who: Ariadne and Arthur what: Ariadne and Arthur reunite. where: C104 when: Wednesday afternoon rating: Probably low
She had been scared to see him again. That was the simple truth. She could scarcely believe that he was here. What were the chances that her parents had picked out the same institute that Arthur had checked into? Just the impossibility of it made her fingers twitch; she was desperate for the weight of her totem. But it was gone and there was nothing she could do about it, but read his words over and over, as if, in between the lines, she would find the answer to whether or not this was all real or not.
After being here for a few days, she realized that she didn't care anymore. For the first time, she really understood how Dom could chase a shadow of Mal for all those years. Maybe the Arthur that was here was just a projection. Maybe he was just the closest thing that her subconscious could twist together from the memories she had of him. That projection was certainly better than nothing. She was lonely here, surrounded by people she didn't know, surrounded by the people that could easily be completely imaginary. She didn't want to get closer to any of them, all too aware of how easy it would be to be attacked here. She felt exposed; she felt fragile.
Finally, she worked up the nerve to find Arthur. In the end, maybe it was him and he would know what to do. He would tell her how to wake up. Maybe he was here to save her.
It hadn't been hard to find what room he was in. She had knocked on the door, but nobody had answered, so she had slipped inside. If he wasn't here, she was going to wait for him. It had taken her enough time to get the nerve up. She wasn't about to lose it now. But, he was there. There would be no waiting. He was sleeping. She stared for a moment, remaining in the doorway. He looked just as pristine as he always did.
She neared the edge of the bed, feeling very much like a child about to wake a parent. She stopped, leaned in and then carefully placed her hand on his shoulder.