Well I should be updating A Reckless Abandon, but I'm having a small case of writer's block and I needed to get this oneshot out of my system. I hope you all enjoy, and for the sake of this oneshot, Cobb is still doing some jobs. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Read and review please!
Inception belongs to Christopher Nolan...that man is a genius...
The red liquid was flowing down his face, arms, legs, and chest. He could feel it dripping slowly and causing his clothes to stick to him. When things went wrong for him they weren't just a little wrong, they were horribly, horribly wrong.
He managed to escape, but not before making sure the rest of his team made it out safely. He was the Point Man, so his job was to make sure everything went smoothly, even when things went wrong.
Gasping in pain, he ran as fast as he could through the back alleys. The moon was the only thing giving him light and he had to curse the clouds for deciding to move in. It would give him better coverage, and a chance to escape, but it didn't mean it would be easier to see where he was going.
He had to make it to his car he had decided to bring and park, hidden in case of an emergency. It was just a few more blocks away and his beating heart was the only noise he was paying attention to.
He stopped and looked around, catching his breath. He had to make sure that the coast was clear before he headed to the car. After determining that it was indeed safe, he dashed to the alley, pulling out his keys in the process. When he reached the black beamer, he quickly unlocked the door, jumped in, started the engine, and peeled out.
Only when he was safely out of the city did he allow himself to think about his injuries and the pain he was in. He had to get home and get these cleaned and stitched up, not only that but he was sure he had a few cracked ribs.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number, hoping that they were all safe. After a few rings someone answered.
"Arthur?" Eames distressed voice filled his ears.
"Eames, are you alright? Did you get out of there?"
"I'm fine. Barely made it out alive. I almost got caught a few times, but I managed to lose them in a crowd before walking to the farthest train station. What about Cobb? Have you heard from him?" Eames asked, breathless.
Arthur watched the lights passing by as he drove past them and sighed. He pulled over and turned off his lights.
"No not yet. I'll give him a call now to check up on him."
"How about you? You got a pretty bad beating. You looked like hell when I left." Eames asked cautiously.
"I'm fine. I think I have a few cracked ribs, and a lot of open wounds. I'm going to have to get stitches for some of them. Ariadne is going to be pissed."
"Or she'll pass out when she sees you. Just be careful heading home. You don't want to lead them to her." Eames replied.
"I know. We may have to go to the safe house for a few days. I haven't decided yet." Arthur frowned.
"Well just watch your back. I gotta go, there are some suspicious people eyeing me. I'll give you a call or text once I'm certain things are safe." Eames said.
"Be careful." Arthur replied before ending the call, he paused and looked around him. There weren't any other cars around so he felt it would be ok to give Cobb a call. The phone rang a few times before there was some rustling on the other end and a breathless answer.
"Hello?" Cobb sounded distracted.
"Cobb are you alright? Did you get out of there?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Lost them a while back. I'm going to keep walking and take a bus to the next town and hop on a train there. Are you safe?"
"For now." Arthur replied and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I screwed up."
"It wasn't your fault. The mark woke up too soon and we couldn't do anything about it. Just take care of yourself and your wife. Don't lead them to her."
"I told Eames that we might go and stay at the safe house for a few days if we have to. But I'm thinking we should, just to be safe. Keep me updated on you."
"I will. We really should just retire. I have a family and you're planning on starting one. We can't have this danger following us around when we have families." Cobb sighed and Arthur closed his eyes, knowing his friend was right.
"I know. I promised Ariadne I wouldn't take many more jobs, I'm thinking maybe this should be my last." Arthur replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose and inhaling loudly.
"Your breathing sounds ragged and strained. You should get home quickly and get those injuries checked out. Ariadne knows how to fix you up right?" Cobb sounded concerned and Arthur couldn't help but smile at the concern.
"Yes, she hates it though. She doesn't do well with blood. You and I both know that. Remember the last time?" Arthur chuckled.
Cobb remained serious. "Seriously Arthur, go get fixed up. Now's not a time to joke. I'll call you back later to check up on you guys."
"Ok. Thanks Cobb." Arthur replied, ending the call. He started the car again and pulled back onto the road, pressing down on the gas and accelerating. He needed to get home to Ariadne and get her to safety. She would be waiting up for him, he knew that much. He debated calling her, but knew that she would freak out if she knew that he was injured.
After driving for an extra hour, he reached Paris. He had to be cautious here too, if they found out who they were, they could find details about them and find them. He couldn't allow that to happen.
The city was beautiful at night. Arthur knew that was one of the reasons why Ariadne loved it so much. For the architecture and the beauty that was revealed at night. It was something they both loved about Paris.
The pain he had been ignoring for the past two hours was starting to catch up with him and he gasped as he pulled into the driveway. He turned off the car and sat in silence before slowly getting out of the car, suddenly acutely aware of each injury he had received. He knew he had to be quick once he got inside. They had to pack and get out of here quickly before his injuries could be taken care of.
He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. Quietly making his way in. He looked around to see if Ariadne was awake, the lights were off in the living room, but she usually would watch TV in their room while she waited for him to come home.
"Ariadne?" Arthur called out, pain evident in his voice.
"In here." Ariadne called from their bedroom. Arthur rushed to their room and Ariadne gasped when she took in his appearance. She jumped out of bed and carefully touched him.
"What happened?" She asked, starting to turn pale.
"Things went wrong. I'll explain later, but we have to pack and get to the safe house." Arthur told her, moving to the closet to grab a suitcase for their stuff. Ariadne nodded and pulled open some drawers, throwing in some of the necessities as well as a few scarves and ties. She ran to the closet and took down some of her shirts and tossed them to Arthur. Arthur folded and shoved the clothes into the suitcase. Ariadne hesitated before throwing some of Arthur's suits to him. As much as Arthur hated having to fold them and put them in a suitcase, he hated having Ariadne in danger, so he shoved them in too.
Ariadne looked around the room and sighed. "I think that's all we need. Right?"
"Grab the laptops, cell phones, and whatever you may want to take and put them in our backpacks. I'll go get our toiletries. Hurry." Arthur said and left the room.
Ariadne took deep breaths before grabbing their backpacks and carefully placing their electronics and a few books into them. She frowned and held her stomach. Blood made her queasy and she didn't want to think about it right now.
Arthur walked back into the room the suitcase full and zipped up and he took in her appearance.
"Are you alright?" Arthur asked, setting the bag down and approaching her. Ariadne looked up at him and smiled uneasily.
"I'm fine." Ariadne replied. "You know how I get with…"
Arthur looked at himself and frowned. "You're going to have to ignore it for now. Can you do that? We have to get moving."
Ariadne nodded and she followed him to the car, shutting the door behind her and locking it up. She threw the backpacks into the back seat and jumped into the passenger seat, not liking that Arthur still hadn't told her what happened. She shifted in her seat and looked at him, waiting to bring up the topic until they were out of the city.
Arthur could feel her gaze on him and he sighed inwardly. He didn't know where to start. Cobb was right it wasn't his fault. The sedative wore off too quickly and the mark woke up. That's when all hell broke loose.
Ariadne cleared her throat, trying to get Arthur's attention. He slowly looked away from the road and looked at her.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Ariadne asked, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows.
"I will. When we get to the safe house."
"Arthur, you have to tell me!" Ariadne exclaimed, her face flustered.
"Ari, I will. I told you I will. Right now we need to get to safety." Arthur replied, exasperated.
"Fine." Ariadne crossed her arms and stared out the passenger window. She had to look away from Arthur, not only because she was angry at him, but because if she focused on all the blood on him she'd probably pass out or worse, throw up.
She watched as Arthur gripped the steering wheel tighter and let out a small noise of discomfort. Her expression softened and she uncrossed her arms.
"Do you want me to drive?" She asked timidly, knowing that he was stubborn and wouldn't give in if he didn't want to.
Arthur hesitated for a moment before pulling over. He had trained Ariadne well and she would be able to evade anyone following them if she needed to. He sighed and shut his eyes tightly, willing the pain to go away. Ariadne watched him before opening the door and stepping into the dark night.
She rushed to his side and opened the door, helping him out of the car and moving him to the passenger seat. She buckled him in and shut the door before running around to the driver's seat and jumping in, starting the engine.
At least driving would keep her distracted from Arthur's wounds and the blood that she could smell on him. Arthur let out a small gasp, and it broke her out of her thoughts.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm not sure." Arthur grunted, shifting uncomfortably and clutching is ribs.
"You need to get fixed up. Arthur you're going to have to see a doctor." Ariadne said. Arthur shook his head defiantly.
"We can't. They'll ask questions and it gives the mark a way to track us. You're going to have to do this for me Ari."
"But what about your ribs? If they're cracked you need medical attention."
"They're just cracked. If they were broken and out of place then it would be important, but since they're cracked there's not much they can do for me at the hospital. They'll heal on their own." Arthur's breathing was getting shallow and Ariadne was starting to get worried.
"Just calm down and close your eyes. Relax." Ariadne's voice was high and she was telling herself not to freak out.
"I'm fine." Arthur panted and turned to look at her. His face pale and bruised.
Ariadne gulped and nodded, turning her attention back to the road, not wanting to look at him right now. She took the opportunity to look up at the stars as she drove. Since they were heading out of the city, the stars were becoming more visible. Arthur, as weak as he was, still noticed that something caught Ariadne's attention. He followed her gaze and smiled, trying to lighten the situation.
"They're beautiful huh? We don't see them much in the city." Arthur whispered, his eyes never leaving Ariadne's face. Ariadne smiled and nodded.
"I wish we could see them more." She replied, focusing on the road now.
"Is that why you love the safe house so much? You never say it, but I can tell." Arthur asked, easing her into a different topic to take her mind off of what was happening now.
Ariadne opened her mouth to speak and paused. "Yeah. When I was little my grandpa would take me to star gaze. Since he passed away it became a nightly thing for me, but when I moved to Paris I couldn't. I feel like I've been neglecting him."
"I'm sorry." Arthur reached out and stroked her face gently. Ariadne leaned into his touch slightly and focused on driving.
They remained silent for the rest of the drive, only Arthur's labored breathing was heard in the car. When Ariadne pulled into the driveway she turned to Arthur and watched his sleeping form. Before waking Arthur up, she got out of the car and made her rounds, like Arthur had taught her. She grabbed the gun from the trunk of the car and searched the house and the perimeter. After determining it was safe, she walked back to the car to wake up Arthur, but he was already out of the car and making his rounds.
"Arthur! You need to get inside and rest. We have to clean you up and fix your wounds." Ariadne hissed.
"I'm not taking any chances Ari. Your safety is important."
"So is yours. Stop being so stubborn for a moment and listen to me. Let's go inside. I'll grab the bags, you go get undressed and wash off what you can and I'll be in there in a minute to help you." Ariadne ordered, gently pushing him towards the house.
Arthur shook his head, smirking slightly. "Yes ma'am." He tucked the gun back into his pants and headed to the house. He watched as Ariadne struggled to pull out the suitcase and chuckled when she cursed and kicked it when it fell out of the car. Remembering his injuries, he quickly entered the house and began unbuttoning his shirt. He hissed in pain as he peeled it off his body.
The bathroom, which was painted and decorated with light browns, was quickly becoming crimson and dirty as Arthur's wounds reopened and started to bleed. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub and checked out the open wounds on his chest and arms. He was certain he had a few on his back too.
"I told you to rinse off!" Ariade scolded him, her face turning deathly white as she took in his wounds and the blood.
"I am. Give me a minute. And take deep breaths." He told her, trying to prevent her from passing out. He flinched as he turned to twist the faucet, but Ariadne rushed over and turned it on for him.
"I'll go get a couple of wash cloths, towels, and the first aid kit. Don't go anywhere." She quietly said, shuffling out of the bathroom.
"I'll be right here." He gasped.
Ariadne gingerly stepped into the bathroom a few minutes later. She frowned at him.
"Do you want me to rinse off the blood?" She asked, her voice quivering.
"Please? It would hurt too much for me to do it."
Ariadne gulped and grabbed the washcloth. She dipped it in the warm water in the quickly filling tub and started to dab at Arthur's chest carefully.
"So are you going to tell me what happened?" Ariadne asked, trying to distract herself.
Arthur nodded and flinched, hissing. "Everything was going pretty smooth. We almost got the information we needed, but Eames came running in and said that the mark had vanished. We didn't know what happened, it wasn't until the dream started collapsing that we realized he had given us all a kick. He'd woken up before us."
Ariadne stared at him in shock. "How is that possible? That's never happened before."
"I don't know. The sedatives wore off early for him. Usually they last the longest on the mark."
"You don't think someone tampered with it while you were under do you?"
"Possibly." Arthur bit his lip as Ariadne dabbed one of the larger cuts.
"Sorry." She apologized and turned off the water.
"When we woke up there were three other men in the room and they threw us to the ground and started beating us. It completely caught us off guard, we didn't have time to defend ourselves."
"They didn't tell you anything?" Ariadne asked, pausing and letting the wash cloth soak up some of the blood on Arthur's shoulder.
"They just kept repeating, 'This is what happens when you try to mess with the President of Solomon Incorporated. You think we're stupid? We know what extraction is.'"
Ariadne covered her mouth, the blood completely forgotten. "Did Eames and Dom make it out ok?"
Arthur nodded. "I called them as soon as I was safe."
"So how did you escape?"
"We fought our way out. I kept two of the men distracted long enough for Eames and Cobb to gang up on the other one and we managed to get out of the room, but not before I got stabbed a few times." Athur motioned to his body.
"Arthur, you could have been killed! All of you could have!" Ariadne angrily said, her eyes becoming glossy.
"But we didn't. We're fine. It was a screw up."
"It couldn't have been your fault." Ariadne cut him off.
"I could have checked the PASIV over again before we went under. I could have easily caught it." Arthur protested.
Ariadne grabbed Arthur's face and brought his face close to hers. She kissed his nose softly and looked into his eyes.
"It. Wasn't. Your. Fault." She said between kisses.
Arthur smiled sadly at her. "It just got me thinking."
"About what?"
"We'll talk after we're finished here." Arthur replied, tensing at Ariadne's touch.
"Right! Right…which ones will need stitches?" She asked.
"Probably the two on my chest, the one on my forehead, the one on my shoulder, the one just below my belly button, and the one above my elbow.
"What about your back?" Ariadne asked.
"How bad do they look, describe them to me and I'll let you know." Arthur told her.
"They're not deep. Just some scrapes. I'll disinfect them and put gauze on them." Ariadne said through clenched teeth.
Arthur reached out and grabbed her shaking hands.
"Hey, look at me. You can do this."
Ariadne smiled softly and kissed him. "Alright, now hold still, I don't want to have to redo any of these."
"I'll do my best." Arthur winked at her and she giggled.
Moving to stand in front of him, she reached for the first aid kit and pulled out the disinfectant. She paused and he nodded, urging her to go ahead. She sprayed his chest, making sure to get each open wound he had. She then moved to his back, arms, and forehead.
Arthur bit his lip and grunted as it burned. He shut his eyes tight and allowed a hiss to escape him. Ariadne kissed his forehead in comfort.
"Okay, now you have to hold still." She told him, beginning to stitch up the gash just below his belly button.
The process was excruciating for Arthur. He had built up a tolerance for pain, but having so many gashes, cuts, bruises, and cracked ribs was almost too much for him to handle. And on top of that, a lot of them were getting stitched up, which wasn't pleasant.
Ariadne was gentle and delicate with him, trying to go as fast as she could without messing up, but she also made sure that she did her best.
Two hours later, she had Arthur all stitched up, bandaged, and dressed for bed. Arthur, proud that she made it through without passing out or throwing up, kissed her temple.
"You did great. Thank you."
Ariadne smiled nervously. "Can't say that I'm fine now. I think it's starting getting to me." She admitted, her complexion turning white.
"Whoa, hey, sit down. Breathe. I'll clean up."
"No. No, I should get that. You need to rest. Take some painkillers." Ariadne shook her head and stood up too quickly. Everything was fuzzy and she could hear ringing in her ears. She couldn't even hear Arthur trying to talk to her. The last thing she saw before she hit the ground was Arthur's worried expression.
"Ari! Dammit!" Arthur sighed and looked around him. He wouldn't be able to pick her up, but he couldn't just leave her lying on the bathroom floor, so pushing through the pain he gently picked up her light frame and carried her to bed, hissing and holding in yelps of pain as he walked. He laid her down and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You almost made it." He softly chuckled and kissed her, heading back to the bathroom to clean up.
His mind wandered to the conversation he was about to have with Ariadne. He was ready to quit extraction and start a family. It wasn't until this close scrape with death that he finally decided it was time to settle down. He realized that losing Ariadne, whether it be because he got himself killed or something happening to her, would be way worse than not being able to extract again.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize how quickly he cleaned up the bathroom. The blood was gone and he got rid of the extra pieces of gauze that were stained crimson. The towels and washcloths were sitting on the counter, ready to be put into the washer and Arthur grabbed them, tossing them in and setting the timer. He would get back to them tomorrow.
Ariadne was still sleeping when he finally walked in to go to bed. It was a long day for him and a rough night for both of them. Climbing into bed, he saw Ariadne stir. Her eyes fluttered and opened. He rolled over and his eyes came in contact with her big, brown eyes.
"Hey. How are you feeling?" Arthur asked, pulling the covers up and then stroking her hair.
"I should be asking you that." Ariadne smiled sheepishly, a faint blush tinting her cheeks.
"I'm fine. I'll be fine thanks to you."
"Okay." Ariadne smiled and yawned, crawling under the sheets and sighing in contentment.
"Ari, I want to talk to you about something."
Ariadne furrowed her brows and propped her head up with her elbow.
"What's going on?"
"I'm quitting extraction. That was my last job. I know we've been discussing this, but this job was the deal breaker."
Ariadne had stiffened and Arthur was nervous when he couldn't read her expression. Usually her emotions were written all over her face, but she had his look, the Point Man look, and it made him uneasy.
"Ari, talk to me."
"Are you sure about this? Don't do it because of me. This is what you love, what you know how to do." Ariadne finally said.
"I'm more than sure Ari. You're my life now. You're all I need. I want to start a family with you. Build our lives together and watch our kids grow up. I'm ready to hear the pitter patter of feet and hold our son or daughter when they cry. It's time to move on and live a normal life."
"Oh Arthur." Ariadne whispered, tears streaming down her face. She hugged him tightly, forgetting about his injuries, but Arthur didn't care.
"I love you."
"I love you too Arthur."
And suddenly, everything that happened that day didn't matter anymore. The blood that Ariadne hated to see was long forgotten. Extraction was now behind them and they were ready to move forward and start new.
So I was going to make Ariadne pregnant, but I do that a lot...I'm sorry, but I'm just obsessed with this image of Arthur holding a baby and being a daddy...gosh, can you imagine JGL holding a baby? *melt* Haha...so yeah, if you all want me to write an alternate ending where she is pregnant, leave me a review and I'll add another chapter to this...but only if I get enough people who want it! Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!