I'm back! In life, there are several stories left unfinished, but I decided maybe this one was worth wrapping up. If my words in any way made you smile or your heart turn or even think a little, then I'll be glad to have done this. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did, heard the characters whisper in your ears, just as I did as I wrote down what they said to me, took on their own lives and stormed through the story, leaving me only to follow behind them.

Why do I write like I'm running out of time? Because we never know how much time we have.

As always,

Enjoy!

~The Cursed One

One day, Jefferson received an unexpected visitor.

"Lafayette." he said in surprise, letting him in, "I didn't realize you'd left France."

"Temporarily." He admitted, "I went to pay my respects to my friends." He seemed grief-stricken and Jefferson remembered the three of them had lived together for some time.

"I see. Well, you can stay in Monticello until you return."

"Merci." Lafayette stopped and looked down at the girl peeking from behind Jefferson's legs. Pretty, but she looked nothing like him. "Is that their daughter?"

"Yes." They made their way to the sitting room and Alice climbed onto the couch beside Jefferson, staring at Lafayette oddly.

"She's so young. I didn't realize."

"Her parents were young." The two men frowned deeply at that.

"Her name?"

"Alice." Lafayette stared at Alice with the same morbid fascination with which she stared at him.

"Jeffson." She whispered, pulling at the president's sleeve, "Why's he talking funny?" The man hoped his smile didn't seem forced and decided to introduce himself.

"Hello." She turned to Lafayette, cheeks pink with her timidity.

"Hi." She mumbled.

"I am Marquis de Lafayette." He introduced himself. Alice blinked, then looked up at Jefferson.

"He was a very good friend of your mother and father," the president explained patiently, and Alice's face wrinkled as she thought back.

"Hm…" Her eyes lit up, "Lafa… Lafa-ette? Friend… help… drunk…" The men burst into laughter, making Alice jolt and look at them, perplexed as to what she might have said.

"That sums it up quite nicely." Lafayette admitted, "It is nice to know they talked about me." At that, his voice became more quiet. He cleared his throat, "Merci, Jefferson, for inviting me here."

"And I'll join you for dinner." Thomas said, standing, "But I'm afraid I'll have to leave you until then." Lafayette waved him off and the man walked out. Alice hurriedly followed, pausing and waving at Lafayette before leaving as well.

The frenchman, when he was sure no one was watching, let a single tear escape his eye. But once he allowed that, it was like opening a faucet. He leaned forward, concealing his face in his hand.

A tap on his knee made him jump and hurriedly straighten. Alice took several steps back in surprise. She blinked at him, head tilting slightly and while he was embarrassed, Lafayette was glad it was the child and not someone else who had found him like this. He cleared his throat.

"If you're lost…"

"Why are you crying?" He blinked and said nothing, clenching his shaking hands. How selfish of him to cry in front of their orphan daughter. She took a tentative step forward, then another, putting her hand on his knee as she looked up at him. "Are you sad?"

"...Oui." He realized the child didn't know french, "I mean, yes. But you don't have to worry." She pouted for a minute before climbing onto the couch beside him, then onto his lap. She stood and reached for his face, messily wiping away his tears, inevitably making the man laugh. She looked at the wetness on her hand for a long time.

"Jeffson says to be strong." Alice said, "But daddy used to cry too."

"He did?" Lafayette couldn't picture Hamilton ever shedding a tear. But Alice nodded.

"When mommy got mad at him." She said, "And when he was worried about mommy. He…" She sniffled, then without another word, left hurriedly.

Lafayette followed her curiously.

He arrived at a room full of paper. On the wall, there were drawings and writings. He watched Alice sit at her desk and begin to scribble. He saw an untouched bed at the end of the room. Deciding to leave her to it, he asked to be taken to his own room.

At lunch, the maids asked him if he minded eating with Alice, and he told them it would be fine.

"Tell me, Alice, what do you know of France?"

"Mommy went once." She offered, "She said it's pretty."

"Very pretty." Lafayette confirmed, "Did your mother teach you French?" That got a confused look, "It's a different language. People in France use… different words." The wonder in Alice's face grew as she leaned forward, as if being closer to him would hasten his story.

"Really?"

"Oui, j'aime bien Paris! C'est un lieu incroyable." He said. Alice's eyes widened and she giggled. Lafayette kept speaking French, much to her delight. They finished eating and Alice wandered off. Lafayette sat in the sitting room, surprised when Alice wandered back in, yawning. She wordlessly made her way to him and lay her head on his lap before dozing off.

Her intelligent eyes reminded him of Alexander, and that curly hair was exactly like Constance's.

When the three of them lived together, it felt as if they'd live forever.

Lafayette stayed at Monticello for several days. He taught Alice French in his free time, and wined and dined with Jefferson every night, as they recalled good times together.

There was only one day when Jefferson skipped out on their usual dinner. He had a very important meeting with the cabinet that would take him several hours, and required his full attention. He was not to be disturbed. He actually asked Lafayette to keep an eye on Alice to make sure she didn't try and follow him. Alice had grown to like Lafayette, so it wasn't a problem.

It was an unusually dark night, even inside, with candles lit. Lafayette leaned back in his chair, pleasantly reading while Alice worked on some art on the floor.

Then, out of nowhere, she dropped her pencil.

And she began to wail.

Lafayette dropped his book in surprise. In all the time he'd been here, he'd never seen her shed a single tear. She'd get fussy, but never do anything beyond pout, so why was she crying?

She seemed inconsolable as Lafayette clumsily approached her. She was kneeling, then she fell forward, covering her head as her small body trembled.

"Mister President?" Jefferson was quiet a moment, eyes shifting to the window as the rain poured down and lightning flashed.

"Yes?" He asked after too long, but he couldn't focus on the proposition, "I'm sorry, gentlemen, you'll have to excuse me. Madison? Take over, please."

"Shhh." Lafayette consoled, brushing her hair, "It's okay, cherie. What's wrong?"

"I knew it." The frenchman was immediately embarrassed and a little relieved when Jefferson appeared at the doorway.

"She just started crying out of nowhere." He said, confused, worried, "She won't move."

"That's alright." Jefferson said, sighing, walking forward, "Alice is afraid of thunder. More-so now, it seems. I can't blame her, the night was like this when…" he trailed off but Lafayette understood. Jefferson picked Alice up in one swift movement, holding her with both arms for once. She hugged him and buried her face against his chest, sobbing. "Come now, Alice. Let's take a walk."

"What about you're meeting?"

"It's not that important." Jefferson quietly walked with her. She suddenly began to try to wipe her tears away.

"I-I'm sorry, Jeffson. I can't… be strong…"

"Alice." He told her, not breaking his pace, "Sometimes, you have to be strong, like I told you. But other times? It's fine to cry." Her little shoulders slumped with relief and she hugged him tightly, little hands gripping his familiar jacket.

"I want my mommy." She cried, "I want mommy and I want daddy." Jefferson took a breath.

"I know you do, doll."