Y'all surprised me with the love for last chapter, but it's amazing. Serialcup appreciates you all.

-HTTYD-

"Eret, a word?"

Eret jumped, turning to find his boss. Swallowing thickly - this can't be good - Eret tore his eyes away from where Astrid was being processed and Hiccup was hovering anxiously.

"Yeah?"

They walked around a corner, away from the bulk of people hanging around Astrid, the spectacle of someone surviving the Night Fury.

Just like Heather. A friend of Astrid's... no wonder the Night Fury let her go.

"I hope you have a good explanation for why you searched for the name and address of the most recent Night Fury victim a short while before they were murdered, without mentioning it to anybody."

His heart kicked in his chest, though he was braced for this line of questioning - what they did on their work computers was logged.

"It was a call from a confidential informant who said he thought it was relevant, but he had nothing to back it up with, and when I searched the name, the guy had no record of anything, let alone a connection to Astrid. We didn't know until she was found that the guy was a Night Fury nut."

Crossing his arms, his boss looked Eret over carefully.

"Is that everything?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just... wondering if there's anything else you need to tell me. You requested the transfer to work the Night Fury case. You've lived and breathed this case the entire time. And now, when someone offered you possible information on Hofferson, the killers favourite being kidnapped, you just... dismissed it?"

Eret shrugged, feeling a lot like a child in trouble.

"It seemed like a bogus lead. Obviously, it wasn't. I... I made a mistake."

That much was true. Except Eret's mistake was getting involved with Hiccup and Astrid to begin with. It wasn't quite a mistake he regretted yet...

"Yes. You did. I've been worried you were too close to this case for a while now... I'm strongly considering having you transferred out before you burn out over this. You're not thinking clearly."

"And I don't get a say in this?"

"I haven't decided yet. But I heard from Teeny that your father is sick... might be worth thinking about moving closer to him."

Eret frowned.

"I... I guess I'll think about it sir."

"Alright. Go on. This is still your case for now, but make sure your notes are thorough in case there's a handover. And you're not to question Hofferson alone. She's unofficially cleared of suspicion of being the Night Fury, we can't risk her being able to lie about anything after all the times she was pulled in or our asses will be on the line for a harrassment lawsuit."

"Yes sir. Do hospital staff count as not alone?"

"I'll sit in, since I'm here. But she's being examined right now, so let's go get a coffee."

Still heart-poundingly terrified he was secretly under suspicion, Eret didn't really feel like caffeine would help him any. But it would probably have been more suspicious to say no.

The hospital coffee was revolting, so at least he had a reasonable excuse not to drink much of it. They sat in silence for at least fifteen minutes, before Eret's stomach flipped at a familiar voice.

"Yeah. Mild concussion, they think he hit her with a brick. So when she's released, I'll be bringing her back with me since she has to be supervised and she thinks her mother will drive her crazy. No, they're taking pictures now, she told me to go eat something and call you, since no phones allowed in there."

Hiccup shuffled past them, looking every bit as unsuspecting and awkward as he ever did, on the phone to reassure his mother about his girlfriends condition. Eret had never met the woman properly, just knew Hiccup's life revolved around two women.

And murder. But that was more of a secret than Valka or Astrid.

He barely spared the two cops a glance, buying a snack bar from the cafe counter and bidding his mother farewell before turning to go back up to Astrid.

"Mr Haddock?"

Hiccup all but leapt out of his skin, shrinking in on himself a bit. He was obviously not expecting to be addressed, but his affect as a scared, jumpy recluse was flawless.

"Who are you?"

He looked to Eret for explanation.

"He's my boss. How is Astrid?"

"She'll be ok. No thanks to the police, I hear. I have to get back. If you feel like being useful for a change, you can make sure the horde outside is gone when she's discharged."

He glared in the direction of the hospital entrance, where news reporters were lurking; Heather's identity was largely protected because of how it went down, but somewhere between her kidnap and her rescue, Astrid's name had been leaked, and with three police cars outside, the hospital was easy to spot.

"We can't make the press leave."

"Then what good are you? Can't catch serial killers, couldn't find Astrid until she called you herself, and can't stop her being harassed by vultures from trashy newspapers. To protect and serve, huh?"

Hiccup walked off, limp more pronounced than usual. Eret supposed he'd put himself through a lot, tracking Astrid down and killing her kidnapper and probably pacing anxiously back and forth. Hiccup seemed like a pacer.

"Well, guess he's got no love for the police force."

"We did keep trying to pin murders on his girlfriend."

Eret reasoned, and his boss chuckled.

"Yeah, fair enough. Probably wouldn't endear them to me."


"Absolutely not!"

Astrid crossed her arms, scowling.

"It's your choice, but wouldn't you rather know?"

Astrid continued to glare.

"That didn't happen! The creep said he was waiting for the Night Fury to go first. I came to with my clothes still on."

Hiccup tried to look reasonable and placate her, Astrid just dying for a shower after being covered in kidnapper-blood and poked at with the various implements they used to scrape bits of evidence off her.

"They said it's your choice, but wouldn't you rather be sure?"

Astrid softened, just a little at the concern in his voice.

"Sure. But I had sex with Hiccup yesterday evening, pretty much right before I was jumped by Mr Crispy."

Her boyfriend snorted, shaking his head. The nurse looked scandalised.

"I'm a murder mystery writer, I'm used to making light hearted jokes. It's not usually real."

Still a little shocked, the nurse nodded slowly.

"We can do an external exam, and only worry about internal if anything looks concerning?"

"Can Hiccup stay with me?"

He was allowed to, so Astrid reluctantly let them do the little check up to make absolutely sure she wasn't sexually assaulted while unconscious. He squeezed her hand when Astrid tensed; getting naked for Hiccup was one thing, but having a total stranger that close to her groin right after she had her sense of safety and security somewhat shaken was something else entirely.

"I don't see any signs of external trauma. We can still do tests, though we'd need samples from your boyfriend if you didn't use a condom, to eliminate his DNA."

Astrid shook her head. She was reassured, and letting them take Hiccup's DNA was just not going to happen.

"No. I'm good. Anything else, or can I go off with Hiccup and take a reallyyyy long shower?"

"I think the police want to question you first, though as you're recovering from a concussion, I'm sure you can delay that. And on the same note, if you shower or bathe, you shouldn't be alone. Fainting and dizziness are not unheard of hours or even days after."

Astrid looked at Hiccup.

"Bad news, you'll have to watch me while I'm wet and naked. I'm sure you will find a way to struggle on."

He covered his face with a hand, shaking his head. Astrid grinned, trying to ignore the persistent ache in the back of her head.

"I better talk to the cops, or they might turn up at your place later."

Hiccup tensed all over, and Astrid reached to squeeze his hand. She wasn't going to let that happen.

Eret and some guy introduced as his superior officer turned up soon enough, and pulled up chairs to the side of her bed after being chided by the nurse to be gentle with her. Hiccup stood off to the side, arms crossed, posture ramrod straight, looking as uncomfortable as possible with the police presence.

"So, can you tell us what happened?"

"I got kidnapped by some asshole who wanted to meet the Night Fury. Guess he got his dying wish."

"Is that all you can tell us?"

Astrid shrugged, taking a sip of water from her bedside glass.

"Did you find my phone?"

Eret nodded.

"We have it in evidence. You can get it back later."

"Good. Can I go now? I want a shower, and food, and sleep."

"One moment" Eret's boss turned away, flagging down a nurse "did you take blood and urine samples from her?"

"You could ask her yourself" Astrid scowled "and no, they didn't."

"Well, it's worth doing. You might have been drugged for all we know."

Astrid sighed, but reluctantly agreed to let them steal her blood.

"I'm not peeing in a cup. I don't even think I could aim that well. Still dizzy and all."

Finally, Astrid was allowed to leave. She was not impressed by the presence of news reporters outside, but the hospital kindly let her escape out the back, and Hiccup was so adept at blending in to the background, he was able to slip past the crowd and fetch his car. By the time they realised she was leaving, they were gone.

"Can you sleep after a concussion?"

"Yes. It's an old myth that you can't. If you feel up to it, you should do the whole report to the cops thing after a shower and food and a nap. Then we're done with them."

Humming, Astrid nodded.

"Good idea."

"Mom was worried, you know."

Still sure Valka wasn't terribly fond of her, Astrid blinked in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Her last words to me were 'bring her home, but be careful'. I know she's been reticent to accept a new person in our lives, but she does care about you."

Once they were back in his home, Hiccup fussed around Astrid constantly. After hugging his mother and checking she was alright, Hiccup made Astrid tea to tide her over while he cooked her food, and then ran her a bath, tenderly washing remnants of dried blood from her skin and apologising when he washed the blood out of her hair, hearing her hiss as it stung on the injured spot.

It was surreal, to be so gentled by someone who she'd seen push a human body to almost unimaginable limits right before her eyes. Hiccup helped her stand with the same hidden strength that let him throw somebody clear across a room, and combed fingers that had choked a man through her damp hair before wringing all the moisture out and loosely braiding it for her.

She didn't notice until he'd had his hands in the water, but Hiccup's knuckles were swollen and bruised. He must have used makeup to cover it up, and it washed off when he bathed Astrid.

"So... what was with the fire? Were you just really mad?"

"Yes, but that's why I branded his face while he was still breathing. The fire was... I guess I'd call it the price I paid for your location."

Astrid raised an eyebrow, confused.

"What?"

"I'll explain in the kitchen, cus mom wants answers too and I don't want to go through it twice."

He made her more tea, of course, and even microwaved a couple of chocolate chip cookies for just long enough that the chips were gooey to go with it. Astrid let him, knowing Hiccup couldn't quite help himself.

"So... as soon as I realised you were gone, I went online. It became obvious pretty fast that this guy had been bragging about what he was gonna do to you, to get to me. And there was a livestream linked in. So... I posted a message for information. Someone knew who he was, and he traded me the guys name for a promise that when I killed him, I'd use fire. It was his particular... fetish, but there's not a lot of material for it apparently. I called Eret for the address. And then I came to get you."

"When did you realise I was missing?"

"Something felt off last night, but I fell asleep too soon. And then this morning, I was going a liiiittle batty but tried to convince myself it was just you were in a rush. Then I went to pick you up, and you weren't at work, so I went to your place, and it was obvious you'd never come back from the gym. I called Eret to report you missing."

They filled each other in on the gaps, and then Astrid really needed to go lie down. Just before she was about to curl up in Hiccup's bed and never move again, there was a knock at the door. All three sharing a look, Hiccup got up hesitantly and headed over, turning back to where Astrid hovered in the doorway.

"It's Eret... I'm gonna invite him in, but just for a minute."

Valka winced, but she seemed to be perfectly aware Hiccup could evict Eret by lethal force if need be. Astrid shuffled over to her boyfriend - that way, Eret only needed to be in the hallway. He seemed as surprised as anyone to be let in, hovering awkwardly for someone who'd had sex with both of them on multiple occasions.

"What is it?"

"I came to tell you... I'm leaving."

"Leaving... us? Your job? The city?"

"All of the above. I'm being transferred back to where I came from. My boss is worried the Night Fury case is going to burn me out, and my dads sick, so I'm gonna go back and help take care of him."

Hiccup shrugged stiffly.

"I can respect that. Why the sudden change?"

Eret drew in a deep breath, exhaled sharply.

"Because I cannot keep pretending to work this case, knowing what I know. And... I'm scared."

"Of... me?"

"No. Of me. I mean, I helped you find him and you set that guy on fire while he was still alive-"

Hiccup actually rolled his eyes and cut Eret off.

"So? I had to, to find Astrid. And besides, he deserved it for hurting her."

Eret rocked from one foot to the other a couple of times.

"That's my point. It should horrify me, and it doesn't. Not as much as it should. I have to get away from you, because I'm afraid of who I'll become if I don't."

Astrid was surprised in some ways, and not in others.

"Well, we can't stop you. I hope you find a little peace."

"Me too. For what it's worth... I'm glad you're ok Astrid. And with me gone, you should be more careful. Fresh eyes and all."

Hiccup rolled his shoulders in a lazy shrug, looking perfectly at ease.

"I'm not worried. But thanks. When do you leave?"

"When my transfer goes through, but I'm officially handing the Night Fury case over tomorrow. Will you be going in to the station at any point?"

Astrid nodded.

"I was about to get a nap, then go in and try to give enough details that your boss leaves me alone."

That was going to be tricky, but at least if she mixed up Hiccup and the Night Fury, she could blame her concussion.

"Guess I'll probably see you there then."

Eret didn't linger, and Astrid was a little disappointed to see him go, but supposed she could sort of understand why he wanted to get away. He hadn't become a police officer to aid a serial killer. He probably hadn't planned to fuck one either, but these things happened.

Hiccup locked the door behind him, and turned to kiss her temple. Astrid hummed, smiling.

"Guess it's just the three of us again."

"Hey, works for me. Now I really need to take a nap."

Hiccup chuckled, arm sliding around her side.

"I'll tuck you in."

-HTTYD-

I am very sure you all have more questions still, but I'm not done answering them all yet. Patienceeeee.