Idon't own Hamilton.

Chapter Fifteen

Meggie was screaming. No matter what she did, Theodosia couldn't calm her down. Philip had gotten the week off of work. He spent ever second of it with his family. Eliza was over all day. Cooking or cleaning. Anything that had to be done, she did. Annie told David of her niece's illness. She came over with her mother sometimes. Alexander was at home. He was supposed to be watching the little ones, but he let his mind wonder. If Philip had died in that duel he wouldn't even be there. Now that he thought about it, Meggie had been such a big blessing to his life. The infant had inherited his eyes. Eyes that he couldn't bear to see close.

Theodosia's eyes, however, had black lines underneath them. She hadn't slept in days. It was starting to get to her. With every step the young woman almost fell. Philip took notice of this. But because his wife was so dedicated to trying to make Meggie feel better, he let her go. Until Theodosia was so exhausted that she almost cut herself with a knife.

"You need to get some sleep," Philip said, sternly.

"No, I have to… With Meggie…" was his answer.

"At least step outside, Theodosia. Get some fresh air," Philip prompted, "That'll do you good."

She did as her husband told her. Theodosia found herself in a wood. The one that she and Philip went to as children. As she got deeper into the woods, she found the old treehouse that they two built. Ducking, Theo slid inside. It was the same as they last left it. A large mat was on the floor. Theodosia curled up and laid down. Maybe a short nap wouldn't hurt.

When Theodosia woke, the sun was starting to set. She sat up and stretched. It hadn't bee too short of a nap, that was for sure. When Theodosia looked down she found a mosquito on her arm.

"Go away!" she exclaimed as she swatted at it.

Theodosia climbed down the latter. There was no doubt that she felt much better. As she got nearer to the house, she saw figures. Soon Theodosia broke into a run. Philip was outside the house. He was scanning the bushes and trees for his wife. Once he saw her he broke out into a grin.

"Theodosia! I was so worried!" her husband exclaimed, sprinting in her direction, "Where were you?"

"I haven't been gone for that long!" she met up with her husband.

"It's almost eight o'clock! We arranged a search party for you. My mom is watching Meggie. We think that she's doing a little better. My father is still out with John and James looking for you. Your father's here with my mother. They're both worried about Meggie," Philip exclaimed. As they arrived back at the house, Philip called out, "Look who's back everyone!"

Everyone surrounded her. Asking questions. Where have you been? What took you so long? You had us so worried! Are you all right?

"I'm fine. I'm fine." was all she had to say to make everyone there stop talking momentarily. "I need to see my baby."

The mother no longer cared if she was being rude. Her child need her. Theodosia made her way inside. She could hear the sounds of a lullaby that sounded familiar.

Dear Margarita, what to say to you?

You have his eyes, You have your aunt's name

When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart…

In the parlor, Aaron was rocking his granddaughter to sleep. She smiled at the sight.

"How's she been?" Theo questioned her father.

Aaron was surprised. It showed in his eyes, even if he tried to hide it. "I think that's she's a little better."

"I hope she'll be okay."

Theodosia leaned over and vomited into the chamber pot next to her bed. Ever since she woke up that morning, she had been feeling awful. She couldn't lie down on her back or walk for those muscles were sore. Whenever she looked out the window, the young mother was greeted with an ear splitting headache. Philip had come in and ask her if she wanted anything to eat. The very sound of food made her want to throw up again.

All she wanted was to hold her daughter. But as Philip reasoned, they didn't know what Theodosia had. It could be contagious and they didn't want to make Meggie even more ill. She could hear the baby screaming. Alexander was out getting the doctor. Even though Theodosia still sided with her father about the duel, she would be forever grateful.

Her husband came in with the doctor. Theodosia gave him a weak smile. The doctor made Philip leave. But Theodosia didn't want him to go. She wanted Philip to be there to hold her hand as the doctor diagnosed her.

As Philip waited, he watched his mother try to put Meggie to sleep. By this point, his daughter's skin had a yellow tone to it. She had started puking more often. Sometimes blood.

Doctor came out of the room shaking his head. Philip rose at the sight of him.

"What's wrong, sir?" he questioned him.

"Yellow Fever." The other man sighed.

No. Not his Theodosia too.

"She'll be okay, right?" Philip felt like a child as he asked that question. A young, naïve, innocent child who had no idea what was going on. Who didn't understand death. Didn't know how really sick the girl he cared for was.

"I think that she will be. Try to break her fever and if she doesn't enter the toxic phase of the disease, than she'll be just fine," said the doctor, letting Philip let out a deep breath, "However, I do not understand weather or not Mrs. Hamilton may have contracted the sickness. You told me last time I was here that both of you have been inside taking care of little Meggie. Has she been outside at all?"

Philip explained how he made Theodosia go outside to get some fresh air.

"She did come home with a mosquito bite. I suppose that's what happened," finished Philip.

The doctor nodded. After giving Philip a few more instructions, he went to check on Meggie. Philip slid into his and Theo's room.

"Yellow Fever," Theodosia informed him.

"That what I heard," Philip replied, "Do you need anything?"

His wife shock her head. "I think that I'm just going to take a nap."

As her eye lids closed, Philip snuck a kiss onto her forehead. He ducked out of the room to see what was going on with Meggie. When he arrived, his mother was sobbing into Alexander's shoulder. Alexander was rubbing his wife's back. The doctor was holding the screaming child.

"Mom? Pops? What's going on?" he asked his parents, "Tell me. I'm her father. I need to know!"

"Mr. Hamilton, I'm very sorry to have to tell you this," the doctor said, gently. He sighed. "Your daughter has about three days to live."

"What?" But Philip could feel himself saying the word. He felt as though he had been frozen to the core and was now trying to unthaw. He dropped to the floor. All feeling had left his legs. "No. No. NO!"

Eliza knelt down by her son. She held him to her chest. Letting him cry. Alexander put his arms around the two of them. When Philip's tears had started to dry up, the doctor handed Meggie to him. He took his child and held her to himself. As tight as he could.

Philip pushed away the unimaginable.

Theodosia was standing below her mother who was floating above her. Her mother reached for her daughter's hand. But Theo refused to give it to her.

"Aren't you ready to come with me, Theo?" her mother asked, gently.

"No. I need to be there for my baby," she replied.

Her mother gave her a proud smile. "You're an amazing mother, love. Remember that."

"All right, Mama."

She was nine years old again. In her arms was a sleeping infant. One who needed help. Theodosia promised the child to bring her to the Burrs. But she was trapped. In a wood that was clearly haunted. The sky was a sick gray color. The trees around her had sharp teeth and branches. If she made one sound Theodosia knew that the would eat her and the baby alive.

There was no way out. No clearing. No door or key. All Theodosia needed to do was get to her parents. They would be so worried by now. Her mother would be pacing the hallways while her father searched high and low for his daughter.

The baby started crying. The bushes around them started moving. Theodosia held the child to her chest and sprinted. But no matter how fast she had the plants would still get to her. Their voices taunted them. Let her know that she was a failure. Nothing could save that child. No matter what she tried to do.

Suddenly, the baby stopped crying.

Theodosia looked down. To her utter horror the child that was in her very arms was dead. This was all her fault. The trees above her enjoyed telling her about her failure.

"You're the cause of this innocent's death!" the told her.

"NO! NO!" Theodosia cried.

The dead flowers had surrounded her. She was next to die. To pay for all of her sins.

"NO! NO!" his wife was screaming.

Theodosia woke up. Her eyes were wide open and her face covered in drops of sweat. Philip was there, holding Meggie. As soon as she had recovered (mostly) from the nightmare, Theodosia felt a headache starting to cover her temple.

"Are you okay, Theo?" Philip asked, patting Meggie on the back so she wouldn't cry out again.

"Let me see my baby," she ordered.

Philip did as he was told. He handed Meggie over to Theodosia as fast as he could. Theodosia cradled her. She was safe. The baby was safe in here arms.

"Um, Theodosia, there's something you should know." Philip drew in a sharp breath. "The doctor told me that Meggie has about three days to live."

At first Theodosia said nothing. Only looked into her daughter's eyes and rubbed her hand. When she gently put a finger over Meggie's chest, she felt only a slow, weak heart trying to beat. Her daughter really was fading. And she didn't have three days.

"I don't want her to leave me. Our baby needs to be here. With us," said Theodosia, kissing her daughter's cheek. She had gotten so skinny within the last few days.

"I know, Theodosia," replied Philip, taking a seat on the bed next to them, "But before she goes, let's tell her a story. How about we do the one about the day she was born."

His wife nodded. "Once upon a time, your mama was talking to your cousin, Eliza. That's when she knew that you were going to be born. You're papa went a little crazy when I told him. But the midwife arrived to help bring you into the world. We, well you're father decided to name you Margarita after his late aunt. The moment I met you, I knew that I was always going to love you." Her voice cracked. "And we will, Meggie. We will always love you. No matter what happens. I promise you, Margarita Burr Hamilton. Your mama is never going to let go of the love she felt for you. Nothing can replace that."

"Dear Margarita, what to say to you?" Philip sang, "You have my father's eyes. You have you're aunt's name. When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my… heart…"

The two parents let out sobs as their little girl reached her final moments. Meggie's finger was wrapped around her father's. She opened her eyes for the last time to see her parents bawling over her. But her eyes closed once more. For the last time.

Meggie was buried at Trinity Church. Near the elder Theodosia. She was dressed in a pale silk night gown. The child was wrapped up in one of her mother's shawls. She was put in her little coffin with one of her father's poems, Eliza's hair ribbons, Alexander's quills, Aaron's handkerchief, Theodosia the elder's necklace, a song that Annie wrote, and a little toy from each of the Hamilton children. Even David, Mary, and Lucy donated something for Meggie. The family made sure that they made sure that Meggie was comfortable being laying her into the Earth.

Her parents wept for her. Unlike her daughter, Theodosia was just fine after a few days. Eliza relied on her husband to get her through the funeral. Many a year ago, she had a miscarriage. It was a hard time for the Hamiltons. Her granddaughter's death reminded her all too much of the experence.

After a final prayer from Aaron, the families left. All but Philip and Theodosia. The could stayed at their daughter's grave, holding each other's hands. As Aaron was about to leave, he turned around to see the sight. He trudged back to his daughter.

"Theo," Aaron whispered into his daughter's ear, "I'm always here if you need it. I don't know what you're going through, but I do know how it feels to lose a child. Come to me if you need it."

"Oh Daddy!" Theodosia cried, embracing her father.

He left soon after. Leaving behind the two. While Philip stared at his daughter's gravestone, Theodosia looked away. The sight would only bring her more pain. But her husband was just fine. He memorized the words.

Our beloved daughter, Margarita Burr Hamilton

(Meggie)

October 17, 1804 to September 5, 1805

Nine months old when she became an angel

"Tomorrow, at dawn, at the moment when the land whitens,
I will leave. You see, I know that you wait for me.
I will go by the forest, I will go by the mountain.
I cannot stay any longer, far away from you"

- Alexander Hamilton (Grandfather)

Meggie would never be forgotten.

This is the longest (six pages) and agstiest (that's not a word, I know) chapter I have ever written. It was a hard thing for me to do. But I did it for several reasons. One was to show how hard it is to lose a child. Back during that time, a lot of babies died a lot. You'll see a lot of my reasons in further chapters. While I was writing this chapter my hands were shaking too much to really type. I've written a lot of death scenes and this has been the hardest. Babies have a soft spot in my heart and this just broke it. I have a little cousin who I just adore. I thought about her while I was writing. I really am sorry to do this.

That poem wasn't actually one of Hamilton's. I couldn't find a good poem that he wrote that would suite this so I took a snippet of one of Victor Hugo's (the author of Les Misérables).

So I thought that I would start a few traditions for my author's notes for this story. I recently got my "Hamilton: The Revolution" book (I love it so much) and I felt like sharing a fact that I didn't know before about Hamilton. Today's is going to fit this chapter. The hardest part of preforming Hamilton for Lin was doing "Stay Alive Reprise" because he was a new father and couldn't bear the thought of having that happen to his son.

The other new tradition is based on this thing I found on Pinterest called "30 Day Hamilton Challenge". I'm probably going to answer two of the questions on there for every chapter. And after I give my answer you can include yours. Here we go.

The first question is: Who's your favorite character?

Answer: Eliza. Defiantly Eliza. She was such a strong woman and it was hard to be female back in those days. After dealing with her sister's death, son's death, the affair (which she was able to forgive her husband for), and Alexander's death, she still felt as if she hadn't done enough. She founded an orphanage. Raised funds for the Washington monument. Spoke out against slavery. Eliza even meet freaking Abraham Lincoln. She was able to all that even after Angelica's death. I also relate to her the most.

The next question is: Who's your least favorite character?

Answer: I know a lot of people are gonna hate on me for this, but Maria Reynolds. Now if you review and just harass me for saying that, just don't. We all have our different opinions. I won't hate on you for yours, you don't hate on me for mine. Besides I can actually see Maria's backstory as a great villain background story. I actually wrote a villain in one of my original works based around her story. Now, I do feel some sympathy for her. This is just my opinion.

Thanks for reading! Please review!