Martha had never really had trouble Christmas shopping. Charles was easy, just a nice shirt and some haughty decorations like bookends or letter openers always worked well. He would buy her jewelry that she would exclaim over and admire, then place in her dresser only to bring them out again the next holiday. It was a system that worked well for both of them, a nice surface act that they hid under, much like the rest of their public life.

Her mother and sisters were also easy. Books and clothes, maybe some nice souvenirs from the exotic places she traveled to with her husband, always satisfied them. It was sad to think that they were the only people she really had to worry about, but her social life had gone down the drain once Charles shipped her to Vermont.

So on December 19, as Martha browsed through what must have been the hundredth store that day, a tiny seed of panic was beginning to form in her mind. Why was there absolutely nothing she could give to the most important person in her life, the man who she knew better than anyone? The man that she just knew would have something amazing and perfect to give her, because he was just like that. He always knew.

"Ms. Huntington, what about this?" a perky voice asked from another rack. It took Martha a few moments to react to her maiden name, as it usually did these days. 23 years as Mrs. Logan had suffocated her old instincts.

She glanced over to see Kate, her sweet but nervously over-helpful personal assistant, holding up a nice starched jacket. It looked just like something Charles had one had.

"Oh – I don't think so. But thank you for your suggestions," she quickly added. Glancing around, she continued, "I don't think there's anything in here. Let's get going, it's nearly closing time anyway. Maybe there's something online I can have shipped overnight." Frustrated, she gestured toward the head of her security detail, who was standing at the door.

As they walked out, she continued to glance from store to store in the surprisingly empty mall. She knew that this was the building that had been attacked that day, but surely people weren't still afraid? Well, I guess they have the right to be, she thought bitterly, seeing as it was their president who orchestrated it. Never mind that the public didn't know.

"I'm sure that there's something you can get online," Kate continued to chatter, her arms heavy with the four bags of gifts Martha had found for her friends and family. "He likes to play chess, doesn't he? Maybe a nice chess set."

"He has one," Martha answered, mentally running through her mind once more. "Maybe I'll just sing him a song or something. Do a striptease, he'd like that."

Kate blushed, still not completely used to this erratic ex-first lady. "I'm sure he would, Ms. Huntington," she answered awkwardly. Martha glanced at her as they stepped onto an escalator.

"Kate, I was joking," she grinned. "I'm not that desperate yet."

"Oh! Sorry," Kate answered, clearly mortified. Martha smiled kindly at her, stepping off onto the first floor and beginning to make her way to the exit.

"Aww, how cute," Kate said offhandedly, gesturing to a couple sitting outside a pet store. Martha looked up for a moment, and stopped.

"Oh, they have a puppy!" she exclaimed, her hassled mind distracted as she began to walk over. She had always been an animal person, but Charles was allergic to dogs and had never let her keep them. She'd settled for her horse, who she loved dearly, but that didn't mean she didn't wish every now and then for a warm ball of fur to curl up with her at night. Aaron came close, but wasn't quite furry enough. Not to mention that if he licked her nose, Martha would have to give him a stern talk.

"Hello," she greeted the young couple sitting in camping chairs. Her composed demeanor fell away as she took in the tiny blonde puppy nestled in the woman's arms. "Oh, aren't you just precious?" she cooed, stroking it's ears. "May I hold him?"

"Her," the woman corrected, handing it over. Martha tried not to melt as the puppy gave a tiny yawn and snuggled against her sweater. "She'll be eight weeks old on Christmas. Her mother was a stray, we think – she showed up on our doorstep to give birth but didn't make it through the birth."

"How awful," Martha murmured, falling more in love by the second. "Do they have names?"

"We wanted to," the man said, "but were afraid of getting too attached! We already have two dogs and a cat, we really can't take care of any more. I'm Matt Tuscon, by the way – this is my wife Helen."

"Nice to meet you," Martha greeted. "I'm Martha Huntington." The couple nodded – it was clear they had already known. "So are you selling them? Or giving them away?"

"Oh, giving them away. We found homes for two of them today, and we found families for the rest of them yesterday. This is the only one left," Helen explained. "Would you be interested?"

Martha tore her eyes away from the sleeping puppy. "Oh – I'm not sure," she said, trying to focus her mind. Kate looked like she wanted to interject, but held her tongue as the puppy stirred, opened an eye blearily, yawned, and fell back asleep.

It was a lost cause.

"Kate, would you go pick out some puppy food, toys, bowls – whatever else I'm going to need? I'll take her," she added to the couple as Kate headed into the pet store.

They smiled. "Fantastic," Helen grinned. "She's had all of her shots, and will need to go for a check up in about a month – we've been using Dr. Bateman, I'll give you his card. And here's our number, if you have any questions!" Digging in her purse, she emerged with the necessary information.

"Bye, baby," Matt murmured to the puppy. "You be good, now. Don't give the first lady too much trouble, she could have Secret Service on your tail!"

"Ex first lady," Martha corrected automatically. "And this little girl isn't going to give me any trouble at all, is she?" She kissed the top of it's furry blonde head.

"Thank you so much," Helen repeated. "Merry Christmas!"

"You too," Martha replied as Kate emerged from the store with three more bags and a carrier. "Thank you!"

"Now, Bella, you behave," Martha admonished sternly six days later as she fashioned a red bow around her neck. "We're going to take you to meet Daddy in a minute, and you want to make a good first impression, don't you? And remember – you're his Christmas present. So be sweet!" With a final pat, Martha set her down in the bathroom and closed the door.

Aaron was placing glasses of orange juice at their places when she walked into the kitchen. Wrapping her arms around him from behind, she purred in his ear, "Merry Christmas, Agent Pierce."

"Well, merry Christmas to you, too, Ms. Huntington," he replied, turning around and kissing her good morning. "You look beautiful."

This was why Martha loved this man so much. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt with a hole in the sleeve, and her hair was about the size of Jupiter. "Thank you," she murmured, kissing him again.

They shared a quiet breakfast in the kitchen of the house they shared. Martha had suggested living together about six months earlier, knowing that she wanted to be with him more than anything but not ready to get married again. Aaron had understood and despite his initial protest (he was such a gentleman), had given in with relatively little fight. They had found a nice two story brick house with a pool in a suburb of L.A.

As they began to clear the dishes away, Martha heard a muffled bark. Glancing nervously at Aaron, he didn't appear to have heard anything, but it was bound to happen again. Sure enough, moments later she heard a louder yap.

"So," she began loudly, "I have a present for you…"

"Really?" Aaron asked, grinning. "What do you know. I have one for you, too."

"Well, maybe we should get on that, then," she answered, kissing him quickly. "Hang on a sec." She hurried back to the bathroom. The moment she opened the door, Bella tried to barrel out. Martha grabbed her just in time.

"Bella!" she scolded. "You were supposed to be quiet. Come on, now, let's go find Daddy. Be cute," she added on second though (like it would be hard).

As they walked into the kitchen, Aaron was standing with an envelope in his hand. His eyes widened the moment Bella came into view. Martha looked at him for his reaction but quickly had to glance down as the dog went insane at the sight of someone other than Martha or Kate, who she had been staying with for the past few days.

"This is Bella," Martha announced nervously. Now that she was standing here, she was beginning to panic again. Maybe she should have gone with that tie she had seen, the one with Rudolph? She knew that he liked dogs, sure, but maybe he didn't want one. Too late now.

"Bella," Aaron repeated. "Martha – you got me a dog?"

"Yes," she answered meekly. Aaron burst out laughing, and Martha looked up, blushing. Just then Bella finally escaped her restrains and jumped down to the floor, where she landed awkwardly, but that didn't stop her from racing over to Aaron, yipping at his feet and jumping up and down excitedly. Aaron picked her up carefully, and continued to laugh as his face was unexpectedly attacked by a wet tongue.

"Martha, I love you so much," he chuckled, trying to control the dog in his arms. Martha smiled weakly.

"You'd better," she told him. Adjusting the dog to one arm, he held out the envelope to her.

"This is for you," he added unnecessarily. Sneaking once more peek at Aaron wrestling the puppy, she ripped it open and pulled out too airplane tickets. On the back of one of them was a note.

Martha, you told me you had never been to Disney World. I aim to remedy that in the new year, because that's the most depressing thing I've ever heard. I love you. Aaron.

Martha looked back up, tears in her eyes and a big grin on her face. "Aaron, you're amazing," she told him, throwing her arms around his neck, taking care not to squash the puppy. "Thank you so much. I can't believe I'm going to Disney World!" She felt like a little kid, and that was probably the best present she could have gotten after this past year.

"You're welcome, Martha," Aaron murmured, kissing the top of her head. She withdrew as Bella began to bark again.

"I'm sorry I didn't get you something you would like more," she muttered, blushing (and taking care to cover Bella's ears as surreptitiously as she could – didn't want her to feel unloved, now). "I just saw her at the mall, and I couldn't find anything that I thought you would like! And she was so sweet, and I couldn't help myself."

"Martha," Aaron cut her off. "She's perfect. You know how much I love energetic blondes." Martha smiled sheepishly as he continued with a grin. "I promise you – I'm sorry you had trouble shopping for me, but that's because there is absolutely nothing more that I want than what I have right here. You're everything I need, Martha."

"I love you so much," Martha whispered, blinking back tears. "You're everything I need too." She kissed him, wrapping an arm around his neck. However, as he began to kiss her back passionately and wind his free arm into her hair, Bella decided to let them know that she was still there. She had been quiet during the emotional part, after all. With a loud bark, the pair broke apart, and burst out laughing as they looked at the puppy's indignant face.

"Merry Christmas, Aaron," Martha grinned, stealing Bella from his arms. Aaron smiled back and scratched Bella's ears.

"Merry Christmas, Martha," he replied. "I just have one question.

"What?"

"Do they allow dogs at Disney World?"