Adam confronts Blake once again...

Chapter 4: The Panther Sinks Her Claws

Amber orbs gazed unblinkingly into the figure standing on the front porch before her.

Blake hadn't heard much about Adam since he was put in jail for several accounts of assault on her. Including the assault on Ruby when he reappeared at her apartment; the total sentence was 26 months in prison.

That was 7 years ago, though.

After he got out, he must have been told about the restraining order that Blake had passed, because she never heard from him again. Until this very moment.

"Adam…?" Blake asked nervously again. She could tell that he wasn't doing well. He had tattered, dirtied, jeans and a white, stained tank-top that barely covered some of his tattoos and scars that he had received over the years. Adam was holding a bottle of Whiskey in one hand and a clenched fist in the other. His messy red hair was covering his face, so she couldn't tell what was going through his head, as he continued to stand, unmoving, at her front door.

The lack of motion sent a chill through her spine. Blake knew that anything he had to say would just be meaningless words to get her back, but it was scarily strange that he wasn't advancing towards her immediately.

"Blake…" Adam's gravelly voice came out as he talked slowly. "…I've come to take you back. You belong with me, and you need to see that!"

Adam put one foot forward as he spoke and Blake stepped back behind the door, ready to shut it if he moved any closer.

The now angered faunus glared at seeing her defiant once again and rushed the door, seeing words won't get through to her.

Blake tried slamming the door closed before he reached her, but a poorly-laced shoe stomped through the threshold just before she was able to latch the door closed and lock it.

As Blake tried her hardest to keep him out, Adam charged and pushed on the door with his shoulder, throwing the girl down to the hardwood floor just on the other side of the door with a thud, the door flying open again under the drunk faunus' weight.

As the doorknob slammed into the hallway wall with a clatter, Adam saw his chance and moved to Blake on the ground, trying to haul her up and out the door to take her back to his car. Once his hand clasped her shoulder to force her up, Blake growled and bit the hand with all her strength, not giving in so easily.

Adam pulled his hand back out of her mouth with a cry of pain, and blood pooled from the gashes as he shook it in agony. Seeing the red leak from his hand only made him angrier, though. As now, he could see nothing but red.

"You're coming with me, Blake! One way or another!" Adam threw the mostly empty bottle he brought with him to the side with a shatter, fury radiating off of his very being as he put his hands on her throat roughly, trying to pick her up.

Blake struggled against the hold and he started to choke her where she laid, putting more and more pressure on her esophagus until she would finally stop resisting him.

As Adam grinned down menacingly towards Blake, who was starting to writhe and cough within his grasp, a red bullet viciously rammed into his side, knocking him off of the cat faunus and into the wall opposite of the new arrival.

"Blake! Take the kids! Now!" Ruby yelled out, trying to help Blake up from the floor. As she turned her back to the intruder however, her leg was pulled out from under her and she hit the floor, face down.

Blake was scrambling backwards on her elbows towards the kitchen before she saw Ruby get taken down with a crunch. "Ruby!" She called out, worried for her wife as the noise sounded like she smashed her nose.

Blake hurriedly got to her feet once again and took a step closer to her wife, wanting to help her, but paused in fear as Adam jumped on top of Ruby and rolled her over to face him, remembering her from last time.

"STOP. GETTING. IN. THE. WAAAAY!" Adam screamed at the red head below him as he gripped her by her hair and slammed her head into the ground with each word to express just how much he didn't care for her.

Ruby wasn't even able to respond as she started to see stars and black dots swim in her vision. She managed to give out a guttural whimper as he paused, begging for him to stop, before he gave one last slam and then a punch to the jaw, silencing her.

As Ruby fell unconscious, blood streaming from her mouth and head, Adam looked over to his love with a sadistic grin and rose to his feet. "This bitch isn't gonna get in the way again like last time, Blake. Now come with me, or she dies!" Adam lifted his shirt up, showing Blake a handgun tucked into his waistband.

Blake started to back away, horrified by what he could do further to Ruby or her family.

Adam smirked, seeing that she's crippled with fear from the reveal. He takes the gun out and keeps it at his side, stalking ever closer to Blake.

The panther faunus continued to back away in fear, reaching the kitchen. She quickly ran into resistance. The countertop at the far wall from the entryway. Where she and Ruby were just talking about their normal, boring day. Amber orbs go wide as she started to panic, tears breaching her sockets, realizing that she had nowhere to go.

Adam advanced on her further, with a smirk, realizing what she did. That she was at his mercy.

Blake's hands started to feel around on the counter for anything she can use to protect herself. To keep her from his clutches again. Her fingers brush up against a handle on the cutting board and she gripped it tightly, feeling the familiar grip of the fillet knife that they often use to cut up fish.

Ruby must have left it out when she heard the thud from the front door against the wall.

Adam kept marching toward her slowly as Blake prepared to use the last ditch attempt to get him to stop. She started to shake, tears running down her face now, not knowing if she could do it.

Adam's voice cut into her thoughts as he's just out of arms reach of her. "I will never give you up, Blake! Anyone who gets in the way of our love, will suffer the consequences…You're only making it worse for them by resisting. So just give up!" Adam reached out for her with his empty hand as he finished. His everything, soon to be in his grasp.

Blake saw the faces of her family flash before her eyes as Adam reached for her. She slammed her eyes closed as she jabs the knife forward, towards Adam…

*Sshink*

There's a sickening noise that filled the air as Adam stopped in his tracks. He looked down as Blake opened her eyes and let go of the knife, seeing the same thing.

The fillet knife went through Adam's gut, embedded within his stomach. His blood was dripping down the handle of the knife and from the corner of his mouth, as he croaked out a pained gurgle. Adam fell to his knees, then to his back as he got even weaker, the knife still in his stomach, coughing up blood as he was choking on it.

Blake covered her mouth as she thought about what she had done. Her tears were running down her face as she saw Adam take his last breaths of life. He gave out one last gurgle of panic and desperation as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

As Adam laid motionless on their tiled kitchen floor, blood starting to pool around his midsection, Blake collapsed to the floor as well, hugging herself as she cried on her knees. She killed the first family she ever had.

Blake still loved Adam after all, and those feelings didn't just disappear overnight. He was a very good person once, and he didn't deserve to be killed like an animal. All she could think about was how she could have helped him. Maybe she could have gotten him help for his anger. Maybe if he got to know Ruby, he would see how happy her wife made her. That was just wishful thinking now, though. He was dead…And she killed him…

Blake's crying was halted, as she heard a small voice call out for her that made her heart seize. "Momma…?"

Blake looked up with wide, glassy red eyes and saw her two daughters in the other doorway coming from the living room. She gasped as she saw her daughters stare at her. "C-Catherine… Je-Jet…" Blake got out shakily, not knowing how to explain what happened. She looked down at her hands, shaking and covered in blood, before glancing back up to her daughters, shock on their faces as they noticed the dead body and deep crimson on their mother's hands matching the color pooling below the man on the ground.

Blake got up and rushed to her daughters. "No! Don't look! You shouldn't see this!" Blake wrapped them in a hug and forced their heads down into her chest to stop them from looking.

Catherine, being the oldest, was able to grasp the situation better than her little sister and spoke up as she felt her mother's arms around her. "M-Momma! Wh-What happened? Who is that on the ground?" The two little girls were crying into their mother as they saw her crying.

"Just…Don't look sweetie… I don't want you to see." Blake gripped them tighter as she spoke, forcing them deeper against herself, attempting to push away the sight from their memories.

"Ruby!?" The three of them heard a familiar voice come from the entrance to the home. Not taking any chances though, Blake moved her daughters to the living room, protecting them like her wife asked of her.

"Go upstairs! Now!" Blake yelled to them as they made it to the stairway, seeing the worry and fear in her girls' eyes. She had to make sure they understood though.

Suddenly another voice called out, for Blake this time. "Blake?! Are you Ok?"

Blake turned around, shielding her daughters from the potential new threat, but saw Weiss rushing over to her. She let out a shaky breath and relieved smile as she saw that the mystery person was actually a good friend. "Weiss!? Thank Oum you're here! Ruby's hurt! I haven't had a chance to call an ambulance!"

Blake, Jet, and Catherine ran towards Weiss in the hallway that led to the front door, hugging her. Realizing where they were and where Ruby last was, Blake turned around, blocking her children's sight of the hallway where Ruby laid unconscious.

"Catherine, Jet. Stay in the living room! You can't leave it, no matter what, Ok?!" Blake begged of them as she kept their faces on her instead of their other mother, bleeding out onto the wooden floor.

Catherine gave a shaky nod and pulled her crying sister to the couch to hold her, not even trying to keep back her own tears after hearing that her mommy was apparently hurt.

Once they made sure the kids were Ok for now, Blake and Weiss rushed over to Ruby, who was still on the ground. A familiar head of golden hair was right next to her, though.

Yang was lightly slapping her sister in the face, trying to wake her up with panic in her muttering voice and eyes.

A little girl, no older than 6, with snow white hair and lilac eyes was standing in the doorway near Yang, looking horrified at Ruby and the blonde, speechless in horror.

Weiss made no pause as she made it to her wife and pushed on Yang's shoulder, trying to stop her from messing with Ruby. "Yang, stop! That could be hurting her more than helping! She could have a concussion!"

"What am I supposed to do!? My sister is lying bleeding on the ground! Ruby?! Ruby?!" Yang was already crying at this point, but her despair escalated as she slammed her fists into the floor next to the pool of blood that started from Ruby's head and let out a helpless whimper. The pool was coming from her mouth, as well as the back of her skull, crusted with crimson.

"Call an ambulance! I'll make sure she's Ok!" Weiss ordered out before she saw her daughter in the doorway. "Moonstone, honey! Don't look! Go to the living room with Cat and Jet, please!"

Moonstone nodded rapidly as she rushed past everyone, taking great care not to step on Ruby as she made her way to the living room.

Weiss sat down next to Ruby's head and kept it upright in her lap as Yang stood up and pulled out her phone, doing as Weiss asked, understanding that her wife knew what she was doing better than she did.

Blake could only sit next to Weiss, as she cried over her wife, feeling nothing but crippling responsibility for causing this.

Blake opened her eyes as Weiss grabbed her shoulder, noticing her shaking in self-hate. "Blake, go get me a towel or blanket. Something to keep pressure on and wrap around her wound." Blake hesitated, not wanting to leave Ruby's side as she looked at her unconscious wife, but slowly got up with a nod, moving to find something from the living room.

Yang was busy yelling into her phone as Blake ran out of the hallway, not understanding how the person on the other end of the emergency call could be so calm in this situation. After hearing the man on the line ask if anyone else was hurt, she glanced into the kitchen and saw a body on the floor that she didn't recognize. She managed to inform him with barely intelligible words as her resolve crumbled every second she was away from Ruby's side. Yang told the operator she had no idea who he was, but she had an idea, planning to ask Blake about it once they knew Ruby was Ok.

Blake yanked a decorative blanket resting neatly on the back of the couch off and rushed back to Ruby and Weiss, not wasting a second to ponder if it was the best she could gather for Ruby. The white haired policewoman took it from her hands and wrapped it around Ruby's head gently. Seeing the blood soak quickly into the thin fabric, she gave it a few more twirls around the wound, hoping to clot the blood flow as she kept her best friend's head elevated to help.

Yang came back over as she got off the phone and sat down next to Ruby, on the other side of Weiss from Blake. "Th-They said an ambulance would be here in a few minutes. Weiss? Is…Is she gonna..?" Yang asked, tears falling from her cheeks onto Ruby's.

Weiss looked back down to Ruby's bleeding, cracked head in her lap, thinking how serious the wound must have been with how the blood still wouldn't completely stop. She looked back up to Yang, managing a false smile for her wife. "She'll be Ok, Yang... J-Just a mild fracture and concussion…"

Weiss had to keep Yang's spirits up. Yang was prone to doing stupid things when she let her emotions get the better of her. There was no need to get her worried to the point where she would do anything to help her sister if she thought her life was in danger. The truth was, Weiss didn't know how bad it was. She had seen a lot of horrible tragedies working as a police officer, but that didn't make her a doctor. She just knew that Ruby was in bad shape, but Yang and Blake didn't have to know that.

As the three kneeled around the limp body, crying for Ruby to come back to them, they lost track of time.

Sirens suddenly broke them out of their hypnotic, watery, gaze of the lifeless form below them, as two white and red vans pulled up.

The paramedics had finally arrived, pushing the group out of the way, trying to get to Ruby and the body in the kitchen to assist in any way possible.

Blake and Weiss ran back into the living room to get Cat, Jet, and Moonstone ready to go, realizing that they were about to leave with the ambulances.

The EMTs got Ruby in a gurney first and carted her to the ambulance, the girls following swiftly behind them.

The last EMT in the white and red van turned around after they got Ruby in the back, raising his hand up to stop the group. "I'm sorry, but not all of you will fit! Only one can come. Who's related or married to her?" The man asked as Adam's covered body is loaded into the other vehicle that came here.

"I'm her wife!"

"I'm her sister!"

Blake and Yang call out at the same time and look to each other in panicked desperation to stay by Ruby's side.

After a moment of indecision between the two, Yang released a low sigh and looked up to meet Blake's gaze again. "You go, Blake. Me and Weiss will take the kids with us and follow behind. Just make sure to text us which room Ruby is in after she gets settled." She gave a soft smile, trying to encourage her best friend and relieve her worries that she would be fine with this.

"Thank you, Yang. I will. I promise." Blake hugged her before climbing into the back of the ambulance with the last EMT.

The man slammed the doors shut as the sirens blared out of the vehicle, racing towards the nearest hospital, leaving the rest of the family and friends to watch.

Swallowing down the nervousness and fear that worked its way up her throat to choke her with worry, Yang shook her head and turned around to help Weiss get the kids in their car to follow after the ambulance. She quickly started the car and pulled out of the driveway, following after their family.

Blake held onto Ruby's hand the entire way, crying on it as she kept peaking up to look at the bandages getting wrapped around her wife's head, quickly doused in blood. "I'm so sorry, Ruby…I'm so sorry." Blake clenched her eyes close as she couldn't bear to look at it again, feeling nothing but guilt well up in her for letting Ruby get hurt.

The ride over felt excruciatingly long for Blake. It gave her nothing but time to drown in her thoughts of guilt and heartbreaking worry that Ruby wouldn't make it there fast enough.

Time seemed to change pace once again for the panther faunus, as the doors to the van burst open, snapping her out of her trance on Ruby. The paramedics got out and lifted Ruby's gurney up to drop the wheels out of the bottom, hurriedly rushing her into the hospital as Blake held on to her wife's hand, never losing her grip even as they made the transition.

The troop of medical staff with Blake and Ruby approached the front desk of nurses once they made it past the double doors of the hospital entrance.

"She's in critical condition! We need a doctor!" The same EMT that originally stopped Blake and Yang at the van shouted to the head nurse, relaying that this was an emergency.

"Ok! Take her to emergency room 3!" The head nurse answered back, before looking over to another nurse, standing at attention over a computer. "Page Doctor Ooblec! He should be on waiting by now!" The other nurse gave a nod as she flicked on the intercom to follow out the orders.

Another gurney rolled past the group while they were at the desk, heading down a different corridor labeled "Morgue". Blake could tell it was Adam's body, having noticed a White Fang tattoo on his arm that fell out from under the sheet, covering the corpse. She looked back to Ruby as the body vanished from sight and clenched her wife's hand again, the tears never ceasing.

Having confirmed their room, they started moving again, headed for emergency room 3 to get Ruby to a doctor. Once they arrived the EMTs stopped Blake with a hand out in front of her, just like before. "You can't follow us inside. You'll only get in the way. I'm sorry, ma'am."

Blake looked down at her hand still holding Ruby's, trembling in frustration. She felt so helpless right now, but they were right. She knew that, but…

Blake gave a solemn nod as she gave one last squeeze to Ruby's hand before letting go, trying her best to hold back tears as she was no longer able to help the red head with her presence. The medics pointed her to a waiting area before rushing into room 3, leaving Blake to stand in the hallway, alone.

The cat faunus eventually trudged over to the room entailed and sat down. Blake pulled out her phone, tears coming down her face at being separated from Ruby. She sloppily texted Weiss the room number, the tears in her eyes and the emotions making it more difficult to perform such a task. Once she received a message back that Weiss got the number, she tossed her phone aside and wept into her hands, waiting to hear if Ruby would make it or not. It was all she could do as she was left alone in the silent room, just wait…

After an agonizingly long time, Weiss and Yang showed up with the kids holding their hands. Once they saw her through the glass window from the hallway, the yellow and white pair ran in and sat down next to Blake. Yang and Weiss were on either side as they hugged her tightly, feeling the anguish emit from their black haired friend.

The three kids sat on the last few chairs located on the other side of the waiting room, as they were asked by Weiss when they entered. Moonstone sat in between Jet and Cat, being hugged by both of the faunus girls as she held back her whimpers, trying to stay strong for them.

"It's Ok, Blake. She'll pull through. You heard Weiss, it wasn't anything to worry about." Yang spoke positively, trying to comfort Blake as she rubbed her back with her hand in small soothing motions. Wanting to confirm it for Blake and herself once again, she then looked to Weiss. "Right, snow cone?" Yang gave her a small, broken smile, hoping she wouldn't hear anything different.

Weiss shakily nodded back with a similar smile. "Y-Yes! Blake, you have nothing to worry about."

"I…I did this…" Blake mumbled out slowly, as she visibly shook in her own arms.

Yang and Weiss looked at each other, worried by the deadness in the tone. Yang was the first to speak up. "Blake, that's bullsh-crap! Whatever happened, I know you did everything you could to help Ruby." Yang encouraged, stopping herself from cursing in front of their kids that were seated only a few feet away in the small room.

"Exactly, Blake. You would never see harm done to Ruby. Don't blame yourself for whatever did this, she'll be f-fine." Weiss agreed with her wife, slipping up on her lie as no one seemed to notice.

"It was Adam!" Blake yelled out in fury and guilt as they just kept telling her that everything was going to be Ok, that it wasn't her fault. She buried her face in her hands to cry as she just knew they had to be wrong. 'I…I should never have-…'

"What?! He's back? I thought you had a restraining order placed on him? He would risk several years in jail just to see you again?" Yang got angry as she realized it was him that hurt Ruby, but then the flame in her chest was gone as she remembered the body in the kitchen. "Wait, Blake…? What happened to him…?" Lilac eyes widened with worry as they see Blake freeze.

Blake started to shake as she spoke slowly and quietly. "He didn't care about jail… He just…wanted me all to himself…And he was willing to kill Ruby to do it. I…I had to do it…To protect her…And to protect Cat and Jet…" Blake was wracked with guilt as she sobbed openly now. "…He-He left me no choice! I had to!" Blake shook her head back and forth. She then realized the reason behind her actions was right across the room from her.

She looked to her daughters and niece with crazed and blurry eyes, as the three were staring back at her, scared and without a clue as to what was happening.

Weiss and Yang looked at each other again and Yang soon nodded her head towards the children without taking her eyes off of her wife, as they finished their silent conversation.

"Moonstone. Can you take your cousins to the play room over there? It will just be a minute." Weiss asked as she pointed to a doorway that led to a room where other kids were playing in.

"Yes, mom." Moonstone nodded and grabbed the other kid's hands, leading them down the hallway.

With the kids now out of hearing distance, at least mostly with Cat and Jet's hearing, Weiss encouraged Blake to continue her explanation. Weiss and Yang knew what Blake meant, but needed to be sure. "What happened, Blake? You can tell us." Weiss rubbed her back to comfort her for what was about to be a heavy realization, for sure.

Blake was still shivering in regret and pain. It helped knowing that her daughters didn't have to see her that way anymore. "Th-There was a knife left on the counter top from dinner… He-He came at me, and…and…" Blake covered her face in her hands again and choked on her cries, trying to escape the reenactment going through her head. She couldn't run away though, she knew what she had done. What she was now…

"…I'm a murderer…" Blake gargled out through raspy tears as she kept holding her face in her hands, not able to face her friends anymore.

"Blake, he left you no choice…" Getting no reaction from the sobbing faunus, the blonde continued with her voice raised. "It was either him or your family! No one blames you for choosing the latter!" Yang put her hand on Blake's shoulder to try and comfort her as she cried, but the faunus got up from her seat instead, shrugging off the consoling hand as she felt she didn't deserve it.

"But he was my family! We were everything to each other before I left him! It was my fault he attacked Ruby! If I hadn't have left him, no one would have gotten hurt!" Blake cried with her back to them as she tore herself apart with guilt.

Weiss did the only thing she could think of as she watched her friend wish for something that would have ruined her life. She stood up after her and pulled Blake back around to face them again, only to slap her across the face.

Blake grabbed her face and stared, wide eyed, at the police officer who struck her, completely speechless.

"You're an idiot! If you had stayed with Adam, it would have been you who was hurt!" Weiss yelled with clenched fists, fed up with Adam's influence on Blake even after he was gone.

"I don't care! It would have been better than-…!" Blake tried to reason that at least Ruby would be safe, but Weiss cut her off again, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"No! If you would have stayed with Adam, sure, Ruby wouldn't be hurt right now, but she wouldn't have 2 beautiful daughters and a wife that cares so much about her, she would be willing to throw her life away just to save her from a little head injury! You meeting Ruby was the best thing to ever happen to her, Blake! Don't tell me you would actually be willing to take that from her! That's a lie, Blake, and you know it!" Weiss finished as she slapped Blake against the chest a few pitiful times, pushing on her, begging her to take it back, before she caved into the girl's body and wrapped her arms around Blake in a hug, crying into her shoulder, wanting anything but her dear friend to no longer be a part of her life.

Blake looked down with misty eyes to see tears dripping onto Weiss' shaking snow white hair. She completed the hug as she held onto Weiss, both shaking in sorrow as she realized that the policewoman was right. Why was she ever thinking that her life without Ruby would make everyone better off?

Blake then felt another set of arms come around her from behind, encasing her in a familiar warmth that only a certain blonde could provide.

The panther faunus eventually gave out a sniff and a rub of her eyes to dry her tears before speaking to the both of them. "You're…right…I'm sorry." Blake got out quietly through sniffles as Weiss looked up at her with a teary smile. "But…" Blake then took her hands back and stared at them, palms facing her, shaking. "…H-How do I tell them…That their wife and m-mother is a murderer…?" Amber eyes clench closed as Blake shakes with worry.

Yang and Weiss hug her tightly as she cried again, holding Weiss once again.

"You know Ruby would never treat you any differently…And neither would we, Blake. You saved my baby sister…I could never repay you for that." Yang spoke as she cried into Blake's neck while in the group hug, so thankful that Blake kept that monster from doing further harm to Ruby.

"We're here for you, Blake. You don't have to handle the guilt alone, you idiot!" Weiss finished with a smile. The jab put a small smile on Blake's face as well, reminding her of all the times they would tease one another.

"Th-Thank you…" Blake mumbled out as she kept hugging tightly, too scared to let go.

After a while, the three were broken up by the sound of someone's throat clearing beside them. They looked to the person and it was a man with long black hair in a ponytail, with glasses on the bridge of his nose before he pushed them back up.

"Are you the loved ones of Mrs. Rose-Belladonna?" He asked softly, not wanting to speak too loud or fast to upset them.

They nodded and he gestured for them to follow. Weiss went to collect the kids before catching up with them, as he led the family into the room where they took Ruby to be operated on.

They could hear the beeping of the EKG machine as they saw a familiar face with their forehead wrapped in bandages. The figure was unconscious and motionless, like a fragile doll.

Blake, Yang, and Weiss gasped out as they saw Ruby like that, so weak and helpless. It wasn't anything like how she normally was. Joy and happiness would radiate from the short red head, as she always had a cheery smile on her face. Like nothing could ever get her down. It broke their hearts to see her like that as they rushed to her side, Blake taking her left hand, and Yang taking her right. Weiss pulled up some chairs for her, Yang and the kids while Blake just kneeled beside her wife's bed, tears coming back to her amber orbs.

The doctor gave them a moment to get situated before speaking, wanting them to be as comfortable as possible for delivering news to the patient's family. "She will be alright. The damage to the brain wasn't extensive as far as we can tell so far, but…She may have some memory loss. It could be permanent, or it could be temporary. We don't know for sure, but whichever the case, take it slow with her when she wakes up. Which one of you is her wife?"

Blake looked over to him sadly, mumbling. "I am. Blake Belladonna-Rose…"

The doctor nodded and continued softly, having dealt with this situation many times before. "Well, my name is Doctor Candor, and when your wife wakes up, whenever that may be, she will need to stay in the hospital for a few weeks so we can run some tests on her. We need to make sure there aren't any actual long lasting effects on her brain. After she is discharged, you will need to keep an eye on her. She still won't be one hundred percent. Not for a while, I'm afraid…"

"Thank you, Doctor. I can't tell you how much this means to me that you saved her." Blake spoke equally softly, her throat hoarse from all the screaming and crying from this incredibly long and dreadful day.

"Of course. I was just doing my job. We will be moving her to a normal visiting room in about an hour, so feel free to stay as long as you like." Doctor Candor said as he dismissed himself with a curt bow.

"Momma, what happened to mommy?" Jet asked as she tugged on her momma's sleeve, worried.

Tears fell down Blake's face again, but she didn't sob. She didn't want their daughters to see them like this, so she held fast as she took a steady breath before answering. "She…fell down in the hallway and hurt her head. She's going to be Ok, though. The doctor said so, sweetie." Blake hugged Jet and Cat and kissed them on the tops of their heads, holding them tightly with one arm as she still held onto Ruby's hand, never letting go.

Weiss sat next to Yang, on the other side of the bed from Blake and her kids, and slipped her hand into her wife's, locking their fingers together. She held Moonstone tightly in her lap, as they all wished to see Ruby's bright smile once again.

A few weeks had gone by and Ruby still didn't wake up. Blake never wanted to leave her wife's side, but she had two kids to take care of. Catherine was about to start Pre-K and Blake couldn't let her miss that. Still, she stayed with Ruby most of every day. Talking to her about how their kids were doing. What new thing Weiss and Yang were bickering about, but only when the other couple had come to see her as well. When it was just her and Ruby, Blake was able to let down the barriers she put up around her family and friends, usually ending in her breaking down on Ruby's bedside, the silence being too much for her.

Yang stayed about as much as Blake did, though. She and Weiss also had responsibilities to take care of, but she spent time with Ruby and Blake every day, helping Blake cope with the missing half in her life…

"Well, Blake. I need to get back to work. Sun can't do everything without me." Yang said as she stood up to leave as Blake got up to see her out.

"Alright, Yang. Thanks for coming." Blake spoke, just barely out of monotone, as Yang walked through the open doorway.

Just as Blake was about to close the door after Yang, they both hear a groan come from the bed and turn around towards the source. They ran back in and sat down next to Ruby as she furrowed her brow and grumbled again, shifting slightly in bed.

"Mmmmh…What…ha-happened?" It was quiet, and Ruby's lips barely moved, but it was her voice.

"Ruby?! Can you hear me? Do you feel alright? How's your head?" Blake fired off question after question as her wife slowly came to.

Ruby opened her eyes and squinted at the bright fluorescent lighting of the hospital above her bed. Her vision started to focus and she saw two humanoids blocking some of the light, peering down at her from above. One with gold hair, the other with black.

Ruby blinked her eyes and her vision cleared up once more, seeing the two people smiling and crying at the same time, as they stared back at her. "Mmmh…Yang…? B-Blake…? What happened?"

Ruby's instantly enveloped by both of them in a hug. Ruby yelped out as she's surprised by the sudden gesture, not understanding anything. "What's wrong? You're acting like you haven't seen me in weeks." She got out as she coughed with a dry throat.

Blake pulled back from the hug while weeping, just enough to see Ruby's face again. "That's because you were gone for three! You scared me to death!" Blake started pelting her with kisses while holding on for dear life, so glad she was back and was able to remember them.

Ruby looked over to Yang, as she closed one eye on instinct as Blake kissed her there, wanting to see if what her wife was saying was the truth.

Yang still hadn't pulled back from the hug, though. Still clutching onto Ruby as if she might slip away from her once again.

"W-What do you mean, gone? Where did I go?" Ruby was thoroughly confused. She couldn't remember going on any trip. The last thing she remembered was coming back from Yang's shop early in the day to see her family. After that, everything was a blur.

Yang finally pulled back to speak. She was sobbing onto Ruby's hospital gown as she spoke. "Y-You were hurt, Ruby. Don't you remember anything?"

"H-Hurt?! H-…*cough*" Ruby coughed a few times more, her throat felt like she was in a desert for a year…Maybe she was? "C-Can I get some water, please?" She asked quietly, not wanting to upset her throat again.

Yang nodded as she wiped her tears away with a smile, grabbing a glass from a tray the staff provided in case she woke up, and handed it to her sister. Ruby took slow gulps, as instructed by both her sister and wife, and felt a little better after two full glasses.

To answer her wife's question, Blake decided to speak up, feeling like it was her job to explain. She no longer blamed herself for Adam hurting Ruby, but she still felt incredible guilt for killing him. "It…It was Adam…He showed up again. He smacked your head against the ground and it put you in a small coma. I'm sorry, Ruby."

"Adam!? He came back? What happened to him, then?" Ruby ignored her apology as worry filled her mind. If she was knocked out when Adam came back, what happened to Blake and their kids? "The Kids!? Where are Cat and Jet?!" Ruby's motherly instincts kicked in once her train of thought crossed paths with her family's wellbeing.

"They're with Weiss and Moonstone at our house. Don't worry Rubes. They're fine." Yang answered with a smile, never getting tired of seeing how much her sister cares for her family. Yang then hits the button on the side of the bed, calling the nurse to check on Ruby, now that she's awake.

"What about you, Blake? Are you Ok? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Ruby immediately turned to her second biggest priority to worry about, her wife. She checked over Blake's body for anything out of the ordinary, but found nothing.

Blake gave a huge smile as she continued to cry in joy. She dove back into Ruby, hugging her as hard as she could. "I'm Ok, Ruby. I'm just glad you're finally up…" She mumbled into Ruby's chest, tears soaking the hospital gown.

Ruby smiled softly at her wife as she stared down at her in her chest, running her hand through Blake's silky, night-sky, black hair, like they always used to do when they sat on their couch, relaxing in each other's embrace.

Blake started to calm down and gave out a light purr as she rubbed her head into Ruby's hand, wanting more.

"That's good…But if you're Ok, then what happened?" Ruby asked softly, not halting her ministrations until Blake's purring stopped cold.

Yang cut into the tense atmosphere to save Blake from the dread as quickly as she could. "He's gone, Ruby. You're never going to see him again. Blake took care of it. She…She talked him into leaving for good." Yang rubbed Blake's shoulder softly as she lied for her, hoping for the best that Ruby bought it.

Ruby smiled to her sister then to Blake again, who was still laying against Ruby's chest, happy to hear that things worked out for the betterment of everyone then. Blake raised up slowly to stare at Ruby with sad, pleading eyes, though. She couldn't lie to Ruby about this, there was no way she could keep it hidden from her forever.

"I…I killed him, Ruby…"

Yang's soft smile dropped as Blake stopped her plan to let Ruby remain oblivious to the truth.

Ruby's eyes widened at the explanation. "He's…Dead? You killed him?"

Blake shakily nodded as she cried more. "He came at me after he hurt you…I had no choice…" Blake shook her head, drowning in the guilt again before trying to bury her face back into her wife's chest.

Ruby didn't allow this, though. She cupped Blake's cheeks, holding her face still as she peered into her love's eyes.

The coma patient smiled at Blake with tears in her eyes, seeing all the guilt and self-pity residing in those amber orbs that were meant to be filled with so much love. "You did what you thought was right, Blake. You had to protect our family. There was no stopping him if what you said was true. You saved us, Blake…" Ruby pulled Blake in for a tight hug.

Blake was shocked after what Ruby said. Yang and Weiss had told her that Ruby would understand, but she still couldn't explain the relief that washed over her as Ruby didn't hold it against her that she murdered Adam. The faunus hugged back just as hard, crying into her wife's shoulder with shear joy.

As they pulled back, Blake left her lips against Ruby's after a short kiss. "I love you, Ruby. I'm so glad you're Ok!"

Ruby then cups Blake's cheek and kisses her back, quickly returning the heartwarming words after pulling apart. "I love you too…I always will."

It took longer than a month before Ruby was comfortable again in her home. She occasionally still got headaches and mild cases of vertigo, even flashbacks in her head of the fight she had with Adam that day, but with the help of Blake and her adorable daughters, she was on the right track to returning to her normal life.

With all the time she spent taking it easy, per the doctor's orders, Ruby used most of it to continue drawing and reading in the comfort of her own home, and of course spending time with her family too. Her daughters were the world's best medicine as she was stuck in her home all day with Blake at work. The crazy energy of Ruby mixed with the cute cat ears, tail, and heightened senses from Blake made every day an exciting adventure for the redhead dealing with their shenanigans.

Blake was so relieved that Cat and Jet seemed to get over the events Adam caused in time. The time their mommy was in the hospital had the kids worried about Ruby instead of what Blake did to the person on the kitchen floor. The young mother was horrified the sight from that day would scar them for life, seeing their mother kill someone, but surprisingly, they never brought it back up. Cat and Jet were quiet for a few weeks after the events, but when Ruby was back at home with them, they started smiling again.

There was still the occasional nightmare of the events that took place that still haunted Blake and Ruby, and sometimes the kids, but nothing they couldn't live with, as long as they had each other to hold onto. The nightmares would pass in time for the kids and Ruby. For Blake though, it took more than just time.

After several months had passed since Ruby was back in their home, Blake decided she needed to see him one last time, hoping that it would let her finally bury the hatchet.

Blake discussed it with Ruby, telling her that she wanted to go alone, and Ruby, even though she wanted to be there for her in case she needed someone to cry on, respected her wish, staying at the house to watch kids.

Blake approached the grave marker of Adam Taurus and knelt down in front of it, carrying a small bunch of roses in both of her trembling hands. She wore a black zip-up hoodie on the chilly October morning as she placed the roses onto the marker. Blake didn't know if it was the cold nipping at her numbing hands or if it was being there in that eerie graveyard, staring at Adam's tombstone, but her hands wouldn't stop shaking after she got out of her SUV. Only when she took a deep breath and started speaking, did she find her body start to relax.

"Adam… I hope you're finally at peace now. I hope to be, after this visit…Why couldn't you just let me go? I wish I could have made you understand that I just didn't love you anymore. Not the person you became…" Blake shook her head as tears spiked her eyes.

"…I sometimes think that if you would have just tried to talk to me when you showed up at our house, then maybe you would have seen that I was happy where I was, with Ruby. Maybe we could have continued to at least be friends, but I know that's just wishful thinking…There was no getting through to you at that point, and I see that now…" She smiled softly as she touched the singular wilting rose carved into the stone above his name, finally ready to say what guilt and anger were keeping her from ever uttering.

"…But I forgive you Adam, for all that you did to me and my family... And more importantly…I think I c-…I forgive myself. There was truly nothing else I could have done." Blake stuttered as her resolve shook, but she remained firm as she owed it to her family to move past this.

"I'm just sorry you couldn't let go…Good bye, Adam." Blake wiped her teary eyes on her sleeve as she rubbed her thumb across the engraved rose with care. She then got up and left the cemetery, ready to put this behind her and spend time in her family's company.

She visited his grave a few more times after that. Each time, feeling the guilt and pain lifting from her shoulders little by little. Until eventually, she no longer needed to see him at all.

Blake and Ruby had their best years ahead of them. The days when they get to watch their kids grow up, see them get married to the ones they love, and strive towards their dreams. They knew they would be so proud of them when those days came. They also wouldn't be there alone when those day came. The rest of the Rose/Xiao Long family would be right there with them. Every step of the way…

There it is! The end of "The Panther Sinks Her Claws!" I hope people found this a good read, like I enjoyed writing it!

In the earlier planning of this story, I thought about having Adam show up a changed man, but I thought that would have been too easy and not nearly as satisfying to read... Plus this way I got to kill Adam for what he did to Blake and Yang in the canon show! :p

I have actually started another story that ties with this one if you're interested in more of this story. It's called, "The Best Pieces". It's a series of one-shots covering the events during the 7 year time skip of chapter 3. Stuff like Ruby and Blake's proposal, a crap load of fluff with the Rose/Xiao Long families, and one chapter covering how Yang and Weiss met that I will eventually turn into it's own story, when I get the time to write it...

Anyways, I would really appreciate hearing how this story was received. I can only get better if I hear of the problems, not everything is caught by the person that wrote it!

So thank you for taking the time to read my little story! Until the next one, peace!