To Sleep, Perchance To Dream - Ch 9 - The Undiscovered Country - Pt. II
Disclaimer: See Prologue
Rating PG13
Pairing: Dom Cobb and Ariadne Bishop
Beta : Huge thanks to Vashti. Any remaining errors are mine, she did a great job.
Note: : Long chapter but there wasn’t a good break. This is Dom and Ariadne’s conversation about their dreams. Also you will see that Arthur has gained a last name, Allan. No real reason it simply worked. Eames has gained a first name, Conrad. It seemed to fit.
Previous Chapters: Prologue - To Be Or Not To Be - Ch 1 - Slings and Arrows Of Outrageous Fortune ; Ch 2 - Whether 'tis Nobler In The Mind To Suffer ; Ch 3 - To Take Arms Against A Sea Of Trouble ; Ch 4 - To Die, To Sleep No More ; Ch 5 - For In That Sleep.... ; Ch 6 - ....What Dreams May Come ; Ch 7 - The Heartache and The Thousand Natural Shocks ; Ch 8 - The Undiscovered Country - Pt I
Art Credit: All the amazing art found in this story is done by wickedandcruel. The originals and many more lovely pieces can be found at her Tumblr Your Own Destiny
Enjoy
To Sleep, Perchance To Dream
By Lattelady
Ch 9 - The Undiscovered Country - Part II
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Cobb had planned to take Ariadne for a walk along the Seine, after the mid-day meal, while his children napped, but a heavy spring rainstorm descended on Paris as they ate. It caused him to find another place where they could hold their Miles and Sabine mandated conversations.
“Where are we going?” Ari looked out the windshield, past quickly moving wipers. The city was grey and very wet. Dark heavy clouds pelted the area with thick droplets that brought traffic to a standstill and echoed off the convertible top of Miles’s prize 1954 Triumph TR 2. Wind blew every which way, turning umbrellas inside out and sending hats dancing down the street.
"I thought it might be appropriate to go back to the beginning."
"You missed the turn-off for the Collage," she pointed out. It was the beginning for her, where Miles had introduced them and where Cobb had given her two minutes to draw a maze that couldn't be solved in less than one. The exercise had piqued her interest and challenged her abilities.
"That's were the audition took place. I'm talking about the real beginning." As he spoke, he stopped across the street from the abandoned warehouse were all the prep work had been done for planting an idea in Robert Fischer's mind.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ariadne's hand covered his as he shifted into park. "I mean, what if the building is being watched. It could tie us back to the inception." During her seven lonely months in Paris she'd ached to return to this place. To be where they'd all been together, working hard, where she'd discovering things she never imagined existed. A place, where she knew that if she closed her eyes, she’d have been able to see and hear Dominic Cobb in her imagination.
"No one is watching the building. Only a handful of us know that anything out of the ordinary took place and it would be impossible to prove." He could read the worry in her eyes and did his best to reassure her. "One of Saito's subsidiaries owns the property. It was purchased when we came back from Mombasa with Eames. Mr. Saito considered it neater than renting. When he and I had dinner in LA almost two-and-a-half weeks ago, Saito told me about it and gave me the keys." Cobb had thought it odd at the time. Paris hadn't been in his plans. Nothing had been, except going to the library and grocery store with his children the next day.
"But we don't have a legitimate reason to be here." Ariadne wasn't sure why she was so reluctant about going in. It was a piece of her past and for the most part a pleasant one.
"You're beginning to sound paranoid. You really do need a few more nights of good sleep." Dom ran his thumb lightly along her jaw. "We don't need a reason and if we did, I'm an architect employed by Saito International, Inc. I accepted his offer this morning but told him I couldn't leave Paris until I took care of some family business."
"You did not!" She was sure he wouldn't uproot his children that way.
"I did so--"
"But what about Phillipa and James?"
"They're coming with us of course. From the pictures Saito sent me, and the prospectus I've seen, it'll takes us anywhere from six months to a year until construction begins. After that any changes we need to make can be done online." It had been a long time since he'd been this excited about creating a real structure.
"Wait, what's all this us and we business?" It had taken her a moment to catch on that he wasn't simply talking about his children or even Miles and Sabine.
"Saito faxed me two contracts, one for you and one for me. He wants us to design his hotel on Hera, fifty-five miles off of Crete in the Aegean Sea. I’m not trying to talk you into anything. The decision is yours. I'd advise taking a look at the terms before you make up your mind. Our Japanese friend wanted me to give you his regards and his sincere hope that you will join this venture. He seems to believe that it will lack the excitement of our last one but thought that might appeal to you."
"How the hell does he know I'm qualified? I don't even know if I am."
"He wouldn't be offering either of us a job if he weren’t sure of our abilities. Under that gentlemanly guise beats the heart of a ruthless businessman." Cobb'd had the same thoughts about himself until he remembered whom he was dealing with. "Ariadne, talk it over with Miles and if you still have doubts but want to do it, I'll bring you aboard as a sub-contractor of my company. I'll need the help. The project is too big for my one man operation."
"I ... damn..."
"Maybe I should have waited until you had your sleep issues under better control to tell you about this." He took her hand and held it between both of his. "But you're worried and I wanted you to know you've got viable options."
"When did all of this calling and faxing take place?" Ari wasn't sure what she wanted. She already knew Dom and Miles were right, she needed more sleep with a Cobb-sized Teddy bear to keep the night terrors and built-in kicks away.
"It happened while you were washing Phillipa's hair. Thank you for doing that. It meant a lot to her."
"You're welcome. It was fun and I'd promised her she could use my shampoo and conditioner." Ariadne had enjoyed her time spent with the little girl. She didn't know why she felt it necessary to explain her reasons but couldn't stop talking. "Sabine wanted to get in some new rose bushes before it rained. It was the least I could do to help."
"Now it's time to stop procrastinating, for both of us.” He reached over and undid her safety belt. “You wait in your seat and I'll come around with the umbrella."
Moments later Dom was opening her door and reaching in to help her out of the low-slung sports car. They huddled together under the protective black circle of cloth, as they dashed across the street. He held the curved handle tightly in one fist while Ariadne was tucked securely against his other side with his arm around her. "Don't want you blowing away," he murmured as she gripped the metal ribs above his head to keep their shelter from being turned inside out.
"Here take this." He handed her the folded umbrella once they were under the wide stonework archway that protected the door and entrance from inclement weather. Moments later Cobb worked the key into the lock that was stiff from lack of use. Once inside he carefully locked the door to the deserted building and left the umbrella open to dry at the bottom of the stairs leading to the loft warehouse where they'd spent so much time seven months earlier.
"Now, let's go." He took Ariadne's hand and they climbed the stairs.
“It doesn’t look all that different.” She looked around. The stone columns and high ceiling with large skylights were gray and slightly damp, whether from leaks or condensation, she didn't know or care. There were still old newspapers covering the lower half of many of the windows that made up a good portion of the walls. Where there was brick it was still dirty white, in need of a good paint job. Bits and pieces of furniture were scattered here and there, but anything that would link this place to shared dreaming had been removed by Arthur Allan and Conrad Eames, before the individual team members had flown separately to Sydney. "Somehow I thought it would have changed, too," she sighed. It didn't seem fair that she was the only one or thing to have deteriorated.
"Give me your coat, it's wet." Cobb helped her slip out of her damp jacket and hung it on a wall hook beside his. His actions were ingrained from weeks and weeks of coming and going together, except for those nights when he’d stayed and had private dream sessions. “I know what you mean. I get a strange sensation of déjà vu." As he said it, he reached for his totem and caught a like movement of Ari’s hand when she absent-mindedly reached for hers.
“Okay, this has got to stop.” Dom chuckled, holding out his palm with his miniature hourglass sitting in the middle of it. “It seems we’re both a bit paranoid.”
“How many times in the last seven months have you checked yours?” She rolled her bishop in her hand, savoring its weight and the truths it represented, before returning it to the front pocket of her jeans.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged and put the hourglass away. “Too often to count. I get the feeling that I’ll be relying on it until the day I die.”
“Yeah, me too.” She agreed. “Though it stands to reason for you. You had two very rough years...”
“More than that actually.” He laughed harshly, trying to shake off the slow cruel ending of a marriage that had begun with such promise. “At least when I check my totem nowadays, I’m not holding a loaded revolver inches from my head.”
"Oh my God," Ariadne gasped. "When...I mean...what if you misinterpreted its meaning? You’ve got children to think about." It was hard for her to imagine he'd been that desperate, though he'd been the one to teach her that death was the only way to wake from a shared dream. Unfortunately, the heavy compounds used during their inception deviated from that rule.
“The first few weeks I was home, I doubted everything, especially when I felt happy. I used my totem often and with blind faith. I could have made a mistake easily. One night, I almost did. It was late. James and Phillipa were asleep. I don't know what caused me to have doubts but suddenly I was spinning Mal's top. It seemed to spin forever and I panicked. I remember sitting frozen in my chair, staring at that damn thing as it went round and round. I kept asking myself, how could I be dreaming if my children were sleeping upstairs, safe in their beds. The only thing that saved my life was that I’d locked my pistol in the bedroom wall safe to be sure it was out if their reach.” He’d been watching the rain hit the skylight high above his head, as he talked, oblivious to the damage his words were doing to the woman beside him, until he heard her groan painfully.
“Ariadne.” He had his arms around her in seconds, afraid she was going to hit the ground. Her face was white as a sheet.
“I’m all right.”
“No you’re not.” He shook her gently, just enough to get her attention.
“You’re right, I’m not.” She gripped the front of his Black Watch plaid shirt and let her anger pour out. Her cheeks went from translucent to livid pink in an instant. “How dare you be so careless! You have two small children who need you. What would have happened to them if you had died, too! You idiot!” she exploded. “You have a phone. You could have called any number of people who love you. Any one of them would have talked you down. You could have called me and I would have kicked your ass all the way from Paris.”
“Hey, hey, easy there, Tiger.” He pulled her into an embrace and rested his cheek against her hair. “Now you know why I’ve been so frightened for you, why I’ve pushed you so hard.”
“Yeah, I get it now.” She squeezed her eyes closed trying to wipe out the picture his words had created in her mind. It was too easy to imagine him dead. She knew firsthand the loss James and Phillipa would have felt.
“Some good came out of that night.” He kept one arm around her and they began to walk slowly around the large room where they’d spent so much of the previous fall. “Intellectually, I knew all the reasons why I should get rid of Mal’s totem but emotionally I hadn’t been able to let it go. That night changed everything. I went to the cliff beyond my house and threw the damn thing in the Pacific Ocean. Do you remember me telling you about it in our shared dream last night?”
“Yes,” she nodded, still horrified by what could have happened.
"There is more that you need to remember from last night's dreaming session.” He frowned and rubbed his forehead. “Sabine thinks you’re afraid of something and that’s what is causing your built-in kick. I don’t know if she’s right, but she’s very good at what she does, and to be safe, Miles has kept her apprised of your situation. I wanted to remind you that my projection of Mal is gone. She won’t be invading my shared dreams again.”
“I’m not afraid of her. I hated that she shredded your emotions every time we ran into her.”
“She doesn’t have that power any longer. I set her free. Do you remember me telling you that?”
“Yes, you undid the damage of the first inception on Mal by planting a second one." She hoped he was right but his beautiful dead wife meant so much to him, it was hard to imagine he’d be able to fool his inner thoughts into letting her go.
“I can see you doubt me. It doesn’t mean crap that my conscious mind understands I planted the idea in myself," his words snapped and echoed off the walls, admitting a truth he’d skirted around the night before. "It’s the subconscious mind that controls the projections. If the projection believes, than so does my subconscious.” He knew it was an unusual idea, but it had worked.
“Monsters from the Id,” Ariadne whispered, recalling the line from Forbidden Planet.
“You watch too many old science fiction movies.”
“Ah, but they're the friend of the exhausted insomniac.” She smiled that he was able to correctly identify the source of her quote. It said a lot about what his sleeping habits had been at one time.
“You need to take this seriously. I’m trying to be sure you understand what happened and how many of my own rules I broke that put the group in danger. Damn, I’m trying to apologize.” Frustration got the better of him and he pulled away, running his fingers through his hair. “And I want to know the real reason you insisted on coming along when you were the only one who understood how dangerous it really was, the only one who knew my secrets.”
All the air went out of Ari’s lungs and her shoulders sagged as she walked slowly to the back of the warehouse to sit on top of the sturdy old desk. The lounge chairs had long since been removed but the desk, and some of the worktables remained. This was the spot where she’d snuck into his dream and he'd showed her Dominic Cobb's back pages.
“If that’s something you really want to know, you’ve brought us to where it began... Or maybe the beginning was really in my dream created version of Pont Royal Bridge, where I first met Mal.”
“Where she attacked and killed you with a knife, you mean,” his voice was low and rough at the memory that felt painful and new, even if it had happened in a dreaming session nine months earlier. He closed his eyes and could see how he’d struggled to get to Ariadne but the crowd had restrained him. All he had been able to do was watch and listen to her screams, as the blade plunged into her belly.
“You get points for honesty.” She shivered remembering her initial reaction. How she’d walked away from him, intending to never return but fascination with the project, or so she’d believed at the time, hadn’t allowed her to stay away. “I don’t know what Miles has told you about me but I’ve got this blind spot or oddity. Some might call it a fatal flaw: I hate lies.”
“How about calling it what it really is,” he suggested, “strong moral fiber.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “All I’m certain of is that I’d rather have the truth no matter how painful, no matter what the cost, than the kindest falsehood.” She shook her head trying to drive away doubts. “But I’ve lost my balance somewhere in these last seven murky months, because I don’t know what’s true and what isn’t anymore.”
“We’ll get it back for you.” Dom stood in front of her running his hands up and down her arms. “I promise we will.”
“I know you’ll try.” She smiled and gripped his right hand as he sat beside her on the desk. “And I will too. I can start right now by answering your question.
“All those months ago I told you I was doing it for the group.” Ari continued. “I meant it and it is still part of the reason, but there's more to it than that. The deeper we went and as I learned your secrets and hidden past, I hated seeing you live a lie. You had so many people who loved you, the Professor, your children and all your friends, but you settled for living in the past or worse than the past, a world of memories that only existed in your head. It was killing you and everyone around you. I was...well I became obsessed with forcing my beliefs on you.”
“Thank you, Ariadne, for your obsession,” he laughed softly. “And for bothering to see what no one else could.” He turned her toward him and slipped his arms around her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. “If you hadn’t been so driven to find the truth, we would have all been trapped in limbo until we were insane or dead.
She wiped away tears that had been forming and looked into his eyes. “I’ve got a question for you. Why didn’t you take the easy out and show Arthur your elevator ride through hell?”
“There were a number of reasons. The first was expedience.” He looked into her serious face and gently touched her cheek. “We ran out of time when Maurice Fischer died. There was a lot to finish and we still had to fly to Australia so we could make the trip with his son from Sydney to LA. But the rest is much more complicated.”
“Is there time before we have to start back?” She wasn’t sure how long his children napped. "That is if you're willing to talk about it."
“Sabine blocked out the whole afternoon for us and left us very specific orders to take care of whatever comes up.” He checked his watch and it was just past two. “We'd make the time even if we didn't have to be back until supper.” Cobb thought for a moment. It wasn't something he would have chosen to bring up so soon but Ariadne needed truth and he was going to give it to her.
"I've known Arthur for a long time. We were friends before my life went to hell. He knew Mal both before and after she began to...to...” Cobb sighed. It was easier to tell Ariadne the short version of his life before his wife’s suicide. There would be time for more later. He intended to make sure of it. “Then Mal was gone and I was on the run. Arthur had no compunction about helping me. He joined me using the skills Miles had taught us in a way my father-in-law never meant them to be used. Then Mal’s projection began showing up unexpectedly during extractions."
"Did you explain to him what was happening?" Ari had wondered if the other man’s prior history with the Cobbs had blinded him to the truth.
"No, but at first I didn't get it either." He shook his head at how foolish he'd been. "I thought it was nothing, simply an inconvenient way of grieving. But she wouldn't let me deny her existence even if it was only in dreams. The harder I tried, the meaner, angrier and more destructive she became."
"Didn't he see what was going on?" It had been apparent to Ari from her first violent meeting with the projection that something was very wrong.
"He saw that I was having problems but I kept telling him I had it under control." Dom admitted.
"How could he have believed you? It was so obvious."
"She was different with Arthur." Cobb held her a little closer, afraid Ari would bolt out into the rain when she learned the truth. "Mal was as ruthless with others as she was with you and me but it was always cool, calm, and logical. Those aspects can be dealt with, planned for and hopefully controlled and eliminated."
"I don't get it. She was never calm and logical, more like passionate and driven." Ariadne talked using her hands to emphasize her point.
"Ari, you have to understand that my projections of her came from my subconscious. I had no control over them." He needed to hear her say the words before he went on. If there was any confusion at this point he might lose her trust and any chance of getting her sleep cycle back to normal.
"I know that, Dom, but I still don't understand why she was treating Arthur differently."
“She treated him exactly like she did anyone else who dreamed with me, with the exception of you.” His eyes didn’t leave Ari’s serious face and he held her tighter as she became more confused.
“But why? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Because, Ariadne, she knew how I felt about you before I did.”
“That’s crazy,” she whispered and tried to pull away. “You were mourning your wife. She was the only woman you thought about.” Ari had told herself from the beginning that he was an older safe male whose company she enjoyed, much like Miles.
“No, wait.” Cobb wouldn’t let her wiggle out of his arms. “Hear me out. I may have been a widower when we met, but I wasn’t dead. I knew you were a smart, talented, attractive, desirable woman. Hell, we all knew it.”
“You guys talked about me like that!” she gasped.
“No, no, of course not. We respected you too much; well most of us did. Arthur tried to put the moves on you on the hotel level of the dream.” Dom growled and frowned at the memory.
“Get over that already. That wasn’t what happened.” She didn’t know if she should be flattered that he was jealous or annoyed at where the conversation was going. “He really was only trying to hide from the projections that were searching for him.”
Cobb frowned realizing she believed what she was saying, but thought it a bit naïve and a sure sign of lack of experience.
“Dom, think about it. How many jobs have you done with Arthur?” She ran her hand over his face trying to smooth out his scowl. “Would he risk ending up in limbo for decades and blowing the entire operation for someone who had already told him no?”
“I guess not.”
“Then leave it in the past where it belongs.” Ari pushed against his shoulders and angled her body to slip down from the desk. She'd managed to get his mind off the issue of feelings, now she had to keep him focused on something else. "Isn't it time we were getting back?"
“Wait, Ariadne, there’s more you need to hear if I’m going to answer your original question.” He pulled her back up beside him and kept his arms around her. “Some of what was going on inside my head, I was vaguely aware of as it was happening. I kept telling myself that it was simply because your tenacity and strength were like a breath of fresh air that I was attracted to you.”
“Dom,” she sighed. “You shouldn't be talking that way.”
“Why not, Tiger, it's the truth.” He kept one arm around her and cupped her cheek reassuringly. “Don’t look so frightened. I’m not going to hurt you or push you. You’re safe, I promise.”
“I do not look frightened.” She glared. “I don’t want to...well...” she waved her hand between the two of them. “You’re wrong...there’s isn’t...” But even as she said the words a tiny inner voice whispered, “liar.” For the first time in years she was afraid of the truth.
“Let me finish explaining this to you.” Cobb took a deep breath and plunged back in. “I could have taken Arthur on that same elevator ride I took you, but it would have been totally different. He would have seen the same floors but when it came to interacting with Mal it would have been like night and day. When she came after you in dreams, it was always with a sharp object, something that would do damage up close, and very personally. With Arthur, if she dealt with him at all, it was from a distance. The worst she ever did was shoot him in the knee and she didn't bat an eyelash, simply watched me to see how I reacted.”
“You brought me along so you could provoke her?”
“No, I brought you along because you and I were the only ones who understood how really dangerous she was and I... Well I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make the hard choices if I was backed into a corner. It’s why I kept you with me whenever I could. Knowing you had my back, allowed me to concentrate on keeping us moving downward.”
"I guess there really are monsters from the Id." She wanted to ask him so much more but lacked the courage.
"I happen to think Freud was full of crap so unless you're back on science fiction, I'd have to say no." Cobb spoke with careful finality, “I created my monster and it was up to me to lead her peacefully away.”
"Please, don't play word games," her voice cracked as she looked upward into intense blue eyes that burned through her with the power of nuclear fusion.
"It's so much the wiser thing to do," he whispered, deep and rich against her temple as he reach over and pulled her onto his lap. “I feel it too, you know? The chemistry, the need.” He nuzzled her throat breathing in her intoxicating scent.
"Dom," his name was a breath that warmed his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It took everything in her not to check her totem. Her logical mind told her they had to be lost in a dream somewhere.
He stood with her in his arms and slowly lowered her legs until she could stand. Their bodies pressed close, each needing the feel of the other. It was like it had been that morning, only this time they moved with deliberate intent, touching, feeling, wanting and needing.
"Wait, stop," Ariadne cried out, remembering where she was and that it was really happening. "I don’t let people get this close." They both knew she wasn’t simply talking about proximity, but emotionally as well.
"Too late, Tiger." Cobb ran his lips gently over hers but refrained from kissing her. "I’m already in. I’ve been in, we’ve both been in, for longer than either of us realized." He wrapped his hand around her jaw and tilted her face upward. "Do you have any idea how badly I want to kiss you?"
“Please, don’t do it,” she whispered as her eyes filled with tears but her body had a mind of its own as it leaned closer to him. She was confused. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to feel anything for her.
"Ariadne, honey, it’s okay. I’m not going to." He rested her head on his chest and ran his hand through her hair. "I can't kiss you and then not touch you when you're beside me tonight."
"This is crazy. It came out of nowhere. This...this reaction must be some kind of dream induced..."
"It isn’t dream induced, and these feelings didn't come out of nowhere. Mine have been building since the day I met you." His patience was growing thin. God, he wanted her but he knew it was impossible if he was ever going to piece her back together.
"I can’t give you answers that I don’t have." She nibbled on the side of her lower lip. She'd known she had feelings for him and thought it a harmless crush on a man who could never return them. Now he was changing all the rules.
"You don’t have to.” He stepped away and began to guide her back to where their coats were hanging on the wall. “The only thing I need to hear from you right now is that you trust me enough to let me continue helping you, and that you believe me when I say that I'd never attempt to take things any further in a dream."
"I trust you on both counts." She shivered as he ran his hands over her shoulders while helping her into her jacket. "And you need to remember what I said earlier. I don't let people in, Cobb."
"Damnit, it's Dom. You've been using my first name all day. Stop trying to resurrect your walls." He backed her against a column, while cradling her face in his hands. "Who hurt you so badly that you try to keep the rest of the world out?"
"No one," she insisted. "I’ve never let anyone get close enough." It was true she didn’t or hadn’t until Dominic Cobb came along. He made her want things she thought she’d put aside long ago.
“Maybe not on purpose.” He wouldn’t let her go until they settled this between them. “You just told me you cared enough to try and save me from my own personal hell. You cared enough to risk your sanity and your life instead of walking away. Sorry, Tiger, if I wasn’t already in, it sure sounds like you wanted me to be.”
“No, I...I...” she stuttered as his lips moved closer to hers. “I did it for the group.”
“Ariadne, you value truth and that’s what I’ve given you.” He dragged his mouth against hers and felt her melted against him.
“Please, I’m not ready for this,” her words were broken, almost a whisper. Ari remembered how close they’d been, all the touches, handholding and tenderness, how much she’d longed for him to look at her with eyes that cared and she realized a deep attraction had been there from the moment she’d stepped into a dream with him. “I didn’t mean to be a tease.”
“You weren’t.” He rubbed his thumb along her cheek. “You’re a pleasure.”
“I still need to figure this all out. I need to know why I’ve got those damn walls to begin with and why it terrifies me that you’ve breached them so completely.”
He pulled her into a gentle hug and was gratified when she wrapped her arms around him. “When I was lost you guided me back to the real world of my children and life outside of dreams. Now it’s my turn. Honesty was your compass and sometime during all your sleepless nights you misplaced it. I won’t let you get lost, I promise.” He leaned his head back so he could see her face. “Until you can find you own way, I’ll be your magnetic north.”
“I think I’d like that, Dom.”
“Good, let’s get going.” He took her hand and they headed toward the stairs but he stopped before they’d gone more than three feet. “Ariadne.” Dom swung her around until she was facing him “There’s one other thing. When we’ve gotten to the bottom of your problems and you’re back to being you again.” He looked her up and down and she felt as if the heat in his eyes burned straight through her clothes. “I'm coming for you. I plan on collecting on that kiss," though his tone said he wanted much more.
"I’m not sure...” Her natural instinct was to try and block him, though she knew it was useless, because it was far too late.
“I am.” He smiled. “And that’s the truth.”
To Ch 10 - The Undiscovered Country Pt III
Rating PG13
Pairing: Dom Cobb and Ariadne Bishop
Beta : Huge thanks to Vashti. Any remaining errors are mine, she did a great job.
Note: : Long chapter but there wasn’t a good break. This is Dom and Ariadne’s conversation about their dreams. Also you will see that Arthur has gained a last name, Allan. No real reason it simply worked. Eames has gained a first name, Conrad. It seemed to fit.
Previous Chapters: Prologue - To Be Or Not To Be - Ch 1 - Slings and Arrows Of Outrageous Fortune ; Ch 2 - Whether 'tis Nobler In The Mind To Suffer ; Ch 3 - To Take Arms Against A Sea Of Trouble ; Ch 4 - To Die, To Sleep No More ; Ch 5 - For In That Sleep.... ; Ch 6 - ....What Dreams May Come ; Ch 7 - The Heartache and The Thousand Natural Shocks ; Ch 8 - The Undiscovered Country - Pt I
Art Credit: All the amazing art found in this story is done by wickedandcruel. The originals and many more lovely pieces can be found at her Tumblr Your Own Destiny
Enjoy
To Sleep, Perchance To Dream
By Lattelady
Ch 9 - The Undiscovered Country - Part II
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cobb had planned to take Ariadne for a walk along the Seine, after the mid-day meal, while his children napped, but a heavy spring rainstorm descended on Paris as they ate. It caused him to find another place where they could hold their Miles and Sabine mandated conversations.
“Where are we going?” Ari looked out the windshield, past quickly moving wipers. The city was grey and very wet. Dark heavy clouds pelted the area with thick droplets that brought traffic to a standstill and echoed off the convertible top of Miles’s prize 1954 Triumph TR 2. Wind blew every which way, turning umbrellas inside out and sending hats dancing down the street.
"I thought it might be appropriate to go back to the beginning."
"You missed the turn-off for the Collage," she pointed out. It was the beginning for her, where Miles had introduced them and where Cobb had given her two minutes to draw a maze that couldn't be solved in less than one. The exercise had piqued her interest and challenged her abilities.
"That's were the audition took place. I'm talking about the real beginning." As he spoke, he stopped across the street from the abandoned warehouse were all the prep work had been done for planting an idea in Robert Fischer's mind.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ariadne's hand covered his as he shifted into park. "I mean, what if the building is being watched. It could tie us back to the inception." During her seven lonely months in Paris she'd ached to return to this place. To be where they'd all been together, working hard, where she'd discovering things she never imagined existed. A place, where she knew that if she closed her eyes, she’d have been able to see and hear Dominic Cobb in her imagination.
"No one is watching the building. Only a handful of us know that anything out of the ordinary took place and it would be impossible to prove." He could read the worry in her eyes and did his best to reassure her. "One of Saito's subsidiaries owns the property. It was purchased when we came back from Mombasa with Eames. Mr. Saito considered it neater than renting. When he and I had dinner in LA almost two-and-a-half weeks ago, Saito told me about it and gave me the keys." Cobb had thought it odd at the time. Paris hadn't been in his plans. Nothing had been, except going to the library and grocery store with his children the next day.
"But we don't have a legitimate reason to be here." Ariadne wasn't sure why she was so reluctant about going in. It was a piece of her past and for the most part a pleasant one.
"You're beginning to sound paranoid. You really do need a few more nights of good sleep." Dom ran his thumb lightly along her jaw. "We don't need a reason and if we did, I'm an architect employed by Saito International, Inc. I accepted his offer this morning but told him I couldn't leave Paris until I took care of some family business."
"You did not!" She was sure he wouldn't uproot his children that way.
"I did so--"
"But what about Phillipa and James?"
"They're coming with us of course. From the pictures Saito sent me, and the prospectus I've seen, it'll takes us anywhere from six months to a year until construction begins. After that any changes we need to make can be done online." It had been a long time since he'd been this excited about creating a real structure.
"Wait, what's all this us and we business?" It had taken her a moment to catch on that he wasn't simply talking about his children or even Miles and Sabine.
"Saito faxed me two contracts, one for you and one for me. He wants us to design his hotel on Hera, fifty-five miles off of Crete in the Aegean Sea. I’m not trying to talk you into anything. The decision is yours. I'd advise taking a look at the terms before you make up your mind. Our Japanese friend wanted me to give you his regards and his sincere hope that you will join this venture. He seems to believe that it will lack the excitement of our last one but thought that might appeal to you."
"How the hell does he know I'm qualified? I don't even know if I am."
"He wouldn't be offering either of us a job if he weren’t sure of our abilities. Under that gentlemanly guise beats the heart of a ruthless businessman." Cobb'd had the same thoughts about himself until he remembered whom he was dealing with. "Ariadne, talk it over with Miles and if you still have doubts but want to do it, I'll bring you aboard as a sub-contractor of my company. I'll need the help. The project is too big for my one man operation."
"I ... damn..."
"Maybe I should have waited until you had your sleep issues under better control to tell you about this." He took her hand and held it between both of his. "But you're worried and I wanted you to know you've got viable options."
"When did all of this calling and faxing take place?" Ari wasn't sure what she wanted. She already knew Dom and Miles were right, she needed more sleep with a Cobb-sized Teddy bear to keep the night terrors and built-in kicks away.
"It happened while you were washing Phillipa's hair. Thank you for doing that. It meant a lot to her."
"You're welcome. It was fun and I'd promised her she could use my shampoo and conditioner." Ariadne had enjoyed her time spent with the little girl. She didn't know why she felt it necessary to explain her reasons but couldn't stop talking. "Sabine wanted to get in some new rose bushes before it rained. It was the least I could do to help."
"Now it's time to stop procrastinating, for both of us.” He reached over and undid her safety belt. “You wait in your seat and I'll come around with the umbrella."
Moments later Dom was opening her door and reaching in to help her out of the low-slung sports car. They huddled together under the protective black circle of cloth, as they dashed across the street. He held the curved handle tightly in one fist while Ariadne was tucked securely against his other side with his arm around her. "Don't want you blowing away," he murmured as she gripped the metal ribs above his head to keep their shelter from being turned inside out.
"Here take this." He handed her the folded umbrella once they were under the wide stonework archway that protected the door and entrance from inclement weather. Moments later Cobb worked the key into the lock that was stiff from lack of use. Once inside he carefully locked the door to the deserted building and left the umbrella open to dry at the bottom of the stairs leading to the loft warehouse where they'd spent so much time seven months earlier.
"Now, let's go." He took Ariadne's hand and they climbed the stairs.
“It doesn’t look all that different.” She looked around. The stone columns and high ceiling with large skylights were gray and slightly damp, whether from leaks or condensation, she didn't know or care. There were still old newspapers covering the lower half of many of the windows that made up a good portion of the walls. Where there was brick it was still dirty white, in need of a good paint job. Bits and pieces of furniture were scattered here and there, but anything that would link this place to shared dreaming had been removed by Arthur Allan and Conrad Eames, before the individual team members had flown separately to Sydney. "Somehow I thought it would have changed, too," she sighed. It didn't seem fair that she was the only one or thing to have deteriorated.
"Give me your coat, it's wet." Cobb helped her slip out of her damp jacket and hung it on a wall hook beside his. His actions were ingrained from weeks and weeks of coming and going together, except for those nights when he’d stayed and had private dream sessions. “I know what you mean. I get a strange sensation of déjà vu." As he said it, he reached for his totem and caught a like movement of Ari’s hand when she absent-mindedly reached for hers.
“Okay, this has got to stop.” Dom chuckled, holding out his palm with his miniature hourglass sitting in the middle of it. “It seems we’re both a bit paranoid.”
“How many times in the last seven months have you checked yours?” She rolled her bishop in her hand, savoring its weight and the truths it represented, before returning it to the front pocket of her jeans.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged and put the hourglass away. “Too often to count. I get the feeling that I’ll be relying on it until the day I die.”
“Yeah, me too.” She agreed. “Though it stands to reason for you. You had two very rough years...”
“More than that actually.” He laughed harshly, trying to shake off the slow cruel ending of a marriage that had begun with such promise. “At least when I check my totem nowadays, I’m not holding a loaded revolver inches from my head.”
"Oh my God," Ariadne gasped. "When...I mean...what if you misinterpreted its meaning? You’ve got children to think about." It was hard for her to imagine he'd been that desperate, though he'd been the one to teach her that death was the only way to wake from a shared dream. Unfortunately, the heavy compounds used during their inception deviated from that rule.
“The first few weeks I was home, I doubted everything, especially when I felt happy. I used my totem often and with blind faith. I could have made a mistake easily. One night, I almost did. It was late. James and Phillipa were asleep. I don't know what caused me to have doubts but suddenly I was spinning Mal's top. It seemed to spin forever and I panicked. I remember sitting frozen in my chair, staring at that damn thing as it went round and round. I kept asking myself, how could I be dreaming if my children were sleeping upstairs, safe in their beds. The only thing that saved my life was that I’d locked my pistol in the bedroom wall safe to be sure it was out if their reach.” He’d been watching the rain hit the skylight high above his head, as he talked, oblivious to the damage his words were doing to the woman beside him, until he heard her groan painfully.
“Ariadne.” He had his arms around her in seconds, afraid she was going to hit the ground. Her face was white as a sheet.
“I’m all right.”
“No you’re not.” He shook her gently, just enough to get her attention.
“You’re right, I’m not.” She gripped the front of his Black Watch plaid shirt and let her anger pour out. Her cheeks went from translucent to livid pink in an instant. “How dare you be so careless! You have two small children who need you. What would have happened to them if you had died, too! You idiot!” she exploded. “You have a phone. You could have called any number of people who love you. Any one of them would have talked you down. You could have called me and I would have kicked your ass all the way from Paris.”
“Hey, hey, easy there, Tiger.” He pulled her into an embrace and rested his cheek against her hair. “Now you know why I’ve been so frightened for you, why I’ve pushed you so hard.”
“Yeah, I get it now.” She squeezed her eyes closed trying to wipe out the picture his words had created in her mind. It was too easy to imagine him dead. She knew firsthand the loss James and Phillipa would have felt.
“Some good came out of that night.” He kept one arm around her and they began to walk slowly around the large room where they’d spent so much of the previous fall. “Intellectually, I knew all the reasons why I should get rid of Mal’s totem but emotionally I hadn’t been able to let it go. That night changed everything. I went to the cliff beyond my house and threw the damn thing in the Pacific Ocean. Do you remember me telling you about it in our shared dream last night?”
“Yes,” she nodded, still horrified by what could have happened.
"There is more that you need to remember from last night's dreaming session.” He frowned and rubbed his forehead. “Sabine thinks you’re afraid of something and that’s what is causing your built-in kick. I don’t know if she’s right, but she’s very good at what she does, and to be safe, Miles has kept her apprised of your situation. I wanted to remind you that my projection of Mal is gone. She won’t be invading my shared dreams again.”
“I’m not afraid of her. I hated that she shredded your emotions every time we ran into her.”
“She doesn’t have that power any longer. I set her free. Do you remember me telling you that?”
“Yes, you undid the damage of the first inception on Mal by planting a second one." She hoped he was right but his beautiful dead wife meant so much to him, it was hard to imagine he’d be able to fool his inner thoughts into letting her go.
“I can see you doubt me. It doesn’t mean crap that my conscious mind understands I planted the idea in myself," his words snapped and echoed off the walls, admitting a truth he’d skirted around the night before. "It’s the subconscious mind that controls the projections. If the projection believes, than so does my subconscious.” He knew it was an unusual idea, but it had worked.
“Monsters from the Id,” Ariadne whispered, recalling the line from Forbidden Planet.
“You watch too many old science fiction movies.”
“Ah, but they're the friend of the exhausted insomniac.” She smiled that he was able to correctly identify the source of her quote. It said a lot about what his sleeping habits had been at one time.
“You need to take this seriously. I’m trying to be sure you understand what happened and how many of my own rules I broke that put the group in danger. Damn, I’m trying to apologize.” Frustration got the better of him and he pulled away, running his fingers through his hair. “And I want to know the real reason you insisted on coming along when you were the only one who understood how dangerous it really was, the only one who knew my secrets.”
All the air went out of Ari’s lungs and her shoulders sagged as she walked slowly to the back of the warehouse to sit on top of the sturdy old desk. The lounge chairs had long since been removed but the desk, and some of the worktables remained. This was the spot where she’d snuck into his dream and he'd showed her Dominic Cobb's back pages.
“If that’s something you really want to know, you’ve brought us to where it began... Or maybe the beginning was really in my dream created version of Pont Royal Bridge, where I first met Mal.”
“Where she attacked and killed you with a knife, you mean,” his voice was low and rough at the memory that felt painful and new, even if it had happened in a dreaming session nine months earlier. He closed his eyes and could see how he’d struggled to get to Ariadne but the crowd had restrained him. All he had been able to do was watch and listen to her screams, as the blade plunged into her belly.
“You get points for honesty.” She shivered remembering her initial reaction. How she’d walked away from him, intending to never return but fascination with the project, or so she’d believed at the time, hadn’t allowed her to stay away. “I don’t know what Miles has told you about me but I’ve got this blind spot or oddity. Some might call it a fatal flaw: I hate lies.”
“How about calling it what it really is,” he suggested, “strong moral fiber.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “All I’m certain of is that I’d rather have the truth no matter how painful, no matter what the cost, than the kindest falsehood.” She shook her head trying to drive away doubts. “But I’ve lost my balance somewhere in these last seven murky months, because I don’t know what’s true and what isn’t anymore.”
“We’ll get it back for you.” Dom stood in front of her running his hands up and down her arms. “I promise we will.”
“I know you’ll try.” She smiled and gripped his right hand as he sat beside her on the desk. “And I will too. I can start right now by answering your question.
“All those months ago I told you I was doing it for the group.” Ari continued. “I meant it and it is still part of the reason, but there's more to it than that. The deeper we went and as I learned your secrets and hidden past, I hated seeing you live a lie. You had so many people who loved you, the Professor, your children and all your friends, but you settled for living in the past or worse than the past, a world of memories that only existed in your head. It was killing you and everyone around you. I was...well I became obsessed with forcing my beliefs on you.”
“Thank you, Ariadne, for your obsession,” he laughed softly. “And for bothering to see what no one else could.” He turned her toward him and slipped his arms around her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. “If you hadn’t been so driven to find the truth, we would have all been trapped in limbo until we were insane or dead.
She wiped away tears that had been forming and looked into his eyes. “I’ve got a question for you. Why didn’t you take the easy out and show Arthur your elevator ride through hell?”
“There were a number of reasons. The first was expedience.” He looked into her serious face and gently touched her cheek. “We ran out of time when Maurice Fischer died. There was a lot to finish and we still had to fly to Australia so we could make the trip with his son from Sydney to LA. But the rest is much more complicated.”
“Is there time before we have to start back?” She wasn’t sure how long his children napped. "That is if you're willing to talk about it."
“Sabine blocked out the whole afternoon for us and left us very specific orders to take care of whatever comes up.” He checked his watch and it was just past two. “We'd make the time even if we didn't have to be back until supper.” Cobb thought for a moment. It wasn't something he would have chosen to bring up so soon but Ariadne needed truth and he was going to give it to her.
"I've known Arthur for a long time. We were friends before my life went to hell. He knew Mal both before and after she began to...to...” Cobb sighed. It was easier to tell Ariadne the short version of his life before his wife’s suicide. There would be time for more later. He intended to make sure of it. “Then Mal was gone and I was on the run. Arthur had no compunction about helping me. He joined me using the skills Miles had taught us in a way my father-in-law never meant them to be used. Then Mal’s projection began showing up unexpectedly during extractions."
"Did you explain to him what was happening?" Ari had wondered if the other man’s prior history with the Cobbs had blinded him to the truth.
"No, but at first I didn't get it either." He shook his head at how foolish he'd been. "I thought it was nothing, simply an inconvenient way of grieving. But she wouldn't let me deny her existence even if it was only in dreams. The harder I tried, the meaner, angrier and more destructive she became."
"Didn't he see what was going on?" It had been apparent to Ari from her first violent meeting with the projection that something was very wrong.
"He saw that I was having problems but I kept telling him I had it under control." Dom admitted.
"How could he have believed you? It was so obvious."
"She was different with Arthur." Cobb held her a little closer, afraid Ari would bolt out into the rain when she learned the truth. "Mal was as ruthless with others as she was with you and me but it was always cool, calm, and logical. Those aspects can be dealt with, planned for and hopefully controlled and eliminated."
"I don't get it. She was never calm and logical, more like passionate and driven." Ariadne talked using her hands to emphasize her point.
"Ari, you have to understand that my projections of her came from my subconscious. I had no control over them." He needed to hear her say the words before he went on. If there was any confusion at this point he might lose her trust and any chance of getting her sleep cycle back to normal.
"I know that, Dom, but I still don't understand why she was treating Arthur differently."
“She treated him exactly like she did anyone else who dreamed with me, with the exception of you.” His eyes didn’t leave Ari’s serious face and he held her tighter as she became more confused.
“But why? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Because, Ariadne, she knew how I felt about you before I did.”
“That’s crazy,” she whispered and tried to pull away. “You were mourning your wife. She was the only woman you thought about.” Ari had told herself from the beginning that he was an older safe male whose company she enjoyed, much like Miles.
“No, wait.” Cobb wouldn’t let her wiggle out of his arms. “Hear me out. I may have been a widower when we met, but I wasn’t dead. I knew you were a smart, talented, attractive, desirable woman. Hell, we all knew it.”
“You guys talked about me like that!” she gasped.
“No, no, of course not. We respected you too much; well most of us did. Arthur tried to put the moves on you on the hotel level of the dream.” Dom growled and frowned at the memory.
“Get over that already. That wasn’t what happened.” She didn’t know if she should be flattered that he was jealous or annoyed at where the conversation was going. “He really was only trying to hide from the projections that were searching for him.”
Cobb frowned realizing she believed what she was saying, but thought it a bit naïve and a sure sign of lack of experience.
“Dom, think about it. How many jobs have you done with Arthur?” She ran her hand over his face trying to smooth out his scowl. “Would he risk ending up in limbo for decades and blowing the entire operation for someone who had already told him no?”
“I guess not.”
“Then leave it in the past where it belongs.” Ari pushed against his shoulders and angled her body to slip down from the desk. She'd managed to get his mind off the issue of feelings, now she had to keep him focused on something else. "Isn't it time we were getting back?"
“Wait, Ariadne, there’s more you need to hear if I’m going to answer your original question.” He pulled her back up beside him and kept his arms around her. “Some of what was going on inside my head, I was vaguely aware of as it was happening. I kept telling myself that it was simply because your tenacity and strength were like a breath of fresh air that I was attracted to you.”
“Dom,” she sighed. “You shouldn't be talking that way.”
“Why not, Tiger, it's the truth.” He kept one arm around her and cupped her cheek reassuringly. “Don’t look so frightened. I’m not going to hurt you or push you. You’re safe, I promise.”
“I do not look frightened.” She glared. “I don’t want to...well...” she waved her hand between the two of them. “You’re wrong...there’s isn’t...” But even as she said the words a tiny inner voice whispered, “liar.” For the first time in years she was afraid of the truth.
“Let me finish explaining this to you.” Cobb took a deep breath and plunged back in. “I could have taken Arthur on that same elevator ride I took you, but it would have been totally different. He would have seen the same floors but when it came to interacting with Mal it would have been like night and day. When she came after you in dreams, it was always with a sharp object, something that would do damage up close, and very personally. With Arthur, if she dealt with him at all, it was from a distance. The worst she ever did was shoot him in the knee and she didn't bat an eyelash, simply watched me to see how I reacted.”
“You brought me along so you could provoke her?”
“No, I brought you along because you and I were the only ones who understood how really dangerous she was and I... Well I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make the hard choices if I was backed into a corner. It’s why I kept you with me whenever I could. Knowing you had my back, allowed me to concentrate on keeping us moving downward.”
"I guess there really are monsters from the Id." She wanted to ask him so much more but lacked the courage.
"I happen to think Freud was full of crap so unless you're back on science fiction, I'd have to say no." Cobb spoke with careful finality, “I created my monster and it was up to me to lead her peacefully away.”
"Please, don't play word games," her voice cracked as she looked upward into intense blue eyes that burned through her with the power of nuclear fusion.
"It's so much the wiser thing to do," he whispered, deep and rich against her temple as he reach over and pulled her onto his lap. “I feel it too, you know? The chemistry, the need.” He nuzzled her throat breathing in her intoxicating scent.
"Dom," his name was a breath that warmed his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It took everything in her not to check her totem. Her logical mind told her they had to be lost in a dream somewhere.
He stood with her in his arms and slowly lowered her legs until she could stand. Their bodies pressed close, each needing the feel of the other. It was like it had been that morning, only this time they moved with deliberate intent, touching, feeling, wanting and needing.
"Wait, stop," Ariadne cried out, remembering where she was and that it was really happening. "I don’t let people get this close." They both knew she wasn’t simply talking about proximity, but emotionally as well.
"Too late, Tiger." Cobb ran his lips gently over hers but refrained from kissing her. "I’m already in. I’ve been in, we’ve both been in, for longer than either of us realized." He wrapped his hand around her jaw and tilted her face upward. "Do you have any idea how badly I want to kiss you?"
“Please, don’t do it,” she whispered as her eyes filled with tears but her body had a mind of its own as it leaned closer to him. She was confused. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to feel anything for her.
"Ariadne, honey, it’s okay. I’m not going to." He rested her head on his chest and ran his hand through her hair. "I can't kiss you and then not touch you when you're beside me tonight."
"This is crazy. It came out of nowhere. This...this reaction must be some kind of dream induced..."
"It isn’t dream induced, and these feelings didn't come out of nowhere. Mine have been building since the day I met you." His patience was growing thin. God, he wanted her but he knew it was impossible if he was ever going to piece her back together.
"I can’t give you answers that I don’t have." She nibbled on the side of her lower lip. She'd known she had feelings for him and thought it a harmless crush on a man who could never return them. Now he was changing all the rules.
"You don’t have to.” He stepped away and began to guide her back to where their coats were hanging on the wall. “The only thing I need to hear from you right now is that you trust me enough to let me continue helping you, and that you believe me when I say that I'd never attempt to take things any further in a dream."
"I trust you on both counts." She shivered as he ran his hands over her shoulders while helping her into her jacket. "And you need to remember what I said earlier. I don't let people in, Cobb."
"Damnit, it's Dom. You've been using my first name all day. Stop trying to resurrect your walls." He backed her against a column, while cradling her face in his hands. "Who hurt you so badly that you try to keep the rest of the world out?"
"No one," she insisted. "I’ve never let anyone get close enough." It was true she didn’t or hadn’t until Dominic Cobb came along. He made her want things she thought she’d put aside long ago.
“Maybe not on purpose.” He wouldn’t let her go until they settled this between them. “You just told me you cared enough to try and save me from my own personal hell. You cared enough to risk your sanity and your life instead of walking away. Sorry, Tiger, if I wasn’t already in, it sure sounds like you wanted me to be.”
“No, I...I...” she stuttered as his lips moved closer to hers. “I did it for the group.”
“Ariadne, you value truth and that’s what I’ve given you.” He dragged his mouth against hers and felt her melted against him.
“Please, I’m not ready for this,” her words were broken, almost a whisper. Ari remembered how close they’d been, all the touches, handholding and tenderness, how much she’d longed for him to look at her with eyes that cared and she realized a deep attraction had been there from the moment she’d stepped into a dream with him. “I didn’t mean to be a tease.”
“You weren’t.” He rubbed his thumb along her cheek. “You’re a pleasure.”
“I still need to figure this all out. I need to know why I’ve got those damn walls to begin with and why it terrifies me that you’ve breached them so completely.”
He pulled her into a gentle hug and was gratified when she wrapped her arms around him. “When I was lost you guided me back to the real world of my children and life outside of dreams. Now it’s my turn. Honesty was your compass and sometime during all your sleepless nights you misplaced it. I won’t let you get lost, I promise.” He leaned his head back so he could see her face. “Until you can find you own way, I’ll be your magnetic north.”
“I think I’d like that, Dom.”
“Good, let’s get going.” He took her hand and they headed toward the stairs but he stopped before they’d gone more than three feet. “Ariadne.” Dom swung her around until she was facing him “There’s one other thing. When we’ve gotten to the bottom of your problems and you’re back to being you again.” He looked her up and down and she felt as if the heat in his eyes burned straight through her clothes. “I'm coming for you. I plan on collecting on that kiss," though his tone said he wanted much more.
"I’m not sure...” Her natural instinct was to try and block him, though she knew it was useless, because it was far too late.
“I am.” He smiled. “And that’s the truth.”
To Ch 10 - The Undiscovered Country Pt III