Luna's excitement was battling with her anxiety. Today, after two weeks in hospital, Astra was being moved from the intensive care unit to Beacon's care ward, where she would be able to return to her studies- some of them, at least- and where Luna would be able to visit much more often.

Of course, Luna and the others had done their best to visit Astra in the hospital every day, but returning to their own work had kept them back on some days, and even when they had visited, it wasn't often for very long before they had to return. But starting today, Luna would be able to visit every day before and after classes. For the most part, Luna was thrilled, but part of her still worried about Astra's condition. Her state had improved, but it had been a slow process, and she still needed help just to go to the bathroom or have a shower.

Luna shuffled the bundle of flowers in her hands- starflowers that Lily had grown for her. In a bag that hung from her arm, she also had a box of chocolates, along with Astra's favourite plush bear. Luna was set on doing everything she could to make her girlfriend comfortable while she recovered.

"Hey," Cobalt nudged her gently in the ribs, "Don't look so worried. Anyone would think this was your first time seeing her in weeks."

Luna sighed. "I know. I just hope she's doing okay."

"You're not the only one," Lily assured her, "But we all know that she'll feel a lot better if she doesn't see you fretting so much."

"Right." Luna took a deep breath. Happy faces. That was what Astra needed. With Cobalt and Lily at her side, she opened the door and stepped into the care ward.

Astra was lying in a bed to the right of the doorway, and her face lit up when she spotted her teammates.

"Ah, my favourite people! Come to settle me in?"

Luna broke into a grin. There she was, as bright as ever. Her hair looked messy without her cat-eared headband, and she wore loose, baggy clothing in order not to put any pressure on her wound, but she looked as cheerful as if nothing was any different.

"Oh good, you guys are here." The voice came from the ward's nurse, Doctor Amaranth, who was heading over with a friendly smile on her face. "She's been desperate to see you three all morning."

At first glance, nobody would have guessed that Dr Amaranth was a medical worker. She was a fox-eared faunus, with spiky orange hair pulled into a short high ponytail, and intense violet eyes. That alone would have been enough to make her profession a surprise, but she was also dressed like a punk-rocker, covered in leather, spikes, and skull imagery. As intimidating as she looked though, she was one of the most kindhearted people Luna had ever met, with a warm smile and youthful energy, ready to care for any student that stepped through her doors. Luna wouldn't have picked any other adult to care for Astra while she recovered.

"Hey, Dr Amaranth," Cobalt greeted. "She hasn't been bothering you too much, has she?"

Dr Amaranth waved her hand. "Oh, she's been fine, I can keep up with her. And please, call me Verity. Makes me feel old when people use my last name like that."

Luna walked over to hug Astra and give her a warm kiss on the side of the head. "Are you feeling okay?"

Astra blushed. "Pretty good, now that you're here." Her eyes darted to the flowers in Luna's hands. "Are those for me?"

Luna nodded, handing her the bouquet. "Lily grew them. They're starflowers."

"Aww," Astra gave the flowers a sniff, "They're pretty."

Luna grinned at her. "We did think that they suited you pretty well." Ignoring snickers from both Cobalt and Lily, as well as Verity, she reached into the bag. "I also brought you these." She pulled out the chocolates and stuffed bear.

"My bedbear!" Astra placed the flowers on the table beside her and grabbed the bear enthusiastically, holding it tight and running her fingers over the satin that edged the blanket part of the plush. "I've missed you so much."

"Also, here's these," Cobalt stepped forward and placed a pile of books and papers on the table. "You've got a bunch of work to catch up on."

Astra eyed the pile disappointingly. "Ugh, work. I guess it's not like I've got much else to do."

Luna grabbed her hand. "Hey, you'll have plenty to do, I'll make sure of it."

Astra smiled at her. "Thanks." She tried to sit up, but gave a hiss of pain through her teeth, lying back down and grabbing her torso.

Alarm shot through Luna. "Are you okay?"

Astra grunted, "I'm fine. Just sat up too fast." She pulled herself up again, slower this time, but Luna could tell she was trying not to show any pain.

Verity came over to stand beside the bed. "Don't worry too much," She assured them both. "Flashes of pain like that are going to be pretty common, no matter how small your movement is, but you'll be fine so long as you don't try anything extreme."

Astra nodded. "And it'll go away eventually. I'll be in full fighting shape in no time!"

"Uh well," Uncertainty crossed Verity's face. "Chronic pain tends to be…chronic. It might lessen over time, but it probably won't fully go away, not with a scar like that."

The fear that suddenly pulsed from Astra was so long that Luna didn't even need to look for it, and an anxious silence filled the room until Lily asked the question that Astra was probably too afraid to:

"Is she…still going to be able to fight?"

"In time, yes," Verity replied, her tone reassuring. "But there was a lot of internal damage done, and there's a good chance that she'll still feel the pain from it during and after battle. It won't stop her, but it might make things difficult."

"Don't worry about me, guys," Astra spoke up, "This is me we're talking about. A little pain can't stop me!"

Luna gazed at her in concern. Despite the cheerfulness in her voice, she could still feel fear radiating from Astra, though it seemed like she was trying to mask it. Had she been hiding concern this whole time?

Verity smiled at her. "Confidence is always good. Just don't get too confident. You still need to be careful with how you move, especially over the next few months."

Astra flashed her a thumbs-up. "No worries," She replied brightly. Luna could feel less anxiety from her now. Was she already feeling better, or was she just trying harder to hide it?

"Now," Astra continued. "If you guys don't mind, I would like some alone time with my girlfriend."

Cobalt shot her a mock frown. "Aw, but we wanted to play games."

"Later," Astra told him. "You guys barely let me have any time with Luna while I was in the hospital, and I'm taking my chance."

"Come on," Lily grabbed Cobalt's arm. "We can go and visit Storm."

"And I'll be in my office," Verity gave Luna and Astra a two-fingered salute. "Have fuuuunn."

Once they were gone, Luna settled herself onto the bed. "You'll have to catch up with Storm soon," She commented to Astra, idly looking out into the hallway, "He's been wanting to spend more time with you."

Astra's only reply was a sniff, and Luna turned sharply to look at her. Her girlfriend's eyes were brimming with tears.

"Woah, hey," Luna leaned closer to her, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Astra was staring at the bedcovers, her hands clutching at them tightly. "I don't…I thought everything would be fine…"

Luna placed a hand over hers. "Everything will be fine," She assured her. It felt odd to be on this end of the conversation.

Astra blinked at her helplessly. "But what if it isn't? If I'm always going to be in pain…what if I can never be a true Huntsman? What do I do then?"

She wasn't even trying to hide her emotions anymore; grief and fear were coming off her in waves, and Luna's heart ached for her. She couldn't imagine what her life would be like if she couldn't be a Hunstman, and it was easy to guess that Astra felt the same.

"You heard Verity," Luna squeezed Astra's hand, "You'll still be able to fight, it'll just take time to get used to it."

Astra didn't look reassured. "But if it's always going to hurt…what if it's too much for me?" She pulled her hand away and gave a choking sob. "I don't know if I can do it."

Luna reached forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Well, I do," she told her fiercely, "You're Astra Katt. You don't let anything stop you. And even if you're right…" She pulled back, before kissing Astra gently, their second kiss ever.

"Even if you're right," she insisted, "I'm still going to be here. I'll help you find another way to fight, and so will Lily, Cobalt, and everyone else who cares about you." She cupped Astra's cheek with one hand. "You're never going to be alone in this. I promise."

Astra leaned into her hand, blinking away tears. The emotions Luna could feel were easing slightly. "I guess if you think I'll be okay, I can't argue with that." Her words were light and teasing, and Luna felt a wave of relief.

"Hey, if the one with anxiety is being optimistic, you've gotta believe it," Luna chuckled.

Astra grinned mischievously. "You know, it might also help more uh…If you kissed me again. Maybe."

Luna snorted at her; there was the silly attitude she liked so much. She obeyed, and leaned back in to kiss her again. Astra was warm, smelling of pine needles and cinnamon. Like this, it was easy to forget about everything that worried her.

When she pulled away, Astra lay back down, sighing against her pillow. Her eyes were still red, but the smile on her face wasn't forced. "I guess I should focus on figuring out how to entertain myself while I'm stuck in here, huh?"

Luna smiled down at her. "Do you want me to grab Lily and Cobalt?"

Astra closed her eyes for a moment. "Mmm...not yet," She opened her eyes again, and Luna's heart skipped at the clear affection in her eyes. "I want to be alone with you for a bit longer."

"Heh, alright." Luna lay down beside her. "Let's just try not to neglect the others for too long."

Astra chuckled. "We'll never hear the end of it." She was quiet for a moment, peaceful silence filling the room. When she spoke again, her voice was soft. "Hey, Luna?"

"Mm?"

"I love you."

Warmth spread all of Luna as she wriggled closer to Astra. "Love you too."

That night, it became apparent that the peace in Luna's mind could not last long. She found herself plagued with dark thoughts, taken back to the day when she'd almost lost everything. Only, this time, the sky was black, and the sun was the burning yellow-red of a Grimm eye. Her surroundings were fuzzy and hard to focus on, but she could hear banging, softly at first, then louder and louder. Upon one final, ear-splitting burst, an image of Astra flashed on the ground in front of her, fading in and out of clarity. Astra's body was twisted and broken, splattered with blood, dust shards sticking out of her at every angle. Her arm reached out to Luna, her eyes wide and pleading. Luna tried to step forward, tried to help, but her legs were frozen in place, and her movements felt sluggish.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" She tried to cry out to Astra, but her words felt far away, as if they were coming from someone else. The world spun around her as she attempted to force herself forward with any strength she had within her.

Then the growls came and the sky began to drip with Grimm, peeling away from the darkness and dropping to the ground. They swarmed around Luna, blocking Astra from her sight, their cries filling her mind, their teeth sinking into her flesh, ensuring that she would never see Astra again.

When Luna woke up, she was drenched in sweat from head to toe, her whole body burning from terror. She wanted to push her bedcovers away, but for the moment, they were the only comfort she had, and she felt as if removing them would expose her to danger- a thought she knew was childish, but one that she couldn't help but listen to.

Not again. Luna didn't understand it. The nightmares had made sense while Astra's fate was still uncertain, but she was safe now; everything was supposed to be fine. So why had these horrible dreams persisted almost every night since then? Why couldn't she shake that imagery out of her mind?

She curled into a tight ball, squeezing the blankets around her. Gods help her, why couldn't her own mind just leave her be? How much longer would she have to deal with this? Astra was alive- so why were her dreams trying so hard to convince her otherwise?