Astrid's mouth opened but no words came out. 'How much did they hear? Why are they not freaking out? People should be told this news gently.' Were some of the thoughts fluttering through her head as she saw Stoick and Gobber standing mere feet away from them. Astrid did not expect Stoick to surge forward and envelop her in a bone-crushing hug. She didn't need to breathe, thankfully, so she just hung there, mouth agape, as Stoick hugged her.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you lass!" Stoick exclaimed as he finally noticed that Astrid hung limply in his strong grip. "I didn't hurt ya did I?" He asked a bit sheepishly after putting her back on solid ground. "Hiccup often tells me he needs to breathe."

"No.... no, you didn't hurt me." Astrid cast her eyes down at the mention of Hiccup. "But why did you thank me? I've.... I've...."

"Lass you saved Hiccup's life." Stoick said as he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I am very grateful for that."

"But I turned him." Astrid mumbled as she still couldn't look Stoick in the eyes. "He'll be a vampire now and not of his own choice."

"Astrid...." Stoick started and then said "Please look at me." Astrid looked up and saw no hate or resentment in the Mayor's eyes. "I know you did what ya thought was best lass. I don't blame you and you shouldn't blame yourself either. You saved my son and for that I am eternally grateful."

"Besides..." Gobber cut in. "We kinda expected Hiccup to become a vampire one day to stay with ya." Astrid looked at Gobber with eyes wide as the dentist continued. "I mean, he's practically head over heels for ya lass. He wouldn't want to lose ya." A light blush started creeping on Astrid's cheeks at Gobber's admission.

"Why don't we take this to the waiting room." Heather suggested. "I believe Cami is there waiting for us." The group nodded and went back inside the airconditioned room.

"There you guys are." Cami said upon spotting them. "I was getting worried."

"I'm sorry for worrying you." Astrid apologized to the young Sheriff and then also added. "And I also shouldn't have brushed you off like that."

"Astrid I understand. This is a high-stress situation for anyone." Cami stated as she gestured for all the party members to sit. "They won't tell me much since I'm not family but I've seen several doctors rush into the operating room observation deck."

"Is it that bad?!" Astrid asked.

"No....NO!" Camicazi quickly backtracked. "I didn't mean to worry you. There is nothing wrong with the surgery. It was just the look of awe and scepticism that the doctors had that put me on edge."

"Scepticism?" Astrid asked while frowning "Hiccup was shot, what's there to be sceptical about?"

"Cami what aren't you telling us?" Heather asked.

"Well I as usual did some snooping." Cami shrugged.

"Of course you did." Gobber added. "They certainly didn't notice a person in uniform sneaking around."

"You'd be surprised Gobber how many times people haven't noticed me." Cami shot back with a wink and boasted. "I did manage to steal the Mayor's underpants one time."

"We shall not talk about that incident." Stoick quickly spoke up as both Heather and Astrid looked at him curiously. Astrid wondered if she could get Gobber or Hiccup to spill the juicy details. "What did they say?"

"Well the doctors rushed in not to see the full operation but apparently the healing powers that a vampire possessed." Cami explained. "I heard them talking about Hiccup and how they should keep him 'under observation' to witness the change." Cami made air quotes as she frowned. "I don't want to sound paranoid but I get the feeling that they might want a guinea pig."

"Well lass ya are paranoid sometimes." Gobber stated. "Remember the time when you thought that Draco was going to take over the world with the large quantities of peanut butter he ordered."

"Hey, we never found out what happened to that peanut butter!" Cami grumbled and huffed. "Okay, so I'm suspicious of many people, present company excluded by the way, but I think if you let these docs have an inch they'd take a mile."

"They wouldn't violate their Hippocratic oath." Astrid reasoned "but I shall be wary." she stated as she knew vampire physiology to be uncharted territory, and for good reason too. The consequences of finding out the secrets to immortality were too great for the human race.

"Don't you worry lasses." Stoick said. "If they're difficult then I'll force their hand. Being Mayor does have its perks."

"That's good to know." Astrid stated as they waited. She looked up at Stoick for a moments after silence had fallen over the group. "Are you alright with this?" She asked. "I mean you said you are but....... Sometimes people omit the truth." She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "It's hard for anyone to accept."

"Astrid, I stand by what I've said." Stoick respond.

"Even if it means that your son has to watch you grow old and die?" She murmured. "I have to admit this. I've never turned another person before but Heather has. Besides me there were others." She admitted. "She told me of the heartache some suffered at seeing their family grow old." Astrid spoke softly as she gazed at Heather. "I think she might have had to step in during that situation. She never really speaks about it but I see the hurt in her eyes."

"Lass, I know immortality is a tough journey but I'm sure my boy can handle it. He'll have you by his side won't he." Stoick told her. "My wife will be here tomorrow and she'd tell you the same thing. Ever since we moved to this town, ever since we got involved here, there was always a chance of things not going according to plans. Valka knows this, Hiccup knows this." Stoick then let out a sigh. "Henry knew it too."

Astrid saw reluctance etched in the Mayor's face when he spoke of Henry. She quickly said "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No Astrid, you should know this. I consider you a daughter already." Stoick stated as he looked around. Heather and Gobber had gone to get them food while Cami had to take a call from the station. They were suspiciously alone and Stoick wondered if Gobber might be trying to get them to open up to each other. "Astrid I have something to admit. I haven't always been such a good father."

Astrid's eyes shot up at that statement "But Hiccup adores you."

"And I love my son. I love both my sons." Stoick stated. "It's just I might have had a hand in what happened today. If only I had seen it sooner."

"I don't quite understand." Astrid admitted. She looked at the Mayor with a bit of worry as the large man hunched forward.

"Hiccup adores me now." Stoick said. "And I haven't spoken to Henry in years. But that wasn't always so. I admit that I made some bad parenting decisions." He continued. "When we first moved to this town I knew what it was. I knew that my wife was setting up a preserve. I've known she became part of an agency that protected endangered and genetically grown animals. The full brunt of it came with her absence."

"But you love your wife." Astrid stated as she looked at the somber man.

"Aye lass, I do. I love her very much. I just sometimes wish she was there to point out the mistakes I made with the boys." Stoick took a deep breath. "We moved here when Hiccup was two. He was scrawny and awkward. Born prematurely. I looked at him when he was born and thought 'This is my son. I would do anything for him'." Stoick admitted without a bit of hesitation. "That's still true now but during those years I lost my reasoning a bit.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.

"Hiccup was a tiny babe. He had breathing problems at first. I loved him but treated him like he was made of glass. My wife of course chastised me for it." There was a fond chuckle there. "I didn't know how much I wished for my son to have the same interests as me until Henry was born. As the boys grew older and Valka had to take a lot of time overseas to collect the dragons that were being abused, I might have made some bad decisions as a parent." Astrid was listening with rapt attention.

"I started favoring one boy over the other." Stoick admitted and Astrid knew he was not proud of this fact. "Hiccup was creative, artsy and very intelligent but I mostly ignored his accomplishments in favor of Henry's athletic achievements."

Astrid watched the man that Hiccup spoke so fondly about "But he forgave you." She stated. "Yes, after a long talk and him giving me a black eye." Stoick admitted. "I deserved that."

"But I still fail to see how any of this is your fault?" Astrid stated.

"Hiccup was Henry's Senior in school and not very popular. Henry was a jock and had girls fawning over him. There were incidents and one of them was what Henry did to Fishleg's little sister. It caused me to reevaluate my parenting style." Stoick admitted as his eyes showed shame. "I went over how I raised the boys through the years and why Henry would treat a lady like that when he knows better. My conclusion certainly was an eye opener. I'd spoiled Henry rotten while not paying much attention to Hiccup except to tell him he should be more like his brother. Henry thought that he could get away with anything and when I tried to rectify my parenting mistakes he blamed his brother for causing it. I don't know teenager logic but it seemed to have stuck. Hiccup became much more open with me when he noticed that i was trying but Henry closed off. I think he was so used to all the attention that he didn't understand why I started including Hiccup."

"You've tried Stoick." Astrid stated. "Everything you told me. The remorse. You've tried to make things right. Not many would be willing to admit mistakes and try to make it better."

"In the beginning I was just happy to have a son that shared the same interests. I can't even think how it devolved in me favoring one over the other." Stoick admitted. "Valka gave me quite the chewing out at some points in our relationship." Before Stoick could say more a surgeon appeared through the operating room doors and turned towards them.

"Mayor Haddock, Miss Hofferson. I have news." The man said as he took down his cap.