Did You Ever Have a Dream

Eames let the woman of his dreams leave his side years ago, however news that she's in trouble leads him into her nightmares. Can he be the knight in shining armour, or will he let his turbulent relationship with Arthur get in the way before time runs out.

Prologue

'It can't be done.' Dom Cobb sat opposite his friend in an uncomfortable chair in an abandoned warehouse, aged papers and maps spread out in the space between them on the floor. 'The subject is in a coma Eames; that means they are not in a dream state; there's nothing to be gained by even attempting to enter the sub conscious.' Cobb shifted his weight to his left side. He had been waiting an hour for his friend to arrive at the factory.

'That has not been proven, old man.' It was obvious to Cobb that Eames was trying to keep his temper in check. The Brit was wired and twitchy; a quick look to his right hand showed that his nails were almost gone. 'No one has ever attempted an exploration into the sub conscious of a coma patient. Yes, I'll agree, the brainwaves sometimes suggest that there is no dream state, but dreams are a way of repairing damage to the thought process; surly some comas require dreams to help the patient?'

'And what if you're wrong? It could be just as bad as being stuck in limbo! Worse! It's unexplored territory Eames. I've got too much to lose here; I'm too good to lose; you're certainly too good to lose-'

'At least I could say I was lost while trying my hardest. She's in a medically induced coma; surly that's different. She's in it because of a chemical imbalance in her brain; her brain cobb! That means she's probably dreaming right now.'

'And there lies your problem; you know the rules. You enter the dream designed by the architect; not one designed by the subject. There will be nothing to extract if you enter her- who is she?'

'That is neither here nor-'

'Who is she Eames? I'll find out eventually, and I certainly won't agree until you tell me.'

'The greatest guerrilla who ever lived, breathed and slept on this earth. Please don't make me say her name. Please don't make me acknowledge that it's her; that she's half way gone; taking a piece of me with her.'

' Evelyn? She can't; the last I heard she was on a job; she was safe in Brazil!'

'Well now she's in a hospital bed, her point man is dead.'

'What about the others?'

'She was the others. Guerrilla by name, guerrilla by nature; she's damn good at her job Cobb. Whatever this job was; she knew it was dangerous otherwise she would have used a full team.' He reflected upon his statement. 'Well she would have at least used an architect.'

'I don't understand; she always took an architect and no point man, always annoyed Arthur-'

'That was at my request. She's no Point Man.'

'You're a fool Eames. She only ever had eyes for you-'

'-Until she didn't Cobb.' He breathed long and hard. 'She left me Cobb. She left me five years ago.'

'Now hang on one minute Eames. You left her no choice; your paranoia pushed her away. We were one amazing team; she was there for when one of us fell to make sure we finished the job. We were the best and you made her chose. If she was interested in Arthur; you really think she'd go the other side of the world to be away from BOTH of you? Arthur may have loved her, but he did everything he could to hide it. Evelyn has not once looked at another man in the five years that you've been separated; but you? You've screwed everything that's moved. Even Ariadne! She's the girl who Arthur trusted you with; more than you ever did. He's broken hearted, you've destroyed her. Don't go feeling sorry for yourself around me. I'll make you feel ten times worse you arrogant twerp.'

'Twerp? Really?' He couldn't help but smirk. The slang sounded alien in Cobb's tongue and it amused Eames for a brief second. 'I know I pushed her away, but don't you think for one second she loved him-'

'NO!' Cobb lost his temper. So many times before did he humour the boy; yes he was a boy. So unworldly, so naive and so tempestuous to the point of irrationality. 'Even if she met him first it still would have been you; God knows why.' He breathed out a long, frustrated, breath. 'I sometimes wonder if that would have been for the best. You might have felt more secure then.'

Eames stood and began pacing. His mind was still racing; without Cobb on board his plan couldn't even pass the starting line. He walked to the nearest window and looked out onto the city skyline. It was coming to dusk which he was sure meant he was running out of time.

'I'm no Guerrilla Cobb, but I will do it on my own if I have to. She's the love of my life." He paused to allow him to scoff. 'And there's stuff about Ariadne that you don't know; I was doing Arthur a favour. Please Cobb. You can get Arthur to do anything. He'll do it for you.' Eames turned to him, his face etched with pain and fear. 'I've messed everything up. I know that. I was getting along with Arthur and I ruined that. I know I shouldn't have played the James Bond bachelor, but I wanted her to hurt. Every woman was a knife in her back.'

'Except being away from you was all the pain she could bare Eames. She's gone on one stupid, dangerous job after another and it's all because her life isn't worth living without you.' Cobb stood up and put a hand on Eames' shoulder. 'I miss her too Eames. She made you whole. I've been working with a ghost for years.' Cobb mused for a moment, looked around the room to buy some time. 'I'm not asking Arthur, and I'm not mopping up the blood'