Title: Hero
Author: SneetchesToo
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Ethan/Leanne
Summary: After the day that he had just had, Ethan needed his family, until he realized that they needed him so much more.
Author's Note: So 3x09 has officially broken me and I desperately needed to see some love between our favorite family. So here it is! This will be one super long chapter, broken down into 2-3 parts and posted separately. That way I don't have to leave you guys hanging while I finish it out. Spoilers for 3x09.
Part 2
Ariel couldn't believe the day she was having. She couldn't even fathom how horribly wrong everything had gone. And so quickly too. She had been horrified watching Max thrash around in pain when he had been brought to Center Stage. The sound of his voice screaming out for his father like that, the look of pure terror on his face, it had sent shock waves through her body that she couldn't remember ever feeling before. She had been rooted to her spot, despite Leanne's screams for her to leave, despite the pleading in her mother's eyes for her to walk away. She hadn't been able to move.
After Jesse had finally gotten her to turn around, she had practically run away from all the chaos, choosing to hide out in the supply room. She had started messing things up just for the sake of reorganizing them, her brain still unable to process everything that had happened over the past fifteen minutes. She had prayed that Ethan would walk through the door and comfort her, but rather, it had been Leanne. And her words had done little to make her feel better. She just wanted to forget everything that she had just witnessed. She didn't want to accept it, she didn't want it to be fact, she just wanted it all to go away.
She had been hesitant to see Max for so many reasons. She was scared, yes, but she was also frustrated and her heart hurt and she was confused about what to do next. When Leanne had finally convinced her that she needed to go speak to him, that she needed to talk to him, to show him that she still cared about him, she had finally felt something inside her break. She knew that the older woman was right, that Max needed her just as much as she needed him, so she had given in.
She had gone to him, held his hand as he tried to speak, her tears falling freely down her face. She didn't know what had possessed her to tell him about her father's accident and his heart transplant and the little girl who was still alive because of him. But then he had been smiling at her through his mask, his pain still shining through in his eyes, and she knew that it had been the right choice. She had told him that she loved him, for what reason she wasn't entirely sure, but she thought that he should know. She had hoped that maybe it would have been enough to make him stronger, that maybe it would have given him the strength to keep fighting until he got his new lungs.
But, alas, she had been wrong. She had waited not so patiently in Leanne's office for word of the surgery. Her heart pounding in her chest as she avoided her phone at all costs. She wanted nothing more than to call Ethan, to hear his reassuring voice talk her through the toughest time of her life. But every time she turned the phone on, the image of her and Max smiling back at her on her lock screen broke her heart in two, so she had tossed the object aside. When Leanne had finally come down to talk to her, to tell her that Max hadn't survived, that someone else was getting his lungs, she felt her whole world come crashing down around her.
She had yelled at Leanne, worse than she had ever yelled at her before, and when she stormed past her and out the office door she could almost hear her mother's heart breaking in her chest. She knew that it wasn't Leanne's fault, she knew that it was no one's fault, but blaming someone had made her feel better in that instance, whether it was the right thing to do or not. She had wandered the hospital for a bit after that, her headphones working to drown out the sounds around her. She just wanted to go home. She wanted to go to bed and forget that this day had ever happened.
When Leanne had finally escorted her out of Angels, her arm around her shoulders, and understanding look in her eyes, she had been incredibly thankful. She had showered almost as soon as they had made it through the door and she had stood under the hot spray and cried for what felt like hours. After thirty minutes she felt the water start to run cold and she had dried off and pulled on her pajamas without so much as blinking. The next thing she knew she was crawling into Leanne's bed, her body collapsing back against the soft pillows as the woman wrapped her arms around her tightly.
They must have fallen asleep within minutes, because Ariel didn't remember anything else up until this given moment. And all she felt was pain. She felt her body shoot straight up in the bed, shaking from the impact of the nightmare she had just had. She felt a hand press against her back, the bed shifting beside her as the other person moved to sit as well, and she expected to hear Leanne's voice ringing softly through the dimly lit room. But instead, it wasn't Leanne's voice, rather, it was Ethan's, and she felt her heart calm instantly in her chest.
"Shhh Angel," His hand moved up and down her back slowly as he spoke, "I'm here."
"Daddy?" She didn't know what had possessed her to call him that, she had never referred to him in person as her father before. But she had called Leanne 'mom' earlier and it had felt right. Just as right as it had to say the word to him.
"Yeah baby, it's me." He whispered softly, his head moving to rest against hers as he pressed a soft kiss to her hair. She wondered why he didn't say anything about the use of the title in reference to him, she wondered if maybe he thought that she was thinking her real father was there. After everything that had happened the past few months though, Ethan was just as much her father as her real dad had ever been.
"Where's mom?" She didn't know why exactly she asked for the woman. She knew that Ethan was perfectly capable of taking care of her himself.
"In the shower." His words were soft and he didn't seem the least bit phased that she was questioning what was going on around her. She was thankful for his patience.
"Oh okay." She sobbed out. She felt him lean back against the pillows once more, pulling her down with him gently. She let out a sigh as she settled against his side, her head moving to rest against his chest, her arm wrapping around his stomach tightly. She had needed him so much last night and now that he was here she didn't want to let him go.
"You okay?" His question was so quiet that she barely heard it and she guessed that he probably didn't want to stir anything up. Clearly she wasn't okay, but he was always one to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"No." She choked out, her eyes closing as another round of tears formed in her eyes. She felt Ethan's arm tighten around her shoulders as he pressed another kiss to her head.
"You wanna talk?" She hated that he was so calm and relaxed about this. But then again, she wondered if Leanne had bothered to tell him what had happened last night.
"No." She snuggled closer, another sob leaving her lips as she tried to fight off the urge to fall apart right then and there.
"You wanna go back to sleep?" She wanted nothing more than to sleep right now. But she knew that she had school and that Leanne was a stickler for attendance, as was he, and she figured that even after all the heartbreak she had experienced she wasn't going to wiggle her way out of that one.
"What about school?" Her question was whispered, her head titling upward so that she could get a look at the man's face. His eyes were closed but she could tell that they were swollen, and he looked more exhausted than she had ever seen him. She wondered if he had had just as shitty of a night as she.
"I have a feeling school isn't gonna happen today is it?" He opened his eyes then, looking down at her softly as he spoke, and she felt her heart break in her chest when she realized that his eyes were just as blood shot and tear stained as she was sure hers were.
"You guys won't be mad?" She hiccuped, her body shuttering as another wave of sadness came over her.
"I have a feeling you have a good reason." He whispered, his hand smoothing her hair back as he offered her a soft smile.
"Thank you." She dropped her head back to his chest, her eyes filling up with tears once more. She clung to him tightly as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, his body relaxing against hers.
"You're welcome honey." His voice was gentle, his hand moving to rub up and down her back as he did his best to soothe her back to sleep. "Go back to sleep." And that's exactly what she did, snuggled up in her father's arms, she felt herself finally relax some after the past 24 hours of nothing but pure chaos, and she fell into a deeper sleep than she had in days.
—
Leanne had emerged from the shower and dried off quickly, her ears straining for any kind of sounds coming from the bedroom, but instead, there was nothing but silence. She had been surprised when Ethan had crawled into bed with them earlier that morning, and even more surprised when he had stayed with them after she had shut him down so quickly. She hadn't meant for her words to be harsh, she hadn't meant to hurt him, but she had been so tired and so drained and she didn't want to talk. Just like she didn't want to talk now.
When she emerged from the bedroom she let out a soft sigh at the sight of the teen curled up in the middle of the bed, her eyes closed as she clung to Ethan like he was going to vanish into thin air. She made note of the rise and fall of the man's chest, indicating that he too, was asleep, and she felt her heart beat speed up. She would never get tired of seeing him show such affection toward the girl, and she would certainly never get tired of seeing the girl loving him just as much. After pulling on a pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt she made her way downstairs quietly, closing the door behind her in hopes of allowing the two some much needed sleep.
About an hour later she had heard the stairs creek and she was shocked when she looked up and saw Ethan making his way toward her. He looked downright exhausted, his eyes still swollen, his face still red and sad looking. She could tell that he was hurting and she wished she knew how to help. He made himself a cup of coffee and she watched as he stared at her with sleepy eyes as she made her way toward him.
"Morning." She whispered, her hands going out to rest against his chest as she stopped in front of him.
"Morning." His voice was rough and scratchy and she could tell that it was from both yelling, and from crying, and it made her sick to her stomach to think that he had had it that rough yesterday too.
"You sleep okay?" She should have known the answer to that question would be one she didn't want to hear. She was sure that he had probably had one eye open the entire time he had been with her last night.
"Eh." He shrugged his shoulders as he took a sip of his coffee, his face relaxing some at the warmth of the liquid. "What happened yesterday?" He asked quietly, his eyes locking with hers as he placed his cup behind him on the counter.
"Ethan please." Pulling away from him she took a few steps back, her eyes closing as she pleaded with him. She knew it was wrong because they really should talk, but she really didn't want to have this conversation right now. Not when her head still hurt from all the crying and her heart still ached from all the pain and all the drama. All she wanted to do was curl up in his arms and shut out of the world and forget that any of this had happened.
"Leanne, don't do this," His eyes pleaded with her and she could feel him reaching out for her, figuratively and literally, "don't shut me out."
"Ariel didn't talk to you?" She felt his hands fall to her waist as he moved to stand behind her and she dropped her head forward, her eyes filling with tears as she asked him about the teen.
"She said she didn't wanna talk." He whispered, his head falling against hers, his lips gentle against the back of her neck as he urged her to turn around.
"Max came in yesterday by ambulance." She could barely get the words out, and she wasn't even to the worst part yet.
"Yeah." She wondered how he knew about what had happened, he had been gone all day with no communication to them since he had kissed her goodbye the night before. "Noa told me he was in rough shape."
"He couldn't breath." She choked out her words as she turned in his arms, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke. "God Ethan it was horrible. They… they got him prepped for the transplant, the lungs, they were right there, but…"
"But what? What happened?" She could see the fear in his eyes, the way he seemed to instantly know that something wasn't right with what she was saying to him. She dropped her head to his chest as she let out a sob and when he pulled her closer, his head falling against hers as he pressed a kiss to her ear, she felt her body start to tremble. "Did something go wrong?"
"He was drowning in his own blood." She couldn't shake the image of the poor kid on the operating room table, blood pouring from his lips as he coughed and coughed, his body writhing in pain. It was an image she wanted to get rid of and never see again. "Campbell… he couldn't save him."
"He died?" His question was so soft that she barely heard it, but she could feel the tension in his body, the way he locked up with the question. She knew that his fear about the boy's death was just as real as hers and she hated that they were having to go through this.
"Yeah. Right there on the operating room table." She sobbed out, her eyes closing as she clung to him tightly. "He was so close Ethan… so close…"
"Shhh babe, it's okay." He pulled her even closer, if that was even possible, and dropped another kiss against her head. "It's okay."
"Ariel, she…" She didn't even want to fathom having to talk about the heart break their daughter was experiencing right now. It hurt her too much to think that she was going through so much, "she didn't handle him being there well."
"How so?" He asked as he pulled back from her some, his hands going to frame her face as he brushed her tears back with his thumbs. He tangled his fingers in her hair as he dropped his forehead to hers and she let out a soft sigh at the intimacy of the gesture.
"She refused to see him." She knew that Ariel had been hurting after what had happened in Center Stage. And especially after the way she had yelled at her in front of everyone. But she didn't think it was right of her to push herself so far away from the boy. "Didn't want to talk to him."
"Please tell me she did." Ethan was pleading with her and she felt her heart break at the way his voice was choppy and broken. She could tell he was afraid for the girl, that he was worried that she hadn't gotten a chance to say 'goodbye', just like neither one of them had gotten to say those precious words to their loved ones before they died. "Please tell me she did before he died."
"She did. She told him she loved him Ethan." She blinked back her tears as she locked eyes with him and she saw his heart break in the gray orbs staring back at her. "Our little girl…"
"It's okay." He whispered, pulling her back into his arms with a gentle hush. "Shhhh, love. It's okay."
"She's been so strong." She sobbed into his shoulder, her hands fisting around his t-shirt as she clung to him like a lifeline.
"She's tough." He said softly and Leanne could practically hear the pride in his voice.
"Too tough. I just want her to stop being so afraid." And that was true. She wanted her to start feeling things, to stop shutting everything and everyone around her out. Leanne had been there, after her accident, after her family had been taken from her. She had been stone cold for so long and she had lost out on so much. It wasn't until Ethan had come along that she truly started to open up, to start to feel again. He had saved her life. Just like she was hoping he would save Ariel's. "To stop acting like nothing has happened."
"I don't think she's feeling that way anymore Lea." She figured that he must have witnessed her falling apart while she had been in the shower. That something must have happened that made him realize that she was breaking.
"What do we do for her?" She asked softly, pulling back from him once more. She smoothed her hands over his t-shirt slowly, letting out a gentle hiccup as he brushed the hair out of her eyes and back behind her ears. She would never get over how gentle he was with her, how she could feel how much he loved her with every touch.
"The same thing we talked about the other night babe." He whispered, his lips pressing a kiss to her forehead as he leaned forward. "We support her and we comfort her and we love her until she's not so broken anymore."
"How do you recover from this?" She could barely get her question out because she realized how incredibly right Ethan was about everything. "I mean, first her mother. Than her father. Now this. How can someone so young make this better?"
"Maybe she can't Leanne." His words sent a chill down her spine and she sniffled as she ran her hands up to his shoulders, clinging to him as he whispered to her. "Maybe we have to do it for her."
"I'm so scared for her Ethan." She sobbed out, her body wracking with another wave of sobs as she fell back against his chest. Her heart was breaking for the girl laying upstairs, for the pain she was going through, for the fear she must have been feeling.
"I know hun." He whispered against her ear, his lips pressing kisses to the side of her head as his hands ran up and down her back gently. "So am I."
*Don't forget to comment :)