Chapter Text
I stand across the field from burr holding my gun tight in my hand, him standing 25 yard away from me.
“Present!” My second yelled, I see burr raise his pistol from where it originally fell by his hip. I raise my pistol too sharing a glance at my second.
He gave the signal.
I raise my gun to the sky and pull the trigger.
“Wait!-“ I hear burr yell as two gunshots go off.
it’s too late.
I feel as if I’m punched in my stomach as something hit me in the abdomen. I crumped, falling backwards onto the ground. There’s yelling all around me and I open my eyes and see burr walking towards me before being grabbed and pulled away.
I’m tired and now my suits ruined.
I’ll close my eyes.
Just for a moment.
___
“-Xander Alexander! Fuck man when you said the tacos at that restaurant were gross I didn’t think you meant in a ‘pass out way’!” A mystery voice yells, I feel something hit my cheek, someone slapped me.
I try to listen at what’s happening, I’m on something warm and hard, I hear a person muttering aggressively in French and another yelling something about and ‘ambulance’.
I know none of these voices.
“Hhh…Eliza?” I murmur trying to sit up.
“He’s awake! Hercules call off the ambulance! Maybe.” The mysterious voice yells again.
Wait.
Hercules?
“John, I don’t think herc should call off the l'ambulance just yet. Alexander, hi.” A man with a strong accent is suddenly talking close to my face.
Open your eyes Hamilton.
I peak open my eyes and look around.
Who are these adolescents children and why are they surrounding me.
“petit lion Veuillez garder les yeux ouverts.” The child with the strong accent talked to me.
“Oui… où suis-je?” I ask, I feel the body above me freeze before frantically grabbing at my face.
“Why are you talking En français?!? You only talk in French when we make fun of people. Ô mon seigneur are you dying?!??” He saids trying to force open my eyes.
“Stop it laf you’ll scare him!”
Laf. Hercules. John.
I quickly sit up looking at all of them.
There was a black man wearing a type of hat over his head, he was dressed in fancy clothes so I assume he’s probably rich.
They’re was a skinnier black man who had his hair up in a ponytail, though it had multiple pieces falling out.
And the smallest man of the group, he had bright brown skin and dark brown curls that were also in a ponytail, which reminds me of how Eliza wears her hair.
Eliza.
“Am I dead?!?” I shout looking at the three of them. For some peculiar reason relief washed over all their faces.
“Oh he’s awake, hallelujah!”
“Hercules now your gonna scare him.”
“I am not, John!”
I turn towards the small man. “John?”
He looks at me smiling. “Yes Alex? What do you need I will literally give you my left kidney right now-”
“Just please be quiet. Where am I?”
“Your current laying on concrete outside a Whole Foods because Lafayette said the food we had at the restaurant was. ‘A crime to humanity’ among many other things that I can’t say right now because I’m scared you’ll have a heart attack and die!”
“And we are also being stared at and judged, allez les gars!”
They suddenly pick me off the ground, “do you know if you can walk to the car?”
“Car..?”
“Oh god he’s dying, Hercules call 911 again!”
“I’m not dying..I don’t think so.” I put my hand above my hip looking for any signs of a bullet wound
instantaneously my shirt which was to big and to warm for this weather is being lifted up and my stomach is being examined. “I don’t see anything..maybe you hit one of the shelves when you fell and bit the curb.”
“Hercules Mon amour put his shirt down!”
“Love?”
They all look up and stare at me. “Oh GOD HE FORGOT YOU TWO WERE GAY!”
Intense arguing pursue, and my head is grabbed and turned towards the French speaking man. “Alex, Te souviens-tu de mon nom?”
I stare at him, “l-Lafayette?” The name feels weird saying after so long and clearly this child is not my Lafayette.
“Good. John, do you still have the water?”
“You mean the 100 pack that you made me buy? Yes”
“Give me one, maintenant salope!” I laugh slightly at that and ‘Lafayette’ smiles at me.
Where the hell am I.
And what is a ‘wholefoods’
“Here drink.” A bottle is shoved in my face and I am forced to drink the water that’s inside it.
They start talking while I’m drinking and I barely make out the conversation.
“Who do we call?”
“Well clearly not Eliza.”
“Why did he ask about Eliza? They’ve been broken up for months.”
That made me choke up a bit of the water I was drinking and they all turned to look at me again.
“Oh god he’s dying, Hercules do the Heimlich!”
“I don’t know the heimlich, plus if I did I would break all the bones in his body!”
“I know the manœuvre de Heimlich!” And before I know what’s happening arms are tightly wrapped around my front.
Oh lord he’s gonna kill me.
“Stop! Don’t perform ‘the Heimlich’ you’ll kill me!” I scream trying to get out of his hold.
“Laf hold him until we get to the car!”
“Stop screaming!”
“I SCREAM WHEN IM STRESSED!”
And now I’m being dragged, passed peculiar carriages, They look as if they’re completely made of metal. And I see no horses.
‘John’ opens the door for the metal carriage and I’m being forced into it. A long piece of fabric being draped over my chest and being lock in with a ‘click’.
“Okay Alex.” The French man asks “when were you born?”
“January 11 1757.” Ok it was 1755 but he doesn’t need to know that.
The man stares at me as the other two men load themselves into the carriage. “Not good.”
A loud rumble interrupter’s his staring, oh lord what was that?!
“Alex! calme-toi petit lion!” “Stop calling me that! You’re not Lafayette!”
“What do you mean?!”
“You are not Lafayette!”
“Yes I am! Alex calm down!”
“Stop!” I cover my hands over my ears blocking out the noise.
“What are we supposed to do?”
“He..doesn’t remember me.”
“Well I didn’t think he hit his head THAT hard on the concrete!”
“John you always yell in bad situations, right now is not a time to yell.”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME HE DOESN’T KNOW WHO LAF IS!”
“Let’s just- let’s just go back to our dorms and figure this out.”
“HERC, NOUS DEVONS D'ABORD L'EMMENER À L'HÔPITAL!”
“STOP SPEAKING FRENCH!”
“TE BAISE! UN DE MES MEILLEURS AMIS NE SAIT PAS QUI JE SUIS!”
“And say what gil?? That our friend doesn’t remember you or what year he was born in- yes that’s the smarter choice…”
“God..how did you two get into Université de Colombie.”
Colombia university? I’ve never heard of that school before.
___
“Ok Mr..Hamilton what year were you born in?”
“January 11 1757. I don’t understand how you people don’t understand that.”
My ‘friends’ ultimately decided it would be better if they took me to a doctor just to be safe
“Mhm..and how old are you?”
“47.”
“…..Okay..sir please sit here I’m gonna go talk to the people that brought you.” She smiles turning and walking out the door.
I listen in
“Okay so he passed out and hit his head and now he can’t remember anything, He most likely has Post-traumatic amnesia or PTA.”
“Yes okay so what can we do?”
“Well since only one of your friends are over the age of 21, nothing. In most situations like this we would call his parents but according to his history.. mothers dead and father left. He does have a brother though. Anyway that we could get in contact with him?”
“Um no..he told me he hasn’t spoken to his brother since he was twelve.”
“Alright..and he wasn’t born here, so that makes it harder to put him somewhere.”
“why would you need to take him anywhere?”
“He can’t remember anything and think he was born in the 1700. He needs help and from your friends explanation he top of his class? At Columbia university?”
“God damnit laf- yes that correct.”
“So will run more tests Mr Laurens. In the meantime try to find some place where you can take him while his memory comes back. Maybe.”
“MAYBE??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAYBE?!?”
“Sir please calm down. We don’t actually know if his memory will come back or not. He does remember his name so that good. But he seems to remember nothing else.”
“Oh god..”
“Sir just sit down and try to relax. He’s not dying, and from his CT scan there’s no sign of a concussion. That’s good that means his memory will most likely come back.”
“Yeah?!? And what if it doesn’t?”
“Then…will put him in a psychiatric facility, where he’ll be watched 24/7 and will be given medication to help him.”
“Ok..can I see him?”
“Nobody has been stopping you, well besides your friend breaking down in tears when we took a sample of his blood.”
“Yea…I wonder if herc has stop crying yet?”
“Do you want to see him or not?”
“Yes! I do thank you. Doctor.”
“It’s doctor marrasin, lucy marrasin.”
“Yes well um thank you, doctor.”
The door to his room opens and out stands ‘John’.
Or laurens.
John laurens.
That not my John.
“Heyy how do you feel.”
I stare at him as he walks closer to my bed. “Yep I totally understand.”
…
“Are you gonna talk to me or no?”
“What do you want.”
“Ah! So he can speak.”
“I don’t have Post-traumatic amnesia.”
“Yea you kinda do, but we all have bad memory huh?”
“Where’s Eliza.”
“She’s..Back at the university?”
“Where’s burr.”
a look of surprise takes over his face. “He’s also at the university..I’m sorry you remembered burr but not Lafayette?”
“I-“ and suddenly it’s hard to breathe, my eyes go all fuzzy and I can feel my heart beating 1000 times per second. Am I dying? Is this finally my death?
“Hey calm down everything fine.” He wrapped his arms over my shoulder and pulls me into his chest.
___
‘Hammie! Hey how are you?’
‘I’m fine jack.’
‘Well that sad. Remember what burr always says?’
‘Talk less.’
‘The other thing.’
‘Smile more?’
‘Smile more!’ He fingers grip at my face and pull the corner of my mouth up into a smile.
‘They’re we go that’s..kinda better.’
We both laugh his fingers not leaving my face.
___
I lean into the embrace even if it not my John. And even if he’ll never come back.
Where am I.