Cairo 1926

It was only just dawn, but it was already sweltering, and Liam O'Leary had already decided that it was far too hot for clothes. And that he wanted a fried egg butty, but that was beside the point at the moment. He was sat naked on the edge of his bed, watching the sun rise over Cairo through the half open curtains of his rented apartment windows. Beside him, still fast asleep under the covers, his wife Anne lay, looking more like an angel than ever. How she could sleep in this heat though, he would never know. Standing, he wandered over to the curtains, and drew them open, letting the early morning sunlight bathe his body. He grinned as he bared all to the Egyptian public down below, despite the fact that the streets were still fairly empty, it only just being past half five. He moved away from the window after a moment of observation of the lone figures that hurried through the streets, presumably on their way to work. He sauntered through to the tiny kitchen and began to get out everything that he would need to start breakfast. He knew they'd bought eggs and bread the previous evening, so he decided that a fried egg butty'd do him good. He'd make something for Anne later, let her sleep a little longer, she'd been pushing herself too hard recently, and both of them knew it. But he couldn't stop her. Listening to him had never been something Anne had done, and being in Cairo for six months certainly hadn't changed that.

He sighed; this bloody book'd be the death of the both of them. Honestly, it'd all been a little bit of fun when it had started, Anne had written something about the Amazon after they'd gone there on their honeymoon four years earlier, and she'd shown it to her brother, Peter, who was some kind of big book publisher in Chicago, and he'd loved it. Especially when they'd shown him the pictures that went with her writing, the pictures that Liam himself had taken. And within a month, they were the co-authors of a bestseller. 'Adventures in the Amazon' By A. and L. O'Leary had sold out almost instantly, and since then Peter had sent them all over the place to write new guides, when that fella knew there was money to be made from something, he milked it for every penny it was worth. The Himalayas, Niagara Falls, Paris, Rome, Madrid, you name it, Liam and Anne had been there. And that was precisely why they were in Cairo. A new book.

Liam sighed, shelling an egg in to the bubbling fat in the frying pan, which he'd set up while he'd been reviewing the situation. He listened as it sizzled, but paid it no real mind, moving back only slightly in case the fat began to spit (boiling fat and naked flesh tended not to mix too well in his experience). He wished, and he thought it was a silly wish, because he doubted very much that it would ever happen, that he and Anne could just settle down now. Maybe go back to Dublin, live in the house he'd inherited from his mum and dad, since he'd been their only son, have a baby or two. He could get a job as a photographer for any newspaper, he knew, he'd had plenty of offers, not just since the books took off, but before then too. He'd always had a good eye for a photograph. And Anne? Well, she could carry on writing. Maybe get a job for a newspaper. Maybe write a fantasy novel, like she'd talked about while they'd been a-courting. She'd be a good mum, if she'd ever give in and give it a go, he knew. Firm but fair, that was his Annie. But he knew that would never happen. At least, not for a while. Anne wasn't ready to settle down, not yet, she was having too much fun, seeing the world. And he had to admit, it was fun…It was just…unstable. Well, not totally unstable. Anne was a constant. And Peter was fairly constant too. They'd go and see him every few months in his office in Chicago, where it was always too cold and it smelt like mould. And they'd get told exactly the same thing: "This is great, really great! The crowd'll eat it up! Now about your next one, I was thinking maybe" and then he'd say Peru or China or India or some little village in the middle of Africa, that neither of them had ever heard of. Liam sighed again and flipped the egg over.

xxx

Anne watched her husband from the doorway, watching as the muscles in his back rippled as he moved. Anne loved to watch. Not just Liam, although he was her favourite thing, but everything, she loved watching people from windows up above the streets of the cities that she visited with regularity, she loved watching from a bench in the park, she'd done that a lot back in London, and she'd done it even more when she and Liam had begun to see one another. She'd meet him on his lunch breaks and they'd sit together in Hyde Park watching the world pass them by as they held hands and laughed about this and that. Liam was good at making her laugh. And he was always laughing and grinning himself, which was why the melancholy sighs coming from him at that moment were quite worrying to her. Her Liam was never like that, never sighing or frowning. Feeling a curious frown forming on her own pink lips, she walked behind him and slipped her arms around his waist, noting how trim he'd become since they'd begun their exploits.

"What's to do, my darling? What's caused your melancholy mood, eh?" Her prim English accent cut through the morning air, and even though she was only half awake, sounded full of life and vim and vigour. She felt him give a silent laugh and she knew he'd be smiling now.

"Ahh, not much my love, just being a silly beggar." He answered, moving the frying pan from the fire and turning the hob off in a swift motion. Anne placed her head against her husband's back and let the warmth of his body seep in to her, pressing her forehead against the flesh insistently.

"Are you sure? You really didn't seem that happy. And it's so early for you to be up." She had him there. He'd never been one for early mornings.

"Couldn't sleep, it's this damn heat. 'S not this hot in Dublin ever. Or London for that matter." His voice was a deep rumble from somewhere deep in his chest and she let it wash over her, soothing her almost back in to sleep.

"It's been this hot in other places. When we were in the Amazon, it was this hot. If not even hotter. And when we went to Australia, it was quite hot there too." She heard him chuckle again, and he turned in her grip, facing her. She looked up in to his eyes, a sweet hazel meeting a stormy blue, and she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently. When she pulled back, Liam cupped her cheek and murmured "You sound tired, my girl. Go back to bed and I'll get you up in plenty of time for the meeting with Peter's mate later. I'll even make you breakfast."

It was Anne's turn to laugh. "Most certainly not! I'm awake now, and I have no intention of going back to sleep. Besides, I'd rather not have to suffer through another one of your cooking attempts!" She giggled at the last part and poked him playfully in the chest. The photographer mock pouted for a moment, but then chuckled along with his wife, grabbing her and hauling her also naked form from the floor and over his shoulder, causing her to squeal with indignation. "You're going back to bed, whether you like it or not Mrs O'Leary! Because you're a good little wife who does as her husband tells her!" He plopped her down on the bed and she glared at him before they both dissolved in to laughter.

"Me? A good little wife?" She cackled.

"I know!" He gawffed. "It was hard enough not to laugh when I said it!" He sat down at the edge of the bed, beside his wife, who stopped laughing long enough to give him a sly smile, which was very quickly returned as she slid in to his lap.

Needless to say, Liam O'Leary did not get his fried egg butty that morning.

Xxx

This is a Mummy fanfiction I swear! It's just going to be OC centric for the first couple of chapters. The basic premise is: the Americans and Evie, Jonathan and Rick were not the only group at Hamunaptra, there was another group of three. But how will this affect the events of the film?

Anyway, the canon characters will probably not appear for a few chapters, but they will appear. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, if you read this far, if you did leave a review, if you didn't enjoy, then leave a review and tell me what to do to improve.

The Mummy belongs to Universal Pictures, not me.

Anne and Liam O'Leary do however belong to me, in all their stereotyped awesomeness.