A/N: Hello oh wow I'm so late with this! I literally closed my eyes for one minute and then I woke up and it's morning time and this chapter remains un-uploaded! :s sorry! But hey, we got a bit of drama to come!

December 21

Of course Lafayette and Mulligan truly intended to stitch the fracture they had inadvertently created between their friends at some point, and in doing so bring them into the relationship they would both benefit from but were presently too frightened of rejection to enter into.

But as of yet, they had no idea how to make that happen.

Thus none of the four from the previous day returned to the café that Wednesday, yet the slight reduction of customers was no bad thing in the eyes of James Madison, since the tavern was crammed just like it always was first thing in the morning. What made matters even worse was that it was twenty minutes into the opening shift, and Burr had yet to arrive.

On the twenty third minute, that changed, and he raced through the door with a flurry of wispy snowflakes darting in behind him, dancing through the air as playfully as pixies. His own expression reflected the childlike wonder which always accompanied snow, and he greeted his colleague with genuine enthusiasm and warmth as opposed to the usual polite interest he often showed.

Aaron shrugged off his maroon coat, grabbed his apron and started taking orders from the first customer in the line, rapidly fixing his drink and sending him off with a, "Happy Holidays, sir!"

Madison threw a knowing sidelong glance to his co-worker, and asked under his breath, "Did you see Theodosia this morning?"

Burr nodded, passing his current drink to another customer and offering her the same cheerful goodbye before replying, "Yep. Do you know how incredible it is to wake up beside the woman you adore?"

Madison laughed, and took a new order before reminding his friend with a gently teasing smirk, "You've only know her for five minutes!"

"And I fully intend to spend the rest of my life getting to know her even better," Aaron informed him. It was unspeakably rare for the man to be so blatant when sharing anything about himself, and anyone less understanding than Madison would have found it easy to taunt Burr over his infatuation with his new girlfriend. It was plain to see how taken aback the smaller man was. Burr only smiled wider, completely sincere when he told him, "We're going to visit her parents on Christmas day. I know it's really soon, and it might come across as overly confident, but I see no reason not to make plans for the future when you already know you have someone you never want to let go, regardless of how much time passes."

At that, James nodded thoughtfully, satisfied with that justification.

It was around noon when Elizabeth Schuyler entered the café, looking decidedly nervous as she approached the counter to order her drink. She was fidgeting, tucking the same strand of silky hair behind her ear repeatedly though it never once moved from that spot with one hand and alternating between tapping her fingertips on the wooden surface and drumming her fingernails upon it with the other. She was quiet, more so than usual, and seemed relieved to have something to hold and keep her hands from fumbling when Madison handed her the drink.

She made her way to a seat, not the usual pair of sofas but a small table where two chairs faced one another, and began to watch the door, evidently waiting for company.

Her worried demeanour suddenly made sense when Maria Lewis entered the café; the women hadn't laid eyes on one another since the party, so the kiss they had shared on the staircase had slipped by without being addressed. It was not something they could let lay, however - both Maria and Eliza were keen to know any implications it might have, hoping for the best but frightened by the legitimate concern that their moment of passion could have clipped the wings of their new friendship before it had truly been given the opportunity to soar.

Maria didn't bother ordering her own drink. Her priority was Eliza, hence the way she made her way directly to the young woman waiting for her and placed herself in the free seat. She smiled, but there was a pervading feeling of anxiety reflected in the crease of her brow and trembling voice as she feigned unconvincing nonchalance to ask, "Hey, what's up?"

Even worse at concealing her inner turmoil than her companion, Elizabeth spoke softly as she admitted, "I wanted to see you... I wanted to talk." Maria nodded, her own words reluctant to form on her lips, so Eliza continued bashfully, "I suppose you can guess what's on my mind."

"I haven't stopped thinking about it myself," Maria replied, only realizing a heartbeat after she had spoken (during which Eliza's rich dark eyes had opened wide with surprise) that the statement could be interpreted in a variety of ways, and though it was absolutely true, if Eliza had called her there to explain that it was a mistake, then the way in which Maria had meant it would definitely be inappropriate. She cringed at her outburst, resolving not to speak again until the Schuyler woman made her standpoint clear.

Eliza blinked slowly, regarding her friend with palpable curiosity as she mused, "I wonder, is that a good thing?"

She doesn't seem blatantly angry, Maria assured herself, which was reason enough for her to assemble her courage sufficiently to inform her with a coquettish pout, "I think so. It's a nice memory." She hesitated, unsure whether or not she would be able to recover the conversation if the remark poised on the tip of her tongue backfired This may be my best chance to be honest with her, and I owe it to myself to be completely truthful, she decided. Her ruby lips quirking upwards, she confessed, "You're a good kisser, 'Liza."

In spite of her nerves, Eliza found herself giggling at that, and though her fears still continued to linger in the back of her mind, she felt her tense stomach gradually begin to unwind from the knot of concern it had been forming ever since their kiss. Relaxing slightly, Elizabeth replied with a genuine smile and unintentionally rosy cheeks, "You really think so?"

Maria nodded, her own smile growing - as of yet, things were going as well as could be hoped for. A teasing note touching her words, she challenged, "Don't tell me you haven't heard that before! You must have!"

Eliza's face grew steadily redder, and as it did, her voice gradually became even quieter as she spoke, too afraid of rebuttal to manage her regular volume as she admitted, "I might have heard it, once or twice. But it's special coming from you." In spite of her clear nerves, she summoned the bravery to meet Maria's warm caramel gaze with her own obsidian pools, reflecting in perfect clarity not just how fragile her confidence was when it came to actually sharing her deepest emotions with the young woman, but also how absolutely helpless she was around Maria.

Comprehension hitting her like a bus, Maria exclaimed, "Eliza, do you -"

"I like you, Maria, yes, I do." She closed her eyes and shrugged, shaking her head and smiling with the relief of admitting her feelings despite of her visible worries about potential repercussions. She paused for a moment, ready to flee the café at once if her friend screamed obscenities at her reveal. But she didn't, so ever so tentatively, Eliza opened her eyes to see an utterly astounded Maria Lewis staring slack-jawed at her. I'm not surprised she's confused, Eliza decided, knowing that she would be too if her friend sprung news like that upon her. Partially to assist in Maria's understanding of the situation and partially because she relished the sweet, New taste of the words in her mouth, she reiterated, slower this time rather than a rapid, hurried torrent of words, "Maria Lewis, I do like you - very much."

The silence expanding endlessly like Antarctic plains only exacerbated the frantic beating of Maria's heart as it drummed against her ribcage, forming an orchestra of sorts when combined with the whirring of her mind, so loud she was almost convinced that Eliza would be able to hear it. Evidently not, however, because her expression remained frozen, suspended somewhere amidst expectant, excited and terrified. It was only when she remembered that the other woman was presumably anticipating some kind of response that she urged her mouth to move, putting the girl out of her misery and sharing her own clumsy confession: "I like you too."

The reaction was immediate and beautiful. Tension evaporated seamlessly from Eliza's expression, leaving behind a radiant, glowing grin of absolutely dazed delight. She reached for Maria's hands, trying to say something before her emotions took hold and made that impossible. She found she could do nothing but giggle in giddy relief, but that was no problem for Maria, who took the opportunity while it - or rather, she - faced her, and leaned over the coffee table to kiss Eliza, immediately reawakening the rational part of her mind with a shock of burning energy.

Brought back to the reality that, Yes, Maria just told me she likes me and now her mouth is on mine and there's not a single part of me that wants to say no, Elizabeth immediately melted into the relatively new sensation of those supple, ruby lips kissing her with all of the desperate affection she felt resonating within her own fluttering heart.

It was neither inconspicuous nor unnoticed, but the girls were blissfully ignorant to the muffled gasps of surprise from behind the counter as well as from other clients of the Tavern. (Though thankfully there was no indication of outrage, as Fraunces' was known for being unexpectedly liberal despite it's owner's narrow minded views.)

The two women fell into a clumsy but sincere embrace, holding each other with sheer palpable relief emanating from their thankful smiles. It was a few heartbeats before they pulled apart, and almost as soon as they did, Eliza was reluctantly forced to admit, "Much as I'd love to stay, I have to get back to work - we're doing a children's Christmas carol session this afternoon."

"Of course you are," Maria remarked fondly, her admiration for Eliza growing with every new detail she learned about her. "Don't worry, I should go back to work soon too," she remembered.

"Okay. Well, take care," Eliza instructed with a sweet smile. She passed her half-full mug towards Maria, and rose from her seat, pausing to chastely peck at the woman's blushing cheek before leaving in a graceful hurry. Her feet seemed not to touch the ground, the elation in her heart lifting her body and soul to incredible heights: brief as it had been, their meeting had definitely been conclusive, and regardless of labels or questions, for now it seemed she knew everything she required.

As for Maria Lewis, left alone to bathe in the bliss of what had just happened, she allowed a few precious minutes of peace to lull her into complete complacency: her closest friend openly returned her romantic feelings, and it now seemed they were something of an item, leaving her with nothing at all to be in the least bit concerned about in the future.

But all too soon, her peaceful reverie was rudely interrupted by something from her past.

"Maria! You're the last person I'd expect to find here grinning like an idiot," a hard, abrasive voice which made her skin crawl as if alive with writhing parasites directly addressed her, announcing the unprecedented arrival of James Reynolds.

Maria was not the only one horrified to see him - James Madison was still hard at work behind the counter, yet he had forgotten all other priorities the instant the loathsome drunkard entered. They had only actually encountered each other once before, but it was a more than sufficient period of time for Madison to form a decidedly negative opinion of Reynolds. Recalling how he had been forced to literally bundle the man into the street upon that last meeting, he watched with keen interest as Reynolds approached Maria, straining his ears for any sign of aggression about to unfold.

Her jubilation came shattering down around her, and Maria shrank back as she stammered without a trace of the positive nerves she had held during her previous conversation with her new possibly-girlfriend, "James! What are you... Why are you following me?"

Reynolds chuckled at that, a low, taunting sound meant to intimidate rather than reflect genuine amusement. "Following you? Please, I have better ways to spend my time. As it happens, I'm here waiting for a date."

"Well I hope for her sake she changes her mind," Maria snarled, her fury evoked by the very idea that her emotionally and physically abusive former boyfriend might be on the brink of snatching another naive young girl in his sharp talons. She stood, abandoning the half-finished drink she had adopted from Eliza and shouldering her way past James.

It took enormous courage for her to walk away from him, especially when she knew from experience how much damage he was capable of inflicting when he was incensed. But she had been given a new lease of strength, comforted and safe in the belief that she had someone who genuinely cared about her as well as a newly adopted group of friends, including the barista watching with an increasing sense of dread, who would not allow James to harm her again.

When she walked away, she told herself that she would never allow James Reynolds to be her problem again.

What she did not anticipate, however, was that scarcely a minute after she left the café, the younger sister of her new girlfriend entered the café, grinned with genuine affection at Madison, but then made her way directly to the revolting man who had terrorized her for years.

James Madison didn't see Peggy's frown, nor hear her stern words; he was deaf to James' pleas, and his promises to leave the young woman alone once and for all of she granted him just one evening of her company; be didn't hear how reluctant Peggy was to agree, and he certainly didn't see the internal workings of her mind, in which she told herself it was best to simply deal with Reynolds in whatever way she could in order to remove him from her life to instead allow Madison to become the one man she had to think about on a regular basis - because although Reynolds had forced his way into her subconscious awareness, it was primarily because he continued to pester her via texts and calls, and truthfully she would much rather spend her wasted time speaking to the other James.

In his rare state of ignorance, James Madison was powerless to do anything but watch in abject horror as the young woman he had grown strangely fond of over the course of the past few weeks left the establishment arm in arm with the man he knew brought nothing but chaos...