DISCLAIMER: I don't own How To Train Your Dragon-rights remain with Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks.

Part 1:

He was late, Astrid realised as she looked up from the counter. He was always here by one, regular as clockwork, even during recess. But today he was late.

He was usually the highlight of her shift in the small and not very salubrious diner she worked in, a quiet but polite guy of her age with choppy, collar length dark auburn hair, wide emerald eyes and a pale face with a handful of faded freckles and a sharp jaw. He was tall, a bit lanky and lean and moved slightly awkwardly as if he was very self-conscious. He tended to wear greens and browns and always read at the table. And he was polite, mildly sarcastic and warm.

And then there was his cute, slightly lopsided smile, the way his eyes twinkled when he grinned and the fact he always took the time to talk to her. She would be lying if she didn't say she liked him but he never seemed interested. At best, he was a casual friend...but she enjoyed seeing him.

Sighing, she headed out into the nearly deserted space, a single customer drinking his super-thick-genuine-guaranteed-fifty-percent-fruit shake and awaiting his entree, then wiped the table down and reset up deftly, picking up a dirty plate and taking back to the kitchen. Rolf, the cook, looked up and grinned.

"Your boyfriend not here?" he teased her, flipping a burger. He was a paunchy man with bright grey eyes and receding grey hair. Astrid tidied away swiftly.

"No," she said lightly, trying not to sound at all bothered. The fact that he had been every day that she had worked at the diner but not today was...strange, that's all. But life happened, as she well knew as she checked through the tips and walked back out front as the door opened. A tall lean shape entered...but he wasn't alone. His auburn head was tilted towards his companion and his kind face was warmed with a smile, emerald eyes twinkling with amusement. He glanced up and saw the blonde waitress by the counter, her azure blue eyes welcoming.

"Hey, Hiccup," she said cheerily. "Usual table?" He smiled, his hand tentatively touching that of the girl by his side. She was petite and pretty, her warm ginger hair framing an oval face with sparkling blue-green eyes. Her eyes were locked on his pale face, lightly freckled with the sparkling emerald eyes. She looked very much in love.

"Thanks, Astrid-yeah, please," he replied, heading to the familiar table and sliding in. "This is my fiancée, Ana..." The young man looked radiantly happy. "She just agreed...to marry me..." Astrid arched a blonde eyebrow.

"And you brought her here?" she asked in an amused voice. Hiccup looked up with his lopsided grin.

"Hey-I come here every day," he admitted. "This is my favourite restaurant...and you are a friend...I wanted you to know..." Astrid stole a glance at the pretty ginger-haired girl, Ana, and could see that she was less than impressed. Without hesitating, Astrid walked forward and swatted him across the back of the head.

"Mutton-head!" she scolded him lightly as he yelped. "This is the woman you love, who you want to spend the rest of your life with and you bring her here?"

"I-I like it here," he protested, giving her a hurt glance. Astrid managed her scowl for another second then smiled at him.

"And we like you too," she said. "You're a really nice guy, Hiccup, and definitely my favourite customer, but an occasion like this calls for something special!" She leaned conspiratorially towards him. "Take it from me: us girls like to be made to feel special!"

He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously and looked at the table.

"I'm...not sure how to do that..." he mumbled, blushing. Astrid stole a glance at Ana, who was appraising her carefully, trying to gauge whether the beautiful blonde waitress was a threat...but her next words had the newly minted fiancée staring at her in shock.

"Have a drink-on the house," Astrid said, "then take her somewhere nice-which means more expensive, mutton-head!-and celebrate your engagement!" The emerald eyes flicked up to see her amused face and a familiar lopsided smile warmed his features.

"Thanks!" he said and his hand found Ana's. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely but she was smiling. She looked up at the waitress and nodded.

"Actually, I can see why you like it here," she admitted, her voice bright as she decided the waitress was just a good person, not a rival. "Though I never expected to find you having a wingman here!" Hiccup blushed fiercely and Astrid gave a self-conscious smile that she covered up by getting her pad out.

"So what'll it be?" she asked.

They ended up both having shakes and Ana asked to stay for a meal: she had the Cajun chicken salad while Hiccup had the Viking burger with extra fries...and they stared romantically into each other's eyes throughout the meal. Hiccup had insisted on paying and left Astrid a generous tip for her honesty. And both he and Ana had hugged Astrid before they left, hand in hand. Watching them with a smile and a weird sense of loss, Astrid tidied up their plates and walked into the back. Rolf was waiting with a soda for her.

"Looks like your boyfriend is taken," he teased her as she sighed and dumped the plates in the sink.

"He's not my boyfriend-I thought that was completely obvious," she sighed. "But he was a sort of friend and I'm gonna miss him." Rolf swigged from a bottle of water.

"He'll be back," he said but Astrid shook her head, staring after the departed couple.

"He won't be back," she sighed. "His girlfriend won't let him."

oOo

She headed home shortly afterwards when her shift ended, driving her small second-hand car carefully back to her apartment. Her Mom was waiting, a smile on her face.

"How has she been?" Astrid asked, hanging up her coat and scarf.

"Good as gold," her Mom said with a smile, her blue eyes twinkling. "She's just like you were at that age..."

"Mommy!" A three year old little girl raced forward, her blonde hair tied in two braids and blue eyes filled with excitement. Astrid immediately dropped to a knee as the girl flung herself into her arms. "I missed you!"

"Emma baby, Mommy missed you too," she assured her daughter, feeling the child hug her, then squirm. She released her and saw Emma offer a broad smile. She was small for her age with a determined chin and eyes that exactly matched her mother's. Astrid scooped her in her arms and felt the arms wind around her neck. "Has Nana been keeping you busy?"

"Yes, Mommy-I was drawing you and me and Nana and GG and Stormy the dog..." she gabbled happily as Astrid carried her to the kitchen and perched her on her own special chair.

"Thanks, Mom-I'm so sorry but the sitter let me down at such short notice..." she apologised, deftly collecting some diluted juice for her daughter.

"Thank you," Emma said seriously and drank eagerly.

"Astrid-you know I would watch her all the time if you let me," Astrid's Mom said cheerfully but the girl clicked the kettle on and sighed, running her hands through her bangs.

"I know, Mom, but this was my mess and I promised not to dump it on you," she said heavily.

"It's no trouble," Inga told her and Astrid smiled.

"But I didn't want you to finally get rid of your eighteen year old only to have her drop her own newborn daughter on you while she swans off and carries on with her life," she admitted, spooning instant coffee into the mugs. "You help me out more than you should but I want you to have the freedom you deserve as well." Inga moved forward and hugged her firmly.

"My darling, you are our daughter and Ems is our granddaughter so of course we will do whatever you need," she told Astrid softly. "We are proud of you."

"But I gave up on College and took a job to earn money to support us," Astrid said quietly. And she had: waitressing, shop working, even cleaning jobs until she had found the job in the Diner. She had taken the small apartment, paid the bills and enrolled in online courses in what little spare time she had to further her education. And she was a devoted and caring mother who never stinted her time with her daughter and worked all she could to provide for her child. Her mother and father would help her more if she let them but she was proud and determined to forge her own way in life-and deal with her own mistakes.

"Busy day?" he mother asked and accepted her coffee, sitting at the table by her granddaughter. Astrid shook her head.

"Not really," she admitted. "Very quiet...but Rolf is good company."

"Did your boyfriend come in, Mommy?" Emma asked innocently. Inga immediately quirked an eyebrow and Astrid sighed.

"Boyfriend?"

"Mom!" Astrid sighed. "Not a boyfriend! He's a regular customer...well, he was..." Her mother frowned. "He's a sort of friend..but he brought his fiancée in today to meet me because he sees me as a friend...and I told him to take her somewhere nice!" She rolled her eyes and her Mom laughed, sipping her coffee.

"That's my daughter," she smiled. "Honesty in all things..." Astrid smiled weakly.

"They stayed for a meal but I know he won't be back-she won't let him," she sighed. "But he looked really happy so I wish him every happiness-because he is a nice guy." The wistful tone in her voice at happiness she guessed she wouldn't find wrung her mother's heartstrings even as she turned back to Emma with a smile.

Inga sighed as well...because she knew her daughter couldn't even consider a relationship because of Emma...and the handful of guys she had gone on casual dates with had run a mile at the news she had a daughter at twenty-two. Well, according to Astrid, most had looked at her like trash, made an excuse and left. The other had flat-out suggested they go straight to bed...because he assumed she was easy, having already had a child. She had slapped him and stormed out, his sneering taunts still ringing in her ears.

"No, I really hope he and Ana are happy together," Astrid said kissing Emma. "I have you, my Princess. And you are all I need…"