Unexpected

False Labor

Chapter Eleven: False Labor

It wasn't until late in the evening that Hiccup remembered that he had been married for exactly eight months. For a moment, he was deliriously happy. And then he realized that after Astrid had discovered she was pregnant, the marriage he had been looking forward to his entire life was built on the baby and not so much on his relationship with his wife. Thirty-two weeks he had been married and he had only spent eight of them enjoying his married life with nothing coming between him and Astrid. Now, even when they tried to hug or kiss, he would feel the baby kick him in the stomach as he embraced the love of his life. And for weeks, the sensation had made him simultaneously happy and terrified. Now he was annoyed with himself for letting their child distract him from his wife.

If he didn't stop this behavior, he might as well be saying he thought that it was okay to ignore his beloved wife for their child. Well that wasn't right, he thought, putting down the sword he was sharpening. He had six hours until midnight to make it right. For anyone else, this would probably have been a huge task. For Hiccup, it was monumental.

Placing the sword in the pile of other sharpened swords, he sat down on the closest chair in Gobber's workshop and placed his head on his chin. This was going to take some serious thought. What would Astrid want to do on their anniversary that would take only an hour or so to pull off?

Flying. That was the first thing that came into his mind. But with Astrid approaching her due date, that was probably out of the question. What else did she like doing? Fighting. Again, out of the question. And that just about summed up her favorite things.

And then he remembered their first argument. Well it wasn't extravagant but maybe... Hiccup smiled. Okay it wasn't going to make Astrid as happy as going on a romantic flight but perhaps it would brighten her spirits.

Astrid had never been lazier. At first, she insisted on doing everything she had done before despite her irritating symptoms. Now that she was heavier than she'd ever been in her life, she was too tired and sore to do very much. This inactivity was beginning to make her feel trapped inside of her own body and she looked forward to getting rid of this baby as soon as possible. She also dreaded it horribly. What if she didn't... no. She wasn't going to think about that.

It took a lot longer to get everywhere on foot. It had taken three days of consistent disobedience to change Hiccup's mind about letting her ride on top of her dragon rather than walk around (it was as though he didn't trust her) but he finally stopped complaining when he saw his wife climb onto her dragon's back. Stormfly was in much better spirits now that her human needed her again. She hardly noticed the weight difference.

A strange smell met Astrid's nostrils when she rode her dragon back to her house. She hated her sensitivity to scents now but she suspected that she would have noticed this one in particular whether or not she was in this condition. It was pleasant... potent but pleasant. Had Hiccup asked someone to do some sort of fancy cooking? If he had, that would be a nice surprise. But why would he...

Astrid smacked herself on the forehead. Of course. How had she forgotten? It was their eight month anniversary and she had been so preoccupied with her baby and her swollen ankles to remember. And either Hiccup had remembered or he was just being nice for no reason. Well... now she had no way of knowing for sure unless she walked into her house. And with the way she was feeling, she didn't want any extra attention.

The dragon lowered herself close to the ground so that Astrid could slide off her back. Astrid felt a sharp pain as she placed her weight back on her swollen ankles. She pulled open the door and gasped.

The only light in the room came from two candles on a small table. Hiccup was scooping delicious looking food onto two plates set across from each other. When he saw her at the door, he smiled and placed the bowl on the table.