As the weather got colder, Hiccup felt more frustrated. Somehow, Mr Treacher continued to find reasons to keep him in detention and he found himself isolated from his friends by continual detentions. Though Dagur, Savage and Thuggory were his friends, he couldn't expect them to wait for over an hour every day after school for him to get out...and though he made the efforts to meet up with them afterwards, he felt himself getting pulled away from them. They continued in the Football team and the first couple of matches had been successful. And though they remained antagonistic to the jocks, the Bad Boy crew seemed to be enjoying the admiration of the school and the training...both of which excluded him.

Astrid continued to blank him, occasionally making snide comments and laughing at him and he was feeling more and more angry at her. He had saved her ass out of nothing more than an impulse born of her apparent desperation at not wanting to disappoint her parents. That was one thing he could understand-not that he cared what Alvin thought, but every time his mother looked disappointed, it tore him a little more. It had been the human thing to do, to help another person...not that it had earned him one second more of consideration from Astrid or her friends. And the knowledge that Miss Perfect didn't have it as easy as he thought still didn't give her any right to lord it over him.

He put more hours in with Gobber than he did usually because he needed to stay out of the house as long as he could and he desperately needed somewhere that he was actually welcome and wanted. He was already a skilled mechanic and Gobber mentored him as he had when he was a young boy, ensuring the young man continued to develop his experience and skills. The money was all carefully saved towards his escape from Alvin and he contrived to move Toothless to the garage. Gobber had been sarcastic but he had recognised that the dog was the only thing Hiccup actually had and for the lad, he had offered the dog shelter. In return, he found that the mutt was friendly and a good guard dog as well. It meant that Hiccup had to drop by daily to feed and exercise the dog but that infinitely preferable to risking stealing food off Alvin and facing the angry man or his savage dog. And even a few moments of daily GObber was enough to bolster his spirits.

Back at home, there was more friction since he was always late back and his evenings settled into a dull routine: being grilled by Alvin when he returned on why he had been out late, where he had been and who he had been with. Each time, Hiccup had refused to answer or shot back a string of sass, earning him a shouting at best but usually a slap or three and banishment to his room. Every time he slammed upstairs, he had heard Alvin snarling abuse about his behaviour and how disappointing he was..and each time, he had heard his mother's soft voice agreeing with the brutal assessment of his deficiencies. So he tried not to listen as he sat on his bed, completing his homework and wishing that his father was still alive and that he didn't have to stay with Alvin.

But he was more concerned because his mother's health had deteriorated. Valka had been frail for years but her health had declined since the loss of her husband and the stress that had ensued. Hiccup had done everything he could to protect her but he knew she was stressed by the marriage, by Alvin's continual undermining and his insistence that she cleaned the house from top to bottom every day and had his meal on the table at seven precisely every evening. She had lost weight and her eyes were shadowed even after a night's sleep. She had a persistent cough that Alvin wouldn't allow her to see the doctor for, telling her that she merely needed more fresh air, exercise and fruit and vegetables. Watching her, Hiccup knew that wasn't the case.

On a Saturday, when Alvin had gone out and Hiccup had been left to clean the yard and drive, he had made his way into the kitchen, his cheeks red from the cold and hands freezing. Valka was bent forward over the sink, coughing and hacking. She was struggling for breath and the boy had raced to her side, catching her shoulders and gently holding her until she regained her breath. She glanced up, pale and exhausted, her dulled green eyes lighting a little as she saw her son.

"Mom-are you okay?" he asked her worriedly. She nodded dumbly.

"I'm fine, I just need to push through this," she sighed, accepting the glass of water he handed her.

"Mom-we both know that's not going to help," he reminded her gently. "Your doctor said if you had further problems, you needed to rest and have antibiotics if the cough returned or worsened."

"Alvin says it will be fine, I'm just making a drama out of it," she said with a little laugh.

"And when did he get his MD?" Hiccup snarked, then sighed, seeing his mother's face drop into a frown.

"He's your father..." she began and he shook his head violently.

"Mom-he's NOT!" he snapped. "Gods-my father went missing five years ago-and no one can replace him. If Alvin was as super as you keep saying, he would understand that! And he would understand you need to be checked by your physician and get the meds you need!"

"I'm just stressed!" she retorted, her tone a little harder than he was used to. "And you're stressing me out, Hiccup! Your constant arguments with Alvin, always late, always rude, always disruptive, never pulling your weight..." He recoiled, his forest green gaze hurt by the accusation. He swallowed and took a shuddering breath.

"I have a right to see my friends and I don't want everything I do and everyone I see picked apart by the Principal of my High School!" he retaliated tightly. "Can't you understand, Mom? I don't need him riding my ass at home as well as at school! I need to have time with my friends...and I won't have any if they realise who he is or if I tell him about what I do out of school!"

"Hiccup-are you getting into trouble?" his Mom asked, turning to face him. Her face was really pale with pink spots on her cheeks as her only colour.

"Mom-I'm seventeen and I want to hang with my friends," he sighed, staring at her with concern. "I don't need my High School Principal lecturing me every evening that I'm wasting time and should be doing something productive with my life! Can't you even remember being a teen? Spending time with friends? Going out and messing around? Having fun?"

"You need to learn other things too, darling," she sighed, raising her hand to gently stroke his cheek. "Maybe you should get a job..." He instinctively glanced around to check Alvin was nowhere nearby, even though he knew the man was out.

"I have a job!" he told her quickly. "Had for years." Her eyes widened. "Gobber, remember? I help him in the garage and he gives me some money sometimes." Her eyes widened in shock.

"Then where...?" she began.

"Safe," he told her softly. "I'm saving, not spending it on drugs or anything like that! So if you need to see a doctor, I can pay, never fear." She looked relieved-then began coughing again. He sighed and steered her to a seat in the living room, settling her on the couch. "Say, I'll make you a nice hot coffee and do your cleaning. How's that sound?" She gave him a wan smile, a flash of the woman he recognised briefly appearing.

"Thank you, darling-but what about your chores?" she asked in a worried voice. He stiffened but gave a small smile.

"No sweat," he told her calmly. "You get a rest, Mom. I'll be back in a minute."

By the time he returned with a milky coffee, she had fallen asleep, he breathing harsh and irregular. He gently placed the drink by her and pulled a rug tenderly over her trial shape. Quietly, he kissed her forehead and then turned back to doing her chores, on alert for her intermittent, harsh coughs or the return of Alvin. It didn't matter that he was due to be working with Gobber that afternoon or hang out with his friends that evening or that Alvin would literally give him Hel for neglecting his own tasks: all that mattered was that his Mom rested and that she trusted him. And as long as she hadn't been turned against him by Alvin, he could endure everything the man dished out.