A/N: Hi guys, thank you for sticking around and leaving your lovely reviews, they mean so much to me. This is another one of my favorite chapters, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Eight.

"Claire!" Frank yells, hoping she can register his voice. Secret Service is swarming around him, but he breaks through their barrier, desperate to get to her. Another shot permeates the air and is absorbed by the wooden podium.

Claire remains motionless on the ground, blood running down her arm from the wound in her shoulder.

"Oh my God," Frank whispers when he kneels beside his wife. He needs to get her out of here immediately. "Help! We need help!" His command comes out as hoarse.

Claire groans as he tries to move her and shakes her head. The pain radiating down her arm is too intense for him to be jostling her.

"I need you stay with me, Claire. Okay? Please, just stay with me," Frank scoops her up, holding her close to his body while Secret Service surrounds him.

Claire moans in pain and uses her free arm to wrap around Frank's neck. Secret Service Agents form a shield around the couple with their guns drawn, ready to fire at anyone attempting to get close. With Frank's help, they get Claire loaded in an ambulance. An oxygen mask is put over Claire's face and she is hooked up to a heart monitor. Frank holds Claire's free hand while the paramedics work to address her wound.

"F…Fran…cis," Claire says and tries to take the mask off her face.

"Don't try to talk sweetheart," Frank whispers and brushes some hair away from her eyes. He doesn't want her to waste her energy. Of course, Claire ignores him, so he briefly holds the mask away from her face in order for her to speak.

"Han…Get…" Claire whispers to him and then her eyes roll back into her head.

"Claire!" Frank yells, looking to the paramedics for an explanation as to what just happened to his wife.

"She's going into shock, we need to get to the hospital, now," a paramedic tells him.

Frank wants to pass out and throw up at the same time. If Claire doesn't make it, he won't either. All he can do is hold her hand and hope she comes out of this alive.

When they arrive at the hospital moments later, the paramedics work to get Claire out of the ambulance with Frank on their tail.

"Forty-two-year-old female, gunshot wound to the right shoulder. BP is falling, pulse is thready, she seems to be in shock," the paramedic relays to a doctor in the emergency room.

"Alright, bring her over here," the doctor looks up at Frank briefly, shocked to see the vice president in the hospital. He glances down at the bed, realizing he is now treating the second lady of the United States. "Jesus, that's Claire Underwood. Sir, you can't come in," the doctor tells Frank and closes the curtain before the vice president can argue.

Frank is left outside pacing while the medical staff is working to save Claire's life. He places his head against the wall, needing the cold surface to cool him down. The nausea he is feeling overwhelms him and he vomits in a nearby trash can.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Hannah is sitting in U.S. politics class trying not to roll her eyes at everything that comes out of her teacher's mouth. Her teacher is very anti-Walker and makes snide comments about his administration, including Frank, any chance she gets.

Suddenly, a girl two seats behind Hannah gasps at something she sees on her phone.

"Jasmine, anything you want to share with the class?" Hannah's teacher asks the girl.

"Ms. Newbury, turn on the news, there's something you need to see."

"Fine, this better be good," Ms. Newbury mumbles to herself and turns on the television.

"We have some breaking news to report. It appears Vice President Frank Underwood's wife, Claire, has been shot at a rally in South Carolina." The news anchor says into the camera.

Hannah freezes in her chair as the news station plays footage of her mother getting shot. She sees her mother fall and her father run over to her before the clip cuts off. The teenager can sense every classmate's eyes on her. Everyone in her school is well aware of who her parents are.

"Mom," Hannah whispers with tears in her eyes. She bends down to wipe her eyes, not wanting anyone to see her cry.

"We don't know the extent of the damage, but we can confirm Mrs. Underwood was taken to a nearby hospital in Gaffney. We will update you when we know more on her condition. And we have new information on…"

Hannah's teacher turns off the TV, not wanting to upset the teenager anymore.

"Excuse me, I need to see Hannah," Meechum appears in the threshold of the door. Hannah collects her things, keeping her head down until she reaches Meechum.

"I've been instructed to take you to your parents in South Carolina," Meechum tells Hannah as they are walking to a car parked outside Hannah's school. Hannah sniffs and nods, she has to keep herself together. For all she knows, it's a minor wound the media sensationalized for ratings. Until she sees her father, there's nothing to worry about.

"Meechum, have you heard anything about her?" Hannah asks.

"No, I'm sorry, Hannah. I promise I will let you know as soon as I hear an update on your mom."

Hannah shuts the door to the car and slumps back in her seat, flicking away a tear arcing down her cheek.

Back at the hospital, Frank is approached by the same doctor who met him at the door with the paramedics.

"How is she?" Frank asks the doctor, hoping for the best. The doctor lets out a long sigh, which sets Frank on edge.

"We need to take her into surgery right away. The bullet nicked her subclavian artery, which is the reason for all the bleeding. Is there anything I should be aware of?"

"No…yes. She is four months pregnant. Nobody knows." So, don't tell the media, Frank thinks to himself.

"Honestly, Mr. Vice President, the chances of saving the baby are slim. We will do everything we can for her…for them. I need to go, someone will be out to update you when we know more."

Frank nods and buries his face in his hands. He feels utterly useless, a feeling he hates more than anything.

"Sir, I just heard," Doug says as he runs towards Frank. He hands his boss a fresh change of clothes. Frank glances at them at confusion, but then remembers Claire was pressed up against him. The clothes he is wearing are stained carmine with her blood. Frank accepts the clothes and sits down, the dizziness he was experiencing earlier has returned.

"Thanks, Doug. Where's Hannah?"

"Meechum picked her up from school. They boarded a plane about twenty minutes ago, they should here in about two hours."

Frank nods and doesn't say anything else for a few moments.

"Doug, I want to know who the fuck is responsible for this. I want the whole goddamn Secret Service put on notice. I will come for whoever did this to my wife until they are in the fucking ground."

"Okay, Sir," Doug leaves his boss to relay his message. Whoever shot Claire is going to die by Frank's hand, Doug is sure of that.

Two hours later, Frank is still waiting for an update on his wife's condition. He has been fielding calls from the president, who sends his best wishes, and Doug, who has been periodically giving him information about the shooting. They have been running down leads, but so far, there is nothing concrete to report. No one at the rally has provided any worthwhile information.

"Daddy," Hannah says and rushes over to Frank, hugging him fiercely. She feels her dad's hand cup her head, brushing his lips to her hair. Hannah sniffs loudly, trying her best to hold back the tears threatening to fall. She refuses to let herself fall apart, her dad needs her to be strong. The teenager pulls away to face her father. "How's Mom?"

Frank wipes away a tear rolling down Hannah's cheek. He wishes he had answers for his daughter, but nobody has told him anything.

"I don't know. She went into surgery a couple hours ago so the doctors could take out the bullet. I haven't heard anything since."

"Is she going to be okay, Daddy?"

"I hope so, Han." He won't lie to Hannah. Claire and he have always tried to be honest with their daughter even if she doesn't like the truth. "Listen Han…I'm so sor…"

"No, don't apologize. You know how much Mom hates apologies." Frank smiles at his daughter and pinches her cheek. She is more like Claire than he realized.

Hannah sits down next to her father, leaning her head into his shoulder. She throws up a silent prayer to whoever is listening for her mother to make it through this. Her father will never be the same if her mother doesn't survive. Hannah is frighteningly aware of how much her parents love each other and how lost one would be without the other.

Frank and Hannah fall asleep a little while later, with Meechum standing guard. Eventually, the same doctor who worked on Claire when they first arrived at the hospital comes out, searching for Frank.

"Sir…Mr. Vice President," the doctor rests his hand on Frank's shoulder, making him jump. Hannah wakes up at the abrupt movement by her father and stares up at the doctor. Frank stands up, causing Hannah too as well.

"Hi, do you have an update on my wife?" Frank asks. The doctor nods and then looks down at Hannah, wondering if he should continue with the teenager present. Frank glances at Hannah, "you can say what you need to say in front of her." He will just relay whatever the doctor tells him to his daughter anyway.

"Right, well, your wife has made it through surgery. We were able to remove the bullet and repair the damage to the artery. Unfortunately, Mr. Vice President, we were not able to save the baby. The bleeding was too extensive."

Frank puts his hand over his mouth to hide his shock. He is ecstatic is wife is going to be okay, but she is going to be devastated when he tells her their child didn't survive.

Hannah's eyes float up to her father, who is shaking his head in silence. The teenager realizes she has to take over for Frank.

"When can we see her?" Hannah asks the doctor, giving her father a much-needed reprieve.

"She should be awake in the next few hours. Both of you can sit with her until then. I'll have a nurse escort you to her room. I'm sorry," the doctor mumbles and leaves Hannah and Frank to process the news. Hannah turns around to face her father. He still hasn't said anything, which is rare for him. Her mother is typically the quiet one.

"Dad?" Hannah asks hesitantly. Frank merely walks away from his daughter and out of the hospital. She doesn't bother chasing after her father. He deserves a few minutes to calm down. Besides, Hannah doesn't know if she can stand by and watch her father self-destruct.

A nurse comes by a few minutes later looking for Frank to take him to Claire's room. Hannah looks up from her phone and tells her to come back later when Frank returns from wherever he ran off to.

Frank ditches his detail and steps outside the nearest exit of the hospital. He dry heaves into the bushes. Claire got shot and their baby died because of him. There's nothing anyone can say that doesn't make him regret everything he has done to get to his position. Being vice president, and eventually, president, is not worth it if he doesn't have Claire to share it with. Even though he knows she's okay, she won't be fine for a while. She will blame herself for the miscarriage when she had nothing to do with it. Some madman with a gun and a vendetta against the Underwoods' wanted them to suffer. And, sadly, they accomplished what they set out to do.

"God Damnit!" Frank exclaims and slams his fist into the outer wall of the hospital.

Hannah changes her mind and asks the nurse for her mother's room number for when her father comes back. She sets her phone down when her father sits down next to her. He looks even more haggard than he did before, but the teenager is still happy to see him.

"Are you ready to see Mom?" Hannah asks.

"Yeah…Han, you're being really brave," Frank admits quietly. His daughter is handling this situation better than he is. Not that he is surprised, Hannah has always been mature for her age.

"Thanks Dad. Let's go see Mom." She stands up first and offers her hand to her father. Frank wraps his arm around his daughter's shoulders and walks with her to Claire's room.

"Meechum will take you back to the Gaffney house when you are ready. I'm going to stay here with your mother," Frank tells his daughter before they enter the room. Hannah nods, although she has plans to pass out in a recliner while they wait for Claire to wake up.

Frank opens the door and swallows his gasp at the sight of his wife lying in the hospital bed. A sling is wrapped around her damaged shoulder, tubes and wires snake out from all points of her body. Hannah sits at the foot of the bed, being careful not to jostle Claire in any way. Frank scoots a chair up against the rails of the bed and holds Claire's good hand. This reminds him of when Hannah had her accident a few months back. There was nothing he could do for his daughter but watch her recover. And now he's in a similar predicament with Claire. He should be out there trying to find out who did this to his wife, but he can't.

"She doesn't look like Mom," Hannah comments. The teenager has always seen her mother as this larger-than-life person who can handle any situation thrown her way without losing her cool. She doesn't want to have this image of her mother sedated in a hospital bed in her mind ever again.

Frank nods and squeezes Claire's hand.

"Han, she will be up in a few hours scolding us for worrying about her. We just have to give it time."

Hannah and Frank sit with Claire all night, ignoring the nurses coming in periodically to check on her vitals. Frank insists that his daughter goes back to their house in Gaffney, but Hannah tells him she isn't leaving until Claire wakes up. He relents and tells her to make herself comfortable in the recliner. Within a few hours of being in Claire's room, they both fall asleep.

At around three in the morning, Claire's eyes flutter open. She is heavily medicated and unsure of where she is at or what's going on. Claire glances down at the sling on her right shoulder and tries to move it, but the joint protests.

"Ow," Claire whispers. Her eyes flicker around the room, spotting Hannah curled up in a recliner and her husband fast asleep in a chair next to her bed, still holding her hand. Claire furrows her eyebrows, she has no idea what Hannah is doing here. Something bad must have happened to her for her daughter to fly to South Carolina.

Hannah rolls over in her sleep and bumps her knee into the tray hovering over the recliner.

"Son of a…Mom?" Hannah asks, now that she is fully awake.

"Hi honey," Claire mumbles. Her daughter throws off her father's blazer used to cover herself and gently approaches her mom.

"Hi. Oh my God. How do you feel?" Hannah asks while using one arm to hug her mother. Claire shakes her head, she isn't sure. Her shoulder hurts, her mouth is dry, and her eyes feel heavy.

"I don't know…tired."

"Should I wake Dad up?" Hannah hands Claire a cup of water to alleviate her sore throat. Claire takes a sip and hands the water back to her daughter.

"No, let him sleep. We can talk in the morning." Claire doesn't have the mental capacity right now to sort through everything that happened. She would rather discuss it with Frank tomorrow when she is more alert.

"I'm so glad you are okay, Mom. You had Dad scared shitless for a while."

"Thanks Hannah. I'm sorry you had to deal with your father. I'm sure he didn't make it easy for you."

"He only threatened to kill a few people while you were in surgery," Hannah says nonchalantly. Claire carefully reaches up to touch her daughter's cheek and glances at her husband's sleeping frame.

"Only a few? That's good for him. Get some sleep." Hannah nods and eases herself off Claire's bed, going back to the recliner.

Hannah resumes her position and glances over at her mother to already find her fast asleep.

Frank wakes up the next morning and winces at the pain in his back from being slumped over all night. He raises his head and rubs his eyes, not noticing his wife staring at him.

"Hey," Claire says quietly, not wanting to wake their daughter. Frank's mouth flips open in disbelief.

"Hey." He cups her cheek and presses a kiss to her lips. "How do you feel, sweetheart?" Claire shrugs and then bites her lip at the movement. She forgets her shoulder is wounded, however that happened.

"I'm fine. What's going on?"

Frank and Claire are interrupted by their daughter waking up. Hannah stretches and looks at her parents. It's clear she disrupted their conversation.

"Hey Mom, Dad, I'm going to go…get us breakfast." The teenager thinks her parents need some time alone. She doesn't want to be in the room when her father tells her mother about the miscarriage.

"Okay, get me some coffee," Frank hands Hannah a twenty with a wink. He appreciates their daughter giving him and Claire some time to themselves. Hannah takes the money and quickly exits the room.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Frank asks his wife.

"We were at the rally, rehearsing our lines before going on stage…that's it." Claire says with a defeated expression on her face.

"Hey, it's okay. You went on stage first and gave your speech. You turned to face me and then you got shot in the shoulder."

"Oh…okay…" Claire has no memory of any of this. "What's the damage?"

"You had to have surgery to remove the bullet. It hit an artery in your shoulder and caused massive blood loss." Claire is still trying to wrap her head around the fact someone shot her.

"And the baby?" Claire asks. She can tell by the agonizing look on her husband's face, that it can't be good news. Frank squeezes her hand and lets out a breath.

"I…" He won't apologize to her because that's not what she would want. "The baby didn't make it, Claire."

Claire slowly nods and jerks her head away from Frank. He keeps his eyes on her, waiting for some kind of reaction. Her face crumples seconds later and she puts the hand Frank was previously holding to her mouth to stifle her sobs. Frank stands up and climbs into bed next to her, being mindful of her shoulder and the wiring stemming from her body. She readjusts slightly so her head is resting on his chest. Their fingers lace together at his thigh. He uses his free hand to gently twine behind her neck, bringing her trembling body closer to him.

No words are passed between them for a while. Claire periodically uses her good arm to brush tears away from her face. He stamps a kiss to her temple. He wishes there's something he could say to comfort her at a time like this. Promising her they can try again is useless, an apology she won't accept. Nothing they could say to each other will make what happened okay.

"Francis?" Claire whispers and sniffs loudly.

"Yes?" He locks eyes with her.

"We have to kill whoever did this to us."

"We will. I can promise you that."

Hannah steps off the elevator at the surgical recovery floor. She is trying to balance two coffee cups in one hand while texting in the other. Meechum is standing outside the door, which Hannah foolishly left open when she went for coffee. The teenager shoves her phone in her pocket and peeks into the room to see if it's safe to enter. Her parents are curled up in the bed together and the teenager watches Claire use the back of her hand to wipe away a stray tear. Hannah shakes her head at Meechum and quietly shuts the door behind her. Her parents deserve time alone to grieve.

A/N 2: I know it's a little sad, but I just couldn't see them with two children. Next chapter, Claire deals with her miscarriage in her own way and Hannah questions her parents' plans. Thanks for reading and please leave a review on your way out!