Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks and enjoy.

Lines Are Drawn

The tension in the room was thick, like they were all stuck in maple syrup mixed with an impending electrical storm that threatened to send the occupants of said room crashing to the floor in a spasm of contorting, uncontrollable seizures. Well everyone but Arthur, Eames speculated with dark humor, his mind unable to imagine his darling point man in such a state. Arthur would never allow his body to be out of his control or his clothes mussed that way. The man's head would explode from the force of his concentration first.

Only another ten minutes to go though, and then they would all be free until tomorrow, when then tension would no doubt continue to make Eames so very, very sorry that he'd called in the favor Arthur had owed him for this job.

A job that was below his darling's usual standards, he'd known that going in. Just as he'd known that Arthur wasn't terrible fond of his mate Hugh, who was the extractor for the gig, though apparently their mutual distain for each other had evolved into outright loathing since the last time he'd seen the two working together.

And the two women in the room weren't helping matters either.

The architect was relatively new to the scene, a gorgeous bit of ass and tits that in personality reminded Eames a great deal of a younger version of himself, which meant that they got along fabulously even as she irritated Arthur quite a bit. And the other woman, well normally Eames enjoyed being around Emma immensely, as she was a darling girl, but pregnancy had left her prone to crying jags and morning sickness something awful. And being around Tasha, who was being more than a little flirty where Hugh, Emma's husband, was concerned, wasn't helping her hormones one little bit. It also didn't help that Tasha didn't look like she'd swallowed a beach ball, and was showing that off in a very fitted bandage dress. Emma waddled when she walked, poor dear.

Though currently Emma was sitting on one of the lawn chairs and sulking, having blown up at Arthur an hour or so ago when he'd told her she should go back to the hotel to rest and leave them to their work. The point man had handled her fury with his usual poise and cool control, but still, Eames had seen the other man rubbing his temples more than once since then. And Arthur was drinking more coffee than was usual for him given the late hour, not that Eames had dared to comment on that.

He'd like to keep his head and share Arthur's bed later, thank you very much. And it was the latter desire that had gotten him into this pickle in the first place, since a joint job was the only time he and Arthur ever hooked up.

And naturally he was the only one who wanted more than that, Arthur never so much as hinting at having an interest in sharing a drink, much less a bed with him unless they were working together. When it was just convenient for them to get off together rather than go seeking release elsewhere.

Gambling wasn't the only area in which Eames's luck did more than just suck.

But at this point he was willing to take what he could get where Arthur was concerned, the point man too fascinating to stay away from for long. His only real addiction these days, Eames ruefully acknowledged, as he'd regretfully given up smoking, excess alcohol, and even gambling now that he had unfortunately grown up enough to realize that any of those three things were more likely to get him killed then his profession. Not that Arthur was a safer addiction, of course.

No one could wound a man quite like Arthur, whose last name he still didn't know after working with him for over six bloody years.

"All right, everyone. Let's pack it in!"

And we all live to dreamshare another day, Eames thought as he pasted a smile on his lips as he got up from his seat, stretching out his arms above him as his thoughts turned to the rest of the night. He'd promised to go to the pub with Hugh and Tasha after the work was done for the night, though unfortunately Emma and Arthur had declined to come too.

Speaking of his darling…

Walking over to where Arthur was still occupied on his laptop despite Tasha's earlier statement, Eames waited until the other man looked up at him before confirming that he didn't want to come with them again.

The look Arthur gave him spoke volumes.

"Then I'll see you in a couple hours? Your room?"

A searching look Eames wasn't entirely sure how to interpret, and then Arthur gave him a curt nod. "I just need another twenty here and then I should be able to head back to the hotel." And intentions stated Arthur's attention went back to his screen somehow defensively, Eames effectively dismissed.

Everyone else around them was shrugging on their coats and packing up for the day, Eames reluctantly following suit while casting backward glances in Arthur's direction, wondering if the fight with Emma earlier had bothered his darling more than he was letting on. Arthur was, after all, fond of Emma. Or at least he enjoyed working with her, which was more than his darling would say for the majority of their fellow dreamworkers. That on top of working with Hugh...

"Eames."

Surprised but pleased to be called back over, Eames leaned against the side of Arthur's desk and gave the other man a playful leer as he asked what he could do for him.

"Is Emma going with you all now?"

"No. Or at least I don't think she is." Like Arthur Eames glanced over in Emma's direction, noting that she was ready to go coat and bag wise, but appeared to be killing time fiddling with some paperwork on her husband's desk while he chatted with Tasha about where they should go.

"Will you see that she gets to her car all right for me? He won't."

"Of course, Darling." Eames didn't bother to come to Hugh's defense, especially since he had noted that his friend wasn't paying nearly as much attention to his wife's wellbeing as Eames would in his shoes. Of course the idea of being a parent also terrified him, while Hugh had another sprog already with his first wife. Maybe it was less nerve-wracking the second time round?

"Thank you."

It was so quick that Eames almost missed the soft look Arthur gave him before once again the younger man turned his attention back to his screen. "I'll see you when you get back. Shower first if you end up smoky and smelling of beer."

"Anything for you, Darling." And since snogging wasn't allowed while they were working Eames contented himself with a very quick stroke of his hand down Arthur's back. "Till later, then."

A brief glance in his direction, then Arthur's eyes went back to the screen.

Effectively dismissed yet again Eames rejoined the others, who all said their goodbyes to Arthur on their way out. Arthur returned the sentiment without looking up from the screen or stopping his fingers as they danced across his keyboard. Typical Arthur.

"For someone who dresses like a gentleman, he certainly is rude." Was Tasha's opinion once they were all out of Arthur's hearing. Smart girl.

"That's Arthur." Hugh rolled his eyes for emphasis.

Emma, meanwhile, surprised them all by suddenly stopping in her tracked in the narrow hallway leading out of the building.

"You all go ahead, I'm going to go back and apologize to Arthur for earlier."

"It's fine, Ems." Hugh assured his wife, waving his hand dismissively. "This is Arthur we're talking about here, Luv."

"No. It's not fine. He just had the guts to say what everyone was thinking. I have the car, I can drive myself back to the hotel or hitch a ride with him if need be. You all go."

While Arthur would never seriously lash out at a pregnant woman, he'd fear her going into labor and getting unmentionable liquids on his precious clothes, Eames could not see this being a good idea and expected Hugh to talk his wife out of her plan.

Only he didn't. Hugh, the prat, actually stated that if that was what she wanted that was fine since she wasn't coming with them to the pub anyway, and that he'd see her later. He was obviously in a hurry to leave, and was willing to throw his wife to the proverbial wolf if necessary.

"Emma, pet, I don't know if that's the best idea." Someone had to be the voice of reason here, even if that was not a role Eames was used to taking. "I'll tell him you're sorry for you. And he won't hold it against you, promise."

But no, Emma's expression said she'd made up her mind even before she stated that she was going to talk to Arthur. It wasn't like she was going with them to the pub like Hugh said, so they should just go and have their fun. She would see him tomorrow.

And so stating Emma marched back the way they'd come, Hugh just letting her go.

"Can't talk her out of things when she's like that. Not unless I want to sleep on the couch." Hugo gave a dismissive, 'what ya gonna do' shrug when Eames gave him a pointed look. "So let's go then. All the good tables will be taken if we don't hurry."

"Hell no." Was Tasha's response to that, a definite gleam in her eyes as she started after Emma. "We need to see how this goes down."

Cursing the fact that Tasha's presence would make it all that much worse, not better, Eames hurried after them with the thought that he was the one who would be sleeping alone tonight if they pissed Arthur off. Hugh, meanwhile, trailed along after them while muttering about how this was stupid and a bloody waste of time.

)

When they had all re-entered the main warehouse, and joined Tasha in hiding behind a group of long abandoned crates that provided them cover to hide behind, Eames saw that Arthur was still typing away on his laptop while Emma stood beside him and appeared to be waiting patiently for him to finish whatever he was doing. A dick move, that, Eames thought at he scowled at his darling for the social faux pax. She was pregnant and tired off her arse after all. Not to mention showing enough balls and class to apologize to Arthur, when there were plenty of hardened criminals that would be too terrified to even approach Arthur after they'd angered him.

"Thank you for waiting. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to apologize for earlier. This pregnancy and not being able to work, well it's driving me a little mad. But you were just trying to help me, and I shouldn't have snapped at you. So I'm sorry."

Arthur studied her for a moment and then nodded his head. "Apology accepted. Though you shouldn't come back here tomorrow or for the rest of this job, Emma. She's only going to get worse."

"What…what are you talking about?" Emma stammered out, though something in her tone made it clear she knew exactly who Arthur was talking about.

"Tasha. It doesn't take a genius to see what she is." Arthur rose from his seat to stand facing Emma. "She's not in this for the money. She comes from money and quite a lot of it. She's in dreamshare for the rush she gets taking from other people. She's done it all her life. She gets off on taking things that belong to someone else, the more precious and loved the better. Hell, I've heard that she sends messages to her former marks sometimes, just to add salt to the wounds." Arthur's disgust was heavy in his voice. "And that sick rush she gets from hurting and taking from others is why she made it clear to me that she intends to sleep with Eames during this job, and told you that she's already made Hugh another notch on her bedpost to get this job. She's been delivering little digs to you all week, hasn't she?"

The look on Emma's face confirmed that fact, and when Eames turned his furious expression in his mate's direction Hugh at least had the decency to look a little shame faced while Tasha, Eames noted, just looked annoyed.

"She knows that I've refused to work with her in the past, and I've certainly made it clear I won't join the ranks of brain dead morons who let her lead them around by their dicks in this business. She just doesn't have the brains or intelligence to make me bleed, so she's going to take her anger out on you when that sinks in. That's why you need to get out of her line of fire. Her pathetic digs aren't going to hurt me the way they hurt you."

"Hugh wouldn't-"

"Spare me." Arthur cut in, no sympathy in his voice. "You married a manwhore. We all know it. You knew it when you slept with him when he was married to his last wife. I'm sure he fed you a great sob story about her, that's pretty standard for his kind, but at the end of the day you know that ring on your finger and the baby in your belly mean nothing to him. Hugh Donner will always put himself first, second, and third. Which is why I didn't want to take this fucking job in the first place." The last sentence was muttered just loud enough for the others to hear him.

"He…she…we're having a baby."

"Yes. And it's that baby you should be thinking about. Not him. Not you. The baby. The child you're going to raise one of two ways. Either the child will grow up thinking it's okay for their father to behave and treat you as he does, seriously upping the chances that they'll become an abuser or abused themselves, or you teach the boy or girl that it's not okay for someone to treat you, and by extent them, that way. And it is abuse, Emma. He's hurting you with his actions."

"You don't know what you're talking about…and you date Eames so who the hell are you to judge?! He sleeps with other people even though the two of you are dating too!"

"Eames and I sleep together. We're not dating. If we were he'd feel physically ill any time he even considered cheating on me, remembering the very detailed description I'd have given him about what would happen to him when I found out. And I would find out."

A loud sigh. "Emma. Every relationship has lines. Lines that can change as the relationship progresses, yes, but then there are lines that stay the same because they're set in stone. Non-negotiable. Smoker or non-smoker, for instances, could be a soft or a hard line depending on the person. Exclusive or not would be another. What matters to one couple doesn't always matter to another. The key is for all parties involved to KNOW where the lines are, and respect them. Eames and my 'relationship' has three hard lines, all of which I made clear to him at the start of our arrangement. He has never cared enough to establish any with me." A moment's pause. "You need to figure out your hard lines. And if Hugh can't respect them you need to respect yourself and dump him."

"I…I don't know what to do."

And so saying Emma burst into tears and all but threw herself at Arthur, who looking very uncomfortable wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on him.

)

Across the room Eames's thoughts were busy trying to process the two most important points related to him that Arthur had just mentioned. First and foremost, there had been something in Arthur's tone when he'd stated that Eames had never bothered to establish any lines with him that suggested that that fact at least bothered him, if not hurt his darling. Which would suggest, wouldn't it, that Arthur wanted them to have a relationship where lines were actually drawn on both sides? Maybe?

The other important bit of information was that apparently Arthur had laid down three hard lines when they'd started to sleep with each other, and Eames could only remember two. What if he did the third because he hadn't known it was a line? And what would Arthur do to him if he did? Dammit. No sleeping with anyone else while he was sleeping with Arthur, no sex or bringing up their sex life in the workplace, and….and? Double dammit!

"What a complete load of bullshit. I mean seriously, who does he think he is? Doctor Phil? Assehole." The exaggerated yawn of boredom Tasha made was as fake as Eames was quite sure her tits were. "Let's get going. This is so stupid. And I can't believe either one of you sleeps with that."

Mind still occupied trying to remember what that third line was, Eames looked to Hugh to at least come to Emma's defense. But it was a wasted effort, since it would appear that at least some of what Arthur had said had gotten through to his mate for once. Hugh actually looked like he might be experiencing some of the pain and worry his currently sobbing wife was feeling.

"Seriously. I so need a drink now." Tossing her hair back Tasha started walking away, only this time she turned around to give them a pout that wasn't at all attractive at the moment as she asked them if they weren't coming.

"Actually, I'll pass, thanks. You go have fun." Eames made his smile as insincere as possible. "Though by the by, Luv, I won't be sleeping with you. Ever. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go save Arthur."

And so saying Eames strolled off to leave the two where they were, he was thinking they deserved each other at the moment, and making no effort to conceal himself headed straight for Arthur, who didn't seem remotely surprised to see him.

Of course he wasn't.

Not surprisingly Arthur was also quite happy to transfer Emma from his arms into Eames's, Eames taking over with the there, there's and the hair stroking while Arthur turned his attention to packing his stuff up for the night like there wasn't a woman crying her heart out a couple steps away from him.

Oh well. They all had their strengths. And weaknesses.