Confinement
Before going back to his apartment, Kristoff took Gerda home. The old woman had stayed in the hospital most of the time Elsa had being there, and it was obvious she was exhausted. Gerda didn't really accept she was no longer young, and she had a tendency to overwork herself whenever the health of one of the family members was compromised. She insisted it was her responsibility to make sure everyone in the family was okay, something Kristoff and Elsa loved about the woman but also considered a little ridiculous. They were both adults who could take care of themselves. They understood the woman's desire to see them well and help in everything she could, but they didn't like seeing her exhausted. As Kristoff expected, Gerda had complained about his decision before getting off the car, but after a few minutes of insistence Kristoff and Elsa were able to convince her it was for the best.
It was late afternoon by the time the siblings reached Kristoff's apartment building. To Elsa's disappointment, her brother lived in the second floor which meant she was not going to have access to the yard nor the street on her own for the time she was going to stay there. But she didn't feel it was something she should complain out loud, her brother was doing everything in his power to help her and she couldn't be more grateful. Even if she knew she was going to need a lot of help in the following weeks, she had made the mental promise not to be a bother to Kristoff. The man had a job and a girlfriend to pay attention to, and she didn't feel comfortable being in the middle. Her desire not to bother her family had been one of the main reasons she had opposed to the idea of staying in the city. Granted, she didn't like the city, she didn't like being confined to a relatively small apartment surrounded by strange neighbours, but she guessed she didn't have another option given her situation.
When Kristoff parked the truck at his garage, she stopped him before he stepped out of the driver's seat. "Kristoff?" she said grabbing his left arm.
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure about this? Mum can be a little insistent sometimes. I don't want you to do this just because she forced you. I don't want to be a bother." She asked, not daring to look at him in the eyes. She hated feeling so insecure but old habits die hard.
"Of course, I'm sure about this!" he said. His eyes softened when he noticed Elsa's lack of confidence. "Elsa, I would do anything to help you. Besides, this was all my fault. If I had listened to you and I hadn't messed with your motor ski, you wouldn't be in this situation." He grabbed her left hand tenderly and added, "Not to mention you saved Anna from a terrible accident or worse… I owe you."
She took her hand from his grasp and patted his hand, "You are conscious I'm not going to be at my best these following weeks, right? I'm not even sure I'll be able to have good control over my powers. Especially if I'm in pain."
He felt her hand was a little colder than in the last few days, but he believed it was normal given everything that was going on, "It'll be fine, Elsa. You have more control than you give yourself credit for."
"So far, I've been fine because I've been under the constant effect of the drugs, but I don't know how I'll react once the effect starts to fade…"
At the mention of the drugs, Kristoff remembered all the medicine he had bought for her and thought it was a good opportunity to talk about that topic, "About that… I know you don't like being under the effect of palliatives but I honestly believe it would be best if you continue taking them for at least the first two weeks. It'll help you with the pain and the stress."
Elsa clasped her hands together and looked away. She tried to convey her feelings about the drugs in a simple statement, "You know I hate them…"
"I know. But it may be for the best. Just the first few weeks, okay?"
Elsa thought for some time before nodding, "If it makes things easier for you…" She then remembered she had one last question and turned her head towards him again, "What about your neighbours?"
"What about them?"
"What if something happens?" She gave her hands a quick look and Kristoff understood what she meant.
"Nothing will happen, Elsa. And it's not like you have to interact with my neighbours. They won't even know you are here." He decided it was best to change Elsa's mood a little, "Well, they will know, of course. They'll see me carrying a grumpy, scary girl in the staircase whenever I'll need to take you somewhere."
The last statement caught Elsa off guard and she raised her head in a sudden movement, "I'm not scary."
"At least you accept you are grumpy then," laughed Kristoff.
"You are an ass," joined playfully Elsa.
"And you love me anyway," said the man proud of getting Elsa to smile since the conversation started. "What I really mean is, nothing will happen… and if it does, winter is setting earlier this year, they won't notice a thing. Don't worry." He watched the time and finally asked, "Can we go inside now?"
She nodded. She was feeling more relaxed now that her brother had assured her everything was going to be all right. She trusted him more than anyone, and his confidence had helped her since she was a little girl.
Kristoff got off the truck and went to his sister's door to help her out of the truck. He picked her up and left Elsa's wheelchair in the back of the truck while he climbed the staircase with his sister in his arms. When they entered the apartment, Kristoff had to avoid an overexcited Sven who tried to jump on top of them to greet them. Brother and sister made everything in their power to calm the animal down until Kristoff was able to help Elsa sit in the sofa-bed he had prepared before leaving the apartment at midday. The moment Elsa was properly sitting in bed, the animal jumped on top of the mattress, tried his best to sit in Elsa's lap and started licking her face. Kristoff knew the dog had been in a state of alarm since the accident had happened and he had been eager to see Elsa again. So, he let the dog do whatever he wanted. He just laughed at the dog's devotion and at his sister's defeated expression accepting the dog's kisses. Elsa was not a fan of Sven's displays of affection but she was obviously not complaining. When Kristoff saw the animal was not going to let the girl go anytime soon, he took the opportunity to return to the truck for Elsa's things.
Elsa was able to calm the dog down after a minute and convinced him to get off her lap before he hurt her. The animal lied beside her and rested his head as close as possible to her while she petted him. She was grateful for the dog's company; even if at the beginning she had refused to the idea of getting a dog, she was now grateful Sven was part of the family. The dog loved them no matter what, he didn't need a further reason than the fact that they were part of his family to show his unconditional love. She thought that in a way, Sven and Kristoff were really similar. Both of them had tried their best to earn her trust and once she had let them in, they had loved her more than she thought she deserve. They didn't care about her flaws, they cared about her the way she was and she couldn't be more grateful to have them in her life. Maybe staying with Kristoff was for the best, as Gerda had suggested, spending time with her brother was going to have a more calming effect than any drug out there. After Sven began drifting off by her side, Elsa noticed it was the first time in the last few days that she had the chance to be on her own. Her family had made sure she had company at all times while she had stayed in the hospital. And, being honest, she couldn't be more grateful they had been there for her. She felt an indescribable apprehension every time she was in a hospital room on her own. She felt vulnerable and she hated it. But now that she had a few minutes on her own, she felt the heaviness of the previous days lifting off her shoulders. She felt calm and she chose to close her eyes and she laid beside Sven to rest.
Elsa opened her eyes by the time the sun had set and she was surprised to wake up to an amazing smell. She tried her best to sit on the bed without disturbing the dog that laid by her side, and looked at the brother who was in the kitchen cooking. She thought it was a little odd to wake up and be able to see the living room and kitchen at the same time but she guessed it was better to get used to that idea. Kristoff's apartment was small but comfortable enough for two people to live in. Elsa was used to sharing a living space with Kristoff since they were children, so living in a small apartment was not going to be a problem for the them. The problem was, it had just one bedroom. Its dining-living room was big enough for him to set up the sofa-bed for her but she knew she was going to miss having a door to close if she felt her emotions were too overwhelming. She knew it was going to take time to heal and go back to the mountain, but if every day was going to be as nice and tranquil as that particular evening, Elsa knew staying there was not going to be a problem. She just needed to find something to do to keep her mind off of unwanted thoughts, and everything would be back to normal before she imagined.
Although she had felt confident the first evening being in Kristoff's apartment, the pain and boredom proved to be more of a challenge than she had anticipated. The first few days were tolerable for Elsa. She noticed it was going to be a little more difficult than she originally thought to bear being bedridden, but she was taking it in a calm way. There was no reason for her to freak out. The pain was a more intense than she had anticipated but she guessed it was normal. Her muscles and skin had received a lot of damage and where still tender; even under the uncomfortable cast she felt the muscles complain with every little movement. Whenever she was alone at the apartment, Elsa spent her time sleeping or boring herself to death. Since she had started living with the Bjorgmans, she had had adopted the habit of working and helping around the house or keeping herself busy. Therefore, it was normal for her to be bored now since there was little she could do in bed. She was thankful for Sven's company, even if the dog had liked the idea of being in bed all day and slept most of the time.
Gerda and Kai made time to visit a couple of times before their big trip, to see how Elsa was doing and to help Kristoff with the house chores. She loved their company but to her dismay, the whole family was convinced the best thing for her health was taking the doctor's advice seriously. He had made emphasis on the importance of the first weeks of the recovery. And even if Elsa agreed it was for the best because she wanted to keep practicing sports, she loathed staying in bed. In her visits, Gerda made sure everything was okay with her arm and she even took Elsa's head bandage off on the fourth day. Allowing the girl to feel a little less like a patient and more like a normal person. The old woman had also explained the arm was going to take a few more days to heal than the head, but she was positive everything was going better than expected.
Things became a little more tedious for Elsa on the second week. Her parents left for their trip, which meant she was not going to have someone to spend time with whenever Kristoff went to work. She also became more tired of being bedridden since there was nothing interesting to do on her own and, to her disappointment, Kristoff started working on the afternoon shift instead of the morning shift as he had expected. All those things combined with Elsa's awareness that winter season had began and she was missing clients, resulted in Elsa's mood changing for the worst. Her patience wore thinner and thinner whenever she cancelled a new client who called asking to book a class or whenever her leg throbbed in pain. She desperately wanted to move around, she wanted to go out, she wanted to work, and she wanted to be on the mountain; but none of those things were possible.
Elsa's bad mood was evident to Kristoff. The girl spent most of the time sleeping and she wasn't talking as much as she did in the first few days. Those symptoms made him worry for her emotional stability in the long run. He knew things were going to improve once she was allowed to move a little more freely, but that didn't mean he was not going to try and help her before that time came. Kristoff believed some company could help her keep her mind away from unpleasant memories and could help her with her mood. He also believed inviting Anna over when he was at work was going to be a good opportunity for Anna and Elsa to bond too. Anna had mentioned to him in the past that she wished she could get to know Elsa better, to understand Kristoff's sister better. And he had to be honest and admit there was nothing he wanted more than for his sister to find a friend in Anna. Elsa needed a friend in her life to talk and open up to, and what better person for that than a possible sister-in-law. Kristoff had only been dating Anna for a year and half but he was convinced there was no-one out there better for him than her. He was sure they could have a perfect family one day; but for that to happen, he needed Anna to know everything about his life and that included his sister. Elsa was one of the most important people in his life and he had promised to always be there for her; he needed Anna to know and accept Elsa the way she was. In short, he wanted to make Anna part of every aspect of his life before taking any big step. It was for those reasons he came up with the idea of asking Anna to keep Elsa company.
It was one night, while they were having dinner, that he chose to tell Elsa about his idea, "So, I asked Anna to come visit one of these days."
"That's fine," came simple reply.
"You don't mind?"
Elsa raised her head from her food and look at him in the eye with a puzzled expression, "I know I haven't been in the best mood lately but that doesn't mean you can't invite your girlfriend to your house, Kristoff."
"Oh, no. I mean… Not only to visit me. To visit us."
"What?"
"You know, to keep you company."
"I don't need company," said Elsa as returned her attention to the food on her plate. "Don't force Anna to spend time with me just for the sake of it. I'm perfectly fine here." When she didn't hear an answer, she looked at her brother once again, "Honestly."
Kristoff noticed Elsa's 'honesty' was not what it claimed to be and insisted once again, "You spend most of the time here alone. Don't you get bored?"
"Well, yes," she shrugged. "But there's no reason to make another person miserable too," she picked at her food while she explained her reasons. After a minute in silence, she chose to tell Kristoff the real reason, "And think I wouldn't be really good company." If she was honest with herself, she was thrilled about the idea of having a distraction, but she didn't want Kristoff to force Anna to waste her free time with her. She knew the girl had started winter break the previous week, when they had gone to the mountain. And even if Elsa had no idea how many free days Anna had she didn't want her to waste her holidays babysitting her.
"What are you talking about? You are a blast to be around lately," he joked trying to lighten the mood but his idea backfired and it only got Elsa angry.
"It's not my fault I'm in a terrible mood," she countered. But she soon noticed she had overreacted and calmed down before suggesting something that had been on her mind for the past few days. "I was thinking of not taking the drugs anymore. I'm not myself when I'm under their effect," she said, trying to explain her outburst.
Kristoff was surprised at first, he definitely had not anticipated Elsa's temperament change, but he was not so sure about Elsa not taking her medicine. "I was just joking about you being bad company... And about the drugs, I know you hate them but I think you should keep taking them."
"But-"
"No buts, at least until we visit the doctor. And don't try to deceive me, I'll make sure you take them." He hated bossing people around, and he loathed being the one forcing Elsa to take drugs but he believed this time they were for the best, as his father had explained to him the previous week at the hospital. He watched her take in the information before he returned to the previous topic they had been talking about. He chose to explain better why Anna was coming and to see if Elsa agreed, "About Anna… it isn't like I'm forcing her. I told her to come because she wanted to visit you. She likes you."
"She does?"
The question was simple but full of self-doubt. Kristoff could only look at Elsa with a little pity. It had been years since she had joined the family and she had realised it was possible for people out there to like her, but she still had the same doubts whenever she met someone new. "Of course! Why wouldn't she? She is coming tomorrow and I think she said something about helping me with dinner until I can change my shift back to the mornings. What do you say?"
"I guess it could be nice to have someone else around..." she finally accepted.
As Kristoff had promised, Anna visited the following day and the day after that, and she kept visiting. She had even named herself the siblings' 'Official cook' by the second day and she had taken her role seriously since that moment. At first the two of them didn't have much to talk about. They liked each other and enjoyed their conversations but it was true Kristoff was a mutual link between them and, without him in the room, it was a little awkward to find something to talk about. But, to Elsa's relief, Anna was a really open and talkative person. She didn't mind speaking for minutes on her own. As long as she knew Elsa was listening, she could speak about anything and everything at the same time. Elsa had been a little wary of the topics Anna would like to talk about, or the questions she would do, but after some time she noticed the girl had a big heart and was very respectful of her privacy. Therefore, she allowed herself to relax and enjoy the company. From time to time, Elsa had to ask Anna's help for the simplest tasks and the younger woman would simple smile and help her any way she could; something Elsa began to adore about Anna. Her predisposition to help, even when she didn't have to, made Elsa realise she had more in common with the girl than she had originally imagined.
Things worked fine between the three of them for a few days, but Elsa's tiredness and mood swings didn't simply disappear. Day after day she began to feel more trapped and, even if she knew she was being ridiculous because she was safe in her brother's apartment, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering into the past. It was by the end of the second week, on the day of her birthday, that she felt overwhelmed for the first time since she had started living with Kristoff.
Kristoff entered the apartment that evening with a joyful expression on his face and he was not surprised to find his sister laying in the middle of her bed – sofa-bed to be specific – with her eyes closed and Sven resting his head on her stomach. The two looked too peaceful and so he decided to go directly where his girlfriend was. She was cooking dinner for them in the small kitchen singing a silly song. He greeted her with a tender kiss on her cheek and sat by the table behind her.
After chatting about their day, Kristoff asked, "How did the animal behave?"
Not really knowing where the question was coming from, Anna answered truthfully, "Uh? Uhm… Fine? I mean, it didn't really move from the bed to be honest."
A mischievous smile formed on Kristoff's face, "Great! And how did Sven behave?
"Sven? I just told- Ugh, Kristoff!" Anna had no idea what he was talking about until she realised it was another one if his jokes.
Anna was about to complain about him making her part of his games when both of them heard a tired voiced from the other side of the room, "I'm awake, you moron."
"Hahaha. Good! It's even better if you can hear my comments."
Anna felt ashamed for falling into one of Kristoff's jokes. She knew he loved messing around, she should have known better, "You should grow up one day, seriously."
"Nonsense, that's for plants. Besides, Elsa loves my jokes."
"You have no idea… Now shut up. I'm trying to sleep." Came Elsa's reply as she put her right arm over her eyes.
"Oh, the two of you are no-fun," said the man before getting up and walking towards his sister with a broad smile on his face. He wanted to make sure she stayed awake. It was an important day after all. When he was close enough, he sat beside Elsa and raised her arm from her face to make sure she paid attention to him, "what do you mean you are trying to sleep? You just woke up! Come on, get up!"
"I can't." The reply was short and it leave no place for argument, or that was Elsa's original intention. She had forgotten about her brother's persistence.
"Oh, yes. You can." He got up from the mattress, grabbed Elsa's good arm with his and tried pulling her up. "Come on. I bought you a present."
Anna, who had turned her attention to the sibling's conversation, was surprised to hear the last comment. "Present?" she asked.
"But I guess if you stay in bed you won't be able to enjoy it." He continued not paying attention to Anna's question. He smirked when he saw Elsa's curious expression and finally said, "It's a chocolate cake."
"Chocolate cake?!" said Anna a little louder. The sole idea of a chocolate cake in the house made her wish she had started cooking dinner sooner that day.
Noticing Anna was a little more invested in the present than Elsa, he turned around and answered, "Yup!"
"Wait… Cake as a present? Am I missing something here?" asked the younger woman noticing there was a connection there.
"It's Elsa's birthday!"
"What?" Anna couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had spent the whole afternoon with Elsa. Both of them had talked and enjoyed their time together, even if Elsa looked a little more lost in her thoughts than usual; but the older girl had never mentioned anything about her birthday. She felt terrible for not knowing the date, but she guessed it was Kristoff's fault too for not telling her earlier. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"I told you!"
"Like a year ago Kristoff, you didn't remind me it was today!" she was angry with Kristoff for thinking she was going to remember the specific date if she had heard it just once in her life. She dried her hands on the apron she was wearing and walked towards Elsa's improvised bed and apologised, "I'm sorry, Elsa. I didn't know."
Having Kristoff pulling form her arm and Anna apologising next to him obliged Elsa to open her eyes and finally agree to stay awake. There was no point in fighting when it was obvious the couple was not going to leave her alone. She chose to let Anna know she didn't mind before sitting in the bed, "It's not a problem. It isn't really important."
"Yes, it is!" came Kristoff's reply.
Looking at her brother with a tired expression she said, "No, it's not. It's just another day in the life. Nothing big about it."
Kristoff had been in a good mood that day, but Elsa's denials were getting on his nerves. He loved his sister to death but sometimes he just wanted to shake her out of her pessimism, "You are so cynic sometimes. You could be a little more joyful." He crossed his arms on his chest as he waited for an answer.
"I'm utterly drugged and sleepy, Kristoff. I don't really see the difference between today and any other day." She raised her voice a little. She had been in a foul mood all day, and his brother was not helping her at all.
The man's patience was wearing thin but he tried to keep things away from useless arguments, "The difference is today we eat cake. Now come on, I'll help you get into the wheelchair."
"Nothing says 'Happy birthday' like sitting in a wheelchair," muttered the girl with sarcasm.
That last statement got on Kristoff's nerves. He knew Anna was still blaming herself for the accident and Elsa's comments were just going to increase that guilt, even if his sister didn't know that. "Okay, cut it out. We are trying to celebrate your birthday. Can you at least cooperate a little?"
"Sorry, I don't mean anything by it. I'm just not in the mood right now." She used her good hand to help herself sit in a better position. "I'm tired and in pain. Thank you for the cake and the birthday dinner idea but I don't feel like celebrating this year."
Kristoff, acting as if he hadn't listen, got Elsa's wheelchair closer to bed, picked her up and placed her in it by force.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"You'll have dinner with us. Anna cooked a nice dinner just for you."
"She didn't even know it was my birthday. Don't guilt trip me!" she countered with anger.
Once Elsa was properly seated, he pushed her to the table not really paying attention to her comments. He knew Elsa was going to be pissed with him for a while but he was not going to act as if her birthday didn't matter.
After the three of them were seated at the table and the food was served, Kristoff decided it was time to cut with the silence that had took over the room. His sister had remained silent with a lost look in her eyes while she looked out the window. Anna, on the other hand, had opted to wait for the siblings to speak before she did. She had the feeling she could mess things up if she said the wrong thing.
"Did mum call you?" asked Kristoff, not coming up with a better topic for conversation.
Elsa, who had been picking at her food pretending to eat whenever she was not looking out the window, answered truthfully, "No. I told her not to call. I want her and dad to enjoy their holidays."
At the mention of the holidays, Anna saw a perfect window for a pleasant conversation to start and she took it, "Where did they go again?"
"Italy. They've always wanted to visit Rome and Venice" said Kristoff, glad his girlfriend was trying to help.
"That's so cool! I hope they are having a good time."
He smiled and said, "I bet they are."
The three of them stayed silent for another while, the conversation about the Bjorgmans holidays had not worked as Anna expected and she was getting tired of the sour mood of the room, so she chose to ask Elsa what she thought was an honest, simple question. "So, Elsa, this is your birthday number…?"
Elsa rested her chin on her good arm on the table and looked outside once again as she answered, "Twenty-four or something like that."
"Or something like-? Oh! so you are older than Kristoff!" Anna was curious at Elsa's strange way to answer the question, but got distracted when she noticed she was actually older than her boyfriend. She had always pictured Kristoff as the older brother, probably for the way he tried to protect Elsa at all times.
"For a few months, apparently" she said.
Anna thought the conversation was picking up and she felt assured she could keep it going and help get rid of the awkward situation. "Where were you born?"
Elsa sighed; she knew the girl was just trying to make conversation but she was not willing to pretend she was okay with being forced to participate. She thought it was better to just answer vaguely, it was not Anna's fault she was feeling down after all. "Here, I guess. Who knows…"
"What?"
Kristoff noticed the conversation was sooner than later going to turn into a bad direction and he tried to avoid Anna asking more questions than necessary, "Anna remember the thing we talked about in the cottage, the night before the accident?" He wished reminding Anna Elsa was adopted was going to be enough for her to stop asking questions. But he didn't imagine his comment was going to irritate Elsa even further.
"I'm not a child, Kristoff. You don't need to talk that way," said Elsa irritated. She turned to Anna; she was mad but not necessarily at the girl so he felt a little bad for sounding so harsh, but she wanted the questions to stop and for her mind to give her some rest. "Look, I was an orphan. Many things about my past are unclear and I don't like talking about them unless I'm in the mood to do so."
"Hey, come on! She was just trying to start a conversation!" Kristoff interrupted not liking the tone his sister was using.
"And I told you I was not in the mood for a birthday dinner."
"You are not in the mood for anything lately!"
"And whose fault is that?! I told you a few days ago I didn't want to keep taking drugs but you didn't listen and kept pushing them down my throat! You keep saying you trust everything will be fine but you don't seem to trust me if I'm not drugged!" She stopped herself when she felt her emotions quiver under her skin and realised it was best if she left the room before she regretted it. With a sudden change from anger to sadness she muttered a simple, "Thank you for dinner," to Anna and rolled her wheelchair to the balcony's door. She needed to be alone for a few minutes and she knew the cold air of the night was going to help her calm her nerves.
The freezing air from outside got into the room and Anna shivered. She felt terrible for being the reason Elsa finally lost patience and decided to leave the room. She had noticed since early afternoon that Elsa was not behaving as she typically did. From the argument, Anna noted the older girl blamed the drugs, but she couldn't help feeling there was more behind her sadness and anger that day. Anna noticed too that, since Elsa didn't have a proper bedroom, she was forced to go outside whenever she needed time on her own; and that just fuelled Anna's guilt. The girl was going to freeze out there with just a light jacket. She thought it was best if she just went home. "I should go home. It's better if the two of you are on your own right now" she said.
Kristoff, who had stayed silent with his eyes focused on the balcony's door with a dejected look, cleared his throat and answer in a low voice, "Please don't take this to heart, she can be a little…"
"No, Kristoff. We were out of place; I should learn when to ask questions. And you, when to stop bothering her," Anna interrupted. She knew the two of them had ignored Elsa's wishes that day and she wanted to make sure he understood how it was their fault and not Elsa's. "I just want to respect her wishes right now. The fact she is on the balcony on this weather clearly means she wants to be alone. Don't you think?"
He looked at the balcony once again and agreed with what Anna was trying to tell him. He knew Elsa was outside in that weather for more than one reason, but there was no point in letting Anna know about that, not yet at least. He stood up and said, "I'll drive you."
Both of them grabbed their coats and left the apartment in silence. They knew Elsa was going to notice they were gone by the stillness of the place, there was no reason in letting her know. Maybe it was best to give the girl some time to herself.
A/N - I know Elsa was a little out of character towards the end, but it was completely intentional. I wanted to show her reaction to being forced to take drugs and being confined to bed.
As Anna starts to befriend Elsa, will find out more about Elsa's past.
