I was going to post this over the weekend as a happy birthday to me, but I ended up adding to it and I like it better now…
I realized that I haven't thanked you for reviewing. Sorry! You all are the best to put up with me and review! So thanks! And thanks for the messages and ideas! Also thanks if you have subscribed to alerts and/or favorited this story!
I don't own Inception, or the characters, or a PASIV.
"Uncle Arthur? Are you and Uncle Nick having a staring contest?" Phillipa asked.
"Yes they are." Dom answered. "They can't talk because they are concentrating. Neither wants to lose." He tried not to laugh.
"Let's join them James!" She grinned running to the other end of the table.
"Okay!" James agreed crawling into the closest empty chair. "Hey Phillipa!" He crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue.
She laughed and did the same.
Dom leaned over the table so the children couldn't hear him. "Just remember you did this to yourselves, and don't yell at my children."
"Ugh, I've been nauseated all day." Daphne sat on the porch steps and leaned her head against the railing. "I wish I could puke." She wondered if sticking her finger down her throat would help.
"I'm sorry. Do you know why?" Ariadne wondered if she was pregnant.
"I think it's just nerves. I've been to the doctor since we've been in L.A." She folded her hands in her lap.
"Which doctor?" Ariadne was curious, and worried.
"The doctor who treated me after I came out of limbo. I went and saw him the other day. He says I'm doing well for everything I went through. He doesn't know the truth though. I asked him if I could lose my memory again, and he said I could if I ever experienced any kind of severe trauma again. He gave me anxiety meds and told me to stay calm. Those two twits do not make it easy." She gestured to the house.
Ariadne giggled. "Daphne? Are you pregnant?"
"Yeah. I think am." She giggled. "Don't tell Arthur. He'll kill Nick for sure!"
"I'd try to stop him, but I doubt I could make a difference." She had seen Arthur running after Eames and knew she wouldn't be able to stop him.
"I know you would." She agreed. "When Arthur sees red you just have to let him cool off. Sometimes it takes a while."
"How's it going?" Ariadne leaned over Arthur's shoulder and kissed his cheek.
"Better now." He smiled.
"I meant the research, but I'm glad you are better." She smirked.
"It's going well." He and Eames had decided to not let her go in with them. She created the maze, but they didn't want to risk the mark recognizing her. "Are you sure you it's okay that you aren't going in with us?" He pulled her into his lap.
She rested her head on his shoulder. "Yes, and whether you get everything you need or not, thanks for trying." She kissed his forehead. She knew how much pressure he was putting on himself. "And I'll still love you know matter what."
"I love you too." He kissed her softly. Kissing her made him feel giddy inside. He wondered if she felt the same way.
She giggled against his lips, and tangled her fingers in his hair. She couldn't imagine anywhere else she'd rather be.
"Tsk, tsk. No public displays of affection in the workplace." Eames waltzed into the room.
"I'm not working Mr. Eames." Ariadne chuckled.
"I'll remember that the next time you steal a kiss from my sister Eames." Arthur took the chance to jab the forger.
Eames grinned. "Valid point Arthur."
"Is Dom here yet?" Arthur changed the subject.
"He was dropping the kids off." He paused as if trying to remember something. "Oh Ari, Daphne is waiting for you in the car."
"Thanks Nick." She reluctantly hopped out of Arthur's lap. "You two play nice." She winked, and walked outside to the car.
"Hey." Daphne smiled.
"Hey. So?" Ariadne asked.
"Positive." She giggled.
"Oh my gosh!" Ariadne giggled too. "Now what?"
"Now we get coffee. It's the strongest thing I'll be able to have for the next seven months." The reality was slowly sinking in.
"How did you find out? Doctor?"
"Oh, no. I got a kit from the pharmacy. It's so much easier." She grinned.
"You've done this before?" Somehow it wasn't surprising.
"Remember how I said Arthur could do no wrong? Yeah, I wasn't the best teenager. Someone had to be a devil." She chuckled. "I caused my parents a lot of grief, and I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is." She cleared her throat. "What about you? Perfect child or hellion?"
"I don't know about perfect, but definitely not hellion." She shook her head. "I guess Arthur and I have a lot in common."
"That you do." Daphne commented as she pulled into the café parking lot.
"So are you going to tell them?" Ariadne asked as they walked inside.
"In my own time. In my own way." Daphne was being cryptic.
They ordered their drinks and sat at a corner table.
"Well since you've shared I suppose I should too." Ariadne said guiltily.
"Go for it. Your secret's safe with me." She wondered what secrets Ariadne was keeping.
"He's not really dead." Ariadne whispered.
"What? Who's not dead?" Daphne was shocked.
"Pop. He's alive." She blinked back tears.
Arthur woke up shortly before Eames. He glanced at their mark, Victor Mendez. "Still sleeping. Good." He thought. He nodded at Dom who had decided to sit out and keep an eye on things. He wasn't ready to go back in yet.
Eames woke up. "Well that was a wild ride." He muttered as he helped Arthur pack up the PASIV.
"Let's just get out of here before he wakes up." Arthur picked up the briefcase and walked out of the hotel room.
"So what happened in there? Did you get what we need?" Dom asked once they were in the car.
"Yep." Eames winked at Arthur. "Everything the FBI needs to prosecute him."
"The mark said that Patrick Walters is still alive." Arthur sighed.
"What?" Dom looked at him, and then had to swerve to get the car back on the road.
"Pay attention!" Eames shouted from the backseat.
"Sorry!" Dom glared at him in the rearview mirror. "I thought Ariadne said he was dead?"
"She did." Arthur looked concerned. "So either she doesn't know, or she lied to us. He said something about Walters being in witness protection."
"So if Ariadne knew she couldn't tell us." Eames interrupted.
"Ari, I'm so sorry." Daphne said sadly. "At least he's still alive, but I know it must be hard."
"It's horrible. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I couldn't keep it inside anymore." She bit her lip to stop her tears. "I'm sorry I lied to you."
"No. Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. I understand, and I know that Nick and Arthur will understand as well. Don't feel bad Hon." She pulled some tissues out of her purse and handed them to Ariadne.
"Hey Arthur. Did you get what you needed?" Daphne asked as she and Ariadne walked into Dom's house.
"Yeah we did. Nick is taking it to the FBI now." He smiled.
"You called him Nick." Daphne grinned.
"Slip of the tongue." Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Aw! He's back in your good graces again." She hugged him. "I knew you two could love each other again." She giggled.
"You're hilarious Daphne." He rolled his eyes at her.
"Hey Arthur." Ariadne hugged him.
"Hey Ari." He couldn't help but smile every time he saw her. "Um, I need to ask you about something." He sat down on the couch.
"Is everything okay?" She sat down beside him.
"It's just something that the mark said when he was under. He asked us if we knew that Patrick Walters was still alive. "
"Oh gosh. Arthur I…" She started crying.
"It's okay. He said Walters was in witness protection so it all made sense to me. Are you alright?" He slipped his arm around her.
"I don't know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you Arthur. I feel horrible." She cried into her hands.
"You couldn't tell me. I understand Sweetheart." He lifted her face so he could see her eyes. "It's alright. I promise." He kissed her cheek.
"Told ya." Daphne winked and tossed her a box of tissues that was sitting on the table.
"'Ello Love." Eames grinned when he saw Daphne sitting on the porch.
"Hey Nick, where have you been?" She smiled back even though she was tired and nauseated.
"Visiting with the FBI. I'm glad you're here. Where are Arthur and Daphne?" He sat down beside her.
"Inside. I just heard a thud so I think one of them fell off the couch." She giggled.
"That's more than I needed to know." He rolled his eyes. "A simple 'inside' would have been fine."
"Oh come on." She poked his arm. "You're just jealous that it's not you and me on the couch." She kissed his stubbly cheek. "And that needs to go." She patted his cheek.
"Mm. I'll think about it." He pulled her into his lap, trailing kisses down her neck. "I love you." He murmured.
"I love you too." She giggled. The nausea wasn't as bad when she was with him.
"So we are supposed to have dinner with Arthur and Ariadne tonight at some fancy restaurant…" He began, but stopped and looked at her as she slid out of his lap. "What?"
"Mood killer." She glared at him. He really could be very dense sometimes.
Ariadne hurried into the restaurant. She hated being late, and didn't mean to stay so long at Jack and Ellie's. She glanced around the room and waved to Daphne. The hostess seemed to finally believe her, and let her go in. Ariadne sat down at the table and noticed that Arthur and Eames were glaring at each other. She looked at Daphne. "Uh! You told them without me?" She wanted to see the full reaction.
"Tell us what?" Arthur glanced at her.
"Not yet." Daphne hissed through her teeth.
"Oh. Oops." Ariadne cringed and picked up the menu.
"Tell us what Daphne?" Arthur asked again.
"Nothing Arthur. I don't want to talk about it right now. Leave it alone until after dinner." She said quietly. "That goes for you too Nick." She added without looking up.
Eames looked at Ariadne bewildered.
Ariadne stifled a giggle. She wasn't sure she could keep her laughter in through dinner.
Arthur glanced at his watch. He had been done eating for ten minutes. Daphne was still enjoying her dessert. "Daphne." He tried to sound calm.
"Arthur." She scraped the rest of the chocolate off of her plate with her fork.
Ariadne poked him.
He rolled his eyes.
"I told you I would tell you after dinner." She said simply.
"And it's after dinner." He was growing impatient.
"Yes it is." She set her fork down on the table. "Actually it concerns Nick more than it concerns you, but since you have to be in everyone's business all of the time I'll tell you as well." She looked up at them.
Ariadne giggled. "Arthur. She's right you know."
He rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, I'm pregnant." She looked first at Arthur, and then at Eames trying to gauge their reactions.
"You're what?" Eames sputtered.
Arthur didn't say anything and his face did not get red like Daphne expected it to. Then, he smiled. "Very funny Daphne. I'm not falling for another one of your stupid April Fool's jokes."
"You're joking?" Eames still looked stunned.
"Arthur, why would I joke about that?" She asked ignoring Eames' reaction.
"You've always had the worst jokes. I've fallen for enough of them." He crossed his arms.
"It's not even April first. It can't be an April Fool's joke." Eames was annoyed that no one was actually listening to him.
"It doesn't have to be April first. It can be April, January, September, or the middle of July. It doesn't matter to her. She's always been like this. It's very annoying." Arthur grumbled.
"Well I'm annoyed." Eames glared at Arthur.
"Don't be annoyed with me." Daphne pouted, not wanting them to be mad at her.
"I'm not annoyed with you Love." Eames smiled at her. "So are you joking or not?"
"She's joking." Arthur answered for her.
"Suit yourself Arthur." She winked and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Arthur was irritated at her attitude.
"Back to the hotel. I'm tired." She was put out with him. She didn't think he would doubt her and she had been certain that Eames would believe her. She was a little hurt.
"I'll go with you." Ariadne offered.
"Thanks Ariadne. Goodnight Boys." She walked out of the restaurant.
Ariadne crawled in bed and switched off the light. Daphne had gone to bed as soon as they got back. She hadn't expected for Arthur to be so cynical over Daphne's news. "Are you awake?" She asked Daphne.
"Yeah." She pushed the covers off her face and looked at Ariadne. She had been crying.
"I'm sorry." Ariadne didn't know what else to say.
"I underestimated Arthur. Nick's reaction I expected, but Arthur's was a total surprise to me. I've always been good about being able to read him. I don't know what's changed, but I don't like it. I almost feel like I don't even know him anymore. I don't like being pregnant. It's making me emotional." She squeezed the bridge of her nose to keep from crying.
"Have you been pregnant before?" Ariadne almost felt like she was being too nosy.
"Not that I know of. I thought I was once. Or twice…" She grinned. "Why?"
"Just wondering." Ariadne shrugged.
"Ya know." She sat up and turned towards Ariadne. "Part of what's changed Arthur is you I think."
"How have I changed him?" She didn't realize he had changed. Maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought.
"I can't put my finger on it exactly. He's not as uptight, and he's definitely not the prude he used to be." She chuckled.
Ariadne felt her cheeks burn.
"He needed to take a chill pill years ago, so I'm glad he met you. You've mellowed him out somehow." She was glad Arthur was with Ariadne. She was good for him.
"I don't know what I did, but I'm glad I met him too." She smiled.
There was a knock on the door.
"If that is Arthur or Nick, I am asleep." She stifled her giggle, and then grumbled, "Stupid emotions."
Ariadne nodded as she got up to see who was at the door. She looked through the peephole and saw Arthur and Eames standing in the hall. "Why didn't you go to your room?"
"I thought Nick had his key so I left mine in the room. He thought I had mine." Arthur looked particularly annoyed. He knew he should have known better.
"Is the door to our room still open?" Eames asked.
"I think so. Just be quiet 'cause Daphne is sleeping." She lied.
"When did she go to bed?" Arthur suddenly seemed more concerned and less annoyed.
"Right after we got back. She said she wasn't feeling well." She sighed.
"And I didn't help." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Was she serious? Is she really pregnant?"
"You'll have to ask her." She kissed his cheek. "Night." She smiled at them.
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