Unintentional Hero

Author: Nightstar Fury of Nightstar Productions

Rated: M for a variety of things that will happen

Pairing: Hiccup/Astrid

Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD

47; Wasn't Prepared

News of Avery's pregnancy spread like wildfire through the Fort Dreki base, Hayden was getting congratulated whenever he walked by someone who had heard about it. After the sonogram, Hayden and Avery went to her house and hung out with their friends, and his sister. Camille did tell Gerald about it but Hayden still refused to speak to him for what had happened weeks before his return to For Dreki. Hayden even got Avery a gift but she wasn't getting it until the baby was born: he was over the moon about all of it. Sure it wasn't an idea situation but he was sure they could make it work and as Anderson had told him, the military was working with him because the military was all about family and loved ones so they did what they could to keep them together. Hayden returned to the base two days after the sonogram appointment, and Avery said she'd let him know when the next one was so he'd be able to come too. When Hayden reached for Dreki, he turned in all the papers for the bosses which was his former leaders from the Fury Fighter base in Afghanistan.

It really only had to go to Major White but the others knew about it too so it was easier to just inform them all of the information. It had been a week since all that, and the guys did sneak off base-Anderson too this time, in order to go drinking to celebrate. Bad part about it, they got caught because DS Ramirez had been on a week leave and happened to be there too but when Hayden told him that he just found out he was going to be a father, DS Ramirez bought the group a round of shots to join in on the celebration. Hayden and Thomas Ramirez were good friends, had been since Hayden's graduation from BCT and kept in contact often so Ramirez was happy for him. Hayden couldn't wait for the next eight months to be over. In a week it'd only be seven more months, it was going by so fast and the anticipation was already killing him: he wanted to meet their baby.

For Avery, Camille and Seth were around her the most since it was their family too. Camille would be the baby's aunt, and Seth a second cousin. Avery was allowing Gerald to be updated too as long as he didn't upset Hayden at all so while the soon to be grandfather had been shocked to find out that Avery was in fact pregnant-he was happy for her even though it didn't show much. Avery was taking prenatals once a day now, although they made her sicker than the morning sickness did but she dealt with it knowing it was good for the baby. Her parents were happy for her too, they'd been really worried months before when Hayden had broken up with her because he felt he wasn't enough for her-but now everything was okay, they knew Hayden would take care of her because of how much he'd already done: Hayden was a protector with a heart of gold, he'd do anything to ensure the safety of his loved ones.

By the second week, Avery was now eight weeks along: officially two months pregnant and in full soon to be mom mode. Her parents were cleaning out the spare bedroom to make into a nursery that way the baby would have a place at their house when Avery came to visit. Gerald was converting Hayden's room into both since it was pretty big, a place for Hayden and the baby, depending on what was going on. Camille still refused to live with him, she was staying at her aunt Melody and uncle Samuel's house with Seth in their spare room. Avery had been talking to Anderson's wife a lot, the woman wanted to give her so many baby things that she saved from Brenna and Liam's time as babies. Avery dealt with heartburn, nausea, slight back pain, and tiredness over the last two weeks but Maria and her mother assured her that it was completely normal. Hayden kept his gift for Avery and the baby put away in his closet in the barrack, and the sonogram picture was taped to the wall right next to his bed.

It was being discussed with the officers higher than him about military housing, preference on area-which was obviously Berk close to his home and the base for travel purposes, not that it was hard with his Night Fury but nevertheless he wanted to make it easier for Avery since neither of them would be flying their dragons with the baby in their arms. The officers told him that when Avery hit seven months pregnant they would start the placement process to find them a home suitable for him, Avery, and the baby but for now he was on the list-they wouldn't be able to move in however until there was proof of the birth. Hayden was completely fine with that, he was just glad he'd get to live with Avery and be able to be home to help her raise the baby instead of having to stay on base-he would only have to be there through certain hours for work with this arrangement. The only thing that would keep him away would be deployment-which thankfully Anderson had so far assured the Alpha Fire squadron that it wouldn't happen anytime soon because he was getting week updates that the situation there was contained for the time being.

When Avery became nine weeks pregnant, everything was just going right along. Rachel and Camille were working with Maria to plan a baby shower for her that she had no idea about, her mind was on other things: like Hayden and her starting to talk about names next time he called her-which would be soon given it was just about 7:30pm. She smiled looking down when the phone rang and she saw his name flash across the screen, "Hey babe."

"Hello beautiful," Hayden greeted her lightly.

"What are you up to right now?" she giggled a bit while snacking on an apple.

"Just sittin in the barrack with the squad. Finished training for the day, Ethan and Dylan are about two weeks away from earning their aerial wing pin if they could just learn how to barrel roll and blast multiple targets, as well manage evasive maneuvers. How about you, feeling okay?" Hayden asked calmly.

"I was really nauseated earlier, had a hard time focusing in class, and this paper is killin my brain. You should totally sneak away from base to help me almighty dragon trainer." Avery chuckled.

"We'll cover him!" Avery heard Anderson laugh out with the others.

"Toothless needs a break babe or I would. What's got ya stuck, I'll see if I can help you from here. And I prefer lead dragon trainer." He laughed a bit.

"Calming down really aggressive and cranky Nightmares while they are flamed up?" Avery asked him.

"That's easy. You force their horns to the ground, not an easy task though and incredibly dangerous is you do it wrong." Hayden stated softly.

"You've done it before, haven't you?" Avery rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's risk taking stunts.

"I'm not lead dragon trainer for nothing, Sky Eyes...How's the baby?" he questioned now.

"Good, got another appointment in a few weeks for testing. Will you be able to come? You know I hate needles..." Avery said.

"I'll try, they said sonograms. I don't know about standard testing. But you alright otherwise?" Hayden replied gently.

"Some lower back pain but Harry's wife said it was normal and I hate that I have to pee every hour now..." Avery mumbled, Hayden chuckled at her.

"Hey you wanted a family," Hayden reminded.

"That I did, even if much sooner than expected...So, thought of any names?" Avery asked.

"Was waiting on you, girl names first?" Hayden asked.

"Either is fine babe. But I really love the name Astrid, it means Divine Beauty." Avery smiled now.

"I like it, because Odin knows if we have a girl she's goin to be as beautiful as you." Hayden replied as Avery blushed.

"What about a boy name?" Avery asked him now.

"I have no idea." Hayden said.

"What about Hiccup?" Avery giggled hard.

"First off, no. Secondly, hell no. I'm not naming my son after the middle name my parents obviously hated me so much to give me-also the nickname you and Cami call me." Hayden huffed.

"Well you got a better one?" Avery calmed herself down from the mini laughter fit she had at Hayden's reasoning for not using Hiccup as a boy's name.

"How about Hunter?" Hayden offered.

"I...actually really like that. So Astrid Haddock for a girl and Hunter Haddock for a boy?" Avery asked him.

"Sounds good to me. Well, I'm going to go take a shower and relax. Try not to stay up to late, you need your rest too." Hayden told her.

"Alright. I love you, Hayden." Avery smiled.

"I love you too, Avery." Hayden said, then the call disconnected. Avery put the phone down and began working on her paper, then went to sleep around 10:30pm due to the tiredness.

(A Week Later)

Hayden knew he'd be busy this week, Ethan and Dylan were preparing for their final dragon rider exam, given by Hayden himself. As lead trainer, he made the call who passed and failed-he chose who became a rider and who didn't. It sucked but being he was the one with the Night Fury, it fell on him to decide who had what it took to be in the dragon aerial guard. Hopefully he'd be able to call Avery later on: today she was ten weeks pregnant and that meant only thirty weeks left until their baby was there. He couldn't wait. Meanwhile with Avery, she woke up at 8am since she had class at 9:30am. She woke up slow and very tired with light cramping but she knew that was to be expected as the baby grew within in. Avery went to take a shower then pick up her things for school, around 8:45am she was on her way there for first class.

By the time she got there, she was exhausted and basically dragging herself to class and sat down sleepily. "You okay?" Camille asked her when she arrived at 9:20am

"Yeah, didn't sleep well last night. Was really uncomfortable..." Avery smiled softly, ten minutes later the instructor arrived and class began-all the while Avery's cramps just continued.

(Lunch Time)

Her pain were getting worse, it felt like a bad period-which she'd had a total of four times when her period disappeared for more than two months. The back pain increased, and abdominal pain was beginning, the cramps were hard to bear. Avery didn't know what was wrong, it was never this bad since she found out she was pregnant. On lunch, she tried to call Hayden but he didn't answer. Avery went to the bathroom before class started again but when sitting on the toilet she noticed blood in her underwear, it wasn't a lot but still made her concerned. Avery decided to text Maria about it.

-Maria...It's Avery. Um...how worried should I be if I'm cramping a lot and have a little blood in my underwear?-

"Call me sweetheart and tell me what's going on,"Was the response Avery responded so she wiped herself and even there she noticed more blood-more than what was in her underwear. Avery flushed and stepped out of the stall slowly, the cramps still hurting her. Avery washed her hands and then called Maria. "Hi sweetie, tell me what's going on?"

"I woke up with cramps, feeling like a period was coming. And it's just...been getting worse and worse. My lower back and belly hurt, the cramping makes it hard to move without pain...and when I...wiped the blood was...really red and...clot like. Something...isn't right, Maria...and I'm scared..." Avery cried a little.

"Ssh now. What do you want to do? Are you in class right now, have you called Hayden?" Maria asked softly.

"I tried twenty minutes ago but he didn't answer...What...should I do? Go to the doctor or hospital...These...cramps really hurt and it's...making it hard for me to breath normally..." Avery said.

"How about I come pick you up and we'll go to the hospital just to make sure everything is okay, alright? We can try calling Hayden again on the way. Sit tight, I'll be there in fifteen minutes. It's going to be okay, try and calm down." Maria insists trying to soothe her.

"Okay...I'll wait outside for you..." Avery replied, the call ended and Avery made her way to the exit of the school slowly, she waited on the bench as Maria arrived fifteen minutes later, then they were headed to the hospital with Avery holding her stomach and whimpering in the car while they drove. She tried to call Hayden again but no answer, she settled on leaving a voicemail for him to call back as soon as he could and was on her way to the hospital because something was wrong. Reaching the hospital ten minutes later, Avery was taken in immediately after giving the symptoms she was having while Maria had to wait outside-but she did pull her phone and call Hayden again, or tried too because he didn't answer again.

(Fort Dreki)

He was just sitting down to lunch with Alpha Fire, smiling and laughing. Now that he had a moment to breathe, he pulled his phone to check on Avery since she'd said she had a big final exam today for the end of the year. But he saw two missed calls from Avery, and one from Maria-then he saw he had a voicemail from Avery. "Hey, Anderson...did your wife try to call you an hour ago?" Hayden asked slowly.

"No, haven't heard from her since this morning when I talked to the kids. Why?" Anderson asked now.

"Because she called me, along with...two missed calls and a voicemail from Avery..." Hayden didn't like this, why would Maria call him? Hayden checked the voicemail: "Hayden...I'm in so much pain. Cramping, stomach, back...and I'm bleeding a lot. Maria...is taking me to the hospital...Please...call me back when you get this...Love...ow, you..." Avery was on her way to the hospital, the call was over an hour ago!

"Hayden, what's wrong?" Anderson asked. Hayden ignored him as he called Maria back when Avery didn't answer.

"Maria...Where's Avery?" Hayden said quickly.

"In the emergency room, I'm standing outside because I'm not family..." Maria replied.

"Is she okay?...What is going on, I got her voicemail but she didn't answer." Hayden stood up now.

"Hayden, I don't know what is going on. Avery...called me an hour and twenty minutes ago saying she was in a lot of pain and bleeding a lot. I offered to take her to the hospital but I haven't heard anything and they won't tell me because I'm not family. Can you get away from base and come here?" Maria asked.

"I'll be there in forty-five minutes, maybe less. If you can, tell her to relax and I'll be there soon." Hayden said, then hung up as he got off the bench and rushed out. Anderson followed him out, "Avery's in the hospital because of pain and bleeding, your wife took her. I gotta go...I'll deal with the higher ups when I get back. Avery needs me right now," Hayden whistled for Toothless and jumped on his back when he came over.

"Go, go! And keep me posted!" Anderson ushered him. Hayden nodded as he darted into the sky towards Berk General.

(An Hour Later)

There was a storm in Berk which made it hard for him and Toothless to fly into but he got there, landed Toothless, then rushed inside the emergency room entrance. He didn't care he was in his BDU, he didn't care about the looks he got either, he was going to go to the nurse's station when he saw Maria rush over to him. "Where is she?..." Hayden asked, he saw Maria's eyes-which were filled with tears and it was clear on her face she'd been crying. Hayden was getting a bad feeling as Maria led him to the door of the room Avery was in, she put her hand to his cheek lightly, "Maria...what's going on?"

"She needs you right now, Hayden...Just go inside and be with her." Maria told him. Hayden really didn't like this now. Hayden put his hand on the door handle and walked in seeing Avery just laying there, silent tears rolling down her cheeks and facing the left wall.

"Avery?..." Hayden asked, she looked over at him and he saw her start shaking and crying harder-he immediately moved to her side and sat on the bed beside her, holding her while she cried against him. He didn't understand, what was wrong? Why did Maria tell him that Avery needed him, to just be with her? Why was Avery crying her eyes out. "Avery, what...happened? I missed your...calls because I was flying with the boys, and I turned the ringer off...Why are you in here, what's wrong?"

"Hayden..." Avery pulled away from him trying to calm herself enough to tell him. "I—I'm so...sorry...The...doctors said...I-I didn't...do anything wrong and...there was...nothing I could...do," Hayden felt his heart clench hearing her. "Hayden...we...lost...our baby..." Avery said in a cracked tone.

Hayden froze, "...what?..."

"I had...a miscarriage...and our baby...is gone..." Avery cried, Hayden felt tears brim his eyes as Avery began to cry harder as Hayden forced himself to keep it together and hugged her tightly. He didn't understand, everything was fine and now...their baby was gone? Avery had miscarried? There was a knock on the door, as Hayden let go of Avery who just curled up on the bed still crying.

"You must be Hayden, the woman outside said you would be coming...I'm doctor Leo Perez." The doctor introduced.

"What...happened?" Hayden asked firmly, "She just had a check up...last week and they said everything was fine. I don't...understand how it went from fine...to this."

"There are many reasons why miscarriages occur, the most common being that there was a Chromosomal Abnormality. It occurs is some a problem with the egg or sperm's chromosomes during embryo formation, or the implantation might not have been successful, there is no way to know. Miss. Hofferson did nothing wrong, neither did you son. This just happens sometimes, and there is nothing we can do to stop it except try to take the pain away. Your girlfriend has already passed the fetal tissue, she is likely to still have some bleeding the next few days or so and will need a lot of support. I am sorry-but she's still healthy and after a little while, you can always try to conceive again...I can discharge her right now." Dr. Perez said.

"That doesn't take away the pain of the fact she was ten weeks along, two short of three months..." Hayden said as he moved back to Avery, he laid in the bed and held her close. The doctor sighed and exited the room.

"I'm sorry...Hayden...I'm sorry," Avery cried against him.

"Ssh, it's nothing you did...It's not your fault...It'll be okay, we'll get through this together...I promise..." Hayden said rubbing her back.

(Three Hours Later)

Hayden had taken Avery to Maria's-since Avery didn't want to go home where all the baby things were. Hayden took it upon himself to tell Camille about them losing the baby-and said she could tell the others and Dad, also to try and be there for Avery as much as they could since he had to go back to Fort Dreki. He didn't want to leave Avery but he couldn't stay either, she told him she would be okay and just needed time-he was grateful to Maria for allowing Avery to stay there for a while. "Are you going to be okay?" Maria asked him.

"Eventually...Just make sure she's okay, don't worry about me." Hayden said, Maria nodded as Hayden kissed Avery lightly and then left the house, returning to Fort Dreki in an hour.

(Alpha Fire Barrack)

Hayden landed Toothless then slowly walked into the barrack while the others were laughing and having a good time, they saw Hayden now, and his face and grew quiet. "Hayden?..." Jasmine asked, Hayden didn't say a word to anyone-he just walked towards his bunk and opened his closet door, reaching in and pulling out a black piece of clothing. As he unfolded it, the others saw it was a onsie-something Hayden obviously got for the baby. On the front it read: I might be small but I look like my mommy, but I got my daddy's personality. Beware my fury. Hayden reached for the sonogram picture that was given to him just a month ago when he found out she was pregnant, and now...she wasn't. Hayden hold both items as his back was against the barrack wall, then unable to hold it in anymore he began to cry-shaking as he slid down to the floor with his knees up, clutching the picture and onsie against his chest.

It didn't take them long to figure out that when Hayden rushed off earlier it was because something was wrong with Avery or the baby, and given how Hayden was reacting now that he was back they could only assume what had happened. Theo looked at Jasmine, "Get Anderson..." Jasmine rushed out to find him. Not more than two minutes laters, Anderson pushed through the door and saw Hayden on the floor holding the onsie and sonogram, something in him already told him what happened. Anderson made his way over to Hayden and sat beside him putting an arm over his shoulder. Hayden just leaned against him, shaking still and sobbing hard-Anderson hugged him tightly, almost rocking him while they sat there. The rest of the barrack just made their way to their beds and stayed quiet, they knew this was serious and Hayden was hurting more than any of them could imagine.

"It's going to be alright, Hayden...Just let it out. It will be okay...I promise." Anderson told him as he just looked up, trying to fight back his own tears. Hayden had been through so much already, and now this: losing his unborn child in miscarriage, it was hard for Anderson to bear since he'd been with Hayden since the start and he didn't like seeing how hurt his brother was. And time would only tell how long until Hayden recovered from this. One thing was for sure: Hayden wasn't prepared for something like this to happen.