=Normal POV=

{March 2013}

Almost five months of dating as Hiccup and Astrid were still going strong. Not much had happened since the night they got together at the hospital. Camicazi faced a judge and avoided jail time by being sentenced to six months probation, and having to pay a $1,000 fine. Camicazi didn't have to worry about going drug testing, or anything like that, but she did have to attend counseling, and anger management. Also, during this six months, Camicazi couldn't contact Astrid at all. Camicazi didn't have any excuses for the judge, she admitted that she was fueled by jealousy over Astrid and Hiccup liking one another when she had been trying to get him back after losing him because of her own stupidity. Much belief fell on the fact that Camicazi admitted to what she did, and that is why she was only fined and put on probation. Hiccup's birthday had passed, and he was now twenty-one. Eret, Thuggory, and Cody took him out, but his father and Gobber strolled along too so they could enjoy the festivities and one of them could be designated driver for the boys. Hiccup got wasted, and Astrid came over to his apartment the next morning to help him with the hangover.

Astrid's ankle healed by the beginning of December, and now she was on the Archian State Racing League! Yes, Astrid had done it, and thanked Hiccup over and over again for his help in mastering all the skills and speed she needed to make the team. Thanksgiving and Christmas were enjoyable; Hiccup and Astrid were able to see one another for both, and exchanged gifts. Hiccup got Astrid necklace that had a gold heart with her birthstone in the middle, and Astrid got Hiccup a silver dog tag that had a heart shape cut out of it and the words; I Carry Your Heart. However, there was a second piece to this, a heart ring with a heart on it reading; With Me. The symbolism of this gift was that Astrid carried Hiccup's heart with her. It meant a lot to both of them, it's how their relationship started; Astrid picked up the pieces of Hiccup's heart, and put it back together, so he gave it to her to protect it. Hiccup's gift to Astrid represented that he loved her heart of gold. Hiccup and Astrid rang in the New Year with their friends.

Tuffnut and Stilsta had been dating for thirteen months; things were going well for them. Snotlout and Asta reached a year back in September of 2012. Kirsten and Cody got engaged on New Years Day, the start of 2013, and were planning their wedding for Winter of 2014. Brittany and Thuggory have almost been together for two years since they got back together in May of 2011. Throk and Ruffnut were tying the knot next month on the 13th of April. Heather and Fishlegs were waiting to have kids until after they reached the one-year mark of marriage. Eret and Dahlia were expecting a child; due in August 2013. Dahlia conceived in November, and found out just in time to announce it on Christmas. Everyone was doing fantastic in their lives, and they were happy; it was all anyone could ask for. Today, though, was Astrid's twenty-first birthday, and since Hiccup and his Marine friends were the only ones who were of age to drink, they were taking her out to enjoy the night. Kristen, Dahlia, and Brittany were coming too, and Dahlia would obviously not be drinking as she is four months pregnant. The only reason they pushed it back so long was that Astrid had race practice from 7:30 am to 1 pm, and then a small work shift from 1:30 pm to 6 pm.

{6:45 pm}

The seven friends reached the restaurant parking lot a bit later than planned, and waited outside as the birthday girl had not arrived yet.

"Does Astrid know we're meeting for 6:30-7 pm?" Thuggory asked.

"Yeah, I told her this morning in a text when she was on her way to race practice, but she never replied. I assume she's just running behind because she wanted to go home, shower, and change before coming out with us," Hiccup shrugged as he pulled out his phone, and pulled up the text messages with his girlfriend. The last letter he sent was at 7:17 am, and there hadn't been a response at all, so he was truthfully a bit worried. Hiccup tried to call her, but no answer.

"Well, maybe we should call her job, and ask if she's still there and running behind?" Kirsten offered. Hiccup shrugged and called Astrid's place of employment, and put it on speakerphone. It rang twice, then picked up.

"Hello, Berkvilla Ristorante. How can I help you?" came a female voice.

"Uh, hi. I'm looking for my girlfriend, Astrid Hofferson?" Hiccup asked.

"One moment, please?" the woman replied, then there were distant voices speaking before the phone was picked up once more. "I'm sorry about that. I'm afraid Astrid isn't here this evening; my manager informed me that she called out this morning," Why would Astrid call out?

"Did…she say why?" Hiccup inquired.

"I believe the reason given was that she wasn't feeling well," the women informed.

"Alright, thank you," Hiccup said, then hung up.

"Maybe that's why she hasn't answered you today; she's sick?" Eret offered.

"I'm gonna head to her uncles and check on her. You coming?" Hiccup questioned. The friends nodded as they loaded up on their dragons or got into their cars, and followed after Hiccup to Finn Hofferson's house, though, it was actually an apartment with two bedrooms on the first floor.

{Apartment of Finn Hofferson}

Hiccup knocked on the door, and about a minute later, it opened revealing a miserable looking Astrid.

"Hey, beautiful," Hiccup smiled a little.

"Ugh, I look horrible right now," Astrid mumbled.

"Nah," Hiccup kissed her forehead, and she felt warm.

"I'm sorry I missed the dinner. I meant to text you back this morning, but one of the other rider's dragon was having an off morning and well," Astrid shrugged as she grabbed her phone off the living room table and showed it to him, revealing that it was burnt and had a huge hole from what Hiccup assumed was a Nadder spine. "Around 11:20 am, I started feeling sick, threw up at practice, and got sent home. I called out of work from Uncle Finn's cell phone, and then went out and bought me a new one as his gift to me for my birthday. The only problem is that I have no idea how to do anything on it because it's not like my old one," she huffed a bit.

"Where's your uncle now?" Thuggory asked.

"Working until close at 1 am, then probably home by 1:30-2 am," Astrid replied.

"Your home sick alone?" Dahlia frowned.

"I'm okay," Astrid smiled some. "I'm actually feeling a little better than before. You wanna come in for a bit? I'm kind'a bored of being cooped up," she offered.

'You should be resting," Kirsten reminded.

"I can't sleep more if I tried, and I'm sick of laying down. You know me, Hiccup, I can't sit still," Astrid giggled a bit as Hiccup nodded and walking inside, then the friends did too. Astrid closed the door as she sat down next to Hiccup and laid on his shoulder.

"Well, if no one else is going to say it, I will. Happy birthday, Astrid," Hiccup told his girlfriend gently.

"Thank you. Sorry again for missing the night we planned," Astrid frowned.

"Eh, don't worry about it. We can go out drinking anytime, after you're feeling better, of course," Brittany smiled. Astrid loved that even though she was Thuggory's ex-girlfriend, she and Brittany got along just fine.

"So, how was practice up until you started feeling sick, babe?" Hiccup asked.

"Average. Warm up, trials, racing against one another, general equipment fixes," Astrid stated.

"When is the first race of the season?" Cody inquired.

"Uh, I don't know actually. I think they're still working on the schedule, but we should know by May at the latest," Astrid replied. "How was work for you boys today?"

"Eventful. Our day mostly consists of training. We're in for the first formation at 6:30 am, then allowed to leave around 4, or 5 pm. We'll do PT for a bit, breakfast, assigned tasks for the day, lunch, more tasks, final formation, then home. It's a straightforward day, we just never do the same thing every day," Eret remarked.

"Yep, and then occasionally there is mission training to keep ourselves sharp for deployments," Thuggory added.

"And it's like that every day?" Astrid asked.

"Yep," Hiccup nodded.

"Sounds exhausting," Dahlia yawned.

"You guys don't have to stay with me; I know it's kind'a boring from the night we planned," Astrid giggled a bit.

"Yeah, I'll stay with her. Head on home," Hiccup nodded.

"Alright, man. Happy birthday again, Astrid," Cody smiled. Astrid returned it as the other three couples left the house leaving only Hiccup and Astrid there.

"Still not feeling well, huh?" Hiccup asked her.

"It's not bad, at least I don't feel like throwing up anymore," Astrid said.

"True. How did it all start, symptom wise?" Hiccup wondered.

"Well, I'm not sure. Started with waking up tired I guess, then turned into a headache. After that I got nauseous, tried to stay on the water, but as soon as I was in the air to practice obstacles; I couldn't hold it back. Stormfly landed and I threw up in the nearest trash bin twice. I got checked out by the medics, and after determining that I had a fever of 101.5, they sent me home, so I've been here since," Astrid explained.

Hiccup checked her forehead, "You still feel pretty warm, babe. You really should be resting,"

"I know, but I just can't sleep, Hic. I'm so uncomfortable. I love my uncle to death, but the bed I'm using here is so…old, and the room is a bit drafty too," Astrid sighed.

"Well, stay out here on the couch then, and I'll take care of you," Hiccup suggested.

"I don't wanna take away your whole night," Astrid muttered.

"I had my whole night dedicated to celebrating your birthday anyway, so either way, I'm still spending it with you," Hiccup smiled.

"Awe, you're the best," Astrid told him. Hiccup got up and let her lay down, then he covered her up. Hiccup got her a small garbage can; to keep close in case she didn't reach the bathroom in time, then an ice water.

"Not tired huh?" Hiccup asked her, Astrid shook her head gently with a smile. "Well, we can just sit here find a way to occupy our time. Want to watch a movie? Talk? I'd suggest make out, but then I might end up sick," he continued as Astrid laughed a little.

"So, rain check on the making out?" Astrid wondered.

"Whatever you want when you're better. We'll go out for your birthday, just us," Hiccup informed.

"Can't wait," Astrid smiled. "Alright, so I'm curious about something with you working,"

"Go on," Hiccup invited.

"You work every day from 6:30 to 4, or 5 pm, weekends off except for once a month you have to live there. Why?" Astrid looked at him.

"Well, the five days a week is actual…work, shall we say. I do get Saturday and Sunday off, but the first weekend of every month is training. We use for…deployment situations, preparing for them, and staying sharp. We do radio practice, mission scenarios, shooting, gas chamber, etc. The week work is cleaning our weapons, the barracks, bathrooms, showers, organization, moving things from one spot to another, washing the vehicles and doing maintenance. All that. Oh, but we do have a yearly AT, or Annual Training. Unfortunately, that's two weeks where I'm away training for a deployment setting, and also we re-qualify our marksmanship levels, and possibly go out for a promotion if we've done everything else reach one," Hiccup explained.

"Oh, well, doesn't that sound like so much fun. Do I get to talk to you during AT? I know during your drill, we don't get to talk until your meals or settling in for the night," Astrid questioned.

"Well, we might not be able to get any phone conversations in, but I'll be able to text in between things. Don't worry, I won't ghost on you without warning," Hiccup vowed.

"I'll hold you to that," Astrid laid her head back on the couch pillow. "Now, why did you make Corporal, and the others didn't?"

"That would be because in the Marines, Infantry Battalions break down to the smallest team, and each of those is led by a Corporal. You remember, I told you about the way things condense," Hiccup said. "It's given to the service men and women who show they have the qualities of Corporal. I'm a leader, and I'm good at running operations,"

"Makes sense," Astrid laughed a little, then groaned and held her stomach.

"Don't laugh, you'll throw up. Rest, Milady. I will be right here if you need anything, and I'll set your new phone up for you too," Hiccup offered.

"Thank you," Astrid smiled lightly at him as she yawned, then nestled into the pillow as Hiccup kissed her cheek. About ten minutes later; Astrid was fast asleep. Hiccup decided to tidy up a little for her, and then he sat down with Astrid's new phone on the charger while he messed with the settings and added some of the contacts he knew she used to have. Sure, it sucked she was sick on her birthday, but he was doing exactly what he planned to do this evening; spend it with her. Hiccup was certain that he didn't just like Astrid anymore, he was falling in love with her. Being with Astrid was different than it was with Camicazi, and Hiccup wondered if that meant he'd found his soulmate. In either case, he was happy with Astrid, and as long as he was that, he wasn't changing how things were.