"Look, none of this is great, we know," Oscar said, stepping forward, "But we're not the bad guys here."

There was a tiny window of silence as everyone stood there, glum and confused. Then Jaune spoke up, his back still turned.

"Are we sure about that?" he asked in a chilly tone. A cold feeling of shock zapped through Oscar as Jaune's sudden question processed itself in his head.

"What?" Oscar asked, hushed and somewhat frightened. Jaune was tall, strong and much older. And if he thought Oz was doin something…

Jaune's shoulders rose and fell as his temper began to rise. Jaune turned around, his blue eyes showing anger and a new hatred, and began to walk towards Oscar.

"He's in your head, isn't he?"

He neared Oscar with a little more speed, causing Oscar to take a step backwards.

"Did you already know about this?" He was very close now and he looked about ready to hurt someone. Weiss, seeing now what may happen and feeling bad for Oscar, quickly held out her arms, stepping slightly in the way.

"He didn't know any of it!" she defended, now somewhat afraid of Jaune also. Jaune suddenly shoved Oscar forward, slamming him into the wall and then holding him there with his strong, firm fists.

"How much longer can we even trust him?" Jaune demanded, pushing against him. Oscar, afraid and surprised, could only stay helplessly where he was as Jaune yelled furiously into his face.

"Jaune!" Yang said with a raised voice. Sure, she seemed to not be a big fan of Oz right now, but she clearly understood that Ozpin and Oscar weren't the same person.

"How do we really know it's him?!" he shouted, turning his head and looking angrily at everyone else behind him, "What if we've been talking to that liar this whole time?!" He began to shake Oscar, forcing him harder and harder into the wall.

"Jaune!"

Everyone, including Jaune and Oscar, looked backwards at who had yelled. It was Ruby who screached it this time, her fists balled up and her face clearly was dead serious, and she did not look happy about what Jaune had just done.

Another horrible moment of silence followed, and Oscar slowly held up his hand for some sort of protection. Jaune let go of Oscar, making him drop for a split second onto the floor, landing on his feet. Then he stood there for a moment, and his face suddenly melted from anger, to shock and realization, to shame. Slowly, Oscar still standing with his hands up, body tense, and eyes squeezed shut, Jaune turned around, and then walked up the stairs. Nobody said a word. The sound of a door slamming harshly shut followed soon after.

Oscar, who had slowly dropped out of his defensive mode, looked up at the stairway, then back at everyone else with a sigh.

But to his surprise, only Ruby was standing there, her head down and her hood up. The room around them became dimmer, then became completely black, Ruby being the only visible thing.

"R-Ruby?" Oscar asked, confused. His farm gloves were now replaced with his new combat ones, as well as his whole outfit. Ruby slowly looked up, her sliver eyes glistening with tears and her lip quivering. Her face was an emotional heartbreak, piercing Oscar's heart.

"Ruby!" Oscar yelled, running over to her and wrapping her in a hug, "It's okay! I'm here!" But the moment he touched her, she fell away and disappeared, her hood the only thing Oscar was holding. Clinging on to. Footsteps sounded behind him; hurried, angry, many, running down the stairs to him, even though it wasn't even in sight. Oscar swung around, startled, and saw everyone there: Weiss, Blake, Nora, Ren, and 2 very angry people; Yang and Jaune.

"You dare mess with my baby sister?!" Yang demanded furiously, walking quickly over, "You dare destroy her innocence?!" She approached him with her hair flaring with yellow flames and glowing wildly, as well has her violet eyes changed to a deep red. Oscar hurried to jump out of the way of her, but found he couldn't move. He was glued to his spot and left to watch Yang barrel towards him, her gauntlets loaded. Both of her arms were back, too, and so was her other gauntlet. With a yell and a frightened scream from Oscar, she smashed her fists forward and shot them straight into Oscar's chest, shooting him with her punch and throwing him backwards into the wall. He smacked the wall, knocking his wind out and stunning him momentarily.

When he stood back up, he immediately saw Jaune approaching him, his head bowed and his blond hair spilling over his eyes. His fists were balled up in anger, and the veins in his neck were bulging. Oscar tried desperately to move away, but found that he was stuck again, only this time, his entire body was frozen in place. He couldn't move an inch.

"You dare take her from me?" Jane said in a chilly tone, the same one he had used in Argus before he had smashed him into a wall. Oscar could only flinch as Jaune suddenly leaped at him, his sword arced high above his head. His sword seemed to slice through him, but as it did, Jaune slowly faded away as Oscar flew into another wall.

The wall shattered, as if glass, from the impact, reeking more pain across his body, and he fell into an odd, white room. It smelled, sounded, and felt like a hospital room; cooler temperature, buttons, whirring, and even people talking, and that strong antiseptic smell, but the whole room was just white. Oscar had no cut or wound from Jaune's sword, though.

A sudden, shrill shriek of a baby sounded, startling Oscar badly and making him jump. Behind him lay a red, nude baby, screaming and crying on the floor beside a very still Ruby, laying on her belly so her face was hidden. Oscar slowly approached the child, his whole body trembling as he neared it. It was a boy. His face was all scrunched up from crying and his eyes were tightly shut, but Oscar could see the baby's clear facial features. It certainly looked like a Ruby and Oscar baby, but something about it didn't seem right...

"Ruby!" Oscar screamed, suddenly remembering that she had been laying motionless on the floor beside him. He knelt by her side and gently shook her. Her body felt cold, stiff, and lifeless, and yet at the same time, weak, hot, and different. She felt weirdly soft and almost squishy to his touch, but he wasn't sure. It was all too strange. Slowly, he began to turn her over, the room turning dim again. He could hear strange, eerie whispers and voices all around him and then, with a deep breath, he turned her over all the way.

Her face,, which was so beautiful and young, was snow white and damp, dark purple circles around her eyes. Her lips were blue, her open mouth was empty of all that should be there, and her eyes...She opened them, suddenly, and revealed them to him. Instead of sparkling silver, they were black, the whites were replaced with a sickly yellow, and her pupils were deep red. She made a strange gurgling noise and a cloud of small, strange bugs flew from her nose and mouth, swarming around Oscar's face and beginning to nible at it. Oscar could only scream as his body was frozen yet again and the bugs filled his mouth and nose and ears and eyes...

"WAAAAAAKE UP, LAZY BOY!" Nora screeched cheerfully. The crazy cloud of bugs that had crowded Oscar's dream with darkness and lack of breathing disappeared, the black shattering as Nora's voice entered his ears. He sat bolt upright, panting and drenched in sweat. His whole body throbbed and his lungs gulped in the air the had not been getting enough of.

"It's past sunrise and we've been waiting for you!" Nora shouted, still cheerful as ever, "Breakfast is getting cleaned up and you'll staaaaarrrvve!" She clapped her hands together, gave him a bright smile with a wink, and then zipped away, leaving Oscar alone again. He sighed and fell backwards onto his sleeping bag, feeling more than ready to let sleep claim him again. His horrible nightmare, which, last night, had a memory as the host, had melted away as the sweet chirps of birdsong and the morning sunlight filtered in though his tent, illuminating it in a warm, golden glow. His body ached everywhere and he felt like he had just biked up a mountain for hours without a brake. Well, that actually wasn't too far off. It was more like he had ran up a mountain.

He mentally cast his daily bit of anger at the Distance Great and Powerful Ozpin, not that it mattered. Ozpin only seemed to talk when it least mattered or was the most irrelevant. Luckily, he hadn't seemed up to chat last night and Oscar was able to get a full night's sleep. Well, more like a good few hours after midnight. Oscar yawned and rolled his head to the side, feeling completely unwilling to move any muscle. He felt like a toddler who had just woken up from a nap and a toddler who hadn't taken a nap at all and a toddler who was naughty and had his father tan his hide and a toddler who had just caught the flu and went untreated for three weeks and a toddler who almost drowned but was saved by his father and a toddler who hadn't eaten in a week and a toddler after thanksgiving and a toddler in love with another toddler and...

Oscar shook his head and stopped thinking about how he felt.

I'm loosing my mind

"Oscar?" Ruby asked cautiously, her shadow visible from inside the tent. Oscar felt his heart rise a little at her sweet, high voice. He lazily rolled over with some effort and buried his face into his sleeping bag.

"Come in," came his tired, muffled reply. Ruby seemed to brighten up when she heard this, and she eagerly pulled back the tent fold and stepped inside. Oscar raised his head and glanced behind him to catch a glimpse of her before he disappeared back into his warm, somewhat sweaty relm of the folds of his sleeping bag. His face grew slightly hotter as he studied her for the millionth time, although he and Oz had constantly chided himself not to. But every time, he couldn't help himself. Especially after that night. Her outfit was just so pretty on her, outlining her shapes and curves, the silver rose complementing her eyes, and her hood accenting the red highlights in her hair. The outfit as a whole was just perfect for Ruby, and it made Oscar smile. He snapped himself out of his masculine trance and buried his head back into his bedding.

"Good morning!" Ruby greeted cheerfully, clasping her hands together, "How're you doing?"

Oscar mumbled something into his sleeping bag and rolled over, staring at her. "Just swell. You?"

Ruby smiled softly and looked down. "I'm alright."

Something about her answer and how her cheerfulness had suddenly seemed to soften concerned him. He sat halfway up and looked at her with worry. He just wanted her to be okay. Nothing was going to hurt his little rose.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, lifting a hand and reaching it slightly out towards her. Ruby smiled and nodded, but then looked down again. He couldn't tell if she was sad, hiding something, ill...

"Are you sick or-" Oscar froze in mid-sentence, suddenly remembering the little talk they had last night. Ruby was pregnant. He was going to be a dad and she was going to be a mom. Nobody else knew. Only them. What was he going to do? How was he going to tell everyone? Was everyone going to condemn him? Would they condemn Ruby? Would they heap all the hate and blame on Ozpin, which technically meant that Oscar was going to get kicked out. He began to panic again.

"What're we going to do?!" he yelled, grabbing his fuzzy brown hair with both hands and then pulling at it in despair. Ruby was startled by his sudden shout, and it made her jump. Another successfully jump scare by Oscar Pine.

"Ssh!" she hissed, pressing her finger to her lips and giving him a cold glare. The two of them stayed perfectly still for a moment, listening to the outside noises of their group. A few people's shadows looked towards Oscar's tent, a few conversations suddenly halting. Then Jaune's tall shadow, even taller than Qrow's, slowly approached the tent, his footsteps only making Ruby more afraid. Ruby, whose eyes were wide, looked at Oscar, then back at the approaching Jaune. Then she whipped around and gestured for Oscar to lay down. LAY DOWN! Oscar flopped back down onto his sleeping back and closed his eyes. The darkness seemed to consume him the moment he closed his eyes, dragging him off to sleep.

You worked me way too hard, Oz

The tent fold slowly pealed back as a worried Jaune poked his head through. He was met face to face with a cheerfully smiling Ruby, who waved vigorously at him as soon as he made his appearance. He stepped back a moment, then smiled with a light smirk. Ruby inwardly groaned when he did. It was that smile he made whenever he felt something for her. It wasn't cringy for her because she didn't like him at all, but because she was beginning to like Oscar now. She had felt a little something for Jaune while they had been traveling to Mistral, but after she had found out she was going to have Oscar's baby, all of that had just sort of...fell.

"Hey, is everything okay in here?" he asked. The scratch in his voice had always made Ruby want to smile, but right now, Ruby just wanted to keep Oscar and Jaune on good terms. No need for extra violence before he found out. But hopefully, he wouldn't have to.

"Yep!" Ruby said brightly, "I was just making sure Oscar got up, him going to sleep at midnight and all. He should eat breakfast." She smiled and made to leave the tent. Jaune nodded his head, but walked forward.

"Why did he sound panicked?" Jaune asked, stopping when Ruby blocked his way, "Is he alright?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, he was just having a nightmare when I woke him up, is all." Jaune nodded his head slowly.

"Okay," he said. He turned around and stretched, then rubbed an itch on his face. "Ha. My face has been feeling a little itchy lately." He chuckle and scratched it again, then walked towards the fire where Ren and Nora were arguing about how to properly boil coffee. Ruby giggled.

"I thin he's starting to grow a bit of masculine scruff," she said, just loud enough for Oscar to hear. Oscar mumbled his reply. Ruby turned around and frowned.

"Oscar, you need t come out and eat," she called, "We already served breakfast and Nora's probably going to eat what we saved for you if you don't!" She turned around and looked at the leftover bowl of porridge set aside for Oscar, only to find it was gone. Licked clean, according to Ren when Ruby asked him about it. Ruby glared at Nora, who was messing around with Magnhild and testing out her aim scope.

"Nora!" Ruby wailed, "That was for Oscar! How dare you steal his food!" Nora looked up from her weapon and started to laugh. She shook her head and waved her hand at Ruby as if dismissing her accusation.

"Oh, Ruby!" she giggled, "He wasn't gonna eat it anyway! Ren makes that stuff blander than dirt!" She stuck out her tongue and made as if gagging.

"Dirt has a strong flavor!" Ren called from the edge of the woods, where he was gathering more wood, "I would not recommend consuming it!" He turned back to collecting wood. Nora waved a hand at him and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, pshaw!" she said, turning her attention on Ruby, "He doesn't know anything. Thanks for letting me eat yours."

Ruby nodded. "You bet!" she answered. She inwardly moaned as a wave of nausea passed over her. The empty bowl of porridge still had remains smeared inside of it, along with a slight smell of it and a much stronger scent of Nora's saliva...Ruby almost gagged right then and there, but she turned it into a simple cough, hoping she hadn't looked too suspicious.

"You okay over there, Shortstack?" Qrow asked, Ruby's coughing sound arousing his attention. He was sitting on one of the logs that served as a seat by the fire. His flask was in his hand, but he didn't look too drunk right now. Normal good 'ole Uncle Qrow at the moment. His maroon eyes locked with her's. He had such a kind look sometimes, and right now, it made Ruby feel even guiltier about what she was hiding.

"Yup!" Ruby chirped, "Just swallowed my spit down the wrong pipe!" She inwardly condemned her now strong sense of smell, which now seemed to have caught the attention of Qrow and Weiss. Not many others had seemed to notice one night when Ruby had complained about a dead animal rotting somewhere and stinking up the air. Nobody else had been able to smell it, but Yang had went off and found a big dead possum near the lake. She had been able to smell it then. She had decided to bring it back to camp and "show" it to everyone there. Yeah, that had been a mess. And it had made Ruby actually gag, only, she had managed to run into the bushes before anyone could see her do it. Qrow and Weiss had seen her run off. She had simply explained that she thought she had seen a Grimm or something. But now Weiss and Qrow, seemed to be keeping an out out for her. More than once, she had ran off after seeing or smelling something, and countless times she had seemed more tired than usual. Qrow had asked her once, but she dismissed it and told him it was all fine.

Qrow just narrowed his eyes and nodded his head slowly, then took a swig from his flask. He seemed to be buying this less and less every time. And Ruby had been hiding it for more than a month. But her morning sickness was really hard to keep hidden from everyone, especially her sister and uncle. Yang was also concerned quite a bit, only, she thought that maybe Ruby was coming down with something or was just not digesting their new food well. (They had recently gotten a new supply from a village they had passed.) But her assumptions were also starting to be doubted by herself and the others. Now Ruby really needed to keep herself in check. Pretty much the whole group was keeping a close eye on her in some way shape or form. But Qrow, Weiss and Yang were the most dangerous for now.

Ruby sighed and started towards her tent, where she often spent an hour or two to herself in peaceful solitude. That was the only time she could really roll around and groan about her queasy stomach and tiredness. Nobody really interrupted, at least not usually. But this time was different. This time, as she lay on her side, clutching her stomach, taking deep, concentrated breaths, and watching the tent folds carefully, the tent folds pealed back, revealing Yang's thick mop of yellow hair. Ruby abruptly flipped herself into a sitting position, snatched a nearby book, and stared hard at the pages, who's letters swam on the page in a sea of white paper.

"Ruby?" Yang asked, concerned. She had most definitely seen Ruby laying on the floor in her pity pose and was ready to take action. Anything to protect her poor baby sister. "Are you okay?"

Ruby looked up slowly from her page, sweat already beginning to form. Then she made a big, nervous smile, which could never fool Yang anymore after all those years of growing up together. "Oh! Yang!" she squeaked, trying to sound surprised and cheery, "I, uh, didn't expect you to show up right now! You know, 'cause I asked that nobody came into my tent without-er...announcing themselves first?" She made a quiet, nervous laugh.

Yang's worried face became more serious and she narrowed her purple eyes. She looked hard at her sister and closed her mouth. "Why were you laying on the floor. Are you sick?" She slapped her hand to Ruby's forehead, testing to see if it was warmer than ought. It was no different from her own, so she slowly brought her hand back. But her face held suspicion. "Did you eat something weird that I said not to, then are hiding it because you don't want me to snitch on ya? Because it's okay. If you aren't okay, it's okay. I can help you, ya know." Yang's gave dropped down to the book Ruby was 'reading' and her eyes widened.

"Why are you reading that?!" she gasped, grabbing at it. She held the book out so both she and Ruby could see the cover. "Why are you reading 'Red Sky at Night; Vampire's Delight'?!" She dropped the book onto the ground and sighed. Ruby looked down. She didn't know what to say.

Use the book as an excuse!

"I, ugh...I'm sorry," Ruby apologized, "I-Blake wanted me to read it, so..." She tried to look as innocent as possible. Another wave of nausea passed through her, making her face look slightly ill. But she immediately perked up. But Yang had seen that, too. She walked closer to Ruby and knelt down beside her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," Yang said softly in her nice, sister voice, "But if you don't tell me, then what you're hiding will just get worse and I might not be able to help then. And I want you to be okay, 'kay?" She smiled softly. Ruby's guilt rose over her nausea and she felt tears in her eyes.

You can't tell her the truth. For Oscar's sake. For Ozpin's sake. For my sake.

"I...I'm sorry," Ruby choked, "I-I just haven't been feeling well lately and-and I didn't want to delay our time and...I-I'm sorry-" Her fake excuse was suddenly cut off by a sudden hug from Yang. Ruby could feel her sister's chin on her shoulder and her arms wrapped tightly around her body in loving sisterhood, and she hugged her back, tears falling down her face as the guilt of her hidden pregnancy began to pour from her eyes.

"It's okay," Yang whispered, "Don't torture yourself because of us. Just tell us. It's a perfectly understandable thing and we're your friends!" She pulled Ruby back and held her by her shoulders. "We understand! We love you, Ruby, and true friends forgive." Yang hugged Ruby again and closed her eyes as a small tear rolled out.

"I'm your sister," she said though the hug, "And I will always forgive you."

Ruby felt even worse after that sentence. "No matter what?" Ruby asked, her voice shaking with emotion.

"No matter what," Yang answered, pulling back and smiling. Ruby heart pounded in her chest.

I should tell her! I should tell her! Now's the perfect time! If she finds out another way, it could be really bad! Right now is all soft and fuzzy! Sister time right now, c'mon, Ruby! TELL HER!

But despite all of the voices in her head that screamed for her to tell Yang, she simply smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Yang," she said, wiping a tear from her eye, "It means a lot."

Yang winked. "Any time, Sis." And with that, she stood up, stretched, and went for the tent's entrance.

"So...You are sick?" she asked, her hand on the tent's entrance. Ruby nodded her head slowly and looked down. Yang nodded and went to leave. But as she peeled back the folds, she looked back over her shoulder and smiled at her sister.

"I'm glad we had this chat." And with that, she left, leaving Ruby alone again.

"Guys! Ruby's sick!" Yang's slightly muffled voice called, meters from the tent. "We're staying here for a bit!"

Ruby felt relieved, frightened, and guilty, knowing now that the group would likely expect her to be back on her feet in only a few days. She was at the peek of her morning sickness, but she was nearly finished with her first trimester...Maybe the sickness would fade soon. Very soon. But while it was still here, she had to play things out smartly, or she and Oscar would have to pay extreme consequences, as well as poor Ozpin, who Ruby had started to really pity. She just hoped Oscar could help a little with the whole secret hiding thing. It would take more than one person to keep the rest away.

Welp, this is a fun one to write. Hopefully I'm not making the chapters too short...Anyway, thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters! And please write reviews, I like those. :)