The Treasure of Eyja Nott

An Innocent Man

FORTY EIGHT: An Innocent Man

Toothless flew direct to the house on Raven Point and Cami taxied up to park them outside the underground hanger to allow everyone to disembark-many laden under bags of shopping. Hiccup limped in and smiled at the sight of his home. He turned to Astrid and the children.

"Welcome home," he said. "I hope you will be happy here. And whatever you need...I will do my best to provide. Within reason..." Astrid smiled and slid her hand into his.

"So the gold-plated car is out then. Shame." And then she looked around, seeing her children already looking relaxed and at home. "Thanks," she sighed. "I know...this is going to be weird...but I think this is what we all need."

Zephyr and Nuffink chose rooms, for there were plenty spare while Astrid unselfconsciously moved into Hiccup's master suite with him, unpacking her clothes and realising there was still ample space in his walk-in wardrobe. He had watched with amusement as she had tidied his room up, hanging clothes discarded over the back of the chair and casting around.

"This needs a woman's touch," she commented. "And pictures." He smiled.

"Everything from Eret's house is in storage pending auction," he told her. "Meaning you can go and retrieve whatever you want." Her eyes lit up and she smiled.

"Thank you," she murmured. "There were the few things I managed to save from the old house-including those photos of you and your Dad I found you looking at-as well as the baby pictures of the kids and Zephyr's art. You may have missed most of their childhood-but I can walk you through it once I have the pictures." She smiled. "And it would be nice to get a few of my clothes back as well."

"Oh Thor-I'm going to need to build an extension for your clothes," he teased her.

"You're a fine one to talk, Mister I've-Got-A-Million-Almost-Identical-Suits!" she challenged him, her hands on her hips. He started laughing.

"Whatever Milady wishes," he said ironically. "I would give them all away if it keeps you happy." She eyed him up.

"Actually, you look pretty sharp in a suit, sir," she teased him. "I may let you to keep a couple..." He sat stiffly on the chair, resting the stick against the wall and gently rubbing his injury.

"I'm doomed," he smiled and beckoned her to come over. Pretending to refuse for a second, she straddled his lap and kissed him thoroughly.

"And if you are, so am I," she reminded him. "I'm sorry I didn't wait. I'm sorry I believed you would ever give up. I should have known you would fight to the end to be with me. To be with us." He tightened his hands around her waist and looked up into her regretful face.

"I think I almost did," he admitted. "Before Gobber arrived, I was broken. I just wanted to fade away, down a leg and with no hope...but when he came back, it ignited something in me. And I knew I had to come home." Instinctively, he glanced through the huge full-length windows at the forest and the sea beyond. "Scarred and not the man you remember...but he's still in here. He just needs reminding who he is." She kissed him.

"Then I am happy to make that my life's work, my brave Hiccup," she whispered. "If you can forgive me."

"Already done, my love," he assured her.

Over the next weeks, Astrid, Fink and Zephyr settled into their new home. It was fortunately Summer Vacation so there was no school to attend and that limited the inevitable questions from school friends and peers and allowed the family a chance to get to know one another and to begin to heal. After they retrieved what possessions they wanted from the storage unit, the twins had begun to recover from their ordeals and settle into their new and freer home. Zephyr and Hiccup spent a lot of time together, walking on the cliffs and sketching. Fink and Hiccup tinkered with Fink's bike-which was already garaged up at the house-and on Toothless. Astrid settled into running the home, peppering the place with pictures of the kids and samples of Zephyr's and Hiccup's artworks and the precious picture of Hiccup, Astrid and Stoick that she had hung on to throughout the years. Realising that she couldn't just do nothing, she had also offered to help step into Heather's role as Hiccup's assistant as well as his partner in the rest of his life-and he had gladly accepted. And they settled into the crazy communal family in the house, treating the Thorston twins as crazy older siblings and Fishlegs and Snotlout as benevolent uncles. It was a happy time of walks through the woods, picnics on Thor's beach and swimming in the sheltered cove in the late summer sun.