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 – 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.

Ellie admired her reflection in the mirror, gazing at the changes to her body. She rubbed her bulging belly with her fingertips, feeling her baby kick at her touch. A pair of strong arms slid around her waist and she sighed, gingerly fingering the wedding ring on her husband's hand while she intertwined their fingers.

"So," he began quietly, teasing the soft skin of her neck with his lips, "do you think we're having a boy or a girl?"

"I think we are having a girl," she announced, finally glancing back at the mirror to their reflections. Josh grinned back at her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "That's good," he answered. "I always wanted a girl."

Ellie turned her attention back to their still intertwined fingers. Her platinum emerald and diamond engagement ring sparkled on her finger. Below it was a plain platinum wedding ring. "You still like it?" he asked curiously.

She smiled lovingly at him. "Of course. It's so appropriate now, with the baby due in May."

"Yeah," he answered with a nod, "I couldn't have planned that any better if I tried."

Ellie frowned and Josh looked concerned. "Baby, you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied with a nod of her own, "I hate to ruin a romantic moment, but I have to go to the bathroom."

Josh laughed merrily and released her from his grasp. "What else is new?" he asked.

Ellie woke with a start, glancing at the beside clock. 3:11 a.m. She jumped from the bed and ran to the restroom. "What in the hell was that?" she wondered, quickly finishing in the bathroom and heading back into her bedroom. She climbed in, checking to make sure that she hadn't woken up in some alternate reality. Curtis was still sleeping soundly and Ellie sighed.

The dream. A baby. Josh. It didn't make any sense. Why was she dreaming about her ex-boyfriend on the day everyone had received their wedding invitations? And worse, why was she dreaming about having a child with him?

Ellie laid her head on the pillow and curled up beside Curtis. He groaned in his sleep, raising his arm so that hers could slide in around his waist. She kissed his bare shoulder and drifted back to sleep.

Josh leaned against the doorframe in a bedroom he didn't recognize, studying Ellie intently as she gazed into a floor-length mirror. She was so beautiful, clad in a long, flowing white dress, her burgeoning belly clearly visible in her reflection. He glanced down at his hands, fingering the white metal that encircled his ring finger.

He stepped up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. Ellie sighed contentedly and intertwined their left hands. Josh closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of lavender, her scent. His lips trailed over her neck, stopping when he reached her collarbone. "So," he asked quietly, "do you think we're having a boy or a girl?"

"I think we are having a girl," he heard her answer. Josh grinned and rested his head on her shoulder, beaming with pride. "That's good. I've always wanted a girl."

Ellie glanced down at her engagement ring and he was overcome with emotion. He simply couldn't believe that after all this time; she was really wearing his ring. "You still like it?" he wondered aloud.

"Of course," she answered with a smile. "It's so appropriate now, with the baby due in May."

"Yeah," he answered with a nod, "I couldn't have planned that any better if I tried."

Ellie frowned and Josh was instantly concerned. She'd lost her first baby, and he was hesitant about taking any chances. "Baby, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied with a nod of her own, "I hate to ruin a romantic moment, but I have to go to the bathroom."

He laughed brightly and released her from his grasp. "What else is new?" he asked.

Josh sat straight up in bed, instantly and unhappily awake. "What the hell was that?" he asked aloud, rubbing his face with his hands. He glanced over at the clock on the bedside. 3:11 a.m. Great, he thought. He'd never be able to get back to sleep now.

He threw the covers off and climbed out of bed, flipping on the light in the hallway and padding into the kitchen, only half awake. He opened the refrigerator and took out the gallon of milk inside. He took the cap off and took a long swig right from the container. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and rested his arms on the countertop.

Ellie – pregnant with his baby – wearing his ring – married to him. He fingered the edges of her wrapped present nervously; realizing that the book he'd bought for her must have been what had brought the dream on. The book, with the inscription he'd poured over for almost three days, was inside the beautifully wrapped box.

He replaced the milk in the refrigerator and crossed over to the couch, flopping onto it and grabbing the remote off the coffee table. He flipped the television on, switching channels until he found an old movie. Ironically, it too was a favorite of Eleanor's. He rolled his eyes and swallowed a laugh at the thought and settled onto the couch. He shoved a throw pillow under his head and yanked the Mets throw Donna had bought him for Christmas off the back of the couch, covering himself with it.

He yawned, his eyes growing heavier by the minute. He pulled the throw tighter around him and closed his eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep.

Josh pushed the plunger on his pen in and out repeatedly, his mind wandering back to the dream he'd had the night before. The constant clicking was driving Sam insane and he yanked the pen out of Josh's hand.

"What is wrong with you?" he demanded.

Josh leaned on the table, resting his face in his hands. "I had the weirdest dream last night. It was about Ellie and a baby and we were married."

"You dreamed about Ellie?" Sam asked, starting at Josh over the tops of his glasses.

"Yeah, she was standing in front of this mirror, wearing this beautiful, long white dress and she was really pregnant," he said, his hands animatedly waving around as he spoke.

"And you were married?" Sam inquired.

Josh returned his chin to his palm and sighed. "Yeah."

"How do you know it was to you?" Sam asked honestly.

"Because she was wearing the engagement ring I bought her," Josh answered, reaching for his pen, then spinning it on the table.

"Why do you think you dreamed something like that?" Sam asked curiously.

"I bought her something the other day," Josh admitted somewhat sheepishly. "I know it's stupid and I haven't been able to give it to her yet."

"What is it?"

Josh clicked his pen again and began doodling absent-mindedly on his notebook. "A book. Emma by Jane Austen, it's her favorite," he answered.

"You should give it to her," Sam encouraged.

Ellie poked at her salad, her mind wandering back to her dream. C.J. took a sip of her soda, noticing how far away Eleanor suddenly seemed.

"What's up?" she asked curiously.

"Huh?" Ellie answered, her thoughts barreling back to reality.

"You okay?"

Ellie shrugged. "Fine, I didn't sleep very well last night."

"Wedding jitters?" C.J. asked, dipping a french fry into her ketchup and popping it into her mouth.

"No," Ellie answered with a confused frown. "Just weird dreams, that's all."

"Do tell," C.J. requested.

Ellie shifted uncomfortably in her seat and poked at her salad again. C.J. stared at her expectantly and Ellie grinned and rolled her eyes. "I dreamed I was married to Josh and we were having a baby," she finally confessed.

"You're kidding me," C.J. replied incredulously.

"I wish. I had a great ring, though," she answered, stabbing at a piece of chicken with her fork. "It was an emerald and two diamonds and it..." C.J. choked on her soda, sputtering and coughing as she tried to evacuate the liquid from her lungs. "C.J., oh my God, are you okay?"

"Fine," C.J. choked out, waving her hand for emphasis, "emeralds and diamonds, huh?"

"Yeah," Ellie answered with a wistful look, "and I had on this long, flowing ivory gown and I was hugely pregnant and..." She suddenly looked down at her salad with a guilty face. "I shouldn't even be talking about this, it's probably bad luck or something."

"Ellie, you and I are friends, and if there's anything you want to tell me.." C.J. let her admonishment trail off.

"C.J., I'm fine," Ellie said assuredly, with a huge smile. "It was just a dream. There's no way you're getting out of being a bridesmaid."

C.J. rolled her eyes and stuck another french fry in her mouth. "I love you, kiddo, but I'm too old to be a bridesmaid."

"You're never too old to be a bridesmaid," Ellie answered, pouring a little bit of ranch dressing on her salad. "Besides, it will be good practice when you're asked to be one for Zoey."

"You're kidding me, right?" C.J. demanded.

"Nope, we already talked about it," Ellie replied with a grin. She pointed her fork at C.J. "Gets better. We agreed that if she does happen to someday marry Charlie, you get to be the Maid of Honor."

"Oh God," C.J. groaned, resting her head in her hands while Ellie laughed hysterically.

C.J. stormed into Sam's office and slammed the door. "She dreamed the ring," C.J. announced, suddenly pacing the floor.

"I'm fine, how are you? I had a nice lunch with Josh. Did you have a nice lunch with Eleanor?" Sam rattled off sarcastically.

"We don't have time for niceties, Sammy," C.J. said with a flourish. "She dreamed the ring."

"What ring?" Sam asked, still half-reading the article on his computer screen.

"Her ring!" C.J. bellowed, her hands flying, "the ring that Josh bought her!"

"Her engagement ring," he stated for clarification.

"YES! And...she dreamed that they were married and having a baby," C.J. continued.

"That's strange," Sam said with a frown.

"Why?" C.J. demanded.

Sam crossed his arms on his desk and tapped his finger on the wood. "What was she wearing?" he asked curiously, the article now all but forgotten.

"Well, Mr. Blackwell," C.J. said sarcastically, "if you must know, she said she was wearing a full-length flowing ivory gown."

"Standing in front of a mirror?"

C J. stopped pacing and stared at him. "How did you know that?" she roared. "How could you possibly have known that?"

Sam stood and rounded his desk, perching himself precariously on the edge. "Josh had the same dream. Ellie standing in front of a mirror, very pregnant, Josh walks up behind her and asks..."

"Do you think we're having a boy or a girl..." C.J. continued, "OH MY GOD!"

"They had the same dream," Sam stated again. "Except Josh said the dress was white."

C.J. collapsed on the couch. "They had the exact same dream," she repeated.

"Yeah," he answered.

C.J. tapped her foot on the floor. "What do you think the chances of them having the exact same dream on the exact same night are?"

Sam shrugged. "Pretty slim to none."

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"Nothing," Sam answered. "We can't tell them, it would only make things worse."

"Forgive me for being the sentimental, romantic fool," C.J. replied, "but Sam, these kinds of things don't just happen for no reason whatsoever."

"What's your point?" Sam asked curiously.

"My point? My point is that we should do something. Get them in the same room, see if there's any sparks left."

"And if there are?" he inquired.

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet," she admitted.

Sam stood from the desk and sat back down in his office chair, returning his attention to the computer screen. "Well, when you have a good plan, let me know."

C.J. brought her hand up to her mouth and chewed on her thumbnail. "So, you're in when I get a good plan?"

"No," he answered, "but I want to hear about it."

"Ugh," she replied with a groan and a wave of her hand, "I'm out of here."

TBC...