or so. Don't hold me to that though, because you're spending a lot of time together, so it's quite possible that all her memories will come back sooner."

"I'll watch for signs," Aaron promised. "I'm having a really hard time not telling her who I am and it's only going to get harder once her memory starts to return more."

"I would suggest that we tell her together, my friend. I am also part of your tale, as I rescued you from probably drinking yourself to death or possibly drowning yourself in the river. It's quite possible that while drunk you would've walked in front of a horse to be killed beneath it's hooves or thrown yourself into the river and drowned. People do the stupidest things when they're drunk and when they're grieving and the combination isn't good for anyone. If I hadn't helped you out you would likely have died much sooner. You might even have killed yourself by slashing your wrist or sticking that knife into your belly, which likely would've been a slow and agonizing death."

"First of all, horses tend to shy away from anything soft beneath their hooves like flesh and they are very unlikely to actually kill a human unless they are totally panicked," Aaron snorted in amusement. "As for the other ways to die they are possible, especially if I was drunk at the time, grieving for my family. You saved me from that fate and I'm even more grateful for that today than I was back then."

"No thanks necessary," Dave said waving a hand in dismissal. "You provided me with much happiness as we traveled the world together. I know there were tough times, because of idiots that assumed we were in a sexual relationship, but we came out of those situations if not whole at least alive."

"And often with whatever was in the idiot's pockets," Aaron laughed.

"It was my form of revenge for their idiocy," Dave shrugged. "They deserve what they got, for not just leaving us alone."

"Unfortunately, we often didn't get as much as I would've liked," Aaron said smiling, as he remembered those times.

"Well, at least they didn't realize they were robbed until we were well away most of the time," Dave smiled.

"That was mostly back before we had our fortunes," Aaron sighed. "We always had enough, so we could continue eating and I'm grateful for that. There were so many lean times for me and my family that I always give food the attention it deserves."

"I've noticed," Dave chuckled amused. "I can't blame you, actually. I know it's been many centuries since you went hungry, but you tend to remember times like that, even if they fade after awhile. You'll likely always remember those hungry times and be grateful that you have the money now to buy decent food."

"More than decent most of the time now," Aaron sighed looking melancholy. "I have had a few bad meals since I joined up with you, but that was more the way it was cooked then anything else. I remember being fascinated that there was so many different ways to cook something way before you turned me immortal. I was also fascinated by the selection of foods. Chicken, ham, pork, beef, fowl, even fish and so many different kinds of vegetables and fruits, as well as other things to choose from. Things I had heard about, but never had a chance to try. Back when I was trying to support my family we hardly ever ate meat, we couldn't afford it, as it was just to expensive. I did occasionally catch a fish from the river that was close by, but that was as close as we came to meat in those days. Fruit was also very expensive, unless you managed to snatch a couple of apples or some other fruit from an orchard or a vendor in the market."

"I remember you were in raptures the first time you tasted ham, the good kind," Dave said soberly. "You acted like you had been given ambrosia from the gods."

"I had never had ham before," Aaron said soberly. "Occasionally, I could get an old chicken that was only going to be killed and sold just by bartering, but they were usually very tough, not juicy and tender. Nobody was going to sell me an old pig that was going to be killed anyway, for it's meat, as I just didn't have enough things to bargain with. My wife's sewing ability only went so far. Still, it did help provide some of the things we needed when we bartered with others."

"Those were hard times my friend and not only for you and your family," Dave said and Aaron nodded looking, as sober as a priest on Sunday.

"Yes, they were. I've always been grateful to you for rescuing me, even if I missed my wife and children so much at first," Aaron agreed

"You had every right to," Dave said firmly. "You loved them, so of course, you were going to mourn them. Any idiot man who didn't understand that deserved to be horsewhipped. I know it was believed that a man shouldn't mourn someone he lost or at least shouldn't show he was mourning, but that's just idiocy. Whether they want to admit it or not, men have emotions to, they just show them differently than women do."

"I know that now," Aaron said still lost in memories of the past, his eyes distant. "Now, I have Berenice back again, even if her name is Emily now and I intend on keeping her this time. No disease, no car accident, no murderer, no runaway car is going to take her from me. I don't think I can bear to lose her a second time, as it would likely drive me around the bend. If it wasn't for you, that's exactly what would've happened the first time, something I realized only after most of my intense grief had passed."

"Then we won't allow anything happen to her," Dave swore.

"She's been living on her own for years, she's not helpless," Aaron said. "Still, so many things can happen to a regular mortal."

"You need to be patient. Also, if you start treating Emily like she can't take care of herself then she'll only resent you, maybe even hate you when I know you don't want that. You must remember to treat her like an equal, because whether she loves you or not I can see her breaking off your relationship. This isn't centuries ago where women had very few rights, this is the 21st-century," Dave advised.

"I know you're right," Aaron agreed. "My instincts want to protect her from anything that can harm her, but I also don't want to lose her by treating her as if she doesn't know how to take care of herself."

"Good, so long as you remember that then you'll be just fine. Emily is starting to get her memory back now, and it shouldn't be more than a few weeks at most before she has at least most of it back," Dave said.

"I hope you're right, I truly do," Aaron said soberly.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~