A lot of people have been asking that I get the next installment of Midnight Surprises up and I have been wanting to too. So here it is. I think the end is a little mushy and fluffy, but honestly, I would hope my husband would be like that. Haha. Enjoy! I suggest you read Midnight Surprises first, followed by How to Shock a Forger, and then A Surprise Visit to a Chemist. It's not necessary, but I suggest it. With that said, enjoy!
I don't own Inception. I hate having to write it over and over because it reminds me I didn't come up with something so this brilliant.
Ariadne was well into her eighth month if pregnancy and she was starting to feel it. She was quite large, but considering she was a small woman her size was going to look large. She hated to be on maternity leave. Something Arthur insisted on once she started showing more. She sat waiting for Arthur to return home. He had been taking on little jobs here and there.
It's not like they needed the money. With Arthur's money and Ariadne's left over money from the Fischer job, they had enough to last them most of their lives. Arthur mostly took the jobs to stay busy and he had even considered retiring soon, a conversation that was hard for the both of them.
They had agreed that Arthur should look for a normal job and once the baby was older Ariadne would search for a job working in Architecture. It would be good for her to use her degree in a more tangible setting.
She heard the door click and waited to hear Arthur enter. He was a silent man, walking so quietly that he scared her at times. Just as she suspected, he set down his briefcase, PASIV, and put his coat away silently. He made his way into the living room and slumped on the couch next to her. She smiled at him and he wrapped his arm around her.
"How was work?" She asked, stroking his hair. He sighed.
"Tiring. I'm working with a bunch of amateurs. I have to pull all of their weight in work. I'll be glad when this job is over." Arthur replied, closing his eyes and losing himself in the sensation of Ariadne running her fingers through his hair.
"I'll be glad too. We're tired of being left alone." Ariadne said, pausing to lean forward and kiss Arthur. He responded and kissed her back, opening his eyes and placing his hand on her swollen stomach.
"I miss you guys too." Arthur whispered and yawned.
"You're exhausted, you should go to bed." Ariadne frowned.
"I'm fine." Arthur protested and shifted so that he was laying down, his head in Ariadne's lap.
"I'm going to put on a movie." Ariadne shook her head and smiled, turning on the TV and scrolling through Netflix.
"Mhmm." Arthur mumbled, closing his eyes but was startled when he felt a kick against his face.
Ariadne smiled. "The baby's been kicking all day. I don't think he or she wants you to fall asleep yet. You just got home."
Arthur chuckled and kissed her stomach, gently stroking it. "Alright, I'm awake. Just don't keep your mom up all night otherwise I'll be up all night too."
Ariadne playfully pinched Arthur. "See! She's already beating me up!" Arthur laughed and sat up. Ariadne scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"We still have to call Saito. We've been putting it off since the secretary told us he was out of the country." Ariadne finally said.
"I know. We can give him a call soon." Arthur replied, rubbing her arm.
"He's going to want to give us something expensive. You know that right?" Ariadne moved her head to look up at him.
"Yes. And we'll let him. The baby deserves something nice and expensive." Arthur grinned and Ariadne rolled her eyes.
"We can buy the baby something expensive. We don't need other people to do that."
"Yes, but since this baby is the first one born since James, everyone is going to want to spoil him or her." Arthur replied.
Ariadne and Arthur were determined not to call their baby "it." They had wanted to be surprised, so they didn't want to know the sex of the baby, but it was proving to be difficult when it came to talking about the baby or buying clothes and stuff for the room.
"We can call him now if you want. Get it over with." Arthur suggested. Ariadne nodded and Arthur pulled out his cell phone.
He dialed the number Saito had given him in case he had any need to tie up loose ends and needed help. He put the phone on speaker so both of them could hear the conversation.
After a few rings a familiar Japanese voice filled Arthur's ears. "Hello?"
"Mr. Saito." Arthur greeted, stealing a glance at Ariadne who was watching him with curious eyes.
"Ah, Mr. Arthur. Is everything all right?" Saito asked in his choppy English.
"Everything's fine. My wife and I just have some news for you." Arthur said, smiling at Ariadne. She laced her fingers through his and smiled back.
"Wife? I assume it's Ariadne." Saito replied and Arthur could hear the smile in his voice.
"You weren't informed? I could have sworn we invited you to the wedding." Arthur furrowed his brow in thought.
"Ah, yes you did. I was unable to make it. I forgot." Saito remembered. "So what's this news?"
"Well…" Arthur trailed off and Ariadne took the phone from him.
"We're having a baby!" Ariadne exclaimed, her excitement taking over. Arthur beamed at his wife and moved their entwined hands to her stomach.
"Congratulations Ariadne. Boy or girl?" He asked.
"Oh, we don't know yet. We want it to be a surprise." Ariadne gleefully replied.
"Hmmm. Well that makes it difficult for me to buy a gift then. Do you already have a crib?" Saito asked and Ariadne nearly gasped.
"Um, well no not yet. We've been looking though. So far we haven't found the right one."
"Well don't buy one. I'll have one custom made and sent to you." Saito told her.
"Oh, you really don't have to do that." Ariadne began to protest, but Arthur took the phone from her.
"Thank you Saito." Arthur said.
"Anything for two of the best employees I've had." Saito replied sincerely.
Arthur smiled and he and Ariadne both said goodbye before hanging up. Ariadne grinned and Arthur helped her move to a more comfortable position. He pulled her feet onto his lap and began massaging them.
"Well we're going to get a crib for the baby." Ariadne finally said, rubbing her stomach lovingly.
"You hear that baby? You have a bed now." Arthur said, and Ariadne smiled. She loved when he talked to the baby.
Ariadne felt like giggling. She was so happy right now, even though a small part of her was afraid. Arthur raised his eyebrows at her in question and she just shrugged.
"I'm just really happy." Ariadne told him.
"It's almost time. Pretty soon we'll get to see and hold our baby." Arthur looked at Ariadne lovingly.
"I know. I can hardly believe it, and you won't be gone so much either."
"I know. I'm sorry I'm not here all the time right now." Arthur apologized.
"It's alright. I just hate sitting at home doing nothing. There's only so much cleaning you can do. And I get bored watching movies alone. It's not as fun." Ariadne pouted.
Arthur chuckled. "We'll have a movie marathon as soon as I'm finished with this job. We're going to have to enjoy our time alone now. Soon we'll have a full house."
"Ah yes. Dom and his kids and Eames are all coming in a few weeks. The baby should be here around that time too."
"Great. That's all we need. Two kids in the house." Arthur rolled his eyes.
"I thought you liked James and Philippa?" Ariadne asked, tilting her head sideways.
"I wasn't talking about James and Philippa. I was talking about Eames." Arthur replied.
"I thought you said two kids?"
"He counts as two." Arthur said, causing Ariadne to laugh.
"You two just aren't going to stop are you? This is a lifetime thing you have going on."
"I'm perfectly fine with Eames, when he learns how to act his age and not be so obnoxious." Arthur said defiantly.
"Yeah, so it is a lifetime thing. Eames won't change his ways now. He just does it to annoy you. You do know that right?" Ariadne asked.
"Yes I do. And that's what's so annoying. He should just stop and we can all get along. But no, he just has to act like he's twelve." Arthur ranted.
Ariadne struggled, trying to sit up and Arthur quickly moved to help her. She grunted and frowned, hating not being able to sit up on her own.
"I can't wait until this is over." Ariadne mumbled, motioning to her stomach.
"Almost there Ari. You just have a few more weeks." Arthur encouraged her.
"Yes, and then I'll have to work off all my baby fat. That's not going to be fun." Ariadne sighed.
"You'll be beautiful." Arthur stroked her cheek. Ariadne closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.
"You're lucky you know what to say and when to say it." Ariadne mumbled. She made a small noise and Arthur stopped, watching her carefully.
"The baby is kicking." Ariadne informed him. Arthur smiled and put his hand on her stomach. As soon as he was able to feel the baby kicking it became his favorite thing to feel. He was so jealous when Ariadne was the only one able to feel the baby's movements.
"It never gets old." Arthur finally broke the comfortable silence.
"I think the baby has your athletic abilities." Ariadne told him.
He chuckled. "Athletic abilities? Ariadne, I don't play sports."
"I know, but you're fit and you do all the fighting. I swear, this baby is practicing some kind of fighting moves or something. My bladder gets kicked all the time."
"I can't wait to meet him or her." Arthur said, getting off topic. Ariadne raised her eyebrow at him.
"Wow. Random much?" Ariadne teased.
"Hey. Can't a guy get sentimental without his wife calling him random?" Arthur defended.
"You can be sentimental all you want. But you were random, and I love you for it. You're always so uptight and precise. Seeing you less than organized is always refreshing."
"Don't get used to it." Arthur told her.
"That's what you say now. But as soon as baby's here, that will all change. I can already tell."
Arthur scowled playfully and Ariadne chuckled. "It's true. This baby will have you wrapped around his or her finger. And if it's a girl, forget it. You'll be gone."
Arthur shook his head and smiled. "We'll just wait and see."
Ariadne laughed and stood up, kissing Arthur on the forehead before reaching her hand out to him. He gladly took her hand and followed her to the bedroom.
"Someone's sleepy." Arthur pointed out.
"Yes I am. Baby on the other hand isn't." Ariadne patted her stomach and grabbed a pair of pajamas. She moved to go change in the bathroom. Ever since she became pregnant, she had been embarrassed of changing in front of Arthur. Something he didn't understand.
"You know, there's nothing I haven't seen before. You can change in here." Arthur said. Ariadne looked down, embarrassed and sighed.
"My body looks different Arthur. I don't want you to see that." Ariadne said and bit her lip. Arthur walked to her and took her hand in his.
"That doesn't change the way I feel about you. You're carrying our child. It only makes me love you more. I want to see the changes in your body. It's what defines a pregnancy. I don't want you to think that because your body has changed that it changes the way I feel for you."
A few tears were forming in Ariadne's eyes and she was smiling. "I love you Arthur." She stood on her tip toes and kissed him.
She began to undress in front of him. Neither taking their eyes off of each other. After she was left in her underwear, Arthur looked down to her stomach and placed both of his hands on it. Ariadne was blushing, still uncomfortable with her figure.
Arthur noticed this and moved her to sit down on the bed. He turned around and pulled off his shirt and changed into some pajama pants before turning back to Ariadne who had put on her pair of pajama bottoms. He moved and knelt in front of her, kissing her stomach.
"I love you. Both of you." Arthur said, looking up at Ariadne and sliding his fingers around her neck and pulling her into a kiss. He helped her pull on her shirt and they both got under the covers. Arthur turned off the lamp and pulled Ariadne to him, wrapping his arms around her.
"I love you too Arthur." She whispered as Arthur kissed her nose. They closed their eyes and fell into a comfortable sleep.
Again, as I was writing this it started becoming really fluffy and mushy. I hope you all don't mind. I think they are a bit out of character, but this is just where it went. Hope you all enjoyed! Review please!