Disclaimer: RWBY and all characters belong to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. GrimGrave owns nothing.

Requested by Bighead98 based on a prompt.

Of Families and Frustrations

How had it come to this; sitting in the waiting room in a sanitizer -smelling hospital and try to pass the time while your wife is giving birth.

Ruby grumbled and kicked her feet as she mulled things over. Why had she accepted that mission when she knew Pyrrha was due to give birth at any moment? Why had the Grimm been so more resilient today of all days and seemingly stalling her?

She was late – late and thus not allowed inside to be by the side of her wife for two years – girlfriend for eight – when she was giving birth to their child.

It was unfair and absolute bullshit.

As Ruby mulled it over, her mind eventually wandered as it often did. She thought back on Pyrrha before the older huntress had confessed to her during their second year at Beacon Academy; Ruby had always admired her and harboured a crush, but she did so silently and from afar. Not one slip of it got through to anyone else.

So it was no small surprise when the famous Pyrrha Nikos approached her that day; it was raining and Ruby was heading back to her dorm when she ran into (quite literally) the redhead. Apologies had been traded back and forth by the shy duo and when the sniper was about to leave, Pyrrha had stopped her; cherished, carefully chosen words had been uttered beneath the pouring rain and the pair quickly found themselves in each other's arms.

What a long journey it had been; chaste dates around campus and local cafés, maybe a movie theatre or two, their first kiss underneath a starlit night-sky after a wonderful dinner.

Their first time having sex with Pyrrha taking the lead until Ruby was confident enough and the replacement bed they had to invest in the day after. Good times, happy memories.

And now they were expecting a child; an expansion of their family, a granddaughter to Tai and niece-or-nephew to Yang. An heir to both their families and the next generation to take over after they are gone.

It was frightening, yet heart-warming. There would no doubt be hardships along the way, but it would be worth it. After all, her father had certainly not complained and she could only imagine the pride and joy he must've felt over the years watching his daughters growing up...

What would it be like with their child? Would they be rowdy or calm? Curious or timid? Would they too attend Huntsman Academies or pursuit a different path? There were so many questions and they all only served to distract Ruby from the fact that she wasn't allowed to be with her wife during childbirth! Why was that?! Just open the door and let her rush to Pyrrha's side and hold her hand, easy as pie!

"Ruby!" The redhead snapped back to reality at the sound of her sister's voice and looked up; friends and family, along with Yang's fiancé, Winter. "What happened?! Why are you not with Pyrrha? Did something happen?!"

"Y-Yang, calm down!" Ruby held up her hands in a placating manner. "She's doing fine from what I've heard, I just ended up late thanks to a stupid mission so they're having me wait outside."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss brushed her ponytail over her shoulder.

"I dunno, it's complicated."

"If you have to wait outside, then we will of course keep you company," Winter stated. "How are you feeling, Ruby?"

"Nervous." Honestly, how could she not be? "And excited all at once."

Yang pulled her into a hug and ruffled her hair. "That's understandable, but don't worry Rubes, you'll be a great parent. If anything, you can ask dad anything, he already has the experience. Speaking of, he should be on his way, too."

"And you can count on us to help you too," Blake commented. "Really, anything at all, we'd be happy to support you and Pyrrha however possible."

"You guys…" Ruby wiped her eyes. She knew she could count on her friends and family; she had spent years trusting them with her life, but hearing Blake confirm it brought tears to her eyes. "Thank you, truly."

"Excuse me, Miss Rose-Nikos?" A nurse, short and tanned with short ginger hair approached the group with a smile that said everything. "Everything went well for your wife. You can come see her now."

x.x.x.x.x

Her heart was finally slowing down, the sweat glistening on her body and her hair matted and clung to her face. Her breathing was heavy at the moment from what felt like hours of pain and frustrations and resentment for the missing wife, but in Pyrrha's arms was a bundle of joy who made it all nine months and the small eternity inside this room worth it.

A healthy baby girl. She softly cried and reached out and the redhead held out her pinky-finger for her.

Tears of joy trickled down Pyrrha's face and stained the pillow as she watched and embraced her daughter. She was so beautiful; was this what being a mother felt like? The joy and pride that swelled inside of her was unlike anything she had felt before now.

Her mind quickly wandered to Ruby. The nurses said they were going to let her in after having been waiting outside this whole time. How would Ruby react? Would she start crying? The sniper had always had a soft spot for babies, Pyrrha found out, like when she met Jaune's sister's little tyke for the first time and the talk of motherhood was almost always brought immediately up.

Ruby. She had grown up without a mother. Pyrrha's father-in-law was a good, hardworking man and Yang was reliable, but Ruby had never had a mother figure. She was too young to remember when Summer passed away and only knew her from tales from Yang and Tai.

Then it clicked inside the redhead's mind. It made sense to her and hopefully Ruby would understand – be overjoyed. As several footsteps with rapid succession began to be heard outside and the door clicked open, Pyrrha gazed into her daughter's eyes with a smile.

"I want to name you Summer, my dear child."

And as she glanced up to her teary-eyed wife and their friends, Pyrrha knew she had done the right thing as Ruby embraced her with the love and strength she had showed her since the day they got together.

FIN