GUYS! GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS! THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER, GUYS! GUYS! :D :D :D A BIIIIIIIGGGG thank you to everyone who supported this story, and supported me as well! Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I've been sick. :( But enough about me! :D Enjoy the final chapter!

Astrid woke up the next morning, feeling well rested and better than she had felt in a long time. Standing up, she braided her hair, made her bed taking little care and then went to wake up Avril. Turns out, the girl was already up, and was trying (and failing) to do her own hair.

"Morning, Avril," Astrid greeted. Avril spun around, and beamed.

"Sis!" she said. "Can you help me braid my hair? I accidentally tied it in a knot, and it won't come out!"

Laughing slightly, Astrid nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, Avril turning around in front of her. Astrid braided her sister's hair in the same fashion as her own, only it split into two braids half-way down.

"There," said Astrid. "Done."

"Yay!" said Avril. "Thanks! Can we go see Hiccup?"

"Yes we can," said Astrid, "only you have a few chores to do-" She gestured to the messy room, "-and then we can go."

"You can go on without me while I do this," said Avril. "I'll get Stormfly to walk me over."

"I would rather stay with you, Avril, and then walk over together," said Astrid. She didn't want to leave the girl out of sight for more than a few minutes, especially after the run in with the Gemsho.

"But it'll be fine!" said Avril. "I promise! Stormfly will take me! You go on ahead!"

"Well...if you're sure," said Astrid. There was no arguing with Avril when she got her mind set on something, and besides, Avril loved it when Astrid trusted her enough to be alone with Stormfly.

"I'm sure!" said Avril. "Go on! I'll meet you there!"

"Oh, Avril, there's one more thing," said Astrid.

"Yes?" said Avril.

"Today is Hiccup's birthday," said Astrid, "so when you see him, make sure you let him know."

"Oh, okay!" said Avril. "Should I get him something?"

"If you want," said Astrid, "or my present to him can be from both of us."

"Okay, that sounds great, since my presents are not as good as yours," said Avril.

"Yes they are," said Astrid.

"Go on and see Hiccup!" said Avril, shoving her sister lightly. "He's probably waiting for you!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" said Astrid. "Make sure Stormfly watches you all the way over."

"Deal!" said Avril. "Bye-bye!"

Astrid nodded and then headed off to Hiccup's house. When she got there, Hiccup was awake, sitting up in his bed, leaning up against the headboard.

"HAPPY SIXTH BIRTHDAY, HICCUP!" Astrid announced. It was the running joke of the village; everyone was congratulating Hiccup on turning six.

"Well, good morning, Astrid," Hiccup said, turning to look at her as he smiled. "I forgot about my birthday, though." He shrugged. "Being unconscious would do that to you."

"Yeah, well, I didn't forget," said Astrid. "Which is good. You don't want to miss your birthday, especially when you only have one every four years or so."

"Yes, and you have one every year which is completely unfair," said Hiccup.

"Well, it's not my fault you wanted to be awkward and decided to be born on the leap day of the leap year," said Astrid.

"It's not exactly as if I had a say in it," said Hiccup.

"Okay, yeah, I guess you're right," said Astrid. "I can't blame you for being awkward. It runs in your blood."

"HEY! RUUUUUDE!"

"Someone had to tell you."

"And I'm turning twenty, Astrid," said Hiccup. "Not six."

"Oh," said Astrid. "Wow, twenty? Really?" Hiccup nodded. "Wow," Astrid laughed. "In that case, should I get you a cane?"

"Hardy har har."

"Sounds great," said Astrid. "It's good to see you back to your normal self. You have no idea how crazy it was while you were unconscious. Gave the entire village quite the scare."

"Yeah, I guess I tend to do that," said Hiccup. "First the Red Death, then the lightning, and then now."

"Yeah, well, just because you do it a lot doesn't mean any of us are used to it yet," said Astrid. "Because, in case you haven't noticed, we are not, and will never be used to your daredevil instincts."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Hiccup.

"Yes I am," said Astrid. "How are you feeling?"

"The pain's kind of wearing thin," said Hiccup, "although Valarie doesn't want me up and about for another few days, just so she can be sure the wound has sealed properly. We don't want it reopening again."

"Oh, tell me about it," said Astrid, and then paused. "Never mind, don't tell me about it."

At that moment, Avril burst into the room. She was beaming.

"Happy birthday, Hiccup!" said Avril. "How old are you turning?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to answer, but Astrid beat him to it.

"Six," she said.

"ASTRID!" Hiccup growled.

"What?" said Astrid. "It's true!"

"It most certainly is not," said Hiccup.

"What is it?" said Avril. "Are you really six?"

"Yes," said Astrid, while at the same time, Hiccup said, "No."

"He's really six," said Astrid.

"AM NOT!" Hiccup said. "I was born on the crazy, completely useless why-does-it-even-exist day in a leap year! Just because February twenty ninth only comes once every few years does NOT mean I am turning six! I am turning twenty!"

"But six at heart," said Astrid.

"Not helping."

"Astrid, you said you wanted to give Hiccup something, didn't you?" said Avril.

"Oh, right…" Astrid reached into her pouch attached to her belt, and pulled out what looked like a necklace. The chain was silver, and the charm was a black oval that looked almost like…

"A dragon scale…?" Hiccup asked, glancing at Astrid.

Astrid nodded. "But, not just any dragon scale," said Astrid, holding it out for him to take. "It's a scale from the Gemsho. I um...managed to grab it. I found it on the ground...didn't tell anyone else about it. I would understand if you don't want to have it, because of the memories, but I thought maybe it would be more of a sign of strength."

"Astrid-" Hiccup started, only to be cut off.

"Strength, because, well, you conquered the pain the Gemsho bestowed on you," said Astrid. "And...well, we won, and-"

"Astrid, I love it," said Hiccup.

"You...what?" said Astrid.

"I said I love it," said Hiccup. "Sign of strength or not."

"REALLY!?" said Avril. "He likes it!" She ran down the stairs, out the door, and started shouting to the village about how Hiccup liked their present. Hiccup and Astrid merely laughed.

"And you know what," said Hiccup, "for the record, I didn't conquer the Gemsho alone. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

Astrid struggled to not blush. "You're welcome," she said. "And thank you, too."

"Why?" said Hiccup.

Astrid smiled. "For not dying," she said. "You know, I was really worried." She paused all at once, her smile fading. "You were sick," she said slowly. "You were really sick, and you were hurt...and..." The shock caught up with her. "You almost died," she said. "You were so close to dying...so close to...to...being gone." She lifted her head. For some reason, she felt tears fly into her eyes. "Hiccup-"

He understood what she needed, and he hugged her tightly. She hugged him back even tighter, trying to keep from crying although her tears fell anyway, without her permission. "I was so scared," Astrid gasped. "I was so scared that...that you were...were going to...d-die..."

Neither of them said anything else after that. They simply held each other, content in the safety of the other's arms. Astrid buried her face against Hiccup's shoulder, and he rested his chin on her shoulder, his arms tightening around her.

"I didn't die," he said. "That's the important thing. I'm alright, and I'll always be alright. Alright?"

Astrid nodded shakily, her grip on him never loosening. "I love you, Hiccup," she gasped. "I couldn't...I couldn't bear the thought of...of ever losing you...and we came so...so close..."

"But I'm fine," Hiccup promised. "I'm right here. I'm right here...I've gotcha..."

On any other day, she probably would have pulled back, but now, she didn't. She didn't; instead, she clung to Hiccup tightly, terrified that if she let go, he would instantly go back to being sick.

"I love you too, Astrid," Hiccup whispered.

Astrid only hugged him tighter in response. "I'm glad you're okay," she whispered back.

Hiccup smiled faintly. "I'll always be okay," he said. "So long as I have you."

Astrid felt the same way.

Author's Notes:

So, guys, what do you think? Good? Bad? I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS STORY BROKE 30 CHAPTERS! LIKE, I TOTALLY DID NOT EXPECT THAT TO HAPPEN! AND IT ALSO BROKE 300 REVIEWS! WOWWWWWWWWWW!

Thank you all for supporting this story! :D :D :D Means a lot to me that you guys did! So, I really don't have much to say right now other than THANK YOU! I'm going to be re-doing the POLL on my profile maybe in a few days or so, so when the new one is up, you guys can go ahead and vote for whichever story you want me to write next! :)

And just so you all know, REQUESTS ARE CLOSED. So, yeah, no more requesting stories for a while, guys, unfortunately. I've got a lot on my plate. ;)

So, I hope you all liked this. :D Until next time!

-BeyondTheClouds777