It was the most beautiful birthday gift he could have asked for.
"Come on, Alberta; just take another step up, okay?"
"I'm fine, BC, really - OW!"
"Yeah, that totally sounds like you're fine."
"Shut up, Saskatchewan."
As Canada watched the three of his daughters walk up the stairs towards him, he couldn't help but smile. In true Canadian fashion, they were helping each other out. Alberta had recently been affected by major flooding in her capital, Calgary, as well as many other areas+. But Alberta's two closest sisters, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, had been quick to the rescue. The two provinces had been helping Alberta with damage control, rebuilding cities, and, in human form, simple things such as walking up the stairs. It made Canada's heart swell with joy to see that he had raised his kids well.
A voice sounded from the other side of the room.
"Girls, 'urry up now." Quebec ran her fingers through her straight blonde hair, casting annoyed looks at the Western three. "Papa's birzhday party cannot start wizhout you zhree, and you are taking forever."
"Oh, can it, Frenchie." British Columbia raised one of her hiking boot-covered feet onto the final step of the set of stairs. "It's not like I could've have slung Alberta over my shoulder and carried her, is it?"
Prince Edward Island giggled. "I can actually see that happening in my head right now. Oh my God, that is so funny." Even her red curls were shaking in amusement.
British Columbia frowned and rolled her eyes. "Okay, now maybe I would have done that, and maybe it would have been a faster solution, but she," British Columbia pointed accusingly at Saskatchewan, "told me that it wouldn't be a good idea to injure Alberta even more for Canada Day. Geez, it's not like I would have dropped her or something."
Quebec arched an eyebrow. "Of course not,"
"Hey, guys?" Alberta let out a chuckle. "Ya'll got to remember that if it weren't for the floods, I would be walking up these stairs all by myself, thank you kindly. And yes, BC, you woulda dropped me."
"No way, girl. I am way to good to do something like that."
Canada chuckled to himself as he watched all of the drama. No wonder America had taken a shining to British Columbia back in the day.*
"Non, cheri, I do not zhink so." Quebec crossed her arms. "Now 'urry up and get over 'ere, all of you."
The three Western provinces walked (Alberta hobbled) over to where the rest of the Canadian family was sitting. The provinces and territories began to talk amongst themselves, bickering and laughing like they always did. In all reality, Canada knew that his family wasn't perfect. But even so, with all of their flaws and all of their imperfections, nothing could have made Canada happier than seeing his children help each other out.
It was a perfect gift.
+In June of 2013 (among other times), there has been MAJOR flooding in Alberta. Calgary has been partially underwater for a time, and lots of the provinces have been pitching in to reconstruct the city. It's really cool to see the provinces and territories working together.
*Before Canada claimed British Columbia as a province, America wanted BC as an American state. Because Canada put in a railway that allowed BC contact with the other provinces, BC became a Canadian province. I think of BC as being a little bit obnoxious at times (like America) because of this. After all, America saw somethin' he liked in her! XD Yay for random tidbits of information that nobody cares about!
Author's Note: This was short, simple, and to the point. Happy Late Birthday, Canada! I hope you all liked it. As for some OC explanations... I've always imagined PEI (Prince Edward Island) to be a red-headed girl with an imagination like Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables book and movie series, written by a Canadian author - awesome series), but a little more hyper. As for Quebec's slight irritation, she's had problems like the Bloc (a government group that wants to make Quebec its own nation), and she was technically discovered before Canada, so I think she holds a bit of a grudge against the other parts of Canada. Alberta is famous for cowboys and rodeos, so the ya'll was put in with that in mind. British Columbia is my home province, so I modeled her a bit after myself (hiking boots is because of all her mountains and forests). Saskatchewan didn't get much face-time this story... poor Saskatchewan.