There is a special guest included in this chapter. Also, if you didn't already, the previous chapter has a thank you and a 'where am I going from here' note. Be sure to check it out if you're curious.

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"So who are we looking for?" Astrid asked, her backpack slung over her shoulder, suitcase in one hand and Stormfly's cage in the other.

"The pastor of the church is picking us up. You can't miss him."

Julius Nyerere International Airport was smaller than O'Hare had been. She peered outside to see palm trees, green green grass, and the bluest sky she'd ever seen, which was quite the difference from the gray dismal early spring weather that they left in Michigan. She was ecstatic to be in shorts.

The flight had gone well enough. Astrid, who had only been out of state a handful of times, was nervous to fly. Luckily, Hiccup was beside her the whole time, his fingers intertwined with hers. Next to him on the other side, was Toothless. Astrid was still completely baffled by the logistics of it, but sure enough, the airline allowed a panther to fly coach. When she asked about it, Hiccup explained that Toothless was a certified service animal, and he in turn was a caregiver for Toothless. It was a double service situation. He and Valka had made the accommodations months ago and it was known in advance that yes, there was a big cat on this flight. No one seemed to mind, since he just sat there, doing his thing. Which was really impressive, for a 20 hour flight. Astrid was more impressed that he could go that long. Eventually, he stretched out across the seats and fell asleep on their laps.

Valka had her own seat mate, Stormfly, in the way of a cage. The bird occasionally sang and made noise, but nothing obnoxious. Valka had a fun time talking to her as well.

After the first hour in the air, Astrid felt herself calm down enough and she began to relax. Still, she held Hiccup's hand, occasionally lifting it to kiss his knuckles.

"There he is!" Called Valka, pointing to an extremely tall man. He held a sign with 'Haddock' written on it. The family rushed over to him, only to be caught up in a hug.

"Mwaba!" Hiccup laughed. "How are you?"

"If it isn't my little Kwikwi! Look at how big you've grown! And who is this pretty girl?"

Astrid held her hand out. "Jambo, I'm Astrid, Hiccup's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend, huh?" He playfully elbowed his friend in the gut, and then took Astrid's hand. "My name is Pastor Mwaba Musonda, but Mwaba is fine. Welcome to the family!" And he yanked her into a hug.

Oh, she was going to like it here.

Mwaba gathered everyone into the church van, where Toothless had plenty of room to stretch out and relax. Not so the case with Hiccup and Astrid, however.

Traffic rules were different here. Mostly a free for all. Not to mention most of the roads weren't paved. Astrid bounced in her seat, fear creeping in every time they took a corner too fast. Stormfly, likewise, squawked when her cage was rattled.

"You okay back there Stormfly?"

"Earthquake!" she cried.

While they were still in the city, Mwaba stopped at a grocer, and they stocked up on food. Astrid was surprised to see that most of the foods she had come to love were no where to be found.

Hiccup had three, 10 gallon jugs of water in a cart. "Do you remember the rules about tap water?"

"It's okay to shower with, but don't drink it."

"Very good," he confirmed. "But even so, you may feel sick until you get used to being here. Whether it's altitude sickness or something in the food…Just let me know if you feel crummy at any point and we'll come home and take a nap. Okay?"

She smiled at him, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. But you need to let me know if you feel sick too, okay? You're not as immune as you think."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay okay."

Back in the van, Hiccup tapped her shoulder, and held out a dramamine. "You're going to want this," he assured.

"Kanganya is about an hour from here, Astrid." Mwaba explained. "I'll take the scenic route!"

"Yay…" she said, nausea starting to take root in her stomach.

Despite the conditions, she was in awe of the landscape around her. Everything was much different than it had been in the lakeside town in Michigan. Soon, they were in the mountains, climbing up narrow, dizzying roads.

"How far are we from Kilimanjaro?"

"Those are still a few hours north. You and Kwikwi should go sometime!"

"Kwikwi?" she asked her seat mate.

"It's Swahili for 'Hiccup'. They used to call me Kuku, which is the word for chicken…because my name is Henry. Hen…get it?"

"That's…really complicated."

"Hey, complicated is my second middle name." Hiccup said proudly.

"…what's your first middle name?"

"Unnecessarily."

She snorted.

They continued through the mountains, going crazy speeds and weaving around other cars and buses. The landscape seemed to stretch on forever, over mountains and valleys, just rich green framed with terra-cotta soil and dotted with brightly colored stucco buildings. Finally, they pulled off the road and into a cluster of buildings. Some were big, made of cement, bricks, and clay and others were just thatched grassed huts. There were about 20 to 30 homes scattered about the hub.

"This is it! Welcome to Kanganya!" Mwaba gestured out the window, proud of his village.

"There's the church, up there." Hiccup pointed to a building that sat on a cliff, with a sign outside that said, 'Bird Mountain Church'.

"The hospital that you'll be at is about a mile down the road," explained Valka. "But if you don't want to walk it, we have a jeep."

"I can walk it, no problem." Astrid assured. "What about you Hiccup?"

"I'll be fine…most of the time," He shrugged.

As they passed through the village, she spotted a number of big buildings, labelled in English and Swahili.

Then, finally, they turned to the road that went to the church, and veered off slightly into the woods. There, the house Astrid would call home waited. It was decently sized, not as big as Hiccup's house had been back in the US, but still bigger than she was expecting.

"A group of missionaries lived here before us," Hiccup stated as they pulled into the driveway. "They had nine kids. When they retired back to the US, my mom and dad bought the house from them and picked up where they left off."

"It's convenient for our purposes." Valka stated. "Sometimes tragedy befalls the village and people need a place to stay. They never like to intrude, but just having a place to stay for a few weeks makes a difference."

Astrid nodded in understanding.

Mwaba helped carry all the bags into the house, down a long entry way. They passed two closed bedrooms before they got to the living room. Inside, the air was hot and muggy.

"Let me just the A/C running, and we'll open the windows." Valka said, going over to the window unit. "We had everything shut up while we were gone to avoid any bugs getting in."

"Oh right, aren't mosquitos a big deal here?"

Hiccup opened a window on the other side of the room. "In the country, yes. That's why you had to get those vaccinations. But our village is pretty safe, since we're in the mountains." He popped open a second window. "But I wouldn't remove the screen from your window."

"Got it."

There was a loud 'whump' from the roof, and only Astrid jumped. "What was that?"

"Toothless, making himself at home." Hiccup said without hesitation.

"Astrid," Valka beckoned in the entryway. "This will be your room. It's next to Hiccup's, but the floor squeaks, so you two shouldn't try any funny business."

Astrid blushed hotly, while Hiccup whined a pained 'mooooommmmmm!'

Valka laughed and dragged her suitcase to the stairs. "Mwaba and I are going to go meet with the deacons at the church. You two can unpack or rest…whatever you want. I'll be back in about an hour."

Mwaba added, "I heard a rumor that some of the ladies are making a meal tonight."

"Oh! I don't have to cook!" The woman laughed. "They certainly know how to make a woman feel at home." She slipped her shoes back on. "See you kids later."

"Bye mom." Hiccup called over his shoulder.

The house furnishings were modest. A plush couch sat against the wall, with two soft chairs and a round coffee table. On the wall opposite of the entry, there were a pair of doors that seemed to lead to a balcony. Next to that, a dining table with several seats sat across from the open kitchen. The kitchen had a small oven and a microwave, much akin to Astrid's dorm room. It was a nice size, perfect for three people and a leopard to live comfortably.

Her room was small, containing a bunk bed, a small table, and a closet. She dropped her suitcase on the floor and started putting away her clothes. "I am exhausted from that flight. Forget dinner, I'm ready to crash!"

Her boyfriend didn't respond.

"Hiccup?" She poked her head out into the main room. The balcony doors were open, giving view to the wide, mountain side view. The sun would be setting soon, and it cast the pale yellow room into warm pink light. The landscape just seemed to go on for forever.

She found him lounging on a hammock out on the porch, gazing at the view.

"It's a lot like back home. But…bigger. In a way." She assessed.

"The lake view shows nothing. When the mist rolls in, it looks like the map just ends, and that's it. But this…the hills and valleys, the trees and houses…it just seems to go on infinitely."

"Hmmm, I guess I never thought about how big the world really is."

"Yeah."

Silence stretched between them, peacefully carrying the sacred moment.

It was broken when a goat pleaded nearby, in a human-like scream.

The duo devolved into laughter.

Hiccup sat up carefully. "Hey, come and lay with me."

"Isn't that super dangerous? Like, on a hammock."

"I'm a professional hammock balancer. Trust me."

"Okay…" She carefully edged her way onto the hammock, but it promptly flipped and dumped them out on the floor.

"Ow…"

"Professional, huh?" Astrid asked, from where her knee was jammed into his stomach.

"Well, we just need to get in it at the same time."

They both rolled over and clambered up to their feet. Hiccup took one edge and pulled, then rested his knee on it. Astrid did the same. "Kay, on the count of three, we both sit down."

"Got it."

"1…2…3!"

And like poetry, they both fell into the net, being cradled on each side.

"Nice," Astrid appraised, snuggling closer to him, and draping a leg over his. "This is nice."

He wrapped an arm around her, cuddling her to his side. "You said it."

The moment they had lost was back, as they both rested peacefully in each other's presence. Birds chirped as the cool mountain breeze whistled through the trees. The air was fresh.

"Astrid?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you love me?"

Should could have just said 'yes', as she always did when he asked that question, but instead, she pondered it for a moment. "You know…we haven't been together very long. Just a few months."

"Uh…yeah?"

"In fact, it was a year ago today, that we met."

He raised an eyebrow. "You remember that?"

"Yeah, I saw it in my facebook memories this morning when we were at the airport."

He chuckled.

"But in that time…I've come to see you as something else, not just my boyfriend. I guess I started taking you for granted. It didn't really occur to me that I could lose you."

Hiccup pulled away, and looked down at her, the hammock threatening to tip again. "…you aren't going to lose me…not if I can help it."

She smiled and tugged him to lay down again. "I didn't mean to say it like that. It's just…after a certain point, I stopped seeing you as a person, and started seeing you as an extension of myself that I never knew I was missing."

Hiccup reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb rubbing an invisible line over her skin.

She continued, "In only six months, we've been through…some really awful stuff."

Once the situation with Scott had been resolved, both had begged the other to let it be and never speak of it again. Still, it was a part of their tainted pasts and it would forever be with them, if not in word, then in meaning.

"But if I had to do any of that…without you? I…I can't even imagine it. You made life worth living. Without you…things would have been so much different."

He swallowed. "I feel the same." He leaned in a placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "I didn't have to go through what you did. I didn't lose my dad, and I wasn't in an abusive relationship. But I had my own struggles, my own doubts. But every time you smiled and laughed with me…they didn't matter. I felt like I belonged beside you, laughing everyday. Because that's all I ever want, is to make you happy."

"That's all I could ever ask for, and to make you happy in return."

"Then…" He leaned closer, snaking his other arm around her. "Will you marry me?"

She starred at him, wide-eyed and confused.

"I…I don't have a ring, or anything, but…gosh I didn't really think this proposal through. I just…needed to say it."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

She nodded, briefly kissing his lips. "I know it won't happen right away, but I can't imagine being with anyone but you. So yes, I will marry you."

In his ecstasy, he crushed her to him, the hammock rocking like a ship in a storm. "Oh Astrid!"

She giggled, struggling to return the embrace, since he had pinned her arms to her sides.

He caught her lips in a deep and tender embrace.

Mark 10:9 "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

And...done. Thanks for reading! What was your favorite part?