"This has been a rather fascinating evening," Alex told Perry, as he drove back towards New York.
"I'm sure it has," Perry agreed keeping his eyes on the road. It was late enough that there weren't many people out on this section of road, but that would change when he reached the highway. "I know I piled a lot on your shoulders tonight and I'm really sorry about that," Perry continued.
"It's OK, though I won't claim I'm not still in shock at what I learned," Alex said. "You know though that no lasting relationship is built on lies or even just half truths, so you had to eventually tell me your greatest secret if you wanted it all relationship to continue."
"True enough, but that's not the only reason I told you," Perry told her. "I wanted to propose and I'm sorry if that ruins the surprise, but I want to be honest about my intentions towards you. I didn't want my secret to still be like an elephant in the middle of the room."
"I understand," Alex said.
"Also, just so you are aware, that when we actually get around to having sex that will start to turn you immortal and form the bond that all immortals have with their mates," Perry explained.
"What happens if I turn you down and just go back to my life?" Alex asked.
"If that happens then I will make arrangements to leave the city immediately, as I wouldn't want to run into you," Perry said horrified at the very possibility. "I would also never marry, never have any children of my own, because once you meet your mate no other relationship will ever compare to it, as my parents told you. There will also be a metaphorical hole in that immortal's life. They will become like a ghost of their former selves only half living, as they will fill the absence of their mate keenly. Eventually, even if that was centuries later, they won't be able to take their mates absence and they'll kill themselves or actually they'd have somebody do it for them, because it's nearly impossible for an immortal to do it themselves."
Alex winced at the grim picture Perry was painting. Apparently, finding your mate was a major thing for immortals. She could understand that however, as immortals were basically human, just much longer lived and humans could get lonely without companionship, even if that was only friends. However, humans also didn't live basically forever and would die eventually and so didn't have to marry if they weren't inclined. Immortals on the other hand, it was a totally different story apparently.
"Imagine it as if you've lost half your soul and you'll understand why losing your mate, even if that to rejection and not to death, is so devastating," Perry said. He had seen Alex wince out of the corner of his eye.
"Don't look so worried it was a rhetorical question," Alex said hastily seeing Perry's expression of worry and concern.
"Glad to hear that," Perry said relaxing now that he knew it was only a question made out of curiosity not a rejection.
"Has someone ever rejected and immortal," Alex asked.
"I can't answer that question because I don't know," Perry said truthfully. "As you heard tonight there are probably more immortals out there than even my parents know about. However, it's not like there's a way to keep track of other immortals unless you happen to run into them and discover what they are by accident. My parents haven't met more than 20 years or so in all their centuries and Uncle Dave might've met a few more."
"So I take it your uncle is older than your father," Alex asked.
"Several centuries older actually," Perry answered. "I'll have to tell you sometime how he became immortal, like I mentioned in passing sometime ago, but not tonight, as that is a story for another time. It's quite the tale and will take several hours to tell properly. It's late."
"You know I never believed in the supernatural before tonight," Alex said. "I know people write books about the supernatural all the time, but to me that was just a result of peoples imaginations not reality."
"None of that stuff is based off reality Alex. Those stories are peoples imaginations at work, but it's possible that at least some of those writers had supernatural experiences. There is a entire world out there that is well hidden and most people never know exists. I mean if you think about it we now have colonies on the moon and Mars and also several other planets ones with natural atmospheres. If some primitive race discovered our world they would consider our technology magic instead of what it is, which is an advanced species."
"You make a convincing argument," Alex admitted thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought of it along those lines. I suppose to us, if we met some other species that hasn't been discovered yet and they were really advanced, it might seem supernatural to us who were more primitive."
"My personal pet theory is that some advanced alien race created immortals in the first place," Perry said. "I have no idea if my theory is anywhere close to the truth or not, but I don't see immortals being a simple evolution of the human species."
"Definitely not, since the government doesn't seem to know that immortals exist," Alex said.
"No they don't," Perry assured Alex. "I suppose it's possible that some immortal does work for the government in some capacity and then retires like a normal human. They then likely disappear for a few decades, change locations and so forth."
"Is that how immortals have stayed under the radar?" Alex asked. "They move around every few decades?"
"That's certainly part of it," Perry said, "but we can discuss the rest later, as we are almost back to your apartment. I've lived in several major cities over the course of my life and I'm sure I'll live in most places at one point or another. I've never lived overseas, but I know my parents have and also my aunt and uncle. Then again, they are much older than I am so that's not so surprising."
"That's OK with me. My brain is chock-full anyway," Alex said yawning suddenly.
"You're tired you should go straight to bed when you get into your apartment make sure you lock your door," Perry said. "I would suggest you get an alarm system, except for the fact that you probably won't be living there for more than another few months."
"It's been a very exciting evening and at least I have the weekend to recover before I go back to work on Monday," Alex said.
"We did it that way on purpose so that you would have a couple of days to recover before you have to go back to work," Perry said.
"That was very thoughtful of you Perry and tell your family I appreciate the consideration,"Alex said.
"We simply know that when we tell someone about immortality and magic it's a lot for someone to absorb and it helps to have a couple of days where there's no commitments to worry about, as that way you aren't distracted, as you're trying to do your job," Perry explained. "As you know others in our families have found their mates, so we have it down to a science now."
"I can see that," Alex said, as Perry pulled up to her apartment.
"Make sure you call me as soon as you're up," Perry said. "I'll come right over so we can talk some more if you want."
"I'll call," Alex promised kissing Perry on the cheek before she opened her door and got out of his car.
Perry grinned at the open affection and watched Alex enter her apartment house before lifting into the air to enter the sky traffic again.

~~~Perry and Alex~~~

Alex was up bright and early, but then she'd gone to bed early because she had been so tired. By 4 o'clock in the morning she was up and turning her coffee machine on. 4 o'clock was in the middle of the night to her but she wasn't tired anymore, as she been in bed by 9 o'clock and had slept the whole night without even having to get up once. She felt rested and her brain was wide awake, which gave her time to think about what she had learned about her boyfriend's family the other night.
What she had learned had been shocking there was no doubt about that at all, but other than the immortality and magic they just seemed like normal people with jobs, families and lives of their own.
Alex doubted that Perry's family told many people what they were and it was probably only the mates of their children that they told out of necessity. It wasn't the type of secret you told most people and Alex was sure that the family knew how greedy and selfish people could be. A lot of people could and would want to be immortal for all the wrong reasons and Alex doubted that any of the family would turn anybody so selfish into what they were. Besides, Alex couldn't see having sex with some female like that often enough to turn them immortal.
Alex's brain started to hurt, just as the coffeemaker indicated it was finished brewing and so she decided to relax for the time being and try not to think about such subjects as immortality or magic, especially when she wasn't even fully awake.
Her half awake brain refused to cooperate and kept nibbling on what she had learned. Perry had likely known that all she had learned the previous night would be on her mind from the moment she woke up, which explained why the family had told her their secret on a Friday after classes were over. As Perry had already explained this gave her a couple of days for her brain to accept the information it had been given.
Alex drank her coffee at the kitchen counter her brain very busy, as she dwelled on all the information she had learned.
Alex heard a knock on her apartment door around eight and she wondered who it could possibly be. Alex checked the people and saw somebody with a big vase of flowers outside her door.
"Can I help you?" Alex asked the man standing there once she had opened the door.
"Are you Alex Blake?" the man asked. "I have a delivery."
"I am," Alex answered.
"Then, I guess these are for you Miss Blake," the man said.
"It's actually Dr. Blake," Alex corrected having the delivery man put them on the counter. "Thank you," Alex added showing the man out.
Alex looked for a card and found one buried among the huge bouquet of roses.
Alex read the message and blushed, as they were from Perry. The message was sweet and romantic and told Alex that Perry was thinking about her and would be over about lunchtime unless she called him earlier.
Perry was giving her privacy for a few more hours if she wanted it, Alex realized, and that was very nice of him. Perry was an intelligent and nice man though, so she shouldn't be surprised, that he was so thoughtful and kind. She had definitely won the male lottery when she had met Perry Hotchner.
As strange a concept as immortality was she would happily marry him when he proposed. She knew that she would never find another man like Perry and if she turned down her chance at love she would only make herself miserable and Perry too. Perry had already told her last night that it was his intention to propose to her, but he likely wanted her to absorb what she'd learned before he did. Perry wanted it to be her decision, as to whether or not she wanted to be turned immortal and to marry him and that was definitely very generous of him.
If that was one thing Alex had learned the other night was that an immortal would be miserable without their mate and eventually they'd end up having someone take their lives. It was impossible for an immortal to take their own lives if they were rejected, which was likely why they had someone else do it for them. Alex assumed that the family of that immortal would try to talk them out of permanently dying before they actually went through with the deed.
Alex called Perry and told him that she was up if he wanted to come over.
"I'll bring breakfast," Perry said, "Unless you've eaten."
"I haven't. All I've had is coffee. I've been rather distracted," Alex said.
"I figured, which is why I offered to bring a late breakfast," Perry said. "The information you were given last night was earth shattering. I know that, which is why I was trying to give you some space."
"That was so thoughtful of you Perry," Alex said.
"I'm a thoughtful guy," Perry joked.
"Yeah, you are," Alex agreed. "I'll be waiting."
"I'm already on my way so it shouldn't be more than half an hour or so," Perry said.
"I'll see you when you get here," Alex said before she said goodbye and hung up.

~~~Perry and Alex~~~

"So you'll turn me immortal through sex, is that right?" Alex asked Perry several days later.
She had finally absorbed all the information and she's been given on Friday and it was now Wednesday of the week after.
"That's right," Perry answered.
"What do the females do, since they can't turn their mates through sex?" Alex asked.
"I shouldn't be surprised you thought of that," Perry said after a pause. "It has to do with using one of our bloods to inject it into a vein. It's happened a few times where female immortal has met their mate so we had to work out how to do it. Technically, it was my parents and aunt and uncle that had to work out a way to do it."
"So?" Alex asked curiously
"It had to do with my oldest cousin Shawnda," Perry explained and then went on to tell the rest of the story. "After that, it became easy to turn a male immortal."
"But you had to figure out how to do it first and how much blood it took," Alex said.
"Yes, but now that the family has done it several times they have it down pat," Perry said. "We won't have to use the second method for you not unless you want to do it that way, as it's way faster then the first method."
"So you said you tell me the story of how your uncle was changed immortal," Alex said.
"I did, but I'm not sure you're ready to hear it," Perry said studying Alex intently.
"I know it will take time to learn everything about your family but you can start there," Alex suggested and Perry finally nodded.
"Alright, but just let me correct you. It's not just my family anymore, it's yours as well. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and you'll learn what it's like to be smothered in love and acceptance. You'll never be rejected by any member of my family. They will love you so much so they'll feel free to meddle in your life."
"I'm looking forward to it," Alex promised with a smile.
Perry kissed her cheek before starting to tell her how his Uncle Dave had been turned immortal.

~~~Perry and Alex~~~