Chapter Text
Sansa got to the baby shower two hours before it started. She had promised Robb and Jeyne she would help set up, and that’s what she did. Theon, who had also promised to be there early for set up, didn’t arrive until 20 minutes before, not that Sansa was surprised.
“Theon! There you are!” Robb calls out when his friend enters the back yard. “Will you help Jeyne with the photo wall, you promised her you would?”
“Shit, yeah.” Theon says, rushing over, and as he does, he passes Sansa, who’s arranging the goodie bags, and winks at her, “Hey Princess!”
She rolls her eyes in response. “Hi Theon.” And quickly she turns back to the table, shifting a bag so it’s perfectly straight. Her mind drifts back to last year.
She’d just moved to Riverrun after college, as she was going to start working at her mother’s family business, Tully Realtors. Robb and Theon lived there as well, and Robb was about four months into dating Jeyne. It was Jeyne, who on first meeting Sansa, suggested she go out with Theon. Sansa had blushed, and politely declined. Growing up, she’d always had a bit of a crush on Theon. He was attractive, athletic, and her brother’s best friend. Call it cliche, but of course she had a crush on him. If she went out with him, her family would remember her crush and tease her for it. So she suppressed her desire to say yes and said no.
But Jeyne was insistent, saying they were so well matched, and it was only after Robb didn’t object to the idea of it that Sansa agreed. In high school, Robb was so protective, not letting Sansa ever actually date Theon because he wasn’t serious enough for her. If Robb changed his mind, then Theon must have changed, too.
Sansa had been too shy to ask him out, but Jeyne did so on her behalf, and she assured Sansa that Theon knew it was a date. Sansa was surprised to realize how excited she was for it, but she was. Maybe it was just little middle and high school her who was excited, but she was happy to give her younger self what she always wanted, and so she put great thought into the date.
Sansa had chosen the restaurant weeks in advance.
It was a restaurant she and her family always went to when they visited the Riverlands. The kind of place with soft lighting and dark wood and a view of the river through tall, narrow windows. She arrived early, because that was her way, and used the extra time to smooth imaginary wrinkles from her dress and remind herself to breathe.
She’d made the dress especially for the occasion. It was navy as dark as the midnight sea, cut in a clean boatneck that framed her collarbones and shoulders with quiet confidence. The fabric skimmed her waist before flaring into a mid-length, full and flowy skirt that moved when she did, structured but soft. She had designed it carefully, not just because it suited her, for the navy really helped her eyes pop and sparkle, but because the neckline felt like a private nod to him. Boatneck. The sea. Something that said I think about you without having to say it out loud.
She wore her hair pinned back in a french twist, simple silver earrings, heels that were comfortable yet still fashionable and tall. She looked pretty. She’s been told she always looks pretty, but tonight she was intentionally pretty, because she wanted to hear Theon tell her she was so.
He arrived fifteen minutes late. Walking in with his confidence untouched by his tardiness, scanning the room, smiling when he sees her, and then strolling over.
“You’re late.” She frowned.
“Hey,” he greeted, leaning in for a quick hug. “Sorry. Got held up.”
She checked her watch anyway. “We had a reservation.”
“Yeah, I'm sorry.” He repeats. He sounds a little annoyed with her.
She pulled back and studied him for a moment, waiting, just a second, for his eyes to register her and take her in. For him to say something. Just a simple, you look nice. Or, that’s a pretty dress. Something. Anything.
He didn’t seem to notice her appearance at all.
He didn’t say she looked nice. Didn’t comment on the dress, the color, the care she’d taken. He didn’t remark that she curled her hair or question if she was wearing makeup or if she was always this beautiful. He just slid into his chair and picked up the menu like this was any other meal.
She tried to not let it get to her.
Conversation stumbled forward. He made crude jokes, like he always did, but Sansa didn’t find them as funny as she used to. They sounded pointless. A little stupid.
Sansa smiled when it was appropriate and didn’t when it wasn’t.
“This place is very…” he searched for the word, glancing around. “Serious.”
“It’s good,” she said, a little too crisply. “I bring clients here.”
“Right. Of course you do.”
What’s that supposed to mean? She wonders, but she doesn’t dare ask. She’s good at her job. She’s only been at the company for a a little bit and already sold 6 houses. Uncle Edmure hadn’t sold as many in that same time.
The waiter arrived and Sansa smiled at him, engaging in pleasant small talk as it was the polite thing to do, before ordering her favorite creamy lemon salmon pasta. Theon studied the menu for an extra few moments before ordering a simple steak and mashed potatoes. How boring was that? The waiter took their menus and left.
“You could’ve picked somewhere that serves fries,” he jokes, smiling like it was harmless.
Sansa nodded stiffly.
The rest of the date went as poorly as the start did, Theon proving to be unorganized, unserious, and a little sloppy. Sansa was relieved when the night was over. She drove home and called Jeyne. Jeyne Poole, her best friend, not Jeyne Westerling, her brother's girlfriend. She told Jeyne all about how unbearable Theon was being, and how the only part of her that was sad was the childish part of her who still idolized him. Jeyne told her it was probably better this way, and Sansa agreed. This way they could still be reluctant friends, for Robb’s sake.
The next morning she found out the only reason Robb didn’t object to the date was because he didn’t think it would go well. He was right. He always was. And that was the end of that. She and Theon remained amiable and cordial, and Sansa forgot all about the crush had on him.
They coexisted with each other. Seeing each other sparsely at first, and then more often as Robb and Jeyne’s relationship progressed. They both helped Robb plan the proposal. They walked down the aisle with her on his arm because they were the Best Man and Maid of Honor respectively. They found out together that Jeyne was expecting, and now they were helping with the baby shower together. Well, Sansa was helping. Who’s to say if Theon was?
“Where’d you put the name suggestion jar?” Jeyne asks, as she waddles towards the table Sansa’s at.
“It’s in the living room.” Sansa tells her.
“Have you put a name in it yet?”
Sansa nods. “A few. Just to fill it up some. Do you and Robb still really have no name ideas?”
“Well, if it’s a boy I want to name it after him. You know, Little Robb Junior, or RJ. But Robb’s convinced it’s a girl, so we can’t really agree. There’s too many girl names we like.”
Jeyne grabs a little pink and blue cake pop and takes a bite. Sansa does as well. “It’s not too late for me to plan a gender reveal, you know?” She offers. Sansa had been offering since the moment she found out Jeyne was expecting, but Robb and Jeyne were insistent on doing things the old fashioned way.
“Maybe for the next baby.” Jeyne relents. Sansa smiles and nods, already planning ten different hypothetical gender reveals for her second niece or nephew.
The baby shower was a great success. Sansa knew it would be. Her parents had flown down for it, and so had Jeyne’s mother. Jon, and Bran were also in attendance, but Arya was traveling Essos and Rickon was in his first semester of university, so neither of them could get away.
—
Catelyn “Kitty” Jeyne Stark was born on the first day of spring. She had her mother’s shiny chestnut curls and her father’s sapphire eyes. She was born slightly premature, about three weeks, which required a longer hospital stay, but other than that she was perfectly healthy. She was perfect.
Sansa was the first visitor, as both her parents and Jeyne’s mother were flying into town. Sansa came to the hospital with two present bags on one arm, and her work bag hanging on her shoulder. She was coming straight from a house showing.
Theon is already in the hospital room when she arrives, and Sansa frowns, because she thought she’d be the first to meet her niece. But no, Theon is looking down at her from where she rests in Jeyne’s arms, smiling sweetly at her and not even bothering to look up and greet Sansa when she enters the room. Robb greets her, though.
“Hey Sans,” Robb smiles, pulling her into a hug and then taking her bags from her and setting them down. “You want to meet your niece?” He asks excitedly, as proud as any new father would be.
“Do I?” She asks excitedly, rushing over to the side of Jeyne that Theon isn’t standing by. “Oh! She’s perfect!” Sansa gushes at Jeyne, and Jeyne beams back at her.
“I know, a little angel!”
“And I’m so happy her two godparents got to be the first to meet her!” Robb adds with a smile.
“Do you mean it?” Sansa asks, clutching her heart and hugging Jeyne. Jeyne hugs her back and then hugs Theon, who’s blushing but happy.
“Of course we mean it. You and Theon are some of the most important people in our lives, and we want you to be just as important in Kitty’s.”
Sansa grins and looks back down at her niece.
Theon lets Sansa be the first to hold Kitty, other than Jeyne and Robb, of course, and he takes way too many pictures. He’s always been fond of photography, and apparently he’s already taken a bunch of pictures of Kitty and her parents, so now he just focuses on Sansa and little Cat.
After about an hour of visiting with them, Sansa can tell it’s time to go, so she excuses herself and Theon, who clearly hadn’t taken the hint and probably would have stayed for another hour or two. But Sansa can tell Jeyne and Robb are tired, and it will be a busy day with all the grandparents coming tomorrow, so she promises she’ll bring by coffee in the morning.
Theon and Sansa are quiet when they’re in the elevator, for they don’t have much to talk about, their only similarity being Robb, and now Kitty.
“She’s adorable!” Sansa attempts to engage in conversation.
“Beautiful,” Theon agrees. “It’s good she mostly took after Jeyne!” He jokes.
Sansa frowns. If only he had stuck with his one word response. The joke feels ill timed to her ears. Theon can sense she’s in a mood now, so Theon changes the subject.
“You headed straight home?” He asks her.
She nods her head. “You?”
“No. I’ve got to pick up Grey Wind first, and then I’ll head home.”
“How’s your house coming along?” Sansa asks. Theon works in construction. Well, actually, he owns his own construction company, and he’s been planning on building himself a house for about a year. As far as she knows, he’s finished the blueprints and is nearly done with the overall construction of it.
“It’s good.” He answers. He must not feel like talking.
Sansa nods again. The elevator dings, having reached the lower garage level, and they both step out.
Sansa heads in the direction of her car, surprised that Theon is following her. “What are you doing?” She wonders.
“Walking you to your car,” He says, like it’s obvious. “We don’t know what kinds of crazy people are hiding out in the parking garage.”
Sansa rolls her eyes, for he sounds ridiculous, but now she is a little worried about it and is happy to have Theon to protect her.
They reach her car, and he opens the door for her. She’s taken aback, how chivalrous of him. He’s full of surprises today.
“I’ll see you soon, Princess. Have a nice night.” He smiles at her, and begins to walk away, and for a moment Sansa is so enraptured in his charm that she forgets to speak back. It’s only when he’s 20 feet away from her that she calls out,
“Have a nice night!”
She thinks she hears him chuckle.
—
Sansa was just leaving the office after a long day of work. Robb and Jeyne were bringing Kitty home from the hospital tonight, and so Sansa wanted to make them a nice dinner to drop off at their place so they won’t have to worry about it.
She’s making steak, because it’s both Robb and Jeyne’s favorite, and she’s pairing it with a maple glaze, mashed potatoes, grilled brussel sprouts, and homemade cheese rolls.
She’s got everything in the oven and on the stove and where it needs to be, when she gets a call. It’s an unknown number, but Sansa answers it anyway. She always does, for it’s the polite thing to do.
“Hello?”
“Hello,” a man’s voice responds. “Is this Sansa Stark?”
She nods her head, and bites her lip, whatever this is, it doesn’t sound good. She thinks she hears sirens in the background. “This is she.”
“You're listed as your brother, Robb Stark’s, secondary emergency contact. I regret to inform you there’s been an accident. Could you please come to Minisa Memorial Hospital? We can provide you with more information there.”
Sansa can’t believe her ears. Robb’s been in an accident? No, that’s not what he said. He said there’s been an accident. What about Kitty? And Jeyne?
“Miss? Are you there?” The man asks, pulling her from her worries.
“What, sorry. Yes, I’m on my way.” She hangs up the phone and as quickly as she can, she turns off all the kitchen appliances she had in use, and rushes out to her car and to the hospital.