Hamilton Oneshots

Stress Hurts (HamLiza)

Trigger Warning: Death?

Eliza stood with her children, Philip who was ten and named after his grandfather, Angelica who was eight and named after her aunt, Alexander Jr who was six and named after his father, James who was four, and John who was was named after John Laurens and was being held as he was only three months old. Eliza's stomach was already swelling again, pregnant again though this one was planned. Eliza and her six children were watching her husband, Alexander Hamilton, leave with the President of the United States, George Washington, to end what was known as the Whiskey Rebellion.

"Mommy," Angelica said, pulling on Eliza's dress, "Will daddy be okay?" She asked in a light voice, her eyes fixed on her father's retreating horse while her hand stayed clutched around her mother's blue dress.

"He will be!" Philip said, his hands in fists and his eyes tearing up. Eliza would hug him if she herself wasn't about to break down, "He's always okay. He'll be back, just wait!"

"You don't know that," James said and crossed his chubby arms, "And you're crying!" He pointed out causing the children to start bickering about who was being a baby and if their father would be okay.

"Children...children!" They stopped bickering and looked at their mother who managed to calm herself enough to say, "Your father has been through worse and been okay. Have you heard the story of how he stole British canons during the Revolutionary War?" She asked and they all shook their heads, except Philip who had heard it before, "Let's go to the parlor and I'll tell you all about it." Excitedly the four children raced to their chairs in the parlor with Eliza following a bit slower, bouncing John who had begun crying.

Soon Eliza sat with her children, John in his crib, telling them all the story of how their father and Hercules Mulligan had escaped enemy fire and stealthily made their way through enemy lines while the city they were defending was under siege just to steal canons.

"Mommy," Junior interrupted, "Where were you when this was happening?" He asked, tilting his head in interest. The other three began asking the same question though worded slightly different.

"Well," Eliza said to gather their attention again, "I hadn't met your father yet. We met a few months later at a ball your grandfather, my father, hosted. When your father was doing all of this my sisters, your aunts, and my mother, your grandmother, were all in my father's mansion as my father was off at war too. I wasn't doing anything quite so interesting in this time, your father is the real hero."

"That's boring." Junior whined and the others agreed, "You're boring, mommy!" He said, causing the others to laugh.

Eliza sighed and continued her story until she heard a wet cough come from John, worried she went to him. She guessed her expression had caused the others to go silent as they felt something serious had happened, "Oh no." She whispered when she felt John's red cheeks to find they were extremely hot.

"Ph-" She picked John up and placed him against her chest, looking at her eldest child, "Philip you're in charge while I'm gone. Angelica, Alexander, James, you three must listen to him. I think your brother has caught a dangerously high fever, I'm going to go find a doctor for him. Do you four understand me?" She asked and they nodded seriously, "I love you and I'll see you soon." She left the house to a chorus of "I love you too" with the occasional "mommy" following it.

Eliza held John protectively and climbed into her carriage with one of the ladies who wait on her. A man soon came to drive the carriage down their dirt drive before they hit the rocky cobble of the city, she listened to the horse's hooves hitting the ground before they came to a stop, Eliza hurried in to call on the doctor.

About three hours later Eliza sat at home with the doctor looking over John, the four other children waited anxiously outside the door. The doctor looked up at her, "Mrs. Hamilton I'm afraid your son has become fatally ill." Eliza felt her world come to a halt, "He will be lucky if he survives the night, if he survives the week he may live longer but I am sure he will not." Tears cascaded down her cheeks as the man left.

"Mommy, what's wrong with him?" Philip asked when he and his younger siblings had come in, James holding his hand. Eliza felt the baby move inside her stomach and she broke down, crying into her hands as her children ran to hug her and comfort her.

Eliza waved them off of her, "It's time for bed." She said through her tears. Uncertainly and slightly terrified, the children left obediently, not wanting to stress their mother out further. Eliza brought John into her bed for the first time in two months as she was terrified of him sleeping alone. That night Eliza cried herself to sleep with the background noise of John's unbalanced and heavy breathing.

When Eliza woke up she felt something off, though she could still hear John breathing, thankfully, she felt as if something was wrong. She sat up and realized something wet was between her legs, she threw her blanket off and screamed when she realized she had woken up in a bed of blood. She kept screaming, John woke up startled and began doing the same, tears flew from her eyes. Suddenly, probably because of her screaming, the room was filled with their live-in staff. Blankly she let them deal with the situation as she felt numb inside, she'd never lost a child before and yet she'd just killed one, ironically not the one she'd been worrying for the entire night.

Her only saving grace was when Alexander received word of what had happened he had promised to make his way back as soon as he could. She hoped he could help her, for she just stayed in bed every day and stared at the ceiling, not even her children could bring her joy. Not even the fact that John recovered, nothing could fill what felt like a void inside her heart for now.

Around November 24th, 1794 Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton suffered a miscarriage in the wake of her youngest child falling extremely ill as well as her worries over Hamilton's absence during his armed suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion. Hamilton resigned public office immediately afterwards in order to resume his practice of law in New York and remain closer to his family.