Five days had passed since Hiccup woke up in the early morning feeling a tad sick, which then got worse. In a stroke a luck when Gothi couldn't figure it out, Toothless's parents, and their healer had come with the suspicion Hiccup might be pregnant. And that ended up being exactly the case thanks to Embla, asking a specific set of questions to lead her to the diagnosis that Hiccup was indeed carrying his and Toothless's child. Or perhaps it would be twins; it was unknown for now. Embla stated before leaving that it should be come clear as the pregnancy progressed more. Hiccup was only going on three weeks pregnant in two days, so still one more week of seven days until he was considered one month along. Embla suspected that at the month mark, any dragon should be able to smell that Hiccup was with child. Also that any of the Night Furies in hybrid form would be able to tell too. The rest of that day was Embla teaching Gothi, Gobber, Toothless, and Ryuka how to make the medicine to help Hiccup's nausea, and then getting Ryuka settled somewhere for the time until Hiccup gave birth, which was unknown right now. Embla said things should be a bit easier to figure out as Hiccup progressed in pregnancy. After dinner, Embla and Draco had left to get back to Dragon Island, but would be back in another week to check Hiccup again for when he hit one month along.
Ryuka was setup to be staying with Stoick for the time she'd be on Berk to watch over Hiccup for emergencies. Many of the villagers were wondering what was going on because it was strange to them that Ryuka was living with Stoick, for now, and that the other two had left after everyone basically spent the afternoon with Hiccup, and Toothless in their house near the Great Hall. When everything was settled, as Hiccup first said, now it was time for them to reveal the news to the tribe and then send word to the chieftains. It was dinner time now, about 6:00 pm. Hiccup was sitting at home with the anti-nausea medicine because Embla advised taking it before meals, three times a day. Hiccup, though, while do what he was told, honestly didn't think the medicine was helping that much. But he wasn't sure he should say anything at all about it. He was already being watched by his mother-in-law for potential problems while pregnant and things were a tad overwhelming for him to be pregnant just two months after mating with Toothless. But as Hiccup told Toothless, they would have had to try sooner or later because Hiccup did have to have an heir, or at least be pregnant, before the one year mark ended since him becoming chief, which would have been next March on the 6th.
By this time too, Hiccup would be twenty years old too. Something Hiccup felt he should have asked Embla was how he'd feed his child if he didn't have breasts, but at the same time, maybe he held back because as it had been said several times; they didn't know. No one knew how this might go, and that scared Hiccup, but he was trying to stay relaxed with the positive thought that everything would be okay.
"Just about time for dinner, Hic…Are you ready?" Toothless asked while coming into the bedroom to see Hiccup sitting up in bed, sipping from the cup slowly.
"Just waiting on the medicine to kick in," Hiccup replied.
"Are we telling everyone tonight?" Toothless inquired while going to sit beside his mate on the bed.
"We should," Hiccup nodded, then finished his drink and leaned against his lover.
"Are you alright, love?" Toothless put his arm around Hiccup's shoulders.
"Mmhm, just need a minute. Sometimes being against you helps more than the medicine," Hiccup admitted.
"Is it not working all the time?" Toothless inquired softly.
"It works first thing in the morning, but the rest of the time…The nausea remains and sometimes that's worse than not just throwing up. I hate feeling nauseous all day, but being next to you somehow makes me feel better," Hiccup explained.
"That can be an effect of being your mate. It happens among the dragons too, sometimes the only thing that makes whatever is wrong better is having your mate close," Toothless smiled.
Hiccup laid against his mate and relaxed, but nearly fell asleep. "Okay, okay…Let's move before I knock out," Hiccup pulled away and stood up.
"Tired, babe?" Toothless chuckled and got up as well.
"It's crazy, and I've barely done anything today…I feel so lazy." Hiccup mumbled.
"You're pregnant, Hiccup…Your body is doing extra work to grow that child, and like Embla said…Could be having twins and that is then double the normal pregnancy effects." Toothless reminded.
"I know, but still…At this rate, Dad is going to be temporarily taking over the village until after I give birth because I'm not gonna be able to do anything." Hiccup stated.
"I told you I was happy to carry you around, love," Toothless said.
"No…The tribe doesn't need to see their chief incapable of taking care of them just because he's pregnant," Hiccup sighed. "I took vows to protect and provide for them, so I have to do that no matter what is happening with me. The other pregnant women don't stop what they are doing just because they are carrying a baby or two…"
"But they are women, Hiccup. You're a male, and pregnant with dragon baby…It's going to be rougher on you. Embla told you this…" Toothless informed. "I don't want to see anything happen to you, so like you said you would…Take it easy when you have to. No stress, love. I'm sure the people would understand the situation is delicate, and your case is not the same as pregnancies with women." He added calmly.
"Still, I'm not sitting back to let my dad handle it all the time…Only when I absolutely can't," Hiccup remarked.
"That's fine, but I'm still not leaving your side," Toothless gave him a light kiss. "Love you,"
"I love you too," Hiccup returned the action. "Alright, let's go."
The two lovers walked hand in hand out of the hut and made it over to the hall steps, beginning their ascent up them to get through the doors. Apparently, they were last to arrive, but that was alright because they weren't late either. Reaching the chief's table, Stoick and Gobber were already joining them, then Ryuka.
"How are you feeling, son?" Stoick wondered.
"Tired, but alright," Hiccup replied.
"We telling everyone now, or after the meal?" Toothless inquired softly.
"Should do it before," Hiccup said to his lover. "And I have no idea what I'm supposed to say," He admitted. "Feels weird to stand up and announce I'm pregnant when it's usually the chief announcing their partner is pregnant." Hiccup shrugged. "Oh well, not like everyone doesn't know that it's possible. Get 'em quiet for me?"
"What do you want me to do? Roar?" Toothless asked.
Stoick put his fingers to his lips and let out a semi-long and loud whistle that got the room to be quiet. "There ya go, son,"
"Thanks, Dad," Hiccup smiled. Stoick nodded, sitting down with Gobber and Ryuka. Toothless stayed next to Hiccup, and holding his hand. "Alright, got one announcement to make before we eat…" He paused to take a breath, but found the nausea was threatening to make itself known.
"I got it," Toothless rubbed his back. "In an undetermined amount months, Berk will have a new heir or heirs," He informed. "Hiccup is pregnant!"
There was an uproar of clapping and cheering at the news. Hiccup honestly felt like he might cry, everyone was being so welcoming and accepting. Hiccup smiled softly, happy that this was his life with Toothless and everyone was okay with it. Even the fact Hiccup was pregnant. No one cared how different it was, they were just as excited if it had been done the normal way where Hiccup was married to a girl and the woman was pregnant. It was an overwhelming feeling and Hiccup was sure his pregnancy was the cause of why he felt so emotional about literally everything, but Hiccup was happy too.
"Now, let's all eat," Stoick smiled to everyone.
Hiccup managed to sit down without throwing up, and then Toothless beside him. Hiccup grabbed a couple light things to eat, but worked at it slowly because his stomach was still feeling like it might reject everything in it. "Dad, tomorrow can you send word to the chieftains about the baby? But mention it's still early and we don't know if it's one or two yet?" Hiccup asked him.
"Of course, son," Stoick nodded to him. "Have ya thought about who will be replacing Snotlout and the twins on the new generation council?"
"A few times, but I've only come up with two of three to replace…" Hiccup mentioned. "Snotlout is showing some promise in taking things more seriously,"
"That's because his father scolded him after the last meeting to grow up and remember he wasn't a kid anymore and this was for Berk," Gobber chuckled.
"Regardless, if he's showing I can keep him in that place then I have two who can replace the twins…Gustav Larson and Lys Villtur," Hiccup stated. "We don't really need messengers since we have Terror Mail, but I don't want the twins to feel like they have no important job with me as chief. They are my friends,"
"They could be guards during meetings, standing outside the doors to keep anyone from barging in like last time." Gobber suggested.
"And you could put them in charge of helping visitors get settled in the stay area rooms, making sure they have all they need for their visit? Even greeting people at the docks if you're busy," Stoick offered.
"I suppose." Hiccup considered. It was a good idea because it meant the twins only had to work for him during council or chieftain meetings. And it was nothing too hard that they couldn't keep their focus on for short period of time. "It works for me. I'll tell the others tomorrow." He decided, then went back to eating.
Unfortunately, eating didn't last long because Hiccup felt like he was going to puke. Hiccup had to move the plate away from him, and ended up putting his head down on his arm, then closing his eyes. Toothless knew what it meant, and thankfully; he and the others were already done. Toothless got his arm around Hiccup's shoulders, then pulled him over to lean against him. It helped a little, but Hiccup was just exhausted so it really didn't take long for him to fall asleep against his mate.
"Why is he asleep already, it's barely 7:00 pm, Stoick?" Inquired Fishlegs.
"It's the pregnancy," Stoick mentioned.
Stoick, Gobber, and Ryuka were down with the council, and the riders. The council had wanted to discuss the situation, and Toothless gave them the go ahead to talk about what was conversed five days ago since Hiccup was sleeping and Toothless didn't want to bother him right now.
"Is he that far along already?" Sven wondered.
"No, in fact…He's only about three weeks in," Gobber informed.
"That's not how normal pregnancy works…" Astrid commented.
"This isn't a normal pregnancy, Astrid," Snotlout told her. "None of this is normal at all. Toothless can turn into a human, or even a hybrid. All Night Furies can, and no other dragon can do that. Hiccup is in love with his dragon, who can turn human and they are mated, which is the dragon version of marriage. Also…Hiccup is a boy, who is pregnant by his dragon, but human-looking mate!"
"Dragons conceive differently, and the timeframe is a lot quicker." Ryuka stated softly. "I'm here to watch over Hiccup as his pregnancy progresses because we don't want to be too far away if something happens," She added.
"Can we help in any way?" Spitelout questioned.
"Physically, no. But our healer for the pack has advised Hiccup takes it easy and avoids stress," Ryuka told the council members. "We taking into account that Hiccup's mother had a rough pregnancy with Hiccup, that resulted in him being born two months early and was expected not to survive."
"Not just with Hiccup, Ryuka. All the pregnancies Valka had were hard on her, but she'd miscarry before four months. Hiccup was the only one to make it to seven, and then had to fight to keep living." Stoick told the woman.
"Exactly my point," Ryuka put her hand on Stoick's shoulder. "That's why we're watching Hiccup closely. There's family history to consider, as well as the added factors that Hiccup is a male, and human while carrying a dragon. I know the child will be half-dragon, half human…But it will still have all the same abilities we do. Regardless, the situation is that Hiccup's body is working overtime as a male, and pregnant with a dragon. It's natural he'd be so tired, and sick." She explained. "Our healer will be coming back next week to make sure he's alright because that'll mark one month, and then every month beyond then. The pregnancy won't last nine months, so that's why we need to watch him…To know when it's time."
"And I've already told Hiccup that if there are days he needs to rest and can't handle the village because he's too tired or sick; I'll step in." Stoick told the others.
"What did Toothless mean when he said one or two heirs?" Mulch asked.
"While dragons can carry up to six eggs, Hiccup's human body will only carry one or two. It's hard to know right now because it's still early. We're hoping when Embla comes next week; Hiccup will have progressed enough for Embla to know for sure." Ryuka replied. "We're not sure what experiences Hiccup will have as a male, but Embla advised some of the normal ones are to be likely. Hiccup's mood and emotional state is going to be what shows the most, so tread carefully."
"Noted," The others nodded.
Hiccup awoke with a slight jump, then glanced around before looking up to see Toothless. "Hey, there you are." Toothless smiled.
"Did I fall asleep?" Hiccup wondered.
Toothless nodded to him. "Yeah, for about twenty minutes,"
Hiccup still felt nauseous. "Can we go home?"
"Ready for bed?" Toothless inquired.
"Yes, but I also feel like I'm gonna throw up and don't wanna be in here when I do…" Hiccup mumbled.
"Of course, love. Come on…" Toothless got up slowly and helped Hiccup to his feet, then they began their way to leave the room.
"Taking him home, Toothless?" Ryuka questioned.
"Yeah, he's tired and not feeling well," Toothless replied.
"Did he take the medicine earlier?" Ryuka inquired gently.
Hiccup felt the vomit rise in his throat, but he closed his eyes and held back. When it happened again, Toothless saw. "Go, go…" Hiccup left Toothless's side to get outside fast, then over to the house and through the door before rushing to the bathroom to puke. "He said it doesn't always work."
"We'll have to see if Embla has anything stronger. I know there are times he may not be in the mood to eat, but it can't be an all the time thing. Neither can the throwing up. It's not good for him or the baby, possibly babies." Ryuka stated. "We're already running blind with this situation, so it's best to treat it like we do any normal pregnancy for us, tackle the problems along the way. He definitely needs to be eating more or when he gives birth, not only will the child be weak and possibly die…But Hiccup might too. Hell, he might not even make it through child birth. We're doing this a way that involves cutting open his stomach to take out the baby or babies. He needs to be strong enough to make it through the blood loss. Embla and I have worked out a plan, but it will do no good if he's not strong enough to handle it." She explained to her son.
Of course, it only worried Toothless more. "I shouldn't have done this to him…"
"It's not your fault, son…No one knows how this is going to go, that's why I said we have to treat it like we would any other," Ryuka mentioned.
"Exactly…We didn't know. No one knows, and that's why it's dangerous, Mother." Toothless remarked. "Yes, it's great we can have kids together…But I never would have done it if I knew there was risk to his life. I'd rather him of gotten married and been with a woman…I'd rather go back and make sure he didn't find out I had a human form. We never would have started having sex, never likely would have fallen in love and none of this would have been an issue. I love him to death, but I didn't want our love to be what potentially kills him," He looked down. "He's suffering…And it's my fault."
Toothless walked out of the room as Ryuka sighed. "I don't think there was anything any of us could have said to make him feel better," Gobber reassured Ryuka.
"It's a parent's job to protect her children from all harm…Telling him that he and Hiccup could have kids of their own did this. If I had stayed quiet, Hiccup could have gone through with sleeping with a woman and been fine. Now, his life is on the line…" Ryuka closed her eyes. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine…"
"It might not have mattered if you told them or not, Ryuka," Stoick said. "They could have gone at it any time with Toothless as a hybrid, and if it so happened on the full moon, they could still have ended up here. And we said it was theory that it even happened on the full moon, this just happened to be the case this time…"
"I suppose that's true. We did only match this to when it happened, but it's possible Hiccup could have landed pregnant any of the time Toothless and he made love with Toothless in hybrid form. The whole situation is new, so it could have happened outside the normal full moon fertility period that male mates have. Women don't have one, a female fury can get pregnant any time," Ryuka informed.
"So no matter what, we could have ended up here if they hadn't been told of the possibility. We'd still be running blind, and Hiccup's life might still be in danger," Stoick patted her shoulder. "Hiccup and Toothless have been in many life or death situations, and Hiccup's been too close to death many times too. I assure you, they'll get through this. It won't be easy, but they will. Together." He smiled. "I've said it since Hiccup was born early, he'll be the strongest of them all. He's fought all his life to survive and he'll make it through this too. Have faith as I do."
"I'm trying, Stoick…But it's hard. Toothless with never forgive himself if something happens to Hiccup. And I meant that as in if the baby or babies die, as well as Hiccup. Even if the kids survive and Hiccup doesn't. Toothless would be a wreck in either case," Ryuka said.
"We don't have to worry about that because everything is going to be alright. Okay? We're all going to pray to the Gods, and we're going to think happy, positive thoughts about this." Stoick told her. "Hold the faith,"
Ryuka nodded as all anyone could do is exactly what Stoick said. Pray, and have faith that things were going to be alright. It wouldn't be easy, this would be rough, but they had to have hope that it would all be worth it.