"Mumma�Daddy! The door to Abbey and Jed's bedroom banged off the wall.

"Hmmm. What?" Disoriented, Abbey sat up instinctively holding the blankets up to her chest even though she had nothing to hide.

In the next instant the two children hurtled themselves against the bed. They were too young to really understand the whole concept of Santa but they had understood the promise of presents.

"Pwesents, mumma, pwesents." The two began tugging at the blankets Jed and Abbey continued to snuggle under. Abbey cracked an eye at the clock. She'd been right the night before. It was just after 6:30.

"Did Santa come?" She asked sleepily.

"Santa come, Santa come." Nicholas began climbing up the blankets at the foot of the bed then worked his way up his father's groggy form. A stray foot to the groin caused Jed to gasp and draw his knees up protectively.

"Okay, NOW I'm awake," he groaned.

Abbey laughed softly and pulled Nicholas off of him.

"Dada, boo boo?" Nicholas asked with concern. "Mumma kiss boo boo?"

Abbey caught Jed's eye and the two burst into laughter at the innocent comment.

"If I hadn't been sitting right here I'd have thought you put him up to that one." Abbey ran her fingers through Jed's tousled hair.

"So, is mommy going to kiss my boo boo?" Jed whispered into her ear.

"Not Christmas morning she isn't, but if it still needs nursing tonight I'll take a look."

"Oh, I'm sure it won't be better by then."

The door to the bedroom had been left open and Emily Bartlet stood in the doorway watching her son and his family snuggling up in their bed. Instead of passing right by, as she would have in the past she entered the room.

"I thought I heard voices," she said.

"We have two little ones without much patience," Abbey told her.

"Then I guess we better all get moving. I'll go start the coffee if you want to wake the others." Emily turned and left the room.

Jed shook his head as if clearing it. "Was that my mother?"

"Definitely takes some getting used too, doesn't it?" She smiled at her husband then turned to the kids. "Okay, let's go change your diapers and we can go and see what Santa brought you."

****

Aislinn and Nicholas sat amidst torn wrapping paper playing with the bows and trying to get one of the adults to help them open their gifts so they could play.

"Before you play there is one more gift here." Abbey picked up a flat box and handed it to Aislinn. "Bring this over to daddy."

Aislinn waded through the piles of opened gifts and handed the box to her father.

"Let's see." Jed squinted at the tag, as he hadn't brought his glasses down. "This is from Aislinn and Nicholas. What did you two buy me?"

"Candy" Aislinn told him, causing everyone to laugh.

"Somehow I doubt your mother let you buy me candy."

Jed tore at the paper and his deep distinctive laugh filled the room as he opened the box. "It IS candy." He took out the Patrick the starfish lollipop to show everyone. "And there's something else." He pulled out a pair of Spongebob boxer shorts that made everyone laugh.

" 'pongebob," Nicholas toddled over to Jed to show him the package of Spongebob underwear that had been in his own stocking. Potty training was just around the corner.

"Looks like we're going to match, buddy." Jed snaked an arm around the little boy's waist and pulled him in to kiss the top of his head.

"I just want you to know that I had nothing to do with picking out that gift," Abbey told him. " I took the kids shopping and that's what they picked out for you. All I did was pay for it."

Jed grinned with delight. "Well, I thank you both very much. I can't wait to try them on. But right now I need another glass of orange juice." He got to his feet, his heart beating with anticipation. "Max, move." He had to push the German Shepherd away from where he was whining at the kitchen door.

Once inside the kitchen, Max began to run circles around the open cardboard box that sat in the middle of the floor.

"Aislinn! Nicholas!" Jed called out. "It looks like Santa left a gift in here for you two.

The two children raced into the kitchen with Abbey following close behind with her camera. The kids gasped with delight as they peered down into the box at the mewling puppy.

"PANDA!" Aislinn squealed with glee.

"No, sunshine." Jed lifted the puppy out of the box and held her out to the children. "It's a puppy."

"Panda," Nicholas giggled as the puppy began licking his chin.

"I think we found our name," Abbey laughed as she snapped pictures of her giggling children and the squirming little puppy.

"You guys want to call her, Panda?" Jed asked.

Aislinn nodded. "Panda."

"Panda she is then," Jed beamed.

"Well, Panda just peed on the floor." Abbey raised a brow at her husband. "Let daddy take Panda outside kids, he's got some housebreaking to do."

"Me?"

"You're the one who said the kids NEEDED a puppy and they are far too young to housebreak her. I guess that leaves you."

Jed belted his robe more tightly around his waist and attached the little pink leash Abbey had picked out to the puppy's collar. "Let's go, Panda" he grumbled.

Abbey tiptoed up to whisper into his ear. "The things you'll do to be a hero."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Abbey watched them go out the door with arms wrapped around her middle. "Housebreaking and potty training at the same time," she sighed. "What have I let myself in for?"

****

After a large buffet brunch Jed found Abbey in the nursery putting away the new clothes and toys that the twins had gotten for Christmas.

"Wanna play?" He asked.

"Jed, it's CHRISTMAS!"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, woman. I wasn't referring to that kind of play. I was thinking we could bring the kids outside and make a snowman."

Abbey glanced out the window and saw that it was snowing lightly. "Sounds like fun and we can bring the roasting pan out to catch the fresh snow and make some snow candy when we come back in."

They found the twins doing a puzzle at the dining room table with their grandfather.

"Hey you two. You want to put your snowsuits on and go make a snowman with mommy and me?"

" 'nowman, yay!"

"I guess that's a yes." Abbey reached in the closet for their snowsuits.

"BIG 'nowman," Nicholas told them.

"So, Nicky here wants to make a big snowman," Jed said. "Anybody else in?"

"It sounds like fun. Let's go out and make our own snowman," Zoey turned to Jean Paul.

"I don't think so, ma petite. Making a snowman is a bit juvenile, don't you think?"

Jed saw the hurt on his daughter's face and wanted to punch the young Frenchman in the mouth.

"Well, Mrs. Bartlet," Jed turned to Abbey who was filling a bag with the items needed to make a proper snowman. "Let's go and be juvenile."

"I'm right behind you."

****

"Uh, it's a little big, Nicky." Abbey stood staring at the ball of snow she and her son had been rolling around while Jed and Aislinn sculpted the bottom of their snowman. "I don't think I can lift it."

Jed turned, his eyes widening. "I think you two had a little too much fun rolling that thing around. This is going to be one FAT snowman."

Abbey wadded up some snow into a small snowball and tossed it toward her husband, hitting him square on the back. The twins began to giggle uproariously.

"HEY!" Jed whipped around.

"That's for calling our snowman fat."

Jed bent and quickly made a snowball. Soon the snow was flying fast and furious and laughter filled the air. Chasing after his wife, Jed tripped in the snow and ended up falling on top of her. Her hat had come off and her auburn curls were a splash of color against the white snow, her cheeks rosy from the cold. Jed used his teeth to bite off his glove and he gently brushed the snow off her face.

"You are so damn pretty." His fingers trailed over her cheek. A tender smile parted Abbey's lips and Jed bent his head touching his lips to hers in a gentle loving kiss.

"Kissy, kissy, kissy" the kids began dancing around their parent's prone bodies. Jed smiled against Abbey's lips and reluctantly parted from her.

Inside Michael O'Neill moved to where Jean Paul de Bourbon stood staring out the window.

"They have that snowman built yet?" He asked.

"I'm not sure they're ever going to finish it at the rate their going."

Puzzled, Michael looked out the window to see his daughter and son in law kissing in the snow, their toddlers dancing around and laughing beside them.

"Some things never change," He grinned, shaking his head.

"They've always been like this?" Jean Paul asked.

"Never could keep their hands off each other. I guess we've all just gotten used to it over the years."

****

About an hour later, Jed, Abbey and the kids came back in the house stomping snow off their boots and peeling off their wet winter clothes.

"Ellie," Abbey called out. "Did you get the syrup boiling?"

"Yes," Ellie called back from the kitchen.

Abbey entered the kitchen in her stocking feet, her hair damp. She filled a glass with cold water and took a spoon to drop the boiling maple syrup into the glass. It hardened on impact.

"It's ready, Jed. Bring in the pan."

Jed carried in the large roasting pan that was now filled with fresh white snow. Abbey grabbed a ladle and began drizzling the boiling syrup onto the snow creating little craters and hard thin pieces of candy. Abbey gave the twins each large lollipop sized pieces with strict orders to Jed to make sure that he took the candy away when they were done licking it so they wouldn't choke.

While the kids sat on the floor eating theirs, the rest of the family jockeyed for position for their share of the maple candy. Snow sugar candy was a favorite treat. When the syrup was gone, Jed made his way to the roasting pan and dipped a spoon into the snow that was now slushy with maple syrup. This was HIS favorite part of snow candy.

"It's been a nice Christmas, hasn't it," Abbey said, wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"Very nice. So what are we going to do for New Years?" He turned in her arms and held out a spoonful of the slush to her lips.

"I'm sure we'll think of something." She accepted the bite and ran her tongue over her lips.

"I'm sure we will."

TBC...