When Madeline returned to her home to Russia, she found that dozens of Russia's most trusted men surrounded the house, and police cars and officers outside. She stared in shock at the scene before, her, and a police officer turned and began to shout at her.

"Ma'am, you need to leave. A crime was committed here earlier, and we don't need you in the way."

"I live here! What happened?"

"There was an attempted kidnapping. Now ma'am, I need you to leave..."

Before he could complete his sentence, one of Ivan's private security guards grabbed her and rushed her inside the police line while the officers shouted nasty words, but once inside the gates, the murmuring died down. She looked at the young man and spoke. "What is going on?"

"Go inside and someone will explain. And don't come back out."

She paused, and then headed inside. As soon as she saw the youngest nation, she grabbed Latvia's shoulder, startling the poor boy who was shaking much more than usual.

"What's happened?!" She asked, her fear rising.

"There was an attack on the house. Someone tried to kidnap Irina." He managed to get out, and he might have said more, except Madeline dashed up the stairs two at a time, abandoning her luggage.

"IVAN! IRINA!" Madeline heard herself scream as she ran.

Ukraine grabbed her hand when she appeared at the top of the steps and pulled her towards the study, where Ivan held Irina close. She was sobbing as he held her close.

"Irina?" Canada said, rushing to her daughter.

The girl turned and practically leapt into her mother's arms. Canada was surprised. Irina had rarely shown her this much affection. She held her daughter tightly to her, while Ivan's eyes darted around the room.

Suddenly he drew a pistol and shouted in Russian. They all dropped to the floor, and he shot at the closet. Irina shivered against her mother. He rushed towards the closet, and tossed open the door.

Nothing was there, and Russia paced the room, anxious, as the three women remained on the ground. Canada crawled over towards Ukraine, Irina in her arms. Ukraine spoke in French, in order to avoid scaring Irina.

"Three men with military training broke into her room, we barely managed to stop them from taking her. Natalia is chasing after them. He hasn't left the study since, other than for the bathroom, and he keeps Irina here with him."

"How paranoid is he right now?" She asked, afraid.

"Very. He recognized one of the men. The team was from his own government. He believes they want to raise Irina the way he was raised, with no mercy."

Now Madeline understood the security increase. Ivan had always trusted his own private security more than the government provided bodyguards. The police were outside, so they must be involved, though he probably wished they weren't.

"How long ago?"

"About six hours ago."

Madeline stood up slowly and walked over to Russia, laying a hand on his arm. He looked at her, a hand still on his pistol.

"Ivan, call Alexandra and Petrov. Let them guard Irina in one of the interior rooms. You need rest." She reasoned with him. Alexandra and Petrov had proved their loyalty a thousand times over, and if he were to trust anyone, it would be them.

He stared at her for a long time before nodding, looking as though a giant weight had just been removed from his shoulders. He grabbed a handheld radio and soon, the two bodyguards took her daughter to a safe room. They kissed her goodnight before she went, and soon Canada guided Russia to their shared room.

He sat on the bed, holding his head in his hands.

"Ivan..." She began, concerned.

"They would torture her if they got ahold of her, Madeline. No food if she disobeys, beatings if she makes a mistake. Tie her up if she tried to come home. And when she grows..."

He left the thought unfinished, and Canada realized she had never seen Russia so vulnerable.

Papa, what should I do?

Nothing happened, no feeling of warmth or of danger. France was leaving her to figure this one out on her own.

She sat next to him and took one of his hands. He glanced over at her, and she found herself speaking.

"I'm older than Alfred. Always was. I was born when the first Vikings arrived in Newfoundland. Alfred wasn't born until about two hundred years later, when Madoc landed. Both of us struggled to survive, and the native nations, well... Alfred had it lucky. Madoc left descendants behind, and the tribe kept him with them, along with their own nation. England said he was quite the little 'savage' when he found him."

"I didn't have it nearly so easy. Almost all the Vikings went back to Iceland and Greenland or Norway, and the few the remained died or were killed. Most of the native nations had no care about me. I was the sign of an invasion which had brought destruction on them. Norway abandoned me to die, and the native nations hoped the cold would finish the job. But I survived. When France found me, I went straight to him. He had been the first person to offer me food since the day Norway sailed away."

Russia looked at her, and she looked away.

"He abandoned you?"

His tone let her know he meant Norway.

"Yes. I was so weak, and he was nearly dead himself. Iceland was still a baby, and he went home. I don't think he ever realized that the nation of Canada is the Vinland he created."

Russia looked at her for a long time, and she finally gazed back at him. He took her hand and spoke.

"How long were you alone?"

"Does it matter? Canada was remote, might have even been safe if I hadn't been starving. Occasionally Al and I crossed paths, but we never really lived together until England took me away from France."

They sat in silence until Russia finally pulled off his shirt, tucking the pistol alongside the bed. She got him under the covers and soon he was fast asleep.

Once that was done, she went downstairs and found the Baltics nervously milling about the kitchen.

"Lithuania?"

They snapped to attention, and Estonia and Latvia began to nervously back away.

He came over to her and nodded. "Yes, Miss Canada?"

"How do I call Belarus?"

He stared at her like she had spiders crawling out of her nose.

"I know she trusts you to keep her secrets, even if she doesn't like you back. How do I contact her?" Madeline pressed, knowing that despite the fact that she technically held the same status as they did, she still had the upper hand.

Lithuania sighed, and then pulled out a cell phone. "The only number on it. She won't be happy with you." He added as Canada opened it.

"I know." She added, before heading towards the basement tunnel, which would lead her to a small house on the edge of Russia's property. From there, she could take a car and head out into the night without the knowledge of the police.

***

Belarus was sipping on a tea, watching one of the men. He thought he was safe, smug bastard, and stopped to enjoy a drink at midnight. So she had sent men after the others and decided to deal with this one personally.

Her phone began to ring, and she nearly snarled, pulling it out of her bag. The only person who should be calling her was her brother, and she knew he wasn't the one on the other end of the phone.

When she answered, it was the bitch who ruined everything.

"Where are you?"

Natalia growled. "Why are you calling?" She heard the roar of the car in the background, revealing Canada was on the move towards her.

"Someone has attacked my child, Natalia. I know you hate me, but that child is mine as much as she is Ivan's. So, for the sake of your niece and brother, where are you?"

Belarus paused, and then sighed. "Bar near the border. One of the idiots thought he was safe. The others are still on the run, but someone is tailing them for me."

"I'm on my way."

"No, I don't..."

But the phone clicked, and Belarus swore.

She went back to her tea, muttering into the drink as she continued to sip at it.

***

Madeline arrived at the bar to see a male figure watching a lone woman on the other side of the dance floor.

Belarus.

She didn't look very good though, panting, and wiping at her brow. Madeline saw her cast a glare at the man, and he clearly knew she was watching him.

Madeline didn't know what was going on, but she knew she couldn't let him escape. She went right over to the man, beginning an exchange in Russian.

"Hello, Handsome. You alone?"

The figure looked at her for a moment, and then nodded.

"How about a dance then?"

He grinned, and Madeline dragged him out onto the floor, but when she put her head onto the man's shoulder, she was gazing at Natalia.

She seemed ill, unlike the feisty woman she had spoken to less than an hour ago.

The man put his hand where he shouldn't, but she ignored it, watching Natalia. Belarus spotted her, and stood up, lurching towards her, and she almost made it, but suddenly collapsed.

Madeline ripped herself away from the man. "My god, that woman! Is she okay?"

She knelt down next to Belarus and quickly spoke to her. "Is that him?"

"Yes... something in... drink..." She sputtered.

Madeline turned to see the man slipping out the front. She stood up, leaving Natalia behind, praying whatever it was had just been to subdue her. As the other patrons crowded around, it provided her with a cover. She hit the pavement and ran for the figure disappearing into the distance.

The man was almost to his car when she grabbed his shoulder, and felt a sudden rush of strength she hadn't felt since...

Since she'd lost the war...

She threw him to the ground, and had his gun out and aimed at him before he'd even begun to reach for it.

"You came into my husband's house, and tried to kidnap my child. WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?!"

He glared at her as he realized she was working for the other side. "You will regret this, whoever you are."

She grinned with anger, lifting him with one hand. "Oh, no. I want to know who you are, why you're here." She tightened her grip on his collar. "In case you haven't figured it out already, I'm commanding you now."

The click of a gun barrel behind her head let her know her friend wasn't alone, which wasn't surprising. The man who had tried to steal her child had an accomplice. She watched the grin cross his face, and she let her own face go blank.
"You must be a friend of that girl inside. Drop the gun or I shoot you." A new voice said from behind her.

Canada stood up straight and dropped the gun, keeping her hand tightly in the other man's collar. "Oh, my husband will have so much fun making the light leave your eyes." She said, letting a grin come to her face.

"Hah, bitch. He ain't even gonna be able to find you when this is all over." The first man said, as though he doubted this woman could take even one of them on.

She laughed and suddenly flung the dick over the hoods of three cars, whirling on his little friend. The guy was so startled she kicked him down into the ground and knocked him unconscious before he could even look at her again. Taking the pistol, she went for the ass grabbing dick.

He was laying in the middle of someone's hood, looking startled as she glared down at him. Madeline grinned again, and raised the pistol. He cowered at her.

"So, let's try this again. Who do you work for, and why do you want my daughter?"

The man spoke. "We want to restore the old map. We're government rogues!" He shouted.

She was confused for a moment. Government rogues? Restore the old map?

In her moment of distraction, the man lunged for the pistol, and she knocked him out with a good whack on the head.
Once business was taken care of, she went back into the bar to find Natalia puking into a bowl. A young man was next to her. "Someone slipped something into her drink. I wasn't going to induce vomiting, but who can control the body?"

"Are you a doctor?"

He nodded. "She'll be fine in a bit. There's an ambulance on the way."

Natalia spoke at that moment. "She's my sister in law. You can leave, Doctor. She'll keep me safe."

The man tried to refuse, but Madeline said that she was a paramedic herself, and then he backed off. Natalia spoke in French to Maddie as quietly as she could. "The amount of poison in that drink should have killed a normal human twice. We need to get out of here before they start asking questions."

Canada helped her stand up. "Mind sharing the backseat with two unconscious would be kidnappers? If they wake up, you might even get to stab them?"

"That sounds wonderful." She replied, ice in her voice. "Just get me fucking out of here."

And then, before anyone could object, Canada rushed Belarus out of the building and into her vehicle, driving away before they could stop her.

***

Russia watched Canada carry Belarus to bed while the now gagged and handcuffed men tied to her waist were dragged up the stairs behind her. He stared.

He had seen America pull a car through the wilderness, but this... This was something new to him. The two men seemed to be regretting their decisions more every minute they were dragged behind this woman.

Once Belarus was tucked in, she returned with the two men still behind her. "Two more are in Ukraine right now. There is a SWAT team heading to intercept them. This one..." She stated, pointing to the left, "was part of the team. His friend tried to poison your sister. She'll wake up in a few hours and probably regret her tea."

He nodded, ignoring the men for a moment. "Your strength. Did you get that from America?"

She shook her head. "We both had it. It wasn't until his death, however, that people started seeing me well enough to remember that I had it."

Without saying another word, she dropped the tethers and went upstairs to Irina's room, leaving Russia alone with two men he would be plenty happy to destroy. He dragged them downstairs and locked them into the basement.

***

Maria was reading a newspaper in a Havana cafe when Carlos sat down across from her. "I think another growth spurt is starting." She told him, sipping her coffee. Not even a hello. Of course, she had seen him from several feet away.

Carlos looked at the young woman before him, with long white curls and pale skin, shielded from the sun in her long shirt and pants. So different from the child Canada had left him with several years before. Above, a hawk circled. Gilbird, he guessed. He sighed. "You're all grown up now, my dear."

She set down the paper, finally gazing at him. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No, but I fear you must soon make a decision on what you are going to do with your life. Mexico and I have only been able to take you so far. There is nothing more we can give to you. Now you must decide whether you're going to take action and go to war against Russia or go to him and ask to be allowed to be allowed to represent the Germanic people of Europe."

Maria said nothing, and then spoke. "Peace is not an option, Carlos. There are whispers these large nations you and your friends have constructed are beginning to feel the pressure of collapse. But until my mutti is back at my side, I will stay hidden."

Cuba sighed, knowing how stubborn this girl was. "Mexico loves you, yet you're here with me. Argument?"

She sighed right back at him. "None of your business right now."

He shook his head. "You have to go home and apologize before I give you this."

She looked up to see a letter with her name written on it. "You saw her in Italy?!"

"Uh huh, and if you want to read the letter, you need to tell Mexico how much you love her and give her a great big hug, and you need to mean all of it."

Maria sighed. "She told me that it was pointless to keep waiting for mutti to return. She has a daughter with Russia. She won't be coming back home to me. I got angry. I'm not apologizing."

He nodded, and then spoke. "She is actually coming to Canada soon. She called me on my flight back here."

Maria looked up in surprise, shock covering her face.

"Someone tried to kidnap her other daughter, and she and Russia have decided that the best course of action is to move her to Canada. He will go back home, and she will continue raising their daughter here in North America."

Maria was shocked, and Cuba had to hide a smile. She would finally get to see her mother after all these years?

"Now, do you want to go apologize to Mexico, or should I keep this letter?" He said, holding back a small laugh in his voice.

She slapped some money on the table before taking off down the street towards the hotel where Mexico had booked a room less than an hour before. He chuckled, watching the hawk follow her from above.

Years ago, Mexico had asked him if he thought this child was a reincarnation of someone long gone. He had agreed. Now more than ever, he knew it was true.

"It's good to have you back, Prussia." He whispered in Spanish, slipping away in silence.

***

The flight would have been better if not for the turbulence as they descended into Toronto. Irina clung to her father, who tried to reassure her, even though he hated planes himself. Canada looked at them and sighed. She was so eager for them to land, and for him to leave again. For the first time since she had left to find Maria, she could be in her homelands without him.

Once they landed, Petrov went out to hail a taxi, and Madeline spoke to Russia in French. "Must they stay with us?"

"Yes, that is not an option, Madeline."

She sighed, but then an old friend came bounding up.

"Kumajirou!" She said, embracing the bear. He began to lick her face, happy to have her back at home. He had been unable to stay in Russia for more than a few months during her pregnancy, so she had insisted Russia allowed her yearly visits. He had accompanied her on all of them, but she had been able to manage her own lands to some extent and see Kuma.

The bear lay comfortably in her arms as the taxi came around. Canada, Alexandra, and Irina got into the first taxi with Kuma, and Petrov and Russia rode in the second.

They diverted, heading to different locations. Canada had chosen a new house in a gated community, which Russia had placed his own agents in, to protect Irina. Canada had her own agents as well, some of whom had told her to push this specific community for reasons unknown to her.

Russia would be staying in her old apartment tonight, and say she was on a later flight. Tomorrow a decoy Madeline and Irina would arrive. Madeline settled into her new home, and was glad to find the freezer well stocked with fish. Once Kuma was fed, she began to explore with her daughter.

This was a four bedroom house, one for her, one for Irina, and one apiece for Petrov and Alexandra. She debated which room to claim as her own, but Irina didn't.

"This one!" She stated, pointing into a room with light purple walls. The bed was a full, Madeline guessed. There was a reading lamp, a window to let light in, and a bathroom.

She nodded, unpacking Irina's bag into the dresser. "We're not going to be able to leave the house for a few days, Irina, but after about a week, we can. You promise to listen to Alex and I?"

She nodded.

As Madeline continued to explore, she found the Jack and Jill rooms. Those were obviously for Petrov and Alex. She finally found the master bedroom, and as she reached to open the large wooden chest in the middle, she heard a noise behind her. She whirled, and was surprised to discover a set of stairs in the large, walk in closet, behind a shelf that was easily moved to reveal or hide the entrance.

Climbing up the stairs, she found a little attic area with a nice hardwood floor, but no windows. She turned around, wondering why this was here.

Then she saw the fifth bed tucked into an alcove in this small spare room. Walking over, she found a note tucked into the sheets.

Once he leaves Canada, find me. I'll know if you tie a red ribbon in the downstairs window.

-Maria

She went downstairs to her bedroom and looked across the street, where one of her agents lived. She knew these stairs hadn't been shown in the plans for the house.

What other surprises are hidden here, I wonder?

***

Maria sat across the street, watching from the attic in this house. It had been a pain to keep the Russian agents from finding any signs of the hidden design changes. There would be a button that would seal up the wall in the alcove.

She sighed and looked down at her notebook, full of entries and battle schematics. She had approached this like a soldier rather than a spy. Sometimes you needed a balance between the two. Reaching up to hold the Iron Cross, she wondered what she could do.

After a while she heard footsteps and turned to see Lewis, her mother's agent behind her. "When you're done with the spying, food is downstairs. He won't leave Canada for at least three days."

She knew that already, but she just sighed. "I haven't seen her in almost ten years. She's my mother and I don't even know who she is."

He shook his head. "Come on, come eat some food. You'll feel better later."

***

He came the last day, about four hours before his plane left. Irina was so happy to see him, Canada almost had to smile with her, though her smile was for different reasons, not that he could tell.

He kept Irina close to him, telling stories in Russian and giving her affection. Finally, he had to leave.

He turned to Canada on the front step. "Keep her safe. I don't know how long I'll have to be gone."

She nodded. "Don't worry, she will be."

Once he was gone, she turned and sighed, relieved he was going away.

It was time for her to raise her daughter, and let her know what her real name was.

Isabella Joan.

***

Back in Russia, the police had finally given up and left. Russia nodded as his house returned to a state of almost normal.

He paused one night before slipping down into the basement, where the four men who had attempted to kidnap his child slept. He paused before doing what he needed to do.

A trap had been set.

Now he just needed someone to walk into it.