Hello, guys! Thanks for all the AAAMMMAZING reviews last chapter, by the way! :D

I expect there to be one more chapter after this one, and then we're DONE!

OHMYGOSH we're almost done with this story, I can't believe it...

Okay, so I'm going to stop talking for now. I know I get pretty annoying sometimes...and you're all agreeing, okay...XD

Enjoy chapter 11! :D

When they landed back at Dragon's Edge, Fishlegs raced off to find some herbs while Snotlout helped Astrid get Hiccup into his house. Toothless was there, and the minute he saw his rider's unconscious state, he panicked, running forward, sniffing Hiccup and licking his cheek. He recoiled at the distinct smell of sick and sweat, and he looked up at Astrid for an explanation.

"He's sick, Toothless," Astrid explained quickly. Between her and Snotlout, they managed to get Hiccup upstairs and into his bed. Afterwards, Snotlout raced back downstairs, calling, "The twins and I are going back to Berk to get help!" over his shoulder as he left.

As soon as the door shut indicating his departure, it opened again, and Fishlegs walked up the stairs and appeared in the doorway, carrying two pails. He set one down on the table - it smelled faintly like chicken. It was broth, then. The other one he set down next to the bed - cool water, with a cloth already dunked in it.

"I'll be back with some herbs," Fishlegs said. His voice sounded shaky and uneasy, and it wasn't hard to see why.

Astrid nodded to him, calling, "Bring some extra blankets, too!" as he raced off. While he left, she squeezed the excess water out of the cloth, and then used it to dab Hiccup's feverish forehead.

She re-wet the rag and left it on his forehead before heading downstairs to fetch a bowl and a spoon. She could tell Hiccup was underweight in a heartbeat - he was a lot thinner than he was, due to his flu bug and the fact that Dagur hadn't exactly been treating him very well.

He was skinny naturally, but she didn't want him getting thinner, so she had her mind set on getting him to eat a little bit more. Even if he did end up throwing it up later (which she hoped he didn't), he needed something in his system, or he was only going to get sicker.

She put her hand on his shoulder and shook it firmly yet gently, and after a few moments, his eyes flickered open, revealing dazed, unfocused eyes. He blinked at her in confusion.

"Hiccup," she said, her voice barely rising above a whisper. He still didn't seem to register his name being called, and Astrid shook his shoulder again. "Hiccup, are you awake?"

Hiccup blinked at her again. "Astrid?" he mumbled.

"Yeah, it's me," Astrid said. "Who'd you think it was? Snotlout?"

Hiccup didn't respond to her joke. In fact, he looked ready to pass out again, so soon after waking up.

"Hey, look at me," Astrid coaxed in the gentlest way she knew (which was probably more rough than she intended) as she put her hand on his cheek and turned his head, forcing him to look at her whether he liked it or not. He blinked again - he did a lot of that, it seemed.

"Now," Astrid said, spooning broth out of the bowl, "you're going to eat, and then you're going to rest, alright? Let me know if anything hurts, okay? Can you hear me, Hiccup?"

"Y-yeah, I can hear you," Hiccup stuttered, although he still didn't seem fully there. She held the spoon to his mouth, and after a few moments, he swallowed some of the broth, and she was relieved because of it.

It took more coaxing each spoonful he took, and that was only because he kept zoning out or falling asleep right in the middle of it. When the bowl was empty, Astrid deemed her work finished for the time being. She would give him more later on.

"You alright?" she asked, but didn't get her response before Hiccup was out like a light, breathing shallowly through his mouth.

She sighed. He was still so sick, so weak, so vulnerable...it made her hate Dagur all the more, but she knew there wasn't any going back for Dagur, per se. All she could do was plot her revenge and hope he caught Hiccup's stomach flu.

When Fishlegs returned with the blankets and the herbs, Astrid coaxed the herbal remedy down Hiccup's throat, and afterwards, she and Fishlegs removed his armor - it didn't seem very comfortable to be sleeping in, and if right now was any indication, Hiccup was going to be sleeping a lot. She undid the straps to his prosthetic and set it by the bed. She remembered how sometimes, he told her his prosthetic was painful to wear all the time. The last thing she wanted was for him to be in any more pain.

After she and Fishlegs finished that, Fishlegs headed off while Astrid covered Hiccup with multiple blankets. She would have been worried with how many she was piling on him if he hadn't been shivering so violently.

Afterwards, she left Hiccup with Toothless and headed downstairs.

…

Hiccup woke up, feeling more exhausted than he had ever felt before in his life. He sat up, wincing for a moment and clutching his head. Everything around him was a swirl of blurry colors for a few minutes before his vision finally swam into focus.

He was in his room, on Dragon's Edge, alone. The first thing he registered, looking beyond the pain in his head (he would have to ask someone about that later, because he was confused as to why his head pounded so much), was that no one else was around. Not Toothless, not Astrid, not anyone.

He sat up, just as a small, Terrible Terror flew through the window. "Scar!" Hiccup said, ignoring how his voice cracked. The little dragon landed on Hiccup's knee, and Hiccup rubbed his head. "How're ya doing, little guy?" Hiccup asked.

Scar cooed and rubbed against Hiccup's hand in response. Hiccup smiled back again, and Scar flew back out the window. He noticed that the Terrible Terror looked healthier than he had the first time Hiccup saw him, and it made him smile in relief. His friends must have been taking care of Scar. He made a mental note to thank them later.

He tried to get to his feet, but then, he ended up toppling to the floor, not because of his headache - he had headaches plenty of times in the not-so-distant past. He could deal with one more - but because he realized his metal leg wasn't attached. He sighed. How annoying.

He heard footsteps, and when he finally lifted his head off the ground, he saw Astrid standing in the doorway. She stared at him for a few moments, and then, her features brightened into a smile. "Hiccup!" she shouted, racing towards him. She hugged him from where he was on the floor, squeezing him so tightly that for a few moments, he couldn't breathe.

"Astrid-" Hiccup gasped. "Ribs...cracking...can't...breathe…"

"Oh, right." She pulled away, her hands still on his shoulders. "I guess you need to breathe, huh." Hiccup nodded, still trying to get his breath back. There were a few moments of silence before Astrid spoke again. "Why are you on the floor?" she asked.

Hiccup sighed. "Because I tried to get up."

"Why'd you do that?" At this, Astrid offered him her hand, which he took. "Your prosthetic isn't attached."

"I know that now."

Astrid pulled him to his feet - foot, to be correct - and shoved him back against the bed. "You should be resting," she said, although Hiccup could hear the hidden worry in her tone. She grabbed his prosthetic and handed it to him, and he took to strapping it on once again. "You've been out of it for days."

"Days?" Hiccup asked. Just as he asked it, his headache returned, and he clenched his teeth to keep from crying out, squeezing his eyes shut tightly and clutching his head in pain.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked, her worry evident in her voice. She grabbed him by his shoulders and forced him to lay down again, not that he was protesting. "You shouldn't be up," Astrid said. "You shouldn't be moving. You need to rest. You're still recovering."

Hiccup nodded.

"Here, I'm going to get you some soup," Astrid said. She bent down, kissed his forehead, and headed downstairs.

He didn't want to eat, but he did want water. "Astrid, wait," he called. "Could you get me some water?"

"I'm not your slave, but I'll do it!" Astrid called back.

"And maybe my charcoal?"

"Not your slave!"

"My notebook would be nice!"

"Oh my Thor, Hiccup!"

"Love you, too!"