"It was really nice to meet you, Mr. America," a tall brunette in an evening gown said, shaking his hand.

"Yes, Mr. America, it's been a huge pleasure," a tall blond, also in an evening gown, added as she placed her hand over the first woman's.

"No problem, ladies. And remember, I told you that you didn't have to call me 'mister.'" He put his arm around both of the girls.

The girls laughed. "We grew up in the south, Mr. America. We were raised to call all older men 'mister,'" the brunette said.

America put a hand over his heart and feigned hurt. "Older men, you say. Do I really look that old to you?"

The blond shook her head. "Of course not Mr. America! You look no older than us, but we know in our minds that you're hundreds of years old."

"Great, hero's need to look their best!" America kissed the girls on their cheeks. "Sorry girls, I have to get going now. I have 51 other Miss USA contestants to meet."

The blond, Miss Texas, smiled sweetly, "That's fine! You go on and meet the others. We'll understand!"

Miss Louisiana, the brunette, nodded, "Of course! Just come back now, you hear?"

America nodded and waved, going out the door. He sighed happily and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "There's just some things about this job that I love."

He walked around the set of the Miss USA contest looking for more dressing rooms. Every year they invited him to meet all of the contestants and give a speech but he was never allowed to be a judge. For some reason the suits that run the contest thinks he favors Delaware over all the others. He shook his head, just because Delaware was the first state...He sighed inwardly. When was the last time he spoke to Delaware anyway? He knew all of the states met with their contestants during the smaller pageants.

"I should ask Miss Delaware how Delaware is doing when I see her," he concluded to himself as he walked up to a door. "Miss California and Miss Arizona," he read aloud, smiling. "Two more warm states." He smiled broadly at the thought of warmth and knocked.

"Who is it?" A cheerful voice called.

"Hello there! I was wondering if I could have a word! I'm America and..." Suddenly there was a loud screeching coming from behind the door. "Hello! Is there something going on! I am a hero and..."

America was cut off by a loud screeching again as the door flung open. "America? The America?" A very loud woman screamed out as she took in America. Behind her an annoyed looking woman was covering her ears with her hands. "Oh my god! It is America!" the girl continued screaming. "I knew you gave a speech but I had no idea that we would be able to meet you!" She screeched again as America wondered frantically what was hurting this girl so much that she had to make such an unearthly noise.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" He asked, panicked.

The girl laughed, "Get a load of him!" She turned to the girl behind her. "Ma'am he called me!" She turned back to America, "Please, please, please come in! I've always wanted to meet you!" She grabbed America's hand and pulled him into the room. "You have no idea! Anyway," she took a deep breath to calm herself, "I'm Sherri! I'm Miss California!"

"It's nice to meet you," America said, shaking the girl's hand. "And you?" He asked, turning to the other girl.

"I'm Grace," she answered, shaking America's hand. "Miss Arizona."

"It's nice to meet you," he nodded.

He stayed and talked with those girls for a few minutes before leaving to meet other contestants. It took him nearly two hours to meet with all of the girls, catching up with Miss Delaware right before the pageant started.

"Hello, Miss Delaware?" He called, struggling with the tie he was trying to put on as he ran after her.

"Hello," she shook his hand. "I heard you were meeting with us. Sorry I wasn't in my dressing room."

"No, no, it's fine!" he said, tying his tie the way you would tie your shoes. It left the tie looking like a clown's bow tie. He looked down at it helplessly. "I should've asked England to come and help," he muttered.

Miss Delaware hid her smile behind her hand. "Let me get that for you," she untied the knot he made and started to fix it. "Was there something you needed?"

America blushed slightly, England was the only person who ever helped him with his tie. "I...I well...I was just..."

"Hmmm?" Miss Delaware looked up at him, pulling the tie snuggly into place.

"Sorry, I was just wondering...I mean," his cheeks got redder when he noticed that her hands were still on his tie even though she was done fixing it. "Sorry. Like I said...You've met Delaware, right? How is he doing?"

"Oh...yes. Well, he seemed absolutely fine," she yanked her hands away, blushing when she realized she had left them there. She turned to walk toward the stage, turning her head slightly. "You should visit him. He may have mentioned that you hadn't in a while. And he seemed to have missed you." She turned to face America and winked. "But you didn't hear that from me." She blew him a kiss before she walked away. "It was nice meeting you! Good luck on your speech!"

America stared after her, his face a bright tomato. "Maybe it's a good thing I don't judge the contest after all..." He walked up the stage steps and waited behind the curtain, buttoning his jacket.

"...Opening today's pageant is everyone's favorite hero! America!" America walked on to the stage, smiling and waving to the crowd. The Star-Spangled Banner played softly as he walked across the stage and he laughed quietly, as he did every year, because it reminded him of his boss walking across stages to Hail to the Chief. He really did like having his own theme song.

He wondered idly about remixing the song until it finished and he was able to start his speech.

"Hello to everyone! The contestants, the judges, the audience, and to the viewers in these United States of America!" he waved to everyone as he said this. "Sorry about that!" he laughed, "I never know how to start of these things, but I always figure the best thing to do is say hello." He took the mic off of the stand it was on and walked forward a little, getting serious. "Every year I get invited to this pageant and every year I wonder who will be winning. I walk back stage and meet all of the contestants, I chat with them for a while, and I make this speech. I look around at this big stage and think to myself, 'This is a place where dreams become possible.' Today, there are 50 young ladies waiting backstage. Any moment now they will walk out here and wow the judges, just as they wow me before the show. I, of course, have no say in who wins but I cannot tell you how special I feel when I get invited to these things. I love being able to be a part of this show. Every year I meet 50 young ladies, all going for the same reward. I get to witness the different personalities and see their different charms. All of these girls bring something different to the table and I would be happy to call any of these girls Miss USA. We haven't won Miss Universe since 1997, but with the girls I met here today, I think this may be our year!" The audience clapped loudly and America put the mic back onto the stand and took his seat by the judges. He really did like this part of his job.

A/N

Sorry about that! Haha. This idea has been tugging at my brain for days. I wasn't planning on a speech at the end, but why not?

Anyway! Happy New Year Everyone!

Have a wonderful day and please review.