Disclaimer: I recently got obsessed with Game of Thrones, but doesn't mean I own it!
Story: Shireen has a hard time with people, but Sansa has always been there and parents her more than her actual parents. She doesn't even know where her mother is and her father tries but ends up awkward or distant. But she has Sansa and band, so it's alright, she supposed. Sansa had been taking care of Shireen for a long time. She's been to each of the girl's band concerts. She also makes sure Stannis gets the invites and pictures. He just hadn't realized how much a part of their lives she was until she was practically gone. These two awkward Baratheons have had their lives entwined with Sansa's so much that they couldn't picture life without her.
Set as a modern day AU.
Spoilers: No.
Warnings: No, I don't think so. Cursing and maybe sexual situations?
Pairings: Stansa (Stannis/Sansa)

March to My Heartbeat
Chapter Three: The Emergency Contact

Stannis was in the midst of having his lunch break when his phone rang. He answered it without looking, pushing his food away slightly.

"Hello? Stannis Baratheon," he answered brusquely.

"Mr. Baratheon, this is Baelor High School. We're calling about your daughter? She's had an accident and asked to be picked up."

Alarmed, Stannis quickly shot up from his seat, already grabbing his jacket to leave. "Accident? What kind of accident?"

"It seems that she sprained her ankle during third period PE. While she's currently resting in the infirmary and has been treated, we felt it was best she be taken home to not stress her strained ankle."

"Thank you for informing me," Stannis refrained from gritting his teeth, the bad habit he'd long curbed almost easily coming back to him. "I'm on my way."

He walked out of his office quickly, telling his secretary where he was off to and to let his brothers know his whereabouts, and then he was driving as fast as he could in his car towards Shireen's school, just barely without breaking speeding limits.

By the time he'd gotten to the school, he'd worked himself up enough about Shireen's sprain and wondering how bad it actually was. He'd practically ended up storming through the doors of the infirmary, only to stop short and stare in confusion.

Then, as was apparently the usual with her, Stannis' mind went blank and he ended up staring idiotically at Sansa Stark (who was, for some reason) there next to his daughter.

Gods, she was beautiful.

Even dressed casually in plain gray leggings and in a rose pink off the shoulder sweater, she was absolutely lovely. The glimpses of her milky white skin looked so soft and his fingers twitched with the urge to caress her and see how soft her skin really was. Her long curtain of fiery hair made him ache to bury his hands in them and her pretty blue eyes called out for him to stare into them. And her petal pink lips were parted in surprise —

"Mr. Baratheon! I had no idea you were coming."

"Uh." Shit. Why wasn't his voice working? Hells, why wasn't his brain working right now? He couldn't make himself answer her without sounding like an idiot!

"The school called me," he managed, gritting his teeth. Damn it, he'd been trying so hard to stop that habit.

Shireen frowned. "But they'd already called Sansa."

He was caught off guard and very confused. "What? Why?"

"Didn't Uncle Davos tell you?" Shireen frowned even more at him. "Since you're always busy and Mother's never bothered, and we don't have any other reliable back ups, Uncle Davos set Sansa up as an emergency contact."

He felt awkward and almost ashamed. Awkward that here he was, trying to pick up his daughter, when she'd already had someone much more reliable (damn better reliable than him, that's for sure) here and ready to pick her up and take care of her. Ashamed that here was that person taking care of his daughter and doing what needed to be done for Shireen, what he should have been doing all along, with the added embarrassment that Stannis hadn't known and had been ignorant of it (her).

"Well…I'm here," he said uncomfortably.

Sansa smiled at him, making his heart thump strangely in his chest. "Then take care, you two. I'll be off."

Shireen looked just as disappointed as he felt, and he found himself blurting out.

"Why don't you have lunch with us?"

He almost started calling himself an idiot again, when he was relieved to have her beautiful, bright smile aimed at him again as she answered him.

"That would be lovely!"

Gods have mercy on him (and his heart).

Stannis found himself in his car, with Shireen in the back and Sansa next to him. Gods, how did he find himself in this situation?

"Can we go to McDonald's?" Shireen asked.

He stopped himself from grimacing, but his lip ended up curling just a bit. But, seeing Shireen's expectant face, he took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright, we'll order through the Drive-Thru," he said but Shireen interrupted him, "Can we eat inside?"

Eat there? He glanced at Sansa, who was looking at him patiently. Eating there meant a little more time spent in her presence…

"Okay," he agreed and Shireen gave a little cheer.

His daughter then directed her attention towards Sansa, relating how her day went and all the work she still had to catch up with, especially now that she'd injured herself and had to go home. Stannis was a little taken aback that Shireen was so comfortable talking with the other girl, and chatting away animatedly. It wasn't like her —she wasn't much of a chatterbox, like himself.

And…she was talking about her day to Sansa as if she was the parent, in the way Shireen should've been able to talk to him or Selyse (Gods know where that woman was). In fact, it was so normal and casual, he was understanding it was a common occurrence, an everyday scene between the two. It was so normal because it was the norm for them.

His daughter had found a parent away from her actual parents.

It honestly made Stannis feel a little sorrowed, in the way his own daughter hadn't sought him out and didn't instinctively go to him for things, like she should've been able. That he'd apparently missed out so much on Shireen's life, and here was this sweet young woman who had cared enough to step in.

He missed so, so much and he didn't want to anymore.

And watching these two, seeing Shireen light up and Sansa smile softly and talk with his daughter, he felt moved by their closeness, the way the two cared for each other, the fact Shireen had found someone to be there for her when her own parents hadn't, and the knowledge Sansa sincerely cared and took care of Shireen, despite not being related at all to her and being virtual strangers when the two met.

"Why don't we have ice cream after?" he suggested and managed a small, barely there smile as his daughter cheered loudly.

Then Sansa gave him one of her soft, sweet smiles and his heart felt like it suddenly became its own drum line.

Shireen shoveled some fries into her mouth, feeling decidedly hungry after getting hurt and the whole drama of it and then the mix up with Sansa and her dad.

Which, yeah, weird.

She hadn't actually thought he'd come, even if the school had managed to get through to him. Sansa had always been the one to do things like this for her and Shireen hadn't thought any different this time. But then he was there and things kind of felt awkward because her dad was actually there. Made further awkward because so was Sansa.

At least he hadn't felt strange about it or said anything too much about Sansa being there. Shireen was pretty happy that he even invited her along and thought to keep her with them for a little while longer.

"So how long have you two known each other?" her father asked. "Besides the times our families mixed together."

Of all the things for him to ask!

"Oh! Shireen came to me during her first year at middle school," Sansa smiled at Shireen's dad, the same smile that had Shireen wishing Sansa'd be there forever from the first moment they'd met. "She was asking for help on her instrument and on her band class, and I sort of took her under my wing. I'd say we're practically like sisters now, right Shireen?" Sansa turned her sweet smile towards her.

Shireen smiled back bashfully. "Yeah," though she wanted to say that Sansa was more like a mother, honestly. Especially since her mother was now officially MIA from her life.

"I-I really appreciate and I'm glad Shireen has you," her father surprisingly stuttered and she stared at him in surprise, watching him closely.

There was a tinge of red on his cheeks and his eyes were focused on Sansa. Shireen blinked.

Huh.

"She's been awesome!" Shireen mentally shrugged it off and began telling her father everything she could about what she and Sansa had been up to for the last few years, with Sansa amusedly interjecting every once and a while.

And all the while, her father never stopped glancing at Sansa or his cheeks cleared up from that red hue.

Started 2/9/20 – Completed 2/11/20

A/n: Haha, Stannis, you cute weirdo. Shireen, please help your father XD Jk, jk –but hey! I hope you guys enjoyed it and I'm happy to hear from you guys! Send some feedback, let me know what you all would like see and all :D

Quick Points:

1. Current GoT Fics: Her Song of Fire and Ice (SansaxRoose/Stannis/Tywin), A Red King Bowed (Roose/Sansa), and March to My Heartbeat (Stannis/Sansa). Also The (Im)Perfect VERSE, including Deck the Halls and now Count Me Down to Midnight.