Sam waited outside for what seemed like forever. The screaming was awful to hear, and Sam wasn't much happier when it turned to sobbing. Donna scurried in and out, not telling him anything. Finally, all three exited. Cerulean was in C.J.'s arms, sniffling. A line of gauze ran around her leg.
"I don't like dis-inspecting," Cerulean said with a hiccup. Cerulean reached for Sam, and he took her from C.J.
"Imagine that had happened in your office," C.J. said, not looking remotely guilty. "She'd be screaming, peroxide would go everywhere, Toby would come in…"
"Sam, what have you been doing to that poor child?" Ainsley demanded, coming up to them. "I could hear her from my office!"
"You're in trouble," Donna sang under her breath.
"Your office is the Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue. You hear everything from the women's locker room," Sam replied.
"Ainsley, Cerulean had a very large cut and I was disinfecting it. Nothing's wrong," C.J. said.
"How did she get cut?" Ainsley asked.
"Mr. Al-"
"It happened before she got here," Sam said, covering Cerulean's mouth. "Everything is fine." Ainsley looked from C.J. to Donna, then Cerulean to Sam, who removed his hand.
"All right," Ainsley conceded. "But if I hear anymore screaming, I'm calling DYFS." She turned and walked away.
"Bye, Miss Ainsley Hayes," Cerulean called. Ainsley smiled over her shoulder and waved. C.J. chuckled.
"She's cute. When she's not trying to crawl up my shirt."
"Yeah. Let's go back to my office," Sam said to Cerulean.
"Okay!" Cerulean agreed. She put her arms around his neck. Sam carried Cerulean back through the bullpen. Kathy was waiting for them.
"He's outside," she said.
"Who?"
"Thomas Barber." Cerulean buried her face in Sam's neck.
"Oh. Thanks, Kathy. Anything else I should know?" Sam asked.
"Toby wants to know how the House speech is going."
"Slowly. But it's going. Actually, just don't mention it to Toby."
"Who's Toby?" Cerulean said, popping back up.
"My boss. That grumpy bald guy from earlier," Sam said.
"I heard that!" Toby shouted from his office.
"Hide!" Cerulean whispered, clutching Sam. He laughed and took her into his office. She hopped down and sat with her cookie from Mrs. Landingham. Sam went to his desk. He got about fifteen minutes of good, solid work in before he heard a squeak from Cerulean.
"What is it?" Sam asked, looking up. Cerulean was kneeling on her chair, peeping over the back at the bullpen. She ran from her chair to Sam.
Outside, an impossibly handsome man was storming into the West Wing. His dark, curly hair was carefully styled on his head, and his brown eyes flamed. The people in the bullpen practically ran from him as he started shouting. Cerulean crawled onto Sam's lap.
"Where is that little bitch? How dare she! Someone find her! Insolent little-" Security agents grabbed the man, who swore at them with a mighty venom. Cerulean curled up in Sam's lap. He covered her ears. The man was dragged away and Cerulean started to cry.
"He's gonna get me! Don't let him get me, Mr. Sam!"
"He won't get you. You're safe now," Sam soothed. Josh and Toby entered, both uncharacteristically quiet. Josh spoke first.
"Sam, was that her-"
"Yeah," Sam said.
"But that was Thomas Barber," Toby said. "Thomas Barber is a prominent Republican millionaire. Why was he just arrested in the West Wing?" His voice rose as he spoke. Cerulean shivered.
"He's a terrorist," Sam said.
"Do you have any proof?" Josh asked.
"Yeah."
"It had better be some damn good proof," Toby said. "The Republicans are going to have a field day with this-"
"He's also a child abuser," Sam interrupted. Toby stopped, and Josh looked at Cerulean, who had just started to calm down.
"I want a gun," Josh said. "You know what? I don't want a gun. I'll take a sledge hammer, and I'll-"
"You have a sledge hammer?" Sam asked.
"Well, no, but Donna could get me one!"
"My brother Zach says sledge hammers are dangerous," Cerulean piped up. The man all looked at her, and she hiccupped.
"Your brother is right," Sam said. "Sledge hammers are very dangerous, which is why Mr. Josh isn't getting one."
"I should say not!" Dr. Abigail Bartlet walked into the office. Sam stood up. Cerulean scrambled for a tighter grip on his shirt and Sam used his other arm to support her.
"Good evening, ma'am," Josh said.
"Can I help you with something, Dr. Bartlet?" Sam asked.
"I was told that I have a guest tonight," Dr. Bartlet said. She came to Cerulean. "Hi, sweetie. I'm Dr. Bartlet. The President is my husband."
"Hi, Dr. Bartlet," Cerulean said shyly. "I'm Cerulean."
"Cerulean, how would you like to be a princess tonight?" Cerulean's eyes lit up.
"Okay!" she replied. "Can Fred come, too?" Dr. Bartlet, Josh and Toby raised eyebrows.
"Who?" they asked in unison.
"The Bear," Sam and Cerulean answered.
"Of course," Dr. Bartlet said. "You grab him and we can go."
"Yes, Dr. Bartlet." Cerulean scrambled down from Sam's arms and went to find Fred. Dr. Bartlet looked at Sam.
"I heard you've had a busy afternoon," she said, amused.
"Yes, ma'am," Sam said with a smile.
"You should try it with three of them."
"I can't imagine being successful."
"Dr. Bartlet, is Mr. Sam coming too?" Cerulean asked. Josh sniggered and mouthed the words 'Princess Sam.' Sam glared at him.
"No, Mr. Sam has work to do. But we can see him tomorrow," Dr. Bartlet said. Cerulean nodded. She walked to Sam and held her arms out. He lifted her up again.
"See ya later, Mr. Sam," Cerulean said. She kissed him on the cheek. Then Cerulean jumped down and followed Dr. Bartlet.
"Well, she is cute," Josh said. Sam nodded.
"Sam, how much work have you gotten done this afternoon?" Toby asked. Sam shrugged evasively.
"Some."
"Sam," Toby said, impatient. "That speech is important."
"I'll get it done, I have all night."
"Go and get it done, then."
"This is my office. You go," Sam said. Toby stared muttering foully, but he left. Josh looked at Sam.
"She kinda makes you wonder if having kids would be worth it," Josh said.
"We work eighteen hour days," Sam said. "And we'd need wives or girlfriends for the procreation."
"I said she made me wonder! I didn't say I was planning on it," Josh replied. "And the second part, we could adopt…you know, if-"
"If we ever get out of the office," Sam interrupted with a smile.
"Go write your speech," Josh said, disgusted. Sam laughed at his friend's retreating back. His smile dropped when he remembered that speech he was supposed to be writing.
Zachary Barber, age eleven, sat in his father's big chair. Dad hadn't come home yet, even though Jason was already in bed. Jeremy, who was thirteen, said he was in charge, but all he did was yell a lot and lock himself in Dad's office. Zach was the one who made the dinner, helped Jason with his homework and put Jason, who was only eight, to bed. He did that most of the time anyway, except for the dinner part, so he really didn't care that Dad wasn't home yet. Dad just yelled a lot and hit somebody. Cerule wasn't home, either, which bothered Zach. She was the baby, only five. Zach had been taking care of her as long as he could remember. No one else would, so Zach did. Jason helped, playing with Cerule and making her smile. But he was only eight and he had to avoid Dad a lot 'cause Dad got mad at him a lot. Zach, though, he was eleven, which made him almost a grownup. He was really tall, too, so people always thought he was the oldest. Jeremy really didn't like that. He also wasn't too fond of Cerule. Jeremy called her names and pulled her hair. Sometimes Zach kept Cerule and Jason in his room so Dad and Jeremy would leave them alone. Of course, then they'd come after him, but Zach was big and could handle that better than Jason or Cerule.
Zach was currently nursing a black eye from one of these encounters. Jeremy had punched him in the face after Zach had asked if Jeremy had done his homework. Jeremy hadn't, of course, and he made Zach do it. Now Zach was done and holding an icepack on his face. Jeremy was in Dad's office with that phone line. When the phone rang, Zach got to pick it up.
"Barber residence, Zach speaking."
"Hi, Zach!" Cerule said.
"Hey, Cerule. Where are you? Dad went to get you hours ago."
"I'm at the White House."
"The White's house?" Zach said.
"No, silly! The President's White House!" she giggled. Zach's mouth fell open and he dropped the icepack.
"No way!" he said finally. "How'd you get there?"
"How'd she get where?" Jeremy asked. He'd come out of the office to stare suspiciously at Zach, who put a hand on the receiver.
"She's at the White's house," Zach said. "Her friend Abbey White. The one you said looked like a rat?" Jeremy paused.
"You'd better not be lying," he said.
"Would I lie to you?" Zach said Jeremy shook his head and left. Zach went back to the phone, where Cerule had just finished speaking.
"Okay, you're gonna have to say that again, Jeremy was talkin' too…"
Sam spent hours on that speech. It didn't like him, but then what speech was ever easy? Sam finally had a draft he liked when the phone rang.
"Sam Seaborn," he said, picking up the phone.
"Hi, Sam. It's Dr. Bartlet."
"Hello, ma'am. What can I do for you?"
"It's bedtime at the Residence, and someone would like to say goodnight," Dr. Bartlet said. "Here she is." The phone was passed and Sam could hear whispering.
"Hi, Mr. Sam," Cerulean's voice said.
"Hi, Cerulean. How is the White House?"
"It's really big! Dr. Bartlet took me 'splorin, and we had dinner with Mr. President and Mr. Charlie," she said. "Mr. President is lots of fun. He tells good stories."
"He does. Are you a princess?"
"What?" Toby said. Sam looked up to see his superior in the doorway. Sam shushed him.
"Yeah! Dr. Bartlet gave me a makeover! My nails are blue now." Cerulean paused. "Dr. Bartlet says I have to go to bed now. Goodnight, Mr. Sam."
"Goodnight, Cerulean. I'll see you tomorrow," Sam said.
"See ya." Cerulean hung up. Sam looked up at Toby.
"This draft is done," he said.
"Good, considering how much time you've spent on it," Toby replied acidly. He sat in one of Sam's chairs. "Give it to me. Let's go over it."
"Josh?" Donna said, coming to his office door.
"Yes?" Josh replied, trying to finish up.
"Who was that guy, the really loud one?"
"Thomas Barber." Donna frowned.
"The multi-millionaire?" she asked.
"The very same."
"Why was he so mad? He seems so nice on TV."
"The FBI was arresting him for terrorism and child abuse," Josh said, standing.
"Well, that's not good."
"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Josh walked past her.
"You're welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm," Donna said, following him. "Who was he yelling at?"
"Everyone?" Josh suggested.
"I meant in particular, Josh."
"His daughter. She turned him in."
"Really? Who is she?" Donna asked.
"The little girl Sam was watching."
"Aw! I thought she was Sam's niece or something. Wait, did Barber give her that cut on her leg?"
"That would make sense."
"That bastard! Will he get the death penalty?"
"No! He hasn't killed anyone, Donna!"
"How can you be sure? I bet no one thought he was a terrorist either."
"Good night, Donna."
"But, Josh, what if he did kill someone?"
"We'll use a guillotine. Go home."
The morning dawned peacefully in D.C. Pink rays and yellow streams lighted upon the White House as a young man chased a small girl through the Residence.
"Cerulean, you can't wake up the President!"
"I won't, Mr. Charlie! What's in here?"
When Sam came into work, Toby had that little pink ball out. Crap.
Bounce. Bounce.
"One minute, Toby!"
Bounce. Bounce.
"Fine!" Sam went over to Toby's office. "What?"
"The President is going to need someone to watch Cerulean this morning," Toby said. "It's probably going to be you."
"So?" Sam said.
"You got very little work done when she was here yesterday," Toby continued. "So, I have decided that you will get a half-hour, and then I'll watch her."
"I don't think that's fair," Sam said.
"Life's not fair," Toby replied. Sam scowled and went back to his own office. In about five minutes, Kathy came in.
"Sam, the President wants to know if you'll watch Cerulean again."
"Yeah, sure."
"Half an hour!" Toby called. Sam scowled again. He'd show Toby…
Cerulean came hopping in about five minutes later, her swinging braids adorned with patriotic bows. She happily showed off her new manicure and a handmade bracelet for Fred. Sam let Cerulean bounce for a while, then suggested they go exploring.
"Okay!" Cerulean said. Sam took her hand and off they went.
"Wow. That's a lot of people," Cerulean observed, peering into the Press Room carefully. Sam nodded.
"These people help write the newspapers," he said. "Miss C.J. tells them what the President says about things that happen."
"That looks hard."
"C.J.!" several people shouted, punctuating the statement.
"Yes, Mark?"
"Thomas Barber was arrested yesterday! Can you tell us anything about that?"
"Let's move on," Sam suggested.
"Miss Ainsley Hayes!" Ainsley, finishing a rather large stack of paperwork, looked up.
"Hi, guys! What brings you down here?" she asked. Cerulean came bouncing in with Sam behind her.
"We're 'splorin'," Cerulean said. She walked over to Ainsley's posters. "These are pretty, Miss Ainsley Hayes."
"Aw, thanks!" Ainsley stood. "Sam, shouldn't you-"
"I will when we go back upstairs," Sam interrupted. "Toby's taking responsibility of Cerulean when I get back. He set a time limit on me, can you believe it?"
"When's the limit?" Ainsley asked. Sam glanced at his watch and shrugged.
"Five minutes ago."
"Sam!" Ainsley swatted at him and Sam ducked. Unfortunately, the ducking put his face in the path of her hand, so the swat turned into a very loud slap.
"Ow!"
"Oh my Lord, Sam, I am so sorry!" Ainsley said, covering her mouth with her hands. Sam rubbed at his cheek, wincing. Cerulean squeaked and looked at the two of them.
"Mr. Sam, what did you do?" she asked.
"Nothing," Sam replied. "Ainsley, what do you say we forget about the time limit and our unfortunate clumsiness?" Ainsley nodded, still somewhat speechless from the red mark on Sam's face and her now-tingling hand.
Toby was waiting outside Sam's office.
"You're late," he said. Sam scowled.
"I lost track of time."
"What happened to your face?"
"I think I have a wonderful face, and there is nothing wrong with it," Sam declared.
"Whatever. I get an extra fifteen minutes. Go on, I'll take care of her." Cerulean looked up at Sam, who sighed.
"I'll see you later, Cerulean," he said.
"Okay. See ya, Mr. Sam." Sam went into his office. He saw Toby lean down and say something quietly to Cerulean. She giggled. Sam got to work. He was in the zone when-
Thud. Giggle. Thud. Squeal. Thud. Giggle.
Annoyed, Sam looked up to see Toby bouncing the ball against the wall and Cerulean trying to catch it. Sam got up and walked over.
"You know, it's hard to concentrate with that noise," he said.
"Okay. We'll move," Toby said, eyes gleaming wickedly. "By the way, Josh is watching Cerulean next."
"That's not fair!" Sam protested.
"No complaining from you, Slappy."
