Prob Stoick's deepest reflection yet lol. Hope you all like it

Addendum 8

Gobber stopped by today. And… I don't know where to begin.

The main purpose of his visit was to check on how Hiccup is doing, of course. He gave a look at Hiccup's leg, and said he's healing fine. That relieved me, and since Gobber has personal experience with these things, I trust his judgement. That led him to tell me he was going to start work on his project then.

"What project?" I asked.

"A new leg for the lad," Gobber replied nonchalantly.

I felt my heart seize up for a moment; I didn't want to think about that. "You don't think it's a bit early?"

"Nah, I'll want him to have it when he wakes. And we don't know when that'll be, so I might as well get it done earlier than later."

I didn't say anything else, which made Gobber notice my unease. He patted my shoulder. "It'll be alright, Stoick. Hiccup's always done well with challenges. He'll learn just fine."

"I'm not worried about him…"

"And YOU'LL be fine too," Gobber said, figuring out the meaning behind my words.

"It's my fault, Gobber. How can I look at him and not feel guilty?"

"Stoick, it's just something you two will... learn to live with. And if I know anything about Hiccup, he's not one to hand out blame. I'm sure it'll take some time to accept, but he's not going to be angry at you, I know that for certain." I looked up to meet my friend's eyes, a wave of appreciation washing over me. "Besides, that's not all I wanted to talk to you about. There's something you need to see at the forge."

"But what if he wakes while I'm gone?"

"You and I both know he's not waking anytime soon."

"But what if-"

"Stoick, he'll be fine. Besides, he's got that crazy black beast watching over him all the time." At that, Toothless came to a stand, guarding Hiccup's bed as if to say 'it's true!'

Finally, I relented, going with Gobber to the forge. And what he showed me was unlike anything I could have imagined.

Hiccup is brilliant. I don't know how I never saw it, only saw what he wasn't… But his mind is stronger than anyone I've ever seen before.

Gobber said he'd gone to check out Hiccup's workshop in the forge a week or so after we got back. And he was amazed at what he found.

Drawings, blueprints, notes, prototypes… coating nearly every surface. And almost every single one related to that Night Fury.

There were drawings of the dragon in hundreds of poses, each one quick and messy, but full of life. Toothless eating, Toothless playing, Toothless sleeping, Toothless… smiling? But never in one of them was Toothless flying. In other papers, there were sketches of what looked like the first ideas for Toothless' tailfin, followed by saddle designs and intricate detail shots of the working pieces. The saddle I had seen the dragon wearing was circled several times, and littered with notes. We found various measurements of each part of the Night Fury, from his wings, to his ears, to his claws. It was… awe inspiring.

When I got home, I just sat beside Hiccup, trying to understand how I missed everything. How we ALL missed everything. Gobber said he never once suspected Hiccup could have been up to something this elaborate. Did we really turn that blind an eye to him?

A few of Hiccup's drawings were dated. The earliest one we found was from months ago. MONTHS. Hiccup had been with Toothless for MONTHS. And we were none the wiser…

"I'm so, so sorry, son…" I said quietly, brushing his hair back. That's something I used to do a lot, and it always woke him up. But just like after the battle, he didn't show any sign of feeling it.

I sighed, studying his face. Despite the still healing cuts and burns, it was the same face I had known for fifteen years, with his mother's bone structure and my eyes. He's caring like his mother, and, as I now realize, stubborn like me. That's not exactly a bad thing, though… his stubbornness is what made him keep going, all those years. Gobber is right; he's going to be okay. I wish I could say the same for myself...

I used to tell Valka, in those days after Hiccup was born, that he would become the strongest of us all. And he has. Just not in the way I imagined.

Toothless is at the forge now. Gobber told me that finding those plans also made him want to rebuild the dragon's saddle, as a gift for Hiccup when he wakes up. So, he asked me to send Toothless that way, to get some measurements of him. He even said he had an idea for how to get the controls to work with a prosthetic leg. Gods, that's hard to write… I still haven't quite accepted that's reality now.

But I also realized something, when I was, frankly, sulking over this. Hiccup and Toothless kind of match, in a way. I suppose it's fitting in the end. Maybe it'll help Hiccup, to have his best friend already understand how he feels. I hope so; they can use each other's support.

If only someone could give ME that kind of reassurance.

-StV