Running Out of Time

Chapter 5 - Okay? (Not Really) Okay.

Much to her surprise, the next morning Peggy managed to sleep in. Usually Hamilton get bored and wake her but that didn't happen. When she had finally decided to go to bed, Hamilton was still in the same spot. He hadn't moved an inch, it was almost as if he was frozen there. It was a little worrying but it hopefully wasn't anything that couldn't be worked through.

Peggy was still fairly tired. It may have been considered sleeping in but that didn't mean it was late in the day. She would have rolled over and gone back to sleep but she had made plans to meet with Laurens for coffee that day. They were most definitely best friends despite not really being able to just hang out together in this life yet. Her little bump on the head had stopped causing her discomfort a few hours after it happened so Angelica gave her the pass to still have her coffee time.

Peggy eventually made her way downstairs. She knew that both her sister's would be gone by this time, they always were, so she wouldn't have to worry about possibly getting busted. Getting found out had only been a small concern to her. Of course, talking to the apparent ghost the man her sister was once married to would have her seen as a little strange but they have all gone through some pretty strange things. She realized that it didn't matter too much anyway, Hamilton was still in the same spot as the night before.

On the plus side, he was looking much better, he almost looked like a person. Peggy had first believed that everything would be over by this point. She hadn't thought she would still have his ghostly presence hanging around. She had thought wrong. Peggy had actually almost started to enjoy Hamilton's non-stop talking. Some of what he said had amused her but now she was beginning to think that she hadn't enjoyed it enough. Sure, Hamilton was showing signs of recovery but she had no clue what that really meant.

"Alexander?" Peggy quietly tried to speak to him, she got no response. Still, it was worth the try to her. Perhaps Laurens would be able to clear her mind enough for her to think of something else to try. She pulled on a sweater and gave Hamilton one last glance before heading out the door.

--

Laurens and Peggy sat on a park bench drinking their coffees. It was a nice day and they both felt that a walk would do them some good. Peggy was hoping that this would be an opportunity for Laurens to open up. She was still thinking about when Lafayette mentioned he had been worried about Laurens, she was starting to feel the same way. It wasn't the most obvious thing, Laurens was always fairly good at hiding these times, but it was enough for her to tell something was going on.

"Peggy, I've been thinking," Laurens spun the cup in his hands.

"Okay," she looked over at him.

"I just don't want to sound too forward or direct or anything, you know? I just want us to be completely honest with each other here. No lies, no holding back, you got it?"

"Alright, what's going on?"

"It's just," he leaned back against the bench and looked at her, "I've noticed something and I don't know if there's a good way of putting it, so, I'll just say it." Peggy watched as he took a moment to pause. "Are you sure you're okay? If you're not you know you can tell me. I'm here for you, you know that, right?"

"What?" Peggy wasn't sure that she fully understood what exactly was going on here. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn. She hadn't thought that she was making anything obvious but something must have slipped. 

"You've just seemed a little distracted lately, that's all. I care about you. I just want to make sure you're alright," Laurens gave her a soft smile.

"I don't think this is just about me, is it?" Peggy and Laurens both adjusted themselves to better face each other. They had set themselves into a moment of silence where they both knew he other person was right but didn't want to admit it. Peggy still hadn't figured out exactly how to explain the Hamilton situation to anyone, she defiantly couldn't explain it to Laurens yet. The two just looked at one another until Peggy spoke again thinking she was on the right track finally, "is it about Hamilton?"

Laurens looked away, she was right. His face twisted slightly as he tried to think of a lie but came up with nothing. It was time for him to give her the explanation she had been waiting almost a lifetime for.

"Getting hit by a car is kind of a lame way to go when you think about all the stuff we've been though," he took a moment to breathe, this was a little harder than he anticipated it would be. "I was on my way to see him, you know that much, but obviously, I didn't make it. It sucks because now he's not here to hear this and I'm not even sure if I would want him to be here." Laurens was trying to stall himself slightly, getting straight to the point wasn't exactly his area of expertise. "I honestly wanted to marry that man. I really wanted that and I died on my way there. How great is that?"

Peggy wasn't sure what to say. "Laurens," she stopped when he looked at her. She could understand what he was feeling by the look on his face, he was missing Hamilton a lot. It hurt her to see him like this. Their job was basically to make sure the other was happy, it's what best friends were supposed to be for. "We'll find him," her reassurance didn't seem to do too much, "and we'll do it before anything happens to you."

"You can't guarantee that, we don't know when anything happens to us."

He had a point but Peggy was Eliza's sister. If she had learned anything from that life experience it was to look on the bright side of things. It was something that Peggy of often forgot to do but in this situation she thought she could do it.

"Trust me, I have a good feeling about this," Peggy gave him a little smile, "I'm pretty sure he's closer than we think."

"Holy shit," Peggy heard a whisper behind her. Hamilton was here, she wasn't sure how long he had been there but surely it had been long enough. "Laurens, I," he walked over and bent down in front of Laurens, "I didn't know. Why didn't I know? I should've known." Hamilton slumped to his knees. "I should've known," he repeated it a few more times, Peggy could hear his voice shaking. She was doing her best not to look as Hamilton placed his head on Laurens' knees. "I'll find you," he stood up again seeming fully composed as he put one hand on Laurens' cheek, "when I do, I'm going to kiss you so hard you won't know what to do."

Peggy watched and Laurens subtly lifted a hand to scratch his cheek. She heard Hamilton laugh, "do you think he can feel it?" Peggy just smiled. She wasn't sure if he could or not but it was possible.