Healed By Love

Scone/Arthur-Part 2

It had been a week since Arthur had brought Kylie back to his home in London, England. So far her health was steadily improving, with only a few coughs now and then. She was introduced to all his magical friends, who instantly adored her. He sat doing paperwork from his boss. Kylie had played herself to the point where she was willing for naptime. Right now, she was sound asleep in his room. While he didn't stir to the sound of rain, a terrified scream that followed the lightning and thunder made him nearly jump out of his skin. Kylie had been peacefully dreaming when the loud sounds startled her, and she began to panic. She curled up into a tight little ball, crying hysterically. "ARTWHUR!!!" Almost instantly the Englishman had raced into the room, nearly slipping on the rug, and was right at her side. She raised her arms indicating she wanted to be held. Arthur quickly complied, gently scooping her up he brought her to his chest where Kylie buried her face into his shirt. He could feel the wetness of her tears causing him to frown. His heart sank, her night terrors had been getting worse as of late. Needless to say, he was disappointed when he realized that the nightmares that plagued this sweet Tiny little girl, was not the things most children her age would have nightmares about. All of hers were of Marcus Verano. Arthur sat on the edge of his bed, looking back down at his chest he saw the quivering figure under his hands. "Oh, love...shh, it's okay... Don't cry sweetheart, I'm here... Daddy's got you..." His finger gently stroked her back, after a bit she lifted her head out and looked up at Arthur's concerned face, her eyes red from crying she hugged his chest as much as she could, still shaking. Kylie was a complete mess, whimpering and glancing around fearfully. Screw the paperwork from his boss, Kylie needed his attention much more. He then remembered a lullaby he had seen while looking for supply shops for Tinies in London on his laptop. He liked it instantly, and wished it had been around when Alfred had been a child, so he would've had the chance to sing it to the boy. While he would never get that chance with Alfred, he could sing it for Kylie. He shifted her in his hands, until she was in a much more comfortable position. Then he slowly started to sing. "Little child, be not afraid Though rain pounds harshly against the glass Like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger I am here tonight Little child, be not afraid Though thunder explodes and lightning flash Illuminates your tear-stained face I am here tonight..." Arthur gently used the tip of his thumb to wipe her tears away. "And someday you'll know That nature is so The same rain that draws you near me Falls on rivers and land On forests and sand Makes the beautiful world that you'll see In the morning Little child, be not afraid Though storm clouds mask your beloved moon And it's candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams I am here tonight Little child, be not afraid Though wind makes creatures of our trees And their branches to hands, they're not real, understand And I am here tonight And someday you'll know That nature is so The same rain that draws you near me Falls on rivers and land On forests and sand Makes the beautiful world that you'll see In the morning...." Arthur laid down on his side and tucked Kylie in by his face. Kylie blinked sleepily at him, and smiled when he gently rubbed his nose against her belly. "For you know, once even I was a Little child, and I was afraid But a gentle someone always came To dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears And to give a kiss goodnight Well now I am grown And these years have shown That rain's a part of how life goes But it's dark and it's late So I'll hold you and wait 'Til your frightened eyes do close And I hope that you'll know That nature is so The same rain that draws you near me Falls on rivers and land On forests and sand Makes the beautiful world that you'll see In the morning Everything's fine in the morningThe rain'll be gone in the morning But I'll still be here in the morning..." Kylie's even breathing reached his ears, and he smiled softly. He then kissed her head and rested his hand over her like a protective fleshy blanket. "Sweet dreams, Kylie... I love you." he whispered before he too joined her in sleep... Kylie giggled as she stared out at the world from the window of the car. Arthur chuckled quietly, she was surprisingly quite calm, considering where they were going was a place children her age usually feared. Their first stop of the day was a doctor's office that took Tinies as patients, then a bit of shopping before heading home. Arthur recalled Alfred's trips to a doctor many times, and that boy was a stubborn thing when it came doctors. Arthur stepped into the waiting room and went up to the receptionist. "Hi, what can we do for you today?" "Just a check-up for this little cutie today, I hope. Just want her to be healthy." "Okay, why don't you fill out these forms, and then we'll get you settled in." Arthur sat down, and motioned Kylie over to an area for Tinies. She looked up at him fearfully, there were only a few other clients in. "Go on, Poppet, I'll be right here." He gently nudged her in that direction before he started filling in the forms, grateful that Alfred had managed to find some information about Kylie. Kylie stood there mutely, clueless about what to do. None of the other Tinies back at the shop had ever been allowed to play and interact with each other. Then a brunette boy waved at her. "Hi! I'm Vincent! What's your name?" "I'm Kwylwie..." "Do you want to play?" "Okway..." Kylie sat beside Vincent and was soon pulled into the game. Arthur handed the filled out forms to the receptionist, and took his position back in the chair, watching her, not wanting to ruin her fun. It made him feel better seeing his sweet little angel make a new friend. "She yours?" Arthur perked up at a woman sitting beside him, but smiled and nodded, "Yes, her name is Kylie. Which one is yours?" The woman chuckled, "I have two of them actually, the one she's playing with is Vincent, and his brother is James over in the corner." Arthur smiled, "Handsome boys."  The woman smiled, "Thank you and I have to say yours is a real cutie." Arthur nodded, "Thank you. How old is they?" The woman turned back and got silent for a moment, "Vincent is 4, James is 10. How did you get Kylie?" Arthur cringed, and whispered something into the woman's ear. Her face immediately turned to shock. "Oh, the poor thing. How is she doing?" "She was sick and showed early signs of hypothermia. It took half a week for the constant shivering to stop. But she is doing much better physically, her emotional scars may take longer though." "And to think I bought James from that same shop." "Wait, you bought one from that shop? When?" "About 2 years ago now." "Could I maybe perhaps talk to him?" The woman nodded and called James over to them. "Yes, Mama?" "Sweetie, this man would like to talk with you." "Hello, James. Could you perhaps tell me what you know about a shopkeeper named Marcus Verano?" Instantly the Tiny boy flinched. "He was never nice... He would always be abusive toward us, most of the time was so drunk no one could understand him... 2 years ago, I was the only other child there until I was adopted by Mama, and came here to London, England." "And who was the other child?" Arthur asked. "A newborn baby girl. Her parents named her Kylie...they got sick, and he took them into the back room...where Tinies that are sick, old, or injured are taken...and what he does with them only some of the older Tinies there know... I doubt that poor baby would have even lived past 1 years old." "She's 2, now." James perked up at the large Englishman. "How do you know?" "Because..." Arthur gently pointed at her playing. "She's right there playing with your brother." James couldn't believe what he was seeing, that sweet babe was now a giggling toddler. It then clicked that the man was now taking care of her. He hugged the man's hand. "Thank you... for choosing her..." Arthur smiled, and carefully tousled the boy's hair. "You're welcome, even though it was more like she chose me." "Mr. Kirkland, the doctor will see you now." "Come on, sweetie, time to see the doctor." Arthur murmured as he bent down and scooped Kylie up in his hands. "Artwhur, Cwan Vwincwent cwome plway agwain swometwime?" "Of course Poppet...as long as it's okay with his mother..." He smiled back at James, before following a nurse into one of the other rooms... Arthur sat waiting for the doctor to come. Kylie was playing with her Teddy Bear Arthur had bought her a few days ago. "Hello, this must be Kylie..." Kylie cooed a bit under the doctor's touch. "So what is she in for today?" "Just a check-up." Arthur said. The doctor did the basics, checked Kylie's reflexes, blood pressure and heartbeat. "Well, she looks decently healthy, aside from a bit of warmth. And some bruising..." "She was abused... I found her nearly frozen to death in an alley in America... I was there on business..." "I see, well, all she really needs is some vaccinations and she'll be all set." Kylie shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the the needle, but Arthur managed to distract her. Once the shots were given, the doctor handed Arthur a list of side effects from the shots, and her number for anything else that Kylie needed to be checked out on in the future. Kylie was surprised when the doctor gave her a sticker and a lollipop for being a good girl. She yawned and Arthur chuckled before tucking her in his chest pocket. "At least the shopping will be done quickly, with her sleeping so peacefully."... He sighed quitely as he stepped back into his home, his arms loaded with bags. "Oi, little brother!" Arthur nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his brother's voice. And sure enough found all three of his brothers in the parlor. "What are you all doing here?" "We came to see our new niece."  Dylan said as he glanced around for the little girl that Canada had told them about. Arthur sighed as he set the bag's down, and sat between Seamus and Allistor. "Alright, but be quiet, she nodded off awhile ago." He gently lifted Kylie out his pocket and held her where all three of the older Kirkland brothers could see her. She stirred and blinked her eyes up at the three new faces. "It's alright Kylie. These are your other uncles, they're my older brothers." Kylie blinked up at them, seeing some resemblances between them. The main one was the green eyes. "Well, hello little lass. Yer actually rather adorable..." Seamus cooed. "Hwello..." "Na reason to afraid, little lass, we're na going to hurt ye." Allistor murmured... Arthur sighed as he pulled off his shirt to have a quick bath before bed. His brothers left after playing multiple rounds of hide and seek with Kylie. He couldn't help but feel a bit left out, since they never really played with him as a child, but perhaps Kylie was their form of a second chance. He was a bit lost in his thoughts that he hadn't heard the faint footsteps that came from tiny little feet. "Artwhur...?" He turned, to see Kylie standing there, a look of slight fear on her face. Kylie stared at all the scars littering Arthur's torso. Had someone hurt him too? "Kylie, I didn't hear you come in, sweetheart..." He bent down and scooped her up, cradling her close to his chest as he pulled his pants and boxers off (making extra sure that she wasn't looking) after she was undressed, and sank into the warm water. He was applauding his call to add bubbles to the bath, since this way Kylie wouldn't see anything she wasn't supposed to. Kylie didn't speak for a few moments, her tiny fingers running along the two scars over his heart. He watched her silently, grimacing at the scars he'd gotten through his life as a country. She then looked up at him, fear and worry in her little eyes. "Whwo dwid twhis to ywou?" He sighed softly, and started gently scrubbing her down with a cloth. "Kylie, I am going to tell you something that you cannot repeat to anyone, alright?" She nodded, not really quite understanding. What was he going to tell her that she couldn't tell anyone else? "You see, Kylie...all these scars are from everything bad that my life, the scars on my heart are from the Great Fire of London, and the Blitz....As London is my capital city...My heart..." "Y-ywour cwapitwal is ywour hweart?" she squeaked. "Yes, Darling, I am the personification of England. In other words, I am the country itself. Your uncles are countries as well." She blinked, her Caretaker was a country? "And since we are countries, we have been alive for many, many years, as we move at a different pace aside from everyone else." Arthur continued. Kylie felt the fear return. "Dwoes thwat mwean I twill hwave to lweave ywou swomedway...?" Arthur gasped and gently hugged her close. "Of course not, Kylie. I know a spell that will make you a bit like us countries. You won't be a country exactly, but you'll still get to be with me for many years to come. Besides I love you too much to just lose you." Kylie smiled and cuddled back into his chest... Arthur had gotten them out of the bath a few minutes later, having had Kylie under a cloth so she wouldn't see him quickly pull on his boxers and pajama pants. He got her dressed in a little Union Jack nightdress, as she felt more at home when she wore it, made her feel closer to him. He tucked her in with her Teddy, and settled in beside her. "Nwight-nwight. I lwove ywou Artwhur..." "Night, Love, sweet dreams, and I love you too, Kylie..."..."Dwaddy!" Kylie called, smiling widely and waving her little fist in the air, the paper in it swaying. She ran into Arthur's study—it was the time of day when he took a small tea break, so she knew he shouldn't be too preoccupied with other things and could accept her gift. She tried to give it to him this morning, but his boss had called him in for a meeting. He came back about an hour ago, and requested to be alone. Uncle Alfred was called in to spend the day with her, and helped make her Daddy's present. He opted to stay for a while longer while Arthur got settled back home instead of leaving her totally alone—but he let her go by herself to see her Daddy. Arthur, meanwhile, looked up from his book, a small sound escaping his lips as she hugged his foot. She had never called him 'Daddy' before. Out loud to him anyway, she usually called him Arthur. "Kylie?" She pulled back, holding the picture she drew up for him to take. "I dwrew it fwor ywou, Dwaddy! Uwncle Amwerwica twold me it twas ywour Hwappy Bwirthdway! Awnd cuz’ ywou wonly gwot swome cwards fwrom wother cwountrwies, we wantwed to mwake ywou swometwhing nwice!" It had been a few weeks since Arthur told Kylie about them being countries, and she agreed to keep it a sworn secret. Just like Flying Mint Bunny and her other fairy friends were only between her, Daddy, and all the other countries she had met before! That was when Daddy said he was going to his "special magic-casting room" with them, and she had to spend the afternoon with her Uncles Canada (Matthew) and France (Francis). They were doing something that involved needing a lock of her hair—later Arthur described it as an aging spell, but she felt just fine. And she wasn't "aged" at all. He now took the sheet of paper from her hands, confusion fading into awe. In her little two-year-old script (and he assumed America's hand-writing beneath interpreting what she said, as two-year-old script is incomprehensible writing…), she said, "I Lwove Ywou Dwaddy!" under that, besides America's interpretation, was a doodle of a black stick-figure with a mop of yellow over his head, and a much tinier figure with amber colored hair. The tiny figure was in the larger figure's hands, with a big pink heart between them and green grass and pink flowers were beneath their feet. Their faces held black eyes and smiles. "Oh, Kylie!" He breathed, looking at her with moist eyes. Britain knew that, from her uncles' babysits, she referred to him as 'Daddy.' But obviously she was saving that title for a special occasion. "Thank you! This is beautiful!" He scooped her up and drew her in for a hug, kissing her microscopic cheek as America came in grinning. "Hey Britain, you like Kylie's gift?" "It's better than anything I could have asked for," He said, smiling softly at her. "Shoot, because…" He held out his own hand, holding a picture and looking a bit awkward. "We were coloring together and she actually saw something that I liked in one of her coloring books…And asked me to draw it for you." "Oh?" He was handed the picture as she sat on his lap, giggling at the 'really?' look he gave her uncle. "Kylie, was this your idea?" Giggling madly, she said, "Ywes!" "And that's funny?" A mischievous smile formed on his lips before proceeding to tickle her, a game that the two often played to get a smile. "I'll show you funny, little girl!" America had colored in a picture of Lady Liberty—giving her England's features on her face. Had he not laughed so hard at the outcome of Britain's eyebrows on his favorite present from France, the country would have declared treason upon himself for putting the caterpillar-sized facial hair there. All three of them laughed as Alfred joined in the tickling, attacking England's torso until the nation fell to the floor (with her) in two cackling messes. "Okay! Okay!" He laughed, curling into a ball and using his arms to protect himself when she began poking his sides. "Al—Alfred, Kylie, enough!" America looked to her questioningly. "Oh please, he can take some tickling. You decide." She pretended to think, "Hm…I dwunno, thwe twickle monstwer's nwever bween twickled bwack…" He smirked, taking one of Britain's arms and raising it. "Right under here is his biggest weakness." "No!" The nation squealed when she wiggled a lone hand in his armpit, using his free arm to try to protect it and going totally limp against America's legs, guffawing loudly. The two stopped and Uncle Alfred let the arm fall, letting him breathe and get the last few giggles out. "Th-that isn't bloody fair!" Britain breathed heavily, actually restraining himself from strangling the younger nation in front of her. It was embarrassing being tickled in front of and by a little girl who calls you Daddy. At least, she called him that now. Pouting with a red face, he pointed a finger up at the younger man. "Kylie, his belly is his worst spot!" America smirked. "Dude. She can barely even reach my knee." She attempted to reach up out of curiosity after climbing up onto Alfred's thigh, only to have her hand flicked away. "Ow! Hwey!" she pouted, rubbing the hand. "Thwat hwurt!" With a growl of rage, Britain jumped up and tackled him. "Don't you touch her bloody wanker!" "Hey—dude, it was an accident! Calm dow—HEH-HEY!" He tried to grab the Brit's hands that had dug into his belly (instead of strangling the neck, which America was grateful for in front of her), causing a bout of laughter. "Dude, I-I didn't know I—ha!—I flicked her that hard! Mph-HEE-HEHAHA! St-stop, dude I'm really freaking ti-tickli—I-HISH, ri-right THERE! Gah-ha! O-okay?! STAHP!" "Dwaddy, I'm okway!" She poked him in the knee, and he looked down. "Thwank ywou. Bwut I'm okway." "Ahem." He stood up straight, dusting himself off. "Right. Good. Sorry about that…" "Dude, I'm gonna get you back so hard for this…" Your uncle stood, pouting and rubbing his attacked belly. "Freakin' tickle monster has a rival now…" But he tried nothing. Better to strike when they're least suspecting it. "Maybe we should just let the tickle monster game go to rest, guys? It's fun for a laugh, but I think we've let it get too fa-HAR!" He squeaked at your poke to a side. She grinned, "Thwank ywou fwor pwrotwectwing me, Dwaddy!" He smiled again, this time truly and without the forced mirth of tickles. "Anytime, poppet." "Aw, c'mon!" America glared. "I flicked her hand a little harder than I thought, I'm sorry! But you totally had cheer-up tickles coming to you, bro." "It's okway," she said, "I dwon't wanna bwe twickled weither, so I flwop arwound weverywhwere twoo!" He blushed, somehow managing to pout even more. "Alright, who wants dinner?" Britain exclaimed, changing the subject. "Is Uwncle Alfrwed cwooking?" Usually he cooked on days the real cook, who was hired by France, was off. Like today. "Aw, Kylie!" He crouched down to her level, "Would I really let your Daddy cook for you?" "HEY!" Britain's eyes went white. She giggled as her uncle picked her up, running out of the room and to the kitchen. Britain sighed, following close after. At least, when it wasn't McDonalds, America actually did make some pretty good food . . . And it was his birthday after all, he would choose what to make... Her uncle was staying the weekend for sure. Britain only nodded to America wordlessly when he had something important to say, and she knew that. Usually it was when he had to go out of town, or had a meeting and needed someone to stay with her on short notice (flying Mint Bunny was a good friend, but Arthur didn't trust his magical, unpredictable and rather naughty friends to be alone with her). But this time was different—America had taken the phone call, nodded to Britain to come talk to him in private after he was done. Leaving her to eat her portion of grilled cheese alone. She was especially quiet, listening to their hushed tones. "...Are you sure?" "Positive," Came Alfred's voice. "Marcus Verano's been…" Muffled sounds. "—o there's nothing fo—er to fear anymore?" "Not except for—e trauma, Britain." "Shou—e tell her?" This part came clearer, as if they were coming closer. "She deserves to know. Closure, you know? After what he did to her?" She didn't understand what they meant. Probably important business-stuff. A lot of people are named Marcus. They both came back in with serious faces. She looked up, dropping her food. "Di-dwid I dwo swomethwing wrwong?" "No, sweetie," Uncle Alfred said. "I just got a call from my boss. You…You know how we told you my government would keep an eye on your, ah, Other Caretaker?" Her heart froze. Her Daddy, Britain, quickly sat down next to her. "He isn't going to hurt you, Kylie. Not ever again." "W-whwat?" she asked. Daddy said this often. But this time felt far more serious. What was going on? He placed her onto his lap, rubbing her back with his thumb. "Your Care—Marcus Verano…he died last night, Kylie. And all the other Tinies in the shop have been given good homes now." Her mouth dropped, eyes widened in horror and relief. "Wh…Whwat?!" "He can never hurt you again." "Kylie?" America asked, Britain shushing him and drawing her close to his chest as she began to cry. The American was afraid to tell her how exactly her former caretaker died: in a bar fight. Verano filled out the theft report papers for her, but never seemed to really care enough to do anything else. He was arrested once, and held in jail for two days before bailing himself out for pulling a knife in another bar. America knew this because he kept regular tabs on the bastard. In the fight that killed him, Marcus Verano had a knife pulled on him. He obviously lost that fight. The countries shared a look. Slowly, America got up to go to one of the guestrooms, where he would spend the next two nights, and left the two alone. Britain held and comforted her as she cried, both of them relieved to live without fear of being found. After all of those nightmares she suffered, scars she would have mentally and physically, her other Caretaker was dead. She didn't know how, but now everything would be alright. Finally...She was bathed, dressed, and ready for bedtime. It wasn't often at all anymore she came into Arthur's room; most of that occurred the first month she lived with him and had fever chills. After she was healthy again, it was terrible, horrific nightmares that no two-year-old should have. These slowly dropped in numbers, and she found it really wasn't so bad to stay alone in her room. Well, alone with her stuffed Teddy. But tonight, as he was laying down, Britain wasn't surprised to see her come in through the open door. He smiled, picking up her teeny tiny little form and placing her beside him. "Come here, darling." The two laid down, and he let her snuggle closer before wrapping avhad around her side. "Lwove ywou, Dwaddy." "I love you too, Kylie." "Hwappy Bwirthdway. Sworry I crwied…" "Thank you poppet, and you don't need to apologize for that. Are you alright?" "Uh-huh." She nuzzled her head into his chest (causing a poorly-stifled giggle to escape his lips), holding both the Teddy and a handful of the Brit's shirt. "Are you sure?" "I wam nwow." "Do you want to talk?" He tried. "Abwout whwat?" "Your Caretaker." She shut her eyes. "Y-ywou're nwot my cwaretwaker,  Ywou're my Dwaddy. Nwot S-Shwop mwan. He dwidn't lwove me lwike ywou do, he dwidn' weven lwike me." Britain's heart was touched that she was finally able to acknowledge that fact. That he loved her, that is. They both knew Verano held no love in his heart. "I dwon't nweed to bwe scwared wanymwore. I'm ywour dwaughtwer. I hwave bween, bwecwause ywou've twaken cware of me. So ywou're my rweal Dwaddy." Well. There were still the legalities and paperwork, such as who the hell she was to the world—his daughter, yes—and with the aging spell, her life was extended for a long, long time. Like Britain's own human persona, she would have to be "taken care of" for government employees checking identities. None of the members of the Magic Trio realized how well the spell had worked until the magical creatures told them she had stopped aging almost entirely. They could feel the magic in her tiny body. Britain would have her child-like form for perhaps centuries, before she even began to look like a teenager. Even if she was an old woman in a young form like he was an old man in a young body, he would have her as a daughter and love her. So long as nothing were to happen to her…But he would protect her, even when she was old enough to want to travel - he couldn't leave her alone in the form she was in now, but Britain could certainly let her travel with him! He could home-school her, introduce her to the other countries. Maybe the micro-nations could befriend her . . . Even Sealand, if it really came to that. So, maybe she would leave him one day. Nothing truly lasts forever. He hoped with all his heart that would never happen, but it did with America because he screwed up. He wouldn't screw up. Britain would always be there for her. That was a promise he would always keep. "And you're my real daughter."