Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.

"Well, isn't this a surprise." Kyle swallowed; he hadn't meant to sound sarcastic, but the words had simply fallen out of his mouth. Arthur nodded, politely. Ariadne spoke.

"Is Adam...OK?"

Kyle blushed, remembering the reason they were there. "We're about to hear the results."

Slowly, as though sleep walking, the Architect and Point Man walked towards the small huddle. Ariadne flinched as she recognised the stony face of Adam's mother, but she also noticed the sweet faced brunette who had settled herself next to Kyle. His therapist, she realised.

The doctor looked at them, and nodded. "Well, the surgery went successfully. His body has not rejected the transplant. We need to administer more drugs, and we removed the tumour, but ultimately - he will be ok."

A collective gasp went up. Ariadne turned, noting Kyle hugging Diane, and Katherine getting up, smiling. She felt Arthur squeeze her arm. "We should go," he whispered.

Nodding, she turned to leave. As they began to walk, they heard a voice. "Where are you two going?"

Ariadne turned back. Kyle was looking at them both, puzzled. "You're leaving?"

"We've heard what we need to hear," Arthur said, gently. "He will be ok."

"But - you're the reason he'll be ok!" Kyle, showing a degree of warmth towards Arthur that he had never previously demonstrated, walked over to them. "You gave him your bone marrow, you're the reason-"

"And now he can live his life," Arthur said, almost pointedly. "And we-" he looked at Ariadne - "need to live ours."

Ariadne felt a small thrill of pleasure. Kyle looked at her. "So, you two-"

"I don't regret anything with Adam," Ariadne said, quickly. "But I-"

Kyle nodded. "You gave him his life back, thank you. But you should see him-"

Ariadne turned her head. His parents were going into the corridor that led to the post-surgery room. "I think he has enough visitors."

Kyle blinked. "If you're sure, but-"

Arthur nodded. "Yes." He extended his hand, and Kyle shook it. Then, leaning down, he kissed Ariadne on the cheek. "Thank you."

The two turned and began to walk away. Kyle stood, watched them leave, then turned back to his reality.

"So, how are you feeling?"

Adam smiled, and rubbed his hand over his hair, which was starting to grow back into a crew cut. "Better every day," he said, nodding. "I think I've gained some weight back, too."

Katherine smiled, and shifted in her chair. "How do you feel about..?"

"About...?" Adam raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean, her?"

"Yes."

"I feel..." Adam leaned back. "I feel I should thank her. Her and Arthur. They helped me survive. But..." he shook his head. "I don't think I was what she wanted. And its probably for the best."

He fell silent. After the surgery, he'd been lying in a post-operative haze, drifting on a sea of morphine induced delirium. Kyle had come in, and, he'd responded. His mother had had tears in her eyes. Katherine had come to see him. But Ariadne hadn't.

And, he realised, he was glad.

He admitted he'd been jealous of Arthur. But then the man had donated what he'd needed. He shook his head. Maybe, he thought, he'd meant to meet them. And they'd done him a favour.

They'd shown him how to be adventurous. To grab life. Not just sit in a cubicle, or in his rented house, waiting for things to happen. There was a promotion going at work, and he'd applied. His boss had looked surprised, but accepted it.

There was something else he wanted to do, as well. Smiling, he turned back to Katherine.

"So, do you need the book?"

"Yeah I do." Arthur was flicking through computer files. "I really do."

Ariadne nodded. "I guess I'll go."

They were alone. Cobb was meeting a client, and Eames had disappeared. Ariadne pulled on her jacket - tracking down a Russian-English dictionary shouldn't be a hard task. She hurried down the stairs, and walked towards the bookstore.

As she entered, she inhaled. The smell of books was always a good one. She moved to the reference section, walking past interests. Suddenly, she bumped into a young man, leafing through a cookery book.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She said, turning, and then blinked. "Adam?"

He lowered the book. "Ariadne. Hey." He smiled. "Long time."

She nodded, blushing. It had been two months since his surgery, and she noted, he already looked a hundred percent better. Not only as his hair re-growing, he had gained a little weight, and was dressed more sharply, in crisp black jeans and simple shirt.

"You look great," she said, sincerely. "You really do."

"Thank you." He nodded. "You don't look too bad either. So...what brings you here?"

"Dictionaries. You?"

He held up the book. "Cooking." He smiled. "I told Katherine I'd cook for her."

"Oh!" Ariadne uncovered the coded message. "Well, um-"

He blushed. She smiled. "So, you're happy?"

"Yes," he admitted. "She's just- gorgeous."

"I'm pleased for you," she said, warmly. "I-"

"Need to go?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "Ariadne. Thank you."

She smiled. "Not a problem." Reaching up, she kissed him on the cheek. As she reached the dictionary aisle, he was gone.

"Pizza?"

"Yes," he admitted. "I spent so long reading the cookbooks, I ran out of time?"

Katherine stifled her laughter. "Its fine, Adam, really." She picked up a piece. "My favourite, anyway!"

They sank on the couch. He felt a wave of peace wash over him. Then, she spoke. "So...what do you think we should do this evening?"

He smiled. "I have a few ideas." He nodded towards the bedroom.

She put her pizza down. "We can warm that up. Let's go!"

Laughing, he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Reckon we'll ever hear from him again?"

"No," Ariadne said, shaking her head. "I think he has his own life."

Arthur pulled her close. "So do we."

"But I'm glad we met-"

"So am I."

Ariadne took a deep breath. Being with Adam had been an interlude, an interlude she would never regret. But as she looked up at the face of the Point Man, she knew it was he she was meant to take risks with. As he kissed her, she had never felt more sure.

Finis.

Thank you for reading this fic. I felt this could not really end any other way.

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