Germany - Ludwig Beilschmidt

Prussia - Gilbert Beilschmidt

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Finland - Tino Väinämöinen

Denmark - Matthias Køhler

Norway - Lukas Bondevik

Scandinavia - Andersen Dahl

Germania - Alaric Dahl

It was cool outside, and rather chilly indoors as well. As was expected of the late November winds, which blew through each passer-byer's hair and clothing. But now it was late, and many people were asleep, set aside the few wayfarers and one woman in particular. She strode with an uncertainty about her, seemingly unsure of where to go and what to do. On sight of a building with a hazy light and small sign, she sighed in relief. Heading towards it, she clutched the basket in her hands tightly, never wanting to let go. She had to though, and that was the only reason she had gone out today. Taking cautious steps up the old stairs, she reached the doorstep. The child within the basket grew restless and let out a whine, now she must hurry. She set the baby down and grabbed the note from her pocket, placing it in the small one's lap. She held back her tears and kissed the baby's face, then jumping up and pressing the doorbell, taking to time to run out of sight.

Now, take note of the young man who opened the door at the sound of a bell. His name is Andersen Dahl, and he runs the local orphanage. With little funds and a large increase in kids, it's a surprise how he's kept the business afloat. Even with these circumstances, on very sight of the child on the doorstep, his heart melted and he grabbed the basket. He brought it inside the building, which was much more of an apartment, and set it on the table. Reaching inside, he pulled out the young child, which was whining more than before, and laid it on his chest, patting its back and bouncing the child to sleep. It was then when he noticed the note that had fallen to the ground. Carefully, he bent down and grabbed it, always keeping a hand on the fragile child. He stood up and skimmed through it. Most was the same that every note with a child said, "I'm sorry"," I couldn't help him/her", "I love my baby", with the addition of a name.

He hummed to the child and whispered, "Lukas, huh? Lukas Bondevik." He looked over to the other children, which were asleep in their beds, and smiled. "You'll like it here, I promise."

The child shifted, but otherwise stayed asleep.

Andersen walked the child over to the others and smiled. They have another brother now. He walked over to the crib, where young Tino was soundly sleeping, and placed him next to the other child. Grabbing a small blanket from the supply closet, he draped it over Lukas. He yawned as he watched the two. "Sorry Lukas. You'll have to sleep with Tino tonight. I'll get you a separate crib in a few days. I hadn't planned on another child."

He strolled off to his bed, on the very opposite side of the room, and sat down. Slipping off his shoes, he slunk under the covers and got himself comfortable. Tomorrow would be a long day, and he needed the sleep.

—

Thump, thump, thump. Someone was heading up the stairs. Thump, thump, thump. They stopped. Keys jingled, and then slid into the keyhole, unlocking the door. The man, Alaric, walked inside after a long night's work. It was morning and the kids would be asleep for only an hour or two more before they woke up. Andersen would be the one to deal with that. He walked over to the bed his brother was sleeping in and shook his shoulder. "Andersen, I'm home."

"Hmm?" He groaned.

"Hey, wake up. I'm home and the kids will be up in a little while." He said, pulling the cover off of the man.

He smiled, eyes still shut, and pointed in the area of the kids. "Go look in Tino's crib."

Alaric nodded and did as he said. Catching sight of the child he sighed. "Another one?"

"Another one."

"Did you catch a glimpse of the mother?"

He sat up and stretched. "No, she left him in a basket on the doorstep then rang the bell and left. His name is Lukas."

The older male brought a finger to the child's cheek, stroking it lightly. "Lukas."

"Mhm, oh, you need to lie down. Also, I have to do the shopping tonight, could you wake up a couple hours early so I can?"

"Sure." He said, walking back to the bed and climbing in. "That's fine. Good morning."

"Good morning." Andersen said, stepping out and walking upstairs.

The upstairs, which wasn't mentioned before, was where the children stayed during the day. This was planned so that Alaric could get some sleep without kids climbing on him. The bumps they made didn't wake him, on account of him being a heavy sleeper. There was a kitchen, bathroom, playroom and laundry room. The downstairs held the full bath and the sleeping area, along with Alaric's workshop.

With everyone else asleep, Andersen now had the proper time and quiet to cook the first meal of the day—breakfast. Slipping on the apron and pulling his long, curly hair into a ponytail, he got to work. The eggs were cracked, the toast toasted, and last, but not least, the babies' food was placed in separate bowls and heated. He wasn't sure what Lukas liked, but apple and pear flavored mush seemed to be Tino's favorite. If he didn't like that, then they could try carrots. Midway through buttering the last piece of toast, he heard a scream. Tino was awake.

He placed the piece down on its plate and quickly headed to the sleeping room. Another scream. Lukas was awake, that was for sure. Opening the door, he found all bodies awake. Alaric had a pillow over his head. "Shut them up, please!" He groaned.

"Alright, alright." He muttered, walking over to the babies. He grabbed Tino and began to bounce him. "Boys," He said, looking at the older toddlers, "You know the drill, head upstairs."

An excited Matthias and Gilbert ran up the stairs, stumbling and slipping down a stair. "Careful!" Andersen muttered, worried for those two, "Don't fall, please slow down!" They had an appetite, that's for sure. The sleepy duo of Berwald and Ludwig crawled in the direction of the older two. They took the stairs step by step, taking a break after they had made their way up a few. Andersen giggled at the children.

Once everyone had gathered upstairs, he placed the babies in their highchairs. "You're lucky Lukas; we have an extra highchair from when Berwald and Ludwig were babies." He said, helping the other children into their booster seats.

"I'm hungry!" Gilbert whined.

"Hungry!" Matthias repeated.

They were the only ones able of talking. Berwald and Ludwig had their moments, they'd say a word every now and then, but otherwise they never spoke. It was odd, considering their age. Gilbert and Matthias were three, Ludwig and Berwald were two, and the babies were just that—babies, a year old at the most. Andersen was very lucky that his twos were not terrible, but he dealt with the threes, which were. The lack of speaking, though it was peaceful, worried the male.

"Cut it out, Gilbert!" He said, pulling the plate back from the child and cleaning up the mess of eggs. He had swiped them off the plate and currently had two cheeks full of eggs, which he happily chewed on. Berwald had the entirety of his fist in his mouth, releasing the small piece of toast he had ripped off. He made a gagging sound, grasping Andersen's attention.

"Damn it, Berwald!" He said, pulling his fist from his mouth, "Please stop doing that, you're going to choke."

He tutted as he looked at Ludwig's plate. He barely touched it. Matthias had scarfed down his meal already, and was currently trying to turn on the old television. He quickly walked over to the child and picked him up, pulling him a safe distance from the TV, so he wouldn't damage his eyes; then turned back and pressed the 'on' button. SpongeBob began to play, much to his delight. It was one show that he didn't mind watching.

Feeling something bump into his leg, he looked down, just in time to catch Matthias walking through his legs. "No, no, no. You have to stay back here." He said, placing the child back in place.

Now the other three of the oldest children were gathered in front of the TV. He moved out of the way and allowed them to watch the sponge and the starfish talk to the squirrel. Glad that they were all settled, he now brought his attention to the two babies. They needed to be fed and then cleaned up. He grabbed the two bowls with the fruit flavored mush within them and set them on the table. It was cool now, so it would be fine to feed it to them.

"Ahh." He said to Tino, who's mouth opened wide. He placed the spoon in and pulled it out. While he was swallowing, Andersen grabbed the other spoon and evened out the mush on it, bringing it to Lukas' mouth. "Ahh." The child opened up and took the food in, much to his relief.

—

Now that the babies were fed and cleaned, he put them in the two bouncy chairs—both of which were left from Ludwig and Berwald—and placed them behind the older children. Now that the kids were settled, he could clean up the mess from breakfast. Once the mess was cleaned, he headed back to the main room, letting out a satisfied sigh at the sight.

After having full stomachs, they had fallen back asleep. Ludwig, Gilbert and Berwald had fallen asleep in a pile, Tino was still bouncing around, watching the show, and Matthias had fallen asleep next to Lukas' bouncer. His hand was hugging the plastic sides while Lukas just watched him. He then reached out his tiny, plump leg and poked the Danish child's forehead. How sweet.

—

"Bath time!" Andersen called out.

He had Tino and Lukas placed in their bouncy chairs so he could bathe the older children. Matthias took his shirt off and ran to the bath. Berwald and Ludwig followed orders and headed to the bathroom. Gilbert on the other hand, ran and hid.

"Gilbert, I said bath time. Come here, now." He said, while helping the others undress.

Matthias hopped into the tub and splashed around. "Mat, no splashing, I told you," He did it again, "Matthias Køhler, you stop that this instant!" He frowned and then began to cry.

"Lud, Ber, get in the bath." He said.

The two did as they were told. Now to find Gilbert. Andersen stayed in the bathroom and skimmed the upstairs for the child. Not wanting to leave the three in the bath alone, he called out to him, "If you don't come here now, you'll have to bathe alone!"

Thumping was heard followed by the sight of the white haired toddler. He stopped in front of the adult and kept his head down. "Gilbert."

He didn't look at him.

"Gil."

"No! You is a mean daddy! I mad at you!" He said, crossing his arms.

He bent down and tried to get eye to eye with him. "Gilbert, you need to bathe. You don't want to be stinky all day, do you?"

"I want to be stinky!"

"Well, if you're stinky, then I guess you can't watch SpongeBob."

He hesitated for a moment before taking his shirt off. "SpongeBob!"

"Alright, get in the bath, then you can watch some SpongeBob." He said, seeing the others watch Gilbert's fit.

Once Gilbert was in the bath, Andersen grabbed the sponge. "Time to get clean!"

—

It was night now, and past the children's bedtime. They were still awake, though they were drowsy to say the least. With a baby on each shoulder, Andersen walked back downstairs, making sure to be careful when doing so. Four tired toddlers followed him, their thumps and pittering echoing against the walls. He laid Tino down first, and was about to lay down Lukas when he felt a hand tug on his shirt.

"Hmm?" He said, looking down.

Berwald looked at him with a straight face. He pointed to the crib.

"No, Berwald you are too big to sleep in the crib, I'm sorry." He said, determined to stick with his decision.

The boy pointed once more, giving him a pouty face.

He sighed. "Fine, Ber. Have it your way, just don't crush him."

He grabbed his hand and helped him into the crib, where he settled down with the baby. Andersen had a weakness for the pouty face, and it seems as if some of the boys knew it already.

Now he had no place to lay down Lukas. After all the toddlers has climbed into bed and got their selves settled, Andersen walked to his brother, Lukas still in his arms. "Brother." He said, shaking his shoulder as they always did to each other.

"Hmm?"

"Here, Lukas is going to sleep in my bed tonight. Watch him while I go shopping real quick."

Alaric rubbed his eyes and stood up. "Why isn't he sleeping with Tino?"

He sighed. "Berwald wanted to sleep with Tino again."

"Fine, fine. I'll build him his own crib this weekend." He held out his hands and took the napping Lukas from Andersen.

"I know you will." Andersen muttered, grabbing his wallet from the dresser. "How much money do we have on the account?"

"About sixty."

He stopped for a moment and rubbed his temples. "That's less than last time."

"I know."

"And the price of milk has gone up again and-"

"I know I'm sorry. I've already planned to take an extra shift at the plantation, okay? We'll be fine."

He glanced at the baby in his brother's arms. "And we have Lukas now, too."

"We'll be fine." He assured him. "Just get the essentials. Milk, bread, eggs, jelly, and peanut butter. Don't forget the babies need more of that goop they eat."

"Okay." He turned back and walked out the door.

—

Quietly, Andersen walked through the main room, bringing the newly purchased groceries to the kitchen where he would put them in their designated spots. Once this was done, he went back downstairs just in time to wave his brother off to work. "Have a good night." He would say.

"Have a good night." His brother would reply.

The door shut; his brother was gone. Walking back to his bed he found Lukas sleeping soundly. To his surprise, Matthias was next to him. His arm was around the baby, his head resting on its own. He looked over. Tino and Berwald were asleep in the crib, and the two brothers lie in the bed. Prussia was practically on top of his brother, which Andersen quickly fixed by picking him up and moving him a full foot apart. These children made him happy, and they were all he could ask for.