A few months later

Qrow meticulously scrubbed at the stain on the counter top, slowly becoming frustrated at the effort required to remove the insolent grime. The baby had been increasingly a pain to take care of, especially with the continued turn-taking of who gets to play huntsman and who gets to play the parents. The current pair playing the huntsmen were Taiyang and Raven, leaving Summer and Qrow to take care of Yang. They soon found that the baby was more trouble than they originally imagined.

Summer had taken Yang into the baby room and was doing her best to keep Yang occupied and happy. Meanwhile, Qrow was tasked with cleaning up the cabin from the earlier attempts at keeping Yang happy. The huntsman looked around at the kitchen area and felt satisfied with his work. He had gone around the whole room and almost turned everything upside down to tidy it all up.

He dragged his feet over to the room Summer was in and watched her from the doorway. She was on her knees on the floor playing a game with the eighteen month old infant, her white flowing cape covering most of her body and spilling out onto the floor behind her. Underneath, Qrow could see a tiny amount of a black skirt. At least Yang was laughing and in a good mood.

"How's it going in here, supermom?" Qrow leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, asking the same rhetorical question he had done so many times before. Summer turned her head and smiled at the sight of her lover.

"Are you done cleaning already?" Summer's response was always along the same lines of countering Qrow's initial question with her own question.

"Why yes, the kitchen is spotless. I can sense your surprise, 'old Qrow actually cleaned for once? That's new.' Am I wrong?" He enacted an imitation of Summer, making the younger girl laugh. He felt accomplished whenever he managed to make her laugh, which in his mind, who wouldn't enjoy hearing the laughter of a lover?

"No, you're not wrong. And by the way, little Yang is pretty happy right now." Summer turned her attention back to the baby, who was sitting on the floor and playing with her own toes. Qrow strolled forward and offered a hand to Summer, in which she gladly accepted and allow Qrow to pick her up to her feet.

"Remember how this morning I told you I had a surprise once the chores were done? Go wait in your bedroom and I'll put the baby to sleep." Qrow mysteriously swooned, using his other hand to push Summer's hair out of her face. She used to keep her hair rather short but as of recent, she preferred to let it grow out more. Qrow frequently commented on it no matter the length, which pleased Summer to some extent. She left the room and gently shut the door behind her. Qrow turned his attention to the blonde haired baby who seemed very intent on attacking her own little wiggling toes, with lilac eyes shining brightly.

He leaned down and patted Yang's head. She turned her head and looked up to see whose hand it was. Once she recognized Qrow's aging face, she giggled and made a cute gurgling noise in an attempt to communicate.

"Hey there little Yang. I see you're having fun there. How about we get you in your bed and you can take a nap?" Qrow talked to the baby as he swooped her up and held her close. She had no complaints to the sudden action, only discerning such words as 'bed' and 'nap'. In response, she yawned and made herself comfortable in the huntsman's arms. He smiled sweetly as he watched her, taking her to the bed tucked away in the corner. He never imagined himself to be a fatherly type. Taiyang, if anyone, was definitely the paternal one.

Qrow waited until Yang was snuggled into her sheets before turning away and heading out of the room. The rotation system that Ozpin had their team going through had gone through a couple circulations already without a hitch. One pair goes into service for a few weeks, then the next pair reports in for a few weeks. It always worked out perfectly. But the last circulation concerned Qrow slightly simply because they had received no news about how Raven and Taiyang were doing. He constantly thought about his team's well being.

Qrow shook the idea of anything bad happening and replaced it with the excuse of just taking their time coming back. He had plans for Summer since the two of them were alone for now. He poked his head into his team leader's room to see what she was up to.

"Is she asleep?" A quiet voice spoke up from out of Qrow's line of sight.

"Yeah, for now." He opened the door farther to reveal Summer sitting on the bed in a girlish posture, wrapped up in her cape and her hood on.

"It's...cold in here." She explained innocently, attracting Qrow's attention.

"Well then allow me to warm you up." Qrow tried to seductively call out, making his way towards the bed. He sat on the edge and beckoned for Summer to sit on his leg. She complied without a second thought. Qrow carefully slid her hood off her head and wrapped his arms around her body.

"I like this feeling I get when I'm around you. It's new and exciting." Summer confessed, enjoying the solitude she experienced being around Qrow.

"Looks like I'm doing something right, little Rose." Qrow leaned forward and kissed the top of Summer's head. She felt a familiar warmth accumulating on her face, telling her that she was blushing. They sat in silence in each other's embrace for what seemed to them an eternity before Qrow remembered what he was planning.

"About that surprise…" Qrow started, re-positioning himself on the bed. Summer stood up and waited as Qrow instructed with hand motions.

"What is it?" Summer asked with her unadultered tone Qrow loved.

"Take a wild guess why I told you it's in your bedroom." Qrow gave her a big smile, his legs spread apart. The light in Summer's head suddenly clicked.

"But what about Yang?" She questioned without moving.

"Don't worry, I'll try not to make you scream too loud." He told her in a joking manner. She reluctantly moved forward and knelt down in front of him.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Summer proudly announced, willing to accept Qrow's gift.


Taiyang opened his eyes after a rather rude slap from Raven. He decided to take a nap on the way to their drop off point, informing Raven to wake him once they reached their destination. He looked out the window of the airship to see that Raven wasn't wrong. She was just rude.

The duo were tasked with finding a way into a stronghold that was nearby the drop off. The stronghold itself belonged to a pro-faunus rights organization that recently became a thorn in everyone's side, dishing out organized protests and boycotts. They weren't exactly violent, which is why Ozpin wanted a few huntsmen to scout out the organization's leadership before deciding how to deal with them. A very known fact was that the organization, labeling themselves off as Golden Tide, had several rapidly growing sponsors, including a larger known group calling themselves the White Fang.

The airship touched down in a rocky clearing in between two protruding mountains, the valley way laden with vegetation. The stronghold was in a valley a little ways down. An extra walking distance meant nothing if it ultimately meant a successful stealth op. The couple hurriedly jumped out and waved the airship off. Then after a few minutes it was silent.

"Tai, do you remember which way the fortress was?" Raven looked around at the landscape, noticing the lack of any man made objects.

"It's a stronghold, actually. There's a very obvious difference between a fortress and a-" Taiyang was cut off by a hard elbow from Raven.

"I asked where the damn place was, not the correct terminology." Raven continued surveying, her eyes flickering red for only a moment. She had a keen sense of control over her semblance, but only when her anger could be controlled.

"Ah, sorry. It should be south, following the valley between the mountains, then- hey!" Taiyang, in a moment of attempting to remember what he was briefed on, Raven began impatiently walking in the direction Taiyang was explaining.

"We agreed to take this one step at a time...crater-face." Raven faced Taiyang and gave him a sly smile upon reciting the bland nickname she had given him when he lost control of his semblance during a well-timed sneeze.

"Not funny. We're suppose to work as a team more than anything. You can't just walk off without me. We worked a lot better as a full team of four." Taiyang ended his small lecture with a sigh, reminiscing his days at Beacon.

"We can't exactly do that anymore, considering the circumstances. Now let's go. As a, uh, pair." Raven avoided the word 'team' as though it was toxic to pronounce. Taiyang agreed and without anymore conversation, they silently worked their way through dense underbrush and vegetation, keeping an eye out for man-made structure. After what seemed like an hour or more, they sighted a tall but thin tower connected to a lengthy wall. There was heavy aerial activity and it seemed like a few roads going into the stronghold were constantly busy. Taiyang and Raven looked at each other with worry, wondering how they were going to get inside.

Raven spotted a slope that took them from their elevated location down to the heavy stone walls of the fort. From there, they could stay pressed against the walls to avoid detection until they came to a weak point. Taiyang could combust the loose stones to allow them entry, and from that point, they would do what they did best and wing it. The pair nodded in agreement and set the plan in motion.

Soon enough, Taiyang stepped through the crumbled portion of the wall and into a small room that didn't get used often. The walls were dusty and the only object in the room, a neatly carved and portable wooden table, was covered in dirt and cobwebs. A door on the left side was the only exit, as well as a single window on the far wall which allowed them to see into the stronghold. Raven rushed to the window and wiped a small part of it clean.

"What's the activity looking like?" Taiyang whispered.

"Tons of vehicles. Tons of people. Sorry, uh, faunus. There looks to be two opposite radio buildings, an armory, and closest to us looks to be the main building." Raven reported back. She was nervous about how getting to the main building was going to work.

"Okay, sounds like we need some disguises." Taiyang hurriedly proposed upon hearing the word faunus.

"What, why? You don't look much like a faunus." Raven pointed out, still trying to scope out the stronghold.

"Do you have a better plan?" Taiyang countered, feeling his plan had a much better chance of working. He heard his girlfriend sigh and reluctantly agree.

"Now where do we get these disguises?" Raven asked, not seeing how Taiyang could possibly get a costume made from such little supplies. Taiyang promptly walked to the door and opened it a crack. Before Raven could stop him, he beckoned two nearby faunus civilians over to him. The clueless civies shrugged and made their way over. Raven stood back in disbelief as the faunus pair blindly went with it. Taiyang waited until their victims were close enough before pulling Raven with him and hiding behind the door.

The pair walked into the room in confusion to see nobody inside. Taiyang quickly jumped out, knocked the heads of the two faunus together, and watched them both slump silently to the floor. Raven shut the door and didn't have time to be amazed. The two huntsmen pulled on the faunus apparel, finishing the look by donning a metal pin with a golden symbol on the front.

"How do I look? Not too outstanding I hope." Taiyang asked, posing in the drab outwear.

"You look like someone pushed you into a vat full of boring. Perfect." Raven, who wore equally underwhelming clothing, commented on. She didn't say anything, but she wasn't too sure of the disguise. If anything, she could always fight her way out of a situation. Or if things came down to it, running wasn't such a bad idea.

They carefully exited the room and tried their best to blend in with the surrounding faunus. Nobody looked their way. The two were quick to realize that the stronghold was a lot less of a militarized area and more of a safe house for faunus. The only guards they noticed were perched on the wall with small arms weaponry. Raven felt a small tug on her sleeve as she saw Taiyang motion for them to enter the main building. She complied and they strolled right in through the front door.

The headquarters of the fortress looked like it could be taken apart and moved easily, consisting of thin wood with visible hinges. The first room was small and had a stairway on the right. The left was barren except for a tiny dark door with a white sign explaining "Do Not Enter". In front of them was a desk, behind it sat a friendly looking female clerk who had a large smile and small antlers. Raven and Taiyang looked at each other with a look that said they knew what each other was thinking.

"Hello! We're, well, kinda lost." Taiyang immediately exclaimed, grabbing the clerk's attention. He rushed to the front and gave the antlered faunus a fake predicament to distract her. Raven seized the opportunity and made her way to the door that was so intent on keeping people from entering. In two lightning motions, she was inside without a sound.

Softly clicking the door back into it's original closed position, Raven turned to see a stairway leading down. She couldn't see the bottom. With no other way to go, she started to sneak down the staircase. Each individual step was made of a metal that seemed to absorb the noise of her footsteps. It made it easier to walk quicker without alerting anyone that may be in the vicinity. After a short while, she began to make out a small orange light coming from a room that broke off from the staircase. It wasn't at the bottom, but it was the only thing she could see worth exploring.

Raven put her hand on the hilt of her weapon. It was a rather plain, thin blade that expanded once she took it out. The sheath she kept it in infused the blade with different types of dust as well. It served her well enough that she didn't see a reason to change it. She continued her pace from the stairs and towards the room. The orange light was coming from two torches on the wall opposite of each other. A metal wall stood directly in front of her with a wooden door set in the middle. She carefully approached it and put her ear against it to try and make out anything coming from inside.

There was a gentle buzzing noise, then a rough voice spoke out loud. Following that was the crackle of a fire. Raven swiftly pushed the door open and whipped out her blade. She held a vicious posture to intimidate anyone inside. However, the scene she imagined wasn't entirely the same.

On the far side was a small fireplace with a crackly fire ablaze. Beside that was a generator that was hooked up to a few computers and machines that only looked capable of either shredding or copying papers. But the more entertaining part of the room were the two faunus that sat frozen in total fear. One was a young red haired boy with small stubby horns and damaged eyes. The other was an elderly man with no visible faunus trait who was holding a small but ornate white mask. He addressed the young boy as Adam and whispered a few things out of Raven's hearing. He then stood up and faced the fearsome huntress.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time before we were found out. You should know you look ridiculous in that clothing." The man remarked, keeping a distance.

"I'm only here to collect information." Raven blandly responded.

"I'm sure you are." The man set the mask down next to a blank monitor and began rummaging around a bag that was previously out of Raven's sight.

"What are you doing?" She took a step forward, causing the young boy to shuffle uncomfortably. The man turned back to face Raven, now holding another mask with different engravings on it.

"We don't appreciate how faunus kind are treated so differently than human. Sometimes, peaceful protests only work so far. Human nature is very violent towards those they don't like. Although Grimm are a common enemy, humans still tend to favor infighting when they have nothing else to do. You'll find out soon enough that the Golden Tide are willing to take the extra step to find our place in the human world." The man offered the mask to Raven. She was reluctant to touch it at first, worried about what could happen. When he didn't see her accept the mask right away, the man continued his speech.

"This boy here is Adam. He's next in line to take leadership of the White Fang organization. We want nothing more than for humankind to take us seriously as part of them. Do you understand?" Raven put a hand on the mask and allowed her fingers to run over the multiple grooves.

"I understand." She simply said, picking the mask up.

"Now when you feel the time is right, you'll come back to us. We'll give you more power than you've ever had before." A sudden change in attitude was brought to Raven's attention. She wasn't sure what he meant.

"I thought this was about being recognized? What's all this about power?" She questioned forcefully.

"The best strategy for intimidation is one that you as a huntress knows best. Show your enemies how much power you have." He made a hand motion that simulated a fist crushing an enemy. Raven's mind was whirling with ideas of what it all meant. She started backing away, sword in one hand and the mask in the other. The elderly man, seeing Raven as no longer a threat, gave his attention back towards Adam.

Raven slammed the door behind her, breathing heavily. She suddenly had a wave of confusion wash over her, her mind wandering. She was thinking about a single question: should she come back? She had no way of knowing what this power meant, or what would happen, but it sounded enticing. It was as if the man saw into her thoughts and knew what she wanted. It was nerve wracking to try and fully comprehend it. It would require a lot of thinking.

She made her way back up the stairs and out into the lobby room without remembering about the clerk. She looked around to see the room empty. Taiyang was still distracting her most likely. Raven rolled her eyes at the thought of what her dork was saying to the girl. She took a seat to bide her time and hid the mask.

A few minutes passed and both the clerk and Taiyang came down the staircase on the other side of the room. He appeared to be laughing, making Raven slightly jealous. She stood up and waited for him to get close enough before swiping at his sleeve and pulling him towards the doorway. The clerk returned to her post without a word. Once Raven and Taiyang were outside, they huddled in an area that was far out of anyone's sight or hearing.

"What did you find?" Raven whispered, trying to forget about the clerk.

"I stole a whole list of names and locations. And you?" Taiyang confidently whispered back, referring to when she disappeared behind the 'Do Not Enter' door. She paused for a second, deciding what to say.

"Just a few backrooms. There was nothing." She finally reported. Taiyang just shrugged.

"Well, you don't always find what you're looking for." He didn't seem to notice the decisiveness in her voice. They broke away from each other and scouted the courtyard of the fortress. They spotted the room they had entered from, which was built into the wall. All they had to do was cross the yard. They turned towards each other and nodded, deciding on their exit strategy.

One month later

Summer leaned against the inside of the door to her room. She didn't know what to say, or even how to say it. She wanted it to be a special announcement not just to Qrow but to the whole team. Weighing her options, she wasn't sure how they would react, if they reacted at all. No, they would definitely react. Her shyness was pushing her to far. Big announcements were never little Rose's strong point.

She sank to her knees in front of the closed door, wrapping herself in her cape. She had just found out she was pregnant a few days ago. Now it was time to let everyone else know. She felt a single tear form in her eye and roll down her cheek. This meant her days of being a huntress were momentarily halted to become a full-time parent of another child bore by their team. She figured the others wouldn't be so amused.

Summer slowly picked herself back up and lightly touched her stomach. There was nothing to feel yet, but soon enough there would be. Nothing would be the same after the baby was born. She turned the doorknob and walked out. Qrow himself was getting ready to leave alongside Taiyang. Raven was a lot more moody and kept to herself as of recent. All three were in the kitchen area that also acted as a conference room.

"Good morning." Summer worked out, her voice extremely stressed and high pitched. Qrow picked up the vibe that something was wrong.

"What's the matter?" He rushed forward and warmly smiled to provide comfort.

"Uh...nothing is wrong." Summer looked away, fiddling with her fingers. Qrow pressed on.

"If nothing is wrong, then something must be right, right?" He moved a hand to her shoulder, massaging gently.

"I just don't know." Summer refused to explain her situation, still nervous and shy as ever.

"You can tell me. You can tell us all." Qrow pointed towards Taiyang who swung a bag onto his back and Raven who sat at the table, not paying much attention.

"Please tell me that everything will be alright." Summer whispered in a voice so quiet that only Qrow could hear.

"Yes, yes, everything is alright. It always is." He responded in an equally quiet voice. Summer squeezed her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists.

"You're going to be a father." She swiftly announced, completely unmoving. As soon as Qrow heard and comprehended the words, his hand became frozen on Summer's shoulder. He didn't know what to say. It was as though time had stopped around him and he was living in a different world.

"Honey, that's...that's amazing." Qrow pulled Summer into his arms and hugged her, still trying to fully understand the situation. He had spent all this time playing the fatherly figure without knowing that he himself would become an actual father. Summer silently hugged him back, making herself as small as she could in his arms and completely invisible under her white cape.

Qrow picked Summer up and carried her to his room bridal style. Taiyang could only stand and stare with his jaw hanging open. Another child in the house sounded like an interesting way to start fresh. It also reminded him of Yang's well-being. He wanted to be the kind of father to Yang that Summer was the motherly type. In the meantime, they would have to call Ozpin back and cancel their pending call to arms.

While everyone else was focused on the second new arrival, Raven was pondering a different course of action. A path filled with power and a promise to become stronger than she ever had been. The mask she was given constantly on her mind. She was coming closer to a decision. And it would be a decision to decide the future of their whole team.