Home of the Hotchners
"So how's everything going?" Shonda asked her daughter.
"It's going fine mom," Delfina answered, as the two of them shared a drink in the kitchen while Tony was busy with her father and godparents.
"Did you tell him...?" Shonda asked.
"About my ability to teleport without taking hours or days to get somewhere yes, I did," Delfina said, even as she took a sip of her soda. "I must say, he took it rather well, considering how earthshattering the information we told him is. I even demonstrated a little of it, as we were preparing to come here by Apparating across our hotel room and into the bathroom. He was rather impressed if truth be told."
"So he's handling the information that we're different well then?" Shonda asked and Delfina nodded.
"Not too bad, really," Delfina agreed. "I offered to let him fly free before I told him about my ability, afraid he would actually take me up on it, but that was exactly what he needed to hear, mostly because of his childhood. He says nobody in his life has ever put him first not even his father."
"You actually offered to let him out of your relationship if that was what he wanted?" Shonda winced, as she imagined that.
"What was I supposed to do mom? I didn't want to trap him in a relationship if he wasn't happy, as that would've led to cheating since we haven't gotten around to turning him immortal yet. I know once he's immortal he would never imagine cheating, but right now, he's just an ordinary, mortal man and a lot of mortals aren't exactly known for their loyalty or fidelity towards their spouse."
"No, there was really nothing you could do except what you did," Shonda agreed. "I just can't imagine how painful it was for you to make that offer, with you having to fear him actually taking you up on it. If he'd actually had, we both know what would've happened to you unless things were corrected very quickly."
"It didn't happen though, and I am very happy it did not," Delfina said, as she took a sip of her drink, as she took a sip of her drink to soothe her suddenly dry throat. "Now Tony knows that I genuinely love him, as telling him that I'd let him fly free if that's what he wanted might have been risky, but it was the right thing to do. Our relationship is even more solid now than it was because Tony is assured that I'll let him go if that's what he wants."
"Yes, Aaron and I are both very happy that it's worked out for you and Tony to of course," Shonda said. "I know Aaron will be glad that Tony didn't take you up on your offer to let him be free."
"I don't think that Tony really knows what deep never ending love is. I know he's felt a shallow version of it with his mother, but as for anyone else…" Delfina said letting her sentence trail off.
"A love between a mother and child is different and I am sure that his father loves him, even if he has trouble showing it," Shonda said.
"I never believed his father didn't love him, just not enough to try to raise him instead of sending him him off to boarding school the one time Tony yelled at him for leaving him alone for three days," Delfina said. "I suspect that Tony was mostly very obedient to what his father wanted until he saw what he did in the back parking lot of that drugstore, which was in a bad part of town by the way."
"How do you know that?" Shonda asked. "You asked him," Shonda said, answering her own question before Delfina could, seeming to realize the answer suddenly.
"I did, which means there was likely no working vid cameras on the businesses," Delfina said. "So it was a good place for a shifter to involuntarily transform, even if that was only one part of him. The father apparently never stayed in really nice places like our family does whenever they get a hotel room. I don't know if it was about money or that's what he was used to and I suppose it doesn't really matter."
"I guess not," Shonda said. "We should go find Tony and everyone else. I'll let Aaron and your godparents know that you told him about your ability to teleport. You're kind of like Superman or the Flash as being able to teleport could be considered a superpower. I mean, after all, you could just be moving at super speed, not Apparating and most people would never know the difference."
"You're showing your age you know," Delfina teased her mother. "Superman and the Flash were created like in the late 1930s and early 1940's and that was many centuries ago."
"Oh well," Shonda shrugged unconcerned. "They were around when I was growing up and I still remember watching the TV shows for both of them when I was a kid along with Jazz and yes, I know they were originally comic strips first. I know that most people would never know who they were, as they don't even show the reruns anymore, but considering the century in which we live, that's not surprising. So you understood what I meant, even if most people wouldn't have and considering you were born after they were so popular really says something about your knowledge of ancient trivia."
"It doesn't really matter I was only teasing you," Delfina admitted.
"I know," Shonda said, smiling, even as mother and daughter, rose and went to find the men as well as Jazz.
~~~Tony and Delfina~~~
"So do you know where Delfina's talent of teleport comes from," Tony asked Shonda over lunch. "I know it was in your family genetics. I was just wondering if you knew, which one of your family members had it last."
"That's a rather interesting question but no, I don't really know, as a lot of my family's records have been lost over the centuries. My parents never thought about preserving them or putting them on computer and neither did I, when those records were available. They were all on paper and that paper, of course, has long since turned to dust. I actually had never heard of that being a family talent, but it also might've been so long ago that that information has just been forgotten or lost."
"It had to run in the Walters family line though or there's no way that Delfina would've ended up with it," Jazz put in having been listening.
"I'm not disputing that, just that I never studied the records in-depth at any time and while I am aware that telepathy, being able to see the future, shapeshifting and several other talents run through the family DNA I couldn't tell you how many other abilities might be reactivated if Aaron and I keep having children."
"A great many of them got Shonda's telepathic talent to varying degrees," Aaron said. "There have been a few that have no special talent other than the ordinary magic that runs through the Walters line."
"So some of your children got no talent that is specific to them," Tony said and Shonda and Jazz nodded softly.
"That doesn't mean they don't have magic at all just that they aren't telepathic or they can't shape shift or any other supernatural talent," Jazz said. "Dave and I have had a few like that too, as it's just the way they were born."
"Ambrose immediately springs to mind," Dave said, and Jazz, nodded in agreement.
"Ambrose has no specific supernatural gift that we know of, though he's very good with all types of electronics, but that's not a supernatural gift as far as I know," Jazz said.
"Also, Marcus has no gift other than a magicals ordinary talents," Aaron added.
"Marcus owns and operate the jewelry store," Shonda mentioned. "He makes quite a lot of money, especially since he's been doing it for centuries. He's always had an affinity for gemstones and precious metals."
"But that's not a talent specific to him," Tony asked.
"There is no such magical talent, not as far as I know anyway," said Shonda. "I suppose there could be, but just because Marcus has always been fascinated with gemology and precious metals doesn't mean his talent with them is magical in origin, not unless it's something new and never seen before."
"Or it could be something so rare that it's not seen, but every few hundred years," Tony suggested.
"You know that's very possible," Jazz mused. "I suppose we'll never know, as I have no idea how to discover if the reason Marcus is so fascinated with gemstones and metal is because it's his magical talent."
"It doesn't really matter, because if Marcus doesn't care to discover if his talent is magical, then we don't need to either, as it's his life and his ability," Dave said. "I know everyone is curious and everything, but it's really none of our business unless Marcus asks for help in researching. It's quite possible that Marcus's talent is just an ordinary interest in stones and metals and doesn't have anything to do with magic."
"That's actually the more likely explanation," Aaron said.
"I won't disagree," Shonda admitted with a shrug. "Marcus is happy with who he is and with his mate Emily. His children are well adjusted and happy, so what more could anyone ask for?"
The conversation topic changed and Tony listened as his new family just talked to each other and he absorbed everything new he learned. He did comment occasionally, as did Delfina, but mostly he stayed silent and observed the family at their most natural and relaxed forms.
It was clear that everyone was very close, but then, if they'd known each other for centuries, that was understandable, Tony thought, as he studied the Hotchners and the Rossis. It was apparent that there was great respect and love between the two families, but then there would have to be, since they were godparents to each others children. No parent would name somebody they didn't trust to be godparents to their children, but since he had never had a godparent, that was what Tony assumed, as it was logical.
Tony ate his lunch, but mostly stayed silent and nobody tried to get him to talk when he didn't want to, which he appreciated.
~~~Tony and Delfina~~~
Baltimore, Maryland
Caspian's and Del's gym
"So how did it go with the family?" Caspian asked his cousin.
Delfina knew exactly what her cousin was asking and so answered.
"It went fine and we had a few terrific meals while we were up there," Delfina answered.
She kept the conversation between her and Tony to herself, as it was no one's business that she had given Tony the option to get out of their relationship. She had told her mother, and she knew that her mom had told her father and godparents, but no one else needed to know.
Her parents and godparents knew how to keep a confidence so she wasn't worried about the information spreading through the family.
"And how did your mate react when he was told how unusual our family is?" Caspian one to know.
"It turns out that Tony saw a shifter start to shift when his father left him alone in a hotel room for three days," Delfina explained and then told Cas what Tony had told them. "I'm still rather pissed off at the Senior DiNozzo for being so careless with his child's life and yes, I would feel that way even if the child hadn't been my mate.
"So that made him accept your explanation easier than it probably would've been otherwise," Caspian commented.
"He still would've accepted it, I'm sure, because of all the sweets he's been eating from your brother's bakery," Delfina said, "but his experience with the supernatural when he was 10 did help. I will admit there were some tough moments, but he accepted our explanation in the end and has even asked a few insightful questions since. I expect that to continue whenever he finishes absorbing our explanation."
"It's been a week," Caspian pointed out thinking he was being perfectly reasonable and logical, and Delfina just stared at him with disbelief in her expression.
"You think Tony should've absorbed everything by now," Delfina guessed and Caspian nodded. "Cas, you are an idiot," Delfina told him bluntly. "I mean seriously, it's only been a week, since he was told that immortals and magical were real. Do you really think that he's absorbed the weirdness of our family in a mere week? It's only been like eight days and that's really not much time at all to absorb the information he was given. Sometimes I worry that my godparents gave out the brains to all their other children, and you were left out."
"Hey! Hey!" Caspian protested. "No reason to be so mean and nasty Delfina."
"Like I told you during our conversation right after I met Tony, don't act like an idiot and I won't treat you like one," Delfina shot back. "You should know that every human on the face of the earth absorbs things at different speeds and Tony might've had that encounter with the supernatural, but he was also only a child at the time and he'd basically forgotten about it by the time he met our family.
"He was shuffled from boarding school to boarding school doing his school career and sent to camp when school wasn't in session. I'm not surprised he forgot about what he had seen."
"Alright, you're right," Caspian held up his hands and self-defense. "I'm sorry for what I said, but I wasn't thinking."
"That's your problem. You really don't think!" Delfina told him vehemently. "Out of all of Aunt Jazz's and Uncle Dave's children, you seem to lack the ability to think logically and have a serious case of foot in the mouth disease. Basically, you blurt out whatever you're thinking at the time no matter how embarrassing or inappropriate. You've always been that way ever since you were a kid."
"I'll try to remember to think before I speak," Caspian promised.
"If you manage that on the regular, then it will be a miracle, considering how old both of us are," Delfina told him, and then dropped the subject, and she was well aware of her cousin's faults just as he was aware of hers.
At least she didn't suffer from foot in the mouth disease, which was a blessing, Delfina thought to herself, though didn't say out loud. Still, she had plenty of faults just like everyone did, though at least she thought before she spoke something Caspian needed a ton of practice at.
"By the way, I don't blame you for being mad at your mate's father for forgetting about his son for three days," Caspian said after a few minutes of silence.
"Both your parents and mine were furious too when Tony told us his story about how he'd had a supernatural, well, not precisely encounter since he only saw that shifter start to shift and didn't actually meet him, but still, he did see something that wasn't normal for a mortal," Delfina said.
"It's probably a good thing that that shifter didn't see Tony, because if he was mad enough to shift involuntarily, then he might've done Tony serious harm, even though he was only a 10 year old boy at the time," Caspian said. "Shifters that mad are not known for thinking things through before they hurt or kill someone."
"I know that's one of the reasons everybody in that room was so mad, as we couldn't help but think of the consequences if Tony had been seen. Also, the fact that the father left his child alone for days on end so that Tony got bored and left the hotel room," Delfina said. "The hotel also wasn't in the best part of town and Tony could've been snatched up by somebody who sold him for all kinds of nefarious reasons, so you see the family has a lot of reasons to be furious at Tony's father."
"Yeah, I can see that," Caspian said looking contemplative. "Tony is a good man, though, despite his lack of parental guidance when he was a kid so you should be grateful for that."
"Occasionally, Caspian, you actually sound intelligent," Delfina told him meaning it as a compliment.
"Gee thanks, so much for your kind words," Caspian said making a face at Delfina's words.
Caspian's tone came out as sarcastic and Delfina simply grinned at him.
"You're welcome," Delfina told him her tone serene, not taking offense at Caspian's sarcasm.
In fact, a little smile played on her face after Caspian made a face at her comment. She so loved teasing her cousin and she always would.
~~~Tony and Delfina~~~
"I'm ready when you are, darling," Tony told Delfina.
The two of them had married just a few weeks ago and the wedding had been beautiful and perfect. They had just gotten back from their honeymoon actually. A wedding, that the senior DiNozzo had not been invited to.
Delfina had been prepared to turn him immortal by having disposable syringes already on hand. She had explained how she was going to inject her blood into a major vein and then let it circulate throughout his system changing him. Tony had known that DNA was involved as Delfina had told him that much, but hadn't gone into details. He had worked out the rest himself, knowing that blood would be the only way to turn him immortal because he wasn't immortal himself and Delfina didn't have the right equipment.
He had guessed that he would either be drinking in it, which was majorly gross or they'd be using syringes or possibly doing a blood transfusion. Those were the only three ways he could think of to transfer blood into his body, and he was definitely glad they were using pressure syringes and that he didn't have to drink it. Apparently, Delfina's family now had turning a mortal into what they were down to a science, which was a very good thing in his opinion.
"I'm going to inject you all right?" Delfina asked Tony.
"Of course it is, so long as you're sure I don't need to be the same blood type," Tony said.
"Nope, that doesn't matter with an immortal's blood, I promise," Delfina said. "They'd be no way to find an immortal with the same type of blood, so it's a good thing that blood types don't matter. My family has done this numerous times starting with the oldest daughter of my aunt and uncle Shawnda Rossi Reid."
"So your cousin had to turn her mate immortal," Tony guessed, and Delfina nodded.
"And in that case, Uncle Dave and Aunt Jazz had to work out a way to do it, because my uncle wasn't about to have sex with his son-in-law. It didn't take them long to figure out that only blood could change a mortal into an immortal other than sex. It's been done numerous times since then, so you have nothing to worry about."
"OK, I trust you," Tony said.
"I'm glad you do," Delfina told him kissing his cheek before she put the pressure syringe into position after tying a tourniquet around Tony's arm to make his vein pop and then pushed the plunger down all the way.
Tony didn't make a sound as Delfina did her work, but another syringe later she was done.
"You sure just two syringes is enough?" Tony asked.
"Yep," Delfina assured him smiling. "Our blood is ancient and powerful, so it really doesn't take much. You'll, go to sleep tonight and by morning you should be immortal. We'll have to test that of course, just to make sure we don't need another syringe of blood."
"You don't expect to need a third syringe," Tony said, studying Delfina's face.
"No, I don't, as two has always been enough before and I'm sure the same is true this time," Delfina said.
"So who drew your blood, as it wasn't me?" Tony asked something he'd been curious about for the last few minutes as Delfina had come all prepared with already filled syringes of an immortal's blood.
"Who do you think?" Delfina said smiling. "You've met Caspian and that's who drew my blood, as it's not like it's major surgery. It's really simple to do and even Cas couldn't mess it up."
"You just love disparaging your cousin don't you?" Tony said, shaking his head, smiling.
"What can I say? We just have that kind of relationship," Delfina told him also smiling. "I'll disparage him and he'll make the most interesting faces and will tell me not to be so mean and nasty and then we'll playfully argue for a few minutes and then drop it.
"You know he does have a few major faults including speaking before he thinks about what he's saying. He's like a toddler that way, as young children don't have any filters.
"He can also be kind of oblivious, as he didn't realize you were my mate, even though he was standing within hearing range when I accepted that first date from you, but then to be fair, he was paying only minimal attention, as he was helping a client. Still, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy teasing him about being oblivious to what's going on."
"Well, you do have a rather interesting relationship," Tony said. "He certainly a handsome enough guy with his slightly brown skin and gray eyes like his mother and his dark hair like both parents."
"Yeah, he is handsome, but me and Cas were brought up as siblings, so you don't need to worry about him having a crush on me or anything. That's the way my parents and godparents always raise their children, to be just friends and basically siblings. We were taught that we all had a mate out there somewhere and while we dated and everything until we find them, we never date a Hotchner or a Rossi depending on what family you're part of."
"So he's basically your brother, even though you aren't technically related," Tony said, and Delfina nodded.
"Exactly he's like my goofy kid brother. He is about three years younger than I am, but we're still of the same generation of children. I know we look the same age because an immortal stops aging at 30, but technically, there's that age gap, even if it's not obvious. So want to watch some TV before we go to bed," Delfina suggested.
"Sounds fine to me. Might as well give your blood a chance to work," Tony said. "Why don't we watch a movie?"
"Sounds fine to me," Delfina agreed, as she and Tony sat on the couch and both scanned menu for a movie that were playing on various channels and then picked one.
"You know my mother loved movies," Tony revealed, as the movie started to play on the big screen. "It was something we did together before she died. Every time I watch a movie that we saw together I remember how much fun I had with her just watching TV and laughing at the funny scenes."
"I know you miss your mother and you should," Delfina said. "If it's OK with you, we can name our first little girl Keira after her. It can be a way of honoring her memory."
"I would like that, and I'm sure my mom would be honored that I thought enough of her to name our oldest daughter after her," Tony said his voice emotional.
"That's what we'll do then," Delfina promised, even as she cuddled into Tony's side, putting her head comfortably on his shoulder as they resumed watching the movie that was playing on screen.
They were silent as they watched the movie, laughing it all the appropriate places. The two of them were lost in their thoughts, but they had come to an understanding that the first girl child they had would be named after Tony's mother. Keira DiNozzo had a nice ring to it.
By morning, Tony would be immortal and that pleased Delfina a great deal, as that way Tony would never die, and he would always be at her side, which made her enormously happy.
Delfina knew that her parents and godparents would be thrilled whenever she and Tony started having children.
The two of them, like the rest of her family would have numerous children over the centuries, making the family even bigger than it already was, and that was exactly how it should be.