MODERN

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Zephyr smiled as she leaned her head against the back of the rocking chair she sat in. A small baby nestled deep in her chest, suckling as any baby does. It seemed nothing could disturb the peace. Oh, how wrong she was.

"Z! I can't find my other boot!" Her little brother, Nuffink called from his bedroom.

Zephyr groaned in annoyance. Her brother was twelve years old, and could never seem to let her alone. Being a mother at sixteen, she prayed that Nuffink would leave her be. But no! Same Nuffink Haddock. Always annoying the hell out of her. "Why would I know where your damn boot is, Nuff?" She shouted in exasperation.

"Hey! Mom said no language!"

"Well mom's not here right now, is she?" She huffed. "I think I saw it in the basement!" All of a sudden, she felt more tired than she was before. On top of dealing with her little brother, keeping up with school, and helping her mother keep up with bills while her father was in Afghanistan, she was now a mother. Her boyfriend took off with a new girl after she told him, and she was still dreading telling her father. He had been gone two years now, and there had been no contact with him in the two years. He had no clue that she and Corey had gotten serious. No clue that she had gotten pregnant. No clue that her boyfriend had left her in the dust as soon as she got pregnant.

Man, would he be pissed. She and her father had always been close. He never hesitated to show her how much he loved her. It was a daddy's-girl relationship. If he knew what she'd gone through in the past year, she knew he wouldn't hesitate to track down her ex and beat him for abandoning her, pregnant and scared. It wasn't just that, though; she knew that this whole situation with which she found herself in, would break his heart. He wouldn't want to see her going through this.

She looked down at the sweet face of her baby. Her daughter. She was born two months ago, at just over nine months. Strong and healthy, she was. Zephyr remembered crying the first time she held her newborn daughter. Holding her to her chest had felt so amazing, and she couldn't believe Corey was going to miss out on everything. That he ran off with another girl because he couldn't take responsibility for something they had done.

No matter, though. That was now in the past. Her daughter, who she had named Desiree Alia Haddock. Her arrival had brought happiness back into Zephyr's life, after her boyfriend deserted her. She was the one thing in her life anymore that actually made sense, and she would do anything for her baby girl. Absolutely anything.

"Z-Zephyr?"

Her eyes snapped open and she looked to the entrance of the living room. She gaped at what- who she saw. "Daddy." She choked. Remembering Desiree suddenly, she gasped and looked down at the baby girl, who was still latched on to her. She looked back up at her father and noticed the shocked look on his face.

He came forward slowly and looked between her and Desiree. "What?...When?...How?..." He couldn't seem to find his wording, and appeared to still be in shock.

She blushed lightly. "I think we both know how it happened." She said with embarrassment.

He too blushed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry." He muttered. Then he seemed to really grasp on to the sight of his daughter breast feeding and quickly turned his head. "Gah, I'm sorry, sweetie!" He apologized with a quick voice.

She snickered. "It's alright, dad. She's done anyway." She said as she snapped her bra strap back and pulled her shirt back down. "Now, as for…all this…I have an explanation. You remember Corey?" She asked.

He turned back with a frown. "That boy you started dating right before I left that I vehemently told you was a player and wanted nothing more than to get in your pants? Please tell me he isn't the father of the baby, Zephyr." He begged with pleading eyes.

She looked down. "I can't do that." She whispered.

He sighed, shutting his eyes tight for a moment, and running a hand through his hair. After a short, inner fight with himself, he gently pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Zephyr. Despite it all, I still love you. I'm not disappointed, either. That douche doesn't deserve a someone like you, baby girl. He never will. A man that abandons his own child is no man." Pulling away, he brushed the tears that had gathered under her eyes, before looking down at the baby in her arms and smiling broadly. "What's her name?"

She held her daughter up and brushed a hand through the thick, midnight locks. "Desiree. Desiree Alia Haddock." Bouncing the baby a little, she studied her father further and held her arms out a little. "Do…do you want to hold her?" She asked softly.

He looked so proud as he gently took Desiree into his strong arms. Tears were in his eyes, as he looked back to his daughter and kissed her forehead. "She's beautiful, baby girl. Just like you. Other than that black hair, she is your spitting image." He pointed out. Holding the girl up above his head, he shook her a little bit and laughed at her sweet giggle. "Even has your adorable little laugh. Oh, it's been too long since I've held a baby. Yes it has, yes it has." He said in his signature baby voice that he used on both Zephyr and her brother. "Hey, where's your brother?" He asked then.

She rolled her eyes. "Getting his boot that somehow ended up in the basement." She said in exasperation.

"Zeph, you're a damn liar! My boot isn't in the damn basement!" Nuffink's voice came from the kitchen.

Hiccup's eyes bulged at his son's use of language. But he had to snicker. "Language, you man!" He called back.

Pause.

"…Dad?" Nuffink called then. He came around the corner and poked a smile when indeed, his father stood in the living room, holding his niece. "Dad!" He said excitedly and raced to meet his father in a hug.

Hiccup laughed and kissed his son's head, ruffling his hair afterwards. "We're gonna have a serious talk about your language, dude." He said semi-seriously, just happy to have both of his children with him.

Nuffink pointed to Zephyr. "Hey, she started it. She said language is fine when mom's not around." He said with a huff.

He clicked his tongue. "Tough luck, buddy. You got double duty parent now. no language, either of you." He said pointedly, with a raised brow to Zephyr. "Hey, speaking of mom though, where is your mom?" He asked.

"Zephyr, I need my pills, really bad! They on the counter?" Astrid's tired voice came from the entrance.

Zephyr gave her dad a tight smile before turning to shout back to her mom. "Yeah, mom! Same place as usual, with a glass of water beside them!" She called back.

"Thanks, honey!"

Hiccup pulled at Zephyr's sleeve. "Pills?" He asked.

She nodded slowly. "Mom's…been on antidepressants for the last year and a half. She….um…she went through a breakdown that landed her in the hospital, under urgent care. Nuff and I stayed with grandma, but it was really hard. She was under suicide watch." She admitted.

His eyes bulged. "Suicide watch?" He whisper-shouted. "God…what happened, Zephyr?" He caught the haunted look in her eye and held her head. "Zephyr? Tell me." He begged.

"She…she was pregnant, dad. Four months along though…she went into labor. L-Libby didn't make it."

His whole world went blank when he heard grasped that his wife had miscarried. Guilt filled his body, and tears ran down his cheeks. "She-she was pregnant? We-we had…another daughter?" He forced his tears back, but whimpered helplessly. "God, I should have been here."

"Hiccup."

He knew it was her and took several strides in her direction, wrapping her tight in his arms. "I'm sorry, baby. I should have been here. I should have been here. You shouldn't have gone through that all alone." He sobbed. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

While Astrid was shocked at first, a shared glace with Zephyr told her everything she needed to know. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed jaw. "It's ok, honey. It wasn't your fault." She assured him.

After a few minutes, he pulled away. His eyes were red and his nose was runny as he cupped her cheeks and stroked her soft skin. "Are-are you ok? Zeph-Zephyr told me you were on suicide watch after losing the baby, and that you've been on pills since."

She nodded slightly. "I'm…ok as I can be. But I have a feeling it will be better with you here." She said surely.

He cracked a smile and kissed her lips. "I love you. God, I missed you." He mumbled as he pulled her back into his arms. "It's good to be home." He said in her ear.

"So I take it you've met your granddaughter?" She asked, pointing to the baby in Zephyr's arms.

He beamed as he looked back to the sweet girl and then at his wife. "I have. She is the sweetest thing." He obliged when Zephyr offered to let him hold Desiree again. "She certainly got her mother's and grandmother's eyes. Greeat. Another girl I'm not going to be able to resist succumbing to. Why must you Haddock girls do this to a poor old man?" He said dramatically.

Astrid swatted his chest though, a scoff on the edge of her tongue. "Oh puh-lease. We're thirty-eight. Both of us. Are you calling me old?" She dead-panned with a raised brow.

He seemed to realize his choice of words and gulped down the nervous lump in his throat, while scratching the back of his neck. "Not at all, milady. Still as beautiful and sexy as you were when I married you." He reworded with more careful thought.

Nuffink gagged. "Not in front of us. Please, dad." He begged with wide green eyes.

Hiccup smirked at his son. "Don't like me calling your mother sexy, buddy? You can gag all you want now, but let's see about in…oh…give or take fifteen years, when you are married?" He offered. "Guarantee, we'll be having a much different discussion then." He said knowingly.

Nuffink just rolled his eyes.

Hiccup shook his head with a winded breath. "God, if this is what we were like when we were teenagers then I feel awful." He said to Astrid.

She barked a laugh though and fiddled with the end of his hair on the back of his neck. "You were nothing like our children when you were their age, babe. You were so much worse."

He frowned playfully. "Well thanks for the verbal backlash, hon. Really appreciated. Kids, when you are married, take a note from from this lovely woman right here. While she is beautiful, and charming just at sight, beneath that exterior is a woman that has little mercy. Now I love her, but let it not fool you that your spouses might take it as I do. That is just a helpful fact that will greatly assist you later in life. OW! Woman, I have the baby!" He said frantically to Astrid when she backhanded him across the head

"I was watching.'' She assured his with a non-impressed look. "And now I'll thank you for the verbal lashing." She said slyly.

He huffed. "Women."

Nuffink and Zephyr look blankly at each other before bursting into laughter and gathering their parents into a group hug. "I missed this." Zephyr sighed.

They family all tangled their arms together and kissed heads and cheeks and foreheads. "I missed all of you." Hiccup said, looking around at all of them. It was emotional, bittersweet even. Coming home to find he was a grandfather, and that his wife had gone through the loss of their pre-mature daughter all on her own, it was much to get his mind around. But for now, he could just be at ease, and welcome the warmth of his families embrace.

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IDK maybe this was bad? I kind of liked the idea, but that could just be me. Let me know what you think, in the comments! Peace out people!