George's presidency flew by. It was nearly over, and Alexander's debt plan still hadn't gone through. James Madison and Aaron Burr were fighting it nail and tooth. Aaron was mostly doing it to get back at Alexander for blocking his campaign for the Governor of New York, which Alexander had only done to get back at Aaron for stealing Philip Schuyler's senator seat.

Politics were a petty, petty game.

George was getting tired of the delay. He was constantly reminding Alexander that John Adams was his heir apparent. There was no strong Republican opponent, which meant that John Adams would most likely be the president for the next four years, at the very least. John Adams did not like Alexander. He had never liked him. That was partially Alexander's fault - as a teenager, he had made fun of John Adams. As an adult, he hadn't done much better. John Adams also had a stick up his ass, though, which was an essential reason that he did not like Alexander. Alexander had too much fun for John Adams' taste.

Regardless, John Adams would become president, and he would not help Alexander pass his debt plan. He was not George. He did not have Alexander's best interests at heart.

Furthermore, if Alexander could not successfully deliver a debt plan that would save the economy, John Adams would likely fire him in favor of a more efficient Secretary of the Treasury. With three kids and a fourth baby on the way, Alexander did not have the luxury of losing his job.

Because his job was much less secure than Church's - especially now that Church had inherited his father's business entirely - Angelica and Church offered to stay with Alexander and Eliza through the remainder of George's term to help Eliza with the children while Alexander focused on his debt plan.

In doing so, Angelica was startled to find that for the first time since high school, her life had structure.

Eliza ran her household exactly like Mrs. Schuyler had run her household. All of the children had breakfast at six-thirty on the dot. Breakfast was never a quick bowl of cereal or a pop-tart, as it always had been for Johnny. It was a square meal, complete with fruit, vegetables, and protein. After breakfast, Eliza checked Philip, Johnny, and Baby's book bags to make sure that they all had their homework done and packed away. Baby was only in first grade, so she rarely had homework, but Philip was notorious for pretending that he did not have homework so he could spend his time doing what he enjoyed. When Alexander caught him doing it, it meant that everyone had to sit through an hour-long lecture at dinner.

Church took the children to school in the morning. Eliza was on bedrest with her latest pregnancy and still had to keep a close eye on Junior. He was proving to be the most troublesome of all of the Hamilton children.

Angelica typically cleaned up breakfast dishes once the children left before getting dressed and going to work. She would always offer to call in sick to take care of Eliza, should she need it, but Eliza always rolled her eyes and abruptly informed Angelica that she was being dramatic. She was so much like Mrs. Schuyler that at times, Angelica wondered what had become of her meek little sister from high school.

When everyone returned home for the day - the children being picked up by Church, Angelica returning from a day of reporting the news, and Alexander flying through the door with his arms full of research, Eliza would preside over a beautiful dinner. Angelica never knew how she managed to have elaborate dinners prepared every single night despite being on bedrest and having to chase Junior everywhere.

After dinner, the children sat at the table doing their homework. They were given snacks such as almonds, fruit, or granola to make the task less arduous. Philip complained the whole time, especially when Baby claimed that she had homework that was really just an assignment to color a page. Johnny complained when Philip did, but Angelica could plainly see that he enjoyed sitting at the table with the other children while doing his homework. After years of being an only child, he was thrilled to live in a house bursting with children.

When homework was done, Philip would grab Johnny by the back of his shirt and drag him out into the backyard to squeeze in as much play time as he could get before the sun went down. Typically, they were outside for an hour and a half before they returned to the indoors with scraped knees and grass-stained clothes. Eliza promptly ordered them to take showers before bed. The boys always listened to Eliza.

"It's so good for him," Church remarked one evening after all of the children had been put to bed. He was flipping through Johnny's school notebook, where Johnny had written about staying with his aunt and uncle in D.C. "Being here with Philip and the others. I was starting to worry about him. He never had many friends in Albany."

"He's quiet." Angelica shrugged, sipping her coffee as she looked through the pile of mail that Eliza had left on the table for her. "You were quiet when you were his age."

"I was never as quiet as he was." Church shook his head. "My mother doesn't remember correctly. I just think that being with other kids, kids his own age, is giving him some confidence. Do you know that before we came here, I don't think I had ever heard him take an opinion on a serious matter before?"

"He's twelve. What's he supposed to take an opinion on?" Angelica inquired.

"He's starting to come to his own as an adult." Church insisted.

"Hm," Angelica agreed that the change had been good for Johnny, but did not share Church's concern over the boy's social life when they lived in Albany. Johnny seemed perfectly content to spend an afternoon by himself, reading a book or writing one of his little short stories. There was nothing troublesome about that in Angelica's eyes. "Do you think that I ought to be bringing him to more political events, now that he's expressing his opinion?"

Church rolled his eyes before approaching Angelica, looking over her shoulder at the most recent invite that she had received. "Don't ridicule me for worrying about our son. What is it now?"

"Thomas invited me to some political rally that he's going to nearby. He's coming out as John Adams' running mate." Angelica answered, handing Church the invite. She knew that he wouldn't mind. He was so absorbed with his own job and worrying over Johnny's life that he had very little capacity to worry about what Angelica was doing.

"I see," Sure enough, Church handed the invite back after glancing at it. "I don't really think that would be a good place for Johnny, no. Maybe you could see about getting him into the inaugural ball for John Adams, though. I think that he might enjoy that."

"I doubt that Alex and Eliza are going," Angelica shook her head. "If they're not going, Philip's not going. If Philip's not going, Johnny isn't going to want to go."

"You might be right," Church admitted, crossing the kitchen to pour his own cup of coffee. "Still, I don't think that a political rally is any place for Johnny. Especially not when a man like Thomas Jefferson is still so controversial."

Angelica rolled her eyes and bit her tongue to avoid saying anything about the 'controversy' that Church was referring to. Thomas had been on a date for the first time since his wife's death and everyone had accused him of being heartless.

"Who's going to Jefferson's rally?" Alexander asked, padding into the kitchen from his office to pour himself another cup of coffee. He looked from Church to Angelica, already knowing the answer.

"I am." Angelica braced herself for what would surely be a negative reaction.

"No, you're not." Alexander bit back immediately.

"Excuse me?" Angelica stood up out of her chair, folding her arms across her chest.

"I said that you're not going." Alexander remained firm as he poured his coffee.

Church let out a low whistle under his breath, recognizing that this was destined to be a serious fight. "I think that I'm going to head upstairs and check on some emails. Why don't you two discuss this outside? I think that Eliza only barely got Junior to sleep a few minutes ago."

"There's no need for us to go anywhere," Alexander looked at Angelica with steely eyes. "You're not going, and that's that."

"Go," Angelica instructed Church through gritted teeth. She grabbed Alexander by the collar of his shirt, causing him to spill coffee all over himself. She ignored his indignant protests as she dragged him out into their backyard. She dragged him further into the wooded area beyond the backyard gates. "Who the fuck do you think you are, telling me where I'm allowed to go and where I'm not?"

"You're living in my household." Alexander looked less commanding with coffee stains all over his clothes. He jutted out his chin to try to overcome this humbling appearance. "And you're my sister-in-law. Besides that, you work for fucking CNN. If anyone recognizes you or makes it public knowledge that you attended the rally, people will see that as you, on behalf of CNN, expressing your outright support for Jefferson. I can't have that - especially not when I'm trying to get my debt plan through."

Angelica rolled her eyes. "What does it matter if I go to the rally?"

She was mostly provoking him at this point. She wanted the heated glow in his eyes to grow. She wanted his anger to engulf the two of them.

"You're my sister-in-law!" Alexander echoed, ever the drama queen. "And Jefferson is my political adversary. His rally is all about rejecting my debt plan. How is it going to look if you go to his rally?"

"I'm not Eliza." Angelica sniffed. "I'm not your wife. My reputation isn't staked on yours. I can go where I please."

"My reputation is staked on yours. You have the political pull the likes of which I could only dream of. You're a fucking news anchor. You get to tell people what's worth talking about, and what isn't. If you go, CNN will ask you to report on it. Then people will associate you with him. Don't you see? That's just what Jefferson wants!"

"You think that he only invited me to get back at you?"

"Don't be stupid. We both know why he invited you."

"Because he values my opinion?" Angelica asked dryly.

"Because he's in love with you," Alexander answered tersely.

"What do you care how Thomas Jefferson feels about me?"

"Because I love you!"

Angelica froze. There. He had said it. He had finally said it. Years of looks, of fond words, of late night phone calls and texts, and now it was out in the open.

"Alexander?" Eliza's voice was in the distance. Alexander turned to look back in the direction of the house. He turned back to Angelica, frowning.

"I, uh, I've got to..."

Before Angelica could say something - anything to make him stay for just a moment longer - Alexander turned on his heel and stormed off in the direction of the house. Angelica waited until she could no longer hear leaves crush underneath Alexander's fading footsteps. She then let out a huge sight of relief. In the middle of the woods, wrapped in the night sky and overwhelmed by a giddy sensation that she hadn't felt since high school, Angelica laughed. She laughed until she cried.

It took her an hour to compose herself well enough to return to the guest room at the Hamilton residence, where Church was already asleep. Evidently, he had not been bothered by the fact that Angelica was out so late.

Proving once again that he was so clearly better than Church, Alexander knocked on the door just as Angelica was readying herself for bed. Angelica knew it was him. Alexander always knocked five times.

Church grumbled in his sleep but did not seem to be awake. Angelica glanced at Church critically before opening the door.

Alexander was standing there in his oversized robe. He had a stern, thoughtful expression on his face. His brow furrowed as he looked her over. Angelica smiled. She always knew when Alexander had something on his mind.

"I just wanted to make sure that you got in all right," He said, as though Angelica had asked what he was doing standing in her doorway. He didn't smile; he was tense. He was still anxious about their earlier conversation. Angelica realized that Alexander might not know that she loved him.

She had always figured it was obvious.

"Alex, about what you said earlier -"

Church stirred in his sleep. Alexander jumped at the sound. He looked at Angelica, his face taut.

"We can talk about it tomorrow." He turned and paused, apparently only now realizing that Angelica had called him "Alex." She only called him Alex when they were getting along. He turned his head, the tense expression replaced by a small, tentative smile. "Goodnight, Annie."

Angelica stayed up all night. She pretended to be asleep when Church woke up for work. She kept her eyes shut when he kissed her forehead and said goodbye. She didn't want to look at him; she wanted to pretend that it was Alexander kissing her forehead and saying goodbye.

As the house began to stir, Angelica finally let herself climb out of bed. She threw on the first sensible outfit that she could find and hurried downstairs. As she entered the dining room, she saw Eliza buttering Baby's toast while going over Philip's homework from the night before, just like their mother had when they were children. Alexander was nowhere to be seen.

Eliza looked up from Baby's toast. She seemed surprised to see Angelica.

"I thought that you would be at Thomas Jefferson's rally by now," She said, glancing at the missing table setting where Angelica usually sat.

Oh, right. The rally. Angelica had promised Thomas.

"Of course," Angelica crossed the threshold into the foyer. She grabbed her coat off of the coat rack near the door. "I'm on my way now."

"Alexander will be furious," Eliza followed Angelica into the foyer, her arms folded across her chest. She smiled good-naturedly.

"No, he won't," Angelica argued cheerfully.

"Oh, yes, he will be. You just won't see it. He'll sulk and mope around the house and tell us all about it when you aren't here, but he'll drop it when you're home. Alexander can never stay mad at you." Eliza's tone was amused. She didn't have a jealous bone in her body.

Angelica laughed.

"He's been mad at me plenty," She assured Eliza. "But don't let him bother you and the kids about it. If he wants to say something about me going to the rally, he knows where to find me."

When Angelica reached her car post-rally, she was surprised to see a sketchy figure leaning against the driver's side of her car. She was reaching for her pepper spray when the man suddenly smiled. Angelica would have recognized that smile anywhere.

Beneath the hat, sunglasses, and the overpriced Burberry coat was the same coy smile that Alexander had flashed her in the Schuyler mansion seventeen years before.

"How was the rally?" He asked as Angelica approached her car.

"Fairly predictable. Lots of mud-slinging. I wasn't expecting this, though."

Alexander opened the door to Angelica's car for her. Angelica smiled at him before climbing into the driver's seat. Alexander walked around the car and deposited himself into the passenger's seat.

"I thought you might be hungry. I heard that you left this morning without having breakfast."

"Is that right?" Angelica asked, arching an eyebrow. Alexander laughed and took off the sunglasses and hat as Angelica started the car.

"Okay," Alexander admitted. "I had to see you. I was useless at work; George sent me home for lunch. I really need to talk about last night."

"Then let's go get some lunch and talk about last night." Angelica agreed readily.

"Where?" Alexander hesitated. "Annie, I wasn't serious about going somewhere, I…I was actually hoping that this could be a private conversation. I can't have sources eavesdropping and Eliza…"

Angelica just smiled. "Just trust me, Alex. You need to talk, and I need to eat. We don't have to destroy your reputation to accomplish either of those things."

"I knew that you cheated on your diet!" Alexander laughed.

They were parked in front of Taco Bell, each of them eating underpriced tacos and spilling food all over their overpriced clothes.

"I do not!" Angelica insisted, her mouth full. "I missed breakfast. The calories roll over."

"Right." Alexander chuckled.

"Anyway," Angelica said, her mouth now empty. She looked pointedly at Alexander. "You were the one who wanted to talk in private. It's not like the Tea Room was on the table."

"Yeah." Alexander shifted in his seat, his expression morphing into a thoughtful one. "About what I said last night…I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I love Eliza."

Angelica nodded, afraid to speak.

"And I would never do anything to hurt her." Alexander looked at Angelica nervously. Angelica decided against mentioning all of the rumors she'd heard about Alexander's possible affairs. Eliza had made it clear time and time again that so long as Alexander came home to her every night and maintained some semblance of discretion, she didn't need to know everything about his conduct outside of the house. "But Annie, you have to know that I've loved you since the 12th grade."

Angelica shook her head, smiling. "How would I know that, Alex? Aaron convinced me that you were only trying to get connections through my family."

"He did?" Alexander looked surprised. "When?"

"Right after you came over to my house for the first time," Angelica couldn't believe that she was telling him this. "And Eliza had such a crush on you. I thought that if all you wanted was connections…"

"But I didn't." Alexander interrupted. "You know that I didn't, don't you?"

Angelica smiled gravely. "But Eliza was so crazy about you."

"Is that why you stood me up at the liberty bell?" Alexander asked quietly.

"Alex, it was so long ago," Angelica said, her voice begging him to drop the subject.

"You could have told me. I might've…"

"It hardly matters now." Angelica reminded him forcefully. "You have Eliza, and I have Church. And we both have our Philips. Everything worked out for the best."

She wouldn't tell him that she thought about what her life might have been like with him every night before she fell asleep.

"You're right." Despite his words, Alexander did not look convinced. "And I didn't tell you, well, you know, to hurt Eliza."

"We're not going to hurt Eliza." It was not even up for argument. Angelica had already sacrificed so much for Eliza's happiness. She was not going to risk even a fraction of it now.

Alexander nodded, taking a bite out of his taco.

"Good." He finally said. "Good. This is good. We both know how we feel, but that doesn't affect Eliza."

"Agreed." Angelica sighed before taking a massive bite out of her own taco.

Rewind

Though she had sworn that she would never entangle herself in another election campaign again, Angelica found herself working on the Washington/Adams campaign as George competed for a second term in office. She took a year-long leave from Church's company in order to help. Church assured her that he didn't mind; she had done enough work to keep the company functioning for years in her absence. If anything dire came up, he said, it would just go straight to Aaron's desk until she came back.

Election night found Angelica, Alexander, Eliza, and eight dogs sitting in the Roosevelt room. Alexander and Angelica were glued to the television, taking long pulls from a bottle of Jägermeister whenever the polls turned unfavorable for George. Eliza was just watching them, participating in the conversation from time to time and playing with the dogs whenever Alexander got started on some economic ramblings.

Alexander passed out first - election nights always made him anxious. He drank to compensate for anxiety, but drinking always made him sleepy. Alexander had always been something of a lightweight. So before even a quarter of the states had been announced, Alexander was fast asleep with his head in Angelica's lap. Angelica - also incredibly drunk, but definitely awake - pet his hair the way that Eliza was petting her dogs. He looked so young when he slept. Like a child, almost. Which reminded her…

"I don't think that he loves me anymore," Angelica professed, turning to look at Eliza. Eliza, who had been petting one of her sleeping dogs, turned to look at Angelica in surprise. "I can't figure out a way for us to have a baby that doesn't end with me quitting my job, and I think he hates me for it."

"Alexander? No, I don't think so," Eliza shook her head. She was always so quick to defend Alexander. "He loves you, Angie. I see it every time that he looks at you. He just…I think he's frustrated by the juxtaposition of wanting a baby and a career."

Angelica shook her head glumly. "He thinks that it's ultimately my responsibility to give up my career and stay home with the baby. I told him before we even got married that if he wanted kids, he would have to be the one to quit. I told him how important my job was to me. I thought that he cared, but…" Angelica let out a sigh. "I know that you love him, honey, but Alex can be a sexist asshole about certain things."

Eliza's eyes widened and her cheeks grew a furious shade of scarlet. "I think that maybe you two should just have an honest conversation about -"

"Wait, you love him, don't you?" Angelica perked up. "What if you had a baby with him? You don't have a career right now…I mean, you have the dogs, but you could do both. You stay home with them anyhow. And Alex would be so happy. He loves you too, obviously, so it would be perfect! A perfect little Eliza and Alex baby that I could hold and love but wouldn't have to give up everything for!"

"Angelica," Eliza was visibly uncomfortable. She shook her head just as slowly as she spoke, her cheeks blazing red and her eyes downcast and full of tears. "I think that you should stop talking."

"Why?" Angelica demanded, alcohol rendering her insensitive to the obvious emotional impact that she was having on Eliza. "Eliza, that would solve all of our problems. Don't you want to help me?"

"You're drunk," When Eliza looked up at Angelica, there were tear stains on her cheeks. "I hope. I hope that's why you're saying this to me."

"I'm not drunk." Angelica insisted sulkily.

"Well, I'm leaving." Eliza declared, standing up and waking up her dogs in the process. "It's getting late, anyway. Try to get some sleep, Angie."

"Fine," Angelica had already forgotten her request as she laid back on the table of the Roosevelt room table. Alexander's expression twitched as his head was jostled by the movement, but he didn't wake up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Eliza didn't say another word as she led her herd of dogs out of the room.

Angelica woke up first. She cracked one eye open and saw the blurry outline of a man sitting across the table from where she was laying. This startled her into opening both of her eyes and shooting straight up. Alexander's head was propelled upwards by her motion, waking him up.

Alexander yelped in surprise as he was suddenly awoken, while Angelica whipped around to focus on the blurred figure from before. It was George. He was sitting in one of the chairs, calmly drinking a cup of coffee while watching them.

"Good morning," He rumbled with an amused smile.

Alexander groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. "Did we win?"

"We did," George's voice did not waver. His mouth quirked into a small smile. "And you are expected to present your latest proposal at the cabinet meeting in about half an hour. I trust that you have a change of clothes in your office?"

Angelica was barely listening to George's words. She remembered speaking to Eliza last night, but couldn't remember the specifics. The conversation had blurred into a dream at some point during the night. She knew that they had discussed Alexander and his strong desire of children, but couldn't remember the specifics. The terrible suggestion that Eliza have a child for them, that was definitely part of her dream. She thought. She hoped.

She needed to talk to Eliza.

"Fuck!" Alexander was picking up his laptop, which had been knocked off of the table at some point during the night. The screen was cracked and covered with what looked like queso. They'd gotten Taco Bell before showing up to the White House. "My laptop's broken, I -"

George shook his head, taking another calm sip of coffee. "Twenty-seven minutes."

"Fuck," Alexander bolted out of the room with his broken laptop in his arms.

Angelica was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to care that Alexander had run off without saying goodbye to her.

"Care for some coffee?" George gestured towards his mug pleasantly. "There's no rush, but the cabinet meeting will be held in here. I'm sure Martha would be glad for your company at the residence."

"No, I should go." Angelica gathered herself as well as anyone could after waking up still-drunk in the Roosevelt room. She climbed off of the table and slipped on her painfully tall high heels. She wasn't drunk enough to dull the pain of them anymore. She cringed as she slowly made her way out of the room.

"Call a car for Mrs. Hamilton," Angelica overheard George instructing one of his staff members. She sighed gratefully as she walked towards the exit.

By the time that she reached the exit, there was a car waiting for her. The driver was holding a cup of coffee with her name on it - it was in Martha's handwriting.

Angelica tilted a smile in the direction of her driver but didn't speak otherwise. She needed time to sober up and figure out what she said to Eliza before she got home.

When the car finally pulled up in front of her and Alexander's house, she wasn't exactly sober, but she was fairly certain that she had, in fact, asked Eliza to carry Alexander's child. Hardly the most appropriate suggestion to make to a younger sister.

She removed her heels before climbing out of the car and creeping up the driveway. Her arches ached as a consequence of her decision to wear the aforementioned heels, so her walk was extremely bow-legged and awkward.

When she finally reached the front door, she swung it open, expecting eight dogs to come careening around the corner towards her. They didn't. The house was totally silent and shockingly devoid of the blanket of fur that typically covered everything. Something was wrong.

"Eliza?" Angelica poked her head in the kitchen. Eliza was almost always in the kitchen. While cooking stressed Angelica out, it seemed to soothe Eliza. Just another way in which Eliza was better than Angelica was.

Eliza was not in the kitchen. She had, however, left a note waiting for Angelica on the kitchen table.

Dear, Darling Angie,

Thank you for letting me stay with you and Alexander for so long, especially with the dogs. That was so amazing of you. But I think that I might have overstayed my welcome - I took advantage of your hospitality and now it is time for me to go.

Mama and Papa offered me the beach house in Delaware until I can afford to live somewhere on my own. It won't be quite as jovial as living with you and Alexander, but I need to be with myself for a little while, and you and Alexander need to be with each other for a little while.

It is my dearest wish that you two work everything out, no matter what you decide vis a vis, babies. Don't ever hesitate to call me if you need to talk.

Love,

Eliza

Angelica let the note slide from her hands, deafened by the silence of the house.

She would be damned if she let Eliza leave her. She had stood by and allowed so many things to just sort of happen to her throughout her lifetime; this was the final straw. She grabbed her keys right off of the counter and walked out the door.

Was she still a little bit too drunk to be driving? Probably. But high school Angelica wouldn't have worried about such a thing, and neither would she.

She climbed into her car and started the engine. With the beach house's location in the GPS and a full tank of gas, there was nothing in the world that could stop her.

"Angelica?" Eliza was unpacking her bags when Angelica burst through the door of the beach house without even knocking. Eight dogs hurried to greet her. Angelica would not admit that she was starting to enjoy such greetings. "What are you doing here? Where are your shoes?"

Angelica looked down. She hadn't grabbed another pair of shoes before leaving the house, and there was no way that she could drive in her stilettos, especially not with the way that her feet were aching. She looked back up at Eliza and shook her head. "My shoes don't matter. Why are you here? Did you leave because of what I said last night? Because I was completely out of line, I should have never -"

Eliza shook her head, looking down at her shoes. "I didn't leave because of what you said. I left because you were right."

"What do you mean?" Angelica grabbed a bag out of Eliza's hand and tossed it on the ground. This was not the time for Eliza to worry about something like unpacking. Instead, Angelica led her over to the uncomfortable sofa that her mom had purchased at far too high a price years ago. "You don't want to have a baby, do you?"

Eliza shook her head, wisps of hair falling into her face. "No, of course I don't! I just…" She bit her bottom lip, tears welling up in her eyes. "I've tried not to love him, I really have. You don't know how hard I've tried. I've traveled the world, dated other men, I just…"

"Oh," Angelica felt herself visibly deflate. She couldn't help the effect - she knew better than to try - so she pulled Eliza closer to keep her from seeing it. Eliza didn't notice. She let herself fall right into Angelica, tears staining Angelica's expensive dress. "Honey. Of course you do."

"Nothing has ever happened," Eliza vowed, her small voice muffled by Angelica's shoulder. "Nothing will ever happen. You know that I would never -"

"I know," Angelica agreed, trying to use the soothing tone that her father had always adopted when Eliza was crying. "You're doing all that you can. You were just dealt a bad hand from the start."

"What do you mean?" Eliza asked, sitting back to look at Angelica with big, questioning eyes. She wiped her face with her perfect little hands.

Seeing Eliza this way made Angelica want to cry. Instead, she forced herself to smile. "Honey, it's in our blood to love Alexander. No Schuyler can resist him. We were all helpless from the moment we met him."