A.N. Thanks for the reviews, I have really appreciated them. :)


'What's the giant for?' Cersei heard her father's disapproving voice from the elevator door after Gregor helped him and his wife with their coat and led them in the living room.

'He is my new nurse.' Cersei replied as Tywin kissed her on the cheek. 'Happy Birthday, Dad!'

'Isn't he a handsome one?' Margaery remarked with her thick southern accent, staring after Gregor who had already left the room.

Cersei exchanged a scornful glance with her twin brother that didn't escape their so-called step mother's eyes.

Tyrion who stood behind his sister's wheelchair couldn't stop himself making a malicious comment.

'Anyone under seventy would be an improvement for her.' he whispered in her ear.

Cersei bit her lips, but she couldn't hold back a chuckle.

'Whispering in company is not very polite, you know.' Margaery scolded them.

Cersei looked for Jaime's eyes who was just as furious as she was. They couldn't stand when the little gold digger played the mother to mock them.

'Drop the act, Margaery, you are younger than us.' Cersei hissed angrily.

The other woman didn't have a chance to reply as the children came running down the stairs to greet her and their grandfather.

Cersei acknowledged Tommen's affection toward his grandfather's wife with a painful grimace. She looked away and turned to her father instead, who was hugging Myrcella.

'Father, can I have a word with you?' she asked in a firm voice.

She turned her wheelchair around and headed for Robert's former study. As soon as her father realized her intention to leave, he let go of his granddaughter and followed her.


'Please, sit.' Cersei offered her father a seat while she settled at the other side of the table. 'Whisky?'

Tywin gave her a suspicious look, then nodded. Cersei picked up the decanter and poured themselves a drink.

'You shouldn't mix that with your medication.' her father remarked when his daughter's lips touched the glass.

Cersei smiled at him. 'I can handle it.'

She liked to think that her father cared, though she had no illusions.

'What is it that you can only tell me in your husband's study?' Tywin asked after he took a sip of his whisky.

'It is my study now.' Cersei corrected him.

Her father didn't flinch.

'All right. Why do you need a study?'

Tywin wasn't the type of person who liked to waste his time and his daughter was no exception. Cersei felt his growing impatience in the short question. She'd better not seem uncertain now.

'I will take Robert's place and become the next President of Westeros.'

If Tywin was surprised, he didn't show it.

'How do you intend to achieve that?' he asked, almost bored.

Cersei was ready with the answer.

'I can have Robert's voters and of course, the female voters. Jaime can secure the Army votes. You could help with the business sector and we will see the rest.'

Tywin shook his head and downed the rest of his drink.

'That's not answering my question.'

His glass hit the wooden table with a loud thud.

'Why?' Cersei asked eagerly.

'You are speculating.' she heard her father's tired voice. He has been through this with many candidates over the decades.'You don't have the first idea how to get those votes.'

Cersei feigned a smile.

Her father needed a new candidate in Robert's place. Ned Stark might have been her husband's campaign manager, but it was Tywin who pulled the strings. He had been chief of staff to President Targaryen during his first administration, but he left him in order to launch the political career of his son-in-law. Everyone knew that Tywin Lannister would have a crucial role in choosing the next president of Westeros.

Tywin needed a candidate and Cersei had an advantage over the others. She knew how to sell a pitch to her father. After all, that's what she was doing her whole life. Whether it was about karate lessons with Jaime, lavishing parties in Lannisport or her marriage to Robert Baratheon – all three times ended with her on the losing side – her father taught her never to take anything for granted. She paid a high price, but Cersei learnt how to make Tywin Lannister listen. So she thought.

'That's the job, isn't it? Finding out how to get those votes.' she said with ease.

Tywin's lips almost curved into a smile.

'I appreciate your confidence.'

That was all the compliment his daughter could get.

'What about your condition? No one will elect a woman in a wheelchair for President.' he remarked indifferently.

'No one will elect an unfuckable woman for President…' Cersei mumbled bitterly.

A part of her hoped that her father would protest, but he didn't so she continued.

'My doctor told me about a surgery. It costs a fortune and it is still in experimental phase, but it is said to be effective.'

Her voice sounded confident - as if it was already a done deal.

'Good.' Tywin nodded with satisfaction.'I have a dwarf and an invalid for sons. I could do without a crippled daughter. What do you need me for?'

Cersei poured another glass for them both.

'Stannis froze my accounts. I can't do anything until I make the investigation go away. I should hire a lawyer first. Then, I'll need money for my surgery and for my campaign.'

She expected her father to ask about the sum, but he just nodded.

'All right. I'll call Baelish to take care of your problem with Stannis. And I'll pay for your surgery.'

Cersei was waiting for the rest, but there were none. Her father remained quiet.

'What about my presidential campaign?' she asked with an expectant look.

Tywin took a sip of his whisky. He slowly got up from his chair and walked over to the window.

'I suggest you find some big money donors.'

Disappointment was written all over Cersei's face and she didn't care about keeping a facade anymore. She slammed her glass on the desk in blind anger.

'You gave your support to Robert without question. If Jaime or even Tyrion sat here instead of me, you wouldn't hesitate to give them your blessing.'

Tywin walked back to the desk and put his hand on the back of his chair.

'I would give your brothers my blessing if they were willing to do anything at all. Drinking and buying prostitutes is not a career, neither is risking your life in someone else's wars.'

Cersei couldn't hold back a smile at the thought that being a drunk or a decorated war hero made no difference for her father.

'Did it ever occur to you that I might be the one who deserves your confidence and your trust? Not your sons. Not Jaime or Tyrion, but me.' she asked in a serious voice.

Her father snorted in response.

'I don't distrust you because you are a woman. I distrust you because you are not as smart as you think you are.'

'But I am your daughter!' Cersei cried out in indignation.

Tywin ignored her outburst and replied in the same cold manner.

'That's why you should know that I won't reward you for showing up. Put something on the table, prove me that you are worthy of my support, then we'll talk again.'

Cersei bit her lips and remained quiet. Her father acknowledged her defeat with a content nod.

'Good. Now, can I call Baelish for you?'

He didn't wait for her answer. He took out his phone and dialed a number.

'Hi, Petyr. It's Tywin Lannister.'

'Hey Tywin. How are you?' Cersei heard from the other side of the line.

'Good.' her father replied shortly. 'Listen, my daughter's got a small problem with her brother-in-law. I'll put you on speaker so she could tell you.'

He tossed his phone on the desk, halfway between him and his daughter.

'Hello, Blondie. What can I do for you?' the lawyer asked in a coaxing tone.

Cersei rolled her eyes and her father shook his head in contempt.

'Good evening, Petyr. Sorry to bother you on a Sunday.' she greeted him politely. 'I'll get right to it. They reopened the case on Robert's death. Stannis is accusing me of murder.'

'What do they have?' Baelsih asked without skipping a beat.

'My fingerprints on the piece of glass that killed my husband.' Cersei explained.

The lawyer let out a scornful laugh.'That's nothing. It will never make it to the court.'

Tywin leaned closer to the phone and cleared his throat.

'They froze her accounts.'

Baelish snorted in disdain and remained quiet for a moment.

'Yeah, yeah. Don't worry.' he finally said. 'They just want to scare you. They want you to believe that they are serious, when in fact, they are just doing a favour for Stannis because Daddy Baratheon was a cop too.'

'I figured that much.' Cersei mumbled reproachfully.

'Cause you are a smart girl, Blondie.'The lawyer remarked laughingly. 'You just need to smile more. Anyway, I'll get your money back in a week. And as your lawyer, I recommend you to sue Stannis for slander. Because of your husband, you are a public figure. And your reputation is about to get a lot more important if one can believe the rumours.'

Tywin gave a sharp look to his daughter who shook her head in surprise.

'I don't know what you are talking about.' Cersei said in mock ease. 'But I'll gladly sue the hell out of Stannis.'

'All right then. Is there anything else?'

Cersei looked at her father and hesitated for a moment. She could hear Baelish's breathing over the phone, patiently waiting for her answer.

'I had a couple of smaller accidents in the past few years.' she blurted out. 'Ruptured ear drum, broken bones, mild concussion…'

'So?' Baelish asked in a bored tone.

Cersei shot a nervous glance at her father before she explained.

'If Stannis could get his hands on my medical records, he could make up a story - you know how it is - about violence… in my marriage with Robert… It would give me a motive to kill him.'

There was an awkward silence on the other end of the line until the lawyer finally answered.

'That is too far-fetched. He will need solid evidence before the hospital hands him over your medical records.'

Cersei let out a relieved sigh.

'I think we are finished then. Thank you for your help, Petyr. Keep in touch.'

She hung up his father's phone and tossed it back to his side. Tywin picked it up without a word and put it in the inner pocket of his suit. Cersei followed his movements with her eyes until her gaze met with her father's.

'Would you like to ask me something?'

Her question remained hanging in the air. Cersei waited a moment, then she broke the eye contact.

'Let's go then. We shouldn't let the family wait for us all night.'

She rolled her chair to the end of the room and let her father open the door for her. She gave him one last look before they left, trying to read his unreadable expression.

Would it have changed anything if he had known?