Chapter 10

Family, Reunited

It didn't take very long at all to locate the pair I was seeking, and much to my delight, the better of my two suspicions was confirmed: standing not twenty feet away was Valka, with Cloudjumper growling defensively behind her as I darkened the ledge they stood on.

"Are you seeing the same thing I am?" Valka asked her son, and Hiccup only nodded, having already put the pieces together. "And you're not concerned?" Valka continued. "What on earth is this?" Hiccup smirked. "Actually, I think that friend I was talking about may have just found us," he replied. Valka turned to ask for clarity, but as I began to materialize, she immediately turned the other direction, focusing on me again, eyes narrowing both in worry and in disbelief as I coalesced once more. Once fully reformed, I glanced at Hiccup, who stood up and headed toward me. Off to the side Valka began to protest, but silenced as Hiccup not only showed no concern but began to address me.

"Took you an entire day to get your butt over here?" he remarked, somewhat tiredly but clearly not as put out as his tone suggested. I only shrugged and began to demorph. "Well, you do know I have a life back home as well," I quipped back, playfully punching him in the shoulder, before turning my eyes to Valka. The poor woman looked completely shell-shocked now, and even Cloudjumper was frozen wide-eyed. I grinned. "And it looks like things worked out pretty okay considering what I was expecting, anyway," I said, stepping toward Valka and extending a hand in greeting. "Hello Valka. In case Hiccup hasn't filled you in already, my name is Hawken. I am so very glad to finally meet his mother at last!"

Valka only continued to give me an expression of great confusion, gingerly taking my hand to shake it. "Um…hello. I don't believe I know you; how do you know my name?" she asked.

"Uh, Hawken here knows a lot about, eh, many things," Hiccup stuttered. "He's not exactly from around here, remember?" "Oh?" Valka queried. "And where exactly do you come from? Hiccup never answered that."

I smirked. "Another world, of sorts, much like this one but centuries further ahead in technology. I've been a friend of your son for a few years now." Valka nodded, before letting out a tired sigh.

"I'm very sorry, but this is really a lot to take in all at once," she apologized, leaning back against Cloudjumper. "I just found my son again, alive, after nearly nineteen years, and discovered that he supposedly ended the Viking-Dragon war that drove me from my home, and now you inform me he's friends with someone form another world who somehow has the Mystique's power; have I summed it all here?" She rubbed her head. "Oh, all I wanted was to find out if I could trust the Night Fury rider or not, and now all this is dragged into my life."

She smiled meekly and chuckled. "I guess things never really go as you expect. Don't get me wrong, please, it is absolutely wonderful to come to see you again, Hiccup, but it's a lot."

Hiccup grinned. "Well, I can't expect you to get used to this in a day. After all, it's taken me two years already to cope with this guy." He gestured to me. "Still can't most days." I laughed and pushed him playfully into Toothless, before looking at Valka again.

"I can assure you, Valka, that it gets easier with time, especially if you don't think about it too hard," I reassured. "And, I think I might just have something else that can make this a little easier to bear."

I spun around, inciting a warning from Cloudjumper at the sudden move, and morphed Night Fury as I slipped through the cave opening once more. "Just stay there," I called. "I have someone else who will really need to talk to you."

Valka looked at Hiccup exhaustedly as the boy-turned-Night Fury disappeared again. "Is…is he always this cryptic?" she asked. Hiccup snorted. "Oh, this isn't even the tip of the iceberg," he replied, Toothless nodding in agreement next to him. "Don't worry, he's great to have around. But he does take some time getting used to." He glanced at his mother. "Not unlike the two of us, actually," he drawled, rubbing Toothless' head. Valka chuckled. "Yes, I guess that's very true."

Stoick was waiting outside where I'd left him, and as I popped my head out of the cave, he stood up immediately and turned to face me. "Did ye find them?" he asked hurriedly. "Are they okay?"

I nodded. "Yes, they're here and they're both fine," I replied. Stoick visibly relaxed. "Oh thank goodness. Why didn't ye bring them out here then?" I turned and gestured my head toward the cave. "Because there's something we want to show you. Follow me." I disappeared into the dark again, and heard Stoick protest at my leaving him behind for a minute, before groaning in exasperation and following me in.

I stopped just before the exit out onto the ledge, and waited for Stoick to catch up. He did, with a major frown on his face. "So where are they then?" he griped. I nodded toward the exit, where I could faintly hear Hiccup and Valka talking again on the other side of the wall. "I think you should go first," I explained. Stoick didn't hesitate for even a moment, and hurried past me, while I quietly followed up behind.

He spotted Hiccup first, unsurprising as the boy and his dragon sat in the middle of the ledge, and rushed over to him. "Hiccup! Praise be, you're alright!" he exclaimed, grabbing his son in a bear hug.

"Yeah, good to…ack!...see you too Dad," Hiccup gasped in reply. Stoick realized what he was doing and carefully released his son, who took in a deep breath and held his sides, Toothless laughing at the reaction behind both of them. "But, uh," Hiccup started as he caught his breath, "there's something we need to talk about. And no, it can't wait until we get back home."

Stoick eyed his son oddly, and I saw the sliver of hope etch its way onto his expression, before it disappeared under the guise of his supposed reality. "Well, then, what is it?" he asked.

Hiccup gestured slightly behind his father, who turned abruptly, his hand on his sword in case of a threat. When he saw who stood there instead, however, both his hands dropped, and his eyes went wide in a whirlwind of emotions.

Valka stood by the sheet of ice that coated one side of the ledge, Cloudjumper hanging above her protectively, looking fearful, guilty, but steadfast at the same time. "So…so it was true?" Stoick whispered. "Val?" He said it slowly, quietly, as if speaking her name out loud would make the apparition disappear. He took a step forward, while Hiccup and Toothless backed up toward me to give the two of them more room and a semblance of privacy.

"I…I know what you're going to say, Stoick," Valka stammered, lips trembling. "Why-why didn't I come home, after all these years? Why did I leave you?" She gestured weakly with her hands. "I never saw anything that told me anyone would change, not in all those years. You have to understand that I didn't think I would be safe there, not after I discovered the truth of what I believed all that time. I thought you and our son would be better off without me in the way." She sucked in a ragged breath. "And…and I was wrong, I see that now, but," she stammered again, and when Stoick simply continued to slowly move forward, a tear escaped Valka's eye and she spread her arms out wide in a gesture of pleading and frustration.

"You're not even hearing what I'm saying now, are you!" she exclaimed. "If you would just give me something, please! Yell, shout, be angry at me, say something! Stoick, stop being so…so…so stoic!" She looked away for a moment, and looked back up to find her husband right there, a hand reaching up to carefully cup the side of her face. I could see from the angle where I stood, a tear run from Stoick's eye now as well, the first I had seen since we had thought we would lose Hiccup those years ago.

Valka quieted, not knowing what was coming next as she looked up at him and waited for an answer. Her eyes trembled as much as her lips and hands did.

"You're as beautiful as they day I thought I lost you," Stoick whispered. That was all it took; Valka's eyes released the moisture they held, tears spilling down he face as she hung her head, quiet sobs shaking her form. Stoick leaned forward and embraced her, and she hugged him back, hard.

"For so many years I yearned for a day like this," Stoick said quietly again, "but I believed it impossible." He sobbed, his hard outer shell that we all knew finally breaking in a way I had never seen in the man. "You're actually here; Val, you're here again!"

He slowly stepped back slightly, and tilted Valka's face up with his fingers. She eyed him with an entirely new expression: a love they both had thought lost. There was still guilt there, in both their eyes, and sadness at the time they had missed, but the spark of joy had relit. Stoick leaned down slowly, and lifted up Valka's to kiss her, long and hard.

I elbowed Hiccup slightly, and when he jerked in surprise, caught up in the moment, and looked at me, I nodded my head toward the cave. "We should give them some time alone," I said quietly, leading him and Toothless out. Cloudjumper had the same idea, as he slowly backed up out of the picture and took off as quietly as he could into the air to give the reunited pair some time.

"You know what this means, right?" Hiccup spoke up as we moved out of earshot. I could hear the tone of his voice, and immediately recognized what he was thinking. I turned immediately and grabbed his shoulders before he could voice any more.

"It means that your dream has come true," I implored sternly. "It means that you can piece your entire family back together again; mother, father, and Toothless. You have all the people you need in your life once more." I looked at Toothless, and continued. "Let me repeat that: you have your mother, you have your father, you have your battle-brother Toothless, and you have all of your closest friends. I know we have something ahead of us, but nothing else you saw has, or needs to, become truth."

"Except that there is in fact a Bewilderbeast here," Hiccup interjected. I sighed and clonked him over the head. "I said focus on the positive. That only means we may have another friend on our side. Look, focus on your family for now, enjoy what you have. I know Toothless can see it; look at him!"

Hiccup turned to see the Night Fury staring straight at him, eyes wide and a genuine smile on his face. ::It'll be okay,:: the dragon reassured, nudging his rider. ::Like I told you before, you know what's right.::

Hiccup sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, before smiling and scratching Toothless' forehead. "Yeah, you're both right," he admitted. "Geez, I have my head screwed on so crooked right now." He laughed and put an arm around my shoulder, doing the same over Toothless' head. "And that's why I need you two still. To keep my head on straight."

I snickered. "Yeah, we know. You're still the same dork you were four years ago, just taller." "Hey!"

Several hours later, we found ourselves all in the makeshift "kitchen" that Valka had set up over the years, as she and Stoick attempted to make an early dinner (slightly smoked fish, with some ill-chosen spices; apparently, Hiccup's ability to cook did not come from either of his parents). I accepted the food on the makeshift plates, but I will also admit that when the two adults weren't looking I tossed the pieces to Toothless and grabbed the untouched fillets, hand-roasting them (literally) and sharing with Hiccup. While I may have garnered more of a taste for fish over the years, I had not acquired a full dragon's ability to eat raw ones, or ill-flavored fish, thank goodness.

I glanced up at Cloudjumper for a moment, who seemed to find some mild amusement in teasing Toothless, before focusing again on Stoick and Valka. The atmosphere was relaxed, light, and I knew something was going to take place for the better soon.

Both the adults were chattering away about random things, Stoick filling Valka in on the improvements that had occurred in the village (and much to Hiccup's embarrassment he was elaborating on all that their son had done over the years as well), and genuine smiles graced their features. Stoick was readying to ask Valka something, I could see it in his expression, the look in his eyes building up to some wanted moment.

Sure enough, when they had finally put away the fish and Valka's makeshift plates, Valka took a water jug over to where a natural waterfall came off the ice above, and Stoick wrung his hands for a moment, admiring her in the light, before slowly walking up behind her and placing one of his hands on hers.

"Do you still remember our song, Val?" Stoick asked quietly. Valka sucked in a sudden breath at the words, and she looked away, a shameful face worn. Stoick paid no heed, and instead slowly began to whistle a tune we had all become recently familiar with, one I had come to know only a day before and that I could see Hiccup had grown up around, by the look on his face. Hiccup began to slowly whistle along with as well, filling the background as Stoick gently pulled the jug from Valka's hands and followed her as she turned and stared absently out into the nest. Then, he began to sing the words, and I watched Valka break, tears falling as the memories rushed to her again.

"I'll swim, and sail, on savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning," Stoick began softly, Hiccup following him in low whistles, "and gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me." He stepped forward and clasped Valka's shoulders lovingly, his smile growing still. "No scorching sun, nor freezing cold, will stop me on my journey, if you will promise…me, your heart….and, love…"

Stoick trailed off, waiting, hoping, but for several moments Valka made no move to join in with him as he'd hoped. She instead stood, motionless, looking downward with her eyes closed tightly.

Hiccup stopped whistling and looked at me, great concern in his eyes as the tension built around us again. Stoick finally let out a slow, defeated sigh and began to turn away, tears for a different reason welling in his eyes.

"And love me for eternityyyy," Valka began, the flow of her voice brightening the room again and breaking the tension once more. She looked up, taking a shuddering breath, and smiled, turning to Stoick and grabbing his hand close. The air seemed to begin to glow with joy again as the two began to slowly dance around each other, Hiccup beginning to whistle again as I reached up and plucked at the air, making it vibrate with energy and release the sounds of musical notes.

"My dearest one, my darling dear," Valka sang again, smile brightening, "your mighty words astound me! But I've no need for mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me!" They both laughed at the teasing joke in the song and swung each other in circles. The air continued to grow lighter and lighter, and even Toothless and Cloudjumper began thumping their tails in time to my and Hiccup's music. Stoick's voice rose up again in reply to Valka's line.

"But I will bring you rings of gold, and even sing you poetry!" "Oh would ye!" Valka laughed, but Stoick only kept going. "And I would keep you from all harm, if you would stay beside me!"

"I have no use for rings of gold!" Valka returned, laughing as Stoick lifted her off her feet. "I care not for your poetry! I only want your hand to hold"- "I only want you near me!" Stoick finished. Then they both sang together, voices blending perfectly.

"To love and kiss, to sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming! Though all my sorrows and all nights I'll keep your love beside me! 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 meeeeeeee!"

The last line drew out before we finally all stopped, breaking down in laughter at the joyful moment, each of us in tears as Stoick and Valka embraced again, and I laughed all the harder as Stoick suddenly reached out and dragged Hiccup into their arms as well.

I stood back, capturing in memory the family moment that all of them had been missing for nineteen years, completed as Toothless stuck his nose over Hiccup's shoulder and licked him across the cheek, while Cloudjumper stood grinning over Valka.

"I thought once that I would have to die to hear you sing that song again," Stoick breathed. Valka only shook her head. "No need for drastic measures," she laughed, and they both sighed.

"Oh Val," Stoick began again, "we finally have our family together again!" He finally released Hiccup from his hold as he took both of Valka's hands, kneeling down in front of her. "Valka, would you…would you do me the great honor, of being my wife once more? Will you come back home with us?" Valka smiled immensely at the words, and for a moment couldn't form her own to reply with.

Finally, Toothless just snorted and got behind her, nudging Valka into Stoick again. She laughed at his action and rubbed the Night Fury's chin. "Yes," she finally blurted, chuckling slightly. "Yes, Stoick, yes I will." She looked over at Hiccup. "I've missed far too much of both of your lives to turn away again."

"Great!" Hiccup piped up. "I'll do the cooking." There was a moment of awkward silence before they all burst out laughing. "Indeed ye shall!" Stoick chuckled. "We can go at any time, and of course Valka, we can return here if you wish whenever ye need to, or the dragons here may come te"-

His words were interrupted as a loud roar sounded from within the nest. Hiccup and I both started, the two of us seeing images of the worst, before we both recognized at least one word within the call.

::Stoick?!::

My eyes widened. "Oh my…can it really be?" I started to say, but before anyone could reply my question was already answered.

Upon the ledge outside the "kitchen," a large dragon landed. Deep blue with white spots, decorating a wide, flat body and a long tail; there was no mistaking who this dragon was. Hiccup and Stoick's eyes both widened in recognition, and I watched new smiles grow across their faces. Valka noticed too, and looked up at her husband. "Someone ye know?" she queried. Stoick nodding, before laughing and running up to the Thunderdrum.

"Thornado, is that really you?" he exclaimed, holding out his hands in greeting. Thornado nodded vigorously and pressed his snout into Stoick in greeting, the gesture nearly knocking his companion over.

::What on earth are you doing up here?!:: the dragon gurgled. ::Apologies for not visiting in so long, the young ones only just left me recently.:: "He says the three little ones we found that he was caring for only just grew up," Toothless translated for Stoick, before walking up and nodding to Thornado in greeting. ::Good to see you, old friend.::

Thornado nodded in turn. ::And you as well. You're talking like the humans do now, that's a new development,:: he noted. Toothless only grinned.

Stoick chuckled again. "Oh, I know the feelin'. Kids are a handful." He only giggled more when Hiccup protested nearby, before standing up from the kneeling position he'd taken in front of his dragon. "This is wonderful! Now we can truly return home as a family!" he exclaimed. "All three of us and our dragons. And," he looked at me with a glint in his eye, "the battle-brother we couldn't do without."

I snorted. "Oh, come on, you can admit that I'm just another headache," I retorted, grinning. We all laughed.

"Maybe so," Valka replied, smirking herself, "but ye had a hand in bringing my family back together. For that, I think we can consider you part of this group as well."

I blushed and smiled balefully, but luckily I didn't have to try and worm my way out of that with an excuse, as Stoick smiled again and clapped his hands together. "Well now," he began, "shall we see about heading homeward? I'm sure the village is quite worried about us at this point." He squeezed Valka's hand reassuringly. "And, they will all be overjoyed te find that you are still around with us, I'm sure."

Valka only nodded. "Let me just say goodbye to a few friends around here," she said, "and then, we can return home."

Not long afterward, we were off and in the air again, Hiccup and Toothless sailing near Cloudjumper so that they could both continue talking to Valka, and Stoick following close behind simply content to take in the sight before him. I stayed above the group, keeping an eye out and sort of leaving myself out of the group, but I didn't care. This was their big moment after all, their time for bonding again, and I could only be glad for them. Though they did eventually drag me into the conversation as Hiccup and Toothless began to regale Valka over our recent adventures, and I was forced to correct some (clearly intentional) exaggerations on the dragon's part.

Time flies when your world is set straight again, even if only for a short, personal time, but Berk quickly loomed before us nevertheless. We didn't quite make it to the village, though, before the first Viking from the island noticed us.

"Hiccup!" we heard from above us as we came in around the sea stacks. Said teen looked up just in time to find Astrid landing lightly behind him on Toothless' back, Thorn floating just above the trio. Astrid, unsurprisingly, wound up and punched Hiccup in the side. Hard.

"Augh! God, Astrid, why would you do that?!" he complained as he doubled over, clutching his ribs.

"That's for disappearing for over a day and worrying the daylights out of everyone here!" Astrid snapped back. Hiccup groaned. "Well, it's not like it's my fault! I mean come on, I was mmmffff!"

Hiccup was cut off as Astrid smothered him with a kiss. Eventually he relaxed and embraced her, kissing back, before they parted in embarrassment at the sound of Toothless chuckling beneath them.

"That…that was for coming back safely," Astrid said softly, before looking over at Valka and Cloudjumper. "And you actually managed to find your mother?"

"Well, more like she found me," Hiccup corrected. Cloudjumper tilted his wings and flew nearer, and Valka skirted over along his wing. "Mind introducing me, Hiccup?" she asked knowingly, her smile reflecting her tone.

Hiccup blushed and fidgeted for a moment. "Well, uh, Astrid, this is my mom, Valka, and mom this is, uh, Astrid, my…girlfriend, I guess." His face grew redder with every word out of his mouth, but Valka just smiled and nodded to Astrid.

"Pleased to meet you," she said, "though sadly this tells me I've missed out on more than I realize." Astrid nodded, a slight smile on her face as well. "Nice to meet you as Mrs….uh, Mrs. Haddock." "No, please, call me Valka," the older responded.

We landed in the village square shortly after, and as the residents gathered around, Stoick stepped off of Thornado and took his wife's hand, helping her to the ground as well (not that she really needed the help). "Everyone, tonight there is to be a celebration!" he announced loudly. "For today, my family is reunited once again! My dragon Thornado has returned to us and, against all odds, I have found my wife, Valka Haddock, here again alive and well!"

A wave of shocked gasps ran through the crowd, followed by a moment of silence. Then, a massive cheer erupted throughout our audience. They collectively rushed forward and surrounded the couple, excited chatter drowning out any chance at proper conversation.

There was indeed a celebration that night. The Great Hall was packed as music played, and the chief and his wife danced together there for the first time in nearly two decades. Much mead was consumed, and though Hiccup and I managed to keep the gang from going under the influence, there was still an obscene level of alcohol-related entertainment to be had that night. Stoick and Valka's song was sung again, however this time around we were not spared from the pain of listening to Gobber join in ( the ending stretch of "I'm still goiiiiinnnnnnggggg I'm done" would ring in my head for days).

It was wonderful overall however. For one night, everything was perfect. Joy was felt by all participants, human and dragon alike, and for that one night, everything seemed to settle.

A/N-And the family is back together again! Soppy scene for those who enjoy that sort of thing, but for those who are here for excitement, don't worry; it'll be here soon. In the meantime, what do you think?

A couple of updates too: I am getting very near to completing the Basic Understanding entry for my Book of Dragons, and for anyone here who may be following that or might have an interest, I would love to hear your ideas on what information should be included in that. Also, as you all know I'm sure I have been working hard on the rough draft of the final book, and as we speak it is already the length of the first book and will probably be another 50% longer before it's finished, maybe more. So, expect a long ride on that one, and a lot of exciting developments! But for now, Book 5 still has some hard times ahead too...