Chapter 15

Jon Snow Stark POV

We're getting ready to leave the next morning, we fell asleep on the couch bed after Talisa and Robb woke us up. They wake up earlier than I expected and start making breakfast and feeding the baby.

"It was so cute when we came in and you guys had fallen asleep in the nursery," Robb says. "We decided to let you sleep there until he woke up."

"He wasn't too much trouble was he?" Talisa asks.

"None at all," I say. "He's an adorable little baby, and my favorite nephew so far."

Robb laughs at that. I decide to not mention how much the baby cried, it's not a good idea to worry them and Dany and I were able to handle it.

"Have you babysat much, Dany?" Talisa asks.

"Not really," she says. "I have two older brothers so there weren't as many young kids for me to watch, definitely different from how Jon and Robb grew up."

"What do your brothers do?" Talisa asks. Shit. I know Talisa doesn't know, but it is a sore subject for Dany.

"One of them disappeared around right after I was born," she says. "The other one died a few years ago."

"Oh," Talisa says. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay," Dany says. "It is what it is. I haven't babysat much, but I think it's good I'm getting more practice."

"So you and Jon can have a baby?" Robb jokes, laughing.

"Definitely not yet," I say. "But maybe one day." Robb smiles at that, I think it's weird for him to see me wanting to be a dad.

We leave after eating and get in the car. "Are you glad that's over?" I ask Dany after we buckle our seatbelts.

"Honestly, a little," she says. "I'm glad we got the experience, but it definitely wasn't easy."

I start driving. "I thought I was way more prepared," I say. "I've dealt with babies and changed diapers before, but I feel like Bran and Rickon didn't cry this much. Or if they did, my parents kept them away from the other kids."

"Were your parents good parents?"

"I know they did their best," I say. "But they worked a lot, which makes sense. They had six kids to feed. They still work a lot, I think it's actually increased from when we were younger."

"I'm sorry you've had to do so much work raising your siblings," Dany says. "I can't imagine having to grow up that fast."

"I didn't think about it much when it was happening because it was all I knew," I say. "But looking back, I would never do that to my kids. I love my siblings, but a lot more pressure was put on me and Robb than should've been."

"I bet, that really must have been hard."

"I feel worse for Robb," I say. "He really was like the third parent. I didn't realize how much he took on until he was out of the house."

"I'm still sorry for you," Dany says. "It must've been hard."

There's a pause. "Do you ever miss your brother? Do you wish you'd known the oldest one?"

"I miss my brother that I grew up with sometimes," she says. "But looking back, there were some times he was creepy towards me and said some weird things. But when we were growing up, I really loved him and looked up to him."

"What did he say?"

"He started making weird comments when I started developing and stuff like that," she says. "He never did anything to me, and I grew up with Cersei and Jaime so I didn't question it much."

"Ew," I say. "That's really gross."

"It is," she says. "But I didn't think much of it back then."

"I'm glad we can talk about this stuff," I say. "I love you."

"I love you more."

I'm glad I can open up to Dany about the experiences I had growing up and she can also open up to me. It makes me feel really good that even though we had very different experiences, we can still at least try to understand each other and be empathetic.

She really is one of the kindest and most empathetic people I've met, I didn't expect that to be the case with her before we got together. I thought she'd be more spoiled and conceited with how popular she was, but she's honestly quite the opposite. I love her so much.

Sansa Stark POV

I'm hanging out with Dany, Myrcella and Margaery today, we're going to a pool at a country club that Margaery's family is a member of. I think it's more of an excuse for Margaery to tan, bur that's fine. Dany and Jon got back yesterday from making everything official with their new apartment, so I'm excited to hear about that.

We pull up to the country club and get out of the car. It's getting hot, but there's other stuff we can do inside if the heat gets really bad.

"Can we go see Cersei after we're done here?" Dany asks, even though she drove and can do whatever she wants. "I invited her here, but she got her period and doesn't want to swim."

"I have to be home by 4," Myrcella says. "I would go if I could."

"I don't mind," I say, even though Cersei isn't my favorite person. "We can do that."

"We'll take you home first," Dany says to Myrcella. "Don't worry."

"Thank you," Myrcella says. "I don't mean to be so much trouble."

"Oh please, you're not," Dany says. "We picked you up, of course we'll take you home."

We check in and go out to the pool. We're able to find chairs and a table under some shade, so that's nice and definitely helps with the heat. Myrcella immediately goes into the pool, she put on sunscreen before we left.

"So how did the signing go for the apartment?" Margaery asks Dany as she's applying tanning lotion.

"It went great," Dany says. "I'm feeling good about it, it'll be nice for us to be living together."

"So is everything official?" I ask.

"Pretty much," Dany responds. "The security deposit has been paid, the paperwork has been signed, we just have to wait for the apartment to be ready in August."

"That's awesome," I say. "I'm excited to see the place. I hope I can drive up at some point soon after you guys move in."

"What about Labor Day weekend?" Dany asks. "We should be settled in enough by then."

"Can I come?" Margaery asks. By this point she's moved her chair into the sun and started tanning.

"Sure," Dany says. "We could have like a girls' weekend."

I get into the pool and catch up with Myrcella, swimming up to her. "Hey," I say. "How's it going? I feel like we haven't been able to hang out as much lately."

"Yeah, we've both been pretty busy," she says. "I went on a trip with Pod and his family."

"Oh yeah, how was that?"

"It was so much fun," Myrcella says. "Super romantic."

You guys were able to sleep in the same bed together, right?"

"Yeah, his parents didn't care," she says. "It actually ended up being its own little unit with a bathroom."

"Oh, that's awesome," I say. "So you guys got a lot of alone time then."

"Yeah," she says. "We had some really amazing sex during the trip."

"I bet," I say. I would ask for more details, but we're in public. "So are things any better with Joffrey, or is he still a jerk like always?"

"He'll always be a jerk," she says. "But I honestly spend more time with Pod than I do at home."

"Good," I say. "I can't believe I ever liked Joffrey."

"Honestly, me neither," she says. "Are there any guys right now that you're thinking about pursuing when school starts?"

"Honestly no," I say. "I've pretty much given up on dating, at least for high school."

"I honestly get that," Myrcella says. "Do what you need to do to keep yourself healthy."

I'm trying really hard to take care of myself, I can't relapse and go back into treatment again. Myrcella has been great for that, she really understands the things I've been through. For the first time in years, I actually feel like I'm in a good place in my life. Things will be good for my senior year, and I honestly wasn't expecting that.

Cersei Lannister POV

I'm hanging out at home when there's a knock at the door, it's Dany. I'm glad she and the girls agreed to stop by, I really wanted to go swimming with them. I just got my period and I don't feel good right now.

"Hey girl," I say when I open the door and they walk in. "Hi Sansa, hi Marge."

They walk in and sit down on the couch. "I brought you this," Dany says, handing me a pastry from the country club. "I know these pretzels help with your period a lot."

"They do," I say, taking the bag. "Thank you for remembering."

"Are Jaime and Tyrion here?" Dany asks. I guess it's weird for them to come in and not see either of them.

"Tyrion left to go back to campus a couple days ago," I say. "He didn't want to stay for very long because he's still a little mad at father."

"I would be too if my dad fucked my girlfriend," Margaery says. She pauses and looks at me. "Where's Jaime?" I feel like she's trying to tease me about Jaime or make some sort of point like she always does.

"I'm not sure," I say. "He's been acting kinda weird lately."

"How so?" Dany asks.

"He's been out of the house more than usual," I pause, not sure of how to say what I want to say next. "I don't know, we usually hang out more than we have been."

"I bet," Margaery says, snickering. Dany glares at her. "I just mean that you guys usually do spend a lot of time together."

"He's been with Theon and Ramsay more," I say. "At least, that's what he told me."

"He probably is," Dany says. "He probably just wants to see people that he doesn't usually get to spend time with."

"Yeah, it's whatever," I say. "I'm not too worried about it." That isn't true, but I'm trying to sound ambivalent and I hope they believe me.

"So everything is pretty much finished with the apartment," Dany says. "We wanted to have a girls' weekend for Labor Day if you'd be down for it."

"Oh really?" I ask. "It's been a while since we've done something like that."

"Yeah," Dany says. "It'll be like a housewarming thing, I thought it might be fun."

"You don't think Jon would mind?" I ask.

"I'll be sure to ask him, we just thought of this today," she says. "I just wanted you to keep it in mind."

"Sure," I say. "That sounds like fun if he's okay with it."

"Cool," Dany says, looking at her phone. "We should probably head out."

"Okay," I say. "Thanks for coming to say hi, and thanks for the treat. I wish I could've come with you guys."

The girls get up and Dany gives me a hug. "Of course," she says. "See you soon."

"Bye."

I walk them the front door, shutting and locking it behind them. I'm glad Dany stopped by, it showed me she still cares about me at least a little. There was a while where I felt like I was losing everyone important in my life, but at least I sort of still have Dany. I'll figure out what's going on with Jaime soon, I have to. He's the most important person in my life.