The Sick Card: When Hiccup gets a nasty case of Eel Pox at the Edge, the Riders have to take care of him. But unfortunately, a sick Hiccup is a clingy Hiccup... Requested by SailorMew4

Hey, guys! Yeah, yeah, don't kill me for not updating for awhile... I've been either injured or feeling sick. (long story) But, here it is! The next one shot! Thank you SailorMew4 for this grand idea! Every time I read over the story, I just laugh. (You'll see why...)

Enjoy!

"I told you," Hiccup huffed, struggling to sit up in bed. "I'm fine."

Astrid placed a fake smile on her lips, rolling her eyes. "Sure you are! That's why you're burning up all over, and have thrown up three times already today. Come on, face it, Hiccup- you're sick!"

"I'm not sick," Hiccup muttered. "Just... just..."

"Ooh ooh!" Tuff cried from the other side of the room. "Just what? Ugh, don't tell me... how many guesses do we get?"

Astrid put a hand on her hip. "Tuff, this is serious. We don't know what Hiccup is sick with, and if there's some type of cure we need to get... Tuffnut, are you even listening to a word I'm saying? Tuffnut!"

Tuffnut was not listening to Astrid at all. In fact, he was mimicking how Astrid was acting to Ruffnut, and the twins laughed to themselves. "I'm Astrid," Tuffnut mocked, swaggering around. "I want everyone to do exactly what I say, and when I say it. Na na na..."

Astrid was ready to draw her axe, but Heather interceded. "Come on, guys. Hiccup's sick. At least show a little compassion."

Hiccup groaned, sinking into his bed covers. "Not sick..."

"Based on your symptoms so far, you are," Fishlegs said, adding a little whimper at the end like he was afraid to break the news. "But with what, though?"

Snotlout crossed his arms. "Probably just a little cold. Leave it to Hiccup to get this sick!"

Hiccup sat up. "For the last time, guys, I'm not-" His face suddenly turned an ugly shade of green. "I need a bucket," he gasped, clutching his stomach. "Now."

Astrid, knowing what he meant, was on him in an instant. She grabbed the bucket she had washed out earlier from the doorway, and ran over to Hiccup, placing it under his chin. The boy convulsed, throwing up once... twice… and then three times.

"Oh, man, he really is sick!" Snotlout laughed. "Wow!"

Astrid shot him a glare, angry with him for laughing at a thing like this. "Was that not clear already?" When Snotlout silenced, she returned her attention to Hiccup. She winced at the sight of him now. He looked dangerously pale at the moment, and was shaking all over. "Hiccup? You okay?" she asked.

Hiccup looked up at her with a dazed expression. "Hot," he managed out, right before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out.

The group gasped, and Astrid yelled, "Hiccup!", catching his head.

"Oh Thor," Fishlegs murmured, a hand flying to his mouth. "Oh Thor, oh Thor..."

Tuffnut looked amazed. "Woah! He like totally passed out!"

"I want to do it too!" Ruffnut declared, stomping her foot down. "Why can't we be sick, too? Hiccup gets all the fun! He's always being kidnapped, wounded, or knocked out. He never lets any of us have a chance." She huffed, annoyed.

"Uh, shouldn't we do something?" Heather asked, worried. "Something is most definitely wrong with Hiccup. Why'd he pass out like that all the sudden?"

Astrid bit her lip, slowly lying Hiccup down on his bed. "Guys, be quiet. Hiccup… he's not waking up… Hiccup! Come on..."

Everyone in the room silenced, watching their unconscious friend with wide eyes. But one minute later, the unconscious boy groaned, eyelids flickering until they completely opened up. But Hiccup's normal, healthy green eyes were now doused with fever, and he looked very confused when he saw Astrid leaning over him. "What... what happened?"

"You passed out," the girl explained, stroking his arm. "Moving around must have put too much stress on your fever. So no more of that, okay? Gods, I knew you were sick..."

Hiccup cocked his head. "Me? Sick? Nah, I'm not sick. I feel fine! I feel... amazing!" He sat up, stretching while smiling. "Now, let's go troll-hunting before the vermin steal our left socks!" He giggled, and swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing up shakily. "Who's ready to go? I know I am!"

Astrid rushed over, and forced him to sit down. "Hiccup! What's going on?" she scolded. "This is no time for jokes!"

Laughing, Hiccup fell backwards on his bed. "I want to go outside!" he yelled excitedly, fists pumping in the air. "And then I can ride my dragon and we can obliterate everything in our path! KAPOW! KAPOW! KAPOW!" He demonstrated by pretending to pound the air.

Fishlegs looked nervous. "Guys… I think I know what Hiccup's sick with."

"Oh no," Heather breathed. "I've heard of this…. But he can't have-"

"Eel pox?" Astrid interrupted, marching up to Fishlegs. "But how? There hasn't been an outbreak of that for years! Why would Hiccup get it, and why wouldn't we?"

Fishlegs shrugged. "I really don't know. I'd have to do some tests, but-"

"KKAAAAAAAPOOOWWWW!" screamed Hiccup, sitting up straight in bed. The riders were startled by the loud sound, and swerved over to him. Hiccup was beaming at the attention. "KAPOW KAPOW KAPOW KAPOW!"

Ruffnut broke into a grin. "Yes! Hiccup's at last come to join Loki's side!"

Tuffnut wiped an imaginary tear away from his eye. "I always knew this day would come…"

"Guys, focus," Astrid pressed, annoyed. "We need to get the cure for him, and soon."

Tuffnut scratched the back of his head. "I don't know, Astrid… I kind of like this new Hiccup!" He turned to the other boy, who was currently sitting up in bed, watching them with fascination. Tuffnut grinned. "How about some explosions? Huh, H?"

Hiccup nodded enthusiastically.

Astrid smacked her forehead. "Okay, okay… let me think… okay. Heather, you and Fishlegs go get the cure for Hiccup's Eel Pox. Fishlegs, you remember the ingredients of the cure, right?"

Fishlegs whimpered. "Yes, I have an excellent memory, but-"

"Good," Astrid cut in, already moving back over to Hiccup. "You'll have to go to Healer's Island and Eel Island to get all the herbs, and then bring them back here as soon as you can. Hiccup obviously needs the cure soon as possible."

Heather nodded, rearing to go. "Of course." She looked over at Fishlegs. "All right, are you ready to leave now?"

"Uhhh…" Fishlegs swallowed. "Yeah. Okay. For Hiccup."

Smiling, Heather slowly made her way over to the door. "Then come on," she said. "We don't want Hiccup getting any worse." She grinned supportively over at Astrid.

Astrid smiled back, and nodded.

"Well, we'll be off now!" the black haired girl announced, hopping onto Windshear who awaited outside Hiccup's hut. "And we're not coming back without the cure."

Fishlegs climbed aboard Meatlug, grimacing. "Yeah… bye guys." He gulped.

The two riders nudged their dragons to take off, and soon they were flying away in the bright morning sky, leaving the others behind.

Astrid put her hands on her hips once they were gone, watching the giggling Hiccup who was rolling around in his bed. She sighed, wringing her hands together. "All right, guys… this shouldn't be too hard, right? We've dealt with sickness before."

Snotlout snorted, crossing his arms. "Yeah. Like we'd want to deal with Eel Pox again." He shivered. "There's some things I remember about that day when all of Berk got it, and none of it is good."

"Well," Astrid groaned. "Isn't this going to be fun?" She looked over at Hiccup, who was lying down in bed, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. She pursed her lips. "Hiccup, what are you doing?"

A smile twitched at the boy's lips, and he pointed to the place he was looking at. "I see the stars above!" he grinned. "So many stars… so many!"

Astrid ran a hand down her face. Maybe this wouldn't be as simple as she had expected.

The first person to take care of Hiccup was Astrid. She had insisted that everyone take a turn watching him for a few hours a day until he got the cure, and reluctantly all the riders had agreed.

When Astrid arrived at Hiccup's hut with a bucket of water and a rag to keep down his fever, Hiccup was quiet and shivering. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, dropping the water bucket on the floor next to his bed. "You don't look so good."

Hiccup moaned, turning over in bed. "I'm cold…"

Astrid grimaced, and nodded. "I'll get you a blanket, then." She was about to go to the end of his bed to grab one, but Hiccup said something else before she could have the chance to.

"Astrid?"

"Yes, Hiccup?"

Hiccup shivered. "Can you… can you cuddle with me?"

Nearly bursting, Astrid's face turned scarlet. "Cuddle? Hiccup-!" She stopped before she could go any further. It's just his fever talking, she told herself, fists clenching. He'd never say that to me if he was feeling well. It's not his fault, Astrid… he's delirious...

"No, Hiccup," she told him, wincing. "If I… um… cuddle with you, I might catch Eel Pox as well. And who would take care of you then?"

Hiccup stopped rolling around, and looked up at her with those shining green eyes, now full of hurt. He coughed, about to protest, when he noticed a lock of his brown hair hanging down in front of his face. He cocked his head, intrigued. "Hmmm... Astrid? Why do I have fuzzy hair and you have straight?"

Astrid was confused at Hiccup's sudden change of conversation, but she shrugged, going along with it. "I don't know… genes?"

Hiccup sat up in bed, sweating all over from both the high fever and excitement. "Genes... genes... wait. Do you… do you mean genies?"

"Genies?" Astrid frowned. "Hiccup, what-"

Hiccup grabbed a piece of his hair, and closed his eyes. "I wish… I wish…" His eyelids shot open with exhilaration. "I wish I could become a dragon!" He waited happily for a change to come while Astrid face palmed herself.

"Hiccup, you're not-"

Hiccup began to flap his arms, smiling. "Rawwwrr! I'm a dragon," he growled, looking over at Toothless. "I can fly!"

Astrid sighed. "Hiccup, no you can't."

Even more propelled than before, Hiccup swung his arms around and around until he fell out of the bed, face flat on the floor. He giggled. "I flllleeewwwwwwwwwwwwww, Astrid…. I ffflllleeeewwwwww!"

Toothless gave Astrid a questioning look, and Astrid shrugged. "Come on, dragon boy, let's get you back into bed for you get any sicker…"

Hiccup shook his head, his nose being flattened against the floor. "No! I want to fly again!" He started to spread his arms out and then back in, like he was making snow angels- except, on the floor. "See? I'm flllyyyyyyiiiiiinnnnnggggg!" he laughed.

Astrid sighed, putting her hands on her hips.

It was going to be a long day.

The next person to take care of Hiccup was- unfortunately- Snotlout. The beefy boy couldn't say he was happy about this arrangement, but it was either that or facing Astrid's axe.

He quickly chose the first option.

Snotlout sighed, watching Hiccup stare up at the ceiling from his spot on the bed. Hiccup didn't exactly look like he needed anything at the moment… maybe Snotlout could sneak out and let him be for now… yeah. And so Snotlout was about to slip out of his room and go destroy things with Hookfang, when Hiccup coughed.

"Snotlout? I'm thirsty… can you get me a water?"

Groaning, Snotlout paused in his footsteps. "Fine, fine…" He looked around the room for a water cup, and saw one sitting on Hiccup's desk. He hastily grabbed it and walked over to the other boy. "Here, drink up. I haven't got all day…"

Hiccup coughed once, grabbing the cup from Snotlout. He held it up to his lips, and there was the slurping, the swallowing, and the gulping before he was finished. "Thanks," he slurred, handing the cup back to Snotlout.

Snotlout took the cup away, and placed it on Hiccup's desk. "Uh, sure, cuz. Whatever."

There was silence for a moment, and then Hiccup closed his eyes. Snotlout smiled, backing away. If Hiccup was asleep, then maybe he had a chance of getting out of this stupid babysitting job. But just as he edged near the door again, his cousin's eyes opened, and he coughed.

"Snotlout..."

Snotlout groaned. "What?"

"I'm thirsty... can you get me a water?"

"Hiccup, you just... you... argh!" Snotlout exclaimed, rolling his eyes. He kicked the side of the room.

"Snotlout?"

"What?!"

"I'm thirsty. Can you get me a water?"

"Arrrghh!"

After Snotlout's unlucky dilemma, it was Tuff's turn to take care of Hiccup. And boy, was he excited. "Hiccup!" Tuffnut cried, climbing up to Hiccup's loft in excitement. "What do you want to do first, H? Huh? Explosions? Pranks? Ooh ooh, we can we destroy Fishlegs' hut since he's gone?

Hiccup moaned, rolling over in bed. "Tired..."

Tuffnut froze in his tracks, face falling. "Aw, no, Hiccup! You're-you're fine! Come on. Let's explode something!"

Grunting, Hiccup shook his head, eyes closed. "I think I'm going to... be going to sleep now." He paused. "Tuff... can you- can you read me a story?"

At this, Tuffnut burst out laughing, wiping tears away from his eyes. "Haha, very funny, Hiccup..."

Hiccup opened his tear-filled eyes, confused. "But… why can't you read me a story?"

"Wait," Tuff said suspiciously, "you're serious?"

Hiccup nodded.

Tuffnut cleared his throat. "Um, okay, then. Whatever makes you happy..." He walked over to Hiccup, and sat down in a chair next to his bed. "Um, so I only know one story: The Little Viking Who Cried Dragon. Is that okay? Or, you know, we could totally go back to destroying stuff if you don't like it."

Hiccup shook his head, defiant. "No! I want a story!" He gave Tuff puppy dog eyes. "Pweeaase...?"

Biting his lip, Tuffnut nodded. "I can't say no to those eyes, can I? So... hmm..." He cleared his throat. "All right. Once upon a Viking time, there was a little boy named, uh... uh..."

Hiccup snuggled deeper under the covers cozily. "Named what?"

"Named... Hic... yeah, Hiccup!" Tuffnut decided, smiling. "Anyways, this little Hiccup wanted attention from the villagers of his island. One night, when he was out on watch for the incoming dragons raids, he cried falsely, 'The dragons are here! The dragons are here!' And the villagers got up from bed to begin fighting, but there were no dragons. Hiccup had lied."

Hiccup started to sob. "I didn't lie, Tuff! I didn't lie!" he exclaimed.

Alarmed, Tuffnut stood up and tried to calm him down. "No, no, it's another Hiccup! Not you!"

Hiccup blinked slowly. "It... it is?" he sniffed.

"Yeah, yeah, of course..." Tuffnut sat back down in his chair, leaning back. "Uh, so, the villagers learned that Hiccup had lied, and they returned to their huts. The next night, Hiccup was put on watch again as well, and the same exact thing happened: Hiccup lied. He had never learned his lesson from the night before."

Except for a tear trickling down his cheek, Hiccup was silent.

"But, the next night Hiccup was put on watch, he did see dragons coming, and shouted to arouse the villagers. But the villagers didn't believe him because of the last few times, and the dragons took him far, far, away." Tuff paused, smiling. "The end!"

Hiccup shook his head sadly. "Poor Hiccup..."

"I guess." Tuffnut shrugged. "So, are you ready to sleep now?"

"No."

Tuff crossed his arms, confused. "Then when will you sleep?"

Hiccup pouted. "I want a story!"

Tuffnut, groaning, sunk down into the chair. Explosions were certainly not going to come any time soon at this rate.

Ruffnut cracked her knuckles, looking down at Hiccup. "So. I hear you've been pretty difficult today… is that right?"

Hiccup blinked, shifting his position in his bed. "I don't know."

"Oh, so you're playing the 'I don't know' card, now are you?" Ruffnut glared, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, it's not going to work on me! I know when people are lying. And you're lying at this very moment, Hiccup Haddock! So I, Ruffnut Thorston, will figure out the reason behind your actions!" She narrowed her eyes. "Let's begin. Question number one: what is your defense against this accusation?"

Coughing, Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know."

"Of course you don't!" Ruffnut shouted angrily. "They always don't know!"

Hiccup closed his eyes. "I really… don't feel good…" He coughed again weakly, and Ruffnut suddenly noticed, even through her anger, how pale he was getting. Sweat ran down his forehead, trailed down his neck, and was slowly making a small collection on his shoulders. Hiccup grimaced in pain, clutching himself. "I'm… so hot…"

Ruffnut felt a pang of worry starting to grow inside of her. "Are you all right?"

Hiccup turned over in bed, clutching his pillow. "Hot," he repeated again.

"I should go get Astrid," murmured Ruff, backing away. "Okay, Hiccup! I'll be back here soon, don't worry! You'll feel better in no time."

"Hot…"

"Yeah, I know…" Ruffnut turned to Toothless, who was sitting beside Hiccup's bed in concern. The Night Fury rumbled, and Ruff sighed. "Stay here with him, Toothless," she told him. "Don't let him go anywhere, okay? I'll be back soon enough." Toothless whined in agreement, and Ruffnut ran off from Hiccup's quarters, down the ladder to the loft, and out the door. "Astrid!" she yelled, making her way to her friend's hut. "Astrid!" It was quite dark out, and hard to see where she was going, but she managed to make it to the other girl's hut, gasping for air. "Hiccup's really sick now! He needs help!"

Before Ruffnut could even knock, Astrid's door slammed open, revealing a very concerned blonde. "What?" Astrid demanded, grabbing Ruff by the shoulders. "What's wrong with Hiccup?"

The twin, shrugging Astrid off, began to walk back over to Hiccup's hut, nervous. "He keeps on saying he's hot, and now he's sweating a bunch… it doesn't look good."

Astrid's blue eyes filled with worry, and she quickened her pace. "His fever must be rising… we need to get that cure soon, before the fever gets too high, and-" She stopped herself, shaking her head. "For now, all we can do is try and make him comfortable."

Ruff nodded, but was barely following along. "Right."

The two arrived at Hiccup's hut, and panicked, they raced inside. The girls heard groaning from above, making them look up at Hiccup's loft, exchanging worried looks. "Hiccup?!" yelled Astrid, climbing up to his loft. "Hiccup, are you all right?"

When she reached the top, she saw that Hiccup was rolling around in his bed, moaning. His face covered in sweat, and Toothless was trying to comfort him, but Hiccup was too delirious to calm down. "Oh, Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed, running over to his bed. "You're going to be all right… it's okay…"

"A..std…?" Hiccup mumbled, clutching onto his blankets. "Hot…"

"Yeah, Hiccup. I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere." Astrid stood by Hiccup's side, bending over to check his forehead temperature. She winced. "Okay, Hiccup. We're going to try to bring down your fever until Fishlegs and Heather get back…"

Hiccup whimpered. "Hot… so hot…"

"I know, I know," Astrid whispered, fetching the water bucket from the floor, along with a rag. "But you'll feel better soon, I promise…"

Ruffnut arrived up at the loft, cocking her head above the floorboards. "What's going on?"

Astrid blew a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes, dipping the rag she was holding in her bucket of water. "I'm trying to cool Hiccup down from his fever… here, you can help. Go and get some more buckets of water- and bring the other riders if you can. We need all the help we can get."

Ruff nodded, surprisingly obedient. "Uh, sure... I'll be back soon, then." And she climbed down once more.

Astrid dabbed at Hiccup's burning forehead with her rag, lips pursed with concern. "You'll be okay, Hiccup," she smiled. "I know you will."

But Hiccup did not even have the strength to reply.

The next day was extremely hectic, with many errand runs to get more water for Hiccup, or keep a lookout for the much-awaited Heather and Fishlegs.

And Astrid was more frantic than she had ever been before. Hiccup, despite all the riders' hard work, wasn't getting better. In fact, he was getting worse. Nightmares plagued his thoughts at night, making his fevers all the worse, he refused to eat or drink anything, and could barely move at all.

So when Astrid spotted Fishlegs and Heather coming their way the next evening, she was filled with relief. She knew that if Hiccup didn't get the Eel Pox cure soon, he was in big trouble.

"We're back!" Fishlegs cheered, landing with a prominent thud on Meatlug next to Hiccup's hut. Heather and Windshear dropped beside him, looking exhausted and worried.

Astrid raced out of the ground floor of Hiccup's hut, jogging over to the two. "Thank Thor!" she breathed. "Hiccup really needs the cure now. Come on, we have to hurry!"

Fishlegs' eyes widened. "So, I take it he hasn't gotten any better since we left?"

Darkening, Astrid shook her head. "More like a lot worse."

"We have to hurry, then," Heather interrupted, already jumping off of Windshear and walking inside Hiccup's hut. "I have the cure in my satchel. Let's go."

Astrid smiled, following her friend. "Good."

The trio rushed inside, and one by one they made their way up to Hiccup. Snotlout and the twins were busy dunking towels in the water buckets, and they looked up in relief as Heather, Astrid, and Fishlegs came in.

"Well, it's about time!" Snotlout complained, throwing his wet towel down on the floor as he stood up. "I swear, my arms feel like they're about to fall off!"

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed, dropping his towel on the ground too. "Hiccup gets so needy when he's sick."

Astrid shot the two boys a death glare. "Hiccup's ill with Eel Pox, guys, and there's still a chance of… of him not making it. So this is no time for self pity, useless complaints, or blaming Hiccup for something he's not even control of!" She turned to Heather, eyes wild with worry. "Okay, now where's the cure?"

Heather grabbed her brown satchel from her side, and dug through it until she fished out a large bottle filled with a dark green liquid. She handed it over to Astrid quickly. "Here it is."

Astrid barely even paused to thank her before she uncorked the bottle, walking over to where Hiccup laid. "Hey, dragon boy?" she began, bringing the medicine closer to him. "You're going to have to drink this, okay?"

Hiccup mumbled something incoherent, his eyes still shut.

Biting her lip, Astrid pressed the bottle's top up to Hiccup's mouth. "All right, drink up."

Hiccup's mouth slightly parted open, and he forced himself to swallow the green liquid. When almost all of it was gone, he pulled away, gagging. "Tastes… awful…," he moaned.

Fishlegs nodded from the corner of the room. "As to be expected."

"How do you feel?" Astrid asked after a moment. "Any better? Worse?"

Hiccup peeked open his green eyes, sparing a glance at her. "I feel… a little better, I think…" He smiled. "Good, the room isn't dancing any more. Good, good, good, good, good…" He trailed off, eyelids closing. "Still hot, though…"

Astrid smirked, relieved. "Yeah, well you'll feel better in the morning, dragon boy."

Hiccup slowly nodded. "I know," he whispered. "And… and thank you, guys, for all your help. I don't r-remember a lot of what h-happened while I was delirious, but you all helped m-me through it, so thank you."

"Well, don't expect it to happen again!" Snotlout warned. "That was a one time thing. The Snot Master doesn't care for anyone."

He received a punch from Astrid.

Smiling, Hiccup's face relaxed. "See you… all… in the… morning… I guess."

Astrid placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll see you in the morning too, Hiccup. Now hush and try to go to sleep. You'll need all the strength you can get to recover." She allowed a small grin to appear on her face. "Just don't ever get sick like that again, okay? You really had me worried."

"Okay…"

Then Hiccup's eyes shot open.

"Wait," he said slowly. "If Eel Pox is contagious, and you guys have been hanging around me the whole time, then… then… you all are at risk of catching it!"

"Huh. Now that you mention it, I do feel kind of hot," Snotlout admitted, fanning himself. "Gods, my stomach hurts a little bit too…"

"Oh, no," Fishlegs groaned. "Not again…"

Astrid nodded, heaving a sigh. "Yes, Fishlegs. So... you guys will be off to bring back more of the cure for all of us?"

Heather smacked her forehead. "Oh gods."

"Well, I'll see you two in a few days, I suppose," Astrid chirped, putting her arms around Fishlegs and Heather's shoulders, directing them to the bottom floor. "You better hurry, or else it's going to be a madhouse here when you get back."

"But we just… Hiccup's cured, and…" Fishlegs whimpered. "Ugh, why does it have to be us?"

Astrid shrugged. "Because it is. Now... goodbye!" She laughed, pointing to the door. "Hurry up and get that cure!"

And groaning, Heather and Fishlegs had no choice but to oblige.

Astrid smiled, flexing her fingers. Good. She had avoided another Eel Pox disaster.

She paused.

Right?

Uh oh! Dragon's Edge will really get crazy if everyone else catches Eel Pox! Looks like the still-recovering Hiccup will be forced to take care of them all if they do. POOR HICCUP. :/ (not XD)

Gosh, this is the longest one-shot in here! I honestly didn't know it was going to get this long… but I hope you liked it, anyways. It's my treat for not updating for awhile! And I had a strange amount of fun writing those humorous parts, so I hoped you enjoyed them! :D Anyways, please review! I love seeing what you all think. :)

Well, until next Hiccup!whump one-shot! Happy reading!

-thepurplewriter333