She watched as he climbed from the bed, naked as the day he was born and admired his form. Part of her wanted nothing more than to pull him back into their bed, but she knew they had more important things to do this morning. Always duty first, she thought as her husband washed his face and began to dress. Soon enough he would leave for Lannisport on a diplomatic mission to visit the newly appointed Warden of the West, Jaime Lannister. She was reluctant to send him away. They had only recently settled into the newly remodeled Maegor's Holdfast in the Red Keep. A sense of normalcy had finally descended onto their family and now all of that was being disrupted again.
It had been a trying year and a half in their makeshift capital at Dragonstone. Truth be told they had spent more of it apart than Daenerys would have liked or expected, but it was necessary. Truly, she was grateful to have Jon at her side. He could travel to the far reaches of the realm while she worked with Tyrion to restore some semblance of a reasonable government to Westeros. Many times she spent long days in King's Landing, overseeing plans for the rebuilding of the capital and the Red Keep. It was a struggle to be away from her young son for so long. Aemon would be two before the year was over and there were moments when she would rather spend an entire day with him than with politicians and courtiers.
"I don't want you to leave," Daenerys said, sitting up in bed and pulling the silk sheets up to cover herself.
"It was your idea that I go to Lannisport to begin with," Jon replied, buttoning up his breeches and returning to her bedside.
"What was I thinking?"
"I blame Tyrion. He's trying to pass on more of his, what was it...ancient wisdom?"
"Ah yes," Dany laughed. "What's the saying? The king shits and the hand wipes? Definitely his fault."
"I'll only be gone for as long as I need to be."
"That's too long already."
"What's this?" Jon asked. He sat down beside her and rested his hand on her hip, kneading it gently. "You're not always like this when I leave. Something's wrong."
"Not wrong…" she replied carefully.
He knows me too well, Dany thought. Sometimes better than I know myself. Jon had that way about him. Even from the time they first met, he could see through the clutter of names and titles and see Dany for who she really was. It was a change to be trusted, admired, and eventually loved for her deeds, for her quirks, even for her shortcomings rather than pandered to by potential lovers, suitors, and beaurecrats looking to benefit from her power.
Loving Jon Snow was surprisingly easy. So easy that it scared her. There was no duplicity in him. No hidden agenda. He was straight forward, blunt, honest, but also humble and loyal to a fault. When he arrived at Dragonstone everyone thought he was Ned Stark's bastard son, but she did not care about that then and it mattered even less now. He arrived as the King in the North, his actions proved him to be worthy of that title and so why would she treat him as anything less?
If prophecies were to be believed, perhaps they were fated long ago to find one another. Dany believed in destiny. She believed she was destined to unite and rule the Seven Kingdoms and she believed that even if they were on the other ends of the world she would have found Jon Snow. He tempered her more impulsive urges and she helped him see that he was not alone in the world. No battle, physical or emotional, needed to be fought alone. The Targaryen dynasty had been restored, but there was still much to do to repair the damage it had sustained over the decades. They approached all matters as equals. They were crowned together, they ruled together.
"Not wrong," Jon conceded, holding her gaze. "But there is something isn't there?"
"I hate it when you do that."
"Do what?"
"Look at me as if you're trying to read my mind."
"Well what am I supposed to do when you won't tell me exactly what is going on?"
His nostrils flared and his lips pursed a bit. He was getting a little more agitated than Dany had originally intended for him to be. When he looked at her like that it was easy to forget all of the weight that was placed upon their shoulders.
"When you get back we're going to have to start thinking of names," Dany said, reaching for his free hand and playing with his fingers.
"Names?" Jon asked almost incredulously.
"Names," she said more pointedly and nodded. "Maybe even girl names this time around."
"Oh!" her husband gasped and a light danced in his eyes. "Names! You're absolutely certain?"
"I am. The maester confirmed it the other day. I was looking for the right time to tell you."
"Thank the gods you told me before I left. This is the best news!" Jon exclaimed and pulled Dany into his arms, kissing her hair, her shoulder, her neck and her lips. "You said girls' names. Do you know it will be a girl?"
"No," Daenerys laughed. "It's just a hope. Would a princess make my king happy?"
"Either would make me happy, but a little girl running through the Red Keep who looks like her mother? I think I would like that."
"Aemon already has my hair. I want a daughter with your dark curls."
"Alright, my hair, but your eyes."
"That's a fair compromise."
Jon bent his head and kissed Daenerys, long and sweet, causing her to let out a reluctant moan when he pulled away.
"Shall we keep this news a secret until I return or shall we send out ravens with the announcement?"
"Let's send them out now. I won't have people thinking I've let myself go while you're away."
"I'll go and tell the maesters now. Join me for breakfast before I leave?"
"Of course. I'll have Missandei bring Aemon and we'll meet you in the hall."
"Perfect," he kissed her quickly for good measure and threw on a shirt and surcoat as he headed to embark on his task at hand. "You're a wise woman, my Queen. Sending me off with the best parting gift that will make me fly back here as soon as possible."
"I don't know if I'm wise or selfish," Daenerys quipped. "Maybe I just want you all to myself."
"Either works for me, Dany," Jon smiled and closed the large red door to their bedchamber behind him.