An update? A new chapter? Who is she? I'm maybe probably finally out of my writing rut? Anyways, here's chapter 17, in which Astrid doesn't get a healthy amount of sleep and Hiccup is doing his literal job for once! (I was resisting the urge to make another hotness-pun but you'll see haha)

Chapter 17 - Anchor

A loud, blaring sound tore through the silence, abruptly waking Astrid from her sleep. She sat up, the mist in her head slowly fading as the noise continued.

"What-"

She felt Hiccup move next to her and scramble off the plank bed, cursing under his breath.

"That's an emergency," he said then, throwing her an apologetic look. "I'm on call and response duty."

It took her a couple of seconds to understand, but when she did, Astrid nodded. "Okay."

Hiccup sighed and stepped closer to her, helmet already in his hand.

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "It's not your fault."

He did not look convinced. The young woman smiled at him in the dim light and kissed his cheek. "It's okay, really. Now come on, I'm waiting for your response to the call, don't waste that time with me."

"No time spent with you is wasted," he mumbled reluctantly, but got up when she laughed and pushed him away, pulling her up with him into a kiss.

He couldn't help but linger for a couple of seconds, but forced himself to let go of her.

Astrid looked up at him, her smile sobering him up.

"Don't get fried."

"Okay, guys, what do we got?"

Scott and Gobber briefly looked up as Hiccup strode into the room, slipping his gloves on. The three men exchanged a brief glance, and Gobber gave them both a short nod.

"A boat down at the docks caught fire, they don't know if anyone's still on there," Scott caught him up as they rushed towards the exit to the garage. Hiccup nodded sharply at his cousin.

"Right, let's go."

They saw the smoke minutes before they arrived at the docks.

Hiccup's heart sank at the small crowd of onlookers and stopped the engine.

"I'll take care of that and check for injuries, you get the hose ready, if anybody's inside I'll beep you," Hiccup directed Snotlout, who nodded and together they got out of the fire engine.

Hiccup scanned his eyes over the small crowd and quickly spotted Mulch, who was trying to usher people away.

"Hey, Mulch!"

The older man's head snapped up and within a few steps Hiccup was next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you know what happened? Is everyone alright?"

Even as he spoke, he could tell that whatever Mulch was about to tell him - it wasn't anything good. His face contorted.

"I wasn't on the boat, but I think someone's still on there - I just - I'm sorry, I tried to get everyone away, it spread to our boat after I called you."

Hiccup nodded, patting his shoulder. "It's fine, Mulch, you did good. Hey, Scott!"

Scott caught his eye and nodded when Hiccup waved towards the burning boats and then himself, signalling his intentions. Snotlout nodded, unlocking the engine and pulled the fire hose out. His shouts for people to clear the path and make way for him to get through to the hydrant were drowned out for Hiccup over the numbing buzz of the fire as he walked closer to it.

He lowered his visor and stepped inside.

The fire was biting at the wood, licking at his own feet as he tried to find a path through the flames and the smoke, desperately trying to make out any movement or figure through it all.

"Hello?" he called out, crouching below the already low deck above him.

"Is anybody here?"

A deep, rasp sound made him stop. It was faint, but distinctly different from the buzzing and crackling of the fire.

"Hello?" he shouted again, louder this time, listening carefully.

There it was again. Hiccup moved towards it, or at least to where he thought it was, and there was no room for any doubt through the rush of adrenaline and the blur around him, so he crawled closer to where the sound was coming from, and a second later he saw a figure slumped on the ground, unmoving.

His stomach dropped but his legs carried him towards the body, and then everything was happening almost automatically.

His mind was racing by the time he was out of the boat again, completely unaware of the state of the person he was carrying.

He stopped near the fire engine, dropping to the ground.

"Snot - oxygen, I need a bronchodilator ready!" he ground out, laying the person - who he now recognised to be a young man, not much older than him, younger even, a boy almost - down on the ground, quickly checking for pulse and breathing before he got him into lateral recumbent position.

Within a few moments Scott was at his side and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You good?"

Hiccup nodded grimly, his eyes fixed on the unconscious young man as he reached into his inner pocket.

"I'm waiting for the phlegm. He needs to cough it out. You called the meds yet?"

"Yeah, they're on their way, should be two minutes away now."

"Good," Hiccup ground out, tearing the lid of his asthma spray away with his teeth.

Breathe out. Press. Inhale. Hold breath. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Exhale.

He closed his eyes, his body relaxing as he felt the weight on his chest lighten and finally disappear and drew a couple of deep breaths.

The young man on the ground rasped out a deep, heavy cough, gasping for air.

Hiccup nodded, placing a firm hand on his back to keep him from rolling on his back.

"It's okay," he murmured. "You're okay. I got you."

Hiccup allowed himself a moment of rest as they watched the ambulance drive away.

"He'll be fine," he told Snotlout, but maybe said this more to reassure himself. His cousin only nodded and gave him a short pat on the back.

"You good?"

Hiccup nodded in affirmation. "Yeah. Let's get back. Can't wait to get the report on that one done."

Scott shot him a grin and shook his head as he got behind the stirring wheel. "I'm not saying I don't admire your drive to write a mandatory formality for the sake of bureaucracy at 4 am in the morning, but I sure as hell don't understand it."

Hiccup laughed and leaned back, watching the water shimmer under the moonlight as the waves hit the shoreline.

He thought of how fragile the boat's floor had felt beneath his feet. It was then he really realised, maybe got a full grasp on it - that really, his profession was dangerous. And not only that, it would have an effect on the people in his life if something happened to him. He thought of Astrid and how he couldn't predict anything. He could spend any moment with her and it could be their last one.

His gaze fell into his lap and he realised he'd pulled out his phone. He clicked on her contact, smiling at her profile picture for a second before he typed, 'good morning! Just wanted to let you know we made it out okay, i hope you made it home okay and slept well!'

Hiccup locked his phone and put it back into his pocket, exhaling slowly.

Thinking about it like this made everything seem incredibly, terribly fragile.

But maybe, just maybe, it also felt like now he had an anchor. Someone to check in with after a mission, outside of work. He closed his eyes, letting the sudden wave of peacefulness wash over him.

He found himself almost drifting off then, just now fully realising the exhaustion settling in his bones, so he allowed himself to close his eyes for a bit until they were back at the department.

Back at the headquarters Hiccup beelined to the bathroom, indulged in a ten-minute shower, watching the grime wash down the drain, and - for good measure - washed his face with hard soap.

"You want a tea, son?" Gobber asked him as he found him sitting on the sofa in the common room, vigorously rubbing his hair dry.

The young man looked up and smiled. "Yeah, thanks."

"So," Gobber intoned conversationally, shifting from one foot to the other. "Astrid left a little while after you got called out."

Hiccup hesitated. "I thought she'd gone straight home. She stayed with you?"

His mentor shrugged. "She came down here and we sat for a bit, had a cup of tea together and talked for a while. She's a nice young woman."

He kept eyeing him from the side. Hiccup knew there was something Gobber wasn't telling him and furrowed his brow in almost-annoyance.

"What?"

Gobber paused, then sighed and sat down next to him. "Listen, boy," he started, hesitating for a second. "I don't need to tell you our job is hard - and dangerous."

Hiccup snorted, taking a sip of his tea. "You can say that again."

"What I'm trying to say is," Gobber continued, still looking at him from the side, somewhat concerned almost. "Our line of work isn't exactly hazard-free. You know that. But I don't know if Astrid quite knows that." He held up his hand as a sign he was not finished yet when Hiccup opened his mouth to protest.

"Just make sure you have that conversation with her. There are stakes for you, being on the job, but there's also going to be something at stake for her if she's going to be in a relationship with you. You need to be aware of that, both of you."

Hiccup stayed silent for a few moments, staring into his mug.

Then he finally admitted, "You're right. I thought about that on our way back here, after the mission. There's no - I never know what could happen." He looked up at Gobber, and the older man was taken aback by his expression. Hiccup looked terrified.

"What if she isn't willing to take that risk? Realise that being with me is a risk?"

Gobber hesitated, but then put a hand on his shoulder, offering him a small smile. "With the way she looked when she was talking about you? Not a chance."

Finally, Hiccup smiled and took another sip of his tea. "Yeah," he murmured. "I hope you're right."

So, this was a rather short one, but as I was told, the short ones are often good! Hope you enjoyed it!