"Good morning, Ms. Schnee. How are you feeling today?"

"Fine, I suppose. And good morning to you as well, Dr. Ozpn." There were arguably more interesting things occupying the room she was in. Just earlier she was admiring the varied pieces of artwork that adorned the walls around the facility. There were a few works in particular that caught her eye more than any others: framed black and white photographs taken through the windows of buses, trains, and taxi cabs that captured intimate and lonely travelscapes. Every photograph she found of the sort were seemingly all by the same photographer. Limited or personal prints, perhaps. They weren't near trite enough to be damned to mass production. She spotted a few on the walls of the room upon her initial entrance, but no, her focus was on the overly, almost painfully ugly socks she got from the hospital. Just horrid enough for mass production.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances as initially planned, perhaps it would have made for a more comfortable situation, but I imagine you can take more comfort in this place as opposed to the needless brightness of the ward at the hospital." The man across from her chuckled and sipped from his mug. She chanced a look at him: a bespectacled man with graying hair, face easy with a pleasant smile so effortless it made her wonder if this was his face at rest. She broke eye contact and continued to pick at the rubber grips on the bottom of her socks.

"I wasn't aware that my sister had me an appointment on the books. We only discussed it briefly, so I guess this is initial enough." She paused briefly before continuing. "I will admit, this place is more pleasurable to my visual sense than the hospital was."

"I'm of the opinion that the effect of natural light is better simulated with windows as opposed to palettes of white and yellow." He chuckled to himself again before continuing. "We only talked briefly your first days at the hospital before you were transferred here, and only once since you arrival. I'm hoping that we could talk more at length now that your mind is more clear."

"Lucid is a more befitting term, I feel. Whether here or there, I have been effectively whisked away to the fifth floor. And undoubtedly for reasons."

"Why do you feel 'lucid' is the more befitting term? Do you feel such a difference between your mental state or presence now as opposed to before you were admitted that warrants the terms use?" His question wasn't intrusive. If anything, it was as innocuous as it could be given the situation. A perfect question to ease into the conversation, gentle yet poignant. A bridge towards establishing trust. And yet she clung to her reticence by default. She wasn't a terribly forthcoming individual in any right. She wasn't necessarily keen on sharing and nor was she keen on being emotionally vulnerable. She sighed, knowing it was futile to be a child in this endeavor. She wasn't wary of him. Just unsure of herself

"I do. If I can be honest, my experience with consciousness now as opposed to then is very much so night and day."

"That is good to hear. You've been on your current schedule of medication now for a span of days now. How have they made you feel, even in comparison to before you were taking them? Feel free to be as descriptive as you like, even if it seems unrelated or extraneous. We want to make sure that your medication is as personally tailored to you and your symptoms as much as we are able." She stopped playing with the stubborn grips on her socks if favor of pulling her cardigan around her, the chill in the building pervasive. Knitting her eyebrows together loosely in contemplation, she wondered. How did she feel? What had changed between now and then? Her brief stay in the hospital was a distant haze, even the days before.

"It's.. difficult to explain to an extent."

"Please try as best you can. There are no wrong answers." She made eye contact with the man.

"Fair enough." She sighed at took interest in her socks again before she continued. "My first days at the hospital, even the days leading up to my admittance were.. are hazy in a vague sense. I remember occupying myself at that point in time, but recalling it now when I'm not in the throes of that state of mind.. it's almost dreamlike? Like a memory of a crude recollection of a memory that I lived. I suppose it is the medication that is giving me this clarity that I have now. Everything is.. still a bit hazy though. I'm unsure if that is a bi-product of the medication or consequence of my recent and persistently errant sleep schedule."

"Suffice to say it may be a product of both." She caught his smile, paternal and understanding, before he continued "Mania and depression not only effect you mentally, but physically as well. This haze should go away within a day or two. Think of it as your mind and body finding its equilibrium again."

"I see."

"Is there anything else you can think of? Even the smallest thing may be of great importance."

"Nausea at times. It doesn't necessarily affect my appetite, but its presence is enough to make keeping food down a task at times. There's nothing else that I can presently think of." Her socks were starting to bore her and the more she looked at their sickly green color, the more she wondered why anyone would let these abominations see the light of day. She sighed and left the wretched articles be to sit simply on the couch and gaze upon the room.

"Very well. We will see if any of these things resolve themselves in the next few days before we take steps to try and remedy them." She hummed her acknowledgement. The conversation was easy enough. "Before we part ways for the day, I want to talk to you about your diagnosis. I feel that it is paramount that our patients are agents in their treatment process." Or so she thought. "It was quicker to happen upon given its presence in you family history. Your sister tells me that your mother also has Bipolar Disorder." She flinched ever so slightly.

"Had. And yes, I suppose, though I am just recently aware of this myself." She turned to look out the window. The natural light did do a setting such as this more justice than white and yellow paint.

"Had?"

"Suffice to say, it took her out, but that is a conversation for another day if you don't mind." She sighed. She was being needlessly difficult with someone who was not only being kind, but also trying to help her. "I'm sorry.. That was uncalled for."

"No need to apologize, Ms. Schnee. If anything, I should be the one offering my apologies for my careless slip of the tongue." His visage and his voice took on a serious tone and he lowered his head slightly in deference, a gesture that struck her as the utmost sincere as she turned to witness it before her met her gaze to resume. "I am sorry for your loss. We can most assuredly save the conversation for another day." She broke her gaze back to the window and remained silent. This was something she wanted to speak with Winter about first before anyone else. "Bipolar disorder is a very complex illness. It is characterized by the presence of manic and/or depressive episodes. Its character grows broader because one person with BPD may experience only manic episodes while another may experience both manic and depressive episodes in varying frequencies of occurrence or fluctuation. And then there are some who experience BPD with mixed episodes in varying degrees and frequencies. Bipolar Disorder is such a complex illness because no one person's biology or experience is the same." Information rich.

"How would you characterize my particular iteration of Bipolar Disorder?" Despite the distance her body language put in between herself, the conversation, and Dr. Ozpin, she was listening quite intently to his every word. Her thirst for answers and understanding quelled her anxiety regarding her life's affairs at present. Past and future even.

"Your particular iteration I would characterize as Bipolar Disorder dominated primarily by mixed features."

"Mixed features meaning the presence of both manic and depressive episodes, yes?"

"Yes, but more. BPD with mixed features is characterized by a third episode, one that contains elements of a manic episode and a depressive episode simultaneously. A person experiencing a mixed episode may experience the racing thoughts and energy of mania and the depressed mood and lethargy of a depressive episode at the same time."

"That sounds counterintuitive and.." she sighed, "terribly familiar.."

"I suppose that's one word for it," he chuckled. "Mixed features in Bipolar Disorder add another complexity to the illness. Its counterintuitive nature makes it difficult to treat because what is best for the symptoms of one is not necessarily the best for the symptoms other. Treatment for one feature may even exacerbate the features of the other."

"That's.. enlightening. Though I'm unsure if I should be entertaining hope or terror with this sudden knowledge."

"It is perfectly normal to be afraid, Ms. Schnee. Bipolar Disorder is a very serious illness, but I am here to urge you towards favoring hope for the long run." She looked toward him, unsure and slightly peeved at this man's easy and assuring disposition. It wasn't that she doubted his nature or his sincerity, but he was making it hard for her to decide if she was having a hard time with all of this or if she was already past the acceptance phase and ready to move on. Move.. forward. Her life had been effectively turning on its head for God knows how long and now it had turned on its head again with a crash into lucidity carrying a mountain of new information . And here she was, somewhere in between two different lives, both hers. She was surprised she didn't have a perpetual headache with how obscenely overwhelming her life had become. Is. Was? She sighed and resigned herself to keeping the jury out on everything.

"When can I see my sister?" She vaguely remembers Winter visiting her once while she was still at the hospital. Surely she had visited her more than that, but she could only vaguely recall once. She missed her desperately.

"Shortly, as a matter of fact," Dr. Ozpin smiled. "Visitation hours started twenty or so odd minutes ago. You are free to head downstairs to meet her if you'd like. I think here would be a fine place to stop."

"I would like." She pulled her legs from cross beneath her and rose from her chair to slide her feet into her sandals. She made for the door, pressing her weight against the heavy oak before she paused. "Thank you, for.. it was nice talking."

"The pleasure is mine, Ms. Schnee." She could hear his smile in his voice. "I will see you tomorrow." And with that she exited to the hall and headed downstairs. She was thankful that Winter had taken great consideration for her care during her mental absence. Beacon Mental Care had an awful name, but she could acknowledge it honestly and greatly for the care it took in every facet that made it one of the best private facilities for inpatient and outpatient mental health care. She felt at ease being admitted here as opposed to committed to the offensively bright and accosting medical ward. The wooden stairs she descended were finely maintained and polished and the warm colors and abundance of natural light were comforting elements. The place helped to put some of her nerves and anxiety at ease despite her present situation and the circumstances that brought her here. Rounding the banister, she caught a familiar head of fair hair that stood stark again the cool palette. She quickened her pace, perhaps even had a bounce in her step as she approached her still unaware sister.

"Winter!" A smile broke on her face. She had missed her sister desperately.

"Weiss." She was engulfed in that lovingly fierce and binding embrace. She enveloped her sister in kind. "How are you?" Her sister's inquiry came muffled before they separated. Winter smiled at her fully, thought her eyes were wet with joyously relieved tears.

"Well enough, I suppose. Though there's a cruel man upstairs who somehow got me to talk about my thoughts and feelings." She took Winter's hand as she laughed and led her across the expanse of the bottom floor towards the door to the grounds. "And here I thought I had a resistance to such demands."

"Thoughts and feelings, Weiss? Information I work so hard for, given away freely."

"I know. Who am I?" Her smile and Winter's laugh were full as they went outside, electing to sit on a bench positioned beneath the shade of dense canopies to escape the full force of the sun's rays. "You don't mind sitting outside, do you? It's uncomfortably frigid there," she finished as she pulled her free hand into her sleeve, the chill from earlier still vacating her body.

"I don't mind. It's rather lovely outside today."

"It is." She smiled easily as a comfortable silence passed them over for a few moments. Her attention was pulled left, to Winter who silently smiling at her. "You know, it's rude to stare at the differently stabled." Winter chuckled at that.

"You're terrible."

"It's hardly a secret that my main coping mechanism is self-deprecating and borderline inappropriate humor," she laughed. "You're arguably worse for finding me funny. But, to honestly answer your question from earlier, I'm.. I'm feeling better. My head is.. clearer, I suppose. More clear than I think it's ever been." It was strange, outside of or on the other side of her.. her illness. She found herself frequently in awe at the difference between her two most recent frames of mind. That what she once thought was normalcy was actually a product of an illness of her mind was.. surreal, and terrifying, especially since her present state of mind was so different, yet familiar.

"I'm glad that you are feeling well, Weiss, and I.." Winter was hesitating. Her smile faltered a bit as she collected her thoughts. "I'm sorry that I didn't realize that you needed help sooner. I feel that I was completely blind to your suffering, and because of that failed you as your sister." Traces of emotion lined Winter's voice. She saw Winter's eyes were wet again with unshed tears. She squeezed her hand in comfort.

"You didn't fail me as a sister, Winter. Quite the opposite actually. You've shown me patience, and kindness.. understanding. Even when I would try to push you, everyone away, I would always turn around after my fits, and you would be there for me." Her eyes were now swimming with unshed tears. "You don't ever get to think that you failed me as a sister. I won't allow it." She held Winter's hand tighter as she laughed, silently and abundantly grateful for her beyond words. She loved her sister dearly. "Winter." Remembrance. "How did you know mother suffered from.. from what I have?"

"When I retuned to base last weekend I called Father and asked him to tell me about whatever it was that she suffered from. Demanded really after his initial resistance, but he acquiesced when I told him that I feared you may be suffering from it as well."

"And how did that conversation go?"

"It was.. difficult. And far more draining that I imagined it would be despite it being an already tender subject." She hummed a simple response after taking in her Winter's divulgence. "He called and asked about you the other day."

"Did he?" That surprised her more than she thought anything ever could.

"He did. As did Whitley after I told him you were in the hospital." Another simple hum in response to the second most surprising thing she could ever experience. "I think you should reach out to Father, and Whitley, whenever you are ready."

"I," she paused in contemplation. These were separate mountains in their own right. "I'll think on it," she resigned, leaving the jury out on those mountains as well. For now at least.

"You should also call Ruby Rose," she started and turned to Winter for answers she was already poised to give her. "Did you know she saved my number to her phone at some point after that night I picked you up from the convenience store?"

"I was unaware.."

"Well she did, and she has been very persistent in following up on your well being."

"And here I thought I more than scared her away." She frowned in remembrance of that night. It was a horrid memory of a crude recollection of a memory.

"Funny things happen when you elect to maintain relationships." Winter pulled a phone from her pocket and slid it into her lap. "They become increasingly more difficult to chase away." Winter smiled. "You're a lovely person to know, Weiss. Arguably my most favorite person in the world. And Ruby seems like a sincere and caring friend. One I think is worth electing to keep in your life."

"I'll take that to heart." She slid the index finger of her free hand across the screen of her phone, oddly nostalgic for the effortlessly pleasant girl's company of the not so distant past. "Are you leaving this with me? Isn't it prohibited so I don't plot an escape?" Winter laughed at that.

"Maybe if you were in prison, Weiss. There are some rules though. Phones are to be checked in at lights out, and can be picked up at breakfast."

"Understood." An easy smile made its home on her face once more as she slid her finger across her phone screen again before leaving it be. She brought her head to rest against Winter's shoulder and they sat there under the dense canopies, partaking in light conversation and enjoying the comfortable silences that fell over them in between. Her thoughts drifted to a certain girl, then to certain strained relationships, but they flowed at a manageable pace so unlike before. Head light and heart presently full, she felt.. at ease.

….

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading and please look forward to more, Ivel!