"Val…you're here," Stoick murmured, still in a tone of wonder. "I thought I'd have to die before I laid eyes on you again. I'm not dreaming this, am I?"

"No," she assured him, "and no talk of dying, there's no need for drastic measures. I almost can't believe I'm not dreaming. You forgive me too easily; both of you," she said as Hiccup joined them. "What I did was wrong."

Stoick insisted "dearest, I'm just happy you're alive." He was less thrilled about her dragon being the one that kidnapped her in the first place, but he wouldn't make a scene. He was trying to be a better man the past few years.

"Yeah, and besides," said Hiccup, "you wouldn't do it again, right?"

Valka shook her head. "No. I won't abandon you again; I promise. But I don't know how I'm going to face my brother, let alone the rest of the village."

"We don't have to break the news to everyone at once," said Hiccup. "We can start with the rest of our family, and my other friends - you have got to meet Fishlegs, mum, he's a fellow dragon enthusiast and he'll be thrilled."

"Aye, but once you tell the twins they'll blab," declared Stoick, "and rumours will start spreading faster than a fire. It's better if we tell the villagers the truth all in one go and get it over with. Like dealing with an arrow wound."

His wife raised an eyebrow. "Did you just compare me to an arrow wound?"

"You're the arrow of love that pierced my heart, dearest," Stoick replied.

She chuckled softly. "It's nice to know some things haven't changed. How about a compromise?" she suggested. "We can tell the rest of the family about me in private, and break the news to everyone else afterwards."

That was agreeable. Hiccup grinned. "Oh, man, this is so great. I have so much to tell you, and there's so much I wanna ask you - and we've gotta find a way to thank Atali," he rambled. "If it weren't for her you'd still think I was dead, and I'd still think you were dead, so none of this would've happened."

Valka nodded slowly, looking around. "It's beautiful here," she remarked.

"It is. This is the cove I told you about, where I first befriended Toothless."

Smiling, she replied "I've been here before. Didn't he tell you? This is where your father proposed to me." That was news to Hiccup, who'd had no idea.

They both looked at Stoick, who took a deep breath…and began to whistle. It wasn't unusual for him to do so; but the tune was very familiar to Valka, who gasped. Hiccup stepped back towards the dragons, giving his parents some space - but he couldn't stop watching or listening. It felt so surreal.

"I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning, and gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me. No scorching sun, nor freezing cold, will stop me on my journey, if you will promise me your heart, and love…" Stoick trailed off, his tone hopeful, imploring Valka to finish the line.

"….And love me for eternity. My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me…but I've no need of mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me," she sang, as they crossed arms with each other and danced.

"But I would give you rings of gold, I'd even sing you poetry."

"Oh, would you?" she grinned.

"And I would keep you from all harm, if you will stay beside me."

"I have no need for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry. I only want your hand to hold."

"I only want you near me! To love and kiss, to sweetly hold" -

"For the dancing and the dreaming"-

"Through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your love beside me" -

"I'll swim and sail through savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning," -

"And gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me!" Stoick lifted his wife up, spun her around and set her down, both breathless with laughter.

Valka beamed at him. "Oh! I thought we'd never have that dance again," she admitted. Their lips met once more. Hiccup quickly averted his gaze. He was happy for his parents, absolutely thrilled, but it felt weird to see them kissing.

"Hiccup?" his mother called. He looked up, and she stepped forwards. "Back in that cave, I asked if you'd give me a second chance. We were interrupted before you answered, and I understand if you're not ready to"- she cut off with a surprised gasp when he moved to embrace her, and she stiffened.

"Mum. I've given second chances to my enemies. Of course I'd do the same for you," he assured her. She wrapped her arms around him in turn, stroking his hair. It felt nice. Then his dad hugged them both so tight they were lifted off the ground. "Dad! Can't breathe!" Hiccup wheezed, a bit exaggeratedly.

Stoick put them down. Toothless, feeling left out, shoved his head into the middle of their family hug. "You're a dragon for Thor's sake, not a lap dog. Speaking of which," he grimaced. "I s'pose you'd better re-introduce us." He gestured at Cloudjumper, whose ruff perked up when they looked at him.

"Ah….yes. Stoick, dear, this is Cloudjumper. He's very sorry for kidnapping me - aren't you?" Valka glared at her dragon, who had the decency to look ashamed. Well, as much as a giant reptile could. "What's your Rumblehorns' name?" she asked curiously. "Did you rescue him from dragon trappers?"

"It's more like he rescued us," said Hiccup. "Long story."

Stoick declared "this is Skullcrusher. He's a mighty fine beast, isn't he? I used to ride a Thunderdrum a few years back, called him Thornado. I still see him around now and then, but he had to take care of some fledglings of his own kind, so I let the old boy go," he explained with a fond smile.

It looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but then Hiccup yawned. "Aye, maybe we oughta go to bed now. It's getting late," Stoick prompted.

/

The next morning, he woke up to discover… that the events of the previous night had not been a dream. Valka was lying in his arms. He lay staring at the ceiling and thanking every god he could think of for this second chance.

She stirred at last…and promptly jerked away from him, hand grabbing for her staff. "Cloudju- oh!" She stared at him. "Oh. I'm sorry, Stoick. I didn't…" Valka shook her head and tried to smile. "I was disoriented, that's all."

"It's okay," he murmured. It broke his heart that his wife hadn't recognised him, had called out for that dragon of hers as if… he cleared his throat.

An awkward silence fell between them. Valka couldn't meet his gaze. "Well, I… I suppose we should get up?" she wondered, fidgeting. He nodded. They rose and dressed; not that they'd really been uncovered. In the front room, Stoick began preparing breakfast. She went upstairs to their son's bedroom.

Valka emerged a moment later, a look of alarm on her face. "They're gone."

"Aye, they do that," he shrugged. "Go off flying at the crack of dawn every morning. Don't worry about it; come and eat something," Stoick encouraged.

She climbed off the steps instead of walking down them, and approached the table. He passed her a plate of bread and cheese. "Are you sure they're both alright?" she fretted, then belatedly added "thank you. For breakfast."

"You're welcome; and of course I'm sure, Val. Toothless is a Night Fury for Thor's sake, and he wouldn't let anything happen to Hiccup. Trust me."

"I do. Oh, I'm being silly. I know he's all grown up, and he can take care of himself, but I keep thinking about our little baby…I just want to make up for lost time, I suppose. To be a better mother to him." She hesitated. "Hiccup told me that…the two of you didn't get along, when he was growing up."

Stoick sighed. "That's an understatement. I was a terrible father, Val," he admitted. "I couldn't understand Hiccup, I never listened to him… I foisted him off as Gobber's apprentice as soon as he was old enough, just so he'd be out of the way." He rubbed at his temples. "Did… Hiccup tell you what - what I did, when he tried to warn me about the Red Death?" he inquired.

Brow furrowed, she answered "he said you didn't listen to him."

"It's worse than that. I disowned him," Stoick confessed. Valka gasped. "I regretted it straightaway, and I took it back as soon as I could… but I still did it. What I'm trying to say is, it's not just you at fault here. Neither of us are gonna win prizes for parenting. Yet somehow, against all the odds, our son turned out okay. He's a good man, Val, and I couldn't be more proud of him."

After a moment, Valka stood up and went to embrace him, her plate of food abandoned on the table. He held her close, never wanting to let her go.

/

Hunger prevailed in the end. They had almost finished when there was a clatter in the loft. Hiccup and Toothless emerged a moment later. "Oh, you guys are already up. You left me some food, right? I'm starving," he said.

"You could just eat something before you go out flying," Stoick pointed out.

Hiccup shrugged. "We're too impatient for that." He devoured his breakfast ravenously. "After we've broken the news to everyone about you being back, we'll go to Berserker Island to pick the egg up," he told his mother. "I'll send a TerrorMail ahead of us to give Heather and Dagur a heads up. Are you going to take the egg to the nest you mentioned? Can I come with you?"

"Of course! I want you both to see the nest; you'll love it, son, it's a beautiful place," she smiled, adding "but tell me more about this egg you've found."

He and Stoick explained about the search for the King of Dragons, the Battle of Berserker Island, and how he'd rescued the egg from Johann's clutches. "It's not that I don't trust them to take care of it, but I think the hatchling will be safer in the wild, away from humans. Especially with how folks gossip."

"I agree," Valka nodded. "Besides, hatchlings imprint on their parents as soon as they hatch. We'd best make sure this one imprints on a fellow Bewilderbeast." She smiled at him. "You did well to save the poor little thing. I hate to imagine what would happen if Bludvist got his hands on them."

Stoick spat out his ale. "Did you just say Bludvist? As in Drago Bludvist?!"

"Wait - you've heard of him?"

"I've seen him. Valka, please, tell me that man isn't in the archipelago."

She frowned. "I don't know where he is now. All I know is that the dragons I've rescued were all being sent to him. He…is building an army with them."

Stoick paled. Hiccup raised a hand. "Um, yeah, hi, very confused person over here," he declared. "Who the hell is this Drago Blood-Fist guy, exactly?"

"Bludvist. He's a monster; and if he's built a dragon army, gods help us all."

Hiccup had never seen his father look so haunted before. He and Valka shared a worried glance. "Okay, but dad, how do you know about him?"

Still with that faraway look in his eyes, Stoick explained "that Althing I told you about. The last one was when you were about ten years old. That night, a stranger from a distant land came into our midst, draped in a cloak of dragonskin. He told us that he alone could control the dragons and he alone could keep us safe…only if we swore to bow down and follow him."

"Okay… but you refused, obviously."

"Aye. We laughed at him…until he wrapped himself in that foul cloak of his and yelled out in his strange tongue. The building burst into flames. The roof caved in, and all the exits were blocked by huge dragons. Oswald and I only escaped by smashing through a wall. We were the only ones to survive."

He looked Hiccup in the eye. "Bludvist is a madman, without conscience or mercy. That's why there hasn't been an Althing since; it was too dangerous to have all the chiefs together in one place, especially if he came back."

"What did he want to rule the archipelago for anyway?" Hiccup wondered.

"I don't know, and I don't care." Stoick frowned. "All I know is we have to pray that Bludvist never finds out we have dragons. If he does, he'll stop at nothing to take them. We'd be thrust into another war, even worse than the last." He looked Hiccup right in the eye and insisted, "swear to me that you won't go looking for Drago Bludvist. We cannot risk him finding Berk."

His scowl was familiar, but the fear in his eyes was not. "I won't, dad. I promise," Hiccup assured him. "I'll tell my friends to stay away from him too."

"Good." Stoick rose to his feet. "I'm going to get the rest of the family. You both wait here, I won't be long," he announced, before leaving the house.

/

"Hey. You wanna hide upstairs until they get here?" Hiccup suggested. Valka nodded. They went into his room. "Sorry it's kind of a mess. Here, I'll show you the inventions I've been working on," he said, handing her a blueprint for a new-and-improved flaming sword. "The last one fell into a chasm. Um, are you alright?" he asked. "It's gonna be fine. They'll be happy to see you."

Valka gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'd only deserve it if they are upset with me. Especially Magnus. Oh, but this is incredible," she added, looking over the blueprint for Inferno II. "Did you design this yourself?"

"Yeah, it's for training dragons," he explained. "Y'know, cos they calm down once they see you as one of their own." Toothless stretched and nudged his hip. "Okay, okay, just a minute." He began to give his Night Fury a massage. "Behold the offspring of lightning and death, begging for shoulder rubs."

Toothless growled indignantly. Valka laughed, and joined in. Together they

reduced the mighty dragon to a purring puddle of bliss. "My word, there's quite a knot here," she noted, rubbing at the nape of Toothless' neck. She pressed her thumbs into the spot as he arched his back, stretching…there was a series of popping noises as the dorsal fins along his back split open.

All three of them stared in surprise. Toothless wiggled experimentally, and twitched the fins together with a snap. He beamed and licked Valka, then excitedly bounced around the room. "Did you know you could do that?" Hiccup asked him. Toothless was too busy clapping the halves together.

"I think it might help him make tighter turns," Valka noted. "Mind you, he seems too excited to have only just learned about this ability. Perhaps at some point, the muscles seized up, or he got out of the habit of using them."

Hiccup frowned. "Maybe… what if it was my fault?" he worried. "He lost his tail-fin because of me. Who knows what other damage I did? I'm sorry, bud," he told his dragon. A moment later he spluttered when Toothless licked him in the face, before scrambling out of the skylight. "Where are you going?!"

His mother chuckled. "To show off, I'd imagine."

"Yeah, probably. I can't believe I never knew…" he trailed off, eyes widening. "Wait. Mum, you've seen other Night Furies! There was so much else going on, I didn't get round to asking. How many did you see? Where were they?"

She held a hand up. "Calm down. I only saw one, and they were attacking us. Me and Cloudjumper encountered them in the west of the archipelago. I suspect they were trying to drive us away from their territory," Valka mused.

"Okay, but if there was one, there might be more," Hiccup said eagerly. "We could fly out west and try to find them. They might be Toothless' family!"

Valka beamed. "If you want to, we can find every species. We'll go out and explore the world together, making it a better, safer place for all dragons."

"That sounds amazing!" Hiccup grinned…then faltered. "What about dad?"

"Oh, he can come with us. We'll do it as a family! Don't worry about Berk," she shrugged dismissively. "I'm sure someone else can be in charge for a while. If you ask me, it'd do Stoick some good to get away from his duties."

Hiccup doubted his father would see it the same way, but he couldn't bring himself to point that out. They heard a noise downstairs; the family was here. He smiled encouragingly at his mother, and took her hand, leading her to the door. They stepped out of his room. Everyone looked up at them.

Several jaws dropped. "Valka?!" exclaimed Magnus, staring at her.

"Hello, big brother," she murmured anxiously.

"That's it?" he demanded. "You've been gone for nineteen years and all you can say is 'hello'? I thought you were dead! Do you have any idea what I" -

Magnus was cut off abruptly when she embraced him, having approached whilst he was ranting at her. "I missed you too. I am so sorry for everything."

He froze, then raised his arms…but instead of returning the hug, he pushed her away from him. "No. We're not children anymore; I'm not just going to let you give me a hug and pretend nothing's wrong. Abandoning your husband and son is bad enough, but to do that to your own flesh and blood is worse!"

Stoick put his arm around her, glaring at his brother-in-law. "That's enough."

"She didn't mean to abandon us," Hiccup insisted, coming to her defence. "She thought I was dead, and that dad would've moved on without her."

"Oh, aye? And what was your excuse for not coming back to see me?"

"Stop it, Magnus," snapped Helga. "You're making a scene!"

"Oh leave off, woman. She deserves a lot more than a scolding after what she's put us through."

"I'm sorry," Valka begged. "I should've come back, but I couldn't bring myself to. What matters is that I'm back now, and I'll do better this time, I promise."

He shook his head. "I know you. Mark my words, you'll be gallivanting off the first chance you get, with never a thought for anyone else! I'm done with all of this." Before anyone could stop him, Magnus stormed out of the house.

"That bloody - I'm sorry about him, chief," Helga apologised, going after her husband. An awkward silence fell. Hiccup glanced at his parents; his dad looked furious, which was nothing new, and his mum looked heartbroken.

Starkard cleared his throat. "Well…this was unexpected. It's, err… it's nice to see you again, Valka," he nodded to her. "You look good…for someone who's been out in the wilderness a long time. It's a compliment, Stoick," he insisted when his brother glared at him. "You shouldn't be so defensive."

Stoick grumbled. Valka patted his arm reassuringly, and he smiled at her.

"Hey, wait a minute. Where are Torin and Hildegard?" asked Hiccup.

"They're playing with the dragons," explained Thora.

Just then, Helga came back into the house, leading her four year old daughter and twelve year old nephew by the hands. "I tried to explain things to them. Hildegard, Torin, this is your aunt Valka. She's Chief Stoick's wife."

Valka smiled gently at them, crouching down to be at their eye level. "Hello."

Hildegard peered at her shyly. "Are you our new auntie?"

"Yes, I suppose I am. It's very nice to meet you."

"Aunt Helga says you fight bad guys like Hiccup does," Torin announced. He brandished a wooden sword. "When I grow up, I'm gonna kick dragon hunters' butts too - and you promised you'd teach me how to ride!" he glared at his cousin. Given he came up to Hiccup's sternum, it wasn't very effective.

"Torin, you're too young to ride."

The little boy frowned. "Am not! Gustav got a dragon when he was my age." Hiccup sighed, but it was hard to argue with that logic. The adults chuckled.

Suddenly the door banged open, making them all jump. Gobber burst in. "Magnus has gone crazy! He showed up at the forge and started ranting about how his sister is alive and she…err…" he trailed off, staring at Valka, who had stood up straight. Gobber's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Hi, Gobber," she winced. "…Long time no see."

He stared at her, then at Stoick, and finally at Hiccup. "Stuff like this is why I never married. That and one other reason." He marched over and poked her in the shoulder. "Odin's soiled skivvies - it really is you. I almost thought I'd eaten some bad mutton. Welcome back!" Gobber beamed, hugging her.

She grinned. "Ha, ha! I missed you too, you old goat. It's a long story…"

"Wait a minute. Did you say Magnus was ranting to you at the forge?" asked Stoick. Gobber nodded. "Who else heard him tell you that Valka is alive?"

"Err…well, everyone within earshot, I guess. But there weren't many of 'em!"

Stoick facepalmed. "Well, dear, it looks like we ought to get this over with."

/

Needless to say, the villagers were shocked by Valka's return. Stoick made it clear he wouldn't hear a word against his wife. Hiccup's friends came to meet her. "That's your mum?" asked Tuff. "She doesn't look like a draugr…"

"She didn't literally come back from the dead," Hiccup sighed. "Mum, these are my other friends. Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston and Fishlegs Ingerman."

Fishlegs eagerly said "hi, it's nice to meet you, Mrs Haddock. Would it be alright if you told us every single thing you know about dragons?" he asked. Then he blushed and rambled, "I mean, if you want to, I shouldn't impose."

Valka briefly looked taken aback, and then smiled. "I'm always happy to talk about dragons…and please, call me Valka. It's nice to meet you all as well."

They were interrupted by Toothless, who bounded over to show off his little fin-clapping trick. Fishlegs' eyes widened. "Since when can he do that?"

"Since about ten minutes ago," Hiccup said dryly. "Just where have you been, huh?" he demanded, hands on his hips. Toothless gurgled happily, and he couldn't help but grin. "I can see you're excited. What d'you say we put your saddle back on and go see what these split fins of yours can do?"

Toothless licked him enthusiastically. "Bad dragon! You know that doesn't wash out!" Hiccup protested, fending the Night Fury off with mixed success. Astrid walked up to him. "Good morning, milady. I'd kiss you, but err…"

"I think I'm good. Listen, I wanna talk with you. In private," she insisted.

"Sure. I'm going to the sea stacks, you can come with me," Hiccup replied. "Gimme a few minutes to get Mister Bossy's gear on," he added. Toothless snorted indignantly and all but dragged him back into the house by the arm.

/

As they approached the sea stacks, Astrid called "so about this talk?"

"Yeah, sure! Let me get through the sea stacks and then I'll be all ears!" Hiccup responded. Toothless surged forwards, racing towards the pillars of stone ahead of them. Astrid and Stormfly shared a long-suffering glance.

Toothless weaved between the sea stacks at top speed with the ease of long practice. With his spinal fins opened, every turn felt sharper and every dodge felt quicker. Hiccup was thrilled. They landed on the final pillar, and Hiccup dismounted. "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.

Astrid dismounted as well. "Oh, right. We've been betrothed for a while and you still haven't talked to my parents about the bride-price. Why not?"

"Err…there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. It's not that I don't want to start negotiating with your parents about the bride-price, it's that I don't…" Hiccup winced, "have enough yet. I haven't found the time. But I will!"

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Not enough what? Money? Hiccup, you're the heir. You're the richest person on Berk after Stoick. What's the problem?"

"The problem is - well, for one thing, most of my family's wealth is in land or whatever. We have gold, but my dad would kill me if I asked to take some again, after what happened last time. Even if it's for our wedding. But that's not what I mean." He shook his head, and inquired of her, "d'you remember when we went on that quest to find the treasure of Hamish the Second?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but you said the treasure was that old painting."

"I think that was meant to be the real treasure - I guess Hamish was kind of a sap, deep down. But there's actual gold down there. A whole cavern's worth. I was gonna dig it up and give it to your folks as the bride-price."

This time, both her eyebrows raised. "Let me get this straight. You want to dig up the long lost wealth of two of Berk's greatest chieftains, treasure that warriors have died trying to uncover…and then use it as a bride-price."

He shrugged. "Pretty much. I was gonna pick out the best bits of treasure and use them in the morning gift; y'know, kill two birds with one stone."

Astrid took his hands. "Hiccup, this is really sweet, and I'm flattered you think I'm worth so much," she declared, "but my dowry is supposed to be equal to the bride-price, and there's no way I have enough to match up. I suppose my parents will be happy if you make them such an offer, though."

Hiccup squeezed her hands right back. "Astrid, I think you're priceless. All that gold is just the best I can do on such short notice. Besides, I guess I don't have to offer all of it. Our friends can have a share; they did help find the treasure in the first place. Kind of. Even though I did most of the work."

She rolled her eyes at him, and he grinned. "You know, you could just offer my family some land or livestock in exchange for me. Like a normal person."

"When have I ever been normal?" He put an arm around her. "I promise, as soon as everything else is sorted out, I'll get on with the negotiations. Can you be patient with me until then?" he pleaded. Astrid smiled and nodded.

/

Gobber looked up as Snotlout came into the smithy. "Can I help you?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing."

"Eh?"

The younger man shrugged. "I was talking to Hiccup the other day, and he said that you don't have a uh, y'know, replacement. For when you retire."

"Aye, s'pose I don't. What, do you want to be my replacement?"

"I dunno. Maybe. I've got nothing better to do. So d'you need help or not?"

"With that attitude?" Gobber scoffed. "I'd rather have Gustav's assistance."

Snotlout glowered. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted. C'mon, Hookfang." He began to walk away; his dragon promptly dragged him back. "Hey! What was that for? He said he doesn't want me as an apprentice! Dumb dragon."

"I said I didn't want an apprentice with that attitude," Gobber corrected. "Why the sudden interest in this, anyway? Is it just because Hiccup suggested it?"

"Of course not. I couldn't give a sheeps' arse what that guy thinks," Snotlout retorted. "It's just…well, like I said, I've got nothing better to do. Besides, it's a good workout, right?" He flexed his biceps. "I could use the exercise. But if you're not interested then there's no point in me sticking around," he added.

After a moment, Gobber replied "if you need a workout, come and pump the bellows for me. Nice and steady, like this." He showed Snotlout how to do it. Having a full time apprentice instead of the occasional help would be useful, and perhaps the lad just needed a bit of guidance - but not from Spitelout.

/

"This device is fascinating," Valka murmured as she examined the Dragon Eye. "How does it work?" she asked Fishlegs, who was showing it to her.

He replied "to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. It's not any technology we've seen before… so of course Hiccup could make another one. You'll have to ask him how it works. Anyway, I think you told Atali your dragon was in the Strike Class, but according to this, Stormcutters are in the Sharp Class."

"Are they? That's odd. I could have sworn that Strike Class was the only one that fit. Cloudjumper honestly never struck me as a Sharp Class dragon. Mind you, he certainly fits the 'vain and prideful' description," she chuckled.

Fishlegs grinned. "I suppose if vanity was enough to be in the Sharp Class, we'd have to put half of the flock in there," he joked. Meatlug gurgled. "Oh, I don't mean you, princess. You're the most humble dragon on Berk." He sighed, nodding at the Dragon Eye. "I wish we knew more about that thing. Who made it, and why. The only people we could've asked are dead now."

Valka looked sympathetic. "I wish I could be of more help. Cloudjumper and I have been to many places, but I've never seen anything like this device."

"It's okay. Some things are just a mystery, I guess." He shuffled his notes. "Thanks for telling me about the species that live in your - in the nest you lived in. You'll get Hiccup to make sketches of them all, right?" he inquired.

"You can come with us, if you like. I'm sure Stoick and Hiccup won't mind."

He was tempted…but finally shook his head. "No, I shouldn't. It'll be a long trip, and now we're home, mum wants me to help look after my niece and nephews more. Besides, you three are family. You should spend time together whilst you - I mean, after being apart so long. You guys deserve it."

She fiddled with her staff, not meeting his eyes. "I was…talking to your mother earlier. She told me about your father. I'm very sorry for your loss."

It had been ten years since his father had died. "It's okay. It was a long time ago. I'm not jealous or anything," he added hastily. "Of you coming back, I mean. Sure, it'd be nice if I could see my dad again, but doesn't everyone wish that? I bet he's having a grand old time up in Valhalla as we speak."

Valka smiled. "Undoubtedly. Did you say you have a niece and nephews?"

"Yeah, they're my big brother Squidlegs' kids. He got married to Brunhilda Hofferson - we're still not sure how he managed that. Brenda is ten years old, and her twin brothers Brant and Shrug - uh, his real name is Brodi - are seven." Fishlegs grinned. "They're all members of the Dragon Explorers."

He told her about the club he'd started to help the children of Berk learn about dragons. "I hope I can teach my own kids one day," he admitted.

"I think you'd be a great father," Valka remarked. "So will Hiccup. I know that my son is betrothed, of course; is there anyone who's caught your eye?"

Fishlegs blushed. "Her name's Heather; you'll meet her when you go to Berserker Island. The trouble is, she has to help lead their tribe now that her brother's getting married, so she couldn't really come live here with me," he explained. "I've thought about going to live with her, but I'm needed here."

"I wouldn't give up too soon, if I were you," she encouraged. "It seems to me life has a funny way of working things out, even if it's not how you expect."

Well, he thought, she should know. "Thanks, Mrs Haddock. I mean Valka."

"You're welcome. If you don't mind me asking, who is this girl's brother?"

"Oh. Well, believe it or not, she's Dagur's little sister," replied Fishlegs. At her blank stare he added "y'know, Oswald's son? Dagur the Deranged? I mean, he's a lot less deranged nowadays. It's a long story, and I guess if you haven't been around here you won't know about his, uh…antics."

Valka's brow furrowed. "I remember Dagur, yes, but he was only three the last time I saw him. I'm sure a lot has changed…do I want to know what?"

Fishlegs winced, and replied "you, err, might want to get Hiccup to explain a few things before you go off on this trip of yours. A lot has been happening."