I love my new fandom and I am never going to leave it.

Oh, someone indicated that they hope there isn't going to be shipping in this story. I will confirm, now, that America will have had past relationships with non-canon characters, as I hinted in the first chapter with Mexico, but the purpose of this story is not shipping.

This chapter was supposed to be solely about Delaware, but some development for some other states crept in.

Number One

"It's not funny!" Connecticut said sharply.

New York was currently rolling on the floor, laughing his head off. It would seem an unusual sight for those nations who had witnessed only the homicidal and neurotic sides of New York. In reality, he could be somewhat laidback and friendly…when he was upstate, of course. New York also had quite a good sense of humor, even with his near-constant agitation with everything and everyone.

And the fact that Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island had all so thoroughly embarrassed themselves was the highlight of New York's day.

They were all currently chilling at New Jersey's place. She wasn't exactly thrilled that her little brothers had decided to drop in unexpectedly, but she'd seen the video Uncle Canada had shared and so figured it was a perfect opportunity to get in some light-hearted mocking. Like New York, she'd done the rolling around on the floor and laughing her ass off thing when she saw it, but had managed to calm down long enough to let them all in. Until Connecticut looked her in the eye and then she was off again.

The Liberty Boys Trio had been with her for a couple hours before New York showed up, saw them, and arrived at the current situation of laughing at their faces.

"You shouldn't laugh at them," said a low, female voice.

New York looked over at Delaware, who was watching him with her usual impassivity, and snorted.

"They were askin' for it, Del," he said. "Even I wouldn't have tried somethin' like that in the U.N. headquarters, of all places."

"You would have attacked England, too, if you weren't so distracted by every shiny object that passes in front of you," Connecticut snapped.

"A'ight, I admit it, I hate the limey jerk as much as any of us. But I'd have done it without gettin' caught."

Connecticut scoffed at him.

"Don't believe me, Tommy-boy? Kindly remind me which of the two of us had a spy ring that won the Revolution."

"The Revolution was won by valiant Patriots who died on the battlefield!" Connecticut said defensively. "And your people were all being a bunch of Tory-loving sellouts."

"Va~ I'd suppose you'd know all about 'selling out,' wouldn' you, Mistuh Federalist?" said Rhode Island.

"SHORT!"

Massachusetts had to restrain Rhode Island to keep him from finishing the fight from earlier.

"You's all being ridiculous," Delaware said in a low, serious tone. "Stop the fighting."

"He started it!" the boys all shouted, each one pointing at another.

"Don't care who started it. It stops, now."

The boys all seemed prepared to launch arguments about why their fight was important and their respective views as to who was in the right, but were silenced when Delaware began to give them 'the look.' Ever since they were little, Delaware had been gifted with the strange ability to cow people with just a particularly stern look. She was very quiet most of the time, but 'the look' spoke volumes about what she could do if she was sincerely angered. Back in 1968, she frequently quelled rioters just by giving them 'the look' and politely requesting that everyone calm down and go home, speaking in her dry, serious tone as always.

"Yo, Del!" New Jersey called from the kitchen. "Ya totally gotta teach me how you can make 'em shut up like that. If only it was permanent!"

"Bitch!" New York shouted back.

"And proud of it, too, Trash-Bastard!"

"I'm going to lie down for a while," Connecticut mumbled, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Elsie, do you have any of those experimental painkillers?!" he called out.

"In the medicine cabinet!" New Jersey answered. "Top shelf! Possible side-effects are nausea, eye-swelling, and a weird smell emanating from the elbows!"

"Thank you!"

Connecticut marched up the stairs, grumbling about 'getting even one day.' Rhode Island decided he was going to go help New Jersey with the cooking, Massachusetts started texting Pennsylvania about the whole 'Tea Party' incident, New York got into a belligerent phone call with an undoubtedly terrified stockbroker, and Delaware began poking through the comic books New Jersey had on the shelf…most of which seemed to be Japanese manga.

Later, when everyone was sitting around the table for dinner, the fighting broke out again and Delaware, once more, had to silence everyone with 'the look.' New York and Massachusetts still tried to kick each other under the table, though.

The next morning, everyone was shocked to find New York was actually still asleep at seven o'clock. Normally, New York didn't sleep more than maybe two or three hours…per week. It turned out that he'd gotten into New Jersey's medicine cabinet looking for another bottle of the painkillers Connecticut had used the previous night and had mistakenly grabbed a bottle of high-strength sleeping pills.

"Well, at least it will keep him from driving," Connecticut said with a wry smirk.

"You know damn well he had his license pehmanently revoked," said Massachusetts. "Not even his own people trust him behind the wheel."

"Va~ He's gonnuh act like a bigguh bitch than usual when he wakes up," said Rhode Island.

"Ey, per'aps it's fer the best," said New Jersey. "I dunno, he seems happy and junk. Let the poor bastard have a day off fer once."

There was a strangely fond smile playing about her lips. For all that New Jersey and New York liked to rag on each other, the fact was that they were both steadfastly loyal to each other. Pennsylvania once even called them the "Trash Twins," because they were so close they even dumped all their shit on each other. New York and New Jersey thanked Pennsylvania for the affectionate nickname by stuffing dead rats in all the shoes in her closet.

"Whatever," said Connecticut. "I have to get to work. Monopolistic takeovers don't organize themselves, you know. Rhode Island, why don't you go and…polish seashells or dig for crabs or whatever the hell it is you do during the day."

Massachusetts managed to steer Rhode Island out of the room before he could start screaming about being the home of multiple Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies and about his long, noble history of participation in numerous industries. Once the boys had left, Delaware looked at New Jersey, who smiled back.

"I'm gonna stay with him," she said. "He'll need someone he can vent to when he does wake up."

"Hmm," was all Delaware said in response before standing and heading downstairs.

New Jersey grabbed a comic book out of her jacket, popped a stick of gum in her mouth, and began to read as she awaited the inevitable firestorm of New York finding out he'd slept through an entire day. Just as a precaution, and for the sake of posterity, she had a video camera going to capture the moment.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Delaware was just grabbing her purse when she heard a cellphone buzzing. She looked over at the couch, where the little device was resting, and realized it was Connecticut's phone. She figured she had better take it and give it back to him, because New Jersey would undoubtedly try to tamper with it if Delaware left it with her (New Jersey had a habit of trolling her siblings, and woe to any state foolish enough to leave their cellphone in New Jersey's clutches). However, she couldn't help but notice that a message had been left by their father.

Figuring that it might be important, as America tended not to call the states so early in the morning, knowing they would likely be on their respective ways to work, she decided to play the message.

"Hey, T-J, kiddo, I was wondering if you could do a solid for your old man. I need someone to give a couple of nations a ride to the airport. They had a problem or something with getting a taxi. Anyway, I'll text you the address. Let me know if you can make it."

Delaware quickly sent a message on the phone to let her father know that someone was on the way. She wasn't in any great rush, so she could easily fill in for Connecticut in escorting some nice folks to the airport. Thank goodness she decided to bring the Ford Explorer, otherwise there might not be enough room for everyone.

America had found out about the Nordic Five's transport problems quite by accident. It turned out that the hotel where they were staying was on the route America took during morning walks whenever he stayed in New York City. Apparently, Denmark had been blacklisted by the New York cab companies for numerous incidents, most of which involved the axe he persistently smuggled into the country, and so they were stranded. In fact, the only reason they'd been able to get to their hotel for this visit, in the first place, had been thanks to the subway system (which Denmark was now, also, banned from).

America would have offered them all a lift, himself, being a total hero and all, but he simply didn't keep a car in New York City. No one who lived in New York City owned a car. Which was probably why New York, himself, tended to panic behind the wheel and, as a result, was no longer allowed to drive.

That's why he called up some outside help. Connecticut had, thankfully, not picked up on his brother's driving skills (or lack, thereof) despite having to visit him frequently for work matters and was the closest feasible option for help in escorting the Nordics to airport.

Currently, America was waiting with the Nordics in the hotel lobby. Finland was cheerfully asking America questions about the states, as he'd been dying to know all about how America had managed to raise fifty children all on his own.

"Well, it's actually more than fifty," America said. "I've still got some territories, you know."

"That's right!" Denmark chimed in. "I sold you my West Indies ages ago. What was it you renamed her?"

"Her name is 'Virgin Islands.'"

Denmark began snickering. Norway promptly grabbed his tie sharply, causing him to choke a bit.

"It's rude to laugh at someone's name," Norway said sternly.

America tried to stifle a laugh at the little scene, which made the Nordics look at him curiously.

"Oh, sorry, dudes," America said. "It's just, you two reminded me of two of my other kids for a moment."

Before they could ask him to elaborate, America's cellphone gave a light 'ding' and looked at it.

"Ah, ride's here, dudes."

The Nordics quickly got their suitcases and followed America outside, but were surprised when he suddenly froze and began to look nervous.

Waiting there, in front of the hotel, was a Ford Explorer in a sandy yellow color (a shade known as "buff," if one wants to be specific). The license plate was pitch black with a single number on it in white; the number "1."

A teenage girl, maybe seventeen years old, dressed in a crisp, blue business suit got out of the driver's seat. The Nordics all stared in surprise, though Norway hid it better than the others, as they took in her appearance. She was a somewhat short girl, with sharp features but a slightly round face. Her long, light blonde hair was a little bit untidy at the top. Her dark blue eyes peered at them from behind a pair of rectangular glasses. She kept her expression perfectly neutral, almost eerily so.

Norway, Denmark, and Iceland looked at Sweden and Finland, then back to the girl.

"Hey, Del," America said cheerfully, though his smile was a little strained. Internally, he was screaming at the thought of getting into a car with his eldest child behind the wheel. "I thought Connecticut was coming."

"Left his phone behind," she replied in a low tone. "I saw the message." She gave a shrug. "I'm here."

"Great. Uh, thanks, Little Diamond."

"Hmm."

America turned to the Nordics, who were still looking as though they couldn't quite process what they were seeing.

"Oh, dudes, this is my eldest, Delaware," he explained. "Christina Jones."

Delaware nodded silently and stared at the five nations.

"Time to go?" she said.

The Nordics shook themselves out of the awkward silence and loaded their luggage into the back of the vehicle before getting in and buckling up. America politely asked (and internally pleaded) his daughter if she would prefer it if he drove. Delaware silenced any further inquiries by leveling him with 'the look.' The Nordics noticed the exchange, but were too astonished by the similarity of the expression with the 'scary face' that Sweden was known to possess that they didn't think anything about America's attempt to take charge of the driving.

Approximately two minutes in to getting on the road, it became clear that Delaware was not pleased with the New York City traffic. Her brow was furrowed in stern concentration (again, much like Sweden), but there was a glint in her eyes and a faint twitch at the corner of her mouth that was reminiscent of Finland whenever he had a sniper rifle in his hands. The Nordics were only able to see her expression because the rearview mirror was tilted at an angle that allowed them to see it; and they all realized what was coming next when Delaware said:

"Did he just cut me off?"

America stifled a whimper. Heroes do not whimper. Even when their teenage daughters begin to rev the accelerator on a screaming, metal deathtrap of a car. Even when their teenage daughters narrow their eyes in rage. Even when their teenage daughters decide that traffic is for wussies and that the best way to resolve it is to start driving over the tops of the cars in front of them.

No. Heroes do not whimper in such instances.

They do, however, scream in terror and cling to their seats so tightly that the leather will have permanent indentations.

The car bounced, rumbled, and even seemed to soar through the air at various intervals. The local police looked about to intervene, but one glance at the license plate and they knew exactly who they would have to deal with, so they simply chose to go back to their normal duties. At one point, the car seemed to catch on something and, after some more revving from Delaware, ended up somersaulting through the air, flipping as it hit the ground, and landing on its bumper, where it teetered back and forth for a few seconds before settling on its tires. Delaware then slammed her foot on the accelerator again, so hard that flames were practically erupting from underneath the car, and gunned it straight to JFK International Airport.

The Nordics toppled out of the car as soon as Delaware got out and slid the door open for them. America was too numb to move and remained fastened to his seat; he may have known what his daughter's driving was like, but that didn't make it any easier to live with.

Denmark was shaking and hugging his prized axe as if it were a security blanket, because he just needed to hold onto something after that ordeal. Norway, while still maintaining his perfectly blank expression, seemed more than a little invested in standing as far away from Delaware as he could, while helping Iceland to not have a panic-attack. Even Sweden appeared to be a little ruffled by the experience. The only one who hadn't been utterly traumatized was Finland, who was smiling pleasantly and thanking Delaware for getting them all there 'safe and sound.'

"It was nice meeting you," Finland said.

"Yeah, same," said Delaware. There was the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips.

Delaware helped Sweden unload the rest of the suitcases while Finland assisted Norway with Iceland, who was beginning to hyperventilate. The two of them said nothing but occasionally glanced at each other.

Sweden was certain he recognized Delaware from someplace. Even without the physical similarities to himself and Finland, he could have sworn he had met her before. Long ago, in a time half-forgotten.

"Sve, come on," Finland called out. "We don't want to miss the flight!"

Sweden nodded and gave Delaware another glance.

"H've g'od day," he said.

"Hej så länge, Farfar," Delaware said softly.

Sweden froze and stared at her far more intently than before. Delaware didn't seem to notice and simply shut the trunk of her car and headed back over to the driver's seat. She took off at a breakneck speed, leaving Sweden standing there with a deeply contemplative expression.

"Sve?" Finland said as he came over to him. "What is it?"

Pieces slowly fell into place in Sweden's head. Sweden and Finland had been the ones to find America as a child, back when they were trying to establish a colony. Indeed, Sweden had always had this lingering thought that America, and even his brother Canada, looked like they could have been Nordics; they bore far much more in common with the Nordics, at least in a physical sense, than they did with England and France. Sweden had thought it strange, considering the native peoples did not look anything like Europeans, but some part of him wondered if America and Canada had some other connection.

But that girl, Delaware, certainly caused things to click. Even her human name, Christina, was an old one which had been highly popular for Swedish girls for centuries. Sweden called up his mental map of America and tried to remember where Delaware was located. The answer caused his hands to shake and all he could think of was two simple words:

Nya Sverige.

Author's Note: Delaware's name, 'Christina,' is a reference to Fort Christina of the New Sweden Colony (which is now Wilmington, Delaware). Delaware's nickname, 'Little Diamond,' is an allusion to the nicknames for the state, 'the Diamond State' and 'the Small Wonder.'

Hej så länge – is a form of "goodbye for now" in Swedish.

Farfar – Swedish for "(paternal) grandfather."

Nya Sverige – New Sweden.

Please note, I do not describe the appearance of a state that has not been introduced to the nations. That is because I want to demonstrate the full impact of that state's appearance on the nations when they are introduced. So, you won't know what New Jersey looks like until I give her an official introduction.

Delaware inherited Sweden's 'scary face' that makes people think he's going to murder them when he's really just thinking something totally benign. The reference to 1968 concerns the riots, specifically the Wilmington riots, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when the Delaware National Guard was called in to basically take control of the city for over a year.

Delaware is infamous as the home of some of the worst drivers in the country regarding careless driving (often resulting in death). I don't know this from personal experience, but a study was done on each state's driving record and Delaware seems to be in the top ten (tied with North Carolina, apparently). Delaware even outdoes New York (who has a bad rep with most of the country, especially his neighboring states). Connecticut seems to have a bad history of drunk driving, but I feel that, as long as he's sober, Connecticut is generally one of the better drivers in the family. The worst driver of all is, according to the study, Montana (believe me, this is definitely going to come up again).

Delawareans apparently covet their black license plates and the lower the number you have on it, the richer you are. Delaware, herself, would undoubtedly have a license with the number "1" on it, if only because she's the first state.

New York's "spy ring" is the famous Culper Ring which ran intelligence operations out of British-occupied New York. The spymaster of the group was none-other than George Washington, himself. The series "Turn: Washington's Spies," which I've been watching on Netflix, gives a pretty good look at what was going on.

New Jersey is a leader in biotech and pharmaceutical companies, so I imagine her bringing home a lot of experimental drugs and testing them on her siblings. She does warn them about possible side-effects first just in case they try to sue her (which they would totally try to do). New Jersey is also pretty heavily into Anime/Manga and has several notable conventions.

I liked how I did New York and New Jersey's relationship. I see it as one where they like to scream at and insult and pretend to hate each other, but, at the end of the day, they are actually best friends and would always stand by each other. I don't know why I see their relationship like this, but it just turned out this way.

I actually don't know much about cars, so I had to look this up. The Ford Explorer seems to have a small problem of being somewhat dangerous to drive and holds a very poor rating on its crash safety tests. So, I figured it was a perfect vehicle for a road-maniac like Delaware.

There's this common understanding in the U.S. that no one who actually lives in NYC owns a car because it's really, really expensive to do so and it's just easier to rely on walking or public transport. There probably are people who live in NYC who own cars, but the majority don't appear to.