Draw A Circle

Chapter 10

He had been sleeping peacefully before the beautiful sound of the Canadian Nation Anthem filled the air, causing a certain drowsy Frenchman to roll over and stare at the nightstand beside his bed. Francis vaguely wondered who would be calling so late at night before realizing that whoever was trying to contact Matthew most likely wasn't aware that the Canadian was in Paris at the moment. Said Canadian hadn't budged an inch since his phone began to ring, a sure sign that he was still in a peaceful slumber and had no intention of answering the cause of the annoyance. Francis decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Bonjour?"

"Matty! Matty, oh thank God you answered!" It was Alfred. That figured, seeing as the American was practically the only Nation that didn't know of the special relationship that had blossomed between his brother and the Nation of France. "I need you to get over here as quickly as possible!"

"Ah, Amerique!" Francis responded, grinning from ear to ear. "It is lovely to hear from you, but do you have any idea what time it is right now? You almost disturbed your precious brother's slumber." A hand grazed over Matthew's soft cheek, causing the young North American brother to smile in his sleep.

Francis could practically see the confusion on Alfred's face, the pause and the stuttering only helping to prove that he had baffled the American beyond belief. He figured he should lend a hand, "Alfred, this is not Matthieu. It is Francis."

"Francis? Why are you answering Matty's phone?"

"Because your brother is preoccupied at the moment. Is there any way I could be of assistance to you? You sound a bit hysterical." Francis twirled a lock of Matthew's hair around his finger as he spoke, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Alfred as quick to answer, a new sound filling Francis's ears and making him become generally concerned that something may be wrong. "Yeah, listen, wake Matty up and get over here as soon as you can. Call Kiku and Yao too. I-Infact just call everyone you possibly can, I need as much help as possible."

Had he heard correctly? It sounded like Alfred, the self proclaimed "hero", had just said he needed help. That couldn't possibly be correct. His ears must be deceiving him--unless.

"It is Angleterre, is it not?" Francis asked, his grip on the phone tightening. He hand abandoned Matthew's hair and pushed himself to his feet, already knowing the answer to his question well before it came.

"H-He's in labor."

- - -

Alfred worked as quickly as possible, getting Arthur up to the safety of their bedroom in a matter of minutes and situating him as comfortably as he could. The Briton's water broke all over the carpet in the sitting room just as Alfred had reached out to scoop him up into his arms. Arthur's shaking hadn't ceased since then, and he had Alfred's shirt in a death grip, determined not to let the American out of his sight. Alfred's only choice was to use his cell phone to call his brother and ask for help, but instead he had gotten France. Of all the times his brother could be sleeping, why did it have to be now? He figured Francis was just as good as anybody else at that moment in time, and once he had finished the call he quickly hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket (having haphazardly thrown his pants and a t-shirt back on), turning his full attention back on Arthur.

"Do you need anything? I-Is there anything I can do?" The shaking seemed to be contagious, or maybe it was due to the fact that they were both drenched in bodily fluids consisting of God knows what. Alfred perched on the edge of the bed, propping Arthur up with as many pillows as he needed to be comfortable.

The British nation was looking deathly pale, his eyes half lidded and teeth gritted from the pain. "I-I need this baby to get out of me as soon as possible!" Obviously Arthur's condition didn't disable him from yelling, his strength returning so that he could scream and grunt, grip tightening on Alfred's poor shirt. It was hurting like hell and Arthur was positively sure this wasn't nearly as bad as the pain was going to get. Why hadn't they thought to plan ahead? Oh yes, that was right, that baby wasn't due for another two weeks. Still, at least Alfred had a plan to fall back on even if that plan wasn't that complex.

"Look, I know it hurts," Alfred swept Arthur's sweaty bangs away from his face, blowing cool air against his burning skin momentarily. Arthur wasn't willing to let him out of his sight, which meant that Alfred wasn't allowed to fetch a cool cloth for him, resulting in a slight fever. "Just hang on for a little bit longer. It shouldn't take everyone too long to get here, I think Matty was at Francis's place, so they're pretty close by." Even as he said it, that didn't sound too comforting. They both wondered exactly how Matthew and Francis could help them, but neither of them wanted to voice the question.

Arthur nodded fruitlessly, his head lulling to the side and a huge sigh escaping him as his eyes connected with Alfred's blue ones. He couldn't express how truly terrified he was at that moment, nor could he tell Alfred how grateful he was to have him by his side. If he had to do this alone he honestly didn't know what would happen to him. He wouldn't have known what to do and he didn't even want to know what that would mean for his baby.

"Just hang in there for me, okay Iggy?"

Green eyes looked up into the smiling (yet worried) face of his husband, and he nodded, smiling back as best he could. In just a few hours he would be holding his baby in his arms and all of this pain would be over. It was well worth it, he knew that, but he doubted he would feel that way once the contractions starting becoming regular. He closed his eyes against the slight pain he felt right now, deciding that all he could do at the moment was relax and wait until help arrived. Alfred would watch over him while he slept, and that gave him all the comfort he needed to go on.

- - -

He didn't know how many hours had passed since he had spoken to Francis, but to Alfred it had felt like nearly half a day. Arthur had slept peacefully the entire time, but he didn't dare leave his side for one moment in case another contraction hit. He wanted to be there every step of the way and he knew that Arthur must be terrified, not wanting to be alone. Alfred was relieved to say the least when he heard noise coming from downstairs, the sound of the front door being thrown open made him grin like an idiot, the footsteps clambering up the stairs making his heart thump in his chest.

Matthew darted into the room, looking close to hysterics, his glasses lopsided and his jacket half hanging off. "A-Alfred! I came as quickly as I co--"

Alfred quickly held up a hand, silencing his brother, whose eyes drifted to the sleeping form of the British nation on the bed. Matthew slowly approached, kneeling down beside Alfred and whispering to him. "What do you need me to do?"

"Not that much," Alfred responded, looking from his brother to smile over at Arthur who had moved slightly in his slumber, but remained asleep. "A wet cloth would be good. I think he's got a fever."

"That is typical," the sound of Francis's calm voice drifted in front the doorway. Despite Matthew looking completely disheveled, Francis looked like he took his sweet time getting ready, seeming as flawless as ever. "Most women develop high fevers when they go into labor, Amerique."

He had planned on asking Francis how in the heck he knew that, but decided against it as Matthew started pulling his jacket off, standing up to go and fetch a washcloth. He returned minutes later with a basin of cold water, a cup filled with ice, and a damp cloth, setting all of the items down beside the bed.

"We called Kiku on our way out the door," the Canadian replied, taking the time to wring out the extra water in the cloth before handing it over to his brother. "He said he'd contact Yao and the others."

Alfred took the cloth, folding it as neatly as he could before placing it on Arthur's forehead. The older nation didn't budge one bit, as if he hadn't felt the cloth at all. "Others? What others?" Why did he get the sinking feeling that Arthur's house would soon be overrun with Nations who claimed they wanted to help but really just wanted a peek at the baby?

Matthew gave a shrug, taking a seat on the floor beside the water basin. "I'm not sure. Before I could ask he had hung up."

"I am sure he would not contact the entire world, Alfred," Francis comforted, leisurely walking into the room, about to sit down on the edge of the bed when he was shot a glare from the American.

"Francis, I appreciate that you brought my brother over here this quickly and all, but I really don't think Arthur would be happy if he woke up with labor pains and you on the end of his bed." That, in turn, meant that Alfred would get screamed at for allowing the Frenchman in the house to begin with. But it wasn't exactly like Alfred had invited him, now was it? Francis simply tagged along with Matthew! Wait, why were they together anyway? Shouldn't his brother have been at home in Canada?

"Maybe you should wait downstairs," Matthew craned his neck, wide blue eyes looking up at his former father. "You can let everyone else in. They don't have a key like I do."

Francis feigned a hurt look, dramatically sauntering over to the door. "Oh, I've been demoted to the doormen! Why don't my former children love me? What have I done to deserve this?"

Both North American brothers shot him a glare and he was gone in a flash, allowing the room to fall into silence once more. The two were left taking turns rewetting the cloth on Arthur's forehead, watching him sleep peacefully for nearly another hour before his eyes began to open. He caught sight of Matthew, smiling softly and reaching out for his hand, which the Canadian quickly took, nearly in tears.

"How are you feeling?" Leave it to Matthew to be the overly concerned one. If it were up to him, he would most likely switch positions with him just to ease Arthur's suffering. "Any more labor pains?"

A light shake of the head told them that Arthur was in better shape than they had both originally thought. "I'm fine so far, just a light throbbing. I'm sure it won't be long before it gets worse though."

Alfred ran his thumb over Arthur's warm cheek, earning the Briton's attention, pained green eyes looking his way. "Kiku'll be here before you know it and then we can get this whole thing started." There was that stupid grin again, the one that both annoyed Arthur and comforted him. "We'll be able to meet our baby soon, Iggy."

Arthur smiled back, about to nod before his face contorted and he gripped the sheets beside him, another pain ripping through his abdomen. He could practically feel the child shifting inside of him, what he was sure he could feel though were Alfred's and Matthew's hands on him, helping him move into a more comfortable position. He hadn't realized how hard he had bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted the horrid coppery taste that was unmistakably blood. "I-It's getting…worse."

Alfred and Matthew gave each other worried looks, both having the same thought cross their minds. They wondered if Arthur would be able to hang on long enough for the others to arrive. He had to, right? It wasn't like they could deliver the baby! They didn't know the first thing about babies or giving birth to them, being such young nations.

Thankfully, they didn't need to worry for much longer, since before long Kiku and Yao had arrived, storming into the room and taking total control. Yao had quickly set up what seemed to be a miniature laboratory in the corner of the room, beginning to mix herbs and spices to create some pain medication for Arthur to take. He had reassured the others that it would have no effect on the baby and that this kind of medication had been passed down for generations in his country. No one objected to this, and Arthur chewed on the medicine that Yao had given him, his pain beginning to slightly dull.

Kiku pulled on a pair of latex gloves, getting out a mask to place over his mouth. "Alfred-san, I'm going to have to ask you to remove Arthur-san's pants so that I may check on the progress of the baby." Alfred had of course complied, waiting for everyone to leave the room before removing Arthur's night pants and undergarments, leaving him completely bare. The American hadn't been brave enough to check below himself, afraid of what he may see, so he simply covered Arthur with a sheet before letting the others back into the room. He was surprised to see Ludwig and Feliciano enter after everyone else, the Italian nearly hopping in place as his Germany lover began to get the room in order. Obviously some unspoken law had been passed that Ludwig was now in charge of the entire operation. He stood at the end of the bed, speaking quietly to Kiku while the Japanese man checked on Arthur's progress.

"Your body seems to have made a temporary birth canal, Arthur-san." Kiku informed the Briton, standing up from his crouched position. "It seems we have a rather regular birth on our hands."

Arthur grunted against another wave of pain, his eyes rolling for a brief moment. "Smashing, now I feel even less gentlemanly than I did before."

Alfred was lost in all of the confusion, holding onto Arthur's hand as Matthew rewet the washcloth for the fourth time that night. As if everything wasn't in enough chaos, Toris came clambering into the room, nearly tripping over his own two feet and panting like crazy to catch his breath as if he had run there all the way from Lithuania. Feliks could be heard greeting other nations downstairs, seemingly as loud and cheerful as ever despite the situation. Alfred had to wonder who was on the first level of the house, since there were obviously more Nations than he had originally thought.

"I-I came as quickly as I could," the Lithuanian nation panted, stepping into the room. "What can I do?" Toris had always been the nurturing kind, having taken care of a number of Nations (including Alfred for a brief period) over the long years of his life, so it was only natural for him to want to help in welcoming this child into the world. He looked to Ludwig, having caught the drift that the German was in charge.

Six sets of eyes turned his way (Arthur was the only one who didn't look, seeing as his eyes were clamped shut tightly as he rode out another contraction), looking for his guidance. Ludwig was never one to disappoint when it came to creating a schedule and keeping order. "Yao, mix up another batch of medicine in case the first wears out," the Chinese nation nodded and set to work. "Toris and Matthew, go and collect as many towels and bed sheets as you can. These aren't going to last too much longer and we don't want Arthur sitting in dirty sheets while he delivers the baby, it could cause infection." The Lithuania and Canadian nations gave nods before swiftly flying from the room almost simultaneously. "Kiku, since I don't know that much about children you'll have to lead me. I'll help you as best I can."

"I will do all I can, Ludwig-san," Kiku offered a gentle smile, lifting his head up from his crouched position at the foot of the bed. He was checking on the progress of Arthur's dilation, finding that it was almost time for them to begin pushing.

Ludwig gave Kiku a nod, his face remaining as stoic as possible as he walked over toward Alfred, clapping the American nation on the shoulder. "Alfred, do your best to comfort Arthur as much as possible." He was never one to become very sentimental in front of others, so he decided to leave it at that. His eyes drifted down and met Arthur's, noticing how pale and sweaty the strong nation of England looked. "Arthur, we'll try and make this as quick and painless as possible. I promise I'll keep order."

Arthur gave Alfred's hand a squeeze, indicating that he was still in a fairly strong amount of pain. It seemed even the Chinese medicine couldn't cure all of the labor pains he was experiencing, but he was still thankful to have Yao with them for help. "T-Thank you…Ludwig."

No one seemed to notice the bouncing Italian in the center of the room, looking very much like a puppy that wanted out, even though everyone knew that Feliciano wanted to be in the middle of the action, wishing he could be one of the first to greet the new baby. "Ludwig! Ludwig! What can I do?"

He knew that question was coming. Feliciano never wanted to be left out, even if others told him he was useless and would most likely screw everything up. That was why Ludwig had devised a plan, one which Feliciano couldn't possibly fail at. His massive hand came down to rest on his lover's shoulder, looking seriously into chocolate brown eyes. "Feliciano, you have the most important job of all."

The little Italian went into a military stance, giving a mock solute as his expression becoming quite serious. "I'll do the best I can, Ludwig! What's my job?"

"I need you to boil some hot water."

- - -

Three hours later and it was early morning, the sun starting to flood in through the window of the crowded bedroom. Nations sat everywhere, dirty sheets piled up in a corner, clean blankets placed at the foot of the bed along with a pot (yes, Feliciano had used a cooking pot) of hot water, and in the middle of it all was Arthur. It had taken two changes of bed sheets before the British nation was finally able to start pushing, which everyone was thankful for because they were running out of linen. Who would have guessed that birthing a baby was nearly as messy as a battlefield?!

Francis had been kicked out of the room four times prior to then, but the fifth and final time came when he happened to walk in during one of Arthur's particularly bad contractions. The British nation was quick to snap his head in the Frenchman's directions, venomous green eyes nearly burning a hole through the older nation's forehead. "FRANCIS, I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU COME UP THOSE STAIRS ONE MORE TIME I'M GOING TO JUMP OUT OF THIS BED, TEAR YOUR BALLS OFF, AND FORCE THEM DOWN YOUR THROAT!" Needless to say, that was all it took to keep Francis downstairs, where he waited with Antonio, Lovino, Gilbert, and Feliks, who had all either been dragged along or received a phone call from the French nation telling them of the big news.

Kiku had informed them that it was time to push, and Alfred helped Arthur into an upright position, propping him up on as many pillows as it took to make him both comfortable and able to deliver. Arthur was in so much pain at this point that he had started screaming at everyone who dared to talk to him, blaming Alfred for putting him into the position he was in right now and saying that he would kill him once this was all over. Alfred had laughed it off, though he did become a little worried that some of the things the British nation was spouting were true. He could honestly say that he was beginning to fear for his life by the time the pushing began.

"Very good, Arthur-san." Kiku praised as Arthur fell back against the pillows, panting and sweating, his teeth grinding against each other and his eyes screwed shut. "Now, when you feel another contraction, I want you to give another big push just like that. You're crowning as it is, this is one of the worst parts."

He knew he was crowning, he could feel the baby's head at the entrance of his birth canal, just begging to be set free. Vaguely, he wondered how long a baby could stay there without oxygen, and then he began to panic slightly. Tears spilled from his eyes as the fear set in. What if he couldn't do this? What if he wasn't strong enough? It was too late to be having these kinds of doubts, and before he knew it another painful contraction hit him, and he was bearing down again, pushing with all his might and squeezing onto Alfred's hand.

"You can do it, Iggy! You're almost there!" Alfred was all smiles, and Arthur was wishing he had the strength to punch him right now. How on Earth could he smile when his husband was in this much pain?! It was inhumane! There should be a law against husband's smiling while their lover's were in labor with their children. Surely he would have to speak to the Queen about that.

His cheeks flushed red and he let out a scream, collapsing backward into the pillows again and gasping for breath. Kiku had shouted that the head was out, and Arthur was beginning to feel the pressure again. He knew he needed to push, but he didn't have the strength to sit up, instead he looked helplessly over at Alfred.

"You're alright. You're okay," Alfred couldn't help but start crying. Never in his life had he seen his former father look this helpless. He stood up, his mind having been made up the second he looked into those green eyes. "I'll help you, Arthur. We're going to do this together." Before anyone could protest, Alfred climbed onto the bed in back of Arthur, sitting between the British nation and the pillows. He wrapped his arms around his lover, pulling him to his chest and helping him get into position. Arthur gratefully accepted the help, taking his cue and collecting a huge breath of air before bearing down again.

Kiku gently guided the baby's shoulders out one by one, supporting the infant's head and smiling softly to himself. There was a newborn baby in his hands, just moments away from being born, only one push remained and they would be home free. "One more, Arthur-san. One more and the baby will be out."

Alfred kissed at Arthur's neck, squeezing his hand and whispering comforting words into his ear as the older nation worked on catching his breath. "You can do this, Arthur. Almost there. Just one more and we can welcome our baby into the world. Just one more. I love you so much."

That was all he needed, those words seemed to be the key that gave him the strength to go on. He sat up straight, taking a deep breath and pushing with all his might, his head tipping back to fall against Alfred's shoulder as an ear piercing scream escaped his lungs to fill the room. Arthur had screamed so loudly that his ears were ringing by the time he had fallen back against Alfred's chest, his vision blurred slightly but not enough to disable him from realizing what was happening just a few feet away from him. At the foot of the bed, Kiku stood holding the newborn in his arms, Toris at his side, wiping the babe down with a damp cloth, Ludwig had cut the cord with his trusty pocket-knife. All of this was completely irrelevant to Arthur, whose world seemed to consist solely on the baby in Kiku's arms. This was the moment he had been waiting to see for nine long months, and now that it was finally here he felt as if it was nothing more than a mere dream. He watched as his baby was passed to Toris, who cleaned it up completely before bundling it and handing it over to Arthur, who gently took the bundle into his arms, his smile lighting up the room.

"Congratulations," Kiku smiled at the two, pulling off his mask and offering a generous smile. "It's a girl."

The baby girl wriggled in Arthur's arms, gurgling and flexing her tiny fingers as if she were testing out her new born body. Alfred smiled down at her from over Arthur's shoulder, one hand reaching out to caress the tiny hand of his baby girl, watching excitedly as it curled around his index finger.

"A girl, Arthur…" Alfred breathed, absolutely fascinated by the baby. "It's a girl."

Arthur could no longer feel the tears streaming down his face. He hadn't even realized he had started crying until he noticed that his vision was being distorted by something wet coming from his eyes. "She's beautiful…" The moment he said it, he had realized that it wasn't enough. No, there wasn't possibly a word in any known language that could describe how beautiful their new born baby girl was. She was born with soft, porcelain skin, very much like her mother's, but already the pair could tell that she would have a personality like her father's, seeing as she hadn't stopped moving around since she was out of the womb. Arthur was quick to notice the small piece of hair that stuck up above the others, proudly defying gravity like Alfred's Nantucket. He brushed a finger over it, trying to smooth it down, but to no avail, the hair obviously had no intention of staying down. Arthur allowed himself to smile, his daughter already had a beautiful combination of both their traits. He had wondered what color her eyes would be, but he guessed he would have to wait a while for that, seeing as the babe still had her eyes clamped shut.

"What're we gonna name her?" Alfred's voice broke through the silence, his fingers brushing over the tiny one's in his hand.

They had never discussed names. They both figured one would just come naturally once they were able to see their child for the first time, and Arthur was thankful that one had just surfaced in his mind. He brushed back her hair, smiling paternally down at his new born baby girl, the baby he had carried inside of him for nine long months. "Emma," he whispered. "Emma Jane Kirkland Jones."

Alfred repeated the name, as if getting his mouth used to forming it. "Emma…Emma…I like it!" He laughed happily. "Welcome to the world, Emma."

- - -

A/N: *wipes sweat away* Oh man, okay, this took one day to write completely, and then I got distracted and nervous and had to wait several more days before I could read it over to edit it. I made a few minor finishing touches on it, and I think over all it came out alright. I'm not really sure if I like the ending of this chapter, but I can reassure you that this isn't the final chapter, so you don't have to worry!

I'm honestly not sure how to end this story. The last chapter is going to be a complete mystery to me until I write it, so feel free to leave a comment with things you'd like to see. Also, let me know what you think the sequel should be about, because I'm still in the dark about it! If I don't get an idea it's probably just going to consist of Alfred and Arthur raising Emma, with maybe a surprise or two!

I hope you guys enjoyed this! Thank you to those who have stuck by my side throughout this fanfic. It is by far my favorite and I've had the most fun writing it! I hope the sequel and oneshots will be just as fun! See you next time! Much love!