Forewarning: this is my theory/headcanon. If you don't ship Qrow x Summer, and have strong feelings against it, turn around and walk away. Please. I don't hate on your thoughts, don't hate on mine. Any hate, I won't tolerate. Feedback, I love- dissing, not so much. Tumblr has made me a bit more nervous about this, so this might be all for naught, but I had to put this out there first.

Otherwise, please enjoy my work, and thanks for taking the time to read it! (I'm already ahead posting this on AO3 as well. And have multiple chapters ready to go, so this should go over smoothly.)

It was dark by the time the airships had landed and long after midnight by the time the doctor had been to the inn RNJR and company was staying at. Ruby waited anxiously outside of the room, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Jaune placed a stilling hand on her shoulder, pausing her for a few moments. All three offered her consoling words, but the young woman heard them enough to acknowledge, and no more.

When the doctor once more emerged, Ruby rushed to his side. With a solid nod, she felt the tension slip from her shoulders.

"You'll need to watch him tonight, and if he worsens, immediately contact me. But," the doctor allowed a small smile, "he should be fine."

Both stepped away from each other, but Ruby paused with her hand on the handle as the doctor stopped and turned to her.

"Are you Summer? Or Ruby?" They asked.

Slowly, she turned to the doctor. Her brows were knitted tightly together. "I'm Ruby. Why? What happened?"

The doctor shook his head slightly, and smiled faintly at her again.

"Just a few fevered words. I had a feeling they were people important to him. I'm glad that at least one of them was here."

He turned once more, and continued down the hallway. With a glance around at her friends, Ruby spoke.

"Go sleep, all of you. I'll keep an eye on him tonight. You have your own room, right?"

As expected, Jaune spoke up first. "We can trade off. You fought the same beast we did."

Nora added in, "You need to be able to sleep, too."

Ruby's eyes followed the two of them as they spoke, and found herself turning to Ren. A sad smile pulled at one side of his mouth.

"No."

He turned to his teammates. "Ruby wants to spend the time with her uncle. After all of this, I think we all can understand her desire."

Ruby smiled at them all. "Thank you- I really mean it. But Ren's right. I'm worried about him, and couldn't sleep even if I wanted to now. You guys should all sleep. All three of you deserve every bit of sleep."

They nodded and filed away from the door, and Ruby turned back to the door handle she clutched. Slowly turning the handle, she slipped into the room. Quietly, she closed the door behind her, hoping not to wake the injured older man. As she neared his bedside, she noticed that he was out of his usual clothes as his huntsman garb was neatly folded on a chair beside his bed. Laying on his back, he looked startlingly still. But as she neared, she noticed his lips moving ever so slightly.

Ruby reached his side, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Qrow's head turned slowly towards her, his heavily feverish eyes, opening to slits. They were moving wild and unseeing.

"Mmr?" He mumbled, incoherent.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow. It's me, Ruby."

Even in the dimmed light of the room, she could see a small smile form on his lips. Under her hand, the young woman could feel his shoulders relax. As his eyes closed again, Ruby could swear she heard him say something about 'kiddo', but she dismissed it as wishful thinking. It would be sometime before he'd be coherent- the doctor had said that even before seeing him. Getting off her knees at the side of the bed, she moved around the room, organizing it into a comfortable space for her night vigilance. Pillows propped on the floor at the base of the chair and nearby table, and within the grasp of Qrow, if he should need her. Drink and a few small snacks nearby. Her weapon at her side should she need it. Qrow's sat perched against a corner with Ozpin's cane. Even if she knew the full workings of her uncle's weapon, she doubted her ability to wield it. Hers was built to her frame, but Qrow's was heftier and definitely too big for her. No, if there was a threat, she would handle it with Crescent Rose.

Before she settled in completely, Ruby made certain that Qrow's materials were together. His scythe (it bugged Ruby immensely that she still didn't know the name of her uncle's weapon. He kept that a personal secret), cape, flask and boots were all together on the nightstand near the corner. Retrieving the last of his effects, his clothes, she spun on her heel. The motion slipped something dark and previously unseen, clattering across the floor and under a nearby dresser.

Silently, she cursed herself for forgetting her uncle's scroll.Of course it would have been with his clothes!Getting to her knees, she spied it out of the darkness, already open and glowing. Retrieving it, she moved to close it, but paused, staring back at her was her uncle's heavy-lidded, tired gaze. A video? It was taken recently- his face was gaunt and pale from the poison in his system. Darkness inked out everything around him in the still.At night? Was this from the same night he told us about the maidens? About his semblance?

Her mind screamed at her to close his scroll- it was Qrow's and it wasn't fair for her to snoop through. She hesitated, poised to close it.But if it was from the same night, was this more? More that he hadn't told them. Her eyes flicked over to her uncle. In the time it had taken her to move about the room, he had rolled to his side, curling into a tight ball. It was disconcerting for a moment, and she didn't know why.

Never leave your back to the door, and if you can, sleep on your back.She could hear Uncle Qrow's voice echoing in her skull,Or even better, get into a tree ...

There was only two reasons she could think of him sleeping like this- first, he was so sick, his training was overwhelmed by comfort, and her heart plummeted at the thought. Or secondly, he actually felt safe.

Her eyes once more moved to the still-glowing scroll in her hand. She placed it- still open- on the dresser, and moved to place his clothes with the rest of his things. With determination she put his clothes down and turned to the brightest light source in the room. Not looking twice she snatched up his open scroll and a blanket and burrowed herself into her pillow fort she had created at Qrow's bedside.

If I start this,she reasoned,and it either isn't for me, and is something I shouldn't be seeing, I'll turn it off. But I have to know...

Sucking in a deep breath, she pressed play.

As is always the case- I love good feedback! I'd love to hear anything you've got to say.