So I took a break from writing for a little bit, but I think I'm back now. I certainly didn't intend to be gone for two months... Yikes.
Remember, I don't own Inception. I do however own Daphne, Jack, and Ellie. They are mine and you can't have them. Unless of course you ask nicely…
So here is chapter 12...
"Hey Phillipa?" Dom called her into the kitchen.
"Yeah Daddy?" She ran to him and then saw Daphne. "Aunt Daphne!" She squealed.
"Hey Sweetheart!" Daphne scooped her up and kissed her cheek.
"Are you feeling better?" She threw her arms around Daphne's neck.
"I am feeling better Phillipa. I just needed some rest." She smiled and hugged her.
"I'm glad you didn't get sick like Mommy did." She leaned her head against her shoulder.
"Me too Baby." She whispered glancing at Dom. She realized how dangerous it was for her to use the PASIV, and how fortunate she was that she hadn't ended up like Mal. "And if something had happened to me Nick would blame himself, and become as broken as Dom. I can't let that happen to him."
"Arthur?" Daphne called through the door. "Can I come in and talk to Nick?"
"Sure." He opened the door and smiled. "I'll go say goodnight to Ariadne." He hugged her before walking into the other room.
Daphne closed the door behind him. "Nick?"
"Yes Darling?" He mumbled with a toothbrush in his mouth.
"Are you brushing your teeth?" She teased as she walked into the bathroom.
"Mmhmm." He spit in the sink. "How do you think my teeth stay so beautiful?" He kissed her. "Where is Arthur?" He kissed her again.
"He was going to say goodnight to Ari." She weighed her words before continuing. "I wanted to talk to you before I went to sleep."
"Alright then." He took her hand in his and led her out of the bathroom. "What's wrong?" He sat down on the bed.
"Nothing is wrong." She sat beside him as he slipped his arm around her. "I just wanted to say again that I'm sorry I used the PASIV without telling you. I know I scared you, and it's the last thing I ever wanted to do. I know if something had happened to me you would blame yourself, and I can't bear the thought of you being as broken as Dom. I won't ever use the PASIV again Nick. I promise." She looked up at him.
"How about you promise to never use the PASIV alone again?" He grinned and winked at her. "Then if you decide that you absolutely must go under again I can be there to save you."
"Deal." She giggled and kissed him. "I love you Nick."
"I love you Daphne." "And I always will." He thought to himself. "Nothing will change that. Ever."
"Hey Ari." Arthur walked over and sat on the edge of her bed.
"Hi." She looked up from her book.
"You okay?" He rubbed her arm.
She set her book down and shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't seem real." She whispered. "I keep hoping I'll wake up." She gave her bishop a flick successfully knocking it over. "You would think I would be used to it by now, but somehow it never gets easier." She yawned. "I'm sorry. I've got to get some sleep." She kissed him.
"Alright. Night Ari." He stood up to leave.
"Hey. Arthur?" She seemed hesitant.
"Yeah?" He turned around.
"Um, I was wondering… Will you stay in here with me tonight?" She chewed on her lip.
"Sure." He walked around to the other side of the bed crawling in beside her.
She curled up beside him.
"Besides. Daphne is probably asleep in Nick's bed and I don't want to see that again." He rolled his eyes.
"They're in love Arthur. Leave them be." She chuckled.
"I know, but she's my sister!" He protested. "I don't like it!"
"I didn't say you had to like it. I just said let them be." She ran her fingers through his hair. She had always wanted to, but for some reason never dared before now.
"I don't like that either." He frowned for a moment.
"Too bad." She tousled his hair. "Is it really that bad that Daphne is happy?"
"No, it's great that she's happy but why did it have to be with Eames?" He fussed.
"Things happen for a reason or at least that's what my mom used to tell me." She smiled as she heard her mother's voice echo in her head.
"I didn't know about your parents until Daphne told me." He stroked her cheek. "I'm so sorry."
"Thank you Arthur. You're sweet. I'm okay now. It was hard for a while and then things started getting better, but now I don't know what I'll do without Pop." She squeezed her eyes shut and a tear slipped out.
"You'll be okay. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." He had to admit it felt good holding her in his arms.
"And just so you know…" She whispered. "If Aunt Grace knew you were in bed with me right now she'd beat you."
"It would be worth it." He kissed her.
"And my dad would have shot you." She teased.
"Thanks for the reassurance Ari." He chuckled nervously.
"Hello?" Ariadne mumbled as she answered her phone.
"Hey! I woke you up didn't I?" Jack seemed pleased with himself.
"Yeah you did. What's up?" She blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to focus.
"So we found dad's will. He doesn't want a funeral or a service of any kind. He just wants to be cremated and his ashes spread across the Pacific. Surprised both of us actually." He sounded distracted.
"Surprises me too." She muttered. Pop didn't seem like the type.
"Um, is that okay with you?" He asked before muttering something to Ellie.
"Uh, yeah. I guess so. Why are you asking me this?" This was too much to discuss when she first woke up.
"He listed you along with Ellie and me as a beneficiary. So it concerns you too. He always thought of you as a daughter." He smiled.
"Jack. Don't make me cry this early in the morning." She blinked back tears.
"I'm sorry Ari. Don't cry. We're gonna be okay. I promise." He didn't mean to make her cry. "There are a few things that we need to talk about later. Can you come by around lunch? Ellie is cooking something that smells fabulous."
"Alright. What time is it?" The clock on the nightstand wasn't set.
He glanced at his watch. "Uh, about ten. Ellie says to be here at noon."
"K. See you then." She yawned.
"K. Bye." He hung up.
Ariadne dropped her phone on the nightstand and groaned.
"Everything okay?" Arthur mumbled.
"I don't know." She rubbed her eyes. "I have to go see Jack and Ellie in a few hours. He has the will so we have to look over it or something."
"Well, are you okay?" He asked knowing she wasn't.
"Just another distraction." She mumbled so he couldn't hear.
"What's that?" He thought she said something about a distraction.
"I'm okay Arthur. Thanks." She rolled over and kissed him.
"Are you two decent?" Daphne called through the door.
"Yes." Ariadne giggled.
Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Good morning." Daphne walked in the room. She saw them in bed and giggled. "Arthur. I take back what I said about you being a prude."
Arthur blushed. He didn't like being hypocritical and yet, here he was.
"Where's Nick?" Ariadne asked.
"He left a note saying he had to check on something. I didn't hear him leave." She plopped down on the other bed. "I don't know when he'll be back."
"I have to leave before lunch." Ariadne yawned and sat up.
"Where are you going?" Daphne asked.
"To see Jack and Ellie." She got out of bed.
"When is the funeral?" Daphne silently chastised herself for not figuring that's where Ariadne was going.
"Pop didn't want a funeral. He wants to be cremated and have his ashes spread across the Pacific Ocean." Even though she knew that part might be true she felt bad about lying to them.
"Well, I guess to each his own." Daphne shrugged.
"I guess so. We never would have expected it from him, but we really never knew what to expect from him." She shook her head. "I guess I didn't know him as well as I thought I did."
"Hey Ellie, hey Jack." Ariadne called as she let herself in the front door.
"Hey Ari! Come on in!" Ellie called from the kitchen.
"Lunch smells good." She smiled.
"Thanks. Jack's on the phone with the FBI or someone." She shrugged.
"Need me to help with anything?"
"Nah, I've got it. Here ya go." She handed her a plate of spaghetti. "Let's eat. I'm starving and Jack said we could eat without him."
"Good 'cause I'm starving too." She grinned.
Jack walked in a few minutes later. "Sorry I'm late Ladies." He sat down and started eating.
"Is everything okay?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah. The investigation seems to be going well." He began.
"What does that mean?" Ariadne interrupted.
"Just that I guess. He didn't give any clues at all about how long he thought it would take. You would think it wouldn't take long, but they need more information or something." He shrugged.
Ariadne could tell it bothered him. "I'm sorry." She offered.
"It's alright." He smiled.
"So why am I here other than to eat?" She grinned at Ellie.
"We have to plan the memorial service. It's just going to be the three of us." Jack seemed distracted.
"Does he really want to be cremated or did you make that up?" She wouldn't have been surprised either way.
"I could never have made that up. I was reading the will and I started laughing. Ellie accused me of being insensitive." He chuckled.
"It was insensitive Jack. Who laughs when they read a will? Really." Ellie fussed at him.
"I do. Even if he were really gone I would probably have still laughed when I read it." He shrugged.
"So he'll be alright?" Ariadne asked.
"He's fine. They've already moved him. I just hope Victor is convinced. With Dad gone, Victor is president and is now being investigated. The FBI has already grilled me and maybe they're convinced that I knew nothing." He sighed. He was stressed. They all were.
"Arthur, Darling, I have solved our problems." Eames announced as he walked into Dom's kitchen.
"Question. No. Two." Arthur eyed him cautiously. "One – I wasn't aware that we had any problems – So what are our problems? Two – How on earth could you solve anything?"
"Arthur that hurts." He pouted.
Dom rolled his eyes. The two of them were worse than his children.
"Where are Daphne and Ariadne?" Eames glanced around, but didn't see either.
"Daphne is next door with Phillipa and James. Ariadne is planning a memorial service." Arthur's tone was blunt.
"Well be snippy if you so desire." Eames folded his arms and leaned against the counter.
"Will the two of you shut up?" Dom scolded both of them before Arthur could respond. "What is this grand scheme of yours Eames? And what are our problems, or should I say your problems?"
"I don't have any problems." He replied smartly. "Arthur is the one that…" He started to say 'has trouble getting laid', but remembered that Daphne made him swear to never imply that they were sleeping together.
"What about me Eames?" Arthur glared.
"Nothing." Eames grinned. "So the solution is another job."
"You agreed to another job? Without our knowledge or approval?" Dom asked.
"You don't have to be in on it if you're going to be pissy about it." Eames sounded bored.
"What's the job?" Arthur asked.
"It's for the FBI" Eames grinned.
"Are you serious? I thought they wanted you dead or alive." Dom smirked.
"Very funny. They're willing to forget about that if we help them." Eames explained.
"We? Oh this just gets better and better." Arthur mumbled. "And what exactly do we get out of this?"
"You mean besides my undying love and devotion?" Eames asked and then stopped to think. "That's it."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "So let's pretend I might actually go along with this stupid scheme of yours. Who's the mark?"
"Arthur, Darling I love it when you go along and don't ignore me." He batted his eyes.
"Will you just get on with it?" Arthur's patience was running thin.
Eames sighed dramatically. "You suck the fun out of everything. It's Victor Mendez. He was the vice president and now the acting president of Patrick Walters' company." He smiled, very pleased with himself. "Arthur this may just get you back in Ariadne's good graces if you can clear the old man's good name."
"So that's my problem?" Arthur asked.
"Mmhmm." Eames grinned very pleased with himself.
"You're implying that I'm not in Ariadne's good graces." Arthur crossed his arms.
"I'm not saying that at all." Eames shook his head.
"I…" Arthur just shook his head knowing it was useless to argue and then it hit him. "You think my problem is that I can't get laid." He glared.
Eames was surprised that Arthur caught on so fast.
"And you're sleeping with my sister!" Red crept up his face.
"Now, now. Arthur." Eames backed away slowly. "I never said I was sleeping with Daphne."
"I'm going to kill you." Arthur growled.
"Don't do anything rash Arthur." Eames continued to back up. "You don't want Daphne mad at you."
"She'll eventually forgive me." He rushed at Eames who turned and ran out the door.
Dom shook his head. "Why me?"
"What is that all about?" Ariadne gestured to the front door.
"Arthur thinks Eames and Daphne are sleeping together. He says he's going to kill him. Maybe they'll slug it out and get it over with."
"Maybe. Why does Arthur even think that?" She knew it was true, but Daphne had sworn her to secrecy.
"I'm not even sure. Eames said something about another job and it solving Arthur's problems." He sighed. It made his head hurt.
"Oh dear." Ariadne shook her head.
Dom and Ariadne both looked at each other when they heard Daphne yelling. "ARTHUR! NICK!" The door opened a few seconds later with Daphne stomping in, pulling Arthur and Eames by the ear.
"Darling please let go of my ear. It hurts." Eames pleaded.
"Eames shut up!" Arthur barked. "Ouch Daphne! Quit!" He frowned at her.
"Both of you shut up. Please." She let go of their ears and gave them both a shove as she sat down at the table.
They glared at each other. She had stopped them before Arthur caught up to Eames.
"And not a word to me." Her voice was shaky as she rubbed her face with her hands.
"Are you alright?" Ariadne asked quietly.
"I think I'm going to throw up." She stood up and walked outside.
Ariadne glared at Arthur and Eames before following Daphne out.
"Well maybe this job will get both of you back in both of their good graces." Dom was enjoying how Eames so-called brilliant idea backfired so miserably. "But I wouldn't hold my breath." He chuckled.
Let me know what you thought. And I hope you will forgive me for waiting so long to update. Sorry. :(
Also if you have any suggestions let me know about those too.
Thanks!