Ello darlings!

Told you...updates will be quite scattered now that school started again for me...who's idea was it to take honors math and physics? Mine? I think not...even though it was.

So, finally, here's chapter 6! Dysfunctional family reunions, how FUN!

I still don't own Inception, though I'm plotting...

Enough random authors notes! Read on!

The reunion was before Frost's extraction, which put a setback on our planning, which wasn't ideal for the whole illegal activity situation. Dom and I had continued to be frosty with each other since the incident after Antarctica, and I was curious to see his attitude surrounded with people who thought us to be the model siblings.

"You're coming, right?" I pleaded with Snow one evening, as the reunion drew ever closer. I lay upside down off the couch, throwing a tennis ball at the wall and catching it as it flew back at my face.

"If you give me a worthwhile reason," Snow replied uninterestedly. "I don't think I can bear your horny cousins or your great grandmother that just won't die for more then a few minutes,"

I considered, deciding that is was depressing how long it took me to come up with a reason. "The TV room we can hide in after we make an appearance?" I suggested half heartedly. Snow looked doubtful. "I'll introduce you to Eames," I bargained, smirking at her.

"How's that supposed to convince me?" she rolled her eyes.

"Just come," I nearly begged.

"If you wear a dress, I'll go," Snow gave me her own offer.

"This is my family we're talking about. If I don't, they'll come to some random conclusion, like I'm pregnant or something,"

"No way,"

"Way. They already decided that once. We still don't know where the nonexistent baby went,"

"I honestly can't tell if you're joking,"

"I'm not. It's sad, isn't it?"

"Now I'll definitely go," Snow smirked maliciously.

~o~

"Help me," I requested of Snow, the day of the reunion. I stood in front of a mirror, holding a long scarf. She appeared at my shoulder, eyebrows raised.

"With?"

"The scarf. Help me cover the wings," I gestured in the direction of my back, where some of the tattoo was visible. The dress I wore was strapless and pale blue. It was corset style until the waist, where it flowed out in feathery layers, reaching to my knees. Snow took the scarf, which was completely white, and contemplated for a moment. Finally, she brought it around my waist, just before the layers started. She pulled the ends back and brought them over my shoulders so it crossed my back on either side. After the ends of the scarf went over my shoulders, they returned to my back, where Snow tied them together. I turned in front of the mirror, deciding with satisfaction that the wings weren't visible at all. The tattoos on my ankles and leg weren't a problem either, because I had chosen to stick with my trusty boots, even though they would be frowned upon. I decided that people should be proud that I actually gave in and wore a dress. That was as good as they were going to get.

"I am a genius," Snow praised herself, twirling in her meadow green sun dress. The dress hung normally, and because she had decided that was to plain, so she had but a black belt around her waist.

"Normally, I would tell you off for modesty, but today is a day that I have to agree with you," I admitted, grinning widely. Snow rolled her eyes.

"How are we getting there?" she questioned.

"My mother is sending the car fleet out. We're getting picked up," I replied scornfully. Snow raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Minutes later, we discovered a black car waiting for us outside. The driver was blocked from view, so we couldn't see his face, nor talk to him. All he did was drive us. The car arrived at the an entrance in the form of a large canopy, decorated with colorful plants.

"This looks like a wedding," Snow grumbled. I had to agree, standing outside the light material of the canopy. I really didn't want to go in. Finally, Snow took my arm, pulling me inside. The canopy was bigger then it looked from the outside, full of people. It opened to a grassy lawn further in, where still more people were already mingling.

"Airika, my goodness, you've gotten older!" a cry came from a little ways away.

"And so it begins," I muttered to Snow as we moved towards the voice. She contained a snort of laughter as my mother came into view. "Hello mom. Good to see you," I recited in a tone that I hoped had a twinge of feeling in it. After a brief and somewhat awkward attempt at a hug, Meredith Cobb held me at arms length.

"You're to skinny," she finally decided.

"Thank you mother," I replied stiffly. Her eyes narrowed.

"Airika. Do you really think men will find you attractive if you barely exist?" she questioned seriously.

"I hadn't thought about it. Thank you for the guidance," I answered flatly.

She tsked, but seemed to drop the subject, moving on to the subjects that were apparently much more pressing. "Well, I see your taste in clothing hasn't improved, what would even compel you to think of wearing such horrid shoes? And your hair, whatever have you been doing to it? At least think about styling it so you can hide those atrocious split ends," her hand went up to pat her own hairstyle, as if making sure it was still there. I was saved the job of thinking up a reply as another voice joined us.

"Mrs. Cobb. I do believe your son would appreciate some of your attention as well. Why don't you go find him, and leave me to converse with your lovely daughter?" my savior came in the form of a british accent. Eames appeared at my side, giving my mother a very practiced and courteous smile.

"How gracious of you, saying nice things about my daughter. You really don't have to though, she's alright without them," my mother articulated matter-of-factly. Without waiting for a response, she wandered off through the crowd, trying to look important.

"Bitch," Snow muttered after her.

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Airika, I must know the name of your enlightened friend, please introduce us," Eames said cockily.

I couldn't stop my melodramatic eye roll as I spoke. "Eames, this is Snow. Snow, this would be Eames," I turned to her pointedly as I said it, smirking at her expression as she glared at me.

"Hello darling. Can I flirt with you?" Eames said, giving Snow his overconfident smile.

"Subtle. Anyway I can stop you?" Snow shot back easily, raising an eyebrow with an unimpressed expression.

"Probably not. Depends on the methods you use to stop me," Eames remained unfazed by her expression.

"A frozen steak knife might do the trick," Snow claimed bitingly. With that, she turned and headed off through the throng of chatting people.

"I like her," Eames decided, smirking after Snow's retreating form.

"She's quite pleasant if you don't make the wrong first impression," I replied sardonically. When Eames looked at me with a confused expression, I rolled my eyes and hit him over the back of the head before following Snow. As it was my family, I didn't get far before a hand grabbed my arm. I turned to see my first cousin, Lavena Byfield. As usual, she looked far off. She wasn't exactly looking at me, but seemed to be looking beyond at something nobody could see.

"I'm glad you're here," she mumbled, shifting her gaze to my arm, which she was still clasping tightly.

"Good to see you Lavena. How long are you allowed to be here?" I asked gently, attempting to take her hand. After a moment, she realized what I was doing and allowed her hand to be taken off my arm. I continued holding her hand, just because I knew it would comfort her. Lavena was extremely schizophrenic, and her mental state was unstable. Years ago, Dom and I had considered making an attempt at going into her mind and trying to stabilize it. All in all, we decided against the idea.

"Aunt Meredith is going to have a car take me back later," Lavena said flatly. Lavena had lived at a mental hospital for the past seven years, as nobody in the family was gracious enough or had the time to commit to taking care of her. She only had a grasp of normality around myself or Dom, as we were always the two who actually cared for her.

"Well, you can stick with me for awhile. Maybe it will save me from a few relatives," I said, mostly deciding this to myself. Lavena allowed a smile, meeting my gaze briefly before looking away again. "You want something to drink?" I suggested, already starting off for a distant table, outside of the canopy and on the outskirts of the main group of people. I found her a can of ginger ale, which was the only thing she would drink besides water.

We sat together in a pair of foldable lawn chairs. I told Lavena in specific detail of a normal, uneventful day. She loved hearing such routines, mostly because she didn't live a normal life. She had always wished for just a few days away from the hospital, without any nurses pestering her or doctors asking repetitive questions.

"Lavena! I've been looking everywhere for you," the voice of my brother suddenly exclaimed. He appeared next to us, giving Lavena an affectionate kiss on the head.

"Hi Dom," Lavena said, sounding almost cheered at his appearance. Dom's hand smoothed her hair as he turned to me.

"Edith has succeeded in capturing Arthur into braincell killing conversation," he informed me.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" I asked with an involuntary shudder at the thought of our great grandmother's idea of pleasant conversation.

"You're the only one she'll drop him for. Saving him would be nice," Dom said with a hint of an evil smirk.

"What are you guys fighting about?" Lavena asked suddenly, interrupting our conversation. Dom and I turned to her.

"Nothing," Dom assured her quickly.

Lavena shook her head. "You're angry at each other, I can tell. You know, if you keep holding onto Jenna, she'll never leave,"

I felt my irritation at Dom rising again at these words, words that proved what I had been telling him. I didn't even register how odd it was that Lavena knew what we were arguing about without even the slightest hint. Before I could do anything rash, I rose, with all intentions of rescuing Arthur. I blocked out the continued conversation between my brother and Lavena, instead searching the crowd of relatives for a sign of Arthur or my great grandmother.

I finally found them, mostly because of Eames. I saw him first, laughing silently and yet hysterically and what appeared to be nothing at all. Following his gaze, I finally spotted Arthur. His face was a mask of polite interest, one that looked so genuine that I had to give him props for it. His posture gave him away through, solidly motionless and obviously tense.

I had gotten halfway over to them before what could only be described as a bloodcurdling scream filled the canopy. I whirled to see Lavena running into sight before she stopped dead as she screamed, staring at a point where nobody stood. Dom had followed her, and he looked almost panicked at her outburst. A ring of onlookers formed as the family retreated away from Lavena, all of them wary of her instability. I ended up inside the ring of people along with Lavena and Dom, as I had gone towards my cousin in an attempt to try and calm her. Even though I didn't know what I was calming her from.

"Lavena, please," Dom called after her. Lavena ignored him, though she stopped screaming as she stared at the empty spot. Silence fell heavily, nobody else dared speak. My brother started forward, lightly trying to grasp Lavena's arm. She whirled, shoving his arm away from her.

"No!" she shrieked. "You can't fool me! You try and pretend that everything is alright, but it's not! You can't just let Jenna die, can you? You leave her memory open, without doing anything about it! Why can't you just let her go Dom? Let her die, then she'll leave me the hell alone!" Lavena looked like she was about to cry as she screamed at my brother. She stumbled as her voice faded, and she tripped away from his stunned face. I ran forward, wrapping Lavena into a hug in attempt to calm her. I refused to actually meet Dom's eyes, instead focusing on my cousin, who had now started to cry into my shoulder.

"It's okay," I said softly to Lavena, though I had no idea if it was or not.

"I want her to go away," Lavena choked, peering at the unoccupied spot again. After a moment, she turned to look at Dom. "The answer is right there, you know who killed Jenna! Why don't you actually do something about it?" she snarled before ripping herself out of my hug and running out of the circle and towards the large house that sat a short ways away. I looked after her, but didn't miss Dom's immediate glance in my direction at her words.

"There you go! That proves it! You still think I did it, please, stop trying to convince everyone otherwise!" I nearly shouted at Dom, my pent up anger finally exploding out.

"Airika, do you seriously have to come to that conclusion every time? Why can't you just believe that I know you didn't do it?"

"Because its not true! You know what happened, you know I was there!"

"If you were there, then why don't you know who killed her?" Dom shot at me. I said nothing, my mind flashing back to that night, so many years ago. The dampness. Jenna's frightened whimpers. The pressing darkness. The gunshots. The voices that were blurred in my memory, as if there had been an attempt at erasing them away. I couldn't even remember if they were male or female. Being next to a body. Jenna's body. Alive. Then very much dead after a blank time of about two minutes. Two minutes that I couldn't remember, no matter how hard I tried. The two minutes that meant everything to the case. Two minutes that would either prove my guilt or innocence.

"I don't remember," I claimed truthfully, repeating the words that had gotten me a reasonable doubt verdict in the first place. Dom looked exasperated. I ignored this. "Just tell me the truth Dom, for the sake of all our minds. Do you still believe I did it? Factor in all the strange and unknown details here, and answer me honestly. If you can look me in the eyes right now and tell me you don't think I did it, I'll believe you," I felt my own angry tears prick at my eyes as I tried not to scream at him as I said the words. I failed, and I listened to the words reverberate through the air as I yelled at my brother. Dom stared at me for a minute before his mouth opened determinedly. His words were cut off though, by a new voice.

"Begonia! My goodness, I thought I heard your faint little voice. I may be a hundred and two, but I can still hear you!" a shaky voice exclaimed unwarily from the crowd. Everyone gathered comically looked towards the direction of the voice. Finally, a small woman tottered into the circle, looking determined in her quest to be noticed. I stared at the woman. This was Edith. My great grandmother. The only relative that wouldn't call me Airika. The only relative that called me by by first name.

Begonia.

The name, for some reason that probably had something to do with the horrid nature of it, sent me completely over the edge. With a strangled cry, I followed Lavena's lead in tearing from the circle and heading for the huge mansion, owned by Edith herself, that sat only yards away from where the reunion was staged. Opting not to actually go inside, I circled to the back of the house, where the yard led into a sheltered courtyard. The courtyard lacked a great number of plants, only a huge tree growing out of the middle and up into the ceiling, where it grew into the poolroom inside the house.

I didn't go to far into the courtyard, instead entering just enough to be sheltered from outside. I fell against the stone wall and slid down so I crouched in a small ball against it, wrapping my arms easily around my knees and resting my forehead on them. The back of my mind registered that I was probably getting the dress filthy beyond repair, but I really didn't care in the slightest. Only then did I let tears actually fall, now that I was alone. Lavena's scream was echoing through my head, seeming to be all I could think about.

Desperately, I tried to clear my head. Breathing deeply though the tears, I tried to focus only on smelling the leather from my boots. The scent did its job in calming me slightly, and I stayed that way, regulating my breathing. Moments passed before I heard a noise. I didn't even think to register the noise, not until I felt a presence in front of where I was curled. Wiping my face against the material of the dress that covered my legs, I raised my head. Standing there, almost sheepishly, was Arthur.

"My family are great, aren't they?" I asked, my voice upsettingly thick with tears. He said nothing to this comment, but held out both hands towards me. After a pause of a few seconds, I took both of them and allowed him to pull me back into a standing position.

"Your family made you. They can't be all bad," Arthur claimed quietly. He let go of my hands, wrapping his arms around my waist instead and pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back, my arms around his neck and my face in his shoulder. As this lasted, I pondered, probably more then was necessary. This was Arthur. My coworker. Arthur, who was driven, mildly uptight, and paranoid, even though those were the qualities that made him good at his job.

Though maybe, there was more then just a working relationship. There had been, ever since Antarctica. He was the one of the first to have ever understood or even noticed my emotionless personality, and he was the very first to have actually seen through that lack of emotion, to the real me underneath. All these thoughts proceeded to confuse me. Arthur however, seemed to be perfectly at ease, like he knew exactly what was going on. That made one of us.

Minutes later, he pulled away from me slightly. "Is your name really Begonia?" he asked with a small smirk.

I rolled my eyes and let go of his neck to hit him in the shoulder. "Shut up,"

"Is it?"

"Maybe,"

"You know, a gentleman would say that he liked both names. I prefer Airika," Arthur admitted.

"So do I," I assured him, nearly grinning as I said it. Arthur didn't reply, just deciding to look somewhat contemplative. His fingers brushed at my face, as if trying to erase the emotion there. After a moment, one hand returned to my waist while the other stayed at my cheek, almost hesitantly. I smiled slightly at his gentleness, an emotion that seemed very unlike him. A moment passed before I realized that I actually wanted to kiss him. As this absurd notion occurred to me, I couldn't shake the idea. My arms returned back up around his neck, and I took it as I good sign that he still looked at ease. Which was another emotion that was very unlike him. Strange, though not unwelcome.

As the moment lasted, a sound had to break it. Bizarre humming came a spot close to the covered courtyard. Before either of us could react or even fully realize what the sound meant, Gwen Byfield came around the corner. Gwen was Lavena's mother and my aunt. A moment of silence passed where Arthur and I stepped awkwardly away from each other.

"Its true!" Gwen finally shrieked, so suddenly that I flinched. "Everyone's been whispering about it, you two really are a couple! Goodness, you really did have us all wondering!" she exclaimed excitedly. I had no idea what to say. I was pretty sure I was just half gaping at her instead. A moment passed before her face fell comically. "Airika! How could you not tell me? I, your favorite aunt? You tell me everything!"

"I do?" I asked stupidly, thinking to far ahead to actually focus on the current situation. Gwen ignored my density, looking positively ecstatic again before she whirled around and hurried back towards the reunion as fast as she decently could in her dress.

"That was...interesting," Arthur decided. I let out a groan, falling back against the wall behind me. When he looked at me curiously, I sighed heavily.

"Anyone could've decided to come up here. Anyone. But it had to be her,"

"And?" he asked, apparently lost.

"She's the most gossipy woman you will ever meet,"

"More then Eames?" Arthur cut across me suddenly. I rolled my eyes. "Sorry. You were saying?"

"I'm serious Arthur! Honestly, the whole family knows by now, and they've decided when our wedding is," I insisted. Arthur raised an eyebrow at my words. After a moment, I huffed. "Be mature,"

"Okay, okay I believe you. Do you care?" he asked, still with a raised eyebrow.

"No. But now, you have to suffer Eames," I stated, poking him hard in the chest. "You go back first. Maybe a staggered entrance will make it better," I decided. Arthur scoffed, but complied, jokingly flicking my forehead as he left. Unable to contain my short chuckle, I slid back into my sitting position against the wall.

Maybe I should just stay here. Away from the new whispers and awkward conversations that were undoubtably about to come. I banished these thoughts quickly though. Arthur had gone down there, who was I to hide here like a coward? With that thought firmly in place, I got up and took a detour through some trees that lined the house, entering the canopy again from the side, less likely to be noticed at once.

More luck then I could've hoped for stuck, my family wasn't able to get their hands on me first. The second worst person found me minutes after I reentered the group. Eames. He was grinning broadly and maliciously, looking like he just won the lottery.

"Darling," he chuckled, apparently unable to contain his glee at the prospect of something new to obnoxiously comment on. "You do know that you could have a beautiful man, if you wished," he pointed ever so slightly to himself, "but you choose Arthur? You must not be feeling alright. Do I need to take you to a hospital?" he felt my forehead dramatically.

"Shove off Eames. Go flirt with Snow or something,"

"What do you think I've been doing all this time? She finally got away from me during your cousin's little explosion. Now I've lost her,"

"Pity," I said sarcastically, glancing longingly for the canopy exit.

"Oh no you don't. I need to watch you get ridiculed first," Eames insisted, grabbing my shoulders and turning me pointedly away from the exit. "Go have fun,"

"Go to hell," I muttered, flipping him off as he shoved me into the other groups of people. Eames only chuckled.

"Airika! That was very unladylike! What would Arthur say?" my mother had returned. As I turned towards her voice, I could swear I heard Eames lose himself into laughter somewhere behind me. I choked slightly at my mothers words, unable to reply for a moment.

"I think we should go find him. Find out what he says about it first hand," I grumbled. I don't think she understood what I meant.

"Be thankful at least one person thinks your worth his time Airika. Learn from this experience," she insisted.

"I'll do that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go kill something," I said pleasantly before leaving her standing there. Not knowing what made me look over, I glanced at the exit. Just in time to see Eames pulling Arthur out to safety. "That hypocritical asshole," I griped quietly to myself, shoving my way through the crowd of relatives that were trying desperately to talk to me. Finally, I found Lavena at the outskirts of the crowd.

"I know you and Arthur aren't together, but you should be," she announced at once. I fought back an exasperated sigh. She was just being Lavena.

"Come on. I need to get out of here, I'll take you back to the hospital. Then you don't have to wait around until my mother decides to remember," I suggested, reaching for her hand. Lavena went willingly, seeming to be grateful to be anywhere besides the reunion. We miraculously made it to the exit, where I burst outside, never having been more grateful to leave anywhere.

And...chapter six comes to a close! What did you guys think? I do actually want to apologize, I wanted there to be a whole bunch more 'Mal is still alive' drama in there. But everything just flowed so perfectly that I couldn't bear to change or add anything!

So...a review? Or two? Anything at all makes me grin and laugh and scream like a lunatic. True story...

Next chapter is in the making! Arthur and Airika are getting closer and closer...what will happen now? You'll just have to wait, and FIND OUT!

Until next time wonderful readers!

Mio