Well, it has been a long time! I'm so sorry about that! It has been a difficult month to say the least. I haven't had any motivation to write, I've been having writer's block, and my friend moved away. This past week has been especially hard because of that. But I really want to finish this story, especially because I have another one in mind as well as a few oneshots. With that said, this chapter is shorter than others, but I wanted to get this up. I'm not especially happy with it, but I hope you all enjoy it. This story is almost finished, just a few more chapters and an epilogue. So anyways...sorry for the long wait, and please review.
I only own the DVD...
When Ariadne's eyes fluttered open Arthur was already up and removing the IV's from everyone's arms and quickly putting away the PASIV. Ariadne shot up in her seat and turned to look at Brendan. He was still asleep, but he was grunting and moving.
"Arthur!" She called out to him, her voice cracking. Arthur turned to look at her and followed her gaze.
"We need to get out of here now!" Arthur ordered. Dom and Eames were already exiting the limo and Yusuf was tugging Saito out shooting Ariadne and Arthur a nervous glance.
"We'll be right behind you." Arthur assured Yusuf. Saito just followed, his face confused.
"I'll explain everything to you once we're a safe distance away." Yusuf told Saito.
"You better." Saito mumbled, freeing his arm from Yusuf's grip and straightening out his suit as he stepped out of the limo and broke into a dash.
"Ari, we have to go now." Arthur's soft voice broke her from her thoughts. She nodded and kissed Brendan on the forehead.
"I'm sorry brother. I should have protected you." She whispered to him, letting a few tears fall slowly. She felt Arthur's large, calloused hand grasp her small, soft ones and looked at him sadly. She quickly followed Arthur, allowing sobs to escape her mouth.
Arthur squeezed her hand comfortingly and guided her out the limo and into the nearest alley.
"We're going to take a quick route through the alley and make our way to our room." Arthur informed her. Ariadne nodded and sniffled, glancing his way briefly before telling herself that she would be strong.
Straightening her posture, her pace quickened and Arthur looked at her, his eyebrows raised. She ignored his look and Arthur sighed, picking up the pace and leading her to the hotel. They quickly made their way to the room and Arthur closed the door softly, looking around to make sure they weren't followed first.
"Ari."
"Don't. I don't want to talk about it right now." Ariadne cut him off. "Just give me a minute."
Arthur nodded and walked to the window and carefully pulled the curtain to the side, looking down to the limo. He watched as an angry and disgruntled Brendan swung open the door, a gun in hand.
Brendan scowled and looked around, but with no sign of the team, he pointed the gun to his head and shot.
Ariadne's head snapped up and she practically ran to the window, almost tripping over her feet in her rush.
Arthur grabbed her and tried holding her away, not wanting to expose her to her brother's dead body. But she struggled against him and broke free, looking down at the bloody, motionless body of Brendan. A loud sob echoed in the room and Arthur gently pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing slow circles on her back.
"I'm so sorry Ari." He whispered into her hair. "I wish there was something we could have done."
Her sobs become louder and louder, her body shaking as he held her. Carefully, Arthur maneuvered them to the bed and laid down, holding her close.
It wasn't until half an hour later that her sobs and shaking subsided. Arthur pulled back gently and checked to see if she was asleep. Her big brown eyes were puffy and red and he frowned.
"Get some sleep." Arthur told her softly. She just looked up at him, sadness written all over her face. "Please Ari."
"Okay." She whispered quietly. Arthur kissed her and helped her get under the covers. Once she was wrapped warmly and protectively in the blankets, Arthur watched as her eyes drooped and she fell asleep.
He stood up and quietly left the room, wanting to leave Ariadne in peace and check on the rest of the team.
He sighed and rubbed his face as he made his way to Dom's room. He could hear noises from inside the room and didn't bother to knock. The four of them turned quickly with their guns drawn and pointed at the intruder. Once they saw that it was Arthur, they put their guns away and Dom walked to him.
"What happened? Where's Ariadne?" Dom asked. Arthur frowned and closed the door.
"She's asleep in the room. Brendan shot himself."
"Wow, I didn't believe you when you said that the virus was programmed to self destruct." Eames replied in shock.
"How's Ariadne?" Yusuf asked.
"She's not doing to well. She saw his body on the ground, I tried to keep her away, but she still managed to see." Arthur sighed and sat down on the bed, suddenly extremely tired and wary.
"What are we going to do now?" Eames asked.
"Well since Brendan is dead, Cobol doesn't have that great of a lead on us. We could get the price on our heads erased, but we'd have to work hard and carefully." Dom answered.
"And how do you propose we do that?" Eames raised an eyebrow and glanced at Arthur, who wasn't paying attention.
"We'll figure that out tomorrow. Right now we all should get some rest." Dom told everyone. Eames and Yusuf nodded while Saito quickly said goodbye and rushed out of the room. Dom turned to Arthur and frowned.
"Arthur, go get some rest. Keep Ariadne company. She's going to need you now." Dom gently told Arthur, helping his friend to his feet and watching sadly as Arthur left the room.
"This is going to be bloody difficult Dom." Eames said after Arthur left the room.
"He's right, Cobol isn't just going to give in that easily." Yusuf reasoned.
"You're right, but as long as we have the right people do the right things, we can manage." Dom told them. "Now I'm going to get my kids and go to bed, I suggest you do the same."
Eames and Yusuf nodded, said goodbye, and left the room, leaving Dom in silence. He heard a knock at the door and smiled as Saito brought his kids in.
"Thanks Saito."
"Sure thing Mr. Cobb." Saito replied. He stood there in silence until Dom looked up at him again, a confused look crossing his face.
"Is there something else?" Dom asked.
"I can handle your Cobol business." Saito simply replied.
"What? How?"
"That is for me to know. Just stay here a little longer and once everything is safe, I'll let you know and you can leave." Saito said as he exited the room.
Dom smiled and looked at his children that were holding a book up to him. He laughed and grabbed the book from them.
"Come on kids, I'll read this to you and then we can do something together."
Arthur walked into his and Ariadne's room. She was still sleeping, but her breathing was hitched. He rushed to the bed and cradled her as she began whimpering.
"Ariadne! Ari! Wake up!" He shook her gently. Her eyes snapped open and she stared at Arthur before jumping out of bed and rushing to the bathroom. He heard her throw something before gagging and throwing up. He sighed and followed her into the bathroom. He found her on the ground next to the toilet crying.
"I can't believe he's gone." She told him.
"I know." He replied.
"I barely got him back and I had to lose him again."
"I know." He replied again.
"Arthur, tell me everything will be okay." She looked at him, her eyes sad.
"Ariadne, everything will be okay." He whispered to her and cradled her in his arms.
She nodded and closed her eyes. Arthur picked her up, to her surprise, and carried her to bed. They got under the covers and Ariadne turned to Arthur, snuggling up to him and burying her face into his chest. Arthur put his arms around her protectively and they both drifted off into sleep.
Well there you have it. It was a sadder chapter, poor Ari. But don't worry, things won't be so bad for her...and Arthur. I hope you don't find her too out of character, but I felt that she did just lose her brother, she has a right to be sad and OOC. Anyways, review and I'll try to update soon!