Title: I Have a Son

Author: SneetchesToo

Rating: General

Pairing: Ethan/Rox

Summary: Ethan wasn't sure what to make of the news he had received two weeks ago, but he was thankful for the support that he was getting from his loved ones.

Author's Note: Angsty arcs are my thing.

Ethan hadn't been able to wrap his head around the events of the past two weeks.

His mind hurt from trying to process everything that had happened.

He had done as Sarah had asked and he had driven up to see Megan.

And from there his whole world had gone sideways.

He hadn't spoken to Rox since then, the woman choosing to stay with Emo after their fight that August night.

He had tried to call her and he had tried to text her and he had even driven to Emo's house in the middle of the night begging to see her.

But she wouldn't answer him and she refused to see him and he didn't know what to make of it all.

So instead he had driven to Leanne's place after his latest trip to San Francisco to see Megan.

And he had sat in the driveway and stared at the front door for a good thirty minutes before he saw Leanne appear in the living room window, Ed at her side as they stared back at his Jeep.

He let out a sigh as he turned the vehicle off and climbed out of the driver's side, closing the door with a thud as he slid his phone into his back pocket.

It's not that he was nervous to see the couple, but the news he had to share with them may have been more than they were ready to hear.

He watched as Ed opened the door for him, offering him a soft smile as he stepped back, allowing him to enter the house.

"Hey man." Ethan simply nodded his head as he stepped inside, his eyes shifting toward Leanne as he stopped just inside the threshold. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." He shoved his hands in his pockets as Ed moved to stand next to the woman he so desperately needed to talk too. "I um…" He swallowed as he shifted his eyes toward the stairs. "Ariel's not here is she?"

Leanne shook her head as she stepped toward him, reaching out to pat his arm.

"She's spending the night with Rox." He was shocked to hear that, but at the same time, he wasn't.

The girl had been pestering him for two weeks about his and Rox's fight.

"Okay." He nodded his head as he took a deep breath. "Can we talk?"

He watched as Leanne and Ed shared a look before they both ushered for him to head into the den.

He made his way into the small room, collapsing onto the couch with a huff, his eyes closing as he let his head fall back against the cushions.

"Do you want me to stay or leave?" Ed asked softly.

"Doesn't matter to me." He really didn't care if Ed was part of the conversation, he would find out eventually.

"What's going on Ethan?" Leanne asked as she moved to sit across from him on the ottoman. "You've been calling out of work for the past two weeks. Ariel said you and Rox haven't spoken, that she's been staying with Emo. What's wrong? Are you okay?"

He nodded his head as he let out a sigh and he opened his eyes as he sat upright just in time to see Ed join Leanne on the seat.

"I have a son." He whispered.

It felt entirely foreign saying those words out loud, even after two weeks.

"You what?" Leanne asked as her eyes went wide.

"I have a son." He repeated back to them. "His name is Levi. He's six."

"Six?" She nodded her head in understanding as she let out a breath. "Oh."

"He's Megan's." Leanne had been there for him after the shitty break up that had happened between him and the other woman.

She completely understood his angst over the whole situation.

And now that he had a kid with her, well he bet that Leanne's mind was reeling.

"I… wow." He shifted his gaze toward Ed, who still hadn't said anything, and he raised an eyebrow at him.

"A son?" The other man let out a soft sigh as he nodded his head. "Wow."

"Yeah." He couldn't believe it either. "He um… he's a good kid. Cute. Super smart. Shy."

Leanne offered him a gentle smile as she reached out and patted his knee.

"He's yours, of course he is." Megan had said that he was exactly like him and nothing like her.

She had seemed rather angry at that idea, but he thought it was probably a good thing.

He may have loved the woman once upon a time, but she was never the love of his life and he would have been a fool to have thought otherwise.

"Why are you just now learning about him?" Ed asked softly.

"Megan has cancer." It was still a hard concept for him to grasp.

She had always been so healthy when they were together.

In fact, it had driven him crazy how obsessed with hot yoga and kale and essential oils the woman had been.

"Damn." Leanne whispered.

"Yeah." He knew that cancer struck anyone and everyone, that no one was immune, no matter how healthy they were, but he never thought Megan would have been one of those people. "She's dying."

"Oh." She must have suddenly understood why he was so suddenly introduced to his son.

"She wants me to take Levi." He whispered, his eyes misting over at the idea of this precious little boy losing the only parent he had ever known. "I've been in San Francisco with them. That's why I've been gone."

"Does anyone else know?" Ed asked quietly.

He supposed that he probably should have told the man sooner, he was still the CEO of Angels and he still had a right to know why his employees were all of a sudden calling out for days on end.

"No." He hadn't told anyone.

Not Rox. Not Ariel. Not even his dad.

"No one?" Leanne sounded shocked, which he guessed she had the right to be.

"No." He shook his head back and forth. "I've been trying to process it all. It's just… it's been hard."

"I bet." Ed replied, his eyes softening as he sat back a little. "What can we do to help?"

"Not tell Ariel." He pointed at them both as he spoke rather sternly. "Please. Not yet. I… I want to tell her myself."

"Okay." Leanne nodded softly, squeezing his arm as she smiled at him. "What else?"

"That's it." He let out a sigh. "I'm… I'm gonna talk to Rox tomorrow, if she'll let me. And my dad should be home on Sunday. I just…"

"It's okay Ethan." She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close as he wrapped her up tight.

"Whatever you need dude," Ed patted his shoulder as he offered him a gentle smile, "we're here."

"Thank you." He whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek as he held Leanne close.

The past two weeks had been so emotional and he was just so tired of trying to process it all alone.

It was comforting knowing that he had them to turn to now.

Leanne pulled back after a minute, wiping the stray tears from her face as she smiled at him.

"I'm going to assume that you're going to take him in?" Her question was soft but he could hear the slight angst in her tone.

"I have too." In reality, he guessed he could have just let the system handle it.

But he didn't want that for Levi.

The system had fucked Ariel and he'd be damned if they were going to do that to his son when he was perfectly capable of giving him a home.

"I want to give him a good life." He whispered. "He deserves better than to go into the system."

"You'll do the right thing by him Ethan." Ed said softly. "You did it by Ariel, this will be no different."

He nodded his head as he swallowed and leaned back against the cushions once more.

"I know nothing about raising a little boy." Not that he knew anything about raising a teenage girl.

But Ariel was at least independent enough that he and Leanne weren't up in the middle of the night with her.

She didn't need help bathing or getting dressed.

She could make her own meals and brush her own hair.

She went to bed on her own, most of the time, and he had honestly done very little 'fathering' and more 'mentoring' to her.

Levi was the exact opposite.

He crawled into bed with Ethan every night that he had stayed with him so far.

He had wanted bubble baths and the same Captain America pajamas every night.

He would only eat grilled cheese and Fruit Loops and he always looked like he had just rolled out of bed because he hated letting Ethan comb his wild blonde curls.

He wanted at least three stories a night before he would even consider going to bed.

Ethan wasn't sure how to be a father and he wondered if he was already doing it all wrong.

"Boys are easier than girls." Ed whispered.

Ed's kids may have been grown, but he was certain that raising Josh had been much easier than raising Hannah, especially if they were the same as children as they were as young adults.

"It's true." Leanne added.

He could see the haunted look in her eyes and it broke his heart.

He bet Eli had been a piece of cake compared to Caitlin, especially if Caitlin was anything like Leanne.

"I just hope I can do right by him you know?" He whispered his question as he lifted his head back up. "It's what he deserves."

"And it's what he'll get Ethan." Leanne patted his thigh softly, offering him a gentle smile. "You're gonna do great."

"I…" He swallowed before taking a deep breath. "I don't know how to tell Rox. Or Ariel."

"Well you need to tell Rox sooner, rather than later." Ed said softly. "Don't worry about Ariel. We can fend her off until you're ready."

"I'll have to be ready by September 15th." He said with a sigh.

Megan had already made the arrangements for Levi to come live with him by the middle of the month.

"Why the 15th?" Leanne raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed again.

"He's coming to live with me then." He couldn't even fathom that.

Having the boy living in his house that soon seemed unreal.

"That's… soon." Ed couldn't hide his shock and Ethan couldn't blame him.

He still wasn't able to wrap his mind around it.

"Yeah." He reached up and rubbed at his eyes as he spoke. "Megan's… she's… she doesn't have long. Maybe by the end of the year. They told her she wouldn't make it until Christmas."

"Wow." He could hear the shock in Leanne's words and he nodded his head.

"Wow is right." He said with a soft chuckle. "I've got so much work to do at the house."

His place was in no way ready for a six year old to live in.

And the poor boy didn't even have a real room yet.

"You're gonna have to move Ethan." He didn't even want to contemplate taking on that task right now. "Ariel still needs her space there. And you and Rox can't possibly have a baby in that house with nowhere to put it."

He rolled his eyes at Leanne's words.

He knew that Rox had confided in her about them having a baby, but he didn't expect her to just bring it on out like that.

"I don't have time for a house hunt before he moves in." He said softly, ignoring her baby comment. "Once he's here, and settled, I'll start looking. For now, he and Ariel will just be living in tight quarters."

Leanne nodded softly as she smiled back at him.

"We can help Ethan." Ed said quietly. "Whatever you need, we're here for you."

"Thank you." He whispered back.

He was thankful for their friendship throughout everything that had happened the past few months.

And even though it was awkward at times, he knew that he needed them in his life, both for his sake and for his daughter's.

And now, for his son's.

—

After leaving Leanne's he had driven around for a while before heading home and collapsing into bed with a sigh.

He was supposed to head back to San Francisco tomorrow afternoon and he was praying that he would get to talk to Rox before he left.

So instead of falling straight to sleep he grabbed his phone and sent her a text.

We need to talk. Please let me see you before I head out of town tomorrow afternoon. It's really important. He crossed his fingers as he waited for an answer.

I'll be at the house around ten. He let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding as he read her words.

Thank you. He knew that she wouldn't reply back, but he wanted her to know that he was thankful for her letting him have a chance to explain himself to her.

And with that he rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

—

When he woke up the next morning he had a missed call from Megan, along with a text just confirming that he was coming up later, and after answering her he headed to the shower.

He dressed quietly and headed downstairs then, making himself a cup of coffee and a bagel before dropping to the couch and turning on the news.

At a little before 10:00am he heard the front door unlock and then open and he pushed himself up off the couch as he caught sight of Rox stepping through the door.

"Hi." He said softly, watching as she dropped her duffle back next to the table.

"Hi." She replied back, her eyes soft as she let them scan over him.

"Welcome home." He whispered.

She had been staying with Emo for the past two weeks and he had missed her.

Well, when he was actually in town that was.

"I could say the same to you." She made her way toward him as she wrapped her arms around herself with a soft sigh. "Ariel told me you've been in San Francisco a lot."

"Yeah." He nodded his head as she dropped to sit on the other end of the couch. "I've been… um… taking care of some stuff."

"Stuff?" She whispered her question as she brought her legs up to the couch, her knees pulling up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them.

"I have a son." He said softly, his eyes searching her face as he waited for a response.

"A…" She swallowed as she blinked a few times. "A son?"

"His name's Levi. He's six." It still sounded so weird to him to say it out loud like that, especially to Rox. "I was skeptical at first, but one look at him and all my doubt faded."

"A son?" She sounded so confused and he couldn't blame her.

He was still confused himself.

"It's why Megan wanted to see me." He whispered. "She wanted me to meet him."

"Why now? He's six." He could see the fear in her eyes and it broke his heart. He knew that she was fearing that he would leave her for the other woman now. "Why haven't you met him before now?"

"I don't know Rox." He honestly wasn't sure why Megan had kept Levi from him all these years.

It certainly didn't make any sense to him.

"Well where is he? Why now?" Rox was going into full blown panic mode and he was doing his best to stop her. "What does she want from you? Does she want money? Does she want you back?"

"She's dying Rox." He whispered, his face falling as he watched the realization hit her. "She wants me to get to know my son because she wants him to come to me when she's gone. She wants him to know who his father is."

"I…" He reached out for her but she back away. "I just…"

He totally got it.

He totally understood.

None of it made any sense whatsoever to her right now.

"I know it's a lot to take in." He said softly, his hand finally settling on hers as he searched her eyes for a sign of what she was thinking and feeling.

"Why can't her sister take him?" He had wondered the same thing, but he knew Sarah well enough to know that she shouldn't be left alone with a small child for any periods of time. "Doesn't she already know the kid?"

"Because she's not his father." And he was, whether Rox liked it or not. "Sarah's a good person Rox but I wouldn't trust her to water my lawn, much less take care of my kid. Megan knows this."

"Do you have proof?" He wanted to be mad at her for asking the question, but she had every right too.

"Proof of what?" He had known the second he laid eyes on the boy that he was his.

He looked just like Robbie, and his mom, it was creepy.

"Proof that he's yours." She whispered, her eyes filling up with tears. "Beside her word. Do you have a DNA test?"

"I got one when I was there last week." He had had it done the day she told him but the results took a few days to come back. Not that he had any doubt in his mind. "It came back just as I suspected. He's mine. There's no changing that."

"I... I can't believe this." She was shaking now and he slowly scooted his way toward her, his hand reaching up to brush her curls aside. "This can't be happening."

"I know it's a lot." He let his thumb brush over her cheek, pushing her tears aside as he offered her a soft smile. "He's a sweet kid Rox. He just wants someone to love him and care for him. His mom's been absent at best, she's had nannies raising him from day one. He just wants a family. Why can't we be his family?"

"I just…" She let out a sigh as she turned her face away from him and sniffled. "We were supposed to be having a baby of our own."

He felt his heart break in his chest at her words.

He had wanted a baby with her so badly that it hurt, and yet, here they were.

They suddenly had a six year old who needed their undivided attention.

"I know." He cupped her cheek gently against his palm. "We'll just put it on hold for a few months. Let Levi get settled first."

She let out a shaky sob as she shook her head.

"It isn't fair." He totally understood her words.

It wasn't fair to any of them involved.

"I know baby." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her head. "We'll make it happen. It'll just have to wait a little while, that's all."

"What about Ariel?" She whispered her question and he felt his heart stop.

"She doesn't know." He whispered back, his eyes misting over at the idea of rocking his daughter's world.

"Who does?" She sniffled once more before letting her legs fall, crossing them in front of her as she wiped at her eyes with her shirt sleeve.

"Leanne and Ed." He hadn't planned on telling Ed actually, he was just going to let him find out however he may, but he had been there yesterday and Ethan had needed the friend.

"No one else?" She looked shocked and he got it.

He should have told his dad, but this wasn't exactly the kind of news you broke over the phone.

"Just them." He let his arm fall downward, taking her hand in his. "And now you."

"So he's going to come live here?" He nodded his head at her, offering her a soft smile.

"September 15th." He said softly, tangling his fingers with hers.

"Wow." Her eyes got wide as she tried to process the information. "That's…"

"In two weeks." He whispered back.

"Where is he going to sleep?" He chuckled softly at her question.

He hadn't even gotten that far yet.

"I guess the guest room will be his room." She nodded her head in understanding but her eyes still showed just how confused she was. "Leanne told me I'm gonna have to move."

Rox nodded her head again as she swallowed.

"Where will I go?" He felt his heart shatter into million pieces at those words.

What did she mean 'where would she go'? She was staying with him, wasn't she?

"What do you mean?" He asked softly, his right hand reaching out to cup her cheek as he tangled his fingers in her hair. "You're staying right where you are. With me. With us."

She shook her head back and forth and he held his breath.

"But…" She could barely get the word out and he choked back a sob of his own.

"No. No buts." He leaned forward then, pressing his forehead against hers with a soft sigh. "Where I go, you go. Do you understand?"

"I…" She was starting to panic again and it broke his heart.

"Stop Roxane." He whispered. "Stop. You're mine and I'm yours and Levi coming into the picture doesn't change a damn thing."

She nodded her head as tears rolled down her cheeks freely.

"Besides," He pressed a soft kiss to her nose before continuing, "we can't very well have a baby if we stay in this house. There's absolutely nowhere to put it."

She let out a soft chuckle as her eyes lit up at the possibility.

"So we're moving?" She looked slightly lost and he smiled at her.

"Soon." He pressed another kiss to her nose before pressing one to her lips and letting out a sigh. "Probably after Christmas."

"Okay." She seemed okay with the idea and he was thrilled.

He needed things to work out.

He needed for her to be happy.

He needed for their family to be together as one, for their sakes, and their children's.

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