Hiccup stared at the shape for a total of three seconds and turned to Officer Hoark.

"I'll stay here, if it's all the same to you..." he said quickly.

"It's not," Officer Hoark said nastily. "Don't wanna answer to Daddy?"

"He's not my dad!" Hiccup insisted. "My Dad is dead. That's the man who married my Mom. He's no relation of mine!" He folded his arms and scowled. Alvin had thrown him out: he would be damned if he got in a car with the man...and ended up on the streets again. Or worse... "I'd rather stay here."

"This isn't a motel!" Hoark growled but the female officer stared at him.

"Your mother is still alive?" she asked and he nodded.

"We will need to speak with her...because she is your legal guardian, isn't she?" she asked firmly. Hiccup took a sighing breath and nodded.

"Okay, yeah," he sighed. "But I'd rather you didn't bother her..."

"We'll take you home ourselves and speak to her about what happened this evening," the female officer told him. "My name is Officer Justine Hansen. C'mon, Hiccup. We'll drive you home in the squad car..."

"Oh joy," he muttered as he was walked past Alvin, not meeting the man's eye but knowing there was no way out of this easily. Somehow, he had managed to get himself taken home and admitted-because the police would be with him and Alvin wouldn't dare show himself in a bad light to the authorities. Asgard forbid that anyone see through his hypocritical mask of caring headmaster and kindly family man!

The journey back wasn't as long as Hiccup hoped and his stomach was dancing with apprehension. He was slumped in the back, wishing he could just make a break for it and wondering where Toothless was. The dog had run off when the cops arrived and he had no clue where his friend was. His bag was clutched to his middle, the phone slipped back into his pocket and silent. There was no one who would phone him and check he was okay...certainly not the people who got him into this in the first place. He closed his eyes and wished that he had been with his Dad when that plane went down. Sometimes, life really seemed a never-ending punishment and he really missed having someone who actually cared.

He almost flinched as they pulled up outside the house, seeing Alvin clambering out of his neat car and opening the door to let them in. He did flinch as he saw his mother's eyes widen when he got out of the cop car and he offered her a wan smile.

"Hi, Mom!" he said sheepishly. She stared at him, almost moving towards him to hug her only child...but Alvin's hand gently touched hers and she paused, then drew back from him, her eyes dropping to the floor.

And he felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach at that, desperately wanting some acknowledgement from the one person he loved. She stood back as Alvin gestured for the cops to escort him into the sitting room. Head down, shoulders hunched, he walked past and sat on the couch, hands stuffed into pockets and eyes fixed to the floor. The cops sat by him as his Mom and Alvin took the couch opposite, the big man holding his wife's hand solicitously.

"What's 'e bin up ter now?" he asked gruffly. Officer Hansen sighed.

"Your son Hiccup was caught helping a gang break into a local garage," she explained. "He was only one of two caught-but most got away. He refused to give us the names of his accomplices."

"Is...is he going to court?" Valka asked in a shaky voice. "Is my son going to jail?" Hoark scowled.

"If it was up to me, yes," he said bluntly. "He's a smart mouth and a stubborn streak a mile wide...but he's got a clean record and the owner didn't press charges because nothing was stolen."

"Eh...he's a wild one, I'm afraid," Alvin said in such a sickly voice that Hiccup wanted to barf. "He ran away and never came 'ome yesterday. Look-'e's bin fightin' as well. We try ter give 'im a good 'ome but all 'e does is throw it back in our faces!"

"He looks like a lad in need to a firm hand," Hoark suggested. Alvin gave a slow nod.

"Maybe yer right," he said thoughtfully. "We-we try ter be as understanding as we can 'coz the boy has never got over the loss of 'is father...but perhaps it's time for a firmer line..."

Hiccup cast the officer a despairing glance. Hoark had practically given Alvin permission...

"Anyway, we'll leave you to deal with him now," Officer Hansen said, getting up. "We'll see ourselves out." Alvin rose and shook their hands respectfully.

"Thank you for bringing him home," he said calmly. "You can't know how much relief that gives us..." Hiccup watched them leave, heard the door slam...and Alvin slam the bolts home. He was hyperventilating as the big man walked heavily into the room.

"Go upstairs," he said to Valka and she automatically rose, eyes on the floor as she headed out of the room...but she paused for a second to look back at her son.

"Oh, Hiccup-how could you?" she asked softly. "Your father would be so ashamed..." And that broke him, his green eyes flashing with desperate anger at Alvin, at her, at Gobber-and at his father for dying and leaving him here.

"No, he wouldn't because he's dead!" he shouted. "He's dead and I'm stuck here. I'm here with no one on my side and no one to care!" Valka's eyes shone with hurt.

"Hiccup! How can you say that?" she said sorrowfully. "I do care. We both care!" Hiccup marched forward, shoving his sleeve up.

"If Al cares so much, how come Al uses me to put out his cigars, hmm?" he snapped, showing the circular burn on the soft inside of his forearm. "How come he banned me from the house? How come I had to sleep rough?"

"I won't hear these...these lies!" she said and turned away from him, fleeing up the stairs.

"MOM!" he shouted after her...but Alvin was barring the way. He tried to back up but a huge hand closed on his arm and dragged him to the back door into the yard. Breathing hard, struggling, he was shoved out as Alvin slammed the door behind them. Hiccup backed away.

"They'll find out," he said breathlessly.

"Who? The teachers?" he said. "They all know you're a bad 'un, 'Iccup. Yer turn up covered in bruises and they'll think is yer've bin fightin' again!"

"The cops?"

"Same thing. And who'll they believe?"

"What about Mom? Won't she ask where I am?" he asked desperately.

"Yer've broken 'er 'eart, 'Iccup," Alvin told him cruelly. "She don't care..." And then he hit the boy. Going down, Hiccup crawled away, feeling a kick impact his side. he tried scrambling back, casting a despairing look upstairs...and seeing a silhouette at the window. As he watched, she pulled the curtain and turned away. Then Alvin grabbed his hair and the slap across his face had him seeing stars. When he fell, his phone scittered away and Alvin saw it with a growl. "And what's that?"

Hiccup grabbed for it as a heavy foot slammed down into the device. He yelled in pain and snatched his hand back, wincing in pain. He barely felt the next few kicks...until he was grabbed by the back of the hoodie and thrown against the back gate.He hit with a slam and slid to the floor. Alvin loomed over him, opening the door and shoving the boy onto the rough jogging path behind the house.

"Get out," he growled. "If yer not gone in five minutes, I'm settin' Screamer on yer!" And he slammed the gate behind him. And it was only when the door to the house slammed that Hiccup untensed, his breaths hitching in utter misery. He had clung the idea that his mother was in the dark, that she would welcome him home and hug him and make him welcome. He could withstand whatever Alvin did if he knew she cared...but she had turned away. She had turned away.

Feeling as if the heart had been completely torn out of his chest, he slowly scrambled to his feet. His legs were shaky and his breath was coming in clouds as frost was already forming on the edges of the leaves and the remaining grass. Stumbling, he began to walk back towards town...when a faint barking alerted him and he felt the anxiety in his chest ease just a fraction as the scruffy shape of Toothless bounded up, panting and bouncing in happiness. Trying to quieten down the mutt, he finally resumed his trudge back to the park, looking for somewhere to stay...but every possible place already had someone there, chasing away the skinny boy and his dog. He was shivering now, his stomach growling with hunger and head spinning with weariness and utter exhaustion.

There was only one thing left to try...if Alvin hadn't taken that as well. He slowly drew his swollen and bruised hand from his pocket and winced as he turned over the phone. The screen was cracked but he could still switch it on and scroll down the list of contacts...not that he had many...until he reached his last hope.

Miss Perfect.

For a long moment his thumb hovered over the name...and then he made the call.

It rang three times before she picked up and he listened to her clear, confident voice.

"Astrid."

"H-Hi, Astrid...it's Hiccup..." he began, his voice thick and hoarse. He coughed.

"I know, Hiccup. Your name came up." He coughed again. The cold was really hurting his chest.

"Sorry, not really used to all this," he said sarcastically. "L-look...sorry...but I-I..." He swallowed and closed his eyes. "Astrid...I really need your help..."