Snowfall on Berk

Chapter 23

~Astrid~~three months later~

I've been sick to my stomach lately. Hiccup has me in bed until I start to feel better. But the thing is I haven't felt any better. And it doesn't show signs of letting up.

Valka walks into the house, and into the bedroom.

"How are you?" Valka asks me.

"Not gonna lie, I've been better. Hiccup has me here until I'm better," I say.

"Ah. And how long has it been?"

"Come again?"

"How long has Hiccup been keeping you in bed?"

"Almost two weeks."

Valka sighs. She looks at me.

"If you've been like this for two weeks, I have a pretty good idea about what's wrong. But we better have Gothi check you out just in case. Get ready, and I can take you to her."

So I get out of bed, and get ready. Valka walks me out to Gothi's hut. Getting out of our hut and into the sun and fresh air had already made me feel ten times better. The last heat of the summer was coming, and soon it's going to be fall. Which means colder weather is coming.

The walk to Gothi's is longer then I remember it being. I'm tired before long. I nearly trip on the steps up to Gothi's hut. Valka has to help me the rest of the way so I don't trip again.

"Gothi, could you check Astrid out for me. She says she isn't feeling too well," Valka said to Gothi.

Gothi motions me to sit in a nearby chair. We're inside her hut which is different. I've hardly been in here before. Just the last attack was the only time I've been in here to my memory. It's small, but nice and clean. There are shelves of medicine on either side of the hut. There's a cot up against the wall, with the chair next to it, and a large table in the middle of the room. Then in a small back room was a bed which I assume is Gothi's.

As I sit in the chair I watch as Valka leans down and whispers something to Gothi. Gothi nods her head.

Gothi goes through her routine. Checking my pulse, my head, and legs. Finally she checks my stomach, which I am now noticing looks almost swollen. But it couldn't be. Could it?

Gothi presses down on my stomach in almost a dozen places. She motions me to lay down. So I climb out of the chair and lay down on the small cot. She presses in more places. Some of which hurt. She pulls up the bottom of my shirt and presses down again. She stands and motions me to stand too. So I stand and fix my shirt.

Gothi scribbles in the dirt, and Valka comes over to look at it.

"Was I right?" Valka asks.

Gothi nods her head.

"Can you tell?"

Gothi shakes her head.

"Are you sure?"

Gothi looks frustrated and shakes her head yes.

"Thank you for your time Gothi, but we must be off."

So Valka and I head off.

"So?" I ask.

"So what?" Valka asks.

"So what was that all about?"

"Oh. I'll tell you when we get back to the hut. You might want to sit down to hear it."

I may be right. I hope that I'm right and wrong at the same time. We head back to the hut in silence. I go back to the bedroom, and sit down.

"I'm listening," I say a little impatient.

"Astrid, I don't know how to say this but I'm. You're going to be a mother," Valka says.

"What?" I ask in shock. We weren't ready for this. I wasn't ready for this. Drago was still out there, and the last thing he needed was leverage. I was pregnant, and an easy target now too.

"I knew something was up when you said you where in bed for two weeks. I wanted to be sure though."

"I'm going to be a mother. This is a lot to take in. The main thing is how am I going to tell Hiccup. Obviously he hasn't noticed yet, because I haven't noticed yet."

"Tell him on his birthday next week. It'll be the perfect gift."

"That's true. Can you help me set it up?"

"I'd be happy to. Astrid I'm just so happy for you and Hiccup."

I was petrified for us.