"I've come for the Blackfish." He shrugged, "You're welcome to have him." "Lady Sansa desires to take her ancestral seat back from the Boltons and assume her rightful position as Lady of Winterfell."

Jaime's eyes dropped, realizing that he'd hit a nerve with Brienne and she was closed off to him now - she had slipped away into formality - a tone he didn't care for between the two of them. But two could play at this game. Jaime raised his eyes to her, "With what army does she plan on taking Winterfell?" "The Tully army," she said firmly. He could tell she was angry now, which just made him more heated. "They're a bit occupied at the moment. I was sent here to reclaim Riverrun currently defended by the Tully rebels, so you could see the conundrum."

Brienne looked at him askance, "The Tullys are rebels because they're fighting for their home...?" "Riverrun was granted to the Freys by royal decree-" Her frustration was turning her pink now, she could feel it at her neck and he could see it; she could barely look at him, "-as a reward for betraying Robb Stark and slaughtering his family!"

"Exactly." He'd said a bit too firmly.

Brienne looked wounded and he immediately felt ashamed. He didn't care about the Tullys or the Freys or even the Starks. It was selfish of him to engage her in this way when the stakes were clearly higher for her than for him. And he couldn't stand the disappointed look in her eyes.

So that's it, then, she thought. He was hiding behind who he thought he was. But perhaps if he was not willing to do the right thing he might still allow her.

"We shouldn't argue about politics" he conceded and turned away, hoping to move on, but she wouldn't let it go. He should have expected that.

"You're a knight, Ser Jaime," she said, trying to appeal to him but getting under his skin as he sighed at the title. "I know there is honor in you - I've see it myself-" "I'm a Lannister." He said sharply, "Don't ask me to betray my own house." He could barely meet her eye now. She certainly knew how to dig at him and lay him bare for beating. "I do no such thing" she said as she approached the table that now separated them. He almost reeled at the intoxicating effect of her eyes staring him down as she took the plunge -

"Take Riverrun without bloodshed. Ride south again with your mission complete and your army intact." Whether she was advising him or making a request now, Jaime was not sure, but she was impressively commanding. "What do you propose?" "Allow me to enter Riverrun under a flag of truce." He nearly rolled his eyes. Was she mad? The Blackfish had already proven that he was unwilling to treat for peace. "Let me try to persuade the Blackfish to give up the castle."

"Why would he abandon his ancestral home?" Did she really think that he'd not tried this route yet?

"Because you'll allow him to lead the Tully forces safely north." He stared at Brienne in recognition - so that was it - she wanted him to grant the rebels passage away from the siege keeping his promise to the Freys but also keeping his oath to Catelyn Stark intact and doing right by Sansa. Even when she was angry with him she was dedicated to keeping him honorable. This plan wouldn't do much for his reputation, but what did he care for his reputation? She was recommending a real truce. He sighed. Of course she would fill the gaps in his thinking. Then again, he was almost certain it couldn't work. The old man was immovable.

"Have you ever met the Blackfish?" She thought a moment, "No." "He's even more stubborn than you are." She had to know that her stubbornness was one of the things he admiredmost about her. It was what had saved him after he'd lost his hand when she told him he needed to live in order to take revenge on the ones who'd hurt them. It was what had saved her in the bear pit, too. Yes, he had flung himself in after her, but if she had not been so dedicated to irritating that bear by remaining alive there would have been no one for him to jump in for. She seemed uncertain of his comment, unable to take it as either a slight or a compliment. Rather than risk wounding her further he quickly moved on.

"Alright, try to talk some sense into the old goat. He won't listen but," he looked at her. He was worried that she might not make it out of the castle, that the Blackfish might do something rash, and he could not bear the thought of that being his fault… "his men might. Not everyone wants to die for someone else's home." She understood that he was trying to caution her. But her duty to Sansa was stronger than her duty to herself. She would not run away now.

Brienne took a step in his direction. "I need your word. If I persuade him to abandon the castle, you'll grant us safe passage north." Her hands were fisted by her side. She seemed to still be fighting him even though he'd given up the game. He hadn't even considered her safety being in his hands at this point - he was still worried about what might go on behind the castle walls once she was inside. "You have my word," …always, he nearly added. She was perhaps the only person in the world who ever accepted him at his word these days. "You have until nightfall" he said, looking at the light outside the tent flaps, trying to estimate the time.

She took the glance as a dismissal and her strength failed her. She hated this. Her face fell as she nodded. She'd never expected to see Jaime again but now that she was here and had saved Sansa, it was only right that she return the sword he'd given her for that job. With any luck, she would not need it anymore. She took a breath and willed her fists to open, looked down at her belt and began to pull the loops out.

At first he thought she was trying to tighten the belt, but when the first strap came loose he realized his error. She was trying to return the sword - the twin to his own. He looked at her face and tried to catch her eye but she was focused on the task at hand. She loosened the sword and held it out to him, the golden lion shining in the light, and seemed to will herself to meet his eye. He looked at it and stepped toward her, the sword almost against his chest. He looked at the lion and then to her and meeting the defeat in her eyes he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. How was it possible for so honorable a person to exist? And how had he fallen so far away from deserving her friendship? He hung his head and studied the ground.

Oh you're in my veins

"You gave it to me for a purpose," she started. His eyes darted to hers - there she was wrong; the purpose had been a lie. Truly Jaime had given Brienne the sword because she deserved it, and because so long as she wielded it, it was as if he had a part in protecting her. After she'd left King's Landing the shelf in the White Sword tower wasn't the only thing left empty. There'd been a hole in his center for months afterward.

"I have achieved that purpose" she said firmly. He smiled sadly and looked from her to the sword and back again, meeting her eyes. How could she not realize her own brilliance? "It's yours." She faltered and he relished the change in her eyes. He could not stand to say goodbye to her again. "It will always be yours." She wasn't sure that he meant the sword, but she couldn't bear to look him in the eye any longer. She pulled the sword back and looped the strap. She felt tears threatening to escape so she turned from him; she had to get out of that tent.

He felt the bond between them pulling him and he followed right on her heels knowing she must go, but not wanting to have that much space between them, not yet. He couldn't allow his last memory of her to be of her running from him. He felt his own tears start to form.

As Brienne made her escape a terrible thought occurred to her. If she went into that castle and the Lannisters attacked, it would pit her and Jaime against one another. The only other time she'd fought him had been on that bridge before they were captured by Locke, before it all. They could spar verbally but in a physical fight she knew that they were both better than before – they'd made each other stronger. There was no telling how they might fare one on one now, and the thought of it make her ill. She spun on her heel to find that he'd been right behind her - they were closer than ever now.

"One last thing, Ser Jaime." So back to titles, he thought, fine, "Yes...Lady Brienne" he said with that sarcastic tone he had reserved for teasing her, trying to draw out her smile one last time. But she was clearly somewhere darker now.

"Should I fail to persuade the Blackfish to surrender..." she waited for him to fill in the gaps but he only stared into her eyes, "And you attack the castle..." That seemed to get his attention a little bit, "Honor compels me to fight for Sansa's kin." "Of course it does" he said in that same tone, almost automatically, not taking care to realize what that might mean. "To fight you."

He swallowed - she was serious. Suddenly the gravity of it all - the stakes that she had so clearly realized long before him - it was all terribly clear. If they ever met in the field, she would surely best him. He was better than before, but she had always been the superior swordsman – though he would never admit that to her. But that was beside the point. He could not fight her. If it weren't for duty he would promote Podrick Payne to leader of the Lannister forces and take his place as squire to Brienne of Tarth for the rest of his life right now. But duty, there was. Suddenly the worry crept into his throat - his troops would not stand down if she fought back. He might not fight her, but she might still get hurt in the siege. The headache had returned.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He tried to convey every regret and every wish he had to her in that moment. She stared at him, unblinking, tears welling in her eyes. With a final twitch of her brows, she ran from the tent. Jaime watched her go, then pulled the tent flaps closed, leaving him in darkness as the first tears fell.

And I cannot get you out

A/N: I do not own Game of Throne or these characters; some dialogue may be taken verbatim from HBO's Game of Thrones or George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Lyrics used are directly from Andrew Belle's "In My Veins" (C) 2010.