Best And Worst Of Times

EARLY RELEASE FOR HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS!

P-a-t-r-e-o-n reward for antonslavik020! They asked for a continuation of a White Rose prompt they'd sent me a while back, so I put that prompt as well as the follow-up story in this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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												Chapter 50. Best And Worst Of Times

Ruby and Weiss had been married for three years now.

All those terms of academic partnership had turned into a lifelong partnership, abundant with all the same affection and bickering they'd practiced since day one.

They'd had many serious talks about having children, and after various arduous processes, had discovered a way to bear a child of their own.

Just today, they'd received news that it had been successful. The second Ruby was let out of the examination room, she all but threw herself into her wife's waiting arms.

"We did it, Weiss! I'm pregnant!"

Of course, those were the two words Weiss had been praying to hear for weeks and weeks on end now. They'd gone through a lot of trial and error, a lot of doubt and fear.

But in just hearing those two words, all of that vanished in a matter of seconds.

Weiss' only response was tears. She couldn't even maintain her composure – not with this. This was too momentous, too exciting, too heartwarming and wonderful. She cried all the way home as the limo drove them, never once letting Ruby out of her embrace until they'd stepped out onto solid ground.

From there on out, Ruby wasn't allowed to do anything for herself.

Weiss was clearly taking this all very seriously, to the point where some might've classified her reaction as 'a bit extreme'. Whatever Ruby wanted to do, Weiss would do it for her.

It started out with preventing 'potentially-strenuous events', such as Ruby leaving the house.

"Weiss, I'm gonna head out and get some groceries!"

"Oh no, you don't! You're going to stay in bed. I'll go."

Then it went into things like Ruby moving from room to room on her own.

"Weiss, I'm just gonna go to the kitchen real quick-"

"I was just planning to go in there. You stay. Tell me what you need, I'll get it."

And then it progressed to things as minor as Ruby wanting to move at all.

"Weiss, I'm gonna grab a cookie from the cabinet," Ruby said presently as she stood from the dinner table.

Weiss, who had been cleaning dishes, quickly put everything down and whipped around.

"It's fine. I can get it for you."

Ruby rolled her eyes. This was getting to be a little too much.

She walked over to her wife and reached out to hug Weiss, squeezing her gently and preventing her from moving.

"Weeeiiss!" she whined. "You're being ridiculous! I can get a cookie by myself! I can walk to different rooms by myself! I can go shopping by myself! I'm a big girl now! I'm your wife! You don't have to do everything for me just because I'm pregnant!"

Weiss fidgeted and tried to twist around in her arms, grunting as she faced her lover.

"No, that's exactly what I've got to do. I can handle it. What you need to do is relax and not stress yourself, even over minor things. You've got to be happy and healthy, not just for the baby's sake, but your own as well." Here, she sighed softly and lowered her voice. "Plus… if I know you're happy and healthy, it'll put me at ease, too," she confessed.

Ruby cooed and pulled Weiss close to her.

"Aww, Weiss. It's okay. I don't even have a baby bump in my belly yet! At least wait until I get fat to start doting on me!"

"Dolt. I can dote on you whenever I want. You're my wife."

"But you don't have to do literally everything for me, silly."

"I can't help it…" Weiss wrapped her arm around Ruby's shoulders and buried her face into her collar. "I can't bear to think of what could happen if you got hurt somehow, especially now…"

"Weiss," Ruby chuckled, kissing her head. "All I want is to get a cookie from the cabinet. The worst that can happen is if I open the package and realize they have raisins instead of chocolate chips."

That earned a small laugh from Weiss. Ruby sighed happily and kissed her temple.

"I'm fine, Weiss. You don't have to worry so much. You don't have to take all the responsibility on yourself. We'll do this together, just like we've always done things."

Weiss eased herself back a little, until she could see her wife's honest silver gaze for herself.

"You're right. We'll do this together."

"Yup!" Ruby leaned in and nuzzled their noses, then pecked her lips. Then she released Weiss from the embrace and headed for the cabinet. "Now if you let me get a cookie, I'll get one for you, too!"

Weiss rolled her eyes and cast a hopeless smile over at the love of her life.

"Fine."

Ruby retrieved two cookies, then handed one to Weiss.

They enjoyed their dessert just as they'd worry about things, and as they'd overcome those same worries - together.

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When Weiss woke early that weekend morning, the first thing she felt was a familiar numbness on her left shoulder.

Ever since Ruby's pregnancy, this had become very normal for them.

After Ruby had decided her belly was too big for sleeping on her stomach or side, she'd opted to lie on her back, but didn't like how she wasn't able to snuggle with her wife as well as she'd used to.

Therefore, Weiss had suggested Ruby use her as a pillow. This way, Ruby could keep close and still rest as comfortably as possible.

Weiss would always drape her left arm across Ruby's chest, and even now when she woke, she found herself in the same position as when she'd closed her eyes last night.

Ruby was still asleep, as far as she could tell, her head turned slightly to one side, her bangs hiding her face from view.

Weiss didn't move or make a sound. She simply petted through her wife's hair with the backs of her nails, gently stroking over her cheek and all the way down her neck.

It was always nice to wake up with Ruby, but waking up on the weekends when she didn't have to worry about meetings or anything like that was inarguably the most enjoyable.

Weiss stayed like that for a while, letting her hardworking, energetic wife sleep for as long as she needed to.

Ruby began stirring a little while later.

When she first realized she was awake, Ruby refused to open her eyes. She was enjoying staying put too much, cuddled up on top of Weiss, listening to her heartbeat.

But a simple shift of her head caused a sudden lightheadedness, one she couldn't find a proper explanation for. A small moan slipped out of her lips, and it wasn't just a tired, sleepy one.

Weiss could tell instantly that it was a sound of pain, and her fingers curled into an anxious fist on her wife's nightgown.

"Ruby...?" She knew she was awake now, and Ruby clearly wasn't trying to keep up the act that she wasn't any longer.

Slowly, she began to push herself up, but Weiss hastily beat her to it. She skillfully slipped herself out from underneath, gingerly cradling her wife as she helped her sit up. Ruby moaned again, lifting one hand to her head and the other to her belly.

"Ugh... Weiss...?"

Weiss was tense beside her, ready to bolt at her request.

"What is it? I'm right here." She kissed Ruby's cheek softly, luckily finding that her skin wasn't particularly feverish or anything like that.

Her wife made a small coughing sound.

"I... guuhh, I don't feel so good..."

Weiss knew all too well what that meant. Ruby had had her fair share of morning sickness before, but she could tell that this time it was a bit more severe than before.

Weiss rubbed her wife's back in soothing circles and kissed her again.

"I'll bring you the bucket."

She was about to slide off the bed to fetch the pail she kept readily in the corner of the bedroom. But Ruby made a different request.

"Could you maybe... help me to the bathroom? I think I'll feel better if I move around a little."

Weiss gave her wife a once-over, trying to determine if she seemed well enough to stand.

"Are you sure? I don't need you fainting on me."

Ruby gave a tight smile, sick as it was.

"I won't. Probably."

So with a playful roll of her eyes, Weiss got to her feet and helped Ruby stand as well. She gently reminded her to take her time, that there was no rush, and it would be all right even if she threw up on the carpet.

But Ruby was determined not to. She held tightly to Weiss' hand and hip as her wife led her into their bathroom. With perfect timing, Ruby expelled the sickness into the sink as Weiss held her hair back, rubbing her back and soothing her all the while.

Thankfully, once it was out of her system, Ruby was looking and feeling extremely better immediately afterward.

Weiss handed her wife a toothbrush and squirted on some strawberry-flavored paste for her, then had Ruby sit on the edge of the bath tub to brush as Weiss herself began sanitizing the sink.

Once Weiss had finished and washed her hands, Ruby rinsed out her mouth and put her brush away. From there, she looped her arms around Weiss from behind, as best she could with her swollen belly, and nuzzled into the side of her neck.

"Mmmm thank you, Weeeiss~ You take such good care of meee~"

Weiss reached back to cup her wife's cheek.

"All better?"

"Mmhm!"

"I'm glad." She turned around to kiss her cheek again. "Do you want to go back to bed and rest for a while? Breakfast can wait."

But Ruby shook her head. "Nope, I'm all good! Actually now, I'm kinda hungry..."

Weiss chuckled and took her wife's hand, then started leading her to the kitchen.

"What would you like, then?" she asked. "Any cravings? Do I need to go out and buy ketchup for your cookies again?" she teased.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Weeeiiss, that was one time! And it wasn't half bad!"

"You are ridiculous."

As their playful bantering continued, Weiss helped her wife have a seat in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. She paused then for a minute to bend down and peck Ruby's lips.

Weiss then knelt in front of her briefly, leaning forward to press a kiss to her belly. Ruby looped her arms around her and pulled her close for a small hug.

A moment later, Weiss got back up.

"So, chocolate-chip pancakes with strawberry slices it is, then."

Ruby squealed in delight and clapped so hard her hands turned red, prompting Weiss to kiss them better.

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A/N: If you're wondering about the cookies and ketchup, it's something my sister once tried. Oreos, more specifically. She said they were good. I said she's insane.