Unexpected

Emergency Landing

Chapter Sixteen: Emergency Landing

The sun was beginning to come up over the horizon, casting a strange reddish glow on the ocean beneath them. Hiccup couldn't believe he and the others had been awake all night. The whole ordeal from finding out Astrid had been captured to where he was now, riding on Toothless' back with her in his arms, seemed to have lasted seconds. And perhaps it was adrenaline but he didn't feel the least bit tired.

If only the same could be said about his wife. As Astrid, who had refused to straddle Toothless, leaned against him, he could feel the sweat on her face soaking through his clothing and her cries of pain were quieter and more breathless. Hiccup had to hold her rather tightly to make sure she wouldn't be blown off the dragon midair but he couldn't help stealing glances at her paling face and praying to the gods that she and their baby would be okay. As they flew farther from Berserker Island, another pain seized her, making her moan and clutch her belly. Hiccup felt a tightening in his own stomach. Somewhere inside of his mind, he knew that it was a natural process and that it wasn't his fault that his wife was in pain but his heart wouldn't listen. He felt like he was punching Astrid in the stomach every few seconds, unable to stop and feeling horrible when she cried out. When he imagined the birth of their child, he had pictured it in the healer's house with Astrid being given herbs for the pains. They weren't as effective as they might have liked but at least it would be tolerable. But it was clear that the pains were far worse than either of them had expected and the stress of the last few hours wasn't helping things.

The pain finally came to an end and Astrid crumpled into him, gasping for breath. He didn't know what to say. There weren't enough words to express how sorry he was for his words hours ago but this seemed to be the wrong time. Before she had time to recover from the last contraction, she was seized with another which made her tense and clutch her belly once more, looking as though it hurt worse than the last.

"Breathe, Astrid." he reminded her, gently rubbing her back with his arm. "Deep breaths. You're going to be okay."

Without realizing it, he tightened his hold on her every time she was hit by another contraction.

"Hiccup, you're squishing me." Astrid said at last, feeling completely constricted.

"I'm so sorry." Hiccup said, loosening his hold and allowing his wife to breathe easier.

Rather than respond, Astrid cried out, her hands clutching Hiccup's shirt. Her sudden scream threw Toothless out of his flight pattern for a moment. Hiccup jerked and tried to calm her.

"Shh, it's okay. We'll make it. Toothless, faster!"

Astrid shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut. "No."

"What?" Ast-"

"Hiccup..." Astrid breathed, her face ashen. "Land, Land right now. NOW!"

Hiccup heeled Toothless' gear into the landing position and they swooped to the ground without notifying the others in the group. They shouted in shock when the Haddocks plummeted but quickly followed suit. Thank the gods for a few rocky spits of land in the middle of the ocean, for that was where they landed. That was where Hiccup and Astrid's lives changed forever.

Not giving time for her husband to assist her, Astrid slid off Toothless the moment they landed, grasping for breath and collapsing onto the ground. Hiccup soon followed, his deep concern evident in his facial features. Abruptly, she began to scoot herself over to a near-by boulder. Wanting to assist her in any way he could, Hiccup, did his best to support her and situate her against the rock. In a quick movement, Astrid stripped her filthy pants off of her legs and tossed them aside, leaving only her skirt. Hiccup's eyes widened.