A/N: Hi again, I got a little wine drunk last night and uploaded this chapter before it was ready. Sorry about that! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews and thoughts left for me on the direction of this. You guys have helped me make a decision for further down the line, so thank you! Please enjoy the next chapter.
Chapter Four
The first thing Matt Bai likes to do when he interviews someone, or a group of people, is observe them. He turns the recorder on, signaling that he's ready to begin asking questions, except he waits. The journalist wants to see how his subject will react—whether it be how they position themselves or if they ask for water—before the interview actually starts. It helps Matt get a sense of the direction he should take the interview. If the subject asks for a beverage or crosses their arms over their chest, the veteran reporter knows he needs to ease his way into the riskier questions, so he doesn't get completely shut down.
Over the course of his career, Matt has covered Frank and Claire individually and as a unit on the campaign trail. He's never been able to interview either of them. And, this is the first time in almost twenty-five years they are doing a joint interview. When Seth reached out asking if Matt wanted to conduct the interview, the journalist immediately jumped at the chance, even if it came with several restrictions.
"Do you want anything?" Frank asks Claire. He leans back into the couch cushions and lazily extends his arm. He notices Matt turned on the recorder but hasn't asked them anything yet.
"No, I'm fine." Claire crosses one leg over the other and shifts on the couch so she senses her husband's arm against her back. If what Seth told them is true, then her and Frank will be able to glide through this interview unscathed. She would rather not stall and get on with her day. "Let's start."
Matt nods and reaches for his notebook sitting next to him on another couch.
"If you don't mind, I'm going to take some notes as well," Matt tells the couple. Frank gestures for him to continue, but not before looking at Claire for confirmation. The reporter makes a mental note of that for his piece. "Alright, I want to address the elephant in the room right away. There was an article recently in the Herald hinting at trouble within your marriage. The two of you separated for a brief time during the 2016 election. Can you tell me about that?"
Claire's teeth skims across her lips as she glances sideways at her husband. Their separation was supposed to be one of Matt's off-limit topics.
"We would rather not talk about the details since our daughter will be able to access this one day," Frank says for him and Claire. He is wondering why Matt is already violating their trust when they've barely started.
"I understand, but can you just give me a brief summary for context? I think it would really help the narrative here," Matt tells them.
"What I will say is that we went through a rough time in our marriage and we weren't getting along. When you are in the public eye, running for office like we were, those problems become magnified," Claire explains. She's keeping her explanation as vague as possible because of the very reason Frank pointed out. Emily will either hear about the article now, or later on in her life. Claire will never speak about the violent fight she had with Frank the night before she left with Emily to protect their daughter and future child.
Claire tried to shield Emily when the news of the separation first broke due to journalists falsely reporting details of her confrontation with Frank. Some reporters said it was a "heated discussion" while others said Frank hit, choked or threw her against the wall. As long as Emily believes Claire left Frank at the time because it was in their best interest, she's okay with providing a morsel of information.
"Obviously, the two of you reconciled after the President got shot. Mrs. Underwood, is that the reason you came back?" Claire can feel the heat of Frank's gaze on the side of her face.
"Yes and no. I couldn't imagine not being by his side during the whole ordeal. And I wanted our daughter there as well in case the worst happened. I knew after he fully recovered I had the option to leave again if I wanted to."
"So why didn't you?" Matt asks. Claire gently sets her hand on her husband's thigh.
"I felt heard. Francis and I had a conversation about our future when he came home from the hospital and it was the first time in nearly a year where I felt like he really heard me. I knew it would be hard, but I didn't want to just throw away almost thirty years of marriage."
Stay with me, Claire. Stay with me. It's us against them. Always. Otherwise, what's the goddamn point? Claire remembers Frank's speech to her while they were sitting at the table a few feet from where they are now. Admittedly, she wasn't immediately convinced her husband was going to deliver on her request to be his running mate, but she made it clear she was done if he didn't. Thankfully, they were able to strengthen their political career and marriage at the same time.
Frank skims his hand up her arm that's resting on his thigh. He entwines their fingers and smiles at her. He's secretly grateful to Matt for giving him an insight into why Claire decided to come back.
"And shortly after the two of you reconciled, your mother unfortunately passed away—" Matt begins. Claire sits up a little straighter on the couch and tilts her head.
"What does this have to do with anything?" Frank asks for his wife. Claire indulged Matt about their separation, but Elizabeth Hale is irrelevant to what they are trying to accomplish.
"I'm sorry, my question was more related to the Vice President's magnificent speech afterwards, which many experts say secured your nomination. I was hoping you could talk to me about that. The two of you had quite the moment on stage at the convention."
Frank leans over and whispers something in Claire's ear, to which she gives him a slight nod. Matt motions for the photographer to take a picture discreetly of this candid moment between husband and wife. Claire and Frank are starting to notice the angle Matt is trying to work by the phrasing of his questioning. They decide to help him along a little bit.
"My mother and I always had a difficult relationship. I was juggling her passing and the recent fracture of our marriage, and I wanted to be honest with the American public about that. I think it resonated with people. They saw us, truly together, after months of speculation and being apart. And I think for Francis and me, it signified that we could be our nation's President and Vice President."
Matt nods as he's writing something down in his notebook. He's fielded most of his questions to Claire, and she's starting to get agitated. All of his experience tells him it's time to shift the focus onto Frank.
"Mr. President, what did you think of that moment when the two of you held your hands up as confirmed nominees for the Democratic party?"
"I thought it was the culmination of everything Claire and I have worked for. I wouldn't—and couldn't—have wanted to share that moment with anyone else." Frank squeezes Claire's hand. "Could we take a quick break?"
"Sure, of course." Matt shuts off the recorder and walks over to his assistant. Frank stands up and crosses the living room to the windows overlooking the White House lawn. Claire gets up to join her husband, thinking he interrupted their interview for a reason.
"Any updates?" Claire asks. Frank glances over his shoulder at Matt speaking with their photographer before looking back at his wife.
"No. I just thought you needed a moment. We don't have to finish this," Frank reminds her. Claire puts her hand on his back, gently rubbing it.
"I know. We have to work harder at steering him in the direction we want him to go." They lock eyes with each other and separate to walk back to the couch, resuming their previous positions. Matt finishes conversing with the photographer and turns the recorder back on.
"Circling back to the Herald article, is there any truth to it? Is your marriage in trouble again?" Matt asks. Frank is now starting to comprehend why Claire got so upset after the CNN interview. Even when given a select list of talking posts, the reporter is still going wildly off-script. Thankfully, this is not televised, so the Underwoods' have some leeway surrounding what questions they are willing to answer.
"No," Claire says. "It's true that we have our disagreements, but any other married couple would tell you the same." Frank nods in agreement with his wife.
"So people suggesting that you are having this baby to give your marriage a 'reboot' so-to-speak would be—?"
"Wrong," Frank answers Matt's question before he even gets a chance to finish asking it.
"With all due respect Mr. President, I saw the footage of the two of you at the Sentinel. I could easily see how the Herald could've come to their conclusion." Claire does her best not to glare her husband. She knew how discombobulated they looked since Frank didn't do what they rehearsed. It didn't come as a total surprise to her the media picked up on it the following day.
Frank sighs and pauses for a minute to think of a way to get them out of a debacle he caused. He decides to lean into selectively telling the truth, something he's used to his advantage before.
Claire senses Frank's hand rest on her abdomen and looks over at him. Her face remains neutral, concealing the shock she feels. Frank rarely touches her stomach, especially in front of other people. She understands why he's doing it and plays along.
"Truthfully, I'm scared," Frank says to Claire rather than Matt. She turns her head, locking eyes with her husband. Claire places her hand on top of his, offering him the tiniest of smiles. She's hoping Matt has his photographer capturing this moment to feature in the article.
"Of what?" Claire asks softly, before Matt has the chance to. They've had this conversation prior to her getting pregnant, but she wants the reporter to hear it.
"Something happening to you. Having a baby at our age isn't exactly the safest choice," Frank tells Claire. He sees Matt furiously writing in his notebook and smirks at Claire. His hand falls away from hers, knowing he's accomplished what he wanted to achieve.
"Why—sorry—why have a baby if the risk is so high?" Matt asks, taking the reins back from Claire on this interview. Claire clears her throat and crosses her fingers in her lap. "In your interview with Ashleigh Banfield, Claire, she asked you about having more children, and you said," Matt picks up an index card to read off of, "'I think one is enough for us and given my past miscarriages, I don't think it's even possible for me to get pregnant again.'"
Seth was right when he said that question would come back to haunt them. When she gave the interview, Claire was telling the truth, except for the miscarriages. She never imagined they would be having another baby, especially now when they are in their fifties.
"At the time, that's what I believed. Francis and I were content with Emily, but our daughter can be very persuasive," Claire says with a smile.
"Yes, I do remember watching coverage of the event you and your daughter attended. Didn't she ask you for a baby sister?" Matt asks. Claire and Frank laugh while they shake their heads.
"She did. We couldn't get her off the subject of a sibling. She kind of opened the door for Francis and me to start discussing it."
"So, this baby wasn't a surprise? You planned to have another child?" Matt asks.
"We knew because of our age and her prior miscarriages that we were going to need help getting pregnant," Frank tells the reporter. Claire is grateful her husband is answering this question instead of her. It makes him look more involved with the process.
"Are you worried, Mrs. Vice President, about how you are going to handle two kids and your job at the White House?" Matt asks. Claire furrows her eyebrows at the question.
"Francis isn't going anywhere. He can help me with taking care of our children," Claire responds with a little edge in her voice. She resents the sexist question Matt just asked her.
"Claire and I trade off on certain things with Emily so one of us doesn't feel overwhelmed. We try to split our parenting responsibilities as equally as possible," Frank explains.
What her husband is saying to Matt isn't exactly true. It's something she hasn't approached Frank with quite yet, but she's nervous about how they are going to figure out taking care of two young kids as well as maintaining their roles as President and Vice President. Claire handled most of the parenting with Emily when they first stepped foot in the White House. So much so, that it caused an argument between her and Frank. When they were separated, she took Emily to Dallas instead of leaving her in Washington with her husband. To his credit, Frank has stepped up and tried to make himself more present with Emily ever since they reunited.
"Do you mind if we talk about Emily?" Matt asks. He's broaching the subject with caution, knowing how guarded Frank and Claire are about their daughter.
"In what aspect?" Claire asks. She warned Seth about the constraints surrounding discussing Emily. Matt holds up his hands in an effort to soothe the Vice President.
"I just have a few questions that you can answer if you want. I promise they will be softballs." Claire glances at Frank for his opinion. He rests his hand on her knee, silently agreeing to it.
"Fine," Frank says for him and Claire. Matt flips a page over in his notebook and peruses his questions.
"Prior to that interview I mentioned with Ashleigh Banfield, the two of you never spoke publicly about your daughter. Since then, you've loosened your stance on that. Why?"
Because Ashleigh trapped me in a corner and Francis insisted I do the interview, Claire thinks to herself.
"We still try to limit her media exposure as much as possible," Frank says. "However, now that we are in the White House, we can't shield her from the press altogether. It's just not possible."
Based on Frank's response, Claire can anticipate Matt's next question, so she steps in.
"Plus, our daughter calls herself the Vice, Vice President. I think she enjoys going to events when we feel it's okay for her to attend."
"Do you feel like her stepping into the spotlight more led to her kidnapping last year?" Matt asks, forgetting about his promise to go easy on the Underwoods'. Claire flinches ever-so-slightly while Frank's lips curl into a frown.
"Yes," Frank answers. "We still feel guilty about that, but unfortunately, it's part of what comes with being in the Oval. Thankfully, Emily was returned safely to us and we've revamped our security protocol since then. For all of us."
"How has your daughter reacted to the news of the pregnancy?" Matt asks. He's making a conscious decision not to push Frank and Claire about Emily's kidnapping. He can tell by their reaction to the last question, he's pushing his boundaries again.
Claire breaks into a wide smile, which she directs at her husband.
"She's excited now, but something tells me she's not going to like sharing Francis." Claire reaches over and places her hand on Frank's upper arm. "The two of them are really close."
Frank sits up a little higher on the couch as a grin slides across his lips. He values his relationship with Emily, but he thinks his wife is right. Their daughter isn't going to like when his attention gets diverted to the new baby.
"I think Em will adjust just fine. She's incredibly mature for her age," Frank tells Claire. Claire shoots him a skeptical look. She's already picturing their daughter's first meltdown when Frank isn't immediately available to play with her.
"Mrs. Vice President, are you taking time off to spend time with the baby when it arrives?" Matt asks. Frank watches a lethal look emerge on his wife's face and internally cringes. He's been on the receiving end of that glare too many times throughout their marriage.
"Why aren't you asking my husband these questions too?" Claire asks. She let the other question about juggling two kids slide, but she doesn't want to blindly excuse a pattern of sexist questions—not when she's the most powerful woman in the country.
"Sorry, I should've been clearer. The reason I asked you this question because at a speaking engagement last week, you mentioned a…" Matt pauses to grab another index card, "'roll-out package supporting working mothers.'"
"Francis and I want—"
"Oh no, no, this is all you. I'm just in the background supporting you," Frank interrupts. Claire appreciates and resents his statement. If the bill succeeds, then she will get all the credit, which will immensely boost her electability next term. However, if the bill fails, then the blame will fall solely on her and it will seem as if Frank is distancing himself from her.
"Mandated paid maternity leave is something this country should have, and it doesn't. I would hope this is something women and men of both parties can get behind."
"With all due respect Mrs. Vice President, I don't think this is as simple as you are making it out to be." Claire nods and gives a tiny smile.
"I agree. It's going to be hard to get a paid maternity leave package through a Republican-controlled Congress."
"The two of you have powerful friends that I'm sure can help push this package through," Matt offhandedly mentions.
"Sorry?" Claire asks, pretending to be offended by the question. She's waiting for Matt to bring up the Shepherds', which was their plan all along.
"I didn't mean anything by it. It's no secret the two of you have known Bill and Annette Shepherd for years now. Mrs. Underwood, you went to school with Annette if I'm not mistaken."
Frank and Claire lock eyes with one another before redirecting their attention back to Matt.
"Yes, her and I did go to school together years ago. I'm hoping—especially since Annette is a mother herself—she will publicly support this bill."
"Great, I'm sure we will hear more about that from you soon. I have one final question for you that your daughter wanted me to ask." Matt grabs his notebook that he wrote down Emily's question on. "Do you have any names for my baby sister?"
Frank and Claire chuckle at the reporter actually fulfilling Emily's request.
"No, we haven't thought that far yet. Like we've told our daughter many times, we don't know if we are having a boy or girl," Frank answers for them. Matt nods and shuts off the recorder.
"Thank you for your time." Frank and Claire stand up after seeing the reporter start to collect his belongings. Matt reaches over and shakes both of their hands. "If you don't mind, our photographer would like to take some shots."
Matt doesn't want them to know the photographer already snapped some pictures during the interview and the break they took. Frank checks the time on his phone before he agrees. The interview already ran over their scheduled time.
"We have to do this fast," Frank says. He and Claire have meetings lined up the rest of the afternoon. Also, they both hate having their picture taken.
"Great. Let's go then," The photographer, a tall and lanky man, emerges from behind one of the multiple lights set up in the living room. He instructs Claire to sit down in Frank's spot on the couch and have Frank stand behind her. Matt watches a few test shots and sneaks out of the residence without interrupting. "Mr. President, can you put your hand on your wife's shoulder?"
You flinched. It's like you…recoiled, Claire hears Frank's voice in her ear reminding her of when he confronted her following their portrait session. She silently tells herself where they were then enormously contrasts where they are today in their marriage.
Frank slides his hand down her shoulder, feeling Claire securely grasp it. The photographer guides them into several different poses quickly and exits the White House with his gear in tow.
"I have to get to my meeting," Frank reminds Claire when they are finally alone in the residence.
"So go," Claire tells him while readjusting his tie. She didn't get a chance to before they started taking pictures. Frank narrow his dark brown eyes at her.
"You look like you want to talk to me about something." Frank mentally runs through the interview they just did, looking for ways he unknowingly exposed them. Claire smirks, he knows her too well.
"I do, but we can discuss it later. Go," Claire gently pushes him towards the door. Frank leans over and kisses her cheek.
Unfortunately, Frank doesn't make it back to the residence before Emily. He can hear their daughter asking Claire a barrage of questions as he approaches them.
"Did they take your picture, Mommy?" Emily asks. Claire nods as she cuts Emily's chicken on her plate.
"They did…hey," Claire says to Frank when she spots him. She gestures for him to take a seat, choosing not to comment on his tardiness again.
"Hey Daddy! How did the talking go?" Emily asks. Frank shrugs and accepts a plate from Claire.
"I think it went well. The reporter asked your question. Claire, we will have to talk to Seth about getting an advanced copy." They would be remiss if they didn't see what was written about them before the general public does.
"I agree. I think Seth is already talking to Matt about it. They want to print it in Sunday's magazine."
There's a lull in conversation, which is unusual when they share a meal with Emily. Frank glances at his daughter, who is avoiding eye contact with him.
"Is something on your mind, Em?" Emily takes a long sip of her milk to stall. He recognizes the tactic from his wife, who does the same with wine when she doesn't want to express herself.
"A teacher at school says you don't want the baby and you are going to leave like Mommy did. Is it true? Are you leaving without me, Daddy?"
The raw vulnerability in Emily's voice makes tears spring to Claire's eyes. She clears her throat and turns away from Emily to dab her eyes with a napkin.
"Oh no, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere. Come here," Frank reaches for Emily who is starting to cry. He didn't realize how his demeanor at their announcement in South Carolina came across to the general public, nor did he want it to affect their daughter. "I wouldn't go anywhere without you."
Emily sniffs and moves slightly in Frank's arms to look at him. Her blue eyes narrow at her father.
"You go places without me and Mommy!" Frank laughs at the way his daughter went from sad to defiant in a matter of seconds.
"True, but I always call you, even when I was in the Jordan Valley."
"Hey, I'm so glad to hear from you," Claire says into the phone. She was upset that Frank chose to go to the Jordan Valley instead of sticking to her plan with the United Nations. However, she's willing to put that aside until he comes home—knowing because of how unstable the region is—there's a chance he won't.
"Me too. I tried to call you earlier, but they said you were unavailable." Claire slides into her bed, wondering what her daughter is doing on the other side with her iPad.
"It was the middle of the night here, Francis. How are things going with Petrov?" Frank loudly sighs and balances the phone on his shoulder.
"Not good. He isn't willing to compromise on anything. I think you were right about coming here, sweetheart."
"Well, stick to your guns and give him some time to come around. What you are offering is reasonable. I think Emily wants to talk to you before she's goes to sleep." Claire can picture her husband grinning as she passes the phone.
"Hey Daddy!" Emily exclaims. It's the first time Claire has seen their daughter smile since Frank left the day before.
"Hey Em, are you being good for Mommy?" Frank waves off one of his generals coming into the room. He wants time to talk to his daughter.
"Yup! I help her wif some stuff in your office." He shakes his head at the thought of his wife moving into the Oval while he's away.
"Good."
"Daddy, when you comin' home? I miss you," Emily's voice lowers at the end of her sentence.
"I should be home in a few days. I miss you too. Just keep being good for Mommy and helping us. I love you, Em."
"I love you too, Daddy. Here's Mommy." Emily hands the phone back to Claire and listens while her parents talk.
"Your daddy isn't leaving, Emily. I promise," Claire tells their daughter. She wants to find whoever told her daughter that and make them regret it. Emily's eyes flutter over to Claire's and then back to her father's.
"Em, I know it's hard, but a lot of people say mean and untrue things about me and your mom. You can't let it get to you," Frank says. It's a difficult lesson Emily is going to have to learn over and over again in her life.
"Okay, Daddy. Can I have some ice cream? It will help me feel better." Emily says. Claire and Frank smile at their daughter's attempt to profit from the moment with her father earlier. It's a move either one of them would make as well.
"It will? Did you eat any of your dinner?" Frank asks, looking over at Emily's abandoned plate. Claire gets up and walks over to the freezer, pulling out a carton of ice cream she has stashed away.
"Just for tonight, Emily. I'm craving it anyways. Francis, we are almost out." Claire offhandedly informs her husband. She grabs two bowls and spoons before bringing them over to the table.
"No, I believe you are almost out."
After Emily is put to bed later on, Frank steps out of her room to find his wife sitting at the windowsill with a lit cigarette in her hand.
"You do know you aren't allowed to smoke those, right?" Frank asks, pointing to the cigarette. He sidles up next to her on the windowsill, confiscating the cigarette from her.
"I wasn't smoking it. I was waiting for you." Claire watches Frank inhale with a tinge of envy in her eyes. Smoking with her husband is one of the things she misses most. At least she can be around him when he does it.
"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind?" Frank asks, referring to the conversation they were going to have regarding the interview.
"Why did you sidestep Matt's question about the maternity bill?" The interaction has been playing repeatedly in Claire's mind all afternoon. She wishes it didn't happen the way it did, but it would help if her husband would explain his motive behind it.
"I want you to have all the credit." Claire lifts an eyebrow at his explanation, not entirely believing it.
"Or you want me to have all the blame." Frank shakes his head while tapping the cigarette over the cup.
"No. This will succeed for you, and I will do everything in my power to make it happen."
"What if it doesn't?" Frank's eyebrows shoot together as smoke filters out of his mouth.
"Are you having doubts?" Claire shrugs and moves the cup closer to him.
"Not necessarily, but Matt is right…even if we have Bill and Annette's support, it's not going to be easy moving this bill through. I don't want this," Claire puts her hand on her stomach, "to all be for nothing."
Claire watched Frank struggle with receiving support for his America Works initiative for the majority of his first term. She doesn't have the political capital or time to do the same. If this bill fails, it will be another in a long line of her shortcomings during Frank's administration.
"It won't. My twenty-three years in Congress won't go to waste."
Claire doesn't push back on her husband's statement. Hopefully, with her announcement at the event last week and coverage in the upcoming article, politicians will start to see she's serious about the maternity bill. All she needs is for Annette to not actively campaign against it, which might happen.
"Claire, what Emily said earlier, I didn't mean—" Claire stops him before he can issue an apology.
"I know. It got to me more than I thought it would."
"Me too." She's confident her husband learned his lesson about being more careful regarding how they appear in public, especially given the heartbroken expression on his face when Emily asked him if he was leaving.
"I want to find out who put that idiotic idea into her head," Frank says with a clenched fist. Claire puts her hand over his.
"I have an idea of who it could be. I did some digging while you were putting Emily to bed."
"And?" Claire shoots him a mischievous smirk.
"We can start in the morning. I'm going to bed." She leans over and dusts a kiss to his cheek. Frank drops the cigarette into the cup and trails behind her.
"We can schedule a call with Senator Brooks later today. Oh, by the way, sir, the advanced copy of the New York Times article is here," Seth says to Frank and points to the glossy magazine on the desk. After bartering back and forth with Matt, Seth managed to get his hands on a final version of the article twenty-four hours before it goes to print.
"Good. Have you read it yet?" Frank asks. They don't have much time to relay their edits to Matt before press time tomorrow.
"Just the first few paragraphs. So far, I really like the way he's portraying the two of you…much better than Tom did." Frank hides an eye roll at the mention of Tom Yates' attempt at writing an expose on his and Claire's marriage.
"Does Claire have a copy?" He wants to go over this with her in case she has any notes.
"You have the only one." Seth dismisses himself as Frank is dialing Claire. She hears her phone ring and walks down the hallway to the Oval.
"We are cutting it close, Francis," Claire mentions after he shows her the magazine.
"I know…apparently there was some pushback on even getting this." Claire grabs the magazine and walks over to the couch, sitting up against the lip. Frank lifts up her legs and rests them in his lap.
"I like this picture of us."
Frank's eyes sweep over the picture chosen for the cover. It's a black-and-white photo of the back of him and Claire taken while they were standing next to each other by the window. Claire has her hand on his back and Frank is looking at her and smiling.
"I do too. I'm glad they didn't go with any of the pictures we took afterwards." He thinks those photos looked of them looked too forced. It's better the photographer secretly captured this natural shot.
Claire flips to the spread about them, surprised by all the pictures they didn't know were taken. There's one of Frank whispering in her ear, another one of them looking at each other on the couch and one of Frank holding Emily at a campaign event a few years ago.
"Admittedly, I wasn't sure what to expect when I stepped inside the inner sanctum of the White House. I thought Frank and Claire Underwood would slip into their personas they have capitalized on since launching their respective political careers in South Carolina nearly three decades ago. Instead, I got a workshop in what it means to be the most powerful couple in the United States." Claire reads from the magazine.
"Keep going," Frank says.
"There came a moment during the course of our interview where I asked the President about his seemingly hesitant attitude regarding his wife's pregnancy. Any other politician would've calmly reassured me that the press got it all wrong—he's overjoyed with the impending arrival of his second child. However, President Underwood chose to address his wife rather than me. His hand reached over, gliding it across the Vice President's stomach and admitted that he's terrified he might lose her to a pregnancy-related complication given their advanced age." Claire pauses to clear her throat. "My hand subconsciously reached down to shut of the recorder because I felt like I was intruding on a private moment between them. And that's when I realized what makes the Underwoods' so successful in the arena of American politics: they have this subtle intimacy and stark honesty that only stems from years of being together—personally and professionally. They co-exist in a way where one could simply not thrive without the other. They are President and Vice President. Frank and Claire Underwood. They are truly the most formidable couple Pennsylvania Avenue has ever seen. And that's exactly the way they like it."
Claire sets magazine down in her lap and slides her glasses off. Frank leans over to kiss her, accidentally pressing his hand on her stomach. A grunt escapes her lips, causing Frank to immediately retreat.
"Sorry I didn't mean—"
"Do that again." Claire says.
"What?" Claire clutches Frank's hand and pushes it into the exact spot on her stomach where he just was. Moments later, they feel the tiniest flutter against their conjoined hands.
"Did you feel that?" Claire asks her husband as she lets their hands separate. Frank nods as a grin spreads across his lips.
"I love you," Frank whispers and pinches her cheek. Claire leans forward, softly pecking his lips.
"I love you too." Frank reaches across his wife to grab the magazine they were perusing. He wants to make sure the maternity bill is mentioned.
"Matt quoted you directly about Annette," Frank mentions as he skims the article.
"Good. Now she has no choice but to either publicly support the bill or turn her back on the pregnant Vice President and other women across the country."
"She's going to come after us for this." Claire nods, unfazed by her husband's comment. She grabs the magazine on Frank's lap and starts flipping through it.
"Let her come. When she does we can give her and Bill two options: either they fall in line and release a statement backing the bill or we will bury them." Frank rubs his hands over Claire's bare legs. He loves the way her cerulean eyes sparkle when they are on the cusp of a scheme.
"I don't know whether to be proud or terrified," He tells her while pinching her cheek. "Perhaps both."
A/N 2: Remember when I said this fic is only going to be five chapters? Well, I'm not even close to being done with this yet. I figure if you guys keep reviewing, I'll keep writing. I hope everyone can agree to that. And, please, don't be afraid to throw in ideas. I love hearing from you guys on where you want this fic to go! It really helps, I promise. Thank you for taking the time out of your day for reading this. Please stay safe and healthy!