The space between Erick's eyebrows gave a twinge as a headache began to bloom. He'd come to work early to avoid as many watching eyes as possible. Now, nearing mid-afternoon he could feel the exhaustion creeping up on him that only another sleepless night could bring.

His thoughts were on Adrianna almost constantly. He wanted to fly to her house and see how she was doing and make sure she was resting from her rough trip. He wanted to know what had happened out there; why the ship she'd stolen was in shambles, why Lily had come home injured from what looked like a dragon fight, why Finn had copious amounts of blood dried all over his flight suit...

Clearly something had gone down. But now, due to his own stupidity, he'd lost his privilege of barging into the Haddock household at any time to ask questions or see how everyone was doing.

Their doors had been open to him since he was a little boy. Especially since his father died. It had taken a long time for him to go to the Haddocks for help and support, but he'd come to lean on them almost like they were his own parents.

Now he'd have to learn how to go without. Astrid hadn't given him a second glance when she flew to the council meeting this morning, Finn had glared at him from the forge window like he was about to run out and knock his teeth out. But Hiccup...

They'd made eye contact from across the street when Erick and Cliff were on lunch break. The chief had stood there watching them with a flat expression and a judging eye before walking away. His very body language screamed, "Your fault. This is all your fault."

Erick didn't want the Chief and his family to hate him. But honestly, what could he have done? He could have told them sooner and prevented Adrianna from running away, but what would that have changed? He hadn't saved her from being raped by that worthless pig. He hadn't protected her any more than Hiccup had. They'd all been duped. Except Erick.

Maybe that was why Hiccup felt justified in blaming Erick. He'd fought with Brandyn mere weeks ago over Adrianna's honor. The bruising around his eye was finally fading, the color returning to normal. But he still wore the bruises on his heart more than he wanted to admit.

For all that defending her honor and trying to protect her, Brandyn had already had his way. Brandyn had already hurt her. It didn't matter that Erick had known there was something fishy about him. He stood around and did nothing and assumed that all his bitterness and jealousy was petty and childish. He ignored all the bells going off in his head, every instinct to pull her away. He let his best friend, his Annie get hurt.

That was why Hiccup hated him. And that meant that his Annie was no longer his.

"-completely ridiculous, I mean who bakes banana bread without chocolate chips? That's almost as depressing as your mom baking you chocolate chip cookies only to find out that, NEWS FLASH, they're oatmeal raisin? Are you kidding me? Chocolate should be integrated into everything baked! Baking, bakin'..."

Erick huffed, trying to tune Cliff out again. His friend had been rambling about nothing and everything for the last hour and he was almost at the end of his rope. His head pounded again.

"Bacon!" Cliff exclaimed, cutting off the momentary silence. "Ohhh bacon and chocolate. I wonder what that would taste like-"

"Cliff." Erick said meekly.

"I wonder what would happen if you baked bacon... baked bacon... what's bakin' bacon..." Cliff snorted.

"Cliff."

"That's stupid. What would happen if you baked bacon in a dessert? What kind of flavors would go with it, do you think?"

Erick twisted his hands into his hair, begging the gods for patience.

"You know what would be good? Maple syrup would be amazing with it, like, a bacon cupcake with maple and cinnamon, no. Maybe maple and brown sugar frost-"

"CLIFF."

His friend went quiet and Erick heard his chair squeak as he turned to look over his shoulder. He probably had that stupid confused face on like he'd forgotten he wasn't alone for the last hour.

Erick took a steadying breath. "I need a few minutes of quiet. Okay?"

Cliff must have nodded mutely, because he didn't reply. The gentle squeak of the chair was the only sound as quiet took over the space. Erick exhaled slowly and tried to soak in the silence. He probably looked as pitiful as he felt.

After a while, he took up his stitching again. The headache eased a bit with the silence, but he knew it was only a matter of moments until Cliff would probably start talking again. But alas, the sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence first.

"Alright boys, we haven't had a customer in over two hours," Horst said, wiping his oily hands with a towel. "Why don't you go ahead and take off early?"

"Okay!" Cliff jumped out of his seat. Clearly the last five minutes of silence had been agony for him. Erick vaguely wondered if he was being extra chatty today. Maybe that was a sign of stress for him?

Cliff gave him a short glance, seeing as he still hadn't moved out of his own chair yet, before ducking out of the room toward freedom. Almost instantly they heard him chatting away with some poor soul who probably didn't fancy their ear being talked off.

Erick sighed and rubbed his face, staring at his pile of work sitting beside his desk. "I really shouldn't leave early, Horst."

"You've been here since five," Horst pulled up a chair and sat down. "You're leaving early."

Frowning, his thoughts swept to Adrianna again. He wished he could see her. At least ask if she was alright, if she needed anything. If the baby was okay.

"Hiccup told the council everything." Horst said quietly. "It all makes sense now."

Erick nodded dimly, unsure what to say. Did Horst know what had happened outside of Berk too? He wondered if that was the first time Horst knew something about Adrianna before he did.

Horst seemed to hesitate, before inhaling.

Erick cut him off before he could say it. "I didn't touch Adrianna."

"I know," his mentor said gently, no accusation in his tone.

"People think-"

"It doesn't matter what people think, Erick. They will find out soon enough what really happened."

Erick shook his head and tossed his pencil to the table, sending it rolling underneath the saddle. "I'm almost willing to take the blame to spare her from that."

"That what?" Horst asked. "Shame? She didn't do anything wrong, Erick."

"Yes, I know that, but people won't see it that way!" Erick said in frustration, the entire day's anxieties flooding out his mouth before he could stop them. "They'll see it as weakness, just as they've always looked at her, like she's a stupid, insecure little thing that can't do anything right, not even protect herself from-" Erick stopped with wrathful exhale, irritated that his face flushed and eyes burned. "Nobody would listen to her anyway."

"Then why should it make any difference what people say?" Horst asked, stroking his beard calmly.

Erick shook his head, not knowing what else to say. He was so frustrated and tired and he wanted to help Annie, and he couldn't do anything.

Horst seemed to sense his growing frustration, and changed the subject. "Have you spoken to Hiccup?"

Erick twisted his shirt tail in his lap. "He won't even look at me."

"You need to talk to him."

"About what? How I didn't say anything to him while I had the chance?"

Horst raised a hand placatingly. "Erick, his daughter disappeared without warning. Again." Erick winced at the memory of her kidnapping at age three. "He was terrified that he'd never see her again. Then he found out she was pregnant? That another young man whom he trusted had raped her? And you didn't say anything to him. Erick, he has every reason to be upset about this."

"I know that!" Erick exclaimed.

"Then you can't ignore him," Horst said patiently. They're all going to need time to process, but you're a family. He's practically a father to you."

Erick sneered down at his prosthetic, the one that almost exactly matched Hiccup's with the exception of flightgear. "Yeah. Some son."

"Finn has made plenty of mistakes. Big mistakes, too," Horst amended. "Hiccup will forgive you too."

"What if he doesn't?"

Horst smiled when he finally met his mentor's eyes. "He will."

The idea of going to find Hiccup to talk things out terrified him. Should he get on his knees and beg for forgiveness for not saying something sooner? He'd had his reasons, petty as they were. At least, they felt petty now.

Erick pushed a hand through his hair. "I don't even know what to say."

"The words will come," Horst stood and pulled him out of his chair. "Come on, I'll walk you to the Hall."

"Is he there?"

"He was heading to the library last I saw him," Horst said as they stepped into the sunlight. "I'll give you an escort."

Erick ducked his head, ignoring eye contact with everyone they passed. A few women whispered as they passed by and Erick sighed.

"Erick, you did nothing wrong," Horst murmured, catching his eye. "So don't give them a reason to gossip by looking guilty."

The words resonated with him. As embarrassing and horrifying as it was, he hadn't done anything wrong concerning Adrianna. So he did not need to hide from people or act like he was guilty.

Erick straightened his spine and matched Horst's pace as they weaved through the streets.

Standing inside the library doorway was probably the most nerve-wracking thing he'd had ever had to do. Hiccup was indeed working inside, as Horst had suspected. Whether the chief came here to work on paperwork on a regular basis, or to escape the current stresses and regular life problems, Erick didn't know. All he knew was that he needed to talk to his chief... his friend, his second father, and resolve the conflict between them.

And he had no idea what to say.

Matilda poked her head out from a nearby row and whispered, "Here to talk to the chief?"

Erick nodded mutely.

She pursed her lips and nodded to a few rows down. "He's just down there. Been here most of the day and has hardly said two words. He's usually pretty chatty when he comes in here."

Swallowing his fear, Erick shrugged. "It's been a long week."

"Is that so?" Matilda asked.

Erick fought the urge to frown. Matilda always did love to eavesdrop on conversations or ask innocent yet prying questions, just to stay in the know of village life.

An idea popped into his head and he pulled her down a familiar aisle. "Matilda, I heard Adrianna wasn't feeling well today so she's at home resting. Would you mind-"

"Bringing her a few books to keep her company? Of course!" Matilda gushed, instantly pulling books off the shelves. "What an excellent idea!"

"Oh but umm..." Erick grasped her elbow and touched his lips with a finger. "Hiccup might not like the idea of anyone disturbing her, so... our little secret?"

Matilda gave him a curious look before shrugging. "Our little secret." She bustled off to put the books in a bag before bidding the chief goodbye and marching out the door.

Erick breathed a sigh, hoping Hiccup wouldn't kill him for sending Matilda to his house, especially since he outright said she wasn't feeling well. He suddenly wondered if he shouldn't go back and tell Matilda to forget it, Adrianna probably had more books at home than she could count anyway...

But no, he needed to talk to Hiccup in private before someone else grabbed his attention.

Steeling himself, Erick marched down the hallway in search of the chief.

He found Hiccup a few rows down, just as Matilda had said. He sat at a table covered in papers from left to right, a large satchel hanging off the edge of a chair. Toothless was curled up on the floor at the end of the table. The Night Fury cracked open an eye and huffed at him before going back to sleep. Hiccup didn't acknowledge his presence.

Erick ignored his pounding heart and walked over to the table, staying back a few paces. He hated this fear. He didn't want to be afraid of Hiccup, but he knew what the man could do when he was pushed too far. Hiccup couldn't be hiding away from the entire village if he wasn't one loose string away from snapping.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Erick stepped forward, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. "Hiccup... you can't ignore me forever."

Hiccup didn't even look up. The only telltale sign that he heard was his eyebrows creasing ever so slightly. Erick took another step forward.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for not telling you. Even though she asked me to keep it quiet, I should've said something to you and Astrid." Once the words had started, they came pouring out. "Like when I found Dana and Brandyn together, I didn't tell you and took it into my own hands. Here I thought it was different because she was directly asking me not to say anything. But I see now I should have told you regardless and I am sorry, Chief."

Hiccup sat in stony silence, his charcoal pencil halting on the page. Erick waited for a few seconds for him to speak. When Hiccup began writing again and it became clear that he wasn't going to say anything, Erick turned away with a sad sigh.

"Do you know what upsets me the most?"

Erick paused, his shoulders stiffening. He slowly turned back, both curious and afraid.

Hiccup didn't look up from his papers as he continued. "The fact that I have literally put my life on the line for her and she still doesn't trust me." Piercing green eyes locked on his. "But she trusts you."

Shock coursed through Erick's system. He felt like Hiccup had punched him in the stomach. "I'm sorry."

Hiccup looked back at his papers, evidently determined to ignore him some more.

"I never meant to replace you."

Erick was surprised to hear Hiccup mutter next: "You'd think I'd be used to it by now. Not being important."

Despite Hiccup's dark, almost hostile tone, Erick felt indignant at the words. "You are important to her. She left because she didn't want to dis-"

Hiccup's head snapped up, some of that wrath coming out. "Disappoint me? When are you kids going to realize that I might have strong opinions and beliefs, but I would never look at my kids and call them a disappointment?"

Erick stood there in silence,

Hiccup pointed his pencil at him. "I grew up thinking that I was a disappointment. A scrawny, useless kid that couldn't do anything right with no friends and no future because I figured my father would pick someone else to be his heir."

Surprise had to be all over his face. Erick hadn't known that. To imagine Hiccup as anything but strong and useful and amazing was strange. Sarcastic, yes. Different, yes. Un-traditionally not Viking, yes. But a disappointment?. Hiccup was about as un-disappointing as they came.

"If I was good enough for my father in the end, who struggled to show love and compassion, why would I ever call my kids a disappointment?" Hiccup snapped. "Even after Finn tore this village apart with his bare hands, nearly got you killed, said he hated me, took off never to come back and then sent his mother and I a letter telling us he was going to kill himself, I never-"

Hiccup stopped, anger melting away into pain. Hurt laced across his face. Toothless sat up from his spot on the floor to croon at his friend.

Erick shook his head. "Hiccup-"

"He was never a disappointment to me." Hiccup's voice was softer. "Neither were you."

Erick could almost feel the blades against his wrists, the blood running down his arms at the memory.

"And neither is she." Hiccup said quietly, looking over at Toothless. The dragon twisted around and shoved his face into Hiccup's arms in comfort.

Erick nodded, taking a moment to think. "Why don't you tell her that?"

Hiccup sighed in resignation and released Toothless's head. He began to scoop papers into a pile as he said, "If you hadn't noticed, she doesn't listen to what I have to say. Why don't you tell her for me? Might make more of a difference."

Exasperation clawed up Erick's throat before he could help it. "Ahh, Hiccup, come on. You know that's not true. Maybe she struggles to believe it because..."

With a raised eyebrow, Hiccup stuffed his papers inside the satchel. "Because?

The young man shrugged. "I don't know, you don't give up easily but... Maybe you do when you're needed the most?"

The chief pursed his lips. "Thank you for summing that up."

Erick shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it. I can barely figure out my own feelings! That's why you should talk to her about you two and I can deal with my own... stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Like how to convince the village I didn't get your daughter pregnant, for one."

Hiccup winced. "Yeah."

Erick tapped his prosthetic against the floor anxiously for a minute. He chewed on the thought for a moment longer, hoping Hiccup (or Toothless) wouldn't claw his eyes out for saying it out loud. "Okay. Can I just be honest for a bit?"

Hiccup sighed. "Be my guest."

"I don't know why you're making this about you."

The chief's eyes narrowed. "What?

Erick gathered his courage. They needed to think of Adrianna first. "You heard me. You're making it about you when it's not. It's about your daughter being scared and pregnant and feeling more alone than she ever has in her life. How is that in any way about you? All of us have bent over backwards in some way for her and gotten hurt as a result. She's ignored all of us at some point out of spite or anger or just pure rejection. But we've all had to get over it and she's had to come to terms with the fact that people screw up! Some of us don't do things on purpose to hurt her!" Erick was rambling and he knew it. "But sometimes people do do things on purpose and that's when she's most hurt. And that's when you step away. It's like you take her rejection, which is based on fear, personally! Maybe she came to me because she knew I wasn't going to blame myself for what happened and actually help her do something about it."

"Except you didn't." Hiccup said sharply. "Which in turn, caused a whole slew of other problems."

Erick threw out his hands. "What could I do? Honestly, what could I do? I didn't know! Do you know? Other than tell somebody who could do something, I didn't have any clue what to do! It might have kept her from running away, but... we might still be sitting here having this conversation if I'd told you."

"You were completely unprepared for that kind of information."

"We all are," Erick stepped closer to the desk. "My heart stopped when she told me. I don't know how I stayed calm long enough to ask if she was okay! None of us knows the right course of action here. But I know that the wrong one is to wallow in self pity when you have a daughter and a grandchild who need you right now."

"I'd like to see you be a better parent."

"This isn't about me and I am not making it about me. It's about Annie." Erick said just as firmly, placing his palms against the desk and staring down at the chief. "You know I'm right, so stop being stubborn."

He never thought there'd be a day where he'd tell off the chief to his face and survive. But here he was, doing it. And Toothless wasn't even blinking.

He continued on before either of them could respond. "I understand that you crave love and attention. You've always been that way, especially concerning your kids. You take Annie so seriously because you were her hero once. You still want to be that for her, I understand all that. But this isn't about you. Don't ignore it anymore, definitely discuss it with her, but you have to understand that this can't be about you. You have to let it go."

Hiccup's glare gradually loosened and he finally sat back in his chair with a huff. "Well, this is dignifying."

Erick blinked, surprised at the sudden change of tone. "What?"

"An almost 40-year-old being told off by seventeen-year-old-"

"Eighteen!" Erick straightened indignantly.

"Shut up."

Erick snickered, the tension finally breaking. Toothless wiggled in place at the sound, sniffing Erick's shirt as if he was looking for fish.

Hiccup sighed heavily. "You're right. You're right..."

Erick scratched Toothless's scales. "It's all right, dad. You've taught me plenty."

Hiccup frowned again. He wasn't sure why, but the young man knew this wouldn't be resolved in one day. It would take time and effort to break old habits.

Erick dropped his hands from Toothless's head and walked around the desk. "Stop that face." Hiccup sighed again and stood, accepting Erick's hug. "I'm sorry."

Hiccup hugged him tight. "Don't be. I probably wouldn't have done any better at eighteen if this happened to my friend."

Erick nearly choked at the word "friend". He almost felt defensive in a way. He didn't even feel like he qualified as a mere friend anymore. He cared about Adrianna so much; he wanted to make sure that nothing else would go wrong for her or her child. He didn't know when he'd become so fiercely attached. Was Brandyn's betrayal and abuse the thing that set him off? He didn't know; but even if it killed him, he'd make sure that nobody would ever hurt her like Brandyn had. Never again.

Instead of voicing these thoughts, he merely pulled away and shrugged. "Yeah well, I've still got a lot to learn."

"That you do, kiddo."

Erick sighed, feeling lighter and freer than he had in a few days. There was still a lot to do, a lot of issues to address... but mending his friendship with his father figure was a healthy step one. He'd have to remember to thank Horst later with sweet rolls (and hide them from Cliff).

"So..."

Hiccup slung an arm over Toothless's back. "What?"

Erick tried not to feel embarrassed, but... "What are we going to do about..."

"Addie, Brandyn, the rumors? All of the above?"

The blond waved a hand. "Specifically the rumor... I don't want my name to go down in history as the guy that... Yeah."

The chief scratched his stubbly cheek. "You won't. I have an idea how to kill that. I don't think it will make it all stop, but it will ease the people who aren't sure."

The teen cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

Hiccup made eye contact with Toothless, as if they could hear each other's thoughts somehow. "I think I need to announce it to the village."

Erick gaped. "Really?"

"I don't know, I'm still trying to think of another option. But I think that might be the only way to clear your name, explain Addie's running away... All of it. We'll gain support over the dissent."

"And then?"

Hiccup smiled a little. "And then we're having a baby."

Erick gulped, the idea of that happening still so foreign and strange. His childhood best friend, the girl he'd loved for as long as he could remember was actually having a baby. He wondered how long it would take for her to actually show or if she'd have crazy crying spells over nothing like Magnus did. Oh gods, what if she wanted to have pickles and chocolate as a snack-

Hiccup snickered, pulling him out of his reverie.

"What?

"You look like I did."

"Except I'm not..."

"I know, but it's still funny."

"So you were nervous?"

Hiccup grabbed his satchel with a laugh. Toothless also chortled as he moved between the rows of books toward the doors.

Erick smirked. "I'm going to take that as a yes." Together they walked toward the doors.

"I was nervous, yeah. But when you're holding your son or daughter, or son and daughter in my case, you don't think about it so much."

Erick nodded, wondering if he should voice his thoughts. "Great. Um..."

Hiccup looked at him quizzically. "What?"

Now would be the perfect time to voice his thoughts... But no. It was too soon. "Do you want to get dinner? Maybe if people see you not killing me, they'll relax?"

"It's worth a shot for now."

"We'll confuse them at any rate."

Hiccup smiled and slung an arm across his shoulders, almost making Erick feel like a little kid again. "Their loss. We've got a good thing going, this father/son thing."

Erick grinned, but elbowed him in the ribs. "Yeah, but we'd better let Finn get in on some of the action. Wouldn't want to lose another foot."

"Ha ha ha, that's not funny."

Toothless chortled as he ran past them around the corner, probably in search of unguarded plates full of fish.

Xxx

For a while after dinner, which she just barely managed to choke down, Adrianna lay on her bed and tossed a fifth book onto the pile. For once in her life, she was tired of reading.

Usually she could ignore what was bothering her and immerse herself into a different setting with different people. She'd read until her eyes hurt or she got hungry or had to use the outhouse so badly she thought her bladder might rupture.

Now, that seemed to be every ten minutes. And the nausea was killing her slowly from the inside out. Did she even have a stomach anymore?

Adrianna sighed, staring down her torso at her stomach. Still flat, but not for much longer.

Pregnant.

The word echoed in her head again and she slung an arm across her eyes. It still boggled her mind, even after all this time. Even after her harrowing adventure to Rune. Everyone in the village was whispering about her and Erick as if they'd... She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that all this had happened in the first place. That she'd dated such a vile man at all who'd do such a thing to her. And people had the gall to think Erick would-

"Oh shut up." Adrianna muttered to herself. She'd been going around in circles in her head all day, lying around in bed for the last two. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to move around.

Stretching and pulling on a pair of slippers, Adrianna stepped outside of her bedroom. The house was quiet. Finn hadn't come home yet; he was still avoiding her like the plague. She wondered where her mother was. Usually she'd be in the living room sharpening her weapons by this time, but no sounds of a whetting stone sliding across metal could be heard from downstairs.

The gentle sound of scraping paper caught her attention from her parents' room. The door was slightly ajar, so she quietly crept forward and leaned into the doorway.

Hiccup was sitting against the wall with a box of mementos next to him on the floor. Drawings, dozens of hair ribbons, small clay figures, dried flowers, a small stuffed Night Fury, a tiny pair of boots aged with time, and a small, familiar doll littered the floor.

"Mr. Gobcup?" Adrianna asked, stepping closer.

Her dad jumped and quickly exhaled. "You're definitely your mother's daughter."

"What do you mean?"

"You're really stealthy when you want to be."

"Sorry." Adrianna glanced back toward her bedroom. "I'll go if you want."

"It's fine, I just didn't hear you." Hiccup smiled.

Adrianna slid to the floor in front of the pile of random items. She looked at it all with curiosity. "What is all this?"

"This," Hiccup smiled, picking up the box. "Is your baby box."

"Baby box?"

"Yeah, your mom and I kept a bunch of little trinkets and mementos from your childhood. And Finn's. His is in a separate box."

"Aw..." Adrianna smiled, looking at a few drawings. "That's cute."

"I thought so."

"Did mom?"

"She warmed to the idea after a few hours of thought." Hiccup snorted. "She deemed it a worthy idea after a while."

"So sentimental." Adrianna breathed a laugh. "What's this?" She held up a small folded skirt in a light purple.

"That was your favorite skirt when you were little. Well... second favorite. The first... " Hiccup shook his head. "You loved that one. Used to wear it everywhere."

"You can say it, dad." Adrianna put the skirt back down. "That's the one Trista destroyed." There was a long pause in which he avoided eye contact before she smiled again. "Hair ribbons. Why'd you keep these?"

"Why not?" Hiccup shrugged. "Your mom used to put your hair in pigtails with those. It was cute."

"Well with a face like mine, of course it was cute," Her dad snorted. Adrianna held up one of the ribbons. "Not sure I could do that now."

"Nah, your hair's too thick for those wimpy ribbons. You've outgrown all the clothes in here."

"Really?" Adrianna gasped, holding the tiny boots up to her feet. "Man, I was so excited-"

"Oh be quiet."

Grin fading, Adrianna picked up Mr. Gobcup, surprised the doll wasn't falling apart. The clothes were tattered and dirty with age, but the limbs seemed to be intact. Only the center of the body seemed to flop in her hands a bit.

As if sensing her thoughts, her dad said, "It went right in the box after you stopped playing with it. Your mom didn't want to see it anymore."

"Why?" She asked in surprise, gazing up at him.

Hiccup was staring up at the ceiling, his head leaning against the wall. "Already enough scars to look at."

Adrianna looked at the white scars on his neck. They were a testament to how much he was willing to put on the line to keep her and her brother out of Dagur's hands. To keep Berk out of his clutches.

She gently lifted the doll's shirt up to see an old dried patch of blood, brown with age. The hole went straight down the center of its' chest cavity.

"He almost killed you."

Hiccup nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"He hurt you." Adrianna frowned. "He couldn't have wanted Berk so badly. Why did he want to fight to the death? Just... why?" She didn't know why she'd asked; she'd never really thought about it before. She'd heard Dagur's rivalry with her father had spanned decades, since they were children. Why did it have to end so bloody and ruthlessly?

Her dad looked at her with a serious expression. "He couldn't beat me. So he figured out the only way to hurt me was to take my family."

Adrianna's blood ran cold.

"That's why he kidnapped your mom," Hiccup exhaled. "When she was pregnant with you and Finn. She was going into labor when they took her. He kept her locked up in a jail cell and wouldn't send in a healer. That's why you were both born on an uncharted speck of land in the middle of Berserker Territory."

Adrianna frowned. "What would he have done if we'd been born in the jail?"

"I don't want to think about it."

She frowned, placing the doll back into the box with gentle hands. "Well good riddance. At least he didn't have any heirs."

"Sven has filled the role nicely," Hiccup replied.

"Why not keep the territory after Dagur died?" Adrianna asked curiously.

He merely shrugged. "I got what I wanted. I didn't need anything else. Viking tradition might call to divide and conquer, but I couldn't care less."

"Sacrificing a lot of power just for the two of us."

Her dad scowled suddenly, as if he'd tasted something bitter.

Adrianna would have stepped back if she was standing. "What?"

"I don't... " Hiccup sighed. "I don't care about my position. Or power. I only ever cared about my wife, my kids, and my dragon. I care about our people and their safety. But I don't care about the position of being chief. I don't care if I have lands or gold or..." Hiccup waved his hands around in frustration. "You name it! I don't care."

"Yeah, that's what makes you such a good chief." Adrianna said.

Her dad breathed a small laugh. "To the rest of the world, it makes me weak."

A sliver of frustration eased into her voice. "They're stupid."

Hiccup laughed. "I agree. That's why I fought so hard to stop Finn from becoming that kind of chief."

"One like Dagur?"

Adrianna blinked, surprised at the question. She'd never once compared her brother to Dagur, but... well, he had been a tyrant once too.

"Somehow, I doubt Finn would ever have been so ruthless. Or vindictive." Hiccup shook his head. "But I didn't want to risk it."

"I don't know."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"No, like..." Adrianna shrugged. "He's not like that anymore, but he's still scary when he's mad. He hasn't looked at me since we came home from..."

"Addie. Can you blame him?"

Adrianna sighed in frustration. "No. But he doesn't have to hate me."

"Finn doesn't hate you. He's just..." Hiccup shook his head. "Confused, afraid... Boys don't understand girls anyway. Put him in this position and he's going to be freaked out. Has Erick even come over the last few days?"

She frowned. "I thought you wanted him to stay away."

Hiccup winced. "We talked earlier. We're not angry with each other anymore, but... I don't know, Addie. I can't trust anyone with you right now."

Adrianna felt indignation rise in her chest. "He wouldn't hurt me. The idea is ridiculous; you don't have to make him stay away like he's the bad guy."

"That's not the point, Addie," Hiccup said. "I know he wouldn't. Call me an overprotective, territorial male all you want, but I'm not having anybody in this house right now. For you, for your mom, Finn, heck, for my own sake. We need space right now. Let's take advantage of it while we can."

"Before I pop like a balloon."

"Well, let's be realistic," Hiccup smiled. "I can't forbid all social activities from now til February."

"Gods, I'm going to be monstrous."

Hiccup snickered, gathering some of the papers and mementos into a pile and placing them back in the box.

Adrianna pursed her lips, heart pounding. She had to say it, at least for his sake. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Hiccup's movements slowed before quietly replying. "It's alright."

"Don't lie," Adrianna said firmly. "It's not alright. I should have told you right from the start. The second he wanted more, I should have told you."

He carefully placed the top back on the box and pushed it aside. He folded his hands in his lap for a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts. "Addie," Finally, he met her eyes. A matching set of green. "You know I love you, right?"

Adrianna nodded.

"No matter what?"

"Yes," she whispered, throat tightening.

"Then it doesn't matter." He whispered back, leaning forward and pulling her into a hug. "Young or old, sick or healthy, baby or not, it doesn't matter. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."

Adrianna sniffed and buried her face into his shoulder, hugging him around his chest tightly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Hiccup pressed a kiss to her temple. "That's just being a parent."

And for once, to her ears, it didn't sound at all like an obligation.

Xxx

Finn was ticked.

The stitches in his left arm itched like crazy. The Great Hall was stuffy as heck. The parents sitting at the table in front of him couldn't keep their kids under control. Brandyn raped his sister. She was pregnant.

And they were about to tell the whole village.

He wanted to hide behind a pillar away from probing eyes. People continuously looked at him as his dad conversed quietly with the council nearby. Adrianna sat beside Erick on a bench by the head fire pit, looking a bit queasy but keeping her expression calm. Erick whispered something to her and she nodded thinly.

Finn bit back a huff. What he wouldn't give to hide in the woods all day. And because he was stupid and cut his wrist, he couldn't even burn as much energy as he usually could.

Or he could and he could go back to the healer's and Inga could re-do his stitches. That wouldn't be too obvious would it?

He was a mixed bag of emotions and he knew it was obvious to those who knew him best. His current scowl was probably a good telltale sign. His friends hadn't spoken to him much the last few days; not since he'd returned from Rune with a gruff attitude worthy of Stoick the Vast. The guys had asked to see his battle injuries, but he'd merely cut them off with a snapped reply of "the blood isn't mine" and stomped away.

He was being a jerk and he knew it. But stress was too high right now. He was close to snapping and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.

Hiccup and the council finally broke ranks and calmly walked to the front of the crowd. The murmuring died down almost instantaneously, people curious to know what was going on with their chief and his family this time. Most people already had an idea of what had happened because of the rumor. They still hadn't figured out who'd started it; Finn almost didn't care.

"Thank you for coming," Hiccup began, folding his hands behind his back. "I promise to keep this brief, since we all have things we need to attend to today." He paused, looking toward Astrid for encouragement. A hint of fear flashed across his face for a split second before it disappeared. "There is no easy way for me to say this. I'm sorry that your children needed to be present, but there are things I need to discuss with you. I don't want any adult left out."

His dad took a deep breath, staring down at his prosthetic for a moment. "My daughter was raped by Brandyn Anderson."

Gasps exploded across the room, eyes whipping to Hiccup, to Astrid, to Adrianna who stared at the table, to Finn who kept his eyes locked on his father. He ignored the chatter, the shock, his friend's open stares as they tried to catch his eye. He clenched his jaw and kept his eyes on his dad.

"I want to take this moment to ease any doubting individuals out there," Hiccup said strongly. "Erick Larson did not touch my daughter. Period. I don't want to hear another word about it."

Finn glanced at Erick in time to see him reach over and take Adrianna's hand subtly under the table. His blood boiled and he looked away. The nerve. The nerve-

A hand waved in the corner of his eye; he looked over to see Inga staring at him. She raised a hand in front of her as if to inhale, and moved it down slowly. Breathe.

He closed his eyes and did as he was told. He couldn't lose it in here. Not right now.

When he could breathe without shaking, Finn opened his eyes and focused again on his father's words.

"-not sure where Brandyn went, but I'm sending warrants out to our allied clans for his arrest. If he so much as sets foot on their islands, they'll bring him here and he'll be hanged for his crimes."

Murmurs broke out across the Hall once again. Finn gulped, suddenly feeling some of his father's fear. They hadn't even heard the worst of it yet.

As if on cue, Hiccup said, "That's not all."

Everyone went quiet, waiting to hear what he might say.

"Half of the rumor is true," he said, eyes moving across the crowd. "She is pregnant."

Again, people gasped. A few women shrieked, as if it pained them to hear the words. Finn's eyes darted to his sister, whose gaze was still locked on the table. Her shoulders were stiff, the knuckles of her fingers white in Erick's grip.

Suddenly, a man yelled from the back, "How do we know you're not just covering for Erick?"

Finn whirled in the man's direction, ready to track him down and knock his teeth out. Gobber stood next to him and grabbed his arm before he could take a step.

Before Hiccup could reply, Adrianna's voice erupted across the room: "Erick would never touch me."

The room went silent. Nobody had heard her speak to anyone in such a voice. Finn turned to see her glaring at people left and right.

"You people don't have to believe me. But it's true. Brandyn was not the man he claimed to be."

The man snorted in his seat. "For all we know, you could be wrong about Erick too."

A few dozen people whirled in their seats in anger, ready to defend the Larson boy. Finn was slightly amazed at how many people were willing to go to blows over the teenager who they'd been gossiping about just yesterday. Cliff looked about ready to launch out of his seat.

Hiccup's voice carried across the room over the din: "Joel, I would tread very carefully if I were you."

"Or what, chief?" Joel, a tall, wiry man with long blonde hair stood. "You can't protect everyone!"

Toothless growled in his spot next to Hiccup, setting some teeth on edge.

"I thought that would have been obvious." Hiccup replied coolly. Finn saw the calculating glare and knew Joel was toast. He almost wished he had a bowl of popcorn to enjoy the coming spectacle.

Erick broke his silence. "If you think for one second I would be best friends with someone for over a decade and then suddenly turn on her and hurt like that, you're an idiot."

"Wouldn't be the first time it's happened, kid."

"True, but I'm not the kind of pig that sleeps with the barkeep."

Gasps erupted around the room, even a few snickers. Finn had to fight the smirk coming to his face at Joel's expression. The 25-year-old was typically seen hanging out with Cale, constantly flirting with the patrons of the local tavern, but he'd always had a sweet spot for Dana.

"The barkeep has a name, punk-"

"So do I," Erick mused, looking at his fingertips casually. "You want respect for the girl you care about? Then respect mine."

Finn stiffened.

Joel's appreciative look made Erick's ears burn. "If all this is true, then you're jumping into the ring pretty soon after the last guy."

"Enough." Hiccup snapped.

Finn swallowed his ire. He was inclined to agree with Joel.

"The point is that I don't want to hear this ridiculous and completely unfounded rumor anymore. I don't know where it started, who spread it. I don't care. It's false. And it sullies both Erick's and Adrianna's good names."

"Good name?" Joel erupted again. "He was making out with your little princess not a month ago!" Voices of agreement echoed through the room. "You people are ridiculous!"

Hiccup opened his mouth, but Erick beat him. "It was a mistake."

"You're the most nonsensical kid I've ever met."

"Using big words now?"

"One minute you're kissing her, then avoiding her, then saying you care about her, but then you say it's a mistake? You're a joke!" Joel waved his arms about, almost trying to rile up the crowd.

Finn felt his patience wearing thinner and thinner by the second. The problem was, he wasn't sure which side he'd be arguing on.

"It was a mistake." Adrianna spoke up, standing up for the first time. "We're human. We all make mistakes. But trusting Erick," she paused for a moment, meeting his eye, "that's not one of them."

Finn nearly rolled his eyes with the crowd.

Joel scoffed. "Please, spare me your romantic love story. You and your precious lover will trash people who know who they are and what they want, yet all you've caused this village is drama since the day you were born!"

Finn watched his dad surge forward. Either Joel didn't see him coming or he didn't care.

"Your little rape baby is going to be nothing but a menace to this village because it will have a rapist for a father and a whining little slut for a m-"

The punch Hiccup delivered to Joel's face echoed across the room. Finn was pretty sure he saw teeth fly.

Joel hadn't been on the ground for more than a second before the chief hauled him up by the shirt collar and slammed him over the edge of the fire pit. Even Finn's eyes widened.

"If I hear my daughter or grandchild referred to in that way EVER again," Hiccup seethed. "I won't miss the fire pit."

Hiccup pulled the man up and shoved him back into his seat with a slam. Wiping blood from his mouth, Joel glared at the chief's back as he stalked away.

"Let me make myself crystal clear," Hiccup said, falling back into a scarily calm voice. "The rumor ends now. If you want to take it up with me privately, fine. We can talk. But I will not tolerate any individual being accused of something they did not do. If I'm unavailable, you may take it up with any individual on the council. They will be willing to answer any of your questions or ease any concerns that you might have."

Finn didn't know how he did it. How could his dad shift from rage to calm and collected in a span of seconds? He wished he could bury his anger that easily.

"I think that is all for now." Hiccup said calmly. "Do not bother my daughter for details. She needs space right now and I would ask that you respect her privacy. You're dismissed."

It took a few seconds to register the dismissal before everyone steadily got to their feet. Children avoided even looking at the chief out of fear. Finn crossed his arms and leaned back against the pillar, finally allowing himself to exhale. Gobber finally hobbled away to talk to Hiccup.

Adrianna slowly sat back down beside Erick, who silently reached for her hand once again. She accepted it with a small smile.

Finn looked away. He couldn't help but agree with some of Joel's comments. They were ridiculous and sappy and frustrating. All of this drama could have been prevented if Erick had just backed off. Now he had the gall to touch her, to think he had any right.

He turned and walked away, pushing past Inga and Cliff and whoever else wanted to talk to him. He needed air and space, maybe an open sky or an uninhabited island where he could scream his frustrations without someone watching.

Ducking through the crowd, Finn took a hard left along the walls and stood in the shadows. He gritted his teeth at all the conversation he could hear as people walked down the stairs back toward the village.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Is the chief's daughter gonna have a baby?"

"Yes, honey."

Finn closed his eyes and looked toward the roof, blocking out all sound. For once in his life, he wished he could evaporate. Or go deaf so he didn't have to hear it anymore. Didn't have to deal with this anymore. He wished...

His heart clanged in his chest. He wished Benen was here.

When the number of people exiting the Hall lowered and Erick and Adrianna emerged, still holding hands, Finn snapped. Neither of them saw him coming until Finn shoved Erick away and rammed him into the stone wall.

Adrianna gasped. "Finn!"

"Don't. Touch. Her." He growled into the other boy's face, feeling his skin flush.

Erick's eyes were wide. "Finn-"

"Don't- just shut up. Don't touch her. Period. I don't want to hear it!" Finn yelled. "Don't TOUCH my sister!"

"Finn!" Adrianna cried, pulling at his arm.

He didn't even know why he was feeling so desperate, but everything felt like an attack. He was still furious with her too, so why did he even care what she did anymore? If she wanted to act like a victim and then let the next boy sidle right in and get comfortable because she needed support and a boy to make her life better, then why did he even care?

Erick held up his hands calmly. "Okay."

Then, Hiccup and Astrid walked out. The chief nearly balked. "Finn! What- let him go!"

He wished he could strangle him; instead, he released Erick and stepped back once. Erick calmly straightened his shirt. Adrianna inhaled sharply, sounding like she was trying not to cry.

Hiccup sighed and stepped forward, "Finn-"

"Don't talk to me in that voice," Finn growled. "Like I'm the bad guy!"

"Nobody is saying that, Finn." Astrid said placatingly. "But you need to-"

"What? Sit here and do nothing like the rest of you?" Finn shouted.

Hiccup winced, peering down the stairs at the few people still retreating. "Finn, keep your voice down."

"Or what? You'll throw me in the fire pit too?"

His dad was in his face a second later. "Don't you dare give me that tone. We are not doing this. We need to be on the same page here-"

"No," Finn shook his head. "We're never on the same page. Except these two. I agree with half of what Joel said!"

Adrianna's face went slack. "Which part?"

"The part where you two have this petty little romance going on in the midst of all this garbage that's happened." Finn growled. "You two need to have a serious reality check because you're pregnant. And while we're trying to tell the village what the heck is going on, that it's not him who put the kid there, you two still have the gall to hold hands through the whole thing? Who the heck is going to believe you?"

Erick pursed his lips. Finn knew he didn't need to be so angry, but he knew he was right.

"I don't want to be rude but that's not any of your business," Erick said calmly.

"No. I don't see why any of this is your business." Finn snapped.

"People accused me-" Erick started.

"He raped MY sister, Erick!" Finn's voice nearly cracked.

Everyone went stiff, almost like they were shocked that he'd even said it. That he was showing emotion about it. Like they were surprised he even cared.

Finn stepped back, looking at all of them in turn, hurt and angry. "Am I not allowed to say or do anything here?"

Hiccup held out his hands placatingly. "Finn, we have to handle this delicately."

"Excuse me if I get a little overprotective of any guy touching her. I thought you'd appreciate that." He glared at his dad.

"I do, Finn." Hiccup said. "But Erick isn't the bad guy."

"Yeah, the bad guy is walking free out there, potentially doing this," He jerked a hand at Adrianna, who flinched. "To other girls out there. But you don't care about them do you?"

"Finn."

"Because it's not her!" Finn nearly shouted. "Screw anybody else, because she's the only one who's important!"

"Finn, come on, that's not true!" Hiccup sighed.

"Then explain to me why this," Finn gestured to Erick and Finn, standing shoulder to shoulder. "Is in any way okay after all this?"

"Friendly support isn't a bad thing." Erick said.

He rolled his eyes. "You and I both know that there's more to this than friendly support."

"Whatever you want to tell yourself, Finn."

"Alright, enough," Hiccup said, pushing between them. "I get you're upset, but we need to keep a level head."

Finn shook his head. "Yeah, level headedness is what's going to solve all these issues. For the record," He turned to his sister. "Maybe I'm getting all up in your business because I'm trying to protect you."

"I don't need you to protect me, Finn." Adrianna said, an edge to her voice. "Especially not from Erick. Or do I need to convince you along with the rest of the village that he'd never hurt me."

Finn narrowed his eyes. "He has hurt you. Lots of times."

"And I forgave him!" His sister growled. Erick had him pinned with a teal glare. "Stop acting like you're so much better!"

"I'm not!" Finn shouted. "Maybe I'm sick of being useless around here!"

"Okay-" Astrid said, trying to get between them.

"Stop it!' Hiccup pushed him back before either him or sister could say another word. "Finn, please."

Finn panted angrily, staring him down.

"I cannot do this right now, Finn."

"No," Finn wasn't ashamed that his eyes burned. "Where it concerns me, you never can."

Turning away he marched toward the woods and didn't look back, not even when they called his name.