Sansa sat under the trees in the courtyard and waited for Dany. She could see all the cars lined along the curve of the road, waiting to pick up the students. A silver Aston Martin glittered near the school. She scanned the crowd, failing to find Joffrey's golden head. She heard the car door open and Sandor hopped out of the drivers door. He leaned against the car to wait for Joffrey. Deciding that Joffrey would just have to get over, she stood, brushed grass off of her butt and sidled over to him.

"Hey," she greeted him. He gave her a confused look.

"Girl, you know he's going to be pissed if he sees you standing here talking to me."

"I don't care. How are you?"

"Sansa, this isn't the time, nor the place. I'll see you for dinner, we'll talk then." He scowled at her. Sansa didn't relent.

"Why won't you talk to me when you're working?"

"Because my dog has better things to do than talk to stupid girls like you." Joffrey chose that moment to make his appearance. Sandor nodded to him, in greeting, and pulled the car door open.

"Get in."

Joffrey sneered at Sansa. "Have you come over here to beg for me back? Well, I won't take you back. Maybe, if you're nice, my dog will have you, but he wouldn't want to waste his time with stupid girls, would you, dog?"

Sandor looked humored, his eyes twinkling with laughter as he ground out a "No, Joffrey. Just get in the car." He slammed the door when Joffrey was safely in.

"Pleasant, isn't he?" Sansa looked at the tinted window.

"I just adore my client. Anyway, I'll see you for dinner. Talk to you later." He waved at her as he climbed back into the car and drove off. Dany ran up to her, breathless.

"Sorry, I had to talk to a teacher. Let's go." Dany grabbed Sansa's hand and the two girls jumped into Sansa's bug. Cranking up the music, they sang along and danced. The drive to and from school was quick in their new apartment, so they reached it by the end of the second song. Sansa sprinted up the stairs to their apartment.

She loved coming home. There was something about unlocking the keys to your own apartment, an apartment that you chose when to clean, and what to eat. Sansa liked Running into the living room, Sansa grabbed the remote and turned on the TV before sitting down on one of the cushions littering the floor. She flipped through a couple channels and stopped on a news report. There had been a horrible accident out on the freeway. Sansa was about to flip by when she saw footage from the actual accident. A smashed Aston Martin lay flipped on the side of the road. The driver's side was totaled.

"The car was T-boned by a drunk driver," the reporter was saying, but Sansa couldn't hear over the roaring in her head. Sandor had been driving. Her breathing came in short gasps. She was dimly aware of the phone ringing, and Dany answering, but her eyes were glued to the television. She waited for the reporter to say if they lived or not.

"Sansa. Sansa!" Dany shook her shoulders. "Sandor's at the hospital. Drogo just called. He was hurt, bad, but he'll be okay. Come on, I'll drive you." She grabbed the keys to her ostentatious Maserati. Sansa hated riding around in it. People always stared, and ever since she'd started dating Sandor, Sansa hated staring.

The car ride was the complete opposite of the one they had taken just a half hour before. It was silent. Sansa's chest felt tight. He was okay and that was all that mattered. She couldn't wait.

The hospital was impeccably white. Everything in it was white. There were nurses in white running around, doctors in white yelling for various medicines, all taking place in a white hallway. It was so bright, Sansa could see the white through her eyelids. They gave their names to the nurse at the big white desk and another came and lead them through the maze of hallways. Room 314. There he was.

Sandor lay in bed, hooked up to various machines. Drogo was holding his hand. If she wasn't so afraid, Sansa would have laughed, but Sandor looked horrible. He was covered in bandages. The parts of him that she could see were black and blue, crisscrossed with tiny cuts that she assumed were from the glass. His leg was up in a sling, wrapped in a neon pink cast. Drogo saw her staring at it and smiled, grimly.

"I picked the color out for him. When he wakes up, I plan on telling him it was Joffrey, so he'll kill the little mother fucker."

Sansa took his spot, holding Sandor's hand. "Hey, baby," she whispered. "Wake up, soon."

"He just had surgery to fix his internal organs. I don't really understand the medical shit, but it sounded pretty bad. He's pretty good now, though. Well, as good as you'll get. Just gotta wake up, which will be in like a couple hours." Drogo informed her. "After the ambulance got here, they called me. Joffrey just bailed. He's alright, by the way, the little shit. Just some cuts and bruises. Too bad. And Sandor's leg had just finished healing too."

Sansa traced her finger over the spot where the stab wound had been. She hadn't seen it when it was fresh, just later on, when the scab had fallen off and it was just a tight, pink scar.

"Thank you, for sitting with him," she said softly. Drogo nodded.

"He's my room mate. I would have done it regardless. Besides, when he wakes up, he's going to be so drugged. I love it when he's high. He's hilarious. He just keeps talking and talking." He grinned, trying to make Sansa feel better.

That grin broke her. She had been so worried for Sandor that it was a relief to see him laying there, broken. She thought that the next time she'd see him, she would be wearing all black. Shoulders shaking with sobs, Sansa let go the stress she'd been through in the last hour.

Grief was not a normalcy in the Stark family. The closest they'd ever come to death was when Bran had fallen off the room and broke his back, but the doctors had been one hundred percent sure that Bran would live. She didn't have the mental resources to deal with worry on this sort of magnitude. As the monitors by Sandor beeped, Sansa cried into the pristine, white sheets.

Sansa sat up suddenly when she felt someone pet her hair. She wasn't aware that she'd fallen asleep. The clock next to Sandor read 8:58.

"Have I ever told you how pretty your hair is?" He sounded so groggy. She faced him and refrained from laughing. His eyes were glazed over, probably from the morphine, a crooked smile gracing his lips. The bandages caused his hair to stick out in little bunches. He was actually kind of cute, sitting there, helpless.

"Sandor, you look like shit," she said, the gasped and covered her mouth. Sansa never swore. He smiled, a big, watery smile.

"Oooooo. You said a bad word." His fingers continued stroking the locks that he'd grasped in his fingers.

"Do you feel okay? Can I get you something?" Sansa asked him. He nodded.

"Apple juice. I want apple juice."

"Will you be okay here on your own?" She was hesitant about just abandoning him when he'd just woken up.

"I can't go anywhere. Can you turn on the TV first? I think the Big Bang Theory is on."

She fumbled with the remote.

"Stop! Go back! That was the song! I'll miss it!"

The song was just beginning. Sansa had never seen this show before, so she sat back and watched with amusement as Sandor tried, and failed, to sing along to the song. He shouted the lines he knew.

Mumble, mumble. "They built the pyramids!" Mumble, mumble. "And it all started with a big bang! BANG! Why are you still sitting there? Go get my goddamn apple juice. My throat hurts."

Sansa scrambled into the hallway, where she burst into laughter. She was so happy to have him back, even though he wasn't coherent yet. She walked downstairs into the cafeteria and called Drogo.

"He's up. I'll spend the night with him. I can just not go to school tomorrow. Can you have Dany bring me some stuff, like pajamas and toiletries?"

"Yeah, we'll be right over. You're in for one hell of a night, though. Sandor is the only person I know who doesn't go right back to sleep after they wake up after a surgery, so expect to entertain him. I'm bringing his DVD's. Did he get his apple juice?"

"I'm getting it right now. He just sang me the theme song for the Big Bang Theory."

"Oh, my God. I'm hurrying over there right now. I'll see you in a few." He hung up.

Sansa grabbed three bottles of apple juice, not sure exactly how much Sandor wanted. She booked it up the stairs, only to find Sandor sitting up, trying to get out of bed, yelling her name. His foot was stuck in the sling, thank God. She wondered how no one had gotten pissed off at him yet. He was really obnoxious.

"Sansa! Sansa! Where the fuck is my apple juice?" he screamed as she made her way into his field of vision. She threw the apple juice on the counter top and grasped his arm. For someone just out of surgery, Sandor was still extremely strong. When she successfully wrangled him into bed, she was out of breath. She twisted the cap off one of the bottles and handed it to him. He stared at her with a look of horror on his face.

"Where is my straw? You can't expect me to drink out of a bottle. I'm too fragile." He pronounced the word fragile weird, then repeated it. "Frahhhh-jyyyyylllleeee. Frahhhhh-jeeeelaayyyyy."

Sansa giggled. She had actually grabbed straws, just in case, but didn't expect him to want to use them. Popping one in, she handed the apple juice back to him. He sucked greedily at the straw.

"That is so much better. I love you," he told her. Sansa felt her stomach drop. There. He'd said the three magic words. She just didn't know if he meant them, seeing as he was so doped up on morphine that he couldn't function properly. That was the part that hurt.

Luck for her, Drogo burst in, carrying a bag full to bursting with DVD's and food. He also had a purple duffle bag. "Sandor! Look at you. Sansa is almost as good of a caretaker as I was." He smiled at his injured friend, who kept sipping away at his apple juice.

"Actually, she's better than you. I love her," he repeated. Drogo roared with laughter and winked at Sansa. Sansa excused herself and walked briskly down the hall. She was so confused. Did he mean it, or was he just high? Taking a deep shuddering breath, Sansa tried to compose herself. Of course, she loved him. She'd always known that, especially since moving out and spending almost every moment with him. He got along great with her brothers, but he had yet to meet her parents. Sansa didn't want him to. She knew her mother would hate him. Her father might be more accepting, but her mother would absolutely despise Sandor.

"You okay?" Sansa looked up. Dany was patting her shoulder.

"I didn't think you came."

"I had to park the car. Drogo wanted to relieve you as fast as he could. Sandor apparently is quite the handful."

"Yeah, he got out of bed." Dany's face paled. "No! It's alright! I got him to lay back down!" Dany nodded, so Sansa continued with what was bothering her. "Dany, he said he loved me."

"He did?" Dany gushed, but stopped at Sansa's expression. "You think it's because of the drugs, huh. Oh, honey, don't cry."

Sansa nodded. She was starting to tear up. "I don't think he'll ever tell me when he's not on drugs. It's Sandor. That's not the kind of person he is."

"He loves you, sweetie. If he didn't, he wouldn't spend so much time with you. He hates people, you know." Dany rubbed Sansa's back as the girl sobbed. She really didn't know why she was this upset.

"Thanks, Dany. I think I'm just over reacting." Wiping her tears, Sansa stood and together, they walked back to Sandor's room.

"Guys, look. He's asleep." Drogo whispered, the amazement in his voice apparent. Sansa look at Sandor. Sure enough, there he lay, his eyes closed.

"Normally he doesn't, but whatever they have him on is working like a charm," Drogo said. He turned to Sansa. "The nurse was just in here. She's kicking us out, so we're leaving you. Said he'd be fine to leave the day after tomorrow, possibly. Our apartment doesn't have an elevator, though. Can he stay with you guys?"

"Of course!" Dany exclaimed. Sansa nodded in agreement.

"I mean, he's practically been living there anyway. It wouldn't be too difficult to get him set up."

The three turned their heads as Sandor murmured something. He sniffled a couple times and then calmed again. Drogo smiled, and pushed the green couch next to Sandor's cot, so Sansa could sleep next to him, then left, Dany trailing behind him. She waved good bye to her friends and closed the door behind them.

Digging through her duffel bag, Sansa pulled out her pajamas and toothbrush. She changed, quickly, pulled out a book and wrapped herself up in blankets. She sat down by Sandor's bed, reading until she felt tired.

"I love you," she whispered, wishing he was awake to hear her. The beeping continued. All she could hear was that, Sandor's breathing, and the steady drip of his IV. Marking her page, Sansa closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep on the couch.

"Sansa! Sansa!" Vigorously shaken, Sansa sat up with a jolt, for the second time. Sandor was grimacing down at her. His face was contorted into an almost pained expression. "Sansa. I have to take a piss. Really bad."

She turned her head toward the bathroom. Never had five feet looked so far. Sandor stared at her expectantly.

"Can't you get a nurse to do this?" she wondered.

"No. I don't want to wake them up."

"But you had no problem waking me up?"

"Sansa, please. Help me." He looked so forlorn that Sansa gave in. Taking the sling off of his leg proved quite difficult though. After struggling with it, Sansa finally got it down. Setting his leg down on the ground, Sandor helped her maneuver his massive body off of the bed. He leaned on her as they shuffled into the small bathroom. He wiggled his cock free of the hospital gown and waited.

"Little bird, you have to get out. I have performance anxiety."

Gaping at him in disbelief, Sansa turned her back. "I'm not watching. Go ahead."

She didn't face him until she heard the toilet flush. He washed his hands and, after some struggle, they got him back in bed. She noticed, though, every time that she moved him, he flinched.

"Does it hurt?" He nodded.

"The pain meds have definitely worn off. Can you press the button to get the nurse?"

"So now you'll wake the nurse," Sansa grumbled, but pressed the button all the same. The nurse came in within seconds.

"Well, look at you! Have you gone to the bathroom yet?" Her cheery voice, and the way she was looking at Sandor, was grating on Sansa's nerves. Sandor nodded and asked for some more pain medication. The nurse bustled out and came in, carrying a syringe and a small cup.

"That'll help the nausea," she explained, administering the syringe to his IV. Almost immediately, Sansa watched Sandor's eyes glaze over.

"Okay, when he goes to sleep, let him be. He needs it," the nurse explained to Sansa, as if she was the one keeping him up. Throwing away the paper up on her way out, the nurse disappeared, presumably to help another patient.

"Oh, that's so much better," Sandor mumbled. He clutched her hand, weakly. "Thanks for staying with me." His eyelids drifted shut and his breathing slowed.

Sansa was livid. She couldn't get back to sleep. After all those attempts, just to have Sandor shake her awake. She pulled her book back out, but couldn't concentrate on it. Spotting Sandor's laptop, she opened it up, only to find that the internet was off. She dug through his DVD's to see what there was.

The Iron Giant. Gladiator. Braveheart. Remember the Titans. None of the movies had anything to do with each other, except maybe the fact that Sandor loved them. Sansa chose one at random and settled down to watch Luke Skywalker battle the dark side of the force.

Thank God Drogo brought all of them, Sansa thought to herself as she finished Empire Strikes Back. Who knew Star Wars was this addicting? She became so immersed with the series that she didn't notice the sunlight creep back in through the crack in the curtains. She heard Sandor rustle in the sheets, and immediately turned to look at him. He had been watching her, she could tell.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked.

"Since Phantom Menace. Did you really stay up all night watching Star Wars?" His grin widened as she blushed. Sansa could practically smell her own shame. Sandor laughed, then grimaced. "Shit, that hurts. Don't be ashamed, Drogo and I used to do it as kids at practically every sleepover we had. Here, put the computer up here. I want to watch."

Sansa looked back at the screen. She started fiddling with the draw string hanging out of her pants.

"You don't think I'm nerdy?"

"Fuck, no. I like them too, remember?" He reached out a bandaged hand and pressed play on the lap top. As the sun continued to rise and the rest of the hospital stirred, Sansa and Sandor finished watching the Star Wars series together, perfectly content.


The end of another chapter! I wanted Sandor in a more vulnerable position, so I ran him over. I hope you guys don't find this offensive. And finally, the magic three words come out, but not in a convenient way. Thanks for reading! Leave your reviews!

Raynie