The ABO Serum

(Part 12 extra) Love Wins

Bonnie chose to go to the local college for two reasons. She didn't think her fathers had too many years left and she didn't want to miss them, and Sunny had three years of high school left before college and she felt ill if they spent too much time apart. She was grateful her fathers lived long enough that she didn't end up Sunny's sister.

Gary and Bob knew they might not live to see their precious daughter to adulthood, and they didn't want her to lose her second family if it came to that, so they asked Trevor and Braedon to be her backup guardians. They lived close and made sure their families spent a lot of time together so it would be a natural transition should the day ever come.

When Braedon gave birth to Sunny, Bonnie's world tilted on its axis. Her three-year-old heart fell in love for good. When they found out Bonnie was an alpha and Sunny and omega, all four dads had concerns, but Bonnie protected her like a big sister, and they all relaxed about it.

When she hit puberty and began to realize Sunny was her reciprocal pair, she prayed fervently for her fathers to stay in good health. It would be incredibly awkward if they died and Sunny's parents adopted her. They'd be able to spend more time together, which would be lovely, but they'd be real sisters and that would be awkward later because Bonnie's feelings were not all sisterly.

When Sunny reached puberty and had her first heat, Bonnie nearly beat down their door. They assumed Bonnie was just worried, but her fathers got Sunny a collar and birth control just in case. Though they didn't understand everything about the biting, it they had discovered that an omega couldn't mate with others after an alpha left a permanent bite scar.

Sunny also quickly understood that Bonnie was her reciprocal pair and nonchalantly borrowed her clothes for a nest for her next heat. It helped, but not as much as Bonnie climbing in through the window.

They thought they were being discreet but within a year their fathers all figured it out and resigned themselves. That was often the way with the generation born ABO positive. They found their mates young and had to deal with societal structures that were not supportive of young marriage. Or if they didn't find mates, the omegas had to deal with years of painful heats disrupting their academic progress and limiting their employment opportunities.

Bonnie was studying politics at her fathers' urging. Bob had raised her in Boy Scouts to the rank of Eagle Scout, and Gary shared with her his love of books and history. She was a natural leader, so all the pieces fit together for her and they knew the world needed smart honest kind alphas to shape the government in a way that protected the vulnerable. They'd wanted her to attend a more prestigious college, but they knew she couldn't go that far away from Sunny. They worried that this might be the case for many of the type of alphas the world needed.

When Bob passed away, Gary didn't grieve so much as he had when his first husband passed. Not because he didn't love him as much, but because he felt his own time to go was much closer. He wouldn't have to miss him for long. And the hole in his life was quickly crammed full of grandchildren.

When the girls finally got married, he sold the condo and bought them a nice house with an apartment in the back for himself. He was able to enjoy his grandchildren every day right to the end of his life.

The girls lived in it until Bonnie was elected a senator and needed a home base in the state capital and another in DC. Her close ties with GenLife made her suspect to other senators, but then again, she also had more personal experience than them with the ABO situation. She could articulate the issues and how the existing and proposed laws affected her generation, born with ABO, better than anyone else. She also went down in the history books as the first natural born ABO positive senator. Because of that, she also enjoyed immense popularity among the younger voters outside her state.

By the time the tide turned in the U.S. with the majority of voters now ABO positive, she was the most respected politician on their side in the country, and she eventually found herself the first female president by a landslide. It made her sad that a woman had not become president before she became an alpha, but she was determined to forward equality on all fronts through her term in the highest office.

When she handed over the reins after eight years, she went back with Sunny to their hometown and enjoyed the fruit of her labors. While still imperfect, America had laws to protect the equality of omegas that exceeded those of any other nation. Because of this they lived openly and happily in communities that felt complete and balanced.

Where omegas were mistreated, the population began to plummet. The scientific community felt the world was on the verge of a massive population contraction. Omegas were the only humans who carried children easily. Beta males needed hormone support to become fertile. Alpha males did not grow wombs while alpha female wombs became inhospitable.

A black market for omega breeders began to emerge overseas and, in her retirement, Bonnie became an active ambassador against this sort of human trafficking, urging other national leaders to curb the coming crisis by expanding omega rights.

Throughout her illustrious political career, Bonnie recognized that it was not herself alone that achieved success, but herself as part of a pair, where Sunny was every bit as essential. Sunny adored her mate and her uncompromising belief sustained Bonnie in the face of every obstacle. Her steady persistence in building a home and family together kept Bonnie's life balanced, and her nurturing raised Bonnie's capacity for achievement.

As First Lady, Sunny's example raised the perceived value of omegas throughout the world. She was not a helpless mate, but a pillar of support. She was a capable, though reluctant, public speaker. She campaigned for systemic educational adaptations to accommodate ABO children. Her own eight children were all well brought up and making their own ways in the world. This success at home raised the value of her arguments.

In the quiet of their twilight years, the two women snuggled up on their porch swing watching the sunset and talked about the world they helped build and how much more they'd wished they could accomplish.

"It would all be so much easier if everyone understood love," Bonnie sighed and kissed Sunny's forehead.

"It's okay if they don't understand it," Sunny disagreed. "Love still wins in the end."