How is that hanging? Don't worry I'll catch you peoples... maybe.

Chapter 15:

"YANG!" Qrow yelled as he began to sprint towards the building. He didn't care what anyone said, or even what his training said. That didn't matter to him. All that mattered was removing whatever landed on the blonde and dragging her out as well.

Nearly tripping from the weight of his boots, Qrow smiled faintly at the fact he could make out some of the blonde hair going under a few of the rocks which at least meant she was close. Whistling loudly he gestured towards some of the men standing around to run and help him.

The heat from the building meant nothing to him. The hot bricks he was manhandling with his bare hands meant nothing. It was as if it weighed nothing and were only barely hotter than normal. As some of the final rocks were tossed away, Qrow could see Yang's head bleeding. Pressing some fingers to her neck, he breathed a small sigh as he felt a pulse.

That simple fact was enough to make Qrow brutally aware of the heat and his blistered hands all of a sudden. But he knew he could ignore that pain. It was going to be nothing in a matter of a few minutes as long as he could get the remaining pinning rocks gone.

Turning around, Qrow was at least glad to see more of the force seemingly ignoring their basic training which he just knew was going to be something that had to redrill into everyone's head, but for now, he knew could take some solace in the fact that the work would go by a lot quicker.

Quickly grabbing the nearest walkie talkie on someone's belt, Qrow quickly dialled in the station. "This is Chief Officer Qrow. We need an extra ambulance. Yang Xiao Long is down." Qrow demanded, and before he could hear the next comments quickly tossed it to the person he had taken it from just so he could rejoin the efforts to get Yang out of the building. That was all that was going to matter to him. He didn't care how it would look to the union or even his bosses. He'd take whatever punishment they decided to give him with an easy conscience of knowing Yang was alive and he didn't lead her to a far too early grave.

"So you can really... um..." Pyrrha asked with a dark blush as she held the door open leaving Ruby to roll her eyes as Neo continued to push her in.

"Yes. Why is that everyone's first question really. You could prick my toes all you want or stab my thigh. I can't feel it. My legs, hips, really from my waist down, I can't feel anything. Hot, cold, pain, you name it. Hell that was what ultimately lead me to a hospital trip from a history of kidney stones and one just getting caught below that point." Ruby said as Pyrrha just nodded her head as she followed the duo in. "I mean the whole waist thing is just a rule of thumb. Some sensations from that region do get through just they do carry the pain from every single nerve. Something about the body trying to compensate. I just say it sucks because they'd never reach my toes again letting me feel the sand between them again."

As they walked into the small room that acted as a waiting room for the building, Pyrrha just smiled down at Ruby. Chuckling softly to herself, Pyrrha nearly jumped out of her skin seeing Ruby's door flying open and a worried look being strewn across the man's face.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Ruby asked calmly as she gestured for Neo to stop pushing her. Something that she was glad Neo did ,followed by her nearly running to behind Pyrrha. A defence that under normal circumstances was enough to make Ruby laugh.

"Your uncle called. And I'm going to kill him." Tai spoke as he was about to walk past Ruby he frowned as he felt his wrist getting caught. A sentiment that was clear to him what Ruby meant. "Your sister had a portion of a brick wall from some nightclub in the factory district falling on her. Because he sent her in. She is in surgery for a lot of internal damages, and I figure I'd be a lot more gentle with murdering him than Weiss." Tai spoke with a tone that Ruby hadn't heard in a long time.

It was the tone he always used when there was something a lot heavier weighing on him besides exhaustion. "What else Dad." Ruby said as she used her other hand to move her chair around a bit more to see her father's expression.

"That is all I know Ruby." Tai said as his youngest just pulled his arm so he was bending over a bit.

Wondering what was the sudden change in Ruby's stance of him bending his back over, that was until he felt a hand delivering a smack to his cheek. A feat that Ruby knew was going to make Neo and Pyrrha wonder how she managed that as Tai began to reel but Ruby maintained her grip on his wrist.

"What. Else. Dad?" Ruby asked as Tai pulled his hand quickly from Ruby, wincing as he could almost feel Ruby's seat starting to fall from her chair. Quickly lunging to catch her, Tai just frowned as he stared into the silver eyes.

They carried the same type of discerning towards his actions that just made him see his late wife in his child's face. Making sure Ruby was safe and sitting in her chair again, Tai took a quick backstep to get out of Ruby's reach. "You are so much like your mother. But like in situations with her, I seriously don't know. I just have a bad feeling. The same feeling I had before Summer found you in a pool of your own blood legs going any which way." Tai said as Ruby began to chuckle dryly.

"Yang is many things, but dumb enough to get jumped isn't one of them Dad. But you should go. Keep me posted on how she is doing." Ruby said looking into her lap as she could feel her father's eyes on her again. "Dad, I'm just going to slow you down. It is a lot easier for everyone if you go to Yang and then keep me posted. Then come back and get me after she is up or you are confident she isn't going to die." Ruby muttered softly feeling her dad quickly pull her into a gentle hug before planting a kiss on top of Ruby's head before he ran out of the building.

Seeing the man nearly toss the glass door off its hinges, Ruby just sighed before grabbing her wheels and spinning around more to see Neo and Pyrrha standing as still as a statue. Rolling her eyes Ruby cleared her throat, just hoping to snap them out of their stupor.

"Will the both of you grow up. I keep telling you both, just don't cripple me or Yang and you'll be fine. He is like a big teddy bear who can pick me up chair and all with ease. Or could at least. He is a bit pudgier than what he was back in those early days when I was still toned as hell." Ruby said as she began to roll towards her door followed by a gentle spin around to face Neo and Pyrrha still walking carefully in sniffing the air making her just roll her eyes. "Guys, the bleach smell is because he was cleaning up my kidney blood on the floor from yesterday because I can't exactly get on my hands and knees to clean and it can't sit." Ruby said just happy that they began to become at ease.

Swallowing the knot that had formed in her throat, Pyrrha walked towards the couch Ruby was gesturing towards to have a seat. There was just something about that man that constantly made Pyrrha terrified. A feat that was something that was hard to manage, but he just constantly had this way about him that made that same crippling fear come up.

"Shouldn't you go with him? I mean I may joke about Gelato but... if she had a wall fall on her I'd want to be by her bedside." Neo asked as she plopped down onto the chair next to Ruby. A slight look of worry on her face as Ruby just seemed to be fine about the situation.

"Yang is going to be fine. She is too stubborn and honestly I think a little bit too stupid to die. I should be more worried about my Uncle but if my Dad does get to him first it really would be a relatively painless death. Wouldn't be the first time." Ruby muttered turning into full blown laughter at the sight of the two other women turning as pale as a ghost.

"Is that why he was in jail?" Pyrrha hissed as Ruby held her hand up as she used her other to cup her ribs as she bent forward. Her laughter seeming to just never die. Something that if Pyrrha was being honest she wouldn't mind as much given how pleasant sounding Ruby's laughter was but just the fact she was able to laugh at something like that was enough to make her fear for the woman's sanity.

Wiping a tear from her face, Ruby took a deep breath to try and right herself as she spoke up, "No. He was in jail for assault and getting caught with like two grams of weed. But he did street fighting and has even confessed to Yang and me that he has done some underground type boxing thing where it really is until someone stops moving. So just assuming here he probably has killed someone at least through making them lose a fight." Ruby said in between chuckles, just wondering the same mystery of why people were still terrified of her father. "Again, if you are to believe his stories. Which I tend to doubt because he once told me he punched a unicorn in the face for licking his girlfriend's face."

Gasping gently as she clutched her chest, Neo quickly smacked the back of her hand into Ruby's arm. It wasn't a powerful hit and she knew it wasn't going to be. It was just going to be something to snap her out of the joking mindset. Especially over something like they had been talking about. Just the thought that Ruby found that kind of thing funny was enough to just say with a straight face with the smell of bleach still being strong in the building.

"Ruby, you know I'm as open minded as the next girl, but that is not something to joke about." Neo hissed as Ruby just rolled her eyes. "I swear to God Ruby, I'll smack you again. All like hundred foot of your dad is terrifying."

"He is only six eight and wears a floral apron when he cooks or barbecues. I'm telling you he is harmless." Ruby said trying to push her point forth as Neo and Pyrrha just glared slightly harsher at her.

"Neo's underestimating him. I'd say he is at least two hundred feet tall and could probably slaughter people with a glance." Pyrrha corrected the heterochromatic eyed girl as Ruby just rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I fight and I've never seen someone as terrifying as that man. It is like you are staring down a dragon." Pyrrha said as Neo snapped her fingers before nodding her head along with Pyrrha's comparison.

"His last name literally means dragon. Come on, if you are going to think of a decent comparison don't just translate his surname." Ruby said lightly gesturing with her hand as they could see their eyebrows raise. "I use my mother's last name on everything. His last name is the same as my sister's. It is Xiao Long. His full name if you are curious translates to 'great rising sun dragon'."

Lightly flailing her hand Neo just stared at Ruby. "You see? His parents had to add 'great' to his name." Neo said trying to make herself seem less crazy in Ruby's eyes as Ruby just stared at her.

"No. That would be what Yang's name translates to. It is just family tradition to name the first born something like that. Seriously it means nothing. You just need to relax. If you had a time machine and went back to when he was like eighteen then yeah worry. But he is super calm now days. Like again the only thing that is going to set him off is if I get crippled more which probably would result in my death seeing as I am like half metal as is. Or if someone cripples slash kills Yang. Personally I'd be more terrified of what Weiss would do in either of those circumstances compared to what he would do." Ruby spoke in a near mocking tone as she began to roll away from them.

Humming softly, Ruby rolled into the kitchen with a smile on her face coming to a stop by the fridge giving it a light tug open followed by tossing the paper bag that had been in her lap inside. "Well, we are going to need to go out as well by the way if we are meant to be drinking here tonight. My fridge looks like an AA sponsor came by and dumped all my booze down a sink. Which I can guess was my Father's doing." Ruby said closing the fridge as she leaned back and began to rub her face gently. "Man is lucky that it was only the cheap stuff that probably was closer to vinegar that he dumped."

Sprinting towards the room, Weiss became furious from the feeling of an arm catching her stopping her from getting to her goal of her wife. She was about to memorise the face of whose life she would spend the rest of her life destroying when she could see the older lilac eyes staring at her.

"Weiss, you need to calm down. She isn't out of surgery yet." Tai demanded as Weiss frowned and quickly balled her hands up in the man's shirt and began to start to let some of the tears slip past their optic prison as Tai wrapped his arms around the much smaller girl just to try and ease her and the rampant emotions she would be feeling. It was something that he did understand. But he was just glad that someone else was there with him.

Even though he knew Qrow was taking this a lot harder than he was but couldn't express his worry as easily to Tai from the fact that he did still have an important job to do. He still wished the man was around so he could get a swing or two in before someone like Weiss would proceed to destroy him verbally for inadvertently causing this tragedy. The only reason he knew that he couldn't really stay mad at the man was because Tai also knew his eldest wouldn't have accepted working on the side lines.

Tai just knew there was one thing that he could do in this circumstance, and that was just being there for his daughter in law. Just because he knew it was going to be nearly impossible for her to calm down and thing anything through that she needs to rationally.

Because if what Qrow had told Tai before he had to run back, Weiss was going to need to at least be a little calm with how he had described Yang. Something that he knew the man was going to be absolutely destroyed by no matter how well Yang pulls through. Something that he was still unsure if he even wanted the man to ever get over it, but knew that was only because of how his own mind was clouded.

Gentle leading the terrified woman towards the seats, Tai began to sit down as he gently lifted the woman up and placed her in the seat next to him. It was made far more difficult from Tai's perspective from how the woman wouldn't let him go even for a few seconds so he could get at least a little more comfortable, but he still couldn't blame her.

Hell he wanted to cry himself but knew that that would accomplish nothing but make it harder for everyone. He could at least wait until he knew how Yang was going to be. Pulling back, Weiss began to dry her eyes with the cuff of her jacket as she looked towards her father in law, as if she was trying to find out his secret of how he could be so calm.

Deciding against asking him, Weiss just took a deep breath and began to scan the room for anyone else. "I'm sorry for ruining your shirt." Weiss said softly as she heard a small laugh coming from beside her.

"It is fine Weiss. It is just a shirt. If I cared about it, I wouldn't have been cleaning up Ruby's blood while wearing it. And in my experience, especially with Ruby, blood stains a lot more than tears and some makeup." Tai said causing Weiss to recognise the lack of her friend being present. Quickly scanning the room, thinking she just left to get something before Tai spoke up answering the unasked question. "Ruby knows and is at her place. We both thought it would be best if I got here before you to prevent you murdering Qrow, and she would just make that a lot harder. Plus she really doesn't like hospitals and needs to be forced to go to them even if she is bleeding over the place like yesterday."

"I know she doesn't like them... and I'm still not sure if I'm going to destroy Qrow's life... I just kind of wish she was here. She just can always take my mind off this kind of thing."

"We both know Qrow couldn't stop Yang no matter what. Trust me Weiss, I've spent years trying to get Yang to do anything else inside firefighting. Years of sleepless nights, as I fear Yang may do something foolish which causes her to die on a site. Something I know Summer tried constantly to try and get her out as well. But you can't raise a child to go after their dreams and then force them to give it up." Tai spoke softly looking in his lap knowing that he shouldn't really be defending Qrow but knew that he would regret it if he didn't speak in the man's defence. "Plus, Qrow is already going to be cursing himself. Yang looks so much like his sister who has been distant with him and I just know if anything happened to Yang because he made a call he might climb into a bottle and never claw his way out." Tai continued placing a reassuring hand on Weiss' shoulder.

Sniffling a little again, Weiss began to rub her eyes a bit more as she could see the doors opened followed by some scrubs wearing staff member walking out of a hallway before walking up to the nurse desk. As she pointed towards Tai and Weiss, Weiss could feel her heart almost stop as she just tried to imagine what dreadful news was going to happen.

As he walked closer, Tai just gave Weiss' shoulder one last squeeze as to reassure her that he was here for her if she needed it. Before the doctor could even speak, Weiss knew she had to have an answer to what was racing through her mind.

"Is Yang alright?" Weiss spoke as the doctor just stopped in front of them with an almost sombre look on his face. Shaking his head as he walked towards the seat across from Weiss and Tai he just took a deep breath.

"There is good news. The surgery is still ongoing but it is largely going fine." The doctor spoke as Weiss relaxed a little before she remembered the man's expression. If that had been all he would have had a less sombre look on his face walking over towards them. Even his word choice was a strange one if it was solely good news. "There is some bad news. How much do you want to know?" The doctor asked as Weiss bit her lip.

"Tell me everything. What is happening to my wife?" Weiss demanded as the doctor took a deep breath as to just collect his thoughts.

"There is severe damage to the bones and muscles of her right arm. According to what we were told, there was a piece of large debris that pinned her arm just above the elbow." The doctor started as Weiss could feel the same cold hand stilling her heart by force. She almost wanted to vomit from how it was making her feel, but she knew that she had to see this through to the end. "We can try and repair it, but she very likely will never use that arm again. Because it isn't immediate life threatening... we need consent on what to do."

Gulping the knot that had formed in her throat, Weiss could almost feel the ground she was standing on start to shatter. "What is the best and worst case scenarios if you try and fix her arm." Weiss asked knowing that she probably didn't want to hear this. But also knew she had to hear this.

"Best case she regains full use of her arm. Maybe some minor but persistent pain akin to tripping and landing on her arm. Worst case she spends the rest of her life in excruciating pain closer to it being trapped under heavy debris all over again with no use of her arm. There is no way to tell where it will land for certain but from the damage alone and the time we were quoted... it would be more like the worst case than the best." The doctor spoke in a calm tone as Weiss gulped once more. "The alternative is amputation. And I'm sorry but I do need to rush you for your answer. The longer nothing is done, the more we risk her life. I can at most give you a few minutes to think this over."

Staring out the window, Weiss frowned as she saw the rain pelting against the window. Only being illuminated by the occasional crack of thunder and lightning and the dim lights from the hallway. She could feel her body telling her to cry but she just couldn't bring herself to cry again that day.

Even when her blonde lover was unconscious still just behind her. That didn't stop her just wanting to die at that minute from shame. She was still unsure about a lot of things, but at the top of the list was destroying Yang's dream. The one thing that just about everyone has tried to do at some point, she had accomplished.

"You made the right choice Weiss." Tai spoke piercing the silence that was in the room. That Weiss almost universally wanted. Hell she still wasn't sure if it had come from any member of the staff she didn't threaten to get them fired.

Spinning around carefully Weiss just held her hand up. "Congratulate me Tai. When she wakes up in a few days my wife is going to loath my very existence because I didn't want to gamble with her pain and thereby removing her from her dream by force." As she spoke, Weiss could hear the tremor in her voice. The way it wasn't the same nerve like steel one she was used to was a marvellous thing to her. "I should have just rolled the dice like you and Summer did with Ruby, and by then, when she woke up she could have made that choice." Weiss said as she spun back to staring out the window.

"The muscles in her arm were already starting to die. Ruby didn't have muscle death. Hell at least you know now that Yang will wake up. If you rolled the dice you would have risked killing her." Tai spoke in a slightly biting tone, just hoping that he could get through to Weiss so she could see that she made the right choice. "You made the right choice Weiss." Tai reiterated.

"I don't feel like I did." Weiss practically sobbed out as another crack of lightning illuminated the room letting Weiss see in the reflection her bandage covered wife knowing that just on the other side of her there was a stump where her arm used to be. Where the ring that showed how much Weiss meant to her, used to reside. No all that was there was air.

Author's Note:

I know, I know, there was zero development on the Blake front... but I was going to milk the Weiss decision and decided against it at the cost of Blake's part this chapter. Anyways, I'm out. Catch you people next time.