=Normal POV=
(Saturday, 3/3/2018-2:00 pm)
(Archian Island, Berk)
(Strondsen Home)

No matter how much Hunter tried to just push off what he was told two days ago by his girlfriend's father, who was acting as his doctor through this medical issue; he couldn't. And Hunter knew the only option he had was surgery, but the problem was that he couldn't afford to do surgery right now with school and everything else happening in the next couple of months. Hunter wanted to push it off, at least until after graduation, and then he could use the summer to recover before college started. Hunter would discuss that with Keith the next time he saw him, in office. Hunter didn't feel comfortable pulling his girlfriend's father aside while at their house to bring up medical things. It was Hunter's only choice to actually stop this tumor from growing or breaking apart and affecting other places, which could kill him probably instantly, so he had to have surgery, there was no avoiding that. But he wanted to do it on his terms if possible and as close to the end of the school year as possible. That would be a talk he had with Keith, but not today. It was Hunter's and Nicole's birthday parties at her house, and there was a third birthday too; Devon's.

It was decided they'd all hang out together for the celebrations of the birthdays. Hunter and Nicole were eighteen, and Devon turned twenty-one, today, on the 3rd of March. Elijah was twenty-three as of December 26th, and Bryan was about to be twenty come the end of April on the 30th. Hunter was determined to make sure nothing seemed off today because not only was he with his friends, which two of them were his cousins, but his father, uncle, aunt, godfather, but also obviously, his girlfriend's parents, which the father was also his temporary doctor until this tumor situation was taken care of. Keith had offered to take over being his primary, but Hunter hadn't decided yet. His biggest priority was taking care of the tumor before anything major happened, and he trusted Keith to handle his care because at least Keith was someone he was semi-close to and knew he was one of the best doctors on Berserker Island, so him being in Berk was a big deal and very good for Hunter.

The point was that there were a lot of people here who he maybe, asshole-ishly, shoved in their faces he was fine when he really wasn't. If he had symptoms today, or he prayed to Odin not, but passed out; he didn't want to imagine how that would go. He knew that Keith was sworn to secrecy not to say anything about already knowing, but he was still a doctor and if something happened to Hunter, Keith would act accordingly. Even Ella was a doctor. Well, paramedic, but it wouldn't take much to have the truth revealed from a trip to the hospital. Hunter needed to watch himself today; he even had a spare set of the medications with him, in a baggy that he could take if the others wore off during the party. But Hunter knew when things were coming up, so he'd just watch for it and try to take it easy if it happened. Everyone had arrived between 1:45 pm and now, 2 pm; it was time to get this party started.

"Nikki, you're house is beautiful!" Heather beamed.

"Thank you, but it was all mom and dad's choice to move here after he got offered the job at the hospital." Nicole giggled a bit, standing next to Hunter, who had been over there so many times since the two started dating two months ago; it would be three on the 23rd of this month, so about twenty days away. "Mom and dad usually like it pretty quiet, so I'm sorry I haven't had you all over before."

"Don't worry about that, we get it." Ashley smiled. "But it's still a wonderful looking home." She added.

"So, uh…Can I ask why you have your guitar with you, Hunter?" Travis Fisher inquired as Hunter blinked and then looked over his shoulder to see the guitar bag there; he'd completely forgotten it was there.

"Milady requested I bring it after she learned I can play it," Hunter shrugged.

"Yeah, well…You kind'a have touched it in a year and a half, so…Again, why?" Travis wondered.

"Why haven't you touched it, Hunter?" Keith inquired curiously. "I didn't even know you could play."

"It was mom's guitar, I just inherited it after just passed away. I was super busy and stopped playing, and then after she died; I lost interest in playing. But…Your daughter so kindly asked for her birthday gift if I'd bring and play it for her. Couldn't exactly say no." Hunter smiled.

"You could have, I wouldn't have gotten mad." Nicole laughed a little.

"Do I ever really tell you no?" Hunter arched a brow with a playful grin.

"Does he really ever tell anyone no? Hunter's a people pleaser." Raelyn chuckled. Hunter rolled her eyes at Raelyn's comment, but everyone knew it was true and laughed a bit, so he just owned it because he knew what and who he was. He eventually took the bag off his back and set it off to the side so nothing would happen to it.

"You can leave it in my room, babe." Nicole offered. "If you're worried about something happening with the living room so full of people; I know it's smaller than yours."

"Thanks." Hunter nodded as Nicole held his hand and led him to her room; Hunter left it laying on her bed carefully.

"You can play for me later on; I think it's a good time for us to eat. I'm starving." Nicole said as they held hands and returned to the party.

"Tell me about it. I haven't eaten since this morning, about an hour before the game." Hunter replied in agreement with the idea of eating.

"That was a great game you guys played, sorry I missed it this time; the others were sending me pictures and updates of how it was going. I was here cleaning and getting ready for the party." Nicole said as they were heading for the table with the food spread on it.

"Eh, didn't miss much. Usual stuff against a team we always bear. Playoffs start at the end of April, for the Finals in May. But always leaving time for practices missed due to weather, or needing to rebook a game, so sometimes it runs into June, but always before the school year closes, obviously." Hunter explained with a smile.

"Definitely don't want to miss those." Nicole smiled. "Maybe I'll be driving by then." She added while getting items on her plate to eat as the line formed up behind them with the others. It was allowed that the people with the birthday this was for go first.

"I promise we'll get some driving in over the next couple of weeks. There's isn't too much to learns, and the big stuff is the physical driving." Hunter told her.

"I've been reading the online study guide material that they have you learn in driver's education courses; they have that book available online too. So I read it a bit as…I guess part of homework. I know that information is part of the written exam." Nicole said proudly.

"Very good, babe. We'll have you licensed in no time; I think we should start with the harder parts." Hunter mentioned as they headed to find a place to sit and keep talking.

"Harder?" Nicole asked softly.

"Driving in different kinds of weather, and at night. If you can do all that; driving during the day in the same conditions is a breeze." Hunter smiled before taking a bite of his lasagna. "If you wanna chill at some practices next week after school; we got some testy weather coming. Snow, rain, wind should be fine to work with." He added.

"Is that safe, to start off in some of the Archipelago's winter weather?" Ella asked quickly.

"El…She'll be fine. She's got Hunter to teach her, and he's right; if you can drive at night in bad weather, you can drive in just about anything." Keith informed.

"Except for state of emergency or driving bans." Spencer added.

"Yes, except for that." Hunter nodded in agreement. "You'll be fine, babe. We'll do things slow." He chuckled. "I'm not gonna just through you in the driver's seat without letting you get used to just sitting there with the car off first, so breathe. Don't be nervous."

"I trust you." Nicole kissed his cheek. The two continued to eat and chat with the rest of the guests; it was nice and Hunter was definitely having fun after the last couple of months of dealing with the symptoms. Well, he still was, but they were more managed with the medications that Keith prescribed so generously because he understood that being eighteen and knowing you needed surgery that would affect all your current plans was a bit much to take in and time was needed to process it all and make the decision of when it would happen, provided time was on their side with the tumor staying the way it was and not getting worse; it would inevitably with time, but Hunter just needed it to hold out until after graduation from Berkian Academy. It was only three months away; that would be alright, wouldn't it? He definitely needed to talk to Keith about that possibility.

. . .

(4:30 pm)

The last two and a half hours had been a blast after eating. The older adults took care of cleaning up to let the teenagers enjoy the actual party. When they finished, they joined everyone in the main room to watch them talking, holding their drinks, listening to music and dancing. The adults, older ones, were talking as well and enjoying seeing everyone have a good time.

"Oh, we should do karaoke!" Heather suggested.

"Yes! I have one here; the one we used to use on Berserker." Nicole nodded, hurrying off to get it.

"I'll help you, babe." Hunter followed after her with a smile. Nicole nodded as they went to her room and she dug through some things in her closet to bring the machine and additions to it out.

"Are you actually going to sing this time?" Nicole giggled as they worked together to collect the needed items.

"Not much of a singer. Playing some instruments, sure, and maybe singing in the shower or the solitude of my room. But in front of others, nah." Hunter replied with a smile.

"Stage fright?" Nicole wondered.

Hunter shrugged. "More like I just don't think I'm any good." He admitted. "At singing, not the playing instruments thing." He clarified.

"Well, have you ever sung for your family or friends?" Nicole inquired. Hunter shook his head. "Then how is anyone gonna be able to tell you if you're good or not, silly. Sure, maybe it's your opinion that you don't sing okay, but someone else could think you're amazing at it."

"Or tell me I suck, and I'd rather not have to get the let down from taking the chance and being proven right." Hunter smiled. Nicole laughed a little and shook her head as they headed out with the stuff and Hunter started setting it up for her as she had no idea how with her parents' TV on the wall and it wasn't a swivel mount.

"Are you gonna be able to hook it up to that thing?" Nicole asked. "It doesn't move away from the wall…" She added.

"Your boyfriend is extremely flexible, tech smart, and inventive, Milady…Hence the future engineering career." Hunter moved towards the TV.

"Hunter, please be careful. I really rather not have to go doctor mode on an off day." Keith said softly.

"And I rather not call one of my paramedic coworkers for an ambulance…" Ella added.

"I give my word to you both." Hunter bowed his head and got to work on seeing how he could do this without breaking the TV or seriously injuring himself. That was all he needed.

Everyone just kept listening to music and talking among themselves while Hunter worked on the project of hooking up the karaoke machine. Now and then, he'd ask for a specific tool or wire. He couldn't get behind the TV, but his hands were just small enough to reach things and he was using a picture of the back of the TV as his guide and Bryan helping out by holding a flashlight from the side so Hunter could see a little bit from his odd angle of his back being against the wall, knees bent to be under the TV, and then head craned in a rather uncomfortable position to do the work needing to be done. Finally, he sighed some.

"Give up, babe?" Nicole giggled.

"Gee, thanks. No faith whatsoever…I don't give up on it because I'm done." Hunter told her after standing straight again. "It's hooked up. Just get the microphones and whatever music system you're hooking up to it." He smiled.

"Eee! You're the best!" Nicole hugged him around the neck tightly before hurrying to her room to get the microphones. Hunter cleaned up the tools and returned them to Keith before sitting down. Nicole returned with the items, and Hunter's guitar case. "You promised you'd play…" She teased, carefully handing it to him because she knew it belonged to his mother and admitted earlier that it basically hurt him to play, aside from being busy. Hunter knew what he said, but was honestly hoping to do it later, when it was just him and Nicole perhaps.

"I actually said I'd play for just you, not an audience." Hunter stated playfully, wondering if she'd catch the hint that he didn't want to in front of everyone because it was gonna hurt to play after so long, and he didn't want to kill the fun with him ending up upset and wanting to leave. Nicole was good at reading him, so he hoped she'd see through what he said. Nicole watched his eyes; she could see that he didn't want to as it would be painful and with the anniversary coming up in just a couple months; it would likely upset him.

"Oh, a private show? Just for me? Awe. I'm fine with this." Nicole beamed at the idea as Hunter smiled at her with a silent thank you, and she only winked at him.

It was one of the many reasons he loved her; she was perceptive among many other things. It made it all the worse for him that he was keeping a big secret from her about the tumor in his heart, and that her father was his doctor. Hunter should tell her, make her promise not to tell anyone else, but he couldn't keep it from her. Hell, he shouldn't be keeping it from anyone. Hunter didn't know what to do. He could tell everyone, but he'd be banned from driving, practice, games…Everything, and likely forced to get the surgery. Well, no one could make him do that; he made the choice to get it or not, but the others would threaten to take all those things away until he did the surgery. Telling everyone was out of the question, and knew he should tell his family. But Shane and Addilyn wouldn't be able to keep their mouths shut to the others. And the others would just get upset Hunter kept it from them. Hunter could tell Nicole, and she'd keep a secret. After the surgery was over, they could act like it came up in a physical before college began. Nicole would probably go with him on it.

But Hunter was torn on telling his dad and Glenn. His godfather would likely be understanding…His father would flip out in a frenzy of worry and never let Hunter out of his sight until the surgery was done and Hunter was cleared to be okay. Especially if his dad caught wind that this tumor situation could be the thing that killed his late wife and Hunter's mother. But they deserved to know the truth, but first…Hunter would talk to Keith and see if the surgery could be pushed until after high school graduation, then Hunter would use the summer to recover before going to college and would obviously keep up on the post-operation checkups. Hunter made his choice; he would tell his father, godfather, and Nicole. But no one else until after the surgery, and play it off that it was found in the yearly physical before returning to school in the fall.

. . .

(8:00 pm)

The party was fantastic; everyone had a good time. The music, dancing, food, and the karaoke too. Hunter never performed, but he handled being in charge of the music. However, all good things come to an end. The party had been going since 2 pm and it was now 8 pm, so everyone was cleaning up and preparing to leave for the night. As it was Saturday, Hunter had permission to stay until 10:00 pm with Nicole for them to enjoy that private guitar playing, and probably just hang out a bit to talk. Nicole still wanted to tell Hunter, in private, that she loved him. Despite them both being eighteen now, there were rules to follow with living in your parents' home. Hunter and Nicole had a sneaking feeling that if it was known they were sexually active, her parents might not care so much if she spent the night at Hunter's or him at her place. But that wasn't in the card for them right now, after only dating for basically three months in a few more weeks. By 8:30, everyone was gone except Spencer, Glenn, Hunter, and the Strondsen's.

"Well, shall we be on our way home, son?" Spencer asked with a smile.

"Uh…I'm actually gonna hang here a bit longer with Nikki, Dad. I promised to play the guitar for her after everyone left. I'll be home by 10:30 pm, no later…I swear." Hunter stated.

"Alright. Be safe, and let me know when you're on your way?" Spencer hoped.

"I'll shoot you a text before I leave here. You and Uncle Glenn be safe getting home too." Hunter smiled. Spencer and Glenn nodded before saying goodbye to Keith and Ella, thanking them for hosting the party, and then leaving the residence in Spencer's car.

"What a fun time." Ella beamed. "Now, what will you two be off doing for an hour and a half?"

"Hunter is gonna play me something on his guitar, then we'll likely just talk a bit." Nicole smiled to her parents while standing beside Hunter.

"Alright, have fun. Oh, but first…Hunter, can I borrow your technical expertise for hooking something up in my office? I bought a new printer and while I did everything the instructions said; it's not connecting right." Keith asked. "In thanks, I'll let you stay until 11?"

"Sure thing." Hunter nodded. "No extra time payment needed, sir. I'm happy to assist. I don't want to be up too late anyway, and when I get home I'll probably tidy my room and shower before actually getting into bed. I have work tomorrow at 9 am to…I think 3, or 4 pm."

"I'll meet you in my room, babe." Nicole said as Hunter headed off with Keith, already knowing that this was likely to not just fix the printer issue, but ask if he'd made his choice or maybe how he was feeling. They did agree that in private; they'd discuss these things just to make sure time wasn't running out. Hunter was fine with it because he wanted to discuss that very subject and now he had his moment to.