Here's the chapter a lot of you have been waiting for…I hope you enjoy it.

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Chapter 24

By the third night of their journey, Jaime had realized that it was most advantageous to travel with his little wife. She had charmed the lords and ladies at every manor and castle they encountered. He had come to appreciate all of her courtesies – she was far better at that sort of thing than he ever would be; he did not have the patience. Sansa's sweet nature had secured them invitations to stay in the keeps, rather than in tents within the soldier's camp. Of course, they both had to be heavily guarded, since they were members of the royal family and it was a time of war. Though, with the 20,000 soldiers Jaime commanded, there was no danger of being overtaken on the road.

Jaime nodded to the red cloaks standing guard outside the guest chamber he was to share with Sansa as he entered, bolting the door behind him. He saw candlelight glowing from the marble bath attached to the bedchamber. He smiled as he stood in the doorway, looking at Sansa, lying in the steaming bath, with her hair piled on top of her head. She's so beautiful, Jaime thought as he watched the steam rise from her exposed shoulders. Her eyes were closed and she looked so peaceful. He had never before seen her so calm in the months since they had married. I was right to take her from Kings Landing.

Jaime silently walked towards the bath, running his hand over Sansa's shoulders when he approached her. She leaned her head back and opened her eyes and smiled, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks, as he looked over her nude body in the water. He leaned over, covering her mouth with his own. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Sansa shook her head and sat up waiting for him to undress and sink into the water behind her. Jaime dropped his clothes onto the floor and removed his golden hand before he settled behind her in the bath. She leaned back against his chest and Jaime began kissing her neck and shoulder as his hand roamed over her breasts. "This is nice," he mumbled against her skin between kisses. "I've enjoyed being alone with you these past few days."

She laughed, grabbing his wandering hand in her own. "We're not alone. We're traveling with 20,000 of your soldiers."

He pulled his hand from hers and stubbornly resumed his exploration of her body. "I'm glad we've left Kings Landing, then. No matter how many are with us." He pressed his chest against her back. "It feels so good to hold you in my arms, like this." He kissed her shoulder again. "To see you so peaceful and relaxed."

She turned to face him, straddling him in the tub and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm glad we've left the capitol," she said softly, kissing him, before hugging him to her, resting her head on his shoulder. "I never thought I would leave there. After so many months of waiting and waiting for someone to come for me. For someone to take me away from there...and save me." She gently ran her hand over his hair. "There were times…before you returned to the capitol…when I was certain that I would die there." Jaime hated to hear her talk that way. A girl as young as Sansa should not have been waiting for her own death. He remembered the broken, helpless girl he'd found when he returned to Kings Landing. Not that he was any less broken himself that night. "I can never repay you for saving me," she whispered.

Jaime couldn't help thinking that she had saved him as well. "You never have to repay me for anything, sweet girl."

She moved her head from his shoulder and kissed him. She moved back and he saw her eyes focus on the bruises on his arms and chest. He could see the displeasure on her face. Jaime had brought Ser Ilyn Payne with him solely to serve as his practice partner. Jaime was determined to make his left hand just as strong with a sword as his right hand had been.

While they were still at the Red Keep, Jaime had gone to the practice yards early in the morning, before the other knights awoke, and tried to strengthen his hand using practice dummies. There was only so much he could do without a live opponent to fight. He had chosen Ser Ilyn due to his lack of a tongue – which assured him that no one would know how inept a swordsman Jaime had become. It had proven a most humiliating exercise regardless as Jaime was badly beaten for the past three nights of their journey, leaving bruises everywhere.

He had seen the fear in Sansa's eyes when she saw that Ser Ilyn was traveling with them. Jaime had made a point of telling the king's justice to keep his distance from his wife, but he knew she was still uneasy with his presence.

"You know I hate seeing these bruises on you." She reached for the washcloth and gently scrubbed his arms and chest.

"You've left a mark or two on me before," he said with a smirk, causing her to blush, as he moved his mouth towards the side of her neck. "And I do enjoy marking you myself…so there's no mistaking who you belong to."

She pushed him away playfully before continuing to wash him, wetting his hair and gently washing his injuries. "I hate having him here. And I hate that he's hurting you."

Jaime smiled sadly, wrapping an arm around her waist, and holding her against him. "This is the only way for me to have any hope of swinging a sword again." He couldn't bring himself to tell Sansa how amused Ser Ilyn had been when Jaime expressed his desire to make his left hand as good as his right. The old knight had made a strange hissing sound that he had finally realized was laughter. Jaime had felt such shame and despair in that moment. But he refused to give up, even if it meant his entire body would be covered in cuts and bruises.

Jaime had avoided telling Sansa that they would travel to Riverrun, and very likely to the Twins, to deal with her family's continued struggle against the crown. He was still angry that Cersei had extracted such an agreement from him and had cowardly avoided telling his wife, for fear of upsetting her. But they were less than two days away, and he had to tell her. "Before we go on to Casterly Rock, we will be stopping at Riverrun." He could see the question in her eyes. "Your uncle Brynden continues to hold the castle and there has been a standoff for many months. I need to end it."

She looked down, focusing on one of the bruises on his chest. "Will you see my mother?"

"I expect that we will stop at the Twins on our way to Casterly Rock. I may need to settle matters between Walder Frey and the Crown." She didn't respond, continuing to stare down at his chest. He sighed, running his hand over her back. "If you wish to proceed on to Casterly Rock without me…I would understand. I can send a thousand men with you – you'd be perfectly safe."

He could see that she was torn, but finally raised her eyes to his. "I don't wish to leave you, Jaime."

"I see that you're upset."

"I'm…I'm scared."

"You have no reason to ever be scared," he murmured in her ear. "My wife should never be scared." She smiled faintly. "I want to prepare you. You should know that…I may have to do things that you won't like in order to end the fighting in the Riverlands."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't intend to break my promise to you. I won't harm your family but…I will have to be firm with them. I may have to call their bluff. I don't…I will have to show your uncles that I'm the same man I was before I lost my hand. I'm not, of course," he said sadly. "But…they need to believe that I am. I can't show weakness. Do you understand?"

She nodded her small hands resting on his chest, and her eyes falling again. "You won't hurt them, though, will you?"

Jaime tilted her chin up to meet her eyes. "I made a promise to you. I won't break it." She nodded, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder, her fingers lightly tracing over his chest. Jaime ran his hand over her back, and down to her hip. He felt her mouth softly kissing his neck. "And you've convinced me that I should take my wife to bed, now," Jaime said with a smirk.

Sansa rose from the water first and Jaime leaned back to watch the water roll off of her as she stood over him, feeling his cock harden at the sight of her naked body. She looked at him as he ran his hand along her leg and up over her hip. He could see that she was a tad embarrassed at his open appraisal. Jaime found it rather endearing that she would still blush when he spoke of sexual matters or gazed at her with lust in his eyes. Sansa took his hand as she stepped out of the tub, and watched him through lidded eyes as she dried her body. "Why do you watch me so," she asked quietly.

Jaime exited the bath himself, crossing the room towards her. "Because, you are so, so beautiful. And because you, my sweet, are all mine."

She moved towards him, wrapping a towel around his body and slowly drying him off as his hand wandered over her body, his arm with the stump against her lower back, holding her against him. She giggled as Jaime began kissing her neck and removed the towel she had wrapped around her own body, dropping it to the floor. "Jaime," she protested as he took her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

"The door's locked," he said with a wicked smile. "And I expect our hosts anticipated that I would take advantage of their hospitality to bed my beautiful Lady of Casterly Rock. I'd hate to seem ungrateful," he whispered in her ear as he sat on the bed, holding Sansa in his lap. Jaime reached up and pulled the pins from her hair, watching as her dark red locks tumbled past her shoulders.

Jaime began kissing her throat and slowly moved down to kiss her breasts as he slid his hand to her bottom. She arched her back, moving her breasts toward him and Jaime kissed and licked her soft, freshly washed skin. Jaime loved listening to her little sighs and chirps of pleasure as he began to suckle on her nipples. "You like that, don't you," he mumbled against her breast.

Sansa smiled and pushed him onto his back as Jaime devoured her with his eyes. He couldn't help noticing that her figure seemed more…womanly. He cupped one of her breasts absently and could swear it was a bit swollen. Jaime slid his hand down to her stomach, noting a definite roundness that had never been there before. Jaime looked up and met her eyes – noting the sheepish expression on her face – and he knew. My little wife has a baby in her belly. Sansa made as if to move off of him, but Jaime held her there, gently running his hand over her belly again.

"Are you carrying our child?" he whispered. She nodded, biting her lip nervously. If Jaime didn't know that he loved her before, he knew it in that moment. "How long have you known?" he murmured as he continued to move his hand over her, feeling the slight roundness of her belly.

"Not long. I – I wanted to wait to tell you…until we were at Casterly Rock. I was afraid you'd make me stay in King's Landing. I didn't want…I didn't want our baby to be born there." Our baby. "You won't send me back, will you?"

He felt such a strong urge to protect her, more than he had ever felt for anyone. The mother of my child. My child. He sat up, holding her in his lap and kissing her. "I'm not letting you out of my sight. Not you, or our little lion cub," he said with a smile.

She smiled back, cupping his cheek with her hand. "Are you happy?" He could swear he saw fear in her eyes as she asked.

He nodded, unable to express to her what he was feeling, and was glad that the fear immediately disappeared. Sansa really is my second chance at having a life. I can actually be a father to this child. Love this child.

"I'm glad you know, Jaime. I've been wanting to thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

"For making me part of a family again." She rested her hand over her softly rounded stomach. "We are a family, now." He covered her hand with his own.

"Yes, we are, my sweet," he said, kissing her. I'm going to hold this baby, he thought. I'm going to love this baby. "We are a family, Sansa. You and me and … a little boy who can learn to swing a sword…or a little girl to cuddle and spoil." He smiled to himself, thinking of a tiny Sansa look-alike sitting on his knee.

Jaime lay back on the bed and Sansa settled next to him, her leg draped over his body and her head resting on his chest. Jaime knew he didn't deserve it, but he was grateful for the chance to have a life – and a family – with his sweet Sansa. When he'd agreed to marry her, Jaime had thought that she was his chance to show that he had honor, his chance to protect an innocent, but the girl in his arms had come to mean so much more to him. She's truly mine. He felt her kiss his chest as she snuggled against him. "You are going to be a wonderful mother," he said quietly, holding her in his arms.

"Do you think so?"

"I do. I don't remember much of my own mother…she died when I was only four but…I remember her smile and I remember her soft voice. I remember that was very gentle, very kind and affectionate. You're all of those things, Sansa. I can't think of a better mother for my children." He kissed the top of her head. Jaime wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"When do you think we'll reach Casterly Rock," she asked in a quiet voice, her hand resting on his chest.

"I don't know for certain. We should reach Riverrun in a day or so."

"How long will we be there?"

"I hope for only a few days at the most. Though, I'm not sure what we'll find there. Then…we'll likely travel to the Twins."

"Will you let me see my mother?" she asked hesitantly.

Jaime sighed. Despite what he'd said to reassure Sansa, he was concerned about how Lady Catelyn would greet her daughter when she arrived in the Riverlands as Lady of Casterly Rock and the Kingslayer's wife. Jaime had gone out of his way to shield Sansa from the details of the Red Wedding, and had threatened anyone who would dare to enlighten her – but he certainly knew the details. He had to think that Lady Catelyn would still be feeling the effects of watching the brutal death of her son, and the other lords of the North.

"I can try to arrange it with the Freys," Jaime said slowly. "Sansa, I don't want you to be surprised…she may still be grieving for your brother and –"

"So you do think she hates me?"

"I don't believe that a mother could ever hate her child. But, Sansa, I worry that it's very soon after your brother's death and I don't want you to be disappointed or hurt by how she receives you."

She nodded, thinking about Jaime's words. "Would you come with me?" she asked in a small, scared voice.

"Of course. I'll always be beside you."

Sansa moved to rest her upper body on top of his, her fingers brushing his hair out of his face. "I love you," she murmured, kissing him, softly at first.

Jaime kissed her back. "I love you, as well," he murmured against her lips as he continued kissing her. He slowly rolled her onto her back, continuing to kiss Sansa as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you," he whispered, between kisses. "So much."

He smiled as he heard a little squeak of disappointment as he moved from her lips, kissing her cheek, then her neck, then between her breasts, moving down to her stomach. "I love you," he murmured, kissing her stomach once more as she reached out to card her fingers through his hair. Jaime moved over her again to claim her lips, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck once more. Sansa wrapped her legs allowed his waist, pressing against his arousal. Jaime slowly entered her, trying to be gentle, watching her arch her back off the bed. He moved back onto his heels, pulling her on his lap, and kissed and suckled her breasts. I love her so much.

He let Sansa push him onto his back and felt her roll her hips as he thrust into her. He rested his hand on her waist and his eyes took in her slightly swollen breasts and her rounded belly. Now that his seed had taken root in her, Jaime knew that he would never let her go. He was close to peaking, and slid his fingers to her pleasure spot, softly stroking her until she began to contract around him and moan his name. Jaime came with a low moan, his eyes never leaving hers. As she sat on top of him, the both of them waiting for their breathing to return to normal, Jaime couldn't help noticing that she looked to be almost glowing with happiness, a light sheen of sweat covering her body from their lovemaking. Jaime gestured for her to move into his arms and she lay next to him, her head resting on his chest as he ran his hand over her hair.

She raised her head to kiss him goodnight before resting her head back on his chest. "I love you, Sansa. The mother of my child." He whispered the last words quietly, more to himself than anything else. He held her tighter as she repeated his words of love and snuggled against him. My whole world is right here in this bed. Right here in my arms. Jaime couldn't help thinking that he was meant to marry his sweet Sansa. That he was meant to father children with her. Jaime had no doubt that the love of his life was curled up in his arms. And he wouldn't allow anything or anyone to separate them.

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I hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you think.

Next up: Jaime & Sansa arrive at Riverrun.