Six weeks later
"What can we do for you, son?" Aaron wanted to know as he let Damon into the house where he and Shonda were living in Cincinnati.
"Yes, this is something of a surprise Damon," Shonda said, as she passed out drinks and snacks. The snacks were mixed berry muffins that everyone just loved and came from Jazz's bakery, of course.
"Shouldn't you be at work about now?" Aaron asked looking at his watch.
"It's my day off," Damon replied, even as he bit into the muffin that was nice and moist and loaded with flavor.
"So you decided to come see us?" Shonda asked in surprise, looking at her son speculatively.
"Still, you must have a reason other than a visit considering you live in Virginia right now," Aaron offered even as he bit into his own mixed berry muffin.
"Can't it just be I wanted to you see?" Damon offered with a slight smile.
"Sure, but I doubt that's the reason," Shonda said, giving her son a look that told him she wasn't fooled.
"We're always happy to see you, though," Aaron added, and Shonda nodded in agreement.
"Yes, we are," Shonda agreed with her husband. "Having a visitor other than Dave and Jazz breaks up the monotony for a little while for one thing."
"That's true," Aaron agreed.
"So?" Shonda asked her son with a raised eyebrow in question.
"I'm sure you suspect the reason I'm here," Damon said after he had swallowed a bite of his second muffin.
"We might, but you'll have to tell us if we're right or not," Aaron said this time raising his eyebrow at his son just like his wife had.
"I suppose there's no reason to delay in telling you that yes, I've met my mate and that's the reason I came for a visit," Damon said.
"We were right," Shonda told Aaron who nodded in agreement.
"This is great news Damon," Aaron told his son. "I know you've been lonely for a long time now."
"We both know you don't get out much. You go straight to the lab first thing in the morning and then straight home, except to stop at some restaurant for food," Shonda said. "I'm actually surprised you managed to meet your mate, considering you usually stick to your lab and your apartment, so unless she moved into your apartment building..."
"She didn't," Damon said, knowing what his parents had said was the truth, as he really didn't get out as much as he should, so he didn't even pretend to take offence as truth was truth after all.
"So where did you meet her?" Aaron asked his son.
"Not far from one of my favorite places to dine, Guillermo's," Damon said. "It's a Spanish place that I love to go to sometimes, as it's near the lab. I've always loved Spanish food, so that's where I often go for a meal. I ran into her right out on the sidewalk. I actually ran into her, because I wasn't paying attention. I nearly caused her to spill the coffee she had just gotten, but luckily, her reactions were quick and she managed to save it. It was a close call, but she didn't spill a drop thanks to her quick reaction."
"So what's her name?" Shonda wanted to know.
"Abigail Sciuto, but she goes by Abby," Damon said. "She's a forensics scientist. We've had several long conversations about science. She actually understands me when I say something and I don't have to break it down into simpler terms, which trust me, I appreciate."
"Which means, she's just as intelligent," Shonda noted. "It's not even that all our children are not intelligent, just that you're even more so then most of the others Aaron and I have had."
"Abigail is a name we've used in the family, which isn't really surprising considering how many children we've had and I realize we get repeat names all the time," Aaron said.
"True," Shonda agreed. "We did name one of our daughters several generations ago Abigail."
"Damon needs somebody that he can hold a conversation with without being interrupted and asked to explain what he means, so it doesn't surprise me that this Abby is also intelligent like you are," Aaron said getting back to the subject at hand.
"You both went into similar fields, which is good, as it means, you'll have a lot to talk about, and you'll be understood and gives you a point of commonality," Shonda added.
"So when did you meet her?" Aaron asked his son.
"Several weeks ago, about six," Damon replied.
"So you've been dating for awhile," Shonda said.
"Not that long, really," Damon shrugged. "We both work a great deal so our dates are usually in the evening afterwards a few days a week."
"That's just another way you are similar," Shonda shot back. "You both put in a lot of overtime."
"You understand why I did that though, at least before I met Abby," Damon said. "As for why Abby does it, I don't really know, but it could simply be she was lonely too, even though she's a lot more upbeat and cheerful than I tend to be."
"You let us know how things go with Abby," Aaron told his son who nodded solemnly.
"I will," Damon promised even as he chomped down on his fourth muffin.
"If you eat another one, you'll ruin your dinner," Shonda told him with a severe look.
"What can I say? You know I love Aunt Jazz's baking and it's not like I can get any of her desserts where I live, since there isn't a bakery run by one of the family in Virginia or Washington, which is the closest to where I live," Damon said cheerfully, even as he finished his muffin.
"That's true and you know why we've always avoided living in the capital, as well as anywhere in Virginia," Aaron told Shonda.
"Because there's too many government law enforcement agencies based in both cities," Shonda said knowing exactly what Aaron meant. "There's the Homeland Security, the Marshals and the Secret Service in Washington as well as a lot of other law enforcement services and the FBI in Quantico that is situated slightly outside of D.C."
"Let's not forget the CIA that's located right next-door in Virginia," Shonda added shuddering, as she thought about the CIA and what would happen if they discovered immortals and all about her family.
"Let's not and it's one of the reasons we're so careful," Aaron said putting an arm around his wife, shoulders in a gesture of comfort.
"Well, I do work in Virginia, but I'm careful not to bring their notice," Damon said.
"Let's hope they never discover you, as they'd probably have you in some lab experimenting or interrogate you to find out how you became immortal," Shonda said. "I doubt you could stand up to their interrogation techniques, as I've heard some bad things about the CIA. It wouldn't be long before all of us would be in danger."
"Let's hope it never happens as it was bad enough having to explain about immortals to Marla's mate Derek Morgan, since he was a cop," Aaron said.
"That was rather nerve-racking," Shonda told Damon. "We worried that he could cause us great damage if he got it into his head to report us to someone like the mayor or perhaps someone higher up in the government that had connections with the FBI or the CIA."
"It turned out all right in the end, though," Damon said.
"That might very well be true, but that might not always be the case," Shonda said. "I'm only hoping that one of our children doesn't have a CIA agent as a mate, as that could be disastrous."
"Let's not worry about it, as it might never happen," Aaron said, and both other people sitting in the den agreed.
"I have to go. I need to work tomorrow," Damon said looking longingly at the plate of muffins, but knowing he didn't want to eat anymore if he wanted dinner, as it wasn't long until then luckily, the muffins were of the mini variety, not full size ones or he would definitely be full. All in all he only eaten about two muffins all told, which was better than four full sized ones.
"You can take the rest home with you, as I can always get more," Shonda said. "Just save the rest for later is all I ask."
"I will," Damon promised now smiling.
"I'll package them up for you so you can transport them home," Shonda offered.
"Thanks, mom," Damon said smiling. "I'm sure Abby will love them."
"The only problem being that you won't be able to get any where you're living, as there is no bakery close by," Aaron said.
"Yeah, it's a shame," Damon agreed looking sad. "I'll just tell Abby that you had them on hand, when I came to visit and I loved them so much you allowed me to take them home, since that's basically the truth."
"I'm sure you're aunt would be willing to send you shipment every few weeks," Shonda suggested.
"The only problem with that as somebody could put anthrax or some kind of poison into the package and while it won't affect me permanently, the same can't be said for Abby, at least not until she's immortal," Damon said. "I'm not saying it will happen just that there's a lot of wackos out there, so it's possible."
"That's a rather unfortunate truth as mailing food of any kind can be rather chancy," Aaron said.
"Not if it's in some kind of hard container like a metal tin and there's no way somebody can get into that without making it obvious," Shonda suggested.
"That's a rather good idea," Damon told his mother approvingly immediately brightening.
"I'll talk to Jazz for you if you like," Shonda offered.
"I would appreciate that," Damon said. "I miss her baking a lot."
"So long, is it something like muffins, cookies, or brownies then they should fit in a tin of some kind though any kind of cake would be rather difficult to transport even cut into pieces. Besides, desserts like that don't go stale as fast as some others do," Shonda said.
"I'll be grateful for the things that can be sent by the mail with minimal risk of it being infected by some idiot, that just wants to cause as many deaths or at least illness as they can," Damon said. "I miss having Aunt Jazz's desserts on a regular basis, but I did happen to move somewhere where there's not a bakery close by, so it's my own fault, I know that. I'm glad I did now, as I never would've met Abby otherwise and that would've been tragic."
"Definitely," Aaron and Shonda immediately agreed with their son.
"Still, I do understand why you and Aunt Jazz and Uncle Dave haven't lived in Virginia or Washington," Damon said. "At least I can change my looks, if somebody is suspicious of me. Change my whole body shape since I'm a shapeshifter if necessary while the rest of the family can't do that. I can even change my fingerprints if I change the shape of my fingers so that means I wouldn't be in any database."
"Yeah, you're the only one in the family that got that particular talent," Shonda said her tone just a little little envious. "It would certainly be a useful talent to have for anybody who is immortal like our family.
"Yeah, it would be," Aaron agreed, "which is why it's relatively safe for you to work in law enforcement central, where there are many different government agencies."
"I've got to get going, because as I said, I have to work tomorrow," Damon said.
"I'll package these up for you," Shonda said, as she took what remained to the plate of the mini muffins and headed into the kitchen in order to package them for travel.
"I'm very happy for you, son, that you have met your mate," Aaron told Damon what Shonda had disappeared from the room.
"Thanks, dad," Damon said smiling.
"Hopefully, soon we'll be welcoming Abby into the family," Aaron added.
Father and son chatted until Shonda returned ten minutes later with the muffins all packaged up in plastic wrap.
"There you go Damon, enjoy," Shonda told her son handing him the plate. "Don't worry about returning the plate, as we have plenty of dishes."
Damon looked at the plate and saw it was fuller than it should have been considering that between the three of them they had eaten it at least half of them as they'd been talking
"Geez, thanks mom. I appreciate it," Damon said, kissing his mother's cheek. "I hate to take so many of them since I know you love them so much."
"You're welcome we'll see you for Thanksgiving," Shonda said, hugging her son. "I can get more from the source while you don't have that option at least for this generation, so I'm giving them to you. I'll have Jazz send you care packages, promise."
"Believe me, I'm grateful they'll be gone in a week or less I promise you. Hopefully, we can tell Abby before the holiday, as I'd really like her to be there for it," Damon said smiling, as he left in order to catch the earliest flight back to Virginia.
~~~Damon and Abby~~~
"These are great," Abby said enthusiastically, as she took a bite of the muffin, Damon had brought home after visiting his parents.
"You'll have to think my aunt when you meet her, as she's the one that made them and my mother gave them to me, before I headed home after seeing them," Damon explained smiling. "She said I could have them, because I love them so much and because there's no bakery here in Virginia run by my family. She told me she could get more from the source, so that I could take these home."
"So your aunt owns a bakery and I can definitely understand why. It's too bad that your aunt and uncle don't live here in Virginia, as I would become a regular patron," Abby said.
"Yeah, it's a shame," Damon agreed, as he also ate a muffin.
He didn't bother to tell Abby, why his parents or godparents would never live in Virginia or Washington as that's where a ton of government agencies were. At least, if somebody discovered him, how unusual he was, he could change his looks, because he was a shapeshifter and they would never find him if he changed his looks enough
"So you just went up to visit your parents and they happen to have these on hand from your aunt's bakery," Abby said and Damon nodded.
"Exactly," Damon agreed. "It's not really all that unusual though, because my aunt often makes desserts of some type for my parents in her own oven at home and then just brings them over when she and my uncle go to visit. She keeps my parents, as well as my uncle well supplied with dessert type items. I've never had a bad dessert for my aunt. I love them all, especially those containing chocolate."
"I can see why," Abby said, as she popped another mini muffin into her mouth whole instead of taking a bite out of it and chewed before swallowing.
"Of course, that doesn't mean that my mother doesn't visit Aunt Jazz's bakery at all. She does often when she's in that area," Damon said. "We should probably stop though, if we want any left for tomorrow."
Damon's tone was regretful, Abby noticed, and she couldn't blame him, but he was also right and so she sighed and finished the muffin she was eating but didn't get another off the plate.
"You're right, but it sucks," Abby said. "It sucks large."
Damon chuckled at his mate's words, but then said, "I won't disagree, but still, we don't want to ruin our lunch that's coming up in an hour and a half."
Suddenly, there was a sound of panting and paws on the floor, and then an all black dog with white on his face and big floppy ears came and put his front paws on Damon's left leg.
"And where have you been Sisko?" Damon said. "We've been here for over an hour and I wanted to introduce you to Abby, but you were nowhere to be found you crazy dog."
"So where do you think he was? Abby asked even as she petted Sisko, who licked her fingers and looked up at her with his cute brown eyes.
Abby absolutely melted at the look in Sisko's eyes and giggled as he licked her hand.
"He was probably sleeping under the bed as that's his favorite spot to snooze," Damon explained. "I knew he would appear when he woke up and heard voices or because he was hungry."
"Well, he is adorable and seems to be very sweet," Abby said.
"Oh, he is. He's been a great buddy for me, as until recently I didn't even have a girlfriend so he helped stave off that loneliness I have felt."
"You really make me want a dog now, but to get back to the previous subject why did you go to visit your parents anyway?" Abby asked curiously.
"Well, for one thing I hadn't to see them in awhile," Damon responded being only, partially honest. "I enjoyed visiting for a few hours before returning home."
"I understand I'm not precisely in the same boat, as my parents live here in Virginia, my adopted parents I should say," Abby said.
"They're still your parental figures adopted or not. Really, being adopted shouldn't matter so long as you were treated well and it's clear you were," Damon said.
"You are absolutely correct," Abby said. "They are the only parents I've ever known and they treated me like a daughter, even though they're both deaf."
"Surely there is some surgery or something they can go through to fix that, especially in this century," Damon said.
"Even if there is, they couldn't afford it and insurance wouldn't cover it, I'm sure," Abby said.
"That's too bad," Damon said.
"I'd would offer to pay for it, as I make good money, but they would turn me down," Abby said shaking her head. "I mean, they raised me from a baby, so I'm grateful, but they won't let me do anything in return."
"They have their pride I'm sure and they love you, as you're their child, so they don't want you to go out of your way for them."
"Yes, they do have a lot of pride," Abby said, "but then most people do. People don't want to accept what they see is a handout. Still, I'm their daughter, for all intents and purposes and I want to help."
"Of course you do, as that's what you do when you love someone, want to help, but if they won't let you, there's nothing you can do," Damon said.
"Unfortunately," Abby sighed.
"To change the subject, I'm supposed to start getting regular shipments of treats since my aunt's bakery isn't in Virginia or even Washington," Damon said.
"Shipping food though is rather chancy because of all the wackos that could insert something into whatever is shipped," Abby said. "It would be easy enough to open whatever box it's in insert a needle into the package food is in and then reseal the box."
"My mother suggested using a tin of some kind, which is actually made of metal," Damon explained. "It's be a lot harder to put something in the food that way without making it obvious that it's been tampered with."
"You know that's actually a good idea," Abby said impressed at the idea. "If you wrapped it in plastic wrap real good, you wouldn't be able to tamper with it without making it obvious."
"Exactly," Damon agreed. "If you can tell, it's been tampered with then you just don't eat whatever is in the package and throw it in the trashcan and that way you're not affected."
"I'm looking forward to whatever your aunt sends," Abby said sincerely. "I'm really going to have to watch how much I eat if I don't want to gain 100 pounds."
"Believe me, so am I," Damon said, smiling, as he kissed Abby's cheek.
The two of them had been dating for around six weeks now, so they were comfortable with each other.
"I'm so glad we ran into each other not far from Guillermo's," Abby said.
"And here, you thought I might be a serial killer or just a pervert," Damon said with a laugh, his tone teasing.
"You could very easily have been either one you know," Abby told him placing her hands on her hips glaring at Damon. "I do tend to attract the bad boys, but you might be the sole exception."
"Might be the exception?" Damon asked with a raised eyebrow. "I am the exception thank you."
"That is still to be determined," Abby bantered back in a lighthearted tone.
"You are being ridiculous," Damon rolled his eyes to show how exasperated he was, but inside his head he was laughing himself silly.
"I don't think I'm being ridiculous at all. I think I'm being smart," Abby told him with a mock frown.
"If you say so," Damon said. "What about some lunch before you go?"
"What do you suggest?" Abby wanted to know.
"Well, I could fix us the stir fry in less than half an hour or I have sandwich meat, which will be faster," Damon suggested.
"You're telling me you can cook?" Abby asked her to tone of disbelief.
"You must remember that my aunt is a baker, but she can also cook and my mother is quite a good cook as well and so is my Uncle Dave. I was taught such skills as my siblings before we all left home," Damon said. "I'm not as good a baker, as my aunt is, but then she has everybody beat in that department, including my mother."
"I suppose I can test out your skills at least once," Abby decided. "If you give me food poisoning, though, I know you were lying about your skills in the kitchen."
"I'm not lying and you'll see that as soon as you taste my stir fry," Damon said smiling not looking at all worried.
Damon immediately started gathering his ingredients and all the appliances that he needed and within 20 minutes he had a magnificent meal on the table.
Abby had watched in amazement as Damon had cooked expertly. His moves, as he moved around the kitchen had been economical. No motion had been wasted, which told Abby that Damon really did know what he was doing, as he wasn't fumbling around trying to impress her. She had been sure he had been puffing himself up on his skill when it came to cooking but the smell circulating around the kitchen was really very good so she couldn't wait to try it.
"So how did you learn to cook so well," Abby asked after she had taken a couple of bites of what Damon had prepared.
She had watched as Damon had taken a couple of plates out of a cabinet above his head, and had expertly plated the stir fry, placing hers before her before, he sat down in his chair with his own plate.
"Remember I mentioned just a few minutes ago that my mother is a great cook and that she taught all her children how to cook. I wasn't lying about that," Damon explained smiling, as he watched Abby enjoy the stir fry he had fixed in only a few minutes. "Also, remember my Uncle Dave is a great cook as well and my aunt, so I had plenty of cooking lessons, along with my siblings when I was growing up so that I could take care of myself without having to eat out all the time. Of course, my aunt has everybody beat when it comes to desert items, as she simply has that kind of touch and owns her own bakery as you are aware."
Damon didn't explain about his Aunt Jazz's bakery magic, and how whenever she did any type of dessert it always turned out spectacularly because of that magic.
"I'm sorry, I doubted you," Abby said, as she practically inhaled her food, as she had been hungrier then she had realized, especially considering the muffins she had consumed, but it really was very good.
"Hopefully, you'll let me cook for you again sometime," Damon offered. "It's actually really nice to cook for more than just myself."
"I won't mind if you do, as you certainly impressed me," Abby said. "I've never dated a guy that can cook as well as you do. Most of them seem to assume that it's my job, just because I'm a woman even in this advanced century. I'm afraid I can't cook, though I can order takeout with the best of them."
"There's no law that says it's a woman's job to do the cooking, even if I know that's the way it was many centuries ago long before the 20th century," Damon said. "There are plenty of men that can cook nowadays, and not just professional chefs, so you've apparently been dating the wrong type of man."
"That's really sweet of you to say," Abby said really beginning to like Damon more and more as he was good for her ego. Damon was sweet, kind and handsome. She could talk to him and have him understand what she was talking about, which she couldn't say about a lot of guys.
"I'm only stating the truth, but you're welcome," Damon told her.
The two continued to chat as they finished their meals and then Abby took her leave as she had errands to run.
~~~Damon and Abby~~~