Author's Note: I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter. I was a little hesitant to upload it since it was so short, but I wanted you to have something until I updated again. I've been dealing with a lot of issues lately, mostly with myself, so it's been hard to find time to sit down in front of a computer and convince myself to actually get some work done. But on a lighter note, I'm happy to announce that I'll be uploading a new story soon called Reading Between the Lines. There's a summary of it in my profile if you want to look into that. The girl who requested it happens to be an amazing artist and will be drawing up some cover art for that story and Plan B once she finds time.

I'm also looking into getting a beta reader. I know that my writing is anything but perfect and littered with simple mistakes, which I know is annoying to some people. So if any of you have recommendations, send them my way.

And I promise I'll explain my crazy thought process with this chapter later on. We're almost to the end.

Reviews:

HiccupHaddockIII - That is pretty peculiar. It was 1:04 when I got to that scene so that was the time I wrote in. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, maybe you'll find another freaky coincidence with this one

UnbreakableWarrior - Thank you, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much as the last. And yeah, it's great that he's making an attempt to patch things up with her

Supergoddad - I'll never abandon a story. It might be weeks or months before I update, but I'm always thinking about my stories. When I'll update, what I need to cover in the next chapter, why I need to cover said information in the next chapter...etc. Hugs!

PuppeteerOllie - Team Hiccup for the win!

ncham9 - Yeah. They're such different characters, yet they work so well together when it comes down to it. But while she's more willing to do things her way and hurt anyone who disagrees, Hiccup tries to convince others to follow his plans with words. So it's a ticking bomb in the wrong situation, and a blessing in the right one

Astrid.

She pressed her face into the blankets, her eyes sore and her body numb with the need for sleep. Sunlight filtered through the window and shone on the back of her shirt, slowly but surely making her skin uncomfortably hot. It didn't help that there were dozens of heavy quilts and sheets piled onto the bed.

Astrid.

She groaned. This was supposed to be a relaxing break for her. Why couldn't she get any damn sleep?

Although it took a few painfully slow seconds, she pried her eyes open and squinted at the wall as she waited for them to adjust. She focused on the window, studying the intricate fernlike patterns of frost that had spread across the glass. It was still too early for her. She turned to face the source of the noise and found herself staring into a pair of calm, understanding blue eyes that mirrored her own.

"Astrid?"

"Brenna," Astrid croaked, a lazy smile crossing her features. She propped herself up on one arm as she gazed at her sister, still not fully awake.

The older woman jerked her head back towards the door. "Breakfast is ready, slowpoke. Everyone is waiting for you."

Astrid hesitated before sinking back into the embrace of the blankets and pillows. "I'm not hungry." She could feel Brenna's eyes on her as she rolled away from her sister. A soft sigh broke the silence as the door clicked shut.

"Astrid. Tell me what's wrong."

Go away Brenna please just leave before I ruin everything…

"I know you can hear me," Brenna said. She sat down on the edge of the bed and patted Astrid's leg. "Now come on, spill it. What's the big secret?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing," Astrid lied through her teeth.

"So there is something."

"No, there's really not. Trust me. It's...it's not worth worrying about."

"Well if it's enough to bother you, then it must be pretty bad," Brenna said softly. She watch as Astrid shifted to fold her arms next to her. The older woman sighed through her nose and looked away. "Do you remember when I lied to Mom and Dad about hanging out with those older kids?"

Astrid opened her mouth to tell her just how irrelevant that was, but decided it wasn't worth it. She nodded.

"Well I trusted you to keep my secret. I felt guilty but after I talked to you about it, I felt confident enough to talk to Mom and Dad, and they understood. Does any of this make sense?"

Another nod.

"I want you to feel like you can trust me with anything. Even if there's a dead guy buried in our backyard I want you to feel safe with telling me...and hopefully let me help you move him somewhere else too since he'd probably smell pretty bad-"

Astrid snorted and kicked her sister's side, which made Brenna chuckle. "It's true," her sister insisted.

"Now, will you just tell me what's bugging you?"

Astrid took a deep breath and turned to face her sister. She pulled her knees up to her chest, her eyes trained on the blue lampshade that covered the small lamp on the dresser. "It's a lot," she whispered.

"That's okay," Brenna told her.

"I don't want you feel obliged to help me with anything..."

"Of course not."

"And you can't tell anyone," Astrid finished.

Brenna nodded. Astrid cleared her throat once, twice, before going on. Her lips trembled as they sought the words to explain her...situation.

"I met this guy. Hic-Henry."

No turning back now, Astrid. Just get it over with and get out.

"I, um..I went back to his apartment with him. I slept with him. A-and then I found out I was pregnant."

Brenna remained quiet for a few moments before asking, "Does he know?"

"Yeah. He was the last person I told before you, but he knows. We're living together,."

"Are you dating him then?"

"Yes-I mean, no...I...I don't know. It's all so confusing." Hot tears welled up in her eyes, not from sadness but anger with herself.

"Is there anything else?" Brenna asked quietly.

"No," Astrid whispered.

"How far along are you?"

"I lost the baby a few weeks ago. B-but I'm still going back in a few weeks to deliver. They'll have to induce it, but th-they said everything would be o..o-okay." A dry sob left Astrid's lips as her sister pulled her into her arms. She buried her face in her shoulder and tried to catch her breath.

"Oh honey...I'm so sorry. I wish I could have been there for you," Brenna whispered. Astrid could hear the pain in her voice, and knew she was thinking about her own two children. "No one should have to go through that alone."

Astrid shook her head and slowly put space between herself and her sister. "Hiccup was always there. And Ruff and Heather too. But...I didn't tell him until it was too late. It's all my fault."

"It's not your fault this happened, Astrid. You were stupid to let a drunk stranger take you back to his place, but you never could have expected the rest of it. And if anyone ever tries to tell you anything else, I'll gladly prove them wrong," Brenna assured her.

"I know you will," Astrid whispered, a shadow of a smile pulling at her lips. "And I think it's about time I stopped letting everyone figure things out themselves while I try to fix things by myself. I'm tired of feeling alone. I...I miss Hiccup, and my friends, and I think they miss me too."

"Well I'm glad I could help. Now come on, I'm starving. Finn's not going to leave anything for us if we don't get down there soon," Brenna chuckled.

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute," Astrid said. "And Brenna?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. It's my job. I am your sister after all." Brenna hugged Astrid one last time before leaving the room, her footsteps thudding dully down the hallway as conversation floated up the stairs.

Astrid reached across the bed for her phone. She pressed the power button and frowned when it didn't turn on. She crossed the room to grab her charger before plugging it into the outlet next to the bed and sitting back down. Slowly the phone charged and the screen lit up.

Two missed calls from Hiccup.

When had Hiccup called her? Astrid bit her lip as she scrolled through her contacts, stopping at the lone name under the H category. She lifted the phone to her ear and jogged across the room to close the door. The room felt too quiet as she waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Astrid answered.

"Astrid? I thought you were at your parents'?"

"I am. I just...I needed to talk to you again. I miss you."

There was no response from the other end for a few seconds. Astrid's heart banged against her ribcage like a caged dragon as she waited for him to say something; anything.

And then came his reply, like a breath of fresh air: "I miss you too, Astrid."

She smiled to herself. "How's Toothless?'

"Uh, he's...he's good. He destroyed another one of my shirts yesterday."

"You should really think about having him declawed, you know," she said.

"Yeah. Speaking of claws, Ruff came by earlier. She wants you to call her," Hiccup said.

"Alright, I'll do that tonight." Astrid could hear someone coming back up the steps and knew she had to wrap things up. "Look, I have to go, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Oh. Sure."

"Bye, Hiccup."

"Astrid...I love you."

The world came crashing down around her with those three simple words. He loved her. What did that mean? Did she love him? If she did, could she summon the courage to say it too? The warm, fuzzy feeling that swirled in her chest told her yes.

"I love you too, Hiccup."

She grinned like an idiot as the other end went dead. And just in time; Finn came in not a moment later. He rolled his eyes when he saw the look on her face and told her to come downstairs. She flicked the back of his head as she walked by, a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders.

After breakfast, they walked the short distance to the pond just passed the end of their street. Brenna's husband carried their daughter, Carrie, on his shoulders while Brenna walked beside him, the 14 month old in her arms. Their mother had been reluctant to let Brenna leave with the baby after seeing the temperature, but she kept her mouth shut as their father talked to Brenna and her husband. Finn and Astrid walked behind the group, carrying the equipment. Finn tossed the puck in the air every few minutes and caught it again in his right hand as he gazed across the snowy field.

When they finally reached the pond, Astrid's mother and Brenna made a beeline for the edge of it while the others set up the game. Carrie stumbled over to them, struggling to see over the high collar of her pink jacket.

Astrid dropped two orange cones at both ends of the pond before meeting her brother and father in the center. "Teams?" she asked.

"I'll take Brenna and David," her father replied after a minute. "You, Finn and your mom can take the left side of the pond. Sound good?"

"Sure," Finn said as he bent to grab a stick. He tapped Astrid on the shoulder with the silver tape-covered end of it and slid away as she turned towards him. "Mom, Brenna, you playing?" he called from the other side of the pond. Astrid held up two sticks as he spoke.

"Someone has to stay with the kids," Ingrid replied. She sat down in the snow bank next to Carrie and Brenna. She chuckled as she watched the little girl toddle over to her and collapse in the snow, her hat falling over her eyes.

"Brenna?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," she called. She pushed herself to her feet and took one of the sticks from Astrid before slowly sliding across the icy pond, her free hand trembling at her side as she struggled to keep her balance.

The early morning cold nipped at their cheeks and the wind gently carried snow across the field as they played, the sound of slapping sticks and laughter breaking the crisp silence. It had been a tradition ever since Brenna and Finn were toddlers and Astrid was only a few months old. Every year on the 18th of

December, on those few precious years when everyone could make it, they would come out here to play hockey. It just wasn't Christmas until they did.

Astrid watched over Finn's shoulder as her dad swiped at the puck, then dove in front of the two orange cones that represented the goal. Her cheek stung as it connected with the ice but she forced herself to get back on her feet. Next to her, Brenna bent awkwardly, blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders and legs trembling as she slid forward. Her boots left streaks in the thin dusting of snow that blanketed the ice.

"Finn!" Astrid retook her place in front of the goal, her eyes on David as he managed to skate by her mother, completely undetected. Finn chased after him and sent the puck back to the other side of the pond, where their father stopped it.

"I can't believe you guys do this for fun. Chasing each other with sticks...it's barbaric. Sometimes I wonder if we're actually related," Brenna chuckled. She nudged Astrid's shoulder with her own playfully.

Astrid gave her a small smile. "You wouldn't understand it."

Brenna rolled her eyes and held the stick out at her side and watched the rest of the family play. "Of course not," she said. She bumped Astrid's side gently with the handle of the stick. "So, tell me more about this boy toy of yours. Henry."

"He's not my boy toy. We haven't even been...together...for that long. Not officially anyway," Astrid huffed.

"Oh?" Another nudge.

Astrid growled under her breath when her sister nudged her for the fourth time in the few minutes that had passed. "Would you stop that?"

Brenna gave her an odd look. "Stop...what?"

"Poking me."

"I'm not."

"Well you were a second ago," Astrid said.

"Astrid, I only did it twice," Brenna said. She placed a hand on her hip as she turned to look at the younger woman, her blue eyes narrowed.

"Four times."

"I did not!" Brenna sighed.

"Why are you-" Astrid paused, clasping a hand over her stomach, suddenly feeling dizzy. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Stupid airline with their stupid cheap snacks.

"You okay?"

Astrid shook her head and left the ice, dropping her stick as she went. The feeling of dizziness passed by the time she reached the snow bank, but she kept walking. Nausea meant she was sick, and she couldn't be sick. She had work and school and so much to fix right now.

"Astrid! Wait!"

She kept walking. Anxiety had filled the empty shoes her happiness from only moments ago had left, filling her head with worst case scenarios. It was a relief to see the thin tree in their backyard in the distance, the lights on its branches twinkling in the dim gray light. Something fluttered under her hand and her head felt dizzy again. She was going to be sick.

Astrid stopped, waiting for the vile taste of bile to fill her mouth, but it never came. She stood there, breathing through her mouth even as her lips grew cold and dry, until her sister caught up to her. Brenna placed a hand on her shoulder, her eyebrows knit together.

"What happened?" the older woman asked softly.

Astrid shook her head. There was more fluttering, this time tickling her palm.

"Astrid, talk to me."

"I..I think I'm pregnant."

"But that's impossible. I thought you lost the baby?" Brenna asked.

"I did," Astrid whispered.

"Then how…?"

"I don't know. But something is definitely wrong," Astrid said. She straightened as the rest of the family came within hearing range, varying degrees of concern painted on their rosy faces. She smiled, her eyes dull, and let them lead her back to the house, her hand returning to her side, a plan forming in her head.