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 – Curtis returns in this chapter. Oh, how I've missed him so. Maybe not him so much, but definitely the idea of Damian Lewis in this story. Yum. Oh, sorry, okay, on with the story.

Josh checked the Caller ID on his ringing cell phone rang and answered it quickly. "Emma Joan Lyman's father, may I help you?" he asked amusedly.

"Josh!" Ellie exclaimed. Her voice was strained and he heard the wail of a siren in the background. "Meet me at the hospital."

"It's time?" he asked, jumping up from his desk and flying toward the door. "Donna!" he screamed.

"It's time," he told her when she arrived at his side.

Donna grinned and ran over to her desk, picking up the phone and calling Charlie. "Charlie," she said happily, "Code Pink."

"Honey, just hang tight, keep breathing," Josh told her, shrugging into his suit jacket and grabbing his backpack from Donna. "I'm on my way." He turned to Donna.

"Right behind you," she grinned, pushing him out the door.

Charlie opened the door to Oval Office and peered inside. "Mr. President, Leo, I'm sorry to interrupt."

"What is it Charlie?" the President asked, his interest instantly peaked.

Charlie grinned. "Code pink, sir."

"That's it, folks," the President bellowed as he and Leo began racing around the room, gathering their belongings. Charlie held the door open as President and Leo flew past him on their way to the Portico.

Josh came running out of a different exit, climbing into the limo behind the President and Leo. He was still on the phone with Eleanor. Abbey, both sets of Secret Service agents and a police escort were taking her to the hospital.

"How far apart are the contractions?" Jed asked curiously.

"Your dad wants to know how far apart the contractions are," Josh said into the phone. He listened for a moment; then made a face. "Honey, I'm not sure I can repeat that to the President of the United States."

"Yeah," Jed groaned. "I was wondering when that was going to hit. Somebody should have warned you Josh. The Bartlet women turn into real witches during childbirth."

"No, Honey," Josh said into the phone, desperately trying to swallow his grin as the limo took off down the driveway, "your father didn't call you a bitch."

"Not yet, anyway," Jed said sarcastically.

Carol climbed the stairs to C.J.'s podium quickly, handing the Press Secretary a sheet of paper. C.J. accepted the sheet from her assistant and perused it quickly. She finally looked up, grinning widely.

"Code pink," she laughed. "It is my extreme pleasure to announce to you that Eleanor Bartlet Lyman has officially gone into labor. She is in route, right now, to George Washington hospital. The President, Leo McGarry, and of course, Josh Lyman are all on their way there."

The hand of each reporter shot into the air and the shouting began. C.J. did her best to talk over them. "Guys, I just got this. I don't have any information, you have to know that!"

The Presidential limo pulled into the ambulance bay outside George Washington hospital right behind the limo carrying Abbey and Eleanor. A nurse was loading Ellie into a wheelchair when Josh skidded to her side. He immediately took her hand and held it tight as the nurse began wheeling her through the entrance.

Jed kissed Abbey on the cheek. "Hi, Grandma. How are you doing?"

Abbey grinned. "I'm excellent, Grandpa." She looped her arm through Jed's and led him into the emergency room. "Her contractions are approximately 3 minutes apart and her water broke nearly a half hour ago," she began to detail. "I wasn't able to check her though, she started calling me names."

"Can't be any worse than what you did to me," he answered, "three different times, I might add."

"I was a perfect angel during the delivery of my girls, thank you very much," she responded, swatting Jed on the arm when she saw his eye roll.

"Did anybody call Curtis?" Leo asked behind them as they made their way into the elevator, heading for Labor and Delivery.

"I was calling the hotel just as Ellie was calling Josh," Abbey said, "He should be here any moment."

Jed nodded to the Secret Service agent standing outside Delivery Room 3. "Must be the right place," he said as the agent held the door open. Ellie was already on the bed and the nurse was hooking up a fetal monitor to her stomach while Josh frantically paced the room. Abbey went immediately to Ellie's side, and Jed patted Josh on the shoulder. "Let's take a walk," he suggested.

"No, thanks," Josh answered his father-in-law. "I need to stay here. I don't want Curtis to show up and me not be here."

Two more nurses entered the room. One was holding a bag of saline solution and the other was holding an I.V. setup. Josh blanched at the sight. "Maybe we could just step outside," he said weakly.

"Yeah," Jed answered. He and Leo followed Josh into the hallway, where he began to pace again. The older men simply leaned on the wall. "Josh?"

"Yeah?" Josh asked, stopping his pacing for only a moment to look at Jed.

"She and Emma are going to be fine," he answered reassuringly.

"I know," Josh said, "You've done this before, I haven't. Let's not forget that."

Curtis came running down the hallway and all three men turned to face him. The doctor was out of breath when he reached them and he bent down, placing his hands on his knees.

"Jeez, Curt, you know they do have cabs in this city," Josh said with a frown.

Curtis stood upright and took a deep breath, pointing at the door. "How is she?"

"Fine," Josh answered, "the nurses are putting in an I.V."

Curtis made a move for the door and Josh held his hand up and stepped in front of the entrance. "You're not going in there without me, and I'm not going in there until they're done."

The two men faced off and Jed and Leo were concerned that fists were about to start flying again. A nurse opened the door and poked her head outside. "Mr. Lyman, we're done."

"Good timing," Curtis replied with a smirk and pushed his way past Josh.

Josh gritted his teeth and tightened his jaw, fighting the urge to rush in and tackle Curtis. Leo placed an encouraging hand on Josh's shoulder. "Be nice," he warned in his best fatherly tone.

"I love my wife," Josh said under his breath while he ran a hand through his hair, "I love my wife."

Leo laughed. "If that's going to keep you from slugging Curtis, I'd keep it up."

Josh stepped inside the delivery room and leaned against the doorframe. Curtis was in the chair Abbey had recently occupied, holding Eleanor's hand, gushing about how much he had missed her and how excited he was about the baby. Josh fought a sudden, overwhelming urge to vomit.

"Curtis," Ellie warned lightly, squeezing his hand, "Let's not get too excited yet. We could be in for a very long haul."

Dr. Nicholas opened the door behind Josh and he stepped aside to allow her entrance into the crowded delivery room. "Good afternoon, everyone," she said brightly, picking up Ellie's chart and examining it quickly. Then she stepped over to the fetal monitor and lifted the tape.

She turned to Ellie and patted her on the leg. "You're doing great, Ellie." She sat down on the edge of the bed and directed her attention to everyone else in the room. "Okay, folks, here's how this is going to go down," she began to explain. "In just a minute, we are going to draw blood and DNA samples from both Doctor West and Josh. Once Emma is born, we'll draw blood and DNA samples from her. Those will be rushed to an independent, anonymous lab here at the hospital. We will have the results of the paternity test about two hours after Emma's born."

Josh swallowed hard and glanced over at Ellie. Tears glistened in his wife's eyes and he crossed over to her quickly, not caring if he was pushing past Curtis. He crawled onto the bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. Ellie rested her head on his chest and cried. "Josh," she whispered weakly, "I'm so sorry."

"Hey," he said tenderly, "be sorry after they've stuck me with a needle. You know how much I hate that."

Ellie laughed at the joke and tightened her grip on him. "I love you so much," she said.

"I love you too," he responded, titling her face to his and kissing her lightly.

TBC.....