#theduplexpart14

Two weeks had passed since Anna and Kristoff had visited The Broken Spoke. Since then, Anna had been even more determined to pass both the written and maneuverability tests to get that endorsement. Uncle Kai, Aunt Gerda and Elsa were none too pleased about Anna having a Harley. They told her that she'd hurt herself and that she should consider selling it. Kristoff had listened patiently to Anna's ramblings regarding her family and he'd told her that it should be up to her, not them. Anna had also casually asked Kristoff about his previous relationships: she'd only had Hans. Since he'd divorced Sara, Kristoff had only dated Kandi and one other girl; named Cheryl Haskins; for a month after he'd dumped Kandi. Cheryl had dumped him because she'd fallen in love...with another woman (Cheryl was bisexual). They'd parted on good terms though. He'd wondered why she'd asked but decided that, if they ever did wind up in a romantic relationship, honesty was always the best choice.

On a warm Thursday afternoon in mid October, Anna went to the DMV with her Harley. Just before she went in to take the written test, her smartphone had dinged. Kristoff had texted her. It read: "Good luck on your tests today. I believe in you." She smiled and texted back. It read: "Thanks. I'll make you proud." She went in and took the written test. She'd passed. During the maneuverability test, which was on a closed course behind the building, with a Florida Highway patrolman watching, she was careful and wore a helmet. She did so well, the patrolman was very impressed. She turned off the engine and removed her helmet. The patrolman came up to her. "Congratulations, Miss Nordegren," he said. "You passed." He handed her a slip of green paper. "Take this inside and they'll place the endorsement on your driver's license." She smiled. "Thank you, officer," she said. She ran back inside the DMV. Soon, everything was official. Anna decided to go and tell Kristoff the good news in person. She got onto her Harley, put her helmet on, started the engine and rode in the direction of North Mountain Motorworks.

Hans had been watching Anna for months. He never dared violating the restraining order but now, after seeing Anna spending more time with Kristoff and learning how to ride a motorcycle, Hans was beyond furious. (That's why she'd broken up with me...to become a Viking biker's whore! I'll show her) he fumed. He'd been living out of his Bentley for three months now, having finally lost his picturesque mansion to his creditors and his family turning their backs on him. He'd lost weight and now had a beard, his clothes tattered. He drove right behind Anna, waiting for the right time. Traffic at this time of day was getting heavy due to schools getting ready to end for the day. At the intersection of Duffer Drive and Sparta Street, he hit her motorcycle.

Anna had seen the car tailgating her then pulling back. She knew it was Hans's car (she'd bought the car for him) but didn't really see who was driving it. She sped up carefully, swerving in and out of traffic to avoid the car but the car followed. Soon, the car rammed into her motorcycle with force, she flying off of it. The motorcycle flipped and landed in the median, she falling into the street, rolling hard and hitting the median. The car sped off. A Buick Enclave stopped by her, putting the hazard lights on. A Ford Taurus stopped, too. They'd seen the entire thing and had taken pictures with their smartphones. Anna had been laying there, helmet broken (still having all of her teeth), crying in pain. The police and EMTs were called. The paramedics got Anna onto the gurney and into the ambulance. Once at the hospital, the nurse asked Anna, "Dear, who do you want us to contact?" Anna froze. She didn't want Uncle Kai, Aunt Gerda or Elsa to know: they'd get mad. "Call my friend and neighbor Kristoffer Bjorgman please," Anna said weakly. "He's working at North Mountain Motorworks." They called.

Bulda answered. "North Mountain Motorworks. This is Bulda Svensen. How may I help you," Bulda said. "Hello. I'm looking for a Kristoffer Bjorgman. Is he there," the nurse asked. "Yes. Just a minute." Bulda put the caller on hold, then went to get Kristoff. He was changing the spark plugs in an old pickup. "Krissy, honey," Bulda said. "The phone's for you." "Okay, Mom," Kristoff said. "It's probably Sven's vet, saying he's ready." Kristoff set his tools down, wiped his hands and went to the desk. He'd driven his truck today since he'd dropped Sven off at the veterinarian before coming to work. He picked up the phone. "Hello," Kristoff said. "Is this Kristoffer Bjorgman," the nurse asked. "This is he." "Sir, my name is Mary. I'm an emergency room nurse here at Heart of Florida Medical Center. Your neighbor Anna Nordegren had you as an emergency contact." "Is Anna okay?" "No. She was involved in a motorcycle accident. How soon can you get here?" "I'm on my way!" Kristoff quickly hung up and ran out of the garage. Bulda ran after him. "Hon, where are you going," she asked. "Anna was in an accident. I'm going to the hospital," he said, opening his truck door and getting in. "Tell Anna we're praying for her." "I will." He sped off to the hospital (lucky to not get a speeding ticket).

Kristoff got to the hospital; his stomach in knots, his heart racing and his mind fraught with worry. The nurse took him to Anna's room in the emergency ward. Anna looked rough. Dressed in a hospital gown, she was cut, bruised, scraped, covered in road rash and nursing four bruised ribs, a bruised tailbone and a dislocated left shoulder. He went to her bedside. Her eyes were closed. "Princess," Kristoff said gently, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "It's me, Kristoff. I'm here." She opened her eyes, relief over seeing Kristoff there evident in their azure depths. She saw the worry and the glisten of unshed tears in the earthen depths of his eyes. "Hey, Kris," Anna said weakly. "Thank God you're here! I'd passed." "What happened?" "I was on my way to your garage to tell you I'd passed and someone ran me off the road. I think it was Hans cause the car was a blue Bentley. I don't remember much after that." "Have the cops come by yet?" "Yes. They left just before you got here. There were two eyewitnesses. I did show them my copy of the restraining order. They gave me a card and said the report will be ready soon." The doctor came in soon after. He handed Kristoff Anna's discharge information and four prescriptions for various painkillers and muscle relaxers, plus a card for her to come back in a week, along with a note for work. He soon left. "I'll wait outside for you to get dressed," Kristoff said. Anna nodded. Once she was dressed and her left arm in a sling, they left. After stops to Walgreens and to pick up Sven, they went home, he wanting to kill Hans.

Kristoff opened his garage door but he didn't park the truck in the garage just yet. It started to rain. He looked at Anna, tears running down his cheeks, where a faint hint of dark golden blond stubble rested. She looked at Kristoff, tears running down her bruised freckled cheeks. "Anna," Kristoff said, his voice thick from tears. "I'd almost lost you today. I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you." "Kristoff," Anna said, her voice quiet and wavering from tears. "I was so scared that I'd die out on that road and the thought of not seeing you anymore was scarier than being thrown off of that motorcycle." He took her right hand in his left hand, lacing his fingers through hers, Sven laying in the backseat. "Anna, I've been wanting to tell you this for a while now but I was scared to." "Kristoff, you can tell me anything. I'd never judge." He swallowed hard. "Anna, I love you," he'd blurted. She looked at him. She smiled weakly. "I love you, too, Kristoff," she said. "I've been waiting for you to say it. I wanted to tell you, too but I didn't want to rush you." "I didn't think you were ready yet." They leaned forward.

Kristoff's lips soon covered Anna's lips in a gentle, sweet kiss. Anna kissed Kristoff back gently, they not daring to go any further due to her being in pain. They finally stopped after a few moments Firehouse singing "Love of a Lifetime" softly on the radio. "That was perfect," Anna said. "The best," Kristoff said. "Stay with me tonight please." "Certainly." They parked, he got a change of clothes and they went to her side of the duplex, where she had food and bowls for Sven. Kristoff took good care of Anna (he'd even used a couple of sick days, which he'd never did), making sure she ate, took her meds and went to see the doctor. Hans, thanks to the testimony from the two witnesses and photo evidence, was picked up by the sheriff in the nearby town of Lake Placid, arrested and put in jail. Hans, of course, had denied it but no one believed him. Anna had pressed charges. Hans was convicted of attempted murder, hit and run and violating a permanent restraining order and was sentenced to five years in prison up in Tallahassee with no possibility of parole. Anna's Harley, being under warranty, was sent to the dealership in Orlando for repair (otherwise, she would've let Kristoff fix it). Life soon got better.