Stuck In A Moment

Bro time.

Alexander and Lafayette went after Laurens, hoping he ran off to his room. Peggy thought about going with them, but she understood that this was a family matter, so she stayed downstairs.

Alexander walked up to Laurens door and knocked softly.

"You ok, mon ami?" Laf asked.

Laurens opened the door and they both realized he was not. He was clearly upset and they both knew it.

"I'll be fine." Laurens said.

"You don't have to just say that. You look like you're about to expolde," Alexander began. "So let it out."

Laf came in too and closed the door behind him so they could have some privacy. As soon as he did, Laurens burst out.

"He still treats me like I'm a kid." Laurens ranted. "I get it, I don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to safety, but that's not my fault. Now, he can't seem to realize that, because he thinks that I'm the one making bad decisions. He doesn't trust me to take care of myself!"

"I get it..." Alexander was interrupted.

"No you don't." Laurens said while slightly laughing. "You can go anywhere you want and do anything, but I can't. I can't even be aloud to try and judge a person's character without Washington giving me the stamp of approval!"

Alexander and Lafayette were shocked. It had been awhile since he had called Washington, Washington. After his kidnapping, Laurens started calling him dad. Now they could see he was truly hurt.

"Say something." Laurens said as more of a question.

"I think you should be telling Washington this. We can support you, but that's about it." Laf stated.

"He won't listen to me. He didn't listen to me when I tried talking to him five minutes ago!" Laurens exclaimed. "All he's ever gonna see is some helpless foster kid he took pity on. You know how much I hate being pitied, and honestly, he's the worst one."

"Well you know I don't pity you, which is why you need to man up, and work this out with Washington." Alexander ordered. "And to be honest, you can't really blame him for not wanting to trust Henry. I'm honestly surprised you do. Which is why you need to talk to him about it."

"Alright," Laurens nodded as he started to calm down. "Just give me a minute to cool off."

Alexander and Lafayette nodded before leaving the room.

"What's wrong with me?" Laurens sighed. He realized he was complaining to the only man who ever actually loved him. The only man who ever treated him like his real son. The only man who would do anything to keep him safe.

After a few minutes, another knock was heard at the door. Laurens told them to come in, but was shocked to see Washington instead of Alexander and Lafayette.

"Can we talk?" Washington asked.

Laurens nodded and Washington came in the room. He sat down in Laurens' desk chair and took in a deep breath before he began.

"I overreacted earlier." He started. "I just..."

Laurens waited for him to continue.

"When your father got custody of you, I felt guilt. Like it was my fault. That I failed you." Washington finally continued. "Not enough evidence, not enough witnesses. I couldn't stop it."

Laurens let him continue.

"It's hard to describe. Feelings are always harder to express through words. Especially when you don't have kids of your own." Washington sighed.

"I get that." Laurens agreed.

"But then, the day you were taken. And none of us could find you. We didn't know what had happened. And it was like that feeling again. That guilt. Thinking I failed. But it was one hundred times worse. Because I couldn't find you." Washington paused. "And I didn't know if I would ever see you again."

Laurens felt guilty himself.

"You still don't ever talk about it either. Other then just mentioning that it happened. Which makes me feel even more guilt. Because you have to deal with things bad enough that you don't talk about them, everyday." Washington started getting a little teary eyed. "I know you're not my biological son, but you don't know how much you mean to me. You, Alex, Laf. If, God forbid, something happened to any one of you, I would never forgive myself. I couldn't live with that."

"I talked to Alex and Laf about ranting my problems to you, but I guess I was only seeing things from my side." Laurens sighed.

"It's ok. You have feelings on the matter too, and I want to hear them." Washington nodded.

"I just... I don't like my situation anymore then you do." Laurens began. "And I guess I was upset because no one really trusts me to make my own decisions except for Alexander. And even then, he still doesn't every now and then."

"Ok." Washington nodded once more. "Do you think you're father really is trying to change?"

"Yes. He said he's trying to be the man he was before my mother died. And based on the letters she left me in her box, I know he was once a good man. He loved her so much and would have died for her. He just couldn't handle her death." Laurens explained.

"I'll leave the decision to trust people up to you. You have every right to want to be dependent. You're not a boy anymore. You're a young man." Washington agreed. "Just tell me that you'll be smart, and be safe. This situation with your father is... unpredictable. Promise me you will be careful."

"Promise." Laurens smiled.

Washington went over and hugged him. "I love you."

"I know. And I promise I can take care of myself." Laurens said. "And now I'm a little nervous to have kids."

"Don't be. The good outweighs the bad." Washington explained. "But it will be fun to watch you all finally realize what it's like to raise teenagers. And I will sit back and laugh."

"Thanks." Laurens rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I'm good."