Toby walks out of his office to get coffee. He passes Bonnie and the mail guy, Clarke. Why Clarke is still here is beyond Toby's understanding.
"Why are you still here?" Bonnie says, echoing Toby's thoughts. Clarke sighs.
"I was on my way out when this Crazy Lady comes in with an 'urgent' package," he says. "I kept telling her I was off the clock and it would have to wait until after the holiday, but she insisted I deliver it. By the time I got her out of my office, there was no leaving the building because the roads are closed. So I am delivering Crazy Lady's package to Mr. Sam and Miss Cerulean Seaborn now, because I have nothing better to do." Toby chokes on his coffee. Bonnie and Clarke turn to look at him.
"You okay?" Bonnie asks. Toby swallows, eyes streaming. He comes over as he blinks the moisture out of his eyes.
"Who sent the package?"
"What?" Clarke says.
"Who sent the package?"
"She didn't mention who and I didn't ask," Clarke says, bewildered. "She was nuts, man, I was trying to get her out of the office!"
"There's no return address?" Toby says. Clarke looks down at the rather large box, the only package on the cart among a dozen letters, and shakes his head. "You have no idea who the package is from, but you were going to deliver it anyway?"
"Hey, man, Secret Service screens everything that comes in the building. It's not my job to do that," Clarke says. Toby represses a sigh.
"What did she look like?"
"Excuse me?"
"What did the Courier look like?" Toby repeats with growing frustration.
"Uh, white. Kinda short. Big eyes, blue, I think, maybe gray. Wavy brownish hair…"
"Toby, why are you making a big deal of this?" Bonnie says.
"Because the last anonymous gift Cerulean got was from her supposedly dead mother." Toby puts his coffee down and holds out his arms. "Give me the package."
"You want the package?" Clarke says.
"Yes. I'm going to call the FBI and talk to someone from the Secret Service. Give me the package," Toby says. "Why do I have to keep repeating myself with you?" Clarke rolls his eyes.
"Fine. Whatever." He hefts the box off the cart and gives it to Toby, who staggers slightly with the weight.
"Okay. Thank you." Toby gives a small grunt and starts heading towards his office. Bonnie follows, grabbing his coffee on the way.
"You don't think there's anything dangerous in there, do you, Toby?" she asks.
"No, not really." Toby sets the box on his desk. "But I would like to be sure. Anyone who can impersonate their way into the White House is unpredictable and brilliant, to say the least." Bonnie puts his coffee on the other side of the desk. "Thank you."
"No problem. You want a box cutter?"
"Yeah. And get me someone from the Secret Service!" Toby goes to his chair as Bonnie sets off in search of a box cutter. He picks up the phone, knowing somebody must be trapped in the Hoover building the same way he's trapped in the White House. As he dials, he can't help but wonder why Anna Barber would go through so much trouble to send things to Cerulean and not come see the girl herself.
Sam and Ainsley head down to the mess. Neither has said a word about the events in C.J.'s office. Sam is a little numb; it was the first kiss he had since the last time Mallory decided she liked him, which was a fair amount of time. Ainsley kisses like a dream, by the way, a beautiful stunning dream from which he should probably wake up. It was just a mistletoe kiss. It doesn't mean anything.
"-And then Elizabeth would not sit still for the rest day of the day. She was all aflutter because of that dog!" The First Lady's voice comes from inside the mess. Ainsley smiles at Sam before they walk in.
"See? The mess was a good idea," she says.
"Yeah," Sam says. Ainsley's smile fades. She stops walking and Sam stops with her.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"You're looking at me funny. You're not thinking about…earlier, are you?" Ainsley asks.
"No!" Sam says. Ainsley raises an eyebrow. "Okay, a little. C.J.'s the queen of blackmail."
"Oh, so you're thinking about being blackmailed because you kissed me," Ainsley says. There is a dangerous edge to her voice and Sam has the feeling he screwed up somewhere.
"She took the picture for a reason-"
"She took the picture because we had left kissing behind and moved onto the things she did not want to see," Ainsley replies, tone still acidic.
"Well, if she had been kissing you, she would have left kissing behind very quickly too," Sam says. Ainsley pauses.
"Really?"
"Really," Sam says. Ainsley gives a small smile.
"Okay." She walks into the mess. Sam isn't entirely sure what just transpired, but he's not in trouble and that's a good thing. Probably. Sam follows Ainsley into the mess.
Cerulean is sitting on Dr. Bartlet's lap. Her eyelids droop as the First Lady finishes the story about Elizabeth and the dog, her head listing against Dr. Bartlet's chest. Sam knows he may be biased, but he's fairly certain this may be one of the most adorable sights to ever exist.
The First Lady looks up as Sam and Ainsley walk over.
"Oh, Sam. I was just going to suggest we head up to your office," she says. "I think someone's ready for bed."
"Am not," Cerulean protests, lifting her head. "I was just restin'. I can stay awake."
"Good. That means we have time to read," Sam says. "We could go back to my office or maybe Dr. Bartlet knows a better place to read." He glances at Dr. Bartlet, who nods.
"I do, Sam. Let's go check it out, shall we?" Cerulean nods and slides off Dr. Bartlet's lap. The First Lady mouths 'good one' to Sam as Cerulean walks over to him and Ainsley.
"Are you coming, Auntie Ainsley?" Cerulean asks, looking up at Ainsley.
"I don't think so, sweetheart. I should go to my office and get some work done, if I'm stuck here," Ainsley says. "Good night."
"Okay. Good night." Cerulean reaches up to Ainsley, who bends hug her. Something weird and fluttery happens in Sam's chest. He decides to ignore it.
Cerulean lets go of Ainsley and goes to Sam. The First Lady smiles at Ainsley as they pass each other, Ainsley on her way to hot chocolate and Dr. Bartlet on her way to the Seaborns.
"Okay, Cerulean, are you ready for the next part of our Christmas adventuring?" Dr. Bartlet says. Cerulean nods, little face very serious.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Let's get going."
Toby stands in his office, where the Secret Service have returned the mystery box. Agent Wilson, one of Ron Butterfield's best agents, reads over the report his team complied regarding the inspection of the box.
"Mr. Ziegler, there is nothing dangerous about the package or its contents," Wilson says when he finishes the report. "Upon opening the package, we found two wrapped boxes with envelopes attached each. Both boxes were x-rayed and wanded. Their contents are completely harmless. There is no powder or residue in or on the envelopes. Everything is safe."
"Someone got into the White House pretending to be a courier and the package they were carrying nearly got to the intended recipient. I fail to see how that is safe or harmless," Toby replies.
"We're working on the mystery courier. But the package got through because there was nothing dangerous about it," Wilson says. "We'll find out how she got past us. We've got a picture and we're putting it in the system. For now, there's no reason to be worried about the presents. It's fine."
"It is not fine!" Toby says. "The courier was Anna Barber! She's broken into two secure buildings to deliver gifts to a child she has not seen in six years! Who does that?"
"First of all, we don't know that it was Anna Barber for sure," Wilson says. "Secondly, you talked to a behavior analyst at the FBI about Anna Barber."
"Yeah."
"And you heard her assessment about Anna Barber, which that the woman is acting on guilt and we should be grateful this is the extent of her interference with Cerulean Seaborn?" Wilson says. Toby nods. "Isn't that enough for you?"
"Not really," Toby answers. Wilson sighs.
"Mr. Ziegler-"
"It doesn't sit right. Something's not…it doesn't fit, I can feel it," Toby says. Wilson gives him an exasperated look.
"Your feelings do not direct the Secret Service. The behavior analyst's assessment is good enough for us."
"I got that impression," Toby says.
"You can give these to the Seaborns. It's all fine," Wilson says again.
"Toby?" C.J. and Josh stand in the doorway, watching Wilson with wide eyes. Wilson nods at Toby.
"I'll see you around. Happy holidays." He walks out past the two Senior Staffers. They turn to Toby.
"What the hell's the Secret Service doing in your office on Christmas Eve?" C.J. asks.
"Anna Barber brought this in." Toby gestures to the big box on his desk. "Was supposed to be delivered to Sam. I intervened."
"What's in it?" Josh says.
"Gifts, apparently. According to the envelopes, they are for Sam and Cerulean," Toby says.
"How'd it get in the building?"
"She posed as a courier from the OEOB."
"And nobody noticed she wasn't actually a courier?" C.J. says.
"Apparently, her forgeries are very good," Toby says. "The Secret Service assured me that the package's contents are harmless. I don't think there's any physical harm to be had-"
"But Anna Barber meddling in Cerulean's life has a lot of emotional ramifications for Cerulean and the rest of us," C.J. finishes. Toby gestures emphatically.
"Thank you! That's the point I was trying to make with Wilson!"
"Technically the Secret Service doesn't care about our emotional well-being. It's not in their job description," Josh says. "But this is really bad for us."
"Sam's going to have a cow when he finds out," C.J. says. "He wasn't happy when they realized she got into the hospital. But now she's gotten into the West Wing while Cerulean was here!"
"This is the second time she's been within walking distance of Cerulean in the last year with nobody knowing about it," Josh says. "God knows what she's been doing these past five, six years. God knows if she's even still sane after being married to that maniac-"
"Josh, C.J., I know all that. Everyone knows that, from Kathy and Ginger up to the President and Leo. The point is…" Toby pauses, the adrenaline coming to a head in his mind. "What are we going to do with this? What are we going to do when Anna Barber gets it into her head that gifts aren't enough?" C.J. and Josh look at each other and then back at Toby. Nobody has anything to say.