More or less a one shot I've had sitting in my mind for awhile. Please enjoy, and review.
Nick Daley stood atop of the rooftop, the night air crisp and humid around him as a soft wind blew through the night. He watched as his father, Larry Daley, beckoned to Sir Lancelot for the Tablet of Ahkmenrah. He looked over as Teddy Roosevelt turned stiff, Sacajawea running to his side before her legs too went stiff.
"Agh! The power, it's. . .running out!" cried out Akhmenrah as he doubled over, falling forward as he gasped for air. Nick sprung forward as he caught the Egyptian prince, holding him close as he felt a new found fear break forth within his chest.
"Dad, fix the tablet!" cried out Nick, his father turning to look at him as he watched tears begin to run down his sons face. Nick looked back down at the prince as he turned over on his back, looking up at the teenager with a fading smile.
"Hold on, please hold on." he cried out, watching as the skin on the prince's face began to wither and rot away slowly before his eyes went bloodshot.
"No, no, no, no, no, no! Don't give up just yet. . . . .please don't leave me! I love you!" Nick cried, rocking Ahkmenrah's body back and forth gently as he held onto him.
"Nick, what's going on?" came Larry's voice softly, the older father watching as his son brought the pharaoh to be closer to him as he leaned down and pressed their foreheads together.
"Larry, you must fix the tablet. If not for us. . .then for them." came Teddy's voice as Larry looked at the older president with shock in his eyes, looking between the group and his son as he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Dad, I'm sorry I didn't tell you! Just please fix this, don't let him be taken from me!" Nick cried out even louder, his voice cracked and choked by sobs as he whimpered into the young prince's neck. Larry watched as Ahkmenrah raised a hand to gently wrap around his son's neck as he comforted the younger man. Larry felt a pang of guilt hit his heart as he slowly turned around, watching as Sir Lancelot looked at the unfolding scene as he held the tablet up along with a torch.
"Lance. . . . .please just give us the tablet. If you don't, you will die just like they will. Don't do this, don't make it end like this. Look at what your doing, look at the pain your inflicting." Larry pleaded, the knight taking a small step backwards as he neared the edge of the building.
"I. . .I can't. I must redeem my honor!" Lancelot hollered back, ignoring the crying teen's pleading as he turned to watch Nick cradle the Egyptian's body.
"Look around you! The world you once knew is gone, and so is everyone with it! This is the world now, and you have to give the tablet back or you won't be on it for much longer!" Larry cried out, a look of fear washing over the knight's face as he looked down at the tablet and back up to Larry.
"I'm sorry Nick. . . .I did not wish to leave you like this." Ahkmenrah whispered, his voice raspy now as he eyes turned a milky white.
"No. . . . .don't say that!" Nick cried, his chest quivering as he cradled the dying body. He looked up at the knight, his eyes pleading as he continued to cry. Larry turned and watched as the young man reached up and wiped away the tears dripping from Nick's chin.
"I love you. . . .more than the moon, the stars, and the sky." Ahkmenrah said with a rasp in his voice, Nick joining in at the last bit as they said it together.
"You may take the tablet back Sir Larry, I can not inflict this pain on your son any longer." Sir Lancelot spoke, Larry dodging forward as he grabbed the golden tablet and began flipping the pieces to their right sequence. Nick watched as his father finally held the sign up in the moonlight, a strong glow beginning to emit from the artifact before it shot into the sky. He looked down as Ahkmenrah's body began to fill with life once more, the decay and rot melting away as skin retook it's place.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" Nick cried out as the prince wrapped his arms around the boy, both of them taking in a huge breath of relief before letting it out and reveling in each others warmth. Nick looked up to see the others all smiling and hugging, everyone except his father who was staring at him with hurt and disbelief in his eyes.
Later That Same Night
Nick stood in front of Ahkmenrah as he hugged his parents, the Egyptian Queen and Pharaoh turning to look at Nick and Larry.
"Nick, my son here has confided in me that you are the one who holds his heart close. Is this true?" Merenkarhe asked, the Pharaoh stepping forth as a gold cape draped behind him.
"Yes your Highness, it is." Nick admitted softly, feeling his dads eyes on him as he spoke before rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"I see, well I am eternally grateful for what you have done for him and this family. I couldn't think of anyone else I'd be more proud to call one of my own, you have earned a place amongst us and that is why I am about to offer you a gift. In exchange for what you and your father have done for my family and I, I am willing to grant you and only you the gift of eternal life amongst us. It is you whom my son seeks to spend his days with, and it is you who would be granted such a gift." the Pharaoh spoke, a sudden pocket of air trapping itself in Nick's airway as he gasped for air and felt a overwhelming dizziness take over.
"You...you can't be serious! What about his family, his mother and I?" Larry hollered out, the Pharaoh's eyes turning on him as he held up his staff in regards to him.
"As long as you stand before me, you shall show some respect and speak when spoken to!" Merenkahre yelled, stamping his staff down onto the floor with a loud reverberating bang.
"Could I have a moment with my father?" Nick asked, suddenly regaining the ability to speak once more as he held onto his sides for support. He watched as the Pharaoh nodded his head in understanding before stepping back and turning around to return to his wife and son.
"Nick...you can't seriously be thinking about this. What would I do, what would your mother say?" Larry asked, watching as his son gave him a questioning look before looking down and away.
"Dad...I know this isn't how you would have wanted to find out. I've. . .been seeing Ahkmenrah for three years now, ever since I was sixteen. Why do you think I was always staying late at the museum, why I wouldn't leave till dawn on the weekends. I was spending time with him, being with him, getting to know him and he listened to me too. He was there when you were always busy with work, or planning something, or too caught up in the museum activities. I was going to tell you, you had a right to know but I was afraid." Nick admitted, Larry's mouth slightly agape as he stared at his son before suddenly stepping forward and drawing Nick into a hug.
"Oh son. . . .I never wanted you to feel that way. I want you to always be able to talk to me, I'm your dad and I'll love you no matter what. If you choose to be with a guy or girl, I don't care because I love you regardless. I'm so sorry I was always busy with my work, I. . .I should have paid more attention to you and been there for you. How can you ask this of me though, to give you up like this? Once you except that gift, you'll end up just like them. Dead or asleep or hibernating or whatever they do during the day, and awake at night. What kind of life would that be? You'd never be able to truly unlock your potential, you could be capable of so many great things." Larry said, tears of his own falling down his cheeks as he stepped back and looked at his son as he held onto Nick's shoulders.
"It would be a life I could spend with the one I love, I'd do anything for him dad. Please...don't hold me back from this. Ahkmenrah, he understands me and he listens to me ramble and go on about things when I know others wouldn't even give me the time of day. You tell me all the time that you would still give the world to mom if you could, let me feel that with someone of my own. Your a smart guy dad, I know you can find a way to make this work. I. . .wish to be with him and that is what I want." Nick spoke back, Larry choking back sobs as he turned to look at the Pharaoh and his family before returning his gaze back to his son.
"Is this what you truly want. . . .from the depths of your very heart and soul? There's so much more life to experience, are you sure this is how you want to spend yours?" Larry asked once more, his son slowly nodding his head.
"Okay Nick. . . .then there's nothing I can do. Your. . .o-old enough to make this decision for yourself. You have to give it enough time to say goodbye to your mother though, give her that." Larry muttered, his son hugging him as he nodded his head in agreement. Larry lifted his hands up to his son's hair and held him, not wanting to let go as he choked back another round of sobs. He felt as Nick broke from the embrace, both of them turning to face the Pharaoh again as Merenkahre walked up to them once more.
"Have you come to a decision yet?" the Egyptian king asked, his hands firmly grasped around his jewel encrusted staff as he stared at them both.
"I've decided to join you, but I must say goodbye to my mother back in New York first. Will you grant me that time to leave and come back?" Nick said, Larry standing back as Teddy walked up to him and placed a hand onto his shoulder.
"It's never easy to see your children grow up and leave you, the babies you once held close and played with suddenly growing up and making their own choices. I know you don't see it yet Larry, but you are doing the right thing. Nick. . . .he's a special kid and he deserves to be with someone just as special as he is." the old president said as Sacajawea joined him at his side.
"I just have to come up with a plan on how to make this all work now, just as long as he's happy!" Larry muttered, the president drawing him into a hug as the Indian woman rubbed his back in understanding. He looked over as Nick embraced Ahkmenrah in a hug, both of them smiling as the Egyptian prince kissed his son's forehead.
A Week Later
Nick stood there once more in the British Museum of History, dressed in ancient Egyptian attire as his mother and father stood there with tears in their eyes. He looked beyond them at the blonde security guard, Tilly, who was now standing with Larry's caveman lookalike as they both stared at him.
"You've got everything arranged?" Nick asked, his father nodding his head as his mother stepped forward and drew her son into a tight hug.
"Your father and I have decided to move here to London, to be closer to you. Tilly can let us in at night to see you. . .oh God! My baby boy, are you sure about this!" his mother cried out, hugging him as the Egyptian family stood behind Nick and waited, the Queen rubbing at her own eyes.
"The museum thinks it is getting a new permanent mummy to reside in the Egyptian Sector of the museum. It was played off that you are a relative to Ahkmenrah's family, so you'll be placed with the rest of them in their sarcophagus room." Nick's father said with a a quiver in his voice, walking up to join the hug as Nick stifled back tears of his own and nodded his head.
"Guys, the sun will be rising any minute now!" came Tilly's voice as she said her own goodbyes to the caveman for the day.
"Looks like it's time to go." Nick said, his mother and father giving him on last squeeze before stepping back. He turned around as he walked up to join the Pharaoh's family, the Queen stepping forth as she draped a necklace of Lapis Lazuli around his neck before Ahkmenrah placed a golden crown atop his head.
"Nick Daley of New York, tonight we gather here to grant you the gift of the Tablet of Ahkmenrah. In it's gift, you shall be granted eternal life with my son and the rest of us as you join us in the afterlife by day and return back to your mortal realm by night. My son has chosen you as his lifelong partner, one of which to spend his immortal life with. Do you hereby accept the gift I grant unto you?" the Pharaoh asked, Nick bowing down and nodding his head. Nick stood once more as Queen Shepseheret drew something from her sleeve, handing it to the Pharaoh who in turn handed it to Ahkmenrah. Nick could see that it was a small vial with a cap made from ruby on top of it.
"For the Tablet of Ahkmenrah to work, you first must die to be brought back. This here is a fast acting poison, lethal with even one drop. It is the same poison in which I met my fate with as well, this is the only way the tablet will work." Ahkmenrah stated, stepping forward as he raised a hand to Nick's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. Nick felt a pang of fear exit his heart and into his blood as he gulped, looking up into the prince's eyes.
"Do not worry my love, I will be right here." Ahkrmenrah whispered, uncapping the vial as he turned it ever so slowly on it's side. The older teen watched as the Egyptian prince let a small drop of the poison drip onto his finger, bringing the drop to Nick's lips as he heard his mother and father cry out from behind him. He felt his lips go numb as Ahkmenrah hurriedly capped the vial before handing it back to his father, stepping forward and grabbing onto Nick's body as the teens legs gave out.
"It'll be over soon, I'm right here." the prince said softly, a small smile creeping onto Nick's face as he looked up at the skylight where he could see the light of dawn beginning to encroach upon the museum. He turned his vision to see the Pharaoh holding up the tablet as he began to chant to himself in Ancient Egyptian.
"By the power of the Heaven's, I now declare you a God!" came Merenkahre's voice as Nick closed his eyes, feeling as a pair of warm lips met his forehead before drifting off into a deep sleep.
Went back and revised the ending a little, gave it a twist.
