The Great Hall was serving smoked eel today and the smell made Astrid's mouth water. Just what she needed after the long day she had. She settled down with the rest of her friends and dug in, unaware how hungry she had actually been. Getting the construction going, finding Hiccup and the others had gotten out, finally learning how Hiccup lost his leg, and to top it all off her plans for the addition were off; it took more out of her than she realized!

Her anxiety started to build just thinking about Hiccup telling her the addition wasn't stable. She had worked so hard to get it right! She went to anyone who had even the smallest idea of how to build an arena and asked for their advice. How did no one notice her crucial mistake?! Her panic built as her mind spiraled with deadlines and costs.

She washed her food down with some mead, trying to calm her nerves.

It's okay. She told her self. Hiccup caught it and he said he could fix it.

The image of Hiccup smiling at her before he got to work flashed in her mind. If someone had told a younger Astrid that Hiccup would end up being a dependable, reliable, and trustworthy guy she would have ship that person out to sea in fear they had gone mad! But he is. When he said he could fix the plans and make it work with what was already built she believed him. Bit by bit her anxiety fell away. She had faith Hiccup could fix it.

"HE'S HERE!" came a muffled cry from outside. Suddenly the door burst open as Ack came running in.

"STOICK'S BACK!" He cheered.

While everyone else cheered along, Astrid jumped to her feet, barley turning to order the others to tell their 'guest'. Pushing past the celebrating Vikings, Astrid ran as fast as she could out the door and through the village till she finally got to the docks.

Out of breath, She looked towards the ship that was about to dock. Gobber was already there, helping prep the ropes and clearing a path on the docks. He looked back at her, his expression mirroring her own. They weren't prepared for Stoic.

"Do ya have a plan?" Gobber came up to her, most likely out of ideas himself.

"I have no idea how we're gonna tell him." Astrid stated. "But he should be happy, right? It's not everyday someone's child comes back home after they were thought to be dead."

"Well, there are many ways Stoic could take it. He could be happy…or he could be furious. Shock can do a lot to a person."

Astrid whispered as a crowd grew around them. "I think our best bet is to get him back to his house, carefully explain before he goes in and then have the two meet."

"As good a plan as any." Gobber shrugged before turning around to greet Stoic.

"Ah, Astrid! I'm glad you're alright." Stoic gave her a small smile after he had greeted Gobber.

"Yes sir. I'm uninjured and was only at Outcast Island for a day and a half before I escaped and met up with the rescue team." Astrid informed him, her nerves making her unusually formal.

"That's good to hear." Stoic nodded while walking towards the village. "I'm surprised news got to them so quickly. Looks like we'll have to set up a security plan for you. I'll have to modified…the old ones."

The old ones? I didn't know Hiccup had security plans.

Gobber, reading her mind, leaned over and whisper, "Oh, there were plenty! He jus' always managed ta escape an run off on his own."

Astrid shook her head, holding back a laugh. That is so like Hiccup.

"Oh, Stoic!" Astrid called out, steering away from the The Great Hall. "There is something we need to talk to you about. In private."

"Is that strapping young man finally gonna be allowed out and about?"

Astrid spun around to see a few of the village women behind her.

"We're all just dying to meet him." One of them, (Hilda, maybe?) continued while the others giggled behind her.

Their giggles irritated her. They got a quick look two days ago! How are they still so obsessed?

"What 'strapping young man' is she talking about?" Stoic asked, causing Astrid to freeze while the other's realized their mistake and ran off.

"Tha's jus' what we need ta talk ta ya about!" Gobber stepped in, moving Stoic in the direction of his house.

"I had help escaping Outcast Island." Astrid explained meeting him, him helping her escape, how he was injured and brought back to Berk. She even told Stoic about him freeing the dragons in order to piss of Alvin because they have a feud, hoping to get Stoic in a friendly mood.

"I don't know about this." Stoic stroke his beard, his eyebrows burrowed together in concern. "Sounds like a trick. And you're sure he's not an Outcast?"

"Pretty positive." Astrid nodded. They were still in the village and a few people were hanging around. As much as she wanted to explain more she had to wait.

"But we are keeping him in under surveillance in your house for now." She finished.

"The Outcast's can be very tricky. I wouldn't put it past Alvin that this was actually his plan so he can corrupt Berk from the inside."

"I already talked ta him," Gobber added, "an fully believe he is who he says he is."

"And who does he say he is?" Stoic asked, obviously not believing the stranger's innocence.

"Ahhh, he's a dragon trapper!" Astrid quickly remembered. "Yep! That's actually why he freed the dragons. They were his, that he trapped, and he didn't want Alvin to keep them." She tried to walk faster but Stoic stayed the same steady pace, but at least they made it to the foot of the hill.

Stoic narrowed his eyes as he made his way up. "A dragon trapper you say? I don't trust them. There is no good reason to keep a dragon alive, and you never know who they could really be working for."

Both Astrid and Gobber cringed. Of course Hiccup's in a career that his father automatically distrusts.

"Ah! Well! How is tha' any differen' than a viking?" Gobber tried joking. Stoic turned around to give Gobber a glare.

"Actually, I think you'll find this trapper to be very….informative." Astrid started gathering her courage. "You see, he left his home island at a very early age. Black sheep of the village and all that! He hadn't seen anyone from his village in years and he was shocked to find out everyone thought he was…dead."

Astrid couldn't tell if Stoic understood what she was getting at but they were at Stoic's door step. Quickly, both her and Gobber steeped in between Stoic and his door.

"Will ya just spit it out already." Stoic huffed.

Gobber took a step towards Stoic, placing his good hand on the man's shoulder.

"Stoic, it's him. It's Hiccup."

Astrid fought the urge to take a step back as Stoics face morphed from surprise to confusion to anger.

"This boy is going around claiming to be Hiccup?" He was quiet, but the venom was seeping through every word.

"Stoic, calm down. Hiccup's already freaked out-" Stoic shoved Gobber's hand off him.

"I can't believe you would fall for a fake!" Stoic didn't yell, but his booming voice could definitely be heard inside.

Astrid stepped in, desperate to make him understand. "He's not a fake! It's really Hiccup! Just talk to him and you'll see!"

Stoic sighed and put a giant hand on her shoulder. "I sometimes forget how young you are."

Astrid was taken aback by his subtle insult, taking 'young' to mean naïve. She held herself back as this was hard to believe, especially for Stoic. She would make sure to bring this up again later when he realizes he was wrong.

If he realizes he's wrong. The thought bubbled up, causing a pit to from in her stomach.

Stoic had calmed down but on his most intimidating look. Astrid's breath was caught in her throat. Suddenly she wasn't sure if Stoic would recognize Hiccup.

What if he doesn't believe us? What if he sends Hiccup away? Or worse, just up and kills him!

Stoic, intentionally or not, slammed the door open.

Astrid and Gobber glanced at each other before they both leaned over to look around Stoic. She could just make out Hiccup in the very back of the room, facing away from them. Cami was in front of him most likely stopping him from running out the back door. Snotlout was sitting at the table, Tuffnut was on the floor, and Fishlegs was holding back Ruffnut who looked like she was trying to fight Tuffnut. All eyes turned to Stoic with terrified looks.

Hiccup straighten up before turning around, she could tell he was fighting the urge to hunch in on himself. Despite Hiccup trying to look calm, his eyes were darting all around the room and he was having a hard time figuring out what to do with his hands, showing just how nervous he is and Astrid's heart ached at the sight of it. Not the feeling of pity she used to get, now she wanted to comfort him.

Surprisingly, Stoic took a step back. It was small, barley noticeable, but he did.

"Um, hi…dad." Hiccup forced out, giving a little wave. Immediate regret washed over his face as he stopped waving and tucked the hand behind his head. Everyone waited, looking at Stoic for his move.

After a moment Stoic walked out of the house. Before anyone had time to realize he left Stoic came back in with a giant rock that he dropped on the floor.

"Bang your head on that rock."

"…What?" Hiccup looked just as confused as the rest of them.

"Bang your head on that rock!" He urgently repeated.

"If I wouldn't do it as a kid what makes you think I'll do it now?" Hiccup snarked, brow raised in utterly confused.

Stoic shoulders dropped and he wobbled where he stood for a second.

"Hiccup?" Stoic mumbled, the quietist Astrid has ever heard him talk.

Stoic slowly made his way across the room, with each step Hiccup stood a little straighter like he was trying to brace himself for what ever came next.

Stoic was now right in front of Hiccup, completely blocking Hiccup from her view. They stood there, quietly. Astrid's heartbeat was echoing in her ears. Everyone was waiting and watching.

"Hiccup! My boy! My boy's alive!" Stoic hunched over, grabbing Hiccup into a hug. Astrid let out a sigh of relief along with Gobber who then let out a chuckle and made his way into the room.

"Alrigh' you lot! Time ta go! Ya presence is no longer needed here." Gobber showed the others out.

"Should I tell my parents what's going on, or…?" Snotlout turned around.

"Not yet." Gobber closed the door in his face.

Astrid went to leave as well, but Gobber stopped her. "We're basically Haddocks so we get to stay." He winked at her.

Right. I'm his betrothed and current acting Heir. Astrid thought, the idea was getting less strange the more she thought about it.

"I don't understand." Stoic mumbled. He pulled back to look at Hiccup, Astrid noticed both men were red eyed but showed no other sign of tears. "Look at you! Look at my boy. Look at…Your Leg!"

"Like Astrid said, she found him on Outcast Island." Gobber interrupted.

"I was also captured by the Outcasts." Hiccup added. "I was actually on my way to meet up with Cami and Thuggory. They were gonna tell me you all thought I was dead, but I happened to run into Astrid in the Outcast's lockup and she told me."

"But what happened to you back then? How were you able to get away from the dragon? Was there ever even a dragon?" Stoic stopped his worried rambling for a moment and gave Hiccup a stern look. "Was there ever even a dragon?"

Hiccup gave an awkward chuckle while averting his dad's questioning look. "Kind of. There was a dragon, but he didn't attack me I just followed after when he left Berk. Been chasing after him every since."

"And you didn't say anything? Didn't-"

"Well, actually I did but no one believed me so..." Hiccup bobbed his head along as he spoke.

"What are ya talking about?" Stoic shook his head in response.

"The Night Fury." Astrid stepped in. "Turns out he did shoot one down all those years ago but none of us listened to him."

"Ya did?" Gobber remarked as Stoic turned back to Hiccup, surprise written all over their faces.

"And, he also caught a Night Fury! I saw it with my own eyes! Till Hiccup had to set it free." Astrid added in. She hoped this would stop Stoic from getting angry, at least for now.

"Didn't want Alvin to keep him." Hiccup shrugged, looking embarrassed.

"Wait! Just…" Stoic took a deep breath, "I still don't understand what's happening. Or, what has happened. And Your Leg! Just, just start from the beginning. Please."

And so Hiccup told his whole story from the very beginning, again. Both Astrid and Gobber had already heard it, but it was still unbelievable. They had gotten the story all wrong, had gotten Hiccup all wrong. Turns out he can do just fine on his own.

Once Hiccup got to the Outcast Island part he let Astrid tell the rest of the story. How she found him, how they escaped together. At the news of Hiccup's injury Stoic jumped out of his seat and forced Hiccup's shirt up, almost ripping it off him completely. Stoic exposed not only his nearly healed wound, but also part of Hiccup's tattoo, leading to a whole other conversation. It took some time for the conversation to come back around to Astrid's story, though it was almost over anyways.

Their stories were winding down, Stoic was basically caught up to her and Gobber and there wasn't much left to tell. It was getting late and Astrid figured her and Gobber would leave soon and leave the two Haddock men alone to talk privately.

"Wait. One more question. You said you work as a dragon trapper, right?" Stoic waited for Hiccup's nod before continuing. "Have you ever meet, or heard of, a man named Drago Bludvist?"

Hiccup went still. His eyes narrowed as he looked over his dad. Both looked deadly serious. It was as if they were sizing each other up, as if they were opposing chiefs about to have a stand off.

"How do you know him?" Hiccup asked. Astrid could feel the tension in the room, it was seeping out of the two Haddocks. She didn't know who this Drago was, but she knew this was serious.

Stoic relayed a story of his own. Years ago, at an emergency meeting of the Chiefs, this man came in claiming to have an answer to their dragon problem. Claimed he could control the dragons. He offered his protection in exchange for control over the archipelago. Obviously Drago was laughed out of the meeting. Upon his departure Drago wrapped himself in a strange cloak and dragons descended on the meeting. Only a third of the Chiefs there that night made it out alive.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, that's definitely Drago. And he's only gotten crazier."

"So you have meet him." Stoic leaned forward.

"Unfortunately. A friend of mine used to work for him as a trapper. Not a fun boss." Hiccup looked so serious that it was starting to scare her. She had only ever seen the fun, kind, even sad Hiccup, but this… this was something else. There was no doubt, looking at his face right now, that Hiccup is Stoic's son.

"Used too?"

"I was able to get him out, now we work together. Trying to stop Drago."

"He's gathering an army, isn't he?"

"Yes. Of both humans and dragons." Hiccup nodded.

The realization dawned on her. "Johann!"

Stoic nodded in agreement but Hiccup, Hiccup looked outraged.

"Johann? You're still doing business with Johann?!" He spat the name out like it was rotten.

"What's wrong with Johann? He's always been fine man." Gobber said.

"He's working for Drago." Hiccup snarled. Astrid didn't know Hiccup could sound so hateful. "I found that out the hard way."

"It can't be! Why would Johann betray us?" Stoic asked.

"People seem to think that if they help Drago then he'll repay them some how. Then they try and stay on his good side just to stay alive."

"But why would Johann warn us about the Dragon Riders if he's working for them?" Astrid thought out loud.

"What? No! The Dragon Riders don't work for Drago! They're the ones doing most of the fighting against Drago." Hiccup looked around at each of their confused faces. "Do you guys really not know anything that's going on?"

"We've been a bit busy! Trying to find the dragon's nest and everything." Stoic retorted.

"I…I thought, Astrid said you guys haven't had a dragon raid in years." Hiccup looked to Astrid who nodded back.

"They're still out there. Laying low. I'm not just gonna wait around till they come back in droves." Stoic declared.

Gobber chimed in. "What if this Drago fella is takin' all the dragons? You did say he was buildin' an army."

"I mean, yeah. That could be the reason." Hiccup seemed annoyed by that idea. "The Dragon Riders could also be rounding up dragons. Or even the Defenders."

"The Defenders?" Astrid asked. She hadn't even believed one group of people controlling and riding dragons at first, know there are three groups!

"There are three, no four, groups in this fight. Drago on one side, and on the other are the Dragon Riders, the Defenders of the Wing, and me and a few other trapper ships." Hiccup explained. "We all work individually, but we do try and keep each other up to date on Drago's movements."

"You're siding with Dragon lovers?!" Stoic's baffled voices always sound so much angrier than you would expect.

"I don't have a choice." Hiccup yelled back. "Either you're on Drago's side or you're on his hit list. Lesser of two evils and all that."

"You could have come back home." Stoic snapped, more to himself but they all heard it. Hiccup went wide eyed for a second, before looking away, chewing on his inner cheek.

Just like that the room went from a war meeting to a broken family's home. Stoic had the decency to look frustrated at himself. Astrid had never seen him struggle in a conversation before, but here he was, sticking his foot in his mouth and not knowing how to get it out. She looked to Hiccup but he look like he was drowning in guilt. His brow furrowed, arms crossed, just staring at the floor. Astrid wondered if they were always like this.

Without saying anything, Gobber got up and moved to the table beside Stoic. There he left a crumpled paper for Stoic. Turing around Gobber motioned to her it was time to leave. Astrid quietly got up, Stoic and Hiccup lost in there own thoughts, and left the two to talk.