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The phone rang exactly seven times.

When it was finally picked up, the first sound to come through the receiver was the piercing wail of an exceptionally upset infant. Freya's voice was a tiny drop in a bucket of noise, trying to soothe Peder as she put the phone in the crook of her neck and returned to bouncing the boil in her arms to try and calm him down. It only worked a little.

"HALLO?" She screamed suddenly through the phone. "HALLO, WHO IS THIS?" She might have gone a little temporarily deaf.

"WHAT?" She didn't realize Hel was asking her to stop yelling until after she'd yelled one more time, and only then did she quiet down. "Ach, sorry! I can't tells how louds I am being after he cries so much, my ears are ringings." The sound of high pitched laughter punctuated her sentence, as if somehow Peder knew it was all his fault. "I do, I just can't looks at teh phones right now, is stuck between my heads and my necks, yeh knows? Somebody has all of momma's hands occupied! Who is that! Who is that bad boils that won't let momma sees the phones!" Baby talk had begun, and it was clear she was bouncing him by the sounds he made.

Her attention returned to her sister. "Yeh finally calls! I haven't heard yehr voice in so long, ach, I haven't heard anyone's voice other than Peder and Kettil." And there was a tinge of help me stuck in her voice there somewhere. "How are yeh crumpet? Independent life is treatings yeh guud, ja?"

Freya slowed down the bouncing for a moment, and the laughter turned to fussy hiccups as she considered what her sister was saying.

"Productive?" She asked, tentatively. "What yeh means? I am not tryings teh produce anything.. but I always love seeings yehr beautiful face and lettings yeh holds the baby and - " Sleeping, she almost said. "And our door is always open for yeh if yeh wants teh visits! I just thinks, ach, my crumpet, she is enjoyings her life, I won't be a burden. But at least yeh calls, ja? At least yeh calls!"

The bouncing began anew, and Peder spit up on his bib.

"What?" It was too late, the phone had disconnected before Freya could have asked what Hel meant, and she was too busy trying to clean up the baby vomit that Peder had just released into the world. The phone clattered to the floor as she released it and carried Peder to the sink, to wipe his face with a towel and change his bib. It was there that she realized he had done more than just spit up, and she set him on the counter to begin the tender task of changing a full diaper.

When Hel arrived, Peder was being buttoned back into his onesie and Freya was carefully disposing the toxic item in the steel diaper garbage container. The top clanged closed just as Hel knocked, and Freya picked Peder up off of the counter to carry him as she headed to the door.

There was her sister, all frowns and disdain, and Freya couldn't remember when she'd seen a more beautiful sight.

"CRUMPET!" She screamed, which made Peder squeal in reply. Freya lunged forward to give her sister a great big hug, and led her inside. "I didn't realize yeh means yehr comings teh sees me right now, ach, the house is a mess, I'm so embarrassed!" It wasn't much of an exaggeration - Freya and Kettil had yet to have found a perfect harmony when it came to taking care of an infant and keeping a house perfectly clean, just yet. The dishes were piled, the floor was littered with toys and blankets, and an army of used milk bottles stood guard just outside of the pantry. The living room was clean enough, and that was where Freya took her. "Peder is so happy teh sees yeh! Aren't yeh Peder?" She held Peder to face Hel, and the little boil stared out into forever, not quite recognizing that there was a human being standing there in front of him just yet.

Then he stared at his hands as if they were miracles.

But the moment his hands were poked by something close enough to actually register, Peder's eyes went comically wide and he grabbed the offending finger, both his tiny hands locked down on it with victorious claim. He was pulling - and for a tiny babe, he was strong! - pulling, pulling it closer to his mouth, determination setting in his finy features..

"Of course he knows! Look how he holds yehr hand, ach, so cute. Says hallo teh yehr Auntie Hel, Peder! Can yeh says hallo? Hallo! Hallo! Hallo!"

Peder was too young for things like speaking, but Freya would never stop trying to teach him how. He did however seem very interested in what to him looked like a dark, dark blob nearby. One of his clenching hands released Hel's finger, and reached for her hair. He wanted it.

"Well!" A hesitant Freya hedged. "It's never too soon teh starts tryings!" She handed Hel the entire baby without any warning, and then flopped down on the couch, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Just barely, but is so worth it! Every times we goes without sleeps for a day or two, Peder just smiles at us and reminds us that we would goes without sleeps forever if it means seeing that precious face." She closed her eyes and grinned a lazy, goofy grin. "He is the most beautiful jewel in the world. Ach, but it helps that I works from home while I has him, but I haven't been to a show in days, and modeling with these dark circles is just outs of the question! So for now I takes a break from the runway and I just report."

Her eyes hadn't opened the entire time she'd gabbed on. Peder had locked on to Hel's braid from the moment he'd been placed in her arms, and immediately put as much of it (which wasn't very much) in his mouth. It tasted like different! He liked different.

His eyes flickered up to stare at the big dark blob that tasted like different, and even with the hair in his mouth, he managed to smile.

Freya did look like an undead. Though, as the seconds ticked on, she was becoming more and more relaxed - one might even say she was starting to fall asl-

Oops.

Freya slid down slowly until her head hit the cushions of the couch, and snored.

The swaying was met with a comfortable coo, and Peder's very heavy head lolled before dropping unceremoniously against Hel's chest, where he found himself in a heaven of previously unfelt pillows. So soft. So squishy. What were these amazing things? Did they produce milk just like mama's smaller-less-squishy pillows did? He thought it might be a new adventure to try and find out.

So he honked.