Chapter 10:

Now the moment that you've all been waiting for, but it won't be the last you'll wait for, I assure you!

Astrid was getting really impatient as Hiccup covered her eyes and led her to the forge. "Can I look now?"

Hiccup tried not to laugh. "Just a little further."

Astrid sighed impatiently. It didn't take long for them to reach the forge, but to Astrid, it seemed like hours. "Can I look now?"

"Astrid, relax, I don't want you to freak out the baby."

Astrid laughed. "The baby is fine, Hiccup. It's the freaked-out dad that I'm worried about." Hiccup laughed at that comment.

When they were both inside the forge, Hiccup stopped. "Okay, keep you eyes shut," he said, and left Astrid's side. Astrid folded her arms across her chest, but did as she was told. "Okay, you can look now."

Astrid opened her eyes, and saw Hiccup standing in front of her next to a wooden crib. It was carved carefully so that the edges were smooth, and there was hardly a tiny splinter. "Did you make that?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup nodded. "I had a little help. So, what do you think?"

Astrid walked over to the crib and felt its smooth surface. "It's amazing," she said in awe.

Hiccup shrugged. "Well, you know, I could have made it better, and I wanted to..." He was cut off when Astrid hugged him tightly.

"It's perfect," she said, "The baby will love it."

Hiccup breathed a laugh. "How do you know for sure?"

Astrid shrugged slightly. "I just do."

After about a minute, Astrid pulled out of the hug. This concerned Hiccup. "Is something wrong?" Astrid shook her head. "I just thought that maybe you wanted to say hello." She rubbed her stomach, and Hiccup immediately understood. Smiling, he lay a hand on Astrid's swollen stomach, rubbing it gently. Astrid smiled as she watched him. Just then, both of them felt a small kick where Hiccup's hand was.

Astrid looked up at her husband. "Did you feel that?" she asked. Hiccup nodded in confirmation. Astrid smiled and looked down at her stomach. "That's right, your daddy's here."

Hiccup smiled briefly, but then he looked worried. Astrid looked up at him. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "How did this happen?"

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember what happened on our wedding night?"

Hiccup breathed a laugh. "Yeah, I know how it happened, I just can't believe it."

There was a soft croon, and they both turned to see Mortem looking inside at them. He looked almost worried. "Everything is alright, Mortem," Hiccup reassured. But Mortem gestured with his head for Hiccup to come outside. Hiccup turned to Astrid. "I'll be back," he said, and went out to meet Mortem.

The juvenile Red Death was writing something in the melting snow. Hiccup tried to read it as Mortem finished writing.

MY MOTHER WAS AN EVIL DRAGON. DOES THAT MEAN THAT I'LL BE AN EVIL DRAGON, TOO?

Hiccup sighed when he finished reading what Mortem had written. Obviously the young dragon had been worrying about what he was, and what he was meant to do. "You're not a bad dragon, Mortem. You're different from your mother, and that's what makes you who you are. It took me a while to learn this, but all that matters is who you are, and who you choose to be."

Mortem listened to Hiccup as he explained this, and he realized that he had no irrational need to worry about the differences between him and his mother. As long as he was happy with who he was, that was all he needed.

Mortem then stood up and made his way to a fresh patch of newly revealed dirt. He then began to draw a design in it. As Hiccup watched, Mortem drew a heart, and in it he wrote all of their names. Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Stormfly, Mortem, Starlight, Jet, Eclipse, and Toothless Junior. When Hiccup thought that the dragon was finished, Mortem added one more thing on the list of names. Baby.

Hiccup stared at the drawing in amazement. Mortem really loved his family. The juvenile Red Death moved so that he sat next to his father. Hiccup reached out and patted the dragon's hide. Mortem looked down at his dad. "You know we'll always be here for you, right Big Guy?" Mortem growled in approval. Hiccup smiled and hugged his son. "I love you, Mortem." Mortem hesitantly lifted one of his paws and wrapped it around Hiccup, trying his best to hug him back. Hiccup breathed a laugh. "Yeah, I know you love me, too."

Mortem growled softly. "I really do love you, Dad."

Meanwhile, Junior was trying to figure out what Toothless had said about making his own path. He had been so focused on trying to follow his father's footsteps, that he hadn't focused on what he could do himself. Both of his siblings had learned how to fly, but he had still yet to learn.

Maybe I can ask Dad to teach me to fly, Junior thought to himself. He didn't notice Starlight approaching him until she sat down next to him. "Are you feeling okay, Tootles?" she asked. Junior shrugged. "I want Dad to teach me to fly," he said.

Starlight sighed. "Your father can be busy when there are two other little ones, you know," she said to him, "But if you don't mind, I could teach you how to fly." Junior thought for a moment, and then he nodded.

Junior's lesson on how to fly was a lot like when Toothless taught Jet how. The only differences were that Junior wasn't as good as Jet, and Starlight was able to stay airborne for a lot longer than Toothless. Junior was upset that he wasn't as good as his big brother, but Starlight said it was alright. "Everyone learns at their own pace."

All in all, it was good progress.

Meanwhile, Heather was taking a walk through the village to try and become more familiar with her new surroundings. She was also thinking of maybe getting herself a dragon. She had thought of getting a Deadly Nadder, but she worried that people would think she was copying off of Astrid.

It was near the plaza when Heather first saw a Typhoomerang. Torch had been trying to find himself a mate for breeding, since Osprey and Flame had already done so, and oddly enough, he couldn't seem to find himself a suitable female. He had traveled throughout the islands during the breeding season looking for a possible mate, but with little results. He was walking through the village in hopes of finding someone who could help him.

It took a minute for Heather to realize she wasn't alone. She ducked behind a house and watched as Torch made his way into the open. Torch lifted his head into the sky and roared. He was trying to call for a female Typhoomerang. But he got no response.

It took Heather a few minutes to realize that Torch was lonely. He needed a friend. She slowly moved out of her hiding place and started to make her way towards the Typhoomerang.

Torch stopped his mating call when he noticed Heather walking toward him. She cautiously held her hand out to him, in hopes of taming him. Torch lowered his head and pressed his snout against Heather's hand. Somehow, he knew he could trust her.

Heather was surprised with Torch's behavior. She hadn't expected him to trust her so soon. Torch then moved his head behind her, grabbing the back of her shirt in his jaws. Heather stayed still as the dragon lifted her off the ground and placed her on his back. Heather smiled, grabbing Torch's back spikes as he took off, heading into the forest in search of a mate.

Later that evening, Hiccup and Astrid had succeeded in moving to crib into the house. It had taken them longer than either would have predicted, and Hiccup believed it was because of his lack of strength. But Astrid didn't blame him for how long it took them, all that mattered was that they had finished.

The sound of large, flapping wings drew them outside, where they saw Torch and Heather landing in the plaza. Right behind them was a purple, female Typhoomerang.

Heather dismounted Torch and walked over to meet her friends. "You know, we were wondering where you guys had gone," Hiccup said. Heather shrugged. "Turns out that dragon needed someone to help him find his special someone."

"His name is Torch," Astrid said, "And I'm assuming that the other Typhoomerang is his 'special someone.'"

"Yeah, but I haven't thought of a good name for her," Heather admitted.

"Actually, each dragon already has its own name," Hiccup said, "It could probably take some time to figure out what her name is, but we can always ask Mortem."

Torch then walked up from behind and nuzzled Heather. "I think he likes you," Hiccup said.

"He should," Heather said, "He seems to trust me."

"Then you should be his rider," Astrid said.

Heather turned to look at her friends. "You really think I should?" she asked. Hiccup shrugged. "Why not? You guys seem to trust each other enough," he said. As if on cue, Torch nuzzled Heather again. The female walked up from behind and tried to smile at the two of them. Heather nodded. "I'll be their trainer," she said, and then turned to her friends, "But I'll be needing some help."

"We'd be happy to help," Hiccup said. Astrid agreed.

None of them noticed, but Mortem was watching from the plaza, and he was happy that Torch had found some new friends.

Bet you didn't see that coming! I thought that since Torch didn't have a rider, and Heather didn't have a dragon of her own, the two of them could be friends. Sorry I didn't give Torch a mate earlier, but I couldn't think of a good name for her, and I'd like to see what name suggestions I'll be getting for the new Typhoomerang. Review, follow, or favorite.