Ruby gave out a weak groan as she came to once again. She was aching all over, but it was a good kind of ache, like she had to endure quite alot of stress for a couple of hours. "Oh, that's right." she thought. "I just had the baby."
Finally opening her eyes, she found the room had darkened slightly. She must've blacked out for a while from the pain, but was glad to be awake again and be done with this ordeal she had been working through for nearly a year. Not only did she find that the clouds from earlier had dissipated and now depicted a beautiful evening sky out the window, but a group of her friends and family were quietly mingling around the room. Blake and Sun sat on a couch facing her bed talking with Taiyang while Weiss, Neptune, Sage and Yang were in their own discussion on the left side of her bed near the door. She was also surprised to find Scarlet asleep next to her on the chair Yang was sitting on earlier.
Her hearing was just returning as Sun was pointing out that she woke up. Everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing, including Scarlet waking up with a startle, and headed over to the bed.
"Ruby! You're back in the land of the living!" Sun joked with a toothy grin.
"How're you feeling?" Yang asked, moving closest to her sister's side.
"Like I just passed a kidney stone the size of Magnhild." Ruby groaned, sitting up, almost startling herself from the lack of weight sitting in her lap she had become accustomed to.
"Easy there, Ruby." Weiss advised. "You need your rest after all of that."
Ruby ignored that and turned to her dad, more concerned about someone else's well being than her own, as well as their absence from the room. "Where's the baby?" she asked. Faces turned to face one another, nobody seeming to want to give her an answer. "Please tell me I didn't lose it." she asked, fear in her voice.
"No, nothing like that." Taiyang said finally, getting a sigh of relief in response before continuing. "However, you should know what's going on."
Weiss began to explain as soon as Taiyang stopped talking. "You already know that stress during pregnancy has an adverse effect on the baby, right?" the heiress asked, getting a nod in response. "Well, you just went through saving an entire kingdom from a terrorist plot. That's one of the most stressful situations you can be put into."
"And not many successful pregnancies happen with girls as young as you are." Her father added. "According to Doctor Oys, you came very close to losing it during the birth."
Ruby finally formed a worried look on her face as she scanned the crowd around her for confirmation. Grim, unmoving faces proved her fear for the newborn was true. "Can I...at least see it?"
"The doctors said you were welcome to as soon as you woke up." Blake answered, giving a forced smile under the circumstances.
"I'll go grab a wheelchair." Sage announced, excusing himself to the hall. As he did the others tried to cheer Ruby up by giving her praise for her efforts so far.
"You've been very brave throughout all of this, Ruby." Taiyang said, getting down to her eye level. "Your mother and I couldn't be prouder of you if we tried."
"Dad..." she whimpered, giving him as strong of a hug she could. No tears fell though. She had used them all up early on, before waking up a few minutes ago, before Torchwick was freed by Cinder and the White Fang, even before she was saved in the cave that day.
As they broke off, Sage returned with the wheelchair. "Easy, Rubes." Yang said as she helped her sister into the seat and wheeled her out of the room, family and friends...scratch that, Family, following behind.
"Nora, for the last time, no!" Jaune ordered as it took all of JNPR to try and hold the hammer-wielding redhead from barging into the nursery door, which was quite a spectacle for doctors, orderlies, and patients to witness as they passed.
"I just wanna finish singing him the Happy Birthday song! I haven't even made it to the second line yet!" Nora whined as she flailed her arms around, trying to brake free.
"And wake up the whole nursery full of sleeping newborns for a third time? I don't think so." Ren said, putting his foot down about his friend's antics.
"Oh come on-oh hey, look!" Nora said, getting sidetracked as she looked down the hallway.
"Nora, that's not going to work twice." Pyrrha rolled her eyes, but curiosity got the better of her and the male teammates as they felt Nora relax from their restraining her.
They all came to see the sight of RWBY, SSSN and Taiyang walking solemnly towards the nursery, Ruby leading the group in her wheelchair pushed by Yang.
"Hey, Ruby." Jaune gave a slight grin, illiciting a forced one from the fellow team leader.
"You guys are still here too?" she asked.
"We just wanted to stick around and make sure you we're alright. I hope that's okay." Pyrrha explained.
"Pyrrha, it was fine when you visited the room earlier. You have no restrictions being here." said Taiyang.
"Well thanks to Nora, we can't go in to see him for ourselves." Ren explained, the redhead's singing drawing the last straw as it awoke every baby in the nursery last time she was in there. The nurses still were trying to calm down a final few startled by the amplified singing voice of the Valkyrie.
"We can go in though, right?" Yang asked.
"Yes, but only for family members only." Another voice answered. Everyone turned to find Doctor Oys leaving the nursery, closing the door softly behind him. "Glad to see you conscious again, Miss Rose." he smiled.
"Thanks...so is it okay if I go in to see my baby?" Ruby asked.
The smile on the medical practitioner's face faded as he looked back at the door. "You're sure you want to go in? I was just about to inform you-"
"Please?" Ruby cut him off. "I just want to see him once."
With a sigh, the doctor gave a nod and opened the door for the brunette and her sister. They began to enter, followed by the others before a hand from Doctor Oys stopping Weiss and Blake. "Family only I'm afraid."
"Doctor, please. Weiss and Blake have been like family to me since I joined Beacon. They deserve to come too." Ruby pleaded to everyone's surprise.
"Ruby..." Weiss said before going speechless. She and Blake looked back at the others, wondering whether they should stay outside or go with the sisters.
"Go ahead guys." Sun encouraged, Neptune gesturing for them to follow as well. "We'll be out in the waiting room when you're done."
Getting confirmation from the doctor and giving nods to the others as they left for the waiting room, they followed Ruby and Yang inside, followed by the doctor as he shut the door. "You're all being very brave to be here for your friend and the child." He noted as he lead the team of Huntresses in training down a glass corridor. On the left side was a small lab with storage space for empty bassinets while the other was the nursery itself. Bypassing the doors that led to either side, the group made their way to the end of the corridor where a dimly lit laboratory behind the nursery was waiting. Inside were incubators, some empty while others were occupied. The doctor led the girls to one at the very end of the room where an slow repetitive beeping was sounding off on the heart monitor. Ruby winced at each beep as the wheelchair slowly drew closer until she came face to face with what was inside the incubator.
She instantly teared up at the sight of what was inside. On the heating pad lay limp one of the tiniest babies she had ever seen, lying on his back in nothing but a diaper and a small tag attached to what was left of the umbilical chord he was attached to. An extremely short coating of black hair coated the top of his head, including the two puppy ears sprouting from the top sides. The main feature that caused the girl to tear up was the tubes sticking in his nose under the breathing mask tethered around his little head, an IV and pulse monitoring pad attached to his wrist, all of this leading inside via an access port on the glass wall on the other side. Weiss, Blake, and Yang looked on solemnly. Yang had seen the poor thing once he took his first breath, the latter two as he was whisked into the intensive care area of the nursery. However seeing him now even tugged at their heartstrings.
"What's wrong with him?" Ruby asked, breaking the collective silence from the adults surrounding the incubator.
"That's the thing." Doctor Oys began to explain, looking over a chart on his Scroll that he showed to Team RWBY. "Physically, nothing seems to be wrong. All internal organs, limbs, senses; everything is working as it should for a newborn carried by someone like yourself, but something's causing his vitals to fade. It's as if something...just hasn't been present the entire pregnancy that he needed to survive beyond sustenance."
Ruby looked solemnly into the bassinet, Yang right behind her with an empathetic hand on her shoulder. "I-I don't understand. I thought it was because of all the stress I went through with him inside me." Ruby shook her head, completely confused and still somewhat out of it.
"That's what we thought at first.." the medical professional continued. "Yet none of the symptoms he's showing are adding up with that factor. It seems he stayed almost stress-free even with you fighting and defeating the White Fang in your state at the time."
"That's impossible. What about that hit you took from Timber? That was strong enough to liquify him!" Yang asked.
"I used my Aura to defend him from it at the last second..." Ruby remembered, a thought coming over her. "I don't remember using it at all whenever I got hit on my torso though."
"It could be a reflex of the Aura. It's common in Huntress mothers that their Aura will fluctuate to protect an unborn child." Doctor Oys hypothesized, stroking his beard.
"But if he was protected by Ruby's aura, how is he doing so poorly?" Blake asked, nobody seeming to have an answer until its biological mother spoke up again.
"Maybe...and this is going to sound really cliche, but it could be that..." Ruby thought aloud, placing a hand on the incubator.
"What? What is it, Ruby?" Weiss asked, perking up at her murmuring.
Ruby turned to face her friends and family. "I always thought of him as a thorn in my side; just a bad reminder of that nightmare nine months ago. But I remember something my dad taught me." she explained, turning to her sister, the minor blonde brawler's face washing over with an epiphany similar to what Ruby was suggesting.
"Nobody is born bad. It's the environment they're raised in, not their bloodline." Yang recited from memory.
Ruby nodded. "The doubt I had about everything from the start...just complaining about it my entire pregnancy...even acting like it wasn't even there...Girls, I can't believe I didn't even think to give it the one thing every child needs." she exclaimed quietly, carefully opeing one of the access hatches on the side and carefully taking its tiny hand in her's.
"...Love?" Weiss asked, announcing the answer for all to agree on.
"I never would've thought of that..." Yang said, completely awestruck as Ruby caressed the top of the baby Faunus' hand with her thumb, illiciting a stirring motion from the newborn that made it coo lightly.
Blake looked over, her sensitive hearing picking up something on the monitors so slight the untrained ear would miss it easily. The heart rate momentarily rose, albeit gradually, yet enough to be detected. "I think it's working. His vitals seem to be improving!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone.
"I'm so sorry, little one." Ruby whispered to the baby. "If only I knew, then maybe you wouldn't have had such a close call like this..." Ruby whimpered, her emotions getting the better of her as she gave a few soundless sobs, only perking up as she suddenly felt something gripping to her finger, and the heart monitor suddenly growing quicker. She looked up as all of RWBY gave similar reactions of surprise and relief as the child began to stir much more lively, starting to cough from the tube in his tiny throat that was helping him breathe. Doctor Oys quickly and carefully walked over, opening the incubator top as he delicately helped remove the now-obstructing air tube to let the child breathe on its own accord. Once the tube was out, it gave a few shrill coughs before giving out a small cry.
"I believe he is ready to be held for the first time." he said quietly. "Weiss, is it? Could you pass me that blanket on the counter behind you?"
The icy heiress turned to find a folded periwinkle cotton blanket on the lab counter behind her, taking it over to the doctor's side for him to swaddle before gently handing him to Ruby. Instantly, as Ruby brought him into her arms and close to her chest, the child started to calm down its breathing much more rhythmic as it began to relax against the small Rose's bosom. Ruby gave a small smile as the tears of guilt quickly became tears of happiness. She arched her neck downward, pecking the newborn on his forehead, Yang almost swearing she could see her biological nephew smile for the first time.
"I can't believe it went from being on life support to perfectly fine and in your arms in an instant..." Blake said, still dumbfounded.
"Summer always did say that sometimes the best way to remedy a situation is with a little love." Yang recalled, looking down at her baby sister and her child, the look in Ruby's eyes saying it all. This kid was no longer in danger, and definitely no longer going straight to the orphanage as soon as they were discharged. "So, whatcha gonna name my nephew there, Rubes?" she asked.
"Hmm? What?" Ruby asked, being snapped out of her trance from looking at the newborn and turning to her half-sister. "I...I don't know actually. I didn't expect to end up with him in the end after all of this." she thought, shaking her head.
"If I can suggest something..." Weiss spoke up. "You kept calling him ' a thorn in your side' all this time. What about that? Thorn Rose." she suggested, almost smirking at the ring to it.
Blake gave a slight smile to the suggestion, she and Yang nodding at the idea. "I like it too, but it's your decision, Ruby." Blake answered.
She looked back down to the child, that seemed to fall back asleep, cuddling as close as he could squirm in Ruby's arms to being against her chest. "Welcome to the world...Thorn."
One Week Later
"Yang, please! Easy on the arm!" Ruby protested as her sister basically was yanking her left arm out of its socket as the blonde brawler dragged her ever further down the hallways of Beacon, a grip on her arm tighter than the bite force of a Creep keeping her from getting away. "I wanna relax a bit after moving into our new dorm, and Neo's initiation ceremony just ended! I wanna congratulate her!"
"There's gonna be plenty of time for that later, Ruby!" Yang encouraged. "And before you say it, yes, Thorn's nap time too."
Ruby looked back to the backpack-like carrier for the newborn Faunus on her back, he was blearily looking around at his surroundings with big light brown eyes, his puppy ears twitching at the sounds around them. He turned to face in front of them as Yang stopped the young mother and son in front of the cafeteria, the large mahogany doors that lead to Beacon's dining hall closed with a sign in front of it that read "We apologize; Beacon Academy's cafeteria will be closed between 4pm and 5:30pm for a private event."
"Yang, are we supposed to be here?" Ruby asked.
Her sister merely shrugged. "I dunno. You tell me." she replied as she pushed the door open. Immediately shouting "Surprise!" were every single one of their friends at Beacon. Blake and Weiss, Teams JNPR, SSSN, CRDL, CFVY, STRM, SABR, and even Neo's newly formed team stood among Beacon's staff that included Professors Ozpin, Goodwitch, Port, Oobleck, and the newly hired on Professor Taurus. Even the girls' two parents, Taiyang and Raven, stood alongside the rest of Team RWBY.
While Yang stood with a proud smile on her face, her younger sister and nephew looked at who and what was in front of them in confusion and surprise. "What's all this for?" she asked.
"Well, since you just recently decided to keep Thorn..." Blake started to explain.
"...And it wasn't really appropriate to throw one earlier this year..." Pyrrha added.
"...Your friends decided to throw you a bit of a baby shower." Raven smiled, finishing the train of thought.
"Although it's kind of a letdown it didn't involve literally showering you in babies. That'd be sooo cool!" Nora grinned wickedly.
Ruby could barely react as she looked around. Behind the two upperclassmen teams sat a table covered in childcare supplies, snacks, and a bundle of bright blue balloons, a large white one from Nora's gift from the week before in the hospital that read "It's a Boy!" in blue cursive lettering. "This is all for us?" Ruby asked.
"Of course it is, you dunce!" Weiss rolled her eyes, despite her saying it in a non-demeaning tone. "So are you just going to stand there, or do you want to come in and see what we gathered for the baby?"
The little reaper didn't even need to think twice before she broke out into a smile and rushed forward as she joined the rest of her team and JNPR in a group hug, Yang chuckling as she followed and helped Ruby get Thorn out of his carrier on his mother's back. As the group hug ended, the room turned to idle conversation as the new mother also looked over all the gifts given to her and Thorn for his care. Weiss and Coco spared no expense to give baby Thorn his own wardrobe of designer baby clothes. Velvet had stocked up on something from her mother's line of work and gave Ruby a stockpile of homemade organic baby food. Even CRDL pitched in to build a small crib for the little tyke, Russel putting his daggers to good use to carve a craftsman-worthy carving of Thorn's name with roses and petals around it into the headboard. Everyone else pitched in toys, books, and other baby care products like diapers and teething rings, and a beautifully woven woll blanket given to them by Professor Goodwitch with a very rare smile from the usually sullen mage.
As Taiyang watched on while he stood in the back, Raven having left his side to talk with Ozpin and Professor Port, he felt someome's presence next to him. He looked to his side to find Silver standing next to him. "Nice party, isn't it?" he asked the older Huntsman.
"I'd say it's nice for something that was thrown together at the last minute." Taiyang nodded, turning to the swordsman. "I take it you didn't just come over to make that comment?"
With a sigh, Silver nodded. "I just...I never really apologized for not being there; not just for the birth, but...just since the very beginning. You know, from the hideout and everything after it." he explained.
"What for?" Taiyang asked. "Silver, I don't blame you or anyone else for what happened. Ruby just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and all of it's in the past now. She's not dwelling on it." Taiyang pointed out, showing Ruby across the tables laughing as Thorn accidently spit up on Weiss' shoulder and the heiress began to flip out about it staining. "In that case, I don't believe you should either."
"I know, but I just..." Silver paused, shaking his head. "I dunno. I guess there's some residual guilt about it or something."
"There's no need. Now go enjoy the party. I bet Thorn would like to meet his half-uncle after all." Taiyang grinned, pointing out Silver's secret out of earshot of everyone else. With a nod, the team leader of SABR left, rejoining the others.
Across from him stood Raven and Ozpin as they conversed. During their conversation, Ozpin paused as the headmaster felt his Scroll vibrate. Upon opening it, his eyes narrowed at a note from Qrow: "Pawn Promotion. Be wary of the next move."
"What is it?" Raven asked.
"I'll explain later. I'd rather not ruin the event." Ozpin sighed, pocketing the device.
"Sounds serious though. Are you sure?" Raven asked, pushing the envelope further.
"Quite sure." he nodded. "Let's just enjoy ourselves while we can." Ozpin smiled as they rejoined the group in celebration of new life and putting the past behind them.
"...And in other news, Atlas' newest supermax security prison will be receiving two new high profile prisoners while they await trial in their home kingdom. Mercury Black and Chadwell "Chains" Aens, both part of the inner circle of Vale terror attack mastermind, Cinder Fall, were captured and taken into custody in Beacon Academy's effort to retake the kingdom and rescue High General Ironwood from captivity. They have been held in an undisclosed location in Vale these past three months and will be tried at Atlas City's High Court tomorrow at noon. You can expect Channel 9 News to-"
The television cut out there as a bleach white-nailed finger tapped a button of the touchpad on her desk, shutting off the projection in front of her and turning her icy eyes to the door in front of her as an old man with a thick but curly grey mustache and the uniform of a butler entered.
"I was not expecting company, Buxton." Winter nodded curtly as her servant entered.
"I apologize, Miss Schnee, but there was a courier at the gate that wished me to get this to you as urgently as possible." the elder butler bowed before her, producing a bronze-bordered manilla envelope to the older daughter of Mr. Schnee, who quickly took it from his grasp. Upon inspection, there was no return address, however it was replaced with a stamp that matched the universal marking for the Black King chess piece. Her eyebrows momentarily rose at the sight of it, before looking back at her butler.
"Thank you, Buxton. I was expecting this." Winter nodded. "You may turn in early tonight. I have no more needs for the evening."
"How generous of you, Miss Schnee." Buxton genuinely complemented as he showed himself out. "Have a pleasant night, madam." he nodded as he left, closing the door behind him and leaving the study as Winter opened the envelope. Inside was a single notecard with a simple message.
"A new Queen is on the board. Prepare for the next move."
