What Could Have Been

VIII

Podrick gritted his teeth together when Sansa squeezed his hand especially hard, but only reached to where their hands were joined and kissed her skin.

"You're doing so well, my love," he whispered into her ear. "You're so strong."

His wife only let out a moan of pain. They had been locked in their chamber for hours while labour started to officially progress, Podrick and Arya sat on each side of the large bed, each coaching and comforting Sansa in their own way while the Maester was surrounded by several midwives who had also been pregnant on the birth of their other children.

"How do you feel, your grace?" one of the women asked.

"She's giving birth!" Arya answered before the Queen could even part her lips to say anything. "How do you think she's feeling?"

When his wife gave another squeeze to his hand, Podrick's eyes drifted from her sister to her face.

"This is it," she panted out. "I can feel it."

"I can see the head, your grace," Maester Wolkan declared. "A head full of red hair just like their mother."

Podrick smiled openly and moved to kiss his wife's cheek.

"You're doing amazing, Sansa," he encouraged her. "We're so close to seeing our baby."

She took a deep breath, holding it in and clearly putting on effort in her next push. The moment she released her breath, a loud cry could be heard echoing in the room and both the new parents opened large smiles.

"It's a girl," the Maester declared.

The way Sansa's face lit up at the revelation was beautiful, and tears filled her eyes.

"Podrick," she turned to him. "It's a girl. We have a girl."

The child was placed in Sansa's arms immediately and his wife cradled their newborn daughter with affection, bouncing her gently and touching her face with pure devotion.

"Our daughter."

. . . . .

"Now," Podrick instructed in front of the door to the sollar he shared with his wife. "Remember, your sister is very small and very delicate, and your mother is tired."

His older sons nodded and he turned to the toddler in his arms to see how he'd react. Out of the four boys, Theon was the one who was the least open to the idea of having a new sibling, probably because he would be losing his position as the youngest child of their family.

"Do you want to see your baby sister, Theon?" he smiled at his son.

"No," the dark-haired boy whined against his neck, and Podrick caressed his back gently.

"Are you sure?" he questioned. "Aren't you even a tiny bit curious?"

Theon raised his head to look at his father's face.

"You know," Podrick continued. "She's going to need her brothers to protect her and be her friends. I was actually trusting on you to be her best friend, because she's so small and doesn't really know a lot about being out of mum's belly, and you are so smart..."

His son stared at him for a long moment, then nodded.

"Okay, daddy."

Podrick smiled and opened the door, entering the sollar with the boys and smiling at Arya when she opened the door of the Queen's chambers.

"Mummy," Rickon ran to his mother, but Robb was quick to hold him.

"Daddy said to be quiet, Rickon," he reminded his younger brother.

Sansa raised an eyebrow to her husband, who just smiled and put Theon down onto the floor, letting him catch up with his brothers, who were all climbing onto the bed.

"She's red of hair," Ned said, clearly surprised and happy. "Just like you, mother."

"And like you too," Sansa reached out, touching his hair and putting it behind his ear. "She looks just like you and Robb when you were born."

At that, the twins approached the baby girl in their mother's arms a bit more, taking up her face.

"What is her name?" Rickon asked, sat on her other side.

She rose her eyes to her husband. They had decided this baby name before she was even pregnant with her, back when they were expecting Robb and Ned. They had been waiting for their daughter for years.

"Catelyn," Sansa looked down at her baby. "Just like your grandmother."

He walked to her silently, walking to her side and kissing her temple.

"She's beautiful," Robb affirmed. "Beautiful like you."

Podrick opened a smile and looked down at both his girls.

"I know, right?" he asked. "Baby Cat."

Sansa smiled and offered the sleeping baby to him, who cradled her gently before placing the baby in the bassinet that had been placed in their room and sat down on the bed with the rest of his family, letting the kids cuddle up against him and Sansa before Arya took them back to their rooms, leaving the couple alone with the baby.

"How do you feel?" he questioned, caressing her hair and making small curls with his finger.

"I'm good," Sansa smiled. "What do you think? Are we ready to stop having kids?"

Podrick laughed, trying to keep himself quiet in order to not wake the baby.

"Well, if you want her to be our last baby, she can be our last baby," he looked at the direction of the girl. "But let's maybe wait some years before saying it definitively."

Sansa seemed to think for a moment, then rested back at his chest.

"Okay."

He caressed her cheek with the back of his finger, and she let out a small breath.

"I love you," she whispered. "You do know that, don't you?"

"I do," he confirmed. "I love you too."