And here is the second chapter, taking place a little while after HTTYD2 (it'll say how long afterwards in the story, don't worry. :D). So, RAC TO THE EDGE TOMORROW! I learned that we'll get a total of 52 episodes in 13 episode chunks, spanning about 2 years...so, we'll probably get about 13 new episodes every six or so months.

I'm probably gonna end up watching all 13 episodes the day they air, lol. :D Anyways, enjoy the next chapter! :D

Hiccup limped into his house and shut the door quietly - almost silently, actually - behind him after Toothless had entered the abode as well. He felt terrible, with a throbbing headache invading his skull, and another pounding sensation that had taken residence in what was left of his left leg. It was to be expected, and he knew it. It hadn't been more than a week since the battle against Drago, and the ice was still melting, most of it still there, which made the air cooler, and led to Hiccup's phantom pains being more probable.

But really, he had hoped that he wouldn't have one again. He hated the feeling, and more than that, though, it hurt. He would have tears streaming down his face, and he couldn't stop them no matter how badly he tried, or how terribly he wanted to.

He turned around. It was late winter, and most of the Vikings spent their nights covering themselves in warm blankets and their dragons before promptly falling asleep. Hiccup knew that sleep wouldn't come easy for him. At least not until his phantom pain ended.

He made it to his loft, but that was it. He collapsed onto his bed and stayed there for a long time, not moving, not falling asleep, and not exactly thinking very much, either. Toothless crooned and nudged him, and Hiccup rubbed the dragon's head slowly.

"It's alright, bud," he said quietly. His mother was sleeping downstairs, and he didn't want to wake her up. She would probably come to wish him goodnight if she knew he was back, and then she would see right through his "I'm-not-in-pain" act and probably end up getting very worried. He didn't want that. He didn't like people worrying about him, least of all his mother, whom he had just met.

He shut his eyes at length, and sleep engulfed his being.

He woke up what he assumed was hours later when the pain in his leg had gone from a gentle throbbing to a stabbing, burning feeling. He was covered in cold sweat, and tears were pouring down his face before he could even try to stop them.

Toothless was nudging him, cooing at him, growling with worry and pawing Hiccup ever so slightly. Hiccup tried to control his heavy breathing, but failed miserably. Another fierce pain shot up his leg, and he bit his lip so hard he was sure he would draw blood in an attempt to not cry out. Toothless nuzzled Hiccup's chest, and HIccup doubled over, his tears soaking his dragon's scaly head.

"It's okay, it's okay…" Hiccup whispered to himself. "It'll pass...it'll pass...it's okay…" Toothless growled at him worriedly, and Hiccup hugged him tighter. "I'm alright, bud," he said hoarsely. It wasn't the first time Hiccup had a phantom pain. He had them nearly every night after he first lost his leg, and since then, they had been less, but Hiccup still hadn't gotten over the sensation. He would never be used to it. Not now, and not in ten years.

He managed to lay down again, and once he did, he curled into himself on his side, facing the doorway in a fetal position. Toothless nudged his back, and when Hiccup didn't respond, the dragon draped his wing over his rider and sniffed him, ruffling his hair with his exhaling breath.

Another stab of pain hit Hiccup's leg, and Hiccup didn't have time to even prepare to hold it in before he found himself screaming. This was it. This was just too much. This was his breaking point, and he had reached it.

Toothless looked panicked, but didn't move from where he was positioned. He knew how bad Hiccup's pain was, and how badly phantom pains hurt his rider. The dragon had seen every single one Hiccup ever had.

And then, Hiccup heard footsteps. Frantic footsteps, racing up the stairwell. He shut his eyes tightly when more pain invaded his body to keep from screaming a second time. He knew who the footsteps belonged to. He didn't want to worry his mother any more than he already had.

Valka appeared in the doorway, a candle in one of her hands. She whispered her son's name before she raced over to him, setting the candle on Hiccup's desk. Toothless stepped back, and Valka sat down on the edge of the bed, her eyes full of panic and concern.

She probably heard me scream, Hiccup noted to himself. That's enough to put anyone on edge.

"Hiccup," she said, her voice just barely rising over a whisper although by the tone of her voice she wanted to shout and scream and demand what was wrong. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Hiccup clenched his teeth. He wanted to say something along the lines of Oh nothing, I'm fine, don't worry, you can go back to sleep, but even as he opened his mouth to say just that, he realized that he didn't want her to leave. Normally, whenever he had phantom pains, his father (or even Astrid, if it happened during the day) would help him, but he didn't have his father anymore, and Astrid wasn't there.

Besides, having his mother with him was comforting. He didn't know what it was, but just her being there was...soothing. He had a lot more to learn about mothers, he supposed. He had only had one for about a week.

"Hurts…" he moaned. "It...it hurts, Mom…"

Valka put her hand on his head and ran her fingers through his hair. "What hurts, Hiccup?" she asked.

Hiccup choked on a sob briefly before answering. "M...my leg…" he croaked. "The...the one that...that isn't...there…" It sure felt like it was there, though, and it felt like it was being chewed on by a Monstrous Nightmare and set on fire a minute later.

A look of realization crossed over Valka's face, and she sighed sympathetically. "Oh, son…" she whispered softly, moving her hand from his hair to his cheek and wiping away his tears with her thumb. It was no surprise to Hiccup that she knew what phantom pains were. She lived on Berk for the first twenty years of her life, after all. She was raised on Berk, and amputees were a common sight. Most the Berkians either knew people or had family members who had lost some part of them during a dragon raid or an Outcast attack or something along those lines.

He sobbed and gasped in pain. "P-please make it stop…" he begged, feeling pathetic.

Valka looked helpless. Hiccup thought about what he had asked her: how could she make his pain stop? There wasn't anything she could do about it, or else, Hiccup knew she already would have.

The more he thought about it, the more selfish he felt. She shouldn't have had to take care of him. He should have been able to do it by himself instead of burdening her.

"I'm...I'm sorry…" Hiccup whispered. "Sorry...I...I…"

"Shh," Valka said in response, stroking his hair out of his face, and Hiccup quieted almost instantly. "You don't have to be sorry, baby…"

"But that's...that's it," Hiccup said slowly. "I'm...I'm almost twenty one...I should be able to take care of myself. I'm...I'm not a baby…"

Valka sighed. "Oh, Hiccup," she said. "I am your mother. You will always a baby in my mind."

Hiccup blinked at her. "Alright…?" he said at length. "I...I guess I have a lot...a lot more to learn about mothers, then...don't I?"

Valka smiled softly. "I guess so, sweetheart," she said kindly. She put her hand against his forehead, and her smile turned into a small frown. "You're running a temperature," she commented.

Hiccup sighed. It wasn't the first time he had gotten himself worked up and eventually, sick. "It's nothing," he murmured. "I'll get over it...Agh…" He shut his eyes again in pain. Vakla massaged his forehead with her thumb, and he sighed, this time with relief.

"Hang on," Valka said. "I'll be right back, son." She stood up and left before Hiccup could ask her where she was going. The room fell silent, broken only by Hiccup's almost constant moans of pain and heavy breathing while Toothless cooed and nuzzled him calmingly.

After a few moments, Valka returned, carrying a basin full of cold water and a rag. She sat down beside Hiccup on the bed, soaked the rag thoroughly, squeezed all the excess water out of it and dabbed Hiccup's forehead. Hiccup sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. He hadn't realized how hot he felt until Valka put the rag on his forehead.

"Th...thanks, Mom…" Hiccup whispered.

"You don't need to thank me, love," Valka said in the same soft, gentle tone she had used most that night. "I'm just taking care of my son." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. And then, he had to squeeze his eyes shut when more pain crashed over his body.

"Shhhh, it's alright," Valka soothed. "It's alright, it's alright, rest. Just rest."

"I can't…" Hiccup choked, sobs ripping through his throat no matter how hard he tried holding them back. "I can't, Mom...it hurts...it hurts so bad…" He sucked in a shaky breath, more tears spilling from his eyes and rolling down his face.

Valka re-wet the cloth and put it on his forehead before touching his shoulder gently. "You're tense," she whispered. "Relax. It'll help. Easy…"

Hiccup nodded and tried to do as she had suggested, but it wasn't easy. "I...I can't…" he whimpered. He couldn't even ease his breathing anymore. The pain was mounting, and he knew it. "I c-can't...m'sorry…"

"No, no," Valka said, caressing his cheek softly. "Don't apologize. Don't apologize, Hiccup. Don't you dare..."

Hiccup choked on another sob, his heart on his sleeve, transparent in the eyes of his caring mother. He shut his eyes for the utmost time that evening as if he could somehow block his pain out.

He felt Valka lift his upper body, and when he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying in her arms, her worried eyes staring into his tired ones. She was straddling the bed, holding her pain-stricken boy in her arms with gentleness only a mother would know.

She soothed him for what felt like hours, whispering nothings and sometimes humming. At long last, Hiccup found himself relaxing in her hold. The pain was still there, but it had dulled into something small and manageable that he could disregard with ease.

"M...mom…" he whispered, his eyes closing on their own.

"Shh, don't speak," Valka coaxed. "Sleep."

Hiccup closed his eyes.

He woke up alone, in the middle of the night, to the vision of his father's death in his head. He was sweating, and he felt sick as he sat up and rubbed his hands over his eyes.

His leg wasn't hurting as much as it did before, but now, the visions of his father were making his heart hurt. He laid back and closed his eyes again, but all he saw was the same thing: Toothless, his father running, the plasma blast…

At length, he stood up. His leg was sore, but the pain was disregardable. Toothless was sleeping in the corner, and Hiccup could imagine his mother was doing the same downstairs, because she wasn't in the loft anymore.

He walked slowly downstairs and to his mother's room.

She must have been half-awake, because she opened her eyes as soon as she heard his footsteps.

"Hiccup?" Valka asked in confusion, her voice thick from sleep. She sat up, pushing herself up on her elbow to look at her son. "What is it? What's the matter?" She took a moment to actually look at him, and she sighed sympathetically. "Nightmare?" she asked.

Hiccup nodded quietly. "Um...would...would you mind if I...if I..." He felt embarrassed now. He wanted to just go back to sleep...or, at least, pretend to be asleep. He felt bad for bugging his mother now. He wasn't a baby anymore. He should have been able to take care of himself.

Valka knew what it was, though. Of course she did. She was his mother. She knew how haunted he was by nightmares, and tonight a phantom pain as well, and she knew he didn't want to be alone. She held the blankets up and looked back at Hiccup. "Come 'ere, son," she said.

Hiccup sighed, relieved as he clammered over and laid down beside her. Valka covered him warmly with the blanket and sank down beside him before wrapping her arms around his body. He shut his eyes contentedly, feeling safe. His nightmares were still fresh in his mind, but they didn't seem as real now. They felt almost like a distant memory, one that could not be grasped easily.

Valka rested her chin atop his head and smoothed his hair. His forehead still felt warm because of his fever, but it was lower than it had been previously, and she passed it off as an improvement and hugged her son tighter. Hiccup, in turn, wrapped his own arms around his mother and sighed yet again.

"Thank you..." he whispered.

Valka kissed the top of his head. "You're welcome, son," she said. "Now sleep. I'm right here."

Hiccup let his eyes close, and slept through the rest of the night.

Author's Notes:

What did you think? Was it gooooooooood? Did you like it? Which part was your favorite: before HTTYD2, or after HTTYD2? You can tell me if you want...I would like to hear it. :D

RACE TO THE EDGE TOMORROW, PEOPLE! WHOOOOOOOOO!

Until next story!

-BeyondTheClouds777