My first stab at Inception fanfic, little nervous to post (eep!), but it's been sitting on my computer for months now, I need to share it...love feedback and hope people enjoy! Not a song fic, the song "Blank White Page" comes to mind when I'm writing.

She awoke with the strange feeling she'd been in a dream.

"What the fuck? I don't dream anymore..." she thought. She rubbed at her eyes and instinctively checked her wrist.

"I'm going bloody insane..." she thought again trying to clear her head.

"Did it work?" Cobb asked as Arthur walked into the warehouse. Arthur set the large case down on a table before sitting in a wooden chair nearby.

"Do you really think it's going to be that easy Cobb?" he asked. Cobb sighed.

"We need her for this..." Cobb said finally "And you have to tell her that"

"You should know it isn't that simple.."Arthur sighed. He'd thought they were through with jobs. He'd hoped to find a better way to talk to her.

Ashby washed her face in the cold water of her dirty apartment sink. She took a small marble out of the wire encasing of her necklace...she held it up and looked through it with a sigh of relief.

"Christ Ash...what is with you?" a voice asked in the doorway.

"Nothing...just a dream..." Ashby sighed.

"But you never dream..." the girl said. Precisely. Ashby thought as she looked in the mirror.

"I may need to move Nel..." Ashby said looking into the mirror as Nel stepped into view

"You're joking!" Nel said surprised

"No..." Ashby said staring at the marble in her hand.

"Fuck all...give me time to find another fucking roommate at least!" Nel said storming away.

"Look Nel...I'm sorry..." Ashby said upon entering the small kitchen.

"What is it with you?" Nel asked angrily "You move in...rarely sleep and when you do, you seem to think it's time to leave again"

"It's a long story..." Ashby said sitting at the table "Look, I'll stay...but I can't make any guarantees of how long..."

"I'll put an add in the paper..." Nel said angrily leaving Ashby alone in the kitchen.

It was too real...she thought as she spun the marble on the table they can't know where I am...no one does...unless...he wouldn't...

She shook her head vigorously and placed the marble back in it's wire encasement at her neck.

"So, who is Ashby Wilkes?" Ariadne asked.

"Ah Ashby...that's who your looking for then?" Eames asked as he walked into the area.

"Nice of you to join us Mr. Eames" Arthur said annoyed.

"Always lovely to see your smiling face darling.." Eames said sarcastically.

"Ashby is.." Cobb began

"Was" Arthur corrected.

"..a point man, well woman, working with us. The only one on par with Arthur...put them together and they're unstoppable at what they do" Cobb continued.

"She's also his former fiance.." Eames added.

"And the only person who can keep you from talking" Arthur bit.

"So why did she leave?" Ariadne asked. In the short time she'd started dream sharing she'd realized it wasn't for everyone.

"It was a job we were working when we all were under Cobol..." Cobb said.

"It failed" Arthur added.

"Rather then attempt a job to redeem herself, Ashby ran...she's since bought her freedom.." Cobb said.

"But you don't work for Cobol anymore, why can't you just talk to her?" Ariadne asked. Eames smirked at the girl's slight ignorance.

"As with all things involving birds...it's complicated" Eames answered. Ariadne shrugged and looked to her watch.

"Hey Dom...do you mind if I leave? I'm meeting somebody for dinner..." she said grabbing her bag.

"Alright...you'll be back tomorrow?" Cobb asked.

"Always am." she grinned walking past him "see you tomorrow Arthur"

there was a loud bang as the door shut and she was gone.

"Just aren't lucky with the ladies are ya' mate.." Eames grinned.

Ashby wondered her apartment that night, constantly feeling as though she wasn't alone. Nel had gone out for the night, leaving her alone. at least she had hoped.

After an hour of reading she began feeling tired. it had been the first time in days she'd felt truly tired. She began her nightly ritual of getting ready for bed, still feeling she wasn't alone.

Soon she was in her bed, asleep.

Ashby looked about her. She glanced at what she was wearing...an evening gown in deep red. "great..." she thought looking into a window at her reflection. in the reflection she saw something all too familiar, she turned seeing a large modern staircase, people ascending and descending.

"Arthur..." she said with a smirk.

She started up the stairs in search of the intruder.

"Evening Ash..." a familiar voice said as she reached the top of a flight of stairs. "Looking lovely tonight"

"Should have known it was you..." she said annoyed "Your weird obsession with stairs"

"Paradox Ash...you know better" Arthur said taking a drink from the glass he was holding "Wine?"

"I'm fine..." Ashby said coldly "Why are you here? or why am I here? or whatever.."

Arthur sighed.

"The team needs you,we have another job...I need you..." he said.

"It's over. I left the team years ago and had hoped you'd be wise and do the same..." She said crossing her arms, leaning on the rail of the staircase.

"If I jump...I end this dream...then what will you do?" Ashby asked sarcastically.

"Ash, just make this easy...I know the last job didn't go well..." he tried calming her.

"Didn't go well? Arthur...we were nearly killed!" she yelled. the walls began to shake around them. "I know somehow you and Cobb were able to reconcile yourself with Cobol however, I didn't. I sank every penny I had into buying my freedom."

"Ash...calm down, I understand you're upset...we don't work for Cobol anymore..." Arthur tried soothing as he realized the dream was beginning to collapse.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she yelled "You remember that nice penthouse I had in London?"

Arthur stared at her.

"Do you?" she asked again. He did all too well and knew what the last job had taken from her. he simply nodded.

"Yeah, it's gone. not mine anymore. All the work I did to earn that...wasted! for nothing" she said angrily.

"You could have stayed...it would have worked out fine" Arthur explained. Ashby laughed sardonically.

"Right, everything is so fine in dream land isn't it? Well, Clearly you know how I'm living now if you can get to me here...I sank everything into buy my way out of Cobol's hell...that I live like shite now, in a little hole of an apartment." She spat "Try talking to me in reality once Arthur"

"You know it isn't that easy..." Arthur yelled after her. She was gone. The dream was over.

Ashby awoke, she glanced around the room. no one. she looked to her wrist.

"Dammit!" she said loudly. She reached for her necklace and looked through the small marble, it shone a transparent blue as the sun hit it.

"That's it!" she said annoyed as she got out of bed.

"Morning Ash.." Nel said from the dining room table...Ashby didn't answer. Only walked by as she threw on her coat and grabbed an umbrella. Nel glanced up.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I've got something I need to settle..." Ashby said angrily.