Lullaby

A/N: This takes four years after the events of Out of the Sea, probably only a few days or a couple of weeks at most before the events of the upcoming sequel (still in the planning stages).

Hiccup was a pretty heavy sleeper. He always had been, ever since he was a child. In the four years of their married lives, Astrid was the first one to wake, and then the task of rousing her husband fell on her. Sometimes she would even give up and let Toothless take over. The dragon's saliva was a pretty effective means of waking him up. Anything less, however, and Hiccup would simply sleep on, dead to the world.

But when his daughter started screaming, he was up and out of bed before Astrid even realized what was going on.

"Melody?!" Hiccup cried, hurtling to his feet and rushing to the curtain that separated their bedroom from their daughter's. The three-year-old girl was sitting up in bed, a look of wild terror on her pale face, tears running down her cheeks. "Melody, what is it? What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, hurrying over.

"D-Daddy!" Melody wailed. "The monster…the monster was chasing me, Daddy! It was big and scary and had sharp teeth and it was trying to eat me…!"

Hiccup sat on the bed and scooped the little girl into his arms. Melody clung to him, burying her face in his chest as if trying to hide from the creature of her imagination. She sobbed and whimpered, and Hiccup rocked her gently back and forth. "Shh," he soothed quietly. "It's all right, Melody…it's all right…it was just a dream…just a bad dream…it wasn't real, sweetheart…you're safe…I've got you…Daddy's got you…nothing bad will happen while I'm here, I promise…I promise…"

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder and saw Astrid standing at the curtain, looking worried. He smiled reassuringly to her and mouthed, "Bad dream." Astrid nodded in understanding and let her husband continue to rock their daughter in his arms.

Melody's sobs slowly diminished into quiet sniffles. Hiccup pulled back slightly and asked, "Feel better?" The little girl nodded, her sleek hair swaying slightly with the motion. "All right." Hiccup lowered Melody back onto the bed, but she suddenly fought against him, struggling to return to his embrace.

"No!" she gasped. "Don't go, Daddy, please! Don't go! The monster might come back!"

Hiccup sighed and relented. "Okay, sweetheart. Tell you what: I'll stay here with you until you're asleep again. All right?"

Melody sniffled and nodded. Then after a moment: "Will the monster come back?"

"No, I don't think so," Hiccup replied, stroking her hair and smiling faintly. "I think that monster's long gone, sweetie." He kissed the top of her head. "You're safe, Mel. Nothing's gonna get you, not while I'm here. And your mother happens to be pretty good with an axe, so no monster in his right mind would come after you while she's around. And don't forget, Toothless is here to protect you too."

Sure enough, the dragon crooned from his spot behind Astrid. Melody giggled. "Hi Toothless."

Toothless warbled in reply, and Hiccup chuckled. "See? Nothing to worry about. Your mommy and daddy and Toothless are here to make sure no monster even comes close." He pulled back a little so he could look at his daughter. She had inherited her mother's facial structure, but the auburn hair and green eyes were his own. She was a perfect combination of her parents: intelligent, quick to learn, and extremely inquisitive, yet also stubborn and even quite brave for a three-year-old. She wasn't afraid of dragons or other Vikings or any of the creatures that roamed the island. The monster of her dreams seemed to be the only thing that actually scared her. Well…that and thunderstorms, but Hiccup gave that one a free pass. She was only three, after all.

So smart, so brave, yet Melody was also the sweetest child Berk had ever seen. She hated getting into fights or arguments, liked to play with the dragons, and took great pleasure in drawing pretty pictures with her father's charcoal pencils. And she loved her parents with affection unrivaled by anything in the entire Archipelago.

Hiccup felt his heart swell as he reflected on all this, and smiling faintly he drew his daughter back into his arms, resuming his gentle rocking. "I love you, Melody," he murmured. "My sweet, sweet Melody."

"I love you too, Daddy," Melody replied. "And Mommy, Toothless, and Stormfly too."

Hiccup's arms tightened just slightly around her for a moment. He didn't say anything more. Instead, he started to hum softly, a gentle, pleasant tune that he hoped would lull his daughter back to sleep.

For a moment it seemed to work. Melody snuggled up against him and relaxed, sighing contentedly. But then she drew back and said, "Daddy, will you sing the merman song please?"

Hiccup chuckled. Astrid had once asked him to sing something from his home beneath the sea, and he'd recited the song that had burst from his heart when he'd dreamed of somehow leaving the underwater kingdom for a chance to live on land with humans. That same night, he'd rescued Astrid from drowning and fallen head over fins in love with her, so it was a special song to him. (It was special to Astrid as well, for he'd sung a variation of it to her as she slowly woke on the beach the next morning.) But Melody had been listening in, and she too thought the song was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard. She often asked Hiccup to sing it to her, always calling it "the merman song" in lieu of its actual title.

Hiccup considered her request for a moment and then smiled. "Tell you what: if you lie back down like a good girl and try to go back to sleep, I'll sing it for you. Okay?"

Melody nodded excitedly and flopped back down on the bed. Laughing softly, Hiccup pulled the furs up to her chin and tucked her in. Then he straightened slightly, paused, and began to sing softly:

"I wanna be where the people are

I wanna see

Wanna see 'em dancing

Walking around on those…"

He paused, grinning, and asked Melody, "What d'you call 'em?"

Melody giggled and answered, "Feet!" and promptly demonstrated by wiggling hers under the sheets.

From her position by the curtain, Astrid laughed faintly. Hiccup also chuckled and confirmed, "Feet…

"Flipping your fins you don't get too far

Legs are required for jumping, dancing

Strolling along down a…"

Again he directed the next line at Melody: "What's that word again?"

Melody replied, "Street!" in a slightly singsong voice.

"That's right," Hiccup said, smiling broadly. Then he continued:

"Up where they walk

Up where they run…"

Melody joined him, her sweet little child's voice mingling with her father's practiced tenor:

"Up where they stay all day in the sun

Wandering free

Wish I could be

Part of that world"

Melody yawned and stopped singing, snuggling a little into the bed. Noticing this, Hiccup's smile widened a little and he continued singing, reaching up to brush a stray lock of his daughter's hair out of her face as he did so.

"What would I give

If I could live

Out of these oceans?

What would I pay

To spend a day

Warm on the sand?"

He glanced back at Astrid, who was watching him sing, leaning comfortably against the wall with her arms crossed, a faint smile turning the corners of her mouth. She was clearly just as lost in the music as their daughter, who was now fighting to keep her eyes open.

Hiccup kept singing:

"Betcha on land

They understand

Bet they don't reprimand their own sons…"

"Guess again," Astrid muttered, and Hiccup had to fight to stop himself from laughing as he continued:

"Bright and dreamin'

Sick of swimmin'

Ready to stand"

Melody's eyes were closed and her breathing was starting to slip into the steady rhythm of sleep. Hiccup made sure to keep his voice soft as he drew to the end of the song, knowing he had a tendency to get strong and emotional during this portion.

"And ready to know what the people know

Ask 'em my questions

And get some answers

What's a fire and why does it

What's the word? Burn?"

He paused for just a moment. Melody was asleep. There was really no need to continue singing now. But he smiled and brushed his fingers against the little girl's cheek as he finished the song. At the last moment he decided to switch lyrics.

"I promised then

I promise now

I will always protect you somehow"

He never heard Astrid move from her spot by the curtain, but he didn't stir when she put a hand on his shoulder. He merely grinned and finished the song:

"Out of the sea

Now I can be

Part of your world"

He leaned forward and kissed his sleeping daughter on the forehead. "Good night, my precious Melody," he murmured. Then he stood up and turned to his wife, who was gazing at him with tears swimming in her beautiful blue eyes. Smiling, he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her tenderly. "That goes for you, too," he whispered.

Astrid didn't say anything. She merely rested her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly, her arms wrapped securely around him. They stayed that way for several moments, until Toothless' quiet questioning warble brought them back to reality.

"Come on," Hiccup said, leading Astrid back to their bedroom. "I think there's still a few hours' sleep to be had before the new day begins."

"Sounds good to me," Astrid murmured, and Toothless expressed his agreement with a single purr that made Hiccup chuckle.

As they got back into bed, Hiccup reached his arms around Astrid again, holding her close. She hummed quietly and snuggled into him. "I love you," he breathed into her ear.

"I love you too," she replied. She was already half-asleep, and the words came out thick and rather slurred. But Hiccup understood them all the same.

A/N: This was partly inspired by an interview I saw with Jodi Benson, voice of Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid. She said she used to sing "Part of Your World" to her kids at night at their request. I thought it was sweet so I adapted that for my own use. And I love the idea of Melody interacting with Hiccup as he sings the song, so here it is.

I forgot to mention it earlier, but the HTTYD characters belong to Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks SKG. Songs and plot elements from The Little Mermaid belong to Disney.