Disclaimer – I don't own any of these characters – they are the property of NBC, John Wells and the fabulous Aaron Sorkin.

Rating – Quickly slipping into....yep, smut. Pretty R rated stuff too. And it only took me twenty chapters. That's a new record. If it offends, please stop reading at the line. I promise that when you go on to the next chapter, you won't have missed anything crucial.

Pairings – Josh/Ellie, Ellie/OC

Spoilers – None

Summary – Josh Lyman meets Eleanor Bartlet during the campaign and falls in love with the young, married medical student. For the purposes of my story, Ellie is several years older in this story and very different than she is on the show.

I've had this story in my head for years, and have finally forged the courage to begin writing. Here's hoping you enjoy it!! The song by Evanescence, "My Immortal" is the soundtrack for the story.

A/N – Special thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed this story so far, especially Lanfear and Mosesmum. Your encouraging words mean so very, very much to me.

Ellie shifted nervously in the limousine, biting her fingernail as she listened to her Secret Service agent, Ben Thompson recap the events of the past few moments. He'd grabbed her out of a luncheon speech she was giving for the Daughters of the American Revolution in place of her mother. There had been shots fired at the White House. No one was injured; Ben had assured her of that probably a thousand times in the last few minutes, but Ellie was shaken nonetheless.

"And no one in the building or outside was hurt?" she asked again.

"Ellie," Ben answered, "I wouldn't lie to you. You know that."

They arrived in the circular drive to the White House and Ben opened the door for Eleanor, offering his hand as she stepped out of the limo. She walked calmly past the Marines stationed at the front doors, and once out of the press's camera range, she took off in a run toward the Oval Office. She burst through the doors without checking with Charlie, and found her father sitting at his desk, listening to the head of the Secret Service giving him the details of the shooting.

"Ellie," Jed stood and enveloped his daughter into waiting arms. "I'm fine, everyone's fine, Ben told you that already."

"I was still so scared," she admitted, burying her face in his shoulder.

"It was just some random guy who's got a beef with me, thinking if he shoots in the general direction of bulletproof glass, he might get my attention," Jed answered, smoothing his daughter's hair with his hand.

"Got my attention," she shot back irritably. "I was terrified that it was Rosslyn all over again."

Jed closed his eyes and sighed; then held his daughter at arm's length. "Go find him," he directed, motioning toward the door. "You're not going to be satisfied until you've seen that he's okay."

"Dad..."

"Ellie," he stopped her. "Do it for your sake and my sanity, okay?"

Ellie nodded weakly and stepped away from her father. She walked out of the Oval Office; then followed her internal Auto Pilot toward Josh's office. Josh was sitting at his desk, arguing with someone – she assumed Donna, since the assistant was in Wisconsin following her grandfather's death. She stepped into the doorway and stared at him, fighting the urge to grab him out of his chair and wrap him in her arms.

"I'm not calling Stanley," he bellowed into the phone, "and I'm not calling Aaron, Donna. I was in the bathroom when it happened. I didn't see or hear anything."

He glanced up finally and stared at her wide-eyed. "Donna," he said into the phone, "I gotta go, Ellie's here." He listened for a moment, then added, "Yeah, you heard me right. Bye."

He stood from behind his desk, never taking his eyes off her. Ellie shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his stare. "Ellie, what are you doing here?" he asked finally.

"I had to...I just wanted to make sure..." she rambled. Ellie stopped and took a deep breath, suddenly interested in the pattern on the rug. "I'm just glad you're okay," she said without looking up.

"Yeah, I was in the bathroom," he answered, a frown creasing his features, "Well, you heard..."

What finally propelled her to cross the threshold of his office, she wasn't sure. She suddenly found herself surrounded by his strong arms, his face buried in her hair. "Josh," she whispered, unsure of her voice, "I was so scared. The whole ride here, I thought..."

He pulled away from her slightly, capturing her face in his hands. "Baby," he said tenderly, "I'm here and I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere." He tipped his face down to hers, brushing his lips softly over hers. Ellie sighed, snaking her arms around his neck and leaning into his embrace. She parted her lips slightly, and he took advantage, sliding his tongue gently into her mouth, deepening the kiss. Tears spilled from Eleanor's eyes, adding saltiness to a kiss that neither of them wanted to end.

"I love you, Eleanor," he whispered when they finally broke apart for air. "I love you so much."

"Josh," she answered, desperately trying to find her determination to keep her distance from him again. "We can't."

"We can," he argued, his tone defying argument. "You love me. It's written all over your face, and I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let that go. It's been over a year, Ellie."

"Josh, he's running for re-election and this, with the MS, it could..."

"So, we'll keep it quiet," he answered with a grin, not releasing his hold on her. "No making out in public places, that kind of thing. We can do this."

"But..." she said, unable to form a thought coherent enough to finish her sentence.

He took her face in his hands again and gazed deep into her eyes. "No buts, Ellie." He took a deep breath. "Do you love me?"

"Josh."

"Ellie."

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, her determination crumbling. "You know I do, Josh."

His grin was brighter than she'd ever seen. He honestly looked as if he'd just won the lottery. He gathered her into his arms and laughed. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to hear that?" He kissed her again, their tongues dueling for control over a situation neither was sure of. There was so much pent-up frustration and passion in this kiss, both were left breathless.

"Josh," she said, not caring how wrong it was, only knowing how much she needed him.

"I'm grabbing my bag and we're out of here," he answered, pulling away from her finally, completely understanding her unspoken message.

"Where?" she requested.

"My place," he answered, grabbing her arm and pulling her close to him again.

Ellie smiled resting her hands on his chest. "Down boy," she gently commanded.

Josh cocked an eyebrow at her. "Not this time, Ellie."

This time – there was nothing and no one stopping them. His tongue brushed across her lips, begging for entrance, which she willingly gave. Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck and Josh's hands found their way onto her back, bringing her even closer to him, if that were possible.

She pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. "Josh," she began, but was silenced by Josh's finger on her lips.

"You don't have to say anything, Ellie," he said quietly.

"I was going to say," she answered, her green eyes twinkling, "that I think we should probably take this into the bedroom."

"Oh," was all he could think of as a reply. He pressed her into the wall in the entryway, bringing his lips down on hers again. He could feel her smile against his mouth and lean into his embrace.

Josh pulled away for a moment, tracing his finger down the side of her face. "I love you, Ellie," he whispered.

She looked up at him, tears welling up in her beautiful green eyes. "I love you too, Josh," she answered, capturing his lips again. "Josh," she said when she pulled away.

"I'm on it, I swear," he answered, scooping her off the floor and cradling her in his arms as he carried her into the bedroom. He gently set her down as he stepped inside. Josh's lips found Ellie's neck just as his hands found the zipper of her dress. He slowly inched it down, caressing the ivory skin he revealed with his fingertips. She moaned, pushing his jacket past his shoulders and tugging the tie away from his neck, tossing it onto the floor and starting to work on the buttons of his dress shirt.

He groaned and captured her face in his hands, kissing her deeply as he maneuvered them closer to the bed. Ellie pulled away from him and took another step back, smiling shyly as she reached up, taking the dress fabric from her shoulders and shimmying out of it, allowing the light green fabric to fall to the floor.

Josh sucked in a deep breath, taking it all in – Ellie standing before him, clad now in only a lacy ivory bra and panties. She closed the space between them, caressing his chest with her lips, pushing his shirt past his shoulders. He heard himself moan as Ellie's tongue tickled his chest hair, and he brought one hand up to her honey brown curls, silently encouraging her on. She looked up at him and smiled mischievously, reaching for his belt. She slid the brown leather out of the loops and dropped it unceremoniously onto the floor.

She unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, allowing them to fall onto the floor with a small thud. "Oops," she said coyly, eliciting a soft laugh from Josh.

"What are we going to do about that, Doc?" he asked, trailing his lips over the swell of her breasts.

"I've got a few ideas," she answered breathlessly, turning away from him to crawl onto the bed. She beckoned him with her finger.

He stretched out over her, crushing his lips on hers. "I've got hundreds," he countered, attacking her neck with his tongue. Ellie moaned with pleasure, winding her fingers through his hair. Josh kissed a trail down her neck, deftly releasing her breasts from their confinement before lavishing attention on each of them. His tongue danced over the increasingly taut peaks, causing Ellie to writhe beneath him.

He grinned against her skin, moving down her body with his mouth, tracing the circle of her belly button before reaching a barrier of ivory satin. He rose up just slightly, enough to rid her of the panties and settle himself between her legs. Josh kissed a trail from her ankle to her hip, watching Ellie's face intently as his tongue caressed her skin. He traced the outline of her silky opening with his finger, quickly replacing it with his tongue as Ellie's panting grew heavier. She gasped and groped blindly for his hair as he plunged his tongue inside her, tasting a sweetness that could only belong to her.

"Josh...." She moaned, winding her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah?" he asked gently.

"C'mere," she ordered. He obeyed, aligning their bodies and dipping his head to kiss her again. Ellie could taste herself on his lips as she deepened the kiss and pushed his boxers past his waist, enveloping his length with her fingers. "You've been holding out on me," she teased.

"You have no idea," he nearly growled, the lower half of his body thrusting involuntarily against her hand.

"So, show me," she gently ordered, tracing the outline of his ear with her tongue. His hardness was pressed against her opening and Ellie whimpered slightly beneath him. "I don't want to just have sex with you, Ellie," he started slowly, kissing the sides of her mouth and the tip of her nose. "I want to make love with you."

Ellie nodded slowly and he slipped gently inside her, the feeling of coming home overwhelming him as he stroked her slowly, fighting the desire to thrust deep and fast. "Josh," she said quietly, her eyes filled with tears, "I've wanted this for so long."

"I know baby," he answered, capturing her hands over her head with his own, "I wanted it too."

He thrust slowly and deliberately, filling her each time he moved. She clung to him for dear life, gently matching each of his thrusts with one of her own. She rolled him over, straddling his legs and slowly took in his length again. Her eyes rolled back into her head as he filled her, and she rocked against him. When he'd had enough of her teasing strokes, he sat up keeping himself inside her and grasping her hips, guiding her movements over him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tracing the edge of his ear with her tongue. "Ellie," he groaned, increasing the tempo of their lovemaking slightly, sending her crashing over the edge.

He held her tightly against him as her body went lax from the orgasm. "Josh," she moaned, "I never knew it could feel like this."

"Like what, Ellie?" he whispered, teasing her breast again with his tongue, "tell me how it feels."

She smiled a sleepy smile and kissed a trail over his collarbone as he continued to move inside her. "Like heaven, Josh." She whispered in his ear, "I love you."

He came inside her with her confession still lingering on her lips. He kissed her deeply, mumbling against her lips, "I love you too. I always have."

He lifted her off of him, and she crawled up to the head of the bed, resting her head against the mountain of pillows. He scooted in behind her, spooning against her and wrapping her securely in his arms. When she shivered, he reached beneath them and pulled the covers away, enveloping them in a cocoon of soft cotton.

"Ellie?" he whispered, just before they both drifted off to sleep.

"Yeah?" she answered softly.

"I love you."

He felt her smile against his arm and snuggle deeper into his embrace. "I love you too, Joshua."

"It seems we're always saying that at the wrong times, doesn't it?"

"I know," she sighed. "Maybe this time will be different."

He kissed her temple gently. "We'll make it work, my love, I promise."

TBC....