Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me. Apologies for taking so long to update this!

Eames' eyes flicked round, and focused on Arthur. "Give us Robert, and I'll let go of her."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Is it really that simple?"

"Yes," Eames said, his tone becoming more aggressive. "It is. Let us have Robert, and I won't hurt her."

"You're not going to hurt her." Arthur's voice was flat, emotionless. "Hurting her isn't in you, Eames. You may like to think that, but its just something they implanted. You hurting her isn't in your nature."

Dom shot a look at the younger boy. Arthur was standing directly in front of Eames and Ariadne, refusing to break eye contact. Eames gulped, and shifted so the young woman was now shielding him from the other boy.

"They didn't implant anything," he said, although Dom noticed the heat was beginning to fade from his voice, and that the arm placed around Ariadne's neck was beginning to loosen slightly. "This is what I do."

"Its because you've never felt secure," Dom interjected, his tone as calm as Arthur's. "I know how you feel Eames. I know how it feels to have people constantly judge you, expect you to behave a certain way. But if you take Robert, or if you hurt Ariadne, you're just behaving in the way Saito and Browning expect you to behave. They took you for a reason - they've taken all of us for a reason. The best thing we can do is subvert that."

Eames swallowed. "You-" he choked slightly, and cleared his throat. "You think you know me?"

"I never said that," Dom said, mildly. "I just know what you won't do. This is a dream, and if you hurt someone in a dream, they remember when they wake up. You kill someone, chances are they'll just fall into limbo. As soon as they do that, their mind may be completely gone."

Nash looked at Dom. "You're full of it, you know that? You're full of this psudo psychotherapy bullshit, the sort of stuff that you've learnt to parrot." He pressed the knife more closely to Ariadne's throat, and to the horror of Dom and Arthur, the tip began to tilt dangerously close to puncturing the skin. "We die, we wake up. And if she dies-" his eyes glinted, dangerously - "then its on your conscience. On your conscience forever."

"No," Dom said shaking his head. "Its on yours. On yours. You were pulled into this, Nash - you can just give up, and walk away."

"Look," Robert spoke up. "I'll come with the two of you. Just, please, let her go. Don't hurt her."

Eames looked at Robert. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Robert held up a placating hand, a gesture not lost on Arthur and Dom. "Just - don't hurt her. You don't need to do that, I'll come with you both, willingly."

Dom shot him a look. "You go with them, it'll be the end of your relationship with your father."

Robert glared at Dom, any pretence of friendliness evaporating rapidly. "Yes. But in my dream, I think we play by my rules."

"Yes, Robert," Dom said patiently, "but you see, we're not in your dream."

"We're in mine," Ariadne gasped out, and with a sleight of hand, pulled out a small knife from her waist pocket, and stabbed it into Nash's thigh. He screamed, and dropped the knife he was holding. Staggering backwards, he clutched ar the wound. Eames, shocked, relinquished his grip on Ariadne and she pulled away completely.

"Bag him!" Dom ordered, and Arthur rushed forward, pulling a bag over Robert's head. "Right, I'm taking you upstairs," he snapped, beginning to pull him forward. Robert, stunned, didn't even try to fight him. Meekly, he let himself be led upstairs.

Dom moved forward, grabbing a gun from the worktop surface. "Nash. Its just a flesh wound. Eames, hands where I can see them."

Eames complied, Nash, white with shock, kept his hands firmly clamped around the wounds. Ariadne stood next to Dom.

"OK, this is the last time. You either come with us, or you pull out of the dream."

"We can't pull out of the dream, we go back, they'll know we failed." Eames met Dom's eyes. "You're not giving us a choice. There is only one option."

"Right." Dom didn't lower the gun. "I don't want to hurt you, Eames. Make the right choice."

Eames looked at him. "I'll come with you, on one condition. Once this is over, you - and you have support from Miles - need to help me. Help me build a life. I don't have anyone. You do."

Dom nodded. "I'll help you, Eames. You help us."

"What about me?" Nash gasped.

"You?" Dom turned to him. "Sit down." Nash nodded, numbly, and collapsed onto a wooden kitchen chair. "Ariadne, would you mind bandaging his wound?"


"What are you doing?" Robert protested as Arthur pulled him upstairs. "I'm worth more to you alive! I promise you that!"

"I'm not going to kill you," Arthur commented, his tone even. "But if you want to survive, you're going to have to listen to me. Browning is working against you, he wants control of your father's company, and if he gets that, its your inheritance gone. He'll destroy it. What you're going to do, is realise that your father deserves better."

"My father-" Robert choked slightly, and as they were upstairs, Arthur pulled the bag off his head. His large eyes, the colour of a foaming ocean, looked directly into Arthur's deep brown ones. "My father doesn't care about me. He doesn't. My mother died, and you know what he said? 'Robert, there's really nothing to to be said.' I was 11, Arthur!"

"It doesn't mean he doesn't feel anything for you," Arthur said, gently. "He just may not show it. We're going to meet him, and you're going to talk. Positively."

Robert nodded. "I still-" he stopped abruptly. Arthur had gently pressed the back of his neck, causing him to fall unconscious. Quickly, he tossed the bag aside and opened the wardrobe. Spotting the PASIV, he pulled it out, and began to pull out the IVs.


Ariadne moved towards Nash, holding a bandage. Quickly, she pulled it into a tourniquet, preventing the bleeding further. Dom nodded, and walked towards him. With a sudden movement, Nash's head fell forward, unconscious.

"What did you do?" Eames asked.

"Just put him under. He's not coming with us." Dom looked at the other boy. "You are. Let's go upstairs, now."

As they entered the room, they found Arthur attaching IVs. He nodded. "You ready?"

"Yes." Dom began to fasten an IV to his forearm, an action imitated by Eames and Ariadne. "We go into Robert's sub conscious, we get him to talk to his projection of his father, and also his godfather. He emerges more positive about his relationship with his father, and as a result, we may be able to escape. If Maurice Fischer thinks his son is on his side, he will help us, and protect us."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Hopefully. Don't forget. We're still in the clinic."

Dom nodded. "For the moment." He looked at Eames. "If you stay with us, you can change your life for the better. Are you with us?"

Eames nodded, slowly. "Yes."

"Good." Dom nodded at Arthur. "Ready?"

Arthur responded. "Ready." As he pressed down the PASIV, the group was plunged into darkness.

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