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"She's not holding her." Claire stated plainly, studying herself in the vizor mirror above the passenger seat.

"Couldn't agree more." Francis nodded, turning off the main road and back on the familiar roads of Claire's childhood. He glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing his six month old still fast asleep in her carseat. Despite how tacky the cheap mirror on her carseat was, he couldn't have been more thrilled with it once he was driving. He'd gotten himself down a rabbit hole of SIDS cases right before her birth, and Claire had found him multiple times checking on her at night just to make sure she was breathing. "What if Charlie hands her to your mother?"

"I will tell Daddy she's not allowed to hold her. He'll understand." Claire breathed before flipped up the vizor and glancing back herself towards James. "I'm surprised she's slept this long. The car ride has knocked her out cold."

Francis nodded. "Yeah, is her chest moving?" He saw Claire's narrowed glare. "What? Claire, just check. At least stick your finger under her nose to see."

"Oh my God, Francis." Claire reached back, doing as he wished. "She's fine. Might be a little warm, but she should cool down once we get her out of the carseat." She reached over and ran her fingers through the hair behind Francis's ear, trying to soothe him. "You aren't going to sleep until she's a year old, are you?"

Francis frowned, swiping her hand away. He didn't find it amusing either when she started giggling. "This is very new. Who knew that I would be this worried as a father? I don't think I'll ever sleep well again. Now, we have to worry syndromes and illnesses that she's too young to fight off. Then, we have to worry about bullies and the pressures of our lifestyle. Don't get me started on when she's a teenager."

Claire, again, reached over. This time she caressed his shoulder. "Honey, don't you think you're worrying a little too much. She's six months old. We're nowhere near the boy phase. We'll deal with it when she gets older."

"Claire, you have to promise me." Francis warned with a serious look that almost made Claire start laughing outright. "You are to keep her away from boys until after I die. Wait three days afterwards, just in case. Who knows? I may have to fake a death. But until then, she is not to even look at boys."

"You are going to drive me crazy." Claire sighed before pulling her hair back. She felt the uneasiness hit her stomach once she saw her parents' house. "What if my mother hates her, Francis?"

It was this time that Francis reached over, squeezing her hand in his. "Just remember. We don't need her approval."

"There you two are. I got the grill going out back. We'll have dinner in no time." Charlie beamed as he walked out the front door to greet them.

"Hey, Daddy." Claire chuckled as she hugged him tightly. She pulled back, cupping his cheek in her hand. "You've been losing weight, Daddy. You're even thinner than the last time I saw you." He waved her off with a wink, kissing the palm of her hand. "Where's mother?"

Charlie's frown darkened his features, his gaze moving from Claire to Francis who was pulling out a sleepy James. "Uh, your mother had an important meeting to attend to tonight. She was pretty upset about missing this."

"She left because we were coming, didn't she?" Claire asked in a sigh.

"I'm sorry, princess." Charlie breathed, wrapping her up in another hug. "Your mother. . .your mother has never been good when it comes to connecting with you. I figured she would want to meet her granddaughter, but-"

Francis pipped in, gently soothing James to wake up. "She thinks I'm Satan. Therefore, James is the spawn of Satan. I remember that lovely phone call vividly." He kissed the crown of James's head before seeing Claire tucking away this moment to live out the emotions later. "I'll get her bag if you want to take her."

Claire gave him a small smile of thanks before gladly taking James into her arms, relaxing once her daughter cuddled into her neck and shoulder like the spot was made for her. She rubbed her back slowly, smiling against her. "Well, good morning, sweetheart. You slept so well today."

"She's probably as tired as the two of you are from your campaign trail." Charlie grinned, leaning down and smiling at his granddaughter. "Well, don't you look just like your mommy." He gestured back towards the door. "C'mon, I want to take her down to see the horses before it gets dark."

"She'd love that, Daddy." Claire smiled as she and Francis followed him out to the backyard where the grill was already smoking. "That smells delicious. What are you grilling?"

Charlie lifted the cover. "We got steak, chicken, and corn on the cob. I think there's a potato salad in the fridge. I also got ice cream. Figured James was old enough to at least have some of that."

"Pretty sure she only lived on ice cream when Claire was pregnant." Francis grinned as he set James's diaper bag on the patio near the door. "I'll grab some plates. You want another beer, Charlie?"

Charlie grinned with a nod, lifting his nearly empty bottle in salute. "Grab one for yourself while you're at it." He glanced over to Claire, watching as she settled into one of the patio chairs with tiny James cuddled against her chest. "Is she a Daddy's girl or a mini Momma?"

Claire smirked, resting her cheek against James's head. "Both. When Francis is home, she is all over him, but she has my temperament. Francis says she is very aware of her surroundings at all times, and he thinks that's just me." She chuckled softly. "When did you tell Mom we were coming?"

"Around noon." Charlie sighed, flipping over the meat on the grill. "I thought it was odd when she didn't come with me to Gaffney to visit you and James in the hospital. I don't understand why she's so against meeting her only granddaughter. I know she's not Francis's biggest fan-"

Claire sighed. "Daddy, she told Francis and I that she hoped James would die when we told her I was pregnant." She saw the disgust on his face, but he wasn't surprised. "Even if mother was here, we agreed we didn't want her to hold James."

"I don't blame you for the decision." Charlie breathed before Francis came back out with two beer bottles. He nodded his thanks to Francis when he handed him one of the beers. "How is the race coming, Frank?"

"We're up ten points." Francis smiled as he sipped his beer. "No sign of things going awry, but that's what we have Doug and Remy for." He chuckled when James lifted her head from Claire's chest, grinning at him with the only two teeth she had. "What are you smiling about, darlin'? Do you want to go to D.C. too?" She managed to squeal before cuddling back into Claire's chest, but she kept her eyes on Francis.

Claire chuckled. "I told you. When Francis is around, James is Daddy's little girl."

"How are you doing?" Francis asked softly. He and Claire walked hand in hand, a distance behind Charlie, as they made their way down to the horse stables. Charlie had been thrilled when James reached out for him, and he took the opportunity to take her to pet the horses before she wanted to be returned to one of her parents.

Claire sighed. He meant well, but she hated when he asked that question. When he used that voice. "I'm fine, Francis. We both knew my mother was going to do something to show rebellion against us and James. I figured she would just hole up in her room after insulting us. I never thought she would abandon her own home just to avoid meeting her only grandchild." She leaned into his side, wrapping her arm around his waist. "My worst fear was that she was going to try and hold James and then hold her hostage here. She never believed I would be a good mother. It wouldn't surprise me if she tried to take James as her own."

"When we win the election, we'll have secret service guarding her twenty-four seven. Your mother couldn't be within fifty feet of her without our permission." Francis reminded her, trying to reassure himself that Elizabeth was not going to be anywhere near his daughter tonight. "But, your father might end up moving to D.C. seeing how enamored he is with her."

"He might move closer to us anyway. You see him too." Claire breathed, stopping them as they watched Charlie introduce James to one of the horses Claire used to ride growing up on the ranch. "He's dying, Francis."

Francis nodded, kissing her head. "I know." He could feel Claire tense, the beginning telltale signs of her emotions threatening to break her cool exterior that she showed everyone else until she got home. "I don't think he has long either."

Claire shook her head, sighing when she managed to suck in a breath. Tears started falling despite her fight to keep them at bay. "No," she rested her head on his shoulder, smiling softly as she heard James squeal petting the horse. Charlie belly laughed, his head tipping back. "Look how happy he is with her. He loves her so much, Francis, and I deprived him of that."

"Hey, shh." Francis whispered, wrapping both his arms around her and pulling her against his chest. "Just like us, he wouldn't trade James for anything in the world. You know she wouldn't be here if you had gone through with that other pregnancies. We wouldn't be where we are. And, you know how your mother is. She probably would've forbid your father from seeing you if you had delivered your first pregnancy. The pregnancy before James. . .became too complicated. Seems rather simple now, but we wouldn't have our little girl if things had gone differently, Claire." He squeezed her just a little bit tighter. "And, you know your father wouldn't trade this moment with James for anything."

Claire smiled softly. "No, he wouldn't."

They both chuckled when Charlie laughed again, making James let out her own high pitched belly laugh that echoed on the property.

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