Hiccup

When Hiccup woke up the next time he was alone again. Judging by the light that entered through the half-closed curtains it was probably late afternoon. His leg was throbbing again but it wasn't too bad yet so he almost didn't care about that at all. He had dreamed of being completely alone again, had tried very hard to wake up from that nightmare, only to find Astrid gone for real. The place where she'd lain was still warm, though, so she couldn't be gone for long.

Blinking drowsily, he looked around the room, searching for any signs of her. The door to his room was slightly ajar, he noticed and in that moment he heard the voices, too. He couldn't understand what they were saying again but those were the same voices he'd heard in his other dream before as well. And unlike then he knew instantly to whom they belonged this time. He cringed as he heard the sharp tone of his mother's voice, obviously dissatisfied, and braced himself for her to storm in here at any moment.

He wasn't yet ready to deal with her. With her and with what he'd heard her saying. He remembered every word thereof but refused to think about it. His fuzzy mind wasn't quite able to work through this and what it meant, how it undoubtedly would affect him.

To his utter amazement, he then heard Astrid reply and her voice was just as sharp and unyielding if not even more so. He admired her bravery for standing so boldly against the dragon. Not many would dare to do so and for her to do it… She knew perfectly well who the other woman was, her employer and his mother who had every right to visit him, and yet…

The door opened and he cringed again but against his expectations, it was Astrid who entered and closed the door behind her. She looked upset and concerned again and this time made no move to hide this from him.

"Hiccup! You're awake, I'm sorry." She said as she returned to his side, not walking around the bed to her side this time, the far side where she wouldn't be in the way of any necessary treatment, but rather the direct way. Standing between him and the door…

"What was that?" he asked in a low and croaking whisper and nodded toward the door. These few hours rest really had helped a lot he had to admit. Astrid lowered her head, not meeting his eyes, and shook her head.

"Just a… minor disagreement…" she said through gritted teeth and Hiccup would have laughed out loud if his condition would have allowed it. One had no minor disagreement with the dragon… He reassuringly squeezed her hand that had taken his again. Whatever this was about, it didn't really matter right now. He didn't care about what his mother was doing… Couldn't care about it right now in fact. He needed to occupy his mind with other more practical topics right now, not yet able to deal with this most complicated one.

"Astrid…" he said and noticed how even the few words he'd said already exhausted him greatly. "What happened?" he added, exertion plain in his voice.

Astrid looked up at him again. "You don't remember?" she asked and Hiccup just shook his head. She grimaced and began to talk.

She told him of that man, Eret, who had been her boyfriend up to the day one week ago where they'd met on the bus and he finally understood her tears of that day. She told him of how she'd completely forgotten this Eret after they'd met and he felt good, proud and confident to have been able to make her forget this muttonhead. She told him of how, retrospectively, they now knew he'd seen them together in the park on Sunday and how he apparently had pursued Hiccup afterward, waiting to get him alone and a dim memory of a shadow in the dark rose in his mind. With a shaking voice, she told him how this Eret apparently attacked him and how his emergency call for Heather had probably saved him when the door opened again. They both turned toward it, expecting a nurse or a doctor again, and flinched simultaneously when their expectations were let down.

The dragon in all her glory entered his room, striding confidently and with a determined expression on her otherwise exhausted face, a thin packet under her arm. He wanted to hide, to run, to flee from her. He wasn't able to deal with her, his usual armor of sarcasm and fake boredom not quite combat-ready yet. She would crush him with whatever she intended to throw at him and there was nothing he could do about it right not. But then, he didn't need to anyway.

"No!" Astrid said determinedly and stepped toward her, crossing her path toward him. "It's way too early for this! Give him some time!" Hiccup only saw her back now as she was facing his mother but he could imagine the glare she gave the other woman, could almost hear it in the tone of her voice. He wondered whether, maybe, he'd called the wrong woman a dragon just now…

"But time is what we don't have!" his mother stated cooly. "The more time we waste the harder this will be for him. And I won't build another one of these deathtraps! I think we can agree on that point at least." The two dragons glared at each other and Hiccup felt all the more weak and insignificant with them both in this rather small room. And although they'd been talking in a coherent language instead of simply growling at each other and were even talking about him nonetheless, he still had no idea what this was about.

"Fine!" Astrid agreed reluctantly. "But as his assistant, I decide when Mr. Haddock has time to engage in this project." She held out her hand and after a moment's hesitation, his mother handed her the thin packet she had been carrying.

Hiccup could only gape. Never before had he seen or heard someone daring to talk to his mother like that! And it looked like Astrid would not only survive it but also be successful with her demands as well.

His mother mumbled something in a low voice. It sounded like "I guess I deserved that…" but he was sure to have misunderstood that one. She would never admit having made a mistake… would she? She then turned to leave his room but stopped again when she reached the doorway. "I'm glad you're awake again, Hiccup." She said over her shoulder and her voice sounded almost strained as if admitting this cost her much effort. She was out of the room, door closed again, before either Astrid or he himself could react in any way, though.

Astrid stared down at the packet in her hand, her face concerned and upset all over again. He had no idea what it was that made her feel this uneasy. It was obvious related to his mother, though in which way he couldn't tell. But then this had not been his girlfriend talking to his mother right now, not exclusively at least. She'd said it herself, this had been his assistant talking to both their superior as well, although her tone surely not had sounded like that at all. Here was some complicated working relationship rising to be sure… Anyway, when this was related to his work instead of his mother he could deal with it!

"What is that?" he asked, voice strained and she pressed her lips together, reluctant to talk about this. He simply waited as he could see her mind working clear on her face. Then she sighed, nodded once and sat down by his side again, head leaning against his shoulder and packet still in hand.

"It's about your leg…" she explained reluctantly. "It's… well, Eret destroyed it pretty efficiently. We need new plans to build another one so you can start synchronizing with it as soon as possible. But you need your rest and can't start to work on this while you're on drugs anyway." Hiccup thought about this. It was true that now would be a perfect time to adjust a new prosthetic with the leg already open so to speak instead of cutting it open some day later again. He didn't see the problem. Rebuilding it should only take a day or two, as long as this would be a high priority project… But… what had she said…?

"New plans?" he asked hoarsely and winced. His mind became clearer and his control over his motor functions grew stronger as well. But this meant the effect of the drugs was wearing off and the pain in his leg returned as well. He would have to call for the nurses to get another dose soon, he knew that. This wound was too fresh, enduring the pain without any drugs would be insane. But he didn't want to have his mind clouded again, not yet at least. Not with the mystery of this packet unrevealed and with Astrid so anxious about it.

"You can't use another one like the last…" she whispered and he noticed her trembling at his side. Of course, he couldn't use an exact copy, it would have to be altered to fit this new wound but that wasn't so difficult. No, this was no explanation for her anxiety. There was more to it.

"Why?" he asked carefully, struggling to keep the pain out of his voice least she'd call for the nurse right away. He needed to stay awake, just a little longer…

"Because…" she began but brook off again as tears suddenly welled up in her eyes and her trembling grew worse. "Because you almost died because of it!" she sobbed, hiding her face against his chest.

Hiccup blinked uncomprehendingly and put his arms around her, drawing her closer to comfort her. He almost died? And because of his leg? That didn't make much sense to him, though by now the pain made it harder to think again. He rubbed her back soothingly until she'd recovered enough to tell him the rest of what had happened.

So, we've almost reached the end... ;(