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Claire sighed in frustration as she woke again in the summer heat. She survived years of Texas heat, but South Carolina heat was met with humidity. And, the humidity was beating the barely functional air conditioner they were able to afford for their quaint little house. Yet, the heat is not what woke her this time. It was the lack of another body in her bed that caused her sleep to evade her. Her eyes squinted open to see what her hand had already confirmed. The other side of the mattress was empty, the sheets thrown aside.

She sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed before standing up, now not even bothered by the fact their mattress was on the floor instead of on a frame or box spring. She toed on her slippers before walking down the small hallway towards the kitchen. "Francis?" Her attention averted to patio doors though when she saw the small circle of orange light burning at the end of a cigarette. There, her husband sat straddling a wall of cinder blocks that neither of them had managed to find time to discard with a stream of smoke billowing up from his lips.

Claire padded around the dining room table and slid open the door, catching his attention. As she stepped out onto the patio, Francis put out his cigarette on the cinder block behind him, giving her a small smile. She returned it tiredly. "You don't have to stop."

"I won't endanger our child." Francis shook his head, flicking away the used cigarette. "I know it wasn't easy for you to do what you did. It's the least I can do after bringing the doctor here and upsetting you like I did."

What she did. It was just shy of a month ago when she had returned from New York, returned to face the doctor who had performed her last abortion. Even though they hadn't gone through with it, even though she had managed to keep Francis and their baby, she still couldn't bear the thought of going into their guest bedroom. And although she hadn't argued the idea of the doctor coming, she knew that Francis felt guilty for causing her to run into his arms and cry over the life they were creating. "You didn't upset me, Francis. The doctor upset me. Going through that isn't easy. But, neither is actually having a child, and neither of us have done that."

"I never thought I would." Francis admitted, something he had confessed many times to her, but it always seemed to affect him harder than it did the first time he told her with each admission. "Playing catch in the yard, helping them with homework, going to school plays. I always thought to myself how pointless it all was. I had a whole career and life planned. A kid would just slow me down. I mean, what kind of kid would I raise anyway. I grew up to resent my parents. The only thing I'm proud of is something I can never talk about because it would ruin me. I never wanted to be that for someone, especially someone who I brought into the world."

Claire leaned against the door, biting her lip. "You're not your father, Francis. Your parents were complacent. They worked hard to survive, but you've said yourself they did nothing to better themselves. And, all you do in life is to better our life together. You want to better the lives of thousands." She ran a hand through her long hair, glancing down at her feet. "But, my offer still stands. If you don't want to be a father, we can part ways."

"Come over here." Francis breathed after a moment, holding out his hand for her. She walked over to him, taking his hand and allowing him to help her perch onto the cinder blocks in front of him, her back to his chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder and brought both hands around to cover her flat belly. "I didn't promise you this. I didn't promise you happiness, but I want to make you happy, Claire. I'm petrified to be a father. I really am, but you and, dare I say, Baby Underwood, are not going anywhere."

"Baby Underwood?" Claire giggled, turning to press her nose against his cheek. "I like that. She'll have to stay that until we can think of a proper name for her."

"She?" Francis turned his own head to meet her eyes.

"Yes." Claire nodded firmly, gazing down at her stomach. "Because while you are nervous to be a father in general, I am terrified to mother a little girl. My mother had some preconceived notion that I was loose by the time I was five. I don't ever want to make our daughter feel unloved or unwanted. I think this baby will be a girl. She'll be the one thing in our lives we can't somehow control or manipulate. She'll be our greatest challenge, Francis." She slid her hands over his still covering her abdomen. "I know you don't want her, but I also know that you'll do everything you can to protect her, to give her the best."

Francis sighed. "I know. I've already surprised myself with how much I care." Francis sighed, scratching the back of his head and earning a frown from Claire. "I don't know how it got out. It may have just been a rumor started. A couple weeks ago, I ran into Oren Chase."

Claire turned on the cinder block, aware of Francis's hands reassuring himself of her balance. He was protective before, but she could tell he was going to be more so as her pregnancy progressed. But, his words worried her. "Oh, no. Francis, please tell me you two didn't start another war."

"Everything else pales in comparison to this." Francis gazed down at her stomach, resting his palm against her again. "We were ragging each other, as usual. Then, just as I'm about to get back in my car, he says that he knows you're pregnant." Claire's eyes widened. "Of course, I acted like I didn't know what he was talking about. No point in denying, but we don't want it getting out there. He didn't believe me. Of course. Threatened to go public with it with some political strategy that a first time father would be more concerned with his child than with his responsibility to work for the people of South Carolina."

Claire scoffed. "You'd be more concerned with our child either way, but you'd balance work and play better than anybody else." She bit her lip. "Don't tell me he's gone public."

Francis grinned, shaking his head. "Have you met the new guy on the campaign? Doug Stamper?"

"One or two times briefly. Why?" Claire asked, a smile gracing her features seeing the unmasked glee on her husband's face.

"Well, I might've mentioned to him that we needed to make Oren unreliable. Incredible even." Francis smirked. "Oren had a rally yesterday at the old legion hall. Doug went down there posing as a supporter and gave him a pan of brownies with weed baked inside of them." He chuckled when Claire's jaw dropped. "By the time Oren got on stage, he was ready to convince his supporters that he was training to fly to Jupiter."

Claire laughed, head falling back as she pictured Oren Chase bellowing out is astronomical dreams to the people of Gaffney. "Francis, he probably sounded ready to be institutionalized. How long was his speech?"

"He had a twenty minute speech planned with questions afterward." Francis laughed with her. "But, the Mary Jane turned twenty minutes into an hour and a half of pure, unfiltered Oren Chase." He continued to chuckle as he ran a hand down his face. "Even if he decides to go public, he'll look like he's high again. No one will believe him unless we confirm."

Claire smirked, leaning into his chest and kissing him. "That's what he gets for threatening to expose Baby Underwood." She frowned after a moment. "Wait a minute. Aren't he and his wife expecting a child in a couple months?

"They are," Francis nodded, "and I heard his wife is only sober a year."

"This Doug guy could come in handy." Claire murmured against his lips before running her hand through her hair again, pushing it back away from her face. She smiled when Francis reached up and tucked some strands behind her ear. "So, is that why you're up in the middle of the night? Celebrating your debunking of the enemy? Or, was it from thinking about the baby?"

Francis shrugged. "A little of everything I guess, and this ungodly heat." He shuddered before meeting her eyes again. "Just realizing this new reality I guess. The last time you were pregnant, the first sign of trouble was a quick call to the doctor and public confirmation of a miscarriage. Now, my gut reaction is to plot against the enemy. I want to protect you and this baby." He dropped his forehead to hers. "So, you don't need to worry about me wanting to be a father or my commitment to this. I'm putting everything I have into you two, Claire. I'll do anything to keep you and our little girl."

Claire grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. "Even if you regret having her the moment she's born."

"I'll regret it until the moment I die." Francis stated. "But, I'll be selfish for her."

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