Though the atmosphere was very lovely, a young Philip Hamilton was having trouble enjoying himself. He was at a dance that his father had made him attend, for purposes of keeping his public reputation and possibly finding a suitable bride. The time was just around eleven o'clock when the young man wanted to head home and call it a night. Then, he caught a glimpse of something that interested him.

It was a young woman, possibly slightly younger than himself. Her long dark hair reached just past her elbows, framing her elegant face with a slight smile on her lips. To the average person, she would be considered nothing special. But, with beauty in the eye of the beholder, she made the rest of the room disappear to Philip, as though she was a siren casting her spell.

Philip, being a naturally shy lad, was at war with himself. His insecurities begged him to stay away and admire her from afar, while his more daring side wanted to introduce himself. He was torn. He thought of his father, Alexander, who would push him to catch her eye. Of course, it had been in a setting like this that Alexander had met Philip's mother way back in 1780. He'd want the same for his son.

During his inner civil war, he became entranced in the girl's beauty. He barely noticed her moving her eyes to meet his own until their gazes locked, causing a slight blush to spread across Philip's cheeks. The girl gave him a smile, waving. He knew he had to go over there now.

Making his way through the crowd of people, he kept his eye on this woman. He knew she saw him coming, and she didn't make any move to escape. So far, so good.

He stood in front of her, and she looked at him. Philip wanted to introduce himself, to say hello, or even to ask for her name. The only thing that was able to escape was "Would you like to dance, miss?"

The woman smiled, taking the hand he had offered to her. He tried to calm his nerves as he led her onto the dance floor. They danced, talking to each other in low whispers.

"My name's Philip Hamilton. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The woman visibly paled, but smiled nonetheless. "I'm Theodosia Burr. And the pleasure is all mine."

"Burr?" He nearly stopped, but forced his legs to continue dancing. "Do you happen to be related to Vice President Aaron Burr?"

Theodosia nodded, expecting this. "He's my father. What about you? Hamilton? As in, Alexander Hamilton?"

"He's my father," he said, slightly disheartened. Their fathers were complete enemies. For years, they had done everything in their power to ruin the other's political career. There's no way his father would approve of her, and even if he did, her father would never approve of them being together once he found out who his father was. Philip didn't even want to consider the negative publicity this would attract for both of their families.

"You know this could never happen, then. We can never-"

She cut him off. "Even if you're right, wouldn't it be nice to pretend? If only for tonight?"

Philip fell silent at this. She had a point, but why torture yourself with what could be?

Theodosia continued. "Besides, my father is a reasonable man. If you want to give this a try, he should be able to understand that you're not your father. Surely your father would feel the same, right?"

"I'm not quite sure about that." He admitted. "My father's not the best man for reasoning."

"Still. Why not give it a try?"

He pondered this. "Perhaps we could meet behind their backs? Wait a little while before telling them?"

She seemed nervous at this thought, but agreed. "What harm could come from a few weeks of secrecy?"

"Possibly more than you could think."

"When would you have time for a meeting?"

"It would have to depend on the day." It was true that Philip was a fairly busy boy. Between his work and his classes at Columbia College, he didn't have a lot of time to himself. "I suppose I could meet you on Tuesday. Could you sneak out around 9?"

Theodosia nodded, giving him a gentle peck on the cheek as she pulled away. "I should go."

Philip looked at the clock, amazed at how much time had passed in the seemingly short span. He watched her go, worrying about what this could turn out to be. If their fathers were mad, it could prove disastrous for their families. After the incident with the Reynolds Pamphlet, the last thing the Hamiltons needed was more bad publicity. Not to mention all the trouble it could get him into.

Philip returned home not too long after, making his way home in the dark. Upon entering his house, he saw his parents waiting.

"We expected you back sooner," His father said without looking up.

Of course, Philip had said he would be back relatively soon. "I apologize, pa. The time got away from me."

"What happened that was so interesting?" Alexander didn't sound angry, or upset in the least. "A woman?" He knew his son rather well.

With only a slight nod, Philip went to his bedroom. He quickly passed out on top of the soft sheets, hoping everything would work itself out in the end.

It always does… doesn't it?