4th of July

                D.C. woke up smiling.  Today was the Fourth of July!  She was so happy!  It had been 237 years since the United States of America had become a country.  She could hear America humming “The Star Spangled Banner” downstairs while he cooked breakfast.  This was the only day of the year that he did.  He was probably making waffles with strawberry syrup, whipped cream, and blueberries, so that even the waffles would be red, white, and blue.  She stretched and got ready, slipping on an Old Navy flag shirt and jean shorts.  She tied her hair back in a half ponytail and ran downstairs.  When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she tackled America yelling, “HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!”

                He laughed and hugged her, replying, “And to you too!”  D.C. saw she’d been right about breakfast.  They laughed and talked as they ate.  One thing they talked about was what they were going to do all day while they waited for the fireworks to start going off.

                “I think we should go sailing,” America suggested.

                “Any specific reason?” D.C. replied.

                “It’s so hot right now!”

                “Fair enough.  Well, it sounds good to me!  Let’s take a picnic on board and eat lunch there.  Then when we come back we can barbecue hamburgers, have some corn on the cob, some watermelon, and an apple pie for dessert.  When we’re done we can watch the fireworks together. Sound good?”

                “That sounds great, Katie Em!”

                D.C. grinned and blushed.  She may have known America from the very beginning, but she still blushed whenever he called her by his nickname for her.  To distract from her blush, D.C. started doing their dishes.  America got up to help but she pushed him back down.

                “You made breakfast which means I do the dishes.”

                “But a hero doesn’t let the girl do the dishes!”

                “We go through this every year when you make breakfast on the Fourth!” D.C. commented, laughing.

                America laughed too.  “That may be true, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t help!” And with that he grabbed the dishes from her hands and held them out of her reach.

                “Hey, no fair!  You’re taller than me!  Not to mention I have to do something to help!”

                “You do everything else all year.  I figure I can do this today!  And if you really, really want to you can clean the bowl I used to mix the waffles.”

                “Alfreeeddd!!”

                “Ha ha ha nope! I’m doing the dishes!”  He turned and started to rinse the dishes in the sink, then put them in the dish washer.

                D.C. just sat there with her arms crossed as he did the dishes, knowing that there was nothing that she could do about it now that he had his mind set on it.  When he turned and looked at her she stuck her tongue out at him.  He stuck his tongue out at her in return, and they both laughed.

                “We should probably get ready for our day out sailing, then, shouldn’t we?”

                “Ha ha, you’re probably right, D.C.!”

                She grinned.  “I’ll pack the picnic, and no arguments on that one!”

                “Fine, fine.”  He tickled her then ran upstairs while she made some sandwiches and packed them in a basket.  Then she packed some fruit, some cans of Coke, and all the paper plates and utensils.  She took the box of cookies she’d been hiding in the back of the cupboard and put that in there, too.

                “Am I going to need a swimsuit for this particular sailing trip?” D.C. called up the stairs to America.

                He laughed, replying, “One generally needs a swimsuit for a trip involving water!”

                “Ha ha, you know what I mean!”

                “Let me put it this way, if I ever get really hot, you’re coming in with me.”

                “Okay, I’m changing into my swimsuit then.”

                “Good choice.”

                When they were finally ready they set off to where they kept their sail boat.  When they got it in the water D.C. watched as America quickly put up the sail and adjusted everything he needed to.  Suddenly she was lost in memory.

                She was sitting in the same position, but on a different boat and in a dress from the colonial days.

                “You have to keep it tight, Alfred, otherwise you’ll go off course.”

                “Right!  But it’s hard to keep it tight, Arthur!”

                “Look over there, do you see Kate sitting there watching?  Do you want her to see you give up on something this easy?”

                “No! Why would I want that?”

                “Well then just keep it tight and don’t complain and you won’t have to worry about it!”

                “Okay!”

                “Um, England?”

                “Yes, Philadelphia?”

                “Where did you learn to sail?  And why are you teaching Alfred how to?”

                “Well, I learned how to sail from my days as a pirate...”

                She gasped.  There was no way Mr. England had ever been a pirate!  He was way too proper!  He wouldn’t even let her say the word pants, let alone wear them.  And now she was expected to believe he had once been a pirate?  It just didn’t make sense.

                He chuckled when he saw the skeptical look on her face.  “Yes, I was actually a pirate at one time.  Obviously, things have changed since then.  And as for your second question, I personally believe every self respecting gentleman should have at least one thing he can use to show off for women, and I think this will do just fine for Alfred.”

                She suddenly smiled.  “Okay, that makes sense!”  Then she whispered so only he could hear, “Don’t tell Alfred, but I’m very impressed by his sailing skills, even if he’s just learning.”

                D.C. escaped her reverie and was relieved to see that America had been too busy to notice.  They had a great time out sailing.  And, true to his word, every time America felt he was getting too hot he jumped into the water, dragging D.C. in with him.  It was after one of these times that D.C. got a call from Canada.

                “Hey, Mattie!  Did you need something?”

                “Kate! How fast can you and Alfred get over here!  I’m in serious trouble and I need your help, pronto!  My country has been invaded by aliens, and I’m not doing very well at pushing them back so please, please, please, PLEASE come help me!”

                “Of course!  And we’ll bring Tony, since he’ll know the most about it!  Have you asked anyone else for help?”

                “Yes, England, and I know having the three of you in one place today may pose a problem, but can’t you put that behind you to help me?  Please?”

                “Like I said before, of course!  We’ll be there as soon as we can, Mattie!”

                “Thank you, Kate! Thank you.” And he hung up.

                “Al, how soon can we be in Canada, armed and dangerous, with Tony when you go the fastest you can go?”

                “In about an hour or two.  Why, what’s happened to Matt?”

                “He’s being invaded by aliens and needs our help.  Now.”

                “Well for that I think we can be there in forty-five minutes.  Let’s go!”

~~~

                Forty-five minutes later D.C. and America were running into Canada’s base with Tony.

                “Thank HEAVENS you guys are here!!  I seriously need your help and I wasn’t sure you guys would actually come since today is your Independence Day and I did ask England to come help too, and you guys don’t really get along.  I guess you would know that since it is you but I was really worried it would keep you from coming and—”

                “Dude!  You’re rambling!  You must be in shock.  Plus, you really thought I would abandon my Bro when he needed me?  Not to mention I’m also the HERO!”

                “Seriously Canada, if you thought we weren’t going to come, you don’t know us as well as we thought you did.”

                Canada smiled at them and showed them into a room where they started planning their counter-attack.  Hours later, they were discussing what to do about the overwhelming amount of U.F.O.s hovering over Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, when England finally ran in.

                “Looks like you finally got here then.”  America was a little annoyed with England and they all could tell.

                “Well, unlike you, I don’t live directly next to Canada.  I happen to live across the Atlantic Ocean if you didn’t notice.”

                “That may be, but remember that special trick we can do where we can appear in different places near instantaneously?  It is something all of us are pretty good at.”

                “Well I doubt you came here seconds after he called you.”

                “We did show up forty-five minutes later but that’s nothing compared to—”

                “You can’t accuse me of not just appearing here when you didn’t either!”

                “The only reason it took even that long was because D.C. and I had to change out of our swim suits.  After all, we were celebrating our Independence Day.  Or did you forget what day it was?”  America replied coolly.  There was silence as everyone sat there stunned for a few moments.  Then D.C. spoke up, glaring at the two of them.

                “This is NOT the time for this!  I don’t care that today is July 4^th!  All I care about right now is the fact that Canada has been invaded by aliens!  And don’t either of you say that this is something that we can’t get over because I was there too and I seem to be doing just fine at the moment.  Our main priority right now is getting these freakin’ aliens out of his land. So focus on that!”

                They both just stared at her for awhile then sighed.

                “You’re right,” they said in unison.  Canada sighed too and shot D.C. a grateful look.

                Awkwardly they started working on the plans again.  After a while, England and America worked easily with one another, much to the relief of D.C. and Canada.  The number of aliens had increased rather alarmingly.  Whereas before only a few of the provinces could have been considered “swarming” with aliens, now every province could be considered in such a situation.  Obviously whatever they were doing wasn’t working.  They decided to consult Tony, which, for some reason, they hadn’t done earlier.  They found him hiding in a closet.

                “Hey, Tony!  Why are you hiding in here?” America asked.  The alien just shook his head.

                “Tony, what’s wrong?”  D.C. looked worried.

                “They came.  They came.  They came.  THEY CAME!!!”

                “Whoa, dude, calm down.  Who came?”

                “Th-th-the Cadmioids.  In the rest of the universe they’re considered the most terrible planetary conquerors.  Th-they wipe out the indigenous population of the planet and repopulate it with their own people.  They take as many captives as they can and torture them in terrible ways.  No one on the planet ever survives.  EVER.  Especially from planets that try to fight back.  Not to mention the fact that fighting is pointless.  It’s just delaying the inevitable, which in a way makes it that much worse when it happens.”

                “Come on, Bro!  They can’t really be that bad.  Can they?”

                “They are!  That’s what they did to my home planet…”

                “But you said –”

                “I said that no one on the planet ever survives.  The only reason I’m still alive is because I wasn’t on my home planet.  I had been out exploring at the time.  By the time I got back, it was too late.  Everyone I knew was dead and the Cadmioids had taken over the planet.  That’s why I came here.  The only problem was I never stopped to fuel my ship, so I crash landed.”

                There was silence for a moment.  Then Canada spoke up.

                “I’m sorry you went through that, Tony.  However, I do think you’re underestimating us and the human race in general.  We’re not exactly the kind to give up.  Not one of us will give up, no matter the circumstances.  Not even France, or Italy, which isn’t what you would think.  Yes, France is weak and Italy waves the white flag of surrender all the time.  But giving up completely is an entirely different matter, and neither would do such a thing.”

                Tony looked up, surprised, at the quiet nation.  Then he looked around at the other three.  They all had a fierce determination in their eyes.  It stunned him.  After what he had just told them how could they have any hope at all?

                “You don’t really think you guys can do anything, do you?  I mean, your planet still refuses alien life as a whole, right?  Not to mention you have one of the youngest solar systems out there!  You don’t even have proper space traveling technology.  How can you expect to defeat an entire army of the most feared alien race in all of space?”

                They all looked at him then looked at each other with sly grins on their faces.  They answered in unison.

                “We have the human race on our side.  What other species could destroy each other pretty much every day, then turn around and not care one thing about it.”  England continued.

                “From the very beginning humans have been resilient.  Just look at what we have done rather than what we haven’t.”

                “It is true that you guys are farther than any other race was at this age… But that doesn’t mean you can beat someone who is more advanced than you are!”

                “But remember the resilient part?” D.C. added.  “It doesn’t matter what we face, we pull through it, and overcome it eventually.”

                “Just look at the power we have to destroy one another.  How strong do you think we would be if we all worked together?”

                “But that’s another thing.  You guys don’t work together.  You never have.  I’m guessing that you never will.”

                “Oh, I’m offended,” Canada said, “you don’t think we could change when the fate of the world depends on us?  That’s just cruel beyond words!  The only thing that we all care about is the fate of the Earth.”

                Tony didn’t know what to think, let alone say.  So he cried.  The people that he had started to care about were going to die, and he couldn’t do anything about.  He looked up at them again, and saw the determination in their eyes.  In a way it calmed him.  Maybe they could do it.  Maybe.  Just maybe.

                With his faith in humanity restored Tony agreed to help the nations plan they’re counter attack.  He gave them information on the ships and the fighting styles that he knew about.  England, America, Canada, and D.C. soaked up the information easily and started to apply the things they learned to their strategies.  At first it seemed like they were making progress against the Cadmioids.  Then, one day, one by one every single province in Canada fell.  Matt himself fell unconscious.

                “Matt!” England, America, and D.C. cried in unison.  They quickly took him to his room and tried to wake him up.  When he finally did, they sighed with relief.

                “Mattie, are you okay?” they all looked very worried.

                “Actually, I think I’m okay.  Just a little weak.  Ha, guess this means we lost, right?” And then he broke down crying.

                “Hey, Matt, look at me.  We are not done fighting.  We will win this war and get your country back.  No matter what it takes, we will not lose.  No matter the cost, no matter the time.  We are not done, and we will not lose.  I said look at me!”  Matt looked up at Alfred, tears streaming down his face.

                “I won’t let this be the end.  They don’t get to take my brother from me, so if for no other reason; I will make these sucking Cadmioids pay for what they’ve done.  Got it?”  Canada nodded his head.  At that moment England broke in.

                “America, they decided to try to take your country next.  What should we do?”

                D.C. and America grinned at each other.

                “Let them try to take us on.  Unlike many other countries, the people in general seem to have in one way or another prepared themselves for this.  America, grab the computer.”

                “Right!”

                “What are you going to do with the computer?”  England looked really confused.

                “It’s time to alert the social networks about the alien invasion.”  D.C. had a mischievous glint in her eyes when she said this.  “Let’s start with tumblr and go from there.”

                America flashed Kate a knowing look.  Quickly he began typing.

                “There! Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even Pinterest all know about the invasion.”

                “Perfect.  Now let’s alert the government and military officially.”  America grabbed his phone and called the President of the United States of America.  Soon the entire country knew what was going on and had started battling the Cadmioids.  Unlike what had happened in Canada, the Americans actually held their ground against the Cadmioids.  After a few days of fighting many of the space ships headed to other countries, and started attacking the Europeans, Asians, Africans, Australians, and South Americans.  The third World War had begun.  However, this World War was not the world fighting itself but the world allied against the invaders.  The nations began having meetings about tactics.

                “I-I have something to report…” Germany stammered one day in a meeting.  It immediately caught everyone’s attention.

                “As you know, we’ve been informed that abductions have started taking place.  Obviously some of you know what I’m about to tell you but for those of you who don’t…”  He paused and seemed to try to compose himself.  “Some of the nations have been abducted.  They are Ireland, Finland, Seychelles, Liechtenstein, P-Prussia, Romano, Ukraine, and Taiwan.”  The sadness in the room was palpable.  They all knew what happened to the people who were taken.  They were tortured.  The thought of the nations that had been abducted being tortured was too much for some, and they sobbed quietly into their hands.

                America spoke up.  “I say we don’t let them suffer for long.  I’ve been working on a plan for a while now, but wasn’t sure if I should bring it up, as normally my ideas are turned down fairly quickly.  But I’m bringing up now.  I propose a plan that will be very dangerous and will seem preposterous to many of you.  So here we go.  I think we have been trying to overdo the situation.  We’re trying to catch our technology up to their advanced technology and it just plain isn’t working.  I say that we use our “primitive” technology to our advantage.”

                “What are you getting at America?”  China looked intrigued.

                “I’m saying that we need to go onto their ships and plant good old fashioned bombs everywhere and blow these freaking aliens up!  We’ll have to sneak in and put the bombs where they need to go quickly, then get off the ship and blow them up!  The only tricky part would be the captive ship.  Someone would have to evacuate all the abducted before the bombs went off.”

                Everyone just stared at America.

                “You can’t expect us to do this, America!”  It was France who said this.  “This has to be one of your craziest ideas yet, and I was there when you decided to fight the Axis four times with China’s wok!”

                “France is right,” Japan added.  “That idea is insane and is going to get us all killed.”

                “Well I think the plan is bloody brilliant.”  Now everyone was staring at England.  Had he just agreed with America?  “We need to do something that we understand, and this is something that we understand.  Also, it’s better than nothing, right?  AND it means we can get the others back.   Or do you two want Seychelles and Taiwan to suffer.  I, personally, would like to get my brother back sooner rather than later.”  Both Japan and Francis looked shocked and ashamed.

                Now Russia spoke up, saying, “America’s plan is good, da?”  Italy agreed, and soon after he did everyone else did too.

                “Great,” America said, “Now, let’s fine-tune this plan a bit.  How can we make it better?”

                Everyone made suggestions and they made the plan as perfect as they were ever going to get it.  Towards the end, Italy said what had been on his mind since America had presented his idea.

                “Let’s have the girls stay home.  It’s too dangerous.”  Immediately all the men agreed, their faces saying “Well, duh!”  However, the women had different ideas.

                “What do you mean, let’s have the girls stay home?”  Hungary was outraged.  “We can help every bit as much as you can.  This is our world too, and I want to defend it!  Also, we care about the captives too!  You can’t just leave us here!”  The other women agreed.

                Italy spoke up again.  “We know all that, but we don’t want you to get hurt.  Do you understand?”  Malta was looking at him and England with the eyes of someone betrayed.  Italy looked directly at her when he spoke next.  “I already had my fratello taken from me.  Can I at least have the comfort of knowing that my sister will be safe while I’m fighting?”  These words hit home in most of the girls, and they backed down; however D.C. looked each of them in the eye and said, “And you’re going to make us sit here and wait for you?  Not knowing if you’re alive, dead, injured, captured, or anything like that?  At least when we’re in battle we’re with you and we know what’s going on and don’t have that anxiety looming over us.  What are we supposed to do while we sit here.  Sew, gossip?”

                America walked right up to her, hugged her, and whispered in her ear, “We expect you to worry about us, and be angry at us for leaving you, and try to comfort each other.  But mostly we expect you to be waiting here for us when we get home.  It’s the only way we know how to ensure your safety.  So please, please, just stay here.”  Tears ran down D.C.’s face as she nodded her head.  All the female nations hugged their men as they left.

                As soon as the men were gone D.C. spoke up once more.  “Well I’m not just going to sit here and sew.  I’m going to help by causing distractions.”  All the girls got a look of determination in their eyes as they nodded their heads.

                Malta stepped up to Kate.  “Tell us what we need to do.”

~~~

                The plan was this: have each nation sneak onto a series of ships and plant bombs that had a time set on them to explode.  Each was given a substantial amount that they had to plant bombs on by the next midnight.  America had the captive ship, and England had the mother ship.  They put the plan into action and discovered something.  The Cadmioids weren’t focused on the areas of the ships where the bombs were going to be.  Something was going on with their communication systems.  Eventually the guys realized this was the girls’ doing.  They had found a way to combine the radio signals from they’re countries and mess with the communication equipment in the ships by playing What Does the Fox Say over and over again.  Even when you left them home, these girls had to help.  All the men grinned and shook their heads when they realized this was what was going on.

                England was sneaking onto his last ship, the mother ship, when he realized how close it was to the deadline.  He quickly placed the bomb and returned to the meeting place.

                “Where’s America?” He asked.

                “He’s still working on his last ship, the captive ship…”  Canada looked really nervous.

                “Don’t worry, he’ll make it.  He has to.”

~~~

                Up on the captive ship America was ushering the last captive from the ship, Ireland.

                “Hurry, go, go!!” He whispered urgently.  “You need to get off before the bomb goes off!”

                Ireland turned to him.  “Are you going to get out?  If you don’t D.C., isn’t going to do too well.”

                “Just shut up and go!  I’ll get off as soon as I can, got it?”  Ireland looked at him skeptically but jumped off and used his parachute.  He quickly went to the place America had told them to go.  The only thing he saw before he was tackled to the ground was three sets of very large eyebrows.

                He blushed when he realized all three of his brothers, including his idiotic tsundere brother England, were crying.

                “Oh stop it.  It’s not that bad.”

                “Shut up.  We were worried, got it?”

                He grinned sheepishly and hugged them all.  For once the Kirkland Brothers actually felt like a family.

                Around the clearing where everyone was meeting, tearful reunions were taking place.  Spain hugged Romano then handed him over to Italy.  Italy clung to him and didn’t seem like he was going to let go soon.  He kept saying, “I didn’t lose you, not like Holy Rome.  I didn’t lose you!”  For once, Romano just hugged his brother back.  Germany and Prussia were just crying and holding each other.  If you leaned in really close you could hear Germany say, “This was worse than the Iron Curtain…” and Prussia’s reply of “Ha, yeah.”  Switzerland just held Liechtenstein as she cried, and Russia held Ukraine.  France was kissing Seychelles fervently, and no one cared.  Sweden wept when he saw Finland.  Japan and China were just hugging Taiwan. 

                It took the sound of the explosions above for them to realize America hadn’t come back yet.  They stared in shock at the sky as they realized what it meant.  Immediately they searched the surrounding area.  They searched for hours but didn’t find anything.  Canada sobbed and whispered to the others, “What am I supposed to tell Kate?”  None of them had an answer for him.  With heavy hearts they returned to those waiting for them.

                Once again, there were tearful, happy reunions.  Malta ran and tackled her brothers, then turned and kissed England.  The shock on both their faces was so stunning Japan took a picture.  Then England grinned, picked her up, and kissed her again.  Everyone cheered.  Soon after, Prussia kissed Hungary.  She hit him for making her worry so much and kissed him again for coming back to her.  Austria looked a little miffed, but just shrugged his shoulders and told them he hoped they’d be happy.  Everyone was so happy that they had beaten the Cadmioids.  You could feel the happiness in the entire room, until all the men turned to D.C.

                Matt walked up to her and whispered, “I’m sorry, Katie.  He didn’t make it.  He was still on the ship when it exploded.  I’m so sorry.  Al is dead.”

                Kate just fell to her knees, staring straight ahead.

                “It can’t be.  He can’t be dead; there’s no way.  He isn’t dead.  He.  Just.  Can’t.  Be.  Dead.”  And with that she sobbed.

~~~

                It took weeks for D.C. to leave her house after that.  When she finally left, the first thing she did was hold a meeting with the president.  She told him her plan, but he immediately shot it down.  She talked and talked and persuaded him to go along with it.  He knew she meant business, and when she meant business, she got what she wanted.  The plan went into effect the next day.

                At the World Meeting the day the plan went into action, everyone was surprised to see her there.  They were also surprised by the first thing she did, which was to pay China $9,000,000,000 in cash.

                “This is every personal fund America and I have had since we were England’s colonies.  I’m using it to help settle the debt that we owe you.  Soon, we’ll be out of debt.  Not just with you, but everyone else too.”  She looked at each person then sat down.

                France looked at her cautiously.  “Ma chere, why are you doing this?  I hate to say this, but you’re country is going to fail without America.”

                She didn’t even flinch.  She just turned and looked at him as she replied.  “America isn’t dead or the country would have failed in those weeks that I was in my house.  If he’s not dead than his life force is still tied to our country.  Therefore, if I can get this country to be in the best condition it’s ever been in, he’ll be able to heal and come back.”  She looked around the room again.  “He isn’t dead, and eventually he’ll come back.”

                After the meeting was over, D.C. started the next part of her plan.  She made the public announcement on the news that she would personally be going around and collecting one dollar from each citizen of the United States each month.  Also, all businesses that had located they’re headquarters overseas so they wouldn’t have to pay the tax on businesses had to relocate in the U.S.  However, the tax on everything was lowered so that the people would be happier, and there wouldn’t be a repeat of the Revolution only in modern times.  Any business had to locate in the U.S. and she would help them start within the country.  She got the top scientists together and had them start studying renewable energy sources.  She did this all under the name of Katherine Emily Holder, her human name.  As time went on the U.S. got stronger and stronger.  Soon people were giving her anywhere from $1-$20 when she got to them, and every time this happened she cried.

                Every month, she payed China and the other countries the money she gained to get rid of the debts.  And every day and every night D.C. cried, sometimes for hours.  The only people who knew were England and Canada.  Sometimes, when Canada came over and found her crying, he would hold her until she calmed down.

                One day Canada decided to talk about it with England.

                “It hurts her more to believe that he’s alive, I think.  She can’t move on and it depresses her.  If she could just admit that he wasn’t coming back, I think she’d be happier.”

                “I know what you mean.  In a way it’s similar to what Tony was saying about fighting the Cadmioids.  However, I don’t know how to get her to accept his death.  Especially when some days I can see where she’s coming from and it gives me some hope he’ll come back.  Eventually reality comes crashing back down and I weep.   At least I have Malta to comfort me then.  I think the best we can do right now is exactly that.  Comfort her when she cries, and let her accept his death when she’s ready.”

                “I guess you’re right.  It just hurts to see her cry like that.  I've always viewed her as my little sister, and I don’t want her to cry.”

                “I know.  Did you know Ireland still blames himself for not making America come with him when he was escaping?  He’s finally getting over it though.  I think it helps that D.C. talks to him every day.”

                “That’s good that he’s getting better.  I hope she does.”

                “We’ll see.”

~~~ Three years since the end of World War III “The Greatest War” ~~~

                “And there you go!  The last dollar bill.  The United States of America is officially out of debt!  Coincidentally it’s on the Fourth of July!”  D.C. grinned at China.  He laughed.

                “Well you did it in three years.  That’s a pretty impressive record, especially for this amount of debt.”  He winked at her and she laughed.  The meeting went on as normal, with England talking to Malta, his wife of two years, and Prussia tickling Hungary, his wife of two and a half.  Everyone was having a good time, just talking and working on the things that needed to be done.  Italy sat on Germany’s lap, while Romano glared at Germany and England from his place next to Spain.  It was an altogether light-hearted mood.  Then France spoke up.

                “Hey, where’s Canada?  Shouldn't he be here already?”

                D.C. replied, “Oh, he called and said he would probably be a little late.  He should be here when he’s done with whatever it is he’s doing.”

                “Oh, okay!”

                Canada was just locking his car and running inside when he saw something that stopped him in his tracks.  He rubbed his eyes and looked again.  There was no way he was actually seeing what he was seeing.

                “Hey, Bro.  How’ve you been?”  America was leaning against the building.  A smile was on his face, but there was unease in his eyes.

                Canada’s first thought was ‘Good, he should be uneasy’.  Then he shook his head.  Why had he thought that?  He ran up to America.

                “Al!  How are you… What did you… But you were…  D.C.!”

                “Hey, Mattie.  Missed you too.  How is D.C. doi – ”

                SMACK!!

                Canada punched America.  He remembered why  he had thought what he had before.  In a way, he blamed America for D.C.’s pain.

                “Whoa, what was that for?”

                “That was for making Kate cry every day and every night for THREE YEARS.  She did everything she could to make the U.S. stronger.  No, she never thought you were dead, even if the rest of us did.  That’s why she made the U.S. so powerful, in the hope that it would make you strong enough to come home.  Do you know what she asked every time I comforted her while she cried?  Well, do you?”  His anger was overwhelming.

                “No, I don’t.  How could I.”  America’s voice broke, but Canada didn't notice.

                “She would ask me ‘Why hasn't he come back, Matt?  I know he’s alive, maybe he’s just so injured he can’t get home.’  At least that was at the beginning.  Do you know what she asks now?  She asks me ‘Why won’t he come back?  He must be really hurt.  That or I’m just not good enough.  He doesn't think I’m worth coming back to…  He’s probably right in thinking that.  I couldn't even protect him.  Is that why he won’t come back to me?’”  Canada stopped when he saw the tears in America’s eyes.  Immediately his anger vanished.  His voice softened as he continued.

                “Al, why didn't you come back earlier?”

                “I want to tell Katie Em first, okay?  I think she deserves that.”

                “Yeah, okay, let’s go inside then.”  And with that, Matt led Al into the Meeting Place.

                When they got inside the room, it took a moment for everyone to notice they were there.  One by one everyone stopped talking until finally D.C. looked up.  She immediately saw America and dropped the pen she had been using to write on a map.  She ran to him and he caught her.  She started to sob into his shirt, saying, “You came back to me.  You came back to me.”  He just held her close and soothed her.  Eventually she calmed down enough to ask him what had happened to him.

                “Well, after Ireland jumped off I had to go back and fix the bomb.  The last one had a disconnected wire that I had noticed earlier.  I hadn’t fixed it when I noticed it because I still had to evacuate everybody.  By the time I had fixed it, it was midnight.  I ran towards the open door and jumped out right as the explosion went off.  It thrust me about two miles out from the ship and from there I fell.  I was unconscious for about a day, I think, and when I woke up I was still really injured.  I had to take care of myself for a little while.  When I finally felt like I was strong enough to move out of my immediate vicinity, a few weeks after the explosion, I started trying to make my way back to you.  However, I stumbled upon a small camp of Cadmioids.  Apparently they were the only ones to have survived the explosions, and they wanted to take their revenge.  They caught me and beat me up pretty bad.  I was with them for the last three years.  Every day I could feel myself getting stronger, like the U.S. was getting stronger.  I bided my time, until about a week ago. I defeated the Cadmioids that were left and started heading here.  And, as you can see, I made it.”

                “Well thank heavens you’re safe now,” tears were still streaming down D.C.’s face, but she was smiling now.

                America smiled too.  He brushed the hair out of her face, and held her face in his hands.

                “Katie Em, thank you for saving me, and thank you for waiting for me.  I-I love you, Katie Em, and I always want to be with you.  I want to protect you and laugh with you.  I love you, I love you, I love you.”

                D.C. was stunned for a moment.  She grinned and said, “I love you too, Al.  I always have, and I always will.  I love you.”  And with that, Alfred finally kissed Kate.  Everyone cheered, and Matt said, “Finally.  Now Katie can actually be my little sister.”

                That night, D.C. cuddled with America as they watched fireworks explode over their heads in celebration of the Fourth of July.  Everything was the way it should be.  She smiled.  When America saw her smile he leaned over and kissed her.  Everything was perfect, in both their minds.  Nothing could go wrong.  The end.