Nope, dear readers, your eyes do not deceive you! The final Chapter is HERE! Yes, at the end of endless hours armed with only a Vanilla Coke, my 30 Seconds to Mars CDs, and my HTTYD movie (and Gift of the Night Fury, courtesy of my dad) as inspiration boosters, I have produced this emotional chapter

Even though it took long to get out, I really think this is one of my favorite chapters in here. If not first favorite, then second. So if I enjoy it I'm sure all of you will too. Have fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD, that is…unless I was, hypothetically, able to come up with an amazing plan to steal it! Then I'll be able to join the Evil League of Evil! What a crazy, random happen-stance that would be! [lol Dr. Horrible references, if you don't understand than you're missing out on an awesome movie!]

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7. All We Needed

The stormy clouds reached out past the Nest, and expanded across the sky all the way to Berk. It was amazing that one storm could take up such a large area of the earth in one place, and I was starting to worry when I heard thunder rumble in the distance. Judging by the crisp breezes that flitted across us down on the ground, a downpour was meant to cascade across our tiny island at any moment. Flashes of white lightning started to hop across the storm clouds, and I was amply reminded of the battle that happened not half an hour ago. It was almost mesmerizing as the light danced across the houses of Berk, flinging pristine light onto the earth below.

I was waking swiftly across the cobblestone roads of the village, Toothless striding not three steps behind me. Stoick, with Hiccup still in his arms, and Gobber were walking a few feet in front of me, their heads were put together, and they were talking in soft voices. A lot of the other Vikings eyed them with curiosity and pity, but not many made to follow the trio. They knew what the two elder Vikings were preparing to go do, and none had the heart to follow except for a few young dragon trainees and a worried Night Fury.

They hurried through the village, heading back towards Hiccup's house. Snotlout's father, at one point, walked up to Stoick and discussed something with him, but the frequently occurring thunder drowned out his words.

As we neared the Haddock household, I glanced behind me and, not to much surprise, found that Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs had disappeared. Their parents had probably found them shortly after they touched down on land. I faintly wondered if my mother was looking for me as I determinedly followed Gobber and Stoick to the house. We reached the door quickly, entering the threshold just as a light spray of rain started to drip out of the sky.

I was sure both adults knew I was there, as well as the anxious Night Fury who was walking beside me.

As soon as they got inside, Gobber grabbed a blanket that lay in the corner and placed it on the kitchen table. Stoick set his son down on it and, with a worried glance at his boy, began working on starting a flame in the fireplace.

I started to go over to help him, but Gobber thrust a section of rope into my hands. Before I could even give him a questioning glance, Gobber stated, "Cut off the blood flow, Astrid."

I stared at the rope, wondering why Gobber was giving me instructions; after all, he wasn't a healer in any sense of the word. In fact, he's probably the opposite of one. However, I remembered the fact that the blonde blacksmith had lost both a leg and an arm. I guess he had picked up on how the amputation process worked after his second accident.

I shook my head sharply; I couldn't waste time thinking on such trivial things. I slipped the thin rope under the dragon rider's leg, trying with all my might not to lift the appendage too high in fear of hurting him. I tied the binding tightly just under his knee, trying to ignore the warm, crimson substance that found its way onto my hands during the process. By the time I was done, my hands were shaking, mostly because of the slightly pained noises I heard coming from the unconscious boy next to me.

Then I heard a quiet muttered sound and I froze in terror, "'oothless?"

I froze at his voice and alarms started blaring in my head. This was not good. If it had been any other time that Hiccup regained consciousness, I would've considered it a blessing, but right before he was about to have his leg sawed off was not one of those times.

I quickly glanced at Hiccup, whose eyes were halfway open and looking at his dragon curiously. I leaned away from his leg and faced him, trying to make my voice as calm and commanding as possible in the situation. I laid a hand on his head, "Hiccup, go back to sleep."

His half-lidded eyes turned away from the dragon near his head to me, but he looked pained and confused, "Astrid? Why-"

His sentence was cut off as he groaned in pain, and his body withered as Gobber placed a hand on his leg, holding the limb down. The blacksmith immediately removed his hand at his sound though, and glanced worriedly at the boy. Stoick was at his son's side as soon as the sound left him. He placed a large hand on Hiccup's sweat drenched forehead, "Son?"

Hiccup grit his teeth, eyes squeezed shut, "Ugh, it burns…"

Stoick physically winced at his comment, "I know, we're going to make it go away. You've got to be strong for your father, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded slightly, but I couldn't tell if he understood what Stoick had asked of him or not. Stoick patted his son's head, and said gently, "Good, now do as Astrid says and go back to sleep."

Almost as if he had been waiting for permission, Hiccup lost consciousness again. His expression smoothed out slightly, and his breathing became a little less ragged. I sighed in relief; the last thing I wanted was for Gobber to saw through his leg while he was awake.

"Astrid," I looked at Gobber, who had a pained expression on his face.

"What?"

He didn't sugar-coat his next sentence, and ordered, "You and the dragon have to leave now."

I froze. What did he say? My eyes widened considerably, and I shook my head furiously, "Wha- No! No, we're staying and helping you!"

Gobber decided not to comment on the fact that Toothless couldn't do anything, and he took my shoulders in his hands, "Astrid, think about this. What's the Night Fury gonna do when he sees us," he paused, swallowing before finishing the sentence, "removing his owner's leg?"

I knew exactly what would happen. Toothless would attack at the sight, prepared to protect his best friend to the death. But the thought of leaving upset me; I didn't want to leave Hiccup alone.

"But…Hiccup…"

"I know, I know. He'll be alright, we'll take care of him, I promise. But ya know Hiccup wouldn't want the dra-Toothless to accidentally hurt anybody. When he's allowed visitors, I'll be sure to alert you and the other trainees first thing. A'right?"

I looked back at Hiccup, hesitating. I knew Gobber was right…but it didn't make leaving any easier on my nerves. I watched as Toothless somberly sniffed at his rider, nosing him slightly in hopes that he'd awaken again.

I took a shaky breath and turned towards the obsidian dragon. I grasped at one of the undamaged saddle straps, "Come on, Toothless. We have to go outside."

The dragon paid no heed to my words, and stood still, his eyes aimed on his best friend. I really didn't want to have to drag Toothless outside and chances were I wasn't strong enough to accomplish such a feat, but I tightened my grip on his tattered saddle anyway.

"I know you're scared, I am too," the Night Fury twitched his fin-like ear, and glanced back at me, "but we can't do anything right now. There's nothing we can do to help him.

I winced inwardly at that last sentence, feeling ashamed at my useless, "We have to trust that he'll be alright."

I tugged on his saddle a little, taking a step towards the door, and hoping that the dragon would come with me without much difficulty. However, Toothless stood rigid and whimpered slightly, possibly debating whether or not it was safe to leave his beloved rider at the hands of the villagers, who've so often tried to harm them both.

In one last attempt to get him to come quietly, I started stroking the scales along his back and sides, "We don't have to go too far, I promise. Just outside the door."

I don't know if the dragon understood a single word I said or not, or maybe if the poor creature was in some form of shock, but he hesitantly decided it was best to follow me outside.

It was definitely raining outside now, but the veiled sunlight was still able to make its way through the thick clouds enough for me to be able to see my surroundings. As soon as Toothless joined me in the cold rain, I turned back to close the door, and tried not to notice the light of the torch glittering off the slick, metal saw Gobber reached to grab off out of the weapon stack in the corner. I slammed the door shut so I wouldn't see anything else.

I didn't try to pull the pitiful Night Fury off the stone steps that lead to the house, for I knew it was futile. Besides, I promised him we'd only go outside the door, and I wasn't about to break that promise.

If was a few minutes before we heard anything, but by the time the screaming started I wished for nothing but silence again.

I was convinced as soon as I heard the shouts of agony that there was no worse torture for me than just sitting here listening to it. A large part of me wanted to run home, to cover my head under my pillow and curl up so I wouldn't have to listen anymore, but the other part that had me loyally staying close to Hiccup and Toothless overpowered the first feeling. The first screams almost sent Toothless into a frenzy, with him scratching at the door and stone walls, trying to get inside with what energy he had left. I eventually managed to calm him down slightly, but it took a lot of comforting words and scratches along his neck to get him to stop lunging at the house. Now he just laid across the doorway, ears pinned back as far as they could go, his eyes narrowed at the ground. I sat next to him, my back against his wings, and I could feel every flinch the obsidian dragon made.

I wasn't much better. Sometime after getting Toothless to relax as much as he could, I had covered my ears with my hands, and laid my head on my knees. I wanted it to stop. The sounds still slipped through my fingers and into my brain, burning it into my memory so it would play over and over again until I didn't know which screams were real and which were from my imagination. I chose to focus on the rain instead. The way it stung slightly as it hit my skin, which was now slick with water after it had washed away all the dust and ash and blood from my pale skin. The way it was ice cold, and even though I focused on it I knew that the shivers that flew through me weren't from the temperature. The way the clear water fell onto my skin and became clouded with filth as it dripped off of me. I had to focus on it all, and then maybe I could be able to drown out the sounds coming from inside the house. I had taken out my hair tie earlier so the grittiness would disappear a well, but right now it just felt like wet ash had sunk in between my dirtied locks.

As a Viking, I wasn't really one to be excited about baths, even though I'm sure I loved them more than most of the other people on the island did. But now I couldn't be more thankful for the rinse, no matter how freezing it was. I wanted to erase all evidence of this battle, I wanted it to heal the pain that stung with ever scream I heard come from the boy inside.

It felt like hours before there was silence again, although I was sure it had only been about thirty minutes or so. I sat on the steps, soaked to the bone and cold, but I made no move to leave.

"Astrid?"

My head slowly lifted from my knees so I could see who'd spoken my name, and I was kind of surprised to see Mom and Cress in front of me. In fact, Cress had her wing lifted, sheltering my mother from being bombarded by raindrops, and my surprise at the sight almost made me forget what had happened in the house behind me. Almost.

"Mom?" my eyes shifted between her and my dragon, confusedly, "What-"

She gave a sad smile, and waked closer to us until she was right in front of me, Cress following her the whole way. She held out a hand to help me up, and the smile morphed into a frown, "I can explain in the morning. But, for right now, I believe I owe my daughter an apology. I'm sorry I didn't listen to ya, sweetheart. So sorry."

My eyes widened at the confession, never in my life had I heard that come from my mother, at least not with such seriousness. The exhaustion and held in emotion from the past few hours hit with full force, and I suddenly felt the strong need to go back home. I jumped up and threw my arms around Mom. She may be coarse and strict at times and she may have the strength to slay dozens dragons in a single raid, but she was still my mother and I don't know what I'd do without her.

I felt like a child again as I nodded at her apology, letting her know I forgave her.

She patted me on the head, and I felt very, very tired. So much so that I almost didn't hear her exclamation, "Dear Thor, child, you are soaked to the bone! Come on home, I'll make ya some nice, warm stew and then ya can go to sleep."

I nodded again, and we started to walk back home. My heartstrings tugged sharply at the fact that I was leaving Hiccup's side, but told that he was in the good hands of his father and Gobber. I believed it enough to let Mom drag me back home.

When we reached the bottom of the hill that Hiccup's house was perched on, I remembered Toothless and immediately turned around to call for him. However, I just watched through the rain as the door opened to reveal Stoick's pale face. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes, seeming to contemplate something, before gesturing to the dragon to come inside.

I couldn't help but smile slightly as the drenched Night Fury made his way into the Chief's home.

I shot up from my position in my bed for what seemed like the tenth time that night. I slapped my shaking hands over my mouth to keep in the scream of fear that had risen in my throat sometime during the night. I was breathing hard and my heart fluttered hard and quick, like it was trying to burst out of my chest. I sat in bed in that position for a few minutes, shaking from more than just the chilly, dawn air that had seeped into my room.

After my heart had calmed and the ringing in my ears stopped, I slammed a fist into the covers of my bed. Gods I hated that dream. I've only had it for the past two nights but I had just about torn my hair out with the false scare it gave me. It didn't sound horrible, I've had worse dreams, but it somehow dug deep into me and made me feel like I was losing everything I held close to my heart.

It always started the same, with darkened skies that housed cyan lightning. However, I was never able to see anything else. I would just stare out in the darkness until I tried to move. I would take a step, raise my hand, it didn't matter what I did, but when I moved the area around would always suddenly be engulfed by bright flames. They would circle around me. I'd hear the fire's crackle, the roar of a monster, a scream of pain. I would call out. Sometimes I'd ask for help, other time's I'd shout names of people I felt were in trouble. I'd call for Mom and the trainees and sometimes even Dad, but I called for Hiccup the most. Even if I didn't call for him, his name would always appear in my head. I would stop shouting long enough to see green skin and jagged, sharp teeth come at me, and that's when I would wake up.

Every single time.

It didn't take a genius to figure out how what the nightmares came from, but I didn't know what to do to keep them away at night. I tried various methods of trying to go into a dreamless sleep, and had even asked Mother if she had anything to keep them away, but no such solution had been found yet.

I looked outside the window that was in my room, and judged the time of day by the number of colors receding form the horizon, leaving only blue. I figured that now was as good of a time as any to get out of bed, and set out to put on a fresh change of clothes.

I then proceeded to go outside and check up on Cress, who was extremely happy to see me. Mom had told me that she didn't know the Nadder was mine when she rode from the Nest; she just found the closest dragon and hopped on it to get back to Berk. Of course, once the Nadder let her off at my house, she'd caught my scent and stuck around, no matter how much shooing Mom did.

When she set out to find me in the rain, Cress had followed her, and mom seemed to realize just how smart and peaceful dragons could be, and allowed my dragon to follow her. Mom had fed her yesterday, and became quite fond of Cress. I guess seeing her daughter and her friends flying through the sky and saving everyone's lives changed her idea of what dragons really were. Not that I'm complaining.

I quickly gave Cress some fish that Mom had bought from one of her friends who had stayed on the island during the attack on the Nest and pet her for a few minutes. Then, as I was leaving the backyard, I heard my mom calling me from in the kitchen and I went back inside.

I found her roasting some mutton above the fireplace, whistling to herself.

"Yeah, Mom?" I asked.

She sent me a sharp look and pointed a finger at the table next to me, "Ya didn't eat or drink anything yesterday! Ya better at least have something in your stomach before ya leave! If I find that glass on the table full when I turn around, you're not goin' anywhere."

I glanced at the wooden cup siting on the table. I hadn't really had anything close to an appetite since the attack, but I knew Mom was worried about me. To make her happy, I quickly gulped down the buttermilk that was inside the mug, "I'm done. Going out now."

It wasn't so much of a demand rather than a question, and I smiled when Mom nodded in approval, "Alright, don't stay too late."

Mother knew what I meant when I said 'going out'. She knew I wasn't going to go find Ruffnutt and have a spar. She knew I wasn't going to go in the woods to hunt down a few birds for lunch. No, it was no secret that I was going over to visit the one person I wanted to see awake right now. The only problem was that Hiccup hadn't regained consciousness again since his leg was amputated.

The dirt path I took to his house was still a little damp from the downpour two days ago, and the sticky mud clung onto the underside of my boots. However, the sun was out and shining brilliantly today, a rare thing for Berk, and I slowed my stride a little bit do soak up some of its warm rays.

I took the shortest route to Hiccup's house, just like the ones before. It was a back road behind the houses instead of the main street in front, and usually nobody waked along it. I eyed the randomly scattered Terrible Terrors that were perched on houses, fences, and barrels along my walk. I'd gotten used to seeing them over the past two days, and a few of them recognized me as well. Today a dark red one, which I nicknamed Hazzard, seemed to recognize me and perched himself on my shoulder, chattering in my ear and tugging at my hair while I walked.

"Well you're chatty today, aren't you?" I reached up next to me to pet the spikes along his back, and giggled when he leaned into my touch. If there's one thing I've come to learn about dragons, is that they acted a lot like cats. Well, except for the Nadders who seem to resemble birds, and Gronkles, who unsurprisingly take after the cows Mrs. Kelda keeps on the outskirts of the village.

I turned a corner on the small path that would take me to Hiccup's house, when I heard a strange noise. Hazzard paused, letting out a tiny whimper; he suddenly flew off my shoulder, ran down the path, and hid behind a crate. I watched him, my confusion growing stronger at his unnatural behavior. I started to backtrack and see if he was alright, but I heard a very familiar roar coming from in front of me.

"Toothless?"

Of course it was the Night Fury, I don't think I could ever erase that dragon's roar from my mind. I suddenly felt my gut twist as a horrid though came up. What if something happened to Hiccup? That one thought urged me to start sprinting towards the Chief's house. I found myself growing more worried as I got closer, and started to hear yelling, men and women yelling to be more precise, and as the house came into my line of sight I learned that I was right. Standing in front of the front door of Hiccups house was, in lack of another word, a mob. And in the front, standing protectively before the threshold was Toothless, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else at the moment.

The older Vikings, were surrounding him with weapons and buckets of water (to put out any fire he made I presume), trying to get the dragon away from the house. Scared of what the villagers might do, I ran up to the steps, pushing my way through angry adults until I was right in front of Toothless, and I was surprised to find the poor dragon shaking slightly at the mass in front of him.

He almost took a swipe at me, thinking I was one of the villagers, but held back at hearing my voice.

"Toothless, whoa, calm down. Go back inside. I'll handle this," He grumbled, I think in thanks, and swiftly went back in through a window near the door that I'd never noticed before (which, mind you, suspiciously had blackened soot lining the stone around it). Once I was sure he was inside and safe, I turned to the group of Vikings before me.

"What is your problem?" I shouted, silencing their angry cries at the dragon's escape. "He's Hiccup's dragon! If it wasn't for him you all would be dead!"

"No!" one Villager cried out. I deduced that he had just gotten back from off the island, seeing how his brown beard was covered in black soot and he was still wearing his armor. "It's because of tha' monster tha' we were attacked in the first place! If tha' boy 'ad never found him, we woulda never gone to that gods-forsaken island at all!"

There was a chorus of 'yeah!'s and cheers at his accusation, which only added to the anger I was feeling towards the group. I childishly stomped my foot at him, how could someone be so cruel? How could they have forgotten what had happened those few days ago? Did they not see Toothless and Hiccup save them? They defeated the Green Death for Odin's sake, and this is how the village was going to repay the chief's son? Oh no, not while I was standing between them.

"Toothless and Hiccup killed the Green Death! They stopped the war between dragons and Vikings; they have not hurt you. You should be on your knees giving thanks to them rather than threatening to kill them!"

"You think this hasn't harmed us? Look around! There are dragons all over Berk, and no one's fighting 'em. Many people were injured at the Nest, and now those monsters have been brought back to Berk. What if they hurt us, what if they steal our food again? I'm goin' to stop this before it starts, before anyone else gets hurt!" he raised his axe, and the rest cheered in agreement. Gods I could've punched that guy right there. I didn't understand how somebody could be so blind, even when a good thing has been placed right in front of them. The elder man took a step towards the door, "Move outta the way lass, this is for the good of the village. Let the adults handle this. This doesn't involve you kids."

I almost snarled at him; how dare he say that we're not a part of this. This man acted like he knew everything and, judging from the crowd's reaction, the others felt the same, and I couldn't stand it. What did he know about my life, or Hiccups for that matter? That last sentence crossed into dangerous Astrid territory, and I drew my axe from my belt and held it in front of me.

I sent a growl their way, planting my feet firmly against the stone steps, "If any of you want to get at that dragon inside, you're going to kill me first."

"Us too," the voice that come from behind startled me, and I looked back to see Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs standing at the door, weapons drawn and glares on their faces.

That caused the crowd to pause, but I could tell they still wanted in to get to Toothless. I was even starting to believe they wanted to get at Hiccup as well, with the way the adults starting saying 'they' and 'them' when indicating the friends inside the house. Have they gone insane? A full-blown argument had started up not far behind, but, before a fight started, the gods sent in an intervention.

"What in Thor's name is going on here?" a shrill voice called out above the jumbled mass of threats and insults that came from both my party and the other.

If there wasn't a crowd of angry Vikings separating me from my mom, I would've hugged her to death. By the way the adults immediately shut up, anybody could tell that Mom was regarded almost as highly as Stoick amongst the villagers.

When nobody spoke up in response, she put on a frightening glare, "Is nobody goin' to answer my question?"

There seemed to be a shudder throughout the crowd at her stone cold voice. It was Snotlout, seemingly ticked off at the adults trying to get at his cousin, who spoke up, "They're trying to get Toothless Mrs. Eydis. They're saying it's his fault all the other dragons are here."

I could've sworn Mother scoffed at the statement, but it was too low for me to hear. She looked over at us on the steps and said, "It's alright youngens, I'll take care of this from here."

Tuffnutt started to complain, "But.."

Mother waved him off, "I can handle it Mr. Thorston, now go on home."

Shocked by being spoken to as if he were an adult rather than a teen, Tuffnutt backed off, dragging his sister along with him. Fishlegs and Snotlout hesitantly followed, both giving the crowd an angry glance (and you know Fishlegs is mad when he glares).

I was left in the doorway, my axe still tightly held in my grip. Meeting my mom's eyes, I reached a hand out to open the door to the Haddock household. She gave me a nod and I pulled the door open to step inside.

I heard one person from the group shout, "Eydis you must understand our views, more than those kids do."

"They act a hulleva lot more like adults than you do! Just because Stoick is back at the Nest gatherin' the others doesn't mean…" I shut the door behind me, the growing scolding come from a, now very angry Hofferson, being muffled behind the think wood.

I stood in the same spot at first, my fists clenched at my sides. I almost couldn't believe my ears. How could the world be so blind, so closed-minded? So much so that they would go against Stoick's orders and try to kill the now-peaceful dragons around us. The thought made me sick to my stomach. If they didn't have trust in their own village, then how have they lived in Berk their whole lives?

I looked at Hiccup's form, still motionless in the bed. Did the adults want to kill him too? For bringing them into this mess? I suddenly felt really scared, and was drawn to the lone chair that stood at Hiccup's bedside. I sat and placed my elbows against the soft mattress, reflexively reached to grasp his warm hand in mine. How could I keep my promise to protect him when half of the village was against me?

Something caught in my throat, and I gripped the boy's hand tighter. I guess I never realized how the Vikings of Berk, who worked together so often and helped another without a second thought, could be turned into barbarians so quickly. I started inwardly raging at the adults, who apparently couldn't take their eyes from the past long enough to see the miracle right in front of them. I never believed that my own village would let me down, but they seemed to be doing that a lot recently. And, to think, if it wasn't for that idiot lying in bed and his wild lizard I wouldn't have ever noticed their betrayal.

I stared at Hiccup's face, which was still extremely pale, and watched his shallow breathing. I sighed and leaned my forehead against his hand, which was clasped in both of mine. I never truly believed Hiccup was weak. Sure, he was on the skinny side and he couldn't keep up with the rest of us sometimes, but he was never weak. He's always been strong mentally at least. If he couldn't lift something, he'd create a contraption that would help him. If any of us were ever sick, he would make us something that would either reduce the fever or help calm our coughs; I always appreciated receiving whatever he gave, even though I never truly thanked him for the gift. If he got hurt or was picked on, he never gave in to the harshness; he stood back up, dusted himself off, and continued on his way, determined to let nothing ruin his day. He may not have been strong in the physical sense, but he was strong mentally and emotionally. This was something I had always admired about him.

Now, to see him at his weakest was something I almost couldn't handle. I couldn't live without somebody who could throw off the traditional 'to battle with that' and 'kill this' aura that floated around the rest of the Vikings in the village. I needed that ray of light that I knew would offer kindness to others instead of stubborn callousness. I craved for someone who wouldn't tell me to suck it up when an injury occurred, but one who would be genuinely concerned about even the tiniest scratch. There was only one person I knew who could give me that, and he was comatose beside me.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't even noticed the thin lines of moisture running down my face until I felt a rough tongue lick one away. I opened my eyes, eyelashes thick with the saltine water, and looked at the poor dragon beside me, who was staring at me with questioning eyes and had his ears pinned back with concern. He gave a soft growl and bumped his nose against my shoulder.

I removed one hand from Hiccup's and threw it around Toothless' neck, pressing my face against the smooth scales.

My voice cracked as I muttered, "I just want him to wake up."

And with that, the walls around my heart crumbled, and I cried onto the Night Fury; Viking pride be damned. I emptied out all my emotions and thoughts onto the dragon, and was left with a faint sense of relief from being able to cry without the threat of being judged by anyone next to me. By the time I was finished, I was too tired to walk back home, and simply laid my head on the edge of Hiccup's bed. Before I drifted off, I felt the comforting presences of Hiccup's hand in mine and Toothless' head on my lap as he napped curled around the chair I was in. It was so familiar and relaxing that, for once, no nightmares danced across my eyes that night.

Mom had been able to subdue all the rioters until Stoick came back with the second group. When he had heard what happened, well, let's just say that when the Chief passed by them in the Village now, they would shrink down into the shadows until he was out of their sight.

He must have talked to the other villagers while he was on the island too, because none of them cringed away from the dragons that were now nestled serenely in the village. In fact, some of them had even gotten up enough courage to feed and pet the ones that liked to perch on their homes. The sight made me smile when I had the pleasure to witness it.

Stoick didn't say anything upon finding me asleep in his house the day after I stayed there. He only set a plate of bread and cheese, as well as a glass of ale, on the small table that was set next to the bed's head when I woke up, and smiled at me. I was thankful for his lack of inquisitiveness, probably just as much as he was thankful for having someone look after his son so intently. It was after that that I had set it upon myself to stay by Hiccup's side until he woke up. Whenever Stoick or Gobber came and gave me food, I tore the large portions in half and fed part of it to the loyal dragon at my side. I even giggled a little as he made a face and cringed at the taste of homemade bread when he ate it for the first time.

A few people came in through the next few days. Stoick came and went as he went to pick up the rest of the Berkians stranded on the island, so he was gone half the time. Gobber came in a lot, checking up on Hiccup's leg almost daily. Most days he would nod his head, some he would stare at it like he was willing it to get better faster. He even came in one day and measured around Hiccup's leg. I'm not sure what that was about. I found out the next day when he came in with a unique looking prosthetic, and helped the blacksmith strap it onto Hiccup. I asked him why he wanted to put it on Hiccup before he woke up. "So he can get used to it, even in his sleep" he had said; that was a theory that could be questioned, but I just shrugged and left the matter on that note. Mom came in a few times too, not only to check up on me but to report on how Cress was doing. She surprised me one visit when she threw Toothless some lamb meat, and patted the purring dragon on his head when she came in to check up on me.

The next days came and went, and soon it had been a week since Hiccup's leg had been taken off. I'd seen the injury a few times when Gobber came in to check on him, and I didn't flinch at the sight anymore. The most it did was make me sad that such a punishment was placed on such a good person.

The only thing I couldn't handle was the fact that the boy hadn't woken up yet. Yes, he looked better than he had been previously, he had gotten some color back to his face and his skin didn't feel so feverish anymore, but he hadn't moved at all. I was almost to the point where I wanted to just slap him to see if he'd get up, but I knew I never would.

Today, that fact was especially annoying me. Hiccup looked like he was just sleeping now and ,as worried as I was, I had the strangest urge to jump on his bed to see if his eyes would open to give me an extremely confused look.

But that was normal for me; Toothless was the one who was acting strange today.

He seemed extremely jumpy, but I had no idea why. I'd woken up to him butting his head against my shoulder.

"Toothless? What the heck—whoa!" the chair tumbled over to the side, dragging me down to the floor. He stared down at me, hopping from two feet to the other two as if he were standing on hot coals. His tail was twitching, he was making a strange chirping sound, and I just found the whole thing odd. He was never this jittery.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, "Let me guess. You're hungry aren't you?"

He tilted his head and his pupils widened to the point where he looked like a lost puppy. I groaned, Toothless being hungry meant me and ten minutes of dragging a basket my size all the way from the harbor back to the house.

I felt the floor start to shake as the dragon started to hop around the house excitedly. My brows shot up in confusion. Had the dragon's mating season suddenly started up or something? I didn't know what else would've made the dragon act this way.

I got to my feet and he nudged me with his nose multiple times, almost to the point where I fell over again, "Okay, okay! I'm going already! Sheesh."

I walked to the door and out the house before the crazy dragon could do any more damage to my persona. I walked through the village, smiling as my route was sprayed with beautiful colors of dragons decorating the rooftops and streets. It was amazing to see all the Terrors hitching a ride on a human shoulder, the few Gronkles helping a Viking pull carts of wood, a Zippleback rolling a ball back and forth with a small child. A child, for Odin's sake! This is what the relationship between dragons and Vikings should have been like all these years. This felt right.

I just wish Hiccup would wake up and see it.

I wish he could see what he had done.

My happy thoughts now turned somber, I walked up to the Viking who was counting the baskets of fish the fishers had caught today. In Berk, we never did everything for ourselves, all we had was shared and traded, and that's just how we liked it. And, from the increased number of mouths we suddenly had to feed, there had to be a lot of job changes to catch enough fish to keep up.

I greeted the older Viking with a wave and asked politely for one full basket. He agreed, but seemed lost to his own mind as he closed off one of the baskets. Before I could hand him anything to trade with it for, he looked down at me and asked, "Tell me, Astrid, is this for Hiccup's dragon? The Night Fury?"

Okay, random question, "Yeah, it is."

The man smiled warmly and gleefully handed me the basket, "Alrighty then! You can take this big basket back up to 'im, free of charge me girl."

I stared at him, confused about the generous offer, and he explained, "Think of it as….payment. For saving our bums that is! Now, off with ya lass, I've got fish to count and eels to throw away!"

I smiled and thanked him zealously, and I once again wished Hiccup was awake to be told that in person. Because, when that happens, I was going to be there to relish the look that would appear on his face.

I made my way back up through the village from the docks, and made it about halfway before I could hear cheering.

"Hey Astrid!" Snotlout, on his Monstrous Nightmare, looked down at me from the air. He smiled widely at me, and pointed towards the far-side of Berk. "You might wanna get back to Toothless. He found something awesome this morning."

Before I could ask what he meant, he was gone. I made a mental note to hit him for leaving me hanging later, but I was curious to what Toothless had 'found'.

"Oh gods, I hope it's not a dead sheep or anything. Stoick's going to kill me if he finds out Toothless escaped, the dumb…."

My mumbling ceased as I came upon a large crowd of Vikings, who were gathered around Stoick, Gobber, and Hiccup, and I—

Wait, Hiccup! I thought. My eyes opened wide as I saw his form, conversing casually with the adults as if he hadn't been comatose for a whole week. He was just standing there, looking so surprised and happy and awake that I didn't even notice that the basket's strap had slipped off my shoulder. I pushed through the throng of people immediately; I wasn't even there long enough to hear the basket fall to the ground or the fish spill out of it with a sickly squelching sound.

"….I might make a few tweaks to it." I heard his voice flow into my ears, and I almost cried out with joy. He was alive, and he was back. Gods he was back! The Vikings around him chuckled at his joke, and I promptly walked up to him and gave him a good hit to the shoulder, making him stumble slightly on his new leg.

"That's for scaring me," I couldn't help hitting him. He had scared me, and he needed to know that I was not going to allow him to do that to me again.

He spread his arms out to his sides with disbelief, "What? Is it always going to be this way with you? Because I—"

I stared at his mouth while he was talking, and was just so happy to finally hear words coming from him again that I grabbed at his shirt, pulled him close to me, and kissed him. Yes it was short and sweet, but it was still too amazing to describe. I pulled back and almost giggled at the stunned expression on his face. He shook it off quickly, a blush forming in its place as he admitted, "-I could get used to it."

I shot him the truest smile I've had on my face since the day we fought the Green Death, and it never left, even as he turned to receive what looked like new dragon riding gear from Gobber. There were no words to describe how happy I felt on the inside. How much I wanted to make sure he would never get hurt again. How much I wanted to just forget about all the people around us and kiss him senseless to show him just how much he was missed by me. And I would have too, but…

"Night Fury!"

"Get down!"

The dragon hopped across the field of Viking heads, giving a soft roar of excitement at seeing the both of us, earning a laugh from both of us. I watched as he put the gear on Toothless, with his father's help. As they talked, I called for Cress, intending to take a flight alongside Hiccup to make sure he didn't pass out. After all, he had only just woken up, but I knew he wouldn't miss out on flying Toothless for anything. After he was done setting up the equipment on his Night Fury, he turned to me.

"So, you ready to go?" He stood tall, and, seeing the joy across hi features, hugged him tightly.

He gave a soft laugh, and shifted slightly, "Astrid?"

"Quit wiggling around, you crazy dragon tamer. I missed you," this seemed to catch him off guard, but he gave me a big, content grin and hugged me back.

"I'm sorry for scaring you."

I gave him a mock scoff, "Just don't do it again or you'll get beat up big time."

He moved out of the hug, hands held in the air defensively a he walked over to Toothless, who was wagging his tail with excitement, "Yes ma'am."

I smiled, it sure was good to have him back. As we both mounted our dragons, I couldn't help the feeling that bubbled up inside me, telling me that no matter who I met or what I did, I would never find anybody I would love more than this boy right beside me. For once, I was glad to feel something other than stubborn competitiveness fill my soul. I glanced back at Hiccup, and was about to induce the race that was sure to happen between the two of us in the air, but was cut off as he spoke first.

"So….Dad told me you didn't leave my side the whole time I was out. I'm flattered Miss Hoffeson." He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I laughed at hisjest.

Oh yes, I wouldn't trade this dragon rider for anything.

---

There ya go! Over 7,000 words of HTTYD goodness!

Ho-Holy crap! I…I'm done! Wow, I never thought I'd ever get here but look at me now!

Well readers, it's been a wonderful ride and I'm so glad I did it. Many, many thanks to my reviewers, watchers, everyone associated with this story! I thank you for your words, your encouragement, and especially your patience with me You were/are all awesome!

Now, I happily (yet sadly) leave you with a couple things that you should know in life: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is an awesome movie, Mickey Mouse should be President, you don't need a reason to send your loved one flowers, and…..drugs are bad. Don't do them. ;)

Adios Readers! (and Happy Holidays!)

~Oliver