Senior Year with Hiccup Haddock Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Recovery with Hiccup…and Guy



Hiccup woke up that October morning in a relatively good mood., pleasant enough to thank the Gods that he was able to wake up again. He stretched his limbs and slowly pulled himself out of bed, reaching for his crutches. He groaned slightly and he stood. Walking was still a little challenging. With a sigh he began his slow trek to the tenth floor. The sooner he started his physical therapy, the better.

A trainer was already in the room, doing squats in the corner. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. it was one the people he was more comfortable with. He welcomed Hiccup with a warm smile, easing some of the tension. They started with stretching. Having someone else's hands on his legs was a little weird, but Hiccup was getting used to it.

Jack started his car and made his usual drive to the hospital. It was a good morning, as far as he was concerned. Any morning he got to see Hiccup was a good morning. He found Hiccup's room was empty, so he went up to the gym on the tenth floor.

There he found Hiccup in Guys's arms. Again. It was completely innocent on Hiccup's part, he knew that. Hiccup could only walk to far without stumbling, right now he was trying to go a few steps without his crutches. Of course he fell and Guy was there to catch him. Guy, with his perfect smile, and his peppy attitude, and his ridiculous hair…

Hiccup turned his head to see Jack in the doorway, looking somewhat irritated. He figured Jack hadn't had breakfast yet, as he had a habit of coming straight to hospital without thinking. (according to Merida) "Jack…"

"Jackson. Good morning!" Guy was happy to see him, like he was happy to see anyone.

"Yeah, morning." Jack gave him a nod of the head. 'What is this guy, part golden retriever?' He walked up to them.

Hiccup was still in Guy's arms, looking happy to see him. Jack gave him one of his ridiculously infectious smiles. He cleared his throat before reaching out for Hiccup, who complied by finally letting go of Guy. Hiccup was nearly suffocated in a hug, but didn't care. Jack was warm and always smelled like peppermint and pine. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent.

Jack was more than happy to take Hiccup out of Guy's hands. He wrapped his arms around him. Hiccup was still pretty thin. Jack figured hospital food could only do so much. He had half a mind to kidnap Hiccup and take him home for a decent meal. Of course he and Rapunzel had already tried once, and it didn't end well. He pulled away slightly to get a better look at Hiccup's face.

Looking Jack in the eye always embarrassed Hiccup, if only because he had a habit of getting lost in Jack's annoying, beautiful face. He tried to limit his staring but it never worked. It came to his attention that Jack was saying something, and Hiccup shook his head. "What?"

Jack laughed then, another pet peeve of Hiccup's. "I said, did you eat yet? I wanted to go have breakfast."

"Oh…No." Hiccup's face reddened then. He turned to face Guy. "Is it alright if I go take a break?"

Guy gave him a thumbs up. "Take as long as you like! I'll be here all day!"

Hiccup smiled. "Great. We'll be back in a little while."

Jack kept his hand around Hiccup's waist as the smaller boy retrieved his crutches. He was getting used to half-carrying Hiccup around. Jack had a pretty slim build but lately he had been working out with Jim at Hooligan's in order to bulk up. This would be his last year as a Berk Heffalump, and he wanted it to be his best. That, and it was fun being able to snatch Hiccup up without effort.

They went back to Hiccup's room. With a few pushes of a button, he could order breakfast. In any other case Jack would have gone to the cafeteria, but he couldn't bring himself anywhere near that area of the hospital. The cafeteria had a clear view of the garden...The same garden where Gothel met her demise. Jack tried not to think about it much, but the guilt was always there. He had nightmares almost every night. Regardless of what Rapunzel said, Jack believed that he killed Gothel, not the "fall.

"Jack?"

Hiccup's worried voice snapped him back to reality. He was sitting on the chair beside Hiccup's bed. "Huh?"

Hiccup frowned. He didn't have to guess what Jack was thinking about. It scared Hiccup to see him that way, so full of self-loathing. "Jack…" Hiccup said again, reaching out to take his hand. Jack leaned forward and Hiccup took his face into his hands. "Stop it." Hiccup commanded, serious. "You can't keep beating yourself up forever."

Jack's fake smile disappeared. He stared back at Hiccup blankly. "I don't know about that, Hic."

Hiccup grabbed Jack's cheeks and pulled as hard as he could.

"Ow!" Jack winced, pulling away. Angry red marks appeared on his pale face. He rubbed his cheeks. "That hurt."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "Good."

A nurse walked in pushing a cart with lunch. After setting two trays down, he left. Jack rose from his seat and pulled the wheeled table towards Hiccup's bed. He pushed it until it was level with Hiccup's chest.

"What do we have here…" Hiccup gasped. "Could it be? Jell-o!"

Jack shook his head. "Not just any Jell-o, Hic. Green Jell-o. Turkey, peas, and the exclusive, tasteless green hospital , probably not even name brand Jell-o. You should feel honored."

"I do." Hiccup said, nodding. "This is truly the meal of invalids. A fine feast for my kind."

"You aren't an invalid, Hiccup."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "What do you call someone who can't take four steps without falling over?"

"Adorable." Jack said, as if it was the obvious thing in the world.

"Ah, so that's your type." Hiccup took a swig of apple juice from the tiny plastic cup. "Lucky you then."

"Don't be like that, Hic." Jack stood and planted a kiss against Hiccup's forehead. "You'll be out of here before you know it, I promise."

Hiccup sighed. "If you say so. How is Toothless?"

"Lilo has him today. He misses you, obviously, but I think seeing you before made him feel better."

Hiccup sighed again. "I wish I could take him for a walk."

"You will." Jack replied. "When you get just a little bit better, you will."

He kissed Hiccup again, this time on the cheek.

"Fine…" Hiccup mumbled, blushing. "Help me finish this so I can get back to Guy."

Jack groaned.

"What?"

"Every time I come here, you're upstairs with Guy."

"That's not true, Jack."

"Whatever. Why is it that breakfast is never actually served here?"

"Who knows?"

They returned to the tenth floor, so Hiccup could complete his therapy session. Guy was still there as promised, bouncing on a large rubber ball. "Hiccup! Jackson! Welcome back!"

Jack wondered how all that enthusiasm could be stored into one body.

"Okay, since Jackson is here today, I think we should try something different."

Hiccup stood between the twin metal bars. Jack stood at the other end of the shallow track. It was a easy walk for the average person, just ten quick steps from one end to the other.

For a one legged person, it was like hell. Hiccup hated walking like this. Guy would usually limit the amount of times he could actually use the bars to get across. He knew in real life there were no bars to rest on all day, but it still bothered him. What was the rush? Couldn't he hop along a little longer?

"Just walk towards Jackson." Guy instructed. "You can only rely on the bars three times, so make them count, okay."

Hiccup nodded. "Got it."

"Start when you can, no pressure."

Hiccup resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 'No pressure he says. Tell that to my prosthetic.' He gripped the bars a little tighter. It was going to hurt. He was going to fall. He knew it. He looked up. Jack was patiently waiting at the other end, his hands in his pockets.

'Alright, Hiccup. You can do this.' He released the bars. The padded mat felt weird beneath him. He took a experimental step. Another step. Another. His hands were above the bars. He didn't need them. Not yet. Another step. He could do this. Jack smiled. He knew it wasn't impossible. Hiccup could do this. Hiccup would walk again.

Hiccup slipped. He grabbed the bars, sighing. Only two times left now. He stared at the mat beneath him. Why did it have to be like this?

Jack took a few steps forward before Guy grabbed him.

"Woah there, Jackson. You can't move. You're the goal, remember?" Guy turned his focus back to Hiccup. "Come on Haddock! I know you aren't feeling the burn just yet!"

Jack nodded. Guy was right. He wasn't tired yet. He go further, Jack knew he could. "You can do this, Hic."

Hiccup sighed again, steadying himself. It wasn't just about him. Jack was waiting, and wasn't just Jack either. He took another step, and another. Toothless was waiting. How could he walk Toothless without walking? Impossible. He took two more steps. It wasn't just Jack and Toothless. Rapunzel was waiting. He promised they would go see the lantern festival next summer. He couldn't walk the streets with his crutches.

He was more than halfway there now. He was doing good.

"That's it Hiccup!" Guy was ecstatic. "See? We believe in you!"

Another step. His leg was starting to feel a little funny. Hiccup ignored it. He was close now. Almost there. What about Merida? He promised they would do the color marathon in March. Sure he made this promise months ago, but he still had to keep his word. And then there were her brothers. He couldn't watch the DunBroch triplets like this. Impossible. He didn't need the bars, not yet.

Jack was just two steps away. Just two more steps. Another step. And then-

He tripped.

Hiccup knew it was coming. But it didn't hurt. Jack was there to catch him.

He let Jack pull him into a hug. "I told you could." Jack's voice was muffled by Hiccup's hair.:'But let's be honest. You used to trip all the time, even when you had two legs."

Hiccup shoved him, and Jack laughed, holding onto Hiccup by his arms.

"You're doing so well Hiccup!" Guy gave him a thumbs up. "You just needed the right motivation this time."