Probably shouldn't be starting another story right now, but this is an idea I've had for a while and I wanted to at least start it. Not sure how often I'll update, as I'm still figuring some stuff out.

This is an attempt to give a more sensible ending to GOT, as well as to give justice to Jon after he was reduced to a side character in a plot he had been carrying almost since day 1 and made into a hollow husk of a character who is only capable of being Dany's hype man until faced with the absolute truth of who she is.

Speaking of Dany, this story isn't going to look too favorably on her, but she's also dead, so… *Shrugs* Don't say I didn't warn you.

Winterfell

Mid-day

"And the grain storage is coming along, although we're a bit shorter than in our projections."

"We'll have to ration it then."

"I agree, Your Grace. There's also the matter of the patrols. The animals have been restless lately."

Sansa paused as she listened to the report. It was true; the animals had been restless for the past few moons. It had them all on edge.

"Tell the men to approach the animals carefully. I don't want any heroics, just try to keep them at bay until we know why they are so angry," Sansa ordered.

"As you wish, My Queen," the servant bowed before turning and walking from the room.

Once he was gone, Sansa leaned back in her seat, letting out a breath. At times like this, she missed Jon, wished she could ask for his advice on how to handle something like this. He was always better at the mobilization of their forces than she.

The thought of her brother made her wistful. It had been ten years since he had been exiled for saving them all from another Mad King, something that still filled her and Arya with rage at the injustice of it all.

She and Jon had sent letters over the years, but it was not the same. She would have visited him but her duties prevented that. Rebuilding Winterfell after the Long Night had been a long and hard process, but it was finally starting to resemble what it had looked like in her childhood. The people were happy, usually well fed. She had two beautiful children, Eddard and Catelyn, named for her parents. And while she and her husband, Rodrick (which had made her recall Ser Rodrik upon meeting him) would never have the kind of relationship her parents had had, Sansa found she was content with her life.

Sansa was broken out of her thoughts when there was a knock on the door to her study.

"Pardon, Your Grace, but Lord Commander Snow wishes to speak with you," the voice of one of her servants said from the other side.

"Send him in," Sansa said, wondering what this was about.

A beat later, the door opened and a man with dark hair entered the room.

Joffrey Snow was a bastard son of a second son of House Umber. His father had never tried to claim him and so he was raised by his mother. He had only been ten and two when the Long Night occurred.

Sansa knew with all the casualties taken during the Long Night, they needed more men to defend Winterfell and so had allowed any volunteers, baseborn or noble, it didn't matter. Anyone could be trained.

Joffrey had been one of the first recruits, eager to rise above his station. And Sansa had seen something of Jon in him, someone eager to prove themselves. This was part of why Sansa had taken such an interest in his training.

The other was that Joffrey was good, very good. Admittedly, Sansa herself was not experienced in the ways of the sword, but she knew enough that she could tell Joffrey was gifted. He had risen through the ranks over the years, his skill getting better and better with each passing year. And when her last Lord Commandeer of the City Watch had retired, it had seemed natural to promote Joffrey to Lord Commander.

"Lord Commander Snow, what is it?" Sansa asked.

"Apologies, Your Grace, but there's been a…development. A woman and two children were found by some of my men, approaching Winterfell on horseback. The woman claims to know you, said her name was Gilly," Joffrey said and Sansa's eyebrows shot up into her hair.

"Does she have dark brown hair and eyes?" Sansa asked and Joffrey nodded. "Where is she now?"

"In the courtyard, Your Grace. I ordered my men to stay with her and the children until I alerted you," Joffrey said and Sansa nodded before rising from her chair.

"Take me to her."

As she was led out into the courtyard, Sansa noted that the years had been kind to Gilly. King's Landing had clearly agreed with her, as even in the snow, she could see hints of blond in Gilly's hair and many laugh lines around her eyes. With her were two boys, one around the same age Sansa was when had first left Winterfell for King's Landing, with blond hair and bright eyes. There was no doubt that this was 'Little Sam', now a man grown. The other looked about nine with dark hair and bright eyes, obviously the son of Samwell Tarly.

"Gilly," Sansa said in greeting as she reached them.

"Your Grace," Gilly said, bowing slightly. "I'm sorry to have come without warning."

"Any friend of my brother's is always welcome in Winterfell," Sansa said graciously, smiling slightly at Gilly before looking at the children. "I don't believe we've met though."

"No, Your Grace. These are my sons, Samwell and Jon," Gilly introduced and Sansa was taken aback as Gilly smiled slightly. "We…named Jon after him."

Sansa nodded slowly, turning her attention back to Samwell and Jon Tarly.

"Hello. It's very nice to meet you," Sansa said with a smile. "I'm Sansa Stark."

"It's very nice to meet you, Your Grace," Jon Tarly said with a bit of nervousness of one meeting a celebrity.

"The two of you may call me Sansa," Sansa said as he knelt down in front of them, smiling kindly. "You know, you were named after my brother."

"Jon Snow is your brother?" Jon asked with a bit of awe, he and Samwell looking like it was earth shattering news.

"Yes, he is," Sansa said with a strained smile, not surprised Sam had told them about Jon before she got back to her feet, glancing over at Gilly. "I don't imagine you came all this way just for a visit."

"No, Your Grace. I need to speak with you. Privately," Gilly said and Sansa could see the urgency in her eyes.

"Of course. I'm sure Jon and Samwell are hungry. Could you please get them some food and blankets?" Sansa directed this last part to the men who had been waiting with Gilly and her children. "Gilly, we'll speak in my study."

Jon and Samwell looked at their mother and, when she nodded her head, they went with the men as Joffrey escorted Sansa and Gilly back to the study.

Sansa waited until the door had closed behind them before she turned to Gilly and asked the question that had been born in her the moment she had heard Gilly was here.

"What happened, Gilly? Why did you come here of all places, alone with two children, neither of whom look like they've eaten in days? And where is Sam? If half of what Jon told me about him is true, he would not let you come here alone, without any protection, unless he had a very good reason. What's going on?" Sansa asked and Gilly sighed, running a hand over her face.

"I don't even know where to begin. Sam could tell you more than I. King's Landings wasn't safe anymore, we couldn't trust anyone. So Sam got us away, we fled in the night. Sam has some old friends who helped us along the way. Then we had to part ways so Sam could go find him," Gilly explained and Sansa looked confused.

"Find who?"

"Jon. He went to find Jon. Sam said we'd need his help to stop him."

"Stop who? Gilly, you're not making any sense," Sansa said and Gilly stared at her for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to put it into words.

"The thing inside of Bran. Sansa, we need to stop the 3-Eyed Raven," Gilly declared, stunning Sansa into silence.

And that's the start. Hope you all enjoyed it so far. Joffrey Snow would be played by Alexander Skarsgard. Thank you to Aragorn II Elessar for the suggestion.