Wednesday, March 23rd was supposed to be a normal day, but it couldn't be from the moment that a shot rang out in the halls of the high school. John Laurens was sitting in his office when he heard it. He immediately jumped out of his chair and ran to his secretary's desk and said over the announcements, "The school is on lock down. This is not a drill," as calmly as he could possibly manage.

His secretary, Jane, had already called 911 and they set off the emergency system in the school. The two of them were able to quickly get outside because of the proximity of the office to one of the entrances of the school. Law inforcement told John that he couldn't evacuate any of the students until they were aware of what was happening inside.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Laurens, but any one of those kids could be hiding a gun in their jacket. Once we figure out where the threat is coming from, we'll have a better idea of when we can get the kids out of the school."

"You don't understand! My kids are in there!" He almost corrected himself, but it didn't matter right in that moment whether Philip and Angie were his kids or not. He wanted them out of there.

"Mr. Laurens, we're tapping into the security feed right now to try to assess the situation. We'll let you know when we can get them out as soon as we can." With that, the man walked away.

The district was busy sending out messages to the parents to inform them of the situation, but John decided to make a personal call to Alex. He needed him here now more than ever.

"Burr, how many times did I tell you that I needed that report by one o'clock today?" Alex yelled, slamming his papers down on the desk. It had been an insane morning. The press had been all over his ass about rising tensions between a large company and George's campaign.

"Hamilton you told me once among the multiple other things that needed to be finished today. It slipped through. I'll get it done by the end of today," Burr snipped. Everyone was on edge that day.

"Now, Aaron, I needed it now!" He ran his hands through his hair in frustration as his phone began to ring with John's name on the screen. "I need to take a phone. Just, get out of my office," he said through gritted teeth. Aaron turned on one foot and left while biting his tongue.

"Hey John," Alex sighed. "Listen, I'm really swamped here. I don't have much time-"

"Alex, a gun went off in school. Someone has a gun. The kids are on lock down inside-"

"What?" Alex asked with urgency, cutting him off. He didn't hear the beep of the incoming call from his kids. All he could hear was white noise.

"You should really come down here, Alex. I don't know what's going to happen. I need you. Our- your- kids need you," John insisted.

"I'll be there as fast as I can," Alex replied, completely stunned. "It's going to be okay, John. We'll get them out of there."

"Hurry, Alex."

Alex hung up the phone and stuffed it into his back pocket, not even bothering to pack up his things before he ran out of his office and into George's. He didn't notice the notification of a missed call from his son.

"There's been a shooting at the school," he said, completely out of breath. "I have to go."

George stood up and motioned for him to go. "Take care of your kids, Alex. Call me if you need me, alright?" Alex barely heard the end of his sentence, as he was already halfway out the door.

On Alex's way to the school, Angelica called him in a panic. She received the automatic message from the school and told him that she would be down there right away, and that she was bringing someone. When he asked who it was, she didn't answer, but he didn't care. It didn't matter who she brought. He needed her.

John was pacing on the school grounds when Alex arrived. His Vice Principal was taking care of most of the questions from parents because John couldn't really function. It had been ten minutes and law enforcement still had nothing to tell them.

Alex ran up to John and wrapped him in a hug, squeezing him tighter than normal. His tie was loose around his neck and his long hair hung around his shoulders even though it was usually up in a tight ponytail. It fell out when Alex was on the way to the school, and he didn't bother to fix it.

"Has anything changed?" Alex asked, looking up at John with a bit of hope behind his eyes. When John shook his head and said no, it was shattered.

Suddenly, Alex's sadness turned to rage as he ran up to the chief and yelled, "What's going on in there? You have to get my kids out!" John grabbed Alex's arm to hold him back from physically getting up in the man's face.

"Sir, we're doing the very best we can. The kids are our number one priority. Whoever is in the school hacked our system under our noses. We're trying to get into the feed," the man said as calmly as he could.

"Go in there. Get them out," Alex replied through gritted teeth.

"We're doing what's best for the entirety of the student body, Mr. Hamilton." Alex walked away in anger, thinking that they weren't doing enough to save his kids. He was about to grab a gun and go in there himself.

Then, his anger turned to sadness as Alex fell apart into John's shoulder and sobbed, "I can't lose them too, John. First Eliza and now- I can't lose them."

John held the back of Alex's head against his chest and rested his chin on top of it. "You're not going to lose our-" he corrected himself, "your- kids, Alex. I promise."

Alex broke away from John's chest and looked up into the man's eyes. "They're ours, John," he stated.

"Alex…" John trailed off. "I didn't mean to pressure you."

"You're not pressuring me, John," he insisted. "After today, they're ours. If anything happens to them, they're not just mine. They're ours. They're going to need you as much as they need me." John smiled and pulled Alex back into him. It was a small ray of light surrounded by a tragedy.

Angelica arrived a minute or so later with Thomas Jefferson by her side. Alex wanted to yell, he wanted to scream at her for not telling him, but he couldn't. He was just thankful that she was there. Every time he looked at her, he saw Eliza. Now more than ever, they needed the spirit of Eliza.

"Mr. Laurens! We got connection to one of the security cameras. One of the cameras to one of the classrooms was left untouched." Alex, Angelica, Thomas and John ran over to the man's side and looked at the screen. They saw their children cowered in a corner, scared for their lives.

"There they are!" Alex exclaimed, putting a hand over his mouth and gripping John's with the other. "God, they look so scared," he whispered.

"My boy," Thomas whispered.

"We're going to get those kids out of there," Angelica said with a determined look in her eye.

Then, they watched as two huge men with guns burst through the door. This wasn't a troubled kid going on a rampage. These were adults on a mission. The chief walked away from the scene, yelling orders at his troops, preparing to enter the school and take out the threat.

"Do you have audio?" John asked at an incredibly loud volume. The man in front of the computer typed out a few controls and after a few seconds they were able to hear every word.

"Who in here is a Hamilton?" They heard the man scream. Alex's eyes were glued to the screen. All around them, men were preparing to enter the building, but what happened next caused them to pause and rethink their actions.

"Come on, loves, don't give up. Don't give in," Alex whispered. John gripped him tight, wondering why on Earth they would be looking for their kids. They watched Philip raise a shaky hand. "Fuck, Philip! This isn't the time to be brave!"

Immediately they heard Angie scream, "No!" Alex began cursing under his breath as they ripped his daughter from her brother's arms

"Alex, why do they want your kids?" Angelica asked, completely horrified. Everyone around them was thinking the exact same thing.

Alex didn't answer because he watched his daughter be forced down onto her knees with a gun to her head. They said they weren't going to hurt her, but that was clearly a bold faced lie. Then, they started talking about Alexander himself. They said that they wanted something from him. Alex's eyes widened as he realized to what he was referring.

When Philip called him, he picked up on the first ring. "Phillip? Angie? Are you okay?" He knew perfectly well that they weren't, but it was the only thing he could say in such a panic.

"Alexander Hamilton, you have made a big mistake," the man stated. A lump formed in Alex's throat. He was going to feign innocence for as long as he could.

"What are you doing with my kids?" Alex screamed. John held onto Alex's shoulder. Angelica and Thomas stood on his other side, their arms linked together in fear. They wanted their kids back.

"You have a file. You know the one we're talking about. The one you're not supposed to have," The man stated.

Alex didn't even think before he replied, "I don't know what you're talking-"

"Yes! You do!" The man interjected with a scream, staring at the phone. Alex looked up at the screen and saw the intensity in the shooter's eyes. He looked crazy. He was working for someone that caused him more fear than the armed forces outside. "Either you give us the file or your children get shot. The girl is first. You have a half an hour."

Alex tried to reply, but the phone was clicked off and there was nothing. Alex crouched down onto his knees and began to let out choked sobs.

"Mr. Laurens, we can't enter the school. There's a high risk of the shooter firing on Mr. Hamilton's daughter, son, and possibly others." John was only half listening to the police chief. He was staring at his Alexander, thinking of his children. He gave the man a slight nod.

"Alexander, what file is he talking about," Thomas Jefferson said through gritted teeth. He knew that if they couldn't get to Hamilton, his son would be next. His son was all he had besides Angelica.

"The Davidson File," Alex said between his sobs. Thomas put his hands on his head and ran them through his hair. The Davidson file was full of secrets within the banking community in the United States. They were going to use it to improve the financial system for the people. It was top secret. George had promised him that nobody knew that they had acquired it.

"I'm calling George," Thomas quickly replied, stepping away from the scene. Alex looked up to watch the screen again. He saw his daughter shaking in fear, still down on her knees and his son being restrained by a girl he recognized to be the daughter of Aaron Burr. They all had tears in their eyes.

"Alexander, can you hear me?" George said over the speakerphone. "Alexander I'm on my way, can you hear me?" He repeated.

"Yes, sir, I can hear you. We're giving them anything they want," Alex demanded. "We're giving them the file."

"Alexander, we can't do that. There's a way we can get out of this-" George said as calmly as possible.

"No! We're not risking my children's lives, George!" Alexander screamed, his throat raw. There was a pause over the phone.

"With all due respect sir, my son is in there as well. Aaron's too. For once Alexander and I are on the same page. We need to send them this file," Thomas said in distress.

"You'll lose your jobs," George said. "I'll lose mine."

"Send it," Alexander said immediately. "There's more to life than this campaign, George."

With that, the George hung up the phone and called their team and ordered them to send the file to the company that the shooters worked for. When the man with the gun received the call, he let the children out of the room and the men themselves were immediately seized by the police.

"Dad!" Angie screamed, running to him. Philip was close behind.

"My love," Alex replied softly. He cupped her face and wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked at him with so much love, he just couldn't stand it, even though it was his fault she was in that room in the first place.

Philip went straight to John. As John wrapped his arms around him, his whole body relaxed. They were out of that room. His sister was safe. Theodosia was safe. He shook as John held him. Still, all he could see was the barrel of that gun. "Shh… It's okay. You're safe now," John whispered into his hair.

As both children pulled away from their hugs, they looked to each other and all four of them came together and just held one another. Nobody wanted to let go ever again. Angelica came over to them after a moment and they just stayed there, together.

Thomas was holding his son. Aaron was holding his daughter. Too many secrets had been revealed in such a little amount of time.