Riders of B E R K

Part 53: Lover or fighter?

Fifty-Three: Lover or fighter?

Stoick was shipped out two days later and Gobber, Hiccup and I watched him leave. I felt a pang of regret because he was a great man and had served with distinction for so many years but there was something fundamentally wrong with the way he behaved towards his son that was skewing his behaviour in BERK and jeopardising the safety of the Base and the mission. I just hoped the Board of Enquiry would be lenient-as Stoick had not been-and grant him the psychological support and therapy he so clearly needed. I knew Hiccup was devastated that his father didn't even spare him a glance as he was escorted from BERK and I had felt him trembling through the hand grasping mine. But there was nothing I could do except be there for the man I loved because Stoick would have to reach his own resolution with his son.

Gobber was incredibly grumpy at being in charge and made sure he dumped copious amounts of his work on Hiccup and I, which made for interesting days. I still insisted on putting in daily shifts five days a week with Gothi because, though I was accruing all sorts of experience as an officer, I still desperately needed my experience as a doctor. Lucky for me, it was winter and chest infections were rife so I zipped through my respiratory modules with ease, though I found out why Snotlout was called Snotlout when he was in with a bad cold. Bleurgh!

We had been told that the Oversight Council would send us another General in the near future to replace Stoick and I knew that Gobber would find it really hard, no longer having his friend as his boss. And I knew he was feeling guilty for turning on him in the Tribunal, even though he had no option. He had politely declined to talk about it when I offered and had just gotten quietly (for him) drunk. This, of course, meant him singing 'I'm a Viking Through and Through' at the top of is voice horribly off-key for HOURS until he passed out.

Drago had been quiet for a while, which made us all worried. Nothing the IT team could find gave us any clues what he was planning next and the Grimborns' submarine didn't leave Veidimadurinnfloi once it moored there. I just hoped they hadn't taken all the eggs but Hiccup reassured me that their only thought would have been escape and mending their damaged craft before the Russian Navy arrived. He had ordered 24/7 satellite surveillance of Drago's Complex, the Grimborns and constant monitoring of any filed flight plans for Drago Bludvist.

Hiccup and I rode every morning and evening and trained with the others in between. Myrkr's wing was healing nicely and the Vets were impressed at the job Hiccup had done with her. He explained that Toothless had licked her wounds vigorously and he suspected that Night Fury saliva had some pretty special healing properties. The Vets had responded by gathering gallons of the sticky stiff and beginning a series of experiments with the science team. Meanwhile, I had been taking Hiccup down the range to improve his shooting and had run him through some basic unarmed combats moves...because there was one memory that I needed to exorcise before he could move on and we could face our new commander without any issues.

"I think we need to get out for a while," I told him one evening, a couple of days before the new General was due to arrive. My hand automatically found his and I couldn't help smiling at the gentle curl of his fingers around mine. He turned to me, his gentle forest green gaze meeting mine. His face quirked in a teasing smile.

"Not another social appointment, Milady?" he smiled, referring to the somewhat lacking success of our previous attempts at dating. I pushed my body forward, pressing against his lean shape and staring up into his angular face.

"No guns this time," I promised him and he grinned, his lopsided smile warming his face.

"Oh, good-at least I stand a fair chance of not getting shot...though kidnapping remains a possibility," he smirked.