Hey everyone! Phew… chapter ten. Only five more chapters to go after this. Wow.

Thanks to everybody who reviewed chapter nine: 4ever2010, Novanto, Ze Great Camicazi, givinglight, The Elven-Spear, Wisdombook34, X, BlueEyedBabyy, me, and Mooseluver… again, thanks!

Special thanks goes out to Foxy'sGirl, Romance and Musicals, LeDragonQuiMangeDuPoisson, A Lovely Treason, and my IRL buddies, DangItPopsicle and flaming-mercedes. You guys are so flipping cool.

So… on with the chapter.

Older Brothers and Their Benefits

Astrid was spending every waking hour worrying about her family.

She fretted about Oddr and his very, very young bride-to-be, she worried about her mother, she worried about her father, and now she found herself extending her nerves to her oldest brother and his wife and child.

What was worse -and for this, Astrid felt annoyed with herself- her worrying had even extended to Hiccup.

Bless the boy, he felt it was his sacred duty as a male to fix her problems. What Astrid really wanted was for him to just listen without attempting to break everything down.

But alas.

She'd reached a certain point of pregnancy that was becoming uncomfortable, and that added to her worry. She was nearly five months in, and it showed. She couldn't walk through the village square without attracting at least a few stares.

It was in the village square, though, where she happened upon someone she'd been secretly dying to see: Ranka Hofferson, her sister in law.

Ranka was standing at the fish-monger's stall, haggling prices with an older, strangely wiry looking man. There was a girl standing near the man, nervously eyeing Ranka and then looking back to the man. It occurred to Astrid at that moment- the nervous looking girl was the fish-monger's daughter, and she was who'd be marrying Oddr.

The world felt impossibly small.

"Fine, you old coon! I can get fish just about anywhere, can't I?"

Astrid was unsure of how to approach her sister in law as she started stomping haughtily away from the fish-monger and his daughter.

"Ranka!" she called out bluntly.

The young woman stopped and looked around wildly, before fixing her eyes on Astrid.

"Astrid? Oh my… woah. Honey bee, you are showing."

"Thanks," Astrid said dryly -it seemed that Hiccup's sarcasm was rubbing off on her- "I um… wanted to ask you about some stuff…"

"Oh! Well, um, Fundinn's at the house, but I'd rather talk there than here," Ranka said contemplatively. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Well…" Astrid trailed, because she honestly felt a little dumb for saying it out loud, "Just… baby stuff."

"Ahh," Ranka replied, eyebrow raised. "I do know a thing or two about babies. Though I'm curious- why not just ask your mom?"

"Just… I don't think I could handle any more baby talk from her right now. I think she's almost more excited than I am about this whole thing."

Ranka let out a short burst of laughter, but looked slightly critical.

"How could she honestly be more excited? I mean, Fundinn's always told me that your mum had a soft spot for you-"

"That's a load of troll crap," Astrid interjected sharply.

"Well, whether it is or not, the point is… how could anybody be more excited than you? You're going to be a mother, 'Strid! That has to count for something!"

Astrid looked downwards, scuffing the snow covered ground with her boot. Was it odd that she felt a little less than enthusiastic about having a baby? Babies were sweet and cute, but they were dangerous. If something went wrong…

"Can this wait?" Astrid said lowly, surprised at the crack in her voice. Why did she feel terrified all of a sudden?

Amazingly, Ranka seemed to understand the strange tone of voice, and she nodded.

"Yep. It's not that long a walk back to the house anyway."

-O-

Astrid hadn't been inside her brother's new house in a long time.

The moment she stepped through the door, she was overcome by how… nice it felt. It was warm and inviting. There was a pleasant smell in the air and grubby charcoal marks on the wall -no doubt made by a pint size Viking toddler.

"Astrid!"

The voice belonged to Fundinn, and Astrid nearly fell backwards when she saw him standing near the staircase with a drowsy three year old in his arms.

"Fund? Woah," she said hazily as she looked him over and gesticulated to her chin, "What happened to your face?"

"Beard. I know, I know, it looks stupid," Fundinn grinned, hoisting his young, sleepy looking son higher up onto his hip. "Oh well. I just don't want my face freezing off this winter."

Ranka smiled sweetly at her husband and child, and then scooped the little boy into her grasp when Fundinn came over to the doorway.

"Hey Lyle," she whispered into the little boy's fine, white-blond hair. "Did you just finish your nap?"

"Uh-huh," he mumbled, his lower lip stuck out. "I not sleepy anymore."

"Merciful Odin," Astrid breathed. "He talks now? When did he start doing that?"

Fundinn beamed in reply, obviously proud. "He's been talking for a year now, but he didn't figure out sentences until about three months ago."

Astrid's mind was reeling, because she hadn't seen her nephew in so long. They'd all been at the wedding, of course, but Astrid had been so preoccupied that she hadn't thought to talk to her family much. She'd almost been avoiding them, because it would have been even more awkward to see them later at the consummation.

And besides all of that, it seemed that neither she nor Fundinn made conscious effort to visit with each other. That thought sent an odd pang to Astrid's heart.

"Hi Lyle," she said softly to the little boy, praying that he would remember her. "How are you doing?"

"I good today, Aunt As'rid," he said, wrapping his arms firmly around Ranka's neck before burying his face into his mother's shoulder.

Astrid's heart was sputtering a little, because this little boy was adorable. She never thought herself to be the type to coo and get all giddy over a little kid, but now it seemed inevitable. The urge to wrap her arms around her nephew and squeeze him breathless was overpowering.

Although it was probably a really, really bad idea, considering how he was clinging to his mother.

"He's grown up so much," Astrid breathed, folding her arms over her chest.

"I know," Ranka and Fundinn said simultaneously, before they looked at each other and laughed.

"I swear, he was just a baby a few days ago," Ranka said fondly, before Lyle's head popped up from her shoulder.

"I not a baby!" he cried indignantly, scowling impressively -for a three year old, anyway.

"Course you aren't," Fundinn told his son fondly, reaching out and poking a soft, fat cheek. Lyle's despondent little frown turned into a reluctant smile, and then a fully fledged grin as he stretched his arms out towards his father.

"Playing a nice game of 'pass the three year old', are we?" Ranka quipped. Lyle grinned from his spot in Fundinn's hip and nodded vigorously.

Astrid had to forcibly fight down an amused snort.

"So, you wanted to talk to me about something?" Ranka finally said, touching Astrid's arm and raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah. Um," she began, but Fundinn quickly interjected.

"Is this going to be girl stuff, or can I stay in the house?"

"It's going to be girl stuff," Astrid stated, rolling her eyes when Fundinn pretended to gag.

"In that case, I'm taking Lyle away from you crafty females, and we're going to have man to man bonding time."

"You mean man to toddler bonding time," Ranka smirked, "And bundle him up tight before you leave the house. It's cold out."

"Right then, dear."

They went on in this fashion for a while; Ranka giving Fundinn various instructions while Lyle squirmed on his father's hip and interjected randomly and nonsensically.

-O-

Once the men -though 'men' was a very general term- had gone out, Ranka sat Astrid down at the eating table and bombarded her with questions about her life: what it might be like to live with the chief and his son, was Hiccup a good husband, etc. It was a good five minutes before Astrid could get a word in edgewise; merciful Odin, Ranka could talk.

Finally she stopped, and Astrid began a question:

"What do you know about pregnancy?"

"That's a little vague, 'Strid. I know a considerable amount, sure, but what exactly do you mean?"

"I don't know. I just want to know… things. Stuff. Whatever stuff you can come up with," she explained.

"Once again, I'm baffled as to why you didn't just ask your mother," Ranka sighed, leaning her chin on one fist.

"I don't want to get doted on," Astrid told her bluntly. "I figure you'll be more likely to tell me what I actually want to know without getting sidetracked by something I used to do as a baby."

Ranka laughed, and then frowned.

"You know… Alhildr really does know a thing or two about child-rearing. More than I do, certainly. I've only got Lyle, and he's the only baby I've ever carried 'till birth. You really ought to consider asking your mum for advice instead of waiting for her to give it to you. She's surprisingly frank."

"I guess," Astrid conceded reluctantly. "But just… tell me stuff. Anything that I don't know already."

"I don't know what you don't know. I need some help here," Ranka said slowly, as though she was explaining to a very young child.

"Well… what should I be expecting? In the next few months? I've heard people talking about the last few months being unpleasant, but that's kind of vague."

"Ah," Ranka chirped, finally understanding. "For one thing, you can expect that baby of yours to start moving sometime soon. How far along are you, anyway?"

"About five months."

"In which case, you can expect the baby to start moving soon," Ranka said knowingly.

Astrid's nose crinkled. "How much, do you think?"

"Lyle was a kicker, from what I remember. He kicked and kicked and kept me awake at all hours of the night. That's the funny thing; once you're pregnant for the first time, you never get a proper night's sleep ever again." Ranka laughed at her last statement, apparently very amused by lack of sleep.

Astrid, on the other hand, was not so amused.

"Wait, you mean never again? Are you serious?"

"Well… yeah. The last few months are crowded and uncomfortable, and newborns wake up every two hours, basically. It's fairly exhausting. And once they're toddlers, they wear you out with sheer energy. I'm just waiting until Lyle figures out the whole 'coming into your room because of a nightmare' strategy."

"What have I gotten myself into?" Astrid cried, aghast. "I didn't even realize that kids could be so difficult!"

Ranka frowned, sitting up straighter. "It's all normal, but it is wearisome at times."

"I don't think I can do this," Astrid breathed suddenly.

"Why on Midgard not?" (22)

"What if I can't keep up with everything? What if I fail miserably? What if…" Astrid cut off, because the biggest fear that she'd had thus far had nearly slipped out. "Did you ever wonder if you weren't going to… love your own kid?"

"Woah, woah, hold up. Is that what you're really worried about?" Ranka asked, incredulous.

"It might be," Astrid responded weakly, head down.

"It's nearly impossible not to love something that you've carried inside your own body for nine months, in case you were wondering. And yes, sometimes I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to be a terrific mother, but I never worried about not loving Lyle. Why?"

"I just… I'm not even sure what to think about this whole thing. It doesn't feel like a baby yet. It doesn't feel like a person. It's just a bump," Astrid admitted.

"It will feel like a baby, though. Trust me, that first kick'll nearly knock your socks off."

"Really?"

"Really. And even though it's going to be uncomfortable, and painful, and irritating, the whole nine months will be worth it when you see it for the first time."

Even though Ranka was smiling reassuringly, Astrid's stomach was in knots. She was so terrified that she would be a horrible mother that she couldn't imagine it coming naturally.

"You're probably worried about nothing. This stuff is instinctual, you know? Besides, I have a hard time imagining you being bad at something," Ranka quipped, tapping her fingers on the wooden table.

But that's what had Astrid worried: if there was one thing she was bad at, it was love. Sure, she loved people, she was just bad at expressing it, and even she knew that.

Astrid huffed out a sigh. "I don't know. Maybe I'll surprise myself."

-O-

By the time that Astrid had left her brother's house, she was in a far better mood.

And then she remembered something else she'd been meaning to ask around about, and her good mood vanished again.

She had the intention of hunting down Oddr, to ask him what was going on with his soon to be bride, but that became unnecessary; he was on the docks, near where Fundinn's house was.

Next to him was the girl that Astrid had seen earlier that day at the fish monger's stall. They were talking fervently, lowly, and it looked as though they were trading secrets. For a brief moment, Astrid wondered if it was such a good idea to be there.

"Oddr," she said, louder than she'd meant too.

The girl's eyes snapped up to Astrid, wide and frightened, and she looked as though she was going to dart away at any second. Oddr put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her soothingly, murmuring something to her. She calmed considerably.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice tinged with unusual worry.

"I wanted to ask you something. What's all this, anyway?" Astrid gestured to the girl, raising an eyebrow at the two. "Sneaking around the docks, Oddy, that doesn't look right."

"Don't worry, don't worry, nothing shady was going on," Oddr laughed dryly. The girl next to him cringed and glanced up at him.

"I'll see you later," she whispered, ducking her head and nearly fleeing.

"What in the name of Thor is going on?" Astrid hissed the second the girl was out of earshot.

"It's complicated," Oddr replied, looking far less calm than he had just a few minutes prior. "I'm not even sure if I should tell you."

"Like Hel you're going to tell me, and you're going to tell me right now. What's going on?"

"Look, I don't want you telling anyone this, because it could get out of control very quickly," Oddr sighed.

"You're not doing anything wrong, are you?" Astrid queried critically.

"Not me, no. And neither is Una. We're just caught in a sticky situation," Oddr said quietly, and then made a motion for Astrid to come closer. He looked around to make sure nobody was listening in before he continued.

"Here's the deal: Una's father, Greygill Heddinson -the fish monger- is not a good man. Remember how mom was going on and on about how she was coming into an inheritance? Una found out how he got that 'inheritance', and it's not pretty. She told me because -unlike her dad- she's honest, and she doesn't want me marrying her if it means that my reputation -and the whole family's, actually- could be ruined."

"What did he do that's so awful, exactly?"

"He…" -Oddr looked like he was having trouble getting the words out- "He used to live in the village of Blizzard, which is just a little south of Berk. Anyway, his younger brother was a lot better off than he was, with a lot of money and a gorgeous wife and a son and all that. After a while…" -Oddr choked on his words yet again- "Greygill got jealous and… I guess he killed his brother, raped the wife, and sold the son into slavery. Una is the daughter of the wife, by the way. After Una was born he… sold the wife, too. And then he took his brother's funds and the money he'd made off of the wife and son and left Blizzard."

Astrid's mind was reeling, and she stepped back for a second.

"Why… why would he keep Una? And not sell her, too?"

"I guess he'd seem more like an honest fish-monger if he had a daughter with him. So far, it's worked. No one has figured him out yet," Oddr growled, surprisingly fierce.

"And how did Una find any of this stuff out?"

"I guess an old relative from Blizzard sent a letter to Una, and she read it and tore it up before Greygill could read it."

"And more importantly than any of that, why haven't you told anyone?" Astrid cried, a little shrilly.

"Hush, calm down. I can't tell anyone, her reputation would be ruined," Oddr explained. "Look, I know that we're Vikings, and raping and pillaging is kind of our thing, but Greygill killed his own brother. And then made off with his own illegitimate daughter. If anybody finds out about this, we could be ruined, and even if I didn't marry her, she'd never survive on her own. Look, the best we can do for now is keep it quiet."

"Oddr," Astrid breathed, feeling lightheaded, "You can't marry her now! I mean… I mean… you barely know her! You're going to risk everything just on the off chance that maybe nobody will find out about this?"

"Look, Astrid, she's a sweet girl. She didn't do anything wrong," he whispered, his eyes desperate, "I'm not going to condemn her to a life of scorn because her father is lowlife scum. I know I'm not known for my conscience, but I can't do that to her."

Astrid was totally floored and completely confused at the same time.

"What are you going to do? Just… marry her and hope nobody ever finds out?"

"That's the plan," Oddr laughed humorlessly. "Just… promise that you won't tell anybody."

"I live with the chief, you know. And I'm married to his son… can't they do anything?" Astrid wondered aloud.

"NO! N.O. You can't tell anyone, because even if they could get Greygill banished, that wouldn't help Una much. It would just be something else she'd have to deal with."

"Oddr…"

"I know. I told you: it's complicated. We just have to roll with it, for now. I'm sorry I even got you involved, lil sis."

Astrid smiled weakly, because it seemed that Oddr had done a lot of growing up in the five months that she'd been married. It was good to hear him say something that sounded brotherly, like 'lil sis'.

"It's alright, I asked for it," she sighed. "Maybe it'll all be okay."

"Gods, I hope. I really hope."

-O-

Later, near sunset, she sat on a bench in the front room of the Haddock house and fretted. She'd hoped to stop fretting, but now it was even worse than ever before.

"Hey, Astrid. Busy day?"

It was Hiccup asking her, as was customary after he came home from the forge. He always asked her if the day was busy; it was like clockwork.

Today, she resented his cheerful smile and bouncy step -or limp, rather.

"You have no idea."

(22) Midgard: one of the Nine Worlds of Norse mythology, and is the term for the home of the humans.

OH SHI-

ODDR IS IN TROUBLE NOW.

So. Not much else to be said.. let me know what y'all think!