Homeless (a Hetalia Fanfic, Book Three)

Chapter 44~!

"So... how are things with Egypt?"

I'd looked and looked for Vale for nearly an hour until I discovered her whereabouts in the medical ward. It had been the last place I'd checked, and even though the night before had been fun, I had sort of been avoiding others since then for reasons unknown even to me. I just felt kind of... off today.

Matthew had yet to wake up, but for the time being the Scribe was focusing her efforts on the other comatose patient under her care: Gupta Muhammad Hassan. His mysteriously acquired injuries were looking a lot better already, and he didn't seem to be sleeping fitfully. Had I not known any better, I would have immediately assumed that he was just resting after a long and tiring day.

"He's doing alright," Vale replied after a moment of thought. "That is, if you can really stretch the definition of "alright."

"You still haven't figured out the cause yet, have you?" I asked as I leaned back against the wall with my hands behind me casually. 

"No, and if I had I probably would have been able to wake him up by now," she sighed, her dark brown hair falling into her eyes before she pushed it aside. "This is so aggravating, Alice. Ama always seemed to have the answers to everything, but now that I'm the Scribe like she was, I'm still clueless..."

"She spent a lot more time being the Scribe," I pointed out softly, trying to cheer her up. "You can't really compare her to yourself. Besides, you're you and she was who she was. You're not the same person."

A thought came to me, and it turned my frown of sympathy into an amused smile. "You're like a new Doctor."

"You mean from Doctor Who?" Vale assumed with a knowing gleam in her emerald eyes. I nodded to confirm that. "Of course you would think of that analogy right away."

"It's just how I am," I answered with a proud grin. It dropped when I looked over at Egypt, still sleeping like we weren't even there. What was going on in his head right now? Did he know who or what had hurt him? Was it possible that he knew what exactly had put him into this state?

My gaze traveled back to Vale's face when I caught her looking at me critically, like she wasn't sure of something about my appearance. "What?" I asked. "Do I have something on me?"

"No, I was just thinking to myself," was her quick reply. "Are you feeling alright, Alice?"

"Feeling alright?" I echoed casually. "Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know... You seem a little bit under the weather, for some reason," was her comment before she put her hands over Egypt's calm face. A white light shone forth from her palms, but it only lasted for maybe fifteen seconds at most. Then her hands fell back to her sides and she let out a sigh. 

"Anything?" I prompted her to speak.

"No, nothing," was the answer I got. 

"I'm sorry this isn't working. I wish I could help." On that note, I pushed off the wall and made my way toward the door.

"Hang on a second, Alice," Valasha called after me. I stopped in the doorway and turned to look back at her.

"Yeah?"

"I think it would be a good idea if you spent a little bit of time with Canada today."

I stared at her silently for a few seconds before slowly asking, "Why?"

"Because you never know," she answered. "Maybe he'll be able to tell that you're there, even if he's unconscious. And maybe your presence can help give him strength while you're at it. Either way, it might not be a bad idea." She gave me these very convincing puppy dog eyes. "Please do it? Just for a little while?"