New York City, December, 2021
Ariadne never wanted to leave. The sky was the brightest, cleanest shade of blue she'd ever seen. There were some clouds (but skies without clouds worried her, so she had no complaints there) and if she squinted she could see the tail of a jet stream. The grass beneath her was actually soft, dark in green color, tickling her bare legs, but not in an uncomfortable way, more like it was reminding her that she was anchored to the ground. The sunlight was doing wonders for her skin; if she looked hard enough, she could actually feel her skin tanning. God, she needed a tan badly. It was December, and-
Wait. December?
Abruptly, the scene changed. She was still in the yard of that house in the Hamptons, but there was snow everywhere. She shivered, and the snow rose with her, wrapping her tightly in a blanket of frost. She looked up, and was relieved to see that the sky hadn't changed. Still just as blue and clear. Tiny little snowflakes flickered down from it, tickling her nose and causing her to laugh.
She laughed so hard, she started coughing, and then-
"Did you just laugh yourself awake? That's a new kind of kick I've never imagined trying."
Ariadne's eyes flew open, her laughing-cough turning into a normal, typically hacking cough. She struggled to sit up and felt strong hands wrap around her shoulders, easily lifting her torso off the starched sheets she was laying under. Her hands scrambled, unsuccessfully, for something. She didn't know what she was trying to reach until the plastic cup of water was pressed into her hands.
She sucked down the water so hard she almost swallowed the straw.
"Well, you're just a mess, love."
"Thanks for the care," Ariadne grumbled, eyeing Eames as he returned to lounging in the chair next to her hospital bed. He smirked, gleefully tossing his sock-clad feet onto her bed, grazing her hip. She grimaced, her side-eye turning into a full on glare, and Eames raised his hands in submission.
"You're welcome."
"What happened?" Ariadne asked. She looked around, like an answer or two would pop up from somewhere to tell her how she'd wound up in a hospital. All she could remember was being in her apartment with Eames and his new team. The team had come to Ariadne for advice, and she'd been listening to them describe their layout for a second level (taking place in… a theater? An auditorium?) and then… Nothing. Lights out.
Eames studied her, and she could tell that he'd been watching her retrace her steps. "You passed out. Scared the hell out of my poor chemist, let me tell you. It was somewhat hilarious, the way you wobbled and plonk-" He slapped his hand against the rail of her bed, and Ariadne winced. Eames frowned, and continued with, "-You just dropped to the floor. Like you were the puppet of a child who heard that lunch was ready. Totally abandoned."
Ariadne scowled. "What time is it?"
He checked his watch. "Little after nine."
"Oh, God." Ariadne groaned, covering her eyes with her hand. "I was supposed to call Arthur after the meeting with you and your team."
"Why?"
Ariadne rolled her eyes. "Because he's my husband and I enjoy talking to him? We check in with each other. Plus, he's been working on a research paper with Micah-"
Eames nodded thoughtfully. "The one correlating creativity and insanity? Micah mentioned it, it does sound fascinating-"
"Can I use your phone?" Ariadne impatiently waved her hand around in front of Eames. Her enthusiasm caused her palm to glance off his feet and she scowled. "And either put on some shoes, or get your feet off my bed. Wait, wait; definitely get your feet off my bed!"
"Fine, fine," Eames said, dramatically stretching to lower his legs back to the ground. "But relax. I called Arthur when we got here."
"What did he say?"
Eames snorted. "What did he not say? There was some swearing, a few 'oh my god's, irritated breathing, very fast questions I was not given adequate time to answer, and a hasty 'call me when you know anything more I'm on my way okay bye'." Eames mimed slamming a phone down.
Ariadne looked dismayed. "So he's worried?"
"Of course he is. He wouldn't be Arthur if he wasn't." Eames' phone abruptly started ringing, and he fished it from his pants pocket. "Talk of the devil." He held it to his ear. "Hello, darling. What? Wait. No. Hang on, what-"
"You speak too slowly."
Arthur looked grumpy, scowling so hard Ariadne was a little worried he'd unhinge his jaw. There was snow in his hair and his jacket was lopsided, but he was in the room. Ariadne managed a small smile as he strode to her side, on the other side of the bed from Eames. He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Ariadne huffed. She was glad to see him but she could already see the toll his incessant worry had taken; the lines in his forehead were more pronounced than ever, and she could feel his body trembling, his heartbeat rapid through the tight grip he had on her hand. "Just hit my head when I fell, that's all."
He carded his fingers through her hair, in a less romantic gesture and a more medical one. "Just the one spot then. Does-"
"Ow!"
"-Hurt. Okay, good."
"Good?"
"You're healing, love," Eames said gently. He nodded at Arthur. "Hi there. My name is Edward Eames."
Arthur gave him a dirty look. "I know." Somewhat grudgingly, he added, "Thank you for bringing her here. And for staying."
"I called you, too."
"The hospital would've done that, I'm her emergency contact-"
"But aren't you glad you got to hear it from my warm, loving voice-"
"Warm, loving, my-"
"Please, quiet down," Ariadne hissed. "Your pissing contest is not helping my headache." Almost unnecessarily, she added, "Sssh."
"I'm sorry," Arthur said immediately. Eames nodded, looking guilty. Ariadne sighed, leaning back against the pillows.
"So when can I get out of here?"
Eames shrugged. "Doctors wanted to run some tests."
Arthur turned to her. "Yeah, why did you faint?"
"I don't know!" Ariadne spluttered. "I mean, I had a cold last week, but I've been feeling fine since then! I went ice skating with Alison and Scarlet yesterday, and I didn't fall down once."
"Who's Scarlet?" Eames asked.
"Alison's daughter," Arthur explained. "She's three years old."
"She's adorable! She thinks I'm the best." Ariadne looked around. "Where's my phone? I have pictures I can show you."
Arthur looked at Eames. "Ariadne is very excited to have a god-daughter who lives ten blocks away."
"How precious."
"Don't condescend me," Ariadne snapped.
Eames looked surprised. "I'm not sure I've ever experienced this level of rage from you before. That fall really did a number on you, didn't it?" He glanced at Arthur. "Glad I'm not him."
Before Ariadne could come up with a snarky retort, there was a soft knock at the door. A small Chinese woman in a white doctor's coat stood in the doorway, studying them with a bemused look, a clipboard in her hands.
"Can I come in?" She asked.
"Yes, please," Ariadne begged. The doctor shuffled inside, eyes moving rapidly from Eames to Arthur and back.
"Which of you is-"
"He's the husband," Eames said, pointing at Arthur loftily. "I'm merely the kind and patient friend who escorted Ms. Chopin to the hospital." He looked at Ariadne pointedly. "I might've had other places to be, you know."
"Is she okay?" Arthur asked the doctor impatiently, squeezing Ariadne's hand and drawing her attention away from daydreaming about choking Eames with a stethoscope.
The doctor smiled. "She's fine."
"Oh, thank God," Arthur murmured, the stress finally leaving his shoulders. He looked taller, and Ariadne used her free hand to rub his arm.
"Anyway," the doctor said gently, "I'm Doctor Wu, and I'm the one in charge of Ariadne's treatment." She offered a warm smile to Ariadne. "It's nice to see you awake."
"Uh, yeah, you too," Ariadne said awkwardly. Eames snorted. Dr. Wu glanced at him before turning back to Ariadne.
"There are some things I'd like to discuss with you, and I don't think it's appropriate-"
"Eames, get out," Ariadne said.
Eames sighed, getting to his feet. "Fine, fine… I can tell when I'm unwanted." He paused and added, "I'll wait in the hallway." Dr. Wu waited until Eames had vanished down the hall before turning back to Ariadne and Arthur.
"Okay, so," Dr. Wu said, flipping through the papers on her clipboard. "Your blood pressure is worryingly low, we've been keeping an eye on it and giving you fluids, so once we're done talking I'll check it again. Your blood sugar is also a little low, but that's an easier fix. Your head was bleeding when you were brought in, but we've bandaged it up." She looked up, noticing the way Arthur was surreptitiously peeking into Ariadne's hair. "It's very likely stopped bleeding by now, but I'll check before I go."
"So…" Ariadne frowned. "That's why I passed out? Low blood pressure?"
"Ariadne, you should know that having low blood pressure is perfectly normal-"
"Is it? It's never landed me in a hospital before!"
"Well, your chart says this is your first pregnancy, so it's not…" Dr. Wu trailed off at the audible silence in front of her. She glanced up, taking in the sight of Ariadne's dropped jaw and Arthur's sudden stillness. Two pairs of eyes stared at her, unblinking.
"Oh." Dr. Wu breathed. "You didn't know."
Ariadne felt her head nodding, but she wasn't aware of deciding to nod. She felt oddly detached from her body. "I…. Uh. No. Sorry. What? No. What."
Dr. Wu looked amused. "Says here you're about ten weeks along. You're so small and skinny, I assumed you would've noticed by now-"
"Wait, so I didn't have a cold last week? Was that, like… morning sickness?"
Dimly, Ariadne recognized that Arthur seemed to not be breathing.
Dr. Wu nodded. "That's probably a safe assumption."
Ariadne swallowed. "And the, uh… aversion to sushi? Like, sushi has never been my favorite food, but I went out to lunch with an… associate the other day, and he had sushi, and I had to puke? Like… that was weird."
She gave a hollow laugh. Arthur's hand was cutting into her circulation. She turned to him.
"Hey, Arthur, could you, uh, lessen your grip a little? That can't be good for my blood pressure. And not good for the, uh…"
"Pregnancy," Arthur whispered. He took a deep breath, gathering himself together and managed to drop her hand. He lifted his arms above his head, biting his lip furiously. As it caught the light, Ariadne noticed that he was wearing his wedding ring. She wondered if Eames had her ring, or if it was with her clothes. Where were her clothes, anyway…
"So, um…" Arthur's voice was uncharacteristically high-pitched. She was somewhat relieved to see that he'd been reduced to sounding like a terrified child, just like her. Oh God. A child. Ariadne looked at her hospital gown-clad abdomen.
"What happens next?" Arthur asked. "What, uh… You know. What?"
Dr. Wu chuckled. "I take it this is a surprise."
"You think!" Ariadne half-yelled, half-sobbed. She felt like she was two seconds from crying, but for what reason, she wasn't sure. Terror, anxiety, joy, anger, panic, shock…
At least this explained why she'd felt all wimpy when she had to let go of Scarlet's hand when they'd gotten off the ice skating rink yesterday.
Dr. Wu soldiered on past Ariadne's exclamation. She was probably a veteran at handling emotional pregnant women. "Well, it's really up to you two. We'll keep you here for at least another hour or two, just to monitor your vitals. Blood work was fine, the only noteworthy thing was the pregnancy. Other than that…" Dr. Wu looked up at them. Arthur had a hand pressed to his cheek and his arm wrapped around his side, while Ariadne was sitting up straight, hands clasped over her stomach. "It's all up to you. I can give you information for OB/GYN specialists here, or put you in touch with some at other hospitals in the area…"
"We'll, uh, talk it out," Ariadne managed, vaguely gesturing between herself and a very stoic Arthur. "Thanks, Doctor." Dr. Wu nodded and smiled, handing a dazed Arthur Ariadne's file and leaving the room.
Ariadne turned to Arthur. "So, uh, okay. Guess what."
"You're pregnant," Arthur murmured, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Uh huh," Ariadne said. She leaned forward and snatched her medical file from Arthur's limp hand, eagerly flipping it open. Sure enough, there it was. High progesterone levels, boom, pregnancy. "Yep. Look at that. Right there."
"How are you, um," Arthur shook himself and blinked at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Gratified, I guess? Relieved I don't have some scary disease that's screwing up my body and causing me to faint?"
"No, I mean-" Arthur swallowed. "About the pregnancy."
"Oh." Ariadne considered this. "I'm fine."
"You're fine."
"Should I not be?"
Arthur looked pained. "We didn't plan this."
"I know."
"We don't know anything about… anything."
"Yes."
"We don't have anything for… this."
"True."
He shook his head. "How the hell are you so calm?"
Ariadne exhaled sharply. "I just… When she said that, when she told me I was pregnant, just something… It felt right, you know? Good. This is good news." In a smaller voice, she asked, "It's good news, right?"
"Yeah, it's good news," Arthur said softly.
"We've always wanted a family," Ariadne continued. "And I mean, why not now? I know we didn't plan this, but… We're in a good place. You're working at a practice, and writing a paper with Micah, and volunteering with the V.A. on weekends. And I'm…" She trailed off. Arthur looked sad. He touched her hair, and she looked up at him.
"I'll have to leave. Won't I?"
Arthur shook his head. "No. No, you don't have to. I mean, okay, I really think you should take it easy. Take a step back. But dreaming? You don't have to give that up. I would never ask you to give it up."
She smiled. "I know. And you don't have to. But I'm… I'm going to leave anyway." She looked away, studying her body like it was a foreign thing to her.
"Ari-"
"You have done so much for me," she whispered, peering up at him from behind a curtain of dark hair. Arthur's eyes were warm as they looked back at her. "More than anyone could ever ask for. You've supported me, for so long, and you've made yourself as available to me as you possibly can be, without threatening your physical or your mental wellbeing. You've never once complained, and you've always respected my work, and what I do, even when you don't agree or understand it. And I'm so grateful for you. For being able to… to keep you, and have you with me, over the past… well, we met eleven years ago, and it's been you, only you, since then."
Arthur's smile was blinding. He knelt down on the floor so Ariadne's face was slightly above his. He took her hands, placing one on his cheek and gently kissing the other.
Ariadne swallowed at his simple affection. "I want to do something for you now. You deserve it. You, and…" She shook her head, swallowing hard, looking at her stomach again. Still holding Arthur's hand, she lightly placed it on her stomach. "You know. This."
"You can say it, you know."
"Baby," Ariadne whispered, like the word was a benediction. She giggled at the surreality of it all. Even Arthur laughed. He got up, and Ariadne wiggled to make room for him to sit next to her on the bed.
"So. We're doing this."
"Yeah."
"What's the plan?"
Ariadne thought about it. "Well… I'll have to find someone to take Helena's work. I don't trust just letting it all out there for anyone to mess with."
"Do you have any ideas for who?"
"Yeah," Ariadne said, her eyes widening. "Oh yeah. And he's waiting in the hallway."
FIN
this is the happiest, lightest thing I've ever written. in like my whole life.
I've been watching a lot of "Friends" lately. Can you tell? I don't really like how everyone sounds in this, but whatever. I've been yearning to write about these morons again, so. (I don't have anymore thoughts though. This is it. This is all I got. Choose your own adventure time, reader.)
song title is "Pumpin' Blood" by NONONO.