::America::

Huddling under your covers, you hugged your knees to your chest, trying your best to suppress the sobs welling up from within. Your actions wouldn't suffice, though, for the tears and cries echoed in the pitch-black room, empty except for yourself.

Your phone suddenly rang, causing a glass-shattering scream to leave your throat. Once you realized what it was, your eyes widened.

Don't pick up the phone! Don't pick it up! They can hear you! Nooooo!

The phone stopped ringing, ending with a beep that told you that you had one missed call and one new voicemail.

Do I dare?

Shakily taking the phone in your hand, you checked the missed call to see who it was.

"It's j-just Alfred." You sighed out of relief, typing your password to hear the voicemail he had left.

"_! I need t-to know if you're d-doing okay, okay? Like, n-now, please! Hurry up and c-call me back, _!" *CLICK*

What was he worrying about? You decided that, even though it was three in the morning, you had to call him back or else he wouldn't leave you alone and then he'd probably think you were ignoring him and that you hated him.

*Ring Ring Ri-*

"_! I-Is that you?" you heard him ask in a shaky, yet loud voice.

"Yeah… Why did you call?"

"Are you okay, _?"

"Uh-huh."

"Can you sleep?"

"Well… uh…" You shifted uneasily, knowing what he would say if you couldn't.

"I'm coming over right now, so don't leave!"

"Why would I leave? It's three AM and, anyways, I really don't think-"

"Just stay home!" *CLICK* *Beep Beep Beep*

You sighed, understanding his motive. That had to have been the scariest horror movie you'd ever seen, and you didn't usually mind them! Alfred had invited himself over, bringing the movie while you supplied the location and food- popcorn and soda, of course. Once he had arrived, the living room was all set up and you quickly went around shutting off all of the lights as he prepared the DVD. The living room had been glowing an eerily light blue, like stained moonlight, as the two of you sat on the couch, munching and sipping the refreshments with wide eyes. Occasionally, one of you would shout, "NO! DON'T! NO! BAD IDEA! BAD IDEA! YOU'RE GONNA DIEEEE!"

In certain graphic scenes, Alfred would cover your eyes and you his, helping each other to ease the tension with a small fit of giggles before the next super-scary part came on. Screaming had hoarsened both of your voices, but when the movie had finally finished, your voices had returned, fortunately. The two of you zipped around your house, flicking on every light and making sure there weren't any monsters hiding in a closet or something. Popcorn had to be picked up and soda stains removed, since, between the two of you, you had managed to paint the floor around the sofa with flying food being thrown at those jump-outa-your-skin-moments.

You finally convinced Alfred to go home and get some sleep, watching his terrified face zoom away from your driveway.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, breaking your train of thought and bringing you back to the present. Alfred was waiting at the door when you answered, baseball bat hidden behind your back for extra protection- just in case.

"Hey," you mumbled, letting him in and slamming the door behind him, making sure to get ALL of the locks locked.

"I come all the way here to save you and all I get is a 'Hey…'? What's with that?" he joked, crushing you in a hug.

"Alfred…" You put the baseball bat back down, your shoulders slumping.

"Now, WHERE'S THE MONSTER?" he shouted, fake-karate pose in action.

"What monster?"

"The one from the movie, _! C'mon, you gotta keep up with me, here, _."

You grunted, rubbing your eyes. "There is no monster, Al."

"Whaaat? Why didn't you tell me before, then?" He pouted, sticking his hands in his large jacket pockets. He must've touched something, because his eyes widened and his hand came back out, holding a wrapped-up thing. Alfred looked at it and looked at you, asking, "Hey, you want some?"

"No, thanks."

"Aw, come on! Burgers always help! …No? OKAY, THEN! I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO EAT IT! HAHAHA!" He peeled back the wax paper and chomped down, taking massive bites until it was all gone.

"Ahh…" he sighed contently, patting his stomach. "Now," he said matter-of-factly, "What should I do to help you fall asleep?"

"Al, come on…"

"You said you couldn't sleep, so I'm here to save the day- or night, I guess. C'mon, what can I do? Anything you have in mind?"

You thought for a moment before mumbling, "Count sheep? It probably won't work, but it's worth a shot."

"OKAY! I did this for Arthur the other day, but that just got him all angry and embarrassed… BUT I'M A HERO, AND HEROES HELP THE NEEDY! Now get in bed!" He walked you over to your bed, making sure you were all tucked in. "Do you want the light on, because I know that I fall asleep faster when it's dark… But then the monsters will come, so never mind!"

You pulled the covers to your chin, waiting for him to shut up and start counting.

"Ready?"

You nodded.

"Here we go! One sheep! Two sheep! Three sheep! Four sheep! Five sheep! Six sheep!" He was yelling, and on top of that , he was saying them like he was rapping. This wasn't going to help at all. "Seven sheep! Eight sheep! Nine sheep! TEN SHEEP!"

He laughed, looking at you with his wide-grinned face. "HOW WAS THAT? You're already… still awake. Oh, well! That was only ten sheep, so I'll keep going and then you'll fall asleep! WOO~"

"Alfred, hate you tell ya this, but your counting sucks." You just stared at him, slightly irritated.

"Whaaat? There's no way! Well… Arthur said the same thing, now that you mention it. You guys are hopeless… I don't wanna, but.. I'll do it! For you!"

He scooched himself closer to you, making sure that, if he was to count quietly, you'd still be able to hear him. His voice became softer and he counted a bit slower as he continued.

"Eleven sheep. Twelve sheep. Thirteen sheep. Fourteen sheep. Fifteen sheep. Sixteen sheep. Seventeen sheep. Eighteen sheep. Nineteen sheep. Twenty sheep."

You yawned, slightly awed at how quickly the process was working.

Alfred heard and stopped for a moment, asking, "You're… You aren't asleep yet? My counting's better, so you should be in dreamland right now. I guess counting ice cream & hamburgers would be more fun, huh… Ah… But when I try counting my special way, like I do it at home, you wouldn't be able to sleep even if I count ice cream…"

Alfred noticed you giving him that look- that 'Shut. Up.' Look- and laughed. "I'm not leaving you or anything, silly! I just have to make sure my counting stays… calm and… more to your taste, y'know?"

You shifted, the covers slipping off of your shoulders. Alfred hurriedly picked it up in his hands and tucked you in again, saying, "You have to stay covered or you'll be too cold! There. Good?"

"Uh-huh."

"OKAY~ I'll keep counting! Twenty-one sheep. Twenty-two sheep. Twenty-three sheep. Twenty-four sheep. Twenty-five sheep. Twenty-six sheep. Twenty-seven sheep. Twenty-eight sheep. Twenty-nine sheep. Thirty sheep. Oh?"

Your eyelids had begun to droop, a clear sign that his job was working. "Did you count sheep for yourself when you were little?" you asked quietly, curiously peering up at him.

"Me? I guess so. It worked most of the time… Man, I've been talking for most of this time, now. Sorry 'bout that. Listening to someone else count usually turns out better, though… and that's why I'm helping you! Hey, don't distract me like that! I'm gonna finish this!

Thirty-one sheep… Thirty-two sheep… Thirty-three sheep… Thirty-four sheep… Thirty-five sheep… Thirty-six sheep… Thirty-seven sheep… Thirty-eight sheep… Thirty-nine sheep… Forty sheep… Forty-one sheep… Forty-two sheep… Forty-three sheep… Forty-four sheep… Forty-five sheep… Forty-six sheep… Forty-seven sheep… Forty-eight sheep… Forty-nine sheep... Fifty sheeeep... Done."

Alfred smiled to himself at his great accomplishment. He gently got off of the bed, whispering to you as you slept, "Heh. You finally fell asleep. The monster never got us, did he? There isn't anything the hero can't do! If you need me to do this again, you just go on and ask, 'cause I'll do it! That's what heroes do! So, yeah- don't worry about it if you need me again, because your hero will always be there for ya, okay? Hm."

He silently made his way to your door, flicking your lamp off in the process. Turning back to you before leaving your room, he whispered, "Goodnight, _~"

A/N

This is the first in a series I'm doing known as the Counting Sheep Chapters. If you guys haven't listened to the Counting Sheep CDs released with the other Hetalia drama CDs, you won't see a direct correlation. I pretty much took the translated… lyrics (?) and made them into stories that people can relate to… I think.

In the actual CDs, it's only the characters talking and on each CD, 2 of the tracks are where one of them is helping you fall asleep by counting sheep. There are pauses of silence where you'd 'say something' and then they keep talking with their response. (That's why there isn't a lot of 'you' saying anything.) It's kind of amazing~

Each country will count in their own language (FUN!) and if it's a language like Russian, Chinese, or Japanese, I shall transliterate it for you~

Human names are used, and if you don't know them and need a reference, just check my profile. I do say the country name at the top and the human name throughout, so I don't think you'll need it, but just so you know…

America was first, since you'd be able to understand what he was doing and therefore what everyone else WILL be doing. Capische? Cool beans.

If you want the FOR RIZZLE lyric-things, PM me, since I had to alter them for the stories just a bit. You can also PM me to get the link for ALL Hetalia music (not by me, of course) and CDs, including this series. Also, there were only a set number of these (2 on each disc X 7 discs = 14 characters/chapters) that came out, so I dunno if I'll make ones for others or not. I want to, but we'll see.

AND IF ANYONE OUT THERE HAS SUGGESTIONS FOR SCENARIOS AND WHATNOT, TELLLLL ME, PLEASE. I'm horrible at brainstorming these things…