Part 4
"Thank you for the dinner invitation," Hotch told Dave as the two of them hugged. "Penny and I certainly didn't expect it considering that your relationship is still so very new."
"Jennifer thought it was a good idea if we start to get to know each other, she would like to start to make friends with the two of you since she knows I'm close to you," Dave explained. "I suspect that we'll be friends forever now as long as any of us is alive anyway," Dave added with a roguish grin, which made Penelope giggle and Aaron to smile.
"Yes, I suspect so," Hotch agreed. "It's always good to have friends when you're a vampire, even if they're not one themselves."
"Of course, having a mate does help that loneliness, but doesn't get rid of it entirely, which is why having friends is always good," Penelope added kissing Aaron's cheek.
"If you come this way I'll introduce you to JJ," Dave said. "She's been looking forward to meeting you."
"We've certainly been looking forward to meeting her, mostly because she makes you so happy, which both Aaron and I were glad to see happen," Penelope said.
"That we were," Hotch agreed.
"I've been happy," Dave protested.
"Being happy with your work is totally different from being happy in your personal life and you know it, Dave," Hotch told his friend firmly. "You're very good at your job, but that's not enough to have a fulfilling life, I ought to know as I was the same way before I met Penny. I did my job, I went home, but I had no personal life or at least not much of one, but since we met it's different. Penny and I might not get out much, because I'm gone so much for the job and she's working too, but at least I'm very happy with the way my life is now, both my personal and professional."
"Alright, you do have a point," David admitted. "I have been kind of a rut before JJ and I met at least when it came to my personal life."
"Dinner smells wonderful," Penelope said, as she sniffed the air appreciatively.
"Yes, it certainly does and neither one of us has enjoyed your cooking in some time, since we're all busy," Hotch agreed. "We really need to try to make more time for each other outside the job."
"That might be possible once I'm a vampire since I won't need much sleep," Dave suggested. "I'm sure JJ won't mind."
They entered the dining room where they'd be eating and where JJ was waiting.
"Aaron, Penny let me introduce you to my mate Jennifer Jareau. JJ these are my good friends Aaron and Penelope Hotchner," Dave introduced
"It's nice to meet you," Hotch said shaking JJ's hand politely. "Thank you for making my friend so happy."
"It was my pleasure, I promise you," JJ smiled, as she shook Aaron's hand.
"I'm very pleased to meet you," Penelope said and in lieu of a handshake she gave JJ a hug, which was immediately returned. "I think we're going to be great friends."
"I would like that a lot," JJ smiled. "I have to admit I haven't had many of those, since I was changed into a vampire. I've had a few here and there, but they were mostly mortal."
"Yeah, unfortunately, a lot about kind don't seem to make friends easily," Hotch admitted with a smile. "Or if we do they're mortal and they die in a few decades, which always wrecks us for some time, especially if we're close to them."
"And often makes us afraid to try again, because it hurts so much when they die," Penelope added.
"Yeah, that's the truth," JJ agreed easily. "It'll be easier if I do happen to make friends in the future who are mortal, simply because I have Dave now, even if it was still be hard, because unfortunately, tragedy tends to stick with us due to the fact that we can never forget."
"Unfortunately true," Hotch agreed finding that he truly did like JJ, which was a good thing, because he and Dave were good friends and so he would at least like to get along with Dave's mate. He suspected that he and JJ would get close over time and become almost like brother and sister and that was certainly fine with him and he suspected with JJ as well. "However, you can't let it stop you from making friends, because if we cut ourselves off from things like that it will only make us lonely and eventually will either lead us to ask someone to kill us or our minds will simply break due to that intense loneliness and we'll go on a killing spree, which will also get us permanently killed. Personally, if I felt I couldn't continue to exist anymore I think I'd prefer my death to be at the hands of a friend and not the vampire council's enforcers."
"I have to agree with Aaron on that one," Penelope shuddered. "I'd rather die at the hands of someone I'm close to then by a total stranger sent to kill me, because I'm giving vampires a bad name."
"I never thought of it precisely like that," JJ admitted.
"You probably would have eventually, as you're still a babe in the woods compared to Penelope and me," Hotch told her with a smile. "I think however we should enjoy dinner and talk about something more pleasant."
"Dinner is served everyone," Dave announced.
"Here let me help you with that," JJ offered
"That's okay beautiful, I'll get it, you just sit down and relax," Dave said waving away her offer to help. Dave headed back into the kitchen and emerged again with a pan of pork roast and finally with the rolls and the potatoes.
"Well, we certainly didn't expect such a feast," Hotch smiled, as he surveyed the dishes on the table.
"I don't get a chance to cook often, not since we're gone so much, and you know I enjoy it, Aaron. Of course, once I'm turned into a vampire I'll likely have a chance to cook more often, but until then...this is something of a rare opportunity and that I can share it with people that are my family is just an added bonus," Dave said.
"Well, let's not have your effects go to waste," Penelope smiled, as she started to eat. She knew that Dave was a gourmet chef, and she enjoyed a chance to eat food he had prepared.
The four of them enjoyed dinner talking companionably and getting to know each other.
Aaron soon found that JJ was very intelligent and had commonsense to spare, which couldn't be said for many of their kind. That thought was unfair, Aaron admitted as he hadn't met every vampire in existence after all, but a lot of the ones he had met really didn't seem to have much commonsense.
"Well, whenever you decide you're ready to come in for interview, I'll be more than happy to do so," Hotch promised, "as you have all the proper credentials and I know Dave will be thrilled if the two of you can work together."
"We'll have to wait until after the baby's born," JJ said, "as I don't want to start any new job with me being pregnant, as that would not be a good first impression to make."
"You'll have to do the same thing Aaron and I did then and if that's get a medallion that prevents a woman from getting pregnant, so long as you wear it," Penelope said and JJ nodded.
"Yes, I was already planning on getting me one of those, since Dave informed me of its existence, I just haven't done it yet, as most of my free time has been taken up with shopping," JJ said.
"Now there is an activity I really enjoy," Penelope grinned.
"We'll have to go shopping together sometime," JJ grinned right back.
"You better hold onto your credit card, Aaron, or Penelope is going to spend all your money," Dave teased his friend.
"I'm not worried about that," Hotch said shaking his head smiling, "as I guarantee you that I have so much money that I'll never run out and Penelope has a fortune of her own that she earned through her own investments before we met. There's no point in having money if you don't spend some of it on things that you want and are going to enjoy. The only thing I'm worried about is running out of room to put all the things she buys."
"I do not buy that much," Penelope protested with laughter in her eyes, as this was an old argument between the two of them.
"Tell that to all the closets in the house," Hotch told his mate smiling at her. "Of course, she just doesn't buy stuff for herself, but for me and our children to and I have to admit that vampire children grow incredibly fast in a very short amount of time, so the stuff she buys doesn't have a chance to go out of style before it's used."
"I suppose that's something I'm going to need to prepare for," Dave said and couldn't help, but grin at that thought. He had certainly been smiling much more lately and he knew very well the reason for that was sitting at his side.
"Yep, you will," JJ informed him with a little smirk of her own. "I love to shop I'm afraid, although I have plenty of money of my own, but still I'm always looking for more investments, since I know what I have now isn't going to last for the rest of my vampire life, especially not with rising inflation."
"Yeah, I always keep my eye out for any investment that looks good," Dave agreed, "and that's even more important now that I'm going to become a vampire, as I won't be able to keep writing books forever, as eventually I'll get writer's block or run out of old cases to write about."
"You'll have many careers over your centuries as I certainly have," Hotch said, "although I admit that working for the FBI is one of the longest careers I've ever had," Hotch said.
They were all silent for a few minutes, as they enjoyed the food that Dave had a prepared, but finally Hotch said, "JJ, I hope you don't take offense to this but I think it's not a good idea for you to come in for that interview until after Dave is turned into a vampire. It's just that you would have just started and then you have to take time off to do the change and he be gone for several months and while I would understand why you did so I doubt that people like Strauss would. Rumors would likely follow you for some time and I just want to avoid complications that could arise from you just starting a new job and then suddenly being gone for months."
"You do have a point," JJ considered, "and no, I don't take offense, because you're right, even though I hadn't thought of it quite like that. It's not like we can wait years for Dave to go through his change because as he pointed out to me recently he's getting older and there is already over 20 years separating us. We are likely going to get enough comments as it is about the age difference or at least get disapproving looks, as it'll be assumed that I'm just some kind of trophy wife."
"Well, it will help that Dave doesn't look nearly 50, I think it's the Italian blood," Penelope said, "but still there's quite an age gap between you that is unfortunately, obvious, but I would say no more than 10, maybe 15 years, as Dave really does look younger than his actual years."
"After Dave's a vampire and after he gets back from learning control then you can come in for an interview," Hotch said.
"Well, I had better see about taking that time off right away then, because as soon I am changed into a vampire the better," Dave who had been following the conversation closely said. "Most people probably won't even notice the difference in our ages, since women in particular tend to marry men that are much older, but some people will definitely disapprove, although they're unlikely to actually comment, since it is such a common occurrence. Besides, we have to consider the fact that I could be seriously injured on the job, since it is dangerous at times, so for that reason alone and not just because of the age difference I think it's better if I go through the transformation as soon as possible."
"Strauss is going to go ballistic you know," Hotch smirked.
"Like I care about that," Dave snorted. "I'll begin making arrangements," Dave promised JJ kissing her cheek. "I'm not even going to bother to go to Strauss for this, because we all know what she'll have to say."
"Surely she wouldn't deny you the time off when you met your mate, even if that mate is a vampire?" JJ protested.
"I'm afraid that Strauss can be a very vindictive woman and I can see her doing everything she can to break us up, so long as she can do so without ruining her career," Dave told JJ and both Penelope and Aaron nodded in agreement with that.
"I agree with Dave on that one," Hotch said. "At the very least she would make the attempt to deny Dave leave, even if it wasn't successful. She's had a major crush on Dave for at least the last five years and who knows it might have been longer than that, but that's when it became obvious, because that's when her marriage broke up. That crush has sense turned into an obsession, which hasn't been helped by the fact that Dave has basically ignored her very obvious feelings."
"If you know how many times she had cornered me in the parking garage or several other places asking me out for a nice dinner or to go to the theater or a movie... just because she hasn't done that anytime in the last few months doesn't mean she's not still obsessed with me. For all I know she might just be biding her time or it's possible that she has truly given up, but I'm not counting on it, as she is a very determined and strong-willed woman and stubborn to boot, as she never would have risen though the ranks like she did if she was not."
"Yes, I see what you mean," JJ said thoughtfully, biting her lower lip, which was a habit she had picked up in childhood before she had been changed into a vampire and she had just never bothered to break it.
For his part Dave thought it was incredibly sexy and couldn't wait to get his mate alone after their guests had left.
Aaron glanced at Penelope briefly and Penelope smiled back knowing exactly what her mate was thinking, as it was obvious where Dave's thoughts were going and that he couldn't wait to get rid of them, so that he could do what he wanted, not that either of them could blame Dave for that considering that he and JJ had just met such a short time ago and therefore the bond was still very new and likely incredibly strong. Hell, even they had trouble keeping their hands off each other and they'd been together for five years.
"I'll be guided by you in this cause as you know more about the situation at your workplace then I do and I know that you have Dave's best interest at heart," JJ told Hotch who nodded gratefully
"Correction I have both your best interests at heart," Hotch said. "No, I haven't known you as long as Dave, but that's only because you two just met. I would like us to be friends, even if I know it takes time for that sort of relationship to develop, I'll have to keep a certain distance at least at work, but I've thought of Dave as something like a brother for years anyway and I even thought about offering to turn him into a vampire at one point but then decided not to."
"You should have," Dave told Hotch the same answer he ad given before, "because I know that even if you had you would've let me make my own decision and not have forced the issue as you're too honorable for that. However, who knows if I would've turned it down at that time as I hadn't met JJ yet, but if I had accepted I would have been years younger, so that the age gap between me and Jennifer wouldn't be quite so bad."
"On the other hand, we had no way of knowing that you and JJ would meet, since none of us can see the future," Penelope said.
"It doesn't really matter that the age gap between us is so large, because I firmly believe that we wouldn't be mates if Dave wasn't the incarnation of Dauid Silvestri," JJ said. "As for what others think I don't really care so long as they keep their opinions to themselves. I know I said a few minutes ago that we could expect at least some comments about the age gap, but on the other hand, Dave's right, that a much younger woman getting together with an older man isn't all that unusual. Personally, I don't really care what others think about our relationship, because I'm sure a lot of people will believe that I'm some kind of trophy wife or that Dave is trying to recover his youth by marrying someone so much younger than himself."
"That's definitely the right attitude to take," Hotch said approvingly. "I suspect that you'll get a few disapproving looks, but you can ignore those, as I doubt very many people will bother to comment, at least to your faces, since you could rip them apart easily."
"And about your comment about us being friends I would like that a lot," JJ said. "I suspect that we'll always be friends, just as you were telling Dave earlier before we actually met."
"You were eavesdropping," Penelope accused her playfully.
JJ shrugged unrepentant. "You can't really turn down a vampire's hearing and my ears automatically tune into the sound of Dave's voice."
"Yeah, I know the same thing happens to me all the time. It's not like I mean to listen in on Penny's private conversations, but sometimes it happens, unless I distract myself," Hotch agreed smiling at his mate.
"Yeah, the same thing happens to me as well," Penelope finally agreed with a grin. "Aaron and I don't have any secrets from each other, so I really don't have a need to listen to his private conversation so I really do try not to. Well, correction, except for a few things that are a female's territory, as Aaron doesn't really want to know about that kind of thing."
"I don't think I need to know about hairstyles, makeup or clothes or anything else that involves making a female even more beautiful than she already is," Hotch chuckled good-naturedly.
"No, that's definitely a woman's territory," Dave chuckled.
"You'll learn to tune out the sound of Dave's voice eventually," Hotch said, "because I can tune out Penelope's when I really want to."
"Of course, that goes both ways," Penelope said grinning at her mate, who smiled in return.
"It just takes practice," Hotch and Penelope added together, causing Dave and JJ to chuckle at how much like twins they sounded.
The four of them talked about more lighthearted subjects, as they finished their dinners now that the serious conversation was over and JJ insisted that she help with cleanup, even though Dave protested.
"I want to feel like I'm pulling my weight," JJ told Dave sternly. "I like to feel useful and this is an equal partnership."
"Alright," Dave finally agreed, "We'll split the chores."
"I'll be able to do a lot of the things that you aren't able to do on a regular basis, because you're gone so much," JJ said and Dave nodded.
"That's true," Dave said.
"I would listen to her if I were you," Penelope smirked.
"Oh, I will," Dave said and JJ nodded in agreement.
"We are still working on our dynamics after all, since we just met recently," JJ said by way of agreement. "The two you have been together for five years, but Dave and I haven't. It's going to take time so that we work smoothly together both in our personal and professional lives and we know that."
"You'll get there," Hotch said with a smile. "We'll see ourselves out, as it's getting late and Dave at least needs his sleep, even if that won't be true for much longer."
"I'll show you out, Aaron, Penny," Dave said immediately. "I'll see you at work day after tomorrow."
"Yes, we'll see you then," Hotch said with a smile. "Penelope and I are certainly looking forward to getting to know you better JJ."
"That goes for me as well," JJ told the pair sincerely. "I haven't met many vampires that are as nice as you are, since a lot of them can be so incredibly arrogant I can't stand them, no offence. Of course, I have met a few that I've gotten along reasonably well with, but none that I'm really close to, but hopefully, that's about to change."
"No offense taken, as both of us quite agree with you," Hotch told JJ with a smile. "I can be quite arrogant when the situation demands it or someone pisses me off, but really I prefer to be nice."
"And if you ask me that's the way everybody should be, although I know it doesn't work like that most of the time," Dave said, as he started to escort his two friends towards the front door.
"Well, think of it this way if everybody was nice and accommodating there'd be a lot lower crime rate and we'd likely be out of jobs," Hotch told him with twinkling eyes.
"There is that," Dave agreed with a laugh, "So I suppose it's just as well. Besides, if everybody was the same life would be incredibly boring."
"Yes, it would be," Penelope immediately agreed with that.
"I'll see you Monday," Dave said, as he opened the front door for his friends.
"See you Monday," Hotch echoed, as he and Penelope headed outside to their car.
"Well, now that we're alone, love, whatever shall we do?" JJ asked, with a saucy wink.
"Well, first we clean up the kitchen, and then after that I plan on taking you to bed and making love to you for hours before I get some sleep," Dave told her with the smirk of his own.
"Sounds like a plan," JJ agreed smiling, as she walked sexily towards the kitchen, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she went. Dave well knew that the display was for his benefit, to supposedly get him in the mood, not that he needed any help with that, as he was originally Italian after all—alright Italian American—and they were always in the mood for that particular activity, especially with JJ.
He had a feeling that he was going to clean up the kitchen faster than he ever had in his life, so that he could take his gorgeous mate upstairs and make love to her and that was just fine with him.
~~~Dave and JJ~~~
"Do you know that Penny's pregnant as well," Dave commented to JJ over a week after their dinner, as the two of them sat side-by-side on the couch, just enjoying being together.
In fact, JJ feet were on Dave's lap and he didn't mind a bit.
"Is she?" JJ asked in surprise.
"Yep, she's really showing now, as she doesn't show as soon as most women simply because of her body structure. She's probably about as far along as you are give or take a few days."
"Well, that's good because that means ours will have a friend to play with right off the bat," JJ said pleased.
"Also, I've made arrangements to be gone for the next few months as once I explained the reason why to the director he more than understood why I was requesting at least a six month sabbatical, especially since I had Aaron to back me up. The team's going to be a little shorthanded, but it can't be helped and they understand that."
"I really want to meet your other three teammates," JJ said smiling.
"Oh, you will eventually, although it might not happen before I go through the transformation," Dave said. "They're very eager to meet you too. You should've seen Strauss's reaction when she heard why I had taken so much time off," Dave added with a wicked grin.
"So, she caused quite a scene then?" JJ asked, smiling herself.
"Oh, yes, the way she stomped around and glared at anyone who even looked in her direction, it was clear she was quite furious. I'm actually surprised that she didn't wreck something," Dave admitted. "By the time she heard about all the time I was taking off it was too late to try to do anything about it, which is why I went to somebody above her in the first place. However, I didn't really expect her to lose her temper in public and I at least expected her to wait until she was behind closed doors."
"So does this mean she's still obsessed with you?" JJ asked, because she really didn't know as much about human nature as those that actually observed it for a living. She wouldn't say she wasn't observant, just that she had never really paid attention to learn that different humans repeated the same behaviors over and over with variations and she knew that's how the members of the BAU could profile criminals. The team could profile criminals, because the same types of criminals acted mostly the same way or at least there was always a pattern in everything a criminal did, even if was so minuscule it was nearly impossible to spot.
"Oh, yes, I would say she's still obsessed with at least dating me," Dave said. "Don't worry you'll pick up a lot about human behavior just from hanging around the team, even if you're not signing on as a profiler. Soon you'll be just is good at deciphering human behavior as I am."
"I wouldn't mind that," JJ said smiling. "I've picked up quite a bit about human behavior over the years, but I certainly haven't studied it in-depth like you and the other members of your team have."
"Yeah, you can pick up a lot just from observing people," Dave agreed, as he rubbed JJ's very pregnant belly unconsciously. "Still we're learning more all the time about human behavior and we actually interview serial killers to learn as much as we possibly can about their behavior and why they do what they do, because the more we learn the easier it is to catch other unsubs."
"So, what do you want a boy or a girl?" JJ asked changing the subject.
"It doesn't matter to me," Dave promised, "because we'll have plenty of opportunities to have as many as we want. Really, I'm just so happy to have you in my life, that I don't care what we get just so long is he or she is healthy and since you said that vampires never have medical problems like mortals, particularly humans can what sex they are doesn't matter."
"I'm glad you think that way," JJ said pleased, "because I've met people in the past that wanted a son as a firstborn."
"Yeah, me too," Dave agreed. "I met one woman, a suspect on the case a couple of years ago that was pregnant at the time and she wanted a daughter because her father had been extremely abusive, but it turned out to be a son and the woman didn't want anything to do with him."
"I'm surprised a woman like that actually had sex with a man in the first place, because I know what abuse can do to some people depending on how severe it is," JJ said.
"Sometimes they go for a man with a weak personality type someone who won't overwhelm her and do as he's told," Dave shrugged. "Of course, sometimes they never want a man to come near them again, except perhaps for close family or they just want the friends. There are many different types of human behavior, because humans are all different and react in different ways to trauma or even in general. In this case, we learned that she had a boyfriend with a much weaker personality and she deliberately allowed him to get her pregnant, but didn't bother to inform him, as she was getting to the age where she wouldn't be able to have children and sometimes a human's biological imperative to have a family is so strong that it's very hard to resist."
"Yes, I know what you mean, as I wanted a family so bad back when I was human and I was fast approaching the age where it wouldn't be safe for me to get pregnant. I suspect that Dauid and I would have started a family right away if I hadn't been bitten by Seth. Of course, nowadays, it's safer to get pregnant past 30 because medical technology has improved so much and older women often come through childbirth just fine. Of course, sometimes there are other problems that have nothing to do with pregnancy but that kill the woman who is giving birth and sometimes the baby to."
"Or sometimes just the child," Dave said with sadness in his voice, remembering James who had only lived a few hours.
"I promise you what happened to your son with Caroline won't happen to us," JJ soothed him. She didn't know the deep pain of losing a child and she was glad she did not, because even after all these years her mate still carried that pain around with him. Having children would never replace his older son who had died of a bad heart, but the pain would lessen after a while she was sure and Dave wouldn't think about the loss of his son hardly at all, even if the pain would always be with him to some degree.
She would make sure he was so happy with he he would hardly think about the son he had lost at all.
"Still, I'm looking forward to the birth and it won't be long now," Dave added with a grin, sounding much happier as the sadness had faded from his voice and his expression.
"No, not long," JJ agreed, as the two of them shared a sweet tender kiss. "And after you're turned into a vampire right after they are born, I'm willing to have another. In fact, technically we can have a least three more if we are isolated for six months so you can learn control."
"It might take longer than six months or at least that's what Aaron told me, as he's changed others into vampires before," Dave warned.
"I know, but you're very strong willed, so I suspect that it won't take you longer than that, but on the other hand, I could very well be wrong, since I have never changed anyone into a vampire it's kind of hard to know how long it will take for you to learn control."
"Are you sure you can do it without killing me? As I don't want to leave you for anything, since we just found each other," Dave said.
"I've already had a talk with my inner vampire and since the part of me that is a bloodsucking monster and the other part that is still human enough to feel emotions like love there's no way I'm going to drain your blood, as for one thing, I want you around for centuries to come and I want our child to have a father. The vampire part of me knows very well that if I were to kill you that I would find a way to meet my own death, so no, the demon part of me will not be draining all your blood just enough to turn you into a vampire."
"Well, good," Dave said relieved. "If you had been unsure you could do it I would've asked Aaron since he's done it before."
"That would've been option if I wasn't absolutely sure I could do it without killing you," JJ agreed, "and believe me, I would never let my pride get in the way of possibly causing you great harm or worse. I mean the transformation is painful enough, as I remember mine perfectly well. I'll never be able to forget it."
"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that part, as I've heard it's worse than being shot," Dave agreed shuddering, as he imagine the pain that was to come.
"If you were I would immediately take you to a shrink to have your head examined," JJ told him with an adorable little grin telling Dave she was joking.
"I don't need to see a shrink thank you very much," Dave told her with a smile of his own. "I suppose the whole team really needs to see one occasionally considering all we see in our jobs and the genuine evilness of humanity, but I'll be truly dead before I do so. If none of us could handle the nightmares we get from the job then we wouldn't do what we do."
"I doubt you'll have many nightmares once you're vampire," JJ said. "Yes, we do require sleep but not very much of it."
"Which just leaves more time for other activities," Dave grinned.
"My whatever do you mean?" JJ asked innocently batting her eyes at her mate.
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," Dave told JJ not falling for the innocent act.
"Yes, I do, I was just teasing you," JJ promised, as the two of them cuddled together.
"If we do have more children after this, we would have to hire someone to look after them because you'll be starting a job pretty soon with the BAU."
"I was planning on hiring someone anyway and I was thinking that maybe Aaron and Penelope could recommend someone," JJ said.
"Probably, since they have a nanny for their own," Dave said. "I doubt that the nanny can handle more than 4 or 5 at a time, but luckily the oldest is ready for college with this coming year. Actually, according to Aaron she was ready last year but stuck around to help out with her siblings, but the oldest boy is old enough to help the nanny now."
"So, then the oldest girl is what around five?"
"Well, a little less than that, but not much because Penny got pregnant right away."
"So around two months plus a few days, depending on when Penelope conceived, as it might've been right away or it might have taken awhile." JJ calculated.
"Well, you certainly conceived right away so it's possible that Penelope did to, as both of you were relatively young when you were changed, as neither of you were even thirty," Dave shrugged. "It doesn't really matter just that apparently you're both very fertile, which is why I'm glad that there is such a thing as those medallions that will prevent you from getting pregnant when you don't want to be, as I have no intention of stopping making love to you. In fact, there is nothing that I know of that will ever stop me from doing that, as you were in my dreams for years before we actually met."
"Good, I'm glad to hear it," JJ said seriously, before she burst into giggles. "We won't get tired or anything after a long day, so we can make love all night while the human members of the team sleep."
"We'll have to keep it down when we are in a hotel somewhere, as hotel walls are notoriously thin, especially in the cheap places we are forced to stay, since the government in general are notoriously skinflints," Dave warned.
"Well, whoever reserves the rooms in advance can just ask them to try to find one that's away from the other members of the team if possible so that we can make love to our hearts content," JJ grinned mischievously. "The others might know what we are doing, but I'm sure they'll be grateful not to hear us, particularly Aaron with his vampire hearing."
"Probably," Dave laughed, as he kissed his mate on the side of her neck. "I just want you to know that I love you and it doesn't matter how long we've known each other I do and I swear to you I shall love you forever."
"Just like I love you," JJ told him softly kissing him gently. "I haven't been this happy ever since I found out that Dauid killed himself when he couldn't find me."
"What happened to you and to my incarnation was a tragedy that shouldn't have happened," Dave soothed her. "We are together now though and we'll never be apart and I promise you. Erin Strauss or anybody else is not going to get in the way of our love or break up our relationship. I swear to you that nothing is going to break us apart and we'll be together for centuries to come."
"I'm not usually a very violent person at all, but if anybody does try to take you from me, well, I'll tear them to pieces," JJ growled ferociously looking much more like a vampire then she normally did. "Normally, I'm the very forgiving type since I know that mortals and even vampires are very flawed, but that's one thing I won't forgive."
"You can't go tearing everybody apart that comes onto me," Dave told her gently, but knowing exactly how she felt, because even though he wasn't a vampire himself yet he knew what he would want to do if anybody tried to take Jennifer from him. "Don't worry if anything ever happens I'll deal with it, appropriately. It would have to be a rather unusual situation for me to tear someone apart for coming onto you. I'm not saying there aren't a lot of perverts in the world, but mostly people are just going to be annoying not dangerous and a lot of them will back off once they see that we are together."
"You're right, I suppose I overreacted," JJ admitted sheepishly. "I know that nothing's going to tear us apart, because we're stronger together than any mortal and when we place mating marks on each other once you are a vampire like me other vampires will know better than to mess with either one of us. Mortals on the other hand..."
"It's alright, Hotch was telling me the other day that is going to be like that for a while because our bond is still so very new. He's very protective of his mate for example and I know it's hard for them to keep their hands to themselves while they're working at least when they are in the office. He says that the intensity of the bond will die down eventually, but it's going to be a few years before it does and the same would be true for us. He also says that we'll have an easier time of it, because we'll be together nearly constantly once we're working at the same place, as we'll likely only be separated for a few hours at a time instead of for days like him and Penny."
"He's probably right," JJ agreed having calmed down considerably.
"I'm sure he is because he's much older than you or even Penelope is and he grew up in a vampire family while you did not and trust me that makes a difference," Dave said, holding his mate gently.
"Yes, he would have learned all about his species and what it means to be a vampire from his own parents, as well as the ins and outs of the vampire world before he was fully grown," JJ said, who hadn't considered that particular angle.
"So, he likely knows what he's talking about," Dave gently teased her.
"I didn't mean to imply that he didn't," JJ protested with humor in her eyes. "I learned a lot about the vampire world from Seth, but not about some of the stuff we were just talking about because Seth never told me. Either he never knew or he didn't think it was important whichever one."
"I'm sure he would have told you if he had known about it," Dave suggested and JJ nodded reluctantly because she still had a will real grudge against the vampire that had turned her. Dave for one couldn't blame her for still holding onto her grudge against her mentor considering that the JJ and his previous incarnation would have gotten married and had a few children when they first met so long ago and likely even been reborn at least once. On the other hand, he was about to become immortal in a few days after the baby was born, so he and Jennifer would be together forever. Still, he would never forgive Seth all the agony that he had caused his mate and if he ever met him...Well, he wasn't sure what he would do, but he would at least have a few sharp words for Seth or at the very most he would tell him he had better never darken their doorway again if he didn't want to be put an end to permanently.
"I seriously hope I never encounter Seth, because I promise you that I'm rather angry at him just because he caused you so much pain and I've never even met the guy. For one thing he never should've allowed himself to get so hungry that he just attacked someone," Dave said.
"I agree with you," JJ said. "It's dangerous for one of our kind to get so hungry that they just attack someone, particularly in this day and age. The vampire council is very unforgiving of one of our kind for doing something like that. Believe me, if they find out, well, it won't be good and it's more than possible that somebody will report them. Even if nobody sees it one time if a vampire does it more than that, well, obviously they will get reported, even if it doesn't happen for decades. I suppose in a way I was lucky, as he didn't actually kill me, although he nearly did, but managed to stop in time. Since I lived through it, even if I was changed into a vampire well, the vampire council wouldn't consider that Seth had done anything wrong, as it wouldn't wouldn't matter that he wrecked my life."
"Yeah, I know that the vampire council only goes after those vampires that kill indiscriminately and a lot of people see it," Dave said.
"Or they do it in such a way that is easy to identify the fact that a vampire actually did the killing," JJ said Dave nodded.
"Yes, you're right a vampire can kill, as much as they want so long as they make it look like a mortal did it..." Dave said.
"Of course, eventually it's going be figured out that it's a vampire doing the killing and then the vampire council is going to have no choice but to deal with it, even if that vampire isn't draining a person's blood," JJ said. "I'm afraid that some vampires just enjoy killing for the sake of it and they don't necessarily need to feed at the time."
"Vampires are no different than mortals, especially humans," Dave told JJ. "In fact, you have to remember that a lot of vampires were once mortals and they weren't necessarily upstanding members of society when they were changed whether on accident or on purpose. For all we know some vampires that were changed were criminals of one type or another. One could've been a murderer for example and just because they were changed into vampires doesn't mean they're going to stop their criminal activities. In fact, being a vampire would only make it worse, because they are natural predators. Not everybody is very discriminatory about who was changed into a vampire you know. Me for example if I ever do change someone, well, they're not going to be some type of criminal that's going to hurt society, whether that's women or children or old people. There are so many different types of crimes like robbing an old person of their life-saving by conning them out of it. I might never actually change anyone into a vampire, but you never know the decisions life is going to bring so I'm not saying it won't happen."
"Yes, I agree with you," JJ said nodding, "That's one of the reasons I never changed anyone into a vampire, as I never been sure if they were totally innocent or not. Of course, the other reason is that I haven't really been close enough to anybody, except for you to even suggest it, but I'm not saying that won't change."
"Well, you're still relatively young for a vampire that is and Aaron told me that he didn't change anyone for at least 300 years. It takes time to learn about the world around you and to be a good judge of character, because just like mortals you have to gain experience with human nature and also to get control of your vampire instincts so you don't kill that person. Many humans in particular never learn enough about human nature to not be taken advantage of by someone who is shrewd and dishonest at the very least," Dave said.
"Of course, learning something new happens every day by going out and interacting with other people, even if most people never realize that they are," JJ said.
"Absolutely and that's how we learn so much about human nature and that by simply observing from the background," Dave said pleased that JJ understood the point he was trying to make. He knew that JJ was an intelligent lady, but she still had a lot to learn, which was fine really, as sometimes people just needed something pointed out to them like for example it was hard to realize that somebody you were close to loved you in a romantic way. Dave suspected that if it wasn't for the mating bond between Aaron and Penelope, Aaron at least would never have admitted his feelings for the technical analyst, as he would have considered it inappropriate to get involved with a subordinate or at the very least they would have danced around each other for years. Luckily, neither one of them had been human or even mortal, so when they met they had known about their bond immediately and consummated it soon after.
As for him he suspected that he might never have acknowledged his feelings for Jennifer if she hadn't been starring in his better dreams for decades or at least her face had and then JJ would have had forced the issue, which he knew he wouldn't have appreciated, though he would have forgiven her eventually.
"Sometimes we don't realize that we're learning something or at least picking up information subconsciously, because it's such a subtle type of lesson. For instance, we pick up things subconsciously like if we look at an ad in a magazine we recognize whatever the item is at least vaguely the next time we see it. We are more likely to recognize it if it's packaged in a bright bold colors along with the lettering and the picture. Everyone has more pieces of trivia stored in their head then they realize just from watching TV or reading something. Most of the time that trivia isn't useful, except when you have a job like mine. Reid for instance has more pieces of trivia or other useless information stored in his brain than anybody I've ever seen and he's often the one that comes up with the most critical piece of evidence that helps crack a case wide open."
"I can't wait to meet him," JJ said, "I have a feeling we'll be good friends."
"Probably," Dave admitted. "I suspect you'll get along right away, although I should warn you that he doesn't make friends very easily and really the team are the only true friends he has."
"That's really sad, but some people are like that," JJ said. "When I was still human I had a lot of different girlfriends, but ever since I was turned into a vampire it's different."
"I can certainly understand that," Dave said. "It would be hard getting close to people only to know that they would dying a few decades while you stayed the same."
"I have had a few, so I haven't been totally friendless, still, it's pretty hard to know they will die in a few decades while I stay the same. Still, I meant what I said earlier about it being easier to make friends now, because I'll have you there instead of being alone like I was every other time."
"I'll always be at your side," Dave promised JJ tenderly.
"I know and I'm grateful," JJ told him, as the two kissed very gently and passionately.
~~~Dave and JJ~~~
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