At night Qrow snuck away after Winter fell asleep. It was his regular schedule. Lying awake in the darkness, touching her, it terrified him. His thoughts boiled and burned in his mind, pulling him down dark pathways of prediction. He had no idea how his semblance worked, but he felt more nervous about it when touching her than at any other time. Now that she was so often spending the night with him, he found that he was completely unable to sleep. So he would leave the room as soon as he was certain that she would not stir.

He didn't have to go far to feel better. He just had to be away from her. When he was close he had nightmares, terrible nightmares. He was so utterly lost about how to save her from himself it made him feel physically ill. He just wanted her… no, them… he wanted them to be safe. Both Winter and the child she carried—their child.

It was two days before Christmas when he dared to fall asleep again, in her arms. He dreamed he was standing in an open field. It felt warm and familiar. Winter was there, coming up the hill. He had never seen her look so happy, and he felt a warmth fill his heart that he once rarely let in. She was leaning over, and their daughter was gripping her hands. Their little girl, with her father's eyes and her mother's hair. She was so small, she must not have been older than one. Qrow knelt down, holding out his arms to her. Cautiously, she let go of her mother's hands and took a step forward, then another, and then she stumbled into her father's arms. They laughed together. Winter wrapped her arms around them both. Of course, all good things must come to an end. The dream became blurry after that. Something terrible happened. Grimm. He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember his daughter's face, but he remembered Winter's. She was terrified, terrified for the life of their child's. That was when Qrow realized he hadn't brought anything along to defend them. What a misfortune. What bad luck. There was so much after that, so much blood that Qrow was drowning, and he knew that it was theirs. It was Winter's blood. It was their daughter's blood. His lungs were filling with their blood. He was drowning… drowning in red… and all he could hear over the thick waves of death was the sound of their screams.

Qrow broke free from his nightmare with a shuddering breath, and looked over quickly to see that Winter was still sleeping peacefully. Everything was alright. They were fine. They were fine. He took a deep breath, his legs trembling, and climbed out of bed, pulling himself away from Winter's embrace. He felt nauseous. He could still taste blood in his mouth. He had to get out. He had to get away from her. Trembling he grabbed his flask, and quietly left the room. It was the only way to protect them from the monster that was his semblance. It was the only way to protect them from himself.

Winter woke sometime after midnight, but before sunrise. It must have been three or four in the morning, and for a quiet moment she couldn't figure out why she woke. Then she realized it was because she was cold. She was always cold when she was alone, she was just a very cold person in general. Qrow, on the other hand, was warm… so warm. She reached for him in the darkness of his bedroom, but found only empty space. It was way too early for him to be up already. She immediately knew something was wrong. She slipped out of bed, pulling on a thick wool sweater, and stepped outside into the dim glow of the hallway. Qrow was sitting at the top of the stairs, taking a swig from his flask. He was still in pajamas. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like he was trembling.

"Qrow," she whispered, but in the silence her voice sounded as clear as day. He turned to look at her,

"You're supposed to be asleep, Ice Queen…" He seemed surprised.

"So are you," she countered, moving forward to kneel next to him. Qrow shook his head, evading the touch of her hand without a word. Winter frowned, "Branwen, you have to talk to me. I know something's wrong. What is it?"

"It's the only way, Winter," He murmured, looking down the stairs at the living room and kitchen below. "It's the only way I can think to protect you both."

"What do you mean?"

Qrow's voice remained steady as he replied, "I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep again," he looked over at her in admiration, gently brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes. "I… I have these terrible nightmares, and my thoughts just scream at me, Winter. They say 'Get out! What are you doing? Get out!'" He took a deep breath, looking down at his hands and his flask again. "'You're going to ruin it, Qrow Branwen. They're going to get hurt, they're going to die because of you and your stupid semblance, and you can't stay away. You refuse to learn. You're putting them in danger.' I am… a walking disaster… a hurricane. This is the only way I can think to protect you. If I could just wish it away…" He raised his voice, clenching his hands into fists, "If I could just… wish it away, Winter… If I could trade my semblance for anything else! Anything!" She could see tears hanging onto his eyelashes. "I would do it in a fraction of a heartbeat, all just for you. I have never… I have never loved anyone the way I love you, Winter Schnee. You've loved a man who once thought it was an impossibility, who once thought that he could never be loved. I'm trying to save you, can't you see? I'm trying to save you from myself because I… am… misfortune. I am dread, doom… I am a walking disaster. Please… I don't want that disaster to catch up to you."

"Qrow, stop," Winter shook her head, and then pulled him into a tight embrace. He buried his face in her sweater, breathing heavily, perhaps struggling through tears. Winter just held him in silence for a long time before she spoke, "Has something happened to me at all since we've started this… thing we have?"

"No," He shook his head.

"Is this about the baby?"

"I… don't know…"

"This is going to be terrifying for both of us at first, Branwen," she whispered, "I'm not a… I don't know how to be a mother. I don't know how to… care for people like other people might."

"You're doing a pretty good job of it so far, Win," Qrow chuckled. Winter shook her head,

"What I mean to say is, we're all going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen to me, or our baby." Qrow was silent for a moment and then sighed.

"I can only hope you're right."

"I'll take it," Winter said, kissing his forehead. "For now, that's good enough for me. Won't you please come back to bed? It's freezing in there without you." Qrow offered Winter a grin.

"I can't say no to you," he sighed.

"Well, you certainly can't let us freeze to death," Winter said.

"My dear Winter and our unborn child? Never." Qrow stood, and Winter followed suit, "Somehow, I've found that I love you both far too much for that."

Replies to Reviews

FeugoFox42: Hehe! I don't think I'm ready to write adult Qrowin Kids yet, I need the adorable cuteness of Qrow and Winter and a toddler or two because thinking about that... I can't even handle it. When this kid is born at first Qrow is going to be so terrified, but he remembers when Yang and Ruby were little, and he loves this kid to death. I just can't handle it. It's too adorable.

Akira-Hayama: Yes! I need more too. I really would have liked to write more over winter break, but last week I was sooo busy getting ready for the holidays, and now here I am getting ready for school again and study abroad and all that. I have more chapters for you all, and I'm writing more now, it's just a matter of posting them! D: Anyways, yes! I am soooo excited to write the new years stuff because Jacques is an asshole and Qrow is just going to be pissed at him the whole time, though at this point in the story he doesn't know much about Jacques abusive control over his daughters (at least not the full story). Once he does... oh boy, he's gonna be pisseeedddd.

Nina Vale: Yes, and he's going to be even more domesticated once the baby comes. Oh man it's gonna be so cute! There will be a family announcement about the baby very soon.

Thanks all, for the reviews, and thanks for reading!

-annawrites