Fanfiction - ENJAMBMENT, Chapter 6 Down the shaft, part 2
Title: Enjambment, Chapter 6 Down the shaft, part 2
Characters: Ariadne/Dom, all the cast
Rating: T/ PG-13
Summary: It is about the gaps, the leaps of faith necessary to go from one line to the next. the lines don't break where you expect them to, and sometimes it doesn't go anywhere it was supposed to go. An Ariadne-centric story set on the plane before Dom wakes.
Disclaimer: Chris Nolan and WB owns everything. I just dream my little dream because they let me. This is my first ever fanfic so I would appreciate the feedback.
"What do you mean James?", whispered Ariadne.
James looked at her quizzically. "She inside," James' brow was furrowed. "Philippa get your scarf."
Relief flooded her, for a while she… she had no idea what she thought. James started fiddling with the avenues, taking care not to come in contact with the sand structures of various heights and shapes.
"It's not done yet," cried James.
"What do you need?"
"I can't find a way out," exclaimed James. "For the cars." James pointed to some of the streets. "Philippa says there are exits… somewhere. I don't know where to put them. She's supposed to know but she's not helping."
"Why not?"
"She says I have to do it."
Ariadne stood up and dusted herself off. She looked back at James one last time and leaned over and kissed the top of his head. "You'll get it done."
She went back inside the house. Behind her, the valley beyond the yard was no longer green. It was nowhere remotely green or healthy but barren, dusty and deserted with nary a breeze stirring.
####
There was no sign of Philippa. The house was as empty as before. She went back to the window seat and saw her scarf scrunched against the backrest. She sat down and stared at the kitchen work area
He was holding on to her on the floor. Both of them had tears in their eyes, but he was wiping away Mal's tears.
"Saito's dead by now." Ariadne couldn't keep track of the other things he says, only noting the desperate resolve in his voice.
"Don't lose yourself. Find Saito and come back."
He looked behind him, his eyes leaving Mal's and making contact with hers. "I will."
Ariadne held her folded scarf in her lap. She braced herself for what she was about to do.
"You are almost whole," she says aloud. "You are more than a half of a whole. You have so much love waiting for you, your children, Miles…Arthur won't be the same without you."
She pauses, "Dominic Cobb, you bastard. Come back."
She grips her scarf (and what it's carrying) and wipes it on her cheeks, absorbing her tears. Somewhere in the background, she could hear the strains of a familiar opera. She senses her time is almost up. Ariadne leaves her scarf on the window seat as she wakes, the words "An dich werd' ich mich ganz verlieren"* hovering in her ears.
* I will lose myself in you completely
####
Arthur was holding her hand when she woke up. Eyeing the intimacy of it, she shook her hand off as she stretched. Arthur was looking back and forth between her and his best friend. There had been no changes so far.
"Well," uttered Ariadne, "I have no regrets."
####
"Papa?," cried Philippa as she stepped out of the hallway and back into the kitchen. She was searching for something, exploring under the dining table and the kitchen work area stools.
"What are you looking for?
Philippa doesn't answer, continuing her search. "Let me help you."
"Found it!," she exclaimed with her arms outstretched in victory. In her right hand was something he didn't think Philippa owned.
She came over and presented it to him. "It's my scarf."
Cobb eyes it suspiciously; it's design too mature for his daughter and too urbane to belong to his mother-in-law. Within the folds is a familiar glint, and he realizes it was something he hasn't seen in nearly a year.
"I don't think that's yours." Cobb picks up his metal top from his daughter's outstretched hand. The weight was familiar. The scarf was familiar, the further he examined it.
"Papa you're not completely here," intoned Philippa.
"Why are you calling me Papa? You call me Dad."
He spun the top absentmindedly on the tabletop. He heard a snatch of a new yet familiar music.
"Papa, Grandma says half of you is missing. That means you're not completely with us."
"No." Cobb's voice rose out of his control. He took his daughter's hands in his across the tabletop (again).
"Philippa, I'm so sorry about having left so long. I've been with you and James all this time. I'm sorry that your mother is not with us anymore. I'm sorry for many things that have made you angry with me. But I'm not sorry that I tried to make things better, even though I probably made things worse. If I didn't do that then I wouldn't have made friends that helped me get back here. Your grandparents may not approve of the lot…actually your grandfather approves of one of my friends very much."
Cobb stalls, a thought niggling at the back of his head. But he recovers and presses on.
"I will always love your mother, but I can't be a broken man anymore. I'm not. I'm not just half of a whole anymore, I'm…"
Cobb detached his hands from Philippa when the familiar movement caught his eye. His top had been spinning a long time, and it was not stopping or toppling over.
"Papa, you're almost whole."
####
His eyes opened up to the first class plane compartment. He scanned around and saw the faces filled with utmost relief and concern and joy. It was a serious case of déjà vu.
The first thing he does is take out his in-seat tray and spins his top on the surface. He waits.
Chapter 7