Hiccup liked Brawn quite a bit but he was beginning to tire of it after several weeks. And even more annoying was the fact that most of his time was spent with the healer. But all things must come to an end and it was finally time to take off and fly home.

The children were delighted when he and Astrid told them that they would be allowed to fly home with them. Seeing as she had already ridden Toothless, Adrianna opted to travel home on Stormfly. This left Finn with Hiccup. The flight to Berk was invigorating for all of the Haddocks, Hiccup especially. Seeing as his last flight had ended with him nearly dying, it was about time he had a pleasant one. And with Finn laughing in delight in front of him, it was a good flight indeed.

As Berk became visible on the horizon, Hiccup realized he had been slightly tense ever since leaving. He relaxed his muscles and took a deep sigh. Home had never looked so wonderful.

The moment they touched down, a cheer rose from the crowd of Vikings waiting for them to arrive. Hiccup was given a hero's welcome and, considering how much he had gone through to get it, he wasn't complaining. He looked over at Astrid who, despite her wide smile, looked slightly annoyed. She never did like being in the center of an adoring crowd.

The twins, on the other hand, were thrilled. Finn was delighted to note that some of the bigger kids looked very jealous. He would have to regale them with stories about Brawn, including a description of a frog he'd found there that he'd never seen on Berk. Adrianna's eyes scanned the crowd and she finally spotted Erick, pushed aside by a lot of the adults and bigger kids but looking happy that his best friend was home. She leaped off of Stormfly and stumbled a bit before running toward him and throwing her arms around him. He very nearly fell backward with the force of the hug but he cheerfully returned it.

The moment he had touched down, Snotlout made a beeline for Heather and lifted his little daughter out of her arms before kissing her. Astrid looked over and watched the couple interact for a few minutes. She couldn't help but notice that Heather was positively glowing and she had a strong feeling that there was a very wonderful reason. She would have to wait and see.

Lotus announced that there would be a party in the Great Hall to celebrate Hiccup's return and the twins' and Astrid's birthdays. Astrid had almost forgotten about her own birthday and rolled her eyes as they were herded toward the Hall by a group of excitable Vikings and dragons.

It seemed like there was always a reason for celebration on Berk. Perhaps Stoick's recent death had made everyone more determined to enjoy life. Or, more likely, maybe the Hooligans liked a good party. Either way, this was an excellent reason to get out the mead and celebrate the return of the chief and his family.

As they finally got to the Great Hall, questions started pouring in. The Hooligans begged for details on the fight and Hiccup was elusive as he could with little ears listening. Thankfully, Finn was distracted by telling a jealous looking Edgar about his adventure on Brawn and Adrianna had managed to find some chocolate mint cookies on the other end of the Hall. She was pulling Erick toward them so fast, the boy had to jog to avoid losing an arm.

It took about two hours of constantly reiterating the details of the duel with Dagur but the mood in the Hall finally calmed enough to allow Hiccup time to relax a bit with some mead (he still wouldn't touch the wine that had once gotten him drunk enough to call his father a yak). Astrid put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. The sun was just beginning to set and the numerous candles were starting to become a fire hazard as usual.

There was silence at the table containing the chief and his wife, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Heather, and the newly married Tuffnut and Svala. Everyone looked slightly sheepish, all of them staring into their mead except Heather, who had abstained. Finally, Hiccup looked up and decided that now was as good as any to voice the idea that had been floating around in his brain for a few days.

"My dad always said that a good chief delegates responsibilities." he began in a voice so commanding, he even surprised himself. "I can't do everything my dad did when he was chief. There aren't enough hours in the day and I have twice as many kids as he did." he looked over at the twins, who were still completely immersed in what they were doing. "I almost died and the only things I could think about were the people and dragons. Not the meetings and duties that come with being chief. Just the residents. I want to be able to spend time with them. I want to do what my dad never could." he looked back to the group, whose eyes were now on him. "I want to get to know my people."

"And you're going to need help." Fishlegs continued. "You're going to need to divide duties so you have the time."

"Yes." Hiccup nodded. "But I can only do that if the council-"

"We'll do it." Snotlout interrupted. "Whatever it is you need us to do."

"We should have believed in you." said Fishlegs, looking very guilty.

"We won't doubt you again." Snotlout finished. "And I'll take down anyone who questions your judgment again."

"Well..." Astrid smirked. "Not anyone... someone has to be the voice of reason every once in a while." she nudged her husband, who smiled appreciatively.

Toothless interrupted the discussion by running over and licking Hiccup's face. "Gah!" Hiccup shouted over the peals of laughter. "Thanks, bud. I think."

Toothless crooned happily and brushed against his rider in a catlike fashion, snaking his head under Hiccup's arm so that he would be forced to pet him.

"Someone's being an attention hog." Hiccup scratched Toothless behind the ears. "Have I been ignoring you for too long? Or are you just hungry?"

Toothless snorted smoke at this outrageous accusation... and then realized that he might be a little hungry. He gurgled expectantly.

"Oh all right, you big baby." Hiccup chuckled. "Give me a second and I'll-"

"Got your tail!" shouted a high pitched voice behind the peckish dragon.

Toothless turned to see the male young, both little hands grasping his tail and a gleam of mischief in his eyes. The female young was watching him, giggling behind her hand. They weren't going to get away with this. He lunged at them, his hunger forgotten, and began to chase them all over the hall. They ran as fast as they could, laughing with glee.

Hiccup watched this scene for a few seconds before turning back to the group. "I'm going to officially meet with the council about it but I thought, since there are twenty of you, you could all take up one specific chief duty each. I think dividing it evenly eliminates anyone's chances of being too overworked."

"We'll support you no matter what." Ruffnut said in an uncharacteristically encouraging tone.

Tuffnut leaned forward excitedly. "Yeah. I'd support anyone who fought like that. Did you see when he tripped Dagur up and kicked him in the-"

"We all saw and it was awesome!" Ruffnut continued. "You should fight more often! Does anyone else want to challenge you? I volunteer Tuffnut!"

"Hmm... okay. What time should I be there?" Tuffnut asked, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from his new wife.

"I think Hiccup's had enough dueling for a while, Tuffy." Svala kissed him on the cheek.

Tuffnut looked slightly disappointed but brightened up when Svala used the opportunity to put her arms around him and rest her head on his shoulder much like Astrid had with Hiccup. The table was silent again as everyone watched their children play (and Tuffnut and Svala became more cuddly).

Finn and Adrianna were still running away from Toothless, laughing loudly as he galloped after them. All three seemed to be having a very good time. Hiccup was beginning to feel rather warm inside. His family was safe. His children were happy. His people were united and supportive. He still felt a twinge of grief in his heart that he suspected would never go away when he thought of his father. Stoick would have loved to see this. To see his son defending his people, protecting his grandchildren... but perhaps he already had. Hiccup had a strong feeling that his father wasn't completely gone. He smiled as he watched his children run up to a large wooden beam and separate, each running around it on the opposite side.

BAM!

Toothless reeled back, partially because of the blow to his head but also from extreme annoyance. Whose bright idea was it to put a wooden beam in the middle of the room? He growled irritably but no one heard it. The Vikings and dragons were all focused on a completely different sound.

Hiccup had nearly fallen off the bench. His loud guffaws echoed off the walls of the Hall and drowned out just about any other noises coming from within. His face became bright red and tears streamed down his cheeks but, for some reason, he simply could not stop laughing. The Hooligans all stopped for a moment to watch their chief finally fall out of Astrid's arms, overwhelmed by his own laughter. Toothless shot Hiccup an irritated glare but this only made the Viking laugh harder. Astrid laughed at the sight of her husband, who didn't seem to care how ridiculous he looked. The twins joined in because they rarely got to see their daddy laugh that hard and they thought it was an interesting sight indeed. Within a few minutes, his guffaws were punctuated by loud hiccups. Adrianna looked even more delighted.

It was in that moment that the Hooligans knew that, while things would never go back to the way they were, everything was going to be just fine. They still grieved for Stoick, still felt his absence but it was time to move on. Time to laugh again. Time to enjoy life and cherish every precious second of happiness. As the Haddocks laughed until they all came down with the hiccups and Toothless shot them all death glares, the tension eased and life, no matter how unpredictable it could be, had become wonderful once again.

This is Berk

It's the home of some of the toughest creatures in the whole of the archipelago. And I'm not just talking about the dragons.

My father always said that a leader isn't born, he is made. He said it often but I never truly understood what it meant until now. The journey has been rough and I know there are always going to be difficulties ahead. That's all part of life.

But my father left me with one more lesson to learn. It's that life is precious. We never know what's going to jump in and stir up trouble. No one knows how long we have to spend on this earth. And so we shouldn't waste a single second. In nearly dying, I have learned to live. And I intend to live to the fullest, to take hold of each moment and turn it into something memorable.

It won't be easy. I know that for sure. But we'll get through whatever life throws our way. We always do.

THE END