Chapter Two.

Astrid Hofferson collected her rucksack and suitcase from the carousel and piled her hand luggage and purse on top as she adjusted her coat and headed for the exit of Berk Airport. She zipped her warm jacket up and walked out into the cold Berk afternoon, hailing a taxi and heading towards her parents' home. But it was only when she was sitting in the back that she allowed herself to relax and think.

Her life had done a complete one-eighty and every plan she had made was gone, leaving her returning home with no job and only a vague plan what to do next. Astrid had been a soccer player, talented and the star of her High School from where she was scouted to the Archipelago League and then onto the dizzy heights of Lyon, the European Champions. Initially, all had gone well and she had been a regular first team member, playing in Champions League matches and called up to the National Team...until the injury.

She stared out the window as they pulled out onto the Stoick Highway and stared vaguely at the familiar precipitous surroundings of Berk. The airport was in the northern part of the island, where the land was flatter because trying to come in over the vertical peak that formed the upper part of the town of Berk on the south side of the island would be madness. Berk was resilient and had adapted to modern life but the land was no less harsh-and so were the events that had affected Astrid's future.

She gave a grim smile, her azure eyes remaining cool and her expression melancholy. Life was hardly fair and certainly it didn't matter how hard you worked and how good you were when there were people out there whose only aim in life, it seemed, was to wreck what you had. Case in point: the girl who had committed the horrendous tackle had only been suspended for eight matches and then had resumed her career but the damage had been done to Astrid. A double leg break and rupture of her anterior cruciate and medial ligaments had led to over a year of rehabilitation and she had remained with her club, diligently working hard and undergoing multiple operations in the hope of getting back to full fitness. But it hadn't worked: after several matches in the reserves, her return to the first team had been mediocre at best and when her cruciate had ruptured a second time after she scored her final goal, the prognosis for her career had been hopeless. Her club had still paid for the operations and rehabilitation but her career was over.

But she hadn't given up. Away from Berk-technically defined as the back of beyond-she was determined to expand her horizons and gain more experiences and skills before she came home. So she had found a place as an au pair and had spent a year in France, polishing her language skills and taking online courses while caring for the three French children she had been assigned to look after. Coming from the huge Hofferson family, she loved children and had always wondered if she wanted to do something in that field. The year in France had solidified that desire so she had a loose plan on getting back home: get more qualifications, apply for childcare or teaching and settle down to being back home. She had already got herself onto the Berk ChildCare and Nanny Register and had her Criminal Records Clearance checked before she flew back home so whatever she decided, she was good to go.

She idly flipped through her phone and saw a link her Aunt Hilde had sent her. It was the advertisement page for childcare positions on BerkJobs and her azure gaze slid down the list. There were relatively few options but there was one that caught her eye: a Nanny position in Berk town, one child and requiring the qualifications she had carefully acquired over the last year. The closing date was actually today but she rapidly typed in a short letter of application and attached her resume before sending it in. What had she got to lose?

And then they glided through the moderate afternoon traffic into Berk town, the clusters of two and three storey houses seeming to huddle together against the wind. There was some ice and snow still on the ground and the well-wrapped people of Berk bustled around the streets unconcerned.

"There's no bad weather, only bad clothing," Astrid murmured, recalling what her Uncle Finn had always told her, smiling at the memory as he had also reminded her that Berk was a small island where to snowed for nine months of the year and hailed the other three. She sighed: now she was back, among people who were hard-headed and stubborn and who never wanted to leave home while she had travelled to many countries and still wanted to travel. And where she was returning as a failure.

"Was it 12, Nadder Place?" the driver checked and she nodded.

"Home," she murmured. "Yes please." The man whistled a little and then frowned.

"Hmm-you look like that footballer girl-Astrid Hofferson," he commented. "Any relation?" Frowning, Astrid stared at the honest eyes in the rear view mirror and nodded.

"Yeah," she said idly. "Something like that." The driver smiled. He was a bald man with a huge bushy blonde moustache and a strangely high-pitched voice and his driver ID read "Sven Fjarhirdir'. He gave a nod.

"Sad what happened," he continued obliviously. "Terrible how her career just ended. I wonder what she's doing now?"

Wondering how long I'll be fending off questions like this, she thought and stared out of the window. There was the big spruce at the end of the road where they used to hide, there was the hill that was so good to sledge down as a child...and there was home. Thor, her parents had even repainted the door-exactly the same colour as it always had been. But she still smiled as they pulled up outside the neat two storey house and Sven helped her with her bags. Her knee was aching from being cramped on the flights and the long period standing in various lines at the airports she had passed through so she was glad to reach the front door and fumble for her key...only for her parents to open it.

"ASTRID!" her mother gasped and flung a tight hug around her, her father wrapping them both in a bear hug.

"You're home," he added thickly as Sven placed her luggage by her. He was looking puzzled as he inspected her.

"I thought you looked like...you..." he said and then shrugged. "I can guess you didn't want to talk about it, huh? At least I have a tale for the boys." Astrid smiled apologetically.

"Thanks so much for bringing me home," she said genuinely and reached for her purse but he winked.

"On the house, Miss Hofferson," he told her with a grin. "Just use Black Sheep Taxis in the future!" She chuckled.

"I will," she promised as he clambered in and drove away while she walked into her family home. Quietly, she looked around the bright hallway, the walls clean and white, the skirting natural wood and the seasoned pine stairs polished and pristine. But there was a vase of daffodils on the table and family pictures on the wall-with Astrid's Graduation photo in pride of place. Her mother closed the door, her face lit with joy at having her oldest child home again. Ilsa was an older version of Astrid with her long blonde hair in an elegant bun and her attractive face warmed by her smile. She was elegant and feminine- the opposite of her active daughter.

"Tora and Lars at still at school," she explained. "Otherwise they would be here to greet you as well. And we've organised a big party on Saturday when all your Aunts and Uncles will be here to welcome you back!" Rolling her eyes, Astrid unzipped her coat.

"Mom-there's no need," she sighed. "I'm not intending to stay. I mean, I will need to get my own place." At seeing her Mom's face fall, she opened her mouth to temper her words but her father was quicker, gently grasping her mother's shoulder.

"Easy, Ilsa," he soothed her. "Astrid has been independent since she left school. Of course she wants her own place-but this is your home, my love and always will be as well." Looking up into the blue eyes that mirrored her own, she saw his bearded face smile and she found herself smiling back.

"Thanks," she sighed. "And I am really glad to be home. Really. But I need to get a job and something to do. I can't just sit around."

"Well, your Uncle Garston could get you a job in his typing pool and..." Ilsa Hofferson began but Astrid jerked back like a scalded cat.

"Thor, no!" she interrupted quickly. "Sorry, Mom but that would kill me. I've already applied for a post as a Nanny..."

"But you aren't qualified..." Ilsa began as Astrid sighed.

"Actually, I am," she explained. "I have all my certificates and a year's experience as an Au Pair with glowing references. I can do everything they're asking for...if I get an interview." Halvard Hofferson walked forward and wrapped a proud arm around her shoulders, looking down into her determined face. His hair had once been as bright gold as his daughter's but it was now faded and liberally sprinkled with grey and his face was a little lined but filled with pride.

"And once they speak to you, my daughter, there will be only one choice they can make for the job," he said. "But now, please let your mother fuss over you a bit. She has missed you and it upset her that you were injured and you didn't come home."

"But..."

"Yes, I know your club could look after your injury much better than we could here and they have all the doctors and physiotherapists and equipment...but it hurts as a parent when your child is injured and you can't look after them," he reminded her . He leaned close. "She'll be like a hen with one chick for a while with you..."

"I'm sure Tora and Lars will be delighted at that," Astrid commented dryly. "She has three..."

"And Tora's usual comment is 'eww!' while Lars seems to be in a monosyllabic phase," Halvard explained. "Let her at least have a day of fussing over you..." Astrid smiled.

"Okay, Dad," she conceded as her Mom walked up. "I really am glad to be home." Ilsa smiled.

"Now let's get you settled in and you can tell me what life is like as an Au Pair..." she said.

oOo

"There are a lot of applicants," Hiccup sighed as he looked down the list.

"And maybe even a couple who may be interviewable," Fishlegs commented, skimming the list.

"I need to interview at least one," Hiccup sighed. "I mean the late applicant, Astrid, looks the best on paper but she could be some psychopath who goes after single men with children and buries them under the patio in the yard..."

"Have you got a patio?" Fishlegs asked but Hiccup gave a gloomy sigh.

"Probably will have to build one as soon as I appoint her at her insistence ...you will check up regularly on me?" he asked his friend as Fishlegs sighed.

"Okay, if you think the best-qualified one is a potential lunatic on no basis whatsoever, what about this other one-Brandy-loves children, keen to work in childcare..."

"Meaning she probably hasn't yet..." Hiccup pointed out.

"Stella has references from five families and a Masters in Child Psychology," Fishlegs pointed out. "Along with her qualifications in Aromatherapy, Astrology, Feng Shui and is that 'Druidic Studies?"

"Oh Thor," Hiccup groaned.

"Or Gothi, the one with enormous experience of looking after children?" Fishlegs suggested.

"Probably about ninety," Hiccup guessed.

"Hey-Bertha seems to have extensive experience in childcare and child education..." Fishlegs read and Hiccup peered at the resume.

"No job has lasted longer than about eight weeks," Hiccup noted. "I wonder what's wrong with her?"

"Oh dear...how about the one who likes fun and games?" Fishlegs suggested. Hiccup looked up after scanning the application.

"Even I can see that one is Ruffnut," he told his friend. "And much as I like her, she isn't suitable to look after Hanna." He sighed. "I'll interview anyone who looks as if they may be genuine-except Ruff, that would be weird-and we can see how we get on. I mean, there's gotta be one decent one in there, hasn't there?" Fishlegs sighed.

"And if not, you can always advertise again," he reassured his friend as they skimmed down the rest of the list. The remainder had experience babysitting as children as their only qualifications but there seemed to be a preponderance of young, eligible young women on the list.

"If I could survive the embarrassment," Hiccup sighed then glanced at his watch. "Gotta go, Fish-I need to get Hanna..." But his friend shook his head.

"Ruff's getting her and you are deciding who you are interviewing and setting that up before we let you get your daughter," Fishlegs said as Hiccup suddenly smiled.

"Thanks, guys," he sighed. "How about tomorrow afternoon?" He stared at his friend. "You're coming, by the way..." Fishlegs eeped and suddenly looked flustered.

"But it's your daughter..." he protested.

"And you're my best friend," Hiccup insisted. "Come on, Fish-I need you to protect me from the scary would-be Nannies..."

"Well, if one of them jumps into a chalk drawing, you're hiring her," Fishlegs told him and the auburn haired man smiled back.

"If we get a magical Nanny, I will eat my words," he said, "but if we get one who isn't just in it to try to go out with the poor widower we're doing well!"