Lowest on the Totem Pole
Chapter 45
Elsa gently sat herself down, her legs shaking too much to support her weight. She pressed her hands against her face, elbows resting on the table, and groaned.
"You don't need to - you can't -" Elsa paused and sighed, looking back up at Anna. "I won't let you do this," she finally said. "You need to go to college."
Anna shrugged, making one final mark on her plan before setting her pen down. "I don't," she said. "At least, I don't need to go to the university. I'm thinking trade school instead."
"Trade school?" Elsa echoed. "What trade?"
"I figured I'd get my certification in auto mechanics. That way I'm not just some home-taught kid, and I can maybe have my own shop."
Elsa sighed, rubbing at her eyes. "You'll still need some sort of education; running a business isn't easy, Anna."
Shrugging again, Anna sat down and reached across the table to grab Elsa's hands. "That's kind of where I was hoping you'd come in," she suggested. "I was thinking maybe a partnership? I didn't really want to bring it up like this, but my hand's kind of been forced here, and we just gotta get everything figured out pronto, you know, so-"
"Yes," Elsa breathed, interrupting Anna. "God, you're ridiculous, of course I'll partner with you. This doesn't mean you get to drop out of the mentorship program, I still need those credits."
Anna choked back a laugh, grinning stupidly. "Of course not. I told you at the beginning that you were stuck with me, right? But anyway, the best thing about trade school is that they have night classes, so I can be at home during the day while you're at school or work or whatever. That way, no matter what, someone can always be with Jack. Once I graduate high school, at least."
"And I'll take spring quarter off," Kristoff said. "Stay home during the day and work the swing shift, if Jack moves in that soon."
"Don't worry Elsa," Teresa added. "We're here for you. Everything'll work out."
"Y-you guys," Elsa whimpered, her eyes began to mist over, vision blurring. "You're the best family anyone could ask for. Thank you all so much."
For the next two weeks, every bit of spare time was spent cleaning and fixing the Summers house. The leaky sink in the bathroom was finally fixed, as well as the cracked window in the garage. The couch was moved and vacuumed under for the first time in years (Elsa was sure that the dust bunnies had evolved into some form of intelligent life). Against Teresa and Elsa's wishes, Anna climbed up onto the roof one day when it wasn't raining to scrape all the moss off the shingles. They didn't order a bed for Jack, but they had one picked out and were ready upon a moment's notice.
It came as a surprise when Elsa received a phone call from Jake, late on a Friday evening, telling her that CPS would be visiting their home the next day. She had expected more notice, though she didn't know why, but she wasn't too terribly concerned. They had done all they could to prepare, and it was better that it happened immediately rather than giving them time to mess the place up again.
All she could do was hope that she and Anna would both be at a hundred percent.
"Uuurgh, I'm so nervous I feel sick," Anna complained the morning of, her bowl of cereal standing untouched next to her head as she slouched over the table. "How are you so calm, Elsa?"
"Calm on the outside," Elsa said as she sipped at her coffee. "Nervous wreck on the inside; I have no idea how we're going to make it through this."
"You'll be fine," Teresa assured them. "Anna, eat your breakfast. You won't want to be hungry when the agents get here."
"Yes Moooom," Anna groaned, picking her head up and shoveling a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. She grimaced as she chewed, the cereal having long since gone soggy.
"And make sure all three of you get showers this morning. Especially you, Kristoff, I can smell you from the kitchen."
"I don't smell that bad!" Kristoff argued, before lifting an arm and sniffing his armpit. He cringed and lowered his arm, hanging his head in defeat. "Yeah, okay."
"And Anna, don't forget to take your medicine at eleven."
Anna sighed, rubbing at her forehead with the back of her hand. "Yes, Mama, I know. You're getting too overbearing. I know you're worried, but we're going to be fine."
"Yeah," Kristoff chuckled. "The last thing we need is you Drifting off when the CPS agents are here. I'm gonna go take a shower first." He stood, taking his bowl and spoon into the kitchen and setting them in the sink before heading towards the bathroom.
"Leave some hot water for the rest of us!" Anna called after him, receiving only a wave in response.
After everyone was cleaned up and the dishes done, it became a waiting game. Anna and Elsa watched a movie in the living room (and Anna even put the DVD case back on the self where it belonged, probably for the first time in her life) while Kristoff and Teresa played card games at the dining table. Glances towards the door were constant from all four of them, as if the CPS agents would simply materialize inside rather than ringing the doorbell.
Anna's alarm broke the anxious quiet, and she stood up to trot back to the bathroom just as the doorbell rang. Conflicted, she looked at the door, down the hallway towards the bathroom, and then at Elsa.
"Take your medicine," Elsa said softly. "Teresa and I will get the door."
Anna nodded and hurried as quickly as she could down the hall while making as little noise as possible.
When Elsa opened the door, she was greeted with surprisingly normal looking people. Rather than the suits, ties, and sunglasses she had expected (a la Men In Black, though she didn't really know why), the two people on the porch were in business casual, a man with thick red hair in khaki slacks and a blue button-up under a thick jacket and a blonde woman in black slacks and a white blouse, also wearing a jacket to ward off the cold. They both had smiles on their faces, and the man was stooped over and holding the hand of Jack Winters.
"Oh please, come in," Elsa said after recovering from her surprise. "Thank you for coming out today."
"Ah!" Jack suddenly yelled as he stepped through the doorway. "You builded snowmen!"
Elsa smiled, shutting the door behind everyone. "That's right, Jack, Anna and I built all the snowmen. I'm glad you remember us!"
"What's yer name?" Jack asked. "I'm Jack!"
"I'm Elsa." Kneeling down, Elsa helped Jack take his shoes off, fighting back a fit of nausea as she touched his ankle. "I'm your big sister, Jack."
Jack beamed as he lifted each foot in turn for his shoes to be removed. "I haf a big sister?" he asked. And then, upon realization: "You're my big sister?"
Elsa's smile grew into a lopsided grin, matching Jack's enthusiasm. "That's right, bud, I'm your big sister. Do you want to meet the rest of my family?"
Jack nodded, holding his arms up towards Elsa expectantly. She picked him up as she stood, setting him on her hip as he wrapped his arms around her neck. Turning and gesturing for the agents to follow, Elsa led the two of them into the dining room, where Kristoff was shuffling the deck of cards.
"Jack, this is Kristoff and Teresa," Elsa said, gesturing to each of them in turn.
"Krisoff? T'resa? Are they my family too?"
"We could be," Kristoff said, standing and ruffling Jack's hair. "If you want. I've always wanted a little brother."
"A big sister and a big brother?" Jack asked excitedly, reaching out for Kristoff's hand. "Really?"
"How about two big sisters?"
Elsa and Kristoff looked up from Jack to see Anna walking into the room. The redhead settled herself at Elsa's side opposite Jack, smiling at the CPS agents and then Jack. Jack gasped, smiling even wider (which Elsa hadn't thought possible).
"You!" he squealed. "You made snowmans too!"
"That's right, Baby Jack," Anna said with a smile. "My name's Anna."
Elsa settled her free arm around Anna's waist, pulling her closer, and looked at the two agents. "It seems we've gotten carried away," she said. "Sorry about that. I'm Elsa Winters, and this is my family, Teresa Stevens, Anna Summers, and Kristoff Bjorgman. Eventually, all of us will be living here in this house."
The man nodded, jotting something down in his notepad. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Winters. My name is Simba, and this is my partner Nala. We'll be doing your evaluation today, and will submit a report to our superior, who will then make the decision on Jack's custody."
"Who doesn't currently live here?" Nala asked, getting straight to the point.
"Kristoff and I have an apartment leased downtown, near the University. The lease is up in June, but both of us spend the majority of our free time here," Elsa explained.
"There doesn't seem to be a lot of room in this house," Nala mused, peering around.
"We're planning on expanding," Teresa said. "Would you like a tour of what we currently have?"
"That would be great, thank you," Simba replied, smiling.
Teresa led the agents (and the rest of the family, none wanting to miss a single moment) through the house, starting with the kitchen and then heading down the hallway. Simba took time looking at all of the pictures on the wall while Nala inspected contents of bookshelves.
"Who is this?" Simba asked, pointing at the family picture at the end of the hall.
"That would be my partner and Anna's mother," Teresa said. "Claire Summers. She passed away in January."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Simba said, running a finger over the edge of the frame. "This is a great picture."
Teresa turned as Nala walked out of Anna's room, scribbling furiously in her notebook. "You have two bedrooms," she stated. "How do you plan on fitting Jack in here?"
"We've got plans," Anna said. She was holding Jack, Elsa's arms having been worn out. "Here, Mama, take Jack, I'll get the plans out on the table."
Teresa barely had time to reach out before a squirming, giggling Jack was in her arms, and she rolled her eyes as Anna all but ran down the hall. She led Simba and Nala back to the dining area and they all gathered around the table.
"A contractor's already been out to survey, and we're working on getting permits now. Soon as the weather's good enough, we'll start working on Kristoff's room on the other side of the garage. For the time being, we'll put Baby Jack in Mama's room, but we'll certainly have to build a room for him as well. Probably going to add a half bathroom in the garage, too. Elsa'll stay in my room, and we'll all fit just fine!" Anna said triumphantly, pointing to each space on the plan as she spoke about it.
Nala narrowed her eyes and looked closely at the plan before jotting down more notes. "It seems you have living arrangements all set," she said. "Though custody could be granted within the month - are you prepared for something to happen that quickly?"
Elsa nodded. "Except for Anna, we all have the ability to shift our schedule around so that someone can be home at all times. I have no problem staying here rather than at the apartment. I think we're as prepared as we can be."
Simba nodded, smiling. "I think you guys are in good shape. We're pretty well done here, right Nala?"
Nala nodded, flipping her notepad closed. "We'll take Jack next door and drop him off, and try to push our reports through as quickly as possible. Whether or not you qualify, I want to get this kid out of that house as fast as we can. To be honest, I think you're underestimating how difficult this will be, but that's something typical of parents in general. Just don't be surprised if plans end up falling apart."
Elsa nodded, swallowing heavily. "Thank you for coming out today," she said. "And thank you for bringing Jack. It was nice to truly meet my little brother." Before Teresa set Jack down, Elsa quickly put the boy's shoes back on. Once on the floor, he reached up and Elsa grabbed his hand, holding it as she walked him out the door.
"If you ask me," Simba whispered to Anna as they followed Elsa and Jack to the door. "You kids have got this in the bag. It's hard to find a family with this much love these days."
Anna blushed, reaching up to scratch at the back of her head. "Th-thanks, Simba. Hopefully I'll see you again soon."
"You betcha!" Simba said, walking out the door and trotting down the steps. "Have a good one!"
"Bye Essa!" Jack yelled, waving. "Bye Anna! Kris'off! T'resa!"
"Bye bye, Baby Jack," Elsa said softly, waving until they were across the driveway and up the stairs of the Winters' house.
A/N: Technically still Friday. Aw yiss. I like this chapter, though I don't think there was quite enough interaction between Jack and the family. I'll have to work on that in future chapters.
I was toying with the idea of making the day of the CPS visit basically the worst day ever - Anna's meds not working, Elsa's PTSD acting up, Sven having fleas or something... But that's not particularly realistic. One thing going wrong, sure, but not everything at once after all that preparation. So, we'll just have to see where it goes from here! I'm excited!
Looking forward to hearing from you, and I love you all!
~Matt
