Happily Never After

Part 5

Part 4: Frustration

When Hiccup got the call from the hospital he canceled his meetings for the day and rushed over to Berk General as quickly as he could with mid-day traffic.

He walked briskly into the ER and to the nurses' station. "Excuse me, I was called for Astrid Hofferson? I was told she was in an accident," Hiccup asked the nurse on duty.

"Are you a family member?" The nurse questioned.

"No, I'm her roommate," Hiccup answered while worrying. "Is she alright? The person on the other end didn't tell me what sort of indecent it was."

"Sir, you'll need to take a seat for now while I check for you," she told him. "I don't see you on her emergency contact list so I will need to ask her attending physician."

Hiccup sat in between others in the waiting room as the nurse walked away with a file. Worry was eating at him and he wondered what the hell could have happened. Astrid had been fine when she left for work that morning. More than fine really. There had been a skip in her step.

Hiccup had to wait for about 40 minutes before the nurse motioned for him. She was standing next to a rather built man in a lab coat. "This is Dr. Grimborn," the nurse introduced. "He's Miss Hofferson's attending physician and will fill you in on the details."

Hiccup followed after the doctor who was holding a chart. "Miss Hofferson came into the ER this morning around eight o'clock with severe first-degree burns to her face and neck. We of course informed her emergency contacts but their arrival only agitated Miss Hofferson more." Here Hiccup frowned. "As she became increasingly violent we had to sedate her to avoid further injury to her parents."

"Wait what?" Hiccup asked. He wasn't sure if he had heard that right. Though he isn't all that aware of her family situation he has known that over the past three days Astrid had said that she and her parents were not quite on speaking terms.

"Before my patient passed out she asked one of the nurses to grab her phone and contact you," The doctor stated.

"Do you know what.... Caused the burns?" Hiccup asked.

"Some scalding liquid, either coffee or tea must have been thrown at her face. That was what the EMTs informed us. The police should know more about the matter. They are waiting to interview Miss Hofferson as soon as she gains consciousness. I would rather she has some calming presence near her."

"What do you mean I can't sit in the room with my daughter?!" The question came from an older blonde woman that was glaring at a security guard barring them entrance to a room. Hiccup's eyes widened as the doctor turned right into that hallway and headed straight for the woman and middle-aged man he now noticed next to her.

"Mrs. Hofferson, how many times must I repeat myself? Your presence was anything but comforting for your daughter. She is my patient and I will not have her in an agitated state," Hiccup swallowed as he realized that these must be Astrid's parents and he kicked himself for not noticing the resemblance sooner.

"Mister Haddock, if you please," The doctor indicated for the security guard to let Hiccup enter. As the door closed behind Hiccup he could hear Astrid's mother ask "Why does he get to go in?!"

"Hiiiyaaaa Hiccyyyy...," Astrid managed to slur. She was awake, though quite a bit groggy. The nurse that was setting a new IV back tried to hide her smile and act professional. "They gave me the goooooood stuff!"

"The good stuff?" Hiccup questioned.

"Morphine," The nurse replied before checking if Astrid was comfortable. Doctor Grimborn came inside the next minute along with two detectives.