Operation Christmas Cracker

Santa Claus In Trouble

'Just go. You'll be stuck here for Christmas otherwise', Joe's voice carries clearly down the almost deserted corridor.

It's 3.00pm on Christmas Eve. Another front of bad weather is due to hit DC before nightfall and he's trying to get the last of the staff who need to get home to leave.

'Jill and I are still hoping to get to the children's hospital and then that's it. Anything else will be done from here. If folks are not out of the city by 5.00pm then you won't be able to leave', he says as Jill comes into the room.

Her breath catches when he turns.

She's not sure where to look.

She can't believe how much his beard has grown since just this morning, and now that he's shaped it it looks even sexier. To cap it all off he's wearing his eyeglasses not his contact lenses. God he looks hotter than hell, she thinks before chastising herself.

They're about to visit sick children. She can't be thinking like that now.

'Ready to go, babe?' he asks and she can only nod in reply. She lets her hand slip into his and a jolt rockets through her body as he runs his thumb along the inside of her wrist. Bless me father, I want to sin so badly.

The roads are eerily quiet. Everyone who needs to or who can, has left the city, everyone else, except the essential workers are hunkered down, waiting for the next wave of the storm to hit, hoping it won't be as bad as expected.

The motorcade is pared down. It's just a short trip to the hospital and they don't need a full detail, preferring to give agents a chance to get some rest now. The days after Christmas are likely to be busy; the first couple will be visiting disaster areas and hosting meetings and briefings and the team will all be needed to be on their game.

Now, though, it's time to focus on the kids for whom hospital has become a normal part of their lives.

Inside, the children are excited about the visit of their special guests. As soon as the formalities are over and Joe tells them they can ask questions he's peppered for updates on Santa's progress and what the president thinks will happen.

'Don't you guys worry about that', Joe tells them, 'my team are all working on it. Santa has my direct number and I can help him out if need be. I've got the army, the air force, the navy, the coast guard, all ready', he promises. 'Even the Space Force and NASA are on standby in case he has any problems up in the atmosphere', he exclaims and looks around into the eyes of kids suspended in absolute awe.

He decides to keep it going. This is the most fun he's had in days.

Except for this morning.

The thought pops into his head.

He raises Jill's hand, clasped in his, to his lips and presses a kiss to her knuckles. He looks up into her eyes as he does so and he sees the pupils darken. He winks and kisses her hand once more and then focuses back on the kids.

'We also have a special landing strip ready at the National Zoo', he embellishes and Jill has to tuck her face against his shoulder to hide her grin. She knows he's getting into his story by the way he shifts in his seat.

He leans closer to the kids assembled before them, they're mostly sitting on scatter cushions on the floor. 'Yeah, but you guys can't tell anyone, alright? This is between us', he says, watching as they all nod in unison.

'Ok, so, here's the deal. We figure that the wind and rain might make things a bit tougher for the reindeer so we've got a really cozy pen set up in case they may need to take a break. We have lovely straw and some reindeer food and fresh carrots - we grew them in the White House garden so we'd have them ready, just in case of emergency', he says and Jill cannot control the snigger that erupts from her; she masks it in a pretend sneeze.