2.

Eames pushed away from Ariadne as she put her hands over her neck. Covering the place where his lips were tormenting her. As if his kiss would leave some mark, a brand, on her flesh. Evidence of their illicit moment.

There was no one in the deserted hallway. A second outcry reached them.

"Get out of this house!" Juniper's voice carried down the hall. "Get out!" she screamed.

"Bloody hell!" Eames growled as he stormed down the hall in serch of the cries. Ariadne close at his side. "Will this night never end?"

They soon found the cause of the distress.
"Madam!" came Mal's plas as they reached Cobb's guest room. Their mutual friend had stayed at Blue Rivers to help Eames with Arthur's estate and Ariadne suspected to spend more time with Juniper's lady's maid, Mal.

"There is no need for this." Cobb said sternly.

His bedroom door was open and Ariadne gasped and covered her eyes as she realized they had all intruded on Cobb and Mal in bed together. The ladies maid covering herself as Cobb was trying to dress.

"Mal, you are dismissed with no reference." Juniper growled. "I've been calling you for an hour, and now I come to find you like this!"

"Calm down, mother." Eames said as Ariadne turned and left the room. The image of Arthur's friend in bed with a woman was shocking. She wasn't used to thinking about other couples like that.
"Get out, whore!" Juniper cried.
"Don't call her that!" Cobb shouted.
"Everyone stop yelling." Eames said and tried to guide Juniper out of the room.

"Madam!" came Mal's plea for understanding.
"Mal, you stay with Mr. Cobb tonight. We'll work this out later." Eames said and pulled Juniper out into the hall.
"First the old woman; now my ladies maid. There is nothing so horrible as losing one's maid!" Juniper shouted. "I've had Mal with me for almost ten years now! To have to fire her now over that dreadful American!"

"Mother, you don't have to fire her." Eames said with an exhausted sigh.
"And we're very happy Mr. Cobb has found someone. He's been a lonely bachelor for too long." Ariadne added. "We're also very pleased that Aunt Percy is back to good health."

"Well, this is just a wonderful night, isn't it?" Juniper spat. "I want Mal gone, Eames! I never want to see her again."

"I'm taking her back to America with me." Cobb said emerging from his rooms. "Tomorrow, in fact. We've already booked passage. I plan to marry her on the ship." he added confidently.

Ariadne hid a little smile behind her hand. She wasn't used to seeing Cobb so self assured and confident. Normally he was mild and quite. She knew Mal must have had a strong effect on her husband's friend. She wondered if Arthur had changed this much after they were married.

"You're leaving us?" Eames asked in disbelief. "You don't have to."

"Yes they do!" Juniper spat.
"Cobb, you know you're welcome here as long as you want to stay." Ariadne added as both she and Eames pretended Juniper wasn't there.
"No, he's not!" Juniper insisted.
"I know you want me to stay." Cobb said with a sigh.

"No we don't!"

"But with the war official, I want to marry and take my bride back to America." Cobb said.
"So you'll leave me alone with a house full of women?" Eames accused teasingly.

"I'm sorry." Cobb said with an embarrassed laugh. He turned to Ariadne then.

"The offer to take you back with us still stands, Ariadne. You and Olivia will be welcome in our home in New York. It might be safer for you now with the war." Cobb told her.

Eames turned around and looked at her.

She remembered the kiss they had delighted in just moments before, and her cheeks burned hot.

"I may one day come to visit you and Mal." she said tactfully. "But it would be wrong to interfere with honeymooners just now. I think I'll stay at Blue Rivers a while longer."

Eames seemed to breath a sigh of relief and Ariadne avoided everyone's eyes.
"Fine, go and take her with you." Juniper fumed. She looked over the younger people who still ignored her like she was a spoiled child.
"I'm sorry there won't be a wedding." Cobb said sadly. "Mal has no family in country and I wanted us to be legal as soon as possible."

"Now that you've had your fun!" Juniper snapped.
"Think nothing of it." Eames said with a smile as he shook Cobb's hand. "I want to give you a wedding present from Ariadne and myself." he said. "Uncle had a very fine collection of cufflinks he collected for 30 years. I never wear them and I want you to have them. You'll love them."

"Charles! Those belonged to the family!" Juniper exclaimed.

"I can't accept them." Cobb said graciously.
"You can, Uncle would want them to go to someone who will appreciate them." Eames said.
"Charles!" Juniper snapped.
"Are those the cufflinks with the pearls?" Ariadne chimed in. "Oh they are lovely!"

"Oh, yes. Uncle collected from all over the world. He had scrimshaw, pearls and ivory ones to." Eames said.
"Charles, I said no!" Juniper snapped.
"Thank you so much, Eames." Cobb said.
"Arthur would have wanted you to have them to." Ariadne added as Juniper looked livid.

"Charles!" Juniper said breathing hard.
"I want to give Mal something to. I think I have a nice brooch for her to have on her wedding day. I got it in Paris, but it's too fashionable for me." Ariadne laughed.
"Well let's just give them the good silverware!" Juniper said angrily.
"Cobb, would you be interested in the good silverware?" Eames asked and Ariadne hid a smile behind her hands again.

~ Olivia was sleeping peacefully as Ariadne watched her breathing in and out.

The baby's oh so serious face was peaceful at the moment. No fussiness, not crying, no judgmental looks that Olivia was famous for.

Her mother had finally moved the baby back to the nursery after needing her for comfort after Arthur's death. It still felt lonely in her bedroom all alone most nights.
"I don't know, Olivia." Ariadne sighed. "Your daddy and I talked about going back to America. But I don't know what he would want for us now."

Olivia's breathing was light and her cheeks were tinted pink from a happy sleep.

"We have no family in America." she said sadly.

She and Arthur had promised one another that they would never mention Ariadne's parents or Jeffery to Olivia. Arthur never wanted his daughter to think she was anything less than his child.

They both feared the truth would be too much for Olivia.

Ariadne's parents had disowned her when they found out about her affair with Jeffery and her resulting pregnancy. Jeffery had abandoned her completely and she would have been destitute if it wasn't for Arthur and her hasty marriage to him.

She thought the knock on the door would be Maura. It didn't feel as late as it was and she thought the house would still be up. Too much had happened and Ariadne was still wide awake.

"Come in." she called out as Olivia was sleeping soundly.

She startled when she saw Eames slip into the nursery in his night clothes.
"What are you doing here?" Ariadne almost gasped. She clutched her dressing robe to her chin as Eames stole into the nursery with her.
"Couldn't sleep; I saw the light was on. I think we need to talk." he said and closed the door behind him.

"We can talk in the morning." Ariadne whispered.

Eames shook his head.
"Do you really mean to keep company with this Fredrick fellow?" he asked.

She let out a long sigh.

"Eames, I'm really tired." she said and side stepped him.
"Ariadne, we need to talk about what happened in the hallway tonight." he said following her out.

She brushed him off and made a beeline to her bedroom. Eames close at her heels.

"Good night, Mr. Eames." she said and tired to close the door behind her.

Her friend blocked her from shutting him out and barged into her room.
"Eames!" she said in shock as he came in, and closed the door after it.
"We need to talk, Ariadne." he said.

"No, we don't." she told him.

"Fine." he said with a shrug.

She was breathing had as she watched him slip off his robe, revealing he wore pajama bottoms and no top. His bare chest showing his body had fully recovered from his illness just a few months ago.

"Eames, what are you doing?" she asked as he tossed his robe on the bed and moved closer to her.

"I don't want to sleep alone tonight." he said simply.
"Eames, go back to your rooms." she ordered.

She tried to avert her eyes from that well toned chest she remembered. Eames had regained his health after she brought him back from Fischer's hospital. He was no longer too thin and the scars on his body looked less noticeable now that he wasn't so sick.
"We've slept in the same bed before. Remember?" he asked as he stepped closer to her. "I promised then, and I'll promise now, that I won't try anything."

"Eames." she whispered as she felt her resolve weakening. "It's really late."
"All the more reason for us to go to sleep." he said.
"Eames." she hissed as she watched him climb into her bed and make himself comfortable.

She let out a long sigh, and tried to think of what to do.

"Ariadne?" he whispered. "Come to bed."