A/N: Hi! I promise I haven't forgotten about this fic. I don't really have anything new to say—besides the usual. Thank you for all the lovely reviews and ideas on this chapter and previous ones. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these weird times. Hopefully, this chapter helps brighten your day.
Chapter Nine
"Well…no…I do get where you are coming from Senator," Frank says into the phone while rolling his eyes. He's halfheartedly trying to persuade a conservative senator to help pass Claire's maternity bill. So far, the bill successfully made it through the House. In a few short weeks, the bill will once again be put to a vote in a mostly Republican-controlled Senate.
"Listen, Mr. President, I understand what your wife is attempting to do with this bill, but the funding to these women groups sends the wrong message to my constituents. I'm sure you can understand." Unfortunately, Frank does. He's been in this similar position too many times to count during his tenure in Congress. It would help immensely if Claire were on this phone call like she was supposed to be to help address this senator's concerns. "Where is the vice president anyway?"
Great question, Frank thinks to himself.
"She got tied up with another meeting this morning," Frank lies. "Look, Bill, there's got to be an amicable solution here. What would make you want to vote yes on this?"
"Simply put Mr. President, we would need the money to be reallocated to another area. The twelve-week family leave term can stay, but for me and my committee to even consider voting yes, the funding can't be tied to these welfare-like groups."
"I think we can work together on this, Bill. Let me talk to Claire and we will set up a meeting sometime soon. Thank you." Frank exchanges pleasantries and hangs up.
Claire won't be happy that he partly agreed to gutting some of the funding, but he's told her time-and-time again to not expect to get everything she asked for. If it takes some sacrifice on their part, she needs to be open to hearing what the other side wants.
Frank presses his finger on the intercom button of his phone, connecting it to one of his many assistants.
"Has the vice president gotten in yet?" Frank asks.
"No, sir. We will send her to your office when she arrives," a female voice says on the other end.
"Thank you."
Frank walks over to his old voting board Claire managed to find for him. Annette Shepherd has slowly been poaching various senators and turning them against Frank and Claire. They need to come up with more of a comprehensive strategy if they want the bill to pass.
After several meetings, Frank still hasn't heard anything from Claire. He pushes back one of his briefings and walks upstairs to the residence. Claire is working from the couch with Sam sleeping on her chest.
"Hey, where have you been?" Frank asks. He leans over and kisses her cheek before running his hand down Sam's back. His son stirs, moving his head deeper into the curve of Claire's neck.
"Here. Why?" Frank moves some files and sits down next to her on the couch.
"You didn't call into that meeting with Bill earlier."
"I know. I figured you could handle it. Sam threw up all over me right before the meeting was supposed to start. I think he's sick, Francis." Frank reaches out and feels the baby's forehead with the back of his hand.
"Where's the nanny?" Frank asks. Now that Sam is almost four months old, Claire has gone back to working full days and relieving the nanny shortly before dinner.
"I think she's the one who gave this to him. How did it go?" Frank leans back into the couch cushions.
"Not good. Bill doesn't want the funding to go to 'women's groups.'" Claire frowns at Frank's explanation.
"Did you tell him the money is going to research and impact studies?" Based on Frank's expression, Claire would guess he didn't convey the message.
"It doesn't matter, Claire. I told him we would be open to having a discussion about…" Frank trails off as Claire is shaking her head. "Look, sweetheart, this bill will not succeed without Republicans on our side. We have to be willing to give them something they can live with."
"I'll talk to Bill."
Emily bounces into the living room a minute later, cutting their mini-argument short.
"Hey Daddy!" Emily exclaims. She glances briefly at her mother holding her brother and offers a tiny smile. For the most part, Emily has been hot-and-cold with the baby. Some days, Sam has Emily's full attention and she wants to help however she can. Others, she could care less about her sibling, and asks her father to send him back.
"Keep your voice down, Emily. Your brother is sleeping," Claire reminds her daughter. Emily glares at Claire. Frank notices the gesture and shoots the six-year-old a warning look. He tries to take Emily off Claire's hands whenever he can—which is not often. Frank's been trying to shoulder the workload of the president and vice president since Sam's been born.
"Em, do as your mother says," Frank gently reminds her. Emily has been more defiant lately, choosing to teeter on the edge of what Claire and Frank deem acceptable behavior. She's smart enough to know when to rein it in so she doesn't get into too much trouble with her parents.
"Fine. Daddy, can I come to the Oval with you?" Emily asks while batting her eyelashes. Frank gives a sideways look to Claire who shrugs. It's up to him whether he wants to keep breaking their rule of not letting Emily interfere with their work.
"Not today, Em. I have too much work to do. You can come right after school for a little bit soon." Frank comprehends this is a weird transition time for their family, and it's starting to affect Emily. He would rather hang out with their daughter then with the baby. Claire is better equipped to handle Sam than him.
"Go get your homework done and you can help me with dinner." Claire tells Emily. She wants to speak to Frank alone before he runs off to the Oval again. Emily scampers off to her bedroom and shuts the door behind her. "I don't like the way she's been acting lately."
"Claire, she had our full attention for six years. It's going to take some time for her to adjust."
"Francis…" her voice trails off. Frank raises his eyebrows, knowing his wife needs to get something off her chest.
"What?" Claire lifts Sam higher on her shoulder and brushes a kiss to his forehead.
"Nothing. I forgot what I was going to say. Let me know if I need to speak to Bill personally." Frank's eyebrows shoot together at Claire's abrupt attempt at redirecting their conversation.
"I'll be home after dinner."
Claire watches Frank leave with a heavy sigh. She gently puts Sam in his baby seat and grabs her phone off the armrest of the couch.
Later that night, when Frank gets back to the residence, the lights to the kitchen and living room are turned off. He deposits his briefcase and blazer on the recliner and walks across the hall. Claire is hovering outside of Emily's room. He comes up behind her, gently resting his hand on her shoulder. Claire almost immediately steps out of the gesture. Frank drops his hand to his side.
"Emily's been trying to play with Sam for the past hour," Claire whispers to her husband. "I think she's supposed to be you, and Sam is supposed to be me."
Frank and Claire watch Emily talk to Sam about a bill, using snippets of past conversations she's overheard between her parents. The six-year-old notices her parents watching her and scowls.
"Sam isn't playing with me," Emily complains.
"Honey, Sam is too little to be a good playmate. All he wants to do right now is chew on things," Claire patiently explains. She's had this conversation with Emily a few times. It's still not clicking for the little girl.
"Fine, I'll go to the Oval and he can stay home with the kids. Like you do, Mommy." Frank sees Claire stiffen beside him. He can tell Emily's comment impacted her more than it should—although he's not sure why.
"Em, I think it's time for your bath." Frank watches Claire wordlessly scoop Sam up and disappear into her bedroom. Emily quickly undresses and gets herself into the tub without her father's help.
Meanwhile, Claire is feeding Sam his nighttime bottle and giving him some medication before he goes down for a few hours. She can't shake Emily's remark earlier. Of course her daughter didn't mean anything by it, but Claire's uncomfortable with the way Emily perceives her and Frank's dynamic.
She wants Emily to see her as the vice president—someone who spearheads a maternity bill through Congress—not someone who merely 'stays at home with the kids.' Claire refuses to be a stay-at-home mother. Lately, she's been struggling to find a balance between work and home. Mostly due to the fact that her husband is always at work, which forces her to be at home.
Frank pokes his head into Claire's bedroom after Emily is asleep. Despite the baby being born four months ago, he hasn't slept in his wife's bed again since she asked him to sleep in the study when she was pregnant. He notices the throw pillows are still sitting on what used to be his side of the bed.
"I think you should sleep in the study again tonight, Francis," Claire tells him.
"It's been more than five months, Claire." Frank doesn't want to push, but he wants to hear her reasoning behind it.
"Sam's fever is still pretty high. He's going to be fussy all night." Frank grunts. What his wife is saying is partially true—it's just not the full explanation.
"Hmmm…" Frank mumbles. Claire looks at him over the rim of her reading glasses. "Last time, you were the one who was sick."
Claire absorbs her husband's comment for the dig that it was. They've been off these past few months. She's been silently punishing him for not helping out more with Sam, and he's been doing the same because she isn't fully on-point with the maternity bill. What they don't realize is, one won't work without the other. Their marriage will continue to recede until they reach a compromise. Like it did the last time.
"Goodnight, Francis."
"Goodnight."
Frank walks out of her bedroom and into his study, roughly shutting the door behind him. Claire momentarily considers going after her husband. She promised herself she would talk to him instead of not letting him sleep beside her—something she didn't do before their separation.
Frank comes into her bedroom asking her to review his remarks on America Works, a new jobs program he's trying to create. She makes some revisions prior to voicing her concerns about her newfound position as ambassador to the United Nations.
"The resolution?" Frank asks. He stands next to her while she's laying with her feet outstretched on her bed.
"Just some last-minute hand-holding, but I think we'll get there." Frank sits on the edge of the bed, his legs brushing up against hers.
"I have complete confidence in you." He gently rubs her thigh. "Do you like this room?"
"It's fine." Claire takes off her glasses. She has a feeling as to where this conversation is headed. Frank has not-so-subtlety hinted at his desire to sleep in the same bed as her since they got into the White House. She's been hesitant–and she's not sure why.
"You know, I haven't spent the night here yet. Maybe I could—"
"My plane leaves at seven and I promised Emily I would see her before I leave. I should probably get some sleep." Frank nods, having received the message.
"You watch the news tomorrow. Should be fun." Frank stands up, wanting to create some distance between him and Claire.
"I will."
"Goodnight." Claire closes her glasses slowly as she watches him leave.
The next day, Frank is being briefed by the Joint Chiefs when his cellphone buzzes in his pocket. He extracts it and slides his glasses on. It's a text from Claire. Need you, now.
"Excuse me…" Frank says without realizing it. The older woman speaking immediately stops and everyone turns to the president. "I'm sorry, we are going to have to reschedule. Something just came up."
The Joint Chiefs file out without any pushback. Frank scoops his blazer off the chair and quickly heads up to the residence. Claire is already waiting for him in the living room, looking slightly more put-together than he has seen lately. She's wearing a black pencil skirt with a white button-up dress shirt instead of the silk pajama sets she wears around the residence.
"Hey, I came as soon as I could. Is Sam alright?" He's assuming her text had something to do with their son, who has been running a fever since yesterday. Claire nods and holds out her arm so he can help her with securing a watch on her wrist.
"He's fine. The fever is still there, but it's low-grade." Frank tilts his head. He's confused as to the urgent text from his wife. "I have a meeting I need to go to. I need you to stay here for a bit."
"Where's the nanny?"
"Still sick, I think." Frank hands Claire a piece of paper that fell from one of her folders.
"Claire, I can't just push back my afternoon at a moment's notice." Claire doesn't seem to hear him as she gathers up her remaining files.
"Well, I can't not go to this meeting." Frank reaches to place his hands on her shoulders.
"Is it Bill? I can go for you instead." Claire looks insulted at the suggestion.
"No, it's with another Republican. I can handle a simple meeting, Francis."
"I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't, Claire." What is going on with you? Frank asks himself. He wants to ask her that question, but neither of them have the time to get into it.
She leans forward and stamps a feeble kiss to his cheek.
"There is a bottle in the fridge. He should be up soon." Claire yells over her shoulder as she leaves the residence. Frank yanks his tie off his collar and tosses it on the couch.
Not more than thirty minutes later, Frank hears Sam stir from his bassinet in Claire's bedroom. He quickly wraps up his call with Doug and goes into the bedroom. Admittedly, he hasn't spent much one-on-one time with Sam since he's been born.
"Hey," Frank says to Sam as he carefully lifts him into his arms. The baby coos and Frank brings him out into the living room to feed him. It's been a while since he's taken care of a baby. He thought he and Claire were done with this phase after they had Emily. Sadly, he was wrong.
Emily comes home from school a little while later and joins her father on the couch after grabbing her snack. Frank is holding Sam as he drifts off to sleep while skimming some documents.
"Hey Daddy," Emily says. She offers him a cracker, which Frank declines.
"Hey Em, how was school?" Emily shrugs and shoves a peanut butter cracker into her mouth. She glances over at Sam, dropping a kiss on the crown of his head.
"Where's Mommy?"
"She's at a meeting." Emily drops her head on her father's arm, given the other arm is occupied by her brother.
"Sam looks like you, Daddy," Emily mumbles. Frank glances down at his son. Claire had the same observation shortly after their son was born.
"You look like your mom. You're lucky. She's beautiful." Frank tells his daughter.
"Not my hair!" Emily objects while lightly tugging on her brown ponytail.
"Your mom had long, dark hair when I first met her," Frank argues back.
Claire comes back from her meeting to find Frank holding Sam while talking softly with Emily. She smiles to herself at the sight. Even though her husband claims to hate children, he's a natural at being a father. They both worried about it—she, when she was pregnant with Emily, and him when she was pregnant with Sam—but they are doing the best they can with two kids. They are struggling with how to co-exist with each other.
"Mommy, Daddy said you had dark hair, but I think he's wrong," Emily says. Claire leaves her files on the dining room table and walks over to the couch. She sits on the other side of Emily instead of by her husband.
"I did. Remember when your dad and I got married again and I had brown hair?" Emily nods. She missed the connection as to why Claire dyed her hair dark around that time.
"How did your meeting go?" Frank asks Claire.
"It was fine. I'm going to start dinner. You can go back to the Oval now if you want." Do you want me to go? Frank asks himself.
"Can I come with, Daddy?" Emily inquires. Frank gently sets Sam down in a nearby baby seat. He remembers he did promise the six-year-old she can hang out in his office for a little bit.
"Sure. Is that okay, Claire?" Frank asks his wife.
"Of course. Have fun," Claire directs her comment more at Emily than at Frank. Frank tracks her with his eyes as she picks up Sam and goes into her room, shutting the door behind her.
When Frank and Emily come back, they have a quick dinner before Claire puts the six-year-old to bed. Frank doesn't even bother to ask if he can sleep in her room tonight, he assumes it's already a lost cause. She's acting incredibly similar to how she did right before she left him—and he's not okay with it. His wife insisted they will not survive if they regress into old habits, but she's the one who is pulling away. He's not sure if it's because she's stressed out about the bill, the nanny being sick, or both. Regardless, he doesn't want them to be in this weird state with each other for much longer.
"Sir, I think you need to look at this," Seth tells Frank during their morning briefing. Seth hands Frank a file with a printed article in it. Frank opens it to find a horribly doctored photo of his wife, looking disheveled. There's a visible stain on her eggshell-colored blouse, her usually-styled blonde bob is unkempt, and her makeup is smudged. She appears to be holding something, but it's not Sam as the caption claims. Frank knows his wife well enough to know she wouldn't allow herself to be photographed like this public.
"Where did you get this?" Frank asks. He crumples it into a ball and throws it in the trash.
"It was emailed to my office by an anonymous account. They want to run it. Tomorrow." Frank bites his lip.
"Of course they want to run it. Where's Claire?" As if on cue, Doug comes in with Claire as she's perusing the article.
"Francis, what is this?" Claire asks. She's gripping the sheet of paper in a balled-up fist. Frank is surprised to see her this angry. Usually, she doesn't let trivial things like this bother her. He reaches over and skims his hand up her back. She leans into his touch instead of recoil away from it like she did yesterday.
"We are shutting it down, don't worry," Frank says to her.
"Where did this come from?" Claire directs her question to Seth and Doug.
"We don't know. We are in the process of trying to figure that out." Doug explains. Claire aimlessly tosses the article towards Frank's trash can. Frank dismisses Seth and Doug so he can talk to Claire privately before their meeting.
"Why are you so upset about this?" Frank asks. Claire averts his gaze. She doesn't have the words to explain how sensitive and exhausted she feels. Her husband wouldn't understand even if she tried.
"We have a meeting to get to," Claire says. Frank drops his hands from her shoulders. Claire walks away from him, towards the door of the Oval.
"Claire," Claire turns at the sound of her husband's voice.
"What?"
"I won't allow you to shut me out again. We are better than this."
"I know. We can talk tonight." Frank swears softly when Claire closes the door behind her.
Frank is the first one to arrive at their meeting with Bill. The senator from Georgia is already waiting in the empty conference room.
"Sir," Bill extends his hand for Frank to shake. Frank obliges and sits in a chair across from him. "Is your wife joining us?"
"She should be here any moment." Frank hopes he isn't lying. Claire has already blown off the younger senator once.
"Mrs. Vice President," Bill says as Claire steps into the room. Frank pushes out a chair for her next to him for her to sit in. Claire shakes the senator's hand and sits next to her husband. "How are you?"
Frank and Claire exchange confused glances. The senator doesn't know them well enough to inquire about their wellbeing.
"Sorry?" Claire asks. The senator smirks and loosens his maroon tie.
"The article…it says you are overwhelmed. Given that you failed to show up at our meeting the other day, I was starting to wonder about your—"
"I'm going to stop you right there," Frank interrupts. "Don't disrespect my wife in front of me." The senator holds up his hands, but neither Frank nor Claire are buying his attempt at backpedaling.
"It was Annette, wasn't it? She was the one who fed you the article about my 'inability to cope with my two children.'" Claire says. The blush rising on Bill's neck is a key indicator that Claire's hunch is correct.
"What is she offering you?" Frank asks Bill. The senator rolls his lips together while weighing his options. Making an enemy out of the two most powerful people in this country doesn't seem to be a wise political move if he wants to rise in the ranks.
"She said she could help me get a stimulus package through for my home district. Jobs, infrastructure, tax cuts, you name it. All I had to do was push back on the funding for your bill and help prop up that article."
"What if we can accomplish two things at once?" Claire asks. Frank leans back and lets her work the senator.
"I'm listening," Bill says.
"We reallocate some of the funds as promised. We can help you get your stimulus package through in ways that Annette can't. All you have to do is kill the article and convince your colleagues to vote 'yes' on my bill." Claire's taking her husband's advice and willing to give a little on her terms of the maternity bill.
"I want the funds publicly moved away from Planned Parenthood. Other than that, I think we have a deal," Bill says to Claire.
"We have a deal." The three of them stand up to shake hands. Bill leaves the Underwoods' alone. Claire brushes past Frank, putting her hand on his wrist as she exits the conference room. She appreciates him standing up for as well as letting her negotiate the terms of her bill. He could've easily asserted his power as president and chose not to.
"No, I don't want chicken!" Emily exclaims. Claire is trying to feed herself, Sam, and Emily at the same time. Frank got trapped in a late-night meeting and couldn't come home for dinner.
"Emily, I asked you what you wanted to eat." The six-year-old crosses her arms over her chest. Claire has had enough of her daughter's attitude. "I'm not making you anything else."
Claire watches Emily stubbornly shove a bite of chicken in her mouth. Claire finishes feeding Sam his bottle and starts burping him.
"When's Daddy coming home?" Emily asks.
"I don't know, honey. Probably after you are done with your bath."
"I don't want to take a bath tonight." Claire presses her free hand into her cheek. She doesn't have patience for her daughter's sudden rebellious streak. Hopefully, this is just a phase Emily will grow out of.
"If you don't finish your dinner and take a bath, you are not going to the Oval the next time Daddy asks. And Ian is not coming over for a while."
Emily's mouth flips open to argue, but she decides against it. She begrudgingly clears her plate and heads into her bedroom to get ready for her bath. Claire puts Sam in his basinet, so she can focus her attention on her six-year-old.
"Okay, get dressed. I'll be back in a minute to read you a story," Claire tells Emily after her bath. For the first time tonight, Emily doesn't object. Claire goes to the back staircase of the residence they hardly use unless it's to have a discreet meeting.
Claire sits down on the top stair just as a sob bubbles up her throat and out of her mouth. Frank breezes through the residence while Emily pokes her head out of her room.
"Where's your mom?" Frank asks Emily.
"I don't know. I want her to read me a story."
"Alright. I'll be right back. Watch your brother."
Frank confirms Claire's bedroom is empty, as is his study and the kitchen. He can hear someone crying on the back staircase and knows right away it's his wife.
Claire hears her husband's footsteps coming towards her and quickly wipes her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Frank asks when he sees her. Claire lets out a shaky breath and sniffs into the heel of her hand. He's afraid she won't tell him. And he's not going to sit here all night trying to convince her to. Her reply is paused by the sound of Sam crying echoing through the residence. Claire starts to stand up, but Frank gently puts his hand on her wrist.
"Mommy? Daddy?" Emily calls through the residence.
"Over here, Em!" Frank yells. The six-year-old appears, wondering why her parents are sitting on the steps together. "Can you do me a favor and give Sam a bottle like I taught you the other day? Your mom and I need to talk about something."
Claire tries to hide her face from their daughter. She doesn't want Emily to see her having a breakdown. Emily nods and rushes back into the residence to grab the bottle from the fridge.
"I just…didn't think we would actually have him. I thought I would…miscarry. I don't know how to have two children and do this job. I need you here, Francis." Claire whispers. "I can't do this by myself."
Frank lifts his eyebrows at her. He could remind her that she was the one who wanted a second child and he didn't. He could remind her that he's the president and she's the vice president. But he won't. That's now how they operate.
"You aren't by yourself, Claire." He grabs her hand, gently squeezing it. "We are a team."
"It doesn't feel like we are a team at the moment." Frank nods. He feels the urge to apologize, but Claire wouldn't accept it.
"I know. I promise you…of all the sacrifices you've had to make, raising two children on your own will not be one of them. I will make myself more available."
"Thank you." Frank presses a kiss to her temple. "After Emily was born, I was prescribed anti-depressants."
Claire's never admitted that to anyone—even Frank prior to now. She didn't want him to worry about her following the birth of their daughter.
"I know. I found them in the bathroom cabinet at the townhouse. Is there a reason you never told me about it?" Frank wishes he had a cigarette they could share. He almost gets up to get one, but he'd rather keep this dialogue going.
"I was embarrassed. I never took them. Up until Emily was about six months old, I didn't know…how to be her mother. I was afraid I was doing everything wrong. I thought I was becoming my mother. And I think you feel the same way about Sam."
Something Frank has always appreciated about Claire is her ability to keep him in check. They do it for each other when needed. She's right. He just didn't want to admit it.
"I do. You know what my father did to me. I despised him. I still do." Throughout their marriage, Frank and Claire have had conversations regarding how they want to raise their children in a different way than how they were raised. It still is a sensitive subject for both of them.
"We are better than them, Francis." Frank pinches Claire's cheek.
"I know." Frank feels his scar pulling and shifts in his seat. Claire puts her hand over his and stands up first. He gets to his feet with her assistance and they walk back into the residence. After Emily is asleep, Claire walks into Frank's study where he's working. If he's going to make an effort, then so is she.
"I want you to sleep in my bed tonight. If you want," Claire tells him. She's hovering in the doorway, dressed in her pajamas. Frank takes off his glasses off and throws them on the desk.
"Alright." A smile slides across his face. Claire nods at him and walks into her bedroom. She strips the bed on both sides. Then, she puts Sam in his crib in the nursery instead of in the basinet like usual. Frank changes into his pajamas and joins his wife in her bed.
Two weeks later, Frank is watching on TV while Claire is in the Senate, leading the vote on her maternity bill. He relishes in the barely-there smirk on her face every time a senator votes to pass her bill.
"Senator Williamson from Georgia, how do you vote?" Claire asks Bill, the senator who they made a deal with.
"Aye. Mrs. Vice President." A radiant smile breaks out on Claire's face.
"Well, the aye's have it. Bill HR-7824 passes with a 63-37 vote in favor." Claire bangs the gavel and claps along with the crowd. Frank watches Claire pose for some pictures and talk to a few reporters clamoring to get her reaction to the bill being passed.
After Claire leaves the Capitol, she makes her way back to the White House. Frank is waiting with two glasses of champagne for them to toast. She accepts her flute as soon as she walks in. Frank grabs her hand and takes her over to his desk.
"Congratulations Claire, you made a miracle happen."
"We did." They clink glasses and briefly kiss.
"We can have the bill signing ceremony next week. I think you should make a speech." Frank wants this to be Claire's victory—not his. Getting this bill passed increased her electability tenfold. If she hopes to become the next president, she needs to capitalize on this moment however she can.
"Okay, I'll have Tom start working on something right away." Claire polishes off her champagne and puts the empty flute on the coffee table.
"I'm not going to give a speech," Frank reminds Claire. They are about to step into the Rose Garden for the bill signing ceremony.
"Why not?" Claire asks. She thought Tom prepared remarks for her husband as well. Frank steps in front of her and puts his hands on her shoulders.
"This is your moment. You did all the heavy lifting—nine months of it, to be precise." Claire smirks at the mention of them having their son because of this bill.
"This is about our administration, Francis. I didn't do this alone. This was your idea." If Frank didn't suggest it to her one day in his office, they wouldn't be here.
"I know, but they should hear it from you. I'm not running again, Claire. You are. Remind them of that." One of their assistants' steps forward to have them walk out into the Rose Garden. Frank grabs Claire's hand and they walk hand-in-hand up to the podium. Claire watches Frank sign the bill and hand her the pen with a kiss. He steps back and applauds her along with everyone else.
"Thank you. I want to thank everyone who worked tirelessly to make this bill happen, even when I was pregnant and reaping the benefits of it." Claire pauses for polite laughter. "On a more serious note, this maternity bill is a historic day for our country. This bill guarantees twelve weeks paid maternity leave across the board for anyone looking to expand their family. It is the first of its kind–and hopefully not the last. Francis, thank you for your support and encouragement to create this piece of legislation. It is an honor to be your vice president and serve alongside you." Frank winks at her from his place next to her. "And to our children—Emily and Sam—your father and I are doing everything we can to make sure our administration does what we can to make this country better for the two of you. We love you both very much. Thank you. And God bless the United States of America." Frank wraps an arm around Claire's waist as she steps back from the podium.
Later that night, Frank and Claire are watching coverage of the bill signing event on CNN while sharing a cigarette.
"You were extraordinary," Frank tells her. He accepts the cigarette from his wife. She watches him take in a huge drag of the cigarette with a smirk on her face. Frank hands the cigarette back to her.
"What?" Claire asks in amusement. She noticed Frank staring at her while she was inhaling the cigarette.
"Nothing. I'm just thinking about the next four years." Frank stands up and takes the cigarette out of Claire's hand, throwing it in the cup sitting on the table between them. "Underwood 2020." He leans over and presses a kiss to her shoulder. "Underwood 2024." The next kiss lands about halfway up her neck. "Underwood 2028." Claire moves her head so his lips land on hers.
"Underwood 2032." Claire whispers and grabs his hand, taking him into her bedroom.
A/N 2: I know the ending is kind of cheesy, but for some reason it just popped in my head, so I'm going with it! Next chapter is an epilogue of-sorts. I'm only giving a tiny hint away: It's a HUGE scandal that involves Claire. Thank you so much for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the way out. Please stay safe and healthy!