*Again, the angst is super strong in this one. But Daddy!Ethan is kind of adorable, so I couldn't help myself. Also… I'm sorry!

The next thing Leanne knew she was laying down, a blanket having been thrown over her body. She could tell by the cushioning by her head that she must've been on her couch. But when she tried to open her eyes she felt like her head was being split open. She didn't remember her head hurting this bad earlier in the evening. Guess that was stress for you.

She could hear talking down the hallway, but she couldn't make out any distinct voices. She wanted this to all just be a dream. She wanted to go back to being curled up in Ethan's arms earlier that morning. She wanted her daughter to be peacefully sleeping down the hallway once more.

Sitting up some she moved to stand, only to feel a gentle hand on her shoulder, pushing her body back down against the cushions. She wanted to open her eyes to see who it was, but again, a blinding pain shot through her.

"Easy there babe." Ethan. She'd know that voice anywhere. She felt the tears fall from her eyes before she could even fathom what was going on. Why was he? Why was he sitting with her in a mostly dark room? Why was he using terms of endearment with her after she chewed him out?

"Ethan?" She felt her voice crack as she spoke. She closed her eyes shut tight as another wave of pain hit her.

"Yeah." His voice was whispered, and she felt his hands on her face. They were cold, and they felt good pressed against her flushed skin.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, trying once more to sit up. This time, he allowed her to move some, using his hands to help steady her as she swung her legs forward.

"Where else should I be?" His question almost sounded harsh, and then she remembered the words that she had spoken to him earlier and she realized that she deserved every nasty thing he had to say to her.

She chanced at opening her eyes again, and this time she was able too. Her brown met his gray and she realized that he was seated mere inches from her. She felt her breath catch in her throat at his closeness. All she wanted to do was crawl into his arms.

She got ready to speak when he pulled her to him roughly, his arms going around her as he lifted her into his lap, his hands tangling in her hair as her head settled against his chest. She wanted to push him off. She wanted to tell him to stop. But then she felt his tears hot against her skin and she wrapped her arms around him in return.

"I'm scared Ethan." She whispered against the material of his hoodie. She could taste her tears as she spoke and she clung to him even tighter.

"I know baby." He whispered against her hair, his nose nuzzling it's way across the crown of her head. She felt him drop a kiss to her temple as he smoothed some of her hair back from her forehead, his words breaking her right down to her very core. "I am too."

"What do we do Ethan?" She felt her voice quiver as she spoke and she tucked herself as close to his chest as possible. She never wanted to leave his arms ever again.

"We find her." He whispered against her head before pressing another kiss to her temple. "Tell me what happened. From the beginning."

Pulling back from him a bit she rubbed at her tear filled eyes with her hand. She sniffled, her eyes shifting up to meet his as she spoke. "It took me a few hours to calm her down after you left." You mean, after you kicked him out Leanne? She sighed to herself. She never should've done that. "She finally fell asleep, so I figured that I should do the same. When I woke up a few hours later she was gone."

"You tried calling and texting?" Part of her wanted to slap him for his question. Of course she did! "What about her friends? Those girl's from the soccer team she's always talking about?"

"We tried both." She sniffled again, dropping her head down to stare at the ground below her feet. "We called everyone we could think of. I even called people from Angels. Elliot, Eloise. Hell I even called Campbell. No one's seen her. They haven't even heard from her."

"Shh." Ethan pulled her against him once more, his hands returning to their spots on her back and head. He rubbed soothing circles against the material of her shirt with one hand while the other tangled in her messy curls. She couldn't believe this was happening. She wondered if he had seen this coming. If he knew that his actions would do this to them. A small part of her hoped that he felt guilty.

They sat that way for a few more minutes. She heard the others milling around in the background and at one point she could've sworn that she even heard Campbell's voice from the kitchen. She didn't know when the man had arrived, but she was suddenly glad that he was there. They all joined the pair in the living room eventually, sitting around quietly as they prayed for a phone to ring. Anyone's phone. Just as long as it was Ariel. And she was calling to tell them that she was safe.

"Do you think she would've gone home?" Ethan's question was soft and it broke through the silence like a knife. She snapped her eyes up to meet his as she replied.

"This is her home Ethan." She growled her words out and she hoped that he could sense her frustration. Why was he acting like he had no clue what she was talking about.

"No Leanne." He reached forward, his fingers running down the side of her tear stained cheek as he spoke. "Home, home. Where she lived before here."

"Minnesota?" The man was crazy, she hoped he knew that.

"No." He shook his head back and forth slowly as he closed his eyes. "Her old home. Where she lived with her parents. Before her dad died, before everything that happened." He opened his eyes as he let out a breath, eying her softly. "Would she go there?"

"I don't know." Leanne's voice was barely audible, but when she felt Ethan squeeze her hip she knew she had to be on to something. "I... I don't even know where that is."

"Well then we find out." He pulled away from her then. Reaching out to pull his cellphone from his pocket. He dialed a number quickly as he made his way out onto the porch. She watched him with tired eyes as he spoke with whomever was on the other end. When he hung up a few minutes later he rushed back inside, a small glimmer of hope in his otherwise haunted eyes. "I got an address."

She jumped to her feet, moving to throw on some shoes as she followed him out the door. She heard Jesse holler after them as they made their way to Ethan's truck, she just waved him off, climbing into the passenger seat and shutting the door. God she hoped this worked.

About thirty minutes later she felt Ethan turn the car down a small side road. She looked around, expecting to see a subdivision, maybe a few small houses at the end of the quiet block. But she was met with nothing but darkness. She felt her heart stop beating in her chest.

"There's nothing here." She whispered quietly. She felt Ethan's hand grip hers from across the space between them as he cut the engine.

"Let's go look." He exited the vehicle without another sound, making his way around to her side of the car. He opened her door, extending his hand to her as she stepped down. He tucked her against his side as they stood in silence for a moment, letting their eyes adjust to the darkness around them.

"Ariel." She called softly, her eyes searching the cleared out space for the teen. She caught sight of what looked like the girl, sitting cross legged in the empty field before them and she felt her legs take off before she even knew what she was doing. "Ariel!"

The girl's head snapped up at her words and she jumped up, running to throw herself into Leanne's open arms. Leanne squeezed her tightly against her, her hands going to her head to pull her back gently, her eyes giving her a once over to make sure that she was okay. When she was satisfied with the girl's physical state she pulled her back toward her chest, dropping kiss after kiss against her temple. She heard Ethan make his way toward them silently. She knew that he wanted to hold the girl just as much as she did, but she knew that he would never take her from her.

After a few minutes, Ariel pulled back, eyeing them both softly as she wiped at her tears with her shirt sleeve. "I'm sorry." She whispered, her arms shaking as she reached for Ethan next. Leanne watched as she stepped around and fell into the man's arms with a sob. She wrapped her arms around herself as she watched the exchange in front of her.

"It's okay honey." He whispered against her hair. "Just please never do that to us again." His words were so soft and Leanne could see the tenderness in his eyes. If she had ever doubted that he loved the girl before now, well she had been a goddamn fool.

"I won't, I promise." Ariel pulled back once more, her eyes glistening in the moon light as she fought to keep another round of tears from falling.

"Why here Ariel?" Leanne didn't even know what she was asking, or why, but she heard her words before she knew what she was saying.

"This was home." Ariel looked around the empty space with sad eyes, her arms shaking as she wrapped them around her trembling body. "Once."

Ethan snapped his eyes to hers and they both swallowed back a sob. She had been running home this whole time. They were supposed to be her home. Leanne felt like the biggest failure. She couldn't believe that they had let her down like this.

"I haven't felt whole in a while now." Her words sent a shiver down Leanne's spine. "I just wanted to go somewhere where I remembered what that felt like." She sniffled, her eyes turning to glance at the adults in front of her. "But when I got here, there was nothing. I've been feeling so alone, so empty, I just wanted to feel like I was home again." Another sniffled, followed by a sob and Leanne watched as Ethan reached for her, but she shrugged away. "Don't." She put out a hand defensively, warding the man off with a harsh tone.

"Ariel, honey." Ethan reached for her once more and she shoved him away this time. Leanne could see the pain in his eyes at her rejection. "You're not alone. You hear me? You'll never be alone again."

"Bullshit." The teen snapped back. Normally Leanne would've fussed at her for bad language, but she figured that was the least of her worries right now. "You can't promise me that. Neither one of you can." She jabbed a finger at Ethan's chest, her tears falling hard once more. "You're leaving me. Leaving us. What happens if you die over there? What happens if we never see you again?!" She shouted her last question at the man and Leanne felt her heart break. She hadn't even thought about that possibility after hearing that Ethan was leaving. She didn't want to think about it.

"It doesn't matter Ariel." He tried once more to pull the girl close but she slapped him against the chest and stepped backward, putting a few more feet between them. "You'll always have Leanne. And Jesse. And Mario and Noa. They're always going to be here for you. You'll always have them."

"But it's not the same!" She shouted, and Leanne watched as her body gave out and she hit the dirt. She wrapped her arms around herself once more as she rocked back and forth, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Ariel… please…" Ethan stepped forward, falling to his knees in front of her.

"No!" She shouted back. "It's not fair! I don't want you to go!" She screamed so loud that Leanne feared someone might hear them and come investigate. But then she remembered that they were quite literally in the middle of nowhere, so she figured they were safe.

"Please baby, talk to me." Ethan's words were soft and soothing and Leanne felt her knees give way too as she dropped down beside the trembling teen, taking her in her arms as she tried to soothe her.

"No!" Ariel's eyes snapped up to meet his, the anger in them scaring them all. "If you leave…" She hesitated as she took a breath, her tears falling faster than ever before. "If you go over there." She swallowed, her eyes widening as they bore into his. "You're dead to me!"

"Ariel…" She watched as Ethan fell to the ground, his knees giving out from under him. He reached forward for them both but Ariel screamed back at him.

"I hope you never come home!" She shouted, her body trembling in Leanne's arms. "I hope you die over there! I hate you!"

Leanne watched as Ethan's entire body crumbled, his sobs becoming unbearable. She wanted to go to him. But the girl in her arms was her priority right now, whether he liked it or not.

"Ariel, honey, please." He whispered his pleas at her, his hands reaching forward once more. "It's not my choice."

"It was your choice a few days ago!" She shouted back.

"They're called orders for a reason Ariel." He huffed, his head dropping as he struggled to catch his breath. Leanne reached a shaky hand forward, brushing back some of his hair from his forehead. She hated that this was physically destroying them now. "I have to go."

"I don't care!" Ariel screamed once more. "I hate you!" And with that she turned into Leanne's embrace, clinging to her tightly without another word.

They sat that way for a while, each sobbing to themselves. Leanne tried to offer comfort for them both, but Ariel was tangled around her in a way that made her support of Ethan impossible. She wondered if the teen was doing it on purpose. She honestly wouldn't blame if she was.

After a while she watched as Ethan rose from his spot in front of them. His hands shaking as he ran them through his hair. "I'll be in the truck." And with that he was gone.

She sat there holding Ariel for a few more minutes. Her fingers running through the girl's hair as she offered her soft hushes and gentle kisses. When she felt Ariel finally let out a shaky breath, her tears having all been cried out, she risked a look down at the girl. The sight in front of her was heart breaking.

"Let's go home okay baby?" Leanne's words were quiet, and she wondered for a second if Ariel had even heard them. But then she nodded her head against her shoulder and pulled back from her some, moving to stand. They supported each other as they silently made their way back to Ethan's truck. Leanne watched as Ariel climbed into the backseat quietly, and she decided to join her, knowing that her comfort was still needed. She tried to catch Ethan's eyes in the rear view mirror, but he kept them focused on the road the whole way home.

When they had finally made it back to Leanne's place she was thankful to see that only Jesse's car remained in the driveway. She wasn't entirely ready to deal with the rest of the group yet. She doubted Ariel and Ethan were either.

After Ethan put the truck in park she helped Ariel out, her arm wrapping around her shoulders tightly as she escorted her toward the door. The teen caught sight of Jesse at the top of the steps and ran forward, throwing herself in the Puerto Rican's open arms. Leanne watched as Jesse moved her inside quietly, giving her and Ethan some much needed alone tine.

Turning, she was frustrated to see that Ethan was still sitting behind the wheel, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as his eyes stayed staring straight ahead.

"Come inside Ethan." She whispered, her feet moving her to stand beside his door without a second thought.

"No." Was all he said, his fingers turning white as she gripped the object in his hands. "I know where I'm not wanted" He spat, his eyes darting toward her harshly.

"Ethan please…" She pleaded with him, reaching forward to rest her hand on his arm. She could feel him trembling under her touch and she felt another round of tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"No Leanne." He reached down, putting the truck back in gear as he turned his eyes back in front of him.

"We need you Ethan." She choked out. "No matter what Ariel said. She needs you." She felt another sob tear through her body when he didn't respond. He didn't even so much as flinch. "I need you."

"You two will be fine without me." And with that he shot her once glance, his foot releasing from the break slowly as she stepped aside. She watched with soaked eyes as he backed out of the driveway, his truck tearing off down the street without another word.

**Don't forget to comment!