That morning Arya waited for them in the Great Hall. She stood in front of the main table. Still so small, and looking quite meek and unassuming. Gendry knew she wasn't either of those things.

He held Meera's hand in his. She didn't seem nervous, but he was. Nervous about how she and Arya would get along.

He didn't need to be. As soon as they came close Meera released his hand and walked up to Arya.

"Welcome," she said and took the other woman's hand. "I'm glad you're here. My father was loyal to your father's, and I hope we can get along too."

"I know who you are," Arya said. "You helped my brother get home safely from the North. I'm forever grateful to you for that."

"I did..." Meera said hesitantly, seemingly not quite sure how to talk about Bran with his sister. Arya didn't know yet what they knew, and they didn't know if she would understand.

When Meera stepped back Arya's gaze fell on her protruding belly.

"You're... with child?" she asked.

Meera nodded and patted the emerging bump. "Can't really hide that these days," she said. "And I apparently I can't climb trees either, according to Marya..."

"I don't think Marya said you couldn't, she said you shouldn't," Gendry said and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Please don't take it as a challenge."

He saw Arya gaze on them as they bickered. A longing in her eyes. But also an understanding. Like she understood now what Gendry needed. It wasn't her, it was Meera.

A northerner just like herself. With unruly hair, wild eyes, and an urge to climb trees. Who carried his child. That was who he had chosen, and that's who he belonged to.

Arya turned towards Gendry. "You didn't tell me last night that you're about to be a father," she said. "Congratulations."

"No, I didn't tell you," he said with a sigh. "Because I needed to talk to Meera first. But now that you know there are some things we need to talk to you about. Regarding what is happening in this kingdom. Regarding your brother. Regarding this child. I will tell you these things because I trust you, and I know you would never do anything that could risk the life of my child."

Arya stretched out her hands towards his. "You can trust me," she said. "I promise."

"Let's sit down then," he said and took her hand. "Because this is a long story."

Gendry and Meera walked around the table to sit down. No one rolled over the table, because Devan Seaworth wasn't there. Arya took a seat opposite them.

Then they told her everything. Everything the king had done. How he let people starve. How he had tricked Lord Lannister, Lord Arryn, and Lord Redwyne at Highgarden. How he had refused to help Meera when the Freys attacked. How he had pinned the murder of Tyrion Lannister on Devan Seaworth. How he threatened their child.

Arya looked at them with wide eyes as they finished talking. "But... he's my brother," she said. "Bran is my brother."

"He's not your brother, Arya," Meera said. "Not anymore. The king might look like Bran, but he's not Bran."

"How do you know that?" Arya asked.

"Because I was there. I was in the cave with him. The cave where your brother died and something else took hold of his body."

"It can't be..." Arya mumbled. "He can't be gone too... "

Meera stretched out her hand towards Arya. She held it for a moment and looked into Arya's eyes. "Arya," she said. "Ask yourself one thing. Ask yourself if your brother would do this. Would he let people starve? Would he hurt people? Would he threaten our child?"

Arya didn't avert her eyes from Meera's, she looked straight her still. "No," she said in a low voice. "No, he wouldn't. My brother was good."

"And whatever rules this kingdom isn't good."

"So he isn't my brother."

Arya said it loud and clear now. Like everything suddenly made sense.

"And if that wasn't enough," Gendry said. "We also got Dorne to deal with. Their fleet is sailing in our waters. An attack seems imminent."

"Can't you defend yourselves?" she asked.

"The Stormlands don't have a fleet. Davos has about a dozen ships and Lord Selwyn has another two dozen. I sent those to scout the coasts. But that's all I have. Three dozen ships against a fleet of thousands."

"And you can't ask the king for help..."

"Even if I did he wouldn't help me. He won't help anyone, but especially not me."

It was quiet in the Hall for a while. They all pondered the dire situation. The sound of the wind blowing in through the drafty windows was the only thing heard. It rattled the curtains and turned the stone floors cold as ice.

"I can help," Arya suddenly said.

Gendry looked up at her. "Please don't try to talk to the king," he said. "He won't listen to reason."

"That's not what I was thinking," Arya said. "I was thinking I would help you against the Dornish forces."

"How?"

"As I told you yesterday, I have a fleet. The ships are stationed in Essos but I can sail them here and help you fight them."

"You need those ships for where you're going. When you go west."

"I won't need the ships where I'll go. I will give them to you and then leave."

"And where will you go?"

Arya smiled slightly. She rarely did these days but when she did she still looked like the young girl Gendry knew once. The girl he loved once. "I'm going home," she said. "To Winterfell. I need to talk to my sister so we can decide together how to handle Bran, or whoever the king is."

Gendry nodded. It seemed like his talk yesterday had resonated with Arya after all. "That's where you belong," he said. "Then I will accept your help."

"We'll be forever grateful to you," Meera said.

"You need the ships more than I do," Arya replied. "You need to protect yourselves and your child. That's more important than anything I would do with them."

***

That morning another meeting also took place. And another plan to save the Stormlands was made. But this plan didn't care about protecting Lord Baratheon and his child.

In a sunny clearing in the woods outside the castle two men met. A dark-haired man stepped off a horse and walked up to a man with a read beard.

"Ser Bronn," the man with the red beard said. "Did you manage to get across the border without being seen?"

"Lord Penrose," Bronn replied. "The border wasn't a problem. Only a few of Lord Baratheon's men remain there since he moved them to the southern shore. I avoided the road and rode through the woods. No one noticed a thing."

"Good, he can't know that you're here or that I sent a letter to the king."

"Lord Baratheon doesn't know. And the king is willing to take your offer for the truth you told him about the child. You have shown yourself to be loyal to the crown."

Lord Penrose nodded and looked down at the ground, kicking some pinecones around. "I'm only doing this for the Stormlands," he said. "To save them from that bitch from Dorne. I've always been loyal to House Baratheon. But the bastard lord can't save us from this."

"But the king can," Bronn said. "He's ready to help you. If you do one more thing."

Lord Penrose sighed. "What do I need to do?" he asked.

"Take him out," Bronn said. "Take out Lord Baratheon when the Dornish forces attack. Make it seem like he falls in the battle."

"And if I do that... you will give me what I want?"

Bronn nodded. "He'll send his forces to defend the Stormlands. And once the lands are safe he will make your Lord Paramount. You will rule Storm's End and these lands."

Lord Penrose returned the nod and stretched out his hand for a handshake. "Then I will do what I need to do. For the Stormlands."

***

So it was time to say goodbye again. Arya needed to get back to Essos as soon as possible to gather her fleet before the Dornish attack came.

This time was different from the last time they said goodbye because they were different people now. They still cared about each other, like only two people who had gone through the worst time in their lives together could. But they both knew and accepted that they couldn't walk down the same path in life. That they couldn't walk together. And that was fine, it wasn't a sorrow, it was just the way life was. Some paths just don't line up. Some paths cross for a little while before forking into different paths.

But goodbyes are always difficult.

They stood in the courtyard of Storm's End. Arya, Gendry, and Meera. Night was falling. A dark blue sky loomed over the raging waters below the castle. Clouds covered the moon this night. A gentle breeze blew, promising good sailing back to Essos.

Arya gave Meera an embrace first. When Meera's pregnant belly nudged against her she looked surprised and a bit frightened. But she didn't release her embrace. "I'm glad you found him," she said. "And that he found you. You're... you're who I couldn't be. You can give him what I couldn't."

"And you're who I couldn't be," Meera replied. "Wild and free forever. Unbound by love and children. But it wasn't my path. And I'm glad it wasn't. Because I want to give him everything."

"You will," Arya said and let go of her embrace. She turned towards Gendry instead.

"Take care of your wife. She is... she is too good for you really," she told him.

"She is," he said with a smile towards Meera. "Although I hope I'm worth something these days. I'm not the boy you once knew, Arya."

"And I'm not the girl you once knew. But I still care about you."

"And I care about you."

For one last time, he put his arms around her. It didn't feel the same. But it still felt right.

"You know I think the world of you, Gendry," she said with her face against his shoulder. "I always have. No matter what you're called, you will always be that boy to me. Because that boy saved me. He was my light when I needed one. You were always worth something to me. You were worth everything to me."

"And you were to me, you saved me too," he replied. "Harrenhall, everything else that happened. I wouldn't have made it through without you."

"You will be a good father, Gendry. I hope you know that. You took care of me, and you will take care of your child the same way."

"I hope so, I never had a father so I don't know how to be one."

Arya let go of him and took a step back. "I did have a father," she said. "He was the best father. And you're the only man, except for my brother Jon, who has ever got close to being the man Ned Stark was."

Then she turned around and left. Arya walked out the gate of Storm's End and once again disappeared from his life.

She would come back with her fleet. She would help him fight the Dornish forces. She would help him win the war.

But when the rescue came Gendry would already be fighting for his life. Struck down by a man he had trusted. His life bleeding out of him. Drowning in the waves of the Dornish Sea.