"Is it over?" Storm groaned as she gripped her husband's hand tightly.

"Not yet!" Ruffnut replied and Eret yelped in pain as Storm squeezed his hand tightly again.

"If this goes on much longer I won't have a hand anymore!" Eret groaned. He was already starting to lose feeling in his fingers and the baby wasn't even completely out of Storm yet.

"Relax dear, if you keep this up Eret won't be able to hold the baby." Siv said as she dabbed at the girl's sweaty forehead.

"You're not the one giving birth!" Storm cried out and gripped her husband's hand tightly. Ruffnut could have sworn she heard something crack.

'Too bad Gothi isn't here, I know she's busy tending to Astrid at the moment, but if she were here she'd have to tend to Eret's broken hand.' Ruffnut thought as she handed Storm's mother another rag.

"Almost there dear, just one more push and we can cut the cord." Catlin said softly to her daughter. "It's alright, you can do this. The little one just needs one more push and he'll be out, you're doing fine."

"H-he?" Storm asked in surprise and her mother nodded with a smile. "But Siv said from the way my stomach was hanging it was a girl!"

"It's a boy, you'll see when I pull him out." Catlin replied firmly and moved to the foot of the bed. "Now, give me one good push."

Storm took a deep breath as she gripped her husband's hand one more time and sent a small prayer to Freya before giving one more push. She heard the sound of something being snipped and the tiny cry of a child soon followed. Storm lifted her head to see her mother bundling something and cooing to it softly.

"My hand is numb." She heard Eret mumble and immediately released it.

"Told you it was a boy." Catlin said to her friend as she walked over to the basin of warm water they had prepared earlier.

"Well the way she was carrying it looked like a girl!" Siv protested as Catlin unwrapped the mewling child and placed him in the warm water to wash the blood from his little body. "Oh, he looks like his father!"

"Just my luck." Eret muttered as he flexed his hand to get some feeling back into it.

"Gonna name it Eret son of Eret son of Eret?" Ruffnut asked jokingly and elbowed him.

"No, it'd be confusing. It was confusing enough in my house whenever my mother was calling for either of us." The ex trapper chuckled and looked at his wife. "What did you want to name him?"

"I...I haven't really thought about it." Storm admitted. "But I think the name Eric sounds nice enough."

"It's perfect." Eret said and gave her a smile, which she returned with a weary one.

"Welp, I better get going then. I'll be at the Haddock house if you guys need me, gotta check to make sure Astrid and her baby are alright."

"If you see them, let them know Eric son of Eret has arrived to the world." Eret said and Ruffnut gave a small laugh.

"Fine then, I will. Oh and I better tell Snot I'm expecting."

"Already?" Storm asked and her friend nodded.

"A month in already, Gothi confirmed it."

"Well congrats, guess Eric has a upcoming girlfriend. Guess an Eretson will end up with a Thorston." Eret gave a groan as Ruffnut walked out laughing. Catlin came over and handed them their newborn son who hadn't stopped crying.

"Oh come now, do you have to sound like daddy when he's upset?" Storm cooed as she took the baby into her arms, ignoring the look Eret was giving her. "Shhh, it's okay Eric, mommy is here. Daddy's here too, and your big sister will be here shortly."

At the words 'big sister' the baby's cries ceased and Storm smiled before placing a little kiss on his forehead.

"Well, aren't you such a handsome boy?" Eret cooed and took the baby from his wife. "Just like your papa, you're going to grow up big and strong and be the best dragon rider on this island."

"Not unless your friend's child beats him to it." Siv chuckled. "Where's Bry?"

"Being watched by Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs. They better not have set anything on fire." Eret replied. They heard the door downstairs swing open and then slam shut before the sound of little feet pounding on the stairs reached their ears. Brynhild ran right into the room and made a beeline for the bed.

"I wanna see! I wanna see!" She squealed when she noticed the little bundle in Eret's arms.

"Shhh, he's asleep." Eret whispered as he knelt down to let her see the baby.

"He has a freckle!" Brynhild whispered excitedly and pointed to the baby's cheek.

"That's not a freckle dear." Storm chuckled softly. "We named him Eric, sound good?"

"Sounds like Eret."

"Still better though."

"I heard that." Eret muttered as the baby gave a yawn. He handed him over to Storm and placed a hand on Brynhild's shoulder. "Now you've got the job of taking care of him, will you do that?"

"Yes sir!" Brynhild said softly and saluted. "I'm gonna be a good sister to him!"

"I know she definitely will." Catlin chuckled. "No doubt about that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know, apparently children born on the same day are fated to be together." Hiccup said to Eret as he was helping his friend repair a hole in a ship. "At least that's what my mother says."

"I definitely believe that, Storm and I share the same birthday." Eret said as Hiccup handed him another plank of wood. "My parents said the moment she popped out of the womb, I stopped crying and could only be soothed if I was bundled up with her on a boat."

"I think Eric likes my little Freja." Hiccup chuckled. "He started cooing the moment he laid eyes on her and they haven't been fussy whenever Astrid and Storm get together."

"Seems like my boy has been bitten by the love bug already." Eret joked. "Speaking of babies, Ruff told me she was expecting one and it's Snotlout's kid and Fishlegs is going to be a father soon as well."

"We'll have a whole mini gang." Hiccup joked. "A shame Tuff never married, but at least he was willing to adopt that little boy we found."

"That was honestly nice of him, and his kid likes chickens."

"If the twins kids is as mischievous as them, Berk is in for trouble." Hiccup shuddered. "Last thing we need is another set of Loki followers."

"I hope not." Eret muttered. "And if Ruff has a girl, you think she'll teach her to go chasing after my boy?"

"Not unless my daughter is there to protect him with a mini axe."