Author's Note: So in the original work, I never explained, but I will enlighten you all here—I decided to sort of subtly play with the film's whole "dream within a dream" type of concept, so there are actually something like two stories going on within this fiction. In fact, I tried to make a sort of layering/overlapping effect. What I mean is the italics are both meant to be a one-line summary for the drabble that follows it, and also creates a story of its own when you read just the italic parts together in all the chapters. You can also read the chapters without bothering to read over the italic portion. Hopefully that made sense. Please enjoy!


-I-

Some things never change.

Eames was roused by the beeping coming from the heart monitor beside him. Slowly, he opened his eyes, squinting as light flooded into them. He blinked several times in attempt to focus his blurry vision. He let out a soft sigh and smiled upon seeing Arthur resting against the windowsill, reading a novel. The point man was sharply dressed as usual with a shirt, vest, tie, slacks, and a pair of reading glasses.

Arthur looked up from his reading and smiled. "Ah, so you're awake."

He shut the novel with one hand and placed it on the windowsill, taking his glasses off with the other and pocketing them. He made his way towards his lover's bedside. Gripping his hands on part of the side railing, he looked down at Eames and smiled. He leaned over and lovingly brushed a strand of hair away from the forger's face.

"Are you feeling all right? You know where you are, don't you?" Arthur asked.

Eames nodded weakly. "The...hospital?"

The point man smiled gently. "Yes, that's right. Do you remember how you got here?"

There was a slight pause. The expression on the forger's face darkened slightly.

"...no," Eames said with hesitance.

The muscles on Arthur's face twitched slightly and almost formed a frown, but this was quickly suppressed and replaced with a smile.

"Oh, well, let's not strain yourself for now," Arthur said. "I guess it's not surprising that you're having a hard time remembering. You've been out cold for about three days now."

"What, I have?" Eames asked, wincing because he had gotten up too quickly.

"Hey! Easy, easy..." Arthur said, gently pushing Eames back down on the bed. "Relax, everything's fine. The job went well."

"And the others?" Eames asked with a small sigh as he tried to get into a more comfortable position.

"They're fine," said Arthur. "After the the job finished, everyone went back home, you know. Cobb to his kids, Ariadne to France..."

Eames nodded. "Right, and I suppose Yusuf's back in Mombasa."

"He is. And Saito's back in Japan, of course," Arthur said as he leaned over and pecked a light kiss on Eames' forehead. "Now you rest there for just a minute, I'm going to go and fetch the nurse."

"All right."

Eames watched Arthur until he was out of sight, and then he leaned back further in the bed in order to stretch his stiff limbs. He then let out a sigh and looked over towards the window, brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to recall how he came to be at the hospital.