Raven's face felt warm. As she trickled back into consciousness, she breathed in, deeply, feeling no resistance as her lungs expanded in her chest. She slowly cracked her eyes open, squinting at the orange light coming in from her window.

She was in a small room with colorful, tiled floors and white walls. The bed on her back felt like the clouds in the sky, and the blanket over her legs kept her warm.

She attempted to sit up and hissed at a dull pain in her chest. Suddenly, shards of what happened began to link themselves together as she placed her hand over the treated entry wound from a dust round.

"Y-you're awake!" called a voice from beside her.

Raven was surprised she had not spotted the rooms only other occupant. She turned and found Yang sitting beside her bed. She had a smile on her face. She looked tired.

"Take it easy," Yang cooed as she helped Raven lie back, "You don't want to break your stitches."

"What happened?" Raven asked in a groggy voice.

Yang looked down at her boots. She was in her hunting gear, filthy with debris and dried sweat.

"Um… You took a hit… Do you remember anything after that?" Yang asked.

"I can't say I do," Raven shook her head.

"After you were hit, Weiss took the girls and flew back to Mistral to help with the collapse while Cinder and I rushed you to the medical clinic on Patch. You were bleeding… It didn't look good," Yang began as she stared at the ground, "On the drive there, you kept coming in and out of consciousness. Cinder kept rambling about something, and it sounded like hysterics. She kept saying you couldn't breathe… I'm not sure what happened exactly. The doctor should be able to explain it better, but from what I understand, Cinder was able to keep you alive long enough for a medical airship to bring you here."

"Where is here?" Raven asked.

"The closest hospital in Vale," Yang answered as a man in a white coat knocked on the door and entered.

"Miss Branwen," the man smiled, "I am Doctor Carter. You were under my care while you were recovering. May I ask how you are feeling?"

"Fine," said Raven.

The doctor hummed, "Really? No soreness or aching? Your injuries were nothing to scoff at."

"It wasn't the first dust round I've taken," Raven shook her head.

"Well, quite frankly, you're lucky this one wasn't definitively your last. A round of such high caliber from point-blank range? Even with an aura, it's a miracle you survived," the doctor explained, "In fact, if it were not for the quick thinking of Doctor Fall, you wouldn't have been so fortunate."

"What is he talking about?" Raven asked Yang.

"You better let him explain it," Yang shrugged.

Doctor Carter smiled, "After speaking with Doctor Fall, it would seem you were experiencing the first effects of hypoxia. Consciousness was fleeting, which certainly would have ended in death. This was because the dust round that penetrated your chest created an opening for air to flood into your chest cavity, collapsing your lung in the process. Lucky for you, Doctor Fall was able to perform a needle decompression and allow the air to escape, thus allowing your lung to function appropriately. On top of that, she was able to keep you alive until we could get you here where we could tend to your wounds properly."

"She saved your life," said Yang.

Raven looked down at her chest, looking at the bandages in a new light. She smiled with a huff.

"Would you look at that," she shook her head, "How long was I out?"

Yang thought for a moment, "Almost a full day, I think."

"I believe that is correct," the doctor confirmed.

Her smile slowly faded, "And Vernal… She's—"

"Alive," Doctor Carter interrupted, surprising Raven, "Although, after a psych evaluation, it would appear her mental state is not entirely sound. The girl has some trauma, but I have faith a few therapy sessions should help greatly."

Raven could not help but feel relieved. Vernal deserved better than an unceremonious death after doing something despicable. She hardly heard the doctor mention he was needed somewhere else and leave the room.

Raven looked at Yang, confused, "Vernal… You didn't…?"

"Kill her?" Yang asked as she looked up at Raven, "I won't lie to you… After I saw you go down, I felt so angry… I was going to kill her. I had a shell ready to end her, but then Weiss called my name. I looked back at her and saw her holding Wendy and Wilma. I realized what I was about to do… I will not be a murderer. That's not what I want to teach my kids. So, I just knocked her out cold. That way, the police force on Patch could take care of her."

Raven nodded, "That's why you're better than me, Yang," she smiled, "You always have been. And for what it's worth… I'm proud of you."

Yang chuckled humorlessly and bit her lip, "How can you say that? I was hardly ever understanding."

"You never had a reason to be," Raven shrugged and winced at the pain that shot through her chest.

Yang frowned and stared at the bandages, "In the cavern, Vernal was ranting about how I never deserved you. She said I was arrogant, and I realized she was right. I have been arrogant. I never thought about how you might feel. I never tried to see things from your perspective."

"I understand that reaction," said Raven, "I know you must feel some malice for me since I left you."

"I know," said Yang, "And that's the point I'm trying to make. You have put yourself in my shoes. I haven't been so understanding."

"Yang, I—"

"Just listen," Yang nearly growled as her hands curled into fists, "…Please."

Raven slowly closed her mouth and nodded for Yang to continue.

Yang bit her cheek and folded her hands in her lap, "I misjudged you. Maybe I didn't at first, but I never thought you could bring yourself to care about me after what you did. I can't say it was easy growing up always hoping you would come back someday because it wasn't. Every day, I would think about where you could be, asking the same questions… After I met Weiss, I tried to force myself to stop caring. I vilified you in my head… Turned you into some kind of monster. I was so sure I'd never forgive you when I first saw you."

"I was surprised when I somewhat started to enjoy your company. It felt like I had finally found something that had been missing for my whole life, which is partly why it hurt so much to find out why you left in the first place. All of a sudden that malice and hatred came flooding back in. I never wanted to see you again…"

"But when that revolver was aimed at me, and I was staring down its barrel," Yang shook her head as her lip began to quiver, "I felt my life flash in my head. Everything I had found… Everything I had done… Everything I would lose in one split second. And you were there."

Yang wiped at her eyes, not letting the tears slide down her cheeks, "You saved me. You literally took a bullet for me and saved my life… How can I hate you for that?"

"I meant what I said, Yang," said Raven as she softly smiled at her daughter, "I truly do care for you. I guess I just didn't realize it until recently. And besides: Weiss and your daughters need you. I wasn't about to let you leave your family behind like I did."

Yang chuckled through her tears as they finally began to flow freely. She threw her arms around Raven and clung onto her as tightly as she could without hurting her.

"Thank you, Mom…"Yang nearly whispered.

Raven was taken aback by the sudden contact. She briefly wondered if she would ever get used to it and rested her hand on Yang's back as a smile graced her lips.

She definitely could.

"I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?" said a gravelly voice.

Raven looked up and rolled her eyes at her brother, "Qrow…"

Yang turned and sniffled as she wiped her eyes, "Uncle Qrow! I'm so happy to see you're safe!"

Raven glanced around Qrow and found Weiss with Wendy and Wilma. There was another face she remembered seeing very briefly at the cavern: Clover.

"Yeah, it got pretty hairy back there," Qrow chuckled, "We ended up losing all but three Atlesian Knights and one Paladin before we were pulled out."

"Qrow, thank you again for helping me with this," said Weiss, "You have no idea of how grateful I am."

"Any time," Qrow smiled, "I'm just glad I was able to get everyone out alive."

"Yes. At least now we can try again. Without the sabotage this time," Weiss chuckled.

"How did you get them out in time, Weiss?" Yang asked.

"She used the big knight!" Wendy cheered as she hopped in place.

"It took a few aura stims, but I was able to use the Arma Gigas to clear out a small exit for everyone," Weiss sighed, tiredly.

Raven cleared her throat, stealing everyone's attention, "So… I'm guessing you're here to arrest me," she frowned at Clover.

All eyes were now on Clover. The man stepped around Qrow and cleared his throat.

"Under normal circumstances, I would be," he began, ignoring the sigh of relief from Yang, "But when Headmaster Lionheart heard that you had assisted in the evacuation of the collapse, he decided sending you to prison for the rest of your life would be a waste. And honestly, I'm inclined to agree."

Yang smiled at Raven and looked up at Clover with a twinkle in her eye, "So she's free to go?"

"I didn't say that," Clover grimaced as he locked eyes with Raven, "Lionheart wasn't initially so forgiving. In fact, the death penalty was on the table."

Yang's jaw fell as Raven looked away with a frown.

"Relax. Lucky for you, someone was able to reason with Lionheart and show him how useful you can be," said Clover as he cocked his head back at Qrow.

Raven briefly looked at Qrow, who smirked in response.

"He and the other councilmen have agreed to let you walk," Clover continued, "But you are required to complete two-hundred huntsmen contracts free of charge. You will also be placed on a watchlist, but I'm sure you expected that."

Raven shook her head, "I'm not sure I deserve this type of mercy."

"You've spent a long time hurting people," said Clover, "Lionheart thinks it's about time you start helping people, so that's what you'll do."

Raven felt Yang's hand on her shoulder and nodded her head, "Yes… I will do that."

"Great," Clover cleared his throat, "Now if you'll excuse me: I have to report back to General Ironwood. He's going to want to hear about the successful evacuation."

"See ya, Mr. Goody Two-Shoes," Qrow waved, causing Clover to sigh in frustration as he left the room.

"Qrow," Raven spoke up with a shake of her head, "I don't know what to say…"

Qrow smirked and pulled his flask out of his shirt, "Try 'thanks,' Sis," he chuckled, "Anyway, I better call Robyn soon. She probably thinks I'm dead."

Yang chuckled as Qrow took a long swig from his flask.

"It's a miracle she tolerates you," Weiss rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"Someone has to," Qrow huffed, "Give Winter my regards."

With that, Qrow shuffled out of the room. It was quiet for a moment until Wendy and Wilma rushed to Yang's embrace.

"You smell bad, Mommy," Wilma pouted.

"Sorry, Hun," Yang laughed as Raven and Weiss smiled, "I haven't taken a bath yet…"

"Are you okay, Grandma?" Wendy asked as she looked up into Raven's eyes.

Raven was taken aback by the title and struggled to answer, "Uh… Yeah, I'm alright."

Yang laughed again and pulled Wilma onto her lap, "Grandma took a bullet for Mommy. Say thank you to Grandma for saving Mommy's life," she cooed.

"Thank you, Grandma," said Wendy and Wilma simultaneously.

Raven chuckled and played with her fingers, "Maybe you should just call me Raven… Grandma makes me feel… Old."

Everyone in the room laughed as Raven blushed lightly.

Some loud, rushed footsteps clicked outside the door. It almost sounded like glass against the tile was getting nearer until a woman rushed into the room.

"Raven?" Cinder gasped in between shallow breaths. She sped to Raven's bedside and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her as if her life depended on it, "Thank the gods you're awake!"

Raven did not hesitate to hold her wife close to her as she relaxed in her embrace.

"I'll give you two some privacy," Yang whispered as she led Weiss and her kids outside.

"Raven…" Cinder whimpered as she pulled back to look into Raven's crimson irises, "I was so scared…"

Cinder had tears in her eyes. Her face was still bruised, and the cuts had small bandages over them holding the red skin together.

"It alright. I'm here," Raven smiled sadly, "And it's all because of you."

Cinder looked confused, "How did you…"

"The doctor told me everything," said Raven, "You saved my life, Cinder… And I'm not sure if I deserve this second chance…"

"Don't say that!"

"Cindy… I am so sorry," Raven shook her head, trying desperately to hold it together, "I have been disgustingly unfair to you. I've been selfish and a terrible wife."

"Please don't talk like that, Rae," Cinder sniffled as she cupped Raven's face in her hands, "You're everything that I need and more!"

"But it's true," Raven continued as she pursed her trembling lips, "I never should have spent so much time with the tribe. I made you feel like you meant nothing to me. I'm ashamed of myself for doing that."

"But you changed that! When I asked you to reconnect with Yang, we were finally together!" Cinder cried.

"And then I told you I would stay with you as long as she wanted me around," Raven frowned, "That's no way to live, Cinder. Always worried I might leave you behind because of something out of your control. I can't believe you never said anything about that…"

"It made sense!" Cinder choked as she looked away, "Of course you would only want to stay if Yang wanted you to. She's your daughter!"

"And you are my wife," said Raven as she held onto Cinder's face so she would look at her, "That should have been reason enough for me to stay."

Cinder frowned as the tears burst from her eyes, "I-I don't understand… When we were on Patch with Vernal, you told her everything with the tribe was a mistake. That you should've stayed with Taiyang when Yang was born… I never said anything because I always thought us being together was just another effect of your choice. And I was always able to look past that because I love you…"

Raven shook her head as a pained expression washed over her features and a single tear rolled down her cheek, "Oh, Cinder… I've done so much wrong on the path I chose, but the one thing I know I got right was marrying you."

Raven pulled Cinder closer to her, closing her eyes as she rested her forehead against hers.

"And I promise from now on, I'll do everything to make sure you know that," Raven whispered, "I love you, Cindy."

Cinder chuckled through her sniffles and curled up beside her wife, "You don't realize how happy I am to know that…"

Yang smiled fondly as she pulled the ajar door closed as quietly as she could. She could not help but listen to her mother's conversation with her wife.

Wait… Would that make Cinder my step-mom? Oh, boy. That's going to take some getting used to… Or will it? She's always been kind of like a mom to Weiss and I…

Yang shook the thought from her head as she turned and spotted Weiss with Wendy and Wilma holding onto her hands down the hall. Breaking into a slow jog, she caught up with her family.

Weiss softly smiled up as she watched Yang approach, "Ah, there you are."

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I just wanted to check on something," said Yang.

"I didn't mind," Weiss sighed as she brushed some stray hairs out of her face, "I think I should take the girls home soon. They've had an exceptionally long day."

Weiss' conclusion was confirmed by a short, squeak of a yawn from Wilma.

"Yeah, and they're not the only ones," Yang smiled warmly.

Weiss looked like she could collapse at any moment. With everything that happened at the mine before and after their confrontation with Vernal, her aura was bound to be drained along with any energy she had.

"Oh, I'll live," Weiss chuckled, "I take it you're going to stay here for a while longer?"

"I was planning on it," Yang nodded, "The more company my mom has while she's bored out of her mind here, the better."

Weiss smiled at the joke and looked to her feet, "Okay then. I'll see you at home?"

"Can't wait," Yang smiled again and turned.

"Yang, wait," Weiss spoke up, causing her wife to face her again, "Before I go, I… I have a confession to make…"

Yang furrowed her brows and reclaimed her spot before Weiss, "Okay?"

Weiss frowned, not able to look Yang in the eye, "When I started planning out the mission in Mistral, I had Qrow scout out the areas surrounding the mine. I expected him to return with news of some unusual Grimm concentrations or something like that, but instead… He told me about a group of bandits in the area."

Yang pursed her lips. She could already see where this was going.

"And you didn't tell me," Yang interrupted.

Weiss looked up at Yang, "You were already concerned about how dangerous the mission was going to be. At the time, I didn't think you would let me go…"

"I wouldn't let you go alone," Yang corrected.

There was a pause as Weiss looked away again.

"So, you knew there was a chance the Branwen tribe would interfere with the mission?" Yang finally asked.

"I did," Weiss shook her head, "And I should've told you… I know you must hate me right now. I already hid so much from you with Raven and Cinder… I wanted to tell you, but after the fight we had, I just—"

"Stop," Yang ordered, "First of all, I will never hate you for doing what you believe is right. And, yeah, I really didn't like that everyone was hiding so much from me. It made me feel like I couldn't trust anyone, and I was angry. But then I got that call from Blake…"

Yang clenched her teeth, "And I turned on the news… I wasn't angry anymore. I was scared. I thought I had lost you. And with how things were between us when you left? I was so terrified those words would be the last I would ever say to you…"

Yang gazed into Weiss' teary eyes as tears of her own fell to the hospital floor, "I never want that to happen again…"

"Yang…" Weiss' voice trembled, "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Yang choked as she wiped the wetness from Weiss' cheek, "I get why you all didn't want to overwhelm me with everything at once. I was never one to take bad news with a level head…"

"Hiding it was still wrong of me to do," Weiss shook her head, "You deserved to know."

"Then let's make a promise to each other," Yang offered with a sniffle, "I promise to work on my anger and keep a level head to the best of my ability."

"And I promise to always be open and honest with you about everything from now on," said Weiss with a tearful smile, "As I always should have been."

"Then it's settled," said Yang, "What's past is behind us now. I don't care about it anymore. It's not worth it."

Weiss huffed with a small smile as she wiped her eyes and looked at her toes, "Do you know what this reminds me of?"

"What?" asked Yang as she lifted Weiss' chin with her knuckle.

"Do you remember our first time at that one café in this city? You asked me to draw you," said Weiss.

"One of the most important days of my life," Yang smiled down at Weiss, "We forgave each other for all the terrible things we did during our… Feud. And we started over."

"Right," Weiss shook her head fondly.

"Mother, I'm hungry," Wendy whined as she tugged at Weiss' uniform.

Weiss smiled down and rested her hand on Wendy's back, "Maybe we could stop by that place before we return to Patch."

"I'm sure my mom won't miss me if I'm gone for an hour," Yang smiled as she clenched her eyes shut and pulled Weiss into a strong hug.

Weiss immediately reciprocated, and the blissful smile on Yang's face could only double in size as she felt the small arms of her two children wrap around her legs.

This was it. This is what Yang would go to the ends of Remnant and back to protect. The feeling of having all the love she could ever dream of in her arms.

The love of her life, and the two works of wonder they bestowed upon the world. Her perfect domestic dream.

Her family.

And just as Raven had fulfilled her role in Yang's life, she would make it her mission to solidify hers.

Her role as the spouse to Weiss Schnee.

Her role as the Mother and protector of Wilma Schnee and Wendy Xiao Long.

"I love you," was all Yang could ever say to these lights in her life.

And the collective chorus she received in return was all she could ever need.

"I love you too."

A/N: And there you have it! It's so strange that this story is already over! It seems like the last year just blinked by. I have a few things I want to talk about before I go. Obviously you're free to go about your day if you'd like, but stick around for the epilogue/sneak peek at possible future content and please leave a review!

For the rest of you who decided to stay for a little longer, I wanted to go through some things that went through my head while writing this story. If you somehow didn't already know, this story is a sequel to my first fanfiction, "Project Freezerburn." Something I wanted to do for this story was sort of make it 'rhyme' with the first story. I think if you read both, you'll find a lot of similarities. I think it would be cool if someone can tell me everything they noticed in a review or something.

Those of you who have read the first story might also recall that I heavily implied Qrow and Winter were a couple in that story and have now implied Qrow and Robyn are a couple in this one. To that I say: A lot can happen in 12 years! And I kind of like that pairing now... Sorry.

Anyway, I'm really curious about what you think of this story. I think it came out pretty good aside from a few things that I won't go into detail with. I also want to know what you think of Wendy and Wilma. I know I always found it hard to like OC's in a lot of other stories, so let me know if you wouldn't mind seeing more of them from me.

Tell me what you think about the Cinder X Raven aspect of this story. I know that seems like a sort of crackship but I've always thought it was a cool and edgy pairing? I don't know. Tell me if it worked! Also, since I sort of wanted it to be a surprise early on, I've kept them unpaired in the tags. Should I pair them? Let me know!

Finally, I have decided to change the title of this story to "For Family and Fulfillment," so that's why the title is different in all the other A/Ns.

I think that's all I wanted to say. If I remember anything else, I'll say it in the epilogue. Speaking of the epilogue, look out for that. I'm planning on getting that up here next Sunday.

I hope you enjoyed this story! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!