2.
~ "So what's this big news?" Arthur asked handing Ariadne his coat. It was raining out and the Point Man had braved the storm at her invitation of a home cooked meal.
"Oh nothing too big." Ariadne mumbled trying yet again to readjust her bra to a more comfortable position. With the hormone drug therapy, her breasts had taken to extreme swelling and her bras and tops no longer fit right. It was aggravating.
"Everything alright?" Arthur asked as she discreetly tried to move her new fullness around without his noticing.
"What? Oh yes. It's fine." Ariadne said with a forced smile.
"It smells really good in here." Arthur offered nodding to the steaming pots.
"Spaghetti." Ariadne explained. "But I do make a good sauce."
~ They exchanged polite small talk over dinner and wine. The Architect careful not to drink too much with the medication she had to take.
"So tell me, when you were little, did you ever have to have braces?" She asked.
Arthur looked puzzled.
"Um, no. I was lucky I guess." He said.
"So your teeth are naturally strait. That's good."
"I guess." Arthur said with a shrug.
"And you were smart to, I mean you were valedictorian in high school and did really well in college." She asked with interest.
"Yes, school was easy for me. Did really well without trying too hard." Arthur admitted. "But school is different from real life."
"What about when your height? Were you tall as a kid?" She asked suddenly appraising his long, lean body.
"Um... well, not really. I was a small kid. Got picked on a lot. Hit a good growth spurt around senior year." Arthur admitted looking confused. "Why all the questions about when I was little?"
"Oh no reason. Are there any genetic anomalies in your family or mental health issues?"
"Why don't you tell me what's going on?" Arthur asked finally letting his fork drop on his plate. His humor gone.
"What do you mean?" She asked innocently.
"Ariadne." Arthur said in a warning tone.
"Alright." She said lamely. "Arthur, you know that I've been had to leave early from the work shop a few days ago last week?"
"Yes, you said it was privet, we didn't ask." The Point Man said offering her more wine but she shook her head.
"Well, a few years ago, I had to go see a specialist. A special doctor." She explained.
"What kind of doctor?" He asked looking worriedly over her. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine, now." She said lamely. "Um. It was a doctor who specializes in woman's infertility." Ariadne said finally.
"A fertility doctor?" Arthur repeated. "Your too young... I mean, that's for women..."
"I had scaring on my uterus." Ariadne explained. "It happens to women my age more then you think. It meant I could never get pregnant."
"Oh, Ariadne, I'm so sorry." Arthur said running a hand over her shoulder. His gaze sympathetic to her.
"No, it's okay. She put me on hormone therapy and the good news is, I can have a baby now." Ariadne said brightly.
"Well, that's great. I mean that they were able to fix it." Arthur said sincerely.
"Well, the thing is, that it's not a fix. The hormone therapy will only work for a few years and then I'll be right back to being infertile again. It's not enough time to find someone, fall in love and get married. If I'm ever going to have a child, it has to be very soon."
"Ariadne, what are you saying?" Arthur scowled. His voice suddenly very calm and held back.
"Well, I thought about going to a sperm bank, but I don't like the idea of not knowing my child's father." Ariadne said not looking at the Point Man. "I wanted the father to be someone I knew, someone I trusted."
"Ariadne, me? You wanted to have a baby with me?" Arthur asked.
"You would just be a sperm donor. You wouldn't be required to pay child support or see the baby." Ariadne said quickly. "All we have to do is go to my doctor's office and you can make a... deposit. It would be the best way to achieve conception."
"Best way to achieve conception." Arthur repeated running a hand over his brow. He suddenly looked very tired.
"Well, that way I can keep trying and you won't have to be involved after the donation." She explained. Her voice sounding small.
"I won't have to be involved." Arthur repeated.
"Are you alright?" Ariadne asked placing a hand on his arm. Arthur sat up a little straighter.
"I'm... I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm alright." Arthur stumbled. Standing up slightly only to sit back down again. "I'm just trying to understand. You... um... you want me to have a child with you, and then go away. Never see the kid again. Just... abandon my child and leave?"
"Well, it would be easier for you. I'm not asking you to make any kind of commitment to me. With the money I made off of the Fischer Inception and other jobs we did, I'm financially secure now." Ariadne explained. "I can be a full time single mother."
"You think that's fair? To have a child with no father?" Arthur question. His head starting to hurt.
"Lot's of people do it. We have two American presidents who were raised by single mothers." Ariadne ventured.
"But they didn't have a choice. Your purposely choosing to have a baby alone." Arthur said regaining some of his composure.
"Doctor Cook doesn't think that the hormone therapy will last more then a few months. Maybe a year at most. I have a very narrow window to have a baby of my own." Ariadne explained.
"What about adoption?" Arthur asked. "I mean, there are plenty of kids who need a good mother. You would be a great mother to a child who needs you."
Ariadne stood up and took his empty plate to the kitchen.
"I want my own child. That's every woman's right. When the doctor told me I would never have a baby, I was devastated. I never knew I wanted a child until she told me it would never happen." She said. "I've thought about this. I really have. If you don't want to help me, then tell me now. I can go to a sperm bank or even ask Eames."
"Eames?" Arthur stood up. "You were seriously thinking of asking Eames to do this?"
"Why not? He's smart, good looking." Ariadne said running hot water over the dishes.
"He's also a drunk and a womanizer." Arthur huffed. "You want a kid like that?"
"No, I wanted a kid like you." Ariadne said defensively.
Arthur shook his head.
"Ariadne... I... I mean I don't know about this. I don't know if this is a good idea. We work together and all, it would be strange knowing you had my child at home and I wasn't in his life." Arthur told her.
"I can leave this work. I have enough saved now. After the baby is old enough to go into day care-"
"Day care?" Arthur barked.
"Yes, after he's old enough to go to day care, I can go back to work in Architecture. I've already scouted places that are looking to hire."
"You would want to leave extraction work?" Arthur said in shock.
"Well, like you said. We work together, it would be strange." Ariadne told him.
Arthur shook his head.
"I'm sorry, I have to go. I... I can't be here right now." The Point Man said leaving her. He grabbed his coat and left the Architect alone.