A/N: As always, thank you for leaving me a review, I love getting them. I really don't have much to say except I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!
Chapter Fourteen.
Hannah can't tear her eyes away from Pierce's dead body. She keeps replaying the shooting in her mind. Her father's hand on her shoulder draws her out of her reverie, making her flinch.
"We need to go," Frank tells her. He throws the gun down next to Pierce. Nobody will question the nature of the agent's death. Frank killed him in self-defense to save himself and Hannah. Only Frank and Hannah will know what actually happened.
Outside, the Secret Service agents are preparing for entry. The mission is now to recover Frank and Hannah's bodies and to kill or arrest the person responsible. Claire walks to an empty corner of the hallway while the agents discuss their plan. Every part of her is numb. She doesn't think she could cry even if she wanted to. Frank and Hannah are dead along with the baby she already lost. Whoever did this to them won.
Meechum excuses himself from his fellow secret service agents to speak to Claire. He feels personally responsible for the failure of their rescue mission. Hannah was his responsibility, he shouldn't have let her enter Frank's office alone. He knows if he was in there with Hannah and Frank, Pierce wouldn't have been able to go as far as he did.
"Mrs. Underwood," Meechum gently touches Claire's undamaged shoulder. Claire flinches away from him. She doesn't want anyone to touch her right now.
"What is it Edward?" Meechum leans forward to hear Claire's strained voice.
"I just wanted you to know that I'm sor…"
"Don't." Claire cannot hear anyone's apologies for the death of her husband and daughter. She failed them, the Secret Service and the United States government failed them. They are all accountable for Frank and Hannah's death. Nothing anyone can say will absolve the guilt eating away at her. Meechum is taken aback by Claire's sharp tone and nods in understanding.
"We will go in there and you will get a chance to say goodbye." Meechum tells her. Claire nods and turns to face the wall, not wanting Meechum to see her cry.
"Daddy, wait," Hannah mutters before they exit his office. Frank stops and turns to face his daughter. "We did what we had to do, right?" Her eyes slide over to Pierce and then back to her father. Frank reaches to pinch her cheek.
"He was going to kill us, Han. We saved ourselves. Come on," Frank holds out his arm for Hannah, coaxing her to the door. Hannah follows him, leaning her head against his shoulder. Frank opens the door, not expecting Meechum to be holding a gun to his chest. Hannah turns towards her father, not wanting to see the weapon after her ordeal with Pierce.
"Sir?" Meechum asks and immediately withdraws his weapon. "Hannah?" He didn't expect to see them alive. "We heard two shots…and…"
Claire hears Meechum and pushes herself off the wall, wanting to know what is happening.
"Where is Claire?" Frank asks. Claire gasps when she hears her husband's voice. She never thought she would hear his distinctive Southern drawl again.
"Mom!" Hannah exclaims and runs over to her mother, carefully hugging her with one arm.
"Hi," Claire whispers, her voice thick with tears. She presses a kiss to her daughter's hair and sniffs. Hannah pulls back and coils her arm around her mom's waist.
Frank briefs Meechum on what happened with Pierce. He catches Claire's eye and smiles at her. He will let her have a moment with Hannah before joining them.
"Are you okay?" Claire asks while inspecting the bruise on Hannah's face.
"I'm fine," Hannah says quickly. She is too wrapped up in seeing her mother and being away from Pierce that the full nature of her ordeal hasn't hit her yet. Her life was threatened several times today and she watched her father kill someone in front of her. Hannah isn't going to be fine for a while, but she will do her best to hide it, just like her mother would.
"Thank you Meechum," Frank says and moves past him, wanting to get to Claire.
"I'm going to…go annoy Meechum," Hannah mumbles when she sees her parents looking at each other.
"Okay, stay close," Claire mumbles. She isn't letting Hannah out of her sight for a while. What happened today rattled her more than she will admit. Hannah nods and walks away.
Frank steps towards Claire and opens his arms, holding his wife tight to his frame.
"Francis…I thought…" Claire trails off when he shushes her. His free hand loops under her sling, gently rocking them back and forth. She closes her eyes for a moment, holding back the onslaught of tears threatening to fall. They are okay. The people who are responsible are dead. They achieved the best possible outcome.
"It's over," Frank whispers to her and severs their hug. His hand cups her cheek as he stamps a quick kiss to her lips.
For as much as Claire wants to know what happened, she doesn't press her husband for details. He will tell her everything when he is ready.
"Can we go, or do you need to stay?" Claire asks. She wants nothing more than to be at the townhouse with her family. Away from all the chaos surrounding them for the last few months.
"They want to brief me, but it can wait until morning." Frank would rather step away from the situation for a little while. He can return tomorrow with this behind him. He clasps his hand in hers and walks them over to Hannah.
"Are you ready?" Claire asks their daughter. Hannah eagerly nods, she won't be stepping foot in her dad's office for a long time. From now on, she is going to look at the spot where Pierce died, where her father killed him.
"Yes," Hannah whispers. She hovers close to Claire, preferring to keep her distance from Frank at the moment. Today, the teenager saw a glimpse of her father's ruthless pragmatism he is known for. It's going to take her a while to adjust. She doesn't blame him because he's right, Pierce would've killed them both if he hadn't intervened.
Frank closes the car door behind him. He's noticed Hannah has been clinging to Claire since they left the White House. It kills him to know he wasn't able to protect his daughter from Pierce's rage. He doesn't regret what he did, though. Pierce left him no choice.
Claire watches Hannah carefully, looking for any signs of emotion from her daughter. So far, the teenager hasn't opened up much about what happened in Frank's office. She doesn't like being kept in the dark, not knowing the full scope of what occurred earlier. However, she knows Hannah is like her emotionally. Her daughter suppresses her feelings until they spring up unexpectedly. Frank and Claire need to be there when that happens, so they can help their daughter through it.
The SUV pulls to a stop in front of the townhouse. Meechum opens the door, holding out a hand for Hannah to grasp. The teenager accepts it, smiling at the agent. Claire and Frank get out afterwards, nodding at Meechum.
It seems like they haven't been home in days, but it's only been mere hours. Hannah wonders if she is supposed to go to school tomorrow, if she can even handle being there all day. Claire silently digs through the fridge, looking for something the family can eat for dinner. Hannah and Frank sit across each other from the dining room table, each wrapped up in their own thoughts.
"This is the best I can do," Claire mumbles and sets out some sandwiches for them to munch on. None of the three make a move to grab the food. Hannah sets her elbows onto the table, letting her face fall into her hands. Her shoulders start shaking. Claire and Frank glance at each other, wondering who is going to make the first move.
"Hannah…Hannah, look at me," Claire insists. She kneels down on the floor, using her good arm to rub her daughter's back. Claire knows trauma better than anyone. One minute you are fine, the next, you feel like you are suffocating. Frank gets out of his chair and kneels next to Claire on the floor. He wishes there's something he could say to make his daughter feel better.
"It's over, Hannah. I promise you," Frank whispers to the teenager. "You are safe."
"I know…" Hannah says, but doesn't elaborate.
"Honey, what your father did was scary, but it was necessary," Claire tells their daughter. She doesn't have any qualms about what he did, she just wishes Hannah wasn't there to witness it. Hannah lifts her head up; her cheeks are splotchy with tears.
"I don't care that's he's dead. I'm glad he's dead. I helped kill someone, Mom." Hannah is still a child, no matter how much Claire and Frank want to believe she's grown up. She hasn't developed the method of pushing aside terrible things and moving forward like her parents have.
"You did what you had to do to survive. I am so sorry that we put you in this position," Claire says, breaking her own cardinal rule of never apologizing. Hannah deserves to hear it.
"Do you feel bad about killing him, Daddy?" Hannah asks Frank, looking him in the eye.
"Yes, I do," Frank lies. The truth is, he would kill Pierce all over again without thinking twice about it. He would rather have his daughter think he feels remorse like she does, to make her feel less alone. Hannah leans forward and loops her arms around her father's neck.
"Hannah, your emotions are going to be all over the place for a little while, but we will get passed this. We have to," Claire tells her daughter firmly. She won't let this night derail their plans. They still have the Oval Office to capture.
Hannah nods and separates from her father.
"We should be channeling our anger and fear into getting what we want. We are so close," Frank agrees, pinching his daughter's cheek.
"I understand," the teenager says just above a whisper. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Hannah doesn't want to be alone with her thoughts. The nightmares she's been having are only going to intensify after the incident with Pierce.
"Of course, you can stay as long as you need to," Claire tells her daughter. Hannah grabs a sandwich and heads upstairs to her parents' room. She needs some time to decompress by herself.
Frank and Claire get off their knees and head to the windowsill. Frank is the first one to light the cigarette, closing his eyes when it touches his lips. Claire sits in her usual spot across from him, looking out into the neighborhood.
"She's become like us now, Francis," Claire comments softly. She has been trying to prevent that since Hannah was born, but it was inevitable. Their daughter can't be exposed to all the horrible things people do in the political sphere without becoming susceptible to it. Frank throws his head back against the windowsill and gives the cigarette to her.
"I know. I wish it didn't happen, but she can handle it." Claire agrees, their daughter is stronger than she thinks. They fall into a comfortable silence, passing the cigarette back and forth.
"You haven't asked about what happened," Frank observes.
"I figured you would tell me when you are ready. If you don't want to talk about it tonight, that's fine." Claire blows the smoke out of her mouth as Frank takes the cigarette from her.
"I should've seen Pierce coming, Claire. I was so focused on Tusk. Hannah could've d…"
"Francis, don't do this to yourself. Our daughter is safe and so are you. I won't waste time thinking of what might've been." He kisses her long and deep, a silent thank you for saying what he needed to hear.
"You're right. There's no room for doubt now. We have to focus on Walker and Tusk."
"I wouldn't worry about Walker, I think he's scared of me." Frank looks up at her in amusement.
"Because?"
"I told him his presidency was pathetic," Claire says nonchalantly and steals the cigarette out of her husband's hand. Frank laughs, his wife can be terrifying when she doesn't get what she wants. He would've loved to have seen Walker's face as she verbally emaciated him.
"Well, we won't have to deal with him much longer." Frank puts out the cigarette and glances at Claire. She tilts her head up and grins at him. They leave the windowsill together, heading upstairs to be with their daughter.
A/N 2: I know you got a shorter chapter than usual, but I did this on purpose. Next chapter is THE LAST, so start thinking about if you want a sequel. Thanks for reading and please leave a review on your way out.