Astrid didn't see him the next day but the day after found him limping into the diner around one and when he saw Astrid at the counter, he grinned in relief, his emerald eyes sparkling. Finding herself smiling back, she blushed slightly, then turned to her pad in embarrassment before looking up again. He was still waiting so she walked forward, jerking her head in the direction of his usual table.

"I missed you," she murmured and he smiled at her.

"Yeah, well, my leg was really sore yesterday so I didn't feel like walking down here," he confessed. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"And you came here the next day instead?" she asked him as he shrugged his coat off and settled in.

"Only so much time you can spend staring at four walls," he admitted. "Hey, I like this Diner. It's not far from Campus, the food is great and this is somewhere..." And his voice ground to a halt. He swallowed and the hope faded from his eyes. "This was somewhere that was mine, not ours..." She frowned and absently scribbled down his usual. He looked like he needed to talk. The guys at the bar were chuntering away at the game, unimpressed at the Berk Hooligans' performance against the Murderous Maces so Astrid replenished their beers with a smile, handed Rolf the order, snatched two coffees and sat opposite Hiccup, sliding his coffee in front of him. He offered a wan smile.

"Okay-you need to talk and I am here, willing to listen," she told him firmly. "What did you mean, this place was 'mine not ours'?" He flinched and toyed with the spoon, stirring his coffee mechanically.

"Okay," he sighed. "Ana was a much more popular and vivacious person than I am. She had loads of friends and even my friends were more mutual rather than just mine. So after the accident, when she saw what I had become, when she dumped me because why would anyone want...this..." His voice had lowered with self-loathing again. She reached out and patted his hand gently. "When she ended it...our friends...chose. None of them seemed to be able to be friends with both of us any more...and they all chose...her."

Astrid rolled her eyes. She knew what he meant: it was always awkward when a couple split but if you were friends with both, it could be very difficult to remains friends with both when one or the other complained you were taking sides by seeing the other person. She had been the victim of this, of course, once the news she was expecting had gotten round and he had dropped her like a piece of trash. Everyone she had hung around with suddenly blocked her number or just blanked her.

"Then they were very poor friends," she commented, sipping her coffee and deliberately spooning another sugar in. He gave a slight shrug, his desolate emerald gaze locked on the table.

"Some of them had been friends since Elementary School and it really hurt when they just cut all contact," he murmured. "I mean, I was badly hurt in the crash, I was really struggling and it would have been really great to have some of my friends coming round and...helping." He sighed. "And almost everywhere was somewhere that was hers. The Coffee Shop, the Meade Hall, Johann's...and none of them felt...welcoming anymore. Everyone just stared at me when I came in...she was even in Johann's when I came in...Thor, that was awkward. The whole place fell silent...and I couldn't do it. I-I just walked out and then I heard the whispers and giggles before the door even closed. I just felt so..."

"Alone," she murmured, recalling the whispers and eyes that had watched her as she had gone around Berk when her pregnancy became more obvious. And no matter the facts of what happened, she was the one who was shamed, even in 21st century Berk. Pregnant at eighteen, no boyfriend, no college...the word slut was whispered more than once on her hearing and it had been all she could managed to walk away and not pound the self-righteous bitch into the ground while screaming the truth of it. There was nothing to be gained by putting herself in the wrong: the harm had been done and she would live with the fallout. If this had been what Odin decreed, Astrid Hofferson would face it with all the courage of her Fearless family.

"Astrid?" His voice was kind, concerned and she blinked the memory away, smiling and meeting his wide emerald gaze.

"It's okay," she assured him, squeezing his hand. "But why did she dump you, Hiccup? I mean, you're okay, aren't you? You didn't become violent or abusive or anything...?" His eyes widened in shock and hurt at the intimation ad he pulled back, shaking his head vehemently.

"No, no, I would never..." he gabbled, his voice rising in panic. His ran his fingers through his hair, leaving the soft auburn locks even more wildly tousled than usual. "Please, you have to believe me that I..." She shook her head swiftly.

"I don't believe that, Hiccup," she reassured him gently. "But why else would she dump someone she seemed to happy with...why would she turn everyone against you?" He pulled his hand away, his head bowing and shoulders hunching in misery.

"Because I'm not the man I was," he mumbled, his voice thick with misery. She leaned closer and grasped his hand again.

"Hiccup?" Her voice was so wary and embarrassed that he had to look up-to see her blushing.

"Um, not like that," he said softly, a faint hint of wry humour entering his words. "Gods, that would be the end. No, I have...scars. really, really bad scars. And panic attacks. And flashbacks. And nightmares..."

"PTSD," she murmured. "Post traumatic stress disorder..." Suddenly he looked at her in shock. "Um, done some psychology for my degree..." His eyes widened then, the emerald depths filling with admiration. He knew her circumstances now-mother, waitress on minimum wage, money tight-but she was still pursuing her dreams. Taking a shuddering breath, he managed a small smile.

"You saw," he murmured.. "You can see why no one would want a guy who can barely walk, who can't get into a car-except yours-and who panics at the sight of a truck. Hardly a catch." She squeezed his hand gently.

"You know, I see a nice guy oozing raw Vikingness who's been the victim of a terrible accident and who has been treated shamefully by people who should have known better," she told him firmly. "We just gotta get you more mobile and confident and you'll be fighting off the girls with a baseball bat."

"Never was even before the accident and did I tell you I was horrible at baseball?" he replied and she grinned at the return of his sarcastic humour. She rose and swatted his shoulder with avery gentle punch.

"Well, you better get practising, Hiccup, because I intend-as your friend-to get you back on your feet and believe me, chicks dig confidence!" she told him tartly.

"So that's where I've been going wrong," he told her, smiling as she headed to the kitchen to fetch his burger.

oOo

That evening, once Emma was in bed, she was searching the online Berk newspaper archives. The BERK TRADER was the local paper and reported on everything, from local politics to the annual 'Best Viking' competition.

As she scrolled down through every issue since she saw Hiccup and Ana walk out of the Diner, hand in hand, she suddenly sat up at a very bland headline:

TRUCK CRUSHES CAR, TWO INJURED.

She blinked: the date was scarcely a month after that day, barely a month after Hiccup and Ana were so in love that they had become engaged. Well, he had mentioned that they had been researching wedding venues and she sipped her coffee as she read the bleak article.

Yesterday evening, an articulated truck smashed into a small car, seriously injuring the two passengers. Hiccup Haddock (22) and his fiancee, Ana Aryndelle (21) were trapped in their vehicle for four hours as emergency services struggled to free them. The accident happened up on the Berk-Meathead Pass at 7:23 pm last night. The road was dry, there was no rain or fog and no ice was found on the road. Police at the scene reported the tracks showed the truck had clearly crossed the carriageways to ram into the small car, which was crushed against the rocky cliff at the side of the roadway. The truck, one of the Outcast Haulage (Berk) fleet was driven by the owner, Mr Alvin Treacher, who was arrested at the scene for suspected DUI and dangerous driving.

Both passengers are in Berk General this morning. Miss Aryndelle has sustained a broken arm and minor bruising while Mr Haddock remains in intensive care, in critical condition.

Astrid's eyes widened. Hiccup had said that his former fiancee had been seriously injured but in fact, she had gotten off lightly-while Hiccup had borne the brunt of the accident-and the guilt for what was clearly a criminal act on behalf of the driver of the truck. She scanned down, not finding anything more on the couple, but noting that Alvin Treacher had already been sentenced to ten years in jail. It seemed that on top of driving very drunk and falling asleep at the wheel, the truck also had defective brakes and was overloaded . There was not a hope in Midgard that the truck would have avoided the collision: that the two passengers had lived was a miracle in itself.

But Hiccup was still suffering. She had seen the two small scars on his face-probably from flying glass-but it was clear his leg had been badly mangled in the crash and was still paining him, even five months later. A protective flame ignited in her chest, fanned by her anger at Ana. The girl had broken Hiccup-and though she didn't know the full story and was sure Hiccup was still holding out on her-she was determined to help him.

She scrolled back to the mangled wreckage of a small black car crumpled between a truck and the sandy grey cliff face and she shuddered. He had survived that crash: now Astrid would make sure that he actually lived.

And she had a plan.