(John P.O.V)

"I woke up and saw a note where Alexander had been the night before, it said he'd gone for a walk." I explained for the fourth time.

No one knew where Hamilton was, and is was worrying, he was new here, and he'd left early, some time before 6:30, because that's when Theo had woken up, and he hadn't been there. So basically, Alexander Hamilton, who'd never been anywhere near South Carolina before, was wandering around early in the morning. I sighed.

"Should we go look for him?" Laf proposed, he and Herc had come out of hiding, and no one knew who'd won our bet, but we all suspected it was Maria.

"No, that would make it worse." Peggy sighed. "Where would an author go at 6 AM on a vacation?"

"The beach?" I suggested. "It's nice in the morning, and there are few people."

"Yeah the parks are also pretty nice." Herc commented.

"He could be pretty much anywhere, there are lots of places that are nice in the morning, and Alex would probably sit anywhere if he could prop his notebook against something." Angie commented.

"I think we should at least try to l—" Peggy started.

A knock was heard at the door and Maria and I shuffled to get it. I peered over her shoulder, standing on the doorstep was Eliza and a man I didn't recognize. Eliza has a suitcase, and the man just had a backpack. The unknown person had long curly red hair and dark brown eyes that reminded me quite a lot of Alexander's. (Not historically accurate in any way? I don't care, my story, my designs) He was a fairly decent height, but still on the shorter side, and he was pale.

"Hey Liza!" I smiled and led her in, grabbing her suitcase for her.

"Hey John!" She walked into the kitchen and saw her sisters sitting at the kitchen table. "Hi Angie, hey Pegs!"

"Nice to see you Liza!" Peggy hugged her older sister.

"Wait... where's Alex?" She looked around.

"We don't know, he left a few hours ago. Haven't seen him since." Angelica shrugged.

"T'es qui toi?" Laf asked, pointing at the man.

"I'm James." The man, James, said nervously.

"Well hello James, are you our dear sister Liza's special someone?" Peggy asked.

"Ha! No I'm about as straight as a double rainbow." He laughed, and I smiled, another addition to our team of gays!

"Well you'll get along with John then." Maria nudged me and I scowled mockingly at her.

"Or anyone currently in this house." I retorted.

"He makes a fair point." Eliza commented, smirking at everyone around the table. Then her eyes widened. "Wait, Alex is missing? He hasn't... been here before has he?"

I looked at Peggy and we shook our heads hesitantly. Eliza has already had a heart attack, and she really cared about Alex, we weren't willing to take any chances.

Her hands clenched and her skin went pale. Uh oh. I noticed her breathing speed up and hugged her, trying to calm her down.

"Liza, I'm sure it's fine, he can ask for directions, it's not like this house is too hard to spot." I reassured her, voice steady.

"Yeah, you're right." She sighed. "But you don't need to worry about me having another heart attack, the doctors said I'd probably be fine."

"Well, I'll worry until you tell me it's annoying, which isn't what you've done. I'm not going to risk going through that again after last time." I pulled back and smiled at her.

"I'm not going to ask what happened, just tell me when you feel up for it." Theo told Eliza, smiling welcomingly.

"Thanks, I'm fine with explaining but, ya know..." She tilted her head and frowned slightly.

"No, I get it. Whenever you feel like you trust me enough, I can be your therapist." Theo stood up to shake Eliza's hand, when we heard another knock on the door.

I saw Theodosia nod to Eliza before walking out to the hallway. I heard Alex's voice before seeing Eliza and Angelica go there too, soon followed by Eliza tugging James out too.

(Alex P.O.V)

"James?"

I couldn't believe my eyes, pressing myself closer to the wall, breath catching in my throat in shock. He looked at me, then half-smiled, eyes sad.

"A-Alex..?" He tried reaching out to me, Eliza taking a step back.

I squinted my eyes and stepped up to him, grabbing his face in my hands and pulling him down so we were eye to eye, he'd always been taller then me. His face was the same, if not more... alive. His brown eyes still looked the same, his red curls fell around his face the same, but something was different, something extremely new was showing in his face, in his demeanor. Calm, and safety.

"You we're dead." I pulled back from him, scowling.

"Clearly not." He spread his arms as if to prove he was very much alive. "Look, Alex, I'm sorry..."

"Oh shut the fuck up." I snapped, not really caring if anyone overheard. "I moved to New York, I did everything I could possibly do to get away from that hell, even when I had a life there, because I thought you were dead! Do you know how much pain you've caused, James?"

He looked like he was on the verge of tears, and for once I didn't care.

"I have ptsd from that night James, everyone assumes it's because of the fucking hurricane, but I think it's because I had to watch my brother die. My brother, the only person I had left, the only person I felt I could trust. I watched you die James, I watched the blood deep out of your wounds, I saw the doctors take you away, I heard them mutter how you weren't going to make it. And now you show up, two years later, alive as ever, and expect sorry to fix all our problems?" I ranted, at this point I didn't give a shit if he was crying, and I was well aware everyone was watching me. "Oh fuck it, I'm going back outside. I can and will spend the night on the streets Angelica, I've done it before."

I pushed Theo aside, thoughts jostling each other in my head, and I felt guilt at yelling at James like that, I knew Angelica hadn't meant it before, but I couldn't help it. I'd been convinced he was dead, I'd been convinced I had no one who was alive that I could really talk to. But then he shows up and I'm just supposed to be ok with that? Hell no! I went back to the park, remembering the way, tears stinging in my eyes.

I sat down on the bench and pulled out my notebook, which I'd never let go of. I pulled off my glasses and tried to wipe my eyes and clear the tears, but they just kept streaming down my cheeks, blurring my vision. I wanted to write something, anything, but my mind was jolting me back and forth from my memories to the present.

(More flashbacks cause why not)
I stood outside, trying to spot James trough the wind. Our shelter had been destroyed, and i think he'd gone to find a new one, I wasn't sure. My brother was gone, farther into the hurricane, closer to the eye.

"James!" I shouted as loud as I could. "James please!"

No answer. I got up and tried to find him, wind pushing against me. I found him, or more accurately, his body, lying trapped under a fallen tree. He was bleeding from his stomach and head, eyes glassy, breaths shallow. I pressed my hands to his wounds trying to slow the bleeding well aware it was no use, my brother, my only friend, the only person I trusted, he was dying right in front of me and there was nothing I could do about it.

"James?" I wrapped my arms around him, his blood flowing onto me. "James please don't die, don't leave me."
(Flashback time is over)

I felt arms wrap around me and looked up, tears fogging my vision.

"Hey Alexander, how about we go to my dad's house?" It was John, I sighed, sinking into his embrace.