As John sat in a taxi on the way back to his house, he stared at his phone screen waiting patiently for a text or call from Alex to know that things went well. He loved the direction he was heading with Alex, especially through all of the shit he had been through these past few months. Through everything, Alex always made time for him and somehow still loved him.

For a while after James did unmentionable things to Alex, he was hesitant in touching or kissing him in anyway. He was afraid that if he went too fast, Alex wouldn't want to be with him anymore. But, even after everything, Alex was never hesitant with John. He was the one person Alex never doubted, and for that he couldn't have been more grateful.

Finally, while sitting in traffic during the long ride home, John's phone finally lit up with a picture of Alex on the screen. He quickly accepted the call. "Hey, Alex. How'd it go?"

"Really well. Better than I ever would have imagined, actually. I think this is real, John. I think I'm part of a family," Alex replied. John could practically hear the smile on his face through the phone.

"That's amazing," John beamed.

"I know. We're going to go watch Harry Potter now, but I ran out before it started so that I could call you."

"Oh, Alex, I'm so happy for you. Go watch your movie now, okay?" John insisted.

"Okay," Alex said. "I love you."

"I love you too." John couldn't wipe the smile from his face.

The traffic he and the cabbie were sitting in was immense. The way people drive in New York City is insane. They accelerate at the drop of a dime and are constantly slamming on the breaks. John much preferred to ride the subway, but his house was pretty far away from the Miranda's, and it was getting late so George insisted he took a cab this time.

John Laurens had never been one to think about death. The only time he had ever felt like he really wanted to die was when he was livng in his birth father's house. He had never tried to commit suicide, not really. He just wanted to feel something more than hopelessness. His father made him feel like less than a person and an embarrassment to the family and to his deceased mother. But, as soon as he was placed in the Washington's house, all of those feelings melted away. But just like Alex, feeling loved took him a little getting used to.

So, when John Laurens was in the middle of a busy intersection in New York City and watched another cab race toward him at forty miles an hour, he didn't know what to think.

They say that in the moment before death, your life flashes before your eyes. John had always been skeptical about this, as he was of most supersitions. Unfortunately, he lived to know the truth.

First, he saw his mother and her smiling face above him as if he was a small child once more.

Then, he saw her hospital room and the flatline of the monitor.

Next, he saw his father screaming at him which then quickly switched to his bedroom, where he had often been forced to stay out of fear of coming out to greet his father.

Then, he saw the Washingtons' and their smiling faces that had once saved him from the nightmare he was living.

Then, he saw Alexander on the first day they met. He was so small back then.

He saw Angelica, Eliza, Peggy, Lafayette, and Hercules. He saw them all laughing and writing together for the paper. He felt at peace.

And then he saw Alexander. And Alexander kissing him. And Alexander crying. And Alexander smiling.

There he was. He saw the love of his life smiling back at him.

And then, he saw nothing.

Even in his groggy state, Alex couldn't wipe the smile off of his face. He had just gotten into bed and everything between he and Lin was just the way it should be. He had a dad for the first time in his life.

It turned out that it wasn't even that late. He had thought they watched two Harry Potter movies, but it turned out that they only watched one. Alex couldn't believe how much they could fit into one movie. He hoped to write a story like that one day.

Just as he settled into bed, his phone rang with Mr. Washington's face lighting up on the screen. Confused, Alex picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Alex, John has been in a car accident. He's at the hospital right near our house. Please, Alex, come quickly. We don't know how much time he has left," Alex heard George say through the phone.

Suddenly, everything in Alex's world became silent. The cars he heard outside that had once been blaring their horns only became white noise. He swore he couldn't even hear his own breathing.

As if his body took over for him, he heard his own, small voice say, "Okay," and then press the end call button on his phone.

He felt his legs walk out of his bedroom and into Lin's where with one look in the man's eyes, he was brought back to reality. "John was in a car accident. I need to go to the hospital."

Lin's smile from earlier events immediately dropped. "Of course, let's go now." He kissed Vanessa on the cheek and pulled on his jacket. "I'll call you if it gets serious, but you should get some sleep."

The look in Vanessa's eyes said she wanted to protest, but she knew there wasn't much she could do sitting in the waiting room with Alex. Plus, Sebastian wasn't very old and if he was in the hospital he could get sick. It killed her, but she knew she needed to stay behind. "Alex?" She said to him. He walked over to her and allowed her to put her hands on his. "We love you, okay sweetheart? It's going to be alright."

Alex gave her a dazed nod and then followed Lin out the door.

"Alex, Lin, thank god you're here. You can come in now if you'd like, the others are already waiting inside…" Alex was sure that George had said more but the room began to spin and he really couldn't process anything anymore.

All he knew that was seconds later, he was in a hospital room filled with the people he and John loved the most. Martha, Lafayette, Hercules, Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy were all standing at his bedside.

The sight of John himself nearly killed Alex. He was bruised and cut up everywhere with bandages on his head and more. His eyes were closed. If Alex hadn't known the situation well, he could have pretended he was sleeping. John looked so peaceful when he slept.

After a moment of pure shock, Alex ran to the boy's bedside and kneeled close to his face, not hestitating to grab his lifeless hands. "Is he going to be okay?" He asked no one in particular. Tears were brimming his eyes and he couldn't look away from his love's face.

The room was quiet. They all looked to George for the answer, as most of them didn't know the answer themselves. Everything had happened so fast. Martha let out a small cry. She leaned into George as she held his hand and tried not to lose herself. The Schuyler sisters were all interlocked while Hercules and Lafayette had their arms wrapped around one another. The only similarity between all of them being that nobody could look away from John and Alex in the center of the room.

"John is dying, Alex," George said with a shaky voice. "He- he doesn't have much time left. They tried everything."

"No, no," Alex whispered. "No, I can't lose you too." He wiped a few tears from his cheek and looked up at George. "How did this happen?"

"A car hit his taxi in an intersection on the way back from your house," George told him. "It's my fault, I told him to take a taxi, I thought it would be safer."

"Don't you dare put that on yourself," Martha scolded. George nodded, but his eyes were still clouded and his face still white as a sheet of paper.

Alex didn't say it out loud, but he felt the blame as well. If he hadn't freaked out on Lin earlier, John would have had no reason to be in a cab that late at night going across town. He was the reason John was lying in that hospital bed. He was the reason John was dying.

"I just want to talk to him," Alex breathed, his eyes wandering up and down John's body. He gripped the boy's hand a bit tighter. Having a second thought, he whispered, "If you can hear me, give me a sign. Please, anything."

Alex waited expectantly and after a second, he sighed. Then, to his surprise, John's thumb rolled over his own. His eyes were still closed and his body was still lifeless, but there was no mistaking the small movement he made.

Alex drew in a breath. "If you can hear me, I-I love you. I'm so sorry John. You don't deserve this. I'm sorry," he cried into the boy. "How am I ever going to live without you?"

Everyone else in the room had already said their goodbyes to John, knowing that Alex was on the way and would need his time. Nobody spoke as they watched Alex. It was heartbreaking, to say the least.

Among the Schuyler sisters, there was a vibe in the air that anybody not related to them would understand.

"Angelica?" Eliza whispered.

Angelica looked down at her younger sister and the tears rolling down her face and knew that they were not only tears of pain, but also tears of regret. "I know," she whispered back. Then, they both turned their attention back to Alex and John.

"I love you," Alex repeated over and over again.

Then there was the flatline of the monitor that the whole room had been expecting, but hoped would never arrive.

"No," Alex whispered, but then his whisper turned into a scream. "No! No!"

Martha couldn't hold it in any longer. She broke down into loud, heavy tears.

George could only stare straight ahead. The tears wouldn't come, but the pain he felt was immense. He lost his son.

Hercules looked down at his feet, his mouth open in shock and a few tears rolling down his cheeks. John was his best friend. He had been there for John since he was two, and now he was witnessing his last breath.

Lafayette held onto Hercules tighter than ever before. He knew then that Lafayette was the light and the love of his life. He couldn't imagine losing him, ever. He didn't ever want to let go.

Peggy balled up her fists in anger. She needed to hit something, and fast, or she was going to lose it too.

Angelica was trying to understand. It didn't make any sense. John was a good person. In fact, he was one of the only genuine people she knew. Out of all the terrible people in the world, he had to die? Things were just getting better. Why did everything have to fall apart again? All she wanted to do was kill the person who had enough nerve to get in his or her damn car and kill John.

Eliza realized what it felt like to be truly hurt and to be truly loved. She realized the mistakes she had made. Every breath she drew in was shaky and unstable as she watched someone she loved lose himself. John Laurens didn't deserve to die. Alexander Hamilton deserved to be loved by John Laurens forever, and Eliza knew this down to her core.

Lin felt grief for his son's first love. He knew that now, more than ever, he would need to be a Dad.

Alex was lost. His vision was blurry and his heart ached. Nurses and doctors heard his screams and cries down the hallway. There were no words to explain Alex's pain.

"I have so much work to do," he whispered.