Chapter 8 – Reunion

7 people were gathered around the dining room table of the Arc home, and there was merriment and drinking and eating all around. For the first time since the people here had graduated from Beacon Academy – six years to the day – they had finally gathered. All but one member of teams JNPR and RWBY sat around the feast that Pyrrha had prepared and caught up on the stories of the previous years. In the background you could hear the two children of the Schnee-Rose and Arc families playing and making a ruckus, but generally entertaining themselves. They seemed to understand the momentous evening that this would be, and were content to chase each other around the house and leave their parents alone.

Ren and Nora hadn't changed much since Beacon other than the apparent wear that the first 3 years of looking into finding out what secrets their past held. They had made the plans with the Arc family to see them almost 6 months ago. They had settled into the lives of respectable huntsmen, and leaving their home had taken some planning. Upon hearing this, Pyrrha had immediately called Weiss.

"Hey there mommy! Long time no see! How is Summer? Ruby?"

"Hi Pyrrha! I'm sorry we haven't all come see you in so long. Ruby is out a lot more on missions these days, and Summer is growing faster than I can keep up with." Weiss was currently chasing her daughter down, who had of course taken the cookies that had been for dessert that night. "Come back you!"

" Haha, well you sound busy so I will keep this brief. Next week Ren and Nora are coming to the house and mentioned that they wanted to see everyone! Can you reach the others and let them know?"

"Absolutely. Ruby wont be back until the day of the dinner and she may be exhausted but its been years, and I'm sure that she wouldnt mind making the trip."

Pyrrha had called Yang next.

"Yang Xiao Long, FEM, how can I help you?" Yang had not spoken to Pyrrha, or anyone from Beacon for that matter aside from her sister and Weiss, since graduating.

"You sound so professional Yang!" a familiar voice giggled from the other end of the line.

"Pyrrha?!" Blake had just walked in and a look of bewilderment came across her face as the name was spoken by her wife. " how are you?! Its been years! Im at work right now, though so can I call you after 5?"

"Oh this won't take long. I'm just calling to let you know that Ren and Nora wanted to see everyone. They havent been around since graduation and they wanted to update us all on the search. Your sisters will be there too, just so you know. I can message you the details, but we would all love it if you could drop by." Pyrrha's words were a flurry, but she wanted to make sure that she caught Yang before she got wrapped up in her work.

"sounds good. Ill let Blake know that we will be making a trip to Mistral soon." this earned another quizzical look from the Faunus, as her ears twitched.

"Ren and Nora will be at the Arcs on the day you get home. Do you want to meet me and Summer there? Or would you rather we all stayed home?"

"I wouldn't miss that for the world, I miss those two, as annoying as Nora can be 3" Ruby typed her reply as she got up and ready to head toward the badlands between Mistral and Vale. She had already completed the extermination of this area and needed to get in gear if she wanted to be home int time to see the others. "what time will everyone be there, by little snowflake?"

"730. be safe out there today. I love you!"

"give Summer a kiss for me today, I will." Ruby's response sent, she hoisted her pack picked up her Crescent Rose, and began her day of walking, killing, and walking some more. The days went by quickly with something to look forward to and soon enough Ruby was at the last site that her mission had outlined. Her job now was simply to survey and kill what Grimm she could on her way back home. Or in this case on her way to Mistral. She pulled out a notebook, and began to write notes, feeling more weary than she had in a long time. As she did this, her mind drifted to thoughts of her wife and daughter, and she unconsciously started the song recorded into the snowflake necklace that hung around her neck. As the song started, the distant roaring of something never seen before by the eyes of humans echoed in the valley.

Summer Rose-Schnee jumped out of the car and ran to the door, followed shortly by Weiss who had not changed in stature or shapely-ness, even after giving birth. If anything you could say that the woman had grown more beautiful in her twenties. Jaune was was the one who opened the door and invited them in.

"you guys are early! Good, you can help us with dinner. Come on, theres and apron in the kitchen for you." the man had lost most of his goofy demeanor when his son had come into the world, but that did not mean that he was not just as endearing as he ever had been.

"Weiss! Summer! Its only 5, what are you guys doing here?" Pyrrha bent to kiss her niece and hug her friend, as they made their way into the house.

"Well I wanted to give Summer time to play with Arthur, and I figured you would need a hand with getting everything ready." Weiss didn't have to say it. The Arcs themselves had gone through the same thing many times. Even with a beautiful child to distract you, the times without your partner were hard and it was apparent that Weiss wanted something to do, especially something that would make her wife happy when she would inevitably come through the door.

Summer ran up the stairs to meet her friend, and Weiss quickly set about making the dessert for the night. The kitchen was big, and the three huntsmen had no problem in the space working together. Weiss had just put the last batch of cookies in the oven, and had started the fillings for the pies when a knock on the door caught the attention of the cooks. Pyrrha, who had been washing some of the mess they had all made, dried her hands and went to the door.

"Blake! Yang! Its so good to see you. You're a bit early though, the others wont be here for another hour at least."

"We figured that the trip would take longer. We don't really get out all that often. Ha!" Blake and Yang laughed as she was welcomed by Jaune, who in perfect form hugged them both covered in flour. It was just like the man to make such a clumsy mistake and the Bumblebee welcomed the change of pace as their eyes scanned the room for Weiss and Ruby. Weiss appeared soon after having cleaned her hands and greeted her sisters in law with a warm hug. While her appearance had not changed since school, her personality certainly had, and this took the members of team RWBY by surprise.

"It's been too long! You too are looking good!" Weiss gave a teasing wolf whistle to the girls.

"Ya know for being a mom, your looking pretty good yourself sis!" Yang was never one to be left out when there was hazing going on.

"Where's Ruby?" Blake came back at Weiss with purr at the compliment before asking the question. Yang had wondered the same thing and had assumed that Weiss would fill them in.

" She is making her way here from her latest mission. It should be over today, and she said she would be near Mistral and that she would find her own way here." Weiss' apprehension at the absence of her wife becoming apparent as she held her arms together by the elbows. Yang gave her another hug and offered words of encouragement.

"is something burning?" Blake asked the group in general, followed by the disappearance of Jaune who had left something on the stove. Weiss, Pyrrha, Blake and Yang laughed hysterically until tears rolled down their face. When they had all come back to their senses, Pyrrha bid the girls sit, as the rest of dinner could sit unattended until it was time to eat. For the next hour, Blake and Yang regaled their old comrades with stories of harrowing battles taking down the White Fang, and the tedium of rebuilding once the organization had been toppled.

"... which is when we got the call from Pyrrha, letting us know this was happening. You really took us by surprise, ya know?" Blake finished her tale as the young ones ran amok. A few minutes of idle chatter later, there came a knock on the door. Ren and Nora had arrived and after everyone had greeted them heartily Ren asked the question that everyone in the room had begun thinking.

"Where is Ruby, I thought she would be here by now?" Ren had grown his hair out even longer than it already was, and you could see in his eyes that battle had hardened his soul. He seemed to have the same gentle presence, however, and the fact that Nora was currently chasing the children around had served to show that she had not lost any of her deadly playfulness.

"Please, be careful you 3!"

"Please, be careful you 3!" the two mother chimed in, noticing the hazardous game they were playing. Pyrrha and Weiss looked at each other and laughed as Ren shook his head at his insane wife. "She should be here any minute now. Anybody feel like a game of Battle For Remnant while we wait?" Weiss made the suggestion knowing that Jaune and his partner would happily oblige, being lovers of the game since school. Weiss looked at the clock in the kitchen. 7:45 PM. Where are you Ruby?

Ruby ran for her life as the dragon like Grimm dove at her once again. Her semblance doing nothing to help her in this fight. She fired round after round into the massive creature, but had no idea how to stop it, as they seemed to do nothing. Weiss. Summer. The thought of her family boosting her stamina, and her determination, the red caped huntress stopped, turned on her heel in the middle of the field and steeled her nerves. She would only get one chance at this. The Dragon dove, and Ruby fire her weapon, propelling her into the sky, the scythe drug itself deep into the Grimm, and it feel the remaining 10 feet to the ground. Ruby landed and immediately fell dizzy. She looked down at Crescent Rose, and saw that is was coated with slick blood. Oh no. I need to get this treated. Right now. Ruby knew that the nearest hospital was on the other side of Mistral, and she would never get there on foot. She half ran, half tripped through the forest until she came upon the road that would lead her to the Arc home.

Weiss looked at the clock as Jaune put the game away. He had won, as he had every game since his first back at Beacon. The clock read 847 PM. " Im going to call Ruby." She announced, worried for her lover. As she pulled her scroll out, though, someone fell into the entry, and collapsed in a small pool of blood around their shoulder. It was Ruby, and she was injured horribly.

Never missing a beat, something changed in Nora as she saw the sight. " Pyrrha, I need thread, and a sewing needle. Jaune clear this table, NOW! Ren I need you to get her on the table as soon as that is done, and Weiss... I know this is going to be hard bu I need you to watch the kids upstairs while we do this, I dont want them to see what is happening." there was a seconds hesitation as the group processed what just happened and then the room was a flurry of motion.

"I need.. to see... Weiss.." Ruby struggled to stay conscious as Ren lifted her onto the table. Nora had washed her hands and threaded the needle when she sat down, and took a deep breath.

" Ruby, Weiss is here, watching the kids. Right now we need to focus on you. You have an extremely deep laceration and you will die of blood loss before I can get to my associates at Mistral General." Noras entire persona had flipped in an instant, becoming cool, collective and immediately going to work sewing the muscles and skin back together while the others, brought rag after rag, to clean up the blood.

Please be ok.. I hope Nora knows what she is doing. Weiss sat in the room upstairs with Arthur and Summer, and fretted. Less than an hour later. Yang came into the room and let her know that the kids could come down. As Weiss bounded down the stairs two and three at a time, in front of the children, she saw that Ruby's should was wrapped in a bandage and she was fast asleep. Thank you god, and thank you Nora. Weiss silently praised Nora before turning on her to grill the woman who had just saved her wife's life. Dragging Nora outside with her she started in.

" What the hell was that? Where did you learn to do that? How is she? Is she going to be okay? Will there be any permanent damage? Nora, please Im going insane!" Weiss truly felt like she was going to lose her mind if she did get an update about Ruby and fast.

"As soon as Ren and I settled down, I took a job at Haven Academy teaching field first aid, after a few years the local hospital asked me to train as a surgeon after one their children told them about me. Its my specialty. Ruby will be fine, she just lost a bit of blood and passed out. She needs fluids every 2 hours after she wakes up. Nothing will be permanently affected. Weiss, she's going to be fine... if she survives me when she wakes up." Nora's personality reverted back its old self with a devilish smile. The two returned inside, where Ruby still slept, and the others quietly worried after her.

"Black will you call Adam and let him know that we will not be returning for at least a week, and will update him this thursday? I will call and make reservations at a hotel." Yang quietly kissed her lover on the cheek as they both pulled out their scrolls to make the arrangements.

" Yang no. You two will stay with us, I am going to have my hands full with a 4 year old and taking care of Ruby. I wont have my family staying in a hotel while they are in town on principle anyway." Weiss looked as though she were about to puke from the stress, so Yang looked at Blake for confirmation, which was given, and the pair went to hug Weiss. The white haired woman quietly sobbed until her daughter came up.

"Mommy, don't worry. Mommy will be okay. She is really strong, just like you!" Summer had heard the altercation between Nora and Weiss and wanted her mommies not to be sad anymore. After she had given Ruby a kiss, to which she stirred slightly in her rest, she jumped into Weiss' arms. Perceptive and wise beyond her years, just like Ruby. She's right. Ruby is tough. She will be back on her feet in no time.

As if on cue, Ruby woke and weakly said "Sorry to crash the party guys." She attempted to stand, and wobbled. Weiss caught her and set her gently down.

" You dolt." Weiss chastised her lover so gently she may as well have asked her to bed. " you scared the hell out of me. What happened to you?" Weiss led Ruby too the table and the now full teams sat down to eat. Nora kept a close eye on her patient, though you would never be able to tell. With some food in her stomach and a bunch of water. Ruby began to recount her final day on the mission, and how the source of the local Grimm infestation had been the Dragon that she had faced. She described how she had fought for hours trying to kill it before finally slicing it in half.

" when I landed I realized that its jaws had caught me when I swung my scythe, and had ripped open my shoulder. I knew that I could run but I was losing blood fast. The only thing I could think to do was to find Weiss. Im lucky I did. By the way, Who stitched me up?" Weiss grabbed Ruby and held her like a child in her lap. She could not bear to be away from her lover for any longer. Ruby sighed in content as her wife kissed her neck and her jawline. They stayed like this as Ren recounted the story of Nora's transition into the medical field, and how she had saved Ruby with her quick thinking, while his wife was sound asleep at the table, exhausted from her work, and the kids which had quick taken to calling her Aunt Nora as well.

Ruby thanked them both and listened to the history of the 6 years past, but to be honest she was more focused on the woman holding her close and the daughter who had climbed into their laps. "Hey Summer," Ruby stroked her daughter's face as she lay cuddled into her parents arms, "Mommy is going to take some time off, to spend with you and your mommy and your aunties. Does that sound like fun?" "YAY! Mommy is coming home with us!" Summer reached up and pulled her mothers' faces together and made them kiss.

Ruby's nose picked up on something then. Cookies. Not just any cookies but Weiss' special recipe for Ruby. Sure enough, a few moments later, Jaune brought 2 plates of cookies to the table. One for Ruby and one for the rest of the table. "Thank you, Weiss. Everyone else, as well. But I think I have had enough excitement for one night. Ren? Make sure to bring Nora by more often, I miss you guys."

With that, Ruby stood, took her daughter in one had and her wife by the other. The small family bid the others adieu, and made their way to the home. Not long after, the rest of team RWBY found their way to the Schnee-Rose home. That night, the 5 family members sat together in the master bedroom and told stories for hours. When the Bumblebee made its way to the guest room, and Summer had been put to bed, Weiss slinked into bed after her injured wife.

"Sweetheart, thank you for coming home, but next time make sure that Nora doesnt have to stitch you back together before I can attack you. I was going to rock your world tonight when we got home, but I guess you will just have to wait." Weiss let her hands travel all over Ruby, careful to avoid the fresh wound. Ruby just sighed and allowed her wife to trace shapes into her skin.

"You can have one day. If you havent dragged me into bed and locked the door by then, im going to drag you here myself, stitches or no stitches." Nora had done amazing work and the soreness of her arm had almost gone, only a few hours after the emergency stitching. Ruby made a mental note to thank the woman when she saw her next, even if that meant a trip to Haven.

Weiss just giggled and snuggled in to Ruby's uninjured shoulder. In the moonlight, two necklaces hung from their stand, throwing faint reflextions from the stones in them.

"Goodnight, Weiss."

"Goodnight, Ruby."

/Hello again! i have decided to extend this series just a bit, as this chapter kind of took me by surprise. It really just wrote itself. i want to explore having team RWBY in a house for a week, just a bit. so maybe one chapter or two of that. unless i get another surprise from them. there will only be one more chapter to follow. please enjoy, or dont. just let me know what you think