A/N: Okay guys, there should be a total of 3 new chapters. If chapter 43 and 44 aren't up yet, they will be.
A few months later, Hiccup turned three months old. Valka kept her word and hadn't had any contact with her father. She never told her husband about what her father had said to her. Every time someone asked about her father, or why she stopped seeing him. She always answered with a shrug and said "it's complicated". Every time she saw her father in the crowd, she would lower her head and walk away.
While she was avoiding her dad, Ingrid was trying to trick people about how far along she was. Valka kept encouraging her to tell her family the truth, but Ingrid was terrified to see what their reaction would be. She didn't want her family to look down on her. Valka let her do what she wanted. Even though she wanted to help her, she knew Ingrid could handle it.
When Stoick was out running the village, Valka put the sling on and placed her son in it getting ready to leave her house. She walked out of the house and shut the door behind her. As she walked down the stairs, she put an arm under the sling to support her son. When she walked into the plaza, she found Asmund walking up to everyone in sight. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but everyone he talked to would shake their heads at him. When Asmund was about to go to the next person he saw, he spotted Valka and ran towards her.
"Valka, oh thank the gods! Please tell me you saw Ingrid!" he asked frantically putting his hands on her shoulder.
"No, I just left the house. What's going on?" she asked prying his hands off of her.
Asmund took several small breaths before answering her. "I went out to get some fish. She was supposed to stay home until I got back, but she left the house and I can't find her anywhere!"
"Okay, first I need you to take a deep breath and calm down." The teen did what he was told and Valka put a hand on her shoulder. "Good, now I'll help you to look for her. I'll look in the woods and you keep asking around. Someone had to see her walk out of the house."
The hysterical teen nodded. "Okay, I'll go to The Great Hall, someone there is bound to have seen her."
"I'll search the north side of the woods. Once you get an update, come looking for me okay?" Asmund nodded and ran off to The Great Hall. Valka watched him and she walked off to the woods.
~oOo~
"Ingrid! Ingrid, can you hear me!?" Valka called out with a shout having her voice echo through the trees. Valka had been searching for the lost teen all morning. She was starting to worry that something had happened to her, and since Asmund hadn't come to get her, it made it worse. When she was about to give up, she heard a loud cry echoing around her. "Ingrid! Where are you!?" She called then heard another scream. Valka held her son close to her chest as she ran to the source of the sound.
As she ran, the screams were getting louder. She spotted Ingrid on the ground, leaning on a tree trunk holding her swollen stomach. "Are you in labor?!"
"No! I just like to hold my stomach and scream at the top of my lungs! It's comforting!" she snapped feeling another sharp pain go through her. Valka rolled her eyes and crouched down in front of Ingrid's feet.
She pulled off Ingrid's boots, tights, and undergarments then lifted up her skirt. Valka placed her son on the ground with the sling folded under him. "Okay, I need you to spread your legs apart. I need to see if the child is pressing yet."
Ingrid did so and Valka saw the top of the child's head. "Okay, I need you to push." Valka commanded and held out her hand to the teen for her to hold. Ingrid took Valka's hand, with her other hand griping on the grass. She let out a scream as she pushed and squeezed Valka's hand. The women heard Hiccup start to cry from hearing the screaming. Valka brushed her free hand over his arm to give him comfort. She turned her attention back to Ingrid and told her to push again. Valka let go of Ingrid's hand to catch the child.
Ingrid pushed one last time and heard a new cry. Valka held the screaming child to her chest and looked at the new mother. "It's a girl, you have a daughter!" she smiled and handed Ingrid her baby. Ingrid held her daughter close to her chest trying to keep her warm. "Ingrid, I hate to bother you at this moment, but do you have a knife or a dagger? The child is still attached to you." The new mother nodded and pulled out a dagger that was strapped to her side. Valka cut the cord then threw it on the ground away from them. "I'll stay with you until you're ready to leave."
Ingrid smiled at her friend, watching her picking up her son and put the sling back on to place him in it. Valka sat next to the new mother and daughter. While the woman waited, Valka taught her how to feed her daughter and the best ways to hold her. While she was helping Ingrid to hold her baby, she heard her son making sounds and saw him reaching out for the baby. Valka let out a light laugh and put her son's hand back in the sling. "Yeah, that's a new baby. She's smaller than what you're used to seeing uh?"
Ingrid chuckled watching Hiccup looking up at his mother then her daughter. There was just something amusing about a baby looking at a new born. Then they heard a voice echoing around them. The women listened for it again, and recognized the voice as Asmund. "We're over here!" Ingrid called out to her husband. It didn't take long for Asmund to show up at the scene. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the little child in his wife's arms. Valka got up and watched the new father slowly walking to his wife trying to process what he missed.
Valka took a step back and watched Asmund fall on his knees once he was next to his wife. Ingrid adjusted her arms so he could get a good look at her. Even though she wasn't cleaned yet or covered, he thought she was the most beautiful girl he ever saw. He hesitantly reached his hand out to her, and placed the palm of his hand on the top of her head. For the first time, Ingrid saw tears fill in his eyes. She smiled up at him and received a kiss from him. However their moments of happiness disappeared when Ingrid realized their problem.
"The people will never believe that she's premature! She's not small enough!" Ingrid cried out feeling panic rise in her chest.
"Don't worry; some people might brush it off since you were engaged when she was conceived. If anyone has a problem about it, then they can talk to me." Valka said proudly, Asmund smiled and got up from the ground to hug her. Valka froze in place and looked at him when he released her.
"I just want to thank you for helping us, and I don't mean just about today. I mean every day since you fallowed my wife into these same woods months ago."
"I'm glad to," she replied with a smile. Then she took Hiccup out of his sling and held him as she took it off to hand the sling to Asmund. "Take this, to keep your baby warm until Ingrid gains enough strength to walk back home."
Asmund took the sling and handed it to Ingrid to wrap up their daughter. "Speaking of home, why did you leave anyway? I told you to stay because we knew the baby could come any day."
"I was walking around the village and Bucket asked me if I could help him find this sheep he lost. I'm guessing he found it."
"I guess so, but he probably forgot that he asked you because he said he didn't see you today."
"Well that's Bucket for you," Valka stated. "Now, I'm going to head off, and congratulations."
~oOo~
When Valka returned home, she saw her husband sitting at the dining table. "What are you doing home so soon?" she asked him to only receive a smile. She saw him lift up a piece of paper that was resting on his lap.
"I did it Val, I finally got to it and it's finally official. The marriage law has been changed." He announced getting up from his chair and walking up to her.
"Are you serious?!" she shouted feeling a smile grow as she held her son closer.
"Our son will be the first Haddock to not be in an arranged marriage, but not just him. I even made it so everyone else in the village can have a chance for their children as well," he proclaimed.
"This is so great! Now everyone can stop handing off their children to strangers." She proclaimed while putting her son in his crib that rested by the fire pit.
"Well, just us Berkians. Some other tribes may not agree with our new law, but they'll just have to deal with it." He started rolling up the document to place it with the other laws.
"Do you think we might influence the other tribes?" she asked to only receive a chuckle from her husband.
"I doubt it; it may take centuries for other tribes to stop arranging marriages. You just have high hopes about everything, that's one of the reasons why I love you." He said putting his arms around her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she imagined her son's future.
~oOo~
Late that night that same day, Valka took a walk around the village. She seemed to have a hard time going to sleep and thought maybe taking a walk and clearing her head might help. She then heard footsteps coming from the woods. She saw two figures emerging from the dark trees, but hid once they saw her. She was about to run until she heard a baby's whimper behind the trees.
"Ingrid? Asmund? Is that you?"
"Oh, Valka it's just you. It was so dark we thought you were someone else." Asmund stated as he and wife stepped away from the trees.
"What are you two doing out at this late hour?" she asked walking up to the couple.
"We should ask you the same thing," Ingrid pointed out.
"I couldn't sleep. So you two stayed in the woods all day?"
Ingrid nodded as she adjusted her arms that held her daughter. "We're going to leave for a tip, for two months."
"What? Why?"
"We're not taking the chance for our daughter to be looked down upon. We're going to leave for two months and come back making people think our child was born during the trip." He said walking to get to the docks. Valka's mouth gap opened and grabbed Ingrid's shoulder before she could walk away.
"You can't do this, Ingrid. You can't lie to everyone, especially our own daughter. Are you really going to let her think she's two months younger than she really is?"
"That's our plan," Ingrid stated rolling her shoulder to get away from Valka.
"Ingrid! Think about your daughter! Is this what you want your life to be about? Constant lies?"
"I am thinking about my daughter! This is what's best for her." She said walking away to follow her husband.
"Best for her or best for you? Whose reputation are you really trying to protect?" Ingrid turned her head around and glared at Valka. The fuming teen stomped her way back to Valka and put her face in hers.
"This is my life, I'm doing what I think is best for my daughter! I appreciate what you've done for me, but you need to back off now."
"Back off?! Are you kidding me!?"
Before Ingrid could replay back, Asmund walked up and patted Ingrid on the shoulder. "The boat's ready," he said. Ingrid took a deep breath through her nose and turned her head towards him. She nodded and told him to get the bags.
"You guys planned this." Valka realized once she watched Asmund walk into to his house. Ingrid nodded and bounced her child when she heard her whimper. "You know, you're right. I need to back off now. You're a mother now, you need to do what you think is best for her. If lying to her about her birthday is going to do it, then so be it."
Ingrid let out another sigh and looked down at her daughter. "I just want what's best for her." She said feeling a lump growing in her throat. Valka wrapped her arms around her trying to avoid the baby.
"I understand," Valka said then she saw Asmund walking back to them after putting the bags on the boat. "Looks like your husband is ready to go." Ingrid took a step back and looked at Valka.
"See you in two months." Ingrid declared as she walked away from her closest friend.
"Hey! Can you at least tell me what you named her?" Valka called out watching Ingrid walking to the docks.
"Astrid! Her name is Astrid Fearless Hofferson!" she called out to her. Valka stood in placed as she watched the new family get on the boat and sail way.