~Jack and Elsa~
Elsa scrambled around the room, trying to find everything for the day. Jack and her decided to bring the children to the pool. This was one of the last days with the kids, so they wanted to make it memorable. Plus it was hot so they didn't want to stay cooped with them. "Bastian! Did you find your swimsuit?" Elsa called in the house as she packed sunscreen into her blue bag.
"Yes! I'm wearing it!" He replied, his voicing echoing down the hall. Elsa sighed and pushed her bangs behind her ear. She braided her hair into a French braid, hoping that it would help keep her hair out of her eyes.
Jack struggled with Rosie, trying to stuff her into her swimsuit, but she was just too chubby. "What? Did you get all of your baby fat from your dad?" He teased, making her giggle. Jack wasn't the only one to notice how much weight Eugene had lost in the last couple of years. Finally, after pulling her bottoms over her swim diaper, Rosie was ready for the pool.
Jack walked out with Rosie on his hip. Elsa awed and ran towards the baby. She was in a little, purple bikini. She looked so adorable with her blonde pigtails, her bright green eyes, and chubby body. "You're so cute! I'll have to take a picture for your momma!" Elsa cheered, pinching Rosie's cheeks. Elsa had grown more accustom to the baby. She just didn't like holding her when she cried.
"And her dad. He'll probably cry," Jack added, rolling his eyes. Whether Eugene would admit it or not, he was obsessed with his little girl and Jack knew it. It was the little things that made it obvious. He was always the first one to take her when she cried.
Elsa sent a playfully glare at Jack. She knew Eugene would want to see Rosie too, but she just thought that Rap would want to more. Mothers always wanted to see their little babies. Elsa made a mental note to take a picture of the kids. "Anyways, are we ready to go?" She asked.
"I'll go get the kids in the mini van." He answered as he slipped sunglasses over Rosier eyes. She looked around, confused about what was on her head. He helped take Bastian and Rosie out to the car as Elsa packed a few more things.
"Zach! Are you ready to go?" She called, hoping she would see him come out of his room. When she turned around, she saw him holding tightly into Max's collar. He looked up at her, his green eyes almost making her want to give him a hug.
"Can Max come along? Please." He begged, using his puppy dog eyes. Max eagerly licked Zach's face, showing off their tight relationship. Elsa let out a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She wanted bring Max, but it was a pool. They wouldn't allow him.
"I'm sorry, Zachary. Not today," She answered. Zach nodded his head, understanding. Sometimes Momma and Daddy didn't bring Max along. "Can you go grab my blue bag, please?"
"Sure!" He cheered as he ran into the living room. He quickly brought her bag, setting it on the ground for her. She arched her eyebrow and cocked her head. What the?
"Zach, I asked for my blue bag, not my purple bag." She replied, furrowing her eyebrows. She was confused why he brought her this bag. Didn't she specifically say blue?
"I did. That is blue. I'm going out to the car." He smiled, skipping towards the front door. Elsa picked up the bag, staring at it. It didn't look anything close to blue. What was going on?
xxx
"Zach, can you come here for a minute?" Elsa questioned from the dining room. She cleared off the table and placed six toys on the table, each one a different color. She laid them in the pattern of rainbow.
"Els, what are you doing?" Jack asked as he rocked Rosie in his arms. She was passed out, her hands still lightly holding the bottle as she slowly sucked from it. Her green eyes were shut and her legs were limp. It was a tiring day at the pool.
"I'm just going to test Zach a little bit." She replied as she placed two notebooks on the table. She was really concerned about what happened earlier today. She hoped that maybe he was just messing around with her.
"Are you sure you should be doing this?"
"Why not?" Elsa fired back, looking at Jack. Just once, just once this week she wanted to do something without being asked about it. This week it felt like maybe she was the one being watched after.
"He's not your child." Jack reasoned. Elsa stopped what she was doing and stared. Zachary wasn't her child, but Rap wanted her to care for her children. In Elsa's eyes, this was making sure he was healthy.
"Look, I'm going to do it with or without you." She replied as she sat down in the chair. She called for Zach again as Jack thought about it. If Elsa was just going to do it anyway, he might as well help. He took a seat beside her, waiting to see the green eyed boy.
"I'm here!" He smiled. Elsa motioned for him to sit down in the chair in front of him, so he did. He happily wiggled in his chair, wondering what they were going to do. He saw toys, so he was very curious.
"So Zach, I want you to tell me what color each toy is. I'll point to it and you'll answer. Okay?" Elsa explained. Zach nodded his head. Elsa gave him a soft smile and pointed above the blue truck.
"Blue!" He cheered. Next, she went to the yellow dinosaur. He almost jumped out of his chair. "Yellow!"
"Good job. You're going great Zach!" Elsa encouraged. He laughed and nodded his head. Elsa figured she was just worrying about nothing. She decided to keep going with the test, just to keep him entertained. She moved her finger above the firetruck.
"Yellow!" He shouted, jumping up and down in his chair. Elsa frowned and looked at him. He was giggling, having the time of his life. Elsa looked at Jack, who was now looking up from Rosie at Zach.
"Zach, this is red." Jack replied. Suddenly, Zach stopped and stared at them. He didn't move. He slowly shook his head, pointing at the firetruck again.
"That's yellow." He argued. Elsa and Jack shook their heads. Maybe he was just confused about his colors. Elsa picked up the yellow dinosaur and handed it to him.
"This is yellow. That is red." She stated, pointing at the firetruck with her other hand. Zach shook his head.
"They look the same!" He refused. He started crying, making Elsa regret even doing this. Maybe she should have waited for Rap or maybe just said something to her. Elsa wasn't his mother. What was she thinking?
Bastian walked into the dining room and placed down a box. Jack and Elsa pulled it towards them, reading the cover. They thought it would be a board game or something. "Whenever Momma and Daddy ask Zach about his colors, they use this. Then after they're done they give him a prize." He explained.
Color Vision Testing Made Easy
They opened the box, seeing test plates. "It has shapes and stuff on it." Bastian added, shrugging his shoulders. He walked off as Zach begged to stop testing. He didn't like being told he was wrong. He was seeing everything right in his eyes.
~Rapunzel and Eugene~
"How are you holding up, Raps?" Cassandra questioned as she helped set up Rapunzel's painting. She wanted Rapunzel to feel comfortable with this art show today. She didn't want to know what would happen if Rap was left with Eugene to figure this out.
"Busy. But busy is good." She replied, pacing around the room. Rapunzel was anxious about this whole thing. This was her life long dream and now people were going to be judging her.
"I'm glad you think so, because this is just the beginning." Cassandra answered, listing off several things Rapunzel still had to attend before leaving for Corona. She knew Rap was exhausted, but that was common.
"They're coming, Cassandra," Eugene spoke, jealous that Rapunzel was spending more time with her than with him. Just so that she was clear that he didn't like her, he pronounced her name wrong. "Better reapply your lipstick. Maybe it will bring the attention away from your hideous outfit."
"At least I don't look like an idiot with a goatee." She fired back, fixing Rapunzel's dress. Rapunzel thanked her as the first group of people came through. They admired Cass' painting and were confused by Rapunzel's.
"Excuse me, Miss. But what is this?" A little old lady asked. Rapunzel looked and noticed something she didn't paint. A long, blue streak in the sky. She knew who did it.
"Sorry, my four-year-old son must have got to my paint set again. What can ya do?" She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. The lady laughed and left the room. She liked Rapunzel's painting.
Eugene sat on a chair in the corner. He just wanted this day to be done. It had only been four hours and he was already bored. Soon, people stared taking pictures of him, thinking he was a statue for how long he sat still.
Rapunzel laughed as he rolled his eyes at her. She knew he would be annoyed by now, but that was his fault. He didn't have to come along. Soon, someone in a dark blue tuxedo walked into the room.
He stared at each painting, making check marks on his clipboard. Right away, Rapunzel knew who it was. That was Mr.Renaldo. She could tell from his spiky blonde hair and large blue eyes.
He walked around the room, but then stopped in front of Rapunzel's. Her heart began to race the longer he stood in front of her painting. She could almost hear her heart beating in her ears. She wanted to make him proud. "Is this yours?" He questioned after a long period of silence.
Eugene and Cassandra both leaned towards Rapunzel, watching what was happening. They didn't know what he would say to her and they didn't want her to make a fool of herself. "Yes." She replied.
"Would please explain it to me?" He asked. Rapunzel gulped, ready to explain it. She wanted it sound professional, even though she was only an amateur.
"Well, up in the top corner, that's a picture of my husband Eugene and me. That was when we first met," she pointed to the right corner. He nodded, wanting to know more. "This is a picture of us with our first child, Bastian. Then here's us with our next child, Zach. And across the bottom is all of us with our latest child, Rosabella." She explained. Rapunzel was proud of her painting, even if Mr. Renaldo didn't seem pleased.
He lifted his pointer finger, pointing at Pascal and Maximus. "What are those?" He questioned. Rapunzel softly smiled as she blushed. She didn't completely explain the whole painting, but it was only because she didn't hunk he cared that much.
"That's my dog Maximus and my chameleon Pascal. Oh, and patterned in between all of the family photos are things that mean a lot to our marriage. Like the lanterns, that was when Eugene took me out on my birthday and sort of told me that he loved me." She answered, hoping that was enough for him.
"Hmm. I've never seen anything like this before. How much experience do you have?" He interrogated. He had only found out about Rapunzel's talent from watching Married At First Sight. He was interested in her personality and sense of style.
"Umm. Not much. I mostly just paint like rooms in houses and my own paintings." She replied, sort of embarrassed about her experience. She wasn't anything like Cassandra or Mr. Renaldo. This was her first art show after all.
"Interesting. Well, I really enjoy your work. The style, the colors, everything about it. I'd love to see more of it in the future." He smiled, handing her a card. Everyone's jaw dropped as he walked back out of the room, ready to go critic someone else.
Once he was gone, she jumped up and down, squealing at her highest pitch. Eugene walked over to her, proud of her accomplishment. "Oh my god!" He scoffed as he paced around her.
"Look! Look! Look!" She exclaimed as she pointed on her card. He wanted her to work for him. He wanted her, a small town girl with zero experience. This, this was unbelievable.
Eugene, pulled her close, smashing his lips against hers. They were just so happy. Cassandra rolled her eyes and blew a few strands out of her face. She was already working for Mr. Renaldo, so she wasn't jealous, but she did it need to see Rap and Eugene make out. "Okay, we get it!" She grumbled, fixing her painting.
"Sorry Cassandra. We're just really happy. This is something that we've needed." Rap explained. Now that Eugene and Rap decided to do a sequel on their tv show, they were making more money. But now that Rapunzel was offered this huge gig, they could be making enough to actually buy everything they need.
"I know, I get it. But you have to keep your voices down so that you don't scare away the other visitors. If you get enough, maybe he'll promote you right off the bat. It's only happened a few times, but he really seemed to like your work." Cassandra explained as she organized her paint set. She wanted to help make a good impression for herself.
"Oh. Right. Thanks Cassandra." Rapunzel smiled, glad that she was here to make sure Rapunzel stayed on track. If it wasn't for Cassandra, maybe she wouldn't have even gotten the job offering.
~Kristoff and Anna~
"Good. Good. Make sure that the beams are stable! We don't the house to come tumbling down on us!" Kristoff instructed, placing both of his hands against the blue paper. This was his first job all on his own. He had moved up in the ranks over the last five years.
A red truck pulled up to their site. Most people continued working while others stared and watched their boss slowly exit the car. He walked towards Kristoff, running his hands through his hair. Kristoff turned around, sure to see Mr. Andersen. Before Kristoff could even greet him, Mr. Andersen spoke. "We need to talk, Kristoff."
"Okay. Hmm, sure." Kristoff agreed, confused about what was happening. Mr. Andersen led Kristoff back towards his truck, away from everyone else. What was going on?
Once they were in private, Kristoff stuck his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulder. He wanted to come off calm, even though in the inside he was freaking out. "Kristoff, I just want to let you know that this was not my decision." He clarified, worry plastered on his face.
"What are you talking about?" Kristoff softly chuckled. This wasn't making any sense. What was Mr. Andersen talking about? What kind of decision was this?
Mr. Andersen licked his lips, nervousness building inside of him. "Kristoff, we are under new management. Our new boss' first act to fire you. I'm sorry. I just want you to know that I had no say in this."
"I'm fired?" Kristoff panted, fear lacing his words. No. Nonono. This was not happening. They were going to have a baby soon. Anna was only working part time. How would they make any of the money to pay for the heat in the house, the water!
"I'm deeply sorry. If there was anything I could do, I would." He quickly added, placing his hands into Kristoff's shoulders. Kristoff was turing pale. Mr. Andersen thought he was going to faint.
"Oh god. Ha. Well. Um." Kristoff stuttered as he paced around. Was the temperature rising? He ran his hands through hair, let out a loud sigh. He had to stay calm. He had to stay calm. What was he going to do now?
xxx
Kristoff decided that since he was going home early, he might as well pick up Kristen. She always makes him feel better. She would also be happier now that she was home. "Daddy, what are we doing?" She asked from her car seat in the back.
"Umm. Well, Daddy's just going to go home for a little while. He thought you would like to come with him." He explained, trying to sound casual. He didn't want to scare her or make her think this would be a regular thing.
"Yay! Can we take Sven for a walk?" She cheered, throwing her arms into the air. She liked that she got to leave daycare early. She thought all of the other kids were mean. They always stole her toys and pushed her around.
"Yeah! We can go to the park and we'll go down the slide!" Kristoff encouraged, trying to make the best of a bad situation. As long as Kristen was happy, he would be happy.
"Yay! I love the slide! Ooo! And the swings! I like the swings." She grinned, listing off her favorite activities. Kristoff nodded his head, loving the sound of her cheerful voice in the time of fear.
xxx
Anna trudged up to the front door. For some reason, Kristoff's car was in the driveway. He's never home before her, especially when it's this nice outside. This was the perfect weather for building houses and such.
She opened the door to hear laughter coming down the hallway. She listened to Kristoff act like a princess at a tea party. She tossed her keys onto the table as Kristen yelled at him to raise his pinkie.
Anna laughed and shook her head. Kristen was a demanding child, but she was too cute to call bossy. Anna walked into the living room, spotting Kristoff and Kristen wearing crowns on their heads. Sven and Olaf were around the coffee table with them. Everyone had a tea cup and a boa wrapped around their necks. "Hey!" They waved.
"I see you're having a tea party. How fun." Anna smiled as Kristen ran up to give her Mommy a hug. Kristen missed Anna during the day. She wished she could play all day with her, but that never happens.
Kristoff quickly pulled of his crown. He blushed as he plastered a smile onto his face. Oh boy, now she'd hold this over his head forever. "Hi Fiestypants." He grinned, placing a kiss onto her cheek.
"Hi Kristoff," Anna giggled, pulling a pink feather out of his hair. Anna knew he was embarrassed, but she thought it was sweet at he was playing with Kristen. "So why are you home early?"
Oh boy. That was a questions he did not want to answer. He kind of hoped he could keep this low key until he found a new job, but he knew that would never work. "It's a..um..long story."
Anna knew that tone of voice. Her senses were going wild inside her head. She knew he was hiding something, "Kristoff." She replied, crossing her arms. She wasn't in the mood for this. Not now.
"Anna, I really don't want to talk about this right now." He frowned. He walked past her, trying to get away from this conversation right now. Anna had never heard that from him before. What was wrong?
She chased after him, twisting him around. "Kristoff, what's wrong?" She asked, concern lacing her words. She was worried about him. He never pushed her away like that. He knew she was afraid of being lonely.
He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. He didn't want to talk about this now, but he didn't want to leave Anna in the dark. She didn't deserve it. "Anna, what I'm about to tell you, you can't freak out."
"What? Did you cheat on me?" She questioned, now afraid.
"What? No. Wait, you think I'd cheat on you?" He interrogated, now forgetting about what they were talking about.
"No, no, no. It's just been one of my fears. I don't -no- look, I won't freak out." She assured, placing her hands into his. She looked into his eyes, seeing terror building in them. He wiggled, trying to make the situation more comfortable.
"Anna... I was... fired today." He fumbled, staring into her sharp, blue eyes. She ran her hand down his cheek. He had to be as terrified as her right now.
~Merida and Hiccup~
Merida took deep breaths as she walked up to the huge glass doors. Just looking at the building almost brought on another panic attack. She tried to slow down her heart rate as the glass doors slid open, letting her enter the lobby.
She passed by signs asking to wear a mask if you had a cough, but she didn't. She wasn't even the one sick but yet she was paler than a ghost or a fresh patch of soft snow. She walked with her head held high, like her mother advised. She marched up to the front desk, making heads turn. "I'd like to speak with Dr. Robert."
The woman tapped on her keyboard, leaning in close so she could see the screen better. "Name?"
Merida sighed and tossed her long curls behind her. Did she have to do this every time she came here? It wasn't like this was her first time here. She's been here almost everyday. "Merida Haddock."
A few more loud clicks on the keyboard. Merida quickly tapped her foot, just wanting this to be over. It shouldn't be this hard to talk to a doctor. "Dr. Robert will take to you in a moment. Please take a seat in the waiting room, Mrs. Haddock."
Merida rolled her blue eyes and headed to the waiting room. There was hardly any dirt on the floor. She could smell the sent of sanitation, which kind of made her stomach churn. She stared at the floor, going through her speech. She knew she would never follow it exactly, but she wanted to know her main points. "Mrs. Haddock."
Merida's head shot up. She looked towards the door, spotting Rachel, the nurse who helped her find Hiccup's room the first time. Merida smiled and quickly pulled her purse over her shoulder and sped towards the door. "How are you, Merida?" Rachel questioned as she marked a few notes on her notepad.
"I'm fine." She lied. Merida wasn't fine. She wasn't even good. She hasn't eaten since yesterday morning and she's hardly had three hours of sleep. She didn't even complain about waking up at three am to feed Henry.
Rachel sent her a sympathetic smile. She knew Merida was trying to hold up, but everyone breaks down at some point. It'll only be a matter of time before she goes insane. "So why do you need to talk with Dr. Robert?"
"It's nothing really. Just a little requests." Merida softly chuckled. Rachel looked her over knowing that it wasn't just a little request. It had to be something that was keeping her up at night, otherwise she wouldn't have those bags under her pretty eyes.
"Oh. Do you mind if I come in with you?" Rachel questioned. Merida thought about it. It would be nice to have another person in there. Maybe it wouldn't seem so stressful with others.
"Sure."
"Great. Come on in." She smiled as she opened the door. They walked into a room with the walls covered in certificates. They were lined up by the years he received them. Dr. Robert has been a family doctor since forever. If Merida wasn't born in Scotland, he definitely would have delivered her.
He turned around, his glasses low on his nose. When he spotted who it was, a smile played onto his lips. "Merida! How are you?" He questioned.
"I'm fine. Thank you." She mumbled as she took a seat in front of his desk. She knew Dr. Robert since she was a wee lad. He was her family doctor, taking care of her and now her children and husband.
"So what brings you here today?" He asked, pulling his chair forward so he could hear her better. Merida was going though a lot and he wanted to make sure she was alright.
"I came here to request that Astrid be banned from seeing Hiccup." Merida stated, folding her trembling hands over her lap. Merida couldn't risk any chances of Astrid getting too close to Hiccup.
"You want to ban her?"
"Yes. I don't want her near Hiccup. She'll corrupt his mind." She answered. Dr. Robert shook his head. Merida was making no sense.
"I don't understand." He replied, placing his glasses closer to his eyes. Merida was always a strange gal, but this was an odd request. Most people who were banned from rooms were crazy or insane. Astrid showed no signs.
"Please. I just don't want her near him. She'll try to take him away from me." Merida quickly replied, leaning closer. Rachel stood with her back against the door. What was going with Merida?
"Merida, I think you're going crazy from loss of sleep. You should go home and get some rest." He advised as he wrote out a note. He wanted her to go home and think things through. This was a huge step.
"I'm not going crazy! I want her gone!" Merida demanded, raising her voice as she slapped her hand against his note, stopping him from writing.
Dr. Robert sighed and rubbed his temples while leaning back into his chair. This was a tough situation. This wasn't going to be an easy request. "Look, Merida, I would love to help, but Astrid has done nothing wrong. She's even dropped the charges from your attack the other day. Why do you want her gone?"
"I just told you! She's after my husband! I want her gone so you have to banish her! I can't let her near him." Merida pleaded. Rachel watched the woman she thought was fearless crumple in front of her. She leaned her face into her hands, her body shaking from her sobs.
"Merida, we can't banish her. She's one of the few people he remembers." Dr. Robert argued, trying to comfort her. He wanted what was best for both of them. Merida sobbed, shaking her head.
"No! No! No!" She refused, shaking her head back and forth. Tears were pouring down her face. Rachel held her breath, watching her client plead for this. Why did this matter so much? What could Astrid do?
"Merida, we have to do what's best for Hiccup." He reasoned. He couldn't even look her in the eyes. Her sobs were echoing in his ears. He wanted to help her, but this request was nearly impossible. Little did Merida know that Hiccup didn't even remember his parents. The only person he knew was Astrid.
"What's best for him is me! He needs me! I need him! If she takes him away I'll be nothing!" She shouted, holding her hands to her chest. She bowed her head, her red curls covering her sorrowful face. "I don't know what I'll do if he's gone." She softly croaked.
Rachel took slow steps, wanting to comfort Merida. Rachel didn't know what was making Merida upset, but it seemed important. From her perspective, Astrid was just a coworker or family friend. Merida shouldn't be worried. "Merida, it'll be okay."
"No it won't!" She shouted, looking into Rachel's brown eyes. Rachel studied her face. She had tear stains on her cheeks. Her blue eyes were pleading for help. Rachel wanted to do everything in her power to save Merida.
"Well, I should be going. I'd love to help, but there's nothing I can do. I'm deeply sorry, Merida." Dr. Robert apologized as he exited the room. He wanted to help her, he really did, but if he took away Astrid, Hiccup would go insane. He wouldn't know anyone, he wouldn't know who he was, taking her away could possibly ruin his whole recovery. Dr. Robert figured it was better to keep her and have her bring Hiccup back to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~