Welcome to Chapter 12! I meant to upload it over Christmas, but guess who got sick?! So here it is. I'm thinking three more chapters. Hope you all enjoy and leave a review!

Gunshots rang through the air.

Henry had been jolted awake so fast he didn't have time to comprehend what had happened. But he had just enough time to catch a glance at the shadowy figure that dashed from the room. Henry could feel his dog launched off the bed and tear after the figure, snarling his one canine and scratching across the floors as he tried to catch the figure that got out as quickly as they had slipped in. Henry had only a second to comprehend his still ringing ears, the shots so loud he could barely hear Astrid's shrieks.

"Astrid!" He screamed running towards her as she sat on the ground holding herself, trying to make her as small as possible. "Did they- Oh God!"

"Stormy!" Call 9-1-1!"

…

The universe must have hated them for the two of them to end up waiting in a hospital waiting room for the third time in a matter of weeks. Astrid had a very different temperament then when her father died. When he died, she was silent, no tears, no words, no expression. She simply felt numb. Now, Hiccup had never seen a storm brewing so quickly and so fiercely inside her. Her face puffy and red, not from crying, but from lack of sleep and words that were so harshly hissed through teeth and so often that his throat was raw and sore. It had been two hours and no word, at least not from anyone who had any information. Astrid had said plenty and at this point the entire building knew everything that was on her mind.

Hiccup simply let her go. There was no way he could control the hurricane, he could barely wrestle her in on a good day. But when she collapsed into the waiting room couch exhausted and wheezy, he finally found her hand, lacing their fingers and nodding softly. Her face contorted with anger, and afraid she may get up and storm down the hallways full of red hot rage, he grabbed her other wrist and shook his head. For the first time in two hours she didn't say a thing. Toothless crawled next to her, resting his head in her lap and sighing dramatically. He missed his best friend and worse the energy that pooled under the doors of the room and filled his humans with dread and anger made him anxious. He shifted, bringing his gaze up to Astrid as she rubbed his ears gently. His tail wagged softly, hoping it would make her feel better. It didn't.

What his humans didn't know was that he had gotten a good grip on the figure, teeth sinking into flesh with the force of an alligator's jaws, tearing away at their hidden identity for just as second as the figure threw him off, his foot jabbing into his ribs sending him back against the floor. With only bruising, Toothless had gotten up again, went chasing after the figure, but they were long gone.

But Toothless saw the human. He got a good look, even in the dark. But that wouldn't help Stormfly now.

…

The vet had talked and Hiccup had listened, jotting down notes with each bob of his head. Astrid however had moved on from the strung together words as the vet spoke quickly and efficiently. Astrid moved her eyes around the animal hostpital's long corridors with yapping dogs and bustling nurses.

"She'll have to stay for a few days. Surgery went well, but we're worried that the gunshot may trigger PTSD, you said she was a K-9." Astrid nodded.

"She's in good hands. You two go home, get some rest." The vet, bid them goodbye and Hiccup stood, Toothless at his side.

"The vet's right Ast. We just have to ride it through."

"How can you be so calm?" The clock ticked behind them. 1 2 3 4… 4 3 2 1 He counted the seconds before the explosion. He had gotten good at pinpointing the exact second she would erupt.

"I'm not. I-I'm trying to make sense of things. It's a lot."

"Somebody tried to kill me, Hiccup! How is that not clear!?" She leaned in, her voice a harsh whisper and her gaze shifted downward.

"Somebody knows that I'm getting close. They're making sure I stay quiet." She bit her lip nervously and glanced up at Hiccup.

"We need to tell the BPD" She started to nod, but her eyes narrowed and she paused.

"Hiccup, the BPD are the only personnel that could know…"

"Are you saying-"

"Yes. I think-" Hiccup through a hand over her mouth and shook his head.

"Stop talking. Let's go home, and discuss date night plans for tomorrow?" Astrid jumped back , appalled and opened her mouth to retort, but she caught the cue.

"Of course babe."

…

Play the part. They talked about their "relationship" and their date plans for the next evening as they nonchalantly searched the house. It was a fabrication, but the house was bugged, someone had to have heard their conversations inside the house. And a bug was the only possibility.

"So, how about when Stormy's home, we take a roadtrip. Maybe out to the coast for a few days." Astrid lifted her head from under the couch.

"That sounds fantastic!" Her voice was a half an octave higher than usual,and slightly out of breath as she hurried into the next room to search. She glanced into Hiccup's room and snapped on the lamp. She paused. Around the rim of the inside of the shade was a slight bump. Easily mistaken for a bump in the fabric, it was the perfect place for the little black bug to attach. She almost growled when she saw it. She stuck her head out of the doorway and hollered to Hiccup.

"Hey babe! How about we take this to your room?" She giggled (which never happened) and waited for Hiccup. He burst up the steps but she held a finger to his lips. She pulled him into the room and pointed to the bug. He watched as she carefully removed the bug from its station. With a quick stomp of her foot, it shattered beneath her shoe.

"Astrid, this means someone had to have been in the house before last night." They gulped and looked down at the broken pieces. Everything felt like it was crashing down on them. "This goes beyond anything-" Hiccup choked out in his flabbergasted expression.

"We need to go back to where it started."

"The fire?" Astrid grew pale and slowly shook her head."

"Before that."

"Where your dad was-"

"No Hiccup. I started the hunt for answers long before the fire. We need to go back to where it started." Hiccup's eyes held an intense stare with her own; green locking with blue in a sickening feeling that sucked them into the pits of its black hole.

"The Elevator"

This be the tea. Until next time,

-Daisy