Chapter Text
Evelyn had fallen asleep just minutes after they’d left Hamunaptra, her body lulling against his as her head fell against his shoulder. She tried to turn, as if she wanted to press her face against his chest but the camel's saddle beneath them prevented it.
He tried to not be obvious about the glances he frequently snuck down at her, but more than once he’d caught Johnathon looking at them with a knowing smile. He couldn’t help it - mummies coming to life, thousand year old curses being enacted, the plagues of Egypt falling down on them and the thing he was still having the most trouble believing was that the woman in his arms liked him.
More than just liked him, if the way she’d kissed him meant anything. God, did he hope it did.
After several hours of riding they reached the village they’d stopped at after losing all most of their supplies and clothes to the Nile. Jonathan, in a surprising bout of selflessness went and got them somewhere to stay with Rick tried to not disturb Evelyn too much.
When he came back Rick had to wake her, even just enough to get down from the camel. She sagged against him the moment her feet hit the ground, and he swept her up in his arms before she could fall.
She lifted one arm around his shoulder, nuzzling her face into the other and he smiled, looking down at her.
Following Jonathan he made his way to a structure set up behind a house. It wasn’t much - could barely be called a shed, but it would protect them from the wind and the sun when it rose in the morning.
Jonathan had already placed three bedrolls, and he gently lowered Evelyn onto the one in the center. She barely roused, just let out a quiet, muffled noise and rolled over onto her stomach, her body stretching briefly before it relaxed.
He pulled out a blanket and laid it on top of her, tucking it in around her neck before ducking outside to tend to the camels.
The two men worked in silence as they removed the bags and saddles from the camels, leading them over to a post where they were able to tie them for the night. When they’d finished they sat outside, and Rick leaned against the wood of the house, his eyes sliding shut.
He didn’t relax for long before the sharp sounds of metal tumbling against metal shocked him from his near-sleep state, his eyes shooting open as his hand reached for the gun at his side.
“Sorry old chap,” Jonathan said with a guilty smile from where he was couched, an empty saddlebag in his hands and a pile of gold by his feet.
Rick sighed. “What are you doing now?” He asked
“Well we’ve got to sort through all of this, take inventory, haven’t we?” Jonathan asked as he dropped the bag and began digging through the pile.
Rick shook his head, a smile tugging at the side of his mouth before he leaned forward and began rifling through the pile.
There were some interesting things, beyond how valuable everything was. A knife inlaid with carved lapis figures. Several small gold figurines.
What caught his attention, though, was a small ring. He’d seen it when he’d brushed aside a gold jar, his eye catching on the orange-red glow of the carnelian stone it was inlaid with - looking like a solid version of the sun when it was going down late in the day, spread out across the desert.
He picked it up, turning it over in his fingers. It was tiny, far too small for him. The band was solid gold, rounded on the inner circle that laid against the skin but flat on the outer edge. Near the top of the ring there were two coils around the band, the inner edges going just under the top.
The top of the ring was oblong and held a slightly outwardly-rounded carnelian stone that, upon closer inspection, was carved with a few tiny flower shapes.
Rick thought it was surprisingly pretty, and the image of it on Evelyn’s hand flashed through his mind. The fact that it was on a rather specific finger nearly made his face flush, as though everyone would be able to tell what he was thinking. Nearly. Without another thought, he slipped it into his pockets.
He looked up after pulling his hand back out, suddenly nervous that he’d been seen, but Jonathan was distracted with some shiny object or other, and hadn’t seen a thing.
It took another thirty minutes before Jonathan could be persuaded to stop, (although it was less persuasion and more Rick grabbing him and making him stand) and they turned in for the night, bringing the bag with them.
The next morning the group rode back to Cairo. It was long, but they’d managed to buy a third camel so it was slightly more comfortable, even if Rick silently, on occasion, lamented the loss of Evy’s warm back pressed against him as they rode.
There were still signs of the carnage and destruction that had taken place in the city all around, but already people had begun to clean and rebuild.
Bodies had been piled and covered, waiting to be properly buried. Broken doors and windows had been boarded over, shattered glass swept to the side. The roads had been mostly cleared of debris, letting them easily navigate their way through the city until they reached the apartments the Carnahans had been living in.
Rick pulled the saddle bag filled with treasure down as they dismounted, swinging it over one shoulder. He took another bag and shoved it at Jonathan, grabbing the last one and holding it by his side as they went into the building.
There were several areas where the stone interior had been damaged, but the small group ignored it as they went upstairs to their rooms. Rick followed behind the siblings as Evelyn took the lead, making her way through the maze of hallways and doors before unlocking her own and stepping inside.
The two men followed after her, setting the bags down by the door.
“Well, at least everything still seems to be here,” Jonathan said, looking around and lifting up various objects, turning them this way and that as if appraising their value.
“Yes, thank goodness,” Evy said, grabbing the decorative vase from his hands and setting it back down. “I must say, I was a bit worried about potential looting that might have taken place during all the chaos.”
Rick sat down in one of the chairs by the fireplace, watching Evelyn as she looked through some of her drawers. “I guess people had more important things to do, like avoiding three thousand year old mummies come to life,” he offered with a wry grin that turned into a true smile when he heard her laugh in response.
“I suppose you have a point,” she acknowledged.
“Right,” Jonathan said. “I’m going to go get us some food, then after we eat I plan to sleep like the dead.” He winced as soon as the words came out of his mouth, looking apologetically at Evy who had cried “Jonathan!” in a reproachful tone of voice.
“Sorry old mum,” he said, ducking out of the room before she could say anything more.
Rick smiled as he watched her sigh, brushing some of the hair out of her face with a hand before settling it on her waist. “I’m going to bathe,” she said, turning to him. “Do let Jonathan know, if he comes back with the food before I finish.”
With that she slipped into the bathroom, taking a pile of clothes with her. He nodded in response, although admittedly his mind had been taken over by images of her wet, in a tub.
He shook his head, trying to drive the thoughts from his mind before his body had a chance to catch up and produce an ill-timed reaction.
Evelyn finished before Jonathan came back, her skin still rosy and slightly shiny from the wet heat of the bath. Her hair was piled up in a bundle of restless curls on top of her head, the strands at the nape and sides of her neck slightly damp and coiling up even more.
She was wearing a long, deep purple robe that tied at the waist, emphasizing how truly small she was, at least compared to him. The V-shaped neckline cut down just far enough he could see a hint of the white nightgown she was wearing underneath, and he let his head fall against the back of the chair as he stared at the ceiling, suppressing a groan.
Jonathan, thankfully, had terrific timing and chose that moment to come back, knocking on the door with his elbow; his hands were occupied by the three plates he was trying to balance.
They all tucked into their food with vigor, the warm, well seasoned foods tasting wonderful after their trip to the desert. Jonathan, true to his word, left through the door that combined his and Evy’s adjoining rooms after he finished eating, wishing the two of them goodnight before leaving them alone without a single care.
Rick cleared his throat when the door shut behind the other man, awkwardly standing up. “I’m gonna go see about getting a room,” he said, about to turn and leave before Evelyn also stood, taking a step towards him.
“You’re leaving?” She asked, something in her tone making him look at her. She was nervous, he could tell in the way she was wringing her hands together, how she just slightly bit the corner of her lip.
“Just to get a room,” he tried to console her. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
It didn’t seem to help much at all.
“Stay here,” she said, letting go of her hands and having them fall to her sides.
More than once he’d been called an idiot. The very woman in front of him had alluded to thinking the same before they’d gotten to know each other. In this moment, however, Rick chose to make the smart move. “Alright.”
She seemed instantly relieved, her whole body relaxing in a way that let him know she’d been much tenser than he’d suspected. “Hey,” he said, stepping towards her and placing a hand on her arm, “are you okay, Evelyn?”
She sagged even more. “What if he comes back?” She asked. “What if I misread something, and he’s not actually dead, just-”
“He’s dead,” he interrupted, playing his free hand on her other arm. “I promise.”
She nodded once, unconvincingly.
“I’ll be right here,” he said, “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”
Smiling, she looked up at him. “I know.”
He smiled back as his thumbs rolled small circles onto her skin. “I’ll take the couch,” he said, turning his head to glance over his shoulder at the piece of furniture.
Sure, his feet would be hanging off the edge, but he’d slept worse places. If it gave Evelyn some comfort to know he was close by, he’d have been willing to sleep on the floor.
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” she responded reproachingly. “You go have a bath, and I’ll get someone to bring up a cot. That couch is far too small for you,” she finished, pulling her arms from his hands as she began moving about the room.
She shoved something - a towel - into his hands, then her small palms were pressed against his back as she gave him a shove towards the bathroom. “Use whatever you need,” she said, before disappearing through the door.
He shook his head as a smile broke across his face, before following her instructions.
Taking a hot bath was nicer than he’d been anticipating.
The heat soothed his aches and bruises, and the soap rid him of the multitude of sand he hadn’t even known he’d brought back with him. When he stepped out of the water, he almost felt like a new man.
When he left the bathroom Evelyn was already back, a canvased metal frame covered with blankets and pillows set up beside her bed.
The sun had gone nearly all the way down, and with the windows covered the only light in the room was from an oil lamp set on the bedside table, illuminating whatever ancient tome Evelyn had in her hands and was reading.
“Try to read inside your head,” he teased as he approached her, smiling back in the face of her glare.
“Yes, yes,” she responded. “I do believe I’ve learned my lesson,” she added, closing the book and setting it down.
She’d lost the robe, remaining in her nightgown. It reminded him of the one she’d worn on their ship headed to Hamunaptra, before it went down in the Nile.
White, gauzy, flowy. A bit cinched at the chest, and a cream colored ribbon decorating the neckline. Rick swallowed.
He hurriedly climbed onto the cot, laying on his back and luxuriating in the soft warmth of the blankets as his eyes fell shut of their own accord.
“Comfortable?” Evy asked, peering over at him from where she too had burrowed beneath her covers.
He nodded, smiling. “Thanks.”
She smiled back, leaning over to extinguish the flame of the lamp and plunging the room into darkness.
The next morning the pair was woken by knocks on the door. Rick answered it, and found a young Egyptian boy who asked in Arabic if they wanted breakfast. Rick responded in kind, saying that they’d like three, two for them and one for the man next door.
He shut it softly as the boy left, hoping that Evelyn had slept through it. She hadn’t, and was sitting up in bed, her hair in a state of disarray that was equally amusing as it was endearing.
“I didn’t know you spoke Arabic,” she said. She rubbed at her face before lifting her arms, stretching in place before throwing back the covers and pulling on her robe.
Rick silently mourned the loss of skin.
“Enough to get around,” he responded. She seemed intrigued, her eyes lighting up. “Can you speak any others?” She asked. “My own is passable, but that is where my knowledge of other languages ends, I’m afraid. Discounting ancient ones,” she finished with a grin.
He laughed, the image of her trying to haggle with some street vendor in ancient Egyptian popping into his head. “I can speak French," he offered, “definitely better than my Arabic.”
“Well, you are just full of surprises, aren’t you Mr. O’Connell?” She teased. “Where did you pick that up?” She asked curiously.
“I spent some time in the French Foreign Legion,” he responded, walking back over and beginning to make up his cot. “It’s a bit of a necessity, there.”
“Yes, I’d imagine so.” When he stopped what he was doing to look up at her, he found her eyeing him appraisingly. “I’d had no idea you joined,” she said.
He shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he explained. Finishing making up the bed, he sat down on it, watching her as she moved about the room.
“It certainly helps explain your skill with the more… military arts,” she finished, like she wasn’t quite sure what words to use.
Laughing, he responded to her. “Does it now?”
She shot him a look, a faux pout on her face. “I’d known you’d served, of course, I’d simply assumed it had been in the States’ army.”
“Did you like it?” She continued, when he hadn’t said anything in response.
“Yes,” he answered after a couple seconds, his mind running over memories of this time there. “I got to see the world, and made some very interesting friends. It was a good time, while it lasted.”
She nodded. “I’m sure you have many exciting stories,” she told him. “You’ll have to recount them for me, sometime.”
“Will do,” he said with a grin.
Jonathan joined them after their food was delivered, and the topic of conversation became dominated by the siblings' plans from here on out. Evelyn was arguing to stay in Cairo for a couple weeks, while Jonathan wanted to return to England, as soon as possible.
Rick’s stomach dropped as they discussed their plans. All those days together, and he’d never really stopped to think about them leaving. The ring in his pocket suddenly felt substantially heavier than it’d been just minutes ago.
Eventually Jonathan managed to convince Evelyn to return to England with him in a day or so, stating that they could always come back, but that he wouldn’t be able to relax until there was an ocean between him and any millennium old mummies that would like to kill him.
Their rooms became a bustle after that, the door connecting them propped open with a waste basket as they began to pack away their things with vigor. Rick sat by and watched, one hand in his pocket as Evelyn bounced around the room, pulling out items and putting them back, before doing the same, only half of her things making their way into suitcases.
She managed to fill one up rather quickly, snapping the latches shut and heaving it down to the floor from where it had been placed openly on her bed. She winced a bit as it slammed onto the floor, muttering a quiet “oh dear,” under her breath that he could barely hear, but brought a smile to his face anyways.
“What are you doing?” She asked, stopping suddenly in the middle of the room to look at him.
He wasn’t sure how to answer, opening his mouth before shutting it again as her eyes darted around the room.
“Oh,” she said, her eyes landing on the bags he’d brought up the night before. “Do you have more things elsewhere we need to collect?” She asked, turning those wide, deep eyes back on him.
“No,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t sound as confused as he felt. Hope had begun to thread itself through him, but he tried to beat it back, not wanting to be wrong.
“Rick,” she said, walking over and stopping in front of him, “you are coming with us, aren’t you?”
He smiled, his fingers playing with the ring. “If you’ll have me,” he answered.
She smiled back, bright and blinding. “Yes,” she said decisively. “I will.”