Thora's family sat outside the house that they had been assigned when first coming here. I barely had time to hear what her parents were grumbling about before Hvitserk shoved me inside the small house. Thora was bending over against a chair and sobbing, her face twisted in pain as I assumed the labor had fully settled in.

Siggy was running around her, frowning. When she saw Hvitserk and I entered, she visibly relaxed a bit. "Oh, thank the gods. Quick, Hvitserk, take hold of Thora against that wall there. The baby is coming faster than I thought it would."

Hvitserk grabbed onto Thora and they both kept their back to the wall. I noticed how gentle he was being with her and how Thora grabbed a fistful of Hvitserk's clothes the moment he was close enough.

"What can I do, Siggy?" I asked, seeing Hvitserk be able to hold her up just fine on his own. This wasn't like how I was held up by Freydis and Ascrida. Siggy pointed me at her other side anyway.

"Hold her hand." She instructed bluntly. "I've got everything I need ready to go." I went to Thora's other side and wrapped one arm around her to hold her up and the other grabbed hard onto her hand. Instantly she gripped back, locking my fingers in a vice grip.

Siggy knelt and lifted Thora's skirts, granting her view of her entire front. As Siggy got prepared, I squeezed Thora's hand hard. "You're doing great, Thora. A few minutes, and you'll finally meet your son."

Thora had been praying for a son. Not for any kind of family legacy reason, but because she wanted to have a little boy to take care of, so someone could help her as she got older. She was looking ahead and wishing for a son so badly and I honestly hoped that she got it.

It took several minutes of pushing and Thora's teeth grinding and my hand feeling like it was about to break, but soon, a baby practically fell into Siggy's arms and Thora pretty much melted from exhaustion.

Siggy patted the baby's chest for a moment before a high pitched wail filled the warm air of the house and Siggy beamed up at Thora. "He's here. Help her sit down, you two."

Hvitserk and I lowered her so that she was sitting and Siggy handed the slippery newborn to his mother. Thora wept as she held her son for the first time and I straightened to help Siggy to her feet. Hvitserk was looking down on Thora and the baby, an awed like expression on his face. Thora looked up and immediately caught his eye.

"Do you want to hold him, Hvitserk?" She asked so quietly I almost couldn't hear her. Hvitserk swallowed and looked like Thora had just asked him to hold something incredibly fragile. But he sat down close enough to be pressed against her side and she carefully passed the baby boy onto Hvitserk.

Siggy was distracted with cleaning up Thora and making sure she wasn't that hurt, but I saw the way Hvitserk's face brightened like the sun as he held the little boy. Thora was still mostly looking at the baby, but every now and then she'd quickly glance at Hvitserk to look at him too.

If I didn't know the whole story, I would've assumed that Hvitserk was the father. When he gave the baby back to Thora, Hvitserk's eyes were shiny and he couldn't take his eyes off the newborn. Thora held the baby close to her chest and used her sleeve to wipe his face. The baby was crying quietly, getting quieter as Thora kept him close and warm. Siggy finished and stood up, her hands stained with blood but she didn't look particularly worried.

Thora was given several minutes to sit against the wall with her son, but after a while Siggy wanted her to get up and sit somewhere comfortable. I was handed the baby so that Siggy and Hvitserk could help her back to her bed. The baby had his eyes shut tight and he was breathing deeply, his lungs already strong. Because he was only a few minutes old, I couldn't tell which parent he favored more, not even his hair color was any help. He only had a few strands of hair on top of his head and not much else.

"Do you have a name picked out, Thora?" I asked, so quiet I could barely hear my own voice. Thora looked up tiredly at me and beamed.

"Well, he's all mine," She said in a determined way. "So I decided to name him accordingly. He will be known as Thorgest. I always loved it, and it'll honor Thor himself. I'm sure the god won't mind."

"Little Thorgest," I mumbled. I didn't bring up the family name, the name that attached a child to a father. I briefly contemplated Thorgest Ubbesson before shaking my head; Margrethe definitely wouldn't have stood for that.

Hvitserk reached out and counted Thorgest's toes on behalf of Thora, and the name Thorgest Hvitserksson crossed my mind.

It took several minutes of fawning over the new baby, but when Thora's family trotted in, they wanted some time alone with their daughter. When Hvitserk and I left Thora to her family so that they could meet the newest member, we ended up running into Ivar who had been limping along with Ubbe. I blinked at the oldest Ragnarsson and he shook his head once at me, silently begging me not to bring it up. I narrowed my eyes but nodded along anyway.

"How's the baby?" Ivar asked the moment he saw us. "Everything is okay?"

I locked eyes with Ubbe. "She's got a strong baby boy. His name is Thorgest. Her family's with her right now, so I think I'll see her again tomorrow."

Ubbe's eyes sparkled considerably the moment I said it was a strong son, and even more when I said the baby's name. Several emotions crossed his face at once: longing, grief, pride. In that moment, Ubbe wanted nothing more than to go meet his son.

Meanwhile right beside me, Hvitserk's eyes were shining and he looked like all the air had been pulled from his lungs. "Thora was amazing! All that pain she was going through-she's stronger than any Viking I've seen."

"That's all very good to hear." Ivar replied, evenly looking between his older brothers who were so tangled in this situation. I recognized the look on his face as one he got before battle, trying to think ahead of any possible outcome. "We'll congratulate Thora tomorrow when she's better rested. Come, Augusta." I took Ivar by the arm and we slowly began moving back to the Great Hall.

Ubbe and Hvitserk stayed where they were. They were finally facing each other and they both looked like they were trying to find words.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" I asked Ivar in a very quiet voice the moment we rounded a corner and left them behind.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Ivar replied smoothly. "They might hate each other for a while, but they will get over it. They're brothers; they have to."

I chewed thoughtfully on the inside of my cheek for a moment. "Makes me think about Ragnvald. Thorgest in there is Ubbe's son. That's not something Margrethe can really deny. I just hope Thorgest and Ragnvald are able to be as close as brothers as you and the others are."

Ivar stopped limping for a moment to gently pinch my side. "You are kind, Augusta. But I don't want to share you with my brothers' personal lives. Let them sort this out."

"It's kind of hard to ignore when their personal lives fall down right at my feet." I said dryly. Ivar snorted with amusement and he leaned heavily on me for a moment, but I was able to keep my balance and keep us both standing.

The sky above us when inky black and peppered with bright white stars. The moon was only half full and it was doing its best to illuminate the path back home. I glanced around the empty streets and a broad smile crossed onto my face as I realized that the coast was clear.

"Ivar?" I started. "Speaking of brothers, remember what I was speaking of before Hvitserk burst in?"

Ivar nodded immediately. I stopped walking and Ivar wobbled for a moment before regaining balance and looking down at me, confusion and curiosity lighting up his eyes. I stared at him, praying to every single god that Ivar would get the hint. My tongue suddenly felt like it weighed a ton and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to speak again.

"We were speaking of Bjomolf having a brother," Ivar said blankly. His eyes widened and his mouth opened into a perfect 'O'. "Augusta?" He asked in a shaky breath.

"Yes?" I asked, my smile so wide he could probably see each tooth.

"Are you-?" Ivar didn't finish his question because he flattened a hand right against my belly.

I nodded, the joy sparking from my gut and finally bursting. "Bjomolf is going to be a brother, Ivar!"

My sentence was barely out of my mouth before Ivar had pulled me into his arms and he began burying my face in kisses. I couldn't suppress the giggles that erupted from me and I carefully grabbed onto Ivar so that he didn't lose balance and fall over.

"I'm so happy you're happy!" I said between bouts of laughter.

"Of course I'm happy!" Ivar practically hissed. "I missed out on Bjomolf; I'm not leaving your side for a second for this one."

I didn't want it any other way.


Gods send dreams at stupid times.

I had barely hit my head to the bed when I opened my eyes to see the beach of Kattegat, with people sunbathing, playing in the water, or in a couple of cases, sparring. I approached the people and they couldn't see me as I got closer.

The cluster of girls sunbathing and braiding each other's hair weren't recognizable. But one of them...I felt chills shoot down my spine as I saw my own face in this girl.

Wait, no. This young woman had all of my features but none of the softness. My round edges had been replaced with sharp cheekbones and a defined jawline. But her hair and eyes were just like mine. I looked around the others and spotted familiar features in the others. Some looked like Margrethe, another girl looked a lot like Hvitserk. It wasn't until I spotted a tall young man with mismatched eyes that the presence of someone standing right beside me appeared.

"Children are amusing, Augusta of Wessex." Odin said in his echoey voice that sounded hauntingly like Ecbert's. "Am I correct that you've figured out that not all of these are yours?"

"Yes," I breathed, staring hard at the older Bjomolf. He was trying to train another young man who looked to be around his age with jet black hair and green eyes that rivaled the brightest jewel.

"Sometimes we end up with more children than the ones we have." Odin said. He sounded almost bored. "Do you know why I'm showing you this?"

"Because I'm pregnant now?" I guessed.

Odin huffed and I stared in alarm as I realized that the Allfather was chuckling. "The winds are rising, Augusta of Wessex. They won't happen right away, but change is coming. And it'll affect all you see here and more."

A rise of cold wind buffeted me for a moment and the beach was empty, and the bay was full of burning ships. I stared in terror and took a small step forward. No one was around; Kattegat was abandoned. I looked back at Odin as he was looking around, looking on like it didn't really matter to him.

"I will give you one piece of advice." Odin said, sounding like he had been thinking it over. "When it happens, it won't be your fault."

I opened my mouth to ask what in the world that meant, but Odin had already decided that the meeting was over. I blinked and opened my eyes back in bed, sunlight streaming in and Ivar tangled around me.


A/N: Happy spring break! There'll be another chapter tomorrow morning if I can post it before work!