DISCLAIMER: Christopher Nolan owns Inception

It was hard not telling Ariadne what was going on, but Cobb always had the best way of explaining things. I would probably end up making her scared or angry.

"Ariadne, it's nice to see you again." He didn't hug her, but offered a genuine smile instead.

"You too. How are you?"

He shrugged. "Can't complain." He looked at me and gave a quick nod, almost a well-done.

Eames threw his hands in the air. "Where's the love for Eames?"

"Hi Eames," Ariadne smiled, opening her arms. Eames picked her up in his hug, squeezing the life out of her. He placed her back down and she fiddled with the ends of her scarf. There was a moment of silence.

"So…why am I here? Is there a job?"

Cobb furrowed his brow. "There is. But you won't be working."

"Oh." She shuffled her feet. She almost looked disappointed. "Then why am I here?"

I sat down on the uncomfortable hotel couch, as far away from Eames as possible. Cobb motioned to the space next to me, offering her a seat.

"Ariadne, I'm going to be honest with you. The FBI contacted us a couple of hours ago."

"The FBI?" She looked at him, confused. "Aren't we supposed to steer clear of them?"

Cobb nodded. "Yes, but this guy contacted us. I'm sure you know of the bombings around Paris, the US and UK?"

She was silent for a moment. She quickly nodded her head. "Yeah, there were a couple near the college and where I live. It's scary stuff. It's difficult to leave the apartment."

"Well that's one of the reasons we brought you here. We don't need you for the job, but we figured you'd be safer with us in Washington than in Paris."

"Well…thanks," she cut in.

"For what?"

"For not forgetting me."

Cobb looked like he wanted to smile. He hid it quickly, looking down at his feet. I rolled my eyes. I had hoped more time with his kids would have made him more emotionally expressive.

"Anyway, they have an accomplice of the guy who is doing it, and they want us to interview him. A verbal extraction."

I stood up. "It will be difficult, but not impossible. If we do it correctly, then we won't have to enter the dream of a possible psychopath and the FBI will give us a day's head start to leave the country."

"Oh. I suppose it's best that way. When are you doing the interview?"

I smiled. She was so receptive. Unlike other Architects I had worked with, she just understood things, never asking me to clarify or repeat.

"We'll fly over to DC tomorrow morning."

"You can come with us if you want," Cobb mumbled from the desk across the suite. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"I don't mind." Ariadne stood up. "I think I'd rather follow you around anyway. I've never been to Washington."

"You wouldn't feel uncomfortable with interviewing a bomber suspect?" I asked, smirking. She shrugged.

"I guess I've gotten used to the strange."

"Speaking of which," Eames spoke, stretching his legs out, kicking me in the process. "Have you tried doing anymore dream work?"

I looked at Ariadne. I could feel Cobb's eyes behind me as well. She was quiet for a moment.

"I'm not gonna lie, I've had offers."

Eames raised his eyebrows.

"And you've said no?"

"Well, I just don't know how sure I am about doing this for real."

"Good answer," Cobb said, placing a pen back on the desk. "For God's sake, don't rush into this. It's incredibly difficult to stop once you've started."

"You know me. Logic first," she smiled, pointing to her head.

"No love, that's Arthur."

"Eames?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

Cobb glanced at his watch. "Everyone, get some sleep. We're off early tomorrow. Meet you down in the lobby at 5:30."

Needless to say, that night, I didn't get any sleep. The thought of going to the FBI headquarters was too threatening, too risky. How did I know that this wasn't a set up? Just a ruse to get us arrested?

After tossing and turning for hours, I gave up and got out of bed. I opened the window and lit up a cigarette. Cobb always hated my smoking. He said it was a habit that would kill me early, but personally I think dream work is going to be my inevitable end.

The phone started ringing, and I quickly dismissed my cigarette out of the window before answering.

"Hello?"

"Arthur, it's Cobb."

I sighed. "Oh, what can I do for you?"

I heard a small chuckle on the other end of the line. "Arthur, you are more than a Point Man. I don't always call you for work or research."

"I suppose not. What's up?"

"Tomorrow in the interview, I need to you to lead it."

I raised my eyebrows. "You sure? That's kind of your job."

"Arthur, you have far better people skills than I do. I may be the Extractor, but I think you'd have more luck with the guy. I'll back you."

"You don't say that very often."

"Yeah, don't get used to it."

I smiled. "See you tomorrow Cobb."

I placed the phone down and crawled back into the hard bed. If I was going to lead the interview tomorrow, I needed to rest. Plus, a 7 hour flight with Eames didn't exactly sound like the most fun in the world.