He had looked at the clock in the waiting room more than a dozen times in the last five minutes, willing Anna's doctor to come out and let him know how the birth was going. He wasn't sure how expectant fathers did this more than once. He wasn't sure he was going to make it through this labor without wearing a hole in the carpet with his constant pacing. She had been in labor for six hours already, so what was the hold up? He was scared that there was some kind of problem with the delivery, but since no one was bringing him news he just had to hope this was normal.
When his gaze moved back to the clock again he groaned. The clock hand had only moved forward another minute. He swore under his breath and found a chair to collapse in. Obviously it was going to be a long night.
He must have fallen asleep in the chair because when he felt a hand on his shoulder he caught sight of the clock and it was more than an hour later. "Kristoff, there's someone who wants to meet you," Elsa said softly, a wide smile on her lips and pure joy in her blue eyes.
"Is Anna all right? Did she make it through delivery okay?" he asked, standing up so quickly he might have knocked over the chair if it hadn't been bolted to the floor.
Elsa grinned at his enthusiasm and tugged at his sleeve. "Come on, I'll walk you down the hall, and don't worry Anna's fine. She's a little tired, but who wouldn't be after bringing another life into the world?"
Kristoff felt enthusiasm bubble up inside of him. After waiting all this time he was going to see the beautiful child that Anna had spent hours giving birth to. It was enough to make him want to crash down the hallway at top speed. Never before had anyone been as excited to see a baby as he was. "Is it a boy or a girl?" he asked Elsa as they walked down the hallway toward Anna's room.
She chuckled. "You'll see soon enough. Anna didn't want me ruining the surprise."
When they reached the room, Elsa pushed the door open and let Kristoff walk in ahead of her, obviously realizing his need to be with Anna and allowing him to reach her side without any more waiting. "Anna," he breathed, feeling relief course through him as he saw her glowing face. She looked tired as Elsa had said, but also happy, happier than he had ever seen her. In her arms she was cradling a small baby, wrapped in soft white cotton. "Is it…?"
"It's a girl," she said with a proud smile, "would you like to hold her, Daddy?"
Daddy, he thought, the word sounded like the gift that it was. This child in her arms, this beautiful baby girl, was to be his daughter as soon as they signed the adoption papers. Only once before had he received a gift this precious, the day a month earlier when Anna had become his wife. He held out his arms and Anna placed the small bundle in them. Once he looked down into her blue eyes, the same clear color as her mothers, he was lost. It didn't matter that he hadn't fathered this child, his love for her was as boundless as if he was. No one would ever be able to tell him that she wasn't his child, because she was his in every way that really mattered.
"Have you picked a name for her yet?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from the child in his arms so he could look at his wife.
She shook her head. "I thought that you might like to choose her name," she suggested, her eyes filling with happy tears.
"Joy," he whispered without hesitation. It was what Anna had brought into his life seven months before and had continued bringing every day since then. This child was what had brought them together, he owed everything to the little girl in his arms.
"I love it," Anna said softly. "It suits her."
Kristoff leaned down and pressed his lips to his wife's forehead. "I love you," he murmured against her skin.
She had given him everything. And to think he would have missed out on all of this if Sven hadn't double booked the damn beach cottage. He could only be grateful to whatever stroke of cosmic fate had sent him to her. He hadn't wanted to imagine his life without her, and he would never have to again.
A/N: Fin