Part 2

her eyes were sparkling, like the snow that fell in his home. she was dangerous, lethal, yet so irresistible

"Vitoria?" Robb breathed, his words half a plea. He was in awe of the fact that his wife was standing just before him, her hands grasping the ones of two little girls, as Lexa followed behind her, a boy pressed to her chest and another boy holding her hand.

They were safe. They had survived.

He was not a widower. He was not a father without children.

It had never occurred to him that the news of her murder might not be true, Robb had never thought that they might just be rumors and he was glad that he had been wrong.

Vitoria's brown eyes snapped to Robb and tears filled her eyes at the sight of her husband for the first time in months; she had never thought that this day would come so fast. They had barely been traveling a month, she had expected another month before they found the northern camp.

Not wasting a moment, Robb moved towards his wife and wrapped her up in his arms, holding her as close as their unborn child allowed. His daughters attacked his legs and he knelt down and quickly scooped them up on his arms, holding his three girls close, not wanting to let them go for even a second. It had been too long since they had last seen one another and Robb had never thought that he would get this chance again; he had spent weeks thinking that Theon had murdered them.

Vitoria relaxed into the hug for a moment, she had missed him so much and she had thought that it would be longer before they would be reunited in such a way. A sharp pain made Vitoria gasp and she closed her eyes, knowing that this was not how she had pictured their reunion; she was most likely going to have their baby soon and she doubted that the child would survive. It was much too soon.

"What is it?" Robb asked concerned that his wife had been hurt, he held her by the shoulders and searched her face trying to work out what was going on.

"I think the baby is coming," Vitoria hissed trying to catch her breath, she took a couple of deep breaths, knowing that this was certainly going to put a damper on their reunion; she had no doubts that this would change things. Robb swallowed thickly, his blue eyes moved down to the bump that she carried and found it hard to believe that this was happening now; his child was going to be born in the middle of a war camp.

"Take the children to my mother," Robb ordered before sweeping down to pick Vitoria up so that he could carry her to his tent; he didn't know how long they would have until the baby arrived but he wasn't taking any chances. Rickon was ushered towards the tent where Catelyn was being held along with his daughters and son, the direwolves following after him as he disappeared into the camp while Robb headed to his own tent.

The physician's face was almost expressionless as he examined Vitoria, being careful not to allow any emotion to show as he probed the swell of her stomach to judge the position of the baby, noting its movements before examining Vitoria for signs of disorientation or any other complications, finding none. Finally, with his examination concluded, he permitted himself a small smile, relieved to see that all was well.

When he was hastily summoned to the King's chambers, he had feared the worst, believing their young sovereign to have been injured in an skirmish or something of the sort. He'd been shocked upon seeing a pregnant woman groaning in pain in the bed, but had quickly composed himself and set to work. One of Queen Vitoria's ladies, the blonde one, had quickly informed him of her history regarding her pregnancies and of how far along she was which had only served to make his face go white.

Of course, children could be born weeks earlier than this and still live and thrive but the Queen's pregnancy was a special one, with the trials she'd been forced to undergo.

"Everything looks fine, Your Grace, there is nothing for you to be concerned about," he reassured her kindly. "The child will not be born today – which is just as well, as it would be rather early for it to arrive – but within a fortnight, or perhaps a few days more, you will hold your babe in your arms."

"Are you sure?" Vitoria pressed anxiously. "The pains…"

"It is not unusual for a woman to suffer pains similar to those of the early stages of childbirth in the weeks before her delivery, Your Grace," he told her. "But they are false pains, not true childbirth and while they are unpleasant, they do not do the child any harm and they are not omens of a difficult birth, I promise you that. If they return – and they may – I will give you some tonics to ease the pain, but there is no reason why this should not be a straight-forward birth, or why the baby should not be strong and healthy."

Reassured by his words, Vitoria relaxed, lying back against Robb's pillows, placing a hand on her stomach.

When she entered Robb's tent, she was surprised to find that Robb was not alone. There sat another woman across from him at the table. The pair looked up at Vitoria in surprise.

"I'm sorry," she said, quite at a loss for words. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all," said Robb immediately, standing and beckoning her in. Vitoria approached slowly. "Talisa, this is my wife, Vitoria. Vitoria, this is Lady Talisa Maegyr. She helps with the wounded in the camp. She's been a good friend to me."

A friend? Well…that wasn't so bad. It wasn't as if Robb wasn't allowed to have friends. But this left her with a sour taste in her mouth. She swallowed down the ugly feelings that rose in her chest. Lady Talisa smiled kindly at her. "Your Grace," she said, bowing her head in respect. "King Robb has told me so much about you."

"Has he?" She smiled at Robb, then at Talisa. "I'm afraid he hasn't mentioned you."

"I am, after all, only a nurse," she said humbly. Vitoria settled in a seat beside Robb, glad that he at once took her hand in his.

"Where are you from, if I may ask? Maegyr doesn't seem like a Westerosi name."

Of course, she had her suspicions but she wanted the confirmation from the woman.

"I'm from Volantis," Talisa replied, "across the Narrow Sea." She stood, inclining her head to both Robb and Vitoria. "If you'll pardon me, Your Graces. I should retire."

"Goodnight," Vitoria said softly, and watched the woman leave them. She turned back to Robb when Talisa was gone. He looked sheepish, but Vitoria let it go. She did not have the energy to argue with him. "Come with me to kiss the children goodnight?"

He nodded, helping her up, since standing was now becoming a chore with the added weight of her belly, before placing a hand on her lower back as they began the small stroll between the tents.

She climbed on the bed carefully beside Leila, gently stroking her auburn curls as Alia unconsciously curled onto her lap. Robb held Artos close against his chest, laying down beside the girls.

"I love him so much," Robb said quietly, hands cupping the little feet of the toddler asleep on his chest. "He's so big now."

Vitoria smiled, cuddling against his side. "He'll continue growing," she said, reaching to smooth her hand over her son's head. "He seems so big already, but it seems just yesterday the girls were his size."

"I should've been there." Robb's voice was so soft that Vitoria nearly didn't hear him. "I should've protected you"

"Don't," Vitoria warned. "Don't guilt yourself. It wasn't your fault that you couldn't be there. We don't love you any less for it."