A:N/This one-shot would be a piece that will be set in the canon divergence that I am currently planning. Ruby has grown out her hair, instead of her short hairstyle and is set sometime directly after the events of volume 4. Qrow and Summer are married in this AU, so he is Ruby's biological father.
RWBY AU one-shot
Ruby Rose-Branwen was supposed to be the strong leader that Weiss, Blake and her cousin, Yang needed. She was supposed to be ready for anything and everything…but not what had happened to her father. Especially after losing Her mother, Pyrrha and Penny. The evening after they had touched down and managed to get her father healed on time, she found herself restless. Images of him being grazed by Tyrian, alongside with him slowly dying from the poisoning; tainted her mind and left the girl to squirm and wither in her sleep. Silver eyes snapping open, she broke out into a cold sweat as she rips the sheets off her. She dashes out of her room, her dark long hair slapping her in the face and the strap of her tank top sliding off her shoulder. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she runs through the corridors, the soft pitter patter of her feet echoing.
Qrow violently jolts out of his slumber, crimson eyes snapping open as he feels something was amiss. He whips his head; his father instincts were kicking in and he kicks the sheets off himself as he burst out the room, only in sweatpants and no shirt. He could sense his daughter's distress. His heartrate spikes with worry as he could hear the soft footsteps running down the stairs. He grunts as he threw himself over the rail in hopes of catching up to her and rolls. He places his hand on the ground to steady himself before he ran to the entrance of the stairs.
Ruby couldn't see anything because of her tears, so she missed a step and ended up falling. She braces herself, but a pair of strong (and very comforting) arms caught her and brought her close to their chest. Her father.
"Petal, Petal, Hey..." Qrow held his daughter tighter to his chest after he caught her, much to his relief. However, his own distress only grew more when he could feel just how shaky she was. He runs his hand through her long dark hair, and the other one placed firmly on the small of her back as a frown etches on his features. Ruby wrapped her arms around him tighter, attached to him like a koala for dear life as she sobs, her body rattling with each one.
"Dad…" She meekly utters between her cries. It was getting harder for her to breathe as the image of him laying on that stretcher dances across her memories. Her eyes briefly flash as she began to fall to her knees. Qrow gently brings her down with him, father and daughter now kneeling on the floor in an embrace.
"A nightmare?" Qrow gently inquires. Ruby weakly nods, her face never leaving his chest. His arms tighten around her. "I'm okay, ruby. I'm alive and I'm still here, this old man isn't going anywhere."
"But you almost weren't" Ruby lifts her head up as she looks at her father. His heart only broke further seeing how helpless she looked.
"It was my fault that you got distracted saving me from the beam…it was my fault. If I hadn't interfered…you wouldn't have been injured…"
Qrow lifts the hand that was brushing Ruby's hair up and wipes the long strands of hair that fell over Ruby's eyes and nose, tucking it behind her ear.
"Ruby, while I admit that was reckless of you, you were right saying it was your fight. He was going after you. You had every right to fight back, you could have gone a different way about it too. I don't regret protecting you."
He gives out a sad raspy and raggedy chuckle, briefly looking down at his wedding ring on his finger and his late wife's ring.
"I'll be damned if I almost lost my daughter, who is the only reason why I'm still here. Don't blame yourself, petal. I'm still here."
Ruby stays quiet as she hiccups now, her breathing evening out and trembling calming down. She buries her face back in his chest, her body convulsing with each hiccup.
Qrow stands up and lifts her up in his arms, carrying her close. He decided he was going to keep her safe from anymore nightmares for tonight and heads back upstairs and bringing her to his room, he sets her down on his bed and then climbed in with her. He pulls the blanket over them and then holds his daughter close to him, both slowly falling asleep. Before he closed his eyes, he could have sworn he saw his wife stand there, a warm smile on her face before she disappears. A single tear slidesdown his cheek before he falls asleep, holding Ruby closer to him.