"John, Louisa?" Theodosia hollered as she ran down the stairs. She let out a huge sigh of relief as she saw her two siblings out in the front yard. She opened the front door. "You two get in here. You had me worried sick."
The two children stood and began to make their way inside. John rolled his eyes and shuffled his feet, annoyed, while Louisa ran over to hug her older sister.
"Finally! We missed you. Did we not, John?"
"I could have done without the nagging, really." John mumbled, earning him an elbow to the ribs. Courtesy of Louisa, of course.
"What happened?"
Theodosia only shook her head. "It's over… I really wish to forget it."
She was thankful when her siblings dropped it. Of course, John was still being pouty, but whatever. He would get over it.
When their father arrived home, Theodosia curled up on his bed with him and spilled her guts. She told him everything he had done to her. As much as it hurt her to relive every agonizing second of that hell, it felt good to tell somebody. And if anybody deserved to know, it was her father. Well, he was the next best thing, with Philip still gone.
As soon as she had fallen asleep, still resting her head on her Aaron's chest, he began to write.
General Zachary Burke,
This is the father-in-law of Mister Philip Hamilton. I would greatly appreciate if he could be made aware of the fact that his lover has been found and safely returned home. I am sure he has been worrying himself sick and he certainly has other things to worry about at the moment.
Please get him home as soon as possible. Normally, I would never consider asking this of you. I do not want this fighting rushed or distracted in any sort of way. If there is still a lot of fighting to be done, do not worry about this. But she is shaken up and needs him back as soon as he possibly can get back to her.
Sincerest Regards from the Vice President of the United States of America,
Aaron Burr
He couldn't but feel odd as he signed with the title. But he wanted Philip to get back to Theodosia quickly, and throwing out the vice president card usually helped him get what he wanted. He slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb his sleeping daughter, and set about sending the letter.
Nathaniel sighed, annoyed. His friend had asked him to stay up, but he might as well not have. Philip didn't even fall asleep, like he was supposed to do.
"Philip," He whispered, "Go to sleep. I can handle this."
"I can't sleep, Nathan. How am I supposed to sleep when all I can think about is my missing girlfriend?" Philip whispered back, desperately attempting to control his volume. He grabbed a piece of parchment and began to scribble down his thoughts.
My Dearest Theodosia,
Nathan looked over his friend's shoulder, occasionally catching a phrase or two as he wrote. Honestly, did the man have any other hobbies?
As the sun started to rise, Philip left the tent. He hunted down General Burke, eventually finding him just before they were all supposed to be awake.
"Sir, can I talk to you?" He asked nervously. He knew military officials could take harmless things in weird ways. He was in no mood to run ten miles and then be ambushed. That would make for a rather unfortunate Thursday.
"And what would that be, Hamilton?" Burke simply replied, sounding bored. But that was better than angry.
He explained everything. He felt like he was just going to be out of the frying pan and into the fire, but he knew it was worth it when his troop was told that the trip was to be postponed. They had two more days… And then what? Would they still have to go and be attacked? Or would they be saved from that?
The next day, Philip was terrified as General Burke pulled him to the side.
"Hamilton. I would like a word with you."
As he went to the side to talk with his general, he could feel his heart stop. Burke's face looked grim.
"I received a letter from Aaron Burr. He claimed to be your father-in-law."
"Future, father-in-law, sir."
General Burke ignored his comment. "Your lover has been found. He wants you to know that she is at home and safe. He also wants you to come back." He observed the younger man's facial expression for a few seconds before he continued. "Normally, I would deny such a request. But, with the combination of the request coming from the Vice President and your father being Alexander Hamilton, I have decided to allow you to return early."
After all, was nepotism always so bad?
"Get ready to go. I will be releasing you later today."
"Thank you, sir." That was all Philip could manage to say. It was taking every ounce of self-control that he possessed not to cry from happiness and relief. He hurried back to the tent, wiping his eyes on his sleeve before anybody could say. All except Julian and Nathaniel. He couldn't keep anything from those two.
"Aww, is our little poet getting emotional?" Julian teased. "Theodosia?"
Philip only had to nod for a smile to appear on both of the other men's faces. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. After all of this emotional roller coaster, it was over.
He was finally going home.
A/N: There you go. A little bit of happiness for you. I know this story has been getting dark. Happy chapter for you. And it's not late, Guest.