Thomgelica, Percules, Lams, and More!

Susan

"So," Hercules said, fanning himself with a few bills, "What should we do next? I recently came into encounter with a large sum of money, want to go get drink?."

    "I hate you." Peggy and Hercules had just gotten back from the bank, after running through the neighborhood half naked just to wrestle Alex's phone from him. The look on Laurens' face when he had found out why was worth the fifty dollars, though.

"So do you want to go get drinks?"

"Ha, no. I'm still hungover from last night."

"Well, when you get un-hungover, we should go get some."

"Hercules Mulligan are you asking me out?" Peggy smiled slyly.

"Ah, yes?" Hercules scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"I accept." Hercules smiled widely. "But can we not doing anything tonight? I'm tired and I have a headache and I kind of want to go home and change. And then sleep. Forever."

"Can I join you?" He asked, throwing an arm around Peggy. They were standing in front of the boys' fraternity. The door to Aaron's bedroom (which opened onto a balcony) was closed tight and the blue curtains were pulled tight. Theodosia must be over. The morning was cooler than the day before, signaling that autumn was finally settling in.

"You may." They began the usual walk back to the Schuyler house, getting some strange looks from the others students passing. And they truly were an odd sight, Peggy with a yellow robe hanging off her shoulder, no shoes, and Hercules with baggy jeans and an undershirt. The birds were chirping loudly, interrupting the afternoon stillness. A red car was parked across the street from the house. The license plate read: REYN0LDS. Peggy gasped and ran inside, a look of horror crossing her face. Hercules caught on a minute too late, and chased after her.

Eliza, Angelica, Marq, Jefferson, and James were sitting around the table, a look of stillness on everyone's face. Peggy pulled her robe closer together, and stepped towards the table. "What's going on?" She asked, sitting down across from James. Hercules stood behind her.

"It's Maria, she went to the hospital an hour ago because she felt some pain. I don't know what's wrong." James had his face in his hands, barely mumbling out the answer. Eliza and Angelica looked worried, and the latter also had a robe wrapped around her waist. Peggy noticed that Jefferson too had hastily dressed, his shirt on inside out.

"Wait, so why are we here? Why is no one at the hospital with her?" Peggy's heart was racing, frantically glancing around. "When did she..." Peggy stopped and counted off on her fingers, "She's only eight months in, is it healthy for her to be having contractions already? How early can you go into labor and still have the baby be healthy?"

"I don't know, how early did Aunt Anna have Kiliaen?" Eliza wrung her hands.

"I think she had him at around eight months. I don't know, I was four." Angelica answered. They waited in silence for a bit longer, and around two o'clock James' phone wrung. Eliza looked at him anxiously, and Marq took that as his cue to start massaging her shoulders. James listened for a while, occasionally nodding or saying, "Uh-huh." Everyone held their breath as he put the phone down.

    "So, what happened?" Jefferson asked, probably for Angelica's sake.

    "Well, she is going into labor, so I have to go! How long do these things usually take, should I call her mom? I don't know what to do in this situation." It was amazing how quickly James' image changed. Just last night he had been puking on their lawn, and now he was wringing his hands, worried about his pregnant girlfriend.

    "Okay, well, calm down, breathe," Eliza commanded, taking initiative. "Look, I'll drive with you. She's probably already called her mom, because it's not like she is unconscious or anything. Let's go now, so you can talk to her a bit and help her through it. She's going to be scared. Let me put on some shoes and we can get going."