Hiccup's P.O.V

6 Months Earlier

I drummed my fingers as the council argued for the millionth time. They'd called a meeting to discuss protection from outside threats, after the whole Drago incident. Berk was still constantly in repair, though most of it was starting to get back to normal. A few of us had come up with the idea of maybe going out and rescuing trapped dragons, per my mother's suggestion, and bringing them back to Berk. Some villagers complained about the space, but I didn't think we'd get too overwhelmed.

I had bigger things on my mind, though. Reign had been having contractions all day, and despite my mother's attempts at assuring me they weren't anything to worry about, I couldn't help but imagine the worst.

"Chief Hiccup."

I snapped my head up to Spitelout, just now noticing it had gone silent, and everyone was staring at me.

"Uh..." I looked around at them and blinked, slightly embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry."

"Hiccup, we understand you're a little distracted, but--"

Before Gobber could finish his sentence, the doors opened, revealing Eret peering through. I couldn't quite read the expression on his face, but he had been with Reign all day, which couldn't be good.

"Eret?"

He nodded at me, and I felt my stomach jump before I rushed after him to Gothi's hut. Before I even got up there, I heard Reign's shouting and screaming, which made me move faster. I didn't hesitate rushing to her side and kneeling down beside her to grip her hand. She glanced at me briefly, sweat rolling down her pale forehead as her labored breaths filled the momentary silence.

"Hi, hey, I'm so sorry I left you. I-I should have just," I stuttered. "I mean--"

"Hiccup!" I looked down at her. "Deep breaths, love. Deep breaths."

"Sorry, sorry." I did as she said, and slowly, the joys of having a child started to dawn on me. Finally, I was able to smile. "This is it."

"Yeah, I know." She looked over to Eret. "Go get the others, but don't let them come in yet. There's enough going on as it is." He nodded and dashed off again as Reign let out another scream, her hand gripping mine so tight I thought it would pop. My heart broke for a second, watching her face contort, and I attempted to reassure her. "Hey, hey, I've got you." My mother and Gothi came over to check on her.

"Reign." She lifted her head slightly. "You're ready."

"That's a matter of perspective," she joked. "But I know what you're saying." She looked up at me and smiled as my mother ushered Astrid out of the room. "It's time."

"You can do this. I believe in you," I encouraged. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"And after this, we'll finally get to hold that little baby, and take care of them, and love them." She nodded and gripped my hand a little tighter.

"Here we go." She leaned her head back and awaited instruction. Gothi, of course, could only write, and I'm sure Reign wasn't going to take the time to read in this situation, so my mom served as her voice. "Reign, I'm going to count down, and when I get to one, I need you to push for ten seconds." She gasped loudly and locked my hand in a death-grip, but managed to nod. "All right. Three... two... one."

Reign's head suddenly shot up and her face contorted as she pushed, holding her breath to the point where her pale skin turned a little red. My mother counted to ten, and once she reached the end, Reign's head fell back, her eyes closing slightly. Panic caused my heart to jump, and I reached over to prop her head up slightly, waking her back up. She and my mother repeated the process over and over again, until finally, something happened.

"Reign, I'm going to need you to just push!" She shouted over the screaming. "I have a head." Reign couldn't even respond, she just did as told. "Shoulders... come on Reign, you're almost done."

She let out one last, pained cry, then laid down, sighing. We both waited in a tense silence for something to happen, and thankfully, after a few second, a strong wail came from my mother's arms. She looked up at us and smiled, then motioned for Gothi to come over and cut the cord.

"Congratulations." My mom almost sounded like she was tearing up. "It's a little girl."

Pride swelled in my chest as I smiled. I... I had a daughter? I had a daughter!

My mother stood to clean her off and check on her, while Reign reached up and touched my cheek. The two of us were unable to speak for a moment, overwhelmed with joy. Reign finally smiled again, looking back to check on our little girl. She seemed eager to hold her, not that I could blame her.

The moment faded, however, when Reign's face suddenly contorted again, and she grunted in pain. Once her eyes opened again, she looked at me with panic, and my heart began to race.

"Mom, something's wrong!" I called back to her.

"It's most likely just the afterbirth." She seemed oddly unconcerned, but I wanted to take her word on it. After all, she'd done this before.

The calm air went out the window, however, when Reign screamed just like she had moments ago. My mother left our daughter to Gothi and rushed back over to Reign, trying to figure out what was going on. Her eyes went wide after a moment, and she looked at us.

"There's... another baby."

Reign and I looked at each other, alarmed.

"Tw... twins...?" She stuttered out. "Oh, boy." I shook my head at her.

"We can do this. We'll be fine. How much trouble can two kids really be?"

"Have you met Ruff and Tuff?" she snapped.

"They're not going to be like them." She opened her mouth to respond, but just ended up screaming instead.

"All right, Reign, same as last time."

She nodded and they repeated the process, everything going smoothly at first. But at the point last time when my mother had seen a head, a horrified look crossed her face.

"I have..." My mom trailed off, her words getting caught in her throat. "I have the baby's buttocks."

My heart beat hammered in my ears. This couldn't be happening.

"She's coming out breech." My mother shook her head and attempted to keep a calm expression. "Reign, you can still do this, but we need to move fast, okay? I need you to push even harder than you did last time."

Her glossy, green eyes looked up at me, fearful. This was scary, for both of us, but we couldn't let that stop us right now. We needed to try, at the very least.

"You can do this." I leaned down and kissed her sweaty forehead. "I know you can."

She barely nodded in acknowledgement, and pushed as hard as she could. Everyone waited in a tense silence, hoping for some sign of hope.

"It's another girl," my mother announced as Reign laid down again, hopefully finished. Nothing happened, not even a movement, not even a sound. My breath became shallow as I feared the worst and the silence began to settle.

Then, a strong cry, stronger than the first one, erupted.

Reign and I smiled, relieved. We had two daughters, two little girls, alive and apparently well. My mother went over to tend to them, and after finding nothing glaringly wrong, handed each of them to their mother. I helped her sit up, and she balanced each one on a leg, looking at them with love and pride. They were peacefully silent, occasionally stirring back and forth. Quietly and carefully, I sat down next to her and smiled.

"They need names," she whispered, constantly shifting her gaze between the girls and me. "We can't just call them the twins, we have those." I chuckled and looked down at them again, trying to think of something.

"How about... Thelma... and Kari?" We both looked, then shook our heads. They didn't suit them. "Well, all those boy names you had stored up are useless at this point, so you've got to help me out." She reached over and flicked me.

"Not my fault you wanted a girl. Weren't you supposed to come up with some?" I scratched my arm, embarrassed. "Are you kidding me?"

"I've been a little busy."

"Don't you screw this up," she warned, a tiny laugh making its way into her words. I sat there for a few more moments, just staring at my daughters and trying to think of the right names to give them. A few cycled through, but every time, they didn't work. I was starting to run out of ideas, when thankfully, a couple that might work popped up, as unconventional as they might be.

"How about... Kerrigan?" I rested my hand on out first-born's head. Reign smiled and nodded. "And... Alith?"

"Alith and Kerrigan." She rolled them over for a moment. "I love them."

I leaned over and pressed my hands on her shoulders, looking down at my little girls. I'd been warned we wouldn't get much peace and quiet after this, so I had to cherish the moment we had now. But something told me that wouldn't matter. Everything's different when they're your kids, my mother told me.

"I feel like I don't need to ask this, but... do you want to hold one of them?" I nodded, and reached out of Alith. "Just under the head like that... yes, and on her back—there you go."

A mix of fear and completely unconditional love washed over me as I held my daughter. I'd never felt such a strong desire to protect something the moment I met it, but as I looked down at Alith and Kerrigan, I wanted to do everything I could to make sure they'd never be hurt by anyone.

"Valka?" My mother turned around. "Would you like to hold Kerrigan? She's your granddaughter, after all." She nodded and took the baby from Reign's arms, giving her a moment to rest.

Once my mom took Kerrigan from Reign, I made my way over to the bed, still keeping Alith safely in my grasp, and laid down beside Reign. She gently reached out to place one hand on her daughter's arm, pressing the both of us against each other.

For a moment, I struggled to find words. I still couldn't believe, after over nine months of anticipation, I could finally hold one of my daughters. One of my daughters. To stand there and realize that, when I'd anticipated just one child, Reign and I now had two—all of it was so much to take in at once, but the overwhelming emotions only made me smile wider.

"Hi," I whispered, watching my daughter stir slightly, kicking her tiny legs in the air. "Hey. I-I'm... I'm your dad. There is nothing I won't do for you and your sister." I sniffled, finding some tears welling up. "I love you both more than anything in this world."

"Wha—hey!"

"You're tied with your mother," I corrected, rolling my eyes.

"I think we can bring the others in." My mom nodded, and after handing Kerrigan back to Reign, went out to gather the others. They came in slowly and quietly, smiles on their faces as they caught a glance of the two little sleeping girls.

"Gang. Meet our latest Berkians."