I feel like I need to point out the fact that I have almost no knowledge of snowboarding lingo or mountain terminology or medical things, and I'm not in a position to do a whole lot of research on them, so I am very sorry about that. I did my best. And I also feel like it's a bit rushed at the end, but after going over it again and again, I couldn't figure out how to fix it without making it extremely long. So I hope it's acceptable as is.

*Also, a warning, this chapter is…a little on the gory side. I'm personally not bothered by gore at all, so it's hard for me to gauge just how strong of a warning I should put on this…but know that there is blood. A pretty good amount of it.

Hiccup wanted to throw up, but he forced himself to stay calm for the girls' sake as much as his. The image of his best friend lying in the snow was burned into his eyes and he knew it would be for a long time.

It all happened so fast. Jack had insisted on trying the steep, dangerous course surrounded by rock. Hiccup told him it wasn't a good idea, but of course he didn't listen. And so he'd stood with his snowboard at the bottom of the hill and watched uneasily as Jack set off.

At first he'd done well. It was a good thing he was so agile or else he might not have been able to manage the steepness of the slope near as easily. Hiccup was beginning to think he'd been wrong. Jack really did have the skill to traverse the course.

He looked on with a little more ease as Jack launched smoothly off of a ledge and into a backflip like he'd done a thousand times before that day alone. But then something went wrong.

Hiccup didn't know exactly what happened. He was too far away to see much more than Jack's general figure, but something about his form wasn't right. Hiccup knew his balance was off even before he landed and his gut twisted in a flash of panic. The slope was too steep, and Jack wasn't prepared to land properly…

"Jack—!" he began to shout. Too late, he realized there was nothing he could do.

It happened in a flash. The second Jack made contact with the ground, his board was yanked out from under him and he was thrown headfirst into the snow. Even with the distance between them, Hiccup could see the way his skull slammed into the ground. His body went limp and continued to slide down the hill a short ways until he came to a stop.

Hiccup couldn't breathe. Get up. Come on, Jack, get up. Get UP!

But Jack didn't move.

Time stopped. The world around Hiccup seemed to fade away. All he knew was the crunching of his feet pounding on the snow and his ragged, wheezy breathing through the tightness of his throat and the blood rushing in his ears.

He remembered running so fast that his legs couldn't keep up with his body, and he tripped. He didn't remember getting back up, but he must have because suddenly he was running again, and all he could see was his best friend's body lying motionless in a white abyss. All he knew was that he had to get to him.

"JACK!" His voice reached him from somewhere far outside of his own head. As he came upon the form lying in the snow, he felt his fear spike to a whole new level.

Blood. There was blood everywhere.

Blood staining the pure white snow around Jack's head. Blood in his hair. Blood covering his face. Blood splattered across his coat. Blood smeared in a trail from where he'd fallen. Blood leaking out from his broken body, forming a gleaming crimson puddle around him like a scene right out of a horror movie.

Hiccup felt sick. He had never seen so much blood coming out of one person. As he dropped to his knees, he felt his body start trembling. His head was light and dizzy. His breath came in short gasps. Vaguely, he wondered if this was what panic felt like. Surely this level of fear wasn't common.

"Jack…?" He could barely force the word out, could barely reach out a trembling hand to shake Jack's shoulder gingerly, but somehow he did. When nothing happened, he turned him onto his back.

His eyes widened and his mouth fell open at the horrific sight that greeted him. A small noise escaped him before his stomach jumped into his throat and he had to turn away to stop himself from getting sick.

The gash in Jack's forehead was huge. Hiccup couldn't even see just how huge because of all the blood that was concealing most of his face, but it had to reach from his eyebrow to well past his hairline. It was obvious that his friend's face had taken a heck of a beating. His goggles were badly cracked and his nose, obviously broken, was gushing blood. He was bleeding from several other lacerations as well, but nothing compared to his head—

God, his head.

It took Hiccup far too long to gain control over his horror-stricken mind, to push aside his fear and shock and panic, and check for a pulse. Shakily, he pulled off his gloves and pressed two fingers to his friend's neck, staining his hands with crimson. He could make out a heartbeat. It was dull and suppressed, but it was there. Then he noticed Jack's chest was rising and falling slowly and erratically, as if he was having trouble breathing.

He was alive.

He was alive, but if Hiccup didn't do something soon, he might not be for much longer. But he felt frozen, like his limbs had decided to lock up.

What's wrong with you?! his brain screamed at him. Move! MOVE!

Feeling woozy, Hiccup finally rose to his feet and tried to make himself stop shaking. No luck. He stumbled off in the direction he remembered the ski patrol's cabin to be, begging his weak legs to cooperate.

By the time he reached it, he was all but hysterical. Everything was a blur. He remembered gasping to the medics that his friend had fallen, that he was hurt bad, there was so much blood, someone, please, help him—

And then a woman had made him sit down and take deep breaths. They'd tried to get him to drink water, but he vaguely remembered not being able to swallow past the tightness in his throat. They asked him questions about Jack, some of which he was able to answer and some he didn't know.

He thought he remembered insisting that they let him go back to be with Jack. He didn't like the thought of strangers surrounding him and not being there to see what they were doing. Someone finally agreed to accompany him back.

When he returned to the slope, there was a small crowd gathered around. Much of it was the ski patrol, but a fair number of spectators had stopped as well. Hiccup elbowed his way through, desperate to get to his friend. They were strapping Jack to some kind of special sled when he made it to the center. A medic was kneeling next to him, trying to get the bleeding to stop, while several others were checking him over for more injuries.

"I can't tell the extent of the damage," one of them was saying. "But he needs stitches. A lot of stitches. Maybe surgery. He's losing a lot of blood."

"He must have landed on those rocks up there at the base of the ledge. No way a head injury could be this bad from landing on just the snow."

"I've been saying we need to do something about that before someone got hurt. You can't see them from here because of the snow, and you don't know they're there until you've already jumped," another patroller added.

Well, that explains why he freaked out when he landed, Hiccup thought foggily.

He couldn't pull his eyes from Jack. Some of the blood had been cleaned off his face, so he could see the ghastly white pallor of his skin and the darkness gathering around his eyes. His entire face was horribly torn up.

"W-what are you going to do with him?" Hiccup asked hoarsely, venturing closer to the team of medics.

"We just sent someone down to call an ambulance," a woman answered matter-of-factly. "He needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible. There might be brain damage."

Hospital. Stitches. Brain damage. Surgery. Blood loss. The words echoed inside Hiccup's head. This couldn't be happening. It shouldn't be happening. They were on vacation for crying out loud. He couldn't believe it had taken less than a second for it to turn into a nightmare.

"We need you to go with him in the ambulance," a patroller told him. "They'll need your help to contact his family and get his information."

Hiccup nodded dumbly. Of course, he'd stay by Jack's side the entire time. That wasn't even a question. But then he suddenly remembered that Merida and Rapunzel still didn't know.

He turned in the direction of the lodge. "I'll be right back. We…have some more friends at the lodge. I need to tell them."

The woman gave him a nod. "We can arrange for them to be taken to the hospital as well if you'd like."

"Thank you," he muttered, and immediately took off. He ran at a full sprint all the way back. Somewhere along the way, he remembered to pull his gloves back on to hide Jack's blood that still covered his hands.

Now he was standing in the lounge in front of two very distraught girls.

Rapunzel was sobbing. Merida had her arms around the girl, trying to provide some comfort, but she looked petrified with shock herself.

"How bad is it?" she asked, her voice quavering with an emotion Hiccup had never seen from her before.

He shook his head. How could he tell them? How could he tell Rapunzel? "It's…" He looked at the weeping girl Merida held in her arms pointedly, sending a silent message. "It's, um…not good."

He saw Merida nod slightly. She understood what he was implying. "Punzie?" she said softly, guiding her over to the couch. "Punzie, why don't you sit down? We'll go get you something to drink."

She only sunk onto the couch and buried her face in her hands to cry harder. Hiccup doubted she even heard what Merida said.

He felt his girlfriend grab his hand and yank him roughly toward the cafeteria. Once they were out of Rapunzel's earshot, she turned on him with an urgency that startled him. Her eyes were clouded with worry. "Be honest with me, Hic. How bad is it?"

Hiccup sighed, tugging off his gloves. "It's bad, Merida. Really bad. They think that he bashed his head on some rocks when he fell and…Mer, there was so much blood." He held out his hands, showing her his red fingers. "They were saying he might have…might have brain damage."

The redhead covered her mouth with her hands and her face crumpled as if she was holding back tears. "How could this happen?" she whispered.

Hiccup shook his head. "I tried to tell him not to take that trail."

Merida turned and slammed her fist into the wall. "That idiot!" She let her head fall against the wall as well. "What're we gonna do now?"

"They're taking him to the hospital. They asked me to go with him in the ambulance and they're going to take you and Punz in a car I think."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? For Punzie, I mean?"

"No. But do you really think she'd be okay with staying here?"

She sighed. "I guess not." Then she walked to the water cooler and poured a cup for Rapunzel. "This is not going to be pretty, you know tha'?"

Hiccup's chest ached. "I know."

He walked with her back to the lounge, hastily putting on the gloves again. Rapunzel was still sitting on the couch. She had stopped sobbing and was wiping furiously at her eyes with her palms, trying desperately to stop the last of the tears.

When she saw Merida and Hiccup approaching, she stood. "Where's Jack?"

Merida pressed the cup of water into her hand. "He's outside, but—"

"Take me to him," she demanded, looking straight into Hiccup's eyes.

"Rapunzel, I don't think—"

"Hiccup, please," she begged, stepping closer to him. Her bottom lip quivered. "I—I need to go with him in the ambulance. I have to be there with him. He needs me—"

Hiccup grasped her narrow shoulders firmly. "No, Rapunzel. You need to stay with Merida. I don't want you to see him like—like he is now. Trust me, it's better for you to wait. I'll be right there with him the whole time, don't worry."

Tears welled up in her bright green eyes again. "But—"

"He's right, Punz," Merida interjected, much to Hiccup's relief. He hated telling her this and knowing he was responsible for the heartbroken expression she was currently wearing. "It's better if he goes. He'll look after Jack for ya. Won't you, Hic?"

"Of course," Hiccup said as enthusiastically as he could. "Don't worry, Rapunzel. He's going to be all right. Everything is going to be fine."

Later, he would look back and realize he'd never told a bigger lie.

After making sure Rapunzel had calmed down somewhat, Hiccup raced outside to the group of people surrounding Jack. It seemed bigger than when he'd left. He pushed his way into it, muttering halfhearted apologies as he tried to reach his friend.

The majority of patrollers were kneeling in a circle around him, while some stood and watched. Their body language was urgent. Even before he could actually see Jack, Hiccup knew something else had happened. He felt like his heart came to a standstill in his chest for the thousandth time that hour. But instead of freezing up, this time he was actually able to move. He must've run around the circle of people three times trying to get a glimpse of Jack before he heard something that made his blood run cold.

Weak, strained moans were coming from the center of medics. And they were definitely Jack's.

Alarm flooded through Hiccup. "Hey!" he said loudly, desperate to get someone's attention. He came up behind one of the medics and put his hand on the man's shoulder. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Back up, kid," was the growling response he received.

Hiccup glowered. "That's my—"

"It's okay," said the woman he'd been talking to earlier. "He's the boy's friend." She approached Hiccup. "He's starting to wake up."

"Is that bad?" he asked, anxiety causing his clenched fists to tremble.

"Not exactly. It's a good sign. If he'd stayed unconscious for much longer, it would've indicated much more severe head trauma. But now that he's regaining consciousness, he'll be in a lot of pain."

Hiccup's brow furrowed. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Not at the moment. We just have to pray the ambulance gets here soon."

He bit his lip. Just how far away was the hospital? He felt like they'd already been waiting ages. In reality, though, it had probably been closer to fifteen minutes. That's still too long, Hiccup thought bitterly. Who knew what further harm could come to Jack in the extra time it took for the stupid ambulance to arrive?

Hiccup swallowed as he felt his chest tighten again. Jack, please be okay.

He didn't remember much about the time the ambulance finally got there. He only recalled the wail of sirens, a flurry of activity as the paramedics fastened a once again unconscious Jack to a stretcher and lifted it inside the doors, and the hands pushing him into the vehicle. And questions. So, so many questions.

What is his name?

Jackson Overland.

Age?

Eighteen.

What is your relationship to him?

He's my best friend.

Tell me what you remember about Jackson's accident.

Nothing…nothing…just that he fell. It was hard to see…

Do you know of any medical conditions he had prior to this?

No…

An eternal string of cold, unfeeling questions followed by dazed, mumbled replies and Hiccup wanted it to stop. He wanted everything to just stop.

After that…things were fuzzy. Maybe the magnitude of what had happened finally caught up with him when he saw plethora of bandages being wrapped around Jack's head, or the oxygen mask being strapped to his face to help deliver the air his lungs were struggling to utilize. Or the sickeningly gray, ashen shade of his skin. It could've been anything. Hiccup barely remembered the whirlwind of a ride to the hospital through the haze his mind slipped into.

The only coherent thought he had was how glad he was that he hadn't let Rapunzel see this.

Not long after, he was watching the paramedics take his friend away down a white hall until they turned a corner and disappear. With a heavy, exhausted sigh, he shed his coat and gloves and went to the bathroom to wash the blood from his hands.

Then he collapsed into a plastic chair in the waiting room, letting his head sink into his hands, wishing everything would just go away. Hoping that, somehow, this would all turn out to be just a bad dream and he would wake up in his room at the lodge and Jack would be fast asleep, safe and sound.

But when he opened his eyes, all that met them was the white linoleum floor of the hospital.

White. Just like the snow. The snow that he'd seen being tainted by crimson liquid, leaking out in tendrils and pooling under Jack's injured head.

He covered his face again to block it all out, but the image stayed. Something told him it would stay for a while, just waiting for him to shut his eyes or let his mind wander so it could come back full force to haunt him.

Time passed. Hiccup wasn't sure how much, but it felt like a lot. The next time he lifted his head from his hands, it was because someone was touching his shoulder and saying, "Hiccup? Hiccup…?"

He raised his eyes to see a mane of curly, copper-colored hair framing a round face with wide blue eyes and pink cheeks. The sight of her immediately relieved some of the tension in his shoulders. "Hey, Mer."

"You all right?"

"Yeah."

She sat down beside him, her knees bumping against his. "Do you know anythin' yet?"

Hiccup shook his head. "They haven't told me a thing." He paused and glanced around the waiting room. "Where's Rapunzel?"

"In the bathroom."

"How is she?"

Merida sighed, pushing back a tuft of hair that had fallen in her face. "I'd say she's okay, but that might be stretching it. She's holding up, I guess."

Again, Hiccup was thankful that the blonde hadn't been the one to witness Jack's accident. He leaned back in the chair. "And how are you?"

"Worried," she responded with a sad smile. "Like the rest of us."

He nodded, his eyes falling to the white floor again. He instantly tried to focus on something else. His gaze landed on the wall, but that was as white as the floor. The ceiling—white. The door on the other side of the room—white. Why was everything in this place so white?

"Oh. Here," Merida said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "I brought you some clothes. Figured you might want to get outta those wet ones." She held out a stack of his clothes—a pair of jeans with a long-sleeved T-shirt folded neatly, and a pair of his sneakers on top.

He took them gratefully and tried his best to smile. "Thanks, Mer."

She returned the gesture. "You're welcome."

At that moment, Rapunzel walked into the waiting room. Her long blonde hair swished across her back and she fingered a lock of it like she always did when something was troubling her. Her eyes were still red and puffy, but the tears seemed to have dried. She was wearing a sweatshirt that was far too big for her petite frame. Hiccup's chest tightened when he realized it was Jack's.

"Hey, Punzie," Merida called with an uncharacteristic softness. She patted the seat of the chair beside her. "Come sit down."

The girl complied without a word and pulled her legs up to her chest, sniffing softly. An uncomfortable silence settled in the room.

Hiccup cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going to change."

The three of them ended up sitting in that waiting room for hours. They were informed that Jack was undergoing surgery, but that was all. Hiccup had never felt so uneasy in his entire life.

They hardly spoke. What was there to say? The anxiousness hanging in the air was almost tangible, and it seemed to steal any lighthearted thought they might have had.

Rapunzel had brought a book with her and appeared to be reading, but sometimes Hiccup would look over and find her staring blankly at the pages, tears glistening in her eyes.

Merida was using his shoulder as a pillow and had fallen asleep at some point. Not that Hiccup was surprised. She could probably sleep anywhere, and at anytime. He wished he could sleep. It would be a nice way to pass the time and an even better way to forget why he was there in the first place. Most importantly, it would mean he didn't have to keep staring at all this white.

Jack's accident played over and over in his mind, each time making him feel a little more nauseous. Even though he'd been too far away at the time, he could hear the smack of Jack's skull on the ground in his head and it wound his gut tighter and tighter.

Once, after about an hour and a half, he suggested going back to the lodge, but Rapunzel adamantly refused.

"I'm staying here until they tell me how Jack is," she said.

And that settled it. Hiccup and Merida weren't about to leave her by herself, and they were just as eager to know about their friend's condition as she was.

It was another hour or so before a doctor came. He was a tall, middle-aged man with dark hair and a kind face. He greeted them with an air of sympathy. "You're all here for Jackson Overland?"

Rapunzel stood and rushed forward earnestly. Merida and Hiccup were close on her heels. "Yes?"

The doctor looked down at the clipboard he held in his hand. "Well, the good news is that the surgery is over. The lacerations he received are stitched up and should heal fine. He also has a sprained wrist, probably from trying to break his fall, but nothing to worry about."

When he paused, Hiccup felt his heart start pounding against his ribcage. There was bad news coming, he could tell. He subconsciously wrapped an arm around Merida's shoulders. "And?"

The man cleared his throat. "There's a hairline fracture on his skull. Nothing too severe. It should heal fine as well. But…"

"But what?" Merida snapped impatiently. Hiccup felt her shoulders tense up under his arm.

He was silent for a few more slow, agonizing seconds, staring at his clipboard. The solemn expression that came over his face made Hiccup's gut twist with anxiety. Something was very wrong.

"As you probably know, Jackson sustained a pretty serious head injury," he said at last, dragging the sentence out slowly. "We've already contacted his parents. They're on the way here."

"Okay," Rapunzel spat, her voice rising in volume. The emotion in her voice startled Hiccup. Even from where he was standing, he could see her trembling. "And what else? What's wrong with Jack?"

The doctor sighed. His reluctance to answer Rapunzel's question made Hiccup start to feel sick all over again.

After taking a deep breath, he finally continued, "There was…extensive damage to his optic nerve. The surgery confirmed it to be irreparable. As a result…Jackson's eyesight is gone. And it's highly unlikely that it will ever return."