I've got a few short notes before we start:

First: I won't write out any of the characters accents. You'll probably hear their voices in your head while reading anyway, so I won't bother to figure out how to do it.

Second: I will be answering reviews at the very end of each chapter so that those who don't want to read that can easily skip it.

And now, enjoy!

Chapter 1

Valka didn't emerge from her house during the first week after Stoick's death.

That same day when Johann had brought the news Gobber had called for an urgent village meeting, followed by a council meeting to discuss what would happen to the mantle of Chief. Those meetings were the last time anyone had seen her outside.

During that following week Gobber and a number of other friends came to visit her, to make sure that she wasn't alone in her grief.

"Valka!" she heard Gobber call outside the house before he entered without knocking.

Valka didn't look up from the hearth where she was preparing lunch.

"Valka, the village needs its chieftess. You can't just lock yourself inside for the rest of your life."

"I won't." she answered. "But can't you give me a few more days?"

"Sadly no. We need you. And the people have been asking for you."

Valka finally turned to look at her friend. "Thank you so much for substituting." She gave Gobber a hug before returning to her cooking. "Count on me to be there after lunch."

Gobber nodded, waved in Hiccup's direction, who squealed at him in return, and left again.

Valka pulled the pot off the fire and turned towards her son.

"Alright, Baby, I guess it's time for work."

She quickly packed a few things for Hiccup, ate lunch and left the house, heading in the direction of the Ingermans.

The door opened quickly after the first knock.

"Valka! I didn't expect to see you here. Come in."

"Me neither. But may I ask you a favour?" Majken nodded and Valka continued. "I need someone to look after Hiccup while I'm getting used to chiefing."

"Of course. Leave him with me."

Valka set Hiccup down next to Fishlegs, who was only about a month older, and both boys started babbling and trying to grab each other.

"I brought everything he might need. Go find me if necessary. I'll hopefully be back around dinnertime. Thank you." She gave Majken a hug, kissed Hiccup good-bye and left before her son would realize her absence.

Valka found Gobber just leaving the smithy and waved at him.

"Care to bring me up to date?" she asked him.

Gobber invited her inside his shop to avoid discussing everything in the plaza.

"The list isn't really long. The fishers returned this morning and stored their catch in the second storehouse. The first is completely full and the second is gradually filling up. We should be finished with the winter stock before the end of next month.

"The woodworkers are working on providing enough material for the houses that were damaged during the last raid. There's only about a handful left that still need repairing."

He paused for a second before he continued. "Ebba's pregnancy is coming along nicely Gothi told me. You should probably pay her a visit soon."

Gobber took a deep breath and Valka immediately knew what the next topic would be. Slowly she turned away to not have to look at Gobber when he would say the dreaded words.

"Stoick's funeral has yet to happen." As soon as she heard Gobber's voice crack, tears welled up in her own eyes. "We delayed it as long as possible, but I think it's time."

Valka nodded and wiped the tears away. "We'll do it tomorrow evening. There shouldn't be any more delay. And maybe we should have a celebration for him afterwards?"

Gobber's face lit up a little at that before he nodded. "That's an amazing idea! And now go and get used to your job, while I continue here."

Valka went to work, which mostly consisted of her walking through the village, seeing if everything was going smoothly, and helping people if necessary. She didn't really think much about what she was doing, as she had followed Stoick around often enough to know the dailies.

A lot of the villagers didn't seem to know how to react to her suddenly being out and about again after avoiding them for a week. She tried to ignore the worried glances cast in her direction.

In the late afternoon, Valka made her way up to the Meade Hall to check on how dinner was coming along. She would likely eat there with the village after picking Hiccup up at the Ingermans.

"Hey, Valka!" she heard a voice calling her name as she was about to leave the hall again. She turned around to see Solveig Hofferson standing up from one of the tables with her one-month-old daughter in her arms. "It's nice to see you here, my dear." Solveig gave her a one-armed hug, careful not to wake the sleeping baby. "Where's Hiccup?"

Valka smiled. "I left him with the Ingermans. I might take him with me once I get used to this, but right now I think it's better for him to stay with them. Also, depending on what I'm dealing with, it can get pretty loud."

Solveig laughed at that. "If you need any help, Edvard and I will be there to help."

"I know that. And thank you for checking up on me during the past week. It really helped to have people like you around."

Shortly before dinner Valka walked back to the Ingermans. When Majken opened the door she had Hiccup in her arms, who was brightly smiling at his mother and reaching his out his arms for her.

"Hey Baby." She took him into her arms and smiled back at him. "How was it with Fishlegs and Majken?"

"He was completely content with being here. Didn't cry for you once." Majken answered for the child.

Valka nodded. "I didn't expect there to be any problems. He knows and trusts you. Will you be joining me for dinner?"

Majken shook her head, while handing Valka the bag. "Gisli will be coming home soon, and I've made dinner for us."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow." she smiled.

Majken closed the door and Valka went to once again climb the stairs to the Meade Hall.

What do you think of this chapter? Originally, I wanted it to be longer but while writing realized that I didn't know what else to add. I could've written the dinner as well, but that only would've added more new characters and I think we've already had enough in this chapter.

I'm really curious to know if you like Hiccup's nickname! I liked Valka calling him Baby so much the first time I wrote it, I decided to stick with it. Let's see how long I'll keep up with it.

See you in the next chapter!

Answering the reviews:

lizzielou525: Thank you for being the first to leave a review. I remember being so happy when I found out that somebody had adopted the story. And then came something like disappointment that there hadn't been any updates in a few years. I really hope I'll keep up with the story as I have so many ideas for future chapters.

Whiskerface: Thank you so much for the review and providing some baby info!

Lucasdiaz9000: I'm so sorry but your review never showed up in my e-mails, so I only saw it shortly before uploading this chapter. Even though I didn't use your name suggestions I like them very much. I'm actually thinking about adding siblings in the future of this story, so maybe your names may show up at some point anyway.