Five POV

She sat there in a hospital gown, which was utterly unnecessary, I told them, but they insisted. I lifted the locket she had brought, a vestige from Henry, stuffed full with his obnoxious copper curls.

'We're burning this when they get done with it, sound good?', I asked.

'Agreed. One hundred percent.', she said back, her eyes growing wide and shaking her head. 'We'll have a whole bonfire when we get back. Gather everybody up, toss that piece of crap in there and be done with any trace of Henry for the rest of our lives.'

'Want to make an effigy of him and hang it?', I asked, joking, but also tempted by the prospect.

'Maybe a bit too far.', Dolores said, motioning with her hand.

A nurse cut off our conversation, coming in through the door with a file in her hand.

'Sorry that took so long. The lab tech was about fifteen minutes late getting in.', she said, sitting down at a chair in front of a computer, then tapping away. 'Your results are actually in now, though.'

'Speedy process.', I said, crossing my arms in front of my body.

'Really?', Dolores asked, her voice growing nervous. I felt pained for her, infuriated for myself. If I'd been able to protect her more, none of this would even be happening. I'd failed her. And now, this was my punishment.

'Yep. They're right here.', she said, looking down at the file. 'Do you want to discuss them now, or we can have your husband leave the room, anything you want.', she continued, eyeing me.

'No, he's staying.', Dolores said quickly, and I nodded. She had her legs crossed under her hospital gown, and her finger-nails were all chewed off. A nervous tick.

'Alrighty.', she answered, opening up the file folder. 'So, from the DNA analysis, it looks like the father of this child is whoever those orange curls belong to.', she said, smiling, not knowing the implications of the results.

FRICK. My face fell immediately, and it took everything within me to not grimace completely.

'No!', Dolores exclaimed in a groaning voice, and within seconds after hearing that, the color had drained from her face and she fell limp across the patient table, fainted. I rushed to her, a lump formed in my throat, and put my hands under her head.

'We need to get her out of here. She needs air.', the nurse said.

'She needs a lot more than air.'

Dolores POV

'Dolores, wake up.'

'Dory, honey, come to.'

I was shaken awake, from what felt like a dirt nap, and groggily opened my eyes to see Five hovering above me. I looked down. I was on the couch in the middle of the den, covered in a blanket Klaus had knitted.

'What happened?', I asked, my voice low and rough.

Five frowned, looking pained.

'Oh.', I said, remembering.

'You're okay now.', he answered back, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

'That wasn't a dream?'

'No.', he said, shaking his head slightly, and frowning a bit harder. His face looked tired, stressed.

I looked up, scanning the room around me in my newly awakened daze.

Vanya sat in a chair near me. Klaus stood at the end of the couch, looking stressed. Allison sat in the floor, resting her back on the frame of the couch, looking back up at me with a worried look. Ben sat on the arm. Luther stood with his arms crossed across the room, looking ticked off. Diego stood across from him, in a stance and expression very similar.

'D…. do they know?', I asked, wondering.

They all nodded slowly.

'Five explained what happened.', Allison said, grabbing my hand. I grabbed it back. Five stood behind me now, stroking my hair, and Ben reassuringly rested a hand on my calf.

'We're going to kill that bastard, Dory.', Luther said, his voice gruff and bothered. Allison looked back at him, telling him to shut up.

'Wait, they know everything? The whole story?', I asked, shocked that he'd told them every detail. Embarrassed, even.

I tilted my head back to look at Five, and he nodded. Klaus made his way behind the couch, reaching for my other hand and holding onto it. He smiled at me sadly, looking like he might even cry.

'Hey Klaus.', I said softly.

'Hey Dory.', he said, echoing my tone, and squeezing my hand. I squeezed back.

Following his lead, Vanya first came and sat down in the floor by my head. Diego followed soon after, standing with Klaus. Luther was the last to come, but he came and sat down beside Allison.

'We're here for you, Dolores.', Vanya said.

'And we're going to make sure nothing like that ever happens to you again.', Diego said.

'And we love you, Dory. So much.', Klaus said, nodding. I squeezed his hand again, and he copied it again. Everyone murmured in agreement and nodded.

'And we're going to love your baby too, no matter the circumstances it came out of.', Allison said, holding onto my left hand with both of hers. I looked to Luther and Ben, whose faces confirmed the sentiments of everyone else.

'I love you guys so much.', I said, breathlessly, a tear forming in my eye. Here I was, surrounded by my new family, more supportive and close knit than anything I'd ever experienced. Five had said they didn't get along much, but I didn't see that now.

Everyone came in, and I was surrounded in a dog pile of warm hugs. We held that for a minute.

'Guys, I can't really breathe.', I said, under the weight of all the hugs.

They all got up quickly, laughing slightly.

Five smiled down at me.

'How about we go and have that bonfire now, whaddya' say?', he asked.

I looked around at everyone.

'That sounds perfect.'

'Luther, isn't that your sixth s'mores?'

'Yeah, and what is it to you, Diego?'

We all laughed, gathered around a fire built in the courtyard. I snuggled close to Five, Klaus on my other side. He had taken Annie up to bed a while back, as it had gotten late.

'I'd like to propose a toast.', Klaus said, lifting his marshmallow stick into the air.

'This isn't a wedding, Klaus.', Ben commented.

'Hush up, Ben.', Klaus shot back, and then waved his stick around in the air. 'To marshmallows, and to our families ability to cope with crap like no other.'

'Here here!', I said immediately, lifting my mug of hot chocolate into the air, and all the others joined in.

'I'll propose another one.', Five said, hugging me close, and then standing up.

Everyone turned their attention to him, his face lit up by the warm glow of the fire.

'To my lovely Dolores, who though life has crapped on her in rapid fire lately, had handled it all with strength and grace.', he said, looking down at me with a sweet face.

'Here here!', everyone cheered, and I blushed, ash Five sat back down and gave me a kiss, pulling me back close to his side.

'I'll add to that.', Luther said, getting up from his seat.

'To the future of our kids, may they not grow up to be messed up like we are.'

'Here here!', everyone said, laughing, and bringing my mug back down, I sipped the hot chocolate. I glanced at Diego after that stamen across the fire. He stared down into his mug, looking like a guilty dog. He hadn't joined in the toast, and that concerned me, for some reason. Why wouldn't he?

He caught me staring at him, and I smiled lightly. He smiled back, a very tiny one, and then shifted his glance elsewhere. He tapped Ben on the shoulder, starting a conversation which I couldn't decipher.

'Are you warm enough?', Five asked, rubbing the top of my hand.

'Yeah, I'm toasty.'

'Want another s'more?', he asked, grabbing his stick.

'You know it.'

He put a marshmallow on the stick, cooking it over the fire for me. The boy roasted a dang good marshmallow. When it was done, he assembled a s'more and gave it to me. I thanked him with a kiss, and he responded with a peck on the forehead.

'Dolores, you have something to do.', Klaus said, reminding me of the locket.

'Oh, yeah.', I said, pulling the locket out of my coat pocket.

I stood up, and Five came to my side, then Klaus to the other. I didn't need steadying, but they did it anyway.

I took a deep breath in and cast the thing into the fire. The flames crackled and popped as it dropped in, shooting sparks out into the night sky.

Everyone kept silent, but gave me reassuring glances. I sat back down, not wanting to make any comment. I watched it in the fire as the metal grew red hot, and the lock popped open, lighting the hairs ablaze. I watched until they were destroyed.

And I looked around at my family, all gathered around the fire, bundled up in comfy clothes and sipping cocoa. I knew, in that moment, despite anything else, that I was right where I was supposed to be. I sighed in contentment, nestled closer to Five, and closed my eyes as I felt the warmth of the flames caress the skin of my face.