Author's Note:

First I'd like to thank you all for reading my story! I sincerely appreciate your wonderful reviews as well. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It means a lot to me.

I received two reviews overnight, but they are not showing up on the site. Please know I did see them and loved them both!

Brienne turned over in bed. Her long bare arm drifted slowly across her body until her hand came to rest, tucked between her cheek and pillow, and pressed into a prayer against her other palm. She squirmed the slightest squirm, until her body settled, and pressed comfortably into place. She slept soundless and soundly, her naked right shoulder rising ever so slowly and then drifting back down, in a rhythmic peaceful dance. Her pale skin was exposed to the waist, where the soft, blue silken coverlet had fallen away as she slept. It draped up and over her right hip like a wave rolling on the surface of the ocean. Warm firelight danced over her, creating valleys of shadow and mountains of shimmering golden light.

He watched. He waited. Unmoved from the chair he'd pulled up next to the bed, he sat, still clad in his soot covered armor. Widow's Wail stood held between his gloved hands; her deadly end pointed into the floor. How long he'd been there, he couldn't tell. His only thought was that to disturb her, and steal this vision from his memories would be one of his utmost regrets.

The long night of fire, snow and blood was over now, and to walk through their chamber door and find her like this was bliss. This was what he killed for and would repeat night after night if it meant she could sleep like this. Gazing upon her, one thing puzzled him, and he couldn't point it out or define it with his weary eyes. She was as lovely as ever—lovelier if possible, but something had changed. Something was different about her. He took a deep breath and sighed, releasing the emotion that was rising in his chest. This is how it truly feels. This is what is real. He closed his eyes and hung his head low.

"Jaime?" she whispered.

He raised his head in a snap and pushed himself up by the hilt of his sword half way and stopped. Her eyes were still closed. Her breathing was still level and slow. She was dreaming. She was dreaming of him. He lowered himself back down into the chair and resumed his watch over her. He'd stay there until first light if necessary. He'd stay there until dawn the next day if that's how long she slept. He placed his sword carefully on the floor next to him, leaned back into the chair and slid into it until he was comfortable. Within minutes, his head dipped to the side and he fell quietly asleep.

When he awoke, cramped and sore from the at first comfortable, and now awkward position he'd slumped into, Brienne was lying on her stomach on the bed facing him. Her knuckles were propping up her chin and a smile covered her face. "Well, good morning," she whispered. "Can you move?"

He groaned and sighed as he righted himself in the chair, and leaned towards her until he was nearly an inch from her face. "Painfully yes, but seeing you helps."

Brienne rose from the bed and slipped into her robe. Stepping towards him, she picked up his sword and leaned it against the wall next to the bed. "Stand up," she ordered with a smile in her voice. "Let me get you out of this armor."

Jaime winced as he stood, and helped her finish removing his armor, and she piled it all near their chamber door. "I'll peek out and see if the guard is nearby." She opened the door and glanced down the corridor, finding only a woman pushing a cart of chamber pots. "She's collecting pots, Jaime. Better go if you need to," she giggled and then looked back towards the woman. "Miss?" she called out to her, "I'm sorry to bother you but is anyone available to bring fresh water and…never mind." Brienne stopped and closed the door. She began putting on her clothes as Jaime now sat again, in nothing but his pants, and watched.

"What are you doing?" he asked, rising again from the chair. He was still hunched a bit, appearing a man much older than his early forties, and walked slowly to the hearth and began tossing in split wood.

"I'm going to find us some water for both bathing and drinking. Some food might not be a bad idea either," she said, pulling on her boots. "Stay here, but please don't lie on the bed until you've bathed." She pounced over to him, swept his filthy outgrown hair away from his face and kissed him quick. "I'll be right back."

She was a whirlwind spinning around him and it blew him in circles in his head. He loved it. He smiled to himself and stoked the fire. He smelled himself and grimaced, then stepped into the large mirror above the hearth, scratching at his scruffy beard. He cringed at the sight of so much silver that now peppered it, and frowned at the scars and lines. For a moment he thought he caught a glimpse of his younger self when he leaned forward a bit and stared straight into his own eyes. Blinking the vision away in his mind, he turned away and hoped to never see it again.

"I'm back," Brienne announced. "Come in. Just bring it in here by the hearth where it's warm and fill it," she said, ordering a group of servants, each carrying buckets of hot water.

Jaime stood watching the parade filling the tub. His hand on his hip and his head cocked slightly at the sight of this. "A bath?"

"Well I did tell you that," Brienne remarked, following them all to the door and holding it for them as they filed out of the room. "Remember what I told you. At least a pound of ham, a dozen eggs and an entire loaf of fresh bread…and don't forget the butter and goat's milk!"

Jaime laughed loudly and asked, "Who are we feeding here, Brienne, the entire army?"

She closed the door and bolted it with a bang. "There, we won't be disturbed." She trotted over to him and took him by his golden hand. "Let me help you with this," she said, gently removing it and setting it on the table. Jaime just stood there, somewhere between awe and utter confusion. "Here, I'll get your pants. Get in the bath before it gets cold." He stood motionless, watching her as she easily pulled the ties of his pants and they dropped to his feet. He stepped out of them and two steps later, was sinking into the hot, soothing water.

Brienne placed a bathing cloth, folded into a thick pillow over the back of the tub, and eased Jaime backwards until his head rested against it. "Thank you," he sighed, closing his eyes. "This is wonderful."

"You and Bronn, the commanders, the knights, the archers, the foot soldiers, we owe our lives to you all," she softly said. It was the first time since she'd opened her eyes that her words weren't rushed. She dipped the wash cloth into the water and filled it with soap. "I see a few new bruises. Perhaps it wasn't the chair that caused your aches."

Jaime spoke with his eyes closed. "Perhaps a bit of both."

"Will you tell me about it or is it already tucked away inside?" She started at his feet, gently taking them in her hands one at a time and massaging them gently as she washed them.

"By the time I arrived, most of the battle was over. There were a few of those things left. They don't retreat. They just keep coming until you put them down. They don't retreat. There were still a few hundred of the Golden Company, many had lost their horses and ran on foot into the night. We sent parties out to look for them but the last report I received was only the ones on horseback made it out alive," he said with a rasp, his head still back. His eyes still shut.

A knock came at the door and Brienne stopped to answer it. "Who is it?"

"Your food m'Lady."

"Just leave it there. I'll get it. Thank you." Brienne waited for the woman's footsteps to fade, and then opened the door. There was a cart with everything she'd asked for. There was even a small glass bud vase with a beautiful winter rose. She pushed the cart into the room, bolted the door again and went back to bathing her husband.

She brushed the wash cloth up and down each leg, paying careful attention not to put too much pressure on any fresh bruises she found. Jaime was silent, yet occasionally smiled when her hand drew close between his thighs. He opened his legs to give her easier access and moaned softly when she washed him there. Almost immediately, his erection grew beneath her hand.

She smiled down at the water and said, "Why don't you tell me more about last night? It will take your mind off other things."

"What if I don't want to take my mind off other things?" he asked with a grin that spread from his mouth to the corners of his closed eyelids.

Brienne chuckled softly. "As I always tell you, you're irredeemable. I still haven't the slightest idea why I married you."

"Am I? Am I really?" he asked. His voice had changed from devilish lad to somber.

"Are you really what?" Brienne said, taking hold of his right forearm and raising it, now working at the stench beneath his arms.

"Irredeemable."

"When it comes to your insatiable lust, yes," she said taking his other arm and repeating her scrubbing. "And I thank the Gods for it. Who wants a husband who doesn't want to bed you when he has you alone?"

"I'm getting old, Brienne. I don't know how to carry all of this anymore. I'm running out of space in my head for it all," he said overladen with angst, in a low groan edged with a whine.

"Sit up now," she said, gently pulling on him until he sat forward in the water. "Something tells me you're asking for some…some deeper meaning in my words, and I know you too well to allow you to bait me into such foolish talk." She snatched the soap from the water and slapped it into the wash cloth roughly and rubbed it until it was thick with soap. As she scrubbed the back of his neck and shoulders, she continued. "You've suffered as much if not more than the amount of whatever misdeeds you've done. You've paid every price." She reached down and grabbed an empty pitcher, filled it with water and poured it slowly over his head.

Still sitting forward, he opened his eyes and stared at his reflection in the water as she began to wash his hair. The sensation of her long, slender fingers massaging his scalp covered his skin with gooseflesh and he shivered; his body, still warm from the water, was now exposed to the cool air of the room.

"Are you cold? I'm almost through. Let me rinse your hair." Brienne began filling the pitcher over and over and pouring it through his hair as she combed her fingers through it to make sure it was clean. "Lay back," she said, helping him recline. She climbed from her knees and lifted the bathing cloth she'd been kneeling on and held it open for him to step into.

Wrapping it around him, she pulled him close and took his now clean, flushed face in her hands. "When you speak of these things, I want you to understand my curtness isn't with you for anything you've done. It isn't even curtness, Jaime; it's frustration." As she spoke, her eyes travelled the surface of his face. She brushed her thumbs over his beard and smoothed it down over his sharp jawline. She played with his wet hair, combing through it with her fingers and sweeping it behind his ears. She even smoothed his brows until her hands at last came to rest as her fingers threaded together at the back of his neck. He stood pressed against her, wrapped in the bathing cloth and his eyes never wavered from hers.

"I tell myself over and over how well we know each other in order to comfort myself when I know you're in pain. I know nothing I say will erase any of it, nor will it coax you into talking to me about it. I love you regardless. I know everything I need to know and when there's more to tell, I will be here to hear it," she leaned into him and kissed him, as the bathing cloth slipped from his shoulders and fell to the floor. His mouth was open, pushing her lips apart as his hand came up to her neck just below her ear. He pulled her firmly to his mouth, until their tongues danced around each other and he consumed her lips. Brienne slid her hands from where they rested on his hips, up over his stomach until they pressed flat against his chest and she pulled reluctantly away. Jaime held onto her, pressing his now swollen erection against her.

"I want you," he whispered through another deep kiss, sucking her lips into his mouth.

"I want you too but our food is getting cold," she panted, closing her eyes as he pulled at her tunic and pushed his hand beneath it, capturing her now erect nipple between his fingers.

"Fuck the food," he growled walking her back towards the bed. "Take off your clothes. Don't argue with me."

"As if I could."

The moment her tunic swept over her head, his mouth was on her again. His kisses were hard and his beard grazed roughly over the naked flesh of her long neck, her collar bones and down over her breasts. She sighed beneath the warmth of his hand as it pawed at her back, jerking her forward into him until they were pressed together below the waist. Her head fell back, leaning her torso away from him as he took her breast into his mouth, almost whole, and then released it, grazing his teeth over her nipple before moving to the other. His breath was hot and he breathed hard into her sternum as he ground his cock against her.

"Lay down," she whispered, lifting his face up to meet hers and kissed him.

Jaime backed up and laid down, watching her as she pulled off her pants and pounced onto the bed, climbing up between his legs, pushing them apart. Pressing her palms into the bed aside his chest, she leaned over him, kissing his forehead, his nose, his cheeks and onward to where the hair on his chest, laced its way towards the little dip of his throat beneath his Adam's apple.

"Brienne," he whispered, raising his head to look down at her. "Kiss me."

"Not yet," she moaned into the tender flesh around his belly button. She knew that was a sensitive area and she enjoyed making him squirm when she drug her tongue over it. A giggle escaped her lips and she did it again. His breath hitched as she continued lower. Her hands spread out across his hips, digging her fingertips into the tops of his thighs and then gliding them up to his waist and back again, never lifting her mouth from his skin.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he moaned, pushing his fingers into her hair and winding them in tight. Although enjoying her subtle and loving exploration and the sensations it was building within him, his body ached to throw her over and fuck the breath out of her. He knew where she was going and he hoped he wouldn't explode the moment her mouth drew him in.

Sliding her hands down over his thighs, she pulled free of his hand in her hair and pushed herself back onto her knees, taking him in her hand. Jaime raised his head and watched as she leaned over, her mouth hovering, her hand clenching around his shaft. He couldn't bear it any longer. He sat up half way and pushed his hand into her hair again, only this time, he snatched a handful of it and pushed her open mouth onto the now throbbing head of his cock.

"Seven hells!" he cried out as she took all of him in her mouth, and then slowly drew him all the way out as he watched. His eyes blinked and clenched as she repeated it again and again, stopping only to watch him, watching her. His hand, still entwined in her hair, he held on as she sucked him harder and faster, still watching him. He closed his eyes in hopes his building climax would subside without those fucking blue eyes boring a hole in him, but the sound of her mouth drawing him in and out was just too much.

"Stop. Stop!" he shouted, tugging at her hair to pull her off. She threw him a smile, twisted him out of her hair and sat back on her ankles.

Without saying a word, she pushed him onto his back and climbed atop him again. She smashed hard wet, tongue filled kisses into his mouth and whispered into his ear, "Touch me."

With no other encouragement needed, his fingers slipped between her thighs as she knelt over him, hovering above his waiting cock. She was wetter than he could ever remember, so wet when he touched her there, her juices spilled onto his fingers like warm honey. Her palms pressed into his pillow aside his head, holding her up as his fingers slid between her swollen folds. Again he watched her eyes, her face and her mouth. She licked her lips and he wanted her tongue again.

"Kiss me Brie," he purred.

Her pelvis began to rock against his hand, slowly at first and then faster. He kissed her deeply, pulling her tongue into his mouth as he could feel her body begin to tense, and she tightened inside around his fingers. Suddenly she backed off of him, reached down and pulled his cock to her opening. "I want you inside me," she panted.

Jaime had reached his limits and sat up, wrapping his arm around her waist pulling her down onto him. Her body began to stiffen and she cried out, her hips rocking hard, driving him faster and faster into her as he met her rhythm. Her arms flew around him, as she rode her climax out, burying his cock so deeply inside her that the intense pleasure mixed with pain. Involuntarily, Jaime drew his knees up and dug his heels into the bed, bracing himself, fucking up into her as she held tightly onto him, breathless and weak, unable to stop until the explosion he'd held off with every ounce of strength he had at last released.

"Fucking hell…" he said, pulling her down on top of him as he fell back onto the bed.

They lay like that for several minutes, until she felt him slip from inside of her and she rolled off of him and settled against his side. "What was that about you being old?" she asked, turning her head against the pillow to look at him. His eyes were open, staring up at the ceiling but a smile grew on his face as he turned to look at her.

"Old as in, I don't think I can do that again for a few hours instead of a few minutes."

"Well, that does it. It's over. You know I need it often and I don't know if I can wait that long." She giggled again, watching his expression change from a smile to shock. "You know I don't mean that." She reached up and cupped his face in her hand. "You're all there is for me. You're the love of my life." Sitting up, she leaned over him and kissed him and then climbed out of bed and hopped into the now lukewarm tub with a splash.

"You're crazy, did you know that?" Jaime asked, following her to the tub and climbing in with her.

"Jaime Lannister! This tub isn't big enough for us both! Who's the crazy one?"

"We'll fit just fine," he said with a smile, as she pulled her knees to her chest and he lowered himself in, sending water over the sides. "Come here."

Brienne stood and turned, then sat back down between his legs and lay back against his chest. Jaime rested his arms on the edge of the tub as she nuzzled her cheek against his beard. "I'm very serious when I tell you this so please, no jokes and no games. All right?"

"Jokes? Me? You must have me confused with someone else. I never joke," he said with his usual sarcastic charm, nudging her with his chin.

"Why do you keep saying your old?"

"By chance have you noticed all of this silver in my beard? It isn't star dust from burying it in your sweet garden my love."

"Oh stop that!" she shouted, "So what you have some silver. I think it makes you even more handsome." She was quiet for a moment and then reached up, took his left hand from the side of the tub and kissed it, and then pulled it down into the water, flattening his palm against her stomach. "You're not too old to give me this."

"Give you what? A good lay? I already told you…" he stopped.

Brienne suddenly realized after several moments, he hadn't drawn a breath. "Jaime, what is it? Are you all right?" she turned in the water and backed up onto her knees, bracing herself on the tub. "Jaime?"

At last he spoke, "Are you with child?" His eyes sparkled as if they were glass and he leaned forward.

Brienne was terrified. For the first time she couldn't read him. She didn't know if he was happy or she had just disclosed something that would completely ruin them. Then she saw something she hadn't dreamed of. He blinked and a thick, heavy tear rolled from the corner of his eye and down his cheek so fast if she'd have blinked she would have missed it.

"My Lady," he whispered, standing in the water and then pulling her up with him. "You've made me the happiest man in all the seven kingdoms."