I own nothing. This is inspired by a post I saw from tumblr. Unfortunately, I didn't save the link so credit to whoever it was. This will be a two or perhaps three parter.

Enjoy!

Knock knock knock

Hamilton was stirred from his sleep deprived writing trance by a pestering and persistent tapping. It was, he realized as he slowly reached a state of consciousness, a knocking on the door.

Great.

Knowing his luck, he thought, and seeing as it was unannounced, it would probably be Burr, or maybe Hercules. Perhaps Peggy. None of the options appealed to him. It wasn't that he wasn't fond of the people themselves, but he hadn't slept well for nearly a week (or maybe more then a week? He was delirious enough that it was possible he had skipped time) and was not in the mode for Burr's awkaward small talk, or the other other two's upbeat personalities.

Oh, dear. He had slipped back out of conciousness, hadn't he? How long had it been...there was no way to know. Regardless, there was still knocking. Over, and over, and over. Was it his imagination, or had it increased in tempo. And volume. Huh. Whoever was out there was desperate. So, not Burr then. Hercules would have called out by now, and Peggy would have probably broken in again (a story that never failed to make Angelica laugh).

So who was it? Everyone on the street knew better than to interrupt him, especially as insistently as this attack was. A preacher, or a Jehovians witness? Jefferson? Oh god, please not Jefferson. Burr would be better then Jefferson. Burr had his vote.

God he was tired. The knocking was getting on his nerves.

Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knockknockknockknockknockknockknockknockknock-

He opened the door with more force than was necessary, preparing to yell at Jefferson. But it wasn't him, or a preacher, or Peggy or Hercules or even Burr.

Instead there stood a young woman, sporting elegantly styled brown hair and scandalous red lipstick.

The two stood for a second, staring at each other. They were almost the exact same height. That was new, very few stood as short as Hamilton (to quote Burr). After a few moments in which Hamilton tried to think of something to say, and the pair stared at each other with something akin to horror, the woman found her voice.

"I, um," Maria cursed herself for getting thrown, cleared her voice and sported a deeper, more seductive tone than she had started with, "I know you are a man of honor, and I hate to trouble you at home sir."

She paused for a second, expecting a response. Usually, whoever she was tying to seduce would, at this point, assure her she was doing no such thing, often accompanied by a suggestive scan of her body. But from this man, this strange man with eye bags that could hold the entire British army in them, she got no such response. He simply stared at her blankly. Well, at least the anger that he had opened the door with had disappeared, she encouraged herself.

"See, sir, I'm all alone, and I have nowhere else to go..." she let her voice crack slightly. "My husband...he's doing me wrong. He-he cheats on me, beats me, mistreats me...I don't know if I can continue."

At least she got a reaction here, though it still wasn't quite the usual.

"Damn." Hamilton said, "That sucks. Do you need a lawyer."

What? That was new, and bad. Maria forced herself not to panic.

"No, sir, I darent-"

"Nonsense." Hamilton interrupted. "Come on in, I could get you divorced in no time."

"No, sir, i don't know what I would do-"

"And you're not going to if you don't give it a shot!"

Oh dear.

Hamilton opened the door further, a gesture for her to come in.

"Please." She said desperately, "I just want a loan."

It was crude, yes, and she regretted it the moment it came out of her mouth. But then again, this man was so dense...maybe he wouldn't catch on to her scam.

Sure enough, Hamilton's eyes only widened and he began rambling.

"Oh, yeah, you know I actually have a great idea about that. See it's this thing called a bank..."

Dear god this man could talk. Maria felt her eyes widened as he rambled on, what about she wasn't sure, she had zoned out fairly quickly. After what seemed like years of him talking and her standing there awkwardly, he finally paused in his speech to actually await an answer after he asked a question.

"So? What do you think?"

Maria blinked slowly. Oh no, she had ruined it. He was going to be offended she didn't listen. What if he sent her away? James would beat her awfully...or what if Hamilton beat her! She felt herself begin to panic...

But, to her surprise, Hamilton seemed unoffended. He simply laughed at her expression. "Don't worry, I'm used to it. My wife says I'm just like the hurricane that wrecked my town. It's a plan that i'm trying to get through congress. See the idea is-"

And he was off again, though this time Maria's interest was peaked, and she listened. Halfheartedly at first, but as he went on and on she became more and more enraptured. Perhaps it was Hamilton, the way he spoke, the passion in his words, or perhaps it was the idea, and ingenious one, but either way, she realized something then and there.

That man was a genius.

"So?" He asked again, "What do you think?"

"My god." Maria breathed, forgetting that it was most definetly not a lady like phrase, "that sounds incredible. When will it be set into motion."

To her dismay though, it was then (of all times in that strange conversation) that Hamilton seemed to deflate.

"That's the problem, it probably won't. The southerners hate the idea, Jefferson's a jerk, and if I don't get enough votes, which at this point I'm not...not only is it not going to happen but I'm probably going to lose my position as secretary."

Well that was just ridiculous. Maria snorted (again, her husband would have her head if he saw her behaving so commonly) and before she could ration with herself, she did something idiotic.

"You need votes? I can get you votes."

"How?"

"I'll seduce the members of congress then blackmail them into voting for you."

Oh. Oh no, she should not have said that. Oh dear, he was going to call the police. She was going to get arrested. Her husband would kill her. Maybe she could play it off as a joke, yeah just a small joke between friends...strangers, really.

Yep, she was going to jail.

But, to her surprise, Hamilton's face broke into a smile. "Perfect! You're a genius! I have names and addresses, I'll write them down. Come in? Can you do Jefferson too? He's not on congress, but he sucks. Do you want pay?"

...huh.

Oh, she liked him. Maria smiled. "Hell yes."

It had been a long and tiring holiday. Perhaps that wasn't the attitude one was supposed to have towards breaks, or perhaps that wasn't the way breaks were supposed to be, but Eliza had accepted the fact that until her sisters and husband grew up...and perhaps her children too, holidays would be anything but.

It wasn't that it wasn't enjoyable. It was wonderful seeing her father and Angelica again (she would say the same for Peggy if the girl didn't find a way to visit her every other week), and upstate was lovely at that time of year. But Angelica had been as intense as always, and her father was becoming senile, and she missed Hamilton oh so much and her children, while easier to handle than the others, were certainly no cup of tea.

But, it was over now. They were leaving a day early, due to unseen weather conditions. Now she was going home, she was going to see her beloved. She wasted no time as they reached her home, and as she ran ahead and to the doorway she was dimly aware of Angelica holding her children back, saying their parents needed some alone time. She was such a good sister.

Eliza ran through the house like a whirlwind, searching every crevice for her husband. It didn't take her long, he was in his study, of course. But...wait.

Eliza paused, smile fading, halfway through the door. Oh no. No, this was wrong. This was so wrong.

Hamilton sat on a chair, wooden as usual, which was not out of the ordinary. But...the problem was on the other seat, the one usually reserved for Eliza herself. It was girl, slightly younger than Eliza herself. She was beautiful, and had an air about her that reminded her of Peggy. If she had met her on the streets, they probably would have gotten along.

But this wasn't the streets. This was her house, with her husband while she had been away. Eliza felt something vile make its way up her throat.

"Am I interrupting something?" She asked coldly, composed.

Hamilton looked up at her, the nerve, and his face broke into a smile. "Eliza, darling." He made to rise off his chair, but something Eliza's expression seemed to stop him. "My love? What is it?"

Eliza forced herself not to laugh, and furiously attempted to keep her eyes dry. They burned with tears.

"You're not serious."

The girl, at least, seemed to understand what was happening. She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Mrs Hamilton, it's delightful to meet you. I-I promise whatever you are thinking it is not that."

Finally Hamilton seemed understand. "Oh-oh, no, Eliza, no. We're not-no. Ew."

"We are partners." Maria assured, then seemed to understand how that sounded. "No, no I mean...we're business partners. Associates. Business associates. We're not...wait, what do you mean ew?"

"Eliza, I would never." Hamilton pleaded, oblivious to Maria's offense.

Eliza slid further into the room, closing the door firmly behind her. This was not something she wanted her children to see.

"Hello?" Maria spluttered, offended, "Can we go back to ew? Please?"

"What are you talking about." Hamilton finally asked, obviously flustered by the...situation. Maria was loathe to admit she felt slightly guilty for putting the couple in this position. Damn, she was glad she had backed out of the scam. The bruises, she felt, were worth it.

Ew, she was starting to sound...sentimental. Ugh.

But first things first. She had been insulted before, many many times, but never about her body. Honestly, she was kind of offended.

"I mean, why the hell you said 'ew', bastard." Ok, so kind of was an understatement. She fought to keep her tone joking.

"I said ew because I'm married, Maria." The duh was implied.

"Oh, suuuure."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"And the ew had nothing to do with my body. Ha, likely story jerk."

"Wha-no!"

"I'm sorry." Eliza interrupted coldly, "but is this banter supposed to convince me that you two aren't...you know."

She blushed on the you know. Maria almost cooed. How adorable.

Hamilton sighed heavily. "Eliza, I promise you. She's helping me with business."

"What with."

Maria thought this was a good time to explain herself. "I'm seducing the members of congress and blackmailing them so they vote for Hamilton."

Judging from Hamilton's stricken look, and Eliza's spluttering, she guessed that was the wrong thing to say.

"Wa-what! Alexander! How dare you take advantage of this girl!"

Maria intervened quickly. "No, no, Mrs Hamilton, I volenteered my services. It's...what I do for a living."

Hamilton blinked. "Wait, what? It is?"

Oh. Things were, Eliza realized, beginning to make sense. She may not be as intelligent as her older sister, or as Hamilton, but she was smart in her own way. She could piece together puzzles like a champion, and this one was practically coming together for her.

The girl had come here to extort Hamilton. He had probably been his oblivious self, and had probably gone on about his banks. Maria had offered to help him. Hamilton had accepted, likely with no questions asked.

"You...you do this for a living?"

Definitely no questions asked.

Eliza felt her heart warm with the knowledge Hamilton had remained loyal. God, she didn't know what she would have done if he had cheated on her...ok that was a lie. She had an entire musical piece planned out, called Burn. This may have seemed weird, but she actually had a musical piece planned out for most things that could happen to her in her life. Ok, that still sounded weird.

Thee was only one piece which Eliza did not know. This girl's...Maria's intentions.

Maria's brow crinkled with incredulity. "You're kidding. You didn't wonder why I turned up on your door step and asked for a loan, then just left. After literally revealing that I was able and willing to seduce and blackmail."

Hamilton shrugged. "Well...now you put it like that..."

"How did I think you were smart?"

A short laughed forced its way from Eliza. "I ask myself that everyday."

Maria sent her a grateful smile. Eliza cursed mentally. There was no way she was sending this girl away, she realized, regardless of her intentions. Because, again, while she admitted she wasn't as quick as her sister and husband, she was observant. And now, looking closely, she could see the guarded, small and jumpy way Maria held herself. She could hear the uncertainty and insecurity in her voice, no matter how well she hid it with brash words and jokes. And, to her horror, she could see the horrible purple bruise sticking out from under her sleeve.

Catching her gaze, Maria shifted slightly so that the sleeve hid it once again.

Hamilton was as oblivious as always.

"Wait, so you...you-what? So you're not my frie-business associate."

"You can say friend you know." Eliza interrupted.

"But we're not friends."

Maria huffed. "I am most certainly your business associate. I had a change of heart."

"Not friends? Hamilton, what sort of business associates sit around having tea together. Were you discussing 'business'?" Eliza said, eyebrow raised.

"I was talking about how much I hate that scoundrel Jefferson, and how Theodosia Jnr keeps coming to seen Phillip and they sneak around like I don't know, and how Lafayette hasn't written in much too long, the jerk-"

"That's not business."

"Yes it is."

"Honey, it could not be further from business. It's gossiping. With a friend."

"Eliz-wait, you don't think I'm cheating on you any more, do you?"

Eliza paused, then sighed heavily.

"No, I don't thi-" She was interrupted by the door swinging open behind her, revealing her sister and children. Angelica was laughing. "I think you two have had quite enough time to get-" Seeing the occupants of the room she stopped, and her smile disappeared immediately. "Children, maybe go downstairs-".

But it was too late, Plillip and Angelica Jnr had already pushed their was inside, excited to see their father. Angelica Jnr went straight to Hamilton, oblivious of any tension in the air, and hugged him. Phillip, though, was old enough to understand what was happening and paused next to his aunt.

"Mummy. Who's that?" He asked, pointing to Maria. The girl in question looked terrified, though whether it was because of the situation or the hideous glare Angelica was sending her way she didn't know. Either way, Eliza's heart went out to her. She had always moved too fast, she recalled Angelica telling her, always jumped too fast into relationships. She had, after all, married Hamilton after just three weeks of knowing each other.

And, she realized, she was about to do it again. Not the marriage, she amended her narrative thought stream (also weird. Whoops), the running into relationships.

"Children," She said smiling softly, "this is your aunt Maria. She's a family friend."

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Angelica face palming.

Friend. Aunt. Family. Maria found herself smiling-laughing in pure bliss as two small bundles of life flung themselves into her arms.

The next chapter will focus heavily on politics and the Schuyler Sisters, so look out for that.

Also, I think it's pretty obvious this is an AU where Peggy is most definitely alive. I know that, historically, she died before act two but I'm just pretending it didn't because I can't face it.

I hope you enjoyed!