A/N: Aaaaand the last chapter! Welcoming the baby Haddock into the world :D **There's definitely going to be another Authors Note at the bottom.**

Chapter Seventeen

Astrid was laying on the couch, her feet resting in Hiccup's lap and an arm slung over her eyes, the other over her stomach. Hiccup glanced at her and smiled, running his fingers up her leg "You shouldn't wear yourself out like this. Especially this close to your due date."

Astrid uncovered her eyes and shot him a glare "Your child is hurting me today."

"My child? You had part in it, too." he gave her a smile and moved his hand to her stomach "Is it your back again?"

She nodded and sighed, placing her hand over his "And cramps."

He stood up and walked to their kitchen, coming back with some water. He sat on the edge of the couch and looked at her "Sit up, drink the water and relax."

She mumbled under her breath as she forced herself into a sitting position, taking the water from his hand. She felt Hiccup's hands go to her back and she smiled, letting out a content sigh. She took another sip of the water and frowned, setting a hand on her stomach.

Her due date is in just a few days. These could be those... What are they called? Braxton Hicks contractions. getting her ready for the real thing. She's been experiencing those for a while now. These were a little more intense. Different.

Hiccup's hands froze and he leaned forward, resting his chin on her shoulder "Hey, you okay?"

She furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged "How do I know when I'm in labor?"

Hiccup moved so he was kneeling on the floor in front of her, his hands on either side of her stomach "I don't think you'd be asking if you were in labor. Does it hurt?" she nodded, gripping his wrist "More than usual?"

"Yes." she gasped out.

Hiccup moved his hands, standing up "Maybe we should call your midwife? Or my mom? She would know."

Astrid nodded quickly, getting ready to stand but he put a hand on her shoulder "Yeah, calling the midwife, good idea."

He smiled and backed up towards the bedroom "I got it, Astrid. You just.. Stay."

She made some sort of noise, waving him away. Is she going into labor? Ruff? She needs to call Ruff. And Val! They both want to be there when the baby is born, if that's today, she wants to tell someone. She reached towards her pocket, but before she could grab it, she was hit by another, what she is now certain is, a real contraction "Gods, Hiccup!"

Astrid could hear him mumbling, and the sound of his prosthetic coming down the hall. Should it really take this long to talk to her midwife? She groaned and leaned back as Hiccup came walking out, tucking his phone in his pocket, a nervous smile on his face. He held his hand out to her, pulling her to his feet.

"So... Hospital?"

Hiccup nodded "Yes. Hospital."

She watched him walk towards their bedroom, getting the things that she had gotten together before grabbing his keys and leading her out of the apartment.

Astrid's heart was beating a million beats per minute. She's going into labor. She's going to have a baby in a few hours. Tonight? Early morning? Whenever. It's happening. She's going to be a mom. Hiccup's going to be a dad. Parents. They're going to be parents.

He helped her into the car and she grabbed his arm "Don't forget to call your parents. And then Ruff and Fish."

Hiccup nodded and pecked her lips "I'll do it once we get to the hospital."

Astrid nodded, biting her lip. This is torture. Why can't this baby come out now? No pain. She'd be okay with that. She's Astrid Hofferson - Haddock - she doesn't feel pain.

Except now. Her fingers were digging into the arm rest. If this was painless, maybe she'd be willing for a second child.

"You okay?"

She shook her head, contemplating reaching over and grabbing his hand. She could probably break it, but she wouldn't purposefully do that. She would also probably make them wreck. She decided she wasn't going to risk it this close to getting baby out of her.

She glanced at the backseat. Maybe she should have sat back there. That would have been easier.

"Just breathe, Astrid." Hiccup said, reaching over and resting a hand on her knee.

She gritted her teeth and glared at him "You try having a baby."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes "No thanks."

Astrid felt like the drive to the hospital was house. It was only thirty minutes, but it felt like forever. She had ahold of Hiccup's wrist, doing her best not to squeeze it too hard "Hiccup!"

Hiccup yanked his arm away from her, opening his door and quickly walking to her side of the car. He knows if he doesn't move fast enough she'll kill him once this baby is born.

Astrid walked in front of him into the hospital, wanting to go in as fast as possible. She walked up to the desk while Hiccup found her a wheelchair. She told the woman at the desk that she was having a baby, giving the woman a glare when Hiccup walked back over to her, practically forcing her to sit.

She doesn't want to sit. She wants this baby out.

Hiccup waited behind her while they sorted through some things, resting his hands on her shoulders, leaning down to kiss her head.

"I'm already annoyed with this child." she said with a frown.

"It'll be worth it, Astrid." he said with a chuckle.

Astrid waved her hand around "Just call people."

Hiccup nodded, taking one of his hands off her shoulder, leaving the other to rub soothing, and hopefully, relaxing circles on her back while he called people.

She could almost hear Ruff screaming that she should have been the first to know, and then she could hear Val's excited yell to Stoick. She loved the people in her life. The woman said something to her, but she wasn't listening. Hiccup did though, thank Gods. He followed her down the hall, pushing Astrid along while she gripped the arm rest for dear life.

Astrid was laying in that stupid hospital bed for house. Everyone they wanted showed up. Hiccup, Fish, and Stoick were sitting on the other side of the room talking while Ruff and Val stood by the bed.

"I swear, boys are such wimps when it comes to labor."

"Hey!" Hiccup said, pointing a finger at Ruff "You try having your wife threaten you every time you get near her. Have you ever held her hand? It's like asking for a death wish."

Ruff narrowed her eyes at him "Actually, yes. Yes I have held your wife's hand, and it's not that bad."

Val laughed, running her hand through Astrid's hair, trying to keep her calm. Astrid had her arms crossed, and was glaring over at Hiccup. He should be the one trying to keep her calm, not Val "Were you wanting to call your parents?" Val asked quietly.

Astrid frowned "No."

If there is one thing she's sure of, it's that she does not want her family around her baby. Hiccup even agreed with her on it "My child will stay away from anyone that could turn out to be psycho. Including my parents."

Hiccup watched her. The way her eyes would squeeze shut when a contraction hit. The way she would slowly look over at him and she would try to fight a smile before glaring at him. That should be him over there, not his mom.

He excused himself from Fish and his dad, walking by his mom. Its like she knew what was going on and moved out of his way "How are you feeling?" Val asked, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Scared. Exhausted. Nervous. Stressed." he said with a shrug, reaching out to run his fingers through Astrid's hair.

Astrid smiled up at him and seemed to relax at the feel of his hand. She closed her eyes, letting him run his hand through her hair. Val smiled at them "It's normal to feel like that. It'll wear off once the baby is actually born."

"Which feelings disappear?" Astrid asked, nuzzling Hiccup's hand as he moved it to down to her face.

"The stress, mostly." Val moved away from Hiccup and towards the other side of the room "And it'll come back."

Astrid's hand tightened around his wrist. He flinched, almost pulling his hand away but decided against it. He knows it'll probably help her. She opened her eyes, mumbling something, and pushing his hand away.

Ruff smirked "What was that, Astrid?"

"I said," Astrid started, catching her breath "I really hate Hiccup right now."

Hiccup chuckled and reached for her hand "Oh, come on. This is no reason to hate me."

Ruff nodded in agreement "Yeah, Astrid, wait until the real pain starts."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh Gods, I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!"

Hiccup usually would have found her words hurtful, but this is different. A special occasion. The birth of their child. He tolerated the words, glancing at Ruff when she would let out a laugh.

Astrid was gripping his hand in one of those death grips of hers. He wanted to pull his hand away, but he knows he couldn't. He couldn't even feel it anymore. She screamed another 'I hate you' at him, gripping his hand even tighter. Ruff was on the other side of her, mumbling things to her about almost being done so that she could kill Hiccup once this was over.

Astrid threw her head back, tears in her eyes, and trying to catch her breath "I can't... I can't do it."

Hiccup frowned, running his free hand through her hair "You have to, Astrid. You can do it."

Ruff nodded in agreement "You're Astrid Hofferson -" a glare from Astrid reminded her of the mistake she had just made. Right. She's married to Hiccup now "- Haddock. You aren't scared of anything."

"You don't back down from anything." Hiccup added.

Astrid nodded. Her doctor looked up at her, telling her to push. She hesitated, looking from Ruff to Hiccup. She could do this. She knows she can. She finally gets the child she's been wanting, the only one that survived. This is her lucky child, this is supposed to be a happy moment for her.

But the pain she was feeling isn't making her feel lucky at all.

Twenty-one hours later, Astrid is now laying in her hospital bed. Her hair sprawled all across her pillow, and covered in sweat. Hiccup was leaning over her, his lips by her ear whispering things to her.

A small smile came over her face and she tangled her fingers in his hair, kissing his cheek "In case you don't know, I love you." she mumbled.

Hiccup chuckled and pulled away when the doctor came over, carrying their baby. Astrid, although exhausted, perked up, ready to finally meet her child.

Astrid stared down at her child's face. She doesn't think she's ever felt so much love for someone before. She looked over at Hiccup and smiled. The biggest smile he had ever seen. He reached over, running a finger over his child's face. He could cry, this would have to be the best - okay, second best day - of his life.

Ruff smiled at the new family. Curiosity finally got the best of her. She'd hate to their moment. No, actually, it's something she lives for "So. Do you have a name?"

Hiccup and Astrid looked up, forgetting that anyone else was in the room. Astrid's face softened, and she smiled "Yeah... Guys, meet Novella. Novella Haddock."

A/N: And now I shall answer reviews that I've been far too lazy to answer beforehand.

Anonymous: I dearly wish you had an account so this wouldn't be out here, but yes. Said spoiler will be in it, but it will be in the next story - How To Train Your Kid.

HiccstridForever: I think I may have messaged you about this, but I don't remember, and I'm way too lazy to go check, but I love the idea of Stormfly being a parrot! I have another story in mind where instead of a cat or dog, Stormfly will indeed be a parrot.

MeLoveAnime1000: Deciding the gender was a real challenge, lol. I wasn't 100% sure on the gender until I tested it out in some drabbles on tumblr and fell in love. Thus, the gender was decided thanks to tumblr!

Avian Royalty: Your review was for Chapter Nine, saying that you missed what Hiccup said. It wasn't in quotations because it was suppose to be a thought, but he accidentally said it aloud 'Oh, because keeping her happy is such a crime.'

faisyah865: I really thought about making that their wedding song, and I really tried, but it hurt too much to write about *sigh*

catsrawesome: Toothless is a black Tibetan Mastiff. Or just a regular Mastiff. Either way, it's a big dog.

kdoe: Yes. Hiccup definitely knows about the miscarriages.

Konata Okami: Yeah, Lout was OOC. When I was writing it, I definitely wasn't planning on it going that way, it just kind of did.

Basically to everyone who reviewed Chapter Eleven and enjoyed sassy Ruff and Val, I'm glad. That was one of my favorite things to write.

ALSO, I have already started the next story to this - How To Train Your Kid. Lots and lots of Novella. It should be out soon ^.^