Hello! I'm bbbbbbbbbbaaaaaaccccccccccckkkkk! :D Okay, so, you know how I said I was sick? Well, went to the doctor, and turns out, I have a double ear infection. So, it might take me a little bit longer to update then usual, and I'm sorry about that, but yeah. :) Enjoy chapter 19! :D

When Hiccup woke up, it was dark. He figured it was evening, but that was all he could reckon. He felt hot; far, far, far too hot. But at the same time, there was a numbing cold pain in his leg that traveled through his body that made him feel freezing. He knew he had a fever, but he also felt cold.

He was alone besides Toothless, who was sleeping in the corner. Hiccup couldn't help but wonder where his mother was, but he couldn't think about that for longer than a few minutes. His leg felt like someone was constantly stabbing it with a dagger, and his body felt hot yet cold at the same time.

Part of him wanted to call his mother, but the other part of him didn't want to disturb her. He figured she was sleeping; where else would she be, and what else would she be doing? Astrid wasn't anywhere to be found, either. She was probably back at her own house, sleeping away.

Hiccup tried countless times to get back to sleep, but each time, the new position he got himself in only made it more painful. He tried to find warmth beneath the blankets, but it didn't work, and he was left shivering uncontrollably, his teeth chattering.

He couldn't stop the tears that rolled down his face, just because it hurt so bad. His leg hurt, and it hurt terribly. Normally, he could hide his pain, but now, he found it impossible.

Hiccup heard rustling, and then looked towards the corner as Toothless lifted his head off the stone slab, regarding his rider with a worried coo.

"I'm alright," Hiccup said, his voice strained and choked. "I'm alright." He wasn't alright, though, and Hiccup knew that his dragon could see right through his act. Toothless stood up, walking towards the staircase...

Hiccup knew what he was going to do, and he also knew that he had to try to prevent it.

"No, Toothless, don't!" Hiccup said in a harsh whisper. Toothless turned around, eying Hiccup curiously, confusion obvious on his face, even in the darkness. "Don't wake her up," Hiccup begged. "Please, don't wake her up, just...I'll be okay, buddy. See? I'm fine."

Toothless gave him an "are-you-serious?" look; not the question kind, but the sarcastic kind.

"No, just whatever you do..." Hiccup said, stopping to hiss through his teeth and groan. Toothless growled worriedly, bounding over to Hiccup. The floorboards shook underneath the dragon's feet, and Hiccup shushed him.

"No, Toothless, sshhhhh, you have to be quiet!" Hiccup said harshly, his voice quiet but his anger yet evident. "I'll be alright in a few minutes. It'll pass."

Toothless snorted, but did nothing else. He laid his head down on Hiccup's chest, and Hiccup rolled over, nuzzling up to the warmth of his dragon's scales. The heat felt wonderful against Hiccup's cold skin, and Hiccup couldn't stop the sigh of contentedment that escaped him.

"Th...thank you, Toothless," Hiccup said breathlessly. He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but just that seemed impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a position that was even comfortable in the least. Toothless kept him warm, but there wasn't anything else that the dragon could do to help.

"I'll be okay, Toothless..." Hiccup whispered, but sleep just didn't come.

...

Valka woke up to sobbing. When Hiccup got to sleep, that evening, Valka had told Astrid that the girl should head home for some real sleep. Astrid had left, promising to return, and Valka had went to get some sleep herself after checking on Hiccup. She gave Toothless strict orders to wake her up if something happened, and so far, nothing did.

Until she heard the sobbing. As soon as she did, she was up and out of bed, rushing to her son's room, hoping that he wasn't in the middle of another night terror. She hated seeing him in that state, crying and screaming during the agony of his nightmares, waking up shaky and terrified afterwards. It was more than Valka could stand. She couldn't bear to see her child in such a position. It broke her heart.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she found Hiccup curled up against Toothless, who was half-laying on the bed, his front paws on the furnature, his back legs on the ground. He turned his head in Valka's direction when she walked up, and cooed worriedly at his rider.

That was all it took. Valka crossed the room, and Toothless stepped back. As soon as he did, Hiccup protested.

"No...buddy..." he said drowsily. "Don't go..."

As soon as Hiccup spoke, Valka sat down on the bed, lifting his shaking body onto her lap, rubbing his back soothingly. Hiccup nuzzled his face into her chest, relaxing in her hold.

"Mom..." he whispered. "I'm...sorry. D-did I want you up?" She didn't answer right away, and even if she did, she didn't need to. Hiccup knew the answer already. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No, sweetie," Valka said quickly, pulling away just barely long enough to kiss his forehead gently. "I want you to wake me up when you're in pain, alright?"

"B-but...you've...you've already done so...so much..." Hiccup said. "I don't...I don't want to...to do anything to make you...burdened..."

Valka shook her head, smiling softly. "Silly boy..." she whispered. "I want to take care of you, Hiccup. You're never a burden, and I want you to know that. Okay?"

"O...ok-kay," Hiccup said.

"Alright," Valka said. "Now, tell me, please. What hurts?"

"M...my leg," Hiccup said. "Hurts."

"Alright," Valka said. "Is that all?"

"It's cold," Hiccup said, nuzzling his head head underneath Valka's chin for emphasis. "You're warm."

Valka smiled sadly, her hold on him tightening. After a moment, she adverted her gaze, reaching over to grab his blanket and wrap it around him. He sighed in contentedment, sagging against his mother wearily.

"There," Valka said, smiling at Hiccup's reaction to the warmth. "Is that better?"

Hiccup nodded against her neck. "Better," he said.