Out to Sea
I got to thinking how the scene at the bar over drinks during "Albatross" might not have been the first time they had had that particular conversation/dialogue. Eames' smile after "Are we OK?" seemed to hold hidden mysteries. This is set just after "The War at Home."
He found her there, walking along the empty wintry beach not far from her townhouse. He could see her in the distance, her back to him, head down, walking into the wind. He wondered if he had the strength to go to her, to find a way to say what needed to be said. He knew what she needed from him; he just wasn't sure how to give it to her. He leaned on the boardwalk railing and watched her while he tried to figure out how to fix things.
She found him there some time later, sitting on a bench, hunched over, hands in his pockets, lost in thought. She stopped and looked at him as he tentatively made eye contact with her, seeking within her eyes a way forward. He was glad not to be met with resistance, although her glance was not exactly welcoming either. But he knew that if she hadn't totally shut him out there might still be hope for them.
"For such a smart guy, you do some pretty stupid things sometimes," she said, sitting next to him.
"Yeah, I…uh… I know."
She turned on the bench and looked at him, "Are you all right?"
He met her eyes, knowing that as always, the bulk of their conversation would be unspoken, "Getting there… you?"
"Getting there," she echoed with a small smile.
"Are we OK?" he ventured to ask.
"I hope so," she said. "Promise me something Bobby. I need to know that at some point, when you're ready, you'll come back to work."
"Eames…"
"Come on, walk me back to my place. I'll make you something to eat and you can call Ross and get him to give you some time off to take care of your mother. Do you think you can do that?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"Whether any part of this meal you're proposing comes from a box labeled either "Lean" or "Cuisine."
"Don't push your luck, Detective…."