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 bounded up the stairs to the small apartment she'd rented with Curtis. She was running late for her birthday dinner with her family and she took the stairs two at a time. She'd nearly gotten her key into the lock when she noticed a small but beautifully wrapped present leaning against the doorframe. Knowing that Curtis was inside and knowing it couldn't possibly be from him, she picked up the gift and sat down on the steps. She gingerly slid the heavy gold ribbon off; then ripped into the ivory wrapping paper. She lifted the lid off the box and gently pushed the tissue paper away.

She gasped as she finally caught a view of the gift inside and she lifted the antique book from the box, her breath catching again at the title. Emma. She knew there was only one person who would buy her this book. She opened the cover and ran her finger first over Josh's scrawled signature; then read the inscription:

Ellie,

One night we laid in bed, dreaming about our future - two children, two dogs, two houses – one in Connecticut, one in D.C. The promise of what would come overwhelmed us both that night and I almost asked you to marry me then. But in my quest to make everything perfect for you, I waited. I guess I waited too long.

I find that my quest now is to make you happy, and I will do whatever it takes to make that happen. If you drop this book right now and coming running into my arms, you would make me the happiest man in the world. But, if you hold it to your heart, treasuring the promise of what might have been, and choose to make a life with Curtis, I'll understand. You know me too well to think that I'll be happy about it, but this time, I am putting your happiness ahead of my own.

You will always be the great love of my life and I will spend the rest of it trying to make you happy, whether as your lover or your friend.

All my love now and forever, Joshua

Ellie closed the cover and rested her head on her knees. Her body was swimming with emotion and the sheer intensity was making her dizzy. Why now, she wondered, clutching the book to her chest, fighting her racing heart and the tears cascading down her cheeks. She wiped the tears away and stood, picking up all the wrapping paper and the bow, shoving them into her gym bag; then gently placing the book on top of her clothes. She checked her reflection in a small mirror she kept inside her bag, making sure Curtis wouldn't be able to tell she'd been crying. Happy with what she saw, she inserted her key in the lock again and headed into the apartment to get ready for dinner.

"SURPRISE!" Curtis swung the door to the ballroom in her parent's country club open to reveal a large assembly of friends and family. Ellie laughed, happily embracing her parents and siblings; then shook her head and rolled her eyes exasperatedly at Curtis, who just shrugged and grinned.

"A surprise party?" she asked, stretching to kiss him. "Don't you think I'm a little old for a surprise party?"

"Thirty-three is not old," he argued. "You're a mere pup in the grand scheme of things."

She turned away from him to hug Donna and caught Josh's eye. He raised his glass to her and she smiled, embracing her friend warmly. He casually made his way over to them; then pressed a chaste kiss to Ellie's cheek. Her stomach was doing flip-flops as she grabbed his arm when he tried to make a getaway. "I need to talk to you," she nearly hissed.

"Whenever you can get away," he answered, gently stepping away from her grasp.

The band began playing and Curtis took Ellie's hand, immediately leading her out onto the dance floor. It would be almost three hours later before she'd be able to talk to Josh.

Curtis stepped away to use the restroom and Ellie caught Josh's attention, motioning with a nod of her head for him to follow her out onto the terrace. He grabbed two glasses of champagne off a passing tray and stepped out into the cool summer night. He handed one of the glasses to her and gazed out over the Washington skyline.

"Josh," she said quietly, licking her lips nervously.

"Did you like it?" he asked indifferently.

Ellie tried to swallow away the sudden constriction in her throat. Her heart was racing and she thought she might be sick at any moment. "I loved it," she managed to choke out.

"I meant every word of what I said," he answered coolly, taking a long sip of his champagne.

Why is he so damned calm, her brain demanded to know. She'd never felt so nervous in all her life. Her heart was racing and the dizzy feeling was quickly returning. Her hands were shaking wildly as she reached out to touch his shoulder. He turned to face her and suddenly their lips were only inches apart. Josh slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into an embrace. "You're shaking," he commented, securing his arms even tighter around her.

"I've never been so terrified in all my life," she admitted, resting her head on his chest.

"Of what?" he asked gently.

"This," she answered, pulling away from him slightly, but staying within the confines of his arms. Her breathing was growing more erratic by the minute and Josh was honestly afraid that if he didn't do something quick, she'd pass out. He brought his lips slowly down over hers and he heard her whimper slightly as he gently increased the pressure. His hands wound through her hair and she parted her lips, taking the initiative to deepen an already overwhelmingly passionate kiss.

They stumbled back against a brick wall – their tongues teasing, dancing, remembering. Ellie began shaking wildly again and Josh released her, startled. He traced the side of her face with his finger. "Ellie," he whispered, "baby?"

"I'm going to be sick," she said, turning quickly from him and retching into the hedges below them. He was shocked, but automatically pulled her hair away from her face and rubbed circles onto her back, trying to stop her sobbing.

She collapsed finally into a heap on the ground, sweating and crying, hanging her head between her legs. Josh knelt in front of her, brushing her hair away from her face again. "I've never had that effect on a woman before," he teased.

She was still crying when she looked up at him. "I can't do this," she whispered, her eyes pleading, "I just can't do this again."

"Do what?" he demanded lovingly. "I love you, and from what I can tell, I think you might love me too."

Ellie's eyes rolled back and her head drooped between her knees again. "Josh, please," she sobbed. "I can't ruin another relationship like this."

She looked up at him again and grasped his face with her hands. "He loves me so much and I love him and I just can't..." Josh turned his face slightly and kissed her hand gently. The simple action sent chills through her body.

"Love me too," he finished the sentence for her. Ellie nodded weakly. "Okay," he sighed. He stood and offered his hand to help her stand. Ellie stood, but rested weakly against the wall, burying her face in her hands as she began to sob again. "Do you want to go home?" Ellie shook her head yes and Josh nodded. "Okay, I'm going to go get your mom and tell her you aren't feeling well," he said. He pulled her into another embrace and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Ellie and I always will," he said quietly.

Curtis stalked through the crowd of people at Ellie's birthday party, searching for Josh. He found him, leaning against the wall talking to Sam. "I want to talk to you," he demanded, pointing to the terrace.

Josh eyed Sam, who shrugged nervously. He handed his beer to his friend and followed a steaming Curtis outside.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Curtis roared the minute the door closed behind Josh. "Do you have some insane desire to make her miserable?"

"What are you talking about?" Josh asked, his casual tone belying the apprehensiveness he suddenly felt.

Curtis's hands planted on his hips and he shook his head angrily. "I found the book, when we took her home. I saw the inscription. You tried being together, Josh, it didn't work."

"Maybe it would work this time," he shot back.

"There's not going to be a this time," Curtis shouted. "I'm taking Ellie to England until the wedding."

"You can't do that!" Josh bellowed, taking a step toward Curtis, but unsure of what he was going to do. "You can't take her away..." His voice trailed off as the realization hit him. She'd said yes to going to England.

"That's right," Curtis smirked, "I asked her and she said yes. You can't do this to her, Josh. She's been through enough."

"I love her," he answered weakly.

"So do I," Curtis replied, "And I'm the one she said yes to, not you." Curtis took a step toward the door and Josh grabbed his arm.

"Curtis, please don't..."

Curtis grabbed Josh's collar and slammed him into the brick wall behind him. "She's my fiancée," he hissed.

"I love her," Josh said, anger now glowing in his eyes. Even he couldn't believe what came out of his mouth next. "I kissed her earlier, right here, and I'm pretty sure she still loves me too."

He could see the fist flying at his face out of his right eye. When it connected, the fury in Josh's blood boiled over and he fought back, punching Curtis in the stomach. The taller man bent over in pain, but quickly took another swing at Josh. They were fighting on the ground, wrestling like schoolboys before Sam, Leo and Toby finally arrived to break them up.

"Enough!" Leo demanded, yanking Curtis up by the shirt collar and pushing him into Sam's grasp. He turned his attention to Josh, who was being held back by Toby. Josh's lip was bloody and his right eye was slowly swelling shut. "What is wrong with the two of you?" he asked exasperatedly.

"He kissed my fiancée!" Curtis howled, pointing at Josh with a bloodied finger.

"Josh?" Leo asked, disbelieving the accusation.

Josh smirked. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Curtis launched at Josh again, but Leo and Sam managed to hang onto him while Toby dragged Josh further out of Curtis's grasp.

"That's enough!" Leo yelled again. "Toby, take Josh inside and get him cleaned up. Sam, once they are gone, you're going to take Curtis to the bathroom on the other side of the club and clean him up. I'm going to arrange for two separate cars to pick you idiots up. Do you know there are press outside?"

"No," Josh answered, "I didn't know that."

"Maybe you two should think about who you are and where you are before you start throwing punches again," Leo chastised.

"Sorry," they muttered in unison.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to," Leo answered, pointing back into the party where the Bartlets were now staring at them. Both men hung their head as their assigned handler led them inside.

The President sauntered onto the terrace and leaned against the railing. "Well," he sighed, "we knew that was going to happen someday."

"Yeah," Leo answered.

"Our little girl has quite the mess on her hands, doesn't she?"

"I don't think I've ever wanted to strangle her more than I do right now," Leo grumbled, leaning against the railing beside Jed.

"It's not totally her fault, you know," Jed defended, "She's tried to do the right thing."

"By kissing Josh?" Leo asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, she blew that," he answered.

Leo sighed and glanced in at the party. Luckily, it didn't seem that too many of the partygoers were bothered by the terrace fight. "I'm going to check on the prize fighters," he said.

Bartlet didn't answer. He focused on the Washington skyline, lit from above by a full moon. He shook his head at the irony and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it quickly. He said a silent prayer for his daughter, praying that she would make the right decision, whatever that was.

TBC....