More News on Adoption And Eugene's Joints! (:

Today, Tangled Fan stopped in to check up on Eugene and to also talk to us about the adoption. 
She said Eugene was doing exceptionally well, and that he could probably resume normal activity soon.  Thank GOODNESS!!  And more awesome news: The girls will be officially adopted February 5th!! Only a week and two days!  I'm so excited, and scared, and also excited for Eugene's recovery!!  In other words, I was just a big wad of plastic excitement. 
She talked with us for a couple more minutes, and then left.  As soon as she left, Eugene and I turned to face one another. 
I couldn't even say anything, so I just gave him a broad smile.  He gave me that special grin of his as he carefully strode over to me, from the opposite end of the shelf.  My heart swelled when I noticed he only got a little unbalanced. 
He took me into his arms and I reached to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.  "So...next week!  And what about your recovery?!"
He chuckled.  "This was probably the best visit Tangled Fan's paid to us thus far.  Telling us we'll officially  have a family next week AND saying that my joints are almost completely healed up.  As well as they'll ever be, anyway."  He added. 
"Hmm...so, all the therapy you've been doing has paid off, eh?  Should have - I had to put up with enough of your grousing around about it!"  I dramatically rolled my eyes, but I reached up and slung my arms around his neck to show him I was just kidding. 
He laughed.  "Yes.  I'll be happy to get the last therapy session over with, though." 
I grinned.  "I bet." 
"And I can't wait to go for a walk.  Maybe we could today?"  Eugene asked, peering down in my face hopefully. 
"I-I don't think that'd be the best quite yet,"  I told him, even though I would've given anything to go for a walk, and I hated to see the excited glimmer disappear in his chocolate eyes.
"You're right, I suppose.  I'm just going stark raving mad having to stay up here.  I miss our walks!" 
I nodded.  "Yeah, but it's best to play it safe for now, okay?  We'll see what's up over this weekend, I think it's supposed to be warmer than it has been.  Maybe we could even go outside for a bit?" 
"Even if there's a ton of snow out there, I'd be beyond happy to go out there!" 
I laughed.  "Wow, you must be truly desperate to get  out of the shelf," 
"Yup." 

We sat and talked for awhile, but then Zelia showed up. 
Of all dolls - Zelia!
I greeted her with open arms, though, and she gave me a small smile as she walked into the shelf. 
"What's up?"  I asked her. 
Casting a quick glance towards Pascal, who was sitting on my shoulder, she shrugged.  "Just thought I'd see what you guys were up to.  That and the Frozen Foursome are getting on my nerves." 
Anna, Elsa, Kris, and Hans, of course. 
"Hmm.  What's up now?" 
"They're just hopelessly in love now...again.  Anna with Hans, only this time, Elsa with Kristoff now, too.  It's a little nauseating," she admitted, and I laughed. 
"Ah...so what do you want to do over here?"  I asked.
She thought for a few minutes, still giving Pascal a pensive, watchful stare.  "Are there any books around?  We could read, maybe.  As long as that stupid chameleon-"
"Zelia..." I gave her a warning look, and she dropped it.  "And, yes.  I'm currently reading a really good book on Tangled Fan's Kindle." 
I went to retrieve the Kindle, and shortly after I'd stepped off of the deck into the drawer, I heard a burst of laughter coming from my shelf. 
"THAT'S why Tangled Fan's been complaining about the wrong book coming up and her battery draining..." Eugene called over to me. 
Finding the Kindle, I popped my head out of the drawer and winked.  "Tell no one." 
He chuckled, shaking his head, and Zelia looked quite pleased with my recent secretive endeavors - even though it was just hiding the fact that I was reading on Tangled Fan's electronic device without her knowing. 
"What's the book you've been reading?"  She asked, sitting beside me on the floor. 
"A romance," I told her, without even thinking.  She was probably about ready to throw up at that word by now. And she apparently was, too. 
Groaning, she rolled her eyes.  "Oh boy." 
"Buut, she has some mystery books on here, too, I think," I told her, scrambling quickly to find something different to read.  At the mention of mystery, Eugene came over and carefully lowered himself down on the floor by me. 

Turns out the mystery book I found wasn't all that bad!  We read for a good long while, but then Zelia left, wanting to get back to her shelf before it got too cold on the floor.  I don't think she necessarily enjoyed reading, though...but maybe she has a strange way of expressing it when she actually likes something.  But regardless.  Since my eyes were tired and it was growing dark, I put the Kindle away and went back in to help Eugene stand up. 
"Well, I hope the week and two days until the fifth fly by like today did!"  I told him. 
"You and me both!  Only...I hope the fourth is a bit slower so we can enjoy our day," he said, and I gave him a puzzled look, my brow furrowed..until I remembered.  Our two month anniversary would be the day before the girls came! 
"Wow...two months already?"  I asked.  "I can't believe it." 
He chuckled, shaking his head as he reached to take Pascal off of my shoulder, placing him on his own shoulder.  "I can't either, but it's because it's flown by and I've spent it with my best buddy." 
I had to grin...his face had turned blazing red at that revelation.  "You're too sweet."  I winked, and he promptly reached to give me another quick, but warm, hug. 
"And I know it's not very long, but since we're dolls, we'll never know when we'll get separated or broken, or-" Eugene started, but I broke him off. 
"Don't even SAY that!"  I exclaimed, and he chuckled, bending down to kiss me. 
"We'll make the most out of every day, then, is what I was going to say.  I'm already planning for February - both for Valentine's Day and for our two-month anniversary.  And, actually..come to think of it, the day before Valentine's Day means that we'll have known each other for-" he paused, and I knew he was counting mentally, but I already had his answer. 
"Five months."  I filled in for him, and he grinned. 
"Yeah.  Five months - you're quicker with math than I am," he told me. 
"Yeahh, that's just because I kind of kept track of how long you were able to put up with me..." I admitted, slightly embarrassed. 
He gave me an expression almost like he couldn't understand why.  "I don't see why.  I mean, yes, I understand why you might think that way, but I never even thought about not being able to put up with you anymore." 
I reached up on tiptoe to give him a quick peck on the cheek, and he gave me an adoring smile.
"That aside..what all are you planning?" 
"Surprises, Rapunzel."  He chuckled, and I groaned. 
"Well...what about the Valentine's Day thing you were planning?  We'll be parents-"
"Don't start fretting about it, I've got it covered, m'kay?"  He said, and I pretended to be disgusted. 
Laughing, he reached to tickle me, and I jerked away from him, stopping myself short of giving him a playful shove. 


Annd...tonight was fun. 
Combined with being excited over next week's finalized adoption and the good prognosis of Eugene's joints, and the fact that it was FREEZING COLD and the wind was absolutely blasting and howling, I couldn't sleep.  It was so chilly in our little corner that even Pascal abandoned his chair so he could sleep under the three blankets I'd scrounged up.  Hopefully, this cold weather would stop by the time the girls came - I didn't know how we'd manage THAT!  I'm sure we'll figure it out if need be, though. 
After awhile of listening to the wind howl, I sat up, frustrated.  I was going to go off of the shelf  - I wasn't sure what I was going to do, though -  but then the covers slipped off of me and I realized how chilly it was...so I immediately dove back into the warm cocoon of blankets, grumbling quietly to myself. 
Eugene, who must've been awake, reached to pull me close to his side, and I curled up into a ball.  "Cold, hmm?"  He asked me. 
"You got it.  And I'm disgusted with this wind!"  I groaned as it picked up even more so.  "What're we gonna do if it's this cold when we have the girls?" 
"We'll keep them in bed with us, or something - we'll figure it out when the time comes.  Now, go to sleep, m'kay?"  He requested. 
I nodded...
And a few minutes later, I ended up typing this on the iPod, curled up in the blankets while Eugene watched me type, because he finally admitted that he couldn't sleep either. 
Looks like it's gonna be a long night...yay!  We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Never saw THIS coming, Part 2...

Yup - Anna came to talk. 
So did Elsa and Zelia. 
This morning, I'd JUST barely gotten dressed and my hair brushed before everyone came tromping up into the shelf.
"Oh!  Um, hey, girls," I told them.  "What's up?" 
Eugene caught sight of Zelia, and he promptly stuck close to me.  He knew she wasn't deadly, sure, but he was still wary of her. 
"Can we talk about something?  Just us girls," Anna added, casting a glance towards Eugene. 
"Lemme guess - relationship troubles?  He already knows," I said. 
She quirked a brow, but then she turned to Elsa.  "Oh my gosh.  THAT'S where the guys ran off to yesterday.  They told him."  Looking back at me, she asked if I knew. 
"I know what my hubby told me, but I wouldn't mind hearing it from your point of view, either." 
"Our point of view," Elsa corrected.
Hm.  So Elsa fit into this somehow? 
What about my sister? 
I turned to give Zelia a questioning look, but she shook her head.  "I just came along for the walk." 
"Okay.  Well, feel free to sit - let's hear this out." 

Eugene went to lean up against the lamp, out on the deck, and I immediately asked him to go sit down in the shelf. 
"Nah, I'm good. Gotta stretch my legs for a bit," he told me, setting Pascal up on his shoulder. 
I stood on the other side of the lamp, inside the shelf, and watched the girls as I toyed with a lock of my hair.  Zelia plopped down on the corner of the bed that was closest to me, and Anna took a seat by her.  Elsa leaned up against the bed behind her sister, and then they started  talking.

"Kristoff and I just...I dunno.  What I didn't tell you guys when I confessed why I was so on edge?  I fell out of love with him.  And I think - no, I KNOW - it's mutual.  The thing is?  He just..he's a great guy, but I just can't imagine spending the rest of my plastic life with him.  He's a good friend, but he's not my potential husband.  You know?  And on the other hand...I-I...maybe I like Hans.  And maybe it's mutual..." she blushed and looked down into her lap. 
"And meanwhile?  I've always liked Kris.  But I just didn't say anything about it, because, well, of course..Anna was with him."  Elsa said quietly. 
Alrighty then. 
"Well...it sounds pretty cut and dry.  Why do you need to tell me?"  I asked, curious. 
"I just..I don't know if Hans likes me.  And I don't know if I like him!  How do I know?  You're the only one who's ever successfully gotten married."  Anna blurted.  "So I guess...what's it feel like?  When you , you know...know you're..in love?"  She whispered the last part, and I knew she felt awkward asking me about this.  Elsa seemed to be interested in my answer, too. 
But oh, gosh.  I didn't feel very comfortable explaining that, either.  Especially not in front of my husband!  Pushing down my embarrassment, I licked my lips.  "Well...y-you..it's a feeling you've never really felt before.  You just know.  You love absolutely everything about him...his smile makes your heart flutter and your stomach to twist into knots.  You can't spend enough time with him, and he makes you feel like everything's right in your world, even when nothing is.  And you get all nervous when you try to talk to him, so you end up making a fool out of yourself, but he takes it in stride and you love him a bit more."  I flashed a glance towards my guy, and he gave me a wink, to which I gave a shy smile, my face getting horribly warm. 
"I actually...know that Kris likes you, Elsa, and Hans likes you, Anna.  They told me yesterday."  Eugene mumbled.  I knew he probably felt awkward sharing that piece of information. 
Anna and Elsa shared a grin.  When Anna turned back to me, she stood up, came over, and gave me a warm hug.  "Thank you so much." 
I nodded as she stepped away from me.  "Anytime."  Just please don't ask for anymore advice on relationships.  Please...
After that, we all chatted for a few minutes, but the three girls left in a hurry.  Probably overly excited to have their answers. 

So, I guess that's the answer to THAT.  Oy, I'm glad I didn't waffle around like they are...!  Who knows what'll happen next.  Hopefully things'll calm down once we officially adopt the girls...I hope...

Never Saw THIS Coming...Part 1

This morning, bright and early, we got up to the sound of knocks on the side of the shelf.
I about fell out of bed in my rushed - and awkward - attempt to go see who it was. Eugene, even though I hadn't helped him up, managed to get out of bed and up on his feet, hobbling rapidly behind me.
It was Kristoff and Hans.
"Oh - um, good morning, guys. Wh-what's up?" I asked, my face red with embarrassment. I still had my nightie on, and my hair was probably a mess. But if they were horrified by my appearance, well, it was their fault, because I hadn't had time to dress or brush my hair! But regardless.
"We wanted to talk with Eugene." Kris said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Come in, then," I stepped away from the edge of the shelf and rammed into Eugene's chest. He put his hands on my shoulders, likely so he wouldn't fall down.
"We'd...well.." Kris stumbled over his words, his cheeks getting red.
"We need to talk with someone more experienced than us. Alone, preferably. I thought we could go to the chair and discuss a couple of things."
"Experience?" Eugene finally piped up.
"In...in relationships." Kristoff's face was about as red as one's face could be.
Eugene coughed. "I...er...well..what's the issue?"
They both glanced at me. "Nothing personal against you, Rapunzel, but it's...we just don't...it's complicated."
I'd never really heard a guy say 'it's complicated', and I'd never, ever heard Hans at a loss for eloquent words.
"You don't have to elaborate. But Eugene's leg joints are still pretty weak,"
"I'm trying to do therapy every day, though, and walking is one of them. It's just a few hops over to the chair," Eugene reassured me.
I sighed. "Just be careful, okay?" He nodded, bending to kiss my cheek. I turned my attention back to the guys. "And you two - if something happens to him - Kristoff - you'll be answering to me."
"Yes, Miss Natasha Romanoff," Kris let his humorous side show through his awkwardness. When I gave him a curious look, he barked, "Black Widow. From 'The Avengers'."
"Ohh," I said, figuring it out. Eugene and I had watched that movie on Tangled Fan's laptop awhile back.
"Hm, I'm not sure. I think she could take you - you haven't seen her dark side yet." Eugene teased me, and I threatened to elbow him from behind, giggling.
"Okay. Well..we doing this or not?"
"Yeah, I suppose," Eugene said. "I'll be with you in a minute."
When they turned to go and wait for my hubby, I twisted around to give him a serious gaze. "Don't hurt yourself, okay? What they have to say can't be more important than your joints."
"I know," he told me. "I just wonder what they're wanting to discuss. Relationship experience?!" Eugene rolled his eyes around in mock-horror, and I laughed.
"Good luck."
He swooped down to give me a quick little kiss before he left. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"
"If you're not back by five, I'll be coming for you." I told him.
"No-"
"Yesss," I told him, and he chuckled, nodding.

 

I watched as he ambled across the deck. He was getting better with walking already, but I was still worried. Once I saw that Hans and Kristoff were going slow so he could keep up, I heaved a sigh of relief.

Hmm. So that left me alone for a good bit of the day.
Sounds like a reading day to me!
After slipping into my purple dress [sidenote: you may have noticed I haven't worn my Christmas dress since, well, Christmas. This was because Tangled Fan needed it for a doll she was planning to sell on eBay. While I was horrified that a doll was being sold in that manner, I let her use my Christmas dress for her--what would be more traumatizing than having pictures taken and being shipped off to a new home, in just your factory plastic? Eugene agreed with me.] and braiding my hair, I started to rummage in the drawer below us. Something had caught my sight yesterday in here, and I was planning to figure out what it was.  

Tangled Fan's Kindle!
It was about as tall as I am, and a lotttt wider than me, but I was able to heave it up into the shelf. 
Stumbling backwards as I tried to carry the ungainly thing, I tripped over the box I'd left on the shelf as a bed/chair for when we officially adopted the girls.

I got tangled in my own hair and fell across the bed, right on top of the Kindle.
Kicking and struggling to get freed from my hair, I grunted and grumbled to myself.  Pascal turned and gave me a 'what in the world are you up to now' look. 

 Since it was relatively chilly in the 'cold' corner of the room, I burrowed under the blankets and turned the Kindle on, looking for a good read. Much to my pleasure, Pascal hurried up onto the bed, plopping down beside me. I grinned, tossing a little corner of the blanket over him, and then started to read a random book I saw on the library list on the Kindle.

"Weddings by Bella: Fools Rush In" by Janice Thompson. It's a romantic comedy, Christian, and absolutely adorable and hilarious. To my excitement, Tangled Fan had all three books, as well as the first book to the spinoff series. Woohoo - looks like a lot of good reads for me! (:
I completely and utterly lost myself in the book and enjoyed every minute of it.  Curled under the blankets with my chameleon, I read for I don't even know how long - must have been around four hours or so!

I didn't stop reading, either.  At least, not until Eugene spoke up. 
"Hey, darlin'.  What'cha reading?" 
I gasped, clapping a hand down onto the screen of the Kindle.  Pascal, surprised, hurried to finally inspect the device - likely wondering what kind of madness it had done to deserve me striking it.  "Oh!  Hi, hon.  H-how long've you been back?  Sorry, I didn't even notice you!" 
He chuckled, leaning on the chair in an attempt to peek at what was on the screen.  "I just got back in." 

I quickly turned the Kindle to sleep mode, and he quirked a brow.  I don't know why I was so self-conscious of reading a Christian romance book.  And a funny one to boot. 
I tried to slide the Kindle aside, making room for him to sit on the bed, but I accidentally shoved it clear off of the bed, and it clattered to the floor of the shelf.    Luckily, Pascal leapt off of it and onto the wicker chair before he got hurt.
Stepping around the Kindle, Eugene laughed.  "Do I want to know what you're reading?" 
"A-a...romance book."  I choked out, and he chuckled, sitting down on the edge of the bed and scooting back. 
"Is it a good book?" 

"I-I guess so," I muttered, my eyes flitting back and forth.  I was too embarrassed to meet his eyes. 
Noticing, he laughed.  "Hon, do you really think I'm gonna mind if you read a romance book?  Well, I don't," he reassured me, reaching to cup my chin in his hand.  
I grinned.  "I just feel weird saying about that kind of book," I laughed.  "So anyway.  How're you feeling?  What on earth were they wanting to talk about?" 

He scooted to lean up against the box at the other end of the bed, and I followed suit, but before I could situate myself, he snagged my waist and pulled me onto his lap.
"Mmm, well...it was interesting.  Quite frankly, I don't understand any of it.  And, my legs held up, so don't worry." 

"What's up with them?  I'm intrigued," I told him.

He spilled the whole story.  "Well, turns out that Anna and Kristoff aren't...dating anymore.  I guess.  I don't think Kris is quite sure.  Apparently, Hans is quite taken by her, and vice versa.  Meanwhile, Kristoff's fine with it because after she said she didn't want to go 'so fast', after nearly two months, he's thinking she wasn't madly in love with him anymore.  And he says the feeling's mutual.  Or lack of feeling, actually.  And Hans is concerned about liking anyone else, after his breakup with Piper.  In other words, it's madness." 
I twisted to look at his face easier, amazed.  "What in the world?  That's...wow.  I can't believe that!  They used to be absolutely insane over one another."  I gave him a wide-eyed stare.  "Did you hear right?"  He couldn't be right.  Kris and Anna were so crazy for each other!  Maybe that's the key term there...they 'were'. 
He nodded.  "He kept obsessing over it.  That four hours?  That's all they wanted to talk about.  It was weird.  Most male dolls don't go that deep into relationship conversations." 
I nodded absentmindedly, still trying to process this.  Wow.  How could they be so sure they loved each other, and then turn around and realize they didn't? 

 

Eugene suddenly put his arms around me and pulled me snug up against him. 
"What?"  I asked him, quirking a brow. 
"I'm just glad we didn't go through all THAT drama.  We met, we knew, we fell in love, we got married." 

"Well, I broke up with you out of insane stupidity, and then we got back together, and THEN got married," I half jokingly laughed, half groaned. 
He shrugged, chuckling.  "Regardless, our relationship hasn't been near as crazy.  Or is there something you're hiding from me?"  He joked, tickling my side. 
I gasped in surprise before laughing and squirming to get away.  "Oh, yeah.  By the way, Flynn found my blog and he's coming here." 
"Mmmhmm.  Problem is, I know he's married, and I KNOW you're married."  He winked at me before kissing my forehead.  "I hate to say, but even if that did happen, Flynn won't get you back." 
I laughed through my nose.  "Fine by me."  I snuggled a bit closer to him, still trying to process this new information. 
"Anna will likely come over soon to talk to you about it, no doubt."  Eugene told me. 
"Mmhmm.  Wouldn't be surprised," I told him.
I kept trying to figure out what had gone wrong between those two, so we were silent for a few minutes before my hubby spoke up again.
"So...if you wanna pull that romance book up again, feel free to.  I didn't mean to interrupt your reading," he told me with a grin. 
"I will.  But I still..I can't believe those two aren't together anymore!  I'm trying to understand why, but I can't." 
"Don't try too hard to understand.  Don't want to give yourself a headache  - trust me, I almost ended up with one, trying to make sense of it all." 
I laughed, reaching to haul the Kindle back up.  I sprawled out on my belly, and Pascal hopped back over to sit beside me.  And that's pretty much how we spent the day.  (:

1/20/14 (:

So, the day before yesterday, at promptly 9 AM, Tangled Fan brought Audrey and Jordan.  She was supposed to bring Natasha, too, but she said that she had strongly refused to come, so she didn't force her. 

That meant that I was nervously prepping all morning long.  The bed got set upright, blankets crammed elsewhere, the wicker chair and box set side-by-side.  I found a little box in the drawer underneath us, which would serve well as a seat for Audrey, and eventually, could be fixed into separate beds for both of them (the box would get flipped upside down, minus the lid, for Audrey, and the upside-down lid for Jordan).  Eugene, who was sick and tired of sitting around, stood on the deck and watched me, leaning against the lamp.  I knew it was killing him that he couldn't help me, but oh well. 

 

When I was just about done, I turned around to see the alarm clock, which had been haphazardly set up on the deck (backwards) by Tangled Fan.  What if Audrey took to playing on it, even if we did our best to keep her off of it? 
I turned to ask Eugene what should be done.
He thought for a moment.  "Yeeahhh...that could be a problem."  He scratched at his chin and licked his lips.  "I don't know what to do with-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because I impulsively gave the clock a firm kick, tipping it off of the edge with a loud clatter. 

Alarmed, my hubby jumped, almost falling down, and shuddered all over.  Then he looked up at me and started laughing.  "Well, that's one way to do it." 
"Yup!"  I giggled, stepping down to the deck.  "Why don't you go sit down?" 
"Nah, I'm good yet," he reassured me, giving me a grin.
"You're too nervous to sit, right?"  I asked.  That's what I felt like, too. 
"Nailed it," he chuckled, giving me that classic grin of his. 
"Should I...I dunno.  Should I braid my hair?  I don't want to scare them."  I joked. 
He started to say no, but then I tried to pass a hand through my hair.

And got it stuck. 
Big time. 
He froze mid-sentence.  "...Err..maybe you should."
"Uh-huh," I groaned, trying to disentangle my hand.  He automatically reached to help me, carefully pulling my hand away from my hair.  "Thanks," I laughed, my face getting terribly red in my embarassment. 
"Yup," he gave me a gentle smile, and so I turned away to brush and braid my messy hair.  While I worked on that, Pascal, who was probably tired of trying to balance on my shoulder while I buzzed back and forth, plopped down on the wicker chair to sleep. 

When I came back, Eugene promptly swept me into his arms.

Leaning carefully to rest his forehead up against mine, he tightened his arms around me, so I did the same.  I just hoped he didn't lose balance and fall. 

"So...are we ready for this?"  I asked quietly, the butterflies starting up in my stomach.  Okay, fine.  A whole ZOO erupted in my stomach, not just butterflies. 
He gave a nervous grin.  "I guess we'll find out."  he started to reach to give me a kiss, but then we heard the bedroom door open. 

I jerked away from him, not meaning to knock him off balance.  He stumbled forward a step, and I immediately gasped a 'sorry' as I grabbed for him and helped him steady himself - before he fell off of the deck! 
As I heard Tangled Fan approaching, I moved away from my husband, but he promptly reached and pulled me back towards him, and I could tell by his tense arm that he was probably freaking out a little bit on the inside. 

Tangled Fan came and went quickly.  She explained why Natasha wasn't with the other two, and then we both reached out for the girls.
"Now, I'll be back this evening to get Audrey and Jordan.  I figure that you two could use some time to decide a hundred percent, so I'll take them till you decide."
Nodding thankfully, I gave her a quick thank you before she left. 

When she left, I hefted Jordan up into a more comfortable position in my arms, and Eugene looked down at Audrey, who he held. 
Audrey stared up at Eugene, a look of wonder on her face.  "Are you gonna be my dad?"  She asked him, giving him an adorable little smile, full of hopefulness and innocence. 
He gave her a huge smile.  "I'm hoping so." 
She abruptly twisted around in his arms to look at me. "You, too?!" 
I bit back my instant thought of 'I'm not going to be your DAD,', which she likely wouldn't understand, and instead tried to respond in a more kid-friendly manner.  "We're planning on it." 
"Jordan, too, right?  She can't be alone!" 
"Jordan, too," I answered patiently, giving her a smile. 
She gave me a HUGE grin before turning her attention back to Eugene.  She fairly interrogated him, but he took it in stride. 
And as for Jordan, she just gave me a wide-eyed stare.  I hoped she remembered me from yesterday, and wouldn't freak out or cry or anything!  Luckily, after she silently studied me for a couple of minutes, the most charming little smile split across her features, and this weird feeling came over me - a feeling of simple adoration.  I also couldn't believe how good it felt to hold Jordan in my arms!  I
 looked up at Eugene and Audrey, and saw a look of complete and utter kindness and love as he listened to Audrey chatter on and on. 
I touched his arm to get his attention, nodding my head towards the shelf, and he set his hand on my shoulder, following me into the shelf.  I went slow so his joints wouldn't give out on him.  I plopped down on the box beside the wicker chair, and he scooped Pascal out of his seat, sitting down himself; Audrey still in his other arm. 
Time to meet Pascal, I take it.
Please don't stick your tongue in Audrey's ear.  Please don't stick your tongue in Audrey's ear.  Please don't.... I thought to myself, watching the three of them. 
Pascal balanced on his one hand, Audrey on his lap opposite Pascal, he looked down at the girl.  "This is Pascal.  Isn't he neat?" 
She took a quick look at Pascal. 
Her eyes widened. 
And then she shrieked.  "NO!" She cried, twisting to bury her face in his shirt.  She shuddered all over. 
"Hey, it's okay!  He won't hurt you.  He's a good chameleon-" Pascal did the wrong thing, scurrying over to plop himself on Audrey's shoulder.  Eugene's voice was drowned out by Audrey's fearful screaming and yelling of 'get it off, get it off!'. 
He quickly scooped Pascal up, reaching to set him on my own shoulder.  Audrey's screaming got Jordan worked up, and she started wailing. 
"Honey, look.  Look!  He's gone.  He won't hurt you!  Audrey!  He's off of you!"  I tried to say over her. 

Marvelous start to parenthood.
Eugene looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. 
Maybe I was about to have a breakdown, too!
Let's wait to introduce the kid to the chameleon till they come to stay, they said.  It'd be fun, they said.  It won't mentally scar them, they said.  They won't make your eardrums bleed with their screams, they said. 

Finally, I got an idea.  If she was so close to her baby sister, this could work.  Unless Jordan was terrified of my reptile, too. 
I set Pascal down on Jordan's little lap, hoping he would distract her from crying.
He did. 
Thank goodness.  She started giggling, even!
"Hey, Audrey, sweetheart.  Look at Jordan, honey!"  I told her.  "Look at Jordan!"
She peeked over her shoulder, her little lip trembling, and she almost started freaking out at the sight of him again, but then she saw - and heard - Jordan belly-laughing at Pascal.
"He's not so scary, is he?"  Eugene asked her. 
"I...I guess not.  But don't let him near me.  He might bite!" 
"He doesn't bite," I laughed.  "He won't hurt you - he's been one of my best friends for, like, ever, and he's never hurt me." 
"O-okay," she told me, but she still gave him a cautious expression for a minute.

After that, our day went relatively smoothly.  Eugene was an absolutely adorable natural with both the girls.  I'm not sure how well of a job I did as my first motherhood experience, though.  xD 
All too soon, Tangled Fan came back to get the girls at around eleven.  (She had apparently decided to wait till she came back to go to bed...) So when she came back to get the currently-sleeping girls, we were both exhausted.  But at the same time, I was wired.  I felt a tweak of remorse when Tangled Fan took the girls, but I knew they'd be back.  Sometime.  Tangled Fan said she'd keep them until we decided, and also once she'd found some smaller blankets and stuff that could be used for them.

Once Tangled Fan left, I fumbled around till I got the bed ready, and then I felt my way over to the wicker chair, Pascal still on my shoulder.  It was PITCH black on our shelf, now that I'd kicked the alarm clock off the deck...and Tangled Fan didn't put it back up :P  When I'd found the chair in the darkness, my eyes adjusting to the dark again (since Tangled Fan had turned her light on and then, of course, back off), Eugene reached to take my hand in his.  I helped him to his feet, and when he was steady, I gave him a smile (even though he probably couldn't see it.)
"So...you're going to be a perfect natural dad, absolutely."  I told him, my heart squeezing as I thought of him dotingly playing with Audrey.  I knew by the way that Audrey looked up at him that he probably meant world to her.
He pulled his hand away from mine, instead pulling me into him and then planting a dazzling kiss on my lips.  When the kiss ended, I could hear him smile as he told me how he couldn't wait to full-out adopt the girls. 

"Me, too!"  I told him.  "Did you..I dunno.  Did it just feel..right, when we had the girls?  I just was wondering, cause I just, I dunno.  Felt all warm and fuzzy when I was holding Jordan."  I stumbled over my question awkwardly, not sure how to explain or say it.
He laughed.  "Yes.  And that's just what the humans probably call your 'motherly instinct' kicking in." 
"Oh," I said, not quite sure what to make of it.  He nuzzled my hair a second or two before plopping a kiss into it, and then he led me to bed. 
When I hit the bed, my mind reminded me how tired I was...but also, how much I wanted to talk...hm.  Time to choose between sleep and talking while everything was fresh in my mind. 

Eugene answered that question for me when he decided to talk about Audrey and Pascal...so we talked until I don't know when - and I think I fell asleep mid-sentence.  xD 

1st Adoption Meeting!

This morning, I woke up with my shoulder being shaken gently. 
I was flat on my belly, my face planted up against the bed.  I peeled an eye open to see Eugene was knelt beside me, shaking my shoulder.  But wait.  What was he saying?
"Wake up....Tangled Fan's coming in twenty minutes!  Wake up..."
Tangled Fan. 
Twenty minutes. 
The adoption meeting!
"I'm up!" I exclaimed, scrabbling frantically to sit up.  With a thud, I fell out of bed, dragging the blankets with me. 
In a seemingly hopeless tangle of blankets, hair, and my own plastic limbs, I sat up on the floor of the shelf, pushing my messy hair out of my face. 
Eugene, leaning over the edge of the bed, tried to help me untangle myself, and when I was done, I stood and helped Eugene out of bed. 
"Thanks," I told him...and he told me the same thing.  Laughing, I pulled him into a quick hug.  "We ready for this?!" 
He chuckled, but then he bobbled fairly hard.  I snagged his arm, trying to steady him. Giving me a careful smile, he nodded.  "Well...as ready as we'll ever be, I think!" 
I grinned, but then realizing I had less than fifteen minutes until Tangled Fan came for us, I rushed off to change into my dress, brushed through my hair, and braided it neatly.  Whirling around the lamp, I almost tripped myself in my excited rush. 
My excitement drained when I caught a glance at Eugene's face.  He looked like his legs were really sore...again. Likely from his first day of physical therapy. When he saw I was looking at him, he put on a smile and made the mistake of trying to come over to me.  He could hardly walk!  I gasped, hurrying to his side. 
He couldn't go like this!  And I wouldn't let him, either.  If he walked too much, he'd get his legs even more goobered up. 
I led him over to the edge of the bed.  "When Tangled Fan comes, she's checking you over again.  I'll tell her that we can't go today - you need to chill."
He gave a frustrated huff.  "No, she's not checking me over again, and no, we can't miss the adoption meeting!"
"Yes, we can, hon."
"But what if she told those kids that someone might adopt one of them today?" 
I realized what he'd been thinking.  That would be so sad.  What if they'd gotten excited to meet us?  I shrugged my shoulders up to my ears.  "I-I...I dunno."  I sank down onto the bed beside him and sighed. 
He was quiet for a couple of minutes, but then he nudged my arm with his elbow.  "You can go,"
Umm...what?!  This was supposed to be a family thing.  Both of us needed to go!  And...I admit, I was feeling nervous about meeting the kids.  Weird, I know. 
"No, I'm not going without you.  You need to be there, too!"
"I know.  But, hon, you don't know how mad it makes me that my legs are messed up.  I don't want to be the cause of this being cancelled...Please.  You can come home and tell me about everyone, and we can make a decision." 
"I don't...I don't know, Eugene...I mean, yeah, I suppose I could..." my voice cracked, and I looked down into my lap. 
"Hey.  Don't be nervous - you'll be fine."  He gave my shoulder a gentle punch before peering down into my face.  I met his eyes for a second, and he grinned at me, winking.  "Now...are you taking Pascal with you?" 
"Probably not," I sighed.  "We'll leave the scary reptile here for the first meet."
He chuckled.  "We'll leave that for when they're adopted.  Oh, yeah, sweetie.  Here's a scary reptile that will probably terrify you!" 
I burst out giggling.  "Oh my goodness..." Still thinking about THAT, I leaned my head on his shoulder, grinning. 
He slung an arm around me.  "So, you're going to go?" 
"I suppose.  You pulled the guilt trip on me," I accused him, winking so he knew I was teasing.
Chuckling, he tipped my chin up so he could give me a sweet little kiss. Just as we pulled away, the door to the bedroom opened and shut.  "I'll see you later.  Love you, hon." 
"Love you, too.  Take it easy today, okay?"  I requested, standing up to go meet Tangled Fan.

She took me to a different room (not sure what room it was), told me she'd be back to check on things when she came home from church, and then hurried off, leaving me to introduce myselves to three little girls, one looking extremely wary of me. 

Sisters Audrey and Jordan

Natasha

When I came home, it was dark and I was purely exhausted.  Tangled Fan had set me on the floor on the opposite end of the room, bless her heart, so I had to walk back to the shelf.  In the dark.  When I was tired as all get out.  Ah well, I suppose it gave me plenty of time to think. 
I grinned as I finally stepped into the shelf at nine.  Eugene and Pascal were already asleep, though, by the looks of things, so I supposed I would catch up with my hubby in the morning.  I changed into my nightie and went to work carefully spreading the blankets on the bed.  I sat down on the edge of the bed before I remembered to unbraid my hair.  Too tired to bother brushing it, I just sat and started unbraiding.  I was about halfway done when two strong arms grabbed me around my waist, dragging me backwards.  I gasped in surprise, my heart speeding up...but then the owner of those arms kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear. 
"I scare ya?"
Eugene.  Good grief.  "Hah!  Just a little bit," I laughed sarcastically, elbowing him playfully from behind. 
He chuckled, releasing me from his arms. 
I turned to see him and grinned.  "You must be feeling better...?  How did your day go?" 
He flopped down on his back, so I laid down on my side and propped my head up so I could see his face, tossing the blankets over both of us. 
"I'm more interested in how YOUR day went, personally..." He said, yawning. 
"I asked first, dear," I reminded him, giggling.
"Oh, fine."  He grumbled.  "It went okay.  I'm feeling better than I was, anyway.  And Tangled Fan said I'd have my ups and downs...which is absolutely excellent..." he ended on a sarcastic note.
"Oh, things will turn out okay.  It'll just take awhile," I reassured him, reaching over to kiss the tip of his nose. 
"Hm.  So...I answered you, now YOU have to answer me!"  He told me, giving me his special little grin. 
"Well...Tangled Fan only brought three of the kiddos she had - saying that she felt that they would fit the best with us.  The first was a blond haired, blue eyed little five year old girl named Natasha.  She seemed pretty sweet, but was kind of flighty...understandable, though.  The other one was just a little baby, Jordan, about three months old in doll years.  She has brown hair and eyes and seemed like a pretty quiet little one.  She's sisters with the seven year old, brown hair and brown eyed sweetie named Audrey.  She was really cute.  Shy, but cute."  I smiled to myself as I remembered Jordan and Audrey. 
"Hmm...and which one out of those three were you considering?"  Eugene asked, pulling me close to his side.  I wormed away, though, to flop on my belly and rest my chin on his chest, looking at his face. 
"I won't say anything until you tell me what YOU thought."  I told him. 
"I asked first..." he tried to pull that one on me. 
"But I already know.  I want to know what your unbiased opinion-" he tried to cut me off with a kiss, but I sat up, staying away from him.  "Huh-uh.  Tell me." 
He chuckled, trying and failing to act annoyed.  "Fine.  I think Audrey seemed like a good candidate for adoption." 
I nodded, and he sat up, too.  "The only thing?  She and her sister, Jordan, have to be adopted together.  I liked both of them, but are we ready for such a commitment?  Two kiddos, and one being a baby?" 
He shrugged, biting his lip.  "Well..." he made a few nonsensical noises before shrugging again. 
I laughed.  "Tangled Fan said she'd meet us tomorrow morning at nine to talk.  So..." I sighed.  "I dunno.  And I'm tired."  I leaned my head up against him, trying to remember what I needed to say.
He stroked my hair for a couple of minutes.  I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, even though I was beyond tired. 
"Well...I mean...were you considering adopting a baby?  I was open to it.  If you are, too, what difference would it really make if we had an older child, too?" 
I shrugged.  "I dunno."  I held my breath a few moments before letting it out all in a big rush. 
"You could tell Tangled Fan we need more time, or..."
"OH!  She told me she would bring the three of them to us tomorrow, so you could meet them."  I finally remembered.
He gave me a surprised look.  "Oh!  Well...I suppose we don't have to have a 100% decision by 9 AM, then?" 
I bit my lip, nodding slowly.  I really wanted to know for sure, though. 
He caught my expression.  "But...you want to know what my preference is?" 
I met his eyes, nodding and chewing my bottom lip like nobody's business.  "Mhm.  I mean, if you don't mind.."
"I say we go for it." 
That's what I'd been hoping for, but I was also terrified of making the wrong decision. 
"Okay.  Okay!  Then...okay," I said, not sure what to say.  It was all becoming so real!
He chuckled.  "Now...let's get to sleep."  Catching himself, he winked.  "But I doubt there will be much sleeping.  More like staying awake, excited and nervous beyond compare?" 
I laughed.  "You nailed it, bud."  I looked at him for a couple of minutes before I just threw myself at him, pulling him into a quick, excited-slash-nervous-kiss.  He pulled away and then grinned at me, his eyes twinkling.  I stretched my legs out, crisscrossing them over his before I gave him a broad smile.  "I'm excited and terrified at the same time.  How can that even be possible?!" 
"Ohh, it's possible.  Trust me."  He laughed.  "That was how I felt for, oh...three months after I met you?" 
I giggled, leaning over to give him a quick hug.  "Love you.  How did we ever get each other into this mess called life as a doll couple?" 
He grinned at me, giving me the most adoring look ever.  I'm pretty sure I returned it...he didn't need to say a word.  But he did anyway, being my Eugene.  "Because you were the sweetest, most adorable and perfect girl I'd ever met.  Plus, you're gorgeous." 
I laughed it off.  "I don't see myself as any of those things, especially not perfect, hon.  I'm pretty sure it was because you were the nicest guy I'd ever known.  Scratch the nicest GUY, you're the nicest person I've ever met!" 
He chuckled.  "Hmmm..."
I glanced down.  Was he uncomfortable because of the way I'd sprawled my legs over his?  I hoped I hadn't hurt him somehow...!  "OH!  I'm so sorry.  I didn't-" I started to move, but he put a hand on my lap. 
"Nah, you're fine." 
I grinned at him, but then I mentally kicked myself for taking that sweet moment and totally trashing it.  "And...there I go being unromantic and very awkward." 
He gave me a playful shove.  "You're fine.  Now...let's get to sleep." 
"You mean, laying in bed not sleeping cause we're both so nervous?"  I asked, laughing. 
He nodded.  "Yeah....what you said."
I laughed quietly, trying to turn and swing my legs around to lay down in one swift motion.  I started to fall off of the edge of the bed...again...not realizing how close I was to it. 
Acting with quicker reflexes that I'd probably never have, Eugene reached over and grabbed my arm, hauling me back upright. 
"Thanks," I laughed.  "Let's talk about how perfect I am?" 
He chuckled, flopping down on his back and stretching an arm out.  "You're fine.  C'mere."
I curled up close to him and rested my head on his chest, even though I was completely and utterly jittery for tomorrow. 

Eugene's Next Checkup And EXCITING NEWS!!

 This morning, since Tangled Fan was supposed to come check Eugene's leg joints again, but we only knew she was coming 'early', we got up at seven.  Rather, I got up and then woke Eugene up.  :D 
When I got him awake, he rubbed at his eyes, stretched, and then groaned.  "Today's when Tangled Fan's going to check me out...isn't it?" 
I nodded. "Yup, so we'd best get moving!"
Worry instantly clouded my husband's face.  "Ughh.  And I suppose this one'll tell her how I'll be for the rest of my life...seeing as I don't HURT anymore, I just can't balance on my loose joints." 
"It'll be fine, don't worry.  Be optimistic!"  I said, but since he'd said that...now I was worried, too.  Great. 
I stood up and helped him up and over to the chair before I changed my dress and brushed my exceptionally tangled hair.  And by the time I was done with that, I was officially a nervous wreck. 
I came back from behind the lamp and tried not to pace.  I wrung my hands together instead.  Pascal, who was on Eugene's lap, stared at me, whilst Eugene did the same.  I tried to turn away so he couldn't see me freaking out, but then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eugene start to stand up.  I stuffed my hands behind my back and turned to watch him carefully.  He straightened himself up, slightly quicker than he had been, and then made his way towards me.  He only bobbled once, and that was when he stopped near me.  When he came up to me, he gave my shoulder a squeeze.  "Hey.  It'll be fine, don't you worry, too!"  He gave me what he must've thought was a brave grin, so I grabbed his hand off of my shoulder and held it. 
"I know.  Sorry," I said, slightly embarrassed that he'd been able to tell how nervous I am.
He winked.  "It's all good." 
And then we heard the door open. 
We both took a deep breath (at the same time :D) and waited stiffly for Tangled Fan. 

She gave a lengthy check-up.  When she FINALLY set Eugene down, concluding her examination, she smiled.  "Well...You'll probably be able to work your joints enough to at least get used to them being looser.  Most dolls do lose limb tightness, but it's more gradual than in your case, of course; so just remember that this would've happened someday anyway.  Your limbs will always be kinda loose, but you'll get used to it.  You know what I mean?" 
"Yeah," he told her. "So...I'll get steadier and be able walk okay, but I'll never be perfect.  Right?" 
"Yeah."  She started to turn around, but then she swung back.  "Oh.  While I'm here - in case you didn't notice, I cleaned and rearranged in here.  While I did so, I found a few babies and younger children dolls...I was wondering if you'd be interested in adopting sometime soon here?" 
I gasped, glancing at Eugene with a mix of excitement and nervousness.  He had the same expression, but he gave me a slight nod.  I nodded back and then he said we'd love to start our family now. 
"Great!  Tomorrow works for you to go meet them?"  She asked. 
"Yup.  See you tomorrow.  Thanks," Eugene said. 
When she left, and the door closed, I whirled towards my husband.
"Oh my gosh.  Oh my gosh!"  I exclaimed.  "You're gonna be fine!" 
I grabbed his face in my hands, standing on tiptoe and pulling his face down so I could give him an excited kiss.  He wrapped me up tight in his arms, giving me a sweet kiss in return. 
When our lips parted, he let go of me, and I backed up a couple of steps, not sure what to think or even say. 
"I told you!  I TOLD you!!  Ohhh my goodness gracious.  I can't believe....I'm so relieved, Eugene!"  I exclaimed, and he gave me that grin of his.
"Me, too!  I want to go for a walk.  But I suppose that's not the best idea, right?" 
"No."  I told him, but then I tackled him into another hug that almost knocked him down...oops...  "We'll start working on that physical therapy stuff, and we'll be able to go for walks soon!"  I was so relieved that I couldn't hardly contain my enthusiasm. 
He hugged me tight, chuckling.  "I can't wait.  And what about our soon-to-be expanding family?"
My breath caught at the mention of that.  I looked up at his handsome face, trying to suppress my excited smile. 
"I'm both excited and terrified." 
"Me too," he laughed.  "But everything will work out okay, I'm sure." 
I reached to kiss his jaw.  "Mmhm!  Are we ready for this?" 
He shrugged.  "We'll see..."
I laughed.  "That is NOT a good way to decide if you're ready for something or not!" 
Chuckling, he lost his balance again.  Luckily, I was able to steady him before he fell down. 
"Thanks," he grinned at me, but his happy expression flickered.  I knew he had probably just been reminded that he wasn't going to get 100% better. 
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.  "So...tomorrow!  Tomorrow we'll start writing another chapter of our life together!"  I said, trying to distract him. 
He realized my motives, and gave me a real smile.  "Yep yep..." He winked, walking over to the chair (on his own!!!) and sitting.  I pulled up a seat by him, and we chatted the majority of the day.  We also started a little bit of the physical therapy exercises.

It didn't hit me until around 11 PM that we were going to be meeting some kiddos tomorrow that may just become the start of our family. 
Safe to say, I couldn't sleep because I was terrified. 
I tried not to toss and turn, because I didn't want to keep Eugene up...so eventually, I just got up and went to pace out on the deck. 
After a good while of pacing, an arm just snaked out, grabbing tight around my waist.  I gasped, whirling around to see my husband. 

"Oh my gosh, Eugene!  Don't do that to me!  And why're you up?  You should still be in bed.  You're gonna be really sore tomorrow if you don't take it easy, you know.  Especially because of the exercises," I warned him. 
"Hmmh.  So be it, then.  I'm sick of sitting around already.  What's wrong - why're you up?" 
Ignoring his question, I asked my own.  "I didn't wake you up, did I?"
From the light of the alarm clock's glowing numbers, I caught his adorable grin. "Not at all."
"Hmm. Well, go back to bed. I'm fine," I told him.
"If you're fine, why are you up? It's because of the adoption meeting, isn't it?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "Just me being me," I said, "so...just go back to bed. I'll come to bed when I'm ready, okay?"
"Nope," he told me, hugging me and kissing my hair. "Let's talk."

I started to tell him, once more, that I was fine and that he needed to get back to bed, but he broke me off by leading me back into the shelf, sitting down on the edge of the bed, and patting the spot beside him.
"There.  I went back to bed." 
"That's not-" I started to disagree, but technically...he HAD gone to bed.  He just hadn't gone to sleep.   I chuckled. "Okay, okay, okay. I am worrying about the adoption."
He gave me a pensive gaze. "What?"
I finally spilled everything....all my concerns, everything. "I know it's just silly...but that's what I'm worrying about."
He reached over, putting an arm comfortably around my shoulders, so I leaned my head on his shoulder. "You know...we can always tell Tangled Fan that we've decided to wait for awhile, if you don't think you're ready yet, hon."
"Nooo, no. I want to adopt now! I want to start our family. I'm just...scared." I whispered the last part, still embarrassed, and he gave my shoulders a squeeze.
"Don't be. I mean, I get why you're worried and scared -- I have my reservations about it as well, truth be told, but it'll turn out fine.  We'll be nervous wrecks no matter WHEN we decide to start our family," he told me.
I nodded silently, feeling slightly better.  And once again, I was thankful for having such an understandable and sweet guy as my best friend and husband, so I reached over and grabbed him up into a tight hug. He chuckled, putting his arms around me in return. When I loosened my grip, he cradled my cheek in his hand, tipping my head up. "What was that for?"
I grinned. "Nothin'." 
After that, the meeting set in for my husband, too, and HE couldn't fall asleep, either!  So as of right now, I'm sitting on the bed with a sleeping Pascal on my lap - for once! -, my husband beside me, and I'm typing this on Tangled Fan's iPod.  I suppose I really should get to sleep, because I won't be able to think straight tomorrow, but how can one possibly go to sleep when something this life-changing, exciting, and simply terrifying is lurking in the mist of tomorrow?! 

Accident Part 2 And The End of the Sisterly Tensions

Part two of yesterday:  (Read Part 1 HERE unless you wanna be really, really confused.)
Tangled Fan came back down after awhile and brought me back to him. He was still out, but by
the time she was done with her second excruciatingly long examination, Eugene was starting to come to. She quickly administered a wee bit of children's Tylenol, which made him go right back to sleep.
After she'd done that, she turned to me. "It seems to me that the fall probably did something to his legs. They seem a bit more loose than usual, but I'm sure he'll still be able to walk. He might take a little bit of rehab, but I don't think it will affect his walking much, if at all. He'll be fine. And as for the head injury -- don't worry, I heard you guys yelling in there, so I have a good idea of what happened -- he'll be okay. Luckily, he didn't seem to sustain any head injuries from falling or getting punched - this'd be a whole different story if he had been. I want you to keep an eye on him, though, okay? Once he wakes up, I'll do another examination of him and then we'll see about letting you go back upstairs."
A shiver shot through me as I thought about the idea of him being permanently handicapped, and I mumbled a thank you. She nodded, went to go get a few blankets for us, and then left again. She also brought Pascal down...thankfully.

And so I waited. And waited. And waited.
I also beat myself up. If I would've been a little stronger...if I hadn't have gotten into that fight...if I had had better reflexes...Ugh.

Finally, he woke back up. I was at his side in a heartbeat.
He glanced around, confused, but then he saw me and tried to sit up.
"No, no, no. You'll get dizzy. Lay back down, okay?" I told him, resting my hand on his shoulder.
He started to nod, but then he caught himself. "Wh-" he broke off to clear his froggy throat. "What happened?"
"Kristoff punched you...and you fell off of the dresser." I said. "You remember the fight?"
"Yeah," he said.
We stayed in awkward silence for a few minutes, and I started to rub at my arm, which was starting to really ache from trying to haul Eugene back up to safety.
Noticing, he asked if I was okay. How had he even seen me rubbing at it? It's not like I was dramatically rubbing at it! Alrighty then, Mister Hawk-eyes.
"I'm fine," I reassured him, and he gave me a small smile. I wanted to hug him, but I was afraid I'd hurt him...!

By the time Tangled Fan came back down, we were both about ready to go to sleep, and it was soo dark down here...dark and cold!
She got him to walk, and examined him alll over again. I could tell he was embarrassed by the extent of her examination, but oh well.
The final report was that he WOULD need to take it easy, and gave me a physical therapy-esque idea of what to do for him. Then she took us all back upstairs, setting us (thankfully) on our old shelf.
Tangled Fan had a few long boxed sets of books on that shelf, which I was easily able to tip on their sides to make a nice bed up off of the floor...that was the only way we would be able to lay down! I would set them back up in the morning.

When we were alone again, I made sure Eugene was comfortable and I probably went a mite mother-hen on him. When I was done obsessing [for a little while], Eugene urged me to come to bed.
Without needing another invitation, I went to sit by my husband, but I didn't lay down. I sighed as I thought about how lucky it was that he hadn't gotten hurt any worse. I didn't realize I was staring at him...whoops.
"Uh oh. I know THAT look," he told me. "That's the same look you gave me the last time I fell off of something and got myself hurt. C'mere."
I tried to laugh in order to lighten up the mood. "I won't do anything stupid this time, I promise," I told him.
He grinned. "Okay, but c'mere anyway."
I shrugged my shoulders up to my ears, wanting to, but suddenly being afraid of accidentally bumping him in a sore spot or something. "I-I was thinking about sleeping on the wicker chair-" I told him.
He read through that. "Hon. I promise to you...I'm not horribly sore. My legs hurt, yeah, and my back, but other than that, I'm fine. And I want my wife."
My heart squeezed and my eyes teared up, for whatever reason, and he stretched an arm out for me. I caught his grimace, though. 
"You said-"
"My arm just hurts a bit. Don't know why-"
I broke him off. "That was the arm I caught you with, when you fell. I tried to kee...keep you from falling, but I couldn't. I wasn't strong enough...I'm sorry." I told him, almost losing my composure.
"Ahh...I get it. I bet your arm hurts even more, huh?" He suddenly looked concerned for me.
"I'm fine-" I told him, but he caught me, chuckling.
"Right."
I tried to disagree wtih him, grinning at him, but I trailed off. Why lie? He already knew the truth, anyway.
"Don't try to disagree with me on this one, babe. You won't get anywhere." He gave me a smile. "Now..c'mere."

I accepted his offer this time, curling up on my side to face him. He was laying on his back, uncomfortable laying any other way, but he pulled me close to his side.
"I love you," I told him quietly, resting my head hesitantly on his chest. "And I'm just really glad you're okay." I hated that my voice cracked at the last word.
"Don't get yourself upset, okay?" he whispered.
"No promises," I shot back, and he chuckled, holding me tight. I felt my eyes tear up as I thought about the fact that he could have very well been severely injured. I tried to swallow my tears, hoping he wouldn't notice. When I accidentally loosed a sigh that turned shuddery, he rubbed my forearm comfortingly.
"Hey. Don't cry...don't get upset. I'm fine-"
"But you could've gotten hurt a lot worse, and like Tangled Fan said, you might have to deal with your loosened leg joints forever!" I pulled away from him, sitting up.
Grimacing, he tried to sit up, too, but I told him not to. Against my requests that he lay back down, he sat up.
"Let's talk...okay?"
"No, it's...I'm just being dumb...you need rest. Get some rest, okay? I'll be fine. I just...I'm being ridiculous."
He gave me a calculating expression before he shook his head carefully. "What's so upsetting this time?"

I started to ignore his question, insisting he go to sleep, but then I heaved another shaky sigh. "You'll think it's stupid. I just...I blame myself for not being able to keep you from falling. For partaking in the fight to begin with. And I j-just don't know what I'd do without you!" I broke down, and immediately felt humiliated for it. How pathetic could I seriously be?
I expected him to laugh, but he didn't. "Look at yourself...and look at me. No wonder you couldn't keep me from falling, especially if you were hanging from a drawer handle! And you know...you were just trying to stand up for Elsa. Kris didn't have to react in the way that he did, and Anna surely didn't, either. And honey, don't worry about that kind of stuff. It's uncontrollable. Okay?"
I rubbed at my nose before I reached over to pull him into a hug.
"It's just-"
"Hard to not worry?" He finished for me.
"Mhm," I said, pressing my face into his shoulder (making sure it was the one opposite the arm I'd yanked on.)
He held me close for a few moments, until I pulled away from him to give him a kiss. When I pulled away, a twinkle was in his eye. He gave me that special grin of his. "Feeling better?"
I gave him another quick hug, telling him again that I loved him.
Probably without thinking, my hubby flopped down onto his back, and then hit his shoulder....hard. He grimaced, and I immediately offered to get Tangled Fan.
"No, no, no. C'mere, go to sleep." He told me, and as soon as I laid down, he pulled me close, sighing tiredly. "And...don't blame yourself, get worried, or anything. Love you, and good night."


This morning, I was still nestled up against my hubby. He was still sleeping, but a couple minutes after I woke up, he did, too. When I knew he was awake, I flopped onto my belly so I could see his face. "How are you feeling?"
He chuckled at my promptness. "My arm's feeling less sore. How about you?"
I rolled my eyes at his skirting around my question. "That's good about your arm, but your legs...your head...?"
"They're fine. I'll have to get up and walk to see how my legs are." He sighed, and I saw a hint of fear cross his eyes at the thought.
I faceplanted my head carefully onto his chest, heaving a melodramatic sigh. "Can't we just stay here and just not get up or anything? No injuries can be caused that way."
He laughed, stroking my hair. "Sounds good to me."
I pulled my head up to grin at him, and he winked before he stretched. I stood up and held a hand out to him, which he accepted.

Almost as soon as he stood, he bobbled on his hip joints.
He caught himself, though it took him a few minutes to get perfectly balanced. I stepped to the other end of the shelf, away from him, watching him tensely as he went to take his first steps since he fell.
A hard few steps they were. Taking an agonizingly long amount of time, he was able to get his legs working. Randomly, his joints would give out on him, and he'd bobble; almost fall down, even. I could see the frustration on his face, and it tore at my heart. I made myself keep my composure, though, for his sake. And then he tried to take a longer stride, and almost fell. I hurried to his side, steadying him, and he gave a disgusted huff. When he eventually got himself standing straight again, I put a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright?" I asked, studying his face. A mix of fear and disgust were visible on his features.
"Yeah." He said shortly, but I knew he wasn't mad at me. He was silent for a few moments before an entirely horrified expression plagued his usually happy face.
"What, honey?" I asked, searching his eyes.
He turned his head away from me, but I still saw the tear streak down his cheek. I wiped it away, cupping his cheek in my hand so I could pull his face around to look at me again.
"I-I....I'm just so frustrated right now, is all. What if I'm always like this? I can't be who I want to be. I won't be able to be a very good husband. I won't be a good father. I'm useless! I am-"
I broke him off. "Hey. This is just the day after your injury. I'm sure your joints will get better-"
He broke me off in return. "Don't make assurances you don't know are true."
"It'll be okay. They'll get better, and you know what? You don't have to have perfectly functional leg joints to be a good husband - just knowing you're here for me is enough! And, well...we don't HAVE to start a family..." I trailed off, realizing I shouldn't have said that last part.

He didn't reply. He just took in a shaky breath and refused to meet my eyes, so I reached to pull him into a tight hug.
"It'll be okay. It will be okay. I promise," I told him, and he bent to bury his face in my neck.
I just rubbed his back and embraced him until he pulled away.
Suddenly, he seemed to catch himself. "I shouldn't be upset about this. I need to make sure I'm here for you-"
"Honey, you've been here for me for, like, ever. And over some of the silliest things, too! It's high time that I take a turn and support you."
He loosed a sigh. "But we probably won't be able to go on walks as long or as often, and..."
"Eugene," I laughed in amazement. "I'm just happy that you weren't hurt WORSE! Right now, our outings don't matter. I'm just glad you're still able to walk, period!" I ducked my head, suddenly hoping my earlier incredulous laugh wasn't taken the wrong way.
He tipped my chin up to look at him, and then he stroked my hair a couple of times. "You've got a point. I guess I should be happy I CAN walk at all..."
"Mhm!" I told him, and he carefully bent to give me a quick, gentle kiss. When he pulled away, I gave him a grin. "But, ah...next time I see Kristoff, I'm punching him right in his big, fat nose."
He gave a surprised laugh, wavering on his unsteady joints, and then he pulled me into a hug. "What happened to the shy, sweet girl I married?"
"She went away when her best-friend-slash-hubby got hurt." I played along, and he laughed, holding me a bit tighter.
"Don't make me laugh hard, I'll fall down," he told me. "But, ah...should I be scared of this new girl?"
"Definitely maybe." I shot back, and he started laughing harder. And then he took a step back and stumbled. I grabbed at him, trying to keep him upright, but it just turned out that he fell backwards, dragging me down with him. I landed right on top of him, and gasped.
"You okay?" We asked each other at the same time. And then we laughed. I squirmed off of him, standing up, and reached out to help him up. Once he was steady on his feet, he gave me a thankful grin.

Sortly after, Tangled Fan came back to check on him, but when we both asked (at the same time :P ) about if he would always be like this, she just shrugged, telling us it was too early to tell...but that he needed to keep off of his feet. I didn't like the look in her eye, though, when she'd said it was too early to tell. But we'll see...It'll be a long recovery process, I can tell you that already! Thankfully, Tangled Fan told us that we could just stay on our old shelf again - she'd ended up not using it for what she'd been planning to. Nice of her to tell us this now....Ugh. But regardless.

No later than half an hour after THAT, I heard numberous footsteps and talking. 
I hurried to the edge of the deck, and was met by Zelia.  Anna and Elsa, neither looking very pleased, were climbing up behind her. 
"Oh!  Um...hey, guys.  Wh-what brings you all up here?  Zelia?"  I stepped back so they could all file on to the deck.  Zelia looked absolutely perturbed.  Ohh boy. 
"We are figuring out this STUPID problem, and we're figuring it out  NOW.  I'm sick of the stupid fighting!"  Zelia snapped, shooting a dark look towards Anna. And oh man, she gave it right back.  But I could also see that her angry facade was slipping. 
Hmm?  ....
Elsa just looked plain ticked off. 
So I gestured them all into the shelf, and Zelia promptly asked Eugene how he was doing.  While he was talking to her - flashing me the occassional 'help me'/terrified look - I tipped the boxes down and tossed a blanket over it so everyone had seats.  I also pulled up Tangled Fan's Hallmark ornament box (Guess what.  The ornament is Tangled-themed.  I bet you never guessed that! xD) and scooched Eugene's chair over a bit (much to his disgust, because he couldn't just get up and move himself.  I made sure Pascal was beside my husband on the chair, and then gestured for everyone to sit.

 

We all squeezed into chairs.  I sat on the corner of the 'bed', right beside Eugene, and turned to look at the sisters. 
"Spill it, girls." 
"There is nothing to-"
"Spill.  It."  Zelia glared at them both.  Elsa shrank back, but Anna gave her a defiant glare. 
"Please?  As a friend, I'm just worried for you, Anna.  And I'm sure everyone else is.  What's been going on?"
"Noth-..." she broke off and allowed the word to die on her lips before she heaved a huge sigh.  "I didn't want to...to say anything.  Kristoff asked me out on an honest-to-goodness, special date last month.  I freaked out.  I-I just feel like we're going too fast.  I mean, I know you guys got married in just a couple of months, but I don't want to go that fast!  And he...does.  But I'm a-afraid to say anything to him!  So I just kept going along with him and doing whatever he wanted to do.  I was confused, frustrated, and upset, and I got so many headaches this past month, and if anyone even talked to me, I just snapped because I was so stressed.  I thought there'd be no end, or he'd see what the matter was. But the one day...over the weekend..I just...I told him I thought we were moving too fast.  He asked what the problem was, and I told him that I felt we were going too fast, and he...he thought that you and Eugene had told me that, Rapunzel.  And that's...why he was such a jerk.   He wouldn't be convinced otherwise.  I should have fought till he knew that it wasn't you guys who had told me that, but I-I..didn't.  And oh my gosh...I could've ruined you guys!  I could have ruined EVERYTHING.  Rapunzel, I am so, so sorry.  And Eugene-"  About halfway through, she started bawling, but she managed to calm down to apologize.
"It's fine.  It's not directly your fault," he brushed it off. 
He was definitely a much better character than I was.  I simply nodded, still mad at Kristoff. 

"And sis?"  Anna turned to look at her with a small smile, drying her cheeks.  "I'm sorry for being such a jerk.  I know that how I treated you wasn't right, and I feel horrible." 
Elsa gave her a relieved smile, grabbing her into a relieved hug.  "Glad to have you back, sis," she told her. 

All of this was heartwarmingly adorable and sweet, and I was so relieved to know what the problem had been, and then...

"There you are!  Good grief, I thought you were just going for a quick walk and when you didn't come back, I got worried..."
Kristoff.  Speak of the devil.

Anna jumped up, and as I eyed him warily, I felt my own blood pressure rising.  And not in a good way. 
Eugene elbowed my side, and when I looked down at him, he shook his head. 
"Let it go," he hissed quietly at me. 

Kris suddenly saw the rest of us, and he glanced around awkwardly.  When his gaze flicked over, then came back and stayed on me and my husband, I jumped up, ready to do something if necessary.  I wasn't sure what to do, but I'd do something. 
Eugene grabbed my arm quickly and awkwardly, seeing as he couldn't jump up or move quickly; and then he hauled me backwards. 
"Don't.  I can't save you this time," he whispered to me, chuckling. 
I sighed, sitting  back down on the bed to watch what was going to take place as Anna meandered over to him. 
"Anna..what's wrong?" 

She explained everything to him all over again. 
We all watched.  She couldn't even meet his eyes, she was so worried. 

When she was done, he gave her a pained, yet relieved smile.  "Oh, Anna...I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you and jumped to conclusions.  I'm sorry.  We can take it just as slow as you want, okay?" 
She finally met his eyes, giving him a grin.  "Thank you.  And...love you.  I really do, I just.."
"I understand," he gave her a shy smile, and she instantly reached to hug him. As they embraced, I looked away from them to glance at my husband, who had just reached for my hand. 
He gave me a wink, and I smiled, wondering if he was thinking about our first hug.  I knew that this wasn't Anna and Kris' first hug, but that's immediately where my mind had gone. 
When Anna pulled away from her guy's arms, they both looked around awkwardly. 

When Kris looked our way again, it must have finally clicked - about what he'd done yesterday. 
He immediately began fretting and looked like he was about to tear up as he profusely apologized, and my amazing hubby was able to quickly accept his apology, wholeheartedly. It took me longer to accept his apology and actually truthfully mean it.  I know I shouldn't be that way, but it was hard.  For me it was, at least...

 

They all sat and talked for awhile, and by the time everyone left at four, I was absolutely exhausted from talking so much! 

When they left, we just sat around quietly for awhile, just appreciating one another's company.  But then I allowed worry to seep in, and I grew a bit restless.

 

 

When it was about time to go to bed, I was leaning up against the side of the shelf, biting my lip as I wondered if he'd ever be able to stand or walk without losing his balance. I was trying to not worry, but it wasn't working.

He noticed me, and broke my thoughts by telling me to come over to him.
Snapping out of my worries, I put on a smile and reached a hand out to him. "Ready to go to bed?"
He shook his head. "You were looking lonely and worried over there.  Sit," he told me, patting his lap. My gaze instantly dropped to his legs, even though I tried not to.
I shook my head. "No, I'm fine-" I started to say as I went to do something, anything, else.
He reached for one of my hands, pulling me backwards. I gasped, but he snaked an arm out around my waist, pulling me onto his lap. When I just gave up and sat sideways so I could see his face, he put his arms around me, giving me an affectionate hug.
"I can read through your mask, babe. Don't be worried, okay? Things will work out." He told me, kissing my cheek, and I sighed, leaning my head up against his shoulder.
"I'm just..." I trailed off. "I feel so helpless, because I have to watch you go through this and I can't help you at all, and it just irks me."
He kissed my hair. "You are helping, and you CAN help me. Trust me, just steadying me when I'm unbalanced, and being here for morale support helps."
"I'm not being very good at morale support, though. Look at me, seriously!" I grumbled.
He chuckled, gazing down at me and giving me a gentle grin. "I see a beautiful, sweet girl, that I'm very glad to call my wife, who is simply concerned for her husband."
I rolled my eyes, but my cheeks felt hot and a coy smile teased the corners of my lips. I made a hum of non-commitance, but then reached up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You need to get to bed. The more you rest your joints, hopefully, the better and quicker they'll heal."
He nodded, and I carefully slid off of his lap. This time, he took my hand.

And then his hip joints stuck in place.
When he tried to stand up, they locked.
I gasped and put my other hand over my mouth as I watched my husband slowly work his way upright. It must've really hurt, because his face held pure concentration and he kept grimacing. I wished I could help him....it killed me to see him struggle, without me being able to help him. :(
As soon as he straightened and he'd gotten himself balanced, I immediately went to his side again, tucking myself under his arm so I could guide him to bed. He moved stiffly, and when he lowered himself slowly down into bed, he made mention that he probably shouldn't have sat around as much today.

"But Tangled Fan said..." I trailed off, not sure what to think. I tried to conceal my shaky hands, since I was still upset about his struggle to stand up, but he noticed them anyway.
"It'll be fine. It'll just take some time, I guess," he reassured me, squeezing both my hands with his.
I nodded and got to work being a mother-hen over him again. I made sure he was comfortable and covered up, and warm (It's been chilly at night..UGH!) and then I asked if he was comfortable. I had thought about getting something to prop his legs up on or something, but I wasn't sure.
He nodded, focused on trying to find a comfortable way to sleep, so I left to brush my hair out and slip into my nightie....and to make sure Pascal was all covered up and warm, too, on his wicker chair. When I got back, I grabbed another blanket and smoothed it out before I sat down.
"Too many blankets, or are you good?" I asked him.
He chuckled over my obsessing, but then he shrugged. "I could be better..." I started to stand up, asking what he needed, but then he snagged my wrist. I glanced down at his eyes, and caught the teasing glimmer in them. "C'mere. Really, c'mere."
I rolled my eyes to let him know that that was one of his less-amusing jokes (as I fought to keep a straight face, because at least he was lighthearted enough TO be joking!) but I curled up beside him. And then I allowed myself to grin, figuring he wouldn't see.
"You act less than amused, yet I see the grin on your face." he pointed out, and my face heated with slight embarrassment and surprise.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to tease him back or be truthful. I decided to go with truthful xD.
Putting an arm securely across him, I gave him a broader grin.
"You teasing just makes me know that you're not, like, deathly ill or anything." I laughed. "Pathetic, I know."
"But that's what I was going for," he told me, pulling me close so he could give me a gentle kiss goodnight.
I gave him a wink when our lips parted. "Well...tomorrow's another day. Hopefully you won't be as unsteady."
He nodded, so I burrowed down into the blankets until even my head was covered, and went to sleep before I could get back to worrying.