Revelations
I'm so sorry Braker is the Australian FORGER. I know this chapter is a little long, but it has A&A at the end.
As if Cobb's new friend had the plague, they backed away from her. Only Cobb stood by her. Ariadne handed the baby back to Yori as Satio put a protective arm around his family. Arthur positioned himself between Ariadne and Hecate.
"How do you know she works for COBAL, Little One?" Eames asked not taking his eyes off the interloper.
"Because I did work for COBAL." Hecate said calmly. Arthur shook his head.
"I already know about Hecate working for COBAL." Cobb told them. "She is not with COBAL anymore."
"No one just stops working for COBAL." Sybil said curtly.
"You did, I did." Hecate said
"I never worked for COBAL." The Girl said in an emotionless monotone. Hecate snorted.
"Sybil has earned our trust." Saito interrupted. "Many times over."
"She earned that trust with documents of a PASIV-4?" Hecate told the Business Man. She nodded as the Team looked at her with wide eyes. "The PASIV-4 was never intended for practical applications. It was stolen from our research labs by rouge extractors. At first we thought it was all of you. You stole the first one. COBAL gave up on the PASIV-4 over a year and a half ago, After what happened to Jim. They started looking at... larger goals." Hecate said.
"Larger goals?" Arthur repeated
"You, all of you." Hecate said looking at each of them "Jim gave COBAL information about your Architect. Her talents. That fact she was able to trap him in a dream was more then enough to sell them on her."
"So is that's why your here?" Ariadne asked. "To bring me in?"
"No." Hecate said. "I defected from COBAL after your little inception of Browning."
"We made it impossible for Browning to work with COBAL." Cobb told them.
"Cobb, we cant trust her." Sybil said
"Yes we can." The Extractor told the Girl
"No we can't." Arthur said harshly.
"Ariadne, this woman was behind your kidnapping." Sybil said. Arthur snapped his full attention to Hecate. The Chemist nodded.
"That is true." She admitted. "I convinced COBAL to take her alive. Try and get her to work for us."
"What?" Ariadne breathed. The memories of her ordeal came crashing back to her.
"It was either that or kill you." Hecate said.
"Lets all sit down and talk this out." Cobb said
"No." Ariadne said sharply. "That woman is not welcome here." Arthur nodded. His jaw set in a fierceness he had not needed to use in many months. Hecate nodded and turned to the Extractor.
"Cobb, I'll be down at that little coffee shop." She said laying a slender hand on his chest. The demure gesture cause Ariadne's brain to start ticking. It was to intimate. Someone like herself or Yori would never do, but someone like Mal would have done.
It was at the large dinner table the Team collected themselves and Cobb started explaining.
"I met her 6 months ago while looking for team members for a job." He told them. She told me right away how she worked for COBAL. That she had been a Chemist for them. That she had created her own compounds according to COBAL's wishes."
"Tell us exactly what she had to do with my kidnapping." Ariadne said feeling her face burn.
"She eventually told me about it. She knew COBAL was after Extractors, Forgers, and Architects. They selected people based on their skills and their ability to be manipulated into working for COBAL. They chose Ariadne because she was trained by us, because she was young, and she had only worked one job." Cobb told them.
"Did she chose me?" Ariadne asked feeling like Cobb's explanation was taking to long. She had to know.
"Yes." Cobb said. "But like she said, if they didn't kidnap you, they would have killed you." Ariadne fell back in her chair. Her face betrayed the look of hurt.
"We can't trust her." Eames said
"I remember Hecate. She was a top level Chemist. She put me under when I dreamed." The Girl looked at Cobb with cold eyes. "Lets just say it was not pleasant."
"I've been working with her for 6 months now. We have been on three extractions together." Cobb told them.
"So what?" Arthur said coldly. "You brought COBAL to our door. Exposed us."
"I trust her." Cobb told them.
"Because your sleeping with her?" Ariadne asked quietly. The Team fell silent at this. Cobb looked slightly embarrassed.
"That has nothing do with it." Cobb said finally.
"Yes it dose." The Architect said hotly. "Your asking us to trust this woman who selected me to be kidnapped and tortured." Cobb never met their eyes as his Team stared back at him.
"We have new information about Mr. Yuseff." Saito said finally clearing his throat. "We believe he was held for some time after his kidnapping. It is possible he gave his captures detailed information about all of us under duress. It would be wise to assume he did just that."
"Braker and his team will be coming in the morning." Yori told them. The Doctor stood up holding her new son close to her. "He needs to be changed." She said indicating the baby. Yori looked at the Architect. "Ariadne?" She asked. The Architect seemed to have snapped out of a trance and looked up at The Doctor.
"Yes." She said with half a smile. Ariadne stood up and walked over to the Teenage Girl. "Sybil, come on." She said pulling The Girl's hand.
"Why do I have to go?" Sybil whined. Ariadne hushed her.
Inside Ariadne's little bedroom, Yori changed her son. He was a happy baby, he cooed up at his Mother with genuine love and trust. Ariadne had fled to the bathroom to wash her face, fearing tears might betray her true emotions.
"You know, I think this whole procreation thing is way over rated." Sybil was saying watching Yori with interest. "I mean, it's not the greatest accomplishment of anyone's life. Look at all of the advances humanity has made. Look at the things you've done." She said gesturing to Yori.
"None of which would have been possible without procreation." Yori said with a smile.
"Hmm." Sybil shrugged. "I never want to have kids."
"You will change your mind." Yori told her.
"No. I won't. You can't undo a baby. I think if my parents had the option to undo me, they would have." Sybil admitted.
"No, they would not." Yori told her. "I'm very glad your parents couldn't undo you."
"Cobb likes being a father." Sybil added. Ignoring the compliment. "So dose Saito." She started to fidget. Ariadne had come out of her bathroom looking much better. The Girl looked at the Architect.
"You and Arthur are having sex right?" She asked. Ariadne stopped and looked at her. Yori raised her head at this and tried not to smile. Sybil shrugged. "You asked Cobb the same thing." She reasoned. "Do you think you and Arthur would ever have kids?"
"God, I don't know." Ariadne laughed, smoothing down the baby's hair as Yori picked him up. Sybil nodded.
"I think Arthur would be a good Dad." The Girl told them.
Later that night, the rain came back. Arthur and Ariadne were getting ready for bed. Sybil had made her home in the little guest room and retreated to the always respected sanctuary of teens.
"We can always stay on the ship." Arthur said brushing his teeth.
"No." Ariadne said harshly. "I'm not letting that... woman, run us off." She was finishing washing her face in the joint bathroom they had to share with The Girl. Cobb and Hecate were staying down the hall in the Extractor's old apartment.
"I wonder if James and Phillipa know about her." Arthur mused.
"I'm sure they do." Ariadne said rolling her eyes. "They most likely don't know everything about her. What did you guys talk about after we left?"
"Cobb has a lead on the people who he believes killed Yuseff." Arthur said following her out of the bathroom. "He wants us to perform extractions on a man named Edwards. Thinks he may have answers."
"I'm not doing anything with that woman." Ariadne said. "We can do it without her."
"Cobb said she can make compounds that will cause the subject to lower the defenses of the subconscious." Arthur told her. She snorted.
"I'll bet she has." Ariadne said climbing into bed. He almost didn't say it. He almost turned out the light and went to sleep. It was something that was meant to come out.
"Do you want to have a baby of our own someday?" He asked. Ariadne sat up.
"Did you and Sybil discuss all this before hand or something?" She accused. He laughed.
"I only ask because I saw how you looked at Yori and the baby today. It's something we never talked about. I think we need to talk about it." He admitted. She exhaled and shrugged.
"I thought we were happy." She told him "The way things are."
"We are." Arthur said quickly. "I've never been so happy."
"Then why change things?" She asked.
"People change." He answered. "You never gave me an answer."
"Because I don't have one." She told him quickly. "What about you?" She asked. "Would you want kids?"
"If I did, I would want them to be with you." He told her. She smiled a quick smile. He leaned over her then. Taking her body into his arms. He kissed her slowly and with the comfort they shared with each other. He broke the kiss and met her eyes. "I would have to see your baby pictures before I made any final commitments." He said seriously. She giggled into his kiss then as she wrapped her legs around his hips.
"Sybil's in the next room, we have to keep it down." She whispered.
"No promises." He told her, a hungry look in his eyes. "I say we should have stayed on the boat." He reached below her nightgown and grazed his hand up. He was annoyed at finding satin where he should have found skin. "You know better." He said harshly tearing down her panties. She gasped as she held onto his bare back. She found her hips starting to rock with him in a rhythm of anticipation.
"I'm sorry." She said innocently.
"No your not, but you will be." He growled pulling off her night gown. He was on her then, like a savage. Grinding his hips into her soft body, his lips and breath tasting her. She felt her body grow hot and out of control as her lover claimed her. He was so much stronger and harder. He commanded her body to react to him and she gave over to him willingly.
It came on her suddenly, as he road her to their completion. The only person she would ever want to bare a child with.