=Normal POV=
(Wednesday, 8/7/19-9:00 am)
(Archia Isle City)
(Dreki-Viking Enterprise)

It had been a few days since the incredible anniversary Hector and Astrid shared together, and now they were back to working five days a week. Sometimes six for Astrid when she worked the occasional Saturday. Hector was hard at work in his office, going over papers and signing the ones he needed to. At the moment, he was a little stressed because he left something really important at home and because of a meeting in twenty minutes; he did not have time to go home and get it. A knock on his door made him look up.

"Come in," Hector said calmly. The door opened revealing Jason to him, then he stepped aside to show Astrid standing there. "Milady, hi," Hector rose to his feet to go over and greet her.

"Hi, babe," Astrid smiled, hugging him.

"What brings you here? Everything okay?" Hector inquired.

"Yeah, I found this on the table this morning," She held out a packet of papers for him. "I remember you going over it and telling me you needed it for a big meeting at 9:30. I wanted to drop it off before I start my shift,"

"Thank you. I did need this, and had been stressing about it all morning when I realized I left it at the apartment," Hector sighed in relief.

"Well, stress no more," Astrid giggled.

"What time you work until today?" Hector wondered.

"6 pm. My manager asked if I'd do the extra three hours first," Astrid replied.

"I work til 6 pm too. Late meeting at 5 pm, but since we're both out later than usual…How about we grab dinner?" Hector asked.

"I think that sounds great," Astrid nodded. "I'll see you later, then,"

"Can't wait," Hector gave her a light kiss, which she returned, then Astrid exited the office to get back down to the first level. Hector smiled and went back to his desk with the papers, beyond grateful Astrid found them.

. . .

(1:30 pm)

Hector was going over some documents when he looked up to the door hearing a knock. "Yes?" The door opened revealing Jason again. "What's up, Jase?"

"I need to leave, boss…There's been a family emergency with my mom," Jason explained.

Hector smiled softly. "Then go on. Just leave everything for today on the desk. Let me know how things are, shoot me a text,"

"I will. Thank you," Jason left the room quickly.

Hector sat back in his chair a few moments, then sat up again and lifted the phone from the cradle and dialed three digits as it began to ring.

"Dreki Viking Enterprise, how can I direct your call today?" Hector heard his wife's voice.

"Hello, Milady," Hector replied.

"Hector? Why are you calling reception?" Astrid asked.

"Cause I need you upstairs to help me the rest of the day. My assistant had to leave on a family emergency," Hector informed.

"I'm the only one down here taking calls, babe. I can't leave, my boss would have my head." Astrid stated.

"Ast, I'm your boss. That woman is only your manager and I definitely outrank her in the business," Hector chuckled. "I'll take care of it, just get your things and be ready."

"Okay," Astrid responded and the call ended. Fifteen minutes later, Hector was standing outside his office as the elevator doors opened to show his wife. Hector motioned for her to come to him. "I hope you know my manager is secretly pissed that she now has to take calls for me to be up here," Astrid mentioned.

"I'll let you know when I'm worried about people being mad at my decisions," Hector smiled.

"Okay, so what am I doing up here for you?" Astrid wondered.

"Being my stand-in assistant until Jason returns," Hector said. "All I need you to do basically what you do at reception. Take calls that come through, most of them are going to be for me from people in the business or others I associate with for the business," He explained calmly. "The only thing you have to watch is when this light right here is lit up on Line 1. It's for my office. If this is lit, I'm already in a call and whoever is asking for me will need to call back, or get their name and number for me to call them back. Others within the office will just leave a message, I only need their department and name. I'm sure you know how to put someone on hold and dial another office?" Astrid nodded to him. "Wonderful, so if someone calls for me, put them on hold and call my office to let me know, then patch them through. If I'm in a meeting, all callers are to leave a message. If someone is scheduling something, just write it in here on the planner."

"I think I got it," Astrid told him. "Anything else I should know?"

"Rarely, I'll have you in a meeting with me to take notes." Hector said.

"If I'm in a meeting with you, how do I take calls and messages?" Astrid asked.

"You don't, it'll just go to voicemail and after the meeting is when you'd check everything," Hector smiled. "Oh. You won't be able to get through to me if I'm already on a call, so use this right here. All you do is press down the page button. It connects to a small speaker on my desk. Occasionally, I'll be on a call that I placed from my office and for some reason, the light doesn't go on." He told her. "And keep me informed of any meetings, cause trust me…I'll forget about some."

"Okay. When is Jason coming back today?" Astrid inquired.

"I don't know if he is or isn't, and I asked that he let me know through text what was going on for tomorrow or beyond that." Hector informed.

"Alright, babe," Astrid replied to him.

"Thanks, love," Hector pulled her chair out and Astrid sat down at the desk. Hector pushed her in and set a kiss on her forehead. "I owe you, so we can go anywhere you like for dinner tonight."

"Really?" Astrid asked and Hector nodded to her.

"Anywhere, just let me know if it's anyplace that needs a reservation, so I can call ahead to get us in," Hector told her. Astrid smiled, nodding and then Hector went back into his office as Astrid got to work on what she should do since there weren't any calls to handle. Astrid decided to organize the desk a bit better, something that would work for her to do this job easier.

. . .

(3:45 pm)

Hector had to admit, Astrid did her job very well as his personal assistant. Maybe it was biased because Astrid was his wife and knew him pretty well. Either way, Hector didn't have any problems, and he saw how organized Astrid made everything. Hector approved, of course. He had a meeting at 2 pm, and the next was at 4 pm, then one more at 5 pm. Beyond that, Hector recalled telling Jason nothing past that meeting or he'd never get out on time. Hector tried hard not to work past 6 pm, so he was always home for 6:30 pm, at best.

"Hey," Hector greeted Astrid.

"Hi," Astrid smiled.

"Ever decide where we're going for dinner?" Hector wondered.

"Uh…Don't really want fancy. How about Berkbees?" Astrid suggested.

"Sounds good to me. We don't need a reservation there, so we can just head right after work," Hector told her lightly.

"Can't wait," Astrid replied with a smile.

"Thank you again for helping me out today, Ast," Hector said.

"You're welcome," Astrid replied. "Don't forget about your meeting in ten minutes,"

"I won't, and thank you for printing my documents for me. Jason usually has everything ready for all meetings throughout the day." Hector chuckled.

"Well, he did have to rush off. I'm sure, if not for the family emergency, he would have had it all ready," Astrid shrugged. "Now, go on and get yourself ready. I'll get the room ready with coffee, water, and some snacks and I'll bring them right to you." She got up with a few folders, then a basket of items for the table in the conference room. Hector smiled, stealing a kiss from her as she walked by him. Astrid returned it and continued on her path to set the room up for Hector's meeting. Hector went back to his office to get what he needed and prepare himself for the next forty-five minutes to an hour. Hector hoped it wouldn't run longer than that or it would go over into his second meeting before the shift was over.

. . .

(6:30 pm)
(Berkbees Restaurant)

Hector's meetings only ran about ten minutes over, but it didn't run into the dinner plans Hector had with Astrid. By 6:15 pm, the two were mounting their dragons and heading back to Berk to their small meal together before going him for the night.

"Sorry again about the meeting running over," Hector told Astrid once they landed and were headed into the restaurant.

"Oh, it's alright, babe," Astrid smiled. "When I realized things were going to go over, I got everything ready for us to leave. I was sure that neither of us wanted to spend too much time on getting ready to leave," She informed.

"Very wise," Hector offered his arm as she linked hers inside and held on while they got through the door. The host quickly sat them down near the back, leaving their menus and informing that the server would be with them soon. Hector took Astrid's light jacket off her and then the two sat down across from one another. Hector set his phone on the table, and saw it light up with a message from Jason. "Oh, there he is."

"Jason?" Astrid asked as Hector nodded and pulled up the message to start reading over it. Finally, Hector sent a quick reply back and put the phone down once more. "You don't look thrilled," She commented softly.

"Family situation, but bottom line is that Jason is gonna be out for two weeks to deal with it all. Of course, I don't mind…But since I've got you here and you did so well today. Would you mind filling in for Jason as my assistant until he returns?" Hector wondered. "Please?"

"Sure, but…Can you be the one to hash it all out with my manager?" Astrid hoped. "I don't like talking to her unless absolutely necessary. And I don't think she likes me very much."

'I'll take care of it tomorrow, babe. And thanks." Hector smiled softly. "Now, should we decide what to have for dinner? I'm starving,"

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Astrid agreed while they picked up their menus and looked over them.

"Hector! Astrid!" Familiar voices made the couple look to see their friends all there.

"Hi, guys and girls," Astrid greeted. "What are you all doing here?"

"We decided to get together for dinner. We try to do it, at least, twice a month since high school ended and we can't see one another every day like we used to." Heather informed.

"Awesome that you're here too. We can do dinner together," Drew suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Cassandra nodded.

"Maybe next time," Hector told them. "We came here for weekly date night and off a busy day at work," He told them.

"Long day?" Evan wondered.

"I've been at work since 7 am, and worked until 6 pm," Hector mentioned. "And I was up at 5 am."

"That sucks, dude. We'll leave ya be. Let us know your schedule in two weeks, when we get together again?" Drew asked.

"Sure thing. Babe, will you check my schedule tomorrow?" Hector asked.

"She your assistant now?" Heather blinked.

"Temporary while Jay is out on a family emergency," Astrid smiled. "And I will do that first thing in the morning, Hector,"

The friends nodded and walked off to get to their large table across the way. "Now, what were we doing?"

"Deciding what we want for dinner," Astrid reminded with a smile.

"Ah, right." Hector nodded, getting the menu again. "Should we get an appetizer, or just dinner?"

"I'm not hungry enough for an appetizer, but if you want one, go for it," Astrid told him.

"No, it's okay. I figured to split one, to hold us over until the main course comes." Hector replied.

"Well, if we're splitting…My favorite here is the clam chowder," Astrid giggled a bit.

"Coincidence, mine too." Hector chuckled. Just as they agreed to get one appetizer of clam chowder, the server came over and it was Roseanna, the hookup of Hector's who had attacked Astrid over a pregnancy she tried to say Hector caused. Seeing Roseanna, Hector was surprised, but also protective over Astrid because of what happened only three months ago. "Roseanna…"

"I'm not…Going to cause trouble for you, Hector…" Roseanna admitted. "I'm just doing my job," She said softly.

"I thought you didn't have a job. You hated the idea of work," Hector pointed out.

"My…Parents cut me off when they found out I was pregnant. And the baby daddy doesn't care…I didn't have much of a choice but to work to take care of my child. My parents will let me stay at the house until I give birth, and heal from it, but then I have to be on my own." Roseanna explained.

"I'm sorry," Hector told her.

"No…" Roseanna sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to make you think it was your baby, and…I shouldn't have attacked you, Astrid. I'm so sorry. I was…Alone, and desperate. My parents told me that if the baby's father stayed and helped, then things would have been different. They didn't want to support a single mom, but would have helped out part of the family or…Whatever. Something about old traditions," Roseanna said.

"Yeah, I totally get that. My parents live by old traditions too. Viking time crap, probably the only about unmarried woman having kids, or being promiscuous young. It brings shame to the family, unless the father stepped up to stay with the girl and marry her," Hector stated.

"We both get it. Hector and I were forced into an arranged marriage for our father's companies. As you saw…It took us a long time to accept things and be okay with it now," Astrid spoke up. "I forgive you. In your position, I might have tried the same. Hell, I did. I begged Hector not to leave me, to avoid a divorce in the family so I wouldn't shame them," She informed.

"I forgive you too, and…If you ever want a better job to support yourself and your child," Hector pulled out a business card. "Gimme a call. I can pull some strings to get you into my company, likely reception as it's less strenuous," He held it out to her.

Roseanna accepted it. "Thank you, Hector…" She tucked it away, smiling gently. "May I take your order?"

After that, Hector and Astrid put in their drink and appetizer orders. Roseanna headed off to fill the first part of the order she'd taken. "That was nice of you, Hector," Astrid mentioned. "Offering her to work at the company, I mean."

"I'm not heartless, and I get where she's coming from. That's…One of the reasons we got along pretty well during the hookups. We hated the traditional thing our parents followed. We liked being rebels, if it can be said that way. I still don't like how she went about things, but I get her desperation. Our traditional marriage arrangement made us stronger and I hate admitting that. She lost over gaining. And if you and I can end up happy from what we got forced into originally…I think she could too," Hector said. "Having a better job means she could take care of herself and her child, and in that sense, it would be a gain over a loss. Sometimes you have to look for the silver lining in bad situations. She has the chance to raise her child away from those silly things, and most parents…Want to do better by their kids than they had. Come on. Would we ever force our kids into marriage for ourselves?"

"Oh, Gods no." Astrid said quickly. "I understand. But it was very nice of you. You're right, what our parents pushed us into wasn't cool or fair…But we grew closer because of it. We're…Never telling them this, though, right?"

"You think I'm gonna let our parents have the one win that we're happy together because of their arranged marriage where we hated one another and ended up getting along?" Hector stared. "Never."

"Good," Astrid smiled.

Over with the friends, they were all deciding on what they wanted, but watching Hector and Astrid. "It's good to see them happy," Alexia mentioned.

"They came together on their own after the Tristan thing. No one can make me see it differently." Drew chuckled. "Hector's always cared about her, he was just scared to let it out. Seeing Astrid in danger was enough to make him lose focus on keeping his emotions and feelings for her guarded."

"How do you know so much?" Syrus remarked.

"Hector is basically my little brother. We've had more than enough talks about things since the arrange marriage was announced." Drew smiled.

"Ignoring all that, Alexia is right. It's good to see they came together and are happy." Madison informed.

"It won't be long until they're off that dating thing they told us about." Roxanne mentioned.

"Oh, undoubtedly," TJ agreed. "Won't be long after that when they tell us they're having a kid."

"Probably, but let's keep that to ourselves and let them go at their own pace. Pushing them is what their parents did, and all that is actually what kept them from getting along. The stress of adhering to their desires pushed them apart. All of Hector's demands to have them back off was to get the pressure off of what their parents wanted for them. Hector and Astrid came together by doing what they wanted, no what others wanted." Drew explained. "So we leave them alone and keep being supportive friends."

They all agreed and nodded, getting back to deciding what they wanted and leaving the Haddock couple alone to enjoy their dinner date. Their friends were happy for them, and the two love birds were happy too. It was easy to see there was more than liking one another involved, but neither wanted to ruin a good thing, so they'd just leave things as they were and see how it went from here.