I do not own the rights to Hetalia.

This update had two chapters, so be sure to check out the third if you've missed it.

God Bless Texas

Texas's house for the eastern part of the state was in Nacogdoches. As cities went, it was a nice combination of big enough to offer a lot, but small enough to give you that homey feeling. Supposedly, it's the oldest town in Texas. More recently it was known for receiving a lot of debris from the Space Shuttle Colombia when it fell apart after reentering the atmosphere in 2003. It also took in evacuees from New Orleans when Katerina hit, hence Ana's fondness of the city. And like she said, it's the sister city of Natchitoches, Louisana. Another reason for her to be fond of the city.

Texas's house was just out of the city limits. It was an old house made of stone; probably a remnant of the town's origins. What greeted me at the door though, was anything but Texas.

The thing about Texas, is that he's huge. Texas is the second largest state after Alaska after all, (something that Texas is still sore about today. Seriously, mention Alaska's in his presence and he'll start cursing about how Alaska should go back to that damn commie. He should just get over it, like how I got over how his admittance bumped me from the top spot as the largest state. Another thing that should never be mentioned in his presence is how Florida actually has the largest cattle ranch. Or the fact that JFK was assassinated on his land, but I digress), and he reflects it. If his sheer size wasn't enough to intimidate you, his gun collection is. Now, even I have a love of guns, but his dates back to his wild cowboy days, and he's not above whipping a pistol out now and then just to scare you.

But like the rest of us, there's more to Texas than just the cowboy image. He can be the wealthy oil owner, and thanks to the Silicon Hills and Silicon Prairie even the techno whiz when you need him. He also has this stubborn streak (all the states do, but his is a bit more infamous) with being his own republic, 'choosing to join the United States', and having his own power grid. So he has a huge head to go with that huge body of his (and the fact that Dad calls his glasses 'Texas' certainly doesn't help). One quirk though, is when he gets drunk or flustered, he'll start cursing and rambling on in Spanish, reverting to his days under Spanish rule. It's hilarious to watch. Then again, I'm not exactly one to talk. I do the same, but only in French. Damn Frog.

Except, the Texas that was greeted me, was a far cry from the Texas I knew, and sometimes loved. A lot of his muscle was gone, his face was sunken in and dried out, bags were under his eyes, and his hair was limp. I knew he hadn't been doing well with all the forest fires, but still... he looked exhausted and worn out, something I wasn't used to seeing.

Trying to make light of the situation I joked, "What happened, did you forget the Alamo and had to beat yourself up for punishment?"

Taking it in stride, he replied, "Nah, just had some of that god awful stuff you call barbecue."

"Pssh. That's probably cause you didn't make it right. You have to cook the meat then marinate it in sauce. You can't just eat it raw."

"I'll have to remember that next time then. Don't think it'll make much difference though."

"Well as nice as this is, you gonna invite me in?"

"I was fixin' to, but you wouldn't shut your jaw long enough for me to."

Once inside, I could hear yelling from the other room. I gave him a questioning look and he answered, "Matagorda and Lincoln are at it again. Different representations, same territory. Jefferson gets a kick out of riling them up, and it gets them out of my hair for a bit. Guess I should be grateful that Texlahoma is off botherin' ole Okie instead of me."

"So what Illinois said is true. The wanna-bes are back and are serious."

Texas offered me a glass of iced tea and took a sip from his. He finally answered, "They get like this every couple of decades, even got Perry in on it this time. Normally I'd let them have their go, and wait for them to wear themselves out. But now they're wearing me out."

So that explained his appearance. "I noticed. Illinois mentioned blackmail. What'd they got on you?"

"Just about everything I love. The Astrodome, Texas A&M. They're even threatening the Alamo," he said in a bitter voice. "Normally, I'm more than capable of handling them, but I'm still recovering from the drought and fires, and Perry's belief in them has given them strength. You keep mentioning Illinois. Did she send you to check up on me? Cause I'm fine, and don't need help."

It was true that Illinois had suggested I visit Texas initially, but I really didn't plan on it until talking to Ana. Not that I'd tell him that; he didn't need to know that Illinois had actually wanted me to check up on him. "Are we safe here, or can the three hear us?" I asked in a whisper, leaning closer to him.

He looked behind him and nodded. "They're too busy arguing about boundaries, like I'm already dead and gone." Then his head shot up with a smile appearing on his face, like he was on the inside of a joke. "They'll just have to be reminded, like Santa Anna was."

I rolled my eyes at him. And to think I was starting to feel bad for him. "Illinois was afraid she was being watched and came to me about her situation. I didn't believe her, but then I ran into her three," at this, Texas smirked, but I continued on. "and Chicago mentioned somethin' about a meeting before clamming up. So I visited Ana to see what she thought of what was going on, and she suggested visiting you, something about a phone call?"

He snorted. "She may party and love like the Frog, but she still has some Spanish in her blood. Only way to explain her spunk, has to since the French are nothin' but a bunch of sissies. Should have known better than to lie to her the other day."

"So there is more to what you're letting on."

"Look, all I know, is that this is the first time that all of them have banded together at the same time. And you know what that could only mean."

I spoke the thought that had been bothering me this whole time, the thought I had been thinking, but didn't want to admit out loud. "They have a leader."

Texas's response was to whip out one of his pistols, and fake shooting it at a target in the distance. "Bang."

We talked a little after that, catching up on news and what not. One thing that worried me was that the more we talked, the more he started wheezing and coughing.

I texted Illinois that I had gotten her postcard and thought we should plan another trip to Madrid. Hopefully it was still coded enough to protect her, yet simple enough for her to decode.

At one point he started to ask a question. "Hey, didn't-" but his body was suddenly wracked by coughing. It was so loud, that it attracted the attention of the three wanna-be's in the other room.

All three stormed angrily into the room that Texas and I was in. Looking at them, they all looked like clones of Texas, minus the sickly appearance. At least Illinois's wanna-be's had individuality.

One of them, I'm not sure which, looked at me and boomed, "What you doin' to him?"

Another added, "Yeah, we still need him alive so we won't have to put up with his sickness."

The third elbowed the second. "Shush. We're not suppose to say anythin' 'bout that."

I started snickering. The three reminded me of the three stooges, Larry, Curly, and Moe.

"Nothin' much. Just reminiscing of the old times. Like the time Texas and me were watchin' the overseas football game, and he was convinced that London was a suburb of Tampa."

Despite sounding like he was hacking a lung up, Texas still managed to glare at me. That was one story I wasn't suppose to repeat. Oh well.

The first started laughing, while the second asked, "Isn't it a suburb of Tampa?"

My phone vibrated at the point, with a simple message: Meet me at the Liberty Bell.

Giving Texas and the three wanna-bes a final look, I said, "This sure has been fun and all, but I've got to get going. Things to do, a state to run, you know how it is. Well, at least one of you do."

I then walked out not giving them a chance to respond. The three stooges were still confused; obviously they didn't share what brains the actual Texas had. As for the actual Texas, he already knew I wanted him to get better, and was working toward taking care of one of his problems at least. Or three, depending on how you looked at it.

The heat on my face was what woke me. I started to stand up, which is no easy task when you've been sleeping next to a tree all night. My legs were stiff and sore, and I felt like a little old lady as I finally straightened out.

With all the kinks in my body worked out, I suddenly realized that it was morning, and Illinois had never showed up to our meeting spot. At all.

**Author's Note**

So that's this chapter, which I like better than the last. Next will be a bit of a family reunion.

I find it funny that since I started this fic, an Illinois State Representative, Bill Mitchell of Decatur, has actually introduced a bill into the Illinois General Assembly to separate Chicago from the rest of the state, making it the 51st state. It doesn't have a lot of support, but it is funny when things work out like that.

Don't forget to review!

Nacogdoches/Natchitoches: First off, fun words to say. When I was looking for a place in eastern Texas for Texas to live (so it would be close to Louisiana), I stumbled upon this town. Nacogdoches is supposedly the oldest town in Texas, and it seemed reasonable Texas would have a home there. And when I learned of it's connection to Natchitoches in Louisana, I knew it was the right time, further cementing a connection between the two.

Largest state: Before Alaska gained statehood in 1959, Texas was the biggest state. Despite being over 50 years since, he's probably still sore about it.

Cattle ranch: Contrary to popular belief, the largest cattle ranch in the US is located in Florida. When the Spanish first arrived, they brought with the first cattle, and in time the first cowboys. So while the image of the cowboy may belong to Texas, Florida is the one where things first started.

Assassination: Given Texas's nature, I would imagine he would probably still be sore that a US president was assassinated on his land.

Image: The image of Texas is the stereotypical cowboy, but there is a lot more. There's Silicon Hills and Prairie full of electronic and technology companies. Texas is a big exporter of oil since Spindletop, but also has the world's largest wind farms, and is a leader of bio fuels. Texas has it's own electric grid, and was a Republic before it joined the US.

Forest Fires: Due to the severe drought in Texas, 4 million acres of land has been consumed by wild fires, double the previous record. Something like that would surely affect the appearance of Texas.

Matagorda: Proposed state made up of the south-western part of Texas.

Lincoln: Later proposed state in the same area as Matagorda.

Jefferson: Proposed state in the north-east part of Texas.

Texlahoma: During the 1920's northern Texians wanted more roads to drive their new cars on (similar to Forgottonia) and joined forces with nearby Oklahomans. It never took off, but the idea of it still existed.

Perry: Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, made a statement in 2009 about how Texas could succeed from the US if it wanted to. While succeeding is different from dividing into more states, the idea of the state of Texas changing remains, hence Perry giving his support to the wanna-bes.

Alamo/Santa Anna: The Battle of the Alamo occurred between February 23 and March 6, 1836 during the Texas Revolution. The Revolution was a war where Texas was trying to win independence from Mexico. President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna attacked the Alamo, and all but two soldiers were killed. The Texians did not respond to such a defeat lightly, and would go on to defeat the Mexican Army on April 21, 1836, which would ended the Revolution. The point is, never understimate Texians, because it'll come back and haunt you.

Suburb of Tampa: This was inspired from a post on Facebook. One of my friends posted that she had been watching the NFL game in London, and didn't realize that the London the announcers were referring to was the London until they mentioned the U.K. Instead she thought it was a suburb of Tampa, since it was a Florida team playing at the time. The story sounded like something Alfred would say, with Arthur face-palming himself. Since I couldn't do a story with that, I decided to do it with Texas, who's known for having a love of football.