A/N: Hello! I hope everyone is staying safe, healthy (and sane) during these weird times. Thank you for the lovely reviews left for me. Sorry it's taken me this long to update, I wanted to finish writing my second book first. Please enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter Eight
"Mr. President, your wife is bleeding. We called an ambulance, but you may want to come down here."
Frank's breath catches in his throat. He glances over at Emily absentmindedly eating her afternoon snack. She smiles at him, but he doesn't return the gesture.
"Alright. Tell her I'll be down there momentarily." Frank hangs up the phone without realizing he doesn't have anyone to watch Emily. He can't bring his daughter down to his wife's office—she will only get in the way. However, he can't leave the six-year-old in the residence by herself.
"Hey," Tom Yates says as he comes strolling into the residence. Frank furrows his eyebrows. The writer hasn't been allowed up to their home since he was hired back as their speechwriter. Frank was a lot clearer about setting boundaries—something he failed to do the first time.
"Hi," Frank mutters. Emily waves at Tom from her position on the couch. Tom moves closer to Frank, signaling whatever he's going to say is private.
"Claire sent me up here…to watch Emily," Tom whispers. Frank nods in understanding. His wife figured he would eventually get the message through Tom. He's not thrilled about having the writer babysit their daughter, but he doesn't have a choice.
"I'll call the nanny and have her come over here in a few hours. Thanks, Tom." Frank sincerely says. Tom nods and watches Frank approach Emily, gently kneeling down on the floor to be eye-level with her. "I have to go help your mom. I think she's going to have your brother today."
Emily's cerulean eyes light up and she hastily swallows her cracker. Frank notices the buzz of excitement and immediately shakes his head.
"Let's go!" Emily exclaims.
"No, Em. You are going to stay here with Tom." Emily frowns and glares at her father. "It's going to be long and boring, like my meetings."
"We can watch a movie or something," Tom offers. Admittedly, he doesn't like children nor does he want to be around them too much. He's only doing this as a favor to Frank and Claire to get back on their good side. Hopefully, they will start trusting him more again and let him back into their inner circle instead of sidelining him with mundane speeches to write.
"I have to go. I'll be back later." Frank stamps a kiss to Emily's forehead and gets to his feet. He makes a mental note to have Doug call the nanny to come over to the residence so Tom isn't stuck with Emily all night. He's guessing him and Claire are going to be at the hospital for at least the night.
By the time Frank gets down to Claire's office, everyone has been cleared out expect for her and the White House physician, Dr. Kline. Claire is sitting in her office chair, staring out the window with her hand on her swollen stomach.
"Mr. President," Dr. Kline greets Frank. The woman is about a foot shorter than him and thirty years younger. She gives a nod to Claire and excuses herself to check on the ambulance.
Frank gingerly approaches his wife. He can see a carmine stain through the fabric of her navy dress. She isn't crying, but he can tell under her layers of armor that she's scared.
"Hey," Frank says softly to Claire. She turns to look at him, almost surprised that he's in her office.
"Hi," Claire mumbles. She starts rubbing her stomach with a deep frown. Frank bends down, resting his hand on her arm.
"We can talk about the other thing later," he reminds her. If they are going to weather this crisis, they need to have a temporary armistice. They've done it before when Frank got shot. Whatever was said and done to each other, they can deal with it afterwards.
"Okay." Claire appreciates him being here. She knows how betrayed he felt after she admitted to taking a deal to secure the passing of her maternity bill. It means something that he's willing to swallow the anger for now. She didn't want to have to deliver their child by herself. "Francis?"
"What?" Claire rolls her lips together and clears her throat.
"He isn't moving."
Mere hours ago, Claire was lightly complaining about how active their son is. For her to notice an abrupt stop in movement is more than concerning.
"I'll be right back. Don't…" Frank stops himself from completing his sentence. He quickly exits her office and confers with the doctor and Secret Service to get an estimated time of arrival for the ambulance.
Tom turns off the light to the nursery while Emily is grabbing her doll she got for her birthday to show him. He welcomed himself to a mini tour of the residence, wanting to see what's changed since he's last been up here.
"Look!" Emily demands, holding up her lookalike doll. Tom smiles and Emily follows him into Frank's study. The little girl hasn't seen much of Tom lately. He pops up here and there with her parents at events and occasionally in her mom's office. "My daddy sleeps in there now."
Tom's ears perk up at Emily's offhanded remark. He heard rumblings of a fight between the First Couple earlier today. The writer knows from countless interviews of Frank and Claire that asking them about it would be pointless. He's been around long enough to realize he has to search for context clues if he wants an explanation.
"Why?" Tom asks, although he knows he shouldn't. Claire and Frank would dismiss him again if they knew he was exploiting their daughter for information.
"I don't know. Mommy is tired a lot because of the baby. I think Daddy wants her to sleep," Emily says. She noticed her parents sleeping together in the same bed again, and then they weren't. The little girl is merely regurgitating the excuse her father gave her when she asked a few weeks ago.
"Oh…that makes sense." Tom is still suspicious and is thinking of ways he can slip by Claire's room without Emily noticing.
"Come on, let's go play in my room." Emily grabs Tom's hand and drags him towards her bedroom.
"Here," Frank offers Claire his black blazer to cover herself with as they load her into the ambulance. She outright refused the stretcher, knowing how it would be perceived to their staff. Frank slips it over her shoulders and pinches her cheek. "I'll be behind you in the car."
Claire nods and follows Secret Service and the paramedics out of her office. Frank shoots a quick text to the nanny and leaves his wife's office, stepping into an awaiting vehicle. From what he can gather from Claire, she started bleeding about a half an hour before he was notified. She thought it was her water breaking and didn't want to alarm anyone until she saw the blood. When her meeting was over, she had her executive assistant call the paramedics and her doctor.
When he arrives at the hospital shortly after his wife, Frank is directed to a private room. Claire is in the process of changing into a hospital gown. He watches her take off the dress, wincing at all the blood caked on her inner thighs and down her legs.
"Don't you want to wash that off first?" Frank asks, referring to the blood. Claire shakes her head and motions for him to help tie her gown in the back.
"There's no time. They want to do an emergency ultrasound." Claire's voice sounds detached. She always processes situations internally. It's difficult to assess how she's really feeling.
Frank watches her slip under the flimsy sheet and finds a chair to scoot next to her bed. He gently pushes up her gown so her rounded abdomen is peeking through. His hand skims over it, lightly pushing down on the lower right side where the baby was earlier.
"Anything?" Claire bites her lips and averts his eyes.
"No."
He removes his hand when a nurse comes in with an ultrasound machine. Little words are exchanged as the nurse boots up the machine and puts the probe on Claire's stomach. Frank watches his wife watch the screen. He's afraid they've come this far in her pregnancy just to have the baby taken from them. Claire was secretly looking forward to welcoming their son, while Frank was still trying to remain pragmatic about it. If their fight caused harm or worse to their child, Frank isn't sure Claire will forgive him.
"I'm going to get the doctor," the nurse says to Frank and Claire. The couple each nod and the nurse quietly exits the room. Frank hands his wife a tissue, which Claire refuses.
"The baby is dead, isn't it?" Claire asks Frank in a defeated voice.
"I think so," Frank whispers. There couldn't have been a good reason as to why the nurse fled the room. Claire nods and purses her lips together. She got what she wanted when the votes for her maternity bill were secured, and this is the price she's paying for it. Maybe Annette was right all along—her and Frank weren't meant to have a second child.
Frank reaches over to clasp Claire's hand.
"It's a shame," Claire begins. Frank tilts his head. "After all we've done, this is how it ends."
Frank is interrupted by the doctor coming in with the same nurse as before. The older man grabs the probe sitting on the machine and presses it to Claire's stomach.
"There he is," the doctor states. He turns the screen more so Claire and Frank have a better view. "We need to get him out. Now. He's in distress. I'm having an operating room prepped as we speak."
A ghost of a smile washes over Claire's face. Frank bites back a sigh of relief.
"I'm only thirty-four weeks. Can't this wait six more weeks?" Claire asks. She isn't ready to have the baby today. The doctor puts the probe back and wipes his glasses with the lapel of his lab coat.
"Mrs. Underwood, this can't wait six more hours. If you want your son to survive, we need to do this now."
"I understand," Claire says. Frank squeezes her hand. The doctor stands up and talks quietly to the nurse.
"I need to prep the OR. The surgical team will be by in a moment to start an IV and take you upstairs to the operating room. Mr. President?"
Frank tears his eyes away from Claire to look at the elderly doctor.
"Yes?" Frank questions.
"You should come with me. You are going to want to suit up. You can meet your wife in the operating room in about ten minutes."
"Sure." Frank stamps a kiss to Claire's temple. "I'll see you in there."
"Go." Claire practically pushes him out of the room. There are nurses and other staff waiting to do what's necessary to get her into the operating room. She doesn't want to delay in case the baby doesn't have the luxury of time.
"Here, Mr. President." The same nurse who performed Claire's ultrasound hands him a yellow gown. "It's personal protective equipment. You also need gloves and a mask."
"Thank you." Frank accepts all of the items from the nurse and starts putting them on. The nurse finishes washing her hands and points to the swinging double doors that Frank will eventually walk through.
"Your wife should be ready in about five minutes. Make sure you wash your hands really well."
While Frank is scrubbing his hands, he thinks about the stark contrast this delivery is from Emily's. When Claire was in labor, they were mostly left alone while she battled through contraction after contraction. It was only when Claire was ready to push that the doctor finally came in.
"I think…" Claire lets out a deep breath, "I think it's over." She collapses against the pillows and lets the contraction work its way out of her body. Frank feels her grip on his hand start to loosen.
"Do you want the ice chips or the washcloth?" Frank asks. Throughout this process, he's been torn between being a vocal cheerleader or silent observer—sometimes he's both. When he sees the pain starting to swallow Claire whole, he offers light words of encouragement.
"The washcloth," Claire mumbles. She holds out her hand to accept it but is surprised when her husband lightly blots the sweat off her forehead mostly covered by her blonde bangs. "Do you want to switch?"
Frank chuckles as he shakes his head. His wife is doing better than he ever could.
"I think you have this handled." Claire readjusts the pillows on her bed and glances at the machine monitoring her contractions.
"I did some research on what this would feel like." Frank lifts his eyebrows. They never went to a parenting or birthing class, nor did they have a plan for what would happen during labor. He wanted to leave it up to his wife on how she wanted to give birth. "All of those women were red and sweaty—grunting like animals. They looked…weak. I told myself I wouldn't be one of them."
"And you're not." Frank reminds her. He couldn't imagine Claire on all-fours writhing around in pain. She is stronger than that.
"I know, but this…" Claire shifts in bed and reaches for Frank's hand. "This hurts." She winces and Frank squeezes her hand.
"Luckily, you only have to do this once."
When Frank steps into the operating room, Claire is laying flat. Her blonde bob is secured behind a blue surgical cap. There's a curtain splitting her body in half. Frank momentarily glimpses over, seeing her stomach covered in a dark orange liquid.
A surgical team is already assembling their instruments. Frank is instructed to sit next to Claire. She holds out her IV-ridden hand for him to grab. His wife appears calmer than before, and Frank wonders if she was given something to relax her.
"Hi," Frank says to her. Claire turns her head towards him, a grin pulling at her lips at the sight of her husband gowned up.
"Are you ready, Mrs. Underwood?" the doctor asks Claire. He's holding up his scalpel to show her.
"Yes."
Claire and Frank remain quiet as the surgical team operate behind the curtain.
"Do you want me to look?" Frank asks his wife. Claire shakes her head.
"No. Did Tom come up to babysit Emily?" Frank furrows his eyebrows at the abrupt mention of their daughter.
"He did. I'm sure our daughter is playing the president right now, and he's the speechwriter," Frank mentions. Emily likes to emulate her parents' positions when she plays. Claire smiles at the thought.
"She'll make a good president someday."
It's weird to be making small talk with her husband after the day they've had. They won't apologize to each other, and she still has to find a way to bridge the gap between momentary amnesty and true forgiveness without forfeiting her maternity bill.
"Okay…he's out," the doctor announces. Claire and Frank wait for the tell-tale cry they remember when Emily made her grand entrance into the world. Except this time, they are met with silence. Nothing.
"Why isn't he crying?" Claire asks. She's hoping her voice doesn't betray her inner panic. Frank stands up and sees a team of nurses circling around the baby. "Francis? What do you see?"
"Hold on, sweetheart." The sentiment escapes his lips without him realizing it. He doesn't want to interfere. There's nothing he would be able to do to help their son that the medical professionals aren't trying.
"I need the bag," a male nurse calls out. An Indian nurse pushes him out of the way while the doctor is barking out different commands.
Claire lifts up her head, but the curtain is obstructing her view. She feels a lump form in her throat.
"Come on, he needs air," the doctor barks. Frank and Claire exchange worried glances. The longer their son is without oxygen, the more he's at risk of dying.
Then, out of nowhere, a loud cry fills the room. Claire closes her eyes and lets out a rattling breath. Frank feels his jaw unclench.
"Mr. President, you can come over and cut the cord," the doctor says. Frank slips his hands out of Claire's and walks over to see their child. The baby is a mirror image of him—dark hair, dark eyes. He's crying and swatting at anyone coming within arm's reach.
Frank is handed scissors and is instructed how to cut the umbilical cord. He watches the nurse swaddle the baby and accepts him.
"Claire, look," Frank tells his wife. He hands the baby over to Claire, helping her put the baby on her chest.
"Does he have a name?" The doctor questions. Frank and Claire haven't settled on a name.
"Not yet," Claire says for the both of them. She doesn't want to decide on anything this important until she and Frank can talk things through.
The baby coos against Claire's chest and Frank grins at the sight. He leans forward and stamps a kiss to her lips.
"I love you," Frank whispers. Fighting or not, it doesn't change the way he feels about Claire.
"I love you too," Claire says.
"We need to run some tests on the baby and get you to a room, Mrs. Underwood," the doctor tells the couple. A nurse comes by to collect the baby from Claire.
"I have some calls to make. I'll meet you in the room," Frank tells Claire. He waits until she nods and leaves the operating room.
Frank goes into the hospital lobby with Secret Service to make sure the nanny came to relieve Tom. Then, he calls Seth to release a statement announcing the baby's arrival. People were speculating why an ambulance was called to the White House earlier.
By the time he gets to Claire's room, his wife is in bed, holding the baby.
"Hey," Frank says. Claire looks up and waves her husband in.
"They are letting him stay in here for a little bit." Claire informs him. "He looks like you." Frank sits in a chair by her bed. "Do you want to hold him?" He stands up and leans over to accept the baby from her. Claire moves to the other side to allow Frank to partially sit on the bed next to her.
The two of them sit in silence for a while, looking at their child. Claire gently pushes the blanket down when the baby abruptly moves his arm across his body in an effort to push her away.
"He acts like you too," Claire comments. Frank chuckles and watches their son squirm in his arms. "Francis?"
"Hmm?" He turns to look at his wife, noticing how serious she looks.
"You haven't said a word." Frank shakes his head, knowing what Claire is referring to.
"No." Claire slowly nods her head.
"Where does that leave us?" Frank gently hands their son back to Claire and stands up.
"I'm glad you and the baby are okay." He leans over and kisses her cheek. Claire understands what he didn't say: I'm glad you two are okay, but I don't forgive you.
"I'll see you tomorrow, then? With Emily?" Claire and Frank are eager to begin the process of introducing their daughter to their new son.
"Of course. Call me if you need anything."
It's after midnight when Frank steps into the residence. He sends the nanny home with a little extra cash in a gesture of gratitude for staying later than usual. Then, Frank quietly goes into Emily's room to check on her. The little girl is fast asleep with her bunny tucked under her arm. Frank goes into Claire's bathroom to change into his pajamas and then falls asleep in her bed.
"Daddy! Wake up!" Emily exclaims the next morning. She ran into her mom's room hoping to see her and the baby. Unfortunately, the only person there was her dad, snoring into the pillow.
"Em," Frank groans. He tries to throw the blanket over his head, but his daughter stops him. Emily is bouncing next to him, holding her bunny.
"Daddy, you are the president. You need to wake up," Emily reminds him in a tone that mirrors her mother's. Frank shoots Emily a glare and rolls over so he's facing her in bed.
"You are correct. I am awake."
"Where's Mommy? Did she have the baby?" Emily asks. She cranes her neck to double check that her mother isn't in the bathroom.
"She did. He came last night. They need to stay at the hospital for a few days because your mom had surgery and the doctors' want to make sure your brother is healthy before he comes home."
Emily frowns at the mention of her mother and brother being absent. She thought they would be home right away.
"So…I won't get to see them?" Emily asks. Her face transforms into a cherubic expression that gets Frank every time.
"We can see them when you get home from school today. I'll pick you up and we can go to the hospital." Emily beams at the thought. "Get going. I have a lot of work to do and you can't be late."
Emily scampers into her bedroom to throw on her school uniform. Frank gets himself dressed and they meet in the kitchen for breakfast. He watches Secret Service leave with his daughter and then heads to the Oval as usual.
"Em, remember, you have to be careful. You can't hold your brother by yourself unless your mom or I are right next to you. Okay?" Frank reminds Emily. They are in the elevator heading up to Claire's room. Claire texted him that their son did well overnight and is allowed longer stays in her room.
"I got it," Emily affirms. Frank is secretly anxious regarding how this meeting is going to go. Emily has been the center of attention for six years. Today, that changes. The little girl will have to get used to sharing her parents—especially her father.
When Frank and Emily step off the elevator, they can see Claire through the glass wall of her hospital room. She has her back to them and is hunched over with her fists on the bed. Frank frowns and glances down at Emily. The little girl hasn't noticed yet, which buys Frank time.
"Em, I need to go see if your mom is okay. Stay out here with the agents, and don't go anywhere." Frank gives a clipped nod to the agents accompanying them and walks into Claire's room. He slides open the door and winces at the agonizing look on his wife's face. "Are you in a lot of pain?"
Claire sighs when she senses his hand on her back. She nods slightly and allows him to help her carefully sit down on the bed.
"I went for a walk and I think I overdid it," Claire admits. The doctor told her that walking will help heal her faster.
"I don't see any blood," Frank tells her. With her permission, he carefully lifts her gown to confirm none of her stitches have been pulled.
"Is Emily here?" Claire asks.
"She's right outside. Where's the baby?" Frank asks. Claire gestures to the bassinette on the other side of her bed.
"He's sleeping, so I went for a quick walk." Without work to keep her occupied, Claire's been going a little stir-crazy while she waits to be released. She's been trying to walk while the baby sleeps.
"I'll get our girl," Frank says. He wants to get this over with so he can go back to the White House. Since he was absent for most of the afternoon yesterday, the work piled up. Claire reaches over to extract the baby from the bassinette.
"Hi!" Emily exclaims when she walks into the room with her father behind her. She races over to the bed and hops into the chair her dad was sitting in the day before. "Mommy, he looks like me!"
"I think he looks like your dad, too," Claire comments. Emily leans over to stare at her brother. She frowns at the baby sleeping in Claire's arms.
"He's not doing anything," Emily states. Frank laughs at whatever his daughter had pictured in her mind regarding the baby. "What's his name?"
"We don't know yet," Frank answers. He's standing behind Emily, creating some distance between him and Claire. Truthfully, he wouldn't be here if it weren't for their daughter wanting to meet the new baby.
"What?" Emily asks in disbelief. "Why not?"
Claire skims her teeth over her bottom lip. She isn't going to tell Emily the real reason—her and Frank are fighting, and they haven't quite made up yet.
"We haven't picked one we liked yet," Frank explains. Emily frowns and moves to sit next to Claire in order to get a better view of her brother.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Claire asks. She doesn't want her daughter to feel left out. A lot has changed in a short amount of time for their family.
Emily taps her chin and looks down at the baby. She tilts her head and shrugs her shoulders. Frank moves closer to sit in the unoccupied seat by Claire.
"No. When he is going to do something?" Emily asks. Frank laughs at the hint of boredom in Emily's voice. This offers him the perfect excuse to leave.
"Okay…Em, let's go," Frank suggests. Emily was expecting an immediate playmate. Instead, she got a sleeping baby that didn't hold her attention.
Emily gives her mom a gentle hug goodbye, waves to the baby and goes over to stand by her father.
"Did they say when you are coming home?" Frank asks Claire.
"A few days. I'll let you know," Claire offers. Frank nods and turns to leave, but Emily yanks on his blazer.
"You didn't say goodbye," Emily says. She points to her mom and brother. Frank internally rolls his eyes and walks over to his wife, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Claire smirks at how pleased Emily looks with herself.
Four days later, Frank is holding the baby while Claire is gathering what little stuff she brought to the hospital with her. She had Frank bring her a new outfit and disposed of the blood-soaked dress she came to the hospital in. Frank hasn't been by to visit since he brought Emily a few days ago.
"Do you have everything?" Frank asks while still looking at the baby.
"Yes." Claire manages a meager smile at how distracted her husband is by their son. She approaches him and rests a hand on his shoulder. He carefully hands the baby back to her and points to the wheelchair the nurse had sent up to Claire's room.
"I think you are supposed to sit in that," Frank tells her. Claire frowns at the thought of being wheeled out of the hospital. "We are going out the back so nobody will see you."
"Fine." Claire concedes and sits in the wheelchair while holding the baby. Frank walks next to her while one of the agents push her in the chair.
When they get back to the residence, Claire takes a shower and puts the baby down for a nap. Frank goes back to the Oval. He frowns at the stack of papers building up on his desk. With Claire on a "soft" maternity leave for the next month or so, he has to rely on their speaker of the house to step up in order to alleviate the workload. Claire will still attend important meetings at her discretion.
"What is this?" Frank asks Seth an hour later. He's holding up a piece of paper that he's skimmed before calling in his communications director.
"It's your remarks your wife had me draw up to endorse Jacobs' drilling bill…" Seth's voice trails off when he sees how enraged Frank is becoming. "She didn't tell you?" The communications director isn't used to the president and vice president not being on the same page about something.
"No." Frank snatches up the piece of paper and storms out of the Oval. He stomps up the stairs to the residence, frantically looking for his wife. Claire is sitting on the couch, attempting to the feed the baby with her laptop resting on the table across from her. "What the hell is this?"
Claire grabs the piece of paper from her husband with her free hand. His balled-up fist and lip biting are indications as to how angry Frank is with her.
"What does it look like?" Frank glares at her. He's trying not to yell so he won't scare the baby.
"I told you, I wasn't comfortable with this. I'm not doing it, Claire." Claire raises her eyebrows at her husband.
"Francis, you have to!" Frank whips around to face her.
"This was your deal. This is your sword to fall on. Not. Mine." He draws out every word and glances down at their son with his eyes half-closed drinking from the bottle.
"The endorsement would mean more coming from you." Claire hopes Frank interprets that exactly how she meant it: he's the president and he has more power than her. He made it abundantly clear how he perceives their power dynamic during their fight—and she hasn't forgotten.
"Find another way," Frank tells her and starts to walk away. Claire holds her hand out, effectively stopping him.
"I can't. The vote is the day after tomorrow." The vote was supposed to be the day after Claire gave birth, but as a courtesy to the First Couple, the House rescheduled it to give them some time to regroup. "If you don't do what you have to do, for us, then Jacobs' pulls his votes and the maternity bill will die in the House. I put too much work into the bill to see it fail. We both have." Frank and Claire momentarily stare each other down, waiting for the other to give in.
Claire is asking Frank to put his anger towards her aside and look at the bigger picture. Frank thinks by doing that, it means he forgives her—which he certainly doesn't.
"I'll think about it."
"Francis." Her voice is filled with exasperation. Her stubborn husband would let their months of tireless work go to waste to prove a point.
"I said I'll think about it." Frank exits the residence without another word. Claire lets him go. They are going to be in an endless state of conflict until Claire can provide an amicable solution that will achieve both of their goals.
"I hope you don't get your daddy's stubbornness," Claire whispers to the baby. She reaches over to pick up her cellphone and dial Doug.
"Yes?" Doug asks.
"Doug, it's me. I need you to dig up what you can on Senator Jacobs'. Thanks." Claire hangs up the phone and finishes feeding the baby.
The next day, Claire invites herself into the Oval Office. Frank is preoccupied with speaking to someone on the phone. She sits in a chair across from his desk and waits for him to finish talking. They haven't seen much of each other since their second fight. He came back to the residence after she fell asleep and they traded off waking up with the baby, so they didn't have to run into one another.
Frank frowns at Claire sitting at his desk. He doesn't feel the need to talk to her because he's aware of why she came down to see him. Claire realizes he's running out the clock on Jacobs' endorsement, and is going to yell at him for it.
"Hi," Frank says. "Where's the baby?" Claire taps the file she's holding in her hand on the edge of his desk.
"With the nanny. I needed to get some things done in my office."
"Why are you in mine then?" Frank doesn't care that he sounds less-than-inviting.
"Because I have a compromise I think you will be open to hearing."
No matter what, Claire will not apologize for striking a deal that will secure the passing of her bill. However, she doesn't want the chasm she caused between her and Frank to grow wider. They need to focus on their son and finishing out Frank's presidency in a way that will help her secure the nomination next cycle. They won't be able to do that if they are constantly at odds with each other.
"Okay…I'm listening." Claire hands him the file Doug was able to collect on Jacobs' in the short amount of time she gave him. Frank puts his glasses on and peruses it. His chocolate eyes widen slightly at what he is reading. "You're sure about this?"
"I trust Doug. This will give us the out that we want." Frank flips over a piece of paper.
"His family's oil refinery is being investigated by the FBI?" Frank asks in shock. Claire nods.
"For all kinds of things: fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering. That's why he's been shoving his drilling bill down everyone's throats. If it passes, it promises a fivefold profit that will get them out of debt."
"But if it doesn't…" Frank muses. "This is good, Claire. I can use this." He offers her a genuine smile that she returns. "I'm still not endorsing his bill. I can't…especially now." Frank holds his hand up to Claire's objections. She pauses and thinks about the ramifications for them.
"There's no guarantee that he will still vote for the maternity bill, Francis."
"We give him two choices: either he lets his bill die in favor of ours, or I will see to it that the full power of the FBI charges him with anything and everything they can think of."
Claire smirks at the thought of her husband talking to Jacobs'—laying out what they know and giving him options that really aren't options at all.
"The vote is tomorrow. You need to get a meeting on the books right away." Claire stands up and leaves the file with him.
"I'll have Doug reach out." Claire pauses near the door of the Oval.
"Why are you so against Jacobs' bill by the way?" Frank leans back in his desk chair.
"Because I hate the son of a bitch." Claire shakes her head and approaches her husband's desk, leaning on it.
"That happened over six years ago, Francis. You need to get over it." Claire didn't think of Jacobs' drunkenly making a passing at her while she was pregnant with Emily until now. Frank was not too pleased when Jacobs' hands landed on her ass in front of members of Congress and half of the Senate at a fundraiser. Not only did Frank see Claire cutting a deal behind his back as a sign of betrayal, but she did it with someone he despises.
"I appreciate you…looking into this for me," Frank softly admits. Claire didn't have to potentially ruin her chances of letting her bill pass, but she did it as a gesture of goodwill.
"Of course. It's us against them, remember?" Frank watches Claire gently squeeze his hand. "Let me know how it goes."
"Hold your arm a little higher, Emily," Claire instructs. Emily is holding her brother for the first time.
"Like this?" Emily asks. She hoists her arm up, allowing the baby's head to be more at an angle.
"Yes…you won't break him, honey." Claire swallows her laughter at how nervous her daughter looks holding the baby. Emily relaxes the tiniest bit as Frank walks into the living room. "How did it go?"
Emily points down to her brother resting contently in her arms. Frank winks at her and slips off his blazer.
"Good. He won't push for an endorsement. I think I made it abundantly clear what would happen if he did." Claire gives a half-nod.
"You made sure he's still going to deliver the votes though, right?" Frank gives her a sideways glance.
"Yes. The bill will pass tomorrow, as promised." Claire lets out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Francis." He glides his hand down her arm, watching a smile bloom on her lips.
"Ew!" Emily exclaims.
"What?" Claire asks their daughter. Emily practically thrusts the baby at Claire.
"The baby threw up on me! Daddy, you have to take Sam back!" Frank furrows his eyebrows at Emily assigning a name to their son.
"Sam?" Frank asks Claire. Claire shrugs and accepts the baby back from Emily.
"I thought about it the other day and mentioned it in front of Emily. What do you think?"
Claire and Frank didn't pour over names in a baby book like other expecting couples. If one of them thought of a name, they would suggest it and see if the other person likes it or not. They did the same with naming Emily.
"I like it…Sam…Samuel." Frank mulls the name over in his head. He doesn't have a strong opinion on their son's name—as long as he isn't named after his father, Calvin.
"Samuel Francis Underwood. It sounds presidential…don't you think?" Claire asks.
Their daughter's middle name is after Claire's and she wanted to continue the tradition with their son.
"I think it does," Frank agrees. He reaches over to gently skim his fingertip over Sam's cheek.
"Good…I'll put it on the birth certificate tomorrow."
Claire sits on the couch and deposits Sam in a bouncy seat. Frank sits next to his wife while Emily goes to change into her pajamas.
"You do realize that this is only the first step right? The bill has to pass in the Senate, and Annette can still prevent that from happening." Frank gently reminds her. He thinks she's celebrating prematurely. Claire rests her head on her shoulder while looking at Sam slowly drifting off to sleep.
"I'm expecting that. It doesn't worry me."
A/N I thought about ending it here, but I still have a few more chapters left in me. Next, I jump ahead a little bit. (Sorry, babies are incrediblyboring to write.) Claire and Frank are going to be really struggling with being parents again and vice president/president. I think that will be fun to explore. Thanks for reading and don't hesitate to leave your thoughts and suggestions on the way out!