Because it's been so long, my friendships, I am giving you all two chapters today! I hope you enjoy them both. I have the next one written as well, so it's just a matter of posting it. (I am so lazy save me).

Enjoy these, friends!

-annawrites

Qrow was used to waking up in the middle of the night, but he never had, in his life, woken to a sound like this. A tortured wailing filled the entire house, like a child was being tortured. Qrow sprung out of bed as if he had been electrocuted. Winter blinked awake, struggling to throw the blankets off of her. Qrow had already grasped his scythe,

"Stay here."

"I'm coming—"

"Please, Winter," he shook his head, "Stay here." The wailing had filtered down and away, but Qrow knew there was only one place in the house where they had small children—and that was Glynda's room. Her door was cracked open, and it seemed silent, but it was only a moment before Qrow heard Glynda's voice,

"Shh… Marin, go back to sleep, dear." she whispered. Qrow sighed, deposited his scythe in the hall and rapped lightly on her door. Glynda appeared at the doorway, she looked tired. Marin was cradled in her arms, his face pressed against her shoulder, his little hands, clutching her shirt, his cheeks wet with tears.

"Are you both alright?" Qrow asked. Glynda offered him a small smile.

"We're fine, thank you. Marin has nightmares," she hesitated, "You know, Vale…" She closed her eyes and kissed the top of her adopted son's hand, "He's alright now."

Qrow nodded, "Good. I'm gonna let you two try and sleep then."

"Sorry for waking you, Qrow," Glynda sighed.

"It's fine, really. I'm glad you're both alright." Qrow grabbed his scythe and made his way back down the hall towards his and his wife's room.

He spoke as he entered, "Marin, had a bad dream, poor kid—" Winter was sitting up in bed, her eyes shut tight. Qrow could see she was biting her lip, drawing blood, a drop of which was running down her chin. Her hands were gripping their sheets like they were her lifeline.

"Winter!" He dashed to her side, grasping her shoulder. She released the sheets with one hand and grabbed his arm so tightly, he was sure she was cutting off his circulation. "Winter…?!"

She let out a groan, and then her grip loosened and she regained her composure with a gasp of breath, leaning against him slight. After a moment, she dropped her head to his shoulder, her hand—previously gripping his arm—traveled up to his shoulder.

"I'm… sorry…" she breathed, "Just another Braxton Hicks." It had been Glynda who had assured them that Winter was experiencing Braxton Hicks, or "practice" contractions. They had, of course, read about them, and their doctor had warned them that they were common in the third trimester, but in their first-child panic, it hadn't occurred to them that this contractions weren't the real thing. "It's just another… Braxton hicks… I'm fine."

"What." Qrow's voice came out surprisingly high, and it cracked as he spoke, "Just Another?!"

"I'm fine…" she breathed, "See, it's over. I'm fine." Qrow didn't feel like she was fine. His entire body was shaking—he felt panicked. "Qrow, look at me." His eyes met hers, her blue eyes were hones, wide, she wasn't in pain anymore. She leaned over and kissed him gently, pressing a warm hand to his cheek. "Sorry for worrying you, Branwen," she smiled, her lips still brushing against his. "I love you."

He sighed, pulling her into a tight hug, "I love you too, both of you."

How in the world was he going to survive when she actually went into labor?

Replies to Reviews:

Spippy: Yesss! Winter is gonna be the best mom. I mean come on, she's the best big sister!

Akira-Hayama: Yes! I'm so excited to write more of Marin and Autumn in the next thing I have planned, (if I ever get to it, God help me). They are adorable! And I, personally, would love to see them interact with their almost-dad! :) 3 Yup, I'm hoping to write more Ironwitch after I finish this first installment of my baby AU.

Nina Vale: Look, I would 100% support James adopting the Schnee kiddos. He's practically a dad to them already, my gosh. I really really love that headcanon. Can you imagine him being all protective of Winter when she starts dating Qrow, like "Branwen, I swear to God, if you touch my daughter..." Also, Yes. here's a sneak peak of Qrow and Winter's wedding celebration: James is 100000% definitely walking Winter down the aisle and giving her away, like her biological father never would. (Because he's an ass). Yeah, I don't think Qrow's anxiety is something that will ever heal completely. Anxiety like that is a tricky thing to heal completely. I'm glad I was able to capture it well!

Celestia's Paladin: Yes, I can definitely see James being much more hesitant about Fatherhood then Qrow. Where Qrow never thought, in a million years, that he would be lucky enough to have kids (therefore he really embraces it), James never even had the thought cross his mind. He never thought he'd make a good father, never thought he'd really settle down. Military life is too chaotic, too dangerous... it was just something he never even thought about. So, I think, at first, he agrees to take in the kids because he feels super guilty, like the death of their parents was his fault. Just like when Beacon fell, he blames himself, and that really stays with him, and tortures him.

SemblanceOfInvisibility: Yes! James, of course (see previous reply), will be super hesitant to start with. Glynda is surprisingly good with little kids, adores them, treats them with the gentlest of care. She teaches James more and more each day, and he starts to really like the idea of being a father, especially since the kids adore him. Qrow is literally gonna be the most dad of dads. He's just gonna go into PROTECT mode. They both will, but Winter's going to be unbelievably, (and surprisingly) rational about the whole thing. Qrow's just gonna panic. "Should he be doing that?! Can he eat that now? Is he big enough to be doing that?" "Dear, you've read like 20 baby books, you know he's fine."

Dorngok Sekker: Yesss! I'm so excited to write more about Autumn and Marin, in fact, I might write a couple of pre-chapters (kind of like mini-prologues) to show how James and Glynda found them! That would be fun! :)

Galven: True, true. Maybe all the characters could use a good dose of common sense. :P

Wise Princess: I really feel you on that one... *sigh* I really, really dislike smut. Not because it's necessarily a bad thing, it's just everywhere. Which, when you're searching for some wholesome fluff, or plot... or ANYTHING ELSE, is really annoying. I'm certainly glad I got to write this one for everyone, because you are totally write. The Qrowin fanfictions definitely have an overabundance of smut fics. I'm so, so glad you like this story! :D I'm terribly sorry this chapter is so late, I'm back in school (for my last quarter woohoo!) and basically I just want it to be over so I'm struggling... but I'm working through it. :| Thanks so much for reading through this and leaving an awesome review! :D

Kurogaya: Thanks! I'm so glad you're enjoying it. :) I hope you liked this chapter as well!

Thanks for all the great reviews!

Like I said, I'll be posting another chapter immediately after this, so when I get to posting another one (after a few days) I'll reply to all the reviews (for this chapter and chapter 38) on that chapter!

Ciao ciao!

-annawrites