Chapter 11

Prussia sat on his bed trying to read. He looked down at his arms, they were still wrapped in bandages, but the braces were no longer needed. He flexed his shoulders. His back wasn't painful unless he leaned against it too hard, and the wound on his chest was completely healed. His lungs weren't as strong as they used to be, yet, but they were improving, slowly. He didn't cough as often anymore. He sighed, well enough to be bored but not quite enough to do much of anything about it. He noticed the time and closed his book, tossing it aside, and slipped under the covers, rolling onto his side, not even bothering to change out of his military pants. He didn't think he'd be able to sleep anyway. He closed his eyes, trying to escape the memories that lived in his mind. He couldn't get Hungary's words from a few days before out of his head.

Gil practically leapt out of bed as a shriek tore through the stillness. He glanced at the clock. It was 3 am. He ran out the door, not bothering to grab anything. He heard the scream again.

"Poland." He said out loud, running down the hall to his room. He threw open Poland's door and froze.

Poland kicked and screamed, pushing himself further into the corner of his room like he was trying to get away from an invisible enemy. His eyes were open, looking up, and wide with terror. His fingers were covered in blood, and Gil could see marks on his bare arms and sides where his nails had torn into his skin.

Gil shuddered. He'd never seen another human being look that frightened in his life.

Poland shrieked again, clawing at his own face, digging his fingers into his skin.

Gil ran up to him, trying to stop him from hurting himself more, grabbing onto his hands.

Poland struggled, screaming again, fighting Prussia, trying to press himself further into the corner. He scratched at Prussia's face and arms, crying with pain.

"GET AWAY FROM ME! PLEASE!" Poland screamed, begging, crying. "PLEASE! STOP!" He sobbed, wrapping his arms around his head in self-protection.

Gil took a step back, letting go of Poland, who pulled his knees to his chest, grabbing at his hair, shaking his head. Prussia watched, horrified. He took a deep breath and tried to be calm. "Poland…"

Poland screamed again, "Please! Please stop it! PLEASE!" He covered the scar on his face, sobbing.

Gil winced, the memory of when he'd given Poland that scar was seared into his mind forever. He closed his eyes, the image of the blonde country cowering in the corner, covered in blood, begging and crying for him to stop coming into focus. He opened his eyes and looked back at Poland, who leaned against the wall exactly the same way, trembling, shaking his head. He jumped as Poland screamed again. He just stood where he was, trying to figure out what to do. He watched as Poland wrapped his arms around himself, his nails digging into his upper arms until blood dripped down his fingers. Gil took a step forward to stop him again, when Lithuania pushed past him, kneeling beside Poland, who shrieked again, pressing himself into the corner, trying to get away, clawing at the wall.

"Sh! Sh, it's me. It's Liet. You're safe…sh…" Lithuania pushed Poland's sweat-soaked hair away from his face, touching his cheek gently. "Wake up. Wake up, come on." He held onto Poland's head as the country's face went blank.

Gil shuddered. Poland looked dead. He could see him breathing hard, and the tears falling from his eyes, but he looked dead.

Poland looked over to Gil, seeming to suddenly realize who he was. He cowered against Lithuania, shrieking again, shielding his head with his arms and sobbing. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed again, kicking at Prussia, accidentally hitting Toris. "Don't touch me!"

"Gil, get out of here!" Lithuania looked back at Gil, angry. "I said GET OUT!" He tried to keep Poland's hands away from his face, trying to clean the blood of Poland's fingers.

Gil took a step back towards the door.

"Don't hurt me don't hurt me don't hurt me, please… please don't hurt me, please…" Poland's voice was choked with tears, his whole body shaking with sobs. He shook his head, throwing it back against the wall.

Lithuania caught the back of Poland's head before he could slam it again. "Sh. Sh. Stop, stop, it's ok. No one's hurting you. No one's going to hurt you, you're ok..."

Poland shook his head, sobbing, trembling in fear and pain, tearing the skin on his arms.

Lithuania stopped him, "No, no it's ok. You're ok. Just breathe Felek, just breathe. You're all right… you're ok… sh, sh sh… you're ok…" Lithuania tried to pull Poland's hands away from his bleeding arms, not caring when Poland clung to him, "I've got you, you're ok…" He touched Poland's hair, trying to comfort him. He looked back up at Prussia, glaring at him silently.

Poland looked up too, seeing Prussia. He struggled and kicked, pushing Lithuania away. "Don't touch me!" He sobbed, grabbing his hair again and shrieking with the memory of pain.

"Gil, get out of here!" Lithuania's voice was furious and desperate. He tried to hold Poland's hands back, away from both of them.

Gil bit his lip, wanting to stay and help.

"If you don't get out of here..."

Poland wrenched his arms free, tearing at Lithuania's arms.

"If you don't get out of here, Russia isn't the only country you'll have to worry about killing you!" Lithuania glared at him, grabbing onto Poland's wrists firmly, trying to stop him from tearing the skin off his face. "Stop... sh, sh... stop..." He turned back to Poland.

Prussia nodded, running out of the room. He turned the corner and leaned against the wall, sliding down it, pulling his knees to his chest. He put his head in his hands, trying to process everything he'd just seen. He panted, closing his eyes. He could still hear Poland screaming, vividly. He pressed his hands against his eyes, trying to push away the images in his mind of Warsaw and what they'd done. Again, he saw Poland cowering in the corner, his bare back torn to shreds, his wrists bound and bleeding. He shuddered, realizing how skinny Poland had been. He shook his head, panic rising to his throat. He breathed hard, trying to push the memories away. He'd followed orders. He knew they were wrong but he'd followed them anyway. He tried to force his breathing to slow down.

1,2,3… breathe… hold… breathe… He tried to calm down, letting his head fall back against the wall, brushing away tears, suddenly realizing they were sliding down his cheeks. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. The screaming had stopped. He could still hear Poland crying faintly, and Lithuania's voice calming reassuring him. He stood, resisting the urge to look into Poland's room again. He turned back to his own and waited, sitting up on his bed, his head in his hands.

It was over two hours before Lithuania walked into his room. The starlight still lit the room, the sun unwilling to rise for several more hours. The days were growing shorter and shorter, the darkness making everything seem worse, more painful, and more alone.

Toris sunk down, sitting next to Prussia, who hadn't moved, on the bed.

Prussia looked up, shock hitting him in the chest. Lithuania looked worn. There was blood on his shirt and cuts on his arms, face, and shoulders. "Is... is he ok?"

"No." Lithuania shook his head, leaning forward, resting his forehead in his hand, sighing, "No he's not… but he will be… someday…" he sighed again, "I hope."

Prussia looked down, "Is it your blood?"

Lithuania nodded, "Mostly." He sighed again, exhausted, "I'm fine, it's not a big deal."

Prussia looked at him, glancing at his arms. Deep gashes from Poland's nails ran along them in no particular pattern. They were still bleeding.

"Do you want me to-"

"No. I'll clean up later." Lithuania shook his head, rubbing his eyes.

"Are… are you sure he's-"

"Yeah, no, he's really not ok." Lithuania looked up at Gil for the first time, "Not the slightest..." Toris shook his head, biting back tears, shaking his head, looking away, bringing his hand to his mouth, pressing his knuckles into his lips. "I…" he couldn't speak, trying to swallow the catch in his throat.

"Are you, ok?" Gil asked quietly.

"No." Toris shook his head, still not looking at Gil. "No, I'm not." He took a deep, shaky breath, trying to stop himself from sobbing, refusing to break. He shook his head again, "We… he was my best friend when we were kids, I would have done anything… anything to keep him safe, and when he needed me…"

"You couldn't have protected him…" Gil shook his head. It was painful to say out loud.

Torus turned to him again, "You would know, wouldn't you? Considering it you were the one who…" Lithuania looked away again, sighing. "I'm sorry, Gil, that wasn't fair."

"I'd say it was fair." Prussia sighed, looking down. "I…" he paused, trying to decide how to ask his question, "What… what did… what happened to Poland? What did my… what did my boss do to him?" He was afraid to ask.

Lithuania sighed deeply, "Poland wants to tell you that himself. He knows you don't know." Lithuania swallowed the tears again, "He said he wants to watch it hurt you… that you deserve it…"

"Don't I?"

There was a long pause.

"He can't even look at you, Gil…" Lithuania shook his head, closing his eyes.

"Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

Toris shook his head. "No." He turned to Gil again with a heavy sigh, "No I don't think he can."

Gil nodded. He hadn't expected him to. "Is he going to… be normal again?"

"Normal? No." Lithuania shook his head, "No he'll never be normal. I don't even know if he'll ever even be strong again…" He looked down, holding back tears, "But… he'll be ok. It'll take a long time, but… I know he'll be ok. He's tougher than he looks," he smiled sadly.

"Liet?" Gil put his hand on Lithuania's shoulder, pulling it back as the dark-haired country winced. He paused for a moment, waiting until Lithuania looked at him, "Are you ok?"

Lithuania sighed deeply, nodding. "I will be. It's just…" tears filled his eyes, "It's not easy… seeing him like… that." He sighed again, "But I'll be ok. He'll be ok. Eventually."

"Maybe I should go and talk to-"

"Don't you even think about it." Toris shook his head, almost laughing. "You know, sometimes you really are as dumb as you look."

"Hey…" Gil rolled his eyes. "I'm not the one with a ponytail."

Lithuania glared at him, "It's practical."

"Not as practical as short hair."

Lithuania shrugged, then looked down again.

Prussia caught him wince. "Do your arms hurt?"

"Yeah. Yeah… my arms, yeah," he nodded.

Gil crossed his arms, "Remember when I told you that you were a terrible liar?"

Lithuania sighed.

"What… what's wrong? Did Russia hurt you?"

Lithuania nodded, reluctantly.

"What did he-"

"It doesn't matter." Lithuania shook his head, "It'll heal. It's not bad."

"Let me see." Gil reached up, touching the back of Lithuania's shirt.

Toris pulled away with a shudder, slapping Prussia's hand away, a flash of panic in his eyes. He relaxed, "Sorry…" He looked away.

"Toris…?"

"I just um… I should go and uh-"

"Oh no you don't… not until you prove that you're all right." Gil stood, facing Toris, blocking him from the door.

"Gil, please…" he looked up at him, pleading, "Haven't we both been through enough today already, please, Gil…"

"Promise me that you're ok?"

"I promise." Lithuania nodded, standing.

Gil looked into Lithuania's face, trying to decide if he was being truthful or not. "Ok. Ok, I believe you." He stepped out of the way.

Toris looked back at him, nodding, "Thank you," he took a step towards the door, then turned back to Gil, "Promise me you won't talk to Poland?"

"I promise."

"When he's ready, he'll talk to you." Lithuania nodded, walking out of the door, closing it behind him.

Gil shook his head, sitting back on his bed, letting himself fall back onto it with a heavy sigh.

A/N: Another relatively sad chapter *hugs Poland* Poland has extremely severe PTSD, which is more than reasonable, considering. As Lithuania said, he will get better, but it will take time, and some of the scars will never heal. I think all the countries can heal mentally from just about anything given enough time, but as we all know, some physical scars (depending on how they were given) will remain on them forever. War leaves marks. Permanently. Lithuania and Prussia are getting along better now, though they're still not what I would call 'friends' quite yet. More Poland to come.

Also we haven't seen Russia in a while...

Reviewers are sent virtual cookies and hugs! Thank you all so much for taking the time to review this story! I know I say it at the end of every chapter, but it really does mean a lot to me! I love hearing your thoughts! 3