Specialist Rose

39) Just Lay Here

It felt unsettling and almost eerie to be in the room that had been almost undisturbed since Ruby's final departure from Patch. There was some brief repairs of the room after it was discovered that there was somehow vines overgrowing in her room and broken windows. After Tai had fixed the room and unpacked the one bag that she had accidentally left behind the room felt more like a hotel room with it's undisturbed sheets and furniture gathering dust. Despite the red bedsheets and wallpaper it just didn't feel like the room that his youngest daughter had grown up in. It lacked dirty clothes on the floor, her desk turned into a mechanic workstation and an unmade bed. But now his youngest who really wasn't that young anymore as an 18-year-old woman who just survived a miscarriage and fought at the fall of Beacon was back in her bed once again. But unlike when she was growing up there was no leaping up out of bed with the dawn chorus and bounding over to wake her sister, there was only her motionless body under the sheets. So Tai sat in a rickety wooden chair in the unsettling room beside his daughter's bedside simply staring and waiting for her to awaken trusting that his brother in law to take are of his eldest who had lost her arm in aforementioned battle. Everything was in tatters but he will admit to having a small part of him just happy that his family is all under one roof again. 

It had been 3 days since he and Qrow had brought the girls home and finally Ruby stirred in her sleep. Giving her a few more moments to grasp her bearings Ruby finally opened her big silver eyes- the one thing that hadn't changed. The tri-haired girl groaned and sat up holding her head in pain. 
"Hey, relax. Take it easy Ruby. I'll go get you some paracetamol ok?" Tai didn't wait for her to speak and ran to get his daughter the medication to ease some of her pain. When he came pack with 2 pills and a glass of water Ruby had her feet on the floor and was hunched over. 
"Hey Ruby, it's alright. Just take some paracetamol and lay back down. You'll feel better."
"Dad? Wha- What happened? How am I here?"
"Ruby what is the last thing you remember?"
"Well I was- BEACON!" Tai sighed sadly at his daughter as the memories came flooding back to her and she looked panicked. Tears began to fall down her face as she recounted that day,
"I re- remember; there was Arslan and Penny. And I had to take command, and Ironwood was hurt. And I got to the top and there was Cinder and, and it was her, dad she was the one who did it! But then Pyrrha was there and she got shot and then it all just went white. And it burned and then the white was replaced with the black." Tai placed a comforting hand on her shoulder but all else he could do was listen to Ruby's sobs and broken half sentences recalling what had happened. But Ruby didn't speak of what happened after that so Tai steeled himself for telling her. No parent would want to break their child's heart but she needed to know what had happened. 
"Ruby, do you remember anything that happened after that?"
"No, I saw the white and then the dark and woke up here." 
"There was a surgery in between those two events speedster." Tai and Ruby both looked up to see Qrow leaning against the doorframe, bottle inhand.
"Good to see you up short stack, gave us quite the scare."
"I didn't mean to. What do you mean that there was a surgery?" Tai fished a picture out of his pocket  and held it out to her, Ruby's eyebrows shot up in surprise and practically shrieked,
"I'm pregnant?!" Both men looked at her with such great sympathy in their eyes and Qrow took over from Tai,
"Not, not anymore Ruby."  
Silence remained for a few moments before Ruby completely broke worse than either of them had ever seen. Qrow realizing that her powers would react to her emotions he forcefully had to drag Tai out of the room with the excuse of her silver eyes accidentally freezing them. 

Ruby POV

The birds outside the window stopped chirping. The fish stopped swimming in the pond and simply floated stationary in the water. The leaves stopped falling and simply froze in mid-air. Or at least that is what it felt like. One moment all I felt was numb and I simply stared at Uncle Qrow unable to breathe or move but the next I was in indescribable agony. Floodgates opened and my body racked with sobs. No pain I had ever felt before compared to this. Air was taken in short sharp breaths and cried poured out of my mouth. I didn't care that I was screaming. Qrow realized what was going to happen and dragged dad out of my room by his arm and shut the door leaving me alone and my power a secret. Though that was hardly forefront of mind and instead of putting forth any effort to restrain my powers I just sobbed and let myself catch fire, let the floor freeze and let powerful winds pick up around me. To loose so many people in such a short amount of time was too much. And each and everyone of them was my fault. And now my own child was dead- I was supposed to be in charge of protecting a young life inside me yet i didn't even know it existed. I'm not sure how that made it worse but it felt that way. However exhausted from the surgery and the amount of power I've used in these last days I grasped the picture and laying down let the dark come back and wash over me again. 

3rd POV 

Opening the door again the 2 saw Ruby in a heap on the floor sleeping fitfully. Qrow picked her up and put her back to bed gently as he could whilst Tai left to check on his eldest Yang.
"Dad? I heard Ruby crying is she awake? Is she alright?" Tai sighed, sat down on her bed and smiled sadly at his sunny little dragon who much like her younger sister was not so little anymore at 20 years old. Lacking an arm and now with short jagged hair she was most certainly no longer a child.
"She was awake for a bit yes. But we had to tell her what happened after. She didn't take it so well. Hey, don't look so down- she will be alright I promise. She just needs a little more time. How are you doing?"
"Hey I just lost my arm not my child, focus on Ruby."
"Yang, you both suffered in that battle, and I dare anyone to just try to keep me away when my daughters need me." Tai smiled as Yang laughed just a little. Kissing her head her gave her a hug and told her that he would be bringing up dinner in a few hours.

~~~Time Skip~~~

Yang's ears caught soft sniffling through the wall next to her bed. Shoving her feet into slippers next to her bed Yang quietly tiptoed down the hall and pushed her little sister's door open a bit. Ruby was buried in her covers and sniffling at the ultrasound picture. 
"Ruby?" though her door was now open Yang knocked out of courtesy anyways, it was the least she could do. Ruby sighed and pulled herself together the best she could,
"Hi Yang, come on in."
"Nice hat." Ruby was wearing Flynt's hat and had Neon's hairbands around her wrist. Qrow told her that they had been called back home but Ruby didn't know if they knew she was ok nor what had happened to her. And of course there was no way to tell Marrow.
"Thanks, can't believe that Flynt would leave his hat here, he sleeps with it on."
"Yeah, I'm so glad you're okay! What with what happened and your friends aren't here..."
"No Yang, I'm not ok. I am fine with the fact that they went back to Atlas else they would have been stranded here too. But I essentially killed my child, so no I'm not ok."
"I'm so sorry about your friends Ruby and your kid I know that you care about them and you need to know that it wasn't your fault! I know-"
"But it was my fault Yang! The last thing the world saw was my friends dying and Atlesian droids that I made attacking innocent people. Everyone is scared and nobody knows what is going on. And with airspace closed off we can't follow their trail back to Mistral."
"So what do we do now?"
"You, do whatever you want. I'm just going to lay here."
"Please Ruby I know I haven't been there for you but I'm here now for as long as you need me, I love you."
Yang waited for Ruby to say it back just like she would have done those years ago but it was clear that Ruby simply didn't believe that Yang loved her. Instead Ruby chose to stare out the window  and let her mind and body go numb. 


Hope you enjoy, 2am here, sleep needed, bye-bye.
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See you later, love Lizzi