=Astrid's POV=
{Wednesday, April 7, 2022- 6:10 pm}
(Archia Isle; Hospital-ICU Room #3005)
I wasn't sure how to respond to the current situation. Hiccup thought it was October 2021, even though it was April 2022. Hiccup's six-day coma has caused him to forget six months of memories, and there were some big events in that timeframe. I felt like something was wrong when Hiccup looked confused as to why Eret, Ragna, Camicazi, Thuggory, Nadia, and myself were in his hospital room, which also; Hiccup had no idea why he was even there in the first place.
"Okay, this could be a minor set back," Gobber blinked after Hiccup answered that he thought it was the day before Halloween.
"What are talking about? Set back from what? Why am I in the hospital? Why are those six here? What the hell is going on?!" Hiccup demanded, becoming a bit angry as Runa buried her face in Hiccup's shoulder at the sound of her father raising his voice.
"Alright, everyone just needs to take a deep breath and calm down while I evaluate where Mr. Haddock here is at. I will ask for complete silence, or all of you can go; this is way over the allowed limit of fourteen in the room at one time. I understand that this is a big moment, but as you can see; it causes quite a bit of confusion for the patient," Eirik informed firmly.
Though a bit shocked and concerned; everyone backed off a bit and stayed quiet. "Where I'm at is in a hospital wondering why, so until you answer my question; I won't answer yours," Hiccup remarked.
Eirik sighed heavily as he pulled over a chair and sat down next to the best with the clipboard on his lap. "Hiccup, you've been in a coma for six days," Eirik stated as Hiccup stayed quiet, attempting to take that information in.
"Must have been one hell of a fall off of Toothless then…" Hiccup relaxed on the bed.
"Indeed. So do you mind if I ask you a few things? Just to gauge where your memories are at?" Eirik smiled.
"Sure," Hiccup shrugged.
"Thank you. Can you tell me your full name?" Eirik asked.
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," Hiccup replied.
"And your birthday?" Eirik looked at him.
"February 29th, 2004," Hiccup closed his eyes.
"Your immediate family members?" Eirik tested.
"Parents; Stoick and Valka Haddock. Uncles; Spitelout Jorgenson and Alvin Ogglebert-Ingerman. Aunts; Frida Jorgenson, Termagant Ingerman. Dad does have four other sisters named Brenda the Seventh, Glugga, Egginbreeza, and Burly Sweet; but it's been about sixteen years since I've seen any of them, so Odin only knows if any are married and took a different last name than the birth one of Haddock. Cousins; Snotlout and Adelaide Jorgenson, Fishlegs Ingerman. Godfather and Unofficial Uncle is Gobber Forger. Maternal Grandparents; Old Wrinkly and Gothi Solberg. Paternal Grandparents; Squidface and Brenda the Sixth Haddock. Oh, and my daughter; Runa Haddock," Hiccup motioned to the ten-month-old on his shoulder.
"Do you know what grade you're in and what school you go to?" Eirik questioned.
"Senior Year at Archian Preparatory," Hiccup responded.
"And your dragon?" Eirik pushed.
"Toothless the Night Fury. Bonded at fifteen in the forest, which is right off the backyard of my home; Haddock Manor, or better known by most as Berkian Estates," Hiccup answered.
"When you woke up, you asked where Liv was. Who is she?" Eirik continued.
"Liv? Olivia Holgerson; she's Runa's mother, my girlfriend of two years, my fiancé after Thanksgiving, and my wife once I graduate High School," Hiccup smiled proudly.
"Plan to marry young, do ya?" Eirika chuckled.
Hiccup nodded, his smile falling a bit. "Liv has cancer, and it's terminal. Olivia asked if we could do all the things she'd miss after she was gone since there wasn't a lot of time left after Runa was born in June 2021,"
"There are medications, and surgeries-," Eirik started, but Hiccup shook his head.
"We know that, but the cancer was found after she got pregnant. All those things wouldn't have allowed us to have Runa. Olivia chose to continue the pregnancy over saving herself, and I supported her decision," Hiccup informed.
"That must have been a tough choice for your girlfriend to make, but very brave," Eirik said.
"One of the many things I love about it; she never thinks about herself…" Hiccup stated as he looked out the window, and closed his eyes. Seconds later; he raised his hand to his head.
"Hiccup?" Heather asked gently. Hiccup's eyes snapped open as he took a few deep breaths and shook his head to focus again.
"Are you in any pain, son?" Stoick inquired, but Hiccup shook his head no to his father.
"Were you remembering something?" Eirik wondered.
"I don't-," Hiccup paused, unsure how to answer. "I saw Liv laying in a hospital bed; hooked up to a bunch of stuff like I am now…It looked like this room…" Hiccup admitted softly.
"Anything else you saw?" Eirik pushed again.
"Hard to say; it was like quick flashes. Liv in the bed, a room of people, I was in a suit…She was in a white dress…" Hiccup explained, closing his eyes again; trying to remember. "The board by the window said something…A few names, and a date," he added. "2021…The 3rd of…Of November…" Hiccup's eyes opened. "Wait a second…That…Can't be right,"
"Are you sure?" Eirik asked.
"I have a borderline photographic memory, Doctor. Yes, I'm sure," Hiccup glared a bit. "I say it can't be right because we're in…October, not November…" he said, looking around for a sign of anything that made sense.
"Hiccup, I'm going to need you to calm down, laddie. Now, I'm going to explain why things are confusing, but if you freak out; I'm going to sedate you, so your injuries don't get worse…" Hiccup took a breath, then nodded. "Okay. As I said, Hiccup; you were in a coma for six days. However, you seem to be missing about six months of your memories,"
"What gives you that idea?" Hiccup retorted.
"It's April 7th, in the year 2022, Hiccup," Eirik said lightly, pulling out his phone to show Hiccup the time and date on the lock screen.
"What…Happened to me?" Hiccup asked slower, more confused than before. "Don't drag me around the bush, and throw protocol out the window regarding amnesia patients or whatever. Just tell me what happened to me," he demanded. "None of this makes sense, what could have possibly happened to me that I lost six months of memories…"
"Hiccup; I said you had to stay calm…" Eirik reminded.
"You…Battled a Red Death on April 1st with Toothless," Tuffnut said as Hiccup's eyes widened.
"What?" Hiccup asked.
"And won. That thing is dead; you had it faceplant the ground with a face full of fire," Ruffnut added.
"But we saw Toothless's tail rig break, and you smacked the clubbed tail. You fell back into the explosion and Toothless dove after you. We didn't see anything after that until you were found wrapped in Toothless's wings. But you were unconscious," Heather informed.
"Astrid took you on Stormfly at top speed to get you to the hospital, and we learned you were in the coma, son," Stoick confirmed.
"Wait a second! There was a Red Death on Archia Isle!?" Hiccup said in shock.
"Keyword in the sentence is was. Red Death is gone. Oh, and it happened on Dragon Island," Camicazi stated.
"And what are you six doing here?" Hiccup questioned.
"We're…Your friends," Astrid chirped in nervously.
"Friends? With all of you? You sure it was me who lost my memories? I'd never be friends with any of you," Hiccup remarked coldly as Astrid's breath got caught in her throat. "Five of you are bullies, and you, Astrid…Hah, our friendship was lost long ago when you let the money coming in from your father being the mayor went to your head,"
"B-But Hiccup…" Nadia tried.
"Get out," Hiccup demanded. "We are not friends, and I doubt we ever can be after all the things you've done to me…" he added. "It would take a miracle, and even then…I'd never fully trust you,"
Astrid looked at Valka and Stoick, who nodded for her and the other five to go. Astrid motioned for the others to follow her, though, Astrid was hurt over this. Hiccup not remembering all the things that had happened in the last six months. Hiccup watched them depart, but as they were reaching the door; his left leg began bothering him a bit.
"Ow…" Hiccup mumbled as he went to rub it a bit and noticed something off.
"Something wrong, son?" Valka asked. Hiccup didn't answer as he adjusted Runa in his arms and reached for the blanket covering his legs. Taking a deep breath and trying to stay calm while feeling fear; Hiccup drew the covers back and saw that his left leg was gone. It was just a bandaged nub that sat under his knee, but the rest of the leg and foot was gone. Hiccup froze, his eyes widened as much as they could go. Hiccup didn't say a word, but the shock and disbelief were written for all to see on his face.
"M-My…Leg…" Hiccup breathed out. Where was his leg?! Hiccup began panting, staring at his left leg's nub. "Wh-What happened…To my leg…?!" he asked.
"Hi-Hiccup…Deep breaths now. I know it's a bit of a shock…" Eirik began.
"B-Bit of a shock!? I lost my leg! How!? When?!" Hiccup couldn't relax. So not only did he lose six months of his memories but his left leg too!?
"Val, take Runa," Stoick said as Valka moved in closer, and took Runa from Hiccup's hands. Astrid, Eret, Nadia, Thuggory, Camicazi, and Ragna were still in the room too as it was clear that Hiccup learned his leg was gone, and now freaking out.
"Hiccup, if you don't calm down; I'm going to sedate you…" Eirik warned.
"Ca-Calm down? CALM DOWN? HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN! My left leg is gone, and I have no recollection as to how?! How can you wake up from a coma and be calm when you've suddenly forgotten six months of your life, and find out your leg is gone!" Hiccup yelled, still shocked, becoming angry, and who knew how many other emotions he was feeling right now. Sadly, Astrid didn't blame Hiccup one bit.
As soon as Hiccup started talking about wanting to leave and go home; Eirik had moved over to the wall and lifted the phone from the receiver. "Bring me a sedative for Mr. Haddock, please. Thank you," then he hung it up as a nurse brought in a needle with liquid in it, and the doctor as well as Gobber helping, held Hiccup down long enough for the nurse to administer the sedative into Hiccup's main IV line. Almost a minute or two later, Hiccup's struggling against Eirik and Gobber's restraint stopped, and he drifted back to sleep on the bed. The nurse fixed the blankets and left the room after tossing the needle in the safe-disposal box.
"I assume that just puts him to sleep for a bit?" Valka inquired nervously.
"Likely until tomorrow morning. It's our greatest fear that patients who wake up after some time in a coma lose bits of their memory. But things are worse when they wake up to what Hiccup did, in this case, his left leg is gone," Eirik explained.
"Will he remember everything?" Frida wondered.
"It's possible that everything should come back as has time to sit with the news of his leg being gone. As you noticed earlier; talking about Olivia seemed to trigger him remembering her in a hospital," Eirik informed. "I meant to ask about that, actually," he turned to Stoick and Valka.
Stoick sighed. "November 3rd, 2021 is the day Olivia passed away in the hospital from her cancer. It was an emotional day for him, but I believe what he was remembering or seeing flashes of was their bedside wedding. Hiccup asked Olivia to marry him, and then we called up a preacher to officiate the wedding. Olivia passed on no more than ten minutes later,"
"I see. And was Olivia in ICU during this?" Eirik wondered.
"Yes," Gobber nodded.
"Well, then that proves my theory…Small things will trigger him to remember others, but it will take time as he settles with the news of his leg being gone. It might be best for you all to leave for now. We're going to run some scans and tests, but he'll be out until tomorrow morning at best. If anything changes; I'll let you know," he smiled.
"Yes, thank you, Dr. Matheson," Valka tried to smile. "Come along everyone," she urged the others. Slowly, they all filed out of the room and soon made it out the central doors to the stables and parking lot.
"Should we not come back tomorrow?" Eret asked.
"I know what Hiccup said, but perhaps he could remember more tomorrow," Gobber said.
"Come tomorrow, and we'll see if anything has changed," Stoick said. The five nodded as they left in their vehicles. Astrid remained with Stoick, Valka, and Gobber as she would be returning to Haddock Manor.
"We'll stay back until we know more. We don't want to overload the room again," Dagur informed.
"I'll let you know," Astrid offered.
"And we'll see you in school anyway," Heather smiled a bit. That was right; tomorrow was Thursday. The earliest any of them would get to the hospital would be around 3:30 pm. "Have a good night," she added. Not long after, everyone was departing and getting back home; all with high hopes of Hiccup remembering some things that he seems to have temporarily forgotten.
. . .
{Thursday, April 3rd, 2022-4:30 pm}
(Archia General Hospital- ICU Room #3005)
Hiccup remained asleep through the morning and had woken up for a few moments before lunch. Stoick and Valka hadn't been there but were outside the room speaking with the doctor. Hiccup still didn't remember much, but the flashes of that day in the hospital with Olivia continued coming forward. Hiccup struggled to figure out what it meant but failed due to exhaustion. Also, Hiccup didn't appear to recall his leg was gone either. The pain medication he was given seemed to keep Hiccup from hurting while he healed from the injury. And he was given light sedatives to help him sleep more so he wouldn't freak out again. Hiccup was mostly distracted by trying to remember six months of his life, but that wasn't going great either. Now, Hiccup woke up again a little before 4:30 pm to the nurse checking his vitals and seeing a bunch of others wanting to sit with him.
"Oh, you're awake," the nurse said, surprised.
"Barely…" Hiccup mumbled.
"You have friends and family waiting to visit, but Dr. Matheson wanted me to check you over first. How are you feeling?" the nurse inquired.
"A little hungry tired still…Trying to remember stuff, but it's giving me a headache…" Hiccup admitted.
"Don't rush things, dear; it'll come back to you in time. If I can suggest; talk to the people around you. Everyone who has been visiting knows what happened; they can help by telling you what they know. Sometimes all it takes is a small trigger," the woman smiled.
"Yeah…I'll consider that. Um, could you possibly tell anyone waiting to see me come back tomorrow or something? I'm just exhausted, and I don't want visitors tonight," Hiccup asked.
"Sure thing," the nurse nodded as she then wrote a few more things down before exiting the room. Hiccup sighed as he laid back in the bed, trying to relax and fall back asleep.
. . .
The nurse exited as everyone was there except for Eret, Camicazi, Nadia, Thuggory, and Ragna. Also Termagant, Alvin, Frida, and Adelaide remained home for this trip only because the remember what happened yesterday. Doctor Eirik Matheson made a theory that perhaps everything at once may have been too much. Astrid, Snotlout, Heather, Dagur, Fishlegs, Minden, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Stoick, Valka, Gobber, and Spitelout were present to visit, though.
"How is he, Nurse?" Eirik asked.
"Well, he's awake but tired I'm afraid. All vitals look okay, and he's still trying to make sense of losing six months of memories," the nurse enlightened.
"Oh, he's awake. Let's go see him," Minden giggled.
The nurse's face turned grim. "Mr. Haddock has requested no visitors tonight," she stated as they all fell quiet.
"Wh-What?" Valka asked, taken back a bit.
"Hiccup woke up as I was checking him over, and he asked if I'd let everyone know he didn't want visitors tonight," the nurse repeated.
"This is…Quite common in comatose patients recovering but also suffer minor memory loss," Eirik stated while leaning on the frame of Hiccup's door.
"Meaning what?" Astrid wondered.
"Hiccup's coma was caused by a traumatic fight with a large dragon who most believed to have gone extinct centuries ago. Seeing something…Unbelievable like this; it puts the patient in a state of shock, and we suspect the coma came on from the fact Hiccup discovered this dragon, and battled it alongside his Night Fury. So, in truth, Hiccup stayed comatose for six days because he was still struggling with the battle in his mind. Now, as he's woken up and we've discovered six months of memories gone; I feel that perhaps the reason he's forgotten things is that he's reverted to a safer time when things were…Simpler," Eirik began to explain.
"So his memories have been erased, everything that happened after Olivia took a turn for the worse. Hiccup thinks it's October 30th, 2021, which is about four days before Olivia passed," Spitelout rubbed his chin.
"Not erased, pushed back to keep him from hurting more while he copes with the loss of everything. You have to see things in Hiccup's eyes. The man found Red Death, battled it with his dragon, then somehow lost his leg. I suspect that Hiccup knows how his leg was removed, and it's subconsciously hidden. Now, in the psychological side of things when we spoke to Hiccup; it doesn't appear that he's recalled losing his leg, but he does know it's gone and suppressing his emotions regarding the incident. Hiccup talks highly about wanting to see Olivia again but thinks that she's tired from her cancer, so he doesn't mind waiting to see her," Eirik stated.
"So you think he knows the leg is gone but doesn't realize it at the same time?" Snotlout asked.
"It's subconscious that he thinks it's there, and the painkillers keep his attention off what he would feel if he didn't have them. Also, he sleeps a lot, so he doesn't get what's happening; he just thinks right now that he got hurt and is recovering in the hospital. At some point, he will get it all back; things will set in, and that will be the beginning of his actual recovery," Eirik remarked.
"So, why can't we sit with him? Wouldn't seeing us help?" Ruffnut tried.
"It would, but if Mr. Haddock has requested no visitors and we will respect that. I told you in the beginning that this will be a process to overcome, and unfortunately; this is part of it. We have to go at Hiccup's pace for this, or it could become a great deal worse," Eirik reminded calmly. Knowing they couldn't do more than what they were for the evening; the visitors for Hiccup Haddock departed from the hospital to get to their homes and hope that they could see Hiccup on Friday.
