Hiccup drifted in and out of consciousness for the next three weeks. He was being put back to sleep the minute he woke up and started drifting away.
When he finally woke, he was greeted by a familiar face. The face of the man who saved him. Jorn.
"Mornin', kid," Jorn smirked when saw Hiccup looking at him. "How are ya feeling?"
Hiccup could feel the pain thrumming through his body, but it was nowhere near as bad as it been when he was on Johann's ship. Instead of being flattened by a Quaken, he felt like he just crashed out of the sky.
"Better, I think," Hiccup answered.
"That's good," Jorn said as he grabbed Hiccup's wrist and tapped his fingers on the bedpost. He did that for about a minute before letting go. "Heart rate is a little slow, but it will improve over the next couple of days. Let's see about those broken bones. Every time I touch somewhere, tell me how bad it hurts on a scale of one to ten."
Jorn started with Hiccup's shoulder.
He pressed the back of it. "Four.
The joint. "Seven."
The collarbone. "Ten! Ten! Ten!"
Jorn moved down to the ribs.
The left side. "Eight."
The right side. "Six"
Jorn walked to the end of the bed and pressed on Hiccup's foot "Argh. Ten!"
The leg. "Ten again!"
"Ribs seem to be healing faster than everything else, "Jorn noted. "Let's check out the stump and thigh."
Hiccup watched Jorn the best he could. He'd seen Gothi do it several times throughout his life. It was a process that usually took a couple hours, but Jorn was moving rather quickly. He wasn't taking his time with each injury. He was assessing how much pain they were causing Hiccup; if it felt like it was mending the right way and looking for anything he might have missed before.
Jorn carefully wrapped clean bandages around Hiccup's stump, looking pleased that it was healing well. He moved on to Hiccup's right thigh.
After removing the bandaging, he touched the undamaged skin around it, gently pressing down. He looked at Hiccup's face for any kind of response, only to find a slight wince to the added pressure. Jorn rubbed some numbing cream around the wound and rewrapped it.
"Straighten your right arm and make a tight fist," Jorn instructed. Hiccup did as he was told. Jorn removed the bandages and studied the section of missing skin. It had stopped bleeding about a week ago and started to close.
He applied some numbing cream to the surrounding area and wrapped it up in clean bandages. That was it; his examination was done. The bruising and other cuts Johann had made were healed and needed no further treatment.
"I take it I'll live?" Hiccup joked.
"I'd give you another sixty years," Jorn answered. "But in all seriousness, you're going to be in this bed for most of your recovery. You can't walk with a broken foot and leg and a stab wound. Your stump isn't healed enough to handle a prosthetic. Definitely not flying either. Ribs are still too damaged for you to be up in the air. You're down to pretty much one remotely useful limb and that's your right arm.
Hiccup let the information sink in. He wasn't one to sit around waiting. He likes being where the action was. He likes being involved.
"How long do you think?" Hiccup asked.
"Hard to say. A couple of months at best," Jorn answered. "If you want, I can keep you asleep for that long."
Hiccup thought about it for a moment. It would make the time go faster, but he was pretty sure Astrid would kill him if he said yes. He was awake and on the mend. There was no real point in staying asleep for two months. He'd already spent a month in a coma this year. Another three when he lost his leg. His current injuries didn't warrant wasting two months of his life in the dream world.
"I think I'll be fine, Jorn," Hiccup said finally.
"Are you sure?" Jorn asked. "It's not something to be taken lightly. It could speed the healing process up as well as help your mind cope with the entire trauma."
"I'll be fine," Hiccup repeated. "Besides, Astrid might kill me if I did that."
Jorn raised his hands in mock defense. "Understood. However, I am going to give a sleeping tonic every night for the next few weeks to help you sleep through the pain."
"I can live with that," Hiccup agreed.
"I'm going to head down to the Clubhouse and get you something to eat. We'll see if your stomach can handle solid foods yet," Jorn said as he headed for the stairs.
One month later:
Hiccup's stump and ribs were declared as completely healed. Jorn had helped Hiccup put on one his old peg legs and was helping him try to stay upright with the help of a T shaped walking staff that rested under his right armpit.
"You can't go down the stairs, unless you want someone to carry you," Jorn informed. "And I don't mean Toothless."
Toothless stared at Jorn and stuck out his tongue. Jorn stuck his out of retaliation.
"However, you can get out of bed and move around a bit. Get your muscles used to the movement," Jorn explained. "In a couple weeks, we can try putting some weight on your right leg, see if it holds."
Hiccup nodded. "Thanks, Jorn. For everything."
"Don't mention it, kid," Jorn said, absent-mindedly waving his hand as if brushing off the thanks. "Seeing you getting better every day is thanks enough. As long as we stay on track, you'll be teaching me how to fly Garff in no time.
Over the course of the past month, Jorn and Garff had taken a liking to each other. Hiccup had taught him the basics of earning a dragon's trust and eternal friendship. The plan was once Hiccup was able to walk on his own two feet, they would head down to the arena and train on how to work together as one.
After another half hour helping Hiccup get used using a walking staff, Jorn left and headed to the Clubhouse to get them both some lunch. Halfway there he ran into Astrid.
"Hey Jorn," Astrid said. "How's Hiccup? I'm on my way to see him. Figured I'd get an update first."
"Hey Astrid," Jorn replied. "He's doing better than any of us could have hoped for. Ribs and stump are better. With the stump finally healed up, he's able to wear one of his fake legs, and with the help of a walking staff, he can move around a bit."
"That's great," Astrid beamed. She looked like she could hug the man. "You're amazing."
Before Jorn could say anything else Astrid ran off to see her future husband. He could cross that off the list. A distracted Astrid forgetting she was in the middle of a conversation. That just about made it official. He was part of their family.
Ever since they found him and Hiccup flying toward the Edge, everyone aside from maybe Snotlout seemed to trust him. After all, he did save their leader from a painful end. That alone was a statement in itself. Betraying the Hunters also helped.
Jorn understood why Snotlout didn't trust him. Johann. The man had been the ultimate betrayal. For one, one of his men to be found with Hiccup saying he turned his back on the Hunters was sketchy at best. As far as Snotlout was concerned, he was trying to get inside information; a spy.
Astrid, Dagur, and Fishlegs all told him not to worry about it. It was just Snotlout being Snotlout. He would come around eventually.
Hiccup sat at his desk when Astrid walked up the stairs. "Hey, Astrid."
"Hey Hiccup," Astrid replied leaning on the edge of the desk. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, now that I'm not stuck in bed," Hiccup answered.
Astrid bit her lip. Ever since he woke up after three weeks of pretty much forced rest, Astrid had been worried about his state of mind. He was laughing and joking. He acted like he and Toothless had a bad crash. He pretended to be oblivious to the fact that he was tortured. Aside from mentioning that Johann peeled some of his skin off, Hiccup hadn't talked about it.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Astrid asked, cautiously.
"I'm fine, Astrid," Hiccup said, knowing what she was asking. "It's not like last time. This time I don't feel angry or scared. I've felt relieved since waking up."
Astrid studied his face; he was telling the truth. His whole demeanor was that of a person at peace. Even though Johann was still out there, hunting for him, he was in fact at peace. He was happy. Maybe it had something to do with Jorn.
Jorn had treated him after each session. Befriended him. Saved him. He was there for Hiccup when no one else was. The Riders had been stuck in a storm for twelve hours trying to find him. Before that, they listened to his letter and waited for Ryker, knowing they shouldn't have.
Ryker never took into account that they might head to an island base in the opposite direction, rather than keep sailing to the Edge. He had been angry about screwing up like that. No one could tell him otherwise, except Hiccup.
Hiccup had faced his fear of the vile man, and despite being tortured, he was relieved. He now knew that when the time came, he could face the man and not be afraid. There would be no hesitation. Johann wouldn't get a chance to touch Hiccup again.
Johann's fleet sat just outside of patrol range from Dragon's Edge. They couldn't see him, but he could see them. He had scouts on the island giving him daily updates.
Hiccup was recovering from his torture, but it was a slow process. This gave Johann enough time to set things in motion. The boy would have no choice but to surrender himself after he was done.
Johann laughed wickedly as he thought of how emotionally unstable Hiccup was going to be. It was time to rule the world.
Author's Note: This marks the end of Living Will. The final installment will take place a few down the road, giving Hiccup time to recover. I couldn't for most of what I promised in this story, but I will try my best.
It's going to be a while since I'm unemployed and am actively looking. Also, I have an appointment for an MRI coming up to see just how bad my shoulder really is.
Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being all around amazing. She and I will return in a while
WARNING:Death is coming. Stay tuned for Deadly Seas