Part 5

Five years later

JJ sighed, as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She was so sad, as she and Dave had not been able to have children and they'd been mated for five years. She had been checked out by a doctor just to make sure there was nothing wrong with her and she had been given a clean bill of health. Dave had also gone to a doctor, because even though he was immortal it wasn't really noticeable, since his DNA was just like anybody else's unless you did a more in-depth examination then was required to try to find out if there was anything wrong with a man's sperm.

Both of them figured that it was because Dave was immortal and she wasn't that they were still childless. Dave had decided to wait awhile before trying to turn her immortal as he had been afraid that he would lose her. It wasn't like he could allow his blood to be examined by a scientist under a microscope to see if it could be used on any mortal to turn them immortal, as that would be far too dangerous.

JJ knew that they going to have to try Dave's blood eventually, because she was over 35 now and she knew that she would keep aging, until she was an old crone and Dave was still young and handsome. In other words, she would eventually die while Dave didn't.

JJ continued to prepare lunch knowing that Dave was going to be hungry when he got home. She couldn't actually wait until he did as she knew what would happen after lunch if previous history over the last few years was anything to go by. JJ felt a blush rise to her cheeks as well as the back of her neck as she thought about that Dave and her always made love directly after lunch. Dave was always extremely arduous and they made love at least three or four times a day. Their relationship was a very satisfying one despite a lack of children, though she knew that Dave yearned for his own considering he had lost his family so long ago. Dave had told her that he and his wife had had six children, all of them sets of twins. That youngest set had only been a little bit over a year old when tragedy had occurred.

JJ cursed softly when she cut her finger, because she was so distracted with thoughts of Dave, then watched in amazement when it healed in only a few seconds.

What the hell? JJ thought. She wasn't immortal, Dave was and yet she had just healed as rapidly as Dave always did. How in the world had that happened? Dave had certainly never given her a blood transfusion, though were planning on trying it sometime in the next year or so. She was much closer to age now that Dave was when he had been turned immortal, which was one of the reasons they had decided to try the blood transfusion a few months from now.

She had been 30 when Dave first discovered her and so had plenty of years left to have children. Now though she was nearly 36 as her birthday was upcoming next month, so while she was still young enough to have children it wouldn't be many more years before she couldn't. Besides, she would keep aging while Dave would remain young and eventually she would die. This was an event that would shatter Dave, something he might never recover from, JJ knew, since he had admitted he had been devastated when both Mary and Lydia had died, particularly Lydia.

JJ's stared at the blood on her finger and tentatively wiped it away. Had she really seen what she thought? Or was she imagining things?

She couldn't mention this to Dave until she was absolutely sure, as that would only get his hopes up for no reason and she couldn't stand seeing his crestfallen expression if she turned out to be wrong.

JJ picked up the knife she had been using, knowing it was very sharp and carefully sliced her palm. She held it over the sink as blood flowed, but then she watched as the shallow slice healed in less than 30 seconds.

If this wasn't proof that she was immortal she didn't know what was. She didn't want to risk injuring herself worse just in case she was wrong, though she didn't see how she could be. JJ finished preparing lunch knowing she was running behind and that Dave would be home any minute. How had she become immortal? When had it occurred? Sometime within the last five years obviously. She hadn't noticed really, because her kind didn't get sick often, so it wasn't like not having a cold was any indication.

JJ finished preparing lunch just before Dave came in the door and set it on the table.

"Good afternoon, sweetheart," Dave called just like he always did as he entered the house.

"Good afternoon, to you too," JJ said smiling, kissing him passionately just like she always did, as soon as he had entered the kitchen.

"Let's eat, I'm starving," Dave suggested smiling.

"Aren't you always?" JJ suggested with a raised eyebrow

"What can I say, you're a great cook, Jennifer," Dave told her sincerely.

"So are you," JJ said. JJ had learned much to her astonishment that Dave was a great chef and they often cooked together.

"I had to learn to take care of myself," Dave shrugged modestly. "Now I really enjoy it. I've had time to perfect a lot of different recipes. I always hoped I'd have another family one day. That the times would be right and I would meet my former mate. That first time I met Mary, and I realized she was my former mate astonished me. The second time not so much. Then I finally met you and the timing was right for us to finally be together. I'm grateful, even if we can never have children."

"That might be changing," JJ said and Dave looked at her intently.

"What do you mean sweetie?" Dave asked curiously.

"Just that I cut my finger when I was preparing lunch and it healed immediately. I'm sure you know I was rather surprised when that happened," JJ explained, as calmly as possible. "I then cut the back of my hand just to make sure I wasn't imagining it and it healed in 30 seconds flat."

"But how?" Dave asked in astonishment, not looking like he disbelieved JJ, but then, he knew she would never tell him something so fantastical unless she could prove it. "How did this happen?"

"The only thing I can figure, is it's through your seed entering my body. Your sperm also carries your DNA and likely also your immortality. We usually have sex three or four times a day where your cock enters me, even if that's up against a wall, fast and rough."

"That does make a certain amount of sense," Dave said thoughtfully, as he ate his lunch. "I never thought about that before, but I see now it's the only way other than that it could have happened. You're right, a man's sperm, does carry his DNA, so it would make sense that once you absorbed enough of it you were turned immortal as well. If that blonde haired man I saw turned me immortal using blood like we both believe...And that's only if I didn't imagine him."

"I doubt that you did, even if your memories aren't clear. You had to be turned immortal someway after all," JJ pointed out.

"That's true," Dave conceded. "I always thought that maybe some god had taken an interest in me, so turned me immortal. People believed in various gods back then and worshipped them accordingly. If what you believe is correct then perhaps that was what was stopping you from getting pregnant. According to legend some gods were easy to amuse and liked to interact with mortals sometimes. It was said that they rewarded those they felt were worthy."

"That's what we theorized, years ago now," JJ agreed. "As for the part about gods, I don't believe in anyone in particular. Not the Christian god, the Greek gods or the Hindu ones, or the Aztec or the Inca gods or any other gods."

"Most people don't nowadays," Dave admitted. "This is a much more complicated and technological time then it was centuries ago, a time not based on faith."

Dave finished his lunch and put down his fork. "Let's go test out whether you're right or not," Dave suggested smiling. "Let's see if I can get you pregnant finally."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," JJ said smiling back. "I'm always eager for us to make love."

"Good, so am I," Dave grinned smugly. "We can worry about the dishes later."

"I'll wash them after you leave," JJ said. "They aren't going anywhere."

Just as Dave was starting to pick JJ up to head upstairs, there was a knock on the door and both of them groaned in disappointment.

"Later, as soon as we get rid of whoever is at the door," Dave promised with a sexy wink.

JJ looked disappointed but nodded anyway. It would be rude not to answer the door no matter how much she wanted to ignore it.

Dave went to open the door.

"Can I help you?" Dave asked, as soon as he had opened the door. Dave stared at the man at the door his eyes wide the only indication that he was flabbergasted.

"Can I come in, my boy?" The man asked with a distinctive Scottish accent.

"Sure, I guess so," Dave said, still rather shocked at having recognized the man. The foggy image that he'd had of a blond man with light blue eyes for centuries, had suddenly clarified in his mind. This was the man that had turned him immortal, he was sure of it.

"Dave, who is it?" asked JJ.

"I guess I didn't introduce myself," The man said. "I'm Donald Mallard. You can call me, Ducky."

"You're the one that turned me immortal," Dave said with certainty in his tone.

JJ was now staring at the man with a surprised look on her face. This was the man that Dave could barely remember. Why had he suddenly shown up now?

"I was," Ducky admitted. Ducky entered the house and Dave closed the door behind him.

"Why?" Dave asked as soon as they had sat down in the den. "I've been wondering for centuries now. Why?"

"Because what happened to your family was tragic," Ducky begun to explain. "Something similar happened to me a very long time ago. I had a family to once, a wife, and several children I adored. I was just wondering through your little patch of the world, as I became something of a wanderer for many years after my family died. I helped out where I could, when I discovered someone in a bad situation. I had always been interested in medicine, which was even more primitive when I was originally born then when you were Dave. Can I call you Dave or do you prefer David."

"Dave is fine, Ducky and this is my mate Jennifer," Dave introduced.

"I prefer JJ, much like you prefer, Ducky," JJ said.

"It's very nice to meet you JJ," Ducky said, shaking her hand cordially.

"So, all we know is that you lost your family and you became a wanderer, helping people as you went along. The question is though, how did you become immortal?" JJ asked.

"Back in my day, gods were even more believed in then they were in Dave's," Ducky explained, his eyes going distant in remembrance. "My family died not due to a sickness, but due to raiders, I suppose you would have called them bandits. They attacked our village and my family died as a result, as did over half my neighbors. I was out in the forest gathering herbs, as I was known as a healer back then and I was training my oldest son to take over for me. My son was only 15 and while he tried to defend his mother and siblings the bandits were numerous and he had not yet come into his full growth. Such a handsome, intelligent boy," Ducky sighed in sadness as memories of his son washed over him. "He had many girls chasing after him, as it's called nowadays. He was interested in one girl in particular though, one that was several years younger."

Both Dave and JJ winced in sympathy at Ducky's loss.

Ducky closed his eyes as he remembered his son.

"The rest of the villagers managed to fight them off, but with the death of my family I knew I couldn't stay. There were just too many memories associated with the village for me to stay and serve them. If I had, I fear, that I would have drank myself to death eventually or maybe deliberately drowned myself. There were many ways to die, even back then. I knew herbs for instance, since I was something of a healer and there were several I could've used to end my life. I suppose it would have been considered an overdose, just like taking to many sleeping pills, so it was better if I left, as I didn't need to be surrounded day in and day out with memories of those I had lost.

"I helped my neighbors rebuild, as the bandits had set a lot of the village on fire and then I bid them goodbye. Everyone that remained wanted me to stay, but most of them understood that with my family dead, there was nothing holding me there anymore. I had lost everything, as my home had been one of the ones burnt and it was too far gone to be saved. Unfortunately, we were an isolated village, something that was quite common in my day. Even if someone could have gone to get help they never would have arrived in time to do anything, except help us rebuild and bury the bodies.

"It was while I was wandering in Egypt, several years later, that I encountered Isis. She had been interested in me for several years and had been watching me. She had seen I was a good person helping those I could and offered me immortality and with that immortality came much greater medical knowledge, as she was and is known as the goddess of healing among other things."

"So, you accepted then?" Dave asked.

"Not right away, as I had to think about it," Ducky admitted. "It was tempting and I'll admit it, but I wanted to die eventually, rejoin my family. I might not have been mourning them anymore, but I still missed them and knew I always would. Eventually, Isis promised that if I accepted immortality my wife would be reincarnated and I would have a new family eventually."

"So, did you find a new family?" JJ asked.

"Several hundred years ago in the late 20th Century I joined NCIS. That stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service, though originally it was NIS and only changed decades later. It was a small military service that dealt with a dead marines and the people working there solved their murderers, making sure the perpetrators paid for their crimes. We also dealt with Marines being kidnapped and really any other crime that involved someone in that particular military service. I had signed up for the military and eventually retired joining NCIS as the medical examiner. There, I met, some of the best friends I could ever have. Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he had been in the Marines and now led the main team. He had lost his wife and daughter to a drug dealer. Shannon had seen something that she shouldn't have and a drug dealer killed her. Jethro was deployed at the time so he wasn't there. The marshals were taking Shannon and her daughter into witness protection when a sniper shot out the tires of the car they were in. All three were killed instantly."

"That is so sad and it echoes my own family death," Dave said.

"And mine," Ducky agreed soberly with sadness in his eyes. "I think that's why we became so close, as we had much in common. He eventually found out I was immortal, but he was a good and honorable man and he never revealed what he had learned. No one would have believed him anyway, something he would have known, but still, he knew how to keep a secret. He died quite a long time ago now, even though I offered him immortality. He was too anxious to rejoin his family though, so declined. While he was a gruff man, he died with a smile on his face, saying Shannon's name when he breathed his last. He was eager to be reunited with Shannon and his daughter Kelly. He blamed himself until the day he died for their deaths, because he wasn't there to protect them."

"I know how he feels," Dave said with sympathy. "I blame myself for my family deaths too, even though I know it wasn't really my fault."

"Eventually Gibbs brought in new people one by one, once he became leader of the main team. He took over from Mike Franks who brought Jethro into NIS, as it was known back then. He brought in Tony DiNozzo, who was a cop in Baltimore. While he had a less serious side to his personality he was a good investigator with a keen eye for detail. He often saw things that others missed. He died about 20 years after Gibbs. He never married or had a family. He had too many betrayals in his past to ever have a wife or children. He fell in love with a couple of women, but both of them were killed, or he might have overcome his past."

"Or he might never have overcome his feelings of betrayal enough to trust anyone fully, at least a woman," JJ suggested. "Or at least never admit his feelings."

"Maybe," Ducky conceded. "He was Gibbs right-hand man and took after him when it came to being stubborn."

"So they became your family," Dave suggested and Ducky nodded.

"We all worked long hours together and also for many years. We became quite close and I mourned those we lost, but life must go on. That's only two of the team and there's three more. There was Abby Sciuto. She wasn't a field agent, but our forensics scientist. She was one of the best and she could often give us the clues we needed to catch the correct person. Of course, I also played a role in that, as a dead body can tell you a lot about their death. Last, but not least, was Timothy McGee. He came onto the team when those in charge realized that we needed a computer expert. Technology was very prevalent in the 21st-century and crimes were often committed by computer or at least a computer could have evidence on it. He was a genius and had gone to MIT. He didn't want to join the Navy like his father had wanted, as he was an admiral. Unfortunately, he got bad sea sickness, so never could have joined the Navy. He was brought in from Washington from the administration side of NCIS."

"And the last?" JJ asked.

"Ziva David," Ducky said. "She was technically only the Liaison Officer. She came from the Middle East and was part of Israeli Mossad. Her father was the leader of that organization. His name was Eli David. She left NCIS when she was recalled back is Israeli because her father had had a heart attack. She was killed several years later. The Middle East was and is a violence torn country."

"The other woman you mentioned that this Tony DiNozzo fell in love with?" Dave asked.

"Why yes," Ducky admitted with surprise. "He was a ladies man to the end and just like with Kate I doubt he ever would have admitted his feelings for Ziva David."

"So everyone you will close to his dead?" JJ asked.

"Not everyone," Ducky said. "Tim and Abby agreed to be turned immortal. They got married a long time ago, as they had been in love for some time, but rules being what they are they weren't allowed to reveal their feelings much less get married, since they both worked for the same team. They were caught in a situation where everybody believed they were dead. Gibbs, of course, searched for them, along with what remained of the team. Jethro was nothing if not loyal to those he cared for and Abby was like the daughter he had lost and Tim like the son he had never had. Tony might've been something of a wiseass, but he was also faithful and loyal. He was always teasing Tim about his love life. I think Tim accepted it with much more grace and patience than Tony deserved."

"So, your friends never knew that they were alive?" asked Dave.

"I told Jethro eventually and swore him to secrecy, as I knew he would never give up searching otherwise. He really was that stubborn. Tim and Abby agreed to this, because both knew that Gibbs had enough tragedy in his past without adding more, especially when it was unnecessary," Ducky said.

"You never did answer Dave's question, as we got off track," JJ said. "Why did you turn Dave immortal?"

"I know he was a good man, as I had been watching him," Ducky explained. "His family's home was on the edge of the village and I could watch the family from the edge of the forest. I was trying to decide if I was going to go around the village or just walk on through. Small villages often didn't welcome strangers."

"He's right," Dave told JJ. "Especially if he came from somewhere far away. I can tell he's originally from Scotland, because of his accent, so that tells me he grew up in the small Scottish village. We were often suspicious of strangers unless they were traders and while a healer would've been welcome there still would've been some suspicion, even if he was only passing through. People would have wondered why a healer was wandering from village to village instead serving somewhere. I doubt very much, that Ducky would've wanted to discuss what happened to his family if it was only a few years since they died. I certainly didn't want to discuss the deaths of my family for many, many years."

"When the village was destroyed, Dave survived and I carried him about a mile away. I had already made the decision to save his life, though I knew he might not thank me for it if we ever met again, but I knew he could do a lot of good in the world once he got over the deaths of his family."

"So why have you shown up now?" Dave asked.

"Because I knew you would figure out that your mate was immortal eventually and if you hadn't I was going to tell you, though I suppose it would have become obvious soon enough," Ducky explained. "I'm sure it came as something of a shock."

"Boy, did it," JJ said fervently. "I discovered that just today actually. I cut my finger while fixing lunch and it healed instantly. "

"Well, it looks like I'm just in time then," Ducky said smiling.

"Just in time for what?" Dave asked curiously.

"Well, I'm sure you know that you can't have children until you're both immortal," Ducky said.

"We had guessed," JJ said looking at Dave who was looking back at her with the same expression. "We didn't know for sure, but it did make sense. Normally, Alpha and Omega couples get pregnant easily. Dave and I've been mated five years and I haven't gotten pregnant yet. We were just discussing adoption a few months back and actually applied."

"You should get pregnant sometime in the next few weeks now that you are immortal JJ," Ducky informed them. "They'll be no need to adopt, unless of course, you really want too."

"That's terrific news," Dave said enthusiastically. "We've been wanting children but figured it might not be possible. It's also great news to know that Jennifer is now immortal like myself. I was afraid to try the blood method like I'm pretty sure you used on me. I was afraid that it might do her serious harm."

"We were willing, but we wanted to wait awhile," JJ explained.

"I don't blame you for not doing it right away, because normally, you're right, to get the wrong type of blood would cause you serious harm if not kill you, but just so you know an immortal's blood is basically universal. It doesn't matter what kind of blood type you had before you were granted such a gift," Ducky assured them.

"That's good to know," Dave said relieved. "If I had known that I wouldn't've had to fear doing Jennifer serious harm."

"That's one of reasons I showed up my boy, to explain all this to you," Ducky said.

"But why not decades ago?" Dave asked. "You could've explained all this."

"Well, for decades you walked around like you were half-asleep. You were in shock for a very long time and were basically operating on autopilot. Also, you had to gain some experience with people other than your neighbors in your village, as you lived a very isolated life, which was common back then. You would not have believed what I told you if I had approached you too soon. I thought now was the perfect time, because I knew you would meet your mate eventually."

"How did you know?" JJ asked.

"Because I met mine, a very long time ago," Ducky explained with a smile. "I was shocked when I did, as she looked so much like my former wife, even though Isis had basically promised me I would. I knew very well that she might not be the reincarnation of my former mate, but she started to remember soon after we had met. Abelia is her name and we have been very happy together for several centuries. While I will always miss my former wife, Abelia is so much like her that I'm often still shocked when she says something, sounding so much like my late wife that it still takes me by surprise. I met her, just a hundred years or so, before I joined NIS."

"She's a reincarnation of your former mate, so as I have discovered with JJ there are a lot of similarities. I'm sure the same is true with your Abelia," Dave said.

"Definitely," Ducky agreed.

"So do your associates from his NCIS get along with your wife?" JJ asked.

"Oh, yeah, she considers them her children, just as much as I do," Ducky grinned. "The fact, that they were already grown before I turned them immortal, doesn't matter to Abelia. Both of them put up with her mothering with an amazing amount of patience and even seem to enjoy it in small doses, especially Timothy. His father was a hard man with a very abrasive personality. He was very hard to please, so at some point Tim quit trying, as he knew he would never match his father's unrealistic expectations. When the admiral finally died Tim went to the funeral out of a sense of obligation and to support his mother and his sister Sarah, but not for himself. I don't think that Tim really ever mourned him. Oh, he might have mourned what should have been, but not the man himself. I don't think that the Admiral ever saw what his unrelenting, critical attitude was doing to his son. John McGee wanted what he wanted and didn't bother to hide how disappointed he was in Timothy and his choices."

"I don't blame McGee for not mourning him if his father was always criticizing him over every little thing or at least let his son know how disappointed in him he was over his choice of career," JJ said sympathetically. "I doubt very much he was appreciated for what talents he did have."

"I don't know for sure as Tim has never discussed it, but the one time I met the Admiral I wasn't impressed with how he treated his son," Ducky said. "The Admiral had to have things his way all the time and was displeased that Tim had joined NCIS instead of going into the military. He was determined his son was going to go into the Navy, seasickness or not, and when Tim defied him he was furious."

"So can we meet you're mate or is she too busy looking after your kids?" JJ asked.

"The last of our kids grew up on us not too long ago, so we are taking a break," Ducky said. "We'll have more of course, in a few years. She actually came with me and I certainly didn't mind, since there's no kids to look after right now. She's not one to sit at home with nothing to do, even if that was a rather unusual attitude for the time in which she was born."

"Boy, do I understand that," JJ agreed fervently, causing the two men to chuckle. "Can I see a picture? If you have one?"

"I'll call her and have her come if you like or we can meet somewhere more public," Ducky said. Ducky then took out his phone and brought up a photo of his wife and showed it to the Rossis.

"She's beautiful," JJ said.

"I think so," Ducky said smiling. It was clear Ducky adored his wife and frankly, that was the way it should be.

Abelia had a shining mass of dark hair, halfway down her back from what Dave and JJ could tell, and hazel eyes. Her other features were delicate, but she had a stubborn chin, which meant that she would defend her opinions or argue with others if she felt it was warranted. She had high cheekbones, a delicate nose and full lips. There were several other pictures of her, some of her alone and others with Ducky. There was one with Ducky and Abelia standing together gazing to each other with love in their expressions.

"That was taken by my oldest son several years ago," Ducky said. "He was only 14 at the time. He's attending college right now but will soon complete his education."

"We can't wait to meet her," Dave said and Ducky nodded with a small smile.

"She wants to meet you as well, but I would say that I can wait until tomorrow at least, as I've taken up enough of your time for one day. We can meet at a restaurant or back here if you want. You can set the location, since I'm the one that showed up unexpectedly in your lives."

"I think meeting here at the house would be better, Dave," JJ suggested. "That way we can talk without anybody overhearing us. You can't be assured of complete privacy, not even at the most fancy, discreet restaurant, even in a private room."

"I have to agree with Jennifer here," Dave said. "There's no guarantees, even at the most expensive five star restaurant of complete privacy. It could simply be a server entering the room to take our orders and even if he doesn't mean to overhear us it's still possible for someone too."

"Alright, I'll bring Abelia here, so you can meet her. Also Tim and Abby if you want," Ducky agreed.

"So, how did you know where we were?" JJ asked suddenly.

"I've had Tim keeping an eye on you. Tim is a computer genius, remember? When Dave purchased a fancy dress, shoes and purse I knew you had met a woman, though I didn't know if she was your mate or not. It was only after you went to the best jewelry store in the area and bought a collar then I knew.

"You've been spying on us?" Dave asking a dangerous voice.

"Not really," Ducky said. "It's not like he planted cameras just to keep an eye on you. He's just been looking at what you buy. He knew your name, so it was easy to figure out what credit cards belonged to you. When you took JJ to buy a collar, Tim told me. He then watched your expenditures and I knew it was time when you both went to an adoption agency. I wanted you to know that you could have children though you probably would've figured it out before you went through with an adoption."

"Alright then," Dave said relaxing. While watching his credit card expenditures was still invading his privacy at least this Timothy McGee wasn't spying on them constantly.

"He would never spy on your private lives. I would never allow it," Ducky promised. "Luckily for me, Timothy is honest. He could've become a master criminal if he was less so. Add Abby and they probably never would have been caught by the authorities, as they're both extremely intelligent and thanks to their previous experience they know how to clean up a crime scene to where there's nothing for forensics to find. If I thought for a minute they would go that route I never would've offered them immortality. No, we worked together for more than 10 years, I know them in every way."

"You eventually had to retire," JJ said and Ducky nodded.

"There was only so much I could do to make myself look older. Put white in my hair, wear glasses, though there was no prescription, act like I had aches and pains, never stand up straight, that kind of thing," Ducky said. "While the team knew the truth about me, Vance didn't. He was the boss above Gibbs for a long time. Leon Vance was his name."

"I've had to do that a few times," Dave said sympathetically. "It's a bit of a pain."

"Yes, it is," Ducky agreed.

"So how did you know the contact us now? How did you know I was immortal or soon would-be?" JJ asked curiously.

"Because I made a mistake once," Ducky explained. "It was before Abelia and I discovered each other. I fell in love with this beautiful woman. She reminded me so much of my dead wife, not in her looks, but in her personality. In looks, she was nearly the opposite of my dark-haired wife, as she had red hair, green eyes and was also very petite while my dead wife was very slender she wasn't petite by any means. It was several centuries after my own family deaths. I had no idea at the time that I could turn someone immortal that way. She accepted that she would age while I would not, but we decided to stay together, though we never did get married, now I'm glad we did not. Just like with you two about five years after we had been together, telling the people of the town we had moved to that we were husband-and-wife, she got pregnant, which I knew was impossible without her also being immortal. It was a long time before instant communication like telegraphs and phones. The townspeople believed we were married, because they had no reason not to. We did talk about actually getting married several times, but there was no way to do it back then without others finding out that we had lied in the first place."

"So you didn't encounter your wife's reincarnation several times?" Dave asked. "That's what happened to me, I found Jennifer's reincarnation twice, but one time she was married when we met and seemed to be happy, though she died in childbirth, soon after. And the other time she got married before I could do anything about it at her father's rather forceful urgings and she was abused for the next decade before her husband eventually beat her to death with twins in her belly."

"No, that's not what happened to me," Ducky said. "I was lucky and I know it, that Abelia was free. Women had more freedom when we met, then back when you met JJ's two reincarnation, not a lot I admit, but still... If she was reincarnated more than once then I never saw them. Luckily for me, Abelia wasn't from such a high-class family that our union would've been locked down on even if her family agreed. Her family was solidly middle-class, with enough money to live comfortably. I was fairly wealthy at that time, as I had saved and invested so I had a modest fortune, so her family was glad their daughter could have someone that was so well-off and that loved her. I was a doctor back then too. The fact, that Abelia adored me and I treated her well was all her family wanted for her. I've increased the money I had since then, which was much easier in the 20th century. Abelia was way past the age that most women got married at the time, as she was in her late 20s, but since I knew that the sex method worked to turn someone immortal that's the way that Abelia and I went about it. If not for previous experiences, then she always would've looked 27, which would've been something of a problem once we got to the 20th-century. Now she looks around 33 or 34 and always will."

"So does your wife know about you former relationship?" JJ asked hoping she wasn't being rude.

"Of course, I told her everything. I told her about my immortality before I ever asked her to marry me. I had to prove it of course. She started to remember me shortly before I proposed. I don't know why it was so different from your own experience Dave."

"Who knows," Dave mused. "All that matters to me is I have Jennifer now and now that she's Immortal I'm hoping that we'll start having those children we both want."

"You will," Ducky promised them smiling.

"I can hardly wait," JJ said, as she squeezed Dave's hand in affection.

"I don't blame you, as children are a great gift. I remember when Abelia's and my first child was born, which wasn't for five years, as it took that long to turn her immortal," Ducky said. "Still her parents were happy when she finally had a child and spoiled him rotten."

"If my parents were still around they'd be very happy to finally have some grandchildren," JJ said.

"Mine too," Dave agreed.

Ducky departed a few minutes later and promised to come again the next day after noon.

"Well, that was rather interesting," JJ said and Dave agreed.

What JJ had said was the understatement of the century, but still, Dave knew that JJ was trying to absorb what she had learned.

"I thought so too and we certainly learned some things," Dave said. "So now that our visitor is gone what about we head upstairs like we were going to do three hours ago."

"Sounds good to me," JJ immediately agreed rising to her feet and heading for the stairs, Dave following.

~~~Dave and JJ~~~