Disclaimer: I don't own the genius of Inception or another associated with it.

Chapter One

If you had asked her three months ago if she'd be a nanny, she would have laughed in your face. It wasn't the whole taking care of kids part, it was just something so unlike her that she'd never even considered it. She was, or rather used to be, a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants girl who could hardly stay in one place long enough to build any life. Now she had an apartment, a lease that lasted a year, finishing out her masters and was a part-time nanny to a couple of adorable children. Her life was nowhere near what anyone, including herself, had ever thought it would be.

While Phillippa and James played in the living room, in full view from where she was sitting at the dining room table, she ruffled through piles of paper. Some were print outs of internet pages, others were copies of books, a few were hand written and there were even some already sorted into folders. In total, she'd made a complete mess of the table, but the children's father wasn't due home for another hour. By then, the place would be spotless and the paper work filed away.

She didn't calculate that their father would actually be home early. It wasn't unlike him since he seemed like the father that hated to even have her on call, but of all days to come home early it had to be this one. Usually she kept her work home, unless it was her art history books. There was a reason for it. The children's father was known worldwide in a certain field she was just stepping into. When she took the job, she hadn't connected the dots. Actually, it wasn't until the last month that she even figured out that the Dominique Cobb she worked for and the Dominique Cobb whispered about were one and the same. The two Cobb's just didn't add up, until now.

The knob turning, she bolted from the table, drawing the attention of the two children and hurriedly began gathering up the papers. Normally she liked them painstakingly filed away in a system only she understood, but there wasn't time for that. Instead, she was just stacking them up and trying to get them into some sort of order. There was no time to put them in her bag.

James was up first, running to the door and into his father's arm. Phillippa, a tentative girl, followed behind. She used that distraction to make the table look neat and moved on to the living room to clean up the toys. Dominique Cobb walked into the house, setting the keys on the table. With her back to him, she cringed.

"You don't have to worry about that, Juliet." He was talking about the toys.

Juliet waved him off. "No, no. It's fine."

"Your school giving you a lot of paper work, huh?" She heard him over her shoulder.

Hurrying to finish putting the toys in the ottoman for safe keeping, Juliet felt the briefest moments of guilt. It was the same feeling she used to get when her mother caught her stealing from the sheet of freshly made cookies. Or worse: the cookie dough.

"It's just…" She stopped when she met his gaze. He already knew what she was doing, and if he didn't, he was about two baby-steps away from putting it all together. But maybe he didn't suspect dreams; maybe he just thought she was getting in over her head. Juliet could run with that.

He held up a few pieces of paper. "I can't have this around my children. Whatever this is-"

Juliet snatched them out of his hand and replaced them on the top of her pile. "It's just research. A friend asked me to look him up. I kinda owe my friend one so, I did it."

There was a look in his eyes similar to tried patience. He walked away from her, hand to his face. "Juliet, you don't know what you're getting into." Cobb spun back around to her.

She frowned at that. Of course she knew what she was getting into and she was well aware of the consequences. On paper. About to retort back, Juliet thought better of it. The Juliet of a few months ago would have snapped like a spoiled child, not this Juliet. This Juliet was striving to be better. Instead, she just began putting the papers into her bag.

"Is Juliet leaving?" James tugged on his father's pants.

"I'll be back tomorrow." She promised, not completely sure she would be back tomorrow. There was a sharp little ping in her chest at that. Over the months, James and Phillipa had become a part of her daily routine. No matter what, she could always count on those two to be right where she left them.

"Why don't you go draw us a picture, huh? Phillipa?" He looked to his oldest for help. Dutifully, the little blonde took her brother's hand and led him away from them, helping to set him up to draw a picture.

When he turned his attention back to her, she was already swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Listen, I'll be back tomorrow at my usual time. I won't bring any paper work with me." Juliet turned to go, leaving Cobb to figure out how to tell James why she'd left before he finished his drawing for her.

Cobb caught her arm as she turned. "You have no idea how dangerous this can be," his voice was low, intense. "You're better off owing someone than this. Trust me, Juliet, this is a slippery slope."

Gently, Juliet removed her arm from his grip. "I'm a grown woman, Mr. Cobb. I know what I'm doing." She walked down the hallway and shut the door behind her as she left, not once looking back.

Back at the apartment she shared with two other people, she tossed her bag into her favorite arm chair. One of the other members of the apartment, David Lean, was lounging on their used and seventies inspired sofa. He was the friend she'd been doing research for and he looked up over his magazine at her. "Bad day at the office?"

"Ha. Ha." Juliet reached for the remote, ready to dissolve into a fantasy world that was just in two dimensions on a flickering screen.

David didn't stop looking at her. "Did you finish the research I asked for? We go in, in less than a week."

Juliet stopped her channel surfing, "No, but it's nearly there and I told you already, it isn't 'we' but 'you.' I already have a job this weekend. I've told you that, David."

"The mystery job. The mystery job you need to change." Her flatmate sat up to face her. "Juliet, I need you in on this with me. You're the person I trust most…"

Heaving a childish sigh, Juliet got to her feet. And to think, she'd only just sat down. "Find another ex-girlfriend. You've got plenty. In the meantime, I'm going to bed because apparently I have to finish your research tomorrow." Cobb wasn't going to like it either.

Author's Note: Honestly don't know where this story is coming from, so obviously I have no idea where the plot is actually going. Yes, you'll see more of how Juliet came to work for Dom and that whole relationship and why he can speak to her so frankly. It's gonna be unraveling as we go. And yes, Juliet is rather immature. You'll see she's about Ariadne's age but is no where near the maturity that Ariadne possesses. Juliet isn't that self aware of herself.

Anyway, I just thought it would be interesting to tell a story about someone getting into the dream business and it's great game of chess.