Did Anybody See That? Chapter 18
"Hiccup! I wasn't expecting you so late! Astrid – are you all right?"
Hiccup helped his wife into the Hoffersons' house. Astrid definitely did not look all right; Hiccup did the talking. "Mama, it's time. I'll keep her comfortable; you need to run and get the midwife."
Edda Hofferson was a sensible woman. This was clearly no time for silly questions. "Gunnarr and the boys are on a fishing trip until tomorrow, so you've got the house to yourselves. Throw some extra wood on the fire to keep her warm. I'll be back in a few minutes." She grabbed a coat and left quickly.
The midwife was baffled. "Edda, no one in this village is even close to her due date! Are you sure?"
"I'm completely sure, Thornella. Please, come with me."
"Can't you even tell me who it is, Edda?"
"Yes. It's someone who's having her first baby, she's nervous, and she doesn't want a lot of attention."
"Fine, fine, I'm coming." Thornella grabbed her bag, put on her coat, and followed Edda back to the Hofferson house. It must be some young relative of Edda's from another village, she decided. The girl must have made a bad decision and kept the consequences secret until they couldn't be hidden any longer, then been sent out of town for the birth to avoid disgrace. Thornella had been in this line of work long enough; she'd seen this kind of thing before.
She entered the home and took in the scene at a glance. The mother-to-be was a teen-age girl, all right, but she looked a lot like Edda, and the young man at her side was clearly no casual lover. They even wore matching wedding rings. This wasn't the usual scenario at all. Well, first things first. "Upstairs or outside with you, young man. You know it's bad luck for a man to be present at a birth!" Hiccup gave his wife a reassuring kiss on the cheek, squeezed her hand, and climbed upstairs. He sat down at the top of the steps and waited.
It was a long, hard wait. He could hear Astrid breathing hard, and sometimes crying out in pain. He felt like the best place for him would be by his wife's side, holding her hand and telling her everything was going to be okay. Common sense told him that his mother-in-law was already doing that, and probably doing a better job of it. Every few minutes, she or the midwife would say, "You're doing fine." Astrid didn't sound like she was doing fine.
About three hours into the process, she shouted, "Hiccup! If you can hear me, you are never laying another finger on me again!" He decided it might be best not to answer.
He had no idea how long this was supposed to take. He guessed that she'd endured a few hours of initial pains before she woke him around midnight and admitted that her labor had started. He'd suggested that Berk's midwife might be better qualified to help her than he would, and she didn't argue. Toothless got them back to Berk in record time, but it still took almost an hour. He'd been waiting at the top of these stairs for hours, and it didn't sound like anything had changed downstairs. He toyed with the idea of pacing back and forth, but his metal leg would be too noisy and distracting. He forced himself to sit still and wait, fighting off sleep.
The sun was well above the horizon when events finally reached a crescendo. Astrid's cries were so distressing, he covered his ears – he couldn't bear to listen. Was something wrong? How long could this go on?
And then, suddenly, it stopped.
Hiccup uncovered his ears and strained to hear something, anything. He heard a tiny cry that soon faded out. He could tell the women were saying something, but they were so quiet, he couldn't tell what.
At last, Edda called, "Hiccup, you can come down." In his excitement, he forgot about his leg and nearly tumbled face-first down the stairs. He caught himself against the wall and made a less dramatic, but more controlled, entrance.
Astrid was sitting up in the bed, looking exhausted but happy. In her lap was a tiny cloth-wrapped bundle, with an even tinier red face sticking out. The midwife stood on one side of her and Edda on the other, both smiling broadly. He felt like he was entering some kind of sacred place.
"Well, come on!" Edda encouraged him. "Get over here and greet your new son!"
"A son," he said to himself. Considering all the nervous energy he'd bottled up over the past nine hours, he would have expected himself to run like mad, but moving slowly seemed like the right thing to do.
He sat down on the bed next to Astrid and rested a hand on hers. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"Tired," she answered, with a small smile. He turned his attention to the tiny human being in her lap.
"You do good work," he said.
"Would you like to hold him?" she asked.
At that precise instant, the reality of the situation hit him. This wasn't just a baby. This was his baby. He had just become a father. He'd seen his own dad struggle badly with fatherhood, and now it was his turn.
His vision went blurry, but he blinked and forced himself to focus. "Uhhh, what do I do?" he stammered.
"Hold your arms like this." She showed him; he copied her, somewhat stiffly. She laid the little bundle in his arms. He stared down at his son, and his face was overtaken by a smile of total wonder. Astrid hadn't seen that look on his face since their wedding day.
The midwife also smiled. "I can always tell, in the first five seconds, which ones will be the good fathers. He's going to be excellent."
"What are you going to name him?" Edda asked. "Will he be Hiccup Horrendous Haddock IV?"
"We had a long talk about that," Hiccup said, without taking his eyes off the baby's face. "My family has always followed the Berk tradition of scary names. Your family is one of the few that's stayed with traditional Norse names. Since we're seeing a lot more of your family, we agreed to honor your tradition. Our firstborn would be named for one of Gunnarr's parents, our second will be named for one of your parents, and if we have a son after that, he'll be Hiccup IV.
"My firstborn son's name is Erik," he said with finality. Astrid nodded happily.
Edda was clearly moved. "Erik. That's a good name. He was a good man. May I hold my first grandchild?" Hiccup nodded, a bit reluctantly, and let her take the baby.
The midwife began gathering her things. "There weren't any complications, and she's young and strong," she told him. "If you can, let her have a few days of bed-rest before you put her back to work."
"I think we can manage that," he said, with a wink at his wife. The idea of him "putting her to work" was laughable. She worked at least as hard on their cave as he did, but it wasn't because he told her to. The midwife left, tired but with a bit of a spring in her step. She always liked births with no complications, physical or social.
Hiccup turned back to Astrid. "You know you can rest as long as you need to," he told her. "They aren't going to throw us out of here too quickly, if I know your mother." He glanced at Edda, who was happily pacing around the house, singing a little song to the baby. "He kept his eyes closed when I was holding him. Did you see what color his eyes are?"
"Green," she sighed. "Just like yours. It looks like he'll have my hair."
"Excellent," he nodded, brushing her bangs back out of her eyes. "It sounds like he's got the best from each of us. If he fights like you and thinks like me, he could be the ultimate Viking."
"It might be a while before he does any of those things," she smiled.
"Oh, I don't know about that," he grinned back. "It looks like he's starting to conquer Berk already, or at least one house in Berk. The lady of the house is completely under his spell." He started to say more, but her eyelids were drooping. He adjusted the cushions that were propping her up, made sure the furs covered her, and lay next to her until she fell asleep.
A little while later, he and Edda slipped out into the back yard. Toothless had been napping, but he sat up alertly when he saw Hiccup.
"Hey, bud! I brought you someone I'd like you to meet." He held out the tiny bundle.
Toothless glanced at the baby for a moment, then returned his attention to Hiccup. Then a puzzled look crossed his features. He bent down and sniffed at Erik several times. He sniffed Hiccup, then the baby again. He gave Hiccup a quizzical look, and let out a quivering rumble.
"Yup, that's a little 'me'," Hiccup nodded. "He's a little Astrid, too, and he's going to turn our little island upside down. His name is Erik. You'll need to help us take good care of him, okay?" Toothless growled and warbled; he wasn't quite sure about this. Edda was even less sure about the frightening-looking black dragon; she kept her distance, but made sure she could keep an eye on the baby at all times.
Once that introduction was made, they returned to the house to await Gunnarr and the boys. They showed up just before lunch time, ending Astrid's nap. "Welcome home, fisherman," Edda greeted her husband at the door. "Guess what?" She stepped aside, and gestured at Hiccup and Astrid with the tiny bundle in her arms. Gunnarr went wide-eyed and dropped his fishing pole with a clatter.
Edda smiled broadly. "We caught one while you were away. Do you think he's big enough to keep, or should we throw him back?"
Astrid's brothers were more excited about the fish they'd caught than babies, but her father couldn't wait to check out his first grandson. He reluctantly gave him back to Astrid so he could go with his family to the Mead Hall for lunch. They brought back food for the new parents, and some fish big enough for Hiccup to feed to Toothless.
They spent part of the afternoon sitting around the bed where Astrid was resting, regaling Hiccup (and embarrassing Astrid somewhat) with family stories. Those stories ended when there was a heavy knock on the door. Gunnarr opened it, and found Stoick the Vast glaring back at him, his massive frame blocking the entire doorway, backed by two more big Vikings.
"I am looking for a criminal," the chief growled slowly.
"I don't think there's anyone here who is guilty of a crime," Gunnarr replied.
"I'm looking for a criminal who rides a Night Fury," Stoick went on. "A Night Fury that just happens to be lurking in your back yard! Stand aside, Gunnarr." Mr. Hofferson reluctantly did so. Stoick strode in and fastened his eyes on Hiccup, who was sitting next to Astrid on the bed. His face darkened.
"You are wanted for destruction of village property, and violation of Viking family law," he rumbled. Then he glanced at Astrid. "You are wanted for aiding a criminal. Will you come peacefully, or do my assistants have to drag you away?"
"Are you going to put your grandson under arrest as well, Stoick?" Edda demanded.
The chief froze in place. "My what?" He looked back at Astrid. It suddenly registered with him that she was holding a very small baby.
"Dad," Hiccup slowly quavered, "this is Erik, son of Hiccup. He was born this morning. He's your grandson."
Stoick just stood there. The anger drained away from his face, leaving a blank expression. At last, he turned to the door and spoke to the two Vikings who were waiting outside. "You can go. I'll handle this." They left, glad to get away from what looked like an awkward situation. Gunnarr quickly but quietly closed the door.
Stoick had the same reaction Hiccup had had – he walked slowly, even though he could easily have moved a lot faster. He knelt beside the bed to take a closer look at the tiny baby. His blank expression turned into something that, for him, was almost tender.
"A grandson?" He seemed to be struggling to accept the idea. "Hiccup, why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know, Dad. I thought maybe you'd put me under arrest?" Stoick glanced sharply at his son, then returned his gaze to the baby.
Gunnarr cleared his throat. "Stoick, I have invited my daughter and my son-in-law into my home, and offered them hospitality and protection. If you want to arrest them and take them away, you'll have to arrest me, too."
Edda stood beside her husband. "You're the chief! You can pardon people for minor crimes, can't you?"
Stoick glanced at her, then back to the baby. "I can pardon anyone except my own son. That would look like I was playing favorites, and a chief can never do that. No one would have confidence in my fairness after that. It would require a town-council meeting to get a pardon for him."
"Then pardon Astrid!" Hiccup burst out. "At least she could visit her own family without fear. She needs that, and so do they. As long as I'm still on your list, no one can accuse you of favoritism." He paused to take a breath. "I'm kind of used to being a wanted man anyway."
"I never knew a wanted man who was so unwanted." Astrid sounded bitter; even Stoick couldn't miss her tone.
He looked steadily at his son. With Stoick kneeling on the floor, and Hiccup sitting on the bed, they were almost eye-to-eye. "Son... why can't you just live like a Viking, and do what Vikings do? Is it so hard?" He sounded sad, not angry.
"That's not who I am, Dad," Hiccup replied. "I see an old, useless tradition and I have to just... kill it!"
Stoick shook his head and sighed. His gaze kept returning to that tiny baby. When he spoke, it was calmly and slowly, with none of the usual Stoick bluster.
"Gunnarr, Edda, you are my witnesses. As chief of the island of Berk, I am officially pardoning Astrid, wife of Hiccup, for any and all crimes she may have committed up until this day." They nodded. Astrid didn't respond, except to look at her husband.
"Hiccup... I'm sorry, but you have to face justice. Do you want a hearing, or will you accept my summary judgment?"
Something in Stoick's tone made Hiccup think this might not be as hostile a confrontation as the words suggested. "I'll waive my right to a hearing, Dad. But may I remind you that the whole point of the public consummation was to prove that we're able to produce children?" He gestured at little Erik, who yawned. "I think we've answered that question."
"Point taken, but the law is the law," Stoick nodded. "My summary judgment for the laws you broke, is that you shall be banished from the island of Berk, until such time as you can convince the chief that you're ready to walk like us, talk like us, think like us." Stoick looked back to the baby. "The banishment will take effect one week from today. Next time, try not to be so easy to catch, son. Do a better job of hiding that dragon, for a start. And... please, keep me posted on this young fellow.
"He might very well be my successor some day, as the chief of this tribe."
He took one more look at the baby, rose, and left the house without another word.