For three nights Arya slept alone in her chambers. Though there really wasn't a lot of sleep involved. She tossed and turned, painfully paced the room, had nightmares about dragons and flames, and woke up alone and crying more times than she would ever been willing to admit. By day she didn't feel like talking or eating. She went riding with Jaime sometimes. Sometimes they played cyvasse. Sometimes Meg and Genna visited her. But she felt exhausted and hopeless and didn't really care about any of it. The only time she felt any semblance of peace was when Jaime carried her to meals or to her horse for riding. As soon as he let her go she remembered everything all over again. She remembered that didn't have any right to feel anything for him. She remembered that he was trying to keep his distance and that being close to him was only temporary.

On the fourth night alone, Arya dreamed about the execution again. The terror as she watched the man she loved burn...then the rage as she finally broke through the guards and charged at the dragon. She had felt his hot breath against her face. He almost killed her and she hadn't cared. And in her dreams she she saw Gendry's burned body as they dragged her away. Pain stabbed through her knee and shoulder as she fought them, trying to get back to what was left of him in spite of knowing he was dead.

Arya awoke with a start. The room was illuminated by moonlight. She was alone again. Utterly alone. Sometimes when she'd woken up like this she had been able to choke back the tears. Other times she had stopped the tears by walking with her full weight on her leg, no spear to help her. This time she just curled up sobbing where she lay. She couldn't make the tears stop. She couldn't stop the hurt. Only one thing could help, Jaime. She got out of bed and took her spear. She made her way out of her room and went to the door of his bedchamber. She tried to be silent opening his door but he woke up anyway.

"Arya?" He said, sitting up on his elbow as she approached the bed.

She didn't ask him if she could sleep in his bed. She was too afraid he would say no, that it was too soon. She let her spear fall to the floor with a clatter and she climbed in next to him without a word. Once she was under the covers she slid closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. He seemed to understand and he hugged her in return. Then the tears came and she let them fall.

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For days Arya had been uncommunicative and listless. He knew she had barely been eating and probably barely sleeping as well. He had tried to encourage her to eat. He had tried to say something witty from time to time to make her laugh but the most he had been able to get for a response was a small smile on occasion. He had even taken her to the practice yard so she could watch if she wanted. He didn't know what else to do for her. Being unable to help her was killing him.

It had surprised him when she arrived at his room. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red from lack of sleep. When she had climbed into his bed and clung to him as if her life depended on it he found he had actually felt relieved. It meant she was doing something about her grief rather than keeping it all bottled up inside.

He awoke in the morning laying flat on his back. Arya was cuddled up next to him with her head resting on his chest. She must have felt his change in breathing when he woke up because she looked up at him then.

"I can't sleep alone after this." She said firmly. "I can't."

"Okay. Then I won't ask you to." He told her.

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Dear Arya,

By the time you receive this letter I will already be on my way to Casterly Rock. As soon as I got your letter I begged Harry to bring me to visit you. He never refuses me anything. It will be a month before we arrive. I will be longing to see you every day until then.

Love Sansa

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In the following days Jaime noticed improvements in Arya's mood. He wasn't sure if it was because of her sister's upcoming visit or because she was no longer alone at night. It didn't matter which. It was good to see her smile from time to time. Her injuries were healing too. She was able to walk with a lot less pain but she was unable to fully bend her knee. As a result she still carried the spear most of the time for support. He might have insisted on a cane or a crutch had the spear not suited her so well.

He found that he liked sleeping next to her at night. It wasn't sleeping next to her so much as sleeping tangled up with her. His sleep was often broken up by her constant moving and by her nightmares but she was so grateful for his presence that he really couldn't complain. She never tried to kiss him again since that one time and he never tried to kiss her but there were other small affections they showed each other. Just small touches really, her hand in his hair, his thumb brushing away her tears, or the way they sometimes didn't get out of the bed when the woke up in the morning but stayed there embraced for a while longer. He had never really shared physical closeness like this with anyone. Cersei had never stayed in his bed for long out of fear of being caught and he hadn't been able to touch her in public. Arya was always touching him. A hand on his arm at dinner, hugging him tightly when he carried her down to her horse, sometimes her hand on his neck or resting on his chest as they fell asleep at night. After so many years of keeping distant from everyone, he found he liked it.

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Dear Jaime,

I can imagine that your new wife will be difficult in the beginning. Even without the history between Starks and Lannisters there is the added difficulty of her having just been widowed. However, I believe that given time the two of you will get along well. I have seen her fight, and not just the incident in the pit with Drogon. I saw her two years ago in Braavos. Her Grace sent me there on an errand to the Iron Bank. It was that incident that convinced me she would be right for you and you would be right for her. You should ask her about it if you have the chance.

-Tyrion

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Sansa and Harry arrived at Casterly Rock along with a party of Knights of the Vale. Jaime brought Arya down to the courtyard to greet them and Sansa didn't seem the least bit surprised to see her sister wearing an ugly black wool dress and using a spear for support as she walked over to greet her sister. Sansa closed most of the distance for her rather than make Arya walk. They hugged tightly and wept for a long while. Then once the Knights had been seen to the Hall for a meal, Jaime offered to bring Arya back to her room where she and Sansa could speak alone. Once Arya was back in her room, Jaime took Harry down to the Hall and had a meal sent up for the sisters.

"I can't believe you're really here." Arya said. "You have to tell me everything."

They spent the next few hours catching up on everything that had happened since they had last seen each other. Hearing what Joffrey had done to Sansa made Arya hate him all over again. And she had never liked Littlefinger so hearing how he had tried to use her as a pawn in his game was not an easy thing to hear either. The only good news was that her husband was good to her, that he loved her and she loved him.

Arya told Sansa about her time in Westeros after her father died, and of her training in Braavos. And then she told her about Gendry. It wasn't easy to do without getting emotional but she told her anyway. She told her everything. Sansa climbed onto the bed with Arya and wrapped her arms around her little sister.

"I know you loved him Arya...and I would never discount that for a moment…" Sansa began after they had been silent for a long while. "But you need to stop punishing yourself."

"What do you mean?" Arya asked.

"I can see that you care Jaime…" Sansa began.

"I don't!" Arya tried to deny it.

"Arya...I have eyes. I saw the way you looked at him. I saw the way you held on to him when he carried you up to this room. Don't try to deny it. There's nothing wrong with caring for him."

"There's everything wrong with it!" Arya argued.

"Are you saying that because it's too soon or because of Bran?" Sansa asked candidly.

Arya was confused. "What does Bran have to do with it?"

Sansa clapped hand over her mouth. "Oh gods… you didn't know?"

"Didn't know what?" Arya asked, concerned over her sister's reaction.

"Just forget it." Sansa said anxiously.

"Why? What are you keeping from me, Sansa?"

Sansa sighed. "Give me a few days. Then I'll tell you. I just need a little time."

Arya didn't know what Sansa could possibly be talking about. She have her a quizzical expression. "Fine. How long are you staying for anyway?"

"For as long as I can."