I decided to make this chapter longer since it took so long to get going on it. Thanks for all of the reviews and PMs. Y'all are awesome!

P.S. I don't own Inception. But I do own my computer.

"I talked to Dom." Arthur walked in the living room.

Daphne was curled up in Eames' lap. Arthur rolled his eyes. Ariadne laughed at him.

"What did he say Darling?" Eames didn't care what Dom said it just seemed to be the appropriate thing to say.

"He said he wasn't going anywhere so anytime we wanted to visit would be fine." Arthur sat down beside Ariadne resting his head against her shoulder. "I booked us all a flight to L.A. Ari if you want to go to Sacramento you can." He smiled at her.

"What's in Sacramento?" Eames suddenly seemed more interested.

"My aunt. I'll visit Dom and then I'll go see her." She smiled.

"Ah." Eames seemed indifferent again.

"You are acting like a teenage girl Eames." Ariadne fussed at him. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me. I'm just hungry."

"You are always hungry." Arthur shot back.

Eames shrugged and stood up.

"Ari, there's something I need to tell you." Arthur said. They were sitting outside at the restaurant eating lunch.

Eames shot him a look. Arthur rolled his eyes. He didn't care that Eames didn't want him to tell Ariadne. He wanted to tell her because he hated keeping things from her and he didn't want to lie to her. He was certain she was going to be mad at him. Eames would be mad at him for telling her, but he didn't care what Eames thought.

"My phone is ringing. Hold on a sec okay?" Ariadne asked.

"This is really important." He protested.

"It's my friend Ellie. Hold on a sec Arthur." She smiled as she answered the phone. "Hey Ellie."

"Hey Ari. Can you talk?" She sounded upset.

"Yeah sure. What's up?"

"Um, have you seen the newspaper?" Her voice was shaking.

"No, I'm still in New York." She wondered what was going on.

"Oh. Um, it's probably in any paper. It's big news." She let out a sob.

"Any paper?" She glanced around and saw one folded on an empty table. She motioned for Arthur to give it to her. He seemed hesitant. "What's going on Ellie?"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Yes. What's wrong?" Now Ariadne was really worried.

"It's Jack's dad. He, he had all of these secrets that Jack and I didn't know about. It's going to destroy his company." Ellie sobbed. "I don't know what to do Ari."

"Everything will be alright. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding." She tried to calm Ellie down. Surely it was just a misunderstanding. She snapped her fingers at Arthur and he finally handed her the paper. She covered her mouth and let the paper fall to the table when she saw the headline: 'WALTERS' COMPANY IN SHAMBLES AS STOCK CRUMBLES!'

"No it's not Ari! Jack confronted his Dad. He admitted everything. He stole from people. He hurt a lot of people Ari. He said he couldn't live with what he had done. He shot himself." Ellie blurted.

"No!" Ariadne gasped. She couldn't believe that what Ellie was saying was true. This wasn't the man she knew. The man she knew would never have cheated, lied, or stole. The man who was like a father to her would never have shot himself.

"Jack left. I don't know where he went. He was freaking out and now I'm freaking out because he's gone." She sobbed. "His dad is still alive, but he's in ICU and they're trying to save him. I, I don't know what to do."

Ariadne didn't know what to say. She stared at her food. She knew the others were staring at her, but she didn't care. She knew how those secrets got out. The thought made her sick.

"Ari?" Ellie asked.

"I'll be in L.A. as soon as I can. Everything will be fine." Ariadne tried to sound certain.

"Thanks Ari." Ellie smiled. It was what she needed to hear.

Ariadne hung up the phone.

"Are you alright?" Daphne asked knowing that she wasn't.

"No I'm not. I have to get back to L.A." She fought back tears.

"Why? What's wrong?" Daphne was worried.

"I can't talk about it right now." She fumbled through her purse looking for her totem. Surely this couldn't be real. She felt the cool surface of the bishop. "I have to go." She stood up.

"Ari wait." Arthur grabbed her arm. "You are in no shape to be going off by yourself."

"I'm glad you've decided to show some concern for me Arthur." She snapped jerking her arm away.

Arthur was shocked by her reaction. "What, what are you talking about?" He stammered.

"That was my friend Ellie. Her husband Jack has disappeared and this is his dad's company." She threw the newspaper at Arthur. "She said her father-in-law had all of these secrets that they never knew about. He shot himself this morning." She collapsed in her chair and started sobbing.

"Oh gosh Ari." Daphne hugged her.

"I know that's what this job of yours was about." She wanted to look at Arthur and Eames so that they could see the devastation in her eyes, but she was too disgusted. "Don't lie to me again." She muttered bitterly.

"Ari, we couldn't tell you. Your name popped up in the research that your families were close. We had no choice." Eames said.

"No Nick!" Her head shot up. "You had a choice. You didn't have to take away the only father I had left." She wanted to stop crying, but she couldn't. The thought of losing another family member was too much to bear.

"Ari…" Arthur began.

Daphne changed the subject. "Ari I'll drive you back to the house. Go wait in the car. I'll be right there."

Ari nodded and walked to the car. She didn't have the strength to fight with Arthur and Eames. A part of her felt horrible for snapping at Arthur. How could they do that to her?

"What you two don't know about Ariadne, or at least I don't think you know. She told us the day we got to New York. Her dad died when she was 16. She spent her summers with Jack and Ellie at his Dad's place in L.A. Jack's parents had divorced when he was younger. Ariadne's mom died of cancer just a few months before she graduated from college. After college she moved to Paris to study architecture. If you had dug a little deeper in your research you would have known that. I can't believe you two did this to her." Daphne stood up and walked to the car.

They watched her walk away both knowing it was useless to protest. Arthur felt too sick to say anything. She was going to hate him and he deserved it for what he did.

"Well, well. Daphne's moral compass has finally come back to bite us." Eames crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. He was as nonchalant as always.

"Oh shut up." Arthur glared. He would rather Eames be serious for once. "You told me the families were close so I didn't see a need to dig further. She's going to hate me forever."

"Who? Ariadne or Daphne?"

"Probably both of them." Arthur sighed. He should have known better than to take Eames' word for it. He should have dug deeper.

"That's why I didn't want you to tell her."

"It would have gone over better coming from me."

"Perhaps." Eames shrugged.

"Ari, I'm so sorry." Daphne got in the car. "What are you doing?" Ariadne was turning the bishop in her hands. "Do you think you are dreaming?"

"No. I just… I wished that I was." Her stomach was in knots and her heart ached. "Did you know?"

"No. I didn't. I would have stopped them, or at the very least warned you." She put the car in drive. "They rode with us didn't they?" She smirked.

"Yeah they did." Ariadne chuckled. For some reason that was really funny to her.

"I'll tell them to take a cab." Daphne pulled out her phone.

"They can ride, but I don't want to talk to them."

"Are you sure?"

Ariadne nodded.

"Are you two going to ride with us or not?" She asked Arthur.

"We decided to take a cab. We'll see you at the house."

"Alrighty." She put her phone away. "They took a cab."

"Do you think that was what Arthur was going to tell me? About the job I mean." She stared out the window.

"I don't know. Maybe. You know you will have to talk to him." Daphne glanced at her.

"I know." Ariadne bit her lip. She didn't want to talk to Arthur, but she knew she would have to.

Ariadne didn't know how, but somehow Daphne had conned her into sitting next to Arthur on the plane. Great. She was going to be sitting next to Arthur for the next six hours. She had called Ellie before they boarded and told her she was on her way. Ellie still hadn't heard from Jack, and his dad was still in surgery. Ariadne had finally stopped crying, but now she had started again. She looked over at Arthur. He was looking out the plane window. She reached over and touched his hand. He squeezed her hand and turned to face her. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

"I'm still mad that you kept this from me." She sputtered. "But I need you right now."

He nodded and slipped his arm around her pulling her close to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and fell asleep.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Daphne asked Ariadne for the tenth time.

"I'll be fine." Ariadne hugged her.

"Okay. I'll get your luggage. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thank Daphne." She smiled.

"Have you talked to Arthur?"

"No. I need to go to the hospital first. He should be out of surgery by now."

"Alright. Be careful." Daphne waved as Ariadne walked away. She turned and glared at Arthur and Eames who were pulling the suitcases off of the luggage belt.

"Arthur." Daphne used that tone. Arthur knew what she was going to say before she said it.

"I should talk to her." He mumbled and walked after her.

"Ari!" He called as he tried to catch up with her.

She stopped walking when she heard his voice. She turned around to look for him. It was a challenge with people bumping into her from all sides.

"Ari. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He hugged her and leaned his forehead against hers. "I didn't know. I…"

She kissed him. "Arthur. I want to say that it's okay, but it's not right now. My mind is still reeling. I need time to sort this out."

"I understand." He tried to smile, but his heart was breaking. Why did he ever agree to help Eames? He never meant to hurt her.

"I still love you Arthur. That hasn't changed. And… it won't change." She hugged him and fought back tears.

"I love you too." He smiled as she walked away.

"Ellie!" Ariadne started running down the hospital hallway.

"Ari! You're here!" Ellie threw her arms around Ariadne and started crying.

"Have you talked to Jack?" She wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, he's in his dad's room. He got out of surgery an hour or two ago." Ellie sat down in one of the chairs in the hallway.

"How is he?"

Ellie didn't know if Ariadne meant Jack or his dad. It didn't really make a difference. They were both doing the same and they weren't doing well. "Not well. Dad might pull through. Jack is a wreck. And I don't know even know how I am." She bent over and sobbed into her hands. "I don't know what to do Ari."

Ariadne hugged her. "I don't know what to do either." She whispered.

"Hey Lady." Jack hugged her.

"Jack." Ariadne tried to smile, but couldn't while trying to fight back tears at the same time. She hugged him. "How's he doing?"

"He's not out of the woods yet. And even if he recovers…" He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "He told me he had this dream and there were men he had never seen before and they found all of his secrets. He said that one of them was named Arthur." He looked at her and saw the surprise in her eyes. "He described him and the description matches your friend Arthur." Jack squeezed his lips together. "Did you have a part in this?" He looked angry, but his voice revealed something else. Betrayal.

"Jack. I swear I didn't know." She started crying.

"Ari. My world is crumbling, and the last thing I need right now is to know that one of my best friends was in on it."

"Daphne!" Dom grinned when he saw her. "It's good to see you all back together."

"It's good to see you too Dom." She hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I'm sorry I didn't come to see you. I just… I don't have a good excuse."

"I'm glad you are all back together too." She kissed his cheek.

Eames rolled his eyes. He had never understood the relationship between Daphne and Dom. If they even had a relationship and if it had ever been anything more than friends. That thought didn't sit well with him.

"How are Phillipa and James?" She wondered why she hadn't seen them yet.

"They're great. You won't believe how much they've grown."

"Are they here?" She glanced around the house. It was quiet.

"They're at their grandmother's. You can go see them."

"I think I will. And Arthur and Nick can tell you about Ariadne." She winked at Eames.

"Wait. Where is Ariadne?"Dom asked as if he just realized that she was supposed to be with them, but wasn't.

"Arthur and Nick can explain. They pulled a doozy. They'll be lucky if she ever speaks to them again." Daphne walked out of the house and next door to see Phillipa and James.

"Well?" Dom crossed his arms. "Where is she?"

"It's a funny story." Eames plopped down on the couch annoyed at Dom for whatever he and Daphne ever had. He shouldn't have been annoyed. There was never anything more than friendship between them.

"It's anything BUT funny. You moron." Arthur glared at him. Daphne was wrong about one thing. At least Ariadne was still talking to him, and even though she was still mad at him she still loved him. He hoped that she meant it.

"So what did you two do?" Dom sat in the chair across from them.

"Well, you see Dom. There was this job. Some, eh, acquaintances of mine asked me to help them." Eames began.

"And he asked me for his help. I knew he wouldn't ask if he didn't really need it." Arthur continued.

"How does this concern Ariadne. Was she the architect?" Dom raised an eyebrow. He didn't like where this was going.

"Not at all. I had told Daphne that we couldn't be together because of work."

"I fail to see how this is even remotely relevant." Arthur rolled his eyes in boredom.

"It's relevant if you will shut up and let me finish." Eames glared.

Dom rolled his eyes. He had not missed their childish behavior. "You were saying Nick?"

"I owed some favors to these acquaintances and I couldn't quit until I repaid them. So this job would get me back in their good graces and out of their debt."

"And you knew it involved Ari and you didn't say anything." Arthur was getting angry.

"I couldn't say anything. That's why I waited to tell you."

"So will you tell me what happened to Ariadne?" Dom was getting impatient.

"The job was an extraction. We were hired to extract information from Patrick Walters."

"This Patrick Walters?" Dom asked incredulously holding up the paper.

"Yes." Eames and Arthur groaned at the same time.

"That is a doozy. You brought down one of the most brilliant financial minds in the world."

"You say that like you underestimate our abilities." Arthur said dryly.

"No. I say that because you didn't get torn to shreds by his subconscious. The man had been trained." Cobb chuckled.

"Who trained him?" Arthur asked.

"Mal. I can't believe the two of you survived. I've always known you were good, but I didn't realize you were that good." He shook his head.

"The research didn't say anything about training. Just like Fischer's didn't. It did say that his family and Ariadne's family were close. I left it alone after that. I shouldn't have, but I did. Daphne gave me an earful about it. Ariadne's dad died when she was sixteen and her mom died right before she graduated from college. Patrick was a second father to her."

"Oh gosh." Dom muttered.

"And he shot himself this morning. Ariadne is at the hospital with his family."

"Hey Dad?" Jack whispered as he and Ariadne walked into the hospital room.

"Hmm?" He stirred.

"You have a visitor." He squeezed Ariadne's hand.

"I don't want any visitors." He muttered.

"What about me Pop?" Ariadne smiled. 'Pop' was what she had always called him. For sixteen years she had a dad. Then he was gone. Pop had told her she could treat him like a second dad, but she couldn't call him 'dad'. It hurt too much.

"Ariadne." He whispered. "It's good to see you." He reached for her hand. "Tell me." He sighed. "Do you think less of me for all of this?"

"No. I couldn't if I wanted to." She blinked back tears.

"Thank you Ari. I'm very sorry my dear."

"Please don't die. I can't lose the only parent I have left."

"I will do my best." He fell asleep.

"Come on." Jack whispered as he guided her back to the hallway.

"I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes.

"It's alright." He hugged her. "Ariadne. I need to talk to Arthur."

"What for?" She was concerned.

"I think it will help me clear my head."

"Alright, but only if I go with you."

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