A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and for all the nice reviews! I'm super pumped about being back!

~SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION~ You have been warned.

Usual disclaimers still apply.

But for now, on with the story.


Chapter 2

Toothless lifted his head off the rider's chest, noticing the disturbance, and cocked it to the side. With a curious coo, he watched Hiccup toss from side to side, seemingly distressed. Hiccup cringed in his sleep, writhing and moaning and sweating more than should have been possible. The now humid cloth slipped to the ground, allowing the youthful Viking's fever to spike rapidly as he continued to thrash about. Unintelligible words became clearer as, in his fevered haze, Hiccup called out. His tone was tortured and desperate, and hot, salty tears began to run down his pinked cheeks.

"Dad," he cried hoarsely, thrashing harder. "Toothless! Toothless no! C'mon buddy, don't... Please!" The sick, delirious Viking began to sob bitterly. "Please. No." Gently, at the sound of his name, Toothless perked up and licked his friend's cheek until the boy awakened, still sobbing, and leaned over his bed to be violently ill. As Hiccup choked through his sobs, the dragon barked once desperately and disappeared. Of course it would, Hiccup thought bitterly. He was disgusting. His nose was still drippy, he was crying, sweat was beaded on his brow, among other things. Disoriented, he gazed around. Everything ached, from his head to his good foot, and his body burned and pounded against the illness. He felt as though he were inside a spyglass, with his vision distorted and blurred at the edges.

"T-toothless?" He called weakly, through violent tremors and chattering teeth. He gazed around frantically. "Buddy? Come back..." And suddenly, the Night Fury reappeared, snarling, his eyes narrowed to slits, his body glowing with preparedness for the next attack. Hiccup cried out, backing away and glancing wildly around even though he knew he shouldn't break eye contact. The walls were shimmering, as though a million, clear beetles were climbing and crawling on them. They seemed to whisper to him, these mysterious insects did, chastising him with a cacophony of hissing accusations.

"It's your fault he's dead," they said. "Your fault, all your fault. You aren't a hero, you killed him, it's your fault it's your fault it's your fault, Hiccup, your fault your fault your fault Hiccup. Hiccup. it's because of you he's dead Hiccup. It's your fault, your fault, Hiccup... Hiccup…." He sobbed harder, not even realizing one voice starting to stand out from the others - the voice of his mother, softly calling his name and looking deeply into his eyes. When had she come in?

"Hiccup," Valka said, caressing her boy's cheek. "It's alright. It's me. I'm here." This did not soothe him, however, and Hiccup buried his face into his mother's tunic front and cried. Valka simply held him close, noting the heat radiating off his small body. Toothless poked his head around, nuzzling Hiccup's side with a worried whine. As he cried, Hiccup lapsed into coughing or sneezing fits at different intervals, increasing the level of misery and making him feel even more pathetic. She rubbed his back gently until his sobbing turned to soft sniffles and hiccups. With one hand, she managed to set his pillow up against the headboard so he could lie back on it and still be in an upright position. Slowly, she eased him back against the propped-up pillow and handed him the now cool sheep's milk. He took a sip, his hands shaking so violently that the liquid sloshed about and nearly spilled. She found the rag among his heap of tangled furs and rewet it in the bucket before using it to once more sponge off the boy's glistening face. Her other hand rested over his, supporting it and holding it steady as he sipped again at the milk.

Hiccup felt wretched, and worse, he felt like a helpless, weak child. The pain was almost unbearable, and he knew he was acting ridiculous. He was a grown man now, and the chief of Berk. He should not have been acting this way, should not have been taken down by such an illness. Moreover, he should have been able to take care of himself. He took another few sips, the cool liquid soothing his burning throat and calming his churning stomach despite the initial pain of swallowing. Slowly, his ragged breathing returned to normal.

"Mom," he said, and though he tried for toughness it came out as a whimper. "I'm sorry, I-" But Valka cut him off.

"Hush now, Hiccup. It's alright," she told him softly, setting the glass by the bedside again and easing him down into a comfortable position. But not before another desperate "Hehhh… rihh SSCCTCHH!" escaped him. The sneeze did little to alleviate the tickle in his nose, and a second, third, and fourth followed in rapid succession: "Hehhh… IHxxTSCH! IhhhxtTSSCH! Hehhh… Hehhhrr… nnnxxtSCHHuu!" The fit left Hiccup's eyes and nose streaming and drippy. Valka sighed sympathetically and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, gently dabbing at her son's wet cheeks and glistening nostrils. Whatever of his childhood she had missed she seemed to be making up for bundled all in this one instant – wiping every tear, clearing away a snotty nose, comforting and quieting his crying, soothing a fever. This was motherhood at its finest. After another quick wipe, she held the handkerchief over her son's bulblike nose.

"Blow," she instructed. Hiccup looked up at her, his eyes still wet and now rimmed red from the tears and the sneezing fit. His cheeks flushed slightly pinker in embarrassment.

"Mom, I can-" he started, but Valka looked at him sternly.

"Blow, Hiccup," she said again, more firmly this time. Then, gentler, she added, "You'll feel better for it." Hesitantly, swallowing his already-wounded pride, the Dragon Master, blew softly into the cottony fabric, attempting to clear his sinuses of the pressure and tickle. Liquid rushed into the handkerchief, but Valka did not pull away. Instead, she waited patiently for the warm stream to abate, then pinched gently, stemming the flow of liquid and cleaning his nose again, careful not to further irritate the chapped redness. "There," she said, folding the cloth up and setting it aside in case he needed it later. "Now then. I'll clean this right up. I'm sending Toothless to fetch a healer. They'll know what to do." Hiccup nodded silently, lying back and shutting his eyes again. His body tried to find warmth beneath his blanket furs, but even they weren't warm enough to stop his incessant shuddering. He was cold, too cold. He curled in on himself, but felt too weak to do much else. He settled for just letting his teeth chatter and his body shake, suffering in silence for his mother's sake.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Valka stood and looked down at her son. "Now who could that be?" She asked, moving down the stairs to investigate. She answered the knock and found Astrid standing there, nervously fiddling with her skirt.

"Astrid?" Valka asked. "Whatever are you doing here so early?"

"Looking for Hiccup, actually," the girl responded. "He didn't come down to the stables this morning, and we were supposed to go work on the map today."

"Oh dear," Valka said. "Come in, Astrid. I'm afraid Hiccup won't be coming with you today. He's taken ill in the night. I was just about to send Toothless to fetch a healer, but if you're here, I'll go myself."

"Wait, Hiccup is sick?" Astrid asked worriedly, accepting the woman's invitation in. "Is he alright? Can I see him? Is it contagious, do you need help? Is he sleeping, should I come back later? Oh, he must feel terrible."

"Slow down, Astrid," Valka said with a small smile. "Yes, you can see him. It may do him some good." The fact that Valka blatantly refused to answer the rest of Astrid's questions did not go unnoticed, but Astrid did not bring it up. The young Viking nodded anxiously and headed upstairs to Hiccup's bed chamber. Seeing her boyfriend lying ill, she rushed to his side, ignoring the puddle Toothless was currently trying (and failing) to clean. She dropped to her knees by his side and gently rested a hand on his shoulder. Slowly, glassy eyes fluttered open. Groaning softly through the pain, Hiccup shifted positions and looked up at Astrid with unfocused, fever-bright eyes.

"A-Astrid?" He asked, suppressing a cough. "Wha-what are you d-doing here?" Tenderly, Astrid began carding her fingers through Hiccup's sweaty hair, her movements fluid. Valka left them alone and helped Toothless clean up.

"I waited for you at the stables, but you never came, so I got worried and came looking for you," she explained, her tone just barely above a whisper. "Hiccup, why wouldn't you tell me you were feeling ill?"

"To be honest, it didn't set in until last night," he told her, his speech slurred and choppy thanks to the fever and his chattering teeth. Astrid gazed down at him, concern embedded deep in her stare. Hiccup was always doing this, from hiding a Night Fury from the entire village and training it to fly to taking on a murderous madman with an army of dragons. Somehow, he always got into trouble, and ended up hurting himself. She glanced down at where his prosthetic leg would be underneath his covers and sighed.

"Hiccup Haddock, you can be so stubborn," she chastised lovingly. Hiccup managed a weak smile in return.

"Guilty as charged, milady," he quipped.

"How do you manage to do this to yourself?" She asked, her fingers gently tracing his jaw.

"Do wh-what?" Hiccup asked, his breath hitching. He tried to turn his face, but his aching body would not allow for the quick movement before his nose let out another heart-wrenching sneeze. "Hihhhhh… IITTSSCHHuuuh!" It was wet, and his hand didn't come up from under the blankets in time. A thin coat of spray glistened on Astrid's arm, which she pulled back in alarm. Hiccup groaned. "Gods… 'm sorry, Astrid, I didn't mean to…."

"Shh," Astrid said gently, wiping her arm on one of Hiccup's furs and returning her hand to his cheek, cupping it in her palm. "It's no big deal, Hiccup. Everyone sneezes." Hiccup looked at her, and though his eyes were bright with fever, they softened with relief at her words. He leaned his face into her palm, like Toothless sometimes did when he was craving attention.

"Hiccup, I'm going to fetch a healer," Valka said, interrupting the moment. "Astrid, you're welcome to stay, if you want to." Astrid started and looked from Valka to Hiccup uncertainly. Hiccup reached out from under the furs with a weak, trembling hand and tugged his girlfriend's sleeve as firmly as he could manage (which was more limply than he had anticipated).

"Please stay," he begged hoarsely. It pulled Astrid's heartstrings to hear him beg her like that, and she nodded almost immediately.

"I will," she promised. "Of course I will. I'm staying, right here, with you." Hiccup relaxed at her words and touch. Valka smiled.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, Hiccup," she said, rising to her feet. "Take care of him, Astrid."

"It would be my pleasure," she agreed with a small smile, running her thumb smoothly across the sick chief's hairline, back and forth, in a constant, sweeping motion. Hiccup shivered and moaned as she stroked his warm face. He leaned in, craving more. Valka slipped silently from the room after one more glance at the two lovers and rushed off to find a healer.

Hiccup kept his eyes closed, his head throbbing miserably to some invisible war drum beat. Astrid's hand served to abate some of the agony, but not enough to erase it entirely. He wanted to cry out in pain, but smothered the urge for fear of embarrassment.

"How do you feel?" Astrid asked once she heard the front door shut. "Honestly, Hiccup, no lies." Hiccup didn't even manage to open his eyes.

"Aw-awful," he admitted. "Like I've been mauled by a Night Fury and poisoned at the same time." Astrid tsked.

"Poor thing," she said sympathetically. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

"I can't," he murmured weakly.

"What do you mean you can't?" Astrid asked with a half-laugh. "Of course you can. I'll be here in case someone needs you."

"No, I mean between nonstop coughing and fever dreams, I can't sleep," he explained. Astrid sighed heavily and nodded, understanding. There was no point arguing with him, he wouldn't listen anyway.

"Well, then rest, at least," she told him. "I'm right here."

"I know," he said. "And I'll be fine, I'm sure it won't last long." But even as he said it, the words sounded hollow and uncertain.

"Your mom went to find a healer," Astrid said. "I'm sure you'll be fine in no time and back to your old stubborn self." She grinned playfully at him, and he returned the smile with one of his own, though it did not reach his eyes. Astrid noticed, of course, as she always noticed small things with Hiccup, but said nothing. Instead, soft hands ruffled his hair, and a comfortable silence settled in between them for what felt like a long stay.

Toothless sat by, watching the two and listening to the exchange. Slowly, he curled up in the corner, resting his head by his wings and continuing to gaze at Astrid and Hiccup with a contented coo. In his mind, it seemed, if Hiccup was with Astrid, then things would be okay. Several more moments of silence passed, and Astrid was almost sure Hiccup had dozed off when the first cough ripped through the boy's chest and reverberated throughout the small room, causing Toothless' ears to perk up anxiously. That cough was followed by another, and another, until Hiccup was consumed by another coughing fit.


A/N: That's all for now! Reviews keep me going. Thank you all, and be back soon!

~SS