Part 5

"She's beautiful," Dave said as he held his newborn daughter in his arms.

JJ had gone into labor quite suddenly about 15 hours ago and Dave had had the foresight to take a couple of days off since JJ had gotten pregnant the first night they had bonded. A vampire pregnancy was always exactly 2 months, so you could always tell within a day or two when a female was due.

"Yes, she is," JJ said tiredly, smiling, nonetheless.

There had been no need for a doctor's visit, as it was only a single baby and not twins or other multiples. Dave had been there from the instant she'd gone into labor, so that he could help her as much as he could, even though really what he knew about woman giving birth could fill a thimble. Really all he had to do was hold JJ's hand and encourage her to push and also check frequently to see how far she had dilated. Finally she had reached the required 10 cm and once she had Dave had ordered her to start to push. It had taken 15 hours, but finally they had their daughter. From what little Dave knew about the birthing process he knew that first babies were often late and the labor also often took longer, but luckily, that didn't apply to vampires.

"I'll go heat you up some blood," Dave said, as he gently put his newborn daughter down in the bassinet that had been set up for her, kissing her tiny forehead after he did so.

"You better bring up a couple of pitcherfuls, because not only will I need it so will she," JJ said. "Whatever we don't use we can always put back in the fridge until it is needed again."

"I'll be right back," Dave promised, as he headed downstairs to do as ordered.

JJ just gazed at her beautiful daughter who was laying in her bassinet tiredly, until she heard Dave returning his footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Here you go, beautiful," Dave said, as he poured her a mug of blood, after he had set the tray on the nightstand which held two pitchers, a bottle and a mug.

"Thank you," JJ said politely taking it from him and gulping it down.

"You're more than welcome," Dave told her. "More, my lovely?"

"Yes, please," JJ said remembering her manners already starting to feel the artificial blood race through her system renewing energy and also repairing whatever damage had been done by her giving birth.

Dave obliged and poured her another mugful and handed it to her where she gulped that down as well.

"Ah! That really hits the spot," JJ said feeling much better.

"Another?" Dave asked.

"I think one more should do it," JJ said, "as I'm already feeling much better."

Dave poured her another mug of blood and watched as she sipped this one more delicately.

"Now you had better feed our daughter while I finish this," JJ suggested, "or she's going to start screaming."

Dave chuckled knowing that JJ was right and so he picked up his gorgeous daughter and picked up the bottle that he had put on the nightstand.

"So, what are we going to name her?" Dave asked, as his daughter had snapped her mouth onto the nipple of the bottle and started sucking like a milking machine.

"I was thinking Alice as it was my mother's name," JJ said.

"Alice is just lovely," Dave agreed. "I was thinking Cecelia for the middle name as that was my mother's name.

"Alice Cecilia Rossi," JJ said testing it out. "Yes, I like it, even if it's a very old-fashioned kind name, though Alice is still quite common today."

"Then that is what it shall be," Dave proclaimed. "I'll make sure her birth is registered with the appropriate authorities. Thank you, for my lovely daughter," Dave added kissing his mate tenderly on the lips.

"You're quite welcome," JJ said returning the kiss. "Now I know you're exhausted and need to sleep since you handled the birth of our daughter all by yourself, so why don't you get undressed and come to bed. I'll look after Alice while you slumber. Once you're a vampire like me you won't be much sleep, but for now you do."

"You're right, I am exhausted," Dave said getting undressed without arguing. "We need to change the sheets right quick, as these are filthy."

"I'll do that if you want to go get a quick shower," JJ said. "I'm feeling much better and I can have the sheets changed in seconds before I join you."

"That's a very good idea, as I'll sleep better if I'm not feeling all dirty or sleeping on filthy sheets," Dave agreed, as he headed for the shower, after removing his clothes.

JJ watched him go looking at his form appreciatively as he was totally naked. David Rossi had a form that any woman would drool over and he was all hers for eternity.

JJ quickly got clean sheets from the linen closet and changed the bedding before heading for the shower to join her mate, as she knew her daughter would be just fine for a few minutes by herself. Vampire children, even infants had very few needs compared to mortal ones and her daughter would only require blood in a couple of hours and would be well behaved until then.

~~~Dave and JJ~~~

A few days later

"I'll see you after work and we'll drive up to my cabin together," Dave promised. This was officially Dave's last day for a while until his time as a newborn vampire was over.

Dave kissed JJ tenderly, then kissed his daughter on the forehead.

"I'm only working half a day today, so I should be home about one," Dave told JJ.

"I'll be waiting," JJ promised. "I'll make sure we're all packed for the duration. I'm really looking forward to having you just like I am."

"I know, so am I," Dave promised, smiling. "I'm not saying I'm looking forward to the pain involved, because that would be crazy, but I'm certainly looking forward to spending eternity at your side."

"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to hearing you scream in pain either, but then who would look forward to someone they loved screaming in agony?" JJ agreed with the grimace. "However, we both know it's necessary. Seeing and hearing you in so much pain will be very hard for me because I love you, but we'll get through it."

"Yes, we'll get through it and once it's over with, it's very unlikely that I'll ever be in that much pain again," Dave agreed. "I know vampires can be hurt, but it's extremely hard to do so."

"I'll see you when you get here," JJ promised. "And maybe we can think about having another, after you finish your transformation."

"That would be terrific," Dave said face lighting up. "As easy as you got pregnant this time I wouldn't think it would be difficult to get you pregnant a second time, even if I will be a full vampire instead of fully human like I was when we had Alice."

"Yes, it should be because we're mates for one thing," JJ reminded Dave, "and since mates are so closely linked to each other, just as soulmates are whoever controls such things wants us to reproduce or at least that's what Penny told me, as it wasn't something I knew. If it wasn't for that medallion that Penelope mentioned and that I attained for myself, I would likely be constantly staying pregnant, which is something that neither one of us is going to want."

"No, as much as I love children there are going to be times when neither one of us want any," Dave agreed. "Anyway, I'll see you after work as I really need to go I'll be late and all I need to do is give Strauss an excuse."

"She couldn't prevent you from taking the time off can she?" JJ asked worriedly.

"No, as I went above her head as you know, because I know what her probable reaction would be, if I asked for at least six months off," Dave said. "I already told you that she was steaming mad, not only because I went above her head to the director, but because I'm about to be turned into a vampire, because I met my mate who is one. I was at the time hoping to keep it from her a little longer, but I suppose there was no way to accomplish that, as she would have noticed that I wasn't coming into work, eventually, probably after only a few days. I've caught her looking for me more than once whenever she's out on the floor or staring at me, although I always pretend that I haven't noticed. I'm surprised her behavior hasn't been reported because something would have been done about it if it had been."

"Well, there's really nothing she can do," JJ said, as she put her daughter in her cradle that had been set up in the den, before walking into Dave's arms.

"No, there's really not," Dave agreed, holding JJ close and nuzzling his lips into the side of her neck.

"I'll see you after work," JJ said with difficulty for at the moment Dave was distracting her in a very pleasant way. "Now you better get going before you are late. As you said all Strauss needs is an excuse to write you up."

"Yeah, I've got to get going," Dave said, as he reluctantly released JJ. He placed one more tender, heat scorching kiss on the lips before heading for the garage where his car was parked.

"Have a good day and be careful of Strauss," JJ warned him. "Remember, there's nothing like a woman scorned."

"I don't think she'll go that far as she'll lose her job if she does and might even be arrested," said Dave.

"You never know and you should know this considering that you study human nature for living," JJ scolded him lightly. "You are not naïve and just because you don't believe Strauss will try anything does not mean that she will not."

"You're right, I'll be careful," Dave promised taking the scolding with good grace, mostly because he knew that JJ was correct. Human nature was wide and varied and sometimes you could never tell when somebody was going to do. Really the BAU was learning more about human nature and behavior all the time and had been ever since the unit had been formed. He suspected that even 15 to 20 years from now they would still be learning things about human behavior, mostly because humans were always coming up with new ways to kill or at least hurt each other.

Dave started the car and backed out of the garage waving at JJ who was standing in the front door, watching his departure.

~~~Dave and JJ~~~

1:25 p.m.

"What happened?" JJ demanded, as she watched the love of her life withering on the ground in enormous pain, as he was transforming into a vampire.

Considering the circumstances Hotch let JJ's tone of voice go as he well understood where she was coming from.

"It was Strauss," Hotch explained his expression tightly controlled, gesturing over at the crumpled form of his former boss. "Dave was leaving for the day, and the rest of us were just leaving for lunch. None of us had any idea that she was down here waiting on that very thing happening as she knew it was a normal event for all of us to go to lunch around this time when we were just sitting in the office doing paperwork. Even Penny and I go just so we can spend time with each other and the rest of the team, even if we don't necessarily have to eat. Strauss just came out of nowhere and shot Dave in the chest several times, not seeming to care that the rest of us were right there. She looked completely insane, not the normal put together woman I know and kept muttering to herself that if she couldn't have him no one could and I doubt that anybody would've heard her if they weren't two vampires on the team. I really had no choice but to change him, as it's unlikely he would've survived an operation or even the trip to the hospital and he agreed to it as he was awake enough for that, though in incredible pain. Dave really wanted you to be the one to change him, but considering the circumstances..."

"Yes, I understand," JJ said calming down, "and I'm very grateful that you were close enough to save his life. If I had lost him a second time..."

"Yes, I understand," Hotch said when JJ stopped in the middle of the sentence and he truly did understand where JJ was coming from. "You know I thought about asking if he wanted to be turned into a vampire a few years ago since we were so close and you know I decided to not say anything, but I'm glad I was here to save his life."

"I'll be grateful forever that you were here," JJ said. "When can I take him out here? It's not a good idea for him to remain here while he's turned into a vampire."

"No, he can't stay here," Hotch agreed. "I'll need to make arrangements, but then you can take him up to his cabin. I can give you directions."

"So, what happens to Strauss?" JJ asked, as she looked with disgust and distaste over at the still unconscious woman. "Is she dead?"

"No," Hotch said looking over at Strauss with disdain in his expression not really caring that Strauss was slumped against one of the stone pillars that made up the garage and supported the roof with a trickle of blood running down the side of her face. "She's only unconscious, as Morgan tackled her since he was the closest and I admit the rest of were to stunned by her actions, even me, as I never expected it. She hit her head on the concrete, which is why she's unconscious. She'll be going to prison for a long time, as not only did everyone see her come out of nowhere there's cameras in every section of the building including the garage. Strauss would've known that and yet she still shot Dave."

"She was obsessed Hotch," Reid said coming to stand beside the vampire. "People who are obsessed do stupid things every day and even though Rossi never paid Strauss any attention that doesn't mean that she wasn't obsessed. People who are obsessed a lot of times it ends in a double murder."

"That's possible," Hotch agreed. "Strauss might've intended to kill herself, but Morgan tackled her before she could if that was her intent. I never believed that Strauss could go so far, as she's not the type usually to get obsessed or to attack the object that is the center of that obsession, but I should have realized that just because she wasn't normally the type didn't mean that it couldn't happen."

"Really anyone can get obsessed, but you're right Strauss isn't normally the type," Reid said.

"It doesn't really matter," JJ growled. "Normally, I'm the nonviolent type vampire or not, but I want to rip her limb from limb and I have every right to."

"I don't blame you and the slightest for that, as I want to do the same myself, but let the courts deal with it," Hotch suggested gently. "She will never be getting out of prison because she did try to kill not only one of her subordinates but a member of the FBI and we all know that he would likely have died within a couple of hours if I hadn't started the process to turn him into a vampire. Dave can describe the attempts that she made to get him to date her and members of the team can also just describe the several attempts that they witnessed. She won't be a problem anymore and will only be leaving prison when she's dead."

"I agree with Hotch," Reid said. "For a FBI agent to kill one of their own or even attempt to kill, especially their boss..." Here Reid paused. "Not that makes what she did okay, but it's worse because Strauss tried to kill an agent of the FBI, which is a law enforcement organization that is part of the federal government. She would have been aware that if she was captured instead of killed that she would spend the next few decades in prison at the very least and that's only if the two vampires on the team didn't rip her limb from limb for injuring one of them. Something either Hotch or Garcia could have done easily. Garcia is usually the nonviolent type just like you are I know, but she's also very pregnant, which tends to put a person's emotions out-of-kilter and make them stronger and that includes vampires. The fact that both Hotch and Garcia were friends with the victim and therefore felt genuine affection for him and considered him a friend at least would have made those emotions all the stronger," Reid said looking at JJ. "Strauss isn't a civilian that doesn't know how the government operates, the rules, the regulations, the laws, as she was our boss after all and she worked her way up to the position she holds now and she couldn't've done that if she wasn't aware of how the system works."

"Alright then, I won't kill the bitch like I really want to, as I'm sure that's what Dave would want," JJ said looking pained, as every instinct she possessed was screaming at her to get rid of the person that had hurt her mate. Not just hurt nearly killed, had nearly succeeded and if not for Hotch's quick actions Dave would likely be dead.

"I know how painful that decision must be," Hotch told her, as he too looked somewhat pained. No, David Rossi wasn't his mate, but he was as close as a brother, so it hurt him not to deal permanently with Erin Strauss. If only Strauss had let her obsession go Dave never would have been shot, but then that's why they were called obsessions in the first place, because they weren't very easy to stop obsessing about.

JJ and Hotch shared a look and knew that their thoughts were running along similar paths. They wanted to kill Strauss for what she had done and the fact that she heartily disliked by Hotch at least didn't help the situation.

Suddenly Strauss groaned and the two vampires in the garage were immediately standing over her when she opened her eyes.

"What's the meaning of this..." Strauss began and tried to sit up her memory foggy.

"Don't think you're going anywhere," Hotch told her his expression deadly serious, but there was a certain grim satisfaction in his eyes. "You're going to be in prison for a very long time for what you did to Dave. You have yanked a tiger by the tail and you're lucky that JJ has enough control not to rip you apart and her feelings are probably at least 15 or 20 times more intense than mine because she and Dave are mates. You definitely don't want to know what I'd like to do to you, as I know of ways to torture someone and keep them alive for months or even years. You would go insane after a little of what I could do to you I promise you. I know very well that the human body can only handle so much pain before that happens. Well, either that or they expire from it. Be grateful that you're only going to prison for the next 2 to 3 decades because you might have an easier time of it, even if I doubt very much that you'll survive your stint. You nearly killed someone I'm very close to and for that alone I could torture you for the next decade until I finally let you die, so be glad that JJ has that right, since Dave is her mate and that she's controlling herself with difficulty. Normally, she's a gentle soul but what you did has put that normal gentleness and understanding into the background," Hotch told her very quietly, so that he couldn't possibly be overheard by anyone else. If Strauss happened to repeat what he had said it was unlikely that anybody would believe her, as they would believe that she was just trying to lay the blame on him to get out of the punishment she richly she deserved.

Suddenly the fog lifted from Strauss's brain and she remembered what had happened. She remembered coming down here to the garage around the usual time that the team went to lunch, so long as it was just a paperwork day. She remembered waiting for all of them to get off the elevator and man appearing like someone under a spell and while muttering under her breath shot David Rossi in the chest about four times, the same man that had refused her every single attempt when she had asked him for a date. Erin admitted that she had been obsessed with David Rossi for years and had been determined to get him into her bed after her marriage broke up, but he had turned down every single one of those attempts, always being polite about it.

Then the man she was obsessed with had met his soulmate and Strauss knew that her chances of ever getting him into her bed were lost, which had enraged her beyond anything so that she hadn't been thinking clearly. That his mate was a vampire, a species she hated with a passion made her decide that her life was over and that God or fate hated her for some unknown reason. She had then decided that she might as well take Rossi with her, so that his vampire mate couldn't have him either and that way she would have her revenge. She hadn't cared at the time that she was going to die as well. She had wanted to at least sleep with David Rossi as he made her hormones go wild, from the first time she had laid eyes on him, even though she was married at the time and despite her age.

Rossi had ignored all her attempts and politely turned her down every time, though it was clear he was rather annoyed at her continued persistence. She had finally given up, for a while anyway, knowing that the only reason Rossi hadn't reported her was because he only found her a minor annoyance and he wasn't a tattletale. He was someone that liked to handle his own problems.

Strauss looked around the garage and saw a long haired blonde woman with blue eyes kneeling at David Rossi's side and since Strauss knew she wasn't part of the the team she instinctively understood that this was his mate who had likely been called by Hotchner or one of the team when Rossi had been shot.

The blonde haired vampire seemed to instinctively know that she was being studied and shot her a look so full of hate and loathing that it caused Strauss to automatically recoil, as much as she could considering that her hands were cuffed behind her back and how her head was throbbing from where she had hit it on the concrete of the garage floor.

"I really need to take Dave out of here," JJ told Hotch quietly. "I thank you for saving his life and for sending Penny to watch our daughter, but that we really need to go ahead with our plans as he won't be changing into a vampire forever. Besides, I need to get out here before I lose control and kill her like she deserves. My instincts are screaming at me to snap her neck for what she did to Dave, so I need to get out of here before I can't control them anymore," JJ added glaring at Strauss with hate filled eyes.

"I understand," Hotch said and indeed he did understand that JJ was having a hard time restraining herself from just killing Strauss from where she was sitting on the concrete floor with her hands cuffed behind her back. "You go ahead, I'll explain to all the appropriate parties exactly what happened to one of their agents and the cameras that are here in the garage will only help with that."

"You and Penny are welcome to visit in a couple weeks," JJ told Hotch who nodded. "I'm sure Dave will be happy to see you."

"We'll make sure we call before we come out," Hotch promised. "We have both your numbers."

JJ nodded sharply and picked Dave up tenderly, being as gentle as possible considering she knew he was in incredible pain, not only from the bullets holes, but from the venom that was now racing through his bloodstream.

JJ had absolutely no trouble carrying Dave who was 6 foot and nearly 185 pounds, even if it was a little awkward considering that she was much smaller and couldn't have weighed more then 130 pounds soaking weight.

"Alright, let's get to work," Hotch ordered, once JJ had disappeared with Dave.

~~~Dave and JJ~~~

JJ watched rocking Alice in her arms as Dave screamed in agony as Aaron's venom raced through his system and absolutely hated to see him screaming in pain, but the pain would have been necessary anyway, as she was going to turn him into a vampire herself. However, she knew very well that it wouldn't have been quite so bad if not for the bullet holes in his chest near his heart.

JJ tried not shudder as she imagined the possibility of those bullets ending up in Dave's heart instead of just missing. If they had hit him in the heart depending on where they'd landed Dave could be dead. She didn't normally feel violence towards anyone, unlike she knew most vampires did, but she had wanted so badly to rip Strauss limb from limb before snapping her neck and had barely stopped herself from doing so. Aaron had been right though, killing her would have been too fast and from what she knew her spending the rest of her life in prison would be far worse for her since she was a federal agent, even if she was just a bureaucrat. Those in prison that had been put there by different FBI agent would make her life very difficult at best and hell at worst. Of course, if you asked her it was what Strauss deserved.

"There, there now Alice your father will be just fine, sweetie," JJ soothed, as much for her daughter as for herself. "Luckily, Uncle Aaron was there to save your daddy's life. He'll be back with us shortly."

Alice seemed to look at her mother with much more intelligence in her eyes then a human infant, but then that was normal JJ knew. Alice would soon be walking and talking and she didn't want her daughter to remember her father being hurt and screaming from pain, but luckily, she was only days old so she likely wouldn't remember about her father's injury. Which in her opinion was just as well.

"How about some blood sweetie?" JJ asked her daughter rhetorically, knowing that Alice was going to be thirsty soon, but then so was she. Luckily, she and Dave had been prepared for this and there had been plenty of blood in stock at Dave's home, so it had all been brought along and she was going to request that Aaron and Penelope bring more whenever they came, since there were going to be three vampires in the house, one of whom would be a newborn.

JJ left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen knowing that her daughter would soon be thirsty, even though it pained her to leave Dave's side at least she could still hear him. There was nowhere in the cabin that she couldn't hear Dave screaming as vampires hearing was probably at least 50 times better than a humans.

JJ was grateful that one of the team had at least dug the bullets out of Dave's chest, because she wouldn't have known what to do and they had probably done so after Aaron had already bitten him, so that they wouldn't be lodged in his chest forever, as the skin would have healed over them. If that had happened JJ wasn't sure what the effect would have been, since she had never encountered a vampire, something similar had happened to.

JJ warmed up a bottle of blood for her daughter, fed her and then fixed herself a big mugful, which she drank as she sat beside Dave's bed, as soon as she put her daughter in her crib.

Dave would be waking up any time now, since the transformation usually only took two days and it had been over that now, JJ knew. JJ suspected that Dave's injuries beforehand were what was making the transformation take longer, as that was the logical explanation, as Aaron's venom had to heal the wounds.

JJ tried not to think of Strauss, because she still wanted to strangle the woman with her bare hands, snap her neck and considering she was a vampire she could easily do so if she so desired. No, what she really wanted to do was to torture the woman and do to her exactly what she had done to Dave, except she would make her pain last as long as possible before finally putting her out of her misery. Normally these feelings were not like her, but she was still a vampire and vampires were very protective of their mates. The fact, that Dave had been mortal at the time he was shot just made her feelings all the stronger, because mortals could be injured much more easily then one of her race. If he had been a vampire already been those bullet wouldn't have done him any damage.

No, it was better if she suffered for as long as possible and she would live out the rest of her life in prison, JJ decided.

Dave's whimpers and screams cut off suddenly and JJ looked up immediately, listening intently to the sound of her mate's heart which was slowing down, finally stopping just seconds later.

JJ rushed into the master bedroom where her mate was and knew that the transformation process was finally complete.

"Dave?" JJ questioned softly knowing that there was no need to raise her voice

Dave's eyes blinked open at the sound of a female voice and he immediately zeroed in on her. He struggled to remember who she was, but then her name came to him suddenly.

"Jennifer?" Dave asked.

"Yes, yes it's me," JJ said.

"What happened?" Dave asked next.

"You don't remember?" JJ asked and Dave shook his head.

"My memories are foggy at the moment," Dave told her.

JJ nodded at that because it was not uncommon for a vampire to have rather foggy memories at first.

JJ then told him all that it happened and how she had gotten a call from Penny and told he had been shot, how Penny had offered to watch their daughter once they got there so that she could be with Dave. She told her mate about how she had wanted to kill Strauss with her bare hands, literally snap her neck when she learned that the woman was responsible for him nearly dying. "Aaron had no choice, but to start the transformation because he said that your injuries were bad enough that you likely never would have made it to the hospital and even if you had survived the trip there was little chance that you would make it through surgery. If by some miracle you had you would've been months in recovering. No, turning you into a vampire was not only the simple solution it probably saved your life and I'll be grateful to Aaron forever for that."

"So will I," Dave said, as he sat up and took Jennifer into his arms. "I sincerely hope that Strauss goes to prison for the rest of her miserable life. I never believed that she would go so far as to shoot me especially with witnesses, as I always believed that her career was too important to her to do something so stupid. I was wrong and you were right I should've been more careful."

"I don't blame you for this, because there is no way you could have predicted her actions," JJ said, as she kissed him tenderly. "I've had plenty of time to do research of obsessions while you were working and if there's one thing I've learned is that such people can be unpredictable. You didn't believe her obsession was serious, as she hadn't tried anything physical other than annoying you by her constant asking for a date."

"I thought she had given up," Dave sighed. "Gone for another target, but I didn't take into account that obsessions like that just don't disappear, not without major help from a psychologist anyway. Those who are obsessed have been known to kill their obsession before and then themselves, kind of a murder/suicide."

"It doesn't matter, I'm just glad you survived," JJ said. "I don't know what I would have done if you had died, as I already lost you once."

"Well, now I'm invulnerable to damn near anything," Dave said and JJ smiled a little at that.

"I'll certainly worry about you a lot less," JJ admitted smiling more broadly.

"I don't blame you there," Dave said, "as what the team does is dangerous and we're all well aware of it."

"We better get you some blood," JJ said very reluctant to leave Dave's arms.

"Yeah, we should, because now that you mention I'm very thirsty," Dave said.

"You should be, as it took you nearly 3 days to turn into a vampire because of your injuries," JJ said. "Normally it only takes two. There's plenty in the kitchen as I collected all the blood from our place and brought it with us, so that we would be prepared. Also I can ask Aaron and Penny to bring more as they're going to visit us."

"I won't be a danger to them, because they're vampires themselves while to the rest of the team I would be," Dave approved.

The two of them walked downstairs to the kitchen and JJ fixed Dave some blood as he would only destroy the pitcher.

"Remember to be careful with that mug as you can quash it and destroy it easily, as it's only ceramic after all," JJ warned him.

"Maybe you better hold it to my lips then, because I know you're right I'm going to be extra strong until I learn to control it," Dave said.

"That's not a bad idea," JJ agreed and did just that.

Dave drank several mugs of blood in this way and soon he'd had enough for the moment.

"I'm full," Dave told JJ finally and she nodded.

"Okay, I'm just going to put the rest of this up then, not that there's much left," JJ said, as she put the more than half empty pitcher back in the fridge.

"I really want to go see Alice, spend a little time with her, even though I know she's too young to do much," Dave said.

"Then we shall, but you're not going to be able hold her because of your enormous strength right now," JJ warned him.

"No, I certainly wouldn't want to hurt her," Dave agreed looking a little pained, as he really wanted to hold his daughter. "After I go see Alice, you and I are going to make love and perhaps, create a brother or sister for our little girl."

"Definitely," JJ said enthusiastically. "We'd already discussed having another if you remember."

"I do now that I'm not thirsty anymore," Dave said. "That blood did a lot to clear my mind, my memories."

"That's normal," JJ said. "Every vampire always wakes up with their mind clouded, well, if they were created anyway and not born."

"It's got to be the pain from the transformation that causes that cloudiness," Dave said. "It's the only explanation that makes sense."

"It is," JJ agreed, "or at least that's what Seth told me. Besides, the same thing happened to me when I first woke up as a vampire and back then there was no artificial blood."

"I still think Seth is lucky that you didn't kill him," Dave snorted. "You were a newborn after all and a lot of them tend to be irrational. I wonder why I don't feel that way?"

"Because you weren't turned into a vampire by accident, because you agreed to go through the transformation willingly and because we have a bond that is incredibly strong since we are mates. All these things factor in why you're much more rational than your average newborn," JJ explained, "and all that does make a difference."

"Well, that's something I didn't know," Dave said filing information away. "I know a lot about vampires due to Aaron and you, but not that."

"I'm sure you'll be picking up stuff for some time to come," JJ said smiling.

The two of them walked out of the kitchen and JJ led the way upstairs to where Alice was laying in her crib.

"Hey sweetie, daddy's here," Dave told Alice yearning to pick up his daughter, but he didn't dare.

"I know you want to pick her up, I know that urge very well, but..." JJ said.

"I can't, because I wouldn't want to hurt her on accident," Dave said. "While I understand that it's going to be hard."

"I know, but I'll try my best to distract you," JJ said. "We'll need to spend plenty of time with Alice as well and I made sure to bring a lot of her toys to keep her entertained."

"Well, I can't really do more than watch, because if I touch anything I'll probably just destroy it," Dave frowned.

"Well, if you do we'll simply replace it," JJ said. "We can have Penny do the shopping for us, since neither one of us can leave here. Penny and Aaron can even take Alice for some time with their own children."

"That's probably a good idea," Dave decided. "It might be better if their nanny looks after her at least until I get control of my strength in a month or two. She can visit when Penny and Aaron do so that we can see her at least."

"Yes, that might be better than having her with us all the time," JJ said. "I hate to ask them, but I know they'll agree to it, even if I really don't want to be separated from her it makes sense."

"Yeah, I don't like it either, but it'd just more practical," Dave sighed. "Aaron and Penny will bring her by to visit as often as they can, on the weekends at least, so long as they aren't already on a case."

"We'll ask them when they come to visit us sometime, probably on the weekend," JJ said.

"We really should've planned this better, but it's not like I expected to be shot either," Dave said.

"No one expects to be shot," JJ said. "Strauss had better hope that she never gets out of prison, because if I find out she ever does she's going to be dead and normally I'm not the violent type at all as you know."

"Well, I won't say she doesn't deserve it, but I don't think she'll ever be getting out of prison and she's already in her 50s, just a few years older than I am. I always got the impression that her career was more important than anything else, which is why I never expected her to do something so stupid. I mean her marriage broke up, because her husband felt like she didn't pay him enough attention for at least that's what I heard. I believe it broke up because she couldn't let work go when she was home, even though she was just a bureaucrat. I used to be the same way when Caroline and I were married and I know I didn't pay enough attention to my marriage, so I recognized the signs."

"It doesn't matter anymore," JJ said, as she cuddled into Dave's arms and Dave made sure to be extra gentle with her. "I'm glad actually that you weren't entangled in a marriage, because the divorce would've been messy and painful for both you and Caroline."

"And inevitable," Dave added. "But I'm glad I wasn't still married when I met you too, because I would've hurt Caroline a lot more, then I did when we originally divorced."

The two of them just stood there and JJ picked up her daughter kissing her forehead tenderly. "I better get this little one fed before we start on a little brother or sister for her. It's about that time anyway, as we would just get started when she'd be crying."

"Yeah, we need to take care of her first," Dave said, smiling.

"It won't take long," JJ said.

JJ took her daughter down to the kitchen with Dave following, just because he wanted to spend every spare minute with his family.

~~~Dave and JJ~~~

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