A/N: An idea that popped into my head. Probably shooting myself in the foot, again, by starting up another story but I'm hitting some writers block with the others. So this new idea is demanding attention form me. Hope you enjoy.

Note: I don't own the cover image.

One Small Change

It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world. – Chaos Theory

"Perhaps we should just call this mission off." She insisted while standing over the kitchen table with a map and provisions on it with her arms crossed.

"It's from Ozpin." A blond-haired man stated as he leaned back in his chair with his feet resting on the table. "You know we can't call a mission off if it is from him."

"Feet off the table." The woman stated sternly with a glare as she kicked them off. The man held up his hands in surrender with a small smile. "Well if we can't find a babysitter that will stay for a few days by the morning then we're in a pickle. I'm not leaving the girls here alone."

"Well that settles it then," the blonde said shrugging his shoulders, "I'll go on the mission, you stay with the girls."

"What?" She yelled before lowering her voice. "Tai, that is stupid."

"It's just a recon mission, Summer." The blond said nonchalantly. "It's not like I'll be going out of my way to start a fight. Besides you've been feeling under the weather lately."

As if fate wanted to make a point the young woman found herself having to make a small sniff. A little cold however wasn't going to make her relent.

"It isn't just a recon mission." Summer said while pointing to a spot on the map. "You know how dangerous it is there. Going out there alone is risky."

"Qrow does it all the time." Tai said with a wave of his hand.

"You're not Qrow." She said sternly.

"Wow," The blond mockingly putting his hand on his chest, "I don't know if I should be insulted or flattered by that remark."

"I'm being serious, Taiyang." She said making her point clear.

"I know." He said with a sigh. "You're concerned about this mission I get it. But someone needs to do it."

"Then can't we get Ozpin to call someone else to do it." Summer insisted.

"Everyone else is too busy with their own assignments." Tai pointed out. "So that leave you or me."

"Then maybe I should go." The silver-eyed woman said. "I'm best suited if something were to happen."

"Maybe so, but you have a cold." Her love pointed out. She thought she heard a bit of desperation but she couldn't tell. "Going out on this mission by yourself could just make it worse."

Summer tried to come up with a counter point or something that could make this situation that had bad written all over it better but she couldn't think of anything. Tai's points were all sound. She could only bow her head in defeat.

"It just seems like a bad idea." Summer said quietly.

"Hey now." Tai said getting up from his chair and walking over to her putting his hand on her shoulder. "Everything will be fine. I promise."

"I guess if you keep yourself out of trouble everything should go okay." She stated.

"When do I ever get into trouble?" He said in a mock tone.

"You know full well what I'm-" Summer started to say but was cut off when Tai locked his lips onto hers. At first she was to caught off guard to do anything but then she started to lean in to him. Sadly, he cut it short and pulled away just as she did so. "I hate it when you do that."

"You were being to tense." Tai teased. "Had to get you to loosen up a little."

"I still feel a little tense." The young woman said playfully.

"Do you now?" The blond smirked as he pulled her closer to him by her waist.

"Could you help me with that?" Summer asked as she wrapped her arms around Tai's neck.

"I could arrange it." He said before finally leaning down and kissing her.

This one last much longer than the previous one. Summer felt herself quiver at her loves touch. Felt the warmth of his breath mixed with her own. His rough hands moved down to her thighs before lifting her up and putting her back down onto the table. The young woman could feel her heart pounding in her chest the further their passion went.

"Mommy, Daddy." A small voice broke through the room. Tai quickly backed away from her and Summer got off the table just in time for a young tired little silver-eyed girl to walk into the room.

"Ruby, sweetie." Summer said softly. "Its late. What are you doing out of bed?"

"I'm thirsty." The little girl yawned.

"Alright, I'll get you some water." She said moving over a cupboard to grab a glass before filling it up at the sink. After Ruby finished drinking the mother took it back from and set it aside before ushering her daughter back to her room. Summer looked back at Tai before leaving the kitchen to see him backing away the map and provisions for the mission. Hopefully it would only last for a few days, a week at most.

"Can I get a bedtime story?" Ruby's small voice drew her attention. The little girl was looking up at her with pleading eyes.

"I just read you a story before you went to bed."

"But I'm awake now." The little girl insisted.

"You'll be falling asleep by the time you crawl back into bed." Summer smiled.

"No I won't!" Ruby protested. "I'm a big girl."

"Alright, big girl." The woman said while ruffling her little one's head. "I'll read you a story."

Finally, the two reached the children's bedroom upstairs. It was a decent sized room for two little girls. Toys had been moved to the corner for the night. There was a book shelf full of children's books. And two beds. One with red sheets and pillows with a small little girl crawling back onto it. The other had yellow sheets and pillows. There was a mess of blonde hair sticking out from underneath the sheets.

"So what story would you like me to read to you?" When she didn't get a response, Summer turned to see that her little rosebud had fallen asleep. The mother smiled softly as she walked over and pulled the sheets over her little one. She bent down and gave the girl a kiss on the forehead before turning her attention to her sunshine.

The older of the two girls was sound asleep, seemly undisturbed. It warmed Summer's heart to see her in such a peaceful state and although Yang was technically "hers" she would always see the blonde as her daughter just as much as Ruby was. She brushed some strands of hair away from the girls face before giving her a kiss on the forehead. Summer walked out of the room and took one last look to see the girls sleeping with a smile on her face before closing the door.

One Month Later

Summer solemnly opened the door to the girl's bedroom to see both of them in each other embrace in the same bed. The two had cried themselves to sleep after receiving the news. The look of devastation on Yang's face and the one of confusion on Ruby's when the mother had to explain to the little girl why her father wouldn't be coming home. After she was assured that they were asleep she closed the door and began to walk down the hallway. Her body tired from the lateness of the hour and the grieving. The young woman reached another door, opened it and looked inside.

Inside, off to the side, were a couple of dressers with pictures crowding the tops of them. There was an adjacent bathroom. White and Yellow curtains lined the windows. At the center of the room was a bed big enough for two to sleep comfort. Summer felt a pang in her chest as she stared at the bed. It felt like she hadn't slept in it in ages. Long days and hours of staying awake, waiting and falling asleep in a chair. The young woman closed the door and continued her walk. She went down stairs with no particular thought on what she was doing.

The scarlet tipped haired woman found herself in front of the fridge in the kitchen. She opened it and found herself starring down a bottle of beer. Summer knew it wouldn't help her. That it would in fact make her feel worse. But her hand reached for it anyways. After taking the bottle she opened it and took one long swig. The young woman grabbed another bottle and took the two of them with her into the living room.

Summer sat down in the chair that she had been spending most of her time on in recent days. The silver-eyed woman looked down at the bottle in her hand as she rubbed it with her thumbs. Her mind drift back to her thoughts from earlier that day. After the first week Summer thought Tai was just being held up when he didn't return. Then the second week went by and she argued with anyone who said otherwise that her husband was just taking his time. After the third week was when the dread started to sink in. Summer started to stay up into the late hours of the night, even letting her girls wait with her until they fell asleep. Now she was at the end of the fourth week and any hope she had had been drained.

She stared at the bottle for a moment longer before taking another swig emptying it of its contents before setting it down on the table in front of her. Summer could already feel the buzz forming in her head. Tai would often make fun of her for not being able to hold her liquor. To which she argued was only because she didn't drink much. The thought made her reach for the other bottle when a knock at the door stopped her.

Go away. Was the thought that crossed her mind. But another knock told her whoever was at the door wasn't going to leave. Summer begrudgingly got up, her lightheadedness making her sway a little but she quickly regained control before heading the door. Her initial plan was just to tell the person to go way, that she wasn't in the mood for a conversation. That plan went out the window when the young woman opened the door to find a tall scruffy black-haired man standing before her.

"Qrow?" She said surprised to see her old friend here.

"Hey." He greeted her with a small wave. There was a moment of silence before he continued. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure." Summer said moving to the side to let him walk in.

"The girls asleep?" Qrow asked after looking around.

"Yeah." Summer stated as she walked back to the living room sitting back in her chair. "Why are you here Qrow?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked plainly.

"I don't need to be coddled." She argued.

"The two bottles in front of you say otherwise." Qrow pointed out meekly.

The silver-eyed woman gave him a halfhearted glare before reaching for the full bottle. Her friend was quick to snatch it away from her grasp.

"Hey." Summer protested as the red-eyed man stared her down.

"This isn't going to help you with your grief, Summer." Qrow stated as he held up the bottle.

"You're one to talk." She vehemently pointed out his own habit.

"Yeah, well, you're not me." He countered. "You know this didn't help Tai when Raven left."

"Don't bring her into this." Summer growled. "It's not the same thing."

"Really?" Qrow said in a questionable tone. "He was a mess when Raven left him with Yang. It took some convincing form you to keep him from hitting the bottle completely."

"That's not going to happen to me." She stood up to defended herself but her voice began to shake.

"Can you swear on that for the girls." He asked.

Summer opened her mouth to fire back a defense but found herself unable to form one. Not one thought came to her mind. Her legs buckled underneath her and she fell back into her chair. The scarlet tipped haired woman buried her head into her hands and finally let the tears she had been hold back flow.

"Oh, god, Qrow." Summer cried. "What am I going to do? They're devastated and I don't know how to help them through it when I feel so broken. First Raven leaves, now Tai. How will I even be able to explain that to Yang by myself. Her mother left her without reason. Then her father dies. And Ruby is so confused by what's going on. I don't know how to help them. How can I do any of this by myself?"

"You won't." Qrow said softly causing her to look up at him. He walked up and rested his hand on her shoulder. "You have friends, Summer. People who will help you through the best and worst of times. We are here for you. Just as we were for Tai."

Her friend's words made it feel like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She wasn't fine. Not yet. But she felt like she could get their now. She just needed the time to heal.

"Thank you, Qrow." Summer said as she wiped the tears from her face.

"Get some rest, Summer." Qrow said with a small smile. "I'll stay over for the night in case something comes up."

She would have protested his offer but it was better to be save then sorry. Despite the negativity in the house her training taught her, with the limited number of people, that it would be too small to attract any Grimm. But it made her feel better for her daughters' sake.

"Goodnight." Summer said to her friend before walking to the stairs. He offered a small wave in return. As she moved to her room the silver-eyed woman thought she saw some movement at the corner of her eye but she didn't think much of it. She just wanted to lay down and get some rest. The next few days, maybe even weeks were going to be though and she need to be strong for Yang and Ruby.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. And there is more to come. Feedback is appreciated.