Hands To Myself / Ned Stark / Jon Snow / Elia Martell

10. Drive Me Crazy

"How the hell am I supposed to go home Elia?" Ned countered. 

"You have a family-"

"And I have kid with you, did you forget that?" ned countered holding up Faolan. "He should know his father, a boy should know his father."

"Jon doesnt and he's fine, he is great." Elia challenged. 

"You know I dont mean Jon, his father is... its different for him." Ned remarked. 

"Is it? Jon is a boy, he needs a father does he not?" 

"You want me to argue with you because you are proving my point that a boy needs a father, if his father is alive." Ned added. "And I am." 

"You want to claim him as your bastard? Want the world to think Jon is yours too?"

"I love Jon." Ned offered. 

"Lena would murder us both if you claimed Jon was her half brother." Elia corrected. 

"Elia-"

"You met him, and now you did your diligence." 

"What?" Ned demanded. 

"You can go back to winterfell and feel like a good man, you met him and I will still write to you and I will tell him about you when Faolan grows up." Elia went on. 

"Elia what are you doing?" Ned rasped. 

"Being honest." Elia offered even though it killed her. 

"I dont understand." Ned countered. 

"Come on Ned, you live at winterfell, you are a stark. I am a Martell. I'm dorne and suns and sand you are Stark, snow and frozen tits." 

"Elia I dont understand." Ned repeated. 

"Faolan is mine, you have no responsibility over him. He is mine. I had carried him in my womb for nine moons by myself, pushed him out of my body by myself, raised him for the past year by myself."

"That's not fair, you didnt tell me." Ned reminded her. 

"And I had my brothers and Jon. They helped me because they are here, they live here." Elia agreed. 

"If you told me-"

"You would have left your wife?" Elia questioned. 

"I did, didnt I?" Ned countered sharply.  Elia sucked in a breath. "The moment I get the note, I wanted to run here but I didnt know if you wanted me, thats why I wrote back first. I wanted to be here for you and Faolan. I rode so fast to get here, Elia. Because I wanted to meet my son." 

"And now you met him and you will go home to your wife in winterfell." Elia agreed. 

"I dont want to leave you and Faolan." Ned corrected. 

"I dont need you, writing you was a courtesy. But Ned you and me... we are what we have always been. Friends that lost the real woman we loved. Her death brought us together, her death left us with a secret, her death-"

"Elia!" Ned demanded. 

"We wouldnt be anything without Jolene."

"We are something though." ned countered. 

"No we arent." Elia corrected pulling back tears. "Thank you for coming but you need to leave." 

"Elia, what are you doing?"

"I dont want you here Ned." Elia shouted. 

"Elia-"

"I dont want you here." Elia repeated struggling to keep the tears from falling. 

"Fine." Ned shouted marching to the door. His hand gripped the doorknob and he sucked in a pained breath. 

"What are you doing? I said-" Elia whimpered. 

"YOu want to start a fight." Ned realized as he pulled away from the door marching back to her. "You want me to be mad and leave..." Elia didnt say anything she couldnt even look at him. "Why, Elia tell me why?" 

"Because it's easier if you hate me." Elia admitted. 

"Well you failed because I dont hate you." Ned corrected. "You drive me crazy though." Ned remarked. 

"I'm sorry I said all that..." Elia admitted as he held her. 

"Dont push me away." 

"You will leave though, You will go back to your wife and I-"

"We can make something work, you could come north?" Ned offered. 

"I wont be your mistress." Elia corrected. 

"Just come as a friend... or we could meet half way..." Ned offered. "See more of each other, I could see Faolan grow up." Ned begged. "Don't push me away Elia."