Disclaimer - I don't own the West Wing Characters, sadly they belong to Aaron Sorkin, John Wells, NBC and blah, blah, blah. The greater crime is that I don't own Brad Whitford either. What a babe. However, I reserve the right to write myself into this story, so I can at least have him for a little while.

Pairings - Josh/OC

Rating - PG

Summary - Josh meets his match, in more ways than one, in the most unlikely place - a piano bar. But is she everything she claims to be?

They talked for hours, neither aware that at some point during the evening, Sam had slipped out the door with Chelsea when her shift at the bar ended. They'd covered a wide variety of topics - the professors they'd had at Harvard, where they hung out in Cambridge, why each had chosen law, and told the story of how they'd come to work on the most recent Presidential campaign.

"Josh?" Caroline asked sheepishly, "do you want to maybe..."

She was nervous, and he found it completely adorable. Truth be told, there was nothing about this woman that didn't completely entrance him. He was totally bewitched by her, utterly enraptured, even if she was a Republican.

"Go someplace quieter and talk?" he finished for her, tossing a wad of bills onto the counter and quickly catching the bartender's attention. "Yes."

Caroline smiled and slipped off the chair, reaching into her back pocket for her credit card. Josh held out a hand to stop her, "Please, let me do this." He wanted to tell her that he could talk to her for hours. He wanted to tell her how amazing he thought she was, but he didn't.

She nod in agreement, allowing him to place his hand on the small of her back as he guided them out of the still crowded bar. They stepped out into the crisp April night, and Josh noticed Caroline shiver. Without a word, he shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

She smiled appreciatively at him. "But you'll be cold now," she chided.

"I'm from Connecticut, Caroline, this isn't cold to me," he teased.

"Well," she laughed, "I'm from Georgia, and let me tell you, this is the like the dead middle of winter in Savannah."

Josh shoved his hands into his pants pockets as they began to walk. "So, is Chelsea a...", he began to ask, but found himself reluctant to finish his question.

Caroline laughed, a sound he was quickly coming to delight in. "Re-pub-li-can," she said slowly, taunting him. "You can say it, Josh. It's not a bad word. It won't hurt you."

He stepped away from her playfully and stopped. She spun around to face him, a wide smile set on her face. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Waiting," he answered, tilting his face up toward the clear night sky.

"For what?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Lightning to strike you down," he joked.

She gently slugged his arm, and Josh rubbed the spot where her arm had connected, mouthing "Ow."

"No, in answer to your question," she said as they began walking again. "Sadly, I haven't been able to bring Chelsea to the other side yet."

"Sam will be thrilled to hear that."

"Matter of fact," Caroline said with a laugh, "the morning after the election, I woke up to find my entire bedroom wallpapered in 'Bartlet for America' signs. God, there had to be 500 of those damn signs."

Josh stopped walking again and feigned annoyance. "That's were they went? I spent hours looking for those signs. If only I'd known they were in your bedroom..." He let the last part trail off, unsure of whether or not he should really finish the thought aloud.

"You'd what?" she sweetly demanded.

"I'd..." God, she was beautiful, he thought. They'd stopped right below a street lamp, and she was bathed in soft light, casting a shimmer of gold over her chestnut hair. In his life, he'd never wanted anything more than he wanted to kiss Caroline McTerin.

"Josh?" she asked quietly.

He'd known her eyes were blue the moment he saw her, but with the glow from the light above, they shone like sapphires. "Yeah?"

"You okay?" she questioned, reaching out and resting a hand on his arm.

He took her hand in his, marveling at how small her fingers looked, now intertwined with his. "I am unbelieveably okay," he finally answered.

Josh woke the next morning in near agonizing pain. Every bone and muscle in his body seemed to ache. There was a terrible crick in his neck, he had no feeling in his right arm, and there was on odd weight on his chest. His eyes opened slowly, blinking to focus on his surroundings.

"This isn't my apartment," he thought, quickly scanning the room. The reason his arm was tingling suddenly shifted in her sleep. His memories finally caught up with his brain and Josh smiled, resting back onto the soft taupe chenille of Caroline's couch.

Caroline snuggled deeper into his embrace, securing her arm around his waist and sighing as she began to wake.

"Good morning," he whispered into her hair, inhaling thelingering scent of her vanilla shampoo.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, nearly leaping out of his arms to the other side of the couch. Her long, dark hair had been mussed throughout the night by his shirt and a tiny bit of mascara had seeped into the corner of her eye, but Josh still thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen - even if she did look terrified that she'd just slept with a Democrat.

"Caroline," he grinned, "relax, we just fell asleep talking."

She eyed him suspiciously as he started to stretch. A muscle caught in his neck and Josh cried out in pain. "Are you okay?" she asked, leaning in towards him, her eyes wide with worry.

He brought a hand up to his neck and began rubbing. "I'm fine, I've just got a..."

"Here," she said gently, "let me." He scooted up on the couch and she moved in behind him, massaging his neck and shoulders with the perfect amount of pressure.

He melted into her touch, his muscles immediately relaxing under her fingertips. "Wow," he sighed, closing his eyes as she worked out the kink in his neck. "You are incredibly good at this."

"Thank you." He could hear the smile in her voice and it thrilled him beyond belief.

He tilted his head back to continue complimenting her, but found his lips only millimeters from hers. Her hands ceased their kneading and came to rest on his shoulders. Josh brought one hand up, tracing her cheek with his fingertip. She closed her eyes and sighed at the sensation. Slowly, gently, he wound his fingers through her hair, guiding her lips down to his own.

When he finally kissed her, it was the sweetest, lightest, softest, most amazing and most passionate kiss he'd ever experienced. He pulled away, reluctantly, and placed a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. "If I didn't know better," he said quietly, his hand still tangled in her hair, "I'd think we slept until the Fourth of July."

Caroline smiled, and tucked her head into his. "Those were some pretty incredible fireworks, Mr. Lyman."

"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to kiss you?" he laughed.

Caroline's blue eyes sparkled, leaving Josh completely breathless. "Probably not as long as I've wanted you to."

"Can I do it again?" he asked playfully as he shifted his body so that he could lie down on the couch. He grabbed Caroline around the waist, and brought her down on top of him.

"You're adorable," she giggled, stretching over him and propping her elbow on his chest, "you know that?"

"I do, actually," he teased as she skillfully dodged his kisses.

"And so humble," she shot back, bringing her lips down on his again - just as the front door opened.

"JOSH!" Sam exclaimed from the doorway, gaping at his best friend and his girlfriend's roommate in a rather compromising position on the couch.

"Good morning, Sam," Josh said happily, wrapping his arms around Caroline's waist to prevent her escape. "Caroline and I just woke up." She buried her face in his shoulder and he felt her face tense through the thin fabric of his dress shirt. He wasn't sure if she was about to laugh - or cry.

"I can see that," Sam stammered, glancing down at Chelsea, who was trying desperately to swallow a huge grin. "A little help here," he pleaded.

Chelsea ducked under his arm and made her way into the apartment. "They look like they're doing just fine to me." Chelsea flipped the light on in the kitchen and took a skillet out of the cabinet. "Breakfast, anybody?" she asked sweetly.

"Sure."

"No." Josh and Sam answered simultaneously.

"We can't," Sam began to explain, his eyes still wide with shock. "We have a meeting."

"Since when?" Josh demanded. He'd checked with Donna right before leaving the office. For the first Saturday in a long time, his schedule was clear, and after last night, he had every intention to spend it with Caroline McTerin.

"Since now," Sam answered. He crossed the living room in three quick steps, grabbing Josh's shoes off the floor.

Caroline pulled away from Josh and brought her legs up to her chest, taking a deep breath. Josh sat up and placed his hand on her leg. He glared at Sam, then turned his attention back to Caroline. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, then brought his lips up to her ear. "I'm going to go take this stupid meeting, kill Sam, and then I'd like to take you to dinner tonight," he whispered.

She nod her approval and smiled softly. Josh kissed her gently, then placed another light kiss on her forehead as he stood. He yanked his shoes out of Sam's hand and turned toward the kitchen. "Chelsea, it was nice meeting you. I will hopefully see you this evening when I come pick up Caroline."

Chelsea was grinning like a Cheshire cat and only waved her fingers at him. He followed Sam out the door and shut it behind him, pausing in the hallway to put his shoes on. "What the hell was that?" he demanded.

"Are you nuts?" Sam countered, shaking his head incredulously.

"I was wondering the same damn thing about you!" Josh yelled back.

"Do you have any idea who that girl is?" Sam asked forcefully.

"Caroline McTerin, 26, graduate of Harvard and Georgetown Law School, clerks for Justice Bremen at the Courts," Josh rattled off.

"And?"

"And what?" Josh laughed. "So, she's a Republican, big deal."

Sam's eyes went wide again and he ran a hand through his hair. "Big deal? 'Big deal', he says." He laughed nervously. "She's not JUST a Republican, Josh."

"What do you mean 'she's not just a Republican'?" Josh questioned.

"You're the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh," Sam bellowed as the two made their way to Sam's car, "You can't date Caroline McTerin!"

"Why the hell not?" Josh argued. "She's beautiful, she's incredibly intelligent, she likes me..."

"You can't date the niece of the Senate Majority Leader, Josh."

"WHAT?" Josh screeched.

"She's Arnold Vinick's niece, Josh," Sam explained angrily, "or didn't she get around to telling you that?"

TBC....