Title: Every Light Will Find Its Way
Fandom: Inception
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,542
Warnings: General situational spoilers for the film, and lots of fluff!
Pairing: Ariadne/Cobb, mentioned and implied Arthur/Eames.
Summary: A Christmas-themed Ariadne/Cobb fic, with appearances by Phillipa, James, and a couple of surprise guests, as well as mentions of the rest of the Dream Team.
Disclaimer: Inception and its characters are the property of the incomparable Christopher Nolan. The original lyrics in the song "Jeanette, Isabella" are the property of Tori Amos.
Author's Note: Inspired by the song "Jeanette, Isabella" by Tori Amos (which in turn was inspired by the traditional French carol "Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle"). Special thanks to Cymru na Alethaira and my crazy friend Mitch for betaing this for me!
It was Christmas Eve, and the Cobb children were far too riled up to sleep.
Dominic Cobb was no stranger to the struggle all parents face in getting their children to go to bed the night before Christmas, but there was something different about this year. It was barely 10pm, and he'd already had to shoo James and Phillipa back to their rooms three times, in between trying to set to rights the disarray his house was in. It was rather impressive, really. There was a mountain of dishes in the sink, sofa cushions, blankets, and toys all over the living room floor, the cordless phone and the TV remote were both MIA, and the guest bathroom door was off its hinges. Dom made a mental note never to let Arthur and Eames babysit again. At least the Christmas tree seemed to have gone unmolested.
Dom was elbow-deep in lukewarm water, trying to make a dent in the pile of dirty dishes, when he heard the unmistakable pitter-patter of little feet making their way down the stairs and through the living room. He didn't turn away from his post at the kitchen sink, but knew that if he were to turn around, he'd be greeted with the sight of two sets of blue eyes, gazing at him expectantly. Not for the first time in the last few hours, he wished his wife was there, but his wife was the very reason the house was in its current state. Dom sighed, withdrew his hands from the water, grabbed a white dish towel, wiped his hands with it, and then waved it over his head with a quiet "I give up" to the universe at large.
Dom pivoted around to face Phillipa and James, and squinted at them silently. James was in his Harry Potter footie pajamas, while Phillipa was wearing a too-large Led Zeppelin T-shirt he recognized as Arthur's, and dear God, were those Eames's shorts? Dom raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, but changed his mind and ran it through his already-disheveled sandy blond hair instead, emphatically underlining his previous mental note concerning Arthur and Eames's competency as babysitters. He loved his point-man and forger dearly, and Lord knew they could always be counted upon in a tight spot, but he was worried about the effect they might be having on his eight-year-old daughter when his back was turned. Case in point: she was currently squinting right back at him with an air of challenge. James's style was more his mother's: he was currently giving Dom the "sad puppy" face.
Dom finally sighed and nodded to himself. "Okay kids, go get your coats." Phillipa and James both lit up like the Christmas tree in the living room and darted off. "And put some shoes on!" he called after them as they disappeared up the stairs. In the time it took Dom to make a brief call on the newly-found cordless phone, both children were back, with coats. Dom noted that in addition to Arthur's shirt and Eames's shorts, Phillipa was now shod in a pair of black ballet slippers, which had been an early Christmas gift from Saito. He exhaled and shook his head before jangling the car keys in one hand and leading the way to the door, belatedly realizing that he himself was dressed only in a white T-shirt, a pair of blue sweatpants, and bedroom slippers. He briefly considered taking the time to change clothes, or to at least put on some real shoes, but a very real fear that his children might start climbing the walls if they were contained in the house for any longer quashed that notion, and he settled for grabbing his well-worn leather jacket on the way out the door.
The night-shift nurses at this particular hospital had seen some strange things in their day, so a pajama-clad family of three (at least, the father and son seemed to be in their pajamas; the daughter's state of dress was more questionable) was hardly anything to raise an eyebrow at. Only one relatively new addition to the staff stood slack-jawed as the Cobbs made their way down the hall, until a senior member of the staff elbowed her hard in the ribs. "You'll see odder sights than that if you intend to stay here. Best get used to it."
Truthfully, Dominic Cobb had barely noticed the nurse's gawking at his and his kids' unusual state of dress, because he had much bigger things on his mind. Specifically, the woman he and the children were here at the hospital to see. As they reached the door to her room, Dom pulled on his kids' hands so that they were in front of him, facing him. Thankfully they had both settled down considerably on the car ride to the hospital. Crouching down to be closer to their level, he spoke. "Alright guys, you remember what we talked about?"
"Yes, Daddy," they chorused solemnly.
Dom smiled and ruffled their blond heads, then stood straight up again. "Okay then. Hang on just one second." Dom knocked softly on the door, then cautiously opened it a crack and peeked inside. Seeming satisfied with what he saw, he opened the door wider and ushered James and Phillipa inside.
The overhead lights were off, but a soft glow emanated from the white and multi-colored Christmas lights strung up around the room. At least three extra-long strands of them wound their way around the room, affixed high on the walls, and a double-row of pink and green lights outlined the room's single tall window, the blinds of which were presently shut against the night outside. The effect produced was a warm, homey glow in the otherwise sterile atmosphere of the hospital. And bathed in that glow was Ariadne, sitting up in the hospital bed with a small bundle in her arms.
"ARI!" Dom had expected that Phillipa would be the one to break rank and launch herself at her petite stepmother, and was taken slightly aback when James was the one to execute a leap toward the hospital bed that would have made his sister's ballet teacher proud. Luckily for all involved, and in spite of the tiring few days she'd had, Ariadne's reflexes were still very much intact.
"Whoa there, James!" Ariadne quickly shifted the bundle she was holding to one arm, and slowed the six-year-old boy's momentum with the other, pulling him into a hug. Phillipa made her way forward more sedately, after receiving an encouraging squeeze to the shoulder from Dom. "Hi there, Peanut," Ariadne called to her, smiling. Both children strained to see what was in Ariadne's arms, and she obligingly shifted the bundle again so that both of them could see. "Guys, meet Andrew."
Dom stood back a few feet from the bed and watched as his two oldest children met his youngest one for the first time. As the two blond heads crowded forward, he felt his own tense muscles relax, and the stress and chaos of the day abate. In the warm, soft glow of the Christmas lights, the scene before him looked like something out of a church pageant or a picture book, and as his wife looked up and smiled at him over the heads of their children – all of them – he felt like his heart might burst with love.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Dom joined Phillipa and James by Ariadne's bedside and rested his hands on their shoulders. "Look guys, he's awake." Andrew Cobb was indeed awake and studying his parents and siblings as intently as they were studying him. He had Ariadne's brown eyes and was going to have her delicate, fine-boned features as well, but blond hair dusted his head. He wriggled in Ariadne's arms and clutched tightly to one of her fingers.
"Can I hold him?" asked Phillipa.
"You sure can, Peanut." Dom directed Phillipa to the large chair next to the bed as he lifted Andrew out of Ariadne's arms, taking the opportunity to plant a swift kiss on her forehead as he did so. "Remember to support his head." Dom carefully laid Andrew in Phillipa's arms, and stepped back only after ascertaining that the baby's head was securely nestled in the crook of his sister's arm.
"He's heavy!" Phillipa remarked.
Ariadne made a noise that was half laugh, half groan, rolling her eyes heavenward. Dom laughed, but the humor went over Phillipa and James's heads. Dom settled himself on the edge of Ariadne's bed, took one of her hands, and squeezed it. Ariadne squeezed back and twined her fingers through his.
"He's cute, too," Phillipa concluded after studying her new brother more closely for several minutes. "He looks like Ari, but with yellow hair. And he's a boy, of course."
James had crawled up onto the chair next to Phillipa, and was looking down at Andrew over Phillipa's shoulder as she held him. "Can I hold him now?"
Phillipa made a face, and for a moment, Dom and Ariadne thought she might refuse, and then they might have a row on their hands. But she only said, "Yeah. My arm kinda hurts."
Dom stood and took Andrew from Phillipa's arms. The two older children took the opportunity to re-situate themselves in the oversized chair, but Phillipa made no move to get up, seemingly content to share the space with James. Dom quickly propped up one of James's arms with an extra pillow, then laid the baby in his arms, coaching him on how to hold him, using the pillow for extra support for the baby's head. "He is heavy," James affirmed.
Dom took up his post on the edge of Ariadne's bed again, rejoining their hands. Several minutes passed in peaceful silence, as the adults watched the two older children watching the baby, all lit up in the multi-colored glow of the Christmas lights. Dom reflected that he would not have traded the madness of the last few days – Ariadne going into labor three weeks earlier than expected, frantic phone calls to locate someone who could watch James and Phillipa while Dom went to the hospital with her, the subsequent chaos their house had been reduced to when Arthur and Eames had proven to be the only sitters available, not to mention the anxiety of the labor and delivery itself – for anything, because it had all led to this moment. He knew that spending Christmas Eve with his wife and children in a hospital room lit up with bursts of color would be one of the defining memories of his life, and one to be savored, not regretted. The gravity of it settled onto him like a mantle, and he found himself holding on to Ariadne's hand more tightly, as if to hang onto the moment itself for as long as possible.
Ariadne drummed her fingers on the back of his hand, and Dom turned to her, to see her big brown eyes shining at him. And he knew that she understood, in the same way that she always seemed to understand him. Dom leaned in and kissed her softly, and felt her bring her other hand up to the back of his neck, keeping his lips against hers.
A soft knock sounded on the door. Ariadne pulled back from Dom and called for whoever it was to come in, and a short young woman with dark skin and curly black hair poked her head into the room.
"Sorry to interrupt folks, but I'm about to go home for the night and wanted to see if there was anything else you needed."
Dom and Ariadne exchanged a glance, smiled and seemed to wordlessly come to a decision. "Some extra pillows and blankets would be great, Maryam," said Dom.
Maryam glanced at the three Cobb children in the oversized chair next to Ariadne's bed, and particularly at the way Phillipa and James's heads were beginning to nod, before turning back to Dom and grinning. "I can do you one better than that. Give me five minutes!"
Ariadne grinned as the door closed. "Yusuf's cousin is such a doll."
Dom hummed in agreement before lazily sliding off the bed and gathering Andrew up from James's arms before the little boy truly fell asleep. He walked a few laps around the room with Andrew in his arms, humming snatches of a carol he'd heard on the radio during the drive over, and then Maryam was back, lugging an air mattress and several thick blankets and pillows.
"Are we having a sleepover?" Phillipa asked sleepily.
"We sure are, Peanut," answered Dom, before continuing with a dry note in his voice. "This way Santa won't have to worry about catching you guys asleep. And I also won't have to explain to him why the fireplace has sand in it." Ariadne quirked an eyebrow at Dom as he deposited Andrew back into her arms, but he only mouthed "later" at her before turning to help Maryam make a nest on the floor for James and Phillipa.
When both children were satisfactorily snuggled up under several blankets on the full-sized air mattress, Maryam bade the family goodnight and shut the door. Deep, even breathing soon indicated that both children were fast asleep. Andrew was rapidly falling asleep as well, and Ariadne carefully laid him in the hospital-issue bassinet on the other side of the bed. Maryam had thoughtfully brought an extra blanket for Ariadne's bed as well, and Dom crawled in beside her and drew it over them both. Ariadne lay on her back, and Dom lay on his side, with his head nestled against her neck and an arm slung over her, mindful to keep clear of sore muscles. Ariadne idly ran a hand through his hair. "Spill."
"The house is still standing and nothing is permanently broken."
Ariadne giggled. "Well, that's what counts, I guess. And knowing Arthur, he'll be by tomorrow to help clean up, yes?"
"Mmm." Dom gently trailed a hand up her side. "Where'd the lights come from, by the way?"
"My parents and sister came by earlier." There was a short pause, as they listened to the children breathe. Andrew snuffled slightly in his bassinet. "I'm glad he happened to be awake when you called," she continued softly.
"Me too," Dom replied. "I don't know what I'd have done with those two if you guys had gone to sleep already."
"Put them under?"
"…I was thinking lure them into their rooms and then duct-tape their doors shut, but now that you mention it-"
Ariadne smacked him in the head. "Forget I said anything."
Dom kissed her neck. "An idea, once planted, is almost impossible to eradicate, my love."
Ariadne laughed and tangled her fingers in Dom's hair. They both shifted slightly, getting into more comfortable positions. Somewhere outside their door, a clock struck midnight.
"Merry Christmas, Dom," Ariadne murmured sleepily. "I love you."
"I love you, Ari. Merry Christmas." The lights seemed to blur together into a beautiful haze as Dom's eyes slowly closed, and his last conscious thought before falling asleep was of some of the lyrics of the song he'd been humming. "Hush, hush, the lights they will guide you…hush-a-bye, fast asleep…"