Author's Note: A thousand apologies for those of you who received an update notification and found nothing there; I accidentally posted it before sending it to KillamriX88 for edits, and as such immediately pulled it when I realized the error. Apologies for the inconvenience, and I do hope that you enjoy the chapter nonetheless...

There was silence in the ward, save for the unsteady tones of a heart monitor. It was Mina's fragile heartbeat on the machine this time; every sporadic beep chilling all those around her.

It wasn't fair.

They'd made a reckless charge into the face of certain death and won,but where was the happy ending? That kind of triumph was supposed to end in three cheers and one of Port's ridiculous stories seeming just that much less absurd, not this… Anything but this…

Blake was in the next bed, conscious, but thoroughly beaten, while Ruby and Yang sat beside her bed. Yang sported a few cracked ribs and Ruby more than her fair share of scrapes and bandages from their fight with Mercury and Emerald. The two vagabonds had managed to slip away in the chaos, but that would have been just fine – they could always catch them next time – if only they'd been able to just smile and relish their victory… The trouble was, none of them felt very victorious.

Weiss herself sat opposite the space between Blake and Mina's beds, eyes affixed to the floor. Not again… No… There has to be something…

Nadia had been stabilized, for the moment at least, but she was still in critical condition. Mina on the other hand… It wasn't happening fast, but she was fading… Mina had always been naturally fair-skinned, but now she was pale as death, and her chest barely seemed to move as she breathed. She had a blood-chilling, almost serene near-lifelessness to her, one that no amount of prayers or well-wishes could rouse her from. They were all still waiting for the official diagnosis, but none of them needed to be experts to know that it wouldn't be good…

"Hey Blake…"

Blake's gaze didn't move, nor did she speak, but her ears twitched, betraying the fact that she was listening.

"I'm sorry…" Weiss began with a trembling voice, "I wish I could have been there faster-,"

"You could have been."

A lump formed in Weiss's throat at Blake's words; no amount of rational logic would convince Blake that they only made it out alive thanks to Stahlkreuz's men. Still, Weiss couldn't begrudge her that prejudice though. At least had they died there, she wouldn't have to feel so guilty… "I won't promise that everything will be alright-"

"Just shut up!" Blake sobbed, beginning to break down, "you think I'll forgive you because you came to our 'rescue' too late? You should have been there! You… you…." Blake began outright sobbing, "a-and now Mina is…"

Weiss looked back to the floor again, telling herself that she deserved all Blake's cutting words and more as punishment, not that the scalpel she'd taken from Nadia's room wasn't reminder enough. "I know…"

Blake squeezed a fistful of her sheets and tried so very hard not to cry. Blaming Weiss could only buy her a moment's reprieve from her own guilt. Rationally, she knew they couldn't have done it without the Atlesian soldiers, and she knew that Weiss had been right to wait for them but why did it have to come to this…?

The pall of silence returned as the door to the ward opened, admitting a harried looking doctor. No nurses, no cart of instruments, no medications; just a face that portended bad news. Weiss looked up to him, crestfallen, but even that much was more than the others could muster; Blake's eyes were fixed on Mina, and Yang and Ruby couldn't muster the ability to look up from the floor. Even Weiss didn't speak though; she just watched as the doctor quietly moved to Mina's bedside to measure her blood pressure, as though trying to forestall what he had come to say, but it couldn't last forever.

He didn't even use any tools he just felt her forehead and checked Mina's pulse at her wrist, before sighing and setting Mina's limp hand down. "I'm afraid that she isn't doing well…" That got Blake's attention, but at once stole her voice from her as the doctor continued, "Her blood pressure is too low… and she isn't recovering…"

"T-then give her a transfusion or something!" Blake pleaded, sitting up suddenly in her bed, only to wince and slump back against the head of it, "Please… save her…"

The doctor just shook his head, "I'm afraid we can't… She doesn't have a completed medical record, and recent events have depleted our stores of donated blood - O-Negative in particular… Without knowing her blood type for sure… well… there isn't much that we can do…"

"Mina's blood-type is AB-Positive!" Blake begged, "Anything will do – please! Take mine-,"

The doctor clearly didn't relish this, "Miss Belladonna, Miss Carfax has suffered a severe class three hemorrhage, and with her… unique physiological needs, she'd need no less than a liter of blood to stabilize. And to be frank, Miss Belladonna, even if you are correct about her blood type – even setting aside the consequences of an incorrect transfusion – You are in no condition to be donating blood, let alone that much. As a matter of both safety and ethics, I can't save her if it means endangering any other patients…"

"I'll donate too!" Yang perked up hopefully, despite a grimace at her own injuries, "If we both-,"

"Me too!" Ruby interjected, "I wanna help!"

The doctor gave a sad smile, and Weiss's heart sank as she saw all her teammates faces fall, "I'm afraid it isn't that simple girls… even if you two weren't injured yourselves, we can't simply mix donor blood like that…"

No…

"…It would only do more harm than good…"

There has to be something…

"…And besides… I can only make a transfusion from a completely healthy donor…"

Weiss's head snapped up and felt like it had begun spinning. She wasn't hurt – she hadn't given that Adam fellow the chance to get so much as a word in edgewise, let alone a blow. She'd felt so guilty having come out unscathed despite everything, but now… That must be why… Her mind made up, Weiss clenched her fists and stood.

"I'll do it."

All eyes were on her in an instant, but she wasn't moved. Her eyes were locked on the doctors, and her determination would brook no discussion with the physician, "Miss… Schnee…?"

"I didn't stutter." Weiss insisted rolling up her sleeve, "Get whatever tools you need, and give her as much as you think she needs to recover. I am perfectly healthy – there should be no issue…"

"Weiss…" Blake was all but speechless, her eyes tearing up, but she couldn't muster any other words…

"That may be so, Miss Schnee, but without being sure of her blood type-,"

"She's AB Positive, didn't you hear Blake?" Weiss interrupted, dead-set upon her choice whether Blake was right or not, "any blood will do!"

The doctor shook his head sympathetically. "Miss Schnee, if Miss Belladonna is wrong and your blood type isn't compatible-"

"Will she live if you do nothing?" Weiss demanded.

The doctor's lips pressed together in a firm line, "most likely not, but-"

"Then it's settled," Weiss asserted, taking a deep breath, "I will donate the blood,"

"Miss Schnee I can't-"

Weiss drew her pilfered scalpel from her coat pocket and pressed the blade to her wrist, drawing a wide-eyed look of shock from the doctor and gasps from her teammates. "I said use mine."

"Weiss! What are you doing!?" Ruby gasped.

"Whoa, whoa, Princess, don't do anything stupid…" Yang added, somewhat mellowed by her injuries compared to how she would otherwise have been.

Blake though, she was dead silent, face in her hands as she stared past her fingers at the knife pressed to Weiss's wrist. She wanted so much to resent Weiss – to not forgive – but this – now it was envy. It wasn't fair that Weiss could do what she couldn't for Mina, not when she wanted so much to blame Weiss for Mina's state. And now she was threatening to throw her own life away…No… you don't get to be my hero…

Weiss was deaf to Blake's internal grappling, though. All that was left to her was the doctor's face, the cold feeling of steel at her bare wrist, and a peculiar serenity about it all – like she'd never been more sure of a single decision in her life.

"Let me explain something to you, doctor…" Weiss said in a dangerously low voice, "We Schnees… we're a greedy bunch, and we don't like losing things… I don't know you're name, and frankly, I don't care, which, believe you me, is in your best interest, because if I decide to learn your name because you wouldn't save my friend, then you will never work in medicine or any other field ever again… I will ruin you…" The man was silent, and quite pale as Weiss continued, "now then, I will be losing no less than two units of blood in the next few minutes. That is not negotiable. Your choice is simple: you can use that to save Mina's life, or let it go to waste on the floor. Choose wisely, and I will make you a bloody hero, but so help me God if you don't… Well, there's no telling how Daddy might react, is there?"

Weiss groggily awoke, bleary eyes fluttering open. She was lightheaded, and her left arm was sore, but she had only a single question on her mind as soon as she'd gathered the presence of mind to think. "W-where… how is-"

Her thought was interrupted, however, by a swift slap to the face. "I'msorryaboutthisWeiss! Blake told me too!"

Weiss blinked in bafflement, reaching up to dumbly stroke her cheek where she'd been slapped, "Ruby….? Blake said to…? Oh God…. Please no…" Weiss began to tear up, memory flooding back, "It wasn't good enough-?"

"Much the opposite, actually…"

Next Weiss knew, she was pulled into a shaky hug, the sound of a certain familiar voice bringing tears to her eyes. "Mina…? Is that really you…? "

Mina nodded into Weiss's shoulder. "Yes… and I have so much to thank you for…"

"Oh God Mina… I was so scared…" Weiss sobbed, "thank God…"

"Weiss…" It was Blake now, and the whole room fell silent.

Mina stepped back, moving to Blake's bedside, to help her Dearest up, though she was still too weak to stand for prolonged periods steadily herself, she could help Blake address Weiss now. Weiss tensed, but braced herself and let out a deep breath "You don't have to thank me Blake-"

"Don't be an idiot! Of course I do!" Blake half-walked, half stumbled over to Weiss's bed, bracing against the mattress, "you couldn't just let me blame you, could you?" Blake smiled wearily through her tears of relief. "That was such a stupid risk, Weiss…"

"Yeah, Princess," Yang chimed in, "Mina's a lot bigger than you, Weiss… she needed so much that you passed out and the doc had to set you up in her bed."

"That would explain the wooziness…" Weiss sighed, massaging her temples. "But it was no choice at all…" Then she blinked. "Wait, He put me in Mina's bed? Then where was…?"

Mina chuckled, her characteristic wry mirth finally returning after so long, despite Blake's profuse blush. "Dearest and I have been sharing~"

Weiss chuckled. "Of course… I wouldn't have it any other way."

A few rooms down the hall, Nadia Undine's eyes finally opened for the first time in days. Her abdomen still hurt like hell, but she was alive… She couldn't believe it… Looking down over herself, she sat up in her hospital bed and pulled up her gown to feel where she'd been injured. There was an ugly scar on the left side of her stomach, just below her ribs where Mercury had kicked her, firing the slugs from his boots, but despite that, she was alive…

"So you're finally awake."

Nadia's heart skipped a beat and she stiffened, her hand reflexively snapping to her brow in a salute before she winced. Nadia hadn't even noticed her enter, but nevertheless, there was only one option. "Ma'am! Ow…"

"At ease Cadet," Colonel Stahlkreuz replied, "we're off duty for the time being,"

Nadia slowly lowered her hand and looked away, though she didn't fail to notice the faintest whisper of a smile on the Colonel's face. "Aye, ma'am…"

"You did well, all things considered," Stahlkreuz continued, "there is certainly room yet to improve, but as initial battlefield experiences go, well done."

Nadia couldn't look back at her. "I… abandoned my post…"

Stahlkreuz was quiet for a long moment before she answered, leaning back in her chair. "Yes, you did."

"Then please," Nadia begged, "you don't have to take it easy on me because it landed me here… I don't deserve it…"

"No one does," the colonel acknowledged, "but I had a word with Miss Schnee after the battle was over, Cadet, and she informed me that you were in pursuit of three enemy operatives whose identities you'd not had the opportunity to inform me of..."

Nadia nodded slowly, without a word.

"Cadet Undine…" Stahlkreuz began, choosing her words with care, "the chain of command is everything in an active combat scenario… However, there are some instances in which soldiers at the front are better informed of the situation as it unfolds than their officers, in which case they would be remiss not to adapt to the circumstances. You saw an unexpected factor, and you acted upon it, and very nearly sacrificed yourself to do it. In light of this…" Irena Stahlkreuz produced a small, ornamental box from her pocket and opened it as she presented it to Nadia. "It is my honor to present you with the Old Atlesian Cross for valor and decisive action in the line of duty."

Nadia's eyes went wide at the sight of the burnished silver and iron in the small box. It wasn't exactly the engagement ring she'd slapped herself a few times for fantasizing about, but it meant oh so very much more. Hands shaking, she reached out to accept the medal, feeling the weight of it pass into her hands as the Colonel gave it to her. A future was something heavy indeed…

"Welcome to the Army, Private Undine."

Blake let Mina lay her down on the soft grass beside that little pond on the edge of the Beacon campus. It felt good under the bare skin of her back, but not as good as Mina's lips on hers, Mina's body beneath her fingers, or Mina's breath on her skin as she placed kisses from Blake's lips on down her cheek, neck, and breast. After all they'd been through, everything was finally alright again, and she had so much to make up for…

"I don't know what I would have done…" Blake gasped as Mina's fangs pierced her skin for the first time in far too long. "I know what I said but… If we hadn't saved you I-"

"Shhhh…." Mina pulled away from Blake's breast and placed a finger to Blake's lips. "It is in the past…"

"I'm just so sorry that I couldn't save you myself-"

"Perhaps not, but you bought me time did you not?" Mina asked soothingly, "perhaps you must admit a compromise with Weiss? It wouldn't be the first time…"

"You're right…" Blake nodded. "I… owe her more of an apology don't I…?" She smiled into Mina's neck. "But later… right now I just want you."

Mina returned the tender embrace. "I'm here… and I'm yours… Always."

Author's Note: Hi everybody, I'm sorry this took so long... In the interest of full disclosure though, I suppose I should admit that this was mostly so long in coming because I didn't want to do it – end it, that is, not write the story in itself – I've just grown so attached to this that I can't help that it kinda hurts to end it. Even so, here we are, and I hope it was as enjoyable for you all as it was for me. I ended up deciding to let Nadia live because I didn't want this to hurt me any more than it had to and I tried to make it impactful, brief as her closure was. As far as the first section of the chapter goes though, I've had that kicking around in my head for nearly a year now, which I suppose kind of goes to show how much I wish I could have made it last forever, but alas all good things come to an end, right?

Before I draw the curtain, so to speak though, I wanted to make a few comments that are a bit past relevance, but which I forgot to make at the time which they would have been poignant and about which I have ever since been kicking myself. Nothing particularly important, they may be of interest to anyone who means to reread this at some point. Namely, I used some background music for inspiration during a few chapters, most notably during 'My Hero' (Chapter 51) I was mostly listening to "Tourniquet" by Evanescence and while writing 'My Very Own' (Chapter 87) I used a song by J.J. Heller called "Love Me," in particular, the last verse heavily played into Nadia's confrontation with Mercury… The song also routinely leaves me sobbing like a baby, but that's another issue entirely… Finally, I found myself listening to "Bios," the battle theme track from Guilty Crown during the planning and writing of 'A Promise to myself' (last chapter). They're all good songs in my opinion, and I'd encourage you to give them a listen, whether or not you choose to reread the chapters.

For now though, I'd just like to thank you all profusely for reading, especially ScarletWolfX and KrazyFanfiction1, who've been around pretty much from day one, as well as another huge thank-you to KillamriX88 for editing the last score of chapters, this one included. I hope you enjoyed it!