Disclaimer - I still don't own these characters. They are still the property of Josh Wells, NBC and the fabulous Aaron Sorkin.
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.
A/N – Thanks to everyone who continues to review this story!! It means so much to me to hear your comments and thoughts! Thanks so much!
C.J. stood at her podium for the afternoon briefing, taking a quick but deep breath before she made her final announcement of the day. She gripped the sides of her podium, mentally and physically preparing herself for the barrage of questions she knew would follow.
"Okay guys, one more announcement this afternoon. Normally, we don't comment on the personal lives of the White House staff or that of the First Family, however, today I'm feeling generous, so I'm throwing you a juicy little tidbit," she paused for the reporters' laughter, "Two weeks ago yesterday, Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman proposed marriage to Eleanor Bartlet. Miss Bartlet accepted the proposal, along with a four carat emerald and diamond engagement ring, and a wedding date has been set."
At first, there was stunned silence. Then forty hands immediately shot into the air and forty reporters were on their feet.
"C.J.!"
"C.J.!"
"C.J.!"
"C.J.!"
"Yes, Katie."
"Did you just say that Josh Lyman and Ellie Bartlet are getting married?" the young reporter asked with a disbelieving tone.
"I did," C.J. answered with a nod, then adding teasingly, "You guys have got to start paying more attention to me. What if the world had been coming to an end?"
Katie scratched her head and frowned. "Doesn't that seem a little fast? I mean, she broke up with Dr. West like, a few weeks ago?"
"That question is extremely personal, Katie," C.J. chastised, "and I'm not going to answer it. And for clarification, the wedding was called off thirteen weeks ago."
"C.J.!"
"C.J.!"
"Danny," she pointed at Danny Concannon.
"I'm glad you brought up the engagement, because I have a source who saw Eleanor Bartlet leaving an OB/GYN's office last week," Danny said with a sly grin. "Do you care to tell us whether or not Eleanor might be pregnant and whether or not this has precipitated the proposal?"
"Precipitated? That's a big word, Danny," C.J. teased, "And no, I don't care to comment on that."
"Come on C.J.," Danny tried again, "Throw us another bone."
"No," she said with a laugh.
"You're no fun," Danny pouted.
"Six years, and you're just now figuring that out?" she said with a grin. She picked up her folders. "Seriously, guys, that's all. Unless the world actually comes to an end, the lid's on until morning."
The collective reporters groaned and C.J. giggled slightly as she stepped from the podium and into the hallway between her office and the briefing room. "Three, two..." she mentally counted.
"C.J.!"
"Right on time," she thought to herself, swinging around to face a frowning Danny. "Hello, Handsome."
Danny crossed his arms over his chest. "If I'm so handsome, why wouldn't you answer my question?"
"Because it would ruin our banter," she said with a shrug, "and I happen to like our banter."
"Okay, fine, I want my fish back," he replied.
"She's my fish, and you can't have her back," C.J. answered, "but if you follow me into my office, we can discuss joint custody."
Danny followed C.J. into her office and shut the door behind them. C.J. leaned against her desk and crossed her arms. "You know the drill," she began. "I am an unnamed White House source."
"Ellie Bartlet is pregnant," Danny said.
"Thirteen weeks," she replied. "Josh and Ellie would prefer that you sit on this for a little while, at least until she is completely out of her first trimester. However, they also understand that this is big news and if you go to press with it immediately, they will forgive you."
"I just won't get an invitation to the wedding?" he asked with a grin.
"Not from them or me," she clarified.
"You really are no fun, you know that, right?"
"I do, in fact," she replied.
"I will sit on it," he said with a dismayed shake of his head, "but this seriously corrupts my morals as a journalist."
"And yet it gets you so much closer to actually getting somewhere with me," she answered.
"You're killing me, Claudia Jean."
"I'm strangely enjoying it, Daniel."
Josh waved sarcastically at the reporters flanking the White House drive as he guided his car around them. He was grateful to Ellie for giving up her BMW and allowing him to keep his Audi when he bought her Tahoe. He loved this car, but he would have given it up for her.
He thought he had prepared himself for the hounding he knew he and Ellie would take from the press once news of their engagement went public, but he wasn't prepared for anything like the last few hours. The phone in his office had literally rung off the hook. Somehow, someway, several reporters had even gotten hold of his cell phone number. Donna had been frantically answering calls all afternoon, finally screaming at one reporter, "What part of no comment do you not understand?" Josh had sent her home, calling it a mental health day.
He drove home quickly, periodically checking his rear view mirror for tails. He coasted into a spot close to his front door and sprinted inside while anxious paparazzi snapped photographs. He opened his front door and tossed his keys onto the entry table. The house was strangely quiet and his concern was instantly peaked.
"Ellie?" he called out softly. He padded into the living room, noticing quickly that the phone had been unplugged from the wall. He picked up her cell phone from the kitchen counter and found it turned off as well. He walked quietly down the hallway to their bedroom and pushed the door open. He leaned against the doorframe and grinned.
Ellie was sitting propped up on pillows in the middle of their bed, munching on ice cream and flipping channels on the television. "Hi!" she said brightly.
"What are you doing?" he asked with an amused tone.
"Watching you on television," she answered with a grin of her own. "And recording it. I want this preserved for Emma. Just in case you are ever President."
"Here kid, don't make the same mistakes we did?"
"That pretty much sums it up," she said slyly.
He kicked off his shoes and loosened his tie, tossing it onto a chair. He crawled into the bed and laid his head on her leg, watching the press coverage with her. She absent-mindedly stroked his hair in between bites of ice cream.
"What are we having for dinner today?" he teased, rolling onto his back so that he could look at her.
She grinned down at him. "Chubby Hubby," she answered.
"Is that a hint?"
"Nah," she said with a wave of her hand. "If anyone's going to end up chubby in this family, I have a feeling it's going to be me."
He yanked the spoon out of her hand and dipped it into the soft ice cream. "Especially if you keep having dinner with Ben & Jerry."
"It has calcium," she shot back exasperatedly. "Calcium is good for us."
Josh swallowed his bite. "C.J. gave Danny the story," he said.
"What's he going to do?" she asked curiously. "The press have been speculating all night that I'm pregnant."
"He's going to sit on it until we're a couple of weeks into the second trimester, then he's going at it full force," Josh explained, taking another bite of Ellie's ice cream.
"I wish he'd sit on it longer than that," she sighed.
"Why?" he asked. Ellie's eyes darted down and Josh didn't miss the flash of pain in her eyes. "Sorry," he muttered.
"It's okay," she said with a small shrug. "I just keep thinking about him, you know? He'd be almost seven years old now."
"Did they ever tell you whether the baby was a boy or a girl?" he asked tenderly, not wanting to upset her, but curious all the same.
"No," she answered with a shake of her head, "but I knew it was a boy." She leaned down and kissed him softly. "Just like I know we're having a girl."
"What are we going to name her?" Josh asked, handing her the ice cream and settling his head back onto her bare leg.
Ellie glared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Where in the hell have you been the past few weeks?" she demanded. "Our daughter's name is Emma."
"Sorry," Josh answered with a goofy grin. "I know her first name is Emma, I was referring to her middle name. I've been leaning toward Grace."
"Oh," she replied. "Well, if it's okay with you, I think her middle name should be Joan."
Josh smiled softly and closed his eyes for a moment. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat at the mention of his sister's name. "I think that would be perfect," he said quietly.
Ellie kissed him again, allowing her lips to linger on his. She looked back up at the television screen. "This is my favorite part," she giggled, turning up the volume on the set. Josh rolled onto his side and tucked his hand under her leg.
"White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg announced this evening that Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman and his longtime on-again, off-again girlfriend, First Daughter Eleanor Bartlet McGarry are engaged. Dr. Bartlet recently ended her engagement to Doctor Curtis West, and the news from the White House comes as a shock to many in the political arena.
"There is intense speculation on whether or not Dr. Bartlet might be pregnant. She was seen last week leaving the offices of Dr. Nicholas and Brennan, two well-known D.C. obstetricians. When asked to comment, Miss Cregg said that the obstetricians are also gynecologists and that Dr. Bartlet has been a patient of Dr. Nicholas's for nearly eight years."
"Ah, what do they know?" Josh teased. He sat up and pushed Ellie down onto the pillows, his eyes sparkling. He kissed her passionately, running his hand over the tiny bump that was slowly forming on her normally flat stomach.
"Would you care to comment on the speculation, Mr. Lyman?" she asked, pressing tiny kisses to the corners of his mouth.
"Sure," he answered teasingly. "All I have to say is that yes, she's pregnant, and yes, I'm extremely proud of myself."
"Are you now?" she asked seductively.
"Um-hum," he replied, lifting the edge of her tank top over her head. "You want me to tell you how much?"
She grinned, making quick work of the buttons on his shirt. "I'd rather you show me."
TBC....