It all felt like a dream to Ruby. A really, fucking bad dream. She wished nothing more than to wake up and take the nightmare away. She pinched herself really hard a few times and the spot on her thigh where she was pinching was bleeding, but she wouldn't wake up. It wasn't a dream. It was real, so fucking real, and all Ruby could do was cry and hope it will soon go away.

She was in the hospital room again, as she was every day since Weiss lost consciousness. She would be there, holding Weiss's limp and lifeless hand until it was time to go home for the night. I can't let her wake up alone. She doesn't even know where she is and with her last memory being the sight of her vomit after seeing something that scared her lifeless, she shouldn't wake by herself. Who knows what she'd do, maybe she would have a panic attack.

Christmas went by and Ruby didn't even care about it. Velvet and Yatsuhashi tried to get Ruby away at least for Christmas, but it didn't matter in the end as the only thing they achieved was more tears streaming from Ruby's cheeks.

Then Yang, her sister, came to the room. Ruby embraced her tightly and Yang returned the embrace even harder, as was typical of her. When Yang let go, she could see that the spot on her dress where Ruby pressed her head was soaking wet from the tears. She tried her best to comfort the crying girl, being her usual stoic self, but to no avail. Nothing mattered to Ruby if Weiss was still asleep. Yang tried to get her come home at least for the dinner, but Ruby was unmoving. She would not leave the hospital bed until Weiss awoke or it was absolutely necessary to go. If it would be allowed, she would even sleep there. In the end, Yang gave her a signed copy of one of her band's albums as a gift for Gia before she had to go, sadness in her eyes at her sister's agony and her own inability to help.

Ruby told Yang a few things about Gia in her time at the college, mostly that she was a huge fan of Yang's band and a very cool girl. Yang, always close with her fans, insisted on getting her a gift of some sort and this was it. Nothing too fancy, just an album with signatures of the whole band, but to a fan, that would mean a lot, especially coming from the band itself.

Then Blake came. She wasn't very talkative and the two girls never really talked before, but she was a very good friend of Weiss and she spent most of her time there looking at the screen that captured the sleeping girl's vital signs. She didn't try to get Ruby away from the hospital and Ruby was extremely thankful for that. She did find out that Blake got together with the guy that invited her to dinner the day the ballet class performed at the festival opening, though. Ruby managed a weak smile and a silent "Congratulations."

Gia was the next visitor. Probably for the first time since they knew each other, she wasn't smiling. She came in and hugged Ruby before even saying anything. Ruby's eyes never left the bed on which Weiss was lying while she was being hugged. Then Gia started talking about how she missed Ruby and the coffee breaks they used to take before the Christmas break and Ruby finally looked at her.

I'm sorry, she wanted to say. I'll make it up to you. But nothing came out of her mouth. She knew she was neglecting everyone that cared about her, but she just couldn't help it. If Weiss wasn't well, she couldn't be happy. That fact was augmented by the fact nobody knew exactly what it was that made Weiss like that. The doctors said it could be a sort of PTSD trigger, but even they weren't really sure. Ruby was thinking about that as well. Her last words to me were 'There is no god.' She must have remembered something from the camp, something that was similar to another thing she saw there, on the mat. She came to a conclusion that it had to be PTSD, though it felt really weird to say that.

Weiss is only eighteen. Someone that young shouldn't have endured the trauma that other PTSD sufferers have. And she didn't tell the doctors what the reason behind her possible PTSD was. She didn't want them to know. She said that she didn't know the reason behind it and the doctors believed her.

Gia was very stubborn, staying with Ruby for the better part of an hour before giving up. Ruby gave her the CD Yang gave her earlier. Gia was ecstatic when she found out what it was. She hugged Ruby hard and gave her a kiss on the cheek, with the order that she was to give that same thanks to her sister. For the first time in about a week, Ruby managed a real smile and Gia looked happy that she managed to achieve at least that.

After Gia was gone, Ruby concentrated on Weiss again, holding her hand like she did the previous few days. The doctors kept her sedated, or so they told her. 'Out of fear something bigger might be happening with her on the inside,' they'd say when Ruby asked them why. She was not satisfied with the answer, but she knew they wouldn't tell her any more.

Then Ruby was surprised again at the sound of cautiously approaching footsteps. They stopped a few feet behind Ruby and she took her eyes off of Weiss for a moment to check who the mysterious visitor was.

"Before you say anything... I just want to say that I'm not stalking you," a slightly scared voice said.

"Becky? How did you..." Ruby didn't manage to finish.

"I wanted to wish you two a merry Christmas at your house, but your dad told me you're here."

"I'm really not in the mood now, Becky."

"I... Don't worry, Ruby, I will try not to make it awkward. But, I have to ask you something: does your father know about us?"

"Well, he knew we were dating, if that's what you're asking. He doesn't know exactly why we're not together anymore."

"So that explains his behaviour. He was nicer than I thought he'd be."

The two girls said nothing for a while and Ruby turned back to looking at Weiss.

"Hey, Ruby, I came here to tell you something."

"What is it, then? Spit it out," Ruby said impatiently.

"I came to terms with you. I had time to think and now that I saw the worry in your eyes, I just wanted to say I'm through. That I want nothing else than friendship from you. I may not like it too much, but Weiss is definitely the superior and your choice, which is what's important. You never looked at me the way you look at her."

Ruby looked at the floor and the pair was there in silence for another while.

"Well, I guess I'll be going now," Becky said. "Merry Christmas to both of you. I wish she wakes up soon." She then turned around and started walking towards the door. Ruby stood up from her chair.

"Becky, wait."

The older girl stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around to face Ruby, who got closer and closer before embracing the blue-eyed girl. Startled, Becky only returned the embrace after a few seconds, and even then with caution.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry," the grey-eyed girl said.

"Sorry for what?"

"For being a jerk. For not being a friend when you needed one." Becky smiled at those words, knowing from the sound of them that it was the truth.

Suddenly, Ruby heard a beep different from others. She released Becky and looked towards the bed to notice that Weiss's heart rate just went up a little. She got hopeful, ran to her bed and held her hand tighter, looking straight in her girlfriend's still closed eyes. Becky silently left the room, leaving the duo alone.

Weiss was sitting under a tree, hugged from behind by Ruby. It was night and the sky was clear and all the stars were visible. They were stargazing with intention of seeing shooting stars. It was cold, but being so close to each other Weiss could barely feel anything but her girlfriend's heat.

"Hey, I saw one!", Ruby exclaimed happily. Weiss quickly followed the finger that pointed at the sky, but she was too slow and the shooting star disappeared.

"I missed it," she said with a sad voice.

"Oh, come on, snowflake, don't be sad. Keep looking at the sky and you'll definitely see one," Ruby answered with a kiss on the nape of her neck.

"Did you make a wish?"

"Of course I did, snowflake."

Ruby wouldn't tell her what the wish was. And it was a good thing she didn't, as Weiss knew that telling the wish to someone is a sure way of it not getting fulfilled. She fixed her gaze at the sky again, pressing herself into Ruby's front while she rested her head on Weiss's shoulders.

Then Weiss saw a fiery line travelling from one end of the sky to the other and she made a wish.

I wish to never be separated from Ruby.

Somehow the wish made her sad and she started gently sobbing. Ruby must have heard it as she tightened the embrace. Neither girl needed to say anything, yet they both knew what it was they meant to say. Weiss had never grown so close with someone this quickly before.

For a while, the two girls stared at the sky and no shooting star was seen. Weiss wanted to propose going home to sleep, but then she heard and felt Ruby cry in her shoulder.

"Wake up," she was saying through the tears. "Wake up, Weiss. Please."

Weiss was petrified. Why should I wake up when I'm already awake? But the crying didn't stop and the plea continued with the same desperation in Ruby's voice.

"Please, Weiss. Wake up, I need you to wake up."

Weiss looked back at the sky, wanting to forget her girlfriend's sobbing. She wanted her to be happy, not sad. Why was she sad? Weren't they sitting under a tree, looking at the sky?

Then she realized what was happening. And just as if it was all planned, right in that moment another shooting star appeared, this time shorter than before, but still long enough for Weiss to make another wish.

I wish to wake up.

She kept repeating that wish in her mind for the longest time while Ruby still used her mantra as if it was a sacred order and finally the dream went up in smoke.

Ruby couldn't believe her eyes. Is this really happening or are my eyes deceiving me? Have I finally lost my mind?

The heart rate and blood pressure kept rising to normal levels, that was an undeniable fact. She also saw Weiss move her eyelids slowly, as if fighting to open them. Ruby held her hand tighter and the tears stopped flowing. She also stopped repeating the mantra. The only thing she was doing, the only thing that mattered at that point was that Weiss was obviously trying to wake up.

Ruby knelt by the bed, watching her girlfriend with hopeful eyes. Finally, her eyes fluttered open. It is happening! She's awake!

Ruby tried her best not to squeal or scream or scare Weiss in any way, fretting she might lose consciousness again. It was probably one of the hardest tests she imposed on herself, ever. She struggled to keep still as Weiss's sleepy eyes scanned the room. Then she felt a squeeze in her hand and she had to hold back a gasp. Weiss slowly turned her head around and finally met Ruby's bloodshot eyes.

"R-Ruby," Weiss croaked. Ruby let go of her hand, got closer and caressed her hair while pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"Shh. Don't strain yourself. I'll get you some water."

Ruby grabbed a cup on Weiss's bedside cabinet and ran out to get some fresh water. She came back not a minute later, picked up a straw that was conveniently placed on the cabinet and put the straw in the cup. She held it close to Weiss and put the straw in her mouth. Weiss sucked on the straw, emptying it quickly. After the cup was empty, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Do you want some more?"

Weiss just nodded, still too weak to talk. Ruby ran out of the room again and returned just as quickly, repeating the process from before. Weiss only drank half the cup, though, before clumsily pushing it away. Ruby gently put it on the cabinet and fixed her gaze on her girlfriend's eyes.

Weiss spoke, but her voice sounded unbelievably tired and hoarse, very unlike her normal voice. Well, she was unconscious for a week, Ruby reminded herself.

"Th-Thank you, Ruby."

"Don't talk much, Weiss. I don't want you to get exhausted again."

"Wh-What happened?"

Ruby started tearing up again. "Well, you were fighting this girl from the other college. And suddenly, you just fell down and puked and I… I ran to you and then you fainted."

Weiss held out her hand and Ruby took it, planting a gentle kiss on the back of it.

"How… Long?"

"How long were you out?" Weiss nodded. "About a week. Yesterday was Christmas."

A tear slid down Weiss's cheek. "S-Sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, why are you apologizing, Weiss? We'll get more Christmases that we will spend together. And in a way, we did spend this one together, too," Ruby said in a low voice. Then she saw Weiss looking at her questionably.

"I… I spent most of the week here, hoping you'd wake up. I even skipped our Christmas dinner and only got some leftovers when I got home."

"Ruby… Why?" There was a tone of accusation in her voice, which made Ruby's tears start flowing again.

"I-I didn't want y-you to w-wake up al-alone. I-I didn't know h-how you'd r-react. You w-were so scared w-when you…"

It was too much for Ruby. She put her head on Weiss's sheet-covered abdomen and started crying uncontrollably.

Weiss put a hand on her crying girlfriend's hair. She made small movements up and down the hair, caressing her. She didn't know what else to do.

I obviously can't tell her what happened. Not yet. Not until she asks me.

The crying seemed to slow down ever so slightly. After a pretty long while, it finally stopped and Ruby lifted her head to reveal a tear-soaked bed sheet. The dark-haired girl then brought her head close to Weiss and gave her a kiss, their first in a week. Weiss wanted it to last a long time, but she was weak and had to push Ruby away to get a chance to breathe.

"Ruby… Go to family. Please."

"I can't leave you alone here, Weiss!"

"You must. Please. I won't go anywhere for a while. And I'm… Sooo tired."

She set her head to one side, closing her eyes again. She just had to go to sleep again, she couldn't even look. She felt Ruby lean in over her ear.

"I'll be back tomorrow. I love you."

Then Weiss felt Ruby's lips on her cheek and they were there for a pretty long time. After Ruby broke the kiss, she whispered goodbye and Weiss heard footsteps going away from her, then a door opened, a couple more steps, the door closed and then Weiss went back into dreamland, imagining Ruby and herself flying high up in the sky, above everyone that tried to discriminate against them.

Ruby was as happy as she ever was, but at the same time, she felt guilt. Finally she woke up. That still doesn't change the fact that I neglected everybody else that matters to me.

She was walking the streets of her hometown, clad with snow and a lot of it at that. The only place people could walk was in the middle of the pavement where there was a thin strip of what used to be snow, but was now melting at a slow rate, becoming the annoying slosh Ruby hated with fiery passion. Since the town was far from small, the path was crowded and it was hard to walk without bumping into anyone or stumbling over something you couldn't even see.

All the things she had to be careful about made her unable to check out the store windows, not like she wanted to buy anything. Still, it would have made her feel better if she could simply occupy her mind with something that wasn't just walking upright.

After struggling a while, she finally got to a barely populated part of town, from where it was just a short walk to her home. Truth be told, she should be happy she's going home. Uncle Qrow, her favourite family member that wasn't her father Taiyang or Yang, came over to hang out with them. He was the uncle that would show both girls a lot of fun stuff to do and he felt awesome when he was able to enthuse Ruby or Yang into a hobby of his. Qrow Branwen was truly the man of a hundred thousand hobbies. Or it could just be that he dropped one and then found another, Ruby couldn't really say.

But really, she felt empty. Less empty now that Weiss had woken up, but still, she felt that Weiss should be there too.

Slowly but surely she finally got to the house she called home. It was nothing special or out of the ordinary, a two-story building that was just large enough for the sisters and their father. When Qrow was there, the house started feeling small, what with Qrow being hyperactive even in his late forties.

"I'm home!", she shouted after shutting the door behind her. Not even a second later, her sister was holding her in a bear hug.

"Wh… Yang! You'll choke me!"

The tall blonde let go. "Sorry, sis. You know I can't help it!"

"I know, I know. Are uncle and dad home?"

Yang nodded and practically pulled Ruby towards the common room where two men looked like they were playing some kind of a board game. When Yang stomped into the room, they both immediately lifted their gaze.

"Hey, Ruby! You're early today. Is something wrong?"

Her father seemed concerned. Damn it, I was really neglecting my family this past week.

"No, dad, nothing's wrong," she said happily while giving him a hug. "In fact, something really good happened!"

Her father gave her a look. "Oh? Did she wake up?"

Ruby just nodded. "Great," her father said in reply to the nod.

"She also pretty much made me come home. I told her I spent most of my time holding her hand and she wasn't all too happy about it. I mean, she was happy I cared for her, but not happy that I wasn't at home at least for Christmas. And I know I should be, but I was just so scared for her and…"

She started rambling and Qrow got in the middle of things. "We get it, Ruby, and we aren't judging you. You did what you felt was right. While we can't hide it stung that you didn't want to spend Christmas with us, we understand you care a whole lot about this girl. In fact, you sort of remind me of your dad."

Ruby was saddened at uncle's words. But something he said made her perk up. "What do you mean, I remind you of my dad? How?"

Qrow's face turned pale. Taiyang intervened before too much was said. "Ruby, let's just leave it at the fact that I was left alone by someone I loved twice. I'm not very proud of some stuff I've done while I was alone, or rather, before the two of you could know what I was doing. I'll tell you more about it when you're not this upset, I promise."

Ruby nodded and gave another hug to her father. "I'm sorry, dad, I wasn't thinking much."

"Rubes, I understand."

The remainder of the afternoon was spent talking and mostly laughing at Qrow's or Yang's jokes. When the evening came, Qrow showed the girls his new hobby, pictures of cats on the Internet. Ruby and Yang only shook their heads in disbelief. A man of usually incredibly interesting hobbies finding something this useless and call it a hobby?

Weiss was awake, watching the plain and boring white ceiling of her hospital room. It's so boring here at night. I can't watch TV, not that there was anything good on, but anything would be better than looking at the ceiling, I'm too tired to walk, not that I would be allowed to now, I can't snuggle into Ruby since she's not here… I can't do anything.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a buzzing sound on her bedside table. She extended her hand towards it and grabbed hold of her phone.

You have 1 new message.

Weiss checked the time. 22.30. Who would be sending me a message so late at night?

She could let it wait until tomorrow morning, but something made her check it. She realized it was from her sister, Winter, the only member of her family that still offered her some support or at least looked like she did. She quickly opened the message to read it.

We were told you've woken up. We're coming to see you tomorrow.

That wasn't exactly what Weiss was hoping for. She knew Ruby didn't tell the staff she awoke. She then realized that there might have been a nurse visiting her while she was sleeping again and saw her increased heart rate. I'm not ready to deal with them yet. On the other hand, they knew I was out and they never bothered to check on me before I awoke?

At that point, Weiss's emotions turned from frustration to anger. Then she remembered there is no way she would know if they visited her while she was out cold, though something told her Ruby would tell if something like that happened, she was there all the time.

Weiss was left with only one option, and that was to take a few deep breaths and try to fall asleep again soon. She closed her eyes and started counting sheep, something she didn't want anyone to know she was still doing, not even Ruby. She got to three hundred before the sleep overtook her.

Ruby woke up and looked at her phone. She saw she was already a little late for hospital visiting hours. She jumped from the bed and ran to get dressed and cleaned before going to the hospital.

When she got to the kitchen, she noticed Yang sitting there, doing nothing. Her usually bright brown eyes looked very sad. Ruby couldn't dismiss that look. She got to her sister and hugged her, receiving a hug back.

When the two sisters parted, Ruby knew she needed to ask something.

"Yang, what is wrong?"

"Rubes, I know what uncle and dad were talking about yesterday when they said you remind them of dad."

"What do you mean?"

"You were five. I was seven. I didn't really understand what was going on, but when your mother died… Dad was devastated. I noticed he stopped eating for a while. From time to time when he thought nobody was listening, he was crying in his workroom."

Ruby knew why Yang was telling her this. "Yang, this isn't like that. Weiss will be all right, she'll be released in a few days, just in time for college."

"I know it won't be like that. But look at you, turning into such a wreck because she was unconscious for a week." Ruby wanted to say something, but Yang continued. "Imagine how you'd be if she wasn't going to wake up. If a simple loss of conscience threw you off like this… I don't want to imagine what could be. I don't want you to end up like dad has. Look at him, it's been thirteen years and he's still not only single, but not even trying to find someone. The two of us and uncle are all he has left. If he loses either of the three of us, he'll be done for."

Ruby finally got the chance to speak. "He has Weiss too. He has four people."

"How do you know that?"

Ruby realized she never told her family about Weiss and her problems with the family. She told them they were together, but not that her parents were homophobes. Well, no turning back now, I guess.

"I care about Weiss so much because… I'm the only thing she has."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that," Ruby talked with a sad voice, "her parents don't exactly approve of her sexuality, to put it mildly."

"How mildly are we putting it?" Yang wasn't going to let it slip like that, Ruby knew. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"When they found out she was a lesbian, they got super mad and sent her to one of those church camps." Yang gasped, but Ruby didn't stop. "She has seen some serious shit there, Yang. I think one of the things she saw there made her freak out during the fight."

"You're saying…"

"I'm saying that when her parents find out that she's dating a girl again, they'll either send her to another camp or completely throw her out of the family. If the latter happens, she'll have nowhere to go but here. If it's the former, well… It might be even worse for her."

Ruby looked at the floor with the last sentence. Suddenly she felt Yang rise up and get dressed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a lift to the hospital. Your girlfriend needs you, and she needs you now. Come."

Weiss woke up and after checking the time, she found out that visiting hours have already started. She looked around her room and noticed that neither Ruby nor her family were there. She started fidgeting with her fingers and just wanted to rise up to get a cup of water or anything to drink, she heard the door to her room open and in walked Ruby, quietly. When the girl noticed Weiss was already awake, she got the courage and got to her bed quickly and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Hey, snowflake. Sorry I'm late today."

Weiss felt much stronger than the day before and she found out she was speaking much easier, too.

"You're not late. In fact, I've only just woken. Oh, that reminds me. Would you be so nice and get me some water?"

Ruby nodded, quickly grabbed the cup on the cabinet and ran out, soon returning with a full cup. She wanted to put the straw in, but Weiss stopped her.

"No, I can drink normally today. Thanks a lot, Ruby."

"Anything for you."

As Weiss drank the water, she noticed Ruby was uneasy about something. When the cup was empty, she asked.

"Ruby, is something wrong?"

"Umm… Well… Not wrong, per se."

"Talk to me."

"I… I might have told my sister something about your family problems. Please don't freak out."

Weiss sighed. "Well, sooner or later she'd have to find out."

"I didn't really want to do it, believe me. But she told me about how my dad was when my mom died and that she was afraid and then I told her why I was so afraid about you and…"

Weiss learned a thing about Ruby: when she started rambling, she'd have to stop it herself, otherwise the girl would simply not stop talking.

"Ruby, it's okay, I'm not mad at you."

"I… I love you, Weiss."

"I love you too, rosebud."

For a while, the two girls just sat there in silence, holding their hands and looking at each other.

"Hey, Weiss," Ruby then said, "I understand if you don't want to tell me yet, but what happened during the fight?"

Weiss sighed and closed her eyes. Well, I can't keep running away from it. She then started the story and while telling it, she could see the disgust on Ruby's face. When she was done, Ruby was on the verge of tears. She pulled into an embrace, holding the semi-upright girl close to her.

"That's horrible. Those people are animals."

Weiss started caressing Ruby's back. Not too long after that, Ruby pulled away just a bit so the two girls could see eye to eye. Weiss noticed that solemn look in Ruby's eyes and she knew that she was determined, now more than ever, to protect her from harm.

"I will not let anyone do something like that to you again, Weiss. Let them try and watch them get destroyed."

With that, she pressed her incredibly soft lips on Weiss's slightly dry ones and Weiss opened her mouth as if ordered, giving Ruby's tongue free path inside. Weiss felt like she was in heaven.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?", came a voice from the door and Weiss's heart sank.

Fuck.

A bit lighter chapter to offset the previous action-packed one. However, you know I had to end on a cliffhanger. After all, next chapter is the finale! Thank you to everyone that made it this far and hopefully you'll stay around for the finale as well, which is coming this Valentine's day!

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