Hamilton One Shots

The Letter

The weather outside was dreadful. Rain pounded at the roofs of homes, wind picked up, and doors slammed shut in an attempt to keep the bad weather out of sight.

Inside his home, the fireplace crackling as the weather continued, Alexander paced around his study. A pen stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he anxiously read one of his many books. He was so engrossed in the reading, that he barely even heard a knock at the door.

Eliza, his wife, entered the room. Alexander didn't look up at first, too intrigued with what he had at hand. Clearing her throat, Eliza finally spoke to make him aware of her presence. "Alexander."

He looked up from the book, smiled, and took the pen out of his mouth. Repeatedly tapping it on the open book, he replied, "Yes?" Seeing her sullen expression, he quickly said, "Something the matter?"

His wife had a letter in her hands, it was obviously newly delivered going by the way it folded at her fingertips. "A letter arrived for you from South Carolina."

Alexander's eyes lit up at her words. He knew who that letter was from. He had been waiting and hoping for that letter to arrive.

"Is it from John Laurens?"

As he expected to see her nod yes, she denied his question. "No." With a pause, Eliza looked at her husband directly in the eyes. He sensed something was terribly wrong, and his heart sank deep in his chest.

"Will you read it to me?"

Taking a seat at his desk, Alexander hands shook as Eliza began to read the letter.

"On Tuesday the twenty seventh, Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens was killed in a gun fight against British troops in South Carolina."

Alexander gripped the edge of his desk, not believing what he was hearing.

"These troops had not yet received word from Yorktown that the war was over. He is buried here until his family can send for his remains."

Eliza paused before continuing.

"As you may know, Lieutenant Colonel Laurens was engaged in recruiting three thousand men for the first all black military regiment. The surviving members of this regiment have been returned to their masters."

Eliza pressed her lips together, watching Alexander's reaction. She knew the Lieutenant had meant so much to him, and it was hard to lose someone like this.

Alexander sat at his desk, unable to say the words he wanted to say. Was John really dead? Was this true?

A few tears ran down his cheek, mimicking the treacherous weather outside. He tried to hold them back, asking to see the letter.

Eliza placed it on his desk, a worried look upon her face. Alexander unfolded it again and read every line just as his wife had, begging for some sort of answer.

There was silence, except for the crackling flames in the fireplace. Alexander bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying any harder.

As he sat there, trembling, the letter in his hands, Eliza gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Feeling her warm and generous gesture, Alexander broke down.

Sobbing on his wife's hand, he clutched the letter tightly. He loved John Laurens so dearly, no one would ever understand. And now he was gone, whisked away into the heavens.

After standing up from his desk, Alexander intertwined his hands with Eliza's. She looked up at him, her eyes also filled with emotion, but not the same that her husband felt in that moment.

His fingers brushed against her jawline and he smiled solemnly. Eliza knew that he was fighting back all urges to cry in front of her.

"I have so much work to do."

She seemed to hesitate, before leaving Alexander alone in his study. When she had left the room, he hurriedly dug through his books to find the letters exchanged between himself and Laurens for so many years.

Heaving the stack up in his arms, he sat down at his desk again, wiping the corners of his eyes a few more times. Then he shivered, unbinding the thin ribbon that held the stack together.

In the back of his mind, as he read through the many years of his kept secrets, his devotion, Alexander could hear John's voice. His voice would never leave him, even if the letters did, his voice wouldn't ever manage to escape him.

There was a crack of lightning outside, and more rain tumbled down. Alexander tried to think of all the good memories, but all his mind kept reminding him was that the person he loved and cared for so dearly was gone.

Each letter he read, he made sure to read every line before placing them back on the desk. His heart pounded at all of John's written remarks.

Time ticked by so quickly but so slowly, and Alexander found himself immersed in the letters, not able to let the feelings he felt for this man go.

Although he had managed to hold back his emotions for a little while, it must have been something John wrote that had Alexander sobbing again.

His tears stained the letters, the ink diminishing from it. Trying not the crumble up the memories, the only reminder left of his dear Laurens, Alexander choked out one single word, "Why?"

And then he placed his head in his hands, shoulders shaking at the pain and heartbreak he felt, letting the sounds of the storm outside engulf his emotions.

. . . . . . . . . .
A/N: Was this any good? I got the idea from listening to the Laurens Interlude, which you can see I used a quick segment from it. I will be posting more one shots too, so if you have any suggestions feel free to tell me.