Chapter Text
The screen lit up again. With a resigned sigh, the four turned to face it once more, ignored Lin’s startled “what the fuck?”
[HAMILTON/BURR/LAURENS]
Hey
Hey
Hey hey
[HAMILTON/BURR/LAURENS/ALL WOMEN (EXCEPT ELIZA)]
Hey hey hey hey
“Where did this footage come from?” Lin muttered to no one in particular, settling onto the couch beside Burr, who shifted uncomfortably.
“Footage?” Hamilton asked curiously.
[ELIZA] [ALL WOMEN]
Ohh, I do I do I do I Hey hey hey hey
Dooo! Hey! Hey hey hey hey
Ohh, I do I do I do I Hey hey hey hey
Dooo! Boy you got me Hey hey hey
“Yeah, you know. The video.”
“I see?” Burr translated in confusion.
[ELIZA AND WOMEN]
Helpless!
Look into your eyes, and the sky’s the limit I’m helpless!
Down for the count, and I’m drownin’ in ‘em
“What?”
“Video. It’s a Latin verb. I see.”
“Shhhh,” Jefferson shushed them, and Lin gave him an odd look.
[ELIZA]
I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight
We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night
Laughin’ at my sister as she’s dazzling the room
Then you walked in and my heart went “Boom!”
“Of all the people in this room, you’re the last person I would expect to care about this scene,” Lin commented.
“While you may have seen this a hundred times, Mr. Miranda, the rest of us have not.”
Tryin’ to catch your eye from the side of the ballroom
Everybody’s dancin’ and the band’s top volume
"Not a complaint, merely an observation."
[ELIZA AND WOMEN]
Grind to the rhythm as we wine and dine
[ELIZA]
Grab my sister, and
Whisper, “Yo, this
One’s mine.”
Hamilton sighed, smiling dreamily at the Eliza on the screen. “My very dear Eliza…” he muttered.
Lin’s eyes widened, and he whispered quietly, “this letter will not be delivered to you unless…”
[ALL WOMEN]
Oooh
My sister made her way across
the room to you Oooh
And I got nervous,
Hamilton whirled around and stared at the playwright, shock written all over his face. Lin merely gave him a slightly rueful smile, shrugging slightly.
thinking “What’s she gonna do?” Oooh
She grabbed you by the arm,
I’m thinkin’ “I’m through” Oooh
Then you look back at me
Washington caught the look. “Are you alright son?”
“I’m not your son!” Hamilton and Lin answered at once in unison, the former angrily, the latter amusedly.
“Stop it!” Hamilton hissed, and Lin put his hands up in surrender.
and suddenly I’m Helpless! Helpless!
Oh, look at those eyes Look into your eyes
“Shut up!” Jefferson insisted.
“Oh Jefferson, I didn’t know you cared so much about my love life,” Hamilton teased with a smirk.
. And the sky’s the limit
Oh! I’m
Yeah, I’m Helpless!
Jefferson’s face grew hot. “I don’t. Her voice is far more soothing to listen to than yours, though.
Helpless, I know Down for the count
And I’m drownin’ in ‘em
“Hey!” Hamilton and Lin said simultaneously.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Jefferson snapped at the playwright.
I’m helpless!
I’m so into you Look into your eyes
I am so into you And the sky’s the limit I’m helpless!
“No, but we have the same voice.”
Jefferson shrugged. “Whatever.”
I know I’m down for the count Down for the count
And I’m drownin’ in ‘em. And I’m drownin’ in ‘em.
[HAMILTON]
Where are you taking me?
[ANGELICA]
I’m about to change your life
“I must say, I enjoy the mixture of music and dialogue,” Washington observed, “you’ve really used it to great effect.”
[HAMILTON]
Then by all means, lead the way
Lin beamed. “Thank you so much, sir! That means a lot coming from you.”
“What about from me?” Hamilton asked. “Because he makes a good point. I especially like the complex rhyme schemes within the lines.”
[ELIZA]
Elizabeth Schuyler. It’s a pleasure to meet you
[HAMILTON]
Schuyler?
You could almost see the pure joy radiating from Lin as Hamilton said that. “From you, Secretary Hamilton, it means even more.”
[ANGELICA]
My sister
[ELIZA]
Thank you for all your service
Washington chuckled. “I’ll try not to take offense to that, Mr. Miranda.”
Lin looked horrified. “No, no! Mr. President, I swear, that’s not what I meant at all! You see, Ham was my inspiration and hero, but you also-”
[HAMILTON]
If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it
“’Ham?’” Jefferson snorted. “Really?”
Lin flushed. “Sorry, it just slipped out. I’m not used to talking like you’re actually, you know…”
[ANGELICA]
I’ll leave you to it
“Alive?” Hamilton asked, looking pointedly at Burr.
Lin looked between the two of them slightly uncomfortably. “Don’t worry,” Burr assured him, “we’ve made our temporary peace.”
Lin nodded, but said nothing.
[ELIZA AND WOMEN]
One week later
[ELIZA]
I’m writin’ a letter nightly
Now my life gets better, every letter that you write me
Laughin’ at my sister, cuz she wants to form a harem
[ANGELICA]
I’m just sayin’, if you really loved me, you would share him
Hamilton let out a shout of laughter as screen-Eliza rolled her eyes. “Oh my god… that… that is amazing. Thank you for that experience.”
[ELIZA]
Ha!
Two weeks later [ALL WOMEN]
In the living room stressin’ Stressin’
My father’s stone-faced
While you’re asking for his blessin’ Blessin’
I’m dying inside, as
You wine
And dine
Lin was still studying Burr, who looked uneasy beneath his scrutiny. “So, in your timeline, Burr’s just shot Hamilton, right?”
Burr groaned, leaning his head back on the couch. “Can we not do this again?”
And I’m tryin’ not to cry
‘cause there’s nothing
that your mind can’t do Oooh
“But how recently? Did you just pull the trigger? Is it a few days after? A few weeks?”
Burr closed his eyes. “Please-”
My father makes his way across the room
To you
I panic for a second, thinking
“we’re through” Oooh
“Were you really thinking about your daughter?” Lin whispered.
“That’s enough,” Hamilton told him firmly. Lin looked up in surprise, but Hamilton continued. “I know you’re used to thinking of us as history, something that’s already passed, but we are real and here, and you must respect us as people living in the present. Not the past.”
But then he shakes your hand and says
“Be true” Oooh
And you turn back to me, smiling, and I’m
Helpless! Helpless!
. Look into your eyes
. And the sky’s the
Lin held Hamilton’s intense gaze and quietly marveled at the fact that two pairs of eyes could be so similar, and yet have two incredibly different people peering out. “Mr. Burr, I am deeply sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” he apologized, holding out a hand for Burr to shake.
Burr took it, privately amazed that people from two different centuries could be so incredibly similar.
. Limit I’m
Helpless! Helpless!
Hoo! Down for the count
. And I’m drownin’ in
. ‘em I’m
. Helpless!
That boy is mine
That boy is mine! Look into your eyes
. And the sky’s the
. Limit I’m
Helpless! Helpless! Helpless!
Down for the count Down for the count
And I’m drownin’ in em And I’m drownin’ in em
.
[HAMILTON]
Eliza, I don’t have a dollar to my name
An acre of land, a troop to command, a dollop of fame
All I have’s my honor, a tolerance for Paine
A couple of college credits and my top-notch brain
“Arrogant,” Jefferson commented.
“Hypocrite,” Hamilton replied.
“Pot, kettle,” Lin muttered
Insane, your family brings out a different side of me
Peggy confides in me, Angelica tried to take a bite of me
No stress, my love for you is never in doubt
We’ll get a little place in Harlem and we’ll figure it out
I’ve been livin’ without a family since I was a child
My father left, my mother died, I grew up buckwild
But I’ll never forget my mother’s face, that was real
And long as I’m alive, Eliza, swear to God
You’ll never feel so…
Burr choked. “What was your voice doing right there?!” he demanded, turning to Hamilton, but it was Lin who answered.
“It was to make Philippa laugh.”
. [ALL WOMEN]
. [ELIZA] Helpless!
[HAMILTON] I do I do I do I do!
Eliza…
. Helpless!
. I do I do I do I do!
I’ve never felt so—
“Philippa?” Washington asked.
Lin pointed at the screen. “The actress playing Eliza.”
. Helpless!
. Hey, yeah, yeah!
. Down for the count
. I’m down for the count And I’m drownin’ in ‘em
. I’m—
My life is gon’
be fine cuz Helpless!
Eliza’s in it.
“Ah! And I suppose you two are married as well?”
Lin blinked. “What? Oh, no. No, I’m married to Vanessa.”
. I look into your eyes,
. and the sky’s the limit
. I’m
. Helpless!
. Down for the count
. …drownin’ in ‘em. And I’m drownin’ in ‘em.
(Wedding march plays)
“It’s weird to think of me not being married to Betsey,” Hamilton said thoughtfully.
“Well, I’m not you, so you don’t have to think about it, do you?”
[ALL WOMEN]
In New York, you can be a new man…
In New York, you can be a new man…
In New York, you can be a new man…
“I suppose… I do miss her.”
Lin frowned. “In your mind, didn’t you see her yesterday?”
[ELIZA]
Helpless
Hamilton sighed. “Yesterday was a lifetime ago.”