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

Rating – PG, for now

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.

A/N – My obsession with the men of Band of Brothers continues. In my sick and twisted imagination, now that I've killed off Ron Livingston, I need a new hottie to fill his shoes. Dr. West looks bizarrely like Damian Lewis, the very handsome British gentleman who plays Captain Winters in the mini- series.

Josh's mind raced. He absent-mindedly twirled his pasta around his fork, balancing his head on his free hand. Ellie was leaving – and worse, she was leaving with Dr. Congo. Josh didn't want to be jealous, but he was. He closed his eyes and sighed, opening them to find Amy staring at him.

It just wasn't fair. He finally met a beautiful, vivacious, funny, amazing woman who is every bit as sarcastic as he is – a perfect match, and he couldn't seem to get Eleanor Bartlet off his brain.

"Josh?" Amy asked curiously, observing the far-away look in his eyes.

"Yeah?" he answered distractedly.

"Where are you?"

He looked at her – his eyes heavy with confusion. "Huh?" he responded.

Amy sighed heavily and threw her napkin onto her plate. "Okay," she said, rising quickly from her seat. "I'm out of here. I'll catch you later, J."

Josh rose with her, coming around the table to stop her exit. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm leaving, Josh. I really didn't want to have dinner alone tonight."

"You're not alone," he said with a bewildered shake of the head, "I'm right here."

"No, J, I don't know where you are, but it's not here with me," she answered, yanking her arm away from him. "I thought you might be over her, but clearly you're not, so..."

"So, what?" he demanded.

"So, call me when you are," she answered, leaving him standing beside the table.

Ellie talked excitedly on the way back to her apartment – she asked Curtis questions about the Congo, about the hospital and his staff. He tried to pay attention and answered his questions honestly, but his mind wandered. As much as he wanted Ellie to come with him – he didn't want it to be because she was running away from Josh.

He parked her car outside her apartment and rounded the back bumper to open the door for her. Ellie stepped out and immediately looped her arm through his, leading the way up to her apartment. She opened the door and let them in, still asking questions and listening intently to his answers. He helped her shrug out of her coat, then removed his own, placing both on the coat rack beside the front door. Ellie sauntered into the kitchen, taking down two heavy crystal wine glasses and filling them from a bottle of Chardonnay he'd brought when he picked her up. She handed him a glass and curled up on the couch, pulling her legs up beneath her.

He sat down on the couch beside her and placed a hand on her knee. "Ellie," he said slowly, blowing out a deep breath. "We need to talk."

Ellie eyed him with confusion. "About what, Curt?"

"Josh," he answered plainly. "I don't want...you shouldn't..." he stammered. He turned to face her and took her hands in his. "Ellie, I want you to come with me, God knows I do, but..."

"But what?" she asked, her eyes wide with fear.

Curtis swallowed hard. "I don't want you to come with me because you're running away from Josh," he said quietly.

Ellie pulled her hands from his and leaned back on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. "You think that's what this is about?"

"I honestly don't know," he shook his head. "That's why we need to talk about it."

"I've always been interested in your work, Curt," she explained with a frown. "You've always known this is something I wanted to do eventually."

"That's the key word, eventually," he answered. "Why is eventually all of a sudden now?"

"Because I can," she shrugged. "There's nothing keeping me here." She scooted closer to him and Curtis found himself inhaling sharply from her close proximity. "And because of this," she whispered, brushing her lips against his. Curtis suddenly noticed that his fingers were winding through her hair and he found that he was helpless to stop them.

His mind raced along with his heart. It had been six years since he'd kissed a woman – since the day his wife died. "Ellie," he whispered, placing tiny kisses at the corners of her mouth, fighting an overwhelming desire to deepen the kiss. He pulled away from her, closing his eyes so that he wouldn't have to see the hurt in hers. "This can't be about me, either."

Ellie sat back on the couch, dejected. "Why are in the men in my life always trying to tell me what to do?" she bellowed, rising angrily from the couch.

Curtis sighed and rested his elbows on his knees, watching her pace the floor. "Eleanor Rose Bartlet," he answered, "you know good and well I'm not telling you what to do, and I won't listen to you tell me otherwise. This can't be about Josh, it can't be about me, it's got to be about you – what's going to make you happy."

She glared at him, bringing one hand up to her mouth and chewing on a fingernail. He remembered she always did that when she didn't want to admit someone else was right. He swallowed the smirk forming on his lips. "I saw that," she said angrily.

"I'm sorry," he replied.

"No, you're not," she spat back, continuing her pacing.

He stood and crossed over to her, catching her and lacing his hands behind her back. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest again. "Rosie," he said quietly, "I want you to be happy, and if coming to the Congo will make you happy, I'm all for it. But if staying here and working things out with Josh would make you happier, then I'm all for that too." He kissed her on the forehead and she relaxed in his arms, placing her hands on his chest.

"I've wanted the Congo for a long time, Curt," she answered with damp eyes. "I can make a difference there. I feel like they need me, much more so than my patients here. And you coming here only strengthened that desire. And for the record, Josh and I are over. We were over long before I made this decision."

"Okay," he answered, lifting her chin with his fingertip. "And I want you to know something. One day, when I look into these gorgeous eyes and I see that I'm the only one there, it's going to take an army to stop me from making love to you. Got that?"

Ellie smiled and blushed slightly. "Got it," she whispered. Curtis grinned and tilted his face down to hers, capturing her lips with his own. Ellie sighed against his mouth, granting his lightly probing tongue access. Her arms snaked around his neck, bringing them even closer. The passion between them was nearly unbearable and they broke apart several minutes later, completely breathless.

"I'm going to go," he whispered, touching his forehead to hers.

"I don't want you to," she answered playfully.

He grinned and laughed, tightening his grip on her waist. "Ellie, if I don't leave right now, what little resolve I am clinging to for dear life will suddenly disappear."

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Damn you and your morals," she teased.

He dipped his head again and kissed her gently. Before he gave himself a chance to give in, he pulled away and made a beeline for his coat, shrugging into it quickly. He turned and opened the front door, glancing back at her to wink and blow her a kiss – then he was gone.

Josh pounded on the door to Amy's apartment. "Come on!" he begged. "Amy, come on, please let me in."

She threw open the front door and stared at him. "What?"

He grabbed her around the waist, crushing his lips down on hers. He waited until he felt Amy relax slightly in his arms and began running his tongue softly over her lips, requesting entrance. He kissed her deeply and passionately, leaving them both gasping for air when they broke apart.

He pulled away from her and took a step back. "That's what I was thinking about at dinner." He started down the hallway and looked back over his shoulder at her. She was still standing in the doorway with a shocked look on her face. "Just so you know..."

TBC....