Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.
"Adam? Can you hear me?"
He blinked. Voices. He could hear voices. A wave of pain accelerated through his lower back, and he gasped. The doctor, solemn faced, nodded. "Just as I thought."
Turning, he hurried down the corridor.
"Here."
Ariadne looked up. Arthur was handing her a cup of hot liquid. Swallowing, she accepted it. "Thank you."
"I don't know what it is," he said, gently. "But its caffeine."
She nodded. "Its fine." Suddenly, she looked up. Diane Lerner, her face streaked with tears, had just entered the waiting room. She sat away from Ariadne and Arthur, and held herself upright, stiffly. Clutching her handbag, she didn't speak. Ariadne blinked, and looked at the floor.
Arthur, to her surprise, did speak. "Mrs. Lerner. Can I get you anything?"
She turned to him, her eyes veiled with tears. "Yes. You can leave. You - and her."
Ariadne blinked, feeling slightly stunned. Arthur, his lips tightening, turned to the distraught woman.
"Mrs Lerner," he said, calmly. "I appreciate your upset, but-"
"You appreciate I'm upset?" her voice was hoarse, but there was a anguished note in it that cut Ariadne to the heart. "My son has cancer. My son is seriously ill, and is now lying in a hospital bed. He was ok until he met you two. He was trying to get well, and then you show up!"
Her voice was rising, and Ariadne bit her lip. "Mrs Lerner, I care about Adam, and-"
"No you don't," she snapped, her anger moving more quickly than her tears. "If you did, you would have left him alone! He's been through so much - what with the diagnosis, and with Rachel, and then you moving in on him...and you already had a boyfriend! You used him!"
Ariadne couldn't bear to hear anymore. Rising to her feet, she left the coffee on her chair, and fled the room.
Arthur bit his lip, and rose to his feet, then turned to Diane. "You had no right to do that."
She looked at him, her chin raised. "And you had no right to come into my son's life."
"Your son is an adult, he's entitled to choose his own friends!" Arthur retorted. "He's entitled to a life, cancer or not!"
"Hey, you ok?"
Ariadne turned. She'd found a corner to try and hide in whilst she dealt with her emotion. Wiping her eyes, she turned. A young brunette was standing next to her, with a sympathetic look on her face.
"Do you need to talk?" she asked, gently. "I'm Kathy."
Ariadne swallowed. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. "I, uh-" Suddenly, she stopped. "Yes, yes that would be good."
Kathy smiled. "OK. My office is this way."
"So what's the diagnosis?" The nurse looked at the x-rays, and turned to the Oncologist.
"The tumour is not responding to treatment." She shook her head. "It hasn't shrunk as much as we hoped."
"In that case," the doctor replied, "he'll need surgery."
"Doctor, he won't just need surgery." The nurse shook her head. "It looks like he'll need some bone marrow."
"What are you trying to say?" Diane demanded. She stood directly in front of this seemingly cocky young man, decked out immaculately in his expensive suit and neat haircut. She took note of his trim, athletic body, and her mouth twisted, remembering the thin, frail frame of her son, stretched out in a hospital bed. In pain, and needing her.
Arthur cleared his throat. "I'm trying to say...Adam's an adult. He can make his own decisions. You don't like me, or Ariadne...that's your choice. But he's entitled to make his. And the time I spent with him, I liked him."
Diane nodded. "Why wouldn't you? He's a good person."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I get the message." He shook his head. "Look, coming back from...working abroad, it was a shock finding Ariadne with him. At first, I thought she was with him out of pity."
Diane's mouth tightened. Arthur ignored it, and continued.
"But, then I saw them together, and realised that she does really care for him. Its not because he's sick. Its because she likes him." Arthur rubbed his face. "And it was hard, but, well, sometimes things are meant to be."
Diane looked at him. "You...accepted it?"
"Yes." Arthur sighed. "At first, I didn't want to. I didn't want her to stay with him, but I disappeared for six months, and I couldn't expect her to wait around. And she has made him happier. You can see it."
"But what were you doing this evening?" Diane's tone had changed slightly.
Arthur looked at her. "Trying to make him realise that he doesn't have to be in a dream for life to be good again." He swallowed. "He can recover. And he and Ariadne can be happy."
"And what will you do?"
Arthur shrugged. "Do what I should have done. Not come back."
"Listen, the Oncology department here is excellent, they'll do everything they can." Kathy's tone was consoling, and Ariadne nodded. Smiling kindly, the pretty brunette offered her a tissue.
"Its just..." Ariadne dabbed her eyes. "I sort of forgot he was sick. And I wanted him to forget, too."
"Well, that's natural," Kathy said, gently. "So what did you do, to help him forget?"
Ariadne swallowed. She screwed up the tissue. "I should get back. But, thank you."
Arthur looked up as Ariadne re-entered the waiting room. "Hey," he said, softly.
"Hey," she responded. "Where's...?"
"Gone to check on him," Arthur replied. She sat next to him. "We talked," he said, softly. "She's very protective, but then, if my son was diagnosed with spinal cancer before turning 30, I think I'd be a little protective, too."
"Well, I hope he'll-" Ariadne broke off. Diane had re-entered, her eyes brimming. She looked at them, and sank into a seat. Covering her face, she sobbed.
"Mrs Lerner?" Arthur's tone was gentle. "Please, what is it?"
Silence followed for a few seconds, as the older woman composed herself. "He needs..."
Ariadne swallowed. Arthur got up, and put his arm around Diane's shoulder. She leaned against it, letting the tears run free.
"He needs surgery," she finally choked out. "And bone marrow." She wiped her eyes. Ariadne looked at Arthur, her face ashen. Arthur swallowed.
"Well," he said, softly. "I guess he needs a donor."
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