My Hope
Author: Nightstar Fury of Nightstar Productions.
Rating: M for Mature.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Dreamworks HTTYD or Dreamworks Dragons. I also don't own any of the songs I may use.
20; Can I Try?
{Astrid's POV}
My mind was mulling over everything that happened in the last few hours, we just wanted to talk to Hunter about what happened. And hopefully convince him not to give up racing. Things moved so quickly after that, the race was normal for 19 long laps then that ride on a Changewing caught up to Hunter and waited until they were 30 feet in the air before he or she knocked him off Toothless. They fell fast, Toothless lost his tail fin but he saved Hunter's life by pulling him into his wings to protect him from the hard force of hitting the ground. Damien was first to land near Hunter, and get Toothless to open his wings up so we could see our friend, well former friend who we wanted back in our lives. Violet, Heather, and Samuel were down next along with us and the paramedics arriving. Toothless hadn't wanted to let Hunter go but shockingly enough the dragon listened to Hope's pleas to allow the medics to help her father.
Violet and Samuel gave the medics information about Hunter like name, age, and allergies. I never knew Hunter was allergic to strawberries or vicodin, which was a type of pain killer. Heather wasted no time offering to ride with her cousin, well brother now. Still weird to say they were siblings over cousins, Hope was taken with Violet and Samuel in their family car to the hospital behind the ambulance. Damien checked over Toothless, and it was sad to find out that the Night Fury would never fly again without that tail fin. Next was officers coming over to find out what happened on the track. Coldan the race master took care of that. Hearing this Changewing rider purposely caused the crash made me really mad, why would anyone want to hurt Hunter?! Sure he lied to everyone about who he was but to the crowd they were just shocked to find out he took his mask off and turned out to be an almost 18 year old high schooler.
That Changewing rider came out of nowhere so it was my assumption that whoever it was, snuck in and caused the crash that now had Hunter in the hospital, broken leg, and still unconscious surrounded by all of us. It was disheartening to see him just laying there so still. My mind went back to Damien taking Shocker and Toothless back to the Haddock's house, then driving to the hospital just in time to get Samuel to agree to let us stay there and wait for news on Hunter. I still couldn't believe that Damien of all people stuck up for us when Samuel was about to send us home. That was both shocking and we were all grateful to him for making it so we could stay and wait for Hunter to wake up. The doctor came out after almost another hour to explain about Hunter's leg, then bring us back to see him.
They'd placed him in a private room so no one who came through could see him but family, friends, and doctors. It also became a shock that Hunter was donating $250 weekly to the hospital and had been the last year and a half. Ever since Hope had gotten sick? No idea what that was about but honestly it didn't matter right now. Hunter laid motionless and on a breathing mask, arm attached to an IV, and hooked to monitors because of this crash. We all dreaded telling him that Toothless would never fly again, that would really hurt Hunter. The police were going to be investigating the crash, trying to find out who the Changewing rider was but it would be Hunter's choice to press charges or not, we hoped he did. Hope was asleep in Heather's arms now, it had taken a while to calm her down because she wanted Hunter but he wasn't able to hold her like always.
We could definitely see the bond those two had for sure. Unbreakable because Hunter raised her himself, Hope was dependent on him. Hope had never met her mother and we all seriously doubted Hunter wanted Hope to meet her real mother after what happened between the two of them. None of us knew what to say or do right now, it was so silent in the room with Hunter. His family wasn't talking to us and we didn't want to say anything and make them upset. We knew they didn't want us there but Damien got them to believe it might be good for Hunter to be surrounded by all of us when he woke up, learned of his leg and then of Toothless. Hunter probably wouldn't even care about himself and knowing his stubborn ass he'd want to get home as fast as possible to be with his dragon.
I hated seeing him like this, we'd hurt him so much. He hurt us too but we hurt him more by not understanding his side of things. The only thing we wanted to know were these reasons he kept saying he had but he wouldn't tell us, he just said they were his own. We'd been at the hospital close to an hour and a half now, closer to two. A couple of us left to get a drink or snack to wait out the time until Hunter woke up, the doctor said it wouldn't take long but then again crashes as bad as Hunter's sometimes meant comas. But she wouldn't know if that were a possibility yet until Hunter didn't wake up for a consecutive 4 hours. It worried us if he was in a coma. The others had called their parents, I had too. Just so they'd know where we were, we only said Hunter had been hurt and we wanted to make sure he was okay. I was sure if they watched the news about the crash they'd figure it out pretty quick what happened.
I glanced at the clock, it was nearing 5:30pm. We had been here since maybe 3:30pm, and still no sign of Hunter waking up. "So what do you plan to tell him when he wakes up?" Heather's voice broke the silence now, I looked at her sadly. "You said you wanted to apologize, saying I'm sorry isn't going to fix you kicking him out of the group."
"Well we didn't plan on saying anything right away..." Eric said.
"Yeah, we're not going to...gang rush him with apologies when he just wakes up. He doesn't need that right now, we..." Rylee trailed off a bit.
"We're just going to tell him we're glad he's okay." Shaun said now. "And that when he's feeling better we want to talk to him about what happened."
"And that if he needs anything...He can call any one of us because we are here for him." I added now. Heather seemed to snort a bit.
"Don't be surprised if he just tells you to get out..." Heather retorted.
"That's fine...At least we'll know he's okay. We know we hurt him...We were insensitive jerks..." Travis stated to her.
"Hunter is probably going to be groggy when he wakes up, when he sees them add confusion to everything. I don't think we should say anything to him right away, just let him wake up a bit and wait for him to be ready." Samuel informed.
"And telling him about Toothless?" Violet asked now.
"I don't think we should bring it up unless he asks. At least not right away...You know how protective he is over Toothless..." Damien remarked now.
"That's true." The Haddocks nodded together. My eyes fell back on Hunter's still form, I was trying hard not to cry.
"I don't think he'll kick these guys out right away. He'll want to know why they suddenly care about him after they abandoned him." Damien didn't look our way now.
"Look, we don't feel good about it...At the time, we thought it was the right choice. He'd lied to us for months, years about all this...We were hurt and thought we couldn't be friends with a liar..." Shaun sighed now.
"Then you should of just taken some time to get over it, but not kick him out." Heather scoffed.
"Feels like a rushed decision to me. Caught up in the hurt that Hunter lied about being a father, and dragon racer...You felt betrayed and I get that but still...You just ditched him..." Damien added.
"Don't class me with them. I didn't get a choice, I forgave Hunter...I get it must have been hard for him to become a father at 16, then have to find a way to support that child by himself...But that isn't why I forgave him..." I said now.
"Then why did you?" Violet asked curiously.
"Because on that flight with him...I realized no matter what happened. Hunter was still Hunter, the same one I fell in love with. He just had a lot going on at once and he prioritized things. His daughter, job, schooling...I didn't mind being last on that list. In his situation...I'd probably of hid it all too. It couldn't of been easy for all that to happen then return after two years, come right out and say 'Hey guys, I'm back...By the way I'm also a single father, and dragon racer'." I replied softly. "He's the Hunter Haddock we've known since the 6th grade..."
"Oh yeah, can you prove you know he's still the same Hunter. I told you, he's changed a lot." Heather stated now.
"Perhaps with things in real life, but his personality aside from more mature...He's still the same Hunter we've known since we met him." I answered now. I didn't care what Heather said, Hunter was still the same.
"Prove it. Tell me how you know its him." Heather retorted coldly. I narrowed my eyes a bit.
"Because he's the same Hunter who brought us all together in 6th grade. We were the outcasts like him, you two were sitting alone at that table in lunch and he invited us to sit with all of you and we became the best of friends. Hunter is still the same smart mouthed, sarcastic, witty, strong, happy guy we met that day. If Hunter had changed who he was on the inside...I wouldn't love him anymore. But I still do, it hasn't changed even when you two were gone for two years, and keeping the secrets...My feelings didn't change for him, so Hunter didn't change at all. He just...grew up into a more mature man. But he's still Hunter, and that's why I forgave him." I huffed at Heather. "Besides that...I know he'll forgive us because there are a few things about Hunter that has never and will never change..."
Heather arched a brow, as did my friends. "And what's that?"
"Hunter Haddock is a calm, kind, understanding, caring man who will never hold a grudge." I smile softly looking at Hunter now. I saw Heather's eyes widen a bit, even Samuel's and Violet's eyes did. "As Shadow, Hunter made us believe that he and Damien would never get along because of their racing rivalry. Hunter even stormed out of lunch when we invited Damien to sit with us...But when we...ditched Hunter...and Damien went to talk to him...Hunter didn't walk away. They became friends. Hunter doesn't hold grudges, as you said yourself Heather...Hunter just lets it go and moves on. He goes with the wind, following it wherever it takes him. Hunter might be hurt by what happened but he won't stop being who he is over it."
"You've managed to impress me, Astrid...There's the love I felt when you first told me you liked him. Now I know you're not lying about how you feel for him." Heather smiled at me now. I smiled back with a nod. If nothing else, I would prove I forgave him, that I loved him, and how sorry I was that I didn't step up sooner. Heather left Hunter's side and gave me a one armed hug, I returned it though being careful of the sleeping Hope in her arms. "I forgive you if you forgive me?"
"There's nothing to forgive." I replied. It felt good to have Heather back, I know it was just me and her right now. The others were just as confused to what just happened. But the bigger picture was that Hunter was still unconscious and we were all worried about him. I saw Heather's worried face looking at Hunter, I put my hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry...He'll be okay. Hunter is pretty tough, he went unconscious from the fall and he was under anesthetic for about an hour for surgery..." I tried to relax her.
"I know but its still hard to see him just laying there..." Heather sighed. Hope began to squirm and whimper in her arms now, "She's probably getting hungry..." Heather said.
"No, we just fed her before she fell asleep in your arms 40 minutes ago. She's not due to eat until 8ish...And she can't possibly need changing either." Violet stated. Hope's cries began to get louder now.
"Dada!" The Haddock's frowned, Hope had seen Hunter get hurt and was worried for him too. Hope tried to reach for Hunter but Heather held her back which only ensued more crying from the almost two year old. I knew she'd be turning two about two months after Hunter turned 18. Hunter's birthday was February 12th, and Hope's was April 18th. My own was actually April 16th. Pretty interesting actually. "Dada, want dada!"
"I know sweetie but look...Dada is...sleeping right now." Violet tried to soothe the toddler now. Hope only continued to cry trying to squirm from Heather's arms to get to her father. I watched sadly, it had to be hard for Hope to want her father and he was currently unconscious. We all watched until the clock hit 35 minutes later when it was 6:25pm. Samuel, Violet, and Heather all tried to calm her down but nothing worked. Toys, juice, bottles, changing...None of it satisfied the distraught child now wailing in the room. I couldn't watch this anymore, my heart went out for Hope. I wanted Hunter too. I knew how she felt to want Hunter who wasn't waking up so she just cried.
"Ca-Can I try?" I finally asked.
"To calm Hope down? Astrid...I don't know...Hunter is pretty particular with who has her..." Heather said softly.
"She wants her father..." Samuel added.
"I know but...If she doesn't calm down, we're all going to get kicked out...And I don't think Hunter would want to wake up alone or hearing Hope screaming for him...At least let me try...What have we got to lose, if it fails she just keeps crying..." I offered quickly. The Haddock parents looked at one another, then Heather to them as they all sighed nodding and Heather handed Hope to Heather carefully. I took a deep breath now, here goes nothing. "Hey...Hey Hope, its okay...Ssh...I know you want your daddy but...He's sleeping right now, he's really...tired..." I tried. She stopped only a moment to stare at me, slightly afraid. I was a new person holding her. I saw the her eyes well up with tears ago, I brought her closer to Hunter as Damien moved aside for me. "See, daddy is right there...Just sleeping...And as soon as he wakes up he'll hold you again..." Hope began to whimper again.
"Its no good, Astrid...Hunter is the only one who can calm her down now...He's the only one who knows how." Heather said softly. "You tried..." Heather went to take Hope back.
"Wait...I still have one more idea..." I said, Heather was hesitant by biting her bottom lip but nodding and backing up again. I adjusted Hope in my arms how Hunter used to hold the baby doll when it wouldn't calm down. I slowly swayed side to side while bouncing Hope in my arms softly while smiling down at her while I closed my eyes taking a breath remembering a song my mother used to sing for me. I even got the tune going on my phone. "Oooh..." I began softly, "As you lay sleeping on my chest. A million thoughts run through my head, someday you'll think you're too big to hold. You'll spill milk on my favorite dress, fall down and scare me to death. And you'll refuse to do anything you're told..." Hopes wails became softer cries now as she looked up at me again, eyes still filled with tears.
"And I'll be so mad that I'm almost in tears, but you'll smile that smile and they'll all disappear. Yeah sometimes you'll hide your perfect wings, but through these eyes all I'll ever see...Is that sweet angel of mine." I sang to Hope as her eyes still had tears falling from them. I didn't take my eyes off her but I knew they were all looking my way, perhaps a little surprised.
"I won't be ready for first grade, or when you go on your first date. And you'll think that I just don't understand...I know that they'll come a day, when you start to push me away. And I'll feel like I'm losing my best friend!..." I raised my voice a bit.
"So when you want to be out on your own. Forgive me if I find it hard to let go! Yeah, someday you'll spread your perfect wings. But no matter where you fly you'll always be...That sweet angel of mine!...That sweet angel of miiineee!" Hope's tears and whimpers stopped now as she almost yawned tiredly, I used my sleep to carefully wipe the tears that had fallen beforehand. "And I know I'll cry, on your wedding day. As I watch your father give you away. And I'll bow my head, pray you find all your dreams. And thank God every day for giving me...That sweet angel of mine." I paused slightly kissing Hope's forehead. "As you lay sleeping on my chest, a million thoughts run through my head..." I finished as I saw Hope was back to sleep.
It was silent now as Hope laid calmly asleep in my arms, I was still swaying a bit. In this moment, I could see why Hunter loved this little girl so much, why he kept her a secret. Holding her now, I understood perfectly he didn't want to share her, share this. It was an amazing feeling. "Hope never falls asleep for anyone when she's crying that hard. I'd like to know how you managed to pull it off." Came Hunter's voice. All of our heads snapped towards him on the bed and sure enough, he had his eyes open with a calm look on his face. He was awake and heard me singing his daughter to sleep? Great.
[Authors Note; Aside from me still looking for a beta(Someone to edit through my story for errors before I post the chapter), the song used in this chapter is called "Sweet Angel Of Mine" by Kassie Depaiva. Again on the beta thing, if you're interested, message me in PM so we can talk. I do have a few ground rules for whoever takes the job. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!]
