#schuylerson

              Thomas scooped the child up and stood as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.

               “She’s gotta be starving.  Who knows how long she’s been wondering around town,” he attempted to hand her off to his friend, but she only tightened her grip.  He didn’t blame her, she didn’t know James well.

               “Hey, it’s alright sweetheart.  James is a friend of mine, okay?  And he’s nice, I promise,” he said.  But she shook her head.  He sighed, leaning back a bit to get her attention.

               “Hey.  Now look, I’m gonna go out and look for your papa, but you need to stay here to get some food in you and rest.”

               “B-but I don’t want you go!  A-auntie Angie told me that if I ever got lost, t-to find you and stay close ‘cause you’d help me!  Y-you can’t l-leave me too!” she hiccupped.  His eyes grew wide.  Angelica Schuyler held him in that high regard?  He glanced up at James who picked up on Thomas’s line of thinking. Apparently the Schuyler sister thought more of him than they realized.  But Thomas’s mulling on his love interest was short lived by the little girl in his arms tightening her grip around his neck again.  He gasped for air.

               “Ack…okay, okay, Ange, listen.  I know you’re scared, but you’ve gotta be a big girl, okay? You’ve gotta stay here in case your papa comes looking for you.  No doubt you’re exhausted, and James cooks some mean Mac and Cheese.  I should know, I’m the Mac and Cheese master, right?  I taught him everything he knows,” he said with a wink.  James rolled his eyes at this and little Angelica let out a giggle despite her tears. Jefferson grinned and wiped her face,

               “There’s a smile!  It’ll be a couple of hours, but James knows some good games you guys can play, and there are plenty of books.  I know how you love to read; you take after your Auntie after all,” he said, walking over to the couch in his living room and setting her down. James closed the door behind them before approaching the two.  He leaned down and whispered in Thomas’s ear.

               “Ah…Thomas, I don’t know the first thing about looking after a kid!”

               “For crying out loud, it’s easy James!” Thomas stood up and turned to fully face his friend, “Look, Ange is smart and can take care of herself.  All you need to do is keep her company and keep her mind of things.  I’m going into town to find an officer and let them know where she is.  Hamilton can’t be too far.  He’s either at the office or combing the streets looking for her, but he’s not going home without his baby.  I’ll find him and we’ll get all this squared away in no time.”

               “How did she even find you?  Has she been here before?” James asked.  Thomas froze at that, eyes wide.

               She hadn’t.

               The men turned to look at the girl, who was curled up in a fetal position and hugging a pillow.

               “Ange, how did you find me?” Thomas asked, bending down to her level again and brushing back her hair.  It was an action that always soothed her when he used to visit her aunt at Hamilton’s home when she was younger.  The girl sniffled,

               “I-I saw you.  A-after the meeting.  Papa was…he was talking to someone and…and I was gonna say hi so I followed you…but…but I got lost.  So I just kept trying to make sure I could see you and—“ his breath caught in his throat. That’s right.  

              A couple of people had brought their kids to work that day, a courtesy granted by Washington.  Hamilton had to have brought Angie but…had she trailed him all the way downtown from the main office??  

               Damn, but she was a smart cookie.

               “Sweetheart, why didn’t you go to the police?!” he asked.

               “’C-cause Auntie Angie said you’d help me, and I knew you would and I just—!” she hiccupped again, a whine building at the back of her throat.  Thomas pat her head.

               “Okay.  There, there. It’s alright, you’re safe now,” he said. She sniffled and nodded, biting her bottom lip.

               “And we’ll find your dad in no time,” James said, giving her a warm smile over Jefferson’s shoulder.  Ange narrowed her eyes at James skeptically and he gulped. Jefferson couldn’t help but to snicker—after all, she’d given him the same scrutiny when they first met several years ago.  

               “Relax, that means she likes you,” he teased his friend.  James frowned at him.

               —-

               A deafening slap resounded throughout the room, echoing against the lime green walls.

               “You’ve done some stupid-ass shit before, Alexander, but this takes the cake!  I can’t believe you lost Angie!  Who knows where she is!  She could be hurt, or kidnapped, or…”

               “D-don’t say that!  Damn it, d-don’t you think I know it?!  For godsake, I just turned my back for 2 seconds and-and she was gone!” he said in exasperation, ignoring the warm, stinging numbness on his cheek.  He deserved it after all.  Both adults then heard a sniffle and glanced over at the eight year old boy staring at the floor, trying to hold back is own tears.

               “I-i-it’s all my fault!  I-I should’ve been watching her!  She was, she…I told her to stop bugging me and…and now I may never see here a-again!” Philip hiccupped.  His aunt and father looked him worriedly.  Angelica immediately rushing to her nephew’s side and stooping in front of him as Alex began frantically pacing the room.

               “Oh!  No, no, no Philip…shhh.  It’s not your fault. Don’t cry.  W-we’ll find Angie, you’ll see!” she said, cupping his face and wiping away his tears. She then clutched him to her chest and shot her brother-in-law a seething glare.

               “God, I could kill you Alexander!” she whispered harshly.  She’d come to town for a visit and decided to stop by Alexander’s workplace, planning to travel back with him to surprise her sister and the kids.  Imagine her surprise upon arriving at Alex’s office, she found her nephew red faced with tears streaming down his cheeks and Alex trying to console him while failing to hold back his own tears.

               Alexander immediately came to Angelica and Philip’s side,

               “Look, we’ve got the police out looking for her, okay? And we’re not going to stop until we find her.  I promise, we WILL get her back, okay?” Alex asked, one hand on Philip’s shoulder, the other on his head, even as Angelica continued to hold him.

               Someone cleared their throat at the door.

               The trio looked up to see Washington and Jefferson in the doorway.

               “Thomas…” Angelica gasped.  Hamilton frowned.

               “The fuck do you want, Jefferson?! I thought you went home!” he spat, too distraught to care about his language.  Angelica hissed his name in reprimand but he ignored her.

               “Alexander, I know you’re distressed but I implore you to control yourself.  Jefferson is here to help,” Washington said

               “How the f-…hell can he help?!”

               “You seem to be one Hamilton short, there, Alexander,” Jefferson said cooly, his hands in his pockets.  Alex, Angelica, and Philip all raised an eyebrow at the Secretary.

               “…I found Angie.  Or, I suppose I should say she found me.”

—

               The ride to Maiden Lane was a quiet one.  The sun setting low against the horizon.  Jefferson had done some calculations in his head. Earlier in the day, he and Madison had decided to walk to Thomas’s residence from work.  It would’ve been easy for Angie to follow them.  After all, with Thomas’s hair (and vibrant wear) he stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowd.  Still, it had to be a longer walk for a 7 year old.  Her legs were much shorter after all.

               Jefferson had decided to use a carriage to travel back to the office to cut on time; after all, wheels were faster than feet.

               And so, here they were in Thomas’s horse-drawn carriage.  Alex with Philip pressed against his side, the boy having practically cried himself to exhaustion.  Alex’s eyes were bloodshot as he tried to ignore the sight of Jefferson holding his sister-in-law’s hand in front of him.  Instead, he tried to force his eyes to the images of people strolling the streets outside, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.  

              He wondered just how many of them were really in dire straits that they took great pains to hide from society.

              Meanwhile, Jefferson was whispering words of comfort to his companion.

              “She’s okay.  Madison is watching her; I think he’s actually intimidated by her,” he said.  And she bit her lip despite herself and held in a giggle at that.  Alex’s eye twitched but he said nothing.  Jefferson smiled warmly at Angelica,

              “You taught her well, if she was wandering around for that long and managed to find me.  She’s really smart.”

              “Ah…that’s-that’s more Eliza’s work than mine…” she said lowly.  Thomas’s heart warmed at her modesty.  He knew it had to be the work of both sisters, but that Angelica also had to impart a lot of knowledge from her own travels on the young girl.  A gentle smile graced the older woman’s lips.

              “I’m just…glad she’s alright.  Thomas, thank you,” she said.  He nodded and squeezed her hand softly; the rest of the ride was completed in silence.

—

               The three adults stared in shock at the sight before them.  Madison stood there at the door with a light layer of blush and lipstick on his face, courtesy of little Angelica Hamilton having found and old makeup kit in the bathroom.

               “Don’t. Ask.” he said in monotone.  It was then that the little girl poked her head around from behind his legs, and her eyes lit up at the sight of her father.

               “DADDY!” she cried, rushing forward and launching herself into his arms.  Angelica was holding Philip, who perked up at the sound of his sister’s voice and scrambled to loosen himself from his aunt’s hold to squeeze himself into the hug of his family.

               “SWEETHEART! Oh, I’ve missed you!  It’s okay!  It’s alright now, daddy’s got you!” Hamilton said, holding her close as she cried into his shoulder.  Hamilton also opened his arm to his son and wrapped both of his babies up in a tight hold. He kissed Angie all of her face, as well as Philip.  Angelica tightened her grip on her father, and couldn’t stop the tears from falling as Philip also gave her a tight squeeze.

               Angelica Schuyler hugged herself with one arm and brought her other hand up to her mouth, trying to hold back her tears as she laughed in relieved glee.  Jefferson was at her side, both hands behind his back as he let the family have its moment. Madison came up to the two of them and Jefferson grinned.

               “That’s a nice shade, Madison.”

               “Oh shaddup. I don’t even know where she found this stuff anyway!” he said, using one of his spare handkerchiefs in his pocket to wipe the makeup off.  Angelica cleared her throat at this and pointedly looked away, as did Jefferson. She then stepped forward and bent down before her family.

               “Angie?”

               “Auntie Angelica!!” the little girl scrambled forward into her aunt’s arms at well.

               “Ooooh!  You’re safe now sweetheart, we’ve got you!” she said.

               “I did what you said, Auntie!  I stayed calm! A-and read the signs!  And found an adult friend to help me!  Uncle Jeffy and Mr. Madison were really nice!” she said. Hamilton raised an eyebrow at this. Uncle Jeffy?  He glanced up at his rival, who made a point to keep his distance from the family.

               “Oh, you’re so smart sweetheart! You’re mommy’s gonna be so proud!” she said, kissing her neice’s forehead.

               “A-and I’m sorry, Angie.  I-I didn’t mean to yell at you…” Philip said, pulling her into his arms.  She giggled.

               “It’s-it’s okay Philip!  I-I’m just glad you’re not mad at me anymore!” she said.  While the younger siblings chattered away, Schuyler and Hamilton both stood and made their way over to Jefferson and Madison. Pure adoration shown in the older Schuyler sister’s eyes as she bowed her head.

               “Thomas, thank you…so much for taking care of her.”

               “Ah…you should be thanking ol’ James, here,” he said, taking his friend by the shoulder and moving him forward.  “After all, he watched over her while I went to retrieve Hamilton,” he said.  Angelica giggled.

               “Of course.  Mr. Madison, thank you,” she said, kissing his cheek.  James had the decency to blush before stuttering and mumbling that it was no trouble, blushing feeling immensely flustered.  Alexander, for his part, gave Thomas a seething glare.

               “Don’t think for one second this changes anything, Jefferson,” he said.  His eyes narrowed as he wondered why his daughter and sister-in-law were suddenly considering this biggest enemy to be an ally of the family.  Jefferson shrugged, unperturbed.

               “I wouldn’t expect anything less Hamilton.”

               There was silence before Hamilton reluctantly extended a hand for a hand-shake.  Jefferson hesitated before accepting the offer.

               “Thank you, for looking out for Angie,” Hamilton said, before pulling Jefferson forward a bit and adding lowly, “Still…I don’t know what your game is, but I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.” Jefferson narrowed his eyes before taking a breath and saying seriously,

               “If you need assistance, I welcome your family anytime.”  It was Hamilton’s turn to sputter, his eyes growing wide as Jefferson’s statement threw him off.  He didn’t not know what to think—couldn’t tell if this was some new sort of game or not. But Angelica Schuyler knew better as she practically pushed Hamilton aside and took Jefferson’s hand in both of her own.

               “Thomas, again.  Thank you for taking care of her.  Who knows what could’ve happened to her if—“she couldn’t finish her thought. Jefferson smiled, bringing up both of her hands and pressing a warm kiss to her knuckles.

               “Anytime Angelica, you know that,” he said. Alex rolled his eyes as she blushed.  Jefferson felt a tug on his pant leg and looked down.  The younger Hamilton daughter motioned for Jefferson and Madison to bend down, after which she gave both of them a kiss to the cheek and a hug.

               “Thank you!  Mr. Madison, I had a lot of fun!  And Uncle Jeffy, I hope I can come back to play soon!”

               “Of course, princess!” he said with a smile. Alexander cleared his throat and picked up his daughter before taking Philip’s hand in his own.

               “We’ll be going now.  Jefferson, Madison.”  The gentlemen nodded.  Alexander turned to his sister-in-law.

               “Angelica, are you coming?”

               “Actually, I remembered have a bit of business with Mr. Jefferson before I leave,” she said.  The men blinked at her in surprise, but it wasn’t long before Madison took the hint.

               “Ah…yes.  Actually, I have another engagement to attend to this evening.  But Jefferson, we can pick up where we left off tomorrow,” he said. At this, Thomas had to fight down the heat he felt rushing to his face.  He could tell where this was going.

               “Ah…well…if that’ll work best, Madison,” he said slowly. Alexander frowned.

               “Angelica…” he started.

               “I’ll be by tomorrow, dearest brother,” she said. “Give Eliza all my love…and keep my niece and nephew close,” she said, seriously.  Alex took the tone for what it was and begrudgingly said no more as his family piled into the carriage.  Madison, for his part, turned and walked in another direction down the sidewalk.  As the carriage pulled off, little Angie Hamilton waved goodbye to her caretakers and her aunt before snuggling up to her father and brother for a well-deserved nap.

               That left Thomas and Angelica outside of his doorstep.  The Secretary of State then turned to the older Schuyler sister.

               “So…what business did you wish to speak of Ms. Schuyler?” he asked.  She smiled at him, eyelids falling heavy as she took one of his hands and gently played with his fingers.

               “Just….wanted to properly show my appreciation for your kindness, Mr. Jefferson,” she said, turning and gently tugging on his hand to lead him inside his abode. “After all, it may very well have saved my niece’s life,” she added.  He blushed at this as she continued,

               “And of course, to retrieve my makeup kit.”  He smirked,

               “Ah…at times I wondered if your leaving it was an excuse for you to return.”

               “You know me too well,” she said, coyly.