Astrid liked the feeling a warm body in bed next to her. She hadn't noticed how much she'd desired it until Hiccup had stopped sleeping in the master bedroom for weeks at a time. And even when he did, he never stayed until morning and certainly never touched her. All this had changed in the span of one wonderful afternoon. They napped for an hour, both feeling quite worn out by the day's activities, and awoke as the sun was high in the sky.

Hiccup awoke first, his arms around his beautiful wife and his body feeling relaxed for the first time in far too long. He breathed in the familiar mint and honey scent of her hair, smiling to himself at the memory of the events following their impromptu nap. Astrid awoke a few minutes later, happy to feel strong arms around her waist, gently stroking the silky smooth nightshirt she'd slipped on before curling into his arms. She heard him sigh with contentment just above her head.

"Hey." she said as she turned her body so that she faced her husband.

"Hey." he replied, reaching up and brushing some loose strands of hair from in front of her face.

"How did you sleep?" she whispered, fingers brushing against Hiccup's cheek and making their way down to his chest.

Hiccup smiled. "Best sleep I've had in weeks. And that was just for an hour."

"Imagine the kind of sleep you'll have tonight." Astrid placed her hand behind her husband's shoulder and gently pulled him in. "You've got something you didn't have before. Me."

"Don't I know it." Hiccup kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Forgiving me. I didn't deserve it." Hiccup gently ran his fingers through her hair.

"That's the thing about forgiveness. No one deserves it. But that's why we have to. Because we don't either."

"Are you always this philosophical or is that new?"

"Our daughter may have rubbed off on me. A little."

"A little, huh?" Hiccup chuckled. "Okay sure."

"Speaking of which." Astrid's voice became serious. "She had a... an incident. Two nights ago. And I've been thinking about it but I can't make sense of it."

"What sort of incident? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Well... she acted okay the next day. But I didn't bring it up." Astrid paused. "Has she ever mentioned anything about an escapologist? Maybe in a nightmare or... or just in general?"

Hiccup furrowed his brow. "Does she know what that is? We've never had one come to perform. Haven't in... gods, a little over twenty years."

"That's what I thought. But we were reading this book and the word 'escapologist' came up and she threw the book across the room. Wouldn't touch it again and then was sort of... far away. Like reliving something." Astrid's eyebrow furrowed at the memory, concern for her daughter taking over her features. It warmed Hiccup's heart to see her concerned for their daughter about something. ."

Hiccup's eyes closed briefly. "A flashback. That's... odd."

Astrid nodded in agreement. "That's what I thought too. What do you think it means?"

Hiccup sighed. "I think it means we don't know the full story."

Astrid huffed and sprawled back on the bed. Hiccup leaned on his elbow to look down at her, his fingers rubbing the material of her nightgown at her hip. "That's what I was afraid of. So now what do we do?"

Hiccup frowned in thought, his fingers gently trailing across her stomach. "We can't confront her. I guess we'll just... hope she tells is one day."

They were silent for a few moments until Astrid turned her head to face him. "Is that all we can do?"

"Pretty much," Hiccup replied through pursed lips.

Astrid raised her right hand and pushed her fingers through his hair, pulling a warm sigh from his throat. Her nails gently pulled against the back of his neck. She grinned when Hiccup bit his lips to keep from moaning in pleasure and begging her to stop driving him absolutely insane.

"How was Finn?"

Hiccup rested his hand on her belly as he gathered his thoughts. He told her of the evil slave master Ratri and his plot to have him killed so he could keep Finn as a slave. He told her of his reunion with Finn in the belly of the cave and all the injuries on Finn's young body from the man's beatings.

"He'll probably have scars for the rest of his life."

"I'll have to treat those. I can't imagine him letting is take him to the healer's. "So," her eyes lowered for a moment as she processed this information. "Why did Ratri make you go into that cave in the first place?"

"I think he caused the cave-in to kill me so I wouldn't be able to retrieve Finn." Hiccup shook his head. "But I can't even begin to explain to you the thought processes of a man like that."

Astrid's face darkened. "If I could get my hands on that sick, twisted pig, I'd-"

"I know." Hiccup nodded. "Believe me, I know."

"I'm thankful he didn't have to stay in that place for long and that he met Benen."

"You can say that again."

Astrid pushed his shoulder so he lay back on the bed. She leaned over him, her hair casting a curtain over him that blocked out everything but framed her eyes.

He smiled up at her. "What?"

"We need to make some changes."

Hiccuped laughed. "Yeah, we do."

"First, off we are doing this more often. We're not putting this off for that long again."

Hiccup hummed. "I think I can live with that."

"I figured," Astrid winked. "Second, we're going to give each of our kids equal attention. I'm going to spend more time with Adri, and-"

"Adri?"

Astrid nodded with a smile. "Yeah... My nickname for her, we decided."

"I like it." Hiccup said, resting his head on her shoulder. "Anyway, and?"

"And you're going to spend more time with Finn, and not just to teach him about chiefly duties."

"Agreed."

Silence permeated the room again. Astrid turned her head to look at him after a couple minutes. His eyes met hers and he raised his eyebrows questioningly. Astrid grinned devilishly and pushed his shoulders back on the bed, ignoring his surprised gasp. She wrapped her leg around his hip and pulled herself on top of him, giggling at his widening eyes. Resting her chin on her hands, elbows on either side of his head, she peered down at him with a seductive smile. "How about another round?"

Hiccup scoffed a laugh, but couldn't resist resting his hands on her lower back. "Do you want to wear me out? I still have to pick up the kids."

"I could pick them up."

Hiccup ignored the seriousness in her voice and turned his head away from her probing lips. "Mmm, you could," He nudged her face away from his neck with his nose. "But I think it would be better if I did it. I'm not that tired and irresponsible, besides."

Astrid pouted. "Hiccuuuuuup-"

"Astriiiiiiiiiiiiid," Hiccup whined back before he as struck with inspiration. With a triumphant smirk, Hiccup dug his fingers into her waist just below her ribs.

Astrid screamed indignantly and tried to scramble off of him. "NO STOP!"

Hiccup wrapped his right leg around her left, keeping her from fleeing. Her laughs echoed through the bedroom until she finally managed to wriggle free. Before she could fully escape, Hiccup floored them over so he lay on top of her. He held one of her wrists down with his knee and ignored her frantic screams for mercy. He laughed triumphantly when she began to scream even louder at his probing fingers, tears of mirth dripping down her face.

Hiccup only stopped when she began to cough and finally roared, "DONT MAKE KICK YOU!"

Sitting back on his knees, sitting over hers, he grinned down at her. She clutched her sides as she tried to catch her breath, her blue eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

A moment later she finally wheezed, "Payback will be sweet, my dear."

Hiccup gulped and nervously giggled. "I look forward to it."

He swung his legs over the bed and reached for his button down shirt. He frowned when he looked at it, sighing as he realized that this was his only clean shirt from his travels. He raised an eyebrow at Astrid, who merely smirked at him.

Xxx

"One more stitch should do it and... there you go." Benen smiled proudly. "One perfect cloth flower, if I do say so myself. And now you can continue to wear them in the winter."

Adrianna beamed at the elderly man, pulling apart the string and tucking it under the flower so that the stitches would hold. She admired her work, eyes wide with wonder. Had she really made something so... so pretty all on her own? Well, it wasn't all her; she'd had a very good teacher.

"Why don't you try it on?" Benen suggested. Adrianna clipped the flower into her hair and looked at the former slave. "Beautiful. You should make more. Purple suits you quite well but there's a whole rainbow of colors that would make your lovely smile brighter."

"Thank you, Benen. Where did you learn to make these?" Adrianna asked, hopping over to a mirror to take a look for herself.

"Long ago, I was in love with a woman who liked to wear flowers much like you do." Benen sighed, a small smile brightening his features as his thoughts turned to Aida. "I used to make them for her and leave them where she could find them. I am so happy I haven't lost my touch."

Finn shook his head, his nose crinkling. "Anna's already girly enough."

"Well, dear boy, your sister is a girl." Benen chuckled. "And one day, you might find femininity more appealing."

"I don't think so." Finn placed his chin in his hand. "Girls are so... so weird."

"Just because you and I may not understand them doesn't mean they are, as you put it, weird." Benen placed a hand on the boy's knee. "It is through our differences that we learn to appreciate each other."

"Well said." Hiccup exclaimed from the forge's window. "Well, Benen, I see you've kept my kids happy while my wife and I have been patching up our relationship."

"Your family is wonderful, Hiccup. I am happy to help." Benen replied. "Though your friend Gobber has been offering much needed assistance. He showed your son here how to make an arrow head. And then your daughter shot it through the target over there." he gestured to a target with an arrow directly in the center. "She has a good eye."

"That she does." Hiccup walked into the forge and was nearly bowled over by his little girl. "Easy there, Addie!"

"I missed you." Adrianna's voice was slightly muffled since her head was pressed into her daddy's leather vest.

"I missed you too, sweetie." Hiccup gently pried her arms off his waist and took a good look at her. "That flower makes you look very pretty. Did Benen show you how to make it?"

"Yeah he did! And he's going to help me make others too!" Adrianna exclaimed with a gleeful hop.

"Now Benen," Hiccup turned to the elderly man, who serenely met his gaze. "If you turn my daughter into the prettiest girl on Berk, I'm going to have to fight the boys off my lawn!"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Benen stood and playfully tugged a strand of the girl's hair. "Not that she needs my help."

Adrianna blushed scarlet. Finn, however, had his eyes fixed on the shirt his father wore under the vest.

"Dad," he said, one eyebrow raised. "Where did all your buttons go?"

Gobber, who had just walked into the room, snorted and covered his mouth with a hand. Hiccup shot a glare in his direction before turning back to his son, his mind racing.

"Your mother didn't like them. In fact, I don't think she likes this shirt." he said, pulling the open shirt closed as best he could.

Thankfully, his son didn't press the issue.

Xxx

"And I know I can't make it up to you all at once. I only ask for a second chance so that I can prove how truly sorry I am for what I put the village through these last two years." Hiccup stopped to take a breath, his eyes focused on his wife in the back of the room, who beamed at him. "I come to you without any pointless excuses. There was no excusing my behavior. But can you find it in your hearts to forgive me?"

Snotlout slowly got to his feet, looking his chief directly in the eye. "We promised to stand by you until the end. We're not letting you go that easily."

"Yeah. And besides, if you stopped being chief, Snotlout would have to take over." Tuffnut added with a smirk. "And he hasn't done any of the awesome things you've done."

As Snotlout hastily retorted, Hiccup's eyes scanned the crowd. His friends all looked at him with a renewed resolve to stand by him no matter what. But several others weren't as forgiving. He watched as a small group of people left the Great Hall, not bothering to keep their footsteps silent. He sighed to himself. It was up to him to make it up to them one by one.

His disappointment lasted only moments. He soon felt two pairs of arms around his waist as his children came up to the platform to express their forgiveness. Ruffnut punched him in the shoulder but her smile assured him that it wasn't meant to be malicious. Heather gave him a quick, one armed hug as her husband clapped him on the back.

But it was Olaf Larson's words that ended up meaning the most to him long after that night was over. He wheeled over and reached up to shake Hiccup's hand.

"I don't think I've ever heard a better apology." he said cheerfully. "I don't need to do any more than look at the way you embrace your children and your wife to know that we have our old chief back. You will lead us well."

"Thank you, Olaf." Hiccup's smile widened. "You don't know how much your forgiveness means to me."

"As a man who has made many mistakes, I assure you that I do." Olaf chuckled. "Welcome home, chief."

"Thank you." Hiccup said, looking out at the crowd of people who had forgiven him and at his family, who all looked at him lovingly. "It's good to be back."

Xxx

"No! Please, I'm sorry! I'll go back and get what you want! But you didn't..." Finn dodged the cane, skidding across the wood on his stomach, vaguely aware of the glass shards underneath his bare skin. "You didn't specify what to buy! Please don't hurt me!" Finn begged, curling into a fetal position with his arms covering his head.

Ratri raised the cane, a horrible glint in his eyes, and brought it down.

Finn awoke with a gasp, his body covered in sweat and his heart pounding in his ears. He trembled for a moment, forgetting that he was no longer on Maero and that Ratri was far away. That Ratri could never hurt him again.

For a moment, the boy considered going into his parents' room and asking if he could crawl into bed with them. He knew that their warmth would make him feel safe, would comfort him. But he wasn't Adrianna. He wasn't weak. And he wasn't going to cry about his fears or his nightmares the way everyone else did.

He crawled under his covers again and shut his eyes, willing his mind to go blank again. He wouldn't think about it. Maybe then the nightmares would cease.

Xxx

"Up! Get up!"

Astrid groaned, pulling the covers over her head. Her husband laughed, trying to tug them from her grip.

"No, come on." she moaned sleepily.

"Astrid, honey, you promised." Hiccup leaned down and kissed the top of her head, which was all that was visible thanks to the blankets.

"Okay, okay." Astrid tossed the covers off her head and captured Hiccup's lips with her own. "I'm up."

Hiccup skipped over to the dresser and pulled on his clothes as fast as he could. "Gods, we need to do this more often."

"Calm down or you'll wear yourself out before we wake up the kids!" Astrid laughed, now trying to get dressed as fast as him.

"Impossible." Hiccup grinned and threw open the door, taking a deep breath and enjoying the fresh morning air. "Addie! Finn! Wake up!"

Two doors opened a minute later as the twins hurriedly emerged and pounded down the stairs. The four Haddocks stopped on the last step, all feeling slightly sheepish. Benen was sitting at the table, an amused expression on his face.

"Quite the early risers, aren't you?" he asked with a grin. "It's been a long time since I've seen so much energy at the crack of dawn."

Hiccup looked over to the couch where the elderly man had slept and was relieved to note that it had been smoothed out, indicating that Benen had risen before him and his family.

"We're going flying!" Adrianna squealed.

"A good reason to rise early!" Benen chuckled. "I'll be going to give you four some time with each other. I should go looking for a place to stay." he sighed. "Goodness, it's been a long time since I had somewhere to call my own."

"Come by this evening and I'll help you move." Hiccup said. "But first, you need to eat."

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly impose." Benen protested.

"Nonsense." Astrid reached into the cupboards to take out copious amounts of food. "You are no imposition."

Finn sat down and, once Astrid passed him a big bowl of berry porridge, scooped a generous amount into his mentor's bowl. Adrianna did the same with the scrambled eggs her mother passed her.

"Why, there's enough on my plate to feed a small army!" Benen exclaimed, pushing the plate forward. "I couldn't-"

"You are going to eat all of that." Astrid insisted. "And you're going to keep eating until Finn won't risk getting a parchment cut if he gives you a hug."

"But-"

"No arguments!" Hiccup said, pushing the plate toward the former slave.

Benen looked down at his plate and then back at Astrid, who had just sat down and was passing the food around the table. Tears filled his eyes.

"Oh Benen, don't cry." Adrianna whimpered, reaching across the table (nearly putting her elbow in the bowl of porridge as she did so) to wipe the man's tears.

"I'm sorry." Benen wept, smiling through his tears at the Haddock girl's kindness. "I don't mean to upset you. But no one has treated me this way in a very long time."

"Get used to it, Benen." Hiccup placed a hand on the man's wrist. "Berk is going to love you. I can promise that."

When breakfast had ended (Benen easily ate everything on his plate and even accepted seconds at Astrid's insistence), the family made their way to a nearby cliff, dragons at their heels, while Benen made his way to the village. Hiccup looked up at the almost completely clear sky and felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time: excitement.

"All right, Addie," he said, turning to his daughter, "give me your hand and I'll hoist you onto Toothless here."

Adrianna looked at the Night Fury with a furrowed brow before turning to her father. "Daddy, I love you very, very much... but can I ride with mommy today?"

"Well," Hiccup turned to his wife, who looked so touched she might actually shed a tear, "who am I to keep a girl from her mother?" he turned to Finn. "I guess that leaves you with me, buddy. What do you say? Want to show the girls who rules the skies?"

Finn opened his mouth to respond when suddenly a large bag dropped to the ground right in front of his father. Hiccup bent over and picked it up, eyebrow raised, as Pipsqueak landed on his shoulder.

"What's that?" Adrianna asked, making herself comfortable atop Stormfly.

"It looks like..." Hiccup opened the bag. "It is! Oh good girl, Pipsqueak!"

"It is what?" Astrid raised an eyebrow.

"It's the bag of money I used to pay Ratri." Hiccup let out a shout of laughter. "Pipsqueak must have thought we left it behind by accident!"

"You mean you got Benen and me for free?" Finn's mouth split into a wide smile. "Ratri must be so mad!"

"I bet he is!" Hiccup wiped tears of mirth out of his eyes. "No slaves and no money. I wish I could see his face."

The Haddocks laughed, quite pleased that the cruel man had gotten at least a little bit of what he deserved. Finn looked up and thanked the gods that Ratri wouldn't be able to purchase any more slaves for the time being.

"Well, Adri," Astrid climbed onto Stormfly behind her daughter. "Ready to show the boys what we're made of?"

Adrianna nodded eagerly. They waited for Hiccup to mount Toothless before shooting like an arrow into the sky. As they flew, the Haddock family all breathed deeply, enjoying the crisp morning air and the view of their island growing smaller and smaller as they flew closer to the clouds.

Astrid put her arms around her daughter. True, she and Adrianna still didn't have as much in common as they might have liked but all the tension was gone. The female Haddocks felt like they had found all the common ground they needed. Adrianna was excited to learn everything her mother had to teach her. And, though she didn't know it, Astrid was just as excited to teach her as she was to learn from her. The little girl had already taught her mother so many important lessons. Almost as many as her mother had taught her. And that was only the beginning.

Hiccup felt his son lean back into his chest as the Night Fury flew higher into the sky. He still felt guilty for treating his little man as horribly as he had over the last few months. He hoped that Finn would continue to allow him to make it up to him. He didn't know it, but Finn prayed that he could stay close to his father for the rest of his life. The boy knew that there was so much left to learn. And that he and Hiccup would learn it all together.

And so the Haddocks, all feeling like their hearts were bursting with excitement and love for each other, ascended into the clouds. They didn't notice, but an old man watched them until they disappeared, thanking the gods for each and every one of them.

This is Berk.

It's the kind of place that looks peaceful all the time. Sure, we have our spats, but at the end of the day, our anger dissipates and we all go to bed in good spirits.

That being said, sometimes our darkest thoughts and feelings can become stowaways in our minds. We may go about life not knowing that they're there but they always turn up sooner or later. And when they take over and turn us into the people we detest, it may be too late to change things.

But what can we do when these mental and emotional stowaways come seemingly out of nowhere and wreak havoc on our lives? How can we deal with them when they turn up in ourselves or in the ones we love?

There is only one cure, and that is forgiveness. Only then can we address the problems and attempt to move on.

THE END