Kalda had to admit that being home felt comforting; so many memories flooded through her head as she walked up to the wooden door of the cottage house that she had lived in for ten years already.

Going on number eleven, Kalda thought with a smile.

She suddenly saw someone very familiar to her walk up to the dirt path, so she was excited to go and greet them. 

"Uncle Spain, uncle Spain!" Kalda cheered, running up to the frightened man with a grin.

He gasped, just about to drop a package in his hands.

Kalda hugged him around his waist, dropping her suitcase without a care.

"Hola, my little chica," Spain laughed, hugging his niece back. "You gave me quite the surprise."

"Well, you know me!" she giggled. "Come on, I'll walk in with you."

The two family members started walking again, and Kalda couldn't help but freak out.

My brothers are so gonna' kill me, she realized. I've been gone for months!

Kalda opened up the door, running up the stairs and into her room before she could even say "hello."

She closed her door, hearing words of confusion from her family downstairs.

I can't face them yet! Kalda thought in sadness. Not after all of this time we've spent apart!

So much had happened over the last few months, and Kalda didn't want it to continue.

War, love, dancing, everything! Kalda added on. This is all too much for me right now!

"Hey, Kalda!" Lovino yelled to her from down below. "Are you coming down here or what?"

No! Kalda mentally rejected. No, I'm not!

"In a second!" she yelled back. "I'm just fixing my hair!"

Kalda quickly did just that so it didn't look like she had lied, opening her door and going down the stairs.

"You went up to your room in such a hurry that I didn't get to give you your birthday present," Spain smiled, handing her the package.

Kalda took the package into her hands, her heart dropping a little.

He's never missed my birthday before, she thought sadly.

Then again, Kalda had missed spending it with her own family as well.

Kalda mentally sighed, remembering the twenty-sixth of January quite well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Humm," Kalda sighed as she trudged down the stairs. "Humm."

She walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink, sighing again.

"Humm, humm."

Britain ignored her, as usual, reading the newspaper, as usual, so Kalda sighed even louder.

"Humm!"

"What's with all the sighing?" Britain yelled at her, annoyed. "You're interrupting my morning time."

"Ugh!" Kalda groaned instead. "Well, if you must know, it's my birthday today."

"Oh, well, happy birthday," he calmly replied.

Then he did a double take.

"It's your birthday?" he questioned, shocked. "Why aren't you home, then? Don't you have plans with your family? I can let you go if you want to spend time with-"

"I'm not going home," Kalda interrupted quickly. "Not after what's happened over the last month."

"But don't you want to celebrate it with your brothers?" he asked.

Kalda shook her head.

"I don't, actually," she sighed softly. "I actually wanted to spend it with...uh...you."

Britain smiled the cute, soft smile that Kalda had come to love, the smile where his green eyes glittered with every emotion imaginable.

"Well, come on, then," he told her. "I have the perfect present picked out for you."

He led her up to an empty room, opening up the closet and taking out a dress.

Kalda gasped as she took the dress into her grasp.

It was a pastel pink with pastel blue lace and ribbons.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Kalda smiled, hugging Britain. "Thank you! I'll wear it every single day!"

Britain laughed, hugging Kalda back.

"Yes," he chuckled, "I'm sure you will."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was how Kalda had ended up getting a really nice dress.

It was a nice thought of his, so Kalda had reluctantly accepted it.

She was even wearing the dress now because she loved it so much.

"Well don't just stand there looking at the box," Romano snapped, bringing Kalda out of her thoughts, "say something."

"Aw, let her look at it," Spain laughed, not bothered by Kalda's intense staring.

Kalda smiled as she looked up at Spain, his green eyes sparkling with excitement like usual.

"Can I open it?" she joked.

"Of course," he chuckled.

Kalda carefully opened the box, setting it on the table first.

She took the top of the box off, gasping as she saw a beautiful painting of a sunset sky over a mountain range.

"Aw," Kalda gasped, "it's so beautiful! I love it, uncle Spain!"

"I knew you would," Spain smiled. "Happy birthday, chica."

"Gracias, chico," Kalda giggled.

"Now that you're here, why don't you tell us WHERE THE HELL YOU'VE BEEN, HUH?" Romano yelled at Kalda. "And where did you get that dress?"

"I-I've been around," Kalda calmly stuttered. "I haven't been anywhere but here. I was just visiting some friends of mine, and I may have spent a few days with uncle France, but other than that, I've been staying with some friends. One of my friends gave me the dress for my birthday."

There, Kalda thought, slightly pleased with herself. Not the whole truth, but not a lie either.

"And who are these friends of yours?" Seborga asked with a smile.

"Uh, just some old childhood friends of mine," Kalda laughed, sounding more nervous than anything.

"You didn't have childhood friends the last time I checked," Romano glared.

"Did you find your real family?" Veneziano wondered.

"What?" Kalda scoffed. "Of course not! If I had, you would have been the first ones besides me to know, and if I did, you would have known already."

"You didn't go work for those two jerks did you?" Romano inquired, obviously talking about Britain and Russia.

"You told?" Kalda asked, looking at Veneziano with a hurt expression.

"Well, it was just a guess," he quietly answered.

Kalda sighed, not wanting to reveal too much.

Although, that ship's already sailed.... Kalda thought sadly.

"I had a feeling that was it," Romano said, disappointed. "I knew I should have recognized the English style of that dress. How long were you going to keep that from us?"

"I wasn't keeping it from you in the first place!" Kalda argued. "I didn't know how I felt about it, so I just decided that I should stay with them a little longer to decide how I felt."

"It's not much different from you two, anyway," Spain stated calmly, looking at Veneziano, and then Romano.

"We didn't have a choice!" Romano shouted. "Kalda did!"

Kalda remembered the old picture album, and she started to silently cry.

She could picture her two brothers working for Austria and Spain, and all of the hardships that they had experienced; Northern Italy's first romantic breakup, for example, and then Southern Italy becoming insecure about himself because he had thought that everyone was after him just because of his grandfather's inheritance.

Kalda closed her eyes, wanting to crawl into a hole and die.

"You're right!" she told them. "This was my choice, and they were okay with it, too!"

"But you're better than us," Romano said, hugging her, "better than them. That's how we raised you to be."

Kalda got out of his hug, not wanting to be hugged at that moment.

"It was still my choice," she answered, being calm and kind. "You can't control me because of something bad that had happened to you a long time ago, okay? I'm nineteen now, and I can make my own decisions. I'm not a little kid anymore."

Kalda saw the hurt looks on their faces, and she felt guilty about her calm words.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just-"

"Leave," Romano growled. "If you like them so much, leave."

"Oh, that's not the point-" Kalda cut off, seeing that he was quite serious.

Kalda slowly backed up, trying not to provoke him.

"You don't-" she started. "You can't mean-"

"I SAID LEAVE, AND I MEANT IT!" Romano yelled loudly. "NOW GO BEFORE I DO SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL GOING TO REGRET!"

Tears stung at Kalda's eyes, and she felt like she had just been stabbed in the heart with a dagger.

If there was anything that was hell on earth, it was Romano's temper.

Kalda just ran up the stairs, sobbing.

She closed her bedroom door, locking it and barricading it so that no one could get in.

Kalda left her window unlocked, though, knowing that if anyone wanted to speak to her, they could communicate to each other through the window.

Kalda curled up in her bed and blankets, still crying.

She held her little Nutcracker to her chest, cherishing it as she cherished the dress that she was wearing.

Kalda could hear the faint yelling and fighting of her family downstairs, knowing that none of that would be happening if she hadn't been so stupid.

They're all fighting because of me! Kalda sobbed. None of this would be happening if I hadn't made this decision!

She heard light tapping on her window, so she rolled over and onto her side to see what was causing the noise.

Kalda saw Switzerland's head pop up, looking at her with his cold, green eyes.

"It's that bad, huh?" was all he said.

Kalda just sniffled and nodded, hugging her Nutcracker closer to her for comfort. 

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Kalda nodded again, making room on her bed for him.

Switzerland climbed through the window with ease, even with the rifle on his back.

"I heard some yelling and thought that I would come over to check it out," he stated, setting the gun in their laps. "What made him so angry?"

Switzerland knew that he didn't need to clarify who he was talking about, so Kalda just took in a shaky breath.

"I don't know what made him so upset," Kalda told him in a choked up voice. "All I told him was that I'm old enough to make my own decisions and that I'm not a kid anymore, and then he just blew up at me."

"Oh," Switzerland replied. "I'm...sorry to hear that."

"He also got mad at me when I told him that I'm working for Britain and Russia, and so he didn't like that either because of his past," Kalda continued on.

"Are you going to go down there and apologize for not listening to him?" Switzerland asked.

"Why should I apologize?" Kalda questioned. "He's the one that blew up at me!"

"An argument starts with two people, Kalda," Switzerland stated wisely.

Kalda sighed, knowing that he was right.

"Well, I'm still not going to talk to him until he's calmed down," Kalda replied, becoming nonchalant.

"You can't hide in your room forever," Switzerland went on.

"That's why I need your help," Kalda told him.

"What?" he asked, confused. "I'm a neutral country, you know. I don't do things for other people."

"I'm neutral, too," Kalda told him with a grin. "Or have you forgotten?"

"No, I haven't forgotten," he sighed. "What do you need my help with?"

Switzerland used to come to Kalda's house and they would have little talks in her room when her brothers weren't looking or listening.

It was nice of him, Kalda had thought, and Kalda would claim in their conversations that since her brothers hadn't fully adopted her, she wasn't their colony, and was therefore a neutral country as well.

They had become really close friends because of their talks, and Kalda cherished their friendship.

"A little bit of money," Kalda replied softly. "At least enough for a plane ticket."

"A plane ticket?" Switzerland questioned. "To where?"

"England, if you please," Kalda answered.

"You don't need a plane ticket for that," he told her. "I can just take you there myself."

"But it's so far," Kalda said as Switzerland stood up. "We'll never make it in the time frame that you think we will."

"I have my secrets," he replied, holding out his hand for Kalda to take as he straddled the window frame on his butt. "Now are you coming or not?"

Kalda sighed as she nodded, quickly packing up the things that she would need.

For however long this visit will be, Kalda thought to herself.

She grabbed her suitcase and Nutcracker with one hand, taking Switzerland's hand in the other.

"What?" Switzerland asked, seeing Kalda's hesitant face.

"It's just that...this is the nicest thing that you've ever done for me," Kalda told him with a small smile. "Well, besides not shooting me, of course."

"Go any slower and I might," he replied, setting her on his lap for a few seconds.

"I really hope that you're joking," Kalda said in a shaky voice.

Suddenly, her door busted open as Romano stood there.

"HEY!" he yelled. "DON'T HELP HER OUT, YOU NEUTRAL JERK!"

"Too late," Switzerland replied, beginning to close the window.

Kalda saw something shiny come flying at her face, but Switzerland closed the window before she could get a closer look.

Kalda closed her eyes as she felt a searing, throbbing feeling on her right cheek.

She didn't have enough time to touch her face to inspect her cheek, though, because Switzerland took off with a running start.

Kalda was in his footsteps, following close behind.

She heard more yelling from her family, more arguing, and she tried to ignore it.

"Where are we going?" Kalda asked through her panting.

"To the train station," Switzerland told her. "It'll be more scenic than flying."

"You're coming with me?" Kalda gasped.

"Someone has to watch over you until we get to England, so it might as well be me," he explained.

"But you're a neutral country," Kalda echoed his words from earlier. "I shouldn't push you this far."

"Just be quiet and keep running," Switzerland ordered. "We have a long way to go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once the duo got on the train, Kalda kept getting weird looks by the other passengers as they walked through the aisle and to their seat.

"Why are they looking at me funny?" she whispered to Switzerland.

"Just ignore them," he whispered back. "That's what I do."

"Are you all right?" a woman asked, looking at Kalda. "You look hurt."

"I'm fine," Kalda replied. "Really, I'm okay."

"But your cheek, mademoiselle," the woman replied, and Kalda could clearly tell that she was French.

"What about my cheek?" Kalda questioned, but Switzerland whacked her upside the head.

"Ow!" Kalda hissed, glaring at him.

"She's fine," Switzerland glared at the woman, who just walked away out of pure horror.

"You scared the crap out of her," Kalda told him. "You should apologize."

"Just go and clean your cheek," Switzerland commanded quietly, "before anyone else makes a fuss about it."

Kalda sighed as she went into the restroom on the train to clean her cheek.

She saw that a deep cut had been made in her skin, and instantly knew the cause.

Romano's stupid pocket knife, she cursed the inanimate object, may you rust with guilt, you stupid weapon!

After Kalda had fixed the bloody mess that was her face, she sat next to Switzerland again.

"Thank you, Switzy," she said quietly, using his nickname. "You didn't have to do this for me."

"Just come here," was all he replied with, giving her a side-hug.

Kalda smiled, hearing the calm and steady thump thump of his heartbeat.

She closed her eyes, falling asleep in his embrace.

Now I know why babies love their mothers' heartbeats so much, Kalda thought, her smile growing. Switzerland is like the father that I never had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The duo took a taxi to Britain's house, Switzerland knocking on his door with one hand as he held one of Kalda's hands in the other.

Britain opened up the door, surprised to see that the two of them were at his doorstep.

"Uh," he drawled, at a loss.

"Can we just come in, please?" Switzerland asked.

"Well, all right," Britain agreed, letting them in.

He made them sit down in the living room, wanting to have a decent conversation in there.

"What happened to your cheek?" Britain asked, looking at Kalda.

"Long story," she told him in a quick reply, not wanting to talk about it.

"Romano cut her with his pocket knife," Switzerland said. "He threw it at us while we were escaping through her window."

"You didn't have to tell him that," Kalda glared at her friend. "It's not his information to know."

"You said that you wanted help, so I'm helping you," Switzerland replied, being a little snappy.

Kalda just rolled her eyes with a scoff.

"I guess that they found out, then, didn't they?" Britain wondered softly. "Oh, I knew that this would happen sooner or later."

"I think all of us just need some time to cool down," Kalda answered spitefully, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I have to go and get ready for bed."

Kalda walked up the familiar staircase and into her familiar room, putting her suitcase on the bed and hopping into the shower.