Part 3

"Oh, I'm so happy for Dave," Penelope squealed excitedly when she was told.

"I knew you would be, just as I am," Hotch told his mate affectionately kissing her cheek. "Dave is a good man, although he has his faults, but then so does everybody, so that's not really saying much."

"If there's one thing I've learned over the years is that human beings aren't perfect," said Penelope.

"No, but then neither are vampires or witches for that matter, in other words nobody, as we weren't made to be perfect, as life would be really boring if we were. No, some people are just too ornery to behave all the time as that's just not the way we were made," Aaron said sounding philosophical.

"Yes, I suspect that life would be very boring if people behaved all the time," Penelope said.

Aaron snorted at that, but that didn't mean he didn't agree, because he did.

"Besides, we'd be out of a job if people didn't commit crimes, so it's just as well," Hotch said.

"Well, I do enjoy my job," Penelope admitted. "I've always found computers fascinating. Of course, I was already a vampire by the time they were first invented and the technology has advanced quite a bit just since they were."

"You're just a mere babe in the wood compared to me," Hotch told her in a lighthearted teasing tone.

"Well, can I help it if you are as old as the hills?" Penelope teased right back.

"You watch it young lady or I'll take you over my knee," Hotch mock threatened.

"You wouldn't dare!" Penelope faked being scared, making her eyes as wide as possible and turned her mouth into an O, as if she was about to scream.

"Watch me!" Hotch mock growled, before he and Penelope grinned at each other.

"Well, since the kids are out with the nanny, why don't we head for the bedroom," Penelope suggested with a saucy wink

"I'm not about to turn down an offer like that," Hotch said eagerly sweeping the love of his existence up into his arms easily. Penelope was certainly bigger than most women nowadays, but it was because of her bone structure not because she was overweight when she was changed.

Actually he much preferred a woman of his mate's girth, because back when he had been born such people gave birth more easily and since the birth rate hadn't been as high back then, because women died all the time from having children it was understandable. Of course, there were so many diseases back when he had been born that carried away whole platoons of mortals, men, women and children alike, which was also the major reason why the population hadn't been as large as it was in what was now the 21st century. So far Penelope had not had any trouble giving birth to their three children and unless something rather unusual, happened Aaron suspected that she wouldn't have any trouble at all to any future child they had either.

"So do you want be pregnant again or do you want to wait awhile?" Hotch asked the love of his life, as he carried her into the bedroom. "The decision is up to you since we already have three wonderful children and we don't necessarily have to have more right away, but we can if you want."

"We might as well have another, as we had the last one nearly two years ago now and he's getting so big, since he looks around nine or ten," Penelope said. "It won't be long before our oldest is out on her own anyway."

"Yeah, she'll be going to college in just a few months," Hotch said looking wistful. "Abby would already be in college if she hadn't decided to stick around an extra year, help out with her younger siblings."

"Which I think was a very mature decision on her part," Penelope said and Aaron nodded in agreement. Abigail or Abby was much more like him personalitywise then she was like her mother, much more serious, but when it came to her looks she looked more like Penelope then she did him.

"Well, I'll happily get you pregnant if that's what you want, because you're right our children are getting so big and it really won't be long at all before we don't see them much. Actually only Felix doesn't look old enough to be out on his own, without supervision at least, as he looks around 9 or 10, but then the other two are older as we've had them at least a year apart so that's not really surprising, since we've only been mated five years."

"Yeah, we had Abby right after we got together, before we figured out that there was a way to prevent pregnancy for one of our kind," Penelope said.

"And we had Alastor almost two years after that," Hotch remembered thinking of his son who had inherited Penelope's blonde hair and all three of their children had brown eyes, but then since both he and his mate had them this was unsurprising.

"And then we had Felix about a year and 8 months after that," Penelope added thinking of their youngest son.

"Well, at least we figured out a way to space them out so that you're not constantly pregnant, since I know that would be a pain for you," Hotch said. "I'm just glad that there is a solution, even if vampires can't die in childbirth."

"In other words, we basically had them when we were ready to instead of me getting pregnant when we didn't want any more right then," Penelope said.

"Exactly and I'm just glad we thought about checking with the magical community to see if they had a solution, since most witches don't like to get pregnant unless they are in a committed relationship, preferably married and this way they can still have their fun, since birth control doesn't really work on those with magic, at least not well and a man doesn't always remember to use a condom," Hotch added.

"Yeah, I should've thought about checking a long time ago," Penelope admitted, "as I had several relationships before we met where I had a child. They were mostly of short duration, but it only takes having sex one time to get pregnant, since I was still relatively young when I was turned. Still, I didn't have as many children as I suspect I would have if we had been mates like you and I are, as they were certainly spaced further apart then our three are. I can't believe I never even thought of searching for something to prevent myself from getting pregnant."

"Don't beat yourself up," Hotch said. "The solution might not have existed until fairly recently, like within the last 20 or 30 years for all either of us know."

"That's a point," Penelope acknowledged. "I suppose I should be happy that there was a solution."

"Any way according to Dave you're about JJ's age, when she was turned and I have no doubt that the two of you will get along splendidly," Hotch said.

"I certainly hope so, because I really like Dave and I know you think of him like a brother, but then so do I," Penelope said, accepting the change in subject.

"I do and I'm so glad that he's going to be with us through the centuries, even if we go our separate ways for years at a time I'll know that he's not going to die, because there's no way that Jennifer would allow him to remain human since she is his mate," Hotch said.

Aaron didn't mention how Dave was reincarnated from JJ's lost mate Dauid Silvestri, because he didn't feel it was his place to tell Penelope that and that it was JJ and Dave story to reveal if they chose.

"Besides, Dave is just as in love with her, as she is with him and I saw the infinity symbol on the underside of his right wrist so they are definitely soulmates. Of course, they still have to get to know each other, but then that's part of every relationship unless you've known each other for years, but they certainly won't be breaking up like so many relationships do."

"Which is impossible for those who are soulmates, vampires or not," Penelope said, "although I admit, that a relationship whether you're soulmates or not, still takes work. No, you're not going to break up like so many other couples who are not soulmates do, but you still have to work to keep the common ground you started out with, or you could come to resent your soulmate, even if you still love them as well."

"Yeah, once that common ground disappears I won't say it's impossible to regain it, but there is a lot of emotional pain involved in doing so, but then I would say that that's fair considering that you can't just forget the person you love just because you get busy. You still have to try to go out on dates, keep the romance in your relationship, even if you have to reschedule or cancel, because of other commitments you still have to try. You have to show the person you love the most that you're still thinking about them, even if those dates get canceled and a lot of couples forget that," said Hotch

"Something you're very good at doing," Penelope told Aaron, as the two of them talked softly.

"I will never allow you to believe a single instance that I don't love you with everything I have," Hotch told her tenderly, kissing her all over her face, causing Penelope to giggle softly. "I've learned from past relationships that you can't just get so busy with your life that you forget to show whoever you're dating you care. Of course, now that we are together I'll never date other women, but still you understand my point."

"I do," Penelope agreed. "I don't hold those women of the past against you, just like you don't hold the men in my past against me. Really there's no way either one of us could be virgins since vampires are sexual beings, particularly when they are first turned or born and grown as the case might be."

"Definitely," Hotch agreed. "Still, now that we've found each other you'll always be the only one for me."

"Just as you're the only one for me," Penelope agreed.

The two kissed passionately and Aaron did what he'd been wanting to do, since he had laid his mate down on their bed and that was worship the gorgeous creature beneath him.

"Well, I think we can do without this," Hotch said smiling down at the gorgeous woman beneath him, taking the medallion that Penelope always wore off her neck and putting it on the nightstand beside the bed. "Now if you didn't want to get pregnant I would leave it on, but since you do..."

"Well, it's a good thing you remembered to take it off because I had totally forgotten, since you're very good at distracting me," Penelope giggled, as she leaned up to give her mate a heat scorching kiss filled with every ounce of passion she possessed.

Aaron growled lowly, with a passionate heat in his eyes that made Penelope automatically get wet down in her pussy, because she knew that look was for her alone. Aaron slowly started to worship his gorgeous mate's body again nipping and licking as he went along and really it wasn't long at all, before he entered her as they were often so desperate for each other that neither one of them lasted long, but then he was gone so much of the time that this wasn't really surprising. Besides, they also spent quite a bit of time with their children as well and didn't just leave them to the nanny to take care of. Unfortunately, having children didn't allow them to be as spontaneous as they would like, so just disappearing to make love wasn't always possible, but it was more than worth it. Besides they would go years, even decades and not have any children and then they could afford to be as spontaneous as they wanted again.

It wasn't long at all before Aaron spurted of his seed into his mate and he knew that by the time they were done fucking each other senseless his, Penny would indeed be pregnant, but since that's what they both wanted it would be a cause for celebration.

Penelope had been so young when she was bitten by that vampire that she got pregnant easily, as she hadn't even been 30, but conceiving so easily appeared to apply only to mates since they were a near perfect match on a genetic level. She'd had children before, but much farther apart then the two of them had had together. He had met some vampires that had never had a child and not because they hadn't had a lot of sex, but because they had been turned when they were in their 40s and a lot of women's fertility started to go by then depending on how frequently they made love. However, back when he had been born and for centuries afterwards a woman did not have sex until after she was married and so if she never got married then she was supposed to remain a virgin her whole life. He admitted though, that mortals didn't live so many years back then, as they died of so many diseases caused by lack of sanitation and uncleanliness.

Still, even after mortals had discovered that cleanliness and sanitation had a lot to do with a lot of diseases woman were still expected to remain virgins until after they were married, although many didn't do that and were shunned for it if it was discovered, especially if they got pregnant. Nowadays such standards were looser and it wasn't exactly uncommon for a woman who wasn't married to have a child and she certainly wasn't shunned for it as much as she would have been even 100 years ago and there were also numerous ways to protect a woman from getting pregnant that allowed them to have their fun without having to worry about the possibility of a baby. Of course, those methods were for mortals not for vampires so Aaron was certainly glad that he and Penelope had discovered a way not to have children unless they wanted to.

"That was as wonderful as always," Penelope complimented her mate. "We seem to be getting better and better the more we practice."

"Which is as it should be," Hotch said in a smug, satisfied tone as the demon within him was very satisfied for the moment. "Even mortals get better at making love if they do it as frequently as we do and since the mate bond between us has matured and we can also feel each other's emotions that just adds a whole another level to our lovemaking. Also we can't get tired after just one or two rounds like mortals can, which is also adds another advantage."

"Yes, we do make a lot of love," Penelope giggled feeling very happy and satisfied, but then Aaron never failed to satisfy both of them and she certainly participated in their lovemaking very eagerly every time and always would.

"I suspect that if I wasn't gone so much for work, we probably do other things, go to the movies for example."

"So, we do go out to dinner and a lot of times lunch when it's just a paperwork day at the office and we also spend plenty of time with the children, which is more than enough for me right now. So, who cares if we're basically homebodies since we work so much right now? Neither one of us will have the jobs we do now forever, as one day we'll decide to retire and do something else, something that doesn't take so much of our time to where we can do other things again. Our relationship is still relatively new and would be even if we were mortal, as we've only been mated five years and really that's not very long at all, even for someone who will die in a few decades."

"You do have a point," Hotch admitted realizing not for the first time that his mate was very intelligent and had commonsense to spare. Now while there was no such thing as a stupid vampire a lot of them lacked commonsense, which wasn't his or Penelope's problem.

Of course, you could have a ton of intelligence, but without commonsense it didn't really do you a lot of good, particularly in certain types of situations.

"Of course I do," Penelope said loftily before ruining her act by busting into giggles, causing Aaron to chuckle himself.

The two of them just lay quietly for a while, when Penelope said out of the blue. "You know Strauss is going to go ballistic when she discovers that Dave has met his soulmate and that she's a vampire, as you know she has a massive crush on him."

"Believe me, I know," Hotch chuckled, as he imagined Strauss's future anger.

"Dave doesn't seem too concerned when I mentioned the possibility to him. He is of course, aware of Strauss's crush, but he's never thought of her that way as he told me as much, so I'm afraid that she's just going to have to be disappointed."

"She's not going to like being thwarted, as she's done everything, except come and directly tell him that she's in love with him and it'll get even worse if JJ comes to work in the BAU."

"I don't believe she'll do anything to make JJ mad, as that would be extremely stupid and Strauss is definitely not. For one thing Strauss will be well aware that JJ would have every right to protect her mate from her advances and she might get herself killed in the process. Strauss might be a bit obsessed with having Dave for herself, but as I said she's not stupid. She knows very well that she can try every single trick in the book and Dave won't pay her any attention, as he never did before he met JJ after all and now that he has Strauss has absolutely no chance."

"Which will frustrate Strauss no end since she's been trying to get his attention for years," Penelope chuckled feeling absolutely no sympathy for the hateful woman that had tried her best to get Aaron fired or at least transferred against his will. Just because it hadn't worked, because Aaron was well used to power plays after all thanks to the fact that he was a centuries old vampire didn't mean that she didn't hate Strauss's guts, although Aaron basically ignored her, which only frustrated her more that she couldn't even seem to get his attention and at least annoy him.

"Like either one of us cares," Hotch chuckled. "I've dealt with people like her before and I'm sure I'll do so again at some point, so people like her don't worry me at all. She is nothing but a power-hungry bureaucrat and she won't dare try anything underhanded, because at best that would lose her, her job and it's not very long until she retires, which means she would lose her pension at a minimum."

"And if she did break the law she could end up going to prison, depending on what kind of offense it is or how far she has broken the law," Penelope finished her mate's sentence.

"Exactly! I have no doubt that if we went back and check her history since she joined the FBI we would find plenty of irregularities and perhaps even some illegalities," Hotch said. "She will want anybody looking at her record too closely, so I believe that she'll keep it within bureau regulations, if yes, she does decide to try to separate the two of them. Of course, I could be wrong, but I doubt I am because as I said Strauss has a brain. However, so long as Dave and JJ keep their relationship low-key while they are on the clock just like we do..." Hotch

"She won't be able to touch them, at least not legally," Penelope finished.

"And Dave is professional enough to not let his relationship get in the way of actually doing his job and JJ is likely the same, because I'm sure she knows she'll be scrutinized closely for at least the first few months to see if she fits in with everybody else and doesn't cause any friction if she's actually hired," Hotch said. "It will take time for her to find her place on the team and for them to learn to trust her, but that's the way it is with all new hires so it's not like it's unusual."

"So, Strauss won't be able to do anything that actually breaks the law, which risks her being caught and persecuted," Penelope said.

"Exactly," Hotch agreed with a smirk. "We'll just have to see how it goes, but now I believe we could be doing other things as the children will be home soon."

"That we do," Penelope giggled, as she kissed Aaron passionately.

The two of them made love for the next several hours until they heard their family coming in the front door and then they reluctantly got dressed so that they could spend some time with their three children, especially since one of them would be going off to college pretty soon.

~~~Dave and JJ~~~

"So, what have you in such a good mood, Dave?" Morgan questioned. "You sure have been rather… chipper the last few days."

Dave said nothing, just grinned smugly and displayed the underside of his right wrist.

Morgan stared at the infinity symbol and then looked up into Rossi's eyes. "So, you met your soulmate then."

"Yep," Dave answered grinning, even wider.

"So, what's her name? What's she like? Is she human? Magical?" Morgan asked in a rapid fire fashion.

"Yeah, what's her name and what's she like?" Emily added, as she came back from the small kitchen area where she had been preparing a cup of coffee.

"She's a vampire actually," Dave answered calmly.

"A vampire?" Morgan actually blinked at that.

"Yep," Dave answered unable to get rid of the grin on his face.

"So, what's her name?" Emily asked.

"Jennifer Jareau," Dave answered. "And yes, I will be turned into a vampire at some point, which will be soon, because unfortunately I'm nearly 50 and she wasn't even 30 when she was changed, so the age gap is enormous, but it's not like it can be helped, so there's not point of dwelling on it."

"Will you be able to come back to work afterwards?" Morgan asked.

"Yes, there is a way to do that," Dave promised, "as it has happened once or twice that somebody who's a member the FBI, found their mate that was mortal or vice versa and therefore has to be gone for several months at least. It hasn't happened very often, but there is a precedent for it."

"You know that Strauss is going to be absolutely raging when she finds out," Emily chuckled. "She has the hots for you after all."

"I know and it doesn't matter," Dave shrugged not really caring that Strauss had the hots for him and had for years. "As I told Aaron not too long ago it doesn't matter what she wants, as I've never thought of her that way. Even if I had and we had actually had a relationship or been married it just would have broken up once I met Jennifer. Also there's nothing she can do to me legally at least, because I haven't done anything wrong. I know very well she'll likely be fuming, but so long as I don't have to witness it that's okay with me."

"She'll probably want to slap you silly," Morgan chuckled.

"She can try, but she wouldn't succeed and she would find herself written up at the very least and probably have some sort of disciplinary action taken against her. I also suspect that Jennifer will have something to say about it as well and trust me, you don't want her in a temper," Dave shrugged though he grinned at the same time. "I suspect that she can be quite fierce in defending those she loves and that Strauss won't know what hit her."

"So can we expect any children in the future?" Emily asked.

"JJ's pregnant now," Dave grinned happily. "In order for the connection to be complete I couldn't use a condom or anything and she likely got pregnant that first time."

"That's not surprising because is no way to prevent a vampire from having children," said Emily.

"Actually yes, there is," Dave informed her.

"How?" Emily asked. "Contraceptives don't work on them and unless you use a condom every time... which I don't see happening."

"It was actually Hotch and Garcia that found the solution, as they didn't want multiple children unless they were ready for them," Dave said. Dave then went on to explain all about the medallion that had been created by witches, so that they could have their fun without risk of getting pregnant, because birth control often didn't work on their kind depending on how strong their magic was as that kind of thing was designed with humans in mind and there was no way they weren't going to remain virgins until they got married, if they ever did.

"So that's the reason Hotch and Garcia have only had three children over the last five years," Emily said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, they had their three children, because they wanted them, but they had them a long time apart, instead of close together," Dave agreed. "They weren't sure at first if those medallions would work on a vampire, but they certainly seem to, so they are grateful and I plan to get one of those for JJ as well, as there are going to be times we don't want any more children, but since we just met less than a week ago, I just haven't gotten around to it yet, although I suppose that JJ could do that while I'm working."

"So, you have awhile to do that if she won't give birth for what like seven weeks?" asked Morgan.

"More or less," Dave agreed.

"See you have plenty of time," Emily said with a smile.

"I'll see if JJ has the time to pick one up, and it doesn't matter how much it cost, as between the two of us we have plenty. Besides, as easily as JJ got pregnant this time, it likely means that she'll get pregnant easily every time and we're not going to want 10 or 15 children at one time," Dave said.

"No, that would be way too many," Morgan chuckled.

"Oh, we'll have a lot of children over our centuries together, just not all at the same time," Dave chuckled.

"I'm going to miss you while you're gone," Emily told Dave.

"Not to mention we'll be one short for at least a few months," Morgan added.

"It can't be helped," Dave shrugged. "I know it's inconvenient, but Aaron understands and there is a precedent for it. Besides, I will be back."

"No, it can't be helped," Morgan agreed. "You know that Reid is going to be very happy for you when he learns."

"He might already know, for all we know," Dave said smiling, as he thought about his youngest teammate.

Spencer Reid was absolutely brilliant at least academically, but he was also awkward and not very athletic, which would've seen him fail the Academy athletic courses, if Jason Gideon hadn't pulled some strings. He had been pulled directly into the BAU because he was so naturally brilliant and Dave was well aware that most other FBI agents resented that fact. However, the young genius more than pulled his weight or he still wouldn't be on the team and Dave would have thought that those that resented him would have realized that by now. Of course, it was possible they did and just resented him even more for his acceptance. Reid would have been transferred at the very least if he wasn't doing the job, but then there were people's egos to consider. Those Reid had met and who had seen him working had a kind of grudging respect for him, but Dave still didn't like the fact that most of the agents who knew about him resented that he hadn't gone the normal career route. He was quite fond of the young man, thought of him like a son actually. However, since there was nothing he could do about it, there was no point in dwelling on it. Spencer had his support and that of the team and because of this he had slowly gotten more self-confident and Dave knew that so long, as they continued to support him Spencer would thrive and those other FBI agents that resented or hated him for no real reason could do so, so long as they didn't take out their feelings on a young man he secretly considered a son, as after all he was around the same age that his own son would've been if he had lived.

"Yeah, he is pretty observant and if he has figured it out, he probably believed that it was your private business and that you'll tell everyone when you're ready," Emily said.

"That would be just like him," Dave chuckled. "Where is he anyway?"

"I believe he had a doctor's appointment," Emily said. "He should be in anytime now."

"So, when do we get to meet your lovely lady?" Morgan asked with a smirk.

"I don't really know, with our schedules and everything," Dave admitted. "JJ wants to meet all of you too, because I told her about everyone I work with and I know she especially wants to meet Aaron and Penelope, because I suspect that we'll be friends for centuries to come, as Hotch won't be my boss forever. Really, we're already friends, but I do understand that he has to maintain a sense of professionalism at least while on the job."

"You know I hadn't thought about it like that," Morgan said thoughtfully. "I know intellectually how hard it is for a vampire to maintain friendships, because most of them are mortal and die in a few decades, but still it's hard to imagine."

"And it would make that vampire reluctant to try again, because it would hurt when that person died as well unless they were turned into a vampire at some point," Emily said. "However, if a vampire had friends who were actually vampires..."

"They wouldn't need to worry about them dying in a few decades," Dave finished. "Exactly, and JJ told me that she's not very close to any of her own kind, as she considers a lot of them too arrogant and full of themselves for her liking. She has met a few that she gets along with, but they're not close or anything. Really you have to consider the fact that vampires in many ways are just like mortals and you have your ones that like to be helpful and are nice and others who are so arrogant that other people can't stand be around them and yet others who make demands and expect to be obeyed. I could go on, but you get the point."

"You're saying that there're just as many types of personalities among vampires that there are among any other species," Emily said and Dave nodded.

"You got it, Emily and I'm sure that my kitten and JJ will get along and probably become quite close over time," Dave said.

Nobody blinked at the term kitten as that's what Dave called Garcia, as Garcia certainly didn't mind, since she knew it was a term of genuine affection, as she and Dave were quite close. It was more than understandable that Dave could get away with using such a term, as Emily and Morgan knew that their boss thought of Dave as a good friend at the very least and therefore Dave would've wanted to get close to his mate as well. Besides, really the whole team was quite close, like a family, because they worked so closely together and were in each other's pockets nearly 24 hours a day a lot of times.

"Besides, everybody needs friends and even though Jennifer and I are mates that's not necessarily enough to be happy or at least completely content. The fact that Penelope is a vampire, just as JJ is, well, that means that each of them will be around for many centuries and even if they are the only close friend that each other has it's still better than having no one that you can share confidences with, except your mate of course."

"Everybody needs a confidant besides their spouse," Emily agreed with that.

"And sometimes there're things that you don't want to share with your spouse or mate that you'd rather share with a girlfriend or boyfriend as the case might be," Dave added.

"I suppose even couples have their secrets from each other and they are mostly harmless," Morgan observed.

"Yeah, most couples do no matter how close they are," Emily said and Dave nodded complete agreement.

"I don't expect JJ to share every little thing that happens to her with me, even if she's welcome to, just as she doesn't expect me to share every little thing with her," Dave said. "We've already agreed that we'll tell each other if something is troubling us no matter how minor, so that it doesn't get all blown out of proportion. We'll share any minor or major concerns, so we can talk about them and possibly solve them before they become worse. However, a few harmless confidences between good friends don't do anybody any harm and neither one of us necessarily need to know about them unless the other one wants to tell their spouse."

"Personally, I think the way you're going about it is healthy," Morgan said admiringly. "This gives each of you the freedom to share a few harmless secrets with somebody you're close to and it also give both of you the freedom to not discuss something with each other if you don't want to."

"Exactly, as everybody deserves a few secrets just so long as they don't harm their relationship," Dave agreed. "Besides, I'm sure that there're things that JJ will likely discuss with Penny, that I don't need to know about, you know girl things and this gives her the freedom to do so."

"Thing's that a mere male doesn't need to know about mates or not," Emily suggested with a snicker.

"Something like that," Dave grinned not at all offended.

"You know it's really nice to see you so happy," Morgan said, "so if this Jennifer makes you happy then I'll be happy for you."

"Thank you, Morgan, but I suggest you call her JJ, as she doesn't really like her full name said, except by me, so fair warning," Dave warned

"What could she possibly have a guest name Jennifer?" Emily asked in surprise. "I mean it's nice, classical and very common."

"I think she hates it because she was changed against her will by this vampire known as Seth and he used to call her that all the time, even though she warned him not," Dave explained. "Apparently this Seth was very hungry one day 73 years ago and JJ was just getting ready for a date that she was really looking forward to, when she was attacked. Let's just say that by the time JJ finally got control of herself, well, she could find no trace of the guy she was supposed to have a date with."

If only because he killed himself, Dave added in his thoughts, but he didn't need to tell Emily or Morgan that because they might put two and two together and he really didn't think that they needed to know that he was the reincarnation of the guy that had killed himself after JJ had disappeared. Besides, what he had said was also technically true and JJ had found no trace of her love Dauid Silvestri and had only learned of his death many months after the fact.

He had told Aaron the truth, because the two of them were really close and he knew that the two of them would be friends for centuries to come and JJ had agreed with that. Dave was sure that Aaron had told Penny as soon as he had been able, so she likely knew too, but nobody else needed to know.

"Oh, by the way, just so you know JJ's going to interview for the position of media license as that's a position we really need and she has the credentials for it," Dave said.

"She is?" Morgan asked in astonishment.

"She is, even if there's no guarantee she'll get the position, but still she has the proper credentials and worked as a media liaison's in Phoenix Arizona. She quit, because a lot of vampires get bored quickly, but still she was there for about 10 years. Aaron has agreed to give her an interview at least and that's all either one of us asks. I'm hoping she'll get the position, because to tell you the truth it's hard to be away from her with our bond still so new. It's even more so on her end, because she's a vampire and doesn't have any filter on her nerve endings like humans do to protect their circulatory system from overloading on emotions that are too strong for our bodies to handle."

"I never thought of it like that," Morgan said slowly and Emily nodded in agreement.

"Not many people do, but then not many people find out they're mates of vampires either, so it's understandable," Dave said. "If she doesn't get the position then I'll probably end up retiring again, this time permanently, but JJ and I are going to try it that way before I go that route. One thing I can be sure of is that is Hotch is honest and fair, so if JJ doesn't get the position it's because she's not qualified, not because we are mates, which I consider a slim possibility at best."

"You know Strauss is likely to go ballistic when she finds out that not only have you met your mate and she's a vampire, and that she's going to be working with you," Morgan smirked.

"We'll try to keep our relationship quiet, although I know that won't work forever, as there are such things as rumors after all, but still as I said earlier Strauss really doesn't have any legal leg to stand on and I don't think she would go so far by doing something underhanded, that's likely to get her caught. Still, a woman scorned and all that..." Dave suggested.

"We'll back you up if something does happen," Emily promised. "After all, you've never paid her the slightest bit of attention and we know she's made several attempts to get you to pay attention to her."

"More than several as most of them you just weren't around for," Dave said. "She's cornered me in the parking garage more than once asking me for dinner or a movie. Of course, she's more or less given up, but I'm sure she's still harboring feelings for me, as we all know that somebody who has a crush on someone, well, it can quickly turn to obsession. I really don't think that's a possibility though, because Strauss's career is everything too her. However, I'm going to keep an eye out for her just in case, as I'm not naïve enough to believe that she won't commit some kind of crime just to supposedly get me as hers, because she is human after all and therefore capable of becoming obsessed. Just because I don't think that Strauss will do anything that will ruin her career, doesn't mean I don't believe she's capable. However, she's been after me for the last 5 years, ever since she was made section chief of the BAU and if she hasn't tried anything by now I still don't think it's likely, but still it's better to be cautious."

"Definitely, as just because she hasn't made a move before besides cornering you, once she sees you and JJ together and realizes that you're in a romantic relationship, well, she'll probably realize that she has no chance with you," Morgan suggested.

"Which can cause even the most sensible or intelligent person to do stupid things, because after all we've seen it happen all the time in our line of work," Emily added.

"You're right," Dave said thinking about it. "It could happen, because she has been obsessed with me for at least the last five years and who knows what would've happened if I had agreed to date her. It might've made her back off once she realized that we didn't suit each other or could have caused her to become even more obsessed, because for those people who have crushes on others unfortunately, it often turns into obsession, especially if that crush remains unacknowledged. Of course, a lot of time someone's crush on another is harmless and fades after a while, but it can also turn into obsession and then into committing some kind of crime like murder or kidnapping of that person's crush. I've mostly been ignoring Strauss's very obvious crush before now, because really it's been more of a minor annoyance than anything else, but I know that can quickly change."

"So does JJ know about Strauss's obsession?" Emily asked.

"Yes, as I couldn't have kept it from her even if I wanted to, as that would have caused our relationship to start off rather rocky, because that kind of thing tend to come's back and bite you in the ass when you least expect it," Dave said. "Strauss might not ever do anything, but you never know, do you? So, I figured it was better to come clean then have it blow up unexpectedly because she tries something."

"Well, I think that was a smart decision," Emily said approvingly. "I would certainly want to know if I had someone obsessed with whoever I was married to, even if nothing ever happened, because that kind news can hit you really hard if you're not aware of it in advance."

"And it might even break up your relationship if you're not mates that is," Morgan added. "Your spouse would be rightfully upset that you had kept something like that from them and it would take a lot of work at the very least to get your marriage back on track."

"And even if you stay married, your spouse would likely always be rightly suspicious every time you left the house," Emily added.

"I knew all this, which is why I came clean, because I don't want to give JJ a reason to distrust me or at least believe I'm keeping things from her. Yes, the bond between us is very strong and will only get stronger once I've changed into a vampire, but still I want her to trust that I'll always tell her anything major that's happening in my life and not try to just keep it all bottled up, as not only is that not good for you it's not good for any relationship," Dave said. "Those on the team are more aware of what breaks up relationships then most, because we're aware of the statistic of things that can cause a relationship to flounder and I will not have that happen to JJ and me, even if we'll never break up because we are mates. However, mates or not there's still a lot of work involved in any relationship whether that's just a temporary one or whether or not you're married. I made some serious mistakes when I was married to Caroline years ago, more than I care to think about. Yes, we were both young at the time, but I got so involved in helping form the BAU, that I forgot that marriage is not easy and that it does take work in order to maintain. Of course, it was the death of our son that really shattered our marriage, so we got divorced, but we were heading in that direction anyway."

"The death of your son was a tragedy," Emily said, "and I'm certainly sorry it happened to you, but at least now you can have a fresh start."

"Yes that's very true," Dave said grinning happily.

"We can't wait to meet your mate," Morgan said and Emily immediately agreed.

"You will at some point, although I don't know when, not with our busy schedules," Dave said. "Besides, even Aaron and Penelope haven't met her yet. You might not even meet her before she comes in for an interview but I'll make sure to introduce you. You'll just have to be patient."

"We can be patient," Morgan said. "That JJ makes you happy is all that matters, as you've been unhappy for a while now at least when it comes to your personal life."

"Not anymore," Dave grinned and the others couldn't blame him for his happiness. The three of them then went to get started on all the paperwork that they needed to fill out before they didn't have time because they were flying to some city, even if it was the least liked part of their jobs, because it still had to be done no matter what.

~~~Dave and JJ~~~

Review!