Title: Surprise Visitor

Author: SneetchesToo

Rating: Teen

Pairing: Ethan/Rox

Summary: Rox gets a surprise visitor one afternoon.

Author's Note: We all know Ethan is the biggest softie around.

—

Rox hated London and she hated the Army.

She hated that she had to spend two months without her boyfriend by her side.

But really, she just hated sleeping alone.

And having done so for the past 50 days had made her cranky.

Very, very cranky.

And when she woke that warm May morning the only thing she cared about was crossing another day off the calendar.

Another day closer to Ethan being home.

Another night closer to having him in her bed again.

After showering and getting dressed she made her way downstairs.

Her first stop was the coffee pot, which she turned on with a growl.

She was in the foulest of moods this morning and the eight time zones between her and the love of her life were the only thing to blame.

They had been having regular chats at least once a day, if not more, since he had finally gotten settled at his flat.

But for some reason he had missed her calls the past two days.

She hated not being able to talk to him.

Absolutely hated it.

After she got a pot of coffee going she made her way toward the calendar by the back door, her eyes scanning over the days.

She honestly didn't know what day it was.

Possibly Friday, but more likely Thursday.

Sometime toward the end of the month.

All she did know was that Ethan had exactly 19 days left in that wretched city across the pond.

And she was counting down the hours, the minutes even, until he was home again.

"You know, staring at that thing won't make the days go by any quicker." She heard Martin's voice call from the doorway to the small kitchen.

She let out a sigh.

How could she not have noticed him there before?

"Are you sure?" She asked quietly.

"Positive." He replied, moving himself into the small space and plopping down in one of the kitchen chairs. "He'll be home sooner than you think Rox."

"Nineteen days." She whispered as she crossed yesterday off the calendar.

So it was Friday.

That was a relief.

At least she'd have the next two days to relax.

In fact, she had made plans with Ariel for Saturday night.

Something about pedicures and finding the perfect shoes for her stay at UCLA.

She had been shocked when the girl had texted her yesterday and asked.

But she had been more than willing to say 'yes'.

They were doing their best to bond and she was appreciative that the teen seemed to be letting her in more and more.

She knew that Ethan was behind it somehow, but she didn't care.

She'd take what she could get.

"You're off all weekend aren't you?" He asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

She wondered where he had gotten that from because it smelled heavenly.

And more importantly, she wondered why he hadn't brought her one too.

"Yeah." She let out a sigh as she leaned back against the counter. "I gotta work until two today though."

"That's not too bad." He offered her a smile and she shrugged her shoulders.

Working was actually keeping her mind off of Ethan being gone.

Sort of.

"Yeah I guess not." She heard the coffee pot buzz and she quickly moved to pour herself a cup.

"Got any exciting plans?" Martin was being awfully noisy this morning and she just chuckled to herself.

She guessed that he was probably just as bored as her without his son in the picture.

"Ariel and I are going out tomorrow afternoon." It still felt strange for those words to leave her mouth.

"Really?" He sounded shocked and she couldn't blame him.

"Yeah. She wants to get a pedicure." She offered the man a smile as she took a sip from the mug in her hands. "And she says she needs better walking shoes."

"Walking shoes? Ariel doesn't walk." He said with a laugh.

"For school?" She guessed that was what she meant anyway. "She said she's gonna be walking around campus a lot so she needs something comfy. She said her flip-flops won't cut it."

"Ah." Martin nodded his head in understanding.

She wondered how much he knew about Ariel's plans for the summer.

"She's gonna be at UCLA for a whole month." She said with pride.

The girl may not have been her daughter, hell, she was barely even her friend, but she was still immensely proud of her for getting into the program.

It was the kind of thing she would have loved to have done at that age.

Instead she was busy drinking and smoking and doing every bad thing in the teenager handbook.

"So I heard." He smiled at her and Rox figured he understood where she was coming from.

He must have been proud of his only granddaughter too.

"I should probably get going." She caught sight of the clock above the stove then and realized that she was already running slightly behind. "I'll see you for dinner tonight?"

Ever since Ethan had left she had been having dinner with Martin and Emo every Friday night.

It was a nice little thing they had going and she appreciated the outpouring of love from the two.

"I'll be there." He said softly.

And with that she dropped her coffee cup into the sink and made her way toward the door, grabbing her LAFD jacket as she went.

She prayed that this day would go by quick so that she would be one day closer to having Ethan home with her.

—

She had worked a rather boring shift.

In fact, she had only gotten one call and it had been for a kid with a bee sting.

They had treated him on sight and he was back to climbing the tree in his mother's front yard before Rox had even pulled out of the drive.

She had spent the rest of the time at Angels, following Noa around and helping out where she could.

She was thankful that Campbell occasionally let her crash there so to speak.

She had just gotten a page to come to the ambulance bay when Noa suddenly vanished into thin air.

Shrugging her shoulders she had mumbled something to Jesse about letting the girl know where she went and then she was off, saying a silent prayer that if this was for a call it wouldn't last long.

She was due to leave in a hour and she was more than ready to start her weekend.

Pushing her way through the ambulance bay doors she let out a sigh when she saw that the area was empty save for her ambulance.

Shaking her head she got ready to turn back around and head inside when she heard a voice that she knew all too well.

"Where do you think you're going?" She stopped in her tracks as she took a deep breath, her body turning back around toward her rig.

"Ethan…?" She couldn't fathom that it was actually him, and without having actually seen his face, she couldn't be 100% certain that she wasn't being played.

"Hi love." And then he was there, standing right in front of her, wearing loose fitting jeans and a gray Army t-shirt.

He was the thing dreams were made of.

"What are you doing here?" She asked softly as he made his way toward her, a giant smile on his face.

"Surprising you." He whispered.

"You're supposed to be in London." She whispered back.

He stopped right in front of her and reached for her, his right arm going to rest on her cheek as his left arm stayed behind his back.

"I may or may not have snuck away." There was a twinkle in his eyes and she prayed that he wasn't breaking any laws with his little visit.

That was the last thing she needed right now.

"Why?" She didn't understand why he was here.

He still had nineteen days before he came home. That's what the calendar said.

"It's our anniversary." He whispered.

"It is?" Their anniversary wasn't today.

Was it?

"Nine months today." The smile on his face told her all that she needed to know.

"You defied orders and flew across the ocean, just to see me." She couldn't believe it. "Just because we've been together for nine months?"

"I didn't defy orders per say... I just have to be back by Monday morning." He tangled his fingers in her hair as he dropped his forehead to hers. "And yes, I flew across the world just to see you so that we could celebrate having been together nine months."

"Why?" She still didn't understand.

Celebrating nine months together was something kids did.

Not two grown adults.

"Because I love you." He pressed a soft kiss to her nose then and she reached her hands up, running them along his shoulder blades.

"I... I don't understand." She said softly after he pulled away.

"You don't have to understand." He said with a chuckle before pulling back, his left arm extended out in front of him as he held up a beautiful bouquet of flowers. "These are for you by the way."

"Oh my God." She brought her hands to her face as she closed her eyes and then opened them again. "Ethan, they're beautiful."

"You made me promise to deliver them in person the next time," He chuckled with his words and she remembered the promise he had made to her all those months ago while they stood next to a field of wildflowers, "so here I am."

"Thank you." She didn't know what else to say.

"You're welcome." She took the bouquet from him with her right hand and wiped at her eyes with her left.

That was when she noticed the crowd of people that had gathered around them in the small space.

Noa was front and center, with Jesse beside her, both of them grinning like idiots.

That must have been where the redhead had disappeared too earlier.

"Can we um... can we go somewhere a little more private?" She whispered her question as he stepped back up to her, his hands settling on her hips as he dropped his forehead back down to hers. "People are starting to stare."

"Let them stare." He said with a small smile.

"I don't like the attention." And she didn't.

It made her feel weird.

These people may have been Ethan's family, but they weren't quite hers.

Not yet anyway.

"Why not? You deserve it." He sounded so incredibly cheesy and she hated him for it.

"Shut up." She snapped back.

She was glad he was home, but she wanted him all to herself.

"Would you two just kiss already goddammit?!" She heard Mario's frustrated voice call through the crowd of people and Ethan just smiled before tangling his right hand in her hair.

And the next thing she knew his lips were on hers for the first time in 51 days and she felt like her whole world was on fire.

The crowd behind them erupted into applause and she was pretty sure there was even a whistle or two.

And then Campbell was grumpily telling everyone to get back to work.

But she didn't miss the small smile on his face as he told Ethan to take her home.

"I've missed you." She whispered when he finally pulled back.

"I've missed you more." He looked so good and soft and perfect and she just wanted to fall into his arms right then and there.

"I hate London. And I hate the Army." She really shouldn't hate those things, she knew she shouldn't.

But they had taken Ethan from her, and for that, they must pay.

"It's really not that bad." She had read his letters and seen his pictures and she knew that he was actually somewhat enjoying himself over there. It made her jealous and sad. "The worst part is not having you with me."

"Come home." She just wanted him home with her.

Was that too much to ask?

"Nineteen more days and I will love." He pressed a soft kiss against her lips as he pulled back, his eyes twinkling in the afternoon sunlight. "I promise."

"Nineteen days is too long." Seventy days had been too much time without him.

She couldn't take much more.

"Come with me?" He asked softly.

"We've already talked about this Ethan." He had asked her to come visit him more than once and every time she had had to say 'no'. "I can't."

"Why not? Take some vacation time. Come back with me." She really, really wanted to. Seeing London was one of those things she had dreamed of doing as a little girl but had always written off. "You can explore while I'm working and then we can see the sights at night. I've been dying to see the London Eye. And I hear Buckingham Palace is beautiful this time of year."

"Ethan..." His pictures of the beautiful landscapes and architecture had made her heart flutter.

She never dreamed that she would be able to see such a place.

And especially not with him by her side.

"Please Rox. I hate being apart. It's the worst." It was most certainly the worst. "Just for a week? It'll be fun."

"I... I'll try." She prayed that she could swing it.

She wanted to go back with him more than anything.

"Try really, really hard okay?" She could see the want in his eyes.

The way he almost desperately needed her there with him.

It made something inside her stir.

"Okay." She said with a smile.

"Now," He pulled away from her completely then, his right hand falling to her left as he eyed her softly, "I vaguely recall someone telling me to take you home…"

She let out a chuckle as she ducked her head, a small blush coming over her cheeks as she smelled the flowers in her hands.

"Is that an invitation?" She asked quietly.

"It's more like a promise." He said with a wink.

And the next thing she knew he was tugging on her hand and pulling her in the direction of his rental car, a giant smile on his face the whole way.

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