Eight: Lazy Saturday

Waking the next morning, Astrid had to work out where she was-for about a second before she sat up and swiftly got out of bed, wincing as she put pressure through her knee. It was always stiff in the morning but she wanted to have a fast shower and be ready for when Hanna was up.

She was dried off and her damp hair was braided when she heard soft noises from the little room so quietly, she pulled on dark blue running bottoms and a red lycra sleeveless top before she walked to the door and poked her head round the door. Hanna was sitting on her bed playing quietly with Elsa and Anna and she sighed.

"I wish I could tell Mommy that we have Astrid here looking after us," she murmured to the dolls. "She's so nice and kind and she cooks much better than Dad. We made bread and rag-oo and had some really cool wide spaghetti. And today is Saturday so we can go to the park and Dad can meet his friends. And Auntie Ruff will be there with Uncle Tuff and they are lots of fun." Then she sighed. "But Mommy isn't around so we have to do what Astrid said and have lots and lots of fun so I have lots and lots and lots of things to tell her when I see her again!"

Astrid ducked back and smiled, listening to the young girl chattering to her dolls. The faint sound of snoring came from the far room and the young woman was relieved that Hiccup was still sleeping, because he had looked tired and drawn the previous night. Mentioning the social worker had worried him and Astrid knew there was more to the story that she needed to unearth. Then she decided to get the girl up and let the poor guy sleep.

Swiftly pulling her slippers on, she walked back to Hanna's room and grinned just as Hanna looked up to see Astrid smiling in the doorway.

"Morning," the blonde said encouragingly as the little girl waved.

"Hiya Astrid!" she said. "I think Daddy is sleeping and I usually try to be quiet but can we go downstairs and have some marshmallow superstars?" The woman crouched down and nodded, offering her hand.

"Quiet as a mouse, Hanna," she said with a grin and then saw the girl stretch her arms up. Smiling, she lifted the girl and silently carried her down the stairs, hearing Hiccup still sleeping, before they settled in the kitchen. Giving her a glass of milk, Astrid scanned the cupboard, pulling out the garish packet.

"Berk Marshmallow Superstars-the breakfast food for little Vikings?" she read and then looked over at the young girl. Hanna grinned and nodded happily.

"I'm only allowed them on the weekend," she said with a grin. "Dad says they're too sugary." Scanning the list of ingredients, Astrid hummed in agreement.

"These are obscenely sugary," she commented and then poured out a small bowl-and a glass of orange juice. "You get the sugary Viking cereal if you have a glass of orange and you brush you teeth afterwards. Deal?" Hanna nodded and her face brightened when she grabbed her spoon. Looking around, Astrid scanned the options and resolved to buy some muesli but settled for a Danish pastry, a small yoghurt and coffee.

"Are we gonna go to the Park today?" Hanna asked as Astrid chewed. She frowned.

"Your Dad mentioned that his friends were coming over today," she said, sipping her coffee. The little girl nodded.

"Saturday is friends day," she said. "And going-to-the-park day?" Astrid smiled.

"We'll see what your Dad says," she decided without promising anything. "But I will need to do some shopping as well. I mean, I'll check with your Dad what he wants to eat and we can plan for the next week."

"Meatballs and pasta," Hanna said with a grin. "He always cooks meatballs and pasta." Astrid smiled. "Mommy was a much better cook. She did fish and sweet potato and stew and chicken and pizza and..." Astrid smiled.

"You like eating those, honey?" she checked and the girl nodded. She leaned closer.

"I don't think Dad knows how to make those," she whispered loudly.

"I do," Astrid mused and then smiled. "Okay, young lady-you eat your sugar rush and I'll have a think about what we can eat over the next few days. Is there anything you don't like?"

"Little trees," Hanna said and pulled a face. "And those hard beans."

"Broad beans?" Astrid asked. Hanna frowned. She made a small oval with her index finger and thumb.

"The ones this size that are all hard when Dad cooks them and are sort of green and have a dent in the front..."

"Broad beans," Astrid nodded with a smile, for the child had pulled a disgusted face.

"They're really horrible," she whispered conspiratorially. "I usually hide mine in my leggings and then under the bed." Smiling, Astrid made a mental note to check under the child's bed to locate the graveyard of broad beans and she leaned forward.

"If you don't like something, Hanna, just tell me, okay?" she asked gently. "And sometimes we can try doing it differently but if you really hate it, we can just not cook it. No more hiding food, please?" The little girl nodded, her mouth full of cereal.

"'mkay." she mumbled, milk dribbling down her chin. "Should I tell Dad?"

"I'll sort it out, honey," the blonde sighed and bit into her Danish. Hanna smiled.

"I'm glad you're here," she said. "I wanna see you meet Uncle Tuff and Uncle Snot." Blue eyes widening, Astrid wondered what she had let herself in for...and then she nodded. Hiccup had his friends and she doubted he would be friends with completely insane people...but just in case, she would be on her guard. She needed to make sure that Gerda Jorgensen could have no reason to target her-or Hiccup.

oOo

Hiccup woke slowly, his eyes fluttering and stretching with a joint-popping crack. He felt more relaxed and rested than he had for weeks-and then he realised that he hadn't heard a peep from Hanna. He sat up, eyes wide and panicked, fumbling for his leg. He couldn't hear anything. He had overslept...so what had happened to Hanna? Was she still asleep? Ill? Had she gotten out? Was she hurt?

It was all his fault: he had overslept like the lazy, worthless nobody he was and now she was in danger, unsupervised and possibly hurt. Swiftly, he strapped his prosthetic on and stumbled from the room, pains twinging through his stump, as they always did when he first put weight through it. Frantically, he ran to her room-and found her bed tumbled and empty and Olaf lying on the floor. He glanced over at the empty bathroom and then returned to the stairs.

"Hanna? HANNA!" he yelled.

The familiar head of his daughter looked up from the kitchen table and she squinted at the stairs, just visible from his post at the top of the stairs.

"Here, Dad!" she called. Heart still pounding with fear, he ran down the stairs, almost falling as he hit ground level and turned to check she was okay-and then he saw the blonde shape of Astrid, smiling at him as she sat by his daughter, helping her practice writing her name. Seeing her, the tension oozed from his lanky frame and he suddenly felt like a complete idiot, dishevelled and frantic and unshaven and... He glanced down and realised he wasn't wearing slippers. She would see his prosthetic. He yelped and ran back up the stairs again. Astrid frowned.

"Is your Dad okay?" she asked, frowning as Hanna carefully wrote a capitol H in pink, her tongue poking out between her teeth.

"He's always a bit crazy in the morning," she mumbled, picking up an orange pen for the first 'a'.

"I think he may have forgotten I was here," Astrid murmured as she heard the sound of steps. Hiccup reappeared, a little more composed with his hair hastily flattened down and wearing slippers and a hoodie. He gave a shy, self-conscious smile.

"Um...good morning," he said. "And sorry. I woke up and I couldn't hear Hanna and I thought..."

"It's okay," the young woman reassured him. "It's been only you and her since...you lost your wife. And I only arrived yesterday. I should apologise-I guess Hanna normally wakes you up...but I asked her to be quiet so you could get the rest you clearly needed." Emerald eyes widened at the words and he glanced at his daughter, who was grinning.

"I was quiet as a mouse, Dad," she said proudly. He leaned forward and kissed her.

"That you were," he said, sounding calmer as Astrid rose.

"I'll get you a coffee and Danish," she offered. "I've just brewed a pot...and the pastries are warm as well..." Raising his eyebrows and smiling at his daughter, he swiftly slipped into her vacated seat and accepted the breakfast. The steaming coffee and pastry smelled amazing and the warm aromas evoked memories of weekend family breakfasts, of times spent with Heather and little Hanna-and as he remembered, he immediately felt guilty. Astrid saw his face fall and assumed he didn't like the the food. "I can get you something else if you want..."

"No, no-this is lovely, thanks," he said tonelessly. "I-I just suddenly remembered Heather and I-I..." Astrid nodded.

"I am sorry," she said. "Can I do anything?" He sighed and shook himself.

"You're already doing a lot to help. Really," he said and bit into his pastry. "Mmm-that is delicious..."

"So Hanna said you have your friends round on Saturday?" she asked, taking a seat opposite him. He nodded, chewing. "What do you want me to do? Should I vanish? Or make some snacks? Or..."

"Stay. Please. You are part of the family now and I know Hanna will want you there," Hiccup said and winced. "And that really came out horribly. I want you to be there as well. I mean, my friends have really been there for me since...and you have already met Ruff and Fishlegs." She nodded neutrally. "Please-I would love you to be there?"

"Of course," she said as she sipped her coffee and saw Hanna give her a double thumbs up. "All part of the job."

oOo

The weather had turned into a constant downpour of rain and sleet so any trip to the park was out of the question. Astrid, Hiccup and Hanna instead all watched the sing-along version of Frozen and Astrid and Hanna danced along so that the little girl got some exercise. Tidying up automatically, Hiccup was surprised when Astrid helped and he found himself wondering if she would resent becoming a sort of housekeeper as well as a Nanny. But her eyes twinkled and she assured him that it was just good manners to help him get ready for his friends.

She had prepared some potato salad, a baking tray of peppers and wedges were roasting in the oven while sausages, burgers and steaks were waiting to be cooked when the friends arrived. Fresh bread was on standby-including a few more 'Hanna rolls' which the young girl was even more proud of. But when the doorbell rang, Hiccup was up like a shot, anxious in his dark green corduroy pants, dark red sweater and brown boots. Hanna had pink bows in her hair and was wearing an Elsa outfit while Astrid was in dark blue jeans, trainers and a baby blue blouse. As the door opened, there was a yell of greeting from Ruff and Fishlegs and another male voice as well. Hiccup was busy greeting his friends as Astrid retreated to the kitchen.

She checked on the cooking and then looked up as the newcomers came in. Ruff unselfconsciously gave her a big hug while Fishlegs managed a small wave. Behind then was a lanky man whose features were so like Ruff's that Astrid knew it was her twin, Tuffnut. Dressed in brown pants, waistcoat and shirt, he was loud and inspected her with unabashed interest, his pale brown eyes filled with humour and long blond dreadlocks casual. Then he grinned.

"Hey-I'm Tuff. I hear you're here to look after the little dude-am I right?" She stuck her hand out.

"Astrid Hofferson, Nanny," she said firmly and he gripped her hand-then licked it. She pulled a face and snatched her hand back as the male twin burst out laughing.

"Tuff strikes again!" he chuckled. "Tyler Thorston at your service, fair maiden."

"Don't mind him," Ruff said cheerfully. "My brother is a certifiable idiot and doesn't have the sense he was born with. But he is mostly harmless."

"I object! I am completely harmless!"

"Only if you're a chicken. For every other species, you're mostly harmless," Ruff parried with a grin.

"As long as he doesn't get Hanna licking things," Astrid commented, wiping her hand on her jeans and looking wary.

"He'll probably get her tattooed and with several piercings when she's old enough," Ruff commented as Hanna high-fived her. "Hiya, Terror!"

"Hey, Auntie Ruff!"

"Over my dead body," Hiccup commented dryly. "Beer?"

"I thought no one would ever ask," Tuff grumbled. "I was on the verge of dehydration..."

"Well, drinking alcohol sure won't help that," Fishlegs told him. "And yes please."

"Astrid?"

"I think I'll stick to soda," the blonde said apologetically. "I am on duty..." Tuff winked as he grabbed a can of "Viking Raider' beer and popped it open, his other hand fumbling in his pocket and pulling out a foxed-looking card embossed with a two-headed dragon and a cell number scrawled on the bottom.

"If you ever need to get hold of me," he said with another wink and handed it to Astrid. "I know my unawesome sister has probably given you hers in case of emergency but I am much more awesome and honestly, I am practically still a child so if you need any help or anything, call me!" She glanced at the card.

THORSTON INTERIOR DECORATION AND DESIGN

For the discerning and very individual customer

Tyler L Thorston- Soft Design and Concept

"Soft design?"

"I do the ideas, colour scheme, materials, concept, finishing...basically all the bits anyone cares about," Tuff told her after taking a swig of his beer. "I take the customer orders and interpret them into the eventual design they receive. I mean, we had one customer who wanted a touch of the outdoors and we put up a stuffed shark in her living room. And painted the place black. She screamed when she saw it and burst into tears...but when the fluorescent paint started to glow in the shape of the constellations above Berk on a winter's night and the wind chimes started, she was much happier. She left a glowing review of BerkBook." He nudged her. "See what I did there? Fluorescent...glowing...?"

"Um...very witty..." Astrid said, casting a worried look over at Hiccup. Tuff was standing less than a foot from her, definitely in her personal space and was talking at a hundred miles an hour. He nudged her again.

"You are very pretty. Are you going to fall for our little Hiccy and deliver him from his misery and grief to become the sassy sarcastic fishbone we all know and love once more?" Tuff ploughed on, swigging his beer again. "I mean, he is cute...am I right?"

"Possibly..."

"I mean, he has those cute freckles and that lovely hair which looks so soft and those gorgeous green eyes and he is a really kind and lovely man...if he wasn't my friend I would definitely fall for him..."

"I...what?"

"Oh yeah...but he doesn't swing that way, in case you're worried. He's just missing Heather and he feels so guilty for her death even though it's not his fault."

"Um..."

"Yeah...I mean possibly if you wanted to trace back causality and the whole chain of events he had a hand in starting it off...well, not a hand exactly..." And he nudged the completely lost Astrid again and gave a very inappropriate wink. "But no one could blame him for her death. Well, her brother does, obviously, but he's in Berserk and no one cares what he thinks...though he is a certified lunatic..."

"He's what?"

"Well, technically I am too though I have a framed certificate on my office wall that says I'm sane and it was definitely a misunderstanding how I ended up in that asylum. I mean, it was answering a dare from Ruff that I ended up painted orange and covered in feathers hanging off the flagpole yelling 'chickens are dangerous and will take over the world when we're not looking' and trying to lay an egg...and maybe I did try to peck those two police officers when they tried to unglue me from the flagpole..."

"You what?"

"It's actually quite hard to peck someone without a beak but they were so rude about chickens that I had to make them respect the feathers..." Tuff continued manically. "And a Nut never turns down a dare..."

"Though in hindsight, that would have been the sensible thing to do," Astrid pointed out, sipping her soda.

"Well, yeah, obviously...but my sister and I have never let a dare go our whole lives and I couldn't be the first," Tuff admitted with a slightly wry smile. "And honestly, I knew it was pretty crazy but you know how you sometimes get carried away? Well, I definitely did. But Ruff was there for me and she and Fish and mainly Hiccy got me out three days later but...well, it's a story to tell at dinner parties...if we ever got asked to dinner parties..."

"Unca Tuff-can you come and draw me a chicken? You promised!" Hanna grabbed his sleeve and tugged and the man winked at Astrid then crouched down to be eye-level to the little girl.

"That I did," he said with a smile. "What colour you want her?"

"Pink. And can't it be a boy chicken? Called Tuffnut?" Hanna asked, taking his hand. Tuff dropped to his knees and crawled alongside her, still holding her hand.

"Terror, chickens are girls," he said as they slowly walked off. "Excuse me, Astrid. I gotta draw for the little dude...I did promise last time. Talk to you later?"

"That would be great, Tuff," Astrid said with a sigh of relief as Hiccup walked up, a small smile on his face. The blonde gestured to the retreating male twin and Hanna, who was asking why chickens couldn't be girls. "You?" He nodded.

"You looked like you could use rescuing from concentrated Tuffness," he admitted. "I mean, he is a fun guy and has a heart of gold but he's very unusual and his boundaries are a little different to most people..." Astrid sighed.

"Very true," she agreed, tucking the card into her pocket. "You're not planning on letting them do any interior decor for you, are you?" Hiccup, who was sipping his beer, almost choked.

"Thor, no," he said, coughing. "Heather made me promise on my life that I would never let them near our home."

"Smart woman," Astrid commented. His face fell.

"She was," he said softly and then he nodded, taking a deep breath. "And I am lucky to have my amazing little daughter left of her." Astrid nodded.

"And you have great friends," she reminded him. "All a bit unusual but they're hearts are all in the right places. And they would drop everything to help you, I think." Hiccup glanced over and saw Ruff and Fishlegs laughing and joking and Tuff miming laying an egg for Hanna.

"Yeah...I am lucky to have them," he admitted. "But I glad you're here. Sometimes, you need a bit of sanity in your life."

"And I don't even have a certificate on my office wall," Astrid replied wryly.

"He told you that, did he?" Hiccup checked. She nodded. "It really was prank-and he wasn't on drugs. They ran six tox screens on him just to check. And he was protesting his sanity all the way through. He's just a weird guy but he's not ill."

"Being unusual isn't a crime," Astrid admitted. "And we all have a weird person in our lives."

"Oh yeah?" he prompted her.

"Mine is my Aunt Matlock," she said. "I mean, her name is actually Mathildur but she ran away and joined the army as a man nearly fifty years ago and managed to get away with it for two years until she got pregnant-no idea how...though of course I know how but you know what I mean-when she walked up to the Base Commander's Office and quit. Allegedly, no one ever suspected, though to be honest she does have a reasonable chest and doesn't actually look much like a guy. But she was an expert marksman, the best shot in her unit so I suspect no one wanted to lose her even if they did guess. She never told anyone who the Dad was and her son, my cousin Oddvar never cared anyway. After that, she joined the police as a tactical officer in the days when women weren't allowed in those roles either and led the Berk tactical response unit for over ten years. She still dresses like a guy and smokes, drinks and goes out hunting every weekend."

"Whoa. I am really behind in the weird relative stakes," Hiccup told her dryly. "I mean, Tuff will really have to try harder to compete with that-though I would appreciate if you don't encourage him!"

"She always taught me that you should follow your dreams and never let anyone else's expectations limit what you think you can do," Astrid admitted, sipping her soda. "She also taught me to shoot-and fight."

"Note to self-never arm Astrid," Hiccup commented sassily, his eyes twinkling. She winked.

"You're safe," she reassured him. "Do you want me to put the meat on?" He nodded.

"May as well,' he sighed. "My cousin is always late and..." The doorbell rang. "And there he is now. The moment you mention food, he turns up." Ruff headed for the door to let in the late arrival as Astrid turned to put the rest of the food under the grill, then turned back to see Hiccup handing a beer to a stocky guy who was a clear head shorter than the auburn-haired man. Hiccup's cousin had cool blue eyes, jet hair under a 'Berk Vikings' baseball cap and wide, even features that twisted in anger as he saw the blonde woman walk up to Hiccup's side.

"Snot, this is Astrid..." Hiccup began but the newcomer stabbed his finger towards the surprised Astrid.

"What the Helheim is she doing here?" he snarled.