It was bright. There was a very bright light in front of her eyes. Was she dead? She opened her eyes and blinked hard. She held a hand in front of her face to shield it from the light and found that it was wrapped in a bandage. She looked down and she was wearing a simple white dressing gown. The air was warm and a breeze rolled by. The air smelled like cleanliness and coconuts.
"Am I in heaven?" Winter asked dreamily, to no one in particular.
"No ma'am, you're in Menagerie." A nurse smiled at her, her rabbit ears twitching with excitement. "Oh I am so happy you're finally awake, your husband has stopped by every day to check on you. It's sooo cute. Oh, I should get the doctor."
The nurse scurried off and Winter thought back. Husband? Her head was still spinning and thinking hurt too much. She began to drift off again as the nurse returned with a beautiful woman in a white coat. The doctor returned to check her over. She had to do a number of tasks and she doubted that she did well, but the doctor was pleased nonetheless.
"Well Mrs. Gale, you are definitely concussed but there doesn't seem to be any major brain damage. We're just going to take a little blood to check on the infection and then we'll leave you two alone." The doctor smiled.
The doctor wrote on her clipboard and the nurse approached her with a needle. Winter wasn't sure why, but she flinched. She wouldn't let the nurse anywhere near her arm. A rough voice spoke and she felt a hand encase hers.
"Here, let help." The voice spoke.
He rubbed his thumb along the back of her hand and hummed a familiar song. She remembered her grandfather singing it to her as a child, but this couldn't be him. She knew Weiss knew the song but Weiss' voice was much prettier. There was only one other person it could be. Winter gasped as the nurse inserted the needle and the nurse offered a sheepish apology. When they drew enough blood the nurse removed the needle and patched her up. The nurse and doctor left and closed the door behind them. Winter used all of her energy to turn to her side and face the man who was holding her hand.
"My husband, huh?" Winter grinned. "How long have I been out?"
"Only about a week. I still don't trust doctors though." Qrow smiled.
"So what's my diagnosis dear?" Winter asked with a grin.
"Concussion, several splinters, 2nd-3rd degree burns, internal bleeding from a sword wound in your side that got infected on the way here. Your fever has gone down and the chances you recover are much higher than when I pulled you out of the sea." Qrow handed her the clipboard.
"Excellent, and Blake and Yang?" Winter asked.
"Some scrapes and burns, a couple splinters. They were mostly unharmed. You did good getting Yang onto the boat." Qrow kissed her hand.
"And you?" Winter asked, pointing to his bandages.
"Torn rotator cuff from over exertion. You should have seen him row, he certainly wouldn't put in that effort if it was my life in the balance." Tai joked as he entered, slapping Qrow on the good shoulder. Qrow winced and Winter broke into a broad smile.
"You made it!" Winter cheered. "And the kids?"
"Back home with their families, except for this one." Tai smiled and stood aside.
Weiss stood by the door. She was thin, but healthy. She wore a new grey dress and simple shoes and hand her hair tied off to the side in a ponytail. She was obviously trying to get a better view of Winter but not wanting to crowd her. Winter's eyes welled up with tears and she reached out for Qrow to help her sit up. She held her arms out wide and Weiss ran to her and hugged her gently, as if Winter was made of cracked porcelain. Winter kissed her sister's face and head all over and held her close. She was safe!
"How have you been Weiss dear?" Winter asked, a wave of dizziness forcing her to lay back down.
Weiss told her all about playing on deck with Tai and Ruby and how Ruby would bunk with her so that she wouldn't feel as lonely without Winter and how Yang had to get very creative with their rations towards the end of the journey. She told Winter all about the other kids that she befriended and the shenanigans that they got into onboard. Tai had to remind her to stop and breath. Weiss hugged her sister again and kissed her cheek.
"Do you want to come back with me and Ruby and go to the beach and let your sister rest a while, Weiss?" Tai asked. Weiss frowned.
"Why don't you can come back and visit her around dinner?" Qrow offered. Weiss agreed and gave Winter one more hug.
"Don't you forget to visit me or I will miss you terribly." Winter chided sweetly. Weiss smiled. Tai hugged Winter and took Weiss by the hand and took her to join the other kids. Winter smiled.
"What a good father. I'm glad Weiss has such a figure." Winter laid on her back.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Qrow asked, somewhat offended.
"Well, I am a childless single woman. I can barely provide a motherly influence for her, let alone-"
"Tai didn't raise those kids by himself you know?" Qrow frowned.
"Yes, I know. I wasn't implying…" Winter stopped for a moment and turned her head to look at Qrow.
"What were you implying, Qrow?" Winter asked, an eyebrow raised.
"You know, you haven't eaten yet today. I should really get the nurse to bring you something. You can't take this much medicine with no food, that's just asking for digestive trouble." Qrow stood and Winter grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He looked over his shoulder at her and winked. She grinned.
"I'm serious about the food though, let go of me." Winter let go and Qrow went off to find some food for her.