A/N: and here is another chapter. Ended up taking a break from this just because I didn't get round to working on it. Going to upload the chapters I've already done just to keep track of what I've done and uploaded a bit better.

Chapter 6

When Hiccup and Astrid arrived at the stables Toothless came rushing up to them so fast he knocked Hiccup off his feet. He started licking his rider's face, ignoring his protests. Hiccup managed to get out from under his dragon to see Astrid laugh while he gave Toothless a scratch behind the ears. "Thanks for that bud," Hiccup said trying to get as much of the dragon spit off his face, hands and clothes as he could. He flicked some of it at Toothless, almost hitting Astrid in the process. Astrid just flinched away, still laughing. "So, fancy going for a little ride out?" Hiccup asked. Toothless just looked back at where Stormfly was attending the eggs, clearly worried about leaving them. "Just for an hour or so," Hiccup continued. "Stretch those wings a bit." Toothless still seemed a bit reluctant but before Hiccup could say anything to try and persuade the dragon to go flying, Fishlegs came rushing up to them, carrying the Book of Dragons.

"You have got to thank your mom for the new information," he said. "This is amazing! And new dragons that must be out there somewhere! This is the best day of my life."

"Glad you're feeling better," Astrid said.

"I can't wait to find out what these new dragons can do!"

"Neither can I," Hiccup said. "And I'm going to need your help updating the Book of Dragons when they arrive."

Fishleg's squealed and gave Hiccup a big bear hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed. "This is going to be awesome!"

"Do you want to see the eggs?" Astrid asked smiling at Fishlegs's enthusiasm.

Fishlegs nodded and rushed into the stables, with Astrid close behind. "See, dragons are far better than girlfriends," Hiccup said as he and Toothless followed them into the stables.

"You take that back," Astrid warned.

Hiccup just smiled. "Make me," he said. Astrid just grabbed the front of his tunic and pulled him down for a kiss. Toothless rolled his eyes and went back to the nest, where Stormfly was keeping a very close eye on Fishlegs as he took a closer look at the eggs.

"This is so amazing!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "We get to see dragon eggs hatch. Without exploding!"

"No-one is ever going to let me live that down are they?" Astrid asked.

"No," Fishlegs and Hiccup said.

"Well if you boys are going to squeal over dragons for the rest of the day and I'm going to make us something to eat." Astrid gave Hiccup a kiss on the cheek, getting a mouthful of dragon spit in the process. She wiped her mouth as she made her way out of the stables.

"Oh I'm fine," Fishlegs said.

"It's not optional," Astrid said before she disappeared round the corner.

"I'm going to die aren't I?"

"Oh it's not that bad," Hiccup said. Toothless gave Fishlegs a nudge, reminding the two men what they were doing there. They looked back to see both dragons looking over one of the eggs, which seemed to be shaking.

"Oh gods, it might actually explode," Fishlegs said.

"Isn't it a little early to be hatching anyway?" Hiccup asked.

"Yep. Far, far too early."

The egg started to crack, the two dragon riders breathed a sigh of relief that it looked like the egg wasn't going to explode after all. "Astrid is not going to be happy about missing this," Hiccup said as a small jet black head started to poke through the cracks.

"The joy of birth," Fishlegs said. "Happening right in front of us." Stormfly started helping the baby dragon out of the egg by breaking away more of the shell so there was more space for it to climb out. Once it was out it collapsed into the nest and Stormfly gave it a little nudge to help it to its feet.

The baby dragon really did look like a cross between a Night Fury and a Deadly Nadder. Its head was minus the front horn, looking more like a Night Fury, with the same big green eyes Toothless had, and it had the spiked crown at the back like a Deadly Nadder, jet black with yellow tips. The rest of its body was more like a Deadly Nadder, also jet black with yellow streaks on its wings and on the spikes that ran down its tail. "It's so cute!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"It's also very small," Hiccup noticed as Toothless and Stormfly both made a fuss over the new arrival. "Like smaller than a normal baby dragon. Not even Terrible Terror babies are that small."

"Well it did hatch early. Maybe we should name it Hiccup."

"No names. Not yet."

"Well I'm going to start making notes. Hopefully Stormfly and Toothless won't mind me taking a closer look."

"Just be careful. I'm going to go find Astrid and tell her what happened. And get that baby something to eat."

Fishlegs just nodded and headed over to the nest as quietly as he could, while Hiccup left the stables, trying not to worry about what might happen to baby dragons that hatch early and what it could mean for the new arrival.

Astrid was busy preparing some food when Hiccup rushed in. She noticed the look on his face, a mixture of joy and worry, and realised the eggs were hatching already. "I'm missing the eggs hatching?!" she exclaimed.

"One already did," Hiccup replied. "Think it's the only one though. Come and look. And bring some fish." Astrid grabbed a fish from the basket and followed Hiccup out of the house and back to the stables, where they saw Fishlegs sitting by the nest, stroking the baby dragon's head, while Toothless and Stormfly kept close, keeping an eye on him.

"Awwwww it's so cute!" Astrid exclaimed rushing over to the nest. She gave the fish to Stormfly, who ate it and then regurgitated it to feed the baby dragon.

"This is so amazing!" Fishlegs exclaimed for what must have been the umpteenth time that day. "It's teeth are retractable! I have no idea if it will shot fire or plasma blasts yet but I'm sure we'll soon find out."

"We should leave them to it," Hiccup said watching the two dragons take care of their new baby.

"Right, I still have food cooking," Astrid said. The three dragon riders left the stables when they heard someone calling for the chief. Hiccup groaned and looked round to see Spitelout come rushing over to them.

"Chief, there's a problem down at the docks," Spitelout said as he reached them. Hiccup fought the urge to groan again. Just when he thought the day was going to get easier something always came up.

"I'll meet you there," he said before turning back to Fishlegs and Astrid. "I'll be right back." He then gave Astrid a kiss on the cheek before he followed Spitelout down to the docks. He would have gotten to the docks faster on Toothless but he knew there was no way of getting the dragon to move now the new baby was there so he had no choice but to run as fast as he could without tripping up.

"Well I should get going," Fishlegs said. "Get Meatlug fed and all that. Tell Hiccup I'll see him tomorrow."

"Sure you don't want to stay for something to eat?" Astrid asked.

"No. I'm good. Would much rather live to see my next birthday." And with that Fishlegs hurried off as fast as he could.

"My cooking is not that bad!" Astrid called after him. She looked round to see Toothless at the entrance of the stables. "You don't mind my cooking do you Toothless?" she asked.

Toothless, knowing it was best not to anger his mate's rider decided to just smile and nod. He knew he did right when the blonde smiled and headed back inside with the promise to bring the dragons some more fish. Toothless headed back inside the stables to find Stormfly trying to get the baby to stand up again. Stormfly gave Toothless a worried glance and the Night Fury headed over to the nest to see what he could do to help. Both dragons had picked up on how worried Hiccup seemed to be about the baby and were just starting to realise why. It was tiny and weak and if it didn't get to a good size before the other eggs hatched it might not get enough food and wouldn't survive the week. Toothless nuzzled Stormfly's neck, trying to reassure her that everything will be ok. They were on an island that cared about dragons, no-one there would just allow a baby dragon to die, regardless of whether it would happen in the wild or not.

Stormfly relaxed a little, understanding that Toothless was right. Their riders would step in if they feared for the baby's life, they were sure of it. The sound of footsteps at the entrance made both dragons look round and they saw Astrid coming in with some more fish. She put the basket down by the nest, and got her first good look at the baby dragon, and the worried looks of its parents. "You two don't need to worry. You don't have to do this on your own. You've got me and Hiccup." Astrid said patting both dragons on the head, confirming what the dragons had already assured themselves of. "And Valka. And Fishlegs. And the rest of the village. We won't let anything happen to any dragon on this island, especially the vulnerable ones. Now you should eat up. Got another mouth to feed and both of you need your strength too." Astrid gave both dragons a scratch under the chin before she left the stables again to finish cooking dinner for herself, pushing her own worries for the baby dragon to the back of her mind.