Chapter 27 - The Nightmare After Christmas

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It was finally just two days before Christmas and everything was ready. Lafayette had baked enough cookies to feed an army but no one was complaining. They were all excited. There was a little something extra in the air over the possibility of it being the first time they celebrating in their last life. No one was sure how to explain it.

Laurens walked inside after a long day at work and stopped before he even took off his coat. There were stacks of paper on the table. He could see scribbles of handwriting on them, he wasn't sure where Hamilton found so much paper but he wasn't about to question it too much. Laurens could see a long string of ribbon leading down the hallway, he followed it. At first, he was hesitant about opening the door but went forward with it anyway.

"Laurens," Hamilton smiled, "You're back!"

"I am," Laurens raised an eyebrow. Somehow Hamilton had managed to completely tangle himself in ribbon, Laurens wasn't sure how he was still managing to stand upright. "What did you do?"

"Well," he stumbled but caught himself, "I managed to write and my hand didn't hurt, then, I tried to wrap some stuff."

"I see that," Laurens was trying not to laugh as Hamilton stumbled again. "Do you want some help?"

"I think I got it," Hamilton began to hop around a little bit, "I think." Laurens just watched as he crashed onto the bed. "I might need some help."

--

"Alright," Peggy looked at Lafayette, "so, what you're saying is that we're going to be able to predict the end of us?"

"Mostly," he nodded.

"But something is definitely coming," Maria said it more as a question.

"Yeah," Lafayette nodded again. "And were supposed to know when."

"But we don't," Peggy pointed out.

"It shouldn't be too hard to figure out," Maria looked up.

"What makes you say that," Peggy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, considering that we're all going to figure this out together," Maria leaned back in her chair, "well probably find out at the same time. Really, it's just a matter of identifying when exactly we find out."

"She has a point," Lafayette nodded. "That seems like it would make the most sense."

"So now," Mulligan walked into the room to place an empty glass on the counter, "when do you tell Hamilton?"

"I guess we should do that," Peggy thought about it for a moment.

--

Hamilton sat on the bed almost completely upright.  Laurens stood in the doorway watching him for a few moments before saying anything, "what are you doing?"

"Shh."

"Shh?"

"Shhh," Hamilton turned his head to look at the clock, "now." Hamilton nodded to himself mostly, "now, it's Christmas."

Laurens smiled a little. "You made me stay up just so you could tell me it was Christmas?"

"Well, Laurens, you see," Hamilton pushed over to make room, "I had to be first."

"Did you?"

"Yes. Yes, I did," Hamilton smiled.

--

Christmas came and went without much fuss or struggle. Lafayette, Maria, and Peggy kept their ideas from Hamilton and decided to keep it that way for a few more days. They had come to the decision that it was the best route to take right now. In fact, they thought it was best to wait until after the new year celebrations and that Peggy should be the one to talk to him. Peggy didn't yet know that part.

--

Laurens was quite as he made his way into the bedroom. It was later than he anticipated but he had just got tied up at work. Hamilton was asleep but Laurens was sure he would understand.

He turned to glance at Hamilton before changing into pyjamas. He watched as the man rolled over. It wasn't really anything to think about, Hamilton was always a restless sleeper. However, Hamilton didn't normally say too much while he was asleep. This made it a little more noticeable to Laurens.

"Just calm...," he moved his head a little, "it's alright."

Laurens didn't want to say anything. He stayed where he was and took a moment to just watch Hamilton.

"I won't go... no... Pe- ... I'm okay."

Laurens could tell that Hamilton wasn't in any immediate stress, it was probably just a weird dream and nothing more.

"I know... we have to... together."

He almost wanted to know what exactly Hamilton was dreaming about. It had to be interesting to keep him talking.

"Shit.. let's ... let's go... we have... no, we won't... Pe-..."

Laurens wasn't yet sitting on the bed when Hamilton stress became more clear. He started to move his head more and his arms were also moving. It wasn't a lot but it was enough for Laurens to know that something was going on.

"Listen we have to go... I kno-... he's okay, we're okay...come on."

Laurens didn't yet want to wake Hamilton but he knew that he should. Still, he let him sleep.

"Pe-...shh."

Everything was quite for a moment. Laurens had never experienced a moment so still before. It was as if he had been frozen in place while he waited for Hamilton to do something other than lay there.

Laurens couldn't help but jump a little when Hamilton was suddenly sitting upright. His breath was heavy until he noticed Laurens. He could tell that Hamilton was trying to appear calmer than he was. They didn't say anything to each other as Laurens snuggled up next to Hamilton to comfort him. This wouldn't be the time to ask about the dream but it did seem to shake him up a little.

--

Maria looked around at the empty field surrounding her. Everything here was dead and it probably had been for some time. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her gut. She didn't feel like she was in danger but she didn't feel totally safe.

All she had with her was a gym bag and even that didn't carry much. There was a blanket and two old-looking bottles of water, that was it. She wasn't sure where she was going or where she would start. All she knew was that this place felt real and it felt empty.

She blinked and noticed that her surroundings had suddenly changed. Maria was leaning against the car next to Eliza. They had driven down a dirt road to nowhere but it didn't matter. In that moment it all felt okay. Maria looked over and saw how the moonlight reflected off Eliza's face, it was stunning.

They both looked when they heard the sound of Eliza's phone ringing.

"Hello.... Yeah. Yeah?... are you okay?... I'm good enough... okay, yeah.... alright."

She slid the phone into her pocket and ran a hand through her hair.

"That was Peggy," Eliza didn't look at Maria, "we've moved to four."

"Who was it," Maria spoke without thinking about it as Eliza continued to stare into the distance.

Eliza started to make her way around to the other side of the car, "it's you, me, Peggy, and Alexander."

Maria didn't move as she woke up. She didn't even shudder. She just took a moment to stare at the ceiling. For one reason or another what Eliza had said in her dream really upset her. Maria knew that she could just shake it off and, for the most part, she would. She couldn't help but feel like she wasn't the only person to be laying awake because of a weird dream.

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