Arthur never admitted it, but when his brothers left he was left feeling slightly empty as he and Alfred stood watching the plane back to the U.K. turn into nothing, but a small speck in the distance. After a few days from the day of their arrival and after a lot of reminiscing and talking about the soon to come addition to the family the three older men left for home leaving the couple to take the last few months they had alone to prepare themselves.

By this point in time it was nearly the end of the long nine months. Two weeks would make the entire span of time to Mary Jo's due date of October ninth. The house was completely ready. The nursery was decorated, painted, and adorned with all the furniture. The room was also stocked with everything necessary- diapers, clothes, bottles, blankets, pacifiers, formula- anything for an infant you name it they had it. With everything now in place Alfred and Arthur were left to only play the waiting game. Even though through Arthur's eyes patience was a virtue- and one such virtue he considered himself to possess- but waiting was pure torture. And even though Alfred had more than learned how to handle Arthur when he got like this he was having a hard time telling the Brit to wait patiently when he himself could almost hardly contain himself.

But still as excited as they both were, the idea of soon having a baby to love and care for left the two unwillingly afraid of the future.

It was Saturday. Alfred of course had the day of for work and seeing how Arthur worked at home anyway the couple sat together on the couch trying to pass the time by watching the telly. The couple had been nearly too afraid to leave home out of fear that Mary Jo would call while they were out to tell them she was in labor. Arthur laid snuggly curled up next to Alfred's form- intently reading a book- while the American mindlessly flipped through the various programs that danced across the TV screen with each click of the remote's button.

"Today we shall be cooking a special date cake…" click.

"In other news, with Italy, America, and England all out of the World Cup…" click.

"Oh Roderich, we two can never be together… the truth is that I, Elizaveta, have not always been a woman…" click.

Saturday afternoon, satellite cable, over one thousand channels and absolutely nothing to watch on TV; what a tragedy. As Alfred deftly channel surfed in vein of finding anything decent he came across a cartoon playing on some children's channel. A woman with her face hidden by a shawl hesitantly laid a basket on the door step of a nice looking home, poking her face down into the contents before laying a small note and blanket a top it. The animated woman knocked on the door a few times before running off and leaving the basket abandoned on the steps. The perfect happy couple who lived in the happy little home opened the door and looked surprised as they gazed upon the basket. The perfect wife kneeled down and lifted the blanket laid on the basket, gasping in surprise as she found a small new born infant nestled inside the wicker frame. The perfect husband kneeled down and picked up the note, reading the letters that made out the phrase. 'Please take good care of me.' Written in a quick scrawl.

A classic cartoon scenario. The old baby left on a door step routine.

"Pft, like that would ever happen." Alfred mused out loud.

Arthur looked up from his book to see what it was Alfred was talking about it. "You know my brothers tried to convince me once when I was very little that I was left on the door step in a basket like that." He reminisced a little bitterly as he turned his gaze back down to his book.

Alfred chuckled. It seemed like something the three of them would pull. "Y'know, when I was little, I once told Mattie that the FedEx man dropped him off at our house one day and we decided to keep him. He bawled his eyes out. Man was my mom pissed though; she smacked the living crap out of me and grounded me for a week."

Arthur craned his neck around to look up at Alfred. "That's so horrible; no wonder the poor boy has no self esteem."

"Hey, I apologized and I felt awful about it, and besides it wasn't me who did that to him. Blame Tommy Jenovski from our kindergarten class." Alfred defended himself.

"Yes, yes, I know you've told me that story before." Arthur waved Alfred away as he shoved his nose back into his reading and grew silent as the text's plot drew him back in.

"Well bottom line is that that," He said pointing to the TV. "Wouldn't actually happen. People don't leave other people living things in baskets on door steps to be taken care of." Ironically enough the door bell suddenly echoed into the living room from the foyer. Alfred cocked one eye brow curiously. "Hmm, wonder who that could be…" He said as he carefully climbed over Arthur and headed for the front door. He closed one eye and looked out the peek hole, but curiously saw no one standing there. He could though see something along the very bottom rim of his field of view. "What's that…?" He mumbled to himself. Alfred opened the door and peered out. There wasn't anyone standing on the doorstep, but there was an object. Ironically enough it was a basket. A brown wicker basket with a small white sheet drawn over the opening and a little card atop the sheet. "… Though I have been wrong before…" Alfred muttered to himself as he recalled his previous statement.

Cautiously Alfred kneeled down and picked up the small beige card off the top. On its smooth surface was a sloppy 'Please take good care if us' scrawled in black ink. Alfred's heart sped up in his chest, Oh my god this is just like the cartoon. Oh my god this is just like the cartoon.

The big American took a deep breath and held it; counting down in his head before he ripped off the white sheet in one swift motion to reveal the basket's contents.

It was a baby alright. Two of them. But they weren't human babies; they were kittens.

Alfred just stared at the two little balls of fluff that had begun to squirm and meow at the sudden bright sunlight. The he drew in a breath and reacted, "Artie! C'mere quick!" he called frantically to his petite British husband. Arthur hopped off the couch and hurried to Alfred's side thinking something had gone horribly wrong.

"What? Alfred, what's wrong?" Arthur asked hurriedly he rushed into the foyer. When Arthur found his American husband leaning over clutching something in his arms the Brit automatically thought he was sick. "Alfred, what's going on? What's wrong?" He asked again.

Alfred just turned and looked up at Arthur; two little fluff balls cradled in his arms. His face was bright and cheery and his grin spread from ear to ear. "Artie… look…" He said, voice nearly trembling with excitement.

Arthur furrowed his thick brows and gazed down upon the little creatures. "… Kittens? Where on earth did you get those?" he asked curiously as he kneeled down next to Alfred.

"Nowhere. They were in that basket on the door step." Alfred explained as he handed one of the little kitties to Arthur. This one was mainly white except for an orange patch covering nearly one half of its face as well as an orange tail. It was a bit on the scrawny side with thick dark patches of fur over striking green eyes as well. One thing about this kitten in particular was its ears which were folded in a downward angle.

Arthur looked a little flustered as he took the small scrap of fur into his arms; adjusting his arms so he gave the creature the support it needed. "… Kittens don't just appear on people's door steps in baskets…" Arthur muttered as he gently stroked the cat's head.

"Well they do now." Alfred replied as he held the kitty up from under its forelegs and gave its cute little pink nose and Eskimo kiss earning him a small return kiss from the kitty's rough tongue. The kitten that Alfred held was a bit chunkier, but also mainly white with brown markings. This one had a ring of brown fur- that was fluffier than the rest of the coat- around its collar as well as a brown fluffy tail. This one also had small half circle brown markings under its bright blue eyes as well a small tuft of fur proudly sticking up from the top of its head.

"D'aw they're so cute, Artie." Alfred laughed as he cuddled the kitten he was holding. "Can we keep them?" He asked like a child begging his mother to let him keep the little creature he found in the backyard.

"No of course we can't, Alfred. I was only counting on one baby to take care of, not three." He averted his eyes from the Alfred as well as the kitten's (Arthur knew damn well once he looked at either of them he would melt and give in).

"Aw, but Artie they're orphans!" Alfred whined as he hugged his kitten close. "We can just leave them outside to starve!"

"Git," The Brit shot back sharply. "I didn't mean that we would throw them back outside to fend for themselves. I meant we would take them to an animal shelter where they can be adopted by a more able family."

"But we're able! We're totally able!" Alfred protested.

"Alfred we'll have a baby to take care of within a matter of a few weeks… we won't be able to give these cats the attention they need."

Alfred stuck out his lower lip and puffed out his cheeks as he pouted. "But Arthur… I think we can do it…. Even with the baby we can still take care of the cats." Alfred got up in Arthur's face, sticking out his lower lip further and giving the Brit the best pleading puppy dog look he could muster.

Arthur tensed at the sight of his husband's adorable childish face. "Please Artie… you can't say no to these faces." Alfred said as he scooped up the orange kitty from Arthur's arms and then held both kittens up next to his face to triple the cuteness factor.

Arthur quickly averted his eyes from the other three pairs staring at him intensely. The Brit folded his arms across his chest and tried his very best not to look at the trio. But every attempt to ignore them was in vain; the Brit had no choice but to give in. "Oh fine," He sighed heavily. "They can stay; just stop looking at me like that…"

"Yay!" Alfred jumped up like a rocket; clutching the kittens and dancing around the foyer. "You hear that kitties! You get to stay with us!" he cheered as he continued his ridiculous act. The orange and white kitty didn't seem so thrilled with the jumping. He squirmed and pawed at Alfred's arm until he successfully freed himself from the big American's grip. The little kitten landed gracefully on all fours and padded over to where Arthur was still kneeling on the floor. The cat climbed up onto Arthur's legs, finding a comfy spot in the Briton's lap before he curled up and began purring like a motor boat; begging to be pet.

Arthur felt his heart melt at the actions of the little kitty. He gave in easily and began to slowly stroke the cat's soft cuddly fur. "Aw see, look at that Artie. He loves you already."

"Oh belt up, love." Arthur half heartedly scoffed. "We're going to have to take them to the vet; have them checked out as well as have their shots. Not to mention we'll have to go the pet store and buy supplies."

"Well then let's hop on in the car and get a move on." Alfred said as he placed the little kitty on his head and let the small animal latch onto the locks of ash blonde hair. The America snatched his shoes up from their place by the door; launching himself onto the staircase so he could put them on. Arthur followed suit in a less dramatic manner; the little orange kitty loyally following his every move. The couple each scooped up their respective cats and headed off for one long and hectic day.

"We have to think of names for these little guys." Alfred stated as he and Arthur drove home from their shopping adventure. The couple had spent the entire day running around trying to prepare their home for their two new little house mates. With a trunk now filled with food, toys, and other various odds and ends the dynamic duo was finally calling it a day.

"Well think I've thought of a name for this little boy…" Arthur said as he scratched the orange and white cat's neck. During the trip to the vet the duo had discovered that the cats were both male- the orange and white one a Scottish Fold and the brown and white one an American Short Hair.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" Alfred inquired as he stroked his own cat's head lovingly while he drove.

"… You're going to laugh…" Arthur mumbled.

"Aw c'mon, I promise you I won't laugh." Arthur hesitated. "C'mon Artie," Alfred pried.

"…br…ey…" He muttered almost inaudibly.

"Sorry didn't quite catch that,"

"…bro…ey…"

"C'mon Artie, pretend I'm deaf."

"Bromsley, okay? His name is bloody Bromsley for fuck's sake." Arthur finally shouted; his accented voice echoing inside the car.

Alfred flinched at the harshness of his husband's voice. "Alright, alright jeeze… his name is Bromsley." Of course when he actually said 'Bromsley' he snickered a bit. What a weird name for a cat, he thought to himself.

"See? I knew you would laugh. That's exactly why I didn't want to tell you." He pouted and stared down at Bromsley in his lap; pretending he was seriously concentrating on petting the kitty.

"No, no, I'm not laughing. It's a very nice name Artie." He reassured his pouting husband, but the Brit remained a bit unconvinced.

Arthur sat there for a bit, stroking his cat and ignoring Alfred. An uncomfortable blanket of silence settled over the two until Arthur's guilt grew and he could bear that tense quietness no more. "So uh… w-what are you going to name him?" Arthur inquired as he tilted his head towards the kitty happily nestled in Alfred lap.

"I'm glad you asked," The American instantly brightened up as if nothing had even happened. "At first I was going to name him Fonzy, or bomber, or George," What a weird array of names. "But I think I'm gonna call him Ace."

"Ace?" Arthur echoed.

"Yeah, I thought it sounded pretty bad ass." Alfred announced proudly with one of his signature 100 watt grins.

Arthur only shrugged his shoulders and continued to stroke the length of Bromsley's small back; the tiny kitten purring like a motorboat at the treatment. "Alright then, Bromsley and Ace it is." The Briton smiled to himself; heart completely soft and melted as he continued to stroke the ever dozing off kitten. The car was silent again was silent save for the quiet hum of the engine, Bromsley's purring, and Ace meowing as Alfred played with the little kitten.

"Y'know, we still haven't fully decided on names for the baby yet." Alfred suddenly commented.

"Shit…" Arthur cursed quietly to himself. Here they were only a matter of days away from being parents and they had no idea what the kid was even going to be named. "You're right…"

"I still say Trayton is a cool name." Alfred grinned.

"Oh please Alfred, I don't want our child being picked on because their name sounds like the name of a sea god from roman folklore." Arthur scoffed.

Alfred cocked one brow and looked over at Arthur in confusion. "Who the what now?"

Arthur shook his head and sighed. "Oh never mind- look my point is that is a horrible name and I for one will not spend the rest of my days calling my child Trayton."

Alfred's face grew serious; his mouth a hard line as he gave his options some very serious thought. "What if… what if one of us flipped a coin? You get heads, if the baby is a girl you can pick the name and I have no say. You get tails, if the baby is a boy you can pick the name and I have no say. But same goes for me, whatever side you don't get, I do. If you get heads, but the baby ends up being a boy and not a girl I get to name it. How's that sound?" It was a bit of a difficult explanation, but Arthur was a smart cookie and he was used to Alfred's weird way of explaining things so it seemed like he got the basic idea.

"Hmm… sounds fair enough. Do you have a quarter?" Arthur mused.

Alfred reached into the console that was stuffed with various papers, random bric-a-brac, and some spare change. He dug around for a minute or two before he successfully pulled out a shiny new quarter. "Our future child's name rests on this quarter." He laughed as he handed the coin to his husband who snatched it up and shot the American a small glare.

Arthur hesitated for a few moments; turning the coin over in his hands a few times before he took a deep breath and balanced the small silver coated coin on the top of his thumb. "Here goes nothing." The Briton sighed as he silently prayed he got the choice he truly wanted.

The coin did a few flips as it rose up as high as the SUV's cab would allow before it plummeted back to the ground; flipping a few more times before it landed with a small thunk on the floor between Arthur's feet. The Brit held a lungful of air in his chest as he peered over his lap and down at the coin on the car floor; almost too afraid to find out which side it landed on.

Upon further inspection he discovered the truth and hesitated before speaking, "… Tails… I got tails." Arthur was surprised by the amount of relief that was in his voice when he finally did speak. In all honesty he really wanted to get tails because he liked the name he had picked for a boy- not having the child named Trayton was just an added bonus.

"Alright, so if the baby is a boy you get to name it and I can't say anything about. If the baby is a girl I get to name it and you can't say anything."

"Sounds like a plan." Arthur smiled to himself as he picked the coin up from the floor and threw it back in the consol. The Briton felt happier than ever as he returned to gently stroking little Bromsley, fondly hoping that they would have a son.

After a long day of adventures and getting the new additions the family settled in Arthur was ready for a well deserved good night's sleep. The Briton yawned and stretched a little as he entered the bed room where he found his darling husband already passed out in bed; sprawled out on his back with his mouth wide open letting out loud snores and a small trickle of drool making its way down his chin. Arthur only smiled to himself, "Git… I told him not to let the cats sleep in the bed…" Sure enough Bromsley was curled up neatly in the crook of Alfred's neck while Ace was half way hanging off the top of the American's head. It was such a cute scene and the sight of his husband's innocent sleeping face only caused Arthur to smile again and sigh. "Still… I can't get mad at that face…" He muttered to himself as he quietly snuck over to Alfred and gently removed the man's glasses which he had unceremoniously left on his face again.

After folding up Alfred's glasses and placing them on the nightstand Arthur drew back the covers on his side of the bed and crawled inside; tossing and turning a few times before he found a comfortable sleeping position. He snuggled down into the comforter; squishing his head down into his pillow and closing his eyes as the silence (well except for Alfred's snoring, but he was used to that by now) settle over him and carry him to sleep.

The Brit was just starting to drift off when the sound of the house phone ringing echoed from down stairs in the kitchen. Arthur groaned and shifted in the bed; contemplating whether or not he should answer it or just let the answering machine get it. He peeled back the bed covers and shuffled out of the room and down the stairs deciding that the phone call could be something important and he should pick it up.

At that time he didn't know just how important that phone call was.

He snatched the phone up off the receiver; taking a moment to get out a yawn before pressing the green accept button. "'Ello?" He called groggily to the person on the other end.

"Hi, Arthur? It's Mary Jo." It was undeniably her cheery southern twanged voice echoing from the other end of the receiver. The sound of her voice woke Arthur up like a bucket of ice cold water.

"O-Oh, hello Mary Jo? How are you, is something wrong?" There were only two things that crossed Arthur's mind at that moment and he hoped his first suspicion was the right one.

"Oh don't worry everything's fine. I know it's late and all, but I just wanted to tell you and Alfred that I'm in labor." Oh thank god it was the first suspicion, but wait…. If she was in labor that meant…. Dear lord….. "I'm already at the hospital; a friend drove me here so need to worry about that. Also don't worry about rushing down here, take your time because I'm sure this baby won't be coming for awhile now."

Arthur took a moment to swallow the lump in his throat before he replied. "W-well now, isn't this exciting?" He laughed nervously. "Alfred and I will be down in short while so just hang on until then, love." He comforted.

"Alright, don't worry take your time. We'll be waiting."

After exchanging a few goodbyes the other end of the line went dead and Mary Jo's voice was gone leaving nothing but the dull beep of the dial tone. Arthur remained surprisingly calm as he clicked off the phone and gently placed it back into the receiver with a small click. He turned on his heel- legs slightly wobbly as he shuffled out of the kitchen and down to the bottom of the stair case where he could still hear Alfred's muffled snores coming from the bedroom. His feet were heavy, far too heavy for him to even try and make it up the carpet covered stairs. It was at that moment the Brit sucked in a sharp breath before he began frantically calling for his husband.

He had every right to panic. They had a baby on the way.

Mwahahaha cliff hanger! :D

I'm sorry I had to, this chapter was getting too long. So if you ever have seen America!cat of England!cat from the Nekotalia series (yes it's from the same guy who made Hetalia) that's what Ace and Bromsley look like. After I saw the nekotalia drawings I knew I had to use them in some way XD Sorry I love kitties 3

I researched Scottish folds for this chapter and now I desperately wish for one of them. Mom! Please let me get a kitty since you're allergic to dogs!

Moving on, hooray! Next chapter we'll meet the long awaited baby! :D I'll leave you in your suspense. Bwahaha :)

Please review! It's very greatly appreciated! Thanks lovies!