The following day, Sansa was attending to matters concerning Arya's birthday party.
She had the cake ordered, the flowers prepared, the outfits chosen and the food and beverages prepared.
"Lady Stark, where do you want the balloons?" The event planner asked.
Sansa pursed her lips, heading outside the front door to point at the corners of the arched door.
"Each corner. On the day, I'd like them leading from the drawbridge to the front door as well. Also, align balloons on every door."
"Yes, ma'am," the event planner smiled.
Mr Dondarion appeared out of nowhere, almost scaring the redhead as she placed a hand on her chest to steady her heart.
"You have a visitor, my lady."
"Thank you, send them through to the kitchen, please." She smiled, following the events planner into the kitchen to discuss snacks.
She sat at the counter island, nodding at what the planner was saying. As her guest entered, she raised a hand to cease what the planner was saying.
"Oh, Mr-Mr Lannister. Uh, welcome. I don't know where Tyrion is, I've only spoken-"
"I'm not here for him, Ms Stark," Jaime interrupted. "And please, it's Jaime."
He walked towards her, leaning against the counter with a small smile.
"I wanted to personally thank you for my birthday celebrations the other day, you really did well. As well as my brother, of course," he said.
Sansa returned the smile. "No worries, Jaime. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Seeing as you have a knack for organising events such as birthdays," he said, gesturing around. "I was wondering if you'd take on my wife's baby shower."
Sansa's eyes widened as she grinned. "Oh, congratulations! I never knew-"
"Save it," Jaime laughed. "She told me she told you and Cersei. She actually told me the second we got home. Look, my wife doesn't have many friends due to her position at work and her social life in general because we're into MMA-"
"Your brother said," smirked Sansa.
"Well, yeah. So, can you help me? She says she likes you so that's got to be something."
She nodded. "Of course! Does she know or is it a surprise."
"She knows. She wants help organising it. She doesn't have any girlfriends at all and I'm surprised I didn't notice that until now since she was always so popular at school-"
"I'm guessing with the guys?"
Jaime blushed. "Yeah. I'll drive her down now if you're free?"
"Give me an hour but I'll give you an address. It's my friend's place and she's good at this stuff too and I'm also picking stuff up from there."
He nodded. "Okay. Good. Did I tell you 'thank you'? I don't think I have. Thank you."
Sansa beamed. "It's quite alright. I'm so happy for you guys. I'm sure you're excited."
"I really am. We've been trying for an awfully long time. I mean, my twin sister has a twenty-two year old for God's sake. I'm on my first kid!"
"It doesn't matter how old you are when you have kids, you'll love them just as much as they love you," said Sansa.
Jaime gave her a grateful smile and firm handshake. "Thank you, again. I'll leave you. She'll see you in an hour."
He left just as quickly as he arrived and Sansa quickly went through the snacks with the events planner before making her way to Dany's place.
Letting herself in quietly, she hung her bag and coat up and got around to preparing a meal for the blonde who was fast asleep due to getting home at nine in the morning.
"Urgh," she heard, quickly turning around to see Daenerys waddling into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"I was making you a meal in bed," sighed Sansa.
"Thanks, you're sweet. I was really thirsty and I've got this shitty headache..." Dany groaned out.
Sansa smiled in empathy. "Head back, I'll bring the paracetamol - hey, I'm expecting someone so we can talk through another event I'm planning."
"Oh? How exciting. What is it?" Dany asked already heading back to her room.
"Baby shower," the redhead called after her.
"Wonderful. See you in a few!"
There was a knock on the door and Sansa yelled out that she had it, wiping her hands with the kitchen rag before opening it.
"Hey, Jon. Thought you were at work?"
"No, I have today off it turns out. I was helping Sam look after Sammy after I dropped Arya off."
"Osha's with Bran?"
"Yep. Hmm, something smells good," he said, walking past her into the kitchen.
She chuckled. "Hands off, they're for your girlfriend."
Jon winced. "Twilight shift?"
"Yeah, I thought you'd be on the same shift as her."
"I went for two hours to have a talk with the Clinical Lead but I never knew she stayed."
"Well, we spoke last night and she decided to stay on until half eight this morning. She's only just woken up, it seems."
Jon was about to say something but his phone began ringing, his boss' name flashing on the screen.
"I guess it's my turn. I know we're understaffed but come on..." He mumbled, answering the call. "Yeah, I'm on my way."
Hanging up, he kissed his sister by the side of her head and headed down the hall to do the same to his girlfriend. When he returned, he snagged a slice of toast from the plate Sansa was holding.
"Major RTC - doubt I'd get time for lunch now. Thanks."
"You're welcome. And good luck," said Sansa with a small smile. "I'll call you later."
"Nah, I'll call you when I get a chance to. Osha's only with Bran for a couple of hours but I've told Arya that-"
"I got it covered! If all hell breaks loose, I'll call Loras to help. Now go and save some lives."
Time flew by and Sansa frowned, still not hearing any word from Jaime nor Brienne.
Sighing, she began to do the dishes just as Dany entered, dressed in her scrubs.
"Major RTC and by major, I mean major!" She breathed out frantically looking for her trainers.
"Jon said. Is it the same one?" Sansa asked in concern.
Nodding, the blonde sighed. "Fourteen cars down the motorway. Not an attack or anything, just a tragic accident. I'm going to be in the theatre the moment I step in."
"Go. Keep me updated if you can, yeah?"
Giving the redhead a hug, Dany nodded. "I will. See you later."
...
"Dr Snow! Over here!" Ellaria called out
Jon turned around, immediately falling into step with Ms Sand and a patient being wheeled in.
"My-my wife! Where is she? Please!"
Jon glanced down at the patient and his eyebrows furrowed in recognition as read the notes in his hand which were given to him by Ellaria.
"Jaime Lannister?" He asked.
Jaime nodded, closing his eyes in pain as he clenched a hand around his right wrist where there was an unforgivable amount of blood dripping from the bandage wrapped around it.
"I know you..." Jaime breathed out, beads of sweat dripping from his head. "Snow... You're Ned's boy, aren't you? Sansa's brother?"
"Can we increase his morphine to-"
"No! I've faced worse than this. No painkillers."
Jon frowned. "Mr Lannister-"
"Jaime."
"I highly suggest as your doctor that you take some form of pain relief. We're heading into the theatre now anyway."
"But my wife! Brienne!" He began to shout out, Ellaria giving looks to Jon.
"If I get someone to find her, will you let me do my job?" Jon asked.
Jaime nodded. "Your si-sister. She's expecting us. Tell her that we won't be able to make it."
Jon nodded, sending Jaime with Ellaria and the porters to head upstairs into the theatre room to be treated.
Heading to the doctor's station, he flung out his smartphone and texted out a quick message to his sister before checking the database to see if Brienne had been admitted.
"Female, late thirties, pregnant, tachycardic..."
Jon glanced up to see a paramedic giving the rundown to his best friend.
"Patient's name?" Sam asked.
"It's Superintendant Brienne Tarth but her husband's family have got a whiff of this so you'll register her under 'Brienne Lannister'."
"Shit..." Jon muttered under his breath once he saw how bad his patient's wife was.
"Dr Snow? It's Jaime Lannister. He's crashing."
Jon turned around to face the nurse, his eyes wide as they rushed up the stairs, bypassing the lift.
Shit.
...
Sansa gasped once the text came through. Disbelief and tears in her eyes, she glanced down at the thick book she'd prepared for their meeting.
Her phone rang and she quickly answered it.
"Tyrion, I'm so sorry."
"It's fine. I'm on my way to the hospital now."
Sansa's eyes widened. "Is that wise to do with everything going on?
"He's my brother. The only one who has been there for me. I will heed any repercussions, I have an alibi." Tyrion cleared his throat. "Do you wish to come with me?"
"I can't. I must stay in case my siblings need me. I'm so sorry though. My brother's keeping me updated, I think he's treating your brother."
Tyrion sighed. "If your brother is as wholehearted as you, I will give him my full trust and belief to get my brother through this."
"I'm sure he will be glad to know so. I better let you get on. I hope everything goes well." Sansa sighed.
"Thank you, Sansa. Good day."
After cancelling the call, Sansa decided to make herself busy by cooking meals for Daenerys and her family. Even for Sam because she figured since it was such a large accident, he'd be at work too.
She just hoped that they'd all get through this.
Somehow.
...
"Ah, Dr Snow! You are joining us!" Dr Tormund Giantsbane grinned, opening up Jaime's hand to get a better look at the injury.
Jon nodded, taking his place in front of Tormund as he glanced down. "How bad?"
"Just started. We might be dealing with major nerve damage here. If there's nothing to save, we'd amputate."
"Damn. Okay. Tell me what to do."
Tormund went on to guide himself, Jon and the nurses through the procedure. An hour later, they made the decision to amputate.
"How are the kids?" Jon asked, making small talk as Tormund beamed back at him.
"Munda's getting married. Can you believe that? My only girl's going to be someone's missus."
Jon smiled. "That's nice, Tormund. And Dryn, Toregg?"
"Ah, the boys. They're scrounging off me, you know? They haven't got jobs - all they do is play bloody Call of Duty and eat my premium meats. I love my boys but I hope they follow their younger sister's footsteps and get married, leaving me to my palatial home in peace with my meats."
"You have to nudge them a bit. They'd get the hint sometime," said Jon. "As we all agreed, Dr Tormund will begin the steps to detach the hand from the wrist and I'll salvage the nerves remaining."
An hour went by and Jon was in the process of repairing the remaining nerves. He had done something like this once but in Tormund's eyes, he was an expert. The only reason Jon moved to the Emergency ward was due to what happened to his family. Before this, he was in general care, taking on trauma cases sent from the ED.
"How's your sister? I heard she was in the hospital for a short while."
Jon nodded. "She's good. Still giving me bloody heart attacks as well as the younger ones but we're good."
Tormund leant closer as if he was inspecting Jon's work. "If you ever need anything and I mean it, Kid, I'm here."
"Thanks," said Jon.
Tormund had worked closely with Jon's father for years, the pair meeting at Medical school but when fresh out of Medical School Jon and Robb started working, Tormund had taken the younger brother under his wing becoming a good friend of Jon's.
"I feel bad for the man," continued Jon. "His wife's in a bad state too."
"If you'd like, I can speak with the family."
"If you want. I know them briefly. My godfather's married to one and my sister... she was meeting Jaime and Brienne for something that they were planning."
Tormund shook his head. "That's horrible."
"If they weren't meeting Sansa, maybe they would have stayed home-"
"You can't predict things, Jon."
Jon halted in his actions once he realised what he was saying. It took him back to that day when half his family perished.
Jon and Ygritte had been arguing and he forgot his beloved necklace which he got from his father when he was little to keep him close to his birth mother at her place.
Demanding to be let in, Jon had begged Ygritte to give the necklace back and it had taken three hours of begging for her to let him back in before they ended back in her bed again.
He had called in sick at work, wanting to make it up to his girlfriend, make their toxic relationship not so toxic as they never even labelled each other as boyfriend and girlfriend.
They ended up at a strip club, courtesy of Ygritte. Jon had declined the offer, he wasn't one to end up here but he went once for his brother's stag night. They'd made desperate love wherever they ended up, the poison of their love making them both go insane.
Jon would never admit it but a part of him missed Ygritte and her wild love. They were toxic but they got each other.
If Jon had kept his phone on, maybe he'd answer Rickon's calls and get there before Robb could which ended up killing him, his wife and unborn child. His brother and his family would be on their way home with Bran and Arya and Jon would be able to control the situation, consoling Rickon as he tried to save their parents lives. Arya and Bran would never be stunned after witnessing Rickon killing himself and Rickon would still be alive. Jon would have not three but all of his siblings alive.
"Dr Snow?"
Coming out of his reverie, he allowed Tormund to take over. He couldn't get out the theatre quicker as he removed his scrubs and bloody gloves before he washed his hands and arms and leaving, breathing in big gulps of air.
Tears began to fall down his cheeks as he struggled to breathe. Months of grief finally catching up to him after so much suppression to be there for his remaining siblings.
He was never meant to go through this alone.
The old him was free and happy, always smiling but lately, he was a ghost of himself, just like he named his dog Ghost.
"Jon?"
Looking up, he thrust himself into Sam's waiting arms and hugged him tightly, letting the tears leave his body.
"It's about time," said Sam sadly. "Come on, let me take you home."
...
"Sam?" Sansa asked. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm bringing Jon home."
"Why? What's happened?"
Sam sighed. "He's let go of everything. He's just had a meltdown."
Sansa's face fell. She knew Jon never really had time to process everything - he just quickly stepped into the fatherly figure and began to look after his family. He always put them above himself. She felt guilty for playing a part in her brother's deteriorating mental health.
So soon after Arya's.
"I'll meet you at the flat," she said.
She quickly got back to their home or what was soon to be their former home. It felt different somehow.
"Sansa," she heard.
"When Jon comes back, I don't want anyone to spring anything on him."
Arya frowned, holding her homework. "Why? What's happened? He promised that he'd help with my Science homework."
Sansa rubbed her head. "Jon broke down at work. Sam's bringing him home."
"Shit..." Arya mumbled, getting a glare from her sister in return. "I'll ask Sam to help instead."
Twenty minutes later, Sansa had fed Bran and Arya and left out a plate for Jon and another for Sam.
She needed to make herself busy so she began to clean the kitchen stove just as she heard a key scratching inside the keyhole.
It soon opened.
"Jon," she said quietly. "I made spaghetti. There's a plate for you too, Sam."
The men sat at the table, Sam immediately digging in due to missing his breaks but Jon picked at his food, resisting the urge to throw up.
"Jon," he heard again but this time it was from the lips of his youngest sister.
She hugged him tightly, something which surprised him as she was never one for hugs but he didn't complain, wrapping one arm around her back in return.
"Do you need water?" She asked, heading to the sink.
"I can get you the beer you like. I was heading to the shops anyway-" Sansa added.
"I'm fine. I don't need anything." Jon sighed, giving Sam a look which the latter returned with a small smile.
"Jon, you had a meltdown at work. You're not okay; you need to see someone," Sansa said, crossing her arms.
"All of us do," Arya added.
"You can't keep pushing down your feelings for us. You need support too, Jon." The elder sister continued.
Arya placed a glass of water in front of him. "We've been selfish ever since you got custody of us. It's our turn to repay the debt."
Digging into her handbag, Sansa retrieved an envelope and gave it to their brother before standing back. "Five grand. Go on holiday, do something after Arya's birthday. Just grieve or do what you got to do. Sam, there's enough there for you to get a ticket too. I can help out with Gilly and Sammy."
"W-where did you get five grand?" Sam asked in shock, counting the money as Jon shook his head.
"My job pays well," said Sansa. "And don't," she turned to Jon. "You dare shake your head at me. I'll call around and see if there's a grief counselling session for all of us as soon as possible."
Jon stood up, rubbing his face in frustration. "I'm fine!" He cried out, making his sisters jump. "I don't need some shitty doctor telling me that I'm grieving when I have already! Nor do I need my little sisters giving me the third bloody degree! As if you know what it's like to go into work every day, every hour and see so much trauma that destroys families! Only Sam understands that and that was today. A friend of the family, however distant, was involved in something horrible which ended up in him losing his hand. It became too much, working to keep our heads above water and I let it out, okay? I'm not depressed or grieving. God! Oh, God! I need a drink..."
He grabbed his jacket and left, slamming the door behind him.
"Jaime lost his hand?" Sansa finally asked, so quietly she was afraid that the shouting would begin again.
Nodding, Sam sighed and packed their dishes away. "Jon and the trauma doctor couldn't save anything. And Brienne, his wife... she's in a coma and the only thing that's keeping their child alive are the machines that she's hooked up to."
Arya gasped. "Oh, God... I-I better call Gendry. I wonder how his stepmother is feeling. Uh, Sam? Can you FaceTime me whenever you're free? I'll be awake all night to do this anyway. I need help on my Science report."
"Yeah, definitely. I'll give you a bell in about four hours." Sam smiled softly.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
She didn't care, she just wanted an excuse to leave the tense air but what she'd heard unnerved her.
Her family died yet God allowed this one to live.
That was unfair.
Sansa, on the other hand, was preparing to call Tyrion and ask for further updates if he had them but she found herself bidding Sam goodnight as the man realised that he'd better get back to work. Then, she preceded to call the one man she could count on for support.
"Hello?" Came the cheery voice.
"Loras..." She sighed. "My head's spinning, I'm starting to go insane." She cried out, tears prickly the edges of her eyes. "Oh, help me now..." She whispered to herself.