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"Gordon was really planning on kidnapping her." Claire breathed as she and Francis nearly collapsed in his office. After they left Garrett alone in the Oval, they barely contained themselves as they informed Doug of the President's resignation being read to the nation later that afternoon. James decided to help Doug in preparing for their takeover of the White House, leaving the married couple to register the information, they had just heard from Walker, in the Vice President's office. "Francis, he planned on taking her for months. Attacking her, holding her hostage. How did we not see this?"

Francis shook his head, pressing his fist against his mouth. "I'm trying to remember Garrett's campaign. His election win celebration. We've know them for years, but I can't think of when Gordon would've started his obsession with her." He pressed his thumbs against his eyes, feeling them roll underneath his eyelids. "There would've been so many opportunities for him to take her. Why didn't he?"

Claire sucked in a breath, thinking back on the past years of James's interactions with Gordon, but she was coming up short with every memory she could think of. Without even looking his way, she stretched her hand across the desk towards Francis. She felt a slight sense of relief when his hand clasped onto hers. "I don't know if we'll ever find out why he wanted to do those things, Francis. But, we can't dwell on this. If we do, James will know something is wrong. The detectives will probably want to ask her about Gordon's journal and the pictures, but we can hold them off for a little while. . .or at least censor some of the material before she sees it."

Francis met Claire's eyes when she finally turned to look at him. "I'm not sure I even want to read it."

"Me either." Claire whispered. They sat for a moment, just staring at each other. Despite how long they had waited for this day, they weren't prepared for the secrets that came out today.

Francis tugged on her hand before standing up. He walked around his desk as Claire stood and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He could feel the slight tremor in her body and kissed the side of her head. "It's okay. We don't have to worry about Gordon Walker ever again."

Claire wiped at her eyes with her fingers, turning her face into Francis's neck. "Do you really think Garrett was telling the truth in the Oval? Do you think he only paid off the detail to protect Gordon?" She licked her lips. "Because if he didn't, I want him to suffer a worse fate than the country thinks James endured."

"Doug and I will keep digging." Francis stated with a nod. "If I find out he lied about anything, we'll make him wish he never even had a son."

Doug scrolled through his tablet, marking articles on James's kidnapping and on leads for Garrett's story. He sat hunched over his desk while James sat across from him. She was staring intently at the television, a press conference being held with the headline 'President to make special announcement' flashing across the bottom. "Hey, Doug?"

"Yes, baby?" Doug replied, continuing to search the internet on his tablet.

"What exactly did my parents have on Walker that tied him to Gordon?" James asked, looking over her shoulder at him. She saw his hand freeze over his tablet, but his eyes remained glued to the screen behind his glasses. "We don't hide things from each other, remember? What aren't you telling me?"

Doug closed his eyes, tossing his tablet down onto his desk and letting the screen go black. He leaned back in his chair and debated who or what he was more scared of. "I told them that I wouldn't tell you. . .at least not until things settled down around here." He met her eyes, her normally bright blue ones darkened to a shade of black. "The information isn't critical to know. We aren't planning anything. It won't affect us going forward. It just has to do with the case. I'm sure the detectives working it will tell you when they have their case put together."

James gripped the back of the chair she was on with white knuckles. There weren't many times her temper flared to her father's legendary heights, but being kept in the dark by her parents always seemed to trigger it. "You don't think I can handle it."

Doug shook his head. "I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth." He saw the slightest cock of her eyebrow and rushed to correct himself. "Listen. I know what you can handle. You came up with this whole plan to get into the White House, and you performed it beautifully. You won. You got us here. But, I think you deserve a break from some bad news for a while. You have to admit that the last couple months haven't been easy for you."

"No, they haven't." James agreed, glancing down at her hands. She straightened up slightly when she looked back at Doug. "That doesn't mean you get to keep things from me. We have an understanding. It's not going to work if you side with my parents over me."

"I'm not siding with them. I just happen to agree with them on this." Doug corrected her. He stood up from his desk and walked over to her, sitting in the chair beside her. "Have I ever done you wrong?" He held back his smirk when her eyes rolled. "Do you trust me?"

James smirked. "Unfortunately."

Doug smiled. "Then, trust me. When the time is right, when things settle down, I will tell you what I know about this." He kissed her forehead. "I just want to give you some time to enjoy the rewards of what you've done so far. Going forward, I won't keep anything from you. I promise. I don't care what your parents say or what happens. You and I are a team now."

James grinned, sliding her hands into his and rubbing the backs of his hands with her thumbs. "Team Stamper-Underwood."

The door to Doug's office suddenly opened, making the two inside jump apart. They both relaxed when they realized it was only Francis and Claire barging in and immediately gravitating towards the television. "It's starting." Francis breathed.

Doug quickly closed the door as Garrett moved behind the podium on the television. He looked twenty years older than he did that morning in the Oval office, and it made all of them smirk to see Walker finally pay for backing out on his promise. James slipped under her father's arm, hugging him from the side as Garrett announced to the nation that Francis would be the new President of the United States.

"Congratulations, Daddy." James whispered with a smile.

Francis looked like the Joker after fleeing Batman, his smile a mile wide as he nearly smothered James and gave her a kiss to the head. He let his arms unwind from around her before turning to Claire, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her hard. "Congrats, Claire."

"Congratulations, President Francis Underwood." Claire breathed before pecking his lips again. She sighed contently when he wrapped his arms around her, letting her cheek press against his as they both looked back at the television.

"Well, at least the Vice President's residence will be in use by you for one night." James laughed as the family walked into the residency that would've been Francis's a few hours ago.

Francis grinned as their bags were carried in. "But, only as President." He kissed her head and wrapped his arm around her waist as Claire directed where their bags should be taken to. "We won't be here for long. They plan to start moving Walker's belongings out tomorrow morning. We should be in by dinnertime."

Claire smiled and pointed up the stairs. "Why don't you go get settled for the night? Doug will be here shortly to stay in the guest bedroom." She watched as James hurried up the stairs before turning to Francis. "I want to get her out of D.C. for a couple days."

Francis furrowed his eyebrows and gently took her arm into his hand, moving them away from the front door. "What are you talking about? She's all America is talking about. They want to see her."

"Yes, but you know how these stories go." Claire retorted. "We already started getting phone calls for exclusives on her story. The detectives on her case could show up any day now looking to ask her about the evidence Garrett told us about. If we want to protect her from it, we need to get to it first. At least one of us does."

"What are you suggesting?" Francis asked.

Claire glanced up the stairs before continuing. "I'll take James out of the city for a long weekend. We can frame it however we want with the press: a break, an adjustment period. Everyone will understand if she doesn't want to immediately live in the house where they think she was repeatedly raped and held captive. I would rather keep her away from all that we've learned until we discover all that there is to this."

Francis contemplated his wife's words. What she was saying was making sense, but he was curious to see where she would go that could hide their daughter when the whole country was watching for her. Her kidnapping had taken the news by storm, and her return home made an even bigger impact. Their timing with the press finding them reuniting with James couldn't have gone better. Only a few outlets got a brief video of the encounter, but it was enough to have the entire country supporting their daughter's recovery.

He met Claire's eyes, seeing that she already had a plan. She wasn't asking for approval. "Where were you thinking of taking her? The Gaffney house could use a visit."

"I was thinking Texas." Claire shrugged. "My mother's to be more specific."

Francis scoffed. "You can't be serious." He saw her eyes divert back to the stairs and reminded himself to keep his voice down. "When we told your mother we were expecting, she told us that she hoped our baby died so it wouldn't have to have us as parents."

Claire nodded. "I know what she said."

"She made you doubt yourself. She's never even met James." Francis ranted, his hand flying out in the air with each point he made. "All she's going to do is make you two miserable. She has knack for making you feel like a little girl. James will hate her, especially if she learns what all she has done to you in the past-"

Claire cut him off, her voice calm but firm. "Francis, I'm not going to argue with you on this. I know that it might not be the most relaxing break, but it will be a distraction. James will not like her. I know that for a fact. But, she'll be too curious to entertain the notion of wandering out someplace else. She's like us. She wants to know where her weak spots are. My mother will probably insult her the second we walk through the door, but James is a tough girl." She smirked slightly. "She knows how to throw shade right back at people. She knows how to knock them off balance. Who better to practice on than someone she's related to?"

Francis couldn't help it as his lips tugged upwards at the corners. "I thought we didn't want her to become like us."

"She's already us. We need to make her better at it since she's going to continue down our destructive path." Claire stated matter of fact. She saw the nervous look on Francis's face. "I remember perfectly what all she said to us about James, Francis. I won't let her hurt our daughter."

Francis nodded, gazing up at the closed door of his daughter's room. "I know. This may be a test for James, but I don't think Elizabeth has the right to know her as a granddaughter."

Claire walked up behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "They will still be strangers when we leave. She'll be nothing more than a future campaign tool for James when all is said and done." She kissed Francis's cheek. "I have a plane ready to take us. We just have to talk to James."

"Let's just give her the night." Francis sighed. "The President wants his daughter around his first night in office."

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