Sansa found that here was no time to mourn for Lysa. The farm would not wait, Arya and Robin would not wait; she knew she was right to refuse Petyr's help, but she found herself overwhelmed. She told herself she would make it through this, that she would be strong for the remaining members of the family, she vowed she they would not suffer, that she would not lose anyone else. Arya had taken note of Sansa's determination and did her best to mirror it.

Sadly though, they were unable to catch their breaths before the next blow came. The week following Lysa's death they found it harder and harder to rouse Robin each morning. It seemed he was constantly tired and listless. They initially blamed it on him missing his mother, but on the third morning Sansa found him feverish and covered in sweat.

By that afternoon he was covered in a rash. He was in and out of consciousness, when he was awake he whimpered for his mother. Sansa left Arya with him and went to town to find the doctor. He told her he would do his best to get out to them today but that it sounded like typhus. He said there was currently an outbreak, likely a result of Major Bolton's 'field trip' a couple of weeks ago. He cautioned her that the medicine to treat it was in short supply and high demand. He apologized profusely but told her there was a very good chance he would not be able to procure it. When she had asked him what that would mean for Robin she had just continued to say he was sorry. Sansa knew what that meant.

She left the doctor and went to find Petyr. She hated to ask him for special treatment, to owe him anything, but Robin's life was at stake and she saw no other option. She found him at home and he invited her in. She realized as she crossed the threshold that this was the first time she'd been in his house as he had always come to them. She felt un-nerved by this, like he already had the upper hand. She told herself again that she had to do this for her cousin's life.

"You look upset. Is everything alright?" He asked as he showed her to a chair and they sat in his parlor.

"No, I'm sorry to come to you like this but things are awful. Robin's very ill, the doctor thinks its likely typhus," she told him fighting back tears. "I – I – I think I need your help."

"Ahh," he looked beyond pleased by her words. "Well it seems our dear friend Ramsay has given the town quite a gift. Many people from that trip have fallen ill in the last week, it's causing a lot of issues."

"You've known for a week this might happen? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't want to worry you, not with everything else."

"He stared showing signs three days ago, if I'd known what I was looking for I'd have been able to help him sooner! You should've told me! Now the doctor says the medicine is in short supply!" Sansa was so angry with him. She glared at him as he stood and walked to the window and looked out.

"Calm down. I can still help you. I might be able to access the medicine he needs," he told her as he turned back towards her.

"Might?"

"Well I can, but there is a price you see. Nothing comes free. You're eighteen now and Lysa is no longer here, I think it's time you begin to understand how things in this world work."

She looked at him confusion, could this really be happening, was he really planning to twist this situation like this? She decided she would play dumb and hope he'd be merciful. "I don't understand."

"No I imagine not, you have seemed rather naïve sometimes. You are aware I have always had a fondness for your mother and her family but you see fondness only gets one so far," he watched her reaction as he spoke. She just nodded dumbly. "You should know Lysa agreed to sell the farm to me, she signed the papers after Brynden's arrest, after the search, she understood I could protect her better if I held the land. I had agreed she could buy it back after the war and that in the meantime I would deed it to Robin in my will." This news was something she had not anticipated and it frightened her. He took in her scared and shocked expression. "Oh, I have every intention of letting all of you continue to live there in the meantime. I'm not a monster after all."

"Why would she do that? Why are you telling me this?" Her heart was pounding in her chest. Her palms were sweating, her back ridged with tension.

"I just want you to understand that your aunt understood what it took to protect her family, you should try to honor her example. Furthermore, I want you to understand where we stand. You should further know despite our prior interactions I'm not one to just do things out of the kindness of my heart. No one in this current world can afford to do things out of kindness. As I said I can help you, but there's a price and you have precious little to bargain with currently." He had moved towards her and now stood behind her chair, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. He began to play with her hair.

"Then what is it that you want?" Her voice shook as she said the words, her skin pricked with the chills.

"I think you already know, the same thing I've wanted for so very long, since the first time I saw you," he was rubbing her shoulders now, his hands slowly descended towards her breasts.

Sansa bolted from the chair and turned to face him when she was safely across the room. "No, no. I'm sorry but I can't give you that. I can't believe you would even ask that."

"Is that so?"

"You shouldn't even ask for…." She couldn't make the words come out. "There has to be something else you want." He laughed softly at that and shook his head.

"As I said you have nothing else of value."

"If I refuse you, what happens?"

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you with the medicine. You see I would have to pay a fortune for it, either in assets or favors, and well frankly my benevolence for the Tullys is quite used up. I'm happy to help but it was time I was paid in kind."

"Are you going to throw us off the farm?" Her voice came out small and frightened.

Petyr reeled back a bit like she had struck him. "I have to say I'm hurt you see me as such a monster Sansa, I just want fair payment for my efforts." He took in her accusatory expression. "You have my word, I'll never run you off the land, its Cat's home after all and well, you're lucky you remind me so much of her… Yes, you and Arya can stay there for as long as the Germans will allow it but I can't keep giving you special favors either, not unless you do your part."

Sansa felt a wave of nausea pass over her. Somehow Petyr seemed to see this as a business transaction, as if what he was doing was practical and not ghastly, she had no idea how he was reconciling all of this in his mind. "You'd let Robin die then? There has to be something else you want, some other deal we can work out."

"I told you, you have nothing else of value, nothing else I desire. And I'm not the one letting him die, you are making this choice my dear girl."

Sansa wanted to rush at him and claw his eyes out. She had always found him to be off putting, she'd never trusted him, but she never imagined he might be cruel. How dare he twist this and lay the blame at her feet when he was asking for something so foul. She searched herself, she loved Robin but she couldn't do it, she couldn't give herself to Petyr. Her mind whispered to her it would be a waste anyways, that he was likely too far gone at this point to be saved, maybe a couple of days ago she'd have felt differently, but she has seen the way he looked when she had left the house this afternoon, the chance that he might survive had already been slim. She hated herself for being so selfish, she hated Petyr for putting her in this position, but she knew there was no way she could offer herself in trade.

"Good day then Mr Baelish." She held her head high as she went to walk by him to leave. He grabbed her arm as she passed, his fingers searing into her. His eyes cut in to her, she resisted the urge to slap him.

"Are you sure? He is your cousin after all. Do you really want to see yet another of your family members -,"

"And he is like a nephew to you," she spat cutting him off, "but it seems we are all making our choices." With that she pulled her arm from his grasp and marched out the front door.

XXXXXX

The doctor made it out the following day and confirmed their worst fears; it was typhus. He told them he had no further medication for them but that likely it won't matter at this point anyways, he was too far gone and too weak to make it back. He gave them some pills to give him to make him comfortable while they waited for the end. He had told them he was sorry there wasn't more that he could do. He seemed truly sincere.

And so they waited for the end to come. Robin passed two days later. The girls told themselves that at least his suffering was over and he was with Lysa now; that she would be pleased to have her beloved boy with her once again.

She hadn't told Arya what had happened with Petyr. She had told her she had gone to him but that he had been unable to help. She knew it was better if Arya didn't know, she already had a strong hatred for Petyr because of what had happened with Mycah and Brynden; she refused to throw gasoline into that fire.

They dug the grave themselves behind the cottage. They figured it was best to do it themselves rather than go to town begging for help and drawing attention. Once they finished they went back to the house and they wrapped Robin in a sheet and carried him out of the house. As they carried him down to the field Sansa's mind wandered back to the night her mother told them they would be coming here, her biggest concern then had been about getting dirty from cows, now she was digging graves. She had to suppress a burst of laughter that was welling inside her, she wondered if she was losing her mind.

They reached the hole and placed him in the grave. They said little as the filled in the grave but when they finished Sansa felt overwhelmed with shame and guilt and began sobbing and sank to her knees. She cursed at herself in her mind and wept for not being able to make the deal with Petyr. The doctor had said nothing would have saved him but who could know for sure. Sansa knew she would question if she had made the right choice until the day she died.

Arya held her as they sat in the field. Arya felt scared, Sansa was the strong one, if she fell apart all would be lost. Arya told her they would be ok and begged her to stop crying. Arya's desperation pulled her back into herself. Sansa finally managed to pull herself together shortly after. When she did they stood and said a few words and then went back up to the house. They sat on the porch without speaking and stared out at the farm, taking in the fields, the orchard, the garden, the barn. On the surface it was beautiful, idyllic and bucolic, a place anyone would love to be, but to them it had become a place of horror and death and in that moment neither of them knew what to say.