Gyda E. Lance- Al-Damiri

-

Astrid felt Gyda’s hand on hers and he nerves calmed immediately, a talent that Gyda always seemed to have for Astrid’s nerves. “I know you won’t and I know Viggo and Declan wouldn’t either. I know I’m safe but you know the way that Erik got about things he wanted. I’m just scared that he won’t stop until he gets what he wants, like he always does.” She sighed softly and shook her head. “No, just you. I mean Declan’s seen the scars and stuff but I’ve never told him what they are from.” She leaned back against the couch. “What if I try to go after him and it backfires. I can’t let anyone else get hurt because of me.”

~

Gyda shook her head, “I don’t really care if we have to have the whole Georgia State Trooper Force follow you around. He’s not going to do shit anymore. No one around you would allow it. Least of all me.” She sighed and nodded, “we should figure something out a plan for you to keep moving forward.” Gyda smiled and shook her head, “it’s not going to back fire. You’re enough evidence to win your case alone.”

————————————

“It only took a couple of years.” Clarissa chuckled at her friend, thinking back to all the times that Viggo had teased and flirted her in the past and how she had so adamantly turned him away. At least that time was used to build a friendship between them. She nodded as Gyda talked about Jilly and ran a hand through her hair. “It definitely helps - I just keep telling myself that I have to be very sensitive to her and what she wants. I just don’t want to overstep with her or with Viggo.” Clarissa chewed her bottom lip in thought for a second before speaking up again. “Sometimes, I feel like Viggo is unsure and I’m sure that he’s just being cautious. I just wish I knew where he actually stood.” Clarissa knew it was a conversation she would have to have with Viggo but she had promised to go at his pace so she was, or she was trying to at least. 

Worries and things are just part of life. They come and go but if you’re happy, that’s all that matters.” Clarissa squeezed Gyda’s hand. She was glad to hear that her friends were staying. Technology helped communication, but Clarissa had missed her dearly. Life wasn’t the same without her. Snickering, Clarissa shook her head as she thought of Rose. “You have no idea - she’s a magnet for trouble I swear. Worst of all is she fell in love.” Speaking of her future endeavor, Clarissa shared her excitement, knowing it was something Gyda was passionate about. “If you need help with anything at all, please let me know. Even if it’s just watching the kiddos so you can plan. I still have contacts from McLean that I’m sure would love to help get this started.”

~

Gyda smiled and loved the idea of Clarissa joining the family but she understood her caution as well, especially when it came to Jilly, “she’s always loved you but she’s getting older and I’m sure Viggo is just a little worried about what could happen, what questions could get stirred up, especially right now.” She shrugged and smiled, “Viggo is always a damn puzzle piece that you literally can’t find the spot for though and I think it’s just part of his charm. Give him time, or hell bring it up one day to him. He’s not the best at explaining but you could probably get closer to an answer from him.”

Gyda nodded, “I think I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I mean we have our good days and bad days but that’s normal. It’s just part of life. We make it work.” Gyda shook her head at the thought of all the trouble Rose probably got into and sighed, “I really don’t get her sometimes,” her brows raised though, “oh shit. Yeah, she’s in for it for real then.” Gyda smirked, “I’ll probably need an event planner every now and again, and a babysitter is always welcome, though I don’t trust leaving anyone with Torben too long. Not until you’re more used to his antics anyway. My luck he would have you tied up somewhere and you would swear he was a demon.”

Astrid nodded her head slowly. “Ive been trying to get some sleep while Stella sleeps and Declan has been nothing short of amazing, even with Stella.” She said and looked over towards Gyda. She had opened up about a little of what had been going on and she stopped for a moment, hesitating about fully opening up because she had spent so many years trying to hide it and building a wall. She looked around for a moment, trying to make sure there were no kids around who could understand the words coming from her mouth. “I think I need to talk about it, if I want to move on from Erik.” She said and took a deep breath, sitting up from the couch a moment and pulling the shoulder of her shirt down, revealing a long scar that ran down her back. Her hands shook slightly at the cold air hitting the part of her that she had been hiding for so long.

“I…this was the first one, I mean…there’s not many, honestly. But uh…this one is the worst…” Astrid said and looked over to Gyda, letting her shirt go back to it’s position as she sat back normally. She looked down at her hands and sighed softly. “Erik liked his alcohol but he couldn’t handle it well. He was short tempered and everything seemed to set him off.” She moved a piece of hair behind her ear, feeling tears threatening to fall. “I felt like everything I did was wrong. I uh….when I found out I was pregnant with Stella, I was so scared to tell him that when I finally did, I thought that he was going to…I thought that was it..that he was going to kill me.” She said softly. “That’s when I left..I came here and I’ve been nervous ever since that he is going to find me…finish what he started.”

~

Gyda nodded and smiled but her brows gently pulled together, “floor’s open.” She smiled but her face fell at the sight of the scar and she sighed, placing a comforting hand on Astrid’s shaking one. It always took a lot for Gyda to not jump up and do something. Even if it would get her unnecessary trouble, being a mom had slowed her down some but not enough that she wouldn’t react. She listened though before reacting, holding onto Astrid’s hand to keep her comforted.

“I dare him to show his fucking face here.” She smiled and shook her head, “I won’t let anything happen to you or Stella and I should have been there for you then too.” She nodded, sighing and shaking her head, “have you told anyone else? Gone forward about this? You have the support system here now, you could do whatever you think should be done. He shouldn’t get away with what he has done to you.”

“We definitely do, between work, the move, and the kids, we’ve been running ourselves into the ground.  A night off should help us recharge our batteries.”  Tereik grinned, “She gets plenty of cuddle time from us every other night, I’m sure shell get by if she has to spend one night with Kami.”  Her comment abut the Bahamas reminded him of something, “Now that you say that…the Field museum in Chicago wants me to speak a few time at their Egyptology department later this summer, they’ll take care of the whole family if we all want to go, or it could just be you and me, or just me and I’ll bring Ladon, but it’s up to you.  I just need to go if I want them t start selling my book, we don’t have to decide now, but I wanted to let you know.” 

~

Gyda smiled and shrugged, “so basically you’re telling me we’re going to the movie theater to fall asleep?” She chuckled and shrugged, “Yeah, I guess you’re right just this once.” Her nose crinkling at him because if she were being honest she wanted as many snuggles as she could get in with Itani as possible. Her last child she would ever have. That in itself was a scary thought. Her brows raised, “ahhh... my birth place.” She chuckled, “I mean we could all go it feed my travel bug and the kids would probably like it. I guess it depends on who you want to bring since it’s your trip. Do you want to worry about the kids? Do you want a guys trip with you and Ladon since we’ve been away? Any and all options I understand.”

“That is good, the first time is so scary, the younger you can put it off the better.  Ladon is still traumatized from the first time he saw one, and it’s been about 10 years.  I’m glad, the last thing you want is to give yourself an ulcer worrying about him.  If I’m honest, leaving Egypt has always been hard for him, of course he loves it here and he’ll go anywhere you are, but he struggled a lot when we moved here the first time, and if Daddy hadn’t died, he’d have stayed there forever, but he’ll adjust in time, he always does.” 

“Fair enough, but if he ever decides to give basketball a try, all he has to d is wave Ladon over, he’ll be happy to help and pass on some of his knowledge.  I’m sure they’ll find common ground eventually, Torben is still so young and they have plenty of time to find something they both like.”  Kami laughed, “I’ll do what I can to offer advice, but clearly I don’t have much experience with boys and their fathers, so what do I know?” 

“I did love him, and still do, I probably always will in a way, he’s the only man I’ve ever been with and I always thought we’d figure it out eventually, and it’s hard to give up on that.”  She relaxed into Gyda’s hug, “I’m so glad you’re back, I don’t know how I got by without you to vent to.” 

~

Gyda nodded, “Yeah, I definitely don’t want them being scared of Tereik but I know it may happen. We’re pretty prepared for it but I do worry about them. It was kind of easy with Hanna, but we did find out later it scared her.” She chuckled and nodded, “Well, considering ulcers are the least of my worries, I wouldn’t mind one so much.” She joked before sighing, “I think when we made up I had moved past it. I just had to figure out my own shit with it. I thought I could do it without Tereik but I couldn’t. He made me realize, even though he had said it time and time again, that I can only help him so much. The way I beat myself up about Egypt... it wasn’t healthy for either of us. I will always regret the fact that I left him and I can understand your family hating me for that. Hell, I understood my own family hating me for it. I think we wouldn’t be as strong as we are now though, if that hadn’t had happened. In a sick way, it made us better.” She shrugged not really sure if that was the best way to explain it. “I only say that because, I don’t think we would have ever had any more kids other than Hanna because I would have worried myself to death about him. I would have been worried sick about him to the point it would affect my health and in turn he would have been worried about me.”

Gyda laughed and nodded, “you know I will. Honestly, though the issue at hand is keeping him from treating every room and piece of furniture like its the set for WWE Raw. I should kill Viggo for letting him watch it with him.” She rolled her eyes at the thought of her older brother and her overly rambunctious son finding comfort in clobbering the shit out of others. Although, Gyda did get it too. “I think they’ll figure out some sort of bond somewhere. It just takes time, Torben is different from Hanna and Rashid.”

Gyda shook her head and hugged Kami a little tighter, “You have more than enough knowledge about fathers and sons. After all you watched your father with Tereik. Unfortunately you just got dealt a crappy father for your son.” She smiled, “they knew you had both in you because your dad didn’t raise any chumps at all. Not with his daughters or his son.” She nodded, “I know you did and possibly will. Tereik is far from garbage but it was really hard to give up on him too. Probably one reason why I never did. One thing we do know though, is Coyote is just a damn vulture. He comes and feeds on you and Ladon when he sees an opportunity to get something. If he really cared about either of you, he wouldn’t keep coming back knowing he still has so much of himself to deal with.” She smiled and kissed her sister in law’s cheek, “I’m glad we are too. I’ve missed this and as much as I love your mom, it’s not the same.”

The first few weeks back in Georgia had been rough on Tereik, physically, but he’d finally adjusted to the time change and fallen back into his old routine of commuting to and from the museum and he was feeling a lot better.  He’d taken a half day at the museum and come home to help Gyda with the kids for a while before the plans he had for the tonight.

Once he got Itani down for a nap and the boys occupied with an activity in the backyard with Hana “babysitting,” he went to find Gyda.  “Hey so I was thinking, it’s been a while since we’ve had a date night.  I talked to Kami and she and Ladon are willing to come over and watch the kids, and I thought we could get dinner, go for a walk, maybe see a movie.  What do you think?” 

@gydalance​​

~

Gyda was sitting at the kitchen table with her head buried in her hands going over the details of her new business venture when Tereik came and sat down with him. She smiled and looked up at him, “that honestly sounds amazing. I think we both need a break.” She chuckled, “we should probably take Itani with us...” she said before shaking her head, “nah. I’ll pump. I think we deserve just a night to ourselves and cuddling up to you in a movie theater is near impossible with a baby between us.” She chuckled beginning to put her stuff away. “Honestly you got me to yourself as long as Kami and Ladon will allow us. So if you want to sneak in any last minute trips to the Bahamas we should probably get that plan figured out right now.”

“We all know he can handle himself for the most part, but it’s hard not to worry abut him, he’s my baby brother after all.  You guys seem really happy though ,with the kids and being back in your house again, I’m really glad you’re back, I missed you all so much and I’m glad things are going well for you, even if Tereik is looking a little rough.  You’re doing great.”

“Do you think Torben will want to play football like Thor? I could see him being good at that, the structure of being involved with a sport was really good for Ladon and now we’re starting to get letters from colleges.  Plus, it might help him make some friends outside of your family, obviously you know what’s best for him, but I just know how much basketball helped Ladon when he was growing up, he had a community and he’s still friends with a lot of those boys.”  She smiled, “That being said, I had unsolicited parenting advice, so feel free to ignore me, it just might help him burn off some of his energy on top of everything else.”

Kami sighed, “I just don’t understand why it was so hard.  I tried everything I could to be a good partner and mother and keep a good home, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t keep him.  He didn’t want me, and I still don’t know what I could have done to make him happy.  I’m trying to move past it, and Kip has been amazing in helping me get there, but it hurts so much and I just feel so…inferior.”  She wiped her eyes again, “He’s really great, I’m so worried I’m going to scare him off, but I don’t want to let him get away, I don’t think I can handle that again.” 

~

Gyda nodded but she had gotten better about not juggling her worry for Tereik and focusing herself on the kids. They always put the kids first but when it came time to worry about Tereik it happened. Luckily the boys hadn’t witnessed Tereik’s seizures yet and that was a blessing but she knew it would come. “I think putting the kids first really makes me worry less about him. I have to say it might have made me negligent of him especially in the move. We’ll fix it though and get back in sync.” She chuckled and nodded, “yeah this whole moving thing has really got him in a funk. We’ll get it figured out though.”

Gyda’s brows furrowed and she shrugged, “I don’t know. Thor was pretty focused on sports when he was a kid. Torben though, he is just really imaginative.” She smiled, “a part of me thinks he might be a lot more like Tereik than we realize. He’s just really interested in the Norse history versus the Egyptian. I don’t know. I just it’s upsetting to Tereik that he isn’t interested in that side of his history. I think he’ll get there though.” She chuckled and shook her head, “Kam, I will take all the parenting advice I can get honestly. I just... I really want things to be okay with him and Tereik. So that it’s okay for Tereik. I know there is a rift but I think it’s gonna get better the older he gets.”

Gyda sighed and shrugged, “because you loved him. You wanted a family for Ladon.” She smiled, “and that’s okay and you had to figure it all out yourself. Even though I wanted to shove my fist down his throat for you.” She smiled and pulled Kami into a hug, “hey, it’s okay. You take it at your own pace. You got a lot going on right now and if Kip wants to be a part of your life he’ll stick around for all of it.”

“I should have known you’d somehow figure it out before even I figured it out myself.” Clarissa chuckled, knowing Gyda had always had a knack for knowing her better than she knew herself. Most of the time, at least. “It’s not that Jilly gets in the way, I would never say that, but it’s definitely different than anyone else I dated. But it helps that I already had a relationship with Jilly and we get along. She’s so funny and honestly helped me when I was overrun by kids.” Clarissa laughed, but she was extremely happy that Gyda seemed to be okay with them seeing each other. If Gyda had been upset, well… Viggo and her would have had to have a conversation. “I’m still waiting for some sorta sarcastic remark for how long I kept saying it would never happen.”

Clarissa listened closely to everything Gyda was telling her and though she had known parts of the story from their conversations, it always amazed her to hear it again. “I’m just so happy for you. I know how much you struggled and to see your kids, healthy and happy, and you, healthy and happier than I have ever seen you….” Clarissa sighed, reaching over to take her friend’s hand and give it a squeeze. “Well, I’m ecstatic for you and I’m so happy to be able to finally get to actually meet the whole family and hang out with them and all.”

Clarissa groaned, shaking her head at the mention of Rose. “Let’s just say that if Teddy was still around, Rose would be 6 feet under.” She chuckled, settling into the couch. “Well, Rose was attacked an evening, going home and this random guy Owen jumped in to help her. But the thugs who attacked her came back and I guess they got this Owen guy pretty good. Rose says that she just wanted to know what was going on so she lied to the cops and doctors and told them she was his fiancé. Owen woke up with no memories and Rose has now been living this huge lie of helping Own recover while he thinks she’s his fiancé and Olivia is his daughter.” The story sounded more and more fictious and crazy the more times Clarissa told it. “So, yes, please punch her again. She needs it.” She calmed down after a second, her heart soaring with excitement as Gyda told her about her newest adventure, something so personal and close to her heart. “This is going to be amazing and you are going to bring a voice and help to so many woman who have and are struggling with the same. I am so utterly excited for you and I know that this project is going to be big. I am so proud of you. What are your next steps?”

~

Gyda shrugged, “it was just a matter of time before you fell for Viggo’s teasing.” She smirked but nodded fully understanding where Clarissa was coming from. “I get it. It’s definitely different but I think it’s good for Jilly. I mean, when it comes down to it it’s a woman she doesn’t have to share with a bunch of other kids.” She shrugged, “she’s a good kid, and definitely a huge help, I definitely think it’s good you two already have a relationship.” Her brows furrowed, “and at least things won’t change there. Jilly’s had enough people in and out of her life. Including myself. Having some kind of stability in a female definitely helps her out, and probably in the end will help Viggo out too. And of course bring you three closer together.” She chuckled. “All I have to say is I told you so.”

Gyda nodded it had been a big struggle for all of them and she hadn’t made it any easier on herself but having the kids now and knowing life was not only difficult at time with all the rugrats but amazing as well. It was all Gyda had ever wanted. “I don’t think I could be happier even if I tried, honestly. I mean of course we have our worries and things but I just... I’m so happy to be where we are.” She squeezed Clarissa’s hand back and chuckled, “I know, I know. We’ve been away way too long but I’m pretty sure we’re back for good now. Egypt was a blast and just like me and T revisiting our roots but this is home. This is where we started building our family and our life now.”

Gyda’s brows pulled together as Clarissa went through all the drama and nodded slowly. “Wow, yeah, make sure to pencil that in for that me, Rose needs to be revisited.” Gyda smiled and chuckled, “I’m just getting the idea together right now so I can get it all figured out.” She shrugged, “budgeting and stuff like that are the last priority and figure out how to register it and stuff.” 

“Yeah, you’re right, it could be fun and it’ll be a good way to go through everything and get rid of the extras all at the same time, I’m sure I’ll be much more up for it once we finally get some sleep, which I’m sure will happen eventually.  I bet Kami and Viggo would help us organize it too, I guess it could be fun, and yeah, who knows who might find our stuff useful.” 

“We’ll figure it out, it’s just a lot of change for him and that’s bound to get him a little wound up and you know Rashid is so influenced by his moods and then stuff like this happens.  It’s not the end of the world, we’ll work it out like we did before, at least here we have a yard they can all play in and work some of their energy off, I missed that the most when we were away.” 

Taking Itani to the newly set up nursery and rocked her for a little while before setting her in her crib, she settled in easily and he slipped out, only to encounter the boys, where they excited asked him about taking their nap with the TV on.  “Alright guys, let’s go get set up.”  He took them down to the den with some of the blankets and pillows from their room, “Okay, I’ll set up the TV you guys make your forts.”  Once they were settled in with the TV on, Tereik sat on the couch with them until they were calmed down and quiet enough that he knew they would doze off, and he went back upstairs.

He peaked in on Hana who was reading, but looked like she was about to fall asleep, so he didn’t bother her and arrived in their bedroom just after Gyda.  “Yeah, but the boys were pretty tired, so once I got them to lie down they faded pretty fast.  I looked in on Hana and I would guarantee that she’s out by now, so hopefully we’ll all be caught up on our sleep soon.”  He climbed in with her and relaxed for what felt like the first time in ages, “It’s a great bed, it was the only decent piece of furniture I owned before you moved in.  Remember that first night we brought Hana home and we all slept in here together? That was one of the best days of my life.” 

~

Gyda smiled and nodded, “we’re all pretty tired. I’m not shocked they faded so fast. I’m pretty sure the vase break was a sleepy accident.” She took a deep breath and relaxed further into the bed. “Yes, that was the best day of our life here for sure. I can’t wait for them all to wake up and pile up in here with us.” She said snuggling closer to him and letting her eyes fall shut. “I can already feel their little bodies snuggle us tight and smooshing us.” She sighed and relaxed into the bed with a sleepy smile. “I can’t wait to see them grow up here. It’s going to be so great.”

Kami laughed, “We should probably start some kind of a support group for all the people who love him and worry about him, we can make t-shirts and everything.  It was a different situation, but I did the same thing when we were younger, especially when we moved here, I felt like I had to protect him and I made his life my life until I realized that wasn’t helping either of us.  After that, I got together with Coyote and we all know how that went.” 

“He’s a doll, they all are, but Torben is definitely going to keep you on your toes, I always thought I really lucked out with how Ladon’s personality turned out, but a good chunk of that is probably my father’s influence, I can’t take much credit for that.  I definitely see a lot of Tereik in both of them, but I think you picked the right twin to name after our father, I think I see him more in him than any of the other grandkids, something about the face he makes when he’s thinking and his mannerisms, even at his age, it just throws me off in the best of ways.” 

“No, it wouldn’t have.  I don’t know why I was so convinced it was going to work this time, I just wanted it so badly and Ladon was so happy, it was just like when I first met him and I turned a blind eye to all the warning signs, and I thought maybe this time he would step up and do the right thing, but when we found out about Liyana…it all just clicked and I realized that it was never going to happen with him.  It was time for me to give up on him, and as sad as I was it was easier than I thought it would be.  I’m sure everyone was thrilled that he was gone, but I’ll probably always be a little sad that we couldn’t make it work.  Anyway, we’ll definitely get together soon, he came with me to parent’s night at one of Ladon’s games and we had a great time.  I’m hoping we’re on the road to making things official and then we can go from there, but I’m optimistic.  I’m definitely up for partying with you guys again, but we’re going to have to throw something good this year, I’m not going to let my little brother turn 40 without some kind of blowout.” 

~

Gyda laughed and nodded at the thought, “I definitely think we should have a support group and t-shirts. I definitely still protect him some but now our focus is more on the kids. I still worry about him but I think we’ve both figured out how to be us and we figured out how to be parents and everything.” She shrugged, “I mean we’re still learning, we’re definitely not pros but we’ve learned to work.” 

“Torben is so much like Thor when he was a kid it’s scary. I know for a fact that we’re gonna have a few early broken bones with him.” She smiled at the thought of T’s dad and nodded, “he definitely reminds me of your dad. It’s uncanny sometimes and he is so close to T. It makes me really happy to see it. I know he wishes Torben was close to him too like that but I think Torben is just... pulled in so many different directions in his head that it’s hard for him to focus.”

Gyda nodded, “I know and I know Ladon wanted it to work too. I... I wish I could have just wrung his neck before he left.” She sighed, “the only thing he ever did good was Liyanna and Ladon. I’m happy you did what was right for yourself though. That’s all we ever wanted was for you to be happy and be sure of yourself, Kam. You deserve so much and I’m so damn pissed he kept promising you that and never delivered.” Her brows raised though at the talk of a new relationship and she chuckled, “I’m excited as hell to hear that though. I have never wanted anything else but for you guys to be happy.” 

Andrew glancd over at the kids.  He liked children, but he didn’t have much experience with them and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for such an energetic group, but he’d extended the invitation and he was going to stick with it.  “I think my yard can handle it, the house isn’t childproof in any way, but the yard should be all set.  I’m glad to help with that, I don’t know anyone here and I figured it was time for me to start getting to know people and the lady across the street suggested I reach out to you, she said she was your sister or something, and she’s been very nice, so I thought I’d take her advice.”  He paused when the little boy came up, but them smiled, “I’m sure it’ll be great.  I should have everything ready around 6, feel free to come over at anytime.” 

~

Gyda chuckled but nodded, “if you think you can handle it and your yard can handle it.” She couldn’t help but laugh and pull Rashid in close. “we’ll be sure to keep them in the yard then.” Gyda nodded and agreed, “alright we’ll be there. Let me just go rally the troops and call T.” She smiled turning away to herd children and animals back in the house to get them ready. “Hey anything we need to bring food wise?” She shouted from the porch.

Astrid had always felt comfortable with Gyda and if there was anybody she would tell the whole truth to, it was her and part of her wanted to tell her right now. She rested her head on Gyda’s shoulder. “I promise, I will tell you if I think there is trouble but you always seem to know those vibes. You knew about Erik before I did. I wish I listened to you back then.” She said as she looked up towards the other. “I always feel like I could fall asleep. Plus it’s already hard to carry Stella around and my doctor doesn’t want me doing heavy lifting or anything. It’s just going to be interesting with Stella still being so young.” She said and let her eyes close for a moment. 

“At least you had T through it all. He’s a good man, Gyda.” Astrid said and sat up some. “I can’t imagine all of that and how you managed but somehow you always do.” She said as she let out a yawn she tried to stifle. She let a moment of silence take over and somehow Erik still happened to fill those thoughts, eating at her, like those memories were trying to come out. She sat up and looked over, hand running through her hair. “I…not to keep bringing him up but my mind…he keeps popping up and I think it’s why I’m having so much trouble sleeping…I’ve been seeing him in my dreams and everything that happened…everything he did.” She said, her breath hitching in her throat. “I didn’t tell you everything…not even close.” She said softly. “It wasn’t just emotional Gyda…not with Erik.”

~

Gyda smiled and shrugged, “what can I say. I can spot scum a mile away.” She chuckled. Her brows pulled together and she nodded at the thought, “I was always sleeping with Itani. I couldn’t help it and I hated it for T. We had the same thing with all of ours. It’s not as hard as you would think though. I mean they are all pretty close together. We had just brought Hana home and we found out about the twins.” 

Gyda smiled but her brows raised, “you got Declan now though.” She shrugged, “honestly, if it wasn’t for T I wouldn’t have made it at all. He made it so much easier on me.” Her brows raised and she listened to her cousin. She was worried about it all. She was worried now about what all Astrid hadn’t told her. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to think about again, Astrid. You know that.” She smiled but when she heard the extra it made her blood boil. It made her want to go find that dirt bag and nail his ass square in the jaw. “Astrid, I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve any of it and I’m happy you’re out and here now.” 

A blushed creeped along the tops of Clarissa’s cheeks and she had to clear her throat to cover up the smile that came on her face at the thought of Viggo gushing about her. She was silent for a few second before lifting her head back up to face Gyda. “We did become really good friends.” She wrung her hands, unable to hide her smile. “We’re seeing each other…and I know it’s unexpected and crazy but he… he makes me happy. Him and Jilly.”

Clarissa grinned when Itani was passed over to her, immediately swooning over the baby. She sat her down on her lap, bouncing her lightly while one hand reached up and pinched her cheeks, earning herself a squeal and giggle. “You have your hands full; that’s for sure. I don’t know how you do it. I was taking care of Siggy and Makoa’s kids and Rose’s baby and Jilly sometimes and I almost lost my mind.” Clarissa laughed, looked up at Gyda. “If it wasn’t for your brother, I’m sure the kids would have won.” If she was honest, it probably wasn’t far from the truth but she had loved every second of it. “You were missed deeply; you have no idea and I’m so happy you are back. Are you happy?”

~

Gyda noted the way Clarissa’s cheeks reddened and smirked, “I’m happy he makes you happy but you didn’t have to lead into it like that. I know what’s been going on without Viggo going into detail.” She wiggled her brows, “you both deserve to be happy though and I’m sure it’s not the easiest thing having Jilly around but she’s always enjoyed you since she was little. So that probably makes it so much easier.” 

She watched her friend with the baby and smiled, “you’re holding the last one for a while.” She chuckled and sighed, “after the boys the doctor in Egypt suggested a hysterectomy. We decided to try one more time and Itani happened after a year, almost two. We knew after her she would be the last one.” She pouted a bit but smiled, “I hated it but I didn’t want Hana to have to babysit for us.” She chuckled pulling her oldest daughter in for a hug and tickling her. “She was a big help during it though, made sure T wasn’t getting to tired on us or anything and telling me when to call Halima and tell her to come tell T to rest.” She chuckled but shrugged, “I think I got my rest in after Itani after I was able to get up and go again it was simple to pick it all up. Well not all of it up but ya know. It’s something I always wanted and I damn sure wasn’t gonna complain. I put T through too much hell worrying about me and Itani for that.” 

“How are they by the way? Siggy and Makoa? Viggo told me about the accident and Rose? What’s going on with her?” Her brow raised, “please don’t tell me I need to punch her again. I regret the first time I probably won’t the second.” She laughed though about the kids and smirked, “he told me about the cheerio hair. He said you looked exhausted as hell though and he knew you had a lot on you. Viggo is a pretty damn good kid wrangler but he had to do it most of his life with me and Thor.” Gyda smiled, “I am, I told T I think we belonged here all along. It was nice to experience living in Egypt and nice to be a housewife with little side gigs occasionally.” She shrugged, “but now that I’m back here I got something pretty big planned. With all my struggles with fertility I want to start a non-profit support group that spreads awareness about fertility struggles and maybe one day grow it into something that can help women with their fertility issues.” She shrugged, “I’ve been working on it a lot lately when I have time to should be getting it off the back burner pretty soon though.” 

Astrid offered a smile to Gyda. “Babies, there are two of them but I know. You’ve always been like a big sister and not a cousin.” She leaned her head on Gyda’s shoulder. “I know and that’s always in the back of my head. Erik was….not the best person.” She said and sighed softly, looking down at her hands. There was a lot of things that she hadn’t actually told Gyda or really anyone about what had gone down between Astrid and Erik. She tried not to think about it too much but she knew she would have to face it at some point. 

“Part of me is scared of it happening again but Declan is nothing like him, at all. I trust him. He’s a good guy. I think you would really like him.” She laughed. “I will have to give him a warning before he meets you but I swear he is a perfect gentleman. I feel good about him.” She said and nodded. “Oh I know I will be craving sleep.”

~

Gyda chuckled, “wow way to make a girl feel old.” She teased shaking her head lightly but knowing it was the truth. She and Astrid had been close for years and in a lot of ways Astrid was one of her best friends. Gyda held Astrid a little tighter at the mention of her ex-husband and nodded, “I know but you got out and that’s what matters. Just take this slow with Declan, is all I can ask. There is no reason to rush anything, even with the twins now. If he is as good as you say, he won’t make a big deal out of you taking your time. You guys just had a fudge up.” 

She knew that Astrid kept secrets about her past marriage but that was her choice and Gyda didn’t care to dig and make Astrid thinking about it further. Her being scared of it happening with Declan was understandable though. “You know what to look for now, and you have family here to watch your back as well. If things seem off with him, I promise, I’ll let you know.” She chuckled knowing that she as always heavily opinionated and if Astrid ever got the chance to meet Clarissa she would know it. “Itani had me sleeping all the time. I could barely sit on the couch for long and I would be passed out. I had to stay active with the boys and Hana... until I went on bed rest. Then it got rough.” Her fertility issues were always lurking through her pregnancies but Itani’s was definitely the roughest because of the doctor’s request after the boys were born, “and then after having her and the hysterectomy it was really rough. I could barely hold her and couldn’t do much for myself. T was an amazing help but I still felt terrible him having to do so much for me and the kids.” 

She shrugged and smiled, “we knew what we were getting into though when we decided to try for it one more time though. We knew after her we would struggle a lot because I would be pretty useless and boy did I feel it too.” She smiled though at the thought of her husband and chuckled, “he tried his best to make sure I didn’t though and his mom was a huge help when he couldn’t. I mean he had to rest too and I could have called my mom but his mom was right there.” She shrugged, “I think it got us all a little closer. Probably closer than we wanted to be.” She laughed again. 

Andrew’s life was in a weird place right now.  He’d grown up in the White House and spent all those years under scrutiny only to be completely forgotten and only brought up at the lowest points in his life.  The whole country was seemingly aware of his drug related meltdowns, suicide attempts and various stints in rehab and he hoped moving to a new place would help him get a fresh start.  Unfortunately, he was alone, with no friends, no family, and no idea what he was going to do to get by.  For now though, he was going to do what his therapist suggested and find a way to get to know at least one of his neighbors and he wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to do it, but he had nothing but time to figure it out. 

Thankfully there was a very nice day that day and Andrew decided he was going to break out his grill and if he saw any of his neighbors outside, he would invite them over and could also get some use out of the outdoor furniture.  He didn’t really know the people who shared the backyard fence with him, but he knew it was a family and he’d seen a few dogs here and there, but he didn’t know them.  After about 10 minutes of playing around with the grill, a gift from his father and it was unnecessarily fancy and expensive, the woman living next door came outside and Andrew waved at her.”

“Hi,” he said, doing his best to give her a genuine smile, “I’m Andrew, I just moved in earlier this week, and I used to work at a steakhouse and I was thinking I’d invite you and your family over for dinner if you’d like.  I love to cook, but it’s more fun for other people than just myself, so I thought a cookout might be fun, if you were interested.” 

@gydalance​​

~

Gyda had Itani in her arms and a blanket over her shoulder as she came out the back door to let the kids enjoy the nice spring day. Torben and Rashid with their swords and Hana occasionally joining them but finding her own interest on the swing set or running around with Fenrir, While Gyda lounged in the grass under a tree with Itani on the blanket. Her brows raised at the guy that in the other yard and she looked around before smiling at his question, “You sure you want a swashbuckling pirate and a fierce viking warrior in your yard?” She joked before getting up and swinging Itani up as well to walk over to the back fence, “I wouldn’t mind a nice dinner with my backyard neighbor, no.” She shrugged, “plus I’ve been telling T we need to get out a bit more. Make friends and stuff. So we’re not cooped up with these four all the time.” She heard the wailing begin from behind her though and cringed at the sound, “again are you sure you want all these kids over there though?” She chuckled as Torben ran up with tears in his eyes from where Rashid had accidentally hit him with his sword.

“He looks happy, he’s happier with you and the kids than I’ve ever seen him, even when he was working with that tomb he found, he was loving his work, but he was lonely.  I know you’re taking good care of him, but it’s hard not to worry, and I’m sure it’s the same for you, but it’s hard to se how skinny he is and how exhausted he seems…I’m so glad he’s happy and that he’s got you…I’ve just been worrying about him for 40 years and I don’t know how to turn it off.  Like I said, he seems so happy, but has he been doing alright, healthwise?  You know he won’t tell me, but I trust you to be honest with me, I don’t expect me to tell me details, I respect his privacy too much for that, but on a scale of 1 to 10 with 5 being kind of a normal day for him, how worried do I need to be right now?”  She smiled, “She loved having the kids around, but I don’t think she’s ever experienced anyone like Torben, Tereik was a pretty low-energy little boy and we all kept each other entertained, but she loves her little hurricane, she loves all of them.  If nothing else, we’re hoping she’ll come to visit for a couple of months so she can see all the kids again.” 

Kami wiped her eyes, it was hard to talk about Coyote because she loved him, and she had loved him since she was 16 and all she wanted was to have a home and a life with the father of her children, no matter how badly he treated her and what being with him did to his emotional state, but when she became pregnant with Liyana, it became clear that that was never going to happen.  It was painful and because her sisters always hated Coyote, she didn’t feel like she could reach out to them, and she had wished she had Gyda’s support when she was making the transition and getting ready to have the baby.  Of course, Gyda had her own live going on, but Kami had missed her so much.  “I know, and even though you didn’t like him, I know you just wanted what was best for us and I always appreciated having you in my corner.  It’s been hard, but I have made some progress in getting myself back out there, and I need you to keep it between us until things are official, but his name is Kip and we’ve been seeing each other for around a month now.  He’s really great and he’s got a little boy around Liyana’s age and he has his own restaurant…I really like him, and I think you will too.” 

~

“I know, and I’m happy I’m not alone in worrying about him honestly. I mean I’ve never really felt alone in worrying about him, but it doesn’t feel like my burden alone. I think I tried to make it my burden at first. But I’m happy we’ve grown from that and learned to balance it and take care of each other. Be a team not just with the kids but in all of our relationship.” Gyda nodded, her lips pursing as she thought, “yeah, I mean he’s tired from the move but I think we are all still getting used to the time switches and such. It hits him a little harder than us though. I’d give it a 5, 6 or 7 some days.” She shrugged, “he’s been better than he has been in a while.” 

She laughed and nodded, “he is definitely a hurricane, her and mom are about the only ones that can truly sooth him. I can occasionally but those two, he just loves them. Rashid is a lot more like T though and I think she enjoyed seeing that but it might have worried her a bit too. His health is not like T’s but he is definitely a lot more liable to get sick than Torben, but that’s also because Torben has probably ingested enough germs to defeat the plague single handedly.” She rolled her eyes and laughed looking down at Itani, “i’m excited to see who this one acts like the most, honestly.” 

Gyda nodded and smiled, “I’m happy you did at least know that. That’s all I ever want for you and Ladon and now Liyana, I could have punched Coyote in the face till I was black and blue and he was too. It wouldn’t have changed your mind though. I’m pretty sure that’s the only time most of your siblings have been routing for me honestly.” She chuckled, but then her brows raised and she smirked, “Kip, I like it. As long as it’s not Viggo. Even though I’m pretty sure that’s been grabbed up by Clarissa. You’ll have to bring him by one day. Maybe we could all have dinner or something.” She shrugged, “who knows. It could be something fun. Plus it gets me and T entertaining again and you know how much I loved throwing events in this house.” She laughed, “this time it just won’t be as boozy. Too many kids running around for that.”