Hiccup wasted no time. "Toothless, dive!" The Dragon had also felt Astrid fall off his back, and dove into action even faster than the words were said. They should have no trouble catching up to her this high above the ocean, but with the occasional rock jutting out of the sea her life could be over way before she hit the water. Luckily, Toothless retrieved her and landed on the cliff edge as his rider bounded off and wrapped Astrid in his arms. He sighed with relief as she was breathing normally, but still was unconscious and limp in his arms. "Come on Astrid, come on, wake up Astrid!" He said quietly as much for his benefit as for hers'. "Come here bud," he called Toothless over as he removed a pouch of water from his pack with one arm, holding Astrid with the other. He slowly brought it to her lips, forcing her to drink. She was pale as a ghost, but slowly she began to come to.

"Hiccup… where…"

"Oh, thank Thor! You are okay, Astrid, you're fine."

"Fine? What happened?" She tried to sit up, but instantly fell back down almost loosing consciousness once again.

"Wow, wow, wow, you need to stay here until you are strong enough. After hooking myself onto the saddle I saw that you had fallen off and were unconscious." Astrid tried to slow her breathing, and once she was fully aware again, she spoke. Her voice was weak and hoarse.

"Wh…why?"

"I don't know. How do you feel?"

"I'm dizzy and weak and – oh my head!" She brought her hands to the sides of her skull, as Hiccup leaned her against a rock. She could not tell if Hiccup was speaking still; all she could hear was ringing as her brain felt like it was exploding within her skull. She couldn't even see clearly, it just went black. She could only feel two arms lifting her up, and the feeling of the air rushing past.

Suddenly the ground was soft. No, it wasn't the ground, but a blanket. Her headache was gone. Where was she? With a groan, she strained to open her eyes to shut them again; the light almost made her headache come back. She could feel a gentle thud and clicking sound on the floor, but couldn't distinguish anything else. She heard a voice speak, but she couldn't understand what was being said. Thinking over the words, she could distinguish 'Astrid', but nothing else. Astrid, Astrid was her name.

"Hiccup?" She spoke it as a reflex, only remembering who the name belonged to a second later.

"Astrid, are you awake?"

Slowly she opened her eyes again. "I am now."

She was in Gothi's hut. Being Astrid and all, she had only needed to come here once or twice, apart from checking on someone else. She didn't even try to move this time, afraid she would grow faint if she did. Slowly the room stopped spinning and she could see Hiccup clearly. "What's wrong with me?"

Before Hiccup could answer, Gothi shooed him out to examine his beloved. Outside the hut, he saw the rest of the gang, including Heather and Dagur, excluding Ruffnut. The sun had set, and the gang had followed him to Gothi's hut when they saw him carrying Astrid. "Where's Ruffnut?"

"She went flying on patrol with Eret," said her brother.

"Hiccup, is she okay?" asked Fishlegs.

"I don't know yet, but she is awake. For now." They stared in silence at each other, unsure of what to say.

Heather knew they would all remain solemn like this until their attention was diverted, especially Hiccup. With one look at her brother, he immediately understood. "Hiccup," said Dagur. "I heard someone say on the way here that they were looking for the chief. Something about a stray zippleback scaring a flock of sheep."

"I know what you are trying to do Dagur," said the Chief, but there was no anger in his voice. "But I prefer to remain here in case Astrid asks for me. Snotlout, could you handle the sheep?"

"On it."

"Fish, where are the Hoffersons?" asked Heather.

"I couldn't find them. I'll go look again."

The rest who remained prepared to wait in silence for a while longer, when Gothi came out and began to draw with her staff. Hiccup, who had learned to understand most of her symbols, translated. "Astrid is alright. She is ill and is confined to bed until she is strong enough." Hiccup was about to go in to see her, when Gothi held up her hand to stop him. She began to mark with her staff again. "She is not to be disturbed." Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Hofferson ran up the steps to the deck outside Gothi's hut with Fishlegs in tow. They went in to see their daughter. A minute later, they came out with her father carrying Astrid in his arms. I was a shocking thing to see Astrid carried; the last time she had to be was when she was fighting the scourge. She did not seem to be enjoying it either, as her friends wished her well before her father carried her all the way to their home. Hiccup followed, and helped her parents settle their daughter into her bed. After they finished, her mother ran to make her some broth and her father to feed Stormfly, upon urgent request of their daughter.

"Help me sit up," said Astrid, who personality-wise was back to her old self.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Hiccup relented and helped her to sit up. "Dizzy?"

"Not anymore."

"How much can you move?"

"Why do you ask? If I say I can move, you will tell me not to try until tomorrow, and if I say I can't you will call Gothi." Hiccup kissed her on the cheek.

"Alright milady, but I will be back tomorrow to see you."

"If you're not, I'll hunt you down!"

The next day the Dragon master was busy with both chief's duties and wedding preparations, too much so to visit his betrothed until the mid afternoon. As soon as he was free, he rode Toothless once around the island to check for suspicious activity, and then landed outside the Hofferson home. Heather was outside, preparing to mount her razorwhip. "She's worse," she said as Hiccup approached the door. He stopped.

"Astrid?"

Heather nodded. "She can't hold anything down." After she flew off, Hiccup knocked on the door to the hut.

"Oh, Hiccup," her father said as he opened the door. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." Hiccup slowly climbed the stairs to Astrid's room, stopping near the top as he heard the sound of someone loosing their lunch.

He opened the door. "Hiccup, you're supposed to knock." She was fully clothed, but her hair was down except for a rough ponytail to hold out of her face. She was in such a sweat that her hair was drenched along with her clothes and sheets, but for the most part she was in the same position he had left her in, the covers still draped over her legs with her back up on a pillow so she could sit up. Hiccup went right to work with a wet rag dabbing her forehead and cleaning her up. "You don't need to do this."

"Yes I do. You are to be my wife in a few days time anyways, and we will have to care for each other then."

"No, I mean, I can handle myself." She sounded angry, but Hiccup knew her well enough to know she bore no resentment towards him, but was more so upset about the whole situation.

"I know you can. That's why I want to help." He laid her back some more against the pillow and sat next to her on the bed. Astrid was always so hardcore and independent, that she never seemed to know when she really needed the help. This time she didn't, but when you could manage to persuade Astrid to take your help, that means she wants it (but is too strong to admit it).

"So," she said after a minute. "How are the preparations?" She smiled, and Hiccup knew it wasn't forced.

"Good. If I hadn't been there this morning to supervise them though, the twins would have succeeded in changing everything. I mean, we might show up outside the great hall where we expect the wedding to take place, where it's been for generations, to find that all the guests showed up to… I don't know, Outcast island or something like that! They saw the weather is lovely there this time of year."

Astrid laughed. Hiccup took pleasure in the thought of getting to hear that same wonderful sound for the rest of his life. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For catching me. I haven't thanked you yet."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "For you, milady, anything."