Disclaimer; None of it's mine, never has been never will be, otherwise the Red Wedding would have never happened. Never.
AN:/ This is a just an AU that sort of popped into my head. Jaime Lannister isn't an honorable man, or even a good one, but he seems like a good friend, and a good brother, and like, if he was allowed, he would be a loving father. What if Robert had done the sensible thing and dismissed the Kingslayer from his kingsguard? (Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen are still Cersei and Jamie's children, he just isn't around as often). What if? Jaime would have been heir to Casterly Rock, he would have had to have children, but Robert couldn't let the Lannisters be bound to just any family. No, that wouldn't do at all.
So this first part is in tiny little vignettes, to set the scene. Chronological order.
Tywin Lannister's "reward" for the sack of King's Landing is two fold and simultaneously infuriates and placates Ned. Robert takes Cersei Lannister to wife and Queen, and removes Jaime Lannister from the Kingsguard at Tywin's request, so that he can return to his position as Heir of Casterly Rock, and the Wardenship of the West, on the condition that he weds Laraya Umber, the daughter of one of Ned's most loyal bannermen, Lord Umber, of Last Hearth, whom Robert had come to know during the rebellion. It was Robert's hope that the line of Lann the trickster would be mitigated by that of the shackle breakers. The Wicked Wardens of the West, forever bound to the Honorable North. Ned had pulled Laraya aside himself, she, his sister's oldest friend, was owed that much, and when she agreed to it for peace, he himself granted her a number of lands for dowry, to pass to any daughter's she might have. Sometimes he wondered if he had done the right thing, asking her to go south, to the man who had ordered the rape and murder of an innocent woman and her children all because of who her husband and their father was.
White wings, white words. Laraya Lannister, formerly of House Umber, has borne and birthed Jaime Lannister, Heir to Casterly Rock and the Wardenship of the West, a daughter, named Cerenna Lyanna Lannister, with Lannister Golden hair, and slate Gray Eyes of the Umber line. She was healthy, and named not two weeks past, for her father's beloved cousin, and her mother's late best friend. Might all her years be Summer and her heart never know Winter's Touch. Hear her Roar.
Black Wings, Black Words. Layara Lannister, formerly of House Umber, for whom his daughter Arya is named, has died, in childbirth. Twin boys. An heir and a Spare, as far as any could tell, they were identical. Her bones, at her request, are being sent back to Last Hearth. The boys names are Kevan, and Tyjon. They are Lannister of coloring. The girl is 9 years of age, 2 years younger than Robb. Winter is Coming.
Ned was once more in the Godswood, sitting before the godstree, when Catelyn approached him. She settled to the ground in front of him, reluctant to speak. He had been so burdened since Jon Arryn's death, and with Robert and his court coming, she had no wish to give him anymore news that would weigh further on his mind. And Layara Umber's fate had weighed heavily on Ned's mind for years. She had married the Kingslayer at his request, and he considered her death at least partially on his shoulders. Any talk of her would surely laden him further. Still.
"There was a raven from Casterly Rock" she paused before continuing "Jaime Lannister and his daughter will be travelling to Winterfell, with the rest of the Royal Court. The Girl wants to meet her mother's family."
Ned closed his eyes and sighed gently, heaving himself to his feet before offering her a hand up. "Well, my lady, it seems as though we have much to prepare for. Winter is coming." He said with a grim smile, and walked sword on hip, arm in arm with her, from the godswood. _
Jaime Lannister has been called many things throughout his lifetime, among them Kingslayer, Oathbreaker, Son, Brother, Heir, and once, long ago, husband. His favorite of his titles is Father. He is not a good man, nor an honorable one, but he likes to believe that he is, at least, a passable father, and he does loves his children. So is it any wonder that when his daughter comes to him, the very image of his mother, with the exception of her eyes, and pleads to go to Winterfell, with the royal court, in the hopes of meeting her mother's family, he says yes.
His darling daughter, who is by turns fierce as a lioness, with the iron spine of the North, and gentle as his mother, is at first vulnerable to the cruelties of the southron ladies around her, who are so, so very different from her. They are delicate creatures, more than able to sew and weave and dance, and well versed in the courtesies of court life. His girl is as vivid as the sunset sea, as strong, and as dangerous as the North her mother is from. Cleverer than all of those around her, and uncompromising. She learns from her Mother what it is to be of the North, of the cold and the Snow and of the old Gods. What strength there is in the Umber Giant is hers, and she rides as the highborn girls of the North do, astride. His Uncle Kevan teaches her to shoot a bow at eight, and he, himself teaches her to wield, and throw, a dagger at nine, when he finds her crying in the godswood at the Rock, after her mother dies.
It is not until she is 13 that he realizes that the girls of the Westerlands mock her, calling her the Feral Lion Cub, and other cruel monikers in abundance. It is his brother that teaches her how to respond to them with wit and venom. But It is his sister that turns his baby girl into a Lioness of the Rock.
He has often been at court, and it is only after he realizes that his children suffer for it that he brings them with him. He expects Cersei to hate his children, as she hated their mother. But Cersei sees their mother in Cerenna, and him in his sons, and that is enough to make her love them, and if it is not as much as she loves their children, well, he cannot fault her for that. Especially not when she takes Cerenna under her wing, and hones her intelligence to a razor sharp weapon, teaching her the ins and outs of court, especially not when she gives his little lioness claws.
Perhaps the most surprising is his father, who Cerenna adores, even from a babe. She will sit in his office for hours on end as he talks to his various stewards, and informers, and writes his correspondence. She is 15 before he realizes that she has not been idle in his father's office, when Lord Varys inclines his head to her and asks how her little birdies are, and she laughs. His father has not been idle either. He may favor Cerenna over his other grandchildren for her remarkable resemblance to his beloved wife, but that favor does not exempt her from his use of her, just as he uses all of his family.
Cerenna too has many names, the Lioness who rides Astride, The Heart of the West, the Golden Spyder, The Lady of Casterly Rock, The Old Lion's Weakness, The Golden Girl, The Kingslayer's Spawn, but Jaime knows that her favorite is his nickname for her, Cenna. So he sends one raven to Winterfell and one to last Hearth, and he and Cerenna join the court on the King's Road.