"Can we take a break? I'm exhausted." Alexander huffed, wiping a tiny line of sweat from his forehead. Hercules chuckled, keeping his back turned to us.

"Alex, it's not our problem if you're not fit enough to rummage through stuff for barely two hours." Hercules commented, smiling at me over his shoulder.

"Yeah, Alex, how are you so inactive? You're a soldier, what happened?" I grinned, questioning him.

"Eliza's cooking happened." Alex dreamily whispered, a slight smile flitting across his lips as he remembered the Schuyler sisters surreal cooking abilities.

Hercules and I chuckled at his response, shaking our heads and turning back to the task at hand. Hercules was currently trying to jimmy the top off an old container that read 'HOME-BREW, FOR MY LIPS ONLY'.

His belief was that he deserved a bit of alcohol after all the shit his Hugh put him through.

While he was working on opening his holy grail, Alex and I were moving furniture around. Not… domestic rearranging, per say, more shoving to the side and trying to see if Hugh kept any important documents in any weird places, like Alexander and the shoe thing.

"Okay, I think the living room, dining room, and parlor are clear…" I thought aloud, glancing around the room one last time. "Has anybody checked the kitchen?"

"Not me." Alexander replied, and Hercules shook his head.

"Alright, Herc, you keep trying to get your special juice open." He grunted in acknowledgement. "And, Alex, you help me search the kitchen, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

We made our way through the maze of scattered furniture we'd left in our wake of searching. Alex tripped on a lamp that was lying on its side on the ground, but I managed to catch him in time, and aside from that we made it to the kitchen relatively unscathed.

"Where do you wanna start, John?" Alex sighed, his eyes roaming across the dirty kitchen. There were used dishes lying everywhere, on the counter, on the table, on the stove-top. I let out a breath as I took in the sight, trying to formulate an organized attack.

"We should start… with the cabinets." I semi-confidently responded, making my way over to the closest one.

Alexander stepped past me and chose the only open cabinet, and started to take the occupants out and splay on the counter.

My own cabinet was filled with oddities, ranging from half-full jam jars to parchments with drawings of the same woman.

"Hey… Hercules?" I called out, pulling the papers carefully from their position underneath the jars.

"Coming!" He called back, the sound of furniture being gently pushed following his response.

"What's up?" He asked, coming into the kitchen and over to me. His eyes glanced around the counters, looking at what Alex and I had fished from the shelves. "Find anything interesting?"

"Yeah, uh…" I passed him the drawings. "Do you know her? There're probably a dozen or so of these pages, and they're all of the same woman."

He shifted the papers, looking at all of them with a blank look on his face. Slowly, the blank turned to wonder, and a bit of confusion.

"Hugh, you dog…" He kept muttering, not ceasing his sifting of the papers. "Who is she, Hugh…"

"So you don't know her, Herc?" He steadily nodded, confirming it. "So, could they have been together in secret? Or maybe… I don't know."

"This is… strange, I always talked to him, and his buddies would've definitely told me if he was seeing anyone. They always made sure that we knew who the other was seeing, just in case one of us died and the girl needed to be notified."

Alex had halted his actions, and come up behind me to see what I'd found. He was looking at the pictures with an… unfamiliar look. I'd never seen him have such a serious, yet curious face before.

"Alex? What're you thinking about, hon?" I softly prompted, not wanting to be so loud that I interrupt Hercules' brooding thoughts.

"I, uh, she's…" He stumbled over his words, looking to the ceiling in thought. "I've… I've seen her before."

"What?" Hercules' head whipped up at the revelation, and his wide eyes bore into Alex's.

"Where, Alex? You've never been to Ireland, or at least since I've known you." I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not… not sure. I know I've seen her somewhere, somewhere with Hugh…" He thought for a moment. "Oh! The bar, the bar on Mercer Street, I saw at the bar on Mercer Street! I knew I'd seen her before, but… Why would Hugh have these drawings?"

"I have no clue, Alexander, but that's incredibly helpful that you've seen her before." Hercules noted, his former frown lightly smiling at us. "At least she's not some stranger we've never seen before, she'd be a lot harder to track. Now, though, we can ask around that bar and maybe they'll recognize her if we show them the drawings."

"Guys, can I go grab us some food?" Alex put forward, running a hand through his medium-length hair. "No offense, Herc, but your brother and you have very different grocery habits. The guy had beer and jam. Period."

"Yeah, yeah, go for it." He agreed, groping the inside of one of the many small purses on one of the kitchen counters. He made a small triumphant sound, and pulled a handful of coins from the fabric. "Here, there's a small fish and chips shop a little ways down the road. Just… stick to the road and not the shadows, okay? Don't get in any trouble. With anyone."

"Right, 'cause everyone I talk to gets pissed at me." Alex laughed, but was quickly silenced by Hercules' glare.

"Alex, just be careful, okay?" I interrupted Herc's glare and Alex's sheepish grin, giving my boyfriend a quick hug.

"Love you. I'll be back soon." He whispered into my ear, causing us both to blush from the contact.

"Love you, too. Be back in one piece." I felt him grin before he pulled away, and nodded at Hercules before taking the money and leaving.

"Alright, soldier boy, let's get back to it." Hercules sighed.

A few hours had passed since Alex had gotten us food. The trip went off without a hitch according to Alex, though the dirt on his knee told us otherwise.

"You tripped over yourself, didn't you?" I had asked him when he came back in.

"…None of your business, Laurens." He had pouted, eliciting giggles from Hercules and me.

Now, back in the kitchen, we were pacing in circles. Unsure of what to do next, we each were left to our own thoughts in the merry-go-round of walking.

I had checked all the kitchen cabinets while Alexander was out, and Herc had checked everywhere in the living room, again. We all had checked the guest rooms and our temporary bedrooms earlier, before we even started on the downstairs. Now, though, we were out of hiding places for hints of Hugh's activities.

"Guuuuuys, I'm bored." Alex moaned, rubbing his face with his hands. He stopped walking, and I weaved past him and back onto the invisible track we were all on. Hercules did the same, and we continued our small circle around the table.

"Then do something." I proposed, sighing at his comically wide eyes.

"But… but, that means thinking." He complained, crossing his arms and sitting down at the table.

"Yeah, right, like you're ever not thinking." Hercules quietly commented, tiredly chuckling at Alex's scoff.

"Alex, why don't you just go to slee—"

The floor gave out in one fell swoop, my knees buckling at the sudden loss of ground. I fell forward, my palms catching me on the nearest floorboards. I yelled out in surprise and pain, feeling the wood of the floor planks cutting into my legs. Hercules shouted my name, and I heard Alex screaming 'oh god' over and over again. My vision blurred then darkened, either from me closing my eyes, or the intense pain overload.

I had stopped falling what seems like forever ago, but I can't move. I can't see anything either, but I' don't know if that's because it's dark in… whatever room this is, or if I've gone blind.

"JOHN! Sweetheart, answer me!" Alex's voice faded into my mind, bringing my attention back to my friends.

"Guy…guys?" I choked, the dust blown around from the fallen floor suffocating me. "What… hell just went down?"

"You did! Laurens, you just straight disappeared into the goddamn ground, man!" Hercules boomed somewhere above me, his voice slightly distorted.

"Oh, god, everything hurts, guys." I groaned, trying to roll onto my back. I winced at the sudden shock in my side and legs, and immediately felt tears prickle at my eyes.

"John, don't move, baby!" Alex hurriedly ordered, and I could vaguely see his figure a few feet above me. "We're gonna come down and get you, okay? Don't move!"

He moved from my sight, and I instantly missed his voice. I weakly called out for him, but neither him no Hercules answered. I surveyed my surroundings, trying to figure out where the hell I ended up.

To my immediate right, there were roughly a dozen large barrels lined up against the wall. To my left, a few chairs surrounding a small, wooden round-table. I grimaced at the pain again, then glanced around the general area. From my point of view, it looked to be some kind of cellar, maybe, or… a gambling room? I have no clue, but what better place to gamble than a room with a crap-ton of alcohol?

I slightly shifted my body, trying to feel something other than pain from my legs. No doubt, it would take me a while to be able to walk after this little stunt.

I heard a loud thud from somewhere near my feet, and jumped as much as I could lying down. Wincing at the pain shooting through almost all of me, I clenched my jaw. I attempted to lift my head, anxious to see what the commotion near my lower half was.

"Are you okay?!" A panic-stricken voice called out, a voice that I'm assuming belongs to the figure emerging from the cloud of dust and broken ceiling.

"Alex?" I weakly replied, shifting so that I was partially sitting up and leaning on my elbows.

"Oh, my god, honey!" He cried, stumbling over an obstacle of wood and through a small cloud of air-borne dust. He dropped down next to me, and instantaneously began to check me over. His hands lightly pressed along my arms, then my chest, then my legs, all the while with him muttering to himself.

"Alex?"

"John, you could've died, what were you thinking? You didn't break, I don't think, but you could've." He breathily responded me, tears gathering in his deepening eyes as he looked up from my leg. "I should've made you guys sit down, all that pacing in this old house…"

"No, no, Alex, none of us saw this coming, it's not your fault, yeah?" I raised my eyebrows, waiting for a yes from him.

"…Yeah." He finally agreed after a moment. I smiled at him, and in doing so, made him smile even wider. We locked eyes for a few more seconds, forgetting the situation at hand, until Hercules coughed. Annoyingly, might I add?

"Oh, no, please, continue." He waved his hand in our general direction. "Please, this isn't awkward at all, go on gazing into each other's souls."

"Alright, alright, I see what you're talking about." I nodded, winking at Alex. "Y'all are just jealous, 'cause my girls here with me, not super far away."

"Hey! I'm a grown-man, John." Alex scoffed, tossing his hair flamboyantly over his shoulder.

"Sure, babe."

"John, I'm not jealous," Hercules butted in, clambering across the mess of planks that surrounded us to get closer. "Just grossed out with how ooey-gooey you guys are. All the time."

"All the…?" I started.

"Ooey-gooey?" Alex repeated, lifting his hand at me in a way that said 'I got this babe'.

"Ooey-motherfucking-gooey, Hercules? Bitch, I very recently got together with this man"-He pointed a finger in my direction-"and he could've just died. Now, I want him to know how much he means to me and I will be as 'ooey-gooey' as I damn well please, mmkay? You got me, Herc, or do I need to write Eliza?"

Hercules froze, his dark eyes widening at Alex's little speech. He looked between us both for a breath, then took a deep one himself and sheepishly grinned.

"Alexander, I was kidding, man, I'm sorry." Hercules apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought it'd lighten the mood, but… Seriously, man, I don't care how mushy you guys are."

"Oh. I, uh…" Alexander faltered, looking to me for help.

"He's just wound up, Hercules, it's been a long, painful in some cases, day."

I could vaguely see Hercules' shape cautiously step in behind Alex, staying extra aware of where he was walking. He knelt down beside Alex, right when a burst of suffocation hit me. I gagged for a moment, then dry-heaved, then coughed for roughly a few minutes. Multiple gross things like phlegm, and a small splinter almost the size of my thumb nail, flew from my throat as I unwillingly tried to throw up. Alex rubbed my back while I leaned on my side, still half-lying on the ground. The pain in my legs and side had mostly subsided, but I wasn't willing to try standing up at this point.

"I'm okay… I'm okay." I croaked, coughing up a tiny pocket of dry air. Alex shook his head, his wide-brown eyes getting the best of me. "Okay… Maybe, I'm not fine."

"What the hell is this place?" Hercules mumbled as he stood, taking in the room for himself. His eyes halted at the line of barrels. "Damn brother, and his stupid drinking problems."

"Ugh, right now he's more of a godsend." I groggily corrected. "Herc, pop one open and grab me a cup, will ya? My throat is too damn dry."

He nodded, walking around the trash pile I was a part of and grabbing a knife from the table in the corner. He quickly made his way back to one of the barrels, making sure not to fall. He raised it high above his head, bringing it down with all of his strength. A sharp crack echoed through the room, eliciting a wince from all of us on behalf of our ears. Herc eagerly began to lift the lid off, dropping the knife on the floor few feet from him. His fast-paced movements ceased abruptly once the lid was half-off, the sounds from the hassle of opening the barrel silenced.

"Uh… Guys, this is no booze."

A/N: Oh my god, I am so sorry, you guys. I know, I haven't updated in forever, but I've been trying. Something really big happened in my personal life and writing took the back burner. I have no clue how my updates are going to be, but I'm going to try. My depression is getting even worse, my motivation is basically nonexistent, but I wanted to get this chapter up so I could let you know WHY I haven't updated in forever.

My Mum died. In May, 16 days after my 17th birthday. I was there, I had to do CPR, it was incredibly traumatic, and I lost my motivation for everything after that. I also had to move, which was a whole thing, and I completely forgot about my fanfics. My therapist has told me, though, that that is normal. That I need to try and do the thing that used to make me happy. So... I'm back. I don't know how often I'll update, but I will try my damnedest to write and update as much as I can mentally handle. Thank you all so much for liking this story, for following it, for reviewing it, you guys have brightened my life so much. I still get PMs that tell me how good my work is and how they can't wait until I update, and that makes me so happy knowing that people love my work so much that they message me to say so and to ask when they can have more. Please, don't give up on this story, I'm really going to try hard to keep it going. I love you all so much, and thank you for all of your support!

thatwritermadeofpotatoes