Cian age 17

"So it's nearly time for you to go to college young man," Aaron told his adoptive nephew seriously. "Your grades are excellent so you can have your pick of colleges."

"You won't even need a scholarship as Aaron and I have plenty of money to send you just like we did our other children," Shonda said. "Save the scholarship for someone who likely wouldn't be able to afford to go without it."

"So have you made any decisions on what you want to do for the rest of your life? Or at least this generation?" Aaron asked Cian.

"Well, I thought I would take business courses," Cian answered thinking it was odd when his Uncle Aaron said this generation because unlike his adoptive aunt and uncle he was mortal. "You know I thought about being a veterinarian like Uncle Spencer at one time, but now I think I'd be happy helping to run Walters Antiques. I don't think I would handle it very well if I lost an animal due to not being able to heal their injuries."

Spencer's stories about being a vet and him describing what it was like had dissuaded Cian from taking that up as a profession. Some of those stories had involved losing animals that his uncle had tried his best to save, but who had simply lost too much blood or had some other type of injury to where they just couldn't be healed enough to save their lives. It was having to put some animals to sleep because their injuries were so severe that really upset Cian. If Cian was anything it was very soft hearted for animals just like everybody else in the family.

"Well, you do have a knack for finding stuff that is valuable, though not necessarily antique," Shonda complimented him. "Not many people have such a talent or if they do they don't go into that world and become a appraiser for antiques for example."

"Or open their own antique store," Aaron added.

"I might want to do that one day, but I thought that maybe you could use an assistant for a few years, as I learn more about antiques after I finish college of course," Cian said.

"You've already been my assistant for the last few years anyway, so I have no problem with that," Shonda said smiling. "You'll certainly be paid a higher salary then minimum wage."

"At least I won't need to worry about money, as the two of you made sure of that with the trust fund you set up for me," Cian mentioned.

"We just did what we did for all of our other children," Aaron told him. "You might not be ours by blood but you're still our nephew and not just on paper."

"I know. I am so glad I wandered into Aunt Shonda's antique shop that day," Cian said smiling.

Cian had definitely filled out over the last 10 or 11 years, as he was no longer the little waif they had taken into their home. Having plenty of food had helped him grow into a tall, handsome young man. Cian while still slim at the waist had broad shoulders and it was obvious he worked out. They had also loved him and treated him the same as their own children and Cian was beyond grateful. He knew that his mother would've approved of the Hotchners and how he had came into their keeping. He still missed his mother and knew he always would, but he'd had a good life for over a decade now and he knew his mom would have been happy for him.

"So are we," Shonda said smiling at him. "Taking business courses is good if you want to go into the same profession as me. I'll give you a list of courses you also need to take. They are the same ones I took when I went to college."

"Which was a very long time ago for you, which just makes you ancient," Cian teased her.

"That is so true," Shonda laughed Aaron joining her.

It was nice to hear Cian joke with them.

"Aaron and I tend not to think about our actual ages," Shonda added after both of them were done laughing at their nephew's joke. "No candles telling our age on our birthday cakes."

"Definitely not," Aaron said. "Besides, nobody would have a candle that fit our actual ages so why bother to tell the world how old we are?"

"Now that you've decided on what career you want, though it's certainly no surprise to either one of us we have something else to discuss with you," Shonda began turning serious.

"Shonda and I want to offer to turn you immortal," Aaron explained. "You'll have to wait until you at least 30, but preferably, a few years older. We're making this offer now gives you plenty of time to think about it."

"We simply don't want to have to go to your funeral when you pass away," Shonda tried to explain their reasoning.

"It's bad enough we lose people that we've become close to when their time has come," Aaron added. "But those people weren't as close to Shonda and I as you are. Most of them never knew we were different from ordinary mortals.

"I'll seriously think about it," Cian said rather stunned by the offer.

Really though, he should've seen it coming as losing someone you loved was never easy and he knew this from experience since he lost his mother when he was really young.

"Can you actually turn someone immortal, except though sex?" Cian asked blushing. Talking about sex with his guardians was embarrassing. It didn't help he was still a virgin despite the fact he was nearly 18.

"I guess we never mentioned that Dave had to turn Spencer immortal," Shonda said looking at it Aaron who was shaking his head smiling softly in remembrance.

"It just never came up," Aaron said.

"When Spencer joined the Rossi family he was just as mortal as you are," Shonda explained gently. "Dave wasn't about to have sex with his future son-in-law, as not only would that be betraying his mate and his daughter he isn't into his own sex."

"So there had to be another way to do it," Aaron continued.

"The only other way to transfer DNA, is through the blood," Shonda continued the explanation. "So Dave got some needles, the type they use at the hospital or in doctors offices and put some of Shawnda's blood in Spencer's vein."

"So that worked?" Cian asked in amazement.

"Took a bit of a experimenting to see how much blood it would take to turn a mortal man into an immortal and in Spencer's case it took two syringes full," Aaron said.

"We had never had an opportunity to turn anybody in that way, but since my goddaughter is female she couldn't turn her mate immortal herself," Shonda said.

"Now that we know how it can be done, it's become something of a routine for both of us and the Rossis," Aaron said. "We can't just turn anyone though, as that would be irresponsible, it's mostly used when our daughters find their own mates. Something that's happened a few times over the last few decades."

The two didn't bother to tell their nephew how worried they had been that it wouldn't work, as that would've meant Spencer would have eventually died in a few decades and that would've left Shawnda without her mate.

"But if you only use it with your daughters when they find they're mates..." Cian began.

"You're a special case," Shonda interrupted.

"When we took you in we knew that we would eventually offer to turn you immortal. Shonda and I discussed it quite a few times over the last 10 years. You were usually in bed when we did, as we didn't want you overhearing us," Aaron explained calmly. "You have a choice in the matter though, as that decision is entirely up to you. We won't force you into it as it can be a somewhat hard life."

"You already know that boredom is our enemy and while it's always nice to have someone we can be ourselves around without having to guard what we say it's still your decision," Shonda added calmly not letting a hint of her real feeling show on her face or be heard in her voice.

"We've raised you since the time you were six and we love you, so the decision to turn you immortal so long as you agree to it was an easy one for us to make. Dave and Jazz will agree with us, as they knew that we would offer to turn you."

"Jazz knows me a little too well. She guessed what Aaron and I were going to do or at least what we were going to suggest when you were older," Shonda said smiling. "You might not technically be related to us but you're still our nephew in our hearts. Really, you're another son to us."

"I'll definitely think about it," Cian said. "That's years away though, as I'm only 17."

"So that just gives you plenty of time to think of all the pros and cons," Aaron told him with a slight smile.

Aaron didn't say that he and Shonda were hoping that their nephew would decide to be turned immortal, as they didn't want to put pressure on him. It wasn't right to do so, so he said nothing. Aaron did not show how worried he was that Cian decision would be to stay mortal when he reached the appropriate age.

"We'll miss you while you're away at college, but you're also welcome to visit anytime you like," Shonda told him giving him a long hug.

"We definitely expect you to visit during Christmas and Thanksgiving for at least a few days," Aaron said.

"A lot of college students don't have the money to travel back and forth, but that's definitely not true in your case," Shonda told him.

"I'll visit at least doing Thanksgiving," Cian promised. "We'll see how it goes. I definitely don't want to miss all the food that is available on Thanksgiving. Jazz, especially is a really good cook of desserts.

"I don't think either Aaron or I can disagree with that," Shonda said.

"Definitely not," Aaron said smiling.

~~~Aaron and Shonda~~~

Epilogue

20 year later

"Can I help you?" Cian asked, as a customer entered Walters Antiques. Cian was the only one in the store as Shonda was running errands. Cian was is now 37 and had been turned immortal nearly 2 years ago on his 35th birthday. He looked slightly older then his aunt and uncle now.

"Ah, Mr. Whitcroft," Cian said cordially. "Welcome back to Walters Antiques sir."

Daniel Whitcroft was much older now at least in his 60s but still hale and hearty. In this century, people were living a lot longer so 70 or even 80 weren't really old anymore.

"Cian, it's good to see you lad. I thought I told you to call me Daniel," Daniel responded

"You did," Cian answered honestly. "But as you are a valued customer I don't feel comfortable addressing you by your first name. So here too buy or just to look?"

"I'm always ready to buy," Daniel answered with a smile, as he started looking at what was available. "How is your aunt and uncle?"

"They are just fine sir. My Aunt Shonda is just out running a few errands. She should be in later."

"I'm sorry to have missed her. Your aunt is an interesting woman and certainly knows her antiques, which is rare," Daniel said, even as he wandered around the store just looking.

Daniel Whitcroft had been coming back to Walters Antiques ever since he had come here that first time and that was 20 years ago now. He had become a very valued customer over the last two decades and also a casual acquaintance of his aunt. He was the one that his aunt contacted when she needed help with something involving antiques. They could discuss antiques for hours. Daniel had a wide range of knowledge when it came to antiques of all types, which is why Shonda used him as a resource. He had also spent a bundle in the shop over the years, as had all his friends and associates, which was good for business.

"Yes, she does. She's taught me a lot about antiques," Cian replied.

"So are you gonna take over the store when your aunt retires?" Daniel asked.

"That's the plan," Cian agreed. "That's gonna be awhile though, as Aunt Shonda has more energy than anybody half her age."

Cian didn't Daniel exactly why his aunt had so much energy, even though she should be at least in her late 60s by now.

"So you're her heir," Daniel said,

"I suppose you could look at it that way," Cian shrugged. "None of her other children were interested, which is too bad. They just don't seem to have Aunt Shonda's talent for finding things that people consider valuable and they don't seem interested in learning about the antique world either."

"Antiquing is a hard field to make money in," Daniel said. "You need to have an instinct for it for one thing. Your aunt has that instinct that is so rare. It's not surprising that none of her other children have it."

"Shonda's father was apparently pretty good at it before he passed," Cian said. "He was dead long before I was born but Aunt Shonda's told me about him."

Cian didn't bother to tell the man that Mike Walters had been dead for centuries before he was born.

"That's not surprising really as a lot of times that kind of thing runs in family lines and just because none of her children got the talent doesn't mean her grandchildren won't or even her great-grandchildren," Daniel replied.

"True," Cian agreed. "She already has grandchildren but no great-grandchildren yet."

"Of course not, as I'm sure her grandchildren are still young," Daniel said.

"The oldest is only seven," Cian said.

Cian didn't mention his aunt other children that had been born in decades past and this was just a current crop of Hotchners who were immortals.

"That's too young to know if you have a talent or an instinct for antiquing," Daniel said.

"Probably true, but just wait until they are a little older and I'm sure that my aunt will be testing them to see if anybody inherited her knack in antiquing," Cian said.

"I'll take this," Daniel said placing a small object on the counter. It was an old fashioned clock that was meant to sit on the mantlepiece or a table. When it struck the hour the little drummer boy came out and banged his drums in time to each chime. The clock had been made sometime in the 18 century and was quite valuable, Cian knew. There weren't clocks like this around anymore not in such good condition that still worked anyway. It had been made in Switzerland a country well known for its clockwork. Swiss clocks were also known to last for a long time so long as they were properly taken care of and also for their accuracy in telling time.

"Please come back anytime. My aunt will be very happy to see you," Cian said, as he rang it up and then watched as Daniel Whitcroft disappeared out the front door with his purchase. His Aunt Shonda would be sorry she had missed him, but it just happened that way sometimes.

Cian looked around at all the varied antiques and thought that his life had changed so much from when he was only a six year old boy and his mother had died. He was so glad that he had wandered into Shonda Hotchners shop that day, though he still wasn't sure what had drawn him into her antique shop. Maybe he'd figure it out someday, but for now it didn't really matter. He was very happy with his life and he was even dating something he couldn't see happening in his old life. Cian smiled looking around one last time before he started to take stock of what was in the storage room, just so he would know what was available if necessary.

Life at the moment was very good. He knew that could be trouble on the horizon, but right now he wasn't going to worry about it. He knew that both the Rossis and his adoptive family always faced any problems together and they would always be there to help him.

Cian felt more then content, as he actually had a family that cared about him, something he never imagined he would ever have as a small child.