Here's one last chapter before Christmas.

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Chapter 39

Sansa and Roslin sat together, sewing and chatting in the main sitting room of the castle. They had each been examined by the midwife earlier in the day. Sansa was a bit further along in her pregnancy than Roslin was, though their babies would not be born all that far apart – no more than a few weeks.

"Are you settling in here at the Rock?" Sansa asked quietly, as she continued stitching a lion on a tunic she was making for Jaime. She was now the Lady of Casterly Rock. That made Roslin her guest, as well as Jaime's, so Sansa wanted to do what she could to see to her comfort.

"It's…it is lovely here. You and Ser Jaime have been very kind to me. You've both made me feel quite welcome." Roslin glanced over at the tunic Sansa was making for Jaime. "It's plain to see that he loves you very much and…looks forward to the babe coming. It must be…a comfort to know that he will be with you when your babe comes." Sansa could see that Roslin was a bit sad. "I'm afraid to have a child all alone," she whispered, meeting Sansa's eyes.

Sansa had prayed that her Uncle Edmure would reach out to his wife, though so far he had not. "You're not alone. I'll help you."

Roslin smiled faintly. "You'll have your own babe to care for. I'm certain I'll be all right," she murmured, not very convincingly, turning back to her sewing.

Sansa watched her, sadly, for a few moments before resuming her own stitching. She didn't know what more she could do to appeal to her uncle. Jaime had told her that he had also urged Edmure to reconcile with his wife, but so far he had not. Sansa and Roslin worked in relative silence for most of the afternoon until a voice echoed from the entranceway.

"May I interrupt the two of you for a few moments?"

Sansa could see that Roslin was shocked – and a bit scared – to see her lord husband, Edmure Tully, standing in the entryway. She looked at him briefly before nervously returning her eyes to the baby blanket she was working on.

"Of course. You're not interrupting at all," Sansa said. Thank the gods he's not as stubborn as my mother. "I…actually I need to speak to my handmaiden about something. If you'll excuse me." Sansa put down her sewing and rose to leave the room, not at all subtly, as Edmure continued to stand awkwardly in the doorway, his eyes on Roslin, who was nervously glancing up at her husband.

As she exited the sitting room, Sansa noticed both her own guards and Edmure's hovering outside the doorway. She shooed them away and noticed a couple of them smile at her efforts to give Roslin and Edmure privacy as they walked to the end of the hallway. She knew she was beginning to win the favor of her guards. Instead of simply following her silently, they had begun to speak to her, which made her feel more comfortable having them around. Once all of the guards stepped just around the corner, Sansa hovered outside the doorway of the sitting room, out of sight, but still within earshot.

"I hope…I hope you're well, my lady," Edmure said hesitantly.

"I'm well," Roslin said shyly. "I…It is good to see you, my lord." Sansa could hear in Roslin's voice that she was struggling not to cry.

"How is…the babe?"

"The babe is well. I…Lady Alys had a midwife from Lannisport come here for Sansa and myself this morning. She said the babe is healthy and…it should arrive in a little more than four moons time. I'm…I'm so sorry," she said, as her voice broke and she gave in to her tears.

Sansa valiantly resisted the urge to go back into the sitting room to comfort Roslin. She saw that her uncle had moved further into the room. Sansa crept closer, wishing to see if he was comforting his wife. She could see that he sat beside her on the sofa.

"I know you are," he said quietly. "Sansa told me how much you regret…what happened."

She nodded, still in tears. "I didn't…I didn't know that I would…like you," she whispered. "And then it was too late. Nothing would have stopped my father…"

Sansa nearly jumped out of her skin as strong arms wrapped around her waist. "I never took you for a spy," Jaime whispered against Sansa's ear. Sansa would have been embarrassed that he caught her listening, if she weren't more concerned about staying hidden.

She shushed him, running her hand over his as he rested his head on her shoulder. "I just wish to make sure she's all right."

"Edmure doesn't seem the type to strike a woman."

"But he could say-" she was interrupted by the sound of Edmure and Roslin moving toward the hallway. She heard faint words of Edmure asking Roslin to walk with him, though she didn't have time to enjoy the fact that Roslin was getting what she had wished for, since she and Jaime were about to be discovered. Sansa dragged Jaime into an alcove, trying to remain hidden.

Jaime looked down at her, a smirk on his face. "I never imagined I'd be hiding in the shadows of my own home."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, a sheepish expression on her face. He shook his head in amusement before lowering his head to kiss her. She smiled against his lips, smoothing her hand over his hair as they continued their hushed conversation.

"How was your day, sweet girl?"

Sansa craned her head around. "Where are Roslin and –"

"Never mind them," Jaime whispered, kissing her again. "Is the babe healthy?"

She smiled and nodded. "The midwife said that the baby will come in less than four moons time."

"That soon?"

"She thinks we conceived in the first two weeks we were married."

He nuzzled against her. "We did spend a lot of time in the bedchamber those first weeks." He kissed her neck. "When you'd just discovered the pleasure my body could bring you," he teased.

"The midwife said…she said that…" Sansa looked down, unable to look him in the eye. "She said that I would…desire you more now that I'm with child." She felt her face burn with embarrassment as he chuckled.

"I have noticed you've been a bit more wanton as of late," he murmured in her ear, to her utter shame. "It's been most enjoyable." She felt his mouth on her neck again. "I've seen and touched every inch of you…and you me…yet still you blush like a maiden," he murmured, the amusement apparent in his voice.

She scowled at his mocking words, even as he continued kissing her. "I suppose we don't need to hide anymore…they've wandered off."

"Are you sure you don't wish to indulge in your heightened desire for my body? We're reasonably well-hidden here. Your guards will wait while you ravage me." She made to hit him and Jaime grabbed her arm, laughing, as he led her from the alcove.

"How was your sparring with Ser Addam?" she asked, leaning against him as they walked down the hallway.

"It went rather well. Much better that what I had feared…I believe I'll send Ser Ilyn back to King's Landing."

"Oh, please, Jaime, will you?" She hated having him nearby. He terrified her.

"Your sister seemed to appreciate my intention to have him leave the Rock as well."

"She saw father die, also." Sansa looked down, feeling tears form in her eyes and Jaime wrapped his arm around her, holding her to him and kissing the top of her head. As they continued walking through the castle, Sansa's guards fell into step some distance behind them. "Did you enjoy your morning with my sister?"

Jaime smiled. "Are you very angry that I'm frustrating your efforts to turn her into a lady?"

"No. I know it's pointless. And I am glad that the two of you are getting along." She looked at Jaime warily. "You did get along all right, didn't you?"

He smirked. "As well as I can get along with someone who hates me."

"I don't believe she hates you." You're not on her list, she thought to herself. Sansa still shuddered to think that her sister actually had a list of people she wanted dead. Though, Sansa supposed she could conjure up such a list, if she put her mind to it.

"Tell me, Sansa, how am I to care for my beautiful wife, as our child grows inside you?" He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Other than satisfying your baser desires."

She gave him a push for his impertinence, though she was smiling, and allowed him to wrap his arm around her once again and pull her close as they continued on to their bedchamber.

...

As the days passed, Sansa came to love living at Casterly Rock more and more. They had been there for two weeks, and Sansa stood, gazing out the windows of her and Jaime's bedchamber, watching as light flurries of snow began to fall. She was glad that she and Jaime were no longer traveling, now that winter truly was coming. She ran her hand over her belly, thinking about the winter baby that would be coming soon. The moon was full, lighting the sky and each snowflake.

"Remind you of home?" Jaime asked, walking behind her and resting his chin on top of her head.

She nodded, leaning back against his bare chest. His hair was still damp from bathing as he nuzzled against her. She felt the baby kicking her hard and grabbed Jaime's hand, holding it against her belly.

"Can you feel that?" she whispered, excitedly. She felt him breathe heavily against her neck as he pressed his hand against her belly, but he didn't say anything. "That's our baby. Have you ever felt anything so…" Sansa trailed off, realizing she was being silly. This was all new and exciting and life-changing for her but, Jaime already had three children. This can't be as special to him as it is for me. "I'm sorry…I forgot for a moment that…you've felt your child in the womb before. It must not be…as thrilling as it is for me," she said quietly, looking down at her belly, embarrassed.

Jaime turned her to face him and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him and she was surprised to see the emotion in his eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, this is my first child. This is the first child I will hold in my arms. The first child I can call my own." He leaned his forehead against hers. "And the first child I have felt in the womb."

Sansa was surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Cersei…jealously guarded every aspect of her children. Every kick, every change, every first…they were all for her alone. They were never mine." He looked down at her swollen belly, running his hand over it. "This babe is mine. Yours and mine. The whole world will know that."

He met her eyes as the child started kicking in earnest and she felt tears forming in her eyes. She could see that Jaime was also moved to feel their child moving inside her. She leaned up and kissed him, as his hand remained on her belly.

Jaime removed his hand once the babe stopped moving. "It's really in there, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Turn around," he whispered.

"What are you doing?" she asked, as she turned to face the window.

"Taking off your clothes. I want to see you…and feel the babe through your skin." She helped Jaime remove her clothes. His eyes ran over her body when she turned to face him, standing before him completely bare. Sansa was starting to feel self-conscious about her expanding middle, but the way Jaime looked at her forced all of those concerns from her mind. She knew that Jaime thought her beautiful.

He took her hand and led her to the bed, pulling back the furs and blankets for her as she climbed into the bed. Jaime removed the towel from around his waist and climbed in with her. She was usually the one cuddled up against him, but he positioned himself behind her, fitting his body to hers. Jaime wrapped his arm around her so his hand could rest on her belly.

She felt his mouth against her neck. "I love you, Sansa. Only you."

Sansa turned her head to kiss him, reaching with her hand to pull him close to her as she kissed him. "I love you, too." She twisted her upper body a bit to look at him as he ran his hand over her belly. She could see how much he loved her and looked forward to the arrival of their child. "I love you so much, Jaime. You and our baby."

Jaime smiled, raising his eyes to her as he continued to gently run his hand over her belly. "I don't deserve you, sweet girl. But I have no intention of letting you go." He kissed her again. "My life would be worthless if I didn't have you here in my arms." He pressed his chest against her back, cuddling against her as he rested his hand protectively over her belly.

"Would you rather have a boy or a girl?" she asked curiously, turning over to lie facing him.

"Eventually, I'd like us to have at least one of each," his fingers ran over her hip absently as he spoke. "I suppose I should wish for a boy – an heir – but…the thought of a little girl to spoil…is rather appealing." Sansa smiled and snuggled against him, her belly pressing against his. "So, I suppose I'd be happy with either."

"Me, too. Who do you think it will look like?" Sansa had overheard two kitchen maids talking about how beautiful this baby would be with Jaime and Sansa as its parents. She hoped the child had Jaime's looks as well as her own. Now that her father was dead…she regretted that she looked nothing like him. It would be comforting to look in the mirror and see a piece of her father there.

"I certainly hope our little one favors you…you are such a beauty," he murmured.

Sansa rested her head against his chest, smiling as he stroked her hair, the way he always did when they were drifting off to sleep. She didn't think she would be able to fall asleep ever again without Jaime's touch lulling her to dreamland. "You are rather handsome," she said with a smile, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "I'd like it if our baby looked like you." Sansa thought about the portrait of Jaime and Cersei that she had seen hanging in the castle. She'd gone back to it a few times, studying it. "I wonder if our baby will look anything like you and Cersei, in that portrait hanging in the hall."

She felt Jaime's hand falter for a moment, before he resumed petting her hair. "I didn't realize it was still there…I'll have it removed tomorrow – "

"No. That's not why I mention it. I know that…Cersei was everything to you, after your mother died. I don't expect that to just end. I don't expect your memories of her to disappear." She kissed his chest. "It's part of who you are and…I do like who you are."

"Sansa…you do know that I love you? That you are everything to me now?"

She nodded against his chest, knowing his words were sincere. "What should we name it?" she mumbled sleepily.

He chuckled. "I forgot to mention…your sister brought up the subject to me yesterday, when we were sparring. She suggested 'Nymeria' if it was a girl."

"We are not naming our child after her wolf," she said indignantly as he laughed and kissed the top of her head.

Sansa rested her head on his chest again and looked across the room to the large windows and watched the snow fall over the Sunset Sea as she cuddled in Jaime's arms beneath the furs, feeling warm and safe, as she thought about the babe growing in her belly. "The snow is so beautiful," she murmured. It looked like thousands of fireflies swirling outside the window, as the moon lit each snowflake.

"Almost as beautiful as my winter girl, here in my arms." She could hear the smile in his voice as he continued stroking her hair. Sansa felt her eyelids grow heavy as she watched the snow, and finally gave in, closing her eyes and allowed sleep to claim her.

…..

Let me know how you enjoyed the chapter. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Next Chapter: Arya takes revenge against one of the names on her list…