Tell Me How To Fix You

Chapter 19

By: The Duchess of Arendelle

AN: Soooooooo sowie for the long time it took me to update. Spit happened and yeah, here's the next chapter. Get ready for the feelssss! Good? Bad? Read to find outtttttt. Sorry for any and all mistakes!

"Yes, but you can't say anything to anyone. We don't need panic spreading through the office." Phillips said, sighing hard and holding the bridge of his nose. Oh she was definitely going to say something about it, but not to anyone in the office. Anna looked Phillips straight in the eye, and spoke calmly.

"Look, Mr. Phillips. What if I could assure you Frost Industries won't get taken over by The Southern Isle? Would you let me on the story then?" she asked, praying that he would bite. Phillips raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer.

"And how exactly, are you going to do that?" he asked skeptically. Anna smiled slightly.

"I know people. Just, you have to trust me. I can do this story and I can make sure Frost Industries doesn't get taken over. We can take The Southern Isle down and expose them for the crooks that they are! Come on, what do you have to lose?" Anna said excitedly.

"Besides my job and everyone in this office's?" he said dully.

"Yeah, besides that." She said smiling. Phillips leaned back in his chair and sighed. He sat thinking for a while. Anna waited in anticipation.

"You know what Anna? This is why I hired you. I haven't seen anyone as excited and ambitious about journalism in a long time. You're not afraid to take risk. I like that." He leaned forward again and pointed his pen in Anna's direction.

"What the hell. Fine. You got your story." He said, running a hand through his perfectly coiffed hair. Anna's eyes widened and she squealed excitedly.

"What?! Seriously?! Thank you! Thank you Mr. Phillips!" she said as she jumped from her seat and hugged the man. Phillips rolled his eyes but chuckled a bit. Anna quickly let go and beamed at the man.

"I'm going to get started right now!" she said as she gathered her belongings and made her way to the door. Before she could make it through the threshold she heard Phillips call her name.

"Anna."

"Yes Mr. Phillips?"

"Don't disappoint me." He said seriously. "This is not just a story, it could be the difference between everyone in this office no longer having a job." Anna turned serious as well. She looked at him and spoke with confidence.

"You can defiantly count on me."

****FROZEN****

"Whoa! Congratulations girl!" Tiana said smiling widely.

"Yes, this is wonderfully news darling!" Alice added.

"Congrats Gingersnap #2." Meg said, smiling genuinely. Both Anna and Merida rolled their eyes.

"Great job lass!" Merida said, patting Anna on the back. Anna smiled brightly. She looked to her left when she felt somebody grab her hand. Aurora smiled as she took Anna's hand and squeezed it, then let go.

"I'm so happy for you!" Aurora said excitedly. "I knew you were going to do great things." She continued. Anna waved offed their praises.

"Thanks guys, I'm so excited to get started on this, it's like, my first real story you know?" she told the group. Right now they were all standing around Anna's desk. She had walked out of Phillips office and instantly made a B-line to her friends, telling them the news, well, some of the news.

"Madame Summers." She heard a heavily accented French voice call to her. She turned around and saw an extremely handsome man with long chestnut hair accompanied by an even more gorgeous brunette by his side. The brunette waved excitedly at them as the man smiled and spoke.

"We could not help but over hear your conversation." He said charmingly. Belle rolled her eyes at his antics.

"We just wanted to say congratulations on landing your first big assignment!" she said the last part loudly for the entire office to hear. Anna blushed brightly when everyone began to clap for her and more people came over to congratulate and ask her about the assignment.

"I can't really give a lot of details about it because I'm still trying to figure out a lot of things." Anna told them. Eugene Fitzgerald, better known by his writing/adventurer name, Flynn Ryder, came over and saddled up beside Anna.

"You know," he began, speaking to Anna in a low tone as everyone began to disperse and get back to work.

"I have dealt a lot with the environment and trying to preserve its sanctity. Corporations like The Southern Isle Inc. are notorious for polluting the environment, and they have the politicians, judges, and just about everyone else in their back pockets. The only way to collect data and find out what's really going on is to infiltrate. Get in their ranks, make connections, and gain their trust. That's how you're going to crack your story." he finished. Anna listened intently. Usually the eccentric man didn't make sense and only went on about all the adventures he's been on and all the places he's visited and all the girls he's reeled in with his 'smolder'. But for once, and Anna couldn't believe she was saying this, he was right. If Anna hoped on getting any traction at all with this story, she'd have to infiltrate The Southern Isle Inc. and discreetly gain access to information. Anna looked over at the smirking Flynn and smiled back.

"Tell me more Eugene." She said, pulling up an extra seat for the man. Flynn frowned but sat down.

"It's Flynn." He said, annoyed.

****FROZEN****

"Okay. Okay. You can do this. Just- just pick up the phone and call Weaselton back. You can do this. You have to do this. You've been putting it off for almost a month now. Call him. Give him your answer." Elsa paced back and forth in her living room. Her cellphone laid in front of her on the coffee table. Weaselton had been calling her more insistently lately and she had been avoiding his calls like the plague. She stopped and picked up the phone only to instantly sit it back down.

"But I don't know my answer." The blonde said to herself. This was all just too much for her. She had begun talking to Kai again, checking in on Olaf and asking if there were any changes. He would say 'Unfortunately no.' and then sigh. Then he'd ask how she was doing and she would answer with a simple 'Fine.' After that silence would follow until he'd finally worked up enough nerve to say, 'It sure would be nice to see you. Maybe you could come down here and sit with Olaf for a little while, maybe talk or read to him?' And every time she would freeze up and after a few minutes choke out a whispered 'I can't.' and quickly hang the phone up. As if she hadn't thought about going to see her little brother. As if she didn't want to be there for him. As if she didn't care that the only family she had left in the world was in a coma. Of course she wanted to go down there and spend time with him, even if he was unconscious. Of course she wanted to go to her parent's funeral all those years ago. Of course she wants to call Weaselton and work out a solution so she can keep her family's business from being taken, even partially. But she can't. She couldn't. She just cannot. She turned towards the door when she heard the lock turn and the door creek open.

"Elsa?" she heard Anna call from the doorway. Elsa looked down at the watch on her arm. Was it time for Anna to come home already? Wait. Home?

"I'm in here." She called out as she sat down on the coach and mulled over her thoughts. Home? Was this like Anna's home now? She did stay over a lot. She only left when she needed to shower or change clothes, or if it was time for bed. Was Anna starting to consider this home to her? Elsa felt her chest warm at the idea.

"Wow, I can smell your brain from here." Anna said as she made her way over to the blonde. Elsa looked up and smiled slightly.

"What's on your mind?" Anna asked as she took a seat beside the contemplating blonde.

"Nothing really. I just-" Elsa's response was cut off by her phone ringing. She looked at the screen and saw the name 'Weaseltown' pop up. She let the phone continue to ring as she pretended not to notice Anna's stares.

"Aren't you going to get that?" The redhead asked as the phone continued to ring.

"Umm, no?" Elsa responded, her answer was more a question and Anna playfully rolled her eyes as the ringing finally stopped. The two sat in silence for a moment before Anna took in a deep breath and decided to take the plunge. On the subway, she had decided the best way to approach Elsa on the subject of her company takeover, was to be cool and level headed about it. If she went in there, guns blazing with accusations, they were going to get nowhere and she'd probably get knocked ten steps back when it came to her progress with Elsa.

"So, um, Elsa. How was your day?" she started, she was going to have to work her way up to this thing. Elsa looked at her funny but answered anyway.

"It was, fine I guess. I only cleaned the house five times today." Elsa answered. She wondered why Anna sounded a little nervous but tried to shrug it off.

"You did? Wow that's great! Now that's what I call progress! Speaking of progress, why didn't you tell me Frost Industries, i.e. you, are fighting a takeover against The Southern Isle?" Anna asked quickly. So much for working her way up to it. But she couldn't help it! She was a journalist for Christ sake, she wasn't use to beating around the bush. Elsa's eyes instantly widened and her mouth fell open slightly. She looked completely taken aback.

"Wha- how did yo- I mean- what?" Elsa stuttered out as she sat staring at Anna. How did she know about that? How could she know about that? Elsa felt the all too familiar tightening in her chest and her breathing began to increase in speed. She was starting to panic. Anna noticed the signs and instantly began to reassure.

"It's okay Elsa. It's okay. I'm not accusing you of anything. I want to help you. Please just, just try to calm down, okay?" Anna soothed as she gently ran a hand up and down Elsa's back. The blonde felt the tightening in her chest loosen a bit and looked away from Anna, partly on shame for going into a panic attack so easily, and partly because she didn't know how to answer the redhead's question. They stayed like that for long moment. Anna once again broke the silence as she spoke gently to the blonde.

"Aren't we friends Elsa?" she asked softly. Elsa instantly looked back at Anna. Were they friends? No. They were much more than that. Anna was her lifeline. But she could never say that to the girl, so she settled for,

"You're my best friend Anna. You're my only friend." She tried to joke. Anna smiled a little, but still continued on, seriously. She had been thinking about what she was about to say to Elsa for a while now. Before she had even known about the takeover.

"Best friends share things with each other Elsa. Best friends help each other. And as you're best friend Elsa, you have to let me help you. Not just with the company thing but with this." Anna said, gesturing to Elsa and their surroundings.

"Elsa, you can't live like this forever. You can't stay in this apartment, cleaning for all eternity. At some point, you have to walk out that door and experience the world outside these four walls." Anna continued, grabbing Elsa's hands as she spoke. Elsa was stunned silent. The entire time they had remained in silence, she had been trying to mentally prepare herself for the conversation of Frost Industries vs The Southern Isle. She didn't expect Anna to spring… this on her. In her defense, Anna didn't expect it either, but now seemed like a better time than any. Again silence stretched on between the two, this one longer than the last. Finally Elsa whispered out,

"I, I can't. I can't Anna…" she choked a bit at the end. Anna stared at her sadly.

"Yes you can Elsa, I know you can." Anna said encouragingly. Elsa just shook her head.

"No I can't. Don't you think I've tried before? I can't even step out into the hallway. I can't do it." Elsa said as tears escaped her eyes.

Anna still held Elsa's hands in hers. They were shaking and cold as ice. She stared at their interlaced hands, Elsa's long pale fingers wrapped around her own. Suddenly she got an idea. She held the interlocked hands up in front of their faces.

"Elsa do you see this?" she asked. Elsa looked confused at what she was supposed to be seeing.

"I- I don't know what I'm supposed to see here. It's just us holding hands." She said. Why was Anna making a big deal out of them holding hands now? She saw the redhead's smile widen.

"Exactly! It's us holding hands. And this." She said as she removed one of her hands from Elsa's grasp and brought it to the blonde's face. She felt the normally cool cheeks heat up under her touch as she brushed a tear away.

"It's me touching your face. And this." She removed her other hand from Elsa's grip and brought her hand down from the blonde's face. She instead pulled the girl into a warm embrace. Holding her tightly as she felt Elsa reciprocate the hug.

"It's us doing this Elsa." She whispered in the blonde's ear. Elsa still wasn't sure where Anna was going with this, but she definitely didn't mind all the touching the redhead was doing. Wait. She felt Anna smile as realization hit her.

"Less than a month ago, you wouldn't have let me hug you even if you were wearing a hazmat suit covered in hand sanitizer. And now look at us." Anna said smiling brightly, then she pressed on.

"Elsa, stop telling me what you can't do, and start showing me what you can." She finished as she broke the hug to look Elsa in the eyes. The blonde had stopped crying and had a look of stunned realization on her face. Anna brought her hand up to Elsa's face again, caressing her cheek. She felt Elsa lean into the touch, she didn't think it was possible for her smile to get any bigger.

"I believe in you Elsa. And besides, we don't have to rush into it. Baby steps, okay?" she said. Elsa thought for a second then nodded. Anna was so right. She was tired of staring out the window at the world below and not experiencing it for herself. She was tired of living in constant fear of germs and the world outside her door.

"Okay. Baby steps." She agreed. Anna squealed and hugged the girl. Elsa was caught off guard for a moment, but then instantly returned the embrace. They pulled apart when Elsa's cell phone began to ring again. This time Anna picked at the screen and her face scrunched up in confusion when she saw the name.

"What the heck is a 'Weaseltown'?" she asked confused as Elsa snatched up the phone and turned it off.

"About that…" the blonde CEO trailed off as she explained to Anna about what Weaselton had informed her of all those many weeks ago. Realization dawned on Anna when she matched up the time of the call with the time Elsa had went berserk and accidentally cut up her wrist and hands.

"It was an accident, right?" Anna asked seriously. Elsa looked down and nodded slowly. She was ashamed of the way she acted that day. Anna grabbed the blonde's hands and, in a bold move neither of them expected, the redhead gently placed a kissed on the inside of each palm. Elsa blushed and Anna smiled, fighting back her own blush.

"It's okay." Anna assured. Elsa smiled. The tension she felt from the other day when it seemed like Anna was going to kiss her, reared its head again. Anna felt it too and thought it best break the tension by saying something, lest she do something stupid like, I don't know, kissing that adorable smile right off Elsa's face. At that thought Anna quickly jumped out of her seat and made her way over to the kitchen.

"I'm thirsty. Are you thirsty? I'm very thirsty." She said as she took a bottle of Evian water out of Elsa's fridge. She had given up all modesty after Elsa had given her the okay with a smile hidden behind a beautiful slender hand, to raid her kitchen anytime she wanted to. Which Anna took advantage of. Often. She heard Elsa let out an adorable giggle and a 'No thank you.' from the coach. She gulped the cool water down faster. Ever since she had come to the not too startling conclusion that she felt more than platonic feelings toward the blonde, said feelings had begun to get stronger with every day the two spent together. Anna finished the water and placed the bottle in the recycling. She climbed up on the barstool at the island and patted the seat next to her. Elsa smiled and made her way over to Anna. Now that the redhead had regained somewhat control over herself, she wanted to talk to Elsa about their next step.

"So what's the plan? How are we going to save Frost Industries?"

AN: What, what? Progress! You gotta love it. Slow and steady and all of that. So, was this chapter worth the wait? And guys, don't be afraid to message me and say "Bitch hurry up and update!", but I'd prefer if you'd say it nicer than that. Really, sometimes I don't realize the amount of time I go without updating and then I check and I'm like, "Oh shiznit, I haven't update in almost two weeks." And then it takes me another three or four, sometimes five days to write and read through, a new chapter. So… yeah. Working on some drawing suggestions for this story. Already finished two, working on some more. Would love for you guys to suggest something for me to sketch out. Ohhhh, and maybe our favorite long haired blonde cousin will be visiting…running away? Not too soon but eventually. Maybe. If you have some suggestions, throw them in the pot. I'm always open. Don't forget to follow me on Tumblr for extras from this story and others. Oh and if you like extreme angst and tragedy and having sad feels, I've started a series of oneshots about different Disney princesses and if they gave up or conformed. It's called No Happy Endings. Hint, there are no happy endings in these stories. :)

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