Gilly

Little Sam wails loudly, upsetting some of the people staying in the inn. The innkeeper comes to Gilly and informs her she will no longer be welcome here. "I'm sorry but you have no money and we cannot support your child. I have a business to operate, m'lady."

"Please, I have nowhere else to go." Gilly pleads, but the innkeeper regretfully refuses.

So now she stands in the rain, gripping her baby to her bosom and sheltering him from the cold, wet weather under a rooftop banister. The tower where Sam studies at looms over the city of Oldtown, its great fire lighting the way for ships in the sea. Winter was here, but only storms of harsh rain had reached the south of Westeros. With a determined face, Gilly decides enough was enough. She pounds her way through the rain, doing her best to keep Little Sam hidden, down the sloping roads to the tower.

Once inside, Little Sam's cries echo off the walls immediately alerting the administrator behind the desk, his large spectacles making his eyes appear five times their normal size. "It's you." He says, removing the glasses and turning his nose up at her.

"Where is Sam?" She demands, bouncing her baby to try and soothe him but Little Sam only continues to wail. "I need to see him right now!"

"Samwell is with the Archmaester and is very busy, woman." Replies the grumpy administrator with spite. "You are welcome to wait outside for him. I can inform him of your arrival once he is finished."

"You will inform him now or I'll make sure my baby keeps crying in here." Gilly threatens. The administrator grimaces as Little Sam's shrieks continue.

When Sam came down he was no longer wearing his black padded leather. He was garbed in a black robe instead. "Gilly, they told me you threatened the administrator with our baby?" He asks as he goes to her.

"I had to. They wouldn't let me see you." Gilly says, allowing Sam to hold the baby. At once Little Sam stops crying, his eyes glued to Sam's beaming smile. "We were kicked out of the inn. The money you gave us is gone already. I have no place to go, nowhere to eat, nowhere to work!"

"Gilly, I'm sure that's not true. Who wouldn't take this little tyke in, eh?" Sam giggles, letting the baby play with his fingers. "I'm sure if you explained to the innkeep that you can cook and do other kinds of work—"

"I tried working there, but nobody wants to look after a baby so I have to take him with me… People complained about Little Sam every day. They fired me, Sam." Gilly hates to admit it, but she has to convince him… yet Sam stubbornly shakes his head.

"You'll find another job, Gilly. I'm sure of it. Here, I have a little coin left but not much. Take it and find somewhere to eat and stay for the night. I'd go with you but, well, I've been made a Maester." Perhaps Sam expected Gilly to jump and scream with joy, but all Gilly can do is stare at him in disbelief.

"You're a Maester?" She repeats.

"Yeah, I start today. Well, start studying that is. I won't have my first chain for a while but I'm learning all about The White Walkers, like Jon wanted… At least I hope I will anyway. I know I'm asking a lot from you but I have faith that you'll land somewhere and once I've got my chain I'll be out of here. We can go back to Castle Black and be together the way we're supposed to."

"You don't understand what it's like, Sam." Gilly says furiously, "If I'm to find a job you have to take Little Sam."

"What? N-No, they would never let a baby inside." Sam stammers, glancing at the administrator who is hawkishly watching them behind his spectacles. "Bringing a woman inside the tower at all is forbidden, let alone a baby. They say it distracts from knowledge or something like that."

"You're going to let them keep you from your family?" Gilly asks slowly.

"It's not like that, Gilly." Sam insists, reaching out to her but she instead grabs Little Sam and pulls him gently from his arms. "Gilly…"

"You go ahead and be a Maester, Sam. If we haven't starved to death by the time you're out, try to remember us." Gilly mutters, sniffing back tears. She turns away to leave, but Sam grabs her. His forcefulness shocks her, never seeing this side of him before. Before she can resist he's wrapped himself around her from behind, holding them close in his embrace with one hand on Sam Jr's forehead and the other caressing Gilly's neck.

"Gilly, I love you. I'll always love you. Little Sam is everything to me. You both are. But you have to understand, I wouldn't be in here if it wasn't important. Everything I do, I'm doing it for my family." His breath is warm against her ear. She closes her eyes, feeling calm again, but it was a bittersweet thing. As Sam's arms leave her and she looks back at him, she realizes he was crying long before she was.

"I love you too, Samwell Tarly." Gilly says, giving in and hugging him back, their baby in between them giggling joyfully. She kisses his hairy cheek, ignoring the disapproving grunts from the administrator. Sam kisses them both, promising he will be out as soon as he can. She watches as he disappears up the flight of steps, and leaves them alone once more. Gilly looks down at Little Sam's smiling face, still unaware that his Dad wouldn't be around for a while. It breaks Gilly's heart to walk out the door and into the storm, with nowhere to go but everywhere.