Alfred couldn't believe what he was hearing.

...

That day had started off like any other. He had woken up before Mattie and spent a good twenty minutes just lying there, staring at her beautiful sleeping face, before quietly rising to make breakfast. By the time she was awake and waddling into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from her large doe eyes, the aroma of pancakes and fried bacon was thick in the air, and Alfred had already changed into his work suit. He'd been called in to an emergancy meeting, but that didn't mean he didn't have time to feed his wonderful (almost)wife.

Mattie ate like she was starving (with how big the baby was getting, he wouldn't be surprised if she was) and the flush on her pale cheeks when Alfred pointed it out was beyond adorable.

With a quick kiss goodbye, he was out the door, feeling as if the day couldn't possibly get any better.

Unfortunately he was right.

Alfred was immediately summoned to his boss' office upon arrival. He had expected it to be like a typical meeting, with his boss and ten or so of his top guys, discussing world affairs while Alfred lazily jotted down notes, only really half listening.

Standing in front of his boss' desk, alone, as he was briefed, Alfred realized he would've killed to attend one of those meetings instead.

Not only was his boss telling him he was to leave the country, when the man knew very well that Al wanted to stay with Mattie until the baby arrived, but he was being asked to stay in the freakin' middle east for two months, possibly three!

"Sir, with all due respect, I can't leave now. You know Mattie's almost due."

His boss was an intimidating man, when he wanted to be. Hands folded in front of him, he gave Alfred a look that the young nation knew all too well. It made him feel small, like he really was just a ninteen year old kid, instead of the most powerful country in the world.

"Mr. Jones," the man used his name formally, which Alfred hated, "do you remember George Washington?"

Odd question.

"Of course I do. He's the man who practically made me a country."

"Yes, and it was one of his ideals that the United States of America stay out of foreign affairs for as long as possible." The man stood and began pacing next to his desk. Now Alfred definitely felt like a child, like one who wanted to run away and hide from a parent that they knew was going to scold them.

"We did a decent job of it too, only occasionally asking for help in personal matters, but not really getting involved in anyone else's until World War I. Our influence turned the tide of the war, and the Allies won. Of course, then the Depression hit. That should've been our first hint at what getting involved would lead to."

Alfred didn't need to be reminded of that. He still felt nauseous whenever the stock market dropped.

"World War II came around, and again, at the end of it, we came out on top. Ever since then the U.S. has been looked upon as the greatest country on Earth. During both World Wars we took in more refugees than even you can probably remember, because they looked at us and said, 'that's a place of freedom and peace and greatness. I want to live there.'

"But now, we've been so tied up in everyone else's mess, the United States can hardly keep itself afloat. That's why, come Friday, you will go to those conferences and give America it's peace back. That understood, son?"

Alfred could do nothing but lower his head and answer to the floor.

"Yes, sir."

.~.~.~.

Now what was he supposed to do?

It was already lunch by the time Alfred found himself far from the White House, walking aimlessly in an attempt to clear his head.

How was it that Alfred could go toe to toe with a psychopathic Russian giant, but when his boss looked at him with that stare, he completely fell apart?

And what the hell was he supposed to tell Mattie? Things had been going great for the past few months; they had been spending more time with their dads, which Mattie loved, their baby was coming along completely healthy, which made Alfred ecstatic, and Mattie's mood swings had been at a minimum. But now...now everything was ruined. He was leaving, and by the time he got back his kid would already be born.

Then again...maybe that was a good thing...

Alfred already loved his baby to death, that much was a given. And he had to go on this trip no matter what, but if he waited and saw the baby beforehand, he sincerely doubted he'd be able to let go and not feel some sort of grief.

It would be hard, and Alfred didn't know if his heart was up for that kind of pain, that longing that he knew came with leaving a child to go off to war. Even if it was just a peace mission, his boss had said he'd be gone for two months at the least.

Mattie would be heartbroken at how he was thinking, but it was the logical course of action...

Damn. This was why he prefered acting like a goofball. No responsibilities, no logical thinking...no difficult choices...

He knew one thing for sure. Mattie was going to kill him.

Yes, Alfred is a dead man. XD

This is less of a drabble and more of a mini-chapter, since it directly ties into the plotline of the last chapter. I swear, after writing all that fluff, it's like my brain just exploded and afterwords was only able to spew out angst. There will be some Mattie angst in the last chapter, and from the content above, who can blame her?

I decided to forget the poll, since the majority of you have already expressed your opinion on the matter in your wonderful reviews. The sequal will be it's own thing, so if you've author-alerted me, you should get it right away, and if you haven't then you can always look on my page for it!

Until next time, my lovely readers!