Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters of RH

A/N- Hey guys, this is my first attempt at a series. I hope its ok. This one goes out to Kate! You inspired to start Fanfic writing in the first place. Thanks!

Chapter 1: Stolen

"What say we call it a night?" asked Sydney as she dumped yet another essays into the "done" pile on her desk. She and Nigel had been marking papers non-stop for the past six hours and at this point all the words were merging together, ceasing to make any sense to their exhausted minds. It was now past 2pm and they were now running on pure will, since all their energy had already been spent on the hunt that they hand just returned from this evening.

"Yes Please, I think my brain shut down an hour ago. I can't even remember what the last essay was about." Nigel replied, taking off his glasses to clean them for the millionth time in the past hour. His eyes were beginning to burn from all reading and his vision was becoming fuzzier as the night wore on.

"Let me go get my bag and then I'll drop you to your apartment."

"Oh don't worry about it. I have my bike…"

"Nigel, in your state I'll be surprised if you can manage to walk to the end of the block, let alone riding your bike all the way to your apartment. Just put the bike in my trunk and let me drive you." She bellowed as she made her way around her cluttered office, collecting the things she was going to take home.

:Nigel sighed, too exhausted to argue at this point. "Ok, thanks Syd!" He replied, giving in to his friend's intendance as he usually did.

Within a few minutes, both relic hunters were ready to head home. Closing down the department, the began to slowly make their way towards the parking lot.

"Wow, it's been a long day!" said Sydney, stretching her aching arms.

"No, long days are still understandable. I don't think we even get the concept of days and nights anymore. I frankly can't remember when I last slept."

"I couldn't forget even if I tried. I think you scared half the children on the train with those rumbling noises coming from your nostrils."

"Oh please, a bomb going off wouldn't disturb those banshees in that train. They were like cranky heavy mental singers, screaming into the microphone, only it was my ear instead of the microphone. I was lucky I was exhoasted or I wouldn't even have gotten that half hour of sleep." Said Nigel, remembering the annoying and extremely loud children who sat behind them on their way to Giza.

"Yea it was pretty loud in there. Wasn't it? I mean I love kids, but man, there was some extra ordinary lung capacity in that compartment. I wonder if I screamed that loudly when I was a kid."

"Oh,I have no doubts of your lung capacity. You could have topped the combined noise of all four of those little buggers."

"Oh well, it builds stamina for putting those lungs to other uses." Replied Sydney, deliberately making her voice sultry and seductive to gat a reaction out of her shy assistant.

"Yes well, I don't dare to doubt that either." Replied Nigel, slightly blushing at the image of Sydney passionately kissing him that was conjured in his head for a brief second. "Anyway, I'll go grab my bike. Why don't you head to your car and I'll meet you there." With that Nigel made his quick retreat, avoiding eye contact with Sydney.

Sydney smiled to herself. She loved it when he blushed like that He became so flustered and nervous if she even insinuated anything other than friendship. Not that she truly meant anything by her fluty remarks, she just liked messing with him. It was only a few isolated moments in a day when she truly wished she could take Nigel in her arms and spend eternity in his embrace, But then she reasoned that he was the only person in her life that she associated with the most and it was natural to feel attracted to him. It didn't mean anything, she was just reacting to not having a flourishing love life, by lusting over the next visible guy, which was always Nigel.

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"Thanks Syd." Said Nigel, sticking his head into the passenger door's window, with one hand clutching his bike.

"No problem. Go straight to bed! I want you bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow morning.'

"Yes ma'am. Night!" replied Nigel, giving her employer a mock solute with his free hand. With that he began to make his way to his apartment.

"Night Nigel." Sydney whispered, to the spot where Nigel has stood only moments ago. Pulling herself out of the sudden urge to go after him into his apartment, she reversed her car and drove away.

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As Nigel walked into his apartment, a chill ran down his spine. Something was wrong. There was an eerie silence that filled the air, almost making it seem like the calm before a storm. Keeping his guard up, Nigel groped for the light switch but never made to the wall, as a sharp pain erupted in the back of his skull and then his world went plank. Two men, clad in black carried Nigel's lifeless form out the door and loaded him into a black Sudan that was parked in the basement parking lot. Then the mysterious men climbed into the car themselves and the car sped out of the parking lot and was instantly consumed by the darkness of the night.