It took three days for Anna to gather the strength to act like a normal human being again. She'd spent the last 72 hours curled up in a ball on Kristoff's bed (he'd refused to let her sleep on the couch), moving only when the call of nature grew too fierce to be ignored.

After spending nearly twenty minutes bawling her eyes out on Elsa's shoulder, she'd shakily pulled out her phone only to have it slip from her trembling fingers and onto the floor. Before she could reach out to pick it up Elsa moved to do it herself, the blonde's face solemn as she found Kristoff's number and pressed call. Kindly, patiently, Elsa had held the phone up to her ear as words and sobs came tumbling out of her mouth in equal proportions.

Even though the institute was a half hour away from his house, her best friend had promised to be there in ten minutes.

He didn't lie.

While they waited Elsa continued to hold her, tighter than before. The blonde moved both arms to wrap around Anna's shoulders, clutching her fiercely as her cheek pressed against Anna's hair.

If Anna had been in a stable state of mind she would have noticed that Elsa was crying too.

It seemed that the whole institute knew of what had happened, because as orderlies passed them by on their way to fulfill other tasks the pair was left alone. A few ignored them, others sent them pitying glances. When one finally brought Kristoff to them, he too stared at them both with sadness in his brown eyes. Elsa had sensed him approaching and reluctantly released Anna, keeping her eyes closed as she quickly turned away, desperate to hide her tears. Kristoff immediately knelt down at Anna's side, pulling the redhead in close to his body to shelter her.

Before the blonde boy had time to thank her, Elsa had stood and fled, shoulders scrunched up to her ears. Hands tightly clutching her braid.

Tears running in rivulets down her pale cheeks.

Mildly puzzled but too concerned about the state of his best friend to really question the strange girl's actions, Kristoff had helped Anna to her feet and guided her through the halls with an orderly leading the way.

Anna barely remembered the drive home. She barely remembered dragging herself up the stairs after Kristoff told her firmly that there was no way she was staying on the couch. All she remembered was falling onto the bed, wrapping herself up in a cocoon of sheets, and then… nothing.

No one could blame her though. It's hard to remember anything when your mind is busy re-living the worst thing to ever happen to you and not having the capacity to think of anything else.

All she could see was her brother screaming, the wailing of the other boy as he lay in a bloody mess on the floor. Mr. Oaken, telling her she could no longer see him.

All she could see was the blood on her brother's fists, the haunted anger and fear in his bloodshot eyes.

No matter how much she thought about it, it never seemed to stop.

Until that fourth morning.

She woke up from a fitful sleep, eyes blinking wearily, still red from crying. A quick glance at the bedside table and Kristoff's reindeer alarm clock (a gag gift from one of his older cousins) told her it was well into the afternoon, almost 3pm. She sniffled once before rolling off the bed, dragging the sheets with her as she was still unwilling to leave the warm security they offered. Her mind was still somewhat numb, so as she tried to leave the bedroom she couldn't avoid bumping into the doorframe, groaning even as she continued on.

She slowly made her way down the stairs, feet thumping against the wood floor ungracefully.

When she made it to the living room she saw Kristoff sitting on the couch, a spoonful of cereal halfway to his open mouth as he stared at her in shock. "A-Anna?"

She blinked at him once, face blank, before she shuffled over to the brown leather recliner that was essentially her property with the amount of time she spent in it whenever she was over. She fell into it with a tired 'huff,' the blankets still wrapped around her spilling over the armrests of the chair. Anna turned to face the blonde, curling into a ball once again.

"Could I get some of that?"

Kristoff was still frozen for a moment before he jumped to his feet, cursing under his breath when milk sloshed out and over the side of the bowl. "U-uh, I'll clean that just, just say put! I'll be back in a second!" With that Kristoff practically sprinted to the kitchen.

Anna smiled softly, nuzzling the blankets as her eyes fell shut once again. The comforting sounds of Kristoff being a bumbling oaf, knocking things over and accidentally banging things together filled her ears and comforted her. He was back in no time at all, a bowl of her favorite cereal (Cocoa puffs because hello, they made their own chocolate milk) extended towards her with caution. The redhead thanked him and took it, careful not to spill any as she settled into the recliner.

The blonde continued to stand there with his arms raised slightly, as if Anna was a dangerous animal who'd only been momentarily distracted and might at any moment flip out and go for his throat. When Anna cocked a brow in his direction however, he blushed and plopped back down onto the couch, eyes now trained on the TV.

Anna finished her meal in under 90 seconds and immediately extended the bowl towards Kristoff once again. "More, please." The blonde narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. He stood though, moving to the kitchen even as his eyes stayed trained on her for as long as possible. He came back out of the kitchen a moment later holding the entire box of Cocoa Puffs in one hand and a carton of milk in the other. He placed them both on the table next to the recliner and reclaimed his seat on the ouch as Anna prepared a second bowl for herself.

As he watched her take a few bites, kind eyes always patient, Anna gathered the courage to say it all out loud. The spoon clanged in the (already half-empty) bowl and she swallowed.

"…I can't see Hans anymore."

Kristoff's eyes widended. "What?! Why?"

"He got into a fight with another boy. A bad fight. God Kristoff, I still can't believe it… he was so angry and I just, I-I don't know what to think."

"What do you mean?"

Anna took in a shaky breath. "I… I don't know what I'm gonna do now. I don't know how to feel. I mean, it's not like they can keep me from him forever, that's gotta be illegal or something. It's just until he's realized what he did was wrong and that he can never do it again. But, part of me is… terrified. I've never seen him like that before! Kristoff, when he had his breakdown I never saw what he did to those boys at school. I never saw him when the police came and dragged him away. The first time I visited him at the institute, sure, he was sad and angry but… it wasn't like that."

Her eyes were starting to sting again. She tried to keep the tears she felt gathering locked inside as she put her bowl down on the side table. Kristoff was watching her silently, a flurry of different emotions swirling in his eyes, worry chief among them.

Anna took a deep breath and continued. "But now that I've seen it? Now that I've seen how angry he gets… Kristoff I, I-I don't know how I'll react whenever they finally let me in to see him."

Kristoff's heart clenched at the look of utter despair (and was that shame?) that came over her face, pale from lack of restful sleep.

"W-what if I'm afraid of him?"

Kristoff could only stare at her in stunned silence as another round of tears started to leak from her eyes.

This girl is literally the most selfless person in the world.

The mere thought that she could even be slightly scared of her brother, even though he'd already proven himself to be dangerous and unstable, was terrifying her. The idea of actually being afraid of her brother, which up until this point was a concept that had probably never even crossed her mind, was suddenly a very possible reality. In her eyes all Hans could ever be was her loving older brother, and she was supposed to love him unconditionally because that's what family was supposed to do. And Hans was the only family she had; Kristoff knew that. So maybe, in a way, she was overcompensating.

But it was still touching to see how caring she was.

"Anna…" Kristoff stood and went to the redhead's side, kneeling down beside the recliner and laying a hand on her shaking shoulder. "It's okay to be scared. The fact that you're scared doesn't mean that you love him any less. Heck, if you're feeling afraid it might not even be because of him. Knowing you, feisty pants, you're probably just scared for him."

Anna sniffled, putting her hand over Kristoff's and squeezing gently. "…I don't feel very feisty right now."

The blonde grinned, reaching up to ruffle her hair before standing. "Well, we can't have that now can we? I say we go pay Sven a little visit; he's been missing you, y'know. And he never fails to make you smile! Remember that time last year when I was teasing you about your freckles and he knocked me into the manure pile? You've never laughed so hard! Come on, what do you say? It'll be like old times, you can even ride him around for a little bit!"

Anna sent him a grateful smile and, after a moment, nodded. Kristoff immediately grinned and clapped his hands together. "Alright! One hefty helping of 'cheer-Anna-up-with-a-little-old-fashioned-reindeer-rodeo' comin' up! Go get dressed and we'll leave whenever you're ready… oh! Almost forgot." To Anna's surprise Kristoff pulled her phone from his jean pocket, looking at her sheepishly before tossing it her way. "You might wanna check that first. Some girl named 'Meg' has been texting you like crazy."

"You looked through my phone?!"

"Hey! That thing's been buzzing nonstop since you got here! I thought I was being a good friend by keeping it charged so you wouldn't miss anything! It's not my fault you've spent the past three days trying to fuse with my mattress!"

Anna huffed, blowing a stray strand of auburn hair out of her face as she pulled herself up off the recliner. She reached for a throw pillow resting against the arm of the couch closest to her and threw it at him before hurrying upstairs, ignoring Kristoff when he yelled after her. "Next time, just turn it off, you weirdo!"

Once again she returned to Kristoff's room, and only when she'd managed to drag all of the blankets back through the door and toss them haphazardly on Kristoff's bed did she take a deep breath and look down at her phone.

…oh my.

Meg had been texting her. A lot.

From the first day:

'Hey Gingersnap, up for a coffee run?'

'Way to not answer :p'

The second day:

'HEY. Did you drop off the face of the earth, or did my cool just scare you off?'

'GINGERSNAP. ANSWER YOUR PHONE.'

(There were three missed calls right before that was sent.)

'are you at least alright?'

'Please just call me whenever you get this'

And the third day. After three more missed calls.

'Anna please, you're starting to scare me. No one knows where you are.'

'Please just be okay'

And then two more missed calls.

'Did something happen at the institute?! Oh my god, PLEASE ANNA call me'

'I swear I'm about to call in the SWAT'

'Gingersnap if you don't answer me by tomorrow I'm buying a bloodhound and tracking you down myself'

By the time she was done getting through it all, there was a light blush dusting her cheeks and a shy smile tugging at her lips. She'd had no idea that Meg cared this much… she had to admit, it was nice knowing that she had someone who was so worried about her safety.

Figuring that it was time to put the brunette out of her misery, Anna found the other girl's name in her contact list and called. As she held the phone up to her ears, waiting for Meg answer, she walked over to the duffel bag Kristoff had put beside the bed at some point during her hibernation. She pulled it up and dropped it onto the bed, pulling it open and grinning when she saw a collection of her personal belongings inside.

Kristoff, you rock.

Just as she was about to reach inside and fish out an outfit, Meg answered.

"ANNA GINGERSNAP CHRISTIAN. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN?!"

Anna winced, pulling the phone away from her ear. "Yeah um, sorry Meg I kinda-"

"NO. NO NO NO. YOU AREN'T GETTING AWAY WITH 'SORRY,' EVEN IF I CAN PRACTICALLY FEEL YOU POUTING THROUGH THE PHONE. I'm coming to get you. Right now. And you are going to explain to me WHY you thought that disappearing on me for three days was in ANY way a good idea."

"See, here's the thing… I'm not actually home right now but-"

"THEN WHERE ARE YOU"

"I-I'm with Kristoff! I swear! I've been at his house for the past three days and-"

"DOING WHAT"

Anna sighed. "Meg, please. I'll tell you all about it, I promise. Today. Just, come get me at life, five okay? I need to get out of the house for a little while before I'm good enough to see anyone. I'll be with Kristoff the whole time, don't worry, and I'll have him drop me off at home before you get there."

There was silence on the other end for a moment, but when Meg spoke again her voice was infinitely softer. Almost shaky, as though now that all the anger was gone, all Meg had left was the worry and fear she'd probably been feeling for the past three days.

"Okay, Gingersnap. Five."

Anna nodded. "Good. I'll see you at five then."

"…Anna?"

"Hm?"

"…I'm glad you're okay."

Meg was outside her building at five on the dot. When Anna walked into the lobby she was immediately crushed in a bear hug, Meg scolding her for being reckless even as a smile lit up her face. After a minute she held the redhead out at arm's length, eyes scrutinizing her for the slightest scrape or bruise. Anna only laughed. "Meg, I swear I'm okay!"

Meg scoffed. "I'll be the judge of that. Now come on."

The brunette grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, Anna unable to keep the smile off her face. Meg's bike sat at the curb waiting for them and Meg hopped on first, patting the seat behind her as she handed Anna her helmet. Anna, excited to be on the bike once again, immediately did as requested and wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist, ignorant of the blush it instantly caused.

Within minutes they were off, and even though Anna had no idea where they were going she couldn't really bring herself to care.

…but when Meg pulled up outside an ice cream parlor, she found herself caring very much.

"Oh. My. God."

Meg grinned beneath her helmet. Yes! Score one for the Greek. She pulled her helmet off and placed it in her lap, flipping her hair as she turned to look at Anna over her shoulder. "I thought you might say that."

Anna, arms still wrapped around Meg's waist, stared at the building in awe. The logo printed on the red awning read 'Ralph's' and there were what looked like mountains made out of candy painted on the windows. Inside a number of kids could be seen, and of all ages at that.

"I looked this place up online, all of the reviews said it was- hey!"

Anna had jumped off the bike and was running to the door, barely remembering to take her helmet off in the process. "Come on, slowpoke!" she called over her shoulder, spinning around once to flash Meg an ecstatic smile. The brunette blinked before scrambling to follow, turning the bike off and kicking out the kickstand.

Once her helmet was secured Meg hurried after Anna. When she stepped through the door she immediately had to clamp a hand over her mouth at the sight of the redhead positively bouncing as she waited in line behind an old man and the young boy that was with him.

Kid probably just had a Wilderness Explorer thing; that would explain the uniform.

She quickly went to Anna's side and without warning the redhead wrapped her up in a hug. "Meg, you are seriously wonderful. Ice cream can totally solve anything! This was the perfect place to go."

Meg was frozen for a moment, arms awkwardly hanging in the air before her eyes softened. She smiled and returned the hug with all the warmth as she could muster. "No problem, Gingersnap. I was planning on bringing you here eventually, but I figured today was just as good as any."

"What can I get for you ladies?"

A frighteningly large man was standing behind the counter smiling at them, his arms like massive pillars of muscle. Meg and Anna stared up in shocked silence for a moment before Anna grinned.

"Gimme something chocolate."

He raised a dark brown eyebrow. "How chocolate are we talking here?"

Anna's grin grew wider. "As chocolate as money can buy."

The big man regarded her suspiciously for a moment before a matching grin spread across his face. "I like you. Anything for your friend?" Anna, who realized she was still currently hugging the other girl, sent Meg a curious glance. The brunette looked over the menu for a moment before settling on a root beer float. The big man, who Meg guessed was probably Ralph, nodded and once they'd paid he told them to pick a table. The pair nodded and released each other, grabbing a table by the window.

Nervous, Meg wrung her hands in her lap as she watched Anna gaze out the window.

Crap, now what? Do I wait for her to start talking? Or should I ask her about what happened? What if she gets all upset and starts crying? I so can't handle that.

Just then Anna sighed.

"…Hans lost his visitation rights."

Meg was shocked. "What!? Why?"

Anna's gaze shifted to the table, her mouth falling into a sad frown. "He got into a really bad fight with another patient. He beat him up pretty bad, so now as punishment they're not letting him see anyone. I don't know for how long."

Meg hesitated for a moment before sliding a hand across the tabletop to gently lay it on top of Anna's. "I'm sorry, Gingersnap." And she was.

But just then a small girl with black hair appeared at Anna's side with an enormous chocolate sundae in her tiny hands, and the sadness in Anna's eyes was replaced with utter joy.

"Someone ordered, um… chocolate?"

"Yes! Yes, that's me!"

The little girl grinned before sliding the bowl onto the table, handing Anna a spoon. She turned to Meg then and said, "Be back in a sec with your root beer float."

Meg just nodded absentmindedly, trying to comprehend the amount of chocolate that sat in the bowl sitting not-so-innocently between them. Anna was eyeing it like a predator. "Do you want any?" the redhead asked distractedly, but Meg just chuckled and waved a hand in dismissal.

"As if you would ever let any of that go willingly."

Anna gave her a sheepish grin before digging in, and with the very first spoonful she let out a delighted moan that made Meg's eyebrows shoot straight up to her hairline. She knew Anna loved chocolate but good lord. Meg couldn't help the amused snort that escaped her. A moment later the little girl came back with her drink, which looked deliciously creamy. Taking it with a 'Thank you,' Meg sat and waited for Anna to tire herself out, which didn't take long at all.

Five minutes later the spoon clanged into an empty bowl, and Anna leaned back in her chair, content. She stretched out her arms as a lazy smile grew on her face. "That. Was amazing."

Meg, who'd watched the whole affair wide-eyed, couldn't agree more. "Where do you put it all, Gingersnap?"

Anna giggled. "I keep telling you: chocolate is the food of the gods. You can never have too much."

Meg just shook her head in disbelief before taking a long sip from her drink. When she put the glass down on the table and her eyes met Anna's again, her face was serious.

"Anna, I want to ask you something."

"What?"

Meg hesitated. "Um… I wanted to ask you, about your parents." Anna was silent. "It's just… how can you and Hans be living on your own? You're so young! I... I know that your parents aren't, you know, around anymore... but I don't know why. I'm sorry if I'm overstepping any boundaries, I just… I don't like the idea of you being alone when you're so upset. I know you have Kristoff, but…"

Anna shook her head after a moment, leaning forward to cross her arms on the tabletop. "It's okay. I'd be curious too, I guess. It is kinda weird for a sixteen year old klutz and her brother to be living on their own in this day and age. Honestly I'm shocked that I haven't started any fires or floods or anything." She was silent for another minute before her eyes closed. "Hans and I... we've only been on our own for close to a year now, since I first turned sixteen. Before that, we stayed at out uncle's ranch... the one I told you about? He's actually the one that owns the apartment. He pays the bills, utilities, everything... and he has ever since our parents died." Meg saw Anna's hands clench as her already-closed eyes tried to shut themselves even tighter. "When we were little and it was our parent's 10th anniversary, they got tickets for a cruise. They left us with our uncle and promised us they'd be back in two weeks… but then two weeks came and went. And they didn't come back."

Meg reached over to hold the redhead's hand again. "What happened?"

Anna breathed in shakily, eyes opening to stare blankly at the table. "The ship sank." Meg felt the other girl's hand clench under hers. "They… no one was ever found. It was like the ocean just swallowed them all up. It was… tough. Hans and I were only kids; he was 8 and I was 6. We're lucky we had our cousin Rapunzel to play with us and keep us distracted from all of it… from what my uncle's told me we were kinda hard to be around back then."

Oh hun, of course you were. You'd just lost your parents.

"So, your uncle takes care of you?"

"Yep. Him and his wife were our godparents, and now they're our official guardians. So as long as our uncle checks in on us at the apartment every now and then, it's totally fine for us to be on our own. Rapunzel comes to visit us all the time too with her boyfriend; she's 22 now. I've gotta admit though…" she paused to smile sadly, "it's been pretty lonely there for a while now."

Meg was silent, eyes slightly misted. She cleared her throat before looking away. "Well, you know… I could, I mean, if you wanted me to… I guess I could, sleep over? Once in a while, you know. Tonight, even! I'm free. That way it'll be... y'know, so it's less lonely?"

Anna's eyes lit up. "Really? But wait, aren't The Muses performing tonight?"

Meg smiled shyly. "The Muses perform every Saturday." She crossed her arms with a haughty smile and leaned back in her chair. "But... it's not often I actually offer to submit myself to the horrors of a sleepover. You should jump on the chance, Gingersnap. You might not get another one." To finish up her little speech she sent the redhead a playful wink. Totally nailed that. You go, you smooth criminal you.

"Well, yeah! Sure! I mean, oh gosh, the place is probably a mess, and now that I think about it I have to go grocery shopping, and do laundry… jeez, maybe this isn't such a good idea."

Meg laughed. "Too bad, because it's happening. I'll give you an hour to spruce and then I'll come over, alright? Oh and I'll bring over a pizza or something, because I just realized we've basically eaten ice cream for dinner."

Anna nodded enthusiastically and Meg couldn't help but smile.

Anna was frantically cleaning the apartment. She hadn't realized what a total slob she was becoming, it was honestly gross. Why did I ever think it was a good idea to use the coat rack as a bra-drying device?

She was halfway through vacuuming the floor before she caught the sound of the phone ringing. She turned the vacuum off and grabbed it, accepting the call and pressing the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Anna dear? This is Gerda."

"Gerda? What's up? Hans can't have gotten his visitation rights back already, has he?"

"No my dear, I'm afraid those will stay suspended for quite some time."

Anna sighed, flopping down onto the couch. "I figured. So, why did you call?"

Gerda cleared her throat, and Anna could just imagine the older woman fiddling with her uniform, nervous for whatever reason. "You see my dear, I'm actually calling about Elsa."

Anna shot straight up. "Is something wrong with Elsa?" For some reason, the mere thought of it terrified her.

"No, no! Elsa is fine dear, more stoic than usual if such a thing is possible, but otherwise fine. No, you see I'm calling because, well… I wanted to make sure that you were still coming to visit her this Wednesday. I know it might be hard for you, considering everything that's happened with your brother, but Elsa does so enjoy your visits. She'd be absolutely crushed if she didn't see you."

Anna blinked, confused.

"Why would I ever give up on Elsa? She'd done absolutely nothing wrong, and I love being around her. She's made so much progress in such a short time, how could I ever stop seeing her? What if I actually missed out on getting to hear her speak for the first time?"

"So… we can expect you this Wednesday then?"

"Of course! You tell Elsa that I'm not gonna stop until I find her truffle. Sorry… that sounded weird. But she'll know what I mean though."

She could feel Gerda's smile through the phone. "Excellent, dear. Elsa will be so happy. You have a good day now, you hear me?"

Anna grinned. "Yes ma'am!"

After the two exchanged goodbyes, Anna hung up first. Gerda, from her office in the institute, waited a moment before placing the receiver back in its place. She folded her hands and sat for a moment, smiling. With a quiet chuckle she reached back out and picked up the phone once again, this time dialing a different number.

She waited patiently as it rang. When someone answered, she asked for the mistress of the house. After a minute, she was redirected to the woman she was looking for.

"This is Catrine Helland."

"Yes, hello Mrs. Helland. You are well, I assume? ...Wonderful! I was actually wondering if you and your husband were free this Wednesday. You see, Elsa's had a breakthrough."

"What?! You… are you certain?"

"The most certain I've ever been in my life."

There was silence on the other line for a moment before the woman gave her reply. "Wednesday at four."

"Wonderful. I'll tell Elsa right away."

"Good day."

"To you as well, Mrs. Helland."

Gerda grinned mischievously as she hung up and placed the phone down again. Leaning back in her chair, she chuckled quietly to herself.

Everyone's got to meet the parents at some point.

Hey biddies. Sorry about the wait. Second semester has stated so unfortunately I'm not going to have as much time to write or reply to all of your amazing reviews. But for real though? You guys are all wonderful human beings. Seriously. I've got people leaving me these long, beautifully thoughtful reviews, PM's, and it just makes me really happy :)

Oh, and I have no idea who, but whoever gave this story a 9/10 on tumblr needs to be showered with love. All of you need to be showered with love.

-Cel