Are you ready to go ?"

Astrid put her hairbrush down and turned to face her mother. She took a deep, shaky breath before she nodded her head. "Yes, Mom. I'm ready."

Alexa gave her a sad smile before she hugged his daughter tightly. "He'll be so happy to see you," she said. "You know that, right?"

"Of course I know that, Mom." Astrid gathered up the flowers she bought earlier and picked up her purse. "Let's get going. I don't want to keep dad waiting."

Alexa squeezed her shoulder and they left the house together. The car ride to their destination was silent and a little tense, but only because Astrid was apprehensive. Alexa patted her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Astrid tried to return it, but she just couldn't.

It was five minutes later when they arrived at the Berk Memorial Hospital. Astrid stared up at the building and took a deep breath before she got out of the car and followed her mom. She had to force herself to take each step. When she got through the hospital doors, Astrid paused and took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to be strong. Not only did she have to hold it together for her mom, but the last thing her dad needed was to see her fall apart.

Astrid caught up to her mom and they stepped into the elevator. Alexa hit the button for the appropriate floor and it only took them a few moments to arrive. With her new resolve firmly in mind, Astrid followed her mom down the hallway until they reached the door the name "Hofferson, Evan" posted outside of it.

"Knock knock!" Alexa called as she rapped his knuckles on the door. She pushed it open and peered in before she stepped completely into the room. Astrid didn't give herself time to think as she walked into the room after Alexa.

Astrid immediately brought her eyes towards her dad and made herself smile. Really, all she wanted to do was cry, since the man in the hospital bed looked nothing like her dad.

Evan Hofferson had been in the Navy and latter had been a police officer. He had always been in great physical shape and was very healthy. Now, however, Evan looked like the shell of the man he had once been. He had lost a shocking amount of weight, and his skin had a sickly, yellow color to it.

"Little star!" Evan greeted with a large smile when he saw his daughter. Astrid actually felt herself relax when she saw that smile—it was one thing that hadn't changed. "Come over here and give me a hug!"

She approached the bed and leaned over to carefully hug Evan. "Hello, Dad," she said softly.

"Where's my smile, Astrid?" He asked. "Come on. I don't look that bad, do I?"

Instead of smiling, Astrid felt as if she was going to burst into tears again. She inhaled slowly in an effort to force herself to calm down and then made her lips stretch into a smile. She saw her mother share a look with her father before he said, "There we go. That's better."

They all knew that it really wasn't.

Evan patted an open spot on the bed, gesturing for his daughter to sit next to him. "Tell me all about the show, little star. I want to know everything."

Astrid did as her father said. She glanced up and noticed her mother slip out of the room to talk to one of the doctor's, and her chest tightened. Instead of trying to see what they were talking about, Astrid turned towards Evan and proceeded to tell him about the last year in New York City.

The car ride back to the house was tense and awkward. Astrid kept her hands clenched tightly in her lap as she looked out the window. She had known that things were bad, but she hadn't imagined that it would be like that.

"That wasn't so terrible, was it?" Alexa asked.

Astrid gave her mom an incredulous look. "Mom," she began. "Are you kidding me?"

Alexa sighed and reached over to pat Astrid's hand. "I know that it's hard, princess." Her voice grew quiet as she continued. "But your father has come to terms with what's happening. The only thing we can do for him right now is be there with him and for him."

Astrid stared down at her hands. "What did the doctor say?" she finally asked.

Alexa tried to play dumb. "What do you mean?"

"The doctor," Astrid repeated. She turned to look her mom straight on, even though she was driving and couldn't return the look. "I saw you speaking to him. What did he say?"

Alexa let out a slow breath. The news had been hard for him to hear, and it would be even harder for her to repeat it back to her daughter. He waited until they pulled into the driveway before revealing the answer to her question.

"He only has a few months left. They don't know how many, exactly, but it could be anywhere from three to five."

Astrid could feel the tears burning in her eyes again. This couldn't be happening. When she had first gotten the call from her mother six months ago, she knew that it was bad. But she didn't know that it had gotten that bad that quickly. She didn't let herself imagine it, because she didn't think it would come to this. She thought that there would be some miracle, somehow.

"Three to five?" Astrid repeated quietly.

Alexa reached over to hug her. "Your father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six months ago, sweetie," she told her. As if she needed to be reminded of it again. She knew. "And if he were to live another five months… that would be amazing."

Astrid took a deep, shaky breath. "But you said… you said that the cancer had progressed too far for treatment. That there was nothing they could do about it. So how is he going to fight it for another five months?"

They both knew that the odds were that Evan wouldn't even last to the three that the doctor had told them about. It had been an optimistic prediction, frankly. Five months was too much leeway.

Alexa shrugged his shoulders. Even though his voice was light, his eyes were heavy with sadness. "Your fatehr is a fighter, princess. He can do anything that he sets his mind to. If the doctor said it can be five months, then there's still a chance for that."

Astrid nodded her head and closed her eyes briefly. Even though it appeared that Alexa was being strong, She knew that anything could trigger a breakdown. She had to be strong for her mom and dad, no matter what. Even though all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and cry, she knew that she couldn't. Seeing the sadness and despair in her mother's eyes just proved to her that she had to step up.

Astrid had never imagined that she would be returning to Berk for an extended period of time. She had always planned on coming back for short visits, sure. But she had never really given much thought to a prolonged visit. Once she graduated from High School, she left for New York and never looked back

Now here she was, twenty-three years old and back in Berk once again. Astrid would give anything for that to be changed. But given the situation that she was in, she would never pass up the chance to be with her father for the last three months of his life.

"Are you sure that you don't need me to do any of your laundry, Hiccup?"

"Mom." Hiccup sighed. "I know how to do my own laundry. Though I do appreciate the offer." Honestly, He was just glad that she had long ago stopped offering to make him meals. Hiccup was perfectly capable of cooking his own food; he was quite good at it, actually.

Even though Hiccup couldn't see her, he could tell that his mother was smiling. Even worse, he knew that it was that sad smile that everyone else gave him. "I know, Hiccup. I just want to make sure that you have everything you need."

"I'm fine, Mom. I promise. How have you been?" He just wanted to steer the topic of conversation away from his sad life and how his mother constantly tried to do things for him. He knew that she was only trying to help, but all it did was remind him of the situation he had stuck himself in.

"I've been well. The hospital has been keeping me busy, and Stoick has been keeping himself occupied with the shop, as you know. He actually wanted you to stop in and check up on a car he was having trouble with."

In addition to Hiccup practically running the bar and kitchen he currently worked at, he was still good with cars. He had passed up the opportunity to work at the auto shop with his father because he wanted to have his own career, but he still did help out from time to time.

"Sure. Tell him I'll be in at the end of this week."

"I'll be sure to pass that on." Then Valka's voice grew uneasy. "And… have you talked to Snotlout lately by chance?"

Hiccup snorted. "No. What makes you say that?" He hadn't talked to his cousin since Snotlout had graduated from high school. His mother knew that.

"Well, he is doing good," Valka said. "Stoick and I are very proud of him."

"That's great," Hiccup said dully. How great was it that even his cousin left Berk while him was still stuck in? Hiccup didn't like talking about it, much less hearing about it. Some part of him knew that it was childish and unfair, but at that point, he didn't really care anymore.

Valka sighed. "Maybe if you just talked to him—"

"I really don't want to," Hiccup interrupted. His voice was tense as he spoke, but Valka still didn't let it go. In the seven years since him had graduated from high school, she had done everything she could to try and get her sons to reconcile. It hadn't worked yet, but she wasn't going to give up.

"But if you just try—"

"I have tried. He's the one that said…" Hiccup trailed off and shook his head. "You know what? Never mind. Just tell dad that I'll be by the shop to check out the car at the end of the week. And I'll be at the house for dinner tomorrow night, okay?"

Valka sighed again. "Alright, Son. I love you."

He knew that his mother was just trying to make things better. As most moms did, she was just looking out for him. "I love you too, Mom."

Hiccup hung up his cell phone and threw it on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling before he covered his face with his hands.

This was his life. He should be used to it by now.

But he wasn't.

Astrid needed a drink.

So she found herself heading to the small bar she had found the night before. It was partially because she had had a pretty nice glass of wine for a decent price. But it was also because she had a strange urge to see Hiccup Haddock once again.

The bar was completely empty, which wasn't surprising for a Wednesday afternoon. Astrid walked right up to the bar and knocked her knuckles against the rough, worn wood. Hiccup turned around, and his lips lifted up into a sweet crooked smile when he saw her.

"Astrid, you're back." He caught sight of the look on her face, and his brow immediately furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"

She let out a short, sharp laugh. "No," she stated bluntly. "No, I'm not."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

Hiccup quickly got her a glass of the same wine she had had the day before and handed it to her. "Well… if you ever need to talk… I'm willing to listen."

Astrid looked up at him as their fingers brushed. His green eyes were earnest and sincere as he looked down at her. She got the feeling that he wasn't offering to listen to her problems just because. He actually wanted to listen if she ever needed to talk. Astrid relaxed and took a sip of the wine.

"Thank you, Hiccup," she said softly. "That really means a lot."

As they sat in an easy, companionable silence with one another, She couldn't help but wonder how she ended up here. She had never once thought that she would end up sitting across the golden boy that she had a crush on in high school, and she certainly never thought that he would offer to listen to her problems.

Sure, she was a big star now and it didn't matter what anyone in Berk thought of her. But still, there was just something about him… something that Astrid felt inexplicably drawn to. She hadn't felt it anywhere else since she had last seen him.

She set her wine glass down and traced her fingers along the rim. "Tell me, Hiccup. Have things changed much around here? Is there anything to do, or will I be eternally bored?"

Hiccup chuckled. "You might not be eternally bored, but there still isn't a whole lot to do. I'm generally kept pretty busy because of my job here, but you know…" He shrugged his shoulders.

She sighed. "My mother has a business dinner to go to tomorrow, and I'm not really in the mood to be alone. I don't know what I'm going to do to amuse myself for that time." The absolute last thing she wanted was to be left alone with her thoughts. She needed to keep herself busy, but she didn't know what to do.

Hiccup's brow furrowed as he thought. He remembered the promise he had made to visit his mother for dinner tomorrow night, and before he could stop himself, the words were coming out of his mouth: "I'm going to my mom's for dinner tomorrow night. You can come, if you want."

She tilted her head, and Hiccup quickly hurried to explain himself. Maybe he just shouldn't have said anything. He could imagine that Astrid was used to much more exciting things than having dinner with his parents. "I know that it won't exactly be exciting, but it would give you something to do. My mom loves meeting new people and I'm sure she wouldn't have a problem having you over. But if you don't want to—"

Astrid surprised him when she said, "I'd love to!" She smiled brightly at him. "What time?"

"Uh…" Hiccup blinked in shock. She had actually taken him up on his offer. "Seven. Here's the address." He found a scrap of paper behind the bar and quickly scribbled the address of his parents' house. "So I'll see you then?"

Astrid's fingers brushed Hiccup's again as she took the paper from him. Her cheeks pinked and she caught his eye. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Hiccup."