05/19/2001…

The dusty county backroads were the perfect terrain for the heavy-duty aging truck Jaune called his own. Jaune got up early that day to pick up Ren and Nora so they could take an early morning drive up towards interstate 90 and then a straight shot towards Bonney Lake.

He wasn't part of the conversation, but Ren and Nora had decided, apparently in unison to end the pregnancy. Jaune commented to himself that they picked a pretty nice day to do it if nothing else. The skies were clear except for a few lazy white clouds that hung in the air. Jaune was able to see for literal miles in the mostly flat landscape only broken up by dried brush and the occasional farmhouse as they had already made it pretty far away from the sleepy town they called home.

Normally Jaune wouldn't give the scenery the time of day, he had, after all, been seeing the same brush and the same occasional farmhouse for what would have been three full years come summertime.

But it was a good way to distract himself while driving Ren and Nora, who were both sitting in the rear seats of his extended cab pickup truck.

Jaune spared a look back when it was clear there was no real chance he was going to hit anything for a second to look at his two friends. Ren leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed seemingly lost in his own thoughts, while Nora looked somberly out the side window, taking in the outside world while leaving a hand on her stomach.

The silence of the car ride was starting to get to Jaune a little bit, they had barely said good morning to each other when they got into the truck. Jaune remembered looking out of the passenger side window of the vehicle to see a visibly upset Sam watching from one of the windows.

"I wonder what was going through her head at the time, was she relieved or was she upset that Ren and Nora decided to do this.?" Jaune mused to himself before he decided to finally break the silence saying "You guys comfy back there? Alan and I never got quite around to redoing those seats."

Ren without opening his eyes said "it's fine, just don't hit any bumps"

Nora didn't say a thing…

Jaune asked, "Look, Nora…" Before he paused and focused on driving muttered "Sorry, it's not my place."

Nora sighed and looked forward, "Go ahead Jaune…"

Jaune said "I mean, I've had some time to really think about this in detail and… I know you both came to a difficult decision here, I just wanted you to know I got your backs."

Nora sighed and went back to her window "I know you do Jaune, I just think…. No never mind."

Jaune spoke up "Just thinking what?"

Ren spoke up "It's fine Jaune, we're never going to be 100% certain about this choice."

Jaune sighed "Dammit it all, I said I'd only drive you two if you were 100% certain, it's in the no regrets clause of my driving service after all."

"It's just… Well goddammit, I'm the one carrying this little thing in me." Nora said.

"I know that Nora." Ren said tensing up "I thought we were on the same page on this, we both want to be able to get college degrees, you wanted to become a chef after all right?"

"I know god damnit, I know!" Nora shouted "But I just can't shake off the doubts I'm having.

Ren added, "I know, and as I said before were never going to know with 100% certainty if this is the right call or not."

Nora bitterly spat out "So we need to go with what we think is best… I get it Ren."

Jaune chimed in "Well, let me help, we got a long drive still. What are all the options you all decided to go with so far?"

Ren spoke first "Well we talked about having the kid…"

Nora added "Briefly…"

Ren grunted and spoke up "But we both agreed that neither of us is in a spot where we are ready to be parents. Hell, the kid is going to be born in the middle of the fall if we bring it into the world, I would still be in basic then."

Nora sighed "While I would be stuck raising the kid, and who the hell even knows where you would be posted after that"

Jaune added, "The best-case scenario is the other side of the mountains."

"Exactly, or we could end up in Germany or Japan or something!" Ren said.

"Right but that's after basic right? What happens till then?" Jaune asked, "Nora would have to pick up a local job here and would need Sam or Summer's help to keep an eye on the kid while she was working…"

Both of them went silent for a moment.

"Wait, you two didn't even consider the idea that our friends would help you with the kid? What the hell you two?" Jaune chided looking back through the mirror "Jesus Christ, we had Weiss living under my roof for almost four months, and Jacque Schnee let his very lesbian daughter's girlfriend stay in their place for a month."

"Your point being Jaune?" Ren said

"His point is we didn't consider that our friends and their parents are probably willing to lend a hand if need be!" Nora said with a waver in her voice.

Ren sighed as well "I'll… Admit that didn't occur to me…"

Jaune said "Well no shit, you never had to really rely on anyone but yourselves. Especially not while you were living with that crackhead's foster family."

The Trio fell silent as Jaune made the turn to get onto the interstate to head towards the city.

After a solid minute of silence, Jaune spoke again "Did you guys maybe consider Adop-"

"No!" Ren and Nora said in Unison.

"Alrighty then," Jaune asked as he glanced for a moment into the rear mirror at the pair. Nora was becoming more distressed as they closed the gap, something that Ren was also picking upon.

"Alright so what's the plan here you two, I'm not making choices for you here." Jaune said, "You're both absolutely certain this is what you want?"

Ren only could say "I guess…"

Nora answered with a firm "No!"

"What do you mean no Nora?" Ren asked.

"No shouting matches in my car you two!" Jaune said, "Nora, share your thoughts with the rest of the class please."

"I mean… I thought I was able to do this, I really was, but now that we're on the way to do this, it's hitting me as real and… I'm sorry I just don't think I can do it!" Nora Sobbed out as her will started giving out. "I mean now that we know we have friends and family that could help as well…"

"We do this, we won't be able to get you into college to become a chef, and I'd have to enlist practically the day after we graduate as well!" Ren said.

"Well I mean I think Summer would be sympathetic to her situation and be willing to watch the kid so she could take classes, or even look into night classes, Hell my mom went to night school to learn to write vehicle estimates when I was like… four," Jaune added.

Ren sighed "Look cut to the end of the lecture and tell me what your point is?"

"My point is, it wouldn't make it impossible to achieve your dreams, it'd just make it harder," Jaune said.

"Damnit…." Ren said, "I thought you were on our side!"

"I am, and I can tell this is going to fuck with Nora for a lot longer than nine months if you both do this…" Jaune said. "I mean have you really thought about what it would do to you both as people? I sure as fuck didn't."

"We'd be living our whole damn lives knowing what we did Ren… You might get your wings, and I might become a chef, but we'd both know what it took to make it happen." Nora added. "I… I can't live with that hanging over my head forever."

Jaune fell silent as Nora sobbed in the back with her hands on her stomach. Ren looked down at the floor of his seat before he chimed in "Okay then…"

Jaune looked back at Ren "What's up?"

"I guess we can't do this if we're not all on the same page about it can we?" Ren said. "Damnit Nora, no one was ever going to force you to do it if you didn't want to do it that badly."

Nora sobbed out "I'm sorry okay, Jesus I mean I thought I was ready to do this till we got into the car!"

Ren reached over and started to rub his girlfriend's back… "It's okay, I'm sorry if you were feeling like you had to do it for me."

Jaune quietly smiled upfront and said, "So if you're keeping it then, any name idea's yet?"

"Jesus Jaune we only just decided…" Ren said

"How far along is she?" Jaune asked.

"We…. We don't know Jaune… I've missed about two periods now…" Nora said as she fought to calm her nerves.

"Well, I'm sure if it's a girl I'm sure Sam wouldn't mind you naming her after, well you know…" Jaune said.

"Actually Jaune… we all decided that… well you were the closest to Pyrrha… if anyone gets to name a kid after her it'd be you and Ruby." Nora said.

"Bold ass assumptions you're making back there, how the hell do you know Ruby and I will even make it that long?" Jaune replied back.

Ren just shook his head as Nora sobbed out in relief in her seat. Jaune looked at the passing green freeway signs showing that the exit was the next stop. "Alright, I need to get off the interstate either way, and… Oh hey a McDonalds, just in time for us to still get breakfast…"

That was enough to get a nervous chuckle out of Nora who added "Might as well, we can't go back empty-handed right?"


A couple hours later Jaune's truck had returned to Sam Niko's place, By that point, the trio had food in their stomachs and a weight off of them, Ren and Nora quietly returned to the inside of their home as Jaune watched them head in. Satisfied he decided to go over to Ruby's place to fill her in.

As he knocked on the door he heard someone shout "Come in!" from inside, it sounded like Summer shouting. He stepped in just as Summer was poking her head around the corner. She took one look at him and declared "she's in the living room, she doesn't have her hearing aids on so don't startle her."

Jaune nodded as he also stepped into the living room and sat next to her as she was watching some cartoon to distract herself.

Ruby looked at Jaune and with some hesitation and signed out [So is it done?]

Jaune shook his head and signed back [Nora decided she couldn't go through with it.]

Ruby exhaled and signed [Thank gods…]

Jaune felt Ruby lean against him and out of instinct rubbed her back before he put both his hands where they could still chat.

[Did you ever get any word back from the school you applied to?] Ruby asked.

Jaune signed [No, I've been looking at options for apartments out there though, I figure I could live down south where rent is cheaper and commute to classes if I do get accepted to it.] before a brief pause and Jaune also asked [What about you?]

[Nothing yet…] Ruby signed

Jaune and Ruby sat in comfortable silence before she asked [How long would you be away?]

[The full program is…. I don't know, three, maybe four years long?] Jaune signed back

[The medical program is… well yeah about four years as well.] Ruby replied back before she paused and signed [I mean… it's not that long right?]

Jaune couldn't help but feel like it was. Four years without her felt frankly insurmountable, like a mountain he'd have to climb without a rope. He smiled and signed [Well yeah, I mean couples go through stuff like that all the time.]

Ruby couldn't find herself returning the smile [Just shut up and hold me for a while okay?]

Jaune nodded and wrapped his arms around her as she rested against him comfortably. Jaune knew the clock was ticking; they had only a month left before the end of high school, and before then, they would hopefully know if they were being accepted at the schools they chose.

For right now though, Jaune decided to enjoy the moment the best he could.


So here we are at Chapter 90 I was originally going to have a big spiel here about something but I for the life of me can not remember what it was about. I know this story tends to have characters tend to be extremely OOC at times and I know some elements of the fandom would probably honestly be turned off by certain character changes. But I think Ren and Nora tended to stay pretty close to their Canon versions except for one minor change.

It was never an accident that they tended to keep to themselves and stuck off to the side, I've alluded to the backstories of the two, being in the foster system and somehow through sheer luck staying with each other through a series of foster families that for one reason or another didn't work out, and that the last foster family before they were taken in by Sam was by most accounts horrid, this created a mind set in them of only ever relying on each other. So of course it never even occurred to them that they have other people that would be willing to help them as potentially young new parents. Most of their "Parent figures" either abandoned them, or turned out to be grossly unfit for the job.

Just some food for thought really.

ZHsteven: Yeah I'm kind of glad the chapter was pretty well received, I know a nuanced look at the subject of abortion is not something that comes up in the fandom I'll admit, and I really did try to keep it as unpolitical and non-religious as I could, which is why I didn't depict anyone asking Weiss her thoughts on it. Your Mom does sound pretty incredible to be honest, I didn't have kids till later in life and they, were their still a challenge to be honest. Balancing that with school... Wowsa.

Dragonlord: Well said, for all the talk, this was a problem strictly created by Ren and Nora.

NarutoNikeNinja21: I'm pretty pro choice myself, but yeah no I agree. I kind of went half-way on this, I mean if your reading this you already read the chapter, I didn't write Ren and Nora as being particularly ready, or even wanting to be parents, even still. But Nora not being willing to go through with it, honestly is a very real reaction. I know when I became a parent I was no where near ready, nether myself or my not-quite wife had our shits together even close enough to be parents. Neither of us had great jobs, I was working part time in a bowling ally and she was working full time in a Daycare. She was renting a trailer, and I had just for a brief period moved back in with my mom because I was living in a house with way to many friends and it turned out to be a bit of a shit show in the end. Like I said to ZHsteven I think that anyone that managed to successfully raise a kid when they became a parent in highschool is damn impressive. So hey, shout out to your mom there.

Chinaluv: Hey so yeah I hope you sorted out your password by now, but it's great seeing you.

Well in any rate, Strap in and brace yourselves, the last chapters are coming up, the gang is now staring down the twin barrels of graduation and a the end of an era in their lives. as always thanks again for reading and I'll see you all next time.