'Wait.. did she just say that she wants me to meet some member of her family?' Anna is still in front of the door, her eyes are lost in the hallway searching for the blonde who's not there anymore. She stays there for some more minutes and then decides it's time to enter the room and start her session.
"Hi Anna, ready?" Her physiotherapist greets her smiling. He's tall and probably in his 40s, he's a good guy.
"Let's do it, the first we start, the first we finish, right dr. Ryder?" he nods at her patient and they begins with some easy exercises.
'I could have asked her to join us this evening..Why had I to panic?' Elsa is reading at some medical records, she's in her office waiting for Kristoff to come back from an exam of a patient in the X-Ray room. 'She could have some plans and this is the first day for Punzy and Flynn in town.. There's Marshall too.' She takes her phone from her pocket and checks if there are any messages unread. None. 'But it could be like to kill two birds with one stone. The dinner with those two and Marshall and at the same time the meeting with the cousins.'
She starts to typing a message to her cousin and Marshall.
"Ehy guys, what if this evening come my friends too? You could meet them, hopefully they aren't busy." The answer comes immediately.
"Yeah! It could be awesome! Eating at your place, since there's the biggest dining room I've ever seen."
"Punzy, it's not that big.."
"It is!"
"Right.. okay, then I'll see if they don't have any plans and I'll let you guys know." She takes away her phone.
"Hi!" Kristoff says reaching the blonde. She looks at him for a second before speaking. 'What if they both have plans? Maybe he's out this evening with Mandy.'
"Hi Kristoff, how did the exam go?"
"It went good, Mrs. Proust's new heart is doing great." He confesses smiley.
"Perfect," 'Come on, I've already told Marshall and Punzy..and to ask never killed anyone.. right?' "this evening are you busy?" she asks trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Mh.. No, I don't think so, why?" He answers cocking his head a little.
"Do you remember that this morning I went to the airport to pick up my cousin's fiancée and her? This evening I'll have a dinner with them and another friend of mine, Marshall. We were talking about how I'm doing here and I talked about Anna and you.. They asked me to meet you two someday while they're here in town, and I was thinking that maybe you could join us at dinner this evening."
He stares at her for a moment and can't help to notice the little nervousness she's trying desperately to hide.
"Well, I think that it's work for me. Have you asked Anna yet?" She shakes her head.
"No.. I saw her earlier and walked her to her physiotherapy's session, we talked a bit but I ended up saying silly things.. I told her about the thing of my cousin, but I didn't ask her anything. I sort of panicked." She confesses with something like a whisper.
Kristoff is amused and shocked at the same time: his boss walked her cousin and she panicked. It's not a thing of everyday.
"Why did you panic? It's not your thing."
"I.. don't know..? I mean.. we were talking than I called her princess, I don't even know why! Then there was this awkward situation.." He tries to fight back a laughter, this woman in front of him isn't Elsa, it's Anna. The blonde looks like his cousin right now and it's funny for him to see this change in his boss.
"Okay, got it." He finally sits down the little couch and looks directly in the doctor's eyes. "Usually you have everything under control, but every time Anna is involved, your world goes upside down. Am I wrong?" Kristoff knows that this could be a difficult conversation but he wants to help his friend.
"No, you're right.. I don't know why she has this kind of ability. I mean, before she came in my life everything was different. She changed everything and I'm not upset about it.."
"Which is a bit odd for you. That's what you're thinking." She looks at him with wide open eyes and nods slowly.
"How.."
"I'm starting to know you. You're not easy to understand or to deal with. At first it was like a mission impossible for me to stay here, in this office in front of you, without having the feeling you'd kill me. But now everything is different and it's because of that feisty pants of my cousin. You told me you grew attached to her, I've the feeling is something new for you."
She nods again unable to speak.
"You like her, you want to make a good impression on her. But you know, you don't have to, because she already thinks that you're great. Since the beginning." He smiles at his boss.
"You think so..?" She finally says quietly.
"I'm sure of it, and do you want to know how I know it?" then she nods again.
"She told me so."
Elsa doesn't speak a word she looks at him without showing any kind of emotion. Or at least that's what she thinks. 'She thinks I'm.. great?' she can't help but feels warm in her heart and puts an hand over her chest. Her heart beats faster than usual and it's louder, she can hear the heartbeats in her ears.
Kristoff look at her without saying anything else. 'I knew she wasn't a robot.'
"I should ask her.." she murmurs.
"You should. Go to her as soon as she finishes her session, she'd be more than pleased to see you and come this evening."
Elsa notices that he didn't stop for a second to wearing that smile.
"Thanks Kristoff."
"Well, I'm your friend and if I can be of any help, then here I am." He points at himself on the couch.
"Sometimes I think you're my friend only because of it." She looks at the furniture. "You love it, don't you?" His only reply is a laughter.
After they finish reading and writing some medical records they go outside the office and check their patient one more time while her intern explain her how the morning went.
After a while Elsa checks her watch and becomes aware of the time. Anna is finishing her session. The blonde says a quick see you later to Kristoff and goes to the redhead.
The cardiac surgeon waits for the younger girl outside the door while she keeps telling in her mind what to say and how to ask Anna to go at dinner with her and the others. The surgeon can't help but remember the earlier words of Kristoff. She's stunned by the way that boy managed to read her, he is able to answer at questions that she doesn't even know yet or she doesn't know how to reply. She's used to stay alone and not having someone who could help her whenever she needed. It's not the first time someone says that she likes Anna and she knows they're right, she like that girl and if she could she would stay with her everyday of her life, but she can't understand why her. She can't find a reason why she's feeling this way whenever the redhead is next to her or whenever she thinks about her or talk about her.
'It's incredible how much I'm an ignorant about this kind of stuff..'
The door next to her starts to open and a familiar young woman comes from the inside of that room.
"Ehy you" Elsa speaks at first and Anna is startled at hearing her voice.
"Elsa!" She says eagerly but then she becomes aware of the fact that she didn't call her doc and they're not alone. "Oh crap… hi Doc." Those words come out behind a nervous smile.
The blonde can't help but chuckle at her reaction, she knows that the two of them should act professionally at others' presence, especially in Elsa's workplace, but the doctor is overwhelmed and she doesn't care right now about the others.
"Don't worry Anna, how did you session go?" She asks her reaching her arm under her own. This time she moves at first and chooses to walk with her again. The redhead looks at their intertwined arms and starts blushing.
"It went good but I'm a lot tired.."
"Lucky you, you have a nice walking stick with you." She jokes.
"A gorgeous walking stick you meant." The words come out her mouth too quickly to be stopped but the blonde seems to not be bothered instead she plays along.
"Glad you like it."
They reach the locker room and Anna is reluctant to leave Elsa's arm.
"Ehy.. I wanted to ask you something.." Elsa starts. "Do you have plan this evening?"
Anna's heart skips a beat at the question, she knows where the blonde is headed.
"No, I'm totally free, why?" She says trying to catch her breath, she isn't sure why but she's having some troubles breathing and it's not because of the physiotherapy but it's because of a certain blonde's presence.
"I was thinking that, if you want of course, you could come at my place this evening to have dinner with me, my cousin and her fiancée, Marshall, a friend of mine, and your cousin.." She tentatively says. 'I had such a great speech in mind.. why my brain doesn't want to work with me whenever she's around!?'
"It would be a pleasure." Anna smiles at the blonde and squeeze her arm. "And I'll finally meet Etta."
"Oh, that's why you'd come? To see my cat?" she mocks offended.
"Would you blame me? She's such a cutie!" the redhead takes her tip or her tongue out of her mouth and shows it to Elsa.
"And here I thought I was the cute one.. I even walked you!" She keeps playing to be the offended one but she can't hide the smirk on her face.
"Etta is cute, but you're gorgeous. That's a huge difference." 'I should stop saying she's gorgeous.'
"Do you think so..?" Elsa decides to stop playing and tries to be a bit more serious. She's blushing a bit but she wants to know what the redhead thinks about her.
"If my rambling does something good, it's telling the truth. I should think before talking but I'm not always able to do so. I think you're a wonderful person, you're nice, kind, honest, smart, noble hearted, special and yes gorgeous too. You do something really important with your work, you give hopes, life, love to people, and it's not something everyone can do. I really admire you and I love having you around. I can't wait to be with you tonight."
Elsa is taken aback from her statement and she doesn't really know how to reply at those words. The only thing she's aware now is that she's terribly blushing and that her heart is racing, if she didn't know the symptoms of an heart attack, she would say that she would be having one right there and then. The other thing she notices is the redhead's hands that are now on her shoulder squeezing her gently. They're eyes are locked at each other's.
But after a while the blonde's eyes start to go down to Anna's lips.
"Anna.." Both of them are looking at their lips, they come closer without realizing it and they're a few inches apart now. Elsa's hands move involuntary at the redhead's hips and they bring her closer to the blonde's body.
'Her lips seems so tastefully.. I wonder how it would be..' Anna's thoughts are controlling her actions and her hands are now behind Elsa's neck trying to let her be closer.
'I could kiss her right here and right now..' Elsa thinks but then suddenly they both hear a loud sound coming behind the door. Then they realize that they're in front of the locker door in the hallway at the sight of everyone. Even if there's nobody in the proximity they have the feeling to be watched. They ends their embrace and stares at them.
"I.. I should go inside." Anna says without leaving the blonde's gaze.
"Right.. so.." Elsa tries to compose herself clearing her throat. "So, I'll see you this evening. I'll text you later and I'll give the directions to Kristoff so he can drive you." Anna nods and before she enters the room Elsa reaches her hand and squeeze it.
"Thanks." And she lets her go and walks away leaving a confused Anna behind.
'Why did she thank me?'
The shift ends and the blonde is now at her home only 10 minutes later checking if there's everything in the fridge. She doesn't know if ordering a pizza or cooking something, but looking at her groceries she decides to chose a homemade dinner. She'll prepare some pasta, a salad and maybe some meat or fish. The group decided to come at her place at 8pm so she has a window of time to do everything she has in mind. Before she starts cooking she goes to take a quick shower. After 30 minutes she's ready in her kitchen and she decides to cook some steak in tomato sauce, like her mother used to do. She lets the water to boil for the pasta and then prepares the meat. She puts some tomato sauce in a pan and after it's a bit hot she adds the meat. She always liked to cook this kind of things, when she was little she stayed in the kitchen chair and watched her mother doing her magic.
"Mom, how works your magic?" a 6 year-old Elsa asks.
"It's a secret, but I can tell you this. Come closer so that your father won't hear." The blonde little girl walks near her mother and looks at her while she's cooking some steak. It's red because it's in a tomato sauce and it smells delicious.
"The most important ingredient is.." Katherine leans down at her daughter. "..Love." she kisses the little head of the blonde. "If there's love, everything is perfect. When it will be the time for you to cook for someone you'll understand, dear."
Elsa smiles at the memory who came in her mind.
"Mom, you would have loved Anna." She murmurs while she checks out of the windows, then she hears the doorbell rings. She wipes her hand with the rag and goes to open the door.
"Elsieee!" Punzy shouts as soon as she hears her cousin unlocking the door.
"Damn Punzy, I didn't even open the door!" Elsa chuckles and then she watches as the brunette walks, no jumps in the house and hugs her. After the greeting she looks at the others.
"Hi Marshall, Flynn." They wave at her and walks in. 'They're a bit more polite than this crazy brunette.'
"Mmmh what a lovely smell!" Flynn says.
"I hope you'll like the dinner, please feel free to take off your coats, I'll take them away right now." She closes the door, knowing that Kristoff and Anna are on their way she decides to not lock it.
"So, we'll finally meet these two famous friends." Punzy speaks up.
"Honestly I can't wait to meet this Anna, she seems to be something.." Marshall looks at Elsa's cheeks who starts to blush.
"You'll love them, I'm sure of it." Elsa smiles and then they hear the doorbell rings again. "They're here." Elsa jumps at the sound and she runs at the door.
Her cousin watches her reaction and she's amused. 'She's changed so much, she's happier, it's like she's living for real. Who could be the cause of this change? This Kristoff guy?' Elsa opens the door and the two cousins walks in smiling at their host.
"Hi Elsa. Hello everyone, I'm Kristoff, Elsa's colleague." He presents himself to the others.
'He's cute. Maybe..'
After Kristoff enters in the house he goes closer to the other to catch their names and then Anna shows up at the threshold.
"Ehy Heart's Doc." The redhead is wearing a wonderful light green dress under a black coat, her hair is down and she has a little bit of makeup.
"Hi Anna.. you look.. gorgeous.." Elsa manages to speak but it's more like a whisper that everyone succeeded in hearing it. The younger girl blushes and smile nervously, than she remembers that there are other people in the house.
"Hi! I'm Anna, Kristoff's cousin, nice to meet you all!" She waves at them. "Ah, I brought a dessert, I hope you don't mind it."
"Thanks! You shouldn't have.." She says taking the big box from the redhead's hands.
'Oh look what do we have here.. Elsa dear, you were hiding that from me?' Punzy smirks at the couple of young women.
Author's Note: Hi everyone! Here's my Christmas' present for you all. I hope you're having a nice holiday and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Thanks for your support and for reading, reviewing and following the story :)
I don't know if I'll be able to upload the next chapter soon, I have got the schedule of my exams and it's a huge mess! So, I have to study hard to pass each exam.
Well, enjoy your holiday and take care of yourself.
P.S. The sentence "it could be like to kill two birds with one stone." comes from the Italian manner of speaking "prendere due piccioni con una fava." I asked around for saying that sentence in English and some of my English friends told me that sentence.. so I hope it's correct if not.. Sorry xD