Day 7: Confessions

Nope, didn't forget, life just got in the way.

Though she was sleeping this time, Winter still noticed someone sneaking into her room at the crack of dawn.

Qrow again, she was touched that he was checking on them, but his timing was a little annoying.

She listened as he crossed the room to the crib, his footsteps uneven and dragging.

Goddamnit, he was drunk. He'd barely known Jay for twenty-four hours and he was already drunk in front of him.

Winter rose from the bed, ready to tear his head off, she was not going to let her son grow up with a parent who was always drunk.

Alerted by the movement, Qrow spun around so fast that he almost fell over. That was when Winter saw the wet streaks on his face, and the anger was knocked out of her.

"Oh, Qrow" she wiped the tears away with her hand. "What are you doing?"

"I needed to see you both."

"You're drunk."

"It's still true."

She moved him over to the bed and sat him down.

"He's your son; you clearly want to be part of his life. Is sneaking in like this going to be enough for you?"

"Of course not."

"Then why are you torturing yourself?" She managed to keep the frustration out of her voice.

"Look at what's already happened to him because of me."

She looked less annoyed, "I blame myself, too. I keep going over what happened, and what I could have done to stop them from taking him."

Qrow looked horrified, "this isn't on you; you took three bullets trying to save him."

"It's not on you either."

"Yes, it is. And bad things are gonna keep happening to him because of me."

Winter's sigh was so harsh it was almost a growl, "not this again, you can't blame yourself for every bad thing. You didn't even know he existed a week ago, no semblance is that powerful."

Her point managed to penetrate the thick haze of alcohol around Qrow's brain.

"I understand that you don't want anything to happen to him, I feel the same way, but bad things happen, that's just part of life. But they aren't as bad when you have people who care about you to help you through it." She stroked his cheek, "and I know that from experience."

Qrow gave her a crooked smile, "I missed you."

He leaned in to kiss her, but she covered his mouth with her hand.

"You know the rule."

His muffled voice sounded from behind her palm, "no kissing you when my breath smells like booze."

"Correct," she moved to lie down on the small hospital bed, leaving a space for him, "now if you don't mind, I'm quite tired."

So was he, now that he thought about it. He gladly took the offered space, grinning like an idiot when she cuddled against his side.

"And I missed you too," she said.

Despite the minor hangover, Qrow woke up feeling better than he had in months. He quickly credited that to the beautiful woman sleeping beside him.

It wasn't very clear but he did remember what had happened the night before, not his proudest or smartest moment, but he felt lighter for it.

His peace was disturbed by sounds of distress coming from the plastic hospital crib. Qrow forced himself to get up and check on Jay.

The kid was making the 'I'm going to start crying if you don't stop me' face.

Qrow shushed him gently, "c'mon, your mom needs sleep."

He picked up one of the stuffed animals and waved it in front of the boy, it didn't make him any happier but it did make him louder.

"No, no, no," Qrow whispered, glancing back to see if Winter had woken up.

There was one thing he could do, Ruby and Yang had loved it when they were babies.

"Alright, kid, I'm trusting you to keep this to yourself."

Jay's cries were abruptly halted as a crow appeared on the rail of his crib; he blinked in confusion for about ten seconds as his tiny, baby brain tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

Qrow chirped, tilting his head back and forth, and the boy smiled at him, little legs kicking with excitement.

Well, look at that, the kid had his smile too.

Yang always giggled when he puffed up his feathers so he decided to give that a try, shuffling closer so the kid could see him properly.

This was a huge mistake. As soon as Qrow was within reach, Jay grabbed him.

Qrow squawked in pain but didn't struggle; he didn't want accidentally hurt the baby. When Jay didn't let go he started flapping his wings to try and spook him a little.

He was saved by a hand taking Jay's and encouraging him to let go.

Qrow flopped backwards and hit the floor.

'Still better than the first time I babysat Yang,' he thought as he turned back into a human, at least nothing was on fire.

She looked amused despite the wailing boy in her arms, "I can't wait to tell people that I saved you from a baby."

"Hey, those things are vicious."

"Yes, he's a real beast." Jay cuddled close to her and she kissed his head, "you have to be gentle with animals, James."

Qrow froze in the middle of straightening his shirt, "what did you just call him?"

"James, that's his full name. Didn't General Ironwood tell you? He loves to brag about it."

Qrow stared at her in horror for about ten seconds, before she smirked.

"I'm joking, Qrow."

"That's not funny."

The look on her face said otherwise as she rocked Jay, walking around the room. If Qrow hadn't been watching her so closely, he would have missed the small wince on her face.

"What's wrong?"

She considered lying to him, but knew better, "I pulled on my stiches when I woke up."

Great, more pain because of him.

He watched her pace for a few more seconds before he couldn't take it.

"Here," he held out his arms.

"Are you sure?"

"Not really," his heart was beating quicker than a jackhammer.

"Do you remember how to hold one?" It was hard to tell if she was teasing or not.

"Support the head and don't let 'em get loose."

And then, there he was, holding his son for the first time. Gods, it was terrifying, worse than when his nieces were born.

Winter gave him a pat on the shoulder as she passed, going to the private bathroom to check her stiches.

Qrow stared enthralled at the screeching infant; his face was the same shade of red that Winter's was when she was really mad.

"Hey," he said, at a loss of what else to do, "I don't know if anyone told you, but I'm your dad."

Jay continued crying, which was the reaction Qrow expected.

Some feathers had come off in the crib scuffle; he picked a few up and waved them in front of the boy. Jay calmed a little, sniffling as he grabbed one.

Qrow glanced at the door to make sure Winter couldn't hear.

"Sorry for all the-" he stopped himself from swearing, "stuff you've been through the last couple of days. And I'm sorry I wasn't here to stop it from happening in the first place."

The tears slowed to a stop as he started focusing on the feathers and the new person speaking to him.

Qrow felt his face soften and his chest tighten; this was his son, this was a little life he had made with the woman he loved, something beautiful born out of a tragedy.

Qrow chuckled, blinking quickly so he wouldn't cry, "cute little thing, aren't ya? Gonna be a heart breaker like your old man?"

He poked Jay in the chest and his finger was immediately snatched.

"Why are you so grabby?"

"Because he likes you," Winter said from behind him.

"Must not take after your side of the family very much," he replied. "I wish I could have seen Jacques and Jimmy's faces when you told them."

"The General actually took it quite well; I think he already suspected that something was going on between us."

She didn't mention anything about her father's reaction, and he didn't ask.

"I wish I could have been there to feel him kick, watch you get so big that you couldn't stand up on your own."

"There's no point wishing, you're here now. Right?"

Qrow said nothing.

Winter looked away from him, "if you want to be a father, be a father. If not, there's the door."

"I don't want to be a father, I want to be a dad," he rubbed his face; screw it, this secret had caused too much trouble for them already. "I need to tell you something."

The long silence after he explained the Maidens and Relics terrified him.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Winter was somewhere between hurt and angry, "I could have helped."

He suspected that the only reason she wasn't yelling at him was because it would upset Jay. "That's exactly why I didn't tell you, I knew you'd want to get involved."

"Of course I do."

"It's too dangerous."

"Too dangerous for me, but not for you?"

"I can't lose you," he hissed, wanting to rip his hair out in frustration.

"I can handle myself, Qrow."

His face went dark, "Summer said the same thing."

That knocked the wind out of her sails, "is that how…"

Qrow nodded, and she softened a little, cupping his face with both hands.

"I'm still mad," she stroked his jaw gently, "but it can wait."

He kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger for a few seconds.

"What will happen next?" She asked.

"We'll secure the two relics here, guard 'em for awhile."

"I suppose that will give us time to work things out."

Winter yawned as she finished talking and Qrow felt guilty for waking her earlier.

"You should get some more sleep," he glanced at the now quiet Jay, "while you can."

"Will you… stay awhile?"

Qrow nodded, "of course."

He started to put Jay back in his crib, but the boy started whimpering as soon as his father let go.

"Ok," Qrow sighed, picking him up again.

Winter winced a little as she pushed herself onto the bed, "he's probably still spooked from the last few days, I let him sleep with me when he's like this."

"Ice Queen, are you thawing out?" He teased.

"I'm not going to be like my parents," she stroked Jay's hair and he smiled up at her.

The older two settled on the small mattress, bodies pressed together. Jay ended up on his father's chest and seemed quite happy there, his mother reached over to hold his hand, letting him know that she was there.

He fell asleep quickly and dreamt of flying.

THE END