But the soft cry from behind the door drew her attention away from them as she went in the house and smiled as she lifted one of her newest set of twins. Grant and Grace. Unlike her sister, Grace didn't have the wild hair, and Grant didn't get it either. But they both had their father's brown hair, and her blue eyes. Sitting down next to the small beds that Hiccup put up all over the house right after they were born just like with Maddox and Maggie, Merida nursed her son as she smiled. "You are going to be our glutton I think. You eat more than your sister, and both your older brother and sister did."
"Eating again huh?"
Looking up to see Hiccup walk in, Merida nodded. "He is always hungry it seems." Kissing him as he bent over, Merida then turned back down to her content son. "But that's okay. He knows Mama doesn't mind."
Smiling Hiccup sighed. He couldn't believe that he had one set of twins, let alone two sets of twins in the course of seven years. Hearing another little fussy noise he turned and lifted his daughter Grace as he laughed. "She isn't going to be far behind her brother I don't think. Are you Gracey?"
With a smile as she watched Hiccup walk around the room Grace to keep her calm her down while she finished nursing her twin. She loved watching him with the kids. It was almost intoxicating to her in a way. Even though he always said that he didn't understand it when she would say something about it. Just like she didn't think that she would ever understand why he thinks seeing her nursing one of them is the best thing that he has ever seen.
But she wouldn't trade her life for anything. It has turned out to be so much better than what could have happened to her if he would have refused to come and help. She would have never found the one man that she was meant to be with.
"Hello?"
Blinking as she looked up at Hiccup, Merida laughed as she smiled. "Sorry I sort of spaced out there for a second." She then carefully switched babies and nursed her daughter now. "Yes I know what was I thinking about. I was thinking about how perfect life is here for me. And that I couldn't imagine what my life would have been like had you said you wouldn't come to help."
His son contently sleeping, Hiccup turned and laid him in the bed and covered him with the light blanket. "I have to agree with that. I think we would have both been miserable after being forced to do something that neither of us wanted to do." Turning and kissing her forehead he laughed. "But I did go to help, and now here we are, married with four kids."
"I still can't believe that I had two sets of twins." Laughing, Merida shook her head. "Mum had more gray hair when she came last year to visit. With the boys who were hell on feet, and from what I hear the girls are not much better."
Hearing a roar of laughter from outside, Hiccup looked out the window and laughed. "I will cut your dad off. Looks like the whole crew is here again." Kissing the side of her head, Hiccup went to the door and stopped the boys from running in. "You three can see them after she is done nursing."
Smiling as she nodded to her husband, Eleanor and Aileen then walked on in. "We are going on in."
With a sigh as he side stepped, Hiccup waited until the door shut and then turned to the boys. "How about we go with Maddox and Maggie and let you pick out some dragons to take home? We just had a whole mess of babies hatch." When their eyes lit up he laughed as he gave a whistle. "Maddox. Maggie. Take your Uncle's to the hatchery. I will be there in a moment."
"Right Papa!" Maggie then ran over to her Uncle Hamish and grabbed his hand. "This way Uncle Hamish. We have so many babies right now!"
A laugh of his own, Fergus crossed his arms as he watched them all scatter away. Even the other three of his girls. Turning to Hiccup he sighed. "I can't believe how big they are. And now another set."
"I know." Laughing as he walked down the porch, Hiccup laughed as he sighed. "My dad is over in his house right there if you wanna go see him for a while."
"I think I will." Fergus then turned and headed for Stoic's house. He hasn't seen him for a year and it was time to catch up.
X
"Oh they are just precious Merida. Both of them with your blue eyes and his brown hair." Holding her newest grandson in her arms, Eleanor smiled at the baby as she bounced him. "I couldn't be more proud of you."
Fixing her top, Merida smiled as she stood up and let her seven year old sister sit down to hold Grace. "Thank you mum."
"Not just because of the children Merida." When her daughter turned to her, she nodded with a soft smile. "You are an amazing mother, a good wife and you are happy. I couldn't be more proud of you for the life you have built for yourself."
Going to her mom, Merida hugged her as she smiled. "Thanks Mum that means a lot."
"Sister what is her name again?"
Turning back to Aileene, Merida smiled as she knelt before her. "Her name is Grace. But most of us just call her Gracey if you want to call her that you can." Merida pushed in on her nose and smiled as she laughed. Standing she turned back to her mother and crossed her arms as she arched her eyebrows. "So why was Aileene the only one to come in with you and the others didn't?"
With a sigh as she dropped her head, Eleanor groaned. "Because the other three are just like the boys. They are all over and crazy. And each one of them as big of a tomboy as you were. The six of them are going to drive me insane." But then she turned a soft smile to Aileen as she sighed. "However Aileen is the picture perfect princess."
"Mum are you….." Merida wasn't sure if she should finish that. She did hope that just because she did have one princess that acted the part that she didn't try and do what she wanted Merida to do.
Shaking her head as she handed her daughter her grandson, Eleanor smiled. "I am not. She will be allowed to be who she wants and find love in her own time. Be it a prince from a far away land, or the boy that works in the stables."
Smiling as she looked at her son, Merida nodded. "That's good. Knowing Hiccup though he already has Maddox, Maggie and all the rest of them at the hatchery. Last few days it seems like there was an explosion of baby dragons born. She then nodded toward Grace and laughed. "Let's go and see dad. I am sure by now he is with Stoic and Valka."
"Alright." Eleanor then picked up her newest granddaughter and they all headed out of the house and toward the one that was Stoic and Valka's. Walking behind her daughter she smiled to see all the kids waving as they ran past her and everyone saying hi to her. She knew that she was doing a good job there in her new title but it was so pleasing to see that everyone loved her just as much as her own kingdom did.
X
That night, Merida curled in against Hiccup as she sighed. Maddox and Maggie were in the guest house that he had built for when her family comes to visit with their Aunts and Uncles. And Grant and Grace were finally sleeping next to the bed. "Today was a long day."
Laughing as he put his arm around her, Hiccup nodded. "I thought your mother was going to kill me where I stood when not only the boys, but three of the girls all picked out dragons to go home with." Kissing the side of her head, he knew what the next question was going to be. "Fire's eggs will be hatching soon. They were starting to change colors today."
Smiling as she nodded, Merida laughed. "I can't believe that I have had her for seven years and she is just now going to be a mother herself. I would have thought that she was one before me that first spring that came when all the others had eggs."
"Yeah we are still learning about their mating seasons and habbits of different ones. Fire is for sure teaching us that the Exotic ones are even harder to learn about than the normal ones." Letting his eyes close, Hiccup sighed. "But I am sure we will find out…." But then both he and Merida jerked when there was a loud knocking on the door downstairs. "Who is that?"
"I have no idea." Following him down, Merida blinked as he opened the door and found a rather shocked Eret standing there. "Eret?"
Looking from one to the other then landing on Hiccup, Eret sighed. "You have just got to come see this. I don't even know how to explain what happened."
"What are you talking about? What happened?" Hiccup just gave him an odd look as he stood there. He has never seen him act this way.
Looking down at Merida he sighed then turned to Hiccup. "Fire's eggs hatched. They hatch like the chickens. But…." Pointing toward the hatchery he shook his head. "You just have to go and see this for yourself."
Her eyes wide, Merida looked up at him. "Will you go and get my mum? So she can sit with Grace and Grant?"
"Yeah you get ready." Hiccup then went toward the house next door as she went up the stairs. He didn't understand what was so shocking about Nadder hatchlings. The only thing he could figure is that they were all exotic seeing as they still didn't know who her mate was.
X
After getting ready and her mother getting there to sit with the babies, Merida joined Hiccup and Eret as they went, rather fast to the hatchery. Going straight to Fire she rubbed her nose as she sat on her next. "You did it finally girl. You get to me a mother now too."
"Get her to move and you will see what is so shocking." Eret was now joined by everyone else that was there that watched as they hatched. Something he never thought would happen did. And he was sure that it would shock the both of them.
Blinking, Merida pointed. "Move girl. Let me see the babies."
Looking and waiting for her to fully move, Hiccup gasped as his eyes went super wide to see the tiny dragons. She had six eggs and all six of them hatched. Three were all more exotic Deadly Nadder. Two were red just like she was, but one was pink. But it was the other three that were the most shocking. They were Night Fury's! And Exotic in color too! One red, one ice blue, and one white!
Turning to look at Toothless as he came up and sat next to him he blinked as he moved his eyes to fire as she walked back in the next and sat down to keep them warm. "How in the hell did that happen?"
"We have no idea." Eret sat down as he sighed. "We knew that Merida would want to know when her dragon's eggs hatched, and when they hatched first, your place was the first one I was going to in the morning. But then the exotic Night Fury dragons. I had to come get you guys tonight."
Laughing as he put his hand on Toothless he sighed. "I am not sure how you did it bud but you have to be the only father for them all. I didn't know that the dragons could mix breed like this."
"But wouldn't that mean that maybe more will now and get more dragon types?" Looking up at Hiccup, Merida had curious eyes as her head fell to the side. "I know back home, when someone wanted a different breed of dog, they would pick two breeds and mate them. And then do it again with different dogs, let those babies have pups and then you get a new dog."
"It is possible." Kissing her head, Hiccup sighed. "Right now we are going back to our babies and letting our dragons tend to their babies."
"Right." Merida then turned and gave dragon one last pet as they left. Neither of them really knew what to say to this. They knew they were close, but they just figured it was friends. That it would have never been anything else.
But to Hiccup now he understood why Fire never had kids until now. Mixing two dragons like that, it probably took her this long for her eggs to form right. But whatever the reason, this was amazing.
Once they got home and saw her mother off, they once again checked on Grant and Grace, then curled up in bed. Now. Now the world was perfect. Peace in Dunbroch. Peace on Berk. They had four perfect children. Her mother wasn't a queen first now but a mother and grandmother first. And now, their dragons had chicks, and with each other. For them. Nothing could be more perfect than this.