4 months and 2 weeks

Astrid jogged to catch up to Heather as her friend ducked into yet another aisle. She realized now as she chased the other blonde that it had been a mistake to bring Ruffnut and Heather with her to the store. All she had needed was shampoo, and somehow they had ended up in the baby department.

"Ooh look at this one! It's perfect," Heather cooed as she tossed a blue onesie at Astrid.

Astrid caught it easily and read the black print under the picture of an angle: Acute baby. She rolled her eyes and set the onesie on a shelf before moving onto a colorful puzzle that, according to the print on the back of the box, increased development in a baby's first two years by over 52%.

"Or what about this one? Hiccup's into Dungeons & Dragons and nerdy stuff like that, right? I bet he would love it!" Heather held up a white onesie, a bright smile on her cherry lips. The onesie read simply: Baby of Dragons.

"He doesn't watch Game of Thrones, Heather," Astrid sighed.

"Well then get him to. I'm buying this for you."

"Just put it back. We don't even know if it's a boy or girl yet." Astrid narrowed her eyes at the dark-haired woman, wishing that Ruffnut was there to knock some sense into her. Or just knock her around a bit, common sense optional.

"It's unisex," Heather called as she turned to continue down the aisle, the onesie folder over her arm.

"The baby isn't due for five months. What am I supposed to do with all this stuff until then?" Astrid said.

"I don't know. But it's so cute, you have to get it-"

"No," Astrid said.

"But she is going to look so adorable-"

"Or he."

"Stop being difficult, Astrid. You're not going to do this alone, so we're doing it now," Heather groaned.

"And you don't think that Hiccup should get a say in any of this?" Astrid crossed her arms over her chest as she followed her friend through the pastel aisles.

"This is a woman's job, Astrid. Now come on, we haven't even started looking at blankets yet," Heather said.

Astrid heard a distinct cackle behind her and shot a glare at Ruffnut, who stepped around the corner of one of the aisles a few feet away. The taller blonde held a finger to her lips and disappeared into another aisle, once again leaving Astrid alone with Heather.

Astrid sighed and turned to catch up to Heather. "You're buying me coffee after this," she called. She noticed the hideous purple and green blanket in Heather's hands and rolled her eyes. "And breakfast!"

Hours later and weighed down by plastic bags on both arms, Astrid followed Heather out of the store. Ruffnut walked beside her with a grin on her lips. Dark clouds gathered overhead and a cold wind numbed their hands, making it clear that snow would fall later in the day.

"So you can I call you Mommy Haddock now?" Ruffnut asked.

"Hiccup and I aren't planning on getting married any time soon," Astrid said as she opened one of the back doors and set the bags on the seat. She climbed into the passengers seat and buckled her seatbelt with a quiet sigh.

"So? You're carrying his kid. Its kind of the same thing," Ruffnut reasoned as she shut her door. She leaned forward to look at Astrid, her blue-gray eyes amused.

"How do?" Astrid asked.

"Well duh. Were you just going to call the kid a Hofferson? 'Cause Hofferson-Haddock is probably gonna be the winner," Ruffnut said.

"You're impossible," Astrid groaned.

"Nah. I'm just an expert. You need skills to beat this game." Ruffnut jerked a thumb at herself with a grin.

Heather scoffed. "Did you seriously just refer to yourself as a game?"

"It sounded cooler in my head, okay?"

"Nerd," Heather mumbled.

"Princess," Ruffnut shot back.

Heather's jade eyes narrowed at the blonde in the rearview mirror. "Rachel-"

"Guys, come on. For once can we get breakfast without an argument?" Astrid interrupted.

Ruffnut let go of the back of the passengers seat and put her seatbelt on. She was silent as Heather turned onto a different street, her arms crossed and the side of her face pressed against the window.

Astrid sighed and rested her head against the back of the seat. At the moment, nothing sounded better than a warm cup of coffee and a place to finally sit down. Her feet were killing her after hours of chasing Heather around the store. She wouldn't mind a hot shower either.

"Maybe if the princess gets out of the car," Ruffnut said under her breath.

"Rachel!"

Astrid set the bags by her door and collapsed on her bed. She pulled off her coat and set it next to her before pulling her laptop closer. She still needed to schedule another sonogram with Dr. Anderson before the end of the week.

She could hear Ruffnut and Heather fighting over the TV in the living room while she waited for her laptop to turn on, and rolled her eyes. As much as they were at each other's throats, they were great friends. They just happened to disagree on, well, everything.

She clicked on the internet icon and waited for it to load. She rolled into her back with a sigh, one of her hands resting on the slight rise of her abdomen. She pulled the laptop with her and rested it on her thighs while it continued to load.

Then it happened. What exactly she wasn't sure. It was like a butterfly fluttering around in her belly at first, then a little bit stronger. It took her a moment to realize what it was she was feeling, and when it finally dawned on her a bright smile lit up her features.

Astrid jumped up, her hand still on her belly, and grabbed her phone from her jacket pocket. She scrolled through her contacts and sent a text to the fourth one down. Her phone chimed with a response only a few seconds later.

Heather and Ruffnut fell silent when there was a knock at the door. One of them must have opened the door, because Hiccup was standing in her room within seconds.

"Hey," he breathed.

"Hi." Astrid smiled at him. "Do you want to…?"

Hiccup nodded and took a step closer. He glanced up at her before placing his hand next to hers on her belly. She moved her hand so it rested on top of his, and guided his hand to the center of her belly where most of the movement took place.

Hiccup's smile faded a bit. "I don't feel anything," he said.

"How can you not feel anything? I can still feel him kicking," Astrid said. She let go of his hand to feel for herself. There was absolutely nothing, not even a nudge against her palm. "Oh."

"Well at least we know he or she is okay," Hiccup said.

"Yeah. But it felt so amazing to feel him moving around in there, I wish you could've felt it too," Astrid said as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

"We still have another 5 months to go, Astrid." Hiccup sat down next to her, a faint smile crossing his features. "But I have news that will probably make you feel better."

Astrid glanced over at him. "What is it?" She asked.

"I found one."

"You found one what exactly…?"

"An apartment. 10A. It's at the end of the hall. The family living there moved out last week," Hiccup said.

"That's great! We could go check it out on Friday before my appointment," Astrid said.

Hiccup's smile fell. "I can't. I have classes Friday afternoon."

"So you're going to make me go alone?" Astrid asked.

"Can't Heather go with you? She seems nice," Hiccup suggested.

Astrid scoffed. "Yeah. That's one way to put it."

"Astrid, please. Just give her a chance. You shouldn't have to go alone."

"Then skip your class and come with me to the appointment," she said.

"You know I can't do that," Hiccup sighed.

Astrid nodded. Her gaze wandered the room and landed on one of the plastic bags by the door. "Oh. Do you want to see what Heather bought today?"

Hiccup chuckled. "Sure."

Astrid smirked as she reached forward and pulled one of the bags into her lap. "Just so you know, Heather may have gone just a little overboard. But just a little," she said sarcastically.

The look on Hiccup's face was priceless as she spilled the contents of all four bags on the bed.

"What are we supposed to do with all this for five months?" He asked.

"My point exactly."