'Bloody hell, this feels like Groundhog day already.' Arthur grimaced as he awoke in the warehouse yet again. Before he had chance to breath a hand was around his neck and he could feel the cool metal of a gun on his temple. Arthur attempted to gain some leverage by pulling himself up but the floor was too smooth and his hands couldn't reach the nearby chair. 'You're.' His throat was constricted 'Choking me.'

Eames had seen red. His knee pinned the rest of Arthur's body to the floor, his good hand crushed Arthur's windpipe and his non-shooting hand held his favourite gun. Even using his untrained hand he could still pull the trigger with delicate precision. He wasn't sure were Cobb's was hiding. Nor did he particularly care: can't be done for murder if all the victim does is wake up. It had been a mistake to bring him along. Arthur was a liability.

'Get off him Eames.' Cobb's voice could be heard before a set of arms attempted to remove Eames from Arthur. Eames did not take his eyes from the purpling Arthur. 'Eames I'm serious. You don't have time to be turning on each other.'

'He betrayed me Cobb!'

'You.' Cobb pulled him off with full force. Eames was caught off guard as he always under estimated Cobb. Something which Cobb instinctively used to his advantage. 'Are such a child.' He lifted him gruffly and slammed him into a chair. Cobb quickly checked on Arthur who was trying to catch his breath. 'She called him a gimboid before telling me how she felt an instant attraction to you, but that she was scared, BECAUSE OF YOUR REPUTATION, that you were going to hurt her. That girl has been nothing but blindly faithful to you.' He paused to let the information sink in. 'She was going to say no. He irritated her.'

'I'm still here.' Arthur scrambled to his feet still clutching his raw neck.

'Sorry but it's true. The only reason why she tolerated Arthur enough to actually be his friend is because you made her a better person. You made her, however briefly, happy.' Cobb paced the floor in front of Eames. 'You're a jerk. She loved you from the second she saw you. Each time we go through this: she'll fall for you. It's up to you to make her trust you.'

'He needs to back off.'

'You invited me.' Arthur found his voice. 'I only wanted to see if I stood a chance... I didn't. You're the one that messed up telling her she was in her own subconscious. You know you shouldn't do that.' Arthur took himself across the room towards Eames. 'You have my word. If I do anything else, you can shoot me square between the eyes and send me home.'

'Yo, loser.' Evelyn skipped into the room. It was a rare day in her dark days that she came across happy. 'Correction, losers?' She then paused, assessed the two men. 'Unless you're clients; at which point I'm very sorry and how can I help?' She was dressed in unusually dark clothing. Her hair scraped painfully back from her face into a bun.

'Clients.' Eames decided to go with this façade as it had been handed to him on a plate. Eames only hoped that if Arthur was not quick on his feet, that he would at least have the good sense to keep quiet. 'William Kirk and Luke Hamill. We'd like to be involved every step of the way if that's possible.'

'In a dream, anything's possible darling.' She uttered as she reached out her hand. 'For a price of course.'

'I'll deal with that of course E!' Cobb inserted himself into the conversation.

'I don't mind dealing with this delightful young woman.' Eames smiled widely. 'How about we discuss this over dinner, tonight?'

'I'd love to, but I'm otherwise engaged.' Evelyn blushed. 'Would you excuse me for a moment, Cobb?' She ushered him to one side. 'He's asked me out. I'll have a date for your wedding after all. We're going for food tonight to see how we get on.'

'That explains the bounce in your step.' Cobb forced a smile. 'You be careful.' He brushed her cheek fatherly and considered his next move. 'Do me a favour though. Agree to meet this Eurotrash for brunch. He's got a hell of a lot of money and he's taken a shine to you.' He looked back towards the two men. 'You could get us this account. I'll give you a forty-five percent cut of anything we earn from jobs with him?'

'Just for meeting him for brunch?' She questioned sceptically. She watched Cobb nod. 'He's buying!' Again Cobb nodded. 'Ok then. Carlton's 11am! I've got to go.' She reached up on her tip toe to kiss Cobb on the cheek. 'Good night.' She turned on her heels and left the room with such an air of happiness that it was hard not to be warmed by her energy. It unnerved Cobb. An Evelyn who wasn't suspicious was in danger of being drawn into a trap.

'Brunch, tomorrow morning, 11 am. Please try not to mess this one up.' Cobb sat down in a lawn chair.

'So we have a day to come up with a good, convincing cover story?' Arthur removed his jacket.

'I Knew I brought you here for a reason sweetie.' Eames laughed. 'She used one of my lines on me boys. All is not lost.' He placed his arm over his eyes. Even within someone's subconscious a person could be tired and naturally fall asleep. The trick was to remain totally aware to ensure that your brain began to lucid dream as soon as the REM cycle reached the dream stage. To forget would result in Limbo. Eames decided it was worth the risk.

Her eyes were blood shot.

The blue of her irises was shining brightly in an unnatural way that made his heart stop before plummeting into his stomach.

'You're late.' She fixed her glasses onto the bridge of her nose. He was sure she thought the thick frames were hiding her eyes, when in fact they were magnifying them. She refused to look him in the eyes. 'Dom gives me one chance to lead a job and you somehow manage to screw me over. You know if we fuck this up; we all lose out?' She was fidgeting with the case while Eames crossed the room. Fidgeting could only mean one thing: she was angry.

'Sorry.' Eames muttered reaching for her hand. She recoiled at his touch. 'I-'

'What did you say to him?' Her question, even now, threw him off guard. He furrowed his brow in confussion. 'He was going to propose. He had the ring. But instead he moves out and dumps me. Eames... What did you do?' Now she couldn't take her eyes off him as she stared him down. 'We were happy. He was about to propose. He had the ring for God's sake Eames, we were going to get married. Then he goes out with you and-'

'You weren't happy Evelyn!' He roared.

'Who are you to tell me how I feel? I liked him a lot.' She insisted. 'He treated me-'

'Like crap.' Eames roared. 'He treated you like his slave. He didn't deserve you. Evelyn, you deserve better than that. You deserve to be...' He drifted away from the conversation.

'I was happy Eames.' She slammed the suitcase shut. 'I'm done. You can explain to the client why you can't help them.' She walked towards the door but before she could leave his hand had pushed the door closed leaving her pinned between it and him. 'I-'

'-Liked him. I heard.' Eames sighed. 'Have you ever been in love Evelyn?'

'What DID you say to him?' She turned to face him.

'That only if he truly loved you could he keep you.' He blushed crimson and closed his eyes briefly before walking away. 'That he'd have to worship the ground you walked on. He'd have to love you as much as I did. Evelyn, you deserve so much more. You deserve to be treated like a princess. You deserve to be treated like there's no one on this Earth more beautiful than you... mainly because there's not.' She had slowly walked over to him during the course of his rant.

'Eames...' She whispered. 'I... I don't know what to say. This doesn't make any sense.'

'You should be in love with the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. All you've ever said is that you like him. That's stupid, why do you want to be with someone you only have lukewarm feelings for?'

'Because the man I love has slept with everyone and anyone but me.' She dragged the back of her hand across her face. 'There was one time; I thought something would happen between us. I came to your apartment to tell you.' She looked away from him. 'But then Olivia opened the door in your shirt.'

'That was my first week?' Eames recalled. 'I remember when we were back in work on the Monday you were so cold to me.'

'There's a fine line between love and hate.' Her head was still bowed. 'I was protecting myself.'

'When there was no need. I love you. All I ever wanted to do was protect you, keep you safe and make you happy. I always thought you despised me and that you'd never ever feel the same. That's why I had a new girl every week. My heart already belonged to you and this was my way of protecting me from you.'

Taking his hands in hers she stood upon her tip toes and kissed him softly. 'Well, Man Whore-'

'-Stop calling me that.' He groaned playfully.

'Man whore... consider yourself retired, because.' She smiled bashfully. 'My heart skips a beat every time you walk in the room: It always has. I love you too.'