Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Please don't sue me I'm poor.

All the food Athelstan cooks in this chapter are real, seriously.

Four months later and the pub was busier than ever. Athelstan's cooking skills had become famous and had helped improve business. The pub had received a new makeover and the menu had been updated with a lot of Athelstan's recipes. The staff including Floki had warmed up to Athelstan and he was treated as a full member of the Lothbrok family.

Athelstan for his part became happy with his new way of life. He still had speech lessons with everyone, even if they didn't go very well. He enjoyed doing family activities from going to the park to watching TV together. He enjoyed his job best of all cooking was his passion, with desserts being his specialty. During the four months he had been with his new family Ragnar and Lagertha had brought him new clothes and turned the spare room into his permanent room. He had grown used to the way Ragnar and Lagertha gave him affection from ruffling his hair to kissing his cheek. He often returned such gestures with a smile and hug, but he was still self-conscious around strangers.

Today was Saturday and it was super busy in The Shield and Hammer, with families eager to eat delicious food. Lagertha collected orders from four different tables and took them to the kitchen "We need two blueberry jelly cakes, three champagne glee with strawberry basil confetti, four chocolate and strawberry crepes with cream and one chocolate fudge cake" she said leaving the order papers on the table.

Floki picked them up and gave two to Athelstan "You do the jelly's, I'll do the crepes and then we'll do the cakes, alright runt" Floki said

Athelstan nodded and started to make the orders. Ragnar had told Floki off for calling him runt but he didn't mind. Compared to everyone else he was a runt and he thought it was just Floki's way of acknowledging him. After he had made the desserts he pressed the bell for them to be taken away to the tables. He moved on to help Floki with the fudge cake. He place raspberries on top with white chocolate flakes and then moved it to the counter. Then Lagertha came to give him more orders.

"We need three strawberry jelly glasses, a family sized macaroon platter, one orange cream pie, one jelly flower cake and one ice cream special" she said giving Athelstan the list.

Athelstan nodded and handed them over to Floki. They were split between them and served. At seven o'clock Athelstan hung up his apron and left the pub. He went into the bathroom to clean up and put on some clean clothes. He join Gyda and Bjorn in the living room to watch some TV. Ragnar and Lagertha joined them after they had closed the pub and had tea. After that the family went to bed.

As Athelstan slept he had nightmare. He dreamt that he was being operated on by doctors in masks using circular saws. He jerked awake in a cold sweat and whimpered. He climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face in cold water.

Ragnar was disturbed from his sleep when he heard someone running the taps in the bathroom, curious he got up. He opened the door to find Athelstan drying his face "Athelstan?" he said making Athelstan jump a mile.

When Athelstan heard a voice he jumped and dropped the towel he was using. He was relieved when he saw it was only Ragnar. He picked up the towel and put it away.

"You alright Athelstan?" Ragnar asked

Athelstan shook his head sadly.

"What's wrong?" Ragnar asked as he put a hand on Athelstan's shoulders. Athelstan mimed the word nightmare and Ragnar understood "I see" he said and hugged him.

Athelstan hugged Ragnar back and felt better but was still afraid of going back to sleep.

"Come on" Ragnar said and took a hold of Athelstan's hand. He took Athelstan into his and Lagertha's bedroom. He let Athelstan crawl into bed first and then crawled in next to him.

As Athelstan became sandwiched between Ragnar and Lagertha he felt better, he felt safe.

Ragnar pulled Athelstan into his chest and held him close "Goodnight" he said softly

Athelstan tucked in closer to Ragnar's chest and smiled.

The next morning Lagertha wasn't surprised when she found Athelstan in her and Ragnar's bed. She was awake when Ragnar brought Athelstan in. She knew he had, had a nightmare, it wasn't the first time. She remembered the first time Athelstan had, had a nightmare, he didn't go back to sleep and kept falling asleep during work. This happened a few times before she made the suggestion that Athelstan stay with them if he had any more. The two of them didn't mind when he joined them, Athelstan was a good hugger.

Lagertha gave Athelstan a small peck on the cheek and got up. Being Sunday Athelstan had the day off and didn't need to get up, she however had work to do. The pub would be opened a little later on a Sunday and it was still going to be busy but thankfully the extra staff they were able to hire now were a big help.

Lagertha worked in the office on Sunday mornings while Ragnar worked in the office in the afternoons. She liked the routine, it gave both of them a chance to run their business and spend time with the kids. Of course when Athelstan joined the family he had changed their routine a bit. When she went to spend time with the kids she no longer had to cook them dinner alone Athelstan always helped.

When Ragnar came into the office she kissed him and left him to continue the paper work. She went back upstairs and was greeted by her children. They both had chocolate stained mouths and knew Athelstan must have made them some sweets. Speaking of Athelstan he came out of kitchen with chocolate around his mouth too "You're going to spoil your dinner at this rate"

Athelstan blushed as he wiped away the chocolate and smiled.

Lagertha smirked and shook her head. Speech lessons with Athelstan were a bit depressing for Lagertha. When they started she had high hopes the he would be able to learn something, but it hasn't happened yet. She had to admire Athelstan's confidence and eagerness to learn, he always tried with a smile on his face.

When Ragnar returned after closing the pub the first thing he asked for was food. Sitting at the table with his family laughing and eating. He looked around the table and wondered what their life would have been like if they never met Athelstan. He also wondered who Athelstan was before he met them. Athelstan past was a mystery to all of them. He wouldn't or couldn't tell them about, it was like he didn't know himself, like he had amnesia. He and Lagertha had thought about DNA testing but were still unsure about it.

The family went to bed early so they could get up for school and work the next morning. The pub would be opened and business would be fast paced as usual, but tomorrow there was going to be one very unexpected customer.