FIFTY: The Last Hurdle

The battle for Berserk was furious and finely balanced when the Fliers appeared from the armada, ferociously joining in. It seemed there was a multicoloured wall of Singetails as they furiously attacked the Riders.

"We're really outnumbered," Snotlout yelled obviously but Astrid simply glared at him before turning back to the phalanx of Fliers. She reckoned it was probably every Flier there was left, for Johann and Krogan would have speared no reserves. This was the crucial moment.

"We stand!" she ground out. "We fight. Berserk has to be saved. The Berserkers have to be protected. And Hiccup needs his chance." She paused. Because I believe in Hiccup. I know he will never give up. And I know he will do what is right...whatever the cost. But as she finished the thought, she saw Cami rise up from the flagship on Daggerspine with the shape of Hjordis clinging behind her. But the Bog Heir's expression was grim and Astrid felt the heart freeze in her chest as they flapped alongside.

"Johann has her," she said grimly. "He took her when he left the ship and left Hjordis locked in a cage."

"Was she alright?" Astrid asked urgently, her eyes searching the older woman's face.

"The guards gave me yak milk and rags to care for her at least, " the older woman explained. "I think they weren't sure what to do with us so when I asked for rags and water and milk, they just gave me whatever I asked for." Astrid's eyes slid anxiously over the battered shape.

"Are you alright?" she asked carefully. Hjordis carefully ran her fingers through her dishevelled hair and defiantly retied the knot. She managed a wan smile.

"I'll be fine," she reassured the Hooligan. "It's just a few bruises, Astrid. And you could tell that Val is your daughter-she was very brave and good as gold. She scarcely made a sound..." Flicking her gaze up to look into Cami's eyes, Astrid nodded.

"And I know her father will do everything in his power to rescue her," she said firmly. "Please take her back to the village.I have to lead the battle!"

"You have to save your daughter!" Heather called as the Bog Burglar spiralled down towards Berserk. Astrid gestured towards the Fliers.

"We have to give Hiccup and the village more time," she argued as a huge roar reverberated through the air. Both Riders looked up and Astrid glanced over her shoulder back as Berserk. "The King of Dragons," she gasped.

"It must be a distress call," Heather realised as she peeled off the intercept another flier.

"Yes-calling all dragons in the vicinity," Fishlegs guessed as he buzzed by on Meatlug. But a screech alerted Astrid and she snapped her head around to see a Flier rise behind her-and fire a huge fireball straight at her. Instinctively, she parried the blast with her axe-and the head shattered at the impact. She almost lost her grip from the concussion and found herself hanging onto Stormfly's saddle with one hand, a cheek bleeding from the cuts as the spikules of metal sliced her skin. Screeching, the Nadder flipped her back into the saddle-but she stared in shock at her axe, her most faithful friend, the weapon that Hiccup had built for her and diligently maintained when needed. It was completely gone...but she barely had time to register this when the Flier circled round and came straight at her, readying for a lethal attack. She leaned forward, low over Stormfly's neck preparing to try evasive manoeuvres-when suddenly, the Flier was slapped from the Singetail's back and falling towards the distant sea, encased in a dense amber substance...

"What the...?" she gasped as a dissonant cry reached her ears and she saw a young Deathsong flap happily alongside. "Garff?" The dragon gave a happy croon as a blizzard of dragons suddenly flew overhead to attack the armada and the remaining fliers. Astrid saw all the familiar types of dragons-Gronckles, Nightmares, Nadders, Terrors-but there were others as well-including Changewings, the Eruptodon, the Armourwing, Thunderdrums, the Skrill-even the Screaming Death. And they attacked without mercy as a scaled cloud raining death on the attackers.

"HEATHER!" she yelled. "I need your axe!" Then she spiralled through the flock, seeking out Windshear and her friend. "HEATHER!"

The silver dragon suddenly appeared, her green eyes wide as her Rider leaned forward.

"Take it!" Heather shouted, flinging her double-headed axe. "And good hunting!"

Astrid had just tightened her fist around the haft when the Nadder dived downwards towards the island, her rider crouched low over her neck.

"Find Hiccup," she breathed. "Find Toothless!" Giving a focussed croak, Stormfly sniffed and then accelerated down, past the point where she would normally be unable to fly and round to the dark shadow that seemed to be the entry to the caverns under the island. Swiftly, the blonde warrior leapt from the saddle and snapped Heather's axe open, the two blades one at each end of the long haft gleaming in the dull light as she padded into the caverns. Behind her, the Nadder folded her wings and followed.

oOo

The adrenaline rush had left him exhausted and the wounds from his beating by Johann were really kicking in. Hiccup staggered and almost fell-but he used the sword as a walking stick, the warm shape of his daughter cuddled against his chest, his arm locked around her. He paused and kissed her head.

"Thor, Odin...thank you," he murmured, inhaling his daughter's scent. She gave a little squeak and fidgeted and then settled again. "And you, Princess-Gods alone knew how you survived the fall. Maybe the King had a way to slow you down...he was certainly amazing in how he returned you. Now we just gotta make sure his egg is safe..." Then he grimaced and began to limp up the passage in the direction that Krogan and Toothless had vanished, his head spinning.

He had killed Johann. In reasonably cold blood (well, the man was frozen in ice at the time). And without a hesitation.

He felt sick.

He stopped, his throat bobbing with sudden nausea. He had seen Johann sneering at him-but he was used to sneers. He had expected the man to try to kill him-it was practically a badge of honour for anyone he ran into, even those who ended up as allies, such as Mala and the Defenders of the Wing. But for the man to casually try to kill his daughter just as a distraction or as revenge...that had crossed every boundary he had in his conscience. And as he saw Val fall away, as his heart shuddered with grief and guilt, he had locked onto one thought: kill Johann.

And even when the man was frozen, when it was inevitable he would die, either instantly or in a few moments when he suffocated, he had wanted to end him with his own hands. And he wondered if he had even truly seen the man's eye move or if it was his scrambled brain playing tricks on him. Of course, he wouldn't put anything past the evil man...but Johann had been helpless. He closed his eyes: he could still see the moment his sword had sliced through the ice, through flesh and bone and cloth and feel the loss of resistance as his sword reached the other side. And his memory supplied an infinitesimal widening of the eyes as Johann had been finally ended.

He tightened his arm around his daughter and felt the slight movement of her breathing, the little fidget against his chest and he exhaled. She was safe. Somehow, the Gods and the King of Dragons has conspired to spare his daughter. And after all the trials and disasters he had endured so far in his life-and especially since he had found out he was to be married-and not to Astrid-it felt like a kind of endorsement of what he had done.

Then he heard a roar up ahead and a jolt of adrenaline surged a little energy through his exhausted shape. He had been hanging from his sword and metal leg for so long his arms felt like wet cloth and his shoulders were still burning with weariness but the roar was Toothless. His draconic brother and best friend. So he shuffled to a shambling run and sped towards the danger. Because he couldn't let his dragon down...

But as he rounded a corner, he almost froze in shock, for Krogan was standing by the dragon, his hand clawed and Toothless helpless on his side. Somehow, Krogan had known about and scratched his sweet spot and brave, powerful, loyal Toothless was helpless at the mercy of a man who despised dragons.

"NO!" Hiccup yelled, crouching down to rest his daughter against the wall in a nook and level his sword at the man. "Stand down, Krogan-it's over!" The man half-turned and laughed at the young Viking, a weapon snapping into his hand that Hiccup recognised from his encounter with the man on Sleipnir Island. It was a cross between a short axe and a sickle, the curved blade gleaming dully in the weak grey light filtering in from the entrance. The man had the white egg tucked under his other arm and his scarred face was twisted in a smug leer as he lowered the blade by the Night Fury's throat.

"I think you keep saying that, Hiccup Haddock-and every time you are proven wrong," he said coldly. "Now drop the weapon or I shall slaughter this dragon." Edging forward a few inches, Hiccup felt his face twist in a scowl of hatred.

"You would die the instant after," he threatened.

"You're no killer," the man sneered at the young Viking but Hiccup lifted his chin.

"Check with the Hunters in the southern Archipelago," he said in a toneless voice. "I think there are many men who never went home because they met the dragon rider." For a moment, Krogan's eyes widened in shock-before his familiar sneer fell back into place.

"But you won't risk your dragon...or the child..." he challenged the Rider.

"Put the egg down and I'll let you go," Hiccup said, his eyes flicking over to Toothless. The dragon was still lying boneless...but the experienced eye of his Rider, it looks as if he was starting to recover from the scratch. And the Flier couldn't lean forward to scratch Toothless without exposing his side...which Hiccup would bury his sword in.

"Put the sword down and I'll spare your most precious possession," Krogan growled. Hiccup felt his heart shudder as the point of the blade dug into Toothless's throat. Quietly, he laid his sword down.

"You kill him and I will end you!" he promised. Krogan sneered.

"Then I'll put the blade where it's more use!" he sneered, his arm swinging round and flinging the weapon straight at Val. This time, Hiccup didn't hesitate, throwing the sword at Krogan and himself between the weapon and the baby. He hissed in pain as the blade slid into his body and he hit the floor in front of his child, seeing the Flier duck back and just sustain a shallow cut on the shoulder from the sword. Laughing, Krogan steadied the egg in his arms. "Farewell, Hiccup Haddock," he sneered. "I'll leave you to your familiar failure..."

And then he stiffened, his eyes wide and mouth open with a gasp. There was a dull thud.

And then Astrid wrenched the blade of the axe from his back, the edge smeared with bright red blood.

"That's for my daughter!" she snarled, the double-headed axe twirling round in her hands as expertly as Heather herself would manage with the unique weapon. The second head arched round and slammed into Krogan's middle with a loud tearing sound that knocked the man to his knees. Blood oozed around the huge defect. Astrid leaned close.

"That's for my husband!" she hissed. Then she tore the blade out, not even watching the blood pump from the defect as she raised the blade with an echoing scream.

"And this is for my mother!" she shrieked and beheaded him.

His body dropped sideways and the egg fell for his nerveless hands, cushioned by Toothless's tail, which the recovering Night Fury flicked under the egg just in time. Breathing hard, Astrid stared at the dead man for a few aeons-long seconds before she dropped the bloody weapon and ran towards Hiccup, who was lying on his side, the sickle buried in his flank.

"Hello, Milady," he murmured painfully as she skidded to her knees at his side.

"Oh my Thor-what happened to you?" she breathed. He managed a small smile and gestured with his head.

"Someone you may wanna see first," he grunted and her eyes widened as she saw her child, shielded by his body. Her eyes widened and mouth opened in a gasp of joy before she reached over and pulled Val into her arms.

"Baby," she whispered and hugged her fiercely, kissing her downy head and then urgently searching her face for any signs of injury.

"She's fine," Hiccup groaned. "Though Johann tried to kill her-twice-and she was saved by the King of Dragons." She looked up and then placed the child in Hiccup's arms, her eyes scanning the wound in his side with the weapon still sticking out.

"So you threw yourself in the way of the weapon to make up?" she asked him, her fingers gently feeling around the wound. He hissed in pain.

"Seemed like the only thing to do," he admitted painfully. "And now you're making me suffer for it..." She shook her head.

"No, you muttonhead," she sighed. "What would I do without you?"

"Look after our daughter because she survived," he confessed painfully. "I let Johann put her in mortal danger. I never suspected he would push her over the edge. I-I left her in danger. I should have killed him the second he was disarmed..." Astrid looked up.

"Is he...?"

"As dead as Krogan," he confirmed in a pained rasp. "The King froze him and I beheaded him when I thought he had killed Val. And then the King returned her to me..." She frowned.

"You saw him?" she asked, bracing against his side and wrenching the blade out. He yelled in pain.

"Agh! No...lots of mist and a tusk which was what he must have caught her on. He raised it to return her...but I never saw him." She unwrapped her arm bindings and shoved them against the bleeding wound.

"You said he froze them?" she prompted him as he grimaced.

"Spits ice," he groaned as she managed to wrap her arm bindings around the wound as a simple bandage. Toothless was already on his feet, his head nudging at Astrid's side. "Hey, bud. I'm sorry..." The dragon crooned worriedly as the stricken Hiccup reached out to caress the blunt muzzle. Astrid helped her husband to sit up and rested her hand against his ashen and battered face.

"I can't leave you for a minute," she sighed. "This was just a simple mission to prevent the King of Dragons falling into the hands of Krogan and Johann..."

"Simple?" he managed, a smile quirking his lips. "You have a strange definition of simple, Milady. But as neither of them are alive any more and the egg is safely in our custody, then I suspect we may have succeeded...provided the rest of the gang have driven the armada back." She smiled as she helped him to sit on Toothless's back. They turned to the door.

"I think that may be in hand," she assured him, and then her eyes widened as Stormfly appeared, hissing with her tail spines raised. Astrid opened her mouth-but Hiccup jerked her into his arms as the Deadly Nadder fired an accurate volley of spines into the men who had just appeared behind them. Breathing hard, she looked back at her dragon and smiled. "Stormfly!" she gasped and ran forward to embrace her dragon. "Thanks, girl. I knew I could rely on you." Hiccup painfully walked Toothless forward, feeling blood ooze from the wound in his side and out onto the elevated ridge of Berserk-to see the swarm of hundreds of dragons finishing off the armada and the last of the Fliers.

"Oh my Thor," Hiccup murmured, his eyes widening in shock and amazement at the spectacle. "There's every type of dragon we have ever seen in that flock. Look, Val..." And then he glanced down at his daughter, who had fallen asleep, lulled by his heartbeat. He smiled. "I'll tell you about it when you're older," he murmured as Astrid walked to his side.

"We need to get you to a healer, babe," she murmured, her hand trailing lightly on his shoulder. He looked up, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Maybe a few moments more?" he pleaded. "Because I doubt I will ever see anything like this again..." She chuckled.

"Thor, I can never resist those eyes," she muttered. "And then we'll get you patched up, Babe. I can't have anything happen to my Hiccup." He leaned his head against her and smiled.

"And I don't want anything to happen to take me away from you," he murmured, his eyes fluttering closed. "Think I might need that healer now..."

And then he slumped against her.

oOo

Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, felt a weight of anxiety lift from his shoulders as the Riders finally returned to Berk. It had been a worrying two weeks since the end of the war with the Hunters when his son had managed to get stabbed and had collapsed after rescuing his daughter and ending Trader Johann. The Terrible Terror message had been worrying enough for him to send Gothi to Berserk to supervise Hiccup's treatment and ensure the young man recovered from being stabbed, since Stoick was certain he would recover from his own injuries. The fact they had remained on Berserk for the wedding of Dagur to Mala after Hiccup had improved had just delayed the return. The Chief had recovered from his wounds and had spent a lot of time with the grieving Ingvar Hofferson, able to offer the man his sympathies as one widower to another-as well as the succour of their children being wed and parents to the beautiful Valkana. And Ingvar had helped at Council in dealing with an over-enthusiastic Gobber and a rather bored Alvin.

But Berk was turned out in celebration for the return go the heroes and cheers went up as the Riders swooped over the harbour and returned to Berk, the familiar shapes of Hiccup on Toothless and Astrid and Valkana on Stormfly. The cheers echoed over the water and the A-Team escorted them home, with Gustav flaming on as he looped the loop to form a flaming entrance for the Riders. Grinning, they swooped down and landed in the Plaza. The villagers cheered rousingly as Hiccup warily unclipped his foot from the tail assembly and stepped back onto Berk.

"The Heir is home!" Stoick roared as Hiccup looked up with a grin and flung himself into a powerful hug, feeling his father squeeze him carefully. "How are you, son?" he murmured.

"Good," Hiccup whispered back. "You?"

"Never better to have you back," his father grinned. "Is it done?" Hiccup nodded.

"I killed Johann and Astrid finished Krogan," he admitted as Stoick rested his hand on his shoulder.

"That lass is one ferocious warrior," he commented.

"Tell me about it," Hiccup agreed as Astrid walked up to Ingvar. She immediately and quietly hugged him, feeling him squeeze her fiercely and then look into her face.

"Is it done?" he asked her hoarsely and she nodded.

"I sent his soul to Helheim," she said in a hard voice. "I do not regret it." He nodded.

"I am proud of you, daughter," he admitted and then his shoulders sagged. "She can rest easy-though it doesn't bring her back." Astrid gulped and nodded.

"I know, Dad," she admitted. "I'm sorry this all happened..."

"So am I," he sighed and then he lifted her chin. "But if it hadn't, we wouldn't have Val. And Ilsa loved her enough to give her life for her." And he gave a wan smile. "I expect to be allowed to help train her. Just like her mother." Astrid smiled up at her father.

"I'm not sure Hiccup knows what he's gotten himself in to," she quipped and Ingvar smiled more broadly.

"He knows and loves you, Astrid," he noted. "I'm certain he does..." Then he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Are you happy?" She looked up and nodded.

"I am," she confirmed. "And now the war is over, we will be leaving the Edge and moving back to Berk for good." Ingvar's face lit a little more.

"That will be a blessing-to see you and Val more," he admitted. "Now all we need to do is have a proper celebration." Astrid looked over to Hiccup and saw him looking as uncomfortable as she felt, suggesting he was sharing the same sort of conversation with his father as she was with hers.

"We'll see, Dad," she said, vowing to speak to Hiccup. "We'll see..."

oOo

Berk was packed with guests and anyone who could claim a reason to be there as the island celebrated the return and wedding of its Heir and acknowledged his child as the next Heir after him. It was a glorious Berkian day, the sky a cloudless blue and the island brilliant and looking its best. Green and red bunting slung across the Plaza and every house was painted and fresh. Real traders had supplied extra food and delicacies and all the neighbouring Chiefs were in attendance-including the Chiefs of Outcast Island, Bog, Shivering Shores, Berserk, Wingmaiden Island and the King and Queen of Defenders' Island. The Great Hall was filled with roasting meats, loaves, stews, sweetmeats, beer, mead and ale.

Stoick the Vast looked over his island and grinned with pride. He was half-toying with the idea of announcing that he was standing down as Chief at the ceremony but a small voice in his conscience nagged him that keeping secrets from Hiccup about his future was not a path to success. He would need to discuss the succession and date of Hiccup's Chiefdom ceremony once the dust from today had settled and the boy had finished settling himself and his family in back from the Edge. The Ceremonial Belt was gleaming-and straining-around his middle as he nodded to his fellow Chiefs and braced himself as Bertha stomped towards him.

"I am disappointed," she said sharply. "I expected you to honour the contract."

"And I you," he retorted. "Attempting to perform a wedding when they had agreed only to be Betrothed-and putting an obey clause in for Hiccup? Of course it wouldn't work-and the boy would always turn you down. He's smart, brave and constant-and he would only ever marry Astrid. He's already shown me he would risk his life and his place in the Tribe for those he cares for and what he believes is right. And they have a child."

"But you made him your Heir again-and that means..." she began.

"Too late," he replied. "While he was disowned, he married Astrid Hofferson in the presence of three Chiefs. It was legal and ratified-and cannot be undone."

And then she smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder.

"You are so easy to wind up," she told him. "Camicazi explained it to me and though I was disappointed-because he is a son-in-law I think I could tolerate-I understand. And as a woman, I can appreciate and applaud her determination and skills." She shrugged. "You know, we have been friends for decades. And Cami has decided that if she can't marry Hiccup, marriage is not an option..."

"I believe I offered to make my own arrangements, Mom," Cami said, walking up with a lazy grin on her face. She was tidied up and wearing a rich amber and gold necklace as the Heir to Bog that complimented her deep red dress. "Now, I think I need to go and explain to my fiancé why he won't be marrying me." Stoick folded his arms and watched her sashay away as Bertha scratched her chin.

"I think you may have had a lucky escape," she noted. "Now Stoick-you owe me a mead..."

In her family home, Astrid was finalising her preparations. Hjordis had already bathed and swaddled Val, making sure she was clothed in deep green woollen cloth that complimented her colours and was warm. The nurse was wearing a smoky grey-blue gown and had recovered from her ordeals, more devoted to the young girl than ever. But Astrid was staring at the image in the mirror, taking a deep breath.

"Look-you are the most beautiful woman on Berk," Heather told her. Dressed in her metal skirt and armour, Heather looked every inch the warrior-and was the new Chief of Berserk, since Dagur had stepped aside to become the King of Defenders Isle alongside Mala. Astrid's hair was restrained by a headband of amber beads but otherwise loose on her shoulders, the Betrothal necklace was around her neck and she was dressed in a rich, deep blue dress.

"I hate being the centre of attention," she mumbled.

"And Hiccup hates it even more so," Heather advised her. "But this has to be done. It draws a line under the whole affair and acknowledges the status quo..."

"Someone has been studying the Chiefing Manual," Astrid grumbled. Heather sighed.

"When I first met you, I was being blackmailed by Alvin to rescue my adoptive parents. Now I am the Chietess of Berserk, having taken over from my dear brother, who used to be the rabid dog who murdered my parents, erased the village I was raised in and cast me out to sea as a child!" she explained. "Life is change and adaptation-much of it wholly unpredictable. Berk is a better example of that than anything! From being raided mercilessly by dragons to becoming an island of Dragon-lovers and Dragon-Riders..."

"Except Mildew," Astrid giggled. "I wonder whatever happened to him? I know Alvin told Hiccup recently that he quit the Outcasts and sailed away once they made peace with Berk. Perhaps he's found someone who hates dragons as much as he does."

"If that is possible!" Heather giggled and gently brushed a stray strand of hair off Astrid's face. "I envy you. I wish you joy. And I love you-as a sister and my best friend." Astrid carefully hugged her for a long moment.

"Thanks," she said and blinked. "I wish my Mom could be here, helping me with this..." Heather gave a small smile, brushing out a crease in Astrid's skirt.

"She couldn't be more proud of you," she reminded her friend. "Now let's knock 'em dead..."

"Not literally!" Astrid reminded her and they fist-bumped. "Though that would be amusing, if we leapt out, axes twirling..."

"Though I think Stoick would have a heart attack," Heather said as they headed for the door.

A dais had been set up in the Dragon Training Arena so that everyone could get a good view. Stoick was standing there as officiant and Ingvar was present as Astrid's family, along with Heather, Mala, Hordes and Valkana and Atali-who had taken the King of Dragons egg to safety. Dagur, Snotlout, the twins, Fishlegs and of course, Toothless, were standing beside Hiccup, who was looking around nervously until Astrid walked into the Arena. And then his face lit with joy and relief at seeing her walking towards him with her eyes filled with love and joy.

"Hello, babe,' she smiled as he took her hands.

"Hey, Milady,' he replied in a soft voice. "I'm sorry. I mean not about being married to you or really anything else...but because my Dad...this...everyone..." She leaned forward and pecked a kiss on his cheek-before he pulled her into a deep and passionate kiss.

Stoick cleared his throat.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later on..." he suggested with a twinkle in his eye and they both blushed self-consciously.

"Is your Dad fist-pumping?" Hiccup whispered.

"Yup-and I cannot describe what Gobber is doing," she added as Hiccup closed his eyes.

"Oh Thor-this was a horrible idea, wasn't it?" he groaned.

"Probably," Astrid said cheerfully. "Do you regret destroying the DragonEyes?" he nodded.

"Of course," he replied quietly as Stoick continued his monologue about how proud he was and how Hiccup and Astrid had made the island of Berk and the Hooligan Tribe proud. "I mean, they're amazingly powerful tools, filled with dragon knowledge we still don't know...but they are too dangerous to allow to fall into the wrong hands. Blasting them to shards was the only option..." And then Astrid smiled.

"Except you kept a few lenses," Astrid reminded him. "You gave Dagur and Heather their lenses back that they had been gifted by Oswald...and you kept one yourself." He smiled. The lens was embedded in the vambrace on his right arm, along with a knife, compass and pencil. Smiling self-consciously, he nodded.

"It's part of our history," he admitted, his fingers trailing over her necklace. She smiled and then turned her head slightly. Snotlout and Fishlegs were hissing at one another with Ruff in the middle.

"What's going on?" she hissed.

"Cami told Snot she was ending the Betrothal," he told her. "She came to me before the ceremony and explained. She's not planning on marrying anyone at all-I think she said she's 'make her own arrangements'. So I expect she will have a child...but not a husband." Astrid smiled.

"And Snot has his eyes on the next option-Ruffnut?" she asked in a mildly surprised voice. Hiccup shrugged.

"Well, I have married the most perfect woman on Berk," he reminded her as Hjordis handed her their child. Stoick began the words to indicate that Hiccup had accepted the child and this she was also an Heir to Berk. "No one compares to you." She smiled then, turning to face him as Stoick reached his conclusion, Cheers surrounded them. "Do you regret it, Astrid?"

She stared into his emerald eyes and smiled then shook her head. It wasn't how she had planned her life but Astrid was a pragmatist and accepted things as they came. And there was no other man on Midgard she would even consider marrying.

"Not for a second," she told him firmly as Val opened her eyes and peered up at her parents. She was holding her head up now and as she looked at her parents, she smiled toothlessly. He chuckled.

"Baby Toothless," he murmured. The dragon crooned behind him, craning his neck to peer at the small human he had known of long before his Rider and his mate did. "No, not quite you, bud-but I think she's going to be even more trouble."

"Don't you dare think you're getting her riding a dragon until she's at least as old as we were," Astrid warned him and he grinned.

"Can she have a Terror?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"I cannot believe we are having this conversation," she huffed as he pressed close to her, gathering his family in his arms and kissing her thoroughly.

"It doesn't matter," he reassured her. "We will work it out. We always have-and always will. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid, remember?"

"Whatever it means?"

"Whatever you want it to mean," he assured her.

"This," she said firmly as the cheers continued. "Being home with you and Val, surrounded by our friends and family, safe and accepted and...happy. I want this." He rested his forehead against hers.

"Anything for Milady," he said.

The End.

A/N: Thanks for reading. I know a couple of the last few chapters were very close to the final series of RTTE but the last part of the story was always going to basically follow that trajectory...with one or two differences. I hope you enjoyed the story and thanks for all your support. Best wishes-hp