A/N So it's not like there aren't a ton of other things to work on, but this one was screaming the hardest ;)

Just a couple of responses to some anon reviews:

just me: Absolutely one hundred percent correct on the amputation. Normally I'm a stickler for research and realism, but in this case I'm going to wave my Artistic License card (printed on psychic paper, natch) and declare, "It's for teh drama!" Mea culpa.

Rylie: I completely agree about Snotlout in regard to Hiccup, however his confusion and frustration in the story is not really about him, it's about Astrid. But I know I made him seem like the bad guy, so the first part of this chapter is from his POV and will hopefully redeem him (and me) just a bit.

Thanks for reading!

Darkness had descended on the island bringing with it a cold deep enough to sting bones. Snotlout's husky build didn't provide nearly enough insulation to protect against the biting chill. The dragons had already retreated back into the warmth of the island. He had walked up to the hole the Vikings had burst open earlier and peered inside, but except for the softest reddish glow, no light permeated, though he was certain he heard an inquisitive growl from the Nightmare. It was strange, but he already seemed to miss her and hoped she would come out in the morning and return to Berk with them.

Rubbing his hands on his arms he walked over to the blazing bonfire. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were seated back to back, heads propped against each other with their helmets skewed to the side and snoring loudly. Fishlegs was lying on his side in the thick black sand, knees pulled up tight to his chest and muttering something unintelligible in his sleep, no doubt recounting some obscure fact only important to him.

Then there was Astrid. She was on her knees with her back to him. Hiccup was lying motionless next to her and from where Snotlout stood he could see the firelight shift and reflect on the kid's pale cheeks, making his freckles even more pronounced, thin lips partially open to expose those crooked teeth. Astrid's hands never stopped moving. She adjusted the cloak that covered him, or touched his face gently, or picked up a hand that had fallen limply to the side.

The anger Snotlout had felt earlier was still there, but quieter. It was true she had never given him any indication that she welcomed his advances, but he had simply taken that for a challenge to try harder. Isn't that what Vikings were supposed to do? But it had been his assumption – probably the whole village's as well – that they would wind up together. They were the alpha male and female of their generation after all. Their children would be the finest warriors, the strongest and fastest, and certainly the best looking. He could accept that she didn't love him; that was incidental. What was important was that he would have had the best and so would she.

But here she was, fawning over Hiccup, who was as far from the best as they were from Asgard. He could still remember the way her face had lit up that morning when she was gathering them all up to help and while she watched Hiccup show them how to befriend and ride the dragons – the way she had smiled. Astrid Hofferson simply didn't smile. Ever.

Hiccup made her smile.

Snotlout flicked his eyes to the side. There was one more presence around the bonfire: the Night Fury who sat near them. His gold-green eyes reflected the light back a hundredfold while the rest of him was lost in the shadow. Occasionally Astrid turned her head to him and murmured something soft and comforting, boldly stroking his nose with her hand. Comforting a dragon, comforting Hiccup. This wasn't the Astrid that he knew even yesterday. Then again, he looked all around him at the aftermath of the greatest battle any of them had ever experienced – none of them were the same Vikings they were yesterday.

They were supposed to be watching Hiccup in shifts, but Snotlout already knew she wasn't going to give up her turn. She was going to stay awake all night fighting fatigue and hunger to be the one at this side. That was the kind of person she was; she wouldn't relinquish this responsibility to anyone else. Finally having enough of the cold, he entered the warm aura of the fire and hunkered down next to her, which he realized belatedly placed himself between the dragon and Hiccup. The Night Fury wasted no time in making his displeasure known with a growl and flash of sharp white teeth.

"It's okay, Toothless," Astrid said softly. "He's not going to hurt Hiccup. Are you?" she finished pointedly at Snotlout.

"I'm cool." He held his hands up and smiled at the dragon. "Uh, what kind of a name is Toothless anyway?"

"I don't know," she said offhandedly as her attention was drawn back to Hiccup, smoothing aside the hair from his eyes. "I'll ask him when he wakes up." She sighed. Astrid actually sighed.

Anger was rising in Snotlout again, but he tamped it down. "Um, Astrid, about earlier…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry. I know it was the wrong time to talk about stuff like this. But maybe later, when we get home?"

"No."

"No?" he said in what sounded suspiciously like a whine.

"I'm not doing this again with you, 'Lout. I'm sorry for what happened too, but there's just nothing to talk about anymore. Let it go."

"Aw, come on, Astrid! Can't you at least tell me why?"

"Why? Why what?"

"Why him over me?"

She huffed in exasperation. "It wasn't like it was a contest. You were never in the picture, 'Lout, I'm sorry. But why him?" She looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. "Because he took a stand – against everything he had ever known and risking everything in his whole world to do what he knew in his heart was right. Would you have been that brave? Would I? I don't know," she whispered and cast her eyes down. "All I know is he makes me want to be better, not just stronger or faster, but better."

Snotlout had to look away from the intensity of her gaze while her words settled on him. He saw the flickering of the torches from the adults who were diligently working to get a vessel ready to ship out on the morning. "Your kids are probably going to be scrawny buck-toothed weaklings," he finally said in concession.

That actually made her laugh. The first time in sixteen years he'd successfully gotten her to laugh. "Maybe. But they'll be good scrawny buck-toothed weaklings."

Snotlout groaned. "That is the most un-Viking thing you have ever said."

She shrugged, but she was also still smiling, and her hand was resting on Hiccup's chest – in possession? protection? – he didn't know, only that she was touching his cousin in such a familiar way she would never touch him with.

Clearing his throat, Snotlout asked, "Have you checked the dressing yet?"

The smile fell off her face. "No. I haven't…couldn't…"

"Well you need to. Here, I'll help."

She moved aside and let him have access to Hiccup. Toothless sniffed and cried out at him pointedly, no doubt reminding him that the dragon was a fireball away if he did anything to harm the boy. Snotlout pulled the cloak off and felt his stomach flip as he saw the bloodied stump for the first time. Next to him, Astrid gasped and placed her hand on her mouth, eyes suddenly reflecting the fire in newly-formed tears. The bandages were red and seeping and Snotlout's hand trembled as he reached for the leather cinch on his cousin's thigh to tighten it.

He coughed to hide the sudden tremor in his voice. "We need to change them now. Can you go grab some new ones?"

She nodded eagerly and jumped up to scour the campsite, possibly turning over every rock on the island if necessary. With her gone, Snotlout looked down at Hiccup. He'd never understood how he and Hiccup could be so different; their fathers were brothers after all. Maybe he had been some great joke of the gods or set down on Berk to punish them for something. Snotlout had always assumed Hiccup would just end up getting himself killed in some strange way or another. Never in his life would he have imagined all of this.

"I guess I should apologize," he said quietly. "Though it still really kind of pisses me off. She's absolutely nuts about you. You! Not cool, man. Aside from that – the whole dragon thing? I was never really that interested in killing them, anyway. So I guess, props to you on that. I think flying over here was the greatest time of my life. And what you and, uh, Toothless did earlier with that monster dragon? That was impressive, won't lie to you. Though I was on its head! Going pow pow on its eyes. Don't forget that. But, anyway, I do hope that you pull through. Except for your leg of course, which, you know, sucks, but now you'll have a really cool scar, so that's a plus. Maybe we can even start hanging out or something. If you're not too weird, that is."

There was no response from the prone figure, which relieved Snotlout immensely. He turned his head at the sound of crunching sand as Astrid ran towards them with an armload of cloth. He wondered if she accosted every Viking on the island to cough up some garment for the cause. "Here," she said out of breath as she dropped down beside him.

Steeling himself, Snotlout unbound the bandages Gobber had placed earlier and tossed them into the fire. They sizzled and popped as the flames consumed them. Then he took a wide swatch from the pile and folded it a couple of times before pressing it against the wet, open wound. He desperately tried not to notice the exposed chunk of bone sticking out. "Hold this, will you?" he said to Astrid.

She hesitated only a second before leaning forward and placing her hands around the leg to hold the pad firmly against it. Taking a couple of larger pieces, he ripped them into thinner strips and began winding them around the stump and across it, building up the thickness and holding the whole thing in place. When he had deemed it enough, he tied off two ends and replaced the cloak over Hiccup's chest. He took a few gasps of the cool air to stave off the nausea that threatened him. The last thing he needed was to toss his lunch in front of Astrid after everything that had happened.

"Thank you," she said warmly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Eh, no problem," he said, trying for nonchalant. "We'll probably have to do that a few more times tonight. You up for it?"

She nodded firmly, even as her cheeks blanched whiter than usual.

"Okay, then," he said, moving aside so she could take up her post next to Hiccup again. "I guess we just wait the night out.

Across the fire, Tuffnut snorted loudly and Fishlegs chattered endlessly. Snotlout sat watching as Astrid picked up Hiccup's hand and simply held it.

)))(((

Gobber wiped the back of his hand across his forehead absently. Despite the coolness of the night, he had worked up a sweat. As an island tribe, they were experts at ship building, but these were less than ideal conditions with improper tools and materials. They persevered, though, because they were Vikings, and by Thor that's what they did. He had just finished dragging a long board to the portside of the ship to fill in a hole and stood back waiting for his turn to help heave it into place when Stoick walked up to him.

"How are things going on this side?"

"Well enough. You?"

"Just about finished. I think we'll have time for a few hours sleep before we set sail." Even as he spoke, the chief's eyes drifted to his son. As Gobber followed his gaze, he saw Astrid and Snotlout bent over the boy working diligently.

"He's in good hands," he told his friend confidently. "He and his cousin may not have seen eye-to-eye in the past, but Snotlout's a good boy at heart. And that Astrid…" Gobber shook his head with a small smile.

"You saw it too," Stoick said quietly.

"Saw it! You'd have to be completely blind in both eyes to miss it."

"I never thought…I mean I'd assumed I'd have to pay some exorbitant bride price for a milk maid."

"I always told you there was something special about the boy."

"You said you thought he'd been born dim," Stoick reminded him dryly.

"Och! That was only after he thought it was a good idea to dry clothes on the forge! No, I knew he had it in him to amaze us all. 'A'course I thought we'd be amazed at his funeral, but amazed nonetheless."

Stoick glowered at his choice of words, but chose not to reply to them. "That girl, though. What if she's too much for him?" he asked instead, scratching thoughtfully at this beard.

"Too much?" Gobber exclaimed. "Bah! There's no such thing as too much ale or too much woman!" This earned him a chuckle. "She'll set him right, Stoick. Like Val did for you."

"Oh, now, Gobber, you can't compare the two!"

"Can't I? Valhallarama reined you in good an' proper. Your father was about at wit's end with your tomfoolery."

"Stop it," the larger man growled.

"And," Gobber continued as if nothing had been said, "he'll be good for her too. She's always been too wound up in herself for my taste. Too hard."

"She's a good Viking."

"But was she a good person? If none 'o this had happened, I fear she would have become a cold husk of a woman. Nothing but death and anger in her."

Stoick regarded him thoughtfully. "This war with the dragons has taken so much from us."

"Aye." Gobber nodded sadly. "But it's all going to change now. Because of your boy."

Gobber saw his friend smile in the moonlight. All these years of worry, guilt, and no small amount of embarrassment had taken their toll on Stoick, but it wasn't too late for them to start again. Gobber had always been fond of the wee lad, even as exasperating as he was, almost like his own son, lost so many years ago. Nothing would make him happier than to know Stoick and Hiccup had come to a peaceable accord.

"Oy, if you two are done wagging yer jaws, we got a ship to finish over here!" Spitelout called down to them from the ship's bow.

"Let's go," Gobber said. "Sooner we get home, the sooner I can change me undies!"

))))((((

The great fireball lifted in the sky signaling another day. The Vikings had all eventually made tiny nests in the sand to sleep, and now they raised themselves, stretching and yawning. Toothless hadn't slept, though he desperately wanted to. He hurt. He hurt even more than when the strange vines and stones had pulled him out of the sky, but he wasn't as scared. Hiccup was still close by and alive. Toothless had sat up the whole night just listening to his rider's heartbeat. But he wasn't alone. The girl sat close by as well. She had only moved a few times in the night, one of which was to pull the charred and ruined gear off his back. That had been a relief and alleviated some of the pain, but the rest was inside. There were some broken places, he knew. His wing sat at a strange angle and it hurt to pull it close to his side. A good night's sleep would help, but for now he couldn't sleep, he could only watch.

Hiccup's pain was far greater than his own. He'd lost a paw, one of the big ones the humans walked with and since they were too deformed to walk on four paws that would seriously limit his mobility. He would need Toothless! Would they still be able to fly though?

The girl and the other boy human were talking. They had had harsh words before, which worried Toothless, but now their words were soft and no cause for alarm. Then the other young humans roused from their nests and came over to look at Hiccup. Toothless couldn't sense any malice from them, but he was still concerned. Too many people around Hiccup, cutting Toothless off from him.

The Night Fury heaved himself up with great effort. His right front paw hurt the most. It was the first to hit the ground when they fell and now it felt loose and wouldn't do what he wanted, but that didn't stop him from crawling forward and pressing his nose between a pair of the young humans.

"Toothless!" the girl cried with a start. "You shouldn't be walking around."

He mrred at her softly and pressed forward until he could nuzzle at Hiccup's neck. Then his legs grew too weak, and he dropped down just breathing in Hiccup's scent.

"It's okay," she said softly and scratched along his ear flaps. "We're going home soon. Then we can all rest and you can get better."

Toothless rolled his eyes at her. He needed fish and sleep, but Hiccup needed him more.

Noises from above grabbed his attention and he looked up to see the four dragons emerge from the volcanic nest, blinking and rested. They regarded the Vikings around the island cautiously before noticing the young ones around the bonfire and as a cluster scampered over. This seemed to amuse the young humans as they greeted the dragons happily with scratches and pleasant words. The Hideous Zippleback wrapped its two necks around the twin pair in a firm embrace while the Gronckle peered up at the large boy with wide eager eyes. The Deadly Nadder preened and danced from afar eagerly until the girl approached her with an affectionate pat on the neck. The Monstrous Nightmare was most aloof of the lot, hunkering down and slowly tossing her head back and forth, but the dark-haired boy eventually met her with a respectful hand to her snout. This pleased the large beast enough to lap at him with her tongue.

"All right, kids! Ship's ready to sail. Time to go home."

"We'll fly," the twins announced.

"Me too," the large one said.

"Yep, same here," said the dark-haired boy.

"Sounds fine to me. More room on the boat the better. Astrid?"

The blonde looked down at Toothless and Hiccup and then said, "I'll stay with them." She looked back at the Nadder. "Hopefully she'll follow on her own."

"Okay. Help me get him on board?"

Toothless watched helplessly as they picked Hiccup up and carried him to the floating rock. He didn't want to go back on the rock for fear of being strapped down again, but his fear for Hiccup was far greater. He made an attempt to follow them, but he couldn't move very far for very long and was only about halfway across the beach when they returned.

"Oh, Toothless," the girl said sadly. "Gobber, I think his front leg is broken. Possibly a wing too. How are we going to get him on the ship?"

"Well, same way we got him on the first time I suppose."

Before he knew it a flurry of activity grew up around him. He allowed hands to lift him and maneuver a large false wing that had been used to catch the wind on one of the rocks underneath him. Then they dragged him along the sand towards the floating rock. It wasn't a pleasant form of transportation, but it was quicker and less painful than trying to pull himself along. Once at the rock the wing beneath him was attached to vines and folded up around him like a cocoon. The largest Vikings on the rock pulled at the vines lifting him into the air. Toothless' nose was sticking out and he sniffed in interest as the ground fell away from him without even the use of his wings, similar to the last time, though he was able to appreciate it more without having the hard vines holding him in place. As he reached the top of the rock and was swung even with it, he saw Hiccup lying there and started crooning and honking eagerly to reach him.

"Easy there, beast! Don't want to be flipping yourself off now and hurting yourself even more, do you?"

Eventually he was set down on the hard surface and the wing was loosened around him. He tested and found he had complete freedom of movement, plus his mouth had not been sealed shut. He hauled himself to the boy and settled down as comfortably as he could. The large man with the face full of fur approached him. This was the man that had taken him last time, who had wished him nothing but ill will on the voyage over, but now that ill will had vanished.

"We're going home," Fur-face said to him. "All of us." The fur parted to show his small teeth, just as Hiccup had done that day in the cove. It amazed Toothless that this gesture of showing your weapons was a sign of goodwill and trust instead of dominance and aggression, but so be it. Toothless made the smile-face back and blinked wearily. He had to trust them now, for his sake, for Hiccup's sake, even for the sake of the other dragons. Things were different now. They wouldn't fight and kill and steal. They would live and trust and maybe fly.

Fur-face seemed to approve of his smile-face and gingerly reached his hand out to him, letting it fall on Toothless' head, as he had done the night before. Then he turned away and shouted for the rock to move. Toothless sighed and nuzzled Hiccup. The girl was on the other side, eyes focused on Hiccup. Toothless didn't know what to think of her. She had been loud and aggressive when she first came into their cove, then she had become quiet and soft. It wasn't unlike what had happened with Toothless, first wanting to attack the humans, then not. Maybe it was all Hiccup. Maybe he had the magic to transform anything from its worst to its best. But Toothless was too tired to ponder that further. There were more important matters to worry about now as the gentle swaying of the rock carried them across the water.

Home. Sleep. Fish. And, of course, Hiccup.

Once Hiccup woke up, all things would be right again.

The end.

Okay, so I didn't quite make it back to Berk, but close enough, right ;)