Set before season 1, one shot for now
Ned Stark stared at his son and crossed his arms. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You did what?" he asked after a moment of silence, hoping that he had somehow misunderstood Jon.
"Nessa is with child," Jon repeated calmly. "I am the father."
Ned sighed and shook his head.
"I am very disappointed in you."
"I know, father," Jon replied quietly. "Forgive me."
Ned sighed again, but he nodded. He remembered what it was like to be a young man and of course he knew that sometimes young men made foolish decisions without thinking about the possible consequences.
"Alright…" he started. "Surely you understand that it is your responsibility to take care of the welfare of the girl and her child?"
"Of course," Jon replied without hesitation. "We will be wed as soon as possible."
Ned's eyes widened.
"What? No, that's not what I meant. No one expects you to wed her, what I meant was…"
"I know what you meant," Jon cut in calmly. "I am still planning to wed her."
"Jon, she is a servant and you are my son…"
"Your bastard son," Jon corrected. "I'm not a Stark, father, so there's no reason why I couldn't wed a servant."
Ned pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say.
"You have a title."
"Yes, but I'm still a bastard. I don't want this child to become a bastard as well."
Ned felt guilty, although he had always treated Jon as his own son. He had done everything he could to take care of Jon, just like he had promised.
"Jon, be reasonable. Do you really want to wed this girl?"
"I do. She's a sweet girl who doesn't deserve this. I want to look after her and the child."
"You can do that without wedding her," Ned pointed out.
Jon shook his head.
"I have made my decision, father. Will you give me your blessing?"
"Jon…"
"Please, father. This is what I want."
Ned was quiet for a while before speaking.
"Are you absolutely sure?"
Jon nodded.
"Yes, I am. I want to have a family of my own."
Ned looked at his son for a moment before putting his hand on Jon's shoulder.
"Alright, you will have my blessing."
Jon smiled and hugged his father.
"Thank you."
Ned patted Jon's back. He couldn't deny that he was proud of Jon for being an honorable man. Most men in Jon's position would have never wed the girl, or even acknowledged the child. Jon was a good man and if this was what he wanted, Ned wasn't going to stop him. There was no doubt that Jon would be a wonderful husband and a father.
1 day earlier
The sun hadn't risen yet when Jon was on his way to the stables. He loved the peaceful early mornings and he was planning to take a ride before breakfast. The only people he ran into this early were guards and couple of servants, everyone else were still asleep. He was just about to enter the stable when he heard it.
Sobbing. It sounded like someone was in pain. Quickly Jon walked into the stable, looking for the source of the sound and saw Nessa, the young servant girl. She was sitting on the ground, her legs curled up against her stomach and her arms wrapped around them. Her whole body was shaking as she was sobbing hopelessly.
"Nessa?"
She froze, trying desperately to hide her face. Her breathing was quick and her hands were shaking as she was trying to swallow her tears.
"My lord," she finally managed to say with a shaky voice.
"It's Jon, Nessa," he corrected as he approached her. "I thought we already agreed on that."
Jon knew all the servants in Winterfell and he had especially noticed Nessa. She was a very pretty girl who had a warm smile, lovely round face, dark brown eyes and curly light brown hair. Theon had couple of times mocked Jon for staring at her and said that he should simply have his fun with her and get it over with. Just the thought was nothing but repulsive, Jon would have never taken advantage of a girl like that and he would have never touched a girl against her will. It made no difference if the girl was a servant or a lady.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
She shook her head, trying to dry her swollen eyes.
"No. Please forgive me, I…"
"It's alright," he assured and took a seat beside her. "What's wrong?"
She was struggling to calm herself, but she burst into tears again. Jon felt completely helpless; he had no idea how to comfort her.
"Hey…" he murmured and gently took her hand into his. "Please, tell me what is wrong."
"I can't," she sobbed.
"Yes, you can. You can trust me, I'll help you."
Slowly she raised her head and looked at him with her teary eyes.
"You can't help me. No one can."
There was so much pain in her eyes that it startled Jon. He was determined to do anything he had to do to help her.
"Nessa, please… Talk to me."
She tried to stand up, but his hands kept her gently but firmly next to him.
"Nessa," he said and touched her hair.
"I can't."
Her voice was only a whisper and her lips trembled. Seeing her pain cut him like a knife, he couldn't bear seeing her like this.
"Tell me. Please."
Few more tears streamed down her face, it took a while before she managed to get any words out.
"I…I…I am with…child."
Jon froze; this was the last thing he had expected. They were both quiet for a long while before he spoke.
"The father?"
She bowed her head and shivered.
"Nessa?"
"There…there is no father," she murmured.
"What do you mean?"
She didn't say anything, but suddenly he understood.
"Were you… Did someone…"
"There is no father," she repeated quietly.
"Who?" Jon asked angrily. "Who did that?"
"It was my own fault…"
"No, it wasn't. Tell me his name."
She shook her head.
"I can't. Someone like me can't accuse someone like him."
"Was he a lord?"
She didn't say anything; he could see the determination in her eyes. She wasn't going to give him the name. Of course he understood her; it was very unlikely that anyone would believe her word over a lord's. Whoever that bastard had been, he wouldn't be punished. Jon was furious, what kind of a coward could do this?
"I don't know what to do," she said quietly after a long silence. "I have no family or any place to go."
"Yes, you do," Jon said determinedly. "You will stay right here."
She looked up.
"My lord, I…"
"Jon." He paused and took both of her hands. "I will take care of you and the child if you let me."
Her eyes widened.
"No, no, I could never ask you to do something like that."
"You don't have to ask. I will tell everyone that I'm the father."
"No! No, no, you can't sacrifice your life for me…"
"I won't. I want to do this, Nessa. Will you let me do this?"
She hesitated, her mouth floundered open and closed.
"I…"
"I will take care of you both. We can get married, if you'll have me."
She stared at him in wonder.
"Why… Why would you do that for me?"
"Because I want to," he replied calmly. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
"Yes," she gasped. "Yes, my lord, I would be honored…"
"Jon," he corrected once again.
Tears were still coursing down her cheeks, but she smiled.
"Jon… I don't know how I can ever repay you."
He shook his head.
You don't have to repay me."
He meant that. This was the right thing to do, he could feel that. He was going to take care of her and the child.
