GUYS! My friend and I were running, and he tripped in front of me, and I tripped over him, and I smashed my big toe against a giant tent peg, and my toenail practically broke in half! Like, no joke! I didn't lose any toenail, but it's cracked down the middle. It is very weird looking and painful.

Anyways, here's the final chapter to this fanfiction! Yay! :D Thanks to all who read it, reviewed it, favorited it, followed it, and everything! And thanks to everyone out there who read my story and didn't review, fav or follow. I know you're out there *grins creepily*. I KNOW THINGS. So, thanks, guys! You're all appreciated! :D Enjoy the final chapter! :D

Astrid watched Hiccup fall asleep, his grip on her hand finally going slack. She didn't let go, instead tightening her grip so that his hand didn't slip from hers. She was so, so worried that she was going to lose him. They all were, until Snotlout and the twins got back with Gothi and the cure. She'd never seen Eel Pox as severe as that, and even after the cure was down Hiccup's throat, when he passed out, they had panicked all over again. It wasn't until Gothi checked his breathing and his heartbeat and determined that he had been cured did they finally take a breath and step back from their worry.

Not from his side, of course, because Astrid was sure she was never going to leave his side again, and Stoick really wasn't much different. When night finally fell, Snotlout, Fishlegs, the twins and Gothi went to rest, and Stoick stayed with Astrid and Hiccup for a few hours before he was finally too tired to stay awake. He flew the whole day and a half to Dragon's Edge without resting, so it came to Astrid as no surprise that he was exhausted.

She'd told him that she would stay with Hiccup, and that he could go get some rest, and although he was reluctant, he complied, telling her to come get him should Hiccup get worse.

Hiccup woke up just a moment ago, an hour after Stoick left, dazed and exhausted, staring at her in confusion with half-lidded eyes. She had told him to sleep, and he had fallen asleep instantly - after making her promise she would stay, of course, but she had planned to do that before he even asked her to.

She held his weak hand, rubbing her thumb over his bony knuckles. She stayed by his side until daybreak, constantly making sure his still persistent fever was going down. Gothi said (in runes, of course, that Fishlegs translated) that his fever, which had been brought down to the point where it was no longer high enough to raise concern, should linger for another two to three days. She also mentioned in her writings that, since the Eel Pox rested in his chest, he would also have a difficult time breathing at times, and his cough would also linger for about the same amount of time as his fever.

Those two things, along with being exhausted and weak. The cure was in his system; now, his body was just reacting accordingly, shutting itself down to let the medicine do its work. Gothi's instructions were simple: make sure he rested, ate something (she specifically mentioned broth or soup), and didn't get out of bed. She said he also might be nauseated for the next few days, so she gave him a herb mixed in the Eel Pox cure for that.

She also made Snotlout, the twins, Fishlegs, Stoick, and Astrid take some of the cure, just in case they had caught Hiccup's Eel Pox. After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.

The door opened, and Stoick stepped inside. He looked rested enough, but the ever present worry was still there, hanging over him like a sheet. "How is he?" he asked as he approached Astrid and his sleeping son. Astrid lifted her head and regarded the Chief with a nod before turning her attention back to Hiccup.

"He's alright," she said. "He woke up a few hours ago, but he's exhausted. He fell asleep again almost as soon as he opened his eyes."

"It's good that he's resting, though," Stoick said, sitting down on the edge of the bed across from Astrid. "No more delusions? Nightmares?"

Astrid shook her head. "No," she said. "He's resting peacefully, for the most part. Sometimes he moans, but I think that's mainly because of his fever." She ran her hand over his head briefly before letting it rest on his hairline. "It's gone down, but it's still there, like Gothi said it would be."

Stoick nodded. "Thank you for taking care of him, Astrid. I appreciate it."

Astrid smiled faintly. "You're welcome," she said. "He would do the same for me, so...I just thought...y'know…"

"You care about him, don't you?"

Astrid paused briefly, although she wasn't sure why. Yes, she cared about Hiccup. Yes, she loved Hiccup, and she was pretty sure everyone knew it already, but still. She'd never actually openly admitted it to anyone besides Hiccup before.

At length, she nodded. "Yes," she said. "I do care about him."

Stoick nodded again. "He's lucky to have you," he said at last.

Astrid nodded once more. "I know," she said. "I'm lucky to have him, too."

…

The next time Hiccup woke up, it was late afternoon - late to the point where the sun was setting, leaving the room not completely dark, but not completely light, either. He blinked and glanced about the room blearily.

He felt tired, but not as bad as he had felt previously, which was a relief. He sat up, wincing and clutching his queasy stomach. He still didn't completely well, but it was better than it was before.

The next thing he knew, he was being bombarded by a black mound of scales and covered in thick dragon saliva. Hiccup laughed and shoved Toothless back, but the Night Fury made no move.

"Toothless!" Hiccup said between his bouts of laughter. "Tooth-Toothless! Stop, bud!" Toothless finally stepped back, although it was clear he was reluctant, and Hiccup took to trying to wipe the dragon spit off his face. He reached around blindly, finally managing to grab a rag and wipe his face. It did next to nothing to help. "Oh, great. Note for the book of dragons, dragon spit doesn't wash out."

Toothless tilted his head curiously at his rider, and Hiccup laughed again. "Nah, I'm okay," he said. "I feel a little off, but okay." Toothless seemed satisfied, and he laid his head in Hiccup's lap. Hiccup stroked the dragon's head, gazing about his room.

He was still at Dragon's Edge, and everything was a mess, like it usually was. Books were strewn all over the place, along with papers and notebooks and lots and lots of charcoal. He blinked at his surroundings, coming to the realization that he was alone.

"Huh," he murmured to himself. "Looks like I'm by myself."

Toothless growled.

"Ah, of course," Hiccup said, his attention focused back on his dragon. "I still have you, don't I?" Toothless cooed in agreement and licked him again. Hiccup scowled. "Yes," he said. "You and your tongue. Eww…"

Toothless rolled his eyes and went back to sleeping. Hiccup leaned back against the headboard of his bed and shut his eyes.

They flew open again when the doors were flung open and Astrid ran in, flanked by Stormfly. "Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed, quickly crossing the room. Hiccup waved his hand to her in acknowledgement, and she stopped, her smile fading. "You look terrible!" she said. "Did your fever get higher? Is that why you're sweating?"

It took Hiccup a few moments, but when he understood what she meant, he laughed. "No, Astrid!" he said. "It's Toothless' spit."

Astrid retracted her hand and made a face in disgust. "Okay, gross," she said. "Here." She took a rag out of a bucket of water and threw it at him, and he caught it.

"Thanks," he said, trying (and failing) to wipe the dragon saliva out of his hair. "It doesn't wash out," he stated lamely.

"Then Stormfly and I will fly you over a lake and drop you in," Astrid said. "When you're doing better, of course. I was meaning to ask you, by the way." She sat down on the edge of the bed, folding her hands in her lap. "How're ya feeling?"

"Like I do after hand to hand combat training, and like I've been mauled over by Hookfang," Hiccup said flatly.

"And how is that?"

"Considering I get punched in the stomach about a hundred times during combat training, and considering how angry Hookfang can get…pretty rotten, Astrid."

Astrid smiled sympathetically. "Aww, poor you," she said. Hiccup wasn't sure whether or not she was being honest. "I'd hug you if you weren't covered in drool." He had no doubt she was being honest about that much, though.

Hiccup pulled the blanket over his head for a moment before letting it drop again. "It's not that bad," he said. "See? I think it's coming out. Uuuuuuggghhh…" He shook his head feverishly.

Astrid smiled. "I'm joking," she said. "You get a hug anyway." She wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders and stayed there. "So, you're feeling better, then?"

"Loads," he replied. The closeness between the two of them was slightly awkward, and not something he had been expecting, but he wasn't complaining either way. He liked feeling cared for, especially by Astrid. "Thanks for asking."

"You're welcome," Astrid said back. "I'm mainly worried, actually, you know. You were really sick."

Hiccup smiled. "I know that, Astrid. I was there."

Astrid sighed. "I'm serious," she said. "It was...freaky. If Snotlout and the twins didn't get back with the cure when they did…" She let her voice trail off, and the arm she had around his shoulders tightened.

"They did," Hiccup said, just in case Astrid decided to continue speaking. "They came back, and everyone's alright, alright? All's well that ends well."

Astrid sighed, but nodded. "You're right," she said. "You're right, you're right. You usually are...and it's annoying, by the way."

Hiccup laughed softly. "I'll remember that, thanks," he said.

Silence fell for a few moments before Astrid spoke again. "Alright, so tell me honestly. How are you feeling, without a metaphor?"

Hiccup shrugged. "My head hurts, and I feel queasy, but really, that's it," he said casually. He expected her to pull away, but she didn't.

"Uh-huh," she said. "Sorry about that. Gothi said it would happen. It'll take a few more days before you're completely back to your old obnoxious self."

"Consider yourself lucky," Hiccup said, under his breath although loud enough for Astrid to hear him clearly.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because now," Hiccup said, "you get a vacation from me for a few days before I'm bugging you again."

After a pause, Astrid laughed. "You don't bother me, Hiccup," she said. "And it won't be a vacation, because I'll be worried about you whenever I'm not here."

Hiccup hesitated after she said that. He didn't remember very much of what happened while he was ill, but there were a few - very few, mind you - vivid memories. "Astrid," he said, "did you stay here the whole time I had Eel Pox?"

Astrid didn't answer right away, which Hiccup assumed meant "yes". "You were sick, Hiccup," Astrid said at long last, her voice suddenly quiet. "What did you expect me to do? Leave you to fend for yourself with Sir Spit? I don't think so."

Toothless growled, but it sounded as though he were more annoyed than anything, because growling was all he did before laying back down on the floor and falling asleep afterwards.

Hiccup sighed. "You didn't have to," he said. "You could have gone and done your own thing. You could-"

"But I didn't," Astrid said. "You needed someone to take care of you who didn't freak out whenever you coughed even remotely near them. That would be me. Snotlout and the twins were out of there instantly, and Fishlegs has a nasty habit of panicking too much and forgetting that he actually has to do something...why are you looking at me like that?"

Hiccup averted his gaze. "No reason," he said. "I was just...thinking."

"Oh? Do tell."

"I didn't do anything stupid, did I?" Hiccup could remember all the times when Snotlout or Fishlegs or the twins got Eel Pox. It always resulted in them doing the most stupid things one could think of.

Astrid shook her head, which made Hiccup sigh inwardly with relief. "Nope," she said. "Nothing weird. You just had a bunch of nightmares and threw up quite a bit, but it wasn't that bad."

Hiccup winced. "Eh...sorry."

"It wasn't your fault."

"But I could have gotten you seriously sick, Astrid."

Astrid blew her bangs out of her face. "You could have," she said, "but you didn't. Besides, germs don't scare me. I scare them."

"Good for you," Hiccup said. "Because they certainly like to toy with me and my life."

"We've talked about this before, Hiccup," Astrid said. "The reason you always get sick after snowstorms is because you're skinny. And it's not a bad thing, either, like we've also discussed. It just means you're going to have to start eating more. Which reminds me. I brought soup over if you want some. And no, I didn't make it, so you can stop panicking."

Hiccup sighed in relief. "Good," he said. "If you cooked it, I would have figured you wanted me dead. No offense, of course. Your cooking isn't exactly the best."

"I know," Astrid said. "You've said that once before."

"And I'll say it again," Hiccup said quietly.

The silence that fell between the two of them after that was relaxing. Neither one of them spoke. Hiccup leaned his head against Astrid's shoulder, and she pressed her cheek to the top of his head. Toothless and Stormfly watched them curiously for a few moments before laying down to sleep themselves.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Hiccup," Astrid whispered, her eyes closed.

Hiccup shut his eyes. "Me too," he said. "Me too." That was the last thing he said before a peaceful slumber washed over him, and he fell asleep.

Author's Notes:

So, this is done. I want to see a Race to the Edge episode like this SOOOOOOO badly! I think it would be sweet...I don't know. Comments? :)

So I hope you all enjoyed this! I really don't have much to say right now...the story's pretty self explanatory, so...yeah. I'll just go now. :D

Oh, and if you guys liked the story, let me know why you liked it so much and I'll try and put more of that in future stories. That's all I've gotta say. :D

Until next story!

-BeyondTheClouds777