Blake was sitting on her bed, back to the headboard, knees pulled up to her chest and arms wrapped around - while sobs slipped past her lips and she struggled to breathe as she tried to contain them.

She refused to accept the fact that this was happening again. This was the main reason why she refused to go out and do other things that people did. Because she wasn't like other people. She had seen people die because of her, and she refused to have it happen again. That's why the main people she communicated with where already happily married to someone they would never fall out of love with.

But now here she was, in that same exact situation all over again.

She didn't want Yang to die. From what she'd learned in the past few months, Yang was a stubborn woman who would most likely refuse surgery, and she wasn't sure who it was Yang was experiencing unrequited love for.

Spots dotted her vision as she heard the faraway sound of the door opening and the alarm being deactivated. None of it registered though. All that she knew right now was that Yang had hanahaki disease and she was the most likely person.

She choked on her sob, trying to calm herself down knowing none of this was going to help Yang - none of her sobs were going to save her - but she just couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face. Why did things always have to go badly? Why couldn't she just be happy?

Why did everyone she cared about have to suffer?

Weiss was driving towards her home as fast as she could, hoping she'd get there soon. At least before Blake had a complete mental breakdown.

She tapped her dashboard screen to bring it to life, taking it out of the sleep mode it had been in. She drove up to a red light and quickly dialed Lie's number and placed it on speaker, just as the light turned green and she sped off. He picked up after three rings.

"Hello? Lie Ren spea-!" His voice was cut off by Nora yelling in the background "Who is it Renny?"

Weiss decided to greet Nora as well, and try and get them on their way since she had to get back to Ruby.

"Look Lie, Nora the reason I called is because I need you two to keep an eye on Blake for me. I need to get back to Ruby, but I can't leave Blake alone with her thoughts right now, they'll eat her alive, I don't want her to fall down the rabbit hole again I won't let her fa-!"

"Weiss."

"Yes?"

"We'll be there, but I need to know what's happened to her." Lie backed away from the phone to call out to his wife. "Nora, please grab our overnight bags and the first aid kit. We're going over to Blake and Weiss'."

"Lie, thank you so much, I know it's short notice but thank you so much for showing up."

Lie nodded for a couple seconds before he remembered Weiss couldn't see him and answered. "No problem Weiss. But we need to know what we're getting into. We need to see if we need to call Jaune and Pyrrha to come take care of Pancake and Raevynn or if they'll be alright for an hour or so. What's happened this time?"

This was the hard part. They'd all been friends for ages, so they'd seen Blake fall apart like this before, and the aftermath was catastrophic.

"Yang has hanahaki and it's Blake again."

Silence.

And then a soft "No," which Weiss thought sounded a bit like Nora, and a "We'll be there in fifteen," from Lie before the call abruptly ended.

Weiss pulled into her driveway, barely turning off her car and locking it as she ran up the front steps and struggled to tap in the code that would unlock the door. Finally, the door gave her the two beeps that signified it was open and she quickly walked inside, leaving the door ajar and over to the alarm panel and deactivated it before it went off and so Lie and Nora wouldn't have to do it over again to get inside. She dropped her keys in a ceramic bowl on the table by the hall closet and ran up the stairs as fast as she could without falling.

She slowed right outside Blake's door, hearing the woman's cries, which were few and far in between.

Maybe she was calming down, but Weiss knew she was most likely about to pass out. She composed herself as best she could before knocking on the door and stepping inside.

"Blake? I'm coming in, okay?"

Weiss' eyes darted to the bed and saw Blake curled up, tilting towards the side. She jumped on the bed and crawled over Blake's things to her and wrapped her in a hug, her hair beginning to fall out of her bun tail and onto her face. She hugged the ravenette close and rocked her back and forth, muttering consolations in her ear, rubbing her back and trying to get her to breathe normally and hoping Lie and Nora would arrive before Blake latched on.

She heard the thudding of steps coming up the stairs and called out tentatively "Lie? Nora?" registering the fact she did leave the door open and it could be anyone frankly.

The door creaked open and she was relieved to see Lie sticking his face in and nodded towards the distraught girl she was holding. Lie came over and started gently unwrapping Blake's arms from around Weiss and wrapping them around himself, getting situated and prepared to be there for a while. Weiss walked out and was halfway down the stair when she finally saw Nora, rocking Raevynn gently in her arms.

Weiss coughed lightly to get Nora's attention and the woman walked over holding her daughter.

"Sorry I brought her, Pyrrha and Jaune are on their way to come pick her up. We called them on our way over and told them to meet us here."

Weiss extended her pointer finger which the young child grasped happily in her small hand, making happy baby noises while her mother and "aunt" looked down at her proudly.

"She's a beauty isn't she?" Nora commented, a motherly look on her face Weiss hadn't seen before. If someone had told her five years ago the crazy ginger from the dorm across the hall could be tamed by a baby - more so her own, she would have rolled her eyes and asked them for the name of the drug they were on.

But here they were now.

Weiss did Nora's signature boop on the little girl's nose, and Raevynn let out a happy gurgle and smiled, her violet eyes shining.

"I know I was strict about my house but you guys are all family. Since the other two aren't here yet, tell them to bring a change of clothes and the four of you can stay here tonight. There's more than enough food in the fridge for you all, ingredients to make pancakes from scratch and all that. Also, please, keep Blake in sight. Just...whatever happens, don't leave her alone, okay?"

Nora nodded, reaching for her phone to make the phone call.

"Can you hold Raevynn while I make the call? Thank you so much Weiss!"

Nora carefully placed the little baby in Weiss' arms and moved away from the two, lest the baby pick up on her panic and it inspire her own.

Weiss bounced Raevynn in her arms, wondering if there was ever an opportunity for her to adopt her own. Being a lesbian and all, she could provide a better home for children that needed it. Also, it was a bit much to deal with the process of combining two female embryos. Then there's the question is her gem would even want children...

But first of all she had to propose.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Raevynn got her hands on a piece of hair that had fallen in front of her face and started tugging on it. Luckily, the piece was too short for her to put it in her mouth, but that didn't stop her from yanking on it to her little hearts delight. Around that time Nora came back over from the call and sighed.

"They'll be here in seven. Luckily they live close by. When did you discover Yang had hanahaki and Blake was her unrequited love?"

"About an hour ago. Speaking of, I need to go, I left Ruby worried and my phone with her so she can't even call. Please take care of Blake, Ruby and I will stop by tomorrow morning!" Weiss gave Nora a side hug and Raevynn a little peck on the forehead. She made her way to the front do, picking up her keys from the bowl on the table by the hall closet and ran outside to her car. She turned it on and sped out, only buckling her seatbelt once she'd reached a red light. She did her best to follow the rules of the road, but all she wanted to do at the moment was hold her gem close and comfort her.

She knew the thoughts running through her head, she'd been in her shoes before, losing a family member to the disease. She didn't want her to go through it alone. This was a burden no one should have to bear, but some inevitably would have to.

She haphazardly parked her car next to Ruby's, doing her best not to hit the brunettes car in her exit from her own. Inside she went, and up the stairs in the back of the shop and down the hall into Ruby's room.

Her heart went out to the woman.

Ruby sat on the edge of her bed, her hands cupping a small object. Weiss walked closer and she finally saw what Ruby was holding.

A small, blood spotted amaryllis lily bud.

"Ruby..."

The woman looked at her and Weiss opened her arms, ready to envelop her in a hug. Ruby's eyes were shining with unshed tears. She dropped the bud and ran over to Weiss, hugging her close and starting to cry.

"This is hers, it has to be...it's not mine, and it was by the dishwasher."

Weiss nodded and guided the woman back towards her bed. After sitting her on the edge, she sat with her back to the headboard and opened her arms for Ruby to join her.

Her gem happily complied.

And so they both sat there and cried.

Pyrrha and Jaune were gathering themselves when Nora called the second time and asked them to bring a change since they were all going to crash at Weiss and Blake's home.

Jaune turned around and told Pyrrha they'd be there in seven and Pyrrha relayed the message right before Nora hung up the phone.

"This is not good. This is like Adam all over again."

Jaune clasped his wife's hand and squeezed. He pulled up again into his driveway and Pyrrha opened the door to get out the car and Jaune pulled her back in.

"Hey, just like we helped her get over that, we'll help this time. But the difference will be that Yang will survive."

Pyrrha looked doubtful at Jaune's words, so he added on, "I swear by the gods, Pyr. This time will be different. This time there will be no death."

Pyrrha leaned in and gave Jaune a quick kiss before running inside their home and grabbing random pajamas and stuffing them in a bag. After throwing the bag in the backseat, they were on their way again.

"How do you think Ruby's handling it? What does it feel like?"

Pyrrha leaned back as she looked at her husband expectantly, knowing he knew the answer as the same thing had happened with his sister Saphron when she had hanahaki over Terra. Luckily, Terra accepted Saph's feelings and Saphron recovered well, though she doesn't do good with prolonged exertion, since her lungs are delicate. She survived a long time, longer than most since the flowers she coughed up daffodils, a soft, small flower.

Jaune hesitated a little bit longer before he finally answered.

"It's fucking hell."

Pyrrha stared at him, watching as his grip tightened on the steering wheel and his eyes watered.

"Jaune, I overst-!"

"Pyrrha, you did nothing wrong and you've been trying to help me ever since we found out Saph had hanahaki while we were dating. It's about time I talked about it instead of letting it fester."

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile a little at seeing her husband open up about something that had hit home for him. Something that was slowly eating him away from the inside out.

"It's absolute shit watching someone you love and hold dear waste away in front of you. It's a living hell watching them hurt and knowing there's no medicine that will make it all go away. No matter how much you may want to, you can't take her pain. Few people sympathize with you." He paused here, sighing deeply as silent tears streamed down his face.

"And then there's the hate you can't help towards the person they love, knowing it's both their fault and not their fault for your loved ones condition, but you can't make them fall in love. They have to do that on their own. If one tries to force a relationship to save someone, hanahaki only attacks worse. The more the affected is around their love, the more flowers they hack up, the more flowers sprout. The plant grows larger while they grow weaker."

They pulled into Weiss and Blake's driveway and exited the car while Weiss entered her car. They sent each other a small wave as she drove away, an underlying sense of urgency to her manner of driving.

Pyrrha and Jaune moved inside and dropped their keys in the bowl on the table by the hall closet and rounded the corner to find Nora desperately trying to get Raevynn to fall asleep, singing her favorite song over and over. Her head snapped up and she smiled tiredly when she saw them.

"Thank the gods you're here! Blake hasn't calmed enough to take Rae in there and in her state I'm worried she'll hurt or scare her."

Pyrrha stepped forward and carefully took the baby from Nora. Jaune gave his wife's shoulder a small squeeze, gave Nora a hug and a small kiss on the cheek and made his way to the kitchen, calling over his shoulder about making dinner for everyone.

Nora gave Pyrrha a side hug and kissed her on the cheek. Pyrrha returned the hug and both friends stood there contemplating the many situations around them.

"Do you think she'll make it?"

Pyrrha almost answered Nora's sudden question when another voice responded and she jumped, startled by Lie's sudden appearance. She'd gotten used to his silent appearances and disappearances when the four of them lived together, but the habit of expecting him had grown surprisingly rusty.

"I...I'm not sure. I've never seen quite this bad while the affected party was still alive."

"Who's with her now?"

"Jaune. He sent me down here to make pancakes and said he'd take a shift. At least she's not hyperventilating anymore. Come now, let's sit in the kitchen. Do you need help with the baby, Pyr?"

"No, I'm good, she's almost asleep, she needed something to hold onto." The little girl had a lock of Pyrrha's hair firmly wrapped around her little hands, her tightly fisted hands slowly relaxing as she fell asleep gradually.

"Alright, I've taken the crib Weiss has and placed it in the room across from Blake. Who's hungry?"

Nora whisper-yelled "Me!" and bounced over in her usual way towards her husband. Jaune stuck his head back in the kitchen and held up two fingers and Pyrrha nodded, getting the message that he was going to the restroom. Pyrrha smiled at the family dynamic between the two by the stove. While they were distracted she decided to go upstairs and keep an eye on Blake, knowing she couldn't be trusted alone and Weiss would strangle them all if something happened to her.

She knocked on the door before pushing it open and gasping.

Blake was curled up facing the door, her eyes unfocused but tears streaming nonetheless. She was clutching a pillow to her chest as if in extreme pain.

Pyrrha walked over and crouched down to the woman's eye level, and saw her eyes snap in her direction. She sat down on the edge of the bed and started singing softly, hoping to bring the girl out of her stupor.

"Does anyone really know, how to love? Does anyone really feel, what they dreamt of?"

Blake sat up and looked in Pyrrha's direction, unsure of what her intentions where, but then her eyes landed on the little girl who was now awake and squirming in Pyrrha's arms. She tentatively reached out and gave Raevynn her pointer finger and the girl grabbed it tightly with her little hands, immediately bringing it to her mouth and trying to bite it, but she had no teeth, so all Blake felt were her gums putting a bit of pressure on her finger. Pyrrha watched the interaction out of the corner of her eye, a bit unsure if Blake would harm the child, but also happy the woman was coming back to her senses after she'd taken a plunge into her own mind.

She decided to keep singing, hoping the tune would make Blake remember, knowing exactly what the song meant to the ravenette.

"Or is it all a puzzle maze, but we never really walk out the other side?"

Pyrrha slowly rotated to she could face Blake, trying not to startle her or Raevynn, but still made Blake retreat. When she removed her finger from the baby's, her face scrunched up as if she was about to cry, and Pyrrha made the split second decision to hand the baby to Blake.

She continued singing softly and doing her best to calm the woman, who was now slightly panicked by the sudden pass of the baby to her arms. Raevynn giggled happily and Blake gave Rae her mother's signature 'boop' which made her burst into a fit of giggles.

"We go round and round and round, taking wrong turns and clinging to the edges, of ourselves."

Raevynn grasped the lace around the neckline of the slip that she was wearing and tugged on it, her determined expression bringing a small smile to Blake's face. Pyrrha wanted to hug her, but she knew the woman hadn't completely come to yet.

"What is this thing we call love?

What is this thing I've dreamt of?

What is this thing with such a rush?

What is this thing we call love?"

Blake sniffled, the words having their intended effect. Her mind swam with the memories the song brought to the forefront of their mind. Specifically, the message someone she'd cared for deeply had attached to it. She sang the two lines from the bridge and a tear fell down her face.

"What is love,

Oh, what is love?"

She couldn't bring herself to finish the song, and Pyrrha didn't continue it. At the moment all that mattered was the little baby in her hands and getting her to go to sleep and stay asleep. She bounced the baby while humming the rest of the song and watched as Raevynn's little amethyst eyes slowly closed and her breathing gained a steady rhythm. Blake moved to hand her back to Pyrrha, but the woman refused.

"Come downstairs with me. Lie's making his famous pancakes, and Nora would like to discover where I've been with her daughter. Let's put her in her crib, okay?"

Blake nodded and slid off the bed and was halfway to the door before she turned back towards Pyrrha.

"Wait, the four of you are here?"

Pyrrha nodded, slightly confused with what that had to do with anything.

"That's amazing! I haven't seen you all in ages! At least since your wedding." the woman said, continuing in her original mission of putting the infant to bed, walking out of her room and calling over her shoulder to the stunned redhead behind her. The switch was expected, but still surprising. Maybe once they were downstairs Pyrrha could - with Lie's help - get Blake to confront her feelings and the situation instead of burying them. Blake then paused in the hallway, then turned back to Pyrrha.

"Ah, in which room is the crib set up?"

Pyrrha collected herself and pointed to the room across the hall. Blake opened the door and walked in, humming quietly still. She placed a quick kiss on Raevynn's head and set her down in the crib, muttering something softly under her breath that Pyrrha couldn't quite catch.

She came back out of the room and walked back into hers, heading towards her drawers and opening one and rummagin around for a bit before pulling out a pair of battered sweats Pyrrha immediately recognized and burst into laughter at.

"You still have those? I would have thought Weiss would have made you throw them out by now!"

"Nah, she still has hers in fact. She actually wears it from time to time, granted it's usually a sign she's on her period and wants to do absolutely nothing whatsoever, but she still has them. Hey, can you please help me put my hair in a high pony tail?"

Pyrrha nodded and Blake handed her a grey scrunchie and allowed the other woman to do as she pleased. After finishing, she tilted Blake's head to the side to inspect her handiwork, and after nodding in approval, she patted the top of her head to tell Blake she was done.

Pyrrha's gaze drifted towards the sweats again and she couldn't stop a grin as she observed each splatter and remembered its origin. The sweats had paint all over them and were a couple sizes too large for the woman, even after a few years. She slipped them on and turned back to her drawers, closing the open one and opening another and pulling out a brassiere and taking off the slip she was wearing. Pyrrha moved towards the door and leaned on it, facing away from the woman as she changed. Seeing Blake's scars even after all these years made her emotional, and brought back memories that were best left buried.

She felt a small tap on her shoulder and turned back towards Blake, who was now wearing a baggy shirt she'd cropped, but seeing as the shirt was oversized one couldn't really tell unless she raised her hands above her head, so her scar was hidden from view. She eyed Pyrrha knowingly, and wrapped her arms around the woman, knowing exactly which thoughts were running through her head at the moment.

"It wasn't your fault. You did everything you could, and you helped me so much afterward."

Pyrrha hugged her back, and then pulled away.

"Come on, let's get something to eat before Nora eats it all."

They both giggled at that before making their way down the stairs, both going back and forth, bringing up different occasions on where Nora had eaten all the food that had been set aside for whatever event they were at.

The three in the kitchen turned quickly at the sound of the voices, smiles and grins breaking out as they rushed out into the hallway to meet them.

Blake struggled to keep her balance when the very same ginger she and Pyrrha had been discussing jumped on her and started babbling nonesense, while her husband patted her on the back and did his best to pry her off.

Then Jaune came along and joined the hug and Blake couldn't stay upright any longer and promptly fell over.

Lie and Pyrrha both flinched when they heard the resounding 'crack' as the trio hit the floor, but before either could react, Nora had burst into a fit of giggles and Jaune was kneeling beside Blake, her eyes closed, shaking her shoulder and asking her if she was okay, if he hadn't hurt her.

Then she opened her eyes and tried to sit up and nearly collided with Jaune who scrambled back, knocking Pyrrha over when he tried to stop her fall, and Pyrrha grabbed Lie's arm in an atempt to stop her fall but just succeded in making them both fall.

There were a few tense seonds of silence as they all stared at each other before they all burst into a fit of giggles and helped each other up off the floor. The group of friends made their way to the kitchen where Lie had made several batches of pancakes, a plate of half finished pancakes doused in syrup on the breakfast counter.

"Did Raevynn finally fall asleep?" Lie asked as he made his way back to his mixing bowl, stirring up another batch as Nora polished off the one she'd already started and moved on to the next.

"Yeah," Blake replied as she grabbed a plate of her own and served herself a healthy serving of pancakes and drizzled syrup all over them before digging in with a fork and knife.

Lie gave Pyrrha a look, asking if she'd confronted or coddled her. Pyrrha sent the look back, which said she'd done neither, she'd just flipped. Lie looked confused, then turned to Jaune.

"How was it?"

Jaune paused in his eating and looked puzzled, so Pyrrha tilted her head towards Blake. He understood and took a bite of his pancakes while he thought if a way to phrase it.

"Scary. Seemed broken, but was calm and reasonably collected but dead." Pyrrha nodded in agreement, confirming that was the state she'd found her in.

Lie pouted and Nora turned to look at Blake, who seemed unaware of what had just transpired. Nora opened her mouth to speak but Lie held out her hand to stop her.

"Let her eat first." he mouthed, while turning back and flipping his pancake that was now kinda toasty.

Everyone dug into their plates and finished eating their pancake dinner quietly, JNPR trying to decide how to broach the subject they were here for without causing her to crash again.

After Jaune picked up everyones plates and utensils and stuck them in the dishwasher, they all sat around the island in a comfortable silence.

And then he spoke up.

"You know why we're all here, right Blake?"

The woman looked up sadly, but nodded nonetheless. Nora came up behind her and gave her a hug, whispering things such as "It's okay," and "You got this, you know it's better if you just spit it out."

Blake looked right at them and then proceeded to shock them all.

"Yang has hanahaki and it's all my fault."

That was a first. But hey, Lie was glad they were making headway. Last time getting her to admit the other person had hanahaki was difficult enough.

"And why are you so sure it's your fault Blake? Maybe she's in love with someone else."

No one missed the way Blake recoiled at the mention of Yang being in love with someone else. Each one looked at their partner while a sense of dread made itself known and at home in each stomach.

The ravenette composed herself and pulled out her phone and sent an image to the group chat she had with them. Their phones dinged and they each pulled them out after she pointed at her phone then at them.

They opened the image, really unsure of what to expect, and Lie was the first to finish reading the article and dropped his phone onto the counter and ran around the island to envelop Blake in a tight hug. The other three make quick work of the article and joined the hug, everyone doing their best for the woman.

It really wasn't fair. She was a good person, she didn't mean to, and then there was the fear that everything everybody had done over the years could be reversed at the drop of a flower.

Weiss held the sobbing woman close, doing her absolute best to calm her down, using all the tips and tricks she'd learned with Blake over the years to at least keep Ruby from hyperventilating.

"She's an honest person!"

"Gem, I know."

"She didn't deserve this!"

"No one who gets hanahaki deserves it. It's terrible and should be eradicated. But the consequences of the known cures are love, death, or sociopathy and you know it."

"It's all Blake's fault then! Why'd she have to meet Yang, why'd she have to make my sister fall in love with her and then just leave her like that!"

Weiss tried to steel herself, knowing Ruby was just angry, she didn't really mean what she said -

"Don't ever speak of Blake that way. I know you're mad, and you want to blame someone - something - but do not, I repeat, do not blame Blake. You don't know her that well. You don't know what she's been through. You don't understand how much she's suffering as well. Be mad all you want, but I ask one thing. Do not blame my best friend. She's not guilty for just being herself."

Weiss almost snarled out the last sentence, but managed to keep herself composed and her voice steady. Ruby was staring up at her, her eyes watering but Weiss didn't shake on her point.

"That woman helped me through the darkest points in my life, and I intend to help her through hers. Ruby, I love you to bits, and I intend to help you help your sister, and I will also help Blake. I can't- I won't- let anyone else die."

Weiss felt her own eyes water and tried to blink away the tears but instead felt Ruby's arms around her neck.

"Weiss, I'm sorry. I didn't, I mean, she's your sister, just as much as Yang is mine. We'll get through this one too. Together now."

Weiss smiled at her, her spirits lifted slightly.

"Okay, let's figure out some basics. How much time does Yang have?"

"The type of flower is sturdy but delicate. Going by the size and shape of the bud, and her own stubborn hardheaded self, about a year and a half before surgery is her only option."

Weiss nodded, making mental note to check on her. Ruby leaned across the bed and grabbed her tablet from the bedside table, looking up a few different things and taking notes on all of them.

Ruby turned her tablet in Weiss' direction and she leaned forward to read what the brunette had written.

"Amaryllis lily - size, medium, texture, smooth, harm, minimal. Unless the plant itself grows too large. Chances of long term survival - ? Side note, check if amaryllis is the only flower being coughed up. Check for jealousy, anger or poison flowers."

"That's a good list Ruby. Now, I need you to put this down and come watch a movie with me." Ruby made a face and was about to comment when Weiss placed a finger over her lips. "Yes, I understand that you want to help your sister, and I want to help mine. But you need to relax, and stressing yourself sick isn't going to help her. Maybe you can look at this from a different point of view afterward okay? Also you need to eat, your stomach has been yelling for the past few minutes."

Ruby chuckled and slid off the bed and stretched out her hand towards Weiss.

"Well then milady. Shall we dine?"

Weiss bit her lower lip to refrain from laughing and keep up the facade.

"We shall."