Maester Luwin seemed certain Bran would wake – it would just be a matter of when. Lady Catelyn refused to leave her son's side, but for the rest of us, the maester's confidence gave us enough strength to do what we needed to. Bran was never far from our minds, but we knew he would come back to us.

Robb and I found ourselves more and more entrenched the in the day-to-day management and control of Winterfell, which meant significantly less time with our friends and family unless we were sharing a meal.

Robb collapsed into bed after the twelfth day of serving as acting Lord of Winterfell.

"I now understand why my father rarely smiles," Robb joked.

I laughed aloud, eliciting an easy grin from Robb. "Oh it's not so bad."

Robb shrugged, "No…I'm just tired, and all this while I still have Jon to help…"

I propped myself up on one elbow and ran my hand through Robb's auburn hair. He played with his hands, looking at them intently.

"I'm going to miss him," Robb said softly. "It's almost harder now, seeing how we've gotten through these days. Now, I know what I always thought – he's the best man to help me here."

I kissed Robb's forehead, "I'm sorry, Robb. I know it will be harder, but you can do this even without Jon."

"I know," he replied, meeting my gaze. "I have you, don't I?"

I smiled widely, my grin threatening to take over my face, before Robb quickly wrapped his arms around me. I let out a squeal as he pulled me onto his chest and then rolled us over, so he was on top of me. Robb laced his fingers with mine, holding my hands above my head.

"You certainly have me," I returned.

Robb closed the gap between us, kissing me fiercely. His body pressed against mine, sending a warm tug deep in my hips. I moaned into his mouth and began to pull his shirt overhead. He stopped, tossing it aside, and pushed my skirt up. Robb pushed my legs open, slowly kissing and licking my thighs.

My breathing grew more erratic as he slowly traced his fingers slowly up my thigh, causing me to tremble. Robb leaned closer to kiss me. I pushed him to the side, so I could move on top. Robb pulled my smallclothes overhead and reached out, caressing my body. I started kissing his chest and stomach slowly, licking him along his hips, making him groan in anticipation.

His hardness pressed against my body as he tugged lightly at my hair. I lifted my head, and Robb swiftly sat up, pulling me into his lap and thrusting into me. My already staggered breathing picked up with Robb's as we moved together. I lay my forehead against his, moaning with my husband, and with one final thrust, I came with Robb just after me.

As my breathing slowed, I smiled at Robb, kissing him softly.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to pull away.""

I shook my head, kissing Robb's nose, getting a broad smile from him, "No apologies. What happens is meant to happen."

Robb kissed my forehead, "Still…I won't make it a habit until we're ready."

He pulled me to his chest as he lay back, keeping me firmly in his arms. I slowly traced his chest and stomach with my finger. It was easy telling him not to worry, knowing I would bleed tomorrow. Tonight would not stop that. We had been as careful as we could that month. I knew we could never be completely certain, but I breathed easy when I got dressed the next morning and confirmed we would not have to think about a child for another month. We had enough other things on our minds.

Robb and I left our chambers that morning, walking through the courtyard to collect Grey Wind before beginning our duties. We were surprised to find Lord Eddard waiting there with Grey Wind sitting next to him.

"Good morning," he called.

"Good morning," Robb and I returned.

"I only have a matter of days left as Lord of Winterfell, not Hand of the King; I would be remise not to have one more day in complete control."

There was something in his soft smile that told us it had nothing to do with being the hand or having control and everything to do with his two eldest sons.

"Jon is at the stables," he added.

"Thank you, Father," Robb replied before we hurried off to find Ghost and a dark brown haired boy taking out a horse.

"Took long enough…" Jon commented when he turned around to look at us. "Ghost and I have been waiting for an eternity."

"Well, waiting is a lot better than chasing," Robb added. "Which is all you will be doing once we start our ride."

"We'll see," Jon returned with a smirk.

I walked over to Chimera, running my hand along his nose. He trotted in place, showing his displeasure that I had not ridden him in so long. I always felt guilty when I saw the stallion. As a wedding present from my eldest brother, the horse reminded me how terrible we were at keeping in touch.

I had sent Willem a raven two days before, telling him of Bran and the goings on at Winterfell. I expected a sympathetic response quickly; Willem could be counted on for that. However, for a real detailed message, I would be waiting another fortnight at least.

"Ana, are you coming, or do you just plan to pet your horse's nose?" Jon asked.

Robb smirked, "Is that how your people train the greatest horses in Westeros?"

I returned his smirk, "Yes, yes, I'm hurrying. Thank you both for your understanding."

I swung myself up onto Chimera, and soon after, we were off. We spent the morning and afternoon, riding and hunting. It certainly was not the grand affair of the men's hunt a fortnight before, but we took down a stag together to bring back that evening.

When we returned to Winterfell, we disappeared into the tower, avoiding everyone we could and joking and laughing much as we did for the past half a year. Robb had taken a flagon of ale from the kitchens, which we passed around.

"I'm going to miss this," Jon stated.

"You can still decide to stay you know," Robb commented.

Jon gave a sad sort of smile as he looked towards the corner, "What? Are you going to promise we'll have more days like this?"

Robb glanced towards me, unwilling to answer.

Jon shook his head, "No, we both have responsibilities, Robb. We—"

The door opened. Behind it stood Theon; his mouth was a straight line, his eyes flashing steel.

"What is it?" Robb asked.

"You left me with that child," Theon returned.

He grabbed the flagon out of Robb's hand and took a long swig. Jon and I exchanged smirks as Theon attempted to empty the ale in one drink.

"So today was not a good day with the crowned prince, then?" Robb asked with a knowing half smile.

Theon glared at him while Jon and I fell into a fit of laughter.

"I will punch you in the face, Robb Stark," Theon threatened.

"Shut up, Theon. If you came with us, we would have had to take Joffrey," Robb stated. "And Jon doesn't deserve misery on his last day here."

"You owe me, Snow," Theon returned.

Jon grinned, "Yeah, any favor you need Theon, you let me know."

Even Theon had to smirk at that. There would be no time for favors.

"Look on the bright side, at least you can drink before dealing with him at supper," I pointed.

Theon raised the flagon, "I will drink to that."

Supper was much more pleasant after the ale, but we remained only a brief time before leaving to find Jon in our training room.

"You leave tomorrow, and you want to spend your last night training with us?" I asked in disbelief.

Jon looked up at me with a wry smile.

"I thought you'd want us to find you a girl," Theon added. "But, why make you envious of what you have to give up, and what I get every night."

I raised an eyebrow at Theon, "Every night? How much do you pay those girls?"

Theon's expression darkened as Jon and Robb laughed.

"I will miss that," Jon added, throwing an arm around my shoulder.

"You don't have to," I pointed out.

"Fine, you beat me, and I'll stay," Jon returned.

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you want to take that chance?"

"No."

Theon looked shocked, "No? You think you can't beat a woman?"

"You haven't been practicing with us for the past several days, Theon. You might be surprised," Jon returned.

"Unlikely."

I kicked up a practice sword into my hand, "Care to find out?"

Theon smirked, "I'll try not to make you cry."

I looked to Jon, not hiding the fire burning in my eyes. Jon just grinned; he knew I'd come a long way recently. Nodding me onward, Jon positioned himself next to Robb.

"Are you going to physically hold my mouth shut again?" Robb asked.

"If I have to," Jon answered.

Theon came on the attack as he always did. We ignored Robb's initially protest. Theon hit with as much force as he ever had, but after being pushed onto my back foot for the first several hits, I fought back, feigning a few thrusts before wrong-footing Theon. With a strong hit, I cleared his sword to the side, leaving him wide open. I pushed the wooden sword to his skin, just where there would be a weakness in armor.

"Try not cry," I returned and dropped the sword.

Robb clapped, "That was brilliant!"

He stood up and hugged me to him, laughing as he added, "I can worry just a bit less now when we train."

"You won't call out "wait!" again?" I teased, putting my arms around his neck as he wrapped his around my waist.

"Well…" Robb shrugged a little, looking to the side. "I'll try not to."

I grinned and kissed his nose before looking back at Jon, "What will I do without my trainer?"

Jon forced a smile, "You'll get on. I'm sure of it."

I looked to Robb, but his gaze was fixed on his half brother. It broke my heart to know Jon would leave, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but be glad he would be far, far away from whatever was coming for Robb and I.