I'm updating all my multichapters today. Think of it as a New Year's gift, and also an apology for all this inactivity. Let's have a happy turn before things go sideways again, how about that?

Review :D

Liechtenstein awoke to a shadow falling over her. Her mind was foggy, and her neck screamed with each breath. Her mouth tasted like vomit.

Am I sick? she wondered. Yes, that's it, I must've gotten sick, and I'm outside in the garden somewhere. It'd happened before, and after that, her brother hadn't wanted her to leave the house for ages. He'd been near frantic with the searching, and when he'd finally found her curled into the hollow between the roots of a giant tree like a little land-pixie, he'd seemed torn with relief and the desire to scold her. Relief won out, and the next time she'd drifted into awareness again, she'd been cradled in his arms.

Here he is again, then, she thought, almost dreamily, and didn't open her eyes; they felt swollen or sore, and she didn't want to test them, but she raised her head a little and said weakly, "Brother?"

There were quick footsteps, and then arms around her. "You're awake!" The voice sounded different, too full of joy for her calm and reserved brother, and she was immediately on her guard. It might not be Switzerland after all.

She forced her weary eyes into slits, and contrary to her belief, it was him after all, thinner and more haggard, but Switzerland nonetheless. His face had blood on it, but he was smiling. Smiling? Liechtenstein wasn't sure if she was still dreaming.

"Brother?" she said again. "Are you...okay?" Her voice was thin and her neck felt like it was disconnecting from the rest of her body, her head a balloon on high. One of her hands, miles long, reached up to brush at the blood on his face.

He shrugged off her hand impatiently. "I'm not in the best of shape, yes, but I'll live. How about you? How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," she croaked, "and if I move around too much, my back hurts. What happened?"

"I...I don't know," he confessed, and she could tell he was unhappy with the not-knowing. "I woke up, and you were here. The lights were brighter."

The lights of this now were surprisingly dim. Aren't most alien ships supposed to be bright?

"Now," ordered Switzerland, "don't you move, if it hurts. Just stay right there."

Liechtenstein moved anyway, pushing into a sitting position, and as her hair swung past her face, she noticed a startling absence. "Where's my ribbon? It's gone!"

"We can buy another one," Switzerland said. "It'll be fine." Another one of those transient smiles, and she shook her head through the twinging from her back. He must've gone crazy; two smiles in as many minutes.

Or the world's changing...

"Money-"

"-We have enough for just one ribbon," he interrupted. "Go to sleep. You'll heal faster that way. I'm right here."

"Will you sing?" Liechtenstein looked up at him with her luminous green eyes. "I like it when you sing..."

Switzerland flushed. "Now isn't the time..." He looked down at her eager little face and sighed in defeat. "Oh, all right. Just one."

Liechtenstein smiled sleepily and curled against him, and he lowered his head to whisper the song quietly into her ear.

It was a nice song, with a haunting melody, and Switzerland had a surprisingly nice singing voice. Despite the lengths he was going to to keep the other nations from noticing, the room was silent, and it managed to pervade the rest of the room. He actually felt Liechtenstein drifting off to sleep, and it made him feel warm, as if he was actually competent at being a brother.

Across the room, Prussia was conscious, lying on his side, and facing the wall. Gilbird was sleeping in his hair, and the stings, new and old...well, stung. Heh. The stings, stung. He tried a smile, to gain some sense of composure, and the corners of his struggled gamely upwards before dragging back down. Coming up here...it's an unwanted reminder of my own mortality. I'm not quite like them. Am I 'immortal'? I can't die. Can I be killed? The less-than-healthy states of the nations around him didn't give him much hope for a negative answer to that question.

And, yeah, Switerland's lullaby moved him. He'd never been much of a responsible brother; on the contrary, it was Germany who'd pulled him out of so many stupid situations that he'd lost count. And that little brother of his had always had to fend for himself. What kind of older brother have I been? he thought, and felt guilty. As soon as we get out, I should probably teach him how to be as awesome as I am. And a moment later, That annoys him. Maybe something else...

Coming up with nothing (and that's even off the top of my head), his thoughts turned again. And I might not even blackmail Switzy with this anyway. It's a nice thing. Heck, I didn't even know he was capable of caring. He made a rueful face. There's a lot I don't know.

South Korea was also awake, and his thoughts were tending down a similar road. I am kind of a jerk a lot, especially, when they're trying to be nice to me. And it's so easy to push their buttons...maybe I shouldn't. Just to try it.

(caring for your family originated in me, da-ze)

And Switzerland hummed the song to himself as he watched over not just Liechtenstein, but all of them, even though he himself didn't realize that.

Silent. Protective.

And everyone felt a little better for having him there.