"Yo, Ned. Walk with me?" Alexander gestured to the doctor, cocking his head toward the door.

Edward looked over at him and stood up from the couch, where he'd been watching Lafayette entertaining Alexander's children with stories from the battlefield. "Alright." He nodded and stood to put on his coat and gloves.

Alexander nodded with a smile and held the door open for his brother before passing through himself and closing it.

"So?" Edward asked. "Where to?"

"This way." Alexander jerked his thumb to the right. "I just wanna talk."

Edward dropped into step beside the former treasurer. "As you wish, dear brother." He murmured.

The two of them walked in silence for a while, taking in the beauty and silence of their whitened world, each thinking their own thoughts. Then Alexander spoke. "Do you remember the first time you saw snow?" His voice was soft, as if he didn't wish to disturb the winter stillness.

A small smile grew on Edward's face as he recalled the memory. "Yeah." He whispered. "It was shortly after I first came to the mainland to study at King's." His hazel eyes twinkled. "I barely even knew what winter was; but suddenly, there I was, a kid from the Carribean, staring in wonder at this stuff everyone called 'snow'." He chuckled. "I went in it and got cold pretty fast, but I still wanted to stay out." He looked at Alexander, who'd been keeping pace with him, a small smile on his face. "You?"

The lawyer remained silent for a few moments, but gradually, a fond smile spread across his face. "I was with the squad. Gilbert and I were both like kids in a sugar cane field. I was in it for about two minutes then wanted to go inside again." He admitted with a shrug, laughing.

"Oh man." Edward laughed along. "Guess us islanders aren't much for the cold, are we?"

"No way." Alexander shook his head, giggling.

Edward took a step closer to Alexander and draped an arm over his shoulders. "I'm glad I have you as my brother." He murmured, eyes soft. "I don't know what'd I'd do without you."

The war vet grinned affectionately. "And I you, Ned." He stopped walking and simply stared at Edward, eyes shining. "I'll always be here for you, no matter what. You know that, right?" He murmured.

Edward smiled tightly, emotion tightening his throat. "Yeah." He croaked.

Alexander nodded, a confused look on his face. "Why're you crying?"

"I- I'm not!" Edward turned and hid his face, wiping his eyes.

Alexander rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Okay Doc."

Edward tsked and elbowed him in the ribs. "Oh, shush."

The lawyer grinned. "'Fraid I can't do that, Neddy." He then turned around, thinking he heard Eliza calling him.

The doctor gave a crooked smile. This was his chance. He scooped up a handful of snow and chucked it at Alexander, who turned around only to get a faceful of snow.

He squawked and fell onto his rear. "Ah! Cold! Cold! Cold!" He shook his head and wiped the snow off. Then he looked up at the chortling Edward. "You little shit!" He growled with a grin and sprung to his feet.

Edward started running. "Crap!" He laughed.

Alexander chased him, hurtling snowballs at the doctor as he ran. "You'll pay for that!"

"Not if I can outrun you!"

"Go ahead and try! I'll catch up eventually!"

Edward and Alexander's playful bantering drew Lafayette and the rest of the Hamilton clan to come out of the house.

Lafayette's eyes sparked with mischief and he darted back into the house.

He re-emerged in his winter gear, sprinted off the porch, and barreled toward Alex and Ned.

Alexander caught sight of him, shrieked, and ran another direction.

He ran right into Hercules.

The tailor took one look over the lawyer's shoulder, saw the Lafayette and Edward tag- team, promptly picked up Alexander, slung him over his shoulder, whirled on his heel, and booked it.

Eliza laughed aloud watching this magnificent spectacle arise. "Run, Mulligan, keep my husband safe!"

The tailor winked at her, leapt over a snow mound, and landed in his grizzly form.

Alexander yelped, shifting, and clawed his way onto the bear's back, ducking to avoid Lafayette and Edward's snowballs. "Go, Herc, go!" He barked.

Hercules charged forward.

"HEY!" Edward shrilled. "Not fair!"

Alexander looked back at him. "All's fair in peace and war!"

Lafayette scoffed and glanced at Edward. "Why do we not give them a taste of their own medicine?"

Edward's eyes flashed. He smirked. "I like how you think." He nodded and, with a leap, shifted into a clouded leopard.

Lafayette scooped up two snowballs and jumped into the sky as a hawk, snowballs in his talons.

Alexander happened to look back. He screeched in surprise as Lafayette sent a snowball hurtling straight into his face.

Hercules slid to a stop, shook Alexander off, changed back into a human, and mercilessly began firing snowballs at Edward and Gilbert.

The two of them fell back, sputtering. Lafayette stared up at the tailor and smirked. "This is war!"

Alexander grinned and abruptly donned his General posture. "TROOP GRANGE, FORWARD!" He bellowed.

"Sir, yes sir!" Came the chorused voices of his children.

Lafayette and Edward gawked.

Edward turned and ran. "I SURRENDER!"

Lafayette gazed at him with a sigh. "I'll never surrender!" He jeered playfully.

"NEITHER SHALL WE!"

Lafayette skittered sideways at the startling voices of four other war vets: Tench Tighlman, Richard Kidder Meade, James McHenry, and Nathanial Pendleton.

While Tench helped the Frenchman to his feet, Alexander glared lightly at Pendleton. "TRAITOR!"

"We shall see, Hamilton." He replied with a smirk. "We shall see."

Alexander grinned and scooped up a snowball. "Indeed we shall." He growled. "SONS OF LIBERTY, ATTACK!"

And so began the most epic snowball fight of the decade.