Disclaimer: I don't own Inception or anything related to. Just borrowing.
Notes: Post-Movie story.
Warnings: No Beta, so all the mistakes are indeed mine, and I hope that they do not impede your reading experience too much.
Summary: Arthur learns the hard way that migraines and Yusuf's experimental sedatives don't mix. No worries though, Eames to the rescue.
Anesthetized
It was raining heavily around him, the dark sky barking every once in a while before flashing brightly then returning to its inky state. Most people would blame the weather for their dark mood, but he knew better, knew that the gothic storm blooming around him was actually the product of his bad mood, not the other way around.
The lightening seemed to strike with the angry pulsing going on in his temples. It appeared that his medication was doing nothing to stop the migraine from gearing up behind his eyes.
He brushed off the pain and instead trained his eyes on the drops that had slid from his umbrella and descended towards the wet pavement where they splattered and mixed with other raindrops. He sighed heavily and kept his pace steady; entering the nightclub where he quickly shook the umbrella and set it near the entrance then shed his coat and hung it on a coat rack.
It was crowded; he had surmised as he walked towards the bar. "Bourbon," he requested from the bartender before turning around and glancing at the activity around him.
A few men stood in the corner laughing as they smoked cigars, exhaling a dusty stream of smoke from their mouths as they did so. Others were swaying to the smooth jazz a talented band was playing on a small stage to the side of the bar.
"Sir." Arthur turned back towards the bartender, watching as he set the small tumbler on a napkin.
The ice clinked in protest at being moved. "Thank you," he mumbled as he picked it up and took a sip, relishing in the heat that ran down his throat to settle in a ball of warmth in his stomach.
"Darling," a deep voice greeted beside him.
Arthur felt his eye twitch a bit, and he turned his head. "Don't call me that Eames," he scolded, taking a larger sip of the bourbon and rubbing a thumb against the perspiration on the outside of the glass. He was mildly surprised to see the Englishman as himself rather than a dumb blonde in an embarrassingly short and tight dress.
"And here I thought nightclubs were my thing," the man told him, smiling garishly as the bartender handed him a beer.
Arthur made a disgusted noise deep in his throat. "This is a gentleman's club."
Eames eyebrows in surprise and he blinked at the Point Man. "Why Arthur, I had no idea you were such a cad. One question though love, where on earth are all of the half-naked women?"
"This is not one of those clubs Eames," Arthur practically hissed at him, downing the rest of his drink and slamming the empty tumbler on the wooden bar slab loud enough that it had become dead silent.
Eames held his hands up in a placating manner, well aware of the way Arthur's projections were staring at him. "Come now darling, no need to draw unwanted attention to me and get me killed before I can see how you are reacting to Yusuf's new blend, love."
"Au contraire, I think I wouldn't mind at all if my projections ripped you apart Eames," Arthur replied with an irritated smile. He lifted two fingers to the bartender and then motioned down to his empty glass. The Point Man ignored the soft sigh that escaped the Forger's lips beside him.
Eames looked around the dusky room, assured that the projections had turned back to what they had been doing. "What is bothering you, Arthur?"
Arthur nodded his thanks to the bartender as his glass was refilled and he took a long swig before pinching his nose with his other hand, annoyed at the pervasive throb pounding in his temples. "Nothing, I am perfectly fine. Now do your job and examine my damn dream so we can get out of here."
Eames grunted as he slapped the brown bottle on the bar, turning around and examining the quality of the dreamscape that surrounded them. Without saying a word he walked off, leaving the brooding second in command at the bar.
Arthur recognized the guilt that welled within his chest as the man he viewed as an annoying and way too perky individual walked away from him. He couldn't help it though, he hadn't slept in nearly three days, researching and re-researching everything about their new job Cobb had taken. His fuse was much shorter than usual and he wasn't sure his brain would be able to handle much more of the painful pulse behind his eyes.
Nearly thirty minutes passed before the Forger returned.
"So?"
"It's not bad but still too crisp and clean, darling. These compounds are not strong enough to blur anything; Yusuf will need to make the sedative potent enough to distort things a bit more."
Arthur sighed silently. That meant he would be doing this again, and with stronger sedatives but most certainly without the lightened feeling of an actual night of restful sleep. Annoyance flared as he remembered how Eames had nominated him as the guinea pig for Yusuf's latest science experiment, quickly getting the others to agree with him.
His usually calm demeanor was beginning to crumble.
"You ready pet?" Eames deep voice asked softly behind his ear.
Arthur nodded and felt the press of cold steel against the back of his skull, he took a deep breath as he heard the telltale click of the safety being removed.
Arthur opened his eyes and immediately recognized the cracked ceiling of the building they were currently occupying. He was forced to slam his eyes shut quickly as nausea rolled through him after his eyes had accidently landed on the bright fluorescent lights that hung above him.
The pain seemed to be much worse in reality then it had been in his dream. He hunched over in his chair and breathed deeply, trying valiantly to bring the pounding in his skull back down to a bearable level and calm his roiling stomach.
The top two floors of the ten story building they were using was in awful shape, long abandoned and well on its way to being condemned. It was safer here, in this place. Most of their work was legal, but sometimes they were forced to use discretion when acquiring something for the government, and in this case keeping a low profile was required.
"Arthur?"
The Point Man heard Yusuf, but didn't trust his voice. Instead of answering, he just lifted his hand brushing off the worried tone.
There was suddenly a warm, calloused hand at his neck. "Arthur, are you alright?"
Arthur cringed at Eames worried voice. "I'm fine," he said breathily, forcing his head to raise and see his group of friends staring at him. "Perhaps this mixture is stronger than you thought Eames," Arthur lied.
Eames let out a deep laugh and clapped his back, the others joining shortly after, causing Arthur's brain to screech at him from within.
"Well?" Yusuf asked impatiently.
"It's too clear, the dosage needs to be altered so it blurs the images but doesn't distort them in a way that alerts the projections," Arthur responded. He glanced down at his hands that rested against atop his nice dress-suit pants, pointedly ignoring the way they shook.
Yusuf began babbling, and Arthur tuned him out, glancing longingly at the bedroom across the way. The water and electricity had been turned on for the time they would be using the two top floors. They were living there for the time being, and he couldn't believe how badly he longed for rest. The beds were musty, but after three days of no sleep, Arthur didn't care if he had to sleep on the disgustingly dirty floor.
"… sound good Arthur?"
Arthur snapped his head back over to his team, not noticing the way a pair of eyes trained concernedly on him. "I'm sorry, I must have zoned out. Say that again?"
Eames frowned at the young man as Yusuf explained.
"We will try this again in an hour with the altered mixture, alright?"
"Yes," Arthur agreed, straightening his tie and retrieving his suit jacket from the back of his chair. He brushed a hand over his gelled hair; making sure not a piece was out of place.
"Go rest," Eames told him. "You look like hell."
Arthur was about to object, but Cobb agreeing with the Forger stopped him. He nodded quickly, already heading towards the nearest room. "Come get me when you are ready to try again."
"Of course, pet," Eames called to him as he shut the bedroom door behind him.
Once Arthur was alone in the darkness, he let out a relieved breath and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. As soon as he could see well enough around the darkened room he threw his suit jacket on the bed and made his way to his suitcase, fumbling around until he found his leather bag filled with toiletries.
The bottle of pills stared invitingly up at him. He sighed in relief and after a few moments of fighting with the child-proof cap, he shook until six caplets fell onto his palm and swallowed them dry. Arthur sluggishly tossed his things in a pile beside the bed before collapsing onto the surface, not bothering to remove his loafers and refusing to pay attention to the cloud of disturbed dust that wafted around him.
His eyes slid closed and he fell quickly into a dreamless sleep.
What seemed like only seconds later, Arthur was being shaken awake.
"Arthur, it's time."
Arthur groaned, realizing that the migraine was still present and so was the nausea. "Give me a moment Ariadne. I will meet you out there."
"Okay," the young woman said, sounding as if a smile was on her face. "I'll tell the others." She was gracious enough to close the door behind her, shutting out the painful light.
After taking a moment to pull himself together, Arthur climbed to his feet and moaned when the room spun lazily around him. "Damnit," he muttered angrily. He took a few steadying breaths, grabbing the orange pill bottle and shaking four more white pills into his hand and swallowing them before opening his door, stepping out into the brightly lit room.
Eames was already sitting in his chair smiling at him. "Feel refreshed, darling? You look like you've caught a headache."
Arthur shakily took his seat beside Eames with a raised eyebrow, silently annoyed that he hadn't been better able to conceal that he was in pain. "If I have 'caught' anything, it is undoubtedly from your painfully loud wardrobe."
"At least I don't dress like I'm eighty," he told Arthur jovially.
Ariadne snorted from her spot on a beaten up old couch sitting across the room. "Actually you both kind of dress like you're eighty."
The Forger laughed a big boisterous laugh, seeming to relax at the barb. "All the better to agitate you with, my dear."
Eames turned his bright smile to Arthur. "Anything to add, darling?"
Arthur gave Eames a bored look as Yusuf carefully inserted the needle in his arm.
"You two ready?" Cobb asked from his desk off to the side of the room.
Eames looked at Arthur and smiled a predatory smile. "What do you say Arthur, are you ready to dream about me?"
Arthur was never given the chance to respond before his eyes slid gracefully closed and he was suddenly standing outside of the Strahov Philosophical Hall. It wasn't raining this time, it was actually quite warm and Arthur could hear the sound of crickets off in the distance.
He examined the world around him, noticing the way his usual fine lines were blurred around the edges. This was what they were trying to accomplish, a less detailed space, a more blurred dream was their intention and it looked like Yusuf had found the right combination of chemicals.
Mission accomplished.
It was only a few seconds after that realization that another one came along. He was feeling strange, his headache was there but his body didn't seem to be responding to it as it should. His hands had somehow become numb and it appeared that the nausea had followed him into the dreamscape.
Arthur inhaled shallowly and a wave of vertigo answered.
"Cobb will be pleased," Eames sounded behind him.
The Point Man's vision spun a moment before abruptly snapping still. He stood dazed, staring up at the building in confusion. Everything went black before everything cleared again, only this time he was on his knees, a strong grip on his forearm and an urgent voice clucking at him.
"…thur, what's wrong? Answer me damnit!"
"Eames," Arthur mumbled almost silently.
"What the bloody hell is happening to you? What's wrong?"
"I… I don't know."
Arthur couldn't stop the vomit from climbing up his throat and out of his mouth. The splattering noise the mess made as it hit the cement made him wince. He heard Eames curse behind him and he could hear deafening noises all around him and in that instant he realized that the dreamscape was collapsing around them.
Eames was the first to awaken; he sat up so quickly he could hear the wooden chair beneath him creak in agitation. In one fluid motion he ripped the needle from his arm and was on his feet before crouching down in front of Arthur.
The Forger looked closely this time, knowing that something was very wrong.
The Point Man, usually the picture of perfection was an awful shade of gray and his eyes had dark bruises under them along with his cheeks looking a little bit more hollowed than usual. His breathing was also erratic and shallow; it sounded painful and was hard to listen to.
The paisley clad man only had a second to react as a disconcerting noise danced from Arthur's mouth. He had Arthur by the forearms and tilted him slightly to the side as the man expelled all of the food he had consumed that day.
Eames sighed, a little mortified that this was the second time he had to hang on to the man as he brought his guts up and out, even though the first time was within the dreamscape. He could hear the others shouting at him in confusion, but he was at a loss as well, he had no idea what the hell was going on.
An idea came to him and without hesitance he ripped the needle from Arthur's arm, pulling the sleeping man from the chair and laying him flat on the ground, away from the mess. He ignored Cobb, Ariadne, Saito, and Yusuf as they crowded around him, shooting off questions like a shotgun.
"Arthur?" Ariadne inquired worriedly.
"What's going on?" Cobb yelled.
"Eames, what has happened?" Saito asked calmly.
"What's wrong?" Yusuf asked with wide eyes.
The Forger remained silent, lightly slapping Arthur's face to get some sort of reaction. His heart was pounding and a sense of dread washed over him when the man remained limp and unresponsive.
He looked up at The Chemist, "Yusuf is it possible he is having a reaction to the sedative?"
The brown man blinked at him. "He's never had one before; by all counts he should be fine. The sedatives were increased, but not enough to do this!"
It was then that Arthur started coming around. He began moaning, and his head rolled a bit before his eyes lifted to reveal tiny slits of honey brown eyes. "Wha..." he slurred helplessly.
"Ah, there you are darling," Eames drawled at him. "You are certainly having a rough week, aren't you?" the Forger crinkled his brow as he continued his examination of the man, trying to figure out what was happening. All of the signs were pointing to some kind of adverse reaction. "Oh bloody hell."
"Arthur," Eames called down to the man beneath him. He watched as the eyes rolled back into his head, his heart practically leaping into his throat at the sight. "No no, darling stay with me, alright? We've got to figure out what mess you've gotten yourself into this time so we can fix it."
Cobb pushed Arthur's chair away, distantly hearing the legs screech across the floor before tipping and smacking the ground with a loud thud. He was down on his knees on the opposite side of Eames, getting close to his friends face wrinkling his nose at the acrid smell of vomit. "Arthur, talk to me."
"I don't think he's slept in the three days we've been here," Eames supplied.
Cobb cursed, running a hand through his hair already blaming himself for the stress he knew Arthur put himself through every time a job came together. It was Arthur's method, in his personality to be incredibly precise when putting things together. He had to work out every single possibility everything that could go wrong, it was his way of ensuring a safe ride through the dreamscape.
"Wait," Yusuf said from behind shaking his hands animatedly. "If he took something, it could have caused a reaction with the stronger dose of sedatives."
Eames looked back at him before glancing at Ariadne who had gone incredibly pale. "What Ariadne?"
"He had a headache earlier, I saw him take something before the first trip with you," she babbled.
Cobb and Eames shared a horrified look. "Ariadne, I need you to go to his room and look for the bottle you saw earlier, alright?"
The young woman dashed off, running to the room Arthur had occupied a mere few minutes before.
"I am going to call my private physician and get her over here," Saito told them before pulling out his cell phone and pressing it to his ear.
"Fuck," Eames mumbled angrily. He turned his attention to the barely conscious Point Man he had become incredibly fond of. "Arthur, Arthur listen to me okay?"
Arthur mumbled something incoherent at him and Eames took that as a sign that he'd heard him. "How many pills did you take today?"
The barely conscious man whimpered softly. "Headache," he slurred miserably.
"Yes, you took the pills for a headache, but how many Arthur? How many did you take?" Cobb asked worriedly, his voice rising into a panicked tone at the end of the sentence.
Arthur seemed to gain a little more lucidity when Cobb's strict voice broke through his muddled barrier. "… dn know." It was the last thing he said before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped into unconsciousness.
Ariadne returned with the bottle a panicked expression marring her face. "The bottle is nearly empty, and we've only been here for a few days."
"My physician is on her way." Saito chimed from beside Yusuf.
Eames nodded and then moved to lift Arthur into his arms.
"What are you doing?" Cobb asked confusedly.
"I am getting as much of that shit out of his system as I can before he dies of an overdose," Eames replied in a clipped tone. "I don't trust he vomited it all out." He pulled Arthur into a sitting position, wrapping an arm around his back and then under his knees and lifted. When he felt how light the man was, he made a promise to himself that he would make sure Arthur ate more.
Eames quickly entered the bathroom connected to the room Arthur had been staying in. He set the limp man on the dirty tiles before curling his lips in disgust as he looked into the filthy toilet. It would have to do under the present circumstances.
"Cobb, get the light switch would you mate?"
Tilting Arthur forward so his head was leaning over the bowl and wrapping an arm around his stomach, Eames lifted him upwards slightly. "Don't want to ruin that pretty ensemble you are wearing, now do we?" When the man remained painfully silent he continued, "I want you to know that I expect you to forgive me for what I am about to do, darling. Especially considering I am trying to save your life."
"Eames," Cobb interrupted from the doorway.
The Forger turned his head, seeing that they had a viewing party. "Cobb, get them out of here and close the bedroom door. Arthur wouldn't want them to see him like this, let him keep some of his dignity."
Cobb quickly ushered Saito, Ariadne, and Yusuf from the room before closing the door and coming back to the bathroom doorway. "Saito will knock once the doctor gets here."
"Good," Eames nodded his approval before turning back to Arthur. "Forgive me," he murmured softly into the dark hair before pulling Arthur's jaw open and forcing his fingers in his mouth, pushing them back as far as they would go.
The reaction was instantaneous.
Eames felt Arthur jerk forward and gag, spewing bile into the dirty porcelain bowl beneath him. He removed his arm from around the unconscious mans' stomach and used his knee to prop him up instead and began rubbing circles on Arthur's back. "That's it Artie, get it all out of your system."
"Artie?" Cobb asked, having stepped into the small room.
Eames grinned up at the man. "He's going to hate it, isn't he?"
"Most definitely."
The next ten minutes comprised of Eames methodically forcing Arthur to vomit, not stopping until all Arthur could do was dry heave. "I think that's everything in his stomach."
"What about the sedatives from the PASIV?"
Eames sighed, "There still has to be something in his system, however small. I believe there isn't anything we can do to flush those out though, it was put directly into his blood stream and we came out of his dream prematurely."
"We have to wait for it to come out of his system naturally," Cobb muttered tiredly, scrubbing a hand against his face.
"Not to mention there is an excellent chance Arthur had more of those damned pills. Both the sedative and those pills have been in his system for a while; it's mixed with his blood," Eames explained, tilting Arthur back so he rested limply against the Forger's chest.
"I should have seen this coming," Cobb told him, a look of guilt and regret twisting his face.
Eames shook his head and gave a strained laugh. "None of us noticed. You know Arthur, he works too hard. Damn stick in the mud that he is."
Cobb laughed slightly and nodded his head.
"Alright, now for the really unpleasant part." Eames slid out from behind Arthur and pulled him back into the bridal position. "It's a good thing he isn't awake or I would be receiving the beating of a lifetime for this."
"What are you doing?"
"Be a pal Cobb and turn on that disgusting shower for me, would you?" Eames requested before climbing into the tub and standing directly beneath the rusted shower head. "Now I know why Arthur has been taking showers in Yusuf's bathroom, he definitely got the most disgusting one of us, neh?"
"Ready?"
Eames nodded and grit his teeth as the freezing water ran over his head, quickly drenching him and Arthur while their gelled hair was being pulled from the perfect position to matt messily on their heads. He grimaced when he saw the water was a rust color from the pipes not being used in so long. "I suppose this means a tetanus shot is in order after this."
"Mm," came a moan from the smaller man in his arms.
"You back with us Artie?"
There was a grunt and then Eames saw glazed brown eyes gaze up at him in confusion. "What the hell?" Eames couldn't help but to laugh noisily at the mortified words, though he wasn't impressed when he was on the receiving end of that famous glare.
"Oh no, don't give me that look you daffy bastard, you are the one who was mixing chemicals and nearly ended up brain dead," Eames huffed at him.
The most intelligent response poor Arthur could come up with was, "Huh?"
Eames shook his head and asked Cobb to turn off the freezing shower. He stepped out of the bathtub keeping a strong purchase on his burden as he set Arthur on the tile and began stripping him.
"Stop," Arthur mumbled at him, still tripping over his words.
"If I don't take these sopping clothes off we are going to have to add pneumonia to the list with accidental drug overdose, darling, and we don't want that now do we? Besides I think you've had a bad enough week as it is."
Arthur grunted as his tie was removed, then his dripping dress shirt, followed by his shoes, socks and slacks. "Why am I wet?"
Eames laughed, "Believe it or not, I don't mind you as a lucid, functional, human being no matter the stick up your arse. Falling into a coma would be quite troublesome for me, who would I tease, love?"
"I hate you," Arthur garbled with a pathetic glare in Eames's direction. "What happened?"
"Arthur, we think you overdosed on your migraine medication," Cobb explained, hunching down in front of his best friend.
Arthur's brow crinkled. "That's impossible; I've taken more than that before."
"Yes," Eames began, "but have you taken that much and then dipped into the dream world on incredibly strong sedatives as well, dear Artie?"
The Point Man's eyes widened in disbelief. "Shit."
"Not a very articulate response, but it will have to do seeing as you're still heavily drugged and mostly naked on a disgusting bathroom floor, " Eames chuckled nodding to Cobb who lifted one of Arthur's arms up and over his shoulder while Eames got Arthur's other arm.
They helped him get to the bed, where they allowed him to lie on his back.
Eames couldn't help but to slightly panic when Arthur's eyelids began descending towards his cheeks. He leaned over and gently slapped his face, getting a groan and a glassy glare for his efforts. "Don't even think about sleeping. I just took the coldest shower of my life in the dingiest bathroom I have ever been in, and am going to have to get a bloody tetanus shot now, all to get you lucid. No sleeping. Not until the doctor arrives and tells us that you are not bloody going to die today. Got it?"
Then there was a knock at the door.
"Speak of the devil."
"I'm going to go tell everyone that our dear Arthur is awake." Cobb clapped Eames on the shoulder and nodded his thanks. "I'll let the doctor in; Ariadne has undoubtedly informed the poor woman of what's going on."
"Go get changed too Eames, you look like a drenched puppy."
Eames nodded and took one last glance at Arthur before stepping out of the room and nodding the older woman in. He was unsurprised when he was instantly crowded by the other worried members of the team. He told them Arthur was conscious and demanded they sit down and wait for the doctor to check Arthur over while he went to change.
"So?" Ariadne pressed impatiently as Cobb stepped out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.
"He will be fine," he exhaled, listening to the collective sigh of relief. "Arthur was very lucky; Dr Aborath said he was extremely lucky his reaction wasn't more severe considering the exhaustion and the multiple sets of chemicals running through his bloodstream."
Yusuf looked incredibly guilty.
Cobb instantly caught the look. "Arthur wanted me to tell you, Yusuf, that it was not your fault. It was an accident, one that he is incredibly embarrassed about."
"It's not his fault," Ariadne objected, "He shouldn't be embarrassed, he didn't know that would happen."
They all turned to Eames who had let out a frustrated sigh. "That bloody stubborn wanker. Why didn't he tell us it was that bad? The test runs could have waited until he felt better… that complete dolt."
"As if you're one to talk," Ariadne muttered under her breath, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Eames glared at her but his attention was pulled away when the doctor walked out.
Dr. Aborath smiled at them comfortingly. "He's resting. I'm afraid there isn't much I can do that hasn't already been done. Mr. Cobb here told me that you helped my patient evacuate everything from his stomach."
Eames nodded.
"We would have pumped his stomach, but it might have been a last ditch effort if he had waited that long. You did well Mr. Eames," she grinned at him. "Getting him coherent was also a very good call; it's a lot easier to lose an airway and for one to slip into a coma if consciousness is lost for an extended period of time."
The Forger nodded again, relieved that he'd acted accordingly.
"As for tonight, I suggest one of you or a few of you stays with him throughout the night, waking him up every once in a while just to be safe," she advised. "Arthur is still really out of it, but the confusion will pass and he will return to his old self in no time. He needs sleep, his body is exhausted and the events of this evening didn't help, so encourage him to do so."
"You're damn right we will," Eames growled, still annoyed that Arthur had been so careless with his own health.
Dr. Aborath chuckled. "I have no doubt you will see to that."
Saito bowed and shook the Dr.'s hand, "Thank you for making a house call this evening, Dr. Aborath. We extend our eternal gratefulness."
The other's murmured their agreement and watched as the woman left gracefully.
"I'll take first watch," Cobb informed them.
Eames agreed with a nod of his head and glanced at the partially open door to Arthur's temporary home. "I'll take second."
"Sounds good," Cobb approved, turning and walking into Arthur's room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Ariadne glanced over at PASIV machine, her gaze landing on the sickness sitting criminally on the floor. "I guess I'll go clean that up then." She turned to Yusuf and Saito with a smirk, "And you two get to help me."
Eames wanted to grin and roll his eyes at their horrified expressions, but he didn't have the energy.
The Forger sank into the crappy old couch with an exhale knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, so he might as well wait for his turn to watch over Arthur. His gaze was fixed out the large panel windows across the room, studying the shadowy buildings that stared back at him through the darkness.
The man didn't know when it happened, but he drifted off, his eyes snapping open as the bedroom door beside him creaked open. He sat up abruptly and saw Cobb quietly exiting the room. "My turn?" he whispered, not wanting to wake the others who had finally gone to their rooms after hours of sitting around in uncomfortable silence.
Cobb nodded. "Even though he's exhausted he keeps coming in and out, always apologizing."
"Go get some rest Cobb, I'll watch over him," Trying to assure the man that his friend was in safe hands.
"Goodnight Eames, and thank you again."
Eames smiled and walked to Arthur's door, opening it and allowing the light from the other room to spill onto the bed and illuminate the Point Man's face. He looked much better; some color had made it back to his cheeks. The Forger took the seat that was settled right next to the bed and just listened to the man breathe, taking comfort in the fact that he still did so.
It was sometime later that Eames heard the slightest sounds of the younger man on the bed stirring. "Hush now Arthur. Relax, and rest."
"Eames?" the groggy voice asked softly.
"The one and only, darling," he replied watching as Arthur turned his head and blinked sluggishly up at him.
"I'm sorry," the tired man breathed. "I wouldn't have taken those pills if I'd known…"
"Stop Arthur. As pissed off as I am right now at the fact that you decided to neglect your health and not share the fact that your brain was trying to pound itself out of your skull, this really wasn't your fault. It is as you said, just an accident."
The Point Man sighed and rubbed a shaky hand over his face. "I owe you."
Eames raised an eyebrow at that and grinned, leaning over so his knees were nestled against the side of the bed. "Oh do you?"
"Thank you for saving me," came the quite admission.
The Forger swallowed the lump that magically appeared in his throat. "But of course, Artie. Anything for my pet; and from now on, I am going to be keeping a much closer eye on you and you will be taking better care of yourself."
Arthur groaned. "I am a grown man; I can take care of myself."
"You owe me, remember?"
The younger man blinked at him and huffed lightly. "Yes, I suppose I do. Fine, but I certainly don't have to like it."
Eames laughed heartily. "No, you certainly don't. All the more fun for me I believe. Rest Arthur, I will wake you in a few hours to make sure your brain hasn't completely turned to mush."
A soft grunt was the only answer before the head disappeared beneath the stale covers.
The Forger listened for a few minutes, waiting for the breath to even out signaling Arthur had fallen asleep.
"Eames?" the sleepy voice called.
"Sleep, darling."
"Just one more thing."
"Alright pet, what is it?"
"If you call me Artie ever again, I will castrate you."
~Finished~ Reviews are always appreciated and treasured. Thank you for reading!