Disclaimer - I still don't own these characters. They are still the property of Josh Wells, NBC and the fabulous Aaron Sorkin. Wait, hold on, I do own Dr. Curtis West. Yum. I don't own Damian Lewis, though and that is a true crime against humanity. I will have to speak with someone about this.

Rating - R for language. Ellie's a little upset and felt the need to use a really bad word.

Pairings - Josh/Ellie, Ellie/OC

Spoilers - Commencement and 25. Although you will find some of the plot here, I have taken significant liberty with it!

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.

Ellie rocked against her legs, pounding out yet another cigarette as she sobbed. She wiped her eyes and quickly lit another, bringing it to her lips and taking a long drag. Smoking was a nasty habit she and her father shared, one that they, for the most part, kept hidden from Abbey. Curtis tolerated her addiction, but barely. She rubbed her throbbing temples with her thumb, wishing the headache away while agonizing over the thousand things she imagined the kidnappers were doing to her sister.

"I don't think you can do that here."

The voice in the dark startled her and she spun around to find Josh in the doorway. "Do what?" she asked through her tears.

"Smoke in the Rose Garden, I don't think it's good for the flowers," he answered, crossing over to the bench where he'd found her two days before after their argument.

"Fuck the flowers," she replied bitterly, taking another long drag of the cigarette.

"Wow," Josh marveled aloud. "Six years I've known you, I've never heard you say that."

"And fuck you too," she answered angrily, standing from the bench. "I'm stuck here in this goddamn place while my baby sister is out there somewhere..." Josh caught her as her knees buckled again, sending them both crashing to the ground. He cradled her as her body was overcome by sobs.

He stroked her hair with his fingers and gently rocked her as she sobbed. "Zoey is one of the strongest young women I know, Ellie. Think about it, with your mom and you and Liz, how could she not be?"

"What if they are hurting her?" Ellie cried, clutching onto him for dear life, "What if they're hurting her, Josh? She's my baby sister, I'm supposed to protect her and they got her because I wasn't paying attention."

He pulled away from her and grasped her face with his hands, shaking his head violently. "No, Ellie, no," he said forcefully, "That is not what happened. That club was crawling with Secret Service agents and they still got her. You did nothing wrong, baby."

"It's my fault," she argued, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. "I knew something was wrong. I looked in her eyes and I let her go anyway."

"You let her go to a room with her boyfriend, Ellie," he replied gently. "I would have done the same thing."

"She's not your little sister," Ellie shot back angrily, instantly regretting her choice of words when his face fell. "Josh," she whispered, resting her hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry, I know you love her, probably just as much as I do."

He shook his head softly. "There was a time," he explained quietly, reaching up to push a stray slice of hair behind her ear, "when I believed that Zoey would be my little sister legally someday."

"Yeah," she answered weakly, nodding, "me too. She loves you very much, Josh. She has from day one."

He smiled softly and closed his eyes. "I love her, too."

She rested her head on his chest again and his arms found their way around her once more. Josh rested his head on top of Ellie's. They sat quietly, holding one another and silently easing the other's grief.

Josh kissed the top of Ellie's head and closed his eyes. "Ellie," he started slowly, "I wanted to be the one to tell you that there's been a ransom demand."

She didn't move from his strong embrace, but Josh felt her entire body tense up at the news. "Who and what do they want?" she asked quietly.

"It's the Qumari terrorists, just like we thought," he explained gently. "They are demanding the release of three prisoners being held in a maximum security prison in Islamabad and the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Qumar."

Ellie nodded weakly. "Is he going to do it?" she asked.

Josh sighed. "That's the other thing I came to tell you. Your father is invoking the 25th Amendment."

"The what?" He could feel her face contorting into a frown.

"He's temporarily removing himself from office until this situation with Zoey is resolved."

"Situation?" she answered angrily, pulling away from him. "This is not just a situation, Josh!"

"I know," he answered, grasping her wrists and holding them tightly. "I just...I don't know what else to call it."

"Who's taking command?"

"Glenallen Walken," Josh explained.

"Oh that's brilliant, he hates my father."

Josh smiled weakly. "That's unfortunately the way the Constitution was written, and the Speaker was the first one to call your father after the news went public."

"I'm sure," she answered sarcastically. She stood from the ground and dusted her pants off. "I want to be there when he..."

Josh nodded and stood with her. "Okay, I'll tell them." He took her hand in his again. "This is probably a really stupid question considering what just happened, but can you handle all this?"

"Once I'm in there, I'll be fine," she explained. He had no doubts. He'd seen this side of her before - a side she'd inherited from her father. She may be falling apart in private, but in public, she was stoic and in control of her emotions.

"Okay," he said with another nod. "I'll walk you in."

"Josh."

"Curtis is still in with the Secret Service, he'll never know," Josh answered expectantly.

She touched the side of his face gently. "Thank you, Josh, but I'd know."

She turned and left him standing there, helplessly watching her retreat into the Residence. He could still feel her in his arms. He could still smell the lavender from her shampoo lingering in the air. He knew that she belonged with him, and the fact that she'd let him comfort her strengthened his resolve to fight for the woman he loved.

Ellie stood just to the left of the podium, watching the press conference taking place – announcing her father's removal from office and the swearing in of Glenallen Walken as President. The world was witnessing a monumentous occasion. Never before in history had a President stepped down in this manner. Ellie could have cared less. She watched her father intently, noticing how small and weak he looked standing beside the towering Walken.

Josh was there as well; unconsciously chewing on his bottom lip as he had a habit to do when he was nervous. She hadn't been able to speak to him since the Rose Garden, to thank him for comforting her.

It was such a little thing, allowing him to walk her inside, and somehow she simply couldn't bring herself to do it. Part of her thought that it just didn't seem right under the circumstances. The other part of her knew she didn't want to go down that road again. This is exactly how things had started the first time – Josh comforting her during the loss of her baby. She'd let things get out of hand the first time and she was determined not to make the same mistake again. Curtis was far too precious to allow him to slip through her fingers.

The Press Conference ended suddenly and Jed Bartlet stepped from the podium, wrapped his arm around his daughter's waist, led her into the hallway, away from the prying lenses of the press and immediately collapsed in her arms, sobbing. Ellie was overcome with guilt – realizing that throughout the press conference, she hadn't been thinking about her father, how difficult this must be for him. He was, at this moment more than any other, a hero, and she'd let him down by not fully being there for him. It was another mistake Ellie vowed not to make a second time.

TBC...