The following Sunday a funeral had been arranged for Jack Summers. It was an appropriate day for mourning, a light drizzle raining steadily down during the service. Black umbrellas were huddled together creating a large distorted rectangle from an overhead view. Many people attended the calling hours but just a handful showed up to the actual burial.

Rose, Ariadne, and Eames stood at the front of the crowd dressed appropriately in all black. A black veil was draped over Rose's face and she held tightly onto her umbrella with a gloved hand. Eames held an arm securely around Ariadne's waist, feeling her body shudder. As the ceremony came to an end the priest asked for the immediate family to step forward. Ariadne stepped forward first by herself, clutching tightly to the white rose in her fingers. Through blurry eyes she gingerly placed the rose on the casket and stepped backwards, turning to hide her face in Eames' chest. Even though he promised himself he would stay strong for Ariadne he felt a tear slip its way down his cheek.

Rose stepped forward next, her expression unreadable underneath her veil. Her body was visibly shaking and a peculiar thing happened then. She started singing. A soft, familiar song. Eames recognized it from the night he returned to Ariadne after the job he'd done with Arthur. She had sung him to sleep after he woke from a vicious nightmare. It must've been a family song he assumed.

Rose laid one hand on the casket as she finished the song. With her voice breaking she stepped back from the casket and Ariadne reached out to grasp her hand, a sinking feeling in her stomach. They watched in despair as the workers began to lower the casket into the pit.

The crowd began to disperse and several people walked up to Rose and Ariadne to share condolences. The news of Ariadne's and Eames' engagement spread quickly and many people congratulated them, but it soon followed with an "I'm so sorry to meet you under these circumstances."

The three of them paused as they reached Ariadne's and Eames' rental car. Eames and Ariadne were catching a flight at ten that night headed back to Paris. Her mother was reluctant to see her go so soon but Ariadne admitted that it hurt too much to stick around for much longer. Rose finally lifted her veil to reveal a sullen expression. Her eyes reflected too much pain in them. She placed her hands on either side of Ariadne's face and leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead. Ariadne closed her eyes and smiled slightly, feeling like a little girl again.

Rose swallowed and spoke kindly, "Ari, please keep in touch. I've already lost the other most important person in my life."

"Of course, Mom. We've got a lot of wedding planning to do." Ariadne smiled genuinely placing one of her hands on top of her mother's.

Rose patted Ariadne's cheek and nodded. She turned to Eames and straightened her posture to be closer to Eames' towering height. For a moment, Eames saw the fiery fierceness that he had seen when they first met but this time she smiled.

"As Jack gave you his blessing, I am giving you mine. I have to admit I did not like you at first but I was proved wrong. I also must apologize for all the rude comments I made." Rose paused, sucking in air through her teeth.

"All is forgiven." Eames replied with a smirk on his face. He was enjoying this. Rose rolled her eyes and continued.

"You're a charmer, aren't you? Ariadne is very lucky to have found you. But if you ever hurt her again I swear I will hunt you down and find you myself."

Eames chuckled and nodded his head. "Understood."

"Good." Rose gave a curt nod and turned back to Ariadne, pulling her into a tight hug. Ariadne smiled at her and opened the car door to get in the passenger seat. Eames walked around to the other side. Waving through the window, they pulled away and headed for the airport.

A month later, Ariadne and Eames were adjusting into a normal life. They had agreed on not taking any jobs no matter what as they prepared for the wedding. Their sole focus was each other. They wasted no time on wedding preparations. A week after arriving back in Paris, Ariadne began to pull herself together after losing her father. The memory still felt fresh in her mind no matter how long it had been but Eames was always there to pick her up when she was down.

"Ari! It's beautiful!" Rose squealed as Ariadne emerged from the fitting room dressed in a stunning white wedding gown. Her mother had flown in from Vancouver to visit and more importantly, go dress shopping with Ariadne.

Ariadne cautiously stepped farther out of the fitting room and then in front of the three panel mirror. She gasped. It was a simple dress that fit snug to Ariadne's body and was accustomed perfectly to her height. It was strapless and the bodice was decorated with sequins that twinkled in the light. She looked and felt beautiful. She knew it was the dress.

"Oh, he'll love it." Rose breathed as she gazed admiringly at her daughter. Their relationship was continually getting stronger. When Rose was back in Vancouver, Ariadne remembered to call weekly to talk about what was going on with the latest wedding plans.

Ariadne turned around to look at all angles of the dress and couldn't help the smile that was spreading across her face, a big cheesy grin going from ear to ear. They had already picked a date, February 17, now it was only a matter of time.

"Love, are you home?" Ariadne heard the forger's accent float through the entry way as she walked through the front door, carrying the large dressing bag in her arms. Her mother offered to store in her hotel room so there would be no risk of Eames peeking at it but Ariadne insisted on taking it with her.

"Close your eyes!" she shouted and slipped off her shoes. She tiptoed towards the living room. "Are they closed?"

Eames made an obvious gesture to put his hands over his eyes as Ariadne eyed him from behind. "Yes, darling. Will you tell me what's going on?"

She giggled and sprinted through the living room towards the bedroom door. The bag rustled loudly in her arms and caught Eames' attention. She hid it away carefully in the closet and walked out into the living room. He was staring at her, smiling.

"You found a dress." he said in awe.

Ariadne nodded and nearly skipped across the room, settling down in his lap. She kissed him passionately. Moving his firm hands across her back he squeezed her closer.

"Can you believe this? We're getting married. We're getting bloody married!" Eames exclaimed as he pulled away from Ariadne's face.

"I can't wait," Ariadne breathed and looked at him lustfully. He responded by kissing her firmly back.

The next morning, Eames lay awake long before Ariadne. He studied her face carefully as she slept, observing the way part of her mouth curled up almost resembling a smile, dreaming of a faraway fantasy or something. To him, she was his fantasy. Someone he would've never pictured himself ending up with but he was damn happy that he did.

As Ariadne's eyes began to flutter open he reached down and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Hey," he whispered. Ariadne smiled up at him. She reached up to touch his face but suddenly jerked her hand away. A nauseating feeling was creeping its way up her throat and Ariadne clambered out of bed in a rush, scrambling towards the bathroom. Eames sat up worriedly looking after her. "Ariadne?"

There was a terrible retching sound that floated out of the bathroom and Eames swung his legs over the side of the bed to get up. Arriving in the doorway, Ariadne's retching finally seized. She sat back away from the toilet, wiping her mouth with a sheet of a toilet paper. Her face was pale and a sweat had broken out on her neck. She looked up at Eames with wide eyes. He raised his eyebrows and then a sudden feeling of realization hit him.

"No…" he said, his words trailing off.

"I think so," Ariadne said weakly.

"You get sick that soon?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't think it's from last night, Eames." she said with a slight smile and stood up to rinse out her mouth.

Eames pinched the bridge of his nose disbelieving. "But… We used protection?"

Ariadne turned to face him, standing toe to toe. She shrugged. "It doesn't always work."

"You mean… I'm—we're gonna be parents?" he asked, his tone a mix of disbelief mingled with joy.

Ariadne smiled as she studied his expression. Eames soon broke down in joyous laughter and picked Ariadne up. Swinging her around carefully in the small bathroom, they kissed.

"We're gonna do this?" Ariadne asked as he held his forehead to hers.

"Of course."

"Ariadne, you're huge!" Arthur exclaimed as he approached the bench where Ariadne was seated. There was a small flurry of snow that floated down through the air creating a home-y Christmas feel in the park. She was beaming and she hauled herself up to give him an awkward hug, her bump putting a significant space between them. Her jacket was unzipped and she wore a floppy red hat and a matching scarf. Arthur looked her up and down, pleasantly surprised. She looked completely different than the architect he had fallen in love with. "How far along are you?"

"Any day now," she grinned and rubbed her hands over her protruding belly.

Ariadne surveyed the point man and noticed that there was something different about him also but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"How are you, Arthur?" she asked genuinely and they lowered themselves back down on the bench.

"I've been really good. I met someone." he said smiling at her.

"That's good! Wow, who is she?" Ariadne felt herself relax. She was happy for him and at the fact that they were able to meet without the awkward tension of exes.

"Her name's Amelia. It's been kind of like a movie; where you bump into someone on the street and you kind of stop and look at each other longer than usual?"

Ariadne smiled. It was so unlike Arthur to hear him talking in such a lovestruck way. Eames would never let him hear the end of it if he had been there. "That's great, Arthur. I'm really glad that you're happy."

Arthur was looking off in the distance at nothing in particular as he was lost in some fond memory. He suddenly realized Ariadne was sitting there. Shaking his head, he looked at her with his usual intense eyes. "So, don't take this the wrong way. But why did you want to meet?"

Ariadne swallowed. "Eames and I are getting married, which of course you obviously already know…" she trailed off nervously. "But as you might not know, my father passed away. And I was wondering if you'd take the honor of walking me down the aisle."

Arthur blinked. Ariadne looked at him, waiting for a response. Once a significant amount of time passed without either one of them saying anything Ariadne spoke up. "If it's awkward or whatever I understand. Eames should be here soon, I should be going." Ariadne struggled to her feet and Arthur rose with her, extending his arms.

"It'd be my honor, Ari," he said honestly.

Ariadne felt tears swell in her eyes and she pulled him into another awkward hug. "Thank you." she said and squeezed his hand.

"Mr. Eames?" a doctor dressed in blue scrubs and a white lab coat approached Eames in the hallway. "Would you like to see your new daughter?"

Eames couldn't help the tears that formed in his eyes. He nodded numbly and followed after the doctor. The doctor stood aside and Eames entered the room slowly. His eyes immediately locked on Ariadne as she cuddled a bundle of blankets wrapped around their new daughter.

"Oh my god," he breathed and pulled over a chair. Ariadne looked up at him with tears glistening in her own eyes.

"She's beautiful." she murmured. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and there was sweat drying along her hairline. Her physical appearance looked exhausted but Eames could see the joy in the architect's eyes. She had created something that could only be achieved in the real world; it was different from anything she had ever created before and it brought a happiness that only the two of them would understand. She was their Christmas gift, born exactly on Christmas day.

"Do you wanna meet your daddy?" Ariadne cooed and a small noise emitted from the newborn's lips. The word daddy shocked Eames a little bit. It was going to take him a while before he got used to being a father. Whatever struggles he had yet to come, he was ready for them. Ariadne outstretched her arms and Eames gently took his daughter and firmly held her to his chest, rocking back and forth. He spoke in a soft voice, a voice Ariadne hadn't even heard him use before.

"Hi, I'm your daddy," Eames swallowed hard, choking back tears, "I don't know what your name is yet but we'll pick out something nice okay? You look like an Ellie; just like my mum. Do you like that? Ellie?"

"Ellie." Ariadne said, testing out the name. The baby let out a small whine almost in response. Ariadne smiled and said "Ellie" again.

"Welcome to the world, Ellie." Eames greeted. He leaned down with Ellie in his arms and kissed Ariadne sweetly on the lips.

"And… open."

Ariadne opened her eyes staring in the mirror with wide eyes. Her mother had made her look radiant. When wearing the dress, Ariadne felt unstoppable. Rose brought a shaking hand to her mouth as she held back tears. Ariadne's hair was done in a tight updo just like she had envisioned.

A knock at the door startled the two emotional women and Rose went over to answer it. Ariadne gathered up her dress and stood up from her chair as Arthur entered the room, followed by Cobb—who Eames had chosen to be his best man. Both men congratulated and showered Ariadne with compliments. Ariadne accepted them humbly and blushed fiercely. Arthur held out his hands and kissed Ariadne on each cheek, careful not to mess up Rose's work.

"You look gorgeous." he whispered in her ear and then held out his elbow. "You ready?"

The hall was beautiful and the ceremony brought tears to everyone's eyes. Eames and Ariadne made it. They were finally getting married, prepared to start their journey as a family together. Eames waited patiently for the priest's further instructions, staring deeply into Ariadne's watering eyes and feeling his begin to water as well.

"Daniel, do you take Ariadne to be your wife? Do you promise to be true to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love her and honor her all the days of your life?"

"I do."

"Ariadne, do you take Daniel to be your husband? Do you promise to be true to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and honor him all the days of your life?"

"I do." Ariadne couldn't contain her excitement.

"I now declare you, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." the priest stated and Eames wasted no time. He pulled Ariadne into a heart stopping kiss, one that she'd remember for the rest of her life. The crowd erupted into applause and cat calls. Hand in hand they looked towards the audience, both filled with elation. Their eyes both went to the front row where Rose was caressing the almost two month old Ellie. Eames squeezed Ariadne's hand and spun her around to kiss her again. This was his family and he was going to protect it till the end.

And there you have it! This chapter ended up being really fluffy but I'm a sucker for happy endings. Hope you liked it and remember to leave reviews! Thank you to all who favorited, followed, reviewed, whatever- it means a lot :)