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[_kinginthenorth]

At first things had not seemed terribly strange. Jeyne had been absent, but that in itself was not so unusual; nor was her having taken Reynald with her. The more time stretches on, though, the more he begins to wonder

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[queeninthenorth]

Jeyne had left Reynald with Elizabeth, seeing the other girl was all but dying to take care of the boy for a little while. Elizabeth's incessant cooing over the child had driven her mad. Well, mayhap she'd see that having a babe wasn't all fun and games like she thought it would be.

After finding some better clothes in the box--shorts, like Arya wore most of the time, along with a swimsuit--she went out and down to the beach. It was hot, and Jeyne couldn't think why she had never done this before. The others here seemed to do it all the time. Once down at the water, she stripped down to her swimsuit and jumped in.

Oh, that was nice.

She was out about waist level when she saw Robb and Grey Wind on the shore. "I wondered when you'd show up," she said, standing in the water with her hands on her hips.

[_kinginthenorth]

Robb is cautious, if still optmistic. "If I was supposed to find you," he says, "you might have tried leaving a clue."

[queeninthenorth]

"You weren't supposed to find me, really," she clarified, wading towards the shore and stopping when the water reached near knee-height. "But I knew you would at some point. Rather, that wolf of yours would." There was no getting away from those wolves.

[_kinginthenorth]

"Inevitably," Robb says calmly, though his heart's sinking. Not a good sign, really. "More to the point, where's Reynald?"

[queeninthenorth]

"Oh." She waved a hand vageuly in the direction of the Norringtons' house. "He's with Elizabeth Norrington. She was just dying to look after him for a while. I figured it was time she learned babies aren't really as fun as she thinks they are."

She reached down and flicked some water in Robb's direction. "As long as you're down here you might as well get wet," she said.

[_kinginthenorth]

"What?" Robb ignores the splashing; Grey Wind does worse when he shakes himself off and anyway, it's just water. What is more distressing is that his son is somewhere in an undetermined location with someone he doesn't actually know. "Why would you leave the baby with someone? He could have just stayed at Summerfell and not been passed around."

[queeninthenorth]

"Summerfell? You mean with Arya? Sansa wasn't home, and Susan was breaking up a fight between those stupid brothers of hers," Jeyne laughed, splashing him again. "Oh, come on, Robb. Aren't we entitled to some baby-free time? Elizabeth's not going to hurt him, for gods' sake. He's fine."

[_kinginthenorth]

"I mean with me," Robb counters, irritated. "And still better Arya than leaving him with just anyone!" He is not, at this moment, especially interested in baby-free time, nor is he likely to be until said baby has been recovered and inspected.

[queeninthenorth]

"Robb," Jeyne said, annoyed. "Reynald is fine. He's not going to break. He's a babe, not a piece of crystal. You don't have to smother him so, he'll grow up spoilt and afraid of everything."

[_kinginthenorth]

"Reynald," Robb says, very slowly and calmly, "is four months old."

[queeninthenorth]

"Oh, seven hells." Jeyne splashed her way out of the ocean, squeezing the water from her hair. "My point exactly. How much is he really going to notice? She looks just like me, for gods' sake. And he'll probably sleep the whole time anyway. Nothing is going to happen to him!" She yanked the shirt over her head and stood there with her hands on her hips, scowling at her husband.

[_kinginthenorth]

Robb glares back at her. "That's not the point!" He lets out a frustrated hiss of breath and tries very hard to work out what the best course of action is.

[queeninthenorth]

"What is the point?" Jeyne shot back. "Are you angry that I left Reynald with someone that isn't a Stark, or are you angry that I did it without asking your permission first?" Gods knew Stark men were stubborn as hell.

[_kinginthenorth]

"Both," Robb snaps. "Mostly vanishing off with our son, then passing him off on someone who doesn't even bloody know him. But it doesn't matter, I'm going to get him."

[queeninthenorth]

"Do you honestly think I'd leave him with someone I didn't know?" Jeyne replied, rolling her eyes. "How stupid do you think I am? Of course he's with someone that will mind him well. Just because you don't know her doesn't mean I don't. It's not like I can only have friends that are your friends too."

[_kinginthenorth]

Robb's mouth tightens. "Fine. I'm still going to get him."