Chapter 20

A/N: I feel like, at this point, you should just expect this fic to update monthly.

It always felt odd for Anna to be at the shelter as a customer (Client? Pet owner? Eh, it was one of those). Maybe it was because she wasn't even allowed in the back with all the animals, or because not having her uniform on made her feel like an impostor, or because she somehow felt guilty for not sweeping or taking out the trash whenever her coworkers passed by. She wasn't too concerned this time, however, not while she was anxiously waiting for Honeymaren and Elsa to walk through the door.

Getting Elsa spayed was necessary. She'd done the research, watched the videos, and Honeymaren constantly brought it up whenever they were cuddling. But it was still surgery, Elsa was knocked out and operated on, and she was going to have stitches and everything. Oh, and she'll probably be in so much pain. Pain that Anna couldn't even fathom. The worst thing that ever happened to Anna was when she broke her wrist falling out of a tree because she was trying to get her shoe off of a branch.

Gosh, she couldn't even bear to think about the sadness she was about to see in her husky's eyes. She'd probably never want to talk to Anna again.

The door to the vet's office finally opens, and- oh, Elsa looks just fine. Same derpy tongue poking out of her same derpy mouth, unfazed by the large, plastic cone around her neck. When the seemingly happy husky notices Anna, she trots over her with Honeymaren following right behind with her leash.

Seeing that her husky is okay, Anna lets out a sigh of relief. "Hey girlie!" she exclaims as Elsa tries and fails to lay her head on her shoes. "You look different. Did you get a haircut?" If she didn't try to make jokes, she was going to explode with anxious energy.

Honeymaren gets down on one knee in front of her and clips the leash to Elsa's collar. "She just woke up. I was expecting the anesthesia to keep her loopy for a little bit longer, but no. I guess Elsa really missed you."

Elsa gave up trying to lay on her owner's shoes and instead laid on on the floor, failing to even get close to chewing on her shoestrings.

"Well, I definitely missed her," Anna replied, gently stroking Elsa's back. And much softly, she said to Honeymaren, "And I missed you too."

Honeymaren flashed her a grateful smile, and then handed her a paper bag and some forms. "This bag has her pain medication, make sure she takes all of them and around the same time every day. Keep the documents in a safe place. And I wrote out a list of things you should do that will help you and Elsa get through this recovery process."

Anna smiled, "Thanks ba- er, doctor. Is there anything else I should know?"

The brunette noticed her near-slip and reacted to it with a quiet snort, "Don't hesitate to call if you have any concerns about her behavior. And make sure to schedule a follow-up appointment so that I can tell you when it's okay to take off the cone."

"Okay, I will."

Before Honeymaren stands up and goes back to being the best veterinarian in the city, she looks around before remarking with a wink: "Also, your butt looks great in those jeans."

Whatever reserve energy Elsa may have had depleted when Anna pulled her car out of the parking lot.

It was like a switch had been flipped. One second she was panting and looking eagerly around the car, and the next she was a puddle in her seat. During the red lights, Anna would reach over and scratch her behind the ears, reassuring her that they were almost home and that she could tear up more stuffed penguins soon.

At some point, she even tried to talk to her about the necessities of getting spayed, and how this was actually going to help her in the long-run, but then she realized that Elsa was a dog and dogs don't care about surgical processes created by humans for the supposed benefit of their pets.

She bet that Elsa would totally care about the new blanket she got her, though. It was baby blue and had other, tinier huskies on it.

When they reached her apartment complex, Elsa gently stepped out of the car and followed Anna instead of leading the way. Which would have been way more adorable if the cone didn't keep hitting Anna's shin. Each third step was accompanied with a light thwack that was already starting to get old.

Once they reach her door, though, that's when they separate momentarily. Elsa, instead, sniffs around the grass, gently squats, and takes the longest pee of her life. It takes so long that Anna's worried she'll shrivel up from being completely dehydrated. Like a puppy raisin.

Which makes her say out loud, "Ugh! Why would you think that?"

Elsa finishes up her business and waits expectantly as Anna unlocks the door. She bumped her cone on the doorway while walking inside, and then made a beeline (dogline?) to her water bowl.

Anna grabbed her food bowl and filled it up with the husky's brunch, knowing she'd have to be starving after the operation. She also crumbled in this treat that was supposed to be full of vitamins that were good for Elsa. "You've been such a good girl today," Anna said, looking down at her patient puppy sitting in front of her, "I made you your favorite! At least I think it is, you've never said otherwise."

She set down the bowl and watched as Elsa dipped her head down, bumped the bowl with her cone, and sent half the food inside said cone. Elsa then tried to fix the situation by shaking her head to get all the food out, which just caused it all to spill across the kitchen floor. This was going to be a fun couple of weeks.

Now came the most interesting obstacle: bedtime.

The cone couldn't come off without the vet's permission, and it was too big and clunky for Elsa to even enter her kennel. So, Anna decided to move the husky's bed from the kennel to her room. Just for now.

Obviously, Elsa was conditioned to go to her kennel when Anna said it was bedtime, so the lack of a bed made her curious. She even tried going inside, which was hilarious to see. It was like trying to fit a circle peg into a square hole. "Not this time," Anna said as she scratched the husky's back, "Here. Come with me."

Elsa followed her all the way to the bedroom but stopped at the doorway. She looked confused considering she was never allowed in here when Anna was going to sleep- or when Honeymaren wanted them to have some "private time". She peered tentatively inside, wondering whether this was a trick.

"I know. This is all very new and exciting. It's okay girlie, you can come in."

Now that she had permission, and also because she spotted her bed and favorite stuffed penguin, Elsa stepped inside. Just like before, when she was trying to lay on Anna's shoes, it took a little bit of time for her to get used to what was basically a new, temporary appendage. Luckily, the plastic was bendable enough that Elsa could lay on her side comfortably. Although it did nothing to stop her from looking like an abandoned satellite dish.

Well, at least the new blanket was proving to be a worthy investment. Elsa made no complaints when it was placed over her.

Anna scratched her behind the ears one last time and placed the penguin in between her two front paws. "You're gonna be just fine, Elsa. I love you," she said before getting onto her own bed.

But when she did so, and the silence set in, that's when the thoughts finally began to re-emerge.

Of course she was still a little bit worried. Why wouldn't she be? Elsa couldn't get into her kennel which meant she'd have free rein over the apartment while Anna was at work. She'd been doing good so far about not tearing up furniture and peeing on the carpet, but maybe with the operation things would be different. And taking a couple of weeks off was out of the question because that was money they both needed. Plus, the new hire was having some trouble and they'd asked her to help with the training. And what if the medication barely worked and Elsa spent the whole day howling in pain? What if, after recovering, Elsa decided that she now hated Anna and wanted a new owner? What if there was a complication with the surgery and...no. No, Anna couldn't think like that. She had to be brave and strong, just like Elsa walking out of the vet's office today.

She closed her eyes, telling herself that they would take this one day at a time. That this was only temporary. That the stitches would heal and Elsa would be just fine, and she'd go back to sniffing other dogs' butts at the park soon. This would pass.

A huff interrupted Anna's thoughts and caused her to open her eyes. Elsa was sitting in front of her, protruding cone nearly touching her owner's forehead.

"What is it, Elsa?" she asked.

Elsa tilted her head at the sound of her name. She made like she was going to stand up and try to get on the bed, but barely got her front paws off the ground. After a beat, Elsa tried again and managed this time to climb on.

Anna winced, waiting for some sort of yelp, but it never came. Elsa looked just fine, proud of herself even as she pawed and circled around the sheets. She found a nice spot next to Anna's legs and curled up victoriously. And just like that, Anna's worries were gone. At least for the night.

Elsa felt confident in herself, which meant Anna felt confident...in both of them. Just as it'd always been these past few months, they'd get through this together too.