My Precious Child 20- Can we wrap this up?

Well this took a while…my many, many apologies. We've made it to chapter 20! *throws party* Also happy Hetalia day, we had an awesome event and I was China. Aiming for Switzerland next year. I made a movie of it!

Also all of you were pretty keen about a side story so expect the first chapter soon.

Pelts thanks at

CulinaryChef: Wow, thankyou. I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Still deciding if everything will end happily.
furrfurr2001: WOOO! I agree!
Platinum: Go ahead. And yes, poor Poland. I'm so sorry.
Mew Tangerine: Yeah it's pretty big. If I was there I'd get lost *sweats*
Matthew Kirkland: Love you too baby!
ZakuroU: IS IT YOU? I did go with Vash, the little sweetie. No, you're not watching at all. Here's the next (hopefully) amazing segment.

Disclaimer: I am sitting in History right now and I can't think of anything. Hetalia is not mine. That's it. *Flies away*

Toris walked in behind Roderich, preparing himself to grab the man if he collapsed. But Roderich remained steady on his feet, walking slowly and tentatively over to his lover. A tube running down Vash's throat was helping him to breath, his chest rising and falling with a whoosh. His chest was swathed in bandages, thick white ones with a slight pink tinge as if blood was threatening to break through.

"It's all my fault," Toris said thickly. "All of this, this is my problem and I've dragged you into it." He kept saying it, kept shouldering the blame but he couldn't help it. Because it was his fault.

"I've told you before Toris," Roderich said quietly as if he was afraid he woke rouse Vash if he spoke any louder. "We made the choice to help. It may have started with you but it will finish with all of us." He said this with an air of dignity, his back straight and shoulders back.

Silence entered the room after this and Roderich turned back to Vash, reaching out to brush the blonde locks aside. Vash seemed to sigh in his induced sleep as if he could feel the comforting hand on his head. Toris feel slightly intrusive, witnessing this personal moment between the two lovers.

"I'm going to talk with Gilbert," Toris decided, speaking mainly to himself as Roderich was focused entirely on Vash. The Austrian made a humming noise of acknowledgment and Toris slipped away, down the corridor and away from the broken family. A part of him begged him to go and tell Lilli what had happened but the poor girl was probably asleep with Elias.

He passed a few doctors, confused patients looking for help and police officers on his search for Gilbert. No one spoke to him though and the Lithuanian almost felt like a ghost, drifting around in a misplaced world. He went unnoticed entirely.

He made it back to the dining hall or cafeteria as it was being called and peered inside. Beds cluttered the room and the tables had been pushed aside. Most of the kids were sleeping despite the sun rising, they had been up all night after all. But the sick kids looked as though they were rousing, Tino awake again and Benjamin running his fingers through a sleeping Keith's hair.

"Mr Toris," A sweet but worried voice asked. "Where are daddy and papa?" Toris looked down to see it was Lilli tugging at his pants. Toris looked around for Elias and saw him being cradled by a nurse.

"They're…" Toris paused, not sure what to say to the girl.

"Daddy got hit by something and he was bleeding," Lilli said quietly. "Is he dying?" Her innocent eyes peered up at him, begging for an answer.

"No of course not sweetie," Another nurse swooped in and saved the day, leading Lilli away. Toris looked around again, searching for Gilbert and saw the man pointing at a map with another officer. A radio was pressed firmly again his ear and he spoke into now and again. Toris made his way over, hoping that the kids who were awake (Benjamin, Tino, Feliciano, Matthew and a few others he didn't know) wouldn't stop him and beg for answers he didn't know how to give.

"Ah Toris, a van matching one Fretka apparently owned was spotted near the docks by the officer on duty there, about an hour ago. We've narrowed down possible locations he could be to three places. What's your opinion?" Gilbert spoke in a rush, the officer by his side moving away. "I've got squads outside all three places, the old man's at one of them and I want to head out there too but…I want to go to the right place." He said the last part almost sheepishly.

Toris nodded absently and bent over the map where three places were marked out in bright red, all within a few minutes' drive from the docks. There was an abandoned factory, a rundown mental hospital and a dance studio being renovated.

"Why these three?" Toris asked meekly.

"Fretka has a background with all of these places." Gilbert vaguely. "He used to work at the hospital, his deceased wife was a teacher at the studio and the factory was a failed project of his, something about medicine."

"Do any of them have a van parked out the front?" Toris slumped into a seat.

"Not that we can see." Gilbert groaned. "Dad's at the studio and the officer directly under me is at the factory. That leaves the hospital."

"But…what if it's not any of those places?" Toris fretted. "How do we know?"

"We have to take the chance!" Gilbert snapped. "Do you want Felicks back or not? And Fretka has two other people, innocent ones."

"Don't remind me," Toris sighed. "This is all my fault."

"Well I'm off," Gilbert got up, clipping his radio to his belt. "You stay here."

"What? No!" Toris protested. "I'm coming too. This is my problem. I have to help."

"Are you an officer?" Gilbert snapped back. "Can you defend yourself? You couldn't in the playground. Couldn't when it came to your family. How can you now?"

Toris jolted as if he'd been shot. An inappropriate comparison at the current moment but still. What Gilbert had brought up hurt…but it was true. He was such a coward when it came right down to it. If the gun was pointing at a friend, he couldn't jump in front of it.

"That's what I thought." Gilbert muttered. "Stay here," And he left, taking at least half the officers with him.

"Toris," A small voice called, probably Matthew. "Can you come here? Arthur's sleeping and I…need help. I don't wanna be alone."

Despite the strength he apparently lacked, he could still help here. He could still do something for the children.

"Coming,"

()

Felicks shivered in his pile of blankets, the cold from the room seeping into him. Berwald sat there, a silent giant, eyes fixed on the shivering form of Lad. The teen was regaining consciousness, tossing and turning and groaning. He was probably still recovering from his…attempt and his body had probably still been relying on the medication.

"Will he be ok?" Felicks asked, his voice small, lost in the white washed walls of the room.

"I th'nk so," Berwald hummed thoughtfully. "But…" He trailed off and Felicks sighed, wishing he had the courage to snuggle up to the man to fight away the cold and offer comfort.

"Do you think Fretka is still here?" Felicks asked after a moment. "He hasn't just left…has he?"

"Don't kn'w," Berwald sighed. "And don't care. He's a j'rk."

"He's my dad," Felicks mumbled absently. "Will I…will I turn out like him? Will I hurt people? Will I tear families apart?" He was shouting now, tears running down his cheeks. "Am I going to be a monster one day?"

Felicks wasn't expecting an answer because he didn't want to hear one. The truth…the truth was that he was a monster…right? Because Fretka was his father, surely he would turn out evil like him. He would be just as evil. He would kill people. If Fretka was evil then he would be evil.

It was as simple as that.

Just as he had hoped, Felicks didn't get an answer. But the reason why he didn't get one was unexpected.

Because standing in the doorway, gun aimed at the ceiling was a strange man in a blue suit with white hair and red eyes.

"The awesome Gilbert has arrived!" he announced, grinning around at everyone. His smile faltered when he saw Lad and he swiftly grabbed a radio and barked into it.

"Who are you?" Felicks asked, trying to back away without making it obvious. The man smiled kindly at him.

"You must be Felicks. Toris sent me. I'm a friend." He answered easily, his radio crackling which he handed to a woman standing behind him.

"Is Toris alright?" Felicks burst out, wincing as he banged his arm in his haste to try and climb to his feet.

"Have you found Fr'tka?" Berwald asked heavily. "He's armed,"

"We're searching the hospital as we speak." Gilbert answered. "Backup is coming just in case."

"Can I see Tori now?" Felicks almost whined. "I wanna go home."

"Of course," Gilbert smiled, bending down so he was looking him in the eye. "We'll get all three of you in the ambulance and get you back to the hospital."

Berwald clambered to his feet and scooped up Lad, the boy moaning as he was jolted. Felicks limped over to stand next to the man, fisting his good hand in the hospital pyjamas the Swedish man wore.

"You can all walk, great." Gilbert turned. "Let's go. But be on guard. We haven't found Fretka yet and he could be anywhere. This place is a maze."

The small group began to head slowly and carefully through the building, officers walking behind and in front of the injured group. Their guns were at the ready, faces serious as they pointed the weapons through doorways and down corridors. It was like a spy movie only in real life.

"Ow," Felicks stumbled and fell, his broken wrist flying out and breaking his fall. He let out a shrill scream as pain ran up the limb. Everyone stopped, some of the officers grumbling at the loud noise he'd made. If Fretka hadn't know that they were rescuing the small group, he certainly did now.

Felicks crossed his fingers as he was helped to his feet, praying that his psychotic dad wouldn't appear, waving a gun and screaming about hostages.

"What's going on back at the hospital?" Felicks asked, ignoring the shushing noise a few officers made.

"Well it's chaos," Gilbert admitted, aiming his gun down a dark corridor as they passed it, a breath of cold air tugging at their legs.

"Chaos h'w?" Berwald asked hesitantly, almost as if he was afraid he would get shushed.

"We have all the kids from the orphanage there including the sick ones. We're trying to round up Fretka's lackeys and one of the people at the orphanage got shot. Critical condition last I heard."

"Who?" Felicks asked frantically as they resumed walking, the pace quicker than last time, especially since Gilbert had picked Felicks up and was carrying him, leaving others to aim guns at the doorways and corridors.

"Vash…I think…" Gilbert said uncertainly and everything around Felicks froze. The stern Swiss man who brought him treats and comforted him when he cried was now dying because of him.

It was all his fault. This entire mess, Toris being threatened, all his friends being threatened. This entire mess…

"Get down!"

Felicks felt himself falling and Gilbert ended up on top of him, shielding him from whatever was attacking.

Fretka, obviously.

There was a series of gunshots and Felicks screamed in terror, fearing the next bullet would rip through his body. There was another round of bullets and Felicks desperately tried to press his body closer to the ground, the weight of Gilbert on top of him suddenly increasing as if the man's arms had stopped supporting him and he fallen.

"Got him!" A voice cried and there was a dull thud and a hoarse yell from a voice Felicks knew well. His screams died away and he felt Gilbert being dragged off of him.

Dragged…

"Gilbert?" Felicks sat up, his body screaming in pain at him as he saw two officers swiftly tearing a uniform jacket to pieces to bandage the police man's arm.

"Just a graze," The silver haired man assured Felicks with a smile. "Lucky it was a bad shot." Felicks lowered his eyes back to the floor, embarrassed and ashamed that the man had been hit because of him.

"What h'ppened to Fretka?" Berwald asked, moving next to Felicks as he clambered to his feet, still cradling Lad's body.

Felicks risked a peep and saw the man that had haunted and hunted him lying on the ground, his body twitching feebly.

"I used my Taser on him," A youngish woman said breathlessly. "Snuck up behind him."

"We need to keep moving," Gilbert snapped to the other officers. "Get him up, he has an appointment with justice." He strolled off babbling about always wanting to say that, a few officers running after him with makeshift bandages.

Berwald followed after him and soon Felicks was caught up in the rush of officers. The little boy was a tad surprised at the amount of officers surrounding him. Gilbert must have a lot of people working for him.

"Come on Felicks," Gilbert tossed over his shoulder. "Time to go see Toris,"

These words seemed to fill Felicks with strength and he limped quickly to walk next to Gilbert, eyes alight with hope. He was going to see Toris again and Lizzy and everyone else.

And Mr Pony of course!

We are wrapping up and then I can get the side story out.

Please review (but you know, only if you want to. Your choice in the end)