Hey people! Enjoy the next installment! :) (** I'm changing the formatting for chapter 1, so that's means I'll be taking it off and putting it back on, so if you got get notifications saying I posted chapter one, that's why. I didn't change any words or content, just formatting.**)

Chapter 2:

"Hiccup!" Astrid said, rushing over to her ailing husband. After passing out and hitting his head at The Great Hall, Astrid brought him back to their home and anxiously waited for him to awake. After only a few minutes of lying in his bed, his eyes began to slowly flutter open.

"As... Astrid." He managed to choke out. He was pretty dazed but fully aware of his surroundings. The more he blinked the stronger he got and soon it just felt as if he had woken up from a much-needed nap.

"Shh... take it easy, Hiccup. I was really worried about you."

"I'm okay, everything was just so overwhelming. I couldn't take it. It's been such a long day and it's hardly started yet." Astrid inched closer to his head and kissed it. She was really worried for the health and wellbeing of Hiccup. He worried for her constantly, especially when she was sick recently. Now, it was her turn to worry for him. Her natural motherly instincts took over and she jumped into caring mode. Even if he assured her he was okay, she still worried. He hardly ever got sick, but when he did, it was never pretty.

"I'm going to call for Halvard The Healer." She announced abruptly.

"No," Hiccup stated, taking her hand with a sudden bust of energy. "Don't. The minute you do that, the town is going to find out. They're like lions and gossip is their meat. Any little thing that happens, especially with us, they need to know. And they twist to truth too. Their opinions turn into facts and they eat it up. Behind this door, everything is safe. But once you open it, the whole world welcomes itself in. I'll be okay, Astrid. Really, I will. Trust me." Even though Astrid strongly disagreed, she silently nodded in agreement. She cared about Hiccup and wanted him to be okay, but she also respected his wishes and did as he said. He was her husband, but he was the chief as well. She obeyed his orders and hardly ever put up a fight. She used to be very outspoken and stubborn, but ever since she got married, she's become a little more conservative and respectful of other people's wishes. She'd only break with her newfound personality in extreme cases.

"You had a pretty bad fall back there," she said, breaking the awkward silence. "Toothless tried to catch you but wasn't fast enough," At the mention of his name, Toothless announced his presence and laid his head on his masters chest. Instinctively, Hiccup started to scratch him. "You... you were talking crazy back there too. I'd never imagine you saying stuff like that! Maybe you'd feel it, but never say it. Did you really mean what you said about not wanting to be chief? I'll help you, Hiccup. You need it. We're married now. Your burdens are mine too."

"Maybe I do need help. This is just getting to be too much. I meant every word I said back there. This is stressful. You know, sometimes I hate admitting it, but I wish things were back to the way there were seven years ago. You know, back when it was...," Hiccup proceeded to cover Toothless ears. "Dragon killing, not training. Maybe I was a runt and a weakling, but things were easier. Our only real problem was the dragons and we had them under control. Now that we've adapted to live with them, other nations, like The Outcasts, hate us and are against us. It wasn't like that seven years ago. The Outcasts didn't even bother us then. Life and being chief was easier back then and it'd be easier now. No nations on my case, no death threats because of dragons, no Vikings against dragon training petitions, nothing like that. Hell, if I had just killed him in the forest that day, I would have never lost my leg, Drago never would have killed all those other chiefs, and... My dad would still be alive..." Hiccup trailed off after that statement. Recently, his father had passed away while trying to save him. Hiccup always beat himself up for that and never got over it. He never got to say goodbye or to him to tell him how much he truly loved him.

"Hiccup," Astrid said in stunned disbelief. "I can't believe you'd say something like that right in front of Toothless! He is your best friend! And dragons have done more for us than any human could! You were the one that ushered in this new era and now you want to go back? You're insane! Yes, all of the above would be true if we'd just kept killing them. But if life weren't how it was now, we wouldn't be married. I'd still hate you. I would have got to kill the Monstrous Nightmare that day, not you. Eret wouldn't be here- you would have never found your mother! Stoick would still call you a disappointment and probably would have disowned you. But most importantly, you would never have had Toothless. And Hiccup without Toothless is like the world without life. It's still there but just not complete. So much good came out of what you did. You're insane to wish that it never happened."

"I... I didn't mean it like that, I'm not good with words. I'm saying it would have been easier and I'd be less stressed."

"You don't know that. It could have been much worse."

"I'm sorry, my heads all mixed up. I just, I say things I don't mean."

"You must have really hit your head harder than I thought. This isn't like you, Hiccup."

"You're right about what you said before. I think these things but I don't say them. I've been thinking it all along, I just faked it better back then. I guess insanity runs in the family, because my dad must have been insane if he let me be chief."

"Hiccup! You are a wonderful chief! People love you and look up to you! You do a damn fine job of taking care of Berk."

"That's the thing, Astrid. That's all I do! Because I have to. If I didn't, people like The Outcasts would have taken us over already. I... I want to be here, taking care of you. I want to start family with you and have a life with you. I want to be there for our children, but if I continue on this path, I don't think I will be. I guess I really do take after my mother." Hiccup signed and closed his eyes. The burden of being chief was a great one. It was incredibly stressful. How did his dad ever pull it off? He left Hiccup with so many unsolved problems that needed to be solved. Hiccup had no idea being chief would be this hard.

"You just need rest, honey. It's been a rough few hours for everyone. Here, I'll fetch you some water. Be back in a flash. Oh, and by the way, you should apologize to Toothless for what you said." She hastily left Hiccup's bedside and went to retrieve some water. Hiccup was left with a mixed up head and his best friend staring at him with a look of "you didn't really mean what you said about me, did you?" on his face.

"I'm sorry bud. You're my best friend! I'd never wish that you weren't here with me! I love you." With that reassurance, Toothless licked Hiccups face again and laughed as he tried to wipe it off. "Although I could live without the saliva." He joked, hugging his friend's head. Toothless has been Hiccup's best and first friend for seven years now. Countless times, he's saved his life and saved him from injury. The bond that these two had was incredible. They would always be there for each other no matter what and Hiccup hated himself for even considering wishing he had just killed him that day. He didn't mean it that way, but unfortunately, that's how it came out. So now, Hiccup made sure to really reassure his friend that he didn't mean it and that he loved him. Toothless, being an innocent creature easily forgave him and knew he didn't mean it. Just like Hiccup forgave him when he didn't really mean to kill his father.

Shortly after she had left, Astrid came back with a cup of water for Hiccup. Seeing the return of his wife and the water, Hiccup tried to sit up but struggled. Astrid noticed this and came to his aid, grabbing his arm and helping him sit up.

"Thanks, Astrid." He said, grabbing the water and coughing a little.

"No problem. Drink up now, you need it." Hiccup raised the glass to his lips and drank. The cold water felt good and refreshing on his parched throat. He drank the whole glass in under a minute, instantly feeling more refreshed than ever. A nice cold glass of water was what he really needed. Or was it? Suddenly, his throat felt moist and something sticky was caught in it. He cleared his throat to try to get it out but that made it worse. He gave it more oomph and coughed. One small cough let to another and another, each one gradually getting bigger and bigger until he was uncontrollably choking on something.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled, patting his back the way a mother would. He continued to cough and cough, leaching forward with each one. Whatever it was that was caught in his throat didn't want to come out. "Toothless, go run and get Valka for me. Hurry!" The dragon obeyed and stumbled out of the house, not sure what was going on but sensing the emergency. Hiccup continued to cough and choke until it started sounded watery, like he was coughing up something. He raised his hands to his mouth and continued to chough-choke, all the while having Astrid shush and comfort him. Then, suddenly, as quickly as it began, it all stopped. He no longer coughed, but gasped and caught his breath. Slowly, he lowered his hands from his month and instinctively looked at him. To his horror, his hands were dripping with the unmistakable, sticky red liquid that is blood. Another drop fell from his lips and he reached up to catch it. When he did, he found that his mouth was laden with more. Subconsciously, his lips smacked and he could taste the iron. His head started spinning again and his body started shaking. He didn't pass out but he zoned out, this time having no idea what he going on. All he could do was stare at his blood-soaked hands pure disbelief.

"What's wrong with me?" He choked out, legitimately scared for his life.

"Dear Gods."

It didn't take long for Valka to come home, but when she did, she was sent back out again to fetch Halvard. He arrived almost instantly when he heard what was wrong with the boy. Upon his arrival, he told the ladies and dragon to wait outside his room while he tried to figure out what was wrong with Hiccup. He spent a good amount of time in there before coming out to tell the ladies what was wrong with him. It seemed like an eternity before they heard his heavy footsteps on the old wooden floor.

"Well, Mrs. Haddock, and... Valka," He began. "There is something very wrong with him, but I don't know what. When I arrived, he was shaking and in a cold sweat. His heart was pounding a mile a minute and he was terrified. He even admitted that something wasn't right. He was completely conscious but he zoned out from time to time. He's stable right now. In fact, if you just walked in, you'd probably think nothing was wrong. But um..."

"You don't know what's wrong? Is he going to be okay, is it treatable?" Astrid wondered. Valka, who had been silently sitting in a chair the whole time, nodded in agreement.

"Well, to answer your questions in a word, No, no, and no. Now, before you say anything let me explain..." Halvard The Healer was Berk's resident doctor. Anytime anyone was sick or injured, they would go to him. He was good at his job and loved healing people. But, however, he had many patients in his care not survive, and delivering the news to their families was always a striking blow. He was a tough, burly man. He wasn't all that skinny but he wasn't like the other hulking Viking's of Berk. He was muscular and strong, but having to tell a family someone wasn't going to be okay always broke him and reduced him to the equivalent of a small child.

"I've only seen a case like this one other time. It was many years ago when I was still in training. The man training me was a healer on Outcast Island...when it comes to healing and saving lives... enemies don't exist. Anyway, a man came to us with an array of weird symptoms. Passing out, coughing blood, shaking, zoning out. We tried to figure out what was wrong with him for days. We went through all the books and all the records but we discovered nothing. Each day, this man got progressively worse. We tried every known remedy we could, but after four days... he... died," Halvard took in a deep breath and kneeled down the Astrid, who had sat down, and Valka's height. "Hiccup's case is almost exactly the same. I still have no idea what's wrong and there no known medicine to treat it. I'm sorry... Astrid, Valka, Toothless. It's best that we... let nature take it's course. Try to make him as comfortable as possible in these next few days and..."

"He's dying?" Astrid asked, stunned and in a state of utter disbelief.

"Yes, Mrs, Haddock. Your husband is dying."

Thanks for reading! And just a heads up, I may not be able to post a new chapter next Sunday because I'm going to be gone all day. I'm seeing two shows, preforming in one, and most likely going out to a late dinner with my cast after. We have intense rehearsal all this week and shows this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll try to write during the week and maybe post the chapter on Monday or Saturday if I have the time too. Sorry about that! But thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows so far! You guys rock!