Chapter 6

Several weeks later

"Dave, I want introduce you to my friend who helped me so much and told me about the supernatural world. Alifair, this is David Rossi and we met totally on accident right outside the post office."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Rossi," Alifair said, shaking his hand cordially.

"It's nice to meet you to. Thank you for helping Livia and telling her about the paranormal world. I know the risk you took and until it was all sorted out you could've been brought up on very serious charges."

"It was nothing. It was the right thing to do, as I realized pretty quickly that Livia was clueless about her true origins," Alifair said. "Why don't we take a seat and enjoy lunch? I'm looking forward to getting to know you better."

"I can say the same," Dave agreed now that the initial greetings were over they sat at the table that was in a private dining room that Dave had arranged, so they could talk in privacy.

They ordered their food when the waiter appeared and then Dave asked once he was gone again. "You seem to know who I am."

"Remember, how I mentioned, how Alifair was the only other one that I ever a showed my sketches too, so she's certainly seen your image often enough," Livia who had been silent said blushing a little. "She didn't know your name of course, just like I didn't until you just introduced yourself. If she didn't recognize you I would be shocked."

"Exactly,"Alifair agreed smiling. "Livia told me a lot about her visions, as I was with her when she went into several of them."

"I thought you only had a meal together whenever Livia was in town," Dave inquired his tone polite.

"We didn't hang out on a regular basis, because Alifair is always busy at the hospital, but we did see each other when we could when she was free and not on shift usually."

"Being a nurse means my shift can change on a regular basis. I'll be working the night shift for few weeks and then my schedule changes where I'm suddenly working the day shift," said Alifair shaking her head smiling. "It's a good thing I've never had trouble with schedule changes like some people who have trouble switching from say, the day shift to the night shift and they just get used to being on a certain shift when they switch to another so go into work tired or half awake."

"Sometime she would be called in, even when she was supposedly off and she would have to go in," Livia said.

"I was usually on call, not really totally off," Alifair said.

"I'm glad to know that Livia had a friend like you she would spend time with before we met," Dave told Alifair. "You made her believe she wasn't delusional, because of the visions she was having and for that I'm grateful. I'm grateful you were there when she tried to commit suicide just because she believed she really was delusional and was tired of dealing with it."

"I'm glad I made that decision, as Livia has been in great friend for me," Alifair said. "I don't have many of those, because I'm always so busy at work. I also try to spend some of my limited free time with my sister."

"I've never met her sister," Livia told Dave.

"The two of you have just never managed to cross paths that's all," Alifair said.

"It's nice to know you have some family that you can spend time with," Dave said.

"I've always been envious of Alifair's relationship with her sister. Nothing against your sister Alifair, but it makes me wish I had a sibling."

"I understand," Alifair said. "You could have family out there somewhere you know."

"I might have family on my father's side, but Dave made some inquiries and found out that, my mother's name was Lydia Hawthorne. Not only did my mother die in that car crash my grandparents from that side of the family are dead as well," Livia told her friend.

"That's too bad, but how do you know it's the right family?" Alifair asked Dave.

"Hawthorne is not that common a name in the paranormal world," Dave said simply. "It was simply a process of elimination. There is only one family with that surname where the females are seers. While there are a few families with that last name it is unlikely that one of them produced a seer when they never have before at least from what I can find that out."

"That makes good logical sense," Alifair said. Her tone was full of approval.

"I've been around a long time. I know how to ask questions without calling undue attention," Dave said.

"I never meant to imply you didn't, I just didn't want to give Livia false hope," Alifair said.

"I would never do that," Dave said his tone empathic. "She is my mate. I will do everything I can to protect her. I would never have told what I found that out if I didn't believe that Lydia Hawthorne was her mother and she died in a car crash."

"He hasn't given me false hope Alifair," Livia said. "If he says my mother's name was Lydia and that I have no other family, except possibly on my father's side then I believe him."

"Alright, I'm sorry," Alifair apologized to her friend. "I didn't mean to imply that he wasn't being truthful."

"You can call me Dave, just as Livia does," Dave said unoffended.

"I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the coming decades."

"Since you two are mates then yes, we'll be seeing a lot of each other," Alifair said smiling. "You'll eventually have children and I'll be there to spoil them rotten."

"I might be pregnant now," Livia flushed.

"So soon?" Alifair asked looking from Dave to Livia

"It was totally unexpected coupling, but my inner dragon wanted to complete the bond with his mate and he took over temporarily," Dave explained without blushing. "I usually have better control of that part of me, but in that case, he overcame my usual self-control.

"It was only that once, but then, it only takes once. Ever since we completed the bond, Dave's been using a condom since and recently I bought over the counter birth control pills. I hate doctors, with good reason to do so and you know the reason why I do. While I would love children, Dave and I want to travel for a few years before we have them."

"So what are you going to do with you are pregnant?" Alifair asked her friend.

"We'll just bring them with us whenever we travel," Dave said simply. "Neither one of us would consider abortion and that's only if Livia is pregnant as it will be a few more weeks before we know."

"Still, I'm hoping I didn't create a baby the one-time Dave spurted his seed into me without protection," Livia said blushing at talking about her most intimate moments, even with her best friend.

"You'll let me know as soon as you do right?" Alifair asked

"I will," Livia promised her friend.

"So any visions?" Alifair asked.

"I haven't had any ever since I met Dave," Livia said shaking her head at her friend's question. "I'm very happy for the break believe me. It might not be good for my bank account but that doesn't really matter anymore, since Dave has plenty of money. It is good that I can relax and not worry so much about having a vision out in public."

"Any dragon shifter of any age has a hoard somewhere not necessarily in the bank," Dave supplied. "In my family's case, both my parents are dead due to dragon hunters and I was the only one left to inherit their money. That doesn't even include my own hoard. Livia and I aren't going to have to worry about money ever, not even in this uncertain economy."

"Yeah, I had heard that about dragon shifters," Alifair said smiling at the pair. "Well, it looks like you have really fallen into the cream Livia. You deserve it though, growing up like you did in the foster care system."

"I totally agree with that sentiment," Dave said. "I've been around the block a few times and foster care is basically the same as shoving them in a box where they have a roof over their heads, are fed and bought clothes and that's about it. They aren't encouraged to go to school and do well in their studies. They are given very little spending money and aren't discouraged from trying illegal drugs not unless the people that they're staying with are particularly vigilant and actually cares about the children they have taken into their homes and not just about the paycheck it brings. They have adults in their lives, but most of them receive very little guidance or support. If the child is lucky they get a foster family that actually cares about them, but what good does it do since they are shuffled from home to home every couple of years? The lucky ones get adopted into a loving family and that doesn't happen often enough."

"I have to agree with Dave, as I met some kids that got involved in drugs and were thrown out of the residence," Livia said.

"Why would anybody risk that though, because you have to put your name down on a list and there's no guarantees you'll be admitted when a room comes free," Alifair said.

"Some people just don't believe they will be caught," Dave said shaking his head. "The arrogance of youth and all that. Kids especially believe that they can get away with anything because they are young."

"You know the way the world works and that humans will do what they want no matter the cost. This is to particularly true for the young who are often heedless of consequences and this is something I know from my own experiences," Livia reminded her friend who nodded. "I mean, you are considerably older than I am so you should know humans can be stubborn, arrogant, and often don't listen to good advice if they happen to receive it. They often want to go their own way no matter what."

"True," Alifair agreed. "I know very well that people no matter the species can make stupid choices, all the time due to stubbornness and pride and a lot of other reasons."

The three of them talked for awhile longer and Dave and Alifair got to know each other better. Unfortunately though, soon, the pleasant company broke up as Alifair had to go as her shift started in an hour.

"We'll have to do this again sometime," Alifair said.

"Be happy to," Dave said, as he rose to his feet and shook Alifair's hand. "Whatever suits your schedule is fine, since I know it can vary from month to month. Livia and I intend to do some traveling, but probably not for the next few months at least."

"I'll let you know when I'm free again," Alifair promised. "I'm glad to see you so happy Livia. You certainly deserve to be more than anybody else I've ever known."

"Thank you, I am," Livia agreed smiling, as she took Dave's hand in her own.

"I can tell and it makes me jealous to find someone for myself, but with my schedule I don't know how possible that will be," Alifair said.

"Nurses get married all the time, so if they can find someone so can you," Dave said.

"True," Alifair agreed. "They also get divorced all the time, because their spouse gets tired of them being gone. It doesn't help that I am considerably older than Livia. While she's still young I am in my late forties."

"That's true of anybody though not just nurses, so don't use that as an excuse to not try to find someone," Livia told her friend.

"I won't," Alifair told Livia. "Of course, if I ever met another doctor and married them, then they wouldn't get tired of my schedule as they would be just as busy as I am, but I haven't met an unattached doctor yet that I want to settle down with."

She gave Livia a hug before taking her leave.

~~~Dave and Livia~~~

"I like your friend. It's clear she really cares about you," Dave said. "She was there for you when no one else was."

"I had no idea she would question you like that," Livia blushed remembering the conversation just yesterday.

"It's fine, I wasn't offended, I promise," Dave said hugging Livia close from where they were lounging on his comfortable sofa. "She just wanted to make sure I wasn't giving you false hope, which means that she genuinely loves you and is looking after your best interests. I'm not going to be offended by a few questions made out of genuine concern for you. It's clear, she went into her profession for the right reasons, because she really cares about people."

"Good I'm glad you weren't," Livia said her tone relieved. "I want my best friend and my mate get along and not be at odds."

"We'll get along, because I don't want to cause you to choose one of us over the other and I'm sure Alifair would say the same if you were to ask her," Dave said. "It's clear that your friend really does care about you, so I'll have no problem getting along with her.

"That's excellent and I am very pleased," Livia said kissing Dave on the cheek.

"You're welcome, but I'm sure Alifair and I will get along just fine on the rare occasions we see each other," Dave said. "She'll always be welcome in our home when we're actually here. We'll invite her for holidays and she'll be a great aunt to our kids."

"It sounds wonderful," Livia sighed in content.

"Yeah, it really does," Dave agreed smiling.

The two sat there in contented silence.

"You know, I know you've been maintaining your separate place of residence, but if you wanted to move in with me..." Dave tentatively suggested after several minutes of contented silence. "I know you like being independent and that you love your motorhome, but you don't need to sell it since money isn't an issue. I mean we will eventually get married and have those kids we both want. I'm assuming we'll be living together with that point and not in two separate places."

"We only met a few weeks ago though," Livia said nibbling her lower lip worriedly. "If I moved in with you so soon people would talk."

"They'll talk anyway, because we're not married, even if we are eventually going to tie the knot. They'll also talk, because I'm a very wealthy man and they'll see you wonder who you are."

"And when they learn I'm a nobody with no money to speak of they'll think I'm not good enough for you," Livia said sounded very cynical for someone so young.

"Some of the humans probably, but it doesn't matter," Dave said his tone firm. "Our friends will be happy for us. As for any other paranormal they won't think that, because they know about mates and bonds, at least the basics. If you're worried about how you look so much younger then me don't! I know I look around 40, but that's only because of the beard. If I was to shave my beard off I'd look no more than five years your senior. Why are you so concerned if it'll look wrong? It's not like you have anybody that will disapprove other then Alifair and she'll be happy for us."

"True, I don't know why I should care," Livia admitted. "It's not like I'm not used to people looking at me oddly because of my weird gray eyes that look all silver, especially when they start to glow. I have no friends or family that would care, so yes, I'll move in with you."

"Great!" Dave said, even as he leaned over from where he was sitting beside Livia and kissed her cheek. "You can park in the front where the regular grass is."

"That won't do your lawn any good," Livia warned. "I saw what it did to the lawn of the guy I bought it from and the grass was all brown around where the motorhome had been parked for years and there were deep indents from the tires

"I really don't care," Dave shrugged. "It will recover and if it doesn't I'll have it replaced. We can't keep it parked in the driveway because then people wouldn't have room to come and go including us. Unfortunately, there is not enough room in the garage, because I have multiple cars, so every slot is filled, as otherwise I would tell you to park it in there. You know I've been thinking about building a bigger garage for sometime now," Dave added thoughtfully.

"You already have ten cars Dave do you really need anymore?" Livia asked him with a puzzled look.

"So I like cars," Dave shrugged.

"It's so weird to see someone with so many cars," Livia said shaking her head. "When I first saw how many cars you had and how big the garage was, I was amazed and astounded. I mean the only vehicle I've ever owned is the motorhome, but you're talking about owning so many cars, as if it's normal."

"A lot of people like to collect cars though, if they have the money and room for them and not just men, even if men are the main culprits, but still some women collect cars as well, just not as many," Dave told her. "A lot of people like to collect things, movie posters, stamps, old coins, all of which can turn out to be quite valuable. Collecting cars and things like expensive art or jewelry is just the next step up."

"It's still a weird and expensive hobby, but it's also not my money," Livia said. "You can do whatever you want with your money, as I don't have a right to say anything."

"I was around long before cars were invented and used to have a carriage with actual horses, so when cars were invented they fascinated me. They still do. You are lucky I don't have very many more then ten. I could have a whole collection, as cars have been around since the early 20th century."

"Well, if you have been fascinated with the various forms of moving vehicles ever since cars were invented I'm actually surprised you don't have a bigger collection then you do," Livia said.

"I just never got around to having a big garage built, which would probably be at least partly underground. I have centuries after all," Dave explained. "Really, we didn't have the technology to build fast and efficiently until the last few decades. Besides, I didn't want to have to tear down the whole thing, move the whatever cars I had elsewhere and rebuild when newer technology came along."

"Well, at least, you have your reasons for putting off your little project," Livia said with a twitch of her lips to show she was trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, we both will, just as soon as we take that potion, but I was thinking that you need to look a few years older before we do that."

Oh? Why is that?" Livia inquired curiously. "I mean you seemed really super keen on it earlier, why are you suddenly saying we don't need to get the ingredients for a few years?"

"Because I wasn't thinking about the fact that as soon as we drink the potion you'll look the same age you do now until the very end of our lifespan. I'm sure you don't want to look 25 for centuries."

"To look so young, even when I was 100 would be a great boon," Livia said. "But you're right, I would like to look at least a few years older before we take that final step. At least 30, if not the age you appear to be. Unlike you I can't grow a beard to make myself look a few years older."

"No you can't, but you can change your hairstyle as some styles make you look a few years older," Dave said.

"While I can do that I think your idea is better and that's me waiting at least 5 to 10 years for us to take that potion," Livia said. "I'm glad you thought of that particular pitfall before we gathered the ingredients and made the potion. This saves a whole bunch of trouble and also money since you said some of the ingredients are expensive."

"That's true," Dave said not reminding Livia yet again that money didn't matter. He didn't want to sound like a broken record. Eventually Livia would stop bringing out money every time something that cost a lot came up. He knew that his mate had never had very much. She'd had enough to put gas in her motorhome and buy food and other necessary supplies, with maybe a treat for herself every once in awhile, but really that wasn't much of a life. Also, there wasn't much room in Livia's home, so she would have to keep what she purchased small and to a minimum.

"I love you so much Dave," Livia told him suddenly hugging him hard from the side as she was sitting beside him. "You've made my life so much better."

"I love you too and I always will," Dave promised her tenderly kissing her passionately.

"You know the doctors that I often saw while I was in foster care told me I had little chance of ever connecting with anyone other then on the surface, simply because I had been raised in the system. They claimed it was unlikely I would ever connect with anyone deeply enough to make a long-lasting relationship or marriage."

"That's a bunch of you know what!" Dave said vehemently just stopping himself from cursing at what those doctors had told Livia when she had been a child.

"Apparently, it happens often enough, that it's a well established fact," Livia said.

"It's a bunch of hogwash is what it is," Dave snorted his contempt obvious.

"Well, apparently a lot of orphans never make a deep enough connection to someone that their marriage last until one of the spouses die, so divorce is high," said Livia. "I never said I agreed with it just what the doctors I went to told me that on more than one occasion.

"I can certainly understand being scarred by the system deeply enough, that you never want to trust anyone completely and trust is essential to a marriage if you don't want it to end in divorce, but some people can still make that connection and make their marriage last.

"Of course, there's also the always popular cheating on your spouse and a lot of people do that and I'm sure a lot of those that do so are originally orphans," Livia said.

"Well, in a way, I can understand the statistics as I know, trust is likely hard when you grow up in such an environment, which of course, leads to and the cheating you just mentioned," Dave said finally. "However, you and countless others like you can and do make connections, but that doesn't mean it's not hard to make a deep connection with anyone, that just means it takes a little more work to make that connection that's all. Some orphans are more scarred by the system than others to where of course, they don't want to risk making that deep connection with anyone in case it blows up in their faces. I suppose, it happens often enough for those doctors you went to see to tell you that."

"Well, divorce is very high from what I know, though I can't give you exact numbers and I'm sure that at least some of those divorces are from people who were originally orphans and were put in the foster care system."

"Yeah, I would say that's true, but we don't know the percentage of orphans that get divorced compared to people who grew up in loving families. It doesn't really matter anyway, you can just throw what those idiots doctors told you out the window, as they didn't take into account that not everybody is the same. The fact, that you're like me, a paranormal, means what those doctors told you really doesn't apply," Dave said.

"You really, really don't like the fact I was forced to go to so many doctors, do you?" Livia chuckled.

"It's not that so much not really," Dave said. "Its the fact that those doctors should not be telling children such information. As I see it, that just encourages a lot of orphans to not even try to make a connection with someone. It's probably the governments way to discourage orphans from even trying to find someone to settle down with so that they won't be as likely to have children."

"Surely, you can't believe that," Livia chuckled at Dave's words, thinking that Dave was being paranoid for no reason.

"I, for one, wouldn't put it past them as the world is overpopulated, as it is and while we are on the verge of settling on the moon, it hasn't happened yet, mostly due to financial concerns, not because we don't have the technology," Dave said. "It doesn't really matter why they told you that just that they told that to a child."

"I was a teenager at the time not a child really," Livia said.

"You still weren't an adult, even if you weren't a young child anymore," Dave said. "I'm sure they didn't bother to tell you that a lot of people who grow up in loving, supportive families also get divorced for one reason or another not just orphans."

"No, they didn't," Livia agreed kissing Dave's cheek. "You're right, it doesn't really matter, as I have an advantage over most everyone else and that is I can literally 'see' where my future lies. I, of course, didn't tell the doctors this."

The way that Livia emphasized the word 'see' let Dave know that she had known where her future lay because of her visions.

"I might not have known your name, but you showed up with such frequency, that I knew you would have a special place in my life," Livia added.

"I'm certainly glad of those visions now, as you might not have wanted to get involved with anyone on a permanent basis otherwise. The doctors who claimed it was unlikely you'd be able to form more than a shallow connection with anyone, well, I won't say that doesn't happen to a lot to orphans, as there wouldn't be statistics about it otherwise. What I object to is the doctors telling you about those statistics in the first place, as they should've kept such information to themselves," Dave said.

"True and maybe those doctors know what they're talking about in most cases, but as you said earlier, not everybody is the same," Livia agreed.

The two of them sat in Dave's living room on the comfortable leather couch and just cuddled together not speaking, just enjoying touching and of course, kissing.

That was the end of the conversation, and neither minded in the least, as their attention turned to other more intimate things.

~~~Dave and Livia~~~