Fly On Your Own

Chapter 16

2 years later...

My leg bounced up and down rapidly, both out of nervousness and a futile attempt to keep myself warm. New Berk, unfortunately, got much colder than Berk had, meaning I really couldn't leave the hut much in the middle of winter. But this time, Hiccup and I made an exception.

Not that he could really make me do something if I didn't want to. He knew if I'd made up my mind to go outside, I'd do it. Thick layers of bright, white snow covered everything, but I didn't care. This was far more important.

With a little bit of help from Gobber, Valka, and myself, Hiccup had made a much more seamless transition into balancing being a chief and a father. I still helped him with a lot of major decisions, and even the little bits of council business, but I had to put my primary focus on taking care of Alith and Kerrigan. Hiccup wouldn't let me take complete responsibility when it came to raising them, however, and I'd never be able to express to him how much that meant. It melted my heart to see how involved he wanted to be in their lives. He had always drifted toward Alith, I think because of her more docile nature, but he showed Kerrigan the same amount of love. They were his little girls, and according to him, the three of us took precedence over any chiefly duty.

Alith and Kerrigan had somehow both become little balls of energy, in their own ways. Kerrigan had taken up my family's love for mischief, while Alith would try and run off on her own, despite the fact she didn't have her sight. They were two years old at this point, meaning they had been walking and talking for quite a while. It certainly hadn't been easy at first, especially considering how easily they could slip away from Hiccup and I in a split second, but we'd eased into parenting a couple of toddlers. It never got easy, but we figured out a way to make it work.

And that's why we decided, years later, to yield Gobber's advice and have another kid... which was why Hiccup and I were out in the cold.

I didn't know why it was taking Gothi so long to make a decision, but it made the seconds pass by even slower than before. Hiccup and I kept glancing to each other, unsure of how we'd feel if we didn't get the result we wanted. He kept trying to reassure me with little smiles, but it did little to still my hammering heart. It felt strange having him here this time, considering when I found out about Alith and Kerrigan, I kept it from him for almost a month. But here he was this time, waiting for something to happen.

We both sat up a little straighter as she came back, eyeing the both of us. In reality, it only took Gothi half a second to react, but it felt like several eternities before she nodded her head. Both our sets of eyes went wide, mouths dropping open a little before Hiccup reached over and embraced me, our heartbeats not calming down in the slightest now that we had the good news. Gothi took her leave at then, deciding to give us our space. Once our joy balanced out a bit, we both had the same idea.

"Now we have to tell the girls..." I chuckled.

"Can we just tell everyone at once? I don't want to hunt them all down."

"Like, the whole village? All of New Berk?" I began to wave my hands wildly.

"Oh, Thor, no, no! Definitely not. Just our friends, and your side of the family. I suppose we'll have to plan a trip to Berserker Island to tell my brother and sister, now that we can't send Terror Mail." He remained silent for a moment before leaning forward and kissing me. I sighed, reaching up and touching his cheek before he pulled away.

"I'll get the others, if you want to head back home and tell my mom?" I shook my head.

"We should both tell her, since you know this time. But I do want to rescue her from the balls of energy that are our daughters, so I'll do that."

When I opened the door to Hiccup and my home, Valka perked her head up from the floor. I smiled and waved to her, and only seconds later, a little head of thick, wild, auburn hair popped up and rushed over, tackling my legs.

"Mommy!" I laughed and reached down, scooping Kerrigan up and resting her against my hip. Alith still sat in her grandmother's lap, choosing to remain where she was, even though she knew my footsteps well. Hiccup and I had tried our best to get her to understand the layout of the house by walking her through over and over again, but she was still pretty young, so we had time.

"Where's Daddy?" Alith asked, looking up at where she presumed me to be. She knew Hiccup wasn't back yet, which never ceased to amaze me.

"Daddy's getting all our friends. He'll be home soon, sweetie." She nodded, and I helped her up and brought her over to the table with me. Valka followed, eyeing me suspiciously the entire time.

"Where exactly did you two go?" I felt like she had an idea of what was going on, but I didn't want to spoil things before everyone else got here.

"Just... somewhere. You'll find out."

Right as I finished my sentence, the front door opened again, and Hiccup led everyone in. Kerrigan gasped and began to thrash in my arms, so I let her down, allowing her to dart back and forth between everyone and say hello. Alith, on the other hand, gravitated toward her father and clung to him, overwhelmed by the amount of footsteps in the room. We allowed everyone to come all the way in, then took each other's free hands before speaking.

"So, we have something to tell you guys." I knew at that point they had figured it out, but for the sake of the twins, everyone kept themselves from reacting. "We're having another kid."

Everyone cheered and congratulated us, coming forward for hugs and handshakes. Alith and Kerrigan didn't seem to understand, however, so Hiccup attempted to elaborate.

"Which means Alith and Kerrigan are going to have a little sibling."

That set Kerrigan off. She began to squeal and jump around, returning back to her energetic self. I watched as Alith smiled, clapping and trying her best to explain how excited she was.

"Are they coming tomorrow? When, Mommy?" Hiccup leaned down and picked up his other daughter.

"Not for a while, sweetie. The baby still has to grow." She cocked her head at him.

"Like the trees?" Everyone chuckled.

"Sort of. Only the baby won't grow outside, it'll grow inside Mommy."

"Why?"

My eyes widened and I looked at Hiccup, who spoke fast.

"We'll tell you when you're older." Strangely enough, she took that as an answer. After a while, the excitement of the moment became too overwhelming for Alith, so Hiccup and I took her and Kerrigan outside and let them play in the snow, keeping a close eye on them.

For a moment, however, Hiccup and my gazes wandered over the cliff side, staring out into the great beyond. Not a moment went by when we didn't miss them, but our lives were going on. And maybe one day, we'd be able to see them.

But for now, my life was right here in front of me, and I didn't want it any different.