A/N: I'm a little concerned about the lack of reviews I'm getting for this story. I encourage everyone to provide their feedback, it really helps! Please enjoy this latest chapter.
Chapter Four.
Claire is taken aback by her daughter's revelation. Earlier, Hannah had no recollection of what happened, but her subconscious put the pieces together for her while she was sleeping.
"Are you sure?" Claire asks. Hannah wouldn't lie, Claire knows that, she just needs to be sure her daughter is remembering something and not dreaming. Hannah nods repeatedly.
"Yes. We were stopped at that crazy intersection on K street and the light turned green. The driver started going and the next thing I knew, a SUV was plowing into my side. Mom, they knew I was sitting in the front seat. I didn't think about it when Dad asked me before, but it makes sense."
Claire reaches for her phone, dialing Frank's number on speed dial.
"Hello? Claire, what's wrong?" Frank questions, his voice clouded with sleep.
"Honey, I need you to come back to the hospital. Hannah has something to tell you." Claire hangs up, not elaborating further.
Fifteen minutes later, Frank bursts into the room, a little out of breath. Hannah and Claire are lying next to each other on the bed.
"Did you run here?" Claire asks with a slight grin. Their townhouse is at least twenty minutes away from the hospital, her husband undoubtedly bullied the detail to drive faster. Frank frowns, his wife should be sleeping, not calling him into the hospital at three in the morning.
"What's going on?" Frank inquires, taking a seat in the chair he was in earlier.
"Daddy, I remember what happened today," Hannah declares. Frank locks eyes with Claire over Hannah's head. Now he comprehends why his wife felt the need to drag him out of bed at this hour.
"What Han? What do you remember?" Frank asks, fully alert.
Hannah repeats what she told her mother word-for-word. Frank retains the information, only standing to confirm his suspicion about his daughter's accident being an inside job.
"Did Doug come up with anything?" Claire asks.
"Not yet. He is trying to track down the detail that was in the car this morning. Apparently, it's proving to be harder than it should be."
Hannah involuntarily shivers. She has known Doug since she was little, but the man still scares her. Doug would never do anything to hurt her. She just knows how resourceful he can be since he's been her father's right-hand-man forever.
Claire tightens her grip on Hannah and silently asks Frank to drop the subject. They can have a pow-wow later when they are well-rested. Frank decides to sleep in the chair his wife was previously occupying while Claire stays in the bed with Hannah.
"Okay, Ms. Underwood, you are good to go. I want you to come back in a month to get the splint off," Dr. Madison says to Hannah the next morning.
Hannah nods, stifling a yawn. After her father came back to the hospital earlier this morning, she had a hard time falling back asleep.
"Any questions?" the doctor poses the question more to Claire than Hannah.
"No, thank you. I think we are all set," Claire says politely. She can tell her daughter is itching to be released. Hannah changes into clothes her dad dropped off on his way to the office. The new security detail drops them off at the townhouse and keeps watch.
"Are you staying?" Hannah asks while burying herself under her covers.
"No, I have to change and meet your dad for a meeting." Claire doesn't want to leave Hannah alone, but she should only be gone for an hour or so. "We will have our phones on, so if there's anything you need, just call us. I should be back before you wake up."
"Okay," Hannah agrees, wanting nothing more than to take a long nap. Claire wishes she could sleep too, and she will after this meeting is over.
"Hannah get home okay?" Frank asks Claire when she shows up in his office.
"Yes, she should already be sleeping."
After getting a good look at Claire, Frank regrets having this meeting. Dark circles are prominent under her eyes. He approaches her, resting his hands on her upper arms.
"When this is over, I want you to go home and get some sleep." He won't have Claire run herself into the ground. He needs her to be the voice of reason and confidant she always is.
"Fine," Claire agrees just as Doug enters the office. The three of them sit on the couches, Frank and Claire next to each other with Doug across.
"Alright, what do we know?" Frank gets to the point so his wife can rejoin their daughter at home.
"Unfortunately, Sir, there isn't much to go on right now. We are in the process of tracking down the people suspected to be in the car with Hannah." Doug knows this isn't what his boss wants to hear. Frank likes results, but it isn't always that simple.
"We know who is in her detail! They are the same people who have been there since she was six." Frank doesn't like the fact something this major happened right under their noses. To hear from Doug that they aren't swiftly taking care of this is unacceptable.
"With all due respect Sir, her detail wasn't the same yesterday. Someone reassigned all of the usual agents and put their own men in the car with your daughter."
"How the hell did this happen?" Frank shouts.
"Francis," Claire says and puts her arm on his shoulder in an effort to calm him down. Yelling at Doug for something he had no control over is not helping the situation. Doug, however, is unmoved by his boss' outburst.
"We will get them Sir, we just need some more time. I have started going through every agent in the Secret Service's financial records. Someone was paid off to make Hannah's accident happen, I'm certain of it."
"Okay, thanks Doug," Frank says, essentially dismissing his chief of staff. Doug takes the hint and flees the office.
"I don't like this Francis," Claire declares when they are alone again. Frank gets off the couch and paces in front of her.
"I shouldn't have let her just walk out the door yesterday. I should've at least watched her get into the car. Maybe I would've…"
Claire stands up so she is directly in front of him.
"This is not your fault, you were worried about me. What happened, happened. Our daughter is safe, we just have to make the people that did this to her suffer."
Frank lightly pinches her cheek, appreciating her intolerance for doubt. It's exactly what he needs to hear in times like this.
"Get some sleep, I'll see you later."
The Underwoods' decide to keep Hannah out of school for the remainder of the week. Claire has been doing half-days, electing to stay home with their daughter to keep her company in the afternoons. She enjoys spending time with Hannah, something she hasn't been able to do in large quantities because of her demanding schedule.
Towards the end of the week, Frank is being asked to attend a bill signing for a stimulus package he single-handedly pushed through Congress. Claire wants to be on-hand to show her support and brings Hannah along to get her out of the house.
"Are you nervous, Dad?" Hannah asks while fiddling with her navy dress. Claire loops her arm through Frank's, smiling over at her husband.
"Me? Of course not," Frank winks at Hannah. Claire scoffs and readjusts her husband's tie. Hannah hangs behind her parents, watching them effortlessly command the room.
"Thank you, Mr. President…" Hannah half-listens to her father's speech, concentrating on the people in the room. She locks eyes with President Walker, who gives her a half-smile. Hannah smiles back and diverts her eyes to the various Secret Service Agents positioned in the office. She sucks in a breath when she recognizes one of the agents standing behind the president. Whoever the person is, he was in the car with her on the day of the accident. She remembers his coffee hair and gunmetal gray eyes. Hannah averts her eyes so she isn't blatantly staring at the agent.
Her thought process is interrupted by everyone clapping for her father and President Walker. Frank leans forward to kiss Claire's cheek. Hannah weaves through the people gathering, focused on reaching her parents.
"Hey Han. Are you proud of your old man?" Frank asks when he sees his daughter coming towards them.
"Of course. Mom, Dad, can I borrow you for a second?" Hannah learned from a young age to never make a scene in front of other people. You never know who is hanging around, wanting to get a juicy story about Washington's elite.
Frank and Claire can tell their daughter is rattled and excuse themselves to talk to her in an unoccupied corner of the Oval Office.
"What's wrong Hannah?" Claire asks, not liking the frightened look ensconced in her daughter's eyes.
"Someone who was in the car with me…he's here…on Walker's detail," Hannah whispers. Except when Hannah glances over to the spot where she spotted the agent, he's no longer there.
A/N 2: Next chapter, Frank and Claire let Hannah in on their little secret as they get a step closer into identifying the players in her accident. Please leave a review on your way out and thank you for reading!