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Reality Bleed
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Summary: While testing a new drug for Yusuf that is supposed to enhance senses in a dream, Arthur starts to panic and ends up getting far more than he bargained for.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong, or should completely belong, to Christopher Nolan.
PLEASE NOTE: I am, as near as I can tell, tweaking things a little. If projections don't mind if the dreamer (as opposed to the person in the dream with the dreamer) is changing the dream, then I apologize. Artistic license and all that. If you're someone who cannot bear to read a story unless it's perfectly in line with the rules of canon, then be warned that this might not be for you. Hopefully, however, everyone can suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy this!
*Updated Chapter Count!* – I've discovered a new problem of mine. I make the last chapter too far off from the one that comes before it. I'm sure none of you will particularly mind that I've added a chapter between the second and what was to be the last (third) chapter! This story is now four chapters long and this is that added chapter. It's a little shorter, but I think it adds a lot to the story. Enjoy!
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Chapter Three: Stitch and Time
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One aspect of Arthur's job was to find any individuals in their area that they might need and have them lined up in case of emergencies. People that they could trust to do their jobs well and then walk away with a pocket full of cash and sealed lips. Sometimes it was a maid service that would let them into their clients houses for a look around, sometimes it was the local gangbanger who knew how to dispose of a body (though the last time that had been a necessity was thankfully long ago) and sometimes it was a doctor who didn't mind not informing the authorities or local hospital that he'd been doing a little freelancing.
When they settled into their new base of operations, a steady one so that Cobb could be near his children, Arthur had gone around and done his usual bit of research. He had found a doctor, the elderly man Dr. Richards, and had quietly discussed terms. Normally he wouldn't approach the subject unless the services were actually needed, but they'd learned the hard way that people were fickle and it was best to have a lock on someone who could save your life. This particular doctor was good at what he did, efficient, discreet and willing. They hadn't used him yet, but the second Dom had introduced himself, blood smeared on his jacket sleeve, the man had immediately known who Dom was and what he needed.
He didn't ask many questions, for which Dom was grateful.
All in all, the trip took less than an hour. It felt like being in a dream to Dom, each minute longer than it should have been.
By the time he and Dr. Richards entered the warehouse, it looked like a battle had been waged. The chair was still down, splatters of blood around it, the PASIV machine left wide open for anyone to see, Yusuf's laboratory in disorganized shambles and all of his team members clustered around the couch that held Arthur. When Dom saw he was unconscious, he almost swore.
"I take it this is my patient?" Dr. Richards asked, voice gravelly with age and calm with experience. It shifted the whole mood. Suddenly he was in charge and it was either his age and professional but kindly demeanor or their utter desperation that made the change completely welcome.
Eames and Dom worked as orderlies, shifting Arthur as gently as they could in time with the doctor's requests, Saito retrieved any supplies that the man asked for - including a hefty shopping list that should have been pricey and impossible to get for anyone else, Ariadne played nurse and Yusuf, the only one with any sort of medical knowledge, helped in any way the older man asked. They worked as one unit, just like they did on the job, but this time Arthur was the client.
Dom tried not to take it to heart when Arthur groaned with pain every time they moved him. He could see on Eames' face that the other man was fighting the same sort of battle. When Eames pulled Arthur forward so that he could lean against the Forger's chest to let the doctor at his back, Dom had noticed Eames whispering things in his ear. Most of it was hard to make out, but there were quite a few repetitions of "Easy, love, it's all right." and "Shh, Arthur." mixed in with Eames' usual brand of sweet talk.
Dom's eyes took in everything happening all at once. Eames' gentle words and Ariadne's hand in Arthur's, the way she smoothed back his mussed up hair didn't escape his notice. He saw how Saito anxiously watched, rushing around to grab any requested item as though he wasn't a multi-millionaire too above them to fetch things and he definitely saw how Yusuf kept shaking his hand out, trying to keep it from shaking and causing more pain. Something in Dom relaxed when he saw all of it – it felt like he was working within a family for the first time since he'd lost Mal.
Thoughts of Mal weren't going to help, they'd just make it worse, even if the gaping wound that her death had left him with was finally scabbing over. He stared down at Arthur, trying to will him to wake up and be alright. Arthur was his oldest friend and was, at this point, the only constant that Dom had left. He'd taught Arthur everything he knew about dream sharing, but Arthur had long since repaid him for it. Dom couldn't stand the thought that this was somehow down to him. Objectively, he tried to tell himself that this was a risk of testing new sedatives that Arthur very much accepted, but his heart told him he should have tested it himself.
They were down to the last set of stitches when Ariadne apparently couldn't hold herself back anymore. "Is it bad that he's not awake? I mean…" She looked scared and Dom knew he should have been trying to comfort her, but it was all he could do to keep himself going.
Dr. Richards paused for a second, "Not necessarily. I dare even say not really." He smiled gently at Ariadne, "This is a pretty nasty head wound, he's lost a lot of blood and he is in quite a lot of pain. When you bring those factors together, unconsciousness isn't only likely, it's a mercy."
"For us or him?" Eames asked under his breath. Dom didn't respond, but his answer would have been something along the lines of Both.
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With Arthur's wounds cleaned and stitched, there was little else to do but wait. The doctor left them with instructions and the promise he'd return later. He'd tried to tell them that Arthur was doing well, that it had turned out to look worse than it really was, but it went in one ear and out the other.
The others hadn't batted an eye when Dom insisted he take first watch, there hadn't ever been a question. It was only long practice of bedside vigils that kept him from essentially freaking out when a fever developed. It was only the doctor's words to Ariadne and then repeated each time they asked, that kept him from worrying too intensely over Arthur's continued unconsciousness.
The fact was that he'd lost Mal already, he couldn't be expected to lose his best friend too. Dom leaned down to Arthur's ear, "You're going to be alright, Arthur. " He whispered.
"You have to be alright."
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