#TW:Adoption

[sweetheartd]

―  ✮ [ MUSE 9, DANNA PAOLA, SHE/HER, CISFEMALE ] hey, check it out! it’s [ WILLOW ‘WILLA’ BERRY ], the [ TWENTY-TWO ] year old [ STUDENT & EMT ]. some people might say they’re [ - HOT-HEADED ] and [ - INDEPENDENT ], but their parents will swear they’re [ + ASTUTE ] and [ + AFFABLE ]. and you didn’t hear it from me, but rumor has it, they’re hiding [ THAT SHE’S AN EXOTIC DANCER AND PAYING FOR COLLEGE HERSELF ]

willa was put up for adoption by both of her biological parents at birth, because they felt they’d be unable to give her the life she deserved. the case worker assigned to her case, adored her and perhaps even understood what that was like. ultimately decided they wanted to foster her until the right family came along. a year later the holmes-berry’s came along and adopted her, she got lucky not having to bounce from home to home and had one whilst the waiting game began and to be adopted right away ? more luck. she doesn’t know much but she’s thankful.

at two she danced to the beat of her own drum and to no music, she adored dancing and singing. she started taking classes and got into gymnastics being a hyper child and needing something to put her energy and focus into.

then she found her true calling as a teenager helping others. which is why she became an emt. and had her heart set on it. as soon as she graduated high school she took what she needed to. in order to do so then later decided she wanted to go back to school and become a physician’s assistant and it wouldn’t be cheap that was for sure. she decided one day to take pole dancing classes and became a quick-leaner, and loved it.

no surprise that at twenty-one she then became an exotic dancer once or twice a week, when she wasn’t being an emt or attending college classes that’s where she was and how she spent her time. it was enough cash that she started putting it towards college, not wanting to be a burden on her parents and wanting to find her own way to pay and so she did.

it’s not something she is embarrassed about per se and she feels it takes a lot of courage to become one of those dancers but it’s also something she’ll never tell her parents or siblings about. willingly at least. they probably know she’s working two jobs and is a college student but likely hasn’t said much else.

she doesn’t want to be a disappointment that is her greatest fear, and she feels her parents and siblings just wouldn’t understand. that it’s another form of dance and that she likes what she does. she gets to help people and she’s making some extra cash here and there, so that she can further help people in a few years.

she’s been making enough cash that she has her own place ( a small one, perhaps with roommates or a roommate ?? ) and decently new car, and is doing just fine. busy a lot of the time but that’s how she likes it.

i feel willa has always been independent even as a kid, despite being hyper she could keep herself entertained and not get into trouble. and at dance classes she kept mostly to herself, with a few friends here and there.

willow goes by willa or even will to those she knows !

i think that’s about it for now ?? and here are some plots ideas ; best friends ( A MUST ) i’d even be game for a sibling being one her best friends. a roommate or roommates ( again ) could be a sibling or someone she has befriended. someone or perhaps even 2 people that have seen her being an exotic dancer and she has pleaded or begged them not to tell anyone esp her family. college friends, aka people she has met in college and gotten close with, maybe they study together ?? a healthy buddy, someone that she stays fit with maybe they eat healthy together and workout as she also has to stay in shape. flings/fwb anything of that nature is always welcome ! i don’t think she’d shy away from that kind of thing, in fact it’s encouraged.

[lukin08]

The Heart of the Matter- Chapter 3

A/N- So this chapter starts with a little insight into Anna’s thoughts on the happenings from chapter 2.  And of course, thanks to @kristoffxannafanatic​ for her contribution to the chapter and coming up with great ideas all the time for the fic!

Master Post

Rating: T (for subject matter, a couple swears and mention of sex)

Words: 3800

Two weeks…two excruciatingly long weeks, as far as Anna was concerned, since Kristoff answered the message and still no reply.  It was killing Anna and she asked Kristoff constantly if it was bothering him.  He shrugged it off as if he wasn’t fazed by it, but she knew it was on his mind.  

Anna tried to think of all the reasons for the silence.  There could be a million things but none of them added up.  This person- his sister- had reached out to Kristoff, had asked him questions about who he was.  Why had she left things up in the air when she had been the one to contact him? There seemed to be some underlying motivation and Anna had to know why.  Especially if there was anything that could negatively impact Kristoff.

They argued about it when he received the initial message.  Anna was fully aware she was pushing Kristoff more than he was comfortable, but she couldn’t wrap her brain around the fact that he wasn’t curious to find out anything.  She told him to read it, wouldn’t let him ignore it away.  

He refused.  

She didn’t stop.  

It escalated until he finally pushed back, his voice straining not to yell and told her to ‘fucking read it herself if she was so curious’ and asked Anna why she couldn’t ever leave things well enough alone, before storming off.

They barely spoke to one another for 36 hours. It was limited to ‘When was Alex last fed?’, ‘Did you change Alexandra?’, ‘What time did she last sleep?’ or a curt ‘Goodbye’ or ‘Good night’. The only thing that was normal was the ‘I love yous’ before they left in the morning and before bed. They both could be stubborn and hard headed but agreed early in their relationship they would always say I love you no matter how angry they were with each other.  But this was putting that agreement to the test.

Anna couldn’t concentrate at work.  All she thought about was the argument.  This wasn’t them.  Oh sure they fought, but never like… not like this. Not when Kristoff knew how much she hated being shut out and she knew she had to let him think things out in his own time and way.  She needed to put a stop to the senseless fighting and move them forward.  

He was sitting on the couch when Anna came home.  Kristoff glanced up from the laptop and smiled at her as she took Alex out of the car seat.  His smile made her knees weak.  She wanted to run over to him and tell him how much she loved him while he held her and told her everything would be alright.

“Kristoff, I’m so sorry,” Anna said as soon as she got Alex free.  She couldn’t get the words out fast enough.  She rushed over to him with Alex and stood there, fighting to keep the tears away.  “I shouldn’t have-“

“It’s okay,” he said, reaching for her hand and gently pulling her down to sit with him.  “I’m sorry, too.”  Anna leaned into him and he gave her and Alex a kiss.  The constriction in Anna’s chest vanished as they sat there. They’d talk more when Alex was asleep, but for now she was happy to know things were moving back on track.  Anna looked over to the screen Kristoff had open. It was on the DNA website and the pointer was hovering over the message.  Anna wondered how long Kristoff had been sitting there like that.  

“I’ll read it with you if you want,” she told him.

“I’d like that,” he answered with a nod and opened the message.  

 So here they were, despite Kristoff’s response, going into two weeks of electronic silence.  There was nothing to be done about it.  Anna was resigned to freaking out silently about Victoria while Kristoff acted as if he would be totally fine if there never was a message back.

The week rolled by and they were thrilled to have a quiet Friday together.  Their date nights, as of late, consisted of laying on the couch together while they watched shows.  But it was perfect.  There’d be time to go out again when they were more comfortable leaving Alex.  But for now, a few hours together focusing on each other was what they needed.  

Kristoff brought home flowers for Anna and made her favorite dinner topped off with a slice chocolate cheesecake from her favorite bakery.  He insisted he drove past it during work even though Anna knew he had gone out of his way to stop there.  Alex even seemed to be cooperating, going to bed early without one bit of a fuss.  

The menu on the TV was up and Kristoff was settled on the couch when Anna came in the room. Kristoff watched as Anna walked deliberately to him.  Instead of plopping down next to him, like she normally did, Anna slowly crawled over him until she was sitting on him, her knees on either side of his thighs.

There was no hesitation. Anna leaned her body against Kristoff and kissed down his jaw until she hit that special spot on his neck.  His head fell back against the couch and from that moment, Kristoff knew they were not going to be watching TV. He smiled, happy that Anna was initiating.  She had been so self-conscious since Alex was born.  Kristoff kept telling how amazing she looked.  He didn’t care what she looked like, he’d love and adore her no matter what.  But he knew it mattered to her and hopefully she was starting to believe him when he told her how sexy she was.  

He ran his hands up her thighs and settled them at her waist.  Anna pulled back, her hands cupped on Kristoff’s face and looked at him.

“What? She asked, staring at the goofy grin on his face.

“I just really love date nights,” he answered then kissed her before she could start laughing.

 Her skin was warm against his, pressed deliciously close in a way that always seemed so right.  Anna rested her head on Kristoff’s shoulder, one hand tucked under her, the other spread out on his chest.  She hadn’t thrown on a shirt when she slipped back into bed, and Kristoff hoped it was another step in Anna’s growing confidence in her post baby body.  Kristoff’s fingers idly ran long strokes up and down the length of Anna’s back.  He lived for this time, full of intimacy and calm as they lay in each other’s arms about to drift off to sleep. He sighed, low and content.

“You’re sure relaxed.”

Kristoff felt Anna’s head move to look at him, but he kept his eyes closed, a lazy smile on his face.  “How could I not be?”

“Not just that.” Anna pushed herself up with a laugh and Kristoff dared opened his eyes to see her staring down at him curiously. “All week, you’ve been much more at ease.”

“Have I?”

“These last few weeks, you’ve been so… like so wound up.”  Anna clenched her fists for emphasis.  “It’s nice to see you like yourself again.”

Kristoff’s arms drifted over to hold Anna at her hips.  “I suppose it’s… well, not having to think about what I’m going to do- it feels better.”

“Even if she responds to you?”

Kristoff shrugged.  “It’s done now.  And like you told me, I can always cut off communication if I want.”

Anna moved to lay back down.  Her hands moved up his body, and Kristoff’s stomach pulled under her touch. Her fingerers tailed along the curve of his pecs and over his shoulders until she was back down in his hold. Kristoff moved his free arm to rest over his head as Anna continued her path.  

“It has been over two weeks.  Maybe you won’t hear anything back.”  Her fingers stopped at her destination and began tracing the tattoo on Kristoff’s inner bicep.

Kristoff wondered the same thing.  He had expected a quick response.  This Victoria or Vicky, or maybe she went by Tori, had seemed persistent. But there had only been silence as an answer to him.  It probably was to be expected.  From her message, she didn’t seem to have any prior knowledge of Kristoff’s existence. The list of people who could be impacted from this revelation was infinite in Kristoff’s head.  Whoever was involved, he hoped it was at least causing his birth father consternation.  He’d have to wait and see if anything came out of his response, but for now he was enjoying the silence.

“I love you more,” Anna whispered as she traced over her own handwriting etched into Kristoff’s skin.  She followed the arrow over to the newest addition of dates.  “The flaking’s done.  I think it’s completely healed.”

“Almost.  The ink still is a little cloudy, but it should brighten up.”

“I still love that you added our wedding and Alexandra’s birthdate.”

Kristoff rolled them onto their sides and held out Anna’s arm. “And what about you?  Change your mind about getting anything added to yours?”

“Maybe when we have the next one.  No need for two trips.”

He furrowed his brows at Anna with a grin.  “Next one?”

“Not now, but at some point.  I mean soon.  But not soon soon.  It does take some time and we’d have to decide how far about in age we’d want them to be-“  Anna cut herself of, aware of her rambling.  “When we’re ready, of course.  Maybe in a couple years.”

“Sounds amazing.”  Kristoff kissed the inside of Anna’s arm and laid his head back down on the pillow with a laugh.

Anna pushed back from Kristoff to look at him.  “What?”  

“It took you exactly four and a half months to go from ‘I’m not doing that again anytime soon’ to talking about having another.”

“To be fair, those first couple weeks- well months really- we were both on survival mode. I don’t want to say it’s easier now, but there’s at least a routine now.  And maybe we’re more at ease and we get to enjoy her more.  She already has so much personality, Kristoff.  It makes me wonder what the next one will be like.” Anna relaxed in his powerful arms. “God, it was only a few weeks ago we were taking her home for the first time.  How does it feel like a lifetime ago?”

“Sleep,” Kristoff murmured into Anna’s hair.  “Amongst many other things.  Which is what we should do since you-know-who will be up very early tomorrow.”

“Someone needs to tell her about weekends and sleeping in.”

“Something tells me she’ll get the hang of it at some point.”

“What time is it?”  Anna mumbled as her eyes closed.

Kristoff checked his phone on bedside table.  “Just after ten.”

She yawned.  “Look at us. Living on the edge.”

Kristoff chuckled.  “I know. Up after ten on a Friday night.”

“We’re such rebels.  I love it.”

Anna snuggled in even closer to Kristoff.  “You know, eventually, we’re going to have to start putting some clothes back on before we fall asleep.”

Kristoff huffed a laugh.  “Or-” He glanced across the room.  “We can just lock the door.”

Anna let out a squeak as Kristoff pinched her hip and wedged his heavy leg firmly between her soft thighs. He reached blindly for the covers, tugging the blankets up and over them.  Anna rubbed her cheek against his chest while he brushed loose strands of hair out of her face and they settled into a long overdue full night’s sleep.  

  “Lexi! Come here sweetie.”

“Stop calling her that.”

Sven kept his arms out towards Kristoff.  “Just hand her over.  I haven’t seen her ages.”

Kristoff handed Alex to him.  “You saw her last week.”

“And look how much she’s already changed!”  Sven lifted the baby over his head.  “Isn’t that right Lexi Lu?  You’re getting so big!”

Kristoff leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms.  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.  She just ate.”

Sven quickly brought Alex back down, remembering the last time he didn’t heed Kristoff’s warning, and sat her on his arm.  “You see that, Lexi,” he said pointing to Kristoff.  “Grumpy Grumperson doesn’t like our special name for you.  And he’s being a bad sport about it too- don’t you make a face at me.”

Kristoff rolled his eyes.  “Can’t you at least call her by her real name?”

“Hey, we need nicknames.  This is best niece and favorite uncle business.”

“You’re her only uncle,” Kristoff said flatly.

“Even more important!”  Sven turned away from Kristoff.  “See Lexi. This is what I’ve been talking to you about.  Remember when you’re older, you can always come and talk to uncle Sven when dad’s being unreasonable.”

The baby laughed and Sven turned around and grinned at Kristoff.  “I don’t know how this child came from you, but she is the sweetest most wonderful little thing.  Makes me want one of my own.”

Kristoff’s façade broke and he smiled back.  He raised an eyebrow at Sven.  “You talk to Shauna about that?”

Sven nodded.  “I mean, I suppose we should have the whole wedding first.”

Kristoff waived his hand out.  “Minor details.”

“But, seriously, yeah.  Maybe in a few years.  When the time seems right.”

“Look at you.  Making all the grown up decisions.”

Sven laughed.  “I wouldn’t go that far.”  He looked around the kitchen.  “Where is everyone?”

Kristoff glanced over to the stairs. “Ma and Anna are downstairs.  Don’t ask.  I have no idea what they are doing.  And dad had to run to the store.  I was about to set the table when you came in.”

“If you two are going to be in the kitchen, you could at least make yourselves useful!”  Bulda blew into the room with Anna behind her.  She walked up to Sven and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  “Hi hon.”

“Hi Ma. I was going to start putting all the plates and stuff out, but Kristoff made me hold Lexi.”  He gave Bulda an innocent smile and then looked over to Kristoff with a shit eating grin, just out of his mother’s view.

“That’s not her name, Sven!” Anna called out, her head ducked into the refrigerator.

“Not you too!”

Bulda turned to Kristoff.  “And what do you have to say for yourself?”

He stared at her blankly before grumbling out a response and started to open the drawer to pull out silverware.   

Sunday dinners were always one of Kristoff’s favorite times.  His parents had been hosting them as long as he could remember. They could usually count on an extended family member or ten to join them, but every so often it would only be the four of them.  Those were his favorite.  Just sitting around with his mom and dad pretending to listen to Sven as he spouted off all his older brother worldly advice and the four of them talking about any topic under the sun.

It was still like that now.  Anna had fallen in love with the dinners as soon as she started attending, dragging Kristoff there even on the rare occasion when he just wanted to lay in bed all day.  She told him how much she loved the connection with his family and how it had been missing in her life for far too long.  And now he could picture Alex sitting with them, chatting away with her grandparents and cousins and possibly even siblings.  It was so vivid, Kristoff felt as if he could reach out and touch it.

Nothing stood out at this dinner.  Sven and Kristoff discussed the details of him coming back to the hockey league next month.  It had been six months since he played.  He hadn’t wanted to be away from Anna towards the end of her pregnancy and he would have been so tired he wouldn’t have been able to lace up his skates if he tried to start up again right after Alex was born.  But Anna and Kristoff were starting to feel more comfortable picking up some of the activities they did pre-baby and he had to admit he was itching to get back on the ice, even once a week.  

The rest of the time they talked about work, an upcoming vacation Bulda and Cliff were planning and if Sven had any updates on the wedding.

“It’s a shame Shauna couldn’t make dinner, hon,” Bulda said, looking over a Sven.

“She wanted to.  But her sister’s in town just for the weekend.”

Bulda smiled, indicating it was not an issue.  “Of course.  She has to make time when her family is here.”

Sven nodded then looked over at Kristoff.  “Speaking of family.  Any new word on the sister front?”

Kristoff didn’t look back at him.  “I told you what she said.  That she was sorry for not responding and that finding out about me was a shock to her family.  All she did was basically confirm what we already knew.  That she’s my half-sister and we share the same biological father.”

“But that can’t be everything she said.”

“I already told you she didn’t ask…”  Kristoff put his fork down and looked up at Sven with a snarky expression.  “Oh, wait.  She asked me how old I was.  Can’t forget about all the details she wanted to know.”

“Kristoff, that’s not fair,” Cliff interjected.  “We have no idea what’s going on in her world, but you have to imagine it being a pretty big blow finding out this information.  You have to give her time.”

“Yeah, thanks but no thanks.  Look, I don’t care.  I didn’t seek her out.  I have no stake in the game.  I had Anna delete everything from that damn website and I’d like to stop talking about it from now on.”

“I think that was a rather rash decision, son,” Cliff said shaking his head at Kristoff.

“Oh no it’s okay.  I gave her my email!”  Anna bounced up slightly from her chair.  “And we have hers- if we need it.”

“We don’t.  She just wants something.”  Kristoff picked up his fork again and stared defiantly at his plate.  He jabbed at a heap of mashed potatoes and mumbled, “Just like everyone always does,” before shoving them in his mouth.

“But what about the girl?”

Kristoff’s eyes shot up at Sven in surprise.  “You know about that?”

“Yeah, I- ow!”  Sven’s body hunched down to rub his shin and he glared at Anna, who was giving him the most annoyed face. He pursed his lips back at her and furrowed his brow.  He slowly turned his head to Kristoff, a clear challenge to Anna.  “Her daughter’s sick, right?”

“Not her daughter, hon.  Her niece,” Bulda corrected.

“What!” Sven started on a tirade on how was he not told that vital piece of information and did everyone know what that meant.  And how was everyone sitting there so calmly when Kristoff in all likelihood had two siblings.

Kristoff sat there, his eyes squinted in confusion as Sven now moved on to analyze the entire situation with his mom and dad.  His mind was still trying to figure out how Sven knew what he did when there was movement from the corner of his eye.  There was his answer right in front of him.

“I think I hear Alex,” Anna said quickly as she slid out of her chair.

“Oh no you don’t miss chatty.”  Kristoff pointed his finger back at the empty chair.  “Don’t think you can start all this and slip away unnoticed. Sit.”

Anna slunk back into her seat, sitting as low as she could.

“Everyone enough!”  Kristoff was caught off guard at how quickly it was silent and he was left sitting with three pairs of eyes staring back at him that he could swear were blinking in unison.

“Okay!  To be fair, I told Sven part of what happened.”  Anna leaned forward in her seat. “He was supposed to-“ Kristoff noticed her body jerk and Sven yelped out again. “-talk to you about this at hockey.”  She paused before adding through gritted teeth, “Alone.” Then she turned to look at Kristoff and reached for his hand.  “I thought you had at least told him something about the niece.  Otherwise I wouldn’t have said anything.”

“I only told mom and dad,” Kristoff answered softly.  There was a part of Kristoff that was fighting to be upset with what was unfolding.  But he was aware this was his own doing.  Not sharing all the details with his entire family had caused all this in the first place.

“I’m sorry for not telling you,” he said to Sven.  “I just wanted something to be normal so I didn’t have to keep talking about this.”

Sven flicked his wrist at him.  “Consider it forgotten.  But can someone give me the whole story so I know exactly what the hell is going on.”

Anna squeezed Kristoff’s hand.  “Do you want me to?”  He nodded, relieved that she was offering to explain everything.

Anna started from when Victoria reached back out.  Nothing that Kristoff said was false.  After confirming that she was Kristoff’s half-sister, she hadn’t really asked anything else about him.  It was what she did say that Kristoff omitted from the story to Sven.  Victoria explained that her niece was gravely sick and she had created a DNA profile with the slim hope of connecting with a distant relative.  She was short and to the point in her messages, but she had made it clear she was reaching out to Kristoff with one goal in mind.  Her niece, Olivia, was sick and needed a bone marrow transplant and none of the immediate family was a match to be a donor. The second question she asked him after his age, was if he would be willing to be tested to see if he was a match to Olivia.

“But it doesn’t matter,” Kristoff added when Anna finished.  “I’m not getting involved in this mess. They’ll just have to figure it out on their own.”

Sven sat back in his chair.  “And this is where I come in.  You sure about that?”

Kristoff didn’t falter.  “Completely. They have her in the bone marrow registry.  Something will come up.”

Bulda sighed, but offered Kristoff an encouraging smile. “Kristoff.  I think this is something you may want to reconsider.  I know you, dear.  It’s going to bother you until it eats you away completely not knowing what happens to that little girl.”

“It won’t.”

His voice sounded confident, but the look his mother was giving him was of complete disbelief.  Kristoff shoulders fell as he realized all four of them were staring at him.  “None of you are going to let this go, are you?”

There was a resounding ‘no’ voiced in unison around the table.

[snowburyli]

Character Name: Angelica ‘Li’ Renee Martin Faceclaim: Tamara Taylor Character age: 45 Gender identity & sexuality: Cis female, bisexual Birthday: April 10th, 1975 Character profession: Hospital Administrator Snowbury General Hospital Extra Skills: Plays the piano and the cello, sings a little bit Hobbies:(see above, plus reading, has two cats.  Romeo and Juliet) Personality traits: + Dedicated, Loyal, Organized || - Brash, Compulsive, Analytical

tw:adoption under the cut

Angelica grew up in Snowbury.  Her parents were both doctors and she grew up inside the hospital.  It was expected that she would follow in her parents footsteps but Li was never quiet sure.  In an effort to get her out of the hospital, her parents gave her music lessons, first the piano and then the cello.  And while she is good at both, and has a decent singing voice, music didn’t interest her other than a form of stress release.  

In her senior year of high school, Angelica participated in an exchange program and left Snowbury for Boston.  While in Boston, Li got caught up with a bit of the wrong crowd.  After a party one night early during her stay, Li discovered she was pregnant.  She begged the school not to tell her parents or send her home, promising she could handle it all.  She was assigned a special chaperone for the remainder of her trip and true to her word, thanks to her determination, Angelica finished the program, graduating with honors.  Just before returning to Snowbury, Angelica gave her baby up for adoption.  Given her age, and that she never wanted her parents to find out, the adoption was a closed one.  

After what had happened in Boston, Angelica opted to go to school much closer to home.  She never bothered much with ‘the season’ as a young woman because she was afraid getting too close to anyone would force her to reveal her secret.  And while Angelica surprised her parents, and frankly many around her, by not going into medicine, and getting a health care administration degree instead.  It wasn’t long before Angelica returned to Snowbury full time, and began working her way up at Snowbury General.  

Angelica’s parents have retired to Arizona and they rarely visit Snowbury anymore.  Angelica visits them as often as she can, but she is dedicated to her work, obsessive about how things should be done, and constantly looking to improve things. This dedication serves another purpose, not giving Angelica much time to revel in her loneliness or think about the child she gave up. Angelica has been a somewhat regular client of Coryanne’s over the years.  Between hospital events, fundraisers, staff weddings, retirements, etc, and sometimes just when Angelica feels the need for company, she turns to the other woman and her expertise.   

[mississippicryptid]

Trigger Words in this rant!

It pisses me off that people(at least the people I live around) automatically assume if you support Adoption, you're pro-life. NO! I am pro-choice! Adoption is a choice, just life Abortion is a choice. The Women's choice, whichever she makes. So sorry if that messes with your world view!  

[shannon1x1-blog]

I just need to rant tbh bc this really pisses me off. I HATE it when people say 'How is he your brother? He's black." I'm mixed race, ok? I just didn't get a really dark skin tone. I'm actually pretty fair skinned. My dad's mixed race, therefore I'm not going to be dark. The gene is unlikely to be as dominant. If my mum was mixed race too, it'd be different. But she's white. I'm going to be light skinned. Like, my brother just happened to get a dark skin tone. But if you see me in the summer, I tan like crazy. I get an amazing tan. But just bc we're different skin tones does not give you permission to question us on it. Because what if he was adopted? Or I was adopted? And we had a horrible back story and even having to think about it caused so much shit for us? Like, yes I understand little kids being confused because they don't know any better. But a fucking 20 something year old can't ask us that!!! It pisses me off to no end. And I always get comments on people saying I try to 'act black.' A) My grandad comes from Grenada and B) There's no way to 'act black.' I'm not hanging out with my own fucking brother to try and look cool! And even if I was white and had black friends, what's the problem? I'm so sorry this rant was so long. But I'm so pissed off. There's only so many times you can be asked the same question.

[lukin08]

The Heart of the Matter- Chapter 2

Master Post

Rating: T (for minor swearing and subject matter)

Words: 2800

Kristoff looked down, leaning over with a knowing smirk on his face.  “Come on now,” he said softly.  “Is it really going to be like this tonight?”

The baby stared up at him, kicking her feet in defiance.  Her fists were balled up and she looked like she was willing herself into a fit.

“Oh, I see your game.” Kristoff reached into the crib, gently lifting his daughter right as her cries began.  He held her against his chest, letting her head rest on his shoulder. The baby let out a loud wail as she squirmed in his hold until settling her cheek against him.  “I know you’re not hungry and I just changed you.  You can’t fool me.”

He walked around the room, swaying slightly from side to side.  Kristoff already knew from experience he’d need to keep this up for a bit before he dared sit in the inviting recliner in the corner of the room.  His daughter was in a mood tonight.  She was usually a sound sleeper, but there were some nights where the only thing that would get her back in her crib until morning was being held until she was in a deep sleep.  

She quieted for a moment, then seemed to realize her error and ramped up her crying.  “It’s okay, Alex.  It’s okay.”  Kristoff rubbed her back and started to hum a song to her.

“Kristoff?”  Anna was standing in the doorway, her hair a mess and barely brushed back from her face.  “Is she okay?”

He nodded his head and walked towards Anna.  “Just one of those nights.”

Anna knew exactly what he meant and that it would take some time to get Alex to bed.  She held out her arms for the baby.  “Here, I’ll take her.  You stayed up with her last time.”  

“It’s okay.  You were already up earlier with her and you have a big day tomorrow.”

“You have to work too.” Anna took over rubbing the baby’s back for Kristoff.

“Light day tomorrow. I promise.  Go get some rest.”

Anna relented. “Fine.  As long as you don’t fall asleep in the recliner again with her. Last time it messed your back up for a week.”

“I won’t.”  Kristoff leaned down and kissed Anna on the forehead. “She’s already quieting down. I’ll be back in bed soon.”

Kristoff turned back into the room, humming softly.  Nights like this were long and he’d pay for it tomorrow, but the slight weight of his daughter in his arms was something he cherished, even at one in the morning.  In a blink of an eye, she was already four months old and he wanted to remember all these moments.  Kristoff took in any chance he had to be with her, soaking up the memory and looking forward to all the new ones his family would make.

He managed shuffle into their bedroom an hour later after placing the sleeping baby carefully back in her crib.  Kristoff sighed as his head hit the pillow and his arm wrapped around Anna, who was already curled along his side.  He was half asleep when she hooked a leg over his, pulling her body unconsciously higher on him and embedding firmly to him.  The connection to her brought sleep to him almost instantly.

 He didn’t even attempt to stop his yawn as he stood at the kitchen counter.  Kristoff reached up, grabbing two travel mugs out of the cabinet and poured the coffee into them.  After adding the sugar for Anna’s, he put the lid on both of them and went to the fridge to pull out two lunches he made the previous night.

They had a routine each morning.  It had been rocky the first couple weeks after Anna went back to work.  But they were almost a month in now and things were starting to settle in.  He grabbed the mugs and bags and headed towards the front door.  

“What time is it?” Anna came into the room looking frazzled.  “She wouldn’t stop feeding and I think I’m going to be late.”

“Relax.  You have plenty of time.”

Anna smiled. “Oh.  Well, in that case.  How do I look?”  She held out one arm with a bright smile, holding Alexandra with the other and spun around once.

Kristoff eyed her up and down.  “Hold on.”  He reached to her and closed a button on Anna’s blouse that she had missed. “There.  Now you look like you’re ready to win over a new client with your amazing campaign proposal.”

Anna handed the baby to Kristoff and then went up on her toes to kiss Kristoff.  “I know you’re biased.  But thank you.”  She quickly grabbed her jacket, bags and coffee and headed towards the door.

“Don’t forget, I’m picking up Alex from mom’s today.”

Anna stopped at the door and gave Kristoff a quizzical look.  He rolled his eyes, but smiled at her.  “Remember?  I’m dropping off kitchen designs at a customer’s house at 3, then I’ll swing by and pick her up.”

“Oh!”  Anna’s faced morphed into understanding.  “Yes, I totally remember and definitely would not have driven to your parent’s after work if you hadn’t just said that! Thanks!  Okay.  Gotta go. Love you!”

“Love you too,” Kristoff called back as Anna raced out the door.  

He was about to put the baby in the car seat when Anna popped her head back in the house.  “I almost forgot.  Surprise, surprise!  Check for a package when you get home.  Kathleen emailed me and said she was sending something.”

Kristoff paused. “…Oh, okay.  Did she what she was sending?”

“Nope!  Just that she had something for you and Alexandra.  Okay, bye for real!  Still love you!”

The door slammed and then it was quiet.  “Never a dull moment, huh Alex?”  The baby gurgled and punched her arms up and down in response.  “Alright,” he said placing her in the car seat.  “Time to go to grams.”

 Dinner had been a whirlwind. Kristoff cooked and he was still proud of the fact that he was able to make a presentable dinner and watch Alex at the same time.  They had even managed to all sit down together instead of picking their food here and there from the counter between taking care of Alex.  Anna told him about her day and how the presentation went. She was so excited that it had gone well.  Kristoff watched her as she told him all the details, his chin resting on his hand with a grin plastered on his face.  Her exuberance was uplifting and he sat there marveling at how happy he was for her.

It was quiet now.  Kristoff was in the kitchen again with Alex, leaning against the counter and waiting for her bottle to warm up.  She was already dressed in her pajamas.  Anna had bathed her and gotten her ready for bed and now was off in the family room talking to her sister.  

His eyes drifted until they landed on the brown box sitting at the edge of the counter.  It had been there on the front porch, just like Anna had mentioned.  She had asked him at least three times since she got home if he was going to open it. He could tell she was dying to know what was inside, even picking it up once and handing it to him.  He placed it down where it was still sitting.

After Alex goes to sleep, he told himself.  Maybe.  If he felt like it.  Or tomorrow. If he had a chance.  He knew he had to open it eventually.  There were probably clothes in there for Alex and Anna would want to dress her up and send Kathleen pictures of her in them.   Couldn’t let them go to waste.  

If he had known the contents were just for Alex, he wouldn’t have hesitated to open it.  But Anna said there was something for him in there.  It was likely something of his birth mother’s and he had to work up to that.  

Now it was just sitting there on the counter and he couldn’t stop staring at it.  He bent down, balancing Alex in one arm and opened up a bottom cabinet he knew they hadn’t fill up yet.  He hastily grabbed the box from the counter and shoved it onto the large shelf and closed the door.  Something about having it out of sight made him feel better.  He told himself he’d come back to it and went to stand back up.

The timer went off for the bottle, making him jump.  He got it ready and was about to walk upstairs when Anna came into the room. She was holding her phone looking nervous.

“So, umm.  Remember when I sort of accidently made your DNA profile public after you took the test?”

“Yes.”  Kristoff answered Anna slowly, wondering where she could possibly going with this.

“Then we found your aunt and now we have all this information on your mother and it’s great! That totally worked out in a roundabout way, didn’t it?”

She was forcing a smile. Kristoff could practically see her working through what she was going to say five thoughts from now and how she was going to get him to do exactly what she wanted.

“What is it?”  It came out shorter than Kristoff intended, but he needed to get Alex to bed and Anna to just spit out whatever she was trying to convince him to do.

“I got a notice from the website a few minutes ago.”

Kristoff relaxed and almost laughed.  “Let me guess.  They want you to renew.”  He continued his path to the bedroom.  “How much does that cost anyway?”

Anna was following closely behind him.  “You don’t want to know.”  She stood in the middle of the room watching Kristoff sit in the large reclining rocker which fit him perfectly.  He had complained non-stop about how much it cost when they bought it but was now grateful for the purchase.  “That’s not it.”

“No?”  As soon as Kristoff got Alex comfortable and gave her the bottle, he looked up at Anna.  She was still standing in the middle of the room, fiddling with her hands in front of her and looking anywhere in the room except at him.

“It’s a message from someone claiming to be a DNA match to you.”

 For five days Kristoff let the message sit there unopened.  He didn’t want to see it and he partly hoped there was a time limit on it that would make it disappear if he ignored it long enough.  At first he played it off to Anna that it was no big deal and that he didn’t care about it.  But it nagged at him and he grew more irritable knowing it was sitting there.

Anna wasn’t helping the situation either.  Or that’s at least what he kept telling himself every time she asked him what he was going to do.  Deep down he knew she was pushing him in the direction he needed to go and it only made him resist even more.  She switched tactics on the third day and told him flat out he needed to at least read it.  On the morning of fourth day he told her to read it herself if she wanted to know so bad what was there.  Then they fought over it and Kristoff felt so good when he decided not to talk to her for the rest of the day.  The high lasted exactly an hour and he was miserable the rest of the day at work. He couldn’t decide if he felt worse about Anna being right or that he had hurt her.  

Definitely the latter.

By the fifth day they had made up.  Anna was right, of course.  He had to read the message.  It was only going to eat away at him more and more the longer he put it off.  She offered to read it with him, sitting next to him and they’d figure out what came next together.

He hoped he’d feel better after he read the message.

He didn’t.          

 Fuck off.  

Probably not the best reply.

I appreciate you trying to reach out.    

No, that was horrible.

My profile was posted by accident.  I do not wish to be contacted.  Was that strong enough?  Kristoff thought for a minute then added.  Please respect my wishes to be left alone.  

There.  Done. He could send back a reply and put this whole thing behind him.  He didn’t want to know about any other family he may or may not have.  What he already knew was plenty.  All he had to do was hit send.  Easy.

Kristoff started thinking about the message he and Anna read the week before. It was from a girl, or really probably a woman.  Unless she was younger… or what if she was a lot older and that would just be the oddest thing.  She said her name was Victoria Palmer.  He wondered if she went by Victoria or if she preferred Vicky.  

“Make a decision?”  Kristoff glanced up from the laptop to see Anna walking towards the bed.

“Yes.”  He tried to sound assured, but his shoulders slumped and he stared back at the screen. “…No.  I don’t know what to do.”

Anna took the laptop from him and placed in on the bedside table.  She straddled his lap and put her hands on his shoulders.  “This has been eating at you for a week.” She bent forward and kissed his nose.  “I hate seeing you like this.”

Kristoff pulled Anna into a hug.  She had been so understanding all week, giving him space and knowing exactly when he needed a shoulder to lean on.  “I don’t know why it’s so hard.”  Kristoff let out a soft moan as Anna kneaded her fingers into the tense muscles of his upper back.  “What would you do?”

Anna’ hands pushed on his shoulders so she was back far enough to look directly at Kristoff.  “It doesn’t matter what I would do.  What do you want?”

He closed his eyes and sighed, leaning his head against the headboard. Anna slid over to his side, resting her head on Kristoff’s chest.  He moved his arm around her, pulling her closer.  

“She’s my sister.”  

It was the first time Kristoff had vocalized what he had been thinking all week. Anna tilted her head to look at him. She studied his expression for a minute before tucking her head back down and running her fingers in circles on his chest.  “We don’t know that.  A 25% match could be someone else.  She could be your aunt or-“

“You’re humoring me now.”  Kristoff huffed a laugh and ran his hand up and down Anna’s arm absentmindedly.  “We both know she’s my sister.  She almost said it herself in the message.  That she’s been trying to figure out how we could be related.  That nothing made sense until she confronted her dad.  Fuck.  Anna, she’s talking about my birth father.”

The room fell quiet.  Kristoff focused on Anna’s hand, still running soothingly along his chest.  

“I would want to know.”

“What?”  

Her words were so soft that Kristoff wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly. Anna sat up and faced him.  “You asked me what I would do and I’d want to know.” She took his hand in hers, spinning the wedding band around his finger.  “I don’t have any family anymore.  It’s just me and Elsa and if there was a chance there was someone out there…”  She faltered on the last word then took a deep breath.  “I’d want to take that chance.”

“But…”  Anna squeezed his hand, stopping his thought.

“Kris.”  She said his name so soft and loving.  “There’s no wrong answer.  I’ll support whatever decision you make.  But if you have any doubts, even the smallest question, it may be worth seeing where this goes.  We can stop contact whenever you want.”

Kristoff took in her words carefully.  He did have questions.  And none of them could be answered from his mother’s side of the family.  If he wanted a chance of having them answered, he’d have to take the first step down this path.  “Alright,” he answered her.

Anna grabbed his face and kissed him.  Full with a forcefulness that he responded to eagerly.  

“I knew that’s what you wanted,” Anna said after pulling away from him.

“You’re rather convincing.”

She smiled, keeping her hands cupped on his cheeks.  “Only if you aren’t doing this for me.  Only if it’s what you really want.”

Kristoff grinned back at her.  “Hand me the laptop.”

He finally knew what to say.  It was simple and answered the only question that was asked in the message.  At the very end, Victoria had asked bluntly if the name Samantha meant anything to him.

He typed back 5 words and hit send.

My mother’s name is Samantha.

[lukin08]

The Heart of the Matter- Chapter 1

Based off this adoption drabble here

A/N: Before we start, you should know that this is only happening because of @kristoffxannafanatic.  I loved this idea, but didn’t know what to do with it.  She came up with a whole story line I couldn’t resist and answered the “What comes next?” from the original drabble.  And guess what?  This chapter is hers.  I only edited it and made some updates (with her approval) and I think she did a wonderful job setting up the story.  Hope you enjoy this!

Rating: T (for talk of adoption and minor swearing)

Words: ~2300

Master Post

Uncomplicated.

That is the word Kristoff Bjorgman would use to describe himself.  He didn’t crave danger or drama. The only excitement he found exhilarating was playing hockey or watching it with his brother.  He liked a job well done, being alone and hiking in the trails in the state parks.  A vacation for him was roughing it with a tent and minimal supplies as far away from anyone as he could get.  The only thing he considered mildly interesting about himself was his background. With the exception of being adopted as a baby and having a different last name than his family, he would say he was the most boring person alive.

He was never interested in who his birth parents were, never looked up the meaning of the name Bjorgman or questioned his linage because he had no plans on having a family of his own.  Whatever was part of Kristoff that had made him so unwanted was best to let die with him.

He didn’t believe in most kinds of love anyway.  The concept was a fairy tale with stories of true love and happily ever after.  But what came after that?  In most cases, at least those he observed, it only lead to broken promises and heart ache.  Kristoff was perfectly content with his parents, Bulda and Cliff and his older brother, Sven.  He shared a bond with Sven, both orphaned and taken in by the most wonderful people that dared to love the undesired.  That love was unconditional and hard work.  That love he accepted.  

Kristoff was slow paced, calm and always thought everything through.  Never a leap before you think kind of person until…

The day Anna Arendelle came crashing into it.

Anna was everything Kristoff was never attracted to in other girls.  He dated, but it was always with women who were never serious about a relationship. Lovely girls, but like Kristoff, it was always more of a physical attraction and they would let the relationship fizzle out with both parties happy to go their own ways.

Anna was high energy, bubbly, passionate, happy and definitely a leap before you look type of person. She annoyed Kristoff beyond belief at first and quickly had him at his wits end.  But there was something about Anna that wouldn’t leave him alone. He couldn’t stop thinking about the feisty redhead no matter how hard he tried.  It drove him crazy because she was the opposite of everything he was or thought he wanted.  Kristoff resisted his attraction for weeks but there was no use.  He needed to get to know her.

He stumbled over his words when he asked her out, convinced she would try not to laugh at him and find a polite way to turn him down.  But when he looked down at her he was met with an excited face and exuberant ‘of course!’ From that moment on, he never looked back.  Kristoff’s life went from black and white to Technicolor.

Anna made him the happiest man alive. She introduced him to a life full of new and exciting experiences. She made him want to try everything and he found himself opening up more and more each day.  She also seemed fascinated with what he had to say and think.  Maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t as boring as he once thought.  With her, he pictured a life full of fun, adventure and a family of their own.

His mom couldn’t stop hugging Anna when they announced their engagement to his parents.  His dad told him how proud he was and Sven said he knew Kristoff had it in him and reminded him that he was one lucky guy to have found someone like Anna.  Then Bulda swept him up again into a tight embrace, amazingly strong for such a small woman.  She had always told him love would find him if he let it and he was grateful now that all his eye rolls and denials had been so wrong.

Anna loved being so welcomed into Kristoff’s family.  Her parents had died when she was a teenager and her sister lived so far away and it was so lonely all the time.  Kristoff’s family gave her back that sense of belonging.  Bulda was there for every part of planning the wedding, offering support and a motherly hand.  She was invited to every family dinner and holiday, with or without Kristoff, his mom would kid.  His family were the first ones there to help carry boxes in when Kristoff and Anna moved into their home.  Their love for her was unconditional.

Anna always knew Kristoff was adopted.  It was a conversation that had come up early in their relationship.  Anna understood how Kristoff felt about it, how he was happy with the family he had.  As much as she was curious about his background, she respected how he felt and didn’t push him to find out more.  But when they began to discuss trying to get pregnant, Anna’s curiosity got the best of her.  She started to ask Kristoff if he was interested in finding out who his birth parents were.  It seemed a natural part of the conversation.  Kristoff would listen to her talk, but always managed to change the subject whenever she pressed him more.  Eventually she let it drop.  

It wasn’t until Anna was 4 months pregnant that the subject came up again.  They were lying in bed and Kristoff was rubbing Anna’s small baby bump and singing to their baby.

“Are you scared?” Anna asked.

Kristoff stopped his singing.  “I’m terrified… you?”

Anna raised her arms up. “Of course I am!  We’re going to be responsible for a little human being! It’s amazing I can even take care of myself and now we have to keep a very small, very tiny person alive.”

Kristoff let out a belly laugh. “Stop! You’re going to be a great mom.”

Anna knew this was the perfect chance to bring up the subject again. Making sure to use all of her beguiling charms, she smiled wryly at him. “Kris, I think you’re going to be a natural at this.  Just you wait.”

He knew what she was up to. She only called him Kris when she was being seductive or wanted something. “The jury is still out on that.  I know what kind of dad Cliff is and I can only hope to be a fraction as good as him. But as far as natural… that will always be a mystery.”

“Maybe it doesn’t have to be.”

“Anna-“

“Don’t you want to know?”

Kristoff shrugged.  “They haven’t tried to find me. Why should I find them?”

Anna couldn’t believe his lack of interest. “What if they couldn’t?  What if it was an unavoidable decision and they are afraid to interfere in your life? What if it was a hard, sad decision they had to make and are waiting for you to be ready to reach out?”

He gave a grumbled “Hmph” and laid his head down on the pillow.

Anna wasn’t going to give up that easy.  She rolled over on her side, hooking and arm around his waist.  “Well, what if we do just the nationality portion of the DNA test? You don’t have to share it with anyone, but I think it could give us some useful information.  Then you’ll know your background!”

“We’ve already figured from my name that I’m of some Scandinavian country. Isn’t that enough?”

“That is only part of who you are.  And you have two parents.  That doesn’t mean that’s all there is to know.”

Kristoff rubbed his eyes with his plam.  “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

Anna lifted her head and gave him that smug look she always gave when she won an argument. “Nope.”

“Ugh.  I swear one day you’re going to be the death of me.”

Anna’s face turned serious. “Kris, it isn’t just for you but our daughter. You want what’s best for her don’t you?  This information will help her.  It’s something she should know.”

Kristoff quirked an eyebrow at her.  “A daughter?  Is there something you haven’t told me or an appointment I missed?”

Anna’s grin was back. “Nope.  I just know.”

Kristoff gave her that sexy growl Anna loved so much and he pulled her closer to him.  He started kissing her collarbone and slowly worked he way up her neck and along her jaw on his way up to her smug smile and kissed her deeply. He pulled his head back and looked at her.  “Okay. For the baby.  But only the nationality test.”

Anna returned his kiss with passion.  When they broke apart, she moved her lips to his ear and whispered.  ”You won’t regret it, Kris.”

“I’m going to hold you to that, babe.”  Kristoff titled Anna’s head back so he could kiss her again.

 Alexandra Elsa Bjorgman was born at 7:19 am weighing in at 7lbs 2oz and 19 inches long.

Kristoff cried the moment she was placed in his arms. He couldn’t believe how in love he was with her. She was only a few minutes old, how could he be so wrapped around her little finger already? He knew he was going to do everything in his power to be a great father.

That included accepting who he was by answering the email sent by his maternal aunt who found him from the DNA website database.  

It was easy to miss.  A tiny checkbox on the profile page you had to set up in order to get your DNA results. Anna hadn’t caught it and that small overlook made Kristoff’s results public.  It was how his aunt found him and it opened up a world of information.

His aunt’s name was Kathleen and she told him his mother’s name was Samantha. She had promised Samantha years ago before she died, that she would find him one day and tell him how much his mother loved him.  His aunt also had an unmatched drive for Kristoff to know what an amazing woman his mother was.  

As much as his mother wanted to keep him, she wanted what was best for her baby.  And what was best for him was giving him a family who could love and provide for him.  Her only request was for him to keep his first name because he was named after his grandfather who was willing to support his daughter even if she decided she wanted to keep her baby.  When Kristoff told his aunt his parents had also kept his last name that was on his original birth certificate, she was stunned.  It was a few days before she was able to email him back, telling him to thank his parents and that it would have meant so much to Samantha.

At first Kristoff was reluctant to tell Kathleen about Alex.  His mom encouraged him to share that with his aunt, but Kristoff still resisted.  It was Anna’s guidance that got him to change his mind.  “She’s family,” Anna said simply.  Kristoff relented and told Kathleen one of the reasons he was open to meeting his biological family was because he and his wife had just had a baby and he wanted to be able to share everything with her. He sent the email and attached a few pictures of Alex and a picture of the three of them for her to see.

Kathleen was overjoyed to be able to tell her sister’s story.  She said Samantha was so loving, caring and gentle. She had hoped that someday Kristoff would try to find out who his mother was and she had so much to share.  She told Kristoff that his grandparents had come from Norway and that Kathleen and Samantha were the first generation of Bjorgmans born in the US.  She told him stories about his grandparents and about the family history and suddenly there was a whole world beyond the data the DNA test had first given him.

He knew his mother had passed away from the beginning.  It was one of the first things Kathleen told him over email as if she was sending him a warning not to get his hopes up.  She had been gone for ten years and he accepted it.  But the more he learned about his mother, the more bittersweet it became.  He had more questions whenever he spoke with Kathleen.  Questions that she couldn’t answer and his mother held all the answers to. Kristoff found himself wondering what mundane thing he had been doing when he was eighteen on the day she died.

Kristoff asked about his father but his aunt, after some reluctance, admitted she didn’t know who he was. Samantha never told her, only saying once that he left as soon as she told him she was pregnant.  Kristoff could sense the bitterness in his aunt, so he dropped the subject. He had already found out so much and was surprised at how happy and fulfilled it made him.  It was enough for him.  He had a history that he could share with his daughter.  If Kathleen didn’t have the answers, the rest was a dead end anyway. And besides, he shouldn’t be wasting his thoughts on someone who clearly wanted no part of him.

Kathleen began sending random packages with pictures of Samantha, Kathleen, his grandparents- anything that she would come across.  He finally had a face to put to part of who he was.  Anna cried when she first saw a picture of Samantha, telling Kristoff how beautiful she was and how there was an uncanny resemblance between her and Alexandra.  Kristoff was happy to store these treasures away for Alex but there was a nagging question that he couldn’t shake.  Who was his father and did the son of a bitch leave a young woman in a bad situation without remorse?

[lukin08]

Modern AU where Kristoff is adopted and doesn’t remember his birth parents because he was given up so young. Anna asks him every now and then if he wants to find out about them, but he’s never really been interested.  On rare occasions, he wonders why his birth parents gave him up, but he always assumes they passed or were too young or whatever and it’s best to just let things be.  He ended up with great adoptive parents and that’s his family, end of story.  It’s not until after he marries Anna and after they find out they are going to be parents that the topic comes up again.  He mentions it in passing that it would be nice to know his background so he could share it with their child.  There’s also one thing that’s always nagged him.  His name.  His mom and dad didn’t change it from the original birth certificate.  His mom told him once that it was the one thing from his birth parents they were able to give him and thought it was important to keep.

It's Anna who asks him one day if he would at least like to know his background.  She tells him about the DNA registry she read about and all it takes is a few swipes on the inside of his cheek and in a few months he’ll have a detailed layout of his heritage.  He balks at first, saying he doesn’t want to do it, but eventually relents.  It would be nice to know and he has to admit he’s a little curious.  So he takes the test.  Anna sets up a profile for him on the site and in a few months she gets the email that the results are in.  

When they look at the results, it’s not too surprising.  Anna tells him with a large smile that she just knew he was mostly Norwegian.  But there’s more there and they go over it together.  It gives Kristoff some solace he’ll be able to share this with their future daughter.

That seems to be the end of it until a few weeks later Anna gets a notification that there’s a message on Kristoff’s profile.  She checks it and is stunned by what she reads.  A woman is claiming to be Kristoff’s aunt.  She says she got a ping on her family tree about a DNA match with Kristoff.  When Anna set up Kristoff’s profile, she didn’t realize she allowed for his results to match up with others and for people to be able to contact him.

 Anna tells Kristoff about it and at first he wants nothing to do with it.  Anna doesn’t bring it up again and Kristoff is able to ignore it for awhile.  But he keeps thinking about it-  he tells himself it would be nice to possibly have more information for his daughter and it has nothing to do with him wanting to know what happened and find out about his name or maybe even see what one or both of his parents looked like.  He can’t shake it and finally relents one night and responds to the message.  

Turns out the woman is indeed the younger sister of his birth mother.  She’s put her profile on the three main DNA sites just in case her nephew ever tried to reach out.  His aunt tells him that his mother was very young when she had him and as much as she wanted to keep him, she also knew she wasn’t in a position to take care of him the way she wanted and said he deserved.  He learns his mother passed away when he was a teenager, but she lead a full life and never stopped thinking about him.

His aunt never mentions anything about his father and when Kristoff gets up enough nerve to ask, his aunt admits she doesn’t know who he is.  His mother never told her.  Kristoff drops it, happy that he’s found out so much already about one of his parents.  

She does give him three precious gifts.  He now knows his mother’s name was Samantha.  She’s also able to tell him that his mother named him after his grandfather.  Most importantly, there’s a group of photos of his mother that she sends to him.  Knowing what his mother looked like is beyond Kristoff’s wildest imagination and when their daughter is born, Anna swears she can see an uncanny resemblance between granddaughter and grandmother.

Month’s go by and the family settles in.  Kristoff keeps in touch with his aunt, but he doesn’t ever go back and check the website.  He’s in kitchen one evening, feeding their daughter when Anna comes in holding her phone out.  There’s another message.  It’s from a woman who claims she shares the same 25% DNA as him.  She says she’s been trying to figure it out for awhile since that connection should lead to a grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, but there’s no one that fits that profile or missing from her family.  She goes on to mention that there is only one other option.  That she confronted her father and there is something she needs to ask.  If he’s ever heard of a name or is familiar with a person because if he is, it can only mean one thing.  The last line in the message asks if the name Samantha means anything to him...