Comfortably numb

Is there anybody in there?

"Anna?" Elsa said, blinking a few times as she realised her sister was standing in the kitchen, her forearms casually resting on the top rail of the opposite chair. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, you." Anna smiled at her and sat down on the chair. "Kristoff called me this morning. He said you weren't doing so well. I wanted to give you some time to get better, but I just had to come, you know? Make sure you are alright after everything that happened."

"I'm fine." The answer came automatically, and Elsa wondered how long she had stayed sitting there, unmoving. It couldn't be long, if not, Gerda would've dragged her to bed. She remembered ending a call with Marshall but she couldn't for the life of her remember what she had planned to do afterwards. Hadn't she been planning to go to bed? She raised her head and saw Anna, looking at her with a puzzled expression. How long had she stayed silent? Her mind kept lagging and the fog kept getting thicker. "You shouldn't have bothered coming. It's just a fever."

"No offence," Anna said, dropping her smile. "But you look terrible. Are you sure you're okay?"

"The drugs make me dizzy, that's all." No matter how hard she tried to downplay it, something told Elsa she was not fooling anyone this time. She was feeling weaker than she had in years and the dull ache all over her body was becoming difficult to ignore.

"Do you want me to come back another time? I totally don't mind—"

"Stay," Elsa ordered, not giving Anna much of an option. "This nausea will go away…" She couldn't remember the amount of times she had repeated that over the day and hoped her sister could become a needed distraction.

"It's nice to see you're finally eating something." Anna pointed with her head to the brunost toasts that were still waiting to be eaten. "Seriously, I wonder how you manage to go on for hours without food in your stomach. We skipped lunch today and I can barely think of anything else."

"You like it, don't you?" Elsa pushed the tray closer to Anna, showing no intention of eating the food in it. She had given her best trying to drink the tea Gerda had made, but all she had managed was half a cup.

Anna's cheeks flushed red. "Are you sure?"

Elsa smiled and thought of how truly endearing her sister could be without realising. Her eyes were shining at the mere prospect of eating something as simple as some toast with cheese on top. She pushed the tray closer and nodded.

Without a second thought, Anna grabbed one of the toasts and took a bite without decorum. "Thank you. I love these," she said with her mouth full.

Elsa smiled again and enjoyed the silence that surrounded them while Anna preoccupied herself with the food. Even if it only lasted a few seconds.

And true to it, Anna carried on the conversation as soon as her mouth could articulate the sounds. "So…?" she said, as if she was expecting Elsa to start talking.

"Huh?"

"Will you tell me what happened the other night?"

"What do you mean?"

"The last time we saw each other," Anna began to say as she grabbed a second toast. "You left Kristoff's place to go after Marshall. You can't expect me not to ask about it." She then took another big bite, making Elsa wonder what would happen if Anna ever had to go without food for more than ten hours.

"So…" Anna insisted when she noticed Elsa had yet again got distracted.

It had only been a day and a half since those things had happened, but to Elsa it felt much longer. The fever had made her lose track of time in the worst sense and she felt the hours stretch for as long as they could at times. It was yet another way she felt she was losing control and she couldn't stand it.

"We talked and…" Sighing tiredly, Elsa tried to come up with something to say that wouldn't force her to talk about all that again. "You were right, I guess. I had to have more faith in him."

"I knew it!" Anna said with a triumphant laugh. "Now give me the details."

"There isn't much to say." She was happy about having talked to Marshmallow, but she didn't have the energy to truly dwell on it, at least not the way Anna was expecting.

Just as Anna was opening her mouth to complain, Gerda walked into the kitchen, giving a fleeting glance to the tray in front of Anna. Her mouth twitched in disapproval for just a split of a moment and Elsa looked away, not wanting to see her disappointed look.

"Sorry to interrupt," Gerda said with a smile, pretending to ignore Elsa's lack of appetite. "It's time for Elsa to take these."

Elsa pulled a face as soon as her mother placed the small pill cup in front of her. "Is it really necessary?"

"Anna, would you like something to drink?" Gerda asked her daughter-in-law, paying no mind to Elsa's question.

"I guess it is," Elsa murmured to herself, knowing perfectly well when Gerda's lack of an answer was an answer in itself.

Anna smiled and answered Gerda's question before she turned to Elsa to continue their conversation. "You didn't return. You must have gone somewhere."

"I just went home." Elsa made an effort to sit up straighter on her chair and picked the cup, not without looking at the pills inside with disgust.

"Kristoff said Marshall brought you here yesterday," Anna suggested, hoping it would get Elsa to say something about it.

To Anna's disappointment, Elsa didn't answer. She was too concerned about the pills she had to take and the presence of her mother, who was still in the kitchen. She was certain her Gerda wouldn't leave any time soon, and she needed to find a way to take them without making her stomach turn. Deep down she knew her legs wouldn't support her weight on the way to the bathroom if she couldn't keep them in.

Being so focused on the medicine, Elsa failed to notice Gerda, who was calling Anna's attention over her shoulder. She had been paying attention to their conversation and decided to point out one important detail Anna hadn't noticed.

Anna understood there was something the old woman was trying to tell her, but she couldn't interpret what it was. Until, after a few seconds of Gerda's exasperated looks and mimics, the realisation dawned on her. Gerda was playfully trying to show her Elsa's extremely oversized t-shirt. A t-shirt Anna was sure didn't belong to Kristoff.

The moment Elsa raised her eyes again, she was surprised to see Anna's accusatory finger pointing at her. "You stinker…" Anna said, a grin slowly drawing on her face as she spoke. "You're wearing one of his t-shirts!"

Elsa put the cup down and looked at her sister again before she looked down at the clothes she was wearing. She breathed out in irritation when she noticed she was in fact still wearing the t-shirt Marshall had lent her the previous day.

"You two spent the night together, didn't you?" Anna amusingly accused, not being able to hide her excitement.

"No, we didn't." Elsa knew there was nothing she could say or do at this point to convince Anna otherwise, but somehow she had to try. At least to save Marshall from whatever story Anna was coming up with in her head.

Before Anna had the chance to protest, however, Gerda spoke again. And what Elsa originally thought to be her mother coming to her rescue, turned out to be an act of treachery. "It's none of my business," Gerda said, pretending to be on Elsa's side. "But the blanket in her room is not hers either."

Turning around, as fast as her headache and dizziness allowed her, Elsa fulminated the old woman with a simple look. "Gerda, please, you're not helping," she said between her teeth.

"Thank you for showing me your daughter is a barefaced liar, Gerda," Anna laughed and Elsa wished the earth could swallow her at that moment.

Once again, she couldn't help thinking how stupid she had been for not trusting Marshall the night she lost control of her powers. Staying at the mountain and talking to him — even if she suffered a second panic attack — had to be better than suffering from high fever, pain, and now feeling as if she'd die of embarrassment. "You two are getting it all wrong," she said in a small voice.

Not knowing what to do to hide her mortification, she leaned on the table and hid her face in the crook of her good arm. She could feel her head becoming extremely hot, making her feel even sicker than before. She wasn't sure if it was the embarrassment or her body choosing the worst possible time to raise its temperature, but she wanted the insufferable feeling to go away.

"Not to go against your word, dear." She could hear Gerda say, as she lay a comforting hand on her back. "But, you're the one who came home in your friend's arms, wrapped up in one of his blankets and wearing his clothes. I think we are getting it just right."

"I don't know why I even bother," Elsa murmured, her arm and the wooden table muffling her voice. Even if she had a justified reason to explain everything that had happened, she was too tired to deal with any of it anymore. All she wanted to do was go to bed and ignore Anna and Gerda, as well as the headache.

The older woman smiled sadly at her daughter and gently stroked her back. She reminded Elsa to take her pills, and with an excuse of needing to make a phone call in the other room, she left both girls alone once again.

Even if deep down Anna knew there was no need to keep dragging Elsa over the mud, she couldn't let the chance of finally knowing what was really going on between her sister and the mountaineer escape. "You're a terrible liar, you know?" she commented nonchalantly, unaware of Elsa's discomfort. "At this point I don't even know why you try."

"You make a big deal out of everything," Elsa said in a low voice.

The table tilted under the palm of her hand, and she raised her head to try and regain some stability. Her breathing was becoming more elaborated and her head was spinning. Knowing she couldn't stay where she was for much longer, she tried to stand up but her legs wouldn't cooperate, forcing her to use both arms to hold her weight on the table.

"Of course I make a big deal out of everything you two do. You're the only one blind enough not to see— Hey! Wow, Elsa, are you okay?" Anna stood up and tried to catch her before she fell to the ground.

Cursing out loud at the pain, Elsa let her body slump into the chair before Anna reached her. The sudden movement and pain that coursed through her hand left Elsa gasping for breath. She wasn't supposed to be feeling this way. It was just a fever…

Get you on your feet again.

"What?" Elsa said breathlessly, looking up and finding Anna leaning over her.

"I asked if you were okay. What happened?"

Realising her mind was playing tricks, bringing back memories she wished she could erase, she nodded and tried to get a hold of her breathing. "Can you help me get to my room?"


"Help you get–" Anna repeated, still trying to make sense of everything that had happened in an instant. She was aware Elsa had not been feeling well, yet she hadn't imagined her body was so weak it wouldn't support its own weight. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Please…" Elsa begged Anna to help her and she cursed under her breath for not noticing Elsa was so sick sooner. "I don't want Gerda to worry. The dizziness will go away, but I need to lay down."

"Sure, let me– I'm sorry," Anna said as she put an arm around her sister's waist. "I didn't realise. I'm sorry."

After insisting Elsa leaned all her weight on her, Anna walked her out of the kitchen and straight into her bedroom. The moment they got there, Elsa allowed her body to sink into the bed with a heavy sight.

Sitting on the bed next to her sister, Anna cupped Elsa's face with one hand and exclaimed, "God, Elsa… You're burning."

"I can't feel my powers anymore."

Anna couldn't understand what she meant, but something told her Elsa had no energy left to explain it, and so she didn't ask.

"Elsa…" Anna called her name as she gently pushed her bangs away from her eyes. "Are you sure you don't want us to call a doctor? You don't look good."

"All he does is put me to sleep," Elsa explained through laboured breaths. "Making me sicker by the time I wake up again. I'll be fine, I promise."

Anna looked at her with a pained expression, feeling conflicted. She knew how much Elsa despised the way drugs, and being in the presence of a doctor, made her feel, but she looked too sick to convince her she would get well on her own anytime soon. "I don't know, Elsa. At least we should let Gerda know."

"You know," Elsa said, ignoring Anna's concern. She was looking at her, but she didn't seem to be able to stay focused. "When I was a child I had a fever. Now I've got that feeling once again."

'I had the worst fever I've ever had that night…' The memory of their conversation about her childhood all those months ago slammed back into Anna's memories, making her shudder. Was her sister feeling the same way she had felt back then? "I'm calling Gerda."

But before Anna could leave her side, Elsa stopped her by holding her wrist. The grab was weak, but it meant enough to stop Anna from leaving. "Els, please, at least let me go get your medicine."

"Stay…" Elsa insisted, tightening her hold on Anna's wrist slightly.

She was certain Elsa's frown was meant to appease her pain and Anna felt like an idiot for letting her sister fool her. The first thing she had noticed when she got in the kitchen was how weak and tired she looked sitting alone, unaware of her presence. It should've been plain obvious she had been lying about the way she was feeling.

Making up her mind, Anna decided to sit back down next to Elsa, hoping she would fall asleep soon. Only then, she would tell Gerda what was going on. She wouldn't be respecting her sister's wishes exactly, but at least she'd let her sleep for a while before Gerda or anyone started prodding at her.

Absent-mindedly, Anna began to comb her sister's bangs with her fingers. Trying to keep them away from her eyes and not let them stick to her clammy forehead. She stayed by her side for several minutes until, as she had expected, Elsa's eyelids began to close. In less than half an hour, Elsa fell into a deep sleep and Anna took the opportunity to go out of the room and find Gerda.

She had only walked a few steps into the living room when she found her standing by the door with Kai and an older man she didn't know.

"Anna, I'm glad you're here," Gerda said, walking towards her as soon as she saw her. "I was on my way to tell you and Elsa that the doctor has arrived."

Breathing out in relief, Anna nodded. "I'm so glad to hear that. She fell asleep some minutes ago, but wasn't doing so well."

"Something told me she wasn't being honest." Walking past Anna, Gerda went into Elsa's room. "She's gotten worse in the last couple of hours. I called Jonnas as soon as I noticed her fever had gone up again."

"She said she was feeling dizzy when we were in the kitchen earlier." She didn't think 'dizzy' would describe the way Elsa almost fell to the ground, but she had no better word for it. "I had to help her get to bed. I think she's in pain too."

"Pain?" Gerda said, turning back to her. "Like a headache?"

"I don't know. I don't know how to describe it." Anna said, getting closer. Gerda was already sitting by Elsa's side and about to measure her temperature. "You could see she was trying to hide it. She didn't want to worry you."

Gerda shook her head a few times, worry written all over her face. "If only she'd let me help her, it wouldn't come to this." A frown appeared on Gerda's face when she checked the thermometer. "I'll let the doctor in. You can stay if you want, Anna, but we need to make sure—"

"Don't worry about me," Anna said, shaking her hands in front of her. "I was planning on going home, but I wanted to make sure someone checked on her before I did."

Gerda smiled at her and then turned her attention back to her daughter. "Could you please tell Jonnas to come into Elsa's room? He's talking with Kai in the living room."

With a nod, Anna exited her sister's room and headed to the living room to give the doctor the message as well as pick up her things.

"It's not my place to say if what happened was right or wrong." Anna heard the man say to Kai from the hallway. "But all his colleagues were on his side. He's an emotional man and made a mistake, Kai."

"He's been spending a lot of time with Elsa lately."

Kai's seriousness caught Anna's attention, and she couldn't stop herself from listening a bit more while she picked her jacket and the bag she had been carrying.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"I'm afraid he might do something to her, Jonnas."

Jonnas laughed and Anna thought it didn't make much sense for the doctor to be acting so nonchalantly while Kai seemed so concerned.

"Do you want my opinion?" Jonnas said, resting a comforting hand on Kai's shoulder. "He's a little rough around the edges, but he has a sense of justice worth admiring. He wears his heart upon his sleeve too. I'd say it's a good thing if he keeps Elsa company in the mountains."

It certainly seemed like they were talking about Marshall but, no matter how intrigued she was, it was not her place to ask. She gathered her things and decided to stop their conversation before they got carried away. "Excuse me, Dr. Jonnas?" Anna called their attention. "Gerda asked me to tell you you should go see Elsa. She's in her bedroom."

Turning in her direction, the man smiled and thanked her for letting him know. He picked a bag he had at his feet and left her standing with Kai.

"How's Elsa?" Kai asked, ignoring that she had been listening to their conversation.

"I think it's a good thing the doctor came to see her."


Closing the door behind her, Anna looked at her watch and wondered which bus would be best for her to take. It was still early evening, but she had planned to have dinner with her parents and she wanted to have a moment to talk with Idunn while she cooked. Watching her mother cook was one of Anna's favourite family moments ever since she was a kid. And one she wished Elsa could one day enjoy alongside them, but she was trying to stay realistic about it. If she was honest, the day the three of them could sit down to talk seemed too far into the future to even picture it at that moment.

Finally making up her mind on which bus to take, she walked a few metres down the street and noticed there was a familiar SUV parked only a house away from the Bjorgmans'. A mischievous smile drew on her face and she walked straight to the vehicle.

Anna knocked twice on the passenger's window, and laughed at the driver's startled face. "I knew this truck was familiar." Anna said loudly, making sure Marshall heard her from inside.

Marshall leaned over the passenger's seat and rolled down the window. He looked quite annoyed at her interruption, but Anna knew he was probably only ashamed he had been caught.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, leaning on her elbows over the open window.

"The man who just entered the house is Dr Nielsen, isn't he?" Marshall asked, not paying attention to Anna's question.

"Is his first name Jonnas?"

Breathing out, doing nothing to conceal his annoyance, he nodded.

"Then that's him. What's wrong?" Deep down she hoped his discontent had nothing to do with the kind of professional the man was.

"Is Mr Bjorgman in the house?"

There was clearly something on Marsh's mind and Anna was too curious on what it was to start complaining about him ignoring her questions. "The two of them were talking in the living room when I left."

"Damn it," Marshal said under his breath and rested his forehead on the steering wheel.

"Everything okay, big guy?" Anna couldn't pretend she wasn't intrigued at that point. One thing was for him to be asking about the doctor and another too different was Kai's presence to be a problem.

"It doesn't matter…" he said and leaned over towards the passenger's door once again to unlock it. He then gestured to Anna to get inside. "How's Elsa?" he asked as soon as Anna was sitting by his side.

"You could easily knock on the door and visit her, you know?" she said playfully. "I just did."

Breathing out exasperatedly once again, Marshall tried to keep his irritation under control. "Forget about it."

"I'm just messing with you." Anna laughed and gently pushed his arm. "So, why are you lurking in the shadows again?"

"I think it's pretty obvious."

Anna looked at him and then at Kai and Gerda's house that could be seen from where they were parked. "You know, I fully support you and I'd like for you to become my brother-in-law one day, but this is borderline stalker behaviour."

Turning red as a beet, Marshall avoided Anna's gaze. "I'm not stalking. I was trying to make up my mind about visiting Elsa when you knocked on my window."

The fact he ignored her comment about them becoming family made Anna grin from ear to ear. His silence on the matter was all the confirmation that she needed at this point. "You don't need to be so shy, you know? Her family won't mind you visiting."

"I wouldn't be so sure," he said, still not meeting her eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous." She felt as if he was exaggerating, but she could remember how nervous she'd been about meeting the Bjorgmans the first time. She could understand Marshall's apprehension about making the right impression. "You mean the world to Elsa, there's no way they won't—"

"Kai kicked me out last night."

"—welcome you and make you feel… Wait, what?" Anna stopped talking abruptly, trying to make sense of what he had just said. She couldn't think of a single reason Kai could do something like that. The man was even sweeter than Gerda, for heaven's sake. "No way," she said in disbelief. "Did something happen between you two?"

"He blames me for what happened to Elsa."

"Why would he blame—?"

"We argued and he kicked me out." He stopped her before she sidetracked and their conversation ended up revolving around himself. "Can you tell me how Elsa's doing?"

It took a moment for Anna to come out of her shock, as she kept trying to find reasonable explanations to Kai acting in such a way. But she decided to leave it for another time.

"I'm not sure… She was too sick to even stand." She felt awful about giving him bad news, but the last thing she'd do was lie to him. Maybe knowing Elsa's condition would give him the push he needed to finally go knock on the Bjorgmans' door and visit her.

"Did you get to talk to her?"

The concern written in his eyes melted Anna's heart, making her realise what Elsa meant when she said he was the softest person she knew. "She didn't say much," Anna said, shaking her head. "She was weak, dizzy… and I think she was in pain."

"How about the fever?"

"High."

Marshall ran his good hand through his hair and let it rest on the back of his neck, softly massaging it to release some tension. "She called me earlier today, she insisted she was okay but– I don't know…"

Anna looked at the Bjorgmans' house and wondered if there was something serious going on with Elsa. Gerda was more worried than she remembered ever seeing her, and now Marshall seemed to be concerned as well. Sure, they both loved Elsa, but they were usually more calm and collected than the rest of them. "The doctor's with her right now… Is there a reason we should be worried?"

"Ugh? No. No…" He hesitated. "Don't worry. Are you staying with Kristoff? Is he picking you up?"

"Oh?" The sudden change of topic made her wonder if there was something he wasn't telling her; but then again, Anna had no reason not to trust him. If the situation was truly concerning, she was certain he'd be knocking down the Bjorgmans' door by now. "No. He's working late today. I was on my way to take a bus home when I saw your car."

"I'll drive you home, then." Not waiting for an answer, Marshall started the car and drove off.

"It's not necessary," Anna tried to say, but he was already focused on his task.

"I'll feel more useful taking you home than sitting in the car, debating about knocking on Kai's door or not."

Understanding he needed to feel useful somehow, Anna ended up accepting his offer. She told him her parents' address and then let him drive her there in almost complete silence. One thing was to be annoying and talkative when she wanted to get on his nerves or tease him about Elsa, but another thing was to act that way when she could see he was feeling so uneasy about everything that was going on.

To Anna's surprise, however, he broke the silence before she did. "You're rarely this quiet," he said, turning to look at her.

"So… You now know about Elsa, right?" Anna asked, understanding that too quiet could be as bothersome as too talkative sometimes.

With a small smile, he nodded. "We talked the other night. I'll be honest, I don't understand it. But I want to try…"

"We were all there…" Anna agreed, understanding exactly how he felt. Even if she had been completely accepting of Elsa's powers, she couldn't deny the strange feeling she got whenever she looked at her the first few weeks. It wasn't fear. It wasn't a lack of comfort around her either. But there was this constant feeling of things not making sense. Even to this day, whenever she stopped to think about her sister, Anna had to accept Elsa didn't make sense. And no doubt Marshall was feeling the same way. "I mean, we still are," she clarified. "I don't think any of us really understand."

"Have you known for a long time?"

"Six or seven months… It seems longer, though." On the inside, Anna felt as if she had known Elsa for years at this point. So much had happened between their families, it almost felt ridiculous to say she had known about her powers for only seven months.

"I wish she would've had more faith in me…" He said in a low voice. His eyes were fixed in the lights and cars in front of him, yet his mind was far away. "At least enough to tell me before all of this happened."

"She didn't 'tell me' tell me," Anna reassured him. By all means, the two of them had been friends for a lot longer than Elsa and she had, it was only logical he felt somewhat hurt about finding out several months after her. Though the truth is there was no reason to compare. Things had been so extraordinarily different for them both. To mention one thing, she owed her friendship with Elsa to an accident in which she had almost died. "She lost control and the truth came to light. She didn't tell anyone as far as I'm aware. She's afraid of people leaving her behind, that's why it's hard for her to open up. But I'm sure she's thrilled with the idea of you knowing. You mean so much more to her than you imagine."

Even if he tried to keep a straight face, Anna noticed the small smile that drew on his face, making her smile as well. It was in moments like this Anna wished Elsa could see Marshall, truly see him, and notice the immeasurable devotion he had for her. He probably smiled that way in front of her too, but her sister was too blind to see it.

The two of them remained silent for the rest of the trip after that. They were both absorbed in their own thoughts and the atmosphere was too peaceful to disturb with small talk. When Marshall finally came to a full stop in front of her parents' house, Anna turned to him and thanked him for the ride.

"It's the least I could do." Marshall said with an honest smile. "You stood by my side the other night, telling Elsa to give us a chance to talk."

Anna felt proud she had stood by what she thought was right that night, and knowing Marshall appreciated it, made her feel even better about it. At least she hadn't intervened for naught. "My pleasure."

Getting out of the car, Anna realised it wasn't usual for them to have a chance to talk so openly to one another. She could see Marshall was slowly but steadily letting her in, and allowing her to see a side he usually reserved for Elsa exclusively. Taking advantage of this strange opportunity and Marshall's good predisposition, Anna dared say, "Could I ask you a favour?"

"Sure."

"Please, go visit her." It may seem as if Anna was just teasing him once again, though she truly wanted Marshall to see Elsa. There were things her sister only confided in him, and she was certain Elsa would love to see him. "She couldn't even keep her head up but she took the time to call you. You have to agree with me that means something."

"Stop playing tricks," he said, his voice serious.

"No need to be so distrustful," Anna complained. "It's not like you haven't won her affection already. She's wearing your clothes after all…" She rejoiced in watching his stoic attitude crumbling and being replaced by deep mortification. "See you, big guy."

She had only walked a few metres when Marshall called her again, making Anna smile. She was certain he had finally come up with an excuse.

"Anna, wait! Wait," he repeated as he came out of the vehicle. "I have something for you. I just remembered."

"Something for me?"

"When Elsa called me earlier today, she said to please bring these clothes back." He handed her a brown paper bag. "I think it's easier to just give them to you directly. I washed them this morning."

Looking inside the bag, she noticed there were in fact clothes inside. It was not a joke or something of the sort. "Clothes?"

"The ones she was wearing yesterday?" Marshall tried to explain. His flushed face made Anna smile again, but she couldn't come up with something to say, too surprised about the clothes in her hand. "She said they're yours and insisted I bring them. For a moment I thought she was afraid of me losing them or something."

"Are you sure she said they were mine?" She took the hoodie out of the bag and opened her eyes in surprise when she noticed the worn out stamp on its front. It was the one they had both been talking about the night they went out looking for food.

"Yes," Marshal insisted. "Do you want me to take them to Elsa anyway? I thought it was easier this way."

"No," Anna said, swiftly putting the things inside the bag once again. "No, it's okay. Thank you for washing them. And thanks again for the ride." She couldn't really explain how Elsa had got her clothes, but Anna was certain she hadn't left them in her house and much less lent them.


His conversation with Anna kept replaying in Marshall's head on his way to the Bjorgmans'. His brain kept telling him not to trust Anna's word, there always existed the possibility of her trying to play tricks on him or Elsa, and he was not willing to walk straight into one of her ruses. But despite what his most sensible side kept repeating, his heart urged him to go and see Elsa. First and foremost, he wanted to make sure she was getting the medical help she needed. Next in order, was finding out if she had called him earlier because she actually wanted him by her side. And if that were the case, then he would fight tooth and nail until Kai allowed him to stay. He wasn't planning on leaving her side until she said otherwise. He knew coming to a common ground with Bjorgman was going to be difficult, but he wasn't planning on giving up so easily.

He knew there existed the possibility of things going south easily, but he wasn't planning on making a u-turn and going back to the mountain this time. No matter how tempting it was. He needed to face the music and be the bigger person if he wanted to see Elsa and stay by her side for as long as she needed him.

As he was getting closer to the Bjorgmans' household, some blue and white lights called his attention. The yellow vehicle was parked a few blocks ahead, right in front of his destination, and it made Marshall's blood run cold. He had driven those ambulances long enough to recognise them from a distance and know the blinking lights meant there was an emergency.

Once he was in front of the house, he parked his car as best as he could, without wasting too much time, and he stepped out to see what was going on. As a former paramedic he knew how incredibly inconvenient it was to work with people gathering around, but still he couldn't stop himself from dashing to the front door of the house which was wide open.

From the threshold, he could hear people giving orders and he knew it was a matter of time until the paramedics carried someone to the ambulance. Not wanting to interrupt their work, he made an effort to stay outside the house, silently begging they weren't there for Elsa. To his consternation, a few moments later a pair of paramedics walked out of Elsa's room rolling a gurney with them.

Marshall stepped back, clearing their path, and he tried to take a moment to calm his racing heart. He knew what the men were doing was part of a routine procedure. One he had done hundreds of times. And he reminded himself that Elsa being taken to a hospital didn't mean anything in particular. But, regardless of it all, as soon as the paramedics walked out the house and he saw Elsa struggling to breathe, his own breath caught in his throat.

A sudden need to feel useful and help pushed him to their side, offering his help. It was then he realised one of the paramedics was one of his former colleagues. He noticed Karl stopping for a fraction of a second, almost giving him a task, but the man then shook his head, stopping himself in time. "I need you to step back."

"Karl, please—"

"You hated people who did this, Marshall, step back," he ordered, and Marshall obeyed.

People getting in the way only made the work more difficult, he knew that, even if his heart told him he was supposed to help the girl on that gurney. He shook his head and he cursed under his breath for letting the situation affect him so much.

Nielsen and Gerda came out of the house a moment after, Nielsen wasting no time in giving the paramedics some orders Marshall couldn't quite hear. And Gerda, on her part, stopped halfway to the ambulance, coming to a stop only to talk with her husband.

"Find Elsa's medical record. The green folder." She ordered. "I'll call you as soon as I can."

"Are you going to the central hospital?"

"I don't know." She yelled, as she hurried to the ambulance.

"Why?"

"It's too far away. People are commuting at this hour and it's an emergency…" Marshall answered automatically, not even thinking about the fact that Bjorgman had asked his wife, who was already getting in the ambulance, and not him.

With surprise, Kai turned to look at him, and even if his eyes narrowed for a short moment, the old man brushed aside their previous confrontations and said, "You were a paramedic, kid, were you not? What am I supposed to do in this situation? Is there anything I can do?"

"Not much," he said honestly. His attention on the ambulance moving and the siren that had just turned on. Being on their side meant waiting, no matter how much they hated it. "It's either watch them go and hope for a call soon enough, or follow them."

When he didn't answer, Marshall looked at Kai and immediately noticed his trembling hands. He was so nervous he couldn't think straight, making his experience as a police officer useless at that point. Feeling bad for the old man, he offered the only thing he could. "Come on, we'll follow," he suggested. "No one will tell us anything when we get there, but at least you won't be waiting for a call in an empty house."

"I should—" Turning around, Kai looked at the garage door, debating what to do.

"You're in no condition to drive right now, Mr Bjorgman. Go get the folder. I'll drive you to the hospital and back if you need. Don't worry."


She could sense people around her. They were moving her, holding her, keeping her in place. And even though her mind cried for her to stay awake and alert, she realised didn't care too much this time. She had lived through this before. She couldn't remember when, but she recognised the feeling: The shortness of breath. The pain. She was at the mercy of strangers once again and her memories served her well to remind her there was no point in fighting. No matter how distressingly familiar it felt, she didn't have the strength.

A man placed a mask over her face, but for the first time in her life, she didn't care. She welcomed being deprived of all sensations.

"You'll be fine, Elsa. I promise."

The voice felt distant but she recognised it.

"I'll be by your side at all times." The voice raised her hand and placed a soft kiss on its palm. "I promise."

She forced an eyelid to open and from the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of Gerda. She wasn't sure if it was real or part of her delusion, but in the numbness and loneliness she felt, the old woman became her anchor, and she allowed her mind to drift off to sleep.


Any Pink Floyd fans out there? Did you see what I did? I'm proud of it. As several other titles and chapters in this story, this chapter was inspired by music. This time around it was Pink Floyd's song Comfortably Numb. I recommend you listen to it if you haven't. It's a masterpiece.

About the chapter, it wasn't difficult to plan, but it was to execute. I couldn't find the character's inner voices. I found myself writing and rewriting scenes all the time. But, I like how it turned out.

About the cliffhanger. This time I tried, my cat knows I tried as hard as I could not to end the chapter in a cliffhanger, but no matter which scene I chose, it felt like one. So, at the end I said, "Oh, f*ck it" and ended it here. I'm sorry.

Feel free to leave all the comments you want. I don't mind you cursing me. And as always, while you're at it, let me know what you think of the chapter! Haha.

Thank you all for your reviews and awesome comments. They make my day.

I hope you have a great weekend and that we can read each other soon.

Take care.