"Could you..... Could you repeat that again?" Astrid asked as she tried to comprehend the doctor after a wave of relief washed over her.

"As I said Miss Hofferson, Mister Haddock will be making a full recovery." The surgeon repeated. "We managed to remove the bullet that was lodged in his chest."

"Oh thank Thor." Astrid said as Stoick's eyes lit up with relief. He had noticed the others returning and beckoned them over. The whole group was elated when they heard the news. It was Heather however who spoke up first but not towards the doctor "Well then Astrid, do you remember what I taught you? You need to have at least a liter of blood ready when you take Hiccup home today."

The doctor cleared his throat causing the group to look at him while interrupting Heather. "Miss, I'm afraid that will not be possible. Mister Haddock has to stay in the ICU for at least a week before we can move him to another room. His recovery will take a month if not longer. The bullet punctured a lung and might have caused internal damage that we could not immediately detect. The recovery phase will be long."

"Doctor, that only counts if he was still human." Astrid told the man. "But he's turning into a vampire. Surely you must have noticed the fast healing ability already kicking in."

The doctor looked slightly uncomfortable when he added "Yes we did notice that during the surgery. It was quite a shock to all involved. But I cannot, in good conscience, release a patient mere hours after such a surgery. It would be highly unethical on my part."

"I hate to say it...." Gobber spoke up "but the doc does have a valid point. He can't go losing his job over this." Camicazi was watching the whole thing with narrowed eyes but even she had to concede that such a thing was irregular. "Maybe we can come up with a compromise." She then suggested before asking Heather and Astrid how long it took for someone to change into a vampire.

"If you bury the person turning it would take a total of three days." Heather answered. "For some reason the earth seems to speed up the process. Without any dirt it would be roughly four or five days."

"So then how about Hiccup just stays in the hospital until the process is finished. He'd be fully healed by then so there would be no reason for the hospital to keep him."

"But Cami, I would have to stay as well. The Sire can't be far from a newly turned vampire." Astrid explained.

"This is all highly irregular." The doctor spoke up as he nervously twiddled his thumbs.

"A highly irregular situation calls for a highly irregular solution." Stoick told the man as he proceeded to hash out all the details.

"Astrid, Heather, I was wondering what happens if a newly turned vampire isn't near their Sire." Cami asked quietly. "You made it sound like it was a must."

"It is." Astrid told her before explaining further. "Sire and Childe form a bond. If the Sire isn't present then there is a possibility that the new vampire would immediately descend into a type of bloodlust." At Cami's confused stare Heather elaborated "A Sire tends to temper the bloodlust of the fledgeling. It can be likened to taking some of the psychological burden onto themselves so that the new vampire can acclimate. I was there when Astrid turned, that is why her bloodlust started later that evening. If I wasn't there then she would have turned into what we vampires call a 'rogue' and attacked the nearest human settlement."

"You've seen this happen before?!" Cami asked as Gobber's brows shot up at the new information. Heather nodded and then told them "Years before I met Astrid I was making my way from Budapest to Athens and came upon an unsettling sight. There was a vampire who took pleasure in turning people, usually young couples that strayed too far, and then setting them upon the villages in the region. I managed to take care of him but most of his fledgelings were too far gone and had to be killed as well."

"Wait lass, you said most of them?" Gobber now asked. "You can turn back from going rogue?"

"It is indeed possible." Heather stated. "However only one of the fledgelings managed that." Heather looked saddened when she told them this. "His fiance didn't make it though."

"That's horrible." Cami murmured.

"Yes and that's why I stress that a Sire should be present." Heather stated. "It also helps to deter any of these doctors if they get too nosey about vampire physiology."

"I have to agree." Astrid stated. "No matter what is going on I'm not leaving Hiccup alone."

"Well, you won't have to Astrid." Stoick turned towards them. "I've spoken to the good doctor here and he's agreed to have Hiccup moved to a private room where a nurse will be on standby. You will have access, of course, beyond the regular visiting hours."

"Stoick, how did you manage to wrangle that?" Astrid asked quietly as the doctor went to make the necessary arrangements. Stoick winked at her and Astrid supposed it was his perks as Mayor that got the job done.

"That's great to hear." Heather stated. "I can call my brother and have him pick up an overnight bag for you." Astrid's head whipped around so fast towards Heather that those present were surprised she didn't get whiplash. "Dagur can't go into my closet again!" Astrid quickly told the older vampire.

"Why not?" Heather asked perplexed.

"This is Dagur we're talking about!"

"So?" Heather asked still oblivious.

"When was the last time he told you your shoes were too salmony to wear with a certain dress." Astrid mumbled and Heather suddenly came to the realization of what she had almost done. Yeah, letting her brother pick out fashion alone was worse than when he started a bar brawl, she realized. "I'll ask Mala to go along. She would be able to temper his inner fashionista." Astrid could agree to that and she nodded towards Heather that that was alright.

Later that night Hiccup was placed in a private room on the upper floors of the hospital just as the doctor had promised. A heart monitor was attached to him and the rhythmic beeping did little to reassure Astrid. When Dagur and Mala had brought the overnight bag they had also brought Toothless with them. Now the small black dragon was snuggled against Hiccup, it's little tail twitching while it slept. Heather had warned her to keep an eye on Hiccup because, while she sensed no malice from the surgeon, she still could sense something was amiss. In such a big hospital with so many people present she couldn't use her empathic abilities to the fullest. Stoick and Gobber had gone home and said that they would visit tomorrow in the morning after picking Valka up from the airport. Hiccup's mother had apparently strong-armed her way onto an aircraft carrier in the Pacific when she heard what had happened and had commandeered a jet to bring her home.

Astrid couldn't help but stare at Stoick slack-jawed as he relayed the story to her. She already respected the woman that raised Hiccup and set out to save the dragons, but now her respect grew even more.

Camicazi had to return to the station to finish the paperwork for today's events but she had promised to visit tomorrow along with the rest of the gang. Astrid settled down in the surprisingly comfortable chair provided and watched over Hiccup for the night.

Come morning Stoick and Gobber were waiting near the gates of the small town's airport. Gobber stifled a yawn as they watched the sunrise.

"So when is Valka getting here?" Gobber asked. "The lady at the desk didn't know of any incoming flights so early."

"This was all last minute." Stoick told his longtime friend. "I received a call from the commanding officer of the carrier to tell me to expect her home in the morning. Her flight path has her refueling at the base in Hawaii and at LAX. The air traffic controllers probably already know that she's arriving." Stoick squinted for a moment before pointing at a fast-moving dot in the sky. "Speaking of, I think that's her." The dot gradually got larger and Gobber gave an appreciative whistle when he saw the jet coming in for a landing.

"So which aircraft did she commandeer this time?" Gobber asked as he took in the sleek grey body and twin tails of the two-person fighter jet race down the landing strip.

"The Commander said something about her borrowing something called a Super Hornet." Stoick stated absentmindedly as he watched the aircraft come to a stop and personal rush to secure the jet. He saw the lid of the aircraft open and watched his wife, dressed in a military camouflage jumpsuit, wiggle out.

"Well at least she isn't jumping out of planes anymore." Gobber joked. "Remember how she got her nickname Cloudjumper?"

"How could I forget!" Stoick laughed. "Skydiving while getting married was something else!"