Chapter 4: Alternative Edge Without A Home Scene

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This takes place before HTTYD2 when Becky is in labor with Drago's baby, and what would have occurred, had she been with Eret instead of in Drago's captivity.

This chapter will have an M rating, to be safe. I had to change some things that were of MA Rating...if you'd like to know what I changed, please PM me, but at your own risk!

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The next day, Eret arrives.

"Drago! I've got about twenty dragons underneath our small fleet, and I hope they're to your liking." I hear Eret say.

I try not to cry out as the next contraction seizes me. Anthony shushes me as I lean against him, quietly reminding me to breathe.

"I've given you as many dragons as I could find. Where's Becky?"

"She's occupied at the moment. She will be returned to you in a month."

"What have you done to her? She was supposed to be returned to me three months ago."

"That is not your concern. Go."

I'm soon left alone, as Anthony needed a break, and I'd be okay for a few minutes by myself. I sneak out and I see Eret about to leave this monster of a vessel for his own tiny ship.

I follow him, hoping he'll turn around and see me.

"M'lady!" I turn and see Anthony. I look back to Eret to see he's paused and is looking in my direction.

"M'lady, you shouldn't."

"I know...but I miss him so much."

Eret starts walking towards me, and I turn to Anthony.

"Go, m'lady. I'll deal with Drago."

"Anthony...come with me. I'm sure Eret can find a place for you."

"M'lady, I'd be honored, but I fear that Drago may harm you further should I leave his command."

"Understandable."

It's then Eret comes to my side, bewildered that I'm alive...and pregnant.

"My love...I can't believe it's you."

I open my mouth to say more, but a contraction takes over and I collapse, Anthony barely catching me in time to help me get on my knees.

"My darling! Are you all right?" Eret asks, kneeling at my side.

"Anthony...explain..." I say, grimacing as I grip Eret's hand.

"M'lady's been having contractions since yesterday."

"Do you think I could take her back to my ship?"

"I'd go now if I were you."

The contraction finally ends and Eret helps me up and I lean on him, exhausted.

"Thank you for taking care of my Becky, Anthony."

"You're welcome. Go."

"Come on, love. Let's get you home."

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(Eret's POV)

The night Becky comes back to our ship, I do everything I can to help her; we stay in our tiny cabin for privacy.

She tells me Drago is the father.

"My love, I will gladly accept this child as my own, no matter who their father is." I tell her.

"Thank you. And Eret?"

"Yes, Becky?"

"No matter what I say to you, don't leave me. Ever."

"Don't worry, my love. I won't leave your side." She nods at me, just before another contraction comes.

Hours pass and a storm starts raging outside.

The contractions plus the movement of the boat in the storm start to make Becky get sick, and I do what I can to help her through it.

After she finishes throwing up, she leans against me, shaking.

"You are doing so well, my love. You're doing so well."

More hours pass, and No-Name, who was one of his village's healers, comes in to check Becky's progress.

"She's into the transition phase. It's the hardest part of labor before delivery, so she's going to need you now more than ever."

"Don't worry. I'll do what I can to help her. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Can I get either of you anything?"

"Maybe some ice for her. Got any soup left?"

"I'll bring that in."

"Thank you."

No-Name leaves and as soon as he does, another contraction hits Becky. It's too much for her as she breaks down, but I hold her close.

"Shhh. Just breathe through it, my love." I help her breathe, hating that she has to go through this.

About a minute passes before the contraction ends, and every second seemed longer than the last.

"Eret, please take my pain away...please."

"Oh, my darling. I wish I could. I truly truly do." It's breaking my heart to see her like this, but all I can do is hold her and help her through this difficult time.

No-Name returns with the ice and the soup minutes later, and I thank him graciously.

Not even a minute passes before the next contraction. She squeezes my hands as I continue to hold her.

"Just take it one contraction at a time, love."

The contraction soon ends.

"Do you want to try to eat something? We've got your favorite kind of soup – tomato."

Becky nods and I slowly feed her the soup, taking a break when a contraction comes.

The soup is soon gone when Becky refuses to eat more and I take the rest, trying to be as quiet as I can so I don't disturb her during the contractions.

She leans into me as the contractions get more intense. A few tears fall down my cheeks, as I would do anything to take her pain away.

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can. I am going to be right here with you the entire time. You can do this. We can do this."

As the night goes on, the contractions become more and more intense and Becky barely sleeps.

And so do I.

Another hour passes before No-Name comes back in to check her progress.

"Just a few more contractions, and then you can push, m'lady."

The contractions come and it's then Becky can push.

"All right, m'lady. Let's get ready to meet your baby."

Becky nods, leaning against me as I lean against the wall of the cabin.

The next hour is incredibly painful for her, and I hate seeing her like this so much. I just know the rest of our crew is outside, waiting for news.

"All right, here we go. Push nice and slow, m'lady." She pushes, leaning against me.

"Keep pushing, love. You're doing amazingly."

"That's it. That's it, m'lady. Baby's head is crowning beautifully. Let your body push for you. Just breathe through it."

Another five minutes pass before the head starts to fully crown.

"Just breathe through it, my love. I've got you. You're not alone."

Another agonizingly long 5 minutes pass before the head is completely out.

"Rest for a minute, m'lady. Catch your breath. I'll be right back." No-Name leaves, I'm assuming to get some blankets. Becky leans against me, exhausted.

"When this is all over, my love, we can raise our daughter and take our crew and go somewhere where Drago can't find us." I tell her.

"How are you so sure it's a girl?" She asks me.

"I don't know. I've always wanted a girl as my first child."

"Where are we gonna go where Drago can't find us?"

"I don't know. Anywhere. We could even pick up your friend Anthony and have him join our crew."

"You wouldn't...you wouldn't mind?"

"He helped you through a lot of your labor. It's the least I can do. Besides, you're not interested in him, are you?"

"Oh, gods, no. He's just a good friend and he was there for me...when..."

"Contraction?"

She nods as she begins to whimper and involuntarily begins to push.

"Easy, my darling. Easy."

"I can't stop it."

"Shhh. Just focus on my voice, baby. I know you can't help it."

No-Name reenters the cabin and gets back into position.

"All right, m'lady. You ready?" Becky nods. She pushes without instruction, groaning as she does.

"Good, m'lady. Excellent. Here comes one of the shoulders."

"You are doing amazingly well, my love." I whisper to her.

"Just one more big push, m'lady." She pushes, leaning into me as much as she can as I whisper encouragements to her, neither of us stopping until she and I hear the cries of our newborn child.

"It's a boy. He's a beautiful, healthy baby boy. I'll get him cleaned up for you." No-Name cuts the cord then proceeds to clean up the baby.

"Oh, my Becky. You did amazing, my love. I am so so proud of you." I tell her.

"Thank you." She says before she has another contraction and the afterbirth arrives, and then it's over.

"Just rest, m'lady. You've earned it." No-Name says, holding Becky's and my son as I get Becky into bed for some well-deserved rest.

I take the baby from No-Name and gently place him in his mother's arms.

A few minutes pass as I stare at the scene of mother and son, noticing Becky almost nodding off a few times. I gently take our son from her.

"You've earned a good night's sleep, my darling. I'll be right here watching over our son, okay?" Becky nods sleepily. I kiss her forehead. She soon falls asleep and I stare in awe at our son.

"Hi. Hello, buddy. I'm your daddy." I kiss my son's forehead. I turn to No-Name.

"Will Becky be okay? Physically?"

"She'll be just fine. The gods have blessed you and your girl. Your son is perfectly healthy, and so is she."

"Thank you so much for helping her."

"Not a problem. Glad to see I didn't lose my touch." No-Name says, jokingly. I lightly chuckle.

"If you need one of us to take over and watch him while you sleep, let me know." No-Name adds.

"Thank you. I will."

No-Name leaves the room, leaving our family to rest.

"We'll be free one day, son. I promise."

About an hour or so later, Becky starts to stir.

"Well, look who's awake." I say. Becky smiles at me and I grin back.

"Your son missed you." I tell her.

"Are you sure it wasn't just you?" Becky asks.

"Well...yeah, I missed you, too. How did you sleep?"

"Like a rock. Have you named him?"

"I wanted to wait for you."

"Thank you. But we are not naming him Eret, Son of Eret, Son of Eret." Becky says. I feign shock.

"Well!" I can't fake shock for long, as Becky starts to giggle.

"I'm not joking, though."

"I don't really blame you. It'd be too long of a name for our son to have, now wouldn't it?"

"Ya think?"

"How about Reuben? My mum's name is Ruby, so..." I trail off as I hand off our son to his mother.

"I like it. Reuben Frank, after my adoptive dad?" Becky says.

"Reuben Frank Nordisk. Sounds like a perfect name to me. Any objections?" I ask.

"Sounds good to me."

"Mind if I get the crew? I'd like to properly introduce our son." I ask.

"Go right ahead." Becky says. I kiss her. I love her so so much, but if Drago finds out that I do, he may punish her even further...and I really don't want that to occur.

I head out on deck and get the crew.

"Come in, lads. There's someone we need to introduce you to."

The crew follows me and we quietly walk into the cabin. Becky is absolutely beaming; motherhood looks amazing on her.

"I'd like to introduce the newest member of our crew: Reuben Frank Nordisk." The crew leans in to get a closer look at our son.

"Congratulations to you both." Teeny says.

"Thank you." Becky and I say.

Soon, the crew gets back to work on deck as we – Becky, Reuben and I – rest in our small cabin.

That night, with Reuben in a bassinet made out of an old crate with some clean blankets in it, we go to sleep, dreaming of our future together as a family.

But our happiness is short-lived when we hear a pounding on the door and we bolt awake. Reuben, having been startled awake, starts wailing.

"Oh, gods. Oh, gods, Eret." Becky whispers to me. I place our son in his mother's arms, holding them both close to me, but not too close as to suffocate Reuben.

"We'll get through this. I promise we'll get through this." I tell my family. The door is broken down by none other than Drago.

"Drago, please...don't do this to us." I say. But my pleas fall on deaf ears as Reuben is snatched from his mother's arms and – Becky and I both looking on in horror – is killed by Drago's bare and prosthetic hands.

"This is what happens when you try to defy me." Drago says before leaving with our son's remains. Becky and I sit there in shock as we hear Drago dump our son's remains into the ocean.

No-Name sorrowfully closes the door as Becky and I mourn our son.

About half an hour passes before either of us are able to form a coherent sentence.

"This is my fault, Eret...if I didn't need you, our son would probably still be alive."

"We don't know that, darling. But this is not your fault."

We hear a soft knock on the door, and No-Name, Teeny, and Ug all come in.

"We are so so so sorry for your loss." No-Name says.

"Thank you." Becky says, brokenly, leaning against me.

"No-Name remembered every detail about how Reuben looked and...well, here..." Teeny hands me a drawing of our son. Becky bursts into fresh tears as we look at the perfect drawing of our perfect son.

Our crew leaves us to grieve in private.

If only I could turn back the clock and have Reuben back and us be as far away from Drago as possible.

But the world is not a wish-granting factory.