George was passing by the room, reading a letter and when he heard the screaming coming from the room, he immediately ran in and to the bed, holding his shoulder firmly. "Son! SON!" He yelled, trying to calm him down.
Lafayette gasped, opening his eyes. The fear in his eyes melted into relief and pain while tears filled them. He wrapped his trembling arms around Washington and sobbed, slurring together apologizes in french.
George was a little stunned at how weak and scared the young man was, but wrapped his strong arms around him and held him close. Small clicks of heels against the hard floor were heard and the door swung open to reveal none other than Martha. "Dear, I heard some screaming is everything o-" She gasped and instantly ran in. "Oh, darling, whatever is the matter!" She cried out with worry, wrapping her arms around him also.
Lafayette soon calmed down enough to speak, even if the words didn't quite come out clear, "S'il vous... s'il vous plait... n-ne partez pas aussi... please!" he pleaded in his delirium.
Martha slipped between the two, only so her arms could hug Lafayette closer. "Of course not, love..." she whispered to him and looked at her husband with worry. The poor thing probably had a nightmare.
"Lafayette, are you alright?" Washington asked him.
Lafayette only hummed in response, letting a small hiccup escape him. His head was pounding violently all he could do hold-whoever he was holding-tightly and mumbled another apology.
Martha slowly rubbed his back and gently kissed the crown of his head. "Shh... its alright Lafayette... there is nothing to be afraid of," she whispered softly in his ear.
"Martha, what's wrong with him?" Washington asked her and she sighed.
"He had a nightmare George," she responded.
He couldn't hear them talking, for his senses were dulling. Soon he let out a breath of air and went limp in Martha's arms, face flushed with fever.
"Lafayette..?" She called softly and felt his cheeks. "Oh my, his fever is worse.." she mumbled sadly.
"Fever?" George asked and she blinked, looking at him. "It's nothing, dear. He is just a little warm," she replied and he nodded slowly.
Lafayette's mind was nicer to him this time, and he slept soundly. He dreamed of nothingness; everything was a blissful black.
Martha heard a soft snore and sigh from him and she had a small laugh. "The boy is asleep..." she whispered and slowly laid him back down, but not putting the covers on him because of his fever. Standing up, she motioned for her husband to follow her out of the room.
When he woke up, he was lucky to have the bucket next to his bed to throw up in. Once his stomach settled, he sat up, swayed for a moment, then went to go check the time. There was only a half an hour before the party, and he felt like he had been trampled by a horse. Nonetheless, he began to get dressed for the party.
A gentle knock was heard at the door. "Lafayette dear? It's Martha, are you awake yet?" She asked.
Lafayette wiped the sweat from his brow and peered in the mirror. He was deathly pale and the bags under his eyes were dark, but his smile was convincing. He supposed that was an up. "Oui, Madame! Un m- Uh o-one moment!" Pulling on his shirt, and speaking in the correct language, he turned back to the door, "Come in!"
Martha walked in, wearing an Exquisite dress. Beautiful enough to look like a queen. She smiled warmly at him and closed the door behind her. "How are you, dear?" She asked him, making him lean down to her small and petite frame. "Oh my, you are pale as snow!" She exclaimed, cupping his face as she examined him.
"But I feel f-fine now, Madame," he countered, but couldn't stop himself from shivering to go against his point.
She pursed her lips. "Lafayette please stop lying. It breaks my heart seeing you like this," she said, sounding pained.
Lafayette saw the look in her eyes and sighed, closing his, "I'm just a bit nauseous is all, I should be fine for the party." In all honest, he himself didn't actually like parties. They had dancing, lots of people talking, and way too many crowds. The only good thing that came out of them was wine. He would be much more useful back at camp; Planning and training and fighting and- Wow, did he really think war was better than a party?
...
Yes, yes he did.
Martha sighed in defeat, "Alright dear. I had your uniform cleaned and pressed. I want you looking your best tonight, and also to have fun. This is a time for you boys to relax from that blasted war." She told him, pulling out his uniform in the closet and laid in on the bed.
"Merci beaucoup Mam- M-Madame!" he stammered quickly and moved briskly towards the bed in hopes to hide his now bright red face.
'She is not your mother. She does not want to be your mother. Your mother is dead. And maybe she didn't want to be your mother either-' The unpleasant thoughts raced through his head and tried to break his walls and make him crumpled into a sobbing heap. But he kept his walls up while the thought made cracks in his walls, in his dam, and threaten to spill out the water. 'You have no mother. Get over it already.'
As she was flattening the small creases, she stopped, hearing the small slip up from him and about-faced. "What were you about to call me dear?" She asked him, but not in an angry way, more curious.
"M-ma'am... I was going to say, ma'am," he winced at his voice cracking at the beginning of the statement, but he finished the sentence strong. Lafayette was shaking more now, biting his tongue in an attempt to get himself out of his head. It wasn't working.
Martha's eyes saw right through the white lie and stepped towards him. "La-" she stopped herself, speaking with a more gingerly tone. "Gilbert. Do you see me as..?" She asked.
His chest felt tight, "I-I'm so sorry, Madame Washington. I didn't mean to- Well I do see yo- Mon dieu, I'm so stupid..." He rambled as he took about 3 steps back away from Martha with his hands on his head. He could still hear his mother singing in his mind.
"Frere Jacque... Frere Jacque... Dormez-vous, dormez-vous..."
...It made him want to scream.
Martha saw him, he still looked so weak and frail like the young man he was. She quickly stepped closer to him and cupped his cheeks. "Listen to me. You are NOT stupid. Don't you EVER try to belittle yourself." She said firmly, but her voice was soft. "You are an intelligent, handsome, and brave young man." She said sweetly to him, hopefully calming him down.
"I-I..." Lafayette hugged her, "Thank you... so much..." His voice was low and he let a few tears slipped down his cheeks.
Martha smiled lovingly and held him close to her, making him lean down because she was a small bean. "Of course, dear... George and I worry about you, you know? We want was is best for you," she said gently and slowly wiped his years away. "Lafayette, we think of you as our son..."
"I never thought I could be so blessed to have you and His Excellency think of me in such a way." This was the most emotional he's been since, well, it felt like forever.
Martha chuckled lightly and gently cupped his face, making sure his cheeks were dry. "Oh, sweetheart... I Would be honored to have you, and call you as my own. You are mannered, skilled, and such a nice boy," she beamed.
The Frenchman blushed, "M-merci, Madame... I'm..." Oh, fuck English. "flatté!"
She smiled warmly. "Mother." She softly corrected him and gently kissed his cheek. "Oh, and dear..? If I may ask, what was your nightmare about?"
Lafayette swallowed. 'Mother,' he thought and thankfully kept himself from shuddering. "I... I can't really remember..."
'You can't remember her limp body? Her cold, sweating hands and her pale white face?'
"It's kind of a blur..."
'Every time you imagined your father from the stories, the bullet moved so slow... You couldn't have missed it. And that shooter sure didn't. Wonder if next time you'll be able to see Washington get shot. Will it be just as slo-'
"S-sorry..."
'Damn right you should be.'
He didn't realize how badly he was shaking until the damn voice stopped antagonizing him.
"Oh dear, why are you shaking?" She asked, her voice raising a little. "Please calm down love, if you don't remember, that is perfectly fine!" She told him, resting her palm on his cheek and he was breaking out in a cold sweat. "Oh Lafayette... you are still so very ill..." she said gravely.
He moved away from her touch, "I'll b-be fine... Mama." He finished with slight uncertainty. The world stuttered, it was all like static. Martha's stunning dress was replaced with yet another breath-taking one, but that wasn't the reason his breath was gone. The figure was taller than Martha and undeniably looked like him... The static let him see his mother smile, but cruel enough to cover her eyes. Her lively, bright brown eyes that he missed so much. The scene passed and Lafayette's mind returned to reality, and he just wanted to get in bed to dream of his parents, both pairs, alive and well together. 'My mother would have loved you' he almost said, almost.
Martha was a little hurt when he pushed her touch from him, but her heart nearly melted when he spoke as she smiled ear to ear about it. "Okay dear... if you say so..." she said hesitantly and hugged him. "Now come on, let's get you dressed," she said in a chipper mood, trying to lighten him up.
Lafayette wished his smile was more genuine, but his thoughts since he woke up have been nothing but depressing, it seemed. He let her help him pull on his coat, which was looked somewhat bigger since he had lost weight from the lack of food he has been able to keep down.
"Here we go," she said, having him hold his arms out as she dressed him, putting the coat on him and straightened it out, then buttoned two of the middle buttons and smiled, clasping her hands together. "Oh Lafayette, you look absolutely handsome." She complimented.
He examined himself and his smile became more natural, "Thank you." He responded, then took a little bow and looked up at her with a goofy grin.
She lightly giggled at his goofy grin. "Try not to charm too many of my lady guests tonight, hm?" She asked playfully, knowing his rep around women.
Heat rushed to his cheeks and he glanced away from Martha. "I am a married man, so stop me if I do charm a woman under the influence of alcohol... or of friends," he laughed.
She crossed her arms. "You can be sure that I will, Lafayette. George knows PERFECTLY well what would happen if I found him 'charming' another woman." She said with a smile, but it was a somewhat intimidating tone. The door slowly creaked open. "Martha dear? The guests are- Oh, Lafayette, it's good to see you up and standing." George said with a smile as he walked in. "Oh hello, dear. We were just talking about you."
"Bonsoir, sir," he greeted with a smile, "*insert Lafayette somehow telling George he looks handsome without sounding gay here*"
"Thank you, son. But please any compliment to me should be going towards my lovely lady as well. She insists on what I am wearing now," he said and Martha put her hands on her hips.
"And is there something wrong with me taste, Mr. Washington?" She asked, only play fighting with him and the man had a smile as he walked to her.
"Of course not, Miss Washington." He hummed and kissed her cheek, making her light up.
Lafayette smiled at the pair, now wondering how his biological parents interacting. Had they been like this? Did they fight a lot? His thoughts were cut off by the familiar yelling of his friend, John, followed by shouts of denial and laughing from Alexander. His guess was either Alex had taken his ribbon out of his hair or made a horrendous joke about turtles. Or both.
"...That's what I came to talk to you about," George mumbled.
She sighed, "At it again, hm?"
"At least it's not Hamilton and Jefferson... then again, Thomas hasn't arrived yet," George said tiredly.
Martha giggled lightly and shook her head. "Oh, I will handle them, George. I can handle you, can't I?" She lightly teased and he sighed, looking at her, and as if instantly his mind was at ease.
"You're right once again, Martha," he said lovingly and glanced at Lafayette and was a little embarrassed at his affection. "Forgive me, uh- Lafayette why don't you take the missus downstairs, and I'll be right down. There is something I need from my office."
"Shall we?" the Marquis offered his arm.
Martha smiled kindly at Lafayette and wrapped her arm around his. "Thank you, dear." She said then stared at George straight in the eye. "George. This is a dinner party. And what is our rule?" She asked him and his lips tightened.
"...no business?" He answered slowly and she nodded.
"Yes. This is a time for you to relax, and I MEAN it. If it is so important, wait till most of the guests have gone." She said firmly.
"Of course, Martha." He said, hesitantly. For her height, she was still intimidating.
Lafayette couldn't help but chuckle at them, but then he remembered his own plan. If he couldn't get a hold of John, Alex, or Hercules, he was going to come back to his room to respond to letters and plan. But that was after he'd have a drink.