Chapter Text
It started with doves.
At first, they were sent to her office in packages sent through the mail with no return address. There was no blood, just a dead bird in a box. Simple.
Or, as simple as a veiled threat sent to her place of work could be.
Sansa Stark was a young up and coming prosecutor in Winterfell, working mostly in organized crime. For as frustrating as her job could be, she was good at it. She hadn’t lost a case yet- whether she was a lowly assistant or led the case herself. In the two years since graduating law school, she had certainly made a name for herself and was hoping to eventually make it to the office of district attorney. If she was being honest with herself, she really just wanted to put the bad guys away- to do her part to make the world a better place even if it sometimes felt as if she were moving pebbles when others were moving boulders.
While the birds were slightly disconcerting, Sansa was just to busy to worry about it. She dealt with the corpses herself and by the time she would make it home after a long work day, the thought was already gone from her head. Besides, the birds had been coming for months with no change. Never in any discernible pattern and never with any sort of message other than the reference to the nickname the news agencies had attached to her the year before.
The Little Dove of Winterfell.
In Sansa’s opinion, the name was tacky. She had, of course been doing all of this for peace, but in the court room she didn’t want to be compared to a symbol of purity or innocence. She wanted to be lethal. She wanted to gather criminals under her boot heel and crush them. She supposed that in time, she would be able to prove that she was a force to be reckoned with and that would just have to suffice.
Five months after the first bird arrived on her desk, one appeared on the windshield of her car.
A month after that, they started appearing on her doorstep. Regardless of the fact that she was starting to wonder whether she should tell someone her fears that now this person, whoever they may be, now knew where she lived. They were obviously fixated on getting some sort of reaction out of her and Sansa was bound and determined to remain as outwardly calm and collected as possible.
Until the doves started showing up mutilated and no longer in boxes.
Their innards would be spread across her welcome mat, blood spattering along the bottom of her white front door as if the bird had been slaughtered right there in front of her house in clear view of the street in broad daylight. Sansa thought that was pretty bold, knowing that the birds only ever arrived in the long hours she was at work- a coincidence, surely, because Sansa was nearly always at work. But still, she was certain there was no reason to be completely startled. She had dealt with pissed off criminals before and knew that once they realized nothing was going to change the way she was going about things, that she would give no reaction, they would stop.
*
Groaning as her alarm clock began blaring its incessant tune, she wiped at her bleary eyes, trying to make out the time. Blinking a few times through the scratchy feeling, she jumped up from her bed as she realized she had accidentally woken up an hour later than usual and now had no time to do her hair or eat breakfast.
Knowing she had set her coffee to brew for the time her alarm usually went off, she was looking forward to at least drinking coffee during her rushed morning routine, but when she reached the kitchen, there was no coffee. The machine was off and wouldn’t start up even when she plugged it in. Sansa didn’t have the time to work through all the possibilities of why it wasn’t working and gave up to take a quick shower.
Unfortunately, her shower had been ice cold even after she had let it run on the hottest setting for five minutes. Teeth chattering, she toweled off her hair and wrapped her long red locks into a semi professional looking bun, which always made her day end with a headache. She hurried to her bedroom to dress, looking forward to putting on her favorite pair of black underwear and the matching bra, but had been unable to find them. Sansa could have sworn she had put them away with her other laundry only the night before, but apparently she hadn’t and she didn’t have the time to search for them. She swiped mascara on quickly and turned to get her phone from her nightstand, becoming even more frustrated when it wouldn’t do anything other than flash a dead battery symbol at her.
By the time she made it to work, she was frazzled and frustrated and felt like she was drowning. The constant feeling of not being able to catch up to her tasks made the day seem even longer than usual and as she finally reached the understanding that she could accomplish no more if she remained the office later than she already had, she allowed herself to gather her things and go home.
Thank the gods I didn’t have court today, she thought to herself as she pulled into the driveway of her home. A small two bedroom cottage wrapped in ivy with a small porch in the very front, the home had been a reward to herself for completing law school. Sansa had used some of the inheritance left to her after the untimely death of her parents to purchase the modest house and was proud of herself for turning it into her safe haven. I have so much to do tonight, she thought with a sigh. She was tired and hungry and there were five separate cases that she needed to work on. Witness statements needed to be taken, discovery needed to be fleshed out, officers and medical professionals needed to be spoken with. Not to mention the files that would already be sitting on her desk when morning came. She shook the thoughts out of her head, hoping they would dissipate long enough to focus on making something quick to eat.
Pulling out her phone and keys, she got out of her car and made her way inside through the side door. The sight that greeted her made her scream.
Her entire kitchen was covered in blood. It was smeared and splattered on every visible surface, thick and dripping onto the wooden floor from the cabinets. Frozen for a moment, a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye made Sansa look around to see a man standing in the entrance to her living room off the kitchen. He was dressed all in black, a hood over his face so she could not see it. He made no move to come at her and as soon as she saw him, she turned and bolted for her car, not even bothering to shut the door behind her.
She struggled with the door handle as her hands shook violently, nearly dropping her keys to the ground before finally managing to get the door open and dropped heavily into the driver’s seat. As she started the car and slammed the lock button down, she looked up to see the man watching her from her dining room window. Sansa threw the car in reverse and sped away faster than she had in her entire life.
There was only one place she would be safe.
She prayed he would answer the call as she selected his contact on the dashboard. One ring. Two rings. Please, please please. Three ri-
“Hey San, what’s up?”
The sound of her brother’s voice filled her with relief as she croaked out, “Robb?”
“What’s wrong? What happened?” He demanded.
“There was so much blood. It was everywhere and I couldn’t- there was someone in my house, Robb!” She cried as her heart continued to pound in her chest.
“San, slow down. Take a deep breath. Where are you?” The elder Stark asked.
“I’m in my car. Are you home?” She pleaded to whatever gods existed that he didn’t have duty that night.
“Yeah, come over. I’m home.” Robb answered soothingly. “Do you want me to stay on the line until you pull in?”
“No, I’m almost there. I’ll see you in a minute.” Sansa sighed and ended the call. She dragged a hand across her face and was startled to find she was crying. She took a few more deep breaths and tried to calm herself.
Robb Stark was Sansa’s older brother. Tall, broad and strong, he was the epitome of home for her, especially after their parent’s deaths. They had always been close as children and when he left home to enlist and follow in their father’s footsteps, she promised herself that as soon as it was possible, she would move to wherever he was and make sure they could stick together. Six years ago, he had been stationed in Winterfell and almost as soon as the ink had been dry, Sansa had transferred to a university in the same city.
Robb lived in an apartment complex only ten minutes away from the house Sansa owned. When she had offered to let him live with her, he had respectfully (and pretty crudely, if she was being honest) said he wouldn’t be comfortable bringing girls home to his baby sister’s house. Sansa had wholeheartedly agreed that the last thing she wanted to do in the morning was witness Robb’s flame of the week doing the walk of shame through her cozy little home.
Sansa pulled into a parking spot in front of Robb’s building and made sure to wipe away the tracks of mascara running down her face before getting out on shaky legs. She made her way inside to the third floor and before she could even knock on his door, it swung open to reveal her brother behind it. She let out a sob as he swept her into his arms, whispering words of comfort into her hair. Something wet found its way into her palm. Pulling her face away from her brother’s chest, she looked down and found the red eyes of his roommate’s wolf-like dog, Ghost staring back at her.
“Hi, boy.” She said, leaning down slightly to run her fingers through his white fur.
When she had calmed down enough that her breaths were no longer deep gasping lungfuls of air, he led her to his sofa and sat her down next to him, angling his body so he could look at her fully. The large dog curled into her side, laying his great head in her lap, nudging at her hand as it shook.
“Sans, what happened?” Robb asked.
“When I got home from work and let myself in, the whole kitchen was just covered in blood. Like someone had taken fucking buckets of it and just poured it all over everything.” She heaved a deep stuttering sigh. “I looked up and the was a man standing in the doorway. He was just watching me, Robb. I have no idea how long he was there. He was just standing there, staring at me.”
“Who was it?” Robb’s hands had balled into tight fists and his breath was coming fast as he clenched his teeth, barely concealing the rage that had been simmering under his skin since the moment he had heard Sansa’s panicked voice over the phone.
“I couldn’t see.” Sansa shook her head. “He had a hood over his face.”
Suddenly, the door to Robb’s apartment swung open and she jumped. Her brother took her hand, saying, “It’s only Jon, Sansa. It’s okay.”
Jon Snow was Robb’s roommate and best friend. The two had been quick friends when they met four years ago as Jon was stationed in Winterfell. Jon was lean where Robb was broad, but just as tall and no less muscular. Sansa was surprised to see the scruff of a beard on his jaw and his unruly curly black black hair hanging slightly into his gray eyes as every time she had seen him before, he had been clean shaven with short hair as required by the army. The sight of him was like a cool drink of water on a hot day. Dressed in dark skinny jeans and a black shirt, Sansa’s heart skipped a beat. He was carrying a pizza as he walked in, his soulful dark eyes taking in the sight of his best friend and his fiery haired sister who was sitting on their couch with a lap full of his dog.
“Someone broke into Sansa’s house.” Robb stated angrily, his blue eyes flashing. “They covered the place in blood and they were still there when she came home.”
“What?” Jon asked. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just shaken up. I’ll be okay, I think. I just don’t want to go home right now.” Sansa replied as she unwound the bun from the top of her head and shook out her still damp hair, rubbing the sides of her temples to fight off the headache creeping in.
“Did you call the police?” Jon placed the pizza down on the coffee table and stood across from her. The furrow of his brow deepened as he took note of her tear stained face and shaking hands.
“No, I came straight here.” Sansa said with a sigh. She wiped at her eyes to make sure her mascara had not run further. Even in her state of terror, the last thing she wanted to do was make a bad impression on Jon. Although he had never been anything but respectful and kind to Robb’s Stark’s little sister, there was a part of her that wished she could just push him against a wall and have her way with him.
Her crush on Jon had remained throughout the few years she had known him. When Robb had introduced the two, she knew she would be falling deeply for the man. Between the way his gray eyes seemed to stare straight into your core and the rough feeling of his calloused hands against hers, she was done for. To add to the attraction, he had a wicked sense of humor and a grin that could make her shiver even on the hottest summer day.
“We’ll have to let them know.” Robb said with a nod, smoothing his hand over his head of auburn hair in frustration. “But first, you should eat.” He got up to get plates and some drinks for the three of them while Jon took the seat next to Sansa.
“Seriously, are you okay?” Jon asked her quietly.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m scared shitless.” She said, running a hand through her hair in an echo of her brother while she leaned as far back into the sofa as possible with Ghost’s body slightly behind her. “But, I can’t just break down, it’s not going to fix anything or catch this asshole. I’ll be okay eventually.”
“We’ll catch him.” Jon promised. He squeezed her shoulder before pulling her into a hug.
As Robb came back in with the plates and three waters, Jon let Sansa go unhurriedly. She smiled at him and took her plate from her brother.
“Honestly, this is just the worst day. Literally nothing has gone right since I woke up this morning. This is just the icing on the cake.” She plopped a slice of pizza on her plate and took a bite.
Thinking that it might get her mind off of the bloody kitchen, Robb asked what happened to make it a horrible day before she had even found the intruder in her home.
“Well, first, my alarm clock went off an hour later than normal.” She said around her pizza before swallowing. “Couldn’t find something I wanted to wear today, even though I swear I just put it away last night. My coffee maker didn’t work, my phone didn’t charge and I had no hot water! It’s like the gods are against me.”
Robb and Jon immediately stilled, sharing a look across the coffee table.
“San, you have never set your alarm for the wrong time. You’re the most organized person we know and you’ve never been late a day in your life. And we just put that water heater in last year. There’s no way it broke already, it would have had to have been off for hours for it to be ice cold.” He said seriously.
“Was anything off yesterday when you got home?” Jon asked.
“What do you mean?” Sansa questioned, looking between the two of them like they were conspiring.
“Was anything out of place or did anything feel different?” Robb clarified. “What was missing that you wanted to wear today?”
Sansa thought back to the night before, going through her routine slowly.
“My dining room curtains were open last night. He was staring at me when I drove away today, too, standing in that window. I remember thinking it was odd because I don’t usually ever have them open. I hate the idea of someone watching me from the outside.” She said slowly. “And my favorite underthings were gone.”
Robb grimaced while she could feel Jon stiffen beside her. Ghost pushed his nose further into her belly.
“What? I could have just forgotten to shut them and forgotten to get the laundry last night.” Her voice as slightly higher pitched than normal, the explanation falling flat to even her own ears. She didn’t like what they were implying and wouldn’t believe it until someone said it.
“You said it yourself, Sansa.” Jon said quietly. “You never open them. Your underwear going missing on top of everything else...” He trailed off.
She could feel herself starting to panic. Her breaths were coming in short gasps, her toes and hands were beginning to tingle. “Wha-what are you saying?”
“I think whoever was in your house when you got home today has been in your house since you were at work yesterday.” Robb said grimly.
Chapter Text
“I think whoever was in your house when you got home today has been in your house since you were at work yesterday.” Robb said grimly.
The pizza in Sansa’s mouth turned to ash. Her hunger was forgotten as waves of nausea rolled through her body and she slid her plate onto the coffee table. The redhead swallowed thickly at the thought that the sicko that spread blood through her house could have been right under her nose for days. The idea was terrifying. Had he been wandering around her home while she slept? While she showered? While she was vulnerable? Anything could have happened, who knew how long or how many times he had been inside. She could be dead right now.
“If that’s the case,” Jon started, “then this guy couldn’t have just suddenly decided to do this. If he had the means to break in, why just scare you?”
“I don’t get what you mean.” Sansa looked up at him. Robb stood from the armchair he was occupying and began pacing, wringing his hands together.
“He could have hurt you. You were there, alone. You probably didn’t even notice him until after you had already seen the blood, most likely after he’s already been inside for some amount of time. If his intention was to hurt you, why didn’t he? The opportunity was there. He knew you’d come home alone, knew you’d be distracted. He’d already been watching you.” The revelations were coming quickly to him now. “Have you gotten any letters or threats?”
Robb stopped pacing and stared her down. Sansa became uncomfortable under his gaze as the memory of all the dead doves came to mind.
“Doves.” She muttered.
“Doves?” Robb repeated. “What do you mean by doves?”
“Someone’s been sending me dead doves for months.” She admitted with a grimace.
“Months?!” Robb yelled. “Why didn’t you tell me? Someone’s been threatening you for fucking months and you never said a word.”
Sansa pushed her fingers into the fur on Ghost’s head, looking down as she spoke. “I didn’t think it was a big deal-”
“Not a big deal?!” Robb interrupted. “Sansa, one bird would have been a big deal. You said they’ve been coming to you for months. This is so fucking beyond a big deal.”
With the amount of force Robb was putting into pulling at his hair, she wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up bald the next day.
“San, how long exactly have you been getting these birds? Do they have notes attacked? A signature, anything like that?” Jon asked, remaining calm although she could feel the tension rolling through his body.
She thought to herself for a moment, trying to remember exactly when the first bird arrived on her desk. “It was right after you got home, Robb. The first box I found was sitting on top of the flag I took to your homecoming ceremony. That was in my office though, one of the mail guys must’ve brought it in with all the rest.”
“That was eight months ago, Sansa!” Robb roared. “Eight fucking months of some asshole threatening you and you never thought to mention it! Normal people do not get sent fucking dead birds in the mail!”
“Robb, calm down.” Jon warned. “Take a walk, cool off.”
“No, we need to get-”
Robb was interrupted by Jon loudly stating, “Yelling at her isn’t helping anything. We need all the information we can get and we aren’t going to accomplish anything with you shouting every two minutes.”
The auburn haired soldier exhaled forcefully with a scowl. He picked up his cigarettes and his lighter before leaving the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Sansa felt the room lighten as he left. Jon took the hand that wasn’t working through Ghost’s coat.
“Can you tell me about them?” He asked.
Biting her lip, she looked to him. “I honestly haven’t given it much thought. Work has been so hectic that I’ve barely had a chance to breathe. They weren’t even scary at first.”
“At first?”
“Yeah, they weren’t bloody and they only came to my office.” She paused, looking away before returning her blue eyes to his. “But then, the packages started showing up on my doorstep. I thought nothing of it again, because my address is public knowledge and it isn’t like I haven’t made some enemies with this job. Three weeks ago, they started showing up not in the boxes. Just laid right out on my doormat. And then last week, for the first time, they were bloody and it looked like they were slaughtered at my front door.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because there was blood spatter on the bottom of the door. And when I went to clean it up, it was still wet.”
“What time of day did they show up?” He inquired, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.
“They were never there went I left for work, but by the time I got home...” She trailed off. “Oh, my gods. The blood was always wet. Always. I don’t even leave work at the same time every day. How could they have known when I would get home?”
“They’ve been watching you.” Jon said grimly. “And now I think it’s more than just one person because there’s no possible way one person would be able to watch you leave work, slaughter an animal on your porch and still be gone by the time you pulled in.”
“That’s… that’s terrifying.”
Jon continued rubbing her knuckles, the knots in her stomach easing into butterflies at his touch. It was a small gesture of comfort, one she reveled in. Jon was always sweet with her, but things between them had never gone further than gentle touches and hugs, maybe a kiss on the cheek during a holiday party. Sansa yearned for more. Three years of a crush on Jon showed no sign of waning. She had accepted that he was never going to view her as anything other than his best friend’s little sister and she truly didn’t have the time to date.
“Aye,” He agreed. “But, when Robb gets back, we’re going to tell him what you told me and we’re going to make a plan.”
*
Robb was not happy to hear the full extent of the threats Sansa had be receiving. He had gotten that steely glare in his eyes that reminded her of their father, the one that made his jaw muscles jump and his lips purse. The younger Stark knew it had been a mistake to not at least mentions the birds to her brother, but with so many thoughts flitting in and out of Sansa’s head during any given day, she hadn’t put any of it together. No matter how smart Sansa was, she was about as observant as a brick wall.
“Obviously, even after we get the police involved, she can’t be left alone.” Robb announced. “Jon, can you stay with her?”
Jon and Sansa spoke at the same moment.
“Of course.”
“I can’t ask him to take that kind of time off-”
“It’s not a problem, Sansa.” Jon stated firmly.
She had an objection on the tip of her tongue until Robb spoke up.
“He’s out.” At Jon’s glare, he stated exasperatedly, “Oh, it’s time she knew anyway, Snow.”
Sansa whirled to the side to give Jon her full attention. The gray eyed man looked sheepish as he planted his gaze steadily on the floor, trying to take his hand back stealthily, but she wasn’t having any of it.
“You’re out? How long?”
“A couple months now.” He brought his head up to look her in the eye.
How deeply had she been drowning herself in work that she didn’t even know about something as momentous as one of her best friend’s separation from the military?
“You didn’t tell me.” She muttered. “I haven’t seen you in months, have I? Gods, what a shit friend I am. You don’t have to give up your time to watch me, I’ll be fine. Robb can come over when we’re both done at work. I won’t be alone in the office, so I should be fine there.”
“I won’t be here.” Robb grumbled. “I have training in the Riverlands for two months, remember? I leave on Thursday.”
“Where the fuck have I been?! What else has happened while I’m off in fucking lawyer land?! That’s in two days!”
“Yes. And I have to work tomorrow, so Jon will be with you.” His no nonsense tone made Sansa feel he couldn’t be argued with. She could still try, though. “You’ve been busy. It’s okay, it’s not like we don’t understand being swamped with work.”
“I’m not making Jon give up his entire life for me. I will be fine. We’ll call the police and show them everything in my house and then they’ll catch the guy.” She crossed her arms with a sharp nod.
“It doesn’t work like that, love.” Jon pointed out. “It may take a long time before they ever figure it out. In the meantime, you aren’t safe and you shouldn’t be alone.”
Sansa opened her mouth to object again when Robb loudly interjected over her.
“He’s right, Sansa. For once, just let someone take care of you.”
“I don’t mind doing it. Really.” Jon insisted, his voice raspy. He squeezed her hand before joking, “I don’t have much else going for me right now to be honest.”
“Fine.” She huffed. “We should go back there and call the police. It’s getting late.”
*
If Sansa had thought the blood would only be in her kitchen, she was very wrong. It was spread throughout most of her small house, concentrated on the kitchen as if the rest were an afterthought. The other rooms were largely absent of the viscous puddles left beneath her cabinets, but had smears on the wall in her dining room and boot prints scattered from her living room in the front of the house to the back where her bedroom was.
The police had come, the whole investigation on site was taking hours longer than she had anticipated. She was exhausted and had already called work to let them know she wouldn’t be coming in the next day. Sansa shuddered to think of the tasks that would build up in her absence. As if I didn’t have enough to do already, she thought. Robb had to leave halfway through the experience, needing to be on post rather early in the morning to wrap things up before leaving for the training trip. He was apologetic, but pulled Jon aside before saying goodbye to his sister.
“You make sure she isn’t ever alone tomorrow.” He pushed his hand into Jon’s chest sternly. “I don’t think she should stay here, she should probably stay at our place at least tonight or until you can beef up her security over here.”
Jon grabbed a hold on Robb’s shoulders, jostling him slightly. “I will never let anything happen to her.” He vowed. “You know I won’t.”
The elder Stark nodded with understanding. “I know. You’re a good man, Jon Snow.”
“I try to be.” He shrugged, brushing off the praise. “We should get back before she thinks we’re conspiring to chain her up and never let her in harm’s way again.”
Robb swept his sister up in a fierce hug, demanding that she not leave Jon’s sight. With an eye roll, she promised and pushed him to his car, telling him to go to sleep and to call her the next day when he had a chance.
*
Sometime after two in the morning, Sansa was finishing up her statement with the officer in charge, a tall man with burns covering one side of his face. Her hair was a mess, full of tangles after forcing her fingers through it too many times over the past few hours, but to Jon, he could see nothing but the perfection of her white skin reflecting the colors of the police lights and the self assured way she carried herself even in the face of terror and pure exhaustion. He knew she had to be longing for her bed and knew he would more than likely force the girl to sleep that night. She had a long history with the inability to shut her brain off long enough to rest.
Heaving a great sigh, he made his way from the bench on her porch to her side in the front yard. He had just finished a walk through of her home with a policewoman who showed him all the easy points of access, including where the officer thought the intruder had entered in the first place. The man had been gone by the time the police had arrived, but Jon had expected that. He hadn’t left behind any fingerprints or any containers that he must’ve used to transfer the blood to the house. Whoever was behind all of the threats and this vandalism was starting to prove more sophisticated than he had originally thought.
As the ex soldier reached her, Sansa’s face lit up. “Jon, this is Officer Clegane. He’s going to be in charge of the investigation and said if we come up with anything or anything else happens to just give him a call.”
Jon shook the tall man’s hand before putting his arm around Sansa’s shoulders. Feeling her sink into his side, he turned his attention back to the officer in front of him.
“I’m going to be setting up security cameras tomorrow and replacing all the locks on the doors and windows. Is there anything else you would suggest?”
“Yes,” Officer Clegane growled. “Take this little bird somewhere safe and keep her there. Things like this don’t usually end well.”
The redhead stiffened under his arm and he drew her closer. He would do whatever she asked him to, whether that be to let her resume her usual routine or if it meant moving across the Narrow Sea. As long as he could be by her side, he would do anything she wanted.
“Well, thank you officer.” She said with a tight smile. “I think we’re finished up here, yes?”
“Yeah, we’re finished. If we have any updates, we’ll call you.” The scarred man called for his fellow officers and nodded to them both before getting in his cruiser and driving off, the other officers following behind shortly.
Sansa turned to Jon and pushed her face into the crook of his neck, her arms surrounding his middle. His hand came up to cradle the back of her head, holding her there for a moment before pulling back to look down at her.
“Have you seen it all yet?”
“Some. I’m afraid to go in there.” She admitted.
“We should lock it up before we leave, but we can come back tomorrow when it’s light out, if you want?”
“Come back?” She questioned.
“Yeah, you’re going to stay at mine tonight.” He firmly stated.
“But where will I sleep? You guys only have two rooms.”
“In my bed.” Jon said shortly.
Sansa’s eyes widened comically before he realized what that statement sounded like.
“Oh- I didn’t- Not like that. I’ll take the couch. Of course.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“I’m not-” She cut herself at his glare and remembered what Robb had told her to do earlier. Let someone take care of me, she thought. And really, would Jon taking care of her be so bad? The notion made her stomach flip and she felt herself warming to the idea. “Okay, fine. I call Ghost, though.”
“You wound me, Sans. First my bed and now my other half?” He joked. “Any other requests?”
“Can you drive when we leave? I won’t be able to keep my eyes open.”
“Sure thing, love. Give me your keys and I’ll lock up for you and then we’ll be on our way.”
Chapter Text
Jon locked up Sansa’s house quickly as she sat locked in her car, not wanting to drag out her discomfort any longer than necessary. As they pulled into the parking lot for his building, he noticed she had fallen asleep on the short ride. He shook her shoulder gently, whispering her name until she stirred.
“Sweetling, we’re home.” Hoping she was too tired to notice his slip or the flush forming on his cheeks, he got out to open her door for her. Taking her hand to help her out, Jon pulled her under his arm as she stumbled. She didn’t say a word until they made it inside and she greeted Ghost.
“You’re sharing a bed with me tonight, Ghost.” She murmured as she scratched behind his ears, careful to not make much noise lest she wake her brother.
“If you want a shower, you can use my bathroom.” Jon offered. “Towels are behind the door.”
Straightening and expressing her thanks, she went to Jon’s bathroom shower and wash away the day’s worries. Thankful she had thought to change into sneakers while at her house, she slipped them off before taking off her skirt and her blouse and throwing them into Jon’s hamper. Her underwear and bra followed, telling herself she would do a load of his laundry before they left in the morning.
It wasn’t until she wrapped herself in a spare towel, hair dripping down her back before she realized she hadn’t brought any clothes to change into. “Fuck.”
She opened the bathroom door, not expecting the muscular man to be sitting at the end of his bed waiting for her to come out. The blush spread across her cheeks fiercely when she realized just how little fabric separated her suddenly very awake and very naked body from his view.
He stood and held out a bundle of fabric, finally looking her in the eye. “I figured you didn’t bring anything, so-”
“Thank you, Jon.” She effused, touched at his thoughtfulness. “You wouldn’t happen to have a brush I could borrow too, would you?” The redhead held the sweats and soft t shirt up to her chest as Jon brushed passed her to get to his dresser where he grabbed the intended item and attempted to hand it to her before realizing that both of the slender girl’s hands were occupied- one holding his clothes, the other holding up her towel.
“I’ll just-” He placed the brush on the bed, squeezing passed her her once more, his skin tingling where it touched hers. “I’ll be on the couch like I said, if you need anything, just let me know, okay?”
Tossing the clothes on the bed next to the brush, Sansa pulled him into a hug swiftly. “Thank you, again.” She whispered into his ear. As she pulled away, she couldn’t help but notice the almost audible swallow he took.
“Goodnight, Sansa.” He smiled, opening the door, allowing Ghost to push passed him into the bedroom where the wolf promptly took up his spot in the bed.
“Goodnight, Jon.”
*
Sansa couldn’t sleep. She had taken her time getting dressed and combing through her hair, hoping it would give her time to calm her mind as she took in Jon’s room. She wasn’t sure she had ever been in the tidy space before. His style was simple, the wall behind the bed was painted a dark forest green, the bedding a perfect match in color. His furniture was all simple and black, two nightstands on either side of the bed, both holding a dimly lit lamp. Across from the bed sat his dresser, a large mirror on top and not much else. The wall with the door leading to his bathroom had another door, one she assumed led to his closet. It was set up nearly identically to Robb’s stark white room, just flipped to the opposite side.
As per usual, too many fleeting worries crowded her brain. The only difference being that her focus wasn’t on one of her upcoming cases and was instead fixated on the person, or persons, who may or may not want her dead. There really wasn’t a way to know for sure, was there? Not until they caught the people involved and even then, they could lie.
She sighed, turning over in Jon’s bed to reach for her phone.
Are you awake?
The answer came quickly. Yes. Are you ok?
I’m kinda freaking out. Can you come here?
She barely heard the soft footsteps on the other side of the door before it opened and Jon’s soft voice rang out in the darkness.
“Sansa?”
She turned the bedside lamp on, squinting at the sudden brightness as she beckoned him in. Jon shut the door quietly and sat down on the side of the bed, angling his body towards her.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.
“No, I just need to get my mind off it all.” She sighed.
He was silent for a moment before saying, “When I was a kid, I was absolutely convinced I would be pantsed and become the laughing stock of the whole school.”
Trying to stifle her giggle, she asked, “What?”
“I was so scared of it happening that I wore a belt to school every single day, even if I wore basketball shorts. And for an entire year, I wore two pairs of boxers just for added protection.”
“No.” He said dryly. He smirked when she could no longer hold back her laughter. “I don’t know a single person that has ever been pantsed. Ever.”
“Why on earth would that be something for you to be worried about, then?”
“Fuck if I know, I was a weird kid.” He grinned, taking in the vision of Sansa curled beneath his blankets in his bed, wearing his clothes. Jon didn’t think he had ever seen a better sight.
She laughed before sobering. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around.” She said softly.
He reached for her hand. Squeezing gently. “It’s okay, Sansa. I promise.”
“Will you tell me what happened?” She saw him starting to object and cut him off swiftly. “I don’t mean tonight. But I know you had at least two more years left in your contract and service isn’t something you just get out of because you wake up one morning and realize you’re bored of it.”
“You’re right. There’s a lot more to it.”
She nodded, understanding that he either did not want to tell her or wasn’t ready to before asking, “Will you stay?”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m not going anywhere, San.” Jon said slowly.
Her smile was back as she poked him in the chest with her free hand. “I meant in your bed, Jon.”
Jon’s mouth went dry, refusing to look into what her statement could mean. She couldn’t possibly be asking for anything less than innocent. Her brother was just across the apartment, she wouldn’t do that with him so close, would she? She didn’t even like him like that, he was sure. She didn’t expect-
“T-t-to sleep-” She stuttered, a fierce blush blooming across her face. “I didn’t mean it like that.” She raked her hand through her hair and looked over his shoulder. “I just don’t want to be alone, I can’t ever shut my brain off and I won’t sleep.”
When she finally forced herself to look back at her brother’s best friend, she found a blush of equal ferocity on his cheeks. The sight was surprising, but sweet to her. Sansa had never seen the man in any state of discomfort before and she was unable to stop herself from thinking, hoping, that she may have more of a chance with him than she previously thought.
He nodded his affirmation before letting her hand fall back to the blanket and standing, hesitating at the bedside.
“I usually sleep in my boxers.” Jon mumbled.
“I don’t mind.”
He stepped out of his pants before hesitating to remove his his shirt, ultimately deciding to leave it on. Sansa wondered what just happened as she shut the light off and slid into his bed beside her, Ghost’s body warm at their feet. It wasn’t as if she had never seen him without a shirt on, she and Robb had just gone to the beach with him just the summer before and couldn’t remember there being anything remarkable about his chest besides the fine cut of his abs that had made her nearly drool and had given her quite a bit of ammo for future fantasies. Deciding to think on it later, she curled up facing him and was asleep in moments. Thanking whatever gods that had placed this woman in his path, he watched her until his eyes grew heavy and he joined her in a blissful sleep that was, for once, free from nightmares.
*
There were few things that took Jon’s breath away. The visual of Sansa Stark, wearing his clothes, hair long and loose down her back and mussed from sleep was one of them. He was in his and Robb’s kitchen, making breakfast for the two of them when she stumbled out of his room, rubbing her bleary eyes.
“Coffee’s made if you want some.” He pointed to the machine on the counter and went back to the stove.
She poured herself a cup and sat down at the table, resisting the urge to fold her arms together and lay her head back down. Jon’s body warmth beside her the night before had been soothing, like a balm to her fried nerves. Sansa felt as though no time had passed at all between shutting her eyes and opening them to the light of day.
A plate of food being placed in front of her broke her form her reverie and she smiled her thanks. As she let her gaze wander over his form, she was disappointed to find him completely clothed once again.
“Sleep well?” Jon’s voice was pleasantly gruff from sleep and it warmed her insides to hear.
“Like a rock. Thank you for staying.”
“Anytime.” He promised. Hoping the occasion would rise again, although he hoped under better circumstances.
They made light conversation while they ate and Sansa found herself giddy for the pure domesticity of it all.
Jon suggested going back to Sansa’s house before the hardware store, to allow her the opportunity to change and so that he could take the measurements he needed for her new security system also to see if more cleaning materials would be needed. She suggested a flamethrower.
*
Sansa stood back and took in the sight of her defiled kitchen, trying to remain calm. Her hand shakily covered her mouth and she gulped back a sob. Jon came up behind her and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. There were no words of comfort that he could offer to change what had already happened, all he could do was be a silent presence of support and protection.
This was a home that Sansa had spent so long wishing and working for. She had put her sweat and tears into it, making every aspect of it perfect for her and some unknown asshole had come in and ruined it. She swallowed thickly again, trying to force herself to move out of the doorway. She felt her eyes begin to water and quickly tamped down the urge to cry. There was too much to do to be swept up in emotion.
Stepping passed Sansa into the once homey kitchen, a room filled with plants, all white cabinets and comforting warm wood tones, the glimmer of the blood reflecting in a sunbeam on her upper cabinets caught Jon’s eye. Furrowing his brow, he ignored the puddles at his feet and stepped up to the offending sight, turning his head to the side before reaching up and putting his right index finger in the largest splatter.
“It’s still wet?” He asked no one in particular. “That shouldn’t be possible.” He rubbed his index finger with his thumb and noted that the substance was sticky as well.
“Jon?”
“I don’t think this is blood.” He turned around to show her his hand. “If it were blood, it should have dried and turned brownish by now. This is still just as wet and red as it was last night. Maybe it’s corn syrup or something? Whatever it is, it isn’t blood.”
“I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.” Sansa replied. “How the fuck do you even clean up corn syrup?”
Jon rinsed his hand in her sink as Sansa googled how to clean up spilled corn syrup on her phone. “It says to use lemon juice or vinegar with dish soap. Well, at least it’s not a biohazard anymore.” She said thoughtfully
“Not a biohazard, no. But, I think it’s going to stain everything pretty badly.” Jon held up his fingers to show they were stained red. “We should probably pick up paint too.”
She and Jon made quick work putting together a list of the things they needed from the hardware store. Sansa let him drive again when they left, using the freedom of the passenger’s seat to let her mind wander.
There weren’t very many people she thought could want to put this much time into the threats. I was a long time to stick to something that outwardly, showed no signs of causing the red head any distress. Which could mean this person was either very angry with her or very unhinged. Neither of those prospects were comforting and she was slowly coming to terms with the fact that regardless of the motives behind it, the people involved were very dangerous.
If it weren’t for her brother and Jon, she’d be in much worse shape.
If it weren’t for Jon’s ever calm presence beside her, she would be in a constant state of panic.
The trip to the store didn’t take as long as she thought it would as she pushed the cart and Jon flitted from aisle to aisle with her trailing behind. She watched the cart fill up wondering how she was going to get all of the blood off of her walls and exactly how many gallons of paint it was going to take to cover it all up if it did end up staining. In the end, they left the store with two gallons of paint, various bottles of detergent and vinegar and a new security system.
*
Jon tried to help with the massive job of cleaning the kitchen but Sansa protested vehemently, saying he should focus on installing the security cameras first. It was her home after all, she had said, she wanted to be the one to cleanse it of its horror.
Secretly, Sansa just didn’t want Jon to see her crying as she scrubbed.
The work was grueling. Her arms ached as she scrubbed and scrubbed and every time she would think she had cleaned it all up, she would find another drop just out of view. Sansa wouldn’t be satisfied unless every single speck of blood was gone from her home. She cleaned in a frenzy, trying to accomplish as much as possible, as quickly as possible. The red head wanted her home purified of the evidence of her violating visitor.
The smell of vinegar was burning her nose after she finished washing the walls in her dining room. She only had the floors left to scrub before she could paint everything over and moved to open every window she could, knowing the smells would only get worse when she started covering the deep red stains that marked an echo of the splattered liquid. The crisp autumn breeze was soothing and for the first time she she had set foot in her home that day, she felt like she could breathe again. This was her home, she would make it comfortable again- even if it meant she couldn’t feel her arms anymore.
When Jon made his way inside from installing the last security camera, he noticed the kitchen was so clean and free of the awful mess that it was gleaming in the sunlight. The house smelled faintly of vinegar and fresh paint, despite the breeze sweeping in through the open windows. He found Sansa in the bathroom, washing her hands all the way up to her elbows. She had paint in her hair and there was a streak across the back of her pants like she had leaned against a cabinet just after she had painted it.
“Why don’t you just shower?” He chuckled.
“I was planning on painting the dining room after we eat lunch and I didn’t want to shower just to get all dirty again.” She defended, scrunching up her nose in an expression that Jon had always found adorable. “I was thinking of ordering from the cafe up the street. They deliver so we wouldn’t have to go anywhere.”
“Sounds good to me. Got a menu?”
She placed their orders as Jon set up the security footage to play on her television. He settled back into her couch when he was done, shutting his eyes and resting his head back.
The feel of her lips on the side of his cheek just above his beard had him opening his eyes to look up at her. Sansa’s long hair was falling into her face from the angle she bent over him and her eyes held a twinkle he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Thank you for being so sweet and helping me with all of this.”
“San, you don’t have to keep thanking me for all of this. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He said, reaching up to push her hair back behind her ear before pulling her down next to him. “For the foreseeable future, you’re stuck with me.”
“I wouldn’t call it stuck.” She smiled quickly. “Now, enough talking. Show me how this damn thing works.”
It was simple enough to follow and soon enough they were watching the delivery man walk to the front door with their lunch. They ate in companionable silence, sharing smiles over their food as the radio continued playing in the background.
Notes:
Some lightheartedness to make up for torturing Sansa so much. Thank you all so much for giving this story a chance! I'm blown away by the response and it makes me so happy to see people enjoying it.
As usual, come join me on tumblr!
I've also created a pinterest board for this story, which you can find here.
Chapter Text
Robb called just as Sansa was gathering up the rest of the painting supplies. She glanced at the phone sitting on her dining room table and swore, looking to her hands that were still covered with wet paint.
“Jon, can you get that?” She held up her arms helplessly.
He laughed as he picked up her phone and her stomach flipped at his boyish grin before she left the room to put the brushes away and attempt to clean the paint off her exposed skin. Her clothes were done for, covered in streaks of paint after she had jokingly swiped her roller across Jon’s back and he had swiftly run after her, laughing as she shrieked when the favor was returned.
She heard Jon tell Robb goodbye and suddenly he was standing in her bathroom, a smile still quirking up the side of his mouth as he found her scrubbing her arms for the second time that day. “Robb is coming for dinner.” He said.
“Crap, okay.” She sighed. “This is hopeless. I’m gonna have to shower.”
“You have time. He said he needs to stop at home to shower too so he doesn’t stink up the place. I asked him to bring Ghost if that’s alright with you.”
“Of course that’s okay.” She realized they hadn’t decided where she would be sleeping that night. She had assumed that she would sleep in the house since it was cleaned up, but had no idea if it included nights as well when Jon had said he wouldn’t be leaving her side. “Are we staying here tonight, then?”
“It’s up to you. If you want to, we can. If you don’t want to, I don’t mind giving up my bed again.”
“You didn’t give it up, though.” She pointed out with a grin. “I quite remember sharing. Can’t forget really- you’re a heater box.”
“Sorry,” He scoffed. “A beautiful girl asked me to get in bed with her. How could I refuse?”
She snorted a laugh before poking Jon in the stomach. “Out, out. I have to get this paint off of me.”
“Unless you want to share the shower, too.” He commented before he barked out a laugh at her blush and walked out of the bathroom, trying not to think of the red head naked, wet and sudsy in the shower.
*
Sansa was surprised to find Jon cooking when she emerged from her bedroom, dressed in leggings and a tank top. She stopped in the doorway, momentarily taken aback and although it wasn’t the first time he had cooked for her, it was the first time she’d been mentally present enough to realize what a sight it was.
He’d tied half his hair up to keep it out of his eyes and he flitted to and from the stove, adding spices as he stirred. He looked completely comfortable in her kitchen and Sansa allowed herself a moment to think about what it could be like if he just never left.
She tore herself from her thoughts as a blinding white mass of fur bounded into her legs.
“Hi, Ghost!” She dropped to her knees to put the great wolf of a dog. “I missed you today, did you miss me?”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Jon laughed. “He likes you more than me.”
“He’s got good taste.” Robb said. He held out his arms, holding a six pack in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. “I come bearing gifts. Beer for us, wine for my lady sister.”
He placed both in the fridge before turning to his sister, his clear eyed gaze switching between his best friend at the stove and Sansa.
“I couldn’t help but notice the two of you were absent from our apartment when I left for work this morning.” He said slyly.
“What? We were there all night.” Sansa said distractedly, trying to keep Ghost from licking her face.
Robb could see Jon’s back stiffen and smirked before he said, “Oh? Then maybe just Jon was gone then. I didn’t see you on the couch.”
“Wasn’t on the couch.” Jon mumbled, refusing to look away from the pot he was attending to.
“I asked Jon to stay in his room with me last night. I couldn’t sleep.” Deciding she had showered Ghost with enough love for now, she stood up, brushing the fur from her legs. The wolf meandered into another room, probably to go curl up somewhere warm to sleep, she thought.
Jon turned, brandishing his tasting spoon at Robb when he noticed the wide grin splitting the soldier’s face.
“Jon and Sansa sitting in a tree-” Robb began to sing before Sansa cut him off.
“Oh my god, Robb. Stop.” She groaned. “Nothing happened, Jon is a perfect gentleman.”
He pulled his sister to his side, hugging her tightly. He turned her slightly and bent down to whisper in her ear so Jon wouldn’t hear his words.
“He’s got it bad for you, if you didn’t know. I know you feel something for him too, don’t deny it. Go for it, Sans. He’s a good man.” Robb pulled away from her to smile softly at her as he let her go with a wink. “What’s for dinner?”
“Spaghetti and garlic bread.” Jon answered. “Didn’t have much time for anything else.”
The men’s conversation became muffled to Sansa as she thought over what Robb had just told her. If what he said was true, her chances with Jon were at the very least existent. Had they talked about her? Why tell her to do something that could make a large part of his own life uncomfortable if it didn’t work out between his best friend and his little sister if it wasn’t true?
Sansa could count on one hand how many times he brother had lied to her and she didn’t think this was one of those times. There was nothing for Robb to gain from their dating. She shook the thoughts from her head and told herself she was getting too far ahead based on something she hadn’t even talked to Jon about, let alone something she didn’t know if Jon would even be interested in. Plus, with all of the crap going on in Sansa’s life, it would probably be for the best if she just put dating to the wayside as she usually did.
The wine Robb brought over was beginning to sound like a good idea.
*
Two glasses of wine later and Sansa was feeling good. Tipsy and warm, content to sit back and watch Jon and Robb squabble over what to watch when they settled into her living room after dinner. It was the largest room in the house, the walls were full of windows covered in gauzy white curtains. A plush cream colored sectional sofa sat in the middle in front of the large tv mounted to the only wall without windows. The couch was covered in throw pillows and blankets, akin to a nest that Sansa was all too happy to bury herself in.
She could almost forget the looming threat hanging over her head but her thoughts eventually drifted to all of the enemies she had made doing her job. There weren’t many, but Sansa knew at least some of the criminals she helped put away weren’t happy. And how could they be? By achieving a guilty verdict, she had ripped their lives from them, they money, their families. Part of the mob or not, they were still just people.
Sansa sobered up slowly, a melancholy filling up the parts of her that had been filled with happiness.
Jon noticed her tense up beside him on the couch where her right side was pressed up against him, as if she had to force herself to fit in a spot not covered in pillows rather than move them aside to make room. He gave Robb a pointed look and gestured with his head to bring the change of mood to his attention. His furrowed his brow as looked passed Jon to his sister who was seemingly trying to become part of the furniture.
“Sans?”
She turned her head with the sluggishness of waking from a dream before she said, “There’s so many people that could be behind this. I’ve had so many cases the past couple of years and I haven’t lost one yet. How could the police possibly figure it out? I can’t give them all of the information they need- most of it is still classified.”
“Then the three of us will have to figure it out.” Jon said as he stood and moved to the other side of the coffee table, crossing his arms. “I know you can’t give the police much, but maybe you could let us see your files?”
“I don’t know.” Sansa said, raking shaky fingers through her hair. “Like I said, a lot of it is classified. But it isn’t like either of you have a reason to use any of it so I don’t see the harm as long as no one finds out.”
“We don’t need everything.” Robb said. “Maybe just the bare bones of it all. Like who was convicted and when. Whether or not they’ve been released or have had any contact with people outside the prison if they’re still incarcerated. Maybe the companies they worked for, if it’s something that would anger the higher ups by having lost a right hand.”
“I haven’t been so lucky as to get anyone close to the top. I mostly get the little guys, people who don’t know anything about the inner workings. They only know enough to carry out what they’ve been told to do and nothing else. It’s why they’re relatively easy to catch. If you don’t know what steps to avoid, you leave yourself open and make mistakes.”
“Maybe you were getting close.” Jon suggested. “You’re trying to take down the mob, right?”
“Trying, failing.” Sansa replied. “And mobs plural. There are three separate entities working in this city alone. I have no idea how far their reach is but I know Winterfell alone isn’t big enough to allow three major crime organizations to coexist at the same time.”
“Who are the three?” Robb asked.
“The Lannisters, the Tyrells and the Targaryens.” Sansa sighed. “Most of the people we’ve gotten have been from the Lannisters and Tyrells. No one from the Targaryens ever seem to crop up.”
Jon was suddenly sure the ground would crumble beneath his feet if he spoke. He felt the tips of his ears get hot when he asked, “The Targaryens?”
“Yes,” Sansa said, looking up to him. “They’re the oldest crime family in this city. I assume that’s why we can’t catch anyone- they’re too good at what they do.
“That’s not why.” Jon stated. His heart was sure to beat out of his chest. He knew this bit of information he had carried around for months meant nothing to Robb, but if Sansa knew… Would she still want him to be in her life? Would she view him differently? It was the reason he hadn’t said anything when his Watch ended. Why he hadn’t told her all of the reasons his Watch had ended in the first place.
Her questioning stare made his voice catch in his throat.
“What do you mean?” She asked.
Robb was looking between the two, silently urging Jon to finally tell her the truth. He quietly got up and decided to let Ghost out in the fenced in backyard to let them have some privacy.
“There’s stuff I haven’t told you.” Jon started. He looked like he’s rather run from whatever conversation they were about to have so Sansa patted the cushion next to her and hoped Jon would sit. It took a long moment, warring emotions crossing his face before he took the offered seat.
“Like what?” She softly asked.
“Stuff about my family. Stuff I found out a few months ago that I never wanted to tell you. I didn’t want you to hate me.”
Sansa grabbed his hand tightly at that. “Jon, there is not one single thing you could tell me that would ever make me hate you. I’m just kind of confused why you’re telling me this now if you don’t want to. And what it has to do with what’s happening now.”
Jon took a deep breath before forcing it out all at once. His words fell from his mouth like a running faucet that he couldn’t shut off. “I’m a Targaryen. I’m one of them.”
“What?” Sansa was shaking her head slowly as though the statement couldn’t permeate her ears. “Your mom-”
“Was a Snow. Aye, that’s true. She never told me who my father was and when she passed away a few years ago, I just figured I would never know. But then about a year ago, a woman came to the apartment saying she was my aunt. My father’s sister. I didn’t believe her at first because she’s our age, but she brought along his will and a copy of a letter from my mother telling him she’d had a baby and that she didn’t want him anywhere near me. Her name is Daenerys Targaryen and she’s the head of the company.”
“Are you involved?” She asked shakily, afraid of the answer. “In any way?”
“No!” He declared. “She wants me to take over the business, but I’ve been telling her no. But besides that, she’s been turning the business legitimate. That’s why you haven’t caught anyone from that group. She’s been cutting ties with less than reputable sources and she’s been making business deals with actual companies, not tyrants with money.”
Robb made his way back into the living room at that moment. “It’s all true, San. I was there when she showed up. She seemed serious about turning the company around. Said she’d lost too many people she cared about for things to keep going the way they had been.”
“We could ask for her help with this.” Jon offered. “She has connections in that world.”
“I can’t be seen using any connections to mobs I’m trying to dismantle. It would make me look crooked.” Sansa argued.
“The people I’m talking about aren’t involved with that side anymore. They’ve left the criminal side just as Daenerys has and they’re doing the same thing you are- trying to collapse the companies that pay for loyalty with blood. They’re trying to build a better Westeros.”
“You seem pretty confident about that, Jon.” She had her lawyer face on. She felt the cool mask settle over her features, wishing she could have time to come to terms with the assault of information she had been given. “How do you know that she isn’t just trying to get you on her side and drag you under before you even realize you’re in trouble?”
“I’ve seen her in action, Sansa.” Jon defended. “She’s good at what she does and she’s honest to a fault. I don’t think she’d lie to me. She doesn’t want the company anyway. She says she’s been doing all of this in order for me to take it all over. She’d have no reason to lie about doing all of that if she just planned on throwing me under the bus. Especially when I don’t want it either.”
“I think he’s right.” Robb spoke. “You’ve known Jon for years. Has his trust in someone ever been misplaced?”
“No.” She let Jon’s hand fall back into his lap, standing before she said, “I’ve never known you to be wrong about anyone before. Do you think I could meet with her? Maybe she’s got more information than I do on who could have it out for me.”
“I’m sure that would be fine. I’ll call her later and set it up. You’re going back to work tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, I can’t afford to miss another day. I’m going to be really far behind as it is.”
Robb clapped his hands together and smiled, glad the tension in the room had dissipated somewhat. “On that note, I’m gonna get going. We’re leaving bright and early tomorrow and I still have to pack.”
Sansa stepped in to hug him tightly. “I’m going to miss you.” She mumbled into his chest.
“I’m not going off to war just yet, San. I’ll be back before you know it.” He wrapped his arms around her in return. “I want you to call me if anything happens. I won’t always have my phone but I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” He let her go, ruffling her hair like he had when they were still children with no worries of the world.
“Jon, your bag is still in my car, you wanna walk me out and grab it?”
He rose fro his seat on the couch and followed the elder Stark, brushing his hand against the younger’s shoulder as he passed. She gave him a small smile, deciding to clean up the kitchen before she went to bed.
Jon and Robb didn’t speak until the closed the front door behind them.
“Do you think Daenerys will know anything?” Robb asked.
“I’m not sure, but I hope so. At the very least, it’s one lead we can cross off so we can focus on others.” Jon shrugged.
“Are you ever going to tell her?” He asked softly, not wanting his sister to overhear.
“I don’t know.” Jon echoed Robb’s tone. “She deserves better.”
“She deserves you, Snow.” Robb reached a hand to Jon’s shoulder, squeezing hard. “I couldn’t choose anyone better for her. And seven hells, if anyone should be upset at the idea of you two it should be me.” He laughed. “But I’m not. I think you’d be good for each other if you two would just get your heads out of your asses.”
Robb went to his jeep and retrieved Jon’s duffle bag. He handed it to him before poking him in the chest. “I’ll see you when I get back. Don’t leave her alone.”
“Got it, Your Grace.”
Chapter 5
Notes:
Thank you so much for reading and I promise that the next chapter won't take as long as this one did!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Sansa poured herself another glass of wine. The previous two felt like a faint memory and her anxiety was quickly turning the corner into blind panic. She hoped the wine would take the edge off, but wasn’t very optimistic.
She heard the front door shut, followed by the sharp click of the lock. She took a large gulp of her wine and called Jon into the kitchen with her. Before the liquid could settle in her belly, he was standing on the opposite side of the island, looking at her expectantly.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t tell me.” She started. “I know my job makes it difficult sometimes. Gods know I haven’t even seen you in months before yesterday, but I am always here for you. I’d never do something that would hurt you. Or your family, for that matter.”
Jon stared at Sansa for a long moment before coming over to where she leaned against her cabinets and took her wine glass from her. He set it down on the counter behind her before sweeping her into a hug.
“I didn’t want to put you in a bad position.” He sighed against her hair. “I wasn’t sure when I found out if there were things Daenerys would tell me that would make it impossible to tell you.” He rubbed her back and released her enough to look down at her, searching her face for a sign that she was upset but saw nothing other than fatigue. “By then, I was beyond the wall and everything else happened so fast, there just wasn’t time to tell you and it seemed like it had been so long since I found out that it would look like I was keeping things from you on purpose which was never my intention.”
“Will you tell me everything now?”
“Yes.” He looked into her eyes finally, blue clashing with gray. “Do you want me to set up the meeting with Daenerys first?”
“Please.” She nodded. “I’m going to get ready for bed and you can meet me in my room?”
Jon stepped away from her and went to find his phone to call his aunt while Sansa walked to her bedroom to change into pajamas. The soft murmur of his voice and the soft rustle of her clothes were the only sounds to accompany her. As she so often did when she was surrounded by quiet, she lost herself in her own thoughts.
She needed to make sure Jon knew she wasn’t upset with him. She hadn’t exactly been the kind of friend to inspire confidence lately and Sansa knew she had been letting herself get too wrapped up in work lately. She made a silent vow to herself that she would do better. She would be there for Robb and for Jon, no more going months between seeing her favorite men.
Ghost was already laying at the foot of her bed when she exited her closet dressed in sweats and an old over sized t shirt that had once belonged to Robb. She made herself comfortable amidst the pillows against her headboard and waited for Jon to be done with his phone call.
She heard him wandering around the house turning off lights and checking the doors and windows and soon he was standing in the doorway to her bedroom carrying his overnight bag.
“Make yourself at home.” She looked down to Ghost who was taking up most of the empty spot on the bed. “Wherever you can.”
Jon cracked a smile and nudged Ghost over enough that he could sit at the edge of the bed facing Sansa, one leg hanging off the side as he leaned against the foot board.
“I should probably start at the beginning.” He said. “Which would be right before I deployed the last time. Daenerys came to our apartment about a week before we left and told me the truth and when I didn’t believe her, she showed me my mother’s letter- the one she had originally written to Rhaegar Targaryen to tell him she was pregnant with me. Even with evidence, I couldn’t believe it. That my mother had lied to me my entire life, that I was heir to a massive company- not that I want it. But more importantly, that I had family after all.”
Sansa wished she could lean forward to touch him somehow, but the way that Jon refused to even look in her direction made her think he’d bolt if she moved the slightest bit. She continued to sit and listen, offering whatever silent support she could, knowing she could only help him if he let her.
“I was still reeling from it when we left. I was distracted. I wasn’t paying attention.” Jon’s eyes focused on some point above her head and glazed over, rubbing his chest over his heart. “I got stabbed. Can’t even tell you how it happened, it happened so fast.”
Sansa’s breath was coming quickly, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Jon suddenly looked to her as if he noticed her for the first time.
“I’m okay, Sans. It’s been almost a year.” He insisted.
“You-” Sansa stopped herself. “That doesn’t explain how you got out. Robb’s been injured in the line of duty before, and he’s still in. What was different?”
“I died.” Jon said simply. “The Night’s Watch battalion’s vows only bind you until your death and since I died, I was free to go.”
“You died.” Sansa said flatly. Jon nodded and she started shaking her head, gripping a pillow to her chest.
He got off the bed then and started reaching for the bottom of his shirt. Sansa stared at him in question until Jon had pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it into her laundry basket, turning to her. She moved off the bed slowly, still afraid he would run away from her with how uncomfortable he looked but needing to be close to see what he was trying to show her.
Jon’s chest was a mottled mess of scars. Thick raised ridges surrounded angry pink skin in multiple places across his skin. There were at least seven of them that she could see, most of them were in his stomach, but the one that looked the worst was the curved cut above where his heart beat in his chest. It moved with the force of Jon’s breath and before she could stop herself, she was touching it with the barest graze of her fingers.
A strangled noise made its way out of Jon’s throat. Sansa tore her gaze away from his chest and stared up at him, eyes clouded over with tears.
“There was this woman at the hospital- she brought me back. I still had to stay there for the full length of my deployment to heal, but it gave me time to do research on the Targaryens and from what I could tell, everything I was told seems true.”
“You died.” Sansa repeated.
“I came back.”
He said it simply as if there was no problem that Jon Snow had come so close to being lost to the world. Lost to her. Suddenly it seemed as if Sansa’s entire being shifted and she could no longer pretend that the feelings she harbored for Jon were just a small crush. No, Sansa Stark was in love. Completely and utterly in love with this beautiful man standing before her in her bedroom, looking as if he had never belonged anywhere else.
She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him fiercely. Sansa didn’t know if Jon felt the same way she did, but it was that moment that she knew it didn’t matter. As long as he was in her life, she would no longer take his presence for granted. His arms came up around her shoulders after a beat, returning her embrace slowly but no less passionately. She pressed her face into his chest, the nasty scar above his heart rubbing against her cheek.
“Love, I promise it’s okay.” Jon started to reassure her again but Sansa was shaking her head against him.
She pulled away slightly, eyes brimming with tears. “I almost lost you and I had no idea and now I’ve dragged you into this mess and I can’t-” She cut herself off as her tears overflowed and fell down her flushed cheeks.
Jon brought his hands up to cradle her head, fingers sliding through her hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Sansa huffed a laugh that may have been a sob. “You can’t promise that. No one can.”
“I can, and I am. I promised I would protect you and I will.”
“Is this why you didn’t want to sleep in your boxers last night?” She asked suddenly.
Jon laughed. “Yeah. I didn’t want you to see. I still didn’t know if I would get to tell you what happened and I didn’t want you to find out just because I didn’t have a shirt on.”
Sansa broke the embrace and wiped her face hastily. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, trying not to think of the faceless men that would have run Jon through with their blades, intent on taking this man from the world.
“From now on, we have to be honest with each other.” She said. “I’ll tell you everything, and you do the same for me.”
“As long as you can promise that we won’t go months between seeing each other again.”
When Sansa looked up, she saw something akin to longing in his eyes. Or maybe he was just imploring her to be a better friend. It was a small thing to ask of her, one that she had already decided on once she realized just how much she had missed out on- not just with Jon but with her brother too.
“I never meant for it to be that long.” She muttered. “I didn’t realize how much time had gone by.”
Jon nodded but didn’t say anything.
“I promise it won’t be months.” She insisted. “It’s not like I’m happy about it. Look at how much happened that we both missed out on because I had my head up my ass.”
“You didn’t have your head up your ass.” Jon laughed again, eyes filled with mirth. “You were busy with work, and I get it. I have been in that position before. But I did miss you.”
“I missed you too.” Sansa admitted. “I always meant to call you and meet up and then another case would come along.” She groaned and pulled at the ends of her hair. “Okay, I promise not to get swept away with my cases and you promise to tell me things. Deal?”
“Deal.” Jon reached down for the bag he had dropped on the floor near the door to her room. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“You’re not going to stay?” Sansa asked, blushing.
“I didn’t know if you wanted me to,” He said, pausing with the strap to his bag halfway over his shoulder. “Do you want me to?”
“Last night was the best night of sleep I’ve had in months.” She admitted. “I understand if you want to stay in the guest room, but I don’t have a problem with sharing.” I’d prefer you did, She thought.
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” He quipped, shucking his pants quickly, leaving him in only his boxers as he slipped beneath her covers like he belonged there.
*
Jon woke early the next morning before the sun had even risen to a weight on his chest and something tickling his nose. He brushed the offending thing away, realizing it was Sansa’s hair that was invading his mouth. Struggling to open his eyes, he looked down to see Sansa’s head on his chest, her arm resting against his stomach, one of her legs with entwined with his. Jon leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head before shutting his eyes once more and let sleep reclaim him.
In what seemed like a split second, Sansa’s alarm was going off and she was extricating herself from the tangle of limbs that held her prisoner in bed to turn it off. Jon hoped she would lay back down for a few more minutes, but she sat up on the edge of the bed to stretch before standing. She was gathering her clothes before she noticed Jon watching her from the blankets, eyes barely open.
“’Morning.” He rasped.
Sansa wished she could record the sound of his morning voice so she could play it over and over.
“Good morning.” She chirped. “How’d you sleep?”
“Like the dead.” He replied. Sansa glared at him halfheartedly for the joke. “Sorry, too soon?”
She rolled her eyes and left the room to get ready for work.
*
In the time it took Sansa to get ready, Jon had taken Ghost out and started making breakfast. He handed her a mug of coffee as she entered the kitchen.
“I could get used to this.” Sansa smiled over the rim of her mug.
Jon smiled that boyish grin but stayed silent, not willing to spoil anything by telling her he hoped she would.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” He asked.
“Well, I figured since I have to work, you could come with me and while I’m getting my stuff done, you could go over some files that I think might be the top contenders for whoever is doing this.”
“Your bosses are okay with you having strange men in your office while you work?”
“Maybe not, but I’ll just tell them you’re helping with a case if they ask.” Sansa shrugged. “It’s not a total lie.”
Jon handed Sansa a plate of food and excused himself to take a shower. Sansa ate standing at the kitchen island while she wrote down a list of the cases she thought could be helpful. She heard the shower stop as Ghost let out the low rumble of a growl. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her front door.
“Jon?” She yelled out.
Sansa left her kitchen and started walking backwards quietly to the back of the house, keeping her eye on the front door. “Jon?” She called out again, more insistently.
Suddenly, he was behind her, still wet, clothed only in hastily donned boxers. He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her slightly. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s at the door.”
Ahead of them, Ghost was still growling at the door, hackles raised.
“Ghost, to me.” Jon commanded. “Stay behind me.” He pushed Sansa behind him, walking quickly to the living room that was to the left of the entrance to the house. Never taking his eyes off of the door, he asked Sansa to check the security cameras.
She grabbed the remote from the couch and turned on the television, showing the little videos that recorded the outside of her home. “I don’t see anyone.”
Jon moved to the door and looked through the peephole, confirming that no one was on the small porch. He opened it, looking down to the doormat where a box sat. A small brown package, the sides were darkened and wet. “Fuck.”
“What is it?” Sansa asked.
“Another box.” Jon said grimly.
Sansa pushed passed Jon into the doorway and peered down at the package. “It’s wet. Hang on.”
As Sansa walked away, Jon stepped over the box to peer beyond the porch to see if anyone was lurking on the street, beyond the view of the security cameras. Ghost had stopped growling before Jon opened the door, so he didn’t think there would be anyone staying around.
“Can you help me?” Sansa asked, once again in the doorway, holding pink cleaning gloves and a garbage bag. “I’ll lift it up and you get the bag under it.”
Once the damp box was secured in the bag, Sansa carried it to the dining room table where she glared at it uncomfortably. She bit her bottom lip. “That’s the same kind of box the doves came in.”
Jon nodded haltingly and silently asked for Sansa’s gloves. He opened the box carefully, peeling the tape away as smoothly as possible, not wanting to destroy evidence for when they inevitably turned it into the police.
Inside the box was another dead dove, this one with its throat cut. The liquid in the box was the same blood that had covered Sansa’s kitchen mere days before and the stark contrast of red and white was jarring.
“Were the others this… gruesome?”
“No.” Sansa said. “Actually, they were pretty clean. This is new.”
Jon picked up the bird, turning it over to look at it. “There’s something in the cut.”
He grimaced at what he was about to do. Jon stuck a finger into the wound and felt a small rolled up piece of paper. Pulling it out, he read the only word written on the page.
Soon.
Chapter 6
Notes:
I just want to say thank you to everyone reviewing and giving kudos to this story, it really makes my day to see the support. This chapter is slightly slow, but it will start picking up soon, I promise.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Jon insisted on dropping the dove off at the police station before they went to Sansa’s office. Officer Clegane had an update for them as well, stating that the blood left in her home was indeed fake, confirming what she and Jon had already figured. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, Sansa wasn’t sure, but it was a relief to know no one had suffered to make such a mess.
The younger Stark’s office building was a maelstrom of people rushing back and forth, carrying files while looking harried. Many phones seemed to be ringing off the hook in the many cubicles that lined the space and no one seemed very interested in answering them. The building had no security, a situation that filled Jon with dread, but he supposed that with so many people milling about, there would be hardly a chance of anyone hurting Sansa making it through the crowd.
Her own office wasn’t a very large room, but it was set up in a way that it would be difficult for anyone to get to her if he sat on the opposite side of her desk. The room was decorated in dark woods. Bookshelves and filing cabinets lined the walls on either side of the large window looking out to the street. Her L-shaped desk was crowded with a computer in one corner, papers strewn across the rest. Two picture frames were the only personal touch to the room. One was of her and Ghost and the other was of her and Robb at some formal event.
Sansa swept into the room ahead of him, putting her bag underneath the desk and setting herself to the task of cleaning the papers off the surface. Jon closed the door behind him, pleased to see it was a sturdy oak, with a small sliver of a window that spanned the length of it on the side nearest the handle. He checked for a lock, but there wasn’t one.
After Sansa had cleared off the surface of the table, she moved to start putting the papers away in their files.
“Do you want those case files now?” She asked. “Or is there something else we should do first? I have a lot to catch up on so I don’t know how much help I can be.”
“I’d like to see what you’ve come up with already. We can go from there.”
She walked to the furthest filing cabinet across the room and waved at him to sit. Sansa picked through file after file, moving from drawer to drawer, seemingly knowing exactly where the files were that she wanted.
She handed him an armful of very full manila folders and said, “There aren’t many, but I think these are probably our best bet.”
“Aren’t many?” Jon asked, stunned. “Just how many cases have you had the past couple of years if this isn’t many?”
“Much more than that.” She tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace. “If I knew who was behind all of this, I could find that file much faster.”
“If we knew who it was, we wouldn’t be doing this.” Jon pointed out.
Sansa let a small sound of agreement from the back of her throat and took a seat behind her desk, resigning herself to make a dent in the workload that awaited her.
Hours had gone by in a silence only broken by the sounds of rustling paper or Sansa typing away at her computer. Jon had made it through a couple dozen files, but none seemed even close to the type of twistedness that was required for whoever was behind the birds. He was losing focus on his task as he spent more and more of his time gazing at Sansa. She held herself with an air of proud ability, that she was aware of exactly what needed to be done and she flitted from task to task with practiced ease. She took phone calls that caused her to twist in her chair and allowed the sunlight streaming through her office window to filter through her hair, making it come alive with shifting reds that truly caused it to look like fire. Jon was entranced by the view and quietly excused himself to get coffee for them both, lest he make Sansa uncomfortable with the weight of his gaze.
The building’s break room wasn’t far from Sansa’s own office. The room was large, with high ceilings and tall windows that made it seem even bigger. There was a small kitchen to one side and the rest of the room was crowded with tables surrounded by chairs. He filled two paper cups with coffee, fixing Sansa’s with her preferred amount of cream and sugar while leaving his black. He was about to leave the room when he was interrupted by a gruff voice, sounding as though the owner had spent years never speaking a word and his throat was unused to the task.
The man speaking was slight, shorter than Jon by at least a head, his hair graying at the sides the same color as the goatee surrounding the man’s mouth that was quirked up in a friendly smile that Jon could only think of as slimy.
“So you’re Miss Stark’s guest.”
Jon turned but remained silent.
“I must ask why you’re here. I don’t know of any cases that she’s working on that would require outside… help.” He said.
“I suppose that’s up to her to decide.” Jon said, taking the coffees and moving to leave.
“That’s true, but I still need to know who you are.”
“You’ll have to figure that one out on your own.” Jon said, shouldering past the man. He could feel his eyes burning into his back for the duration of his walk back to Sansa’s office and decided to research the other man once he found out his name.
*
There was about an hour left in Sansa’s work day when Jon stumbled upon a case file that looked promising. It wasn’t very thick, but the information inside was disturbing.
“Sans?”
Sansa hummed as she finished typing something before turning to give him her full attention. “What’s up?”
“What do you know about this Roose Bolton guy?” Jon asked, holding his file up.
“From what I remember, he was a small fry working for the Lannisters. Hold on, let me pull up the information I have.” She turned to her computer to access the document she was looking for. “Okay, here it is. He was a hit man that we trapped and caught last year. He would skin his victims before finishing them off.” She said with a grimace.
“He sounds like a sadistic little fuck.” Jon shook his head. “Do you think he could be behind this?”
“As much as I would like to say yes, this says he died in prison shortly after he was arrested in some sort of fight.”
“Does he have any family?”
Sansa took a moment to read further into the file before answering him, “No, no family. He was never married and it doesn’t list any children or next of kin.”
Jon grunted. “Alright, I’ll keep looking. I don’t know how useful this is, though. I only have a few folders left here and until this one, there hasn’t been anyone promising in here.”
“We might have to let the police take the lead on this, then.” Sansa said. “As much as I agree with you and Robb that this is connected to my job, most of the people I’ve convicted are either dead or still in jail. I can’t even think of any other cases that would fit the criteria to be a suspect other than the ones I’ve given you.”
“I don’t like it.” Jon frowned. “I want to figure out who’s doing this so I can make sure you’re safe. If we have no idea who it could even be, there’s so much more to watch out for- so much more that could go wrong.”
At that moment, Sansa’s phone began to ring on her desk. Looking at the screen in disbelief, she said, “It’s Arya!”
“Put her on speaker.” Jon smiled, happy for a chance to speak to the younger Stark sister.
“Arya! I’m so glad you-”
“Sansa Stark, why the hell did I have to find out from Robb that you’re being threatened?!” Arya cut her off.
“Hello to you, too.” Sansa grumbled.
“Hi, Arya!” Jon called to the phone. “Sansa’s already been lectured twice about keeping this stuff to herself so you may as well give it up.”
“Is that Jon?” Arya asked.
“Yep! He’s my bodyguard for the foreseeable future.” The redhead chirped happily.
“Well, I’m glad you aren’t alone at least.” Arya sighed. “Listen, I’m going to come up tomorrow and stay until Saturday night- to teach you some self defense. Just in case, ya know?”
Sansa’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline. “Wow, Arya, that’s really nice of you. Are you sure you can take the time off, though?”
“Yeah, Gendry’s gonna watch the gym for a couple of days, it’ll be fine. Jon, you can help me, right?”
“Not a problem.” Jon reassured.
“You do realize you’ll be the punching bag for this teaching exercise, correct?” Arya laughed. “Wouldn’t want to fuck up your pretty little face.”
“I think I’ll manage.” Jon snorted. “See you tomorrow.”
“Bye guys.” Arya said before ending the call.
“I did not expect that. At all.” Sansa said, sitting back in her chair. She rubbed her hand over her face before glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. “Shit, it’s time to leave already.”
“Sansa Stark, leaving on time? The horror!” The ex soldier mocked, a grin splitting his face.
“Oh, hush.” She chided, barely keeping the small smile at bay. “Back to our earlier conversation, did you end up getting a meeting with your aunt? You never got a chance to tell me last night.”
Jon stood to help her gather her things to go home, grabbing their empty coffee cups and throwing them in the trash. “She wants us over for dinner on Sunday. She said she wanted to meet the woman in my life before talking business.” He rolled his eyes.
“Woman in your life?” Sansa laughed, secretly warming at the thought that she could be attached to Jon in that way, if he was open to it. “What, never brought a girl home before?”
The air in the room suddenly felt very thick as all semblance of lightheartedness left Jon’s form. “No, I haven’t.” He said seriously. “Not even when my mother was still alive, actually.”
Sansa looked at him quietly, unsure of what to say. “Jon...” She trailed off.
He looked back at her intensely, trying to convey what he couldn’t put into words quite yet.
Sansa cleared her throat awkwardly, “Let’s just go home, okay?”
*
The next day passed in much of the same way as the one before. Sansa worked quietly as Jon tried to parse out anyone that could be her tormentor from the information in her files. He wasn’t having any luck with the files Sansa pulled herself and resigned himself to starting alphabetically in her filing cabinets. The task was as boring as it was monotonous, especially because much of the information was blacked out due to the fact that it was kept in Sansa’s unlocked office.
He was quickly becoming frustrated with the lack of progress, but was happy that it was Friday. The day after next, they would be having dinner with his aunt and that would hopefully bring some kind of knowledge to their own investigation. The thought that she may not be able to help formed a pit in his stomach, knowing that he would be left without many options to protect Sansa.
Arya arrived later in the day in a swirl of sound and leather. She pulled up to Sansa’s house on a black motorcycle, rock music screaming from the speakers. Her hair fell around her face when she pulled off her helmet, grinning to see Sansa and Jon waiting for her on the porch with Ghost standing next to them.
“You drove all the way up here from the Stormlands on that?” Sansa asked in disbelief.
“Yep.” Arya replied cheerfully. “Birthday present from Gendry.”
“It suits you.” Jon said, moving down the steps to help the younger Stark with her bag.
The grin never left Arya face as she greeted the pair with hugs. “It’s been too long.”
“I’m sorry.” The redhead apologized. “I’ve been so busy-”
“It’s okay.” Arya reassured her. “I get it, especially with what Robb has told me. But, that’s why I’m here- to help you the only way I can.”
The trio ambled into the house slowly, in no real hurry to get out of the brisk autumn day. Arya stooped to greet Ghost when they were all settled into the living room. He returned her favor with a lick to her face which she wiped off as she laughed.
“So,” Arya began, “I know you’ve got Jon here as a human shield, but there’s never a problem with knowing how to defend yourself. Even if you never have an opportunity to use self defense, it’s always good to know how to get yourself out of trouble if no one else is around.”
“I think it’s a great idea.” Jon affirmed. “I can’t always be with you. Eventually, you’ll have to be on your own. Not that I’m going to leave you alone until this asshole is caught, but just in case something does happen and I’m not with you, you should know how to at least get away.”
“And it’ll be easier if Jon can act as your attacker because as strong as I am, there’s virtually no chance of you being ambushed by someone smaller than you.”
Sansa watched the two banter back and forth over how strong Arya could possibly be, feeling equal parts at home and also jealous. She envied their easy conversation and wondered if she and Jon would ever have that sort of relationship where she didn’t have to wonder what he was thinking or if she was looking too far into his actions. There was never any doubt in Sansa’s mind that Jon cared for her, but she was unsure of her place in his life. Was she a sister figure to him- like Arya was, or was it some sort of romantic relationship he was after? Sansa laughed to herself as she realized that Jon wouldn’t be sharing her bed if he viewed her as a sister and brought herself back to reality when she realized her two house guests were looking at her questioningly.
“What?” She asked.
“We want to go get dinner at that new restaurant downtown, that okay with you?” Arya asked slowly, having asked the same question at least twice with no answer.
“Y-yeah.” Sansa stammered, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
Arya declared that she was going to change her clothes and then they could be on their way, leaving Sansa alone with a bemused Jon who was still watching her with a small smile.
“Where’d you go, Stark?” He asked softly.
“Nowhere, just drifted off for a minute.”
“Sure, sure.” He laughed, clearly not believing a word she said.
Sansa accepted his hand to help her up off the couch. The warmth that tingled through her fingertips whenever her skin met his caused her blush to deepen and with another barking laugh, Jon lead her to the front door to wait for her little sister, never letting go of her hand.
Chapter 7
Summary:
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Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Dinner had gone well the night before, though Jon hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of being watched the entire time they were in the restaurant. He had surveyed the room, but didn’t notice anyone suspicious- something that deeply concerned him. He was beginning to worry that whoever was threatening Sansa was becoming more bold and he had no idea who it could be- which meant no way to stop them before they had the chance to attack. They knew her routine, they knew her house, and by now they had to know he was staying with her around the clock. Jon hoped that his presence would be enough of a deterrent that they wouldn’t have the courage to get close to her. The fact that they had been on her porch only a couple of days before didn’t make him feel very confident.
After spending half the night worrying over the redhead curled into his side, he awoke to an empty bed. Sitting up with a start, his heart pounding against his ribs, he was halfway to the door in his underwear before he realized he could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. He sunk down onto the bed and ran his hands through his hair while he tried to catch his breath. His half baked thought of Sansa being gone solely because someone had come and taken her right out of his arms was enough to send him into a panic.
Sansa came in the room then, a vision of sunlight smelling like coffee. Her brow furrowed and she stepped quickly to Jon. “Jon? Are you okay?”
He reached out to grab her around the waist and pulled her to him. He buried his head in her belly and took a deep breath. “I woke up and you were gone. I was worried.” He grumbled.
She carded her fingers through his curls and held him to her. “I was making breakfast. I’m alright, I’m right here.” She soothed.
Jon took another deep breath and pulled away. “I don’t know what happened-”
“You don’t have to explain.” Sansa said, cupping his cheek. “Come on, let’s go eat before Arya kicks both of our asses.”
Jon made a pit stop to put on some basketball shorts and a soft t shirt. The Stark girls were sitting at the island finishing their breakfast and nursing mugs of coffee. Flitting about the kitchen like he lived there, because he supposed he sort of already did, Jon helped himself to pancakes and bacon before filling a mug with coffee of his own.
He had just sat down next to Sansa when Arya, who was sitting opposite him, said, “I asked a friend of mine if we could borrow his gym today and he said yes, so that’s where we’ll be going. It isn’t far, so we can walk.”
“A gym?” Sansa asked. “I thought we would be in the yard or something.”
Arya gave Sansa a look before telling her that Sansa’s backyard didn’t have the equipment they needed to teach her everything she should know. The only thing that made Sansa feel any better about the whole situation was that Arya said the gym was by appointment only and since her friend was out of town, the building would be completely empty. At least no one would have to see her make a fool out of herself publicly.
“I already walked Ghost this morning too, so we can leave whenever you’re ready.” Arya mentioned.
“Thanks, Arya. You didn’t have to do that.” Jon said, impressed.
“Well, I didn’t want to venture into your room and see whatever crazy kinky shit you had going on in there so I decided to just get it done myself.” She remarked with a smirk over the rim of her mug.
“Arya!” Sansa admonished and blushed furiously, unable to look at Jon to see how he took that comment. If she had, she would have seen him struggling to look stern while he tried not to smile.
“What?” Arya asked around a mouthful of food. “I don’t want to see you two gettin’ it on.”
Jon snorted out a laugh and Sansa worked up the courage to look over at him to realize that he wasn’t bothered by her comments in the least.
“Anyway, I just have to change and I’m ready. What about you?” Sansa asked Jon.
“Just have to put on shoes.”
Sansa excused herself to get changed into some leggings instead of the jeans she had put on that morning. On her way out of the kitchen, she leaned down to press a quick kiss on the top of Jon’s head. When he was finished eating, Jon began gathering the dishes with an unnaturally quiet Arya helping.
“What’re you thinking about? You’re never quiet.”
“I was joking earlier, but I really don’t understand you two.” Arya started. “You’re pretty much perfect for each other and for whatever dumbass reason either of you have, neither of you will admit it to the other.”
Jon turned around. “We’ll get there in our own time. Sansa and I haven’t even talked about it- if there even is something there on her end. Obviously, I care about her, but I’m not going to rush into something just because everyone else thinks we’ll work out.”
“Rush into?!” Arya whisper yelled. “It’s been years since you two started dancing around each other. If you keep going the pace you’re going, you’ll both be dead before you even tell her how you feel about her. And with how things are going for Sansa right now, that seems like a very real possibility.”
“I won’t let anything happen to her.” Jon said firmly. He turned back to the sink to rinse the plates when he heard the sound of Sansa’s footsteps coming back into the kitchen.
“Ready?” Arya asked her.
Sansa nodded with a grimace. “Let’s get this over with.”
*
The youngest Stark sister was right- the walk to the gym had been pleasant, and at the brisk pace Arya kept up, it was a great warm up before the lesson she had planned.
The gym was in a part of town Sansa barely ever went into and the building itself was small. It was named B&W Gym, and the interior was mostly dark- black walls, black floors. Arya led the way into the middle of the main room where the floor was made of mats, grabbing different bits of equipment along the way. She dropped all of it to the floor and stood in front of Jon and Sansa.
“The very first thing you’re going to learn is how to throw a punch. Because if you can’t do that, nothing else I teach you is going to matter. Keep your thumb out or you’ll break it.”
Arya began to position Sansa’s feet and arms into the proper stance, moving her left hand to the side of her face and the other held aloft in front of her. Once she was satisfied, Arya went to grab a pair of strike pads and slipped them on, standing in front of Sansa again. Jon stood to the side to observe Sansa’s movements and waited.
When Sansa’s fist hit the pad, it barely moved. The motion jarred her shoulder and she dropped her stance to rub at it, wincing.
“You aren’t following through correctly.” Jon said. “You kept your feet flat on the ground, and you didn’t follow through with your entire body. If you don’t move your entire body when you throw a punch, you aren’t going to have much power behind it. Watch me.”
Sansa moved from in front of Arya so that Jon could take her place. He started in the same position that Arya had placed her in, but kept most of his weight on the balls of his feet. When he punched the strike pad, he turned his entire body, one leg slightly picking up from the floor. Arya’s arm snapped back from the force Jon used and grinned at him while she shook her hand.
“Try again.” He told Sansa.
Her punch this time moved the strike pad slightly more, but still wasn’t a comfortable fluid movement. Jon moved to stand behind her, pressing his body along her back so that she could feel him move as he held her arms where he wanted them and followed through with the punching movements a few times, allowing Sansa to get a feel for what her body should be doing.
Sansa had no complaints about this turn of events in her day. She hoped that she would have to be taught this way for most of the moves they were going to go through, just for an excuse to feel Jon’s warm, muscular body surrounding her. She had to admit, however, that it was hard to concentrate on what he was showing her when he was close enough that she could feel his breath along the back of her neck. He was sending shivers down her spine, making her flush with exhilaration and hoped she could pass it off as exertion even though she was barely moving.
“Well done!” Arya exclaimed once Sansa had thrown a passable punch. She jokingly shook her hand like she had with Jon. “Now, kicking and then we’ll move on to actual self defense. Sound good?”
Kicking was both easier and harder for Sansa to grasp. It was easier for her to keep the power behind her hits, but harder to keep her balance, which ended quite a few times with Jon having to help her up from the floor. Her body was beginning to ache from falling so much, even with the padded floor, but she kept it to herself, knowing that the rest of the lesson was likely to end painfully. Jon came up behind her to readjust her stance again, instantly stopping her stumbling. He grinned at her once she threw a kick and remained standing.
“That’s my girl.” Jon said proudly.
“Alright, enough of that.” Arya smirked. “Let’s go over the target points you’ll want to hit if you’re trying to get away. Do you know any already?”
Sansa thought for a moment, trying to rid herself of her furiously blushing skin. She hoped it wasn’t as obvious as it felt.
“Solar plexus, instep, nose, groin.” Sansa stated.
“I know you got that from Miss Congeniality, but you’re right. There’s also the eyes, throat, sternum, stomach, and knees. Pretty much, you just have to think about where it would really hurt to get hit and then aim for it. The main point of hitting any of these spots is to gain yourself time to run. If you aren’t captured, are on your own two feet, and someone is coming at you, these are the spots you should aim for. Never, ever let someone take you to a secondary location. You fight like hell to get away, don’t worry about hurting them because they certainly don’t care about hurting you.”
“If you’re face to face, go for the eyes.” Jon added. “Gouge them out with your thumbs, it’ll hurt like hell and they’ll let you go. Try hitting their nose with the heel of your hand, driving up. You’ll break it and if you use enough force, you’ll smash a bone through to their brain.”
“Won’t that kill them, though?”
“Trust me, if someone is trying to catch you, they’re going to kill you or worse. Seriously, don’t worry about hurting them. Don’t feel bad, don’t pull a punch, don’t fall for a sob story if they give you one. You are in serious danger. The only thing that matters is your life.” Arya said.
“I- I don’t think this is for me.” Sansa stammered. “I can’t kill someone, there’s no way.”
Jon pulled her hand from tugging at her ponytail and cupped her face. Tilting her head up to look into her eyes, he said, “I know you don’t ever want to cause anyone harm, but this is your life we’re talking about. I’m going to do my best to keep you safe, but if anything happens to me, you need to protect yourself at all costs. We don’t know why whoever this is is trying to scare you, but I think it’s only going to get worse with time. It won’t be long before we either figure out who it is, or they escalate and try to hurt you. You have to be prepared, just in case.”
“Fuck ‘em up, San.” Arya said, coming to her side. “You are a badass, you just need the right tools. Besides, you may never need to know this, it just potentially helps you if you find yourself in a bad situation.”
Sansa took a shaky breath and Jon released her. “So, this is where I beat Jon up, right?”
Arya grinned when Jon groaned and replied with a cheery, “Yup! I’ll walk you through it and then you’ll try it yourself.”
*
For Sansa, the self defense lesson that Arya had choreographed was nothing but a torture session. It wasn’t that it was hard on her body, though it was, it was mostly because she was surrounded by Jon. Every inch of her that brushed against him felt as though it were on fire, burning pleasantly until it seemed it would consume her. Just when she was sure she could take no more, Arya would instruct her how to fight back and the spell would be broken. Sansa was sure she was going insane, forced to remain on the edge of a great precipice and never allowing herself to fall into satisfaction.
That, and the fact that she had to keep hurting him, however unintentional it was. She would keep trying to pull her punches and both of her instructors would chide her and tell her that she needed to know exactly how to execute these movements- they didn’t have time for Sansa to learn it on her own. And so Sansa Stark was forced to remain held closely against Jon Snow’s form, feeling each ripple of his muscles as he moved, shivering as his calloused hands touched her neck, arm or stomach.
If she had ever had any doubt that her body would not respond to him, that doubt was now gone.
Jon confused her. That was the whole of it. If he did feel anywhere near close to how she did, why had he never acted on it? What if she had been reading him wrong the past few days, that every sweet thing he had done for her had been out of kindness for his roommate’s little sister? What if he just enjoyed cuddling, or was just putting up with it because her life was in danger and he figured she could use the comfort?
The real question, she decided, was why she was trying so hard to talk herself out of the possibility that he could have feelings for her.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t ever had relationships before. Not that they had ever lasted more than a few months, or that she had ever been in love, or that she had ever met their families.
Maybe they hadn’t been relationships after all.
This was the first time she had ever felt anything beyond a slight interest in someone. On top of that, she hadn’t had the time for a single date since college. Maybe the culmination of these realizations was what steeled Sansa’s resolve to figure out Jon’s side of things before the night was through.
Maybe it was his breath against her neck as he came at her from behind again.
*
Jon was sporting quite a few new bruises when Arya proclaimed the lessons to be over. The last move they had been working through, one where he tackled Sansa to the ground and she flipped him to end up straddling his body, was playing on repeat in his mind. He didn’t think he could handle Sansa sitting on top of him one more time before he did something stupid, and was beyond grateful when Arya chose that moment to end the day. So when Arya told them to go on ahead and that she would clean up by herself, he decided that something needed to change.
“That went really well, don’t you think?” Sansa smiled up at him once they were outside.
“You did amazingly well, like I knew you would. Although, being your punching bag wasn’t my favorite thing in the world.” Jon grimaced, rubbing his side where she had landed a particularly hard kick.
“I’m sorry!” Sansa covered Jon’s hand with her own. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I’m okay, really.” He turned his hand over to lace their fingers together and began walking home.
Taken at a much slower pace this time, their walk was something out of a movie with the sun setting as they walked through the older part of Winterfell. The scene was picturesque, the sidewalk covered in fallen orange leaves, the houses that lined the street had pumpkins on display and some residents were setting up Halloween lights already.
A comfortable silence surrounded the two, a brisk breeze rustling the hair streaming from Sansa’s ponytail.
“Jon?” She asked tentatively. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, love.”
“What are we doing?”
“Walking home.” He laughed.
“No, I mean. Am I imagining this?” She stopped walking and turned to face him. “This- whatever it is between us.” She gestured between them with her free hand.
“Imagining what?” Jon questioned, trying to keep his small smile hidden, because finally, finally they were having this discussion. Finally, they were on the same page.
Sansa huffed out a sigh. “You call me pet names, you sleep in my bed, you hold my hand-” She squeezed his fingers to make her point. “-I just need to know if you do all of that out of some sort of sense of duty or because Robb is my brother and the things that have happened over the past few months-”
Jon cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. Sansa felt her chest swell up, filled with happiness and warmth despite the cold that was making her nose and cheeks go numb. The world could have stopped spinning in that moment and neither of them would have noticed. Jon let Sansa’s hand go in favor of running his hand up her neck to the edge of her jaw while he brought the other to her waist to pull her in closer. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss and heard her moan quietly as she brought her tongue to meet his in a tangle that could have gone on forever were it not for the need to breathe.
He broke the kiss with a beaming smile.
“Sansa, I’ve been in love with you since the day I first met you. Everything that’s happened has only made me understand how absolutely terrified I am to lose you. I love doing things with you, holding you while you sleep, seeing you laugh. My life without you in it has no purpose, and I never want you to doubt that I love you and always have.”
Sansa surged up to kiss him again- mostly with teeth because she couldn’t help herself from smiling and neither could Jon- but it didn’t matter. “I love you too. Since the day we met, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. Are you mine, Jon Snow?”
“I’m yours, Sansa Stark.”
Chapter Text
Jon and Sansa stood before a very large house just as the sun was setting. Both were clad in dark jeans and sweaters, though Sansa’s was over sized to hang off of one shoulder.
“Wow.” Sansa said. “I mean, I knew she had money. But. Just. Damn.”
“I know,” Jon agreed. “It’s massive.”
In fact, the only normal things about the house were the red front door and the lemon tree in the front yard. The rest of it was… excessive.
It was made of stone, a large mansion surrounded by stately sprawling grounds. Every window reflected the sun as it set, making the house look as though it were on fire. It even had a turret.
Jon urged Sansa forward with a hand on the small of her back, keeping it there as he rang the doorbell. It rang out loudly, echoing throughout the space and it was a few moments before the door opened.
A beautiful white haired woman held the door open with a wide smile accentuated by the deep berry lipstick she wore. She was wearing a long sleeved black v neck dress with large sleeves. “Jon!” She exclaimed. “I’m so glad you could make it!”
“Hello, Daenerys.” He smiled. “This is Sansa Stark. The prosecutor I told you about. Robb’s little sister. My girlfriend.” He added on awkwardly.
“Oh of course! It’s wonderful to meet you Sansa.” She held out her right hand to shake. “And as I’ve told Jon more times than I can count, you can call me Dany.”
“It’s great to meet you too,” Sansa shook Daenerys’s hand. “I was so happy to hear that Jon had met you.”
“Well, come in, come in. No use just standing around on the doorstep.” She ushered them through the doorway into a large front hall done up in dark woods. It was rounded, the floors were shiny white marble and Sansa wondered if she leaned over if she could see her reflection in them. Various tables that lined the walls had statues of dragons on them.
In the very middle of the room was a staircase leading to the second floor, wide open and contained by railings made of the same dark wood. It seemed to open into a library filled floor to ceiling with books.
Sansa was having a difficult time keeping her mouth closed as she took in the space.
“That was my first reaction too.” Jon said, laughing.
“You’re both welcome here any time.” Daenerys said. “The Gods know it’s too empty to begin with. Any friend of Jon’s is a friend of mine.”
“Thank you, it really is beautiful.” Sansa stopped herself from staring at the room wide eyed to look at the blonde woman standing in front of her. “How long have you lived here?”
“A little over two years, now. I grew up here, but when our parents died, my brother Rhaegar moved in and I couldn’t stand him so I moved to Essos for a time. When he died, I moved back and I’ve been remodeling every since. He had almost as awful taste in decor as he did in life choices.” She smiled with her eyebrows raised. “Regardless, it’s beginning to feel like home now.”
The two followed her up the stairs and into the vast library, making their way to a set of leather couches. The couches sat in front of three large floor to ceiling windows overlooking the gardens behind the home. To the side stood a bar cart, loaded with various wines and scotches on one shelf, a bucket of ice and glasses on the top shelf. “Can I offer you a drink?” Daenerys asked.
“I’ll take a scotch.” Jon replied. “Wine, Sansa?”
“Yes, please.” She accepted the offered glass and took a sip. “Ooh, Dornish red. My favorite.”
“Jon might’ve mentioned.” Daenerys said, sitting on the couch opposite the couple. “Anyway, I thought we might talk some, before our other guests join us.”
“Alright,” Sansa said warily. Although Daenerys seemed lovely, and there was no indication that she had ulterior motives, the redhead still did not fully accept that she was not involved with the crime syndicate. In addition to the blonde’s dubious past, Sansa found she couldn’t entirely contain the nerves that came from meeting your boyfriend’s family for the first time either.
“I mean no harm, I promise.” Daenerys said, holding her hands out. “I mean only to reassure you that I’m not your enemy.” She spoke with a strange lilt to her sentences, the type that could have only come from living across the narrow sea for so many years.
“Right. You’re turning Targaryen industries legitimate.”
Jon laid a comforting hand on Sansa’s knee. As he took a sip from his scotch, he decided to stay out of the conversation unless he was needed. He knew Sansa trusted him, but she needed to come to her own conclusions about his aunt.
“Yes. I am.” Daenerys stated. “I’ve withdrawn any drug related business, moved assets away from other businesses that had less than satisfactory dealings and I’ve ensured anyone working for me has proper pay and a pension. I’ve worked very hard these last two years to snuff out any remaining connection to anything my family was previously involved in.”
“Why?” Sansa asked.
“Crime isn’t my thing. Truly, I see no need to make money doing things that way if I can make just as much, if not more, with a clear conscience. That isn’t to say I don’t keep an eye on what the other crime families are doing, because that would be idiotic.”
“Jon mentioned that you wanted him to take over for you.”
“Yes, eventually. This was never supposed to be mine. I was supposed to grow up to marry someone with influence to benefit the family, which I did do before I left. But, I was never supposed to run anything. I’ve had enough heartache to last a lifetime and I’d rather live out the rest of my days peacefully, living off of the vast wealth I already have. I have no need for more money, much as I like making it. If Jon says no, I’ll continue the way I am now until a suitable heir can be arranged.” Daenerys took a large pull from her own glass of scotch. It was the first time she had looked out of sorts all evening, a slight crack in her otherwise unflappable expression showing that she had indeed suffered over the years.
“I believe you.” Sansa decided. “It isn’t up to me to decide anything about your business, but I am glad I can stop the investigations into you now. It should make things run a little bit more smoothly, if anything.”
“Thank you.” The blonde said with a grin. “Now, tell me when this happened.” She gestured towards Jon’s hand still resting on Sansa’s knee.
Jon barked a laugh, “We made it official yesterday.” He took Sansa’s hand and brought it to his mouth, brushing a kiss over her knuckles.
“Congratulations, then!” Daenerys exclaimed. “When all of this is over, we’ll have to go out to celebrate!”
“What are we celebrating?” A voice drawled from the staircase.
“My wonderful nephew’s love life, of course.” Daenerys stood to greet the newcomer, a short man with golden hair and a scar covering his face, running diagonally from one eyebrow to his jaw. “Sansa, Jon, this is Tyrion, my Hand. Tyrion, this is the lovely Sansa Stark and my nephew, Jon Snow.”
If Sansa was not mistaken, Tyrion was a Lannister. The brother of the woman running The Lannister syndicate. She remembered seeing his picture in one of the many files she had studied on the family over the years, although he was much younger and didn’t have the scar yet. She and Jon rose from the couch to greet him.
“I’ve heard great things about you, Miss Stark.” He shook her hand, then Jon’s. “You as well, Mr. Snow.”
“I don’t think I can say the same, I’m afraid.” Sansa said, confused. “Aren’t you Cersei’s brother?”
“My reputation precedes me, I see. Yes, Cersei is my older sister.” He sighed. “I haven’t spoken to her in years, fortunately. She disowned me when she took over. Made it very clear I was not welcome.”
“I would say that I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m not. She doesn’t seem like a very pleasant woman.”
“She’s not.” Tyrion laughed. He went to the bar cart and poured himself a glass of wine as the three others resumed their seats on the couches.
When he had joined them, taking a seat next to Daenerys, Sansa asked, “What is it you do for Daenerys?”
“It is my job to know things.” He postured. “I still have some contacts that are loyal to my family but like to share information for the right price. Which brings us to our current situation and why we are all here, I suppose. Daenerys has informed me that someone is threatening you?”
“Yes,” Jon answered. “Someone has been sending Sansa dead doves for quite some time. Just last week, she returned home to find a man in her kitchen waiting for her. Given her job, we were wondering if it could be connected to either the Lannisters or the Tyrells.”
“Well, I’ve put out some inquiries to some of my contacts. Most haven’t gotten back to me yet, but the ones that have say they have no knowledge of Cersei herself being involved. That isn’t saying very much however, as that’s not the kind of information I would expect to be widely spread.”
“I’m unsure as to what all of this could be about.” Sansa started. “I haven’t prosecuted anyone very high up in either family. Honestly, I’m pretty sure the ones that do manage to get arrested are people that were deemed problematic and it was an easy way to get rid of them.”
“That’s likely true.” Daenerys offered. “My father used to do something similar. Sometimes, simple men weren’t worth murdering and having them arrested made it seem like the police were doing their job- not being paid to look the other way, you know.”
“Are you implying there’s corruption in the system?” Sansa asked.
“Well, of course there is.” Tyrion replied. “There is a reason there are never any charges brought against the main members of the families. They pay off whoever they need to, even when certain events take place in broad daylight.”
“You’re talking about the murder of Robert Baratheon, aren’t you?” She questioned sharply.
“A well known secret, certainly. The very despised husband of my sister, accidentally shot on a hunting trip surrounded by other Lannisters? You can’t have believed that story.”
“I didn’t. No one could ever prove it, though.” Sansa sipped her wine thoughtfully. Corruption in the legal system in Winterfell only opened the suspect pool to even more people that could want her out of the way. She was beginning to think they would never find the person behind it all.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been looking into that on your own.” Jon shifted on the couch to give Sansa his full attention. “Isn’t that exactly what you’ve warned me and Robb about over the years? Don’t go poking our noses where they don’t belong.”
“It’s my job, Jon. I had a theory, I wanted to see where it went.” Sansa said stubbornly. “It never went anywhere, I gave up on it months ago.”
“That sort of thing could have put a target on your back.” Jon said. “That could be the missing piece of information we needed to figure out who is behind this.”
“It definitely could” Tyrion confirmed. “It gives me a few more people to reach out to as well. As soon as I know anything, I’ll let you know.”
“I appreciate that very much, thank you.” The younger Stark said, trying to ignore Jon’s tense form beside her. It wasn’t like she had done anything wrong. There was no trace of her sorting through various documents leading back to the Baratheon’s death, she had made sure of it. Sansa had to agree that it could be the missing link, however. The smaller men she had managed to put in prison really were no threat when compared to the family members she could have taken down with the right information.
“Who else are we waiting on, Dany?” Jon’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“Oh, just Sam. He should be here in a few minutes if you wanted to move to the dining room now.” Daenerys rose gracefully from her seat to move through the library and back down the stairs, leading the group down a short hallway leading into a sitting room and then down another that opened into a grand dining room.
The group seated themselves around the large table in the center of the room, Daenerys at the head, Sansa to her right and Jon to her left. Tyrion sat opposite Sansa at Daenerys’s left. As they sat, three servants swept into the room to refill drinks and bring out plates of hors d'oeuvres. As quickly as they came in, they were gone again. A heavyset man bumbled through the door they exited from, fumbling with a stack of papers and what looked to be a laptop bag, which he unceremoniously dumped to the table in the spot next to Tyrion.
“Sam!” Jon laughed, moving around the table to pull the man into a hug. “It’s good to see you!”
“Same, Jon.” He said with a smile. “Sorry for it to be under these circumstances but it’s been far too long. Gilly’s been asking after you.”
“And Little Sam? How is he?” Jon asked.
“Oh, he’s great. Just started walking, actually.” Sam turned his sights across the table to the red head. “And this must be the lovely Sansa I’ve heard so much about.”
Jon brought Sam with him as he returned to his seat to introduce the two.
“Yes, this is Sansa Stark. Sansa, this is Sam, we’ve known each other since what, middle school?”
“Nice to finally meet you, Sam.” Sansa said with a smile. “So you would know all about Jon’s fear of pantsings then?”
“Yes!” Sam laughed. “What a weird thing to be scared of, right?”
Sansa nodded as she shook Sam’s hand, glad to finally meet a man she had only ever heard stories about. She knew Jon and he were very close at one point, but had no idea that Sam worked for Daenerys, or even lived close by. The man went to take his seat and quickly took a crostini to munch on.
“Okay, here is the rule.” Daenerys said. “No business until after dinner. Got it, boys?”
The three men all quickly agreed and Sansa herself was glad to have a momentary respite from thinking about all of the bad things happening to her. To be able to have a nice meal with her boyfriend’s family and their friends was a piece of normality that the younger Stark thought her life was sorely missing.
Dinner ended too soon in her opinion and it wasn’t long before the laptop in Sam’s bag took center stage.
“Alright, Sansa.” He began. “My job for Daenerys is to keep an eye on various markets to make sure we always come out on top, bunch of boring data analysis and all that jazz. The reason I’m here tonight, however, is because when Jon was in the Watch, I was contracted out for intelligence.”
“Okay,” Sansa said slowly. “What does intelligence have to do with me, exactly?”
“Well, you see, I can place certain alerts on various things related to you. Like your name, the places you frequent, cases you’ve worked on. And then if anyone searches those things, I’ll know.”
“What he’s saying is that we’ll be able to track the IP addresses of anyone who googles you, or anything to do with you. Then we can track those IP addresses back to those people and investigate their possible involvement.” Jon offered. “Then Tyrion can take those names and give them to his contacts to see if they have any ties to the Lannisters or the Tyrells.”
“So you may be able to find people trying to find me? They already know where I live, why would they search for me when they probably know everything already?”
“Speaking from experience, these people are probably going to search for your family.” Daenerys said bluntly. “They’ll want to know how to hurt you if they can’t directly get to you.”
“And because your brother and sister are not usual members of the well known public, anyone searching for them may be connected to your situation.” Tyrion added.
Sansa suddenly felt like she were very much in over her head. She slumped against the back of her chair as she looked from each person around the table, each with varying degrees of concern displayed openly on their faces. Her gaze landed on Jon, who took her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckle.
“Nothing is going to happen to Arya or Robb, sweetling. You know Arya can protect herself and no one even knows where Robb is at the moment.” He comforted.
“It’s just a lot to take in.” She took a deep breath. “Last week I didn’t even think this was a big deal and now it’s a threat to my life and those I care about.”
“We’re going to do everything possible to keep you safe.” Jon said. “I promised you.”
*
After some more technical speak that Sansa didn’t follow at all, she and Jon took their leave. The walk to the car had been silent just as she had been for most of the rest of the time spent in Daenerys’s home. Jon gave her time to sort through her thoughts before asking if she was okay as they pulled out of the driveway.
“Yes and no,” She admitted. “Do you really think my looking into Robert Baratheon’s death could have started all of this?”
“Honestly? Yes.” Jon answered himself. “These people are not your usual criminals. If Cersei Lannister had something to do with the death of her husband, and she found out you were poking around, I don’t think there’s much that woman wouldn’t do. The stories Dany has told me about that world are disgusting.”
Sansa looked out the windshield into the dark as Jon navigated their way home, thinking. There was one piece of information that she had stumbled upon in her short search for the truth that she wasn’t sure was important enough to try to scare her, or in the worst case- to kill her. She supposed it depended on whether or not Cersei Lannister could be implicated in the ordeal that was the key. If she thought Sansa could possibly link it back to her in some way, then yes, Sansa had to agree that the Lannister Queen could have a reason to want her dead.
“I’m going to take Ghost for a walk,” Jon said as he parked the car. “Do you want to join me?”
“No, I think I’m going to get ready for bed. It’s been a long day.”
“Alright. If anyone comes to the door, check the cameras first, don’t answer it if you don’t know who it is.” Jon warned her, unlocking the front door.
Ghost was waiting in the front hall with his leash already in his mouth, tail wagging happily. “Who’s a good boy?” Sansa asked, rubbing his ears and taking the leash from his mouth to attach it to his collar. “Have a good walk. Be careful.” She said to Jon with a chaste kiss.
“You’re not getting away that easily, Stark.” Jon growled, pulling her close with a hand low on her back. “I’ve barely gotten to touch you all day.”
“Well, we’ll have to fix that when you get back then, huh?” Sansa smiled, taking Jon’s lower lip between her teeth, biting down softly before kissing him deeply.
Ghost whined impatiently and the couple reluctantly broke apart. “Alright, alright, fine.” Jon huffed. “I’ll be right back.”
“Better be.” Sansa winked, locking the door behind the pair. She kicked off her heals in the direction of the dining room, promising herself she would pick them up and put them away before she went to bed for the night- if she weren’t distracted that is, she thought with a happy sigh.
Sansa was just settling into her favorite show with a bowl of popcorn when she heard the doorbell ring. She opened the door to find an old friend waiting on the welcome mat.
“Theon! What are you doing here?” Sansa asked happily. “Come in, get out of the cold.”
She was halfway down the hall to the kitchen offering to put on a pot of coffee when she heard him say “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Oh I’m so sorry.” She said. “I didn’t know you’d be here. I was out, I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
Sansa busied herself with getting the coffee grounds out, measuring out the grounds and the water before she set the machine to percolate. She turned to make sure Theon had followed her into the kitchen, but he was just standing motionless in the doorway, face blank. Her breath caught in her throat as the pieces slot together. Theon standing there cast the exact same silhouette as the intruder.
“Theon?” She asked slowly. “Is something wrong?”
“You were supposed to be alone this weekend. You were supposed to be home.” He sounded agitated.
“I’m sorry?” A heavy dread was quickly forming deep in Sansa’s belly. Her hand slowly made its way to her back pocket where she kept her phone and did not find it there. Cursing inwardly to herself, she must have left it on the couch across the house. Jon was out walking Ghost, there was no way for her to reach out to anyone and she was rapidly becoming more sure that it was Theon she had seen in her kitchen that day.
“You were supposed to be alone. You’re always alone.” He took a step closer.
Sansa was trying to shove her fear down deep, forcing her brain to work overtime to figure out a way through this. Jon would be home soon, she just had to keep Theon calm until then.
“I’m sorry, Theon. You’re right. I didn’t know you were coming over, or I would have made sure I was here without company.” She shifted slightly to her left to get around the island before he could corner her. “But, I’m alone now. We can talk now.”
“I don’t want to talk.” Theon suddenly lunged for her, fingers closing just below the strands of her hair that swept behind her as she ran around the island.
Sansa held out her hands placatingly, “Theon, you don’t want to do this.”
“I have to.” He lunged for her again, coming closer, his fingers nearly grabbed hold of her sweater.
“Theon, please, we’ve known each other for years. Don’t do this!” It was becoming harder to stop tears from flooding her eyes. This was not someone she thought could hurt her. Robb and Theon had been friends since before she had even started school. She had seen him nearly once a week for the past twenty years of her life! She had even gotten him a job in her office’s mail room when he had been down on his luck.
He lunged again and Sansa miscalculated the distance between her back and the door. When she backed away again, she hit the doorjamb and could move no further. Suddenly, Theon’s hands were around her throat and they were squeezing, squeezing, squeezing. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe. The edges of her vision started going black and spotty. Jon would be so upset to find her dead when he came home.
Jon.
Jon.
Arya.
Arya had taught her what to do. Jon had put his hands on her neck, never squeezing, he was so gentle, but Arya had taught her to put her hands together and shove them up, up, up.
Sansa put her hands together as though she were praying and sharply brought them up between Theon’s arms, reaching for his face. She gasped a breath as his hold was forcibly loosened and shoved her thumb nails into his eyes. He screamed in agony, letting her go.
She ran around the doorway, through the hall and was nearly to the living room- to her phone- when he tackled her to the ground. She forced one of her legs up as she fell, giving herself enough leverage to flip them over. Theon was grabbing at her hair and pulled it sharply to the side, his eyes were bloodshot and bleeding but he could still see enough to grip one of her wrists in his and flipped them over once again. One of Sansa’s legs was between his and she brought it up to kick him in the groin, but when he knee made contact, Theon didn’t react.
He was slamming her head into the ground as she desperately clawed at his face, anything to get him to stop. Each blow of her head against the wood floor made her see stars and her thoughts were becoming more sluggish. She needed to get away, needed to find something to hit him with, the hand he let go of to grab her hair reached and reached for something she didn’t know if she could find. One last blow to her head that made the world go fuzzy and her fingers curled around the sharp heel she had worn to dinner earlier that evening. She shoved it into Theon’s ear.
“You bitch!” He screamed. He fell off of her to try to pull the shoe out of his head.
Sharp things work, Sansa’s addled mind thought. She got to her knees and stumbled to the kitchen to get to her knife block sitting on the counter next to the sink. She grabbed the first one she could from the floor, too dizzy to fully stand.
Theon was on top of her again, forcing her face into the floor, stepping on the hand holding the knife. He tore it from her grip and grabbed her hair again, lifting up her head as her back arched to place the blade against the jumping pulse point at her throat.
Before the blade could come into contact with her skin, the weight was gone from her back and her face bounced painfully off of her kitchen floor. Confused, she rolled over to see Ghost holding Theon’s throat between his teeth viciously snarling. The knife had fallen from his hand and skittered across the floor.
“Sansa!” Jon was suddenly above her, helping her to sit up, holding her face between his. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” Her voice came out raspy, her throat burning when she tried to speak. “Theon.”
Jon’s face melted from desperate worry to cool steel as he looked away from Sansa to take in the view of his dog holding down the man that had attempted to take his love’s life.
“Ghost.” He commanded. The dog immediately let go and sat at Sansa’s side as Jon stood to grab Theon and pull him further away. He dropped him unceremoniously and realized Ghost must have cut his oxygen off enough for him to pass out. He turned back to Sansa, “Where’s-”
She cut him off, pointing behind him. “Look out!”
He turned just in time to stop Theon’s hand just inches from his stomach, the knife held tightly in his grasp. They struggled with the knife between them before they fell to the floor, red blooming beneath them as Sansa screamed.
Notes:
AHH, I'm sorry to end it there, but I just had to!
Chapter Text
Shell shock. That’s what they called it, right? When everything went numb after a traumatic experience.
She’d certainly had a traumatic experience in her opinion.
Her hands were cold. Her throat burned. She wished she had some water.
Why weren’t hospital beds more comfortable?
She swallowed.
Why had Theon tried to kill her? The very thought seemed absurd to even consider, but it was what happened mere hours before. Why had he sent her all those dead birds? Spread blood through her kitchen?
Why?
It didn’t make any sense. She and Theon had never been close like he had been with Robb but it wasn’t like he hated her. Or maybe he did. Sansa was starting to think she hadn’t had any idea who Theon was after all.
Her head hurt. She didn’t want to think anymore.
The door to the ER room swung open and Jon strode inside. His sweater was still stained with Theon’s blood. The sight made Sansa want to throw up.
Jon felt as though all breath had been stolen from him when he saw Sansa sitting sideways on her hospital bed. She looked so small, so frail. He had promised only days ago that he would keep her safe and he had failed. He had failed her. He was the reason she was stuck in that bed with bruises around her throat.
“I’ve called Arya, she’s on her way. I tried Robb too, but I only got his voicemail.” He sat next to her on the bed and handed her a bottle of water. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “I was so scared.”
Immediately, Sansa began to cry. She buried her face into Jon’s chest as she sobbed. He brought a hand up to cradle the back of her head, removing it with a start when Sansa hissed through her teeth. His palm came away sticky with blood.
“Sans, you’re bleeding. Have they looked at this yet?” Jon asked.
Sansa shook her head and immediately regretted the movement when it caused the room to spin. She took a moment to calm her breathing before she spoke. “They only looked at my neck, I didn’t mention my head.”
Jon only nodded and hit the nurses button on the bed’s remote. The couple was content to sit in the silence of the room, clinging to each other. Neither had processed the night’s events.
A nurse came in and Sansa could hear Jon speaking above her, feel the vibration of his chest under her cheek.
“Miss Stark? I need to look at the back of your head, okay? You don’t even have to move.”
She could hear the nurse putting on gloves in the corner and then soft footsteps when she came closer. Sansa found she didn’t have the energy to move her head even if she had to. She could feel the nurse gently prodding around her scalp before the woman touched a spot that made white splotches bloom beneath her eyelids and she yelped.
“Okay, Miss Stark. I’m all finished, I’ll have to let the doctor know about this. Are you having any vision problems or dizziness?” The nurse asked.
“I can see fine, but I’m quite dizzy.” Sansa mumbled into Jon’s sweater. “Is it bad?”
“It’s not bleeding anymore, but I think it’ll need some stitches. It shouldn’t take too long.” The nurse threw her gloves out and washed her hands. “I’ll go let the doctor know. Call if you need anything.”
Sansa lost track of time as she dozed against Jon’s chest, the soft thud of his heartbeat against her ear soothing her frazzled nerves. He shifted back on the bed to recline and pulled her with him, rubbing his hand up and down her back.
The door opened again and a cheerful voice rang out, “Hello, I’m Dr. Luwin. I’m here to look at your head, Miss Stark.” She could hear him putting gloves on somewhere near the door and struggled to open her eyes and focus on the older man in front of her.
“Right. I understand that you’re dizzy, so you can continue laying like that as long as I can see everything I need to, okay? I’m going to turn on a light so I can see better, feel free to shut your eyes.”
He walked around the bed and turned on an overhead exam light. The brightness hurt so she closed them again, turning her face more into Jon’s chest. The prodding was back but thankfully he didn’t touch whatever spot it was that the nurse had.
“This will require at least three staples, Miss Stark. I will have to clean it before I can do that, so I’ll need to use a numbing medication. I’ll go get the supplies I need and be back momentarily.”
“I’m so sorry, Sansa.” Jon said after the doctor left the room, his voice thick with emotion. “This is all my fault.”
“Why?” Sansa asked blankly. “We didn’t know.”
“We knew it was a possibility and I still left you alone. It’s my fault.” He emphasized. He squeezed her closer to him, as if he were trying to meld their bodies together.
Sansa made a great effort to pick her head up from Jon’s chest to look him in the eye. “It isn’t your fault. I didn’t even look at the cameras when he rang the bell and even if I had- it was Theon. I would’ve let him in no matter what. I never thought he could hurt me-” She cut herself off, unwilling to go down that path lest she start sobbing again.
“I should’ve been there.” Jon insists. “When I found him on top of you, I couldn’t even think. I was so scared I’d lost you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Well, I’m right here. We both made it out.” Sansa said, poking him in the chest. “Stop blaming yourself. That’s my boyfriend you’re talking badly about and I won’t have it.”
Jon huffed a disbelieving laugh. “Aren’t I supposed to be comforting you? Not the other way around?”
“Yes, so get to it.” Sansa smiled and tried to hold him impossibly closer.
“Anything I can get for you, my love?”
“No, just keep holding me.”
Holding her close seemed to be the only way he could convince himself that she was alright. Walking in to see a man above her, about to slit her throat had been his worst fear come to life. If he had been one minute later- he refused to think about that. Ghost was going to get all the steaks and squeaky toys in the world for making them return early.
The doctor came back with his supplies and set up a tray next to the bed. “I’m going to inject some numbing medication into the skin around the laceration and wait a few moments, then I’ll staple it. Should be relatively painless.”
It was not. The numbing medication burned when it went in and the tugging sensation when he pulled the pieces of her scalp together made her stomach swoop. She was glad when it was over, looking forward to going home- until the doctor mentioned a scan for her head to make sure there were no bleeds.
Jon was waiting for her with Officer Clegane when they wheeled her back to her ER room.
“Evening, little bird.” He greeted.
“Isn’t it morning now?” Sansa asked tiredly.
“Yes,” The officer said simply. “I have to ask you what happened earlier tonight. I know they went through it with you before you were brought here but I have a few more questions.”
“Okay. Can Jon stay?”
“Yes, I have questions for him as well.” Officer Clegane reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small notepad and a pen, flipping to the middle.
“Let’s get this over with then.” Sansa pushed her hands against her eyes, trying to rub the bleariness out.
“How do you know Theon Greyjoy?”
“I’ve known him most of my life. He’s friends with my brother, Robb.”
“Have you ever had a romantic relationship with him?” Clegane jotted down her answers in the notebook.
“No, never.”
“He worked in the same building as you do?”
“Yes, I got him the job in the mailroom last year. He said he was having trouble finding one after he moved here and there was an opening so I put a good word in for him.” Sansa clasped her hands together tightly in her lap. She didn’t want to start crying again.
“Has he ever made any advances towards you?”
“Advances?” She furrowed her brow.
“Of a sexual nature.” The officer clarified.
“God, no!” Sansa exclaimed. “Robb would’ve killed him.”
“Did you have any reason to fear him before tonight?”
“No, not at all.” Sansa said. “Actually, when I moved here we lost touch and when I met him again when he reconnected with Robb, he was very different from the Theon I knew when I was younger.”
“How so?”
“When he was in high school, he was all about girls. Constantly going on dates, super outgoing, super friendly.” Sansa shook her head slowly, trying to remember all the differences she had noticed when she saw Theon after he moved to Winterfell. “When I saw him again, he was quiet, much more reserved. He never made any jokes, never wanted to hang out with me and Robb anymore.”
The questions devolved to how everything had happened that night. Having already answered those questions at her house, that went quickly and soon Jon was being questioned.
“What is your version of what happened, Mr Snow, was it?” CLegane scribbled quickly in his notebook.
“Yes, Jon Snow.” Jon answered. “Sansa and I spent the evening at my aunt’s home having dinner and when we came home, I decided to take Ghost for a walk before bed. We’d only been gone for about fifteen minutes before Ghost started pulling at his leash to turn around.”
“Ghost is your dog?” Officer Clegane cut in.
“Yes. He was whining and wouldn’t go any further so we turned around and went home. When we got there, he pulled to the side door into the kitchen so I let us in and he tore the leash out of my hand and ran inside. I followed behind him to find him attacking Theon, who had had Sansa by the hair and was about to put a knife to her throat. I made sure she was okay and then called Ghost off.”
“He listened to you?”
“Yes, he’s trained very well.” Jon stated, leaving no room for argument. “I moved Theon away from Sansa, I thought he was unconscious- but Sansa yelled and then he was behind me trying to stab me. We struggled with the knife and fell to the ground. When I got up, I realized he had stabbed himself in the chest. I called an ambulance immediately after that.”
“Have you and Theon ever had an altercation before?”
“No,” Jon said honestly. “I hardly know him. Like Sansa said earlier, before he moved here, Robb and him had lost touch. I met him a few times, but he and I were definitely never close.”
“Never fought over Miss Stark?” The officer’s eyes darted quickly from Jon to Sansa and back.
“What kind of question is that?” Sansa demanded. “Jon didn’t have anything to do with this! Theon is the one who broke into my house last week. He’s the one who sent me all those dead birds. And he’s the one who attacked me tonight! Jon’s done nothing but save my life.”
“I know, Miss Stark. I’m not insinuating that he had anything to do with this.” Clegane explained. “I just have to ask these questions now, to make sure none of this falls back on Mr. Snow.”
“Falls back on me?” Jon repeated.
“What happened to Theon?” Sansa asked at the same time.
“He’s dead.”
Sansa’s breath caught in her throat and her eyes welled up. “He died?”
Jon moved to grab her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “It’s okay, love.”
“No, it isn’t. He may have hurt me, but he was still Theon.” She cried. “He was my friend.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Stark, I’m almost done, I promise.” Officer Clegane, for all that he exuded a gruff no-nonsense manner, seemed to regret making the redhead upset.
“Can we finish this quickly, please?” Jon asked.
“You said that when you reconnected with Theon, he wasn’t acting like himself, correct?” At Sansa’s nod, he continued. “I’m sorry to have to ask this, but had you even seen him naked?”
Balking at the question, Sansa took a moment to think. “Yes,” She said slowly. “He and Robb went skinny dipping in our pool, years ago. They didn’t know I was there and it wasn’t something I brought up again. Why do you ask?”
“Theon was, I don’t know how to put this.” The officer suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “He was quite mutilated.”
“Mutilated?” Jon asked dumbly.
“I’m really not at liberty to discuss that any further.” Officer Clegane said firmly. “Thank you for your time, Miss Stark, Mr. Snow. If we have any more questions, I’ll contact you.” The officer nodded his head and swept from the room, not allowing the couple to ask anything else.
“Pleasant man.” Jon commented.
“I don’t know how to take that. Mutilated, how?” Sansa decided that required more investigation for another day. She looked up to Jon, squeezing his hand once. “I don’t like that they’re trying to make you seem culpable in any case.”
“There’s no evidence it was anything other than self defense, Sansa. They can’t pin anything on me. Don’t worry about me.” He soothed. “Let’s get you better and then you can get back to saving the world.”
The scans of Sansa’s head came back clear. Soon enough, she was being discharged with instructions to take at least a week off of work, supplied with pain medication she knew she wouldn’t take. Her thoughts were muddled as Jon led her back to his apartment, the only choice now that Theon’s blood was spread through her home.
As she dressed for bed in Jon’s clothes, she noticed her dirty clothes at the top of his hamper from the first night they had stayed together. The smile brought to her face was quickly wiped away when she realized her hair was still crusted with her own blood.
***
When Sansa was little, her mother would tuck her into bed and sing while she stroked her hair. It happened when she was sick, when she was sad, whenever their father had been sent away. It was a constant comfort she could depend on.
What Sansa wouldn’t do for her mother to tuck her in one last time.
What she wouldn’t do for her father to pull her close and rest his chin on top of her head.
What Sansa wouldn’t give for her parents to have met this wonderful man who had saved her life.
Surrounded by his warmth in his bed with Ghost laying at their feet, she could almost hear their approval.
Could almost feel her mother’s delicate fingers running through her hair.
Chapter 10
Notes:
This chapter gave me so much trouble. I hope it turned out okay, even if it is just set up for the rest!
Chapter Text
“It was Theon?” Arya asked around a mouthful of eggs. “Fuck. Never would’ve guessed that.”
“Me either. I didn’t even second guess letting him in the house.” Sansa replied, softly nudging a napkin in her sister’s direction. “He was like family to us, I wish I knew what was going through his mind.”
“Can’t know now.” Arya begrudgingly took the proffered napkin and made a show of wiping her mouth. “Robb is going to be pissed.”
“Speaking of, have you heard from him? I haven’t talked to him since he left.”
“No, but you know how training goes. He’s probably out in the middle of nowhere covered in mud with no electricity and no cell signal.” Arya shrugged. “It’s not the first time we haven’t heard from him in a week, I doubt it’ll be the last.”
“I know.” Sansa sighed, putting her head in her hands. “I’m just stressed out and I’m worried about him.”
“Robb is nearly as far away from all of this as he can be. He’s not in any danger from psychopaths. Well, your psychopaths anyway. Who knows about the guys he’s with.” Arya shrugged. “What does Jon have to say about all this?”
“Pretty much the same as you.” Sansa tried to take another bite of her omelet, but the knot in her stomach made her put it back down untouched. “He’s still pretty sure there’s two people involved, but we’re going to wait and see what the police have to say. His aunt’s friends are still going to keep an eye on things on their end too.”
Arya nodded to herself. “I think that’s a good idea.” She gathered her dishes and put them in the sink. “I’m going to go catch a shower. Try to eat.”
Sansa picked her fork back up and looked at it. She put it back down again and pushed her plate away from her.
She had nearly died the night before. Had Jon been one minute later, she definitely would be dead now. Although she had figured that whoever was sending the doves meant to do her harm, she had never thought they would really want her dead. That that person could be Theon Greyjoy of all people. Had she done something to piss him off and not known it? She couldn’t think of anything off the top of her head.
She really wished Robb would call. It wasn’t abnormal to not hear from him the first month he was away on a training mission, but Sansa had a gut feeling that something was wrong. Someone would have called her if something had happened to him, right? Robb was probably fine and she was just being paranoid.
One week later….
Sansa was just sitting down behind her desk to start sorting through the mountain of work she had missed when she was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Come in,” She called.
A thin woman stuck her head around the door with a sheepish smile. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, Miss Stark, but Mr. Baelish is asking for you.”
“Thank you, Myranda. You can let him know I’ll be there in a moment.” As the door closed behind the woman, Sansa lowered her head into her hands and took a deep steadying breath. The very last person she ever wanted to deal with in the morning was Petyr Baelish.
Hoping Baelish wouldn’t be a total slimeball, Sansa made her way to his office and knocked to announce her presence. She hadn’t even finished knocking before he was telling her to enter.
“Ah, Miss Stark. About time we saw your lovely face in the office again.” He said licentiously, raking his eyes across her body.
“I do apologize, Mr. Baelish. I was having some personal issues, but I assure you, I won’t need so much time off again.”
“I’d rather hope not.” He rose from his seat behind his desk to sit against the edge in front of her. Crossing his arms across his chest, he spoke with a smirk, “I understand what it’s like to be young and in love, but if you cannot do your job properly, I will have to let you go.”
“Sir, with all due respect, that isn’t even close to what has been happening.” Sansa defended.
“I don’t need any excuses, Sansa and I’m not interested in hearing any.” Baelish scolded, all trace of amusement gone. “If you cannot keep up with your cases, including all those that had to be put on hold with your absence, you will be fired. Do you understand me?”
It took everything Sansa had to hold back her retort. Baelish was an awful human, but he was still her boss, and regardless of how much she disliked him, she did love her job and wanted to keep it. “I understand, sir.”
“Fantastic.” Baelish stood and returned to his seat. “I expect you to catch up with your cases quickly. No more visits from the boyfriend.”
“Yes, sir.” Sansa replied, biting her tongue again. “May I be excused?”
The man only waved his hand towards the door in response.
What an asshole. She thought to herself as she stormed back to her own office. Sansa had never missed a day of work before Theon had started threatening her and she had definitely never given anyone a reason to be unsatisfied with her work. That had never stopped Baelish from treating her as little better than an unpaid intern, though that may have had something to do with the fact that he had asked her on a date when she first started working there- something Sansa had immediately refused.
The rest of Sansa’s week passed by unpleasantly. She was more swamped with work than ever and spent most of her time in her office buried in paperwork. Jon had offered to come to work with her to help, but knowing that her job was on the line, Sansa refused. Most nights, she barely had the energy to eat whatever dinner Jon had made for her before she passed out. Her hard work paid off in the end, however- every case she had been behind on was caught up, and every new case assigned to her was up to date.
On Monday, Sansa had finished all of her case work by lunch. As she sat at her desk eating her salad, she began to wonder about Theon. Had Qyburn started his autopsy yet? Could she talk her way into getting the file like she’d done with Cersei Lannister’s husband’s file?
She had the time to try and she couldn’t find fault in wanting the answers to the cryptic statements Officer Clegane had made about him.
As soon as she finished her salad, Sansa found herself driving to the morgue across town before she could change her mind.
The front desk was manned by a younger girl with beautiful shining gold hair. Her name tag said Myrcella and was the same girl Sansa had spoken to months previously.
“Hello, Miss Stark!” The girl smiled widely as Sansa walked through the glass doors. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
“Hello, Myrcella! How’s it going?”
“Pretty good, I can’t complain. How can I help you today?”
“I was wondering if it was possible to meet with Dr. Qyburn for a case I’m working on. I can wait if he’s busy, I have time today.”
“Give me a couple minutes and I’ll go ask him for you.” Myrcella hit a button on her desk that unlocked the metal doors at the end of the hallway and walked through them, leaving Sansa utterly alone.
The morgue was not a place Sansa enjoyed going to, but sometimes if a case required the coroner’s testimony and he was too busy for his initial interview, she would do the interview in Dr. Qyburn’s office between autopsies. If she was being honest, the man creeped her out. He seemed very interested in the unusual ways people could be murdered- or even in one case, kept alive. He would enthusiastically postulate the various ways some wounds could have been made, often going into much more gory detail than necessary.
Myrcella popped her head through the double doors and gestured for Sansa to follow. “He said you can talk in his office.”
Qyburn was seated at his desk in the musty office, moving stacks of paper from one place to another. His wispy gray hair was sticking straight out at the sides, making him resemble the mad scientist Sansa often thought of him as.
“Ah, Miss Stark. What brings you in today? I wasn’t aware of any suspicious deaths I might need to testify for.”
“Oh, no, Dr. Qyburn.” Sansa said with her most brilliant smile. “I was hoping for a professional favor, actually.”
“And what is that?”
“I was hoping I could have the autopsy report for Theon Greyjoy if you’ve finished with it.” She said with an optimistic smile.
“Quite an interesting case. What could you possibly want that for?” He narrowed his eyes at her.
“I was the woman he attacked a couple weeks back. He was once a pretty good friend of mine, so I guess I was hoping that it would help make some sense of it all.”
“Well then.” Dr. Qyburn leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Autopsies are a matter of public record, so I have no issue with giving you a copy. But, I do have to give you some warning, Miss Stark. Even by my standards, his exam was rather.... gruesome.”
“I fought back and he was ultimately attacked by a dog, so I had already assumed that.”
“No, no, Miss Stark. You misunderstand me.” He moved to lean his forearms on the desk. “His injuries were severe, of course. They were fatal, after all. But the condition of his body before the incident is what I’m speaking about. He had some modifications to his body that I’ve very rarely seen before. They are detailed in the report, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
He abruptly stood and walked to a filing cabinet in the corner, pulling out a file from the top drawer. He passed it over to Sansa and said, “If you don’t mind, Miss Stark, I do have a very busy afternoon.”
“Of course, Dr. Qyburn.” She offered her hand to shake as she stood. “Thank you for your help. If I need anything, I’ll call.”
**
Sansa let herself into Jon and Robb’s apartment, surprised to find it empty. She had expected Jon to be home, but was thankful he wasn’t so she could read the autopsy by herself.
The file wasn’t very thick, but the information inside made Sansa’s hands shake.
The section labelled EXTERNAL EXAMINATION read:
The body is that of a 29 year old male. The body is well developed but malnourished. There are multiple areas deeply scarred and burned in various stages of healing. The patient is lacking external genitalia due to traumatic removal. The body has multiple contusions and lacerations to the eyes. The left tympanic membrane is ruptured, the ear canal showing lacerations due to sharp force. The neck has various contusions. The abdomen has one lower stab wound to the umbilicus region.
The rest of the autopsy went on to detail the mutilation of Theon’s body. It was proof that he had been tortured extensively over a long period of time until very recently. Most of his body was covered in scars and healing wounds that had nothing to do with the night he died. The details of his castration were the most concerning. It was described in a way that made Sansa believe the experience must have been extremely painful.
Could someone have tortured him to get to her? That seemed like an insane leap to make. Surely she wasn’t so important that someone would have hurt Theon for so long just to get to her eventually. From the information in the autopsy, Theon’s torture must have taken years. But, could that be why he had attacked her? Could someone have forced him to do it? That would mean that Jon was right- that there was more than one person after her. It would also mean that she might possibly still be in danger.
When Jon returned home with Ghost in tow, Sansa was still silently crying as she stared at Theon’s cause of death.
“Exsanguination due to penetrating abdominal trauma.” She said before he could speak. “That’s what Theon’s life is reduced to. One little sentence to describe his death.”
“Sansa.” Jon said gruffly, coming to sit next to her. “You went to get the autopsy today?”
She nodded, trying to wipe the tears off her face. She tossed the file on the coffee table in front of them and turned to lean against him.
“I would’ve gone with you if you’d asked, you know.” Jon said, wrapping her in a comforting hug.
“I know you would have. I didn’t plan on going there today, but I had the time and I needed to know.” She shifted slightly so she could look up at him. “Jon, it was awful. It was so much worse than I thought it would be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember what Officer Clegane said? That Theon was mutilated?”
Jon nodded. “Was that in the report?”
“Yes, it was. Mutilated doesn’t even begin to cover it. He must have been tortured for years, Jon. He was castrated. That’s never something he would have chosen to do to himself. Pretty much his entire body was bruised, cut or scarred in some way. What kind of person could do that?”
“Someone who is very fucked up.” Jon said shortly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m just sad for him.” Sansa sighed. “I don’t blame you for his death. I know I’ve told you before, but I really need you to know that I don’t. I think whatever was going on with him was too much and I wish he would’ve come to me so I could’ve helped him, but that’s not what happened.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.” Jon’s voice broke, something he tried to cover up with a cough.
“Hey,” Sansa soothed, pressing her hand to his cheek. “You saved my life, Jon. Please don’t blame yourself for any of this. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Jon covered the hand against his face and kissed her softly. “I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much.”
“I want that too. So I guess you’ll just have to keep me alive that long, at least.” She laughed.
Chapter Text
“San, I think we should go talk to Officer Clegane today.” Jon handed the last of the mugs he had been washing to the redhead.
“Go talk as in go down to the station?” Sansa asked, drying the mug off. “Any reason we can’t just call?”
“I just want to be careful.” Jon said. “We don’t know who is behind what happened to Theon yet and we can’t be too safe.”
“That’s a good idea.” Sansa said walking past Robb's bedroom door. “Have you heard from Robb at all?”
“No, I haven’t. I called and left a couple messages but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet.” Jon hung up the dish towels on the oven door and turned to lean against the counter.
“Don’t you think that’s strange?”
“Not necessarily. They could be in an area with no cell service, or he could’ve broken his phone.” Jon shrugged.
“I have a bad feeling about it.” Sansa admitted, holding a hand up to chew on her thumbnail. “I think something is wrong. Is there any way we can get a hold of him? Like an emergency contact or something?”
“I can try to call his commander. There’s no guarantee they’ll get back to us, but it doesn’t hurt to try.”
“Let’s do that. If anything were wrong, someone would have called me, right?”
“Yes, that’s protocol.”
*
Jon spent the rest of the morning attempting to get a hold of anyone from Robb’s command. Each time he managed to reach a human, the sadistic fuck on the other end would transfer him to someone else and so on and so on until he was so frustrated he could barely see straight.
Jon had just resigned himself to trying to reach someone again when his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Yes, I’m trying to reach Jon Snow and Sansa Stark.”
“We’re both here. May I ask who’s calling?” Sansa asked.
“Yes, this is Commander Mormont. I’m calling in regard to Sergeant Stark. It’s been brought to my attention that you haven't been contacted.” The older man’s voice came garbled through the phone.
“No, we’ve been waiting to hear from Robb for weeks. Is something wrong?”
“Well, to put it bluntly, Sergeant Stark is AWOL.”
“Excuse me?” Sansa stuttered in disbelief.
“It means he’s absent without leave.” Jon interjected. “Commander, how long has he been AWOL?”
“The second week of training. He left overnight with his personal vehicle and hasn’t reported since.”
“Sir, that just isn’t something Robb would do. He would never just up and leave if he had a job to do. And he definitely wouldn’t have just taken off without saying anything to anyone and especially not without calling me.” Sansa shared an uneasy look with Jon who seemed to be torn between concern and rage.
“It definitely isn’t something I would expect from him either.” Mormont sighed. “Something isn’t quite right with this. I’m not happy that you weren’t notified either. I would suggest making a missing persons report. I’ll do what I can to find out exactly where he went on my end, but just in case.”
“Sir, I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Did you just tell me that my brother has been missing for weeks and no one is doing anything about it?”
“That’s exactly what he’s saying, Sansa.” Jon said gruffly. “And when we find Robb, we will be lodging formal complaints and suing. Goodbye Commander, thank you for your time.”
Jon abruptly ended the call and slammed his fist on the counter. Sansa could very nearly hear the creak of his teeth between his clenched jaws. “We are going to find him, Sansa. I promise you.”
“Robb is missing.” She said flatly. Her voice sounded miles away from herself. She could no longer feel the floor beneath her feet, her fingers were tingling and her mouth was so dry she couldn’t swallow. “Robb is missing, Theon was tortured and is dead, I was attacked. This is not happening. This is not happening right now.”
Jon cupped her face between his hands. “Sansa, you need to breathe. Come sit down.”
The ringing in Sansa’s ears was getting unbearably loud by the time she forced her feet to shuffle to the couch. She collapsed into it before Jon sat in front of her on the coffee table and took her hands, gently rubbing her fingers.
“I think this all just became more complicated than we thought.” Jon said slowly. “We really need to speak with Officer Clegane now, so whenever you feel up to it, we have to go.”
“Why is this happening?” She asked. “I don’t know anyone who holds a grudge against me. I’ve never been in trouble. I’m not very important at my job, no matter how many convictions I’ve secured. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Somewhere along the way, we must have missed something.” Jon rubbed his beard. “We are going to figure it out. I’m going to call Dany and let her know so that Sam can work on tracing Robb’s footsteps. Are you okay to sit here for a few minutes so I can do that?”
Sansa nodded shakily. She didn’t know how long it had been before Jon was standing in front of her again, asking if she was ready to leave for the police station. She couldn’t even feel her body. Her big brother was gone. Was he even still alive? Sansa didn’t think she could bear it if Robb was murdered because of her.
“Let’s go.” She said, resolving herself.
*
Officer Clegane looked just as happy as ever when they were escorted to his office in the police station. He audibly sighed before he asked, “What’s happened now?”
“My brother is missing.” Sansa flatly stated.
“Missing? I thought he was meant to be on some sort of military training trip.” Clegane drawled, sipping from his coffee cup.
“Yes, that’s what we thought too. We’ve been trying to get into contact with him for weeks with no answer. So today we called his command who finally called us back to let us know he ‘went AWOL’ which is the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.” Jon said.
“Do you not believe that he could’ve gone missing of his own accord?”
“Absolutely not.” Sansa insisted. “Robb is not the type to disobey a direct order. He isn’t the type to shirk any responsibility. If he isn’t with his training company, something bad has happened to him.”
“When was the last time you spoke to him?” Officer Clegane asked, fishing through a lower drawer on his desk for the forms they would need to fill out.
“We haven’t spoken since the night before he left for the trip, weeks ago. I don’t know when exactly the last time someone saw him was, though. You would have to ask his command for that.” Jon said.
“I will be.” Clegane promised and handed Sansa a small stack of paper. “Fill this out and we’ll see where we can go from there.”
“Officer, there was another reason we came here. We had planned on coming earlier before we found out about Robb, but this is just as important.” Jon said. “Sansa got a copy of Theon’s autopsy report. You were right. He was mutilated. But, beyond that, he must have been tortured for some time. I think it’s possible that whoever is behind the threats against Sansa’s life is also the one who tortured Theon and possibly the one behind Robb’s disappearance.”
“There’s definitely more happening here.” Officer Clegane agreed. “I’ll have to put more men on this, but right now there just aren’t any leads. Whoever this is has covered their tracks pretty perfectly. I have a feeling that we won’t know who it is until they want us to.”
Sansa paused in the paperwork to look between the two men. “You think they’re going to try something again.” She stated.
“Quite frankly, yes.” The detective said. “There are too many coincidences here. Too many things happening that have too many things in common to not be connected. I’m going to need you to tell me every single thing that could possibly be connected to it all. Anything, no matter how out there it is.”
“It’s going to be a long night then.” Jon sighed. “I’ve got some friends of mine looking into all of this too. They think there might be something involving the Lannisters.”
“Why?”
“I started looking into the death of Cersei Lannister’s husband.” Sansa grimaced.
“Well, that was definitely not a great thing to do.” Clegane said. “Anyone with a brain could tell that giant oaf was murdered, but there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do about it. You shouldn’t be sticking your nose into things like that.”
“I thought it might lead to taking the entire mob down eventually. I thought if I could pull it off, I could land Cersei herself in a prison cell.”
“Didn’t work that way though, did it? Fucking hell, if that’s who’s behind all this, I’m gonna need a raise.” The officer ran a hand over his frustrated face. “Snow, I’m going to need the names of the people you put on this. I need access to the information they have.”
“Not a problem.” Jon promised.
It was well after midnight before the couple left the station. They had spent hours going over every possible piece of the puzzle- Theon, the Lannisters, Sansa’s conviction rate and the people she had put away, Robb’s disappearance and the timing of it all. Sansa’s head was swimming with all of the information, too tired to focus on any one point, too tired to not think about all of them at once.
Jon was tucking her into bed before she even realized they had gotten home.
*
Jon’s phone began to ring somewhere around 3 AM.
“Hello?” He answered groggily. “Sam?”
He paused as he listened to the man on the other end of the line. He shook Sansa’s shoulder to wake her. “Sansa, wake up, you’re going to want to hear this.” He put the phone on speaker and set it in between them.
“Sansa?” Sam asked.
“I’m here.” She cleared her throat. “What’s up?”
“I managed to track Robb’s phone.” Sam said. “He made it all the way to Winterfell the day after his commander said he went AWOL and then the trail went cold. After that, there’s no activity on any of his accounts, the phone has been turned off or it died.”
“He made it home?” Jon asked.
“His phone did at least.” Sam said. “I haven’t been able to find anything other than the phone activity. His jeep did not make it home with him, however. That hasn’t been picked up on any of the toll cameras that the phone shows it passed through. I’m trying to gain access to those pictures now to see if we can see what cars were going through the tolls at the same time the phone pinged off the towers in the area.”
“Great, Sam. Thank you.” Jon yawned. “Can you send all of this over to Officer Clegane? I sent all of his info to you earlier.”
“Already done.” Sam assured them. “I just wanted to make sure you guys were up to date. I’m sorry for calling so late.”
“No, it’s okay Sam.” Sansa said. “I really appreciate everything you’re doing.”
“I’ll call as soon as I have anything new.”
Jon placed his phone back on the nightstand and rolled over to face Sansa. “What’s going on in that big brain of yours, love?”
“If Robb’s Jeep isn’t in Winterfell and it isn’t in the Riverlands with the training company, it seems like whoever made Robb disappear did it in a way that no one would know to be looking for him. They took his jeep from the Riverlands to make his command think he left willingly, but they didn’t use it to come all the way back to Winterfell because someone would’ve seen it.”
“Starting to seem like these people are professionals.” Jon said offhandedly.
“What if they are?” Sansa asked, laying her head against Jon’s chest to listen to his heartbeat. “Officer Clegane said that there were no leads. It would make sense that a professional would know what to do to cover their trail.”
“That’s true.” Jon squeezed Sansa to his chest reassuringly. “Want me to come to work with you tomorrow? I don’t want you to be alone, especially now.”
“I would love it if you did.” Sansa said. “But, Mr. Baelish said specifically to not bring you along, and I’d really like to keep my job.” She tried to stifle a yawn but it escaped.
“You need to promise to call me if anything happens, no matter how insignificant it seems to you.”
“I promise.” Sansa said, falling back to sleep.
*
Sansa felt it was much too soon when she woke to the sound of her alarm. The fact that she had to go to work and spend hours toiling away at trivial things when her brother was missing wasn’t something she could quite wrap her head around. Robb was gone and the world just had the audacity to keep turning.
She could hear Jon in the kitchen making them breakfast as she continued to waste time laying in bed when she should be getting ready. She couldn’t seem to make herself move from her position, her brain forcing her to think of all of the horrible possibilities that could havehappened to Robb. Tears welled up in her eyes as she imagined him locked away somewhere.
Sansa couldn’t think that he could be dead. She would know. Some part of her would know if one of her siblings were gone, just the way that she had known her parents were gone, the way she had known that something bad had happened to Robb.
The phone rang three times before Arya picked up, “Hey Sans, what’s up?”
“Robb is missing.” Sansa forced out through her tears.
“What?” Arya demanded. “What do you mean, Robb’s missing? He’s busy training in the Riverlands, that’s why he hasn’t called. Who told you he was missing?”
“Jon and I called his command yesterday. When they finally called us back, his commander said that he’s actually been missing for weeks but for whatever reason, no one thought to contact us.” Sansa sat up and took a few deep breaths. “Actually, what he said was that Robb went AWOL, but we both know he would never do that. Jon’s friend called last night and said that his phone could be traced all the way back to Winterfell a couple weeks ago, but after that it was turned off or it died.”
“I’m coming up there.” Arya said.
“No, don’t.” The elder Stark sighed. “There’s no point. He’s been missing for weeks now. There’s nothing that we can do better than the police are doing. Or Jon’s friends, really. I think they might have better resources than the police do.”
“Sansa, I can’t just do nothing, I have to be there.”
“Arya, really, there’s nothing either of us can do. I’m frustrated with it too.” Sansa said. “I wish more than anything that I could put everything aside and go find him, but I can’t. Neither can you. You can’t keep leaving Gendry to watch the gym by himself just like I can’t miss any more work.”
“Then who is going to find him, Sansa?” Arya demanded.
“The police will. Or Jon will. I don’t know who is going to find him, but we are going to find him. I have no doubt about that.” Sansa glanced at the clock on her nightstand. “Listen, I have to go or I’m going to be late for work. You can always call and talk to Jon if you really want to help, okay? I love you.”
“I love you too, Sansa.” Arya sniffed. “I just hope Robb is okay. What are we going to do without him?”
“Hey, don’t talk like that. It’s Robb. He’s going to be fine no matter what happens.”
*
Sansa was in the middle of a phone call to schedule a meeting when Baelish walked into her office. He made himself comfortable in one of the chairs opposite her desk and waited for her to finish.
“Yes, Tuesday works perfectly for me. What time did you want to schedule that?” Sansa asked into the phone. “Three in the afternoon it is. Have a good rest of your day, bye.”
“What was that about?” Baelish asked, eyes roaming over what little of Sansa’s body he could see.
“The defense attorneys on the Dontos Hollard case have decided to accept a plea deal.”
“Wonderful news.” Baelish leaned forward in his seat. “I need you to go down to the courthouse to pick up some files for the Slynt case. I’ve been made aware of some new evidence but I need to go over it thoroughly before I decide what direction to go.”
“Is there a time you’d like me to go?”
“Right now, if you can.” Baelish said. “This case goes to trial next week, so the sooner I can have those files in my hand, the better.”
“Alright, I’ll go now then. Was there anything else you needed?”
“No, that’s it. Just make it back here as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, sir.” Sansa inwardly groaned as her boss left the office. She still had quite a bit of work left before the day was over and the courthouse wasn’t that far away, but it was always busy and could sometimes mean an hour-long wait before she could even speak to someone.
I think it’s going to end up being another late night. :( She texted Jon.
Ghost and I will be waiting with dinner whenever you’re done. Take your time. Be safe, I love you.
I will. I love you too.
In a surprising bit of luck, the courthouse ended up being nearly empty by the time she made it there. After a short wait, she was called up to the information desk.
“What can I help you with today, ma’am?” The short, portly man behind the desk asked.
“I’m with the prosecutor’s office. I’m here to pick up some files that should have been set aside for Petyr Baelish.”
“No one left anything with me. Give me one moment to check something.” The worker turned to his computer and began typing. “What case is this for?”
“Janos Slynt, case GOT41711.”
“Okay, that’s what the problem is.” The man turned back to face Sansa fully. “So, these particular files are from a previous conviction from a few years back. Because of that, they’re located in the Court Annex.”
“And where is the Court Annex?” Sansa questioned.
“It’s a five minute drive down Lion Lane, it’s the first building on the right. Really old, copper roof, can’t miss it. The file is in the basement and is labelled JAN42615. I’ll write it all down for you.” The man handed her a post-it with the file number on it.
“Thank you.”
The building was exactly as the man had said. An old stone building covered in ivy, it looked like no one had been inside for years. Sansa debated calling Jon to have him meet her so she didn’t have to go in alone, but decided against it when she noticed the time.
The door creaked open and the musty air inside made Sansa wrinkle her nose as she stepped inside. The information desk in the front room was empty and she looked around to see if she could find a sign for an elevator or stairs that would take her to the basement. A rusted red door to her left stated that it contained stairs to the lower level. She had to tug hard on the door to get it to open.
The musty smell was worse downstairs and the shelves were covered in at least an inch of dust. Only half of the overhead lights were working and Sansa decided to find the files quickly so she could leave as soon as possible.
The files that started with J were halfway down the rows of shelves. The room was packed full of files and boxes from previous cases. Some had the numbers clearly marked, but some didn’t have numbers at all and Sansa couldn’t tell exactly where the Slynt file would be and was forced to look at each folder and box.
Bending down to look at the bottom shelf, Sansa thought she heard footsteps. She stood up to peek around the corner of the shelves she was in. When she didn’t see anyone and didn’t hear anyone after waiting for a few minutes, she turned back to look for the file again.
Immediately, something hard struck her in the back of the head. Pain blossomed behind her eyes before everything went black.
Chapter 12
Notes:
This chapter takes place at the same time as the last one did, just from Jon's perspective.
Chapter Text
When Jon woke up only a few hours after the phone call with Sam, he spent a few moments staring at the woman sharing his bed. The weak morning sunlight set her hair aflame, making every freckle stand out against her alabaster skin. His heart swelled at the sight just as it did every morning and he thanked the old gods and the new that she was his.
He got up to make them breakfast and could hear her talking to someone on the phone in the bedroom.
When she finally emerged from the bedroom ready for work, he was just plating their food. “Morning, sweetheart.” He said as he kissed her. “Who was on the phone?”
“Arya.” Sansa sighed, rubbing her temples. “I figured I should tell her about Robb.”
“How’d she take it?” Jon asked, sitting at the table.
“Not well.” Sansa said. “But, I didn’t expect her to. She wanted to come up here to search but I told her to stay home.”
“Probably a good idea.” Jon agreed. “There’s not much any of us can do with how long he’s been missing unless Sam can give us a place to start looking.”
“I hate this.” Sansa said quietly.
Jon reached across the table to take her hand. “I do, too. We will find him, Sansa, I promise you.”
Sansa attempted to smile but it came out more like a grimace. “It just all seems so hopeless, you know?”
Jon rose from his seat and pulled Sansa to her feet to hug her. “I know. There is nothing we won’t do to get him back, San.” He pulled back to hold her face in his hands. “He is going to be okay. You are going to be okay. We’re going to figure this all out.”
Sansa surged forward to kiss him. “How did I get so lucky to have you?”
“I’m the lucky one.” Jon smiled. “Now, eat. You’ve got work. Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? I don’t mind.”
“I’m sure. Baelish said he’d fire me if I brought you along.” Sansa sighed. She began eating quickly in order to make it on time.
Jon walked down to her car with her with Ghost in tow. “I’ll have dinner ready for you when you get home.” He said, wrapping her in a tight embrace. “Eat some dinner, watch some bad Lifetime movies?”
“Sounds like a date.” Sansa smiled. “I’ll see you later.” She leaned up to kiss him tenderly.
“Alright, alright. If you don’t go now, I’m making you stay.” Jon said before kissing her once more. “I love you. Be safe.”
“I love you too.”
*
Near the end of Ghost’s walk, Jon’s phone began to ring. It was Sam asking if Jon could come to Daenerys’s house to go over Robb’s phone GPS. Jon took Ghost home and made sure he was occupied before he made his way over.
When he arrived, Sam was already set up at a table in Daenerys’s library.
Sam pulled up a program on his laptop. It looked complicated to Jon, but then again, tech was never his area of expertise.
“Okay, see here. I was able to hack Robb’s phone to find his exact GPS coordinates. He was in the Riverlands for a week before the phone starts moving North, which coincides from when you told me he went missing. It’s also exactly three days before Sansa was attacked.” Sam pointed at the screen. “The really surprising thing I found was that the last location the phone gives off, it’s in the same place as Theon’s phone.”
“So Theon might’ve taken Robb?” Jon asked incredulously.
“No, I don’t think that’s very likely. Theon’s phone was always in Winterfell and its activity seems like he was using it the entire time.” Sam said. “More likely that Theon was involved with whoever took Robb.”
“I don’t know.” Jon sat back in his seat. “Theon and Robb always seemed really close. I don’t think Theon would’ve intentionally done anything to harm him.”
Thoughts were turning over quickly in Jon’s head as he tried to put everything together. “Can you look more in Theon? Like his movements over the past few years, people he associated with, stuff like that?”
“I certainly can, but it’ll take a while.” Sam said. “The guy was pretty off the grid from what I can tell.”
Just then, Tyrion walked in.
“Jon, I’m glad you’re here.” He said, sitting across the table from the two. “I’ve been hearing some things that I’m sure you want to know.”
“What is it?”
“My sources are saying things about Sansa’s interest in Robert Baratheon’s death?” Tyrion furrowed his brow.
“Right. We told you about that. Sansa thought there was more to it and she got access to his autopsy report.” Jon shrugged. “What about it?”
“Apparently Cersei isn’t very happy about it.” Tyrion folded his hands together on top of the table. “Her daughter just so happens to be the receptionist for the medical examiner’s office. As soon as Sansa popped her pretty little head into that building and started asking questions, Cersei knew about it.”
“And let me guess, there definitely is more to Robert’s death than what the reports said, isn’t there?” Jon crossed his arms.
“Oh, of course.” Tyrion chuckled. “My sister couldn’t stand him. He outlived his usefulness. Anyway, what I found out is that Cersei has someone in the prosecutor’s office in her pocket.”
“Do you have a name?”
“Petyr Baelish.” Tyrion said shortly.
“That’s Sansa’s boss.” Jon pointed out. “You’re sure it’s him?”
“I’m positive.” Tyrion grimaced. “He’s been on her payroll for years according to his bank statements.”
Jon pulled out his phone and tried to call Sansa. It rang endlessly before her voicemail picked up. As soon as he hung up he tried calling twice more with the same results. The fourth time he called, it went straight to voicemail like the phone had been turned off.
“Sam, can you track Sansa’s phone?” Jon asked urgently. “She’s not answering and now it’s not even ringing.”
“On it.” Sam clicked his keyboard a few times. “She went from your apartment this morning to work and then went to the courthouse downtown about an hour ago. The last place her phone was is some building on Lion’s Lane? I don’t know what it is, hold on.”
Jon watched over Sam’s shoulder as he googled the address. “It says it’s the court’s annex building. Apparently they keep all the older files that don’t fit in regular storage there. But after that, her phone is shut off.”
“I don’t like this.” Jon ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Something is wrong.”
“Does she normally leave her office during the day?” Tyrion asked.
“Not often.” Jon thought. “Usually if she has a meeting. Or if her boss needs her to run an errand for him.”
Jon tried to call her again and it went straight to voicemail. “I’m going to call Officer Clegane.”
“Hello?” His gruff voice answered.
“Sansa is missing. I’ve tried to call her over and over and in between calls, someone shut her phone off.” Jon said urgently.
“Hang on a minute-”
“Something is wrong, Clegane. I’m not about to wait for her to turn up dead. I’ll meet you at the station.” Jon hung up as he ran to his car.
*
Jon couldn’t work through what Officer Clegane was saying into the phone. He couldn’t stop pacing the floor, wringing his sweaty hands together. Sansa was missing. Gone. No one had seen her and no one could get hold of anyone who had.
“Mr. Baelish.” Clegane’s gruff voice broke Jon out of his frustrated movements.
He slammed his body down into the chair in front of Clegane’s desk and leaned forward to listen closely.
“I’m calling to ask if you know the whereabouts of an employee of yours. Sansa Stark.” Clegane paused for a few moments to wait for an answer. “You don’t. Right. You didn’t send her out of the office today?” Another pause. “Ah, so you sent her to the courthouse. She never came back?”
Jon’s fingers were beginning to creak under the strain of clenching them together.
“You didn’t think to follow up and see what was taking so long?” Clegane was annoyed, barely getting the words through his clenched teeth. “Miss Stark frequently leaves the office without telling anyone? Right. Thank you for your time, Mr. Baelish. I’ll be in touch.” He slammed the phone back into the cradle.
“Well?”
“He says he hasn’t seen her all day and that she frequently ‘shirks her duties’ to spend time with her boyfriend.” Clegane rolled his eyes. “He’s clearly lying, but it is troubling. I’m going to put together a few officers for a search.”
“How long will that take?”
“A few hours.” Clegane rubbed his beard. “It technically hasn’t been long enough to call in a full task force but I can get a few guys that owe me favors together.”
“That’s not fast enough.” Jon growled. “She could be being tortured right now!”
“We don’t know that for certain, Mr. Snow.”
“We don’t know she’s not. I can’t wait that long. I have to find her.” Jon stormed out of the office without another word.
Jon rushed through the police station, barreling into multiple people on his way out. All he could think of was Sansa being hurt somewhere, alone and scared. And it was all his fault.
He never should have left her by herself with no protection. Twice now, he’d promised her he would keep her safe and twice now, he’d failed. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t find her in time.
Jon tried to call Sansa’s phone again as he threw his body into the seat of his car. It went straight to voicemail.
It only took a few minutes to drive across town to the courthouse. The man behind the desk looked surprised to see a Jon running toward him.
“Earlier today, there was a red headed woman that came in, have you seen her?” Jon demanded.
“I’m sorry, that’s not very specific.” The man said. “Do you have a picture or something?”
Jon took out his phone and pulled up a picture of the two of them from when they went out with Arya.
“Oh, yes, I did see her earlier. She was looking for some files that we keep in the annex building.”
“She didn’t come back here?”
“No. I’m sorry, was she supposed to have?”
“No, I don’t think so. Thank you for your time.” Jon said distractedly as his phone started ringing in his hand. He looked down to see that it was Sam calling.
“Sam, what’ve you got?” He questioned.
“Sansa’s phone was just turned back on.” Sam said.
“Have you got a location yet?”
“Bear Island State Park.”
*
The sun was just beginning to set when Jon pulled into the deserted park. The sky was painted in brilliant oranges, reflecting off the trees making everything looking as if it was on fire.
There were no cars in the parking lot, no children on the playground.
The area was desolate and the thought made his insides churn with dread.
Not knowing where to start, Jon removed his gun from his waistband and double checked that it was loaded. He had stopped at home to grab it just to be on the safe side. He turned off the safety and began moving through the trails, hoping at some point he would come across something.
The park wasn’t very big and it only took an hour to search the trails. Confirming that the park was empty, Jon started in on the center where most of the public would congregate on a nice day. There were multiple jungle gyms, soccer fields and shelters spread across the grass. Directly in the middle was a large white gazebo where bands would play during the summer festival.
The silence was eerie and no matter how long Jon had taken to search, he knew he could never be sure the place was really empty. The feeling of being watched had settled into his bones, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
His ears pricked as he started hearing a small tune. He held his arm straight, holding his pistol aloft and trained in front of him as he made his way closer to the center of the park. As he got closer, he realized the sound was Sansa’s ringtone.
Moving more quickly, it became apparent the sound was coming from the gazebo.
He kept his head on a constant swivel, looking left and right to make sure no one was waiting to surprise him before he walked up the steps to the structure.
Inside, sitting on a bench was Sansa’s phone, but Sansa herself was nowhere in sight. Just before his hand could touch the phone when he reached down to pick it up, it stopped ringing. Jon jerked his hand back and whipped his head around. He had to be being watched. The feeling hadn’t gone away, and the timing of the call ending was too close to be a coincidence.
But he could see no one. The park was just as empty as it had been when he first came.
He picked up the phone with a shaking hand. The lock screen picture had been changed.
It was an unconscious Sansa tied to a chair. The background was nondescript, gray, and non-identifiable. His eyes refocused on Sansa. Her hair was wet and plastered to the side of her head, she didn’t seem to have any visible bruises, but her clothes were dirty.
Jon’s mouth went dry. He should’ve been with her. He shouldn’t have let her go anywhere by herself. Now he had proof that someone had her and he wanted to vomit.
He put the phone down to take a deep breath and noticed that the phone had been sitting on a folded piece of paper.
What was written on it in a fancy calligraphic font made him see red.
To Jon Snow
Your beloved and her brother are in my dungeon. Come and see.
They’re both truly enjoying my company, just as Theon did. Come find them in the place where old kings lie.
Or risk the consequences.
I can’t guarantee how much of them will be left if you take your time.
Chapter 13
Notes:
I'm so sorry for the wait!
Chapter Text
Sansa’s head violently ached. She couldn’t seem to lift it from her chest where her chin rested. Somewhere behind her there was water dripping, echoing in a cavernous room that she couldn’t remember ever entering. How had she ended up here? Her thoughts seemed very hard to reach and the more she tried, the more her head hurt.
But she had been at work, right? Running errands maybe? Something niggled in the back of her mind, something important. What was it? Sansa thought desperately. She scrunched her eyes tighter, trying to fight through the pain.
Her head lolled back and hit the back of the chair she was sitting in. Excruciating pain shot through her skull and her eyes flew open, wrenching a gasp from the back of her throat. She attempted to touch the back of her head, but her hands wouldn’t cooperate.
At least her eyes were open now. Groaning quietly, Sansa turned her head to search the room she was in for any clues that would tell her where she was.
It was a cold, damp place. Water continued to drip behind her, the only source of light were the torches lit along the walls of the room. When she looked down, she noted that both her arms and legs were bound to the chair she was sitting in, her skin covered with a layer of grime. The jacket she remembered putting on that morning was missing, leaving her bare arms vulnerable to the cold.
A slight wheezing sound came from her left, piercing the quiet with its haunting tone.
There was a man tied to a cross like something straight out of a medieval torture book. He was nude except for a tattered pair of boxers, although he was so dirty that it was hard to tell. His body sagged against the restraints tying him to the cross by his wrists and ankles. Sansa would have thought that he was dead, but that sound had to have come from him, there was no one else in the room with them.
What had happened?
She could remember getting ready that morning, saying goodbye to Jon- Jon!
Jon would be looking for her, no doubt. Sansa had no idea how long she had been gone for, or even where she was, but if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that Jon would always come for her.
The thought filled her with resolve. It did not matter what happened, as long as Jon would come.
If only she could remember how she got here, and why her head hurt so badly. One side of her hair was sticking uncomfortably to her face, like it had gotten wet and crusted to her skin as it dried.
“Ah, yes,” A melodic voice rang out, “You’re finally awake.”
Squinting into the dark, Sansa struggled to make out the shape of a man walking towards her, clapping loudly in a twisted round of applause. When he stepped into the light, she noted his dark hair and unnatural blue eyes staring at her from beneath it. His smile was too wide, showing too many teeth. He looked like he couldn’t be happier to have two people tied up in his- what, dungeon?
“Who are you?” She asked shakily.
“Ah, ah, ah.” He chided. “That would spoil the fun of the Stark reunion!”
“Reunion?” Sansa parroted, her brow furrowed.
The man gestured towards the other prisoner, who was now struggling to lift his head.
“You don’t recognize your own brother? What a shame.” The man walked towards the prisoner and grabbed a handful of his hair, yanking his head up so that Sansa could see his face twisted up in a grimace.
She could trace the lines of that face in her sleep, feel the softness of his curls beneath her fingertips, the roughness of his stubble against her cheek. The bone structure of their father, their mother’s coloring. There was no denying that this was Robb Stark. His pale skin was mottled with bruises, dried blood covered him almost as completely as the grime did.
Her heart wrenched in her chest as she took in the sight of her brother. He had suffered this man’s torture, and for how long? He had been missing for weeks. Had this man had him this entire time?
Sansa’s eyes flooded with tears that she desperately tried to stop from falling down her cheeks. She did not want this man to see her weakness, something that she knew deep down he would use against her.
“Sansa,” Robb rasped. “You have to get out of here-”
His voice was abruptly cut off when Ramsay brutally punched him in the stomach. Robb coughed and dry heaved and Ramsay roughly dropped his head.
“Oh no, none of that. She’s only just joined us, we need to have a little bit of fun before we can excuse our dear guests.” Ramsay rubbed his hands together. “We’re only just getting started.”
He walked over to a table Sansa hadn’t noticed at first. He picked up a tool that glinted in the firelight. He brought it over to her and waved it in front of her face.
“If you cooperate, I won’t take too many pieces.” He said simply.
Her sharp inhale echoed Robb’s as he began screaming that Ramsay couldn’t touch her. “I’ll kill you. If you touch her, I swear I’ll kill you.”
“Oh, this isn’t for sweet Sansa. No, we cannot damage such a sweet creature. At least not so soon.” He turned and began his walk back to Robb. “You’ve still got some fingers left. If Sansa answers my questions, maybe you’ll even get to keep one or two.”
Sansa’s stomach curdled and dropped. He was going to hurt Robb. She was the reason Robb was being tortured and there was nothing she could do to stop it with her limbs tied to this damn chair. “Please don’t hurt him.” She begged. “I’ll do anything you want.”
“Sansa, no!” Robb yelled. Ramsay took the pliers and started to press one of Robb’s fingers between them, Robb’s screams only growing louder as the bones began to audibly crunch.
“Please,” Sansa sobbed. “Please, stop hurting him.”
“Are you going to be a good girl, Sansa?” Ramsay taunted.
“Yes.” She promised, choking back her tears. “Anything you want.”
Ramsay stepped away from Robb and crouched in front of her, close enough that his breath blew across her face and turned her stomach with its rancidness. “You’ll answer my questions?”
Sansa nodded so emphatically that her vision swam, filling with black spots.
“No lies, or Robb loses more digits.” Ramsay smiled that twisted smile when she agreed. “What information do you have about Robert Baratheon’s death?”
“What?” Sansa gasped. “That’s what all of this was about?”
“Answer the questions or Robb will suffer.”
“I got a copy of his autopsy.” Sansa said quickly. “It mentioned that there were both drugs and alcohol in his system when he died. The levels seemed to be too high for Robert to have been conscious, but that’s all I know I swear.”
“That’s it? You never questioned anyone else?” Ramsay asked.
“I swear. I thought it was likely that he was murdered, but nothing explicitly pointed to it, so I stopped looking after I read the autopsy.”
“Thank you for being so accommodating, Sansa.” Ramsay straightened and placed the pliers back onto the table. “I think that’s all for right now. I’ll be back.”
When she was sure the man was gone, she called out to Robb. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry this happened to you, it’s all my fault.” She began to cry in earnest.
“I’ve seen better days, I’m not going to lie.” Robb groaned, trying and failing to lift his shoulders in a shrug. “This isn’t your fault. That sadistic fuck grabbed me my first night in the Riverlands. I let my guard down and I didn’t see him coming. It had nothing to do with you.”
“Robb, don’t you see? He kidnapped you because of me. He tortured you because of me, because I was looking into Cersei Lannister’s husband’s death.”
“Sansa, I don’t blame you.” Robb said, looking directly into her eyes. “That might be the reason for all of this, but it isn’t your fault.”
“Have you been here this whole time?” Sansa sniffed, wishing that she could wipe her nose. “Where are we anyway?”
“Yeah, they kept me pretty drugged up on the drive here, but I’m pretty sure we’re in the old Winterfell castle.”
“The castle? Why would he bring us to the castle?”
“It’s abandoned, no one comes here once it’s cold and it has dungeons far enough underground that people screaming can’t be heard.” Robb said flatly.
“I’m so sorry, Robb.” Sansa cried. “I wish I could help you.” She started pulling at her restraints, hoping that they would come loose. Her skin burned where the ropes pulled across her wrists.
“Where’s Jon?” Robb asked suddenly. “He was supposed to protect you.”
“He’s probably looking for me.” Sansa said. “He was home when I left for work this morning. We were going to have dinner when I got home, but he’ll know that something is wrong by now.”
“He hasn’t been going to work with you?” Robb asked angrily.
“No, there were some issues with that and he had to stop.” She chewed her lip. “Robb, how much do you know about what’s been happening since you’ve been here?”
“Not a thing. Ramsay is the only one I’ve seen and he doesn’t come often anymore. Before that he didn’t really say anything that wasn’t just insulting.”
“The man that was breaking into my house was Theon.” Sansa said, looking away from her brother, not wanting to tell him that she was also the reason that his childhood friend was dead.
“Theon? Theon Greyjoy?” Robb questioned. “How’d you work that out?”
“Because he attacked me when Jon took Ghost for a walk. And when they came back, he and Jon fought and he died.” She didn’t know how else to put it. It wasn’t a night she wanted to relive, but it was also something that Robb deserved to know, something that she needed to tell him. But, she was also worried that this knowledge wasn’t going to help their already hopeless situation.
“I don’t know what to say to that.” Robb looked frustrated. He huffed a sigh and groaned as he shifted. “I should’ve been there. I should’ve been watching over you. I’m your big brother, it’s my responsibility.”
“Well, now you’re just starting to sound like Arya.” Sansa tried to joke.
“Have you talked to her?”
“She came home a couple weeks ago, after Theon. She wanted to come when I told her about you, but I wouldn’t let her. I’m sure she’ll be pissed at me when they find us.”
Robb laughed, his breath hitching against what Sansa assumed were painful ribs. “She’s going to kill you when they find us.” Robb turned serious after a moment. “Sansa, they are going to find us.”
Sansa really hoped that was true.
Chapter Text
By the time Ramsay made another appearance, Sansa thought another day had passed. Time was hard to keep track of when they couldn’t see the sun, and falling in and out of fitful half-sleeps didn’t help. For all she knew, another week could’ve gone by.
When he emerged from the darkness of the cavernous room, every fiber of her being filled with fear. This man had drugged and kidnapped her brother, then tortured him for weeks. He had knocked her out, presumably, and kidnapped her as well. There was no telling what he would do to her, now that he had her, even if he hadn’t seemed interested in hurting her the last time she had seen him.
The thought of him hurting Robb even more than he already had sunk like a lead balloon in her belly. She would take any form of punishment if it meant that Robb were spared. Sansa was unsure of how much more her older brother could take. When he thought she wasn’t looking, he would sag against his restraints, a look coming across his face that she could only interpret as hopelessness. Regardless of how sure he had sounded about being found, she could tell he didn’t really believe it would happen, that he had only been saying so to comfort his baby sister.
Sansa couldn’t do much in her position, but she could try. She could do everything in her power to protect the people that she cared about. Right now, it was the only thing she could do.
Ramsay sauntered in, his eyes glinting dangerously while his lips lifted in contempt.
“My wonderful Stark siblings!” He yelled, clapping his hands in front of him. “Time for more questions! Who volunteers to go first? Robb?” He lunged at Robb, laughing when he startled. “No? What a shame. Sansa it is, then.”
He stopped at the table with the torture instruments and picked up a large knife, tossing it back and forth in his hands as he whistled. Sansa’s lungs turned to stone, fear gripping her throat so tightly, she was sure she’d never breathe again. Her eyes widened, the knife flashing in the firelight of the torches lining the room.
Ramsay stopped just in front of her, seeming to take in her fear and revel in it. He lunged at her and laughed jovially when she flinched. What a sick fuck, Sansa thought. His unnerving smile showed too many teeth.
He ran the knife up one arm lightly, barely pressing. It wasn’t enough to break the skin, or even scratch at it, but the threat was there all the same. Comply, or be hurt.
“What is your occupation, Sansa?” He asked casually, like they were having coffee on a Sunday morning.
“I’m an attorney.” She stated, hoping her voice wouldn’t shake.
“But not just any attorney, right?” His voice turned hard. “No, you’re a prosecutor. You put away the bad people in our glorious city, isn’t that right?” He moved the knife across her collar bones and down her other arm slowly.
“Yes.” Sansa stated. She wasn’t willing to give more than he was asking. He clearly knew the answers to his questions already. She just couldn’t understand what this had to do with anything. He had asked about the Lannisters the day before, obviously he knew what her job title was.
“Tell me, do you know what happens to your little criminals when they’re put behind bars?” The knife was beginning to dig in the further it moved down her arm. Sansa swallowed down a gasp of pain.
“No. My job ends as soon as they’re sentenced.”
“So you don’t know that some of them are horrifically murdered behind bars, hmm?” The knife dug in when he turned it to drag it back up her arm, drawing blood.
“No.” She gasped. Her hand curled into a fist, pulling against the restraints. She didn’t understand. She was answering his questions, why was he hurting her?
“Or, maybe it’s just that you don’t care. Is that it?” His unnatural smile had twisted into a snarl. His entire being radiated a feral energy. It made Sansa strain to get away, but there was nowhere to go. The knife dug in harder and Sansa struggled not to scream. Her eyes filled with tears that ran down her face. Her arm felt as though it were on fire, it was hard to focus on anything other than the pain. “Perfect Sansa Stark, who has never lost a case. She’s cleaning up the streets of Winterfell, who cares who gets put away. It’s all a game to her, just how many people can she get?”
Ramsay continued dragging the knife upwards until Sansa let out a cry.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Sansa.” He said, dragging out the S’s in her name like a snake. “I like to play games too. Except, I don’t think you’ll enjoy mine very much.”
“Get away from her!” Robb screamed.
Ramsay turned away from Sansa to face her brother who was pulling against the cross he was tied to with all his might. “Now, now, Robb, you can have your turn later.” He turns back to Sansa with that same twisted smile spread across his face and her stomach curdled.
“What do you want?” She questioned.
“Do you remember a Roose Bolton?” He asked instead of answering. “You prosecuted him a few years back.”
“Yes, I remember.” Sansa tried to connect the dots, unable to think clearly through the blinding pain in her arm. “What does that have to do with you?”
“He was my father.” Ramsay whispered. “He died in prison, did you know? I doubt you cared even if you did know.”
“Roose Bolton didn’t have any children.” Sansa stated shakily, remembering Jon going through that very file in her office weeks ago when all this started.
“He didn’t talk about me much,” Ramsay supplied,shrugging and switching out his knife for a pair of pliers. “I’m a bastard, you see. Father didn’t want to legitimize me when there was always a chance that he could produce an heir. But, when you put him in prison, he promised to name me as his son and heir and I was set to inherit everything. But you put him in prison and let someone carve him up before he got the chance, so here I am, still a bastard, inheriting nothing of what is rightfully mine and it’s entirely your fault.”
The smile was gone now, leaving behind a feral mein in its absence. She could hear his teeth grinding together in his mouth. Ramsay looked wild, and for the first time since waking up in this dungeon, Sansa wondered if she would survive long enough for anyone to find them.
Ramsay lunged, and Sansa screamed.
And when Ramsay finally stopped and abruptly walked away, Sansa was left feeling hopeless. It was the bottomless sort of fear that she hadn’t felt in years. Not since the police had come to their house to inform them that both of their parents were dead. It’s the sort of fear that claws up the inside of your throat, trying desperately to consume you from the inside out.
Her body was battered, bruised and bloody, her mind cloudy. Robb continued to apologize and promise that he will get them out of there if it’s the last thing he did, but Sansa stopped listening. There would be no way out for her, she knew that to her core. Not with the way that Ramsay looked at her.
There was so much anger under the surface, bubbling up and escaping in bursts that were deadly. Ramsay had only just started getting his revenge against her for the fate of his father, or rather the opportunity that he believed was taken from him. This monster of a man was cruel, heartless and had nothing but time to hurt her and Robb. He’d had Robb for weeks already, only harming him for pleasure, it seemed. She could tell that his torture for her was not only satisfying in one way. He seemed to get off on it, and Sansa feared what that meant. His anger for her was personal.
There was no guarantee that anyone would find them in time. Not even Jon, no matter how much faith she had in him.
Hope had no place in her tired mind.
Jon had run out of places to look. Since finding her phone, he had searched high and low for her. There was simply no trace of her outside of that park. It was like she had been wiped off the face of the earth.
But he could still feel her, still feel her touch on him, still feel the press of her lips on his and he knew he would search until he found her, whatever it took.
Sam had placed a trace on every single catch phrase the two of them could come up with. Officer Clegane was running the investigation from the station, but was coming up just as empty handed as Jon was. He had informed Jon that the investigation into Sansa’s boss had come back clean, but something about the man just didn’t sit right in his gut.
Sam was looking into it, but the amount of time it took to run these types of searches was eating him up. He hadn’t slept since the day she went missing, his body running on fumes. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate anything, subsisting on black coffee and the sheer terror running through his veins.
He had to find her. There was no doubt about it. He didn’t think the police would look in the right places, and had no idea if Sam could hack his way into enough information to reveal where she might be. There were only so many places that he could physically search himself before there just weren’t any more that he could find on his own.
He had pieced together that Robb was probably in the same place as Sansa, if he was still alive. The disappearance of two Stark siblings was too much of a coincidence to not be connected. But finding Robb was proving to be even harder. The trail on him had run cold for weeks before Sansa had even gone missing.
The waiting was the worst. There was nothing to occupy him. Nowhere he could go that he didn’t see her. Every place and every thing that meant anything to him was wrapped up in her and there was no escaping it. Being in the places that she had occupied, being in the places that she had spent time kissing him, loving him, was like pressing against a bruise. It ached in a way that hurt more than the blades in his chest had. The lack of her presence was all consuming.
He would find her, he vowed. There wasn’t a stone he would leave unturned in his search for her.