Chapter 10: First Dates

Jorah rubbed his temples and took a sip of his now lukewarm tea before glancing at the clock. It was only ten in the morning and yet he felt as if he had already worked an entire day.

No one had been in a pleasant mood after heading back from Buckingham the day before. Grey didn't say anything for the rest of the night and Daenerys alternated between being solemn and ranting about how unfair her father was being. Jorah tried his best to be diplomatic and not outright side with her, but he inwardly agreed.

Her emotions only escalated when he caught her going down a rabbit hole on social media – clicking through comments on the pictures of her and Daario, many of which weren't very nice. He didn't want to come off too fatherly, so he refrained from acting instinctively and telling her to turn off her phone. Instead, he tried his best to walk the line between friend and advisor, as he did with Rhaegar. Despite his gentle urgings to call Missandei or invite Lyanna over, she sat catatonic on the plushy couch in the sitting room and ignored him, face lit up from the glow of her phone screen.

Before his daily meeting with her that morning, Gilly had let him know she looked as if she had been crying. When he saw her for himself, he thought the same. He knew his news wouldn't make her feel any better. He told her that Robb Stark had called Kensington before she had woken up hoping to arrange a date for later that evening. Daenerys had just nodded rather despondently.

And now Jorah sat in front of his computer in his office, tasked with planning her date night. He felt wracked with guilt that he was setting up something that would make the Princess miserable, but this was his job. He had planned every date night for Rhaegar and Lyanna for as long as they had been seeing one another. Jorah had a knack for it – even though his marriage hadn't worked out, he still considered himself somewhat of a romantic and had never struck out with an idea.

With Lyanna and Rhaegar, Jorah had always wanted things to be perfect for them. Rhaegar had been like a brother to him in so many ways and it made him happy to know that he could help Rhaegar impress Lyanna and discover new shared interests together.

A wave of selfishness passed over Jorah. He didn't want to help Robb succeed in seducing Daenerys. Not one bit. The sad look on her face as she had sat in her bed in front of him this morning hurt him. He couldn't imagine being her age and being forced into a relationship she had no interest in, all between being maligned by the paparazzi and mourning her brother.

On the other hand, Sansa had been angling to see him and if Daenerys was out, he could slip out as well. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious about her and what she had in mind for him. But that thought made him feel just as selfish. With another heavy sigh, he continued his search for the perfect place for a dinner date, trying not to let his personal opinions cloud his judgement.

~o0o~

"Missy, I'll need those translations on my desk by two…" Prime Minister Lannister said as he walked by her in the bustling offices of 10 Downing. For a man with such a small stature, he certainly commanded everyone's attention when he walked by.

She nodded and shoved a large scoop of hummus via carrot into her mouth as she knew she wouldn't get much of a lunch break if she was to finish her multiple translations of his latest speech for parliament on time. As she pulled up the word doc on her laptop and started editing what she had been working on, she noticed her phone screen light up out of the corner of her eye.

Grey [12:05 p.m.]: Sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday. Everything's fine. Just a warning.

Missy breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in her rather uncomfortable desk chair. Daenerys wasn't responding to her messages and she had been worried about Grey getting in trouble after the events of the weekend.

The only good thing that had come out of that night was that they had exchanged phone numbers. And a kiss. She still hadn't told her best friend yet since she felt partly responsible for the whole ordeal. She had tried her hardest to get Grey's attention that night and it had worked – well enough to make them both forget about Daenerys and Daario. And now her best friend was on the front page of every paper.

Missy [12:07 p.m.]: Good. I still feel awful. I know I didn't help…

Grey [12:07 p.m.]: I don't regret anything that had to do with you that night.

Missy blushed and tried to think of a reply for a few minutes before a second text from him came through.

Grey [12:10 p.m.]: I want to talk to the Princess and ask if it's okay if I see you. Outside of me watching you hang out with her.

Missy [12:10 p.m.] I'd like that.

"Missy – is the Tswana translation that entertaining?"

She looked up from her phone to see Tyrion leaning against the edge of her cubicle. The constant charming smirk on his face made him nearly impossible to read. She couldn't tell if he was disappointed or amused.

"Not particularly, sir."

"If you are talking to the Princess, tell her from me that I think this Daario bloke is far too beneath her. She can do better." He winked and moved on. "By two, Missy!"

~o0o~

"Love, you need to not focus so much on this stupid media blitz. It will blow over, I promise. It has just been a few slow news days and honestly, people adore you and just want to know more about your life…" Lyanna explained softly as she sat in front of Daenerys at the vanity in her room, carefully applying her eyeshadow to help her get ready for her date with Robb.

"But he's gone along with all of it!" Daenerys' eyes flashed when she thought about how Twitter was now buzzing after Daario had been interviewed insinuating he slept with her that night.

"Because he's a fame hungry prick. His band sucks – I gave them a listen this morning. Not impressed." Lyanna moved to Dany's other eye, biting her lip in concentration.

Daenerys laughed a little, "They do kinda suck, don't they?"

"He'll get his fifteen minutes and then no one will remember him. It is sad a friend had to use you like that, but when you are a Targaryen, it is to be expected. The only people I saw who genuinely had Rhaegar's back were Captain Mormont and Captain Lannister. Everyone else could be very fickle." Lyanna mused, getting lost in a memory and Daenerys didn't try and pull her out of it. Instead she stood up and walked over to her closet to try and find something to wear. She and Robb were going to dinner and then to the opera to see Orpheus and Eurydice. It certainly wouldn't have been her first choice, but she supposed she at least wouldn't have to try and come up with conversation topics during the performance.

"I know he's your nephew, Lyanna, but I really don't want to do this…" the Princess admitted as she rifled through dresses, trying to pick out one that was modest and wouldn't send any unwanted signals.

"You've always been stubborn. You take after both of your brothers in that way – if someone tells you to do something, then of course you want nothing to do with it," Lyanna smiled knowingly, "But even if he can be a bit of a prat, Robb is a sweet guy. His heart is in the right place, and I can promise you that he has no intention of using you like Daario did. I know my brother and your father have this ridiculous scheme to get the two of you together but it was spurred on by Robb's initial attraction to you. I know your father doesn't always, but Ned puts his children first. He wouldn't have brought up a proposition that Robb wasn't interested in."

"I'm not sure if that makes me feel any better or worse." Daenerys finally settled on a deep orchid colored Catherine Walker dress that she liked to wear because it brought out the violet specks in her blue eyes.

"Dany, one of these days a guy is going to come along and sweep you off your feet. And maybe that day is today. You can't possibly tell me no one has caught your eye since that university boyfriend of yours?"

"Well…there was Daario, but look how that turned out," she looked over at her friend as she tried to go back through her memory of other guys she had once had crushes on. She couldn't think of any. Her mind then wandered to men she thought handsome, a little perturbed that she really couldn't come up with anyone except for David Beckham, Colin Firth, and…

"There has to be someone if it isn't my nephew. I hate saying it but it is true that he's probably the most eligible bachelor in England right now. And you haven't even given him a second thought." Lyanna could see Daenery's brain turning and then she saw the slightest hint of a blush cross over her cheeks before she darted back into her walk-in closet to look for a suitable pair of heels.

Daenerys didn't want to look at Lyanna, afraid her face was going to give herself away. She was shocked at herself that an image of Captain Mormont had flashed through her head when she was trying to drum up the handsomest men she could think of. "I swear there really isn't anyone."

Lyanna highly doubted that.

~o0o~

Jorah stepped out of a cab at the curbside of the Bloomsbury Hotel in Soho. It had taken all of his courage to call for the cab in the first place after Daenerys had left with Robb for the evening. Gilly had holed up in her room to talk to her boyfriend Sam and Grey was engrossed in the Chelsea game. No one minded that he left, but he still felt as if he shouldn't have.

He walked through the busy, glitzy hotel lobby and to The Coral Room bar that Sansa had texted him to meet at. Everyone around him was twenty years younger than him if not more and looked as if they had just stepped off the pages of a Zara spread in Vogue. He felt out of place, even though he had dressed up in black slacks and a crisp white button down under his black blazer. He ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair as he entered the bar, wondering what the hell he was doing.

And then he saw her sitting at a table near the edge of the bar alone and on her mobile. She didn't have a drink in front of her yet, so he stopped by the bar first and ordered both of them an old-fashioned with a heavy pour. The bar was loud and everyone seemed too absorbed in his or her own conversations to care about anyone else, for which he was thankful. After paying for the drinks, he walked across the room, decked out with red walls, leather chairs, and gold accents everywhere and slipped into the seat across from Sansa.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. Robb had been late in collecting Daenerys, which had set him back, "You look stunning."

She truly did. She had her long red hair pulled up in a high ponytail that accentuated her cheekbones and the black dress she was wearing had an enticing slit up the side that she was currently showing off with her legs crossed. His compliment made her smirk as she took a sip of her drink.

"You have a very 'James Bond' thing going on tonight. I like it." Sansa shot back at him.

"Well this is quite a step up from that pub in Glasgow, so I had to put in a bit of effort."

Sansa took a moment to look him over, her blue eyes taking their time as they roamed over his face and shoulders and chest, "For our first official date, it couldn't just be anywhere."

Jorah almost spat out his whiskey, "Date?"

"Princess Daenerys and my brother are on a date right now. He came back to London with me for that very reason, so why can't this be a date?" Sansa asked.

Jorah had no good rebuttal there. Their night together in Glasgow had very much felt like a date and tonight even more so, "Sansa, we can't…"

"Why not? We have chemistry and we have lots in common…"

"What about Viserys?"

"I haven't had any further interest in pursuing Viserys after we talked on Saturday."

"Your father would never approve…" Jorah sighed. Not to mention her mother – that was an entirely other issue.

"So?" Her eyes grew cold and he could see she was getting defensive. "I am more than capable of making my own decisions. It's not as if we are stepping out on a balcony together for some photo-op to declare our undying love for one another. We can keep this between us and see how it goes. Unless I've misread all of this."

Jorah looked at her and admired her for expressing what she wanted. But did he want this? Did he want to go down this path, entangling himself with the Starks, and being somewhat indebted to Petyr Baelish if he wanted to keep it quiet?

There were so many things to consider. His job, for one. Could he reasonably date the daughter of Ned Stark without any repercussions? His place was and always had been true loyalty to the Targaryen dynasty. If Sansa came into the mix, surely his feelings might drive some of his decisions.

And then there was the Princess. After the grip of jealousy he felt around his heart when he watched Robb Stark put his arm around Daenerys and walk her to the car waiting for them, he could no longer deny he had complicated feelings for her that he hadn't yet worked out. But was it just awe? Was he just missing Rhaegar and she was the only tie he had left to him? He couldn't tell.

But even with his feelings for Daenerys, Sansa Stark was sitting right in front of him, flirting with him and coyly rubbing her ankle against his leg under the table. There was only so much he could take of that.

"You haven't misread any of this, Sansa."

~o0o~

"A bottle of Dom, please?" Robb asked the waiter at Le Gavroche. Daenerys quickly jumped in.

"Actually, just a whiskey, neat for me." She asked as sweetly as she could and Robb changed his order to the same, "Sorry, champagne gives me odd headaches."

"It's fine," Robb nodded. From the car ride to entering arguably the most expensive restaurant in London, things just hadn't gone smoothly. Robb was clearly nervous and had kept unintentionally interrupting her on the ride there and she had tripped when she got out of the car and nearly twisted her ankle. They just weren't in sync with one another.

"What do you think you are going to order?" Daenerys made small talk as she looked over the menu and held it up in front of her to block out those staring. In such a posh place like this, she was easily recognizable and people's sly glances her way weren't as subtle as they thought they were.

"Steak…" Robb said and Daenerys relaxed a little bit. He could have easily gone for something a thousand times more pretentious on this menu. In fact, she had almost been certain he would have.

"Me too." Well, that was one thing in common, even if it was just meat. She had to take her little wins tonight as she was trying to take Lyanna's words to heart and give him a solid chance.

"I know I've told you a dozen times already but you really look breathtaking." He told her and she put down her menu to look at him. He looked extremely fit in his navy suit with his auburn curls placed just right as if he had spent hours arranging them. Maybe he had. If this was truly her fate and she was going to end up with him for the rest of her life, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Thank you, you are very kind, Robb." Daenerys blushed sincerely. Compliments on anything else she took without much fanfare, but when it came to her appearance, as Tyrion Lannister had aptly pointed out after her brother's funeral, she had no idea just how pretty she was.

"I know this is kinda strange and I know our fathers are really trying to set us up so that our families are tied closer together, but I want you to know that's not what this is about for me." Robb told her, his eyes searching hers for the same sentiment but coming up short.

"It is a bit weird if I'm being honest…"

"Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but seeing how strong and composed you were after your brother's death, I really admired that. You are brave, Daenerys, and beautiful, and I just want to get to know you better."

She nodded. She had made assumptions about him and his family and put up walls. Maybe Ned Stark and her father were playing a game, but she and Robb were two adults who could make their own decisions and why shouldn't she give this a fair go? Her brother had found his true love with a Stark, so why couldn't she?