My Second Chance
Author; Nightstar Fury
Pairing; Toothless X Hiccup
Rated; M for Mature
Disclaimer; I do not own anything HTTYD related. I do not own any of the songs I may or may not use. I do not own the OC's Katie and Kelly Grimborn, or Brenden Oliversen; all three of them belong to Fanfiction Author: Shadows in Dark Skies/ShadowSpirit020.
Character List:
Hayden Haddock as Hiccup
Spencer & Valarie Haddock as Stoick and Valka(Haddock Parents-Deceased)
Trayden Raseri as Toothless
Dex, Aria, Eliot, and Cole Raseri as Dag, Alva, Eirik, and Cort(Raseri Siblings)
Dustin & Rachel Raseri as Draco and Ryuka(Raseri Parents)
Syrus Jorgenson as Snotlout
Alicia Jorgenson as Adelaide
Silas & Felicia Jorgenson as Spitelout and Freda(Jorgenson Parents)
Ashley Hofferson as Astrid
Ford Ingerman as Fishlegs
Rylee and Tyler Thorston as Ruffnut and Tuffnut
Heather Bazirk as Heather
Devon Bazirk as Dagur
Evan Trapp as Eret
Bryant Grimborn as Brynjar(OC)
Vincent Grimborn as Viggo
Gabriel Forger as Gobber
Dimitri Bludvist as Drago
Chapter I
=Normal POV=
[Monday, 10/23/2017; 3:00 pm]
[Berk, Barbarchi Isle; Jorgenson Home]
"Syrus! Alicia! Could both of you come to the family room, please?" called a male's voice. It didn't take long for two teenagers to reach the requested room by their father.
"What's up, Dad?" asked the older of the two siblings.
"Have a seat; your father and I need to speak with you about something," spoke the mother. The teens sat down across from their parents and waited for them to begin. "Would you like to start, Silas?"
The father, Silas, cleared his throat. "Now, we know you two have been wondering why your mother and I have been more busy than usual. As things have finally been sorted out and situated; we can tell you what's happened and what will be happening," he informed.
"Okay…" both teens replied, a bit nervously.
"Syrus, Alicia; do you both remember your Uncle Spencer and Aunt Valarie?" the woman inquired. The two nodded. "Back in June, both of them were killed during a home invasion," she said sadly.
"Oh, my…Gods…That's awful!" Alicia, the younger sister, gasped quickly.
"I thought you and Uncle Spencer didn't talk anymore?" Syrus, the older brother, questioned.
"That is true. A long time ago, back when you were just 8, and Alicia, 7; Spencer and I had a falling out and stopped speaking to one another. Spencer and Valarie left Berk and moved to the Archian City with your older cousin Hayden," Silas mentioned.
"If…Aunt Val and Uncle Spencer were killed…What happened to Hayden?" Alicia asked.
"Hayden was put in the foster care system," their mother, Felicia Jorgenson said. "There was some mix up with locating relatives and as soon as word reached your father about the deaths; we began looking into where Hayden ended up,"
"But all that is cleared up now? Is he coming to live with us?" Syrus inquired.
Silas nodded. "Yes. Things are fixed and finalized now; Hayden is on his way here now, but…there is another reason we wanted to talk to you," he mentioned. "Hayden has not had an easy time in the system, and this is according to the caseworker; we, unfortunately, don't know the full extent of what Hayden has been through,"
"When the worker arrives, we'll be hearing about everything. All we've been told is that Hayden is in a very fragile state and the caseworker is desperately hoping that with him among family; Hayden will start coming around. So we need you both to treat him as part of the family, like if he were your brother; keep an eye on him in school, introduce him to your friends," Felicia continued.
"No problem, Mom. We'll do what we can to help him adjust and be alright again," Syrus assured.
"But do not push him to do anything he isn't up to doing. And make sure to warn your friends too, without telling them everything. Just mention Hayden lost his parents and has been through hell," Silas stated.
"We got this," Alicia smiled.
"Good, thank you, kids. Now, Hayden will be staying in the basement with you Syrus; it's the biggest space, and the worker has expressed that for a while until we see how Hayden will be with us, he needs to be watched closely," Felicia said.
"Got it. I'll, uh, go set things up," Syrus nodded.
"We'll all get it ready. Hayden should be coming around 4:30 pm," Silas mentioned. With that, the family of 4 began to head downstairs and start arranging Syrus's room to accommodate an extra bedroom set for Hayden.
. . .
[4:00 pm]
An hour later; things were ready to go for when Hayden arrived. The Jorgenson family made sure Hayden would have everything he needed to be with them for a while. The 4 decided to sit together in the living room waiting for the moment, and Felicia had begun to get dinner ready. Suddenly; there was a knock on the door as all movement and sounds seemed to cease. Silas got up, and answered the door; it was revealed to be a man in his early 30's.
"Jorgenson Residence?" the man asked.
"Yes, that's us," Silas nodded. "Please, come in?" he invited. The man walked through the frame as Silas closed the door.
"I'm Cody Greyson; I work for the Archi Child Services," Cody introduced.
"Silas Haddock-Jorgenson and this is my wife, Felicia Jorgenson; then our two children, Syrus and Alicia," Silas shook Cody's hand.
"Where is Hayden?" Felicia wondered.
"He is coming with another worker, I elected to come a little before and get you up to speed on things since we haven't spoken much on the phone," Cody said gently.
"Please, have a seat," Silas offered. The Jorgensons and Cody sat down around the living room table.
"First of all, my deepest condolences on the loss your brother and sister-in-law, Mr. Jorgenson," Cody began.
"Thank you," Silas nodded.
"Secondly, and I cannot stress this enough; Hayden is in a very delicate state, and I wish it were as easy to just place him in your care and tell you we'll be checking in, but, sadly, it is not," Cody stared at them. "This boy has not had an easy time since the loss of his parents,"
"You mentioned this to us," Felicia said.
"And…It's to be expected he's not okay; he just lost his parents," Silas added. Cody shook his head.
"I'm afraid it's much worse than that, Mr. and Mrs. Jorgenson," Cody said, frowning a bit but remained serious. "Hayden has been in multiple foster homes since the beginning of July, and it's not because he didn't fit well with them. It seems the department needs to re-run background checks on every foster family in our system because there were some bad people that Hayden was placed with,"
"What can we expect with Hayden's current state?" Felicia inquired. "Any and all things we need to watch for?" she added.
"Then I suppose the first thing you need to be aware of is that Hayden has tried to kill himself twice," Cody informed as the Jorgenson family member gasped. "The first happened within a week of being placed with a foster family; they were very nice and welcoming. But Hayden tried to overdose and was admitted to Archian Psychiatry Hospital for 5 days. The second attempt happened not more than 2 weeks ago; he tried to hang himself and was admitted again. Hayden is being released now, and will be arriving shortly,"
"Oh, the poor dear," Felicia almost cried.
Silas held his wife. "You said that Hayden was placed with bad people? Was he treated differently? Abused?"
"Yes. The second family he was with were abusive, and we removed Hayden 4 days later when I went to check in and found him covered in bruises looking terrified. The next family had an abusive father, and the mother would feed Hayden little to nothing at all. Hayden showed signs of shutting down, and I received an anonymous call about how the parents were towards Hayden, so we took and placed him with another family at the start of August. Sadly, we don't know what happened to cause Hayden to try to kill himself again; he's entirely shut down and refuses to speak with counselors," Cody continued.
"I assume we need to watch him very carefully then," Silas said.
"Correct. Now…Hayden's last report with the doctor from the hospital today was that he's been diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety. Hayden is on anti-depressants and takes them twice a day. Morning at 6 am, night at 6 pm. He suffers panic attacks, nightmares, flashbacks, mood swings, and unfortunately; it's random. The medication helps in keeping him level, but sometimes it's just not enough," Cody explained.
"What do we do if he enters one of these attacks?" Felicia asked.
"Try talking to him, waking him up, making sure he knows where he is. However, if he starts getting violent and jerking away; back off and let him come out on his own. I made copies of everything in Hayden's file from foster homes to his two stays in the mental hospital. I assume you'll want to inform the school, and if at any time you feel unsafe with him in the home; you're free to call me and we'll rehome him," Cody said.
"No, that won't be necessary; he belongs with family, Mr. Greysen. I'm sure with some time to adjust; he'll come around," Silas stated. "I think he just needs to feel safe again, and with a little work; we can get him there. Does he still see a counselor?"
"Yes, twice a week on Wednesday and Friday. His psychiatrist's name is Harry Anderson; I have all that information for you too," Cody nodded. The man's phone rang twice as he lifted it to his ear. "Thank you, I'll be right out," he said, then hung up. "They've arrived. Oh, and just a quick few things. "Hayden is very quiet, and untrusting to new people. He gets nervous, easily startled, jumpy, and very reserved. So don't be surprised at the silence or him being scared and withdrawn from things or people. And the last bit of information I can give you; Hayden's nightmares are mostly of the night his parents were killed. Sadly; he did witness it,"
"We'll do all we can to help him cope and heal," Felicia informed.
"But do not push him," Cody advised while standing up. "Do you have any questions for me? Is there anything we can provide such as clothes, shoes, etc?" he asked.
"No, we'll take care of it, Mr. Greysen. Thank you, though," Silas stated as Cody handed Silas a black folder with the name on the tab reading; Hayden Haddock.
"That has everything you need for Hayden. Medical history, phone numbers to reach me, reports from his psychiatrist and the mental hospital. There is also a copy of Spencer and Valarie's last will and testament; everything was left to Hayden; he can claim it when he turns 18. Just call up the lawyer," Cody informs calmly. "And here are his pills; they are automatically refilled on the 1st of every month," he handed Felicia the orange pill bottle with a white cap.
"Thank you," Felicia smiled softly. Cody left the house while the 4 Jorgenson family members stood at the doorway, watching as Cody reached a silver 4-door car and opened the driver's side back door. Slowly, a teenager with auburn hair and green eyes emerged slowly with his head down. Cody leg Hayden to the door.
"Hayden, this is your aunt, uncle, and cousins on your father's side of the family; the Jorgensons. You're going to be staying with them from now on, okay?" Cody said. Hayden didn't move his head much, but enough to glance and give a nod that he understood. Felicia stepped forward.
"Hello, Hayden. Remember me? Auntie Felicia? It's been so long since we've seen you, dear," Felicia raised her hands to hug him, but Hayden flinched and cowered.
"Hayden…Hayden; it's okay. Easy now…" Cody offered calmly, rubbing his shoulder a bit. "You're not going to get hurt, I promise…" Slowly, Hayden stopped shaking, but it was clear he was still afraid.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Felicia said, feeling awful and forgetting that Hayden had been with families who abused him. "I-I was just going to give you a hug,"
"Why don't you come inside, Hayden? We can get you settled into your new room, and show you around before dinner," Silas tried while having everyone move away from the door to give Hayden a path into the home. Cody gave Hayden a little push to coax him into going in, and it worked.
"I'll be checking twice a week to see how he's doing," Cody stated. "These are his bags; clothes and personal items," he added while Syrus brought both into the house. "Don't hesitate to call with any questions…Or concerns," he added while heading for his car. Alicia closed the door as Hayden just stood there in silence and looking down.
"C-Come on, cuz," Syrus spoke up first with a smile. "You're rooming with me, so let's get ya set up; you're gonna love it," Hayden nodded his head once as Syrus grabbed the bags and headed for the basement. Hayden followed quietly while Silas, Alicia, and Felicia followed knowing that this was going to be a little challenging, but they would do all they could to help Hayden come around and be okay again; the boy had been through so much in so little time, and he was only 17. How was anyone supposed to have time to mourn or cope with all Hayden had to deal with since the death of his parents?
After reaching the cellar; Syrus placed Hayden's bags on the bed that would be his. "We weren't sure what you needed, but we got you a bed, nightstand, dresser, and desk," Alicia stated. "What do you think? We, uh…We can arrange it differently if you want?" she asked.
Hayden peered up a little. "It's fine…Thank you," he said in a small voice. As far as Hayden could see from just a quick glance at the space; the stairs led downstairs to a sort of man-cave. Off to the right of the stairs were a laundry room and some storage. To the left was an open area revealing what appeared to be a living room/bedroom layout. First was the bedroom, then the living room sat farther back.
"That door at the end leads to the bathroom, well one of them in the house. It has a toilet, sink, and a stand-up shower; there's a small storage cabinet for towels, toilet paper, face cloths, soaps, and stuff. Uh…This door here is a closet for coats and nice clothes. And…Everything else is pretty self-explanatory," Syrus tried.
"Syrus remembered from when we used to come over that you liked your bed against the wall, so we tried to set it up that way for you," Felicia informed. Hayden looked again; his space was was actually a little section of three walls that was pushed back from the main part of the room and near the bathroom. Hayden had a queen-sized bed, full four-drawer stand-up dresser, nightstand, and built-in wall desk with shelves and workspace.
"And there's a curtain you can draw back to hang stuff like it were a closet. You can also pull back this curtain here to close the room off if you want to," Silas interjected. It was the perfect size to Hayden; just like back home. "Do you want us to help you unpack?" Hayden shook his head.
"I-I can d-do it," Hayden replied nervously.
"Alright, no problem. You don't have to be nervous or scared around us, Hayden; we're family," Alicia offered.
"Well! Alicia, Syrus…Why don't you stay down here while your father and I go upstairs to finish up dinner? If Hayden finishes before the meal; show him around the house," Felicia smiled.
"Okay, Mom!" Syrus and Alicia replied. Silas and Felicia left the basement as Hayden stood where he was; trying to take everything in. The Jorgenson siblings decided to step back and give Hayden some space to get comfortable and unpack at his own pace. After 5 minutes or so Hayden began to open the suitcases and start working to get things out and set on the dresser top. First, it was clothes, then nick-nacks and pictures. Hayden put everything away, or set up how he wanted. After that; Hayden set his phone to charge on the nightstand; it wasn't activated, but Hayden could use it with wifi when available.
The last of the things to get unpacked here Hayden's computer; one of the all-in-one computers that only needed a mouse and keyboard since the tower parts, like the hard drive, CD and DVD drive of the computer were built into the back of the main screen. Alicia and Syrus were surprised; how had Hayden managed to pack all this stuff into just two suitcases? More electronics were a mini printer/scanner, then a what appeared to be a tablet in a black case.
"I can give you the wifi password if you want?" Syrus offered.
"I-If you want to," Hayden responded. Syrus came over and grabbed a pen from the cup holding a bunch of writing utensils on the desk; he wrote down the network name and password on a small pad near Hayden's computer.
"All the letters are capitals when you type it in," Alicia added with a smile.
"That's…Pretty awesome you got everything in one suitcase," Syrus informed.
"All unpacked now?" Alicia asked. Hayden nodded to her. "It looks great," she complimented. "Want to see the rest of the house?" she inquired. Hayden nodded again. "Well, come on then!" she giggled. Hayden followed Alicia and Syrus out of the basement and upstairs into the kitchen.
"How are we doing?" Felicia asked with a broad smile.
"Great. Hayden's all unpacked downstairs," Syrus stated. "We're about to give him the tour," he added.
"Excellent. Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes," Silas mentioned.
"We'll be quick," Alicia smiled. "Come on, Hayden," she invited. Hayden just walked behind slowly. "Alright, so you saw where the basement was, and that door at the top of the stairs is the side entrance/exit to the house; it leads to the driveway, or backyard through the gate,"
"And obviously through here is the kitchen," Syrus said while the 3 teens continued walking. "This is kind of a family dining spot, and over there to the left is the formal dining room and front entrance to the house where you came in. Uh, over here is the living room. There are sliding doors onto the back porch and into the backyard,"
"Down this hall is mom and dad's home office at the end. On the right is the bathroom, and on the left side is my room, then down further is mom and dad's master suite," Alicia informed. "Think you got it?" Hayden nodded his head.
"Time to eat!" Felicia called out. The Jorgensons began to line up for their food; Hayden just stood off to the side quietly. Silas, Felicia, Syrus, and Alicia sat down at the small table and went to start eating, but stopped upon seeing Hayden just standing against the wall with his head down.
"Hayden? Aren't you hungry?" Silas inquired.
"I-I eat when I'm told or given food, but never before…" Hayden replied, which broke Alicia and Felicia's hearts to hear. Felicia stood up and lightly touched Hayden's cheek with her hand; he flinched and closed his eyes tightly.
"Ssh, easy…I'm not going to hurt you," Felicia soothed as she lifted his face up gently. "Hayden, I know you were treated differently and harshly in other homes, but here with us; you are family, sweetie. When I make a meal; it's for everyone in the house, friend or family. You don't have to wait to be given food or told when you can eat. If you are hungry or thirsty; you help yourself, okay? And if there's anything you need; you just come to ask your uncle, cousins, or me, alright?" Hayden nodded. "Now, come on and get some supper," Felicia smiled as she handed Hayden a styrofoam plate, then a metal fork and knife.
Felicia set a little of everything on the plate and led Hayden over to the table to sit between Alicia and Syrus. "Now, let's eat," Syrus grinned. Hayden looked at all of them for a second, then at the food on his plate; he wasn't even sure he could eat it all, but maybe things here would be different. However, Hayden knew better than to assume anything would be okay after what he'd been through. Quietly, Hayden to eat slowly while keeping his head down while the others talked about their day.