Title: Picking Sides

Author: SneetchesToo

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Ethan/Rox; mentions to Ethan/Leanne

Summary: Ethan should have known it would come down to this. That eventually he would have to pick between them. He just didn't expect this day to come so fast. And he most certainly didn't expect his heart to make the decision that it did.

Author's Note: So making Ethan pick between Rox and Leanne was NOT originally my plan, at least not like this. But I promise there is a point. I also promise that this is not the end of the Ethan/Leanne storyline (especially since rumor has it that Ariel's arc starts soon), so please don't give up on me! There will be a happy ending for these three by the end of the season!

Ethan had decided to wait a few days before going after Ariel, knowing full and well that he was in for the fight of his life with this one. He had stayed clear of Angels after his fight with Leanne, his desire to see them both being overrun by his desire to not get beat up, or beat down. He had chosen to stay home instead, slaving away on the repairs for the house.

His dad had showed up at his house the morning after Leanne put him in his place, and when they started arguing over selling the house, yet again, he had screamed for the man to get out. Over and over and over again. Until his lungs hurt and his head was pounding. The older man had only left when the tears had started to pour from his son's eyes, his hands shaking as he pushed Jack, Sr. across the living room, his voice raising octaves with each shout.

After the older man had finally left he had sunk to the floor, his back hitting the wooden door with a thud as he sobbed uncontrollably. He couldn't believe his life had come to this, that he had screwed up this much. He had lost his daughter, and the love of his life, all in a matter of days. And now, well now his father was about to dump him on his ass and he didn't even care.

He had grabbed for his phone, his fingers dialing Leanne's number without a second thought. But the phone simply rang and rang and rang. He called again, and again, and finally, after the tenth unanswered call he had thrown the object across the room, his body letting out a blood curdling scream as he felt his heart shatter in his chest. He had needed her, more than he had ever needed anyone in his entire life, and she wasn't there. He had remained in his spot on the living room floor, crying until he had no more tears left to cry, surrounded by paint cans and tools. And when he awoke a few hours later he was pleased to see that he wasn't alone.

Rox must have let herself in, because when he opened his eyes she was sitting on the floor across from him, her legs crossed Indian style, her hands in her lap as her dark eyes studied his face. They had stared at each other for what felt like hours before he finally got the strength to push himself up and toward her. He had lowered her onto the tarp below them without a second thought, his lips hot against hers as she tugged at his t-shirt. They had had sex right there in the middle of the dimly lit room, rough and hungry, their fingers clawing at each other like they were trying to survive.

The next time he woke up they were still on the floor, their bare bodies covered loosely with a blanket he must have dragged from the other room at some point. He had held her close, his tears pouring from his eyes as he had tried to forget about everything that had happened in the last week. Loosing Ariel, loosing Leanne, loosing his dad. He was terrified of what would happen if were to lose her too.

He had muttered those words against her ear as his hands danced along her bare skin a few hours later, their bodies much more content now that he had moved them to the bed. And when she told him that he would never lose her, that she would never leave him like they did, he had sobbed against her lips how much he needed her. He felt like he was betraying everything that he had ever lived for, everything that he had ever believed, but in that moment, in that one solitary moment, their bodies connected as one, her hands in his hair and her eyes dark and lustful, he thought that maybe he didn't love Leanne as much as he once had. That maybe, just maybe, he was capable of loving Rox just the same.

When he had woken up several hours later, the room once again dark, their bodies still tangled together under the bed sheets, he could hear his phone ringing from it's place on the living room floor. Leanne's ringtone echoed through the quiet house, causing Rox's eyes to flutter open, her hand tightening around his bicep as he made the move to leave. She had whispered 'don't' against his neck, her lips soft and gentle as she pulled him back to her. And while part of his heart, and his head, were screaming that he needed to answer the phone. That he needed to let her know that he was okay. He was also very well aware of the fact that he no longer needed her like he once had.

—

That had been three days ago, and while Ethan had continued to stay clear of Angels, his leave not being up until the end of the week, he had made the decision that he had to talk to Ariel, regardless of how hard this would be on all of them. He knew full and well that if he showed up at Leanne's they could both easily ignore him. They could lock him out, they could call the cops for trespassing, they could just scream at him until he left on his own accord.

But not at Angels. No, at Angels, Ariel had to behave herself. And to some degree, so did he. He had told Rox his plan and she had agreed to drive him, knowing full and well that if this talk went anything like his last one with Leanne, he wouldn't be capable of driving himself anywhere. She had dropped him off at the ambulance bay, her lips soft against his as she wished him good luck, pressing a quick kiss to his mouth before she gently shoved him away from the driver's side door. He knew that she had his back, that she would support his decision to keep his life with his daughter separate from his life with her. But he also knew that she was struggling not being able to be a part of such a big thing in his life.

He had promised her that it wouldn't always be this way, that there would come a day when she and Ariel would both be a part of his life, at the same time. But she had been hesitant, reminding him that she had been in Ariel's shoes as a teenager. She had warned him that it wasn't likely that Ariel would ever be accepting of their relationship, that she would always want him and Leanne back together. He had buried his face against her neck as he fought off the urge to tell her that he would always secretly want the same thing.

After Rox had pulled away, her eyebrow raising at him as he just stood in the middle of the concrete area, he had taken a few deep breaths, preparing himself as best as possible for entering the building for the first time in almost two weeks. When he had turned around Noa was standing behind him, her hands in her pockets as she raised an eyebrow at him, a small and mischievous smirk on her lips. He had rolled his eyes at her as he gently bumped her shoulder with his and she had laughed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as she guided him into the hospital. He was glad that of all the people in the world to have on his side, he had her.

Ariel had avoided him at all costs, and he was pretty certain that Jesse was helping her, but when he got wind that her shift was ending, and that she was outside getting some air, he had quickly made his way across the hospital, his eyes searching for her in the crowd of people gathered around the small patio. She had stormed away from him, her eyes dark as she brushed past doctors and nurses, her legs carrying her down the sidewalk and toward the front entrance of the hospital in a huff.

"Ariel! Please!" He called after her, his body saying a silent 'thank you' when she stopped on the steps of the main entrance. "We need to talk."

"I don't wanna talk to you." She growled out. "Not now. Not ever."

"That's not fair Angel, please." He reached for her, his desire to hold her outweighing his desire to get yelled at. "Let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain!" She yelled, her eyes filling with tears as she turned toward him. "You lied to me!"

"Honey…" He took a few steps forward, growling when she took a few steps back. "I didn't lie to you. I would never do that."

"You said you weren't sleeping together!" Her voice was shaking and Ethan could see her body trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"We weren't Ariel." He whispered, his eyes filling with his own set of tears. "That was the first time. We… we weren't planning to. It just, happened."

"I don't care!" He could hear the anger in her words, the way she practically spat at him, her disgust for his relationship with Rox more than apparent. "You said I would always come first!"

"You do babe. Always. You know that." And he meant every word of it. She would always come first. Always. No matter what. He knew that and Rox knew that and he liked to believe that Leanne knew it too. He just needed her to believe him.

"But I needed you!" She screamed, the tears pouring from her eyes faster than he had ever seen. "And you were too busy screwing her to hear me crying myself to sleep!"

"Ariel…" He felt his heart tightening in his chest. He had never heard her cries, he had never heard her calling for him. All he had heard were Rox's moans of pleasure as he had taken his sweet time making love to her. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid.

"No!" She reached forward then, pushing him with her shaking arms. He wanted to grab a hold of her and demand that she stop. That she shouldn't be pushing her father around like that. But then his mind flashed back to him shoving his father through the open door a few days ago, tears streaming down his own face, much like they were streaming down hers now. And he let her continue her rant, her fists pummeling into his chest over and over and over again. "This is stupid! I hate you! I hate you!" She screamed, her fists connecting with his sternum hard enough that he would probably have bruises there in the morning. If he had taught her anything in his short year with her it had surely been how to throw a punch. "You were supposed to protect me! You were supposed to love me! But instead…" She stopped talking then, her breath catching in her chest as her arms fell to her sides, a hiccup escaping her lips. "They're gonna take me away. They're gonna take me away and put me back in the system and you don't even care!"

"Ariel…" He reached for her once more, but she stepped out of his reach, her head shaking back and forth as she tried to catch her breath. "I won't let them take you."

"You were supposed to keep me safe!" She shouted, and when Ethan felt a hand on his shoulder he wanted to turn around and throw a punch, knocking the nosy jerk out of his misery. But then he heard her voice, soft and reassuring and he stopped, his hands falling to his sides.

"Ethan." Rox's voice was calm, the chaos around them having not cracked her tough exterior, and when he turned around she was right behind him, her eyes shining bright in the early evening light. "Stop."

"Go away!" Ariel yelled, her body propelling forward as she made a move for the paramedic, but Ethan stopped her, his strong arms going around her as she tried to shove him aside. "This is all your fault! I hate you!"

"Ariel please…" He could tell that Rox was trying to reason with her, that she could tell that she was in over her head, but he silently pleaded with her to stop before she made things worse. "This wasn't my intention. Your father… he's been very adamant about your importance. I never meant to get in between you two."

"I hate you!" Her voice was still firm, but now it was quieter and she was shaking like a leaf in Ethan's arms. "I hate you and I hope you die!"

"Ariel!" This time it was Leanne's voice that broke through the chaos and Ethan felt his heart tighten in his chest. This time because he knew how this would end. "Let her go Ethan!"

"I…" He threw his hands up, the teen pulling from him immediately and stepping into Leanne's open arms. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt." He whispered, and that part was true. From the very start of this whole thing, that had been his goal. And yet, here he was, watching the three most important women in his life fall apart right in front of him.

"Stop it!" Leanne shouted, her body working as a shield as she put herself between him and Ariel. He could tell that if she were a lesser woman she would have hit him by now. "All of you! Stop it!"

"Lea…" He tried to interject but Rox's hand on his shoulder tightened it's grip and Leanne's eyes were dark with a rage he'd never seen before and he felt all of the fight leave his body. "I'm sorry." He whispered, his eyes filling with another round of tears as his arms fell to his sides, his head hanging in shame as he processed what had just happened around him.

"You don't get to be sorry Ethan!" Leanne's voice was loud, radiating through the otherwise quiet space around them like an alarm. He felt like he had been punched in the throat, like all the air was leaving his body.

"Dr. Rorish, please…" Rox's voice was still calm, and still soft, and Ethan had almost forgotten she was there. But then Leanne's face was turning red and she was waving a shaking arm at them both.

"Stay out of this!" She screamed, her whole body moving forward as she stepped closer to them. Ethan wondered for a split second if she was going to punch the other woman. "This has nothing to do with you!"

"It's all her fault!" Ariel yelled back and Ethan decided that he would much rather have just died in that forest fire the other day. It would have been so much easier than facing this.

"Leave her out of this!" He shouted in return, his hand reaching behind him in search of Rox's. She had been his lifeline last night and he certainly needed her to be one right now.

"I can't do this Ethan!" Leanne's voice was shaky, her eyes filling with tears, her body trembling under the weight of the entire encounter. "We can't do this. Not anymore."

"Leanne, please…" He whispered his plea, his voice giving way as he knew exactly what was coming. He was about to lose them once and for all, and there was nothing that he could do about it. "Please…"

"No!" She shouted, her hand shoving at his chest as she glared at him through tear-filled eyes. "I'm done! I won't do this anymore. Not to me, and certainly not to her." She gestured behind her to the trembling teen who was holding onto her for dear life. "We deserve better than this."

"Please Leanne, let me fix this." He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to fix it just yet, but he was willing to do whatever she wanted him to. Whatever she needed him to, in order to get them back.

"Then choose." She whispered and he felt his heart crumble in his chest. He was prepared to do anything and everything, except for that.

"Whaaat…" He couldn't get air to his lungs, or to his brain, and he felt like he was surely going to black out. She couldn't possibly be serious right now could she?

"Choose." She growled back. "Right here, right now." She stepped back from him, her arms going to wrap themselves tightly around Ariel as she glared at him. "Us? Or her?"

"I won't do it." He whispered back and he felt Rox's hand tighten around his. He knew that she must have figured that she would lose out in all of this. Surely he wouldn't leave his family for her. "It's not fair."

"Life's not fair." Ariel whispered, her eyes closing as she buried her face against Leanne's chest. He felt horrible watching his little girl fall apart like this. He felt even worse knowing that he had caused all of her pain. He couldn't believe the kind of man he had turned into. The monster he had become. He couldn't believe how much like his father he was turning out to be.

"Choose." Leanne's voice was a low growl this time, her body shaking as she closed her eyes, her head falling against Ariel's as she tried to remain strong.

"I…" He turned toward Rox and then back toward Leanne and then back and forth yet again. There was no way that she could expect him to pick between the two. There was no possible way that she could be serious right now.

"Ethan…" Rox's voice was barely a whisper behind him and when he turned to face her she was shaking her head back and forth at him. She knew that she couldn't ask him to pick her, that had to be it. But he couldn't give her up, not when she had been the only thing that had kept him going the past few weeks.

"Please…" Ariel's voice was barely audible, and when he turned to face her her watery eyes were shining back at him from where they were almost hidden against Leanne's scrub top. He blinked back his own tears as he shifted his gaze from each of them once again.

"I can't." And that was that. He couldn't choose. There was no way. They all meant to much to him for him to decide that one of them was more important than the other.

So instead, he chose no one. And as he made his way down the hospital steps, alone, all he could hear in the background were Ariel's soft sobs, Leanne's gentle hushes, and Rox's uneven breathing sounds.

*Don't forget to comment and let me know what you think! I'm super nervous about this one guys, so please don't kill me!