The sound of a cellphone ringing shattered the silence in the room. A figure wrapped with white cotton sheets rolled over, one arm emerged slowly from it and turned on the lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. The light revealed the silhouette of a tall trim man with dark hair. He rubbed his brown eyes with his right thumb and index, before reaching out for the cause of his wake up. Frowning at the screen of the device. It was 3 in the morning. He let out a yawn before clicking on it.

"Hello?" he said clearing his throat.

"DAMN IT ARTHUR! WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG?"

Immediately he pulled the phone away from his ear, afraid he might turn deaf if he didn't. A shade of irritation crossed his face as he raised his left eyebrow.

"Calm down, Cobb"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! WE HAVE A SITUATION HERE!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, it was always like this with him. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ok, what's the situation?"

"THEY'VE TAKEN HER!"

He felt a jolt of alarm on his stomach but remained composed. He had to be calm for both of them. He sat on the border of the bed, placing his elbows on top of his thighs.

"Taken who?"

"ARIADNE!"

Silence. Somehow the air of the room disappeared along with the one inside his lungs. He gulped, his throat went dry and he felt his fingers tremble. A second later his mind started to work again, the first thing to do was to take a deep breath then concentrate. What he needed now was to start to trace the course of action, he didn't have time to sort out the emerging feelings he was developing at the moment. He needed to remain calm and focused, since Cobb couldn't.

Stepping out of the bed and in two strides he was over his briefcase pulling out his notepad, pen and laptop. His mind already racing with questions he needed to ask Cobb and information he required to investigate. Once he was installed on the desk in front of the bed, he opened the notepad as the computer started to log in, clicking his pen he looked at himself on the mirror in front of him. Finding his calculating gaze he frowned.

"Tell me what happened"

-.-.-.-.-.-

Eames always loved the after taste of pizza sunken by his favorite brand of beer. He burped and smirked in satisfaction. He was a man of simple tastes, he loved the scent of a great steak roasting slowly on the grill, the sight of cheese melting on top of anything edible and of course the gentle touch of a female, especially if she was touching him on the correct parts.

Yes, Eames treasured his life. It couldn't get any better than this. On top of that he was back to his beloved hometown. Nothing could ever compared to walk down the streets of London in the middle of the night, just after watching a cricket game in the local bar. After round and round of beers, and shamelessly snogging the bartender on her break, he decided to call it a night and head back home alone. Although the bartender almost practically begged him to take her and have a wild ride, he wasn't feeling up to. Certain nights he just loved walking in solitude back to his place.

Taking out the keys from his trousers' pocket, he unlocked the door and turned the lights on. Retrieving the mail pushed by the frame of the door, he stood up and walked to his answering machine. The number 5 flashed in red, a cocky smile formed on his lips already guessing from whom was one of the messages. Still with the keys on his hand, he pressed the button as he started to flip the letters addressed to him.

"You have five new messages, first message delivered at 8:47pm"

"Charlie? It's Sue. I heard you're in town, care for a dirty martini tomorrow and breakfast later? Call me if you're up to"

Eames snickered as he tossed aside one of the catalogs he found on his correspondence. "Oh sure I am" he said and then pressed one of the buttons of the machine.

"Message saved. Second message delivered at 9:15pm"

"Ray? It's Joshua. Just checking up if you're still alive. Call me if you need more loans, since you only call for that. Anyhow I'll be in Amsterdam if you need anything you know how to reach me"

"Lucky wanker" Eames muttered while opening a letter, he pressed the a dark button still smiling.

"Message erased. Third message delivered at 10:32pm"

"In Vodafone we know your family is important that is why-"

"Message erased. Fourth message delivered at 1:17am"

Eames rolled his eyes as he tossed away the envelope of a bank account report. 'Damn marketers' he thought.

"Hey Charlie" the voice purred and Eames couldn't help but smile "So listen, tomorrow is my day off. So want to finish what you started tonight? If you do, well… you know where to find me"

"Message saved. Final message delivered at 1:38am"

"Eames, it's Arthur. I need you to take the next flight back to where our last job was. We'll meet up on the same place. The bishop had been taken"

"There are no more new messages" the machine spoke. The only noise that followed was the sound of keys smashing on the hard wood floor.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Cobb sighed before raising his right hand, turning slowly the doorknob he opened the door. Peeping by the frame, he noticed two small forms tugged under the covers, their chests rising up gently. Stepping in carefully, he approached the one on the right first. A blond girl rested peacefully with her thumb placed in her mouth. Cobb smiled, placing a rebellious lock of her hair behind her ear. He bent over and placed a kiss on her left cheek. The little girl stirred a little but continued sleeping like nothing happened.

Turning to his left, Cobb faced the other kid on the room. The young boy was half exposed, the covers where up to his waist. Also he was sleeping in an awkward position that any adult would definitely regret the following morning. Cobb smirked and didn't try to fix him, instead he only pulled the covers up and placed a kiss on his forehead.

Walking a couple of steps backwards, he sighed, as he looked at his kids once more before gulping and turning towards the door.

"I love you guys" he muttered, closing the door behind him.

One figure approached him and placed a hand on his right shoulder, Cobb turned to face it. There was an old man with a sad smile printed on his lips. Cobb returned the same smile and nodded.

"I'll be back soon. I promise" Cobb said.

"I know you will" Miles responded, squeezing his son-in-law's shoulder.

A/N: I will try to upload at least twice a week while the idea is still burning in my skull. For any more info follow me on twitter.