Daddy's Baby Girl

...

Hiccup's daughter is growing up, and he's not taking it too well.

...

Hiccup sighed as he watched his crying daughter storm upstairs to her room for the third time that week. Typically, Ingrid was such a sweet little girl. But lately, she hadn't been herself. Instead of acting like the kind, adventure-loving child she was, she'd taken to smart-mouthing her parents, crying over every tiny thing, and obsessing over her appearance. She wasn't as eager to go on flights with her father than she'd been a few months ago. She'd rather spend time with her older brothers, especially when they were hanging out with Lars Thorston.

"What's wrong, babe?"

The chief turned to see Astrid standing behind him. "Did you see what just happened? All I did was tell her that she couldn't go out until she finished her chores, and she rolled her eyes and stomped up the stairs. I can't take her attitude anymore! I mean, I know she's been bad lately, but this week has been absolutely ridiculous!" He threw his hands up into the air.

"Hic," Astrid said, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Go easy on her. She...she started bleeding for the first time yesterday. Her emotions are gonna be all over the place for a few days."

Hiccup stared at the blonde with wide eyes. "She...she...she what?"

"She got her first period," Astrid rephrased quietly. "And that's a scary thing for a fourteen-year-old girl, especially when she hasn't yet learned how to cope with all the mood swings."

"No. You...you're kidding. She's still a baby." Shaking his head, Hiccup sunk into a nearby seat.

Astrid cast him a sympathetic smile before settling in beside him and lacing her fingers with his. "I know she's always been your little girl, but she's growing up, babe."

"She's not allowed to. It's bad enough seeing Stoick engaged. I don't need Ingrid to leave, too. Especially not Ingrid." The chief paused. "Are you sure...are you sure it wasn't just blood from...from something else?"

"I'm sure."

The room fell silent. For a few minutes, all that could be heard was the sound of children - the youngest Haddock included - playing outside.

And Hic, you should probably also know that I...I also taught her how to bind her chest a few months ago," Astrid cautiously admitted.

"Why? She doesn't need to do that yet."

"Would you rather have all the boys on the island staring at her?" Astrid retorted.

"I'll kill anyone who looks at my baby like that." Hiccup squeezed his free hand into a tight fist.

Letting out a soft laugh, Astrid leaned up to kiss her husband's cheek.

"And you...you've had the talk with her, too, I'm assuming." He shook his head at the thought of Ingrid hearing things that he still believed her to be too young and innocent to know about.

Astrid nodded.

"If she has sex, I'll kill -"

"I know. You'll kill the boy she has it with, then you'll ground her for life." Astrid rested her head on his shoulder. "But I don't think we need to worry about that. She's a smart girl. And besides, she told me that sex doesn't sound like fun."

"Well, let's keep her thinking that way until she's married. And maybe even beyond marriage."

Astrid laughed. "I think that's being a little ridiculous, babe. How would you have liked it if my parents had said that they didn't want us to do anything after we got married?"

"But it's different when it's you."

"Not really, babe. I was an innocent little girl once, too."

"And you grew into a very sexy woman," he responded with a smirk.

Astrid smiled. She loved that almost twenty years and four kids later, her husband was still as attracted to her as he'd been on their wedding night. "By the way, can I ask you a quick question?"

"Of course, milady."

"How do you feel about having two hormonal women in the house?"

"What? Two?" Hiccup clutched the side of the chair and sat upright. "But Erika -"

Astrid smiled. "I'm not talking about Erika. She still has a good four or five years yet."

"Then who..."

"I'm talking about myself, babe."

"Oh, come on. You're not that bad."

"I get pretty bad when I'm pregnant."

"But you're not pregnant."

The blonde looked him in the eye. "Don't be so quick to make assumptions."

The chief chuckled as he shook his head. "Very funny joke, milady." After Erika's birth, Astrid had been told that she wouldn't be able to have any more children. Seeing that almost ten years had passed since the youngest Haddock was welcomed into the world, it seemed that the diagnosis was accurate. Well, it had seemed accurate.

Frowning, the blonde lightly punched her husband's arm.

"Ouch! Ast!"

"That's what you get for not believing me."

Hiccup's eyes grew wide. "Wait, so you're really..."

Astrid smiled and nodded. "Yes. I'm pregnant."

"But how..."

"Well, when a man and a woman -"

"I know how, but...but how?" Despite his bewilderment, a huge grin spread across his face.

"I guess miracles happen," the blonde said, smiling back.

Grabbing her waist, Hiccup leaned in to kiss her. Before either of them knew it, their tongues were tangling together and his hands were underneath her shirt.

"Uh...Mom? Dad?"

The happy couple broke apart to see Ingrid standing in front of them, horror written all over her face.

"We're sorry, munchkin," Hiccup began with a reddening face. "We uh...we just got a little carried away." He called all his kids "munchkin" when they were little, but the name had stuck for Ingrid.

"I thought you guys were too old for that kind of thing," Ingrid said, wrinkling her nose.

"When you're in love, you're never too old to enjoy your husband," Astrid explained with a smile. "You'll understand someday."

"What did I just say?" retorted Hiccup. "My baby girl will never -"

"Dad, I'm not a baby anymore," interrupted Ingrid. However, despite her words, she climbed in between her parents and, with tears slipping down her cheeks, hugged her father's neck.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, returning the embrace.

"I...I...I just want you to love me like you did when I was little." Ingrid sobbed.

"I do love you, munchkin."

"But you keep yelling at me for everything and I feel like I'm never good enough!"

Astrid reached out to place a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Come here, sweetie."

Ingrid turned and hugged her mother.

"Honey, you're Dad's first daughter that he needs to watch grow into a young woman. Not only is it scary to him, he also doesn't know what happens when girls are your age. Remember what we talked about yesterday? How girls get really moody when they're becoming adults? Well, that doesn't happen to guys. And Dad's not used to it. When he gets angry, he's not really angry at you. I think he's just frustrated that he doesn't quite understand everything."

"But I don't mean to talk back sometimes. It just happens, and it got worse since yesterday."

"I know. And it's normal to feel like you lost control of yourself, especially when it's your time of the month. But as you get older, you're learn how to manage yourself better. I already talked to Dad about going easy on you. Now, I'm also gonna tell you to go easy on him."

"I don't like growing up. My stomach has been cramping all day and Lars didn't even say hi to me yesterday at training. I hate boys."

Astrid let out a quiet laugh. "I'll go make you some tea to help with your cramps. And about boys, sometimes you need totaled the initiative because they're too clueless to do so themselves. Dad and I liked each other for three years and he didn't say anything because he was scared I'd reject him, even after I kissed him three different times. You'd think he would've gotten the hint, but he didn't."

"I wanted to be positive, Ast! I didn't want to ruin the friendship!" Hiccup insisted.

"And he's still trying to defend himself." The blonde shook her head before releasing her daughter. "But anyway, let me go start the water for your tea. We can have more boy talk when Dad's not around."

"What?" Hiccup exclaimed. "No, no boys for you, Ingrid. Ast, don't you even think about encouraging it."

"Babe," Astrid began as she started to make her way to the kitchen. "What did we just talk about?"

"I love you, munchkin," the chief said, pulling Ingrid close to him and kissing her strawberry blonde hair.

"I love you, too, Dad." Ingrid buried her face in his shoulder, as she'd used to do when she was a little girl.

"And just so you know, I really am gonna try to be more understanding. Just try to be patient with me. And no boys."