After Sansa and Loras had gone back out for their shopping spree, Daenerys found herself caring for a baby as well as two teenagers.
"So, Osha's your brother's nurse?" She asked Arya who was busy playing chess by herself as Bran settled for an Indiana Jones film.
Arya nodded and replied with a short, "Yes."
Baby Sam gurgled, managing to gain Dany's attention. She quickly adjusted him in her arms and smiled softly as she stroked his soft, puffy cheeks.
"How many times is she here?"
"Most of the week. Sometimes for a couple of hours but then Sansa has short days at uni and Jon doesn't work that many shifts when he pulls 12-hour or 24-hour shifts as you know."
Daenerys nodded, gently shushing Sammy as he began to fuss.
"Hold him over your shoulder, he likes snuggling that way..." Arya suggested, making a move with a black chess piece.
Dany did as told and the baby quickly adjusted to snuggling comfortably by her neck, almost nuzzling her.
The feeling of his soft, wispy hair against her warm neck made her all soft and gooey inside. She missed her own baby.
She wondered what it would be like to be a mother again herself but with the rate at which she was pulling all-nighters and working, she'd doubt she would be a good one or attentive one as she once was.
"Have you figured out what you're wearing for your birthday?"
"I don't even know the colour scheme let alone what's going to be the activities," Arya replied, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Any spoilers?"
Daenerys playfully rolled her eyes as she replied with a, "I've seen your flower arrangements. They're pretty much every colour in the rainbow. I'm wearing navy and your sister's thinking about yellow."
Arya hummed softly to herself. "I could go with a chic look. I've been told that I can easily pull off that look. Maybe even red. But I know Sansa's going to outdo me and the attention would go to her..."
Dany frowned but she couldn't reply as Baby Sammy burst out in tears and she suddenly smelt a foul scent of a full nappy.
"Good luck," Arya chuckled as the blonde pulled a face. "He does these huge dumps, you'll regret babysitting."
"I hope not," Daenerys said. "I quite adore children..." she trailed off sadly.
Arya smiled brightly at her, not noticing the change in her voice before returning to her game of chess as Dany allowed a few tears to fall, quickly excusing herself and Sammy to the bathroom.
...
Sansa beamed as she stepped through the front door, placing all of her shopping bags on the floor as Loras followed soon after with twice as more.
"I've bought outfits for Jon, Bran, Gilly and Baby Sammy as well as myself. Unfortunately, Sam couldn't get any time off of work for your birthday." Sansa sighed.
Arya tutted lightly. "We'll definitely save a slice cake for him or even two. Hey, what about my outfit?"
"I was hoping we'd go shopping together when I pick you up from school on Thursday."
"What if I can't find anything I like then?" Arya whined softly.
Sansa chuckled. "Fine, we'll go tomorrow instead. Where's Dany?"
She noticed Baby Sammy asleep on the sofa, surrounded by pillows as Bran sat beside him, gently observing the small child with a smile.
"Oh, she's in the bathroom..." Arya trailed off, frowning. "She's been in there for quite a while actually. She went to change Sammy then brought him back for his nap before going back there."
"Uh, Loras, why don't you put the kettle on and make us some teas? I'll go chase up Dany."
Loras did as he was told as Sansa headed down the narrow hallway to the dimly lit bathroom where she opened the door to see Daenerys sobbing quietly on top of the closed toilet seat.
"Dany!" Sansa called out softly, rushing to sit beside her on top of the side of the bathtub. "What's happened?" She asked, taking one of the blonde's hands and squeezing it.
"Sammy's head against my neck... Made me think about Rhaego..."
Sansa breathed out softly. "Y-Your baby?"
Dany nodded, taking a shaky breath in and out as she leant her head against the cold tiles of the bathroom walls. "I had... I had this warm, fuzzy feeling and it made me so happy... I almost forgot he wasn't mine. I genuinely felt as if he was my baby and I was petting him to sleep. Then I started thinking about what I'd do if I was a mother again. With the shifts I do, I could never be a mum. I had my husband back then to support me and he worked from home whilst I went through uni... Not only that, I see myself with children in the future... Jon's children." She whispered.
Sansa gasped, squeezing Dany's hand a little tighter as the blonde sobbed.
"I haven't even told him about my late husband nor my baby. He thought he was a friend of mine and I was his kid's godmother. He didn't see that I was a mum in that photograph. That I was a teenage mother who was happy. What if he doesn't want kids-"
"He definitely wants kids. He even once told me he'd have six just like our father did."
Dany smiled softly. "But what if we don't get there? I know I am madly in love with him - I haven't felt this way since Drogo but what if we don't get married, have the kids and the wonderful life? What if I'm destined to be a widow for the rest of my life? I've seen the way he looks at Ygritte-"
Again she was cut short with, "He and Ygritte will never get married or back together even if they were the last people on Earth. He loves you. He loved her, yes but not anymore. Now, wash your face and come to meet me in the kitchen for a cuppa. You could do with one."
Dany let out a laugh, wiping her tears as she sniffled. "You're a good friend."
"And you are too. I can't wait until you're the new Lady of Winterfell Manor. You seem to really care about all of us, including the staff."
"Well, you guys are just amazing people," Dany replied with a wide smile.
...
Sansa twirled her phone between her fingers as she contemplated her next step.
She hadn't spoken to him in a short while since the dinner party so she wondered if he'd answer her call.
But she took the chance to.
...And it led to voicemail.
"Hi, Tyrion. Wanted to see how you are. Sorry, I haven't contacted you in a while, I've been busy planning another birthday event, for my sister this time. Uh, give me a call whenever you can and we might meet up soon. I definitely want to know how you made that buttercream. Bye!" She managed to end the call just as the voicemail ended, breathing a sigh of relief.
She felt lips press against her head and she looked up with a smile. "When did you get back?"
Jon shrugged his coat off, taking his shoes off as he chuckled.
"Couple of minutes ago. I may or may not have spent the last four minutes making out with Dany. What are you even doing in my room?"
Sansa gave a little chuckle as she held up her phone. "Just making calls. Arya didn't want to be disturbed - she's calling Gendry. Bran's in his room asleep and well, your room was the next best thing to privacy."
"It's not going to be my room for much longer, is it?" Jon asked, sitting beside her.
Sansa shook her head, looking around the reasonably sized bedroom big enough to fit a double bed and small wardrobe in.
"Are you okay with going back to the manor? I know it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows, Jon."
"I was hoping to make new memories there, Sansa... And it's too late, I've already ended the tenancy here. One of the first things we'd do when we get back is plant trees for each of our departed loved ones."
Sansa's eyes watered. "Your idea?"
"No, Bran wanted to do something for them. I just suggested it. He was feeling a bit anxious to go back after everything. I don't know how either one of us will react to everything being as we left it. All the photographs..."
"I went with Dany today Jon. I saw the portraits, my bedroom... It was exactly how we left it. My bedroom desk still had letters thanking people for their condolences on it. My beautiful, white roses that I loved so much had long been wilted and dead... It felt like home but at the same time-"
"It felt foreign?" Jon cut in.
She nodded. "Yes."
Jon took a shaky breath as he wiped his hands on his jeans. "Well, as you said... it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows living there but it was home. Funny, it was where I met Ygritte actually. You guys think we knew each other since our uni days but her family lived a little bit up north from us."
"Why didn't we know that much about her?"
"It wasn't that I was embarrassed to tell her about you or you about her, no... She was a handle... I wasn't the best to her either."
Sansa frowned at that. "What happened?"
"Uh, you know the whole situation with your past partner..." He said carefully as she nodded. "They knew each other. Ygritte tended to go from guy to guy. I didn't mind, we weren't together back then. We were only fifteen. I was out for my morning run and something wild and fiery red leapt at me. I fell down and looked up to see her eyes... They were so beautiful and I couldn't stop thinking about those eyes for weeks. Anyway, she helped me up and said that she was climbing trees but she found she couldn't get back down from Bran's favourite tree. She looked for a chance to get down and she used me to soften her landing."
Sansa smiled. "She's a lot different now from what you're describing."
Jon returned the smile. "Oh, it wasn't until uni she unleashed her even wilder side. The reason we kept things casual as teenagers were because of her dad. He was so against our family, something about our father not saving his wife on time but I've read the reports... there was nothing Dad could do to save Ygritte's mum. I felt terrible and Ygritte didn't even know that I was the son of the guy her father believed to let her mother die. We didn't see each other after I was sent off to boarding school but the first day of university, Robb rear-ended her car and she got out, screaming about how it was her eighteenth birthday gift from her dad and how we were going to be sued but then she suddenly stopped."
"Why?"
"She said my eyes were familiar. Then, she got back into her car and drove off. Since then, Robb was hellbent on bringing me whenever he went for a drive. Said my eyes charmed the ladies. We saw her at Night's Watch that same evening, she was so wasted but she kept saying that she knew me. We let her stay at ours because she couldn't go home drunk and the next morning, she sat beside me on the sofa where I'd slept and she said she was so embarrassed for her behaviour. Then she said my name and we started laughing for no reason. Again, we kept things casual but we got together shortly after she became the model she always wanted to be. Back then, she was nice but something changed in her and I was glad to use our tragedy as an excuse to leave her. I knew I lost her the minute she dropped out of university but yet, I was blinded by puppy love and got involved with her. With her, it was 'expect the unexpected' and taking walks on the wild side. With Daenerys, it's growing old together and seeing things for as they are."
There was a knock on the door and Dany appeared, smiling softly as she held Sammy in her arms. "Gilly's here to pick this little 'un up."
Jon smiled brightly, standing up to take the child into his arms. "Hey, Sammy-boy. Can Uncle Jon have one last big hug before you go home?"
Sansa and Daenerys watched, smiling as the baby gurgled and reached up to pull at Jon's raven locks.
"Awh, you're a natural bro." Sansa grinned.
"I want kids someday, you know?" Jon said. "Right, come on Sammy - your mum's waiting."
Dany turned to Sansa as Jon left with Sammy, a smile playing on her lips. "You were right."
"Aren't I always?" Sansa teased.
...
Sansa gasped as she woke up. Her mind had been plagued with a nightmare, one she wanted to forget all too soon as it was about her ex-lover and the prospect of bearing his child.
Dany's story must have affected her more than she thought.
The redhead sighed in relief when she noticed that Jon remained fast asleep on his side of the bed, his chest rising and falling gently and quietly as he slept.
Work must have been tough if he was sleeping heavily.
Getting out of Jon's bed, she headed back into her room, remembering her and her brother's conversation about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. After that, they'd spent time with Daenerys before she had to go work an emergency shift which Jon would have also gone to if he had not worked a long shift already. The siblings then settled into Jon's bed and watched a Netflix show.
As she made her way to her bedroom past Bran's, her phone began to buzz in her pocket and she took it out, deciding to answer it in the living area.
"Hello?"
"Sansa... It's Tyrion."
Sansa frowned, sitting down. "Uh, hello. How are you?"
Tyrion sighed on the other line. "I'm fine, Sansa. I know what's going on and I want you to now that I did not do anything. As a lawyer, I cannot divulge much nor can I implicate myself. What happened that night was unfortunate but I had no part in it."
"Where are you?"
"I had a case out of town. An old friend of mine got into a spot of trouble. Long story short, I stood in as his lawyer."
Sansa pursed her lips, wondering how to play this. She didn't want to be involved in whatever sick game his family were playing.
"Was this old friend around? At your siblings' birthday dinner?"
"Yes, he had been released on bail and made his way over to my home although, no one was aware of his visit except me."
"What did this old friend do?" She asked.
Tyrion cleared his throat. "I cannot discuss confidential matters, Sansa. I just wanted you to know that you did not deserve being classified as a suspect. I'm coming home soon and I will inform them of your lack of involvement."
"Thank you," she said. "Uh, I should let you go then."
"Goodbye, Sansa."
She ended the call and sighed in relief, deciding to call Dany instead in case she had a small break.
At times such as these, she just wanted to talk to a friend and she wasn't so sure about Ygritte even though the Irish woman proved to be a loyal and trustworthy person despite her menacing ways.
"Dany?" Sansa called out when the line picked up.
"Sansa! I'm just on a quick break, what's up?"
Sansa smiled softly. "Nothing much. Just wanted a chat. So, how's work?"
And the memories of her nightmare vanished as she talked and talked with the blonde, laughing every now and then deeper into the night.