The two cops stationed at the door try their best to ignore the glare Anna continuously gives them from Elsa's bedside. She lets out an agitated groan bordering on a growl.
"They aren't going to budge, Anna", Kristoff deadpans from his chair across the room. He lets his head fall into his hands and sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose.
One of the cops sends a suspicious leer towards Kristoff. He seems just as tired as the others, "we just want to know what happened, other events that happened this evening might have put your sister at the scene of a very serious crime. We only want to talk to your sister when she wakes up."
Continuing to glare at them, Anna snaps, "then at least tell us what's going on! What do you want to talk to her about? What other crime?"
The other cop chimes in now, "we can't discuss an ongoing investigation, we've told you that already."
"UGH!", Anna screams in frustration, "we are in a hospital, and she is unconscious, where the hell do you expect her to go!"
"Anna!", Kristoff interjects again, knowing full well the more she pushes the more they will dig in their heels.
Sending an angry look Kristoff's way, she throws her hands in the air, gets up, and yells, "I guess since everyone's against me here no one will mind if I got get some air." A glance around the room met with stoic, indifferent, or exhausted faces told Anna she wasn't wrong. She lets her eyes fall on her sister, her expression softening. Leaning down, she takes Elsa's hand in her own, and plants a kiss on her bandaged palm. The events from earlier that night reeling back into her mind as she whispers, "I'll be right back Els, please wake up soon." She gave her hand a squeeze as a blush rapidly spread across her face. Lifting her head slightly, she tries to hide her embarrassment, "Kristoff?", she asks lightly, hidden behind Elsa's hand, "if she wakes up, please come get me as soon as you can."
One of the cops scoffs slightly, and opens the door with a condescending smile. Anna gives an exaggerated bow, mocking the officer, then walks out the door. No sooner does the door close then both cops' eyes are now fixed Kristoff.
Anna walks down the hall muttering to herself angrily, "why can't they tell us, what could have happened that they can't tell me about my own sister?" Anna turns and punches the button on the wall to open the door. In her own world, Anna grumbles more as she makes her way down a new hallway, "stupid cops, probably just want Elsa to wake up so they can go get more coffee and do-".
Anna collides with a passing nurse, papers, folders, and hair fly in every direction. The nurse recovers herself faster than Anna, "oh my! Are you okay?"
"Sorry, sorry, I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!", Anna says as she looks at the nurse. The first thing she notices about her is her really long blonde hair and wide caring eyes. Anna catches herself staring, thinking about her sister's gorgeous hair and beautiful eyes, and with a blush continues, "um, I was just going to head outside for some air for a second, and I was thinking about my sister, and... you asked if I was okay. Sorry! Yes, yes I am."
The nurse giggles, "okay, that's good", as she shuffles to retrieve her papers.
Kneeling down to help, Anna picks up a few papers, forgetting how angry she was as she tries to make amends for her carelessness. "I like your hair", Anna blurts out and instantly regrets speaking at all.
The nurse blinks at her a few times.
"I mean, it must be really hard to keep your hair so straight. It's so long! If my hair was that long I'd probably braid it to keep it out of my way", she rambles awkwardly, while doing her best to not make eye contact out of embarrassment. When Anna grabs the last sheet of paper she sees a familiar name on it. "Wait… are you heading to see an 'Elsa'?", she asks.
The nurse pushes her hair out of the way and smiles, "actually I am just getting on the floor. I haven't even gotten to see my patients for the night yet, I've barely even been able to look at their files."
Handing back the papers she collected, Anna points to the top paper, "this is my sister…", then falls silent.
The nurse places a knowing hand on her shoulder, "listen, it's gonna be alright."
"If you find anything out…", Anna hesitates for a brief moment, "please tell me before anyone else. Please… promise me..."
Giving her a warm reassuring smile one more time promises her, "You will be the first to know, okay?"
Anna confides in her, "It's overwhelming to see her like that."
"Don't worry, we'll figure out what's wrong with her", the nurse reassures her again. "It's strange to see someone you care about in the hospital", she starts, "when I was sixteen, my mother was in the hospital, and watching all the people trying to help her made me want to help people." She closes her eyes and tilts her head towards the ceiling.
Anna asks, "what happened?"
Sighing, the nurse finishes her story, "ultimately, I had to watch her deteriorate from cancer. She passed away, but it left me stronger, you know what I mean?"
Nodding her head, Anna's worries for Elsa start to manifest again.
"I learned that, even though I had depended on her, I could stand on my own two feet, and even with all the pain that I went through, I wouldn't give up because if I could help someone, it was my responsibility to at least try." The nurse's eyes fall onto Anna, resilience in her stare.
Anna hesitates again, giving the nurse a half frown, "I… I can understand how you felt. Elsa and I lost both our parents to their addictions." Anna stares at her finger as she plays with it. Continuing, she explains, "It's just been Elsa and me since then, and the thought of going through it again… without Elsa there…", she lets out a shaky sigh.
"Go get some air, she'll be alright", the nurse tells her, "I'll be in to see you and your sister in a bit. We can talk some more after I check on all my patients."
Anna's eyes glint with her deep appreciation, "Thanks, I just really need to get out of the room for a bit. It's nice to have someone who understands."
"Likewise", the nurse admits, "I am going to check on everyone, I'll wait a bit before I head to Elsa so you can get your air and be there when I check on her."
The edges of Anna's mouth rose a bit and she said, "I won't be long, so don't stay too far away."
"I'll do my best to not go far", the nurse said as she begins to saunter back from where Anna came.
Anna took a few steps and called at her, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name!"
"My name is Rapunzel, but my friends call me Punz", the nurse replies.
"Anna!", she responds, "I'll see you later, Punz!" She turns back and makes her way outside.
With every step, her new friendship is tainted with the reminder that Elsa is here and she doesn't know why. By the time she steps foot into the cold night air, her mood had already turned sour, and it showed on her face. Glancing around she sees a man smoking, walks over to him, and asks, "can I bum one?"
The man gives her a charming grin, tips his hat, and bows. He hands her a cigarette and says, "chérie, you look like you could use one more than me."
While Anna took her time to herself, Kristoff sat in Elsa's room, both cops scanning him up and down. This is not something he's unsure to, he relaxes himself and tries to find something to read on his phone. He knows that the more nervous he seems, the more suspicious the police would get. After ten minutes of deafening silence, one of the cops clears their throat. Kristoff flicks his eyes up to see them both leering at him.
"Can I help you?", Kristoff asks lifting an eyebrow.
One of the cops is staring at him, hard. "You look very familiar", the officer finally says, "and not in a good way…"
Keeping his cool, Kristoff breaths, "huh? Do I?" He lowers his phone and asks, "where do you think you've seen me before?"
"Don't you worry your head about that", the cop responds.
Knowing the cop can't place him, Kristoff scoffs, "well, I've never been in a police station, and I've not had any run in's with the law, so you've got to be mistaking me for someone else."
The cop whispers something to his partner, who upon hearing it gets a worrying look on his face.
Kristoff's eyes narrow and he tilts his head away suspiciously. He lifts his phone back up and pretends to start reading again.
They continue whispering to each other, Kristoff catching a few words now and again. Nothing out of the ordinary, "suspicious", "perp", all things he's heard said about himself before.
The door to the room opening interrupts their hushed conversation . Kristoff also lowers his phone, thankful that Anna came back when she did.
Instead of Anna though, a woman in pink scrubs with long blonde hair walks into the room. After a welcoming smile, she greets the room, "good evening, everyone! My name is Rapunzel, and I will be the overnight nurse for Elsa this evening!" Her enthusiasm helps to alleviate some of the hostilities in the room. She looks at Kristoff, "oh, Anna's not back yet?"
Kristoff cautiously answers, "no… she's not. How do you know about Anna?"
Rapunzel taps her head lightly, "silly me, sorry, I met Anna on the way up here. I didn't even know I had Elsa as a patient yet when Anna ran into me… Literally."
Kristoff pinches his nose again, "their situational awareness runs in the family."
Still beaming from ear to ear, Rapunzel gets down to business, "okay! Right now I need to take Elsa's vitals and get her prepped for a few tests, so I need all non-family members to leave."
The officer stops her, "that's not happening. This girl might be a witness to a mur-", he quickly clears his throat, "to a very serious case."
Kristoff perks up instantly. The lead he has hoped for just fell right into his lap. The smug smile on his face made the cop's face twist in anger.
Getting right in the officer's face, Rapunzel says, "are you a member of her family?"
Not backing down, the officer replies, "no, I'm not."
"Then you are leaving", Rapunzel's eyes gleam with irritation.
The other officer tells her, "we are here investigating a case, we must speak to her as soon as she wakes up."
Continuing her efforts, Rapunzel looks at Kristoff and asks, "do you know what floor we are on?"
Unwilling to allow her to drag him into the middle of whatever this is, Kristoff quickly answers, "the fifth?"
Rapunzel turns back to the officers, "so we can figure out she's not going out the window. There is only one door to the room. Guess where you can stand and still do your job without bothering my patient?"
They look at each other then back at her, "miss I-"
"Get out of the room or I will call your captain and let him know that two of Arendelle's finest must have some sick perversion cause they refused to stand on the opposite side of a door so I could change my patient's clothes", she shouted, pointing at the door.
The second officer concedes, "fine! But we expect you to get us if she wakes up", and they exit the room.
Kristoff starts to get up, and Rapunzel giggles, "sit back down, I'm not taking any of her clothes off. They were just dragging down the entire room."
Plopping back into his chair relieved, Kristoff sighs, "thank you."
She laughs again, "don't mention it", and starts taking Elsa's pulse. "Do you know what happened?", she inquires.
"Nope, the only thing the cops will tell us is that she might be involved in something big", Kristoff confesses.
She begins to change Elsa's bandages on her arm, "whatever happened, she must have hit the ground really hard, these cuts look pretty bad."
Kristoff leans against the chair and feels a warmth on his back. Ignoring it, he asks, "do you have any idea what could have happened or how long she will be like this?"
"Hmmm", she looks down at Elsa, concern flashing in her stare, "I'm not sure but we will run some tests."
Anna breaths in the smoke and instantly coughs up a lung. The gentleman she took it from let out a tiny laugh.
"Not one to enjoy a light very often, are we?", he snickers playfully.
Anna, through her coughing fit, gags, "first one ever actually."
The gentleman clicks his tongue, "tsk, tsk, tsk, a terrible habit to pick up, chérie. One as sweet as yourself shouldn't ruin herself on these cheap highs."
Her coughing subsides, and she giggles to herself. She looks at him, he is thin but dressed so nicely. His suit and top hat brings his look together, and Anna can't get over how much she likes his southern accent. Thoughts of her experience in her classroom after everyone left dance through her mind. Refusing to believe what she did, she keeps talking to this stranger, hoping to set her mind right.
She builds up her courage and asks him, "so, where are you from?"
"Good ol' Louisiana! I'm a bayou boy myself", he explains to her, "up here indefinitely on business."
"What brings you to the hospital?", Anna asks again taking another puff of her cigarette coughing only slightly less than last time.
He pats her on the back. "Well", he glances up at the building, "I'm looking for someone, a potential colleague of mine. Trying to seal the deal, as you city folk say."
Recovering herself again, she realizes her folly, "I'm sorry, I've been forgetting to do this all night." She extends her hand, "I'm Anna."
"Facilier…", he responds, taking her hand and kissing the back of it, "charmed, I'm sure."
Something about how intently Rapunzel observes Elsa, puts Kristoff on edge. Suddenly, the entire feeling of the room shifts. He can feel the room building in energy. He tries to discretely glance around trying to find the source. Then, he realizes… It's her. This girl's emitting some power that Kristoff can feel in his chest.
He stands up and calmly but sternly asks, "who are you and what are you doing to her?"
Rapunzel gives a fearful look, like a child who was just caught doing something they weren't supposed to. She stutters, "I-I don't… I don't know what you're-"
"Don't lie to me. I can feel you radiating energy into her. Now, what did you do?", Kristoff says, confronting her.
Eyes wide, Rapunzel questions him, "you can feel that? Most people have no idea I'm doing anything and the ones who figure out something is going on can never place it on me."
Kristoff's even tone doesn't falter, "I'm not like most people… now tell me what you did before I make you regret sending those cops away." He reaches behind him, grabs his dagger, and has it half way out before realizing just how hot to the touch it is. "Damnit, that's hot", he says as he drops the blade on the ground with a clatter.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!", Rapunzel exclaims when she sees it. "Calm down, I was just helping her heal", she confesses as she slowly backs away from him.
The jewel on the weapon glows bright orange. Kristoff peers at his dagger, then at Rapunzel, then back to his dagger, and once again at Rapunzel. "Son of a bitch…", he curses and places his hand over his face.
"What is that? Why is it glowing? How did you get a weapon in here? Who the hell are you?", Rapunzel rapid fires questions at him.
He faces Rapunzel and explains, "My name is Kristoff. This dagger", he pulls his hand into his sleeve, using it as an insulator, and picks up his weapon. "It is glowing because I'm pretty sure you just became part of my problem as well as my solution", he finishes and puts it away.
Rapunzel, looking very frightened, just says, "what?!"
After a few minutes of Kristoff explaining what is going on with the colors, the fight against Mal, and how Rapunzel fits in with everything, Kristoff asks her, "I know this is a lot to take in at once, but I need to know. When the time comes, can I count on you to help me save this town?"
Stunned silence fills the room, eventually Rapunzel's blank gaze gives way, and she says, "so there are others out there like me!" She zeros in on Elsa, "she has abilities, too… doesn't she?"
Kristoff nods, "yes, there are a few people who you could define as 'magical' out there… And not all of them are looking to use their power to help." His vision strays to Elsa, "she's been fighting herself for days now on where to stand. She's having an issue deciding if she wants to save this city or watch it burn."
Shooting her head towards Kristoff, Rapunzel answers for Elsa, "she wants to help, I could feel it when I healed her. There was something else there though, something strong and angry. It felt like someone capped off a soda bottle and shook it up, like pressure was building and had nowhere to go." Rapunzel closes her eyes, "I want to help people… This town is not beyond salvation."
Rapunzel cannot even imagine just how much relief she gave Kristoff. He smiles and takes a deep breath, "we are three strong right now." He glances down at Elsa again, "wake up quickly Elsa, we need our White Queen."
Anna laughs hard at a joke Facilier made. He smiles at her, the same charming smile from before. However, Elsa runs through her mind instead. Thoughts of what she wrote about her sister spring back into her head, no matter how many times she shakes them away. Finally, she decides to use every last bit of courage she has to prove she is normal to herself.
"I have to get back inside. Thank you for talking with me", Anna giggles again.
Facilier tips his hat and bows again, "anytime, ma chérie."
Before she runs away, she puts herself out there, "Okay, can I just do something crazy?"
"Ain't nothing crazy about you chérie, but if you insist", his debonair attire only being outclassed by his attitude.
Pulling a piece of paper from her pocket, she scribbles on it real fast, hands him the paper, and says, "call me sometime. It's nice to have a gentleman around for a change."
He slips her number into his jacket pocket, "Ma belle chérie, it would be my pleasure to see you again."
A huge grin blooms on Anna's face. She sighs dreamily, staring for a few seconds, then remembers, "Oh no! My sister's nurse is waiting for me. I have to go!" She turns to run back into the hospital stopping only to give a little wave goodbye to Facilier.
Anna enters the building as Facilier's phone rings. He flicks it open, "yes, Madame?"
The voice on the phone doesn't even bother saying hello, "it appears that Kristoff has made contact with the new orange and he has the Elsa girl with him. Regroup with us for now, I have someone I want you to meet."
Once again he says, "yes, Madame", and closes his phone. He glances up at the building and, throwing his coat tails behind him, disappears into the night.
Kristoff once again sits in his chair while Rapunzel finishes taking all of Elsa's vitals. He taps his two index fingers together impatiently. He starts to feel the energy permeate the room again. This time he doesn't interrupt.
When he feels the power start to wane, he begins to speak, "so how do you do it?"
"Do what?" Rapunzel asks.
"Heal. It has to be some sort of spell doesn't it?", Kristoff insisted, watching carefully what his new ally did, his trust not easily gained.
Rapunzel releases a breath she was holding, "my healing comes through my hair… I've had this ability since I was little… Until I turned twenty, the best I could do was heal cuts and bruises, and whenever I used it I had to sing an incantation and my hair would glow."
Kristoff comments, "that must have drawn a lot of attention."
With a sarcastic laugh, Rapunzel says, "yeah sure, all the attention I could handle from my mother who homeschooled me till I was sixteen."
A quizzical look on his face, he asked, "what happened when you were sixteen?"
Her face drops, "ever feel like you could do anything, and time after time, you backed it up. Then, life finally catches up with you to throw a roadblock in your way you just couldn't handle?"
"All the time", Kristoff answers.
"My mother passed away when I was sixteen from cancer", Rapunzel grabs a lock of her hair and plays with it. "I had the power to heal back then, but I was very inexperienced at it. I couldn't save her… My powers couldn't reach deep enough." Rapunzel began petting her hair harder and harder, "the last month before she died, every day she had me in her room for hours at a time, singing my incantation, wrapped up in my hair, and every day it would fail. She would look me dead in my eyes and tell me 'you must not love me enough or it would have worked'."
"What a terrible thing to say…", Kristoff thinks out loud as Rapunzel fidgets with her hair more and more.
She laughs dryly, "she would always say she was kidding right after, but I knew she wasn't. I cried myself to sleep most nights vowing that I would try harder the next day. Eventually... I ran out of days to try harder."
Kristoff remains silent again, giving Rapunzel a chance to gather herself.
"Over the years my powers have grown", she continues, "unless I'm using a lot of power, I don't need to sing anymore, and I can control my hair glowing."
Closing his eyes, Kristoff wonders aloud again, "I assume that you took the job you are in due to your healing abilities?"
"Yeah", Rapunzel sighs, "I wanted to save as many people as I could. I wanted to show my mother that I got stronger. Even if she wasn't the best mother, I still wanted to make her proud, know what I mean?"
Kristoff gives an affirming nod, allowing the silence to cloud the room again.
With a laugh, Rapunzel gives a half-smile, "it's weird… I'm just pouring myself out to someone I just met." Her hands find their way out of her hair, "I just can't believe I found someone else who struggled the same way I did."
The door swings open, "stay out there for the rest of the night for all I care", Anna screams at the cops outside. When the door falls shut, she huffs angrily at it before facing the two in the room. "Punz!", she calls.
"Hey Anna!", Rapunzel smiles, her enthusiasm back to its normal intense levels. "Where did you go? I managed to check on every other patient I had before coming here."
Tapping on her nose, she giggles, "I'll tell you later when there isn't company around."
Kristoff gives Anna the biggest 'I'm not in the mood for this bullshit' face she's ever seen, and he starts, "when did you start being so secretive?"
"Anna is a unique snowflake, who doesn't listen to anyone", a fourth voice rings through the room. "She started being so suspicious when her sister wasn't awake to tell her", the voice changes to sing-songy, "secrets, secrets are no fun unless they're shared with everyone."
Anna runs across the room and throws her arms around her sister. "Elsa!", she screams.
Elsa weakly places her arms around Anna, "be careful, I'm pretty fragile right now. If you squeeze too hard I might break."