There was laughter and conversation as they all ate on numerous blankets out on the sand. This was nearly a daily ritual with them, so there was no jostling for position, as all the children, except the youngest knew the rules. The youngest children went first and once Penny and Alex handed them their plates the next oldest went next and finally it was time for the oldest children to get their portion. Once all the children were fed the adults got their's, not before. The selkies that lived in the ocean were happy to help by bringing fish to the family, at least a few days a week always in the morning. All the selkie loved the children and loved spending time with them, so bringing them fish was the colony's way of helping the four adults support their family.
It sure did save Dave and Aaron from having to get fish out of the sea so they were grateful for the support.
"So how's the company coming Penny," Alex asked her sister.
"It's fine," Penelope promised. "It's already in the black, for this year and we've made quite a tidy profit. I did take business courses in college, so I know what I'm doing."
"It's a good thing, because there's no way we could support so many children just on our teaching salaries," Aaron said smiling.
"So it helps to have to clever witches as our wives," Dave said grinning. "Between Penny's company that's growing more and more every year and Alex's writing we have plenty take care of whatever children we have."
"It's a good thing you know that," Alex joked.
"I would hate to think what we're unappreciated," Penelope added with laughter in her eyes.
"There are ways we could get back at men that don't appreciate our talents," Alex added in a joking tone.
"Something that we'll never suffer for ourselves," Dave said shuddering dramatically.
"No we know you can be revengeful after what you did to those three pains in the rear," Aaron added.
"We didn't hurt them," Penelope protested.
"We could've done much more, except we would've had to take that black mark on our souls," Alex added, "and feel guilty for the harm we did when it was unnecessary."
"It was purely white witchcraft we used and in white witchcraft the main precept is to do no harm, physical harm anyway, unless it's in self-defense of your life or someone else's. If you do, then your magic will betray you," Penelope added haughtily.
"Usually at the worst possible moment, because the goddess Hecate will decide that you don't deserve to have it, as you misused what you had been given to do some good in the world," Alex said.
"We know," Aaron and Dave said together, as this was something they'd heard on and off over the years, but again, they were the ones that often teased their wives about what they had done, so they were used to how they reacted.
"I suspect they would've kept coming after you, even after you were married, so this was the best solution to get them to leave all of us alone," Alex added. "It could very well have accelerated into physical alteration instead of just being annoying eventually. The way we did it was easier and drew far less attention to us."
The four adults watched their children carefully, but enjoyed their dinner.
"Can we go for a swim dad?" One dark-haired boy he asked Aaron.
"So long as you stay near the shore," Aaron told the boy. "Be back by dark."
"Ah dad, Uncle Aaron!" protested a whole bunch of children between 13 and 8. The ones under 8 were not allowed to go into the water without adult supervision, as all the adults felt that they were not responsible enough. There was no danger within 5 miles of the shore not with the selkie colony constantly on watch, but still, it was better to be safe.
Aaron and Dave simply glared at them and the children fell silent.
"This is a privilege and it can easily be taken away. Your sealskins can be locked away, so you are unable to transform until your father says otherwise," Alex told the group of children. "You all have school tomorrow so you need to go to bed at a decent hour."
"No protesting or you'll be grounded for the next three days," Penelope added. "No swimming after dinner or at all for that time."
That stopped all the children cold as the place they loved to be the most was the ocean around their home. They knew that the adults would carry out their threat and make sure they got no time in the sea in their seal forms. That could be very painful for them though it would do them no permanent harm.
"Go on now," Alex ordered. "Don't waste your time arguing with us and don't force your dad and uncle to come and get you. Prove you can be responsible."
"Yes, mom, yes, Aunt Alex," answered the group of children.
The children shucked their clothes and left them strewn over the beach. They each had their sealskin in a backpack, that they carried whenever they were going to the beach. Whenever they were all away from the beach however, their sealskins were kept safe at home. They were not allowed to carry their sealskins concealed or not, into town or to school. It was simply too dangerous.
Alex and Penelope had put a spell on all their families sealskins, so that they could not be stolen, because anybody who had a selkies sealskin controlled the person that owned it.
Having magic could be very useful at times and it helped keep their family safe, so they were grateful.
"I can hardly wait for the twins to be born," Aaron said.
"Neither can I, but for totally different reasons," Penelope said that she patted her belly lovingly. "I'm taking a sabbatical after this, for at least the next three or four years."
"You and Alex discussed this," Dave realized. "She told me to same thing when we were talking out on the beach."
"Of course we did," Penelope said while Alex grinned smugly. "We are willing to have some more after we take a sabbatical. The witchdoctor recommended it after these two are born.
"Yes, he did," Alex agreed.
"Well, it's not like either one of us can complain," Aaron said. "We have plenty of children to take care of until you are ready to have some more."
"Yes, we do," Dave agreed. "It's probably a good idea to give their bodies a rest."
"I'm carrying triplets by the way," Alex added
"You are?" Penelope asked excitedly.
"I just found out a few weeks ago, at my doctor's appointment," Alex said.
"And you're just now telling us," Penelope accused her.
"She thought I would blame her, for getting pregnant with triplets," Dave explained. "She remembered how worried I was the first time she had twins and then hormones did the rest."
"I was being silly," Alex admitted. "I know better."
"I don't think Dave's going to hold a grudge considering we thought you were having twins and you're actually having triplets," Aaron said.
"I know that now, as I said I was being silly," Alex said. "Two of those babies I'm carrying can very well be identical twins for all I know. I suppose we'll see in a few weeks."
"I think you're allowed to be silly, particularly when you're seven months pregnant," Aaron suggested with a smile.
"Even if you're usually anything but silly," Penelope added in a teasing tone.
"I think she can be forgiven, when she's pregnant," Dave told Penelope who nodded.
"Yes, I suppose she can," Penelope agreed
"We certainly forgive your moments of silliness," Alex told sticking out her tongue at her sister.
"I am never silly," Penelope said loftily with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Oh yes, you are," Aaron snorted in amusement.
"Traitor," Penelope muttered playfully, smiling a little.
The four of them talked and laughed for the next couple of hours as they watched their kids have fun in the water. Some of the older selkies even turned up to play with them before they ushered the kids back to shore. The selkies knew the rules of the Rossi/Hotchner families, as they looked after the younger kids quite often while the four adults worked and so knew that the kids needed to be back home by dark.
The sun was just setting painting the sky glorious colors, pink and red and orange when the kids came ashore shedding their sealskins.
"Thank you," Dave called to the selkie who barked an acknowledgement and then dived under the water.
"Time for bed, kids," Alex ordered. "See the little ones are being sensible and are already asleep."
The younger children were curled up on a blanket fast asleep looking like little angels.
The children nodded tired now so headed for the house with their sealskins tucked into their backpacks.
Aaron stayed behind for just a minute and watched the sunset thinking how lucky he and Dave were to have women that loved them and appreciated them for everything they were. To have the children they'd always wanted but believed they'd never have. That urge to mate had disappeared as soon as he and Penelope had made love that first time. He had known then that she was the one. Not that he'd had any doubt.
Aaron gazed at the sky as the sun finally sank beneath the horizon, thinking how lucky he was to have met Penelope Garcia Blake and he would thank the day they had met for the rest of his life. He knew that Alex was responsible for introducing him to his future wife and he would be thankful to her for that alone, but she had done so many other things for him and Dave without them having to ask that he loved her, but as a sister. He loved her kind heart, her caring nature, her acceptance that they were mystical creatures, though he knew the fact that she having grown up around selkies helped in that particular case.
Finally, Aaron turned towards the house and headed inside, as he knew that bedtime for the kids was always something of a chore, because no matter how tired the kids were they never wanted to go to bed.
He found all the kids tucked into their beds, three to a room. He kissed their foreheads and none of them stirred or knew he was there, but finally, he left the last of the children's rooms and ran into his wife downstairs, as he was checking to make sure all the windows and doors were locked and secured, something he did every night.
"I wondered where you were," Penelope told him. "You don't usually miss putting the kids to bed."
"Sorry, I was just watching the sunset and thinking how lucky I was," Aaron admitted. "It just hits me sometimes that I've been so lucky to have met you and have all our kids. I never believed it would happen to me, but it did and I'll always be grateful."
"I understand," Penelope said and it was clear from her expression that she did indeed understand. "I was very lucky to, as I figured I'd never find somebody to marry, but then, Alex introduced me to you and to Dave. It was the luckiest day of my life to in a lot of ways."
"Well, I guess we'll both lucky then," Aaron drawled, taking his wife into his arms and kissing her passionately.
"Yes, we were and don't you forget it," Penelope teased him.
"How can I when I have my beautiful wife to remind me?" Aaron teased right back.
The two of them stood there for just a minute touching foreheads, before they parted heading for their bedroom.
"Now that all the children are down for the night I have plans," Aaron told his wife.
"I suspect you do," Penelope said smiling. "Don't you always?"
"Of course I do," Aaron said with a teasing grin that Penelope just loved.
The two of them climbed the stairs together and entered their bedroom, closing the door gently behind them.
They were both very happy with their life and they knew that Alex and Dave were the same and things simply couldn't get much better. It had been 14 years of happiness, with a few arguments and fights thrown in, but they were so happy together that was all that mattered to them.
Life wasn't simply good, it was spectacular and the two couples would do nearly anything to keep it where they were all so happy together and nobody was going to wreck that happiness as it had been hard won.