Title: Home
Author: SneetchesToo
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Ethan/Leanne
Summary: Leanne was just thankful to have her little girl home at last.
Author's Note: This arc has been emotional and I am officially a wreck. Thanks for sticking by me through this. Since this obviously diverged from canon quite significantly, the next arc, for 3x12, will probably be less related to the content of the show. I will however, do my best to stay on track. I also plan to cover Ariel's hearing in 3x13 at some point between now and after the finale.
Leanne had been a complete wreck after she spent her morning searching for Ariel. They had had no luck and the school had called to tell her that Ariel never showed up for her first class. She hadn't gone to Noa and Mario's apartment, Max's dad hadn't seen her, and even Emily had been stumped about her whereabouts. Jesse and Noa had returned and sat with her while she waited for Ethan to get home and she had never been so thankful to hear his voice when he called to check in.
When he had called back almost thirty minutes later, his sad voice carrying over the phone, she had felt her heart break in her chest. The girl wasn't at his place either, and she had lost all hope. Until Ethan mentioned the beach, and his father, and going to find her, and she had felt her heart start racing in her chest. She knew that Ethan wouldn't give up until the girl was safely in their arms again.
She had waited on pins and needles for his call, for a text, for something, anything. And when his name flashed across her screen almost an hour after he had gotten home, she felt her whole world stop spinning. Except it wasn't his soft voice over the line, rather, it was his father's. And Jack, Sr.'s voice was calmer than she had ever heard it. He told her that they had found Ariel, that Ethan was with her now, that she seemed unharmed. And she let out a sob as Jesse had caught her, her knees giving way at the knowledge that her daughter was okay.
She had thanked the older man repeatedly and when he told her that they would be home soon she had let out a soft sigh. She had been waiting all morning for those words. She had hung up just as another sob wracked through her body and she was thankful when Jesse wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her close as she let it out all.
The three of them had sat in silence, waiting for any sign of Ethan and his father, her eyes darting toward the window at any sound of movement outside. When she saw an old green pickup pull into the driveway she let out a strangled sound and she jumped to her feet, racing toward the door and throwing it open. She watched as Ethan existed the vehicle, pausing for a second to speak to the other two passengers. She could see Ariel in the middle, her head nodding slowly at his words. And then he was shutting the door and making his way toward her.
"Ethan…" She shouted his name as he made his way toward her and she shifted her gaze back toward the truck, watching as Jack, Sr. and Ariel stayed put. She didn't know what kind of game Ethan was playing, but she was not a willing participant. "What's going on? I want to see her."
"I know love." He made his way up the stairs slowly, his eyes soft as he reached for her. "She's scared okay. I told her that I would talk to you first."
"Scared of what?" She choked out, her hands going to push at him. "Of me?"
"She's just… scared." His voice was quiet and he reached out to pull her toward him, his hands settling on her hips as he dropped his forehead to hers. "She thinks you're going to hate her." He choked out, his eyes darkening as he kept her close.
"Hate her?" She felt her heart stop beating, her body slowly going numb at the thought. "I could never…" She felt like her throat was closing up, her vision going blurry as she clung to him. "She's my daughter Ethan, I could never hate her."
"I know love." He whispered softly, his hands tightening their grip on her hips. "She just wants to be with us right now. I think she just needs some time to snuggle and cry. No judgement, no questions." She let out a sigh at his words. She needed answers, but more than anything, she just wanted her girl back in her arms. "I think she's scared that we're going to be mad at her."
"I'm not mad Ethan." She shifted her eyes toward the pickup once more, her hands stilling on his elbows as she tried to steady herself. "I just want her in my arms."
"I know." He whispered, pulling back slowly as he turned to the truck and motioned for the girl to exit. "She just needs her parents right now. Nothing more, nothing less."
She watched as Ariel made her way up the walk slowly, her backpack slung over her shoulders. She could tell that she was still trembling some, her hands clinging to the strap of her back tightly. Her head was turned downward, but she could see the tears falling down her cheeks as she got closer and closer.
"Baby girl." She stepped forward then, her legs moving her around Ethan's body as she reached for the girl. Ariel paused, her head lifting slowly as her eyes blinked rapidly. "Come here."
The girl hesitated, her body pausing it's way up the stairs as she let out a sob. "Mom?"
She felt her heart shatter in her chest and she couldn't wait any longer, her arms pulling the girl to her, tucking her against her chest as she placed a kiss against her head. She felt the girl's resolve crumble, her arms tightening around her as she sobbed against her shoulder. She watched as Ethan waved to his father, his head nodding softly as the man backed out of the driveway, and she felt bad for not thanking the man for bringing her family back to her.
"Let's go inside." Ethan whispered softly, his hand falling against the teen's back as he spoke.
She couldn't find the words so she simply nodded her head, keeping one arm around the girl as she turned toward the front door. She watched as Ethan pulled the door open slowly, motioning for them to enter ahead of them. Ariel let out a sob when her eyes caught sight of Jesse and Noa standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Tucking her closer she simply nodded her head in their direction before escorting Ariel up the stairs, steering her toward her bedroom and closing the door behind them.
She watched as Ariel stopped next to the bed, her book bag falling to the ground with a thud. She didn't know what to say to the girl, how to make things better. It was slightly comforting to her to know that the girl didn't seem to know what to do either.
"I…" Ariel tried to speak, but Leanne could tell that it wasn't going to happen.
"It's okay honey." She whispered, her hands going out to rest on the teen's shoulders. "Why don't you change then come to our room?"
The teen simply nodded her head, her eyes filling with tears once more, and Leanne felt her heart break. Leaning in, she dropped a kiss against her forehead before moving to step around her, exiting the room and shutting the door behind her softly. She stopped in the hallway then, her hands trembling as she watched Ethan wave 'goodbye' to their friends. He shut the door behind them before turning toward her, and she let out a strangled sob at the look on his face. He had never looked so broken in the entire time she had known him and she felt horrible.
"Hey." He whispered, making his way upstairs slowly, his eyes misting over as he stopped at the top.
"Hey." She whispered back. She couldn't do it any longer, she needed to be in his arms, so that's just what she did. She moved forward quickly then, her arms going around his waist as she fell against his chest.
"It's okay honey." He whispered against her hair, his arms wrapping around her tightly. "She's home and it's over and we're okay."
"Oh God Ethan." She sobbed, her hands fisting against his jacket as she clung to him. She couldn't breathe, her whole body shaking as she closed her eyes shut tight. "What if…?"
"Shhh love, it's okay." He gripped her hair softly, his lips pressing a kiss against her head as he did his best to soothe her. "She's okay."
"I…" She didn't know what to say, her mind going blank as she finally let herself shut down.
"I know." His words were quiet and she clung to him like he was going to vanish any second now. "Have you showered?" She shook her head back and forth as she pulled back slowly, eyeing him through tear filled eyes. "Go. Shower. I'll sit with her until you're done."
"Okay." She whispered, pulling from him slowly, making her way toward the bedroom behind them.
She hurried through her shower, pulling on pajama pants and a t-shirt of Ethan's before exiting the bathroom. When she emerged, the sight before her brought a fresh round of tears to her face. Ethan was laying in the bed with Ariel tucked tightly against his side, both of their eyes closed, their breathing soft. She could tell that Ariel was asleep, but Ethan's head turned toward her when she let out a gentle sigh. She watched as he offered her a gentle smile, removing himself slowly from the bed, pulling the blanket up over the girl's shoulders slowly.
"I'm gonna shower." He whispered, his hand falling to her hip as he dropped a kiss to her head.
"Okay love." She whispered back, her eyes never leaving the sleeping teen in front of her. Ethan squeezed her hip softly before heading into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
She moved toward the bed then, climbing in beside the girl with a soft moan. She snuggled back against the pillow, pulling her daughter against her chest, tears filling her eyes once more. She hated that the girl was suffering, that she was hurting so bad that she thought that running away from them was the only way to feel better. Choking back a sob, she dropped her head against the girl's, pressing a kiss to her blonde hair as she hugged her tightly.
When she awoke a few hours later the room was dark and she could hear thunder rolling in the distance, the sound of rain hitting the bedroom window roughly. Blinking her eyes a few times she shifted them to her right side, catching sight of the teen still snuggled against her, her eyes still closed tightly. She turned her head to the other side, her eyes settling on the sleeping man beside her. He was snoring softly, his arm draped over her stomach, his head resting next to hers on the pillow and she felt tears spring to her eyes. She couldn't imagine if she had had to go through this without him by her side. He had been through so much, especially the past few weeks, and yet he was willing to move heaven and Earth for her and Ariel.
"Mom?" Ariel's voice was barely audible over the sound of the rain and Ethan's quiet snores, but she heard her plea nonetheless, and it hurt her in places she didn't know still existed.
"I'm here baby." She whispered softly, her arm tightening around her shoulders as she tugged the girl closer, her lips pressing a kiss to her hair as she waited for her to speak once more.
"I'm sorry." She sobbed out, her arms moving to wrap around her tightly. "I'm so sorry."
"I know sweetheart." She felt her heart break at her words, she knew that the girl had never meant to cause her or Ethan any pain. "It's okay."
"I screwed up didn't I?" Her voice was shaky and when Leanne looked down she could see her soft brown eyes staring up at her. They were full of pain and sorrow and confusion. She had never seen the girl look so lost. Not even after her father had died.
"Shhh honey. Let's not talk about it now." She dropped another kiss to her head as she felt Ethan stir beside her, his arm tightening around her waist as he tried to drag her closer.
"Lea? Ariel?" His voice was rough and sleepy and when she turned her attention toward him she could see the torment in his eyes. She knew that while she was hurting from all of this, that he was hurting from so much more.
"We're here Ethan." She whispered, her other hand going out to run through his hair as she tried to soothe him.
"Ariel?" He pushed himself upward, his eyes searching through the dark room frantically for the girl.
"Daddy?" She untangled herself from Leanne's side then, scrambling over her in an attempt to get closer to her father. She collapsed in the space between them that Leanne had made and she threw her arms around the man with a sob. "I'm so sorry." She sobbed out. "Please don't send me back. Please."
Leanne's heart shattered into a thousand pieces at the girl's pleas, her eyes filling with tears as she heard Ethan let out a gasp, his arms tightening around the girl as he pulled her to his chest. She locked her eyes with his over the teen's shoulders and she couldn't believe the sadness that she saw in them. She let out a sob as she scooted herself closer, wrapping an arm around the teen as she let her tears consume her.
"It's okay baby." Ethan ran his hands up and down her back, his lips pressing kiss after kiss to her head as he hugged her closer. "You're not going anywhere angel. You hear me?" He pulled back slightly, letting his forehead fall to rest against hers as he gripped her cheeks tightly between his palms. "You're ours now honey. That's never going to change."
Ariel let out a sob that would have broken the strongest of men and Leanne couldn't help but tug her closer, her head falling against hers as the girl grabbed at Ethan, pushing herself back into his arms with a desperate cry. She felt one of Ethan's hands land against her own cheek, his eyes peering at her from around the girl once more as he clung to them both like he was going to lose them at any moment.
"I love you." She whispered, her lips pressing against Ariel's head as she held the girl tight. "I love both of you so much."
She felt Ariel let out a soft hiccup, her body relaxing against hers as she settled back against the pillows, her body nestled perfectly between hers and Ethan's. She watched as the girl blinked her eyes a few times before closing them softly, her head falling to rest against her shoulder, her left arm still wrapped around Ethan tightly, her right falling to her stomach as exhaustion took over. She chanced a look at Ethan then, but his eyes were closed too, his head settling on the pillow next to Ariel's, his right arm wrapped tightly around the girl's shoulders, his left hand still resting against her own cheek. She let out a soft sigh when she noticed the tears that were still falling down his cheeks, despite the soft snores suddenly coming from his body. Letting out a soft sob she settled herself back against the pillows as well, her right hand going to rest against Ethan's forearm as her left arm tugging the girl even closer. And that was how they fell asleep, their faces tear stained, their bodies exhausted, and their hearts in pieces.
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