The sun shining in through the broken window of their hideout woke Leonard up. He also saw the remnants of Mick's famous flame wall disintegrate away. Blinking he realized his face was still buried in Mick's chest. Mick kissed him on the temple and said "morning". Looking up at Mick he saw his eyes were bloodshot and that's when he realized Mick hadn't slept at all. Mick was good at not taking care of himself when he was worried or upset. Smiling, Leonard tried to just think about how It was nice to wake up in Mick's arms. He then noticed the bruises and dried blood on Mick's face and upper chest. He also noticed the dried blood on his own knuckles. The beating he gave Mick the night before flashed through his mind. He flinched out of fear of himself and that's when Mick's arms wrapped around him and brought him back against his chest. "Len, don't even think on what happened last night. It was pent up anger and sadness you had to get out and I'm the one who deserved to take that pain away from you and take it as my own" Mick said with conviction. Leonard pushed himself out of Mick's grasp and taking Mick's beat up face in his hands he said "you did nothing wrong that day. You have to accept that and realize that you did everything you could for us." He said stealing a glance at the sleeping Elsa behind Mick. He knew that this was going to be more sensitive than just talking so with that he kissed the temple of Mick's forehead and headed into the kitchen to make the three of them breakfast.
Leonard started mixing up some pancake batter when he felt Mick grab his waist and gently move him to the bed next to Elsa. "I will cook, you should relax" Mick said and headed back to the kitchen. Leonard moaned ever so quietly. He was getting tired of Mick's overprotectivness already. Mick got this way whenever he thought Leonard was going to disappear or that he had failed his family: Trying to calm down and not beat the crap out of Mick again, he looked over at Elsa who was still fast asleep. Leonard then thought about Anna, his precious little Anna. He missed her so much. He knew that she didn't remember their time together but he did and he wanted to hold her again. Elsa started to stir and groggily sat up as the first set of pancakes hit the griddle. Food always seemed to stimulate his daughters he thought to himself trying not to laugh. He noticed that the same cold air that moves around him when he is upset or worried was moving around Elsa. He looked at Mick and by his body language knew that he sensed it without even having to look. Leonard felt bad for Mick sometimes. Neither of their daughters inherited his affinity towards fire magic. He said he didn't care but Leonard knew that there were times when he did.
Mick tried to ignore Leonard's eyes piercing into his back. He knew he was watching and worrying but he couldn't stand seeing Leonard's face when he was in this state. He flipped over the next set of pancakes. He watched the burner heat up and cool down. A perfect balance of hot and cold just like him and Leonard. Len was always talking about how Mick must feel left out because one of their kids showed ice magic like Len's. Well what Len didn't understand was that Anna's power had only showed itself to him and it was a combination of them both just like he believed Elsa's is. He had witnessed once when Elsa was small her making steam rise from a puddle underneath her tiny little feet. When she ran towards the next puddle Mick had gone over and felt the water. It was hot. Not as hot as he could've made it but it was hot. Anna had done the same thing in the bath. She was complaining it was to cold but before he could use his magic to warm it up steam started to rise from the water. Laughing and giggling Anna continued on with her game of sink the ship she had started with her little bath toy. She had warmed it up herself. He watched with disbelief as his one year old daughter heated the full bathtub of water. After she was all done and dried and clothed and put in her crib he had started to head out to tell Leonard and that's when the shit hit the roof. The royal family of Arundelle didn't like their only heir being with the heir of their rival kingdom, Aodhendelle. So they sent in their top warriors and kidnapped Leonard and the girls and took them back to Arundelle. Mick stopped himself there. He didn't want to think of the rest. What he had done to protect his family and his people. What he had done to Leonard and his beautiful little girls. Suddenly he felt this burning sensation in his hand. He had accidentally placed his hand in the skillet while his mind had wandered. Biting his tongue so he wouldn't scream he added more batter to the pan. He would make those that hurt his family pay but at the moment he had to focus on cooking. Finishing the pancakes he set them on the table with some syrup and some butter. He also made sure that his burned hands were hidden by the plates. After he made sure everything was alright he then proceeded out the front door. Leonard knew that look Mick gave him. It was the look Micky gave him just before he went off the handle on the waverider and he wouldn't let that happen again. Leonard told Elsa to start breakfast and that they would be right back in or atleast he hoped so.
When Leonard got outside he found Mick staring at his hands that were burnt pretty badly. That's what Mick was hiding under those plates. He went over and placed his hands on Mick's allowing his magic to flow around and through the burns. Mick winced a little but didn't say a word. Steam wove its way around the two men like a blanket on a cold winter's night. When Leonard removed his hands the burns on Mick's hands were gone. Mick looked up at Leonard but didn't say anything. "Micky you have to stop beating yourself up about what happened. Neither of us could do anything. The important thing right now is to focus on what we have and what we can get back." Len said has he gave Mick a passionate kiss. He wasn't going to lose Mick to the darkness again, he promised himself and whoever might've been listening that.
Elsa watched the two men from the kitchen window. For this being a hideout, it sure was greatly furnished. The window was made of the most beautiful glass she had ever seen and there were curtains made of the finest silk she had ever touched. The dishes that she saw in the top cupboards were real China. The couch was fake leather but very well made. The bed had sulked sheets and pillows that your head just sank into. She watched as Leonard healed Mick's hands and as the steam once again rose around them. She wanted to know what happened all those years ago. Why their family was separated? Why her powers manifested and Anna didn't have any, except for the power to drive people crazy, make a mess and eat enough chocolate to fill a candy store. Elsa laughed as she thought of her loving and whimsical little sister. The years they suffered because of her powers still haunted her but now she had the chance to find out exactly how, when and why and she was going to take it.
Elsa was about to head outside when a women in black leather came up behind her and knocked her out. Throwing Elsa over her shoulder the women left the house and was about to place her in a car when a blast of fire hit her on her back. She tried turning around but got hit with another blast of fire and fell to the ground, smoke coming of the burnt leather.
Leonard ran over and picked up Elsa and carried her inside while Mick scooped up the charred women and brought her inside as well. Leonard laid Elsa down on the bed and Mick dropped the woman to the floor which earned him a distasteful look from Leonard. He didn't care though. Nobody was going to harm his family ever again. With his foot, he rolled the woman onto her back which made her squirm in pain but she didn't make a sound. Mick had a piece of mind to step on her and drive that burnt back into the floor of the hideout but didn't knowing that Leonard would not approve. She was wearing a black mask. Leonard went in for a closer look, Mick watching closely the whole time. The woman looked familiar. Like someone he had seen before. "It couldn't be" Leonard thought to himself and he removed the mask. The woman underneath had the same facial distinctions as Sara but older. Leonard stepped back while Mick just stared, almost in the same amount of shock as Leonard.
Elsa started to stir and both men's attention went straight to her. Mick helped her sit up while Leonard got her something to drink. Elsa looked over and saw the woman laying on the floor. She couldn't believe the power of her father's fire magic. As Elsa took another drink the woman on the floor started to cough up blood and seize. That's when both of the men remembered the burn she had. They cut off as much of the leather suit as they could and got her laying on her stomach. She was twitching and not responding. Leonard looked up at Mick. There was very little hope that she would survive as badly injured as she was. Mick took a deep breath and as soon as he let it out he knew what he had to do. Scooping up the woman he went outside and dialed a number. Within seconds there was a red streak and Mick was walking back in by himself. Leonard was proud of him. Even though she attacked his daughter he sought help from the one person trying to lock them away, The Flash aka Barry Allen. Leonard laughed because he was becoming just like Barry, whiny and sentimental. The last time he had interacted with Barry he had frozen his father and broke him to help save his sister. He told himself he had been trying to redeem himself on the waverider to be a better role model for her but in reality it was his suppressed memories of his children and being with Mick that was making him want to become the person he was now.
Elsa was still trying to figure out what was going on when Mick went and sat next to her. "Hey kid, I'm sure you have a lot of questions and we have the answers and are willing to give them to you but ask yourself this, once you know the answers what happens if you don't like them"? Elsa stared into the eyes of the man claiming to be her father. She knew he was telling the truth but still had a reservation about everything. She looked up at Leonard, the man who was her mother. He was watching both of them closely like if he looked away one or both of them would vanish from the room. She knew then, looking at the two people sitting in front of her that she had to know. She had to know why the two people who would understand her and what she could do the most were taken from her. Why someone like grandpappy never breathed a word of this to either Anna or herself. She started feeling betrayed by all the people who said they cared and loved her. First her grandparents treated her like a villain in her own home, they feared her powers, her abilities and their way of getting back at her was separating her and Anna for years lying to her about why she couldn't play with her big sister anymore and then finding this out and the fact the few people she fully trusted never told her the truth either. This was her chance to finally have someone look her in the eyes and tell her the cold, honest truth. She knew it would hurt and that with knowledge comes pain but she had overcome demons before and destroyed them and from the look of her father so had he. They were connected, she might share the power of ice with her mother, but she shared something even deeper with her father and she wanted to know why they were separated. Elsa took a deep breath and said "I want to know the truth and even if the truth ends up to hurt I need to know, Anna and I both deserve to know." Mick looked over at Leonard who shook his head in agreement. Mick was proud of her. He saw that she understood that she was in for a painful trip down memory lane and so were they. He saw the strength and courage in her eyes. He also saw how much the two of them were alike when it came to fighting off inner demons. Mick sensed that his daughter had been wronged and was in pain. He also could tell that she had made some bad choices due to that pain and that was something he understood as well and he allowed his mind to wander and he found himself going back to the thoughts of abandoning Leonard and becoming Chronos. He shook that thought off. That would be a memory to conquer another day. Something even more important needed taken care of. He wanted to know everything that happened to his daughters. He wanted his daughters to know that their parents didn't just abandon them. He wanted Elsa to know that no matter what has happened someone will always be there to catch her and love her. He had to make sure she knew that people can change if they allow themselves too. That no matter what one has done in the past, it's what they do with their futures is what truly matters.
"Alright kid, we will tell you everything and then we will get you back to Arundelle where your sister is and make this family whole again" Mick said as he pulled Leonard close to him. Leonard wanted to just melt inside. Seeing Mick finding peace within himself and finding the strength to bring some peace to his daughter warmed him up inside. He made sure he didn't start crying because more than likely that would've given Mick the opening to postpone this little talk. Leonard was just about to say something when Mick wrapped his arms around him and with a devious smile said "Once Upon a Time..."