#i love anna but i can't really deny the facts. she kind of set the rest of solaris' life up for rage and misery.

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

charming and good: dr prism and solaris, both being ex-zoraxis operatives who don't feel safe enough to turn to the agency, working together post the events of 3 to pursue their crafts without death or capture looming above their necks

charming and evil: solaris- through prism- learns that anna is alive, and immediately drops everything she is doing to find her and tear her limb from limb for being the catalyst to the destruction of her death engine

[flying-fangirls]

Watching my little (half) joke post after Part 43 spark some discussion has made me think a lot over this for the past couple days, and I think I've pinpointed my main frustration with the women of Malevolent overall.

Simply put: the women of Malevolent do not get to have a voice.

Yes, literally they aren't voice-acted by Harlan. But I don't really want to get into that side of the topic here. I'm saying figuratively women do not have their own voice in this show.

Who is Bella outside of her relationships to Arthur or Daniel? Did she like music too, was she sarcastic or sincere, what was her biggest goal in life? Who is Faroe outside of how she makes Arthur feel? Who are Anna and Amanda outside of their connections to the King in Yellow? And I don't mean just a quick sentence-long description about them, I mean a genuine in-depth answer to "Who are they?"

Secondary characters that are men/male-aligned (Noel, Oscar, Collins, etc) have a strong sense of individual personality and motivations, enough that you could get a decent amount of discussion/analysis about them if you wanted. You can't get that kind of character discussion for the women if you tried because the show simply does not provide it for you, no matter how integral to the plot their characters (or concept of a character) may be. Heck, Shub set up the plot of this whole show and yet she's so nothing of a character that she's practically just a name to throw around when it sounds cool.

Almost everything we know about the women comes from men's perspectives, either through their side of relationships or through quick mentions of the women without any real substance to who those women really were. Other people have suggested the idea of finding a journal or a few more letters from Amanda to give her character more time/attention-- something similar could be done with any of the other women too, anything that lets their personalities/unique motivations be directly shown instead of vaguely mentioned or hinted at by men.

(I'll admit that I do think Marie is written more along the lines of secondary characters like Oscar, and I'm pretty happy with her character! But the fact that she's the only woman I can think of to break that pattern is... not great)

And yes I know that there are men in this show that also do not get to have their own voice (Roland, Parker, Henry, etc.) That's expected! All stories have characters that act as collateral or tools to move the plot/main characters forward. But when every single female character serves as a plot device with no strong sense of unique self, while only some of the male characters get that same treatment and the rest get plenty of personality and individuality-- that's when it becomes a problem.

The women of Malevolent get names (or, some of them do), they get roles and influence within the plot, and a few of them get small glimpses of what could be a personality if you look for it. But the women of Malevolent do not get a voice. We can see the vague shape of them on the edges of the show, but we never get the chance to hear them. And they never get the chance to speak themselves, to be heard.

I love Malevolent-- really, truly love this show. Which is why it's only so much more frustrating for me when it overall struggles to give its female characters the same respect as its male characters. Again, I'm not talking about the voice-acting, and I completely skipped the expanded cast of female characters (the wraith, the widow, the witch, etc.) and my concerns with what kinds of women are represented in the show and how they're presented. This post is really just me trying to express a genuine frustration that I (and at least a few other people) have with the writing of this show, and try to explain why those frustrations exist.

I promise this is NOT meant to be an attack on anyone and I'm not trying to deny other perspectives on this topic. This is also NOT an attack on Harlan or the podcast as a whole. I'm just trying to share some thoughts here.

[legends-of-time]

The Journey of Living at Downton

Chapter 18: April to Early May 1920

Masterlist

A/N: Hated working out which months are what for season 3. Literally, you would look at the wiki pages for Sybil and her daughter on their death/birth and it would say between April and August or some episodes this season say they happened April, May or June. It's really confusing.

——

Emma and Tom return to Dublin just as Sybil and Billy return to Southampton.

After a month Mary and Matthew return from their honeymoon. Spent a short time with Lady Rosamund before staying in the south of France.

Gemma tells her of the tension between Thomas and Miss O'Brien due to Thomas not being too kind to Alfred. Emma worries how far these two would take it, particularly the damage they could cause with how much dirt they have on each other.

Mary and Edith talk of Mrs Crawley having a new occupation, but one that the Dowager doesn't think appropriate as it's about helping prostitutes improve their lives. Finding different employment as many have had to do this to survive as their husbands, fathers, etc. died in the war.

She also hears from Mary about the plan to fleece her American grandmother more money to save Downton. Matthew is definitely the heir but refuses to accept the money so Mary has a new plan. The plan is to have an extremely grand dinner to show why Downton matters and cannot be allowed to fall apart. The problems, however, started when Matthew and Lord Grantham both appear in black ties and not in their tails with white ties. Then the range in the kitchen goes out completely and there's no dinner to serve to all the lords and ladies that have arrived. Mary laments the horror of what happened next. Martha declares they were going to have an indoor picnic, with everyone eating whatever they want, wherever they want, all over the house. Emma wonders if the servants had any food for themselves. In the end, Martha denies that she is able to help them as her late husband had tied up the money. Emma feels sorry that the family is losing their home though can't help but think they shouldn't really complain as they won't be destitute.

Anna talks of a lead she has that might help Mr Bates. She points out the oddity of the fact that Vera would write an incriminating letter instead of seeing her friend, a Mrs Bartlett, who lives just around the corner. Emma agrees with her on how odd it is and encourages Anna to go and visit the woman.

Emma is heavily pregnant and ready to burst any second when she receives news of Edith's wedding that will occur in late May. Baby will definitely be borne by then and they'll be up for travel. Emma is happy for Edith though unsure of the choice but if it's what she wants then good for her.

——

At the beginning of May, it starts.

"TOM!!!" Emma yells. She thwacks her husband who lies asleep next to her. Her contractions are closer together than she realised so Emma must've been progressing through the early stages without realising while she was asleep.

"Is it time?" Tom asks blearily but Emma can see the adrenaline kicking in.

"Yes! Get the midwife, your mother and sisters." Tom leaves to do just that. Emma had picked a home birth because other than it still being in fashion to do so, she had heard too many horror stories of women facing infection in the early years of labour shifting from home to the hospital. Emma, among her pains, sets some hot water to boil and grabs many towels and pillows to their bedroom then flops onto the bed to wait for everyone.

Mrs Branson, Bridget and Ellen all arrive in a flurry with the midwife, a local woman, behind them. It takes hours, which Emma expected as this is her first, but after 10 hours after her labour began, Emma finally gives birth to a baby girl.

"She's so beautiful," Tom murmurs as he takes in the sight of his daughter in Emma's arms. "Oh, my darling, I do love you so much." He presses a watery kiss to Emma's forehead.

Emma gives out a laugh. "I'm just glad she's here."

"What will my granddaughter be called then?" Tom's mother calls from where she sits at the end of the bed.

"Ivy Caitríona," Emma replies. Ivy gives a slight wriggle, probably getting used to the less warm atmosphere and all the room she now has. Emma has always liked the name Ivy and it's handy that the name fits in this time period as well. Caitríona is a good Irish name that Emma felt drawn to though she needed Tom's help with the pronunciation.

"What a lovely name," Ellen says. Emma beams before looking down at her daughter. She can't believe that this is real.

——

In the first week, Ivy is able to lift her head briefly when placed on her tummy. She focuses on objects that are within 8 to 12 inches away. The next week, Ivy seems to be able to follow them with her eyes. Emma is thrilled that by week three Ivy snuggles with both her and Tom when they hold her.

Emma is loving the happy baby bubble they have developed but knows that at the end of the month, they are to return to England for Edith's wedding.

——

A/N: I'm not an expert on giving birth let alone what it was like as someone in the working class in the early 20th century.

Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

NOTE: HAPPY FROZEN II DEBUT! Enjoy the last chapter for a bit! We promise, you'll have part 3 (the final arc of this continual storyline) soon as we can get it edited properly! Until then, see ya and enjoy the new movie!

Jessica X and Fruipit

                                              CHAPTER 11

After dinner, they tried to just hang out and be comfortable with each other again, and they did succeed. To a degree. It wasn't completely the same, but at least they could talk and laugh, enjoy each other's company. That was the most important thing.

Still… something was missing, and it couldn't be denied. Anna knew, deep in her heart, that it was the Elsa-Tori component to their relationship. They had tried ignoring it, and it almost worked; they were able to share small moments, talk about their days. And that part was great! But that desire always rose to the surface again at some point.

Elsa might have been older, but this version of her was glamorous and attractive. Anna had never had a 'thing' for older women, either; this was completely new territory. In fact, she didn't develop crushes beyond simply thinking someone was cute on a regular basis. Apparently, it had to be giving her own mother a simple massage that forced her to admit her feelings.

Then there was Punz. How would she feel about this? That she still had these feelings, that they weren't all left behind in the 80s? What a minefield she had stumbled into!

When bedtime came close, she waited for Elsa to announce that she was going. Then Anna followed her into the bedroom. She was silent as she watched Elsa unbutton her shirt. Then, as she was unzipping the side of her skirt, she turned… and saw her there.

"Yes?" she asked as mildly as she could. When Anna only shrugged, she said, "I really don't know if it's very smart for you to stand there while I change."

But Anna didn't reply. After a few seconds, Elsa opened her mouth as if to speak further. But instead, she closed it again and finished unzipping the pencil skirt, letting it drop to around her ankles.

Anna had to swallow a couple of times. Sure, Elsa's body wasn't 17 years old, and there were signs of it. Subtle stretch marks and cellulite was present – perhaps Elsa thought the sight would run Anna off. Make her realise that she was thirty years older and Anna wasn't interested.

If that was her intention, it had the opposite effect.

Talking would have ruined it, Anna felt, so she said nothing as she stepped forward. Elsa had crossed her legs where she stood, and she didn't keep going. Waiting for a reaction. Still, she seemed mildly surprised when Anna bent down to pick the skirt up. Elsa had to move so she was no longer standing in it, and while she kept her eyes trained on her daughter, Anna actually kept hers lowered. She didn't want to see what was on her mother's face. Not yet. So she picked the skirt up and set it on the duchess.

Then, she approached her mother. Before Elsa had a chance to back away further, Anna's nimble fingers were at the hem of her blouse, fingers slowly undoing the bottom buttons. There was a gasp, but no complaint.

When she slid the shirt back and off, Elsa began to whisper, "Listen… Anna, I don't think you realise what-"

"No," Anna whispered, raising a single finger to rest against her lips. Her mother's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Not 'Anna' tonight."

"We can't. Please, I don't want…" But Anna was fixing her with a pointed stare. And for the first time since she had arrived in this alternate present, Elsa looked just as scared and confused as the Elsa she had left behind in the past. "Tori, I don't know if I could live with myself afterward. And you know why."

At least she respected Anna's wish. That deserved Anna respecting one of hers in return. "I know. And I get that, but… I don't know if I can handle dancing around it."

"What dancing?" Her lips quivered, and she raised a hand to cup Anna's cheek… and she felt gooseflesh burst out all over her arms and legs. "I know what I want. But I can't have it. Don't you understand that? We have a hard time resisting this pull, but I can't… I still don't want to hurt my little girl!"

The tears were coming. Trying to head them off, she whispered, "I'm not a little girl anymore. Maybe I'm your daughter, but I'm no child. We are both old enough to know what we want – and we are both crazy about each other. What else matters?"

"Only everything!" As the moisture collected at the corners of her eyes, Elsa chanced a weak little smile. "Crazy about me, huh?"

"Yeah. I don't really get it, either; I mean, I still like Punz just as much as I did before, but you are so…" Her words ran out, so instead she only pressed a hand into the one cupping her cheek, holding it there while she let her eyes fall closed. Basking in this closeness that they could only so rarely enjoy.

"I may have exaggerated how over Tori… over you, I was," Elsa admitted, and it was clear to Anna that it had been a struggle for her to say. Still, progress, she thought. "I still want you. But I don't know if I can handle the repercussions."

"I know I could." Anna slipped into a sitting position on the bed, pulling Elsa around to face her, burying her nose in her stomach, planting feather light kisses on her abdomen.

Elsa exhaled sharply, the sheer eroticism of the moment not lost on her. "Wait. Stop." Anna complied, although she looked mildly hurt. "I don't want to do this to you," she started before Anna cut her off.

"Do what, Elsa? I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions and I'm telling you I want this!"

"You want to cheat on Jennifer?" Elsa shot back, a brief flash of anger in her voice. "You want to become some kind of heart breaking monster? With your own mother, is that what you want?"

The guilt hit Anna like a freight train and she felt herself coming apart a little. Elsa pulled her close, the hug turning more platonic as her voice turned gentler again.

"You want to do this, Tori? Lets do it right, or not at all. Heaven knows I'm going to struggle with this madness enough as it is." Elsa stroked Anna's hair as she reflected that never before in her life had getting something she wanted hurt so very, very much.

"Elsa…" She let that much slip. Just enough, the amount needed to show that she still saw her that way. Then she hugged back harder. "Okay. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so pushy… just… wh-when I want you so much…"

She could feel her mother nodding. "You haven't had thirty years to figure out your feelings like I have. Everything's so fresh and new, especially sexuality… I tried to tell you that was the difference. Why I'm trying to navigate this for both of us. Not because it's impossible for you, but because it's… harder without as much experience. That's all."

"I know, Mom. I know. Maybe at first I thought you were kind of… treating me like a kid, and you still kinda are, but I know you're not doing it to be mean! God!"

"Of course not. I love you so much… I never would want to hurt you, even the slightest amount!"

Drawing back, Anna kissed her lips very briefly, and she felt Elsa's shock. But she drew back right after. "You wouldn't be. And if I thought you really don't want to… be with me like that, I'd back off. But between you waking me up like that, and that foot massage… and how good you look right now…"

"I look old," Elsa tried to correct her, cupping her cheek. "And I am. You should be with someone your own age. Even if it wasn't Jennifer, someone a little closer…"

But Anna couldn't focus on the latter part of that. She could only focus on the former. "You think you look 'old'? And that's it, not 'good for your age', or 'DAMN what a hot mom'? Bullshit. You're amazing."

"Anna, that's not… normal," she said, cheeks turning darker. "You shouldn't be attr- like older women. You shouldn't want to be with… me…"

"But I want to!" Anna cried. And yeah she really felt like crying because Elsa was half-naked next to her and she was craving. So. Bad. The peaks of Elsa's nipples still stood out against her chest, though not so much as before. Good. That was for the best. It reminded Anna of that moment on Doc's couch, testing the waters with Elsa. Testing herself, too.

She knew how upset Punz would be about this development. And it wasn't one of those 'too-late-to-turn-back-now' kinds of things. They absolutely could recover from this; choices were involved. Deliberate choices.

Closing her eyes, Anna surged forward, pressing her lips solidly against Elsa's. They stayed there, kneading softly, before she backed away. Swallowing her tears, she stood from the bed. Elsa looked exactly how she felt: flushed, aroused. Sad. But she at least still managed a soft smile, gentle even though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I think… it's time for bed, Anna."

"I'm sorry, Mom… I'm really, really sorry."

"Goodnight," she croaked. Anna just nodded and retreated to her room.

It took a very long time to fall asleep that night.

                                                         ~ o ~

The next few days were awkward. Anna hadn't had a chance to talk to Punz, and each moment that passed just made it hard to bring up what was on her mind. Jennifer, bless her soul, didn't pry, even though she knew something was up.

And Anna didn't push her mother any further. The morning after, she woke up horrified to remember how forward she was. With all they had discussed before that! She knew that she was right about how strong their attraction was, but at the same time… Elsa was right, too. They couldn't be together. No one would ever accept a mother and daughter dating; not a biological pair like they were. Between that and the part where they also still wanted that mother-daughter relationship at the same time, it was a huge problem all around. Telling herself that didn't help as much as it should, though.

Finally, she did break down and tell Jennifer on their way home from school Thursday. And she was upset, and did try to reprimand Anna a few times, but with all the sobbing Anna was doing she eventually gave it up as useless. Not to mention adding insult to injury.

"Guess it was too much to hope that you could just say 'the past is in the past' and the feelings would go away," she finally whispered into Anna's hair after twenty minutes of gross feelings being expunged.

"I'm sorry!" she growled into Punz's jacket lapel. "I tried, I really did, I thought I could do it, but she's just… I can't forget, I can't!"

Hands caressed up and down her back for a few seconds. "You don't have to forget. You just have to move on. That is possible, you know. So… maybe it's time to really think about… seeing someone. Professionally."

Anna nodded pathetically. "I know," she said softly. "It's… been mentioned…"

Punz made a soft noise, her hands gently scratching through Anna's hair. She was silent for a moment, but at least this silence wasn't judgmental at all. When finally she did speak, it was to say something so entirely unexpected that, had Anna still been crying, it would have been enough to shut her up.

"What if… we went to see Doc Pabbie?"

"Um…" Anna began as she stared at her. The idea was so ludicrous that at first she had no idea what to say. "Punz…you know he's not like… that kind of doctor, don't you?"

Punz nodded, a quick jerky movement that had her looking more excited than anything. "I know, but he's a genius!" she said, leaning back enough so she could see Anna proper. "He's got a time machine. He's probably been to the future! Why don't we just ask him for some… y'know… help?"

"Well…" Anna didn't know what to follow that up with. "Well, I… guess it couldn't hurt. But I still don't know what you think he could do for us."

"Has to be better than feeling like a weird mother-lover all the time." Patting her knee, she nodded at the steering wheel. "Come on. Let's go see what he has to say."

                                                        ~ o ~

"Great Scott."

Sighing, Anna flopped back into the couch. That had been about what she expected from him: a muttered oath of surprise and no true answers. "Yeah."

"Hmm. For some reason, I had not suspected it would continue to grow more wildly out of control in such a fashion, especially once you had been returned to your original time period… but apparently, this inexorable pull of yours can't be held back with a few choice words."

"It's kind of freaking me out by this point. Like, we both have been actually trying to just be… family, and then this. And I do love Punz!" Here, she picked up Jennifer's hand and squeezed it, and got a squeeze in return. Not an enthusiastic one, but she was there, being supportive. It counted for a lot. "So… is there anything you know from the future that could help me figure this out?"

"Oh, no no no, my dear girl," he said with a nervous chuckle as he went back to sketching something on his writing desk. It was some kind of design that looked like a train, but Anna was too preoccupied to take a closer look. "No relevant information to mother-daughter relations, I'm afraid."

Jennifer leaned in a little. "What about something to block unwanted thoughts? Like, for both of them. Some kind of future technology?"

Again, he shook his head. "Do you know the side effects should anyone uncover future technology here?" he asked. "It would be disastrous!" When both Anna and Punz just cocked an eyebrow and looked at the DeLorean, he relented. "Well, fine, it does exist. It was ruled unconscionable by the International Human Rights Services – very dangerous, and it could permanently hinder your ability to learn new information. Imagine being stuck with only your current knowledge from 2015 and before for the rest of your lives! Sorry girls, you're going to have to do this the hard way."

Anna could have cried. Why was this so impossible? She felt Punz squeeze her hand again, this one far more sympathetic than before. Looked like a ridgy-didge mind-doctor was the only way to go. Surely the confidentiality clause meant they wouldn't go to the cops for incestuous liaisons – or time travel. Hopefully they also wouldn't share stories at yearly Shrink Festivals or anything like that, either.

"Also, tell your mother the same thing. She's likely forgotten if she didn't tell you."

Wait, what? Anna turned to Punz, only to find her girlfriend already looking at her. Okay, so she didn't misunderstand that.

"Doctor Pabbie…" Punz hedged, "Are you… are you saying that Mrs McFly has come to see you?"

He just looked at the two of them. "Why, of course she has! Where else would she have gone when she realised?"

"Literally anywhere else but here!" Anna cried. "What did she want?"

Suddenly, for the very first time since she'd met him, Doc looked quite unsure of himself. "I think… perhaps… you should talk to your mother…"

"That's not very easy right now, Doc! Haven't you been listening? I'm going out of my head here, I…"

"Talk to her. Just… sit down, keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourselves, and speak to each other with unflinching honesty. There's always a way forward if you keep looking for it. Do you know who taught me that?"

Sighing, she rubbed her forehead, not ready for some history lesson. "Who?"

"You."

"HUH?"

Gesturing to his desk, he smiled over at her. "Coming to me from the future, telling me that my efforts would pay off? It gave me a glimpse of a brighter path. Evidently, one that I didn't need or I would never have invented the time machine in the first place, which would cause a chain reac-"

"Yeah, yeah, paradox thing." Then she allowed herself a slight smile. "Some good things did come out of me fucking everything up, I guess."

"You didn't ruin the future, Anna. Don't worry."

As she got up and Punz went along with her, she paused by the door to look over her shoulder. The old man looked like he had a thousand things on his mind. "You know… even though I had to go back in time and hit on Elsa to get the mother I always wanted, weirdness or no weirdness… I didn't have to do that to find a good dad." And that was as direct as she felt like she could be with him.

                                                        ~ o ~

Punz offered to stick around for the talk, but Anna wouldn't hear of it. This wasn't her fight, and it wasn't the kind of potential ugliness she wanted her girlfriend to have to deal with. Not when the whole reason behind it rested squarely on her own shoulders. So they left each other on the front doorstop, Punz giving Anna a sound, yet chaste, kiss on her lips.

"Good luck," she whispered. Anna appreciated the sentiment more than she could say. So, she simply offered a smile, and hung about on the step until Punz had returned to her car and driven out of sight. She needed the extra time to mentally prepare herself, anyway.

Time for some answers, she supposed. Taking a breath, she unlocked the door and stepped through.

"Mom…?"

No answer. A quick glance at her phone told Anna that it was peak 'mom should be home' time, so where was she? Great, all of Anna's mental preparation, wasted.

Sighing, she stepped into the kitchen. Pulling the milk from the fridge, she didn't bother to grab a glass, instead uncapping the bottle and drinking straight from it. All the while, she was thinking, running a list through her mind of all the places Elsa might be. It was entirely possible that she jumped right on ahead and found a shrink. Especially after the previous night. But even if she had, and if she wanted Anna to go – either individually or together – Doc's words still rang in her ears.

Honesty. Perhaps it was a good thing that Elsa wasn't here because she still needed to get her thoughts in order. She needed to be honest with Elsa. Truthful. Even if… even if the truth was painful and her mother didn't want to hear it, she had to.

But Elsa never returned that night. Anna tried to busy herself, actually cleaning up her room, doing homework. Puttering. But never did her mother poke her head back in.

Someone else did, however…

"Hey, girls!" Kristoff called out when he got in the door. "Sorry I didn't wait, honey, but you didn't reply to my text so I just got an Uber. Anybody home?"

"DAD!" Anna called out, flying at him from the living room. He dropped his shoulderbag and quickly caught her up in a hug, one that threatened to melt away all of her unease. It didn't quite accomplish that, but it made a good attempt.

"Booger!" He pet over her hair and back for a moment, but when she didn't let go, he drew concerned and pushed her backward slightly. "Hey, hey… what's the matter?"

"Mom's gone! I don't know… she won't answer her phone, and I think I really fucked up!"

Frowning at her, she could really see the lines in his face now, slight as they were compared with the ones of her old father. Again, this was more like the Kristoff she had met in the 80s, only aged a bit, instead of the totally different person her old father had been.

"What's wrong?"

She told him. Over the course of an hour, she told her father everything, and he listened with far more patience than anyone else would have, sitting with her and eventually giving her a beer from the fridge.

"But I'm not old enough," she blubbered.

"I won't tell if you won't. Besides, I think this counts as a special emergency." Twisting off the cap, he set it down in front of her then plopped down at the kitchen table. "I'm so sorry, honey… I thought the best plan was to continue my tour and give you two time to do… whatever it was you would do. Should have known Elsa wouldn't be able to let go of her hangups that easily."

"You don't care that your daughter wants to bang your wife?"

"Of course I care. Like with that beer, this isn't the average situation; time travel is involved. You two met when you were both the same age, and both more or less strangers to each other. Even if you knew who Elsa was, you didn't know her the way you knew her in the present day, right?"

Anna was stunned. How did he understand everything so well? "I… what… y-yeah, that's it. That's it exactly. And my old present-mom was way different from this present-mom, too. This one's just the one from back then grown up. The mom I lost… she was a whole other person. That's Mom, and this is Elsa."

"Right. So even though it does make me a little uneasy, not nearly as much as if it were Wendy, or another family member who never time travelled. You just have to think about these things fourth-dimensionally; strange attractors theories. Imagining that you exchanged your actual mother for an alternate reality version really takes away from the yuck factor. Almost could write a story about it, if it wouldn't bring too much light on our family."

"Guess I forgot what you do for a living," she laughed weakly. His chuckle was a lot heartier, and he reached over to clap her on the shoulder. "So… do you think maybe Mom checked into a hotel or something? Just to get away from the situation?"

"Probably all it is, Anna." With a shrug, he took the beer from her once he saw she wasn't going to touch it and took a swig. "But I've been able to tell that she wasn't over you as much as she thought. There were plenty of signs along the way. Just… wouldn't have done much good to take that security blanket away from her, when all she would do is fight with me about that."

"You two still fight, huh?"

"Only about that. And financial things, but those are more like 'stern discussions'." Anna smiled slightly. "Nothing major, and we try to never go to bed angry. Hash it out first and get to a solution."

"Okay, good. So…" Stretching, she stood up and rubbed her face. "I… want to try to go find Mom, but I also don't want to crowd her. Should I wait until tomorrow?"

Her father nodded, setting the bottle down. "Probably for the best. Considering how clear you made your feelings, I'd say time to think it over is a bare minimum."

"Thanks, Dad. I… I think I'll just…" She had been about to say 'go to my room', but thought better of it. "Do you want some help unpacking?"

His smile was a lot wider than she would have expected. "Sure, kiddo. We have plenty of time."

                                                        ~ o ~

So they did. And he spent the rest of the night hanging out with his daughter, getting to know her a little better. It was a completely different experience from getting to know Elsa again, since Kristoff really was just a father to her. The love was actually not all that different from her old father, who had always clearly been able to show it, even if mostly just with words rather than actions since he had been too spineless to discipline her, or do much of anything else.

But Anna couldn't stop thinking about her mother the entire time. Wanting to be with her, even if she turned down her advances. She tried to be satisfied with her father, and Wendy and John when they got home, and texting Jennifer to keep her informed. But beneath those surface comforts, all she wanted was her mommy.

Elsa didn't return that night. Nor did she return the next morning. Eventually, Anna did go to school with Punz, but she really began to worry. Where the hell was she?

Or perhaps the question she should have asked…

When the hell was she?

                                                        NOT THE END!

                                                        TO BE CONCLUDED… IN PART III