DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.

She found the tickets on a Tuesday.

It was one of those strange twist of fates, that lead you a completely new direction. Perhaps something that you don't want to see.

She was clearing out the drawers, trying to organise what to keep and what to toss. After all, a new house meant a new start, and she could ditch all the unnecessary crap. Almost 8 months pregnant, her giant belly left little room for her to peer into her desk drawer, but she managed to reach in and pull out some paper anyway.

She sat down and started sorting though the papers. Old bills, letters from forgotten friends, scribbled notes about dreamscapes. She noticed how Arthur's handwriting was considerably neater than hers.

It was then she noticed it. A small rectangular piece of paper with a small blue logo in the corner.

American Airlines.

Puzzled, she read the entire ticket. More than once. Around 5 times actually. But each time, the words remained the same.

One way…

1 Passenger, Male….

Manhattan…

She felt sick. And not that kind of "oh I'm pregnant so it's good" kind of sick. The horrible kind of "you have no idea what the hell is going on" kind of sick.

He's leaving me…was her first thought. She quickly shook that thought to the back of her mind, ashamed of thinking such an absurd thing. Arthur would never do that. But still, the facts pounded at her like a train. A one way ticket, whilst Arthur had given her no warning that he was going anywhere.

Ariadne's hand fell to her stomach. He wouldn't. He was too happy with her. He couldn't.

But he could. That was the thing. A baby wasn't part of their plan, and for all she knew, Arthur was freaking out.

"But he seems so happy…" she said sadly to herself.

She leaned back into the chair, her mind suddenly filled with thoughts of loneliness. Raising a baby on her own.

On a moment of pure panic, she jumped up and grabbed her keys. She walked out of the apartment, and out of the building. It wasn't until she was down on the street that she realised that she was still clutching the ticket tightly in her hand. She stuffed it in her pocket and began to walk.

Normally she didn't mind the looks people gave her. They were looks of silent congratulations, making her feel proud to be carrying Arthur's baby. But today she wasn't in the mood. She wished that people would mind her own god-damn business. She decided to walk through the park, considering that it was a nice day, and she and Arthur used to walk through it more often than none.

But of course, being pregnant, it only took at least 10 minutes before she had to sit down from exhaustion. She found the neartest available bench and practially collapsed onto it. She looked around her and felt another tinge of something she couldn't quite name. Surrounding her, were families. Kids, mothers, fathers, everywhere. Ariadne found it taunting.

It's appalling how ridiculous you're being, her head snapped at her.

"Hi."

She looked up. Of course, it would be her Point Man. Her wonderful, adoring, handsome simply amazing Point Man.

"Hi," she mumbled back, turning her attention back to her stomach.

Arthur sat down next to her, and she could instantly feel the shade from his shadow. She felt his hand cover hers in a gentle squeeze.

"You found me," she sighed.

He smiled. "It wasn't hard. I came back and you were gone. I knew this would be the first place to go." There was a moment of brief silence before she felt his lips tingle against her cheek lightly. "Any particular reason for running out of the apartment?" he breathed along her temple.

She sighed and reached into her pocket. She pulled out the now slightly crumpled ticket and presented it to him. It remained in front of his face for a few moments before he gently pulled it out of her hand. She watched as his eyes narrowed.

"I found it this morning," she admitted.

Arthur kept his eyes on the ticket. "Yeah, point being?"

She blinked. Was this his blunt way of telling her? "Point being is that I found a one way ticket for you out of Paris."

To her complete and utter surprise, Arthur started laughing lightly. Like something in this situation was funny. She folded her arms across her chest. "What's so funny?"

Arthur smiled and looked back towards her. "Ari, love, If you had looked a little closer, you would see the date."

After a moment of brief contemplation, she snatched the ticket out of his hands and looked down the bottom of the page. Indeed, she had missed the date.

14th November, 2009.

She felt a blush of pink tingle up her cheeks. She looked over to see Arthur smiling lightly.

"Oh," was all she could mumble.

Arthur returned his hand to it's rightful place, intertwined with hers. "Still, why did you run out?"

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I thought…maybe you would be leaving."

"Why would I be leaving?" he asked, voice filled with genuine confusion.

"Because…none of this is planned," she said, gently rubbing her stomach. "You're a man of plans, Arthur. We never talked about kids or a house…I just thought…"

"That I would be running out on you?"

She nodded, a small movement. She heard Arthur sigh from her side.

"Ariadne, just because people don't talk about things, doesn't mean they don't want them. I've always wanted love. Marriage, kids? Yes, that was inevitably part of my plan. It's just one big bonus that it's with you," he said, his lips turning up into a smile.

"I'm sorry," Ariadne replied, suddenly realising how irrational and silly this whole deal was.

"Don't be. You're allowed to be confused right now, Ari. I am. Neither of us know what we're doing." He grinned. "But don't you think, after 3 years of marriage, I would have run by now?"

"I guess."

His hand squeezed around hers tighter. "I'm not a coward. Or a bad person. I would never ever leave you. Even if you wanted me too. I love you far too much."

Ariadne smiled, feeling all the stress that she carried release. That's what Arthur could do, simply push away all the bad feelings and vibes with just a few words.

"I love you too."