Part Thirty

"How's the therapy going?" Blake asked, packing up her things.

"Better," Weiss said, "Once we finally got him there. All three of us were sitting there and Winter was doing the most talking, and then the therapist turned to Whitley and asked what he thought of all of this. He didn't really say anything, and Winter and I were ushered out of the room for the second half of the meeting. When Whitley came out he'd been crying. The next two sessions were just for him, and he won't tell us what they talked about, but he talks more in therapy now."

"That makes sense, I guess," Blake said, nodding her head. "I mean, he was stuck with your parents the longest, and you said he hinted at being pretty resentful for being left behind. He might not have been comfortable saying anything with you two there."

"And how are things with your counselor?"

"... Okay, I guess," Blake said, looking down. "I've been telling him about seeing Adam everywhere. He thinks it makes sense for me to be paranoid - predators like him are unpredictable and it's not uncommon for them to overlap with stalkers. That doesn't make me feel better, because if he really is stalking me…"

Ruby leaned in and hugged her. "Don't worry," she said brightly. "The Defense Squad is on the case!"

Blake made a face. "Ruby, he also said it's possible it's all in my head, that my head is trying to process everything that's happened and can't accept that I'm safe now. That worries me, too - if I'm seeing things that aren't there…"

"Still don't worry," Ruby said, squeezing, "'cause we're still gonna help!"

Blake smiled but didn't say any more. She had learned her lesson about running away - about not bothering them with her problems, about hiding her pain. But, at the same time, Weiss had just gone through something as major as her father being arrested and her brother now living with her - and her mother was still an alcoholic. So much was happening in her life, and Blake understood intimately well that those kinds of problems were all-consuming and she didn't feel right talking about her own problems. Not that she didn't need to, but it felt like some kind of twisted "who has it worse" competition. Weiss had admitted that what she was going through wasn't as bad as what happened to Blake, but that didn't sit well with her, because Blake's "issue" was one bad event that didn't die already, while Weiss had undergone years of hell. She didn't want to compare, so she tried to keep the two problems in different conversations.

Weiss seemed to sense her discomfort. "When do you next see your counselor?" she asked.

"Saturday," Blake said, finally finished packing. "He's mostly fine - it's just weird talking to someone I'm supposed to."

Weiss nodded. "It took awhile for me to get used to it," she admitted, "So I understand."

Ruby shrugged. "I was too young to get it, but Dad says that you have to have a connection for it to be good."

Blake shrugged. "Our connection is okay, I guess. It's just easier to talk to you guys and my mom. Speaking of which, I should get going before I miss the bus."

"Next year will be so much better when we all have our licenses," Ruby moaned.

"According to who?" Weiss asked. "You'll still be too young to drive, and Winter has firmly told me that I'm not getting a car until I'm eighteen."

"And we can't afford a car," Blake said. "So it'll be the bus until graduation."

"But isn't that what jobs are supposed to be for?" Ruby asked, whining.

"So… you get a job to get a car to go to your job?" Blake asked. "I can barely keep up with math as it is with you and Weiss and Oscar helping me. If I got a job I'd have even less time to study. I'll wait."

"You sure you don't want to wait until Yang comes back from driver's ed?" Ruby asked, and she had a weird grin on her face that made Blake automatically suspicious. Was she planning something…?

"I already waited until your dad got home," Blake said. "If I wait any longer I'll miss the last bus." And she really didn't like the idea of walking all the way to her house after dark. She was so paranoid by this point she'd jump at anything. She was nervous taking the bus as it was. Even with the longer days and Spring Equinox having just come and gone, she was jittery being in any vehicle that didn't have her parents or her friends there. Even with her friends, sometimes she would catch a glimpse of that red hair, or his car, or something else that made her think Adam was here. She'd lost count the number of times she'd had Yang look around to see if she wasn't crazy.

… She probably was.

Blake shook her head, saying her goodbyes and getting her winter coat on. The Xiao Long house was on a side street off the main road. Five minutes from a grocery store, seven from a pharmacy, and a fifteen minute walk to a bus stop. She pulled out her phone to set up her music, putting on her cat ear headphones to act as semi-ear muffs. Lo-fi chill music filling her ears, she made her way to the bus stop.

Three people were there, a mom and her child, barely four, and a tall man with a long, long, long rat's tail of a black braid in a brown trench coat. Blake moved under the covered seat, pressed herself into a corner, and watched. Her gold eyes went everywhere, but she didn't see any red hair. After the assault she had started carrying pepper spray, and since she started seeing things she kept it firmly in her grip in her pocket. The music kept her calm, the soft tones low and soothing, and she repeated to herself, over and over, that Adam wasn't here. Adam wasn't here. Adam wasn't…

She took a deep breath when the bus arrived, let everyone else get on before stepping onto the steps. Blake peaked her head over the tops of the seats, only one step up, but she didn't see any red hair or black trench coat. Feeling almost safe, she moved to the very back of the bus and sat in the last seat she could find. She cast her eyes out over their heads one last time, and she let herself relax.

It was three bus stops to hers, and every time it stopped she held her breath as people got on. Adam was never one of them.

Her stop was almost clear across town - she lived on almost an acre of property, the houses were all set back and far bigger than Yang and Ruby's, or Qrow and Professor Ozpin's. Blake had never realized she was middle class until she realized the difference in the size of their houses and where they were located in town. Her stop was still a twenty minute walk to her house, and she knew it would be the hardest twenty minutes of the day.

"... Maybe I should have waited for them to pick me up," she muttered, but she shook her head against the idea. That was the fear talking, and she was determined to keep her life as normal as possible. Adam was not going to control how she lived her life.

She took a deep breath and gripped her pepper spray, getting off the bus.

The sun had set while riding, and there were only faint traces of light on the far side of the sky. The streetlights were already on. Blake watched the bus drive on, turning three-hundred sixty degrees to make sure she was safe, and started walking to her house. "Have a sidewalk," she repeated to herself. "Have a street light. I'm safe: sidewalk, streetlight, safe. Sidewalk, streetlight, safe."

She hated how much of her life had changed. Honestly there were so many things she hated: her stupidity for falling for Adam, what happened to her on Halloween, how she was still so messed up by it, how much she ran away from her problems, how hard she had to work to get herself back to normal, how Halloween still rippled through her life via those damn photos, how she was still seeing a counselor, how much she had hurt her friends…

But they still stuck with her, she reminded herself. She had done some terrible things, especially to Yang and Ruby when she threw her newly-found anger in their faces, but they were still there, and she was determined to stick it out - even if she was going crazy. Ruby deserved it. Yang deserved it.

Yang…

Her cheeks colored at the thought of the blond, her athletic form and her sheer tenacity, and something pooled deep inside her, made her tingle in strange places. She started to smile at the thought, but then she ran out of sidewalk and her momentary sense of safety disappeared. Blake took a deep breath. No sidewalk for the rest of the walk, and soon no more streetlights. Her heart rate started to tick up, but the music reminded her she was fine, she wasn't going to see Adam, he was a figment of her imagination.

Further down the street she saw a silhouette, and she sucked in a breath, moving under a street light and gripping her pepper spray. It wasn't Adam it wasn't Adam it wasn't-

Red hair. Black coat. Ruined eye.

Oh god.

Two things happened simultaneously: her heart rocketed to her throat and she fumbled to pull her spray out of her pocket, and at the same time the fear was overridden by anger that he was still here, and she held the can up.

"Hello my darling."

"Go away," Blake said, tilting her head back to let her headphones fall to her neck.

"Come now, my love, that won't be necessary," Adam said. It was the same tone as before: smooth and cool, soft and sexy, but now she couldn't hear those things: she heard dark and confident, manipulative and dangerous. Her entire body tensed, and she started to back up. Adam saw that, and he smiled.

"Running away again?" he asked. "Is that what you've become, my love? A coward?"

And that was when Blake realized the latest layer of manipulation. He had been stalking her, she had been seeing him, he was hoping to come across this frightened little girl, so worked up and paranoid that she would have no choice but to do as he said. Her mother, her counselor, Yang and Weiss, they all were shouting in her head, and even if she was afraid, she wasn't going to run.

"I'm not running," she said, continuing to step back.

The smile disappeared. "... You will," he said, a dark promise, a threat, "but not before you suffer for your betrayal, my love."

"Betrayal?" Blake demanded, still stepping back. It was still a ten minute walk to her house, but Mom was home by now, and that's all she needed. "Betrayal of what? You've stalked me for what, five months? You threatened to send pictures of me if I don't come crawling back to you and then act like you have any right to my life? I don't want anything to do with your life! Now back off."

And Adam laughed - not the reaction she had expected. "Oh, Blake," he said. "You owe me so much," and his voice turned dark again. "Did you think all those gifts were for free? Did you think I would waste my time on you if I weren't going to get something out of it? You are going to spend a very long time paying me back."

"Well you can have it all back," Blake said, leaving the light of the street lamp. "The necklaces, the clothes, the bracelets. You'll just have to go to the landfill to find it and it's all yours."

"Ha," Adam laughed, the short bark he had when he thought something was stupid. When he thought Blake was stupid. "And what about that night, huh? What about all the damage you did that night." His face plunged into shadow, he kept moving forward and Blake kept backing up. "You were going to make me so much money, and I was going to treat you like a princess."

"That's a lie and we both know it," Blake said, her voice low. "You weren't going to treat me like a princess. You were going to sell me, over and over, night after night, for the rest of my life."

"I would have taken care of you," Adam said smoothly.

"Sure," Blake said. "Orange juice in the morning, drugs to get me addicted to so I could owe you even more, and twenty men a night. I learned more about what you do in the last year than I ever wanted to." She reentered a street lamp, glanced at what street she was on. All she needed was to get to her street, then she could sprint to her house. "Let me go, Adam. I'm not doing anything you say ever again. Stop stalking me."

"I wouldn't have to be doing this if you just behave," Adam shouted, his calm exterior gone, his true colors showing. "But you're selfish!"

"And you're delusional!" Blake shouted right back, still walking backwards. "Now back off before I use this!"

Adam had regained his calm, glared at her though his damaged eye. "I'd feel a lot more threatened if you'd actually broken the safety seal," he said.

What? Pepper spray had a safety seal? Involuntarily, Blake looked to her can.

That was when he grabbed her.


"Are you sure this can't wait until tomorrow?" Dad asked as Yang put his car in park. "Not that I don't love fearing for my life as you try to take turns at forty miles an hour on a side street, but it's just a textbook."

"It's a textbook that Blake needs tonight to study for the test," Yang said, turning off the engine and giving her father back his keys. "And it gets me practice on the road."

"Practice taking turns as fast as possible."

"What? I'm not used to centrifugal force. I'll get the hang of it."

"Yang, that gives me intense fear when you next get on the highway. The onramp is basically a one-eighty turn, and I suddenly picture you flooring it just so you can get to highway speed."

"Dad. It'll be fine. I swear."

"Yeah, yeah."

Yang climbed out of the car, textbook in hand, as her dad got out and made a show of looking sick to his stomach. Rolling her eyes, she jogged up to the front door and rang the bell. Mrs. Kali opened it. "Oh, I didn't realize you were dropping Blake off," she said brightly. "She usually texts."

Yang blinked. "What do you mean? She's not with us."

Mrs. Kali blinked. "What?"

"She left to take the last bus," Yang said, "When I got home, we realized she'd forgotten a textbook. Did we beat the bus here?"

Mrs. Kali glanced at her watch. "The last bus should have stopped off fifteen minutes ago, she's probably turning onto the street right now. Do you want to wait for her?"

"Nah," Yang said, handing over the textbook. "I haven't even started my homework yet because of driver's ed."

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Kali said with a pained smile. "Your poor father."

"I second that!" Dad said from the driveway.

"Dad," Yang hissed. "Could you not?"

"Well, if nothing else," Mrs. Kali said, "I know my daughter's going to be home soon. Let me get my coat. I think I'll meet her part way."

She disappeared for a minute and Yang pulled out her phone to check the time. Wouldn't Blake be here by now? She'd been saying for weeks she would run home once the street lights stopped because she kept jumping at shadows… something didn't seem right… She went back to the car and explained it to her dad. "Am I reading too much into this?" she asked. "I want to go running down the street and see if she's okay, but I don't want to be too pushy."

Dad frowned, rubbing his chin. "Tell you what," he said, "We'll join Kali on the walk to meet her. You can explain you didn't feel right and she can tell you if you're being sweet or not. Let me get the flashlight from my car."

Once Mrs. Kali came out, they started down the street, Yang powering ahead slightly as her anxiety started to get to her. Her hands were starting to shake again, and she knew it was probably over nothing. She shrugged into her fur lined bomber jacket and started to half jog ahead, letting Dad's flashlight light the way while he talked to Mrs. Kali about their days. Growing up with streetlights, Yang didn't realize how dark roads were without them. Everything was black with the set sun, the March air dipping below freezing - if there had been any snow left there would have been black ice everywhere. The end of the street T-boned with a main road - not one of the major streets but one of the city's bigger cut-throughs. She tried to remember which way she was supposed to go to get to the bus stop. Left…? She turned around and squinted into the flashlight. "Left or right?" she called.

"Left, dragon!"

"Thanks, Dad!"

Left there were street lights barely visible in the distance. In the dark it felt like miles away. She didn't see Blake, and now she was starting to get really worried. Blake should have met them by now, right? Yang broke out into a full jog - risky in the dark - towards the dim glow of far away light.

Was that movement?

Two figures… Yang turned around and saw her dad and Mrs. Kali had put a little speed on - they sensed something, too - and Yang pulled into a run, pumping her legs and arms in rhythm. It was a skuffle, Yang could tell that, but they were too small to see who it-

"I let you go once already, Blake! I will never make that mistake again!"

Adam…!

"Hey!" Yang shouted, and as she got closer she saw Blake and Adam - geez was his eye always like that? - fighting over something in one of their hands. Blake was growling, shifting, beautifully aggressive before she leaned in and Adam barked out a shock of surprise - she had bit him. Blake stumbled back, free and ran pell-mell toward Yang, who pushed even faster to meet her. "Blake! Blake!"

"Yang! He's real! He's been stalking me!"

Yang skid to a stop and took Blake in her arms, the two hugging each other tight. "Light," she said, voice shaky, "I need light."

Yang fumbled for her phone, pulling up the flashlight but Adam was there again, tall-dark-and-angry as hell, lifting a fist. Yang's training with her dad kicked in and she ducked under the swing, shoving Blake away and lifting her guard up, adjusting her footing and bouncing slightly to pump herself up. Adam tried again and Yang was ready, blocking the blow and throwing a sharp right jab, darting her foot forward to plant behind his and using his weight to send him to the ground.

"You again?" Adam demanded, getting up.

"Yeah," Yang said, "Me again. Got a problem with that?"

Adam snorted, getting up on his feet. "Not really," he said, spreading his own feet. Crap, he had training, too. "We both remember how last time went."

Yang's hands were shaking again, she couldn't get them to stop. She was scared - she could admit that - Adam was older and bigger and just scary - but she loved Blake and she wasn't going to let her down, she wasn't. "Back off," she said, blood on fire.

Adam smirked in the darkness. "Really?" he asked, incredulous. "Trying to scare me so you won't die trying to protect her?"

"Yeah," Blake said, striding forward. "Amazing what happens when you have people who actually care about you." She lifted her hand and Yang saw some kind of can in it. She sprayed, but nothing came out. She looked at it in shock, shaking the can and trying again.

"Nice try," Blake," Adam said with a sneer. "But it's below freezing out."

He shot forward woah he was so fast and Yang backed up several feet to give herself room to react, keeping her guard up and focusing on either blocking or deflecting the blows. Patience, patience, let the other guy tire himself out, Dad and Mrs. Kali would be on them in seconds; she just had to wait. She sidestepped, ducking a cross and risking giving an uppercut before sidestepping again, trying to see if she could see her dad. Adam got a good hit to her chest and she stumbled back. Blake was in her field of vision, shaking her can and cursing as bad as Uncle Qrow before giving up and throwing the can at Adam, lifting her own guard and taking a stance next to Yang. Her footing was terrible.

Adam saw that, too, and he smirked.

But then Yang saw what she wanted, and just to be a tease, she relaxed her guard, pointing to her chin slightly with an evil grin.

Adam rushed forward, but her dad was there, grappling a wrist and twisting, several belts better than Yang and head and shoulders better than Adam. Two swift punches, a roundhouse kick, and Adam was on the ground, breathless, trying to get up. That was when Mrs. Kali smashed his head with a flashlight.

And Yang smiled darkly. "Gotcha."

Dazed, Adam rolled on the ground, but Dad took the man's hands and put them in a lock behind his back. "You're lucky the girls are here," he said brightly. "If they weren't I'd actually hurt you. If my brother were here you'd be dead."

"Blake!"

"Mom!"

The two hugged each other tightly, Blake was shaking again, and Yang darted in to add her own support. "It's okay," she said quickly. "It's okay, it's okay. It's over. He's going to jail now."

"I don't believe it," she gasped, and Yang belatedly faintly heard Blake's lo-fi music - somehow her headphones were still working. "I don't believe it. The pepper spray wouldn't work…"

"It's okay," Mrs. Kali said. "It's okay. Oh, my little kitten…"

Blake pulled away from her mother to drag Yang deeper into the three-way hug, burying her head into Yang's neck. Yang threw a glance to her dad, but he had everything well in hand, holding the dazed Adam down with one hand and talking to the police on the phone with the other. She squeezed Blake for all she was worth, nuzzling the thick dark tresses and placing a reassuring hand on the back of her head.


Tai hated phones sometimes.

He was trying to have a three-way conversation: a text chain with Ozpin and a phone call with Qrow. "Qrow," he tried to say. "Qrow… Qrow… Qrow, stop swearing for three seconds so I can - Qrow, do you want me to answer that or…" Rolling his eyes, he hung up, instead pulling up his text chain with Ozpin.

Don't worry, I've no intention of leaving Oscar. Should I have Qrow bring Ruby over for the night while you continue to settle matters with the police? This was followed by two other lines. I assume Qrow is swearing at you, and Call me when you're done. I don't mind waiting.

Tai smiled at the professor's patience, and sent a text. I Just Hung Up On Him.

Don't worry. I'll get him settled. Should we take Ruby?

Yeah. I Don't Know When This Is Going To Finish and Ruby WILL Wait Up.

Noted. I'll text Qrow.

Then his phone buzzed, Qrow: Did you fckn HANG UP N ME?

Tai: Yes. Are You Going To Stop Swearing And Let Me Get A Word In Edgewise?

.. Maybe.

Then, to Ozpin: Wish Me Luck. Round Two. He called Qrow. "Don't say anything, don't swear, don't make any noise other than when I prompt you. Got that?" he asked.

"... Yeah," was the sullen reply.

"Okay, now that I can actually explain a few things. One: you are taking Ruby home with you. She's going to wait up for us to get home and I have no idea how long it's going to take. Two: you are going to do whatever Ozpin says when you get home to calm yourself the hell down. Three: you are forbidden from swearing for the rest of the night, and I will check with Ruby and Oz to see if you managed it. What number am I on? Four: Make sure you leave the back light on and that the house is locked up when you leave."

"Tai, I know how to-"

"No interrupting," Tai said sternly, "Or I make sure you don't get laid for the next week."

There was an absolutely wonderful noise of indignation that Tai pretended not to hear. "If you actually want to hear the rest of the story: the brat's in custody and sitting in a patrol car right now. Yang and Blake are both fine. Now repeat after me: the girls are fine."

"... the girls are fine."

"Good. I'll text when we're finally done." Tai hung up and grunted, taking a deep breath. "I swear he's a third kid," he muttered, pulling his text chain back up. He explained everything to Oz, including the missive about swearing and checking in.

I will do my resolute best, Oz replied, though I notice the threat to his love life.

Sorry. Needed To Hold Something Over His Head To Get Him to Shut Up.

Please don't do that in the future.

Sure Thing. Sorry.

Tai finally looked up from his phone and sighed. It was nine o'clock, cold, and red and blue lights were still flashing down the street. Two cops were in the house interviewing Blake and Kali, and Yang was glaring out the window at the flashing lights, on silent guard duty. Tai's gaze trailed down to her hands, and he was pleased to see how still they were. He walked over and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You did good tonight, my sunny dragon," he said softly.

Yang looked down at her hands, also noticing how still they were. "Is it over now?" she asked. "Does it all get to go away?"

Tai pursed his lips but he gave her the truth. "It never goes away," he said. "Big stuff like this… it sticks with you. It bubbles up at weird times, things that have nothing to do with it set you off. There's a reason why March is so hard on your uncle and me."

Yang turned to look up to him, violet eyes slightly wide.

"You learn how to handle it responsibly," Tai said, pulling her closer. "Learn from Qrow's and my mistakes, know when you need to talk about it, when you need to fight it out of you. Look absolutely fine at the trial - Qrow and I will both be there to cheer you on. But," he added, "the worst is over."

His daughter didn't say anything, just nodded and turned back to the window, staring at the flashing lights. Tai let her have her guard duty, gave her one last squeeze and turned to find Ghira. The giant community organizer had been absolutely beside himself to see cops at his doorstep, his voice could be heard booming when he realized "that predator tried to take MY DAUGHTER?" and since then had his baby girl wrapped in his arms and refused to let go. Blake had leaned into it at first, but last Tai saw she was starting to squirm, and he figured he might have to stage a "rescue."

He found Ghira in the kitchen, sans Blake, and he looked up as Tai entered. "They said something about finding an address and sending a car over," he said. "Odds are there will be a lot of girls there."

"Yeah," Tai said, sitting down. "You knew where to find a crisis counselor, and you're a community organizer, is there a center or something you can use for this?"

"There is, in the capitol," Ghira replied, dragging a hand down his face. "I also have the number of some therapists who've dealt with things like this in the past."

"There's also rehab for a lot of those girls," Tai added.

"My little girl almost ended up there..."

Tai nodded. "But she didn't," he said softly. "That's the part you have to hold onto. The night she was supposed to disappear she got away and called for help. When he tried to terrify her she got mad instead. Tonight she tried to use pepper spray on the guy. She did everything she was supposed to. You have a pretty brave little girl, Ghira."

And, slowly, Ghria smiled. "... I guess I do," he said softly.

Tai left not long after to return to Yang, saw Blake hugging her tightly and Tai quickly decided to be somewhere else. He spotted Kali leaning against a doorframe and moved to join her. She smiled to see him, saying, "The police say they'll be leaving in a few minutes."

"Good. A long night is finally over."

"A long night, but with a happy ending," Kali said, and her eyes drifted to Blake and Yang hugging. "I know you said Yang had a crush on Blake, but I didn't really 'see' it until now."

Tai shrugged his shoulders. "I'm the token straight guy in the family," he said. "Qrow and Raven are both bi, and Yang just came out at the beginning of the school year. Now the professor's part of the family, and with Summer gone…"

Kali smiled. "I wonder if this means Blake…" she shook her head. "I shouldn't be guessing," she said. "She'll tell us when she knows, and we'll still love her, no matter what."

Tai snorted. "Make sure Ghira knows that. I'm starting to realize he goes Papa Wolf when he feels even a little bit threatened."

"Oh, I more than know how to take care of that," Kali said with a sly, cheshire grin on her face. "Do you want to spend the night here with Yang? Give the two of them some time together?"

"I want to sleep in my own bed, if you don't mind," Tai said, not unkindly. "Have a few hours before my 'third kid' starts demanding to know what happened."

"Third kid?"

"Qrow," Tai said with a flat voice.

Kali laughed. "If you need me to mother him, let me know."

Tai in turn snorted. "You should be good," he said, "The professor seems to be doing a great job keeping him in line."

"That's me and Ghira to a T," Kali said. "If you or Yang need anything, let us know."

Tai nodded. "Same goes for us. We'll keep you posted."

"Same. Now we just have to pry apart the would-be lovers."

"Ugh, please don't put that picture in my head yet. Yang only just turned sixteen."

Kali giggled.


April vacation was heaven, as far as Ruby was concerned. It had taken a lot of coordinating, but they had all arranged for one of their parents to be off and spend the day with them. Monday, Ozpin and Oscar had them all over and did a full-day cooking lesson with them. They all chose recipes for lunch and dinner (Ruby, of course, chose a recipe for strawberry shortcake) and he took them to the store for the ingredients and organized how to spend the day cooking and what should be started when. (They had started with dinner, because the pizza dough needed time to rise, as did the bread that was going with lunch.) They all had jobs at stations and it was amazing to eat something that they had all actually made! Tuesday Blake and her parents had them over for an extended movie day, where they all got to bring over a movie, watch it together, then pick it apart afterwards. (Oscar's movie was the most interesting. It was an old black-and-white film from the thirties that his dad liked. He talked a lot about the history behind it.) Wednesday Winter had taken them all to Hartford for the Connecticut Science Center, and they had spent the day exploring the exhibits. (Weiss was taking notes, pointing out that some of this might be in their science class later in the year.) Thursday Yang and Uncle Qrow had a video game tournament and Blake was the ultimate winner, to everyone's surprise.

But today was Friday! And while it may not be as extravagant as some of their other activities, her Dad was taking them all to the park for the was a sort of Do-What-You-Want sort of day. Blake had brought a lawn chair and was in the shade of a tree reading, Yang had brought their volleyball and was kicking it around like a soccer ball. But Weiss brought Whitley.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "Whitley's friends needed to cancel last minute."

"That's fine!" Ruby chirped. "The more the merrier!"

"Many more and I'll need another adult," her dad grumbled.

"Hello," Whitley greeted politely, coming over. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He frowned. "It seems strange to say that given that all of you have been friends with my sister for so long."

"No worries," Ruby said, waving it away. "Your Dad is a jerk and that's not your fault."

Zwei barked at her feet in agreement.

"Oooh! Zwei! Who's a good boy! Yes you are, yes you are!" Weiss cooed, crouching down to rub the corgi's head. "What a good puppy!"

Ruby giggled, used to Weiss always being so enamored by their dog.

Whitley knelt down beside her. "Hello, doggo," he greeted softly.

Zwei instinctively knew that two humans were about to give him a ton of love, and he barked happily, rolling over to have Whitley rub his stomach.

"Heh, you two never had pets?" Ruby asked, crouching down as well.

"No," Weiss said. "Father never brought it up and as I grew up, I thought having a pet would be redundant with how much I was taking care of Mother."

Whitley looked between them, face trying to hide surprise with how readily Weiss discussed their father. He looked away and grit his teeth. Ruby gave him the space.

Zwei barked.

"Zwei!" Ruby exclaimed dramatically, holding her heart. "How mean!"

"What?" Whitley asked flatly.

Zwei barked again.

"How dare you!" Ruby said, attempting to sob hysterically.

Tongue lolling out, Zwei barked two more times.

"That's it, Zwei!" Ruby swooned to the ground. "We're finished! No more treats! You need to work off that energy and that bad mouth!"

She bounded up to her feet and ran to the bag her father had next to the picnic basket. She pulled out the frisbee and stepped dramatically to Zwei, wagging the disc. "Zwei! For your meanness, you need to run! Yang!" Ruby turned to her sister, who paused with their volleyball. "Keep away!" and she threw the frisbee with all her might.

Zwei barked happily, chasing after it.

The game extended through most of the morning, Blake getting dragged into it when Whitley accidentally crashed into her trying to catch the frisbee and then both of them trying to pull the frisbee from Zwei's firm grip. Blake firmly announced that dogs didn't like her and climbed up the tree she'd been sitting under to get back to reading after a few catches that had Zwei barking right up to her. There was much laughter and giggling when Dad called them over for the picnic.

"Thanks," Weiss said softly. "I haven't seen Whitley play around like that in years."

"The overpowering power of Zwei powers over all!"

Weiss laughed, rolling her eyes. "That makes no sense."

"Doesn't need to make sense to be true!"

"Okay Zwei," Yang stood at the end of their lunch. "No more frisbee. Your teeth are too strong." She pulled out the volleyball. "Try and take this!" She took off running and Zwei happily barked after her and followed the ball when Yang kicked it to Whitley.

"Ah!" he scrambled up. "Sister!"

"On it!"

Blake sat behind Ruby on the bench. "Maybe if I stay with you that beast of yours will keep away from me."

Ruby laughed. "What are you reading? I think Dad brought some books in case we got too tired from running around so much."

Blake smiled.

An hour later, the others started collapsing around them from running around so much and Blake just offered Ruby a wink. Zwei proudly lay between both Schnee siblings, contentedly wagging his tail as they both petted him. The afternoon settled to quieter things, at least to give them a chance to regain some energy. Blake was by Yang, talking quietly, and Ruby sat with Weiss and Whitley.

"Of course, we need to start thinking of finals," Weiss said.

"Weisssss!" Ruby whined. "It's not even May yet!"

"But after April vacation, the end of the year is always much closer than it seems," Weiss replied primly. Then she slouched, smiling. "I won't bring it up again till May. I still need to organize all my notes, figure out the major topics of each unit, the works. Mr. Qrow has been helpful. Now that he teaches, I see how teachers plan their units and it's easier for me to pick out the important information."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, it's strange seeing him as a teacher. He was a third-shifter for years. Seeing him awake in the morning is so strange, even after almost a year of this."

Whitley looked over. "Your uncle is…" he trailed off, looking away.

"You can say it," Weiss said softly. "Qrow is a recovered alcoholic."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "He used to be drunk when we were little. Then he got that job as a third shifter. Then he was laid off. Professor Ozpin suggested Uncle Qrow be a teacher. None of us would have thought of it. Dad was really surprised, because Uncle Qrow showed no interest in being a teacher in college. But I think he's good at it. He's been teaching me and Yang for years. Now he teaches Oscar too."

"He did?"

Ruby nodded, happy to talk about her family.

Eventually, Whitley just looked away. "I see," he said, and stood, walking over to her Dad and carefully sitting down to talk.

"That's good," Weiss said softly. "It's…. He's had a hard time adjusting to being with us. He's recently started seeing the point of therapy and it's working better, but…" she shook her head. "It's a lot to work through. The two of us never saw change. That things changed for Qrow is too bizarre for Whitley to comprehend."

Ruby shook her head. "Everyone changes. You changed. Even growing up, you learned new ways to survive, you learned how to maintain and you refined it until you couldn't take it anymore."

Weiss gave a soft smile. "Yeah. It's…. Father's computer provided a lot of information for the police and he has a lot of charges against him."

"But that's his issue," Ruby said. "You're free."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I'm back in the news, but it's okay. Winter, Whitley and I, we'll be okay now. We're still trying to convince mother to get help but…"

"She's not there yet."

"No."

"That's okay. It's her choice."

Weiss nodded. "Thanks, Ruby. Meeting you, getting to be friends with you… I can't ever repay that."

Ruby sputtered. "What? What did I do?"

Weiss looked at her, and just smiled. "Never mind. Does Zwei need another walk?"

"Um… What?" Ruby blinked at the swift change of topics. "Huh?"

Chuckling, Weiss stood. "I'll get his leash from your dad and take him for a walk."

"Um, okay? But he's been running around already."

But Weiss left the shade, out to the sun and the bench her dad was set up at.

"Well that was strange…"

Ruby shrugged and headed over to Blake and Yang.

"Hey Ruby," Yang smiled brightly.

"Hey," Blake said distractedly, flipping the page of her book.

Ruby sat down. "Yang," she said solemnly. "Weiss is incredibly strange."

Yang laughed. "No duh. What'd she do this time?"

Ruby watched Weiss walk away, sun gleaming in her hair. "She thanked me for meeting me. Like, what did I do?"

Yang blinked. "Huh. I don't know."

Blake looked at the two of them. "Seriously?"

Both siblings looked to Blake.

Blake set down her book, giggling. "You do realize that the two of you have been a hefty dose of normal for her and me, right?"

"Really?"

Blake stared. "How can you not see this? Look, I know you two had it rough when you were younger, but you two are like… normal. You have healthy relationships, you are supportive, you don't push, you… you get it." Blake shook her head. "I don't know if I have the words for this. Weiss and I, the last couple years have just been abysmal. Like, full on staring into the abyss terrible. But we've had you two, your family, your support." Blake ran out of words again. "I know what Weiss means. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be with Adam, probably as a sex slave by now, addicted to drugs, and all sorts of bad things. Weiss would still be with her dad and her mom. There is no comparison. Meeting the two of you saved the two of us. Of course we're both so grateful to have met you."

Ruby's heart swelled. "I didn't… I mean I just wanted to help… so often I couldn't…"

"Yeah," Yang said, wide-eyed. "Like… um… yeah."

Ruby and Yang looked to each other.

Blake just smiled. "You two are something special."

"Awwww," Ruby looked down, running a hand through her hair. What did one even say to that? "Thanks."


Ozpin was humming to himself. The previous week had been graduation at Beacon, and he had the next three weeks of the house to himself as Qrow and Oscar were still in school. In fact, Qrow's school got out three days before Oscar's, something he was needling Oscar about with glee. But by having that time to himself during the day, Ozpin was keeping busy. He didn't plan on teaching for the summer, instead choosing to do research for another paper to write.

But before he did that, he had something of a self-assigned project. Ozpin's office was where he did most of his work, be it grading, research, writing, whatever he needed to worry about. Now that Qrow had moved in and spent the year teaching, Ozpin had noticed that this could no longer stay that way. Qrow did his grading and lesson planning on the couch, and Ozpin wouldn't allow for that any more. The year had been about adjusting to actually teaching, and now that Qrow had a system, it was time to improve it. And the first thing Ozpin wanted to do was give Qrow space in the office to do more of his work, rather than just using the couch. A desk to hold his textbooks, his laptop, whatever else he needed.

At the moment, Ozpin had an app open that he had used to scan the dimensions of the office and was using various features to rearrange bookcases and his desk to provide more space to get a desk for Qrow. It was an interesting mathematical diversion, especially since Ozpin needed more space to let his leg out. In the back of his mind, he wondered if they'd need to look into buying a new home, one with slightly larger rooms, but that was far lower on his priorities than actually paying off his medical bills so that he could incur more medical bills by getting the surgery necessary to remove the bone fragments from his knee.

A glance outside showed that the rain had eased and was fading to sunlight. Hm. He hadn't had lunch yet. He should probably look into that. A glance at the app and Ozpin moved his digital desk by the window, forming a u-shape with a bookcase behind him, the window to the side, and his desk in front of him. That might give enough room for another desk for Qrow… Perhaps right angles?

The doorbell rang.

Blinking, Ozpin extended his cane and set his phone on the desk. If he was going to answer the door, he might as well also get lunch.

The doorbell rang again as Ozpin reached the door and opened it.

"Hello, Ozpin."

Salem.


Author's Notes: Le Gasp! An honest to god cliffhanger! When was the last time that happened!

But first: Two antagonists down! Adam Taurus is off the board, huzzah! Also: those details about twenty people a night and only giving them orange juice in the morning etc? All from that PD of hell; i.e. it's all real. (shudder) Blake's story isn't over, per se, she still has to live with everything that happened to her, but unlike many girls in her her position, Blake is allowed to have closure by having the person who did this to her arrested, and she's in a healthy enough place where she can recognize that the worst of the story is over and all that's LEFT to worry about is recovery.

A lot of people had a part in the take down of Adam, because his story (and people like him) affect a LOT of people. Team Mom and Dad get to shine, Yang get's her famous "Gotcha" line from Vol 6, and Blake has agency too by (most importantly) verbally standing up to him, trying to pepper spray him, and also throwing the can at him, to say nothing of biting him.

And while it's not much we give a small snippet of Whitley being part of the family now. It's not much, but...

Next chapter. It's been thirty chapters of build-up to Oz and Salem meeting again. Pray we meet expectations.