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. Anybody got any ideas how I can resolve that little problem???? Just asking!

Rating - PG.

Pairings - Josh/Ellie, Ellie/OC

Spoilers – Seasons 4 and 5 – most anything that relates specifically to Jed and Abbey's marriage being in trouble.

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 – Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed this fic for me. I often wonder if others of you feel the way I do, when you open your email and see that you have reviews. I feel like its Christmas morning. Or I feel like Sally Field when she accepted her Oscar – You like me (or the story), You really like me (yeah, it's probably the story)!

A/N 2 – If any of you have seen "Dreamcatcher" and liked it, let me apologize to you right off the bat. I saw it the other day and didn't understand it at all. Maybe it helps to read the book first, I don't know. Anyhow, Damian Lewis is the movie, and I just couldn't resist the idea of Curtis watching Jonesy in a film, since both are Damian.

Ellie knocked on the door to Josh's office and waited patiently for him to finish his phone conversation. He grinned and motioned for her to sit down. She sat in one of the visitor's chairs, swallowing laughter when she noticed Josh rolling his eyes. He offered her something to drink by pantomiming a drinking motion and Ellie shook her head no.

"No, thank you," he finally said, returning the phone to the cradle. He ran a hand through his hair and stood.

"Tough call?" she asked with a grin.

He blew out a deep breath. "Conference call," he answered. "You know how much I hate those."

"I do," she replied.

He sat down in the seat beside her. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Fine," she answered, "You?"

"Fine," he echoed. "You sure I can't get you something to drink?"

"I'm good, thanks," she replied.

A sly grin spread across his face and he bit back a laugh. "That's probably for the best, I wouldn't want you to have anything to throw at me."

She laughed brightly and rolled her eyes. "Josh, why did you ask to see me?"

"Okay," he answered, settling into the chair. "Leo asked me to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Your parents."

Ellie bristled immediately and swallowed hard. "Why me?"

"I think he's hoping we'll get into a fight and you'll blurt something out," Josh confessed.

She laughed weakly. "He knows us well."

"Yeah," Josh agreed. "You're mom has been in Manchester for a long time."

"She's with Zoey," Ellie argued. "And they've only been there a month."

"It's a little closer to a month and a half," he answered honestly. "And it doesn't look good. He's here; she's there. The press is starting to take notice."

"What do they have?" she asked, her tone already defeated. She was tired of the silence between her parents. She was tired of watching their forty- year marriage crumble under the weight of her father's office.

"Nothing but a bunch of rumors," he admitted. "And we'd really like it to not get any further."

"What do you want me to do?" she demanded.

Josh sat up and looked seriously at her. "There's a state dinner next week. The Canadian Prime Minister and his wife and we want your mother to be there."

"She won't want to leave Zoey," Ellie explained.

"I was hoping you'd agree to go there, to take care of Zoey," he answered. "I have to be here, or I'd go."

"Josh, my family isn't your responsibility," she chided gently.

"Yes," he argued. "They are. And for more reasons than you think."

"Okay," she nearly whispered, "but I'm not making any promises."

"Thanks," he said, standing and offering Ellie his hand. She grasped it and stood, finding herself face to face with him in close proximity. Her eyelashes fluttered as the butterflies began churning in her stomach. If Josh felt the same way, he didn't let on. He stepped away from her and made his way over to his desk.

He grabbed a file and returned his attention to her. "I hate to run off, but I have a thing."

"A thing?" she asked amusedly.

"A meeting, another five years shaved off my life, a chance to take a nap, call it what you want," he answered with a grin. "Come on, I'll walk you out."

He didn't wait for an answer, pressing his hand against the small of her back and leading her down the hallway, back toward the Residence. "Aren't you supposed to be back in Africa by now?" he asked curiously.

"Here we go," she answered, stopping in the hallway and turning to face him. She glanced down at her watch. "You made it a whole fifteen minutes."

"What?" he asked. "I'm just wondering."

"Uh-huh," she replied, starting to walk again. "If you must know, we decided to stay, until Zoey's better."

"Well, I guess that's good for me," he answered with a grin, turning down a different hallway and leaving her standing there alone.

Ellie sighed and shook her head exasperatedly. She climbed the stairs to the Residence, pulling her cell phone out of the pocket on her soft yellow suit jacket. She dialed a familiar number and waited for her mother to answer. "Mom," she said quickly, "we need to talk."

Ellie climbed over the mountain of pillows and blankets strewn out over the floor in the den of the family's Manchester home, quickly handing Curtis the huge bowl of popcorn before she stumbled. Zoey was happily camped out on the floor, her arm finally out of the sling, shooting insults at the movie the three were currently watching.

"This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen!" she complained with a frown.

"It's Stephen King," Curtis chided gently, throwing a popcorn kernel at her head.

"Doesn't make it good," she shot back, picking the kernel off her t-shirt and throwing it back at him.

"Just watch the movie, Peanut," he teased. "Nobody's paying you to be a movie critic."

"I'm ready to watch 'The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," she answered.

"NO!" Curtis bellowed with a wave of his hand. "No estrogen until I've had a good dose of testosterone."

"Who invited you anyway?" Zoey argued, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's an engagement ring on your sister's finger that say I don't have to be invited anymore," he answered dramatically.

"I thought men were supposed to get better with age," she retorted, "not meaner and ornerier."

Curtis didn't answer – instead he launched a pillow right at Zoey's head. She tossed it back at him with a groan and went back to insulting the movie. Curtis turned his attention to his fiancée. "You're terribly quiet," he mentioned, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"I'm just thinking how glad I am to finally have things getting back to normal," she answered honestly.

"Normal, as in Zoey and I bickering?" he asked with a grin.

She returned the smile with a laugh. "Among other things."

"Things must be going well at the dinner," Curtis said, his attention slowly returning to the movie. "We haven't had any calls about your parents killing one another."

"Yet," she finished for him, grabbing a handful of popcorn. "It scares me, you know?"

"What?"

"The idea that even after 40 years of marriage, things can still fall apart."

He turned to face her again, his eyes full of concern. "Nothing's ever for certain, Ellie. You and I know that better than anyone. Our lives change with every breath we take."

"I know," she answered weakly.

Curtis reached behind Ellie's head and pulled her body close to his. She curled up to his chest as his strong arms enveloped her. "All I know," he began, pressing his lips onto her hair, "is that I love you, and I am going to fight like hell to keep our marriage strong."

She looked up at him and smiled. "That being said," he continued. "I was thinking that maybe we ought to get married while we're here."

"That would make the parents very happy," she agreed. They both turned their attention to the redhead now resting her chin on her sister's knee. "What are you doing?"

"Keep going," Zoey encouraged. "This is way more interesting than the movie."

Curtis glared at her. "If I put in that yada-yada movie, will you let us talk without you?"

"Probably not," Zoey answered, already handing Curtis the DVD box, "but it's worth a shot."

Curtis rolled his eyes and stood, crossing over to the DVD and ejecting "Dreamcatcher", inserting Zoey's chick-flick instead. He pushed play and handed the remote to her. "Happy now?"

"Very much," she answered with a grin.

Curtis motioned toward the front porch and Ellie stood, taking his hand as he led them outside. He sat down on the wooden swing and she curled up beside him. "So," he said quietly, stroking her hair with his fingertips, "I think we were talking about a wedding."

"Before we were so rudely interrupted," she chimed in.

"Indeed," he answered. "So, how long do you think it would take to plan?"

"Big or small?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "I'll leave that up to you."

"Small then," she decided, snuggling closer to him. "I don't want this wedding to turn into some official state function. Just close family and friends."

They swung quietly for a few minutes. Curtis's fingers were still winding through her hair and the simple, intimate motion was quickly putting her to sleep. "Are you going to invite Josh?" he finally asked.

"Huh?" she asked, her voice heavy with the slumber that had nearly overtaken her.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Did you say something about Josh?" she asked.

"I asked if you were going to invite him to the wedding."

"Oh," she answered, sitting up and stretching slightly. "Uh, yeah, I guess so. Kind of be rude not to. He probably won't show up, though."

"What if he does?" Curtis argued gently.

Ellie shrugged. "I don't know. He's an adult – he probably wouldn't cause too much of a scene. And if he does, Ben will shoot him," she said with a wide grin, eliciting a laugh from Curtis. "Ben's wanted to shoot him on several occasions. He'd love me forever if I actually gave him a reason."

"Has he ever wanted to shoot me?" Curtis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Never," she answered, leaning in for a soft kiss. "I'll start making phone calls on Monday."

Curtis grinned and pulled her onto his lap. "I like the sound of that," he answered, brushing his lips over hers and kissing her passionately."

TBC....