Gen 4 Ch 6: Reunions

 Home. A house full of steadily aging Elders, a toddler, and a couple of dogs. Always the same, never changing.

 Work. Crime, turmoil, mutiny. Everything had changed. Big B, now stripped of his power and reduced to Bert Alto again, had been overthrown, to be replaced by a younger, more cunning mind. A young woman of great potential.  

Not Dolores.

She ground her teeth as she raced down the street on her new bike. Dancer flat out refused to ride on snowy nights, but Dolores did not mind that. She loved her bike.

What she did mind was that someone had foiled her plans of overthrowing and replacing The Organization's boss by acting sooner than she had done herself. She had been hatching these plans ever since her first day at work. All this time. All this effort. For nothing.

Anger rose within the pit of her stomach, but Dolores did her best to stay calm. She needed to focus. To come up with a new plan. She needed to talk to Dancer.

The next day, the last of the snow had melted and things were looking decidedly better. A long talk with Dancer had made her realize something. The plan did not need to change, only the target. Get close to the boss, gain their trust, become indispensable. Then strike. Hard and fast.
Well, it wasn't quite this simple, but that was the gist of it.

The new target might require a slightly different approach than good old Big B would have, though. Old men were predictable. A young, attractive woman could get close without much effort.

The new boss, Audra Williams, a young, attractive woman herself, would require another approach. There was a different kind of key to her trust. But Dolores was confident that she would find it.
 

First off, it was time to make some changes. Dolores moved out to a house of her own, leaving the crowded home of her parents behind.

The new house was not bad for a first-time homeowner. It helped that her parents owned a vast fortune and were more than happy to help Dolores out.

They were probably so eager to help because they approved of the location of her new place. As much trouble as their rebellious daughter had caused them, they did prefer to have her close by. If not in the same house, then at least within sight.

The house even came with a dedicated workout area and the newest equipment, so Dolores' and Trent's workouts moved from the public gym to her home.

It made the post-workout cool down phase so much more convenient, too.

Learning martial arts. All part of The Big Plan.

A baby bump. Also part of the plan...?

Turns out it was. The one part of the plan that Dancer did not really approve of.
Look what you've gotten yourself into, Dolores. This isn't like you. You look so... conformist.
"Hey, no need to get nasty! We've talked about this, Dancer! Audra Williams is all about family, popping out babies left and right. Her sister Malika too. That is the best way to gain their trust."
Dancer neighed, turning her head away.

"You know I'm right," Dolores said softly, stroking Dancer's muzzle. "So quit being such a nag and go for a ride with me."
That, my dear, is not possible in the state you're in.
"Oh, now you're just being stubborn."

But Dancer was adamant. No riding while Dolores had life growing inside of her. For being so against this pregnancy, Dancer sure was concerned about the baby's health. Or maybe it was something else. Maybe it had something to do with her unicorn magic... maybe a growing life so close by would somehow affect Dancer's powers...
But that was just speculation. Idle thoughts as Dolores lost herself in exercise.

 Dancer, in the meantime, retreated to her luxurious new stable.

It was nice, having windows. But when the weather was like this, she preferred to busy herself with the water trough instead.

Love Day arrived, and Dolores decided to have a party, much like her mother always had. A family reunion. Dolores knew that The Organization was always watching, and she had a new image to upkeep.
She even decorated a part of the house to go with the theme, although her vision of Love Day was quite different from Clover's.

Her aging parents and ancient grandfather Bloom arrived, bearing gifts of homecooked meals. It was good that way, because Dolores had never cooked a single meal in her life.

Reactions to the baby bump were mixed. It wasn't that they weren't happy - Clover was ecstatic, actually - it was just such a big surprise. No one would have expected this of Dolores.

Mostly elderly guests. Even Bellaboosh the dog had grown grey around the muzzle.

After the initial shock had worn off, Darwin became very excited about the pregnancy and gave some unsolicited advice on fatherhood to Trent.

What Trent did not tell Dolores' parents was that he too only just learned about the pregnancy. He confronted Dolores in a quiet moment.

"Don't worry," Dolores smiled reassuringly. "I don't want child support or anything, not that you'd be able to pay anyway. I have plenty of money. Enough to hire babysitters and buy all that junk babies need. Really, I don't need anything from you."

Trent pulled Dolores close. As so often, she missed the point. Could not - or would not - relate to others' feelings.

Trent wanted to be needed. He wanted to help with the baby, and be around. All the time.

And surprisingly, Dolores did not feel the need to resist. Maybe it was the hormones, she mused.

Bloom didn't say a word, but he too was delighted about the pregnancy.
Neither Cypress nor Citrus ever had any children, and Clover's only child had never seemed like the type to become a mother herself. Bloom had never thought he cared about any of this, but suddenly it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
His legacy would live on.

 That night, death came for Bloom one last time.

And finally Bloom and Matilda were reunited.