Part 11
"This is really nice, Dave," JJ told the vampire who was sitting beside her.
"I'm glad you think so," Dave said, smiling.
The two of them were dressed very casually as they were sitting on a blanket, with a picnic basket in front of them.
The two of them had been going out for several months and in fact Dave was over at the Hotchner estate nearly every day, even if all they did was talk. JJ had to admit that David Rossi spoiled her rotten. He was unfailingly kind, generous and passionate, as they had made out quite heavily and had had to pull apart before they went to far. JJ knew very well that if anybody else except another vampire knew that her guardians were leaving her alone with Dave, instead of one of them acting as chaperone, well, most of them would be highly disapproving at the very least. However, Aaron and of Penelope did not believe that and so and left her basically alone to date whoever she wanted, but JJ was well aware that she could go to either one of them if she had any problems. Of course, those dates had taken place in public, whether that was the park or restaurant, or the theater. With Dave though she knew he would never force her into anything she wasn't ready for, not with them being mates, so she could just relax and not be on guard waiting for some supposed gentleman to try to take advantage of her, as that he been known to happen to other women.
He called her Jennifer a lot, which she normally hated, as she went by JJ for a reason, but when he said it was different and she didn't mind her name so much, as his voice was all tender and the look in his eyes made her feel all hot and flushed, so she could easily accept being called Jennifer by him, but not anyone else.
JJ had to admit that she had fallen in love with him as he had been nothing but patient with her, even though she knew it must've been very hard on him. She had only realized her feelings recently and so she hadn't said anything to him yet, but she intended to this very day and she knew very well that the transformation would take place immediately afterwards, which was fine.
At least the transformation wasn't painful according to Penelope anyway, so that was something.
"Anytime, as spending with you is nice," JJ told him sincerely leaning her head against his broad shoulder.
Dave simply smiled at that and kissed her soft hair.
"Why don't we enjoy this wonderful lunch," Dave suggested. It might be very hard on him physically to spend so much time with JJ without completing the bond that was between them, but he had done so for six months so far and he had hoped that JJ would soon tell him that she had fallen in love with him. He was observant enough to see that the signs were there, but he wasn't sure that Jennifer had realized it for herself yet or if she had she certainly hadn't said anything.
"Why don't we?" JJ agreed, as she begin to unpack the picnic basket.
The two them ate in silence feeding each other bits of food, that Penelope had been kind enough to help fix for the two of them. This was not the first picnic they'd had, in fact, they'd had a dozen at least, as they reserved for when they wanted some private time, without other people scrutinizing them. Luckily, the Hotchner estate was quite large, and there was a meadow not too far from the house that was perfect for picnics. Technically, it was the middle of winter now, but it was a nice day out, which was one of the reasons that JJ had suggested the picnic.
"That was excellent," Dave complimented his mate once they had finished eating.
"You're welcome, but you can thank Penny as well as she helped me fix it. She's really looking forward to the fact that I won't die in a few decades as we are really close. She's more like the sister I never had then a mother figure. I think its because she lost two of her sisters to the smallpox epidemic and the other four that didn't live in Connecticut where she was born because they had married and moved away she didn't see them after their weddings. Who even knows if they survived or not? Unlike so many vampires or humans for that matter she had a very loving and normal childhood, so I can't really blame her for missing her family even after all this time," JJ promised. "I for one consider her very brave to get close to humans that will die in a few decades at the very most, considering that she lost her parents and two of her sisters and a servant that was more like family to the smallpox epidemic that's really pretty amazing. I'm certainly glad that she doesn't let that kind of thing stop her from getting close to someone."
"We'll keep in contact," Dave promised. "I would never want you to lose contact with people who genuinely love you. Besides, I genuinely like both of them and we are becoming good friends as well and a vampire can never have to many of those, ones who are also vampires. I can't stand most of our kind at least the ones I've met, because they are so arrogant and full of themselves, but then, Aaron and Penelope definitely are not like that."
"No, they're definitely not," JJ agreed with a smile, kissing his bearded cheek. "The three of you, share surprisingly similar views on life, and they agree with you about how arrogant vampires can be."
The two of them finished the picnic and JJ begin to pack everything back up.
"I'll make sure I thank Penelope as well," Dave promised.
"Which will make her day at the very least, as she's already coming to consider you a part of the family," JJ said.
"I'm already starting to consider them as part of my family too, but really that only makes sense, since they've been your guardians since you were 15 and you're my mate," Dave said. "There's no reason that vampires can't get along and just because I can't stand a lot of them, doesn't mean I haven't met vampires I actually like."
The two chatted cordially for a few minutes before JJ dropped the bomb.
"Dave, I know you have been patiently waiting for me to come to a decision and that it couldn't've been easy for you. I'm very well aware that you could've forced the issue but I'm certainly glad you did not. What I'm trying to say is that you have been nothing but generous and kind and that I'm ready to go through the transformation and always be at your side," JJ announced.
Dave gaped in astonishment for a moment for those words were the last thing he had been expecting, but then a joyous smile spread onto his face. Even if he had known that Jennifer had fallen in love with him, he wasn't exactly sure she had realized it, but either she had realized some time ago and just hadn't said anything. Although that would have been cruel when JJ was anything but, so it was more likely that she had realized it just within the last couple of days, which was more likely.
"If you're sure, I'll be ecstatic to turn you into a vampire," Dave said his voice trembling with emotion that he tried his best to repress after taking the slim form of his mate into his arms, holding her tenderly. "You're right, it hasn't been easy to wait, but spending so many hours around you has helped, although I'm not exactly sure how much longer I could've held out as it's been six months after all and that's a long time for a mate bond to go uncompleted."
"I know, believe me, I know," JJ said, as she willingly nestled into Dave's arms where he held her close kissing the top of her head, reverently. "I wanted to tell you when we had some privacy and not out in public."
"Probably wise, because I'm not exactly sure how I would have reacted if you had told me at some restaurant or the theater," Dave admitted, as he held JJ close knowing now with certainty and by her own admission she was his now...forever. He had been patient, he had romanced her and now thanks to that patience she had agreed to go through the transformation on her own and be his forever.
"You're mine now, for eternity," Dave said his voice a possessive growl.
"Yes, I am yours," JJ confirmed, as she turned just enough to kiss Dave passionately and tenderly on the lips, which he responded to immediately, his tongue sweeping past her lips and entering her mouth. "I know what I was agreeing to and you made me fall in love with you, which I don't see ever-changing."
"Definitely not, because once you are a vampire like myself you'll be able to feel the bond I share with you. I'm sure you know that vampire mates don't ever fall out of love with each other, well, so long as they're both vampires and one isn't human," Dave corrected.
"Yes, Penny, Aaron and I have had several nice long talks about this very subject, as they wanted to make sure I understood everything that had to do with your race, knowing I was going to become one. Of course, the three of us have had many discussions over the years and Aaron has told me a lot of stories of things that happened in history, major events that made the history books or in some cases didn't. If I had never showed an interest in such things he wouldn't have, but I've always liked history so long as it's taught properly and the teacher doesn't bore you," JJ admitted. "In any case, we need to finish packing up this picnic stuff and go back to the house to tell Aaron and Penelope my decision," JJ said.
"They won't be surprised, as they knew this was coming for sometime, although I'm certainly relieved you made the decision on your own free will," Dave said with certainty.
"But you gave me the time to make that decision without forcing the issue, which I appreciate," JJ said.
"So you said earlier," Dave said. "It was my pleasure, although I won't deny that it wasn't easy for me."
"In any case, it would only be appropriate that we inform them before you start the process," JJ said.
"Yes, it would, especially since I'd like to do it here where you're away from all those beating hearts that are present in the city. I'm sure Aaron won't mind bringing a couple of people for you to feed off of before we take them back into town. Trust me, they'll never know what happened to them and they'll just believe that they drank too much or perhaps, were mugged. I'm sure that they'll make sure that they take people that won't be missed for a couple of days," Dave promised.
"You'll make sure I don't kill anyone right? Having to drink blood is one thing, but having to kill someone is quite another," JJ said.
"Yes, I'll make sure you don't kill your victims, because I know you would feel incredibly guilty for the rest of your existence if you did so, especially to someone innocent," Dave promised her tenderly.
"Alright then," JJ said biting her lip nervously.
"I'll be with you every step of the way until you get used to your new life," Dave promised her still in that tender tone of voice, even as he kissed the side of her neck where he hoped to place his mating mark soon. "Perhaps, after you've been a vampire for a few months we could have a wedding just so the townspeople don't believe you're living in sin."
"That sounds wonderful," JJ said. "Just a small ceremony, as I don't need a big todo as I only have a few friends in town, although I'm sure that you'll want to invite some people."
"Actually I've only been in town for six months or so and really it was just a random destination until I reached the outskirts. I hadn't decided at that time if I was going to stay or was just passing through until I felt the bond that I had with somebody in town," Dave admitted. "So I don't know why we can't just do a small mostly private ceremony with just a few guests, even if it's not how it's usually done. I don't really know anyone in town, since I've only been here for such a short amount of time. My parents live in Italy and it would take them a long time to get here, not that we couldn't do it that way, but I just think it's better if we do a small ceremony with a few of the townspeople as witnesses. I would love to introduce you to them and I thought maybe we'd go to Italy for our honeymoon," Dave said.
"I've been to Italy, but we didn't stay for more than a month or so exploring some of the country and that was about five years ago more or less," JJ said.
"If I had known if I even been in the country at the time I would have known my mate was nearby," Dave said aggrieved that he had missed an opportunity.
"It's just as well because at least we look more similar in age now," JJ told him, "as I would've been around 22 or 23 back then. I won't say I wasn't pretty mature back then, but I'm even more so now since I'm 28 and so the age difference isn't so noticeable between us. All that matter is that we've met and are together now."
"I suppose so," Dave conceded.
The two of them finished packing up the picnic basket in companionable silence, before Dave picked it up and JJ as well and raced towards the house.
"Eager are you?" JJ giggled for some reason unsurprised at Dave's actions.
"You ought to know the answer to that without me having to say anything," Dave told JJ, even as he ran at vampire speed, "but I'll answer you anyway. Of course, I'm eager as just being around you was pure torture, since I had to be careful not to go to far, even if it was infinitely better then not seeing you at all. Now that you have agreed to be turned into a vampire that means you've agreed to be mine and I can hardly wait to make love to you all the way instead of just the heavy petting that we've been doing for the last several months, as pleasurable as that always is. I want you pregnant with our first child as soon as possible, which shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish, as you're still so young and because we're mates that means we're extremely compatible on a genetic level."
"Yes, I know that already," JJ agreed burying her face against Dave's neck, "and I won't mind having children by you, although I definitely don't want to be pregnant every few months."
"Perhaps, we'll take a trip to the US then, see if we can track down some sort of shaman and hopefully get the same sort of medallion that your guardians have. Of course, it's possible that you're not as fertile as Penelope is, as some women don't have children easily, but still, we'll see," Dave said.
"Yes, that's true," JJ admitted, just as they arrived at the side door to the manor house.
Dave put JJ down gently and the two stood entwined in each others arms for a few moments.
"Well, why don't we go inform Aaron and Penelope about what's going to occur," JJ suggested finally, very reluctant to leave Dave's arms.
Dave nodded, but was equally reluctant to release her, but finally did so, although he did grab her hand and refused to let go.
JJ simply smiled at him giving his hand a gentle squeeze of understanding and the two of them opened the door and walked inside the house together.
~~~Aaron and Penelope~~~
"Well, we both knew this was coming, we're actually surprised it took so long," Aaron finally said once Dave and JJ shared the news. "I barely held out for four months before Penelope and I completed our bond and how you waited six months, I don't have any idea."
"It wasn't easy," Dave said quietly, "but I wanted to give JJ time to truly get to know me and fall in love naturally. Of course, I'm not sure how much longer I could have waited, but that doesn't matter now. We thought we'd do the transformation here if that's okay with you."
"It's fine with us," Penelope said that she got up to give JJ a hug.
"Yes, it is, this is a nice spot to do it, as it's isolated," Aaron agreed. "Really we're not too far from town on our own 2 feet, since we can run much faster than a horse can and you can teach JJ how to hunt, when she's finished the transformation of course."
"There's an idea, but I was thinking originally that you could bring somebody back here then take them back to town once she's finished feeding, but perhaps, your idea is better," Dave mused.
"Let's get through the transformation first before we consider anything else," JJ suggested, as she looked at Dave adoringly. "Personally, I'm ready to get it over with, even though I know that it's not painful or anything."
"Alright, bella," Dave told her tenderly kissing her temple.
Aaron and Penelope watched this with little smiles and knew that their daughter would be incredibly happy with Dave, because despite the fact that he was centuries older than Aaron himself was he was still a gentleman. He would treat JJ with all the love respect, tenderness she deserved and that was all they could ask of anybody. So long as JJ was treated well the two of them would be happy. Of course, the fact that JJ and Dave were mates, had a lot to do with it as well as both of them well knew, but also they knew that Dave would never abuse a woman, unless the circumstances were very unusual, just as Aaron wouldn't.
"We might as well do this in my rooms," JJ suggested.
"It should only take a day or two for the transformation, because you're not ill like Penny was when she went through it," Aaron told his daughter, "which is why her transformation took longer."
"Probably just a day, maybe a day and a half," Dave estimated. "I can hardly wait to make you mine," Dave added softly, looking at JJ adoringly.
JJ blushed at her mate's words while Aaron and Penelope exchanged looks, knowing very well how hard it must've been on Dave to not just make JJ his, even without her permission, but courting her had been a right tack to take, because now JJ had agreed on her own free will to be turned. Yes, she would have been changed anyway, but at least having JJ agreement made all of them feel better that the decision had not been forced on her.
"The two of us will be around if you need anything, but I think it's best if you do this by yourself," Aaron told Dave who nodded appreciatively.
"Come on, I'll show you where in my room is," JJ offered, as she and Dave rose from where they were sitting together.
"If you need anything let us know," Penelope offered.
"We will," Dave promised. "I'm certainly looking forward to getting to know the two of you better, because I've never had many friends outside my own family that are all vampires and the ones I do have I don't see very often."
"Yeah, I know how that is," Aaron sympathized. "I was a very lonely individual before Penelope and I met. I had met some vampires that I got along with, but you're right a lot of them are incredibly arrogant thinking that they're immortality makes him better than anybody else. There's nothing wrong with a little natural and arrogance, but a lot of the vampires I met were arrogant in the wrong way."
"Now that's the truth," Dave agreed.
All of them chatted for a few more minutes before JJ led Dave towards a set of stairs that led to some of the bedrooms and Dave followed willingly.
Finally just a few minutes later JJ pushed open the door and stepped inside and Dave looked around.
"This is really nice," Dave commented.
"Thank you, Aaron and Penelope allowed me to fix it anyway I wanted to. Of course, he's never been in my bedroom before, as Aaron hired professional painters instead of us doing it ourselves. Sometimes me and Penelope will sit on the bed and then just talk for hours on end, sharing confidences just like everybody does to somebody they trust," JJ said. "I suppose it gives us a chance to remain close."
"And there is nothing wrong with that," Dave said relieved that even Aaron hadn't been in his mate's bedroom. But then Aaron was a true gentleman and wouldn't consider entering somebody who he thought of a daughter bedroom, especially since she was a grownup and not a child. Well, not unless it was an emergency, because it would be like breaking some sort of sacred trust. The more he learned of Aaron the more he was really beginning to like him more and more, as he was an honorable man just like he was.
"Why don't you lay down on the bed," Dave suggested gently. "Feel free to remove your clothes or leave them on, whichever you prefer."
"Well, I'm going to have to go hunting at some point and I've heard stories about how vampires rip they're clothes to shreds trying put them on, so maybe it's better for right now if I leave most of my clothes on," JJ suggested
"Probably a good idea, as that means we can go hunting right away instead of me helping you get redressed first," Dave admitted. "Of course, once we get back here all bets are off."
"I'm looking forward to it," JJ said honestly, as she stepped willingly into the circle of Dave's protective embrace. "I stopped caring about marriage before sex a long time ago, I think it's Aaron's and Penelope's influence."
"Most vampires don't care about such things not just those two," Dave agreed. "To us it just seems kind of silly to wait for marriage, probably because most of us never get married. I suppose we just have different priorities," Dave added with a shrug.
"I do understand that you're not going to tie yourself to somebody you might come to hate, so temporary relationships are the norm," JJ said. "Perhaps, I never would have if I hadn't been living with two vampires for nearly 13 years now, as I know my perspective has changed a lot in that amount of time."
"Yes, living with two vampires is at least part of the reason you think like that, but also humans don't really live long enough to see that some of the things they believe are wrong really are not, as most of them are lucky to live to 60 and really 60 isn't very old at all, although I know it seems that way for mortals," Dave shrugged. "We can continue this discussion later though," Dave added, as he kissed JJ gently.
JJ took that as the signal it was and reluctantly left Dave's arms to lay on her back on the bed.
"I'll stay with you the whole time that you're going through your transformation," Dave promised her tenderly, as he kissed her forehead. "I will love you forever and intend on spoiling you rotten."
"Haven't you already been doing that?" JJ teased him. "Flowers every week, several pieces of very expensive jewelry..."
"You haven't seen anything yet," Dave promised with a certain gleam in his eyes. "I no longer have any reason to restrain myself when it comes to spoiling you since you have agreed to be my mate and believe me I have been restraining myself."
JJ giggled at that not nervous at all, though she didn't have a chance to answer as Dave told her to turn her head to the side.
Dave kissed the side of her neck once it was fully exposed to his sight tenderly before letting his fangs descend and once they were fully revealed he moved faster than a striking snake and gently bit down on the side of his mate's neck, taking great gulps of her blood which tasted absolutely divine, but also making sure to insert as much of his venom as possible, so that the transformation would take place faster.
JJ was knocked out immediately and Dave, just watched her for a few minutes while he tenderly ran a hand through his gorgeous mate's blond hair before he joined her on the bed.
He considered it a miracle that he had finally met his mate after all his centuries on this Earth and it was one thing he would never take for granted for as long as he lived. He was eagerly anticipating making love to his, Jennifer for the first time and was determined to make it the best experience of her life so that she would agree to repeat it as often as possible. He suspected that she was probably a virgin as, having sex with men outside of marriage was considered in bad taste at the very least. He knew that Aaron and Penelope wouldn't care one way or the other, whether or not their daughter had been having sex with a man or even if she was discreet. However, society rules were such that she would likely be shunned particularly here in England, unless she was very, very discreet. Still, it was a strong possibility that she was a virgin, which meant he was going to have to do something to make sure the hymen that protected that virginity didn't grow back and he knew that would be painful. On the other hand, he only had to do it once, instead of multiple times, which was a relief. The truth was that he liked the thought that his mate was a virgin and therefore have never been touched intimately by another man. Basically, if Jennifer was a virgin it meant that he would only be the one to touch her in her most private parts and that thought thrilled him deep inside. It meant that Jennifer was his alone and there have never been another that had stolen her heart. No, he was sure that Jennifer had never been in love before, lust certainly, but not true love and that meant he was not only her first love, but her only one as well.
Dave lay beside the beautiful woman that was his mate and started to daydream about what their life together was going to be like. He would show her the world, although the Hotchners had already started doing that. But still, there was no way that she would have been able to see the whole world before she had died if the two of them hadn't met unless the Hotchners had turned her into a vampire. Who knew if that was part of the plan all along, well, so long as it was what JJ wanted. Dave was well aware that Aaron and Penelope were to honorable to force the issue in the direction they wanted it didn't go, since losing someone you were close to was always painful.
He would spoil her rotten, to show her that he loved her, because he did with every atom that made up his soul. As he had told JJ, just hours ago he had never expected to find his mate after nearly 1000 years and had been more than shocked when he had rode into the outskirts of Westmorland, a reasonably sized city, although it certainly wasn't as big as London, which was nearly 2 million people. Still, it had taken him nearly 12 hours to trace the link even with his horse, but he had done so. He had been shocked to discover that his mate was living with a couple of vampires and their children as their species had a rather unique scent, as did humans. However, he hadn't barged in like he wanted to, as he knew that would only cause trouble, so he had simply knocked on the door. Now he was glad he had decided to access the situation before he did anything. It turned out that JJ was the vampires ward and that she was perfectly happy living with them, even if she could have her own place of residence. Besides, there were certain protocols when it came to approaching such a situation and one of those was that you didn't make demands at least not until you knew what the situation was.
Because he had stopped to think, even though his need to get to his mate had been nearly overwhelming, he and Aaron and Penelope were becoming good friends. Besides, it was likely that JJ would never have willingly agreed to be turned into a vampire if he had done what he had originally wanted to, so it was just as well, because he would have forced the issue if it had been necessary to do so. Luckily though, it had not been because Jennifer had been raised by a couple of vampires that had of course, taught her about their traditions and way of life, which was why JJ had been so amendable to being courted by him he knew.
It didn't matter anymore, Dave decided, because JJ, was even now was going through the vampire transformation, which meant that she had willingly agreed to be his for eternity and he really couldn't imagine a better outcome.
Suddenly Dave came out of his thoughts, as JJ showed signs of waking and glanced at his pocketwatch. It had been just over 24 hours, Dave realized. He had no idea that so much time had passed so he must've really been lost in his thoughts, even as he continued to stroke JJ's hair the whole time unconsciously.
"Jennifer, open those lovely eyes of yours," Dave urged her gently. "Let me see that you are awake and aware."
Suddenly JJ's eyes popped open and she looked in the direction of the voice. "Who are you? Why do I feel so..." JJ seemed to search for a word for a moment "…Close to you? Like you and I belong together?"
Dave didn't panic as it was quite common for a new vampire not to remember exactly what they had just gone through, as memories tended to be fuzzy at least at first, although he was aware that once JJ had fed her memory would start to return.
"I know your memories are probably fuzzy right now, but I'm your mate David Rossi and you should be able to feel the connection between us," Dave calmly explained. "You've just been through the transformation to be turned into a vampire and I did so with your consent. The two of us have been courting for six months now and you finally agreed to be with me for eternity."
JJ sat on the edge of the bed not even realizing she had moved from a laying position and tried to sort out her memories, which were indeed very fuzzy. Suddenly a clear picture of what looked to be her and the man that was standing on the other side of the room appeared and they were holding hands and simply walking around a beautiful garden together, kissing every few feet and it appeared that they were deeply in love. The memory of her giggled suddenly, as the man simply swept up into his strong arms and started to carry her the last few feet to where there was a bench that he gently sat her down on.
"I can walk you know," the memory of her playfully chided the man who looked like Dave, except much more handsome.
"Why should you have to when I'd be more than happy to carry you anywhere you need to go, belle," the man answered.
"Because I am my own person, Dave and I will not be treated as anything else. If you want this relationship to go forward I suggest you treat me as an equal." The image of herself then couldn't hold her sternness, as she burst into giggles and the man whom she now knew was Dave chuckled as well.
"Whatever you want, belle I will be happy to provide," The image of Dave said, as he sat beside her, picking up her hand and kissing her palm tenderly, causing her own image to blush a brilliant red in embarrassment, but also pleasure. The figure that was her shot the man at her side a look that told the current JJ that she was already in love with this man, but not ready to admit it quite yet.
"Here I brought you something," Dave told her as he took a package out of his pocket.
"Dave you have to quit giving me all these gifts," JJ scolded him, but taking it with a sigh.
"It's not going to happen, bella," Dave told his made as he kissed to cheek tenderly. "Trust me, this is a mere trinket and hardly cost me anything at all."
The memory of her raised skeptical eyebrow, as she kissed his cheek in thanks, as she began to open the package, seeming to not want to rip the delicate paper, as she was taking her time. Based on the size of the package it was some kind of jewelry probably a bracelet or possibly a necklace, as it was oblong instead of square.
The memory of herself finally got the paper off and inside was a blue jewelry box, which was open immediately.
"Oh, Dave it's exquisite!" The memory of herself squealed.
Inside the jewelry box was an exquisite diamond bracelet, that must've been worth an absolute fortune.
"As I said it is merely a trifle, but it is nothing compared to your beauty, my lady," the memory of Dave said sincerely
The memory of her blushed again, but she did lean over and kiss Dave very tenderly and passionately on the lips this time instead of the cheek and Dave for his part wrapped his arms around her form, deepening the kiss.
Both looked extremely dazed by the time that kiss had broken, the real JJ noticed, but also both looked very happy and simply sat on the bench again refusing to let go of each other's hands.
"Are you okay, belle?" A voice asked in concern.
JJ came out of the memory suddenly as the two figures started kissing again just as the sun sank into the background.
"I'm fine, I remember some of our courting now," JJ answered honestly.
"Good I'm glad you are remember me," Dave grinned happily, although inwardly he was relieved.
"You're a hard man to forget," JJ answered a smile lighting up her face.
"So what did you remember?" Dave asked.
"That time in the garden where you gave me an exquisite diamond bracelet that I know is worth a fortune," JJ said.
"Ah yes, that was only about a week ago," Dave said, "You're later memories are going to be clearer until you've had some blood. Once you have fed however your other memories should start coming back."
"So when can we go then? I'm starving," JJ said. "My throat is burning like crazy."
"That's only natural I'm afraid," Dave said not unsympathetically. "As for when we can go we can get headed in that direction now as the sun is just beginning to sink. It's better if vampires hunt at night because unseen is usually unthought of. Humans tend not to see things or at least pretend not to that don't really concern them. Still, you never know what humans will do if they actually see a vampire at their dinner, even if we don't have to kill our prey."
"Still, humans can't harm us can they?" JJ asked and Dave was impressed that she could think so logically considering that she had just woken up.
"Mostly no, but we can be killed by fire and although we don't sleep somebody could come and burn down our home. Now while we probably won't be harmed by the blaze, as we can jump from any height and not be injured, we do have things that we don't want to lose. Remember we've had this discussion before."
"Yes, I remember," JJ said thoughtfully. "You said you would have to go after the perpetrators because we might not have been hurt, but losing all our possessions..."
"Some of which are quite valuable," Dave reminded her.
"It teaches humans a lesson about coming after one of our kind, a lesson that they'll remember for a long time," JJ finished.
"Mostly it discourages the people of that area from trying something like that again for years. Besides, it's possible that we could be burned or one of our children might not escape if we have any at that time or be seriously hurt. Humans do stuff to their own kind all the time, although I know that at least Aaron and Penelope tried to protect you from the darker side of humanity as well as the vampire world. I've seen more in my centuries then you can imagine and somebody will harm someone else for the stupidest of reasons."
"And a lot of humans hate our kind anyway," JJ said softly and Dave nodded grimly.
"Now let's head to town and get you some blood and we can worry about anything else later," Dave suggested gently.
"That's a very good idea," JJ said. "You'll make sure I don't kill anyone, right?"
"Yes, I already promised you I would," Dave said, "and I keep my promises."
"Alright then, let's get going," JJ said.
"Your wish is my command, belle," Dave told JJ bowing extravagantly causing her to giggle.
"You are so silly sometimes," JJ told him with a smile and sparkling blue eyes.
"I didn't used to be," Dave told her seriously, but with a smile. "I was alone for a very long time, but ever since I met you yeah, sometimes I can be very silly, if only because I am so happy."
"That is so sweet," JJ said, as she went willingly into Dave's arms.
"It's also the truth," Dave told her kissing the side of her neck, inhaling her slightly changed scent, loving it immediately.
The two by mutual agreement left JJ's room Dave opening the door for her so she wouldn't destroy the doorknob.
"Thank you, kind sir," JJ giggled
"You're quite welcome, my lady," Dave told her with a smile as he squeezed her hand. "If you'll follow me I'll show you a side door to where we can get out of here and head to town."
"Lead the way," JJ told Dave and Dave gave her another smile before he led her to the left down a corridor. "This way, my lady and soon you'll be having your first meal as a vampire and after we get back here I promise you we won't leave your suite until you need to feed again."
"Why kind sir? Whatever do you mean? Don't you know that you shouldn't mention such things to a lady such as myself? At least not without being properly married," JJ teased him.
"Oh, we'll get around to that in a few months," Dave promised her, "but there's no way I'm waiting until then to make love to you, as it's been a long excruciating six months as it is. Once you agreed to be turned into a vampire, you also agreed to make love with me just as soon as the transformation was finished and you had fed. You were more than aware of this when you said you were ready to take this step."
"I know, I was just teasing you," JJ promised giving his hand a loving squeeze. "More and more of my memories are coming back. I remember a specific conversation about getting me pregnant right away and I won't object to that I promise and I don't care about us actually marrying first."
Dave's face split into a grin so wide at that statement, that it practically split his face in two.
"Well, let's get hunting, shall we, so we can come back here," Dave said with an excited and predatory gleam in his eyes. He was eagerly anticipating what was soon come, but then he had been doing that for the last six months so it wasn't at all unusual. However, the time had finally arrived and he could hardly wait.
~~~Aaron and Penelope~~~