Stoick jogged up the hill winded. A stitch in his side had slowed him down, yet he did not allow his body a rest. He needed to get home. He needed to be with her when…when…
A fist landed against Stoick's cheek, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"Spitelout-" Stoick moaned as he rubbed his bruising face. The Jorgenson man towered above him now, his eyes venomous, his sneer deadlier than a dragon's snarl.
"You stay the HEL away from my sister!" He went in for another punch, but Stoick blocked it with his palm. Stoick managed to pull Spitelout onto the grass beside him, though the force of his fall sent them rolling. Fists met his flesh, but Stoick did not strike back. He was purely defensive. He let Spitelout win.
"I need to—mmph—I need to be with her-"
"She does not need you!"
"Spite, it was an accident!"
"I don't care! You hear me? I DON'T CARE!"
The next punch felt softer, and the next one even softer. Spitelout retracted, his color fading from violent red into a gloomy paleness. Stoick sat up, already feeling his face and chest swelling, but he did not move away.
"You can beat me as much as you'd like tomorrow, or the next day, for however long it takes," he nodded towards the house on the hill, "But right now I need to be with Valka."
Spitelout shuddered, his shoulders trembled.
"She…she hasn't woken up."
Your fault…your fault…
"Is…is the baby?"
Spitelout shook his head, "I don't know."
Stoick swallowed, rising from the ground. He extended a hand towards his brother-in-law. Surprisingly, Spitelout took it.
"Gothi isn't here yet. Lundy is doing what she can. Mum's helping her."
"Run and find Gothi. Carry the old goat if you have to, just get her here."
Spitelout nodded stiffly, "Aye Chief."
They went their separate ways, Spitelout to find the village elder, and Stoick to the unknown.
Lundy, Odina, and Solfrid shot Stoick the iciest of glares the moment he crossed the threshold into the bedroom. Odina was going around untying knots while Solfrid was wiping Valka's brow with a damp cloth. Lundy was at the foot of the bed, working beneath a sheet soiled with Valka's blood.
The only one who smiled at him was Ursula, but her smile was weak with worry. She sat on a stool by Valka's head, stroking her daughter's hair. It had darkened from sweat and blood, yet to Stoick it was still the most gorgeous color. He could see beads of sweat on Valka's forehead, and though her eyes were closed they were pinched in pain.
He exhaled deeply, and braced himself.
"Is she-"
"Alive," Odina spat.
"And the baby-"
"She is in labor, though it is much too early. After that fall," Lundy hissed the word, "and how early it is, the babe will be stillborn."
A shiver ran Stoick's spine. He knew there was no chance, but hearing it…
Your fault...your fault...
"Okay," he murmured, though nothing about this was okay.
"Son," a voice was at his shoulder: Ursula. Her gray eyes were surrounded by shadow, but they kindly looked up at him. Stoick wanted to fall to the matron's feet to beg for forgiveness. By the quirk in her small smile, he thinks she knows that. "Go sit by her head, talk to her. Maybe she'll wake for you."
Stoick sat, his heart in his throat. The stool was tiny beneath him, the legs wobbling and creaking under his weight. It had never been a significant piece of furniture. He and Valka had mainly used it to collect dirty clothes, or for Valka to reach things when Stoick was unavailable. Now, it felt like the only thing keeping him from sinking through the floor.
Valka's hands were down beside her, and with the utmost care he swept one into his palm. Her long fingers were still; he brought them up to his lips.
"Valka? It's…it's me…" he glanced up nervously; the women in the room were busying themselves, though he had no doubt that they were listening. "I'm right here love…come back to me."
He bowed his head to shield his tears, his forehead against her limp shoulder.
"Please…you're my best friend Val…you're everything to me. Wake up for me darling. Please."
The only response was an unconscious grimace of pain around her eyes.
"There's so much blood," Lundy whispered.
Stoick trembled: he was no longer a chief, he was a grieving husband.
He let his walls down and sobbed.
Valka felt as though she was drowning. She felt wet and weighed down, the water keeping her body from rising to the surface. Every other breath brought a wave of pain shooting through her, hotter than Nadder fire. She wanted to scream, but could not find the strength to do so, her jaw locked. Voices surrounded her, encompassed her in an attempt to bring her to the surface. The muteness of her unconsciousness gave way to the clarity of reality.
Weakly, she opened one eye. The ceiling of her and Stoick's bedroom greeted her, shadows stretching long and thin from burning candles. The curtains were closed across the window. Cracking open the other eye, she saw the top of Stoick's frizzy red hair, his face pressed into the bed. Glancing down she saw that their hands were entwined, his grip much stronger than hers. She frowned, bending her fingers slightly, to match his hold.
The top of his head lifted to reveal a pair of red rimmed green eyes.
"Val?" he whispered, his brows rising on his forehead. She nodded stiffly.
"Oh gods," Stoick croaked, bringing her hand to his lips. He kissed each knuckle once, twice, in rapid succession before reaching over to kiss her cheek, her lips. "I thought I was going to lose you."
"I'm still here," she whispered, "No need to be dramatic."
"You don't…" he inhaled shakily before stopping. Whatever it was could wait.
"What's going on?"
His eyes watered. He swallowed with great difficulty.
"The baby is…deciding to come early."
"What?" Valka tried to sit up, only to yelp in pain as another white hot flame spread through her.
All at once, the quiet room came to life. Lundy had been asleep in the corner, but jumped to her feet as soon as Valka cried out. Odina and Solfrid rushed in from out in the hall, followed by her mother at a slower pace. Stoick clenched her hand, providing a steady comfort to her in her agony.
"What's going on—what's wrong with the baby?"
"It's-" Lundy began, freezing momentarily. "They just want to come early Valka."
"No! It's too soon! They won't-" she screamed. Her body felt possessed, as if it had grown a mind of its own. Whatever entity in charge of her had decided to tear itself into two.
"She's nearly there," Lundy called over her shoulder, "Is Gothi still downstairs?"
"She's on her way up-"
"Stoick, you should go," Lundy turned her attention to Valka's pale husband.
"What?" They both answered.
"This isn't…this isn't something you should be here for."
"Stoick!"
"I'm not leaving her-"
"Stoick!" Valka cried louder. Her body attempted to rise off from the bed, to recoil away from itself, but the women surrounding her pushed her back down.
"No! I need to move, I need to get up-"
"Valka you can't!" Lundy instructed.
"Oh gods, oh gods…" Odina paced behind Lundy, her complexion green.
"I'm right here Val, I'm right here."
"MUM!"
Ursula appeared on Valka's opposite side, and pushed her daughter's hair off of her forehead.
"You're doing great darling, just hold on."
Valka couldn't breathe. She buried herself into Stoick's broad chest and heaved.
"I'm scared Stoick!"
"I know, I know you are Val." She could hear it in his voice: he was petrified.
"Valka I need you to push, just a little bit."
"How!?"
Her body did the work for her, though not without sending another shock wave through her system. She screeched, feeling her insides shred and burn like offerings on a pyre.
"Head's out!"
"Come on Valka!" Solfrid stood nearby, cloth at the ready.
Valka pushed and sobbed: "I'm sorry Stoick, I'm sorry!"
"No, no, no, Val…Valka you're doing fine. Stay with me, okay? Just stay with me."
Her voice became inhuman as she bore down one final time.
Silence.
Where seconds ago there were chants and screams and cries, the world melted into a sickening silence. Valka panted on the bed, her body finally reclaiming itself, though she had no time to acknowledge it. All she wanted was to see the babe she delivered. Stoick sat beside her, pale and ashen, his eyes wide. Valka did not see him breathe.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Lundy shuddered, her voice hollow: "It's…it's a boy."
"A boy?" Stoick echoed.
"Y-yes."
The great Chief's face fell. Valka reached for the hand he had taken away from her in the shock of the moment, only to find him standing, staring down Lundy.
"Stoick?"
"Give him to me-"
"Stoick he's-"
"He needs his mother and father!" He shouted, his voice raw and flooded with a conglomerate of emotions. Through her limited view, Valka saw something being passed to Stoick, wrapped up in a cloth. The Chief returned to his stool, eyes only for the tiny bundle in his hands.
Before Valka could even speak, Stoick began to rub the tiny body roughly.
"Come on," he whispered, "Come on son."
"S-Stoick," Valka wept.
He did not answer. He concentrated. Valka could not see her son; Stoick's hand completely covered him.
"You're the son of the Chief and the strongest woman in Midgard," he puffed into the infant's mouth, a gentle tiny breath. "You can do this, I know you can. Just breathe for me. One breath. Please."
Valka felt cramping, and pain between her legs once more, but ignored it. The pain in her heart was greater.
In the corner of the bedroom, Odina and Solfrid held one another. Ursula bowed her head and whispered in silent prayer, though Valka wondered who the prayer was for: her husband or her son.
Son.
She has a son.
No, had…
"Stoick!" She howled.
Hic!
The room froze. Stoick seized his rubbings, but instead stared at the bundle in his arms. Valka thought she saw the cloth move slightly, saw the frailest of hands…
"Son-?"
From within the cloths came the tinny, high pitched cry of a newborn babe.
"Yes! Yes that's it!" Stoick cheered, a cascade of tears flowing down his cheeks. "He's alive! Oh Valka, he's alive! Our son is alive!"
