Okay, last chapter dragonites!

Stoick lifted his head when he heard a knock come at the door. He was sitting at the table, shuffling through an assortment of parchments- some complaints from the villagers, some updates or notifications from other tribes. Just stuff that Stoick had been meaning to go through a while ago, and only now had the time to do it.

He stared at the door for a moment, wondering if he'd only imagined the noise or if it had just been a dragon landing on the roof while passing by. But just as he was about to look back down at his papers, more knocking- well, more like pounding- sounded on the large door.

Stoick grumbled and pushed himself away from the table. "I'm coming!" he replied loudly, rather annoyed that he was being interrupted. He'd told Gobber to take any questions or squabbles the villagers had- so why was somebody now outside his door nearly pounding it down?
He swung it open, a full-blown lecture ready, when he noticed who was it was in the doorway. It was Astrid, holding onto a Hiccup who looked ready to collapse at any moment. The boy was pale, shaking, and obviously not using his leg at all.

Stoick could feel the blood draining from his face as he grabbed Hiccup from Astrid's arms, hurrying to pull his boy close to him in attempts to warm him.

Astrid hurried to explain, "We were exploring a cave- without the dragons- and I-I noticed how Hiccup's leg seemed to be bothering him so we stopped for a while- and he just got worse and worse." The girl rambled, and to be honest it surprised Stoick a bit. He'd never once in his life heard Astrid spill out so many words so fast. Then again, he'd been seeing a lot of stuff from the girl in the last three months then he had in the last fifteen years. And he knew why. It was Hiccup. The girl obviously liked him. Which made Stoick happy, because for one thing, Astrid was a tough warrior who he knew would make a good wife to a chief someday, and also because he knew Hiccup had a huge crush on her.

Stoick nodded and stepped back, allowing Toothless to enter. "Thank you, Astrid." He paused, then said before shutting the door. "Really, thank you for everything over the past few days. It's been tough, and you've made it a whole lot easier for both of us."

Stoick could've sworn Astrid blushed, but then again it was rather hard to tell since her face was already rather red from the cold. But she was obviously shy when she replied. "I owe it to him."

Stoick closed the door, the gush of cold air coming to a halt. The half-conscious Hiccup in his arms shivered before cuddling closer to Stoick's chest, mumbling incoherently while doing so.

"Shh… I'm gonna get you upstairs so you can rest, alright?" Stoick reassured. Hiccup mumbled something again, but Stoick ignored it, presuming it was some sort of disagreement. Knowing Hiccup, it probably was.

Stoick carefully made his way upstairs, trying not to jostle Hiccup too much. Toothless followed behind, the large dragon making the sturdy staircase to creak and groan under his weight. When they made it to Hiccup's loft, Stoick went and laid Hiccup in his bed. He then proceeded to pull of Hiccup's coat and other winter wrappings, leaving him in only his shirt and trousers. Hiccup shivered, causing Stoick to hurry and pull the blankets over his body. Toothless once again lit the fireplace on fire, but since there were only a few charred logs in it, it only let up a trickle of flame. Stoick rushed over and tossed a few logs inside, the room slowly warming as the flames grew bigger.

Stoick leaned back on his heels, staring at the flames for a few minutes before standing up and dusting off his knees. Toothless had walked over to Hiccup's bed and was now curled at the foot of it, the dragon snoring softly.

Stoick smiled and shook his head before walking to the bed, lifting the blankets to look at Hiccup's leg. Hiccup groaned in his sleep, his eyes squeezing shut when Stoick touched his knee. Stoick grimaced then reached forward and unstrapped his prosthetic, setting it aside. He let the blanket fall back down, and Hiccup scooched to curl into himself, giving a little sigh in the process. Stoick smiled softly again, resting a hand on his son's forehead, his thumb gently making a circular pattern across his skin.

"What..?" Hiccup mumbled, rolling over onto his back, blinking up at his father. "O-oh… hi Dad."

Stoick smiled, "Hey." Then, he went stern, his smile disappearing and a firm look replacing it. "Hiccup, I told you take it easy. And walking through a freezing cold cave is not taking it easy-"

Hiccup sighed and looked away. "I-I know… sorry…" he sighed heavily. "I'm just… just so tired of staying behind. I mean, I actually have friends now, and I can't even go and spend time with them. Or- or at least not be able to do what they do."

Stoick's face softened and he nodded in understanding. He got where his son was coming from, he wouldn't like to be stuck in bed either. Hiccup liked to be busy, had always been that way. He was always moving in some way- either walking around, pacing, or just doing all those wild gestures that he liked to do with his hands. It was just the way Hiccup was. He hated being still.

Stoick sat down on the edge of the bed, resting a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup looked up at him before he returned his gaze back on the ceiling.

"Hiccup…" Stoick started. "I know this is hard for you. You're a Viking. Viking's don't like being bedridden."

Hiccup looked back at his father, his eyes wide and filled with surprise. Stoick puzzled for a moment why he'd be surprised by what he'd just said, then Stoick realized. He'd just called Hiccup a Viking. Had… had he ever said that before? Had he ever told Hiccup that he thought him a true Viking?

He pushed that aside, determined to finish what he'd started to say, "But you need your rest- or else your leg will never heal and you'll be stuck in that bed even longer. So just take it easy, we're all here, and we'll be here for oyou when you're up and all hunky dory. Okay?"

Hiccup looked away again and mumbled something under his breath. Stoick shook Hiccup's shoulder slightly.

"Please, Hiccup? I…" Stoick swallowed, "I can't have anything happen to you. Not again."

Hiccup rolled over and smiled at his Dad. "Sure. Or- I'll try. Somebody has to fly Toothless."

Stoick gave Hiccup a stern look. "But you will not be doing that until Gothi says you can. For at least a week-"

Hiccup sat up quickly. "A WEEK!"

Stoick pushed him back against the bed. "Yes. A week. And you won't be moving from that bed the entire time, got it?"

"B-but- Toothless-"

"He'll live a week on the ground, I'm sure. Or maybe Astrid can give working that tailfin a try."

Hiccup groaned and flopped against the pillow. "Seriously the gods hate me…"

Stoick chuckled and ruffled Hiccup's hair before standing up. "Now stay put. Toothless."

The dragon huffed and lifted his head, blinking sleepily at Stoick.

"You're on guard duty."

Hiccup groaned again before burying his head in the pillow. Toothless gave a rumbling dragon laugh before nodding at Stoick, then settling his head back on the floor.

Stoick started to move towards he door. "I'll be right downstairs all day if you need anything."

Stoick paused when he felt something grab his hand, and he turned to face Hiccup again. Hiccup's bright green eyes stared back, and a smile touched his son's face.

"Thanks Dad. And I'll take it easy. I promise."

Stoick grinned back and gave Hiccup's hand a squeeze. "I love you son. And don't forget it."

Hiccup just smiled at him, and Stoick released Hiccup's hand, resuming his way towards the stairs.

"I love you too, Dad."

Stoick paused, smiling to himself. The words sent explosions of joy off in his heart, the one small sentence filling him with happiness.

Yes. Everything was going to be okay. Of that he was certain.

And even if things did get tough again, Stoick knew that that Hiccup wasn't going to be alone. Never again. He had his Dad, Toothless, Astrid, the other riders, and the whole of Berk on his side.

They were there for him when he needed them, just like how he'd been there for them.

And… the end!

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Bye for now!

-FanWriter02