I just finished book 8 of the HTTYD series...

TIME TO START BOOK 9 I CANNOT WAIT AND DON'T ANYONE SAY A WORD BECAUSE GGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH THERE ARE SO MANY QUESTIONS AND NOT ENOUGH ANSWERS AND AAAAAAAA- *spasms out on keyboard* ghasgdhjagehdgahgsdhjagshdgashgdhegdakjdhkajshkdj...

Haha, I'm a lost cause. :) Enjoy chapter 11! :D


When Astrid woke up next, the sun was higher according to the window. She looked at Hiccup, utterly relieved when she saw he was still sleeping. She didn't feel tired; she felt the need to get up and move around, maybe even go to the Great Hall and get some more soup and see if Hiccup wanted to try to eat again when he woke up. She didn't want to leave him, but at the same time, she wanted to leave him to rest without risking waking him up.

So, slowly and carefully, she moved Hiccup's arms and slid out of bed, hoping he didn't wake. Unfortunately, she realized it was in vain when she looked back to see two tired emerald eyes staring into her own.

"Morning," Hiccup croaked.

Astrid sighed. "Morning to you, too," she said, whispering. "I didn't mean to wake you, Hiccup. You can sleep if you want."

Hiccup obviously didn't "want" at this point. "Are you okay?" he asked after another moment. "You...and the baby? Both okay?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. Of course Hiccup would be worrying about them when he really had to be thinking about himself. "We're fine," she said. "A lot better off than you are, actually."

Hiccup offered her a tired smile in return. "Probably," he said.

Astrid rolled her eyes again, only this time, she was smiling. "Get some rest, alright?" she said. When Hiccup nodded, she kissed his cheek, whispered, "I love you," he kissed her cheek, whispered the same thing, and as soon as he was sleeping again, Astrid headed downstairs.

Valka was up, doing random chores about the house that probably didn't even need to be done, and she stopped only to nod in Astrid's direction as soon as she saw her walk down the stairs.

"Good morning, Astrid," Valka said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Astrid said. She took notice of just how bright it was outside and turned back to her mother in law. "How long did I sleep in?" she asked.

"A few hours," Valka said. "I got some soup from the Great Hall earlier, and some bread, if you want something to eat...how's Hiccup doing?"

Astrid shook her head. "Still resting," she said. "He was awake for a few minutes, but he's exhausted." Astrid sat down at the table and folded her hands on the wooden surface, sighing.

Valka nodded. "I know, poor thing," she said, looking up at the loft as if wondering whether or not she should venture up. "The others should be back any day now with the cure. I hope they hurry…" She let her voice trail off, shaking her head. "We'll have to try to get Hiccup to eat something," she said. "He needs something in his system."

"Yeah," Astrid agreed. "I-"

She was cut off by the door being swung open. She jumped backwards, leaping from her seat, and Valka did the same. Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins raced in, the healer hot on their heels.

"We got the flowers for the cure," Snotlout stated in triumph.

That was some of the best news Astrid had heard since learning she was pregnant. "Really!?" Astrid exclaimed, running up and grabbing Snotlout by his shoulders. Snotlout nodded after flinching. "Well, go on and give it to him!" Astrid said, shaking Snotlout back and forth. "Do you know how sick he is!?"

The healer nodded. "Give me five minutes to make the cure," she said, holding her hand out to Fishlegs who then proceeded to hand her some white, blue spotted flowers. "I need to heat up some water. If he's sleeping, go on and wake him up."

Astrid nodded. "Are you sure you don't need any help-"

"I'll help them with whatever I can," Valka said to Astrid. "You go on." Astrid didn't need to be told twice. She raced back up the stairs and into the loft. After reaching her destination, she crossed the room. She felt so bad for waking him, especially when he was so tired, but she knew they needed to give him the cure. The most important thing was Hiccup getting the cure.

"Hey, Hiccup," she said, shaking his shoulder. "Wake up, babe."

Hiccup opened his eyes, looking up at her with dazed, unfocused eyes. "Hi," he said. He turned his head and coughed once. "What…" he started, and then, he let his voice trail off.

"We have the cure for the poison," Astrid said. "The healer's getting it ready, and then we can give it to you."

Hiccup's features brightened just slightly. "Everyone got back okay?" he asked.

"Thor, Hiccup…" Astrid shook her head. "Do you ever think about yourself?" She pressed her hand against his forehead; his fever was dangerously high now, and it had been that way for a few hours. She bit her lip and looked at the stairs, hoping the others were hurrying to get that cure made.

Hiccup followed her gaze. "What's wrong?" he slurred.

Astrid looked back at her husband. She only hoped that he felt better than he looked.

Astrid bit her lip, her fingers working to put two braids in Hiccup's hair, like she always did. She knew Hiccup didn't like it, but at the same time, he never stopped her whenever she did it, and he never took them out, either. "Well, you're still sick," Astrid said ."That's what's wrong."

Hiccup shut his eyes, leaning his face against her hand. "But...we have the cure…" he murmured. "I'll be fine…"

As soon as Astrid finished the second braid, the healer walked upstairs, carrying a steaming bowl with her, Valka walking behind her. Astrid looked back at them both before her eyes became refocused on her husband once again.

"Is he awake?" the healer asked.

Astrid nodded.

"Hello," Hiccup lifted his hand and waved briefly.

"But he's exhausted," Astrid went on, grabbing Hiccup's hand while it was still in the air and holding it tightly within her own hands.

Hiccup, once again, smiled weakly. "I'm fine," he said. "You...you really...don't have to worry…"

Astrid put her hand against his cheek, and he leaned into her palm. "You're not fine, alright?" Astrid said. "You're tired, and your fever's high." Actually, was it her imagination, or was the fever getting higher…?

The healer nodded. "It's an effect of the poison," she explained hastily as she set the bowl down on the bedside table. "It'll only get worse if we don't give him the cure."

That was all she needed to say for Astrid to start. She waited for the steam to abate, and then, she lifted the small bowl off the table. She helped Hiccup lift his head enough to drink, and she held the rim of the bowl to his lips. He swallowed its contents without much of a problem, and for that, Astrid was thankful. After downing the contents of the bowl, his head fell back against the pillow limply.

"Astrid,' he slurred.

Astrid shook her head and took his hand again. "It's alright," she promised. "Just go to sleep, and I'll be here when you wake up. You'll feel better when you wake up...I promise."

And just like that, Hiccup was asleep.

"He's bound to sleep for a while," the healer said. "A good five or six hours at tops. He'll wake up, probably feeling fine. Just make sure he doesn't do anything too strenuous. It'll still take a few days before he's completely better."

Astrid and Valka nodded in unison. "Thank you," Valka said.

The healer nodded. "You're welcome," she said. Without another word, she turned and left the house. Astrid looked at Hiccup's peaceful, sleeping face and smiled softly. "He's alright," she whispered, tracing some of Hiccup's freckles. "He's finally alright…"

Valka placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and nodded.

Hiccup blinked his eyes open, feeling tired, sweaty and abnormally hot. He frowned, worried that he would feel nauseous at any given moment…

It never came.

He glanced around the room, trying to get an idea of what had happened and how long ago it had happened. He felt a weight resting on his arm, and turned his head just enough to see Astrid's sleeping face. She looked peaceful, and he smiled. He was lying on his back, and Astrid rested on her side, her head on his arm just before his shoulder.

He wondered what time it was...it was probably late in the evening, if the fact that outside the window was black was any indication.

He felt Astrid shift beside him, and when he looked at her, he saw that her eyes were open, and they were staring straight into his. She blinked at him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he whispered back. "What happened?"

"We got you the cure," Astrid said, still whispering. "You just need to rest for a few days before you're completely well again. Can I get you anything?"

Hiccup closed his eyes. The first thing that came to his mind was water, since his throat felt parched and his voice was rough, but he didn't want to burden Astrid. He tightened the arm around her and shook his head. "No," he said. "I'm alright."

"Are you sure?" Astrid asked. "I can get you some water. You sound awful."

"It can wait," Hiccup murmured into her hair. "I don't want you to have to get up…"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You know," she said, "I'm not the one who was poisoned."

"Yeah," Hiccup said, "but I'm not the one pregnant."

Astrid snorted. "Being pregnant does not make me incapable," she said. "I'm still your wife."

"But that doesn't make you my slave," Hiccup said.

Astrid, who had run out of comebacks and felt too tired to make up some of her own, sighed. "You're so stubborn," she accused.

"I know," Hiccup said. "You too."

"Nu-uh," Astrid said. "You are definitely more stubborn than me."

"Mmmhmm...wake me up when it matters…"

"In that case, you'll never wake up."

"Uh-huh."

"Hiccup…"

"Goodnight, Astrid."

"Oh, you idiot…"

"Love you too."