Another chapter! Oh my gosh it has been so long! I am so sorry for the wait. It has been longer than I thought it had been and yeah, no motivation over here. But I got this done, and it was actually longer than I thought it was going to be.

But there are only two more chapters left so I will try and get those done as soon as possible! Thanks for your patience and enjoy!


Chapter 11: Poison

To say that Arthur was in pain was quite the understatement. Now total agony, that was the perfect word to describe how he felt. If he thought that those few days were bad, a month was so much worse.

Now all Arthur did was just lay in bed all day, fighting back tears from all the pain he was in. This was the pain that Mal had meant for him. This was exactly the punishment she had intended for him to go through the whole year.

Arthur also discovered that he had another scar a few days after the party. And he knew that it was from him hurting Eames that had caused it. That meant that now Eames had two special scars on Arthur.

That small fact made Arthur think about Eames more and more when he was the last thing that Arthur wanted on his mind. But every day, all Arthur could think about was how he could have done things differently that night. How he could have said things different so that he wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.

But Arthur couldn't change the past.

Arthur loved Eames. He knew that for certain now. He had never felt this way about anyone before and he didn't want to feel it with anyone else. But Arthur didn't want to go to Eames and tell him all of this. Arthur knew that he was not the one who could give Eames everything he wanted. He didn't deserve someone like Eames. Regardless of all that he had done to Arthur as well, Eames was still a good person and Arthur didn't want to hurt him anymore than he already has.

Besides, Arthur only had a few days left.

Ariadne had moved out a few days ago. She was the most upset by it. She was crying non-stop at night and it kept Arthur up hearing her. He couldn't handle it anymore. So, they talked about it and he decided it would be best if she packed up her things and moved in with Robert. They were going to be married anyways. She had said her final goodbyes to him and left without another word.

Dom on the other hand, he came in every day to check up on Arthur and make sure he was still alive and well. Of course, Arthur was alive but he was far from being well. Every day Dom told him to call Yusuf to have him come over and give him some medicine. But every day Arthur said no.

Arthur had finally come to terms with his punishment. He deserved to be in this kind of pain. He deserved to be alone and to die alone, unloved and as a hated person in the world. He was pretty much that while he was alive, might as well keep up with it when he died.

Arthur rolled over and tried not to think about Eames anymore. He really didn't need that today. But of course that all went straight to hell when he looked over at his nightstand. Dom must have come in while he was asleep. There was a tea set sitting on his nightstand. Dom had brought him tea. And not just one cup, he brought him the whole fucking set.

He bolted out of bed, ignoring the pain. He grabbed the tea kettle and threw it against the wall, making his shatter to pieces, sending tea everywhere. He grabbed another cup and threw it against the wall. One after another, breaking every single one. Arthur really had no idea why Dom had brought the whole fucking tea set but it was a good way to release his anger.

Arthur grabbed the last cup and was about the throw it when he saw which one it was, rather, he felt the small chip in the cup. It was Eames' cup. He looked down at it for a few moments before setting it down on his nightstand.

He couldn't destroy that. Doing that was almost just as bad as killing Eames himself.

Arthur let out a small sigh before turning back around and walking towards his bed. He looked over when she heard the door open. It was Dom. Of course it was. It couldn't be anyone else. Ariadne was gone and the children were sort of forbidden from coming in here and disturbing him.

"Yes?" Arthur said as he crawled back onto his bed.

"I called Yusuf today." Arthur stopped moving and looked over at Dom, hoping he had misheard him. Unfortunately he hadn't.

"Why would you do that?" Dom stepped forward and but looked away. Arthur saw that he was looking at the broken glass and tea puddles on the floor.

"What did that tea set ever do to you to deserve such a harsh ending?"

"Exist." Arthur said as he glared over at Dom. "Answer my question Dom." Dom let out a small sigh before sitting down in the chair next to Arthur's bed.

"I called Yusuf because you are in pain and you need it."

"I am always in pain, Dom. Every day. I have been for the past year. Today is no different. Besides, did you forget that I am dying?"

"You know I didn't forget that. But that small fact doesn't matter. Your last days should not be in pain."

"I deserve it. I deserve to be in pain. I deserve to die." Dom let out a loud sigh.

"You know. You can always just go and talk to Eames."

"No I can't."

"And why not?"

"Because he hates me, Dom. He wouldn't want to see me anyways. Besides, it is a bit too late now."

"It is never too late." Arthur just looked at him like he was crazy. There are always times when it was too late. With Mal for instance, and when Arthur died, it would be too late then. Dom didn't know what he was talking about.

"I really do not want to talk about this Dom. Especially with you." That may have been a bit harsh, but really, Dom was in no way the person who needed to talk to him about this.

"Fine. But Yusuf will be here later today and you will let him give you the medicine."

"Doesn't my opinion matter? I don't want the medicine."

"Well that is just too damn bad. I will strap you down and force you to take it if I have to."

"You couldn't overpower me." Arthur replied with a small chuckle. He could throw Dom across the room like he was a twig.

"Oh I don't know about that. Especially with you being quite weak at the moment. I think I could handle you. You move and you are in pain. I think I have the advantage here." Arthur just glared at him. There were times when he really hated Dom and questioned why they were even friends. This was one of those times. "Yusuf is coming and you will willingly let him give you the medicine, is that clear?" But Dom didn't stay long enough for Arthur to answer. He just stormed out of the room.

Arthur just rolled back over. He really wished he was just dead already. He didn't want to deal with any of this.


Arthur is awoken by the door opening. He really wished that his sense of hearing didn't work so well now. Even the sound of a mouse scurrying across the floor was enough to wake him up. Before it was nice, having improved senses, but now, now it was torture.

He rolled over and saw Ariadne walk in. That was surprising. He hadn't expected to see her again.

"Ariadne?"

"Hello Arthur." She said with a small smile. He couldn't help but smile back. It was nice to see her again. She walked over to the bed and crawled in next to him, snuggling in close.

"What made you come back?"

"You are my best friend, Arthur. I can't just abandon you now. No matter how scared or upset I may be, I will always be here for you." Arthur just smiled as he reached forward and grabbed her hands.

"I'm glad that you are here Ariadne. Dom is being a complete asshole right now."

"Well, getting Yusuf to come here was actually my idea." Ariadne replied quietly. Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. He should have seen that one coming.

"Of course. I should have known Dom would never actually take the initiative like that."

"I want you to be happy Arthur. Even if you are dying, you can still be at peace with yourself before you go." Arthur was silent for a bit, letting what she said sink in.

"Dom keeps telling me that I should go to Eames."

"And what do you think?"

"Obviously no, because I haven't gone over there yet."

"Well, do you love him?"

"Of course I do, which is exactly why I'm not going to him. If I were to go over there and confess everything, it would make everything worse. It needs to be a clean break."

"It's already too late for that Arthur. You know that."

"I don't know what you mean." He replied, not looking her in the eye. "Eames hates me now. He is probably just waiting for me to die."

"But you don't hate him, do you? After everything he has done to you, you still love him, what makes you think that he would hate you?"

"Because I would hate me if I were him."

"Arthur…" But she stopped talking when the door opened again. Honestly, doesn't anyone knock anymore? Arthur looked over and saw Yusuf walk in.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Dom said to come right in…"

"It is quite alright Yusuf." Ariadne replied. "I was just leaving." She turned back and looked at Arthur. "I love you Arthur. Always know that."

"I know. Believe me, I know." She smiled at him before leaning forward and pressing a small kiss to his lips before hopping off the bed.

"He's all yours doctor." Yusuf just laughed as she left the room. Arthur slowly pulled himself up, wincing in pain.

"I would ask how you're feeling, but I can see that you are obviously in pain."

"Yeah. You didn't have to come. I am quite okay with being in pain. I am quite used to it by now."

"I know. But I feel obligated to."

"And why is that?"

"Because you are in pain. I can't just leave you in pain knowing that I can do something about it."

Arthur was silent for a bit after that. He decided it would be better to let Yusuf work in silence. There really wasn't much left to be said at this point. And the less he talked the faster Yusuf got out of here.

But Arthur felt nervous around Yusuf. He was Eames' best friend. Most likely Yusuf didn't want to be here and was silently judging Arthur for how he had treated Eames.

But curiosity got the better of him and he had to ask about Eames.

"So, have you seen Eames lately?" Arthur asked, trying to make it sound casual. But he knew coming from him it would sound desperate.

"I have." Yusuf replied as he slowly filled up the syringe. Yusuf sounded as uninterested as he could possibly be. Arthur knew he was right about the silently judging part.

"How is he?" Arthur asked. "Is he doing alright?" Yusuf looked up at him then and gave a small smile.

"You really do care about him, don't you?"

"Yes." Arthur answered automatically. "I am positive that I have been in love with him since I first laid eyes on him. It just may have taken me a bit to fully realize it."

"Well, why don't you tell Eames this?"

"Because."

"Because isn't an answer, Arthur."

"Because I am just going to die anyways. I can't do that to him, Yusuf. I can't confess everything and then just die the next day. I can't give Eames what he wants or what he deserves." Yusuf was silent for a bit. "I would only make his life worse."

"He was very distraught after the party. He didn't go to work for a week."

"Oh." Arthur said quietly.

"But he seems to be doing better, at least on the outside." Arthur nodded.

"He deserves to be happy."

"Hopefully someday he will be happy." Arthur nodded and closed his eyes as Yusuf stuck him with the needle.

"Ouch." Arthur felt this sudden pain in his arm. And it was more pain than usual.

"Everything alright?" Yusuf asked as he looked up at him.

"Yeah. Must have forgotten what it feels like."

"Well, it has been a month." Yusuf pulled out the needle but Arthur still felt the pain in his arm. His body must have forgotten about the medicine or something. "Are you sure everything is alright?" Arthur looked up at him and saw that Yusuf was just staring at him with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Yusuf just nodded as he started packing everything up.

"I will tell Eames you asked about him. He would probably like to hear that."

Arthur was just about to object to that when he felt a rather large jolt of pain shoot throughout his body. He let out a small yell as he fell back against the bed.

"Arthur!" Yusuf said as ran towards the bed. "What's wrong?"

"My body is in pain."

"Normal pain? Have you felt this pain before?" Yusuf asked, looking rather nervous.

"No." Another jolt of pain rang throughout his body and Arthur managed to not scream that time. "My body feels like it is on fire." Arthur choked out as he smashed his face into his pillow.

"This is not good." Arthur closed his eyes and just tried to force the pain away but he could feel it spreading. "I have to go and get some supplies. I will be back in fifteen minutes." Arthur didn't respond, but he heard Yusuf leave the room.

Everything started getting a little bit hazy and it wasn't long before he passed out from the pain.


Arthur didn't know how long he had been out for. But when he woke up there were other people in the room with him. He could hear them talking in hushed voices. He cracked open an eye and saw Yusuf standing with Dom and Ariadne. Ariadne was crying and Dom just looked upset.

Arthur tried to move but all he felt was pain so he stayed put.

"What's wrong with me?" Arthur hissed out. Yusuf turned and looked at him. Dom and Ariadne didn't. Yusuf walked forward and knelt down next to him.

"It seems that someone got into my stuff and switched up my medicine." Arthur forced himself to sit up.

"So what the hell did you give me?"

"It seems that it is a sort of poison." Arthur could hear the nervousness in his voice.

"What?"

"I don't know how it happened, Arthur. But it is spreading fast and I am afraid that I won't be able to get it out."

"So, this poison is killing me?" Arthur asked. He glanced over at Dom and Ariadne. Dom finally looked at him but Ariadne couldn't.

"It would seem so."

"Mal wouldn't let this happen." Arthur knew this much. She wanted to be the one to kill him in her own twisted way. "She will let this drag out until my last day." Dom looked away then. Arthur had tried really hard not to bring her up this past year but now it didn't seem to really matter at the moment.

"What if she did this?" Yusuf added in.

"She wouldn't kill me with poison." Yusuf just nodded. It was true. She wouldn't waste her time with poison. That would have been too easy.

"Well, I will get down to the bottom of this. This is attempted murder, regardless of your past state of health." Arthur couldn't say anything else to Yusuf because Yusuf was gone before he could even comprehend the worse.

Arthur just looked over at Dom and Ariadne again. Who would really want to kill him that badly that they would resort to this? Especially since he only had a few days left to live anyways.


Thank you all for reading! It means so much to me. And I promise I will have another chapter up sooner than I got this one up.