It was Lin's last night performing the part of Hamilton in Puerto Rico. He had mixed feelings, much like he'd had in 2016 when he decided to put an end to his run in New York. The whole island had been welcoming and filled with love for him. He'd gotten a boost he hadn't known he'd needed.

Back at the house, the family was in high spirits, having all gone to see closing night. Alexis decided to blast "Turn Down for What" and start a dance party in the kitchen. The adults had been drinking, so they got pretty ridiculous. Lin acted like he was in a rap video.

The next morning, it was time to head back to their lives in New York City. After three weeks away, it would be so nice to come home. As the plane touched down, everyone felt like they'd finally arrived home. The sights of all the buildings, the bridges, and the sounds of the traffic and people busy in the streets was comforting to the tired travelers.

They all arrived back at the house mid-day, and Lin immediately collapsed on his bed. His bed! There was nothing like your own bed. He looked forward to sleeping in it tonight. Alexis immediately wanted to see Amber, who appeared at their door less than an hour after they'd arrived. They disappeared into Lexi's room so they could catch up on all the school gossip and talk about skateboarding.

Lin cooked a simple dinner of tacos and salad for the family that night. They all sat around the living room, Amber included, talking about their vacation. Everyone's favorite moment was when Sebastian had stripped off his swim trunks and ran naked towards the ocean, giving the other beach-goers a little more than they had bargained for.

On Sunday night, they all prepared to get back to work and school. Emma had easily kept up with her school work online, so she was on track. Tomorrow she'd be back at ABT working her butt off. Her classmates would be anxious to hear about her time at the Ballets de San Juan.

Lexi, on the other hand, was scrambling to get all her unfinished work done. She had procrastinated majorly and now it was coming back to bite her in the butt. Three weeks' worth of homework was a lot. She'd maybe done a quarter of it. She locked herself up in her room, trying to speed through as much as she could.

Around 9:00, Lin poked his head in the door. "Are you getting ready for bed? You've got school tomorrow."

"Just finishing up," she lied, not looking at him.

"You've kept up, right?" He asked her. He and Vanessa hadn't been very good at checking in with her on vacation, and he knew he should have. Lexi could be a slacker.

"Uhhh...yeah?" She said unconvincingly.

Lin gave her a look and stepped inside. "Let me take a look," he said, picking up her paper that listed all her assignments. Only about 8 out of 30 had been checked off. "Alexis. Seriously?"

"I was busy!" She told him. "How was I supposed to concentrate when the beach was right outside the door?"

"What were you doing all those times you stayed in to do homework?"

"Youtube?" She said.

"I should have checked in with you more often," he said, rubbing his hand over his face. "You still need to get ready for bed, but tomorrow you come straight home after school. You're gonna stay here every day until you get it done. No skateboarding, no Amber."

"Can't she help me?"

"No," Lin said firmly, knowing Amber helping his daughter would just turn into a giggle fest. "Bed. Fifteen minutes."

Lexi sighed and started packing up her things. She put on some pajamas and brushed her teeth, then climbed into bed. Lin knocked on her door a few minutes later to make sure she was in bed. "Good night, Lex."

___

The next morning, Emma felt good getting back into her routine. By 9 a.m. she was at the ballet studio, showing her classmates pictures of the Ballets de San Juan, the house, and the beaches. There were photos of her backstage with Lin and the rest of the cast of Hamilton. She was feeling pretty good until she was on the way home. As she walked down her street, she happened to catch a glimpse of Alex with another girl. She was standing against the wall, her foot propped up flirtatiously. He was standing way too close for them to be just friendly.

Emma stopped and felt her heart drop. Alex must have sensed he was being watched because his head turned and he locked eyes with Emma. He looked down immediately, feeling guilty, and Emma took off in the other direction to avoid him. Alex needed to explain. He told the other girl bye and rushed after Emma, calling her name.

"Emma!" He caught up to her and grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Would you leave me alone?" The look on her face could kill.

"Emma, I just wanted to say I was sorry," he began, releasing her arm. "That was a really shitty way for me to ask to take a break."

"You think?"

He looked down and sighed. "Look...I meant what I said. I just wanted to take a little break. I missed you."

Emma rolled her eyes, not believing his audacity. "Forget it, Alex," she told him firmly. "If you can't wait three weeks for me, then you're not worth my time. Goodbye."

She turned and confidently walked away, but she felt a lump in her throat. She knew it was stupid to think she'd meet the love of her life when she was 16, but she really thought they had something special. She'd given him her virginity, and he turned out to be a total douche.

Emma walked up to her apartment, fighting back tears. Why was she getting upset? She didn't like him any more. She walked right past Lin in the kitchen and slammed her bedroom door. Her room had been filled with snapshots of her and Alex. It was a cold reminder when she'd gotten back from Puerto Rico. By then, they'd been broken up for almost three weeks, but there was his face as a reminder. She began tearing the photos down and throwing them in the trash.

Lin came in a few minutes later, concerned. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" He asked, shutting the door behind him.

"Alex," she told him and she balled up another photo. "I saw him on the way home. He was already with another girl."

"Don't give him another ounce of your energy," he advised her. "He's not worth it."

"I know he's not, but I can't help it!" She explained. "We were together for 6 months."

Lin sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to him. "Do you want a little love advice?" He asked her, causing her to laugh half-heartedly through her tears. She sat down and curled one foot up under her.

"Sure, Lin."

"If all he wants is to get down your pants, stay far away."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Are you still hung up on that?"

"I'm just saying," he continued. "A guy who's worth it won't pressure you. Wait for a gentleman. There's plenty around hiding in plain sight."

She sighed. "Are we done?"

Lin glared at her jokingly. "Just some dad advice," he said, patting his legs before he stood up. "Dinner's at 6."

After that unsolicited love advice, Emma laid down on her bed with her laptop, ready to get her school work done for the day. The work load was starting to pick up now that the first few weeks after break had gone by. It would take her several hours.

Lin checked his email and noticed he'd gotten some auto-alerts from Lexi's school about missing assignments. The gradebook automatically alerted parents when an assignment was overdue. This time, he got 22 separate emails. He recorded how many were due for each subject on a sticky note and was ready for Lexi when she walked in the door.

"Ugghhhh..." she complained, dropping her backpack on the floor. "Can we go back to Puerto Rico, please?"

"Tough first day back?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm not used to a full day of school. I was ready for a nap at about 2:00."

"Take a break, then why don't you try to knock out your math assignments. You have 5 it looks like."

"But I already had a full day of school and I have homework!" She complained as she laid down on the couch.

"Well, if you'd kept up with your work in Puerto Rico, you wouldn't have this problem, now would you?" He pointed out, causing her to sigh. Sebastian jumped on his sister's stomach, crawling on top of her.

"Ohhh!!" She complained, her body instinctively curling up. "Sebby, you've gotta start warning me before you do that. You're getting really heavy."

"I peed on the potty today," he reported proudly.

"Good for you," she told him. One day she'd walked in the bathroom to find an odd-looking contraption attached to the wall. It was a mini urinal. She had to laugh at it, but it seemed to be doing the trick.

"I got two pieces of chocolate and I saved one for you!" He said proudly, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a partly melted, very gooey mini Hershey bar. His sweaty little palm handed it over to her.

"Aww, thank you, Sebby," she said, setting it on the table. "I'll save it for later. Next time, you can eat it yourself, okay?"

He nodded and began to move off of her, not paying any attention to where he put his hands or knees. His knee slammed directly into her crotch and she let out a pained sound.

"Dammit, Sebastian!" She said through clenched teeth.

"Daddy, Lexi said dammit and that's a bad word!" He reported to his father.

"Thank you, Sebastian," he smirked. "Lexi, maybe next time, try darn instead."

Lexi pushed herself up to seated, still wincing. "Next time he or Francisco kicks you in the balls, I'd like to hear you stick to darn."

"Alexis!" He chided, but laughed.

Dutifully, she hauled her backpack to the kitchen table and started on her math homework. Lexi really wished she'd just taken an hour a day to get all this done. This was killer, and she knew Lin meant it when he said she wasn't doing anything else until this was all done. She'd worked for almost two hours when dinner was finally ready. She gratefully took a break.

There was a bit of a cloud hanging over the dinner table that night. Everyone knew that tomorrow was the anniversary of Phil and Melissa's deaths. It was hard to believe an entire year had passed. They'd settled into a routine as a family, so their old lives seemed so far away. No one brought it up at dinner; they all just knew tomorrow would be a hard day.

___

Emma was off the next day at ballet. She was grateful to have something physical to do to take her mind off her parents' anniversary, but her brain wouldn't let her forget. Twice she fell and was told by the instructor to go take a break. Emma didn't share with anyone what the day meant; she didn't want to talk about it with strangers. She tried to push through the best she could.

At school, Alexis wasn't her usual cheery, smart-alek self. Amber was trying to get her to laugh continuously and she laughed politely at her antics. Her best friend knew what today was and had promised not to tell anyone else. By 5th period, though, she was having trouble keeping it together. Not able to face the rest of the day, she wandered down to the nurse's office and complained of a stomach ache.

The nurse had her lie down and took her temperature. No fever. A stomach ache was a nice, symptom free complaint to go with. The nurse said she'd call her parents to see if she could go home.

Lin arrived about half an hour later and signed her out of school. They walked together towards the subway and he didn't push her just yet. When they arrived home, he set the keys on the counter.

"Lex, have a seat," he told her gently as she walked in.

"Can't I just go to my room?"

"No," he said gently. "We need to talk. Do you really have a stomach ache?"

Lexi reluctantly joined him on the couch. "Sort of. Not like a regular one."

Lin put his arm around her shoulders. "Are you upset about today?"

"Yeah," she said with a bit of attitude, like it was obvious.

"It's okay to be sad," he assured her. "I should have asked if you wanted to stay home. What have you been thinking about?"

She shrugged evasively.

"Is there anything that would cheer you up?" He asked, causing her to smile a bit.

"Ice cream?"

Lin smirked. "I thought you might say that. I bought a couple pints of ice cream the other day in anticipation."

He stood up and went to the freezer, pulling out 3 different tubs. Lexi chose Neopolitan, and Lin dished it out for her. She drowned it in chocolate syrup. Lin dished himself out a small scoop and joined her on the couch again.

"So, what do you think your parents would be most proud of you for?" Lin asked, knowing it was important to keep Lexi talking about her parents.

"I guess how well I'm doing at softball and volleyball," she said. "And that I'm trying skateboarding and have a best friend now."

"You've gotten a lot better this year," he observed. "Are you gonna try out for the school team this spring?"

"Probably," she said.

"Good," he said. "Maybe you'll make some more friends."

She sighed and put her empty bowl on the coffee table and just sat there, staring off into nothing for a few moments. Then Lin watched her face contort slightly and he realized she was starting to cry. He put his bowl down and pulled her to him for a hug.

"Oh, sweetheart," he said as her body began to shake slightly from the sobs. "I know this is such a hard day."

She rested her head against his chest as he reclined a little on the couch. Lin didn't try to say anything, to say it was okay, because it wasn't. He just sat there and held her for a long time, rubbing circles on her back, until eventually her crying began to subside. Soon, he realized she had nodded off. Lin realized he had no other task that was more important at the moment. He rested his head back and closed his own eyes, resting with Lexi.

The sound of the door opening stirred them both awake. Emma was home from ballet. Lexi sat up and wiped at her eyes. Emma noticed her sister looking a little worse for wear, and figured she'd had a bad day as well. She wished they could just skip this date on the calendar every year from now on.

"Hey," she said, kicking off her shoes. Emma walked over to the couch and wrapped her arms around her little sister, knowing she probably needed it. "I know today sucks," she whispered. "Hang in there."

Lexi nodded into her sister's shoulder, surprised at the affection. Emma wasn't the warmest of his sisters. Emma then kissed her head and headed off to the shower. Lexi sighed and stretched a bit. Lin gave her a wink and patted her on the leg. "I'll get dinner ready. Enchiladas?"

It was both of the girls' favorite. Soon, the apartment was filled with the smells of Latino cuisine. Vanessa walked in a half hour later, grateful to see that Lin had already started dinner. She was exhausted. She set her stuff down and walked over to her husband in the kitchen. Lin gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"You okay?" He asked her, noticing tension in her forehead.

"Long day," she commented. "My newest client is a real jerk. So rude. How are the girls doing?" She asked, most immediately concerned with how they were doing.

"Lexi faked a stomach bug so she could come home early," he reported, stirring the rice. "She had a good cry with me on the couch?"

"You cried with her?" She poked.

"No," he chuckled. "I mean, I'm not afraid to show my emotions. I'm very secure in my masculinity, but I was comforting her."

"Is that right?" She asked, smiling. Lin nodded and kissed her again.

"I'm gonna go get out of these clothes," she told him, disappearing to the bedroom. She came back a few minutes later in her sweats, with Francisco on her hip and Sebastian trailing closely behind her. Lin marveled at how she looked gorgeous no matter what she wore. He'd gotten so lucky.

"Sebby!" Lin greeted his son as he pulled the plates out of the cabinet. "Will you go tell your sisters it's time for dinner?"

Sebastian always wanted to please his father, so he scurried off down the hallway and loudly announced it was dinner time, pounding on the doors. He didn't even open the doors. Sebastian ran back to the kitchen and Lin gently told him that next time, he should knock on their doors and go inside.

Vanessa got him set up with a sippy cup of milk, and soon everyone was around the table, ready to dig in. Before they began, though, Lin held up his glass of wine.

"Everyone," he raised his voice a bit to be heard over the chatter. "Today is a very special day."

The whole family paused, sensing Lin was trying to be sentimental. "A year ago, we lost two very special people, but we gained two very special people in our family. We will never forget Phil and Melissa. They were amazing, kind, giving people, who loved their daughters more than anything. We wish they were still with us, but we know they'll always be part of us. It's been a year since Lexi and Emma became part of our family, and we're so lucky to have them. We love you so much," Lin said, getting choked up.

Vanessa reached over and squeezed his hand as they all raised their glasses. Alexis looked around proudly. She missed her parents terribly, but realized she was okay. The Mirandas were a great family, and there wasn't two other people she'd rather have as second parents.

Emma wiped a tear away from her eye and swallowed. A year ago, she wasn't sure she could go on. The Mirandas had been so patient with her. She knew she could be maddening sometimes, but no matter what she did, they continued to love her. Emma realized that she couldn't have found better parents to step in.

It was silent for several long moments as everyone took a sip of their drinks, even Sebastian with his sippy cup. Francisco let out a coo and banged a toy against his high chair.

"Alright," Lin announced, setting his glass down. "Let's eat!"

The family dug in, the dining room filling up with the happy chatter of a family of six. An unlikely family of six, but one of the closest you could find. The Mirandas.

The End

A/N:  Thanks so much for reading!  I got some feedback that people would like a sequel.  I need to take a break from the characters for a little while, but I'd love to do another one.  Please, please comment with any ideas for shenanigans that could happen.  What trouble could they get into?!  I'm a little reluctant to stop with this now because it just hit #3 on #adoptedbyhamilton!  Woo hoo!  But, my new story, Stranger, is at #6!  Please read :-)

I also made a cute, silly little humorous story called "The Office Game".  It will be a 2 or 3 parter.  Check it out!