Author's Note: I'm back. With any luck, chapters should resume their normal release schedule.

Elsa woke up to find Anna snoring against her shoulder. She blinked away sleep to find that they were cuddled up on the couch with the last embers of a fire smoldering out in the fireplace. She considered reigniting the flames, but she didn't want to risk disturbing her sister. Instead, she pulled a blanket around them and pulled her closer for warmth. Anna replied with a sleepy murmur and a low snore.

Elsa could barely hold back the laughter. And here I was thinking she'd finally grown out of snoring. She planted a kiss on her forehead as a smile pulled at her lips. It's nice to be here with her. No secrets anymore. Just enjoying a Christmas – birthday – with my little sister. It's been so long. No resentment, no forcing myself to be a mother to a girl who clearly didn't want one; just this – cuddling under a blanket in front of a dying fire on a cold winter morning. Sounds almost romantic. She couldn't manage to fight back the chuckle this time.

Anna stopped snoring. Elsa's eyes widened as she looked down at her shoulder. Please say I didn't wake her with that. It wasn't even that funny – more creepy than anything else.

The snoring began again. Well that's a relief. She felt around them to see if her phone had made it to the couch with them. Tragically, it had not. She was just going to have to sit there, twiddling her thumbs, until her sister woke up on her own. As she began to accept her predicament, she finally found something – the scrapbook that Anna had given her. It was on the floor at her feet. They had fallen asleep drinking eggnog and going through it.

With a concentrated effort from her feet and her free hand, she managed to retrieve the book and drag it onto her lap. She flipped open to the last page she remembered and found her little sister, beaming back at the camera with a crawling Olaf before her. A tear traced a path down Elsa's cheeks as her smile puffed them out.

Crossing over that image was one containing Anna and Kristoff, baby Olaf perched half on either lap, his eyes off to the side of the camera. A note scribbled nearby clarified that it was their first family photo. Looks like one of those cheesy little photo studios in a department store. The cynicism didn't prevent another tear from leaking out. I've missed so much and for such a petty reason. "I'm sorry," she whispered into the pool of red hair resting against her cheek. I won't miss any more. I'll be here for you and Olaf. I won't push you away again.

Olaf, wearing a cowboy hat and vest, rode Sven, backlit by a sunset. It was the only picture on this page where he wasn't a baby. Did she put it in the wrong section? She flipped through a few more pages, glancing at the pictures as she went – passing a picture of Anna standing in front of a closed down school, Kristoff holding Olaf in their lap in the seats of what looked like a baseball stadium, and Olaf and Lilo staring blankly at each other in some elaborate looking pin – and found a section that seemed to be around the same age as that picture. He was probably three or four, and there were pictures of him in a tiny suit, in a plastic sword fight with Lilo, and pantomiming shaving next to his father. There didn't seem to be a missing spot for that photo. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting.

"Mmm," a contented sigh sounded from her side, as Anna nuzzled against her shoulder. "This is wonderful."

"Yeah it is," Elsa agreed, setting the scrapbook to the side. "Good morning, sleepy head."

"I'm not dreaming." Anna blinked, looking up at her, her eyes wide. I suppose I deserve that.

"You're not dreaming. I promised, I'm not going anywhere."

"Right. I know. I didn't mean – Why are we in the living room?"

"Wow, you are a lightweight." Elsa chuckled, grinning down at her bewildered little sister as she grew increasingly annoyed.

"I didn't even have that much!" she insisted, her cheeks growing red.

"That's what makes you a lightweight." Elsa decided to go easy on the teasing. The wounds are likely still fresh from last night. "Want me to go pick up the kids for you? I did promise I'd take care of the babysitting."

"But it's your birthday! Oh, happy birthday again, by the way. I can't believe that wasn't my first words. I wake up next to you on your birthday and don't even think to say it, I mean come on, Anna. I can't make you do that for me! I'm used to it. I can handle it just fine."

"You just went through a divorce yesterday. I can handle babysitting. You and Tiana can have some fun."

"I don't think I want quite the same kind of fun that Tiana would be after."

"She was just messing with you."

Anna raised an eyebrow skeptically at her. For the first time ever I could actually see the family resemblance. "Seemed like a bit more than messing."

"My girlfriend was not trying to sleep with you."

Her teeth showed in a playful snarl. "Oh wasn't she? Sure seemed like it to me. She did say she has a taste for redheads. You jealous? Scared I might just steal her away from you?"

Elsa's glare made her little sister falter. She'd spent a lifetime perfecting it in depositions. "You think you have what it takes to take her away from me? Believe me, Anna, there's quite a lot you have to learn about pleasing women before you could compete with me."

Anna swallowed, her cheeks flushing as she averted her gaze.

"Anna? Did I go too far? Sorry, I was just teasing. Christ, what was I thinking? I didn't mean to rub in that you're new at this. I'm sure you're great in bed – wow that sounds so much worse. I'm gonna go pick up Olaf and Lilo, okay?"

"Yeah," Anna managed to reply, her eyes still locked on the carpet.

Can't even go half an hour of being awake without hurting her again. Maybe she was better off with me not talking to her. "I'm sorry. How about I pick up breakfast on the way back? Is there anyplace that you'd like?" Wouldn't it be hilarious if I managed to make her start resenting me and avoiding me for years?

"Yeah, that sounds great," Anna replied, her voice sounding feeble. "I'd love some French toast. There's a really good place just a few blocks away. I'll give you the address."

"All right." She tentatively pulled her sister into a hug, watching for any sign of struggle. "I'm sorry for teasing you so hard. I was being a bitch – like always."

Anna finally met her eyes. "It's okay. It wasn't that. I'm just being weird. I'm still half asleep, don't worry about it, okay. I love you."

"I love you too. Maybe try and grab another half hour or so of sleep while I'm gone?"

She nodded and leaned back against the couch cushions.

"Um, before you do that, I forgot to ask. Where am I going?"

Chuckling, Anna handed over her phone. "It's saved in my directions. Just type in Nani and it'll take you there. You sure you're up for this?"

"It's no problem." Elsa squeezed Anna in another hug before heading out. "Sweet dreams." She grabbed Anna's keys from the kitchen counter and found her way to the garage. Maybe before I'm here I can actually learn my way around this house. Leaving the two most important women in the world to their dreams, Elsa hoped that she could manage to convince the nephew she'd all but abandoned these last few years to actually come with her when she picked him up.

Nani answered the door on the third knock. She was wearing a bathrobe and holding a mug of coffee. "Good morning," Elsa offered.

She blinked and stared at her. "Oh, right, I forgot that you were the one grabbing them today. You sure you're up for this?" She waved Elsa inside and offered her a cup of coffee.

"How hard can it be?" Elsa asked, sipping at the cup.

Nani broke into a chortle, her eyes falling pityingly onto Elsa. "You should just let Anna do it. Trust me, this is more than you can handle."

Gritting her teeth, Elsa replied "I promised her that I'd do it. Besides, I'm sure the kids want their ninja jedi or whatever it was training. I already have a rapport with them. Anyway, it's not like they're going to be any worse than a hostile witness."

"You have met Lilo, right?"

"Yeah, she's a bit excitable, but she seems like a good kid."

Nani finished off her coffee. "You know what, yeah, you're right. She's great. They're in Lilo's room. I'm sure you'll be fine."

I will be fine. Hell, I might need to be after that revelation with Tiana. How was that the first we'd ever talked about us having kids? She found the room and knocked on the door.

"Go away, Nani!" Lilo cried, as something thunked against the door. "We're still sleeping."

She still calls her 'Nani?' "Is that any way to treat you –" what the hell is a Jedi instructor called? "Sensei?"

"Oh, Sensei Elsa!" Lilo cried, as tiny feet thunked against the floor and the door swung open, squishing a pillow against the wall. "I'm sorry! I thought you were my sister. Is it time for our training? We're ready"

Olaf snored loudly from the bed. Seems he gets that from his mother.

"Well I'm ready. Olaf, get up! We're going to become Jedi ninja! Do you want me to be ahead of you? You'd never catch up. Long before you even learn how to use a lightsaber, I will already be the greatest warrior alive! None will stand before me – except for Sensei Elsa of course." She turned back to Elsa, a bashful look on her face. "Is Sensei Elsa okay or should it be your last name?"

What do they call Anna? Olaf obviously calls her mama, but I can't recall what Lilo calls her. If she calls her 'Anna' or 'Ms. Anna' or 'Aunt Anna' I certainly would feel weird having her call me by my last name, but the reverse is equally true. I'm overthinking this. "Sensei Elsa is fine."

"Okay, Sensei Elsa." Lilo slapped her hand to her forehead in a quick salute. "Are you ready to start my training? It seems that my dear friend is going to lag behind."

"I'm up!" Olaf insisted, rubbing at his eyes. "Don't start the training without me, please, Aunt Elsa."

"That's Sensei Elsa!" Lilo shouted, stomping back over to her compatriot. "You have to abandon all familial bonds when you become a jedi, you know that!"

"I don't wanna give up my mama," he cried.

Elsa approached them, her hands held out placatingly. "Don't worry. We're a new order of Jedi ninja. You can keep your family."

"Oh, good!" Olaf let out his breath. "I'd been worried."

"Do I have to?" Lilo groaned.

"Yes."

"Fine."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Hurry up and get ready so we can leave. I'll be in the kitchen."

"They awake now?" Nani asked, pouring another cup for Elsa.

Sitting down in the same seat she'd vacated a few minutes earlier, Elsa nodded. "I didn't ask earlier. You still liking being a therapist?"

Nani groaned, staring into her coffee. "I thought I'd finally had this conversation with everyone I needed to. I'm not one anymore."

Great. Just once can you not put your foot in your mouth? "What happened? You'd seemed to be loving it when I was last here." Five years ago.

"Nothing dramatic. I liked the first year of it, but then our parents died and I took custody of Lilo, and I just never had the energy for dealing with anyone else's problems. I'm not sure it was ever a great fit for me in the first place, but especially not when I was dealing with a rambunctious one year old who was just aware enough to see that her parents weren't there anymore, but not enough to have their loss explained to her."

"I'd heard about that, Anna had included it in her happy birthday email that year, comparing you to me. Do you think you'd ever go back to it?"

She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. It's not something I was super passionate about in the first place, it just seemed interesting. Honestly I think I get enough therapying from Anna. Which I might need to really do a lot more of if she thought that was an appropriate birthday card."

Should I object to her acting like Anna's her patient? It seems really demeaning but honestly it sounds like Anna's needed someone to vent to about everything, especially with me gone. It's probably a good thing Nani was a therapist. "It was fine, she just gave me updates a couple times a year and we didn't really talk outside of it. So if you're not a therapist anymore, what have you been doing?"

Nani chuckled. "What haven't I been doing? You want a list? I tried being a bartender, but that didn't really work with having a kid. I worked security for a year or so, but I could barely afford to look after myself, let alone my two year old little sister. Anna tried to convince me to be a personal trainer, but that sounded like just being a sweaty therapist. Then about two years ago, I got a job with the postal service. Pay isn't bad, and the hours are just when Lilo is at school, so it works out pretty well, even if I do need to drop her off with Anna or Wendy on Saturdays."

Elsa tried to picture the woman in a postal worker's uniform. She couldn't. "Well, if it works it works." That's, what, 30, maybe 40, thousand a year? How does she manage? Lilo seems pretty healthy, but I just don't get it.

"It's a job, and at least I don't have to put up with anyone's problems but my own – and Anna's."

"You don't think you're being a little harsh on her?"

Nani's eyes hardened as she turned to face the older woman. "Am I the one being harsh on her? You're the one that all that abandoned her as soon as she ran off to college. I was actually there for her. So no, I don't think I'm being harsh, I think I've earned the right to talk like that about her. You sure as hell haven't."

"Nani –"

"No, I'm sorry, that was harsh. You're trying to make it up for her, and I shouldn't hold it against you. You're not her mom, it's not your job to be."

"But it was my job to be her older sister, and I still did a terrible job of that. And by those standards, it's not your job to be Lilo's mom, but I don't see you abandoning her."

"When she's eighteen? No, I'm changing the locks and my phone number. She'll be fine on her own."

Elsa snickered. "I'm sorry."

"Has Anna forgiven you?"

"I think so. I finally explained everything to her last night."

"Then I forgive you."

Olaf and Lilo wandered out of the room, having changed out of their pajamas. Lilo had a Kylo Ren backpack on, which was presumably full of clothes for the sleepover – or possibly dynamite.

"You're ready?" Elsa asked, rising from the stool. "It was nice talking to you again, Nani. Enjoy your day off. I'll make sure to have them back in the morning."

"Really, it's fine, take your time," Nani replied, almost managing to sound like she was joking. "Give my regards to Tiana."

"I assume your regards sound something like a high pitched squeal of dilate followed by asking for her autograph?"

Nani paused to glare at Elsa. "Yeah, pretty much."

"I'll make sure to tell her. Come on, kids, let's get going."

The children followed after her to the door. "We're not kids anymore," Lilo insisted. "Today's the day we become adults, as we master the art of war."

"Wouldn't you just be younglings?" Elsa asked. I do not know Star Wars nearly well enough for this endeavor.

"You dare reference the movies that we do not speak the names of?!" Lilo shrieked.

"What was wrong with them?" Olaf asked, looking at Lilo with a mix of hurt and confusion. "I thought they were really fun."

"Traitor!"

"You two play nice or you're not getting any training," Elsa insisted.

"But I wasn't doing anything!" Olaf whined.

Lilo glowered at him. "Must I really suffer a prequel sympathizer just so I may learn the Force?"

"Yes."

"Fine!" she folded her arms and stuck her tongue out at Olaf as Elsa unlocked the car.

On the way back, as Olaf and Lilo debated the merits of different lightsaber designs, Elsa pulled through a drive through to grab breakfast for everyone. The kids insisted on French toast sticks and it took numerous tries before they accepted that the restaurant didn't carry them. Lilo insisted that they could just slice their French toast into strips. When Elsa relayed this request, the cashier quickly gave in, so that they would finally move on to the next window.

As they walked in through the garage, laden with bags of delicious smelling fried goodness, Anna greeted them from the kitchen. "Hey, we just finished making coffee. Want a cup?"

Elsa set her bag on the table as her padawans did the same. "I just had two over at Nani's. I think I'll stick with water for now."

"You sure? You might need it if you're going to be dealing with them."

"I promise, I can handle two kids."

"Younglings," Olaf corrected.

"Jedi ninja," Lilo amended.

"I can see that," Anna replied, glancing down at the soon-to-be-fearsome-warriors.

Tiana watched Elsa's interactions with Olaf and Lilo with an amused grin. "I think you're going to be a great mom."

She's still on about that. I guess it's not like we've really had a chance to discuss it. And we still don't have one. Damn it, we really need to. She looked nervously back at her girlfriend, before gesturing to the food. "Come eat."

"Fast food breakfast," Tiana replied, trying to keep the disgust from her voice.

"I got you grits."

"Fast food grits."

"Just give it a chance. If you hate it, I'm sure no one here will object to you making breakfast."

She glared at the Styrofoam bowl as Elsa slid it across the table. "It smells –" hesitating, she inhaled again, "edible."

"I'm sure it is." Elsa laughed as she opened the box containing her omelet.

Anna had already shoved some chocolate chip pancakes into her mouth. "Thank you," she managed to force out through around the chunks of chocolate chip and fried dough.

"You're very welcome." She looked over to the younglings as they devoured their food now that it was satisfactorily covered in both powdered sugar and syrup. "How are the French toast sticks?"

"They're not French toast sticks, they're just slices of French toast," Lilo insisted, attempting her best offended look despite a mouth completely smeared in sugar.

"They're French toast and they're sticks and they're delicious," Olaf said, the sugar in no way ruining his look of utter exaltation.

"I'm glad. The place had great reviews on Yelp."

Tiana muttered something under her breath.

"You have a 4.8 star average, you can not hate them."

She muttered again before adding "the grits aren't terrible. Though there's a reason food critiquing should be left to the professionals."

"You're critiquing food right now."

"And I'm a professional. That's half of what I do on TV."

Elsa had to concede that point. "User reviews are important. I'm a lot more likely to go off of them than what the professionals say."

Anna looked between the two women. Olaf and Lilo seemed utterly oblivious as they continued to demolish their meals. Tiana grit her teeth. "The general people don't know what good food is. They don't even know what they want most of the time. Who doesn't know that there's mushrooms in chicken Marsala?"

"What's chicken Marsala?" Anna asked.

"Does it not describe it on the menu?" Elsa inquired.

Tiana grumbled and shoveled more grits into her mouth.

Olaf looked up from his food to chime in. "Why would you put mushrooms in something?"

Tiana, to her credit, managed to avoid giving a death glare to a five year old. "Chicken marsala is amazing and I will make it for all of you tonight."

"Sounds great, I love your chicken Marsala," Elsa replied, ignoring the anger in her partner's tone.

"I don't want to eat mushrooms," Olaf whined.

"How about I order you two a pizza while the adults can all have chicken Marsala?"

Lilo stood from her chair. "I want chicken mercy law too!"

Smirking, Tiana said "Finally, someone with some taste."

"Hey, I want to try it," Anna insisted.

"Well of course you have taste, Anna," Tiana attempted.

Elsa gave her girlfriend a derisive glare. "You do realize that I was the first one to say I wanted it."

"Well you have to, or else you'd be sleeping on the couch."

"I slept on the couch last night."

Tiana paused, searching for a response. "Let me be grumpy!"

"Not until you admit that your whole issue with Yelp is ridiculous." Elsa folded her arms over her chest, her eyes never leaving her partner's.

"The general public has no idea what they want. There's a reason that they have, for years, listened to professional reviewers to suggest quality food. If we were to just go off of what was popular than the kids manning the deep fryers would be the best chefs in the world. I'm sure we can all agree that's not the case."

Olaf's face lit up as her looked up at Tiana. "Boy are they! I love McDonalds. Can we have them for dinner instead of chicken whatchamacallit or pizza?"

Lilo's mouth dropped open as she gave him a look of utter betrayal. "I want pizza!"

"But I want McNuggets!"

Anna looked between the two children and Elsa. "Delivery is easier."

Shrugging, Elsa studied her students. "You two can take all the time you need today, but you have to agree on what you're having for dinner. We're only going to one place."

"But Sensei!" Lilo insisted. "Pizza is better. We can't just have McDonalds. It would only weaken us, a proper warrior needs pizza to be at their best. Preferably with oysters."

"What?" Olaf returned her look of betrayal. "Lilo, I'm not eating oysters! They're gross."

"You ate them last time Nani bought pizza for us."

"I did not!"

Tiana ground her teeth as everyone moved on from her topic.

Lilo stood on her chair so that she could look down at Olaf. "You absolutely did. And you liked it."

"Was that what that weird stuff was on your side? There was just cheese on my side."

"She didn't get half and half! The whole thing was smoked oyster and it was delicious!" Lilo hopped down from her chair, reducing her to just over half of Olaf's sitting height, and glared up at him. "You loved it," she snarled.

"I didn't eat it! Aunt Nani had pulled me aside and told me that I'd probably just want cheese on my half as usual, but that you were on some weird oyster kick."

"She wouldn't dare. Splitting a pizza like that spits in the good name of pizza!"

Wow, people that actually care more about food than Tiana. Elsa stood between the two of them. "A Jedi ninja doesn't allow such small concerns to come between them and their pupils. If you can't get over this and agree on something, then maybe you don't have it in you to be my Padawans."

Lilo scrambled past her chair legs, almost knocking it over as she clung to Elsa. "No, I can be a good student, I swear. I can forsake conflict! Whatever you need. I'll be the best Jedi ninja that ever lived."

Olaf looked utterly heartbroken, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "I didn't even do anything!"

"I'm not giving up on you two as students, but you need to try harder to get along. I won't have any infighting in my dojo."

"We'll be good!" they both promised.

"I trust you."

Tiana and Anna both looked on bemusedly, with their own satisfied smiles, without saying a word.

"Now finish up your breakfast, and then we can start your training."

The tears evaporated from his eyes as a massive grin spread over Olaf's face. "You mean it?"

"Yes, Sensei," Lilo replied, kicking sulkily at the ground.

Elsa took her seat again. "Of course. Just eat." She felt Anna squeezing her hand gently. She looked over to see the warm smile on her face.

"You're really good with them. Though don't you dare make my son cry," she added, a hint of steel in her voice.

"Sorry, I didn't realize he'd have quite that strong of a reaction."

Anna laughed. "It's okay. He's just a very passionate boy."

"He gets it from his mother," Elsa replied, prompting Anna to quickly turn back to her food. Guess she's hungry? Following suit, Elsa returned to her omelet. Tiana had already finished her grits and rose to toss the bowl into the garbage. "My grits are still better."

"Your everything is better, dear. Just enjoy not having to cook."

"I love not having to cook, when I'm trying out new and exciting food."

"How about you and Anna go hit up some food carts for lunch then?"

Tiana's surly expression softened. "Well, my dear, would you like to be my date for lunch tonight? I was reading about a great Greek cart not too far from here."

With another giggle, Anna tossed out her own empty Styrofoam container. "I would love to. Just so long as I get to pick where we go for dessert."

"For you? I'm all ears." What would I do if they actually slept together? I know she's joking – mostly – but boy is she ever laying it on thick. I don't think Anna would do it, but I know how much she loves attention. Oh come on, what am I thinking, she loves it because she's a romantic, and she knows that Tiana is just being a flirt. Besides, she did call her out on it last night, so I'm pretty sure she's just playing along now.

"I've been wanting to try out this crepe place Giselle mentioned. I can't wait for our date."

"Greek followed by crepes? I suppose I can live with that." She turned to Elsa. "Don't wait up, have fun with the kids."

Anna chewed on her lip before giving Elsa a wicked grin and announcing "I'll try to have her back to you before too late."

Tiana mirror the look. "I was going to say the same thing. I'll try not to keep your daughter out past curfew."

Why do I tell her anything? Well, I suppose Anya would've told her either way. It seems to be her favorite joke of late. "Well then she's practically your daughter too, so I'd certainly hope you'll take good care of her while I'm looking after our grandson."

Tiana froze. She blinked, unable to process what had just been said to her. The smirk faded from her face as half a dozen different emotions fought for dominance. "Our grandson?" she finally managed, the words tumbling out with no particular inflection.

Right, the kids thing. Which likely means the marriage thing. I need to just not say words. I'm just going to go train children to use an imaginary form of magic while also becoming expert martial artist. That seems way way way easier than dealing with this situation. "Well, younglings, your training begins."

Tiana attempted to collect herself. "Elsa –" she began.

"Later," Elsa tossed the last bits of her food in the garbage as the children did the same. Looking back at her girlfriend she couldn't help but feel more than a little bit guilty about her behavior. "I promise. We'll talk about it soon."

She nodded, letting out a long breath. "All right."

Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to say. Great. Lilo tugged at the hem of her skirt. "Come on!" she pleaded.

As she led Elsa out of the room, the reality finally hit her. What the hell am I even doing? I don't even have toy lightsabers to give them or anything, and I certainly don't know martial arts to teach them. It's a great way to keep them excited and in line, but what on Earth could I possibly actually do?

A wicked glint shone from Lilo's eyes. "Sensei Elsa, we're ready to begin our training!"

"Yeah!" Olaf grinned merrily next to her. How are these two even friends?

"Um, that's great," Elsa replied, racking her brain for any sort of answer to her quandary.

"What do you want us to do?" Lilo was giving her a look that was somewhere between worship and hunger, and it gave Elsa the distinct impression that if she didn't come up with something soon, they would turn on her as quickly as they had followed her in the first place.

Has Kristoff moved out with the dog yet? I think I would've noticed a moving van, but I haven't heard either of them moving about. "For the first part of your training, you will have to beat Sven in a race around the yard." Just have to hope the dog will actually play along and I should have them occupied all day.

Surprisingly, it worked. Lilo and Olaf bundled up in their winter coats and proceeded to spend the next three hours chasing Sven around the yard. He managed to consistently stay just ahead of them and looked to be just about the happiest dog Elsa had ever seen. Personally having children chase me for three hours sounds like Hell, but I'm glad he's enjoying it.

Near the end of the third hour, Olaf and Lilo managed to corned Sven and Lilo tackled him, prompting a barrage of face licks. "We did it!" Olaf cheered.

It wasn't exactly the rules she'd given them, but it had likely done a good enough job tiring them out that she wasn't overly concerned. "Very good. You have come far, young Padawans. I believe it's time that you receive your lightsabers."

Both of their eyes lit up as they turned to her, causing Sven to bolt towards Elsa and hide behind her legs. Apparent he's had enough playtime as well. "You mean it, Aunt Elsa? We get lightsabers?"

"Are we going to have to pick out our own crystals and make them? Where do we go to find crystals?"

Elsa's smile faded. Shit, how seriously are they going to actually take this? "I was just going to buy you some at the store."

This did nothing to diminish their glee. "Can we get candy while we're there?" Olaf asked.

Shrugging, Elsa replied "Sure." I can't imagine Anna forbidding candy, so I think I'm in the clear there.

When they arrived at the toy store, Olaf and Lilo ran off to the Star Wars section, apparently not even slightly tired by their hours of adventure. How do they do it? I'm exhausted just from watching them. Once she caught up to them, a stern look was enough to stop their fighting in the middle of the aisle. "Have you both already picked out which one you want?"

"Can I have three?" Olaf asked.

"No."

He stuck his lip out, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

I swear, the apple does not fall far from the tree. "Young Padawan, you know you need to keep those feelings in check. A lightsaber is a sacred weapon. How are you supposed to care for it properly if you have to divide your attention between three of them?"

"Yes, Aunt Elsa," he replied, dropping his head.

Lilo took the opportunity to bop him with her weapon, still in its cardboard box.

"No fighting."

"But then how will we ever become great warriors, sensei? We must always be ready for battle and take every opportunity to practice our techniques."

"And not get kicked out of the store."

Her eyes widened. "Would I still get a lightsaber then?"

Elsa only shook her head.

"I'll be good!"

After they checked out, they exited the store, with Rei's lightsaber clipped to one of Olaf's empty belt loops and Lilo holding Kylo Ren's lightsaber as menacingly as she could without being reprimanded by her sensei.

In the back seat of Anna's Kia, the children took turns smacking each other with their new toys whenever they thought Elsa wasn't looking, despite the telltale sound effects giving them away. She ignored them, letting them have their fun, figuring that as long as they were trying to be subtle about it, they weren't likely to grow too carried away and actually hurt each other.

Once they were back at Anna's, Olaf and Lilo released themselves from their booster seats and bolted into the house, their lightsabers glowing and making swooshing sounds as they ran. "Mama!" Elsa could hear Olaf shouting as she climbed out of the car. "Look what Aunt Elsa bought us! They're so cool."

"What was wrong with your old one?" Anna asked, as Elsa entered the room.

"This one is cooler!"

Lilo added "Yeah, look at the super cool thingies on the side of mine!"

"How come mine doesn't have that?"

"Cause yours isn't as awesome!"

"But mine's a better color!"

"Nuh-uh!" Lilo stuck out her tongue and brought her lightsaber to bare.

"I'll prove that mine's better!" Olaf insisted, holding his weapon in both hands as he met his opponents eyes.

"Winner picks dinner?" Lilo asked, her blade level with her eye.

"But I don't want oysters!"

"Then don't lose."

Elsa stood between them. "Not in the kitchen. If you're going to fight take this outside."

Anna gave her an approving glance. "Fine, just be careful. If I have to go to the hospital with Nani again, I'm taking away every single one of your toys that even slightly resemble a weapon."

They didn't need another word of encouragement. Both of the kids ran outside, clashing and swooshing sound effects immediately announcing the beginning of their fight. "Should I go keep an eye on them?"

"Nah." Anna waved her hand, dismissing the idea. "Better to have plausible deniability. Let them have their fun and if it allows them to actually agree on a food, that just makes our jobs easier."

Elsa threw herself into a chair at the table. "What I wouldn't do for a glass of wine right now."

If she didn't know any better, Elsa would have sworn that Anna was giving her a seductive smile. "Just what would you do for a glass of wine?"

Elsa blinked. This was not enough so she blinked again. "Go buy one at the store?" she finally offered, woefully unprepared for such a question coming from her sister.

Anna turned away, checking at least three different cabinets before she set a bottle of wine and a glass on the table without ever turning back. "Yeah, that makes sense. Try not to have too much, you are babysitting, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't had a glass or three when doing the same. I'm gonna go fine Tiana. Maybe I can convince her to start dinner. I'm getting kinda hungry. I hope you like the wine. It was on sale. I saw Esmeralda drinking it once so it's probably good. Unless she was drinking it ironically, is that a thing she'd do? I should really know the answer to that, she was my girlfriend. Right, I'll go do that." She ran off, leaving a very confused Elsa to drink alone.

What the hell was that? Has Tiana's flirting finally driven her insane? Oh God, they didn't actually sleep together, did they? There's no way it would happen, but it would certainly make that behavior make a lot more sense. Though I guess any amount of sense would be more. She found herself finishing off her second glass without even realizing she'd had her first. Should probably stop there. I'm not even sure if I'm going to be able to get whatever crazy thing they pick out delivered. She put her hands behind her head and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the bumpy stucco pattern of the ceiling. She heard her phone beep from her purse.

Pulling it out, she saw that she had a message from an unknown Portland number. "Hey, it's Elizabeth. You're right, we should grab drinks. Tonight work?"

Elsa considered this for a moment. She hadn't thought that her old flame would actually take her up on the offer. What's it hurt? She quickly composed a reply. "I'm actually babysitting for Anna tonight, but I'd love to see you tomorrow. When and where?" This'll be nice. She deserves the closure, and I just need to see that my choosing looking after Anna over her didn't completely ruin her life. I wonder if that's what started me down this whole path of pushing away everyone I care of? She stared longingly at the wine, considering a third glass. That was far more introspection than she'd been planning for the day.

Shaking her head, Elsa returned the bottle to the shelves. We'll probably have more with dinner anyway. No sense getting drunk now.

"No fair!" Lilo shouted as the backdoor slid shut behind them. "That was cheating!"

"I didn't cheat. It's not my fault you slipped. I still helped you up."

"Yeah, after you stabbed me!"

"You did it to me last time we played pirates! It's only fair."

"Pirates play dirty. Jedi don't!"

"Don't be a sore loser."

The bickering pair walked into the kitchen to find Elsa laughing heartily. "McDonald's it is then."

Olaf looked like he'd just won the lottery.

Sounds from the Star Wars movie that Lilo and Olaf were watching in the other room filtered into the kitchen, as Elsa, Anna, and Tiana sat around a table with plates of chicken marsala and asparagus, with glasses of Merlot. "Happy birthday, Elsa," Tiana said, raising her glass in a toast.

"Happy birthday," Anna added.

They all clinked their glasses. "I was beginning to worry that you'd forgotten," Elsa said with a wry smile.

"Never. I just wanted to wait until dinner." She pulled a box wrapped in a colorful Christmas paper out from under her chair. "I hope you like it."

We never could stick to our no presents agreement. She opened the present in her lap, to reveal a new Kindle.

"I know you old one died. Thought you might want something to read on the flight back."

"Thank you, Tiana. It's perfect."

"It's nothing. I love you, Elsa."

"I love you too, Tiana."

Anna shoved a large bite of chicken into her mouth. "This is amazing."

Tiana smirked. "I'm glad you enjoy it. Maybe I'll make it for Olaf when he's old enough to appreciate it."

"Hopefully that day will come. He can be such a fussy eater."

Stabbing some asparagus onto her fork, Elsa replied "Is he? I mean he's five, isn't eating like that still normal at that age. It seems like Lilo is just really adventurous."

Tiana glanced in the direction of the living room. "Well maybe I can help improve that. I'm sure I could find some new things that even a young picky eater would enjoy. His taste buds haven't fully matured yet, but there's still a lot I can work with."

Anna blew out a breath. "You're welcome to try. Nothing I've done has made much of an impact."

Her grin growing wider, Tiana cracked her knuckles. "All right, I'll do it. I guarantee by the time I leave, Olaf will have tried and like at least five new foods."

"Five? That seems like a pretty tall order. I'd be happy with just one."

"One would be child's play –" Elsa snickered at Tiana's accidental pun. "I've given you my word, and I'll see to it that it happens."

"All right. If you can do it, I'll be so grateful."

"Oh, really? How grateful are we talking?" She gave Anna a quick wink. "Am I gonna get a kiss out of this?"

Elsa rolled her eyes and chewed on some chicken. If they actually have sex – I don't know – I would be very upset!

"I don't know. I wouldn't want to get my sister all jealous."

"What does she have to be jealous of? She's the one I'm going home with. A bit of play never hurt anyone."

"Behave," Elsa grumbled.

Tiana stuck out her tongue.

Anna looked as if she was about to say something, but whatever it would have been, she seemed to think better of it, as she resumed shoveling food down her throat.

"Oh, I bought you a few new books on there," Tiana said after the silence had grown too pervasive.

"Oh, which ones?"

"I forget now, it was when I bought the Kindle. A new John Grisham book, something gay in Norwegian, a couple others I can't recall."

Anna looked up from her plate, clearly a bit surprised. "Elsa, you remember Norwegian?"

"Not a lot. I've been trying to work on it."

"Oh. Wow. It never even occurred to me."

"You never lived there. I don't really remember much of living there, just a few of our visits, but it was such a big part of our history and our family, I wanted to get back into it. Now granted, I've worked on it maybe twice over the past year and made it about five pages into a Norwegian book, but I have a little bit more freedom now, so maybe I'll find the opportunity at some point."

"How do you say 'hi?'" she asked, the excitement clear on her face. Maybe this is something I should share with her. I've got her back in my life, our history is certainly something we have in common. I just wish I was a better teacher.

"'Hi' would be 'hei.'"

"Oh. That's actually a little disappointing." She giggled. "I was hoping for something really extravagant. What's a really cool word you know?"

"I don't know what would even be a cool word. 'Cool' is just 'kul' if that helps. My Norwegian is still really bad, I have to use a Norwegian dictionary like every other word."

Anna stuck out her lip in a pout, the wine sauce glistening on it giving a slightly comical effect. "Something has to be interesting sounding."

What could I even say. Nothing is coming to me. Oh, wait – "Well 'gratulerer med dagen' is 'happy birthday.'"

"Oh! Gratuler – what was it?"

"Gratulerer med dagen."

"That thing then!"

Elsa rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you, Anna."

Her cheeks colored slightly as she grinned in response. "I hope you're having a great birthday. I'm so happy you're celebrating it with me."

"I am too."

Anna took her hand under the table and squeezed it gently. Elsa squeezed back. This trip was a wonderful idea.

The next evening, Elsa met Elizabeth for drinks at a bar the other woman had recommended. "Hey there," she attempted, grabbing a seat next to her former lover. "Thanks again for helping out Anna."

At that, Elizabeth's expression soured and she helped herself to a large swig of her drink. "You're late."

Elsa checked the time on her phone. "No I'm not. I'm three minutes early."

"Oh." She checked her own phone. "You're right. You are. Sorry. Anyway, it was no problem, I can certainly understand where Anna was coming from."

"You gave her a discount. For that I'd say I at least owe you a drink."

"It was a favor for a colleague and an old flame. Really, Elsa. It was nothing, don't try to make it seem like anything more."

Elsa put up her hands in surrender. "Fine then, I'll just buy two drinks for myself and if you decide that you want one of them, you're welcome to it." She waved the bartender over. "Two glasses of Johnny Walker, on the rocks."

The man nodded and poured the drinks before sliding them over. Elizabeth sucked on her teeth but promptly took one of them. "No fair using that against me."

"I wasn't sure it would even work. I just knew it was what you drank in college."

"God I was a spoiled child. What 18 year old is drinking Johnny Walker Green when she's in college? I just called my daddy up for money and we'd end up drinking all this expensive stuff. I didn't even know what normal whiskey tasted like until –" she downed the glass in a single gulp "my ex."

"I'm certainly not complaining, you introduced me to Macallen. Besides, we went to Stanford, do you know anyone there who wasn't spoiled?"

"Mulan?"

Elsa paused, considering her words. It's always weird hearing your first love mention your second girlfriend. "Her parents were still pretty well off."

"Not like ours."

"Mine were dead," Elsa reminded her.

"Then not like you."

Elsa finished her own drink and tried to catch the bartender's attention. He was busy chatting up some young girl at the end of the bar, but she was more than happy to wait as long as she could if it meant that they could drop the subject.

"Elsa?" Elizabeth asked.

Groaning, Elsa turned back to her. "I was far from rich."

"Did you need to take out loans?"

"No," she muttered.

"You had your scholarships, and you paid for plenty of crazy things. Anna certainly wasn't starving."

"We both inherited a bit, but most of it was in a trust, and our parents weren't rich. They certainly weren't poor, but nothing like your parents."

"I know you want to think of yourself as a self-made woman, and you absolutely are, I don't want to take that away from you, I'm just saying that you and I were pretty comfortable in our college days, long before we had ever had a job."

"Okay, sure, I'm rich." She turned back to the bartender, who had finally noticed her. "Could we get more drinks. Triples preferably."

Irritation creeping into her voice, Elizabeth asked "What's the problem?"

"We had this conversation the first time we tried being friends again. I don't feel like having the same argument. I know you think that I didn't need to actually be there for Anna, that we were well off enough that she didn't need her big sister mothering her, that she was old enough, but she did. And I needed to be there for her. Why is this even still an issue? It's been fifteen years, Elizabeth, I thought we were okay. You haven't even said a thing about our breakup in ten years, and we've been friends."

"Right, friends." She rolled her eyes and snatched the drink as soon as it was put before her, downing a few swigs. "We've definitely been such great friends."

"I sure thought we were. Maybe acquaintances, I guess we weren't exactly that close, but I have no idea what's gotten into you."

Biting her lip, Elizabeth stared down into her glass. "It's nothing."

"It clearly isn't." Elsa spun her stool to look dead on at her old friend. "What's going on?"

"You picked her over me, I know that. It was a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and you're not responsible for anything that happened after that, but to have to deal with her personally, to find out that you haven't even been there for her in over a decade when she was so important that you – that you decided that you couldn't have anyone else in your life, it brought up some old feelings."

"Picked her? She was my sister and I had custody of her. I thought I could make having a life outside of her and college, but I was wrong, and I didn't think it was fair to you to drag you along. For an eighteen year old, that sure sounds like a pretty rational and mature decision. Why are you still upset with me? Seriously, I thought we'd buried this years ago."

Elizabeth turned to her, her eyes red and shining with unshed tears. "We have. Just forget it. You don't understand anything."

"No, I don't. How about you enlighten me. Then maybe you can stop hating me for something that happened fifteen fucking years ago!" Elsa blushed lightly when she noticed that several people around them had turned to glance at the quarreling women. Lowering her voice, she added "Please."

"You really want to know?"

"Oh my god, Elizabeth, either tell me or drop it!" she screamed as quietly as she could.

"There's a lot I never told you."

Elsa silently urged her to continue, not trusting herself to open her mouth without screaming at the woman to end the suspense.

"When you left me, I didn't handle it in the best way. Aside from going on a drug fueled bender, I probably handled it about as poorly as imaginable." She paused to finish off her drink. SPIT IT OUT! "I went back in the closet. I actually ended up marrying a man. I tried for so long to convince myself that I was happy, that it had all just been a phase, and then, after I thought I was finally in a better place, the very woman that put me in that position made me relive the biggest mistake of my life with the person that caused her to put me there in the first place."

What? We've been talking for years, why didn't she ever say anything? I guess we really weren't friends. Did I ever even bother to ask how she was doing or did I just ever bitch to her about law school and girlfriends and just expect her to do the same? Wow, I thought the terrible person thing was newer than that. "Oh. Oh God, Elizabeth. I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"How could you? I never told you. Granted, you never asked, but I suppose it was a lot to expect you to ask 'Did you suppress who you are and enter into a boring marriage with a man you can barely stand?' Although I think 'Are you doing okay? How've you been since you graduated?' could've been a decent start."

So I really did never ask. Wow, I'm a bitch. "I'm sorry."

"Forget it, Elsa. It's ancient history."

She waved for the bartender again, feeling that they were going to need it. "It doesn't sound it. But I really am sorry. I don't regret choosing my responsibility for Anna over my burgeoning love for you, but I should have at least tried to be a friend to you instead of letting you do something like that."

"Of course, you never regret a thing. 'Letting' me do something? So what, you were in charge of me?"

Maybe more alcohol isn't a good idea. "I deserve that. Say whatever you need to say."

The tears finally spilled, and she pulled Elsa to her by the sleeves of her dress, burying her face in her shoulder as she sobbed. "You ruined my life."

"I know." After a moment's hesitation, Elsa brought her hand to her old friend's hair, stroking it as her other hand wrapped around her back. "I'm sorry. Let it all out. I'm not going anywhere."