C.J.'s Execution-Confirmation Slip (Oval Office handoff)

A small, folded slip of paper—thin, roughly business-card size, creased where it was quickly folded and bearing a single terse line in hurried type or compact handwriting. C.J. palms it into the President’s hand in the snow-lit Oval, the paper rustling under Bartlet’s fingers before he reads and then crumples it. Its physical lightness contrasts with the heaviness of its content; the note occupies the space between whispered counsel and incontrovertible fact, drawing nearby figures into a sudden, private focus.