Three weeks after his daughter was born, Eret woke up from the coma suddenly and unexpectedly. He couldn't walk because of his broken leg, so I decided on taking Tia to their house. I wished Hiccup could come with us, but he excused himself, he had some urgent business to take care of at the forge.

So it was just me, the baby girl and Finn and we slowly strolled down the village road leading to Eret's and Ruffnut's house.

Sadly, Ruff wasn't there. She was still weak with fever, barely breathing, so her mother had moved her back to the Thorston house and did everything she could to nurture her daughter back to life.

Of course we were still deeply concerned about her, but it seemed that the warmth of her old home and the caring mother was very beneficial for her and it was a comforting thought.

Other than that, everything went surprisingly smooth. Hiccup and I got used to managing the two kids, our own and the "borrowed" one. Finn didn't hate the little usurper princess anymore, what's more, his first intelligible word (not counting his 'horrendous' dragon roars) was "Tia". One afternoon he tried to tell us that she had woken up in her cradle, so he grabbed my calf and said "Tia".

Daddy Hiccup made a huge fuss about it, calling him the archipelago's smartest little boy and his cute little face lightened up with pride. Ever since, he was constantly repeating "Tiatiatiatia..." when he needed our attention.

Our little group finally arrived at uncle/daddy Eret's house, greeting him with loud hellos while walking up the stairs to his room.

I haven't seen him since the accident and I was a bit surprised when I laid eyes on him. He was pale and weak and he had huge black circles around his eyes, but he was also wearing the world's happiest, most excited smile.

Finn quickly ran to him and climbed on the bed for a hug; he really loved uncle Eret, he was a frequent guest at our house, since he was the closest friend of my dear husband. Eret hugged him back and quickly raked through my boy's auburn hair, but his eyes constantly wandered back to the bundle in my hand…

I casually sat down next to him and showed him his little girl. "Hey dad, let me introduce you to Eretia," I said while I put the baby into his trembling hands. She looked suspicious at first, examining the face she had never seen before, blinking slowly with her gorgeous blue eyes. Then she nestled in her father's big hands and let out a soft coo of approval and Eret, the mighty pirate of the high seas and the fearsome ex-trapper broke down in tears.

It was a touching moment and even though I'm not the sensitive type, I, too, let down my guards and huge tears of joy and relief started to run down my cheeks while I hugged my sobbing friend. Our sudden emotions frightened Finn and even though I tried to comfort him by smiling through my veil of tears, but it took a little while until he calmed down.

When we finally manage to wipe our wet faces, Hiccup arrived. He was holding a pair of crutches in one hand - a thoughtful gift from one one-legged father to another - and a bottle of strong liquor in his other.

We just enjoyed each other's company for another good hour, then I left with the kids and Hiccup offered to help Eret walk to the Thorston house to visit his wife. It took Eret sometime to get used to the crutches and Finn laughed a lot while he was watching him drop one, then the other, but finally he figured it out and made it to the bottom of the stairs, jumping like a dizzy sparrow.

Hiccup came back home late at night. I was awake; I had just finished feeding Tia when he crawled next to me in our bed. He was a bit tipsy, but very joyful and relieved; I was glad that he had a good night with Eret. We exchanged a few timid kisses then gently stroked each other until the dreams came for us.

§§§

After Eret woke up from the coma, things got a bit easier. Tia was still living with us, but her proud father insisted on taking her every day for a couple of hours. He was still using his crutches, but Hiccup sew him a pouch that he could strap on his chest and put the baby in it, and he was limping around in the village with his daughter like a proud peacock. And he had every reason to be proud, Eretia was an exceptionally beautiful baby.

A few days later, Ruffnut started to get better. She was still very weak, she could barely hold her head, but the fever was gone and she started to regain her strength. And she was happier than ever before. She loved her baby and her husband and all the people who helped her family throughout the hardships.

As for us, we were genuinely happy for them, but deep down in my heart I have to admit, I was a bit sad, because I knew that once she left her sickbed, I had to give Tia back and of course, by that time, I was really attached to the tiny blonde princess.

Finally, the day arrived when I had to pack all her things and hand her over to her parents. I never told Hiccup how deeply it affected me, but he knew it anyway and I'm pretty sure he felt the same way. But we had our own beautiful son and lots of things on our plate that had to be postponed because of Tia, so the void she had left behind was quickly filled with less pleasant daily chores.

I was still damn tired and I was looking forward the first night I could sleep through without a starving little screamer in our bed.

I woke up the next day at noon, the boys let me sleep in, and I felt as energetic and restless as during my maiden years, and since I couldn't find them anywhere, I went flying with my poor and unfortunately neglected dragon.

When I came back, they were home and we had dinner together and I put Finn down to sleep, humming him an old lullaby I learned from my mother.

I found my sweet husband in bed, reading some old parchments. I slipped under the warm pelts and looked at him expectantly. It took a little while until he looked back at me. My smile surprised him and he quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you busy?" I asked innocently, but my intentions weren't innocent at all.

"Wh-what are you suggesting?" He asked shyly.

I shrugged. "Well…"

I couldn't finish the sentence, well, truth be told, I couldn't even start it, he finally understood what I meant and he immediately swiped all his papers off the bed and collected me in his arms.

"Easy, easy…" I said laughing between kisses.

"Is this…? Did you mean we could…? Do you want to…?" He panted excitedly and I nodded as fast as I could.

"I thought you might want to see my boobs, they are still gigantic."

"Yes, please…"

I laughed again while I pushed him down and straddled his lap. His eyes grew big when I took off my nightclothes.

"How about that?" I asked, leaning closer to him.

"Sweet Freya…" he whispered and placed his warm palms on my impressive mounds.

"They won't stay like this, I'm afraid…" I said, but he was too busy stroking them. It felt really, really good.

We started to kiss and soon all of our clothes ended up in the ground. I felt his massive hardness poking my thigh and I really wanted him inside me, except, there was one more thing I needed to share with him…

"Babe… I didn't drink the tea…"

"Mmmm… okay, I'll be extra careful then," he mumbled, lost between my breasts.

"Hiccup. I don't want you to be careful."

He raised his head and looked into my eyes, he seemed really confused. "I-I thought you wanted to have sex…?" he said, but it sounded more like a question.

"Yes, I really do," I answered making him even more puzzled.

"Then why don't you want to…?"

I looked into his eyes and wiped away a few strands of stray hair from his face. "Because I… huh…" I started, but it sounded way easier in my head… "Because I want another baby," I admitted finally, "if that's okay with you…" I added sheepishly.

First he just looked at me quietly, trying to process what he had just heard. Then he grabbed my arms and pulled me close as passionately as possible. "Are you kidding? I make you a dozen babies right now," he said happily.

"No, no, one will do, one will do…" I protested, but he was all over me now, stroking and kissing me everywhere. We made love all night and spent the next day yawning all over Berk.

§§§

The baby project made him the annoying teenager boy he never had been. He touched me and kissed me constantly and made love to me whenever we were alone. It could have been irritating, but I have to admit, his honest enthusiasm made me quite horny too.

We were walking along the coast line to watch the sunset when he stopped me and started kissing my neck, while his hands were ready to snake under my tunic. We were interrupted by rough clear of a throat.

We parted with burning cheeks while Eret was limping towards us.

"Mmm, sorry about that," he started.

"Now, it's okay, we were just… you know… checking on the sea and whatnot," said Hiccup lamely.

"Yeah, right. Well, I won't disturb you for long, the sea obviously needs a quick check," he said with a wink and I looked on the ground in an effort to hide my embarrassment.

"What can we do for you, Eret?" asked Hiccup.

"Oh, nothing. You have done enough, actually, a lot more than you should have."

"It's okay," I said quietly.

"And I never want to forget it, so… I did this," he said and pulled off the linen shirt he was wearing with a swift move.

On his chest, right above his heart, there was a fresh tattoo, its edges were still red.

Hiccup and I were speechless.

"It's a ray of haddocks," he explained, "so I can remember these past weeks for the rest of my life."

I marveled at the perfect fish; there were five of them, two big and three small ones. I loved the concept.

"Thank you, Eret," said my husband seriously and held out a hand to shake.

I hugged him. "It is really nice, Eret."

"Well, I had a lot of time, sitting alone at home," he said and winked again, "but I'll leave you to now. Feel free to board my ship, if you still want to inspect the sea…" he added and pointed to the boat nearby.

"Yeah, okay, we probably will," said Hiccup and I punched his arm. I mean… seriously… he might as well have told Eret that we were about to fuck… Eh, men…

"Have fun then," said Eret and limped away, back towards the village.

Hiccup was still rubbing his arm where I hit him. "Seriously, babe, I thought the punching days were over…" he complained.

I rolled my eyes and held out a hand for him. "Come on, you idiot, that two little fish won't make themselves."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me closer.

"I love you, Astrid Haddock," he said quietly.

"I love you, Hiccup Haddock," I said back.

We kissed until darkness came.

THE END

Yeah, this story finally came to an end. Thanks for reading it. Needless to say, reviews are much appreciated. Hope you enjoyed it.