Title: Disappearing Act
Author: SneetchesToo
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Ethan/Leanne
Summary: Leanne had watched Ethan vanish into the early morning sun, but she never expected to come home to find that Ariel had performed a vanishing act of her own.
Author's Note: So it kind of kills me that Ethan won't be present when Leanne searches for Ariel, because come on, that is so not realistic to season 2 canon. But alas, it seems that nothing is anymore. So here we have my take on Ethan's reaction to finding out the girl is gone. Spoilers for 3x11, obviously still diverging from canon.
Leanne had been emotionally, mentally, and physically spent by the time she had left Angels that morning and all she wanted to do was go home and hug her daughter. She had been so excited to share the news with her about her adoption hearing finally being scheduled but when Ethan had made the choice to go with Rox she knew that she should wait for him. She wanted him to be there to share in the joy, after all, this was his family too.
She had been pissed at first that he had decided to go with Rox, that he had thought that being with her was more important. But she could see the desperation in his eyes, the pain and the sorrow and the confusion. She knew that he wasn't doing this to hurt her, or Ariel, but rather he was doing this to protect himself. She knew that he felt bad for what he had put Rox through, just like he felt bad for what he had put them through, and she knew that he was just trying to make things right. It's just what he did. That's just who he was. And honestly, she wouldn't take that away from him no matter how hard it sometimes was.
After depositing her stuff downstairs she quietly made her way up toward Ariel's room, praying that she could at least surprise the girl with breakfast before school. The house was quiet though, eerily quiet, and when she called out the girl's name and got no response she felt her heart slow down, her hands starting to tremble as she reached for the knob on the girl's bedroom door. Pushing it open she felt the air leave her lungs at the sight in front of her.
Ariel's bed was empty, and made, and her candy striper uniform was resting atop the comforter. Her phone was placed on top of it and Leanne felt herself start to panic. She called for Ariel once more, wondering if maybe she was in the bathroom, or had possibly retreated into her room for something. But there was no response. Turning, she noticed that everything of Ariel's was still there. Her keys, her ID, even her iPod, and she felt her whole world crumble around her.
"Ariel!" She screamed, her legs carrying her through the house as she searched every room. She even threw open the door to Eli's old room, a room she hadn't set foot in in years, but she was met with nothing but painful memories. "Ariel!" She moved toward the room at the end of the hall. The room that had once been John's 'man cave'. And she stopped when the boxes outside the door caught her attention. She had offered to let Ethan use the room as a place to store his belongings until he could get them all settled in. Her heart fluttered, what was she going to tell Ethan?
"Ariel where are you?" She felt the tears start to fall down her face faster than she could fathom and she raced down the stairs, grabbing her phone from her bag. For a split second she got ready to call the teen, but then she remembered that her phone was tucked into her back pocket and certainly not in the possession of the girl she was searching for. "Ariel please!"
She dialed the only number she could think of, Ethan's, and she felt her heart start to race as the phone rang and rang and rang. It went to voicemail and she let out a frustrated sigh, hitting redial as she stormed into the kitchen. She threw the back door open, her eyes scanning the back deck and the small swing set in the yard, the teen still nowhere in sight. She got Ethan's voicemail message once more and she kicked her foot against the doorframe. "Dammit Ethan!" She hit redial once more before turning around and heading back inside. She was at a loss for where to look, obviously the girl wasn't anywhere in the house and she could feel herself starting to spiral out of control at the thought that something had happened to her little girl. The phone beeped once more, indicating for her to leave a message, so that's just what she did.
"Ethan for Christ's sake!" She shouted into the phone, her hands trembling as tears fell down her face. "Pick up the phone! Please!" She felt her knees buckle, her legs giving way as she slid down the wall in the kitchen, her eyes snapping shut as she felt her heart physically break in her chest. "Ethan please! I need you!" She sobbed, her body finally giving in to the demands of the past 24 hours.
She slammed her finger against the end call button, only to hit redial once more. There was no way that he didn't have his phone on him. Even if he wasn't expecting her panicked calls, surely he must have been waiting for Rox's aunt to show up, or for Campbell to check in. Why the hell wasn't he answering? It rang to voicemail again and she let out a strangled cry as she screamed into the phone.
"For fuck's sake Ethan James! Answer your damn phone!" She could feel her blood starting to boil, anger starting to replace fear as she silently pleaded for the man to pick up. "Our daughter is gone and I need you! Please just pick up the phone!" She felt her breath hitch in her chest, her head falling back against the wall as she let out another strangled sob. "Please."
She hung up once more, her body shaking as she tried to control herself. She was no use to Ariel in this condition and she would surely never find her by sitting on the kitchen floor crying hysterically. But unfortunately, she found that that was the only thing she was currently capable of doing. She felt her phone vibrate in her hand and she immediately brought the device up to see who was calling.
"Ethan!" She gasped into the device, her shaking hand bringing the item up to her ear as she closed her eyes tight. "Oh thank god."
"Leanne, what the hell is going on?" His voice was panicked and she could tell that she had rattled him. Part of her felt victorious, the other part of her hated herself for hurting him too. "I listened to your messages. Where's Ariel?"
"I don't know." She sobbed out, all the anger leaving her body at the sound of the worry in his voice. "I came home from work and she was gone. Everything's here Ethan. Everything except her."
"What do you mean gone? Where did she go?" He was rushing his words and stumbling over himself and she could almost see the scared expression on his face. The way his eyes were surely dark with worry.
"I don't know Ethan." She could barely catch her breath and it was starting to become painful, her hands trembling as she tried to keep the phone against her ear. "Her phone is here. Her uniform and her ID, even her keys and her iPod. I don't know where she would go without those things."
"Do you…?" She didn't want him to finish his sentence because she was suddenly thinking the same horrible things he was and she didn't want to fathom those possibilities. "Do you think someone took her?"
"There…" She couldn't finish her words and she wanted nothing more than for him to come through the door and scoop her up into his arms and never let her go. "There's no sign of a struggle. Her bed was made and there was still steam on the bathroom mirror. She hasn't been gone too long."
"What about her backpack? Was that gone?" She hadn't even thought to look for the teen's bag, knowing full and well that if she took that she was at least headed to school for some portion of her day.
"I'll check!" She jumped to her feet and practically ran up the stairs, her body stopping in the doorframe of the girl's room, her eyes searching frantically for the black bag. "It's not here Ethan."
He let out a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone and she felt herself fall against the door with a sigh. "Call the school Leanne. I'm sure she's there." She heard him mumble something to someone on his end and she did her best to control her breathing as she tried to listen to his words. "She had that big English test today, remember? There's no way she would skip out on that. She knows how important it is."
"Okay." She closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself. She knew that calling the school in a panic would do her no good.
"Look, Rox is out of surgery and her aunt just arrived, so I'm gonna get her settled and filled in." He said softly, his voice calming as his breaths started to even out. "I'll catch a ride with the medivac back to Angels and be there within the hour. Okay?"
"Okay." She could barely contain her sobs at this point, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she tried to think of all the ways in which Ariel was safe, instead of all the ways in which she could be hurt.
"Call Jesse okay babe?" His tone was soft and reassuring and she had never been more thankful for his ability to go from zero to sixty so quick. "Have him go with you to the school? If for some reason she's not there let me know. Check the park, and Mario's, and my house. She has a key to both, she might have let herself in, trying to hide out, you know?" His suggestions made sense, she loved going to the park by the hospital, and she found solace in Mario and Noa's apartment. She also knew that Ethan's house was a logical place for her to run, she had her own room there still, her belongings still not fully packed. "I'll be there as soon as I can and I'll stop by the beach on my way in."
"Okay." She hated that that seemed to be the only word she could say lately.
"It's gonna be okay baby." He whispered, his voice cracking as he did his best to stay strong for her. "I promise you. We're gonna find her." He paused and she heard him speak to someone on the other end once more, something about how he had to leave, that it was an emergency. She guessed that maybe it was Rox's aunt that he had been conversing with as well. "I've got to go. But I'll be there soon. I love you."
"I love you too." She sobbed out, tears falling down her face once more as she heard him end the call.
—
She had stood there with her back against the door for at least ten minutes, the silence of the house consuming her as she sobbed softly. But then her phone had buzzed in her hand and she saw Jesse's name flashing before her and she had snapped herself into gear.
"Jesse." She croaked out, her body moving to make it's way down the stairs as she spoke.
"Ethan called me. He said Ariel's missing." His voice was calm and cool and collected and she was thankful for everything that the man on the other end was for her. "What happened?"
"I don't know Jesse." She did her best not to freak out while talking to her best-friend, her heart already in overdrive after having spoken to Ethan. "I came home and she was gone. All of her stuff is here, including her phone. But her backpack is gone."
"So she must have gone to school?" She could hear the sound of an engine starting in the background and she heard Jesse mutter something to someone nearby.
"She had a big test today." She took a deep breath. Ariel knew how important school was, not only for her, but for her parents as well. She wasn't one to skip class, not anymore, not after Ethan had laid into her about how grades were important and how colleges actually did care about that kind of stuff. "She wouldn't have missed that. I know that for sure."
"Okay, Noa and I are on our way over." She let out a sigh of relief, she was so incredibly thankful to have such great friends in her life. "Mario's headed to their place, he's gonna check there and the park. And Will's calling Emily, he thinks she might know what's up. Said they had been texting all last night about something."
"Thank you." She didn't know what else to say. The fact that they had thought to ask Emily, that Mario was stepping up to look for her daughter, that her friends were picking up the pieces knowing that Ethan couldn't be there, it sent shock waves through her body.
"We'll be there soon." He said softly. "Call the school Leanne. See if she's there."
"I will." And with that he was gone, the house filling with silence once more.
She had made her way down the hall with a soft sob and she stopped in the kitchen as she searched the fridge for the piece of paper with Ariel's school information on it. Finding the piece of paper she was looking for she quickly punched the number into her phone and waited as it rang. She spoke with the secretary at the school and then the principal, all before hanging up feeling like she had gotten nowhere.
I called the school. She sent the message to Ethan as she moved outside to the front porch, her eyes searching for Jesse and Noa, praying they would get there before she lost her cool.
Any sign of her? She let out a sigh at Ethan's words, her heart racing in her chest.
They haven't taken attendance yet, but the secretary said she would check her homeroom and call me back. She couldn't believe this was happening, that her daughter was currently missing and no one had a clue where she was.
Okay. I'm heading out now. I'll be at Angels in thirty. You talk to Jesse? She breathed out a sigh of relief knowing that Ethan would soon be by her side once more.
He and Noa are coming over. Mario's checking their place and the park. Will's handling Emily. She watched as Noa's challenger pulled into the driveway, Jesse jumping out before the car had even turned off.
Good. I've gotta go. I'll see you soon baby. She smiled at his words, but then her eyes filled with tears as Jesse pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her tightly as Noa made her way up the steps.
"What did the school say?" The other woman's words were soft as she stopped next to the pair.
"They haven't taken attendance. They're gonna check her homeroom though." Noa let out a sigh as she pulled her into a hug and she watched as Jesse scrubbed his hands over his face.
"Where else would she go?" His question sent panic waves through her once more. She didn't have a clue where the teen might take solace.
"I don't know." She choked out, her hands shaking as she rubbed at her tired eyes.
Noa's phone beeped and she pulled it from her pocket quickly, her eyes reading over the words on the screen before looking up. "Okay, Mario said she's not at our place. He's headed to the park now."
"Would she have gone to Max's?" Jesse's question was shocking and she didn't know where it had come from.
"I…" She gripped the railing behind her, her head falling forward as a realization hit her. "His grave maybe?"
"We'll go." Noa said softly, her hand reaching out to squeeze her shoulder gently. "You stay here in case she comes home."
She nodded her head at the pair, watching as they both rushed down the stairs toward the car. She hadn't thought for a second to consider Max's grave as a place the teen would run to her. She was just a kid, it's not like she would seek solace in a fresh tombstone, not like she had. She felt a sob wrack her body as she dropped her head forward, tears streaming down her face. She just wanted her home, in her arms, that was all she could think about right now. And until it happened, she wouldn't be able to stop crying.
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