Chapter 26 - Welcome To The Family
Authors note: Had a lot of questions about how long this story is or will be, this is the second to last chapter of this story, there is a sequel in planning, but nothing truly written out yet, I had a few years jump idea so you can see how they have grown as a married couple. I also was thinking of doing some story shots of some of the time in between like the build up to the wedding, but again nothing truly written out yet. But that way you could request things and ask for certain details within this story to be told xx
( 11th August 2021 )
It was a Wednesday morning and right on time Hiccup's alarm went off at 7:30 am. The cursed alarm that then woke the beautiful yet monstrous beast next to him.
" turn that fucking thing off!" She wrapped herself in the sheets of the bed and tried to shut out the sound. Since the accident just over two months ago Astrid had been bored out of her mind in this house, her only entertainment is seducing Hiccup when he got home like she had done previously last night and then her morning sleep in till 10. However, with Hiccup sleeping next to her and his bright and early start, mornings weren't exactly peaceful.
" I have to get up, go to work" he got himself up to pull himself out of the warm embrace of his fiancée and feel the fresh air on his very bare body. But of course, Astrid wasn't going to let him go that easily. " noooo! Don't go, come back to bed" she was stronger than she looked can you believe. She wrapped her arms around his middle and didn't let go till he finally gave up and fell back to bed in their cocoon of nakedness. Which Astrid took full advantage of, she straddled him while he lay beneath her, kissing his neck and jaw seductively.
He didn't know what had gotten into her, but he wasn't going to complain. For the past week her sex drive had been way over the usual, she'd jump him any chance she got. Again, he wasn't complaining, he was just happy he set up Toothless a new sleeping area under the staircase so he wasn't in his room anymore, in the past that had cut their 'time' together short.
He got someone in to build Toothless his very own room, and since his grand staircase was massive, every inch of that space was used up. He now has his own little under the stairs doggie room, which of course everyone made fun of him since there wasn't anything Hiccup wouldn't spend on his best bud. No complains from Astrid though, she was happy to spend more alone time with her now fiancée. They were both getting used to that word with time.
But Astrid was making the most of having Hiccup to herself. He pushed her up with him as he sat up, wrapping his long arms around her thin waist like she had done moments before. Their lips were collided together, pressing their bodies further and further together. They were like two magnets, drawn to each other, unable to pull themselves apart. Her skin was so smooth he couldn't tear his hands away from her, her lips were so soft and plump he couldn't stop kissing them.
And then his snooze alarm ruined it, " urgh, I really need to get up" he whined as he kissed her shoulder and collarbone.
" can't you spare five more minutes," she teased him by tugging on his auburn locks at the back of his head, pulling on the fresh new tiny braids she had placed there in a moment of being bored while being stuck in this house for weeks. Though she felt him pull back from her shoulder to look her straight on.
" Five minutes! I'm offended Miss Hofferson" he squeezed her closer to his chest as she giggled with excitement. She knew that he knew she was teasing him like she always did, she wouldn't be his Astrid if she didn't drive him crazy. " fine, can you spare a good fifteen minutes on little old me?" She tempted him dangerously by pressing further down on his groin. So, he flipped them over, throwing her back onto the bed in a mass of giggles while he climbed on top of her, slotting himself between her slim legs.
" I'll see what I can squeeze in fifteen minutes just for you" he thrusted his hips into hers, as her head rolled back into the pillows he took his chance to kiss her neck softly.
" your ego is growing too much Hiccup" she gasps into the air around them as her fingers gripped onto the hair at the back of his head.
" how can it not when I have you in my bed" their lips were drawn to each other once more, and they were wrapped up in their cocoon of sweat, sheets and nakedness once more.
Xx
She didn't know whether it was the nerves of graduation in two weeks, or the fact she had recently come off her strong painkillers and was now on paracetamol to get her to back to normal. But whatever it was it made her jump out of her warm loving bubble in bed and run into the bathroom to spill what felt like her guts into the toilet. She wasn't one to feel sick, she usually brushed off illnesses and whenever she was hungover, she was way better than Ruff the morning after. But for about a week she had this gut-wrenching urge to throw up whatever was in her stomach, it usually was just water, as she still was rarely eating, but it happened when she changed her medication a little over a week ago. The doctors at the Haddock wing suggested if she had been going through any stress recently that that's what brought it on when she rung the other day.
Typical, stress isn't exactly off the menu now, she'd been in a car crash, major surgery, stuck on bed rest for two months and in just under two weeks time she'd have to go to graduation, where no doubt everyone will want to know what happened at the end of the year with the crash and there would be a tribute of course to both boys. She didn't know whether to be like Aya and miss it. But Ruff would kill her!
So, this is where she was at, sick to her stomach with stress over seeing all those people again after being in some sort of isolation for 8 weeks.
A blanket was thrown over her naked body in a warm sudden shock, and then looking behind her shoulder she could see Hiccup all concerned with his arms wrapped around her shoulders. " hey, you wanna tell me what's wrong?" She reached up and flushed the chain. " I wasn't that bad surely" he made a joke about his sexually performance in hopes to make her laugh. Of course, it worked.
" no," she giggled, " I think it's just stress with this graduation" he knew her thoughts on it, their new agreement was to talk more, or to try too, she was worried to go back and listen to the rumours and the gossip, the tribute and the stares. Even if it was just for one day, all eyes would be on her and Ruff as the ones that lived.
" have you spoke to the doctors?" he was the one that insisted she now go to the Haddock wing in the private clinic where Eret worked, that way she'd have the best care and no one would question who she was cause she would be under the Haddock protection bubble.
" I called the other day, I was recommended to the healer department with some alternative herbal teas and tablets" the Haddock clinic was part of Valka's little projects. She was into her health just like she cared for the health of animals. So, she insisted that the Haddock clinic has ordinary medicine but also a healer department like Gothi, who believe in herbal remedies as well as medicine. Astrid's beeswax cream came from said department.
" you know you don't have to go if you don't want to" he was now talking about graduation, she stood up when finally feeling like she didn't need to empty her stomach anymore and walked over to the sink to rinse out her mouth with some cold water.
" I know" she gurgled the water and spat out the awful taste left in her mouth, " but then what would that say about me, I don't like letting things get to me, I'm a Hofferson, I'm not going to hide just because of gossip, I'm going to be a Haddock some time in the future, I'm going to have to get used to gossip" he took two big strides towards her and cupped her face within his hands to place a kiss on her lips. " Don't! My breath probably smells like throw up" but he didn't care, he kissed her anyway.
" I love you future wifey"
" you're such a sap! Gods Hiccup!"
They erupted into laughter like young lovers should.
Xx
Hiccup got dressed faster than Astrid as she took her time in the nice warm shower. He was downstairs to give her some privacy while she changed and so he could go greet his best friend, there at the bottom of the stairs wagging his tail excitingly waiting for his owner to come greet him.
" hey bud, you hungry! Yeah! You want some breakfast" Hiccup was a completely different character with Toothless, the destructive fur ball definitely brought the best out of him.
The two peas in a pod walked closely together into the kitchen to see Terri already preparing him a breakfast shake to take on his way to work. " good morning Terri!" He came over to the dog cupboard getting Toothless' breakfast ready, he was the one who insisted on doing it as it was a bond thing between him and his dog.
" It's a marvellous morning today Mr Haddock" he loved Terri's optimism.
He poured the biscuits into the bowl before a very hungry Toothless went digging in.
" you got an early start this morning?" It was morning routine for Terri to ask him about his day before he went off to work.
" as always. Could you do me a favour? Keep an eye out on Astrid today, I think she's getting a bit lonely" Terri nodded as a phone call came to Hiccups phone, he was shocked to see his fathers name pop up. Not that him and his dad didn't talk over the phone - just not this early.
" hey dad?" He was listening carefully, and his once huge smile soon started to fault. " what?"
Xx
Astrid could have sworn Hiccup has a magical shower, when she comes out of it, she feels refreshed and warm, not like the shower at her apartment which always seemed to play hot and cold with her. But Hiccup's probably cost more than her apartment all together so if it didn't make you feel like you have been showered in magic dust then what exactly are you paying for? She had opted for some soft canvas shorts to let the sun touch her legs as she was planning to have her breakfast outside, a tank top and a knitted cardigan as it can still be quite chilly in Berk. She looked very different from Hiccup who was obviously in his very sexy (to her) work suit. She could hear murmurs coming from the kitchen which meant she had not missed Hiccup's departure, at least she could kiss him goodbye with envy as he would get to leave the house. Not that she was complaining she knew she was very lucky to be isolating in such a grand house, Ruff was at her parents and when she got the chance got Snotlout to get her out. She didn't blame her, in that house was both her parents, her and Tuff and her auntie and cousins Gruffnut and Agnut too! Let's just say it was a crowded house with only three bedrooms.
So yes, Astrid was very grateful.
She walked into the kitchen and was expecting to see Hiccup in a rush to get to work, it was already 8:46 so he was pushing it for time, but luckily for him he is the boss. But when she walked into the kitchen she saw not panic in Hiccup, he was just stood still on the phone, emotionless, it was only when she came closer, she heard the ending.
" Yeah, okay thanks Dad, I'll be there as soon as possible" and he hung up the phone. She saw it in his eyes in an instant, something happened, something that brought tears surfacing to his eyes and falling down his cheeks gracefully.
" Hiccup? What's happened?" She came over quickly, wrapping her arms around him like he had done for her in the past 8 weeks. " Babe what's wrong?" She feared it was his mother at first, since it was his father on the phone, she feared something had happened to Valka. But then she knew if it was, he'd be in more of a state than this.
" It's -" he pulled himself together before speaking once again, " It's my grandfather, the one in the dementia home on Berserker Island," she nodded, remembering the story he told her months ago about his father's father who was once in the military and could have served with her grandfather. In an ideal world he was the key to all their missing information, but according to Hiccup he completely lost his mind and was now in the best home from dementia patients in the Archipelago. " the home called my dad this morning, he had a rough night and they say these next few weeks could be his last. I haven't seen him since Hogmany, and Dad and Mom are going today before he gets any worse. I said I'd go too" she felt I ping of guilt, just like when Ruff had lost her grandmother, in the past she had felt jealous of the fact they had both got their grandparents but now they were losing them, with all the love and memories, Hiccup hand nearly 30 years worth and it was the sudden feeling that they would soon just be gone. She never had that, she had no one like that. But then she had Hiccup and the though of losing him felt like she could throw up her guts again.
" Oh my gods Hic, I'm so sorry" she hugged him tight as this was the only way she knew how to provide comfort. " wait?" She pulled back but still held his hands with hers, " when are you leaving?"
" now? As soon as possible" he'd have to call the office to let Greta know of his absence, but this was an emergency.
" well can you give me five minutes, I'll get dressed and come with you" she kissed his cheek quickly and went to run back up stairs till she felt his hand grip onto hers and pulled her back. " what?" she asked confused.
" you're not coming, you need rest, I know you feel stronger but you are still 8 weeks out of surgery" Astrid did love it when he cared so much, but sometimes she wanted to whack him in the head for being so damn protective over her.
" Hiccup, I'm your fiancée yes?" He nodded reluctantly since he knew a lecture was coming, " - and I have yet to meet this famous grandfather of yours and now you're telling me there might be limited time to do so. So shut up and give me five minutes to go change!" He was afraid to say no as her stare began to burn holes in his head.
" Alright fine, but at any time throughout the journey you feel ill just let me know and I'll bring you straight home okay" she pecked his lips quickly, " and why do you need to go change?" He questioned before letting her run off again.
" I'm about to meet your grandfather, I'll be damned if I go in shorts and a cardigan, let me change into - I don't know a dress" she spoke letting go of his hands and walking off.
" Astrid Hofferson in a dress! Now that is special!" He joked as she walked off but not without throwing the middle finger his way.
" Shut up! I'll be five minutes, don't leave without me !"
Xx
She had been to Berks docks plenty of times for when going to see her parents' graves at the ferry dock, but she had never come from the top half before. These docks where filled with yachts and large boats. " Mom and Dad have just arrived on Berserker island, they said to meet them there" they were waiting for the Haddock yacht according to Hiccup, another thing she didn't know her future husband had. Though she was becoming less surprised now.
Astrid was fiddling with her dress as the two waited at the end of the dock, she had gone for her navy-blue string strap skater dress with white and baby pink flowers scattered all over. A thin white cardigan to cover her arms and some flat pumps on her feet. She wasn't sure if it looked respectful enough to visit the previous leader to this island. Hiccup had noticed her twitches and fiddles from looking up from his phone and immediately put her nerves to rest.
" You look beautiful honestly" she gave him a small unsure smile, but it soon turned into a true genuine smile when he kissed her. Before another word was spoken they got interrupted by the Haddock yacht that arrived to take them on their journey, and this was no small boat! It was huge. It looked to be three maybe four stories high and it was as long as those ferries she gets on, maybe even longer.
" This is your boat?" Okay so when she thought she was less surprised now she was obviously wrong. But this is the kind of bizarre realism that one gets when she realises, she's marrying a billionaire.
" Well yeah, you'll have to remind me once you are up for it we take this for a spin around the Archipelago, cause if I think about it - this boat is a virgin boat, we've not had sex on this boat yet" he whispered into her ear as he pressed his chest against her back and wrapped his arms around her middle as they watched the boat dock.
" Don't make jokes like that," she elbowed him from behind as it had become a common joke he had with her about how she had only been with him and now she will only ever be with him. And he loved it, whereas she rolled her eyes at the comment. " and it's a shame I haven't been on this boat before, you will have to make it up to me" she leaned her head up and kissed his jaw sweetly.
" of course milady"
They were escorted onto the boat by servers who were called in last minute to accompany the Haddocks to Berserker island. It felt weird, not that she'd usually have to hide from the people who worked for the Haddock's since they were bound by contract that they could never divulge Haddock secrets, but this time felt different, she could stand on the deck with Hiccup by her side and not fret that someone was going to take their picture. Soon there would be an announcement, she would be soon known as the new Mrs Haddock.
" I can't believe you told me I needed to rest, how is this not resting!" she gestured to the large luxurious seating areas as they walked through the yachts rooms. She came to an end, to two big double doors in front of her, and Hiccup being well Hiccup insisted he open them for her.
Inside was a large bedroom, a huge bed like the one from home, there was of course a large tv you could watch from bed, but you can spin it to where there was a luxurious seating area. Further on was a walk in wardrobe no bigger than the one at the northern cabin, and then a door that leads to a private bathroom. " this is resting!"
She propped herself up on the bed and found herself lying back into the soft duvet. " you like it?" Hiccup came climbing up on top of her, leaning down so their noses touched.
" I can't believe you tried to hide this from me, how dare you" he kissed her lips to answer that so obvious tease.
" you know we've got a good journey ahead of us, about 30-45 minutes worth, I could think of a few ideas to fill up that time, one being how to make this boat less innocent" while his lips kissed every inch of her neck she could feel his hand riding up her thighs pushing her dress with it. Gods she didn't know what was wrong with her, her whole body was on fire as his hand started inching its way further up her hip to hook around the hem of her panties. And that's when sense kicked in.
" wait! Wait stop" she pushed on his arms and shoulders to stop his actions going further, of course the second he heard "stop" his hands were off her.
" what's wrong?" He sometimes thought his actions might make her remember something from the time she was at the awful foster home. She made it clear from the start she had never had a problem with that. But you never know, you push things back so far that sometimes they can come bursting to the surface.
" nothing I just, it feels weird doing 'stuff' when we are about to go see your grandfather, who's seriously ill, in a care home" his instant relief hit him first when it was clear it wasn't something he had done. And even though his groin disagreed with her, he nodded along with what she said respecting her choice.
And Astrid wanted to stick by that, but again there was definitely something wrong with her, that burning feeling with her stomach started to build up again and before she knew it, she spoke what she felt without even thinking.
" Fuck it! Fuck me!" The last bit came out in a sort of plea / giggle but she didn't care in that exact moment. Hiccup didn't have time for what just happened in 2 seconds before his mouth was back on hers.
" I'm so glad you changed your mind" his smirked in amusement, this girl was going to be the death of him one day, and he wouldn't change a god damn thing.
Xx
Hiccup zipped up his trousers and looked over his shoulder to where Astrid was laying, she still had her dress on, but her shoes and soft underwear were left dropped on the floor. She had drifted off into a light sleep, surrounded by plum pillows and soft duvets. Without wanting to wake her he quietly slipped out of his room to wander around the boat to find an opening onto the decking. They were closer to Berserker island more than he thought, though time did seem to slip from him when he was around Astrid.
He loved to look out onto the open water, smell the fresh salty air, his mind seemed to clear when surrounded by peace. He didn't know why he hadn't taken Astrid on a trip yet around the Archipelago, maybe it was because they needed to keep a low profile in the past. But he did love traveling even by helicopter or boat, there was something exhilarating when traveling by helicopter but by boat it was just pure peaceful.
It was Eret who had made him buy this boat, it was defiantly a good buy, he just hadn't really been on this boat since he started seeing Astrid. And now he was seeing his grandfather who was dying of memory loss.
He felt arms wrapped around his waist and he got a sudden smell of vanilla, and he knew it was Astrid. " wow, would you look at that view!" She pushed herself in front of him, knowing he was taller and can look over her head, plus she got an envelope of heat from his arms wrapped around her.
" yeah" he was lucky where he lived, what he had, who he lived his life with with too. He found his eyes wandering down to the blonde beneath him, kissing the top of her blonde head.
" it's beautiful" she was in awe with the way the sun reflected on sea, gods she left her camera back in their room, but what a sight!
" yeah - beautiful" but his eyes were still looking down at her, it was only when she looked up that her eyes met his and she smirked.
" sap" she leaned up and kissed his lips.
" Err. Sir?" A young man in his min 20's stood tall and firm, wearing the Haddock uniform for on the boat. " we are about to dock sir" with a quick nod from Hiccup the young man left with haste.
Astrid turned around when she noticed Hiccup was just in a state of his own thoughts. She knew he was not mega close to his grandfather but that was only to die with his illness. Dementia has an awful way of pushing away those you love most.
" hey babe? You okay?" He nodded, but in his eyes, she could tell he was not.
" it's just, my dad got tested with hereditary Dementia, and he was positive, and I'm afraid to get a test myself, what if I have it too?" The thought of having it one day, the thought of knowing you were slowly going to drift away. His dad had his mom, but the fear was there that one day his father won't remember Valka, or if his mom died before his dad started to lose his mind. There was just fear! You can have all the money in the world and yet there is the fear of losing your mind and there being no cure.
" you never told me it was hereditary" her hand came up to the back of his neck, stroking his head with her fingers interwoven into his hair.
" yeah, I told my mom I did it and it came back negative, I didn't want her to worry but deep down I didn't want to know, cause if I know then there is the fear of bringing children into the world where they too could have it, the test isn't 100% effective, it just picks up on genes that may carry dementia, I may not have them, but there is a chance they I might" she'd never seen him like this before, completely lost.
" hey, Hiccup," she got his attention, " my mum used to tell me that life is not a certain, our lives are like leaves on a tree. Some leaves grow, flourish, and die at the right time, some are selfishly taken from us, but that doesn't make it less beautiful. You can't fear the what ifs, cause sometimes what ifs can be a positive, what if your Dad doesn't get early dementia, what if you don't have it at all, what if all the children you bring into this world have long and health lives. My parents died in a car crash, I almost died in a car crash, you lost your leg in a car crash, does that mean we never get in a car again?" He smiled down at her, drinking in all the sweet and wise words she gave him.
" you don't have to take a test if you don't want to, but if you can, and you want to - then Hiccup Haddock it'll take a lot to push me away from you, cause I can't seem to imagine a world where you aren't in it" she pulled him down where she met him half way, his lips brushed hers so passionately, with so much need and want.
" I'm gonna take one" she gave him a questionable look, she didn't think it was that good of a speech, she wasn't even sure she said the right thing but something obviously worked. It reminded her of something Valka said to her back at Snoggletog, ' you have a way with him, you understand him even when you think you don't. You seem to get through that tiny gap in his large walls with ease compared to the rest of us, I see now why you are so special to him.'
" I have a future wife now, I at least own her that, she needs to know what she's getting herself into" he joked, but deep down it wasn't a joke, he did own her that before she signed her self to him.
" till death do us part Haddock, I don't care what the results say, I'm with you"
Xx
A blacked-out car was waiting to pick them up from the Berserker dock, weirdly enough this was the first time she was seeing what life with a Haddock would be like. She knew the ins and outs but over the past year since she had been a secret from the rest of the Archipelago Hiccup had kept her hidden from the Haddock protocol. She saw a little of it at the Festival of Lights, bodyguards, men, and women stood a few meters away, they walk where you walk, they have their eyes everywhere.
As Hiccup escorted her off the boat with his hand held out to her, her eyes were glued to how many black suits she could see. It was crazy but over the past year she had been kidding herself with just pushing out the window who Hiccup Haddock really was. He was just Hiccup to her. None of this existed in their world a few months ago, but now it was different, she had left university, there would be an announcement after graduation in September, she'd soon have to get use to this.
" Mr Haddock, Miss Hofferson" the guy at the car who held the back door open for them nodded to them individually as they climbed in. It was something like a military operation, they were clogs in a clock work, working harmoniously.
" It'll be a 20 minute drive to the home, I'm gonna text dad" she listened to what he said but her eyes were still glued to outside, for one she had never been to Berserker island before but also she was watching the two other SUVs that were following them. Like a military operation.
Berserker island was beautiful just like Berk, it wasn't crowded or overpopulated, it was peaceful. She could now understand why this was the island for hotel resorts and retirement homes. Apparently, Dragons edge was even more peaceful, quiet and only those with mega bucks go. She hadn't been but it was on her bucket list, and she was sure if she whined enough Hiccup would take her.
" hey ?" Hiccup patted her arm to gain her attention.
" yeah?"
" just wanted to check you were okay, you were staring into the abyss" he pointed out the window, she was tired so her stares were long and her eyelids began to droop.
" yeah I'm just tired, Berserker island is beautiful," she again admired the scenery.
" yeah, when I was a kid me, Heather and Dagur used to jump off the pier over there and swim in the sea," he pointed at a small pier in the distance, " the water was freezing but as kids we just didn't care" she smiled imagining what Hiccup was like as a young boy, the thought of meeting him when he was a nerdy awkward boy made her giggle, she wonders whether they would be friends or not.
" I like hearing stories about your childhood" she smiled. " you ever been dragons edge?" She asked curiously.
" yeah loads of time, used to go with like summer camp, and when as young adults we would go for long weekends to festivals, they have some of the best designers shops there if you ask Heather, it's like being in the city of Berk but without the noise, it has more of a village feel" it sounded wonderful if you asked Astrid. She so desperately wanted to go, and as soon as the announcement was made, she could probably go whenever. " you ever been to Dragons edge before?" His curiosity got the best of him.
" no" she simply said, looking back up at him with puppy dog eyes.
" would you like to go?" he hung that question over her like a treat to a dog, he knew exactly what he was doing.
" maybe-" he questioned that answer with an eyebrow raise. " definitely" she caved when he smirked.
" well pick a day, any day, I'll take you" he said in pure Hiccup style, while also wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
" shouldn't we wait till after we've made some sort of announcement?" She didn't want to really bring up this subject when there were more pressing matters to deal with, but eventually it needed to be addressed.
" yeah I guess so," after having a think he agreed with her, " okay then, how about I just surprise you one day" she liked the sound of that very much, and if the huge smile didn't tell him so then the kiss did.
The arrived shortly after at the Berserker home for dementia patients, Hiccups parents were already waiting for them outside as they pulled up.
" we didn't keep you waiting long did we?" Hiccup asked as he climbed out the car and stopped to help Astrid, he had this thing about keeping people waiting, he hated it, because he hated it when people kept him waiting.
" nonsense son!" Stoick's booming voice could be heard over the traffic. " we are happy you both could make it" both parents were pleased that Astrid wanted to come, it might be the last time they see Stoick's father when he's not completely out of his mind.
" how is he?" Hiccup asked eagerly but also with caution.
" he keeps popping back but it's becoming less and less, he's just in this complete ramble, it's nonsense most of the time, but it's the violence outbursts that worry me" Hiccup, for as long as he can remember, has always found his grandfather strange, as a boy he remembers his grandad being very secretive but when memory loss started to kick in all those secrets where all jumbled up, he'd have out burst more and more, mumbling about promises to keep and jobs to do. His mind was like transported back to when he was younger, probably about his dads age now, maybe a bit younger when he was a highly respected man. Now people only see him as a mentally ill patient and his outbursts are mainly caused but the lack of respect he felt he was given.
" come on, let's get inside" Valka spoke up when she noticed Astrid wrap her arms around her body.
The care home was lovely and bright, you had people walking about, and there was a private garden for activities and socialising. The home did specialise in dementia so there were weird and unusual things you wouldn't expect to see in a building. There was a post office for the patients to go a use to send their families letters, there was a bus stop in the middle of the walkway. The rooms were made to look like the front door of a 1960s home, and there was even a phone box with a phone book too. Apparently, this helped with the patients becoming less confused and more comfortable.
However, patients like Hiccup's grandfather were now on bed rest, when they become so ill that they can't even walk anymore. They came to his room; it was on its own private ward which made sense cause he was a Haddock.
" Geralt Haddock?" She spoke aloud as she read the name on the door.
" yeah the Haddock's are a long line of weird named kids, good luck to ours" he joked though Astrid's cheeks still went bright red at the thought.
When entering the room it seem calm and piece full, the old man, Geralt was sat up in bed reading a book, " these fucking glasses, girl?!" He screamed at the nurse who had welcomed them in, " get me some new glasses I can't pissing read this book. And also, will you call my son again he was supposed to be showing me my new baby grandson" Hiccup's shoulders slumped, Geralt was back in the past again, sometimes you can bring them back to the real world with ease and others you can't.
" actually sir your son and grandson are here" the nurse ushered them in, the nurses always try to get family involved as much as possible but everyone knows in dementia patients, family can do more harm than good.
" bout fucking time, Stoick ? Stoick that you " Stoick walked closer letting his dad see him properly. " my gods you got fat! And when did you grow a fucking beard, one minute you're having a baby then now you have a beard?" The confusion was always the worse, because what came after can sometimes be tears. " anyway where is that grandson of mine?" Sometimes it was best to let things go like this, let him believe he was in the past, but since this might be one of the last times he might get to speak to his grandfather and hope he remembers him.
" I'm here Grandad" Hiccup went over to the right hand side of the bed bringing Astrid along with him while his parents stayed on the left.
But when edging closer he could see the confusion come to his grandfathers face, " what? You're not my grandson, get the hell away from me!" Astrid was now seeing first-hand what Hiccup had meant by it being difficult.
" no no it's alright it's me - Hiccup" while Hiccup tried desperately to get through to him, a nurse assisted to help calm down her patient. " you remember me right, you gave me - you gave me this," he pulled out a very old pendant, Astrid had noticed he carried it round with him, she guessed it was a family emblem, now she was guessing she was probably right. " you remember?"
For the second Geralt seemed to pause, looking down at the pendant, and it was like all his memories had came flooding back, " Hiccup? Oh my boy! Look at you," it was a nice to see. " Odin I forgot how thin you are, you really need to put some meat on you, how do you hope to get a lassie if you look like a fish bone?" Astrid didn't quite understand but then Hiccup just seemed to smile at the insult he got off his own grandfather. And then she heard his whisper, " he doesn't remember the art of keeping your thoughts to yourself, he just says what comes to his mind," he said it like it was normal, but then Astrid wasn't familiar with anything like this, so maybe it was normal.
" actually grandad I want to introduce you to someone," Hiccup wrapped his arm around Astrid's waist, pulling her slightly closer, she felt her heart beat faster with nerves. " this is Astrid, she's my fiancée" she didn't know what to do, hold her hand out? Would he even shake it? She felt more nervous than the time she served her boyfriend's father champagne.
" hello?" Gods her voice sounded shaky.
" oh the mighty god Odin! This is your girl? She's like a Valkyrie, my boy Hiccup you most definitely get your gifts from your father's side I take it" he gave his grandson a side wink like they were two lads boasting about their manliness. Astrid didn't know whether to take offence by this side comment, though by the look in Hiccups face he certainly got all flustered. They had to remember the poor man in front of them had no filter, he had no idea when to stop, what was appropriate or not, and nor did he see it on the young couple's face.
" you'll give her loads of babies laddie, that's all women are good for!" Astrid had to remind herself two things, one - he was an old man who had sever dementia, two - he was Hiccup's grandfather, and she couldn't beat the crap out of an old man. But if he wasn't any of those two she'd have swung for him.
" Dad!" Stoick stepped in this time, he hated his fathers insults like any other person, he hated to feel it, but he felt embarrassed by his dad's words, mainly because his illness only stopped him from remembering to be etiquette around others, what he said he truly thought.
" Oh sorry son, should have remembered Valka could only give you the one" and there is another dig that deep down they all knew he meant.
Astrid saw the hurt in all the Haddock's faces, a sensitive subject like that should never be brought up like this, " but this one," he pointed to her, " she'll give you loads my boy, just watch your wallet laddie, once a girl has given you a babe they rob you blind" he joked as if Astrid and Valka wasn't there, as if it was just the lads having a guy talk.
" alright grandad that's enough" Hiccup stood up now, taking Astrid's hand in a protective way, he wouldn't usually be like this, he knows now Astrid didn't need no knight, but he also knew she wouldn't dare say anything to his sick grandfather no matter what came out of his mouth. So, it was up to him to speak up, to defend her when she wouldn't defend herself.
" Hiccup it's alright" Astrid nervously tugged on his hand, she loved he wanted to step up for her but to her it really wasn't necessary.
Before anymore could be said the nurse who had kept quiet in the back stepped forward, " I think Mr Haddock needs some rest now, you can try again later to talk to him" Stoick was up to date on the situation his father was in, and had been informed previously that he would need sort visits with rests in between.
" she's right son let's give him some time" Stoick wrapped an arm around Valka like Hiccup had done to Astrid before. He insulted both women in less than five minutes, but Valka was used to it.
Astrid however felt nothing but sympathy, this man she believed was like Stoick back in his youth, and now he was deteriorating in a care home. His eyes were on her, staring at her through narrowed slits. " goodbye Mr Haddock, it was a pleasure to meet you" she held her hand out in gesture to shake his, she thought it would be a nice thing to do, show she took no offence.
But through his narrowed eyes something snapped, he grabbed her wrist harshly pulling her close, " I made a promise – I promised – I will find them, I gave my word!" His voiced boomed within the room, echoing off the walls. Hiccup jumped first before nurses even saw what had happened, pulling Astrid's hand from his grandfather's grip. " you don't understand! I MADE A PROMISE!" His voice echoed through Astrid's ear even when Hiccup pulled her from the room.
She had never seen anything like it, he snapped into a different character just like that.
" Astrid? Are you okay?"
She hadn't realised it till now but he was shaking her by the shoulders, her mind was else where now, hearing those last words Mr Geralt Haddock had said.
" what?" She looked into his green eyes, he spoke a thousand words with just one look, he was concerned more than anything. Hiccup had brought her here to meet his grandfather, but he should have known his grandfather wasn't well enough. Though that wouldn't have stopped her, he had a stubborn woman by his side.
" I said are you okay?" She was holding her wrist in her hand at this time, it didn't hurt, not really, just a little red, and she knew Hiccup would overreact over the littlest of things.
" Hiccup I'm fine" he gave her a questionable look, he knew her better then anyone, well he liked to think so but no doubt Ruff would give him a run for his money, but he knew she'd say she was fine even if her whole arm was hanging off.
" I'm fine really I just – what was that? What does he mean?" She knew from Hiccup that dementia made you confused but to her that came out of no where.
" oh he's been saying that for years," with his arms crossed he signed, " he keeps telling us he made an important promise but when we ask to help he gets all confused saying he can't remember."
Suddenly Astrid felt sorry for the older man, again he was just confused and that must have scared him more than anyone else. " I'm sorry" he looked at her questionably again, but then he realised, she was sorry for she knew he was worried, scared, his dad had this awful disease and Hiccup, well he doesn't know. He was scared, for his grandfather, for his father, for himself.
" Ark!" The young couple looked to the left, Stoick was currently bear hugging what looked to be a man in a long black coat.
" who's he?" Astrid asked, she was wondering if she was going to meet yet another member of the Haddock family. Not that she minds but she can only handle so much for one day.
" Ark," Hiccup said, if that wasn't already obvious, " he's my grandfather's most trusted bodyguard and friend. He's known Ark for like 35 years, he was 17 when he met my grandfather. Dad and he are like brothers sometimes." Astrid understood now when she admired the two men hugging. But when they pulled back, and she saw this Ark fully, she nearly choked on the air that surrounded them. It caused quite a scene, causing everyone to look at her in concern, but then both her and Ark locked in an eye gaze.
She couldn't believe it, it was a face she would never forget, her benefactor, the man who presented her with the letter that changed her her life. It was him.
" hey? You okay?" Hiccup didn't see the look between the two at first, but then he clocked on, they all did, looking between the two. " what's going on?"
" I – I – I know – I " she didn't know where to start, for the first time in a long time her words just disappeared. " you!"
Eyes were all in Ark now who held an emotionless look on his face. " Hello Astrid, it's nice to see you again"
Astrid was still speechless; her whole world right now was being turned upside down.
" okay," Hiccup spoke out, " does someone want to fill me in on what the Helheim is going on here?"
Xx
The group sat quietly in the guest café of the care home, it was Valka's idea, in her head its best to discuss things over a cup of coffee. They were sat in silence till their drinks arrived, Astrid however just kept her eyes on Ark, she questioned sometimes if it was a figure of her imagination but then he said her name, he spoke to her. She was still questioning herself.
" okay," Hiccup spoke up again not liking the silence, "can now someone tell me what in the gods name is going on between you two? You know each other?"
It was Ark who answered first, he had a calmness to his voice. " yes, we met briefly a few years ago, didn't we Astrid?" She nodded, but still held her silence. " I gave miss Hofferson here an envelope that –" Ark didn't get to finish his sentence, the second Hiccup heard the word envelope he knew straight away what was going on.
" wait! You're the guy who handed her all that money to go to University? You're her benefactor?" He didn't believe the words coming out of his mouth at the time, he had known Ark his whole life, but he just couldn't imagine Ark doing something like this, and keeping it from them, he never mentioned Astrid, not once.
But then he laughed causing the confusion to hit him more, " of course not, your benefactor is my boss" the Haddock's all screamed 'what!' At the same time, their own flesh and blood, the grandfather of the Haddock's, and he had kept this secret from them, but then it was Hiccup who has stated that a few years ago that his grandfather was here, with complete memory loss, so how did this come about?
" when your grandfather started to realise he was losing his memory he put his affairs in order, and he left me with the task in finding the young Hofferson couple and keeping an eye on them. When I finally tracked them down 8 years ago it was too late and I found them in the morgue, it was me who had them moved to Cannibal Island as I knew that's what they would have wanted with them being Berkian born. I then looked for next of kin, a young teenage girl, though when I arrived at the foster home you had been assigned to you can imagine my surprise when they said you had been missing for over a month."
It was then Astrid realised that help was around the corner for her, if she had stayed maybe things would have been better, but then she would never have met Wrink and Stormy.
" GH?" She finally said after staying quiet for so long, " Geralt Haddock" she knew when she saw that name it turned a clog in her head, she just didn't put two and two together.
" it was right in front of us this whole time" Hiccup spoke up, " I'm such an idiot, I should have see this, should have worked it out" to him it was so obvious, her parents lived in Berk, her grandfather and his were in the army together, that had to be the connection.
Ark turned his attention to Astrid, " your grandfather Herbert was best friends with Geralt till his untimely death 30 years ago, he made a promise to his friend back then to watch over your family, but with Geralt's illness and your parents moving we lost contact, it took years before I finally found them and I was too late, that was on me" Astrid just stayed quiet she listened to Ark's explanation, his voice sounded like a machine, so matter of fact, though she guessed he was emotional detached being a bodyguard and all.
" I did try and find you, went to the police station, child services, social services, homeless shelters too, but then you never went to them did you?" It was like he knew the answer to that question the way he asked it, though he couldn't possibly know.
" Wrink said they weren't safe," to her that's all she needed, Wrink's word was the only thing she did trust in those five years.
Ark said nothing, instead he pulled out his briefcase, opening it up delicately and pulling out a brown envelope, " I have carried these on me for – 30 years or so – for your father Mr Haddock" he turned to Stoick, before going back to Astrid.
" shelters have surveillance, I search every shelter for five years looking through hours long of footage see if I can find a blonde girl" he pulled out of the envelope photos of what she knew to be her grandfather in an army uniform with his arm around another man, he kinda looked like Stoick, and then she realised it was Geralt. " I've used these photos to help Mr Haddock senior to remember, it was a task he asked of me, for he knew I wouldn't be emotionally attached if he said he didn't remember. Over the years I've added new faces to the pile" one photo he pulled out was of her parents on their wedding day, she knew this photo, it would be sat above the fireplace with pride. And the on top he placed a picture of her, a photo from school her mother had kept in her bedroom. " I have used this photo to try and track you down over the years, police stations, hospitals, shelters but you were no where to be found." He was right, she never entered a hospital, or a police station, not even shelters, that day she left her foster home she basically disappeared, she didn't want child services to find her, and then after 18 she had gotten so used to it. Though Wrink never complained, in fact …
" Wrink said it wasn't safe"
" and he was right," those words rang in her head like a bell when Ark whispered them. " I wasn't the only person looking for you, you were the last of the Hofferson's and when your parents died I knew they found you, the only way now to keep you safe was bringing you back to Berk, but they knew I'd do that, so they were looking for you too"
It was Hiccup who spoke up next, he was thinking the same Astrid was, but unlike her he had the ability to say something, she was just lost for words.
" Sorry, who are they? Who are these people that were supposedly looking for her?" To Hiccup he was so unsure about this whole thing, it just didn't add up, Astrid meant nothing to nobody, nobody except him. Why was everyone putting in so much effort to find her, what did everybody want with her?
" hired men, assassins you could say, people hired to put an end to the Hofferson family line" again he spoke so matter of fact, like he was a news reader.
" but why would they want me dead?" She finally spoke up again, this was everything she had ever wanted, to find the truth, she wasn't going to be a coward.
" because they were hired to, just like they were hired to kill your parents" Astrid pushed herself up from slouching on the chair.
" I knew it wasn't an accident, I knew it! It didn't make sense, they were on the other side of the city, and they knew I was at my friends" Ark was going through his case while she spoke, Astrid had knew for a while something was up with her parents accident, and now she knew for certain, she wasn't going out of her mind, it was true all of it.
Ark pulled a crumbled up piece of paper out and handed it to her, " when I went to your house looking for you I found this, I took it before anyone else could get involved in business that was our problem to solve" before Astrid even looked at the paper she questioned his decision.
" but who gave you the right to do that? Maybe if the police got involved, I wouldn't have had to spend years on the streets" she was right to be mad this was her life, but then Ark didn't seemed taken back by her anger, he accepted it.
" yes possibly but what happened to your parents was something that started in the Archipelago, and it was brushed under the carpet, only a few people who needed to know did, everyone else was kept in the dark," he looked over to Stoick and Valka, no wonder they didn't know anything, it was all kept a secret from them.
Astrid looked down at the note in her hands, it was a scruffy piece of paper with half lazy handwriting scribbled onto it. It was a threat, saying the person who wrote this had Astrid and for them to meet them on the other side of the city to get her back. It was obvious now that it was just a trick, but to her parents she knew they would have fallen for it, they did of course.
" I want to know what happened? I want to know everything?" She demanded. She wanted to know what happened to her family, she needed to know the answer to this big question that had ruined her life for years now.
" it started 30 years ago, on the army base on Wingmaiden island," he pulled out a photo of three men stood in military uniform, Astrid snatched the photo from Ark when she saw a familiar face on it, she doubled checked of course, but she knew that face even if it was without the beard.
" what the hell is this?" She questioned as if it was a sick joke.
" what is it?" Hiccup didn't like the look on her face, she looked confused more than anything, maybe upset, Hiccup was having a hard time reading her over these past few months. He looked at the photo in her hand, to him he recognised two faces immediately, a younger version on his grandfather and Astrid's grandfather too, the other man he didn't know.
Ark spoke up, " I didn't know till about 4 and a half years after your parents died that you were alive, and that you had been protected for all those years" to the others it made no sense, but to Astrid it was all coming together.
" it was Wrink who contacted you wasn't it, he told me, his last words to me were that someone was coming for me, I just thought that it was those men who attacked us, but he meant you" she watched him nod, the man stood next to Geralt and Herbert was a younger version in Wrink, all cleaned up and without burns. He knew who she was, he knew her family, and yet he never said.
" what's his name?" It was the one thing she regretted asking.
" Otis Warren" she looked down at the photo, " he was friends with both your grandfathers, after he left that army he got kicked out of his home, his wife was young enough to be his daughter, and after he lost his young daughter he was kicked out, she gave him the name of Old Wrinkly after all the burn marks he had" Astrid had so wanted to find Wrink's family, but she never knew his name, now she did she was afraid to find his family, from what she now knew, his wife was awful. " when I got word of Otis I just thought he might want to see how Geralt was doing, imagine my surprise when he said he found Herbert's missing granddaughter, that he'd been looking out for her for 4 and a half years"
But Astrid still wanted more, needed to know more, " I don't understand, if he knew who I was then why did it take 4 and a half years for him to tell someone about me? And why did it take you so long to contact me after Wrink died? It was six months till I heard from you, six months of braving it on my own!" She was showing her anger now, angry her parents died, angry of the lies, angry that she didn't really need to spend all that time alone, and yet she did.
" I didn't speak to Wrink personally, it was just a message, he said he felt you were safe on the streets, no one knew you, but the days before he was killed he said he noticed something, strangers that were becoming familiar, guess he always had good intuition, cause days later those men killed him." Flashes from that day still comes to her in her dreams, she remembers those men, she remembers everything. " it took me so long to find you because you had no paper trail, I literally had to scout the streets, you weren't easy to find, and then a saw a photo of Wrink with some dog in a shop, the owner said he bought it from some homeless kid, he was the one to send me in your direction" Astrid knew this to be true, she never stayed in one place twice after Wrink, she couldn't afford too.
" it still doesn't answer my question, what happened? 30 years ago, something must have happened, files were erased, and my parents were killed, so something must have happened" she was done with games and stories, she wanted to know what her parents were killed for.
" 30 years ago the Archipelago was at war with the outcasts," Berkians know the stories of the war with the outcasts, to tell a story short the Archipelago won. " a man named Dagron Meathead – your friend Thuggory's grandfather," so he hand been keeping tabs on her, " he was committing treason by leaking information to the enemy, it was no secret the Meatheads hated the Haddock's" Hiccup hung his head in the thought, he still blamed himself for Astrid's accident.
" but it was Herbert Hofferson who found out about the treason, he was the reason Dagron was executed, but before Dagron was executed he had planted bombs around the camp, your grandfather Astrid was killed in that attack and Otis was badly injured." Now Thug's final words made sense, he said both their families owed him. Because of this?
" why were my parents killed?" She still felt that he didn't answer her real question.
" it was Dagron's son, what was his name – Mogadon who hired men to kill your family Astrid, the Haddock's were untouchable, but your parents were young, alone, on the day they left the Archipelago after an attempt on their life, it was Geralt who erased the files, I don't know where they are or what exactly he erased, he kept me out of some of it too, but it was to try and keep them safe" it was all adding up now, all the missing pieces they had been putting together for 6 months now was all coming together, but Astrid still felt that wasn't the end of it, all this because of something that happened 30 odd years ago, to her there was more, there had to be more, but then maybe she never did want answers, because now she had them, it still doesn't change things.
" soon after that Geralt started to lose his mind, the trauma never left him, he was never the same man after that"
To Hiccup he had over 25 years' worth of his grandfather being ill, when he was younger it was just stress, but over the past 5 – 7 years it had gotten worse, and now he knew truly why. The war was always something his farther, who was a young man back then, said was an awful period, and it only lasted a few years.
" excuse me for a second" Astrid stood up and walked down the hall, it was like a surge of overwhelming feelings, it came up like vomit, no it physically came up in vomit, she ran to the closest toilets with urgency. It was Hiccup who followed her even though Valka offered, he was still concerned about her medication, this was all too much, and she was still weeks out of major surgery.
" Astrid?!" He came walking into the ladies toilets not caring or knowing if there was anyone watching, he found her kneeling over a toilet, hand covering her mouth, " Astrid are you okay?" He helped her to her feet, her face looked all clammy.
" I just – I need a minute, it just – doesn't make sense, why? Why are they dead, because my grandfather got Thuggory's grandfather executed, he died too! Why kill them? Why take them from me? My parents will never see me grow, they won't see me at my graduation, they won't ever meet you, they won't see me get married, my mum won't take me to get my dress, my dad won't walk me down the aisle, I will never have any of that and I don't understand why! It just doesn't make sense, there must be more … I refuse to believe they died because of that!" She was angry, after everything she didn't know what to expect the reason to be, but she was so angry.
" I'm sorry" he said, because he was sorry for her not getting the answers she wanted, he doesn't think any answer would have been the one she was looking for, but it hurt none the less.
His hands came to her shoulders and her face fell into his chest. She didn't know what she had expected to learn, but deep down she knew there had to be more, Ark said it himself – there were things even Geralt kept from him.
" this isn't it Hiccup, there has to be more – no I know there is more" he looked at her confused while she still looked lost.
" I don't understand … Ark just said," before he could continue she spoke up, " I know what he said, but I just feel like we have been given the pieces to the outside of this jigsaw, but there is still this middle that's just not pieced together. Do you understand, Hiccup I just know" she pleaded with him to believe her, she knew that she had no proof, for all they knew Ark told them everything, but she just felt it in her heart.
" okay, I'll keep digging" he smiled down at her, rubbing the side of her arms and cupping her face.
" really?" She didn't know what she did to deserve him, he was perfect.
" really! When you going to get it in your head Hofferson, I'll do anything for you, you're my family, always"