AN: My word, this took forever to write! I suppose that's to be expected, though, I actually got commissioned to write for pay. And while I enjoy this story, I don't get any money for this, haha. So that's that. It's also been pretty busy here, and I expect it to get even more so in the following weeks. We've got several large projects due, and two field exercises, as well as our culminating exercise. I will try to write when I can, but make no promises.

I tried to make this one a little longer, and it has 4,052 words of content, so hopefully y'all enjoy. Please read, enjoy, and review!

The Burden Carried

Weiss groaned softly, trying to turn into the material of her bed, that didn't quite feel soft enough, eager for even five more minutes of sleep. Yesterday must have been full of meetings for her to feel this bone tired, even after-

Her eyes snapped open, to be greeted not by the sight of her bed, but instead of a beige sofa. No, not in her room. And while yesterday had been consumed largely by meetings, that wasn't what made her feel this exhausted. She closed her eyes, shuddering at the flashing memory of concussive shock, a flare of hellish light, and the acrid smell of things not meant to burn set aflame. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head, and forced her eyes open. There was no sense hiding from the day. A low murmur of voices in the corner of the waiting room caught her attention, and she looked over to see Blake talking to the hospital's chief of security, Yang standing supportively by her side. Something fluttered in her chest as she remembered Ruby doing the same thing for her, more times than she could count.

…She had always been able to count on Ruby, hadn't she? And now, Ruby was lying somewhere in this hospital, and it was her fault. If she wasn't Weiss Schnee, than perhaps this would never have happened. Perhaps Ruby would be able to walk in that door, both arms waving excitedly about one thing or another. Her chest twinged again, but she shook it off, standing as gracefully as she could, despite her body screaming in protest. It was the least she could do for Ruby.

"Weiss." Blake was coming towards her, face blank, though Weiss could catch that glimmer of concern in her friend's golden eyes.

"I'm fine, what's the situation?" she asked as she made a brushing motion with her hand. If only she could brush away this entire situation as easily…

"Time is currently oh-seven-forty-three, Ruby came out of surgery three hours ago, almost to the minute. Her vitals are currently stable, and she's in the ICU. Mister Lyall has some of his best guards on the floor, and currently Nora and Ren are standing guard right at the door to her room. Ruby hasn't woken up yet."

Weiss nodded. "And I wasn't awoken when the surgery was over because…?" she asked leadingly, trailing off while letting an annoyed look flick across her face, a mask to hide the worry that surged through her chest.

Yang was the one who answered her, her shoulder rising and falling in a fluid shrug. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Weiss, we figured you could use a little more sleep. The doc said that everything was normal."

Weiss grimaced disapprovingly at that. "I still should have been woken up!" she insisted.

"Weiss, really, think about it. You needed the rest more than you needed to know. Heck, it was only just recently that your Aura finally recharged all the way," Yang chided with an annoyed frown. "And if you're going to get pissed at anyone, get pissed at me. Blake wanted to wake you up, but I stopped her."

Weiss sighed wearily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, fine. The past is past, there's nothing we can do to change it. Anything else, Blake?"

"I took the liberty of phoning the company. They know that if you do come in today, it won't be until noon, at the least. The board is going to hold things down until you go back in. Clean up and repair is already underway on the front entrance and drive. The hospital would also like to give you a quick examination, now that Ruby is safe and stable. They aren't expecting anything too severe, of course, or else they would have forced you into the ER, but they want to do some basic tests just to be positive." Weiss opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. The look that Blake gave her was cold, hard, and uncompromising.

"Fine, where is it?"

Blake's smirk was nothing if not victorious.

And so Weiss found herself in an examination room fifteen minutes later. "Wouldn't even let me get my tea," she grumbled to herself as she idly glanced at her nails. Great. They looked like the nails of a laborer. Maybe after she made sure that Ruby really was okay, she could arrange an appointment with her salon. She felt her lip curl back in disgust at that. Ruby was still unconscious, and here she was, worried about her damned nails. But that was the despicable part of it, she had to be conscious of her appearance, all the way down to the tiniest scuff on her nails, the smallest stray hair. The Crimson Claw committed an act of terrorism, and she had to present a strong, unruffled front to the vermin. They would be searching for the smallest sign of weakness, and she couldn't afford showing any to them. Such was the price of being the head of the company, the face that everyone looked to in times of chaos. Everyone carried their own burdens, this one was hers.

The door swung open, and she looked up as a doctor walked into the room, peering down at her chart, likely looking over the vitals that had been recorded by a nurse right after she had been brought to the room. "Miss Schnee?" he asked, glancing up at her with eyes that were warmly sympathetic and also worn down and tired. His were the eyes of an emergency department doctor, who had likely seen a great deal of pain and death in his time.

"Yes?"

"I'm Doctor Petersen, and I'll be conducting that physical examination so that we can get you clear, alright? But first, can you tell me your full name and date of birth?" Mindlessly, she rattled off the info, and he smiled his thanks. "Good, memory is good, response was fast and accurate, and your speech is clear. Are you feeling any sort of headache?"

"No. I did at first, and I think I suffered a pretty bad concussion when the truck…when it happened, but I think my Aura healed that up pretty quickly. Now I just feel really tired, and there's like…I don't know, almost the memory of pain, right behind my eyes, as though if I try to remember it or move my eyes too quickly, it'll be back. But for an actual headache, no, I don't have one."

"That's good news. Are you feeling pain anywhere else?"

She glanced at her hands, remembering the feeling of blistering hot asphalt searing her scraped palms, but now the skin was as smooth as ever, no sign of the minor injuries that they had withstood. "No."

"Not even under your eye?"

Her hand came up, on its own accord, touching the bandage that had been placed there while en route to the hospital. She had grown so used to the thing that she no longer took note of its presence, and the wound that lay underneath didn't hurt unless…she hissed slightly, pulling her finger away. Unless it was directly touched. "A little, if you touch it."

"The benefits of being a Huntress, I suppose," he mused. "Mind if I take the bandage off?"

"No, please, by all means."

She tried not to wince at the feeling of the adhesive pulling at her skin, nor at the way the bandage's dressing pulled at the wound itself. But there wasn't much resistance, and the doctor didn't have to soak the bandage in saline, as was sometimes necessary for when the dressing became saturated with blood and became stuck to the wound. But to her surprise, his face was not happy when he finally removed the bandage. "What's wrong?"

"Well, the wound is pretty much closed, I don't see any signs of fresh bleeding. It looks like it's completely scabbed over and well on the way to creating new skin. However…if we had gotten to this sooner, we'd have been able to stitch it. Now…it's going to scar pretty badly."

She flinched at that. "Is there any way…?"

He shook his head. "Not really. We'd have to make another incision directly over the wound in order to reopen it, and then give you the stitches."

She swallowed heavily at his words. "How bad is it?" The cut hadn't felt that big, and it hadn't hurt as much after the first few hours. By the time her father had called her, she had forgotten about it, she was so wrapped up in everything else. Wordlessly, Doctor Petersen gestured towards the attached bathroom, and Weiss approached it cautiously, almost dreading what she would find in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in, hand finding the light switch. Closing her eyes, she flicked the light on. Okay, Weiss, on the count of three, open your eyes. One…two…three!

Her eyes snapped open, taking in the young woman in the mirror. Bags under her eyes, her frazzled, and slightly stooped shoulders showing the fatigue that she felt. But the greatest change lay under her left eye, a rusty red horizontal line that bisected her old scar almost perfectly. She stared at it for a long moment, before sighing heavily and bracing herself on the sink with slightly shaking hands as her eyes wearily slid shut. It wasn't good…but wasn't as bad as she had feared.

"Miss Schnee?" Doctor Petersen asked from the examination room, voice carefully gentle.

Her eyes snapped open at his words, face determined. "I count myself lucky that this mark is all that I will have to bear as a result of that attack, and let it remain so that I will always be reminded of the price of complacency."

"Miss?"

She turned around, facing the doctor, standing tall and proud. "It stays, Doctor. What kind of person would I be to be concerned with such a scar, when Ruby lost so much more? I thank you for your service. Will that be all?"

The look he shot her was unreadable, and he held her in his gaze for an uncomfortable moment before finally nodding. "I feel confident that you are none the worse for wear. However, if you get any sudden increase in pain, or start to feel lightheaded or dizzy, seek immediate medical aid. No more stubbornness, Miss Schnee. If you had visited the ER right after the attack, like you had been asked to, your scar would be much less noticeable."

She nodded gracefully, acknowledging the truth behind his words. "If I start to feel worse, I will come in. Thank you for your time, Doctor. I really appreciate your service."

"And I yours, Miss Schnee," he returned, and upon noticing her confused face, he went on to elaborate. "The Schnee Dust Company is well on its way to being the leading company that gives the hospital grants. That started after you became CEO."

Ah, that's right, she remembered as she excused herself and began to make her way to the ICU waiting room. Upon finding out exactly how much the CEO position was actually paid, she had nearly had a conniption. What was distressing was that this wasn't just a failing of her father's, but could be seen in most major companies. What use did she have for that much money? After calculating how much she needed to maintain the Schnee estate and adding a little on the side for the occasional girl's day out or extravagant purchase, she had still had millions left over. Part of that went to giving a collective pay raise across the board, making her employees some of the better paid workers in the world. The rest went to charities and as grants to organizations like schools and hospitals within Vale. The media had gone absolutely ballistic, and her rival business owners had ridiculed her, calling her a little girl who had no idea how to run a business. Fools. She hadn't touched public stock to do any of it. It had all come out of her own paycheck, so the stockholders actually benefited, in the end. She still had enough money in other stocks and in savings that she could live like royalty for the rest of her life, if she so wished.

But really, it was father's reaction that had hurt the most. That had been the angriest she had ever seen him, as he bellowed that she wasn't worthy of the family name, that he wished Winter had been born first. Feh! Bastard only wanted that because Winter would have been easier to control. He was just mad that she was improving the Company in ways that he had never even dreamed, with that black, greedy heart of his. Productivity went up, employees stayed with the Company longer, reducing the amount of time needed to train new employees, and she was being lauded as the leading vision in industry.

That had made the pain of her father's rage disappear, that look of quiet pride and approval in Blake's face when she revealed her plan to her. And Ruby…she didn't think she had ever been hugged that hard by her team leader before. Yang had thrown her a party in her bar, and the hangover the next morning was astounding, but totally worth it. That had been the first time that she had done something outside of her job as a Huntress that she felt truly proud of, the first 'right' action that she made as a CEO. And the fact that she used the resounding success of her decision to begin talks with the less militant leaders of White Fang to begin a Faunus Worker's Rights program a month later was merely icing on the cake. Rather than dreading working for the SDC, Fauni workers began to flock in, eager to work for one of the few companies that aggressively instituted anti-discriminatory practices and offered equal hours and pay between human and Faunus workers.

She had so much that she could be proud of, and so many people looked up to her as one of the more forward thinking CEOs of any company. And yet there were still bastards like the Crimson Claw out there, who dared to hurt her and her friends! She paused there, standing in the hallway leading to the ICU, and she took a deep breath; unclenched her hands. No need to get angry now, when there was no point to it. She was in control…she'd save the anger for when she could put it into action.

"Miss Schnee?"

…And here comes the anger again. Well, less anger and more exasperated frustration, she reminded herself as she turned to face the speaker, lips thinning in distaste. "Mister Arc."

Jaune, looking sheepish and as clueless as ever, even if he was well on to the way of manhood. But she still remembered how he hadn't taken a damn clue, and had kept asking, no matter how many times she had said no. How Pyrrha stood him, she'd never know. But now, at least, he was well aware of what he had done wrong, and Dust help him if he tried to do anything stupid.

That had been an unpleasant afternoon, when she had finally just been so sick and tired of it all. And not just against Jaune, but her friends, too. The look of hurt on Ruby's face when Weiss had lashed out would never be forgotten, but she had been so tired of the harassment from Jaune and feeling like she couldn't even depend on those who were supposed to have her back. Thankfully Ruby, Yang, and Blake had apologized first once they realized just how bothered Weiss was, and she had explained to them precisely why she was so mad. The four of them had tracked Jaune down, and explained to him, in very simple terms, what he was doing and why it was wrong. The look of horror on his face when he finally, finally realized that he was little better than the sleaze-ball scumbag predator at the bars who sexually harassed women. Since then, their relationship had been frosty. He'd never be quite forgiven, so far as she was concerned.

Well…he was an ally, a comrade-in-arms…some bonds forged at Beacon could only be undone by the most heinous of actions. But he would never be her friend. "I would like to thank you for coming out to help…I know that it's quite a long trip."

He relaxed marginally. "There's no way that we wouldn't come…unless it wasn't safe for Pyrrha." Wasn't safe for Pyrrha…what did that mean? "Ruby was the first person he became my friend at Beacon…without her, I don't know if I would have stayed, or did as well."

"Well, her and Pyrrha."

He gave a small grin. "Ruby convinced me that coming wasn't such a bad idea. Everything else goes to Pyrrha."

Almost as though summoned by her name, Pyrrha came around the corner, as graceful and regal as ever…not to mention very much pregnant! "Jaune, has Weiss come back from…oh! Weiss, how wonderful it is to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances." Her smile was more dazzling than usual, and Weiss got the feeling that this was what people meant when they said pregnant women glowed.

"Pyrrha! I'm glad you could make it!" They embraced, Weiss careful not to press against Pyrrha's protruding belly. "And you brought a surprise!" Was she sounding a bit manic? She might be sounding a bit manic.

"Yes, I know, and I'm sorry for not telling anyone earlier, but we wanted to keep it a secret."

Weiss blinked at that, confused for a moment. But then she realized it. Just as she was a target because of her last name, so too were Jaune and Pyrrha both. And the fact that they were having a child would catch the attention of many a ne'er-do-well. "Oh, of course. But…what about the baby? Is it safe for you here, if the Crimson Claw comes to attack?"

Pyrrha's grin was positively serene. "I'm not so far along that I can't fight, and with my Semblance and Jaune's protectiveness, I very much doubt that anyone could get close enough to even touch me, let alone do me harm."

"So, it's a healthy pregnancy?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." It was Jaune who answered her, as he walked up next to Pyrrha, draping a protective arm over her shoulder. "I may have screwed up a LOT of things in the past, and I know I make mistakes all the time…but I refuse to fail as a father. If Pyrrha couldn't have made the trip safely, we wouldn't have come. I'm sorry, but there are some things that I simply can't risk."

…When had Jaune grown up so much? Yes, she could still see the bumbling teenager who had infuriated her to no end while at Beacon, but she could see a determined strength within him, from the set of his broad shoulders to the steely glint in his eyes. For a brief moment, she felt a flicker of regret. Like she said earlier, the past was past, and couldn't be changed, but if Jaune hadn't been so pigheadedly stubborn in his pursuit of her, they could have been friends. Ah, well. No use dwelling on it. Jaune was still valuable as an ally in Ruby's protection.

"I can respect that. Now, what I'd like for you to do is for you to guard Ruby until we can clarify that she isn't under threat of another attack, or until she's recovered enough that she is no longer as vulnerable."

"Do we have a time frame?"

"No. She still hasn't woken up, and I haven't spoken with any of the doctors yet. It's still too early to know anything, but I don't think it'll take longer than a month for her to be placed on the medical floor."

Jaune nodded. "We can only hope. Alright, I'll have my team augment yours. Nora and Ren can assist Yang while she tries to find those that did this. Pyrrha and I can stay here, helping out the hospital security. Have you thought about contacting Beacon for help? I'm sure that Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch would be more than happy to lend some of the more experienced student teams to help."

She stared at him, wordless for a moment. No, she hadn't thought of that. She had been thinking too much on what resources her company had to offer, and what Vale and the hospital had available, and hadn't thought of asking for help from Beacon. Stupid! How could she look over something that simple?! "That's a good idea, thanks. Do you mind making that call? I'm going to be busy hunting down my own leads, and running the company."

"Yeah, we've got that covered. Yang is waiting inside, and Blake disappeared like she does, saying something about talking with the head of security about cost figures."

"Right, thanks."

"Well, now that that's been settled, we're going to go get some food, the stuff they offered on the plane was atrocious, and while the doctor cleared Pyrrha for flight, I do not trust that stuff!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I don't think anyone does." The two of them turned, began to walk away, hands finding each other, and Weiss felt a pang of…regret? As she glanced at their joined hands and noticed how Jaune's thumb rubbed comfortingly over Pyrrha's she found herself thinking of Ruby's hands…no, hand, now. So often with grime under the unevenly trimmed fingernails, palm rough with calluses from wielding her heavy scythe. Her heart gave another pang, and she yearned to go hold Ruby's hand now, and damn her responsibilities.

But she was in charge of Schnee Dust Company, and she had obligations to fulfill. And that was what made a leader. Put your own comforts aside, and focus on leading those under you. It would be so easy to do what she wanted, to shirk her duties, but then her father would have an excuse to try and retake the reins of power, and undo all of her hard work, and that was unacceptable. No, this was her burden that she carried, and it was one that she willingly took. She had to do what was right, not what she wanted. Ruby would understand. Don't worry, Ruby, I'm going to be there as soon as I can, but I have things I need to do.

Her scroll in her hand, thumb already dialing the number to the Board, her walk was brisk and determined as she made her way down that short distance to the waiting room. The scroll was by her ear, and she was already talking, making decisions as she entered the room, eyes glancing longingly at the couches and chairs in the room. How she wanted to get a little more rest, how she wanted to see Ruby…but no. "Yes, send a messenger with my laptop. I need something more than my scroll to be effective. What's the status on the company? No, I don't bloody care. I've already made my decision regarding the events surrounding the event. I want the rest of the company proceeding as normal, but beef up security at our more vulnerable facilities. Yes. The news wants to talk to a representative?" She glanced at her watch. "Have them send someone to the hospital at two o'clock, I'll see about getting a conference room available. Until then, give them the usual fluff…I don't want your reassurances, Rich, I want results!"

It was a burden, yes, but one that she was prepared to carry, one that she had trained for years to bear. And, honestly? She didn't trust anyone else to carry this weight. She glanced at Yang, who was snoring lightly on one of the couches, and thought of Blake, no doubt tightening security even as she spoke, and she glanced out the door, thinking of Ruby, hooked up to who knew how many machines. Yes, this was her burden…but her friends made it easier to carry. Don't worry, Ruby, I'll be there soon. And some friends made the burden lighter than anyone else…