For Milady

THREE: Surprises

"But I can't be..." she protested weakly, desperately search her mind for the one image of her dealing with her moon time since they had slept together...and coming up dry. "I mean...I don't look pregnant. I would already, wouldn't I?"

"You wouldn't tell at three months," Heather told her. "And frankly, you are so fit with such toned stomach muscles, I'll bet you could hide a couple more months in there before anyone knew...but it is going to show..." Astrid shook her head desperately.

"I'll go see Gothi," she said wildly. "I need to know. She'll prove you're wrong..." Heather sighed and took her hand.

"I suspect I won't be," she admitted, "but I'll come with you as well." She sighed. "We'll leave first thing in the morning." Astrid shook her head, wildly clawing at the notion that her friend had completely misrepresented her symptoms to her healer.

But Garff had nuzzled her abdomen and purred, even though he had been so severely injured.

"Gothi will show you're wrong," she said firmly. "You'll see."

oOo

The ancient, hunch-backed Healer had been thoughtful and analytic as she had listened to Astrid's tale and Heather's suspicions and then she had examined Astrid from top to toe, including a very thorough examination of her stomach. Finally, she had sat back and scratched her answer in the sand she spread on the floor.

"YOU ARE JUST OVER THREE MONTHS PREGNANT," she had written.

Astrid had collapsed, curling inwards and hands pressed to her face. Heather had rushed to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and trying to comfort her. Slowly, the blonde had looked up, dry-eyed but white, her expression a mixture of fear and trepidation.

"Is...everything alright?" she asked and the old healer had nodded.

"YOU ARE NOT HAPPY?"

It's...a shock," she admitted. "I-I never even thought...I mean, we were drunk and I don't think we took any precautions...but I didn't think it was possible the first time..." Gothi gave a smile, shaking her finger admonishingly and squinted kindly at her.

"ONCE IS ALL IT NEEDS," she wrote. Astrid blinked.

"Oh Thor...I need to tell Hiccup," she murmured and then she shook her head. "No. This is my mess. I can't add to his stress by dumping this on him. I'll deal with it." Heather looked helplessly up at the old woman and Gothi shrugged, leaving the decision to the raven-haired girl.

"Astrid-everyone will know at some point," she pointed out. "I mean, you're slim and at some point, someone will see you putting on weight. From what you said, Snotlout already noticed your chest has changed..."

"Creep," Astrid muttered and Heather smiled, nodding.

"And we'll deal with him for that," she promised. "But how do you think Hiccup would feel if he knew that you were pregnant and he kept it from you? I mean, you told me how upset he was that you had lied to him about me and not told him that I was on your side. And though we both know he's a hopeless liar, he wanted to know. And though I was the one who made you promise not to tell Hiccup, I know how much damage it did to you two. Don't make the same mistake again."

Astrid gave a shuddering sigh.

"You know what the gossips will say, don't you?' she asked darkly. "That I entrapped him. That I deliberately got myself with child to force him to propose and secure myself a good marriage..." Heather snorted in disgust.

"Look, Hiccup has been making puppy eyes at you for as long as I can remember," she reminded her friend. "There is no chance he wouldn't propose, even if you weren't. He's just waiting for the 'perfect' moment. You know how obsessive he gets." Astrid sighed.