The winter months were hard. Jaune and Ren nearly broke their backs caring for Nora and insuring her comfort. Spring was easier. Her cravings subsided, and she was more than able to move. Summer was trouble. Nora's weight and shape made many tasks difficult for her, and though few people could see it, a bit of fear had wormed its way into Nora's warm heart. She still smiled, and was always energetic, but when things were quiet, she could be caught staring into space, pensive and unsure. Jaune did his best to make her feel warm, Pyrrha remained a stalwart friend, and Ren bent over backwards to make her smile at every opportunity. When at last the final days of Nora's pregnancy came around, JNPR was more often silent than outspoken. Jaune could hear a loud ticking, like a clock high upon a church tower, sounding in his skull when he wasn't occupied with something. Whenever he found himself with nothing to take up his time, he kept his hands moving by knitting clothes for the baby. He had enough to last until age three when the day finally came.

Jaune had been reclining in his bed at around midday. In his hands were two needles, twirling and dancing around one another as he carefully weaved a warm jacket with yellow and pink yarn. Hearing that he was to have a daughter, he picked up as much pink as he could, and Nora seemed to like it as well, which motivated his work. He thought about buttons, and possibly even patches he might like to add to the piece to give it a unique touch when Ren suddenly leapt out of bed. Jaune knew, deep down, why Ren seemed so excited. He knew why Ren's face was so shocked, and why he dashed to pull on his shoes. The truth is sometimes right before us, and yet we try not to see it. It is for this reason Jaune asked why Ren was so panicked. In response, Ren hurled Jaune's shoes and sweater at him.

"Nora's having the baby!"

Jaune sat in disbelief for a brief few moments as Ren hurriedly stuffed a few things into an overnight bag. Nine months of preparation and self-reassurance had seemed to have tempered his heart and mind for this day. He was sure he was ready. But as Ren packed, Jaune felt a pit in his stomach that threatened to swallow him whole. It wasn't until Ren snatched him up by the collar and hoisted him out of bed that he regained his composure and higher thought. He hastily pulled on his clothes, and the two men dashed out the door. They slowed only as they passed Blake in the hall, to announce the arrival of Nora's child, which caused her to spill out her armful of books onto the ground. And while normally Jaune would have been kind enough to stay and help her collect them, he had no patience for chivalry that day. He was going to be a father.

The two men sprinted full speed across the campus of Beacon, weaving and ducking through crowds of other students and staff alike. They stopped for nothing, and Jaune found within himself a well of energy and drive he'd felt only once before, when fighting an Ursa in the Forever Fall. His throat burned, and his legs had begun to hurt from the intensity of his motion, but the thoughts of what was to come pushed him on. He knew he'd be in pain. His legs might hurt, or cramp, or burn all through the night. He might want to scream and cry. He may not even be able to run again for a few days. But he needed to be there for Nora, and his daughter. This, and Ren's back just a few feet ahead kept him from falling, or stopping. When at last they reached the road and hailed a cab, Jaune dove in headfirst. After instructing the driver on where to go, Ren helped him straighten up, and rubbed his back as he tried to catch his breath. Jaune wanted to thank him, but he had not the strength. Ren would later assure him that he could feel his gratitude through his eyes.

It wasn't until half an hour later that they managed to come to the hospital's entrance. Noon traffic had slowed them to what felt like a crawl, and it took all of Ren's ability to make sure Jaune kept breathing steadily during the ride. As they exited the cab, Jaune tossed a fistful of crumpled lien through the passenger's side window, and Ren dragged out the overnight bag. They both ignored the driver's shouts, running at full speed into the hospital and the front desk. They received directions to Nora's delivery room, and with all the grace and agility of rabbits they flew toward the elevator station.

Nora's room was on the tenth floor, which was dedicated almost entirely to pediatric medicine from birth to inoculations. As the elevator doors slid open, Jaune squeezed through the opening at the earliest possible moment, followed by Ren. They made the last leg of their journey, slowing only out of courtesy for the other patients, and to read the directories as they searched for the appropriate room. On the way, they nearly knocked over two nurses and a janitor, giving only red shifting apologies as they continued on. When at last they found the room, they were stopped by Pyrrha, who was seated outside in a chair amongst a row. She was dressed in her outfit from that morning, simple shorts and a tank top.

"They'll only let Jaune in. I've been out here panicking for a while now, please go check on her." Pyrrha grabs hold of Jaune's jacket as she speaks, shaking him slightly. This disorients him, but does not distract him from the matter.

"Okay, yeah. See you guys in a while." Jaune says, pulling away from Pyrrha and turning toward the door. As he raises a hand to push it open, he finds some of his strength fading. Through this port is the rest of his life, or if not yet, soon enough it will be. After taking a moment to swallow his fear, Jaune pushes through and into the delivery room.

The first thing Jaune notices is the table on which the doctors have strapped Nora. It is heavy, mechanical, and seems to be giving off a very noticeable hum of electricity. Nora struggles against it, causing the metal to creak and cry in protest. Then there is the large intravenous bag of fluid being slowly dripped into her arm. Finally, he hears Nora's screams of pain, which filled the room, and snapped him back to reality. He began approaching before being suddenly halted by one of the three people in medical scrubs at the foot of Nora's bed. There were two more, on monitoring some screens across the room, and another watching Nora's IV drip.

"Sir! Are you the father of this child?" Jaune nodded in confirmation, and the man, presumably the doctor in charge, waved over the person at the screens. A minute later, Jaune was wrapped in a plastic smock, a mask, gloves, and a medical cap that kept his hair out of his face. He approached Nora and called out to her. She turned her head, breathing heavily and sweating. She smiled up at him from the table, finally giving up her fight against the restraints that held her down. Jaune returned the smile, though she couldn't see it, and placed his hand in hers.

"Hey, Nora. Feeling okay?" he joked. He could see the pain in her face, despite her mask of cheer. He squeezed her hand slightly to reassure her.

"Never better. Just gotta wrap this up and we can-Agh!" Nora threw her head back and let out another cry, almost crushing Jaune's hand. He had just enough time to protect his bones with his aura, but the pressure of Nora's grip already burned up a decently big chunk of it. This would be as tiring for him as Nora, it seemed. When she finally came down from the pain, she caught her breath and turned to Jaune with eyes full of tears. "Jaune, please don't leave. Please, god, don't leave me."

"I won't, Nora. I'm right here." Nora relaxed a bit, trying to blink away the tears, but soon fell upon another spike of pain, squeezing Jaune's hand and crying out.

"Just a few more pushes, Miss Valkyrie! You're almost there!" Nora continued her erratic pattern of catching her breath, crying in pain, and attempting to bestow Jaune with a mechanical hand. Jaune fought back with as much of his aura as he can muster, but he hadn't mastered true control, and near the end, he felt himself beginning to sway in place from exhaustion. He was unaware of how much time was passing. He could only measure it in the number of times Nora attempts to push. And after a long, painful process, the grand finale finally arrived.

"I can see the head! One more push!" shouted the doctor. Nora complied, giving one last powerful push from her insides, and one last squeeze of Jaune's hand. This one was the straw that broke the camel's back. Jaune collapsed to his knees, screaming as the last of his energy drained out through his fist. The room began going dark as his breathing began to enfeeble. He used his free hand to support himself for a time, trying to shake himself back to awareness, but he was too far gone. The only things he knew now were Nora's screams, the sounds of the machines, and in his very last moment, a shrill cry that both frightened him, and warmed his heart.

Then, all was dark, and silent.

When Jaune came back to the waking world, he felt sore all throughout every muscle in his body, and drowsy to boot. He was awoken by Pyrrha and Ren. They seemed much calmer now than they had when he last saw them, and in fact they had smiles plastered on their faces. Pyrrha's cheeks seemed especially red. As Jaune wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, he took a quick look around and realized he was back in the hall where he'd left his friends. He must have been dragged out by someone and left to rest. Then he remembered what was most important in that moment.

"Guys! Where's Nora!? Where's the baby!?" He shot up from the row of chairs and looked down the hall, both ways, as if expecting a sign to appear. Pyrrha rested a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"Nora's resting. The baby is fine. She's healthy and they've already given her a bath. They asked us to let you know you can hold her for a while before they bring her to the nursery." Jaune took a breath and thought. Of course he wanted to see her. But at the same time he was nervous.

"Do I even deserve to?" It wasn't more than a moment before he realized he had said this thought aloud. He looked at his teammates in fear. They gave him frustrated and slightly angry looks in return.

"Jaune, don't start doubting yourself now. If there was ever a time to act tough, it's for this sweet, innocent little girl. Let her see her daddy's face now that she's here." Ren's words were firm, but comforting. Jaune shut his eyes and relaxed his body, letting himself slouch a bit. He mentally prepared himself for his first meeting with his own daughter, and arose to his feet. He stood tall, shoulders back, and chin up. He began marching down the hall before realizing he doesn't know the way, and turns back to ask for directions. Ren and Pyrrha smile, and lead him to Nora's room.

They entered together, silent and careful. Jaune went first, glancing around the darkened room for any sign of Nora. He found her relaxed in a soft bed; much more comfortable looking than the mechanical delivery table. As he approached her, followed closely by his teammates, he noticed her peaceful resting face. She was still slightly disheveled, but at least now the pain and fear he saw in her had been washed away, and she was able to relax. As Jaune watched her, comforted by her steady breathing, Pyrrha moved around her bed to a small, plastic bassinet.

"Jaune. Someone's waiting for you." Jaune turned his gaze up at Pyrrha, seeing her warm smile, and following her line of sight to the bassinet. Nervously, he approached it, stopping next to Pyrrha and looking down into it to see the baby swaddled inside.

She was small and a bit red. Her eyes were shut tight, and she had a shock of blonde hair on her head that was surprisingly thick. It seemed Jaune would have to ask Yang for a few tips on caring for her hair later. He watched as the tiny creature turned her head up, and opened her little eyes to see him. He felt something in him activate, and suddenly his instincts commanded him to guard this delicate thing with his life. They told him to scoop her up, and never put her down. Jaune reached in, and lifted her gently, cradling her as he'd done to his own baby sisters during their infancy. He held her close to his chest, and gazed down into her wide, little eyes. She seemed to fixate on his face, and Jaune hoped she was aware of who he was, even though he knew she wasn't. As he smiled down at her, she reached a weak arm out toward him and cooed.

"Hey. Do you know who I am? I'm your papa. Yup. You came from me. I'm gonna take care of you from now on, okay?" Pyrrha held her fingers over her lips to hide her wide smile as Jaune whispered to the newborn girl. He didn't take his eyes from her face for even a moment. "Soon we're gonna go home, and be together every day. And I know we just met and all, but I think I love you." Jaune held a finger above her head, slowly teasing her with it. She reached out and took it in her grip, squeezing tight. Jaune felt tears coming on.

Just then, the door to the room opened, and a nurse came in with a clipboard. She stepped quietly toward Jaune and gave a false smile.

"Mr. Ark, I presume? Your spouse was adamant we wait to register your daughter's name until you woke up." Jaune thought about correcting her on Nora and his status, but he decided it would only confuse things if he had. "We need her given name, please." The nurse clicked a pen to readiness, and prepared to write down Jaune's answer. He looked back as his daughter, perplexed that Nora would entrust him with such a big decision. He thought for a moment, chewing on all the ideas he had had. Finally, he settled.

"Her name is Macy. Macy Ark-Valkyrie." Pyrrha rested her head on Jaune's shoulder, and even Ren felt a bit choked up, turning away to clear his throat.

"Very well. Given name: Macy, Middle name: Kickass, Last name: Ark-Valkyrie. Someone will be in shortly to escort her to the nursery for further observation, but I don't think there will be any complications. She was loud and proud when we pulled her out. If everything goes well, you'll be out of here first thing tomorrow." The nurse clicked her pen again and turned to exit. As the door swings shut, Ren looked to Jaune.

"Kickass?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yang." Jaune responded, and all was clear.

Team RWBY dropped by not long after Macy was taken away, to see her and Nora. Nora awoke upon their arrival, and all eight of them had a cheerful time before RWBY ran off with Pyrrha to see Macy. Ren and Jaune stayed to keep Nora company, watching basic cable with her as they shared hospital food. They said little as they did, but they felt connected in their own way. When RWBY returned, they spent a little more time chatting before dinner, and left. Pyrrha went home as well, promising to explain things to the school faculty so they wouldn't receive any sort of punishment for skipping class that day. Ren, Jaune, and Nora bid her goodnight, and soon Nora was back to sleep. Jaune and Ren sat quietly in chairs on either side of Nora's bed, watching sitcoms and munching on snacks from the vending machines outside.

"Hey, Ren?" Jaune finally broke the silence between them.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for helping out."

"Word."

"You know you're her real godfather, right? We're not letting Yang have her."

"Mhm."

"Cool, just wanted to make sure."

And with that, they were silent until it was time to fall asleep in their uncomfortable chairs.

Nora awoke the next morning around 9am, and ate a full breakfast before being discharged and given custody of Macy once more. Together, she and her escorts Ren and Jaune hailed a cab and rode home in peace. Upon returning, they were greeted with warm smiles and congratulations as every student crowded to see the newborn girl and compliment her cuteness. Nora, despite being thoroughly exhausted, afforded every one of them a chance to behold her lovely larva, including Port and Glynda, who each talked her ear off with child rearing advice. When at last they made it back to their dorm, Ren helped Nora to bed as Jaune set out a bassinet and supplies by Nora's bedside. Despite being sore and beatdown, both Ren and Jaune took classes for the remainder of the day, with Ren taking careful notes for Nora to ignore later. Jaune received a few more pats on the back during the day, until he and Ren came back to their room and turned in early, falling asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

Jaune dreamt briefly that evening. He had visions of his child growing, learning, and one day following in her parents' footsteps and enrolling in Beacon. He felt a supreme happiness, but also a sort of longing as he watched her phantom age before his eyes. He had just received this holy gift, and it seemed she was already leaving him behind. In reality, in the dark of JNPR room, he shed a tear in his sleep.

"Jaune." whispered a voice, stirring him to wake. He slowly opened his eyes to see Nora's familiar, smiling face at the edge of his bed. He wiped the tears away, and let his eyes adjust.

"Nora? It's late, you should be resting."

"Macy won't sleep. She's lonely."

"Is she, or are you?"

"I'm fine. She just mishesh hew daddy, don't you widdle baby?" Nora pulls Macy up to her face and gives her a light Eskimo kiss. Jaune sighs, and lifts back his covers to allow Nora to slide in. She sets Macy down between them, allowing their combined warmth to fight back the chill of night. "See? She's already happy. She really loves you, you know? I can tell."

Jaune watches Macy writhe and listens to her tiny breaths as she coos in the dark. He softly brushes some of her hair from her face, and plants a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, you're never that gentle on me." Nora comments.

"Yeah but you like it rough."

"True." Nora smirks, resting her head on Jaune's pillow. Macy shuts her eyes slowly, fighting sleep. She doesn't last long, and soon her whole body relaxes, causing Jaune to smile in delight. This is interrupted as Nora begins snoring. Jaune laughs to himself, and settles down to sleep as well.