Unexpected

A Threatening Reunion

Chapter Eight: A Threatening Reunion

"Hiccup! Hiccup, come over here quick!"

Hiccup nearly tripped over his own legs as he bolted over to his wife, his mind racing with unlikely and steadily more horrible possibilities with every step. Astrid was lying on her back staring at her protruding belly, her left hand rested on top of it and watching him with slight amusement.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, completely out of breath.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just... here..." she grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach.

"Astrid, what is..." Hiccup began but suddenly stopped.

The belly moved in a strange sort of way. At first, he wondered what was going on and then, with a start, he realized that it wasn't Astrid that was making the movement. For the very first time, he was feeling his unborn child gently brushing against his fingers through his wife's skin. Completely breathless, he placed his other hand on top of her belly and leaned in, hoping to feel it once more. His wish was granted a few seconds later and for a while, he simply sat there, feeling the movements.

"Wow..." he breathed, smiling widely. "She's just like her mother."

"Oh really?" Astrid asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yep. She likes to hit me." Hiccup winked at her. "Just wait until she's a teenager."

"I think I'll settle for waiting until he's born." Astrid said with a small smile.

Hiccup, feeling slightly unworthy of this moment, gently leaned in and caressed his wife's lips with his own. Astrid's eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed the warmth of this moment. But it simply wasn't meant to be, for at that moment, she felt her baby give her an almost indignant kick. Hiccup felt it as well and, after kissing his wife once more, slowly lowered his head and kissed her belly.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, little lady." Hiccup whispered to his child. "I can't wait to meet you."

"Hiccup..." Astrid said, finally sitting up and staring at him.

"Yes?"

Astrid took a deep breath. "I... well..."

"Hiccup!" came a loud voice from outside the house.

They looked at each other with a smirk and rolled their eyes.

"Dad, you can't just keep barging in like this..."

"No time for formalities, son." said Stoick, throwing open the door and completely ruining the moment. "We just spotted some Berserker ships sailing in. They should be here any minute."

"Already? They weren't supposed to get here for hours!" Hiccup groaned. "All right, all right, I'm going."

Hiccup had been dreading the renewal of the contract. He and Dagur had never been close and the Berserker chief had tried to kill him on many occasions. However, a peace treaty between the Hooligans and Berserkers had kept him from doing any real damage. Now it was time for the renewal and he feared Dagur would be a lot less open to signing the parchment than he had been years ago. Especially since he had made it clear he wanted Hiccup dead and his dragon's head hanging on his wall.

Astrid had offered to come along to support her husband. Her right arm was nearly healed so that if Dagur attacked, she could fight him but Hiccup told her repeatedly that it was a bad idea. At 22 weeks of pregnancy, her center of gravity was shifting so her fighting wouldn't be as good as before. Not to mention the danger she would pose to her baby. Astrid simply scowled when reminded that she wasn't allowed to do what she liked best.