Qrow was furious.

"What do you mean you're quitting the team?" he all but yelled at Taiyang. "We have four more missions in the next few months and all my planning has been based on you being there? We can't do it with only three people!"

"Well, Raven won't be there either," Taiyang said, trying to hide a grin. It wouldn't matter if the old Qrow saw it. He's so mad I could morph into a Grimm and he'd think nothing was amiss. Maybe if I morphed into Summer….

"WHAT?! Why is she not going to be here? I mean I know she has been feeling a little under the weather lately but I didn't think she would just up and quit!"

"Sometimes, little bird, family comes first."

"But I am her family, our parents are dead and Summer is the only one besides me that we even consider that close," Qrow replied. "And you, too, I guess…"

"Well you'll have to figure something out," Taiyang said letting his grin widen to a full smile. "That's what uncles are supposed to do."

"Everyone else is gone on missions! I'm not going to be able to find someone to take your places! You had to go and do this right now?"

He stopped to breathe, trying to keep his anger in check. I can't believe he would tell me now that he can't go. I mean, what was he….

Qrow froze.

"Repeat that last part, and be very clear. I'm not quite sure I caught it."

"You heard me, Qrow."

"Me?"

"Yu'up."

"Uncle?"

"Uh-huh."

"So what you're saying is…"

"You thick headed numbskull get over here so I can hug you!"

Qrow's anger vanished replaced by joy and an insane sense of pride as he embraced Taiyang in a bear hug.

"I'm gonna be an Uncle!"

"Hopefully the kid gets Raven's brains," Taiyang said, laughing, "because if they are in anyway like you and me, they're gonna have a hard time."

The next 9 months flew by.

Qrow and Summer continued to go out on missions while Raven stayed back and Taiyang took a bigger role as an instructor for Signal.

Since they had finally gotten together, it was almost impossible to find one without the other. Summer was still just as shy as always but Qrow would have never wanted it any other way. They had decided work as a pair and enjoyed every mission they went on. Their dance had become more complex and beautiful as they had memorized the others style.

When the day finally came, Qrow and Summer were just coming back from a really difficult mission and were exhausted. They were about to report to the headmaster of the school as a student from one of Taiyang's classes ran up to them, breathing heavily.

"Professor Branwen, Professor Rose," she said between breaths. "Professor Xiao Long said he needed to see you as soon as you got back."

Qrow sighed.

"You go ahead and report in, Summer. I'll go see what he's up to."

Summer leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and squeezed his hand before turning away.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but the headmaster is with Professor Xiao Long and Professor Branwen in the infirmary."

Summer jerked back to face the girl, worry on her face. Qrow, too, began wondering why they would be there.

"What's going on, kid? Why are they there?"

"Qrow!" Summer called grabbing his hand, forcing him to look at her smile.

"What? What is it?"

"The baby!"

Qrow's eyes widened.

"But we left two weeks ago and she was only eight and half months pre…"

His arm almost dislocated when Summer launched herself toward the infirmary at full speed. He just gripped her hand harder and allowed himself to laugh.

I'm going to be an uncle.

Summer finally slowed down in front of the infirmary, slowly because if she did her normal stop she would have launched Qrow into a wall.

"Thank you for the slowing down there towards the end, sweetheart."

Summer blushed like she always did when he called her a cheesy name.

"Well, I didn't want you to end up in the bed next to Raven, unconscious."

They walked in the infirmary to see a hallway with a nurse looking at a clipboard.

"Hey Angie!" Qrow called. "We're looking fo-"

"Down the hall on the left, and please don't run, Summer."

"Yes ma'am," Summer said sheepishly. Last time she had run in the infirmary she had blown all the sheets off the beds.

Qrow and summer walked hand in hand to the end of the hall and turned left, just in time to see Taiyang bang his head against the wall.

"Whoa, brother," Qrow said, putting his arm around Taiyang's shoulder. "That can't be good for the wall."

Taiyang ran a hand over his face before smiling at Qrow.

"Qrow, this is the most stressed out I've ever been," he said sinking into a chair next to Summer. "They kicked me out because of my puns."

"Well you've never been a very pun-y guy," Qrow replied.

Taiyang looked at him with a face.

"Is everything going okay?" Summer said putting her hand on top of Taiyang's.

"So far everything has gone really well. They say the baby is just really stubborn. All they can see of it's head is a lot of blonde hair."

Qrow smiled and sat down on the other side of Taiyang, putting his hand on his shoulder and giving him a little squeeze.

"Hopefully that is the only resemblance they have to you."

Taiyang sighed tiredly. "Alright wise guy, you wanna g-"

The sound of a baby crying came from the door in front of them.

Taiyang snapped to his feet looking like he was about to kick the door down.

If he does that with those boots on, everyone in the room will be blown into the wall. Better hold him back.

Qrow grabbed Taiyang by the shoulders and walked him to the door.

Just as Taiyang reached for the knob the door opened inward revealing a rather large male nurse bracing himself like he was about to be blown away.

He opened his eyes to see a confused trio looking at him and he mumbled something about precaution before stepping out of the way, revealing a very tired and sweaty looking Raven on the bed clutching something wrapped in a pink blanket. She looked up and smiled at everyone before locking eyes with Taiyang.

"It's a girl, Tai!" she said, a tear of joy falling down her cheek. "Our daughter is here."

Taiyang walked forward and to the side of Raven's bed. He looked down at Raven's face and brushed a hair behind her ear and cupping her cheek in his hand. His eyes moved to the little pink bundle. All he saw at first was a massive tangle of blonde hair.

Man, they weren't joking about the blonde…

Raven lifted the infant up and said, "Meet your child, Taiyang."

A sense of joy and pride mixed with a little bit of fear and uncertainty filled Taiyang as he held his little golden girl. He got lost in her lilac eyes and touched her face, feeling her soft skin beneath his fingers.

"What's-," he croaked before swallowing. "What's her name? What are we gonna call her?"

"Well, I was thinking we could call her… Yang, after her father."

Taiyang felt something stir within him. A love he never imagined even existed.

"Yang Xiao Long," he said, grinning ear to ear. "Right now she's more like 'Yang Xiao Short.'"

Everyone groaned out loud, including the nurses. But something happened that made Taiyang almost leap into the air with joy.

The baby giggled.

Summer and Qrow looked at each other.

"Oh no, not another one," they said in unison.

Over the next year Summer and Qrow grew closer. They went on mission after mission and, after a while, Raven or Taiyang would come along while the other would stay home with Yang.

Taiyang had gotten a house on the edge of Patch and had made it a home for Raven and Yang. Eventually, Summer and Qrow had gotten a place nearby though it had taken a lot of convincing on Qrow's part. Summer was still very shy and would always blush a deep ruby red and smile when they would leave the house together.

But their happy life didn't last very long. The Faunus Rights Revolution saw to that.

While most of the Faunus were in Menagerie, many had secretly hidden in Patch's vast grey forest waiting for the perfect time to rise up and claim their rights.

They attacked settlements all over the island, aiming at government buildings and staying away from residences. But after awhile, the attacks started to get out of control. There was a rumor that a sect of the Faunus were becoming more violent towards the regular people of Patch, attacking homes of people not even associated with the government.

Summer and Qrow were sent on so many missions that they hardly ever saw Taiyang and Raven and were only able to say a few words in passing before heading out on another mission.

A few months later they came back to Signal in the middle of an attack by the Faunus.

They crested the last hill before the city academy to see the gate on fire.

Without a glance at each other, they launched forward, Summer, of course, in the lead.

She stopped about a hundred feet out and looked back at Qrow. He unfolded his scythe and jumped as high as he could over Summer as she waved her fans blowing him over the gates. He landed on the other side of the wall in the midst of several students who jumped back, frightened.

"Don't worry, we're here to help," Qrow said as Summer landed next to him. "Where is Professor Xiao Long?"

"He was in the practice arena when the attack started," said a boy duel wielding pistol Kukri's. "I'm not sure where he is now."

"I saw him over at the student dorms about fifteen minutes ago," said a girl holding a sickle on a rope. "He was helping hold off the attack."

Qrow turned to Summer.

"Go to the dorms and see if you can find him. I have to find Raven."

She nodded and took off in the direction of the housing section of the academy.

"Have you seen the other Professor Branwen?" he said to the students.

All of them shook their heads before jumping at the sound of an explosion on the outside of the gate.

"Yesterday she stopped by to talk to Professor Xiao Long but left shortly after."

"She didn't seem to be very happy."

"I heard yelling in Professor Xiao Long's office."

Several students were starting to drift away to the gate, using whatever they could to keep it closed. A few of them were leaning on it with all their weight.

Qrow looked at the two guard towers next to the gate and made a decision.

"Stand back," he yelled over the roar of the fire and all the Faunus on the outside.

The students pulled away from the gate and looked at him like he was crazy.

He darted forward and sliced through the right tower's legs causing it to fall behind the gate, ensuring that it couldn't be pushed open.

To be safe he did the same to the other tower.

"Spread out on the inside of the wall and team up on anyone who comes over! If it becomes too much, run for the safety of the academy!"

Qrow didn't wait for confirmation before running up the side of the wall and launching himself over. He immediately sprinted in the direction of Raven and Tai's home, hoping against hope that he wasn't too late.

Fire.

All he saw was fire.

It was pouring from the windows of Raven and Tai's house. The roof was caved in and one of the walls had collapsed revealing the rooms inside.

Nothing was there.

He ran to the house anyway, calling for Raven. Tears streaming down his face blurring his vision.

He almost ran into a Faunus' club but ducked under it just in time.

Without thinking his scythe appeared in his hand and was inches from the Faunus throat before he froze.

The Faunus had green eyes and what looked like ram's horns coming out his head.

"Why are you doing this?" Qrow yelled. "Why are you burning our homes? Patch has had nothing to do with what happened on Menagerie. We never did anything!"

"That's right!" the man replied. "You never did anything! You let us suffer on that island while you sat here in comfort and luxury!"

He pushed the tip of the scythe out of the way and lunged at Qrow who dodged the attack with ease, using the butt of the scythe to knock the Faunus unconscious.

Qrow moved forward scanning the burning house for anything that would show Raven wasn't there. That she wasn't dead.

The cellar doors were open.

Those lock from the inside so she must have come from there. But where did she go?

Moving closer, he inspected the tracks made by his sister. They led toward his and Summer's house.

The trail led to his house a little ways away but saw that they veered off, deeper into the forest before they got there.

He came to a clearing next to a creek and saw the clear signs of a struggle. Raven had been surrounded.

A tree showed several deep gashes in it's trunk.

She launched herself at the first attacker, but it looks like she was attacking with only one hand. Maybe she was still holding Yang.

Qrow bent over a patch of particularly churned up mud next to the creek.

This was where she made her stand. Back to the creek, enemies in front of her. What's this?

His eyes moved to a section of mud next to the creek that looked like something wide and round was set down on the mud, forming a half bowl with the other half leading into the creek.

What could that be, I wonder?

He paused a moment gathering his thoughts before forcing himself to continue looking for more information.

He looked at the churned mud again.

She began fighting in earnest now. Defeating each one of them. He didn't notice any blood besides a small splatter here and there.

She wasn't killing them, just keeping them back.

Further into the forest, he froze as he saw the sword on the ground, a body print in the mud next to it.

No… please… don't… no...

Dropping to his knees next to the weapon, he scooped it up, cradling it as he cried for his sister.

Eventually, he wiped his eyes and looked around.

Still no blood here. There is hope.

After looking for tracks around the clearing and finding none he remembered the indentation near the creek.

A BASKET!

He turned and sprinted toward the creek. He followed it until he came upon a beaver dam that had built up a small pond. Next to the dam was a small basket bumping up against the wood and mud of the dam.

Qrow ran alongside the pond and along the dam until he reached the basket.

How could this child be sleeping?

Qrow gathered the child into his arms and made for the academy.

When he arrived at the gate, the fire had been put out. Students were moving some of the timber from the fallen towers out of the way.

Qrow hopped the last few logs and made his way towards the center of the academy, looking for Summer.

He eventually found her in the infirmary helping students with minor wounds.

When she saw him she smiled before noticing the small bundle in his arms. She looked at him, confusion and sadness in her eyes.

Qrow looked down, tears streaming down his face before he sat down in a chair. His sobs wracked his body as he held the sleeping child.

His eyes were clamped shut, trying to block out the pain.

"They took her," he said through clinched teeth. "She almost got away. They surrounded her and made her set the child down so she could defend herself."

Summer wrapped her arms around Qrow hugging him tight.

Qrow gathered himself, wrapping an arm around Summer, pulling her into him.

"Where is Taiyang?"

"He's with the headmaster."

"Take me to him. He needs his daughter."

Taiyang was in charge.

Even the headmaster was paying attention to his orders.

"Just because the attacks have stopped, it doesn't mean that all the attacks have stopped. Let's shore up the gate make sure they can't get through there. Get more supplies to the infirmary."

Taiyang kept his eyes on a map of the academy while rattling off more instructions. The only person who noticed Qrow and Summer entering the room was a student next to Taiyang.

He looked disheveled and part of his shirt was burnt. In fact, one of his eyebrows was missing.

He tapped Taiyang on the shoulder.

"Sir…"

"What?"

Taiyang looked up and saw Summer and Qrow.

"What a time to return. Qrow, I need you to head up on the wall and use that scythe of yours. Summer, you are needed to run messages between the different holes in the wall, make sure we are secure."

He turned his attention back to the table.

"We need a spotter up in the tower. Kayla, get someone with some with a spyglass up there. Buck, get your rifle up there, too. We might be able to spot someone with your scope as well."

"Tai…."

"Qrow what are you still doing he-," he stopped mid-sentence, finally noticing the bundle in Qrow's arms.

"Tai, I am so sorry," Summer whispered.

"Where. Is. Raven?"

"She's… Gone, Tai," Qrow said, bowing his head. "I found Yang in the woods after what looked like a fight. They surrounded her and she got overpowered. They took her…."

Taiyang walked to Qrow, looking at the small blanket bundle. He gathered the baby into his arms, not taking his eyes off her face.

Qrow put his hand his friend's shoulder as Summer hugged his arm.

"We'll find her, Tai," Qrow said, gravely.

Taiyang didn't even look at his friends. He started walking for the door. Silent, sad, broken.

"I'm going to help out around here," Qrow said, looking down at Summer. "Do what he said and we'll meet up later."

"Qrow, I know now is probably not the best time, but we need to talk."

"Summer, the city is a war zone. We need to keep this place safe."

"Yeah, but Qrow, I don't want something like tonight to happen to us."

"I know you'll be fine, Summer. Now go."

She looked up at him, sadness filling her face.

"Ok… Qrow…."