Title: My Daughter

Author: SneetchesToo

Rating: Teen

Pairing: Ethan/Leanne

Summary: Ethan wanted nothing more than to find Ariel, and his father getting in his way wasn't going to stop him. However, today, Jack. Sr. might just surprise him.

Author's Note: Because Jack, Sr. hasn't made an appearance in a while and I needed a catalyst that would drive Ethan partially over the edge, but then also bring him back down again. Spoilers for 3x11, obviously diverging from canon.

Ethan's hands had shook the entire flight back to LA and he had hardly been able to contain himself as he had jumped from the chopper and made his way to the elevator and down to the first floor. Angus had met him at the elevator door, asking if there was anything he could do to help, but he just shoved the kid off, telling him to just stay at the hospital in case Ariel had showed up. He had pulled his phone out his pocket the second he got a second to breathe and he dialed Leanne's number frantically.

"Any sign of her?" He didn't even wait for a greeting, his voice rough as he barely got the words out. He had never been so scared in his entire life. Not even finding his brother's dead body had done him in this badly.

"No." Leanne sobbed out on the other end of the line.

"Has anyone been to my place yet?" He pulled his bike keys and helmet out of his locker and practically ran toward the parking lot, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Not yet." He could tell that she was barely holding on, that her heart was breaking on the other end of the line. He wanted to find Ariel more than anything, but he wanted to heal Leanne's broken heart even more.

"I'm heading there now." He hopped on the bike and started the engine as he let out a sigh. "I'll call you when I get there."

"Be safe." She whispered, and then she was gone. Ethan let out a huff as he pulled his helmet on, shoving his phone into his jacket pocket as he kicked his feet up.

He had raced to the house, not giving a damn about the speed limit, not when his daughter's life was possibly in danger. He couldn't believe that she would do this to them, that she would just up and leave them and not say anything. She didn't even leave a note, a way to contact her, nothing. He was terrified that something had happened to her, but he was also angry that she would scare them like this. When he pulled into the driveway he was stunned to see his dad's truck parked next to the Jeep and he let out a sigh, his head hanging forward. He couldn't do this today, not with everything else going on.

"Ethan?" His father's voice greeted him before he could even remove himself from the bike and he felt tears spring to his eyes when he realized that the girl must not be there either. Not if his father didn't look the least bit phased.

"Is she here dad?" He could barely get out the question, his hands shaking as he pulled his helmet from his head and shifted his gaze up the stairs and toward the older man.

"Is who here?" His dad raised an eyebrow, his voice surprisingly calm. "It's just me. I came to check on the place. Got a call about someone wanting to see it this weekend. A potential buyer." Ethan stormed past him and into the house, his eyes searching frantically for any sign of the teen. "I tried calling you but it went straight to voicemail."

"I was on a medivac from San Diego." He huffed out, his feet taking him down the hallway toward Ariel's room.

"Is everything okay Ethan?" He was shocked that his dad didn't seem the least bit angry or aggressive, it was certainly a first for the older man.

"No dad!" He snapped, turning around to face him as he stopped just outside the teen's door. "Rox was hit by a car and had to have emergency brain surgery." He turned back around, his eyes filling with tears as his hand stopped on the doorknob. "And then Leanne went home this morning to find that our daughter was gone."

"Gone? Gone how?" His dad actually sounded concerned and he swallowed back a lump in his throat.

"She ran away dad." He turned the knob and pushed the door open slowly, his heart stopping in his chest when there was absolutely no sign of the young girl in her room. "She's been gone for at least five hours. She left her cell phone, her keys, and her ID. We've checked everywhere." He felt his words catch in his throat as his vision blurred, tears pouring down his cheeks as reality set in. "She's gone dad."

"Well then we have to find her." Jack, Sr.'s hand made contact with his shoulder, softly and almost protectively and he lost it, his knees giving way as he fell to Ariel's bed.

"I…" He couldn't breathe, his hands shaking as he dropped his head to them, sobs wracking through his body. He felt the bed shift next to him, his father joining him, his hand still resting softly on his shoulder. "I can't lose her dad." He sobbed, his heart slowly breaking in his chest.

"You won't son." He had never heard his dad speak so softly to him before, not even when he was a child, not even when he had lost his mother. "We'll find her."

"I don't know what to do." He rubbed at his eyes roughly, doing his best to dry his tears before lifting his head upward. He shifted his gaze toward the man seated next to him and the look on the older man's face told him everything he needed to know. He wasn't doing this alone, not this time. "I don't know where else to look."

"Have you checked school? Her friend's house? The mall?" He wanted to scold his father for asking such stupid questions. Of course they had checked those places. But then he realized that his father was new to this. He had never given much thought to his children's whereabouts, especially not when they were in trouble. He probably didn't even realize what he had asked.

"We've checked everywhere." He sighed, his eyes closing as he ran through the list of places that the girl could have gone in his head. "Wait…"

He pulled his phone from his pocket without another thought, his fingers dialing Leanne's number with ease. It rang a few times before her sweet voice came over the line and he let out a shaky breath as he chanced a look at the man next to him.

"Has anyone checked the beach yet?" His question was frantic and he heard her let out a shaky breath on the other end.

"No." She answered simply and he shot up from the bed, his legs carrying him toward the front door, his dad hot on his heels.

"Dad and I gonna go look there now." He heard Leanne let out a sigh at his words and he knew that she wasn't expecting his father to be a part of this.

"Okay." She whispered over the line. "Please Ethan…"

"We're gonna find her baby." He grabbed his dad's truck keys and tossed them in the older man's direction, not even stopping to say anything as he headed for the vehicle. "I promise." He hung up then, his body turning to see if Jack, Sr. was behind him and he let out a sigh when he realized he was already opening the truck door.

"Which way?" His dad asked, his hands already turning the key in the ignition, his eyes set dead ahead as he pulled the truck down the driveway.

"East." He dropped his phone onto the dash, his hands scrubbing over his face as he took a deep breath. "There's a place down by the cove. Not that far from the cemetery. We take Ariel there all the time."

"I know exactly where that is." He chanced a look in his father's direction then, his eyes softening when he could see the worry on the man's face. He had never seen his dad look, scared, before. Not even when his mom was sick, not when Jack had died, never.

"Why are you doing this dad?" He asked softly, his eyes shifting toward the road as he twisted his hands together in his lap.

"Because son," His father's voice was soft and he closed his eyes as he tried to remember a time when he had ever felt like his father had cared before now, "I've never seen you so terrified of anything."

"I can't lose her dad." He repeated his words from earlier, another round of tears forming in his eyes. "She's my whole world. She…" He took a deep breath then, his head falling back against the headrest as he tried to remain in control. "She's the most important person in the world to me. I… I didn't know I could love someone so much. That I could ever feel so much happiness just because one person existed." He let out a soft sob, the tears falling freely now as he reopened his eyes, watching as the scenery flew by. "I love her dad. Her and Leanne. I…"

"I know son." He felt his father's hand on his then, squeezing gently before pulling back to return itself to the wheel. "We're gonna find her and bring her home. I promise."

He let out another sob as he closed his eyes once more. He just wanted Ariel back in his arms again. His little girl meant everything to him and he couldn't fathom if something had happened to her. If he lost her, if he lost Leanne, he would surely be a dead man walking.

"I know she's not mine…" He choked out, his heart tightening in his chest at the words. He wanted nothing more than for Ariel to be his, but he knew there was no way for that to be possible.

"She's yours Ethan." His dad shot a gentle look his way, an understanding in his eyes that he had never seen there before. "She's yours in the ways that it matters. And that's what counts. You hear me?"

"You sound like Jack." He whispered, his eyes watering again at the mention of his brother. He would give anything to have the man by his side right now. He missed his best-friend more than he ever thought possible.

"Yeah well…" His dad shrugged his shoulders, a small smile forming on his face as he spoke. "The kid wasn't all bad."

They rode the rest of the way in silence, his head falling against the glass as he tried to calm himself down. If they found Ariel he didn't want her to see him this out of control, this panicked, and he knew that he needed to remain calm if he was going to continue to be able to think straight. They had made it to the beach in no time, his dad clearly not giving a damn about speed limits, and when they pulled into the small parking lot that Ethan pointed to he was thankful to see no other cars around. He jumped out of the truck before his dad could even put it in park and his eyes started scanning the area for any sign of the teen.

"See anything?" He heard his dad exist the vehicle behind him and his footsteps followed Ethan down the small path toward the beach.

"Not yet." He let out a sigh, his desire to run was becoming hard to squash, but he knew that his father would never be able to keep up with him if he did. And for once, he wanted his father by his side in case something went wrong.

"Ethan…" His dad's quiet voice broke him out of his thoughts just as they made it to the clearing, the ocean coming into view just beyond the dunes. "That her?"

Ethan darted his eyes in the direction his dad was pointing in and he felt his heart stop in his chest. Ariel. He knew it was her the second he laid eyes on her and he felt like he was going to black out. He started moving toward her at an alarming rate, his body full on sprinting in her general direction. He stopped a few feet from her, his eyes burning with another round of tears, his heart racing in his chest.

"Angel?" She turned her head to look at him and he felt all of his resolve fade when he saw her almost terrified expression. He reached his arms out for her, her trembling body rising from it's place on the sand as she moved into his arms. "I got you baby." He whispered, his arms wrapping around her tightly as she let out a gut wrenching sob, her hands fisting around his Angels jacket as her tears soaked through his t-shirt. "You're okay sweetheart. You're okay." He dropped a kiss to her head as he held her close, his right hand tangling in her hair as he held her as tightly as possible.

"I'm sorry daddy." She whispered against his chest, her words a strangled mess, her sobs breaking his heart in two. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay sweetie." He whispered against her hair, his eyes closing as he felt a sob tear through his own body.

He held her as tightly as he could and he never wanted to let her go. He shifted his gaze back toward the way that he had come in but his dad was nowhere in sight. That was when it hit him. He had left his phone in the truck and he had no way of letting Leanne know that she was okay. He prayed that his dad had gone back for it.

"Are you hurt?" He asked softly, pushing the young girl away from him slightly so that he could scan his eyes over her, checking for any visible injuries.

"No." She said softly, her hands shaking as they gripped onto his biceps tightly. "I'm okay."

"Let's get you home." He whispered and when she nodded her head, another sob leaving her body, he couldn't help but pull her back into his arms. "I love you angel." He dropped another kiss to her head, his arms tightening around her once more.

"I love you too daddy." She sobbed out and his heart officially broke. The way she called him 'daddy', the way her voice cracked with her words, the way her body shook in his arms. He couldn't handle it anymore, and the dam officially broke, big fat tears pouring down his cheeks as his body started to tremble as well.

"Let's go honey." He pulled back from her after a minute, his forehead falling to hers as he eyed her softly. "Your mom's worried sick about you."

She simply nodded her head, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. He watched as she pulled from his grip then, her hand reaching down to pick up her backpack from the sand. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, escorting her softly back toward the path just as his father appeared on the other side of the trees.

"I called Leanne." He said softly, his eyes giving the girl next to him a once over. "Told her we were on our way."

"Does she know we found her?" His question was quiet, his eyes burning as he fought off tears he didn't even know he had.

"I told her she was safe." His father's words caused the teen to let out a strangled sob and he tightened his grip around her shoulders as they kept walking, his legs barely holding himself upright as they walked past the older man.

"Thank you." Ethan whispered his words as his dad fell into line next to them and he was thankful when he simply nodded his head, his hand patting him gently on the back as they made their way toward the truck.

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