"Lord Robin, your letters have improved greatly, but you must use your right hand to write." Maester Coleman scolded lightly. Catelyn had never understood why it was so important to write with your right hand, she could remember hours of being scolded for using her left to write. Arya used her left hand for swordplay as well, perhaps it was something thar ran in the family. What difference did it make, left or right handed?

It had been sweet how excited Robin had been when Catelyn had re-entered the Eyrie. Sansa had been relieved as well, the girl had been paranoid that something was going to happen.

Tywin was going to attack the Eyrie, Catelyn knew. Like an idiot, he was going to attack.

Her plan was already in motion, though. A ship would sail from Heart's Home in exactly one week, Catelyn would be on it. She planned to take Sansa, Arya, Robin, Amorea and Chenai, with the Hound and her own selection of guards to escort them. From Heart's Home they would sail to Eastwatch-by-the-sea, where Catelyn hoped the Night's Watch would give them a roof and bed for a few short days. Then they would ride for Bear Island, Catelyn had been good friends with Maege Mormont and knew that she could be trusted. Bear Island would be safe for them until something clearer came into her mind. Maybe we should just sail away to Essos, live as spice traders and forget about this whole nightmare.

Lady Waynwood had tried to insist that Catelyn stay in the Eyrie until the babe arrives, because she was almost at term now. In fact, Rickon had been so early that by this time Catelyn had already had him. She didn't want to wait long though, it was much easier to travel with a baby in the belly that a kicking and screaming newborn. "Are you excited for our journey, Lord Arryn?" Catelyn sat by Robin uncomfortably, but smiled anyway. He loved it when she called him Lord Arryn.

"I always wanted to see the Wall." Robin nodded, looking up as if he was imagining it. "But...do we have to go so soon, Aunt Cat? This is my home...I don't want to leave..."

"Oh, Sweetling, you'll come back. We're just going for a little trip across Westeros, and before you know it you'll be back here, in the Eyrie, all tucked up in your bed with master Coleman teaching you to write better." Catelyn gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran her hand through his hair.

In truth, Catelyn had never been to the wall herself. Her dreams had taken there more than once, but Catelyn had never seen the colossal ice structure in person. She was not excited by the possibility of seeing Jon Snow again, though he had gone to Castle Black not Eastwatch-by-the-sea so it was probably unlikely. If they did meet again by chance, Catelyn would apologise for the way she treated him, and swear never to say a word against him again. He would nod gracefully, and say that she had never mistreated him, they way he always had done.

He was a good courteous boy, Catelyn had always knew that. Definitely much easier to deal with than her own sons, gods, they had been harder to discipline than a bear.

A guard ran up to the room in a hurried breath quite suddenly. Catelyn had made a task of learninf the names of all the household guard, but had only gotten around to Big Brenn, Karamen and Alyn. "My Lady!" He gasped, Catelyn regretfully did not know his name. "The Eyrie...Lannister's...they're coming..."

"What do you mean, they're coming?" Catelyn snapped, pulling herself to her feet. Her interest in his name had suddenly decreased a thousand fold, and she didn't like these things were being said in front of Robin.

"Lannister men have started attacking the bloody gate." The man still seemed exhausted. "His army is about 35,000 strong. As you instructed, the archers are firing down on them with a quarter of our resources."

Catelyn took a moment to stop and think, before kissing Robin's forehead and telling maester Coleman to start packing a bag for the little lord. It wasn't fair to worry such a little boy over such adult matters, not to the extent it was worrying Catelyn. He couldn't get through, could he? Gods, I hadn't planned to leave today...we were supposed to have a few more days..."We need to get the children away. He may be overpowered at the Bloody Gate, but I am not willing to place by family's lives on a guess. Tell Amorea, Chenai and my daughters to pack their things quickly, and have horses saddled in the courtyard. Make all the necessary preparations for our journey to Heart's Home." The man nodded and dashed off, Maester Coleman hurridly got Robin's things together as Catelyn waddled back to her room. It shamed her to admit it, but waddling truly was the best she could do at this point. After throwing a few gowns, undergarments and Ammett's knife into a box, Catelyn headed out to the courtyard.

The Hound was in the courtyard saddling a horse, Catelyn smiled when she saw him. "And the great escape begins." She said as he turned around to face her.

"Tywin Lannister's a fucking nightmare. You're doing the right thing." Catelyn wondered if he would ever smile at her, after everything she had given him in return for Arya. He doesn't need to smile as long he does his job.

After about five minutes of waiting, everyone else arrived in the courtyard with their things. Sansa had a crate of clothes and her needlework, next to Arya who had a potato sack with some boys clothes and arrows, with her own needle held in hand. They had packed a bow for Sansa, it would be more difficult on the road but Catelyn still wanted her to practice when possible. She had been getting a lot better now, she could always hit the target now. "Mother, can I take the black horse?" Arya asked, stroking the dark horse's back. Catelyn had chosen a white horse, it reminded her of her own horse Visenya that she'd been forced to leave behind in King's Landing. Such a sweet beast...I wonder if Tywin butchered her in my memory.

"Take whichever horse you want, Sweetling." Catelyn smiled at her weakly, now worrying about her nephew. Robin could ride, but his legs were weak and he would struggle after a while. Perhaps he would just have to sit on the Hound's lap, she would have offered her own but the babe made her legs quite inaccessible to sit on. He will not want Robin sitting on his lap...but I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Once everyone was in their saddles, they set off down the mountain to Hearts's Home. To safety, I hope.

The Vale was not a good place for riding, Catelyn discovered a few hours into their journey. The path was rocky and difficult, Robin was already tired of riding and the babe kicked endlessly. Is it because of the journey, or because it's boring in there? Catelyn wondered as her hand traced a circle across her midriff. "Let's play a game." Arya said to her mother, sister and cousin boldly. "I'll describe a situation, and you have to say what you'd do if the situation was real." Sansa nodded cautiously. "So your standing in a forest, it's snowing gently and your all warm and happy. But then everything goes cold..." Robin yelped and Catelyn sighed, she could have sworn Old Nan had told Arya this story. "And you see a great big White Walker! What would you do?"

"I'd run away." Sansa said replied. "But White Walkers aren't real, stupid."

"I never said the situation had to be real." Arya huffed, crossing her arms. "You do one then."

"Fine." Sansa looked up in thought. "You're sitting in a chamber in your very own castle, rocking your very own baby to sleep, when a man jumps through the window and tried to steal it. What would you do?"

"I'd stab him in the heart and throw him his corpse back out of the window." Arya shrugged and Catelyn snorted, grinning at her youngest daughter. Her horse jerked upwards and a pain shot through her abdomen, but she ignored it. It was funny how different her two daughter's opinions were.

"I think we'd all do that, Sweetling." Catelyn stroked between her mare's ears. "Let me do one. If you were crowned queen, what would be your first decree?"

Sansa stopped to think, but Arya already knew. "I'd kill Cersei Lannister, and the Mountain, and every other stupid person who bothered me. Apart from you, Mother. You bother me sometimes but I know that's just your job, and I'd never have you killed." Catelyn raised her eyebrow at the 'it's your job to bother me' part.

"Push them all through a moon door." Robin smiled shyly. "I think I'd do that too."

I wonder, did Lysa ever once tell this boy that murder is not something to take pride in? "I would have little princesses and princes, but I'd make it so women could take the throne if they were born first, Myrcella once told me they do things like that in Dorne. Like if I had been born before Robb, I'd be heir to Winterfell no matter how many brothers I had." Sansa smiled proudly at her answer but her little sister rolled her eyes. Another pain hit Catelyn suddenly, and she became very aware of what was happening. Don't say anything yet. Don't worry them before they need to be worried.

"Clegane, how long do you think it'll be before we stop for the night?" Catelyn called to The Hound who was riding at the front. She had refused to call him The Hound, and was a little too nervous to call him by his first name. Clegene felt a little rude to shout at him, but he didn't seem to mind.

"A few hours at most." He yelled back. "We'll stop as soon as it gets dark, I don't want your little lordling running into a tree in the dark."

Robin shrivelled his nose up and blushed in embarrassment, but didn't reply, so Catelyn patted his shoulder gently to try and save his confidence. "It's going to be a long ride, I fear."

Catelyn's party stopped about four hours later in a little abandoned hut they found on the track. Sansa had wanted to light a fire immediately, but the mountain tribes could have seen that and attacked them during the night. They had guards, but not enough to defend themselves from an entire mountain clan. From past experience, Catelyn knew just how ferocious some of them were, and did not want to have another violent meeting with them.

Her pains had gotten worse and closer together through the ride, but she had done her best to disguise her pain. After all, this was her sixth birth, and she was no stranger to the malaise. Perhaps I can just hold on until morning...

"Children, you need your rest for tomorrow. There are no beds here, so hay is the best we'll find. I know it'll be uncomfortable, but I can't offer you anything else." Arya, Amorea and Chenai took to the hay quite quickly and dozed off, but Sansa and Robin couldn't quite get used to the uncomfortable beds. Catelyn wondered how long it had taken Arya to get used to floor and hay apposed to silk and sheets.

"Mother, I can't sleep." Sansa whispered through the dark. Catelyn had sat herself against the wall on the other side of the room, she didn't want the children hearing her in the event that the pain did get a little too much. In truth, she had made no preparations for the birth at all, she had prayed that the babe wouldn't come until they at least reached Heart's Home. Perhaps that had been foolish of her, now she came to think about it. Well, not much I can do about it now...

"Lie down, Sweetling." Catelyn instructed, hearing the shuffling Sansa made in order to try and get comfortable.

"The Father's face is stern and strong,
he sits and judges right from wrong.
He weighs our lives, the short and long,
and loves the little children."

Catelyn had always had a sweet voice, her septa had always encouraged her to sing and set Lysa an example.

"The Mother gives the gift of life,
and watched over every wife.
Her gentle smile ends all strife..."

Catelyn winced as another pain hit her, holding her stomach as the pain hit her. A pool of water formed on the floor underneath her. No...gods, why couldn't you just hold on a little longer? Before she'd always had a maester to help her with birth, but this time she was on her own. Would it be fair to ask Sansa to help me? Do I have a choice?

"Aunt Cat, why did you stop singing?" Robin asked quietly, and Catelyn gulped.

"Sansa, can you please come over here." Her voice was sweet and soft to hide the underlying panic rushing through her mind. Her daughter shuffled over to the other side of the room, leaning back against the wall once she was close enough to whisper. "Sweetling, don't panic. Promise me you won't panic."

"I promise..." Sansa frowned, but Catelyn could barely see it through the dark. "Why would I panic?"

"The babe is coming."

"What?!" Sansa cried, Catelyn clamped her hand over her mouth in order to keep the others asleep.

"I wouldn't ask if I had anyone else. You need to help me outside, you need to tell someone to build a fire, and you need to make sure the children stay asleep. If you really need help, wake Amorea. I am ever so sorry to put this burden on you, sweetling, but if I could keep this baby inside me any longer I promise I would." Sansa nodded and helped Catelyn to her feet, slowly making it into the moonlight outside. It was much brighter than Catelyn had expected her, there was a certain beauty in the clarity of the night. The guards were posted around the little house, some drifting off to sleep against logs and some taking first watch.

"What's your name?" Sansa snapped at one of them. Her opened his mouth to reply. "There's no time for introductions, I need you to build a fire outside. Can you do that?" I've never seen her be so firm with someone. I'm proud.

"What the fucking hell are you two doing?" The Hound said as he walked over. Normally, Catelyn would have corrected him on his tone and inform him that it was no proper way to speak to a lady, but the pain shooting through her abdomen was more prominent in her mind. She grinded her teeth to stop any noise escaping her lips. The prominent scar on his face no longer bothered her as it had after the first few days of meeting him. It had taken long enough for life to teach Catelyn that beauty was not everything.

Sansa sighed. "The babe is coming." The Hound looked to Catelyn with wide eyes and received a silent nod.

"Well fuck me." His hands went up in the air. "Go push that thing out quick, I want to be on the road at first light." Sansa's eyebrows furrowed angrily and she looked like she was going to yell at him, but Catelyn patted her shoulder gently. This was no time for an argument.

"Sweetling..." Catelyn whispered. "Don't...just don't."

They slowly made away to the fire and Catelyn laid down on the ground, leaning her head against a log. She shifted uncomfortably as Sansa ran her hand through her hair, as Catelyn had done to her so many times in Winterfell. "I...what do I need to do Mother?"

Catelyn gulped. "Do you...do you know where the babe will come out, Sansa?" Sansa nodded and blushed. They hadn't really spoken about that kind of thing in the past, it had always been so uncomfortable. "I..you need to..." Catelyn gritted her teeth again as another pain hit her, and squeezed her daughter's hand.

"What's going on?" Both Sansa and Catelyn's eyes shot back to the little house where they'd been trying to sleep, Arya was standing in the doorway rubbing her eyes. "Mother, why aren't you inside...oh." Her eyes widened. "Oh gods! It's the babe, isn't it?"

When Rickon had been born, Arya had been standing by the door curiously for hours. She kept asking the maester why her Mother was screaming, where the babe was, if it would be there soon. Catelyn had thought that Arya would have made a good maester had she been born a boy, a good maester but a better knight.

"Go-go back inside, Sweetling." Catelyn tried to smile at her, but it was clearly forced. "You are too young to witness the childbed. Go, sleep."

"It isn't a childbed, it's a child-forest-floor, and you do not need to shield me from things anymore Mother. It isn't fair that Sansa is allowed out here and I'm not." Arya crossed her arms and sat on the other side of her mother.

"Stop it, Arya. Your acting like a child." Catelyn scolded in the most stern voice she could muster.

"I am a child. And my little brother is coming into the world tonight, I don't want to sleep through it. I want to help you the best I can." Arya didn't know much about the childbirth in truth, but once in Winterfell she'd heard one of the serving girls having her babe and had gone to see why she was screaming so much. Catelyn Stark was not a serving girl, she was her mother, and this was not Winterfell, it was a muddy forest floor. "I'll do my best."

Why doesn't it hurt anymore? Catelyn wondered as all sound became muffled and her vision cloudy. She lifted her hand feebly and felt the liquid that was running red down her arms like a ruby glove. Sansa and Arya were screaming the word 'push' as they had been for the last half hour, they had given up on modesty and embarrassment when they'd realised what they'd need to do as Catelyn's 'midwives'.

Her eyelids suddenly felt very heavy and started to close, but before they could completely a familiar hand started to shake her shoulders. "Mother!" The matching voice cried. "Don't close your eyes, your babe is nearly here! Please, Mother, don't close your eyes...Please!" Sansa shook her shoulder so violently Catelyn thought her head might just topple off and roll away.

"What's happening?" Arya asked, crawling over to the other side of Catelyn's head.

"She's...she's..." Sansa began to sob. "She's not going to...fading...she's fading..."

"No she's not." Arya replied firmly, vigorously shaking Catelyn's shoulder as Sansa had before. "Don't close your eyes Mother, don't you do it!" She spat between Catelyn's mouth and nose. "Shout at me Mother, yell and scream, just don't close your eyes!"

Sansa rushed back to where the babe was coming and caught it as it left its Mother's womb. "Arya..." Catelyn gulped, lifted her bloodied hand slightly and running it through her dark boyish hair weakly. "Sansa..." Catelyn felt her eyelids completely shut and her head start to feel ever so heavy. A babe's cry pierced the air, and Catelyn's lips curved upwards slightly. "Gerion..." Her arms went limp and her skin felt cold in that moment. "Mother!" Arya cried again, shaking her. Sansa cut the cord and tried to calm her brother, rocking him gently but sobbing at the sight of her Mother's limp body.

"It's a boy." Sansa wept.

"I don't fucking care about it!" Arya hissed, pulling Catelyn's body into a hug and burying her face in her copper locks. "She'll wake up any second now, you'll see. She'd just tired. I know it." This was the first time Sansa had ever see Arya cry. Perhaps if it had been in any other situation, she would have laughed and said something like 'ha, my little sister does have emotions after all.'

But her Mother was dead.

Gerion was alive, crying and kicking, and Catelyn was gone.

Arya screamed suddenly, burying her face into Catelyn's hair further and clenching her hands. Sansa just looked at her little brother. She felt no love for this little person, no kindness or joy, only hatred for what he had caused.

"YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!" Sansa screamed at him, which only made him cry harder. "SHE'S GONE AND IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU LITTLE LANNISTER SHIT!"

Sorry this took so long...I have no excuse...
This is also based off a 14 year olds knowledge of childbirth, so please excuse me if any of this is really unrealistic. And if it's kinda short.

Dw if you wanted more fanfic, because I ain't done yet. I'd love to hear what you think will happen next!

Emma xx