Hello? Is this thing still on?

*Clears throat*

Hello! Long time no- well no anything really. It's been quite a while for various horrible reasons that we will ignore here for now.

Anyways, if you couldn't tell by the oh so creative title, this is a rewrite of my Christmas story from a few months ago. To those of you that read the original, I am sorry for the time you wasted. To those of you that favorited or followed it, I ask why? And to those of you who favorited or followed me because if it, thank you so much! But again, why?

My lame attempt at joking aside, I felt that that story was underwhelming to say the least and I personally didn't like anything about how I wrote it. Mainly Anna. She was not Anna to me. She was angry and yelled and placed blame and that just didn't read like her to me or more than a couple of you. (On that note, I was surprised how many people so respectfully expressed their dislike of Anna or disapproval of how I had written her. Good on this community!) In general, I disliked it since I gave it a read a few days after I posted it. The story felt short and rushed (which it absolutely was) and I personally felt that it was, simply put, poorly done.

Now I've ranted long enough. Hope you all enjoy.

"Alright ladies, here we are," the driver said as they pulled up to the gated runway of the Motonui Private Airport. "Did you want me to drive you out to your plane?"

Elsa looked down the runway, but her jet wasn't out yet.

"No, I don't see it. Looks like the front will have to do. They may still be fueling up; I'll go in and check."

"Front door it is," he replied. They pulled around and he got out to get their bags from the trunk.

Elsa nudged the sleepy redhead clinging to her arm. "Come on, Anna. Time to go into the airport."

Anna swatted at her hand lazily. "I don't wanna get up," she whined. "Can't he take us right to the plane?"

"If you weren't asleep you would have heard that it's not on the runway yet," Elsa jokingly told her. "How did you fall asleep so quickly? It wasn't even a half hour drive from the hotel."

Anna sat up and stretched as best she could in the back seat of a car. "It's not my fault. I haven't gotten much sleep here. Someone did a pretty good job of keeping me wide awake almost every night," she reminded Elsa playfully.

"I hardly think it's fair to put all the blame on me. You never wore more than a bikini or sundress and you know how much I love those. It was hard to keep my hands off you by the time we got back to the room," Elsa said to defend herself.

Anna laughed "I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. But it would have been nice to get at least a little sleep."

Before either of them could say anymore, their driver opened the door and they took their cue to step out.

"I hope you both enjoyed your stay on the island. Have a safe trip home and a merry Christmas!" he pleasantly said.

Elsa tipped him for the ride, then he got back in the car and drove off.

"It's been a great week, but I can't wait to get home," Anna said as they walked towards the main building.

"Done with me and this beautiful island already?" Elsa joked.

"No, but it's Christmas Eve! We're supposed to be at my parents' house, around the fire, drinking hot chocolate already!" Anna exclaimed, suddenly full of her usual energy at the thought of the holiday.

Elsa stifled a laugh at her enthusiasm. "Don't worry, my love. The flight is only a couple hours and its still early back home. We'll be doing all of that soon." she assured her.

They entered the lobby and looked around, surprised to see only a girl behind the main desk and no other travelers.

"It's so empty," Anna whispered.

"Well, like you said, it's Christmas Eve. We're probably the only ones that planned to leave the island for the holiday."

"Ahh, that makes sense. You are probably the only one weird enough to think it's a good idea to fly on a day like this," Anna teased.

Elsa rolled her eyes but still smiled. "Why don't you go take a seat and I'll go check when we're supposed to take off."

"Sounds good."

Anna took Elsa's bag and Elsa planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I'll try and be quick," she said, turning around and heading to the help desk.

The girl behind the counter greeted her cheerfully as she walked up. "Good afternoon. My name is Nala. How can I help you today?"

"Hi Nala. I was just wondering if I could check the status of my jet. We're supposed to take off soon, but I didn't see it on the runway when we pulled up," Elsa explained.

"Of course," Nala said happily. "Can I just have your name and ID?"

"Elsa Wynter," she said. She pulled out her ID and handed it over the counter.

"Thank you, Miss Wynter. I'll have your flight plan up in just a second." She began typing on her computer and clicking through various screens. "Where are you headed on Christmas Eve? We don't get many people leaving the island during the holidays like this."

"Home to Arendelle. This was an early gift to my girlfriend and now we're heading back to spend Christmas and New Year's with her family. Being gone the day before is probably stressing her out a little."

"How sweet! I assume she's the one you walked in with over there?"

"Yeah."

"You two are very cute," the girl smiled.

Her smile, though, was quickly replaced by confusion and a furrowed brow as her computer made a discouraging buzz.

"Oh," she said uneasily.

"Is there a problem with my plane?" Elsa asked.

"Not exactly," she replied hesitantly. "This is probably the last news you want to hear, but it looks like Arendelle has closed their airports due to inclement weather."

"What? All of them?"

The girl nodded and turned her screen around so Elsa could see for herself. "The last one just about a half hour ago. It looks like they're under a pretty severe snowstorm. All incoming flights are being routed to Weselton while they're still open, and all outgoing flights have been grounded until further notice."

"Is there any guess as to when it will pass?"

She turned the screen back around and began clicking through more prompts. After a minute, she looked back at Elsa and shook her head.

"Unfortunately no. It only began a little over an hour ago and the airport you were going to land at is already under nearly a foot of snow. By the sound of that, my best guess would be two or three days at least."

Elsa looked to Anna. She was sitting on a small couch, smiling and looking out the window towards the ocean without a care in the world. Pleasantly unaware of what Elsa was just told.

"There's a chance we could still make it if we flew into Weselton," Elsa said quietly and without looking away from the redhead.

"Maybe if you were to leave right now. I would guess that you may still be redirected from there. The storms are expanding and will likely hit there as well in a couple hours. They'd probably shut down on your way. You would probably be sent to Corona."

Elsa let out a defeated sigh. "And if that were the case, we'd be no better off than we are right now."

Anna isn't going to be happy to hear this.

She turned back to Nala. "Looks like we're going to be stuck here until it passes then."

"I'm very sorry, Miss Wynter."

Elsa offered a reassuring smile. "No need to apologize, Nala. You obviously have no control over a snowstorm so far away. Or at all really."

That's more my area of expertise but even I can't do anything hundreds of miles away…

"I just don't want to break the news to Anna," she continued. "We spend every Christmas with her family. She won't like this at all."

"Would you like me to help you find a place to stay?" Nala offered. "I could check with the hotels for an open room."

"That would be great. Something nice if you can find it. That might help to soften the news a little. And she's more than worth it."

"I'll get right on it."

"Could you call us another car as well?"

Nala was already dialing the phone, but she nodded a yes.

Elsa mouthed a thank you and then made her way across the terminal to Anna.

How am I supposed to tell her that we won't make it home now? The only reason she agreed to take this trip so close to Christmas was because I promised that we'd make it back if we took my jet. Now I have to tell her she was right, and I ruined her favorite day of the year…

"Did you get everything sorted out?" Anna cheerfully asked. Her joyous smile quickly shifted to concern when she noticed Elsa's worried expression. "What's wrong, Els?"

"Anna, I uh- There's a-" Elsa fumbled over her words as she tried to relay the bad news.

"Is there a problem with your plane? Do we have to wait?"

Elsa sat next to her and took one of her hands between her own.

"It's going to be a while."

"Okay, well, how long?" Anna asked, hesitant but calm.

Elsa swallowed nervously. "A couple days," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Days?" Anna repeated, audibly concerned.

Elsa nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess there's a really bad snowstorm over Arendelle and they shut down all of the airports."

"What about Weselton?" Anna asked quickly. "We'd have to get a car from there but-"

"They're about to close too. Storm will hit there shortly and they'd be shut down before we get there."

Anna sat back in her seat. Elsa could see the gears spinning in her head as she tried to accept what this meant.

"If we tried to make it there, we'd be sent further to Corona and end up just as far from home as we are now," Elsa further explained.

"So we're stuck here… for Christmas," Anna conceded.

"You can go ahead and say it now, Anna," Elsa whispered. "You were right. We should have moved the trip so we had a little extra time. Or just not gone or at least not planned to leave today. I wish there was some way for me to stop it but-"

"It's okay, Elsa," Anna cut in.

"It's not, Anna. I should have listened to you."

"Well, that's behind us now," Anna said.

It came across short but not harsh or unkind. Elsa didn't know exactly what to make of it. Anna was saying it was okay, and as much as Elsa wanted to believe it, her eyes told a different story. The normally sparkling teal now looked clouded and Elsa felt a pit of guilt form in her stomach. She wanted to press the issue, but she knew Anna would never let her feel like it was actually her fault.

"So, what next?" Anna asked.

Elsa shrugged. "I guess I don't know yet. The girl at the counter is trying to find us a new place to stay until we can take off. So I guess we just wait..."

Anna only nodded in response and sank further into her seat.

The couple fell silent after that. Anna still trying to wrap her head around their new predicament and Elsa still blaming herself for everything.

I never should have thought we would make it home tonight, she scolded herself. This is the most important time of the year for Anna and I knew that. Now she won't get to see her family and that's my fault. I should have planned to be home days ago so we wouldn't be here like we are.

Elsa was broken from her thoughts by Nala calling her over.

"Looks like she's got something. I'll be right back," she said to Anna.

She only got another nod. She gently squeezed her hand before she got up and walked back to the counter.

"I'm afraid couldn't find much at any of the hotels. There were a few regular rooms, but all of the suites were booked through New Year's," Nala explained as she approached.

"A basic room will have to do," Elsa began.

"But," Nala quickly continued. "I just so happen to know someone that rents out cabins on the mountain. There wasn't technically an opening, but their own cabin is currently unoccupied, and they said you could stay there."

"I don't want to put them out of their own place," Elsa told her. "A regular room will be okay."

"It's Christmas Eve," She said. "Just 'okay' is definitely not good enough. Given your situation, the cabin is yours until you guys can take off."

She grabbed a sheet of paper and began to write some things down.

"Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?" Elsa asked her.

"None at all. It's already done. I think you'll enjoy it. It's got the most incredible view of the island and you'll have a private natural hot spring in the back. It's heavenly. I think it'll make your stay a little more bearable," she finished jokingly.

That sounds incredible, Elsa thought. It figures that she'd end up finding a place like that. I did say nice.

She smiled and handed Elsa the paper she had been writing on. "Here's the address and the code for the lock on the door. Just give this to the driver waiting outside and they'll take you right there. It should be all set up and stocked for you when you get there."

"You have been more than helpful," Elsa told her. "How do I get them my credit card information?"

"You don't."

"I'm sorry?" Elsa asked confused.

"It's already taken care of."

"But how? I never gave you anything. How could I pay for it?"

Nala stared at her like it was obvious. "You aren't paying for anything," she said.

"What? There's no way I can accept that for free. Are you paying for it? Because that is not acceptable," Elsa argued. "Cost is no issue."

"I'm not either," she said with a laugh. "I know the family well and we are both happy to help someone out for the holiday."

So she wasn't just spending my money.

"We really can go find another room," Elsa said. Trying to give the girl one more chance to back out.

"It's Christmas Eve and you two are stuck over a thousand miles from home with very few rooms available elsewhere. I don't think you have much choice. Think of it as my way of spreading a little holiday cheer."

Elsa hesitated for just a second more. She made a good point. And if she really wanted to do this, then what reason did Elsa have to argue?

She finally gave in. "Alright. But I won't forget this. If you're ever in Arendelle, everything is on us. Thank you."

"I'll keep that in mind. Now, you go make her comfortable and see if the two of you can't enjoy a couple extra days on the island. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas."

Anna had been silent since they got in the car. In reality it had only been a few minutes so far, but to Elsa, it felt like a lifetime. Anna was never this quiet or distant, and the way she stared out the window made Elsa feel awful.

She reached for the younger girl's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Nala told me that this cabin is beautiful," she said.

Anna gave no real response and Elsa quickly resigned herself to the fact that this may be an uncomfortable ride.

The driver seemed to notice their stress and tried to help. "Beautiful might be an understatement. It's almost at the top of the mountain and you can see nearly the entire island. Nala almost never gives it up. I was a little surprised to get her call."

Elsa perked up at his comment. "Nala never gives it up? This is hers? She said she just knew the family that owned it."

The driver chuckled. "Knows the family? She is the family. Just like her to direct all the credit away from herself. She's a sweet girl."

Elsa was a little worried to find that out. "She does have another place to stay, right? She didn't give up her home to a stranger?"

"Of course not. She's got her actual home in the city but she'll likely be staying with her parents for a couple days given the holiday."

At the mention of family, Elsa felt Anna's hand twitch and pull away ever so slightly. But she left it in place and Elsa gave another squeeze.

She tried to redirect the conversation. "You said she doesn't normally give it up. How often does she use this cabin?"

"Normally on weekends. She likes to keep it stocked, though, so she can go at any time."

"Why would she let us use it?" Elsa wondered aloud.

"My guess is because you two can't make it home. She told me you're missing the time with your family tomorrow. Family is the most important thing on our island; to her especially. If you couldn't be with them, she probably just wanted to help in anyway she could."

So much for a redirect, Elsa thought with a sad glance towards Anna.

She tried to think of something else to say but the car came to a stop before she could.

"Here it is."

Elsa looked out the window and saw the front of the cabin. It was set back into a cove of trees and vibrant tropical flowers lined the walkway to the front door

"Wow. It really is beautiful," Elsa said. "And Nala owns this? As an attendant at the airport?"

"She only works there to stay busy. Everyone knows she doesn't need or want the pay," he told her. "And the front is nothing compared to the view down the mountain. Just wait until you see that. I'll get your bags while you two go inside."

"Thank you very much."

Anna and Elsa got out and walked up to the door without a word. Elsa punched in the code and the door swung open to reveal the open living room. It was fairly empty; only a couch, small coffee table and TV occupied the space, but it was simple and rather nice. To the left was a small kitchen and to the right was a sliding door that Elsa assumed led to the bedroom. Just past that was a small fireplace.

"Want to go look out the back and see the view? Nala also said there's a private hot spring," Elsa hopefully suggested.

"I was actually hoping to take a quick shower and lie down. I'm feeling pretty tired," Anna said.

"Oh… alright. I guess I'll get our bags then. Let me know if you need anything."

With that, Anna left to the bedroom and slid the door closed behind her. A moment later, she heard a soft click of another door closing and running water.

Elsa sighed and turned back to the door just as their driver set the bags down inside.

"Thank you for all the help. And for the last-minute drive on Christmas Eve," she said. She reached into her purse for her wallet. "What do I owe you?"

"Nothing at all. Nala told me she's taking care of it and that if I accept a cent from you, I'll never hear the end of it," he said with a gentle laugh.

Elsa was in no mood to argue so she simply smiled and thanked him.

"Thank you. And would you please tell her again how much I appreciate all of this? I'm also sorry if the ride was a little awkward with us. I'm in a bit of hot water with her as you can probably guess."

"Don't even worry about it. I'm sure you'll find it's not as bad as it seems. Merry Christmas."

He turned and Elsa echoed his well wishes as he got in the car.

She closed the door and walked to the opposite side of the cabin. The opposite wall was glass from floor to ceiling and she could see the hot spring off to the side. Further out, a hammock was strung between two trees just before the mountain sloped down and away.

I'm sure the view is even better over there.

She stopped herself from taking a look and instead went back to deal with their bags.

Anna will probably need her clothes.

She picked up the bags and stopped at the door where she listened for the shower still running. She slid the door open quietly and set her bag off to the side and Anna's on the foot of the bed so she would see it. Just as the water shut off, she closed the door and left back out to the living room. She let herself fall onto the couch as she reran the day in her head.

Do I apologize now or give her some space? Elsa wondered. She never pushes me away quite like this… does that mean I should wait or throw myself at it? I've never messed up something so important, so badly…

Her guilt got the better of her. She stood and crept silently over to the bedroom door. Again, she listened for any noise from the redhead, but this time she heard nothing.

"Anna?" she called softly and gave a light knock. "Anna, can I come in?"

There was a muffled reply and Elsa hesitantly took that as an okay to enter. Inside, she found Anna laying in bed. She had her back to the door and was looking out the large window at the sun setting on the horizon. Elsa walked in and sat on the edge of the bed behind her.

"It's a beautiful view," she said after a minute or two of silence.

"Mhm," Anna quietly hummed in agreement.

Elsa hesitated for just a moment before the question left her lips with no conscious effort. "Do you hate me?" she asked sheepishly.

Guess I'm just going right at it.

Anna rolled over onto her back and faced her girlfriend, concern evident on her face.

"What? No, of course not," she responded gently. "Why would I hate you?"

"Because I ruined your Christmas…"

Anna took one of Elsa's hands in her own and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"No you didn't," she told her.

"I did. Because I pushed for this trip, we won't make it home."

"Yeah we're stuck here now but I realized it isn't your fault. I know you can control a little snow and ice, but it's not like you put that storm there." Anna suddenly jumped up and propped herself up on her elbows. "You actually didn't do that, did you?"

"No! I don't think I could do something that big if I ever wanted to," Elsa assured her.

Anna laid back down. "Okay good. I'm sorry I'm being such a brat about this. I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

"I'm the one that should be apologizing. I know how much this means to you and if it weren't for me-"

"Elsa, stop that," Anna cut in. "It really isn't your fault. Yes, this sucks. And yes, I'm going to miss my mom and dad tomorrow. And we don't have our tree, or snow, or hot chocolate or-"

"Is there a 'but' coming soon?" Elsa asked. "Because I'm just starting to feel worse."

"But," she exaggerated, "that isn't because of you. And I refuse to let you think it is. I was thinking about it in the shower; I agreed to come – I wanted to come. So it's as much my fault as it is yours. Which it's not."

"But-"

"No 'buts' from you. We made this choice and I knew this was a possibility. It just sucks that it's actually happening. I'm only sad that I won't get to see my parents on Christmas."

Elsa let out a sigh. "I know, Anna. I'm sorry."

"But I'll get over it. It's not like this will be the last Christmas ever, right? It's just the first one I'll be away from them."

The sadness in Anna's voice broke Elsa's heart. Especially as she tried to tell her it was all okay. "If there was anything I could do, I would in a heartbeat."

Anna smiled up at her. "I know you would. And I love you so much for that. But, if it's alright with you, I think I'd like to try and get some sleep for right now."

"Of course it is. I'll just be out in the other room if you need anything."

Elsa gave her girlfriend a kiss on the forehead before she rolled back over to gaze at the ocean. Then she got up and made for the door.

"Elsa?"

She stopped with her hand on the door and turned around.

"Don't stay out there all night and beat yourself up. Okay? I know you probably still think I'm upset, and I guess I kinda am, but it isn't towards you. Plus you know how much I hate sleeping without you."

A smile split Elsa's lips. "I'll come back in in a bit."

She left the room and sat back down on the couch.

It might not be my fault but seeing her so sad just breaks my heart. All she wants every Christmas is to see her family. Nothing else really matters to her but that and now there's no way we can get home for it.

She mulled the situation over in her head. There had to be something she could do.

Then it hit her.

Maybe we don't have to be home to see them!

She jumped up from the couch, grabbed her phone, and dialed her brother's number.

It rang for a minute before she got his voicemail.

'Hey, this is Kristoff-'

She hung up immediately and dialed again.

"Come on, Kris, pick up," she growled.

"Yeah?" he answered nonchalantly.

"Kris!"

"Hey, Elsa. Where are you guys? I thought you'd be home by now."

"My plane is grounded because of the storm you guys are getting. They closed the Arendelle airports, so we're stuck here a few extra days," she told him.

"Really? This little thing? We only got a little more than two feet of snow this afternoon. Didn't think they'd close the airports."

Just like Kristoff to be unfazed by that much snow. Her brother loved the outdoors. The mountains in particular. He'd take Sven up there almost every weekend to trek through the snowy wilderness like its nothing.

"That's exactly why I called you," she told him. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Depends what it is."

"I need you to go and get a few things from my house in the morning."

"Tomorrow morning? Like Christmas morning?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm not going to be home, so I know you don't have any plans now."

"Well yeah but it's still Christmas morning! I don't want to get up and leave the house! It's one of the few days I get to sleep in and-"

"It's for Anna," she interrupted.

"Oh," he replied flatly. "Why didn't you lead with that? You know I like her way more than I like you."

"What a brother," she groaned. "So, will you help me?"

"You? No. Anna? Of course. Sven has been itching to get out in this snow all day anyway. Haven't you, buddy?"

She could hear the jingling of bells in the background.

"Is Sven in your house or are you out in the stable?" she asked.

"Not important," Kris answered.

"Your house," she laughed knowingly.

"What am I doing for Anna?"

"Right! We won't be home for a few days now and you know how important a family Christmas is to Anna."

"Of course I do. We always make a big thing of it with her family. I love it."

"Well she's not exactly happy to be stuck here and seeing her so upset about it is just killing me. It's all my fault that we're not going to make it home because I set this whole trip up."

"So how does that involve me?"

"I'm getting there. Tomorrow morning, go to my house. On my fridge there should be a note from Anna's mom. Just send me a picture of that. Then, in my office, there's laptop, a microphone and a webcam on the desk or one of the shelves. Grab all of that and take it to her parents house."

"Ohhh," Kris hummed. "A video call Christmas? That's surprisingly clever of you, Elsa. And rather sweet. Who would've thought that the Ice Queen had it in her?" he teased.

"Very funny, Kristoff. This is important to me. Anna is important to me. Repeat what I need."

"Relax, Elsa. I got-"

"Repeat it!" she ordered again.

He sighed. "Alright, alright. Camera, microphone and laptop over to Anna's parents. Simple."

"And?"

"And the thing from the fridge. I got it. I joke a lot, but I wouldn't let you down, you know that."

"Thanks, Kristoff. I'll owe you one for sure."

"Nah," he grunted. "I, uh, sorta forgot to get you guys a gift this year… So I guess we can call this even."

Elsa scoffed jokingly. "Of course you did. Good night, Kris. Merry Christmas."

She clicked off her phone and looked around the cabin.

Now to do something about this cabin before bed.

Rays of sunlight danced over the bed sheets and across Anna's face, gently rousing her from her sleep. She pulled the body next to her closer and cuddled into it.

When she breathed in the scent of fresh linens, she lazily opened an eye just long enough to make sense of the situation. She was hugging a pillow instead of a tall blonde.

She shut her eyes again with a pout.

"Elsa?" she grumbled sleepily. She tossed the pillow aside and fumbled around the bed blindly. "Elsaaaaaa?"

She finally sat up with a huff and looked around the room. She was the only one there. She thought she remembered the blonde coming to bed last night, but now she was nowhere to be seen. The room was empty and, for some strange reason, inexplicably cold.

She better not have slept on the couch! Anna thought. I swore I remember her cuddling me all night though.

She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders as she kicked her feet over the edge of the bed and stood up.

"Els?" she called for her partner as she shuffled towards the door.

She opened it and was immediately blinded by a flash of light and cool gust of air tickled her cheeks. She shielded her eyes for a moment as they adjusted then looked over the room. What she saw left her nearly speechless.

"What in the-" was all she could manage to get out as she took in a carpet of bright white snow.

A crackle and pop drew her eyes to the corner where a fire glowed in the fireplace. Beside it was the most beautiful tree Anna had ever seen. It stood nearly to the ceiling and looked as though it were made of frosted glass. Icy ornaments of all shapes and sizes hung from the crystalline branches as sunlight from the large bay window danced off of them and shown brilliantly around the room.

Is that her ice?

"This is amazing…" she breathed.

She noticed Elsa standing by the small stove in the kitchen, still wearing a bathrobe. As Anna got closer, she turned around and jumped when she saw her.

"What are you doing up so early?" Elsa gasped. She looked at the clock. "I thought for sure I would have at least another half hour!"

"Wha-What is all of this?" Anna asked.

"I woke up early and thought you might like some hot cocoa," Elsa explained. "Its technically your mom's recipe but it won't be quite the same. I had to improvise a few things but its something. It'll be another minute or two though."

"I'd love some, but that is not at all what I meant." She gestured around the room.

"Oh the fire?" Elsa asked.

It was obvious to Anna now that she was playing dumb to everything else in the room.

"That would be a start," Anna laughed. She spun back to the room behind her. "What about the snow? And that tree?! My god, its beautiful," she said breathlessly.

Elsa came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind. She rested her chin on Anna's shoulder. "It's just a little something I whipped up last night before bed. I guess it's my way of starting to make things up to you," she said quietly in Anna's ear.

"Elsa, honey, you didn't have to make up a thing to me."

"I know you'll keep saying that. And maybe it's true, but I thought you deserved a white Christmas nonetheless."

She flicked her wrist and a light flurry of snow began to fall around them.

Anna turned to the blonde on her shoulder. "Isn't this going to ruin the cabin?" she asked skeptically.

Elsa shook her head. "Nope. As soon as we're done-" she waved a hand in front of them and a section of the snow disappeared completely. "-it disappears without a trace. My snow is special."

With another wave, it was covered again, and Anna's beautiful smile returned.

Anna nuzzled her check against the older girls. "This is amazing, Elsa. What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"The better question is what did I do to deserve you? And I'm still trying to figure that out," Elsa teased. "Now you go take a seat on the couch and I'll pour the cocoa. Then, part two of your Christmas."

"Part two? What's part two?" Anna excitedly asked.

"A surprise! Now go sit," Elsa shooed. She poured two mugs of cocoa and brought one to Anna. Then she disappeared into the bedroom and came back a moment later holding her tablet.

"Alright let's see…" She fiddled with her phone and mumbled to herself for a minute. "Okay, hot spot is on… Why isn't this connecting…? Ah-ha! Okay… Now the TV…"

"As fun as it is to sit and watch you struggle, will you tell me what you're doing?"

"Not yet!" Elsa exclaimed. She clicked through a dozen menus and fiddle with the tablet more. "Oh come on. I had it working last night!"

Suddenly, the TV screen mirrored her tablet.

"Yes!" Elsa thrust the tablet into her hands. "Hold this!"

"Wh- Okay. Why? You're video calling your brother? Why should I-"

Before she could finish her question, Kristoff's face appeared on the TV.

"It's about time you called, Elsa! We've been wai- oh! Anna! Perfect!"

"Kristoff? What's going on? Who's 'we'?" She started to notice the background. The familiar décor and ll to familiar Christmas tree. "Wait a second! Are you- Is that-"

"Yeah!" Kristoff and Elsa both exclaimed together.

He flipped the camera around, and Anna got to see her parents sitting around the coffee table in their living room.

"Mom! Dad! What are all of you doing?"

Kris walked back into frame and sat next to her parents. "Just a little something Elsa thought up last night," he told her.

"Kristoff brought over a webcam for us this morning and told us how you two couldn't fly home," her father explained.

"I'm sorry if he showed up out of the blue. I was going to call you guys last night but it was pretty late, and I didn't know if you'd get a message in time," Elsa said.

Anna threw down the tablet and jumped to wrap her arms around Elsa's neck. The biggest smile she could ever remember was plastered on her face as she kissed Elsa over and over on the cheek.

"This is the best surprise ever!" she said excitedly.

Elsa returned the embrace. "I'm so glad you like it."

"Like? I love it!"

"Sit back down before they think we ran off," Elsa laughed. She picked up the tablet and propped it up on the table so they would be in frame.

Anna took the opportunity to wrap herself in a blanket and get situated on the couch before Elsa sat back down.

"Do you two have your hot cocoa?" her mother asked once Elsa was beside her.

The girls held up their mugs as did the other three.

"It's technically your recipe, but I didn't have all the ingredients available and I could never make it quite like you. I did the best I could with what I had though," Elsa joked.

"You guys won't believe what Elsa did to this place!" Anna exclaimed. "There's snow everywhere!"

The group sat around their webcams and talked for quite a while. Anna told them about the trip and their current arrangements as well as what Elsa had done to the living room. She had gotten so caught up in everything that, for a while, she had even forgotten she wasn't at home. It was only when they told her they had to start on dinner that she was brought back to reality.

"Aw, do you really have to go now? We won't even be there! Why make a huge dinner?" she asked.

"Someone needs to feed Kristoff," her mother told her.

"Really? Awesome!" Kristoff cheered. "Anna, this is why I love your family more than Elsa!"

"Very funny Kris," Elsa sarcastically replied.

"I'll make another dinner and some real hot chocolate for all of us as soon as you two are home!" her mother promised.

"You two go enjoy another couple of days on the beach," her father said. "We love you both and we'll see you soon."

"Love you guys more," Anna told them.

They ended the call and Elsa shut off the TV. As soon as she sat back down, Anna crashed into her and knocked her onto her back in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, Elsa. That was amazing. All of this is," she mumbled into Elsa's neck.

"It was the least I could do."

"No way! That was above and beyond anything I could've asked for. From you and Kristoff both."

"We could have actually been home though."

"Elsa!" Anna popped her head up and swatted Elsa's chest. "Quit that! We might not be home but that was just as nice."

She tightened her grip around the blonde and nuzzled her cheek against her again.

"Besides, I'm still with you. And that's what should matter most to me. You have given me the greatest week of my life and now the best Christmas present I could have asked for. I shouldn't have let being here another day or two take away from any of that like I did yesterday."

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna's waist and held her close. "You have every right to be upset, Anna. I did screw this up even if you don't want me to believe it. And I refuse to agree, that you are, in any way, responsible for missing Christmas," she half joked.

"Well I am!" Anna insisted. "And I won't have it any other way, either!"

Elsa planted a kiss atop her head and Anna cuddled impossibly closer.

"So what should we do now?" the redhead asked into her neck. "I suppose you should get rid of the snow and everything, huh?"

"Not yet. If I do that, you won't have a tree to open your present by."

Anna pulled away just enough to give Elsa a confused look.

"I thought that whole thing was meant to be my present."

"It was. Sort of. The first of many."

"Did you bring something from home?"

"Not exactly."

"Are you going to give me a real answer to anything today? Or is it all a guessing game?" Anna groaned.

Elsa laughed and nodded towards the tree. "Go look on the tree."

Anna jumped off her and ran across the room faster than Elsa could track. She scanned the branches for far longer than she would have liked looking for what Elsa could be talking about.

Then she saw it. At about eye-level, there a small box that looked like it was made out of the same frosted glass as the tree itself.

"This?" Anna pointed and asked.

Elsa nodded and Anna snatched it from the branches.

"Its cold," she said, noting the slight chill it sent through her fingers.

"Well, it is made of my ice. Same as the tree and all of this snow," Elsa told her.

"You made all of this out of ice? It looks like frosted glass. That's so cool!"

"I didn't think you'd appreciate the box so much. Maybe I didn't even need what's inside it," Elsa laughed.

At those words, Anna tore the top half off, eager to see what Elsa could have snuck in with her for a gift. When she did, all words escaped her once again.

Inside the box, atop a small, pillow-like mound of snow, was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. A white chain snaked through two intricately entwined, frosted strands that were studded with tiny diamond-like jewels. In the middle of those two strands, rested a stone the same brilliant blue color as Elsa's eyes.

Anna looked back at Elsa breathlessly.

"Do you like it?" Elsa asked hesitantly.

"Like it? This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!" she picked it up from the box which then disappeared from her hands. "It's cold too. You made this as well?"

Elsa nodded and Anna's smile faded.

"What's wrong?"

"How long will it last?" she asked dejectedly.

Elsa furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"It's ice. it'll melt eventually. Right? How long until that happens?"

"Until you tell me to get rid of it."

Anna looked somehow confused and Elsa stifled a laugh at her expense.

"That won't melt, Anna. I've been practicing things with my ice and I've found a few neat tricks. You know those light blue earrings I got a little while ago?"

Anna nodded.

"I made those to try it and they've stayed all this time. You could take it outside in the heat, in the hot spring, you could probably throw it in the fire there and I'm pretty sure it'll hold. I'd rather not try that one, though."

Anna's smile shot back to her face and got bigger as Elsa had explained. She hurried back over to the couch and sat in front of the blonde. She held it over her head and moved her braids.

"Help me put it on!"

Elsa giggled and took it from her hand then gently secured it around her neck.

Anna let her braids fall back into place and turned around.

"Mirror?" she asked, and Elsa obliged.

She materialized a reflective sheet of ice and Anna ogled the piece of jewelry. She loved how it sparkled and the icy chill it gave off. She also noticed something else.

"Is- is it vibrating?" she held it lightly between two fingers. "It's pulsing." She looked quizzically at her girlfriend.

"I guess you could say that, yeah. I'm actually kind of surprised that part worked." She parted her robe slightly around her neck to reveal a matching piece, only hers was a shade of teal. "I have one two. Normally, the things I make are...sort of linked to me. And each other. Like they are all kind of one."

"Okay…" Anna hummed. "And what does that mean?"

"Well, when I made these two, I hoped they would link specifically to each other since the were done at the same time. And it looks like they did." She grabbed Anna's hand and guided it to her own necklace. "See? Mines doing the same thing now."

"So they're like magic couples' necklaces!" Anna exclaimed.

"In a sense. That pulse, though, is actually a heartbeat. Specifically ours. Well, yours is mine and mine is yours. I mean my necklace is your heartbeat. Does that make sense?" Elsa asked as she started to confuse herself. "The important thing is, as long as we're both wearing them, we can feel the others heartbeat. Now that I say it out loud, it sounds super lame and sappy."

"But it's something special that only you could do for me," Anna added. She felt like she could cry. "Even on an island, over a thousand miles from home, with none of our gifts, no real tree, missing my family, poorly replicating my mom's hot chocolate-

Elsa poked her in the sides to quite her. "You are doing a really good job helping my self-esteem this weekend," she jokingly said.

Anna smiled impossibly bigger and giggled. "Even without all of that, you still managed to make this the best Christmas ever," she finished.

Elsa opened her arms and Anna jumped back into them.

"You did set the bar impossibly high for me when we get home now, though. You know I can't do any of this magic mumbo-jumbo and I don't make nearly as much as you do to buy something nice."

"And you don't have to. I dropped the ball getting us home, and this-"

Anna made to cut her off, but Elsa covered her mouth.

"And this is how I wanted to make it up to you," she finished and removed her hand.

As soon as her lips were free, she leaned in for a long overdue kiss. They parted and she pressed her forehead to Elsa's.

"I love you so much, Elsa," Anna said, squeezing her as tight as she could.

"I love you too."

Before she got too comfortable, Anna sat back up and pulled Elsa up with her. "Can we go in the hot spring now?" she asked enthusiastically. She held up the new necklace. "I want to test this things durability!"

"I don't see why not," Elsa hummed. "So long as you want to unwrap your next gift first."

"You made me something else?"

"Not quite. This one is in the bedroom."

"But the bedroom is empty. Just our bags. And I know you didn't hide anything in those. I packed them myself yesterday."

"It isn't really that type of gift," Elsa said suggestively.

"Well, whatever it is, I won't open it until we get home and I have a chance to re-shop for you," Anna objected. The subtlety in Elsa's words eluded her entirely.

"That's too bad. I really need to change first."

"How is that dependent me opening a present?"

"I'll give you one more hint," Elsa said. She stood up from the couch and sauntered away into the bedroom.

"Where's my hint?" Anna asked lamely. She stayed seated on the couch in thought.

What the hell could she be talking about?

Then Elsa peaked back around the door frame. "It's already half unwrapped," she sang. Her hand came into view holding the robe she had been wearing just a few seconds ago. She let it fall to the floor then disappeared again.

Anna swallowed hard and her cheeks burned red as she made the connection.

"Are you coming, my princess?" Elsa called.

So there we have it! Hopefully you guys enjoyed. And if you read the original, I hope you enjoyed this one more so I made up for time lost before.

I think Anna seems more like herself here. She's more so sad and disappointed about everything, not yelling and blaming Elsa. She sees the good in it after some thought and wants Elsa to forgive herself. I also like the actual Christmas morning scene way more and think the ending is cuter and a more natural. The necklace thing was stupidly cheesy and sappy but, regardless, I'm actually way, way, happier with this than I had hoped I would be.

Probably surprisingly, I'm leaving the original up. I thought about taking it down, but I want it to live on for some reason that I don't totally understand. Maybe, if you haven't already, go give that one a read. See what you like more about one or the other and let me know with a review or PM. (While I would absolutely appreciate any feedback, I wouldn't go read the other one unless you really have time you need to kill and literally no other options. If that's the case, I suggest looking at my profile for a few other Elsanna stories that I love from other authors.)

Like I said, let me know what you think with a quick review! Thanks for stopping back in!

P.S.

To anyone following me for AFH: Everything in my personal life sort of ground to a halt and getting myself going again has been really tough. I will say that there is something brewing, but I honestly can't say if/when it will be posted. I'm still sorting out a lot of personal stuff and trying to reconcile few situations that I ended up basically abandoning. Updating this story served as a brief and very welcome escape, but I don't know what it will mean for my other writings.