Chapter 8

"So I've been wanting to ask you how are you going to accomplish turning me immortal?" Kip asked what he and Zara alone at her apartment, which was far bigger than his.

"It's simple," Zara explained. "It has to do with DNA."

Kip was quick to work that out, as he was an intelligent man. "I'm assuming that you take a syringe of an immortals blood and insert it into someone like me who is completely mortal at the moment."

"Exactly," Zara agreed. "There is another way to do it, but since I'm female, it's not possible in your case."

Kip looked momentarily puzzled and then comprehension dawned. "The other way is through sex."

"Very good Kip," Zara applauded him, as she actually clapped her hands to show her approval at Kip's quick understanding. "It has to be explained to most people who undergo the procedure. They might have eventually worked it out on their own, but not right away like you did."

Kip blushed at Zara's clear approval of him, working it out so quickly.

"There's no rush on that by the way. Take your time to absorb all you learned," Zara added.

"I'm ready now," Kip said, "but I suppose, it can wait, until after you meet my parents and my brother, but after that I'm more than willing to go through the process. Is there any pain involved? I mean you'll essentially be overwriting my DNA, as an immortal's blood overtakes my cells."

"No, there's no pain involved," Zara promised, even as she kissed him passionately. "It'll take a couple of syringes worth of my blood, but you can sit on the couch and watch the vid screen or simply go to bed and by morning the process will be complete."

"That's good to know," Kip admitted with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it is," agreed Zara. "Personally, I think it was designed that way on purpose by whoever created immortals, as who would want to go through so much pain just to be changed?"

"So how were immortals created in the first place?" Kip wanted to know.

"No one really knows, not even my father who's been around since the dark ages," Zara said. "I don't blame you for your curiosity, but that knowledge has been lost for centuries. All I know is that there are a couple of different methods to it, as far as anybody knows anyway. Both my father and my uncle were changed by different means. It's even likely that there's more than those two methods of changing someone into an immortal, but I have no way of knowing if that's true or not, I don't think anybody does."

"That's too bad," Kip said. "You've got my scientific curiosity all afire."

"Yeah, I know. They're a lot of members of our family, ones that were changed like you're going be, that were curious just like you, but I'm afraid there are no answers," Zara chuckled.

"Oh well, I suppose I'll have to live with it," Kip chuckled smiling. "My curiosity won't kill me—probably."

"Curiosity has never killed anyone," Zara said.

"Didn't someone once say that curiosity killed the cat?" Kip inquired with a sparkle of humor in his eyes.

"Now there is a very old saying," Zara said chuckling again.

"But it's still a well used phrase, probably because there's a lot of truth to it," Kip bantered back.

"That's true," Zara said enjoying the bantering with Kip.

She hadn't been this happy in centuries and joy practically radiated off her.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know your family better and meeting your extended family, as I know you have a lot of them," Kip said.

"And I'm looking forward to meeting your parents and brother," agreed Zara. "By the way those cousins are really my siblings from different generations, but most people never discover that and for very good reason. Also, we consider the Hotchner children our cousins as well, even though technically the Hotchners and Rossis are not related."

"My parents can't wait to meet you, though they don't know about the fact, that you have magic yet, as when I told them that I met my mate I didn't know that you shared that with my family. They were very excited and happy for me and can't wait to meet you, as I told you before. Also, I can see why you consider the Hotchner family, your cousins, considering that their parents are your godparents," Kip said.

"And the reason they are godparents is my aunt and mom have been best friends, as you know, going all the way back to when they were mortal. While my aunt didn't meet Aaron Hotchner for three years after mom had met my father that didn't matter. With being a mate to an immortal you have to share at least some similarities like ethics and morals. Dad and Mom might not have known a lot about my uncle at first, but they knew he was a good man and that was all that mattered. My aunt never could've been the mate to someone that didn't respect others and treat them with politeness at least," said Zara.

"I understand what you're saying," Kip said. "That's the way the mate bond works as you have to have a lot of the same similarities and not just surface traits either."

"We'll have to take a trip soon just like we did so you could meet my parents," Zara added. "It's kind of a pain that neither one of our families live here in Celina, or at least somewhere nearby enough that we can drive to visit them on occasion. In my family's case, it's understandable, because immortals always pick a big city to live in for a generation, as people are less likely notice if anything odd happens unless it's right in front of them, with me being the exception."

"So you move every few decades," Kip asked and Zara nodded.

"We never stay someplace more than 100 years and that's only because lifespans have lengthened considerably over the centuries. We do things to disguise our looks, add hair color to our hair or wear a wig, that kind of thing. It's all superficial changes, but at least it makes us look a little older. We might still not look our true ages, but so long as we show some signs of getting older most people never notice. Even people that know us well rarely notice that we don't really look our supposed ages. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule."

"Some people are simply more observant and notice more than most people," Kip said.

"Some people are also a lot more curious than others. There are people that just won't mind their own business if something catches their eye and makes them curious," said Zara.

"Yeah, I've known people like that," Kip agreed. "With as long as you live you're bound to run across people like that occasionally."

"Yes, we are, as we take part in society, as an immortal needs stimulation more often than a human, since we do live so long. Boredom and tedium is an immortal's enemy, more so than it is to a human. We can't live in a bubble, in isolation in other words. Just like anybody we have our hobbies, our jobs and our families, though in an immortals case, they wait until they meet their mate to settle down, but that doesn't mean they don't have relationships before that happens."

Kip listened in fascination, and also learned as he would soon be part of that world.

The two continued to talk for a few minutes before they kissed and dropped the conversation in favor of other activities.

~~~Kip and Zara~~~

Epilogue

50 years later

"So you ready to move to our next destination for the next few decades?" Zara asked Kip as they finished packing.

"Yes, I am. I'm looking forward to it," Kip replied, even as the two of them shared a dramatic kiss.

The two of them were just as much in love now as they had been 50 years ago when they had first met.

The two of them had worked side-by-side at the historical society for well over 30 years before they retired. They raised their six children in that time. The sixth, a girl, had been something of a surprise, but not an unwelcome or unwanted one.

The two of them had eventually married and their wedding included only about 100 people, which left out a lot of the family. Zara's family was just too large and unwieldy for it to be feasible to invite everyone without renting a stadium in order for them all to be present.

It had been a beautiful ceremony and both had enjoyed it immensely as they were wed. When the priest had said till death do you part Zara had thought to herself, 'What little you know priest.'

There would be no death to ever part them unlike normal, mortal humans.

The two of them had so far shared 50 years together, sharing their joys and sorrows. They had taken great pride in the birth of each of their children and loved watching them grow and change. As years, then decades, went by the children grew up and got out on their own.

Zara had been right about some of her children inheriting her gift, and the fact that only two of them had and the rest had inherited Kip's was better then all of them getting it, as unlikely as that was. That only two had inherited her talent was a great relief. Zara certainly wished that none of them had inherited her troublesome gift, but that wasn't the way genetics worked unfortunately. Still, it was what it was, as her family had told her on more than one occasion so she had learn to deal with it.

At least her children had someone to guide them in the use of their gift unlike her and that made a huge difference from her own childhood. Zara had been there to offer them advice and sooth them when necessary, and she knew her children loved her for that. When they came to her because somebody had called them weird or strange or crazy because they saw her child seemed to be talking to themselves.

There had been far fewer such incidents where her child was caught seeming to be talking to an imaginary friend then when she had been growing up and that's only because she's been around to advise them. It's not that her parents had ignored her problem, they just hadn't known what was going on, as her mother had not known that such a talent had run in her family. What that meant was any children she had with Kip their childhood would be infinitely easier than her own had been.

That didn't mean that, Zara wasn't hoping that the next time she and Kip had children that they wouldn't inherit her gift, but she'd have to wait and see. She probably wouldn't be that lucky however, so she would just have to deal with it when and if it occurred.

"The moving van will be here tomorrow," Zara said. "We need to get everything ready before then. We need to make sure we pack everything we're taking with us before they get here."

"Honey, there's only so much we can take since we're flying. We can't take a ton of suitcases. We just need to take the essentials and leave the rest for the movers."

"But we need to..." Zara begin.

Kip walked over and kissed Zara very thoroughly in order to stop her from overthinking things.

That shut her up right quick as she was too busy, kissing him back to continue what she had been about to say

"You've moved plenty of times before you know the routine," Kip told Zara calmly. "Don't panic or overthink things now."

"I've never moved with my mate before though or anyone, as I was always by myself, so it didn't really matter if I forgot something," Zara said feeling more calm after her mate's kiss.

"It doesn't matter if you forget anything now, as it can always be replaced," Kip told her. "Even if we left something valuable behind it doesn't really matter. Perhaps someone who needs something valuable to sell in order to pay off bills will find it."

"Or it could be someone who doesn't need the money, but is greedy could find whatever is left and sell it," Zara pointed out.

She was always amazed that Kip tended to look on the positive side of things instead of the negative. Just like his last comment about someone needing the money to pay bills no matter what they were.

"Things get lost when people move anyway and if they're lucky it's nothing valuable," Kip said. "Even if it is, it isn't going to break us, quite the contrary."

"But you or I might love what was lost," Zara said, "and be devastated to lose it."

"It still doesn't matter, as we'll survive and get over it," Kip said. "What you need is a distraction, so I say we go out for a meal and then come back and finish this before the moving men come tomorrow. All your kitchen appliances, pots and pans and everything else is already packed up so going out instead of ordering takeout is the best option right now."

"I suppose we could go out," said Zara with uncertainty in her tone.

"Sweetie, you need to relax for a couple of hours," Kip told her more firmly and Zara gave in.

She knew better than to argue when Kip used that tone of voice, as it basically meant that he wasn't going to change his mind so there was no point of arguing.

Besides, he was right, though she hated to admit it.

"Alright fine," Zara said giving in.

"Good why don't you go get your coat? It's a bit chilly," Kip said before Zara could change her mind.

Kip didn't move from his spot until Zara headed into the bedroom to get her coat and then stood there waiting for her to come back with it. In the meantime, he got his own jacket, which was over the back of a chair and when Zara finally emerged from the bedroom, was waiting with his jacket already in place.

"Why don't we go to Landry's and have a fine meal before we come home to finish packing our things," Kip suggested

"That sounds good," Zara said, even as she kissed Kip's cheek.

Zara sounded calmer, Kip immediately noticed, but he was still going to take her out for a nice meal before they came back to their temporary home

"Come on, I'm starving," Kip said as he led Zara out of the apartment, making sure he locked the door behind him.

"You're always, starving," Zara chuckled her good humor restored.

The two of them walked towards the elevator, and Kip made sure Zara got in before him so that she didn't go back to their apartment to start packing again. "At least we're moving someplace that has a bakery, unlike for this generation."

The two of them still lived in Celina, Texas and had ever since they met at the historical society.

"I can't wait to get treats on a regular basis," Kip said smiling.

Kip had had other treats in their years together, but it was an irregular occurrence and only when they were up visiting her family to where they had settled down.

"I can't blame you there as I miss them too, as unlike you I got them regularly when I was a child and whenever I lived in a city that had a bakery or at least one somewhere close enough that I could drive there in a reasonable amount of time," Zara said.

"I'm sure we'll live somewhere in the future that doesn't have a bakery close enough that it would be feasible for us to go on a regular basis," Kip said.

"Hopefully, not for a long time. Living without sweets from one of the families bakeries has been hard. It is not an experience I want to repeat anytime soon," Zara said, empathically and Kip chuckled, as this was a subject that both of them agreed on.

It had been a terrific 50 years ever since they met and Kip couldn't wait for the next 50, which he knew would probably pass like the wind, just as the last five decades had.

The two of them didn't need to get jobs right away as both of them had plenty of money, as Zara had helped him invest so he had a lot of his own.

Life was very good, not just good, spectacular and Kip was really looking forward to the future.