Chapter Text
The whole Wuornos family arrives in Helsinki, Finland on the Monday of juhannus [midsummer] week. Nathan wanted to experience Finland for the first time in the summer and he already knows a little something about how this holiday goes. They also wanted to wait for James to get big enough that they could travel all the way from Maine to Finland without too much hassle. Paige was also excited to see Finland. Despite her memories, she hasn't actually been anywhere but Maine. Nathan hasn't either. It's a new experience for the whole family.
They take a purple train from the airport straight to the city center and their hotel. It gives them the opportunity to see their first clear glimpse of Finland, and Nathan's gotta say: not that different from Maine. That's probably why his relatives ended up in there, as well as why there is an active Finnish American community there.
"It's beautiful," Paige says as she looks out the window. And Nathan can't deny that either.
They arrive quickly at the city center and get a cab to their hotel. The day has been long already and Nathan and Paige take turns holding a very sleepy James. They check in to their hotel and even though time is quite a foreign concept for all of them at the moment, the whole family decides to try out the bed and they fall asleep.
When they wake up in time to eat something, they still can't really tell the time but that is less on their internal clocks than it is about the fact that it's still bright and sunny out. Maine has something like this during the summer but as Nathan tries to wait for the sunset, it comes only after he's fallen asleep again.
***
The next morning, they seem to be adjusting fine. All the extra sleep probably helped. Things in Haven have been calm for a while, so it was easy for Nathan to get a 10 day honeymoon, just in time for their first anniversary. It worked out better like this. They couldn't image even thinking about leaving James in Haven with Gloria for a short trip. They've always been a family, ever since the day Paige came (back) into Nathan's life. They always wanted a family holiday but they needed to wait until James was older to bring him with them to Finland. The flight was long but James did quite well.
Ever since he was in college, Nathan has wanted to actually visit Finland. He wanted to know where his family name comes from, what aspects of himself he gets from here. He has no family left besides Paige and James. Finnish heritage has always been a comfort for him when he needed a connection beyond Haven. And he proposed to Paige through Finnish folk magic, that also makes their connection to this country stronger.
They go down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The food is pretty simple and natural. There's porridge and sandwhiches and eggs and all of it is very good. Nathan is excited to try proper ryebread and it is very good. James and Paige also like their food.
After breakfast, they start walking around Helsinki. It's an interesting looking city. Way bigger than Haven, naturally, but Nathan is surprised about the amount of parks and nature in what is a modern European capital. Nathan doesn't know much about architecture but from the quick googling he did about the city, he can see the Russian influences and it's interesting to see all the Swedish language too in street signs. It helps navigating the city and shopping, since Nathan still knows very little Finnish, and Swedish is similar to English.
Helsinki at least seems to have lots of familiar restaurants, there's McDonald'ses and Burger Kings, even a Starbuck's or two. It's odd seeing the familiar in an unfamiliar place. Although there is something about this place that gives Nathan a sense of... something, he can't quite put his finger on it. But it's nice.
They have planned on visiting various touristy places like the Zoo, the fortress island and various museums (that's mostly for Nathan) but during this first day they just want to get to know the city and wander around the city center.
James of course wants to visit various toy stores and his parents are happy to indulge him. They find something called a 'Moominshop' and it's a really interesting little shop. It's full of humanoid and white hippo-ish looking creatures, although when he commented on that resemblence, many people actually piped up that they are *not* hippos! It was odd mostly because Nathan knows Finns don't talk much to strangers, an aspect of Finnishness he has always found relatable. Nathan offers a cheepish apology while Paige laughs next to him.
In addition to stuffed toys, there are many books and comics and mugs about the Moomins. Like, all the mugs. James wants a Moomin soft toy and it does look very cuddly. Nathan decides to get himself one of those books and settles on Finn Family Moomintroll (seems like a good start) and the Invisible Child. Something about the title connects with him. Nathan and Paige also get themselves mugs of the Moomin parents.
Both Paige and Nathan are suprised to see so much Angry Birds stuff. It's one of Paige's favorite games and she has spent many hours playing that game to Nathan's delight. They decide to check what that's about and find out the game is Finnish. Huh, cool. Paige gets herself one of the pink ones and at that points it's time for them to get a little something to eat.
Out of curiosity, they decide to check out the local Starbuck's. Haven doesn't have any, (not many chain stores wanted to deal with the insurance rates, so they mostly make do with local companies, though that is slowly changing) and Nathan doesn't really care for fancy coffees, though Paige likes cappucinos. Nathan decides to try an interesting looking sandwhich. He doesn't know what it contains, but it's dark and good. Paige gets a raspberry cheesecake cupcake (somethings don't change). James gets a chocolate chip cookie and a small strawberry cream frappucino, which he tries to offer to his Moomin before Nathan stops him before he manages to mess up the toy. They go sit outside and do some people watching. Nathan enjoys seeing all the different types of people and hearing different languages spoken around him. Finland is more beautiful and vibrant than he expected.
Or maybe that's just Helsinki. Being here makes Nathan tempted to do some proper search into his heritage, finding out where his families came from and visiting those places. Even with about eight days' time to do some exploring, it still doesn't give them enough time to go outside of Helsinki. But Nathan would like to do that some day. And he's really glad he can do this for James. Paige doesn't have any real heritage, on this Earth anyway, and Nathan was so mired in Haven bs from childhood that he never got something like this.
The Starbuck's is connected to a bookstore, so they decide to go exploring. There are more Moomin books but Nathan plans to stick with the ones he already bought. He also manages to find some language books, including one for Finnish for English speakers, and Nathan decides to get it. He has no idea how much time he has to devote to learning a language like that, but he at least likes to have the option.
It's starting to get quite late again and James is getting fussy so they make their way back to the hotel. They order some room service so that James can go to sleep soon after. Nathan starts reading Finn Family Moomintroll to James as a bedtime story and soon James is asleep cuddling his Moomin.
Their room is fancy enough to also include a kitchenette, for them it's mostly for coffee making purposes, and Paige is drinking coffee from her Moominmamma mug and Nathan gets some for himself before sitting next to Paige by the table.
"I'm liking Helsinki a lot. How about you? Are you feeling the family connection here?" Paige asks quietly, trying not to wake up James.
Nathan smiles and takes her hand, "Yeah. It's weird, but I do. Not Haven weird, but normal weird. It feels oddly familiar."
"I wish I had that. I guess that's why I was always an orphan. I'm not from here, so I shouldn't have a connection anywhere."
"You're connected to Haven. You always were. So was I. It's not too bad."
Paige smiles ruefully, "And that's why we flew to another continent?"
Nathan shakes his head, "It's different. And complicated. Haven is complicated. But I like seeing where else I'm connected. And I'm sorry you can't have that. Charlotte never told much about where you came from."
"Maybe it's better like that. It doesn't seem like a nice place."
”You were always better than that place. You didn't deal with it well as Mara, but eventually you got it.”
They don't often have these conversations about Audrey and Mara and Sarah and all the other women Paige used to be. She knows everything Nathan knows, and she feels a connection with Audrey and has a lot of her memories. But it's still more like how Audrey was Lexie, than rather how Mara remembered it all. It's all so confusing still. But it's all preferable to spending forever in the Armory with Vince and Croatoan.
”Let's change the subject.”
”Gladly,” Nathan smiles, takes the now empty coffee mugs and puts them in the sink before coming back to Paige to take her hand and pull her up into a dance and a kiss.
Traveling with a toddler can sometimes be difficult, and having a toddler with you during your honeymoon can put a bit of a dampener on certain things, but neither one of them minds. They love their family and their life.
”We should try to make some time for more adult activities;” Paige still says.
”I know. But the honeymoon is not just about sex. We're a family, and I love us.”
”Hm...”
”But we'll make time for it, I promise.”
They share another passionate kiss that doesn't lead anywhere, because the room is not big enough for that, but sometimes it's fun to just kiss.
”Do you ever mind that? That I came back with a baby and that's how our relationship has had to develop?”
”Never! It's how our relationship *got to* develop. I love him, and I love you. All of you. Haven is cruel. The fact that I got you back, our son back, it's more than I ever thought I'd get. And now I'm your husband. I still can't get over that.”
Paige loves Nathan so much, sometimes she lacks the words. But when Nathan manages to find his, it's really something. ”I love you, too.”
This is followed by another kiss, and then it's time for bed. It's been a long but lovely day.
***
They devote the next day to Finland's history and culture. Nathan looked up a bunch of museums in Helsinki and decided that they should start with the natural history museum. It's got animals and other stuff that will keep James interested enough. James does so with enthusiasm for the two random giraffes that wave from the balcony atop the entrance to the museum. They take an English language tour of the museum and Nathan is happy to learn all of this new stuff about his people and his heritage. Paige isn't as interested but still finds the experience worthwhile, though James is completely beat after the tour. Paige takes him back to the hotel, while Nathan continues his tour of museums, they'll just meet up again later.
Nathan walks the short distance by the highway to the National Museum, seeing interesting buildings and a huge park on the other side of the street. Helsinki is kinda a weird city, though for Nathan, Portland is a big city, so he has a hard time comparing. Again he learns new things about the people he's descented from, the cultural heritage that created Garland and his mother, and in some ways, himself too. It's what he wants to leave for James, the good parts anyway.
Nathan calls Paige after he is done with another tour and Paige mentions that the hotel has a daycare and that there are plenty of tourists' kids there and the staff speaks English, so they decide to take a few art museums by themselves. It will be good for James to get to play with some kids, since he's always been surrounded by Aaron Harker and Beattie's kids.
After a tour Helsinki Art Museum and Kiasma, they go back to the hotel and check in on James. James is having too much fun with the other kids, and Paige and Nathan decide to take advantage of that and have some more alone time. They know they shouldn't be gone too long, but this is their honeymoon, having some time themselves shouldn't be too much to ask for.
But as parents, they are used to it. They get rid of each others' clothes quickly and efficiently, forgoing the birth control because they think it's time for another child (one without James' complicated backstory they are still sometimes trying to grapple with), and doing their best to enjoy each other in this stolen moment between them. Afterwards, they spare a few moments for cuddling, before getting dressed again and going to pick up James for dinner.
Tomorrow their plan is to go the the Korkeasaari Zoo, and that requires a lot of rest, so they go to bed early.
***
One of the oddest things about Helsinki is the amount of public transportation. Haven is small enough that it doesn't really have anything beyond the school buses but in Helsinki it's easy to get where one wants to go just by a relatively cheap transport tickets. It also gives them more of a chance to see Helsinki and the surrounding regions. The bus to the zoo is pretty full but James rides for free as a 3 year old and he enjoys sitting on his Mom's lap and watching out of the window.
There is a lot to see at the Zoo, and all of it is new and amazing to James, who until now has just visited Haven's Moose Farm. James especially likes all the big cats, especially the lynxes, and bears. He manages to walk quite a bit but mostly he experiences the animals from the lap of one of his parents. James ends up going home that day with another new soft toy, this time a lynx.
Before Thursday ends, Nathan makes sure everything is alright for tomorrow. Finland pretty much shuts down during juhannus, with everything closing early on the Friday eve and everything being closed on Saturday. Even though in Maine the bonfire has been on Saturday, in Finland it will be on Friday. Nathan has waited for this a long time, and he doesn't want to mess it up. Their hotel will still serve them food throughout, so that's thankfully taken care of.
***
Juhannus is a big day in Finland, and the whole day has lots of activities for families. There's picnics in the parks and people selling candy and they spent another lovely day getting to know Helsinki a bit more.
But the bonfire is the main event. They managed to find a family bonfire that ignites at 8pm, although it's still a bit too late for James. But he had a long nap in preparation for this. He doesn't really remember much about his first bonfire two years ago in Maine.
There is something really interesting in seeing all the old boats people have donated to be burned, the huge pile of different woods, standing tall on a rock looking out to the sea. Maybe that's why Helsinki is so familiar to Nathan: it's a seaside town, even if it's the Baltic sea and not the Atlantic ocean. It's still the same vibe.
The bonfire ignites exactly at 8pm (the Finns are a punctual people, Nathan has noticed), and it's quite the sight. There's more people, families with kids and pets, all enjoying each other's company and the endless daylight. There are places selling crepes with jam and sausages. It also has it's less wholesome aspects, there are people drinking beer all over the place, with kids for some reason gathering bagfuls of empty cans and bottles.
Nathan carries James in his arms the whole time, and they try Finnish crepes with Moomin sodas that taste like strawberry but not quite, and in general they have a lovely time. Juhannus has been what Nathan hoped it would be for him.
***
During the next day, there isn't that much to do. Suddenly, it seems like the whole city has emptied over night while the Wuornoses walk around Helsinki. They know most shops are closed, and a lot of Finns are dealing with hangovers, but it is still a slightly surreal experience. It's not helped by Nathan's experiences and Paige's memories of the Troubles.
After their afternoon walk, they just spent the rest of the day in their hotel room as a family, watching some Finnish television. Luckily there's plenty to watch all day, and it's all subtitles instead of dubbed. It takes them a while to get used to the subtitles, but that passes quickly.
***
Something Paige had really wanted to do when they were planning this trip was to go to a cat cafe, Helkatti (meaning essentially 'hell cat'), and since it is closed on Mondays to give the cats a break, post-juhannus Sunday seemed like the ideal time. They order nice sandwhiches and coffees and just spend a few hours looking and cuddling with five mostly gray cats.
They've been thinking about pets, and while Audrey was more of a dog person, Paige likes cats and Nathan does think a cat might fit their situation better. As he cuddles on furball in his lap while looking at the climbing feats of another, he is definitely coming around on that idea. But they'll have to wait a little longer, because James is still a bit too handsy with them.
***
For their last full day in Finland, before the flight back and jetlag recovery day, the Wuornoses decide to do one more excursion by bus into Seurasaari, an open air museum in another one of the many islands around Helsinki. It includes transported wooden buildings from all over Finland, an easy way to see how Finns used to live. There's even a huge sauna (Nathan still hasn't gathered the courage to go, even though it is part of the price of the hotel room. He's not yet quite Finnish enough to go sit naked in a hot room with a bunch of strangers) and a windmill, and it's all tucked away within foresty areas with semi-tame squirrels and berries growing all around them, and Nathan is once again struck by the nature of this place.
James is quite tired of all the walking and the history doesn't interest him yet but he likes the atmosphere and the forests. Paige is most interested in the small handicrafts store and buys herself a few nice postcards.
The weather has been surprisingly nice throughout their whole trip, and while they haven't tasted any of the too out there stuff, like reindeer or moose, the small fried vendace fish they sell in many street corners has been very good and all in all, they have little to no complaints about their trip.
Once James is older (and depending whether he is or isn't getting a sibling), they do plan on doing a more honeymoony vacation, but this was a great thing to do as a family, and Nathan feels really connected to his heritage now, and since he has no biological/adopted family left except for Paige and James, and he really likes that feeling.
***
Their flight home and jetlag dealing also goes well, and they do plan on being more involved with Maine Finns and are planning to travel to Finland again at some point. Helsinki was everything they hoped for and more.