It Takes A Man Chapter 14: I Want To Know, a how to train your dragon fanfic

It Takes A Man

Author: Nightstar Fury from Nightstar Productions.

Rated: M for Mature.

Disclaimer: I do not own the HTTYD movies, series, or shorts. And any of the songs I use I don't own either so don't get huffy with me. Anyway...Enjoy! :)

Chapter 14; I Want To Know.

Though Devon had shown up and caused a lot of trouble at Jay's birthday, they still finished off the party and had fun. Hunter loved that Allison was allowing Jay to stay in his life even though the boy had begun to call dada, which even though Hunter and Allison had only been together about 4 months or so Allison didn't mind it and said it was okay. Hunter also knew this meant he was officially in Jay's life for the long haul now and that was fine with him because it meant he got Allison and Jay in his life essentially forever. Hunter loved Allison and she loved him, they knew nothing would separate them. After Devon had been taken away and the 'are you okay' were asked mainly because Allison was still a little terrified and sporting a bruise on her cheek, she said for them to just keep the party going. She didn't want Jay's birthday ruined.

So from there they turned on the music and started having fun again. They did presents which surprised Allison since they said the party was Jay's present from them, but yet they had all gotten him something from them. Jay got so many new toys, and Allison's present to him was one of those toys that you could play with and it would help him get better at walking because you could hold on to it and push it around. What got Allison the most was Hunter's gift to Jay, a stuffed dragon toy that looked like the legendary Night Fury. However it wasn't a new toy, it was something that belonged to Hunter when he himself was a baby.

~Flashback~

After all the other presents had been given, Hunter was last. He carried over a small gift wrapped in blue and silver paper, as Jay tore it open with help from Allison even she gasped seeing what it was. "Hun-Hunter...This is..." Allison began.

"I know. The toy I've had since I was a baby. My stuffed dragon, and its been passed down to every Haddock son the last 5 generations. I know Jay isn't...a Haddock but...He's still a son to me, so as per tradition him being the first son I have...I'm giving it to him." Hunter smiled as Jay picked up the toy and hugged it tightly, it brought a wider smile to Jay's face seeing how happy it made Jay to have.

"Thank you, Hunter..." Allison said softly as she leaned over and kissed Hunter gently.

"You're welcome." Hunter replied to her as they sat together on the floor while Jay played with the Night Fury now.

~End Flashback~

After that whole thing they did cake and continued to hang out long until about 9:30pm when Hunter walked Allison home but he could tell she was scared to be there by herself after the Devon situation happening, she confided him that she didn't feel safe with it being just her and Jay there alone so Hunter offered to spend the night there on the couch if it made her feel better. At first she was hesitant, they had never spent the night together even though this was just Hunter on the couch and Allison her her room with Jay in the crib. But fear of Devon returning won and she agreed to let Hunter stay over.

That following Monday, Allison got a call from the Berk Police station saying Devon was going to be arraigned on his abuse charge for hitting her but also to be prepared for a custody battle because he was invoking his right as the father to see his child, this only made her worry more. Devon came from a family with a lot of money, and she knew he'd plead temporary insanity as to why he hit Allison that day. Blaming it on the fact Allison left while pregnant and refused to let him see his son, he was trying to turn everything around on her to make her look like the selfish bad parent so he could win custody and when Hunter caught wind of this he already put his father on the case to represent her so that was now in the works. Steven was a family court lawyer and promised Allison that Devon would never gain full custody of Jay, he might get supervised visitation but never custody.

The thought of Devon getting even visitation bothered her but Hunter assured her that no matter what, Devon would never be the father to Jay like he was and when the time came that they got married, because Hunter promised they would when they'd been together for a little while longer, that he would adopt Jay and become his legal step father. This warmed Allison's heart to know that Hunter would marry her and adopt Jay on top of everything else he'd done for her. She was truly blessed. Also that Monday, Allison met with Greg to discuss hours and culinary school options. After much debate on what she could work and for how long, also the school that would best suit her needs it was was settled.

Allison would work 5 days a week with two days off guaranteed, some times 3 if it was slow enough. She'd make $22 an hour, and was in charge of the entire kitchen so everyone had to follow her orders. She received a chef hat, and coat with the embroidered name 'Chef Allison: Executive Chef of Berk Heart'. This was the name of the restaurant because it was a Berk favorite and all the dishes were ones that were voted to be closest to a home cooked meal which everyone loved because it made ya feel more at home and that warmed peoples hearts that they could go out but still feel at home in a 5 star family restaurant. Allison had gone out and got new shoes and chef pants, the checkered ones. She couldn't believe how amazing it felt to know she would be starting in two weeks.

The schooling was also figured out, Greg found a culinary course that lasted about a year and needed 600 hours in order to graduate but once that was done she could be considered a real chef with the degree and everything. The bonus side of it, she got a two month summer break just like any college and she also got to take the course online, and only go in for some things like tests and exams. Greg helped her get enrolled there and the course started in a month. Of course the one thing Allison forgot to mention at the time was that she didn't have a laptop or computer and that is when Greg informed her that the school handed out laptops with the courses already programmed in so all she had to do was click the lesson, watch it live from the school, and take notes at home. Of course she could pause if needed and just catch up after.

She was finally doing it, she was going to live out her dream of becoming a chef! She couldn't wait. Allison would be working mostly nights and there were classes during the day, split into two parts. First was the lesson, second was actually putting what they learned in to practice. For this, the laptop was used for a two way call so the professor could watch her do the work live. She was ecstatic about everything, her life was finally getting better. But something still bothered her. Her parents not only not being in her life but the fact they gave her up to Devon. And that is what was bothering her right now as Jay was sleeping in his play pen while she was over at Victoria and Steven's house for dinner again since it their house was finally fixed from the small fire.

"Allison?" Hunter said shaking her a bit to get her attention.

"Huh? Oh sorry babe, zoned off a bit. What's up?" Allison smiled softly to him.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Hunter sighed. Allison looked down.

"My parents." Allison admitted.

"Did they make contact with you?" Steven asked curiously.

"No and that's what bothers me...I've been...gone just about 18 months now and...nothing. I know they were mad about me getting pregnant but...Was that enough for them to...disown me, their pregnant 18 year old daughter?" Allison closed her eyes tightly not wanting to cry. "I'm mad at them but I miss them too..." She turned her head to take a deep breath.

"Well then sweetheart, maybe you call them and tell them you want to talk." Victoria suggested.

"I've tried before...They see my number and just ignore it because the caller ID..." Allison mumbled.

"Call from here, use the house phone. Invite them over for dinner." Steven offered.

"They don't want to see or talk to me...Its just...a waste of time." Allison closed her eyes.

"Well it might be wrong but I have a way to get them here under legal matters." Steven said as Victoria, Hunter, and Allison looked at him now. "You were 17 when they kicked you out, when you went to live with Devon on Berserk Isle?" Steven asked.

"Yeah but...the law says a 17 year old can drop and move out as long as they get their GED and I was already enrolled in a program when I dropped out and left school..." Allison reminded.

"Actually no. The law says you can drop out and move out, it doesn't cover being kicked out or leaving your birth place island. At 17 you can drop out provided you show proof of the GED program you're enrolled in, and you can choose to move out but until you're 18 you are supposed to stay on the island where you were born. For you, this would be Berk. They kicked you out when you dropped out of school, and having no other place to go...You moved to Berserk with Devon. I can get your parents here on the legal terms that they kicked out a minor, it goes under child abandonment." Steven explained. "Also they put you in a dangerous situation with the guy, so that's child negligence."

"Yeah but I'm 19 now...Does that even...still count almost 2 years later?" Allison stated.

"Yes it does. Charges can be brought forward for up to 5 years. I can get them here for you to talk to them if you want, I'll call in a favor from a friend to call them and say they are being charged with child abandonment and neglect and need to see me in order to straighten it out and avoid court." Steven said now. "But its your call."

Allison thought about it a few minutes quietly, she did want to see them again and find out what was so wrong with her doing what she did, it happened to thousands of girls her age and they never got kicked out. This was going to be a big fight, she didn't want to drag the Haddock's into it either but Steven was right now the only one who could get them there to actually talk. She looked at Steven and nodded to him, he smiled and pulled out his phone getting up with it to his ear after dialing a number. "Hey Cal, I need a favor." He said walking away while talking.

Allison took a deep breath. "You can do this babe." Hunter told her with a smile. Allison nodded, trying to make it seem like she was okay but in truth she wasn't. Steven returned 15 minutes later with a smile.

"They will be here in 10 minutes." Steven said to her, Allison picked up Jay and hugged him tightly, holding her son always did give her a comfort like no other and right now she needed that. Those were the longest 10 minutes of their lives waiting for the inevitable knock on the Haddock household door. Allison tensed a moment as Hunter led her in the other room, while Victoria answered the door seeing them there.

"Welcome, my husband said we'd be expecting visitors." Victoria greeted trying to keep her tone pleasant even though she wanted nothing more than to yell at these two for what they did to Allison. The two walked in curiously as Steven got up from the couch, his glasses on making it look like he was going over some files. Upon seeing them he stood to introduce himself.

"Hello. My name is Steven Haddock, family law lawyer. This is my wife, Victoria." Steven introduced.

"Mark and Naomi Hofferson, what is...all this about?" Greeted Mark shaking Steven's hand.

"Well it has come to my attention that you unlawfully kicked your 17 year old daughter out when she dropped out of school and that is against the law." Steven said getting right to the point.

"She chose to leave with her boyfriend." Naomi stated quickly.

"Now this is why I needed to see you, because the court system has already spoken with Allison and there are two sides of the story. She says you kicked her out and you say she chose to leave. I wanted to get the story straight so you don't get any charges brought on you. Please, come sit down and lets get this figured out." Steven said formally. Mark and Naomi sat down on the couch as Allison watched from the door, she wanted to cry seeing them. Even now they were still saying she chose to leave when they know they kicked her out.

"I don't understand the law broken here. The law stated a 17 year old drop out can leave legally provided they are enrolled in a GED program." Mark said.

"As long as the teenager remains on their birth island until 18. And your daughter as I understand it went to the island of Berserk meaning it was a violation on your part, also she claims you kicked her out and that also violates the law because she was just a minor at the time." Steven added now.

"I have no idea why she would say such a thing, she wanted to be with her boyfriend and he was such a nice young man too. He came to us a few days ago asking where to find her because she wouldn't allow him to see the baby, and we believe a couple who has a baby should be together so we encouraged him to win her back." Naomi stated gently. Allison couldn't hold her tongue anymore, she handed Jay to Hunter and pushed through the door.

"Such a nice young man! Showing up to my son's 1st birthday drunk, that's what you call nice?! Are you kidding me!" Allison said angrily. Mark and Naomi actually jumped a bit seeing her burst through the door with tears in her eyes. "How could you tell him where I lived! How could you even suggest to him to get me back!? I didn't beg to come home for no reason!" Allison cried now as Victoria went over to hug her.

"What are...you doing here?" Naomi asked quickly.

"She is here because she is dating our son, Hunter. We've met before, when they were younger for play dates. She told us what happened, that you refuse to speak to her because she got pregnant..." Steven sighed.

"So the call from that officer, it was just a rouse to get us here to see her?" Mark asked his anger rising.

"Actually, that is still very much true. You abandoned and neglected her while she was a minor, and because she said something...charges can still be filed against the both of you for what you did if she pursues the matter." Victoria remarked colder now.

"And Thor knows I should pursue it. Do you even know what I've been through since the day you kicked me our when I dropped out of school?" Allison asked them now.

"You went to live with your boyfriend, Allison." Mark sighed.

"Because you kicked me out!" Allison yelled back. It fell silent and then Jay started crying, Allison knew he didn't like it when she was upset or raised her voice. "Hunter...Can bring me Jay please?" Allison said calming down now, she didn't want to scare him just because her parents were being difficult. Hunter brought Jay in to her as she took him and began to bounce him a bit humming to him so he'd calm down, Jay laid his head down on her shoulder whimpering.

"He's so big..." Naomi said a little shocked.

"Yeah a year will do that to a baby...Now be quiet for 5 minutes while I calm my son down..." Allison remarked sarcastically as she pulled out her phone and set it to play a light tune as she swayed a bit closing her eyes.

"6 pounds and 9 ounces, looking up at me. Like I have all the answers, I hope I have the ones you need. I've never really done this, now I know what scared is. Sometimes I'll protect you from everything that's wrong. Other times I'll let you just find out on your own. But that's when you'll be growin', and the whole time I'll be knowin..." She took a breath.

"I'm afraid you'll have to suffer through some of my mistakes. Lord knows I'll be trying, oh to give you what it takes. What it takes to know the difference, between getting by and livin'. 'Cause anything worth doing is worth doing all the way. Just know you'll have to live with all the choices that you make. So make sure you're always givin' way more than you're takin'!" Jay nestled into her now, his eyes drooping a bit.

"You're gonna fly with every dream you chase. You're gonna cry, but know that that's okay. Sometimes life's not fair, but if you hang in there. You're gonna see that sometimes bad is good. We just have to believe things work out like they should. Life has no guarantees, but always loved by me...You're gonna be." Allison sang out smiling softly twisting herself side to side slowly to relax Jay. "Someone's everything. You're gonna see...Just what you are to me!" She took a breath. "You're gonna fly with every dream you chase. We just have to believe things work out like they should. Life has no guarantees, but always loved by me...You're gonna be...Always loved, by me." The song stopped as Jay had fallen asleep now as Hunter took the play pen and moved it in to the room off the living room as Allison laid him down and covered him up, she sighed a bit.

"You sure you want to do this with your parents tonight?" Hunter asked her.

"I'm not sure I want too...But I have too." Allison said to him as she walked out with Hunter and faced her parents. "I didn't want you here to fight with you and if you still want to hate me and disown me afterwards then fine. I've done fine on my own and it won't change whether you're in my life or not but I am asking that you just listen to what I have to say since you never gave me a chance to talk the first time." Allison said calmer now.

"Very well, nothing you say changes that you got yourself pregnant by apparently your ex now and didn't tell us. You know how we feel about couples with babies and them not staying together. Devon seemed like such a nice young man and we still have no inkling as to why you left him and begged to come home." Mark stated sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest.

Victoria narrowed her eyes as Steven put his hand on his wife's hand to calm her down, his eyes telling her that this was between Allison and her parents and they were merely witnesses and onlookers. Victoria nodded as the room was silent. "I am sorry that I dropped out of high school without talking to you first, and I am sorry I got pregnant but it wasn't my fault. And don't even use the line that it takes two to make a baby...I was anything but willing." Allison said softly.

Mark and Naomi looked at her curiously now. "What do you mean?"

"I begged to come home because Devon was abusing me. Physically, emotionally, sexually...It was do as he said or get hit, agree to have sex with him or get hit. So even if I didn't want it, to avoid being hit I let him." Allison said slowly. Naomi and Mark's eyes widened a bit hearing this, but they didn't say anything. "He took my phone, my freedom, everything from me. I was only allowed to work 3 days a week for 4 hours and he took the money I made for drugs and alcohol. He would take me to work, and then back to his house. I had to cook, clean, and tend his every need. If he was mad for any reason, I was what he took his anger out on. I couldn't even call for help or I would have as soon as it started. I suffered for 6 months. 6 months of his abuse. I only got away because my coworker saw the bruises on my arms and neck, she let me use her phone to call you and I begged to come home after you kicked me out for dropping out of school." Allison explained, her eyes never leaving them.

"And then you ended up pregnant." Naomi stated.

"Ended up? No. I wasn't just going around screwing people. Jay is Devon's biological son, because Devon refused to pay for my birth control and he never used protection. And when he wanted sex, he'd take it. Willing or not...I was 8 weeks along when I found out I was pregnant. Meaning I was pregnant when I was with him, getting abused every day and I could of lost my son because of him...Even though I never knew I was pregnant...And I doubted Devon would of taken me to the hospital if I was having a miscarriage..." Allison retorted.

"Then...How far along were you when we kicked you out..." Mark asked.

"3 months..." Allison stated. "You have no idea what I dealt with when you kicked me out the first time, honestly I'm still surprised I'm even alive with some of the things he did to me." Allison looked down closing her eyes.

"Wait a second...You never told me he did things to threaten your life, Allie..." Hunter said now.

"I didn't want you to worry or possibly beat Devon to a pulp and risk getting in trouble." Allison admitted softly.

"Allison..." Hunter warned now. "I want to know what he did to you, and I want to know right now. Everything." Hunter told her.

"Its a long story..." Allison sighed.

"Believe me, I have all the time in the world..." Hunter said to her.

"I think I want to hear this too." Naomi said slowly.

"And I also want to hear it. I'm representing you in this custody battle and anything I can use against Devon will benefit you getting sole custody of Jay and Devon with nothing." Steven added. Allison sighed again taking a breath to begin. She hadn't told anyone this story to anyone. She hadn't wanted to remember what she went through with Devon but since she made the comment about barely surviving sometimes now Hunter knew she went through a lot more than she told him the first time and she couldn't get out of this one without telling him.