Astrid carefully walked down the stairs of her and her husband, Hiccup's, house. Once she reached level ground she put her shoes on with a little trouble bending down due to her being five and a half months with child.

Astrid looked down at herself and sighed. She wore a maroon dress with gold stripes going down from the brown waistband and a fancy gold embroidery around the top of the dress by her chest. Her mother had made the maternity dress when she found out Astrid was pregnant. Astrid has her fur cloak hanging down her shoulders which means she is Chieftess of the island.

Astrid opened the door and stepped out into the refreshing warm air. She breathed in the air and started to walk towards the Great Hall where Hiccup was having a Chief meeting. She's supposed to be there but told Hiccup she'd be a bit late due to back pains. She had gone to Gothi and was given some medicine and peppermint oil for her back.

Astrid pushes open the doors then closed them. All the Chiefs stopped what they were doing to look at her. She subconsciously played with her side braid as she walked over to her husband and with his help, sat down. She crossed her arms over her swollen stomach.

She looked up and all eyes were on her. Her cheeks flushed a light pink and she looked at Hiccup. With his green eyes, he told her to to explain so she turned her attention back to the other Chiefs.

"I'm confused." One of the Chiefs said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Astrid Haddock and I'm the Chieftess of this island." Astrid answered him. "And I'm late because of back pains." They all looked at her in confusion. "I'm pregnant." They all nodded and continued with the meeting.

Halfway through the meeting they were talking about a Deathsong that got loose and was using its song to attract dragons all over the archipelago. Astrid found herself leaning on Hiccups shoulder out of boredom.

The Chiefs started arguing about how to get the loose dragon under control. The Haddocks just sat there until Astrid couldn't stand the arguing any longer.

"All you have to do is seal it back into its "prison"." Astrid said and all the Chiefs fell silent. "Hiccup and I can send some of our most skilled dragon riders-who have dealt with Deathsongs before-to do this task."

Hiccup nodded in agreement before he spoke up, "Then once every month one of us dragon riders-with choice of backup-will go and check on the Deathsong and make sure it is still imprisoned."

They all thought about it for a few minutes before agreeing whole heartedly. They started to discuss the issue of the low number of fish they've been catching when Astrid felt the baby kick. She winced and placed her hand over the spot where it roughly kicked her and rubbed it gently.

Hiccup took notice of his wife's discomfort and closed his notes before standing up. "Okay, we can continue this next time. It's almost sunset and my wife needs rest." The Chiefs nodded, gathered their things, and walked out of the Great Hall leaving Hiccup and Astrid alone.

Astrid leaned back into her chair and sighed   Hiccup dipped down and kissed her quickly then helped her out of the chair. Astrid winced again and Hiccup smiled at her. Astrid examines her husband. He wore green shirt and pants, he had his fur cloak draped over his shoulders by a red cloth, he had a black chest plate on, and arm wraps.

He grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her out of the Great Hall and to their house. "What are you doing?" She called to him as he disappeared into the house, leaving her outside. A few minutes later he came back out with a book in hand and closed the door.

"I have an idea to make the baby stop kicking." He said and brought her to a cliffside. He helped her sit down against a rock. Astrid put her hands in her lap and stretched out her legs. Hiccup sat next to her legs, opened the book, and began to read:

"I was fifteen when I short down my first dragon.
Guess what species?
A Nightfury! Lightning and death itself!
Many said a Nightfury would kill at first sight.
But they were wrong."

Astrid smiled when their baby stopped kicking and calmed down to its father's soothing voice, full of emotion.

"I told the dragon I was going to cut out his heart.
But I just couldn't."

He read with so much expression and enthusiasm it made her heart swell with love. She smiled lovingly and warmly at him.

"I looked at him and I saw myself.
Scared. Hurt. Weak. Vulnerable.
Instead of killing him I cut the ropes and set him free.
I expected him to kill me, I braced myself.
All I got was him roaring in my face."
He chuckled.
"The dragon ran away.
He tried to fly but fell.
I turned away and well... fainted."

Line break—-

"I reached my hand out and-" Hiccup looked at the sky. "Cliffhanger because it's almost night." He closed the book and looked at me.

"Did you write that?" She asked, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. "It worked. She's stopped kicking."

"She?"

"Mother instinct." Astrid shrugged and grabbed his hand and he squeezed it. "Well? Did you write it?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "After you kissed me after the red death. Just in case we ever had a kid. I even wrote bout our adventures on Dragons Edge." He helped Astrid up and they began to walk to the Great Hall for dinner.

Astrid smiled, leaned her head on his shoulder, and placed a hand on her swollen stomach. They continued walking.

"That was sweet, Hiccup." She whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed the side of her head and they entered the Great Hall.

The end. How was it?