Alexander Hamilton, much to his friends' annoyance, fraternised with trouble at a frankly alarming frequency. It wasn't that he sought it, it just seemed to come knocking at his office door bearing gifts, in this instance; a particularly annoyed brunette who, after a suspicious light show and few muffled noises that went unnoticed, stormed her way back through the main entrance, a bemused John Laurens looking up at the slamming of a door.
"John? Is everything alright out here?"
Tugging his earphones out, John turned towards the President in confusion, before a look of understanding dawned on his face;
"Yeah Sir, I think Hamilton managed to piss off another senator though."
Heaving a sigh, Washington, with Laurens in tow, trudged to a door bearing a well-worn placard, the "Hamilton" almost indistinguishable under black scrawls (The result of a particularly public office war with Jefferson).
"Hamilton, Son, is everything okay?"
Standing back in preparation for a verbal onslaught to be thrown out the door, both men tensed at the fumbling of the door handle, standing frozen as timid eyes peeked out from a barely-opened door.
"Who 'r you?"
"Sooo, you're saying this is Hamilton?"
Jefferson's disgusted tone was belayed by his soft cooing at the child on his lap, who, upon introduction to the man, had shimmied his way into his arms and wound his fingers firmly between his curls.
"So it seems; We have no idea how this happened, but due to his solo living arrangements, he's going to need to go somewhere daily."
Looking down at Washington's address, Cabinet shifted in their seats in their attempts to avoid the obvious solution, Jefferson suddenly becoming preoccupied in drawing the jacket Alex was swaddled in tighter,
"I say we dump him in a Day Care until it wears off!"
Venomous glances were aimed towards Vice President John Adams as he smirked triumphantly, ignorant of the possessive scowls that adorned everyone's faces, Maddison and Jefferson looking particularly murderous.
"But, I suppose, that could pose a national threat if it were found out, could it not…?"
Bestowing an approving glance upon Burr, Washington nodded wisely at the question, levelling an even glare at Adams as he opened his mouth to protest.
"He'll stay here each day. Jefferson, Maddison, he can go home with you – However I expect ieveryone/i to look after him."
As Washington swept out of the room, Jefferson gave a startled jolt at the noise from just below his chin, melting in adoration as he glanced upon Alex suckling on this tips of his hair sleepily.
Eliza Schuyler was on a warpath this morning, striding down the corridor, skirts flowing dramatically as she slammed open the doors to an unsuspecting Washington,
"He's hiding."
Rolling his eyes, the President silenced the insignificant politician on the other side of the desk as he left the room, striding into the staff kitchen and halting suddenly enough that Eliza almost ran into him, diaper bag swaying by her side. A hitched whimper came from a small cupboard in the back corner, the door open a fraction; enough for Eliza to see the glimmer of teary brown eyes.
"Alex, sweetie, we don't care that you had an accident, honestly, there wasn't even a mess to clean."
Kneeling down in front of the cupboard, Eliza's expression softened, her eyebrows drawing up in a confused appeal to Washington as he stood spectating.
"Son-"
"I'm not your son!"
"-We have plenty of diapers, so many that to not use them would be a waste, would you like to use one for us?"
Hinges creaked painfully slowly as a tiny tousled head poked out from inside, tear tracks trailing down a pitifully thin face,
"… Really?"
Nodding softly in affirmation, Eliza opened her arms to a soggy toddler, his sobs starting anew as he fisted her hair, clutching at soft strands as she lead him to the changing table, setting him down to change him.
"Hey little man, how are going?"
Alex's eyes flickered open from where they'd unknowingly been drifting shut, as he gazed passively upon Maddison, reaching out to seize the huge man's fingers and suck on them as Eliza finished buttoning up his overalls again.
"G'ud"
Letting out a deep molten laugh Maddison lifted Alex into his arms, curling him against his chest where Alex could hear each deep inhale and exhale the man took, slowly getting lulled to sleep as James and Thomas collected their things for the day.
"Alex, you have to eat the rest of this applesauce before bedtime, okay?"
Thomas slumped as Alex shook his head frantically, sweaty ringlets bouncing as he firmly shut his mouth against more food. The boy was practically emaciated but wouldn't any decent sized amount of food.
"Please?"
Thomas' voice cracked desperately as he looked at the child, who's mouth immediately sprung open at the adult's distress.
"There, much better, thank you Alexander."
Mouth pulling up into a teary grin, Alex finished the last few mouthfuls of the originally small-serving, and threw his arms up as James walked over, releasing a small giggle as he was placed on the tall man's shoulders, directing him over to Thomas who stood at the sink cleaning dishes.
Alex woke up in the middle of the night and his tummy hurt. Chewing on his fist wetly, he whimpered softly, curling into a little ball.
Thomas was the first to wake up, the recently acquired baby monitor emitting small sounds of distress. Stumbling half-asleep to Alex's room, he turned on a dim light, yelling to Maddison as he saw the toddler's distress, and on closer inspection, where he'd been sick in the night.
Grabbing an emergency bottle, that Alex really should have grown out of, he prepared it while nursing the kid on his hip, silently cringing as his clothes were covered in half-digested applesauce. As Maddison took the dirty sheets to the laundry, the men shared a commiserating glance before re-grouping in their bedroom, Thomas bring a newly-changed Alex to the bed with him as they both curled around the child, his sleepy soft puffs lulling the men to sleep.