The early morning was Winter Schnee's favorite time to be up. She liked climbing out of bed into the white silence of dawn and making herself a warm cup of tea to sit down with while she read another chapter or two of her current favorite book. Sometimes she would wake early enough to watch the sunrise from her windows that overlooked the military base her apartment was a part of. The sun's rays cast brilliant colors into the clouds. The colors of the sunrise always awed her. She thought that perhaps someday if she had children, she would have to name at least one of them after one of the colors she loved to see in the morning sky.

Unfortunately, Winter's morning routine was interrupted on a clear, Sunday at the break of dawn. Just as she was brewing her tea and glancing out her big windows towards the east, there was a rough knock on her door and Winter was forced to turn her attention away from her favorite activities. She contemplated ignoring the sound. Maybe the person knocking would go away. However, this was a military establishment, and it could be anyone coming with a message from Ironwood about a request for her presence, or something else nearly equally important that needed her attention. Most times, when her door was knocked on around dawn, it was pretty imperative for her to answer. So, Winter stood and made her way to the little front door of her apartment and swung it open to reveal a face she never thought she'd see there.

"Qrow?!" The tall man was a mess, but when was he ever not? His dark hair was disheveled, his clothes were torn and dirty. His face was scratched up, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked sick. Despite all this, Winter immediately became defensive. "How did you get in here?! Only approved individuals and military personnel are allowed through!"

"Winter…" Qrow's voice was weak, though still that familiar rough timbre. Despite every annoying thing he put her through, that familiar, rough voice was enough to calm her a little.

"What are you doing here anyways? What could you possibly want?"

"Winter…" Qrow managed to choke out another word and that's when Winter knew something was off.

"What? No snide retort? You're losing your touch, old man."

He stumbled a little and Winter instinctively reached out to steady his shoulder. Something was wrong. "You're the only person I could think of to come to." That's when she noticed the blood seeping between Qrow's fingers at his side. She gritted her teeth, still angry at him somehow managing to bypass security, but when she saw the blood soaking his white coat worry gripped her heart and she maneuvered him into her apartment quickly.

"There was no one… else in the area…"

"Qrow, stop talking." Winter led him over to her sofa, wincing a little when she realized it was white, and he was absolutely covered in dust and grime, but the thought vanished quickly when she saw the pain in his red eyes. Something had gotten him good. She reached for her scroll,

"You idiot, we've got to call the-"

"No, don't!" Qrow grasped her hand in his free one. He was cold as ice. "It's… it's the…"

"Qrow, if you don't stop talking," Winter hissed, "I will gag you." A smile flickered across his lips for half a second, but he decided against saying something in return and just nodded quickly, leaning back against the sofa with a hiss.

"If you won't let me call someone…" She hadn't done first aid on anyone except herself in a long time, but she pulled out the little metal box from one of her cupboards and rushed over to his side again. For once he remained silent, besides the hissing of his breath and a few groans of pain. Winter pulled her bangs back and pinned them out of her eyes before getting to work, kneeling on the floor beside him and leaning forward to gently unbutton his coat with shaking hands. She cursed her involuntary show of worry for him, Qrow didn't need any more gloating material. She barely trusted herself with this. She wasn't a nurse or a doctor. She'd only ever had basic medical training after joining the army. Just enough to patch something up, but not enough to know when the huntsman would be on his feet again, or if he was in danger of infection.

"We really ought to call someone for help." She said, gently pulling his coat aside to reveal a black shirt soaked in blood.

"Ice Qu-Queen…" He reached out and gently took her shaking hand in his, "I trust you. Not them." She bit her lip, the warmth of his hand turned her cheeks a bright red, but she gently pulled away.

"We have to get your coat and shirt off so I can get a better look at this. Here, I'll help you sit up…"

Qrow shook his head and gritting his teeth he pulled himself up into a sitting positing, huffing through the pain.

"You stubborn…" Winter sighed and stood to help him peel off his coat and his shirt. She tossed them aside and then resumed her work at Qrow's side. The man had slumped back against the couch again, and Winter finally got a good look at his injury. It was a long and deep gash, going down from his ribs towards his pelvis. It was still oozing blood, and Winter felt sick. She had been so slow, and if she was too slow…

"I have to move quickly… You can't lose any more blood."

"Sounds like you… might actually be starting to…" he coughed a little and Winter rolled her eyes.

"What did I say about a gag?" She snapped. She quickly pulled out some clean rags, pressing them against his side. "You're going to kill yourself one of these days, Branwen." Qrow let out a hoarse chuckle but didn't say anything, much to Winter's relief. She managed to slow the bleeding after a few moments of pressure, enough so that she could begin stitching up the large gash.

"You're going to be off the field for some time with a wound this deep."

"That's preposterous…"

"Qrow, I wasn't kidding about that gag, you need to stay still."

"I have… I have to get back…"

"Qrow, shut up." Winter tied off the last stitch and carefully snipped the thread. "This should be good, for now." She carefully folded a bandage over the wound and used medical tape to keep it in place. "You should be fine, but you'll need to have that bandaged changed every day, and you'll probably want someone with better knowledge of this sort of thing looking at it."

"I wouldn't have asked anyone else." Qrow smiled and Winter sighed, leaning against the coffee table behind her. She rested her hands on her knees, but they were still visibly shaking. She was surprised she had managed to stitch him up with her fingers like this. "Are you… alright?" She didn't answer, she just took in a deep breath, and then bit her lip. She was really worried for him. If he left now, he could get seriously hurt. He could rip those stitches so easily… "Hey, Schnee…" Qrow reached out and gently rested his hand on one of hers. "Thanks." The corners of her lips lifted into a small smile.

"You're an idiot, Branwen. If I had been with you, half of this wouldn't have happened."

"Are you suggesting that we… would work better together?" He winked, his hand still on hers. Winter didn't mind his warmth. She had always admired the older man and his ridiculously stubborn spirit. It was just too easy to fight with him.

"I'm suggesting that you get some sleep before I change my mind and kick you out." But Qrow's red eyes weren't focused on her blue ones anymore. He was looking out the window in front of them.

"Sky's putting on quite the display." He said with a sigh. "Almost as pretty as you." The words made her pull her hand from his. What had been there moments ago, was suddenly closed off to both of them. Qrow frowned, and leaned back against the sofa, pressing his hand to his side again. "Sorry… heh…it's probably just the blood loss."

"If….well…" Winter cleared her throat, "If that keeps happening you might need a transfusion and…"

"I'll let you know, Schnee." Qrow shrugged, "If I have any more weird symptoms." Winter didn't respond, she looked out to the brilliant reds and pinks of the sunrise and bit her lip again. There had been something there, something… Even for just a split second, there was something more.