Author's Note: I know that the last chapter probably made zero sense if you didn't look into it after reading. And even if you did, it still might not sound right. But I assure you that everything I put in this story is possible and not any form of magic.

And we've passed 100 reviews! Thank you guys so much for all the support, suggestions, and overall kindness. When I first started this story, I had hoped for around 50 reviews and maybe 10 follows. As of today, there 100 favorites, just over 200 follows, and just over 100 reviews. That's crazy for my first story.

Reviews:

Thewisdom - Thank you!

xlight02 - I don't have an update schedule. Chapters go up as soon as I finish them, (usually) unedited. When I'm not working or in class, I usually spend my time with friends or studying. If I'm not doing one of those things, then I write. But lately I've been a bit busier. This story is not front and center right now since my new story, Reading Between the Lines, and life both require my immediate attention. But trust me, I haven't forgotten about it.

HiccupHaddockIII - Hopefully this chapter will answer some of your questions. Glad you liked it!

Supergoddad - That's exactly what I was going for; something new and interesting

Kinsutenekochan - Hold on tight, you're in for a bumpy ride…

Squid84 - Thank you. And don't worry about not reviewing; most people don't. 200 people (which is more than I could have ever hoped for) are following this story, but there have been 107 reviews. So not everyone gets around to it, which is totally fine. I'm glad that you're enjoying it so far. Hopefully you'll feel the same about the new story, Reading Between the Lines.

ncham9 - Wow, the more you know I guess. But thank you, I agree with what you said about Brenna. There's definitely some crazy in her

Nlresda123 - You'll just have to keep reading to find out. Thank you!

Guest - It's all real. And even if I hadn't done any research to back the story, this is fiction anyhow.

UnbreakableWarrior - Thank you! I hope you'll like the new story, which is coming together really nicely. The cover art is beautiful and the beta has done an excellent job on the first few chapters, so I'm hoping for the best.

PuppeteerOllie - Thank you!

"A-are you sure?"

Hiccup ran his fingers through his hair again. His head was heavy with exhaustion but he couldn't force his eyes shut, no matter how badly he wanted to block out the entire world and just sink into the couch. Across from him, Astrid was perched on the edge of the counter, streaks of dark makeup shadowing her dry eyes as she rubbed at them.

She nodded.

"But...how?" Hiccup whispered. He could feel his heart stuttering over every beat, his mind struggling to keep up with the constant flow of thoughts that went through his head. His emotions were a wreck. He wasn't mad, far from it actually, but it was impossible to feel joy when he just couldn't wrap his head around the situation.

Astrid wasn't faring much better. She had come home that morning with a grim smile on her face and told him to sit down, which had sent a wave of fear surging through him, before sharing everything that had happened in the past few days. Her sister had offered to come down if they needed help with anything, but her brother and parents hadn't been quite as willing. Astrid had told Hiccup that Finn was too busy with his job and her parents had come close to driving her to the airport the moment she broke the news to them. She hadn't cried, but she had held Toothless close to her chest as she spoke, her voice wavering ever so slightly now and then.

"I called Dr. Anderson's office when I got to the airport. I have an appointment with her at 1:00. Hopefully she can explain what's going on because...Hiccup, I really don't know," Astrid said softly. She crossed her legs before continuing, "It was like nothing had changed. I felt something and it just couldn't have been my imagination. I think something happened when they told us there wasn't a heartbeat, because there is still something there."

"But what about the bleeding?" Hiccup asked. He propped his chin up on his fists as he turned his gaze on her.

"I don't know. Brenna and I did some research and she thought it might have been an amniotic fluid leak, but that probably would have led to other problems and nothing else has happened. The baby is moving normally again apparently, so there has to of been something that wasn't right. Am I making any sense?" Astrid heaved a low breath and met his eyes.

Hiccup nodded slowly, despite how difficult it was for him to process her words. It was all happening so quickly. He just wanted a single minute to gather his thoughts and breathe before reality came rushing back at him again. "Are you happy? With all this, I mean," he whispered.

Her eyes remained trained on her hands, which were balled tightly in her lap. A car started in the parking lot and pulled away. A door slammed down the hall. All the while, she was silent, but he could see the words dancing behind her eyes.

How long ago had it been that she was the one asking him that very question?

"Astrid?"

Another moment skipped past before she lifted her head, a small smile on her lips. "Yeah. I...I think I am," she said, more to herself than him. It was nice to hear those words and know that, for the first time in a long while, she truly meant them. "I'm happy."

Tomorrow, when they got to the clinic, she promised herself that everything would be fine, no matter what the test results showed. There was no time to wonder about how Plan A could have gone; how it did go in the end. It was time for Plan B.

Astrid's foot tapped against the edge of the table. She could see Hiccup out of the corner of her eye, his lips pursed as he flipped through an old magazine from the rack beside the door. Any minute, Dr. Anderson would waltz in with an answer. She would tell them that everything would be fine. And then they could go home and talk and maybe, just maybe, they could fix things.

At least, that's what Astrid hoped would happen.

The heaviness that had filled the air around her and bore down on her shoulders had crept back over the last few days, leaving her feeling somewhat lighter. She could still feel that heaviness lurking not far away, always looking over her shoulder, but she tried to shove the thought from her mind. What she didn't know couldn't hurt her and all, right?

They both lifted their heads when the door closed softly. Dr. Anderson gazed back at them, a clipboard held to her chest. She offered a small smile as she crossed the room to the small desk and logged into the computer. "Well, the first thing you should know is everything is going to be fine," she said.

Astrid glanced at Hiccup. He caught her gaze and smiled, reaching for her hand. She smiled back but returned her attention to the doctor, waiting for her to continue.

"I've only seen a case like this twice before in 19 years I've been working for this clinic, and none of them have been exactly the same. So what I'm going to tell you right now is just the basic, need-to-know information. I don't want to scare you with statistics and rare possibilities. Alright?"

"Yes," Hiccup said softly. Astrid nodded, her eyes drifting back down to their joined hands, which were laid on her knee.

"Good. Astrid, you have what we call a retroverted uterus, which means that the uterus is tilted backwards towards the back of the pelvis. It's only visible in a vaginal exam, so there was no way for us to see it when you first came in. It won't cause you any issues in the future with getting pregnant, but it does make it much more difficult to hear the baby's heartbeat," Dr. Anderson said, her hands waving as she spoke.

"But wouldn't I have felt something...you know, different? Pain?" Astrid asked.

Dr. Anderson shook her head. "No. Like I said, it's very hard to detect. But it's also very common. Approximately 30% of women have a retroverted uterus and are able to raise families without difficulty. That brings me to my next point, inactivity. It's normal for the fetus to go days or weeks at a time without large movements, especially towards the end of the pregnancy, so I don't see anything surprising there."

Astrid bit her lip, soaking up the information as quickly as she could. She felt Hiccup's fingers tapping nervously against her knee, so she squeezed his hand gently.

"And, now, this took me quite a bit to put my finger on, but I believe you went through something called Vanishing Twin Syndrome," Dr. Anderson said after a moment of silence. Her eyes darted between their confused faces.

"What's that?" Hiccup asked.

"Vanishing Twin Syndrome is when one of the twins is absorbed by either the mother of the other baby. Bleeding and slight pelvic pain are common side effects, which may lead some women to believe that they are having a miscarriage."

"I...I"m sorry, did you say there were two babies?" Astrid asked softly, her brows knitting together in thought.

"Yes."

"But...how? That doesn't make any sense. There was always just one during the ultrasounds." Astrid ran her free hand through her hair, sighing heavily. Her face felt hot and her eyes were becoming drier by the second.

"It's very, very common for one of the twins to 'hide,' especially when the mother has a retroverted uterus. It's very difficult to see both when the uterus is tilted at such an angle," Dr. Anderson explained.

Astrid nodded. Her fringe fell into her eyes again, but she didn't dare reach up to fix it.

"So what now?" Hiccup asked.

Dr. Anderson shifted slightly in her chair. "Now, I'm hoping that you can go home and continue doing things as you have. From what I have here," she gestured to the clipboard with her pen, "the baby seems to be growing steadily and very healthy. Try to count the kicks if you can. 10 per hour is normal, but I understand that sometimes it may be difficult to keep track of them. Just take it easy from here on out, alright?" she said, standing to usher them out of the room and back out into the waiting area.

Astrid stopped suddenly, letting go of Hiccup's hand. "Just to be sure, the twin is gone, right?" she asked quietly. The doctor nodded before retreating behind the door that led to the exam rooms. Astrid felt guilt trickle into her chest, but smiled as she retook Hiccup's hand.

The cafe wasn't very busy when they sat down at the table farthest from the door, the one that had the best view of the bustling street. It was the very same table they had sat at five months before.

Things were so different back then, she thought as she traced the lip of her foam cup. It was just water this time. She would probably never drink coffee again after the incident. Hiccup was smiling at her in that silly, boyish way of his, his eyes reminding her of the tall spruce trees that grew in Eisenhower Park, which they had cut through after making a quick stop at a small shop and parking the car at the curb. The fresh morning air had held both the late sting of winter and the promise of spring as they had walked, laughing and smiling in a way they hadn't for months.

She had missed that.

"It's funny how things change with time," Astrid said. She laughed once.

Hiccup nodded, his eyes leaving the window to find hers. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet."

"I don't think we'll ever really know," she said.

They stayed only a few minutes longer, which was just enough time to get a catch their breath and gather their thoughts, before tossing their foam cups into the trash and heading back towards Eisenhower Park.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid looked up at him, struck by how different he seemed, the collar of his coat pulled up high and his cheeks pink from the cold. He gave her a small, gentle smile. Just weeks ago, he hadn't been able to look at her without turning away. That Hiccup, the old Hiccup, had forgotten how to smile.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure."

Why was it now that everything was changing?

The plastic pot of pink, yellow and white rose buds in Astrid's right hand remained tucked against her side as she held Hiccup's hand in her left, her heartbeat quickening as they made their way back one of the old aspen trees. As usual, there was no one under it.

She fell to her knees once under the faint shade of the tree and pulled on a pair of gloves she had taken from the clinic. She set the pot down next to her and began to dig a small hole in the soft earth.

Hiccup knelt beside her and helped her lower the flowers into the ground before packing the dirt back down around them. He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her as she slipped the gloves off and tucked them into the now empty pot.

"We'll come back, won't we?" she asked.

"As many times as you want to," Hiccup whispered. "But we're going to freeze out here if we don't get going soon, m'lady." He kissed the top of her head before standing up, pulling her along. She hugged his waist as they walked, her face pressed against his shoulder.

Once they were seated inside the car, the heater bringing warmth back into their chilled noses and cheeks, the darkness began to creep forward once more, threatening to engulf her as it always did.

But instead, she turned her head away from the misted window and smiled at Hiccup. And he smiled back, that bright, ridiculous smile of his chasing away any dark thought that ever crossed her mind.

Change just might be beautiful, she thought.

What the different colors of the roses symbolize

Yellow: Friendship, affection, goodbye

Light pink: Sweetness, admiration

White: Innocence, silence