"Inside your head you hear a phone ringing
and when you open your eyes
only a clearing with deer in it. Hello deer. " -Richard Siken

Chapter 10

Mal was under bed rest after after her nightmarish labor for a few weeks. This time was easier since Robb was home to help her take care of the baby. All of the Starks were extremely helpful when it came to taking care of Torrhen. Sansa had taken to the babe extremely well, she would spend most of her time in Mal's room helping her take care of the baby and she made a comfortable sling to help carry the baby around. Robb, Jon and Lord Stark had taken to calling Torrhen "pup" which delighted Mal to no end. As much as Mal was thankful for all the help she was given, she still was anxious to get off of bed rest. She practically jumped for joy when the maester gave her the news that she was able to leave the room.

She decided that Torrhen needed some fresh air and went out to the courtyard to join the others. Lord and Lady Stark were on the terrace overlooking the courtyard where Robb and Jon were finally teaching Bran how to shoot a bow. Lord Stark gave the two a bright smile before outreaching his arms for Torrhen. Mal removed the babe from the sling and carefully handed him over to Lord Stark who quickly wrapped the babe up in some of his furs.

"How are you feeling?" Lady Stark asked her as her husband coddled Torrhen.

"Better, now that I'm actually allowed to walk around." She smiled fondly at her good-mother before peering over the railing to look at Robb. As if sensing her presence Robb looked up at the same time and gave her a beaming grin which she happily returned.

"Thank the gods that you're feeling better." Catelyn piously stated as she returned to watching Bran and the others.

Lord Stark lifted his gaze from Torrhen's face to his good-daughter. "You did well with him," he motioned to the boy in arms. "He'll make the Starks proud one day."

Mal felt a rush of love towards her good-father. "I hope so, and I hope his future brothers and sisters make you proud as well."

Eddard Stark returned his gaze to his grandson's face. "I'll love them just as much as I love Pup." He placed a kiss on Torrhen's forehead which caused the babe to scrunch up his face a give out a little cry.

The three shared a laugh as they continued to watch the boys. Bran was brand new to archery so he couldn't hit the bulls-eye but Mal yelled out some encouragements nonetheless.

Jon, Robb and Rickon were having the time of their lives laughing at poor Bran's expense.

"And which one of you was a marksman at 10? Try again, Bran." Lord Stark told him. Bran looked frustrated as he notched another arrow. As he pulled back Jon and Robb murmured words of encouragement but before Bran could release, another arrow came flying by and hit the target dead center.

Leaning over the railings a bit to get a better look Mal saw Arya standing there with a bow of her own. A bark of laughter escaped her lips as she saw Bran chase after his older sister. Her good-parents joined in on the laughter. It was a precious moment but it did not last as Ser Rodrik and Theon came upon them informing Lord Stark that another deserter of The Night's Watch had been captured. Lord Stark had a grim look on his face as he passed Torrhen back to Mal.

"Inform the boys, and get my horses ready," he turned to Catelyn. "Tell Bran he's coming too."

Mal let out a little gasp. "He's too young, Ned." Catelyn implored to her husband.

Lord Stark started to walk away. "He's not going to be a boy forever and winter is coming." He gave Mal a small nod of her head. Mal looked towards Lady Catelyn but she merely shook her head before turning to look at the boys who were now cleaning up. Mal sighed before making her way down to the courtyard where the boys were picking up stray arrows.

Robb was being handed arrows by Rickon when Mal came upon them. "You're a wonderful helper." she complimented Rickon who blushed shyly. He perked up when he noticed Torrhen in his sling.

"Can I play with the baby?" Rickon looked up at Robb who placed his hand on the boy's hair.

"He's a little too young to play with, but you can hold him for a bit." Robb gently took Torrhen from the sling and gave him a kiss on the forehead before placing him in Rickon's arms. "You have to be very careful with him. Place your arm under his head to support him." Robb was very patient as he showed Rickon how to hold the baby correctly. When he was satisfied with Rickon's hold he turned to Mal and gave her a deep kiss.

"There's been another deserter." she told him frankly after ending the kiss.

Robb looked deep in Mal's eyes before nodding slowly. He remembered her fears the last time there was a deserter. "I'll be home before you know it." He reassured her.

Mal looked down to where Rickon was speaking softly to baby Torrhen. "It's not that," she lowered her voice so Rickon wouldn't overhear. "Your father wants Bran to go with you."

Robb furrowed his eyebrows. "He's almost a man grown." he tried to reason with her.

"He's 10," she passionately whispered. "Your mother agrees with me. He's too young, Robb."

"This is the North, my love. Yes, I was a little bit older than Bran when I went to my first execution but Bran has always been very mature for his age. You have to realize this, Mal, our way is the old way. One day, I will take pup with me to his first execution, only I will be the one to wield the sword. He may be as young as Bran or may be a few years older, but he will be there. Then one day in future, he will take his son and so on and so on."

Mal took a deep breath before letting out a long sigh. "I don't like, this is one Northern custom that I will never agree with."

Robb let out a small chuckle before kissing Mal on the lips again. "You don't have to like it, my pretty Southern princess, but you do have to follow it."

He turned to Rickon. "I think it's time for Pup's nap perhaps you could go and help Mal put him down."

Mal smiled down at her little good-brother. "I would appreciate the help Rickon, maybe you could take a nap with me as well."

Rickon's little face frowned. "I don't take naps. I'm almost a man grown."

"Robb's a man grown and he takes naps with me all the time." She told him in a light tone. Robb nodded in affirmative.

Rickon looked like he was thinking things over before holding out the baby in his hands. "Okay, I'll take a nap too." Mal carefully took Torrhen from Rickon and placed him back in the sling. Torrhen let out little squeals of protest as he started fussing.

Robb ruffled Rickon's hair before turning to Mal. "I had better go before my father wonders where I am. Sleep well," he gave her a passionate kiss that she eagerly returned, "take care of Pup." he rubbed Torrhen's tuft of red hair before kissing the babe lightly and making his way towards the stables.

Mal watched him walk away before turning to Rickon. "Come along Rickon. If you help me bathe him, I'll tell you a story before nap-time."

Rickon's face lightened up with excitement and ran ahead of her back to her room.

By the time Mal made it back to her and Robb's room Rickon was bouncing atop their bed.

"You're supposed to be resting." Mal giggled to the bouncing Stark.

Rickon bounced extra hard as if to prove a point and do a little flip "I was but then you took forever to get here, so I started bouncing."

"I see that, but now you have to get off the bed before you break it. I doubt Robb would be too happy about that." Rickon immediately jumped off the bed and landed in front of Mal.

"Thank you, now how about you help me get Torrhen ready for bed."

It took longer than she thought but Mal finally managed to get both Torrhen and Rickon settled down. Rickon had tried to stay awake by repeatedly asking Mal to tell him stories, after 3 stories the young Stark finally fell asleep. Mal didn't realize how tired she was until she woke up by herself. She assumed Rickon must have woken up and wandered off back to his mother so as not to disturb Mal or Torrhen. Rolling over on her back Mal relished in the moment of peace. The moment was short-lived however when she heard Torrhen's soft cries . With a grin, Mal slowly got of the bed and made her way to Torrhen's cradle. "Hello, my little love. Did you have a nice nap?," Torrhen squealed at the sound of his mother's voice as his eyes raked over her face. Mal grinned at her son before carefully lifting him out of his cradle. Torrhen squealed in protest when Mal situated him in her arms. "Oh, what's the matter, love?" She softly hushed him.

After changing his solid napkin, Mal deduced that Torrhen must have been hungry. Settling down in an armchair nearest to the fireplace Mal opened her gown so Torrhen could suckle. Mal relaxed back into the chair as Torrhen greedily started drinking, she would brush her fingers through his dark red hair, Mal's favorite feature. When he was born Torrhen's eyes were a dark-blue, almost black color. But now a month later his eye color was slowly turning into a stormy grey. A true Stark, Mal thought with joy.

Moments later the quiet moment was interrupted when Robb came in with something bundled up under his cloak.

"Robb, what have you got this time?" She exasperatedly asked her husband. He didn't answer at first he merely grinned at her and sat in the armchair opposite of her. Before she could ask him again, she heard a few whimpers coming from Robb's cloak. She gave Robb a quizzical look while Robb merely grinned again and opened the cloak to reveal a wolf pup

Clutching Torrhen closer, she let out a yelp. "Robb, what in gods' name are you doing? Are you mad? Bringing a wolf pup back to Winterfell, does your father know about this?" She asked in a temper.

Robb let out a loud laugh before answering his fuming wife. "He's not just any wolf- he's a direwolf. We found him and the rest of his litter next to the body of his mother. Jon convinced father to let us keep them. There's one for all of us, you should have seen Rickon when he chose his, he practically wet his pants out of excitement."

Mal eyed the direwolf pup warily. "And is it safe to have around Torrhen." as if the pup had heard her, he jumped out of Robb's arms and bounded over to where Mal was sitting and jumped into her lap. Torrhen had stopped suckling when Robb entered the room and stared at the wolf with wide eyes. He let out a squeal of joy and reached his arms out to pet the direwolf who yipped with content at the touch of affection.

Mal stared wide-eyed at the encounter and turned her gaze to Robb who was watching the scene with affection. "He can stay," she told him softly. "But they're not sharing a cradle." she joked as she watched the pup lay down on her lap near Torrhen.

"Don't worry, I'll have him trained in no time." He promised her as he walked over to her and lifted Torrhen out of his arms. He returned to his chair and placed Torrhen on his chest and rubbed his back soothingly.

Mal hesitantly put her hands down into her lap and gently stroked the direwolf's soft fur. "And what shall you call this one?"

"I haven't thought of a name for him just yet." He told her softly as she continued petting the direwolf feeling more confident that the beast wasn't going to maim her.

"What did the others name theirs?"

"Rickon has started calling his shaggydog and Sansa has name hers Lady. The others haven't thought of a name yet."

Mal incredulously mouthed shaggydog at Robb which cause him to laugh. He stood from his chair and placed a now sleeping Torrhen back into his cradle. He turned back to Mal and held out his hand to help Mal out of the chair, the little direwolf jumped off her lap in indignation and trotted over to where Torrhen's crib was and settled down on a rug next to it.

"We should get ready for dinner, I'll send for a bath." Mal told him.

Robb put his arms around her tightly. "And shall we be sharing that bath?" he asked her in as hushed tone as he kissed her neck.

Mal cuddled into his warmth as she relished in her ministrations. "It's still too early," she informed him in that same hushed tone. "Maester Luwin has yet to give me his content. I'm sorry, Robb."

Robb sighed a bit frustrated. He was quiet for a moment before giving her a deep kiss. "it's fine, I can wait but we should still share a bath. I miss you, I want to be close to you that's all."

With a loving grin Mal kissed her husband with enough passion to affect Robb's body which caused Mal's grin to grow even wider. She reached up to whisper in his ear. "I may not be able to do that but there are other things that I'm able to do." She finished with a kiss to his earlobe.

Robb looked at with wide-eyes before returning her kiss with even more fervor.

Things seemed the norm that night at dinner. Lord Stark's steward and master-of-arms joined them at the table, as well as Maester Luwin. Robb and Theon were chuckling over some inside joke. Jon, of course, was sitting as far away from Lady Catelyn as possible with Arya next to him talking about their new pets. Sansa was sitting next to her best friend Jeyne Poole giggling about some story. Mal was seated next to Robb with Bran and Rickon sitting next to and across from her talking about nothing important in particular. It was very comfortable for Mal, she loved it whenever all the Starks came together. It was something she missed when she stuck on bed rest.

All eyes turned on Lord Stark when he stood up and cleared his throat. "King Robert, the queen and all the rest of them are on their way to Winterfell at this current moment. They should be here next month," he turned to the steward and Ser Rodrik. "We'll need to start preparing, start tonight if possible. Lady Catelyn will guide you," he said with a slight nod towards his wife. He turned to address the Stark children. "I hope I won't have to remind you lot on how to stay on your best behavior." He eyed the three older boys who solemnly nodded their heads.

Mal felt her throat close up and her temper rise as she quickly rose out her chair and curtseyed to Lord Stark. "Forgive me, my lord, my lady. But I'm not feeling well. I think I will go lay down."

Maester Luwin nodded. "It's your first day back on your feet, I think it is wise that you don't overexert yourself, lady Stark."

Lady Catelyn smiled politely. "We'll send your dinner up to you, if you wish."

Mal quickly shook her head. "Thank you, my lady. But I don't have much of an appetite anymore." she turned her head to Robb and gave him a slight nod before she picked up her skirts and walked away.

On her way back to her rooms, Lord Stark, who left the grand hall to chase after her, caught her arm. " I understand what you're feeling," he told her "the Lannisters are not my friends either, but you must not throw any tantrums when they arrive."

"I refuse to allow them into my home. The children of Tywin Lannister will never be welcomed in Winterfell." She furiously told him.

"They are guests of King Robert and thus we must treat them like honored guests. I'm sure even your father would open the doors of Sunspear to Robert and his queen-"

"And my uncle would serve them poisoned soup to 'honor' them." She rudely interrupted.

Lord Stark threw his good-daughter a small glare and sighed. "You won't have to speak to them if you don't want to. You can hide out in your rooms for the entirety of their visit if you wish. There is no love lost between the Martells and the Lannisters, that is a fact that is well-known. But you must show them respect when they arrive. Can you promise me that?" He placed his hand on the back of her neck and shook her slightly as though she were one of his own children.

Mal looked away and starred at the floor. "Did you respect Tywin Lannister when he presented the bodies of my aunt and her children to King Robert?"She asked lowly without looking at Lord Stark.

"No," he released a big sigh. "I told Robert that it was wrong and then I left for Winterfell. Unfortunately for you there is no place for you to run off to."

She was quiet as she mulled things over. "I'll play nice as long as I don't have to be around them for long periods of time."

Lord Eddard gave his good-daughter a strained smile. "I guess that's good enough." He patted her shoulders and walked away to return back to the great hall.

Releasing a heavy sigh Mal watch Lord Stark walk away when he disappeared out of her sight she slowly made her way back to her bedchamber. There was a nursemaid watching over Torrhen, upon entering the maid rose from her seat and curtseyed lowly to Mal. Mal quickly released the maid and the girl scurried off when she noticed that Mal was in no mood for simple courtesies.

Slamming the door behind the girl Mal huffed loudly and went over to Torrhen's crib to check on him. When she was satisfied that Torrhen was alright she moved to sit in the armchair closest to the fire. Robb's wolf pup woke up from his place beside Torrhen's crib and rambled over to where Mal was sitting and laid by her feet.

"If only you were fully grown, perhaps then you could bite the heads of the Lannisters for me." She told the pup rudely.

The direwolf pup lifted his head and his golden eyes scanned Mal's face in a way that was almost human which made Mal uncomfortable.

This business with the Lannisters has messed with my mind and they're not even here. May the Gods strike them down the second they step foot in the North.

Mal's dark thoughts were interrupted when Robb came into the room. He looked her over with a confused look on his face. "Mal, are you alright? You rushed out of dinner very early, and then my father left to check on you and said you were fine but I wanted to be sure."

She gave Robb a strained smile. "I'm fine, Robb. I was just a little tired and I wanted to rest."

"Love, don't lie to me. You shot out of the room the moment my father mentioned that the King and his court were coming." He walked across the room and went down on his knees in front of her.

Mal's hands reached out for Robb's and he gladly gripped her hands tight with his own. "It's just that, it should be my aunt that is coming here to Winterfell. I should be excited to be soon greeting my cousins. Instead I have to greet the daughter of the man who ordered their deaths. I can't do it."

Robb's gave his wife a sad smile and he kissed her hands. "You can't change the past, Mal. Tywin himself won't be here. I promise, I won't let any of them say anything insulting to you."

Mal's eyes lingered to where Torrhen lay, "Aegon was just a babe when he died." she mournfully told him.

Following her eye line Robb gently shook her hands. "He was, and what happened to him, his sister and his mother was a tragedy, but it won't happen again."

Shaking her head Mal sniffed a little. "My father would want me to be courteous to them, my uncle would want me to chop of their head the second they step foot in Winterfell."

"And what do you want?" Robb softly asked as he kissed her hands again.

"I want them to stay in King's Landing, I just want to live here in Winterfell with you and Torrhen. I want us to be happy and safe and far away from the Lannisters"

Rising from his knees Robb joined Mal on the chair and cuddled her as she softly cried. "Shh my love, it will be alright, you'll see. The court will visit and nothing else will happen besides them eating all our food," Mal gave a watery laugh at that. "They'll give you the respect you deserve as future Lady of Winterfell. There's no need to worry."

Moving out of Robb's embrace Mal wiped the tears from her eyes. "I know I'm being a little ridiculous, Maester Luwin said that I may feel more emotional towards things from giving birth and nursing Torrhen. I just hate them so much. I'll never forgive them for what they've done."

Robb brushed a tendril of hair behind Mal's ear before cupping her face and turning her to face him. "And you don't have to, we Starks have no love for the Lannisters either. There's no need to feel ashamed over your feelings, I know that you're still 'sensitive' due to your pregnancy and giving birth. But know that I'm always here for you, my little love."

"What would I do without you Robb Stark?" She asked him reverently.

"I'm sure you would have no issue finding a husband, men would fight wars for you. Princes in Essos would send you priceless silks and countless numbers of chests of gold just to marry you."

Mal let out a small laugh before resting her head on Robb's shoulder giving him a little kiss through his clothes. "I would never accept any of it. They can keep their silks and gold and their wars. I would stay with you even if you were no longer Lord of Winterfell."

It was Robb's turn to laugh. "Would you have married me if I was just some farmer's son in Dorne?"

She nodded her head with relish. "I would've married you even if you had nothing to offer. I don't need castles or pretty clothes. I just need you and Torrhen."

"I would've been too lowborn for a pretty princess such as yourself. Had I been a poor farmer's lad I would've stood outside Sunspear for hours, just to get a glimpse of you."

"Had I seen you lurking about the castle grounds I would have had Arianne help me sneak you into the palace. Or perhaps she would've taken to you."

Robb shook his head. "No, there would never be anyone else but you."

"Are you sure," she teased her heart feeling much lighter now. "Arianne is a great beauty, she makes me look insignificant. Every man who looks upon her loves her and she loves them too... for a night." she finished deviously.

"No one could ever make you look insignificant in my eyes, you're the most beautiful woman in the world to me, and I'm very glad you're my wife and not someone else's."

Mal stared deeply into Robb's eyes. "You really love me, don't you?"

"You're the mother of my child, and the love of my life, I can't imagine my life without you. Even when we first married I never believed that I would love you as much as I do now," he pressed his lips hard against hers when he finished he leaned down to whisper in her. "I am going to love you forever."

Smiling widely, Mal kissed him back even harder. "I love you more than ever, you're everything to me. You're the bright sun in this gloomy North." she finished mischievously.

Robb merely smirked at his wife before attacking her with kisses and teasing caresses. Before the pair went any farther, Torrhen awoke and began crying for his mother. Robb got out of the chair and relieved Torrhen from his crib and handed him over to Mal so she could feed him. Robb joined them back on the chair and watched his son in quiet awe.

"Let's spend the rest of the night in here, just the three of us. I will call for some dinner, I know you didn't eat much at dinner." He caressed Torrhen's little hand as he spoke softly to her.

"I would love that, as much as I love your family, I think you and I need a little time alone with Torrhen." passing Torrhen along to Robb.

Robb kissed Torrhen on the head as he rubbed Torrhen's back. "I think a quiet night in would do us wonders."

Mal watched the two loves of her life interact with each other as the night when one and the food was delivered Mal thanked whoever was responsible: the old gods and the new gods for bringing her to Winterfell and to Robb for at the moment she was blessed

A/N: I'm so sorry that I've been MIA for so long. So many things came up and on top of that I had a huge case of writer's block. This chapter has been sitting on my computer for weeks waiting for me to finish it but instead I was working on other chapters for later in the story. I finally felt a spark of inspiration last night and finished this chapter. I just wanted more mushy Robb/Mal moments. I think these two who are just in the flush of adulthood and never had a real relationship before each other would be a bit mushy and fluffy towards each other at least when they are all alone. (Kind of like how in middle school you thought your first bf/gf was going to be your one and only love so everything was light and fluffy because that's what Disney taught you love was going to be.)That's kinda like what Robb and Mal are going through but it's even more intensified because they do love each other and they know that everything is not always going to be sunshine and roses, but they are willing to work for it, because they need it. Neither one had ever experienced heartbreak so they'll do everything in their power to not lose each other. Okay i'm done rambling but thank you again for all your support and kinds words.

I promise, I promise, I promise to get another chapter out this week. My writer's block will not bring me down again.