Pennsylvania slammed her fists into the rising dough before folding it over and repeating. Kneading dough was hard work, but it was nothing to the Keystone State. She had taught herself how to bake and sew and clean, which was much harder than kneading dough. Being the first girl in the house, she had to learn homemaking in order to pass it down to her sisters. She didn't have the luxury of having a mother to teach her. Her father of course tried the best he could, but he was a man and it was the 18th century; men were not homemakers back then. Of course America could take care of himself, but he wasn't exactly qualified to care for several children. With being away on business, and even fighting in wars, he needed somebody to look after the house and the children. Of course, Delaware was always in charge when their father left, but Pennsylvania stepped up to the challenge of taking care of everything. And she never minded doing so. She would do anything to make America's life easier.

"You know, you really should have your hair tied back." She glanced up as Delaware entered the kitchen. She rolled her eyes as she brushed a strand of her long, brunette hair out of her face. A few stray strands had fallen out of her messy, yet traditional bun, but it was still pinned back. She returned to her task, with a steely determination in her sky colored eyes. Like Delaware, her eyes were exactly like America's. It was only fitting. They were, after all, his oldest children. "Dad wants to formally introduce you to Mr. Germany and Mr. Italy. You may have fed them, but you and I both know that you didn't tell them who you were."

She huffed. "Well tell them they can come in the kitchen. And tell Tennessee and Alabama to knock that racket off. They don't need to channel their inner David Allan Coe and sing 'You Never Even Called Me By My Name' for the tenth time in a row."

Delaware cracked a rare smile. "Come on now. You mean you don't want to hear about Mama getting run over by a 'damned old train' again? Besides, you know they'll switch to Johnny Cash and play one of his songs on repeat. It'll probably be 'A Boy Named Sue' because they know how much you just adore that song."

Pennsylvania stopped kneading the dough and glared daggers at her brother. Delaware held his hands up in mock surrender as he opened the fridge to get leftovers. He knew better than to anger her when there were weapons in the general vicinity. Back in the 19th century, when she was only the size of a seven year old, she taught herself how to wield a butcher knife and learned how to slaughter animals because their father was fighting in the War of 1812 and they needed to eat. Delaware had witnessed her shoot down bears that out weighed her by 400 pounds, drag it back to the house, and skin it for meat when they were desperate for food. She was fearless when it came to things like that and she had the skills to do it. She wouldn't hesitate to gut her brother like a fish if he pissed her off.

"Alright, you two. You don't need to start." America said, re-entering the kitchen. This time he was followed by two nations Pennsylvania recognized. "Germany, Italy, this is my Pennsylvania. She's the one who fed you."

"Guten Tag, Herr Deutschland. Buongiorno, Signore Italia." she greeted pleasantly, taking one of each of their hands in her gentle, yet calloused hands. "It is a pleasure to meet you formally. My name is Sarah Marybeth Jones, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I am the second oldest state, having been born on December 12, 1787 after my state ratified the Constitution."

Italy immediately kissed her cheek. "Ve~ You're so pretty!"

"Thank you!" Pennsylvania exclaimed with a giggle as Germany, America, and Delaware glared at Italy.

Germany smiled and gave her left hand a gentle squeeze, obviously trying to be careful not to crush it. She wanted to laugh because she was far from a dainty little doll, but she said nothing and smiled politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Pennsylvania. Now I can see why America hasn't dropped dead from a heart attack. I imagine you feed him well so that he is not living off just greasy hamburgers."

"Well," she said with a mischievous smile, "my sisters and I do our best. Of course, we do take nights off and let Colorado and Wyoming handle dinner."

"What do you mean?" Delaware asked suspiciously as he looked up from the container that he was eating leftovers out of.

"Why, they make their favorite, of course." Pennsylvania told him, her smile becoming more and more wicked by the second. "Rocky Mountain Oysters, which you're currently enjoying. The boys will be so pleased."

Delaware gagged and threw the container into the sink before running out of the kitchen. Pennsylvania turned back to the nations and smirked before returning to kneading the dough. "Well, Delaware's out for the count. I suppose Daddy's going to take you to see Jersey next? Good luck. You're going to need it."


Rocky Mountain Oysters are, to put it in layman's terms, deep fried balls, usually bull or calf, but they can be pig or sheep. They're a delicacy out west, but they are sometimes consumed in the east, like at the Tiro Testicle Festival in Ohio.

Pennsylvania:
Human Name: Sarah Marybeth Jones
Official Name: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania is one of four states to go by "Commonwealth" instead of "State.")
State Nicknames: The Keystone State, The Quaker State
Eye Color: Sky Blue (the exact shade as America's)
Hair Color: Brunette
Human Age: 17
Birthday: December 12, 1787 (2nd)