I'm so sorry for the long wait! I was overwhelmed with homework ever since school started up again, and also this chapter took longer to write than I thought it would. :)

Latvia blearily stumbled over to a chair and sat down, trembling. He couldn't think straight; disturbing thoughts raced non-stop through his mind. What kind of things is Russia doing to Lithuania now? Will Toris be okay? Why didn't I say something to him when I had the chance? He whined and dropped his head down onto the table.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and the Latvian looked up, rubbing his heavy eyes. Estonia stood looking down at him, face lined. "Try to stay awake a bit longer, Latvia."

"But I'm s-so tired…" He propped his head up with his hands and blinked hard.

"Me too," said the Estonian. "Me too. But...we have to e-eat before we can sleep."

Latvia sighed. His stomach growled, and he felt sick with hunger along with his exhaustion. "What will we ea-"

His mind abruptly flashed back to the way Russia's hand had grabbed Lithuania's ankle, clenching it until Lithuania's face was distorted with pain. The way tears had run down the Lithuanian's face, and...the way he had said he was "fine".

Latvia shook his head in despair. Why was he thinking about his stupid stomach when he should be more worried about Lithuania? Was he that selfish?

Estonia must have noticed a sudden change in the young Baltic's expression, because he put his hand gently on Latvia's shoulder. "It's okay. S-stop worrying; there's nothing we could have done about it."

Latvia looked up at Estonia again, taking in his pale face and nervous eyes. "I-I-" All his built-up emotions from this horrible evening rose up inside him and came pouring out. "I c-can't s-stop!" he sobbed, hands grabbing at his hair. "I-I just want L-lithuania to be o-okay!" Tears rolled down his face.

The Estonian looked stricken for a moment, then patted his back comfortingly. "H-he'll be fine. You'll see - he a-always is."

Is Estonia trying to convince himself, too? Latvia took a deep, shuddering breath. "B-but he just d-doesn't listen!" he cried, sniffing. "And R-russia always h-hurts him, b-but he...he a-always...I-I just don't u-understand!"

Estonia's face fell. "I know, Latvia. I know." He rested his palms flat on the table. "W-what you need to understand is that Lithuania...a-always puts other people before himself."

Latvia looked up at Estonia with teary eyes. "Wh-what do you mean?"

The Estonian sighed. "He cares so much about helping others that he j-just completely disregards his own health. A-and he doesn't know…" He trailed off, looking worriedly down at his feet.

"D-doesn't know what?"

"Doesn't know that when he's hurt, it h-hurts us, too." Estonia let out a deep breath, then backed away from the table. "Alright, now it's time to eat. I'll go get some f-food, and-"

"W-wait," Latvia stammered out.

Estonia stopped and turned. "What?"

"D-don't go. I don't w-want to be a-alone." Latvia choked back a sob.

Estonia shook his head. "No, it's better for you to s-stay here. I'll be back soon, I promise."

"That's what L-lithuania said, a-and he didn't c-come back!"

The Estonian frowned. "Look, Latvia, that doesn't have anything to do-"

"Y-yes, it does! W-why can't I go w-with you?"

"You...you just c-can't!" Estonia's face was red, and he looked nervously toward the food shelves on the other side of the room. "I...there's some things that you just d-don't need to see right now."

"Wh-what? I want to s-see! I w-want to know wh-what's going on!" Latvia's eyes were wide. He absolutely hated being left out of things!

Estonia balled his hands into fists. "N-no! I'll show you tomorrow, maybe, but not now!"

"But-" Latvia stammered. But Estonia had already turned away, walking purposefully towards the food shelves.

Latvia mournfully watched him leave, head overwhelmed with worry. All he could think of right then was his own exhaustion. He yawned and rested his head on his arms, adjusting his position in the chair.

Wait- Estonia's voice resonated in his head: We have to eat before we sleep, Latvia! But Latvia sleepily stuck his tongue out at the imaginary Estonian. Who cares, Mr. I-Have-A-Secret? I'm not even hungry anymore! He shut his eyes, reveling in the dark blackness of his own mind. And before any worries or anxious thoughts could come to frighten him, Latvia fell into a deep sleep.

Estonia walked away, fidgeting with the buttons on his shirt. I was right not to tell Latvia about the food, right? He got so worried about Lithuania, this could send him over the edge! He shivered; it had become cold in the little room. Estonia stuffed his hands in his pockets. Oh, who am I kidding? I'll have to tell him eventually.

The Estonian sighed and approached the food shelves in trepidation. Now, how to deal with this...He took a jar off the shelf and inspected it carefully, turning it around in his hands. "Peanut Butter", it said in blocky Cyrillic letters. He put it back and picked up a small box: "Crackers". He shrugged; it wasn't much, but it would have to be dinner for tonight.

With the crackers in one hand and the peanut butter in another, Estonia hurried back to the table in time to see that Latvia had fallen asleep. Pask. He didn't want to wake the Latvian, but the young teen needed to eat eventually!

After hovering over the sleeping boy and debating for a moment whether to wake him, Estonia decided to let him sleep for a few more minutes. He opened up the cracker box and poured its contents out, frowning as he saw that only half the box was filled. "Pask," he cursed out loud. The peanut butter was nearly empty, too, because of those stupid Soviet food shortages.

We're going to have to do some serious rationing, he thought with a sigh. After much consideration, he allotted seven crackers each to him and Latvia, then stuck his finger into the peanut butter - he hadn't found any eating utensils during his exploration earlier.

After spreading small amounts of peanut butter on every cracker, Estonia was left exhausted and hungry with a sticky finger. Stomach grumbling, he gobbled down his crackers in two seconds flat, then eyed Latvia's share greedily.

Should I…? he couldn't help thinking. He was hungry, and Latvia was asleep and would never know… His hand slowly moved towards the crackers, and Estonia's stomach rumbled louder. But then he spotted Lithuania in his peripheral vision, exhausted and unsteady on his feet, using the bottom of his shirt to soak up Russia's blood.

His face fell, and he scowled at the crackers. What is wrong with you, Estonia? he reproached himself. Why do you have to be so greedy? Just look at Lithuania, sacrificing himself for Russia, and he didn't get any food!

Estonia stared down at his feet, exhausted and depressed. He rubbed his tired eyes and turned away from Latvia; the least he could do after nearly taking his food was let the boy sleep. He shuffled over to the bottom bunk bed closest to the wall, and pulled back the blankets to find a hard, dusty mattress waiting for him. Too tired to even care, Estonia lowered his weary body onto the bed.

And that's when he felt it: that familiar dry feeling at the back of his throat. The peanut butter had made him thirsty, and now he was going to have to get a drink of water.

He groaned and got up from the bed reluctantly, trying not to think about the daunting task ahead of him. For when one is in a fallout shelter after a nuclear explosion, finding water may be nearly impossible.

Translations:

Pask: Sh*t (Estonian)

Well, here I am ending this chapter with a cliffhanger! Next chapter is probably going to focus more on Lithuania and Russia's "situation".

Again, please review! Seeing new reviews in my inbox makes me smile. :)