Author's Note: A quick thing before getting to this story. This really didn't turn out the way I want it I tried my best but I guess i'm still new to writing this series to do this successfully. Still I did my best on this and I hope it's good. Story's almost finished by the way, so enjoy this and leave a review to tell me how i'm doing.

Chapter 3: Grounded

Stoick and Gobber exited the house and into the darken night of Berk. Both men weren't bothered by the chilly air and said nothing as Gobber watched his chief walk around the house to stand before his Thunderdrum. "Thornado, keep an ear out and make sure Hiccup doesn't leave the house."

The dragon gave a growl but Stoick knew it was a confirmation and reached out to pet him, "Thank you."

Knowing that there isn't anything more to worry about Stoick then took off in a random direction, the prosthetic fin still clutched under his arm. Gobber followed right behind as there was silence. The one-armed Viking frowned as nothing was said and assumed that his friend had no destination in mind, so he decided to be the one to speak. "Stoick…I know this may seems like overstepping a boundary, but I honestly think you were too hard on the lad."

That did it as Stoick stopped in place, slowly turning to face his friend. No anger, surprise or anything like that is displayed on his face at all. "I know Gobber…but I had to be firm about this…just because he's my son doesn't mean he can get off scot-free. That will reflect badly upon me if that happened."

"Stoick, I know he broke your ban, but you yourself said that you should have expected this…Hiccup has always been known to do the opposite of what he's told…especially from you." Gobber gave him a look, one that said, you know I'm right.

Sadly, Stoick knew his friend is right, knowing of all the acts of defiance his son has been doing throughout his life. He knew from the back of his head that Hiccup would go behind his back like he did, he just had hoped that for once that he would listen…even though he himself never listened to his son before. Quite ironic to himself as he thought.

"I know this Gobber…and before you say anything…is it so hard to hope that your own son will listen to you for once…and yes I know I didn't listen to him before…but things are different now" Stoick finished as he adverted his eyes on that last statement. Already his demeanor changed…it was hard to pinpoint what emotion is currently going through his friend's mind, but he knew there's something deeper going on.

"Stoick…what is-"he's cut off as the prosthetic fin is then presented in front of him.

"I need to clear my mind and calm down before I go home Gobber…please take and hide this for me…and don't let Hiccup have it." Stoick pleaded with his friend, a hint of, please just do this for me, lined his voice. But it sounded more like a bit of fear…almost like he knew Gobber might reject the order and truth be told he might have done that. Still the way his chief is acting made it the more questioning.

Yet, to his surprise the blacksmith took the item in hand, "Still, taking the dragon's ability to fly…what if something happens that requires it?"

"I just hope it doesn't come to that," is all the chief answered as he then walked off, leaving Gobber alone in the center of town. Just like with Hiccup he too saw something extra going on in his friend's mind…he knew what it was but hoped that Stoick didn't take his overprotectiveness too far.

….

Berk was bristling with activity as many Vikings were up and about tending to their daily duties. Among them is Astrid, who is walking down the steps of the Great Hall, her eyes locked on her current destination of the moment. After waking up that morning and going to get some breakfast she found all her friends present, all except one. When asked where Hiccup was no one knew the answer, which brought up some dread. Last night was a close call, as they nearly got caught…thanks to the twins…but yet they all couldn't have gotten caught, could they?

Astrid then decided to go over and see if she could track down her one-legged friend. She hoped nothing happened as there was no telling what could come from it. Soon she started to approach Hiccup's home and to her surprise she found Stoick exiting from the building. She couldn't see an angered or irritating expression, so she assumed that all were fine, yet that changed as Stoick made eye contact with her as she stood in front of him.

"Hello chief, is Hiccup up?" she greeted, but was just as surprised when he gave her a look that seemed to accuse her of something. This made her a bit nervous, but she saw that was quickly brushed off.

"I'm sorry Astrid but Hiccup isn't allowed outside of the house until further notice."

Both of her eyes widen in surprise, her thoughts of Hiccup not getting caught now diminished but she just had to know. "What for?"

"It's none of your concern at the moment," Stoick said, keeping his own anger in check. He knew Astrid was one of the ones out with Hiccup last night, but without a confession he couldn't do anything about it, so he had to let her off the hook. He saw her open her mouth and knew what she was going to say next and beat her to it. "And No, he isn't allowed any visitors."

Before anything else could be said Stoick walked off to attend to his duties as chief. As much as he wanted to keep an eye on his son his duties as chief came first. Besides he knew that Hiccup wouldn't break the rules this time, not after the small scare from last night. He wouldn't risk losing his dragon and would adhere to his punishment…for now.

Astrid couldn't believe what she heard, now she's curious as to what happened, even though in the back of her mind she knows. Still she needs to talk to Hiccup, but not sure how if she can't go into the house. She would risk it but wasn't sure if Stoick took any measures to ensure no one went in or out. Looking back at the house she started to think how it would possible. It then clicked into her mind as a sly smile appeared on her face.

…

Things seemed relatively lax for Hiccup as he went about his day the best he could. After waking up in the morning he had an awkward breakfast with his father, which is mostly a silent one. It was then his father reminded him of his punishment, and that he would be checking in on his son now and then just to be sure. It irked the teen some as it felt like his dad didn't trust him…. but then he had to admit it was warranted because of last night. Still he wasn't going to break the no stepping out of the house rule, not when he knew Toothless could be banished from the house for his defiance. Finally, his father left, leaving both boy and dragon alone in the house alone.

Usually Hiccup wouldn't have had a problem finding something to do, but for some reason he had a bit of trouble. He gave Toothless a few pets and just walked around the house for no reason. By now he would be flying laps around Berk but that wasn't in the card, well he wouldn't have been able to because of the flight ban. He then went up to his room and decided to look through Bork's notes again. Despite looking over them so many times he would find new information with every review.

Nearly an hour passed, and he got a bit tired looking the notes over, so he settled just for Sketching Toothless. He was very thankful to have his dragon with him, it made things more bearable as he wasn't alone. Just the mere thought brought back memories to before he shot his dragon down. He would mainly be alone with his own thoughts. Never having someone to talk to nor anyone to hear him. He was glad that those days were over. Still his eyes would look at the missing tail fin, and it would cause the teen to sigh. He knows that it wasn't fair to Toothless, but Hiccup knew he had to do it to keep his friend inside. And he wished he knew what he was thinking, it would make things even easier for him.

He watched his dragon lay on the stone slap, posing for his rider. He was surprised to see his dragon actually holding still for whenever he drew him, almost as if he knew what is going on. What Hiccup doesn't know is that the dragon enjoyed being drawn. He knew of his rider's talent for making imagines and is always amazed at what he saw on the paper. It was so lifelike to him. Toothless watched as his rider looked right into his green eyes, a sigh leaving him.

"I know you don't like being grounded bud, but it was the only way to keep you inside…. although now that I think about it…it wasn't fair deciding for you." Hiccup said as he dipped his quill back into the inkwell. "I promise I'll make it up to you when I'm able to go back outside."

Toothless cooed in understanding, wanting to go and nuzzle his human but didn't so he wouldn't mess up his current pose. The dragon completely understood and didn't blame his rider, he only wish he could tell him that. Both of them then looked at the open door as they heard footsteps coming up and then Stoick appeared. He looked at his son and Toothless, taking in what they're doing. "Just checking in on you."

That caused Hiccup to sigh, "Dad it's only been an hour."

"And you can do a lot in an hour, I'm just making sure you are following the rules," Stoick responded, as he leaned on the door.

"Dad, seriously I'm not going anywhere…that I can promise you," Toothless nodded in agreement.

"I know you're not…but after what happened last night you can't blame me for wanting to be sure." And with that he turned and walked off, leaving his son alone with his dragon. He had to get out of the house before the conversation could take a turn for the worse. He didn't want to fight with his son, no he didn't want to give his son anymore reason to hate him. He loves his son a lot and he's relieved to see he's still there.

Hiccup sighed as he was left alone once more, deciding to resume his drawling. "Should I be angry at him Toothless?"

The dragon lifted his head, tilting it as he looked back questioning to his rider.

"I mean I know I got caught breaking the ban, even though it was ridiculous…but I think there's something more going on with my dad then he's letting on…you could see it couldn't you?" He looked at his dragon and saw him tilt his head again, ears flickering in response. This caused Hiccup to sigh, "Hopefully whatever it is he stops this punishment soon…I'm itching to go outside."

"Hiccup!"

The teen's head snapped up as the voice hit his ears. Looking around he found no one, but then gave his dragon a curious look. "Uh…Bud…was that you?"

"Hiccup!" the voice sounded again, follow by knocking.

That caused him to jump a bit but then he turned his head to the source of the sound. It was coming from above his bed from the window that is now boarded up. During the night Hiccup woke up to small pounds coming from his window. He knew it was his father's doing as his window is shut from the outside so it couldn't be opened. Still now there's a knock as someone is calling out to him.

"Hiccup!" the voice said again as the knocking continued.

Both eyes widened as he got out of the chair and went over to his bed, standing on it and pressing his head against the board. The voice was familiar to him, but after replaying it in his mind both eyes widen as the sound registered with him. "Astrid!?"

"Oh, thank Thor you heard me!" the voice said, and it is indeed Astrid's.

"What are you doing!?" Hiccup said through the boards. "If my dad catches you, then you'll be in trouble!"

"I had to talk to you," she said. "What happened? Your dad said you weren't allowed to leave the house."

Hiccup sighed as he began to explain himself. "My dad caught me sneaking back in last night, he knows I was out flying!"

Astrid was baffled by this. How in the world did Berk's best flyer manage to get caught? And on the back of a Nightfury of all. "How? Last that I remember you were ahead of all of us."

"It was my fault," she could hear the guilt in his voice. "I felt responsible for starting the Dragon Flight Club, so I hanged back for a bit and watched as all of you got to your homes. Apparentally it gave my dad enough time to get back to the house."

"Hiccup that is noble of you but you should have went home when you had the chance," It was then a thought came to Astrid's mind, "Does he know-"

Hiccup beat her to it before she could finish the question. "No, I didn't rat you guys out…but I think my dad knows you all were involved, but he couldn't do anything about it since I didn't confess."

"No wonder he gave me an accused look," she said outload, part of her relieved to know that she and the others were safe…well for now in her mind.

"He did?"

"Don't worry about it," Astrid tried to move on. "So, he grounded you to your home?"

"yeah…but it could have been worse," he sighed dejectedly. But answered before she could ask. "He threatened to ban Toothless from the house since I wouldn't tell him the truth…. thankfully he changed his mind."

"So Toothless is with you?" she asked, but she heard the dragon's cooing, which confirmed her question. "Well that's good."

"Not really…in exchange I had to give up Toothless' tail fin."

"Really!?" she's shocked at this, not really sure if she should believe it without seeing.

"Yeah," Hiccup responded as he sat down on his bed, back against the wall. He could still hear her as did she. "It was the only way to keep Toothless inside…he's a bit upset, but I think he's slowly getting over it. He then rubbed his dragon's snout, a small purr coming from him. "Still it wasn't fair for him, but I think he's real forgiving."

"So, what are you going to do now?" she asked, knowing she shouldn't stay on that topic for the time being. She's real curious as to what he's going to do to get out of this one, but his answer surprised her.

"Nothing."

"What!? How could you not?"

"Astrid Toothless nearly got banned from the house, I'm not going to risk that again. Now that I think about it, I need you to tell the others what happened and that there's going to be no Flight Club tonight." It was then Hiccup thought of something. "Man…Snotlout is going to have a field day once he finds out I was caught."

He could hear Astrid giggling at that, "He is…but don't worry I'll keep him in line."

That made Hiccup smile, glad to know at least someone would take the situation seriously. "Thank Astrid…I'm glad to know you have my back."

"Of course, you know you'd be lost without me," they both shared a laugh from that and enjoyed the semi company they gave one another. Even though they couldn't see the other they still managed to carry on with a normal conversation. This is something Hiccup needed, to help distract him from his current problems as getting caught would almost be worth it right now.

Just then Both Hiccup and Toothless heard something and looked towards the door. A bit of panic started to swell up in the teen as he knew what that was…but how it was too soon! Getting up he looked back at the window, "Astrid my dad's back, you need to get out of here now!"

It seemed like Astrid didn't question the action and could be heard shuffling away from the window. By now both occupants of the room could hear footsteps getting closer. As fast and quietly as possible Hiccup and Toothless went back to their original positions before Astrid started to talk to him. Toothless went back to lying on his stone slab and Hiccup managed to open his notebook and grab the quill just as his father stepped into the room.

Looking up Hiccup then feigned an annoyed look, "Dad it hasn't been even 20 minutes, do you trust me that little?"

It was then he noticed that his father is holding an axe, curiosity swelled up in him but looked back up as he heard him speak. "I needed to come back and retrieve something…and I figured I'd check up on you while I'm at it."

"Oh…ok," he nodded, finding that explanation real plausible. Still with him here he decided to try and get his father to let him go. "Dad I was wondering-"

Unfortunately, his dad seems to know, "No, your punishment won't be lifted…you know what you have to do to end it."

That caused Hiccup to sigh deeply, knowing what he meant. Still, he wasn't going to rat his friends out, "I told you dad, I was out by myself."

"Then your punishment stands…and believe me it would be for the best as it'll help keep you out of trouble…and danger," Stoick said that last word as a near whisper as he turned to leave. Both of Hiccup's eyes rose in confusion as he barely just heard that last part.

His mind then went back to last night and how he saw the look of relief on his father's face. That and now this, just hearing his dad talk about keeping him out of danger. Slowly his mind started to understand what all this could mean and to be honest he didn't like it.

"Was all this because I was kidnapped?"

Author's Note: Hope you all liked this. Now to be honest I wasn't sure how to take this. Originally this story was going in a different direction until a main focus came to mind. Still im trying and I have a lot of ideas I want to do for this fandom. In fact i'm working on another story alongside this one and it'll be out soon.