A/N: Hi again! Thank you for all the lovely reviews you left me, and I hope you read my latest fic, The Aftermath. If not, please give that a little read after you've read this one. I hope you enjoy the latest installment!

Chapter Four.

Every fiber of Hannah's being is telling her to shove Preston aside and run out of this bathroom, towards Meechum and safety. However, Preston is standing in front of her, blocking her whole body. His eyes are wild, his breathing is rapid. Hannah can tell how much he's enjoying trapping her like an animal. She doesn't have a choice but to stay and hope that Meechum notices her absence. Until then, she's on her own.

Hannah refuses to give an inkling into how scared she is because that's exactly what Preston is hoping for. The second she shows fear or weakness, he will attack.

"Do you mind?" Hannah asks, keeping her voice steady. If she acts unbothered, maybe Preston will give up his pursuit of her. Preston smirks and reaches for her wrist, the one he left heavily bruised. Hannah yanks her arm away. The last thing she wants is for him to touch her again. He's already left his mark on her once.

"I thought we should finish what we started the other day," Preston says, his breath hot in her ear. Hannah sneaks one arm behind her, blindly reaching for her phone. If he's going to hurt her again, Hannah wants to have proof.

"Why don't you bother a girl who actually likes you?" Hannah asks, ducking her face away from his as his lips try to graze her cheek.

"Oh, come on Hannah, I thought we were having a good time. Until you pretended you didn't like it, I mean." Hannah scowls at the notion.

"The only person having fun is you, so have fun playing with yourself," Hannah mutters and starts to walk past Preston. He grabs her arm and pushes her up against the wall. Hannah slams into the tile, wincing at the sharp pain in her back.

"Listen you little slut, I'm done asking nicely. You are going to give me what I want or I'm going to take it from you. Understood?" Preston asks. He lifts the arm that isn't holding Hannah against the wall to her throat.

Outside, Lauren is getting antsy. It's been over fifteen minutes since Hannah told her she was going to the bathroom. She hasn't seen her best friend or the Secret Service agent who's always following her return to the party. From across the room, Lauren spots Hannah's parents chatting with a couple. Even though Frank and Claire Underwood terrify Lauren, she feels they should be aware that their daughter is unaccounted for.

Lauren nervously approaches the First Couple, waiting until they wrap up their conversation, so she can speak.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Underwood?" Lauren asks, tapping Claire gently on the shoulder. Claire does a half turn to look over her shoulder.

"What is it Lauren?"

"I can't find Hannah. She said she was going to the bathroom, but that was awhile ago." Lauren informs Claire. The barely-there smile fizzles from Claire's lips.

"Have you seen the agent who's been assigned to her? Meechum?" Claire scans the crowded ballroom. Just like Lauren, she can't find Hannah or Meechum anymore. Her eyes widen when Claire realizes she can't locate Preston either. "Francis!"

Frank turns at the sound of his wife's voice. He excuses himself from his conversation and approaches his wife. He is wondering why she is talking to his daughter's best friend without her.

"What's going on?" Frank asks. He doesn't like how worried his wife looks, even if she's trying to conceal it.

"I'll go look for her," Lauren tells Claire and leaves the Underwoods' to talk.

"We can't find Hannah or Edward," Claire informs her husband.

Hannah's opportunity to come out of this unscathed is dwindling. Preston has her lips on her collarbone, his teeth are nipping at her skin as she squirms underneath him. Where are you, Meechum? Hannah thinks to herself.

"Get off of me!" Hannah exclaims and uses all her strength to push Preston. He recoils, surprised by the force exerted from Hannah. He steps towards her but stops when Hannah starts hiking her dress up.

"I knew you wanted it," Preston says with glee. Hannah shakes her head and smirks.

"You have about three seconds to leave before I start screaming. Secret Service is looking for me and it's only a matter of time before my parents are informed. Do you really want my mom to bitch-slap you again?"

Preston lunges at her and Hannah lets out a high-pitched scream.

From outside, Meechum hears Hannah scream and bursts into the bathroom. He sees something he's already seen before: Preston overpowering Hannah with his hand over her mouth. Her phone falls out of her hand and hits the floor.

"Leave her alone!" Meechum yells and grabs Preston from behind, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist. Hannah backs away until she collides with the bathroom sink. It shouldn't've taken this long for Meechum to intervene.

"Let go of me," Preston insists, but Meechum isn't listening. The Secret Service agent passes him off to other agents who've gathered outside of the bathroom.

"Where the hell have you been, Meechum?" Hannah asks. She reaches down and picks up her phone. Thankfully, her phone wasn't damaged from hitting the floor.

"I'm sorry. You said you needed privacy," Meechum tells her. Frank is going to kill him. He let Hannah get hurt twice under his watch.

Hannah spins around to survey the damage. She can already see a bruise forming on her neck from where Preston had his arm around her.

"You better come up with a better excuse for my father," Hannah tells him and reaches for a paper towel to fix her makeup. Truthfully, she sent Meechum away on purpose, hoping Preston would seize the opportunity to come after her. Although, the Secret Service agent can't know that, it would ruin everything. "Get him out of here."

"Let's go," Meechum tells the other agents who still have a hold on Preston.

"Have you seen her yet?" Claire asks Frank. They split up to comb the room, searching for their daughter. Frank shakes his head and Claire lets out a rattling breath. He gently puts his hand on her arm, drawing her closer to his frame.

"We will find her, I promise."

Just then, Hannah approaches the couple, holding her phone. Frank is the first one to see their daughter and breathes a sigh of relief. Claire spins around to face Hannah, immediately spotting a bruise on her neck that wasn't there before.

"Where have you been?" Frank asks. He isn't sure whether to be angry or relieved. Hannah pulling a disappearing act in the middle of her party doesn't exactly bode well for them.

"I was in the bathroom. Did you figure out how to win at your little scheme?" Hannah asks. She's surprised how confident she feels after what just occurred between her and Preston.

"No. We were too busy looking for you." Claire says. She sees a smirk adorning Hannah's lips and wonders what their daughter is up to. Her husband always told her that they look alike when they are plotting something. "What do you have?"

Hannah turns on her phone and opens the recording she managed to get in the bathroom while Preston was with her.

"Listen you little slut, I'm done asking nicely. You are going to give me what I want or I'm going to take it from you. Understood?"

"Get off of me!"

Frank and Claire listen to the recording of Preston's second attempt at assaulting their daughter with shock and rage. Hannah turns her phone off after noticing how upset her parents look. She thought they would be happy she did this for them.

"Where was Meechum during all of this?" Frank demands. He clenches his fists at the thought of Preston's hands on his daughter again.

"I sent him away," Hannah mumbles. Frank redirects his anger from Meechum to his daughter. Claire puts her hand on his arm to remind him where they are right now. People are listening to their conversation, they need to be careful.

"You what?"

"Keep your voice down, Francis." Claire reminds him. She grabs her husband's hand and leads him over to a secluded corner. Hannah follows, wanting to explain why she did what she did.

"I wanted to give you leverage, Daddy, so you could use it against the Canadian prime minister. That is why you invited him to my party, right?" Hannah is still irritated at her parents for inviting Prime Minister Brady and Preston to her party without telling her and then prohibited her from joining in on their scheme.

"You baited him…didn't you?" Claire asks, finally catching onto what her daughter was trying to do. Frank looks at Hannah and slowly shakes his head. Hannah instinctively backs up. She knows her father is about to lose his temper. "Francis, don't."

"What were you thinking?" His voice sounds constrained because he is trying not to yell. Claire steps in front of him, placing her hands on his chest to calm him down. He doesn't say anything else and walks away, leaving Hannah and Claire by themselves.

"You should go. I'm sure Daddy is going to want to talk to you." Claire steps towards her daughter, combing her fingers through her dark hair. She sees more of herself in Hannah now than she ever did before.

"I would avoid him for the rest of the night. And send me that recording." Claire leaves her daughter to stew while she goes to look for her husband. Hannah grins when Claire winks at her. She knew her mother would be more on her side than her father.

Later that night, after all the guests have left, Frank and Claire share a cigarette in the Oval. They haven't spoken much since their discussion with Hannah earlier.

"What are you thinking, Francis?" Claire asks as he hands her the cigarette. She inhales while her husband gathers his thoughts.

"What Hannah did tonight was reckless."

"I don't disagree, but she also did what we couldn't."

"She could've been really hurt, Claire. What if Meechum didn't get there in time?" Frank's been running through possible scenarios of how bad things could've gotten for Hannah all night. Preston could've killed Hannah in that bathroom and they wouldn't've known.

Claire realizes the only reason Frank is so furious with Hannah is because of how much he loves her. He is extremely overprotective of his wife and their daughter. While he's right, it doesn't negate the fact that Hannah helped them tremendously by recording her encounter with Preston.

Frank takes the cigarette back from Claire, inhaling it deeply. Claire pauses a minute to choose her words carefully. Clearly, they are on opposite sides of this, but she doesn't want to argue with her husband. Not when he's partially right.

"You have a right to be angry with her, Francis, but Hannah is us. She did what we would've done in her situation and I don't think it's fair to hold that against her." Hannah is the best and worst of them. Frank and Claire were foolish in thinking their daughter wouldn't join in on their scheme.

Frank nods slowly and extinguishes the cigarette in a cup of water. His wife, sadly, does have a point. He just wishes their daughter wouldn't've sacrificed herself in trying to help them.

"We need to teach her better."

"Yes, we do."

Trying to keep Hannah away from their schemes at this age is pointless. The teenager is too much like them not to revel in it. However, if someone ever found out about what Hannah did, it would bring unwanted attention to their daughter's life. And that's the part they need their daughter to understand.

"Come to bed when you're done," Claire tells him and glides her hand over his. Her husband needs some time to think by himself. She's hoping she won't have to coax him into making amends with Hannah.

Claire knocks on Hannah's door and enters when she receives permission from the teenager. She softly closes the door behind her. Claire wants the conversation she's about to have with their daughter to remain between them for the time being. She will share with her husband eventually.

"Does Daddy still want to kill me?" Hannah asks as Claire sits down on her bed. The teenager changed into her pajamas a while ago, but her mother is still in her party dress.

"He's calmed down a little. I think you should wait until tomorrow to speak to him." Hannah nods and wonders why her mother is still in her room.

"Am I grounded or something?" Hannah asks. Her parents usually never were the punishing type. They always believed in helping Hannah through her mistakes instead of condemning her for them.

"No, there's no need to do that. Hannah, what you did tonight was brave, but it was also stupid." Hannah nods, she sees how reckless she was being before.

"I get why Daddy is so angry. I was just trying to help though."

"I know, which is what I told him. You did exactly what I would've done in your situation. You just have to be more careful. And we will help you with that."

"Okay."

"Okay." Claire brushes a kiss to her daughter's cheek and stands up.

"Mom?"

"What?"

"Did you end up using the recording?" Hannah never heard how her parents attempted scheme worked out.

"No, but we will if the prime minister doesn't play along. Goodnight." Claire closes her daughter's bedroom door and goes into her own. Frank hasn't made his way into their room yet, which is to be expected. He will probably sneak in later after she's asleep.

The next day, Frank shuts himself in the Oval before Hannah leaves for school. Hannah comes out for family breakfast to see her mother reading the newspaper by herself.

"He's avoiding me, isn't he?" Hannah asks while she sits down next to her mother at the dining table.

"Yes. He left a plate of apples for you," Claire says and pushes the apples towards Hannah. Hannah rolls her eyes and takes a bite of an apple slice.

"I'll talk to him after school." Hannah stands up as she steals half the apples on the plate, leaving the rest for Claire.

Once Hannah gets back to the White House after school, she tentatively approaches the Oval Office door. She hasn't been this nervous to enter her father's office since after the Pierce incident a few months ago. Her mother had to grab her hand and force her into the room because she couldn't do it on her own. Hannah knows from her father's assistant that he doesn't have any meetings for the next half hour. If she's going to talk to him, it must be now.

"Come," Frank says after he hears the knock on the door. Hannah pokes her head in, wanting to see the reaction on her dad's face when he sees who it is. "Hi."

"Hi. Can I come in?" Hannah asks.

"Of course." Frank isn't as angry at Hannah as he was last night. After speaking with his wife, he's more understanding of what his daughter was attempting to do, however misguided it was.

Hannah crosses the room and sits down in a chair across from his desk. She isn't sure how to begin this conversation. An apology won't do them any good. The teenager quickly learned as a child that her parents don't find any meaning in them.

"I don't want you to be angry with me, Daddy. I know what I did now was dangerous." Frank leans back in his chair. He's proud of his daughter for not coming into his office, begging for forgiveness. She's above that and so is he.

"Yes, it was, but we are done with that now." If there's anything he's taken from Claire over twenty-something years of marriage is to move on. Dwelling on someone's mistakes is not productive. He's confident his daughter will never do something like this again.

"Okay."

"I love you, Hannah."

"I love you too, Daddy." Hannah stands up from her chair and starts walking towards the door. "Daddy, you aren't going to fire Meechum over this are you?"

"No, but he is off your detail for the time being. I put him back with your mother." Hannah nods. She's sad to see Meechum go but won't question her father's decision. "And Hannah?"

"Yes, Daddy?"

"That recording you sent to your mother will be valuable." Hannah's mouth drops open slightly at her father's comment. She didn't know he knew Claire had it in her possession. Although, she should know by now her parents tell each other everything.

"Good. Use it when you feel the time is right. See you at dinner." Hannah excuses herself from the Oval and goes back to the residences to do her homework.

Later that night, Hannah and Claire are seated at the table, waiting for Frank to join them.

"Have you and your father talked?" Claire asks while pours herself a glass of wine.

"We have. We've come to an understanding."

"Good."

Frank comes into the room, shedding his jacket and briefcase in the living room. Claire hands him a glass of wine as he stamps a kiss on her cheek.

"Did you tell her yet?" Frank asks.

"No, we agreed to do this together." Claire tells him. Hannah glances from her mother to her father, wondering what the news could be. Her eyes divert to Claire's glass of wine, wondering if it's just a ruse.

"Are you…?" Hannah asks Claire, pausing when she sees her mother shake her head.

"I'm not pregnant." Claire says, her voice sounding strained. Hannah nods and keeps her response to herself. She isn't sure if having more children are even on the table with her parents anymore.

"Your mother is going to be the next ambassador of the United States," Frank tells their daughter. "Once she gets confirmed, of course."

"That's great. Being the First Lady seems awfully boring. It's cool that you can do something else too." Hannah has overheard conversations from her parents. Her mother seems unsatisfied in her current role and is yearning for more. Not that Hannah is surprised. She inherited her ambition from her parents.

"I will be traveling to New York a lot. You will be on your own until your father comes home," Claire informs their daughter.

"That's fine. Whatever you have to do."

Hannah is old enough to take care of herself. Besides, she lives in the White House where they have a staff available around-the-clock.

A week later, Frank and Claire are relaxing together in the Oval Office. They haven't seen much of each other recently because Claire's been busy preparing for her upcoming Senate confirmation hearing.

Claire is perched on top of her husband's desk, holding the cigarette they are about to light in her hand.

"Do you feel prepared for your hearing?" Frank asks. He brushes some papers aside and climbs onto his desk, so he is seated next to his wife.

"Yes. I'm just curious as to what questions they are going to ask me. I don't want this to unravel because of a single question." Frank sets his hand on her thigh.

"I have complete confidence in you."

"Thank you." Their lips meet for a kiss, separating with a smack after a moment. Just then, they are interrupted by Seth and Remy, Frank's new chief-of-staff while Doug is recovering.

"Sir, there's something you need to see." Remy tells Frank and holds up his phone.

"What is it?" Frank asks. Claire hops off his desk and so does Frank, choosing to sit in his chair instead.

Before Remy can brief the couple, Hannah bursts into the office. The teenager is visibly upset and clenching her phone in her hand.

"Hannah, what's wrong?" Claire asks, hoping it doesn't have to deal with Preston. They fought past that at Hannah's birthday party and were able to sway the prime minister without using having to use the recording.

"What the fuck is this?" Hannah asks and throws her phone down on the desk. Frank scoops it up and frowns when he reads a headline that claims Claire cheated on him.

A/N 2: Okay, there's a lot to unpack in this chapter. Before you yell at me for recycling an idea, ever since I wrote about Claire's affair in The Fallout, I thought it would be interesting to explore with Hannah since she's older. I can't wait for the next chapter! Thanks for reading and please leave me a review on your way out. I love to hear your thoughts!