DAY 3: Modern day au

"Great." Daenerys muttered as she opened the door of her apartment and was faced with the harsh coldness and dampness of the King's Landing morning.

It had been spring for almost six months now and she couldn't wait until summer was finally here. She missed her home back in Dragonstone so bad. It had been months since she had left for university and she had not yet found time to go back. She thought about her brother Viserys. He had been the one choosing where she would go and what she would be studying but she had not let him have the last word. At the last minute, when he had thought everything was done, she had managed to enrol in the actual studies she wanted to do. He had been furious. But it had only brought a satisfied smile to her face when she had heard him swear at the other end of the phone. Thank God he had finished his own studies the year prior or she would have never heard the end of it.

Daenerys -often called Dany by her friends and family a.k.a. her brother- had settled just fine in the grand city. She was living in a small apartment in the core of the city, just ten minutes away from her school department, with her three cats: Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. She had found them as kittens in one of the numerous creeks along the coast back in Dragonstone. Her brother was allergic to them so that was always good. It was yet another way to subtly get back at him. She knew she shouldn't have behaved that way but let's be frank: he was a jerk. Not only did he beat her up as a kid but he was mean and greedy, only interested in wasting away his part of their inheritance in games and drinks.

That morning, Dany left her apartment with one of her cats safely secure in its travel box. Drogon, her black most ferocious cat had gotten in a fight again but this time he had come back badly wounded. It worried her. She had therefore decided to take him to the vet so that he could get checked. But of course it had to be raining! She would have to take the subway...Drogon hated it and so did she. All these people staring at her made her sick. She sighed. She had better get this over with.

The subway wasn't too busy at this hour fortunately. She only waited for half a minute before the screeching sound of the transportation echoed through the walls of the station. In its cage, she heard Drogon growl. She tried to calm him down as she took seat on a bench. Other people sat on each side of her but once they heard the menacing sound of her cat, and took a good look at her violet eyes, they immediately stood up and got away as far as they possibly could. Dany sighed. She was getting used to it. It wasn't always easy to be the daughter of a mad king who was paranoid and brought destruction to an entire country as well as being the younger sister to the most odious man of Westeros. Of course people chose not to remember the other great members of House Targaryen as it suited them not to. For instance, her brother Rhaegar had been a true gentleman, a caring young man and a promising crown prince. Of course, it also hadn't bothered the women of Westeros that he had been very good looking. He had unfortunately lost his life in a street fight to defend the honour of the woman he loved. Dany had been a baby when it had happened so she had never known him. But she liked to look at his picture every now and then as well as imagine what advice he would have given her in certain situations.

She finally arrived at her stop. She exited the suburban train in a hurry and tried to ignore the pang in her heart as she heard the relieved sighs from the people she left behind. She brushed it off and started to make her way through the crowds and get into the light. The rain had finally stopped and she felt grateful for it. It would have been a nightmare to walk under heavy rain with a wounded cat in her arms, even though he was in a box. And thank God he was in that box! The vet clinic was two streets away so she sped up to get to it.

A jingling sound announced her arrival in the clinic when she opened the door. It was warm inside so she didn't hesitate for a second before taking off her jacket and hanging it on the coat rail. There were two people sat in the waiting room. She walked to the counter behind which a woman with glasses too wide for her thin face was sat behind a computer. She immediately lifted up her face and smiled at Dany.

"Good morning. May I help you miss?"

"Good morning. My cat came back badly wounded this morning and I would like the vet to check him. I am very worried. It's the first time he is that hurt."

"All right miss. We'll take care of him. Can you just wait patiently while the vet takes care of another furry patient? He won't be long."

Dany nodded. "Thank you."

She went to sit on a chair, far enough from the other two people who were chatting on the main bench. Dany took out her book from her purse as well as her glasses. She tried to busy her mind by reading for her upcoming test on intra-westerosi commercial connections. Not really her favourite subject but it was good enough and got the job done as she didn't even hear the bell signalling that another client had entered the clinic. She looked up from her book when she finished her chapter and jumped in surprise. Two big red eyes were staring directly at her and had startled her. A giant white wolf was standing in front of her in a static position and made her feel uncomfortable. What if he decided to attack her or Drogon. She couldn't even hear if her cat was making a sound. All she could hear was her blood pounding in her ears.

"Ghost!"

The wolf finally looked away and Dany left out a breath. Her gaze fell on a dark-haired young man who seemed to be the one who had spoken. He was slender in frame yet she could see he had well-defined muscles underneath his clothes. He seemed to be around her age and he looked very cute. She beat herself up for thinking that way. She didn't have time to think about men, especially not after all she'd been through with her exes.

"My apologies. He doesn't usually do that." The dark-haired boy said. He had a deep sultry voice which made Dany swoon.

"It...It's okay."

The boy nodded before he went to sit on the chair across from her. His giant wolf followed him in silence and just laid at his side. Dany eyed them with a bit of worry for a few seconds before she checked on her cat. Drogon was panting but then again he always did that when at the vet. Surely the stress pheromones of other animals had to be stressing him out as well. She was surprised he had not said anything when the wolf had come close to them. He usually didn't tolerate people or animals around that were not his mother or brothers.

Dany resumed her reading. Suddenly she heard sniffling sounds. When she looked up from her book, she found the wolf crouched in front of Dragon's box, sniffing it. She suddenly grew worried and put it on her knees. Inside, Drogon was snoozing undisturbed. The white wolf sat up and let his tongue fell off his mouth as he panted and looked at her. Ever so discreetly, he took little steps towards her until she was basically lifting up the box too get it out of his reach.

"Hum..." she let out as she watched the dark-haired boy, hoping he would hear her.

And he did as he lifted up his eyes from his phone. "Oh God! I'm sorry! Ghost! Come back here!"

The wolf slowly retreated back to its owner clearly displeased. Dany found it cute actually but she was too worried about what it could do to her baby to allow them to be close. She felt bad as she heard the boy scold his wolf a little but the wolf seemed indifferent to it and just rested his head above his gigantic paws.

It finally was Daenerys' turn so she got up from her seat. Once inside the consultation room, she let Drogon out. He meowed faintly in protest and that's where Dany saw he really was feeling bad.

"He is never like that. He is always running around and screeching at everything normally."

"The wounds don't seem too deep but if he was attacked by some bigger animal like a dog or a bigger cat, it could have done some damages inside of his body and caused internal bleeding." Dany gasped. "I'll have to make a scan and run a couple of tests on him. I suggest you go home and we'll call you once it's done."

"How long will it last?"

"Maybe a couple of hours."

"Then I'm staying. I don't want to leave him alone."

"All right. Just wait for a moment and I'll bring him back to you when I'm done."

Dany nodded. She scratched her baby's head before returning to the waiting room. The young man was still there with his wolf who lifted its head when she went to sit down. She was sad. She couldn't imagine losing her cat. He could be a savage stray cat at times but she loved him so much! Suddenly she felt something heavy on her lap and was met yet again with big red eyes staring at her as Ghost had put his head on her laps.

"Ghost! Come on! What is up with you today?"

Daenerys chuckled. "It's okay. He looks nicer than what he appears." She said, scratching behind the wolf's ears. His fur was as soft as cashmere and she wanted to bury her face in it just to feel the softness of it.

"He sensed your sadness. Is everything all right with your cat?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "The vet is running tests on him as we speak."

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

They fell silent again. She scratched Ghost's ears absent-mindedly and she found it appeased her. They were the only ones left in the room. The minutes were ticking by slowly as she waited. After a while, it was the young man's turn to go to his appointment with one of the vets so he got up and called for his wolf. Ghost finally followed him after his owner threatened not to give him his favourite bone to chew; as if he understood him. It was funny to see the confusion on the man's face as his wolf reluctantly got up. He looked at her questioningly and she just shrugged with an apologizing smile. Now that she was alone, Daenerys felt restless. Maybe she should have gone back to her apartment and come back later. No. She couldn't leave her cat there alone. She was sure he could feel her presence. She paced up and down the room, not knowing what to do with herself and not finding it in herself to read more. After a few minutes she was back on her seat, her legs shaking up and down nervously.

Not long after that, the vet she had seen came back with a sleeping Drogon in his arms. He gave him to her and told her to wait for another hour until the results were ready. He could at least tell her that there appeared to be no internal bleeding which was a relief, yet he had a sprained leg. She kissed her cat softly and patted him. She felt relieved for the most part but she knew the wait would be long. She was stroking Drogon when she heard the door open once more and a running Ghost came busting through it towards her. She froze. How would the two animals react to each other? She should have put Drogon back in its cage but he was so peacefully asleep in her arms and it was such a rare sight that she had not thought about it. Now she regretted it.

Ghost halted before her and sniffed Drogon, who seemed undisturbed by it as he kept on sleeping in her arms, before he put his head back on her lap.

"I did not expect that."

Dany looked up at the wolf's owner when she heard him. She smiled sheepishly at him. "It seems like your wolf likes us." Dany blushed slightly.

"He doesn't usually like cats so I'm a bit surprised he even went that close to you in the first place."

"I must say I was expecting some drama as well between these two. Drogon is not one to sleep peacefully ever and he doesn't like anyone and any animal who are not me or my other two cats around him. Yet he said nothing."

"Drogon huh? Interesting name."

"Yeah...Thanks."

"What are the other two's names?"

"Rheagal and Viserion."

"I see."

Dany felt like she needed to explain. It was silly really. "It was a joke. I named them after my brothers and Drogon is named after my ex...husband."

"Husband? But, aren't you like 20 or something?"

"22. But yes, I was married...Long story."

"Okay." they stayed silent for a moment. The only sounds were coming from an old speaker and the breathing of the two animals. "I'm Jon, by the way. Jon Snow." He introduced himself.

"I'm Da..ny."

He got close to her and bent forward to be at her eyes level. "Nice to meet you Dany. Ghost, come on." He stood up straight again not knowing he had made her heart stop for a second. His dark grey almost black eyes had stared at her so intensely that she had thought she had lost her soul looking into them. Who was this Jon Snow and what was he doing to her? He made his way to the door but stopped at it. Something was wrong he realized before turning back. Ghost had remained by the young woman's side and had not even cared to look at his master. Jon rolled his eyes. "Ghost, come on! Leave Dany alone. We've got to run boy!"

Ghost lifted his head to look at the young man, tilted his big head on one side before resuming his position. Dany couldn't help but chuckle nervously. She didn't know why the wolf had taken such a liking on her so suddenly and it made her uncomfortable especially since Jon seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. She tried to push the wolf away but he didn't even flinch. He even started licking her hand and she had to retreat it with a small 'hey!' in protest. She looked at Jon with an apologetic smile and she saw him sigh as he went to sit on the chair next to her this time.

"I'm so sorry. I hope you're not in a hurry or something."

"Nah, it's fine. In fact I should be the one apologizing. It's my direwolf who is being annoying right now. He must really like you."

"Dire..wolf?"

"Yes. They are ancient creatures that used to live up north behind the wall. I myself was born in Winterfell."

"Oh! I've never been there but I heard it's beautiful...and cold."

Jon laughed. "Aye, it is. But it's all I've ever known before coming here. I love it."

His laugh made something inside of Dany twitch. He was so handsome it hurt. She shook her head. "I thought I'd heard that direwolves were extinct."

"That's what everyone thought. But there are a bunch of them still living up north. Actually Ghost's mother was killed by a stag near Winterfell. That's where we found him along with his brothers and sisters. We took care of them and now, well, you can see for yourself."

Dany observed the giant direwolf whose head was perched on her legs. He looked up at her and his red eyes were so soft she melted. How could she have been afraid of him? She just wanted to snuggle him. In her arms Drogon seemed to stir a bit. He opened one eye but didn't seem bothered by the sight of the big wolf. Unexpectedly Ghost licked the cat's face entirely and sniffed him. Drogon let him do and Dany observed he was doing the same. Well that was definitely a first for Drogon. Her ferocious cat was rubbing his face on the wolf's. Dany was dumbfounded.

The vet came out from one of the boxes with an envelope. His face didn't look apologetic or pitiful so the silver-haired girl assumed it was good news.

"Miss, I have good news." Dany left out a relieved breath. "His blood count is normal and he doesn't have an infection either so that's good. Nevertheless he does have a sprained leg as I told you before and he is most likely exhausted after his little fight. So I recommend just to keep an eye on it so it doesn't worsen and eventually give him vitamins. It's just one pill that you can hide in a piece of creamy cheese and give him on the morning."Dany nodded. "He should be back to his normal self within a few days."

"Thank you very much sir."

Daenerys got up to pay for the consultation and the vitamins. She just put Drogon on her chair as she went. When she was done she turned around and came to a halt. Drogon was being licked by Ghost once more and he was purring. Purring! Drogon only ever purred when she was petting him! Who were those two beings who were changing both her cat and herself? This time, when she looked at Jon, he was the one to shrug with a smile. She smiled back shyly. What a weird encounter.

Once Drogon was settled back in his box and her things were safely secured in her purse she went for her coat. It wasn't on the coat rail anymore though and she frowned scanning the room for it until her eyes landed on Jon -whom she had deliberately tried to avoid. He was handing it to her with a smile. She frowned while taking it.

"Thanks. How…?"

"T'was the only one left." He shrugged.

"Well thank you."

The man nodded before he headed for the door, Ghost in toe. She followed closely with Drogon. Outside, rain had started pouring down again which made her grumble. She thought for a moment looking at the grey sky.

"Hey!" she heard. "Want a ride? My car is just over there."

She gulped. "I..I don't know..."

"Come on. I promise I'll get you safely at home. Plus you'll be dry as well as your Drogon there."

Dany thought for a second. "I wouldn't want to delay you more. You already lost a lot of time because of me."

He shrugged again. "No big deal. Besides I already cancelled all my plans because of this one over there." He signalled over Ghost who was still by Daenerys' side. "So what d'you say?"

Dany sighed. "All right If you insist. Thank you."

She stepped down and met him on the pavement. She had taken out her umbrella so they walked side by side underneath it. He had insisted on holding it. For some reason, walking next to him made her feel safe, made her feel home. She had never felt this way with anyone before. She tried not to think about it but she couldn't. Her brain had decided to create these images of them together, hand in hand, with Ghost and her cats, playing together, wandering in the forest, going to the lake, embracing...kissing. She shook her head. No, she couldn't let these thoughts invade her mind. She most likely wasn't going to see him again so better not get attached.

They soon reached his car, a black pickup truck with silver grey wolves painted on each side of it: the emblem of House Stark of Winterfell. She thought that it suited him perfectly. He invited Dany to get in the car while Ghost hoped on the trail behind. He didn't seem bothered by the rain yet Jon placed a tarpaulin above him to protect him from it. Once he was done, he hoped in the truck and dried himself with a towel he kept on the back-seat. Dany tried to concentrate on not looking at him. He looked way too handsome right now with his wet curly medium length hair dripping on his shoulders, and the fact that his truck smelled like him – of course – didn't help either. She shivered. It was weirdly cold inside.

"Are you cold?" he asked watching her.

"N-no." Dany cursed in her mind when she shivered once more. Jon took off his jacket to place it around her. She tried to protest but he was already fastening it around her and she already felt warmer. Actually she was boiling now that his whole scent surrounded her.

"I'm sorry. I was raised in Winterfell so I never realize how cold it really is for other people."

"It's okay. Thanks."

Dany curled up into his big jacket as he started up the engine. For an instant she thought he had chuckled but then again her brains were surely playing tricks on her.

Surely.

Hello! First, thank you so much to all of you who followed, favourited and/or left a review! It means a lot to me. This one was completely different from the first one but It was one of my favourites to write! Let me know your thoughts. Have a great day everybody! :D -Sarah