For Once We're At Peace

Chapter 16

It had been a week since the median had visited. Poor Esperanza had yet to recover, knowing her friends and family were around her yet she couldn't hear, see, or feel them. Her children tried to cheer her up, but knew it was pointless. At this point the only thing that could make her happy again was her Alexander and everyone knew that but didn't know how to help.

Speaking of everyone else, the cast got a surprise when the spirits the median had picked up and more visited them about a week and a half after the whole event had transpired. "How can we help you all?" Chris asked, arms crossed as Hercules comforted a crying Alexander.

"We want to surprise Esperanza," Burr said as he rubbed Alexander's back in some type of comfort. Angelica nodded in agreement. "We've been revived in a sense, and we just want to be able to surprise her."

Glancing at each other, the cast nodded. This was what both Esperanza and Hamilton needed, to be able to just hold each other, even if one of them weren't aware that it was their past lover they were able to touch again. "We'll do it." Jasmine nodded, smiling wide. "We'll do Act 1; you guys can do Act 2." Everyone agreed and so the plan was set; the Hamilcast would do Act 1 of Hamilton: An American Musical and the founding fathers and mothers would do Act 2 of Hamilton: An American Musical.

Esperanza sighed sadly as she got changed into her lilac dress before taking a deep breath and heading to the right wing where Renee was. She gave the girl a hug before they started Act 1. The first act of the play went smoothly as they started on Act 2. Almost immediately something was off to Esperanza. Daveed's virginiana cent seemed a lot thicker, as did Oak's. Odd, she thought before brushing it aside. They probably just wanted it to seem a lot more natural. Doesn't matter. Brushing off this odd occurrence, Esperanza got ready for her next number: Take A Break.

During It's Quiet Uptown, the 42nd number in Hamilton, Esperanza noticed how Lin was much more emotional. In the scene where he leaned down, she asked him if he was alright. He just nodded with a soft smile, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Soon, they moved onto Election of 1800 and, again, Esperanza noticed something else. This time, however, she was starting to get suspicious of those she's performing with.

The play soon ended, the crowd cheering wildly as the cast lined up and took their bows. After taking their bows, Lin stepped forward and clapped his hands and rubbed them together, a habit her husband had the tendency of making whenever he did something he knew she'd be mad about. "We actually have a surprise for one of the cast members behind me," he said, grinning as the real Lin stepped forward with a similar grin, only slightly wider, shocking absolutely everyone. "Lin-Manuel Miranda, I am going to pummel you into the ground," Esperanza jokingly said as she glared at the man who merely grinned. "What is going on?"

"You'll find out in a minute," with that he turned to the audience. "We – meaning the cast – did a switcheroo, if you will, with some people who know the story much better than we, as the cast, do." Lin turned to a rather confused Esperanza, taking her hand, and leading her to the front of the stage and positioning her in front of the fake Lin. The fake Lin smirked and took off his wig, revealing auburn hair that Esperanza knew all too well. She turned to look at Lin, glaring as a tear trickled down her cheek who merely laughed, the others coming out of the wings as well.

"No," she mouthed shaking her head as more tears trickled down her cheeks. "No, Lin, you're joking. You're joking, right? Please, tell me this is some sick joke."

The fake Lin proceeded to turn to the audience and bowing. "Hello, my real name is Alexander James Hamilton, it's a pleasure to meet you all." He introduced. The fake Lin, now known as the one and only Alexander Hamilton, turned to his wife who was just shaking her head at him, receiving a smirk from the devil. Philip, not being able to wait any longer, ran forward and tackled his mother in a tight hug as she silently cried. The cast, founding fathers, and founding mothers take their bows and leave the stage.

After the audience had left, Esperanza was jokingly refusing to talk to any of them. However, Washington had ways of making her talk: tickling. Walking forward, Washington started to move his hands up and down his youngest child's sides as she tried to fight the smile that threatened to split her face in half as well as the giggles that bubbled in her chest. Chris, grinning, move forward to help the first president of America, easily getting Esperanza to shriek and move away from them both and right into Lafayette's open arms. "You guys are bullies," she pouted as Lafayette hugged her, kissing her cheek as she giggled slightly. "Fine, fine! You guys win."

"Glad you agree, mon corbeau," Lafayette chuckled, helping her to stand properly and face Alexander who was smiling extremely wide.

"Jerk," she murmured before hugging him. however, Hamilton had other ideas. Instead of pulling his wife into a hug, he decided to pull her in for a kiss to which she returned whole heartedly. Meanwhile, Lilli, Pip, Angie, AJ, James, John, Will, Betsey, Pippy, George, and Maria all gagged, smiling when their parents playfully glared at them.

Esperanza turned to look at Burr, as he was really the only one she felt that she needed to talk to since she never got the chance before they both died. "Aaron," she said, striding over to him. Burr tensed, awaiting a slap, a punch, a kick, anything, but it never came. "Aaron, I'm not going to hit you." Burr related but was clearly confused and weary. "Aaron, you're one of my closest friends. Besides, I already knew the duel was going to happen. It was inevitable, nothing was going to stop that duel from taking place. Ron, listen to me, I have never once hated you or blamed you for Alexi's sudden death. That was his own doing, however I would like to point one thing out to you. Why do you think he chose Thomas?"

"I... I don't know," he said as he looked down before looking up as Esperanza spoke again.

"Because he didn't want you to turn out like him," she stressed. "You started using Alex's tactics, don't you realise how badly that turned out for him in the end? He was saving you by choosing Thomas. He never hated you once, you were his first friend, why would he not want to save you from yourself?" Burr's eyes were wide as he looked over at Alexander who smiled and nodded. "it's true," he mouthed as Burr was wrapped in a hug by the 5'3 girl before him. immediately, tears found their way into his eyes, spilling over as they held onto each other. Alexander soon joined as did everyone else to form a massive group hug. In that moment, Burr finally realised that Esperanza had forgiven him a long, long time ago and it was time he finally forgave himself. Esperanza and Alexander had, so why couldn't he? And it started right now.