"So…. I went ahead and raised someone from the dead today. Like you do." Hanna began when she picked up Mike's call. Mike bit his tongue; he had forgotten to tell her she was on speaker. He would have to be more careful in the future.

"Umm, yeah, that's sorta why I'm calling."

"Did you tell her about Axl's Yankee goddess?" Shouted Anders from the back seat of Mike's truck.

"She's not MY anything!" Axl said back, grinding his teeth.

"Look," began Mike, "Ingrid and the boys are coming over for dinner, and she's bringing someone special."

"I'm not prepared for an entire Johnson family dinner, Mike!" Hanna's voice ticked up a bit at the thought of eight mouths to feed in an hour. And if Olaf was coming, it might as well be ten mouths, the way that man put food away.

"Hanna, this is important. We'll order pizza or whatever, but this dinner has to do with the gods. There's someone in town, and it seems like it's affecting everyone. She might be the reason you, you know…"

"Zombified someone?" Suggested Anders with a smile on his face. Mike shot back a scornful look. "What? Just trying to help out a former Frigg," Anders smiled.

Mike hung up, and they headed over to his apartment. Anders texted Ty letting him know to meet them, and Ty responded that Dawn wasn't feeling great; still having morning sickness. He would be coming alone. And yes, Anders, he promised he would bring some alcohol.

The apartment was on the first floor of a two story condo. It wasn't large, but it was big enough to fit the Johnson clan, plus a few extra. There was also a spare bedroom for when Olaf had to crash somewhere. Which is to say, he essentially lived there, rent-free. Hanna didn't mind too much, as neither she nor Mike were pressed for cash since his gambling winnings five months earlier. Ty and Hanna walked in just as the others were starting their second round of beers. Ty grabbed a beer and Hanna grabbed a glass of wine, taking a spot next to Mike on the couch.

"So, who is this mystery guest? Or, would a better question be, what is she?" Hanna snuggled in closer to Mike, and he wrapped his arm around her.

"We think she's some kind of a goddess…" Mike began.

"A Yankee goddess," finished Anders. Hanna looked between the two men.

"What? Like a Native American goddess or something?" asked Ty. The others in the room exchanged glances. It could be possible, they all seemed to think.

"OK, maybe," said Anders, "but we didn't feel the same surge of god power with the Maori gods as we did when we all met Hel. This felt the same. Logic would seem to indicate that she's Norse, not Nez Pierce."

"Nez-who?" Axl shot at Anders.

"It was a Native American tribe," answered Ty, as he sipped his beer and mulled the situation over in his head. He was very hopeful that he would not get the overwhelming urge to kill/fuck this potential goddess when her finally met her. That would severely complicate things with Dawn.

"Right, well, whatever she is, she'll have to eat. Axl," Hanna smiled at the youngest Johnson, "do us a favor and call the pizza place. Let's order… six pies." Axl nodded and loped into the kitchen to make the call. He was greeted by the sound of tires on gravel when he walked back into the living room. Everyone exchanged glances, and Ty steadied himself for whatever might come. He told himself that if he had to pack Dawn up and shoot through to the South Islands, that was bloody well what he would do. With that resolve firmly planted in his mind, he gripped the back of the couch where Mike and Hanna sat, preparing for the waves he had heard would hit him when he met this woman. The doorbell rang. No one moved.

"I guess I'll get it," said Axl, half to himself as he walked to the door. He opened it, and was nearly crushed in the full-body hug from Ingrid.

"She's, um, tipsy" Sarah said, trying to hide her grin. "I told her I wanted to bring a bottle of wine, and I think she drank the first two I had considered. This," she presented the bottle to Axl, "was the only one I could keep away from her."

"I love youuuuuuuuuuu," Ingrid slurred into Axl's chest, before plodding into the living room to greet everyone else.

"Right. That's sorta standard around here," Axl reassured Sarah. He took the bottle with a smile, and she followed Ingrid into the living room, just inside. Everyone was drinking and sitting in relative silence.

"Have I interrupted something?" Sarah looked at the faces around the room. Some she had gotten used to seeing, some were new.

"No, no, I'm sorry. Hi, I'm Hanna." Sarah gratefully shook the extended hand and reciprocated the smile.

"Is this your place? It's very nice."

"Yes, I live here with Mike. And sometimes Olaf. Often," Hanna admitted, "with Olaf." Ingrid was sitting next to Olaf in another chair, and he had his arm around her. Sarah wasn't sure if it was out of affection, or to ensure Ingrid didn't topple off while holding her beer. "We've, uh, we've ordered pizza, so I hope you like that."

"Oh yeah!" Sarah took an empty chair, "And thanks so much for having me, I..."

"Oh for fuck's sake. Sarah, did you know you're a goddess?"

"ANDERS!" shouted Mike as he stood holding the pizza boxes, his face turning purple with rage.

"Look, I know we should ease her into it, but I don't have all night and there are a lot of questions to answer."

"Anders is actually…." Ingrid paused for a moment as her eyes went unfocused, then she hiccuped and came back to herself, "right." He's right. Dear," Ingrid now turned her attention to Sarah who looked frozen where she sat. She was so still, only her eyes moved, and Axl briefly worried that she wasn't even breathing. "You're a goddess. I don't know if there are other gods and goddess in America, but you are most certainly some kind of power. I know this is a lot to take in," Ingrid's voice became calmer and held a tone of empathy. She gestured slowly with her beer while she talked, "And you may not even believe me, but…"

"Sure."

Ingrid's eyes popped open, and the room went still. It was everyone else's turn to hold their breaths.

"Wha… what do you mean, 'sure'?" asked Mike, gently.

"I mean," continued Sarah, "sure, I believe you."

"Well," said Anders, "that went, uhh, surprisingly well." He looked over at Sarah to see if she was lying in an attempt to placate people she might think were a cult of crazies.

"I don't think you're a cult of crazies or anything like that. If anything, this explains more than any other option." Sarah sat back in her chair and exhaled. Somewhere nearby, a cat mewled in the dark. "My parents… it's not a happy marriage. Dad can get kind of crazy and run off for a while, and mom will get angry and sleep around. It's like they can't help it. And over the years, it seems like it's gotten worse. I think that's why they tried to be so religious; each time they had their bouts, they would come back and recommit themselves and try again to be," Sarah stopped to search for the right word, and let it go on a deep exhale, "normal. My entire childhood, I felt they were hiding something. I would hear them, when they thought I was sleeping. They would argue about coming back here. They would debate whether things would be better or worse with other gods around, but I always thought they were drunk, or making up stories, or knew I was awake. But I think, in the back of my mind, I always knew that most parents don't have fights about who tried to sleep with Thor on a country road trip." A beer appeared in front of her, and she took it with a grateful glance to the brother she had just learned was Ty.

"Tell us about when you turned 21, dear," Ingrid asked in a soft voice, and Sarah's eyes shot wide.

"How did you know…?"

"It happens to all of us," said Axl. Sarah's brow furrowed as a confused look crossed her face, but she took a deep breath and continued.

"I was on my way to work one morning when the subway car I was on derailed." The room went silent again as confused glances shot between the family.

"No…. lightening?" asked Ty. "No, glowy lights and feelings of power?"

"I...maybe? I don't know. One second the car was on the tracks, and the next minute it went flying and sparks were shooting everywhere. Does everyone destroy public transportation when they turn 21?" No one answered. "Anyway, that's when all the weird shit began… which is sorta why I'm here."

"What weird shit, exactly?" asked Mike.

"I don't know… Suddenly, friends who I knew were trying to get pregnant were having twins. I'd meet someone at a party, and instantly know who they should be dating. One couple, I set them up on a whim, and they got married six months later! Even my cats got pregnant, and I had them fixed at the vet!" Sarah rubbed her hand through her hair and took a sip of her beer. "But then, around six months ago, I thought it had all stopped. Suddenly, it was like everything in the world seized up. It was, like, five o'clock in the morning and I was asleep in bed. Then all of a sudden, I…" Sarah stopped, and a fierce blush overtook her face.

"You, what?" gently prodded Axl. She looked him square in the eyes, and stated,

"I vomited up glitter." Everyone in the room was silent, but it was the silence of trying to hold in a laugh. Ingrid was the first to fail, and soon the whole room was laughing hysterically, including Sarah.

"I… I SWEAR!" she was choking on laughter and trying to keep her beer upright. "I was asleep in bed, and all of a sudden I feel my mouth open and this light and glitter come shooting out!" everyone's face was red. Mike had long since put the pizzas on the coffee table, but he walked to the kitchen, still coughing with laughter, to get some plates for the group. When the laughter had settled, Sarah continued, her face a little more serious than before. "Since then, it was like all the weird shit that had been happening to me, it all suddenly stopped. I had been in an economics class, and had been doing better than anyone else, but all of a sudden, it was like I couldn't remember my strategies. I had no idea what I was doing." Anders felt his face flush. He knew what it felt like to suddenly be lost. "But… then it started coming back." Sarah finished with a swig from her beer.

"Say again?" Anders leaned in as though he hadn't heard her.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "it just started coming back. Little things, like the cats following me around again. I would see a person and feel like they would be great with this other person I knew. But it's been getting stronger." She looked at the entire group now, searching their faces for help. "And if you guys know about gods and goddess, then maybe you can help me. Do you know anyone else like me? Anyone at all?"

Mike sat up straight, and said softly, "Until recently, I was Ullr, god of the hunt."

" of Asgard and wife to Odin," said Hanna.

"I'm Odin," said Axl with a sheepish smile.

"Wait, you're" Sarah pointed to Mike, "dating your brother's wife?"

"What? No! No, it's um, a little complex," Mike said, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone.

"Baldr," said Olaf, calling attention to himself, "and family oracle."

"I'm Snotra, "goddess of prudence, and also an oracle." Ingrid took Olaf's hand and squeezed it gently.

"I'm Bragi, god of poetry."

"...and panties!" said Mike, under his breath. Anders shot him a wink and a smile.

Sarah looked to Ty, "Are you a god as well?" He cleared his throat,

"I was Hodr, god of all things dark and cold." Sarah's eyes lingered on him for a moment. Thoughts flittered past her dark pupils, but they were impossible for Ty to read and she looked away before he even knew what he wanted to see.

"Right, so, all Norse gods then. And my parents were Norse gods. But, I was born in America… does that change anything?" Sarah looked up to Ingrid, but it was Olaf who answered.

"No, you're definitely a Norse goddess. All the signs are there."

"Do you know what gods your parents were?" Ingrid asked.

"No." Sarah shook her head, and looked at the brothers, "What about you?"

"Our dad was Njordr, god of the sea. And our mom was Freyja, goddess of prosperity," replied Ty.

"No, she wasn't," Olaf said with a sigh. Ingrid's hand gently fluttered down on his thigh and a sadness covered her face.

"What do you mean, 'no she wasn't'?!" said Mike, "Of course she was!"

"She wasn't Freyja, Mike," began Olaf, but it was Ingrid who finished his thought,

"Sarah is." The room went silent, and everyone turned to look at the American, sitting in Mike and Hanna's living room. The American held her breath and looked back.