I loved him so much, I just couldn't - wouldn't - accept the notion that he was gone. But as I ran to the front of the crowd, I was forced to accept reality.

Hiccup could not have gotten out of that alive, let alone unscathed.

This was evident all around me as people began bowing their heads in respect. Even Stoick, Hiccup's father, seemed to have given up.

But then I realized what Stoick was kneeling in front of. Toothless! Surely Hiccup was still on Toothless's back! Right?

Wrong. As the fog cleared, I could see clearly that Hiccup was neither there nor anywhere else.

I could feel my heart drop to the ground and shatter. The tiny bits of hope that had been holding it up had snapped. There was a pounding in my head, and my eyes stung.

I was not going to cry, though. They couldn't see me cry, especially over Hiccup. The tears stayed coating my eyes.

I doubted that a second had passed.

Stoick was busy mumbling about how sorry he was, probably racked with guilt and sorrow.

Just like me.

Toothless suddenly opened his eyes and shook his head at Stoick. He seemed to be thinking.

His wings suddenly unfurled to reveal a crumpled figure lying in Toothless's arms.

My heart nearly stopped. It was Hiccup. But he didn't look alive.

As Stoick lifted his son to his ear, listening for a heartbeat, I didn't allow myself to hope.

"He's alive! You brought him back alive!" Stoick shouted.

My breath caught in my throat. Yes! Yes, yes, yes! My Dragon-Boy lives! Along with everyone else, I gasped in relief. The look on my face was probably the most joyful in the whole crowd, though.

Stoick continued mumbling about how thankful he was to Toothless until Gobber walked up. He said something along the lines of, "Well, you know, most of him."

I couldn't take much more of this, so I ran up to Gobber and Stoick and said, "What do you mean, 'Most of him'?"

"Well, lassie, just take a look."

I examined Hiccup from head to... oh. That's what he meant. I could feel bile sliding up my throat, but I managed to choke it down along with my emotions.

His riding foot... The one that was latched in to make Toothless fly. From the knee down it was simply a charred and bloody mass.

"Did we bring any doctors?" Stoick asked.

"No, we left them all behind on Berk. Said we wouldn't need any," Gobber replied.

"Drat. We need to get Hiccup back, and quickly. I can feel his heart slowing."

Now that I knew that Hiccup was alive, there was no way I was going to let that change.

"I can get him back to Berk in under an hour," I proclaimed.

"An hour might be too late, lassie. You'll have to go as fast as you possibly can," Gobber said.

"I can do it. I promise you, he will live," I stated swiftly. I didn't allow any emotion to seep in to my voice.

"Alright, but be careful. The life of Hiccup, my only son, lies with you. Do you understand this?" Stoick said.

"Yes," I said, "Now hurry. We don't have much time by the looks of it."

Stoick, gently carrying Hiccup, ran with me to my Deadly Nadder. I hopped up on top of her, secured myself, then held out my arms to carry Hiccup.

Stoick gently placed him in my arms. I cradled Hiccup up to my body, thinking about how amazingly light he was.

But Stoick broke me out of it saying, "This is extremely kind of you. That doesn't sound like Astrid Hofferson."

On the inside, I was blushing. Did he know that I had a thing for Hiccup? On the outside, however, I remained the same. "He needs help, and I know the fastest way to get him there."

Stoick gave me one last suspicious look, and was about to say something, when a slight moaning escaped from Hiccup. He shifted closer to me with a look of pain on his face.

"You better go. Hurry!" Stoick shouted.

My Nadder launched itself from the ground, weaving its way through the pillars of stone as fast as she could without flinging us off.

"Oh, Hiccup," I whispered to him, "what kind of mess have you gotten yourself in to now?"

In response, his unconscious self lay flat and still. I couldn't feel a heartbeat any more.

Panic filled my veins. As we exited the area with stone pillars, I was able to see a little more clearly now. Hiccup's face was void of expression. It actually looked like he was sleeping. I knew that my Nadder could handle getting back to Berk without me guiding her, so I let go of the rope that had been serving as her reins, and carefully put my ear to Hiccup's chest. I waited for few seconds, tears starting to leak on to my face.

Bumbump.

That one little sound made my heart soar. He was still alive; we could make it back. He would be saved, and I could punch his shoulder in affection as much as he would let me.

We rode in silence for a while, me checking his pulse every few seconds.

"As...strid?" said a groggy voice.

I looked down at Hiccup. His eyes were slightly open, and he was looking at me.

Oh crap. The tears were flowing freely now.

"You are alive! You had us so worried!" I said. I put my arms around his small back and gave him the best hug I could manage without dropping him into the ocean.

"Gah!" he shouted out in pain. Had I squeezed him too hard? What was wrong?! But then I realized what was wrong. His left leg had touched the dragon underneath them.

"Oh, Hiccup, what were you thinking?" I said through my tears.

"I needed to save..." He didn't get to finish his sentence as he dropped back into unconsciousness.

Them? The dragons? I thought ...Me? Maybe he had been saying that he was trying to save me. That thought made my heart not only skip a beat, but fall to my toes as well. Could I be the cause of so much pain?

We were approaching Berk now, I could see it in the distance. I urged the Nadder to fly just a little bit faster, and we got there in ten minutes.