A/N: Minor Spoilers for Salem's Character. I'm borrowing a small piece of Vol. 6.

RWBY Volume 1 to 6 belong to the great Monty and Rooster Teeth. No profit being made.

They don't have the Lamp at this point. Just plain Filler.

Rose Petals:

Ruby's family was always a little blended but that didn't matter to the young girl. Yang, Qrow, even all of her friends were considered family. Family stuck with you no matter what happened.

Salem was a threat to all. Her Demonic stance hovered over a battle weakened Ruby. Her Silver Eyed power had worn her out completely, in a daze she knelt on the ground unaware of the danger in front of her. Salem held the sword that she had attempted suicide with in her naïve years before reaching the Pool of Darkness "I couldn't kill myself with this sword, I guess you'll have to do"

Qrow was doing everything he could to get to his niece, but despite efforts he was too late. Salem and Cinder had dome their work. Ruby was lying on the ground at their feet, Cinder had accomplished her revenge. Salem had no threat to stop her now.

Ruby was losing far too much blood, the single stab wound was deep. She was already fading fast and with no-one around, friend, team or family to save her teams began to streak down her pale cheeks. For a second Ruby wondered where her Crescent Rose had vanished too, in the midst of battle it had been blasted away to spike into the ground elsewhere.

Qrow's heart was pounding against his ribcage, his lungs were burning from exertion, fear mixed with dread swallowed him as Crescent was left abandoned sticking upside-down in the dirt, Ruby never left that anywhere. Something was deadly wrong.

Swiping up Crescent which folded into itself Qrow made a mad dash to find Ruby "Kiddo!" He called out "Ruby! Where are you?" Screw being stealthy. Screw the Grimm. Screw Cinder and that evil bitch Salem. Screw everything! Ruby was most-probably hurt or in danger, was definitely alone - as no-one knew where she'd disappeared too, when and why - and currently defenceless.

Qrow skidded to a halt seeing tatters of rose-coloured material resting on the dusty dirt "Kiddo!" The shreds were a make-shirt path to follow. The splatters of blood that eventually showed made Qrow's heart sink to his gut.

It took an agonising ten minutes to find his niece, he felt like Deja vu was mocking him. First Summer, now... "No! Not again. Ruby!" He ran and ungracefully dropped to her side on his knees "Kid-" Qrow didn't want face this, his Semblance brought bad luck, he was a bad luck charm and yet even when he wasn't involved in this battle Ruby lost. "Kiddo, you hearin' me? It's me; Uncle Qrow"

Qrow applied pressure to Ruby's open bleeding wound, gently lifting her to check if it was a through-and-through however she was lucky. The young Rose made a pathetic groan, her silver eyes were slits, seeing a blurry figure over her frightened her, if she had the strength and energy to move she would of, she was vaguely aware the figure was talking to her as well as that she could feel shaking hands resting on his body, maybe she was safe now.

Using his scroll to contact Ozpin and then Tai. Somehow he pulled through with good luck for a change as one of his contacts lived close who's Semblance specialised in healing. Qrow tore off strips of his and Ruby's cloak and tie it around her chest to stunt the oozing blood-flow. Gently picking up his niece to not jostle her, Qrow muttered to her "It's OK, Kiddo. I gotcha, you're gonna be fine"

Ruby felt safe in the figure's arms, their movement were quick but nothing to aggravate her injuries, she could feel vibrations against her side, as if someone was talking to her in superbly close proximity, If someone was talking to her she physically couldn't reply even if she wanted to.

Qrow's guilt was drowning him faster than any alcohol beverage could. Memories that hadn't resurfaced in years charged back, not often was Ruby cradled in his arms like this unless absolutely necessary.

Ruby was just a tyke at the time, not more than a one-year old, Rose was out on a job, Tai was exhausted and currently watching a two-year-old spitfire Yang, so it was left to Qrow to deal with baby Ruby. She had woken up from a nap and whined for attention, he rocked her in his arms, he honestly didn't know if this was working but Ruby's crying and whines decreased in volume, eventually the crying had stopped, now she was intently staring at him.

"You better now, Kiddo?" Qrow gently bounced her again, his cadmium eyes locking with her shiny silvers "I know you can't drink whiskey, you hungry?"

Ruby squirmed a little in his arms, her eyes drooping back shut

"Oh? I see, bored of me so soon, Kid" Qrow chuckled to himself as he swayed Ruby back to sleep, placing her in her crib. His arms felt empty without the bundle in them so he pulled up a chair and watched over her again. When Summer returned she found

Qrow slumped uncomfortably over Ruby's crib, the baby was poking him in the face, squealing happily.

Qrow shook his head to release the memories however they weren't stopping now.

It was only a couple hours after he saved little Yang and Ruby from Grimm after Yang's pointless search for Raven. He didn't tell Yang that however, it wasn't his place to tell her no against finding her mother, she was a fire-cracker that would never go out.

In her current weakened state she wasn't standing or bouncing off the trees right now. Yang was tucked into the wagon to rest and Ruby was hugging his chest and shoulder, sucking her thumb, being held in one hand while Qrow's spare was pulling the cart behind him "You alright, Kiddo. You're quiet"

"Mmhm" Ruby nodded, sounding far more upset compared to when they usually saw each other"I know you're scared, Kid. But don't worry, I've always got your back, OK?"

"'K Unca Qrow" She rested her head on his shoulder, he could feel the younger beginning to cry.
Qrow stopped, turning to keep an eye on Yang while he hugged Ruby tight "Don't cry, Kiddo. I gotcha, you're save and so is Yang, she's just tired and needs her sleep, wanna stay with her in the wagon?"

Ruby squeezed her stubby arms around him tight "Pwese Unce Qrow. I'm tired" To prove her point she yawned in his ear.

Gently supporting her head as Qrow lowered her into the cart with her sister, Yang instinctively turned to face Ruby and wrap an arm over her younger. Qrow fixed the blanket and pillow for his nieces.

It was getting too dark, he could use the trees as shelter, the girls had a bed so all he had to do was make a discreet fire to keep the girls warm as the night wore on. His back was firmly placed against the tree as the girls were by his side - at a safer distance given his Semblance - and the fire crackled in front of him, his weapon was folded in and resting on his lap, nothing was going to harm his family.

Taking a swig from his flask he stared upwards to the glittery star-filled night sky, the broken moon was roughly in view and silence enveloped around them.

Qrow was shaken out of his memories by his fellow friend, Heir, placing a hand on his shoulder "Is this Summer?" Heir couldn't help but noticed the resemblance.

"Her daughter, Ruby. Here that, Kiddo? We're safe" Qrow murmured.

"Come in, there's a spare room for her. I'll take care of her wounds"

"Thanks" The desire to drink was both overwhelming and pointless. One drink wouldn't solve this, maybe a thousand and he'd feel a little numb to this situation. Heir was a great person, not only could she fight like a badass but she had a true compassionate side, she took care of everyone around her but took little crap from anyone.

Watching Heir take care of Ruby gave him a sense of hope but he wasn't stretching that far, Heir was good but Ruby was in bad shape, he stepped outside of the petite room to loosely guard the door. Defeat swallowed him whole.

It was roughly two hours before Heir exited the room looking worse for wear but she gave Qrow a faint smile

"How's Ruby?"

"She's... stable. Still unconscious but she isn't in fear of dying. You can sit with her if you like, I'm going to rest. I'll be in the living room, call me if you need anything"

"Thank you, Heir. I owe you"

"Call it even if you don't get unbearably drunk"

"You got it" Qrow smirked, entering the room quietly. Despite only Ruby being in the room it felt as if someone - maybe Yang or Tai - suckered him in the face. Seeing Ruby so vulnerable was just wrong. Ruby was usually the energy of the room or situation, the brightest smile and sheer optimism but now she was pale, silent and subdued. Qrow grabbed a desk chair and planted himself by Ruby's side. All he could do now was wait. Drink too, he would not be able to stomach this sober.

A whole 24 hours had passed before Ruby made some progress however it was negative. Ruby suffered an intense fever, Yang was called and honestly it was scary how quickly she found them, literally bursting through the door in her haste, her demeanour did a complete 180* switch when at Ruby's side, the feisty fire-cracker turned into a soft caring puppy-like creature watching over her little sister.

Once Yang was forced from Ruby's side to rest for five minutes Qrow resumed his watch over his youngest niece. Her fever was contagious so Qrow perched himself right beside her, Ruby's lucid dreams involved a lot of babbling, incoherent nonsense. Like the Guardian he was Qrow applied cold compresses, kept her hair out of her face and carefully change her from sweat-riddled clothes. Heir would step in from time to time forcing Qrow to get some fresh air for a second or literally drag his ass away from Ruby's room when he passed out from exertion.

Qrow wished he could help Ruby, taking away her pain was all Yang and Qrow wanted to do but it was up to Ruby to fight this. Countless sleepless nights as Ruby cried and weakly screamed from her plaguing nightmares, despite pleas and attempts to calm her down from Qrow, Yang and even Heir however the young Rose wasn't hearing them.

Qrow kept his distance during the worst of the fever, his luck rubbed off on Ruby; her fever spiked significantly and Qrow was ready to run. This was his greatest fear, Ruby was dying and despite trying to make it better of course he made it worse because the universe seriously hated him that week. Yang was practically a solider, vigil by her little sister's side; slowly coaxing her out of nightmares, reminding her she wasn't alone during a the screaming or crying fit and gently ground her back to reality. Heir checked the wound periodically, it was chance an infection didn't take. She knew that Qrow wasn't asleep as he was sat by Ruby's bed yet again. Once she left Qrow's eyes snapped open, his hands cupped over her left one "You hang in there, Kiddo. I lost your Mom... I'm not losing you too. Besides, who's going to drive me up the walls and climb on me like a wild monkey, huh?" Ruby didn't reply which spiked more pain into Qrow's heart.

Nine days after the fever finally broke, Ruby became aware she was amongst friends and family, yet her eyes refused to open. At this stage Qrow was pissed, not from alcohol this time around but it was rage bubbling inside his gut this time. Salem was already needing to be dealt with and now it was personal, he'd follow Ozpin's orders and guidance but not Salem was going to pay for Ruby.

Qrow was talking to Ruby, nothing in particular to stick with "You know, Yang is doing fine. She's getting stronger with that robot arm of hers, she might even be giving Tai a run for his money, you know I think-"

Ruby squeezed his hand causing Qrow to freeze "Kiddo? You hearing me? Do that again"

Ruby did, weaker this time but honestly Qrow would take what he could get "Ruby, it's Qrow. You're safe, try and open your eyes. I almost miss those silvers of yours"

Ruby made a strange noise; taking to exhale through a dry throat Qrow tightened his grip on his niece's hand "There you are, Kiddo. Take your time, I've got some water here for you" Qrow lifted himself from that uncomfortable chair, sorting out a cup of water he lifted her up to sit up without causing her discomfort with her still healing wound, while he also helped her sip on water. Her eyes were half-open, now as if she was still sleeping Qrow wiped away the spilled mess down her lips and chin with the callous of his thumb.

Ruby leaned into Qrow's chest, the elder wrapped his free arm around his niece carefully "Welcome back, Ruby. Yang's here. I'll bring her to you, OK?"

"No need. I'm right here. Hey sis" Qrow stepped aside, still supporting Ruby until Yang took over

"I'll be outside if you both need anything" Qrow left the two sisters to each other's company, Heir was outside waiting for him, surprisingly with a drink in her hands

"Here, think you deserve this"

"Thanks" Qrow downed the alcohol - everything alcoholic had now blended into a numb taste down his throat at this point in his life - in one go. He doesn't taste whatever the drink was.

"My, someone was thirsty"

"When Deja vu punches you in the face, you tend to need a drink"

That knocked the smile off Heir's face "Sorry"

"Wasn't your fault, just old memories. Ruby's awake if you haven't already guessed, we'll be out of your hair soon enough"

"There's no rush, Qrow. Recovering from a wound like that takes a lot of time. I don't have anyone around so it's nice to have guests, you know, despite the obvious wrong circumstances"

"Yeah, check on them. I'm getting some air, with me standing here I've probably broken this glass or a picture of yours" Qrow placed it down, only for it to somehow slip down and shatter by their feet "See?"

"Oh stop, go and take a breather. I'll let you know how she's doing"

Qrow grunted his reply, heading for the door, he hoped Heir wouldn't mind a few knocked over items to show his exit trail.

Night approached at what felt like a snail's pace. Ruby was fully conscious, still weak and fuzzy around the edges however she was talking, smiling and the pain was only moderate at best thank to Heir, which had been granted the title of "best friend" under Ruby for saving her life. Yang second the motion causing Heir to blush

"I've never had a best friend, before" Heir admitted

"Well you've got us now! Right Yang?"

"Totally"

"Well thank you, Ruby. Get some more rest and by tomorrow I'm sure you'll be demanding to leave these four walls behind"

"We'll definitely need to visit, Yang. Blake and Weiss would love it here"

"Maybe, but we don't want to take advantage of Heir's time and energy"

"Nonsense girls. You're all more than welcome, just give me a heads up so I can buy enough food"

"Food!" Ruby celebrated, both Heir and Yang laughed

Heir left them be to talk to Qrow who was still brooding outside

"Good to have you back little sister, I was worried sick"

"I'm sorry, Yang. I didn't mean to run in to Salem, I tried but-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop. I don't need to know everything, you're safe and that's all I care about. I'll give Salem a piece of my mind another day"

"Thanks for coming, Yang"

Yang hoped her expression didn't change, why would she have come in Ruby's hour of need? Yes she was still recovering from Adam but Ruby's health came before her own trauma, Yang nearly lost Ruby once, that wasn't happening again.

"No problem, you were there for me when I needed you"

A tense silence fell between them, until Qrow stumbled in "Thought I heard a mouse squeaking, feeling better Kiddo?"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby reached out to him, her eyes bright and smile wide

It clicked that maybe Ruby wasn't aware that Qrow had been there the entire time she was injured and sick "Hey Ruby"

"Did you miss me?"

Qrow took a deliberate silence "Nope" Ruby faked a groan in return.

"When did you get here, Qrow?" Ruby asked

Yang was the first to pull a face, Ruby caught sight of that in her peripherals "What?"

"Ruby, Qrow's been here since the start, he brought you here. called me and made sure when I wasn't here that you were OK. Don't you remember that?"

Ruby thought, humming. She remembered seeing a figure... a blurry dark figure but for some reason she trusted the figure. She knew Yang was by her side but sometimes, well most of the time there was someone else there, someone who spoke to her about everything about her, who held her hand and made sure she was alright... wait if that wasn't Yang... "That was you?"

"If I think I know what you're talking about then yes" Qrow answered, leaning against the far wall.

"You found me?"

Qrow nodded

"You brought me here?"

Qrow nodded again

"You took care of me"

"Course I did, Kiddo. Heir's a friend of mine who I could trust to heal you, Salem did a number on you and I wasn't having you disappearing permanently on us"

"Oh..." Ruby clenched her hands into tight fists "I'm sorry Uncle Qrow"

That got the Huntsman's attention "For what?"

"For being stupid, you had to save me again..."

"Ruby," Qrow sighed, he planted himself at the foot of Ruby's bed, placing a hand on her shoulder "never apologise for needing help, you made a mistake and that's natural. You're a Huntress-in-training and you're going to make errors, this one was more serious, yes, but you know we've always got your back"

"Did she hurt you?"

"No, she left before I could get to her"

Ruby stared down in shame, "Ruby, look at me"

The young Rose rushed forward to hug her uncle, knocking the wind out of him, being momentarily shocked it took him a second to reciprocate the hug, he wasn't one for sentimental moments but Ruby was special in this case. Holding Ruby was automatically streamed into his body language now. Yang and he held a special bond too but she was the tougher of the pair "It's OK, Kiddo"

Ruby was on the verge of tears, she was scared, confused, comforted, worried, frightened... just overwhelmed with everything. Qrow was adding fuel by rubbing her back every other second "I'm sorry, uncle Qrow... I'm so sorry..."

Qrow didn't reply, he silently accepted Ruby clinging to him and eventually the young teen exhausted herself out. Yang pried her little sister out of Qrow's arms

"She'll be fine, I'll make sure of it" Yang confidently commented

"I know fire-cracker. I'll be back soon, alright. Get some rest and I'll keep watch later"

Yang nodded, laying down with Ruby, absently playing with her black and red hair.

Qrow rubbed his face one-handed to scrub away the emotional overload, it seemed every time Ruby was in some kind of peril or harm or needed saving or security Qrow was always there to help her, they had a strong bond and of course they disagreed or argued or whatever but no matter what they were always back practically closer than ever. Qrow may be bad luck but Ruby was the never-ending optimist that pulled him through, he'd never be able to pay her back for the amount of savings Ruby and Summer had conducted without knowing so he would pay them back in protection, he couldn't protect Summer any more so now he'd do everything in his power to protect Ruby and Yang.

At a stretch two more hours had passed Qrow made himself comfortable and watched over the sleeping pair, he smirked at their tangled sleeping heap of sisters. "Sleep well, girls. We leave tomorrow and hopefully get back on track to Atlas"