16) Tywin VII:

There was only so many tears and crying women he could put up with. He was Lord of Casterly Rock, he had no time for tender embraces and exuberant displays of love. He would let his wife have her emotional moment with her children, she deserved it. But he wanted no part in it. Besides, there were more pressing matters he had to discuss with his own son. He stayed at the feast for as long as he needed to for the sake of appearances, but now it was time for business.

"You look well son" he told him as they entered his solar. "Life in the cold suits you"

"Thank you father" Tyrion returned the courtesy. "You look well, too. And so does your wife. She certainly outdid herself with this feast. I'm sure she must have been pleasantly surprised with the added guests".

"As you could see, she was"

"And, are you?" Tyrion inquired raising his eyebrows.

"Only one is staying. The wild brat said he wanted to stay here" he answered shaking his head lightly and pressing his lips together. Damn Starks always show up when you least expect them to. "The cripple is going back with you."

"So she has gained her daughters, her sons, and the new one coming soon. She won't have time for you"

"Funny you should mention the baby. I don't see you wife's belly growing any bigger. Are you finding trouble in that department? Performing was never an issue for you."

"No, father. We simply do not believe it is time yet."

"It is never too early to be prepared" Tywin said with exasperation. "You need an heir, especially if the cripple brother is staying there"

"Bran is a good lad. He wants Sansa to be Lady of Winterfell."

"Yes, I have noticed that. It is always Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell. What happened to Lord Tyrion Lannister of Winterfell? That's why I sent you there in the first place."

"Really, I thought it was to get rid of me."

"You are my son, Tyrion, and above all, you are a Lannister. Family is what matters."

"Oh, yes. Family, Duty, Honor. Is your wife rubbing off on to you already? Oh, wait, what happened to Honor?" Tyrion countered.

"Enough! You need a son, if you can't deliver I can always find another way to do it."

"What, will you lie with my wife yourself? Will you do mother and daughter at the same time?"

Tywin's hand reached out of its own volition. He never meant to strike his son, but he was getting on his nerves. Out of his three children, it was Tyrion who had always been the most aggressive towards him, always finding ways to hurt his pride and mock his great achievements. Catelyn has achieved nothing and her children cry to be with her. I have achieved more than anyone and my own children want nothing to do with me. Jaime was the only one who understood him, and he was now Hand to Tommen. The other two were a different story. Cersei had not spoken to him since she was sent to marry Willas Tyrell. How could she not understand that it was for the benefit of the family? But Tyrion was the worst, not only did he not appreciate everything he had done for the family, but he also had to undermine his every decision.

"Just make sure your wife has a son soon" he warned Tyrion conveniently refusing to apologize for the slap. "We have everything we wanted when the war started. You need to do your part for the family."

"No Father" Tyrion replied placing his hand on his bruised cheek. "You have what you wanted. Not me. And definitely not Cersei."

"We are all the same, Tyrion. We are Lannisters. And yes, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, we have achieved great success. Tommen is King and Jaime is his Hand. He will be the heir to Castelry Rock when I die. We have allies in the South through Myrcella in Dorne and your sister in Highgarden. My brother Kevan rules in Riverrun and it will pass on to my son with Catelyn when he becomes of age."

"What if it's a girl?"

"We'll have another one. And then another one until I get my heir."

"Oh, so you married a brood mare. Is she happy with her role in this great plan of yours?"

"Leave my wife out of this" he ordered him sharply. For some reason he felt the primal need to stand up for his wife. "And I need you in the North. You need to secure my legacy in the north!"

"Don't you mean our legacy, father?"

"Do not mock me, son. I understand that you let your wife do the ruling for the time being: you need to gain the Northern Lords' trust. But do not forget who you are. You are my son, Lord Tyrion Lannister, Lord of Winterfell. And you need an heir."

"What if my wife does not want a baby yet?"

"Are you not lying together? If she refuses you, you can always force her"

"Is that how you got your wife with child? Did you tie her down and force her legs apart?"

"Do not talk about my wife like that" he warned his son sternly grabbing him by the neck and pulling him against the wall. There was a time when he might have done such a thing. But Catelyn meant a lot more to him now - certainly a lot more than he wanted to admit. "My relationship with my wife is private"

"You love her" Tyrion suddenly realized and started smirking. "The mighty Tywin Lannister, falling for the charms of the woman he wronged" he mocked him.

"My. Relationship. With. My. Wife. Is. Private."

"So is mine" he challenged back. "We'll have a child when the time comes, but meanwhile, leave us be. Father, she has just been through a lot and is only now finding her feet again. She is happy to be back home and she needs time to adjust to the fact that she is now filling her father's shoes. All she has talked about these past few weeks is how happy she was to have Bran and Rickon back, how excited she was to visit her mother and assist with the baby, to reunite with Arya, what it meant for her to see Jon Snow again. Leave her be. She needs time. Please."

"All right" Tywin finally acquiesced.

Feeling the conversation had ended, Tyrion walked himself out of the solar and left Tywin to his own musings. He poured himself a glass of wine and pondered on his achievements

Not bad, not bad at all. The people will talk about the Starks, the Baratheons, the Martells, the Tyrells. But it is us who move the strings: the Lannisters. The west, the South, the Riverlands, the North. They all bow to the Lannisters. … Cersei has my blood. Just like she did with Robert, she may let Willas think he rules, but I know whose bidding he will be doing. Tommen is a sweet malleable boy and with Jaime's good influence his kingdom will be successful. Kevan is my brother, he will never do anything I don't approve of. And he knows Riverrun will belong to my son with Catelyn eventually. And with Tyrion, I also have the North. Regardless of what he may think of me, I have faith in him. I know when the time comes he will not disappoint me. He will stand by his family - and if he doesn't, I'll find a way to make him.

"My Lord!" a loud voice and a knock on the door called him.

"Enter"

"Your wife, my Lord. She's in labour"

He hated babies. As a rule they were all ugly and loud. And the process by which they came was not pleasant at all. It was in moments like this when he thanked all the gods he was born a man. Hearing his wife's screams and watching her sons fret was just too irritating. As per Catelyn's request, Arya and Sansa had been allowed to assist the midwife and the Maester. He figured it was not so much their assistance per se that she needed, but their presence and their support. The cripple boy and the wild brat had remained outside with him and were now seething with worry for their mother.

She kept screaming but the baby would not come out. Suddenly the yelling turned into incoherent raging until a single primal scream rang out. After that, there was a deafening silence for a few seconds. Why won't the baby cry? Cry damn it. Cry.

And it did. From behind the door he could hear happy whispers in women's voices: some encouraging Catelyn, some congratulating her, some cooing the newborn baby. The baby was fine, Tywin breathed out relieved.

He did not wait for the Maester to come out and he just burst his way into the birthing room. The first things that struck him were the mess, the blood and the smell. Oh, the blood. Joanna! Images of his previous wife dying in the birthing bed assaulted his mind. Where Catelyn lay now he could see Joanna writhing and could hear her moaning in pain. He had to put those memories out of his head. History will not repeat itself. He focused on the present instead. He could see the Maester cleaning his wife between her legs. The midwife and the nurse were cleaning the baby and then handed it to Sansa. Sansa shared the baby with her sister and with a kiss placed it on Catelyn's arms. His wife looked exhausted, with sweat all over her face and her hair tangled into a wet mass surrounding her head. She had tears in her eyes, but those eyes radiated nothing but love to the little bundle in her arms. Where do I fit here? He wondered.

He made to approach Catelyn and saw how her two daughters stood defensively in front of their mother. They think I want to hurt her. His mind went back to one of the first conversations he had had with Catelyn when she first told him she was with child. She had feared that after she had given him an heir he would get rid of her. He hoped he had chased those fears away. But maybe he hadn't. Maybe she had shared her fears with her daughters and that's why they remained stoically by her side. They didn't know that he indeed cared for Catelyn. Love? Maybe that too. Deep down he knew that it was not just about securing his legacy when it came to her. And if there was no heir, he would still keep her by his side.

But he had to know. Boy or girl? Heir or try again?

"My Lord" Catelyn's faint voice called him. "Tywin. Please meet our son."

He found himself oddly uncomfortable and lost for words. He realized he had been almost as worried about his wife's health as he had been about the baby. Not since Joanna had a woman touched him so, and Joanna had been taken away from him in this very same room.

"Congratulations Catelyn" he finally said. "I'm glad you are fine" he added and realized he truly meant it. She must have realized it too since she smiled sweetly at him and nodded. "What would you name him?"

She remained silent for a moment. He knew he could very well choose the name himself and she would have to accept it. He didn't know why he had asked her. What had prompted him to let her make the choice? It was a dangerous proposition. What if she chose Eddard just to spite him? Or Robb? What if she picked a northern name? He would have to put his foot down if that were the case.

"Hoster, for my father?" she suggested.

"Hoster Lannister, heir to Riverrun." The name had a nice ironic ring to it, but he liked it.

When Catelyn and the baby had been properly taken care of he made all his staff leave. He allowed Catelyn's children in the room for a while, but then ordered them out as well. He wanted to enjoy a quiet moment with his new family: the wife he had realized he really loved and their new son. He found himself mesmerized as Catelyn opened her gown to nurse the baby and couldn't stop his own head from leaning down to kiss the crown of little Hoster's head. He then rested his lips on his wife's forehead and remained like that for a while.

His mind returned to his previous musings. … And as for me. I have found happiness again. I have a wife that has returned me back to life. And I have a new son. A new hope. … Not bad. Not bad at all.

THE END

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End notes: So now I consider the story finished. Tywin has won and achieved what he wanted but it has turned out alright for everybody else as well. I will not deal with the war with the white walkers, although Jon did make a mention of it. There was no mention of Daenerys, who, by this point, is only a minor threat nobody has heard of somewhere in a distant continent.

So, IF the events of season 7 do take place, it will be in this universe, where Catelyn and Tywin are alive, Arya is living in Casterly Rock with a loving mother and never went to Bravos to become an assassin, Sansa and Tyrion have a wonderful relationship and rule the North together, Bran and Rickon are alive, Rickon is living with his mother and Bran, who never became the Three-eyed Raven, is at Winterfell with Sansa, Tommen is King and Jaime is his Hand, Brienne has joined the Kingsguard, Cersei has been married to Willas in Highgarden, Myrcella is alive and happy in Dorne, Jon stayed in contact with his family and visited as often as he could, Theon is dead (sad about that) and Ramsay is not in control of Winterfell … Not bad ... Not bad at all ...