Did anyone have issues with the Doc Manager recently? I wanted to post this story sooner but the website was acting weird and wouldn't let me make any new documents. Glad the issue FINALLY got fixed :P

"How's she doing?"

"She's losing too much blood!"

"Calm down, man-"

"I can't calm down, Tai! She wouldn't be like this if it weren't-"

"This isn't the time to drown in self-hatred, brother. We need to focus on getting her medical help."

"R-right, I can-"

"No, you're too shaken up to think clearly. I'll fly up and guide us back."

"I can fight off any Grimm along the way. You gonna be okay carrying her back?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me."

"Come on, we don't have time to waste!"

"I'm sorry, Summer...I'm so sorry."

Summer woke up with a pounding headache. She tentatively squinted open her eyes and groaned at the blinding white light. It took several minutes for her eyes to adjust and when they did she took note of her surroundings.

She was in a small private hospital room, a vase of red roses sitting on her bedside. Her clothes were folded neatly on the chair across from her bed, and her sword leaned against the wall beside it.

"Ugh...what happened to me?" Summer muttered, turning to her side. "The last thing I remember..."

The cry of a Raven sounded just outside her window. She made a mental note to expect her team to burst into her room in the near future.

"That's right...Oz sent us to find more information about Salem. I...I know we ran into some nasty Grimm along the way, but I still can't recall how I ended up here."

She closed her eyes and desperately searched through her fuzzy memories, though she could only remember bits and pieces of a fight.

It wasn't long before her door swung wide open, revealing the team's couple.

"Glad to see you're awake so soon, Summer!" Tai greeted her with a cheeky smile and a fruit basket in hand. "I hope you're hungry, 'cause we got all your favourites here."

"Tai, please lower your voice." Raven chided, gently closing the door behind her. "This is a hospital, not an arena."

"Oh please, I'm not that loud," Tai said as he placed the fruit basket beside the roses.

Raven shot him a quick glare before turning her attention to Summer, "so how are you feeling?"

"I'm a bit sore and my head feels like it got hit with a ton of bricks." She admitted truthfully. "At least I don't have to wake up to the smell of...hospital. Thank you so much for the roses, they smell lovely."

Raven and Tai exchanged looks, neither looked too happy with her response.

"Um...is something wrong?"

"Summer," Tai began as he made his way to Raven's side. "We didn't bring you roses."

"It was my brother." Raven finished.

"Oh," Summer averted her eyes on the white ceiling. She could feel her cheeks warming at the idea of Qrow giving her roses.

Despite their confrontation at the school couple years ago, Summer kept a close relationship with Qrow. If it weren't for the fact that he'd purposely try to avoid spending alone time with her she would've thought their whole fiasco was a fevered dream.

"W-where is he anyway?" She asked her friends shyly.

Raven played with a strand of black hair, her eyes seemed to be looking everywhere but Summer.

"He's...been missing," Tai spoke up first.

"Missing?" Summer shot up to a sitting position. The small movement made it feel like her head was splitting into two. She visibly flinched at the shot of pain, her hands flying up to clutch her head.

"Summer!" The couple exclaimed, rushing to her bedside.

"Just a bad headache," she whimpered.

"You need to take it easy, girl," Tai said to her softly.

Raven wordlessly propped her pillow up while Tai gently eased her down. She sunk her head into the fluffy pillow and closed her eyes, her head still pounding like a drum. Her friends didn't utter a single word as she waited for the surge of pain to subside. It felt like hours passed when she reopened her eyes, Raven and Tai were now seated at the foot of her bed.

"Guys, what happened to Qrow?" Summer continued to interrogate weakly. "Was he hurt the last time you saw him? Do have an idea of where he is? How long has he been gone? Where was the last-"

"Summer," Raven placed her hand on Summer's leg. "What do you remember before blacking out?"

"I...I don't know. I think we were fighting some Grimm." A sense of dread fell into the pits of her stomach. "Oh no...please don't tell me..."

"He made it out okay," Raven reassured firmly.

It felt like a boulder was lifted off her shoulders at Raven's words.

"So tell me. What happened during that fight?"

"As you said we got into a fight," Raven got up and began to pace slowly around the room. "It was with a group of nasty Grimm, we've never seen anything like them before. Per usual, we fought but it was quickly apparent that these particular Grimm were stronger, faster."

"My brother was being stubborn as usual and kept his distance from us during the fight. Of course, that meant he was at a severe disadvantage. To be honest, I don't remember what led up to the event, but the next thing I knew you dashed toward my brother and saved his ass from an attack. You stayed by his side despite his protests."

"Qrow's a pretty lucky guy to have a girl like you looking out for him." Tai winked.

Summer's face lit up like a Christmas tree in response, Tai burst into laughter at her reaction.

"It's that obvious, huh?" She whispered to herself.

"Well excuse me for being uncaring." Raven promptly flicked her boyfriend on the forehead. Tai's amusement morphed into utter dread in a matter of seconds.

"T-that's not what I meant, Rae. You're super caring and hot, I wouldn't trade you for the world."

"You better not be lying, fire boy." She punched him hard in the shoulder.

"Anyways, at some point you...unfortunately had your sword knocked out of your hand. Qrow noticed a second too late...when I looked over you were already on the ground with one hell of a gash in your head. Tai and I instantly rushed over to help Qrow out." She sighed," I'll be honest, Summer, with both the Grimm and his semblance against us it wasn't an easy fight."

"Er, don't tell him we said that." Tai quickly added.

Raven rolled her eyes," he's not stupid, Tai. That's definitely part of the reason why he'd just disappear on us."

"Have you guys searched for him?" Summer asked, her fingers curling tightly around her bed sheet.

"We looked everywhere in town." Tai ran a hand through his hair. "Raven even tried to find him from the sky."

"That's Qrow for you, he can disappear into thin air if he wants to." Raven began to pace again.

Summer, however, was not convinced by Raven's claim. Raven knew Qrow like the back of her hand, even if he managed to fly to the edge of the world she could still track him down.

"Are you sure, Raven?" Summer challenged tightly. "Can you really not find him?"

Raven stopped dead in her tracks. She locked her gaze to a particular spot on the wall," no, I can't find him his time." She looked back at Summer with the most sincere, sorry expression. "I tried everything." Summer's grip on her blanket tightened,

"It's not your fault." Summer held back the urge to scoff at her lie. "So what now?"

"Tai and I will continue to look for Qrow while you stay in bed and recover," Raven answered a bit too eagerly. "If we can't find him by the time you're done recovering we'll move on to our next destination."

"We know you don't like that idea," Tai spoke before Summer had the chance to protest. "But we can't just abandon our mission. Qrow can join us when he's ready."

"Fine," Summer crossed her arms, turned her head away from her friends and locked her gaze on the flowers, "I feel a bit tired right now. Can we talk another time?"

Summer could hear someone rolling a cart past her room.

"Okay," Tai sounded hesitant. "If you need anything feel free to call us."

Summer nodded curtly. When the couple was sure she had nothing else to say they proceeded to leave.

"Summer," Raven breathed. "I'm...sorry."

"Yeah, me too." She said just as the door clicked shut.

The rest of their mission went smoothly, though there were times Summer wished Qrow was there to lend a helping hand during the fights. While Raven and Tai continued to insist Qrow was not coming back for the rest of the mission, Summer held onto hope.

Sometimes she'd stay up late at night, surveying the dark surroundings for him. She even went as far as to sneak out in the middle of the night, hoping he'd be more willing to approach her if she were alone. During more serious fights, she'd sometimes catch a glimpse of a crow perched in a nearby, but when she turned to get a better look it was gone.

As days turned into weeks and weeks her hopes of reuniting with her friend slowly withered away, just like the roses he gave to her.

Finally, after months of fieldwork, the team returned safely back to Vale. They retreated back to wooden cabin Tai and Raven had bought, eager for a large meal and a well-deserved rest.

Tai volunteered to cook something for the team while the girls got a chance to clean up and unpack. By nightfall the remainder of team STRQ was gathered at the dinner table, dressed in sleepwear and recovering from their enormous feast.

"Mann, it feels so good to be home!" Tai boomed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his belly. "I can't wait to fall into a food coma!"

"Let's just hope Oz doesn't have a new assignment for us," Raven commented with a frown. "Seriously, I'm gonna fuck some shit up if we get something new tomorrow."

"Let's not jinx it, babe."

"Thanks for making such a delicious meal, Tai." Summer piped in. "I haven't had food like that in ages."

"I told you nothing can beat my homemade noodles." Tai gloated.

"They're kinda overcooked," Raven muttered, but her comment was drowned out by Tai's burp. Raven scrunched her face in disgust in return.

"I'll clean up the dishes for us, you two should head to bed first." Summer offered.

"Are you sure?" Raven arched her brow. "We can just leave it for the morning."

"It's fine, I'm not too tired anyway." Summer answered as she got up and proceeded to gather their dirty plates.

"And that's why Oz chose you as our leader," Tai yawned. "You don't know the definition of sleep."

Summer giggled," I'm still running on a bit of adrenaline from our last fight. I'll be ready to black out once I burn off the extra energy." Dirty plates and utensils clanged as she dropped them into the sink. "I'll see you two in the morning, okay?"

"Sweet! It's been forever since I had a good nights rest!" Tai practically sprang out of his seat. "See you sometime tomorrow, Summer—"he gave Raven a mischievous smile"—and I'll be seeing you in bed."

Raven slapped him on the arm, her face almost as red as her eyes. Tai, however, laughed at her reaction and proceeded to their bedroom.

"W-well then, I should be heading off too." She straightened her hair before rising up from her seat. "Don't force yourself to clean if you're too tired. You of all people deserve a long night's rest."

"Don't worry, Raven, I'll go to bed as soon as I'm done." She couldn't hold back the goofy smile on her as she added," and take it easy with Tai, some of us are actually trying to sleep tonight."

She didn't have to look to know Raven was red as a cherry at this point.

"Ugh, and I thought you were the innocent one. Good night, Summer."

Summer fell into a fit of laughter as Raven stomped back to her room.

The kitchen fell silent as the young huntress finished the last of her chores. By the time she was done her head was pounding from fatigue and it felt like her eyelids had boulders attached to them. As much as she wanted to crash onto her bed, Summer knew her night was far from over.

She tip toed back to her bedroom, blushing as she passed by Raven and Tai's locked door. She hastily threw on her white cloak, shoes and strapped her trusty sword to her side.

It was routine at this point, every night she'd sneak out and patrol the area they were staying in, looking for him. Usually, she'd make a quick round around town or whatever environment they were staying in, but tonight she was determined to look through every alleyway.

Tonight she was roaming the streets in which her team called home. Here, every corner was fair game.

Once she was sure she had all her essential items, she cracked open her window and burst into rose petals, disappearing into the night.

"Dammit Qrow." Summer collided her fist into a nearby wall.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been searching for, but by now she was sure she'd scanned through ever street and rooftop. She even went as far as to investigate the restaurants and stores that were still open. Much to her dismay, she could not find a trace of her friend.

She allowed her fatigued legs to finally collapse. Sighing, she rested against the wall and looked up at the shattered moon shining within the sea of stars. For a brief second, she felt like she was transported back to Beacon, staring at the night sky without a care in the world. Now she had to worry about protecting the world from Salem, finding the Maidens and, of course, trying to keep her team together.

She'd give anything to return to the simpler days.

"I should get home." With a grunt she helped herself back up and proceeded back. This time without the help of her semblance.

During her lonely journey back she passed by the only bar in town. She paused and wordlessly examined the building. Drunken women were sluggishly flirting with a group of guys smoking nearby while drunk patrons teetered out of its doors. Her stomach twisted into knots once she realized that was the only place she hadn't checked.

"He wouldn't be there, right?" She asked herself. "He isn't the type to drink through the night unless it's a party."

Summer's clammy hand once again navigated to her sword.

"Dammit, if I find him he's gonna owe me big time."

She sucked a sharp breath in before marching toward the bar. As she neared the entrance one of the smokers turned his head in her direction, a hungry smirk crept its way on his lips. Summer clenched her teeth and forced herself to move forward.

The door was just out of reach when she noticed movement at the corner of her eyes. This time she didn't bother hiding her panic. She lunged for the door and practically ran inside. Incomprehensible chatter filled her ears upon entry. It didn't seem like any of the customers inside noticed or cared for her panicked entry. Just before she could breathe a sigh of relief she heard the door opening behind her.

"Hey, baby, where are you going?"

Cursing under her breathe, Summer proceeded further into the building at a faster pace. Though her unexpected guess had no problem following her inside.

'And Raven said these sort of things only happen in movies.' She thought fearfully.

Summer reached back to her hood and attempted to pull it over her head, but a hand snatched onto her wrist before the hood was all the way on her head. She squealed and felt her muscles freeze. The man took that opportunity to lean his face closer to hers.

"It's kinda sad for a pretty thing like you to be drinking alone." Shivers crawled down her spine as she felt the man's cigarette breath brush her ear. "Let me keep you company."

"N-no thank you." Summer attempted to pull her hand away but the man's grip tightened around her. When he was sure she wasn't getting away, he spun her around to face him.

"Now don't be like that, sweetheart. C'mon I'll buy us some drinks." His eyes screamed with lust. It made Summer want to vomit.

Several curious heads turned their direction. Some sipped their drink as they watched the exchange like it was a TV show, others looked on with worry with their faces.

"I said no," Summer glared at the man. "Now let me go."

"Someone's feisty tonight." The man's face was inches away from hers now. Summer's fear quickly morphed into burning anger. "That's how I like my girls."

The distance between their lips was quickly diminishing. Summer instinctively fell into a fighting stance and prepared to draw her sword, but before she got the chance to unsheathe it the man was ripped away from her.

"She isn't interested, buddy." Qrow was now standing between her and the creep. She noted how wobbly he was despite standing still.

"What the fuck?!" The man looked angrily at her and Qrow.

"Get lost," Qrow slurred. "You're not welcome here."

The man flared his nostrils," who the fuck do you think you are?!"

The man's fist flew toward Qrow, but even in his drunken state he effortlessly caught the fist in his hand. Several patrons, including Summer, gasped at his quick reflexes. Summer held back a laugh as the man's face slowly changed from rage to regret.

Oohs erupted from the audience when Qrow retaliated with a punch of his own, hitting the man square in the face. The man staggered back, cupping his nose with a single hand.

"Listen here, you little bitch, unless you want things to get messy then I suggest you leave." He reached back for his sword, eyes never leaving the man.

Summer's former creeper immediately shriveled up at the sight of Qrow's weapon, the man glared daggers at him before stumbling out the door. Once he was finally out of sight Qrow relaxed and sauntered back to his seat. Summer snapped out of her daze of wordlessly followed him back to an empty booth at the corner of the building, several empty glasses littered the table top.

"Aren't you afraid of being kicked out for fighting like that?" Summer asked, slipping into the seat across from him.

"The people here have seen worse altercations." He said, picking up a half-filled cup of alcohol. "That was nothing."

"Yet another reason why I don't like bars." She muttered to herself.

"So when did Raven tell you?"

"Raven didn't tell me anything," she curled her hands into fists. "I guess I was lucky tonight."

Qrow chuckled and took a sip of his drink.

"How long have you been doing this to yourself?" She gestured to the empty glasses littering the table top.

"Once in a while," he shrugged." It's not too bad once ou get used to the hangovers."

Summer snatched the drink out of his hand before he could raise it up to his lips again.

"Now that's just rude," he glared at her.

"Oh, and walking out on us in the middle of a mission isn't rude?" She snapped.

"You know why I had to leave."

"That's not a good excuse!" She slammed her hand onto the table, prompting heads to turn their way.

She sheepishly leaned back into her seat, fingers drumming around the glass cup.

"Geez, if you keep this up we're bound to be kicked out."

"We wouldn't be having this conversation if it weren't for you." She pointed out in a much softer tone. She sighed and lifted the cup up to her own lips, downing what was left of the drink. The alcohol burned on its way down, in a weird way its effect felt refreshing.

"We miss you, Qrow." Summer said, gently placing the empty cup down. "I...I miss you more than I should."

He frowned," I thought we already had this conversation."

"I know," she nodded, remembering the night she spent crying on the rooftop of Beacon Academy. "I also know you're still lying."

He crossed his arms and looked elsewhere in the bar.

"I never forgot the day we learned about your semblance. It was the same day we learned where you and Raven came from."

He peeked over at her with interest. Summer took that as a queue to continue.

"I think it was the first time we took on a large number of Grimm, it was a particularly unlucky battle and that really seemed to bother you. That was also the first time you actively pushed us away and Raven made sure we kept our distance from you." Summer paused.

She remembered how scared she was of losing him that battle and how frustrated she was with Raven when she refused to let them go near Qrow. She never thought that death could be a real possibility until that moment.

"Tai and I had to know what was going on, but you two were so guarded that I wasn't sure we'd get anything out of either of you." She continued," then Tai stepped in and practically confessed to Raven about how he felt. That's what finally broke her and she told us about...everything."

"Yeah, and I gave her shit for it afterward." Qrow nodded to himself proudly.

Summer scowled and kicked him in the shin before responding," you can't blame her, it was probably the first time she was told that someone outside her tribe really cared about her. That must've been shocking, even scary at first."

He rested his arms on the table and leaned forward, "what's your point?"

"My point is that even after learning about your upbringing, the reason you attended Beacon, and your semblance Tai and I both want to be in your lives. We care about you two not in a sense that you're useful in battle, but because you two are basically family. We always have your backs."

Qrow stared at Summer blankly for several seconds. She was half-expecting him to burst into laughter, teasing her for being overly emotional again.

Instead, he smiled," family huh? That's not the word I'd personally use to describe this team."

"I don't know what your definition of family is, but to me it means we care about each other and we'll do everything we can to keep one another on the right path. This sort of love doesn't discriminate."

Lost in the heat of the moment, Summer reached out and grabbed one of his hands. For a short moment in time, the two froze. Summer wanted to dig a hole and hide while Qrow was too shocked to think of a response.

When Summer finally found her composure she tightened her hold on his hand," we...I don't care about your semblance. I don't mind the inconvenience it causes during fights or hangouts."

"You almost died because of me." He reminded her solemnly. "It's not safe for anyone to be near me."

"How many times do I have to say it? I don't care." She looked at his eyes and smiled. "I still like you, bird brain."

"Summer," he sheepishly tore his eyes from hers. She found herself internally awing at the crimson blush on his face.

"I've never seen you blush like this until today." She couldn't help but tease. "Guess every fearless warrior has his weakness." She added with a wink.

"It's just the alcohol," he insisted, rubbing his nose with his free hand. "And I'm pretty sure you're a bit drunk yourself."

"I only had one drink." She deadpanned.

"What can I say? Short people like you can't hold their alcohol." He boasted.

Summer laughed," you can be a real ass sometimes, Qrow."

A group of people burst out laughing somewhere in the bar, causing several patrons to grumble with discontent.

"All joking aside though...I want you to come home. We all really miss you."

"Well according to everything you just said, it seems like you're the only one who really wants me back." He shot back with a smirk.

"W-well obviously," her cheeks instantly warmed at his words. "B-but Tai is still your friend and Raven is still your sister. They'd want you back in their lives as well. So what do you say? If not for them then for me?"

Silence fell heavily between them. Summer could barely look at him during that time. She found herself examining every corner of the bar, her fingers ever so slowly tightening their grip on Qrow's hand.

"Alright, shortcake, you win." Electricity shot up her arm as he squeezed her hand back. "I'll return but I won't hang around you guys for too long. It'll just be best for everyone."

Summer squealed reached over the table to hug him, her sudden movement knocked her empty cup off the table, shattering all over the floor.

"Geez, I've been back for less than three seconds and something bad has already happened." He grumbled.

"It's good to have you back." She buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"It's good to be back." Summer's heart skipped a beat as his arms found their way around her.