This is the third installment of Midnight Surprises. The sequel to How to Shock a Forger. Be sure to read those before you read this! :D Review and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!
Arthur and Ariadne had decided to drop by and visit Yusuf soon, they figured they might as well tell him, or rather show him, the big news. After telling Eames and Cobb, Arthur figured everyone else would be easier.
"We still have to tell my parents and your parents you know?" Ariadne said, looking at him carefully.
Arthur stiffened and looked at her. "What?"
"We have to tell our parents. They deserve to know they're going to be grandparents." Ariadne sighed, knowing that Arthur had a hard time with his parents. Her parents barely kept in contact with her either.
"My parents don't deserve to know." Arthur said through clenched teeth. Ariadne frowned.
"Arthur…"
"No, Ariadne, they kicked me out when I was sixteen. Sixteen! They didn't want me in their house anymore, just because. They had no legitimate reason to kick me out. Do you know what that was like Ari?" Arthur stalked off, and Ariadne shook her head.
Ariadne sat down and let a few tears fall, she may not have known what it was like to be kicked out, but she was both physically and sexually abused and that stayed with her forever. She never told anyone, not even Arthur, she was afraid to let him know now. Maybe he did have a point; they didn't deserve to know, not after what they've done.
Arthur heard footsteps behind him and knew that Ariadne was coming to talk to him. He shouldn't have snapped at her, but his parents were a touchy subject. He felt Ariadne's hand on his shoulder and she sat down next to him, grunting as she did so. Arthur turned to look at her and there were tears in her eyes.
"Ari? What's wrong?" Arthur asked, alarmed.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you. If you don't want to tell them, we don't have to." Ariadne whispered. Tears falling freely now. He watched as tear after tear trickled down her face and pulled her against him softly.
"What happened?" Arthur asked again.
"You're right, I don't know what it's like to be kicked out of my house. Sometimes I think that would have been better than what I had to go through." Ariadne sobbed into his shirt.
His grip on her tightened. He kissed the top of her head and listened as she continued on.
"My parents abused me Arthur. My mom verbally, my dad sexually. Sometimes he hit me, other times he would…" Ariadne trailed off, wanting to forget everything that happened.
Arthur's gaze hardened. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I haven't told anybody this!" Ariadne cried.
Arthur pulled back from her and looked her in they eyes. "You've hidden it for this long? Why?"
"Because I was ashamed. My family isn't as put together as you'd think. As anyone would think. People don't need to know about this. I'm telling you because you deserve to know. Now I agree with you. Our parents don't deserve to know. I haven't talked to my parents in years either." Ariadne admitted.
Arthur sighed. "I didn't mean that. I was angry."
"No, you're right. I think only the people closest to us should find out soon. Which is why I'm glad we're going to tell Yusuf and then drop by Saito's. We better do this soon, because in a few months I won't be able to travel much. We might as well get this over with." Ariadne told him.
Arthur nodded. "We'll head out tomorrow. Yusuf is only three hours away. Saito will be the longer trip."
Ariadne yawned and Arthur led her back to their bedroom. She lay down on the bed and Arthur climbed in next to her. She stroked her stomach lovingly and Arthur watched the movement with affection.
Ariadne was well along into her sixth month and they were already getting both anxious and nervous.
"Dom said he and the kids are going to fly up in a month. He wants to be here with us to help us out." Arthur told her, rubbing her stomach tenderly. Ariadne grinned.
"I'm glad he'll be able to be here. We'll need all the help we can get." Ariadne replied. "Eames said he wants to be here too. I don't know how I feel with having everyone in the house with us."
"Dom and the kids already have the guest room, we can use the guest house for Eames." Arthur suggested. Ariadne nodded and bit her lip. She looked down at their entwined fingers and smiled.
"What?" Arthur asked, suddenly anxious.
"Did you feel that?" Ariadne asked excitedly.
"Feel what?" Arthur asked confused. Ariadne pressed his hand a little firmer onto her stomach and waited. Arthur focused intently until he felt a soft kick. He gasped and looked up at Ariadne, his eyes wide.
"Whoa." He whispered, amazed.
"Right?" Ariadne grinned. "I've been feeling weird flutters for the past two months, but recently it's gotten more intense and I realized that the baby is kicking now."
"Wow. That's…it's…that's just…wow."
Ariadne laughed quietly and leaned into him, kissing his lips softly. Arthur smiled into the kiss and soon they fell asleep.
The three-hour trip seemed longer to Ariadne. She would get restless and irritated and had to walk around. Arthur hated seeing her like this, and he was debating on whether or not they should make the trip to see Saito. After the second hour of the flight and seeing Ariadne start to get annoyed, he decided they would just call him.
Finally the three-hour flight was over and they were on their way to Yusuf's. Arthur told the taxi driver where to go and paid him when they arrived. Arthur held Ariadne's hand and knocked three times on the dark door. A few minutes later a disgruntled Yusuf answered. He had his glasses on, his hair was messy, and he was carrying a small vial.
"Arthur, Ariadne! It's good to see you. But what are you doing here?" Yusuf asked, surprise written all over his face.
"It's good to see you too." Ariadne laughed softly. And Yusuf looked at her for the first time. Shock and realization suddenly took over his features.
"Oh! Wow! Congratulations you two!" Yusuf exclaimed and dropped the small vial, it bounced on the ground, but didn't break. He rushed to Arthur and gave him a handshake then turned to Ariadne and kissed her cheek.
"How far along are you?" He asked, picking up the vial and inviting them in.
"About six and a half months." Ariadne grinned widely and Arthur beamed proudly.
"Ah, so you've begun to feel the baby kicking have you?" Yusuf asked.
Arthur and Ariadne's eyes both lit up with excitement and they nodded vigorously. Yusuf chuckled.
"We just wanted to let you know. We're telling the team, so far we've talked to Dom, Eames, and now you. We're probably going to call Saito. The trip will be too long for Ariadne." Arthur told Yusuf. Yusuf nodded in understanding.
"Do you guys want to stay the night? I can set up the extra bedroom." Yusuf offered. Arthur shook his head.
"No, we have to be back tomorrow. Sorry." Arthur apologized and Yusuf raised his hands.
"It's ok. Times are getting busy. Have a safe trip back." He told both of them, bowing slightly as the exited the house.
"Three down, one to go." Ariadne sighed happily.
"We'll call Saito when we get home." Arthur said, kissing her temple. She nodded and leaned into him, thankful for his support.
On the plane Ariadne again grew restless, but she was too tired to do anything about it. Arthur frowned and looked at her.
"We shouldn't have made the trip. We could've called." Arthur told her.
Ariadne shook her head. "I want to travel as much as possible before the baby gets here. It just looks like we won't be able to."
"Sorry." Arthur wrapped his arm around her and she closed her eyes.
Feeling movement she placed her hand on her stomach and smiled. Arthur noticed this and put his hand on her stomach too, still in awe of this amazing moment.
"The baby's kicking hard. Does it hurt?" Arthur asked.
"No, it feels weird, but it doesn't hurt. I think it takes after you." Ariadne grinned.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Arthur chuckled.
"It is active like you. I wonder if it can handle antigravity like you." Ariadne giggled. Arthur grinned and shook his head.
"I can't wait until we don't have to call our baby 'it.' I don't like it." Arthur said.
"But we promised each other we will let it be a surprise. Plus, it makes it harder on Dom and Eames." Ariadne grinned. "They have to find something for the baby that would work for both sexes."
Arthur thought about it and his grin widened. He laughed and Ariadne looked it him curiously.
"What?"
"I just pictured Eames in a baby store looking totally lost." Arthur said through gasps. Ariadne joined in with his laughter until a young couple complained.
"Sorry." Ariadne turned to them and apologized. When the couple noticed she was pregnant their eyes widened and they apologized to her. When Ariadne turned around she scowled.
"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean people have to apologize to me for getting annoyed or angry." Ariadne huffed quietly to Arthur. Arthur's eyes gleamed and he kissed her.
He was excited for this. To start a family and raise his children. Telling everyone was the hard part right now. They had no time, but soon Dom and Eames would be around to help, and he was thankful for that. He was just afraid of what Saito might do.
This one was a little harder to write...Yusuf is hard for me to write...next will be the phone call to Saito and probably the arrival of Dom and his kids as well as Eames. :) Review Please!
