Unexpected

Blowup

Chapter Thirteen: Blowup

Hiccup's heart dropped into his stomach. He felt slightly dizzy as everything went out of focus except his wife, who was still sitting there with her face hidden in her hands, small strands of hair slowly falling between her fingers. There was no way he had heard what he had just heard. No way at all. It was impossible.

"Run that by me again... I'm not sure I heard you right." he managed to choke out, begging the gods that it was just a misunderstanding.

Astrid's head shot up. "What, do I have to spell it out for you? I. Don't. Want. It."

Hiccup stared at her for a second, his mouth slightly open. Then, quite suddenly, he stood up and began to pace back and forth, his hands waving about in a desperate attempt to respond to what he had just heard.

"What the... why wouldn't you... how?" he stammered, trying to string a coherent sentence together.

It took a few moments but Astrid stood up and patiently waited for him to face her. "Because we're not ready, Hiccup! We're young and stupid and haven't even been married a year and now we're going to add a baby to the mix?"

Hiccup looked like he had a million things to say, puckering his lips, starting a word just to stop it at the front of teeth.

After a minute he finally settled on a curt, "What exactly do you want me to say?" Astrid opened her mouth, but he seemed unable to stop once he got going. "You think we can just stop this? You're going to give birth in a matter of weeks, and you're telling me now that you don't want it? We didn't have much of a choice to begin with; we should've been more careful, but if you felt this way in the beginning and said something we could have talked about it. But no, you wait eight and a half months to come clean?"

She had never seen him act this way before. His hands waved about as he spoke and his face grew redder with every step he took. She was beginning to regret saying anything. But once she had started, there seemed little point in stopping. She gritted her teeth and promised herself that she would be honest no matter what Hiccup asked or how he acted. He deserved that much.

"I wanted to tell you, I really did but you were so excited!" she said, following him with her eyes and dreading the look she would receive when he turned back to her.

He didn't face her as he spoke. "You didn't think that maybe, just maybe, I might feel this way too? That I'm not nervous? That I don't wonder whether or not we're ready?"

For some reason, this statement struck a nerve with her. "Well you were able to put it off pretty quickly." she snapped.

"Just because I'm excited doesn't mean I'm not terrified out of my wits!" Hiccup retorted, finally turning to look at her.

And there it was. The look that she had been expecting. Those cold, disappointed, angry green eyes staring into her, nearly cutting into her flesh with their ferocity. She trembled slightly, feeling the worst she had ever felt since she had gotten married. There was no spark of warmth in his gaze, no glimmer of forgiveness. Just rage and bitterness. It was more than she could bear. She averted her eyes, choosing to stare at her belly since she couldn't see her feet.

After a long pause, she spoke up. "Why didn't you tell me..."

"NO!" Hiccup roared, making her jump. "Do not pin this on me! I wanted this baby the moment I found out it existed but you..." he paused and then suddenly smacked himself on the forehead. "Wait a minute... Heather knew. That's why she was glaring at you, isn't it?"

He continued to stare at her. She could feel his eyes on the top of her head.

"I..."

He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. "TELL ME!"