For Once We're At Peace

Chapter 10

It was the next morning when Lin came in, jumping six feet in the air when he turned around to see the one and only Alexander Hamilton standing there, waiting for him, with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson either side of him. "Good, uh, good morning...?" Lin asked, his hands making weird gestures as he did so. George chuckled slightly, dipping his head to the man.

"I must thank you," he said with a slight British accent. "It's been a while since Esperanza has been able to sleep peacefully at night. Last night was probably the most she's slept in a long while."

"Really? She always seemed so energetic whenever I talked to her," Lin said, looking in the direction of where his sleeping niece was currently. Would it be best to get her tested for PTSD? I mean, Ella and Elliot weren't the best in her childhood. And with what she's told us about her past life, it sounds like she could be suffering from PTSD. I'll ask Chris about it later.

"Yeah, I think it's because Angel was on the battlefield a lot during the revolution. Plus, a lot of deaths occurred in a short amount of time." Thomas pointed out, George and Alex nodding in agreement as Lin hummed.

"Holy shit," someone said behind them. Lin turned around, noticing Chris behind him.

"The man I needed!" he exclaimed, Chris looking confused. "So, George has just made me realize that Esper suffers with nightmares." Chris' eyes widened. "Yeah. So I was thinking, would it be best to get her tested for PTSD? The show will most likely hit her quite hard, even if she won't admit it."

"I agree," Chris nodded. "Besides, Hosack's here. We can ask him to take a look and do the exam, that way Esper's not having to reveal herself so quickly."

"True," Lin nodded before spinning around upon hearing his niece's voice.

"Linny?" she asked, walking over to him, and hugging him tightly. Lin smiled softly, hugging her back with a slight squeeze. "Are we performing this evening at all?"

"Nope, it's just a morning show today, little one," Lin murmured gently, noticing how tired Esper sounded. The girl hummed, relaxing against her uncle before lifting her head up. "You okay?"

"Tired," she replied, rubbing her eyes. "I think I'll only just be able to get through this morning's show before I collapse."

"You sure you can do it? If you want, we can get Alysha to take your place for today." Lin asked, tucking a strand of hair behind Esper's ears. Humming slightly, Esper turned to Chris and held her arms out to him. the man chuckled slightly, pulling her into a hug.

"If you're not up to performing this morning, sweetie, then take the day off. You're sixteen, you're not fully grown yet." Chris reminded her gently, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, Linny, but I don't think I'm up to it today," Esper murmured, clearly finding it hard to admit that she wasn't up to performing. Lin picked her up, kissing her cheek, before taking her to his dressing room where Jonathon was getting ready. He set her down on the couch he had, ruffling her hair slightly, as he started to get ready to perform after informing Alysha that she was going on for Esperanza. Esper soon fell asleep, if only for a couple of minutes before waking up.

Leslie entered the room, noticing Esper attempting to sleep but not seeming to be able to. "Hey, are you alright?" he murmured, Esper shaking her head. Sighing sadly, he left before returning with a blanket and draped it over the tired girl before kissing her forehead and leaving to get ready as the 10-minute call is announced.

Esperanza yawns, snuggling into the blanket Leslie gave her as she slipped in and out of consciousness. Suddenly she felt the blanket move, covering her more and being evened out. Thinking it was one of the crew or Groff, she ignored it and quickly fell asleep.

The first act went well, no one in the crowd seemingly worried that Esperanza wasn't performing which was good. Jasmine, Renee, and Pippa were sat with Esper who was completely zonked thank the heavens. Philip was beside his mother, adjusting the blanket every so often with his older sister, Lilliana, sat beside him. "I'm glad Ma's sleeping," Lilli murmured gently, moving a strand of hair that was in front of the girl's face. "But I will admit that it is weird to see Mother in a much younger form than when we last saw her." Philip nodded in agreement as AJ entered, smiling at his older sibling as well as the three ladies before informing the three ladies that Andy wanted to talk to them. They thanked him before leaving the room, leaving AJ, Philip, and Lilli.

It was the afternoon when Chris took Esper to David Hosack. "Ah, Chris, Esper, how may I help you?" he asked as he invited them into his home.

Chris glanced at Esper who nodded. "We believe Esperanza is suffering from PTSD. Could you maybe do a test, seeing a you already know some of what she's been through?" David nodded, starting to gather his things to do the test. It started with a medical exam which came back clear and then moved on to a psychological exam. After examining the response Esperanza had given, David returned to the duo and confirmed that Esper did suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which made a lot of sense considering what she's been through both in this life and the one she lived with Alexander. They thanked David before heading back to the theatre where Lin had a surprise waiting for her.

"Linny?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as the man walked over with a dog beside him. Lin merely smiled, handing the lead to the shocked sixteen-year-old. "W-What?"

"She's yours," he said softly, stroking the dog's head. Esper was shocked as she looked down at the gorgeous white yakutian laika. "What are you going to name her?"

"I think I'm gonna name her Skye," she replied. The cast all played with Skye for a bit before they all headed home.