I just want to thank everyone for the support and good reviews, and general awesomeness! Ok, now on with the story!

I woke up in the night, wondering what had caused me to wake up at such a time. It was dark, and I could hear Francis's slow breathing. I went to sit up, but was stopped by a pain that jolted up through the joint of my hips. I drew in a sharp gasp and bit my lip, praying that the pain would go away. After the pain had subsided for a moment, I tried to stay as still as possible and level out my breaths. I found that I could only take shallow ones, or send more shooting pain through my pelvis. My eyes were watering a little at the pain, but I tried to remain calm and hoped that it would be better by the morning.

After half an hour of inability to sleep due to shooting pains and the dull ache running down my legs, I finally resorted to waking Francis. I had hoped that I could spare him the concern, but the pain was becoming too much, and I didn't think that I could take anymore. It felt as if someone had shot me in my hip joints and shattered the surrounding bones "Fr-Francis." I choked out, trying to keep my breathing level as another jolt of pain shot through me. He didn't respond, being the light sleeper he was, so I shook him a little, hissing at the fiery pain it caused. He stirred a little, but still didn't wake "Francis!" I cried out, he'd shifted and was leaning against me.

I couldn't help but let out a guttural cry. My whole body felt like it was on fire. Francis jolted awake, jostling me, and causing another wave to overcome my system. I gritted my teeth, breathing hard and blinking back the tears. Sounds of pain were escaping my mouth, without control or restraint "Angleterre?!" he asked shocked, jostling the bed again. More sparks of pain attacked my nerves, focusing around my hips. I tried to breathe away the pain, tears still streaking down my face.

The lamp switched on, and I saw Francis's scared face looking at my own. I didn't say anything, focusing on trying to remove the pain that was surging through my bones.

"Angleterre! What is it?" He cried out "Je ne comprends pas! Qu'est-ce qui se passe? Angleterre! Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas? Êtes-vous blessé? Pourquoi pleures-tu? Je ne Sais pas quoi faire! "He cried out in panicked French. He'd gotten out of bed and was now pulling his clothes on as fast as he could, exclaiming in French while doing so "I'm taking you to the nurse!" he said, with the panicked tone still in his voice.

"I'm fine." I managed to choke out, breathing hard against the pain "I'm sure it'll pass." I told him, trying to reassure myself more than him.

"Non! You are not fine!" he said, scooping me off of the bed. I cried out in pain, probably waking up half the building. The sudden movement had sent fire through my limbs; the agony was unbearable. I could see tears in his eyes, as he kicked open the door. I could tell that he was probably more scared than me. Every step he took sent another jolt of pain through my body. I could tell that he was trying to be careful, but every tiny movement sent pain shooting through my bones.

In the hallway, I could see that almost all of the doors were open, their inhabitants trying to figure out the source of the commotion. Alfred looked more scared than I'd ever seen him in his life.

"Oh my god! Dude! Are you ok?" he cried out at me, panic in his voice. I could tell that Francis wanted to say something, but was at a loss for words. His whole brain was probably crying. He'd never been good at dealing with this kind of situation. I nodded shakily at him, wincing as Francis continued to walk to the infirmary "What's going on?" he asked, running alongside us. I saw Gilbert and Antonio running to catch up with us too, while the hallway looked on. I would feel embarrassed, but I was too focused on trying to understand why I was in so much pain. I could hear a lot of people asking a lot of questions, but Francis was too busy to answer.

I could tell that his brain was probably going into shutdown. He was the type to surrender as soon as there was a risk at anything. He hated danger and was never good at dealing with urgent problems. I could tell, because his face was one that he only pulled in these situations. His eyes were wide and brimming with tears that streamed down his face; his mouth was just a thin tight line. There was no breezy quip or airy laugh present on his face. He looked scared out of his mind. I could tell that all of his concentration was being spent on retaining his composure enough to get me to the nurse; he would probably have a panic attack as soon as he put me down.

At some point while he was carrying me, I passed out. Everything faded to black.

The next thing I knew, I was in a bright white room. The light from the window suggested that it had been a few hours since the ordeal. I still felt a dull ache in my pelvis, so refrained from moving. I looked around the room as much as possible, trying to assess what had happened after I had passed out. The room didn't look like the one in the infirmary, so I could assume that I had been taken to hospital. If I had been taken to hospital, which meant that it was serious. I noticed that I had an IV in my arm. I couldn't tell what they were using, but as a country, drugs still had very little effect on me.

"Mr Kirkland?" I saw a man with a clipboard walk into the room.

"Yes?" I said, my throat a little dry, making it come out sounding croaky and rather undignified "Yes?" I repeated myself; this time more clearly, and with a little more authority.

"Do you know why you're here?" he asked, looking at me with, what I thought was, a little too much condescension.

"The pain in my hips?" I hazarded a guess.

"Yes." He said "And don't worry, I know all about your condition and who you are. I've sworn to secrecy, so you have nothing to be concerned about." He told me, with a brief smile.

"So, what is it?" I asked, being very confused about it still, and wanting, very much, to know why I couldn't move.

"Do you understand the concept as to why women have widened hips?" he asked, obviously not sure what to say. I couldn't judge him for it though, because not many doctors have had to deal with pregnant male countries.

"Yes, it's so there's room for a baby to develop and to later ease- Oh!" I said in realization. The pain I had felt was my hips widening to cater for the job they would have to perform. As a country, I was more adaptable than a simple human being, but the process was still painful.

"Yes. We think that the pain you experienced was similar to that of growing pains. Obviously, the pain was more intense because of the rate at which your hips had to change. It usually takes adolescent girls several years to fully develop their hips. You however, seem to be developing them at a much increased rate." He said, looking at his clipboard.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, wondering if I had developed hips overnight, or if it was going to take several weeks, or even months.

"Well, we think the process could take up to a week, and we believe that nearer to the time of the birth, you may or may not develop breasts, but there has been very little research into this area, and therefore my word is not set in stone. I have put you on some painkillers, so that the pain is less intense, but you'll probably want to stay seated and try to move as much as you can bear, so your joints don't seize up." He explained "You have a lot of guests… I'll send them in in groups." He told me. I just nodded, wincing as I sat up, so that I didn't look so debilitated.

"Angleterre!" I heard Francis cry out, almost tripping himself over as he came into the room. He was followed by Gilbert and Antonio "Are you ok?" he asked, looking shocked and worried , seeing how I was hooked up to a machine, and probably looked like death itself.

"I'm fine." I told him, trying to calm him down. I could tell he'd been crying, his eyes looked sore and a little puffy. Antonio just nodded awkwardly at me and put a hand on Francis's shoulder.

"So, vat's wrong with you? I'm awesome as usual, before you ask." Gilbert felt the need to add, obviously curious, but trying to act cool about it.

"My hips are changing to accommodate the pregnancy; that's all." I told him, matter-of-factly. I had no intentions of letting him know how uncertain I was of everything, or how scared I was of what was happening to my body. Francis had come to sit beside me, and started to stroke my hand that wasn't connected to the drip.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked guiltily "I should have been more careful when I carried you!" he apologised.

"It only hurts a bit, I recon they've put enough painkillers in me to knock out an elephant." I told him, knowing how much was needed to affect a country. He looked at me with another look of guilt and uncertainty "I'm fine, really." I told him, putting on a smile so he would brighten up.

"You got him really worried, amigo." The Spaniard said, smiling awkwardly "You should have seen him panicking just after you passed out. He thought you were dead! I guess it's not so funny when you look at it like that…" he said, realizing that my death wasn't a funny topic.

"You should have seen his face! It was priceless!" Gilbert added, lacking the sensitivity of Antonio.

"Can I talk to Angleterre alone?" Francis asked, turning to his friends. Antonio nodded and left without another word. Gilbert complained that his awesomeness wasn't needed here and left after the Spaniard.

"What is it?" I asked, looking him in the eye.

"I was so scared, Angleterre." He told me, holding my hand tightly in his "When you passed out, I thought you'd died! I'm so glad you're ok!" he said, throwing his arms around me. I felt a sharp, but dulled, pain shoot through my hips. I drew a sharp breath, hissing at the pain "Sorry!" he said; letting go of me quickly "I just-"

"I know." I told him, knowing how it must have been, and how I would have felt if the roles had been reversed. He leant down and gave me a soft kiss.

"I'll come back once they've all gone he told me, standing up and leaving the room. I watched him go; smiling a little at the fact that he was still in only his dressing gown.

My brothers were next to enter the room. It was a little cramped for the five of them; they'd even thought to bring Peter. I smiled at the thought of his being involved, but at the same time felt uneasy about him seeing me looking so weak. Dylan came and sat next to me, smiling sympathetically. My other brothers just regarded me with a nod. They weren't too great with dealing with this kind of thing, seeing as we were never all that close.

"Are you ok?" Dylan asked nervously, looking worried and a little upset.

"I'm fine." I told him, just as I told the others, putting the same smile on as before, and hoping that it would make them believe that I really was.

"No-one's falling for that, Artie." Alistair told me "We've known you since you were born… as such. You can't hide from us." He continued, the others nodding in agreement.

"Fine; if you really want to know, I'm absolutely petrified." I told them, looking him in the eye with a serious expression.

"There we go! That's all I asked for, a little honesty!" he said, with a slight smirk. I went ahead and told them what the doctor had told me, and how it frightened me to think that even medical professionals didn't know what they were doing. I told them about how terrifying it was; knowing what was happening to my body, and that I'd never go back to my normal self after this.

"We could beat frog face up again?" Seamus suggested, earning a glare from myself and Dylan "It was just a suggestion." He said, defensively.

"Well, I don't think it's a very good one." A little Welsh voice piped up.

"Stop teaming up with Arthur! Just because you guys share a border!" Seamus retorted, looking irritated.

"Look, if you're just going to argue, you can go outside, because I still have a fair few people to talk to." I told them harshly. I really didn't care for their arguing, and wanted to get through the guest process as fast as possible "And Peter," I added as I saw them turn to leave. He turned around, looking puzzled "Look after yourself. Ok?" I said, knowing that I could be in hospital for a while, and that my brothers wouldn't visit him.

"Don't worry! I came here with Sweden and Finland, but they let me come in with them, so you could see all of your brothers at once." He told me. I'd forgotten that he had the Nordics looking after him now. It felt a little sad that he wasn't relying on me anymore, but it was also good to know that he had a good few people keeping an eye on him "Get well soon, Jerk Arthur." He said before turning again to leave.

The next people through the door were Alfred, Mathew and Jack (Australia). Alfred and Jack bounded up to the bed, looking more excited than worried; Mathew just smiled awkwardly.

"You gave us a scare, buddy!" the Australian exclaimed at me, exchanging a look of relief with Alfred "We didn't know if you were gonna pull through!"

"I knew he was!" Alfred argued back at him.

"That's not what you said when you crying about the money he still owed you!" he said clapping the American on the back.

"I was not!"

"Were too!"

"Was not!

"Guys, please…"

"Were too!"

"You tried, Mathew…"

"Was not!"

"Shut up!" I shouted over them, with the volume that the meek Canadian lacked. I flinched at the pain which flared a little at the exertion, causing Alfred to step back suddenly.

"S-sorry dude…" he said, for once holding his tongue.

"Yeah, sorry mate…" Jack added, with equal lack of gusto.

"So, what's wrong with you?" Mathew asked, quietly, holding onto his bear. I explained the situation for what seems like the umpteenth time that day, feeling almost exasperated about it. There was a silence after I explained it; it was a hard topic to follow.

"Well… you've got a lot more guests, so we should probably let you see them." Jack said, leading out of the room.

Whoop! Another chapter done! Poor Iggy!

Question time!

Who should come with whom to visit Artie? (like how Alfred came with Mattie and Jack.)

How long should it take for him to recover?

How drastic should the change be? (Is he going to have massive womanly hips now, or is there only going to be a slight change to his figure?)

Any ideas as to what should happen next? (I love to hear your suggestions!)

Reviews are love, and I love getting them. I will respond to each and every one, so long as I can see who it is from, and would love to get to know everyone who reads my stories ^_^