Chapter Three
Four Years Old

It had never bothered Astrid before that Novella favored Hiccup. She knew it happened in kids, that's why it never bothered her.

Novella has her first fever. She had some when she was a baby, but she's too little to remember any of those. Her first fever as a four-year old. She came into Hiccup and Astrid's room late one night, and woke Hiccup up. Astrid remembers waking up to the sound of talking, turning over to see Hiccup run a hand down his face before sitting up.

"What's going on?" Astrid mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Hiccup leaned over, placing a kiss on Astrid's forehead before picking Novella up. He gave her a smile as he started towards the bedroom door "Ella isn't feeling good. I'm going to make sure she gets some sleep, give her some medicine, you know."

Astrid frowned. She always just figured it was a mother's job to take care of a sick child. She always thought that Novella would come to her if she was sick "You have work in what.. Three hours? You should be sleeping."

Hiccup shrugged as he walked out of the room. Astrid could hear him say something, but it was mostly mumbled. She let out a sigh, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed and getting up. Taking care of a sick Novella should be her job, not Hiccup's.

Why is this bothering her so much?

"What did you say?"

Hiccup was setting Novella on the couch, looking over his shoulder at his wife "I said, Novella comes first. Sleep can come after work."

Astrid sighed, falling into one of the chairs near the couch. She watched Hiccup move around. Putting a blanket of their daughter, walking to the kitchen and coming back a few seconds later with water and some kid medicine. Astrid raised an eyebrow "Do you know what's wrong with her?"

"Stomach ache. She said she felt like throwing up."

"Does she have a fever?"

Hiccup reached towards Novella's face, resting the back of his hand against her forehead. He furrowed his eyebrows before looking at Astrid "Let me see your face." Astrid rolled her eyes and leaned forward, letting Hiccup put his other hand against her forehead "Compared to you, yes. She has a fever."

"Why can't you just use a thermometer like a normal person?"

Hiccup chuckled, getting Novella to sit up and sip at her water "I just did it how my parents did."

Astrid pulled her legs up into the chair, watching Hiccup. She can't figure out why this was bothering her so bad. She should be use to Novella going to Hiccup for everything. Why is her going to him when she's sick such a big deal?

Hiccup leaned back into the couch, looking over at Astrid. He could tell by her face that something was bothering her. It's almost six in the morning. How could anything be bothering her this early in the morning? He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees "You okay?"

"Peachy."

"Astrid-"

Astrid stood up, walking over to Hiccup and holding her hand out "You should get some sleep. I can take care of Ella. You barely got any sleep."

Hiccup took her hand, letting her pull him to his feet. He let out a sigh, taking a look at Novella before nodding in agreement. He had been up late working on something, he doesn't even know if he got any sleep at all. It didn't feel like he slept that long. Astrid was in bed by the time he finally laid down. Maybe it is best if Astrid watches Novella.

"Yeah, okay, but please, if anything goes wrong get me."

Astrid nodded, placing a kiss on Hiccup's cheek before taking his place on the couch. Novella was watching them, letting out a noise of protest when her dad walked away. Astrid reached over, brushing the hair out of her daughters face "You'll be fine, Ella. Your daddy just needs to sleep, and so do you."

Novella stuck out her bottom lip, pouting "I want daddy"

That struck a nerve. Astrid pulled her hand away from her daughter, setting it in her lap "Your daddy is going to sleep."

Why was Novella favoring Hiccup? What was so special about Hiccup? Astrid and Hiccup were practically the same person. They act the same, so why was Novella all about Hiccup? And why was it bothering her so much all of a sudden?

Astrid listened as Novella talked some more about how she wanted her daddy, and how she felt like she was going to throw up. Astrid would pick her up when she would mention it, carrying her to the bathroom, and rubbing her back.

Astrid doesn't know when Novella or her fell asleep, but she woke to someone - Hiccup, hopefully - pressing a kiss to her forehead. She opened her eyes, looking to see who it was. Hiccup, just like she thought. He must be leaving for work "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Astrid waved her hand around, shaking her head and looking down at where Novella should have been, she opened her mouth but Hiccup stopped her "I just moved her back to her room. She still has a fever, but she's not as hot. Whatever you were doing, keep it up. She was sound asleep."

Astrid gave him a smile. She knew what she was doing. Kind of. She took care of Hiccup when he was sick, what made it any different from taking care of her daughter?

"I'll see you after work." He leaned down, giving her a quick kiss and heading towards the door "Get our daughter healthy!"

"I'll do all I can." She said with a laugh as he shut the door.

Astrid stood from the couch, stretching her arms over her head. She didn't know sleeping on the couch could be so uncomfortable. Check on Novella, then breakfast. That sounds nice. She slowly opened Novella's door, peaking in side. Novella was sitting up, a cup of water in her hands.

"You feeling okay?"

Novella nodded, bringing her cup up to her lips "Where's daddy?"

Astrid frowned. Of course she was asking for her dad. Why was that such a surprise to her? Astrid walked in, sitting at the foot of Novella's bed. She would never admit aloud that Novella favoring Hiccup made her jealous. Astrid is too tough to ever admit anything like that. It hurts her that Novella would prefer Hiccup, but she knows her daughter loves her just as much.