Authors Note:

Thank you for the reviews!

100+ I am so grateful!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 7

Dark clouds with rain filled the area. Ariadne was sitting in the living room of the beach house Dom had built for them. It had become evening and the weather outside was no longer sunny and warm.

A tropical storm had hit their area of land and Ariadne was extremely baffled as to why. She had not changed the weather and she was exceedingly positive that Cobb hadn't either. 'Dom' her mind repeated. She was worried about him.

A few hours ago he said that he was leaving to walk around the piece of land. He said that maybe he could find a trail or a clue to where Saito could be. But that was when the weather was warm and bright. Now, the rain drops poured down like gun bullets. She could understand their size from the way they hit the window.

She was sitting on a white love seat, it was modern and comfortable. Just like she liked her furniture to be. And there was a coffee table in front of her, her hands holding a cup of hot chocolate. "Where could he be?" She asked lowly, to no one but herself.

She sighed, her fingers tapping the edge of the mug impatiently. He could be hurt. Or captured. Or lost. Why did she let him go? She groaned, placing the mug onto the coffee table in front of her, before standing up and walking towards the door way.

She opened the door and walked out. Her body protected by the porch roof above her. She rubbed her hands across her arms, trying to warm herself up. How in hell had the weather changed so drastically? And where in hell was Dom?

She took a deep breath in and decided that she had to go and look for him. She wasn't just going to wait there all night. Two minutes and she would leave. Two minutes. "Oh fuck the two minutes" she muttered loudly. She quickly imagined herself a pair of running shoes and placed them on her bare feet, before running out into the storm.

xxx

(Real Time: Present: Aircraft)

Another five minutes passed by. "Another five minutes", Arthur sighed loudly, making Fischer turn around to look at him.

"Could you please keep it down?" He asked in a firm tone.

Arthur nodded slowly and then rolled his eyes when Fischer was no longer watching him.

He turned to Eames for a moment, who was trying to hold back his laughter. After all, he wasn't supposed to know Arthur and so he couldn't tease him endlessly. Oh, but how he wanted to.

Arthur held up five fingers to Eames, making him realize that Cobb and Ariadne have been in Limbo for about five years. And then he dropped all his fingers except for his middle one and gave him a small smirk.

Eames rolled his eyes. Oh Arthur, once they got off the plane, he would make him sorry for that.

(Limbo Time: Flash forward 5 years: Cobb's Land)

Dom walked into the beach house, a fresh bouquet of blue roses in his hands. Ariadne had told him years ago that those were her favorites. The blue rose was a symbol of 'attaining the impossible' and he loved that. He often thought of her as a blue rose, the rarity of such a kind heart was unbelievable. But yet, she had been attainable.

He whisled the tune of the Bealtes song 'Don't let me down' which had grown fast to become their song. He was finally happy and he knew that nothing could ever bring him down when he was with Ariadne.

He made his way up the wooden stairs quickly. He couldn't wait to celebrate her birthday. She was turning twenty six. A small number compared to his forty. But age didn't matter. No one did ever judge them.

He made his way to the door, smiled and opened it while saying "Happy birthday, baby." And what he saw surprised him.

She was dressed in a red slip, her hair tied up in a loose bun. He smiled at her, she looked incredible. But there was something off about her expression. As if she was terrified. He put the roses down, dropping them on a table to his left before walking up to her.

"Baby, whats the matter?" He asked, placing a small kiss on her lips.

"Dom-" she started, breathing heavily and then continuing in a meek tone "Don't take another step."

Cobb watched her with wide eyes. She was perfectly fine hours ago. What the hell had just happened? But he ignored her wishes and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her wildly before whispering "Happy birthday, Ari."

"Yes. Happy Birthday." A soft but very strong voice said from behind them.

Cobb turned around slowly, his heart beating out of his chest as he asked "Mal?"

"I've missed you, Dom" she whispered, playing with a knife in her hand.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Cobb asked. He was honestly shocked. He hadn't thought of Mal in years. Why was she here? Unless- he turned to Ariadne, who was holding herself against the wall, tears on her eyelids.

"She brought me here." Mal smiled slyly. Walking towards him, the knife sliding up and down her hand.

"I didn't want to." Ariadne spat out nervously. She was getting to close to him. There had to be a way to make her leave, right?

"But I'm here." Mal's voice was strong as she continued, placing a soft hand on Dom's shoulder "And your right." She was looking over at Ariadne, her hand sliding up to Cobb's cheek.

He pushed himself away from her and asked baffled "You're right about what, Ari?"

Ariadne crossed her arms across her chest and looked down, not answering the question.

"You're just a silly little girl." Mal broke the silence with harsh words and continuing "You are not even brave enough to tell him, are you?"

"Tell me what?" Cobb looked straight at Ariadne, who was closing her eyes, trying to hold back tears.

"You are just a replacement." Mal's voice was cold.

Dom shook his head at the statement and asked Ariadne "Is that what you think?" Ariadne opened her eyes, looking at Cobb for a moment before he asked "Is that why she's here?"

Ariadne took a deep breath in and reached out for his hand, while whispering "I'm sorry."

Mal snickered, raising the knife slowly while saying "Well, Dom. I think we both know what we must do."

Cobb looked back at his shade of a wife and pulled out a knife of his own, from thin air, while whispering bitterly "Yes, I agree." He lifted his knife towards Ariadne who screamed, but didn't move. She deserved this. She-

Dom turned around to his wife and stabbed her in the stomach before she even had a chance to react. Mal's body fell to the ground, her eyes slowly closing. And moments later, her body faded away.

He dropped the knife out of his hand and walked up to Ariadne who was shocked from the scene before her. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, as she cried into his shoulder "How could you ever think that?"

She pushed herself away from him for a moment and replied, finally being honest "I need to die, Dom."

"What?" His voice was weak. Why did she want to leave him? "Baby, you can't do that."

"Yes, I do! We have been here for five years, Dom!" She was shouting now, not angry at him but at herself. "Five years and we haven't found Saito yet!"

Cobb's eyebrows rose. Saito? Why was that name familiar? "But why do you have to leave? Can't we find... him, together?" He took a second... who the hell was Saito?

"Dom, every time we try to find him, there is always something that happens that makes it impossible to leave." She took a deep breath calming herself down before continuing "First I got wounded by that creep, and then you got hurt in that storm. Then there was the time where we forgot ourselves. Forgot our reality. And then we tried to have a baby but I had a miscarriage!"

"Sweetheart, do you want to try again?" Dom asked, he was extremely confused. If she wanted to try again, they would.

"Dom." She spoke his name breathless and then said in a louder tone "Please, wake up." She took his hands in hers, rubbing the scar that he had across his left knuckles. "You have to realize that this is is not real."

He nodded his head at her, trying to understand. She kissed him passionately and continued "The only thing that is real here is how much I care about you."

He kissed her softly, suddenly realizing that he was not in the real world. He was in their world. But she was right. The only thing that was real between them, was how much they loved each other. "Your right." He whispered to her and kissed her neck slowly, his tongue sliding up to her earlobe.

"I would be lost without you." He murmured, wrapping his arms around her frame.

"Dom, I'm sorry that I had to bring Mal to show you." Ariadne spoke the words kindly, a small smile on her lips.

But he just nodded and pushed up the red slip that she wearing and cooed "I think you could make it up to me." And he pushed her onto the white bed, both their eyes filled with lust.

xxx

(Limbo Time: Present: Cobb's Land)

"Hot water." Ariadne repeated to herself while she opened the door to the beach house. It had been about an hour later and she had found Cobb passed out in the middle of the beach. Apparently something had hit his head and his hand, and he now had a blood wound across his knuckles.

He walked into the house, closed the door and collapsed on the couch. The cut didn't hurt too badly, it just looked horrible. He sighed trying to move his fingers on his wounded hand. He could, it hurt him a little but he wasn't in too in trouble as long as he didn't stretch. It was nothing compared to Ariadne's wounded stomach. And with that still, she managed to come and find him in the tropical storm.

He smiled at no one in particular and realized that no matter what, he would always be in good company with her. At first, he was skeptical about her joining him on his journey, but now he couldn't be more thankful that she had decided to join him.

"Okay, its running." Ariadne's voice came from the upstairs bathroom. He had asked her to start running him a hot bath. He needed to take one after being stuck in the rain for hours.

He got up off the love seat and walked towards the stairs, sighing loudly. It seemed like every other hour one of them got hurt. It was so ridiculous that it was slightly amusing.

"Ariadne?" He opened the bathroom door and found her testing the water with her wrist.

"It's almost done." She spoke the words softly, her eyes watching the running water.

"You need a bath too." He spoke the words, watching her close the faucet. She nodded, for the first time realizing that she was soaking wet too.

"You go first." She smiled at him and walked towards the exit when he grabbed her arm, holding it briefly.

"Thank you." He whispered, his voice soft but honest. She just stared at him for a moment and then left the room, a sweet smile playing on her lips.

She closed the door behind her, walking towards the kitchen deciding to actually cook this time around. She had some time and she wanted to spend it doing something real, for once.

xxx

In the bathroom, Dom had fully removed his shirt without the help of his left hand. He was quite proud at himself. His hand hadn't hurt too much either. That was a blessing. "Okay-" he murmured to himself, looking down at his pants. The zipper on his front.

He pulled down the zipper easily, holding his left hand in the air, away from the fabric. But then he looked down and realized that there was a button holding the pants together. He took a deep breath in and placed his left hand on his hip, trying to undo the button with the fingers on his right hand. But his knuckles stretched and he screamed at the pain.

xxx

Ariadne's eyes popped at the sudden scream. She ran up the stairs, while asking "Are you alright?" She walked up to the door and knocked on it, hearing Cobb mutter something like 'I'm fine.' But she didn't believe him. He had screamed too loud to be fine.

"Dom, I'm opening the door. Okay?" She waited a moment for him to answer.

"Okay." She heard his voice mutter in a small sigh. He sounded like a depressed five year old. She fought the urge to laugh as she opened the door. Cobb was sitting on the bath tub margin, his head down and without his shirt on. Well, she wasn't expecting that.

"Why did you scream?" She asked worriedly.

He bit down his bottom lip, stood up and contemplated asking her to help him. But he decided that he couldn't. It would just be too...odd. He answered her question lightly "I stretched my hand by accident and it pulled on the wound."

She sighed in relief and said "Oh. Well, are you going to be okay?"

Dom nodded once and she smiled and turned around to walk away again, when his voice stopped her "Wait." She turned to him, looking up into his eyes as he thought about how exactly he was going to phrase the question?

"Could you help me?" His turned his eyes away from hers, concentrating on anything but her face.

"Sure. With what?" She shrugged her shoulders, waiting for the conflict.

He took a deep breath, feeling like a child as he said softly "My pants."

Ariadne couldn't hear him. What was he so shy about? "I didn't hear that."

"Could you help me take off my pants?" He asked more loudly, his tenor strict.

She bit down on her bottom lip and tried to keep in her laughter. Wow. She let out a small laugh and nodded while saying slowly "What do you want me to do exactly?"

He looked down at himself, realizing that Ariadne was a mature adult. She wasn't embarrassed over something as silly as this, so why should he be? He replied honestly "I can't get the button open."

She walked up to him and looked down at him. Maybe she shouldn't be doing this, after all, he could just-

"Please." He spoke the word strongly. He had already contemplated taking a bath with his pants on but that would increase his chances of getting a cold.

She bent herself over, taking a look at the button. "Oh, I see it." She said, pointing to it.

Dom looked up, his eyes concentrating on anything but Ariadne's body. "Just open it."

She placed her hands on the brim of his black pants and looked at the button. She took a deep breath in. She didn't want to... touch... anything that she wasn't supposed to. She bit down on her bottom lip and held the side of his pants with one hand and the opening of the button with the other. She pulled but nothing was happening. "I think its stuck."

Dom rubbed his eyes with his hands and replied sarcastically "Great."

He sighed when she bent down onto her knees, in front of him, while saying "It will probably be easier this way." His eyebrows shot up at the suggestion. His dream replaying in the back of his mind as she reached out to the button again.

Ariadne grazed his empty flesh accidentally as she pulled on the button strap. She blushed and looked up at him for a moment, his eyes suddenly staring into hers. She inhaled and focused on the task, her palms suddenly sweating.

"Okay and one more pull." She whispered, Dom closed his eyes hoping that the moment was finally over. And the button finally opened, Ariadne sighing in relief. "Finally." they both muttered at the same time. She couldn't help but realize that the tension in the room was thick. Oh shit.

She quickly got up off her knees and stood up. Cobb cleared his throat and announced "Thank you." She nodded in return and left the bathroom, turning red as the door closed behind her. That was a... strange experience.

xxx

"Feel better?" Cobb asked, finishing up the plate of pasta that Ariadne had made for him. He was sitting on the couch, twisting the last noodle on his fork.

She smiled at him, a black bath robe tied tightly around her. She sat down on the couch beside him and replied "Yeah. There's just one thing that I need help with though."

She crossed her bare legs, while he asked "Yeah. What's that?"

She smirked at him, placing her wet hair up in a clip while she answered "Could you help me remove my pants?" She laughed at him and he chuckled.

"It's not that funny." He spoke the words roundly, trying to hold in his laughter.

"Au contraire, Dom. I find it extremely amusing." She smiled at him, leaning back on the love seat.

"Laughing at someones pain is not right, Ariadne." Cobb laughed.

But she shook her head at him and asked "Well then, why are you laughing?"

Cobb looked over at his newly bandaged hand and replied "Because I'm allowed to. I'm the one in pain."

"Ah-" she paused and looked down at his plate, deciding to change the subject "Did you like the pasta?"

"Yeah. It was great. Thank you." He replied, placing the plate on the coffee table in front of him.

"You know, I've noticed something." She spoke, tilting her head to the side. He looked at her, his blue eyes waiting for the end of her sentence. "You don't like to eat on tables, do you?"

He smiled for a moment and nodded, while replying "I haven't eaten at one in years."

"Why?" She asked bluntly, curious. How did she have this affect on him? He had never opened up to someone as quickly as he was doing to her.

"Because I've never had the company to do so." He placed an elbow on the edge of the sofa and placed his head onto it.

"Well-" she smirked, mimicking his movements "Tomorrow night, you will." She smiled at him for a moment and just stared at him. He was becoming a really good friend to her and she-

The gears in her head stopped running. His eyes were looking into hers with a power so unbelievable that she thought he was magnetic.

He inhaled and moved himself closer to her on the couch. She looked down at his wounded hand and asked in a small voice "Is it better?"

He just nodded and whispered "Thank you for coming after me."

She smiled sweetly at him, her words rolling off her tongue "Of course, Dom."

"No. Not of course." He spoke the word strongly and continued "Not everyone would have."

She couldn't stop staring into his eyes. They were an ocean blue that she didn't want to look away from. He smiled at her for a brief moment and then bent over slowly and kissed her cheek, before whispering "Thank you."

And then he moved away slightly, looking into her eyes. He noticed that her eyes were wide with confusion and with something else that he couldn't put his finger on. He got up off the couch and said "You should get some sleep."

She watched him walk up the stairs, her cheek burning. She gulped and let her fingers tangle their way into her hair. "Good night." She shouted as she heard his bedroom door close. Well, maybe their time of healing wouldn't be so bad after all.

Authors Note:

I have a feeling that some of you will hate this chapter.

I was really reluctant to post it.

So, I'm sorry if you didn't enjoy it.

I will try to make the next one better.

Thank you for reading!

Please Review!