A/N: Wow, guys…I am truly honored to have so many followers and favorites. After that last chapter there were so many new people. Welcome to the Wolves and Hounds fanfic! Hope everyone enjoys this latest installment. Thank you to everyone who follows/favorites/reviews. Love to see the reviews as they let me know I am doing a good job Have a great weekend! I do not own anything except for Borin and this plot.

It had been a week since Elgard and his men escaped, but Sandor remained ever vigilant. He knew the type of man Elgard was, and if his intuition was correct, Winterfell had not seen the last of him. Sandor was an experienced soldier and did not allow dark shadows in a dimly lit corridor to scare him. There had been a couple of new recruits a couple of years ago, back in the Red Keep, who would sometimes jump at their own shadows. Those were the men who were always the first to die in battle. Too distracted by their own fear. It was good to be cautious, but not overly so. Lord Stark had spoken to him the morning after and was clear that he wanted life to go on as normal so as not to cause distress. Sandor reluctantly agreed with him. The Little Bird has a right to know what's going on.

He was up late into the night and saw the sun rise every morning, varying his routine so it could not be tracked. Although it was doubtful, one of the Stark men could be feeding information to Elgard and Sandor did not want to risk loopholes being found in a monotonous schedule. Plus, it's boring as hell. He would wander the corridors in close proximity to Sansa's room and would often pause to look at her door. It was an odd, unexpected, but warm feeling that washed over him when he was near her, even if she was on the other side of the door.

Sandor had never been in love, nor had any woman loved him. There had been whores he paid, sure, but they were just warm bodies. Never had anyone in his life actually sought him out to just talk. Never had anyone cared about his well-being, until her. For days, he tried to convince himself he was not falling in love with Sansa Stark, but every time she smiled at him his heart melted. This was not just lust. Not that he hadn't thought of them together in that way, but he had discipline and respect for his Little Bird and had pushed those feelings to the back of his mind as soon as they emerged back when they were on the run. It would never be and he had trained himself not to dwell on those unobtainable desires.

No, this was something much different and it was overwhelming. His breath caught in his throat when she placed a hand on his arm and his heart skipped a beat when he saw her looking for him from across the room. If this is what the beginning of love felt like, Sandor decided he didn't mind. In fact, he welcomed it, even though he knew the two of them would never be. I finally have something in my life worth fighting for.

He was finished with his rounds for the night, but decided to go check on Stranger before turning in. Although they had been back in the North for some time, Sandor was still not used to the cold. He wrapped his cloak around his shoulders and tugged on the edges, wishing the fabric would cover him a little more, or at least be a little thicker. The fur trimmed cloaks all the Northern lords owned seemed to do the job, but Sandor wasn't about to ask anyone for new clothes.

There was no wind that night and he was grateful. He spent some time in the warm stable brushing Stranger and made sure to reward him with an apple for his good behavior. When his eyes were starting to get heavy, Sandor gave his war horse one last pat and began to walk back towards his small room. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard his name coming from a small alcove along one of the outer walls. Now I must be imagining things.

"SANDOR!" It called out in a loud whisper.

He squinted his eyes and saw Sansa's red hair before anything else. Smiling, he walked over the alcove and stepped into the darkness. Sandor stood in front of her and placed his hand on the wall behind her, just above her head, and leaned into it. "Now you're following me?" He asked in a teasing, light tone.

"Ha ha. No, I just fancied a casual stroll when I saw you across the way and thought to say hello." Sandor caught the glimmer of amusement in her eye. "Of course I followed you out here. How else was I supposed to get your attention?"

Sandor let out a hearty chuckle and continued with their playful banter. "You know, I ought to scold you for being out here—"

Before he could continue, Sansa held up her hand. "Yes, I understand the risks involved, but I had to make some attempt to see you. Honestly though, if there was any danger all I would have had to do is scream. You would have heard me and come running straight away. I brought you this in case you needed some persuasion."

He looked down and saw she was gripping a wine skin in her hand and was holding it out to him. Well isn't she clever. "You know me too well, girl."

Sandor took a swig of the wine, a favorite of his he noticed, and then put the stopper back in place. "There really is no need to 'persuade' me as you said. Really, what's it for?"

"To say thank you for all you have done. It is just a small favor, but I knew you would appreciate it. Besides, we are friends after all and I do recall you promising me we would continue with our little meetups."

He laughed, but subtly glanced around him to ensure they were alone. "Aye, that I did. So what did you want to talk about?"

Sansa began to walk off, but stopped and turned, urging him to follow her with a nod of her head. Sandor had no idea where she was leading him, but that was alright. He was with her and that was all that mattered. Eventually, Sandor could tell they were approaching a rather large tree. He saw her sit down at the base and she rested her back against its broad trunk. Sandor followed and sat down next to her. This is exactly what it was like back when we were out and on the run.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Where are we?"

Sansa shifted to get more comfortable and looked up at the branches above them. "This is the Godswood. My father would often come here for reflection and so would I. Well, before I left Winterfell that is. There hasn't been much time to visit since we've been back, but I wanted to share it with you."

She wanted to share this with…me? "That's nice of you to say, Little Bird."

"Well," she said and then giggled to herself, "enough of this serious talk. That's all I hear anymore. How do you find life here in Winterfell? Bet you are missing all that court gossip already."

And she has become sarcastic. When did that happen? "Yes, hearing all that talk about those bird nests you women called fashionable hair is what I lived for."

Sansa laughed and pulled her cloak a little tighter. "I am sorry to say I was one of them. How foolish I was then."

Sandor turned his head to look sideways at Sansa and saw she was smiling. "It does me good to see you smiling and happy again. You seem like a whole different person."

"Having nearly lost everyone I hold dear has made me reflect on my past behavior and beliefs. Somehow, I FEEL like a new person. Through this tragedy I experienced a freedom I had never had before. All my life I wanted to be like those women at court, but I never knew how restricting it was until I was actually there. Then when we escaped, I realized that none of it was really important at all. The skills I learned to be a proper lady are still of value to me, but there is more to life than knowing how to curtsy or stitch a straight line. You helped show me that. And just seeing my family safe and back at Winterfell has made me beyond grateful and I am determined to be nothing but happy. Things could have been a lot worse."

He sat silently after Sansa's speech, amazed at how much she had personally grown. She came through everything stronger, something not too many people in the same situation could say. This girl is going to do great things one day.

"Well," he started, not quite sure how to follow that, "as I said before, seeing you happy is what made this all worth it." Now I just sound like a fool. "There's, uh, that celebration tomorrow. Looking forward to that?" That's the best you could come up with, Clegane?

"Of course! I remember when I was younger we were always so anxious to go to the festival. There were traveling merchants and it was always exciting to see what they had for sale from faraway lands like Lys. I know father is honored they want to hold it, even though we are at war, to celebrate our family being reunited and back in the North."

"Your people are loyal to you. The Lannisters can't say the same about those they rule over in the capital. The North fights for their beliefs, the Lannister men fight for gold. Anyways," Sandor continued as he shuffled around a bit to get more comfortable on the hard ground, "what is it you are looking forward to the most?"

Sansa smiled and the way she looked at him, Sandor could tell she was positively giddy. "Lemon cakes!"