She stared at him over the rim of her glasses. When had this all started anyway? What was the point? Oh yes, the small child that she was currently clinging to. He was the point. And a very important point indeed. Shaking her head at the man's request, she narrowed her eyes. "You can't have him!" She shouted, holding the boy; her little Tejas, closer to her.

"Mexico..." The Man said, eyes filling with compassion and understanding, "Rosa, I don't want to fight you for him anymore. He's tired of it too! Why else would he have tried being completely independent in 1836?" He said, holding his gun tighter and looking at Rosa. "Just give him up. Let him come with me."

"He does't belong to you, America! He isn't yours to have! I found him! I raised him! Just as I found and raised Baja and- and Chihuahua! They're my children!" She looked at the little boy for a moment before closing her eyes, willing away tears. "Don't you have enough running around, Alfred? Do you need him as well?" She ran her fingers through the boy's hair and let out a small, shaky sigh. She was crying. Crying over one small child while her people were in the middle of a war against the country she was once so close to. While her people fought his over a child. Of course; she knew she couldn't win this war. She felt every death- every drop of blood- of one of her many inhabitants. Even if some were currently residing with Tejas. "Alfred, how could you ask me to do this?"

"Rosa... Rosa, Darl-"

"Don't call me that!" Rosa snapped; forcing herself to look at America- forcing herself to seem stronger than she was, her eyes alight with anger. "No while you're trying to take him away from me completely."

"Rosa, listen to me!" Alfred yelled, "My people live with him. Yours do as well, and I won't punish you- or him- for that. But you have to understand, I can take care of him. You know I take care of my states, Rosa! He'll be in good hands."

She flinched at his words. She knew he was right. She knew he could take care of the little boy- who was currently clinging to her legs- probably better than she ever could. But she didn't want to lose him. Not to Alfred. Not to anyone. If she were being honest with herself- which she wasn't- she'd know that she'd known all along that she was never going to be able to keep him.

"Fine. Fine, you win." She said softly, her voice trembling ever-so-slightly. She took off her glasses and wiped at her eyes before crouching down in front of the boy, placing the glasses in his hands. She couldn't really see at the moment- whether due to tears or lack of the glasses she'd worn for so long, she couldn't tell- she could see the confusion on his face. "Run along with Alfred now, mi hijo. He'll take good care of you," She said, wrapping her arms around her Tejas for the last time. "He'll care for you now."

"Thank you, Rosa." Alfred said, holding his hand out for Tejas- No. For Texas- To take. "I'll take very good care of him."

And that was when Rosa decided she just couldn't stand it anymore. She shut her eyes tightly, hearing Tej- Texas- walking over to his new care-taker. "I'll never forgive you for this, Alfred." She said quietly. "I'm doing this for my people, not for yours. I can't let them suffer any longer... But I will never forgive you for taking him," And she turned away from him, wiping furiously at her eyes. She brushed off any words he could possibly be saying before running away from the area.

Without even looking, she knew America was taking Texas' little hand and setting the glasses on his face. She could feel his stare as she ran away. She knew, with every fiber in her being, that as soon as she was out of sight he'd turn around and walk the 28th state to his new home with America. It devastated her. Yes, Texas had been a republic for a bit before statehood, but he'd still relied on her. He'd still been her child, not Alfred's- Not America's. Why did Alfred want the boy anyway? What was the point? He'd already had 27 states running around his house, why did he need one more? Why did he want something that was hers?

Funny... She thought to herself, walking into her house and wiping the tears from her face, There are all these questions... and no answers. Isn't that how it always works? ¿Por qué? And that December night in 1845- the 29th to be exact-, the one nation aside from her 'father,' lost her trust. The one nation she'd trusted more than Spain, betrayed her and took some small part of her heart away from her.

Author's note~

So heyyy~~ Guess who got a writing program? That's right, I did. Anyway~~ It's a Mexico fic. I'm sure it's an overused idea and whatnot but eh, I waned to write it. There was more to it than this (but that part was more cliche than the actual story so I took it out.) So yay~ First story.

Translations and Meanings

Baja: Baja California. But I figured Mex wouldn't want to call little Baja that.

Chihuahua: Just. Yes. I had to add in little Chihuahua in there.

Tejas: Texas' name before gaining independence from Mexico.

Other Facts

So, I lived in Texas for like ever and had no clue that it was actually an independent republic for a short time before joining America as a state (1836 to 1845). It became he 28th state in America on December 29th, 1845. Ya learn somethin' new everyday~