Thanksgiving

When he entered, he was surprised to see her already sitting at her desk, sketching quickly. The look on her face showed the level of her concentration, and watching her work, he was suddenly catapulted to a time when he was like her; always early, jumping for a chance to draw a new sketch—for another chance to dream. The light in her room was a sharp contrast to the dark Parisian morning and the darkness crowding into every corner of the warehouse.

"Cobb…stop staring, you're making me nervous."

He jumped, blinking quickly as the memory fell from his eyes like a heavy curtain. Jeez she was scary. How could she always tell who was watching her? He could understand completely if she could only tell that she was being watched…it was a skill that they all had; a perfected skill necessary for survival in this business. But, she seemed to be a level higher than even himself, and it never stopped to amaze him.

"Uh…sorry Ariadne. I was just surprised that you were already here that's all." A sigh escaped him as he entered the room. She must have turned her two space heaters on and now the room was bathed in warmth. It only showed how long ago she had gotten here. "How long have you been here?"

She didn't look up, not for a second. Instead she focused on shading in the stovetop, the only sound the whirring of the heaters and the scratching of her charcoal pencil. "I lost track…maybe an hour? Hour and a half?"

"You know, a good architect needs to sleep."

"The same could be said for you."

He stayed silent, and he saw the pencil freeze in her hand. "Cobb…I'm sorry. I'm just a little…touchy today. It's almost thanksgiving and…."

"You miss your family."

She nodded and her softly curled hair bounced a little, and for the first time she looked up. Her eyes looked shiny, and he was frightened that she would start crying soon. He had never been that good with women when they cried. Perfectly fine with every other emotion, but he was completely overwhelmed and useless when the tears started.

"Ariadne…please…please don't cry…"

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "I know…I just…I miss them…ya' know?"

He nodded, crouching down. "I know. I remember when I had first started."

"What…what happened?"

"Well, I had just started working as an architect, and in a way, you remind me a lot of myself. I was sitting in the studio, sketching the mark's house-it was a standard extraction, nothing like our Inception. It was starting to get close to Christmas. The Salvation Army Santa was out with a vengeance; kids were out with their parents, looking into stores through the display windows with these looks of pure… happiness across their face. Christmas songs were starting, and decorations were going up and all the while I worked diligently in the warehouse, sketching quickly and making harsh judgments on it—nothing was right in my opinion."

She was sitting now, quieted nicely by his revelation to her. She stared at him, her eyes never wavering. "And one night, while everyone was working, it started snowing. And just when it felt like it couldn't get any worse, it did."

"What happened?"

"Someone placed a cup of hot chocolate on my desk."

"Mal?"

"Mal."

She stared at him for a second, and Cobb couldn't tell if she was just giving him a moment to recover, or if she was waiting for him to continue. Finally, she found her voice. "What…what happened?"

"I had a mental breakdown."

"You..."

"In a way, I lost it. I threw the mug across the room. I started pulling things off the wall and ripping them and crumpling them and hurling them. I punched our Forger in the face. And then I left."

"You left?"

"For two days, I walked around the city. I slept on benches and got food from sympathetic bakers."

"And after that?"

"Mal found me in the park, by the Seine. She took me home, gave me a new set of clothes, and let me take a shower. And after that, we sat down and had a nice talk. She told me she knew exactly what I was feeling and that if I would like, I could come and spend Christmas with her."

"And did you?"

"I did…and during that time, we shared many things. Secrets. Facts. Love."

"Love?"

He nodded to her. "Love."

"I was ok after that."

She gave him a weird look after a few seconds of silence, one that was deep and yet not uncomfortable. Then "Why…Cobb…why are you telling me this?"

He looked at her for a few seconds, before smiling. "What I'm trying to say is…I know how you feel. And it does get better. You just…have to make the best of what you have available, and remember that although you aren't with your biological family…you're with a new family… your adoptive…sarcastic…family."

She nodded.

"Ariadne…would you like to come to my Thanksgiving dinner? It'll be small, nothing you're used to." She gave him a look and he smiled. "Arthur did some digging. Don't look affronted, it's nothing personal, we just had to make sure that you were safe and trustworthy…and nothing in your past would come back to haunt you."

She smiled and nodded softly.

"Anyway, it'll be a small get together. Just myself, the kids and Miles. You're invited….if you'd like to come that is."

She smiled, and her eyes again grew shiny. "I would love to. Thanks Cobb."

"You're welcome." He smiled up at her, and patted her shoulder. It was at that second that he heard the creaking of the warehouse door. Straightening up, he smoothed out his jacket, and leaned against her chair as she quickly turned back to her sketch, wiping a stray tear off her cheeks.

"It looks really good Ariadne. You're making good progress. You might be done ahead of schedule. "

He turned to see Arthur and Eames enter mid conversation. Eames said something that made Arthur roll his eyes and turn from him, but what that was he didn't know. The space heaters were making listening to conversations outside the room almost impossible. Arthur nodded quickly at Cobb, and glanced a little longer than necessary at Ariadne before walking toward his desk against the wall, closest to Ariadne. Eames crossed the main room, and closed the door to his room. The clattering sound of glassware was heard, and the small, popping sounds as the pilot light over the oven turned on. Another whirr and the other space heaters started.

Rubbing her shoulder for just a fleeting second, he left the room, walking back into the main room and toward Arthur. Arthur had already started on his work, his two laptops shining brightly in the almost dark room. Ariadne had once remarked that the warehouse needed better lighting—among other things. They had already refitted the room with more comfortable furniture and wooden cabinets. But…they all knew it wasn't enough. More was needed.

Sitting down on the edge of his desk, Arthur looked up quickly, his eyes quizzical and slightly annoyed, but it quickly disappeared when he motioned for Arthur to follow him into his office. As the door closed behind him, Arthur slid into a chair, his feet resting on top of his desk, next to a stack of papers. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing it's just…Ariadne"

"What about Ariadne?" He had sat up quicker than Cobb had thought possible, and now all attention was focused on what Cobb had to say.

"She's really homesick. This morning…you can't say anything because I don't think she'd want it said but…she was near tears. I invited her to my house for dinner tomorrow, for Thanksgiving. I was thinking…maybe we do something special. What if we made it special…I mean really special. Make her really feel like this group…our group…is her family."

Arthur was silent for only about two seconds. "I agree. Anything for Ariadne…but…who's going?"

"Well, myself, of course…James, Phillipa, Miles, you, Eames, Yusuf, and Ariadne."

"So small."

"Exactly. Now, to not draw attention to our plan, we have to act normally. You're still going away for Thanksgiving. I'm still only inviting her to a family dinner. And Eames…we'll cross that bridge when we get there. The only obstacle we might face is Yusuf…he's horrible with lying…especially to Ariadne—he has a sweet spot for her you know."

Arthur nodded. "Now, let's put off our discussion for a while. We don't want to draw to attention the fact that we are planning something. Ariadne needs to be surprised."

Cobb nodded, before standing up and stretching. "So, we're doing this?"

"Yes." Arthur said firmly. Nodding to Cobb again, he slicked back his head, fixed his coat, and opened the door, crossing out quickly.

The warehouse door closed behind her, and Arthur watched her go wistfully. She was so beautiful. And he felt a slight pang in his heart unknown to him before when he thought about how much she was hurting on the inside, even though on the outside she was so strong. Turning back, he saw Eames and Yusuf exit from the back room and come toward him. Cobb was already seated on one of the sofa's that had been maneuvered in front of the blackboard. Sitting down in their own chairs they finally turned toward him.

"Arthur darling, what are we doing?"

"We're here to talk about the holidays."

"And why in God's name should we do that?"

"We're planning something…a surprise if you will…for Ariadne."

Arthur could tell Eames' interest was piqued. He leaned forward—just a fraction closer, not enough for your average person to know…but a Point Man missed nothing. He could already see the cogs in his brain working. He just didn't know if it was for better or worse. Surprisingly, Yusuf interjected. "Um…excuse me…um…I'm shit with keeping secrets…so if this is a secret that we shouldn't -"

"It is."

"—then maybe it would be better that I not know…for the sake of keeping secrets."

"If you couldn't keep secrets you wouldn't be here right now. We'd have found someone more trustworthy."

"It's not that I can't keep them…I just can't keep them from her."

"She is very good at wheedling them out of you."

"Extremely."

"Oh for God's sake just shut it so we can figure this out before Ari gets back."

"Right. So, Cobb has invited Ariadne over to his house for Thanksgiving because she isn't feeling too well right now."

"I can relate."

"No, she doesn't need to go to the toilet; she misses her mum and dad."

"I KNOW THAT dammit."

"Right. Just making sure."

"ANYWAY." He interjected. Those too could fight for hours if left unchecked. And if that happened then there was no way they would get anything planned for her surprise. "I was thinking. We need to find things out…her favorite holiday food…favorite drink…"

"That bloody well didn't come up in that secret file of yours?"

"Eames…I don't check out what favorite food they like or what they usually drink. Not unless we're using them as the mark and clearly Ariadne is no mark."

"At least, not in that sense."

Arthur gave him a look, and turned away, his skin reddening just below his collar. Oh God…Eames knew he liked her?

"So, unfortunately, Eames…since you're the best at finding out information quickly…I need you to get Ariadne to tell you anything and everything useful."

"Right. Best get on that."

"HOLD ON."

Cobb stood up. "Yusuf what if you came over early and helped me make dinner."

"But I…I…"

"Cooking is a lot like chemistry. You have to add the right amount of each item to make the whole product delicious…just like you have to add the right amount of chemicals to make the right sleeping draught."

"I highly doubt that…but alright…even if your analogy was crude at best."

Cobb smiled and sat down. "Arthur what will you bring?"

"I'll bring…the wine."

"Excellent…you do always find the best ones." Yusuf had a wide, happy grin on his face.

"Thanks Yusuf."

"Hold on, what shall we tell our pretty little architect when she starts inquiring where we're going for the holidays. We can't all tell her different stories. What if we forget? Or she asks one of us where the others are going. WE need some sort of alibi…just in case."

"Right…um…I'm going on an early flight to New England to find out some more information on our mark…he has….connections in America."

"Perfect Arthur, she probably already thinks all you do is work."

He froze on the inside. God he hoped not. He didn't want Ariadne to think he was boring….he wanted her to think he was…adventurous…maybe suave…"Well Eames if you don't like it, then please by all means tell me what I should do…"

"You should go skiing in the Alps."

"Skiing."

"In the Alps."

"Skiing."

"YES! Jesus. I knew you weren't the smartest in the bunch, Yusuf takes that bag…maybe even myself and Ariadne…and Cobb…but I didn't think you were this daft."

"I don't ski."

"Does she know that?"

"Well…no…"

"Then what's the problem?"

Arthur was by this time pacing back and forth in front of the blackboard, equally trying to not throttle Eames while also trying to figure out what his explanation would be."

"I think it would be too close to what we did in the Fischer job. "

"Oh. Right…we'll come back to you later. I'm going to be shagging all night with some pretty little blonde up in my room. Fits I reckon."

"Oh yes…she won't question that one."

"Yusuf?"

"Well…since I don't actually celebrate Thanksgiving…it's an American holiday anyway, can't I say that I'm just going to sleep?"

"NO. Worst. Idea. Ever."

"And why is that?"

"Because then she might ask you to hang out with her…maybe even see if you would come with her to Cobb's"

"Ah."

"So?"

"I'll be working with highly dangerous chemicals all night to try to complete this new idea I've had for a sleeping draught that-"

"You're making this up right?"

"No no…actually by combining a small dosage of highly concentrated tryptophan to another highly concentrated-"

"Right…he's settled."

"I don't need one; I've already established with her that we're having a small Thanksgiving with the family that she can go to." Cobb smiled brightly; clearly pleased he wouldn't have to lie to her.

"Fine…now back to our dear Arthur."

"Shut up, I'm perfectly fine."

"I still think you should come up with something better."

"Um…"

"Common Arthur."

"I could….maybe…visiting an old friend up in Italy."

"Perfect. Exotic. Mysterious. You'll have her thinking about who it could be and what you're doing up there for at least two days."

Yusuf froze. His body went rigid for a second and he stood up and crossed the room faster than he ever did normally. "She's coming back!"

They scrambled away, Cobb into his office, closing the door behind him with a small click. Arthur launched himself into his computer chair, grabbing his pen quickly and starting to scribble down anything of importance on the two web pages open. Eames just sat there, leaning back and closing his eyes, his feel propped up on the arm of the chair opposite him. The door creaked open and in walked Ariadne, laden with food for them to eat. "I'M BACK!"

"Hey Ariadne…cold outside?"

"Yes…the weatherman said it might snow…"

"In time for Thanksgiving?"

She nodded, before crossing to the back of the room (really the right side, but it was behind him) to the small kitchenette that had been installed only a few months ago. "Come and get it!"

Instantly, everyone flooded out of the rooms, crossing over to the kitchen. They acted normally, chatting and joking, laughing and smiling brightly. This was perfect. There plan might work out after all.

For the next couple of days, Ariadne inquired about what everyone else was doing for the holidays. Naturally, she went to him first, while he was typing quickly on a word document. He didn't look up untill she had sat on his desk and asked him. He had turned, not at all startled, with only the twinkling of something behind his eyes.

"Oh me? I'm off to Italy to see an old friend of mine. I'll be back the day after Thanksgiving."

Her face was crestfallen- only for a fraction of a second, she seemed to compose herself so fast that Arthur had trouble figuring out if she had really made a face at all. "Oh…that sounds…fun. Who's your friend?"

"Just someone I met a long time ago. Nothing out of the ordinary…just likes to keep a low profile."

"Oh…so you'll be gone the whole time?"

He shook his head, diverting his attention back to his work, trying to end the conversation. Guilt was worming its ugly head into his consciousness. He hated lying to Ariadne, even if it was for a good cause. But she stayed by his desk for a few seconds, during which he found it very difficult to not just look up and stare. Or breathe in her perfume. Either way, he was having difficulty breathing. Finally she had left, and walked back slowly to her desk.

She had next cornered Eames while pouring herself a cup of tea. Eames was going over some paperwork, and meanwhile trying to learn a bit of French. He had never stayed this long in Paris and he wanted to impress some girls. He couldn't be trying to hook up with girls and make himself a complete fool. That would be a disaster.

"Eames?"

"'Ello darling. What's up?"

"Eames…ready for the holidays?"

"Counting down the days love…counting them down."

"What…what are you doing?" She sat down across from him, sipping her tea slowly, her eyes diverted and traveling around the room.

"Oh…you know. I'm off to find myself a pretty piece of ass. Girls are so desperate during the holidays. Hopefully I'll be having myself a nice shag by two am."

She crinkled her face and Eames chuckled. "Oh come now darling, surely you aren't so prudish."

"I am not a prude. I just find it…well…stupid that you would spend your holiday with some…whore."

He chuckled again…"Maybe darling…maybe."

"Speaking of activities…what are you up to this fine holiday week?"

"Well…not much. I'm going to Cobb's house for Thanksgiving. After that…I have no plans."

"Well darling…maybe after Thanksgiving, we could hang out ourselves…spend some quality time…"he winked at her and she laughed.

"I don't think so Eames. I'm nobodies sloppy second."

"Right you are darling…right you are."

She looked over at the clock, and her eyes widened a little. "I have to get back. Cobb wants to check up on my sketches in an hour and if I finish my last one I'm out of here early."

"Well then by all means. I'll talk to you later Ari."

"Bye Eames."

She kissed his cheek—something she had started doing a few months after Inception when the two had somehow grown on each other between a bar and saving each other's lives.

It wasn't for another two days that she could ask Yusuf what he was doing for the holidays. He had been elusive lately, hiding behind his chemistry set like some mad scientist, or always mumbling incoherent and often jumbled words that not only gave her chills but managed to frighten all that overheard. They had just finished a meeting-their last untill after the holidays and Yusuf was just starting to pack up his supplies for the short trek back to his room in the back of the building, surrounded by a myriad of extinguishing supplies.

"Yusuf…how are you?"

He gulped. He had been afraid that she would come to him soon, and he had been unprepared. He had reasoned he would have enough time to prep himself while she walked over. But he had been preoccupied with packing all his supplies and he had been caught off guard. "Ariadne…"

"How are you?"

"I'm well…a little startled to see you, I wasn't expecting you of course…how are you?"

"I'm alright. Ready for a break…how about you?"

"Oh yes, well chemicals never take a break I'm afraid. They need constant supervision."

"Oh really? What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"I'll mostly be here, working on trying to combine a few new chemicals to make one super sleeping draught that could, theoretically of course, let us go down to any depth while still being able to come too after being killed. The only problem will be in testing this draught. We'll have to see."

"So, you won't be doing anything else for the holidays?"

"Well, I don't really celebrate Thanksgiving. No…I'm just going to be here, perfecting my chemical."

She nodded, clearly disappointed. "Oh, yes…I guess so. We'll I'll talk to you later."

She had left disappointed, on that Wednesday. Nobody else in her group was doing anything remarkably interesting that she could be included in. She wasn't going to fly all the way out to Italy to observe Arthur making love to some beautiful girl in a vineyard in Italy. She certainly wasn't going to have sex with Eames…no she couldn't. It would be like betraying Arthur. And of course, even lovable, awkward Yusuf was doing something that she couldn't partake in. She was just even more alone. Well, she'll have to take what she can get. If she was going to spend a day with Cobb, and then that was it for the whole rest of vacation, then so be it.

The walk to the bus stop was uneventful. She could have sworn she saw the same Mercedes pass her a few times, which only made her a little more nervous and she speed up quickly. She stayed close to a young French girl just in case it was anyone from a past Extraction thinking about hurting her—and even though she knew it wouldn't help much to stand next to this awkward, helpless person, it gave her a false sense of security.

He turned off the main road, and looped back around toward the warehouse. He had a few more papers to finalize and just a few more pieces of information to find before he could go off to find the best wine in the world for the party. He would make this perfect. He was happy that she had been aware enough to see that he had passed her once or twice—evident by her sudden increase in speed and by how close she was to the stranger on the bus. She would be safe, but…maybe he should go to her house and watch…make sure she got in safe? It couldn't hurt…and plus his windows were tinted and he could rent a new car just in case she grew suspicious. It wouldn't do to have her discover it was him.

The turn signal blinking, he made a right instead of going straight and blew up the street toward her neighborhood. The bus was far behind him now, but it would catch up soon. He parked behind a bush next to the sidewalk—a high one that nobody could see over and waited as she approached.

She looked beautiful when the cold wind blew around her. He loved the way the scarf whipped around her neck and how her hair blew. It was soft, elegant, and yet messy on its own. Just what he needed in life. He had to do something special…something he wouldn't normally do. Buy her something and give it to her after the party…maybe a nice scarf…or something better. What kind of jewelry did she like? He'd have to watch her. He waited untill she opened the door to her apartment building—one he would be sure to talk her out of. It wasn't in the best neighborhood, and there might be times when he couldn't follow her home. Zooming away, he turned up the radio and sung along, the warm air in the car only adding to his happiness. He would get her. She would be his by the end of the weekend.

The next day was the last one before the holiday started, and Arthur had arrived late—just like usually. Every Friday and the day before a holiday started, Arthur came in around 8:40 instead of his usual 7:00. As he entered, he was met by warm air and the smell of coffee and then Cobb had come around from the counter and toward him. "Happy Thanksgiving Arthur."

"Thanks Cobb. You too."

Cobb looked at him for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was trying to decipher something. "You're up to something."

"I am not." He was quickly pulled to the office, the door closed tightly behind him. "What are you up too?"

He sighed, he wouldn't be leaving untill Cobb found out. His curiosity was just as bad as Ariadne's…must be an architect thing. "I got her a…present."

"What kind of present?"

"A special one."

He smiled brightly. "You're going to ask her out. Do it right, and you won't mess up. Just…you don't need me to tell you about the dangers of shared dreaming."

"Don't worry Cobb. We won't be going down the same road."

Cobb nodded. "Fine."

"Speaking of Ariadne…where is she?"

"She took the day off. She finished all her work early and its very good. I told her she could start teaching it to us after vacation…it's very detailed. I can't wait to see it."

He nodded, slightly disappointed but happy all the same. She was everything he needed. Hard working, elegant, outgoing…perfect. Eames didn't show up either that day, and the occasional loud bang or breaking of glass told him that Yusuf was in the back. But he didn't see when he left, his mind to preoccupied. It took a while to finish his work—longer than necessary but when he did he sighed happily. Grabbing his jacket, he threw it on, before shaking Cobb's hand. "See you tomorrow night."

"Don't forget…the right time."

He nodded, his eyes roving the room. "BYE YUSUF!"

There was a grunt—that must be his goodbye—and then he had turned and pulled open the door. He nodded to Cobb once more before hopping into his new silver Camaro and driving off. Tonight wouldn't go fast enough.