7.

~ "Arthur? How are we going to get out of here? They have us surrounded." Ariadne panted. Her breath coming out in delicate white puffs from the freezing temperatures.

The Point Man was scowling. He leaned next to his rental car. Smashed and useless from the downed power line. He chanced a look over the snow covered wreck to see their enemy.

"Your right." He whispered. "Stay low. Use the car as cover." He searched around the street for a way out.

"Were pinned down unless we can get across the street." Arthur said at last. She was nodding. A real sense of worry coming over her as she heard the loud whispering of their enemy.
"What do we do?" She asked.
"You have to get to that car over there." he motioned. The Point Man chancing a glance at a car about 20 feet away.

"No, I'll never make it." Ariadne whispered.

"Ariadne, do you trust me?" Arthur asked. His face pleading. She nodded and tried to fight back tears.

"Good." he whispered looking around them. "Now, I'll draw their fire. That should give you enough time to get across the street and to safety. They won't target you. It's me their after."

"Arthur, there has to be another way." Ariadne hisses as she pulled him closer to her. His face barely an inch from hers.

He kissed her cold cheek.

"There isn't. They already got the rest of our team. Ariadne, this is the only way." He said.
"Alright." She said smothering a sob. Trying to be brave.

"I'll draw their fire. You get across the street." He kissed her again. A final kiss goodbye. "I'll see you soon." He promised.

She nodded and prepared to run. Certain that their enemy would attack as soon as she poked her head out from the smashed car. She looked back at Arthur who gave her the thumbs up and bolted. His long legs carrying him quickly across down the street.

"There he is! Get him!" An overweight boy cried out as snow balls flew at the Point Man. An obnoxious, freckle faced girl ran after Arthur leaving her position unguarded.

With all eyes on the Point Man, not letting him get away, Ariadne made a break for it. She raced across the street and ducked beside a snow covered car.

The neighborhood kids were throwing snow balls at Arthur who was now pinned behind another car. The rules of their game meant they could not cross an invisible line in the center of the street or risk capture. So the fat boy, obnoxious girl and half a dozen kids in heavy winter clothes hunted for her now.

Her heart was racing as she climbed over the snow covered car and pulled free their red flag.

"There she is!" The fat boy shouted in a rage.

"She has the flag!" Another girl shouted

"Wendy! You left your post, you dummy!" The fat boy shouted as the children all converged to chase the Architect down.

Ariadne jumped off the snow covered car and raced back to Arthur's smashed up rental.

The kids were screaming a fierce cry of shock as snow balls suddenly hit them. Arthur had provided cover fire so she could get back to the car. Back to home base.

She was out of breath as she skirted back to the cover of Arthur's rental.

"She has the flag!" A girl screamed again.

"What about him? We can still get him!" The fat boy shouted, leading his troops back to where the Point Man was last.

"Arthur! Run!" Ariadne shouted as she raced back to the safety of the house they were staying in.

She never knew how he did it, but the Point Man beat her there. Meeting up with her on the front steps of their land lady's house.

"You alright?" He breathed. She didn't have time to answer as a rain of snow balls almost hit her in the head. The children screaming at them.

Arthur pulled her laughing inside the lady's home. It was warm and cozy inside. The lady and her tall husband had built a fire and he was playing the ukelele as the kids screamed in impotent furry at losing yet another game to Arthur and Ariadne.

"We got your flag!" The Architect taunted them from the large window of the lady's living room. She held up the red flag as the neighborhood kids shouted and threw snow at the obnoxious freckle faced girl for abandoning her post.

Arthur was out of breath and clutching a stitch in his side.

"I think I'm getting a little old for this game." He panted.

"Are you children done putting Billy and his little friends in their place?" The lady asked coming in from her cozy kitchen.

Her tall husband chuckled.

"That was just as much fun to watch as it is to play." he said playing 'Let It Be' on the ukelele.

"Well warm yourself by the fire. I'll make coco." The lady said with a shrug. "I swear I don't know what Billy and his gang will do when you two leave."

Arthur chuckled as he and the Architect pulled their borrowed coats and snow boots off in the foyer and sat by the fire.

"Thank you for saving me." Ariadne said as the lady handed her a hot cup of coco. Arthur gave her that boyish grin of his and kissed her on the lips. Just as sweet and kind as if they were kids.

"Kissing, kissing." The tall husband teased with a merry laugh as he started on another rock and roll song.

~ "Our hostess seems to think the roads will be cleared by tomorrow. Arthur panted as he curled next to Ariadne that night. Their naked bodies felt alive but exhausted after yet another round of furious love making.

They had eaten a good dinner with the lady and her husband after their hard won victory with the neighborhood kids.

"So, we go back to the airport?" She asked rolling over to curl into his arms. Face to face.

He kissed her.

"I'm afraid so." He said. "Our cell phones died out after two days with no power, along with your laptop. I'm sure Cobb and the rest of them are worried sick."

"Vacations over." She mused sadly. He smiled as his hand grazed her cheek.
"Did you have fun?" He asked.
She smiled and bit her bottom lip.

"Cobb will see our faces and know what we've been up to." She whispered as her lips grazed his.

"Maybe." He chuckled.

She squealed in delight as he rolled over her again.

~ She opened her eyes to the bitter, empty cold. The fire had died out. Ashes now swirled ghostly around the tiny apartment.

"Arthur?" She mumbled sleepily. Something was wrong. Her lover, the Point Man, was nowhere to be seen.

"Arthur?" She called again as the storm howled furiously outside.

Suddenly she realized why she was so cold. A window had broken. The snow was pouring in and she was naked under her coverings.
"Arthur!" She cried in the darkness knowing she was all alone.

~ "Ariadne, wake up. It's alright." Arthur's voice came to her. She was pulled out of her dreams by his gentle shaking. She bolted awake. The image of the little apartment melting from her as she jumped back into the real world. Her senses hearing the sound of the jet engines and smelling the fine leather of their first class seats.

"Ariadne?" Arthur asked. She blinked and looked to her right. Arthur was sitting next to her. His pristine suit a far cry from what he wore, or didn't wear, in her dream.

"I... I was... I was dreaming?" She reasoned at last. She looked around her in disbelief.

"Must have been a crazy dream from all the noises you were making." Arthur said gently pulling the blanket up from the floor.

'That's why I was cold.' Ariadne thought as the Point Man helped her place the warm fleece blanket over her legs.

Suddenly she was embarrassed. She had had a sex dream about her team mate. Her friend. How could she look at him right now? The things they did together in the dream.

"Was it good?" He asked.

"What?" She jumped thinking he had read her mind.
"The dream. Was it a good dream or a nightmare?" He asked.

"Oh..." She said in embarrassment. "It was... it was a good dream. Felt so... real." She said trying to piece together her memory.

She understood finally that she and the rest of the team were on a red eye flight back to Paris. They had been in the air for hours now. Even Arthur had nodded off a few hours ago and had a nightmare. She looked at the rest of their Team. All sleeping peacefully. Not able to hear them.

"That's from the compound. Your dreams will feel very real for a long time. You'll get used to them." He said avoiding her eyes.

"Yes." She said feeling her heart race.

"What was it about?" He asked.

She laughed as the dream started to make more sense now.

"Oh, it was good. I.. I grew up in Canada. Once when I was very little, a bad winter storm blew in and trapped the whole town under four feet of snow." She said remembering herself as a little girl.

"That sounds awful." Arthur said furrowing his brow.

"No. It was nice. The power was out. Daddy pulled all our mattresses and blankets into the living room so we could all be together and stay warm. He cooked us toast and cheese on the open fire. Mom made Coco. I was afraid of the storm and Daddy would read to us kids till we feel asleep every night.

"My grandparents lived downstairs and grandpa played the ukelele. We would all sit at her kitchen table. It was so warm and safe there. Then my brothers and sister and I would all play 'capture the flag' with the neighborhood kids. Then we would come in, and grandpa would play for us old Beatles and Rolling Stones songs. "

She smiled at the memory as Arthur listened.

"Alright, that does sound nice." He said softly with a smile.

"It was. We were trapped for a week like that." She laughed. "Whenever Daddy would kiss our Mom, all us kids would shout 'kissing, kissing!' like they were committing a crime. It was a good week. The best week." She said suddenly missing her family more then she ever had before.

"Well, that's good." Arthur said pulling her blanket up over her shoulders. She rested her head back down on her reclined seat. She breathing still hard. Her body still embarrassingly alive from what she had dreamed of Arthur. She bit her lip and tried not to think about all they had done together.

"Arthur?" She said softly. He turned to her and rolled over. From his own reclined seat, it felt cozy and intimate. Like they were in bed together.
"Was I saying anything? While I was sleeping?" She asked worriedly. Wondering if she had reveled what her dream was really about.

"Nothing too much." He told her. Adjusting her blanket over her hip. His large hand resting there for a moment.

She bit her lip at the contact.

"Just something about staying warm. You said my name a few times." He said.

"I did?" She asked. Trying to sound innocent. "Wonder why I did that?"

"Was I in you dream?" He asked obviously thinking.

"No." She lied. She was never a good lair.

"Well, were going to be landing in a few more hours. Then it's strait to work. We might as well try to get some more sleep while we can." Arthur said wisely as he pulled his own blanket over his lean body.

She couldn't help it. He was close enough to smell his cologne and after shave. Her body was still wanting and before she even realized it, she had leaned over and kissed his cheek. Making sure her eye lashes rested on his skin before she pulled away.

"Good night, Arthur." She said in a whisper.

"Good night, Ariadne." He whispered back in surprise.

~ END ~

I know! I'm evil!