Author's Note: Hey all. So its been a while, but I'm still alive and kicking though. I have been suffering a huge amount of writer's block recently. A few months ago my wife got really sick (she's better now!) and immediately after that life decided it wanted to kick me a few times while I was down with a host of problems with my job, insurance, and other boring adult things. It's been hard to summon the focus to sit down and write or get any enjoyment out of it. But, things have mostly resolved themselves an thanks to family and friends I am back on my feet and ready to go. As promised, this story won't be dropped or abandoned, just delayed a little.

Anyways, enough about me, how have you all been?

"So you didn't tell Blake, did you?"

The question hung delicately in the air as a streamlined, two-seater sports car roared down one of Vale's larger freeways. The insulated interior blocked out all but the loudest sounds allowing the passenger to pose such question in a menacingly soft manner. The passenger, due to her small stature, sat with her seat uncommonly raised up, almost to a vertical position. Her eyes constantly flicked between the driver and the road as if she didn't quite trust the driver's skill in maneuvering such a powerful vehicle at such high speeds. She knew that the blonde sitting in the driver's seat was more than capable of safely driving in what would normally be thought of as reckless manner. Her confidence still didn't prevent her from reflexively grasping the handle mounted above the door as the sports car veered, rapidly switching lanes to pass a slower moving vehicle.

As they careened past another, much larger, vehicle, the car shook from the turbulence the other truck generated. Weiss watched as Yang bit her lip as she prepared to answer. Just by the response, the smaller woman was able to figure out the answer.

Finally taking mercy on her lower lip, the blonde finally responded. "Tell her what?"

Weiss' brow furrowed. The blonde was intentionally avoiding giving her a full answer. Yang was obviously feeling guilty with what she was doing. The brawler had never lied to her before, but Weiss had observed Yang lie to others, including her own sister and wife. The blonde's lies were always seamless but, right now, she was awkwardly trying to dance around the subject. Though, it would only take a little coaxing to get her to open up.

"What you're doing today."

"I told her I was going into town." Her voice inflection rose as she feigned innocence. "It just happens that she is busy today."

She wasn't going to give in easily, time for her trump card. "And the fact that Ruby magically has two difficult to obtain tickets to Vale's ComiCon is just coincidental."

"Eh…" Yang took one her hands off of the steering wheel to rub the back of her head. "How'd did you find out about that."

"Ruby has been babbling about it nonstop for the last week. I am shocked that Blake didn't hear."

Returning the hand the steering wheel, the taller woman changed lanes in rapid succession to guide them past a knot of more leisurely driven cars. Her knuckles turned white as her grip tightened; stress lines formed as her eyes narrowed.

"You know," The normally upbeat blonde's voice grew terse. "I was fine going on my own. Speaking of which, Icy, why are you coming with me?"

"I just wanted to make sure you don't threaten anymore doctors."

Yang grumbled as she made sure to focus on the road. She was going to just take Bumblebee, due to the fact that it was supposed to be one of the last dry days this fall. Before was able to leave, Weiss had demanded that she accompany the brawler and refused to ride on the motocycle. Silence permeated the vehicle, leaving the blonde with her thoughts of what she was about to do.

"So why didn't you tell her?" Weiss inquired as she looked over at her sister-in-law.

"You know why." Yang muttered as she kept her gaze on the road ahead.

"No. I figured she would be happy."

Yang shook her head, her golden waves glowing in protest to their owner's gloomy mood as they caught and reflected the dim autumn sunlight.

"She'll be happy when it works. You've seen how she's been for the last month since… well, she can't handle any more failures right now."

"But you got checked by a doctor and they said you shouldn't have a problem carrying to term."

"That isn't the issue." The blonde finally looked over, making brief eye contact with the smaller huntress before turning back to the road. "She… tenses up when she even sees a kid. Her hand goes to her stomach and she gets quiet and moody. I don't think she is even aware of it, but it does affect her.

"I mean, with Coco and Fox now living in Mistral, Velvet and Yatsuhashi have been asking me to babysit Senbei for them for ages. Ruby has been bugging me nonstop to say yes, but I can't. They are lucky that Nora isn't going on missions right now because she is home watching Thyra, so she can take Senbei when they're on a mission, like when they were running security at the rally. Soon Thyra will be old enough to be babysat, and I want to watch them." Yang's grip tightened on the steering wheel, causing her knuckles to start to turn white. "But I can't, not while Blake is like this. So, she is having a fun day out with Ruby, and I will just have to ask for her forgiveness later."

The ex-heiress gave a quiet hum in response. Diverting her attention back to the road, Yang could feel her mind was racing. Yes, technically she was going behind Blake's back. They had agreed that they would take every step in starting a family together, but this was for the faunus' own good. After their written exchange a few weeks ago, Blake's attitude seemed to improve and, for the most part, she seemed to be happier, like everything was back to normal. Until they bumped into Nora and she excitedly showed them pictures of her and Ren's three month old daughter.

Yang wanted to be really happy for the two of them, and Ren quickly tried to distract his jubilant companion, but the damage had already been done. Blake had quickly excused herself and fled back to their car. Moments later, when she had reached the vehicle, the faunus was already curled up in a near catatonic state in the back seat. It had taken another few days before Blake smiled again. After that, Yang knew that the topic would only cause more hardship for her wife, so she vowed that she would work for their goal without burdening the faunus, even if it required a level of deceit. That is what her goal was today, visiting the fertility clinic to try the whole process again.

"So, yeah…" Yang mumbled before her voice picked up in volume. "In other news, stuff happens to other people?"

Weiss let out a small chuckle, for all of Yang's strengths, smoothly changing subjects was not one them.

"Jaune got a promotion." She quickly spoke up, before Yang could start speaking in non-sequiturs. "Frankly, I don't know why he wanted to be an officer in the Atlesian military, or why Pyrrha would agree to live in Atlas. I can't imagine the cold weather is easy with her prosthetic foot."

Yang glanced over her shoulder as she merged over a lane, her voice muffled as she talked into the window. "She likes the snow. She was the one who wanted to move there first. Jaune said no until Ironwood approached him. What is he now? Captain?"

"You're a little off." Weiss replied. "He's a-"

"Lieutenant?"

"Wrong way. He's-"

"Warrant Officer?"

She let out a lengthy sigh. "Wrong branch."

"Sarge-"

"That isn't even an officer!"

There was a pause, and for a moment, it looked like Yang was going to push her luck, and the ex-heiress' patience. Fortunately, for the both of them, the she took the right course of action.

"Fine, I give up."

"He actually is a Colonel."

"Sounds fancy." Yang's eyes were still trained on the road, the importance lost on her.

"It's one step below being a General! The dunce has control over several airships!" Weiss voice raised, trying to give impact to the statement. "Why would Ironwood do that?"

"Well, when you run both the kingdom's school and military, you can do whatever you want." One hand left the steering wheel to scratch its owner's head, making the thick mane of blonde hair look even more unkempt. "He obviously thought Jaune had promise."

"Only thing promising about him is his ability to screw things up."

Yang chuckled. "If Jaune ever thinks it's a good idea to invade Vale, we can just go live in Vacuo with Scarlet, Sage, Neptune, and Penny."

"Not funny." The short huntress retorted, the shrill intonations of her voice increasing in intensity.

Feigning mock shock, Yang winked at her friend. "Why not? I am sure they would be happy to see you."

"It would be like Jaune to accidently start a war with someone." She rolled her eyes and looked away. "Plus I don't like sand."

The driver merely gave an amused grunt and both of the girls sunk into contemplative silence. The remainder of the drive took another ten minutes as Yang guided her car through one of the busier sections of the city. She normally liked to drive down to this section of the city because she got to use Vale's freeway system. The giant mass of raised roadways at the heart of the city made sure that everyone was able to get to where they needed to go and, for someone on a motorbike, or in a car that didn't contain their killjoy sister-in-law, provided opportunities to drive fast and have fun.

As they pulled into the parking lot of the Vale Third Regional Hospital, Weiss affixed her priority parking pass to the rear view mirror, allowing them to park next to the general entrance. While the snow-haired woman lithely slipped out of the vehicle, her counterpart clambered out after some effort, her height causing issue with the car's low profile.

Finally standing to full height, Yang stretched. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

The sound of short heels clacking loudly against the pavement alerted her that her companion had already left. Stopping mid-stretch, she jogged to catch up to the ex-heiress' quick pace, the deep thuds of her boots mixing rhythmically with the preexisting staccato clicking. Matching pace, they entered the impeccably maintained building, slowing only briefly for the mechanical sliding door to grant them passage.

The illumination provided from the bright, sterile ceiling lights, and their reflection on the freshly waxed floor, momentarily stunned the blonde as her eyes adjusted from the dim light the cloudy day had provided. Walking in the direction of the receptionist's desk on instinct, following the noise of her companion, she composed herself just in time for the young man working behind the desk to look up.

"Welcome to the Third Regional Hospital!" He chirped with a forced exuberance. "How may I best assist you today?"

"We're here to met with Dr. Thyme." Weiss declared, her professional demeanor causing the kid to startle and stumble over his response.

Realizing the opportunity she had to frazzle her sister-in-law, Yang strode up next to Weiss and threw her arm over the smaller woman's shoulders, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"It would be helpful if you could point us in the right direction." The blonde let loose a dazzling smile as she felt Weiss attempt, and fail, to squirm out of her grasp. "We're kind of in a hurry." She pulled the fencer in even closer and kissed her on the top of her head, reinforcing her insinuations.

The receptionist's eyes widened, further taken aback by the display in front of him. "He's uh… room uh… 812. No, 817. Wait… no, that's right."

"As if, you oaf." Weiss' shrill voice broke the strained atmosphere before she finally managed to wriggle out of Yang's iron grip.

One lavender eye closed in a flirtatious wink.

"What about those times you used to crawl into my bunk back in Beacon?" She asked, sounding as innocent as she possibly could.

"I was having nightmares! And… Hmpph!" Spinning on her heel, Weiss started to stomp towards the elevators.

Oh, come on, Snowflake!" Yang yelled after her companion. "You know we would have a beautiful baby!"

An echo was the only reply she got. "Just hurry up, Brute."

"Have a good day!" She cheered back towards the receptionist as she took off towards the elevator.

Thankfully, for Weiss' sake, the elevator ride was relatively quiet and uneventful as she collected herself from the embarrassment that she had just suffered. The nerve of that blonde oaf!

"You know I'm right." As the elevator panel showing their current location ticked to 6, the silence was broken by the sing-songy voice of the unabashed ruffian.

"You are still on that?"

"Yup!"

Sometimes it seemed like the blonde menace intentionally put extra emphasis on that word. The popping sound always confirmed that when she looked up, the taller woman would be wearing a self-satisfied smirk.

"The Xiao Long genes are strong! It'd probably look a lot like me."

"Ugh…" Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. She needed to focus, she was here for a reason. "Your uncontrolled narcissism aside, could you not make displays like that in public?"

Lavender eyes, sitting just above the predicted smirk, blinked slowly. "Why not? It's fun."

"It's uncouth and unbecoming of a married lady in your position." Weiss protested, crossing her arms and waiting impatiently as the elevator slowed to a stop, having reached its destination. "And don't try to make a joke."

Reaching out and tapping Yang's chin as her mouth hung slightly open, an unspoken quip hung on her lips. Out of reflex, the taller woman closed her mouth and the two of them walked down the hallway.

This part of the hospital had the same overly-waxed floor as the lobby, but the lighting seemed less harsh. On either side of the corridor were a series of wooden doors with various name plates on them.

"This place is a little fancier than the last place Blake and I went." Yang gave a low whistle, admiring the the extravagant wood that the doors were composed of.

"Well, Dr. Thyme has overseen every pregnancy in the Schnee family since my grandfather. All of Nicholas Schnee's and his siblings descendants have used Dr. Thyme's services. His staff includes the best and brightest doctors who are schooled in artificial conception." Weiss took a deep breath. "My father may or may not have been dabbling in eugenics and gene therapy. Regardless, if there is someone who can guarantee success, it's Dr. Thyme. All he has practiced for the last two decades is Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal medicine."

Yang gave a hum back in acknowledgement. The doctor's credentials, in a scientific sense, were impeccable. She had taken some time to look the doctor before agreeing to visit him. Dr. Thyme has won numerous awards for medical advancement, especially in the area of same-sex couples as well as human/faunus couples. However, the previous clinic they had visited was also funded by the SDC, but that didn't stop the doctors there from allowing their racial biases to interfere with their work. Hopefully this would be different, it had to be different.

Blake was already withdrawn from most activities. Their recent loss had understandably hit the faunus harder, as she was the one who was attempting to carry their child but, though she had tried her hardest to hide it from the rest of her family, Yang spent most of her days on the edge as well. Trying to be strong for Blake and not allowing herself look weak in front her little sister, she had to hide how torn up she was inside. She noticed that she had stopped walking, and a pair of piercing blue eyes were staring at her.

A cool hand rested on the exposed flesh of her left arm. "I'm here for you Yang. I always have been, and always will be."

"I know… but…"

'"But nothing." She tried to console the taller woman. "You're doing this for Blake right?"

"Yeah."

Yang strode past Weiss and towards their destination, fighting the doubts that plagued her. Of course she was doing this for Blake. She wanted to give Blake a family more than anything else. She wanted to give Ruby and Weiss a bubbly, baby niece to chase around. Her own feelings, and desires, needed to be put second.

Finally reaching the appropriate suite, they were greeting by another receptionist; a older faunus who greeted them with a dull monotone. The woman looked overworked as she handled phone call after phone call during their, what should have been quick, check in.

"Look, we're short staffed today." She grunted as she finished with another call. "Dr. Thyme's office is the third door on the left."

With that, the phone began its cacophonous ringing again, drawing the receptionists attention back to it. The duo made their way through the door that separated the offices from the lobby and found the door labeled Dr. Thyme. The door was slightly ajar and there was no discernable noise coming from it so Weiss silently pushed the door open.

"Like I said," They now heard a masculine voice sigh. "You don't need to keep fretting. You are in perfect health and you have nothing to worry about. Your reckless actions at the rally caused no damage."

An elderly man stood with his back to the entryway, apparently unaware that people had entered his office. His focus was split between the scroll that he held to his ear as he talked and the tablet he held in his hands that seemed to contain medical data. Neither girl was able discern what the other party was saying. They started to back out of the room before something caught their ear.

"Look, Miss Schnee, I have a meeting in a few minutes."

More silence as the voice on the other line seemed to grow exasperated.

"The stress from your ruminations is what will cause problems." The doctor paused again as the voice spoke again, but he quickly cut it off. "You're fine, just don't do anything strenuous… Yes… See you in six weeks, Winter."

"Wait, Winter?"

Weiss froze as she realized that her thoughts just tumbled out of her mouth.

The doctor whirled around to face the two women that were standing just inside the doorway. Barely keeping ahold of the tablet in his hands, his eyes grew wide. "Hello, you must be Mrs. Schnee and-"

"Rose-Schnee." She interjected as she crossed her arms. "Or just Rose if you need something shorter."

"Right, my apologies. That makes you Mrs. Xiao Long."

"That's right."

"Alright." He motioned to two chairs that were arranged to face his desk from the opposite side. "Please sit, I have a few things to wrap up from my prior meeting. You two are a little early."

Instead of sitting down at his desk, the doctor continued to stand and tap at the screen of his tablet.

"So, Dr. Thyme" Weiss began to prod. "What were you talking to Winter about."

"I'm afraid I can't answer that." He grumbled back without turning around to face either of them. "Doctor-patient confidentiality."

"You don't handle general check ups and physicals though. Why did she need to talk to you?"

"I can't answer that."

"But why would Winter come see a maternity doctor?"

Yang, groaned sympathetically. "Seriously, Weiss. Just think about it."

"I did! Winter would have no need to talk to Dr. Thyme."

"Ugh, Weiss, Doc, Come here" Yang stepped forward, pulling Weiss out of the chair that she just sat in and shoved her up next to where Dr. Thyme was standing before pulling her scroll out. Flashing a quick pose next to her two, less amused, companions she took a selfie. Releasing the two, the blonde quickly typed out a message and sent it to Winter's personal scroll. "Well, that's gonna be a thing."

"What was that for?"

"Isn't it obvious? What else would Winter go to a maternity doctor for?"

Moments of silence passed before a surge of realization hit the fencer.

"Oh… oh!" Focusing on the brawler, Weiss shrugged her look of shock and replaced it with a contemplative visage. "You know, now that I think of it, Winter oddly cancelled and rescheduled all of her appointments for the last few months. Besides the rally she has been meeting with everyone via telecommunications. And she is having offsite summit meetings for certain SDC personnel for the next month and a half which will be followed by an extended vacation."

Yang nodded subtly acknowledging Weiss' points "So the real question is, why didn't she tell us?"

"I am going to give that sister of mind a talking to." Weiss growled back. "Was she just expecting I wouldn't notice?"

"Weiss, you're missing the obvious."

"Huh?"

"Who's the father?"

Silence permeated the room, only disrupted by the dull thud of the doctor tapping at the device in his hands.

"Didn't you say that Qrow has been working with Winter for the last year or so?" Weiss touched an index finger to her lip as she thought her way through the possible scenarios. "I know that Qrow and Winter have always had love-hate relationship, but I always thought that something was up between them."

"You're right!" Yang responded gleefully. "Actually my dad has been doing a lot of work with them too. He has complained more than once that Qrow never leaves your sister alone. Apparently it cuts into his tavern crawl time with his 'brother'. I'll give him a call and see what's up!"

"No. I decided." Weiss cast her gaze down and gave a small shiver. "I think I would rather not know who my nephew or niece's father is rather than have that lush as a brother-in-law."

"Ooh, yeah. That would mess up the family tree an awful lot. Though I don't think Ruby would mind her favorite uncle being her brother too!"

The thought caused Weiss' face to blanche. "Don't give me ideas. Just, if you find anything out from your father, censor it before you tell it to me."

"Will do!"

"Thank you for your patience." Dr. Thyme said as he turned around to face them, setting the table he was holding down on his desk. "So, Mrs. Xiao Long, I understand that you will be undergoing an implantation procedure today."

"Yes." She responded, her mood dropping from her normal enthusiasm to a more somber tone. "You should have prior authorization from Blake Belladonna to proceed with it."

"I do indeed. We also received the preserved genetic material that they had at the clinic you were formerly using. Your operation is scheduled for an hour from now. In the meantime..." The doctor pulled out several files from one of the drawers in his desk. "I have some additional paperwork for you to fill out."

Yang let loose an annoyed groan before snatching the papers up to read them.

"And you Mrs. Rose." The doctor continued. "Since your last visit, we have finished the necessary genetic therapy. We have your operation scheduled immediately after Mrs. Xiao Long's."

"Wait, what?" Yang looked from her paperwork and her eyes made contact with two focused blue orbs.

"Did I forget to tell you, Yang? Ruby and I decided that we are going to raise a kid along side you."

Bear with me while I shake off the rust of not having written anything with continuity in the last uh... way too long. This chapter didn't quite turn out how I wanted it to, and there is a bit of a tone shift from my current mindset, but we have hope! Namely, I hope Blake takes Yang's actions well.

If you enjoyed this please fav, follow, or, my preferred response, leave a review and let me know how I did! Or do all three!