(There is ABUSE, both physical and verbal, in this fic! Read at your discretion.)

When you moved into the house next door, Sandor was determined not to get to know you. He didn't need anyone in his life. He was happy living alone. Besides, no one stayed in your house long. All the tenants before you were afraid of Sandor. There was no evidence to suggest that you would be any different. But then he actually met you and your son.

You were walking to your car as Sandor was coming back from his run. "Good morning," you greeted with a smile. Sandor felt his brows come together in confusion. Were you talking to him? More importantly, were you smiling at him? "Uh, mornin'." Your smile brightened. You were about to say something else when a voice called out, "Wait for me, Mom!"

A young boy came darting toward the car. He stopped short when he saw Sandor. The boy's eyes went wide as his gaze traveled up Sandor's nearly seven-foot form. Sandor arched a brow when the boy's gaze got to his face. Instead of looking afraid, he looked almost like he was in awe of the giant of a man. "Whoa! You look so cool!" Sandor blinked in surprise and looked at you. You looked ready to run away in embarrassment.

"Come on, Y/S/N. You need to get to school and I'm already late for work." You turned to Sandor with a soft smile. "It was nice meeting you Mr..." you trailed off. It took Sandor a second to realize you were waiting for him to supply a name. "Sandor. Sandor Clegane." Your smile widened as Y/S/N piped up, "Even your name is cool!" You shushed him before offering Sandor your hand. "I'm Y/F/N."

After that day, Sandor saw you nearly every morning. You and Y/S/N would greet him and sometimes talk for a couple minutes. Then, one day, your son was outside before you and invited Sandor over for dinner that night. After confirming with you that it was okay, Sandor agreed. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he didn't have many friends outside of his motorcycle club, something else Y/S/N thought was "cool".

Sandor found himself nervous for the first time he could remember. He kept scolding himself. It was just dinner with his neighbor. His very attractive neighbor. And her son. He didn't understand it, but something about you made him a little nervous. Maybe it was because you were the first woman who didn't look at him in disgust the first time you saw him. Or maybe it was the fact that you always had a smile for him. Sandor didn't know, but he couldn't deny that he liked it.

Y/S/N opened the door and grinned. "Mr. Clegane!" Sandor greeted the boy and tried not to make it too obvious that he was looking for you. Too bad your son was really observant. "Mom's in the kitchen. Come on." Sandor ducked into the house. He followed your son into your kitchen. Once again, you gave him a smile. "Hello, Sandor. I'm glad you could make it. It's nice to have conversation with an adult outside of work, sometimes." Sandor just shrugged a little and you asked your son to set the table.

As Sandor looked around your house, he noticed that there were no pictures on the walls or anything like that. It was as if you weren't planning on making this a permanent home. There were even still suitcases leaning up against a wall, in case you needed to leave in a hurry. There was a part of Sandor that wanted to know what was troubling you, but the other part decided not to ruin the evening by asking.

Dinner went off without a hitch. Sandor found himself laughing, really laughing, and enjoying your company. You were a kind woman and a great cook. Your son was inquisitive. He asked questions about everything. But there was one question that even caught you off guard. "How'd you get those scars?" You instantly scolded him. Sandor wasn't sure how to answer. Did he tell the truth? In the end, he decided not to say anything until he got to know you both better. Then Y/S/N asked another question.

"Would you ever hit someone you loved?" Sandor watched as your body stiffened and you hissed your son's name. This time, Sandor didn't hesitate to answer. "No." That one word seemed to satisfy the boy, but you gave him a look that said the two of you would be having a conversation once Sandor left. You refused to let that conversation make the rest of the evening awkward though and did your best to be a good hostess. Sandor didn't mind one bit. In fact, that dinner was the first of many.

Sandor grew closer to you and Y/S/N than he ever had anyone else. He really liked you both. Y/S/N was a great kid who looked up to Sandor, though the older man had no idea why. And you? Sandor found himself dealing with feelings he'd rarely had before. Sure, he'd lusted after women before, but this was deeper than that.

He wanted to get to know everything about you. He wanted to spend as much time with you as possible. The only problem was that you seemed so closed off when it came to any kind of relationship outside of friendship. Sandor would never ask you, but he would soon find out why. Thanks to Y/S/N.

*time skip*

It was one of the few evenings that Sandor was eating dinner without you or his motorcycle club. He had just taken his dinner off the stove when the sound of frantic knocking reached his ears. Furrowing his brows, Sandor went to the door and opened it. Y/S/N was there, looking like a frightened little bird. "Y/S/N? What are ya doin' here?"

"My mom needs help!" Sandor carefully pulled the boy inside. "What happened?" The usually happy boy was near tears. "I-It's my dad. He found us. He's going to hurt my mom." Sandor immediately darted for your house. "Call the cops and stay here!" he called over his shoulder. As soon as he was close enough, Sandor heard your screams.

He burst through the front door. Your back was pressed against a wall in the living room while you tried to get as far away from the man in front of you. Without a moment of hesitation, Sandor grabbed the back of the man's shirt and hurled him away from you. "What the- Who the hell are you?!" Sandor wanted to laugh at the sight of the man practically dangling in his hand. Sure, he was tall, but not as tall as Sandor.

"Doesn't matter. What matters is I'm not gonna let you hurt this woman." Your ex scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Why not? She deserves. Taking my son from me." You glared and tried to launch yourself at him. "Because you're an abusive prick!" Sandor held you back with his free hand until your ex tried to kick you in the stomach. Then, he saw red.

Without thinking, Sandor let his free hand curl into a fist and he let it fly right into your ex's face. He managed to get three or four good hits before your voice broke him out of his rage. "Stop, Sandor! You'll kill him!" He stopped and looked over at you. Tears were running down your face. "I don't want you to go to jail, Sandor. Please let him go."

Sandor dropped him unceremoniously on the floor. Your ex crawled away, blood dripping down his face. Once he was at the door, he turned to you and called you a few very choice names. Sandor moved to grab him again and he darted off. He didn't make it far before the sirens were heard. He let out a curse and took off in the opposite direction.

Sandor turned to you as you sank to the floor. He cursed under his breath. He couldn't leave you there. He scooped you up in to his arms and carried you out of the house. You would not want to be there when you woke up. Not with your ex's blood on the floor. The police pulled up as soon as the door closed behind Sandor.

Officer Jaime Lannister got out of his car. "Mr. Clegane? We got a call from a Y/S/N about a domestic disturbance?" Sandor nodded. He gestured for Jaime to follow and he carried you to his house. Once you were situated on the couch, Sandor turned to Jaime. "It was her ex husband. Don't know his name. Just know that Y/S/N came here when his father showed up. Told me his mom was in trouble." He placed a firm hand on Y/S/N's shoulder.

Jaime talked to the two males for a few minutes before he returned to your house to process the crime scene. "My dad got away?" Y/S/N asked as soon as they were alone. Sandor let his eyes flicker to you. You were still unconscious. Jaime had wanted to call an ambulance, but Y/S/N said you wouldn't want that. You hated hospitals. Jaime had only left with the promise that they would bring you to the hospital themselves if you didn't wake up by the next day.

"Yeah. He heard the sirens and bolted." Y/S/N sighed. "We're never going to be safe, are we?" Sandor frowned a little. "Yes, ya are. I'll protect ya as long as the two of ya will let me. And Lannister will catch him eventually. He's good at his job." Y/S/N nodded. Then, he looked at Sandor, not saying anything for a minute. "You know the worst part besides my mom being hurt?" Sandor arched a brow, encouraging him to continue.

"Mom was going to ask you out. She was finally letting herself be happy again, now this." Sandor sat there frozen. You were going to ask him out on a date? You were willing to take a chance at happiness with him. He couldn't believe it. "How do ya know that?" Y/S/N looked between you and Sandor. "Because I'm not stupid, dude."

"Dude? How old are ya again?" Y/S/N laughed softly. "Thirteen. Really, I know my mom and I can tell when she likes someone. She really likes you, Mr. Clegane. Then my dad had to go and ruin it." Sandor didn't know how to react. He wasn't used to having to comfort people. "Sorry. Didn't mean to say any of that. Mom always says I talk too much sometimes. It gets worse when I'm scared." Sandor just shrugged.

"Like I said, I'm not lettin' him hurt ya again. 'M gonna protect ya and your mom." Y/S/N smiled. "Thanks again, Mr. Clegane. I'm glad my mom likes you and not anyone else." There was a slight groaning from the couch behind them. "Y/S/N, what did I tellyou about talking too much?" Sandor peered over at you and chuckled as you hid your face behind your hands. "Sorry, Mom." The three of you shared a laugh. Sandor couldn't help the smile on his face. He finally felt like he belonged to a family. Maybe one day, he'd actually be part of this family. 

(a/n: The next fic will be the last in this book! Further GoT fics will be posted in "GoT One-Shots Book 3"!)