SiSi4: No worries, whenever you can find the time, I'm happy to read them. If there just isn't any to leave a review, I understand =) Thank you for reviewing CH10 though! It's funny how he could go from a complete buffoon to a Casanova in a matter of minutes. I know! THE ONE TIME HE FORGETS SOMETHING—in his defense though, who has his number? Who ever calls him? And you're about to find out! Bookwormgirl: Aww, forever would be sweet. Thanks for the review girl! Here's your update. Lauraa-x: It's funny when I saw the first review you left and all itsaid was "Daaamn, I'm surpised" I laughed so hard because I thought that's all it was and I was like she must be super-duper surprised if that's all she said lol. Kids are always in a rush for donuts. Yeah, hahaha, Cobb basically demanded Arthur date her. He was like: You're taking the night off, you're taking Ariadne to dinner, and you're going to love it. Chloe really is a tiny old soul but that's also paired with an innocence. And it's like sometimes she opens her mouth and it's like are you thirty years old? And then she'll wonder why butter mints don't taste like butter and ask what the word persist means. It's funny. It's fun to write her because she just says the darnedest things and her half of conversations just blurt out onto the page. You'll see, you'll see! Neverlandspirit: Thank you =) Hope I continue to kill them softly in an entertaining way! I'm making the next couple chapters relatively sweet for spell…because I need some happiness before more angst ;) Dun Dun Dun. CoffeeBean: AHHH! That's literally one my favorite compliments (the canon one) I've ever received writing for this fandom, thanks! That made me super happy. Definitely. And I don't know if you read With You but I shall just warn you as I did everyone who wanted conflict and revenge on that one…be careful what you wishhhhhh forrrrrr. ;)

Chapter 11: DOH-oh-oh-oor.

"But America came from England," Chloe pointed out, taking the box of leftover donuts so Arthur could unlock the door. They gave one to Mr. Max on their way up; Chloe picked one out especially for him. It was shaped and iced like a football, filled with strawberry jelly and topped with chocolate sprinkles. The doorman must get really bored and hungry standing there all day…the little girl wanted to surprise him with a treat to break of the mundaneness.

"Yes," the Uncle pushed the door open and guided her inside first, "but a lot of our differences in vocabulary have to do with objects that were invented after America became independent." Before dropping his keys in the bowl, Arthur locked all the deadbolts. It might be scary for a child seeing lock after lock after deadbolt after deadbolt after chain along with a security camera out in the hall above their door and heat sensor just inside. It might be a little frightening for some children to see their guardian hide (he tried to do it discreetly but she caught him a few times) a gun in his waistband when they went out and hide it just inside the closet, in a clip that kept it close to the ceiling when they came back. (It used to be under the front table where his keys were but since Chloe had been there he moved the firearm to a location she couldn't reach so no accidents would occur.) Most kids would wonder if there was a sinister reason for all the security and be scared. Not Chloe. Not really…Uncle Arthur went about all of it like it was normal. Like part of a routine. Arthur didn't give off a paranoid vibe or duck his head in public or anxiously peek out the peephole in spurts. Chloe supposed it was just a New York thing. For all she knew, all New Yorkers did that.

Chloe slipped off her comfy slip-on bunny shoes (really only used for short distances),"The potty wasn't," and then carefully and tediously lined them up perfectly next to Arthur's. "Why don't we call it the Loo in America?"

"I don't know, Tiny, because we don't." Arthur put up his gun and tossed his wallet and keys into the bowl. Meanwhile, the child skipped to the kitchen to set the pastry box down. He said she was allowed to snack on them during the day since it was the weekend and then had a little more than half a dozen. She might eat one after dinner and definitely save one for her and Uncle Arthur for breakfast…she really wanted to bring a donut in to Ms. Baublit and Miss Willes and Katerina the next morning too. So she was going to be frugal with their leftovers. "I like the British names for things better: Pop, chips, crisps."

Arthur went the opposite way, going into his bedroom to hang his suit jacket up. He called from in front of his closet, shrugging off his top layer, "Start using them then." He saw his phone on the bedside table and was content to leave it on the charger since they were back home anyway. "I will," Chloe yelled back. But then he saw a red dot above the telephone icon. He was used to seeing several hundred on his icon for email but not for missed calls…Instead of grabbing a hanger, Arthur tossed his jacket on the bed and practically crawled across the mattress to check the notification.

Chloe was curled up on the couch with Penny, Julie, Emmett and Sandy, reading a book when Arthur sort of burst out of his room. She finished Esperanza Rising already and was onto one of the Little House On The Prairie books. Funny, she had her iPad set up on Julie's lap with the doll's hand touching the screen like she was playing on it. She propped Emmett up in such a way it looked like he was brushing Sandy's fur and of course Penny was in Chloe's arms. "Hey, Chlo, I've got to make a very important call. I'm going to close my door for a bit." The little girl didn't even look up. She ok'ed distractedly while turning the page and telling Emmett he missed a spot.

xxxxxxx

First ring, second ring, third ring, fourth ring. By the fifth, Arthur was ready to resign to a forced game of phone-tag when a woman answered, "Hello?"

Ariadne's mother! Yet, she sounded different than he remembered, "Shannon?"

"No, this is Natalie." Natalie. That was Ariadne's cousin. Her closest cousin, actually. They looked like they could be sisters—and certainly acted like it. Natalie was Ariadne's maid of honor at their wedding, she flew in with Ariadne's mom when Ender was born because Ariadne insisted she needed her there too. The two girls talked on the phone at least once a week and kept online correspondence daily. Natalie was two years older than Ariadne and though they felt the same age, when Natalie got protective it was like Ari or 'Addy' (the Architect's family used the last half—the Adne part of her name—as a nickname while she was growing up) was her little sister. Natalie had a younger brother named Wesley. He and Arthur got along famously all the times they were thrown together. Arthur used to keep up with Wes about once a month like he did with Cobb. But those relationships fell through long before Arthur and Ariadne's had. "Can I ask whose calling?" The woman sounded bored. Like she was reciting her response for the eighteen millionth time. As if her job was to sit by the phone and tell people these exact two sentences.

The Point winced. He expected a sharp dial-tone as soon as he revealed himself, "Nat, it's Arthur."

"What?" No hang-up. But her half-way decent attitude dropped considerably. "Why are y—"

"I need to speak with Shannon or Gerard," interrupted Arthur. He felt it extremely urgent that he get to the point before she came to her full senses and remembered how much she despised him for hurting her cousin and…well, second cousin.

Natalie answered him like he was stupid, "They're not here. That's why I answered the phone; I'm taking care of the house and Fletcher (their Cocker Spaniel) while they're—" then she paused abruptly. She couldn't very well leave the sentence at that (he wouldn't be surprised if she did anyways) so she mumbled through as casually as possible, "um...away." First rule of lying: don't pause and hem-haw around while blatantly searching for a plausible fib.

"Would you mind giving me their cell phone numbers?" Arthur was smart enough to know that no matter what the circumstances, Natalie would avoid giving him any form of contact information but he pushed anyway.

"They…" There was that pause again. "They're not really available. What is this about?"

Arthur suspected either one of Ariadne's parents were in the room with Natalie, coaching her. If they wanted to play that game, if they wanted to lie, he'd just ask questions until he caught them in one or they hung up. What did he have to lose? "What do you mean they're not available?"

Natalie huffed. To tell or not to tell. And if she told, what should she tell? It shocked Arthur that some real concrete information came spilling out of the receiver. "We've had a bit of a Bourgeois family crisis. Aunt Shannon and Uncle Gerry are—" Another pause. "They're—they're indisposed." Not only did she stutter but she grunted at the end as if she was angry with herself for giving him even the vaguest of facts.

It was actually very lucky, Arthur happened to get Natalie on the phone. Her contact information was blacked out with the rest of Ari's family. By knowing her he knew how to manipulate her into giving him intel without realizing it. How to get Natalie flustered enough to rattle on accidentally. How to get her so infuriated with him (which was as easy as simply being himself) that she told him off and gave clues while she was at it. Her and Ariadne were very much alike that way. They could hold their tongue really well until you got them pissed off. Then it was like vomit. Perhaps it was unfair. But Arthur sort of gave up caring about 'fair' when he decided to look for his wife and child again. He inquired further about Shannon and Gerard, "Are they ok? What kind of a crisis?" Getting her confused with all the questions. Not that he didn't care about them, they still felt like family after all. But his questions served a dual purpose.

"It's a health related thing—"

Health related…Ariadne would most definitely be in contact with her family members back home. If serious or severe enough, Ariadne wouldn't hesitate to fly out and be by her parents' sides. So he grilled. Going through a list he composed in three seconds flat off the top of his head, "Not a stroke…"

"No."

"Heart attack?"

"No."

"Nothing terminal, I hope…"

"No. They—There was an accident." Then Natalie gasped, "Shit—" Bingo. It wasn't a lie. Shannon and Gerard weren't somewhere in the background directing Natalie during the conversation; they really must've been hurt. How he knew? Easy, she cussed. It was very genuine, however, when Arthur said, "Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. How are they? How is Ari coping with her parents' situation?" And there was honestly no ulterior motive when he offered, "If there's any way I can be of assistance to the family—"

Annoyed with him for obvious reasons and annoyed with herself for blurting, Natalie was spiteful, "Why did you call?"

"I'm trying to find Ariadne again."

"You're kidding, right?" Arthur could hear the eye roll, "Arthur, after all this time…" And her protectiveness came in full throttle. He knew she wanted to slap him or push him down some stairs and that was understandable. He hated himself, why wouldn't her family and friends hate him equally as much. Natalie was livid to the point of yelling, "You don't—" and vicious to the point of hissing, "It's a lost cause at this point."

"Why?" Admittedly, that cut Arthur. It seemed every time he felt a semblance of hope, someone reminded him that it was futile. He had to ask. It wasn't conducive but he couldn't stop himself, "Is she with someone?"

The woman chided, "Not necessarily but still."

"I'm not giving up."

"Well, I'm not giving in." Then she started yelling again, "You don't deserve her! And she doesn't need you flying over and creating drama for her and the rest of our family!" Flying over? Her and the family? Ariadne was with the family? That meant she was somewhere in the Carolinas then; she had to be. At least temporarily. Maybe he didn't get a phone number or her home or email address. Nothing permanent to link to her and Ender…but something temporary was still something. "How long are they expecting Shannon and Gerard to be—indisposed?" Or better put in his head: 'how long should I expect Ariadne to be there?'

"I don't know. It's hard to say. Guessing a pretty long while."

Arthur allowed a huge smile. The butterflies fluttering in his stomach were involuntary. "Well, thank you for calling me back."

"I didn't know it was you," scoffed Natalie.

"Take care."

Brief run down. From what he gathered, Ariadne's parents had been in an accident and were—he assumed hospitalized since they weren't home. Natalie was house and dog sitting so they were somewhere else. As their only child, Ariadne and Ender were more than likely in North Carolina with the family to help out. Their condition couldn't be great if there was no telling when they'd be back home…and while that was horrible and he wished them the best, he truly did, that gave him time. That meant Ariadne and Ender could be there a while. That meant, he could comfortably finish out the next two weeks with Chloe without anxiety over possible missed opportunity. After her recital, he could send her back to California and fly out to the Bourgeois'. It was imperative he stayed and finished out this time with his niece. It wouldn't be fair to pull her out of camp and send her home early because of this new information (which technically wasn't sound. There was no confirmation they were there at all. It was assumption) so he couldn't do that Chloe. He wouldn't even consider it.

He would just take her with him to North Carolina after it was all over but there were several problems keeping him from letting her come along. One, was his parents. They would know something was up when she didn't come home on time and he couldn't handle both a Talesco and a Bourgeois confrontation at once. The other reason was because he'd be entirely distracted by Ariadne and Ender, either way it went and didn't want her to feel like a fourth wheel because she wasn't. But their reunion could be so extraordinary he didn't have eyes for anyone else (he wouldn't be able to let go of his wife and son after years apart) or it could go so horribly wrong and he couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be a sputtering, drunken, breakdown. If all went well, when things were settled down and his family was mended as best it could be, he'd bring her back to visit and maybe to stay. He and Ariadne could talk about it. And if things didn't go well, if the cause really was lost, well…Arthur would definitely bring Chloe back take steps to get custody. It might be a fight with his parents for it—but then again, it may not be considering his parents.

Meantime, regardless of all else, it was time to plan ahead and book a trip.

xxxxxxx

"Arthur…" A sniffly, teary, pitiful Architect let her body fall sideways into him and squeezed his waist. They were curled up on the couch in the living room, her snuggly rainbow dotted throw blanketed over them.

Arthur was having trouble staying awake out of boredom. Instinctively, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, waking him up just as he was beginning to doze, "What?"

"I just don't understand," she whined. Parts heartbroken, parts enraged. Her tears created a warm wet spot on the neck of his t-shirt. He comforted her by rubbing her upper arm, "Don't understand what, Baby?"

Just like that, he was blitzed by her resentment. Ariadne slapped his chest and sat up off of him, basically yelling, and shaking her hand in the air, "How he could be so cruel and betray him like that! They're brothers! Family should love each other." Her fists were wound so tight, her knuckles were turning white. Her glare was hard and unforgiving with her growl, "He's such an asshole!" To release tension, she punched Arthur in the shoulder.

The Point Man tried to coax her into relaxing. He took both her hands in his and held them down in her lap. Calmly murmured her name (with a bit of gentle warning), "Ariadne."

Her hands wriggled for freedom and when accomplished: "I hate you!" The Architect wasn't talking to her husband of course. She was gutturally screaming at the screen she just hurled a turquoise throw pillow at.

"Ari, babe," Now he held her like a hug to keep her arms down and keep her from getting too worked up. He shushed her, smoothing her hair, kissing her temple, successfully getting her anger to subside. "It's just a movie. It's not a big deal."

Then Ariadne was right back to sobbing. Out and out, ugly, red-faced sobbing. Her eyes swelled with tears, "How could you say that? It's life changing. Now poor Simba thinks it's his fault…" Talking to the tv again, she reassured and consoled the cartoon with a shaking head, "it's not, sweetie. Don't run away."

Arthur sighed and resolved to sit back and rub her back, "I really wish you'd stop watching Lion King while you're pregnant." As many cravings as she had for food to eat, she had for things to watch. For instance, they watched Lion King every two days (if he was lucky it stayed on that schedule. She went one day in their bedroom seeing just how many times in a day she could watch it). Also in rotation were Ratatouille (which always gave her a craving for ratatouille. When he saw her pop it in the dvd player, he automatically headed down to Gustav's and got her a full size plate), The Help (she was a mess during that one too), Sleepless in Seattle (the entire time she watched that one she was on the phone with Natalie), Monsters Inc. and World War Z (when she was feeling angry and violent). Lion King though…that was the staple. He hated it when she cried. Absolutely hated it. No matter what over, even something as trivial as a broken nail, he hated it. Arthur wanted her happy always. So he pointed to the tv and tried to enthusiastically call her attention to the Hakuna Matata scene, "Look, look. That rat and pig are fixing to sing that song you like to hula dance to."

"Oh I love this part," Like a switch she sat up with a smile and after a beat or two began bobbing her head to the beat. And she was merry as could be until halfway through the song when she paused and covered her mouth, "Oh my God, Simba grew so fast. Our baby is going to grow up that fast. I already feel time slipping away."

Arthur continued petting her soothingly, "I promise you our baby won't grow up as fast as Simba."

"How do you know?" pouted Ariadne.

"Because that was a twenty second montage, Sweetheart. We'll have years."

The Point Man observed as the Architect tilted her head and thought about that while staring at the moving pictures on the television. A good minute later, she looked up at him innocently and in all seriousness said: "I want a Pride Rock in our backyard."

xxxxxxx

Arthur sat with mug of coffee in hand, Chloe (who was holding a mug of hot chocolate in hers) tucked into his side, and surrounded by every toy she owned. Her Lalaloopsy Dolls, Sandy, Emmett, Julie, Penny, everyone was comfy and enjoying a snowy musical extravaganza. After dinner, Chloe begged Arthur to have a movie night before bed. So Uncle Arthur whipped together some beverages and popped two buckets of extra butter movie popcorn while Chloe got her friends admitted into in the living room and seated comfortably and made the couch comfy. She did that by getting the pillows from her bed and arranging them with the sofa's throw pillows in a way that made it plush everywhere you moved. There'd been a lot of hoopla and critical acclaim over this children's movie so Arthur was interested in seeing if it lived up to expectations. Two of the main characters that he knew of were voiced by Broadway veterans and that seemed to solidify some of the movie's credibility. 'Best since Lion King' the reviews claimed…he wondered what Ari thought about that. So far it was entertaining enough…and the music was…good. Not like some stupid morning kids' tv shows whose music seemed to rot your brain. There was an orchestral background and exposition and great singing (what he could hear over Chloe trying to sing everyone's parts at once) yeah, he was impressed. He didn't realize he was nodding along (with a facial expression that closely resembled a smile) until Chloe pointed it out. Besides the cartoon thing, it was engrossing for adults as well. He was glued to the screen from the First Time In Forever reprise through the end.

("Wait, what just happened. That can't happen to Anna. This is awful. This is supposed to be a kids movie…where's the happy ending?" "Calm down, Uncle Arthur. Just keep watching.")

When that was over, they regrouped. Took bathroom breaks and put in her go-to. Annie. As a nightly tradition. Except during that one they both fell into a contented deep sleep before it was halfway through. Next time Arthur woke it was that time of day when late night turns into early morning and Chloe was shaking him fervently and urgently, "Uncle Arthur!"

"Chloe?!" he blinked awake, "What's wrong?" Then he hopped into panic mode and grabbed her shoulders when he saw blood on her chin and her palms. The Uncle grasped her hands and turned them over to survey them and took her chin to turn her head and examine for where the injury was. What had she done? Fallen down, ran into something; His first thought was broken glass. "Why are you bleeding?"

Simply, twisted to pluck something from the coffee table and stated proudly, "I lost a tooth! Number seven!" She smiled and opened her mouth wide pointing to somewhere in her mouth. Arthur couldn't really see it was dark save for the dvd player's screensaver. "It's a pretty one, look!" It was definitely unexpected when she dropped her tooth (with a little dried blood in the top, mind you) into his empty, open, palm. His OCD tendencies made him react by jumping back and shaking the tooth from his hand, "Chloe! That's unsanitary—"

That's when Chloe panicked, "Don't drop it!" She heard it click when it landed on the wood floor and it sounded like it bounced or something. It could've gone anywhere. Her jaw dropped to the ground as she looked at Arthur horrifically, "I needed it!" She dropped to her hands and knees on the ground (nearly hit her head on the coffee table, Arthur worried) and felt at the floor for it. He could hear his niece's crocodile tears forming from the shaky sound of her voice, "Oh, now, I really have a lost tooth…"

Arthur grimaced and stretched across the couch to turn some lamps on for light. He got down on the floor with her and crawled around, using his phone screen to light up the area underneath the couch. "Look where all the germs are compiling."

"You can't see germs," Chloe complained and corrected at the same time. Arthur picked her doll up from where she was seated on the ground and chucked her to the couch to see better. Chloe cried, "Julie! Watch her hair!"

"There." Arthur pointed. It was under the sofa within his arm's reach if he stretched. But first— "Wait, let me get a napkin." He did better than a napkin, he found a pair of disposable gloves, a plastic bag and two medical face masks (there was dust, dead skin cells and who knows what else under that couch) while Chloe got a real flashlight from his bedside table and quickly taped it to one of her hats. Thus began the toothy rescue mission. They pulled the coffee table back, donned their masks and laid in front of the couch on their bellies. Chloe shined her 'head lamp' in the direction and angle Arthur requested. Precise and cautious, the Uncle extended his arm, careful not to touch the floor and dirty his gloves. His hand hovered between the bottom of the furniture and the wood. He should really Swiffer under this tomorrow… the tooth was at last secured between his thumb and index finger firmly. He then steadily extricated the object from under the couch and placed it in the bag. Chloe pulled her mask down from her mouth and clapped, "Bravo."

She thought he was going to wash it off. It was already sorta bloody and needed it anyway and then it got dirty and that wasn't acceptable if she was going to exchange it. Instead of washing it he opened the cabinet, rolled out the trash can and—"No no no no!" She dramatically dropped to her knees for the second time and grabbed onto the sides of the trashcan.

"What—"

Chloe's head shook, "What are you doing!?" Her head followed the bag as he waved it around while he talked (not mean-spiritedly, he was merely gesturing with the hand holding it), "Throwing it away. You don't need it anymore."

"Of course I need it," she snatched it from him and held it to her chest. Ok…she was an eccentric child but this was a new level. He tilted his head after rubbing his face, "You collect your baby teeth?" The little girl said it was number seven, right? What, did she drop them in a jar or piggy-like tooth bank? Did she line them up on her desk…And was that a normal thing for kids now-a-days? Ender was still growing in teeth when Arthur left; The Point hadn't experienced this phase of parenting. Then again, by now, Ender was surely starting to lose baby teeth or fixing to. "I can't really see the benefit in th—"

"No. I trade them to the tooth fairy for collectable coins. Duh."

The tooth what? He repeated. Lost. Maybe it was a little girl thing? "The tooth fairy?"

Chloe nodded her head respectfully, "Yes. You don't know the tooth fairy?" No. Not really. When Arthur and Greg lost teeth as kids their parents just tossed them in the trash. His mom sometimes took a picture with them holding it if it was a special tooth. Like the first baby tooth, the last, molers. But then they threw the tooth away. No more fanfare and certainly no mystical creature. "Oh Uncle Arthur, what am I going to do with you," she stood on her tip-toes to pat his cheek and then she started explaining. All while closing the trash cabinet and taking a seat on one of the bar stools. "See, you leave your tooth under your pillow and a note and snack by the fairy door—you don't have one, I bet."

He asked (maybe it was sardonic, maybe it wasn't) as he walked over to join her, "Does anyone have a fairy door? Is that like a dog do—"

"I have one, you plug them into the wall." Professional, she crossed a leg over the other, "It's multi-purpose. It keeps dust from getting in your electrical sockets and uses the energy for a portal into fairy world. Or at least, that's what Mommy said."

"Ah." An eyebrow raise that he struggled not to be patronizing, "Makes perfect sense."

"Anyways…while you sleep—and you have to be asleep. She knows when you're not—she takes your tooth and leaves you a coin. Sometimes if it's a really pretty tooth and you used to brush it a lot, she'll give you a bunch of coins at once. I'm working on getting all 50 United States collectable quarters. I only have ten. And I have a Canadian penny with the Queen on it and a couple Euros and some British pounds obviously…"

"Obviously." He nodded along. "But how does she know you're asleep?"

"Same way Santa knows if you've been good or not…," she shrugged, "The NSA probably."

Arthur guffawed at that. "Ok, what all do we need to do?"

"You get a snack, I'll write a note."

A glance at his watch: 4:39am. Deep breath. A few blinks. And Arthur was off to the pantry…he figured he'd be the one eating the snack for the ruse so he looked for something he was in the mood for. Not any of her fruit snacks, or fruit roll-ups or rice krispies…though those were light. A bagel? Chloe would object to that. And she wouldn't go for giving the tooth fairy a small bowl of cooked carrots…He rummaged. Corn chips? Maybe not, that didn't seem fairy-ish. He could make a Reuben sandwich or a spinach, tomato and cheese omelet. The Point Man could claim it was a fancy breakfast for the fairy. Chloe cleared her throat pointedly and Arthur pivoted in response. The child's eyes were trained on her purple lined paper as she wrote (an assortment of markers were splayed out so he assumed she was drawing a picture too) but she wordlessly pointed in front of her to the box of donuts on the counter. The Point wasn't much of a sweets man but he could go for a donut paired with the cup of coffee he was about to make. Ironic they should leave cavity inducing treats for a fairy that wants pretty, healthy, teeth. But the tooth fairy was imaginary so if Chloe wasn't going to question the logistics, certainly neither was he.

"If we don't have a fairy door, how does this work?" They walked into her bedroom. Arthur with the treat, note and tooth and Chloe with an armful of the toys and pillows she wasn't about to leave on the couch. Julie went in her doll bed, the Loopsies were dropped on her seating area, "There doesn't have to be a door, it just makes it more convenient," and Penny, Emmett and Sandy were tossed to her bed. Uncle Arthur turned the sheets down and fixed the pillows and everything so she could get in better (and it wouldn't look so messy) while she set everything out on her desk.

"You forgot to set your tooth out—" he watched from her closet, simultaneously picking out her dance clothes for the next day because they'd forgotten before dinner. That would've been a scheduling disaster in the morning.

"No, the tooth goes under my pillow." How was he supposed to get the tooth out from under her pillow as she slept? Sure, Chloe was a heavy sleeper but still that was playing with fire. He could expose the lies and break her imaginative little heart. Why did parents and guardians do this to themselves? They could've at least made it easier to succeed and told the kids they have to put the tooth in the mailbox or something. If Ari hadn't already started something like this with Ender, he was definitely suggesting they use the U.S. Postal method with Ender's baby teeth. Instead of asking why she couldn't put it somewhere with easier access (because that screamed suspicious) he asked what she wanted to wear over her dance clothes the next day: A dress which looked very much like a skirt and shirt combo. The top was normal neckline, long sleeves (thin but Arthur knew she'd have to roll them up or something because of the heat forecast tomorrow), army green with light pink fern looking leaves printed on it. There was a band of fabric at the waist made of light and dark pink posies and the skirt part was light-ish violet purple. She also sifted through and picked knee high cotton socks (over her tights, it's a wonder the child didn't burn up every day) with an ornate dark blue and light purple pattern. Then shiny black sneakers. Arthur wished he could document all of the kid's outfits to show Ariadne when he saw her. The Architect would laugh. She'd probably love Chloe's sense of style…Arthur had seen Ariadne's baby and childhood pictures. She was an interesting dresser too—I mean, a penchant for silk scarves at age six? They'd get along. Arthur could dress Ender in designer sweater vests and pinstripe blazers and Italian kids shoes…and Ariadne would be ok with it because she'd have free range dressing their niece in absolutely anything and everything.

"Alright, well hop into bed. You're going to be exhausted during dance tomorrow. Eat quickly and take a short nap during the lunch break—not too quickly so you don't get cramps," he waited for her to stick her baggy with her tooth under her pillow before pilling the covers to her chin and kissing her forehead. They exchanged 'I love you's and Arthur went to make coffee (so he could stay awake and wait for her to fall asleep so she could pretend to be a fairy that cared about her teeth).

Thirty minutes later, Chloe was snoring and thankfully had moved around in her sleep so much, the edge of the baggy hung out from under her pillow. He pocketed the note first and started on the snack (He'd already finished a cup and a half of coffee as he waited. Now on his third. Which he'd need because it looked like it was going to be time to wake up before he ever went back to sleep). Arthur was a tad squirrelly as he ate the donut. Jumped every flinch she made. He ended up finishing it standing just outside the door, sure his sips of espresso sounded like airplanes overhead. Before reentering, he fished in the change bowl for some quarters. He found a New York one, a Missouri, a Florida and a Massachusetts (hopefully they weren't some of the ones she already had). Just in case, he rummaged through his bedside table drawer; he had a silver dollar somewhere…

The Point Man didn't think about how difficult it would be to get something back under her pillow while she slept. He deduced a one-time placement would be, statistically, the safest plan versus trying to shove the coins under one by one. Therefore, he put all the coins in a baggy just like the one her tooth was in and waited until she rolled over on her side and left half of the pillow virtually free. The coins were planted. Hallelujah.

A glance at his watch: 6:21am. He could let her sleep in a smidge longer because their good night's sleep had been interrupted. He'd take a shower, dress, cook some breakfast and wake her up at 7. He was a pro at ballet buns now, he could shave that time down to ten minutes. Give her another extra ten to sleep.

xxxxxxx

They'd eaten breakfast first thing after Chloe woke up. They usually ate it last thing before they left for the day but didn't want it to get cold since it was already done. Then since he was in the kitchen, he made her lunch as she dressed. Now they were in his bathroom. "I mean it's crazy." Side by side in front of the sink. "What?" His hair was wet when he got ready and it'd dried funny as he cooked breakfast, Chloe's hair was in a simple, brushed, pre-bun and product ponytail. Arthur was finishing up his shave, "We finish each other's—" and Chloe was brushing her teeth with pink, fluoride-included, toothpaste, "Sandwiches!" The Point rinsed his razor in fake surprise, "That's what I was gonna say!"

Her mouth was all foamy but she paused and used her toothbrush as her mic: "I've never met someone.

"Who thinks so much like me."
"Who thinks so much like me."

Pointing his razor and her toothbrush at each other they jumped:
"Jinx! Jinx again! Our mental synchronization can have but one explanation: You— were just meant to beeee…."
"Jinx! Jinx again! Our mental synchronization can have but one explanation: —and I— just meant to beeee…."

"Say goodbyyyyyyyyye…." Chloe sang than rinsed and spat her toothpaste into the basin, "to the pain of the past."

And Arthur wet the washcloth to wipe the shaving cream off his face, "Say goodbye to the pain of the past."

As Arthur patted his face dry and applied his aftershave, Chloe rinsed her toothbrush off, set in the cup next to his and wiped her mouth off with another hand towel both going at it with the characters playing from her iPad, "Love is an open doooooooooor, Love is an open doooooooor! Life can be so much more—"

"With you!" The little girl cupped her hands next to each other and held them towards Arthur—whom squirted hair gel in them, "With you!" She watched, "With you!" while her Uncle Arthur squirted a generous amount into his palm, "With you!"

And making the cutest, over-exaggerated, mischievous smirks at each other, they rubbed their respective hands together, singing: "Love is an open—" Smoothly looking at themselves in the mirror as they slicked their hair back: "Door…"
"DOH-oh-oh-oor…"

Xxxxxxxx

Um cuteness right? How about this Ariadne/Ender location theory? Sad about her parents but maybe lucky for Arthur? I feel like there's no way Ariadne wouldn't fly home to be with her parents if they were in a bad accident and hospitalized, if for no reason than to keep them company while they healed and pay the hospital bills. Ariadne was/is Arthur's contrast in being completely family oriented/family first. But would she bring Ender with her for something scary and upsetting like that though? Idk. If she left him, who would she possibly leave him with…?

I don't think it's a spoiler to say that within two maybe three chapters, Chloe's seven weeks will be up. We've got a costume fitting, a dress rehearsal and a showcase to have. Are you guys sad to possibly see her go home? I hope so because my mission was to make you all love her to pieces. Her outfit described at the end is top left on the six-picture collage posted a while ago.

Face-claim for Natalie and Arthur and Chloe's shoes lined up next to the door (SO ADORABLE) are linked on my profile. ;)