Important A/N at the end. You guys deserve this chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 16: Thoughts

Hiccup fell asleep soon after his father left the room. Valka had been running her hands through his hair, his head on her lap while she sat against his headboard. Seeing him asleep wasn't a surprise considering what he'd been through earlier that day. He left the hospital for the first time in a week, hurriedly walking about on his crutches, being surprised with a homecoming party and then suffering his first flashback. Valka would have been concerned if he hadn't been tired out, even the slightest.

She had begun softly humming a song she used to sing to the boys when they were younger, 'For the Dancing and the Dreaming'. She was beginning to fall asleep herself before she even finished the song, but before she could completely drift off, Stoick entered the room. She sat up from her slouched position against the headboard and smiled at him. He smiled back and gently closed the door slightly behind him, letting the golden light from the hallway shine in.

"How's he doing?" Stoick asked, making his way to the side of the bed, peering down at the now sleeping form of his son.

Valka looked down at Hiccup, his face no longer pinched tightly in pain. He had finally relaxed, his phantom pain dying down. "He's finally asleep." she said, running her fingers through his hair. Hiccup stirred slightly at the touch but didn't wake.

Stoick nodded, letting out a sigh in relief. He didn't need his boy up all night in pain or suffering from flashbacks and nightmares. One flashback was enough for a month. Hiccup didn't deserve this.Any of this.

"Are you going to stay with him? He asked not to be left alone. Tommy's already heading to bed." he asked, quietly. He placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, massaging it gently.

Valka nodded. "I'll stay. He needs someone with him." she stated, she would hate herself if she had left and he had a nightmare.

"I can stay if you want to head to bed, Val." he suggested. "I wouldn't mind."

Valka smiled, not taking her eyes of Hiccup. "No, it's alright. You helped him out of his flashback. You need your sleep." she replied.

Stoick nodded before raising himself from his slouched stand. He then leaned over the bed, careful not to wobble it and wake the exhausted boy, cupped Valka's chin and giving her a short kiss on her forehead. He pulled back with a smile and leaned down to do the same to Hiccup. He was slightly concerned that the boy's temperature hadn't gone down as much as he would have liked, but it was lowering. He walked to the door, whispering a soft goodnight to the two before opening the door to leave.

...

The next morning, Valka woke before Hiccup had, which was no surprise to her considering the night before. It was fairly late in the morning, almost ten judging by the light slipping through the closed blinds. Hiccup stirred slightly in his sleep, bringing Valka's attention back to him. She placed a gentle hand on his forehead, feeling his temperature as he leaned into her touch. Thankfully it had dropped back to normal overnight and he no longer appeared to have any lingering signs of his phantom pain.

She ran her fingers through his hair softly, smiling as he moved into her touch. She'd missed her boys so much in the months she'd been away. She hated to be gone from them for so long, especially when they were younger. It was never easy. It still wasn't easy, and after the recent events she didn't think she could ever do it again.

Sometimes even coming back was hard. After coming home to Hiccup being depressed and Stoick isolating himself from the boys during the busy school months she had struggled to leave them earlier this year. Stoick and the boys persuaded her to leave, as it was her job and she was doing what she loved to do. Chase. While being away from those she loved and who needed her.

"M... mom?" Hiccups tired voice brought her out of her train of thought. He was just brake awake, green eyes only half open and gazing up at his mother. "What... what time is it?" he asked, tiredly.

"It's fairly late in the morning." she answered. "I don't know for sure since your alarm clock is unplugged." Valka leaned over and kissed his forehead, pleased that his temperature had not returned and that he had woken up.

Hiccups nodded sleepily. He shut his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath in and out before gazing b.s. up at his mother. "How long have you been here, Mom?" he asked, curiously.

"Since last night." she responded. When she saw his slightly shocked and confused expression she chuckled. "You didn't think I'd leave you by yourself last night, did you?" she teased.

"Uh... yes-... no? I-I don't know." he stuttered. "Y-You didn't need to... you should've gone to bed, Mom."

Valka shook her head. "No." she responded plainly. "I couldn't leave you. And you father even told me you didn't want to be left alone. And I wasn't going that happen."

Hiccup looked down towards his right leg, shifting it and under the blanket and watch as his left did nothing, as it wasn't there. It was still have to get used to. Waking up for sixteen years with two legs and suddenly having only one was not something anyone could easily adjust to. He wished Valka would've gone to bed, but then again he was more comfortable waking up with someone with him than alone like he was in the hospital.

He took a breath, looking back up at her. "Thanks Mom." he said quietly.

Valka smiled, giving him another kiss on his forehead. "You're very welcome, son."

Hiccup was about to attempt to sit up when there was a knock on the door. Before either Hiccup or Valka could answer Tommy threw the door open and came into the room.

"Yes! You're up!" he exclaimed, smile on his face. "Dad's making french toast and I wanted to warn you before I eat them all."

Hiccup sat up and smirked. "Is that a challenge?" he asked.

Tommy crossed his arms. "You know what? Maybe it is."

Hiccup held his stare, reaching a hand in the direction of his crutches, silently asking Valka to grab them for him. Holding back a chuckle, Valka swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for the crutches that were leaning against the wall and handing them to Hiccup. Hiccup hastily stood up on his right foot and placed the crutches under his arms.

"You're so going down."

Tommy, trying not to laugh, ran out of the room towards the stairs. Hiccup rolled his eyes and began making his way to the door. "Hey, no fair!" he yelled. "You aren't stuck in crutches!"

"Life isn't fair!" Tommy yelled back, his socks causing him to slide on the hardwood floors. He grabbed the stair railing to stop himself, but he was suddenly halted he fell straight forward onto his face.

Hiccup slowly made his way towards his brother, holding in his laughter, and stopped right in front of the stairs. He turned his head as Tommy looked up at him, frowning as Hiccup began to descend the stairs, purposefully taking up as much space as he could with his crutches so Tommy couldn't pass.

Tommy whined from his spot on the floor. "Not. Fair."

"Life isn't fair!" Hiccup responded, throwing Tommy's own words back at him.

Valka walked out of Hiccup's room, stretching her arms and chuckling at the boys. She walked over to Tommy, who was still on the floor with his head down. When he looked up at her she held out her hand, lifting him off the floor.

"I swear, you boys never change." Valka chuckled.

Tommy was about to respond when Stoick called up from the kitchen. "Tommy! Hiccup's beating you to the table!"

Before Valka could blink Tommy was running down the stairs to the kitchen. As he made it to the kitchen he saw Hiccup sitting at the table. Stoick was walking over to the table with a plate of french toast and placed it in front of Hiccup. He smirked at his brother, picked up a piece of french toast and mouthed 'I win.'

Tommy sighed in defeat and sat down at the table across from Hiccup. Stoick brought over a second plate of french toast from him and placed it down on the table.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Stoick exclaimed suddenly, grabbing the phone off the counter. "Astrid called this morning. She wanted to see how you were doing."

Hiccup paused just before taking another bite of his toast. Of course she called, he thought to himself. He wasn't too surprised. Almost every single day since he was hospitalized, Astrid would come and visit him at some point. She didn't miss a day. At first he found it strange that she would go through the trouble to come everyday, but then he remembered what they had talked about when they were trapped. They both admitted that they had feelings for eachother, but over the past few days they didn't address them. Even the slightest.

She would visit him everyday, hold his hand and give him a kiss on the forehead before she left, but what happened down in the hole where they were trapped, never came up. Why Astrid was so open with him so suddenly, after not talking in years. He was worried her feelings for him were just something that came out in the heat of the moment, and the only reason she was sticking around was because she felt guilty. After all,she did say that she felt that this was all her fault.

"She said she's coming over around eleven." Stoick added. "That alright with you?"

Hiccup waited a moment, going over his thoughts from the past few minutes. Did he really want to see her? He blocked those thoughts out and nodded. "Yeah." he said. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Good." Stoick responded. Placing two more pieces of french toast on a plate and handing it to Valka. "Goodmorning, my dear." he smiled, handing Valka the plate and giving her a small kiss.

"Good morning." Valka said, smiling as well. Placing her plate on the counter and turning back towards Stoick. "Did you call Dr. Kalt this morning?" she asked.

Stoick nodded. "She wants Hiccup to meet his therapist later this week considering, well, the events of last night." he said, grabbing his own plate. "She thought it would be a good idea to talk about it soon before another flashback or a panic attack happens."

Valka nodded and looked towards the table where Hiccup and Tommy were seated, talking about a new cartoon they were watching on Tommy's phone. Even though they both appeared to be enjoying it, Hiccup seemed slightly distracted. Valka could tell. After all, he still had a lot to think about. She knew the feeling. They all did in a way. They all had nightmares and minor flashbacks of the horrors they'd witnessed, just not as severe as his.

What made things worse was that if he was having a nightmare or panic attack he wouldn't tell anyone and have to deal with it himself. It had happened once at the hospital where Dr. Kalt had told them Hiccup had woken up screaming from a nightmare and didn't tell and didn't tell anyone besides the nurse who came to check on him. He hides too much, eventually it will start to tear him down from the inside.

...

About an hour later, Astrid had arrived at the Haddock household. Tommy and Hiccup had been in the living room, continuing their show when she arrived. The three teens sat awkwardly on the couch for the remainder of the episode, Astrid holding Hiccup's hand as he rested his hand limply in hers. She noticed he was acting different when she arrived. He was acting distant, like he wasn't all there; lost in thought.

There was an awkward silence after the end of the episode, until Tommy suggested they play Mario Kart. Since they only had two remotes, they took turns. First it was Tommy and Hiccup. Hiccup came in second place and Tommy came in first so he went up against Astrid next. Astrid beat Tommy by a landslide and was now up against Hiccup, who had barely said a word the entire time.

"You ready, Hiccup?" she asked, handing him a remote. Hiccup nodded, giving her a small smile, which she returned. "Don't worry. I'll go easy on you." she teased.

Hiccup smirked. "Don't bother."

The race started out slow, both Hiccup and Astrid were in the middle in sixth and seventh place for the first lap. Astrid eventually lead in first place for half of the second lap and then the third. Hiccup sat close behind her in third place. They were coming to the final stretch before the finish line, no obstacles and no question blocks in their path. Suddenly, Hiccup launched a blue shell at Astrid, stopping her just before she could cross the finish line. Hiccup then passed the NPC as well as Astrid and crossed the finish line in first place.

"Yes!" Hiccup cheered, raising a fist in the air. Both Tommy and Astrid stared at him in shock.

"Where did that come from?!" Astrid asked, slightly in shock.

Tommy joined in. "Dude, what the heck! There weren't any question blocks around!"

Hiccup leaned back on the couch, crossing his arms and leaving the remote by his side. "When you get something from the question blocks that doesn't mean you have to use it right away." he said, smirking.

Tommy gave him an 'are you serious?' look. "How long did you have that?" he asked.

"Since the end of the second lap."

Astrid snapped out of her minor shock and gave Hiccup a punch in the shoulder. "That's for cheating." she said. Hiccup glared at her, holding his arm. She then leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good game, though."

Hiccup gave her a small smile. "Thanks." he said, rubbing his arm before picking up the remote again. "Although, I'd hardly call it cheating." he stated, reaching onto the floor to pick up the remote Astrid had dropped there. "Round two?"

Astrid smiled, taking the remote. "You're so on."

"I race winner!" Tommy exclaimed, sitting down on the couch and waiting for them to select a cup to race. The phone rang on the side table and Tommy leaned over, picking it up to see who was calling. He didn't recognise the number, but it was definitely from Berk and didn't look like a telemarketer.

"Boys!" Stoick called, coming around the small corner from the kitchen. "Where's the phone?" he asked.

Tommy held the ringing phone up. "Here, Dad!" he said, preparing to throw the phone to his father.

"Tommy, no-" Stoick began, but Tommy had already tossed the phone and Stoick raced to grab it so it wouldn't hit the floor, instantly picking up the call when he caught it. "Tommy, I told you, stop throwing the phone!" he exclaimed, holding the phone away from his face. "Nice toss, by the way."

Tommy chuckled, leaning back on the couch. Hiccup gave him a playful shove before tuning back to the TV. "One day, you're actually gonna break that thing." Hiccup said. "And the whole 'nice throw' plan for getting out of trouble is eventually gonna stop working."

Tommy rolled his eyes and watched as Hiccup selected the 'Star Cup' for him and Astrid to begin racing. They had just begun the first race when their attention got brought towards Stoicks conversation on the phone.

"Eric?" Stoick asked the person on the phone. "Yeah, yeah she's here. Hold on." he said. He sounded shocked. "Val!" he called upstairs. "Phone's for you!"

"Coming!" Valka called from their bedroom where she had been getting dressed, since she was still in the clothes from the night before. She came down the stairs into the dining room where Stoick was standing with the phone.

"It's Eric." Stoick said, handing her the phone.

Valka's eyes widened and she reached for the phone. She hadn't talked to Eric since the storm. He was supposed to be staying in town with an old family friend before heading back home when he left to head home. He was supposed to leave yesterday.

"Hello? Eric?" she asked.

"Valka!" Eric said from the other end of the line.

"Eric, I thought you were headed home yesterday!"

"Yeah, I was." Eric answered. "But then I was asked to join a search group to find Calum and Alvin's bodies."

Valka tensed. He was asked to join a search party to find her boss and best friend's bodies. And he wouldn't have called her unless they found anything, meaning... "Eric, what did you find?" she asked.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "They found the Titus not too far from the storm drain we were in. It was in a tree. I managed to get the cards from the cameras, thankfully. We were looking for Calum by the church and..." he paused, taking a deep breath. "We found him. He was buried under some other debris. His body was..." he stopped there. Valka felt some tears sting in her eyes at just the thought. "We found his camera, too."

Valka's eyes widened. "You... you found his camera?" she asked.

"Yeah. Fully intact, surprisingly." he confirmed, chuckling slightly. "Some fire damage on eh outside, cracked lense but the memory card is perfectly fine. We have it here if you want to pick it up along with the Titus camera footage. I know your boys are decent with computers so maybe they could pull some stuff off of it."

Valka nodded, but then remembered Eric couldn't actually see her. "Yeah. I'll leave in a few. Where are you?" she asked.

"We're in the parking lot outside the church."

"Alright." she said. "See you soon." And she hung up. She looked up at Stoick, who was looking at her, eyes full of concern. "They found Alvin and Calum's bodies." she answered, sniffling slightly but still holding strong. "They found Calum's camera card and the cards from the Titus. They want me to go and pick it up."

Stoick gave her a questioning look. "Why do they want you to take the cards?" he asked.

"They think maybe the boys can pull the footage off of them and maybe edit what's left. To complete the project we started." she said. "So, maybe, their deaths didn't mean completely nothing in the end." She had a tear escape her eye and she took a deep breath.

Tommy stood up, handing Hiccup his crutches that he had been reaching for as Astrid helped him stand. Tommy was the first to speak. "We're coming with you." he said.

Before Valka could protest, Stoick had placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll all go." he said, massaging her shoulder gently. "Alright?" When she nodded, Stoick smiled to her. "Good. Now, get ready. We'll be leaving in two minutes."

Tommy went to go change his shirt before they left and Hiccup was going to the door to put his shoes on. When he reached the door he sat down the the small bench and leaned over to pick up his shoes. He picked up the left shoe first out of habit and then remembered he no longer had a left foot anymore. He sighed, dropping the left shoe back where it had been previously. This would take some getting used to. Atleast he didn't have to worry about losing his left socks anymore. I wonder if I'll get shoes half off since I only need the one? he thought to himself.

"Hey," a voice said, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was Astrid who was sitting next to him on the bench. She was holding his right shoe out for him to put on. "You sure you want to go back out there?" she asked. She didn't even sound sure that she wanted to head back out of town.

Hiccup nodded. "I'm sure." he said nervously, turning his head towards her after putting his shoe on. "It's fine." he said with a small smile.

Astrid returned the smile and gave him a small side hug before coming to a stand and helping him up off the bench. Tommy had just come back from downstairs and Stoick and Valka were all ready to go. They all left the house and climbed into the car while Stoick locked the door. Hiccup sat on the right side so he could climb out easily, Astrid sat next to him in the middle and Tommy on the left. There was a tense feeling lingering in the vehicle as Stoick descended the small steps off the front porch, no one dared speak.

Just as they were turning off their street, a thought occurred to Hiccup. He was at war with himself if he should even consider going back there, since the events of the night before. Hesitantly, he took a breath and spoke up. "Dad?" he asked.

"Yes?" Stoick responded, looking back and forth for any oncoming cars.

"Can... can we..." he began, taking a deep breath again as Tommy, aStrid and Valka looked towards him. "C-can we stop at the paper mill on Garner?"

I'VE BEEN GONE FOR EXACTLY 4 MONTHS BUT I'M BACK, YAY! Please put down your axes and pitchforks and hear me out for a second. I'll explain!

First of all, cupcakes to all of you who waited so so SO patiently for an update on this story! I really am sorry for the wait. I had a lot going on with school and dance and my anxiety and depression got REALLY REALLY bad so I didn't have enough time or motivation to write. I'm getting better though! I would have updated you with an A/N but I hate it when authors update with just an A/N because it gets you hyped up for nothing. I would NEVER do that to you guys!

Secondly, I will be updating more now! I had my last exam on Monday (ugh, math) so I'm officially done grade 10! I will try to update more this week, but not next week. I'm camping so I'll be writing offline when I have time and uploading when I get back. I will NEVER leave you guys for that long EVER again. I swear the guilt was KILLING me the entire time!

Thirdly, if you check out my profile, I have some new information on the stories I'm writing and will be writing! Yay! Also, if you guys want one-shots for 'Into the Storm', leave me prompts and I'll start working on them for when this is finished. I might not do one-shots though, this is just in case I do (if you guys really want) because I'm doing a different modern AU story for HTTYD soon after this one.

Lastly, DID ANYONE ELSE WATCH THE NEW SEASON OF RTTE!? Oh my thor the ending KILLED me! I watched RTTE and Voltron (which you should really see, it's fantastic!) in one day and I have too many feels! TOO MANY GUYS! The character death though, seriously, it KILLED me! Also, they sang. THEY. SANG. Ahhhhhh! I need help...

Thank you all for being so patient, I felt REALLY bad for leaving you all hanging for so long! I love you all so much you rock!

One more thing before I go, STORY INFO! I wanted you to know what's coming in this story since I haven't updated for so long, so think of this as an apology of sorts! There will be more Hiccstrid coming soon (not all of it is positive, though), Hiccup goes to an amputee support group, the video time capsule is finished and MAJOR feels! Plus, later the video Time Capsule will be COMPLETED!

Love you all and see you soon!

-TBBG