A/n: this is a rewrite/massive edited version of my previous Mummy story. My first OC was completely Mary Sue (and Rick's sister being a tomboy and has arse-kicking skills is so overdone now, which is why I made quite the bit of change with my OC. She will be just an ordinary girl without strange reincarnation stories or anything for that matter. And she actually drinks! 8D)

Disclaimer: If I owned even a morsel of the franchise, Ardeth would not be single at the end of the movie. So no, I do not own anything. /sob/

"What do you mean he's in prison?!"

Irene O'Connell stood up so fast that her apartment room began spinning around and around. She quickly placed a hand against the wall in an attempt to regain her balance - being dizzy would be no help to anyone.

"I mean exactly what I mean, Miss O'Connell," the thick-accecented man's voice came out of her phone, not sounding very sorry of the fact that her brother had just been thrown into prison.

Irene - or Rena, as Rick called her - sighed heavily. The last time Rick had contacted her was five years ago, and that had been before he told her that he was planning an expedition to Egypt for some treasure or another. She hadn't received any news from him after that, and now that she had, it was because he was in prison.

"That idiot," she muttered, shaking her head in disappointment. It would be typical Rick behavior to land himself in prison, but she still couldn't quite believe that, after all the times they'd joked about him being taken to prison if he misbehaved, he would actually get locked up.

"Miss O'Connell?" the man, presumably the jail's warden, asked when she had not said anything in a long time.

"Y-Yes?" Her voice sounded more like a high-pitched squeak than her usual, lower tone.

Irene took a deep breath to calm herself, knowing that she had to stay focused. But she had never been like her brother, who was normally calm and composed even in life-threatening situations. She was always the quiet one, preferring peace over violence, sitting on the sidelines while Rick took credit for the action.

Maybe that's why he hasn't contacted me in so long, she mused, I'm so different from him that he's ashamed I'm related to him...Well, there was no point thinking about that now. There were more important matters at hand.

"As I was saying, Miss O'Connell, why don't you come and visit my humble home? I'm afraid your brother has gone too far this time, and he is scheduled to be hanged in a couple of days days. You should come and see him in person. He might have some last words for you." The warden let out a laugh, as if he found the situation extremely hilarious.

I think I need a drink, Irene groaned inwardly, hating how the first time she finally got to see him after so many years would also be her last. Not to mention the fact that she would be seeing him in prison, which was far from suitable for sibling reunions.

She choked back a sob as she asked, "If you don't mind me asking, Sir, why exactly is he in prison?"

"I figured you would ask that, Miss O'Connell, so I when I got the chance, I asked him myself...He said he was 'just looking for a good time'."

Irene suddenly found that her knees were unable to support her. She collapsed back into her chair. Rick, you idiot, she cried silently, why can't you think before you do something rash? "Alright, I'll be there," she told him quietly, and then she almost forgot to ask the most important bit of information: "And where is this prison, Sir?"

"That would be in Cairo, Miss."

"E-Egypt?" Irene asked, wishing desperately that she had misheard him. She was in Illinois, for heaven's sake! She would have to travel halfway around the world to see Rick!

"Unless there is another Cairo that I have not heard of," the warden said dryly. "Well, that would be all. Good day to you, Miss O'Connell, and I look forward to meeting you soon."

Click. He had hung up on her.

Irene dazedly wandered into the kitchen of her tiny apartment, dug out a small bottle of beer from her stores, and chucked it down in one giant gulp. Drinking was something she took great pride in - Rick often commented how he could never imagine a lady such as herself drink - and she decided that it was a compliment and not an insult.

Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

She missed him terribly, and of course she was worried about him now. She didn't think there would be a way for her to get him out of prison, but she still hoped that by some miracle, the warden would change his mind and spare Rick from his horrid fate...

"Ah! Miss O'Connell! There you are!" the warden made his way over to her with a huge smile plastered on his face.

Irene nodded to him in greeting, wrinkling her nose in a very unladylike way as she took in his appearance. He was short and chubby, and there was some awful smell radiating off him. She decided that she didn't like him, not one bit, and especially because he was the one who told her the news that Rick was in prison.

"Here I am," she agreed politely, knowing that if she was to have any chance negotiating with him, she would have to play nice.

"Welcome, welcome!" He led her away from the prison's entrance and towards Rick's cell.

Irene found herself holding her breath as she neared, and her eyes widened in surprise as the guards brought out the man that was her brother. He looked completely different from when she saw him last: his hair had grown longer and was extremely messy, and he could certainly use a bath. The clothing he had on was torn, accentuating the muscles on his arms and chest.

She blinked twice to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. "R-Rick?" she asked hesitantly, taking a step toward him. Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes again.

He turned his head in her direction, and a smirk spread across his face when he recognized her. "The one and only," he responded, grinning at her in the way that she loved and missed so much. "If I wasn't behind these bars, I would give you a hug, Rena! And, well...how have you been?"

"How have I been? How have I been? You don't contact me for five years, and when I do get news of you it's because you're in prison! Do you have any idea how worried I was? And you're asking how I have been?" Irene burst out, unable to keep everything inside herself any longer. Seeing him now was making it even harder for her, and she wanted nothing more than to slap some sense into him.

Rick made a face at her outburst. He knew that she raised her voice only when she was upset, and right now, he could tell that she was extremely upset. "Saying 'sorry' won't make you feel any better, would it?" he asked apologetically.

Irene rubbed her eyes and tried to hide the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. "Saying 'sorry' isn't going to get you out of prison, Richard O'Connell! Didn't you hear what the warden said? You're going to be hanged!"

She sank to her knees and clutched Rick's cell bars to support herself. He reached a hand out and gently laid it over hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "You've been fine all these years without me, Rena. I know you'll be fine - "

"NO!" she interrupted him, knowing full well what he was about to say next, "Don't finish that sentence! You can't die, Rick! You can't!" she wailed.

"Get him inside!" the warden commanded sharply when he saw that Irene was about to break down, and the prison guards immediately did as they were told. Irene protested, reaching her hand toward her brother, but her attempts were futile. "Miss, please recompose yourself! I know it must be hard, but what's done is done. O'Connell will have one last visitor before it's time."

She lifted her head. Who did he know that would be so important as to visit him? "M-May I stay?" she asked. She didn't care for how long, but she wanted to stay with Rick for as long as possible.

The warden shrugged. "As long as you don't make a scene."

Irene nodded, and held onto the cell bars tightly as he headed off to collect Rick's last visitors. She watched as the warden returned with a woman and a man following him.

"You told me that you got it on a dig down in Thebes!" the woman was saying with a light British accent as the pair came within earshot. Irene noted that she was rather pretty with curly light brown hair and dark-colored eyes, not to mention that she appeared to be well-mannered.

"Yeah, well, I was mistaken," the man that accompanied her replied hastily.

The woman glared at him with accusing eyes. "You lied to me!"

"I lie to everybody, what makes you so special?" the man defended himself.

"I am your sister!" she retorted indignantly.

Irene winced, recalling the times when she had shared similar disputes with Rick.

"Yes, well, that just makes you more gullible," the man pointed out.

"Jonathan, you stole it from a drunk at the local casbah?!"

"Picked his pocket, actually, so I don't think - " at this, the man named Jonathan wheeled his sister around in an attempt to escape from the scene.

The woman was clearly unhappy with her brother's actions and turned him back in the direction of the prison cells. "Jonathan, will you stop being so ridiculous!" In a louder tone, she addressed the warden: "Now, what exactly is this man in prison for?"

The warden half-glanced at Irene, reminding her of the similar conversation they had had over the phone. "Well, this I do not know. But when I heard you were coming, I asked him that myself."

"And what did he say?" the woman asked curiously, nodding to Irene in greeting as she noticed that she was there.

"He said, he was just...'looking for a good time'," the warden and Irene answered simultaneously, Irene sighing as she spoke.

"You are...?" the woman gestured to Irene curiously.

Irene gave her a small wave in greeting. "Irene O'Connell. His sister."

"Ah," said Jonathan, nodding as though it all made sense to him now.

The door opened then, revealing Rick once again, and he was struggling with the guards as they brought him out. "Still here, Rena?" he addressed her, earning himself another smack from the guards. He grimaced, and Irene winced too, knowing how much it must be hurting him despite him refusing to show it.

"Yes, but I'm not your visitor this time," she told him, stepping to the side so the two siblings would have their chance to speak to him. She wasn't going to allow herself to cry in front of so many strangers again.

"T-This is...this is the man that you stole it from?" the woman asked with disbelief, clearly stunned by Rick's appearance and how different his wild look was compared to Irene.

Jonathan smiled nervously as he suggested, "Yes, exactly, so why don't we just go and sniff out some - "

"Who are you?" Rick demanded rudely, interrupting Jonathan. He then shifted his focus to the woman and asked, "and who's the broad?"

Irene groaned at Rick's lack of manners.

The woman didn't appear to be happy at being addressed in such fashion as she echoed "Broad?" and looked at Jonathan, who was busy trying to explain who he was: "Well, I-I'm, I'm...I'm just a local sort of missionary chap, spreading the good word and all that, but this is my sister, Evie..." he pulled her forward slightly.

"How do you do?" she asked politely.

Rick studied her before replying, "Yeah, well, guess she's not a total loss." Irene moaned and buried her head in her hands, wanting desperately to kick him. If he wanted any chance of getting out, the least he could do was act civil!

"I beg your pardon?" Evie was positively glowering at his words.

Angry shouts came from the other end of the prison, coincidentally sparing Rick from Evie's wrath. "I'll be back in a moment," the warden informed the group quickly and left to check on what had happened.

"Ask him about the box," Jonathan hissed to his sister as soon as the warden had gone.

"Um," Evie began hesitantly, trying to figure out the best way to explain why she was there, but Rick's attention was focused on the now-absent warden. "We, um, found - hello, excuse me - " she said loudly, causing Rick to turn back to her. "Um, we both found your - your puzzle box, and we've come to ask you about it..."

Irene briefly wondered when Rick had started taking interest in puzzles.

Rick didn't hesitate with his reply. "No."

"No?" Evie repeated.

"No," Rick confirmed with a shake of his head. "You came to ask me about Hamunaptra."

Irene froze as she recognized the name. She recalled in the last conversation she had with him - which was five years ago - that he had mentioned something about wanting to find a place called Hamunaptra when he went off to Egypt.

"H-How do you know that the box pertains to Hamunaptra?" Evie asked.

"Because that was where I was when I found it. I was there," Rick said slowly, as though he was talking to a three-year-old.

Jonathan frowned, leaning closer. "How do we know that's not a load of pigs' wallow?"

It was Rick's turn to frown as he got a closer look at Jonathan. "Do I know you?"

"No, no, no," Jonathan said quickly, clearly realizing where the question was going. "I've...I've just got one of those faces - "

Rick didn't wait for him to finish before he punched Jonathan in the face, causing Jonathan to loose his balance and collapse onto the ground.

"Richard O'Connell!" Irene yelled, glaring furiously at him - he had just basically sentenced himself to death! There was absolutely no way the siblings would rescue him now.

The guards responded to the attack with a particularly painful strike to Rick's back. Serves him right, the idiot, Irene thought in annoyance.

Jonathan being attacked, however, appeared to be the least of Evie's worries. "Don't worry about Jonathan, Irene," she said. "He'll be fine...I think."

"You think? Shouldn't you be worried that Rick punched him?" Irene couldn't help asking. The woman definitely needed to sort out her priorities.

"Knowing Jonathan, he probably deserved it," she said before she stepped over him and carefully approached Rick. "You were actually at Hamunaptra?" she asked eagerly.

Irene didn't like the mischievous smile that was now spreading across Rick's face once he saw that she was completely unconcerned about Jonathan. He was probably scheming something, and whatever it was, it was definitely bad.

"Yeah, I was there," he said, still smiling.

"You swear?" Evie asked.

"Every damn day," Rick replied, throwing in a 'damn' for good measure.

Irene felt like crying again. Even this close to death, Rick was still making jokes just like how he used to.

"No, I didn't mean that," Evie said, too excited over the fact that he had been to Hamunaptra to realize that he was actually joking.

"No, I know what you meant," Rick agreed with a grin. "I was there. Seti's place; 'city of the dead'." He made mysterious hand motions to add affect.

By this point, Evie was stumbling over her words in excitement. "C-Could you - could you tell me how to get there?"

Rick raised his eyebrows as the warden's angry yells rose in volume, and Evie blocked the view with her hat so it wouldn't distract him. "I mean, the exact location," she elaborated, leaning even closer toward him.

"You want to know?" Rick confirmed.

"Well - well, yes." Evie continued moving closer to the cell.

"You really want to know?" Rick asked, beckoning her closer, and Irene could tell that he was just teasing her.

They were certainly rather close now, as Evie answered his question with another "Yes". Rick took the opportunity to grab her and pull her to the bars and planted a kiss right on her mouth.

"Then get me the hell out of here!" he said, letting go of her as the guards sprung to action. Rick fought back, striking a guard with his elbow before he added "Do it, lady!" to Evie and shot a final look at Irene.

The door closed behind him.

"Where are they taking him?" Evie demanded, still slightly taken aback at by the fact that he had just kissed her.

Irene felt tears spring from her eyes, and she hastily brushed them away when she saw that the warden had returned. "T-To be hanged," she informed Evie in a trembling voice.

"Apparently, he had a very good time," the warden added with a glance at the Englishwoman.

"You've got to do something!" Irene said desperately.

"How can we be sure that he's telling the truth?" Evie pressed.

"My brother isn't one to break his word," Irene said, choosing her words carefully. "If he said he would take you to Hamunaptra should you save him, then I swear that he will. If not...there's always me. I'm not much, but feel free to use me as liaison should the need ever arise."

She blinked. "You would offer yourself as trade?"

Irene nodded and said as firmly as she could, "I have faith in my brother. I know he'll keep his promise."

Evie smiled softly and gently touched Irene's hand with her own. "I know how you feel, Miss O'Connell. I can't promise anything, but I will do my best to save him from his horrid fate."

"Thank you," Irene said, deciding that she was already beginning to like the woman. It was no surprise that Rick would kiss her.

She knew it was already far more than she could ask for - she had never expected that someone would be able to save him, and while whatever happens would ultimately be up to the warden, at least Evie had tried.

And for that, Irene would always be grateful.

A/n: Leave a review and let me know what you think? Is it worth continuing?