"Josh!"
"What!?" Josh threw his hands up. He'd had three awful meetings this morning, each more irritating and inane than the last. Josh was therefore really not in the mood for Donna's rambling.
"Toby says you have to watch Cerulean so Sam will get some work done!" Donna called.
"What? I know nothing about kids! How am I supposed to watch her?" Josh demanded. Donna entered.
"How should I know?" she asked.
"You're my assistant. You assist me. Assist me in childcare!"
"I'm not watching her for you. Why don't you use that kid's book someone sent you when you were in the hospital? I hear it's really good." Josh opened his bottom drawer where many things without homes were shoved. He took out the book.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." Josh looked at the book. "Harry Potter, ordinary eleven year old, blah, blah, blah…Lord Voldemort? Hogwarts? This is ridiculous! Who'd wanna read about magicians?"
"He's a wizard, Josh," Donna said.
"Whatever. It's still stupid," Josh said, dropping the book on his desk.
"How would you know? You've never read it."
"Look at the cover! Kid's got a cape and a broomstick!"
"It's a kid's book, Josh. You don't have to like it, but how else are you gonna entertain a little girl?" Donna asked. Josh grimaced.
"Fine. But I won't like it!"
At nine forty five, Leo went to go find Josh. Toby had said Josh, for a reason he wouldn't explain and Sam scowled at, was busy until then. Leo had waited, impatiently, but he had waited, and now he needed Josh.
"Where's Donna?" Leo wondered aloud as he passed her empty desk.
"She's in Josh's office," Ginger supplied.
"Thanks." Leo opened Josh's door without knocking. Surprisingly, Josh had the little girl, Cerulean, on his lap. They were reading a book Leo was entirely unfamiliar with, Josh narrating while Cerulean looked on. Donna was pretending to straighten Josh's office while she listened.
"Ahem," Leo said. Josh stopped and the three looked up at Leo.
"Uh, hey, Leo. What's up?" Josh said.
"A meeting with the President, as I'm sure you can recall. Sam gets Cerulean back while you and I are there," Leo told him.
"Can it wait a few minutes? Harry's about to get Sorted," Josh pleaded. Leo raised an eyebrow.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but the book will be here when you get back," he said. "I'm sure…Harry can wait."
"It's okay, Mr. Josh. Harry's a Gryffindor," Cerulean said. "Zach told me so."
"All right. But we'll finish this later, all right?"
"All right," Cerulean agreed. Josh put the book down and Cerulean clambered down to the floor, disappearing momentarily behind the desk.
"Donna, would you take Cerulean back to Sam?" Leo asked.
"Sure. Come on, Cerulean." Donna took Cerulean by the hand.
"Bye, Mr. Josh. Bye, Mr. Leo," Cerulean said. She waved and they walked away. Leo looked at Josh and almost smirked. Josh, enchanted by a kid's book and a five year old. Who would have thought?
When Cerulean and Donna reached Sam's office, he had just gotten off the phone with Child Protective Services. They'd picked up her brothers this morning and they wanted him to bring Cerulean to them. Sam had half a mind to tell them no, but did he really have a legitimate claim to?
"Hi, Mr. Sam!" Cerulean said. "Mr. Josh read me Harry Potter, a book Zach likes, and it was so fun!"
"That's great, Cerulean. But it's time to go," Sam said.
"Go where? More 'sploring?" she asked excitedly.
"No. Donna, can you give us a minute?" Donna looked at Cerulean sadly, but she exited.
"What's going on?" Cerulean said. She came over to Sam.
"Your father is in jail right now," Sam said, lifting Cerulean onto his lap. "He'll be there until his trial. After that, he'll go back to jail if he's found guilty."
"Okay. What happens then?" Cerulean pulled Fred closer.
"Well, someone has to take care of you and your brothers. Because your mother isn't around, Child Protective Services will take you."
"Take us where?" she asked, eyes wide.
"They have a special place for children whose parents are unable to take care of them," Sam said. "CPS will find a home for you, a good one."
"But I don't want to go," Cerulean said quietly. "Jeremy'll know what I did. He'll be mad, Mr. Sam, real mad. And what if there's another Daddy out there and they give me to him?"
"They won't. They'll give you to someone good."
"Will I get to come back and see you?" Cerulean asked. Sam stopped.
"Probably not. But we'll come to see you." Cerulean rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't speak for a long time.
"Okay," Cerulean said finally. "Do I get to say goodbye?"
Their first goodbye was Toby; he was just next door. Toby was composed, but he pressed the pink bouncy ball into Cerulean's hand and she got to take it with her.
They went to C.J. next. She was sad to see Cerulean go. C.J. gave Cerulean a hug and promised to take her out for some girl time, preferably not involving hydrogen peroxide.
Cerulean said goodbye to Donna, Kathy, Bonnie and Ginger. They bid farewell to Charlie and Mrs. Landingham. Then Charlie let them into the Oval Office.
"Mr. President?" Charlie said. "It's Sam and Cerulean."
"Let them in," Bartlet said. Cerulean walked in first, followed by Sam. Both seemed rather disappointed.
"Mr. President, I have to take Cerulean to Social Services," Sam said. The reluctance was as evident on his face as it was in his voice. Bartlet nodded.
"I see. This is goodbye, then, Cerulean?" he said. The little girl nodded grimly.
"Thank you, Mr. President, for helping me," Cerulean said. "Last night was fun."
"You're very welcome. It was a pleasure to have you," Bartlet said. Cerulean looked to Josh.
"Thanks for reading with me, Mr. Josh. I liked the book."
"Me too. I'll be finishing it with you soon," Josh promised. Cerulean nodded.
"Goodbye, Mr. President. Mr. Leo. Mr. Josh." She went around and held the hand of each man for a minute. Then Cerulean went back to Sam.
"We can go now," Mr. Sam," she said.
"All right." Sam looked at Leo. "I'll be back soon."
"Take your time," Leo replied. Sam took Cerulean by the hand and they walked out of the Oval Office. Bartlet watched their retreating backs with a sense of foreboding.
"She's gonna be okay, isn't she?" Josh asked, voicing Bartlet's silent thought. "I mean, I feel like we're sending her off to Calcutta or something."
"I feel it too. I hope she gets a good home soon," Bartlet said. "Ideally, her brothers will take care of her."
Sam and Cerulean drove to the CPS building. Cerulean asked for music, so Sam turned on the tape that was already in. It happened to be Billy Joel, which fascinated Cerulean.
"Those were so pretty," she said as they got out of the car.
"They were," Sam agreed. "I… I guess this is goodbye."
"Yeah," Cerulean said, looking at the parking lot. "Thank you, Mr. Sam. Thanks for everything."
"Thank you, Cerulean. It's been a…an interesting few days," Sam said. Cerulean nodded. She held her arms out and Sam picked her up. Cerulean held onto him for a few minutes. Sam let her, already missing the welcome weight in his arms.
"Okay, let's go," Cerulean mumbled into his shoulder. Sam carried her into the building. Fred dangled from her clasped hands, bouncing off Sam's back. The receptionist looked up when they entered. She stared them a moment, somewhat confused. Sam noted her name was Brenda B.
"Can I help you?" Brenda asked finally.
"This is Cerulean Barber," Sam said. Realization dawned on Brenda's face.
"Oh! This way." Brenda got up. She led Sam and Cerulean to a room down the hall. There were four little beds and three young girls inside. Sam put Cerulean down as the girls paused in their activities to look at them.
"Girls, this is Cerulean. She's going to share your room," Brenda said. "Say hello."
"Hi," the girls said in unison.
"Hi," Cerulean replied.
"Sir, I need you to fill out some paperwork," Brenda said. "Cerulean, your brothers will be along shortly."
"Thank you. Bye, Mr. Sam," Cerulean said.
"Goodbye, Cerulean." Sam waved as he followed the receptionist back to her desk. After a moment, she turned to him.
"You know, I was confused earlier, because, when I saw you, I thought she was yours," Brenda told him. Sam nodded. I wish. Brenda reached her desk and presented Sam with a large stack of paperwork. He sighed. Bureaucracy at its best.
As Sam was finishing the needlessly large and overly redundant paperwork, he heard a loud shriek. Both Sam and Brenda looked up sharply.
"Ms. B! Ms. B!" A little girl came running out. "One of the boys is tryina break Cerulean's arm!" Sam shot up and ran back to the room. A teenage boy had Cerulean's arm in a painful squeeze. Sam and Brenda pulled him off. Cerulean clutched Sam, sobbing.
"You turned him in! How could you?" the boy demanded. Another boy, who looked remarkably like Cerulean, came in, furious.
"Jeremy! You dick!" The second boy tackled the first. The first boy was older and stockier, but the second was taller and quicker. They wrestled on the ground while a third boy who couldn't have been more than eight, watched fearfully with his fingernails between his teeth.
"You two stop that!" Brenda ordered. The boys paid her no heed, so she called for help. Cerulean buried her face in Sam's shoulder.
"Don't leave me, Mr. Sam! Don't leave me!"
