I went about my work at a slower pace than I did before I had the child to take care of. Everything I did was a bit sluggish. That little fact got in my way a great many times, but then again most of the work I was expected to do was something I'd prefer to ignore. I would rather spend my time with the child. I enjoyed being with him and seeing him smile. It made me happy. It made me feel complete. Like I was doing Something with my life.

I let out a slow breath. Little England was still asleep. That was ok though. It was understandable after last night. I mean I really wanted to sleep as well. I felt more exhausted than usual this morning. I leaned on my desk in a way that I would often have to scold America for when he was younger. But I couldn't bring myself to care. Not even as several papers were shifted out of place and many more slipped off the desk and drifted to the floor. There I just focused on breathing and debating on a nap. I couldn't nap right now though. I had work to do… Work…

Why did I always have so much work…? Maybe I could make up an excuse and let someone else take care of it so I could rest. I could barely keep my eyes open as it was so a nap couldn't hurt anything. Then I had to run some errands later so I could use the extra energy. Maybe we could go out for a late breakfast when he woke up. He liked the treats at the bakery next to-

"Pull it together, Arthur. This isn't like you." I scolded myself. "Work is work and it needs to be done. You never let a little weariness hold you back before."

I ran a hand through my already out of place hair. Despite the little pep talk I made no move to push myself up and work. I stayed still for a minute before I let my head fall onto the desk.

"Dammit." I cursed softly into the stack of papers I had been putting off for days.

Silence reigned. Just the soft clicking sound of a clock on the wall and my shallow breathing. The sunlight coming through the window was warm and neutralized the early morning chill that tried to slip inside.

"Maybe just a few minutes couldn't hurt."

I let my eyes drift shut. I could feel sleep poking around the corners of my mind before it slowly set in. Just as I was about to be consumed by it the phone rang making me jump a whole lot higher than I would ever admit, scattering even more papers across the desk and onto the floor. I took a moment to draw in a breath and pull myself together as much as I could before I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"What? France? Why are you calling me? I told you that I wasn't coming."

"Why not? Are you finally realizing how-"

"I don't care about your little fantasies. There are just some issues at home that need to be taken care of and they are of far more importance than you and your little meetings will ever be. Got it?"

"Owww. Why are you so cruel? I thought we had something special."

"What are you going on about now?"

"Oh come now don't play stupid. You've obviously fallen for my charms and are just too scared to show it. But I'm going to tell you that it's ok and you can come. You're not the first to have been a victim."

I let out an exasperated sigh. "I do not have the will nor energy to deal with you and your daydreams right now. I have things that need to be dealt with here and that is all. Now do Not call me again."

"England, are-"

I practically dropped the phone back into place. I stared at it a moment, daring it to ring again before I forced myself up. I walked around my desk before going about picking up the papers that had made their way onto my floor. Like everything else now days I took my time in the task, not caring how much time was wasted. Then I dropped the out of order stack of papers onto the desk and looked it over for a minute.

"I'll do it later."

I took dragging steps out of the office, shutting the door behind me.

"I can't focus enough to even begin to organize that mess let alone actually do it. Especially with France calling and bothering me."

It was just an excuse for myself and I knew it. I knew it and yet I didn't care. It wasn't like my boss was trying to get me do anything as of late anyway. If he was that worried about it then he would have done something about it by now. If he didn't care then why should I go about working on it? I have better things to do. Like taking the child for a haircut. It was getting a little too long. Then we could swing by the cafe and get some tea. Get a few pastries from the bakery next door. Stop by the book store. Yeah he'd like that. A nice little day out would be just the thing to cheer him up after a thunderstorm.

I smiled to myself. I could read him another book tonight… But I'd have to read it over myself first to make sure that the content was ok. I could easily… alter or leave out things that I found unsuitable though that rarely happened through all of the time that I had been taking care of him. He chose some good books.

He could read just fine by now, but he seemed to like it when I read to him. Not that I didn't. I enjoyed each second I spent with him and I loved it when he got excited whenever I asked if he wanted to go look at books. I just couldn't will myself to deny him anything that he wanted and he made it easier by rarely asking for anything at all.

I fell back on the couch in front of the old fireplace that I wouldn't be needing for several more months or more. I stretched lazily, drawing in a deep breath before letting it out as another yawn.

Wonder what he'd like for his birthday this year… He liked books, but I couldn't go and get him the same thing every year. I knew he'd love it all the same, but… It needed to be special. Every moment between us needed to be something worth remembering before… Clothes were very impersonal and could be worn out with such ease and grown out of so quickly it was ridiculous. What would he want? What did he not have? What would he cherish for many years to come?

I woke to a touch on my arm and a familiar voice calling my name. The sight of the child made me smile. I pushed myself up.

"Good morning. Are you feeling better?"

He just gave me a perplexed look. "You fell asleep on the couch again."

"I was just doing some work and decided to take a break. I didn't mean to worry you."

"You should stop if it's draining you."

"It's not something I can just drop, but you'll understand when you're older. Would you like to go out and have a late breakfast at the cafe?" I diverted the topic and a smile lit up his face.

Thanks for reading so far. It's kind of funny really. I made England have a fear of thunder storms in Hetalia Thunder and just adopted it into this one. Don't tell me that I'm stealing my ideas ok? Shhhh Also another thing if you sent me a character to make a Counting Sheep story out of them make sure to add who you might like in that story with them because if it's a character I am quote and quote unfamiliar with I'll have to do a bit of research by reading more Hetalia comics or watching the show where those characters appear and every little bit of info helps. So if I know who they hang out with that is just one more bit of info I can use to make the story better. Thanks for the reviews!