21.
~ Ariadne was still hurting from her accident as Arthur pushed her in the wheelchair past the lobby and to the bank of elevators. She could hear music playing and caught a brief glance of people in fine evening wear inside one of the large ballrooms.
"Aren't you going back to your party?" she asked as he rode up the elevator with her. His large hands going to his bow tie and carelessly pulling it off. His body relaxing as he loosened his formal shirt collar.
"It's a good excuse to call it a night." he said and leaned against the elevator wall looking as handsome as a fashion model at a shoot.
Ariadne had to remind herself that she was mad at him. She had to remind herself of all the bad things that was coming to her now that she was back at the Demeter.
"Arthur," she said boldly as the lift dinged to their floor and he started to push her out.
"Yes?" he asked and unlocked his front door.
"I'm still hurt from the accident..." she said and swallowed hard. "And I'm six months pregnant. I know you're mad but... " she tired to think of a nice way to tell him she didn't want to fight.
"I'm not mad at you, Ariadne." he said gently as he turned on the lights and wheeled her to his room. "I understand why you left."
"I just, I don't want you to hit me... or... or anything like that." she told him.
"You think I would do that?" he asked.
She let out a sigh as he wheeled her to the bathroom. Her was bladder crying out to be emptied as she admired the modern fixtures that perfectly blended with the rest of his apartment.
"Do you need help?" he asked as she put the breaks on her chair and slowly stood. She was still in a lot of pain and had to convince herself to breath as she hobbled to the toilet.
"I can manage." she laughed. "Just shut the door."
~ She was able to use the bathroom and clean up a little on her own before hobbling out to find Arthur cooking in his gourmet kitchen. Her body protested each movement, and she wanted to take the pain medicine the doctor had given her when she was released. She had made sure that the medication wouldn't hurt her son before taking it. The mother in her already coming out.
She watched Arthur cooking in his pristine kitchen. His black tux looking even more appealing now that the jacket was off and sleeves were rolled up. She wished she wasn't so sore, so bloated and uncomfortable right now. She wanted to be sexy for him.
He turned to see her walking slowly to him. His face pulling into a scowl.
"Hey, why aren't you in the wheelchair?" he scolded.
"I'm fine." she said and tried to stand up strait to prove it.
"You're not fine, Ariadne. You were hit by a cab." he said.
"I'll just walk it off." she told him carelessly.
She tried not to smile as he looked angry.
"Sit down." he ordered and pulled out a chair for her.
She didn't want to admit how exhausted she was from the short walk. Or how she would need her pain medication soon. She sank into her chair and tried not to wince.
"Are you hungry?" he asked when he saw her face contorting in pain. His own scowl softening in pity.
"Starved." she told him. "I think I only ate some cookies at your aunt's house."
She very deliberately looked at Arthur as he turned to her in shock.
"What?" he asked in surprise.
"I went to see your mother's sister. Ellen Walsh." Ariadne told him.
Part of her was afraid now that she saw that look on Arthur's face.
"Ellen Walsh. What makes you think she's my aunt?" Arthur asked slowly.
"Because her sister, Emily, was your mother." Ariadne said as Arthur fixed her a plate of food. She took in the sight of nicely prepared rice with pineapple added for flavoring. There were also steamed veggies that made her mouth water. She had shamefully been eating normal food for the past few months and now the gourmet foods of the Demeter were like a siren song.
Arthur said nothing and pretended not to care.
"Emily Walsh was here, at the Demeter, in-" Ariadne started to explain before he cut her off.
"I know about Emily." he growled.
Not to be outdone, Ariadne glared at him. The smell of food waking up her appetite, but she didn't eat.
"So, you know she tried to get you back." she said. "You know she regretted giving you up and that they wouldn't even let her see you."
Arthur shook his head as if trying to block out all she was saying.
"You know she was so grief stricken over losing her only child that she shot herself." Ariadne said.
Arthur refused to look at her.
"You know what happened to Emily, what happened to all those other girls. You know how heartbroken they were over losing their babies." she said and she started to cry as she went on. "How could you put me through it?"
"As I recall..." Arthur said in a harsh tone. "You volunteered for this. You were given plenty of time to opt out. So were the other girls."
"Well I changed my mind." Ariadne said and didn't flinch as they met each other in the eye.
Finally, it was Arthur who broke away.
"What did Ellen tell you?" he asked as he made himself a plate to eat. He sat down next to her and it was like they were before. When they would share a meal together and were happy.
"She told me that Emily wanted you back. That no one would help her even see you." Ariadne said. She neglected to mention the part about Ellen gathering information about the Demeter and it's women.
"Ariadne, the truth is, that I wanted to be a father. In this place, here at the Demeter, you are less than a man if you have no children." he explained. "I was jealous of the other fathers here. I had been out in the world, but seeing how families could hurt one another so badly, I decided to come back. Here, there are no unwanted or unloved children. There are no horrible divorces or things like that."
"Yes, it's easy when you eliminate the mother." Ariadne said and stated eating.
"I wanted to be a father and not have to deal with all that came with having a mother around. I didn't want to mate with one of the women here. I wanted to have a family that was separate from the group. I wanted a child that was mine." he told her.
"I don't understand." she said softly.
"I thought you didn't want to be a mother, Ariadne." he sighed. "I chose you because you said you didn't want children. You have your whole life to have a family. Why is this one so important? We're not in love, we're not going to be together."
His words were so harsh, if felt like he had struck her.
~ They ate quietly. Ariadne politely praised him on his cooking as he made her take her pain medicine.
"I've been eating a lot of junk food." she told him as he helped her too stand up after they ate.
"When you're not getting hit by cars?" he asked and she could tell he didn't like the fact she ate poorly while expecting. She tormented him further.
"My first night of freedom, I ate a big hamburger." she sighed.
"You were never a prisoner here." Arthur told her.
"Yes I was. I still am." she said.
He had no response as he helped her walk to his bedroom.
~ His bed was as comfortable as she remembered, and she tried not to wince in pain as she sat down on the mattress. Her back hurting her terribly and her knees aching like she had been running all day.
"You don't plan to sleep in you clothes, do you?" he asked as she slowly kicked off her shoes.
Ariadne wondered how she would undress and what she would sleep in when he vanished into his closet and came back out with one of his old dress shirts.
"It's a bit torn and too big for you." he said as he helped her take off her shirt.
His large hands were gentle as she tried not to cry out in pain too much. Her body hurt so much just now and even undressing was a chore.
"Ariadne." Arthur said with an angry sigh.
She looked at him and his face was troubled.
She saw then what he was looking at. Her pale flesh was spotted with dark, deep bruising from her accident. The worst was her legs where the cab struck her. Her arms were also the focus of her accident. Only her large belly was spared injury.
"I must have protected him when the cab hit me." she explained as Arthur looked angry. "I really don't remember."
"This is why I wanted you safe. Why I wanted you here." he said and went to work unfastening her bra.
"Arthur." Ariadne protested as, with little effort, her undergarment was off and her breasts freed.
She tried to cover the body he knew so well as he helped her slip on his old dress shirt. Even buttoning it closed for her like she were a child.
"Thank you." she said weakly as he helped her into bed.
"Try to get some sleep." he said and covered her up. He stood and turned to go.
"Wait, you're not sleeping with me?" she asked in a childish voice.
He turned and gave her an amused smile.
"It's just, I just got out of the hospital. What if I need help?" she asked.
~ She felt giddy as Arthur prepared to join her in his own bed. She hoped her pain medication would kick in soon and that her legs and back would stop hurting. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she had missed him. Missed him how comforting he could be. Missed the feel of his hands on her.
"I noticed you took the orchid with you, and not much else." Arthur said as he emerged from the bathroom.
Ariadne raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"You gave it to me. It was special." she said and ran a hand over her belly. "I left it on my night stand back at Cobb's." she confessed. "I didn't think I would be back here."
She saw Arthur smiling at her as he came to bed and climbed in.
"I'm glad you liked it so much. I can give you another one." he offered.
She shook her head.
"I ran away because you stopped coming to see me." she said as his arms were around her. His nose in her hair as she started to relax. Something about him was so comforting. So assuring that everything was going to be alright.
"I had to." he whispered. "We were becoming too close and it would have been harder for us when the time came."
"So you left me? Alone in that apartment?" she accused.
"I wanted to come back to you. I wanted the group to accept you so that you could stay with our son." he explained.
"My son." she corrected.
"Our son." he insisted.
Ariadne kicked at her blankets and felt ready to pout.
"I know we didn't plan on this." she whispered. "But I want to keep him."
"I know you do."
"Can we leave? Can we leave together and raise him? Just you and me?" she whispered.
"Good night, Ariadne." he said.