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“So, do you think it’s going to be a boy or a girl?” Mary asked one evening.
Anna was sitting in one of the rocking chairs with her feet propped up (as her feet were now prone to being very swollen indeed), while Mary laid across her lap with her ear resting against Anna’s massive belly.
It was already going on November, and Anna could hardly believe she had already been a Bjorgman for over a year. It felt like there was no possible way that so much time could have passed, and simultaneously that she had always been a part of Kristoff and Mary's lives.
Winter was already coming on, and it was considerably colder than the last one had been. There was snow well up to Anna’s calves and she had a hard time wading (or waddling, rather) through it to get the chores done.
Kristoff kept insisting that he and Mary could take care of everything, but she didn’t like feeling useless.
“You’re not useless, Anna.” Kristoff had insisted on multiple occasions. “You’re growing our baby. There is nothing more important than that job.”
Months ago, if you had objectively asked Anna if she thought she would enjoy being babied all the time, she would have given a resounding ‘yes’. But it was actually rather boring.
“I don’t know.” Anna replied to Mary. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a boy.” Mary said after a moment. “He used to move around a lot.”
“Girls can move around a lot, too.” Anna insisted, poking Mary. “You certainly do.”
“I guess that’s true.” Mary giggled and put her ear back to Anna’s tummy. “But he hasn’t been moving as much lately. Is that bad?”
“No, I don’t think so. The baby is probably just resting right now. He-or she- was just pressing my ribs awfully hard just a little bit earlier, so I’m sure everything is fine.”
“So, have you decided on a name?”
“No,” Anna sighed stroking Mary’s silky hair absentmindedly, “Krissy refuses to let us name the baby ‘Kristoff’ if it’s a boy. And I have too many other ideas and I can’t decide on just one.”
“Well what was your father’s name?” Mary asked curiously.
“Agnarr.”
“Mmm… Maybe not that one?”
“No,” Anna chuckled, “we won’t do that one.”
“What about your mother?”
“Her name was Iduna.”
“Oooh. That one is so pretty!” Mary said in awe. “If it’s a girl you should definitely name her that! I could call her Duna!”
“We’ll have to talk to Kristoff about it.”
The front door blew open, revealing a snow-covered man, who promptly pulled the handkerchief that was covering his face down to reveal a sloppy smile.
“You’ll have to talk to me about what?” Kristoff asked, stomping his boots out on the porch before coming in.
“Krissy!” Mary cried, jumping up and running to him.
It took Anna much longer to get to her feet. By the time she made it to him at the door he had already taken off his coat and hung it up.
“We were just talking about baby names.” Anna informed him, happily wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss, his cold nose making her giggle.
“Oh? What names have we decided on while I was gone?” He pulled his mittens off to reveal large warm hands that came to rest on her belly.
“If it’s a girl,” Mary bounced up and down, “let’s call her Iduna!”
“Iduna.” Kristoff repeated, gently rubbing thoughtful circles on Anna’s stomach. “Well, I like it. What do you think?”
“It’s a definite maybe.” Anna nodded.
“What have we decided if it’s a boy?” Kristoff asked, letting Anna go so he could peel off his boots.
“Definitely not Agnarr.” Mary commented.
“Alright,” Kristoff chuckled. “Good to know. Did you two start dinner?”
“Oh, no, I’m so sorry.” Anna sighed.
“That’s fine!” Kristoff insisted. “I can make us a quick fry-up.”
“Well let me help you, at least.” Anna gave a firm rub on her belly, as she had felt an unpleasant tightness begin, not for the first time that day.
It wasn’t unlike menstrual pains, so she didn’t think much of it.
“Trust me, it’s fine, Anna.” Kristoff gently guided her into a kitchen chair and sat her down. “You just rest.”
“Ugh.” Anna huffed. “This is stupid! I want to help you but now that I’m sitting down, I don’t think I can get back up. I hate feeling so-“
“You’re not useless, Anna.” Kristoff interrupted her negative words before she could even finish.
“Oh, I know!” She scowled. “I just wish I wasn’t so exhausted, and that my back didn’t hurt so bad, and that my feet weren’t so swollen, and that my brain weren’t so scattered so I could do something as simple as make you dinner before you get home. And I wish you weren’t so nice about it all!”
“You want me to yell at you to make me dinner?” Kristoff chuckled.
“Yes! You and Mary are being so helpful! It’s just making me feel worse! And then when I’m irritable you are both just so nice to me! It’s ridiculous!”
“Alright. I will yell at you to make me dinner tomorrow.” Kristoff promised, dropping a quick kiss on her cheek.
“You liar.” Anna scowled.
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Oh!” Mary hopped up onto the chair and planted her hands firmly on the table. “I’ve got an idea for a boy name!”
“Really?” Kristoff asked, pulling out a skillet and some eggs.
“Yes! We could call him Joseff. But with two ‘f’s. So, it’s kinda like your name Kristoff, but the baby has his own name. We could call him Joe for short!”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Kristoff shrugged his shoulders.
“Mary and Joseff?” Anna repeated. “Uh… no thanks. That’s a bit too biblical for me.”
“It’s not like I’m your real child, though.” Mary commented.
This made both Anna and Kristoff pause.
“I mean, I’m not really related to either of you.” Mary continued, not really looking at them. “So, if you like the name Joseff you should use it. I mean, my full name is 'Meriwa' anyway, and that's not in the Bible.”
“Hey,” Kristoff peered carefully at her, “what do you mean we're not related?”
Mary didn't say anything, she just peered at the table. There were small tears clinging to her bottom lashes.
“Oh, Mary. Come here.” Anna opened her arms and gestured for her to come into them.
Mary did so slowly, resting her head on the top of Anna’s belly and gave a big sniff.
Kristoff came and wrapped his arms around them both.
“Mary,” Kristoff started, “you know that family is much more than being related by blood, right?”
The little girl nodded gently.
“And you know that when the baby comes, we aren’t going to love you any less, right?” Anna told her planting a kiss on the top of her head.
“Yes, I know.” Mary said softly and sniffed again.
“Well then what brought this on?” Kristoff asked.
“It’s just something Mrs. Olsen said.” Mary gave a deep sigh. “She said that I’ll probably be over at her house more often when your real child comes, and that she was excited to spend more time with me.”
Anna and Kristoff looked at one another.
“Mary," Kristoff began, "if we send you to Mrs. Olsen’s house it will be for the same reason we always send you there. So that you can play and have fun. Not so we can get rid of you.”
“Really?” Mary looked up with her big dark eyes wide.
“Of course!” Anna insisted, squeezing her tight. “I’m going to need your help around here once the baby comes! I’m not going to send you away! In fact, you are probably going to be begging for a break because the baby is going to cry, and poop, and pee, and burp-“
Anna trailed off in her listing of bodily functions because Mary was giggling too hard.
“It’s going to be so gross!” Kristoff made a dramatic face.
“So, so gross.” Anna confirmed nodding her head.
“But it’s going to be a baby!” Mary sighed dreamily. “And I’ve never even really seen a baby, but I know babies are so cute! I mean all the baby farm animals are cute! So, I can only imagine what a human baby looks like.”
“Well you’ll see soon enough.” Anna laughed. “And this baby... it isn't our 'real child'. That's not how we see it, okay? This baby will be your little brother.”
“Or sister.” Mary added.
“Yes, or sister.” Anna conceded.
“We might not be related by blood, but we’re a family.” Kristoff added. “We all belong together."
“And nothing can change that.” Anna pulled her in tight again.
When she did, she felt that twinge of pain in the lower part of her abdomen again. It was considerably stronger than a ‘twinge’ though and she gripped Mary tighter than she’d intended.
“Ah.” She winced.
“Anna?” Kristoff gripped her shoulder, suddenly becoming very concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’ve just been having these aches all day.”
“What sort of aches?” Kristoff was alarmed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Really, it’s nothing Kristoff. I promise.” She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and rubbed small, stern circles against the base of her belly.
“How often do you have these aches?” Kristoff asked carefully.
“I haven’t really been paying attention.” Anna huffed, trying to get more comfortable. "Would you actually rub my lower back? I think that would help."
“Right.” Kristoff stood abruptly. “Mary, I need you to take good care of Anna. Find yourselves something to eat. I’ll be back.”
“What?” Anna squawked. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the Olsen's.”
“Why?” Mary asked.
“Anna is going to have her baby, and it’s too far to get the doctor.” He shrugged on his coat. "Mrs. Olsen is the next best thing."
“What!?” Anna insisted. “Kristoff get back here! I am not about to have my baby.”
“You said you’ve been having these aches all day?”
“Yes.”
“Consistently?”
“Yes.”
“And are they getting closer together?”
“Well, yes, but they aren’t that bad. I can work through them.”
“Anna.” Kristoff came to her kitchen chair and crouched before her. “You’ve started to go into labor.”
“What? No, I haven’t! Labor is loud and scary. This isn’t anything.”
“Okay, okay. Even if you’re right. I’d rather go get some help and it be nothing than to give birth to the baby myself.”
“You could do that?” Anna blanched.
“I’ve had to birth calves and horses before. It can’t be that different.”
“Cows!?” Anna shrieked. “Horses? Go, go, go! Get somebody! Please!”
"I wouldn't let you give birth in the barn, Anna." He seemed just a touch exasperated.
"Just go! I don't want to have this baby while you're gone!"
“Don't worry. You won't. I’ll be back as quick as I can.” Kristoff gave her a quick kiss then turned his attention to Mary. “Move her into our bedroom and look after her.”
“Okay!” Mary seemed both proud of her job, and nervous.
“So.” Anna said once Kristoff braved the cold, and she and Mary were alone again. “Better get working on those names pretty quick, huh?”
Mary helped Anna into the bedroom, (where she flopped on the bed none too gracefully), then went and pulled out her new slate and a bit of chalk. She wrote ‘girls’ on the top of one side and ‘boys’ on the other.
“Okay. So, we have Iduna.” She quickly scratched the name underneath the ‘girls’ section. “And what did we decide on Joseff?”
“Definitely not Joseff.” Anna shook her head. “Thank you for the suggestion though.”
“What about Arthur?”
“Nope. Too medieval-English-king.”
“Kai?”
“Nope. Too short.”
“Christian?”
“Nope. Too much like Kristoff.”
“Eugene?”
“Where did you come up with that one? No.”
“Anders?”
“Maybe… I don’t know.”
“Erik?”
“I guess that ones not too bad. I think my great-great grandpa was named Erik? Or maybe it was Ivar? I don’t really remember right now if I’m honest.”
“Sebastian?”
“Definitely not. Where are you coming up with these names?”
“James?”
“Mmmm. Nope.”
“Well, we might just have to hope it’s a girl.” Mary said eyeing her slate nervously.
***
---TELEGRAM FOR MARSHALL ELSA ARENDELLE FROM KRISTOFF BJORGMAN ---
IT’S A BOY! OSKAR AGNARR BJORGMAN. BORN NOVEMBER 16TH. ALL IS WELL. LETTERS FROM ANNA TO FOLLOW.