LadySansa:

Omg it was 2 funny, M didnt even get the joke! I nearly died trying not 2 laugh in her face!

JeyneP:

Umm...I guess u had 2b there? I dont get it.

Sansa sighed, and nearly gave up on texting. Jeyne was so silly sometimes. But it was nearly the end of the day...Sansa couldn't bear to make any more coffee, and had beaten her high score on solitaire an hour ago, so texting with Jeyne was the only option.

For the last few weeks, whenever Sandor was in the office with Joffrey, he had taken to making snide little remarks and jokes at Margarey's expense. Sometimes they were even at Joffrey's or Cersei's expense, but they were always funny, especially because Margaery never seemed to get the joke, and replied seriously and earnestly every time, without fail. Sansa had nearly hurt herself containing her laughter so many times, she had lost count.

Perhaps the jokes did not translate via text. There was definitely something unique about Sandor's sense of humor that had to be experienced live.

LadySansa:

I guess u did have 2b there. S has a v. unique sense of humor =)

JeyneP:

All u talk about is S these days! Isnt he only a security guard? U r not going 2 get ur job back hanging w/someone like him!

Sansa frowned at her BlackBerry, as if Jeyne could see her disapproval. Perhaps Sandor was only a security guard, but he made her laugh, and whenever he was in the office, hours seemed to fly by that were normally filled with drudgery. She supposed she did talk about Sandor a lot, but it was only because he was the most interesting person she knew.

Sansa smiled to herself, remembering a day last week when she offered him coffee, figuring somebody might as well drink it, if she was going to make endless fresh pots all day long. Sansa herself preferred tea, and Margaery never drank any because Cersei never drank any. Sandor had only growled at her and said he'd rather have wine. It was another time she had to suppress a laugh. Sansa had begun to really like it when he added a bit of growl into his voice, especially when he was joking around with her. He was so cute when he tried to be mean and scary! Sansa couldn't help but wonder what Jeyne would say if she told her that!

There was another recent incident when Sansa had to work hard to contain her laughter. They happened to be in the elevator at the same time. It was the end of the day, and Sandor was going home, but Sansa was delivering paperwork to Accounting on the seventh floor. She had asked him about his motorcycle, hoping he would offer to give her a ride one day.

But Sandor didn't take the bait, and only smirked at her. Sansa had tried to cover up her clumsy hinting by saying she was only asking because perhaps she would get a motorcycle of her own one day, one just like Sandor's. He laughed, of course.

He looked her up and down with a bit of a leer, and said: "I doubt a little thing like you could handle my big bike," and Sansa had repressed the urge to giggle at his innuendo. She was quite sure Sandor wasn't the type of guy to like a girl who giggled. "The polite thing would be to offer to show me how to handle it," she replied loftily, pretending not to notice the leer. He grinned and said she sure had a funny definition of politeness, but then the elevator doors opened on the seventh floor, and Sansa had to go.

Sansa's daydreaming ended abruptly, as Cersei was preparing to leave the office and was giving Margaery instructions. Sansa put away her BlackBerry and tried to look busy, although Cersei had no reason to expect her to be busy, since she never gave her anything to do.

As usual, a few minutes after Cersei left, Margaery asked sweetly if Sansa would mind finishing the project, as she nearly always did if Cersei left something for her to do late in the day. Sansa didn't mind; it wasn't as if she had a social life, and it sure beat making coffee all day. Margaery beamed at her and said "you're the best!" as she always did, and Sansa just nodded and smiled.

Several hours later, night had fallen completely, and Sansa was finished doing Margaery's work. At least she got to use the nice computer, and didn't have to make any coffee. It was actually nice to have real work to do, even if Margaery would get the credit for it.

As she headed down in the elevator, somewhere near the twenty-first floor, her mind wandered to Sandor, as it often did lately. She wondered if he had already gone home for the day, or if she could find him lurking about somewhere. She was determined to get that motorcycle ride from him.

By the time the elevator reached the lobby, Sansa had decided to stroll through the security staff's cubicles, hoping to see him along the way.

But it was later than she thought it was, and the first floor was deserted. She wound her way through the offices and hallways on the ground floor, and met not a soul on the way. When she finally reached the back alley, full night had settled, and it was much darker back there than she expected. She was beginning to doubt the wisdom of her little plan, when she spotted Sandor's motorcycle parked just a few spots away from where she saw it the first time.

Happy to have found that he hadn't left for the day, she figured she'd just wait nearby for him, as he couldn't be much longer. It was late after all, and wherever Cersei was off to, Joffrey was probably not far behind. She was taking a closer look at the bike, wondering at his vanity plates that read "Stranger," when she heard a familiar raspy voice.

"Are you crazy, girl? What the hell are you doing out here alone?"

Sansa whirled around and was surprised to see that he actually seemed a bit angry.

"I was waiting for you, of course." She smiled, and he only looked confused.

"Sansa...how long have you been out here? It's dark and it's not safe. You shouldn't be wandering around in alleyways by yourself." Sansa only laughed a little at his scolding, but he seemed very serious.

She took a step closer to him, noticing finally that he was wearing his leather jacket, but that his hair was still neatly tied back. She took another step, and leaned against his chest, up on her tip-toes so she could reach the thin strip of black leather that held his hair back. She pulled it out of his hair, put it in her bag, and smiled up at him.

"I'm here to collect that ride you promised me."

Sandor's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, and he looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm sure I promised no such thing, little bird."

Sansa loved that he had a little nickname for her. Nobody had ever given her a nickname before. "Are you going to leave me all alone in this dark alley, then?"

He growled in frustration and rolled his eyes at her, but it only made her smile wider. "I don't have a helmet for you. It's not safe to ride without one."

"Oh, I don't mind. I trust you won't let anything bad happen to me."

Sandor shot her another look, but Sansa could tell he wasn't as mad as he was pretending to be, and that he was moments away from giving in. She was right, because a second later, he sat on the bike and told her to climb on behind him, and to hang on tight.

"So, if I do this favor that I supposedly promised you, what are you going to promise me?" He asked.

Sansa pressed herself up against his broad back, and snaked her hands underneath the front of his leather jacket.

"Oh, I don't know, Sandor. I've been told I have a pretty voice. Do you want me to sing for you?" He laughed, and they rode away together into the night.