And here is the continuation (I've decided to make it a chapter fic). This is set in the past, telling the story that led up to the previous chapter. Enjoy!
30 January 1933
Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg, effectively giving most of the governmental power to the Nazis. Ludwig did not know what to think of this. Communism, Fascism, Democracy – what category did this new group that had seized power fall into? There were mixed reactions among his people. Some thought this new group – the Nazis – were going to be the saviors of their nation, while others viewed it more pessimistically as just another political group that would bring with it ups and downs to the people. Ludwig, however, felt that this group would bring about something more than just ups and downs or prosperity. Something big was changing within his land, made obvious by the child that grew in Amelia's abdomen.
Beautiful blonde, blue-eyed Amelia; she and her brother, Alfred, had been fast friends with Ludwig since his beginning (they looked up to his brother). And then the First World War had come along, during which Germany – not Ludwig – betrayed his friends and dragged them into a war that they did not belong in. Germany lost the war; betrayed by his own allies and all but abandoned by those he called friends. But then Alfred, bright-eyed and cheerful, had waltzed in with promises of help. Amelia came too, forcing herself upon him until he was 'back on his feet', because Alfred – no, The United States of America – had to go back to look after his own country.
Then the stock market crashed, devastating the world, but Germany most of all. It was no one's fault. Ludwig did not blame Alfred and constantly said so in his letters to the young man, because Alfred's letters always contained the words 'I'm sorry' these days. But Germany, he was angry at The United States and everyone else that he felt put him in this predicament. He needed someone to help his people, to bring them out of this misery that their lives had become. Since the end of World War I, even with the help Alfred had tried to give him, Ludwig felt himself slipping more and more into the darkness. In that darkness something was growing – an obscure shadow of himself that threatened to destroy him.
Through it all, the encroaching darkness and continuous downwards spiral of his nation, Amelia had been by his side. She was frustrating, she had always been frustrating. It was her who insisted on Ludwig 'making the most of a bad situation', as she put it. He knew she too had not been exactly well after the stock market crash, not so much as her brother (whom she wrote every day), but still she continued to act well. That was frustrating. Why did she hide the pain behind smiles? How could she? This was the part of Amelia he found so very maddening and enchanting.
He didn't know exactly when he fell in love with her, the ever-smiling American. Was it when she stayed after he had told her to leave? Or when she refused to give up on him once he'd resigned himself to the darkness? Maybe it was always there, like a bud waiting for spring to come. He could remember being jealous of his brother for having met her first, thinking that the young woman had a crush on the red-eyed man. At the time, however, he had not seen it as jealousy. She was his friend, he had proclaimed to himself, and he was only concerned for her would-be broken heart due to his Casanova of a brother.
How much he had deceived himself.
"Ludwig!" Amelia's voice called for him from a distance (she was probably in the bedroom), forced and short, as if she was having trouble breathing. He quickly turned on his heel, away from the window and out of his study, the room in which he brooded. Again, she called, "Ludwig!" He thought to yell back and say that he was on his way, but was nearly to her already and becoming increasingly worried, making it difficult to form thoughts, much less words.
As he rounded the oak doorframe, she came into view. She was lying on the bed; hair matted to the sides of her face from sweat, hand clutching her bulging belly, and breathing heavily. It was not surprising to see her in bed. The doctor had put her on bed rest two weeks ago, and Ludwig had saw to it himself that she followed his orders. But her disheveled look and heavy breathing told him very clearly that it was time. He was not sure that he was ready.
Her blue eyes caught his as she reopened them, having previously had them clenched tight due to pain. "Ludwig, the baby," she started to ask for him to call a doctor when another contraction hit her. She had been by the bedside of enough of her citizens to know what happened when labor set in.
Ludwig understood her, though, and quickly took off. She could hear his heavy footsteps on the stairs as he ran down them and the opening and shutting of the front door. He had slammed it, something he would probably lament about later. She chuckled to herself at this thought despite the pain emanating from her abdomen. Looking at the large bump that had formed over her midsection, she had to wonder if she was going to be giving birth to a giant. Ludwig had reassured her that this was normal size, but nothing seemed normal when you were pregnant.
She lay, thinking of the moment when she had first learned she was pregnant, when she had told Ludwig, and then his brother (Gilbert) found out, then he telephoned Alfred who told Matthew and Madeleine, Maria and Juan (who swore up and down that he was going to 'kill' Ludwig) were next to find out thanks to Alfred's slip of the tongue. They had all quickly decided to keep it between themselves, however, for fear of how the world would react, especially their former caretakers.
Madeleine and Maria had both visited just a few months ago, told her of what was happening in their countries and her own. They'd laughed and smiled in that one week the two had spent with her and Ludwig more than she had in the last few years. She had not realized how much she missed them until that moment and now that feeling set in more than ever. Now she wanted them here, all of them; Alfred, Madeleine, Juan, Maria, and Matthew. They had all been through so much alone and together, hurting one another on numerous occasions.
The sound of the front door being jarred open harshly pulled her away from thoughts of those most dear to her and back to her current situation. She was in labor. Soon, she would be a mother. Now that was strange, Amelia Liberty Jones a mother. Then again, maybe she already was a mother. The states were sort of like children. But no, this was different. This child was hers and Ludwig's.
"Ow!" A sudden, sharp contraction caused her to whimper a bit, and clench her teeth tightly together. It was at this moment that Ludwig reentered the room, the doctor and Gilbert following close behind.
"Are you alright?" Ludwig asked this without thinking, and immediately thought it had been a stupid question considering she was in labor.
But Amelia smiled, nodding her head, "I'm okay."
"It appears we will have a baby today," the doctor pronounced to the room as he hobbled his way over to Amelia to check her vitals and current progress. It was something they all knew – that the baby would be born today – but having the doctor make this statement made it hit home.
Gilbert was finding it hard to contain the excitement that was surging inside him. He was going to an uncle. And awesome uncle he would be, the best uncle in the world in fact. He would have to make sure the child turned out less stuffy than Ludwig did. Of course, with Amelia as the mother, he probably wouldn't have to work too hard on that department. He could picture it now, him and his little nephew (or niece) running from a red-faced Ludwig after doing something mischievous. Maybe Alfred would get in on it too. He was Gilbert's protégé after all, and he, Gilbert, still had things to teach the relatively young nation.
It wasn't long before the doctor ushered Gilbert and Ludwig from the room, though Ludwig was asked back in shortly at the request of a screaming Amelia. Gilbert waited for at least two minutes before he headed downstairs to the kitchen. It took too long, having babies. He'd avoided this kind of stuff for centuries for that reason. His eyes searched the fridge for that wurst he'd hidden from Ludwig yesterday, the screams of Amelia interrupting him momentarily when they occurred.
Suddenly, Gilbert felt himself being shaken. He'd opened one droopy eyelid to see that the culprit that had awoken him from his much deserved rest (at least, according to him) was none other than the doctor. "I thought I should inform you that you may now go upstairs to see your nephew," he said this as he walked out the door, obviously too afraid to face the wrath of the red-eyed Prussian.
He was about to doze back off when the doctor's words suddenly connected with his brain. In an instant, he had jumped up and run towards the upstairs bedroom. The doctor had said that he could go see his nephew. Nephew! So it was a boy, a future member of the BTT. He'd have to tell – he stopped himself with that thought. He couldn't tell Francis and Antonio about the baby, not yet anyway. They were going to be jealous of his awesome nephew. He would make sure of that.
The sight of a nervous, awkward Ludwig made him want to burst with laughter, but he held it in for now. His little brother, the new father, looked to be having a difficult time holding the baby. He was holding him very gently, like a porcelain doll that might break if you tightened your grip at all. Amelia, he could see by the Cheshire-cat grin on her face, found the sight to be just as funny as he did. Now they had something new to pick on Ludwig about.
"How does it feel, vati?" Gilbert questioned, surprisingly not in a teasing tone. He was genuinely interested in how it felt, after all, for his younger brother to be a father, considering he'd never been one himself.
Ludwig looked up, unsurprised at Gilbert's presence. He'd heard the man's footsteps long before he'd reached the room. "Is this real?" The words had left his lips before he had time to stop them. He felt so much joy looking at his son, but so disoriented. It didn't feel real. How could he be a father? How was it possible that he had helped create this beautiful child? The overwhelming emotions he was feeling – he couldn't begin to describe them properly.
There was unconditional love in his son's eyes and he knew the first time he looked into those eyes that he would do anything for his son – no matter the cost. Already, holding him, he was thinking of all the things he wanted to teach him and show him, of what sort of man he would grow up to be, of the times when they would go fishing, swimming, or to a festival together. This was different from the love he felt for anyone else, even Amelia. He felt that the intensity of the love he felt for his son would not fade into something deeper and more meaningful like that between him and Amelia, but that it will instead stay white hot and get enriched with memories.
"Congratulations, vati," was Gilbert's delayed response. Ludwig noticed that he seemed to be fighting back tears. That did surprise him. He had never seen Gilbert cry, not truly, but it seemed he had finally found something to issue a deep emotional response.
And then, all too soon and out of the blue, Ludwig felt tears leaking from his own eyes. He was crying.
He was a father holding his first child, a son, and he was crying.
Amelia's hand was laid over his as she smiled at him, tears rolling down her cheeks too.
It was a beautiful day. Ludwig almost forgot what else had happened earlier today. But it was hanging around in his head, like a catchy tune. Did the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor have something to do with the birth of his son? What did his son represent exactly? It was unclear at the moment, but he felt that this child was connected to Hitler and the Nazi party in some way. For that reason, he decided, that party could not disappear. He could not let that happen.
Alright, so I know this differs from canon and many other head canons, but it is my wholehearted belief that Mexico, Canada, and America are all siblings (they share the same mother). Perhaps they don't personally know this, because they were so very little when separated. However, they are all still very close.
I dislike when people depict Mexico hating America or vice versa. Because, let's face the facts, these two were each other's first trading partner. The American Revolution inspired the Mexicans to revolt against the Spanish and win their independence. (Mexico's actually the second oldest sibling in my head canon, with Canada being the oldest and America the baby.) During WWI, the Zimmerman telegram did reach Mexico, and the Mexican government refused to go along with it (though it was more due to economic reasons than anything, but Juan and Maria, in my head canon, had a big say in this matter). When WWII came along, America called upon Mexico for aid in the Philippines (Mexico and Philippines had good relations already) and Mexico helped. The fact that the US called upon Mexico for help and that Mexico did help makes you all fuzzy inside, yeah? No? Maybe just me? This is just how I feel.
I chose to use Juan as Mexico's name because the name generally does have a nice sound to it when I say it aloud to myself and Maria for the female Mexico because I love this name, regardless of how commonplace it may be. And I used Madeleine for female Canada because I like the name (and you can call her Maddie for short, like Mattie for Matthew).
Tell me your thoughts so far!