The next few days were nothing much but stalling. Ruby lay in her tent pretending to be sick, and everyone else rolled with it. Qrow dropped in often to check on her, and his concern was not deep, but he was a little softer than usual. It made Ruby both guilty and happy. She loved Uncle Qrow very much, and every time he came by, she would feel a little more cheerful. But one thing that made her guilt rise the highest was when Jaune came to visit. He would ask her if she needed anything, give her water, and do anything she asked, not matter how difficult the task. And the worst thing about it all was that she knew that he loved her. She had also, for a little, felt a little something for him, but after that time with Oscar...now all she could do was force herself to take it as a deep friendship. And poor Jaune! He loved her and she didn't really love him...anymore. But that was all behind her now. Now she needed to really love on Oscar and somehow get the message through to the group that she and him were'rent exactly "together". It wasn't helping that he visited her almost as often as Jaune did.

One morning, nearly a week from when Yang had declared Ruby's "illness", Ruby was awakened by Jaune, who was gently shaking her. His kind face and his warm blue eyes were welcoming, and it made Ruby smile as she made eye contact with him. But then, of course, just like every morning, she remembered her present situation. Her smile faded, but she quickly smiled again and sat up a little. She felt a little better, but the annoying morning sickness would likely catch up to her in a little while.

"Hey," he said softly. His voice was so ambient! Ruby smiled.

"Hey."

"How're you doing?" he asked. Ruby nodded her head slightly.

"Better," she answered. She inwardly sighed with relief as Jaune's face brightened up and smiled.

"That's great!" he said, his voice also much cheerfuller, "On a scale from 1 to 10?"

"8," she answered, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Jaune clapped his hands gently together and smiled wider. "That's wonderful! Do you think you could be back on your feet by tomorrow? Or maybe even later today?"

According to what I read on my scroll a few nights ago, Ruby mentally calculated, I actually should be back on my feet soon! Ha ha! Yes! Bye bye, morning sickness!

"Yeah. I think so."

"Awesome! I'll tell the others!"

He stood back up and practically skipped out of her tent, a very wide smile on his face. Ruby sighed, glad that he was gone. It got more and more awkward for her when he was around. It was like talking with your ex as if they had never been a thing with you. She sat up all the way and stretched, glad to be feeling better. She was sick of always feeling like she was going to throw up. Literally. The sweet sound of birdsong outside and the faint trickling of water made her feel much happier. The morning light was bright and warm, and a cool breeze filtered in through the fabric of Ruby's tent, cooling her off. She had felt rather warm in her tent, being constantly bundled up in blankets and drinking hot tea, provided specially by Ren. She slowly stood up, glad that she could, and stretched again, enjoying every moment of it. She would step out of her tent, likely be barreled over by Yang, greet the others, and hopefully have a normal place in the group again.

I was just sick and am now better. Nothing ever happened. Nothing else is wrong whatsoever. Oscar is innocent. I am innocent. Everything is completely back to normal. We can continue on the trail and-

"Ruby!" Weiss's voice when raised was almost alien to her, but it was definitely Weiss's. Ruby liked it when certain people in the group raise their voices, while she preferred others not to. Weiss, Ren, sometimes Uncle Qrow, and Oscar were the ones she liked to raise their voices. It was something they didn't do too much, and when they did, their voice did something with it that made her grin.

Ruby looked forward to see Weiss sitting on one of the logs around the fire, her left leg crossed over her right. She was looking at Ruby with wide, eager eyes, a look she seldom made. It was as if she actually cared about her right now. Ruby waved and nervously giggled, taking a step forward. Weiss stood up and eagerly approached her leader, her sky blue eyes glimmering.

"Ruby, you'll never believe it!" she said, her voice holding a foreign excitement, "I-Jaune-can I talk to you after breakfast? It's kind of..." she paused and thought for a moment, looking up, "Private...Okay?"

Ruby smirked and nodded.

"Wow, Weiss," she said playfully, "I never thought you could be so excited before." She rolled her eyes and giggled. Weiss grunted and rolled her eyes, then walked back to the fire. But her eyes still held that glimmering excited look and her lips curved back into a smile.

"Glad you're feeling better!" she called over her shoulder before sitting down. Ruby smiled. It felt good to have friends. Suddenly, she felt very eager to see Oscar. She hadn't seen him much after Jaune had butted in line for a visit to her. Now he only came by once and a while, here and there. And now she was worried for him. He seemed really uptight and scared of Jaune. Maybe Jaune had been had been acting a little more defensive about her to him?

Or maybe he knows.

Ruby shook off that terrible suggestion and eagerly hurried towards Oscar's tent. Not too hastily, of course, of others might get suspicious. She was eager to see him, and she missed him quite a bit.

Just let me see your huge hazel eyes and your freckled face again!

She giggled to herself and stopped in front of Oscar's tent, which was a faded olive green. She slowly peeled back the folds and stepped slowly inside. Oscar was there, but he wasn't facing her. He was sitting crisscross with his hands in his lap, facing the back of his tent so that his back was facing Ruby. His olive green coat was off, tossed haphazardly onto his sleeping bag, showing the white shirt underneath. His gloves were also laying beside them. He was also talking to...Ozpin?

"I know!" he almost shouted, his voice clearly frustrated, "You can stop lecturing me now!" He paused for a moment, likely listening to Ozpin's reply, then continued with some sort of exasperation about him. "I know, and I'm sorry. But they still blame you, and honestly, I'm not even completely sure if Ruby's still with you! I know that she's there for me, and full in on that, but as far as you go, I have no idea. Once they find out, all they're going to be thinking is how 'horrible' you are, and then nobody is going to listen to you, not even Ruby."

Ruby froze at the mention of her name. Was Oscar mad at her? Was Ozpin mad at her? The thought made a cold chill go down her spine. She hated being the center of an argument or problem, and if this 'mistake' that she and Oscar had caused was going to destroy everything Ozpin had ever planned, then she would feel like the worst woman alive. And poor Oscar...She balled her hands into fists and let the sweat rise on them.

"Look," Oscar said, turning sightly, "I know that you don't want them to loose all trust they have with you and leave you and your big idea in the dark, potentially destroying all hopes of peace. But do you understand that they're my friends? If they leave you, they leave me. And guess what? They're gonna condemn Ruby if she tries to stay with me, and then she's gonna leave me. Ruby will leave me, if things backfire."

The desperation and pain in his voice made Ruby feel both sad and wonderful. She meant everything to Oscar, apparently, which made her feel warm and happy inside, not to mention that it made her want to give him a big hug. But she also felt sad for him. His voice and his words were sad and strained, and he was not in a good position right now. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"So don't get mad at me, if things backfire they leave us," Oscar continued with an angry, yet sorrowful tone, "This is your fault too. If you hadn't hidden everything from them and then looked kinda evil when they were figuring it out, then maybe they would trust you a whole lot more! And do you think I was trying to get her pregnant?! I was dying, and so was she. I don't know where we got that idea, but we were both sick, cold, and dying. So it's even less my fault, and none of this has anything much to do with Ruby. If she decides to tell all of them that she's going to have my baby, then maybe I'd get a little upset. But I already know that it's hardly her fault. So even if they do condemn her, I will stay with her, no matter what they do to me, and no matter what you say."

Ruby felt more tears slide down her cheeks and she quickly tried to wipe them away. It was then that she realized that she had been crying nearly the whole time since Oscar had started defending her. She knew right then and there that she truly loved him and would stay with him though anything. Especially this. Ruby sniffed and wiped away another tear. Oscar heard it, though, and swung around, startled. His large hazel eyes were wide, but they relaxed when they saw that it was just her. Just Ruby Rose.

"Hey, Ruby," he sighed, scooting to face her. Ruby smiled her greeting and sat down, wiping away another tear. Oscar noticed her wet cheeks and the pink tear stains and immediately took action.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked, quickly grabbing a loose towel on the floor and wiping her face dry. Ruby smiled gratefully at him and nodded.

"I'm fine."

"When did you come in?"

"Only a minute ago. I heard you talking with Professor Ozpin."

Fun. The single student of this entire group who still addresses me as 'Professor' Ozpin.

"Quiet, I'm talking to her," Oscar hissed to Ozpin, willing him to be quiet. It was annoying when he disappeared and annoying when he reappeared. "Oh. You did." He looked down, as if ashamed, then looked back up, staring into her pretty silver eyes. Ruby nodded slowly.

"Thank you," she said, her voice almost a whisper, "It means a lot."

Oscar didn't need to be told what she meant by that. It was pretty clear to him, and he felt his heart warm up and beat a little stronger. He almost felt proud of his previous conversation. He looked at her and suddenly noticed that she was tearing up again. Yes, Ozpin had told him that pregnancy could lead to mood swings, whatever those were. He assumed that was now, tearing up over the tiniest things. He stretched out his arms, welcoming her to a hug, if she wanted one right now. And she did. She nearly jumped into his arms, crying all the more and hugging him back tightly. She really was an innocent little girl, so small and sweet. She was just carrying a tiny baby in her stomach at the moment.

Oscar patted her back and rubbed his chin on her shoulder, while she pressed her face into his neck. It felt a little funny, but he liked it. She felt so warm and snugly when she hugged him, and she though a similar thing about him. Silly how the two of them thought similar things about each other. She continued to cry into his shoulder while he gently petted her hair with his non-gloved hands. He had taken them off last night once he came back from training, the orange fabric stained with blood. Of course, his hands were healed, having only been minorly scratched and healed from aura, but the blood from his hands last night remained on the gloves.

"I love you, Oscar," she sobbed, making a hot prickle rise on his neck, "I love you so much!"

Oscar just smiled softly and hugged her tighter. "I love you too, Ruby. And I will always be here for you, no matter what."

Those words could've been bought for thousands of lien if they could be sold. Sincere promises like that when you're in love are gold to anyone, even cold, heartless people. Ruby felt an even bigger wave of emotion strike through her and she began to weep like crazy into his broad, strong shoulder. It felt good to rub her face into his shoulder, especially when she was sad. Oscar just continued to comfort her, petting her hair and hugging her.

Footsteps coming from outside of the tent made the two of them freeze, the sadness and love from the moment before halting and then melting away as they realized that someone was coming. And they were close, too. Too close.

They exchanged glances of panic, jerked away from each other, and then both began looking around for a way for them to escape the possible havoc to follow. Oscar, leaped forward and ripped open the back of the tent, allowing room for escape. Ruby nodded at him with a grateful smile, then disappeared in a flurry of red rose petals, escaping through the back. Oscar quickly closed it and sat back into the corner, then quickly yelled out loud in a frustrated grunt, "Oh, c'mon, Oz!" He inwardly cringed at how fake it must have sounded, but set his face into a rock hard furious face.

Jaune paused from the entrance to his tent at the yell, then opened his tent, revealing a very angry looking Oscar with his head in his hands. He looked like he had just had a very heated argument with Ozpin, a common occurrence whenever he showed his ugly head. Well, more like his ugly voice, in this case. Jaune took a step back, surprised that Ruby wasn't in there with him. He thought he had heard her in here...

"Hey, uh...Oscar?" he began slowly. Oscar turned around and faced Jaune, a scowl on his face.

"What?" His reply sounded more like a demand of some sort. Jaune scratched the back of his head and looked down, then looked back up at Oscar, locking eye with him. Deep blue with bright hazel.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? Because you sounded-er, sound pretty angry right now."

"Just Oz. He keeps scolding me for not training 'hard enough' for him." He rolled his eyes and grunted. Jaune, who was not used to Oscar being so upset and salty, just nodded his head slowly.

"Uh, okay then." He looked up at him and rubbed his fuzzy blond hair again. "I'll see you later."

Then Jaune left as quietly as he had come, leaving Oscar alone again. Oscar did feel a little angry, though, for real. He didn't want Jaune interfering with anything that he and Ruby were going to do. And as far as he could see, Jaune liked Ruby, and if he found out the truth, he would probably take it all out on Oscar, using Ozpin as an excuse for all the others to kick him out. Not just that, but by doing that, he would be taking something very dear to Ruby away from her in a cruel, harsh manner, possibly leaving her with some sort of resentment towards him. Boy, were things a mess. If only Jaune was gone right now.

Oscar sighed, stretched, and then pulled his coat and his gloves back on. The stained blood in the orange fabric had dried and was now hard and crusty, making his gloves somewhat uncomfortable. But he just shrugged and stood up, stretching some more, and then heading towards the exit to his tent. But he paused for a moment, an unspoken question floating around in his head. He tilted his head slightly to the side and looked up at the roof of his tent.

"Anything to say, Oz?" he asked. When only silence replied, he nodded and left his tent, his shoulders in good posture and his face determined. For whatever reason, he felt like he could tackle his training today with good strength. Was it just the fact that Ruby had poured out her heart to him and totally refreshed his romantic situation? Or was it that Jaune hadn't pummeled him the moment he suspected that Ruby was in his tent? Well, whatever it was, it certainly made him feel good, so he walked to the breakfast fire in a much better mood than usual.

Meanwhile, after escaping Oscar's tent, Ruby had met back up with Weiss, eager to look innocent, and asked Weiss what she wanted to share. Weiss had eagerly grabbed Ruby's hand and ran off to the pond, a rare occurrence due to her petty, upright, royal manners. After going behind a tree and glancing around to make sure that nobody else was present, Weiss looked at Ruby with shimmering, excited eyes.

"I'm in love with Jaune!" Weiss almost squealed. Ruby looked at her, confused.

"Uh, what?" She raised a brow. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"What, is that hard to believe?" she asked with a snooty tone. Ruby shrugged, resulting in a gasp from Weiss.

"And what makes you say that?!" she demanded, her cheeks glowing already. Ruby giggled.

"It's just that, in Beacon, you hated Jaune. You didn't want anything to do with him! You even described him as 'tall, blond, and scraggly'." She held her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. That description was true and false at the same time. Jaune was very tall, he was blond, and in some ways, he was scraggly. Just not exactly.

Weiss just rolled her eyes and sniffed.

"Well I didn't want your feedback, anyway," she said, turning her head hotly. Ruby giggled again.

"Then why did you tell me in the first place?"

"Because!" Weiss snapped, turning her head to look at her teammate, "You're my leader and friend. Why not let you know?"

Ruby stopped laughing at the mention of Weiss calling her 'friend'. She had been waiting for more than a year for Weiss to say that, but was she really her friend? Ruby suddenly teared up. It wasn't from a mood swing making her cry from happy emotion, but from the fact that Ruby could hear someone else's voice in her head saying those words.

"Are you really my friend?"

Penny.

Ruby sniffed and wiped away a tear that trickled down her cheek. Her face still had tear stains on them, fainter, but still there, and now she really looked like she was crying. Had been crying. Weiss looked at her with concern.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering Penny."

"Oh. Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"Are you completely sure?" Weiss seemed too be suddenly asking for more, as if she suspected something. All Ruby could think of was,

She knows! She knows! Me and Oscar are doomed! Professor Ozpin will hate me! Auugggghhhhhh!

She was far to paranoid to think of anything else beyond that. So she stood there, wide eyed and frightened of the possibilities. Weiss only looked down, then back up with a softer look in her eyes. She was a little more serious now, or something.

"Is it Jaune?" she asked quietly. Ruby's eyes widened, and relief flooded her entire being, but so did confusion.

"What?"

"Do you...like him?"

Ruby's eyes relaxed and she smiled, putting her hand on Weiss's shoulder.

"Nah," she said, waving a hand and spitting, "I don't 'like' him the way you do. He's just my friend. I thought you of all people would know that!" She started laughing and waving her hand, putting her arm around Weiss's shoulder so that her hand was touching her other arm. For whatever reason, Ruby found it hilarious and she felt very happy. Mood swings were weird. Weiss, on the other hand, squinted and shook her head, unamused as Ruby slightly shook her while she laughed.

"Okay, Ruby, you're going to rip my sleeve or something," Weiss scorned, pulling Ruby's hands off of her shoulders, "Just...go eat or something."

Ruby rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Okay!" she said before disappearing in a burst of rose petals. Weiss pushed away at them as the crowded her face, but they disappeared soon enough. Dissolve, really. Weiss sometimes wished she had that semblance. It was bright red and had to do with roses, which Weiss found quite pretty. Most of the ones she saw were pink, red, or yellow, which were bright and not white. She was sick of white and light blue, which was why she liked her bright red scarf so much. Red contrasted with white, and she usually wore just a tiny bit of it, kind of like a sign of defiance against her father and their icy business and family. But she shook her head, brushed off her sleeves, and then walked back to the fire, wondering why she had even bothered telling Ruby about her newfound love. She was too young to understand romance, anyway.

"Hey, Ruby!" Nora greeted heartily as Ruby neared the fire, "How're you doing?"

Ruby smiled cheerfully and nodded.

"Great! Jaune checked in on me this morning and said I could get up if I wanted to." She smiled and sat down next to Nora on the log.

"What's for breakfast?" Ruby's stomach growled and she began to wish that she had some nice, juicy watermelon. She had been craving it for a while, actually, but had brushed it off time and time again. But now, all she could think about was jamming her mouth full of cold, juicy, sweet watermelon, imagining the watery juice dripping filling her mouth and cooling her throat, dripping down her chin and making her skin sticky...

"Wow," Nora marveled, "I never knew you though beetles were tasty." Ruby snapped back to attention.

"Huh?" she asked, setting her hands abruptly into her lap. Nora giggled and pointed to Ruby's mouth.

"You're mouth was watering when I mentioned that beetles could be poisonous and that if I were to stick one in Ren's mouth when he's sleeping, then maybe the beetle would get swallowed whole by him and then he'd turn into some sort of super-beetle-poison-animal thingy!" She finished her sentence in one breath, and had to take a deep breath afterwards. Then she smiled big and bright. Ruby looked at her, confused.

"Um...okay?" was all that she said. Nora shrugged.

"I don't know either!" she said. Then she walked over to Ren's dark green tent, which was probably one of the neatest, most up kept tents of the group, besides Weiss's. Her's was always neat and orderly, no matter how much stuff she had in there. Then Nora stuck her hand in, resulting in a startled yell from Ren, and then dragged him out by his thick, long hair, which slightly shimmered in the sunlight. It was so black and thick. Maybe he should cut it sometime.

She dropped him onto the ground and then clapped the dust off her hands, a smug grin on her face. Ren sat up and looked up at her, confused and a little annoyed. But when they met eyes, both of their faces softened and they smiled. Ruby inwardly giggled. How fun it was to see those to slowly go deeper in love with each other. It was so beautiful. But then her heart sunk a little as she remembered that her and Oscar didn't really have the freedom to outwardly show their love. It was all a deep dark secret, hidden deep inside her. Literally.

"I guess your gnarly tea worked just fine!" Nora told him, holding out her hand. When Ren took hold of it, she jerked him up way too fast, shooting him onto his feet and leaving him rubbing his wrist in slight pain. "Cuz Ruby seems a lot better to me!"

Ren nodded and pushed the hair out of his face. "That was the idea."

Nora laughed and patted his back. "You always have an idea. And this time, it actually worked!"

Ren sighed and walked to the fire, kneeling beside it and then adding to it. The flame, which was somewhat small, began to grow until it was large, warm, and bright, glowing and crackling with a cozy, campy feel. Then he stood back up and began cooking the fish he had recently caught, turning them over and over again on a metal grate that sat atop the fire. The fish's aroma made Ruby's stomach complain, but Ruby just ignored it and tried to look happy about it. Fish was good for you. And for whatever reason, Ruby's mind went back to watermelon, watermelon, watermelon. Juicy, sweet, watery, thirst quenching, fruity, cold watermelon...

Huzzah! Ruby's morning sickness is finally subsiding! And now they can finally get going. But how is she going to hide it much longer?

Thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters!