Chapter 7

"So how did you change Cian into an immortal?" JJ asked Shonda after she'd had plenty of time to think over a couple of days.

"There are actually two ways to do it," Shonda explained calmly while puttering around in the kitchen. "One way, is through sex, which is only done with your mate. An immortal male never has sex with someone enough to even start to change them into an immortal unless they are the one. They either keep it to a very short relationship where they don't have sex every day or they use a condom when they penetrate a female. It has to do with DNA."

"Oh I see," JJ said blushing at what Shonda said so calmly. It was like she was talking about the weather. "What is the other way? You said there was two ways."

"I did, as there had to be a way for Jazz and my daughters to turn their mates when they're discovered and this has happened multiple times over the last few centuries," Shonda said. "It has to do with an immortals blood and pressure syringes."

"So you take an immortals blood and insert the syringe into a vein into someone like me who is completely mortal," JJ said.

"Exactly, though Cian won't have to do it that way with you unless you want him too," Shonda said. "Cian isn't female, which means the normal way is for him to have sex with you over a period of months until you absorb enough of his seed. By the way, welcome to the family."

"Thank you," JJ said blushing. "It's certainly a rather unusual family to be part of."

"It is, but really who wants to be normal?" Shonda asked JJ rhetorically with a little smile. "Jazz and I grew up in magical families. There were only a few magical family left here in Moonlight Gorge by the time me and Jazz were born. My father Michael was born here, but my mother was not and dad met her when he was traveling looking for antiques to sell at the shop. They were both magical so knew that they were mates and got married soon after they met. My mother moved here to be with my father and they were very happy together for many years. I wasn't born for quite a few years, but I found out from dad when I asked him, that mom had several miscarriages before she had me."

"That is so sweet," JJ decided. "It also explains why you have no siblings if your mother had trouble carrying a baby to term."

"I do have a sibling in Jazz," Shonda said simply. "We might not be related technically, but that doesn't matter, as we're sisters, even if we were born to two separate sets of parents. It's why Aaron and I always move to the same place that the Rossis go and we all make that decision together when it's time to move on."

"So I'm assuming you changed Cian by inserting a syringe of blood," JJ said. "I don't see Aaron having sex with a kid or someone you consider your son."

"You're absolutely right, JJ. One thing is, that an immortal never cheats on their mate, so even if Aaron was into his own gender he was not about to have sex with somebody he considered his son," Shonda told her smiling. "Originally, it had to be worked out how to change a male into an immortal. It had to be figured out for my goddaughter Shawnda, as she met her mate Spencer Reid, a veterinarian. After that, we had at least a baseline on how to do it. She was only the first to meet her mate, but it's happened multiple times so far, so you are only the latest in a long line."

"This mate thing must be a powerful force," JJ said.

"It is," Shonda said, even though she kept yourself busy in the kitchen as she and JJ talked. "I love Aaron so deeply that I would be totally lost without him and likely wouldn't live long if he were to die permanently instead of temporarily."

"But you're immortal," JJ said confused.

"Yes, we are, but it's kind of a limited immortality," Shonda explained calmly. "We are not gods and goddesses JJ. We can die if a certain set of circumstances are met. We're just as close to immortal as anybody has ever come, but if we were gods or goddesses for that matter we probably wouldn't be able to stand ourselves. We are basically humans with a few extra gifts like the ability to heal from even fatal wounds that would more then likely kill an ordinary human, the ability to never get sick and that's basically it. Oh and we never age past 30 if you're born immortal or if you're changed look the age you were changed into immortal. I was changed at 33 and Cian at 35, which is why he looks a few years older than Aaron and I."

"Why did you offer to change Cian though?" JJ wondered.

"Think about it JJ," Shonda told her with a raised eyebrow at JJ's naïve question. "Do you think Aaron and I or any of the children we had at that time wanted to lose him to death eventually? Aaron and I as well as Jazz and Dave took in a six year old boy, not just because it was the right thing to do, but because we all fell in love with him when we realized his plight. We didn't want him to become one of those statistics where he died on the street, which was very likely, considering he was only six at the time we found him. We simply changed the path he was on by discovering him and taking him in and then turning him immortal once he was old enough.

"Cian didn't have to agree to be changed, as Aaron and I gave him a choice, but he did so. We gave him that choice when he was 17 and going to college pretty soon. Offering to turn him immortal when he was that age gave him plenty of years to think about it to think about the pros and cons. If he had decided against it then we would've mourned him for a long time and buried him when he finally passed."

"Yes, I understand," JJ said after contemplating what Shonda had said.

"I'm certainly happy he decided to be turned immortal so that none of his family who had come to love him would lose him when he died of old age. We might not see him for years or even decades at a time, but we do talk over the link frequently, even if we're always careful to not talk about things like magic or immortality when we are communicating that way, since since such communication can be eavesdropped on. We keep in contact with all our children and godchildren, as do Dave and Jazz," Shonda explained.

"You sure do know your way around the house considering you've only been here a couple of days," JJ said as she watched Shonda move around as if she knew where everything was. Shonda seemed to know where everything was, even though she and Aaron had only been here for two days.

"There is a reason for that," Shonda told her smiling mischievously.

"What's the reason?" JJ wondered.

"This house has been in my family for centuries," Shonda explained smiling. "Going all the way back to when Jazz and I were growing up right here in this very town."

"You used to live here!" JJ realized suddenly understanding why her future mother-in-law seemed to know her way around the entire house not just the kitchen.

"Me and my parents lived here and then it was just dad after my mother passed as I had an apartment. I grew up in this very house and it might've been centuries since I've actually been here, but I still remember every room and where everything is. Maverick, his mate and children live here now. A lot of the furniture of course, is different from what I remember, but Aaron and I took some of the furniture with us when we moved so some new things had to be bought by the branch of our family that moved in once we left. There are some things that are in different places or new, but other than that, it's essentially as I remember it. There's different wallpaper or paint on the walls and the house has definitely been maintained and painted fairly recently but still it's basically the same home I grew up in."

"It must be eerie coming back somewhere you left basically several lifetimes ago," JJ said.

"It is, but we all agreed to come, because coming to Philadelphia would've been expensive and we knew that you haven't been working that long so it would have been a strain on finances for you. Cian said that you wouldn't let him pay for the shuttle trip if you came to Philadelphia, so this was our solution," Shonda told her.

"I can't believe Cian told you that," JJ said going red in embarrassment.

"He only happened to mention it, because he didn't want you to strain your finances paying for a ticket to come to see us," Shonda told her not unsympathetically. "Even third class would've been expensive. Cian said that you wouldn't let him pay, even though he has plenty of money through wise investments and also the antique stores he has run over the centuries. You can make a lot of money selling antiques and trust me Cian has millions of dollars.

"Aaron and I, also set up a trust fund for him just like we do for all our children, though they can't touch that fund until they're 21. Cian of course is long past that age. You shouldn't be embarrassed that Cian happened to mention your financial status as we understand that your bank account had been drained due to unexpected circumstances," Shonda explained.

"Having tight fiances happens to a lot of people, so there's no reason to chastise Cian for being concerned about you straining your bank account even farther, even though you're working again. None of us minded coming back to where it all began I promise you, as it gave us a chance to see how the town had changed since we all lived here more years ago then I like to think about."

"Cian would have offered to pay, I know that, but I also like to pay my own bills," JJ said. "It was very generous of him to want to pay for a lot of my meals and also my desserts and I got at Jazz's bakery. They never charged me a cent, because Cian always made sure he told the cashiers to put whatever I ordered on his account, which essentially meant I paid nothing. I don't know how they stay in business if they give their products away for free."

"It's only for family that they do that though," Shonda told JJ. "Trust me, any of Jazz's bakeries makes more than enough off other people that she or any other of the family that runs a bakery doesn't need to charge for their products for certain people. That's what you are JJ, family. You are Cian's mate and I'm assuming you're going marry him at some point, which means you'll never pay whenever you decide to patronize a bakery owned by the Rossis. I certainly never have, not ever since Jazz married Dave and I met Aaron anyway. Dave helped Jazz to invest many centuries ago, so she's very wealthy just as Aaron and I are. Jazz doesn't need the extra money she'd get from the family in order to live and live well. Even if she did need the money, Dave would never allow her to do without."

"There's no point of arguing with any of you, is there?" JJ sighed in resignation.

"Not for something like that no," Shonda told her with a smile. "I understand, very well, you're independent and were taught to pay for whatever you buy, but why not accept the free food when I offered?"

"Because it isn't fair to not pay for what I get at the bakery," JJ tried to protest.

"Do you know there have been several people just like you that tried to argue against Jazz's policy and you want to know what kind of progress they made in getting Jazz to change her mind?" Shonda asked JJ with a little smile.

"I'm guessing none," JJ said seeing Shonda's smile and guessing what it meant.

"Ding, ding, ding, give the lady a prize!" Shonda said jokingly when JJ answered Shonda's question correctly.

"Alright, fine, I give in," JJ said finally shoulders finally slumping in defeat. "I won't change Jazz's mind if other people have tried and failed to do so. I admit it is nice to get whatever I want from the bakery without being charged, but I still don't think it's right to not pay for whatever I want."

"No, you won't change any of the family's minds and you're doing the intelligent thing and not trying as argue with Jazz, as that will get you nowhere I promise you," Shonda told her smiling. "The two of us have known each other all our lives and she's as stubborn as can be so you won't change her mind. Anybody who was born into the family just accepts it for what it is, because they also have known Jazz all their lives. I will say this and that is, it saves us a ton of money on the sweets all of us so love. Every single one of the family loves Jazz's and her family's baking including those that have married into it."

"I can see that," JJ said.

~~~Cian and JJ~~~

"I like your family," JJ told Cian.

"I'm glad you do," Cian said, as he and JJ strolled along the trails in the park. The trails in the park was one of their favorite places to spend some time together without a lot of people around. Moonlight Gorge Memorial Park had not existed in Jazz's and Shonda's time, as it had been created after they had moved away.

The weather was perfect, warm but not hot with a slight breeze and the sky only had a few fluffy clouds.

"I won't say the information I was given wasn't earthshattering," JJ continued quietly.

"I know you just had your entire view of the world shifted dramatically to one side," Cian said. "I once heard my aunt describe it as a paradigm shift on steroids."

"That sounds about right," JJ decided. "I was kind of shocked when your aunt casually told me that she had once lived in the house that Maverick and his family live in now."

"I don't blame you for being shocked," Cian said. "But houses can last for centuries so long as they are taken care of and any repairs done so it shouldn't be so surprising that my Aunt Shonda grew up in that very house where one of her many descendants now lives."

"That's true," JJ agreed. "I don't know why I was so shocked that Shonda seemed to know where everything was, even if they all pretended at first that they didn't.

"We had to keep up the charade until you knew the truth, even if that was only for a few minutes," Cian explained a little sheepishly. "I know the house to, at least the downstairs portion, as I have visited Maverick and his family multiple times for dinner since I arrived, which is why I led originally. Now, that you know the truth though, we'll no longer keep any secrets from you. Since I want no more secrets between us I should tell you that every magical has a separate talent that is specific to them. My Aunt Shonda for example is a powerful telepath."

"I hope she hasn't been reading my mind," JJ said suddenly looking horrified at that thought.

"She wouldn't do that JJ, as she would never use her talent to invade someone's mind unless she suspected them of some kind of criminal activity that directly involved someone is her family or because she thought they were danger to those she loved. She was trained by her parents from earliest childhood to use her talent responsibly and not just to invade someone's privacy for no reason," Cian explained calmly.

"That's good to know," JJ decided sounding relieved. "So if all magicals have a talent specific to them alone, what's yours?"

"That's what I want to tell you and I just used my aunt as an example," Cian said. "No, I'm not a telepath like my aunt. I promise I'll never be able to invade your mind. I am an empath though."

"Empath," JJ said trying out the word that she had heard before but had never expected to meet anyone that actually had such a talent. It was written about in fiction, but she had never thought such a talent was actually real. "You mean you can sense others emotions."

"Exactly," Cian said. "I believe that is the reason I wondered into Aunt Shonda's antique store that day that is many years in the past now, as I believe, I felt her emotions from over a block away and somehow knew she could help me. It took me many years to realize this and by that time I was grown up. I didn't know I was empathic at first, but Aunt Shonda and Aunt Jazz helped me figure it out. Both those ladies think that's the reason I wandered into Aunt Shonda's shop that day, because if somebody hadn't taught me how to block out others emotions I would've gone quietly insane and maybe committed suicide."

"We never would've met if that had happened and that would have been tragic," JJ said with real horror in her voice, as she loved Cian so much. She would be lost without him, which was one reason she had decided to stay in Moonlight Gorge, as her feelings for Cian had already begun to develop after she had met him and he had rescued her.

"You never would've known me, so you wouldn't have known what you were missing. I might have been dead or at least never met Shonda and Aaron Hotchner," Cian said. "I realized long ago, I could easily have become some kind of criminal with an ability like I have, that is if I didn't die. I wouldn't have been trained to use it responsibly and not for selfish reasons. I can also control someone's emotions if I have to, but I don't like to do that, because it tires me out to where I sleep like the dead for hours sometimes days if I strain myself too much."

"I'm very glad the Hotchners took you in now. That they cared enough about you to raise you and figure out you had magic along with your empathic ability," JJ said.

"Believe me, I am to," Cian said. "My empathic ability is part of my magic as I wouldn't have it if I wasn't magical. I could sense your emotions back when I discovered your car stopped on the side of the road without really trying to. It was I couldn't block your emotions like I can most people and I figure that's because we're mates. You were scared, and I'm guessing if was because you thought I might be some kind of serial killer and also about the situation you were in. You were resigned because of that same situation. You were mad and I'm guessing you were, because your car had broken down and left you stranded before you had reached civilization."

"That's exactly right," JJ said amazed at Cian's insight, but now she knew that her love was centuries old so she supposed it made sense that he would be able to guess what she's been thinking once he had felt her emotions. Coupled with her situation it probably wouldn't have been hard for him to guess what she'd been thinking. "I now understand why you practically begged me to stay in Moonlight Gorge though," JJ added quietly, giving Cian's hand a gentle squeeze. "Why you insisted you would follow me to Milwaukee if I insisted on going back home."

"I know you thought it was just lust and attraction that would fade in a few months, but then I also knew you didn't know about immortals and mates at the time so I understood your reluctance to get to involved with someone from a different city and state. Louisiana and Milwaukee aren't exactly very close to each other," Cian explained quietly as they continued to meander along the trail in the park.

"No, they aren't," JJ acknowledged quietly, even as they listened to the birds sing in the trees and leaves rustle. "You know I never imagined that soulmates actually existed."

"I can't blame you for that, because they don't for most people, at least as far as I know," Cian said. "Until my family told you about what they were you didn't believe in things like bonds or mates or magic. If regular humans had such a thing there wouldn't be such a high rate for divorce in this country. I want you to know that I love you so much I know my feelings will never change. In fact, they'll only deepen the more time we spend together to where I would die if anything were happen permanently to you.

"I would go out of my way to get myself killed and the thing is, I would have to have one of the family do the deed, because it would be nearly impossible for me to die without any help because of my immortality. Of course, so long as you are alive and we're together I'm not planning on dying anytime soon, but I'm just telling you how I feel. I already love you so deeply that I'll never stop and we haven't known each other that long at all, as a year is a mere drop in the bucket of infinity."

"I love you too," JJ admitted horrified at what Cian had revealed. "I never imagined I could love someone so completely like I do you. I caved easier for you when you begged me to stay in Moonlight Gorge then I would have anybody else. It's not that I wasn't willing to start over just that you convinced me to move here much easier then anybody else would have."

"That's just the way it is when you're mates," Cian commented.

"You know your family never did explain how they became immortal," JJ commented. "I never believed in supernatural before a few days ago anyway."

"I don't blame you for that actually," Cian said. "I know most people don't, but you also have to realize that's a good thing. Anyone with strange powers would likely catch the attention of the government and they'd be killed outright or forced to work for them I'm sure. The government isn't exactly known for its benevolence. Magicals at least went into hiding sometime in the dark ages as for immortals I don't really know where they come from originally, though there are different methods that will turn you as immortal as a human is likely to ever be. Both Uncle Dave and Uncle Aaron were changed by two different methods. From what I know about how Uncle Dave was changed it was due to a very powerful wizard named Godfrey Ambrosius. He rescued the family from their upcoming executions for having magic. Magic was considered evil back when Godfrey was born no matter if it was used for only good purposes. That was back before magicals went underground."

"That's fascinating," JJ admitted. "I don't know why your uncle would have agreed to it though."

"I don't know why he did, as I never thought to ask, so you'll have to ask him sometime. I'm sure you're not the only one that has been curious as to why he agreed to let Godfrey change him into what he is today," Cian said. "I'm sure if you ask him he'll tell you why he agreed to it.

"I'll think about it," JJ said.

"As for Uncle Aaron, he was changed by a totally different method to my Uncle Dave," Cian said and explained how his Uncle Aaron had been turned immortal.

"I'm looking forward to learning more about both the Rossis and the Hotchners," JJ said.

"I don't blame you, as their history is fascinating. I am something of a history buff, especially for family history, as I have to do something with my immortality after all," Cian said. "I've heard numerous stories about events that actually happened to them and then those events ended up in the history books and also, a lot of their misadventures that never did end up being written about."

The two finished their walk in silence.

"So where to next? The bakery?" Cian asked JJ. "We haven't been today."

"That would be good, then maybe, we could go see a vid now that I have the money to do stuff like that again," JJ suggested. "I really used to enjoy going to a vid, though I usually went alone, so it'll be much more fun with my boyfriend."

"Then we will have to find out what's playing, something we'll both enjoy. No romances, as those types of vids are for women," Cian admonished gently.

"I enjoy a good romance, but we can choose an action or comedy film this time," JJ agreed giving Cian a break by not insisting that they go to romantic flick, since it was clear that Cian at least disliked them if not hated them.

Cian breathed a visible sigh of relief that JJ was being so accommodating making JJ giggle at Cian's relief.

~~~Cian and JJ~~~