"I want it to be...I want it to be Alexander Hamilton, like this."

"Like Alexander Hamilton?" Lin sang softly, pressing lightly on the piano with his fingers.

"Yeah."

"Okay, this is how it goes okay?" he paused, "Sebastian eat your Cheerios..."

"Noooo!!"

"Oh please, Sebastian eat your Cheerios," he continued.

"Nooo, no, no!"

"You can wash it down with apple juice..."

"No, not like that."

Sebastian continued to protest, but Lin continued with his silly song. Finally, he stopped.

"No? Sorry. How does it go?"

"Alexander Hamilton," the little boy sang softly.

"Uh-huh," he continued. "My name is...Alexander Hamilton. And there's a million things I haven't done like eat my breakfast."

"Nooooo!!" (A/N: This is actually a video on Lin's Twitter page. It's adorable.  https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/993823559503015936)

Lin just laughed as his son sat on his lap at the piano. It was a lazy Saturday morning, a couple weeks after they had moved into their new house. They'd finally had a chance to call in a piano tuner and Lin was taking the opportunity to test it out. Sebastian loved the Alexander Hamilton song. It was a frequent request in the Miranda household.

"Alright, seriously, kid, go finish your breakfast," Lin told his son, giving his belly a little tickle. Alexis laughed at the father/son exchange. She was laying on the couch, scrolling through her older sister's phone, unbeknownst to her. Sebastian laughed and ran back over the kitchen table where his bowl of Cheerios sat, getting slightly soggy.

Emma walked in looking concerned, "Has anyone seen my phone?"

Alexis turned over onto her side so she could hide it. She was usually the first suspect, and today was no exception. Emma looked down on the couch and found her sister being secretive. She slapped her on the arm. "Alexis, give it to me!"

"Owwwww!!" she played up the slap for more than it was, laughing. "Lin, did you see that? She hit me!"

"Little brat stole my phone again," she started wrestling with her to get it back. Finally she succeeded. "Seriously, you need to get her her own phone."

Lin picked up his coffee mug and went to the kitchen to get a refill. "Not gonna happen until she's 13," he told her. He and Vanessa were both in agreement that 11 was way too young to have a cell phone.

"But Emma got a phone when she was 12!" Lexi protested, sitting up. She fixed her clothing, which had become slightly jostled in the exchange with Emma.

"Sorry, but there are different rules in this house," Lin told her. Alexis groaned and began picking at her nail polish. With nothing to do, she found her volleyball near her bag by the door. She'd gotten into the habit of leaving her gym bag, smelly clothes and all, by the front door. She walked to the middle of the room and started setting the ball up in the air. Their new house had a high ceiling, perfect for practicing this skill.

Lexi was working on a new record. So far, she'd set the ball 24 times in a row. Vanessa walked into the kitchen with Francisco on her hip. "Lexi, please don't do that in the house."

She continued for a few more sets. "Why? The ceiling is high."

"There's also things that are breakable in here," she said as she began getting out some baby food. Francisco was beginning to switch to solid food, but he wasn't really liking it. Lexi continued.

"Lex," Lin called her. "Vanessa asked you to stop."

She completed one last set and grumbled as she walked the ball back over towards the door. "Why don't you take your smelly bag to your room while you're at it," Lin told her. "Make sure your clothes get in the laundry because we'll be starting a couple loads later."

Alexis picked up her bag, acting like it was the heaviest thing in the universe. She walked back to her bedroom, which was now mostly unpacked. Unlike her older sister, Alexis was a slob. Lin and Vanessa had to constantly get on her about keeping her room in decent shape. Most of the time, if she at least cleaned it on the weekend and brought out dirty dishes, they were happy. Lexi kicked her door open and dropped her bag on the floor. She fell backwards on the bed and looked at the ceiling, bored.

A few minutes later, Lin knocked and poked his head inside. When he saw the state of the floor, he decided to open the door all the way. He made a disgusted face. "First, of all, this place is a pigsty. You need to clean this up today."

He put his hands on his hips and surveyed the room – clothes everywhere, school items on the floor, unmade bed, and dirty dishes.

Alexis sighed and reached for a soft ball and began throwing it against the wall. Lin looked at her. "Are you going a little stir crazy?"

"That would be an understatement," she said. Alexis had a few friends, but they hadn't really grown into good friendships yet. Not going to school certainly had an impact on that.

"Wanna go shoot some hoops?" He suggested.

"You play?" She caught the ball and looked at him.

"Not very well, but yeah," he admitted. Alexis sat up on her bed, her attention captured.

"Yeah, let's go," she said standing up to find her tennis shoes.

"Clean your room first," he told her, knowing that would motivate her to get it done. Lexi gave him an exasperated look and she just smiled. "I bet you could get this done in 20 minutes."

Reluctantly, Lexi began to clean. It did feel nice to have a clean room, but she just didn't care all that much. She knew where everything was. She may have kicked a couple items under her bed, but no one needed to know about that. About 20 minutes, she called that she was ready.

Lin had changed into some loose sporty shorts and a white t-shirt. He grabbed the house keys, "Alright, let's go."

Together, they walked down to the park down the street that had multiple basketball courts. Lexi dribbled the ball the whole way. Volleyball and softball were her sports, but she would play anything. They began just by shooting a few baskets. They missed quite a few to start with, but gradually started getting more accurate.

"One on one?" Lin suggested.

"Okay," she replied, tightening her ponytail. "First to 21. Don't go easy on me."

"Oh, you know I'm bringin' it," he laughed.

Lexi had possession first. Lin put out his arms, playing defense the best he could. Lexi easily darted around him and made a 2-pointer. Lin grabbed the ball and circled back to center court. He was obviously much taller than her, so he had that advantage. Lin was also able to shoot a 2-pointer.

It went back and forth for 15 minutes or so, and, truth be told, it was rather evenly matched. Lexi was fast and obviously athletic. She used her small stature and quickness to her advantage, weaving her way around Lin to sink baskets.

Lexi managed to win the game, 21-19. Lin was huffing as they walked over to a bench and pulled out a couple waters they had packed.

"Damn, Lexi," he commented after he'd chugged half the bottle. "You're quick."

She smiled as she sipped her water. Boys frequently underestimated her and it felt so good to kick their butts. "Again?"

Lin leaned back on the bench. "Give me 10 minutes."

"Okay," she said, and got up to practice shooting some more.

____

An hour or so later, Lin and Lexi returned home, both sweaty and tired. Lexi had won two games, and Lin managed to get one. And he hadn't gone easy on her. Lexi, of course, bragged when they hit the door.

"Good for you," Vanessa told her, knowing it probably irked her husband. "Put your clothes in the hamper on your way to the shower."

Lexi nodded and dashed to her room to get some clean clothes. Lin walked up next to his wife in the kitchen and began wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Ewww!" she protested, moving her body to get away. "You're disgusting! Get away!"

Lin grinned as he planted a couple sweaty kisses on her cheek. She kicked his butt as he walked by.

___

Emma was now on the couch, her laptop in her lap. Quite a few people had Tweeted at her today with links to an article. She assumed it was something ballet-related, but when she finally decided to click on the article, it was a People Magazine article about Lin and his "new family".

Her eyes darted back and forth as she looked at candid pictures of him, Emma, Alexis, and the rest of the family out and about. The magazine somehow had tons of information – that they had been taken in after their parents had died. The article itself quoted someone "close to the family", who had reportedly given out this information. Emma had already hated the attention she'd gotten at school when Lin had dropped her off at school. Kids were still bugging her about it; particularly the theatre kids.

"Ugh!!" She said, exasperated.

"Problem?" Vanessa asked from the kitchen.

"Come look at this!" she told her, and Vanessa began walking the couch. "There's an article in People about us!"

Vanessa took a quick look, seeing the pictures and remembering where they were when they'd been taken without their knowledge. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Damn," she commented. "Someone close to the family. I wonder who that could be."

"Can they just take our pictures like that?" Emma asked her.

"We were out in public," she said, shrugging.

Emma sighed and rubbed her hand over her forehead. "Just what I need. More people knowing I live with Lin."

She shut the computer and tossed it on the couch cushion next to her. "I'll tell Lin," Vanessa told her. "Maybe he can ask the press to respect our privacy a bit more."

After Lin had showered and changed, Vanessa told him what Emma had found. He checked the website himself and was disappointed, but not surprised. He figured someone would eventually start noticing they had two extra people living with them.

"I'll release a statement," he told his wife. "And tweet about it."

Lin tried to reassure Emma that the attention would die down soon. People were always interested in celebrities' kids, but the press usually kept a respectful distance. He called up his agent to see if anything else could be done about the situation. He was surprised to hear that multiple magazines had called, requesting interview with him and the mystery girls. He firmly told her no.

Lin quietly asked to speak to Vanessa alone in his office area, where he'd been on the phone. He told her about the requests and agreed not to tell the girls. They knew it would make them uncomfortable. Well, Lexi might like the attention, but they knew it wouldn't be a wise decision.

___

The next day, Lexi had a softball game. She was in a city league, not associated with school. Her team was the Thunder, and today, they were set to go up against the Wildcats. Lexi was in the zone, like she usually was. She took sports very seriously and wanted to do well.

The team was up 5-1 when Lexi stepped up to the plate. She missed the first pitch, but nailed the second, sending it into far left field. She easily made it to first base. From the stands, Lin, Vanessa, Emma, and Sebastian cheered. Francisco was fast asleep in his stroller. The next couple girls were successful with their turns, and Alexis was poised to get a run if the next hitter got on base.

She heard their clank of the ball hitting the bat and immediately sprang into action, her pigtail braids fluttering behind her. The other team picked the ball up quickly and threw the ball direction to home base, but not quickly enough to catch Lexi. She slid into home, then stood up and cheered, high fiving a few of her teammates. The Thunder was now up 6-1. As Lexi made her way back to the dugout, the catcher mumbled a comment to Lexi.

"What was that?" Lexi asked, stopping.

"Just said it must be nice to have rich parents," she said a bit louder. Lexi rolled her eyes. Emma had shown her the People article about them. Apparently word had gotten around quickly.

Lexi decided to brush it off. The other team was losing 6-1, so they were probably getting a bit frustrated.

By the next time the Thunder were at bat, the score was still 6-1. The Wildcats couldn't seem to find their rhythm, and it was easy to feel their frustration. Once again, Lexi was able to make a hit. Before she could get to home, they got 3 strikes. She shrugged it off and walked back to the dugout. Once again, the catcher made a rude comment at her. "Rich girl."

Lexi felt herself getting angrier. What was this girl's problem? Sure, Lin and Vanessa made good money but it wasn't like they were all living in the lap of luxury, able to get whatever they wanted. It was important to the Mirandas that they not spoil their children. They didn't want them growing up entitled.

By the 7th inning, tensions were high. The score was now 9-2 in favor of the Thunder. They knew at this point, they would easily win as long as they didn't let up. When Lexi walked up to bat, the bases were loaded. The coach put Lexi in later in the inning, knowing she could help deliver on runs. She missed the first two pitches, but on the third, she connected perfectly. The ball sailed high, and the outfielders began running towards the edge of the food. Lexi felt her heart soar when it went over the fence. The crowd erupted. Grand slam!

As Lexi, the last runner, jogged towards home base, the other team was visibly dejected. As she arrived, her teammates stood by and they exchanged high 10's. She was too happy to even thinking about the catcher's words earlier. As she was heading back to the dugout, the girl decided to go at her again.

"Too bad your parents died," she commented, causing Lexi to stop in her tracks. She looked over at the girl, not believing she was even going there. "Were they ugly like you, or is that a special gift of yours?"

Lexi saw red, and she'd had enough. Making comments about being rich was one thing, but bringing up her dead parents was another. She glared at the girl and took several steps towards her. Lexi gave her a hard push, knocking the other girl to the ground. The kids around them all gasped, not believing what they were seeing. Lexi was instantly on top of the other girl, throwing punches and screaming at her.

From the stands, Lin, Vanessa and Emma all stood up in disbelief. Had Alexis just pummeled the other team's catcher? Lin quickly jumped off the bleachers and headed towards the fence. He ran around as her coach managed to pull Lexi off the other girl. Lexi wasn't giving up easily, fighting her coach's grasp and shouting things at the other girl. As Lin approached, he could see the other girl had a bloody nose.

"Alexis!" The coach yelled at her, still pushing her back. "Chill out! Right now!" She began steering Lexi towards the dugout, knowing she'd be ejected from the game.

Lin finally reached her. "Alexis!" He yelled, trying to snap her out of it. She and the coach stopped and turned to face Lin. Lexi was breathing heavily, and she, too, had blood dripping from her face. It looked like the other girl had gotten her in the mouth. Lin had never seen her look so angry. Lexi grabbed her helmet and threw it on the ground.

"Let's go," Lin told her firmly, reaching for her arm.

"No!" she protested, stepping away. "Not until that hussy takes back what she said!"

"No, it's over," Lin told her, moving forward a little more quickly this time. He was able to grab her upper arm. She tried to shrug him off, but he had a firm grip. "Sorry about this, coach," Lin told her as he began to lead Lexi away. "We'll talk about this at home."

The coach nodded and went back over to her team, trying to calm them down and refocus them.

Lin started in on her moments later. "What the hell is going on with you, Lexi? Fighting with someone?"

"She kept saying stuff!" Lexi told him, still trying to snatch her arm back. As they got around the fence, Lin finally let her go.

"I don't care what she said. You don't respond with violence," he said firmly. Vanessa had since led the rest of the family off the bleachers and into an open grassy area.

"You didn't hear what she said!" Lexi said, stopping and turning around, putting her hands on top of her head. Lin sighed, seeing that whatever it was, it had really gotten to the kid. He saw a bench nearby.

"Let's go sit," he told her, pointing to the bench. Lin looked over at his wife, silently communicating that he needed a few minutes with Lexi. Vanessa nodded and walked everyone over to the nearby playground. Sebastian was delighted.

Lexi sat down in a huff, putting her elbows on her legs, her head in her hands. She was starting to cry. Lin didn't have experience with girl fighting. Boys just punched each other and it was over. No tears.

"I can tell you're really upset," Lin said after he sat down next to her. "There's always gonna be jerks out there that want to get a rise out of you. You have to learn how to keep your temper in check."

"She talked about my parents!" she yelled, and started crying more. "She said too bad they're dead and were they ugly like me or am I just special, or something like that. She kept staying stuff the whole game. I couldn't take it any more."

Lin sighed, nodding his head. No wonder she had snapped. Her parents had died not even six months ago. It was still a very sensitive subject.

"That was definitely out of line for her to say," Lin agreed. "And I'm sorry that information got out in public. And I know it's because of me."

Lexi sniffled, starting to calm down a bit. She'd gotten it out of her, and that made her feel a little better.

"You didn't ask to be in the public eye and I know that," he told her. "I'm sorry your privacy has gotten invaded."

"Doesn't change the fact that it's out there," she told him.

"I know," he said, knowing they were just words. Unfortunately, he couldn't control paparazzi. Many celebrities had been fighting that battle for years unsuccessfully. They sat in silence for a couple minutes as a breeze ruffled the leaves. The sounds of the softball game going on filled the air.

"Are you feeling a bit calmer?" He asked her. She nodded. Lin gave her a couple pats on the back. "Good. Let's go home and get you cleaned up. We can talk more about this later."

They both stood and walked over to where Vanessa was standing. She and Emma were watching Sebastian play as Francisco continued his napping. Emma smirked as her sister walked up. "That was totally bad ass," she complimented her sister. In spite of her anger, Alexis smiled.

"Don't encourage her," Vanessa said.

Lin sighed, watching his son play. "I can walk everyone back if you wanna hang out with Sebastian a while longer," he offered, knowing his son wouldn't want to leave so quickly. Vanessa agreed and they exchanged a quick kiss. Lin took the stroller and they began walking back towards their house. They'd driven, but it wasn't a terrible walk. He thought the walk would probably do Alexis some good.

Lin hung back, allowing the two sisters to walk together. They were talking, and he knew that sometimes that was the best for a kid. Parents had one view on something and often kids had a different perspective. He imagined Emma would side with Lexi upon hearing what the catcher had said about their parents. He was glad to see Emma gently rubbing her sister's back as they walked along.

About 15 minutes later, they arrived home. Lin very carefully picked the baby up out of the stroller, cradling him to his chest. He gently took him to his bedroom and set him down in his crib. As he came back to the kitchen, he found that Alexis had already hopped in the shower. Emma sat on the couch, predictably scrolling through her phone.

"How's your sister doing?" He asked her.

"Better," Emma said. "That was really shitty what the other girl said. You should complain to the coach."

Lin nodded. "I'll pass the information on to Lexi's coach," he promised. "Not that it excuses what she did."

"I probably would've done the same thing," Emma mused.

About 10 minutes later, Alexis was out of the shower. She grabbed a Gatorade from the fridge and went straight to her room, which Lin thought was a smart move. She needed some space to reflect and cool down.

Forty-five minutes later, Vanessa arrived back home with Sebastian. He ran towards the couch, where Lin was sitting with his feet propped up. Lin grinned as the boy leaped onto his lap and immediately snuggled in.

"Did you have fun at the park?" He asked his son.

"Yeah," Sebastian grinned, wrapping his arms around one of his father's.

"Good," he said. "Hey, do you wanna help me out with something?"

Sebastian nodded eagerly. He always wanted to please his parents. "Go to Lexi's room and tickle her."

Sebastian grinned and immediately began on his task. His little feet ran down the hallways towards Lexi's room. He didn't really get knocking yet, and just barged into her room. A few seconds later, they all heard some light-hearted laughter coming from the room. Lin and Vanessa both grinned, knowing how great Sebastian was about cheering Alexis up. It was hard to stay in a bad mood around such a sweet, loving little boy. A couple minutes later, they both emerged from her room. Alexis had apparently been coaxed into playing PJ Masks with him.

She made a good effort at playing with Sebastian, but they could tell she was still a little down. The catcher's comment about her parents really bugged her. It reminded her that they were gone and she'd never get them back.

After a while, Sebastian got distracted by something else and wandered off. Lexi looked around for a moment, wondering what to do. She was feeling lonely. Finally, she got up and went over to the couch where Lin was sitting. She grabbed a pillow and set it on his lap, then laid down, resting her head on the pillow.

Lin put his hand on her arm and began rubbing. "You okay, sweetheart?"

She nodded weakly. "Just missing my parents."

Lin began stroking her hair, still slightly wet from her shower. "I bet," he whispered. "I'm sorry that damn catcher threw you off. She had awful hair, by the way. Did you see it?"

Lexi laughed a little bit. "What a travesty."

Lin could tell she was starting to make a turn around. It was hard to be mad at her when she'd only punched the girl because she'd brought up her parents. The kid had gone through a lot, and some people were just heartless. They'd talked it through and she'd taken a break.

"Can we get ice cream later?" She asked him innocently.

Lin grinned. "You think you deserve ice cream?" He joked, ruffling her hair a bit.

"Yes," she said, smiling.

Lin leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Okay," he relented, not really believing he'd be buying ice cream for the same girl who had just given another kid a bloody nose. "I think we can arrange that."

Lexi settled in to Lin and closed her eyes, soon drifting off to sleep.