As you can probably guess by the title, this chapter is Anna's birthday from the short film Frozen Fever. No warnings apply, enjoy :)

Chapter Twenty:
Spring Fever

Elsa awoke early on the morning of Anna's birthday, the redhead still snoring away in the bed next to her. Her vibrant mane of hair splayed wildly across the pillow, she had one arm sticking out awkwardly from under her head and the other was tucked away under her chest, the blankets had slid down her back during the night, revealing a portion of her pale green nightgown.

Stealthily, Elsa crept downstairs to finish checking on the birthday preparations. The cake was all set, ice cream (of course), with four tiers and a miniature ice sculpture of the sisters skating together. It had a sky-blue background and large sunflowers on the top three layers, the bottom tier had a smaller sunflower border up the top and white swirls below. It was the perfect cake for her little sister.

Elsa sniffled as she made sure everything was in place, her throat had been sore since the day before and her nose and eyes were irritated, but she refused to be sick, she wasn't going to let anything ruin this special day, no matter how crappy she felt.

First, she had special plans for just herself and Anna, then later on in the afternoon, Kristoff and Joan were joining them for a surprise party in their courtyard. She had enlisted their help for the big day, leaving them in charge of putting up the decorations and getting everything ready for their return.

Seeing that everything was where it should be and after a quick reminder message to Anna's friends, Elsa crept back up the stairs to wake up her sleeping beauty. She paused for a moment, her sister facing away from her, before tiptoeing around to the opposite side of the bed and crouching down to surprise her.

"Psst, Anna." She whispered as she popped her head up from beside the bed. Her voice came out a little husky, but she wasn't sick. Nope, no way, not a chance. There was a greater likelihood that she'd meet a snowman who loved summer than get sick on her sister's special day.

"Yeah." Came Anna's sleepy reply, the ginger barely moving beneath the sheets.

"Happy birthday!" Elsa sing-songed.

"To, yo-ou." Anna sang back, obviously still half asleep, her cognitive functions lacking as she continued to doze away.

"It's your birthday!" Elsa reminded her as she stood up a little more and shook her sister's shoulder in an attempt to wake her. The redhead was notorious for sleeping late and being especially hard to wake, but it was already late morning and they couldn't afford to lose any more time.

"To meee." Anna corrected, still making no effort to get up as Elsa laughed behind her. "It's my birthday." She murmured groggily.

Elsa whipped back the sheets, giggling she said; "come on!" and suddenly Anna awoke with a start, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Oh! It's my birthday?" Anna exclaimed, the realisation finally sinking in as she sat bolt upright in her bed.

"Mhmm." Elsa agreed, clapping her hands together in front of her chest. "And it's going to be perfect because you've never had a real birthday before," she said as she helped her sister out of bed and led her over to her first birthday gift. "Except, of course, the ones you spent outside my locked door." Her face grew sad for a second, but she pushed the pain and regret behind her as she handed Anna a beautiful spring dress.

Anna gasped, grabbed the outfit and ran behind the decorative partition in the far corner of their room to change. Elsa could hear her grunting as she changed into her new dress and she waited in anticipation to see the final product.

"So, I'm here way too late, to help you celebrate, and be your birthday date, if I may." Elsa said before suddenly sneezing. But, it was okay, it was just a sneeze, she's not sick, she probably just had some dust fly up her nose, that's all.

Anna reappeared from the partition, looking absolutely breathtaking in her new dress. It was gorgeous, the skirt was a light green colour with large sunflowers and small crocuses around the hem, it had a black bodice with gold trim and a small butterfly embroidered on the bust. Beneath the bodice she wore a pale-yellow shirt with a sunflower at the base of her neck and the finishing touch was an open grass-green vest with a floral design on the front and one last sunflower in the middle of her back. "Elsa, I'm thinking you might have a cold." Anna gently pointed out.

"I don't get colds." Elsa denied matter-of-factly, "besides, a cold never bothered me anyway." She whipped off the robe she'd been wearing to hide her own spring dress and watched Anna's expression turn to pleasant surprise as she ogled her sister's new outfit.

Elsa's dress was a full length, off the shoulder number. The top of the bodice and sleeves was a light lavender colour and the rest of the dress was a crisp, dark green, growing lighter towards the bottom. It had a light-green train flowing down from just under her arms and around her back, all the way to the floor with large pink and green flowers and delicate silver glitter.

"Whoa!" Anna breathed. "Fancy!" She said as she put a large flower in the bun she'd styled her hair into.

"Just follow the string!" Said Elsa excitedly as picked up the end of the red string she'd had resting to the dresser and held it out on the tip of her finger.

"Wait, what?" Anna asked, clearly confused and more than a little surprised.

"I've got big plans." Elsa explained as she led Anna out of the bedroom on a scavenger hunt. "I've got surprises for today." Anna followed along behind, climbing over a chair in the hall, underneath the decorative side table, before finding her next present in the helmet of the suit of armour which had been moved to the top of the stairs after Anna tripped over it for nth time. Inside was a beautiful antique bangle. "Nothing, but nothing's gonna get in our way. I've worked for weeks, planned everything within my power. I even got Kristoff and Sven to take a shower!" She exclaimed as they raced into Anna's old bedroom.

The next gift was hidden in a large ornate cabinet; a stunning model of the Arendelle castle. Anna had always admired the ancient building, it's tall spiers and spiralling towers and with her wearing the nickname of princess so well, Elsa thought it was rather fitting. Besides, today was all about making up for their lost childhood and Elsa knew that Anna had loved playing dolls with her.

"If someone wants to hold me back," Elsa began, obviously referring to Hans and his meddling schemes. "I'd like to see them try."

Anna studied the beautiful model with awe, the little clock in the middle of the building chimed and an adorable little snowman popped out happily exclaiming, "summer!" Anna giggled and bopped it on the head with her finger.

"I'm on the birthday plan attack. I'm giving you the sun, the moon, and the sky!" Elsa practically sang as she watched Anna examine her gift with joy. Everything was going according to plan. Anna was clearly enjoying herself, she'd loved all the gifts so far and she hadn't sneezed again…

"Achoo!" Well, maybe not everything.

Elsa threw open the double doors to their upstairs balcony, and there, resting on the thick wooden railing, was a bunch of sunflowers and lavender. Anna drew in a deep breath, breathing in the sweet floral scent and sighing merrily as she turned to follow the string once more. Elsa, on the other hand seemed to be getting worse, she sneezed again, but she still refused to admit she was sick, it was probably just the pollen in the air.

"I'm making today a perfect day for you!" The blonde sung as she followed Anna to her next present.

"Ooh, a sandwich!" Cried Anna, she barely had a moment to gather it up before she was being whisked off again by her sister.

They flew downstairs and into the formal lounge, the string continued up and over the couch and ran up the wall to a beautiful framed photo of the Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Joan and of course, Sven.

"I'm making today a blast if it's the last thing I do. For everything you are to me and all you've been through." Elsa said lovingly as she and Anna hopped on their old tandem bike which she had dug out that morning and rode through the lounge. "I'm making today a perfect day for you." A scarf that complemented Anna's dress hung from a piece of string on the ceiling, as they went past, it caught on her eyes, giggling, Elsa pulled it down for her before riding down the front steps of their home.

I wonder what Hans would think of this if he saw us now? Elsa wondered as they bobbed along. She could feel another sneeze building and despite her best efforts, she couldn't hold it back. "Achoo!" She cried, "achoo!" The second following immediately after the first.

"They come in threes!" Said Anna as they rode onto the cobblestone driveway.

Elsa just shrugged her off, "I'm fine." She said, but of course, as luck would have it, a third sneeze followed her statement, making the bike wobble beneath them. She thankfully regained control again quickly as they rode to their next destination, Anna still carrying her gifts under her arm. The string led them straight to the grounds outside of Pabbie's, on the small dock sat a little wooden boat. They dismounted and walked over to it.

Inside sat a brand-new fishing rod for Anna. Elsa wasn't sure if Anna had any interest in fishing, but her sister was the outdoorsy type and she thought that it might be something they could do together, something Anna could teach her. Maybe they'd go just before sunset, sit on the beach with a picnic and watch as the sky turned from blue to red before sinking beneath the horizon, it sounded wonderfully romantic. Then Anna could stand behind Elsa, their hands clasped together around the rod as she showed the blonde how to cast a line. Anna's breasts pressed into her back…

Okay, enough of that Elsa, stick with the plan. Follow the string. Elsa thought to herself. "Surprise, surprise, this one especially…" But before she got to finish her sentence she sneezed again, "achoo!"

Anna gathered up the rod and wrapped her spare arm around her sister's shoulder. "Wow, you've got me reeling," She said, "but I'm still concerned for you. I think it's time that you go home and get some rest." Anna's expression was filled with worry and disbelief, she obviously didn't believe that Elsa was fine.

Elsa sniffed some more and wiped her dribbling nose on her arm. She wasn't going to let a little case of the sniffles get in the way of her plans, pulling herself out of Anna's embrace, she took hold of her hand and led her to a market stall in the street selling snow globes. "We are not stopping cause the next one is the best…ah…achoo!" Elsa sneezed just as she picked up the globe she'd designed especially for her little sister, inside was the same model castle, and instead of being filled with tiny little snowflakes, it had miniature sunflowers floating around.

Anna shook her head at her sister who was clearly sick and clearly in denial about being sick. Before she could say anything though, Elsa had taken her hand and pulled her over to the next market stall. 'Oaken's Cloakens' read the hand-painted sign on the front of the little wooden kiosk on wheels. Below that hung another smaller sign saying; 'And Sauna', next to it was a door at the back of the kiosk, which Elsa presumed was the sauna.

Hanging on a hook at the very front of the stand, was a thick travelling cloak to match Anna's dress, Elsa pulled it off and draped it around her sister's shoulders, tying it off around her neck. "Elsa, you gotta go lie down!" Anna insisted as she watched the blonde tire more and more with every step she took.

"No way, we have to paint the town!" Elsa replied, she was determined, nothing, absolutely nothing was going to ruin this day, nothing, not even a little, itty, bitty case of the hay fever was going to stop her, especially when they were so close to the last big surprise. She opened the door to the sauna and inhaled deeply, letting the hot steam clear her sinuses.

"But you need medical attention" Anna insisted again.

Just as she did, no other than Oaken himself popped out of the sauna. "Are you sick? How 'bout a cold remedy of my own invention?" He suggested as he held out a bottle brown of liquid.

Elsa shook her head, "no thanks." She said as she turned and walked off.

"We'll take it!" Anna cried, taking the bottle from Oaken and chasing after her delirious sister.

They continued to walk until they reached the small town square, there on the concrete steps, Elsa had arranged for a small choir of ten young children to sing a birthday song for Anna. "We're making today a perfect day for you." They sang in chorus.

"Making today a special day" Elsa chimed in, turning to sing to Anna, her voice all gravely as she conducted the children with her hands. Her sister's face was filled with amazement and joy as she tried to juggle the mountain of gifts in her hands.

"We're singing a birthday song to make your wishes come true." The children harmonized, their little lyric books held in their hands. "We love Princess Anna."

Elsa sneezed again but that wasn't going to stop her and she powered through to continue with the song "And I love you too." She sang.

"So, we're making today a perfect day… a fabulous day in every way, yes we are making today a perfect day." The chorus of children ended their song as Elsa led Anna through the small village on the outskirts of the town square.

The sun was beginning to set and as much as she didn't want to admit it, Elsa was beginning to tire. The day had been a busy one, she'd been up since the early hours of the morning preparing for Anna's special day, whilst her sister slept late. She'd raced around putting the finishing touches on everything, making sure that Kristoff and Sven were bathed and ensuring that Joan was still able to paint the town red with string. Then it was the craziness of the day itself, running around all of Arendelle, riding from place to place, making sure her sister was having a magical time. It was enough to make anyone tired, especially someone who was sick… which she wasn't.

Elsa led her sister to the large clock tower at the very end of the town square, "come on! Now we climb!" She said gesturing to the large tall turret. She was feeling very weak now, she was sounding more delirious with each word. But she was nothing if not determined, a little bit of dizziness wasn't going to stop her from making this day a perfect day for Anna.

"Elsa that's too much. You need to rest!" Her sister insisted worriedly as Elsa turned a whiter shade of pale.

"No…we need to get to our birthday chills…I mean thrills!" She protested weakly, barely managing to keep her eyes open as she opened the doors to the tower. "Making dreams, making plans. Go, go, go, go!" She urged as they climbed the many, many steps to the top. "Follow the string to the end. You are my very best friend." Just above them, high in the rafters, resting upon the bells was more red string. Anna looked at Elsa as if she were crazy whilst the blonde rested her head on the cold concrete railing.

"Elsa?!" Anna asked worriedly, she obviously didn't think her sister was strong enough to make it to the top.

"What? I'm fine" Elsa responded sounding almost drunk, her words slurring, her voice weak. "We're gonna climb, we're gonna sing, follow the string, to the thing." They finally reached the top and burst out of the tower, right in front of the clock face! Sitting close to the edge were two giant babushka dolls, one of Anna and the other of Elsa. "Happy, happy, happy, very, very, very, happy, happy… day!" She sang as she twirled around one of the wooden pillars right on the very edge of the tower. Her grip was slipping, her feet unable to keep up with her and the next thing she knew, she was leaning back over the edge, one hand flying out into thin air behind her.

She was just about to slip and fall from hundreds of feet in the air, when Anna reached out with lightning quick reflexes and pulled her back to safety. Elsa collapsed in her arms, her legs crumbling beneath her as her whole body shook from adrenaline and chills.

"Woah! Elsa, look at you. You've got a fever. You're burning up!" Anna said empathetically, she cradled her sister's head in her chest and tenderly stroked her face. For someone who had just saved the person that they loved from falling to their death, Anna was surprisingly calm. "All right, we can't go on like this. Let's put this day on hold, come on, admit it to yourself."

"Okay… I have a cold" Elsa admitted dejectedly. She couldn't deny it any longer, she'd just risked her life and probably shaved years off Anna's by almost falling to her death, it was time to admit defeat. "I'm sorry Anna. I just wanted to give you one perfect birthday, but I ruined it. Again." Elsa was so upset, she had tears in her eyes, all she wanted was to make up for thirteen years' worth of missed birthdays, to give the love of her life the best day of her life and she'd completely stuffed it up.

Anna helped her sister up from the floor and with her arm around Elsa's shoulders she began to lead them home. "You didn't ruin anything. Let's just get you to bed." She insisted.

The walk back to their house was thankfully short. Elsa was struggling to hold herself up, her head felt like it was on fire but the rest of her body was so cold that she couldn't stop shivering. She was sneezing more and more now and felt like she was about to pass out at any moment.

They finally arrived home, the front porchlight was on and the curtains had been closed. The sun had since set and the neighborhood was quiet, the only sounds breaking the silence was the crunching of stones beneath their feet.

Elsa was beat, all she wanted now was to curl up in bed, pop a few painkillers and sleep this cold away. But as she opened the front door she remembered something she had forgotten…

"Surprise!" Yelled Kristoff and Joan, Sven barking his greeting from the burly blonde's side.

"Wow!" Exclaimed Anna looking around at all of the decorations. Her expression one of pure surprise.

"Wow…" Elsa breathed, in her feverish state she'd completely forgotten that she'd arranged this little surprise party. Looking around at all the gifts, food and decorations it looked like a lavish party meant for hundreds of guests, it felt a little pathetic when she looked at the two other people invited and an over-active dog. This was it, all they had, no family to invite, no other friends, their world was so small. But then she realized as she looked between Joan and Kristoff, that it didn't matter how many people they knew or how many people she invited, all that mattered was that they were with those who loved them most. This was their family, these were the people who had stuck by them and supported the sisters through some of the hardest times in their lives. And when she looked at Anna and saw the sheer joy and adoration in her expression, she knew that this was all she'd ever need.

"Happy birthday!" Said Kristoff, the magnificent ice-cream cake balanced in his hands as he slid along the polished floorboards on his knees. Elsa just about had a heart attack right then and there, she was sure that cake was going to go flying and she had no hope in hell of catching it in her current condition. Thankfully for her, Kristoff not only kept his balance, but also managed to somehow pull it off and look smooth as he did so.

Joan ran up to Anna and wrapped her arms around the redhead, squeezing her tight. "For everything you are to us and all that you do, we're making today a perfect day." She said warmly.

"Perfect day" Elsa parroted, her eyes would only open halfway, her speech slurred terribly, and her body was thudding as she fought to remain conscious. Everyone around her shot Elsa looks of concern, did she really look that bad?

"Okay, to bed with you." Anna said turning to her sister, she made to grab Elsa's hand to pull her up to bed but the blonde pulled away before she had the chance.

"No, wait! Wait!" She protested, there was only one last thing to do, and only after that was done would she then concede to going to bed to pass out for the next week. "All that's left to do is for the princess to blow out the birthday candles!" Elsa explained as she walked over to the table where Kristoff had placed the cake.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…" Anna muttered over and over, Elsa was sneezing like crazy now and there was only one way this could turn out.

Elsa lit the candles, picked up the cake and walked (wobbled) over to Anna, just before she could start singing 'Happy Birthday', the inevitable happened. "ACHOO!"

It was her biggest sneeze yet; the platter flew out of her hands, cake and candles soared across the room plastering the walls and floor in ice-cream. Her face morphed into a look of horror as she spotted Kristoff and Joan absolutely covered in cake from head to toe, big globs dripped from their faces and clothing onto the floor.

Anna whisked her sister out of the room before anyone else had a chance to recover, tears streaming down her face as she roared with laughter. She helped Elsa into bed, the blonde too weak to protest or do anything herself and draped her new cloak around her shoulders. Elsa drew the soft fabric tightly around her body, the chills making her whole body shake and all her muscles were aching viciously.

Elsa sat in the bed, shivering violently as Anna ran downstairs to say goodbye to the guests and get her some pain killers. She was so disappointed in herself, she'd had so much confidence in today, so much hope that it would turn into the best day ever for Anna, she even planned to bring in the redhead's suggestion and make love to her all night long, but as it seemed, nothing ever went to plan when Elsa was involved.

Shortly, Anna returned to the bedroom, in her hands was a bowl of steaming chicken soup, a glass of water and some pain killers. Elsa took the pills and water and was about to start on the soup when Anna stopped her and held up the spoon. She wanted to thank her sister and apologize again for ruining her birthday but her throat wasn't really cooperating right now. So instead, she gave her a kind smile and hoped that that would convey everything she wanted to say.

"Best birthday present ever." Anna said softly.

Elsa looked at her sister in confusion, "Which one?" She asked, her voice barely allowing her to speak above a whisper.

Anna pulled the cloak back around Elsa's shoulders after it had begun to slip off again. "You, letting me take care of you." She said genuinely, love and tenderness sparkled in her eyes as she leaned in to give Elsa her get well gift.

"Achoo!"

I really, really wanted to add in the part where Hans gets hit with a snowball at the end and flies into a pile of horse shit, but unfortunately, it just wasn't possible, so Kristoff and Joan got covered in cake instead. Hope you enjoyed it. Until next time.