A/N: this is chapter 14. this one should be a little calmer after the last 2 or 3 chapters. it is a whole lot longer... enjoy!!

I made chicken alfredo for dinner. In my mind, it is the main dinner course for scheming. Alexander helped in the kitchen the whole time. Anytime I told him to sit down or do some work, he told me that he insisted on helping. Something romantic about not wasting another moment because me being gone made him realize how much time he actually spent working. It is a sweet gesture, don't get me wrong, but he needs his work, just like I need my sisters and a bottle of white wine.

At 7:30, I heard a knock at the door. I went to answer it while Alexander got the kids to the table. The girls had brought my suitcase and set it by the door. After an exchange of hugs between all of us, we finally got to the table to eat. Alex sat at the head of the table. I was at the foot of the table. Angelica sat next to me on my right and Peggy sat across from her on my left. Angie and Philip sat next to their father and James and Alex Jr. sat by my sisters. We said a prayer and passed the chicken alfredo, garlic bread, corn, and salad around the table so everyone got some food. It was quite comforting knowing that my whole family could sit together and be civil. We had some chocolate raspberry cheesecake that Peggy made a little while ago and brought over. She told me that she wasn't going to eat it and that it was 'taking up space' because I felt guilty for taking her food.

At 8:30, Alex and I put the kids to bed while Peggy and Angelica took care of the clean up. All of the kids were ready to go to bed after eating dinner and then dessert. I could see in their eyes that they were glad to see their mom back home. I tucked that in the back of my mind for the next time I wanted to take a kid free vacation. After the last kid was at least in their room, Alexander and I made our way back downstairs, hand in hand. We sat down and now it was time for the real purpose of getting my family together, the scheming must begin!

"Alright, so we are here because we need to figure out what to do with Jefferson. He can not get away with what he did to… me… to my body…" I couldn't finish that sentence. I was starting to feel weak after just mentioning how he touched me. Alex could sense what I was feeling and wrapped his arm over my shoulder to keep me up and from passing out or going into shock.

"We could take him to court, sexual assault is a crime. We could get him some serious jail time." Alex suggested to the group.

"The only problem with that," Angelica points to me, "He was at Peggy's because he needed to give her money for hiring a hitman. It wouldn't work. It would be attempted murder against Maria Reynolds and your doting wife would be an accomplice to the crime."

He curses under his breath, "You're right. And because you guys knew about it, you two would also be classified as accomplices to the crime."

"Could we get someone on the inside to make his life a living hell?" Peggy asks, "There has to be someone who hates Jefferson just as much as we do and would be willing to help us, right?"

"I can think of one person who might be able to help us." He looks at me, "And because he hurt you, this will work all the better…"

"Who?" I ask him.

"Mr. George Washington."

"The President!?" Angelica spits out her drink.

He raises his eyebrows, "Yes, exactly! It would be perfect. This man regularly calls me his son, loves Eliza and my children, and actively goes against Jefferson in just about everything. It would work, and because he loves my wife so much, he would be even more inclined to help us out!"

"Maybe. He could probably get Jefferson in trouble for his 'business' without getting us in trouble, Eliza."

"Us?" Alexander questions.

"John had her use it once or twice when she lived in England. It was in the earlier days of their relationship, before we met." I tell him.

He nods to show that he understands, "Well, he can't do anything about forgein crimes, but if there is proof that he would kill today, which there is, he could get in serious trouble."

"I think that we could get a good shot out of him. The question is, how do we get proof that he was willing to commit a crime today or in the near future?"

"Didn't you text him, Eliza?" Peggy asks.

"I did, but we never said that we were going to kill Maria, he did that in person." I lean back into Alex, "This isn't going to work without concrete proof."

"What if we stage it?" Angelica suggests, "Like we buy a burner phone and one of us text him or records a phone call speaking of it. If he calls, he won't worry about censoring himself and if it is one of the acclaimed Schuyler sisters… well, it won't be hard for him to give into us."

"Can we go out to get a burner phone tonight or do we have to wait until tomorrow?" Alexander asks.

Peggy bites her lip, reaches into her purse and pulls out a burner phone, "What if I already have one?"

"Peggy! That's awesome!" I exclaim, "Angelica, you have to make the call though. It would make the most sense. I told him that you were upset about the situation between me and Alex. You say you wanna go for him by Sunday, that could give us enough time to work and make sure that Alex doesn't die."

His face falls. Angelica bites her nail, "What if I just say that I want to complete the work you couldn't go through with?"

"Not specific enough." Alexander blurts, "For the evidence to be solid, it can't be elusive to other things. You have to come out with a fresh idea. And before we record anything at all you have to say that recording is actually staged and that you would never hurt a soul using this method. Otherwise, you could go to jail, too."

"Alright. I'll call him." She grabs the burner phone from Peggy, "Eliza, give me the number."

I pull out my phone and go to my contacts. I recited the number to her, we set the phone down on the table. I pull out my camera on my phone, set it down on the table by the other phone, and hit record.

Angelica takes a deep breath, "I, Angelica Schuyler-Church, would like to state that this phone call is staged. I would never utilize what you are about to witness for any reason. This is purley to get Thomas Jefferson exposed for his actions against others in our community."

She presses the green call button and puts the phone into speaker mode. We wait for the ringing to end. After 5 rings he answers the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey, Thomas, it's Angelica."

"Oh, I was wondering why I didn't have this number saved in my phone." His voice sends me back to earlier. I lean on Alex so I don't pass out.

"Yea, I got a new phone number. So, uhm, I was curious if I could strike a deal with you."

"What type of deal?"

"The type that will most certainly benefit you…" She looks at me and I nod to her. She's nervous and I can feel it. Hopefully, Thomas won't be able to tell.

"Doll face, there are two possiblities to that deal." I was feeling very sick to my stomach after hearing him talk to Angelica like that.

"I just got done having dinner with Eliza and Alexander."

"And?"

"I was curious what you normally charge to kill someone as socially active as Alexander."

"Normally I don't disclose information like this over the phone, Angelica."

"Can you just answer my damn question? Alex was really pissing me off at dinner. I can't believe Eliza just let him back in."

"I have to agree with you. She deserves much better than him. I charge 6,000 for a clear shot. But with his stubborn ass, I might need two shots to the head with a shotgun just to make sure he's actually dead."

"Great. Will the two shots be more money?"

"Not for you it won't be. When can I get my money for killing him?"

"After it's done." She looks at me and mouths 'when?' I mouth back to her 'Tuesday.' That gives Alex enough time to talk to Washington without him getting hurt.

"When would you like me to take my shot at him?"

"Tuesday around 5, or whenever he leaves the office." She's smart, he won't be going to work on Tuesday… He'll be working at home because he'll have a fever of 101.1.

"Alrighty. Then, you will pay me. I can lower that price if you partake in a different favor for me…"

"I'll pass. Married woman. I'll pay you on Tuesday. 11pm at Peggy's house."

"Thank you. You can think about my other offer."

"Thank you for taking the kill. I don't want Eliza to get hurt ever again."

"I'll make sure that bastard doesn't ever hurt Eliza again."

"Good. See you later, Thomas."

"See you later, Angelica." She hangs up the phone and stops the recording. I wasn't able to see it while she was playing the role, but this hurt her to do. I can see her breaking as she sits down on my kitchen table. She buries her face in her hands. I ran over to her and let her rest her head on my shoulder as I hugged her body. She hugs back. Peggy sits next to her, rubbing her back to calm her down.

"You did amazing. You did amazing." I coo as she starts to cry.

"I can't believe that he… he wanted to sleep with me after what he did to you…" Her grip tightens around my waist, "It was like… like nothing he did ever happened… like he didn't… touch you…"

"I know, that is why it is very important that we talk to Washington soon."

Alex comes over and he puts his hand on the middle of my back, "I can call him now. He can come over and we can get this over with as quickly as possible."

"What time is it?" I ask him.

He glances down at his watch, "9:45. Maybe I can do it tomorrow."

"Angelica, you can stay with us, if you want. Peggy, you can, too."

"I think I will." Angelica tells me, "Peggy do you want to stay?"

She nods, "Anything I can do to support my family."

"Great. I'll go set up the guest bedrooms." He walks off to go make sure the rooms have bedding and blankets to keep warm. He comes back after 5 minutes. We walk the girls to their rooms, and head to bed ourselves. Our first night back together. We've only been apart for just over a day, but I missed him. We both crawl into bed, he faces me, and I lean myself back into him. His arm wraps around my waist securely. I feel protected and safe as I fall into the best sleep I've ever had.