Author's Notes: I really didn't intend for there to be a sequel to "Patron of the Grey Wind". But this idea came up, and I thought it would merge nicely with the mentioned story. Hope you enjoy!
The Bull had inadvertently become the surrogate father to the children of the woman he loved, by the man whom he despised for marrying her. He had seen his lady love, the Wolf, throughout the years, and had even met her older pups once or twice, but twenty odd years passed before the wolf pups knew how important he was to their mother, before they started looking towards him for help.
He was now with three of the five children. Lord Commander Snow of the Night's Watch released him; the ancient rules of the order now much more relaxed then before. And here he was, back at Winterfell and the forge, watching over those who fulfilled their mother's wish to live a simple life, when she never could. The two younger male pups were training in the yard with Ser Rickon, preparing for the days they might become pages, then squires, then who knows what. The younger female, who had no mind of anything but herself and of her family, was sitting there in the forge with him. She spent most of her days with him, in the warm forge, unable to feel comfortable in the cold north, yet. Although not in line to inherit anything, all three were in better places then they ever could be at the Frey Towers.
Twenty years after the Bull and the Wolf had stopped dancing at the Grey Wind Inn, the Wolf's eldest son made his way to the wall. He was a youth of eight and ten, who called himself a Stark, Gene Stark, after seven and ten name days being known as a Frey.
Gene's father, that Frey man, never loved his children much, being somewhat desensitized by his large Frey family. The other Freys didn't help either, the elders and cousins vying for statuses or riches or some sort of inheritance. Gene's father only gave special treatment to the second child, the eldest female now of six and ten. The daughter reminded the Bull of Sansa, whose dreams became reality as she was married to a knight only a year past. Those who knew her, called her "Lady Worthy Frey", and she had had no shortage of suitors. Which suited the father fine; he was paid for his daughter, instead of having to worrying about a dowry.
The Wolf mother was the only one who loved all the children. Gene, once he knew who the Bull was, would tell stories of how she would teach him and his brothers the art of fighting. How Guinevere, while not like her mother, would spend time with her; and the wolf became softer while the daughter was not so naive as some noble girls are. He spoke of how his wolf mother labored for almost two days with the twins, Gale and Gala, now twelve, and still had the strength to defend her little girl from death for being deformed of head. Gene spoke of when the she-wolf would spend hours rocking the youngest son, Gendrick, in the chair when he was a baby, knowing that he was the last to be born of her. Gendrick was three when the Bull took him to Winterfell.
The Bull and the Wolf's eldest son spent time at the Wall almost always together. Whether sparring, or eating, or chatting at the forge. Since the pup had been a lord's son, he found it difficult to make bonds with his "brothers" at the Wall, and the Bull found him so much like his ladylove; he couldn't have shunned him if he wanted to. Gendry had also heard Arya's silent plea, "love my children, for I have named them after you."
After Gendry would race Gene on the horse, Gene would bad mouth the Frey Maester, who taught nothing except politics and how to get ahead in the world. Then he would praise his mother's wisdom in teaching them tiny ways to beat the system. Everyone who knew Arya, knew that she did not love her lord husband. When Gene and Guinevere were old enough, she confided that she would be drunk every time her husband hinted at wanting her, and that she would imagine that he was someone else far more worthy of her love. It freaked her children at first, and Ginny (their nickname for Guinevere) was angry as well, but after witnessing the game of politics in marriage the following few moons, they understood. They had even learned from it.
While showing a mildly interested Gene the workings of the forge, Gendry would learn how Guinevere would ask her suitors to help her watch over and play with little Gala, to learn who was sincere and who was fake. Since Ginny was nowhere near the beginning of the line of inheritance, Arya had been successful in gaining her daughter the option to choose her betrothed: within reason of course. It helped that her beauty and honorable attitude gained her many favors. Otherwise, the Frey's might not have been so accommodating.
Knight after lord after tradesman came to call upon "Lady Worthy Frey": most for her beauty, some for her family name, and a rare few for her personality as well. Almost all had failed at attempting a rapport with her younger sister, the simpleton Gala, with the exception of a legitimized bastard, and only son, of an older lord of the Riverlands. She and her husband were now living closer to Arya's Uncles Edmure and Brynden. Every now and then, Guinevere and her husband (and their own children, over the years) would visit Winterfell, and she would embrace her mother's true love and Gendry would spend time regaling her (and later his grandchildren, for he truly wished to claim them) with stories of a young she-wolf.
Manning the wall together, Gene and Gendry would exchange stories. Gendry would remark how much Gene resembled Arya, and Gene would mention that while he resembles their lady mother the most in appearance, Gale probably was of the same temperament of their she-wolf mother. Gale would fight anyone who so much as looked at his twin wrong. He always lost, but the element of surprise shocked most people into apologies. Gene smirks recalling the Wolf never punishing Gale for that (but was punished plenty for stealing lemon cakes).
Gendry did not hear about why Gene and his siblings retook the Stark name from their mother until almost a year had gone past. Had he not been so close to Arya, he doubted he would ever have heard the sad story. It was connected to her being unable to produce more children; there were wide gapes in ages between the second pup and the twins, and between the twins, and the fifth pup.
Gendry had asked once before about the years between children, to which Gene replied, "Things never worked out". He assumed that it was natural, that the Frey couldn't impregnate her properly, or that he was away a lot, or that nature took the children away from Arya. Gendry never thought ill thoughts about it, or of how that could be connected to Gene running away. He certainly never thought the worst.
Gene assured Gendry that none of them knew that their Lord Father Frey had hidden the truth, and hidden it well. It had only been about six months before he came to the wall that he and his siblings found out that Arya had been beaten many times, some that had led to miscarriages and damaged organs.
When they learned the truth, Gene, Gale, Gala, and Gendrick took up the name Stark, right in their father's face. Genevieve would have done it too, had she not already been married into another family. Life for them became difficult, at the Frey Towers. Gene had been torn between staying with his siblings and mother, and leaving, but ultimately decided on leaving to choose his own fate; and hopefully transferring whatever inheritance he might have had, to the younger ones. Gene spoke of Lord Stevron Frey, and how he trusted his uncle's honor; but that was as far as he trusted any Frey.
During that time, Gendry's thoughts are of nothing except Arya, and of how she would have never have let anyone beat her, before she had been married. He shed some tears, recalling that Gene had no explanation for it, except that Freys were notorious for carrying out threats. Arya was most likely protecting her pups, unable to deflect blows from both herself and her children. As a woman and wife, she had no rights to demand retribution, and as a Stark, she had too much honor to ask for help. He left his quarters in the morning ready to beg the Lord Commander to release him, to allow him to defend a lady in need.
It was surprisingly easy to convince Lord Commander Snow to release him. He was even more surprised (and pleased) that he wouldn't have to travel alone to the river lands. It was as good a chance, Snow reasoned, to send someone to engage recruits. So the Bull found himself leaving the Wall with Gene, Pyp, and Grenn: along with brown breeches, a white (stained yellow) tunic, and a brown cloak. All clothes borrowed from a Wildling not yet promised to the black, the Bulls own black clothing donated to another.
They made relatively good time, making straight for the Twins. Grenn and Pyp went on ahead, for recruiting, while Gene introduced Gendry to his Uncle Stevron Frey, lord and protector of the Twins. Courtesies were exchanged, and a small feast was declared in honor of their guests.
Gendry and Gene didn't see their family till that night at the feast. It was not the first time Gendry had seen Arya in the Twins, having gone there as a crow during their recruiting travels, but it was the first time Arya looked so ashen and weak. She refused to dance, and she refused to look at Gendry, sending Gale (then ten) over to talk to him and Gene.
She was dying. Through Gale's tears, they learned that the wolf was dying of multiple wounds, past and present. Her heart couldn't keep up with the repairs, her damaged stomach couldn't stomach any heavy foods, her kidneys were bruised and working overtime, to the point that one or both would fail soon, and… It was only a matter of time before she passed away.
Instead of waiting till the morrow as originally planned, Gendry shouted for a trial by combat, to defend a lady in need. As honorable as Stevron was, he had the gall to wonder which man of his family had done the ex-crow wrong. Even further, he denied that Arya needed to be defended; she was the wife of the man in question, for him to do as he pleased. Disgusted, Gendry then won the right to combat by then challenging his wolf's unworthy husband right out, saying he would be craven and branded a fool by denying him.
The fight was the next afternoon, and Gendry won. It really was no contest, the Frey man living a pampered and spoiled life at the Twins, while Gendry received the best training the Wall had to offer and living a tough life since birth. The Frey man's death was almost pointless, Stevron saying "one less to worry about", before demanding (as was proper with the family) that Gnedry leave with his prize.
It took twice as long to travel half the distance to the Wall, to Winterfell, but making sure Arya was comfortable and warm was paramount, and her pups were not used to traveling. However, Gendry was stubbornly patient, and Gene himself was having fun teaching his younger siblings how to make camps, snares, fires, and meals.
Arya was happier then she had been in a long while. Some of her strength and health returned, and she managed to live a few moon longer at Winterfell, managed to have her Stark family around her for comfort and peace, before she passed away.
Gene and Guinevere never called Gendry "father", but rather "Bull". They respected him, and came to love him, knowing he would have been an amazing dad, and husband to their mother. Gene was too old to have a new father, and was a hardened warrior of the Wall besides. He later became a steward to his Uncle Jon Snow, and even found happiness in the wilds of the north, when he remembers his mother as she truly was; a warrior maiden of snow, trapped, but unafraid, in the southern towers.
Guinevere had happy memories of her blood father, more then her other siblings, so Gendry couldn't replace "father", no matter how unworthy the Frey man turned out to be. In her own way, she feels she has to honor the man who at least gave life to her and her siblings, and who tried to be a good father to at least one child, herself. But to Gendry, Guinevere gives him the Stark name and her mother's love; allows, gladly, for him to be "grandfather" to her own children.
Gale never calls him "father", either, nor "bull", but "uncle". He was tempestuous, and angry still, very much like his mother. The word "father" evokes disgust in him that he can't shake, and the honorable Gendry doesn't deserve that imagery. But he's family, not just a loyal bull, and their guardian. Gale feels "uncle" is a good word for Gendry.
Gala and Gendrick, the most vulnerable at that time, and who have never really had the chance to know the Frey man as a father, good or bad, call Gendry "father". It brings tears to Gendry's eyes, and he hopes that he can honor Arya by raising them right. The Stark family has embraced him into their world, as well, and gives him free reign to raise the pups, as much as they might wish to raise them themselves. Perhaps it's out of a feeling of guilt, of forcing Arya into a marriage she never wanted, of watching her go from a spirited wolf to a broken mother, that the Starks freely allow, without argument, for the Bull to watch over the Wolf pups.
Lady Catelyn and Lord Eddard Stark, still Wardens of the North, know their grandchildren, know Gendry as an honorable man, and know things will work out, now that the wolves are safe in the north again.
Post Script: I'm not a fan of hogging my own creations (that defeats the purpose of fanfiction, doesn't it?), but, if for some reason, you actually like my characterizations of the children and want to use them, PLEASE DO and LET ME KNOW SO I CAN READ HOW THEY TURN OUT! No need to ask permissions, I just ask to be able to see how my ideas turn out in another setting :)