It's All About Caring- Set in DOB. After falling off of Toothless, Hiccup breaks the only leg he's got left, and is forced to survive a few weeks in bed. Unfortunately, Toothless, Astrid and Stoick become very anxious and overprotective of Hiccup… Requested by The Wizard Rider

"Idiot," Astrid grumbled, watching as Hiccup and Toothless did a series of impressive maneuvers up in the sky. "He's going to get himself killed someday while doing that…"

"Hey! I called it first," Snotlout shot back, leaning against Hookfang's warm side for support. "He's had it coming to him for years."

The teens were gathered up on one of Berk's cliffs, watching as Hiccup and Toothless pulled off a few new air stunts they had made up recently. It was quite obvious now, although, that none of the Riders particularly wanted to be there. Astrid had her arms crossed, the twins looked more bored than usual, Fishlegs was nose-deep in a book from on top of Meatlug, and Snotlout wouldn't stop groaning every ten seconds.

As Hiccup pushed by on Toothless in front of them, Astrid let out a yawn. She couldn't help it. They had all been watching Hiccup for the past half hour, and although it may have been enjoyable for him to be aboard his dragon, it was wearing dull for everyone else.

"Hiccup, I think it's time to take a break now," she called up to him. "You've done enough for one day already, haven't you?"

Hiccup pulled Toothless to a halt in the air, making a pleading face as he looked down at her. "Aw, Astrid, come on! Just one more little stunt- please?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. But only one more, you hear me, Hiccup Haddock?"

"Loud and clear!"

The dragon and rider soared off as one, Hiccup whooping as Toothless twisted this way and that. It made Astrid's stomach churn when she thought about what it must've felt like to be up there, twirling around and around over and over again. Hiccup had a stomach of iron, she presumed, and most likely didn't even notice anything wrong with plummeting hundreds of feet downwards through the sky.

"Agh, can we go now?" moaned Snotlout. "He's taking forever…"

Tuffnut made a face. "Yeah, why can't we just meet up later or something?"

"Hiccup wouldn't mind at all!" Ruffnut offered.

Fishlegs raised his brow, looking up from his book. "And how would you know that, Ruffnut? Have you asked Hiccup?"

"Well, I… no, but…"

"Who cares what Hiccup thinks? I'm going to leave anyways." Snotlout boarded Hookfang, grinning on his way. "See you later, losers. I'm off to go have some real fun with my awesome dragon."

"Guys, wait," Astrid said. "We promised Hiccup we'd wait one more turn, and that's what we're going to do. Got it?" She crossed her arms in finality, and no one disagreed.

Meanwhile, Hiccup was having the time of his life up in the sky. He whooped again as Toothless did another twirl, enjoying the wind on his face and the free feeling that surged around him. He laughed as Toothless flopped his tongue out, smiling up at his rider.

"Guess we better go back now, bud?" he finally asked, patting Toothless's neck. He felt guilty for making his friends wait so long while he demonstrated the new techniques he'd made, but flying with Toothless was always worth it in the end.

Toothless grunted, and Hiccup chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

As his dragon rounded back to return to the Riders, Hiccup then accidentally leaned forward in excitement of getting back, and pressed too far downwards on the tail fin's pedal. With a startled snort, Toothless lurched and then started to plummet through the air.

Hiccup fumbled to get the pedals working again, but off balance, Toothless wasn't making it any easier. They began to fall back down to earth at a rapid speed., and Hiccup held back a shout.

Normally, he didn't worry too much about him and Toothless crashing. With a controlled tail fin, he could usually prop it out in time before they hit the ground. But the unstable way they were falling turned out to be serious problem, and Hiccup suddenly found that he and Toothless were dropping towards a group of trees with no way of stopping.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled out from below him, urging her legs to run at faster speed towards the spot he was headed towards. The other Riders followed, even Snotlout who was as pale as a sheet, but they all knew they wouldn't be able to reach their rider before it was too late.

Helpless, they could only watch as Hiccup and Toothless gained speed and then crashed into the trees underneath them with a violent thud.

Astrid's eyes widened. "Hiccup!"

"How is he, Gothi?" Astrid asked, casting a glance at the limp Hiccup resting in his bed.

Gothi, raising her brow, shrugged and shook her head.

Astrid sighed, and pressed a hand to her throbbing temple. It had been nearly the same answer every time she asked the little old woman how Hiccup was- Gothi simply refused to say anything.

At first, she had explained in her pictures in the sand that Hiccup's right leg was most definitely broken. And his leg was indeed at a strange angle below the knee as Astrid looked over at it, but was intended to be set and placed in a cast once Gothi had the proper materials to do so.

The other Riders were scattered about the room, eyes downcast and heads low. They were all worried for Hiccup's well being, that much was clear. The boy had not even stirred since they had found him pinned under Toothless in the woods and dragged him out, bloodied and bruised…

Astrid swallowed, thinking back to that one terrible moment when she thought Hiccup was dead. He was so limp, so lifeless lying there on the ground, covered head to toe in dirt… face covered in blood for what now proved only to be a bloody nose… but still… it had been so frightening...

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door behind her burst open, and suddenly Stoick's loud voice rang out, "Hiccup? Where is my boy?" He must have seen his son in Gothi's medical bed, because he rushed past Astrid and to Hiccup's side a few beats later. "What's happened? I heard there was an accident..."

"He and Toothless crashed into some trees," Astrid said in a cracking voice, coming up beside the chief. "He was trapped under Toothless when we first found him, but we got him out and brought him here before long."

"How's Toothless?"

"Fine. A little dazed, but he was lucky. Much luckier than Hiccup…"

The Night Fury moaned from the other side of the room. He was curled up on the floor, eyes wide and worried, but unresponsive to anyone who tried to comfort him.

Gothi pushed her way past the worried father and girl, holding a canteen in her hand. She gestured for Stoick to hold Hiccup's head steady while she gave the boy a small drink. To everyone's combined relief, Hiccup swallowed the water as it flooded his mouth, and when Gothi splashed a little more liquid over his forehead, Hiccup groaned and moved his head slightly against the pillow it rested on.

"Hiccup?" Astrid whispered. She leaned over him, worried. "Can you hear me?"

"Astrid?" Hiccup slurred. He blinked and peered up at his friends and his father. Then a spasm of pain crossed his face and his eyes slammed shut again. "What… happened?"

"There was an accident," Astrid answered, not wanting to be too specific. "You fell."

"Pressed the… pedal too hard...," Hiccup mumbled. "Such an idiot..." He swallowed, and Gothi gave him another sip of water. "Is Toothless… all… right?"

"He's a little dazed, but he's not hurt," Astrid answered. "Now, please, Hiccup. Lie still, you're hurt."

For a moment, Hiccup didn't say anything, then he asked, "Am I… hurt bad?"

"You've broken your leg pretty badly, Hiccup. Now stay still while Gothi looks over you," she added sharply as Hiccup tried to sit up to look.

Hiccup fell back to the bed, blinking. "My leg hurts..."

Stoick patted his son's hand gently. "We know, son. And we're going to help you through it. You'll be up and running about in no time, I promise."

After a slight nod, Hiccup closed his eyes, face dropping into a relaxing tone.

"He's asleep," Astrid murmured. She turned to Gothi. "He'll be all right… won't he?"

Gothi smiled, and slowly nodded. Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief. Hiccup would be fine, and back to normal in no time. The worst was over.

But, unbeknownst to poor Hiccup... that was far from true.

"Can I get you anything, son?"

Hiccup looked up from the book he was reading in bed, staring confusedly at his father who stood before him. "Dad, you just asked me that five minutes ago. I already told you, I'm fine," he said back.

"I know," Stoick chirped, walking forward so that in a few giant steps he was at his son's side. "But I just wanted to check up on you. You're injured. Broke your right leg. Now... if you need anything, remember to just-"

"Let you know. Yes, Dad, I understand," Hiccup said, if not a bit irritably.

It had been three days since the accident. The first day, he had been too out of it to notice how strangely his father, Astrid, and even Toothless were acting around him. As the second day began, his head had finally cleared up enough to help him realize something was off. But he just brushed it off and told himself that the pain in his leg was doing funny things to his mind.

Today, though, the third day, was when he finally came to the conclusion that his friends and his family were going a little bit overboard with caring for him. If he showed even the slightest amount of pain or discomfort, one of them would rush to his side and quickly make sure he was all right.

He sighed, closing the book and letting it fall down in his lap. He wanted to get up and move around, but that was impossible. With his broken leg, he wouldn't be able to get far, and besides, Toothless was always watching him.

"Bud, I'm fine," he said aloud to his dragon when Toothless didn't blink while looking at his rider for nearly a minute.

Toothless shifted his position on his rock, but didn't remove his wary gaze.

"Toothless, come on. Why don't you get some rest? You've been awake for more than twenty four hours by now, and I think it's starting to take its toll."

No reaction.

Hiccup leaned back in bed, sighing as he closed his eyes again and rested his head against his pillow. He wished for something to happen. Anything to happen. He'd even be grateful if Ruffnut and Tuffnut came over to rant on about their catastrophic ideas of burning places down, or listen to Fishlegs' detailed descriptions about all kinds of dragons for hours on end. At least those two things would be normal.

He suddenly found that his mouth was dry, and he opened his eyes back up to take in his surroundings. Shortly across the room was his desk with a glass of water placed upon it. If he could just get to it, quickly and quietly, no harm would be done. He wouldn't alarm his father or Astrid who paced the floor downstairs.

He shifted in bed, and slowly removed the covers from his legs. "I can walk a little with this cast on," he murmured to himself. "And it's not like I'm walking very far either. It's all good."

Hiccup began to slip his legs over the side of the bed, when Toothless growled at him, tensing up. Hiccup's eyes flicked upwards to his protective friend, and he sighed. "Bud, don't worry. I'm just going to get a drink of water."

"You're what?" Stoick's cheery voice startled him from the doorway, and the large man came bounding over. He flashed a grin at Hiccup. "Don't worry, son. I've got it for you." He took the cup of water from Hiccup's desk, and then handed it to the young man in bed, still smiling. "You should have asked if you needed something! I would have been here in a heartbeat!"

Hiccup bit the inside of his cheek. "Didn't want to bother you," he mumbled.

"Nonsense!" his father brushed him off. He ruffled the boy's hair. "Need anything else, son?"

Independence, Hiccup thought, quietly willing himself to keep his temper. He looked up at the Berkian chief, smiling weakly. "No… I'm good for now. T-thanks, Dad."

Stoick's face erupted into sheer happiness. "Of course!"

He left, and Hiccup, nearly at his patience's end, fell back into his bed with a dramatic thump. "I can't do this anymore, Toothless," he moaned, hoping the dragon would hear and understand what he was feeling. "Why is everyone so protective of me all of the sudden? I've gotten injured before. It just… oh, I don't know… and now you're doing it too, bud…"

Toothless grunted from the other side of the room, and Hiccup wasn't sure if it was in denial or in approval.

"Toothless, please. Can't you help me at least stand up for a few seconds? I'm going to go mad if I stay cooped up in this bed for the next few weeks." He turned his head slightly over to see the dragon giving him an unamused glare. He sighed. "Bud, please-"

"Hiccup! You okay?"

Hiccup nearly fell out of bed in surprise at Astrid's sudden query, but managed to steady himself and sit up before any more damage was caused. Sure enough, the girl was poised in the doorway, ready for action.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he assured her. "Just a little bored."

Astrid's face lit up. "I could keep you company if you wanted!"

Hiccup, although he normally would have been pleased with the offer, now found himself wishing he hadn't said anything in the first place. "It's really all right," he tried to say. "I'm tired. I-I should get some sleep, right?" Astrid's expression flashed with hurt, and Hiccup felt his heart soften up. He couldn't possibly turn her down when she was just being helpful... "But… I guess I could manage a conversation or two before I do get some rest…"

"Great!" Astrid made her way over to Hiccup, and carefully placed herself on the edge of his bed. "So, how are you feeling?" she asked. "Does your leg still hurt? Can I get you anything?"

"Nah, I'm good. And my leg's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Hiccup was getting a little uneasy with Astrid's intentiveness, and he swallowed.

"Are you sure you're sure?" Astrid pressed, leaning forward in worry. "Because Gothi left a few of her pain powders downstairs, and I can mix one up for you if you're hurting-"

"Astrid, I said I'm fine," Hiccup interrupted gently, although his leg was pounding. "If something was wrong, I'd tell you, wouldn't I?"

Astrid nodded, albeit hesitantly. She seemed to be battling with her thoughts when Hiccup attempted to speak again.

"What about you? How have the other Riders been?" he asked.

"They're fine… it's you I'm worried about."

Ignoring the last part of her statement, Hiccup went on. "Is training going okay?"

"We haven't trained since the accident."

"What? Why?"

"Because you're injured, Hiccup! We shouldn't be doing anything as fruitless as that while you're like this!"

"Fruitless?" Hiccup shook his head in disbelief. "Astrid, we're training with fire breathing dragons to help fight back against our enemies and protect Berk. If we don't keep our skills sharp, who knows what could happen? That's not fruitless."

Astrid was quick to please, once again surprising Hiccup with her new attitude. "Okay, whatever you say, Hiccup… we'll start training again tomorrow, but I'll have to stop it early."

Hiccup's tone was suspicious. "Why?"

"So I can check on you!"

He exhaled a sharp breath. "Astrid… I have an overprotective father and a worried sick Night Fury by my side. I'll be okay without you for a few hours." His last words were a little forced, and he cleared his throat, unable to hold back the question that came flying out next. "What's gotten into everyone lately? When my father's not glued to my side, checking to make sure I'm okay, somebody else is..."

Astrid blinked. "Like who?"

"Like…" Hiccup ran a hand down his tired face, struggling to hold back his frustration. "Like you," he finished calmly.

"Like me?" Astrid's eyes widened. "Hiccup, I'm not like that!"

"You weren't like that. What changed?"

"Nothing's changed."

"Then why are you, my father, and Toothless constantly checking up on me?"

"We're just caring for you, Hiccup! What's wrong with that?"

Hiccup didn't answer. He was too worn out from the arguing to pursue the subject any further, and leaned backwards, head pressing against the top of his bedrest. "I'm tired," he managed to get out. "Can I go to sleep now?"

Astrid pressed her lips together and nodded. She got up from the bed, backing away just so she could keep her eye on Hiccup longer until she reached the door. "Feel better soon," she said. "If you need anything, just call for me."

Once the blonde was finally gone, Hiccup let out an exasperated sigh. He wasn't too tired just yet, but sleep did sound like a nice release from the growing throb in his broken leg. Allowing himself to drift off, he slipped into a peaceful unconsciousness and let himself float away from the world.

Hiccup tossed and turned. When he finally woke, it was later that evening, and his leg felt as if it were on fire. When he sat up, his face twisted into distorted configurations with the burning sensations giving him so much pain.

"Dad!" he called out, though his voice was so raspy that the word was nothing more than a whisper. He vaguely wondered if Toothless had heard him, but assumed the dragon was asleep.

Hiccup pushed back the blankets. He was hot, and tiny beads of perspiration had dotted his brow. He needed a drink to cool himself. Even his insides felt as if someone had started a smoldering fire in them. He hadn't realized how badly his leg felt up until now. His head throbbed, and unexpectedly the room began to spin. His hands groped for something to cling to as he looked around, knocking over his mug on the bedside table and sending it crashing to the floor.

The thump of the mug brought Stoick from his seat at the dinner table downstairs. As he ran over to the staircase in a hurry, he nearly collided with Astrid who was equally as panicked about Hiccup's welfare as he was.

The sounds of someone falling drew their attention upstairs. "It's coming from Hiccup's room," Astrid said, racing up the steps and to the closed door of Hiccup's.

"Something's wrong," she whispered as she pushed the door open and stepped into the room. "Hiccup?"

Stoick was right on Astrid's heels as he followed her inside. "Son?"

"Hmm…"

"Over here," breathed Astrid, dashing to the other side of the bed.

Hiccup lay crumbled in a heap on the floor with his eyes pressed tightly shut. Astrid quickly turned Hiccup over so that she could see his face. It was pale and sickly, and his hands unconsciously twitched in his broken leg's direction.

"Gods, his leg must be hurting," she cursed, brushing locks of Hiccup's sweaty brown hair out of his eyes. "And he's got a fever, too…"

Stoick whitened. "Son!"

He bent over next to Astrid, inspecting his boy in horror. "We better get him back into bed before he gets any worse." The two picked the moaning Hiccup up, and carried him over to his mattress where he was carefully slid into place.

Stoick sat on the edge of the bed, taking Hiccup's hand in his. "Astrid, got get Gothi." As the blonde went off and obliged, he looked down at Hiccup, terrified of the reason why the boy was so sick. "Hiccup… can you hear me son?" He brushed back the damp strands of hair that had plastered themselves to Hiccup's brow.

Slowly, Hiccup opened his eyes. He could barely make out his father's face before him. "Dad?"

"Don't try to speak. Your leg must be causing a slight fever… I don't think Gothi set it right… now lie still, son. She'll be here to make it all better soon.."

Hiccup's eyes blurred with tears. "I'm sorry, Dad… I-I understand now…"

Stoick felt confused. "What do you mean, Hiccup?"

"You were j-just trying to help me… and m-make sure this didn't happen… I thought you were being overprotective… but now I'm sick, and I understand why you were so worried…" He shivered, and in a meek voice, repeated, "I'm sorry…"

Stoick felt his own eyes blur with tears. "Hiccup, you've got nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry if I seemed too overprotective to you." He smiled gently. "But we're going to get you all better, son. I'll make sure of it. And this time, we'll do it the right way."

Toothless growled from the other side of the room, only now awakening. At seeing his rider's distress, he leapt into action, and valiantly pushed Stoick aside so he could comfort Hiccup instead. Hiccup laughed weakly, his fever making it hard to react. "H-hey, bud… guess you were right… not to let me out of your sight…"

Toothless grunted. That's right.

"Just… go to sleep now, son," Stoick soothed. "Astrid will be back with Gothi soon. We'll find out what's wrong with you then..."

Hiccup's eyes began to flutter as sleep overtook him. "Okay…"

For the second time that day, the blackness overtook him.

Over the next two long, painful days, all Hiccup knew was that he was trapped in a world glowing with a feverish haze, and there were far too many voices speaking to him all at once. He wished they would stop, but was unable to say so.

Often, he cringed at the loudness of the tones around him, and tossed and turned about in bed feverishly. A few times he could make out Gothi's face above him… forcing him to drink a vial of medicine or bathing his forehead in a cold, wet rag… Infection, he heard someone whisper...

His father's face came into view as well, though blurred and smudged... but it was still there… and he was speaking lowly to Hiccup, giving him silent words of encouragement before a jolt of pain running down his right leg startled him…

He went back to sleep.

When he finally woke up again, it seemed he had been sleeping for a very long time. His eyelids were heavy to open, and his head felt fuzzy and disoriented. When he managed to open up his eyes, his father, Astrid, Gothi, and the other Riders were looking down at him. Even Toothless had his head propped up on the sheets beside his legs.

"Welcome back, son," Stoick smiled, relief prominent in his features. "For awhile there, I... I thought I was going to lose you."

Hiccup forced a groggy smile. "Who, me? No... it takes more than a little broken leg to do that..."

"You had an infection," Astrid explained, her tone stone serious. "There was a cut somewhere under your knee that we didn't notice before, and it somehow got full of grime which caused you to get sick. If it weren't for Gothi, you… you could have died."

"I guess you're not as invincible as we thought after all," Tuffnut said sadly.

Hiccup yawned, finding himself tired again. "Well… I guess I feel better now…"

"Good." Stoick smiled. "Don't worry, son, you're going to make a full recovery." When Gothi hit him on the arm with her cane, he sighed. "Yes, yes, as long as you keep off that leg of yours. If you don't, you may just end up losing that one too."

Hiccup, smiling slightly at the joke, let his head sink back into his pillow. "I think I'll have to agree," he murmured. "And thanks… guys… you know, for caring for me…"

"Of course," Stoick grinned.

"I mean," Astrid said, "isn't that what you're supposed to do when a friend gets hurt?"

Hiccup's eyes twinkled. "Yeah. Just as long as they don't go overboard with it."

"Who? Us? Never." Astrid was grinning, though, and Toothless chortled with her.

And as Hiccup slipped back into a deep, healing sleep, he was consoled by the fact that things would be back to normal when he woke up the next time.

His friends and family really did care for him. This time, the right way.

So maybe… just maybe… caring wasn't so bad after all.

You likey? *wiggles eyebrows*

Thank you so much The Wizard Rider for requesting this- I loved it! And I hope you loved the whump too! :D Poor Hiccup, though. He thought he could get away with just a simple broken leg, but nuh uh. He wasn't going to get off that easily. Infections are the thing for him now! *cackles*

Also, in celebration of reaching 19 chapters… I'd like to thank you all for 80+ followers on Through the Hurts so far! It's been a wonderful journey through these past few months writing these stories for you all, and I hope you've enjoyed it just as much as I did! So, thank you:

AnnieDragonGirl, CartoonLoverBecky, DaydreamingOnPaper, FanWriter02, Mbols2510, SunshineGirl14, animalsarepeopletoo, hannahdaspannah, katurdi, BloodCakeWithChocolate, BlueCookiesForRick, GlowingRivers, HiccupZain, XMoreMinutes, harrypanther, perses19, yesthenLucky9, prydain, 8XDreamCatcherX8, tanjaholm, Lovetoread89, Megalynn, Mei1395, Astrid E Lokison, PKWolf014, waytooobsessed, Sharawillow123, Silver-Fairy0101, WinnieThePooh89, Antox, CartoonPonyDrawing, Coeus123, jessygirl03, Gabrielly790, Bigcatsupercat, Darman700, PixelLight, QueenOfTheFans, httydlover1, WeNeedFeminism, WhereTheGrassNeverGrows, icy-rain499, Davinator10000, KelvinWang, StoriesHolic, HanikahTheWriter, CosaBella, CrazyWoman200253204, Imagine333, Emmycake, thewideblueocean, Didjey Distantales, tinka8tofo, DragonsNight, , Sparklesona, mossnere, Sealiman Dawtracker, PhantonDragon15, davidkevin384, Patsi24, thegoodthebadandtheugly12, anacruzcardoso2001, JusTiNSaNiTy, sevsnapefan, Bb9150, Kitty Katrona, maameabrono12, Haven Hina, ComSnow, ziddag14, luke payne, FairGamer, Nindragon, x1tears1x, Carayen, and Margasava2912

As well as those who favorited it and graciously review!

Okay, so, as always, if you have a request for a one-shot you want me to write, send me a PM or leave a review stating what you want. Don't be afraid to be specific! It'll help me all the more with writing. :)

Happy reading!

-thepurplewriter333