Sorry about the wait - I hit a mountain when it came to this chapter. I knew what I wanted to write, yet it wouldn't come out. Thank you to everyone that has still stuck with me ine this story. It really means a lot.

I apologize for any mistakes made. I hope you all enjoy it xx Comet96 xxx

"Run Olly," Ygritte yelled at him as she pulled me along behind her. Olly was in front of us, trying to keep ahead. "Don't stop!"

I didn't think we were being followed anymore, but Ygritte wanted to be careful. After we had left with Olly, some of the clan had chased after us. They called us traitors, yet we knew what we were doing.

"I see it! I see Castle Black!" Olly shouted, picking up his pace as he rushed towards the Night's Watch. This was going to change everything. Us coming here was going to cause chaos. It was going to bring trouble for Jon and I didn't know how everyone was going to react to us being here.

A horn blasted through the air and relief filled me as the gates opened. I slowed my pace as we approached, seeing a few men standing around Olly, before they caught sight of Ygritte, her bow held tightly in her hand.

"Wildlings!" they yelled, swords lifting ready for a fight. It was Olly that stopped it all, stepping in front of Ygritte, holding his hands up.

"Wait, no, no, don't," he cried, looking back at Ygritte as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "They saved me. They helped me get here," he told the crows as they looked between the three of us.

A large man came into view then, his eyes looking between Olly and Ygritte before looking at his brothers.

"What's going on?" he asked, stopping in front of Olly. The boy was shivering, the cold no doubt hitting him now that we weren't running.

"The wildlings," Olly started only to look to Ygritte, continuing when she gave him a nod. "They came into my village, they killed everyone. They sent me to tell you that they're coming for you all. Ygritte and Etta helped get me here. They betrayed them to help me. You can't hurt them."

"Aye, we won't hurt them lad," another man announced looking at Ygritte with interest as the gates closed behind us. "Take them to get food Sam," the man order and I looked to the larger man as he stepped forward to us.

Was this Sam? The same Sam, Jon spoke about?

I took a step closer to Ygritte then, feeling the burning pain at my side and knew I should tell her about the arrow. While trying to escape from our clan, they hadn't been too happy, firing arrows until Tormund yelled at them to stop. It had only taken one arrow to find its way into my side. Fortunately, it had missed the babe inside me, but it had grazed me enough for blood to spill.

"Ygritte," I called to her, grabbing hold of her arm as I felt a wash of dizziness come over me.

"Is she alright?" the voice was familiar, yet I couldn't place who it belonged to.

"She's fine, the arrow just grazed her," an old voice croaked. To me, it seemed like the older man speaking was wise, his voice gave me that feeling. "She blacked out due to the journey. Her sister said they were being chased. The boy, Olly, told Samwell that they protected him."

"Aye, that's something they'd do." The first voice confirmed, sounding closer than the last time.

"I'll let you be, Samwell will be here with your food." The creaking of the door and shuffling of feet let me know that the older man had left, but there were louder footsteps coming towards us.

"Here," this voice was younger than the first speaker, it sounded familiar as well. I wish I could fight through and open my eyes. I was sure that the person sat close to me was Jon. I needed to see him. I needed to make sure he was okay. "Is this her then?"

"Aye, Sam. This is Etta," Jon confirmed, his voice holding nothing from his friend.

"Your wife," Sam replied, a light tone to his voice. "She's with child." I knew it was obvious to see now. There was no point in hiding it. Jon knew and that was all I cared about.

"She is."

"You never told me that when you came back." It seemed Sam was slightly upset with Jon.

"She wasn't going to tell me," Jon told Sam and I could hear the bitterness in his voice. "She nearly died when we climbed the Wall, she didn't tell me until we made it to the top. I nearly lost her Sam."

"But you didn't, she's here isn't she," Sam told him and I could just picture him resting his hand on Jon's shoulder. "You're angry at her. Did you stop to think how she thought you might react to the child?"

"I would have told her I loved her," Jon argued, the tone of his voice growing angrier as Sam went on.

"Aye, you might have, but you once told me you didn't want children, Jon. Have you told her that before?"

"I want children with her Sam. She's my wife."

"She was probably just scared." There was a pause of silence as the sound of scraping hit my ears. Jon must have been eating. "Her sister, Ygritte. She wants to see her but Thorne won't let her go yet," Sam added, and I could hear the worry in his voice.

"I'll go speak to him," Jon sighed, the exhaustion becoming clear as he replied to Sam.

"He's not happy with you Jon. You broke your vows in his eyes."

"I did want the Halfhand told me to do," Jon snapped before uttering a small apology to Sam. He knew it wasn't his friend's fault but he couldn't help but snap. Bless him. Too much was being put on Jon's shoulders and it was my fault.

"Be careful around him Jon, who knows what he's got planned for you and the girls."

"It'll be alright Sam." Jon's had too much to worry about, yet he was trying to comfort his friend at the same time. He was too good for me; his kindness was something I hadn't seen in a long time. "I just hope she wakes before the wildlings get here."

"Jon?" my voice was rough as I called out for my husband. I must have gone back to sleep after he left because it looked like I was alone in my room. Slowly getting up, I pressed my hands into the bed as I felt my head spin. Waiting a few minutes, I took in a few deep breaths, resting my hand on my large stomach.

A nudge against my hand brought a smile to my face. At least I knew the babe was alive and growing well. I had feared that something would happen to the child. Even if there was a prophecy. The door opening had me lifting my eyes to meet my husband's gaze.

He smiled at me but then his face turned to one of worry. Something big was happening. Were the wildlings here? I remember Jon mentioning them earlier.

"What is it?" I asked him, knowing he'd be telling me anyway.

"The wildlings are here, Mance has them coming at us from the North." He looked around the room I was in, I suspect it was his room. "Ygritte's gonna come here and protected you. She's promised to keep you safe and she's promised not to leave this room. I need you to stay here as well."

"I promise," I whispered knowing he might be finding it hard to trust me. Reaching out for him, I smiled when he placed his hand in mine, coming forward as I gave him a tug. "I won't leave this room. Not if it's what you want."

"I need to know you're safe. I can't be out there not knowing where you are and if you're safe."

"I'll be safe," I promised, gripping his arm and pulling myself up. I set my hand in his hair, pulling him down until his lips met mine. Jon sighed into the kiss, pulling me closer to him before he pulled away, his eyes rested on the bump where our child was.

"I keep expecting you to be smaller," he whispered running his hand over the bump, jumping in surprise as the babe sent a nudge under his hand.

"I'm about six moons gone, Jon. I'm surprised you didn't find out before."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was scared. Not to tell you, I was never really scared to tell you, I just used that as an excuse. I'm scared of the prophecy. About how this child is meant to kill the Others. Do you think our child could really do that?" I asked him, leaning into his touch as he cupped my face in his hands.

"No matter what, we'll get through it together," he promised. A horn going off caused Jon to pull away from me, running his hands over his face. "Look, I've got to go. I'll be back for you as soon as the fight's over. Don't answer the door to anyone but me or Sam. Ygritte will be in as soon as I leave." He paused, taking me in slowly, his eyes roaming over me as if he was trying to commit me to memory. "I love you."

"Jon, please be careful. I can't raise our child alone." With a small nod, Jon left the room and Ygritte entered a few seconds later, followed by a woman holding a babe and Olly.

"Etta, this is Gilly," Ygritte introduced as she closed the door, locking it and shoving the key on the hook by the door.

Giving Gilly a small smile I looked to Olly as he came to me, wrapping me into a hug.

"They asked me to fight with them but I told Jon I would stay with you. Is that okay?" he asked, looking up at me with watery eyes. I couldn't help but be reminded that the boy was only ten and two.

"It's fine Olly, it's safer in here and I'd prefer knowing you are safe." Since bringing Olly here, I saw him as a little brother and I felt like I had to protect him in some way. If keeping him here away from the fight was going to keep him safe, I would do it.

As the first sounds of battle reached us I didn't feel as scared as I thought I would. Perhaps it was because I knew if Jon and his brothers lost the battle, Ygritte and I wouldn't be harmed because these were our people. It didn't matter if we had betrayed them, they wouldn't hurt us in the end.

It was only a matter of time now before this all came to an end.

I didn't know how long we'd been waiting for Jon or Sam to get us, but Ygritte had to light the fire twice within that time and Gilly had feed Little Sam a lot and Olly had been in and out of sleep for a while now.

"I can't be much longer," Ygritte mentioned as she paced around the room, her bow in one hand and an arrow in another.

"Battles are unpredictable Ygritte, we won't know when it ends." I stroked my fingers through Olly's hair, smiling as he snuggled deeper into my side as we lay on the bed. He had been fighting his sleep but after I coaxed him into taking a nap he'd drifted off without any problems.

"That mark on your wrist," Gilly spoke up, her eyes resting on the mark visible on my skin. "I've seen it before."

"Aye, you should 'ave," Ygritte answered her, stopping as she looked down at the young mother. "Etta's been marked by the Gods. You know the markings of the Gods, don't ya?"

"Everyone does," Gilly muttered as if Ygritte was stupid to ask. "The Divine Mark. You're the one they talk about."

"Talk about?" I asked wondering what Gilly had heard about me. I knew that the Crows had heard about the prophecy since it involved one of them and I knew a few other clans heard, but I had no idea that the free folk at Craster's Keep knew as well.

"Your babe is the saviour of the Others," she whispered, her eyes settling on the roundness of my stomach where my child grew.

"Aye, that's one of the names for the babe," Ygritte announced looking at Gilly as she stared at me in awe. "The stories of the prophecy change, but Etta here's gonna keep us safe when the storm comes."

Gilly locked eyes with me then, the fear and hope mixing together as she thought about the coming storm and what it would bring.

"The stories about the White Walkers are true?" Olly asked in a small voice, startling me as I thought he was still asleep. How could I tell this boy that the horror stories he had been told to keep him good were true?

"You best believe it Olly," Ygritte told him, looking at the boy as she had looked at me when I was younger. "Once the storm comes, there's no stopping' the Others from takin' over. You best hope Etta and Jon keep ya safe."

"We won't let anything happen to you Olly." I looked to Gilly as she shushed Little Sam against her shoulder as he started to cry. "We won't let anything happen to anyone."

"Anyone innocent that is," Ygritte added, no doubt thinking about Thorne and the way he had treated her.

"We won't let anything happen to anyone, Ygritte. I mean anyone. If we lose a single person to the Others, that's one less person on our side and one more on theirs. That's not something we need to be fighting. We have enough fights going on now. We're in a war we don't need to be in. If these crows listened to us and tried to hear our side of what's going on over the Wall, then there would be no need for this reckless killing."

Ygritte said nothing as I looked to her. She had paused by the small window in the room, glancing out at the battle. It was time she had to understand that the actions we took now meant the most in the future.

"These wars are already destroying us, ripping us apart and causing damage that can't be undone. This needs to be a new beginning, a clean start where there's understanding and peace between us North of the Wall and those South of it. How can we be expected to stop the end if we can't stop and be civilized now?"

Thank you for reading xx