Toothless raises his head as the girl Lindsay slips into the basement. He gives her a welcome purr. "Hey, bud," she whispers. "You need to come upstairs with me, okay? Hiccup is up there and he needs you."

His boy needs him. His nap can wait.

Toothless clinks up the stairs; the girl waits until his footing is good before she takes up the rear. She opens the door into the hall and Toothless looks for Hiccup. Lindsay leans to look in his yellow-green eyes. "Toothless, Hiccup is in the kitchen. He wants you to meet someone; but not until he says so, okay? We're gonna wait outside." She creeps off the direction of the kitchen; Toothless pads after. They stop just outside.

Hiccup's voice reaches their ears: "Dad, you might be a little mad."

"Son, really, jest spit it out, yeh've jest been makin' me apprehensive… what could you have possibly done?"

"Do you remember those bear traps?"

There is a pause.

"Is this important?"

"Yes. I swear, it relates."

"He's so babbling," Lindsay mutters.

"I forgot one."

Stoick laughs. "Tha' it?"

"Um. Not exactly." He clears his throat.

"Stay here," Lindsay murmurs before striding in the kitchen. "Mr. Haddock, Hiccup caught something in that trap."

"I was getting there!" He hisses.

"You're taking forever," she retorts. She faces Stoick again. "He caught a panther."

Stoick gasps, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. "Wha'?"

"I kept it," Hiccup spoke up. "I took care of it. I fed it. I named it."

They say together: "Toothless."

"You kept a…? It is two months to April Fools', son!"

"No joke, Dad."

"He's here right now," Lindsay says. Now it is time. She calls to him, and the panther enters the room.

Toothless snarls as Stoick knocks over a chair. "It's okay!" Hiccup yells.

"He won't hurt you," Lindsay promises. She scratches Toothless behind the ears and he visibly relaxes. "See. Just a big kitty."

Toothless growls.

"Big, fierce panther," she corrects.

Stoick begins to sputter at them all. "Look what we've done," Hiccup groans. "I told you—"

"Shut up, this was a good idea! He would have found out sooner or later."

"I would have preferred later."

"Hiccup," she begs, squeezing his trembling hand. "You can't hide him forever…"

Hiccup falls silent, looking at his panther and his father and his best friend. These people are the components of his life. He's put the pieces together wrong, but there is some way they can all fit. He wants them all, forever.

Stoick's eyes land on Lindsay. "An' you knew about this?"

"Um. Yes, a little," she says.

"A little," he repeats.

"A lot," she amends.

"And when did you find out?" It makes sense; he's affronted that the girlfriend knew his son's biggest secret before he had a clue.

"Um, I came over here one day when Hiccup had forgotten to lock Toothless up, and…well, Hiccup's the only reason I'm not in the ground with my face slashed to bits." Hiccup flinches. She bends to stroke Toothless. "He likes me now, huh, bud?" Toothless rubs his snout against her jeans before he looks through his fierce eyes at the bearded man.

This is the first time he has seen this one, though he has smelled his scent, faintly spread through the house. It does not smell like Hiccup, not-soap-rain-pencil-boy, or Lindsay, pomegranate-paper-leaves-girl. This male, the alpha male, smells of fabric-smoke-fur-strength. He is powerful, not to be taken for granted, or trusted; not yet. Dad, Hiccup calls him. Mr. Haddock, Lindsay said. Right. That is his boy's name—Hiccup Haddock. So this man is Hiccup's parent. Not much resemblance, but when he sniffs he can locate just a trace of Hiccup in the man's blood. His boy must be like the in-the-earth mother he once spoke of. There is the tiniest fragment of her scent left in the house, but it has deteriorated and even his keen scent cannot gain much. He smells sunshine-smiles, nothing more. Yes, like his boy.

"How long?" Stoick demands in a soft, dangerous tone.

"Um, well, timing…that's not really important…" Hiccup weakens under his father's gaze. "Okay. It's been about a year."

"A YEAR?" Stoick screeches, and Toothless roars, racing past Lindsay to snarl at the man. His claws pin into his leg, and he knocks the 250 pound man to the ground. Stoick tears him off, but Toothless prepares to lunge again. "No!" Hiccup screams. "Stop!" Toothless cocks his head, bewildered. He was threatening him. It's Toothless' job to protect him. Why stop now? Stoick reaches for the panther, but Lindsay stops him with chilling words: "Don't you dare."

He blinks. This 110 pound girl is looking at him she is a poisonous snake with fangs bared. "You don't touch him," she says. "And you don't touch him either," she reprimands Toothless. "Can't you see? He needs you…both of you."

"Dad," Hiccup pleads. "I didn't tell you because…I was afraid you'd have him killed."

"Son," Stoick answers, "I won't…hurt him." His words are awkwardly delivered, but they are truth. Hiccup knows it.

Lindsay watches the smile spread over his thin, freckled face, her heart beating in victory and happiness, before she lets herself out. This is one moment she doesn't have to see- one moment just for them.

This is one of my favorite chapters. What do you guys think? REVIEW!