Ariadne woke up sputtering and coughing on the shores of limbo. It was just as she remembered it. The buildings that Cobb and Mal built were still withering away, but now there were Saito's additions that were falling apart also. The thought that she would be leaving her mark here too scared her deeply.

The pain in her stomach was gone. The bruises that Joseph left were gone too. Along with Eames and Arthur. She took a deep breath and began walking through the deserted area. She had no idea how long it would take for them to find her. She bent over a puddle and gazed at herself in the still water. Don't lose yourself. She remembered the words she had spoken to Cobb when she left him to find Saito. Now she had to remember exactly that.

For the first year, Ariadne was completely alone. She spent her time building and creating. Imagining all sorts of new concepts of architecture. She created a small house for herself that was drastically different from her apartment. She didn't want to get confused. The loneliness started to really settle inside her. After the first year the projections started coming. They came in the form of Eames. After all she wasn't really surprised. He followed her wherever she chose to walk that morning. He followed her as she mapped out giant skyscrapers. He would try to speak to her and even sing to her to try and get her to acknowledge him. She knew if she did that she would start to lose it. This continued on for the next couple years. Eventually she started carrying a gun around with her, shooting any projection of Eames that encountered her. She was marking the days that she was stuck on the wall in her bedroom and every morning she hoped that she wouldn't wake up to that wall filled with seemingly endless tallies.

One morning she found herself sitting on the roof top of one of her latest creations. It was taller than the other buildings she had chosen to create and she gazed out over the endless space that stretched all around her. It had been fifteen years and Ariadne was feeling the burden that came with middle-age. She was no longer as ambitious as she used to be. Her ideas began to wear thin, but still she filled her days with creating. She just wished she had someone to be with.

That's when she came up with an idea. Instead of imagining Eames, she pictured her parents. Projections of her deceased parents. It helped her remember that this was still all a dream because her parents were certainly long gone in the real world. It was certainly an elegant solution of keeping track of reality Ariadne thought. She spent years with them, making up for the time that she should've gotten to spend with them.

As Ariadne laid down to rest after another day of creating, she dreamt of Eames. They were happy and dancing, just like they did at the gala. Arthur was there too and even Cobb. The dream turned sour when Joseph entered. He was on a rampage and he opened gunfire on the whole event. The ones she loved dropped dead all around her. Eames threw his body over Ariadne's to protect her and then he slumped to the ground, dead.

Ariadne shot upright in her bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Her eyes had opened to the wall filled with tallies before her.

But that was not the only thing that was in her room.

After searching through all of the endless buildings that Ariadne created, and she sure created an abundance of them, he had found her. Eames was standing in front of Ariadne's bed watching her sleep. Her face was contorted into an awful shape and he could see the time Ariadne spent down here in the wrinkles on her face. He wanted so badly to reach out to her but the horrible thought that she might not remember him had settled deep in the pit of his stomach.

So when Ariadne woke up screaming, he had no choice but to carefully step out of the shadows.

Her face was wide with shock and instinctively she pulled her gun out from underneath her pillow. Eames had barely enough time to duck and roll to the opposite side of the room as she fired off a shot. As she prepared to fire again Eames launched himself at her, knocking the gun from her hands. She started screaming as he pinned her arms over her head, knocking her backwards against the bed.

"Ariadne! Stop screaming and listen to me!" he shouted in her face.

Ariadne finally shut her mouth and narrowed her eyes at him, giving up the struggle against his strong arms.

"Ari… It's me. I came for you." Eames said carefully. He knew it was going to take some persuasion to convince her that he was real.

"That's what they all said. And you know what I did to them? I shot them all." the horrible memories of her killing the one she loved day after day resurfaced and tears threatened to spill over her eyelids. She turned her head away, not able to look him in the eyes.

Just the thought that Ariadne had to kill him just to keep her sanity made him cringe. He can't believe that she had to go through all of this.

"Let me prove it, love."

"What's my full name?" asked Ariadne at last.

Eames' face scrunched up for a second before he finally breathed a sigh of relief, "You never told me, darling."

Ariadne's face was astonished and then lit up in delight before she leaned as far up as she could, catching him in a lip crushing kiss. Yes, this is real. I know it. She felt the butterflies that she always felt when he was with her surge up in her stomach again. Eames let go of his grip on her arms and moved his body closer to hers on the bed. He grabbed her by the waist with one arm and the other around her neck. She wrapped her legs around his back, holding him close to her body. She opened her mouth a little more to give way for his tongue. The effect was nearly dizzying. God, she missed him. They pulled away at the same time both breathless.

"I told you I'd come for you."

Ariadne awoke abruptly. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. Her shaky hands flew to her throat.

"Ariadne!" exclaimed Arthur.

She opened her eyes warily and found herself back in their hotel room in Barcelona. Arthur startled her as he helped to take the IV out of her arm. She looked around the room and saw Eames sitting up in his arm chair removing his IV also. She couldn't speak at the moment so she just laid there silently as Arthur fussed around her. She shut her eyes.

She was free. She was no longer in limbo. Eames had saved her. This is reality.

"Ariadne… Arthur is she alright?" asked Eames anxiously.

"It's too soon to tell. Physically, yes. Mentally, well we'll have to see."

Somebody sat down on the bed next to her and took her hands. He kissed them gently and Ariadne opened her eyes to Eames' marble like blue eyes.

"Ariadne, love. Come back to me please." he pleaded.

Ariadne managed a smile, squeezed his hands, and finally said, "I'm here."

When Ariadne was sure that she was alright—for the time being at least—Arthur and Eames informed her that the job had been successful and that they found out whom Joseph's employer was, that he was stealing drugs from the shipments, and selling them to rival gangs.

"I'm glad my suffering wasn't for nothing." Ariadne had meant for it to come out as a joke but guilt was mirrored in Arthur and Eames' eyes.

"I didn't mean it—it's not your fault," she said to the both of them and took one of each of their hands, "You got me out, that's what counts."

Arthur informed them that their flight would depart for Paris at 8 AM tomorrow.

The first night Ariadne spent back in reality was awful. She woke up several times in the night haunted by the nightmares of having to kill Eames. She felt guilt for repeatedly waking Arthur and Eames up even though they assured her they weren't getting much sleep anyways. Eames pulled her close on the bed and she rested her head on his chest, her breathing heavy. He started to sing her to sleep and it helped. The only difference was that this time it was real.

On the flight back, Ariadne absentmindedly sat in the window seat, thinking nothing of it. The fact that she forgot the little bet that he had teased her about on the flight there made Eames' heart hurt a little. He couldn't help the rising concern that he might've actually lost his Ariadne down in limbo.

About twenty minutes into the flight, Ariadne turned to Eames and asked him seriously, "What's my full name?"

"You never told me, darling." he smiled, hoping to get one out of her also.

She returned the smile and Eames couldn't help but ask what it was.

"My full name is Ariadne Linn Roberts."

"That's a beautiful name," Eames responded and planted a kiss on an unsuspecting Ariadne's lips.

They removed the armrest between them again and Ariadne nestled up against his shoulder. After a while she broke her gaze out the window and looked up at Eames' scruffy jaw. He caught her looking up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want to talk?" suggested Eames.

"Not particularly. But Arthur said it'll help."

"Only when you're ready."

"Lots of things happened down there, Eames. I imagined my parents being there. That was my way of keeping track of reality. They're dead, Eames. I had to picture my dead parents to make sure I knew that it was all a dream. And you… God, I'm so sorry. I shot you, day after day. I had to reassure myself that that you wasn't real. It was awful." Ariadne confessed.

He didn't know what to say so he just held her tight to his side.

"Well I'm glad that you didn't shoot the real me." Eames finally said.

Ariadne chuckled.

"Thank you, Eames."

A month later, Eames moved in with Ariadne. It wasn't really that much of a change since Eames was either at Ariadne's place or Ariadne was at his. Arthur called at least once every week and came around to visit at least once every other week. Ariadne was distant for a long time. Eames found her sitting on the windowsill often, just looking out at the street below. Not doing anything in particular. He always wondered what she'd be thinking about. It'd take a while but eventually she always came back to him. He'd let her sit for a while before coming over and wrapping his arms around her. He'd shift her onto his lap as he sat behind her. They'd sit that way for however long seemed necessary. He'd kiss her neck and collarbone before Ariadne would give in and he'd lift her up, carrying her to the bedroom.

Two weeks after Eames had moved in, Ariadne stopped having nightmares. Or at least she didn't wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Eames asked her about it the next morning.

"Any nightmares last night?"

She breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head.

One rainy afternoon, Ariadne lay on Eames' bare chest tracing the outline of his defined muscles and of his several tattoos. Her delicate touch left sensations all over his skin. His hand ran up and down the smooth skin of her back and he started to drum the rhythms to her favorite songs. Ariadne let out a satisfied sigh. She didn't know what had changed in her that day but she finally felt free. She was with Eames and that's all that mattered. He had been her rock from the start even if she didn't know it. The age difference seemed to work with them. Ariadne needed someone of his age and maturity to be like her rock, to support her. He needed someone of her intelligence and youth. She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him staring contentedly up at the ceiling.

"Eames?"

"Yes, darling?" he lowered his eyes to meet hers and smiled.

"I love you," she didn't even really expect it to come out. It just sort of did. But she needed to say it and he needed to hear it.

"I love you, too." Eames' eyes glistened and he pulled her face to his so he could kiss her.

From that moment on, they both knew she would be alright.

End.

Thanks so much for the reviews; they are literally making my whole day/month/year/life. Watch for more if you like this pairing especially. I'll also be posting some Ariadne/Arthur fics if you enjoy reading those too :)