Eliza picked up her buzzing phone, "Alexander!" She scolded, still half asleep, "It's not even six!"
"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry." Alexander's voice was gentle, like he was afraid, "I just wanted to make sure you're doing alright. All the kids still asleep?"
"We're all here and doing fine," Eliza paused. Something wasn't right, "Are you alright Alexander? You sound; different."
"What? No," Eliza could imagine her husband's playful scowl, "I'm about to meet with someone, try to reason with them," There was a pause, "I love you."
Eliza felt confused. "I love you too. I'll see you after the meeting. You will be back in time to watch William, Elizabeth and Philip while I run errands right? The other boys have things they want to do with friends"
"Yeah.." The word sounded forced, and Eliza could hear Alexander clearing his throat, "Yeah, I will be." This time, Alex sounded more confident.
"Good. Bye then." She pulled the phone away to hang up.
"Hey," Eliza paused, putting the phone back to her ear to hear the rest of what Alexander was going to say, "Best of wives, best of women..."
Eliza's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, but before she could say anything to Alex, the line went dead. Which, of course, made Eliza's curiosity only grow.
The woman fell back on her pillow, attempting to go to sleep, but both factors of being wide awake, and her curiosity pulled the woman out of bed. She quickly got dressed in a light blue sundress that fell just at her knees.
Eliza poked her head into each of her children's rooms, to ensure that they were all sleeping soundly. To her surprise, and slight annoyance, Angelica was up, reading a book. After her older brother died, Eliza and Alexander put Angelica into therapy, and she had finished just a couple of weeks earlier. She was still trying to recover, however, for Philip's premature death sent the young woman to having sporadic nervous breakdowns where she sobbed constantly and cried out for her best friend to return, late into the night. Angelica still found it hard to sleep at times.
"Why are you up?" Eliza asked her daughter, causing her to slightly jump.
"Mom!" Angelica exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart, "You scared me."
Eliza raised an eyebrow, "If you're already awake, come downstairs and help me make breakfast. I'm in the mood for some pancakes or something of the sort."
Angelica sighed, and pushed back her covers, "I have to be up in half an hour to get ready for college anyway. Let me get dressed real quick." Eliza nodded and shut the door and waited in the hall for her daughter. Angelica emerged about a minute later with a jean skirt the same length as Eliza's and a pink tank top.
The pair walked along the hall, Angelica following her mother as she checked on the younger children. "Why do you want to go to school in the summer?" Eliza asked, genuinely interested, "I was always eager to get out of school and spend my summer free." That was only half of it, though. Eliza was worried that something would cause Angelica to have a breakdown at school and that the mother wouldn't be there to help her daughter through it.
Angelica shrugged, "The quicker I graduate, the quicker I can get a job and move out," Eliza looked hurt, so the twenty-year-old quickly added onto her answer, "Not that I don't want to be here, it's just I'm nearly twenty and you've still got six more monsters to take care of."
Eliza smiled, and kissed her daughter's dark hair, "You stay here as long as you need, Angelica. I'm going to go get Philip, so can you get started on breakfast?"
Angelica nodded and made her way towards the stairs while her mother opened her youngest brother's door as quietly as she could.
"Philip..." Eliza called softly to her son, "It's time to wake up."
The mother of seven, once eight, made her way over to Little Phil's crib, which he slept soundly in. Eliza lowered one side of it, and gingerly picked her youngest up, cuddling his small body close to her's.
When Eliza got downstairs, Philip was still out cold in her arms, and Angelica was just finishing up the batter.
"There's a letter on the counter for you," Angelica said, nodding to an envelope that was sitting in the middle of the counter. Even with all the clutter on the counter, it was hard to miss, for a spot had been cleared away so the envelope was sitting in the middle like an island.
Once Little Phil was placed in the cot that the Hamiltons' kept downstairs, Eliza went to open the letter.
"Who's it from?" Angelica asked from her spot in front of the stove.
Eliza's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion for the second time that morning. "It's from your father." The woman open the letter quickly, her heart beating fast, "I got a call from him this morning, but he sounded strange. I hope he hasn't done anything stupid."
Eliza read the letter quickly, her heart beating out of her chest, panic eating her insides. "You stupid idiot!" She cursed under her breath, so her daughter wouldn't hear.
Alexander's wife pulled out her phone, ready to get him an earful when it rang. Eliza accepted the call and nearly smashed the phone to ear.
"You idiot!" She all but screamed, "Where are you?"
"Eliza, I'm sorry," Alex sounded pained, and his voice was coming out in hoarse whispers, "I had to do it."
"Save it!" Eliza snapped, but her voice dropped to a whisper, "Please.. I-I can't lose you too. Not after..." Eliza's put a hand to her mouth, muffling a sob that came bubbling up.
"My love, my Elizabeth..."
"No. No." Eliza shook her head desperately, her hand laid across her stomach like she was going to be sick, "Don't call me that now. Don't..."
"Mom?" Angelica had turned the stove off, and she cautiously stepped towards her mother. The only other time Angelica saw her mother like this was when Philip died, who was still shaken up as much as Angelica was. Not even when the Reynolds Pamphlet was published, did her mother act like this, "What's happened to Dad? Should I go and wake everyone else?"
Eliza looked up, terror and panic so clear in her eyes, that Angelica actually took a step back.
"Angie. Oh, Angie," Eliza gave her one last desperate look and nearly ran into the next room.
"Please don't do this to me, Philip just turned two. Elizabeth isn't even five yet. And Angelica..." Eliza's voice broke, "She's still healing from Philip, what do you think this is going to do to her? How can I survive with losing you too? All of my family is dying. Mother, John and," Eliza stifled another sob, "my dear Peggy. Father is very sick, and I don't think I'll be able to take another heartbreak like this..."
"I know. I love you, Elizabeth," Alex choked out to his wife, "I don't deserve you, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me."
Eliza let out a small, emotional laugh, but it quickly was muffled. "Please," she begged, "tell me where you are."
The was a short pause, where Eliza could hear coughing and groaning from the other side of the line. "Weehawken," Alex finally whispered.
"What happened?"
"Aaron Burr and I got into a fight. He told me to meet him before dawn, and I didn't know what to expect. Burr is very old fashioned... Th-there was a gunshot, an-and I don't remember what happened next... I-I just needed to hear your voice..." Alexander wanted to continue, but he stopped himself with another round of coughing. Eliza squeezed her eyes shut when she heard him. A painful groan followed after the coughing ended.
"Sh, love," Eliza whispered, heartbroken for her husband, "Save your energy." Before Alex could object, Eliza hung up the phone, slipping it back into her pocket.
Eliza wiped her tears away and smoothed the sundress she was wearing before going back into the room where Angelica and Philip were waiting.
To her surprise, Angelica had gone and woken up all her younger siblings while Eliza finished talking with Alexander.
"Mommy? Why did we have to wake up this early?" Eliza and Alex's only other daughter, Elizabeth looked up at her mother, her dark brown eyes wide.
Eliza's heart broken all over again, and she scooped up her youngest daughter into her arms, holding her close. "Th-there's been a problem." Eliza told the rest of her waiting children, "Your father's been shot."
"What?!" Alexander roared, "Who's the ba-"
"Language," Eliza scolded, "There is a problem, but we do not swear in this household. Alexander is in Weehawken and we're going to meet him at the closest hospital." Eliza turned to her oldest, "Angelica, can you drive the boys? I'll take Philip, Elizabeth, and William."
Angelica nodded, trying to put on a brave face like her mother. Eliza may seem calm and strong on the outside, but on the inside, she's panicking and ready to cry. Angelica was old enough, and had been with Eliza through all the deaths and heartbreaks in her life, and had learned how to see behind the mask, but Eliza was making sure none of her other children had to see it as well.
Eliza stood by the back door with Little Phil in her arms and Elizabeth clinging to her side. The mother of seven accounted for each child as the went through the door. Finally, she buckled Philip and Elizabeth into their car seats and began to drive towards the hospital with William in the front seat with her.
The dark-haired woman pulled out her phone and dialed a number that she knew would always pick up.
"Eliza? What's wrong? You never call before seven!" Angelica's worried voice on the other side of the phone gave Eliza a sense of ease.
"Alexander got into an argument with Aaron Burr, a-and there were guns... He got shot, Angelica," Eliza told her sister, tears threatening to spill again, "The children and I are going to the hospital near Weehawken. C-can you meet me there. I can't do this alone."
"Of course, anything I can do to help Eliza, I will always be there for you," Angelica's voice was gentle, and it calmed Eliza's beating heart.
"Thank you," Eliza breathed, "I'll meet you there."
"Yeah." Eliza hung up and accelerated the car.
The mother looked in the rearview mirror to check on her youngest children. Elizabeth was fidgeting nervously, while Philip had fallen into an uneasy sleep. The two-year-old knew something was wrong, but he just couldn't keep his eyes open. Next to him, William stared out the window, not saying a word.
"It'll be alright, William," Eliza told the seven-year-old.
"No, it won't." He whispered, "You told me it would be alright when Philip died. But it wasn't, so how can I trust you now?"
Eliza's heart broke again the morning, but for her son, "We can only hope and pray, because if we don't have that, then we stumble around blindly, and that's no good."
William only shrugged.
The drive to Weehawken took a little more that forty-five minutes, and Eliza ended up getting to the hospital before either her daughter or her sister. Little Phil was on her hip, and she was holding Elizabeth's hand, who was holding William's.
The mother tried to calm as she made her way to the front desk.
"I'm here to see my husband," She told the woman quickly, "he was shot. My other children and my sister are on the way."
The woman at the front desk nodded, "Name please?"
"Hamilton," Eliza said, taking a shaky breath, "Alexander Hamilton."
The lady's eyes flashed with recognition as she sorted through her files, but she didn't say anything, "He got out of surgery, and he's been placed in room fourteen in the intensive care unit. I'll send you family through when then get here."
Eliza nodded, grabbing her daughter's hand again and leading her through the doors that the woman at the front desk was gesturing to.
The anxious wife burst into the room that her husband was staying in. She dropped Elizabeth's hand and set Philip on the floor so he could wander around the hospital room and Eliza had both hands free. She stepped across the room towards her wounded husband.
"Oh, Alexander..." Eliza's hands flew to her mouth in shock. Alex looked absolutely terrible. His eyes were closed, so Eliza assumed he was sleeping. But Alex's forehead was sticky with sweat, his face was so pale it scared Eliza.
On top of that, a thick layer of bandages was wrapped around Alex's middle, the right side slightly red with dried blood.
"Why, Alex?" Eliza whispered, sitting on the bed. She pushed back his wet hair and rubbed her thumb across his cheek, and Alex leaned into her touch, "Always starting a fight," She joked sadly, "Never could shut your mouth."
"Mommy?" Elizabeth's shaky voice drew Eliza's attention away from her husband, "What happened? Why is Daddy hurt?"
Eliza slid off the bed and knelt so she was eye level with her youngest daughter. "Do you remember what happened with Philip?" She asked gently. William came over, and Eliza held him close.
"Him?" Elizabeth pointed to her younger brother, confused.
Eliza shook her head, smoothing down her daughter's hair, "Your older brother? Before Little Phil was born?" When both Elizabeth and William slowly nodded their heads, Eliza continued, "That's what's happening to Daddy, except, this time, someone, someone was trying to hurt him, not like Philip at the school, when he was protecting other children."
Elizabeth's eyes filled up, and the door opened again. Eliza's other four children rushed into the room, followed closely by their aunt.
Eliza automatically got to her feet and threw herself into her sister's arms. She may have already had eight children, but she still fell back onto her sister in troubled times.
"Angelica, I don't know what to do," Eliza looked back at her husband, sleeping restlessly on the hospital bed, "He's dying, and I can't help him."
"Sh..." Angelica whispered, smoothing her sister's hair, "I know it hurts, but you've got to be strong for your children." Eliza nodded, and squared her shoulders, examining each of her children.
Angie, still healing from her older brother's death, was shivering as she held Philip close in her arms. He squirmed a bit at being held too tight, but quickly sensed his sister's distress and calmed down and buried his small face into her shoulder.
Alexander's face was blank. Eliza could tell he was trying to be strong for his little brothers, but he was ready to collapse and cry himself.
James stood like his brother, but his face was scrunched up in concentration, trying not to cry either. Both boys looked up to their father and wanted to practice the law like he did, so this was so much harder on them.
John was only twelve, so he had less control of his emotions, and tears ran freely down his small face as he clung to Angie's skirts.
William sat on the edge of Alex's bed, his eyes fixated on his father. Even at seven, William remembered the death of Philip, and his ability not to be shaking or crying surprised Eliza.
Elizabeth, however, mirrored her twelve-year-old brother, clutching Eliza's skirt in her little fists.
Bending down, Eliza picked up her youngest daughter and held her close. There was a silence in the room, except for the beeping on Alex's heart monitor. Suddenly, a soft, painful groan drew everyone's attention to Alex.
William's eyes widened and he leaned closer to his father. Alex's eyes fluttered open, and he let out a soft laugh, which caused him to adopt a pained expression. Alex put his hand on his bandages where his wound was, and when he pulled back his hand, everyone's eyes widened in horror. His shaking hand was dotted with wet, sticky blood, and the bandages around Alex's middle began to turn red.
"Someone go get a doctor!" Alexander cried. Being the quick thinkers they were, both Angelica and woman she was named after, dashed to press the button by Alex's bed that was for emergencies. This definitely qualified as one.
A doctor rushed in, followed by a nurse. "What happened?" He asked calmly, but it still came out quick.
"Alexander put a hand over his wound, and there was blood all over his hand!" Eliza's whole body shook.
The doctor nodded, and then proceeded to tell the Hamiltons, plus one Church, that they had to leave Alex's room and go to the waiting room, where they would stay until they were allowed to come back in.
Angelica, Eliza, and her children all waited for the doctors to come and update them on Alex's condition. Both Little Phil and Elizabeth fell asleep in Angie's and Eliza's laps, and it looked like William was close to it when the doctor that was treating Alex came into the waiting room, looking grim.
Eliza shot to her feet, shifting Elizabeth to her hip without even realizing it. "What happened? Is he alright?"
The doctor's eyes quickly scanned the faces of Alex's family. "The bullet hit his liver and diaphragm, and even though Alexander had surgery to remove the bullet, we didn't know the damage to the organs at the time," The doctor seemed to choose his words carefully, "and Alexander had some serious internal bleeding. We tried to do what we could, but he has hours at the most."
Eliza's face paled, and if weren't for her instincts, the mother would have dropped Elizabeth.
"I'd go and say your goodbyes," The doctor looked around at everyone, and Eliza saw his eyes with pity, "I'm sorry for your loss."
The family rushed back into Alex's room, Eliza in the lead like a lioness.
Alex laid on the hospital bed, more sweat on his brow, his face paler, and new bandages around his middle.
With Elizabeth still in her arm, Eliza sat on the left side of the bed, being careful of where she sat. Elizabeth sat in her mother's lap while she leaned over and stroked Alex's cheek with her thumb.
"How are you feeling?" She whispered, moving his hair out of his face again.
Alex groaned as he tried to move into a sitting position.
Eliza tried to smile, but it only wobbled and disappeared again, "That answers my question. Don't stress yourself, you need to save your strength, love."
Angelica came over and sat on Alex's other side, "You stupid man," she scolded, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. You have four children under thirteen to think about!"
Alex shifted until he could see all his children. "I-I'm sorry that," he groaned and put a hand to his side, "that I am causing you pain and grief..."
Alexander suddenly rushed forward and grabbed his father's arm, startling nearly everyone in the room. "You can't die!" The boy demanded, "I still have so much to learn from you!" From behind him, James nodded in agreement.
Alex chuckled, but quickly stopped, as it pained him. "Alexander, you are such a fine young man, better than I could have ever been. It should be you doing the teaching." Alexander blushed slightly, and nodded, a couple of tears rolling down his cheeks.
"James," The third son came forward and grasped his father's hand next to his aunt, while his mother grasped Alex's other hand, "You are only sixteen, yet I know you can make such a difference when you're older. You're a bright young man." James squeezed his father's hand, and Angelica leaned over and hugged him tightly.
"And where's John? My clever little boy." Alex called weakly. John burst into tears and ran over to his mother, who smoothed his hair and rubbed his shoulders, "I bet, that you will be an even better writer than I've ever been. You are so smart and clever in your own little ways, you'll surely blow us all away." John smiled a little, but it quickly faded when Alex's face contorted with pain.
"I don't want you to go," William said softly. It was the first time he spoke since the car, and each time he did, it made Eliza want to cry.
"I don't want to go either," Alex admitted, tears rolling down his pale cheeks, from pain or sorrow, Eliza couldn't tell, "You light up my world, you and your siblings, but you have always been the most adventurous. That's what you are," Alex reached over and tickled his second youngest son, even though it pained him to move, "A little explorer."
With everyone being stressed, and their emotions running high, it caused Philip to start crying, and whimpering, "No, no." While Angie tried to calm him down, his crying only grew louder. Angie got up from the chair by her father's bed and began to walk around the room, attempting to calm her brother down. Eliza could see the desperate look in her eye, and the tears that started spilling, so the mother set Elizabeth down, and went to take Philip from Angie.
Angie gave her mother a thankful look, and took Eliza's spot by Alex, taking his hand into her's as well.
Eliza then took the chair Angie was sitting in. It was close enough that Eliza could touch the bed but far away enough for all the equipment that was hooked up to the hospitalized man.
"Angelica, my oldest girl, my piano star, will you still play when I'm gone?" Alex smoothed her hair down, copying what his wife always did when anyone of the children was upset.
Angie let out a small, airy laugh and smiled, tearing running down her face and falling onto the white bed. "Of course, always. I'll play for you."
Alex turned to look at his oldest daughter's namesake. "Did I do alright?"
Angelica laughed softly. Her eyes darted over to where Eliza sat watching Alex, slightly rocking back and forth with Philip. "Perfect," Angelica joked slightly, "But it would have been better if you didn't go and get shot."
"Yeah, that was a stupid decision on my part," Alex shifted and let out a groan, "I'm thoroughly regretting it."
Alex turned his head and was met with large, concerned brown eyes, identical to his wife's. "There's my little girl," He smiled softly, reaching out to touch her small face, "You make me so helpless," Both Eliza's and Angelica's eyes filled with tears at the word, "You light up my world, and I would be lost without your little bubble of joy," Despite the situation, Elizabeth giggled. Alex glanced at Eliza, "You look so much like your mother, and I'm sure you be just as smart, intelligent, and beautiful as her." Looking alike was an understatement for Eliza and her daughter. Everything about their looks was the same. The same, straight, shiny, soft black hair. The same big brown eyes that welled up when they were upset. The same sweet grin lit up the room they were in. The same look of despair came from two of the people that Alex loved most, as well as everyone else that he cared deeply for.
Alex's eyes traveled around the room, and his gazed landed on Eliza and his youngest son, who had finally calmed down, and was sitting up in Eliza's lap, holding onto anything, which ended up being Eliza's hand and a bunch of her skirt in his small fists.
The dying man's eyes soften, and his started to fill for the first time that morning. Alex opened his mouth to say something, but only a round of coughs that shook his whole body. He made eye contact with his sister-in-law, and after unspoken words passed between the pair, she got to her feet.
"Let's go get some food real quick, children," Angelica took Philip from her sister, and ushered the other six Hamilton children out of the hospital room, leaving the married couple alone to talk.
Once the door was closed, Eliza rushed to Alex's side, tears rolling down her cheeks. Alex reached over and rubbed his thumb across her cheek, wiping the tears away. "Don't cry my love," he murmured, crying as well.
Eliza shook her head, and reached up and held Alexander's hand that was still cupping her face. "I don't know what to do. I can't raise our children alone," she whispered, "Don't leave me without a husband." Alexander's eyebrows scrunched together in distress. He reached up and took Eliza's two hands in his, and she sat down on the bed.
"Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, you are the best woman I have ever had the honor of meeting. You are kind, beautiful, intelligent, amazing, and I was, no, am a fool to hurt you in such ways," Alex ran his finger through his wife's hair, "No one can replace you."
Eliza let out a sob, "Nor you, Alexander. That is why you can't die."
Letting out a low chuckle, Alex's face twisted in pain, but he forced the look away at his wife's worried gaze, "I think Alexander and James will do better at being me."
"Oh, they're such amazing young men, but they are not replacing you." Eliza once again moved Alexander's long, jet black hair out of his pale face. "You made mistakes, but that's what makes you, Alexander Hamilton." Eliza smiled sadly.
Alex shook his head and promptly started coughing into a tissue that was by his bedside. To Eliza's horror, when Alexander pulled the tissue away from his mouth, it had spots of blood dotted all over it. Seeing Eliza's distress, Alex quickly threw the dirty tissue away.
"It's okay," Alexander whispered, gingerly running his thumb across her soft, shaking hand. Tears ran freely down the man's cheeks, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay..." Alex kept whispering this to his wife, who was now weeping, tightly holding onto Alexander's hand. She buried her face in her, and his, hands.
They stayed like this for a minute or two, until Alex's whispers died out. Eliza's head shot up, to see his eyes drooping. Eliza wanted to slap her husband back to full attention, but she knew it wouldn't do any good.
The raven-haired woman shakily pulled out her phone and sent a text to Angelica.
'You might wanto come backnow' And she stuffed the phone back in her pocket, holding Alexander's hand tightly.
"Don't go on me now," Eliza murmured, her whole body shaking, "Hold on, just a little longer."
Alex was breathing heavily. His dark eyes fluttered open and closed. Eliza could tell he was trying desperately to hold onto his life.
"Stupid guns," the man muttered, "Aim at the sky, you stupid man. The children..."
Eliza sat useless at her husband's bedside, her hand cupped Alex's face, and her thumb ran across his cheek, wiping away the tears that escaped.
"Gotta stay awake, watching the children..." Alex's eyes shot open, but they were clouded over. He eyes slowly made their way over to Eliza's face, and he began to weep, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, it's okay.." Eliza murmured, repeating her husband's earlier words, still running her thumb across Alexander's cheek. "You've got nothing," she took a shaky breath, "got nothing to fear," She met Alex's gaze, and his eyes cleared a bit, "I'm here."
"My love," Alex whispered, but he went back to muttering incoherent things. All Eliza could do was sit on Alexander's bedside, rubbing her thumb gently across his cheek.
Eliza was still in the same position when her sister and children opened the door and rushed back in.
Angelica rushed over, completely ignoring her brother-in-law, pulling Eliza into a tight hug. The seven Hamilton children filled in the empty spots around the bed, Philip once again in Angie's arms, and Elizabeth found her way to her mother and squeezed between her aunt and Eliza.
Eliza accepted the hug, tears streaming down her face, making Angelica's shoulder wet, and in turn, Angelica rubbed soothing circles on her younger sister's back.
After a couple of seconds, Angelica forced her sister away and nodded to the worried children.
Angie's gaze was full of raw emotion, while her face was stone. Alexander's eyes seesawed between his mother and father, his eyebrows scrunched together. James stood next to his, tightly holding his older brother's hand, something that he would never do before, or admit to it later. John hugged his older sister's legs, and William had his arms wrapped around himself. Both boys were shaking violently. Elizabeth was still squished between her mother and aunt, content with her spot, but still shivering with anxiety.
Alex's head went from one side to the other, muttering random things. He tried to focus his clouding gaze on any of his children, but half of them would burst into tears and Alex would say things about them or their lives.
The air was already thick with sobs, but what made it worse was when Alex began to happily chat about Philip. Their Philip who had died only three years prior. He went on about him and talked like he was there with the mourning family.
Eliza leaned forward and moved away stray hairs of her husband's face. "He's not here Alexander..." she whispered. It pained the woman to remind Alex, but she still couldn't bare it anymore. Thinking about Philip was especially hard on her heart at the moment.
Alex's eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows scrunched together, "What do you mean?" He whispered, his voice cracking.
Eliza paused, her eyes darting around the room, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, Alexander grabbed his father's hand, drawing his attention. "Why don't you tell me about that essay you were writing, Dad?"
Almost automatically, Alex's whole face lit up like a child at Christmas. "I was writing about racism here in New York," The quickly dying man animatedly talked about his most recent essay, but after a minute his breathing grew ragged, and Alex had to stop talking so he could actually breathe.
The Hamiltons, plus one Church, sat in silence, not knowing what to do or say. Only the steady beeping of Alex's heart monitor made a sound in the room, besides Alex's heavy breathing. Eliza closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. It felt like the air was pushing down on her shoulders, and Eliza found that she was having trouble taking a breath as well. Eliza squeezed Alex's hand and he turned his gaze onto her.
"Hey," Alex whispered. He had a dreamy look on his face, and he gave a goofy smile to everyone, "How are you doing?"
Eliza shot a glance at Angelica, but she shook her head and shrugged, eyes wide. Turning back to her husband, Eliza put on a smile. It was pained, but in his delirious state, Alex didn't notice. "I'm doing..." Eliza paused, not knowing what to say, "alright. I'm a bit shaken up, but I'm doing better, I guess." The mother looked away from Alex and scanned over each of her children. John, Elizabeth, and Philip were all crying, while Alexander, James, and William were trying to conceal their emotions. However, their eyes showed everything the boys were thinking. There was pain, sorrow, and hurt in their eyes, and every once in awhile, one of the boys would squeeze his eyes shut or rub at them.
Lastly, Eliza's wandering eyes landed on her daughter. Her eyebrows were furrowed together, and she had a hard expression. Angie was the only Hamilton child that could copy their mother and keep any emotion out of her eyes.
Alex hummed, but it came out broken and out of tune. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, I know," Eliza's voiced cracked, and she squeezed Alex's hand. She bit her lip, and squeezed her eyes shut to keep herself from collapsing into a heap.
"Dad?" Angie whispered, "Dad, please hang on. You need to suck it up and heal." Angie lip wobbled, but not in the way a child's would before they had a tantrum, but in the way that you were holding back tears.
Alex looked over, and his eyebrow scrunched together. He reached up his shaky hand and cupped Angie's cheek. "I-I'll try; anything for my family."
Without realizing it, Angie reached up and placed her trembling hand and placed it over her father's. She began to hum a tune that all the Hamilton children knew. "Un, deux, trois," John joined in with his older sister, and James followed closely behind, "Quatre, cinq, six," Elizabeth and Philip joined their siblings, but it was shaky and not on the right pitch. "Sept, huit, neuf."
Through the tears that she couldn't keep from flowing, Eliza forced a small smile, "Good."
From where she sat, a little off to the side, Angelica watched the family sing the simple song. She had heard it before, of course. It was the same one that she, Eliza, Peggy, and Catherine, who was born when Angelica was already twenty-five, sang and learned on the piano.
At this point, all of the Hamilton children had joined in, and Eliza and Alex let tears run freely as they listened to their children sing. "Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf," They sang the same words, but the notes were different.
Alex smiled weakly, and he whispered incoherent words. Eliza tried her hardest not to sob. Angie's voice slowly cracked and died. Soon, everyone else fell out of the song, and only Alex remained, saying things under his breath. There was not a dry eye in that small hospital room, even the man who was dying was crying.
Alex let out a breath, and he gave his family a lopsided smile that he couldn't hold for more than a couple seconds. He said something to them, but it was too quiet and airy to hear.
Alexander Hamilton's eyes fluttered closed, and he took in a long breath that shook his body. The family watched as their brother-in-law, father and husband's chest fell, one last time.
Thanks for reading! Sorry for making you cry, but I'm not really sorry. ;)
But, because of this, I have become the character killer in my group of writing friends. xD
Have a nice day, or a nice as it can be after a day ruiner like this...