Hey guys! I'm so sorry this next chapter took so long. I've had a lot of stuff going on in my family and then my computer died and I had to get a new one. Thank goodness for iCloud, otherwise I would have had to start from scratch with this chapter and with other things. Some people have asked if this is going to be a Jon/Daenerys story. It mainly will be, but we will spotlight some other characters too. One of the next chapters will focus on Bran for instance. Anyway, I appreciate the love and comments from you guys and here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you all are well during these crazy times. I know we will get through this pandemic together and our lives will go back to normal soon.

Chapter 5

Jon turned to face Daenerys. He could say nothing. He could only take short breaths in even more shock. He turned away and faced his mother's statue again. How much news could he take in one night? First, his brother and his best friend had told him that he was not the one thing he had always known himself to be: a bastard. They has told him that his mother was the deceased sister of the man he believed to be his father and that his true father was the man falsely charged with kidnapping and raping his mother, and that very act led to a war that overturned the most powerful dynasty in the Seven Kingdoms. That very dynasty was the one the woman he loved and now him were descended from. The woman he loved was now his aunt and now she was carrying his child. True, this child had been conceived in their blissful ignorance on their voyage to Winterfell and out of their mutual love for each other, but now it felt like this child was the result of a shameful, horrendous crime. Now what were they to do? What would he say to his people, let alone Sansa and Arya?

Daenerys tried to offer some explanation and comfort to Jon. "I know what I said. I truly thought I couldn't have children. The witch who murdered my husband said I would only have a child when the sun rises in the east, when the mountains blow in the wind, and when the rivers run dry. But after you left my chambers, your Maester Wolkan came in and confirmed it. When I tried to explain to him that I couldn't have children, he told me, 'I don't know what that witch told you, but you are definitely pregnant your grace.' I don't even know when the sun rose in the east, mountain blew in the wind, when the rivers ran dry and yet somehow, this has happened."

Jon could still say nothing. "You didn't do anything wrong, Jon. This was something we did together. I don't regret anything." Jon remained silent. Daenerys wondered would they still be married? Or did he want her to drink moon tea and end the pregnancy? She continued, "I've already lost Rhaego and Viserion. I can't lose this one."

Jon blinked and finally faced her again. "I could never ask that of you. But I don't know what to do next. I don't know what we're going to say to people. To them, incest is a horrible crime. They already think I'm making a mistake by joining your cause. When they find out about this and the baby, they will get angrier. My brother Robb's wife was pregnant when she was killed at the Red Wedding. I don't want that to happen to you."

"First, I think we should tell Tyrion," Daenerys suggested. "He's made many mistakes, but I want to hear what he will advise us on this matter. Perhaps that will determine our course going forward."

Jon nodded in agreement. "You're right. Let's tell him first thing tomorrow morning."

…

Tyrion sat in a chair looking at the floor. He sipped from a glass a of wine and shook his head in disbelief at what Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen had just told him. He always assumed Jon's mother was some common woman Eddard Stark met during the war who died shortly after Jon's birth. He never suspected Lyanna Stark, let alone that Rhaegar Targaryen was the boy's true father. This fact would put Jon on the Iron Throne ahead of Daenerys. "How many thousands of men died all because Robert Baratheon loved a woman who didn't love him back?" he asked. Everyone remained silent. Tyrion got up and continued. "In light of this new information, this is all the more reason why my proposal should go forward. Jon will do the honorable thing and marry the woman he has impregnated."

"She's his aunt!" Varys pointed out.

"That never meant anything to the Targaryens before," Tyrion answered.

"But Jon grew up in the North. Is marrying one's aunt a common thing in the North? If they were cousins, it may not matter as much, but the sister of one's father?" Varys asked.

"If they marry, they will join the North permanently to her cause. They may want to see him rule. At least he will rule alongside her instead of against her. And the sooner the wedding the better," Tyrion explained.

Jon sighed. "When, then?"

Before Tyrion could answer, they were interrupted by Maester Wolkan. "Your grace, my lords, I hate to interrupt, but it is time for your war meeting. Others are waiting for you in the war room."

"We'll be right there," Jon told him.

"How are you this morning, your grace?" Maester Wolkan asked Daenerys.

"I am much better today, thank you," she answered.

Maester Wolkan nodded and walked away. Jon turned to Daenerys, Tyrion, and Varys. "We will continue this discussion after the war meeting."

They gathered around a large map of Winterfell. They were joined by Alys Karstark, Yohn Royce, Lyanna Mormont, Sansa, Arya, Davos, Theon, Brienne, Jaime, Samwell, Bran, Missandei, Grey Worm, Jorah, and a few Dothraki warlords. "I am glad you could all join us today," Jon started. "As you all know, the Night King has broken down the Wall with one of our queen's dragons and is marching south as we speak. First, they will try to take Last Hearth. Sansa, how many horses and wagons did we give to Lord Umber?"

"Twenty," Sansa answered. "It was all we could spare."

"I will lead our men to Last Hearth. There, we should meet with the Free Folk and the Night's Watch to fight the army of the dead," Jon said.

"When will you leave? Will it be soon?" Daenerys asked.

"The sooner the better," Jon answered.

"Will you be taking the Dothraki and the Unsullied with you?" Daenerys asked.

"Leave them here for right now. We will need all of them to defend Winterfell if things do not heed well for us," Jon answered. "There will be more than one battle against our enemy. This is not the enemy we can defeat in a straight fight. This is not one we can negotiate with, or even talk to. Our enemy doesn't tire, doesn't feel, doesn't love. Once they conquer an army, they will raise it from the dead to join their own and the rest of us will be outnumbered. We are already outnumbered by all of those who have died across all generations."

"What does the Night King want anyway?" Samwell asked.

"An endless night," Bran answered. "He was abducted and created by the Children of the Forest ten thousand years ago, as a weapon to use against the invading Andals. He wants what he believes to be his, what was taken from him before he became the Night King. He wants our lands, he wants us. He wants the children that were promised to him, the ones he never got. He especially wants the child of ice and fire. Once he converts that child, he will be unstoppable. He wants your child, Jon."

"But Jon doesn't have any children," Arya said.

"He does now," Bran told her. Everyone glanced across the room, realizing what Bran had just told them.

"You did this!" Sansa snapped at Daenerys.

"Sansa, Daenerys and I did this together. We didn't even think this could happen," Jon tried to explain.

"Oh please, Jon. Even you aren't that stupid," Sansa continued.

"Sansa-" Arya tried to stop her sister.

"You may have my brother fooled but I could see through you from the moment you stepped into Winterfell. It's not enough that you manipulated my brother into bending the knee to you, but now you have seduced him so that you would get pregnant and he would have to marry you, forever joining the North to your cause so that you can continue to rule over us, just as every Targaryen before you has. Cersei always said a woman's best weapon is the one between her legs. She was right."

"Daenerys is not Cersei, Sansa," Jon tried to convince her.

"Sansa, I know this is a lot to take in, but you are right about one thing," Tyrion told his ex-wife. "There will be a wedding between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen very soon." This only made their small group angrier. "This is sudden, I know. I know the North has had an uneasy history with the Targaryens, but we are all here together and we must not fight amongst ourselves, or else the Night King and my sister have already defeated us."

"So when will this wedding take place?" Jorah Mormont asked.

"Tonight, by the weirwood trees," Tyrion answered. "After we have burned our dead. Tomorrow, Jon can lead his men to defend Last Hearth. We already have the most important lords and ladies of the North to witness this wedding. It may not be the wedding of the year, but we are scrapped for the resources and the time to make one. It's either tonight or never."

"Tonight it is then," Jon said. Everyone solemnly nodded. "We will discuss defending Winterfell once I return." Everyone glanced at him with scorn in their eyes as they left the room. Missandei and Grey Worm escorted Daenerys out of the room. Arya stopped before Jon once it was just the two of them in the room. "I know this is a lot to take in. It's a lot for me to take in too. But this is how it's going to be from here on out." Arya nodded. "Do you have any questions?" he asked.

"Only one. Do you love her?" she asked.

Jon nodded. "Aye. I do. Very much so."

Arya nodded and looked down. "Then that is all I need to know," she said as she briskly walked out of the room.

…

Later that night, Missandei was gently braiding Daenerys's silvery blonde hair after bathing her in her room. They were both very quiet in anticipation of the wedding that was about to take place. Finally, Missandei tried to soften the mood in the room. "I want you to know that I am very happy for you. I know you did not want to marry Hizdar. But Jon is very different from him. I know you did not believe that you could have a child. But many things have changed since you told me that. I want you to be happy too, my queen."

"Thank you, Missandei." They were startled by a sudden knock on the door. "Come in," Daenerys ordered. It was Arya. She was carrying a neatly folded cream- colored dress.

"Your grace, you don't know me too well. I am Arya Stark, sister of Jon Snow," Arya introduced herself.

"I know. Jon has told me so much about you. Out of all of his siblings, I believe you are his favorite. The two of you could never quite follow the rules here in Winterfell, so you both ventured out into the world. Many terrible things happened to you both, but now you are both back and fighting on the same side with everyone else," Daenerys told her.

"Sansa told me to bring you this. She is not any happier about the wedding, but she made you this. It belonged to our mother."

"Thank you." After a brief silence, Daenerys said, "I feel as though you have something else to tell me."

"Like I said, I don't know you all that well. But in a matter of hours, you will be marrying my brother. Jon is a brave, kind, and honorable man, one of the very few I know. You are already carrying his child. He told me he loves you and I believe him. I want to know what your intentions are with him. Do you love him? Will you take over Winterfell now? My brother loves you and my sister despises you. I am trying to make up my own mind about you. Just know that when people hurt my family, I hurt them in ways worse than they could ever have imagined."

Daenerys nodded. "I do love your brother, Arya. I delayed my own ambitions and goals to take the Iron Throne, the one thing I have dreamed about my entire life in exile, to help him defeat the army of the dead. I wanted him to bend the knee but he refused at first. It wasn't until I saw the White Walkers strike down my dragon that I saw how serious of a need this was. It didn't matter whether or not he bent the knee. I just knew I needed him to survive. I knew I needed to help him fight them. I love everything you love about him. Like you said, he is a rare kind of man. I will continue my quest to take the Iron Throne from Cersei and rule the Seven Kingdoms with your brother by my side. Our child will carry on our name and succeed after me. And I do intend to rule all Seven Kingdoms," Daenerys told Arya.

"My sister wants to be the Lady of Winterfell. She thinks she is the best person for the job because she is the Stark who helped win back out home. After all she's been through, she doesn't want to kneel before anyone else who would threaten her."

"I know. I both admire and despise it about her," Daenerys said. "But with me on the Iron Throne and Jon by my side in King's Landing, she can rule Winterfell far away from me. And what about you? What is it you want most, Arya Stark?"

"I want to kill everyone left on my list: Queen Cersei, the Mountain, Ilyn Payne, and the Red Woman."

"Well when we take King's Landing, maybe you can do the honors of killing Cersei. You can cross off every name on your list," Daenerys offered.

Arya smiled. "I'd like that very much." After a pause, she said, "I'd best leave you to get ready. Since we're about to become family, just let me know if you need anything."

Daenerys nodded. "I will." Arya left the room. "Well," Daenerys thought, "At least one of Jon's siblings likes me."

…

The dark, cold night hung over the Godswood outside of the Winterfell castle. Everyone stood bunched together, huddling close for warmth. They were wearing whatever clothes they had been wearing earlier that day, as they did not have time to prepare for this wedding. Tyrion had found a septon to officiate the ceremony. Jon stood beside the septon, waiting anxiously for Daenerys. He had been bathed and combed for this ceremony. He was wearing a fur cloak that bore that Stark sigil of the direwolf. He could barely believe that he was about to get married, and to his aunt, no less.

Long ago, he had sworn to never take a wife, but those vows had ended some time ago. He thought back to what he had once told a conflicted Theon Greyjoy, who sought his forgiveness for his crimes against the Starks. He had done those terrible things because he wanted to prove himself to the family he was born into. And Theon suffered greatly under the vicious Ramsay Bolton for his mistakes. However, he had earned Jon's forgiveness by helping Sansa escape Ramsay. "You don't have to choose," Jon had told Theon. "You're a Greyjoy and you're a Stark." Could he be both a Stark and a Targaryen?

He noticed Theon standing next to Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Samwell. He could see the scowls on Sansa and Samwell's faces, begging him not to go through with this marriage. Behind them stood the lords and ladies of the North. They each had their own reasons not to like Daenerys, but he knew he was doing the right thing. He looked to the other side and saw Tyrion standing next to Jaime, who was standing next to Brienne of Tarth. Standing next to her was a forlorn Jorah Mormont. Behind them stood Daenerys's loyal Dothraki and Unsullied followers.

Everyone suddenly turned around to watch Daenerys slowly walk unaccompanied down the aisle of snow in between the two sides. Her dress was white with brown branches embroidered. Her cloak was light grey with the same embroidery. She had noticeable shoulder pads and a small veil held in place in her flaxen blonde hair by a large white comb. She was wearing white gloves. She saw the looks of uncertainty on everyone's faces, which matched how she felt inside. They all stole glances at her abdomen, which the dress was concealing, as it had been altered to fit Daenerys.

Finally, Daenerys reached Jon at the base of the weirwood tree with the septon. Even Jon was taken aback by how radiant she looked. "You look beautiful," he whispered. Daenerys slowly smiled at this.

The septon cleared his throat. "We are gathered here today to witness the union of Daenerys of House Targaryen and Jon Snow, a bastard son of Lord Eddard of House Stark of Winterfell. Jon, you may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection." Jon removed his fur cloak and walked behind Daenerys. He gently draped it over her shoulders, ensuring that he would always protect her and stand behind her. He then stood by her side and offered her his hand. She placed her hand over the top of his hand.

"In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one for eternity. Let it be known that Daenerys of House Targaryen and Jon Snow of House Stark are one heart, one flesh, one soul, now and forever. Cursed be he who would seek to tear them asunder. Look upon each other and say the words," the septon ordered as he wrapped a large white ribbon over their hands.

Jon and Daenerys turned to face each other and said, "Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am his/hers and she/he is mine, from this day until the end of my days. With this kiss, I pledge my undying love and take you for my lord and husband/lady and wife!" Jon then placed his hand on Daenerys's cheek and kissed her. The audience gently clapped. Although many had their doubts, the ceremony turned out to be very beautiful.

…

The ceremony was not as grand as it should have been. The guests were served mutton, red wine fresh from the barrel, soup, and barely fresh bread. Jon and Daenerys glanced at each other and faced the crowd. Close to the newly wedded couple was Jon's family.

"You know, this is the first wedding I have actually seen. Do they always go this way?" Arya asked Sansa and Bran.

"Consider yourself lucky. All the weddings I have been to ended in disaster, especially my own," Sansa said. Bran nodded.

Everyone else was scattered and bunched together in the dining hall. At one table sat Tyrion, Brienne, and Jaime.

"You know, this is the second wedding we have been at together," Jaime told Brienne and Tyrion.

"Let us hope this one will go more smoothly than the last one and that none of us will have to flee for their lives this time," Tyrion remarked as he drank his wine.

"Otherwise we might be cursed," Jaime added.

"At least for this one, I did not have a dress to wear," Brienne added.

"It never suited you, anyway," Jaime replied. Brienne smiled as she took another sip of her wine.

Jon stood up and raised his wine chalice. Everyone stopped talking and turned to face him. "I would like to propose a toast to my new wife, Daenerys of House Targaryen. When I first met her, I knew that she was a strong, enigmatic force to be reckoned with. I sought her help in aiding us against the upcoming war against the dead and she wanted me to bend the knee to her. It took a while to convince her of a threat she had never known before, but she sacrificed one of her dragons to save me life and the lives of my comrades from the White Walkers. It was then that she agreed to join us and pledge her men to our cause. Once I knew how much she was willing to risk, I knew that she would be a good queen for the Seven Kingdoms."

"But this is only the most recent of her great accomplishments," he continued. "Across the Narrow Sea in Essos, she has made miraculous things happen. She has brought dragons back into our world. She liberated slaves from cruel masters and she gave them the choice to join her army or live their own lives. I personally think they made the right choice. All the while, she has endured hardships and fought on to come back to her home country to take what was stolen from her many years ago. She is brave, strong, determined, and at times ruthless, but she is also willing to make great sacrifices to those who are in need of help. For me, I can think of no better person to lead us into the future and to rule this country. Daenerys, welcome home. To Daenerys!" Jon shouted.

"To Daenerys!" the crowd roared as they raised their drinks. Daenerys smiled at Jon as they clinked their glasses together.

"Because of the tremendous amount of respect I have for my wife, there will be no bedding ceremony tonight," Jon added. The crowd moaned, for there were many men who would love to disrobe a new bride for her bridegroom. Jon stood up and raised his hand. The crowd slowly calmed down. Jon extended his hand to Daenerys. She took it and stood up with him. "Now, we shall retreat to our bedroom," he announced. The crowd cheered. "Enjoy the rest of the evening," Jon finished. He then led Daenerys through the crowd, into the hallway, and eventually to the room that once belonged to Eddard and Catelyn Stark. He closed the door behind them. He knew there would be people following to listen to ensure that their marriage was consummated.

"This was the room that belonged to my father and Lady Stark," he told Daenerys. She was glancing around the room.

"It's very large. With a bed fit for a king," she said. Finally, she turned to face him. "You didn't have to say all of those things back there."

"Oh yes. I really did," he said.

"I know you didn't want this," Daenerys continued. "Any of this. You still don't. The damage is already done, anyway."

"Don't say that!"

"Just know that I love you, and I love our baby. If you want nothing to do with me tonight, if you want me to sleep in my wedding dress tonight and every night, I understand."

Jon stood up. Despite everything he had learned in the past day, despite everything those around him thought, he still loved Daenerys. Loving her didn't feel wrong to him. She was now his wife in his home and he wanted to show her how much he still cared. "I do love you, Daenerys," he told her. He leaned in and kissed her. She placed her hands around his neck, deepening the kiss. He placed his hands on her back. His fingers worked their way up to the top of her back until they found the lace holding her dress together. He started to unlace her dress.

Daenerys in turn unhooked his fur cloak and tossed it to the floor. Jon slowly slid the dress down to the floor. His hands stopped to feel her abdomen, which had barely begun to swell. He stared at it for a minute and smiled. They continued kissing and fell on top of the bed as they began to make love for the first time as husband and wife.