*Ethan was happy to be home, he really, really was.

Ethan sighed as he glanced at the clock on the counter. It was already 6:00pm and he knew that Leanne had said that they were going to dinner. He couldn't imagine why they were going so late, but he was starting to get hungry. Not that he really wanted to go to dinner in the first place. It's not that he didn't love Ariel, because he did, more than anything in this world. And it's not that he didn't want to spend her birthday with her, because he did, more than anything in this world. And it's not even that he didn't love his friends, because he did. And he loved Leanne, that was for sure. He just knew that going out to a place like that, being around all those people and all that noise, well it probably wasn't the greatest place for him to be right now.

Sighing, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, preparing to text Leanne to tell her to go ahead to dinner without him, when he heard the front door open. He waited a second, smiling softly to himself when he heard Ariel's soft laugh filtering down the hallway. He had missed that sound the past three months. In fact, he had dreamt about it, praying that he would get to come home and hear it again. He couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to be here.

"Ethan…" He heard Leanne's voice before he saw her, but when he did, he couldn't help the smile that came over his face.

He had missed her, so much more than he thought was possible, so much more than he had ever missed anyone in his entire life. And the fact that she was standing before him right now was mind blowing. He honestly never thought he would get to have her in his arms again.

"Right here." He said softly, pushing his way into a sitting position from where he was laying on the couch.

"Hi!" Her voice was light and bubbly and he let out a chuckle at how childlike she sounded. He was incredibly thankful that Ariel still had the ability to bring that out of her. He doubted he would ever be able to make her that happy again.

"Hi." He whispered, rubbing his hands over his face as he shook his head lightly. "You ladies have fun?"

"Sure did!" Ariel came bouncing around the corner then and Ethan did a double take. The teen's hair was different, much different, and it didn't him long to realize that not only was there a pink streak in it, but it was almost five inches shorter than it had been when she left the house. "What do you think?" She shook her head back and forth in front of him, her hair flying around in front of her face as she smiled brightly at him.

"It's… different." He knew there was a hesitation in his voice, but he couldn't help it. His teenage daughter had just come home with a completely different hairstyle than she had left with. And he didn't know about it! He shifted his eyes toward Leanne. He bet her mother had something to do with this.

"I needed a change." She said softly, moving around the couch to sit next to him.

"Well you definitely did that." He reached out then, fluffing the shorter locks a little as he blinked a few more times. He would never get used to seeing her hair like that.

"The pink will wash out Ethan." Leanne's voice was humorous but soft as she leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around his neck, dropping her head next to his.

"No…" He shook his head back and forth, his mind was racing in so many directions and while this was such a simple little thing, it was throwing his head for a whirl. "I… I like the pink." He said softly, his eyes shifting up to meet Ariel's.

"You don't like it?" She asked softly, her sad eyes shifting from his to Leanne's.

"No! I do!" He practically shouted his words at her, reaching forward to pull her into his arms, shrugging Leanne off his shoulders as he did so. "I like it." He whispered against her head, pressing a gentle kiss against the short, blonde locks. "I really do."

He sat there for a minute holding her in his arms, trying to calm both her and himself with the gesture. He let out a sigh when she wrapped her arms around his neck softly, her head nuzzling against his shoulder as she settled against him. She pulled away after another minute, her misty eyes catching his as she moved to stand.

"Come on! We're going to dinner!" She reached for his hand then and he felt his throat start to close up.

"Um…" He swallowed, his heart racing as he did his best to try and calm himself.

"What's wrong Ethan?" She reached forward once more, her hand going to his arm, and he guessed that she must have felt him trembling because she let out a soft sigh, sitting back down beside him as she reached out and gathered him in her arms. "We can stay here." She whispered against his head, and he hugged her tightly against his chest.

"No love." He whispered, his hands going to push her away slightly, his eyes locking with hers as he took a deep breath. "We can go to dinner. It's okay."

"No really." Her words were soft and it almost broke his heart how understanding she was. Normally teenagers were selfish, especially a teenager on their birthday, but there she was, always thinking about someone else. "We can stay in. Pizza's cool too."

He chuckled softly, leaning forward to drop a kiss against her head. "No. We'll go out." He whispered, offering her a soft smile.

"Are you sure?" She whispered her question and it made his heart race at how sweet she was. He didn't deserve this gentle soul in his life. And he surely didn't deserve this gentle soul as his daughter.

"Yes Ariel." His voice was a little stern, but he smiled again, his hands rubbing up and down her arms as he spoke. "Now let's go, because I'm starving."

She let out a chuckle at his words and quickly stood from the couch, taking his hand and pulling him up with her. Grabbing his phone from the table, he followed her and Leanne to the door with a soft smile, saying a silent prayer to whoever might be listening that he could make it through this dinner in one piece.

*Don't forget to comment!