Sorry for the wait everyone! I had a break, but unfortunately I had a research paper to write (and procrastinate.) I did get to go to the Game of Thrones costume exhibit though and sit on the Iron Throne, which was pretty amazing!
I'd like to thank everyone for reading, following and reviewing! Especially AngelOfDeath6, LottieDot, Winterwasp, grumpirah, & PrincessAiyana who was my first review!
I may have borrowed a line from The Patriot, if anyone can find it! ;) It's the same advice my father gave my little brother and I when he taught us to shoot.

Sansa

Sansa was stunned; it was as if her world had momentarily stopped spinning. A deafening silence filled the room. She knew her heart was thumping wildly; but she was oblivious to any sound. Did I hear him correctly?

"Y-you're taking me to Winterfell?" She asked him with a quiver in her voice.

"Are you deaf girl? Yes, I believe Winterfell is in Colorado," he snorted haughtily.

"Why, w-what about your money?"

"Do you want me to turn you in? Is that it?" He shouted, exasperated.

And now he was scaring her again. A few minutes ago he had actually been kind. She thought it was a foreign concept to the large man. But he had saved her. Yeah, she wasn't anything to him but a rather hefty stack of cash- but he didn't have to wipe the blood from her face. Or listen to her sob.

He sighed, "I'm sorry little bird. It's been a long day, for the both of us. I promise you, I will bring you back home. No one will hurt you anymore, or I'll kill them. We'll map out the plan further in the morning. Let's get some shut eye."

She nodded at him. As he switched off the oil lamp she rolled towards the wall to await sleep. She heard the adjacent bed creak as he climbed in.

"...Goodnight Sandor."

"Goodnight little bird."

That night she fell into a deep slumber almost instantly, feeling a hundred times more confident of her future then she had in months. Sure Sandor was an extremely gruff individual. Not to mention extraordinarily intimidating. And apparently built with a short fuse. But she couldn't help but trust him when he said he'd bring her back home. For the first time in a long while, she indulged herself in the fantasy of returning to her family.

Sansa woke remembering a dream she had days ago. The one where Bran had told her to return North. Well I guess now I am my sweet Bran. Suddenly the blood drained from her face as she remembered another thing Bran had told her. A warning. The three headed dog. Sansa knew that Stranger's saddle had a three headed dog embroidered into it. Maybe I should ask Sandor the meaning behind the dog? Sansa really didn't want to believe that warning pertained to Sandor.

She lay in the bed listening to the pattern of her roommate's breathing; she ran a few possibilities through her mind.

After working herself into a frenzy of "what ifs" she decided she needed to clear her mind.

She sat herself up in the stiff bed. Their room was bathed in a russet glow, the hour still early. It was the time of morning when it seemed the world was at a standstill. Her mind strayed to her family again, wondering where they were right now. She was envious of them being together, while she was alone.

Sansa turned her head to look at Sandor asleep in his bed. As far as company goes the man wasn't the greatest to have. When he wasn't in a sullen state, more often than not he was angry. Though last night she had seen a completely different side to Sandor, one she previously didn't think existed.

In the daylight, the man was intimidating. Without even countering in the twisted burns. Sandor was the largest man she had ever come across, though she couldn't remember if the groundskeeper, Hodor, back at Winterfell was as tall. Sandor was not only large in stature, but also in width. His voice was a deep and husky thing that was enough to make you jump in panic every time he graced you with a few choice words.

As he slept though, his face was at ease. He looked younger than his years. Not that I even know his age. He couldn't be more than thirty. There were no visible lines on his good eye. Sansa felt a bit like a thief, stealing prolonged glances at him without his knowledge. She knew she could never do this while he was awake. The more she studied the long fissures that marred the right side of his face, the less they stood out to her. The burns no longer frightened her. To be honest, the burns scared her less than his facial expressions. His face was usually frozen in a perpetual sneer.

Sansa quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to be caught peeping. She planted her feet on the sandy floorboards anxious to start her day. This was the first time she was awake before him. She got up to push the oval window open, to air out the stuffy room.

"Have you been up long?" Sandor's groggy sleep addled voice asked.

"No, not long. A few minutes before you woke," she answered jumpily.

He threw the blanket aside, not wasting anytime laying in bed. He stretched his arms above his head, earning him a loud pop. She tried to look any which way but at him, fearing he'd see right through her. She caught a quick glimpse of the taut muscles of his back, stretched beneath his tunic.

"May as well see if that lousy inn keep has a decent breakfast. And flesh out our plan of action." He turned to face her.

"Uh-h, yes. That sounds good," she stuttered. Sandor gave her a queer look.

She interrupted his study, "I am famished."

At that Sandor went to open the door and motioned for her to exit. I need to stop acting flustered; he may think I'm planning something.

As they descended the staircase she could see that most of the patrons must have still been sleeping off their alcohol consumption.

The greasy inn keep and his wife were already behind the bar and there was a delicious scent emanating from the kitchens. Sandor led them to a circular table off to the side of the bar, giving the inn keep a nod as they passed.

Soon the plump wife was at their table with two mugs of coffee, a dish of sugar and some fresh milk. Sansa threw a large amount of sugar and milk in her mug, noticing Sandor drank his black.

Next she came back with another tray full of food, a feast similar to last night's. The tray held a number of eggs sunny side up, crispy mouth watering bacon, a bowl of salsa, more tortillas, steaming hot corn cakes with sweet butter and some type of red jam.

Sansa crammed the meal into her mouth as fast as her manners allowed. The corn cakes with the jam and butter were the best; they reminded her of her favorite food, lemon cakes.

She slowed down to make room for the bacon. She tore her eyes from her plate when she felt Sandor staring at her.

"You weren't lying when you said you were famished little bird," he said with a smirk.

She inwardly cringed at how unladylike she must have come off as.

"So, Colorado is quite a trip. And here's the thing…" Sandor trailed off. Sansa readied herself for the inevitable let down. He's changed his mind already.

Sansa's mind wandered, for the next thing she knew Sandor was snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"Hello, little bird. Come back to Earth."

She locked eyes with him.

"As I was explaining before your mind took flight, Colorado is a long haul. I'm pretty strapped for cash currently. But I was thinking I could pick up a few easy bounties so we will have plenty of money to travel north comfortably."

Sansa let go of the breath she didn't realize she had been holding in.

"I thought maybe you had changed your mind, that bringing me home was more trouble than it's worth…" She said meekly.

"Girl, I've already promised and I don't go back on my fucking promises! A hound will die for you but never lie to you."

Though he had been crude, he reassured her. He had no reason to be dishonest with her. Sandor was actually one of the most honest people she had ever met.

"I'm sorry, it's just after the Lannisters- I don't give my trust so freely. But I believe you. And I'm sure when we reach Winterfell my family will reimburse you, and then some."

"Well we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'm going to go into the city and see if maybe any delinquents crossed the border, they'll be worth more too. Might as well start here and work our way up. You stay up in the roo- "

"No!" Sansa blurted, cutting him off. "I mean, I want to come with you. I can help!"

Sandor laughed. "As much as I appreciate the offer little bird- you can't even shoot a gun. I'm not even sure you understand what you would be signing up for."

"Then teach me," she countered seriously.

"Girl, most of the time when the poster says 'dead or alive' I choose the dead option. I'm a killer."

"Yes but you only kill criminals."

"You're not a criminal."

"And I'm not dead." She argued. "If I recall correctly, you SAVED me." She smiled at him, hoping to convince him.

"I'll teach you to shoot and how to track, but you will not be put in any danger while I collect the bounties!" He sighed.

"Okay. Deal." Sansa extended her hand, and after a minute Sandor gave her his and they shook on it.

They had finished breakfast so they went back up to the room so Sandor could collect the revolver he took from her that first day. Upon gathering a few other necessities, they locked their door and left the tavern for the day.

Outside she saw Sandor grab a few discarded bottles. He thrust some in her arms.

"Here girl, hold some of these."

They then went to the stables to collect the horses. Sansa met the nice mare Sandor had purchased for her to ride. She rubbed it's velvety muzzle before Sandor helped her into the saddle.

He shoved the various bottles into Stranger's saddlebag and then jumped on the courser.

They rode a ways out of the city to a deserted area. There were more giant boulders out here. Sandor rode up and started lining up the bottles on top of one of the rocks.

He returned to her and handed her the gun. She felt the weight of it in her palm.

"Okay little bird. This is a six shooter, which means the cylinder has six chambers that can hold six bullets."

He grabbed her hand and turned it, so the left side of the gun was visible.

"This is how you open the cylinder." He moved her thumb on the latch to the side of the cylinder.

"You always rotate the cylinder to make sure there are no rounds still in there." After rotating, he then pushed the cylinder out with two fingers.

She inspected the gun further, looking at the six chambers. Sandor opened his coat pocket and withdrew some shiny copper rounds. He placed the rounds in her open hand.

"And this is how you load the gun." Taking her hand that held the gun he pointed it down and slipped one round in a chamber. She swiftly filled the rest.

Then she closed the cylinder and Sandor showed her how to lock it.

Sandor then turned her body so she was facing the bottles. Standing behind her he wedged her feet further apart. He then lifted her arm with the revolver out in front of her, picking up her other arm as well. Her left hand he made grip her right wrist.

"Now little bird, do you see the hammer?"

She shook her head no. The proximity of his body was making her sweat.

"It's the piece at the top of the barrel, nearest your thumb." He murmured in her ear. She found it and placed her thumb on it.

"Exactly! Okay, now you're going to want to cock it back. It might be a little tough."

With all her strength she cocked it back.

"Now you are ready to fire. You want to line up the rear sight with the front sight. They are the prongs on both ends of the barrel."

Sandor stepped back.

"Take a deep breath and focus. Breathe out and gently squeeze the trigger when you're ready. Aim small, miss small little bird."

"What does that even mean?" She asked.

"It means instead of just trying to hit the object, focus on a fixed point. If you aim at something small, you'll only miss small. Whereas if you are just trying to hit the object all together, you can miss completely."

She was looking down the barrel at a glass Coke bottle. I'm going to aim for the 'C.' Sansa filled her lungs and took aim. Breathing out she pulled the trigger. The gun fired and her body was jerked back a bit. Sandor was there to steady her. She didn't even realize the bottle had broken until she heard Sandor shouting.

"Fucking beautiful little bird! You're a natural!"

Sansa was so happy she flung herself into Sandor's arms.

"Be mindful of the weapon!" He warned her.

She took a step back, blushing. "Sorry." She placed the revolver on the ground.

Seeking her permission, he stepped forward with his arms out. She smiled and Sandor gathered her in his arms and spun them round and round in a fit of laughter. Still laughing together, he set her down carefully.

"If you can hit the rest of those bottles, I'll split the first bounty with you 50/50." Sandor challenged.

Sansa flashed him a toothy grin.

"You're on."