A/N: I was really surprised at how many votes Spain got. I thought that there would be like one vote for a lot of the characters and two votes for someone random. But did he win? You find out here.

Chapter 1: School, Babysitters, and Boyfriends

Kuro, Lutz, Lanzo, Luciano, Flavio, Nickolas, Mogui, Andrew, Jason, and Natalie had been living with you for several months before they came forward and all but demanded that you adopt them. While you were happy about it, you sensed that they had reasons for their desire to be adopted that you were not aware of… On the bright side, you had a friend who worked in the school system so by the time the paper work was finished, all your children were enrolled in school. When it was time for the children to go in for lessons on their first day, Oliver refused to let go of your leg.

"Mommy!" He wailed. "Mommy, don't leave me!" It got so bad that several of the teachers had to pry him off of you. By the end of the day when they were dropped off by the school bus, however, all Oliver would talk about was how nice his teacher was and how much fun he had had. The other boys were a bit more challenging to get details from but they proved to be just as, if not more, interesting.

"How'd school go?" You asked as Luciano slunk into the kitchen.

"Fine I guess. It's stupid that we have to go though. I mean why do you care?"

"I care because I have a soft heart for underdogs." You said while slicing an apple. "Did you meet anyone interesting?"

"Yeah. There was this girl. She came up to me at lunch and just handed me a flower." Luciano said casually, opening the fridge door and snagging a box of Chinese food.

"What kind of flower?" You asked.

"A red tulip." You paused in your work, intrigued.

"Are you sure?"

"Course I am." Luciano growled. "Why? Does that mean something?" You smiled.

"Each flower has a meaning. The meaning of a red tulip is 'I love you.'" Luciano snorted and dropped the red tulip he had been carrying around in his bag in the garbage can. Later you would notice it was missing.

~Time skip to sometime in the evening~

You were just sitting down to watch (favorite show) when your phone rang.

"(Name) speaking." You answered politely.

"Ciao bella, it's me." Lovino, your longtime friend and sort of boyfriend, said. About the sort of part, several months ago, your friends Lovino and Antonio had both confessed that they had feelings for you. You were unsure of which one, if either, you had feelings for. So although it felt like bigamy, it had been decided that Lovino and Antonio would 'trade off', each desperately trying to win your heart.

"Hey Lovi, um, why are you calling me?" You asked.

"It's our date night, (Name)."

"Oh, right!"

"You forgot didn't you," Lovino sighed.

"Yeah," you admitted, "but I recently, uh, 'found' some kids so I really can't leave them alone."

"Couldn't you hire a babysitter or something?" Lovino demanded. It had been too long since your last date together and he was worried that Antonio would win your heart first.

"It's a little late for that," you murmured, glancing at your watch which read half passed five.

"One of my brother's friends just started babysitting. I'll call her and be over in an hour. Be ready." With that, Lovino hung up.

"Okay then, I guess I better get ready." You murmured to the quiet room.

~Fifty six minutes and twenty eight seconds later~

You were just putting the finishing touches on your makeup when the doorbell rang.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" You called as you dashed down the stairs. When you answered the door, you were not met by Lovino but with a girl of about fifteen with long auburn hair, bright hazel eyes, and a blue messenger bag slung across her body.

"Ah, you must be the babysitter." The girl nodded cheerfully.

"That's right. I'm Hope.*" The babysitter said.

"Well, my boyfriend will be here any moment and you should meet my kids before I leave. Follow me." Hope followed you into the living room where your curious children were assembled.

"Here they are, my babies." You said as you told the young sitter every child's name. "Got it?" Hope saluted.

"How hard can it be Ms. (Last name)?" You smiled slightly. After living with the kids for several months, you were pretty sure her attitude would be different by the time you came home.

"You have no idea…" You muttered. A honk came from outside. You started making your way to the door shouting extra instructions to Hope along the way: "There's money to buy pizza in the kitchen. Luciano and Flavio will only eat (pizza establishment nearest to where you live). Natalie gets scared really easily. Oliver likes to be sung to sleep. Jacques knows the songs he likes. If Jason curses, feel free to wash his mouth out with soap. Nickolas-"

"(Name), come on we're going to be late!" Lovino forcibly dragged you out of your house and out to his car.

"They'll be fine. Did you give the sitter your cell phone number?" Lovino asked.

"Crap, I forgot all about it!" You made a motion to get out of Lovino's car only to have him lock you in.

"Never mind. They know the emergency numbers. They'll be fine." Lovino promised. You sighed.

"I hope so."

Hope's POV

Except for a brief hazing ritual, which involved twelve artfully placed marbles, a Tonka truck, and several bags of flour, Hope's night was rather uneventful. Dinner time had come and gone and the kids were all in their rooms, though it was unlikely that many were actually sleeping. Hope was sitting on the couch in the living room studying for her history exam when a clap of thunder shook the house.

"Hope!" Oliver shrieked as he flew down the stairs in fright.

"What's wrong?" Hope asked as Oliver buried his face into her blue sweatshirt.

"It's the storm," Jacques said, following his adopted brother more carefully, "he's afraid of thunder." Hope smiled down at Oliver and stroked his hair.

"Ah, astraphobia, it's really common in kids your age." She said.

"What's astraphobia?" Oliver asked. Without either Hope or Oliver noticing, the other boys and Natalie padded into the living room.

"It's a big word that means the sound of thunder scares you." Hope explained. "When I was a kid, I used to be afraid of thunder too. But one day, my mom was cuddling me during a storm and she told me that thunder was just the sound of God moving His furniture around."

"God must really like to redecorate during the spring." Nickolas said dryly. Hope smiled.

"My mom also taught me a really cool song about dealing with fear. How about we all go upstairs and I'll sing it for you?" Once he was promised a song, Oliver was halfway up the stairs in the blink of an eye.

"Okay~" he chirped. Natalie shyly grabbed Hope's hand and together the two girls followed Oliver into his room. The other boys, having nothing else to do, soon followed.

Your POV

You and Lovino had gotten back later than you had expected but you both had a wonderful time. The house was completely dark save for the living room. When you entered the room, you found Hope the babysitter pacing and chanting facts about World War II.

"Is everyone asleep?" You whispered. Hope jumped at the sound of your voice.

"Ah, yes, they are. It stormed a bit a few hours ago and Oliver freaked out but I sang to him and he calmed down."

"I'm impressed, you managed to keep the house from burning down." You were only joking but you noticed Hope's hazel eyes slid off to the side when you were speaking, a sign that she was hiding something.

"How bad?" You asked. Hope winced.

"Don't worry Ms. (Last name), I cleaned it up. Jacques insisted that he would cook for us instead of ordering out. It was only a little house fire, luckily you had an extinguisher nearby and half a gallon of paint left over from when you painted the kitchen. You can't even tell it happened." Hope assured you. Just to be sure, you peeked in the kitchen. Hope had been telling the truth. Actually, your kitchen almost looked better.

"Thanks for watching my kids, Hope." You said handing over Hope's money. Hope grinned.

"It was no problem Ms. (Last name). I actually had a lot of fun. Who knew that Luciano could dance so well?"

"Do you need a ride home or something?" You asked, motherly instincts taking over yet again. Hope shook her head as a soft knock sounded on your door.

"I actually called my boyfriend and he said he'd give me a lift home, that's him now. Goodnight Ms. (Last name)." Hope said, heading for the door.

"Just (Name), please. Ms. (Last name) makes me feel old."

"Okay, goodnight (Name)." Hope said, leaving you alone in your house. You trudged upstairs and checked on all your kids. At first, you freaked out a little. None of the children were in their respected rooms. It wasn't until you came to the end of the hallway that you found out why. Every single one of your children were curled up, in some position or other, on your bed, waiting to you to return home. You smiled softly and as you closed the door. Without waking them, you went around and kissed their forehead or cheek.

"Goodnight everyone. I love you." You whispered.

*That's right, I am your awesome babysitter! I must say, you have amazing taste. I didn't use my real name because it bugs me reading it over and over again and I thought hope sounded better.

So Spain sort of won but he has to share the prize (you) with Romano. Who will win fair reader-chan's heart? Not even I know the answer to that one.

By the way, I am doing requests for reader inserts. I'm not exactly sure how this works but if you like my writing and want me to write something in particular don't be afraid to let me know.