Can I say, how proud I am to be part of this fandom. So many awesome writers and even more awesome stories.

I humbly add my second part! Let the Ariadne/Dominic love fest continue!

In case you haven't noticed I like using his full name but I will use Dom or Cobb. (I know, I'm odd)


"Are phobias an issue?" she asked staring intently at the board he was currently writing on.

"It can be if they occupy your mind and you project them in, why?"

"I'm afraid of heights." The moment the words escaped her mouth she wanted to take them back, an uncharacteristic smirk appeared on Dom's handsome face, his mouth twitching in an attempt to hold the laugh in.

She would have expected that reaction from Arthur, hell probably from Eames also but never from Cobb. He always was more understanding. More likely to remain quiet and patiently waiting until she unraveled whatever dilemma she was having as opposed to Arthur who would just tease her until she caved and threatened him with bodily harm.

She then would thank Cobb and he'd nod in that silent serious way of his and she'd feel so much better for spilling her guts.

In the short time she had worked with Dominic, as she called him in her own secret dreams, Ariadne had come to trust him and depend on his knowledge not only as a former architect but as a man who actually valued what she had in her brain and not in her pants. His opinion had become indispensable to her and the countless nights spent hunched over their mazes had forged a bond between them that transcended his past and her age.

The idea of him laughing at her or him thinking she was anything but a independent, mature and self-assured woman, hurt. "Forget it. I'll see you in the morning." Ariadne got up with every intent to leave him to his own devices and come back early in the morning without a care in the world.

However as she walked off, her anger gave way to worry about leaving him with no one but Mal to keep him company and that was unacceptable. Ariadne knew very well that her concern was really just her longing for him. It was true that Ari had never been one of those women that pined away for a man or his attention but something about that lost look of his pulled at her heartstrings making it easy to forget her no-getting-involved-with-colleagues-rule.

She wanted to be there for him because she was the only one he hadn't been able to lie to. Her desire to stay close did get tempered by her current displeasure with him so she settled for the next best thing.

Which ended up with her being at the other end of the warehouse as far away from him as possible while still being able to stay in the same building. The irony was that she apparently didn't want to really escape him since she ended up on his makeshift cot, where he spent more than half his time, it consisted of the lawn chair she had used the first time they had shared a dream and a dark blue blanket.

Lying in it was intimate enough as if was, given that he had been her first and that he was currently sleeping in it every night, it was made more so by the fact that for the last few days they have been left alone.

Ariadne tucked herself more cozily into it, shifting the sport coat draped across the back of the chair instead of moving it off all together because as silly as it sounded she liked being surrounded by his scent plus she needed a pillow. She must have sat in the lawn chair that served as his bed for what seemed like hours, the discarded blanket bunched on her lap to give her a better platform.

She was trying to lose herself in her sketchbooks; drawing furiously, rearranging the different layers.

All to pretend that her heart wasn't beating violently against her rib cage as the sound of his footsteps carried to her small place, getting louder the closer he got. It was the very fact that he had followed and willing sought her out that was her undoing. She had ceased drawing the moment his shoes had come into her view but it didn't stop him from pressing his hand down on hers, gently sandwiching it between the paper and his hand like a pressed flower between the pages of an old book.

Ariadne forcibly removed her gaze from their hands only to send it skittering up to his electric blue one. She couldn't hide the current that jolted and grew through their prolonged skin contact nor the surprise that his eyes had flashed with recognition of what she had felt.

"Ariadne, I would never…" he looked troubled, his emotions actually out in the open for her to see, and he obviously hadn't meant to hurt her feelings.

He removed his hand and sat at the very edge of the chair; absentmindedly rubbing at the charcoal stains her hand had transferred from her sketches to him. Dom folded his tall frame to fit into the small space she had left.

If she hadn't been so weirded out, she would have sworn he was nervous.

She looked down giving them the split second of privacy that was needed to get themselves back together, it was then that she realized that her feet were almost in his lap and hastily rearranged herself.

After several moments of silence, he cleared his throat, "...I wasn't making fun of you. It just struck me as funny that given what we are attempting to do, which is something nobody has ever been able to do and the fact that we all just met and have no idea what we are all capable of. Being afraid of heights would be the least of your problems."

"I can't control it that scares me. I know it doesn't make a lick of sense but there it is," she remarked sounding petulant even to her own ears.

"Being the architect doesn't guarantee control, it's all an illusion," he said it softly as if reminding himself more than cautioning her. "Besides, fears are never rational."

His tone compelled her to risk this rare insight into him. She leaned closer to him, "are you afraid of anything?"

He instantly shuttered his feelings, his voice going flat, "failing. That's what we should all fear."

The warmth of the moment was gone so quickly that she wondered if she had dreamt the connection. She almost reached for the totem in her pocket just to verify that this was in fact reality. He got up abruptly signaling that it was the end of this particular discussion. "I built the bridge as a reminder that my fear can only control me if I let it," she burst out.

He paused, "I'll remember that."

She scooted back against the chair dropping heavily onto his coat. Her fingers twisted and twirled her totem over and over, letting the smooth cool weight soothe her until her head lolled to her left.

"Hey." Her head shot up and he walked back just far enough to be in her sight. Dom regarded her thoughtfully and to her embarrassment Ariadne became aware of the fact that he had noticed that she was using his coat as a pillow. The corner of his mouth lifted, "keep the heights to a minimum."

"You worried about me?"

"I don't really like them either," he replied and disappeared from view. She might have imagined it but his steps sounded lighter. They grew fainter and fainter until they completely disappeared.

"Ari, wake up. Ari." The voice sounded urgent, she rose groggily. She shifted to the left coming face to face with the point man; over his shoulder she saw the still body of the slumbering Cobb. That brought her fully alert.

"No change, Saito is out as well." Arthur reported.

Earlier when she had woken up and seen Dom still asleep she had been tempted to tell Arthur to put her under again. Arthur for all intents and purposes was more observant than anybody gave him credit for and he just shook his head at her before she could utter a single word.

Arthur had soon left her and Ariadne had no other choice but to glance out the window. She couldn't bear to see him like that, they were close and soon Dom's future would be sealed.

'He might just have been lost and I abandoned him there. I should have stayed.'

The dream that she'd just been woken from had been a memory, she had no clue as to why that particular memory had chosen to resurface now. She was tempted to confide in Arthur but he was so busy putting away all the cords and machine parts that were not being occupied that she didn't have the heart to break him out of his self-imposed tasks.

Clearly the team was busy dealing with the possibility of Cobb not coming back in their own way.

Eames was staring sightlessly at a magazine. His hands flipped the pages but his eyes weren't following the print. Yusuf was lifting and weighing the left over vials in his left hand while shaking the watch on his right ascertaining himself that it was indeed running. Mind wondering she pondered what she would do in case he never woke. As the seconds turned to minutes and her anxiety grew Ariadne made a call.

The plane was getting closer and soon the seat belt lights would turn on and they would begin their descent.

Ariadne thought back to the dream, she could only recall that part of the night. What had happened prior to their conversation was a blank to her.

She did remember the morning after or at least the exact moment when she had woken to find the blanket entangled around her with not recollection of how it had come to be there. Her lucidity had been mild at best but she could have sworn there had been a second chair almost parallel to her own but sleep had reclaimed her before she could investigate further.

By the time she was actually up and ready for the day, she had noticed that there was only her chair. At first she had chalked it up to her being tired and imagining things especially when it had been confirmed by Arthur that the only one he had seen was the one she had been sleeping in.

But now in light of everything, she was sure that the second chair had existed. That Dominic Cobb had slept beside her all night, guarding her. It was decided that whatever else happened, the architect would care for the extractor, whether he was awake or asleep.

"If he doesn't wake-" Arthur whispered.

"He will wake. He still has time."

"But if he doesn't we can't be seen with him. He will still be wanted. The machine has to be protected." Arthur explained.

"I'll deal with that if and when that happens," she assured him.

"There is a contingency plan, sweetheart." Eames said lifting his eyes off the magazine.

"No, Eames. She can't. Cobb wouldn't want that. He said not to." Arthur hissed but it was too late, the Architect's eyes were wide open.

"Tell me."

"She can't do this alone, Eames. She can't." Arthur wailed loosing his usual unflappable attitude.

"She won't, don't worry darling. I will go along for the ride." Eames said it to Arthur but he was facing Ariadne. "Saito has other tickets for Mr. Cobb and Co. to use should things not go according to plan. It was as a precaution for himself as well. So we would have to take both, I'm afraid."

Eames produced the tickets and handed two to Ariadne. Both tickets came with forged papers and their destination was Paris.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are approaching Los Angeles International Airport. Please be sure to put your trays in their utmost position and fasten your seat belts. We will be landing shortly, the weather is a cool 82 degrees and we hope you have enjoyed your time here with us on Air Sydney."

"He has to return, if he doesn't I'll go in after him."