After everything had settled down, Jon washed himself off, put on his nightclothes, and sat on the edge of his bed. The daylight was already fading again, but this night would bring peace and quiet. He was surprised to find Daenerys still absent from their room, but he was afraid to go look for her, as it was still a secret that they shared a room. He figured she had found another place to rest for the night, but he decided to stay up just a little longer to wait. Jon was fighting to keep his eyes open when he heard a knock on the door. He breathed a sigh of relief, but it was Sansa who poked her head through the doorway.
"May I come in," she asked quietly.
"Sure, just wait one moment," he said, grabbing for a shirt to cover the scars on his chest.
She pushed in anyway and sat down in the chair by the wall.
"Oh please Jon, I don't mind your scars, they can't be any worse than mine."
He grimaced at her words, and looked into her eyes,
"Are you okay? I know I saw you a while ago but there was so much going on, I turned to come back to you but you were walking to your chambers with Clara. I didn't want to bother you if you were trying to get her to sleep. Wait, who's with Clara?"
"Don't worry Jon, we're fine. The dead came to life in the crypts, but we were able to hide from them behind father's statue. Clara's with Brienne right now; I told her I'd be back shortly. Is there any word on Bran or Theon?" She asked.
"No, Bran hasn't woken up yet, but he seems to be in good health. No word on Theon yet, but men are still making it back to the castle Sansa, and it will be days before we have everyone accounted for."
Sansa closed her eyes and nodded. Jon smiled apologetically, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"I had one more question, concerning the Dragon Queen," She said, avoiding eye contact.
"Sansa, if you're here to tell me that you still don't trust her, I don't have anything else to say, I…"
"Jon, stop. It's quite the opposite, I wanted to…apologize. I heard what she did with the dragons, what she sacrificed, who she lost. I came to the dining hall where they set up help, and she was wrapping wounds and comforting our people. She held a screaming infant who'd lost his mother and lulled him to sleep until a wet nurse could come and find a place for him. She was incredible. I'd actually like to apologize to her, I've been rather cold."
The thought of Daenerys caring so much for the innocent at Winterfell made Jon's heart flutter ever so slightly, and filled him with a confidence that she was fit to rule.
"She respects you, Sansa. She knows what you've been through and she understands why you're cautious. I'm certain she would warm up to you, I wouldn't try tonight, after she lost Jorah, but soon."
"Maybe we will have a just ruler after all. And a woman at that," Sansa grinned.
Before Jon could reply, Sam rushed in. His face was ashen, as if he'd seen a ghost.
"My apologies Jon, but we need you now. It's the Queen."
Sansa sprang out of her chair and Jon followed quickly as he threw his furs over his shoulders. Together the three of them flew down the hall to Daenerys.
It wasn't a pretty sight. Daenerys was lying in bed in her nightgown, her hair astray. She was surrounded by her maidens and Winterfell's maesters as she shook and curled over the side of the bed in pain. Her eyes glanced at Jon for a moment in pure fear. Missandei held Daenerys' hair back and pat her forehead with a damp cloth as she threw up. Jon ran to take her other hand, which was warm to the touch.
"What is it, what's wrong with her?" Jon demanded.
"We're not sure, she feverish and ill, she passed out in the dining hall and ever since she woke up, she's been violently ill. It could be shock from the battle, or bleeding that we cannot find the source of. We've examined her everywhere, and she has substantial bruising, but nothing that would cause this fierce of a reaction. We're going to give her milk of the poppy to ease her pain for the night,"
"Don't do that," Sansa interjected, stepping in from the doorway.
She came over to the side of the bed, where Daenerys looked up at her with a slight anger, thinking that Sansa wanted to see her in pain. Sansa took Daenerys's hand, and gently ran her other over Dany's stomach.
"She's pregnant." Sansa noted rather nonchalantly.
There were gasps in the room, and everyone looked at Sansa with shock plastered on their faces.
"Yes, but not for long," Daenerys exhaled, "the witch that murdered my husband; she told me I could never bear another child. Rhaego was my first and last. I had a feeling that I might be pregnant, but I knew it would never be born alive. I think I'm losing it," She admitted sadly.
"Daenerys, would you really trust a witch? The morning I began throwing up I knew I was pregnant, and it seems to me like you've had the same realization. I had intense cramping, and vomiting, but Clara managed to survive. It's probably the trauma of the battle; you just need time to rest."
Daenerys looked at Sansa before she reeled over the bed again and threw up again. Sansa pressed her hands into Dany's shoulders, easing her tension, and helped her to sit up and lie herself back onto the pillows. While Missandei and Sansa comforted the Queen, the men moved to the other side of the room. They were clearly uncomfortable with the situation, and they felt embarrassed that they hadn't discovered what Sansa did in about one minute. Sansa parted Daenerys's legs slightly, and could see the small blood spot that collected on the sheets beneath her. Daenerys leaned forward to look and panic enveloped her face.
"I haven't bled since I've been at Dragonstone, but I told myself it was just nerves. Look at this blood, I must be miscarrying." She repeated.
"I don't think so," Sansa replied steadily, "I bled a little bit in the first couple of months, and everything was fine. You're cramping isn't terrible, is it?"
Daenerys shook her head slightly, "being in actual labor was far worse," she replied with a slight smile.
"I'm no maester, but the midwife that I had told me to stay in bed until after the cramping was completely gone, and then just do everything very carefully."
Daenerys nodded, and then she glanced over at Jon, who was still in the corner of the room.
"Jon, Jon, are you okay?" She asked hoarsely.
Jon couldn't move. For the few months that he had spent with Daenerys, she had begged him on several occasions to stop thinking about children, and he had accepted the fact that he would never become a father. He thought back to the first time he held Clara, nearly a year and a half ago when she was just a few days old. The joy that filled his heart when she cooed and twisted in his arms was unmatched by anything else. Sorting through the politics of this situation would be difficult, but that was all just background noise.
Once Daenerys seemed to relax a little bit, Sansa and Missandei moved from her bedside, and Jon took their place.
"Dany," he smiled, kissing her hand, "can you believe this?"
She smiled down at him and took a deep breath, taking his face in her hands.
"Don't get your hopes up quite yet Jon, you know that I've longed to be a mother for quite some time, but I'm bleeding quite a bit right now. I think and pray that Sansa is right, but I don't want to devastate you if the child doesn't survive."
Jon nodded, respecting her decision. He got chills when he heard "the child," a child that was already in existence and growing inside of Daenerys.
Even though she just wanted to sleep, she knew she had to figure out how to address that just happened. She looked up at those in the room and cleared her throat,
"Thank you all for helping me tonight, now that I know what's probably been causing my illness I do feel much better. But please, we must keep this a secret, if I am pregnant, I'm in a very fragile state, and there's no point in starting rumors for nothing," She said seriously.
"It will be the best kept secret at Winterfell, your Grace," Jon promised her.
Sam bit his lip and looked at the floor. He was going to have to tell Jon the truth about his parents.
After the pains stopped, the maesters and maidens started leaving the room. Missandei excused herself to her nearby room to hopefully get some rest. Before Sansa left, she went over to Daenerys's bedside. She kneeled before her.
"Your Grace, I would like to apologize for my demeanor during our last couple of meetings. I have been rather cold, but after what I saw you do today, the people that you saved, I sincerely thank you. I see now that you may be the most just ruler that these Kingdoms will ever have, and I will support you as we defeat Cersei and you take back the Iron Throne. You have my loyalty, as I believe that you will create the best world for my daughter."
Daenerys took Sansa's hands in hers,
"Thank you Lady Sansa, I would love to appoint you as an advisor if you wish. I could understand if you are too busy with your daughter, but your intelligence and wisdom is much needed on my council. We've been through much of the same, my Lady, and I think we could both be of great service to each other."
"I would be honored your Grace, so long as my daughter can accompany me if it's safe," Sansa replied.
"I would never put you or her in any danger. Welcome to the Council, Lady Sansa," Daenerys whispered.
Sansa excused herself after Jon assured her that he would look after Daenerys. As sick as she felt, Daenerys' heart hurt more than anything.
He shut the door behind Sansa, and looked sincerely into Daenerys' violet eyes.
"Jon, please, come lay with me, I need you," She said, her voice trembling.
Jon crawled into bed next to her and she put her head on his chest, trying to stop herself from crying. She wanted to be excited over the baby, but she didn't even know if it could survive inside of her. She couldn't imagine that Jorah would never meet her children or see her take back the Iron Throne, the thing they'd been working towards since they met so many years ago.
"It's okay Dany, you can cry. Let it out my darling, it will be okay."
She sobbed for what felt like hours into his shirt. He cried too, thinking of all the men he had ever lost to the Night King, and how quickly everything seemed to stop. He tried not to shake but Daenerys could feel his chest heave. They were broken, but they were together. Every time she thought it was over, a thought or memory of Jorah sent another sob shuddering through her. Jon stroked her hair and rocked her slightly as they finally fell asleep, their eyes red and their hearts shattered.
Notes: Thanks for reading! The next 10 chapters have already been written, so they'll all be up within a day or two. I'm in the process of writing the rest. Thanks for reading, leave a review if you liked it!