Robb woke the next morning to Sansa curled around him. He smiled before he even opened his eyes, feeling her head upon his chest, one leg over both of his, and an arm across his stomach.

"Finally, you're awake," she said.

He pried his eyes open and looked down at her. "Have you been awake long?"

"No, not very, but I was getting hungry and thinking I wanted you to make me an omelet."

Robb shifted under her and Sansa moved to her side while Robb moved to his so he could look at her. "Do you know how to cook?" he asked her.

"Pasta."

"That's not cooking," he chuckled.

"I made us breakfast yesterday."

He smiled. "You did. It's not a big deal, I just wondered." He rolled onto his back and Sansa saw a teasing smile tug at the corners of his mouth. "But I do except to have a hot home-cooked meal on the table when I come home from a long day—"

Sansa smacked him and he laughed. She climbed atop him straddling him and sat up. She looked down at him and smiled. Robb grinned up at her and placed his hands on her hips. "I love you," he said.

She leaned down and kissed him. "I love you, too."

"What do you think I show you around today?" he murmured.

She sat back up. "Can you also show me the university campus?"

"Of course."

She sighed. "I need to find out what I need to teach here."

"We'll figure it out."

"I know, it just feels like work," she groaned and climbed off of him. She went to her side, putting her back to him and it was Robb's turn to wrap himself around her. "I just don't want to deal with any of it right now. I will, but it all feels so overwhelming."

Robb kissed her shoulder. "Sansa, we just got here. We both have a lot to deal with right now with just what it took to get here. I feel it, too."

She looked at him over her shoulder. "You do?"

"Yes."

She frowned and buried the side of her head in the pillow. "But you've been here before; it's different for you."

"Let me help. We'll do the research for what you need to teach—"

"We need to call home, Robb," Sansa said softly.

He pushed his forehead against her shoulder. "I know."

"I want to do it and yet I'm afraid to do it. I need to know what...what they think." She pursed her lips together. "I know what Arya thinks," she said bitterly.

"I wish I could tell you that it's going to be okay, but I can't promise that."

"This is one of those times when your eternal optimism would be a help."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

They both fell into silence. Sansa contemplated calling home and what would be said while Robb wished he could make this easier for both of them. He wasn't so much worried about himself, but he was worried about Sansa and how she would handle whatever came. He had already rather resigned himself to the fact that it wouldn't go well; that they'd probably be disowned and while that did hurt – a lot – he knew that he and Sansa had come too far and for him turning back wasn't an option.

He did wonder though, if it would be for her. Their mother had certainly approached the situation at the airport as if Sansa was the one she could reach. Though Sansa had made her choice, Robb didn't think that would be enough to stop Catelyn – and possibly Ned – from trying again.

Despite Sansa's avowals of love and the incredible sex-a-thon they'd experienced, Robb had his reservations. He figured just like he'd told Sansa that everything would come in come, his trust that she wouldn't decide to leave him after all would come in time as well.

xxxxxxxxx

Sansa wasn't ready to call home yet and Robb was willing to oblige her in whatever she needed to do to prepare herself. Turned out that meant going to the hardware store to look at paint. Mandi had told them they were free to paint, just as long as they painted the walls back to white in the event they moved.

Sansa just wanted to collect some paint samples and take a look at slip covers for their couch (that would be in another store). Since this constituted as also showing her around, Robb was up for it.

Robb went to look for tools they might need for the apartment while Sansa went for the paint samples. He was perusing through toolboxes when he heard someone say his name. He looked up and found Jessica, one of his exes. It had been an amicable split so Jessica greeted him with a wide smile and a hug.

"I had run into Paul not too long ago and he said you'd gone back home! You're back now? Just for a visit or…?"

Robb scratched the back of his neck. "I'm back. For good."

"Well, I'm really happy to see you. You know, I thought of calling you so many times, but I didn't know if you'd be happy to hear from me or if you were seeing someone. Maybe we could get together sometime and—"

"Honey, are you ready?"

Robb looked over to find Sansa coming over, paint samples in hand. She came up to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. "I found a bunch of – oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?" She certainly sounded innocent and looked innocent as she looked at Jessica. Robb had to hold back a laugh. She was quite the little actress.

"Sweetheart, this is a friend of mine. Jessica. Jessica, this is my fiancé, Sansa."

Sansa peeled herself off of him and extended her hand to Jessica who looked a bit upset by this new development. Jessica stared at her hand and Sansa must have took note of it for she said, "My ring is being resized."

Jessica shook Sansa's hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Sansa. If you'll excuse me." Hurriedly, Jessica walked off.

"That's right," Sansa muttered. "Keep going…"

Robb grabbed her hand and tugged her against him, her back to his front. He nuzzled her neck. "You're a little minx, you know that?"

She giggled and spun herself in his arms and kissed him. "You like it when I get a little territorial though, don't you?" she whispered hotly.

"I love it," he growled and nipped at her lips. "Let's say we go home and I show you how much?"

Sansa was about to answer him when her phone went off, signaling a text message. She froze and looked at Robb with fear in her eyes.

"Let me see," Robb said gently and held out his hand. Sansa dug into the purse, extracted her phone, and handed it to him.

He looked down at it and frowned.

"Well?" she said anxiously.

Robb sighed. "It's Mom. She wants to talk."

xxxxxx

The ride home was met with silence. Sansa could practically feel Robb's worry rolling off of him in waves. She was worried, too, but she suspected their worries were different. He didn't trust her to stay. Sansa didn't know how to assuage his fears, and right now she didn't feel she like had much to give when it came to comfort since she felt completely all over the place herself.

She felt like she wouldn't know how to handle any of this until she talked to her mother, and yet she feared it too. Hence the trip into town. But she couldn't avoid it anymore.

Once they were home in their apartment, Sansa went to the couch and curled her feet under her. She held her phone in her hand and waited for Robb to join her. He came over and sat down next to her, his expression grim.

Sansa dialed her mother and put the phone on speaker. She then placed the phone on the coffee table and waited for her mother to answer.

"Sansa?" came Catelyn's voice through the phone.

"Hi, Mom," Sansa said.

"Is Robb with you?"

"I am," he said.

"They know," Catelyn said. "Your family knows. Bran is holed up in his room. Rickon doesn't want to talk about it and Arya—"

"We know how Arya feels," Sansa said.

"Your father…" Catelyn sighed. "Your father is beside himself. He's furious with me for not having told him the first time around, and he's been stomping about yelling at everyone. Sansa…Sansa, I want you to come home. You can make this better if you come home."

"Not me though, huh?" Robb interjected bitterly.

"Robb, he – your father – he's angry with you as well."

"How is he not angry with me?" Sansa asked.

"He thinks Robb came home for the sole purpose to start things up again. He said, and I agree with him, that your job as the eldest was to watch out for your siblings, not corrupt them. Instead of protecting your sister, you sullied her. And when you had the chance to make it right, you did it again. In time, perhaps, he will change his mind…"

"Neither of you can change how we feel about each other," Robb spat. "I didn't corrupt Sansa. I didn't hurt her. I didn't rape her—"

"He believes you did, and the fact that you are his son and he loves you is why he will not press charges. He thinks you took advantage of Sansa's weakened mind—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sansa interrupted. "Weakened mind?"

"From your accident."

"That was five years ago, Mom! My mind is not weakened!" Sansa exclaimed.

"Sansa, your father is looking for a way to understand this. Quite frankly, I don't think he will be able to. I still can't, and I had quite a long time to deal with the knowledge that my son and my daughter were having sex."

"It wasn't just sex, Mother!" Robb shouted. "You reduce it to its—"

Sansa put a hand on his arm. "Robb, stop," she said. She looked at him, tears in her eyes. "No amount of explaining is going to make them get it. No one would. We knew that we were in this alone. We can't ask them to understand something that we don't either."

Robb's hands balled into fists, and he jumped to his feet and started to pace.

"Sansa, honey, please come home. I know that you can talk to your father and fix this. You want to help Robb, you can. Just come home and put this family back together. Your father needs you. Your siblings need you. I need you. How can you turn your back on us like this? What are you going to do, hmm? What if something happens and you need help? What if people find out, what will you do? You won't be able to work anywhere. Neither of you. You'll be broke and out on the street—"

"Shut up, Mother," Robb said harshly. "Stop filling her head with all the worst case scenarios so you can scare her into returning to you. You think we haven't thought of all this already?"

"Robb, I am not the enemy," Catelyn said sternly. "I love you, but I cannot accept this and neither can your father. Nor can your siblings. You've torn this family apart due to your…your sickness. Sansa, honey, are you still there?"

Sansa wiped at the tears that rolled down her face and sniffed. "I'm here," she said softly.

"If you come home now we can work on this and make you better. We can help Robb, too."

"And if I don't?" Sansa asked. She saw Robb stop pacing and look at her out of the corner of her eye.

It sounded like Catelyn started to cry. "Then you've alienated your family and this is it – you can't decide later on when things fall apart that you can just come back home. Think about what this means, Sansa. Think about what you'll be doing if you decide to stay. There will be no contact anymore. Not ever. Is that what you want?"

Sansa sucked in a shuddering breath and looked at Robb who stared back at her pleadingly. He didn't have to say it, but she could practically her him in her head, begging her not to leave him.

She shut her eyes; she couldn't look at him.

"Sansa?" Catelyn said.

"I'm here," Sansa whispered.

"Well? What do you say?"