I paced hastily around in Ariadne's surprisingly undecorated living room a few hours after our "conversation". The only pictures that covered the walls were a few precious family photos and random sketches of different buildings placed here and there. I was on the phone with Arthur who was being frustratingly calm and composed.

"Arthur, she needs help now! We can't wait. We've been going in this circle. She let's me in a little and then she shuts herself down again. She agreed to the hypnosis but then I offered her help and she refused. She even said that she was a lost cause! If she thinks that, then we need to help her now!" I hurriedly said, pinching the bridge of my nose tightly in frustration.

"Eames, I don't feel comfortable with you doing this if I'm not there. Can't you wait?" Arthur asked coolly.

"No Arthur, we can't wait. I've already told you this. You need to take care of your mother and Yusuf and I will take care of Ariadne. I think I am the only one capable of helping her, you might compromise the mission…" I trailed off, rubbing my hand through my hair hastily.

Arthur sighed, "I'm still not comfortable with this, but I trust you. Take care of her; she's in your hands now. Do not screw this up." he warned.

"Thanks Arthur, your confidence in me really is reassuring," I said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes, "Just come here when ever you can, after I help her, she'll need all the support she can get." I hung up the phone and let out a long, exasperated sigh.

Break

I stayed in my room for the rest of the day and night. I slept fitfully but I didn't dream, thankfully. When the golden morning light streamed in through the high windows I grudgingly got up and went to take a shower. I realized that I was still in the clothes I wore yesterday. I peeled off my dirty clothes and got ready to take a shower.

After I stepped in the comfortingly hot shower, I let my mind wander. I thought about Eames and what he said last night. He said that he cared; did that make him my friend? He was treating me well even after all the fits I threw… But I shook my head and shoved the thought down deep into my mind; he was only tolerating me, he was not my friend.

Eames did fascinate me though. Ever since I met Eames I've always wondered about how he could change into other people in dreams. His military involvement also intrigued me. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him. Even though he was my jailer, it might not hurt to get to know him a bit. During the Inception job we kept a professional relationship and I didn't know much about him besides that he was a great poker player, he was an excellent thief and forger, and that he and Arthur couldn't stand each other.

I finished my shower and threw on a pair of dark denim jeans, a white t-shirt, and a rose red sweater-shrug. I then put on my favorite red lip stick. I brushed my dripping hair quickly and let in fall in wet clumps around my head before I stepped out of the bathroom.

I hesitantly slipped into the kitchen where Eames stood by the stove top. He turned at the sound of the door closing and threw a smile my way before he returned to a boiling tea kettle. I slipped onto a stool and sat tensely, waiting for Eames to say something. He continued to make some sort of tea, patiently waiting for it to steep perfectly before he threw the teabag away. I awkwardly cleared my throat as he started to pour a small amount of honey into the tea cup. He turned to me when he finished and pushed the steaming cup gently my way.

I gave him a quizzical look after I peered into the cup. "It's just green tea. It calms frantic nerves," Eames said calmly, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Aren't you angry with me? After all that I said?" I asked nervously as I spun the hot cup in my hands, ignoring the stinging it brought.

Eames chuckled and said, "Of course not dear! We both had a…bloody difficult day yesterday. I knew you needed time to calm down and collect your thoughts so I didn't want to bother you. I hope you had a peaceful night. And, just to answer the question written all over your face, I gave you tea because coffee would make you more frantic and on edge, especially after yesterday, and tea calms your nerves. But I hope you had a good sleep, no bad dreams?" Eames asked very, and oddly, gentlemen like.

"Uh no, thanks for asking. So when is Yusuf coming over?" I asked tentatively, confused by the way Eames was acting.

"Oh, he's coming over soon, maybe in two hours or so," Eames said while he slide into a stool across from me, "Is your tea good?"

"I haven't tried it yet," I continued to twirl the tea cup in my hands before I hesitantly whispered while fixating my eyes on the cup, "Eames, what did you do in the military?"

His whole body visibly tensed. He set his jaw in a hard line, the line seemed even harsher in the golden morning light that was streaming in from the windows. His face went blank as his grip on the counter tightened until his knuckles turned bone white. I was about to apologize before he muttered in a clipped, firm voice, "All I did was train soldiers, that's it."

I quickly looked up and quirked an eyebrow and whispered calmly, "That doesn't sound like all of it."

"Well it is. Ariadne, there are things you should and should not know. If I wanted to tell you about my involvement in the military, I would have," he said in a firm, tense, and almost angry voice. I locked my eyes on his blue ones and the look he gave me said to end that part of the conversation.

His body relaxed when I quietly said, "Why is Yusuf coming over?"

"Because he wants to see you of course!" he said lightly, dramatically changing the mood of the conversation.

"And, um, why can't Arthur come?" I asked awkwardly, I didn't know how to go about the sudden mood change.

"Oh, poor stick in the mud, his mother has fallen ill. He's staying in the hospital with her in New Hampshire until she gets better. When I last called him she was improving, he said that if things are going along as good as they are, she might be out in a week and he can come to see you!" he explained, twiddling his thumbs. He seemed nervous, like he was waiting for something.

"Oh," I whispered. I wanted to change the subject again so I asked carefully, "How did you get so good a poker?"

"Practice, love, practice," he gave a playful wink and said suggestively, "Want to play?" he quirked an eyebrow up and down repeatedly, making the funniest of faces.

I laughed at the sight of him and gasped out between fits of giggles, "No!...I don't…want to…end up…broke!"

He chuckled along with me and when we calmed down he asked, "Have you even tried your tea yet? I made it extra special, just for you!" he gave an adorable pout and blinked his eyes repeatedly, resembling a little girl asking for a toy she desperately wanted.

"Ha-ha okay I'll drink it!" I said playfully. The tea smelled quite enticing. I raised the cup to my lips and tasted green tea with a hint of honey to soften the bitterness. It tasted quite delicious actually, considering Eames made it. But there was another taste in there that I couldn't quite pinpoint. It tasted like copper, but only a hint of it.

I was about to ask Eames about what he put in the tea when suddenly, my vision began to blur. Eames' face swam across my vision; he had a regretful look on his face. Anger surged up in me when I realized he drugged my tea, he probably put some sort of sedative in it. I whispered hurtfully and angrily, "You betrayed me, you tricked me and I was beginning to trust you!" I tried to remain conscious as the room spun to the point of making me extremely nauseous. I grasped onto the counter top for support, trying not to fall over. I gasped as pain throbbed in my temples at my struggle to stay awake. I vaguely heard a knock at the door and the shrieking scrape of Eames' stool as he got up. His footsteps sounded like gunshots as he walked to the door and I winced in pain with every step I heard. He opened the door and I looked over just in time to see Yusuf walk in with a mixture of pity and regret on his tan face as black seeped into the corner of my eyes and then slowly close around to the middle until there was only black.

Before I went completely unconscious, I remembered falling off of the stool and before I hit the ground, a strong, warm pair of arms caught me. One part of me said I was safe, the other screamed that I wasn't.

AN: Sorry this took a long time to put out! But it is quite long, if that makes up for it! I do not own Inception or any of its characters. I just want to say thanks for all of you who favorited, story alerted, reviewed, and read my story! It really does mean a lot. Again, this might become a romance thing but it's going to take time, love just isn't going to spring up over night though that would be easier to write ha-ha. Reviews are always welcome!