Damon opened his front door at the sound of the knocking to find a delivery man standing with a package "Yes sir, can I help you?
"I have a package for Damon Hotchner," the man said.
"That's me," Damon said, and the delivery man handed over the bulky package and Damon and examined it and yes, the address was his so he thanked the delivery guy.
"Oh, it's from Aunt Jazz," Damon said recognizing the return address on the package. "Thank you very much, sir, as I'm sure these are the cookies I've been expecting from my aunt. She's a baker and owns her own bakery that's a really popular place, so that ought to tell you they're going to be really good."
"You're quite welcome Mr. Hotchner," The delivery man said before heading to the elevator. Damon closed the door and took the package to the kitchen.
Damon ripped the paper and then cut the plastic wrap he found wrapped around a large tin. He found a note inside the box once he had taken off the lid and read it swiftly.

"To one of my favorite nephews
From Aunt Jazz

"One of her favorite nephews," Damon snorted in disbelief, but he knew his aunt couldn't play favorites when it came to her family so he understood the sentiment.
Damon examined the contents of the tin and found a layer of brownies and he was assuming the rest was the same. The tin was square and could probably hold about a pound of brownies or cookies or something of that nature.
Damon picked up a brownie and took a bite closing his eyes in pleasure at the rich chocolate taste with caramel and nuts rippled through.
"Aunt Jazz you're the best," Damon said to himself, knowing that Abby would love them.
He would have to call his aunt sometime in the next couple of days in order to thank her for the brownies. His family already knew about Abby.
This was only the first of many shipments and he hoped his aunt had bought a lot of those tins, though he would try to remember to ship the empty tins back once they begin to pile up as they could be reused.
Damon finished the large brownie and put the lid back on the tin with a sigh of regret. There was several layers to the box with thin white paper, in between each layer. The paper was the kind used to separate different levels for things exactly like this. Damon was looking forward to enjoying them along with Abby, of course, as his mate would probably kill him if he didn't share and she found out.
If there was one thing he had discovered Abigail Sciuto loved almost any type of desserts and drank more caffeine than anyone he had ever met. Her favorite form of caffeine was a drink called Caf-Pow, which was very popular in this century. She claimed it gave her energy for all the long hours she put in at work.
Damon kept his doubts to himself on that one, because who knew if Abby did get most of her energy from the caffeine in her favorite beverage, but personally, he just thought it was her without that addition. However, if she believed it was the drink, then there was no harm in it, except the fear of gaining weight, of course.
Once he'd finished the brownie, he sat down in front of the TV and started watching the football game. Football was his favorite sport, though he also like basketball and tennis.
It wasn't long until he fell asleep in the middle of the match as he was tired from the long hours he had been putting in. He immediately began to dream of him, and Abby and the two of them sat on the couch together, just enjoying each other's company before they started to kiss with tongues.
His dream was just to the good part when his vidphone beeped, a signal that he had a call incoming
Damon awoke with a start and shook himself before he put down his footstool in order to answer his phone.
"Hey mom," Damon said what's the image of his mother Shonda Hotchner had formed on the screen.
"How's it going, son," Shonda said smiling.
"If you mean with Abby, it's going fine," Damon said. "Oh, by the way, thank Aunt Jazz for the brownies she sent me. They just arrived today. Tell her she has a winner with them, as I had two before I could stop myself."
"I will," Shonda promised, smiling. "I'm glad it's going so well. You let us know when it's time to tell her."
"I will," Damon promised.
He and Shonda chatted for a few minutes before they disconnected the call.
Damon looked at his watch and saw it was nearly dinnertime so he had definitely slept longer than he had believed when his mother had called.
Despite the brownies he had eaten his stomach growled hungrily, so Damon decided to order in instead of cooking and so that's exactly what he did.

~~~Damon and Abby~~~

"What do you think about meeting my family," Damon asked Abby months later.
"I'll be happy to," Abby said smiling. "So where do they live?"
"Well, my parents and my aunt and uncle live in Ohio, in Cincinnati, as for my siblings they live in different cities."
"I've never been to Ohio, so it'll be a fun trip as well as educational," Abby said.
"As you know, my aunt is a great baker, but she's also a good cook and so is my uncle and mother. We can expect a great meal when we visit," Damon replied.
"I'll look forward to it," Abby said sincerely smiling. "I'm looking forward to meeting the people that raised you so well. You're such an unusual man Damon, you know that, don't you?"
"I don't think I'm unusual at all," Damon said, blushing at the compliment that Abby had paid him.
"And that's what makes you so special, as you don't think you're anything unusual and yet, you're nice, polite, intelligent, and gentle. Many men don't share those qualities that you have spades," Abby said. "Alright, so you're a little introverted, but who cares that you like more quiet pursuits than being around a lot of people. So what if you like being alone or just with the people you care about? So you have trouble getting close to most people, but that shouldn't matter."
"If we're talking about qualities, you are the exact opposite of me and a extreme extrovert," Damon said having listened quietly to what Abby was saying without interruption. "You enjoy going out and talking to people and know how to make them understand some kind of science without trying, as you just seem to be able to find the right words. Most people would never realize that you have a genius level intellect or that you're a forensic scientist, because you get along with most people, know how to connect with them. You also seem to have more energy than any 10 people and claim the Caf-Pow you drink by the gallon is to blame. You always seem to be moving and you bounce on your toes on a normal basis."
"On the surface we're complete opposites so we should never work," Abby said.
"On the other hand, they say opposites attract, and I have found that to be true just from my own family," Damon said. "I want to introduce my family to the woman I love."
"I love you too Damon. I know I would've regretted it for the rest of my life if I hadn't let you prove that you weren't some kind of criminal," Abby said touched. "I know your family is important to you, like mine is to me and not everybody can say that they're close to their family."
"Which is another, commonality we share," Damon said, "because you're right a lot of children have lost their parents and either were never close to them or they're still alive, but they never go see them, because they get busy with their lives, so never think about visiting until it's to late."
"And then it's too late to make up with them, because they have died," Abby said.
"I might not see my parents more than a few times a year, but we talk every week so I'm still in contact with them," Damon said.
"I have to go see mine because they're deaf," Abby said.
"So that must mean they can read your lips," Damon said.
"They can and I also know sign language and so does Lucas," Abby said.
"So why can't you talk to them over the link when they should be able to read your lips since the vidphones have a video component," Damon said.
"They can't hear it ring and if Lucas isn't there to answer it...," Abby explained.
"They should have one set up to where it flashes in colors of something whenever someone is calling as they should still be able to see colors even if they can't hear sounds," Damon suggested. "I'm surprised they don't have something like that for people like your parents anyway as a lot of people are either born deaf or go deaf when they're older."
"True and that's a very good idea," Abby said. "I'll have to see what's on the market that can accommodate your idea."
"And if there's nothing similar to my suggestion?" Damon wanted to know.
"I'll have to see if I can invent something," Abby said. "It would be nice to talk to them over the vidphone and not have to go see them all the time. It's not even that I mind visiting just that it would be nice to be able to talk to them from my own apartment."
"I understand," Damon said, as he and Abby cuddled on the couch in his apartment.
"You know I've dated a lot of bozos over the years," Abby said after a lengthy silence, "because a nice guy like you isn't usually attracted to someone like me."
"Someone like you?" Damon asked.
"Someone who strives to be as different as possible from other people. Someone who is smarter than any five people put together and who likes bad boys. You're not my usual choice of boyfriend, but I'm still glad we met."
"So am I," Damon agreed, smiling, even as he kissed Abby on the temple.
"So when are we going to meet your parents as I need to take a couple of days off," Abby asked.
"I'll let you know," Damon promised, "as I need to talk to them first, decide on the best day. I'll give you at least a few days warning, promise."
"Sounds good to me," Abby said, as she cuddled close to Damon.

~~~Damon and Abby~~~

"Welcome," Shonda, who answered the door said. "It's nice to see you, Damon and welcome Abby. Why don't you come in, as dinner is ready, so you got here just in time."
"Abby, this is my mother Shonda Hotchner," Damon introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Abby said, shaking the older woman's hand. Shonda Hotchner was beautiful with red hair streaked with white and amazing green eyes. Eyes that Damien had inherited.
Those eyes were bright with intelligence and humor, as she escorted the pair into the house where delicious smells were circulating.
"So what's for dinner mom? It sure does smell good," Damon asked his mother.
"Yes, it does," Abby agreed, as they hit it for the dining room.
"It's Skillet Chicken Cacciatore," Shonda answered.
"I've never heard of it," Abby said.
"It's an Italian dish with chicken, onions, black pepper, carrots, mushroom, extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes and freshly drained capers, which is a pickled flower bud, used to flavor certain recipes by the way, in case you didn't know," Shonda listed.
"I'm looking forward to trying it. Abby said sincerely, as they walked into the dining room.
"Good evening everyone this is Abby Sciuto," Damon introduced. "Abby, this is my father Aaron Hotchner."
"It's nice to meet you, young lady," Aaron said cordially, as he rose from where he was sitting and shook Abby's hand.
"It's nice to meet you too, sir," Abby said thinking that Damon's father Aaron looked a great deal like his son, same color hair, same height, and the shape of the hands and a lot of the face. The eye color was all his mother's though, something that Abby had already noticed.
"And this is my aunt and uncle, David and Jazzlyn Rossi," Damon continued the introductions.
"It's nice to meet you and you can just call me Dave," Dave said shaking Abby's hand.
"And I'm Jazz," Jazz said, also shaking Abby's hand before sitting back down.
"Now that the introductions are out of the way, let's eat before the food gets cold," Shonda said, as she took her place beside her husband.
Damon led Abby to one side of the table where there were two more chairs and Damon being the gentleman he was raised to be pulled out his mate's chair and waited for her to seat herself before taking his own.
They all started to eat, savoring the taste of the food, especially Abby, who had never had that particular dish before. It had been a staple for Damon and his siblings, though, all doing their childhood.
"This is really good," Abby said after she had finished about half a plate. "I've never had Skillet Chicken Cacciatore before and I wouldn't mind having it again."
"That is another thing we have in common, as this one of my favorites," Damon said, as he took a bite of the skillet chicken.
"Which is the reason I chose it for tonight's dinner," Shonda said.
The party ate in silence until Jazz who had just cleared her plate, said, "I hope you left home for the lemon blueberry cheesecake bars I made."
This sentence was directed at Abby.
"Trying out new recipes Aunt Jazz?" Damon asked his aunt, as he took a bar from the plate that was passed him. "I don't believe I've ever had these before, as I would surely remember. They're like eating a little piece of heaven, just the right amount of cheese taste and also that of blueberry and lemon to make this a treat that's gonna be very hard to not to have again, until me and Abby come for a visit," Damon added once he had taken a big bite out of the bar he had taken. He then chewed and swallowed
"I've had these at the bakery over the last few years, but since you live in Virginia, you haven't had a chance to try them. I'm glad to know you like them," Jazz replied. "They might be relatively new to you and to Abby, but not to anybody else."
"True, we've all had them before several times," Dave remarked, even as he took his lemon blueberry cheesecake bar off the dessert plate and took a big bite. "Delicious as always, sweetie," Dave pronounced once he had chewed and swallowed.
"It's too bad you don't live in Virginia as I could become a regular patron at your bakery," Abby said, as she ate her own cheesecake bar.
"So would I," Damon agreed. "That reminds me, thanks to all those care packages you've been sending me, I've had to up my time at the gym in order to maintain my weight."
"Are you complaining?" Jazz asked him with a little smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Absolutely not, as I missed your baking, since I moved to Virginia and you all live here," Damon protested mildly, smiling. "I was simply stating fact, not complaining. I don't mind the increased workouts when it is because any if your dessert items, though I know they are only certain things you can send me in the mail, but still, I appreciate getting the things I have been."
"I definitely agree with that, as I've had some of everything you've been sending Damon and I can see why your bakery is so popular." Abby said. "I'm not usually one for exercising, but I'm either gonna have to regulate how many of your sweets I eat or I'm going to have to start exercising on a regular basis.
"There's no need for flattery," Jazz said blushing.
"It's not flattery, sweetie. It's simple truth," Dave spoke up before anyone else could respond to Jazz's modest statement.
"Definitely," Shonda said as she finished her piece of cheesecake. "There's no need to be so modest Jazz, as I've had some desserts at some of the finest restaurants the world has to offer and none of them can compare to anything you make and that's not flattery but truth. I should know, because I've been eating your creations ever, since you opened your bakery years ago. I also was your test subject when you first started to learn to bake back when you were a teenager and it was a role I was happy to fulfill at that time. I was more than a ecstatic to be your guinea pig and that's as true now as it was back then."
What Shonda meant was that she had been eating Jazz's desserts for centuries not just a few years, but Abby didn't know that yet.
"It's time to retire to the living room everybody," Aaron said as he finished his cheesecake bar.
"I'll bring the bars in case anybody wants a second one," Jazz offered.
"There's no maybe about it of course, we all want a second one," Shonda told her.
"By the time, Damon and Abby head home they'll probably won't be many left, if any," Dave commented, as he rose from the table.
"That's a shame," Damon said. "You're welcome to send me a batch of these in the mail if that's possible."
"I don't know if that's a good idea because of the ingredients. There's cheese in them for one thing," Jazz said, shaking her head. "It would take at least a couple of days to reach you unless they came on a flight that had a refrigeration unit they would could be spoiled before they ever arrived, which would be a waste of my time, because you would never get to eat them and also the ingredients that went into making them."
"That's too bad," Abby said sounding very disappointed.
"You'll just have to come visit us again and I'll happily make them for you to take home when you go, as they won't spoil in a couple of hours," Jazz said. "Shuttle flights are really fast in this day and age, but that's the only viable option as shipping is out and the only other thing I could do is to deliver them personally."
"Well, if you're ever in the area, you're welcome to bring some with you," Abby said, even as she ate another bar.

~~~Damon and Abby~~~