Well, this is the end.

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Thank you very much to all those who read the story, followed it, marked it as favourite, and especially to those who took the time to leave a comment !

I hope you like the end :)

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11. The boy and his family. (Epilogue)

I have tried to help my family avoid the horrible fate that awaits them. I tried stopping them from making terrible mistakes, but it was all for naught. I convinced my father to tell Robert the truth, but when the King had the royal family executed Tywin Lannister killed my father in revenge. I managed to stop Robb from falling for that foreign healer and break his oath to the Freys only for Robb to die precisely because the healer had been sent away at my behest. I stopped Arya from going to Braavos and embark on an adventure that would only bring her grief, but grief is what I caused her when she was captured by the Boltons and suffered a horrible death. I got Sansa to escape Joffrey and the Queen, only to be recaptured and imprisoned: she never could really escape Joffrey. I was able to convince Mother not to leave Wintetrfell only for her to suffer terribly at Theon's hands. I managed to get Theon not to attack Winterfell, but in the end his fate remained unchanged. I tried to help Jon by doing my best so that he could return home and not fight those dangerous creatures beyond the Wall, and it was precisely those creatures that ultimately killed him. I even thought I could save myself from falling, but in the end it was even worse: I died.

Intervening in their fates individually did not work. I have to get them when they are all together and warn them. There is only one time when I can get my whole family in one room and when they will actually listen to me. … Yes, I admit, it did feel nice to see myself walking around and enjoying life to the fullest with an able body, but if losing the use of my legs is the price I have to pay in order to save my family, then so be it. After what I have seen, I will choose that hands down and call it a bargain.

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I see myself lying on my bed in my room, unmoving and covered in furs. My mother is distraught with grief, I had never seen her so broken. My father is devastated, as well. He is torn between his duty to his King and his love for his family. I see my siblings: Robb tries to appear strong for my mother and father, but I have seen him wipe a few stray tears off his face; Sansa, on the other hands, cries openly and does not even attempt to cover it; Arya comes to visit me daily but remains quiet, she takes her anger out on the dummy she secretly practices swordplay with; Rickon is lost and confused seeking attention from whoever will give it to him, usually Sansa, since my mother has pretty much lost her mind. I also see Jon. He wants to come to my room, I know, but he also does not want to face my mother. He has been in a couple of times, always in the company of Robb. I know Maester Luwin is doing all he can to try and save me, but he knows it is no use. He knows that if I wake, I will never walk again, but he does not have the heart to tell my family.

Maester Luwin is speaking to my family now. They are all together. This is the time! This is my chance! I need to talk to them now.

"Listen to me!" I yell. But no one hears. They are all focused on the maester's words and nobody is open to my presence. I yell and I yell, but to no avail. I need to find another way before my chance slips away. My eyes fall on the body on the bed. Bran. They will listen to him if he wakes up.

"Bran, open your eyes" I will myself to wake. I focus all my energy on the body on the bed and I try my hardest to get to the core of my own soul. "Wake up, Bran, wake up" I whisper intently to my own ear. "You have to save your family. You have to warn them. Only you can do it, and you have to do it now, before it's too late. You have to wake before father leaves with Sansa and Arya, before mother loses her sanity, before Jon goes to the wall, before we are left all alone."

Bran's eyelids flutter and his fingers twitch. Everybody's eyes are on him now. I smile as my efforts are rewarded. My incorporeal form and its real counterpart are finally together, finally aligned in the same reality. I am no longer a ghostly phantom and the body in the bed is no longer an empty vessel. We are one and the same again. Together.

"Bran?" my father asks.

"Yes" I reply feebly, the serious injuries my body suffered in the fall and the prolonged time of inactivity taking a toll on me.

Maester Luwin hands me a glass of water and helps me take small sips. My sister holds my hand and my mother wipes my forehead. The tenderness I see reflected in my family's actions and their faces breaks my heart. I cannot lose them.

"I need to talk to you. All of you. I need your attention" I start, not sure about how to continue.

"Bran, what is going on? Are you alright?" father asks with worry.

"Yes, but I will not be, none of us will, if you do not listen to my words" I continue, finding my courage.

"What are you talking about Bran?" my older brother asks.

"Fate. I am talking about our fate. Do not ask me how I know of this, but my fall was not an accident. And more tragic events will befall all of us if you do not heed my words." My words sound too ominous for my own taste. I don't know if they'll believe me, I don't even know if I believe it myself. "We are about to embark on paths that will lead us to our own destruction. We are about to go our separate ways and that will only bring us grief" I continue and I try to sit with the help of my father and Theon. "The lone wolf dies"

"But the pack survives" my father finishes for me. "What are you trying to say, Bran?"

"Father, you have been offered the position of Hand, have you not?" and my father nods. "And Sansa has been betrothed to Joffrey" to which my sister nods. I look at Arya now and continue "Father, you mean to take both Arya and Sansa to the capital with you, do you not?"

"Aye, I do" he replies quietly.

"And Jon, you are adamant about going to the Wall and joining the Night Watch, are you not?"

"Yes, I am" he replies frowning his brow in confusion. "How did you know? I had not told you before you had the accident"

"As I said, do not ask me how I know these things. I just know them." When I knew I had their undivided attention I resumed. "Father, you are about to embark on a journey you will not return from. Events will happen in the capital which will not only cost you your life but will also plunge the Seven Kingdoms in a war very few of us will survive. Sansa, you will suffer terribly at the hands of the Prince; he is not what you think he is. Arya, the fate that awaits you will take you to unimaginable adventures, but you will not rejoice. You will be all alone and miserable. Mother and Robb, you will become involved in a war that will claim your hearts, your heads and ultimately your lives. Rickon, you will be left all alone and become lost to the rest of the world. Jon, I know you believe joining the Night Watch will bring you honor, but what fate has in store for you there is not what you imagine. Theon, I know that in spite of your cool exterior, deep inside you do love us and that's why I cannot let you fulfill your destiny: a future of suffering and pain beyond all imagination is what awaits you. Please listen to my words."

"Bran, this is just crazy" Robb says shaking his head. "We are all very glad you're awake, but why don't you get some rest? Get some sleep and then we'll come see you again tomorrow" he suggests running his hand softly through my hair.

"Please, just hear me out" I beg. Their faces denote a mixture of curiosity and pity. I guess they do wonder if I hit my head harder than it looks, and I can't say I blame them. When they all nod I continue. "Father," I start, my eyes focusing on him, "if you discovered something about the Queen that would make your friend, King Robert, react with such rage and force to the point that it could endanger her life and that of her children, and if you could warn her and save her life, who would you speak to first?"

"I would try and speak to the Queen first to make sure they are unharmed" he replied confirming my suspicions. "Then I would talk to Robert and make sure the situation is resolved with as minimal risk as possible to the parties involved."

"Of course you would father. Your honor binds you to do the right thing" I smile at him. He gives me an expression I cannot really read, so I turn to my mother. "Mother, if you had reliable information and credible evidence that I did not fall through the window, but that I was pushed"

"Oh, gods! No! Who pushed you? My sweetling?" she interrupts me and approaches my bed.

"Wait, mother let me finish. If you knew that somebody was responsible for my accident and you had clues as to who that person was, would you go after them?"

"To the bitter end. They would pay for what they have done to you" she replies, her lips pursed and her voice harsh. "I would do anything for any of my children."

"I know, mother, I know" I try to reassure her. When she gives me a sad smile I continue and turn to Robb. "Robb, if you make a vow to a family like, let's say the Freys, but you find yourself unwilling to fulfill that vow because you have found an option that you find more pleasant, would you try and fulfill your vow to them regardless or would you try to appease them with an alternate option even if it is not that advantageous to them?"

"Appease! Advantai…ning? What is this? Where did you learn these words?" my train of thought is interrupted by Arya's outburst.

"Arya, let your brother finish" my father admonishes her softly.

"Sorry" she mumbles.

"So, Robb, what would you do?"

"Well, I would try to avoid any kind of vow to a family like the Freys" he chuckles and the comic relief is well accepted by my audience. We all laugh a little at his bad attempt at a joke. "But I suppose I would make whatever is best for us and if that implies not fulfilling my vows to them I would try and compensate them somehow."

"Sansa, if you had the chance to escape a place where you are being abused, would you take a chance and leave with a man you know has killed an innocent boy before? Would you venture into the unknown with a stranger? Or would you stay with the people you know even if it means you might get hurt?"

"I .. I don't know" she stutters. "I'd be terrified, especially if I know the man is a murderer. I think I would probably stay with the people I know, even if they make me suffer. I would fear the unknown."

"Arya, if you were all alone in this world, knowing your family and your house are no longer here, would you venture into the unknown?"

She looks at Sansa and then replies "I do not fear the unknown. If there's nothing to keep me here I would seek my fate elsewhere."

"Bran, where are you getting these horrible ideas from, my sweetling?"

"Mother, let me finish, please. I promise I will explain." When she nods I continue. "Jon, you want to join the Night Watch, don't you?"

"Yes, but how do you know? I haven't told anyone, yet. Nobody but Uncle Benjen knows and he swore he wouldn't tell anyone."

"How I know is irrelevant now, just bear with me, please"

"All right." He sends an apologetic look to my family and nods. "Yes, I have thought abut joining the Night Watch"

"What if your superiors gave you an order that, even though it implies doing what is best for the Order and for the realm, puts your life at risk? What if this vow to the Night Watch forces you to do things you don't want? If these things you have to do alienate you from the rest of your friends pitting them against you?"

"I would always try to do the right thing."

"Even if your friends do not agree and may even get angry at you?"

"Yes, that's the way I was raised" he says and looks at my father, who smiles softly at him.

"Theon, you do love us, don't you? And you would never try to hurt us, would you?"

"Of course"

"But you have always had bigger dreams than being just a ward of the Starks. You have always yearned for your father's approval. What would you do if your father asks you to betray our trust? Would you turn against us if he asked you to, even though deep inside you know it is not the right thing to do?"

"I would never betray you, Bran!" he cries outraged.

"I know you would never want to hurt us, Theon, and that you would take measures to ensure we are not harmed" I reassure him. "But, let's say you were offered the chance to become King of the Iron islands, or if the opportunity arose to become Lord of Winterfell, would you take it?"

"Well, I do admit I would like to be King of my islands or hold a position of power" he admitted. "But never at the expense of you. You are my family, Bran!"

"It's all right Theon, we know" I try to ease his feelings.

"Bran, where are you getting with this?" my father asks and I can see his unease.

"This will all happen father! You will leave with the King and be forced to make a decision that will cost you your life and plunge the realm into war. Mother will do things that, however justified they may seem, will have dire consequences and will anger our enemies. There will be a war and Robb will be forced to make decisions that will ultimately cost many lives. Sansa's and Arya's lives will take paths that will separate them from our family and the people they love, taking them in adventures that will not be pleasant. Jon, the Night Watch will not be what you expect, and your life there will not be what you think. Theon, we know you love us, but opportunities will open to you where you will face a decision that will mean suffering for us, and you will take it, but you will regret and second guess yourself it every step of the way." I finish my speech and look at my family. Jaws dropped and eyes wide open is what I see in them, doubt and fear reflected in their faces.

"Bran, my sweetling, are your sure?"

"Yes, mother. This will all happen if Father leaves South with the King. Don't leave father. When the snows falls and the white wind blows, the lone wolf dies …"

"But the pack survives" father finishes for me again.

"Winter is indeed coming. We need to stay together" I insist. "Family Duty Honor" I say turning to my mother. "We need to stay together as a family. Father, don't leave."

The silence in the room is deafening. The tension could be cut with a knife. My family all look at each other pondering what to say. We are suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. It is Maester Luwin who first gathers strength to get up and answer the call.

"Lord Stark" Maester Luwin says from the door to my chambers. "The King is without"

"Let him in" my father's stern voice replies.

"Ned, I need to talk to you" King Robert starts but stops when his eyes fall on me. "Bran, you are awake! Thank the gods for that! You had a really bad fall, lad. I'm glad to see you have awaken."

"Thank you, Your Grace." I reply courteously.

"So, Ned, now that your boy is fine. I need an answer. You will become my Hand, will you not? You are coming with me to King's Landing."

My father takes a moment before answering the King. He looks at me and I raise my eyebrows at him. I beg him silently to reconsider. "I am sorry Your Grace," he finally says "but my place is with my family. I truly thank you for the honor and feel humbled you would consider me for the position. But my place is with my family."

"Ned!" the King roars.

"I beg your forgiveness Your Grace, but my place is with my family" he insists to my relief.

"All right" the King finally acquiesces. "For our long lasting friendship and the love we bear each other, I will respect your decision, Ned. But there will come a time when you will repay me the favour"

"Thank you, Your Grace."

When the King closes the door behind him I look at my family and I smile at them. My smile seems to be contagious since they are all smiling now, and soon the smile turns into a boisterous guffaw and we are laughing loudly.

I have not failed this time.

I have succeeded. Our family will stay together!

My name is Bran Stark of Winterfell and I have saved my family.

THE END

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So, what do you think? In the end, Bran sacrificed himself to save his family ...

Did he succeed this time? I want to think he did ... He stopped his father from going to King's Landing. That way they will be all together safe and sound in Winterfell and hopefully they will never find out who is behind Bran's accident, who Joffrey's father really is, etc and live in ignorant bliss for all the years to come. ... no war, no executions, no Wall, no Red Wedding, no Braavos, no Faceless Men, etc ...

This fiction was actually a collection of what-ifs ...

*What if Ned had talked to Robert before he talked to Cersei?

*What if Robb had sent Talisa away and married a Frey?

*What if Arya had not gone to Braavos?

*What if Sansa had escaped with the Hound?

*What if Catelyn had remained at Winterfell?

*What if Theon had not betrayed Robb?

*What if Jon had never bonded with the wildlings?

*What if Bran had not fallen?

etc ... If anyone wants to pick any of these short stories and make them into a longer fic, they are more than welcome to do so. (Hopefully with a happier ending!)

Thank you very much for reading and sticking around!

Feedback is always appreciated! If you have a minute, please let me know what you think...