"Lord Jaime Lannister is here," the guard announced when they were breaking their fast in the Great Hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to Jon who sat at the head of the room with Sansa by his side along with Ser Davor and Tormund. Jon arose from his seat and strode out of the room with Sansa hot on his heels along with everyone else.

"How many?" He questioned quickly, he knew what he was here for. He was here for Maya and Leonardo...luckily Maya had left two days earlier.

"More than we have," Ser Davos answered.

"Can we fight them?"

"Most of them are still licking their wounds and getting their strengths back," he answered.

Jon stood where his father always stood the last time someone came to Winterfell. When the King had come to Winterfell and asked his father to be the Hand of the King. He felt as if history were repeating itself. Jon watched as each of the Lannister soldiers came riding in through the gates.

"Where's my nephew?" Jon asked.

"With Winter in Maya's chambers along with the wet nurse and a couple of guards," Sansa answered. "He's safe."

"For now," Jon murmured once he saw Jaime Lannister ride fiercely through the gates. He dismounted his horse and strode towards Jon, his crimson red cloak flying behind him.

"Where is my wife?" He asked bluntly, having no patience already.

No one answered Jaime and then he chuckled in amusement, calming himself a little bit. He wanted to see them. He wanted his family back. Jaime looked behind him and nodded to Bronn.

Suddenly the Lannister soldiers stood in formation and into their fighting positions. Jon inhaled the air and kept his eyes on Jaime as the wildlings and men of the other noble houses of the North stood in formation as well, getting ready to fight them if need be.

"Doesn't this bring back old memories better left forgotten," Jaime taunted. "I remember when I first came to this grey wasteland, your sister was the first thing I saw. I saw her riding her horse in the woods, faster than any of our men, at the time I didn't know it was her until she ran into me of course. I knew then that she was what I wanted more than anything."

Sansa scoffed. "The only reason you are still alive is because of the love our sister bares you and your son, my lord."

"I didn't think that you would actually survive this war, Lady Sansa, Girls like you rarely do," he said, hitting a nerve within Sansa. "I want my son back. I would ask for my wife, but I can see that she is long gone."

"No."

"No?"

"No," Jon repeated.

"He's my son, not your's. You don't actually have a say," Jaime reminded him. "He's a Lannister."

"He's every bit of a Stark as he is a Lannister," Jon retorted.

"I'll bet you that half of your men-maybe more want to see his head on a spike above the gates."

Tormund stepped forward, standing next to Jon, stating, "I don't know who you are and I don't care, but that boy is a Stark. All I've seen of him every since I came here is him and that direwolf with one eye. She protects him like he's her own. A wolf protects her own that I know."

Jaime eyed Tormund in amusement and scolded Jon, "I see that you've started breaking bread with a wildling now. I guess that makes you every bit of an oathbreaker as I am. Since you're entire oath is based on protecting this realm against the wildlings, not playing nice with them. I mean isn't that the whole point of it all? To keep them on the other side?"

Tormund's hand tightened around his axe, and told Jon, "Just say the word, Jon. I'll cut right through them."

"Where is Brienne?" Jaime asked in exasperation. "She's the only one with sense around this place."

"I don't know," Sansa replied impassively.

"Then where is Malakhi? He slipped away in the dead of the night."

"I don't know," Jon replied impassively as well.

Nobody smiled.

"If they did know, they wouldn't tell us anyway, right?" Bronn asked, shaking his head. "They're younger versions of Maya. Stubborn the lot of them. "

"You don't have the men to fight me," Jaime reminded them lightly.

"We've dealt with worse odds and still won the battle."

"Ah, yes," Jaime drawled out. "It would be a battle the bards will never sing because you are and will always be a bastard. No one will forget that...sadly."

Lyanna Mormont stepped forward, staring daggers at all of the men in front of her especially Jaime Lannister. "The North doesn't care that he's a bastard. Ned Stark's blood runs through his veins. I don't know your wife, Lady Maya, but I've heard the tales. I know that she's got iron in her veins. She wouldn't appreciate you trying to intimidate her family-threaten them especially. I think that she would be most displeased about them."

"I only care for my son whom I haven't even seen since he was inside of his mother's belly," Jaime spoke out to them, he stepped closer to Jon as his eyes softened just a little bit "I already lost one child. A daughter named Hope who I also never laid eyes on and they already buried her body in a bloody field. I can't lose another one."

"I don't know the pain of that, but that doesn't mean that I don't know pain. The North knows the pain of loss because of the Lannisters. I don't want to see him get hurt because of your family."

"I've paid for my sins. My hand was cut off, I already lost four children whom I've grown to care for in time when I wasn't supposed to, I was just supposed to love them as if they weren't my own, my father died, my brother despises me because of stupids actions I did to him as a child, and although I may not love Cersei, she was my first love and losing her was frightening because she did not love me once she saw that I came back only half a man in her eyes. All I care about is my wife, my son, and taking them home. I could care less about this war between our families."

Jon shook his head. "You should care because if the White Walkers came over the Wall, thousands will die."

Jaime waved his hand dismissively at them. "This is not true. Just a bunch of old tales to scare little northern children like yourselves-"

"It is true," Tormund interrupted fiercely. "We all saw it."

"You can brush this off as just the eyes of a mad man," Jon started to say. "But not when thousands of men and women have all the same stories. They've seen the White Walkers and so have I. This is no old tale, Ser Jaime. My men and I went to Hardhome, a freefolk village over the Wall and there were thousands and thousands of the FreeFolk there, living there. We decided to help them and lead them to safety. The White Walkers came then. We battled the White Walkers, most of the FreeFolk had died because of this battle and then the Night King raised up his hands as we escaped. The dead arose, adding to his army of the dead. If he makes it over the Wall then the people we lost will only add to the army and soon we all will be gone. Nothing, but corpses."

Jaime surveyed Jon and the rest of his men for a moment before sighing heavily. "Stand down."

Bronn looked to the Lannister men, commanding, "You heard him. Stand down you idiots."

They did as they were told which surprised Jon as he looked at Jaime. He once used to think that a King ought to look like Jaime when he rode into Winterfell for the first time, but now looking at him more closely, Jon could see the lines on his face. He was worried and getting older like most of them these days. He didn't want to fight anymore. Jon pondered on the thought that maybe he just wanted to rest with his family by his side.

"So are we in agreement then?" Jon asked curiously.

Jaime shrugged. "My, what a long way we have come, haven't we, Snow?"

Jon scowled at him for a moment. "We have."

Jaime turned to his men, commanding, "Set up camp outside of Winterfell since it's obvious that we won't be getting the Lord's courtesy here"

Sansa whispered next to Jon, "We shouldn't trust him. He's a Kingslayer and tried to murder every one of us at some point."

"Except Maya."

"We don't know that," Sansa countered.

"Yes, we do," Jon responded heavily. "She wouldn't be with him if he did. Leo is his son, the Lannisters love their children as much as the Starks do."

"They tried to kill the children of our family-"

"We are not them. We are better than they are. Let him see Leonardo." Jon turned away from her, striding back into the castle. "He's family."

Tormund walked beside Jon as he said, "Over The Wall, we don't share our land with our enemies"

Jon sighed heavily, feeling tired once again. He stopped walking and turned to Tormund. "It's complicated when your enemy loves your sister, your sister loves your enemy, and your nephew who you love like he's your own is his son."

Jon and Tormund stared at each other for a moment before Tormund let out a chuckle of amusement. "You're right. That is complicated."

TBC…

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS, AND FAVORITES! So no Maya for another two chapters or so, sorry about that you guys, but you get other people too. I hoped you liked this chapter.

REVIEW. FOLLOW. FAVORITE. Until next time...