Breaking Away-CountryHumans United Kingdom

Panic

        (Sorry this chapters quite late)

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Frances POV

I had finished making a cup of tea for Scotland and was waiting for him in the living room. It had been quite a while and I was wondering what could be taking him so long. I'll just go see if he's alright.

I walk down the hallway towards the guest room. As I get to the door all I can hear is fast breathing and 'No...No...No...Stop...' being repeated over and over. I was getting worried.
"Écosse I'm coming in the room!" I shout before opening the door, just in case he is still getting changed.

I open the door and walk into a scene I have seen many times but not with Scotland. He's having a panic attack. This is very common for countries, especially because of PTSD. Even I have had panic attacks at the memory of World War 1 And 2 and the French Revolution and even more. The worst panic attack I've seen was from Britain when he had seen a picture of America as the 13 colonies just after the America Revolution, I'll never forget how much pain the memory of it brought to his eyes.

When I saw Scotland having a panic attack I was quick to react. I went over to him as quick as I could, which wasn't very quick as I do not know what he is experiencing and fast movement might freak him out more. Once I was able to get close I sit down carefully beside him and whisper soothing things to him. I don't quite know what he likes so I just tell him 'he's fine' and that 'it's in the past and can't happen again' and he starts to become more aware of where he is.
"Can you try to breathe along with me?" I ask him.
"I'm going to count to ten and we breathe in and out on each number, ok?" This is what you're meant to do when someone is experiencing a panic attack as it helps to stop their rapid breathing and calm them down.
"Un," I say and take in a deep breath. Nothing really changes with Scotland's breathing.
"Deux," I say while letting out the breath I already had. Scotland appears to have noticed At what I'm doing and is trying to control his breathing but is still shaking.
"Trois," I take in another deep breath and this time Scotland does the same, still shaking.
"Quatre," I let out my breath as I say the number and Scotland copies, I can see he's starting to calm down a lot more now.
"Cinq," deep breath in.
"Six," breathe out.
"Sept," deep breath in.
"Huit," breathe out.
"Neuf," deep breath in. By this number Scotland has almost completely calmed down. His breaths are still a bit shaky but he's trying.
"Dix," breathe out. Scotland appears to be less tense and his breathing is almost completely back to normal.
"Are you Okay now?" I ask him gently.
"A...Aye..." he replies still a bit shaken.
"Can you tell me what this was about?" I need to know so I can prevent future triggers towards him.
"1305 Smithfield, London..." that's all he can muster for now.

I had a feeling it would be this. Such an awful experience and death. I was involved with this situation when it happened to Scotland as we were both fighting against England at that point in time and he had told me all about it the next time we met in person. I even saw a part of the corpse on display, absolutely horrifying, although at that point of time it wouldn't of appeared as odd or as brutal with Vlad the Impaler coming a couple years later in 1459. It's good that I know what he's experiencing but I need to know what caused it.
"Can I ask what caused your panic attack?" I say gently.
Scotland looks at me then looks down at the ground.
"Not today... I'm nae ready... England knows..." he replies, tiredly.
England knows, well that's interesting. I'll bring it up with him later and then we can have a private discussion about this. He caused it he should stop it.
"Ok then... How about you come down to the living room and we can watch a movie?" I ask him.
He looks up at me, thinking before saying.
"That would be nice."
I smile happily at him.
"What movie do you want to watch?"
Scotland thinks hard, it can be hard to pick a movie when there are SO many.
"We can watch more than one." I say trying to make it easier for him to decide. I'm generally curious as to what he's going to pick.
"Brave the Disney movie, Fantastic Beasts and where to find them and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone and, if we have time, the rest of the Harry Potter movies."
That's quite a lot of movies and an interesting pick too.
"Those are some good choices. I'll go set them up on the TV and you can drink your tea, which might be cold by now, sorry about that, and pick some snacks to eat while watching the film."
"Tapadh leat France..." Scotland says avoiding Eye contact. His cheeks are flushed and I can tell he's embarrassed at me having to witness him in such a week state, but I will not judge him like other mean countries might.