This is based on Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, which is based on Philip Van Doren Stern's The Greatest Gift, neither of which do I own the rights to. All characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya, and I do not own the rights to them either.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, I have a few other things to say: I do not believe in angels the way the movie portrays them, and whether I did or didn't, I am not comfortable writing actual saints, so please don't get mad at me for using personified countries as angels. Also, the is set from 1919 to 1945, during that time there was a world war and discrimination against Germans, Japanese, and Italians, although this story is centered around a German family, I am choosing to portray them as German-American's, who are willing to fight for the country they call home, and ignoring any discrimination there might have been against them. So please don't get mad at me for that, either.
If there's anything you don't understand, please, feel free to ask, I'll do my best to explain. You do not need to have seen the movie to read, and hopefully understand, this fic, but it is worth watching (just saying). Okay, that should be enough author's notes for now, so without further ado, I present to you…
It's an Awesome Life
Pure, clean, white snow falls silently on the small town of Bedford Falls, New York on Christmas Eve, 1945. It muffles footsteps, and slamming doors, and angry arguments full of words that aren't meant. But it can never silence the terrified, desperate pleas of friends and family praying for a loved one…
"I owe everything to Gilbert, please Father, help him…"
"Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, help my friend Mr. Beilschmidt tonight…"
"God, help my son Gilbert…"
"Gilbert thinks of everyone else first, you know that, you know that's why he's in trouble…"
"Gilbert's a good guy, just give him a break, God…"
"Please, dear Lord, I love him, watch over him tonight…"
"Please God, something's wrong with Vati…"
"Please bring Vati home…"
"Hello, Kiku," Yao, the head of guardian angels division 3, greets his subordinate, "What's going on down there tonight?"
"Ah, hello, sir. There are very many people praying for a Gilbert Beilschmidt, we'll have to send someone down."
"Beilschmidt… Ah, yes, tonight's the night for him. Who's turn is it?"
Kiku sighs heavily, "That's the problem, sir, it's the clockmaker's."
"Well, then, bring him in, get it over with."
"But, sir, he's… Well, he's not very bright."
"But he's faithful." Yao corrects, "Bring him in."
Another angel, this one without wings, enters, "You sent for me sir?"
"Yes, there's a man on Earth who needs help."
"Oh, wonderful! Is he sick?"
"That's not wonderful!" Kiku scolds.
"No," Yao answers the other angel's question, "It's worse than that: he's depressed."
"Oh, dear, that is bad."
"Yes," Yao continues, "At ten forty five tonight, he's going to think seriously about throwing away his greatest gift."
"Yes, his life," the angel muses, "That means I only have an hour to get ready. What do they wear these days?"
"You're going to spend that hour getting to know Gilbert Beilschmidt!" Yao corrects, "What's that you've got in your hands?"
"This? Oh, it's just my copy of The Canterbury Tales," he hesitates, "Um, sir? If I can complete the mission successfully, do you think I would get my wings?"
"If you do a good job, you will."
"Oh, thank you, sir!"
"Poor Gilbert," Kiku says to himself, then speaks to the angel, "Sit down,"
"Sit down?"
"You want to learn something about him, don't you?"
"Oh, Yes!"
"Good. Now, look,"
"Where? I don't see anything."
"Of course, I forgot, you don't have your wings. Here, I'll help you, concentrate there… See the town?"
"That's incredible!"
"Yes, and if you get your wings, you won't need help any more. Now watch,"
The cold winter air is filled with the shouts of a group of young boys as they use their snow shovels to slide down a hill, onto the frozen pond. One boy stands out from the others, he calls commentary as the others slide.
"Who's that kid?"
"That's Gilbert Beilschmidt."
"But he's just a kid!"
"This is him when he was twelve, twenty-six years ago. Something's about to happen that you'll need to remember,"
"Up next, my scaredy-cat little brother, Ludwig Beilschmidt!" Gilbert shouts.
"I'm not scared!" the smaller boy shouted, "I'll show you!" He goes down the hill, the other boys cheering him on. He goes further than anyone else did, too far, and he breaks through the ice. "Gilbert!" he screams, "Help!"
Gilbert runs to his brother's aid, jumping into the freezing water. The other boys follow, but stay on the ice to help pull them out.
"Gilbert saved Ludwig, but caught a head cold which infected his left ear, and he lost his hearing. It took weeks for him to get well enough to return to his after-school job at the drugstore."
Half a dozen boys walk down the middle of the street, arm in arm, all talking above each other. Suddenly Gilbert stops and points to the elaborate carriage in front of the Beilschmidt Brother's Building and Loan, "Braginski!"
"Is that the king?"
"No, that's Ivan Braginski, the richest, cruelest man in town."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why's he so cruel?"
"No one knows, he just is."
"What's he doing at your father's place?" one of the boys asks.
"Dunno," Gilbert says, before the boys continue on their way.
The boys, quite literally, throw Gilbert into Vargas' Drugstore, all of them yelling and teasing him. He waves them away, and strolls in, whistling. He grips the handle of the cigarette lighter and closes his eyes, "I wish I had a million dollars." he pulls the handle and the flame ignites, "Hot dog!" he exclaims. He resumes whistling as he goes behind the counter, where Madeline Jones sits.
"That you, Gilbert?" Mr Vargas calls from the back.
"Yes sir," Gilbert turns to face his employer. Mr Vargas nods and returns to his own work. His eyes are red, like he's been crying.
As Gilbert turns back to the counter, Marianne Bonnefoy comes in and takes the seat next to Madeline.
"Hello, Gilly. Hello, Madeline." she sighs.
"Hello, Marianne." Madeline says politely.
"Two cents worth of shoelaces?" Gilbert offers Marianne her usual.
"She was here first," Marianne nods to Madeline.
"I'm still deciding." she sighs.
"Shoelaces?" Gilbert repeats.
"Yes please," while Gilbert goes to retrieve her candy, Marianne turns to Madeline, "I like him." she whispers.
"You like every boy."
"Well, what's wrong with that?"
Gilbert returns before either girl can say anymore and hands Marianne the paper bag filled with licorice. "Two cents worth of shoelaces." he confirms.
"Thanks," she hands him her money, "Help me down?"
"Help you down!?"
Marianne huffs and leaves. Gilbert goes behind the counter again. "Have you decided what you want?" he asks Madeline.
"I'll take chocolate."
"With coconut?"
Her nose wrinkles, "I don't like coconut."
He stops and looks at her, "Don't like coconut? Listen brainless: don't you know where coconut comes from?" he pulls a rolled up magazine from his back pocket and hands it to her.
"A new magazine!" she gasps, "I've never seen this one before,"
"Of course not, it's only for us explorers. I've been nominated to the National Geographic Society."
He bends down to scoop her ice cream and she leans over the counter. "Is this the ear you can't hear out of?" she whispers, "Gilbert Beilschmidt, I'll love you til the day I die."
He stands up and gives her the ice cream. "I'm going exploring someday," he continues, "I'll have a couple of harams, and maybe three or four wives!" He goes back to wiping the counters, whistling happily.
"Gilbert!" Mr Vargas shouts, "I don't pay you to be a canary!"
"No sir," Gilbert agrees. He picks up a slip of yellow paper off the counter, thinking it's garbage, but then realizes it's a telegram addressed to Mr Vargas. He doesn't intend to read it, but one sentence jumps out at him: We regret to inform you that your son, Marcus has died of influenza. He sets the telegram down and quietly goes into the back. "Mr Vargas?"
The older man is putting pills into a box to be delivered. "Oh, Gilbert. Here," he holds out the box, "Take these to the Edelsteins, on Elm street."
The box falls from Gilbert's fingers when he tries to take it. Mr Vargas cries out in frustration and sits down with his face in his hands. Gilbert quickly scrambles to pick up the pills, but when he stands up again, he gets a look at the bottle Mr Vargas used to make the pills. It's clearly labeled poison.
"Edelsteins, on Elm street." Gilbert repeats, "They've got the diphtheria there, don't they?"
"Oh, just get going!" Mr Vargas cries.
"Yes sir," Gilbert quickly returns to the main part of the shop. He looks at the box in his hand. He can't deliver this, but what's he supposed to do?
His eyes wander to the Sweet Caporal Cigarettes sign that hangs over the cigarette lighter. 'Ask Dad, he knows', it reads. Gilbert runs from the building.
"Hold on," Gilbert's Uncle Harry grabs Gilbert's arm before he can go into his father's office. "You can't go in there. Your father's having a meeting with Braginski."
Gilbert's cousin, Vash, their accountant, nods like he's about to say something, but they're interrupted by the phone ringing. The secretary, Lilli, who's also Gilbert's cousin answers, then holds the phone out to Uncle Harry. "Phone for you," she says, "It's the bank examiner."
"I'll take it in my office." Uncle Harry scrambles into the other room.
Without anyone there to stop him, Gilbert quietly enters his father's office. There are three men in there: his father, Braginski, and Braginski's aide, a small, timid man name Raivis Galente. Raivis glances at Gilbert when he comes in and gives him a small smile. Gilbert's father and Braginski are arguing.
"These families have children," Aldrich Beilschmidt is saying.
"They're not my children." Braginski says carelessly.
"They're somebody's children,"
"Mr Beilschmidt, are you running a business or a charity ward? Not with my money, you're not."
"You can't possibly spend all your money, Mr Braginski."
"Better for me to try than to give it to useless failures like you."
"You can't say that about my father!" Gilbert objects.
"Gilbert." Aldrich warns.
"He can't! You're not a failure! You're the biggest man in town!" he pushes Braginski, "Bigger than you! Bigger than anybody!"
"Alright," Aldrich leads his son out, "Run along now, Gilbert, We'll talk about this when I get home."
When Gilbert returns to the drugstore, Madeline still sits at the counter, and Mr Vargas is on the phone.
"What do you mean he hasn't been there?" he asks. "He should have been there an hour ago!"
Suddenly, Gilbert remembers why he left in the first place. The box of pills feels like a lead weight in his pocket.
Mr Vargas notices him standing there. "It will be over right away." He grabs Gilbert and pulls him into the back.
"What have you been doing?" he slaps Gilbert's ear. "You were supposed to deliver that medicine an hour ago!" He slaps him again. "Don't know they need that?!" Slap.
At the counter, Madeline flinches every time Gilbert cries out.
"Mr Vargas," Gilbert starts to cry, "I know you didn't mean to, but you put something in those pills that you shouldn't have." Gilbert hands him the box and continues to speak, "I know about your son, I know you're upset, but I-"
Mr Vargas opened one of the pills while Gilbert was babbling. He hesitantly tastes the powder, realizing what the boy said was true, he grabs Gilbert's shoulders.
Gilbert tries to step away. "Please don't hurt my sore ear again!" he begs.
"No,no," Mr Vargas wraps his arms around the boy, "It's all right, I'm sorry."
"I know you didn't mean to, Mr Vargas," he sniffles, "I won't tell anyone, ever. I promise."
Character listname (name in original work) - Hetalia character
Yao (Head angel/Franklin) - China
Kiku (Joseph) - Japan
Wingless angel (Clarence Odbody) -
Gilbert Beilschmidt (George Bailey) - Prussia
Ludwig Beilschmidt (Harry Bailey) - Germany
Lucius Vargas (Mr Gower) - Rome
Madeline Jones (Mary Hatch) - fem Canada
Marianne Bonnefoy (Violet Bick) - fem France
Uncle Harry (Uncle Billy) - Greece
Vash (Cousin Eustace) - Switzerland
Lilli (Cousin Tilly) - Liechtenstein
Raivis Galante (Potter's nameless aide) - Latvia
Aldrich Beilschmidt (Peter Bailey) - Germania
Also, in case anyone cares, Marcus (Vargas' son) was kind of/sort of/maybe a little meant to be Holy Rome.
And if anyone wants to know who was praying at the beginning, it was (in order): Mr Vargas, Toni, Katerina, Ludwig, Mathias, Madeline, Sofia, and Charlotte. And if you want to know who all of those people are, then you'll just have to keep reading.