Snowflakes Fall and So Did I

~CHAPTER 12~

Elsa's POV

I knew I should have held it in. I didn't want to come inside this god forsaken hospital to use their bathroom and I didn't want my conversation with Jack to end. I was getting really invested in the bucket list he was making. It was a good distraction. But no, my bladder decides to be disruptive, which has led me to where I am now, staring into a familiar face I haven't seen in a long time.

He hasn't aged a day. He has the same wrinkles, the same brown skin, the same eyes, the same smile, the same body, the same everything. I never thought that I'd ever see him again. I thought the same with Jack, whose name I only just discovered once I started school. But the doctor in front of me...I've known his name for six years.

Dr. Stone.

The doctor who had treated Anna. The doctor who I had just ran into. The same doctor who is looking at me with concerned eyes.

"Are you alright, miss?" He asked, but I could hardly hear it over the thundering of my own heart in my ears. Can he hear it too?

"She's fine, sir," Rapunzel says, coming to my rescue since I was obviously malfunctioning. "It's just been a really hectic night for us."

Dr. Stone nods in understanding. "That's how most Fridays are. Take care now." And just like that, like nothing at all, he walks off in the direction that he was originally going. Does he not remember us? Does he not remember seeing my crying 12 year old face? Or my cousin's? I knew that Jack remembered me, so how come he doesn't? I know he's a doctor and that he's seen hundreds of patients who look alike, but surely he would have remembered me? What's funny is that I dreaded the fact of Jack remembering me, and now I'm upset that this doctor apparently doesn't.

And before I could stop myself, I suddenly find myself calling out to him. "Hey, wait!" He turns around, puzzled, and so is my cousin who's looking at me like I've grown a second head. But instead of asking him if he remembers me, I say two words that are long overdue. "Thank you."

"For what, dear?" Dr. Stone asked, confused.

"For treating my sister six years ago," I tell him and that's all I say. If he doesn't remember then he just doesn't remember and maybe that's a good thing. And maybe this will help him remember without giving away too much information which could somehow lead back to Anna. If he does remember then...then he just does and is treating it like it's no big deal.

Because when you're a doctor, seeing people who you've seen before isn't really a big deal at all, is it? He knows how to heal and move on after a death. I...I don't. I don't know how. Even when I didn't even know Jack's father.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I quickly turned around and walked away, not wanting to see a reaction and thankful that he didn't try to stop me. Because to be honest, I'm not sure if I want him to remember or not. And while Rapunzel didn't try to stop me either, she did try to get an explanation out of me.

"What was that about? Why did you say that?" She asked once we made it outside.

"I honestly don't know," I reply with a shrug and a racing heart. "Perhaps my conversation with Jack earlier made me more brave. I really did needed to thank him though. It's way overdue."

"You better hope that he doesn't say anything to Kristoff," she says, and before I could ask her way she continues. "That's his grandfather."

And just like that I stop in my tracks and felt deathly sick. I remember being told that Kristoff was adopted when he was five by a doctor, but never in my wildest dreams did I think it to be Dr. Stone. "Oh god," I say as I clench the fabric of my shirt above my stomach, "Punzie, why didn't you tell me that? You said he was adopted by a doctor but you never said anything about it being Dr. Stone!"