Title: No One's Here to Sleep

Author: SneetchesToo

Rating: Mature

Pairing: Ethan/Leanne

Summary: "Here's the pride before the fall;

Oh your eyes they show it all.

I can see it coming, I can see it coming.

As I rise up through each floor;

Shit gets dark when you lose it all.

I can hear it coming, I hear the drumming."

-No One's Here to Sleep by Naughty Boy

Author's Note: This was just a simple idea, but I got a little carried away and now here we are. Slight spoilers for season 3, but nothing that we don't already know. Obviously this is AU and not nearly as canon as I started it out to be. I also made Ariel a little younger, maybe by 2 years, just because I could.

Chapter 1

Leanne had been having a bad morning. No scratch that. She had been having a shitty morning. First she had gotten in an argument with Ariel over whether or not the teen had to go to school today. Ariel had argued that she had migraine. Leanne had countered back with the fact that she knew that Ariel hadn't studied for her math test. They had both gone their separate ways without another word. And when Ethan had dropped by to pick the teen up for school, they hadn't even uttered a goodbye to each other.

It's not that Leanne expected life with a teenager to be simple. In fact, she damn well knew better. But sometimes she wondered just how much Ariel pestered her on purpose, and how much of it was just normal teenage angst. She had asked Ethan that before he had left and he had just chuckled at her, squeezing her hand as he told her not to worry, that he would talk to the girl. She felt more confident in his ability to get through to her.

Ariel had taken to Ethan almost immediately. And she had practically been glued to him during her recovery. She would ask for him constantly and when he would stop by to see her she would fight for hours to get him to stay. Leanne had been thankful for his willingness to indulge the teen. And if she was telling the truth, she was just as excited to have him in the house. They had started spending almost all of their time together outside of Angels with the teen, both of them, together. And it was almost like they had become their own little family.

Ethan had been there for her when she recovered. He had stayed with them and helped them when they were both unable to get around much. He had cooked for them and cleaned and he had helped Leanne with things around the house that she just couldn't do.

And he had been there for her during her custody battle over Ariel. She had filed the papers while they were both still laid up in the hospital and Ethan had driven her to countless of meetings with her lawyers. He had helped her get Ariel set up in school, and he had even spent his entire weekend cleaning out Caitlin's old room for the teen. And he hadn't once complained or argued with either one of them. He just did what needed to be done. And she was beyond thankful for his patience these past seven months.

But things hadn't always been easy. And she knew that things were bound to go downhill eventually. Everything else in her life always did. This was confirmed for her a little later that day when she walked into the break room and found Ethan on the floor, his eyes closed and his chest not rising. She felt every fiber of her being shut down. She felt every muscle forget how to work.

"Ethan!" She screamed his name as she dropped her coffee cup, her legs finally remembering how to function as she ran toward him, dropping herself down on top of him, her hips straddling his waist as she reached out to check his pulse quickly. She found one, but it was barely there, and she felt herself bite her lip to keep from crying. "Ethan please." She shook him gently, her head dropping down to his chest to check for breath signs. There weren't any. She went into panic mode. She screamed. As loud as possible. Screamed for Jesse, for Noa, for help of any kind. For someone, anyone.

And then she dropped her hands to his chest and got ready to start CPR when she heard his body let out a strangled breath. She pulled back her hands and reached out for his face, gripping his cheeks gently as he gasped for air below her. She didn't know what was happening, but she was terrified, and she knew she wasn't doing him any favors. She waited for a minute, her eyes staying focused on his face as he blinked his eyes repeatedly.

"Leanne…" His voice was quiet and she could feel him trembling below her. She dropped her head to his chest as he breathed out a huff. Oh thank God.

"I'm here Ethan." She whispered, bringing her eyes back up to meet his. Her hands dropped back to his chest softly and she watched as he lifted his eyes slightly, eyeing her from his spot below her.

"You know, of all the times I've imagined you on top of me," His voice was humorous and she didn't get it at first, until he finished talking, "this is not how I thought it would happen."

She let out a breath and jumped up quickly, removing herself from on top of him, just as his head dropped back against the cold floor, his eyes going shut as she fell to her knees beside him. She reached out to press her hand to his cheek once more, she noted how warm his skin felt against her cool hands. It was alarming.

"Focus Ethan." She said softly. She reached back down with her other hand to check his pulse once more and when she felt that he was still trembling she stroked her thumb over his stubble covered chin. Turning his head toward her she watched as he continued to struggle with catching his breath.

The door to the break room opened just then and both Jesse and Noa rushed through the door, halting in their tracks at the sight before them. Leanne had never been so glad to see her two friends in her entire life.

"Get me a gurney and an oxygen mask." She watched Ethan try to speak up, but he was silenced by something internally and she reached for him once more when she saw the pained look that came across his face. "Now!"

"What happened?" Noa fell to her knees on Ethan's other side, her hand reaching out for the Colonel's face as well and Leanne watched as Jesse ran out of the room behind her.

"I don't know." Leanne dropped her head back down to Ethan's chest again, noticing the rise and fall of his chest had stopped again. "I found him like this."

Noa shook her head back and forth as she ran her hand through the man's hair, stopping when she made contact with his forehead. "He's burning up."

Leanne's eyes snapped up to meet the redhead's just as Jesse came through the door a second time, a gurney being pulled behind him, Mario hot on his heels. Leanne stood slowly, stepping back out of the way as the two men hoisted the Colonel up onto the soft mattress. Mario's words stopped her dead in his tracks.

"He's not breathing." And Leanne went back into panic mood, jumping up on the gurney to start CPR as Jesse undid the lock on the wheel. She once again straddled Ethan's waist, her hands going to his chest as she started compressions. Counting to herself as they rushed to Center Stage, all eyes suddenly on them.

**Don't forget to comment and let me know what you think! I've been working super hard on this fic and I'm super nervous about sharing it!