Part 9

August, 1860

"Come on, Jenny it's time to go," Penelope called. "We are going to miss our ship if we don't hurry.

"Yes, mom," JJ called from upstairs.

The three of them had decided together to go on a European tour, now that JJ's disappearance was a thing of the past.

JJ had been accepted as Aaron's niece from a brother that had died, within a few months of her coming to live with the Hotchners, so she had been Jenny Hotchner for the last five years. Anybody who had legal hold over was dead, as Aaron had quietly gotten rid of her father and made it appear, as if he'd had some sort of accident and JJ had been more than relieved that he was gone when she heard the news and she didn't seem to suspect that it had not been anything but an accident. This was a good thing as both Aaron and Penelope wanted to protect her from the darker side of humanity if they could, just like any parent would toward their daughters in particular.

"Oh, this is so exciting," JJ said enthusiastically rushing down the stairs and twirling around excitedly. "I've never been anywhere, except Philadelphia before."

"Well you're about to see places like England, Spain, Italy, France and perhaps, Rome and Germany," Aaron said smiling at JJ's enthusiasm. "There are lots of places over there to explore and Penny and I have been to some of them, but there's a lot of places we've never seen either. We might just decide to stay over there for the next 20 years, maybe settle some place like London since they do speak English."

"Yes, but you and I speak a lot of languages, even if Jenny doesn't," Penelope said.

"Still, we need to go somewhere that most of the citizens at least speak English, so that JJ can understand what's being said, as we won't always be around to translate for her."

"I'm sure you'll pick up at least some of the language while your over there, but you really need to live within a country in order to learn it," Penelope said.

"Still, this will be fun, as I've never been on a ship before," JJ said with excitement in her baby blue eyes. "And once we get to Europe I can go back to being JJ again as I miss that I admit."

"Well, that's what your mother called you before she died so I can certainly understand that," Penelope said, as she gave her daughter in every way except blood a hug. Really JJ was more of a sister then a daughter, even if that's the roles that they acted when out in public. To everybody else, except her and Aaron JJ was Aaron's niece from a brother that died and they had taken her in, because she had no other place to go. "Still, it is exciting to be traveling so far away from home for the first time, especially if you've never been anywhere and have lived your whole life in the city you were born. I remember that feeling very well from the first time that Aaron and I took a ship overseas, once he was sure I could control my bloodlust among so many other people with beating hearts. He wanted to make sure that I didn't kill somebody when I was feeding, as that was a big no-no, as that person likely would've been missed. Still, eventually we did make it back here to the States and lived several place before deciding to settle in Philadelphia."

"Yeah, we had a fine time visiting places like Italy and England, seeing some of the sites," Aaron said with a smile on his face. "Still, there's a lot to see and do once we arrive and JJ has never seen any of the historic sites over there."

"Who knows she might need a nice young man that she wants to marry," Penelope teased JJ. "After all technically, she's an old maid by now, because she's 20 and she should've been married at least two years ago."

"I could've been, but I decided that it wasn't a good idea to get interested in anyone in my old hometown. Besides, why should I be forced to marry before I'm good and ready to? I'm still quite young, by today's standards and if I'm not married by the time I'm 30 then you can make a big deal out of it," JJ shot back.

"I was just teasing you sweetie," Penelope told her smiling, "as you're correct you have the right to marry or not marry as you choose."

"I know," JJ giggled, "but we had better get going or we're going to miss our ship."

"Yes, we need to get going," Aaron who had been listening to the conversation said with a smile on his face. His mate and JJ were so close that really they were more then daughter and mother, more sisters then anything and that made his mate happy made him happy.

Aaron lifted one of the trunks that had been brought downstairs easily and carried it outside, before coming back for another and finally the last one.

JJ and Penelope followed Aaron outside and Aaron made sure to lock the door before the three of them got into the hired carriage, so it could take them down to the dock where their ship was waiting.

The three of them talked and laughed as the hired carriage made its way down the long driveway, although it was mostly Penelope and JJ that we're talking and laughing as Aaron watched them with a smile making an occasional appropriate comment.

~~~Aaron and Penelope~~~

"This has been so fun," JJ said enthusiastically. The three of them had enjoyed exploring England and France and now they were moving on to Spain.

"We are glad you're enjoying yourself," Penelope told JJ smiling.

"Of course, I am as I've never left Philadelphia, before, as I told you several months ago," JJ told the two people who had become very close to her and were like a second set of parents. The were more parental figures to her then her own father had been, although who knew how different he would've been if her mother hadn't died, not that that was any excuse or anything. "As much as I enjoyed the food, and the places we've been it's also very exhausting, as we seem to be constantly on the go."

"Yes, traveling so much for a mortal anyway is very tiring," Aaron agreed calmly. "I think that you should sleep yourself out and we'll go to breakfast or perhaps, lunch when you wake, as you need your sleep so that you don't make yourself ill. I know you haven't been sick very often since you started living with us five years ago, but you have been several times, even if it was just a cold. There's no point of compromising your immune system because you tried to do too much."

"I am tired," JJ admitted.

"Perhaps, we can just hang around the hotel room all day read and relax. Maybe buy a board game and play that," Penelope suggested.

"Well, there are several books I've been wanting to read and I brought them with me," JJ admitted.

"Well, this is a good time to do it, as we don't have to go out and do things every day, we can just stay here and relax, as we're not on any type of schedule," Aaron said.

"Perhaps, we can stay here for a few years settle someplace like Italy, as I see no reason we absolutely have to get back to the States, as we told people that we were moving because Aaron had gotten a better job elsewhere, so it's not like anybody expects us back," Penelope suggested.

"It's an idea," Aaron said, "as I certainly don't mind settling someplace like Italy for awhile. Of course, we can make the decision together at a later date, but right now we are just having fun exploring the sites and you ladies love shopping."

"What can I say the European fashions sure are different from what's available in America," JJ giggled happily, as she had finally been convinced in the last five years that owning nice things was not a sin, and that she should enjoy just being female and also showing it.

"Well, Europe has been around for a lot longer than America has," Aaron gently reminded his daughter, "because America wasn't discovered before Christopher Columbus in 1492, so really it's only existed for not quite 400 years."

"In other words you're saying that, America is still very primitive compared to Europe," JJ said.

"Yes, but they are catching up quite rapidly, but Europe is still very old world, because they've been around for a very long time," Aaron said.

"It's pretty fascinating hearing history from your perspective considering that you've lived through a lot of it," JJ said.

"I'm glad you find it so interesting as motion woman wouldn't care about history at all," said Aaron pleased.

"I've always liked to learn new things and you really make it come alive," JJ said, "Unlike the history teacher that I had before you took me away from that. I'm actually surprised that you didn't make me go to some new school or people didn't find out and force the issue since it is the law."

"Well, we told people that we were homeschooling you, because we felt that you wouldn't fit in at any school considering that you were already 15 when we rescued you. We told people that since you hadn't been going to school since the beginning at least not in Philadelphia that we just felt it was better if you didn't try to play catch up with the other students at such a late date. Children tend to resent a newcomer anyway, especially if that student is doing better than they are."

"Oh, so that's why," JJ said in understanding

"That's why and you already knew how to read, write and do basic math, which is much better than a lot of people, so what was the point really? Most of the rest of the classes, were things that the females supposedly needed to know, but you wouldn't've been allowed attend any classes that interested you, like the boys are taught chess for example," said Aaron with a shrug.

"It's not exactly a very fair system, but things are improving and they're certainly much better than they were when I was born," Penelope added.

"And you have been learning things from us, things that no female is taught, because we want you to be better prepared for the real world then most females will ever be, so that you aren't very easily taken advantage of," Aaron added.

"Most fathers prefer to keep their daughters, as innocent as possible, so they don't really know how the world works for the most part as all they care about is fashion, boys or having families of their own, although some families are different like mine was. Of course, that's only in really rich families not those that are poor or middle class, as the females in that case have no choice but to enter the workforce in order to help feed their families," said Penelope.

"That's a good way to get yourself in serious trouble," JJ snorted. "I know enough about the world now to know it's a dangerous place and how do those women not to get conned or worse once their fathers or their husbands are gone?"

"Well, some are smart enough to know about the dangers and crime never seems to hit most people, although there have been times where women have been conned out of their life savings or a large chunk of their inheritance for example. However, since there's not much we can do about it Penelope and I basically ignore it. The world isn't a fair place, never has been, never will be. I'm not saying that things haven't improved a great deal, but there will always be those that try to take advantage of others, and people are stupid enough to fall for it and not just women either. There will always be naïve people in the world or just plain stupid ones and also those that take advantage of any sign of weakness."

"As fascinating as this conversation is I think I'm going to go take a nap, since we've decided we're not going anywhere," JJ yawned.

"You go right ahead, as you probably need it," Penelope told her kindly.

"Sleep yourself out," Aaron added with a smile.

JJ smiled at them and then headed towards her room where she shut the door gently behind her.

"Well we could be doing some things while JJ is getting some rest," Aaron suggested.

"I know exactly where your mind is going. I should considering we've been together for over 130 years now," Penelope giggled, as she kissed her mate on the lips. "This time in Europe with JJ has been really fun, but maybe we overdid it, as we forgot that JJ at least needs to rest, relax and not always be on the go. From now on we need to make sure that we put a day of rest in our schedule at least once a week where we do nothing except relax. We might not need to do that, but JJ does and since she's not one to complain..."

"We need to watch her more closely and make sure she doesn't overdo it," Aaron finished.

"Exactly, and I know we both forgot about that, because she always seems so full of energy," Penelope said. "I'm not saying that she hasn't been enjoying herself, just that she hasn't had enough time to truly relax while we've traveled from place to place and traveling all the time is tiring enough for someone mortal like JJ is."

"We'll keep a close eye on it from now on," Aaron promised, "as we wouldn't want her getting sick on her vacation."

"Well, at least she looks better than she did when she first came to us, as she's no longer so thin and is the appropriate weight for her size and I for one was glad to see it happen," Penelope mentioned and Aaron nodded.

"Yeah, me too," Aaron agreed. "But now Miss Penny I believe we have better things to do, as we haven't been able to be as spontaneous as we would like ever since we kind of adopted JJ. It's not that I regret that decision at all, just that I miss being able to fuck you senseless anytime I like."

"That's fine with me," Penelope giggled, not shocked at her husband's language, "and Aaron I believe it's time we have a child as it's been about 25 years since I last had one."

"You're sure, as we won't be able to travel as fast with a kid, even if they grow relatively quickly," Aaron said.

"Yes, I'm sure, because JJ has already said that she'll be happy to help us look after them, although I don't plan on having more than two since we are moving from place to place and I don't want to have to deal with five or six," Penelope said.

"That's sensible if you ask me," Aaron said. "Alright then, if you want another child right now I'll be happy to oblige you. I think JJ's been astonished that we haven't had any kids in the five years she's been living with us, but we wanted a little bit more time with no kids to worry about, before I got you pregnant again. Also JJ needed to settle in and truly realize that she was a genuine part of our family, before we had anymore, as we didn't want her to feel isolated or alienated."

"I'll meet you in the bedroom," Penelope said, as she winked at him seductively and Aaron growled at that little gesture, as his cock stood at attention, lust swelling through his form.

"You had better be totally nude by the time I come into the bedroom or I'm going to rip the clothes off your body and I don't care if they are ones you just bought," Aaron warned. "You want another child and I'll be perfectly happy to get you in that state I promise you, as I certainly enjoy the process of getting you impregnated."

"And I certainly enjoy whatever you decide to do to me," Penelope giggled, as she walked sexily to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes behind her.

Aaron knew the way his mate was acting was for his benefit and he was just fine with that, so long as such displays were for him alone.

He watched as his mate disappeared into the bedroom before he followed her a few seconds later.

There was nothing that he'd rather be doing then making love to his gorgeous mate.

~~~Aaron and Penelope~~~

"Oh, a baby," JJ squealed happily when she was told.

"I figured it was time," Penelope said smiling at JJ's excitement. "It's been 2 1/2 decades since the last time Aaron and I have had a child and while I've been grateful for the break, since I was getting pregnant fairly frequently before we met that shaman. I just figured it was time as a vampire child isn't going to be much trouble to take care of, as there's a lot of things that they don't need like a human infant."

"We won't even need to settle somewhere unless we want to," Aaron added. "It'll only be a month before they're walking and talking."

"That's really pretty amazing," JJ said. "It sure does make me long for a child of my own though."

"That's only natural, but you'll have children of your own someday, as you'll meet a man that thinks the sun rises and sets on you and treats you well," Penelope told JJ. "Really that's what most people want a home and a family, but you're also still incredibly young at just 20, so you have plenty of time to have that family."

"Still, in the meantime you can babysit our son or daughter, as that will give you plenty of practice for when you have your own kids," Aaron said with a smile. "Also we plan to have a second one after this to give our child a playmate, but after this we're not having anymore until we decide to settle somewhere for awhile."

"When you're moving from place to place I think that's more than sensible," JJ said, "as you don't need a half a dozen of them in that case."

"Yeah, we've had quite a few at one time," Penelope admitted chuckling, "but that was only because we didn't know of a way to prevent me from getting pregnant when I didn't want to be. Having children is a fine thing I'm not denying it, but a vampire who has found their mate their fertility, wouldn't have anytime alone, because they'd be having children every few months."

"There's no way that mates are not going to have sex with each other all the time and not just every once in awhile," Aaron added, "especially if the bond is still very new. It takes awhile for the bond to mature and settle down, 5 to 10 years at the very least, but sometimes it's longer."

"And during that time you want sex constantly with your mate," Penelope added. "Aaron and I did little else for at least the first 15 years after our mating, which means that we had a lot of children during that time."

JJ blushed at that, because she was still only 20 after all and had absolutely no sexual experience. In other words, she was still a virgin. Besides, well bred young ladies did not talk about that type of thing out in the open or even with other ladies or at at least that's what she had been told by some people she had known. It was considered gauche at the very least, but on the other hand, she had never been very good at obeying societies rules that said females weren't to talk about a lot of things that men could talk about freely. Besides, it was clear that Penelope at least thought that society's rules were kind of silly for the most part, as she never filtered what came out of her mouth and was very forthright, although mostly not out in public. JJ suspected that it wasn't just Penelope that did that, but likely all vampire women, because when you were centuries old you were bound to have a different perspective then any mortal. Also times had changed considerably and women were a lot freer than they had used to be to do what they wanted with their lives, well mostly anyway.

"Hopefully, you'll find someone who loves you just as much as you do them and I truly hope that happens to you," Aaron told JJ. "Of course, neither Penelope or I would ever force you into marriage so if you decide not to take that option that's up to you."

"I know and I thank you for it," JJ said. "I've certainly been happy for the last almost six years then I was before then, after my mother died."

"That wouldn't be really hard actually considering that your father basically ignored your existence," Penelope snorted her contempt clear. "I know I'm rather outspoken particularly for a woman, but I always thought it was kind of silly to keep a women so isolated, even if that's only in higher class families. Of course, I also realize that I'm much more intelligent then most women or at least my father encouraged me to think for myself, which I know is at least part of the reason I think so."

"Personally, I like that outspokenness, but then I realize I'm prejudiced, since you are my mate," Aaron said. "Besides, vampire females are totally different from humans. I doubt very much that any vampire female over about 50 is innocent, because we're very sexual creatures for one thing and that of course, includes the females. Also we have to drink blood in order to survive and there is no way that a vampire female is going to let some male bring her a mortal to feed off of, unless she's just given birth and that's only if there's a male available to do so and wants to. As for me I don't mind bringing my mate some mortal to feed off of if she's just given birth, which is about the only time that she won't be able to hunt for herself, but since we're mated it's different."

"I probably could still hunt for myself, because I would have to if I had just given birth and I didn't have a mate to bring me my dinner, but it would be considerably harder, because I'd be so weak from just giving birth, but still, I'd be much stronger then any human."

"Yes, that's true," Aaron admitted. "I hadn't thought of that actually, but you would have to hunt for yourself and also your child if you didn't have anyone to help. Luckily, a vampire female, unless they're mated of course, don't get pregnant very easily, although it has been known to happen."

"Why is that?" JJ asked curiously.

"Well, it is believed that vampires who are mates are a near perfect match biologically, down to our very genetic structure," Aaron explained. "It is a miracle that vampires can have children anyway considering what we are and the females at least get pregnant easier if they have sex with a mortal, even if the vampire genes are dominate. But when you're having sex with another vampire there's no guarantee that you'll get pregnant and most of the time it doesn't happen. Sometimes of course, two vampires that have sex with each other beat the odds against it, as it's not impossible or anything, just unlikely, " Aaron explained with a shrug.

"So you're saying that when a male and female vampire have sex it's unlikely that the female will end up pregnant, unless of course, there mates like you two are. However, if they have sex with a mortal it's more of a guarantee that they'll be pregnant afterwards."

"Well not a guarantee, but it's certainly more likely," Penelope said. "Of course, it also seems to depend on how old the female vampire was when she was turned in the first place if she wasn't born one like so many of them are. Both Aaron and I have met vampires that were in their 50s or even 60s when they were changed and therefore they're no longer able to have children or at least it's not very likely, since most women are not sexually active at that age or at least not very much."

"Of course, for vampires it's different, as even those changed at such an age are very sexually active, they just can't have children, even if they meet their mate, which is even more unlikely then it is for the ones that were changed when they were younger," Aaron added.

"Well, this is certainly fascinating and everything," JJ said smiling, "but why don't we go out for dinner, as I'm feeling much better after my nap. Besides, I'm starving since I missed lunch."

"That's just fine with us," Penelope said immediately after glancing at her mate who nodded.

"I'll just ask one of the hotel employees if they know of any good restaurants," Aaron said smiling, "while you ladies get ready. Dress semiformally as I'll try to get us in somewhere expensive that requires it as I think the fact that Penelope is pregnant is the cause for celebration."

"You just want to spoil me," Penelope mock accused him.

Aaron shrugged looking guilty, but then left the hotel room without responding.

"Well, he sure does know how to make an exit," JJ giggled.

"He sure does," Penelope chuckled. "I don't really mind him spoiling me actually, as it lets me know that he loves me without him having to say the words I just like to tease him about it."

"I've noticed," JJ giggled again.

"Well, let's go get dressed for dinner, shall we?" Penelope suggested with a smile.

"Alright," JJ agreed and the two walked arm-in-arm to their rooms where they separated so they could get dressed for a nice evening out.

~~~Aaron and Penelope~~~