What am I doing? I don't know. This is a pretty shameless sickfic. I thought it up while driving the long and boring route from my parents place back to the city I live in. It kept me going for three hours and when I got home I decided to write it... and it kinda snowballed. I've been sitting on it since Sunday and I decided to post the damn thing. So here it is.

I have taken many artistic liberties. I am an arts student, not a medical student. Hopefully the internet has helped this not sound totally fake (what an awfully worded sentence) but I'm aware that this isn't quite accurate.

"Hiccup, wake up, you're going to be late."

"What time is it?"

"Eight-thirty."

Hiccup groaned and rolled over, scrubbing the sleep away from his eyes. He sat up slowly, ignoring the sick, crampy feeling in his stomach. He only had two exams left before the Christmas Holidays began. If he could hold out for the next two days, he'd get two weeks off work and university back in Berk.

They had gone to bed late the night before. Hiccup had vague memories of Astrid heading back to her own room sometime after midnight.

"My exam is at two," Astrid was searching the room for any notes she may have left lying around. "So I'll be gone when you get back, but I'll be back by five so we can do this all over again for tomorrow." She stopped, straightening to peer at Hiccup.

"You feeling okay?" She made her way to the bed. She brushed her fingers across her boyfriend's forehead.

"Just tired, I think," Hiccup sat up on the bed, swinging his legs over the edge. "Can you hand me those?" He gestured wearily at the pants he'd thrown over the back of his chair before falling into bed. While Astrid fetched them, he reached down to retrieve his prosthetic from the floor, jamming his leg into the socket.

He pulled the pants on over his boxers and threw on a jumper. Astrid handed him his beanie. There had been a fresh dumping of wet, slushy snow overnight. It was going to be cold outside, but Hiccup figured he'd warm up on the run to the exam hall.

"I'll see you later," he told Astrid, planting a kiss on her cheek. He snatched his bag from the floor and threw a few pens and his calculator inside.

Then he ran.

The exam hall was on the opposite side of the campus to the residential buildings.

Hiccup was hot and sweating by the time he reached the hall. Students were beginning to shuffle into the building and take their seats. Hiccup remembered belatedly to pull his student card out of his wallet to show as he walked into the hall.

Once sitting he had a chance to catch his breath.

The heaters were on full blast, struggling to heat the large room. Most of the students were still wearing their beanies and wrapped in their scarves. Hiccup could feel the sweat on his back cooling, adding another layer to the discomfort he felt. The instructor at the front of the room read out the instructions with a monotonous drone. Finally, he gave the students permission to begin. Hiccup turned his paper over and started reading. The exam only went for two hours. If he was lucky he'd be done in one.

Hiccup picked up his pen and started writing.

Despite feeling off, he managed to finish his paper early, handing it in and making the cold journey back to the residences. He only had one more exam before he was free for the holidays.

Hiccup let himself into his room, eyeing the books piled up on his desk. With a sigh, he dumped his bag on the ground and plucked his notes for his final subject off the messy table. He kicked his shoe off and sat down on his bed, crossing his legs and opening the book to reread his notes.

"Hey sleepyhead."

Hiccup opened his eyes. He'd dozed off slouched against the wall. Astrid was bent over, palms flat on the bedspread.

"You want to go get something to eat?"

A glance out the window confirmed that night had fallen. Hiccup must have slept through most of the afternoon. He stretched out his legs, grimacing as a wave of nausea rolled through his stomach and shook his head.

"I'm not really feeling hungry," he told Astrid.

She frowned. "You sure?"

Hiccup nodded. "But I'll come with you to come get something." He stood up from the bed. "It'll give me a chance to wake up properly after that nap."

"Don't worry about it." Astrid pulled out her phone. "I'll just order pizza or something. We can squeeze in some last-minute study."

Hiccup shrugged and sat back down. "I got a bit of study done today," he lied. He wasn't sure what time he'd fallen asleep, but he couldn't have been more than a few pages into his notes. "And my exam isn't until tomorrow afternoon. I might just crash early and try to catch up on some sleep."

They'd spent most of the previous week pulling all-nighters to finish assignments and the exam period had been no different. Hiccup figured he'd feel better after a decent night's sleep.

"You sure?" Astrid cupped Hiccup's cheek, running her hand up to rest a moment on his forehead. He didn't feel warm, so Astrid dropped her hand. "Okay then," she stood up. "I'll be in my room if you need anything."

Astrid left Hiccup alone in his room. He got comfortable on his bed, his notes laid out in front of him. He read for about an hour before giving up and turning off his light.

Hiccup woke several times during the night. His stomach was cramping painfully. He curled tighter beneath his covers and eventually went back to sleep.

"I think I'm coming down with something," he complained later that morning. Astrid was always the first one up. She'd tiptoed into Hiccup's room around seven am, making herself comfortable on the end of his bed with a cup of tea. She'd been instrumental in ensuring Hiccup had made it to all his morning classes that semester. "I dunno," Hiccup continued. "Maybe I'm just stressed about this last exam. It's my worst subject."

Astrid sat on the edge on the bed.

"You do look a little pale," she noted. "You might have a temperature," she held her hand to his head. "It could just be you're still warm from being in bed."

"I just don't want to spend the Christmas holidays laid up with the flu." He was complaining again.

"Come eat some toast or something," Astrid suggested. "Maybe that'll help settle your stomach."

Hiccup pulled a face at the idea, but did as he was told.

The food did not help to settle his stomach. If anything, it made it worse.

The hours until Hiccup's exam dragged on. He flipped through his notes half-heartedly, unable to pay attention for long. He contemplated skipping the exam, but that just seemed like too much effort. Missing the exam meant going to the doctor for a note, applying for and then sitting a supplementary exam. Or, he could suck it up and get the test over and done with today.

Hiccup decided to go to the exam. He grabbed his things and went across the hall to Astrid's room. Together they made their way over to the exam hall just before two o'clock and took their separate places with all the other students.

Hiccup sat in his chair, halfway through his final exam, nausea churning in his gut. His head was resting against the cool wooden veneer of the desk and Hiccup was swallowing down the queasiness. He stared at the paper sitting unfinished. There were only a few more questions to go but the pain was getting really bad. At first his whole stomach had just been a dull ache, but now it seemed to be focused in one sharp spot.

Making up his mind, Hiccup stacked the sheets together and raised his hand. One of the instructors came over to collect the papers and excuse the boy from the hall.

Hiccup barely made it to the bathroom in time, retching into the toilet bowl. His stomach ached from trying to bring up the small amounts of food and water he'd managed to choke down at lunch.

Feeling a little better, he flushed the toilet and washed his hands, before making his way slowly back to the college residences.

"Hey, what happened, I saw you leave." Astrid burst into Hiccup's room an hour later.

He shut his laptop, careful not to move too quickly. "Yeah, I wasn't feeling well." He scratched his head, embarrassed. "I almost humiliated myself in front of several hundred people."

Astrid frowned in concern. "Do you still want to head back to Berk tonight?" She asked. They had been planning to leave as soon as their exams were over and get home before it got too dark. "We can wait until you're feeling better if you want."

"No, it's fine. Really." Hiccup assured her. Christmas was only three days away and he was looking forward to seeing his Dad and Toothless. "I've already packed and Dad called yesterday. He sounded so excited."

"If you're sure…" Astrid gave Hiccup the chance to reconsider, but he just nodded. "I'll just grab my things then." Astrid ducked out, returning a few minutes later with her prepacked bag. Shall we go?"

It was a three-hour drive to Berk. Given the dark and snow conditions, Astrid drove slower than usual, her eyes fixed on the bitumen ahead of them.

Hiccup tried to keep up with the conversation, his arms wrapped protectively around his stomach. Astrid had the heater blasting warm air at him, thinking that he was cold.

He let his head rest against the window and squeezed his eyes shut.

…

"Where are we?" Hiccup voice was laced with sleep. He had slept for most of the drive and had only just woken as Astrid turned down her long driveway.

"My place," Astrid's gaze was fixed on the patch of road illuminated by her headlights. "I hope you don't mind. I can get mum to give you a lift into town if you want, but I just needed a break from driving. I'm exhausted."

"I'm sorry," Hiccup felt guilty. Usually they shared the driving. It was a boring trip on the best of days and the few times they'd made the journey they at least kept each other entertained. This time Hiccup hadn't been about to concentrate on anything other than the ache in his stomach. It had become so much worse since he'd fallen asleep. He felt sick and shaky and was glad they'd be out of the car soon.

"Don't worry about it. You're not feeling well." Astrid turned the last corner before her house. The porch lights were on and it was a welcoming sight. "Mum can probably give you something if your stomach's still bothering you. I swear she could stock a pharmacy with the stuff she keeps in the first aid kit."

She pulled up outside the house and cut the engine. The night air was frigid, spilling into the car when she opened the car door.

"You're here earlier than expected." Astrid's mum had come out on to the porch, wrapped tightly in her dressing gown.

"Yeah, we both finished our exams early," Astrid motioned to Hiccup who was slowly unfolding himself from the car, "and I was too tired to drop Hiccup off first."

"Well, he's welcome to spend the night."

"Thanks Mrs Hofferson," Hiccup said wearily. Moving hurt. Breathing hurt. He was regretting straightening up. His face blanched and he bent over, puking into the bushes beside the driveway.

"Babe?" Astrid moved around the car. Her mum came down the front stairs to stand in front of Hiccup, taking his ashen complexion.

"No offense love, but you look awful," she told him. She guided him inside, noting the way his hand hovered protectively over his stomach.

"He hasn't been feeling well." Astrid dumped their bags by the front door and shut it, preventing any warm air from escaping.

"Oh no, that's no good," Mrs Hofferson turned back to her daughter's boyfriend, directing him to sit on the couch. Each movement had him wincing. "How long have you been throwing up Hiccup?"

"Just today," he replied shakily.

"Watch out, she's going into nurse mode," Astrid whispered. Hiccup smiled despite the discomfort.

"You think you could have eaten something bad?"

"If I had, Astrid would be sick too." Hiccup looked to Astrid to confirm. "It was just a stomach ache. It didn't really get bad until just now."

Mrs Hofferson frowned. "Does is hurt anywhere in particular?" She asked.

Hiccup shook his head, gesturing to his stomach with a circular hand motion. "Sort of just everywhere. But now-" His right hand moved down towards his hip. "it's pretty bad here."

Astrid's mother looked at him thoughtfully. "Do you think you could lie back for a moment?" She asked.

"Why?" Hiccup wasn't sure he wanted to move at all. He just wanted to go to bed.

"I just want to check something."

Astrid came over to stand by her mother.

Hiccup lay back gingerly on the sofa.

"This might hurt," Mrs Hofferson pressed her fingers into Hiccup's abdomen, between his right hip and his navel. He grunted. It did hurt. It hurt a lot, and then Mrs Hofferson pulled her fingers away and white hot pain was stabbing him in the stomach.

Hiccup groaned, curling in on himself.

"What was that?" Astrid asked her mum. She knelt on the floor beside the couch, running a comforting hand through Hiccup's hair.

"I'm going to get changed," Mrs Hofferson stepped back from the sofa. "We need to take a trip into town." She disappeared upstairs, returning five minutes later dressed in jeans and a sweater. She ducked into the kitchen and returned with a large bowl. "In case he's sick again," she answered Astrid's questioning expression.

They made their way back to Astrid's car. It was a half hour drive from the Hofferson's property to Berk. Astrid's mum drove with Hiccup and Astrid in the back seat.

"I think you might have appendicitis," Mrs Hofferson explained, she met her daughters eyes in the review mirror.

Hiccup kept his eyes shut, afraid he was going to throw up again if he opened them. He managed to hold out until they reached the hospital, before vomiting into the bowl held on his lap.

He felt so embarrassed. He'd been sick and vulnerable around Astrid before. He felt comfortable enough around her, but to have her mother witness this… He wasn't sure he'd be able to look her in the eyes again after this.

He barely registered the car engine shutting off, and the words; "I'll be back in a minute."

True to her word, Mrs Hofferson returned a few moments later with a wheelchair.

"I can walk," Hiccup complained.

"I'm sure you can hun, but this is easier."

Hiccup reluctantly climbed out of the car and into the chair, arms curved protectively around his middle as he was pushed inside.

The woman at the desk waved them through the imposing doors that separated the waiting area from the emergency room.

"Sue, what are you doing back here?" One of the Doctors caught sight of them and came over.

"Marie, you remember my daughter Astrid-" The Doctor nodded. "This is her boyfriend Hiccup, I think he has appendicitis." Mrs Hofferson wheeled him over to an empty bed, shutting the cubicle curtain behind them.

"This is honestly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life," Hiccup whispered to Astrid. "I threw up all over your driveway in front of your mum. I think it's time you put me out of my misery." He eyed the bed, anticipating how much pain moving from the chair up on to the bed would bring. He took a deep breath, face flushing with more than fever when both Astrid and her mum helped him up. A small part of Hiccup was grateful for the assistance. His side was on fire.

Astrid tried not to smile at her boyfriend's predicament. "Think of it this way," she leant against the bed, her fingers tangled in Hiccup's clammy grip. "She's pretty much seen you at your worst. It can only get better from here."

"That really doesn't help."

Mrs Hofferson caught that last part, chiming in with "Don't worry hun, I've seen you looking much worse than this," before turning back to speak to the Doctor about his symptoms. Hiccup remembered that Astrid's mum had been one of the nurses on when he'd been bought into the hospital after the car accident six years ago. She'd mentioned it offhand the first time they'd met.

He groaned into his hands. A mix of pain and mortification.

"So, Hiccup, that's an interesting nickname." The Doctor was back at his side. She was a kind looking woman with warm brown eyes. "Here's what we're going to do. I want to take some blood and run some tests. We'll also get you started on something for the pain and the nausea. How does that sound?"

Hiccup just nodded, the queasy feeling rising again.

Astrid tried to make small talk to distract him from the sharp needle pricks as blood was drawn and an IV was placed. Within a few minutes he could feel the medication working. Hiccup felt all the tension ease out of his body.

Not all the pain was gone, he let out a long groan when the ultrasound probe was pressed to his belly.

"That's it there."

Hiccup squinted at the screen but had no idea what he was looking at. He let his head fall back against the raised bed, eyes shut.

"Congratulations, it's a girl," Astrid whispered beside him.

"I hate you," he mumbled.

"You don't mean that, you're obviously delirious." Astrid was sitting with her elbows up on the bed. Hiccup cracked open one eye to glare at her.

"So," the Doctor packed up her equipment. "I'm going to call the surgical consult. Given your symptoms and that you've been sick for a couple of days, I wouldn't be surprised if it ruptures."

Hiccup nodded, letting the words wash over him. He trusted Astrid to take in the important information.

"Someone should call my dad," he murmured. He felt fingers tighten around his own and heard Astrid's voice.

"I'll call him babe, you rest." There was less teasing in her words now.

Hiccup let himself drift off.

His dreams were full of fire.

Toothless wasn't a dog anymore; he was a great black dragon with glowing green eyes, shooting blue fire from his mouth.

"Hiccup."

He opened his eyes and stared up at the large figure hovering over him.

"Dad? I had- this dream." He could still feel it. The heat. Burning him. "Hurts." He was confused. It looked like he was still in the emergency room, but it felt like he'd been sleeping for days. Someone had given him a blanket.

Hiccup blinked sluggishly and stared at his Dad.

"When did you…" he voiced his thoughts out loud.

"A few minutes ago." A large warm hand brushed his hair off his sweaty forehead. "Your fever's spiking son." Stoick's face was swimming in his vision. "The Doctors are afraid your appendix may have burst. They're gonna come and take you for surgery in a minute."

"Astrid…?" Where was she, she'd been sitting beside Hiccup just a moment ago.

"Over here."

His head felt so heavy, but he turned it on the pillow and saw Astrid sitting on a chair on the other side of the bed.

"Okay," he said, nodding to himself.

The curtain around the bed was drawn back and a couple of people bustled into the room. Something was injected into his IV and Hiccup felt his eyelids growing heavy again.

…

"Hey there sleepyhead."

Hiccup opened his eyes slowly. His head felt mushy. There was a single lamp by the bed, lighting the figure perched on the blankets beside him.

"Hey there yourself," he mumbled back groggily.

"You slept through Christmas," Astrid told him seriously.

"What?" Hiccup tried to push himself up into a sitting position. Astrid rolled her eyes at his struggling and held down the button that raised the head of the bed. "When? There's no way I slept a whole day."

"I'm kidding. You were only asleep for about an hour." Astrid hopped down and returned to the chair she'd been sitting in. "Your Dad went to get some lunch." She explained Stoick's absence.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, a bit." Hiccup had awoken that morning still dizzy and nauseous from the anaesthetic. His appendix had been removed without any complications, but the incision site would be painful for a few days. What a great way to spend the Christmas Holidays.

"So I was talking to mum," Astrid leant forward on her seat. "You'll probably get released tonight if you can keep some food down."

"That quick?" Hiccup was relieved. Being in hospital was bringing back painful memories from his last stay. He hated the place and wanted to be home as soon as possible.

"That quick," Astrid confirmed. "Turns out appendicitis is pretty boring these days." She faked a yawn.

"Maybe you should try having it," Hiccup suggested. "We'll see how boring it is then.

…

Two weeks later Astrid was pulling up outside Hiccup's house.

"-And remember, you're not allowed to ride that bike of yours for at least another week, okay?"

"Yeah, I know." Hiccup followed his dad outside. Stoick was carrying his son's bag despite Hiccup's protests that lifting a backpack was hardly considered a strenuous activity. "You've only reminded me five times this morning." Toothless shot past him to greet their visitor.

"And no lifting anything at work."

"Dad, I'm not a kid, I can take care of myself."

Stoick looked like he was going to argue that, but he shut his mouth as Astrid climbed out of the car.

"I've come to collect the invalid," she said, knowing she'd get a rise out of Hiccup. He'd come home, insisting everything was fine and exhausted himself to the point of sleeping for an entire day. Stoick had been about to take him back to the hospital.

In a fit of overprotectiveness, Stoick had hidden his son's prosthetic leg for the next two days, keeping him on the couch until he'd healed up a bit.

"Is this gang up on Hiccup week?" The boy asked his dog. Toothless had returned to sit by his feet, tail thumping happily.

He let his Dad put his bag in the car.

"So, uh, I'll see you soon," Hiccup promised.

"Be safe son."

Hiccup climbed into the car. His side still gave him some minor discomfort when bending and stretching, but nothing like the agony he had endured.

He gave his Dad and Toothless one final wave as Astrid pulled out of the driveway.

I wanted to try and make this something in the canon universe at first, but then Hiccup would be dead and that would be no fun. Cannon Hiccup gets whumped in my other stories.

Fortunately I have never had appendicitis, so I can only guess as to how that would feel. I have however, gone to exams very sick and it sucks!

I hope you guys enjoyed this.