Sansa shivered. She didn't mind the cold, but this damp cold had an eeriness to it that shook her to her very core.

"Of course, you can all stay as long as you need. But if you'd like to get to King's Landing sooner, Yara is making a trip there in a weeks time, and you can accompany her." Theon said. He was calm, sitting across from Jon and Sansa in the main hall. Theon, these days, talked very low and calm, and even smiled occasionally. But he was nothing like the Theon either of them grew up with. Loud and boisterous, always fighting or talking about girls. Now he spoke and politely and soothingly as a maester.

"That sounds perfect." Jon said.

"Well," Theon leaned back, looking satisfied. "is it true?" he arched an eyebrow. And for a moment, Jon saw the old Theon coming through, with his hint of mischievous curiosity.

Jon glanced at Sansa, for approval. Sansa gave Theon a long look, and then nodded at Jon, once.

"Yes." Jon said. "But perhaps...don't tell anyone, until we see the Queen."

"No." Theon said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't."

"Thank you." Sansa said. She leaned forward, taking his hand across the table, squeezing it earnestly. "Thank you so much, Theon."

He grinned, locking eyes with her.

"I know it's not the most welcoming place." he said, pulling away, motioning at the damp walls and the distant crash of the sea. "But to be fair, neither is Winterfell."

Sansa and Jon both grinned in unison, thinking how welcoming Winterfell might be just then.

After their meeting with Theon, Jon and Sansa bid him leave to retire in a warm bed, and beside a proper hearth.

Traveling had been harder than they anticipated. Whether it was the case that they had been accustomed to their comfortable life, or the fact that they had left in such a rush - either way, it had been a challenged. They were now both several shades darker, from riding in the sun. Sansa's stomach was beginning to show, although still not enough she couldn't hide beneath her dresses. Which, she realized dismally, she would be without in Kings Landing. Perhaps she could write to a dressmaker there in the city, and assure she would look dignified for the court.

She dreaded returning to that castle, she realized. When they first visited, court hadn't been reestablished since the fall of Cersei, but she knew now that many of the old families would be back. Some of those same faces she'd seen with Joffery, and then Tyrion. When she was a prisoner, there. Those same faces that stood idly by.

She looked over at Jon, who was shedding his boots and coat near the fire. Theon had sent a maid to care for Kyria and Aden, who were sleeping now, soundly, in the room adjacent. Her years of torment were long behind her, and she'd return to that court with her head held high.

Yara, who'd seen them earlier, in passing, had sent a trunk full of clothes for the pair of them, washed and dry, as opposed to the clothes they'd been traveling in.

Sansa crossed the room, and unlatched it. Ontop were some simple linen gowns, for sleeping, a shirt and a dress. Other necceseties, like socks, stockings, smallclothes. Below that were riding pants, sweaters, cloaks. Handsome pieces, Sansa realized, as nice as the things they had back home. She wondered, as she pieced through the clothes, if she assumed Ironborn might be in rags.

She lifted another garment away and was surprised to find dresses, in silk, linen, velvet, and wool, all folded neatly at the bottom.

"Yara doesn't wear these." she said, aloud, and held up a flowing green dress with a plunging neckline.

"Her friends, do, though." Jon said with a knowing smile. Yara was still a bachelorette, and had a rotating line of women from Dorne or Kings Landing usually accompanying her on her travels.

"Ahh." Sansa said. She set the dress back down, and stood, taking a linen shift off the top for herself, and a shirt for Jon.

She walked to the fire, where Jon stood, leaning on the mantel and staring in. She began unbuckling his vest, from the side.

"You can breathe now, Jon." she said, reassuringly. As the vest came off, she lingered her hand on his ribs. She set her chin on his shoulder. "I'll wait."

He laughed, and theatrically filled his lungs with air, so his ribs moved.

"Thank you." she said. He turned, but she didn't move her hand, instead let it lower, and settled on his hip.

"I hear lovely things about the bath down the hall." he said. "As big as a garden fountain, the one's from High Garden, y'know, that stretch for miles and have exotic fish and the like."

"You're lying." she said.

"I am." he admitted. "But it is big enough for two, and a hot bath with you right now, sounds like heaven."

The week on Pike was enough, Sansa thought, for a lifetime. She wasn't stranger to the harshness of weather, but this particular brand she detested. It was damp, as cold as it could be without freezing, and the air usually smelled like smoke due to the wet wood that filled the hearths. The castle itself was dark, hardly any windows.

On the morning of the departure, Sansa waited on the dock as the rest of her family boarded, beside Theon.

"Are you happy here?" Sansa asked, looking at him carefully.

"I'm home." he said with a small smile. "Are you not happy at Winterfell?"

"I'm not at Winterfell." she frowned. "I'm not sure I'll be welcome there again."

"You shouldn't worry about that." Theon said, shaking his head. "I didn't think it either."

"And here you are now." she said with a grin.

"Here I am now." he sighed, looking over the grey sea. "Remember who you are, Sansa. Who you are matters. Even with Jon...you know where your home is, Sansa." he assured her. She smiled in a small way.

She gave him a quick hug and kiss of the cheek, and then lifted her skirts, walking across the bridge to the ship.

She watched Theon get smaller on the dock, as the ship pulled away.

"I must admit, I never get tired of that view." a voice said from behind her. She turned, and saw Yara approaching her.

"It's magnificent." Sansa said, admitting that it was true. From a distance, the castle was impressive.

"Yes." Yara continued, settling beside Sansa and looking back at her home. "That's exactly what I was talking about." she purred, speaking with a strong sense of irony.

Sansa ignored this, but smiled slightly.

"Are you ready to return to our impressive capital?" Yara asked her. Sansa looked down.

"I'm not sure." Sansa said. "It's been a while since I've been to the city."

"The streets are lively and the queen is beloved. It's a joyous place." Yara assured her. "I'm sure, despite the circumstances, you'll end up enjoying yourself."

"Despite the circumstances?"

"Aye." Yara said again. "You may be a queen, Sansa, but so am I. And I allow myself to enjoy it."

"Enjoy the city or enjoy being queen?"

"Why can't you do both?" Yara asked. "Court is extremely diverting. Southerners are rich, drunken, and terribly self-important. But that doesn't mean they're not a good distraction."

A/N: Hey guys! Quick note because I'm tired of hearing about it - I didn't name J/S's kids after every dead character on the show because I think it's really overdone and expected. I also feel like (in my characterization of the characters) they would want any children to have their own identity and journey, as opposed to the name of a dead character for nostalgia sake. However - both named are GoT canon, Aden is a Stark name (you can look up the family tree) and Kyria is a mashup I derived from Westerosi characters (Arya/Nymeria) and I didn't really think it sounded to un-canon myself.

And to the guest who left the comment complaining about them/and how stupid the rest of the story was...you didn't have to read all the way to chapter 17 just to be a dick. Thanks for the stats tho xx