Disclaimer: I own nothing from Hamilton An American Musical. I'm only borrowing characters and lyrics and putting my own story line. Enjoy!

~ Helpless ~

"Down for the count and I'm drownin' in em. I'm helpless, I'm so into you. Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit, I'm helpless."

Eliza found herself sitting alone at a table near the center of the West mess hall. She never took her eyes off the main door except to keep glancing at her watch for the time. It was only ten past six and she had shown up at a quarter til, but still…she was nervous he wouldn't show.

She didn't know what she was doing exactly. Meeting him, Alexander, again like this. Especially when she learned that he had no memories of who he was, of his past life. Of her. Which stung more than she imagined it would. It wasn't like he forgot on purpose, her Alexander would never do that. And he would certainly never play dumb, wouldn't even let the notion of him being anything less than perfectly aware present itself. So what had happened?

Eliza had spent the first fourteen years of her life in ignorant bliss. For all she knew she was just Elizabeth Skylar, second daughter of Phillip Skylar, sister of both Angelica and Peggy, and a normal teenage girl. But around her fifteenth birthday she had a vivid dream of someone like her, but not her at the same time. She saw visions of her and her sisters in weird dresses, men in uniforms, and one particular young man always writing. And when she woke up, she knew she was a different person. Or had been a different person.

It was only later that she discovered that Angelica already had the same revelations and Peggy wasn't far behind. For being the youngest sister and the one most overlooked, Peggy was almost always ahead of the curve. She just wouldn't stand for anything else.

Then came the boys. Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan had been a welcome addition into their lives and solidified the fact that they weren't crazy. It had been a good few years in school with all of them together again. They had stuck together and built friendships that came so naturally. As all teens did they went to see movies, ate junk food, went to parties, and just passed the time. Sometimes it was like the past hadn't even happened. Other times it seemed that was all they could think of. Especially when it came to looking for Alexander, only to come up short. But for everything else? Life was pretty normal for the small group of friends. Then Angelica went off to college and did something unexpected.

She brought Aaron Burr back for Spring Break.

His existence wasn't a surprise. Angelica had called her and Peggy (who would see to it the guys were told) the same day she met Aaron at school. Then she called again when Aaron had informed Angelica about Jefferson, Madison, and Washington. But to think she actually thought it was a good idea to bring him home shocked her. Angelica usually had more tact than that, but seeing as it was nearing the end of the school year her sister was most likely running out of patience.

It didn't go over well with the guys that he was there. Angelica and himself seemed to have reached an uneasy friendship and didn't outright hate each other. Peggy, while she had been upset to learn of Alexander's fate, never held it against him. It wasn't forgiveness in any sense. More of an understanding that two grown men in a past life made less than great decisions and each paid a different price for it. Alexander with his life and family. Aaron with his reputation, history forever painting him in all his mistakes, made him the villain in Alexander's story. Accepting all of this, Peggy made it her mission to keep the guys in line and off Burr's back. It almost didn't work, Aaron had been ready to leave their house before she stopped him.

Forgiving Aaron Burr was something she had done in her past life. It hadn't been easy nor quick, but she did it. More for herself than him, to be able to let go of all the hate and despair she felt made her live better. Eliza could tell the weight that came off Aaron's shoulders when she told him this was huge. Like he had carried the burden too long, that he did regret what he did. She was glad she had been able to tell him. A little pang of guilt hit her when she realized if she had told him this in the past, that she had forgiven him, maybe his current self wouldn't have had to feel that burden at all. But he did shoot her husband and all, so she could live with it.

Now sitting and waiting for Alexander to come or not to come was a weight on her shoulders. Although she contributed some of the feeling to guilt. She hadn't told anyone what she was doing. Eliza knew that everyone was out and about looking for the runaway former Secretary of the Treasury, worried out f their minds. And here she was, knowing that he would probably be here and didn't say a word to anyone at all. After Peggy and their father left to return home, Eliza had told Angelica that she was exhausted and needed to lay down for a bit. Angelica had bought the lie easily and walked her to her dorm room before leaving to join up with the search party. Only after ten minutes did she change and flee to the mess hall.

But what if it was all for nothing? What if he didn't come?

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" a voice said from in front of her. Her heart stopped.

Lifting her eyes up from where they had drifted back down to her watch, she met those warm brown eyes again. Alexander looked more tired than earlier, the slight bags under his eyes more prominent. But she had gotten used to them in the past and they had endeared themselves as part of his good looks. It still didn't change the fact he clearly needed sleep.

She gave him a small smile. "Oh, I'm afraid it is. You see, I'm meeting someone for dinner. Although he is running a bit late."

Taking the seat, he gave a smile of his own. "Well now that is entirely rude of him. I might just have to stay until he gets here and tell him that myself. A gentleman never keeps a lady waiting. Especially for a first date." He sends her a wink that causes heat to rise across her face.

"Are we counting this as a date then?"

"If you want to, yes."

"Seems a little fast, we did just meet today." She argued lightly, but there was no force behind it. Honestly, she was finding the whole situation exciting.

He merely shrugs. "I live fast and don't slow down. I don't see a point in not voicing what I want. If you don't find it too forward, I would love to count this as a first date." He reaches across the table and gently grabs her hand in his.

'Oh lord, he's still a huge flirt!' The thought races through her mind at a million miles per hour. 'And I'm falling for it, again!' But on the plus side, this is exactly what she wants. His attention, his craziness, and most importantly, him. Even if she has yet to have him completely.

The blush is still there, she can feel it, but so is the smile that is growing by the minute. "I'd like that."

His smile matches her own. "Good. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starving and they're serving chicken quesadillas. Not authentic ones, but close enough as we're going to get this far north of the border."

Their hands let go as they get up and into line for food. Eliza misses the warmth instantly.

"Have you had real ones before?"

Grabbing a tray and handing it to her he nods. "The island I'm from has a mix of South American cultures so the way to make food is taught and handed down from the older generations. An old neighbor of mine used to make the best arroz con pollo." His accent thickens, and she feels her insides melt just a bit.

They go through the line and grab whatever smells good and paying with their student cards. Alex tried to pay for hers, but she refused. "I appreciate it Alexander, I do, but that is what our meal points are for after all."

His smile waivered a little before she had a wonderful idea. "But you know, there is an ice cream parlor just a block off campus. It's a staple here and most students go to it or so my sister tells me. If you have room after this, you can treat me to a cone."

He seemed to brighten at that. "It would be a pleasure to indulge your sweet tooth Eliza and please, call me Alex."

The night went quickly after that. They ate their food in the mess hall while they discussed their majors and plans for extracurriculars. Eliza was memorized at the same passion Alex had for his studies as he had for his work in the past. When she asked about his plans for the debate club his eyebrows twitched. He muttered something too fast to fully understand, but she did catch a few words such as 'stalker', 'jerk', and 'Thomas'. She only had to guess that he meant Jefferson and that at some point they had met. Thank god she wasn't around for it.

He in turn asked about her plans and she happily told him. She didn't have any clubs in mind that she might join so far as she wanted to focus on her studies. Eliza told him about her decision to study Psychology, mainly children's psychology. She wanted to help as many as she could and knew that their mental needs often went unaided. Deep down she wondered what could have been different if that kind of help had been around in their past. They both did lose their mothers at young ages and Alex lost so much more along the way.

In no time at all they had finished their meals and were heading to the ice cream parlor. She kept an eye out for her friends as they were probably still running around campus. Eliza had tried to be discreet about it, so she looked only when Alex wasn't looking at her. Which was a problem, because the boy seemed unable to take his eyes off her. This was a problem she could live with. Definitely.

After reaching their destination and enjoying having Alex hold the door for her, they finally put their orders in. As she had promised, Eliza allowed Alex to pay for hers. A simple cone of vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Alex himself had gotten a cone too, but his was chocolate chip cookie dough.

"The only thing better than chocolate is chocolate in cookie dough form." He explained as he took a large bite out of the ice cream. Just watching him do it made her teeth hurt, but she had to laugh at his logic. Noticing he had gotten some of his treat on his nose, she reached out and wiped it off with her finger. His eyes were wide, but only got wider when she stuck her finger in her mouth.

"You're right. It is way better this way." Eliza sent him a mischievous grin. She could play the flirt game too. Turning she headed for the door, when she didn't hear his footsteps she looked back over her shoulder. "It's nice out tonight, no point in sitting inside while we eat."

That got him moving as he once again opened the door for her. They made their way back to campus, alternating between eating their cones and talking about random things. It was nice, simple, but after so long of being apart, to Eliza it was everything.

After getting back to their dorm (she had told him she was on the fourth floor when he mentioned he now resided in Franklin) they took the stairs instead of the elevator. Just to have a few more minutes together and it was worth it. All too soon they reached her floor and she pulled out her key.

All the doors in the stairwell had locks that required the keys of the people who lived on each floor. So someone who lived on the second floor couldn't unlock the door on the fifth floor and so on. Even the elevators had a lock system after a certain time of night. A keyhole sat next to each floor button and when the locks were active, you had to turn your key next to the button you wanted to press. The only difference is that a single key could unlock any button, but not any door on the stairs.

"I guess this is goodnight." Alex said as he took her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips before pressing a quick kiss to it. "I had fun tonight. Would I be wrong to assume this won't be our last date?"

"Not even close." Her blush was back, but she tried to look unaffected. It would only feed his ego. Using her free hand, she took out her phone. "What's your number?"

They exchanged numbers and feeling bold enough, Eliza leaned in to give him a small kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for tonight. I'll text you tomorrow." She unlocked the door and stepped into her hallway. As the door shut behind her she caught a last glimpse of him.

His reddened ears and wide grin were the last she saw before the door closed.

Author's Note: I decided to have an ice cream date between Eliza and Alex because Lin once did an interview and was asked about meeting his wife. They had met in high school, but nothing came of it until they met again as adults. He mentions that their first date was getting ice cream, and how that one date turned into a six year marriage and a son. Thought it would be cute to bring that into the story.