Alex Blake came down the steps onto the beach, looking forward to her run. She enjoyed running along the shore, early in the morning, when she could manage it. She had just moved here and was to start teaching at the local the university, but the school year didn't start for a few weeks. She had come early to find a place to live, and to get settled before classes begin. She had always loved the sea and had wanted to move closer to it for sometime, so when this opportunity arose she hadn't been able to turn away from it. She felt as if she was about to step into her destiny, though she wasn't sure why she felt that way.
She had also always loved the legends about the sea about sunken treasures, mermaids, selkies and tridents, dolphins and other sea life. It was one of the reasons she had become a marine biologist. She came from a small town that was situated very near the ocean. In that town magicals had formed a community. There was also a community of selkies and many a witch or warlock had married one of the sea folks. It was understood that any children, would be allowed to go to the sea with their fathers or their mothers as soon as they could swim to learn the way of the selkie. The difference here was the father or mother and children always came back, even if they were gone for several weeks at a time. A selkie bride and groom occasionally brought gold from the sea that was then converted into paper money.
Of course, those with magic, and selkies were not supposed to exist anymore either, but they did. While magicals still existed, most of them had been killed of hundreds of years ago and if they still existed in any great numbers they were in hiding. Their community was small really, compared to the big city as the cove where the town was situated was only so big after all. It was several miles of land, enough for a few thousand people but no more. As far as Alex know they were the only community like it in the world. A community of supernatural beings. She know that other magicals married those without it and took their chances in the city. The cove where they lived had been owned by her family for several hundred years at least. It was near several major cities, so that they could buy supplies, things that they didn't produce themselves.
Her father and mother had been rather wary about her leaving their safe little haven, but she felt her destiny was not in the town she had grown up in.
Alex stopped running as she saw someone along the beach, two someones actually, two men Alex saw once she was closer and both were very handsome.
"Good morning," Alex greeted them.
"Good morning," Dave and Aaron said basically at the same time.
"We've never seen you around here before," Dave said.
"That's probably because I'm new," Alex smiled at them. "I'm here as a temporary teacher for marine biology, a position that might well become permanent if I find it to my liking."
"So what college are you teaching at?" Aaron asked interested.
Alex told them and they nodded.
"We both teach there too," Dave told Alex.
"Oh? What do you two teach?" Alex asked.
"History for me," Aaron said. "Marine history. I teach the students how to take care of the sea, as this is a sea town after all. I teach them what to do if they find toxic waste in or near the water, among other little facts about the history of the sea. I also tell them about pirates that used to roam these shores, decades ago."
"That sounds really interesting," Alex said.
"And what do you teach?" Alex asked turning to Dave.
"Marine botany," Dave asked thinking this woman was very gorgeous with her long dark hair and dark eyes. She was tall and slender and about average height for a female.
Alex tried not to blush at Dave's heated regard.
Aaron saw the way the wind was blowing and decided that he would leave this beautiful lady to his friend. While he thought she was a very beautiful women she wasn't really his type. He had always preferred blondes, while his friend didn't really care.
"So we never did introduce ourselves," Dave said.
"Oh, sorry," Alex said blushing in embarrassment this time. "I was taught better manners. I'm Dr. Alex Blake.
"And I'm David Rossi my lady," Dave said leaning over her hand like a gentleman and kissing the back of it. "This is my friend Aaron Hotchner."
"Don't you have a wife waiting for you at home?" Alex asked.
"No, I've never been married," Dave said. "I won't say I haven't had my share of beautiful woman, but I've never met anyone that I wanted to settle down with. So if you don't have a boyfriend or a husband waiting for you to come home, can I interest you in a date, my lady?"
"I don't know, I haven't even found an apartment yet," Alex mildly protested.
"I'm sure Aaron and I can help you with that," Dave suggested. "We've been here for years so we know the town."
"That would be very nice of you," Alex said blushing again at Dave's heated regard.
"I would be happy to help you as well, since Dave already offered my services," Aaron said punching his friend in the arm lightly.
"Oh, you don't have to," Alex said.
"We want to help," Dave told her firmly. "We can find you an apartment, probably at a more reasonable price then you could find in the next few weeks."
"Well, okay then," Alex finally agreed unable to resist Dave's charm. "I will certainly be glad of the help. I still have a few weeks before classes start, but I would like to find a place and have it mostly furnished before then if possible."
"I can understand that. You want to get it out of the way, so you don't have to worry about it when classes start," Aaron agreed. "So why don't you come to our place for breakfast, Dave's a great cook and then we can start looking up apartments for rent in the rent ads.
"That sounds great actually," Alex said, as for some reason she trusted these two men. She was sure that neither one would hurt her and she was a lady that always trusted her instincts. "So how far is your place?"
"Just about a mile down the beach that way," Dave said pointing. "Aaron and I live together and we bought a house, using both our moneys, so it's half mine and half his."
"We bought a house that was only half a mile or so from the beach, as we both love the ocean and all it contains."
"Well, not the toxic waste or the trash, but the actual natural elements. The fish, the seaweed, the kelp, even the sharks and the dolphins," Aaron said.
"I've always loved the ocean to and grew up near it," Alex revealed. "It's one of the reasons I became a marine biologist. The life under the ocean is so fascinating."
"Now, that's an opinion we definitely agree with," Aaron said, smiling.
Dave led the way towards his and Aaron's home.
"So why did you decide to live together instead of getting two separate places," Alex asked knowing she was being nosy, but she was curious.
"We've been best friends all our lives," Dave explained. "Grew up in the same place. We both have always been fascinated with the ocean and all it's facets."
"So we just decided that if possible we were going to get a teaching position at the same college and then live together," Aaron added.
All Aaron and Dave were telling Alex was basically the truth, just appropriately edited, as they had just met after all.
"We got lucky and they happened to have two positions open or really one was open, but the other was going to open within a year or so, as the professor was retiring. They were already looking for someone to fulfill the spot, as the people of charge at the college were aware that those who took up marine botany, as a profession were not exactly that thick on the ground or at least not ones that were interested in leaving their teaching positions or coming out of retirement."
"Also, we don't get paid as much like in some big cities, so pay for those botany experts would've likely been a factor," Aaron added.
"College professors don't get paid what they deserve anyway, not even in the big cities." Alex agreed. "Not for all the hard work they do, even in the summer. If you want to be a teacher the pay sucks, even at college level."
Conversation lagged as they reached the house that belonged to the 2 men.
"Nice place," Alex said looking at the large beachhouse. It was really a double beachhouse, which meant double the space.
"Thank you," Aaron said smiling. "Both Dave and I like our space. I admit it's a bit big for just two bachelor guys..."
"But between us we could afford it and we really liked it when the realtor showed it to us, so we bought it," Dave finished.
This was not quite true, as one of them could've pulled up enough treasure from the sea for only one of them to buy it, but they had split the cost equally. There had been no point of buying two beachhouses when they had been best friends since childhood.
Alex explored the entryway once Dave had unlocked the door. It was simply decorated with photographs of ocean views. The walls were painted white, the floor was a light oak, covered in several rugs in bright colors, blue and green that remind Alex of the ocean. Dave led the way to the kitchen.
"If you need to use the bathroom it's back that way," Dave said pointing. "It's only a half bath, but there's also a full one upstairs."
"I'm okay for now," Alex said, noticing that Aaron had disappeared somewhere. "Where is Aaron?"
"Aaron's probably back in his bedroom," Dave shrugged. "Or maybe in the bathroom."
Dave didn't say so, but he knew Aaron was likely putting their sealskins in their safe spot.
"I don't need him right now, as he can't cook to save his life, so I'm the cook of our partnership. He can do something simple like a salad, but that's about it really."
Alex found herself smiling at Dave's words.
"Well, least one you can cook," Alex said and Dave nodded.
"That's true, though we do eat out occasionally, just not very often," Dave said, going back to fixing some food for all three of them.
Alex watched as Dave prepared breakfast fit for five people. It was certainly more than she could eat in a week, but than both Dave and Aaron were big guys with broad shoulders and well-defined abs, so they likely ate double the amount that she could. Of course, it was possible that some of it would be put up later, for when they were in a hurry and did not have time to fix a proper breakfast.
"Smells good," Aaron said coming into the kitchen.
"You say that every morning," Dave told his friend with a smile.
"Well, you should appreciate the sincere compliment," Aaron said. "You are a good cook, while I am not."
"Now, that's the truth," Dave said making a face, as he remembered trying to teach Aaron how to prepare a meal. It had been a disastrous failure and while Aaron could warm something in the microwave or do something that was already prepared like Pop-Tarts a chef he was not.
Alex watched the byplay thinking that the two were teasing each other, which just showed that the two truly were the best of friends and close.
"Breakfast is served," Dave said only a few minutes later.
It was only 8 o'clock in the morning.
Alex dug into the plate that lay before her, filled with scrambled eggs, several pieces of bacon and perfectly cooked toast.
"Aaron's right, this is great," Alex said after she had swallowed a first bite. The scrambled eggs were perfect, nice and fluffy not at all hard or rubbery, the bacon was cooked to perfection and the toast was unburnt with just the right amount of butter.
"Thank you," Dave said pleased at the compliment.
"This reminds me of home," Alex admitted continuing to eat her breakfast. "My mother is a great cook and when I was living at home, she would cook breakfast most mornings. She usually did scrambled eggs, just because it was easier to feed a lot of people, then doing them poached or any other way. She even added cheese a lot of mornings. She usually did sausage though, instead of bacon, though sometimes she did bacon to of course."
"I think that is the greatest compliment I have ever received on my cooking. Telling me that my cooking reminds you of your mother is indeed very nice compliment," said Dave beaming.
"You're quite welcome," Alex said smiling. "I was only speaking the truth. Some people can't cook eggs very well and they turn out all hard and rubbery or tasteless and these are the exact opposite."
"So are your parents still alive or have they passed on?" Aaron asked. "You don't have to answer if it's too personal, because after all we just met a couple of hours ago."
"It's not too personal and I'll tell you if it is," Alex promised smiling. "Yes, both my parents are still alive and living in the same home I grew up in. I am the oldest of eight children and only my two youngest siblings are still at home, but Charlie should be starting college in the fall and Lisa will be starting the year after that."
"Wow! Eight children, that's a lot," Dave whistled appreciatively.
"To be fair two of those are a brother and sister, who were orphans, that we took in," Alex said. "They were quite young when both their parents were killed in a car crash."
Alex didn't tell either man the real reason that they had taken in Penelope and Dadrian and that was because one of their parents had been a magical and both had gotten their parents magical power. Her family tried to rescue orphans with magic of their own as they couldn't afford to allow just anyone to know that magicals had not been killed off completely during the short war hundreds of years ago. The humans would likely try to kill the rest of them off and probably any babies that popped up in families who had a witch or wizard generations ago, as that happened sometimes.
They had barely survived that short war until they had taken drastic action and hidden those who remained. Some magicals still went out in the real world as her home would only hold so many and truthfully, some witches and warlocks weren't satisfied living within their little community. There was nothing wrong with this so long as they were careful not to reveal they had magic to the wrong people.
She had always been happy in her home and if she hadn't felt like her destiny laid elsewhere, then she would've stayed for the rest of her life hardly ever leaving it, except for short trips into the nearest major city for things that they couldn't supply themselves.
"That was really nice of your parents to take in two orphans when they had six of their own," Aaron said impressed.
"There was only three of us at the time that my parents took in Penelope and Dade. Me and my two brothers, Noah and Colton, though he goes by Colt. Mom didn't get pregnant until about a year later, as it gave Penelope and Dade a chance to settle in and become a part of the family. Mom had a girl that time, they named Nadine.
"Pretty name," Dave said.
"I always felt so," Alex agreed. "Mom reads the Nora Roberts, Eve Dallas series and there is a reporter by the name of Nadine Furst in it. It's one of my mother's favorite series so she named her daughter Nadine after one of the main characters. From all reports Nadine Furst often gets involved in Dallas's cases. She's a lieutenant on the police force in the future."
"Sounds like a good series," Aaron said.
"Yes and there's like 20 books now," Alex said. "According to mom there's a lot of interesting characters both male and female in it. They're under the pen name of J.D. Robb, as I think it was a new genre for her at the time she wrote the first one. I've never read them, I just haven't had time.
"Retired people have more time to do that kind of thing," Dave suggested.
"Or housewives when all their children are basically grown," Alex agreed. "Even my youngest brother and sister are basically grownups and can take care of themselves for the most part."
Alex finished her breakfast feeling sorry that it was all gone, even though she was full. It had been really good, but she couldn't expect Dave to cook for her on a regular basis, so she wasn't going to ask. Now, if he offered, it was a totally different situation.
"Thank you for breakfast I should be going," Alex said rising to leave.
"We'll help you search for an apartment after I clean up from breakfast," Dave told Alex firmly. "We are all teaching at the same college, so we might as well become friends, before we get back into classes in a few weeks."
"Alright," Alex said laughing. "It's not like I mind hanging around two handsome men. I don't even have a boyfriend back home, as I told you on the beach."
"That's good to know," Dave grinned hiding his relief.
"Well, you did say that you wanted to take me out on a date. This is certainly a good start," Alex said handing Dave her clean plate. "Keep feeding me like this and I might just have to stick around forever. While I can cook, as mom made sure of that, I mostly don't bother unless it's something simple, that doesn't take too long."
"I wouldn't mind that at all really," Dave grinned. "I really would like to try the dating thing, see where it is compatible as I believe."
"And here I thought you were a confirmed bachelor," Alex teased him lightheartedly.
"Not at all. I just have never found a woman I'd care to settle down with that's all," Dave shrugged.
"Yeah, finding the right one is not exactly easy," Alex sighed. "I can relate to that very well."
"A bad relationship?" Aaron asked.
"Not bad exactly, just unexciting. I suppose I could've married him, but my life would've been routine. He would've driven me crazy in no time. He basically expected me to become a housewife like my mother, look after the children when they came, clean house, cook and I told him no way."
"He sounds rather unenlightened," Dave observed.
"Yes, he was and I told him there was no way I was going to become a housewife. That might've been okay for my mother, as she's happy enough, but not for me. Dad always encouraged me to follow my dreams, he wouldn't have sent me off to college if all he expected was for me to marry some man and basically become housebound. He wanted me to make something of my life, something that would make me happy."
"He sounds like a good father, who's looking after his daughter's happiness," Aaron said.
"Oh, he was," Alex said. "My mother too of course, but she didn't want me to leave home. She wanted me to get a job within our little community. She didn't want me to travel."
"A lot of parents want that for their children. Want them close by, don't want them to grow up completely," Dave added.
"Want to be there for when their children give them grandchildren," Aaron said, grinning.
"I know, but mom knew that I wasn't going to be just a housewife," Alex said, correcting herself quickly, as she had nearly said house witch. She didn't usually stumble over her words like that, but for some reason she trusted Dave and Aaron, but until she figured out why she was just going to have to be more careful.
Part of it might be her rather obvious attraction to one David Rossi. She had been there strongly attracted to a man in... never actually. Not even to Samuel Cohen her one serious boyfriend.
"She really didn't argue too much about me taking this job. I think dad spoke with her," Alex added.
"Your father probably did," Dave said. "If your father really wanted you to follow your dreams and not just stay in the town you were born in."
They all continued to chat, as Dave cleaned up from breakfast and once that was accomplished and even the counter was sparkling, Aaron went to get the paper that was laying in the den.
He found the rent ads quickly and passed that section to Alex. Alex read fairly quickly and raised her eyebrow at some of the prices.
"Some of these prices are ridiculous," Alex said finally. "Surely they can't charge this much just because a lot of these apartments are close to the ocean and claim to have an ocean view."
"Well, let's check them out at least," Dave suggested. "We'll have to see if they have what they claim they are. You know some people advertise things that the apartments don't actually possess."
"I know and it's so dishonest," Alex said. "I realize however, people just want to charge you as much as they can get away with and so many people will fall for those kinds of scams."
"We better get going if we want to see at least a few apartments today," Aaron said. "It's supposed to rain later, so it's better to do apartment hunting before that starts. With us being so close to the ocean we often get bad tropical storms."
"I'm ready to go when you are, once I use the bathroom," Alex said.
"You go and we'll wait for you in the entryway," Dave suggested.
"I won't be, but a minute," Alex promised and hurried to where Dave had indicated the bathroom was earlier.
"You like her, don't you?" Aaron asked his friend quietly.
"I do, a lot," Dave admitted in a low tone, not wanting Alex to overhear him. "There's just something about her... For one, I can tell that she really cares about, the ocean and keeping it clean, that kind of thing."
"So it's not just the fact that she's a gorgeous woman," Aaron teased him.
"I won't deny she is gorgeous, but that's not really what attracted me, well, partly I suppose. It's just so far I like what I have learned of her and I'd like to see if dating her will lead to an eventual marriage. It might not work out, but we both know that we're being urged to find mates, so I'm hoping this will lead somewhere."
"I'll stay out of your way," Aaron promised. "I'll just be a friend to her. I've never seen you so strongly attracted to any female, not even the most gorgeous woman of our kind. If it eventually leads you to mating with her I'll be very happy for you."
"What about you though?" Dave asked.
"I'll try to find someone for myself," Aaron said. "Or perhaps, as we discussed earlier, we can share, but we'll see how it goes. Alex might not be open to sharing, especially not if it involves having children from both of us."
"We'll discuss this later, Alex will be back any second now," Dave decided and Aaron nodded in agreement, just as the heard the bathroom door open and Alex come out.
"Ready to go?" Dave asked with his most charming smile, that had turned more than one woman into puddle of goo.
"Yes, I'm ready to go," Alex agreed. "Whose car are we taking? Mine is in the parking lot just a little way from here."
"We'll take mine and Aaron's," Dave suggested.
"You only have one car?" Alex asked surprise.
"We really only need one," Aaron shrugged. "We always drive into work together."
"What about shopping for supplies or if one of you has a date?" Alex asked.
"Then one of us goes get supplies or we both go," Dave shrugged. "It doesn't take that long to get a few basic supplies when you go about every week and the grocery store we use is only a few miles from here. We're usually back in less an hour."
"As for going out on a date, if both of us happen to be dating someone at the same time, there's always cabs or the ladies car. To tell you the truth, it's pretty unusual, if we're both dating on the same day, even if we both have a girlfriend at basically, the same time," Aaron explained.
"It works for us, so why change it?" Dave added.
"You have a very unusual life," Alex decided. "I can't imagine not having my own car if I want to go somewhere unexpected that has not been planned ahead of time and my spouse is gone somewhere."
"To each his own," Aaron shrugged nonchalantly.
~~~Criminal Minds~~~