Hello, friends! This story comes as a request from a friend and fellow fangirl. She doesn't have an account on FFN, but stops by to read my stories, and has been asking me to try out this type of tale for a while now. So, after some encouragement, I finally did it, haha. Sorry if there's inaccuracies, I did do research, but ultimately, I'm no expert in amputation...

I know I enjoy reading these stories, so hopefully you all do too! Enjoy the fatherly!Stoick and father/son feels!

(Oh and I am very much still doing Through Savage Seas, I just ran into a bit of a wall with the next chapter so I thought I'd get this request out of the way)

Stoick knew what amputation did to people. He was there when his best friend went through two, and he had seen how much it had hurt him. So, it was safe to say he was completely and utterly surprised when his own son took the news as well as he did. Most people would take some time alone; Gobber had mourned for a while, spending hours in the forge despite there being no orders. But Hiccup was out nearly nonstop, training dragons with the teens and helping villagers. Most people would take longer to acclimate to the idea that they've lost something. But Hiccup was doing everything he could to get his mobility back to how it was before.

And that was what Stoick was really worried about. He could brush aside his son's nonchalant attitude as nothing more than his youth, mixed with a good amount of Viking virtue. But he knew that emotional hurt was not the only kind of pain amputees felt. Gobber had warned him, told stories of countless sleepless nights, feeling as if something that wasn't even there anymore was being ripped to shreds. Because even if he didn't remember any of what had happened, his body did. And all his endless working and rushing around would do it no favors.

Then again, maybe it was his young age. Maybe it wasn't as bad for people who were still growing up.

Stoick soon found out how wrong that was.

It was late. Stoick had long finished his chiefly duties, and was now seated at his table, rewriting the Hooligan's peace treaty with the Outcasts. He heard the front door open, and looked over to see Hiccup shuffling inside, Toothless right behind him.

"Sorry I took so long. Hookfang left quite a mess behind at the docks," he said. "But to be honest, I think it was mostly Snotlout's fault." He shook his head. "Anyway, I'm gonna head up to bed."

Stoick looked back down at his document, giving a quick "good night" to his son. However, he glanced back up when he didn't hear any further movement. Hiccup was standing at the bottom of the stairs to his loft, unmoving. Stoick lifted his head completely up, confused. "Something wrong, son?"

Hiccup turned back toward him. "Y'know, on second thought, maybe I'll just… sit by the fire for a while. Yeah, I'll do that…"

Stoick watched as Hiccup motioned for his dragon, then put his left arm around the Fury's neck. The two made their way over to the hearth, and even in the dim firelight, Stoick could tell Hiccup was placing almost no weight on his left leg.

But he didn't want to say anything. Hiccup had told him not to; he didn't want his father to treat him any different. Still, as the man watched his son sit on the floor by the fire, his brows twisted up in agony, how could he not? How could he just stay silent when his child was in such clear pain?

"Hiccup…" Stoick began, only for said boy to raise a hand at him.

"Don't say it… Dad," Hiccup cut him off, not even looking in his father's direction. Toothless wrapped himself around his human, giving Stoick a pleading look. He clearly wanted the man to help, because he knew his human never would ask for it on his own. Besides, the Night Fury understood what the boy was going through.

Not speaking, Stoick simply stood from his spot at the table and made his way over to where Hiccup had set down. The boy was breathing heavy, his eyes squeezed shut and arms wrapped around his left thigh. Still without a word, Stoick began untying the rope securing Hiccup's prosthetic to his pantleg.

At this, the boy's tear filled eyes snapped open, and he quickly pulled his leg away from his father's hands.

"Hiccup," Stoick said, his voice stern.

"It's fine, Dad, really-."

"Stop!" Stoick yelled, and Hiccup immediately quieted. "Clearly, it's not fine, and yer goin' teh let me help whether yeh like it or not!" The man quieted. "Do yeh realize how much it pains me teh see you in such obvious hurt, and not be able teh do anything? It's okay teh ask fer help, Hiccup."

"But we're Vikings, Dad. We're not supposed to care about a little pain."

"Losin' a limb is not 'a little pain'". Stoick turned Hiccup's head so he could see his eyes. "It's okay to be weak sometimes, son." The tears in the boy's eyes spilled over. "Let me help you." Finally, Hiccup relented, letting his dad pull his fake leg off. At the release of pressure, Hiccup couldn't keep silent any longer. Gods, why did it have to hurt so much? A cry escaped him, and he immediately curled into himself, hands clutching at the remains of his leg. It felt like someone was dipping the end into a bucket of molten steel, so hot and intense Hiccup could hardly breathe.

"Hiccup! Calm down!" Stoick said, slightly in a panic. He was strong, a real Viking warrior, but he'd never seen Hiccup like this before. He'd been there before when Gobber had had pains in his amputated limbs, but this was different. This was his son. "I- I need to help you, son." But in all honesty, he hadn't the first clue how to do that.

Why was Hiccup so… stubborn? If he hadn't insisted on doing everything himself from the moment he woke up, maybe then Stoick would know how to help.

No. He shouldn't blame Hiccup. Not when the boy was already dealing with so much.

Another cry of pain brought Stoick back. His son needed him. "Hiccup, just let me…" he reached out, trying to pry Hiccup's hands from his leg, but the boy near had a death grip on it. "Please. I need to see." Another wave of agony hit the boy, powerful enough to make him lose his grip. Stoick took the opportunity to pull his hands away and roll up his pantleg.

"For Thor's sake, Hiccup." His leg looked terrible. He'd clearly had it in the prosthesis far too long, because the skin was raw and inflamed. "When was the last time yeh took care of yerself?"

"I… I don't know…" the boy's fists were over his eyes, his face still scrunched up in pain. "It's just… been so busy… Maybe… last week… or so?"

"Oh, Hiccup…" Stoick muttered. "Yeh've only been up fer two weeks! Gobber told yeh the most important thing is teh take care of yerself! Yer still healin'! Do yeh have any idea how much it would hurt to go through all this, only teh lose yeh to yer own ignorance?"

"Why would… you care?" Hiccup spat through breaths. "I thought you… wanted me gone."

"That's enough!" Stoick yelled, his voice laced with enough pain and anger that Hiccup said no more. "I know," Stoick continued, his voice greatly calmed and quiet now, "I said some- some awful things… and I know there's nothin' I can do teh take it back… but I've always cared, Hiccup. I was just too blinded by my anger to show it. And I know that's no excuse fer the way I- we all- treated yeh, but… please. Just let me try to make it up to yeh. I need to help."

Hiccup took in another shaky breath, and while he gave no response, he didn't pull away the next time his dad's fingers went to his leg. Another pulse of pain hit him, and Stoick released his grasp as Hiccup's face screwed up again, moving his hand to hold one of his son's. Hiccup immediately squeezed it, with a surprising amount of strength for someone his size, but Stoick made no move to let go. If Hiccup needed something to hold on to, he would let him.

"Dad…" Hiccup said, his voice sounding more broken than Stoick had ever heard it before. "When is it going to stop?"

Stoick didn't have an answer for that, because he knew it never truly stopped. It got better, and wasn't constant, but even Gobber, who'd lost his limbs decades ago, still had days where he couldn't work or walk. So all he said was "It'll be alright, son. I'm here."

"What are we gonna do?"

We. Not "I". We. Stoick sighed as he looked over his son's tense form. Hiccup may not have said anything to his apology, but that question told him all he needed to know.

He knew he wasn't alone anymore.

"I…" Stoick began, trying to think of a good response. But in truth, he didn't have one. "I don't know, son." He sighed, the weight of guilt settling heavy on his chest. Even though he knew Hiccup held nothing against him, he couldn't help but feel responsible for his suffering. If he just hadn't been so… ignorant, his son never would have had to come and save them from the problem they created- and he certainly wouldn't be here, on the floor in insurmountable agony because of the result of that ignorance.

"Dad?"

Stoick looked back down at Hiccup, pulled from his thoughts. The boy seemed so young, so vulnerable, even moreso than usual, with his tear stained face and helpless tone of voice. "Yes?"

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Do what, Hiccup?"

"This." Another small cry escaped him. "I was trying to get past it but… all that's done is hurt me more…"

"Oh, son…" Stoick pulled Hiccup into his arms, being careful not to jostle his leg too much, and began running his fingers through the boy's hair. "There's nothing yeh need to do…"

"But- but if I don't get better, then how will I ever be good enough for everyone else?"

"Why would you ever think you're not good enough for us?"

Stoick regretted the words the moment they left his tongue. Why wouldn't Hiccup think he wasn't good enough for Berk? They'd only ridiculed and looked down on him his whole life.

However, the boy seemed to not have heard that last statement, as another torrent of pain shook through him, and he pressed himself into his father's side. Stoick just continued stroking his hair, praying to Odin that it would be over soon, for Hiccup's sake. And after several agonizing moments, it finally subsided.

"I'm sorry…"

"Why in Midgard are you sorry?"

"For making you deal with this…"

"Oh, for Thor's sake, Hiccup. If anyone should be apologizing, it's me." The boy looked up, meeting his father's gaze. "If I hadn't been so boar-headed, 'this' wouldn't even be a thing."

Hiccup laughed weakly. "You just gestured to all of me."

Despite himself, Stoick chuckled as well. He may not have been a good father to Hiccup growing up, but he sure as Helheim was going to be one for the rest of his life. And he would start by never letting him feel like he had to do things alone ever again.

"C'mon. Let's get you upstairs and see what we can do for that leg." The man lifted his son into his grasp, one arm under his knees and the other around his shoulders. Then, he slowly made his way up the steps to the loft, Toothless trailing behind, and into Hiccup's room. Once the boy was safely in bed, the man began sifting through the items on his desk, searching for the medicine Gothi left them for days like this. Upon finding it, he returned to the bed, grateful to see Hiccup's expression had relaxed some, and he was now petting Toothless' head in a somewhat normal gesture.

"Just keep focusing on Toothless, son. Gothi said it might hurt some, but I'll be quick." Stoick worked quickly, trying his best to ignore the guilt he felt when Hiccup's breathing hitched, but determined to do anything he could to help him. He finished his work with some clean cloth, so hopefully his son would be able to get his much needed sleep in somewhat-comfort. "Alright then." He stood up, making his way back to Hiccup's side. "Yeh need to stay in bed for a few days, at least." When Hiccup opened his mouth to argue, Stoick cut him off. "No buts about it, Hiccup. I don't need yeh gettin' sick because yer not givin' yerself time to rest."

"But what about everything I've already done? What if I lose all this progress because I'm not keeping up with it?"

Stoick shook his head, pulling up a chair to sit by his son. "It's been two weeks, Hiccup. Yeh've already done so much more in the last two weeks than I've done in a lifetime. Look at Berk, son. Look at how much it's changed, because of you. I promise, it'll still be here if yeh leave it be for a few days."

"I just don't want this to ruin things…" Hiccup said, gesturing vaguely to his lower half.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't promise yeh it won't, son. This is part of yer life now, and it's goin' to take all of us some time to get used to… but I can promise you this: we all are here for you, no matter what. And we're going to figure this out, together." Stoick picked up his son's hand, giving it an assuring squeeze. "So, please, Hiccup. I can't lose you again…"

Hiccup smiled slightly at his father. "You didn't lose me the first time."

"No… not all of you." Stoick smiled back, brushing Hiccup's hair back before standing up. "I'll be back to check up on yeh in the morning, and do another treatment." He pointed a finger in Hiccup's direction. "And if yeh even think of trying teh escape, I'll have tha' dragon burn that peg of yers to a crisp."

"Oh, please, Toothless would never do that." Hiccup said, earning a defiant snort from his Night Fury. The dragon grumbled and layed his massive head on the boy's chest, pinning him down as if to say you know I would. "No, Bud, you're supposed to be on my side!" Hiccup said, trying in vain to push the dragon off him. "You know, this situation is feeling very one sided! Toothless! Get off!"

Stoick chuckled, giving Toothless a pleased pat on the head before turning to leave the room. "Just remember, son. We're doing this because we love you."

And even as Hiccup lay there, pinioned to his bed by his own dragon, he knew those words couldn't have been more true. And with that in mind, he was able to look past the pain, because from then on, he knew he always had family to help him through it.

So, how was it? Feelsy enough? I know this is very much outside my usual subject matter, but I did enjoy writing it! Hope you enjoyed reading it ;)

Dunno if this is a one shot or not, I guess that depends on you people. I could do more of this with other characters and in different time zones, but I want to leave it up you.

If anyone else has any requests, let me know! till next story! (or the continuation of a current story lol)