A/N: Righty-ho, new chapter for you all, sorry it's a little delayed. I'll also be away from tomorrow for a week so next chapter won't be up until Friday/Saturday, but that's less than a week so, yeah...hopefully you can hang on!

Boramir: Thank you very much, Tywin is indeed warmer, mostly down to Lanette but also having a large portion of his family still living at the Rock with him. It might not have been the best place for such a conversation but as you say, they may be clever women but when it comes to conspiracy they are rather naive. Obviously canon Cersei would never have been so foolish but this one's different. Glad you liked the dinner, I think it soothed some old tensions a little bit without them having to be voiced. Oh yes, those two are being kept on a close watch (I think Tywin mentioned it to Cat, but can't quite recall), either way, they are being watched! And you're welcome, I think Tywin is needed as Hand right now.

unnamed visitor: Sorry about that, the updates are a little further apart right now because I don't have any written chapters saved up and I'm writing them all from scratch. Usually I'm ahead with the writing so I can update and stay ahead of the readers, I need to work to get into that position again. I'm glad you enjoyed the dinner and the Cat/Tywin conversation but as for an AU about them I'm not sure. While I think in this scenario they can strike up a little friendship and mutual respect I can't ever imagine them being romantically involved. Probably because I can't see Tywin with anyone, and I can only picture Cat with Ned. I know cliff-hangers can be mean but sometimes they're the best way to round out a chapter I'm afraid. Amy is going to have a lot to contend with and you can see the aftermath below... With regard to the PS, I would lean towards saying no because I can't imagine him ever coming to terms with it, especially with his closeness to Lanette.

Right then, on with the chapter! Hope you enjoy!

:)

Confrontation

When Amy returned to their chambers, Robb sent a smile to her at once before crossing to pull her into an embrace. She was stiff in his arms, making no move to hold him back and he was instantly worried about her, pulling away and placing a hand on her stomach. "Are you alright?" he asked in a slightly panicked tone; "Is it the baby?" Amy merely moved away from him at his words and his stomach dropped, wondering what could have happened to cause her to reject him in such a way. "Amy?" he asked again; "Please talk to me."

"You said you'd never lie to me," she said suddenly, rounding on him, her eyes fixed insistently on him; "have you?" she demanded and he swallowed hard. There was only one thing that he could think of that he had ever kept from her, but how could she have possibly found out? "Something tells me you already know the answer to that," he said quietly and he watched as she drew in a deep, shuddering breath, no doubt trying to suppress tears. "All the people I trust the most in this world have been conspiring behind my back, keeping this, this…"she threw her hands up in frustration; "I don't even know what to call it, it's sick!"

"Do you think I wanted to know?" Robb asked her desperately, "Do you think I liked hearing it? Keeping it from you? Gods Amy…how could I even find the words to explain it to you when I don't even understand it myself?!"

"You found out at the tourney didn't you?" she sounded calmer now, her eyes fixed on his as he stood mere feet away, not daring to make any move to touch her again even though all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and apologise over and over. "That's why you were behaving strangely, that's why you couldn't bring yourself to touch me that night!" she sounded hurt now, a definite sound of a sob being choked down coming from her. Robb was shaking his head at once, daring to take a step closer but she took a step back at his advance. "Don't," she said, holding her hand out, that one word trembling almost uncontrollably.

"It wasn't like that…Amy you can't think that…" he ran his hand through his hair in desperation, his eyes pleading as he fixed them on hers; "I couldn't…I couldn't make love to you that night because I felt sick with myself for lying to you and I…I couldn't get what I'd heard out of my head. It was nothing to do with you, the Gods damn it all I love you, that's why I couldn't tell you. How could I break your heart like that?"

"Why?" she asked, tears falling from her eyes now that she was wiping furiously away in the next moment; "Why would he do that to my mother? With his own sister? I can't…I can't even…" She was breaking down now and it was killing Robb inside. He stepped towards her and this time she didn't step back as he wrapped his arms around her. For a moment she was impassive but then her arms moved and Robb prayed she wouldn't push him away. She didn't. She clung to him and she finally let out the emotion that had been threatening to erupt since she had first stepped into the room. He wanted to ask her how she had found out but he couldn't find the words and he was scared how she would react if he did ask. He was scared to say anything at all in case she rejected him all over again.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, whispering his apology over and over again against her hair as she cried against his chest. "I wish I knew how to make this better," he went on, "and I'm sorry I lied to you but please try and understand that I did what I thought was best for you. I knew what knowing this would do to you and they swore to me that it was no longer…that it stopped before you were even born."

"It should never have started in the first place," she choked out, pushing away from him now and furiously brushing at her tear stained cheeks again. "I know," he said calmly, watching her carefully as she hiccoughed a few times before her shining eyes set on him again. "I know why you didn't tell me," she finally said, "Gods I don't think I even have the words…I want to know, I want to know why and how and everything but at the same time I'm afraid to ask."

She looked so vulnerable that Robb himself wanted to shatter into a million pieces at the heartbroken expression on her face. Devastation was etched across her features and he could practically see her battling with herself not to break down again. "I'm sorry," he said again, "if I thought for one moment that it would be best for you to know…but it wasn't, I can see that all too clearly now. How in the name of the Gods did you find this out Amy?"

"I heard my mother talking to the Queen," she nodded rather vigorously; "at first it didn't make any sense but the more I heard…I wish I hadn't gone out there. By the end there was no other explanation, I knew what he must have done with her…with his own sister…"

"Amy…" he started, not even sure what he would even say to her. "His own sister Robb!" she burst out and he almost flinched; "My father did that…I can't even…" she was shaking her head again before she suddenly turned on her heel and went for the door. "Amy, where are you going?" he asked her desperately as she wrenched it open. "I need to think," she snapped, "I can't think in here…with you…I can't even…I can't breathe, I need to get out of here."

Before he could utter another word she had slammed out of their chambers and Robb sank down onto the sofa, his hands coming up to his mouth in disbelief. Part of him wanted to go after her but he knew deep down that she needed to be alone. It was all he himself had wanted when he had found out only he knew it was a thousand times worse for Amy. He dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his temples hard, trying to think straight but it was difficult to when it felt as though his mind was screaming at him.

Amy barely even paid any attention to where she was going as she stormed through the hallways of the Red Keep, wanting to be as far away from everything as she could get. She didn't even want to be around Robb and that was a strange feeling to her, something that only a few hours ago she would have said would be impossible. She couldn't stand looking at the guilt in his eyes anymore, each time she saw it she was only reminded that he had lied to her. They had all lied to her. For your own good, some part of her argued but she pushed it away, too angry and upset to think rationally about it right now.

In the end she found herself outside again, on a different terrace this time, a smaller one that overlooked the sea. She shivered slightly in the night air and cursed herself for storming off without a cloak or a shawl to wrap around herself. Right to the end of the terrace she went until she came across a stone bench that overlooked the Blackwater. She settled on it, taking in great breaths of the cold sea air. Her hand came to rest on her stomach as she sat there, feeling the strange fluttering inside her that told her that the baby was moving again. Guilt stabbed at her then as she remembered Robb's panic, the look in his eyes when he thought something was wrong with the baby. She hadn't reassured him…but he would know, wouldn't he? Now he understood why she had been so upset he would know that their baby was safe.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hearing the scuffling sounds of footsteps approaching her and praying that they would just go away. If it was Robb she would damn well tell him to go away, she had told him she needed to be on her own and he would damn well respect her wishes. She didn't open her eyes until she felt someone sit down next to her, knowing before she let her lids flutter open that it wasn't her husband. It was Tyrion and she swallowed hard as she turned to look at him, her mind racing almost as quickly as her heart. Did he know too? Was he in on it? Tyrion had only been a boy when she had been born, and had always been at the Rock. Surely he couldn't possibly know…surely…

"You're up late," he said lightly but she could see the underlying worry in his eyes and hear it in his tone of voice. "I don't feel well," she said, it wasn't entirely untrue; "it's the baby," she elaborated and he nodded his understanding before looking out at the view. "Uncle Tyrion…" she started slowly after a few minutes of silence. "Yes?" he prompted as she tailed away, her words failing her.

"If you knew something, something you shouldn't and you knew that it would hurt the people you loved the most if you spoke up, would you?" she asked him and he frowned at her, his eyes searching as he met hers. "Well that depends," he finally said and it was her turn to frown. "On what?" she asked him.

"On whether this thing could cause harm to my loved ones should I not tell them," he said; "if by not telling them they would remain happy and blissfully ignorant then I would probably keep my mouth shut. If it had the potential to hurt them or destroy their happiness should I not tell them then I would have to say something I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"Something Robb said," she muttered under her breath; "about Sansa…and the King," she lied, hoping that her uncle would believe her. "Ah yes," Tyrion nodded slowly; "the new King and his penchant for girls…I do believe he takes after his father in that regard. Still…Robert seemed to make Cersei happy despite it all, perhaps it will be the same for Lady Sansa. Is Robb considering telling her the truth?"

"I think Sansa already knows the truth," Amy told him, "not that Robb would appreciate knowing that." She said Robb's name with far too much bitterness and she almost cringed, hoping that her uncle wouldn't notice. "Have you two had a falling out?" he asked and she inwardly cursed. She should have known it wouldn't slip passed him. "I want to go home," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes before she could stop them and before she knew it Tyrion had hauled himself fully onto the bench so he could pull her into a tight embrace.

"Hush now," he soothed her as she cried, his hand stroking gently through her hair. "What's got into you my dear? Is it the baby? No doubt making you feel a thousand different things all at once, you used to play havoc with your mothers moods when she was expecting you." She could hear the wistful remembrance in his voice and she knew just from that that he couldn't know the truth about his brother and sister. "I think so," she choked out and he almost chucked, rocking her slightly as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You'll be alright," he soothed her; "you have always been the most spirited little thing I know Amy…you'll be just fine, I know you will."

Jaime threw the covers off himself as an almighty pounding sounded at the door, Lanette jerking away at his side and immediately setting about getting herself out of bed. He wrapped his robe around him and made sure his wife had done the same before he went to the door, half irritated and half worried about who had come at this time. Robb stood on the other side and he looked more irate that Jaime had ever seen anyone; "is she here?!" his good-son demanded at once and Jaime automatically shook his head, assuming he meant Amy. "No," he confirmed to Robb, seeing a fleeting look of panic cross his angry features.

"What happened?" Jaime asked him, ushering him into the room before anyone else could overhear. "Have you fallen out?" Lanette asked in concern and Robb sent her a withering look that made Jaime frown. He knew that Robb had been less than impressed with him recently but he could think of nothing that Lanette could have done to warrant such hostility. "Did you enjoy your conversation with the Queen tonight my lady?" Robb asked in a sarcastic tone to which Jaime's frown deepened.

"The Queen…?" Lanette repeated, a frown creasing her own brow before regret became the most pronounced feature on her face. "Tell me she didn't Robb," she went on, her voice almost desperate now and Robb laughed darkly, the sound only serving to unnerve Jaime even more. "Of course she did," he clapped his hands together before moving them up to his head as though he could pull all his bad thoughts away; "of course she heard…and she knows I knew everything and now she's gone!"

"Wait," Jaime stepped in as Lanette sank down into a chair, her own shaking hand coming up to her mouth; "are you saying Amy knows the truth about…about Cersei and I?" he lowered his voice at the end, looking between Lanette and Robb insistently. "I'm sorry Jaime…I just saw her out in the gardens and we started talking. I thought there was no one around, that we were alone…if I thought for a moment that Amy…oh Gods," Lanette buried her head in her hands but Jaime couldn't make his feet move to go and comfort her. It had been his idea to tell Amy the truth, but she was never supposed to find out like this, and she was never supposed to find out that Robb knew.

He glanced at his good-son and saw that he had turned away, his knuckles stretched white around the edge of the end table that he was leaning against. "I'm sorry Robb," Lanette lifted her head up from her hands and looked towards him but his stance didn't relax at all. "How long ago did she leave?" Jaime asked then. Amy knew now, there was no taking it back, what was important now was finding her and trying to fix some of the mess he had made. "An hour," Robb shrugged his shoulders, turning back to face them; "I don't know…it feels like more but it's probably less…" his own voice was shaking now but Jaime resisted offering him any comfort, knowing that it would more than likely be rejected. "Doubtless she needs some time to think," Lanette tried to sound soothing but Jaime could hear the underlying worry.

"No, she needs to be back with me so I can explain to her…so I can make her understand that I never wanted any of this to happen!" Robb snapped; "I knew I should have taken her back to Winterfell. The Gods damn it all I should have taken her back…I should have…she would have been angry with me but she would have forgiven me eventually. This…Gods, how is she going to forgive me for this?!"

"You did nothing wrong Robb," Lanette was soothing again but Robb shook his head at once. "I lied to her!" he snapped; "I did the one thing I promised I never would…how is she supposed to trust any word that comes out of my mouth now?!"

"Never mind that now," Jaime snapped back, "we need to find her…Robb if you go and search the east wing then I will go out to the gardens and Lana can go and see if she's back in her chambers." Robb stared at him for a long moment before a wry smile tugged up at his lips. "I'll find her," he said firmly after a long moment of just staring at him; "the last thing she needs is you upsetting her anymore. Damn it, she's pregnant! This could…the Gods only know what this could do to her. I swear…if she loses our baby…" Robb trailed off but he didn't need to say anymore, Jaime could hear it himself, see it himself in his mind. Amy would never forgive him.

"Would you at least send us word when you find her?" Lanette asked him pleadingly as he turned to leave. "I'll be back if I don't," Robb said almost menacingly before he wrenched open the door and slammed it shut behind him. "Jaime…I'm sorry," Lanette whispered, standing up from her chair and nervously playing with the tie of her robe. "No," he shook his head, moving closer to her, "you made a mistake…you couldn't have known…"

"I should have known better," she choked as he wrapped her into his arms; "after the way Robb found out I should have known better." He hushed her, rocking her gently as she held tightly to him. "Do you think she'll ever forgive us Jaime?" she whispered then and he pressed a kiss to her head and willed himself to keep strong. "I don't know," he said honestly, "I hope so."

When Amy let herself back into their chambers Robb sprang up to his feet at once and came towards her, hesitating when he was mere feet away as she stayed stood there with her back against the door. Amy looked into his eyes, she could see the regret mingled with worry and the intense sorrow he felt. She forced her lips to tug upwards slightly but she could feel them trembling at the action and so she ceased, taking a deep breath instead before meeting Robb's eyes again. "I know why you didn't tell me," she told him again; "I understand…and I'm sorry I was so awful and then I left you here worrying about me," she took a tiny step closer to him and the next thing she knew she was crushed into his arms, the place she felt most safe in the world.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said fiercely, pressing a kiss to the top of her head; "I've been worried sick…where have you been? I went everywhere I could think of looking for you." She pulled away slightly at that and looked up at him with a tiny frown creasing at her brow. "Did you see my mother and father?" she asked him quietly and he nodded his head. "I thought you might have gone there, but they hadn't seen you," he said; "they know you know…and I asked them to stay away. I thought it best you go to them when you're ready, I hope I did the right thing…"

"I don't know if I will ever be ready," she confessed in a whisper; "I'm scared to face them, I'm scared of things changing between us." Robb pulled her back into his chest as her voice wavered at the end, guiding her back into the room before he moved away and steered her down into a chair. In the next moment he placed a handkerchief in her hands and she thanked him, dabbing at the few tears that had leaked from her eyes as he sat himself down opposite her and fixed his eyes on her. For several minutes there was just quiet between them but eventually he spoke.

"You know when I first discovered the truth about Jon I didn't know what to feel," he told her quietly; "part of me wanted to hate my father because I could see how much it hurt my mother. I could see the pain in her eyes when she fixed them on Jon and I couldn't understand how my father could have done it to her. I wanted to wish he hadn't done it, I wanted to…I really did. But how could I?" he looked up to meet her eyes; "How could I wish my father never betrayed my mother when the result was my brother and best friend?"

"It's not the same," Amy whispered after a moment, reaching out to take his hand; "it's awful…and confusing but it's not the same…not a sin," she shook her head, taking another deep breath. "I want to go home," she told him, much as she had told Tyrion but this time she managed not to break down and cry. "Home?" Robb repeated, his eyes almost scared and she knew at once that he was imagining she wanted to go back to the Rock. "To Winterfell," she elaborated and he looked instantly relieved, his hand squeezing around hers. "We will," he nodded, "soon."

"No, I want to go now," she told him calmly; "I want to go now because craven as it is I cannot face them. I don't know how I will feel if I see them and I'm scared," she broke off to take a breath as tears were threatening to come for her again; "I'm scared I won't love my father the same way anymore," she confessed and Robb moved, coming to kneel down before her and take her hands in his. "Amy, I'm not sure running away from this is the best thing," he said gently.

"I know it's craven," she told him again; "I know I should stay and face it but I can't. If you want to stay for the wedding I understand…but I can't go, tell them I am indisposed, that the baby is making me sick. Tell them anything you have to, to keep them away from me. Will you promise?"

"If you're sure it's what you want," he said quietly and she met his eyes and nodded her head. "I don't want to hate him Robb…I'm so angry with him but I still love him and I don't want that to change. Seeing him…I can't do it. I just want to go home, I just want us to go home and forget about this and just think about our baby," she said pleadingly and it was his turn to nod. "You can't run away forever," he said gently and she smiled wryly. "I know that," she said, reaching up and brushing away another few tears; "but just for now I need to, I need to be away from it all."

"I'll take you away from it all," Robb promised her, "I'll make this better somehow, I swear to you."

A/N: So one chapter left of part three and then it's onwards to part four where outside influences will start to stir up trouble...

:)