Hamilton Oneshots

A Child // Philip Hamilton

"You brought a child to camp. The kid's not even 5 and you brought him to a military camp. There has to be some kind of rule against this!" Charles complained. Alexander rolled his eyes, throwing a protective arm around Philip.

"Eliza is sick, this is the least I can do for her," he defended.

"As long as he stays out of trainings and the battlefield, I don't see how it can be a huge issue," Washington stated. Charles scowled and crossed his arms tightly.

"That kid better stay away from my tent," he said, walking out of Washington's tent. Philip pressed himself closer to his father, intimidated by Charles. From the words exchanged by his parents late at night to the behavior he saw, Charles Lee seemed to be a danger to Philip. Alexander led Philip to a tent shared with John Laurens.

"Uncle John!" Philip screamed, jumping to hug onto John. John was caught off guard, almost falling over.

"What's up, Philip?" he said, balancing himself.

"I get to be here for a whole week!" Philip said excitedly. He seemed to have forgotten about Charles Lee.

"Well, I guess I should show you around, huh?" John said, putting down Philip.

"Yes!" Philip said, running out of the tent. John took a moment to follow, saying a quick goodbye to Alexander. Aaron Burr slipped by, reading his reports.

"Laurens, mini Hamilton," he said before freezing. He stared at Philip for a second before walking off.

"Mr. Burr likes you, Pip-squeak," John said, poking the kid. Philip giggled and pulled on John's hand to run around camp. As they passed by the remaining tents, Philip looked amazed. He stared at the men squeezing their ways by them. He heard a dog barking, causing him almost to run into a tent to see if he could pet it. John quickly grabbed Philip and placed the kid on his shoulders.

"Let's not walk into random people's tents there," John said with a laugh. Philip laughed too. They finished their tour soon enough, when Washington gave John some work to complete with Alexander. It was incredibly boring in the tent while they worked, making Philip ask if he can go play with someone around the camp. Alexander gave a half-attentive approval, waving his hand dismissively. Philip ran out and knocked on the pole to the tent where the dog barks were coming from. Charles Lee opened the tent flap, glancing around before spotting Philip. He scowled slightly, looking once more for a sign of either Alexander or John.

"Can I help you?" he asked carefully. Philip felt like he was in trouble, throwing his eyes to the floor.

"I... I heard a doggy barking and wanted to see if I can play with it," Philip said. Charles gave a quiet sigh before bending to Philip's level.

"Where's your father? Or Laurens, even?" he asked. Philip looked up, seeing a dog panting and wagging its tail behind Charles.

"They're in their tent doing boring work," Philip said.

"I see. Well, I suppose before I let you play with my dogs, I have to tell you their names," Charles said. Philip beamed, showing that his front tooth was missing, though Charles assumed that it was for a mature tooth growing in its place.

"Really?! Wait- you have more than one dog?!" Philip asked, trying to see the others.

"Only two, come on in, kid," Charles said. He pinned open the flap to his tent, but the dogs didn't run off. There was a small black Pomeranian and a larger, though not by much, hound dog, possibly a beagle or a bassett, Philip couldn't tell the difference yet. The hound bounded up to Philip, trying to jump onto the kid.

"Fitzroy, down," Charles commanded sharply. The dog stopped jumping, but still sniffed Philip, not leaving a spot on the boy undetected.

"He's so cute!!" Philip said, reaching to pet the dog. The dog allowed him, sniffing up his arm. The Pomeranian sat obediently at Charles's feet.

"Well, his name is Fitzroy, he's a beagle with Lord knows what else bred into him. He'll play with you whenever you wish. This little guy," Charles picked up the Pomeranian, "Is Spada, he doesn't like to play a lot, but when he's excited, there's no telling what could happen."

"Do I gotta stay here to play with them?" Philip asked. Charles seemed like he was thinking for a moment, carefully stroking Spada.

"Yes, I'd like Fitzroy to stay within sight, and I highly doubt your father wants you leaving the camp," Charles said. Fitzroy started to lick Philip's hand, barking happily. Philip picked up a discarded stick and threw it across the tent. Fitzroy fetched it and came back holding the stick tightly. He gave a fight for the stick, playfully growling and sneezing. Eventually, Philip won, stumbling back from the force. Charles had taken a chair to do his own work, holding Spada over his lap. Philip enjoyed his time playing with Fitzroy. Someone entered the tent, breezing past Philip. Philip glanced up and saw Aaron Burr

"Charlie, why's your tent open?" Aaron asked Charles softly. His hands were going across Charles's body the way Philip's mother's hands traced his father.

"Aaron, we have a guest," Charles said, tilting his head towards Philip. Philip waved shyly, looking down. This man wasn't someone he met often and he didn't have any dogs to play with.

"So it seems your dogs finally have a good purpose," Aaron muttered. Charles hit his chest, scowling a bit. Philip was unsure if that was the way he smiled. He kept playing with Fitzroy until his eyes started to droop and he yawned relentlessly.

"Seems like your guest needs a nap time," Aaron muttered to Charles.

"We should find Hamilton or Laurens, I'm not letting a kid sleep in here," Charles said. He offered a hand to help Philip stand up, but Philip rejected it with grabby hands. Charles quickly glanced at Aaron before picking up the kid to sit on his hip.

"God, Charles, you look good as a dad," Aaron teased. Charles grumbled a little. Philip drifted in and out of sleep as Aaron led Charles to Alexander and John's tent. Aaron knocked first, warmly greeting Alexander. Charles stepped forward, without saying a word as he passed over a sleeping Philip. Philip stirred a little, leaning into his father.

"What was he doing with you, Lee?" Alexander hissed quietly. His arms held Philip a tad bit tighter.

"Well, with much negligence to my request, he wanted to play with my dogs," Charles said, waving his hand around as he spoke. Alexander groaned as he realized he would never hear the end of Philip wishing for a dog.

"So you infected my son with your obsession with dogs?" Alexander asked. Charles groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"You really do know how to make me sound like the bad guy through anything," he mumbled.