I wake up the next morning with Birdie sleeping on my chest. I smile and gently kiss the top of his head. I hear a soft growling and look over to see it's his bear.

"What's your problem?" I whisper, so I don't wake Birdie.

"He was mine first. I don't like you just coming in and taking him away all of a sudden. I don't like it, I don't like you, and I will protect him from you." I looked at him for a moment. Was I still dreaming? A polar bear is threatening me. I snap out of it after a minute.

"Hey, he likes me, and it's not like I'm gonna hurt him or anything." I look down at Birdie. "I would never dream of hurting my little Birdie. And you won't stop me from being with him."

"He doesn't know you that well. I've been there with him since he was a little kid. I've protected him the best I could, and now you come along out of nowhere and take him away from me."

I look back up at the bear. He looks kind of sad. "Hey, he likes you. He just likes me too. I'll protect him, OK? Can you trust me?"

"No. I can't."

"Can you trust Birdie?"

He growls. "His name is Matthew."

"I call him Birdie." He puts his head on Birdie's back. He still hasn't answered my question. "Can you trust Matthew?"

"He's been in a burned house for two months and has just gotten the medical attention he needs. I don't think he can make the best decisions right now." His tone softened when he spoke, but he was still glaring at me.

"Look, I won't hurt him. I promise. If I hurt him, uh, " I think for a moment, then continue, "then you can hurt me twice as much as I hurt him. OK?"

"I still don't like you, but I guess it's a deal."

A few hours later Birdie slowly wakes up. He looks around for a minute, then smile when he sees me.

"Morning Birdie." I say, smiling back at him.

"Mornin' Gil."

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah." He sits up, and I get up to sit in front of him.

"Good. You want breakfast?"

His grows wider and he nods and gets up. "I'll make pancakes! They're my favorite."

"OK." I followed him downstairs to the kitchen and got him the stuff to make pancakes. After a few minutes, the smell of delicious pancakes could be smelt throughout the house. And he looks so happy while making them. He keeps making them, and making them, and making them, and eventually I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around him. He jumps a little, but then laughs a bit.

"How many are you gonna make?" I asked him. He already had made so many, I don't know if he planned on stopping.

"Oh, sorry. I hadn't realized I made so much."

"That's alright Birdie." I kiss his cheek.

When he finishes making the pancakes, he looks in the refrigerator. He looks around for a minute, then looks over at me with a small frown. "Gil, you don't have syrup?"'

"What? I thought we did." I go over to look and, sure enough, there's a bottle of syrup. I take it out and show it to him. "We have syrup."

He shakes his head. "That's American syrup; it has too much sugar."

"Sorry Birdie." I tell him, putting the syrup back. He looks at me for a minute, thinking, then smiles.

"There's syrup at my old house! I remember there was some where it's always cold. I don't think it's gone bad, so if we go over there, we can get it." He seems so enthusiastic about it; I almost go along with it, but the place is burned down, and it didn't look very safe when I had gone in.

"Birdie, I don't know." I hold his hands, the one burned under bandages. "What if something happens to you? You almost died there and I don't want you back there."

"What if you come with me? You could keep me safe." He smiles up at me. "You'll protect me. Can we go now, before the pancakes get cold?"

"But what if you get hurt?"

"You'll protect me Gil. You won't let me get hurt."

"Birdie, I-"

"Pleeeeaasseeee Gil?"

"No. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't if you're there."

"What if I can't save you?"

"Just stay close to me."

"….OK."

Canada POV

"Yay, thank you!" I hug him, then grab his hand and start going to my old house. He walks behind, looking worried and uncertain. I know I could have, and probably would have, died if Gil hadn't come and saved me, but I don't know where else to get my special, real syrup.

Once we get there I climb into the window and immediately feel light headed from the smell. Gil catches me before I fall.

"Birdie, are you OK? I knew this wasn't a good idea. Come on, I'll take you back."

"No, it's OK. I just forget the smell and fumes. Let's go get the syrup." I take Gil's hand and make my way around the house to the basement. We walk slowly, and when we get down to the basement, I'm scared the ceiling will fall on us. Unfortunately, the syrup is blocked by some boxes and burned stuff that fell. I look back at Gil.

"What is it?"

"Uh, there's stuff blocking the way. Let go of my hand?"

"Birdie, you're gonna get hurt."

"No, it's alright. It's not that far, and you could easily get me if something goes wrong." He slowly lets go of my hand and I easily make my way over and around the stuff to the syrup. I smile as I take it, but once I do I feel dizzy again. I start going to Gil, but I grab onto something before I get to him. My vision is completely black, but I'm still conscious.

"Birdie, are you OK?" His voice sounds distant and muffled. "Birdie? Birdie? Birdie!"

When my vision comes back, I'm lying on the grass outside my house. Gil is kneeling over me. He looks worried.

"Birdie, can you hear me?" I slowly nod. "Can you see me?" I nod again. He grabs me into his arms in a hug. "Birdie, I was so worried about you. What happened?"

"I-I don't know." He smothers me with kisses before he picks me up and starts walking back to his house.

"I knew going back there was a bad idea."

"How long was I out?"

"Just a few minutes. I was gonna call an ambulance if you weren't back in another minute. I was terrified."

"I'm sorry Gil. I should have known better."

"Hey, as long as you're OK Birdie. As long as you're OK." He kisses my forehead again. "You have you're syrup too." He smiles.

I look at my hands and see the bottle of syrup held between my hands. I smile. "Thanks Gil."

"No problem Birdie." He brings me into the house and into the kitchen before he puts me down. The pancakes aren't cold, thankfully. I get us both some pancakes and drown mine in syrup. He looks up from the pancakes.

"Kesesese, Birdie, have enough syrup?"

I smile a bit sheepishly. "I like a lot of syrup on my pancakes."

"I see. They're awesome by the way."

"Really? Thanks."

"You're welcome." We eat in silence, enjoying my pancakes. Gil looks over at me every so often. I don't mind it though. I smile a bit and he grabs my hand across the table and holds it while we eat.