The confusion was strong, the joy was overwhelming. The Haddock parents were over the moon about Hiccup being alive and home! All this time, Valka had felt like there was something familiar about Henrik and now she understood why. Because he was her long lost son, he was the baby boy that she and Stoick watched be carried off nineteen years ago by the same dragon who stood before them now. Henrik was Hiccup Haddock, the son they thought had perished long ago and to think that Valka thought of the possibility a week ago upon getting a good look at Emma, Henrik's, rather now, Hiccup's almost four-year-old daughter. Valka and Stoick didn't even care how many odd looks they were receiving from their Tribe as they embraced the twenty-year-old young man in their arms. The young adults just stood there trying to process it all, Hilda was...beyond words. If this young man was their son, that meant that he was her older brother who she believed to have died by a dragon all those years ago when her parents told her about what happened to their first child.
Emma was confused more than anyone else, she didn't understand why these strangers were hugging her father and crying. She didn't understand why her father was acting so stranger either, but she was about to find out. Emma marched right up to her father and tugged his pant leg.
"Papa, can we go home now? You said when Cloud Jumper came," Emma reminded. Hiccup now released his parents, which felt weird to do. So his name wasn't Henrik, it was Hiccup. Henrik was just the name that Reynir gave him because they didn't know his real name after Cloud Jumper brought him to the next nineteen years ago. Berk was the island he was from, Valka and Stoick were his parents and by definition, Hilda was his little sister. It was going to take some readjusting to get used to all that, and what did he do now? Emma was right. Hiccup had told her they'd go home to the nest when Cloud Jumper returned to tell him it was safe. He was...back home now, his real home where he came from. He couldn't just go back to the nest could he?
Hiccup brought himself to one knee now as he smiled lightly at her and patted his knee that was up as Emma came to sit on it and he held her in place. "Do you remember when I told you that a dragon took me from my home when I was just a baby?" he asked her softly.
"Mmhm, yep. Cloudy took you, right? And then Pappy raised you in the nest with all the dragons?" Emma replied.
"That's right, very good. You got your memory from me," Hiccup chuckled a bit, "Now do you see that baby on the shield, the one that you asked Cloudy if it was me? That baby is the son these two people lost a long time ago because their son was taken by a dragon too. Emma, I'm that baby in the picture. These are...my parents," he tried to explain hoping she would understand.
"Wait, so...Cloudy took you from here?" Emma asked.
"That's right. This...is Daddy's real home," Hiccup enlightened.
"Are we...not going back to the nest?" Emma frowned a little, pouty lip forming.
"Well, that's what I'm asking you. Do you want to go back to the nest and live with the dragons or...do you want to stay here with all the people?" Hiccup inquired as he heard his parents bite back a little at him asking his daughter what she wanted to do and where to live.
"Are we gonna bring our house here with all my toys and clothes?" Emma looked at him now.
"I can't...bring the whole house baby girl, it's built into the nest with Icefire's ice and wood. But...we can fly back there and get all your things to bring here?" Hiccup offered.
"What about the dragons?" Emma said softly.
"I think there's...too many to just have stay here little one. Remember what Daddy taught you about dragons not leaving where they live because it's how they survive?" Emma nodded to him, "Some of those dragons have to stay where they are, but I promise you that we can always go visit them. Besides...Mama and Pappy are buried there, and we always go on your birthday to see them." Hiccup reminded.
"And my birthday is in two days!" Emma smiled wide.
"Yes, yes it is. My big girl you are, so what do you want to do?" Hiccup laughed a little.
"I guess we can stay here and I can keep Stingwhip?" Emma asked.
"Oh, of course, sweetheart. No one can take Stingwhip away from you, just like no one can take Toothless away from me. We'll bring Windstrike here too, and I'm sure Cloud Jumper will want to stay as well. Now, I have one more question for you. Do you want to meet your grandparents?" Hiccup smiled as he put his hands under her arms and stood up holding her in his arms now.
"Will they like me?" Emma asked nervously.
"I'm pretty sure they will. Emma, this is Valka and Stoick. Your grandparents. Um...Mom, Dad...this is Emma, your...granddauughter." Hiccup introduced.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, little one," Stoick said with a smile as Emma beamed now.
"Wow, look at that Hilda...your brother was right under your nose the whole time." Ruffnut giggled to the teen who was still in shock.
"This is...a miracle!" Astrid exclaimed as Hiccup turned to look at them now, his eyes mainly focused on Hilda before he walked over with Emma still in his arms.
"Hi there...sis?" Hiccup tried.
"You're...my brother, my big brother...and she's...my niece. Oh, my Gods! I can't believe this..." Hilda said as she was trying to figure out if she should cry, hug him, or smile.
"Hilda, I don't think any of us can believe this..." Valka said now. "It is a miracle. My little Hiccup is alive." the woman tried not to cry again.
"Alright, I'm curious...what...is my name?" Hiccup finally asked looking at them.
"It's...Hiccup Haddock the Third, son." Stoick replied.
"Wait...doesn't Hiccup mean runt of the litter?" Hiccup asked blinking a bit as his parents laughed a little.
"Yes, it does. You were born two months early, son. We were afraid you wouldn't survive your birth, but you pulled through." Valka explained.
"Huh, Emma was born a month early," Hiccup stated calmly.
"Does this mean I'm a Haddock too now, Papa?" Emma asked him.
"Sure does!" Stoick announced. "What a day to rejoice, we'll celebrate the return of Hiccup!" he called out. Hiccup smiled, he couldn't believe this. All this time, he had been home! He would still have to get to the nest to get some things-The nest! Oh, Gods! How could he forget about the attack on the nest a month ago?! Hiccup put Emma down and looked at Cloud Jumper.
"Cloud Jumper, the nest...how bad is the damage on it?!" Hiccup asked quickly. Cloud Jumper lowered his head some and turned it as Hiccup felt nervous. "Cloud Jumper...tell me,"
"It's...almost completely destroyed, Hen-I mean, Hiccup. They didn't find your house, Icefire sealed it as you asked him too. The dragons, though, some are wounded...some captured, and some killed..." the Stormcutter replied finally.
"What?..." Hiccup replied as fear took over.
"Hiccup, Icefire is...wounded and very badly at that. Windstrike and the others are with him, in case he doesn't make it..." Cloud Jumper informed sadly. Hiccup stumbled back slightly before he gave a whistle to Toothless who immediately came to his side and he got on his back.
"Papa! Where are you going?" Emma asked instantly after Hiccup put her in Hilda's arms.
"Daddy has to go back to the nest baby girl, the dragons need help. I want you to stay here with everyone else, it's not safe for you and I don't know what I'll do if I lose you. I'll be back soon, I promise." Hiccup kissed her forehead.
"Will you give Mama a kiss from me?" Emma asked sadly.
"Of course I will. I'll be back by tomorrow," Hiccup gave her a soft smile.
"Wait, you shouldn't go alone. Let us come too, we can ride a dragon or something..." Valka insisted.
"I don't have time to teach you how to do that," Hiccup informed.
"At least take one person who could ride with you. I'll go, I volunteer." Astrid said quickly.
"No, I'm faster if I go alone. Cloud Jumper, you stay here with Emma. Let's go bud!" Hiccup called to Toothless who let out a roar and sped off Northeast as fast as he could.
"I feel like something bad is about to happen," Valka said with worry as she leaned into Stoick's chest. "I-I just got him back, Stoick...I don't want to lose him again..."
"Papa will be okay, Nana. He's going to help the dragons who got hurt from the attack. Daddy promised he would be back and Daddy never breaks a promise..." Emma told her grandmother.
"How did...you know that?" Hilda asked.
"I heard Cloud Jumper tell Papa," Emma smiled. "He'll be back soon, Toothless is the fastest dragon around," she added as everyone looked to where Hiccup was in the sky to see that he was nearly out of sight already.
"It's amazing, isn't it. For a month he's been among us, and we never noticed..." Gobber stated.
"I did! I told you I had a feeling it was him. The hair, the eyes, the stubbornness, the smile, even the scar." Valka huffed.
"I'll never doubt you again," Stoick told her, "It was...just easier to think he was dead rather than believe Hiccup could have been alive all this time and we never knew where he was. I kept saying there was something different about him,"
"And now we know that it's because he's our son, that's why we felt close to him. From the moment he told us he had been taken by a dragon, we latched on to the hope that it could be him. I'm just...there's so much to grasp and figure out. Who is the man who took care of him, all we know is the last name. Andarsen, it's what Hiccup signed on the contract originally." Valka said.
"Val, not to bring up old reminders here but...wasn't your premarried name...Andarsen?" Spitelout asked as Valka's eyes widened.
"Well, yes but...my parents are dead, they died a long time ago," Valka stated. "My mom passed two years after I was married to Stoick and my father...was lost at sea or so I was told. What are you getting at?"
"Nothing, just weird is all. Hiccup was taken by a dragon and raised with an old man for nineteen years. A man who...happens to have the same last name as you did..." Spitelout shrugged.
"Are you suggesting that...Valka's father is the one who raised Hiccup?" Stoick asked.
"I'm not suggesting anything, its...merely a thought is all. The only person who would know is Hiccup, we'll have to ask him when he gets back..." Spitelout insisted quickly.
"We'll figure everything out when he returns home," Stoick sighed, "All I care about right now, is that my boy is alive."
(The Next Night)
Everyone was sitting in the Great Hall, it had been a long day of Emma crying and worrying about her father. Valka and Stoick, even Hilda had trouble keeping her calm. Emma had Cloud Jumper and Stingwhip shield her from the others, she demanded her father to return or she wouldn't come out. It was mostly silent in the hall, people eating and talking about the fact Hiccup was alive and how shocking it was that he survived all these years, had a daughter with a woman they will knew nothing of, and rode dragons on top of it all. The hall came to a silence when the doors opened and Hiccup walked in.
"Hiccup! You're back, thank Thor..." Valka said getting to her feet but Emma beat her to it, she rushed right into her father's arms and actually tackled him down to the ground.
"Ow...Em, getting too big to do that to Daddy..." Hiccup grunted as he sat him with her clinging to him tightly and crying. "Hey, hey no crying. It's okay, I'm alright..."
"I thought the mean people were going to hurt you and take you away like they took Mama..." Emma cried.
"Oh, no baby girl. Those big dummies can't hurt Daddy, don't worry. I told you, no force in this world can take me away from you." Hiccup soothed her as he got up and rubbed her back as she lifted face to him and he kissed her cheek, then nuzzled her nose with his. Emma wiped her eyes and put her hands on his chest.
"You promise?" Emma asked.
"On my life," Hiccup smiled as Emma nodded and pulled her hands off his chest seeing red on them.
"Papa, you're hurt!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Hiccup looked at her hands now, "No no baby, Daddy isn't hurt. That's not my blood, it's...Icefire's. He was hurt from the attack but I helped him, he's okay. Don't worry. As soon as he's healed up in a few days then he's going to come here with some of the others. Windstrike is here too, right outside with some of our stuff. I brought your toys just like I promised and clothes too."
"Did you give Mama a kiss from me?" Emma asked.
"I certainly did little one, but remember what I told you. Those who are gone are with us no matter where we go," Hiccup smiled at her.
"I know, Papa. Mama is...an angel who watches over us, right?" Emma replied as Hiccup nodded to her and she hugged him again and then he put her down as Valka hugged him tightly, after that it was Stoick, and shockingly, Hilda who had overcome her shock that her brother was alive.
"We're glad you're back safe, Hiccup. Is everything okay at the nest?" Stoick asked him.
"It's destroyed, the...place I grew up in, all my memories...it's all gone. Icefire moved them elsewhere when began breaking down..." Hiccup sighed closing his eyes. "I salvaged what I could..." he added.
"We're sorry, Hiccup. You kept saying you should go back to check on things but stayed here to keep teaching us about dragons." Valka stroked his cheek.
"I wouldn't have stood a chance if I went there during the attack. Icefire said there were at least ten ships with fifteen to twenty dragon hunters aboard each. The only thing that protected them most of the last month was Icefire's ice, it's thick and strong but couldn't hold for long. After thirty of the dragons were captures, and fifteen more killed...Icefire evacuated them to another island and surrounded it with ice spikes to pierce the ships if they sailed in." Hiccup explained as he saw Emma yawn a little and he picked her up in his arms again. "You look tired,"
"I am, but couldn't sleep with you gone..." Emma admitted.
"Well, I'm here now. You need to sleep," Hiccup told her lightly.
"Will you sing me to sleep like Mama used to?" Emma asked.
"Well, I don't have your mother's voice, but I'll try. Which one do you want to hear?" Hiccup smiled at his daughter.
"Yours and Mommy's song?" Emma looked at him with wide eyes.
"You mean our song that you always snuck out of bed to watch your mother and I dance to?" Hiccup asked as she smiled wide and nodded to him. "I suppose so." he chuckled a little as Emma laid her head on his shoulder and he started to sway a bit. "Grandma and grandpa painted a picture of 65 years. And one little house. More than a memory. More than saying I do. Kiss you good night's and I love you's..." Hiccup laid his head on hers now as she held something that was hanging from around Hiccup's neck, although none of them could see what was grasped in her little hand. "Me and you baby, will walk in the footsteps. Build our own family. One day at a time. Ten little toes, a painted pink room. Our beautiful baby looks just like you." Hiccup smiled now as Emma did too while she relaxed against him.
"And we'll build this love, from the ground up. Now 'til forever it's all of me, all of you. Just take my hand. And I'll be the man your dad hoped that I'd be. And we'll build this love from the ground up. For worse or for better. And I will be all you need. Beside you I'll stand through the good and the bad. We'll give all that we have...And we'll build this love from the ground up." Emma's eyes started to grow heavy while Hiccup continued singing. Valka, Stoick, and Hilda stayed back a bit to give him some room to essentially dance with his daughter.
"This life will go by. In the blink of an eye. But I wouldn't wanna spend it without you by my side. The clouds are gonna roll, the earth's gonna shake. But I'll be your shelter through the wind and the rain!" Hiccup sang louder as Emma snuggled closer to her father. The song was sweet, nothing that they'd ever heard before. It was an assumption that either Hiccup or Emma's mother came up with it.
"And we'll build this love, from the ground up. Now 'til forever it's all of me, all of you. Just take my hand. And I'll be the man your dad hoped that I'd be. And we'll build this love from the ground up. For worse or for better. And I will be all you need. Beside you I'll stand through the good and the bad. We'll give all that we have...And we'll build this love from the ground up." Hiccup smiled as he kissed Emma's forehead and her eyes began closing slowly. "Someday we'll wake up. With thousands of pictures. 65 years in this little house. I won't trade for nothing, the life that we built. I'll kiss you goodnight and say I love you still!" Emma's hand dropped from the necklace hanging around his neck as those standing close enough could see that it was a set of silver rings.
"And we'll build this love from the ground up. For worse or for better. And I will be all you need. Beside you I'll stand through the good and the bad. We'll give all that we have. And we'll build this love...From the ground up. From the ground up..." Hiccup finished as he walked Emma over towards Stingwhip who was already lying down and Hiccup placed Emma in his pincer arms which cradled her perfectly.
"That was a beautiful song," Hilda said gently now.
"I came up with it when Emma's Mom told me she was with child, oh, what a day that was. My father told me I passed out for fifteen minutes," Hiccup laughed a little holding the rings in his hand now.
"So, what are those in your hand?" Astrid asked smiling.
"These?" Hiccup said as he released them from his hand and left them hanging in plain sight. "Mine and Emma's mother's rings. One of the things I couldn't leave behind at the nest," he smiled some.
"Ring for?" Stoick asked.
"When we got married?" Hiccup replied, did they not know he was married to Selby before she died?
"You mean she was killed before you two were able to marry?" Hilda asked.
"What? No. These are our wedding rings. We were married for two years before she was killed. Selby was my wife." their eyes widened, "Met when I was fifteen, we got married when I was sixteen. My father did the ceremony, he said he used to be an elder in a village and could do that. Then we had Emma when I was seventeen," Hiccup informed.
"Hiccup...what was your father's name? Please, I need to know..." Valka asked.
"Hm? Reynir. Reynir Andarsen." Hiccup replied as her eyes widened.
"Val, do you know what this means?" Stoick said quickly.
"I'm...confused here?" Hiccup said now.
"Hiccup...Reynir Andarsen...was my father. You were raised by your grandfather..." Valka told him as now it was his turn for his eyes to widen. Reynir was...Valka's father? He was raised by his own grandfather?! It seemed now that both sides had equally interesting news. Hiccup was married once, and he was raised by actual family and never knew it before. Reynir never talked about his family, he had just said they didn't want him around after he showed up with Cloud Jumper to the old village. All that aside, it seemed there was much to talk about suddenly and the timing was awful because Hiccup also had to pull together a birthday party for Emma by tomorrow morning.
