Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction

Chapter 10 Beginnings

Note: I do not own Inception. Last chapter everyone and you know what that means, right? It's your last chance to review this story and let me know what you thought of it!

Arthur and Ariadne were back in their hotel room and were snuggled together under the warm clean comforter on the large plush bed.

"Are you sure you want to marry me?" Arthur asked at last, breaking the comfortable silence between them. "I mean, I just kind of sprang this on you and in front of my family no less. I'd understand if you were just being polite."

"I wasn't just being polite!" Ariadne said firmly. "I want to marry you Arthur!"

"Just checking," he replied grinning, though he also sounded relieved. Ariadne chuckled as she playfully slapped his bare chest.

"Your family seemed to take everything rather well, don't you think?" Ariadne asked changing the subject.

"Better than I imagined, but I think they were happier when they thought I was just a free-lance researcher."

"Well sometimes ignorance is bliss, but I think it's good you told them the truth. Now there's no more secrets and for better or worse they know the real you now," Ariadne said, placing a light kiss on her fiancé's lips.

"Thank you for helping me through this mess," Arthur said gratefully, as he brought Ariadne's hand, which was entwined with his own, to his lips to kiss it.

"You know after I you told about why I left home in the first place, I felt really silly," Arthur admitted through a laugh.

"Why?" the girl asked as she rested her head on Arthur's chest.

"It just sounded so childish, oh I ran away from my family because they pushed me too hard, they wanted me to be a doctor," Arthur whined, using a childish voice to mimic his earlier words.

"I would never judge you like that! Who am I to say what's stupid and what's not? For whatever reason, whether I thought it was a big or deal not, the way your parents pushed you really hurt your feelings," Ariadne replied firmly sitting up so she could look the point in the eye now. Arthur nodded, but still looked slightly embarrassed. Ariadne ran her hand over Arthur's bare chest soothingly.

"I held onto my teenage bitterness and anger for so long. I never really stopped to think about the fact that maybe my feelings towards the whole situation really were just that, you know, just part of the stupid teenager mind-set."

"I know I hated my parents when I was a teenager too. It's okay, I think everyone goes through that stage," Ariadne admitted soothingly.

"Yeah, I just never went back home to work my way through it I guess." Arthur rolled his eyes now and sighed.

"Better late than never," Ariadne replied with a smile, as she lay herself back down beside Arthur.

A long silence set in and Arthur actually thought Ariadne had fallen asleep, but then the girl spoke up.

"Do you think Saito will help Leeson?"

"Yeah, with me vouching for him Saito will believe Leeson is serious about wanting out of Cobol. Furthermore, Leeson will be able to give Saito some great inside information on Cobol, so he'll protect Leeson in exchange."

"And Kaitie?" Ariadne asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'll make sure Saito uses his influence and resources to get her out of Cobol's clutches safely," Arthur promised. The point man didn't explain how he'd bribe Saito to do this, but Ariadne trusted he had some sort of plan in the works. Ariadne nodded her head as she absently drew circles on Arthur's stomach with her index finger.

"Do you remember that first night when we went to visit your family and you thought we were being followed?" Ariadne finally asked Arthur.

"Yes," Arthur replied, a questioning look gracing his features.

"Do you think that that might have been Leeson?" Ariadne asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me."

"How do you think he knew we were in San Francisco?" Ariadne continued.

"My guess is that once he hacked your cell and realized he had a match with the hotel security tape, then it was easy enough for him to track your movements. I should have booked our flights under aliases," Arthur hissed in frustration. Ariadne opened her mouth to comfort the point man, but he continued before the girl could get a word out.

"I've let my guard down way too much these past few months. This whole situation with Leeson has made me realize that I've got to get back on my game," Arthur confided, as he hugged Ariadne closer to him, in a protective sort of way.

"I've been a bad influence I guess," Ariadne replied in an amused tone, though she did understand the seriousness of the situation.

"No, I've just let myself get careless. I've been pretending that I can lead a normal happy life, but I can't. We can't," he emphasized in a firm and serious voice. "Not if we want to continue performing extractions."

Ariadne could feel Arthur tense and she nodded her head in understanding. Her gaze became downcast, as she got lost in her thoughts. The full impact of what Arthur had said finally reaching her.

"Can you promise me one thing though, Arthur?" Ariadne asked a few moments later, her tone serious.

Arthur rolled himself over top of Ariadne now. Propping his naked upper body up with his elbows as he looked his fiancée in the face. "Depends on what it is," Arthur replied honestly.

"Can you promise me that if we do decide to have kids one day that you'll quite doing extractions?" the girl asked softly. "I mean, I'd quit it all too obviously!"

Arthur sighed and he dropped his head to her chest. "I'd like to say yes, but I don't honestly know if I can give it up," he finally replied truthfully, raising his head again.

"Cobb did," Ariadne pointed out.

"Yeah," Arthur agreed as he got a faraway look in his eyes. Ariadne stayed silent while he pondered her request.

" I can promise you, I will make a very real effort to quit if we do decide to have children," the young man finally promised.

"I can live with that," Ariadne said at last, bringing her lips to Arthur's.

"So, when are you going to call Saito to get more info about the job he wants us to do?" Ariadne asked.

Arthur groaned and then laughed as he rolled off of Ariadne and back onto his own side of the bed. "Way to ruin the mood." The architect just smiled innocently.

Epilogue (Several Months Later)

"Hey, sorry I'm late! I got stuck in traffic!" Sara called to Ariadne as she approached her friend. Ariadne stood from the small metal table she had been sitting at to greet Sara with a hug.

"The guys are just inside getting our drinks and snacks. I just told them to get you your usual, is that okay?" Ariadne asked.

The architect took her seat again and Sara took the one next to Ariadne's, as two men's jackets occupied the other two chairs. Sara quickly began fixing her wind-blown hair and hooked her purse on the back of her chair.

"Yeah, the usual is fine, but guys? Who is all here?" Sara asked giving Ariadne a confused look as she finished her hurried primping.

"Well Arthur, obviously, but the best man is finally in town now too. I thought it would be great for you to meet him before the actual wedding," Ariadne explained.

"Oh, well that sounds great," Sara said slowly, as she eyed Ariadne suspiciously. "Is this a set-up?"

"Not at all!" Ariadne declared as she shook her head and hands emphatically. Sara eyed her friend warily again, but at that moment Arthur emerged from the coffee shop with his best man in tow.

"Hello Sara," Arthur greeted as he set a steaming drink down in front of the girl and then one in front of Ariadne.

"Hi Arthur, sorry I'm late. I was just telling Ariadne that traffic was hell!" Sara apologized as her eyes flicked over to the man taking a seat beside Arthur now.

"Sara, this is Arthur's best man Eames, and Eames this is my maid-of-honour Sara," Ariadne quickly introduced once the two men had settled.

"Pleasure to meet you darling," Eames drawled as he extended his hand over the table to Sara. Sara reached tentatively for the forger's hand giving it a light shake. Eames smiled politely in response.

Once Sara had released Eames's hand she quickly snapped her head over towards Ariadne and grabbed her friend's hands in hers sharply. The girl opened her mouth wide like she might scream, but no sound came out. Ariadne just gave the girl a knowing grin in response.

"He has a British accent!" the girl finally squealed in a high-pitched whisper to her friend.

Ariadne's grin widened and she allowed a smug look to take over her features. "You're welcome"

"You're welcome for what?" Arthur asked in confusion, as he stirred some cream into his coffee.

Eames also gave Ariadne a confused and concerned sort of look as he took a sip of his coffee, his eyes darting between the two girls as they began to giggle conspiratorially.

"So, Eames, what do you do for a living?" Sara asked as she leaned over the table to position herself closer to the forger.

THE END

Note: Well, I am very pleased with this ending! I hope everyone else is too. I am sad this story is over, but all good things must come to an end.

Also, I plan to upload another Inception one-shot tomorrow. It's going to be a little more angst filled than what I have been writing so far, but I really wanted to get it out of my system, so be sure to keep your eyes open for it. It will be called Broken Vow.