Day 9: Morning
Weiss was brought to semi-consciousness by the sound of the door to her hospital room opening and closing. She grumbled slightly, she was mostly used to it now since the nurses came in to check on her vitals a few times a day, but she still didn't enjoy being repeatedly roused from sleep. She was about to try to go back to sleep when she felt Ruby's cloak being pulled off of her, and heard footsteps retreating quickly back towards the door.
NOW she was awake. She sat bolt upright, flaring her aura; a glyph slammed into being right next to the door. A massive armored gauntlet clamped down on the shoulder of a man dressed in scrubs, roughly spinning him around. The man stared up in fear at her Arma Gigas, its armored head scraping the ceiling. The man whimpered as the suit of armor's hand tightened its grip on his shoulder. Weiss didn't recognize the man, he seemed to be an orderly, but she didn't care about that, all she could see was Ruby's cloak clutched in his shaking hands.
"If that cloak isn't back in my hands in ten seconds…" she snarled, "Your arm being removed at the shoulder will be the least of your problems." He cried out in pain as her summon further tightened its grip on his arm. The moment the summon eased its grip, the man scurried over to her as fast as he could, practically throwing the cloak into her lap. The glyph vanished, as did her massive guardian.
The door opened again and Sal stepped in, "Miss Sch-" he stopped dead in the doorway as he saw the outline of her summon fade from existence and spotted the visibly scared man next to her bed, holding his shoulder.
"What are you-? Is this-?" Sal stuttered, his face turning red, "What did I tell you about this, newbie?" he yelled at the orderly, "I told you an hour ago to leave it alone-"
"B-but protocol-"
"Fuck protocol!" Sal yelled over him, "Is protocol worth getting beaten to death with your own arm?"
The orderly shook his head no.
"I didn't think so, now get out of here." the big man jerked his thumb towards the door.
The man turned towards the door but not before Weiss heard him mutter "Fucking Schnees…" under his breath.
"Newbies…" Sal snarled as the orderly pushed past him, "Sorry about that, I know how much that cloak means to you." he was silent for a moment as she drew the cloak closer to her, "Anyway, I came in to say that your sister is here, would you like to see her?"
A sudden surge of panic gripped Weiss, she wasn't sure if she was ready to see her sister but she supposed that she should try, for Winter's sake at least. She nodded at Sal, signaling her assent.
He stepped aside and her sister walked into the room and, just for a moment, Weiss thought she could do it. But Winter had that same look on her face, that look of sadness and knowing. 'You killed her.' the look said. A simple statement with no judgment attached to it, but Weiss still couldn't stand it.
"...Winter." she finally said after a long moment, her voice shaking, "I appreciate what you're trying to do but I'm just not ready for this conversation, not yet. I'm sorry."
Her sister's face fell slightly, but didn't seem particularly surprised by her words. "Well…" Winter said softly, "When you are ready, I'll be there for you…whenever you need me." she gave her a soft smile.
"Thank you." Weiss said quietly, her lip trembling.
Winter nodded and left the room.
Weiss sighed heavily. That seemed to be all she was good for these days, hurting the people she loved most. A few minutes later, before she could get too much into her own head, a team of nurses and doctors swept into her room, lifted her into a wheelchair, and began to wheel her down the hall, explaining that they needed to do some followup imaging on her stump to make sure everything was healing properly. They bombarded her with questions about how much pain and discomfort she was in as various machines took scans of her leg.
Some time later, as they wheeled her back to her room, the doctor informed her that there were a few loose bone fragments that they had missed during the chaos of the initial surgery that would have to be taken care of if she wanted to use a prosthetic leg.
The doctor said that they would see what the head of surgery had to say, but he suspected that they would likely perform a followup procedure in a couple days.
As she settled back into her hospital bed, Sal came into the room shaking his head, a befuddled look on his face. "So…the guy from earlier that tried to take your cloak snuck back into your room while you were gone." Weiss' eyebrows shot up. "Yeah we were surprised too, it turned out he was trying to plant some kind of camera in your room. Obviously, that violates all kinds of laws, I not-so-gently escorted him out and reported him to his supervisor."
Weiss had no idea how to begin processing that information. "Thank you…I think." she said gratefully.
He nodded, "He won't bother you again, you have my word." He said leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
She was finally alone again, in her bed, holding Ruby's cloak to her chest for comfort. She let out a long breath, trying to relax, when her scroll chimed. She picked it up and saw that it was a message from command pushed to all military personnel's scrolls
There it was.
Now everyone knew that Ruby was dead. Weiss knew that Ruby was a fairly popular huntress among the civilian population. She had a bit of leftover celebrity from the Vytal tournament, only bolstered by her heroics around Atlas and Mantle. Once Ironwood told them that it was her that had killed Ruby, they'd hate Schnees more than they already did, not that she'd blame them one bit.
Her Scroll chimed again with another automated message from command.
Weiss' stomach plummeted. It wasn't hard to figure out what that implied. Winter had been demoted because of her. Whether it had been a consequence of her actions in rescuing her or her own decision, it was her fault. She couldn't do anything right, Winter had probably torpedoed her entire military career just to make sure she was ok, and she hadn't even been able to muster the strength to talk to her. What a pathetic excuse of a sister she was. She'd just have to add it to her endless list of failures: Heiress, Huntress, Partner…the list went on.
Before she descended too much into self loathing, her scroll chimed again. "Mother of Grimm…" she growled, "What the hell is going on out there?"
This time it was an emergency alert.
The second she finished reading the speaker in her room crackled to life and relayed the same message.
Weiss was just confused now, shouldn't Qrow and Robyn be honored as heroes for rescuing her? Why were they in custody in the first place? She sighed heavily, she felt so cut off from everything outside this room. She pushed it out of her mind, it was time she began the arduous and painful process of getting her thoughts in order. Yang and Blake would be there soon and she wanted to tell them as much as she could, but spare them the worst of the details, they deserved that much.
Day 9: Late Afternoon
The soft knock at her door snapped Weiss out of her thoughts, the sound heralding the arrival of the people she simultaneously dreaded and looked forward to seeing. Yang and Blake stepped into the room, almost twin looks of guilt passing over their faces as they laid eyes on her, clearly flashing back to what happened the day before. But they both quickly hid their guilt, their faces adopting smiles.
"Hey Weiss." Yang said in a fairly cheerful tone.
Weiss smiled and gave them a small wave. It was a mostly genuine smile, she actually was glad to see them, despite the awful circumstances. The two girls pulled up chairs and sat beside her bed.
"I almost thought you two would be at Ironwood's press conference." Weiss said as they settled in.
Yang shook her head, "They wanted us there but this…being here for you is more important." a dark look passed over Yang's face, "Besides, I can't even stand to look at hi-"
Blake gently bumped her shoulder into Yang's and the blonde woman immediately cut her sentence short.
"Anyway," Yang continued after a moment, "This is where we need to be so here we are." She nodded confidently.
Weiss filed that weird interaction away for later, she didn't particularly feel like pushing them about whatever that had been.
"I've been meaning to ask," Weiss said, "what's going on with Qrow and Robyn? The message earlier said that they had escaped custody? Why were they in jail in the first place?"
Blake sighed heavily. "To make a long story short, they got on Ironwood's bad side and he had them arrested under martial law. Your sister recruited them to help her rescue you but they were taken back into custody."
"I'm sure they were wildly thrilled with that." Weiss said, shaking her head.
"Oh, you have no idea." Blake replied, "The announcement of Ruby's…death earlier caused quite a stir and they took advantage of it. Last I heard they'd managed to lose their pursuers somewhere in the city."
Weiss let out a breath. That answered a lot of questions but raised so many more. She glanced over at Yang who had been uncharacteristically quiet this whole time. The blonde woman was staring intently just above Weiss' head. "What-?"
Yang said nothing and rose out of her chair coming right over right next to her.
"What are you doing?" Weiss asked as Yang pulled the tie out of her hair.
"It's straight." Yang said simply, shifting her ponytail off to the side and putting the tie back in. she sat back down, giving Weiss a small, sad smile. "It didn't look right. It wasn't you."
Weiss nearly burst into tears right then. She hadn't even realized it wasn't right. One of the hospital staff must have done it and she didn't notice. "Well I guess I'll just get straight to the point then" she said quickly, trying to prevent herself from crying this early in their visit, "…Are-are you completely sure you guys really want to know? I understand if-"
"We're sure." Blake said, her voice steady, "I need…" she looked at Yang, "We need to know what happened to you guys…how she…." Blake trailed off.
Weiss sighed, "Ok…I'll just start from the beginning." she exhaled shakily, "I'll give you what I can but some of it is…"
"We understand…" Yang moved her hand, about to comfortingly put it on Weiss' leg, she quickly thought better of it and moved it to her arm, "Tell us what you can…I just want to know what happened to my sister."
Weiss sighed, "The mission seemed fairly straight forward. Head out to the outpost, kill the Grimm, help the crew fix the transmitter, head back on the return Manta the next morning. Everything was going well until the Manta got near the outpost. The outpost had reported a massive herd of Grimm but the pilot told us that there was no sign of even a small group of grimm out on the tundra, no sign that there had been any Grimm there in the past day…And that was when the Manta went down…something took control and slammed us straight into the ground."
Her hands curled into fists as she remembered the feeling of slamming into the rear bulkhead of the Manta. "After we woke up we…" she trailed off, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "The-the pilot…she died…Lynn… I think that was her name…Can you find out if her family was contacted? We didn't have the means to bring her body with us, even if we could have gotten into the cockpit." Yang pulled out her scroll and made a note to remind herself.
Weiss nodded, "Anyway, after we woke up, we were immediately ambushed by our old friend Tryian Callows and a new guy, Arthur W-"
"-Watts…" Blake finished, a dark tone in her voice, "We're familiar."
Weiss' eyebrows shot up, "So he was here? Is he in custody?"
"Ironwood captured him in Amity Arena. But he…he escaped." Yang said, her mouth a grim line, "He used the chaos around your sister flying out to rescue you to escape. They lost track of him somewhere in the lower city."
Weiss nodded, both disappointed and relieved at the same time. "Well, the two of them attacked us and we fought back. Ruby managed to knock Watts out of the fight but…" Guilt shot through her body, "My bad knee gave out and Tyrian got the upper hand on me. Knocked me into the snow."
She laughed bitterly, "I guess I'll never have to worry about that particular problem again." she said, staring right at her stump. Weiss thought they might find that slightly amusing but Yang and Blake just looked a little ill.
"Anyway…" she said, pushing forward through the awkwardness, "He knocked me down. Ruby…she tried to rescue me, but that was exactly what he wanted…he used me as bait. That was the first time she got stabbed by his tail."
"The first time?" Yang asked.
"I'm getting to it. He monologued for a bit…twisting his tail inside Ruby…He-he figured out that we were…together." she swallowed, this part had been painful to remember, "He said he was going to make me suffer with his poison and make Ruby watch….Ruby-she couldn't…"
"She took the blow for you…" Yang finished, her face sad but not surprised.
Weiss nodded, "He injected her with his tail and…" tears began to drip down her cheeks, "She screamed in agony and something in me just snapped, I all-but blacked out, completely fueled by blind rage."
Yang nodded, understanding in her eyes.
"I apparently chased Tyrian and Watts off with three of my summons at once."
Blake blinked, "I-I always thought you could only do one at a time."
"So did I." Weiss replied, "Apparently if I have sufficient…motivation I can do at least three." she took a deep breath, "Ruby got sick almost immediately. We made a makeshift sled and scavenged a bunch of supplies from the crashed Manta. We made camp for the night a bit away from the crash site…but in the morning our ride home never came."
Blake inhaled sharply at that, her jaw clenching in anger. Yang cocked an eyebrow at her partner. "So you decided to head home on your own?" Blake asked, her face quickly losing its angry edge.
Weiss nodded, "We packed up the sled and headed out. But Ruby kept getting worse, she walked until she couldn't anymore then I pulled her on the sled. I was able to keep her symptoms under control with some heavy duty painkillers that we found in the manta."
"Watching her deteriorate was horrible…Ruby and I managed to fight off some Grimm that attacked us, but it took so much out of her…she had a massive coughing fit and I thought I had lost her. But she was still there, just incredibly weak." she clenched her jaw, dreading the next part. "The next night, she asked me to…kill her."
Both Yang and Blake inhaled sharply, but neither seemed surprised.
"I told her that I couldn't do it…she asked me why and I kind of freaked out and told her that it was because I loved her."
A tiny smile played across Yang's lips. "Fucking finally…" she said softly, but didn't push any further.
Weiss pushed forward, feeling anguish gathering in her chest, "I convinced her to wait another day to see if we could get help. She agreed even though she was in so much pain." She swallowed, guilt heavy in her throat, "I should have done it then…but I was selfish and I couldn't imagine a world without her in it…I…"
A sob shook her chest, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. She was trapped in that world now, a world without the person she loved most.
Yang and Blake leapt forward hugging her, holding her for several minutes until she stopped crying.
"We can go…" Blake said softly, "If you don't want to tell the rest."
"No…" Weiss said, shaking her head, composing herself, "I'm ok…" After another deep breath she continued. "The next day, when Salem arrived, we were attacked by a monster sent specifically to hunt us down…a Grimm Salem somehow made out of a faunus man with silver eyes."
Yang and Blake both gasped this time, completely surprised. "What? How?" Yang asked, her eyes wide.
"I have no idea." Weiss sighed, "And frankly I don't really want to go into detail about it, if you want more, you can ask Winter, she killed the damn thing. Ruby and I managed to drive it off, Ruby blasted it with her eyes…I-we realized that if Salem got her hands on Ruby that is what she'd become…A twisted grimm used to hurt and kill us…So I agreed…I told her that I would do it."
She took another deep breath, her throat threatening to close again, the memories of what came next almost overwhelming her.
"We sat and talked for the rest of the day…" Weiss looked them both in the eyes, "She wanted me to tell you that she loved you guys and how sorry she was that she couldn't make it back to you." Blake's ears flattened and she saw a bittersweet smile pass across Yang's face.
"When…when she was ready, we kissed. She helped me do it. She put Myrtenaster's tip right above her heart and…we pushed together…" It was technically just Ruby's aura, but that was an extraneous detail they didn't need. "I held her as she died…she-she used one of her last breaths to tell me that she l-loved me…"
She couldn't hold it together anymore, she broke down sobbing, tears streaming down her face. Again, her two teammates leaned in to hold and comfort her. It was more than she deserved.
"Weiss-" Yang started after a few minutes.
"I'm so close to the end." Weiss interrupted, wiping tears from her face. Yang nodded, but the two of them didn't move from her side. "After she died…my memories get a little fuzzy…I pulled her body behind me on the sled. I walked…I fought some Grimm, I think. I was very much not in my right mind. Eventually Winter, Robyn, and Qrow found me and were attempting to rescue me when Cinder and the Hound showed up."
Yang opened her mouth as if to ask a question.
"Yang, I was borderline catatonic during this, I am the wrong person to ask for details." Yang closed her mouth.
"The three of them fought hard, but they were overwhelmed and I freaked out and I…well I found out that I can do this." she held her hand palm up, and after a few seconds a small glyph appeared in it, a glyph with a rose emblem, surrounded by stylized scythes. She had practiced this earlier, since she wasn't entirely sure she could do it. But just like when she'd practiced it earlier, the glyph just sat there and did nothing. No blinding silver light, no Crescent Rose, and no Ruby, thank the gods.
Yang gasped and Blake slapped a hand over her mouth in shock.
"So…" Yang breathed, hope in her voice that Made Weiss' heart hurt, "Ruby showed-?"
"No," Weiss said, cutting her off, "She didn't show up."
"Well can you-?"
"No." Weiss said firmly, "I don't know what this is, but when I pointed it at the Grimm, they died screaming."
"But," Yang started, that damned hope still in her eyes, "That's Ruby's ligh-"
"It's not Ruby!" Weiss yelled, startling the two other girls, "It's not her…it can't be."
They looked at her in confusion, "But-"
"Look, I don't know what it is," Weiss said, letting the glyph dissipate, "but the two of you will be the first to know when I figure it out,"
"Ok Weiss," Blake said softly, "We'll drop it for now." she gently patted Weiss' shoulder. Yang sighed reluctantly but agreed with a nod of her head.
"I think I burned all the Grimm…" Weiss continued, "As I said, my memories are a little fuzzy. After that…I remember a sharp pain in my leg. I'm pretty sure it was Cinder, she shredded my leg. I fell…and well the next clear memory I have is you punching me in the face." she said to Yang. Yang flinched and looked incredibly guilty, Weiss had only meant it as a statement, not an accusation. "That's the short version anyway," she said quietly, "If you want any details after that, you'll have to ask Winter."
Yang and Blake sat there for a long moment, contemplating what she had just told them.
Suddenly, Yang sat up straighter, a perplexed frown on her face. "When did you…When did Ruby…When did she go?" she asked, struggling to get the words out.
"Sunset." Weiss replied, "She wanted to go at sunset. She asked for it specifically." a small smile played across her lips, "That sappy dolt thought it was poetic. It was a nice sunset, to be fair." She heard a slight chuckle, slowly building in volume. She looked over in confusion as Yang started outright laughing. Blake also shot her partner a perplexed look.
"Sorry," Yang said after a moment, "But I just realized that at that time, Blake, Marrow and I were about to fight a horde of Grimm that would have taken down Atlas' shield, dooming everyone in the city to suffocate to death. There were too many of them for the three of us and, of course, they were all focused on us. We only won because all of the Grimm were distracted by something."
Blake's eyes widened, "They all stopped and stared out at the tundra…in all the chaos, I'd completely forgotten."
Yang smiled sadly and pointed at Weiss, "Your grief acted as a beacon for them, drawing their attention off of us enough for us to get the upper hand." Yang laughed, "Leave it to Ruby to accidentally save the entirely of Atlas by fucking dying."
Blake shook her head, a small chuckle escaping her lips.
Weiss smiled, she thought Ruby would have been happy with that. Her death had saved tens of thousands of lives, albeit unintentionally.
"In a way," Blake said, her smile becoming slightly sad, "It was one last mission for us. We saved Atlas together, as a team."
"Didn't even know we were doing it." Yang said, sniffing and wiping at a few tears in her eyes, "Our teamwork is just that good."
"We were led by the best." Wess said.
Three pairs of eyes all drifted to the red cloak in Weiss' lap, a profound sense of loss settling over all of them.
The chiming of Blake's scroll startled them all, making Blake jump. She sheepishly pulled her scroll out and read the message, a frown forming on her face. "I-I'm sorry…" she said softly, "There's something I have to take care of."
Yang frowned, "Anything I need to worry about?" she asked, "Want me to come with?"
Blake shook her head, "It's nothing I can't handle." she said, giving Yang a soft smile, "Besides, I think you need to be here. I'll try to be back later to see you Weiss, If you need me I'm just a phone call away.
Weiss smiled and nodded at her.
Blake squeezed Yang's shoulder and left the room, Yang's eyes not leaving her until the door closed. She turned back to Weiss, her mouth a thin line, now uncharacteristically quiet. Weiss could still sense tension between the two of them.
"I-I'm glad you finally told Ruby you loved her." Yang said, breaking the silence in the most awkward possible way.
"You knew I hadn't said it back yet?" Weiss asked, her eyes widening.
"She's my sister, Weiss." She tells…told me everything…"
"It…it took me a long time to find the courage to tell her. I can tell you my upbringing was not particularly emotionally healthy so I-"
Yang raised a hand, cutting her off. "I'm not judging! I just…I know how happy hearing those words out of you would make Ruby. Even if it wasn't under the best circumstances."
"It wasn't…" Weiss confirmed, "But it did make her happy."
"I bet her grin was huge." Yang said with a smile.
"Dazzling." Weiss confirmed.
They lapsed into silence. Yang clearly still sorting through all she had been told.
"Did…did Ruby know about Salem arriving?" Yang asked after a few moments.
"No." Weiss replied, "That was the day she…died. She was delirious for most of the day and I kept her facing away from the city." she swallowed, "I couldn't burden her with the knowledge that you guys were in danger, not in her last few hours. She died thinking it was a normal day back in Atlas. She thought you were safe."
Yang exhaled loudly, a weight seemingly removed from her shoulders. "Thank you." she said, a grateful smile on her face. Weiss hated that smile. She didn't deserve that smile.
"Why are you thanking me ?" Weiss growled, "You should hate me."
Yang looked taken aback. "I don't hate you, Weiss. I couldn't."
"I killed your sister Yang, how could you not hate me?"
A full frown broke out on Yang's face, "Stop saying that. You and I both know it isn't true. Tyrian killed my sister. You…" Yang choked up for a moment, "You gave her a peaceful way out. She-she died with a smile on her face." Yang began to tear up, "I'll always be grateful to you for that."
Weiss shook her head, why couldn't Yang see her for what she was? Even if she hadn't run Ruby through with a sword, Ruby had still died protecting her because she was weak and slow.
"I'm sorry for hitting you." Yang's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Don't be." Weiss replied, "It doesn't bother me."
"That's the problem," Yang said with a frown, "it should bother you, You don't need to be punished because it wasn't your-"
"If you finish that sentence I'm going to scream." Weiss snapped. "You can say it as many times as you want, I'm not going to believe it, not now. Not for a long time. So just drop it."
"Fine…" Yang sighed, "I'm just glad Ruby had someone there for her at the end. I'm glad it was you. I just hope that someone is there for me when my body gets added to the bone-pile in Ozpin's war, either you or Blake, preferably Blake."
Weiss' eyes narrowed, "Why Blake?" She asked innocently. Yang's head snapped up, looking at Weiss with wide eyes, "Why Blake, Yang?" She pushed, Yang's fear response all but confirming what she'd known for months. "Is there something special about her? Special enough that you'd want to spend your last moments with her?"
"Uh…I-"
"Tell her how you feel, Yang." Weiss said simply, finally addressing the goliath in the room.
"You know?" Yang asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. A habit, Weiss noted, that both her and Ruby shared.
Weiss rolled her eyes, "Literally everyone knows but the two of you apparently. Even Ruby, the queen of romantic obliviousness figured it out. The only way you two could be more obvious is if you had matching jackets with 'We're Pining for Each Other' on the back." Weiss let out an exasperated huff.
Yang grinned, "You've had that speech prepared for a long time haven't you?"
"Gods, you have no idea. Tell her how you feel, I promise you she feels the same way."
"I-I will." Yang said, avoiding Weiss' gaze. Weiss could see that Yang had no intention of telling Blake anything. "Anyway…" Yang said quickly, desperately trying to change the subject, "Jaune, Nora, and Ren asked when they could come visit you…they weren't even sure if you even wanted visitors."
Weiss thought for a moment, considering whether she wanted them to see her like this. "Tell them they can come tomorrow." she finally said, she would see them for their sake, not her own. "I suppose they should meet me…" Yang tilted her head slightly, her brow knitting together in confusion. Weiss couldn't answer her unvoiced question as she wasn't really sure what she had meant by that herself. "And tell them to bring Winter." she said quickly, brushing past the inevitable question, "I think I'm finally ready to see her."
"Will do." Yang said, nodding. She opened her mouth, no doubt about to ask what she couldn't answer. Luckily for Weiss, the door opened and a nurse stuck her head in and informed them that visiting hours were over.
Yang sighed and gently gave her a hug. "I've got a mission tomorrow, but I'll try to stop by if I can, ok?"
Weiss nodded, trying to give Yang a reassuring smile. Yang gave her a long, sad look before closing the door, leaving Weiss alone with her thoughts.
She stared at the ID tag on her wrist, brand new as of that morning since she'd torn the old one off during her trip to the roof last night.
'Weiss Schnee' it read, as well as her birthdate and medical record reference number.
'Weiss Schnee.' She could hardly stand reading it.
'Weiss Schnee' was the name of a huntress, the name of someone who could protect the people they cared about.
She finally figured out what she'd meant earlier. Jaune, Nora, and Ren would have to be content with meeting whoever was in this bed, because she certainly didn't feel like Weiss anymore.
A little more upbeat than some of the recent chapters! WBY are starting to heal, slowly but surely. I recently reread the chapter where Weiss' grief distracts the Grimm (19 I believe) and I think that is still my favorite Grimm based fight that I've written. I'm also really enjoying writing banter between Weiss and Yang, especially when it comes to teasing her about Blake.
My writing time is a little sparse and likely to get sparser. I'm planning on finishing this story, no matter how long it takes. But if it ever comes down to it and I can't finish it, I'll post my notes doc as the final chapter. It's got all the many ideas, outlines and ending ideas for this story so you'll get some kind of conclusion should it come down to it. That said that isn't very likely to happen, this story means a lot to me and I wanna see it through to the end.
I've also made a Bluesky account so you can follow me there, toaster_strudol
If you enjoyed the chapter, reviews and favorites are always appreciated! As always, thanks to my wonderful wife, V, for being my beta reader and medical consultant. And thanks to YOU for reading!