"Daddy!" Elizabeth called out into the dead of night. She bolted upright from her bed as sweats broke out on her forehead and her hands trembled with the sudden panging feeling of loss that she felt in her chest. Her breathing was heavy as she inhaled and exhaled through the sobs that consumed her. Still, she tried to quiet her sounds as to not wake the others of the household, but in an unlikely turn of events, she failed in that attempt.
"Elizabeth?" A voice called out as it entered through the doorway. Her brother appeared in its frame, obviously groggy from sleep or lack of sleep at the late hour. "Oh, Beth, it's alright, come here."
He joined her under the blankets and allowed the girl to lay her head on his chest and wipe her tears on his shirt. The two sat there for a moment in the deafening silence of the night as to give Elizabeth some time before she decided to speak.
Through her deep breathes, she whimpered, "I had a dream about Daddy, Phil. I would have called it a nightmare, but Daddy is alive in my dreams, even if only for a moment." With his arm placed around her, Philip kissed the top of his sister's head and gripped her shoulders a bit tighter.
"Beth, do you have these 'dreams' a lot?" He questioned with a soft tone. You see, Philip was only staying at his mother's home for the night along with Theodosia and his daughter, Angelica, because Eliza needed help with a few things concerning business. He had only lived in the same house as Elizabeth when she was first born, because he then quickly moved out once he was married.
Elizabeth stared up at him with her brown, saucer-like eyes. "Yes," she choked out softly. "Phil, Daddy dies every single time. Why am I never happy in my dreams?"
Philip frowned. He knew his sister's troubles all too well, as he often had nightmares of his own. It seems even Elizabeth's eight-year-old childlike innocence couldn't save her from the ugly sleep patterns that consumed their family line. "Hey, it's okay, I get them too," he cooed. She looked up at him once again, tears brimming her eyes. As he continued to speak, he wiped her tears away with his thumb, saying, "But when you wake up, you realize that Mommy loves you, Alex loves you, John loves you, James loves you, I love you, and so many more. Daddy's watching you from heaven every single day, loving you from up in the clouds." Elizabeth smiled. "Hey, there we go. That's the smile I like to see."
Elizabeth nestled into Philip as her eyelids began to flutter back to sleep. "Philip?" She asked with a yawn.
"Yeah, Beth?" He responded, trying not to fall asleep himself.
"I wish you could be here all the time. Mommy cries too, but she doesn't hear mine because she's usually distracted," She murmured with a sleepy voice. "Will you stay here until I fall asleep?"
"Yeah, of course," Philip whispered. It only took a moment before his sister was asleep in his arms. He stared at her little face, remembering that first morning that he held her when she was just a baby. Within the next year and a half, his daughter Angelica was born and suddenly he had a daughter and a sister that were almost the same age. With their father dying only a few years later, Philip took on the role of father in their household, and even though Alex wasn't one to listen to him often, John, Elizabeth, and James looked up to him in fatherly fashion. Philip Hamilton had grown up immensely since his father's passing two years ago, and even more so since his sister Angelica's passing almost eight years prior.
It was not long before both Philip was asleep as well, having no reluctance about closing his eyes while holding his little sister.
The next morning, Philip awoke before Elizabeth did, so he silently slipped out of her arms to go meet his wife in the other room. It made him happy to see his sister sleeping soundly, especially after the night that she had. As quietly as he could, he entered the guest room where he and his wife had been staying for the night. He had hoped to not wake her, but of course she was already awake. She and Philip were very similar in that way. Their parents had taught them to be constantly working, but unfortunately that meant living off a few hours asleep on a daily basis.
Not suprisingly, Theodosia was sitting up in her bed, resting against the headboard with a journal in her lap and a pen in her hand. "Philip Hamilton, where have you been?" She asked with a jokingly stern tone.
Philip just laughed and took the same position as his wife in bed underneath the covers. "In another lady's bed I'm afraid."
"Oh?" Theodosia questioned, placing her pen down and raising an eyebrow in his direction.
"Yes, little Elizabeth Hamilton was having quite the night," Philip explained. "She had a nightmare during one of the rare moments you were asleep, I went to go comfort her and fell asleep doing so. She said some weird stuff Theo, I can't get it out of my head."
"What do you mean?" She asked, this time completely turning her full attention toward her husband by placing her journal and pen on the bedside table.
"She has nightmares every night, just like I did- and still do. But my mother does not take any notice. Elizabeth said she cries every night and therefore doesn't hear her when she wakes up sobbing. With all of the stuff going on with the orphanage and Alex trying to get accepted into college, I think she's stressed and missing my father now more than ever," Philip rambled.
Theodosia could see the worry in her husband's eyes. She didn't see him like that often, as he usually kept his stress in the confines of his office at work. But, this was different. This was his family. "Phil, whatever you want to do, we'll make it work."
"I want to move in like we did when my father first died. I want to help. I need to help," He said, his eyes lighting up at the idea.
"Well, we'll have to talk to your mother of course," Theodosia trailed off. She was normally one to weigh her options, but it was the smile on Philip's face that really caught her off guard. She noticed his freckles were fading, something that often happened as the summer came to an end, but there were always a few prominent ones that stuck around for the long run.
"Of course," Philip quickly said.
"And I'm sure Angelica will love living here," Theodosia continued. Philip nodded. "You really want to do this, don't you?"
"I do." No one was more committed to his or her family than Philip. It was one of the reasons she married him.
"Okay, then I guess we're moving in," Theodosia stated. Philip kissed her cheek. Then, the two watched the sunrise through their window, taking in the peace of the moment before the storm later that day.
