French translation

mademoiselle- miss

Japanese Translation

Arigato- thank you

Afghanistan's name

Asadi- one strong like a lion

Abdul- in most names is used in reference to a "slave" or "servant" Most of the time they are a servant to Allah, the God they worship. Basically, he is a strong servant. I wanted the name to portray the emptiness and obedience in Asadi's eyes while also making him have a sense of power. Like he was a puppet being controlled and his master is giving him the inhumane strength to carry his deeds.

PLEASE READ- Note that this is NOT how I view the religion, but how I portray the antagonist. There is NO correlation between the two, everyone writes Afghanistan differently. Some make him (or her) sympathetic and sorry, others make him (or her) heartless and cold. In this story, I write Afghanistan as a dangerous and psychotic male. My own personal beliefs typically stay out of my writing.

Thank you!

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When they had gotten back to the hospital, they were immediately let into the high-class wing. They had a guard there, wearing a bulletproof vest with a gun and taser in his belt. The countries smiled at that, it meant they were doing everything they could to keep America safe. Lulu was at the counter documenting his condition on a chart when she saw them return. She smiled happily and nodded.

    "He's asleep now, and his friend fell asleep next to him. His temperature was running a bit high before so I gave him a low dose of medicine for it, it's slowly going back to normal. His stomach didn't respond too well to some of the liquid though. I'm afraid the hot liquids such as the broth and hot lemon water upset it, so he can only consume cold liquids like italian ice, jello, ice pops, and ice chips. We can try giving him some ice tea or cold brew tomorrow, just to get a gist of how it will react to caffeine and sugar" Lulu then frowned as she looked toward America's room.

    "Miss. Lulu? Are you alright?" Finland asked, the others also getting concerned. She kept looking towards the room, then looked back at the nations. She had a look of sadness and confusion, and they were off put by the sudden change in behavior from the hyper nurse.

    "My brother was in one of the towers when they fell, my mother called me and told me that some recovery workers found his body under a large piece of granite. His lungs had been completely crushed and his neck was snapped in two. I can only imagine how frightened he must have been, how much pain he must have endured before he died" she began to tear and Francis offered her a tissue.

"Don't cry mademoiselle, 'ere" he said handing it to her and she quickly wiped her tears away.

"Alfred is a really strong man, I would never be able to live knowing my people had suffered such a grave loss. It must be so hard being a nation, constantly having to see the pain of others. Not being able to completely die when life gets rough, and having to suffer because you're cursed to do it forever. I used to envy immortal beings, probably stemming from my fear of the unknown and fear of death. But seeing Alfred made me realize that dying is a way better option then constantly leaving the people you love and being alone. I mean, can you guys even fall in love? Can you guys be happy?" the nations were in complete disbelief. This human girl spoke with more wisdom than some of the other nations! They all looked at each other before Arthur stepped forward.

"You're too wise for your age Lulu. It is a shame that you aren't immortal. But we nations have always faced problems, some more than others. I can't say that I've ever really fallen for anyone, but many nations have had their fair share of forbidden romance. We can fall in love yes, but we try not to. It only hurts us in the end when we realize the person we fell in love with will leave their mortal life behind" Arthur then looked at France and sighed.

"I'm sorry that you all have to live like that. But anyway, it's time for me to check up on Alfred if you want to join. I prepared some cots and the couches in the family area for you all to sleep" Lulu began to walk back to the room, the nations following quickly behind. When they walked in, they were a gushy mess.

Alfred no long had the tube down his throat and the IVs with food and blood were gone. The tray of leftovers was on the bedside table, and the tv was playing a rerun of 'I Love Lucy' On the bed was a curled up Kiku, under the blankets with Alfred, nuzzling his chest. Kiku was blushing darkly as he breathed quietly in his sleep. Alfred had his arms around Kiku, like a protective barrier. Kiku's head nuzzled Alfred's neck and Alfred shifted a bit so Kiku was better on top of him.

"France take a picture" Prussia quietly yelped, chuckling to himself. He handed Francis a small camera and began to hold his mouth. Francis nodded and took a few photos with the regular camera, and one with his polaroid. A few minutes passed and Lulu approached Alfred, checking his vitals and writing down the results. She then rubbed his head, only to have her wrist snatched by Kiku. He slowly opened his eyes and quickly withdrew his hands blushing.

"I'm so sorry Ruru-chan! It was just an instinct!" Japan bowed repeatedly and suddenly realized the group of nations behind her. Some were laughing while others were smuggly smiling. He then realized he had been caught snuggling with Alfred and blushed even darker.

"Kiku, I never pegged you as ze cuddly type!" France said holding up the polaroid picture, "it's ok Kiku, we all need zomebody to cling to" he then winked before Germany slapped the back of his head.

"Kiku, I brought you zome fried rice balls. I didn't know vhat you vould like so I just guessed" Germany told Kiku, walking up to him with the plastic container. Kiku nodded and took it gently.

"Arigato Germany-san" Kiku then looked back at Alfred, kissing him on the forehead before leaving to eat. China chuckled as he followed Japan out, causing Japan to curse in Japanese under his breath. Feli and Lovino were quickly falling asleep, so Ludwig and Antonio picked them up and bid the others a good night. Canada and Prussia went to America's bedside, bent on staying there the whole night. England and France also began to get tired, so they kissed Alfred and Mattie's heads goodnight and went off. Finland and Sweden passed out on the floor not long after that, not wanting to leave their son's room. Mathias stood outside the door, like a guard protecting his master. China and Japan went their separate ways, Japan heading back into America's room and China going to the family room.

The morning began to peak through the curtains, the sun beaming in Alfred's tired eyes. Matthew noticed his squinting and got up to shut the curtains. Prussia and he had fallen asleep together, Mathias' head was on Sweden's shoulder. Japan was once again curled up into Alfred's arms, living in the warm embrace. Lulu walked in with Ludwig, Antonio, Lovino, Yao, Ivan, Arthur and Francis. Feli was still asleep in his cot and the others thought it best not to wake him up. Berwald awoke when they all walked in, only to see Matthias and Tino asleep on him. He gently nudged both of them, waking them both up quietly. Kiku and Alfred were the only ones other than Feli still resting.

"Alfred, how are you feeling today?" Lulu asked quietly as to not disturb the peaceful silence. She checked the monitors as Alfred yawned and stretched out.

"I feel better than yesterday, but I definitely could use a coffee," Alfred said rubbing his neck. Lulu giggled and looked at the chart. She then nodded as she took his temperature and pulse. She then turned to Ludwig.

"Can you go get the tray on the receptionist desk please Mr. Germany?" she asked sweetly, earning a nod from the tall blonde.

"Ja, I vill be right back," Ludwig said walking out. She then turned to Alfred and rubbed his head softly.

"You're definitely doing a lot better today! Your heart rate is steady and your fever went down! You're making phenomenal progress!" Lulu yelped happily, "Razway said you can move onto electrolyte induced and caffeinated drinks today if your heart was steady since today we're going to try to get you out of bed. So I have some iced coffee and a small bottle of Powerade, as well as some ice chips and red jello" Just as she said that Ludwig walked in with the tray and placed in on the table.

"Thanks, Ludwig! You're the best dude!" Alfred screamed happily. The large group froze.

There it is. There HE is. Alfred. The Alfred they knew.

The group all smiled at each other, hearing the d-word their America was so fond of. The clock chimed 8:30 AM, and Feli walked in tiredly hearing all the yelling. It had been around 24 hours since it started, and America was in high spirits.

"Why don't you all go eat?! I can handle one meal by myself!" Alfred happily yelled. The group felt relieved that he was ok, all of them leaving the room to go to the cafe. Arthur stopped in his tracks and then turned to Lulu.

"If he starts feeling pain around the time the attacks happened, it's ok. It's normal for something of this magnitude to affect us on an annual and or daily basis. So just give him some pain meds, ok?" Arthur explained, and Lulu nodded.

"Of course Mr. England!" Lulu smiled brightly as Arthur went to join the group. As they all headed to the cafe, a weird figure passed them. He was a tall, tan, slim man with dark brown hair and deep black eyes. He wore traditional middle eastern clothing that was bright orange, with a beige turban on his head. He had a somewhat evil smile on his face as he walked passed the group. Everybody felt the chill from the man, but no one paid it any mind. Except for Berwald and Kiku, they sensed something about him. They, however, brushed it off as paranoia and kept walking with their comrades.

They were eating nicely, enjoying the peace of the early morning hospital atmosphere. Unaware of the very man responsible for the destruction that happened a day prior getting closer and closer to Alfred. The guard stopped the man and asked for his name. The man smirked at him and gave him a simple reply.

"I am Asadi Abdul, I come bearing my respects to young America on behalf of my countrymen. The people of Afghanistan" he replied coyly, bowing to hide his evil Cheshire grin. The guard stepped to the side reluctantly, and Asadi passed him. Lulu was at the counter, filing Alfred's progress for when Razway would arrive. She then looked up at him, the man giving her a scary smile.

"I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Jones is not accepting anyone else other than close family and friends as of yet," Lulu told bravely. She knew something was off with this man just by the way he smiled at her so creepily. Asadi scoffed and began to walk past her. That was the wrong move, as a large stick flew in front of his face. It was a giant pointer she kept under the desk in case she needed to defend herself. It smacked him square in the nose, "I said you can't go see him" she repeated in a more assertive tone. Asadi's nose began to bleed as she leaped over the counter, standing in his way.

"You are a classic American, annoying and always in the way", he grabbed the closest thing to him, a meter stick that was on the patient board. He swung, only for her to block the attack with her pointer.

"Yea! I'm also proud, brave and free you slimy bastard! So suck American wind and taste my eagle furry!" She swung the pointer again, a sickening crack erupting from his cheeks. Asadi spit out the blood and they began fighting, both determined to win. Lulu was protecting the personification of America, AMERICA! Her home, her freedom, her lifestyle was at stake! So she fought, she fought hard, she fought long and hard, tooth and nail against the man who dared to threaten her home. That's when she heard him, a squeaky wheel down the hall. It was Alfred, walking around with his IV pole. Just as she looked back to face Alfred, Asadi took a cheap shot to her ribs. The force knocking the wind out of her and straight into the desk, where she fell unconscious.

Asadi had a look of bloodlust in his eyes, the clock rang.

8:45

He chuckled sinisterly.

"Only one more minute. Can you still feel my surprise, Alfred?" Asadi asked creepily. Alfred saw his black orbs, lifeless like a puppet, insanity in every fiber of his twisted and sick smirk. The clock turned.

8:46

Asadi lunged at him, full force against defenseless America.