Rick and Evy burst through the front door and peered into the thick mantle of fog.

'Oh my God,' Evy breathed, 'I think they really are gone!'

'No... no, they can't be,' said Rick. 'I'll bet they're still around here somewhere. Alex! Alex, please come back – you were right all along; we can see that now!'

'Alex, please don't take our baby from us!' Evy yelled. 'We didn't mean what we said! You were right about everything – the fog is evil and we should've realised it sooner!'

'We do want to be parents to Mikey!' Rick added. 'He needs us and we need him, just like you said!'

'Oh Alex, please come back!' Evy wailed. 'I just can't stand the thought of someone else taking my place as Mikey's mother! Don't get me wrong – Yanit's lovely and I'm sure she's perfectly capable, but...'

Evy's voice died away. They stood and waited in anxious expectation, but nothing moved behind the grey blanket of fog.

'I guess he's really done it, then,' Jonathan remarked, as he appeared on the doorstep behind Rick and Evy. 'Alex has taken the baby to Egypt.'

'No... no, he can't have done,' Evy wept, 'not really!'

'I... I still don't believe it!' said Rick. 'Alex, I know you're there – you just have to be there! We've learned our lesson, sport; we're ready to help you destroy the evil fog now. Alex? ALEX!'

Slow, deliberate footsteps were heard to be approaching the house. As Rick, Evy and Jonathan stared intently along the street, they managed to pick out the features of Alex and the carry-cot emerging from the gloom.

'Did you call me?' Alex asked casually.

'Yes, we did call you!' said Evy. 'Oh, Alex, please give me back my baby!'

Alex smiled, mounted the front steps and passed the carry-cot to his mother. She immediately started making a great fuss of Michael, who seemed to enjoy the attention.

'I'm sorry about that Yanit quip, Mom,' said Alex. 'It's just that I had to be sure you'd completely shaken off the effects of the fog... which you obviously have, now.'

'So you were never actually planning to go through with the whole take-the-baby-to-Egypt plan, then?' said Jonathan.

'Of course not, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex. 'The idea just came to me in a rush and I decided to run with it. That's why I didn't take any of Mikey's stuff... or any of my stuff... or Tut!'

'Oh... yeah, right,' said Jonathan. 'Well, you had me fooled, mate.'

'You gave us all a scare, sport,' said Rick. 'But I guess we really needed it, huh?'

'You sure did!' said Alex. 'Now, about this plan to destroy the fog. I think it'd be best if we go somewhere really high, where I can hold the Manacle right up in the air and direct all our positive feelings through it.'

'I think I should stay here, with Mikey,' said Evy.

'No, Mom,' said Alex. 'We'll all be needed for this, including Mikey! Having him with me in the drawing room gave me a whole load of warm fuzzies that helped me to defeat the fog, so he can definitely help you do it too!'

'He's right, Evy,' said Rick. 'Mikey's already been the deciding factor in getting us this far; we still need him for this.'

'Okay,' said Evy, 'I can see that now. Yes... yes, you're right.'

'So it's somewhere tall we need, hmm?' said Jonathan. 'How about the roof of my nightclub?'

'I was hoping for somewhere a little taller than that, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex, 'just to be sure of it.'

'The Monument,' said Evy. 'It's just down the road, and it's two hundred and two foot tall.'

'Yes, that'll do,' said Alex. 'Okay, let's go for it.'

'I can't see a thing in this dashed fog!' said Jonathan. 'We could walk right by the Monument and not even notice it!'

'No, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex, 'it's about ten yards straight in front of us.'

'How do you know that?' Jonathan asked peevishly. 'Supreme Medjai intuition?'

'No; I can see the top of it,' said Alex. 'Look, there – that massive golden beacon!'

'Oh... oh, yes,' said Jonathan. 'I wonder why they bothered putting that thing up there.'

'Uncle Jonathan, you do know what the Monument is a monument to, don't you?' said Alex.

'Of course I do!' said Jonathan. 'It's a monument to... er, the Great British spirit!'

'It's a monument to the Fire of London,' said Alex. 'That's what the golden beacon represents.'

'Well excuse me, Mr Encyclopedia!' said Jonathan.

'Uncle Jonathan, you're giving in to your negative feelings again,' said Alex. 'That's probably partly my fault, actually – I shouldn't have implied you were ignorant of the most basic facts about famous London landmarks.'

'But he is!' Rick pointed out. 'He's ignorant of the most basic facts about almost everything!'

'Ricky dear, that's not very helpful,' Evy said gently, stroking Michael's cheek with her free hand as she spoke. 'Let's hurry up and do what we came to do, okay? Look, there's the entrance.'

'How tall did you say this thing is, Evy?' said Jonathan.

'Two hundred and two foot,' said Evy.

'I suppose it has a lot of steps, then,' Jonathan sighed.

'Yes,' said Evy. 'Three hundred and eleven steps, to be precise. Now let's climb them as quickly as we can, shall we?'

'I'm with you, Mom,' said Alex. 'Let's do this!'

Evy slipped her free arm through Rick's and guided him inside the Monument; Alex grasped Jonathan firmly by the shoulders and propelled him in too. They climbed the three hundred and eleven steps, and emerged onto the platform at the top of the tower.

'Okay,' said Alex, 'this is what we're gonna do. Uncle Jonathan, you hold my left hand, then Dad will hold your other hand, and Mom will hold Dad's hand and the carry-cot.'

'I'm not holding his hand!' Rick said peevishly, giving Jonathan a dirty look.

'Dad, you have to fight it!' said Alex. 'Remember why we're here!'

Rick looked blank for a few moments, then he adopted a determined expression and nodded at Alex. Alex grabbed one of Jonathan's hands while Rick grabbed the other, then Evy took Rick's free hand in hers. Alex raised his right arm and held the Manacle of Osiris as high in the air as he could.

'Now think about how much we all love each other,' Alex instructed.

'That's kinda difficult to do on demand, sport,' said Rick.

'Just look at Mikey!' said Alex. 'Think about what he means to you, and to all of us as a family – think about why you didn't want me to take him to Egypt!'

'And... and look at Alex, for Christ's sake!' said Jonathan. 'Think about how far he's come – from a freckled little urchin who used to spend far too much time hanging around the British Museum, to the Supreme Medjai and saviour of the world several times over! Look at him now – a fine figure of a young man; broad of shoulder, square of jaw, firm and shapely of pec...'

'Uncle Jonathan, stop it!' Alex giggled. 'You're embarrassing me.'

'Yes,' said Rick. 'Yes, I... I can feel it, Alex!'

'So can I,' said Evy. 'It feels... it feels... it feels wonderful!'

Alex creased his brow into a frown of concentration and thrust his right fist into the air with renewed effort. Once again, he ran through some of his most intimate moments with Yanit in his mind. A golden burst of energy erupted from the Manacle of Osiris and quickly blanketed the sky.

The evil fog stood no chance. Alex grunted with exertion as he concentrated as much mental energy as he could muster on sending the power of his family's positive vibes out through the Manacle. At last he could stand no more. Jonathan felt Alex wrench his hand away. With a final vocalisation of extreme effort, Alex dropped to his knees on the viewing platform.

'Alex...' said Rick, placing a hand gently on his son's heaving shoulders. 'You did it. I mean, we did it. Look!'

Alex raised his eyes, and a smile spread over his face. Bright sunshine was beating down on the city; it was as if the fog had never existed.

'I've got to hand it to you, mate,' said Jonathan, 'there's no evil in this world that you can't get the better of!'

'I'm not so sure... about that,' said Alex, still breathing heavily as he dragged himself to his feet. 'Just because I haven't come across it yet... doesn't mean it's not out there somewhere.'

'That's nonsense,' said Evy. 'You'll whip our sorry little world into shape yet, Alex; I truly believe that no one and nothing can stop you!'

'Thanks, Mom,' said Alex, giving her a weary smile. 'Can I hold Mikey for a while?'

Evy returned the smile, and passed the baby to Alex.

'Hi again, Mikey,' Alex beamed at his brother. 'You just played a big part in saving the world, you know... or London, at least... and I don't have any doubts that you'll do it again in the future.'

Rick and Evy were content to stare lovingly at their two sons for a few moments; Jonathan was the one to break the silence.

'Can we get down from here now?' he said. 'I'm getting a distinct feeling of vertigo.'

'Yes; we need to get back home,' said Evy. 'That chicken's probably almost ready by now.'

'And there's absolutely no chance that it's going to taste like arse,' Rick added.

'I want to go to the post office on the way home,' said Alex, adjusting his grip on Michael. 'I'm going to send a telegram to Ardeth Bay to say that I'll be back at the Medjai Academy on Saturday... if you wouldn't mind giving me a ride again, Dad?'

'No problem, Alex,' said Rick. 'If that's what you want.'

'You're welcome to stay with us for as long as you like, you know,' Evy added hopefully.

'Yeah, I know, Mom,' Alex sighed, 'but I need to get back. Uncle Jonathan, I'm gonna honour my promise to act as your bodyguard on Friday night so that you can pay off your debts without getting your face rearranged or your kneecaps removed... but after that, I really need to get back to Yanit... and the others, obviously.'

'Of course you do, sport,' said Rick. 'I'll have the Zephyr ready at first light on Saturday.'

'Thanks, Dad,' said Alex, shooting Rick a grateful smile. 'I hope you understand, it's not that I don't want to stay longer with you guys. I just need to get back because... well, because I feel like it's the right thing to do, and the right time to do it.'

'You don't have to explain yourself to us, Alex,' said Rick. 'We understand.'

'But I'll come back home again really soon!' Alex added. 'I'm not gonna stay away for eleven months this time, I promise. I'll come back for Christmas... and maybe stay for six to eight weeks... if you want me for that long.'

'Oh Alex, of course we do!' said Evy.

'I'll, er... I'll bring Yanit with me,' said Alex. 'To stay as well, I mean... for six to eight weeks. That's if she'll come... but I think she will. You, er... you wouldn't mind if I did that, would you?'

'Not a problem, sport,' said Rick.

'Of course we wouldn't mind!' said Evy. 'It'll be lovely to meet her properly, and you'll both be welcome to stay for as long as you want!'

'Okay, great,' said Alex, smiling and looking down at his feet. 'Let's go to the post office, then.'

Ardeth and Fadil were waiting outside the Medjai Academy when Rick and Alex arrived. Alex went up to Ardeth, gave him a smile and shook his hand. Ardeth stared back at him impassively.

'Hi, Ardeth,' Alex ventured. 'Are you okay?'

'Oh yes, Alex,' Ardeth replied, 'I'm okay.'

'Good,' said Alex. 'I'm glad to see you again.'

'Yes,' said Ardeth.

Alex decided to give up on this rather unrewarding conversation, so he turned his attention to Fadil. Ignoring Alex's outstretched hand, Fadil flung his arms around him instead.

'Oh Alex, I'm so happy to see you!' Fadil exhaled into Alex's ear.

'I'm happy to see you too, Fadil,' said Alex, patting him on the back.

'Thank God you've finally returned to us!' Fadil continued. 'Your presence here is needed more than ever before!'

'Really?' said Alex. 'Is there some kind of emergency going on?'

'No, not an emergency,' said Fadil. 'It's just that...'

Fadil seemed unable to finish the sentence. Alex was suddenly gripped by a feeling of unease.

'Where's Yanit?' he said.

'In her room,' said Fadil. 'She wanted to come and greet you, but in the end she decided she couldn't face getting out of bed.'

'What?!' said Alex. 'Oh my God, there's something wrong with her, isn't there?'

'Nothing's exactly wrong with her,' said Fadil. 'She's just... not quite herself at the moment. But she'll be okay once she's seen you again, Alex. She told me to tell you that you're welcome to visit her in her room as soon as you're ready.'

'Yeah... yeah, I'll definitely do that!' said Alex. 'I guess I'd better drop off Tut and my suitcase first.'

'Oh, don't bother with that,' said Fadil. 'I'll take them for you – you just go along and see Yanit, okay?'

'Okay,' said Alex. 'Thanks, Fadil.'

Alex handed Fadil his suitcase and coaxed Tut out from his shirt. Fadil carefully took hold of the mongoose, then Alex ran inside the Academy without a backward glance.

'Ardeth, what the hell is going on around here?' said Rick.

'Much has happened over the past weeks, my friend,' said Ardeth.

'Much of a supernatural nature?' said Rick.

'No,' said Ardeth. 'Much of an all too natural nature, I'm afraid. Come with me to my office, Rick – I feel I should tell you all about it over a cup of tea and a biscuit.'

Alex entered Yanit's room. He smiled when he saw her, apparently fast asleep on her bed. He went to sit beside her, and reached out to stroke her hair.

'Yanit...' he whispered.

'Alex...' she said sleepily, then her eyes snapped open and a smile quickly spread across her face. 'Oh, Alex!'

She shot up into a sitting position and flung her arms around him. Alex hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek.

'I've missed you like you wouldn't believe,' said Alex.

'Oh, I'd believe it,' Yanit assured him. 'Thank God you've come back to me, Alex.'

'And thank God we can touch each other this time,' Alex added.

Yanit pulled out of the hug and looked into Alex's eyes, keeping her hands firmly gripped on his shoulders.

'This time...' she repeated. 'Alex, are you referring to a time not so long ago when you were here, but you weren't here?'

'I... I don't know,' said Alex. 'I mean, I kinda thought that was just a dream.'

'So did I,' said Yanit.

'But... but if we both remember it, I guess it can't have been a dream.'

'Yes. It must have been... something else.'

Alex gave Yanit a contemplative look and said, 'Do you know my baby brother's name?'

'Mikey,' said Yanit.

'That proves it!' said Alex. 'I really was here... or a part of me was, like I said at the time. I guess it must be a new power.'

'Astral projection,' said Yanit. 'Perhaps because I was so desperate to have you with me that night, you were drawn to me in your astral body.'

'Or else it was because I was so desperate to have you with me,' said Alex.

'Oh yes, the evil fog,' said Yanit. 'Did you manage to defeat it in the end?'

'Yes... thanks in no small part to my feelings for you,' said Alex. 'I'll tell you all about it in a minute, but first... well, first...'

'First what, Alex?'

'Yanit, I'm phenomenally worried about you! Ardeth and Fadil were acting really weird just now, and when I was here in my astral body – which I'll have to talk through with the Minotaur when we've finished this conversation, but I just can't worry about it too much right now – you said you'd done something to let me down and disappoint me... and now you say you were desperate to have me with you that night! I don't believe for one moment that I'm going to feel let down or disappointed by this thing that you've done, but I'd really like to know what it is!'

'I guess... I guess it's not so much something that I've done,' said Yanit, 'as something that happened to me.'

'For God's sake, Yanit, what happened to you?'

'I... I'd like to hear about your experiences first, Alex. Tell me about your family. Tell me about Mikey. Tell me about how you defeated the evil fog.'

'And... and then you'll tell me about your experiences, right?'

'Yes... yes, I will.'

Yanit leaned back against her pillows and fixed Alex with a smile.

'Your uncle's right, Alex,' she said. 'I'm beginning to think that there is nothing in the world that you can't do.'

'Oh, that's nonsense,' said Alex. 'I'm sure there are plenty of things.'

'It was really clever of you to use Mikey to snap your parents out of their funk.'

'Hey, if a brand new baby can't do it, nothing can! That's what I figured, anyway... and I guess I was right. It was the idea of you and me raising Mikey like our own son that really brought them around, especially my mom! She just couldn't bear the thought of someone else being a mother to him... not that I'm saying you won't be a fantastic mother someday, Yanit, but obviously it wouldn't have been right just to take Mikey away from her like that, and now isn't exactly the right time for us to start a family anyway, and... oh my God, what's wrong?'

Much to Alex's alarm and bewilderment, tears had started pouring down Yanit's cheeks.

'It's nothing,' she said, wiping her streaming eyes on her sleeve. 'Don't worry about it, Alex – I'm just being silly.'

'That's what you said when you were crying before, when I came to you in my astral body,' said Alex. 'Yanit, please tell me what's wrong!'

Yanit looked into Alex's desperate eyes. She smiled at him, then reached out to stroke his cheek.

'Okay,' said Yanit. 'Okay, I'll tell you everything. It all started when I woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible abdominal pain.'

'You mean like a stomach-ache?' said Alex.

'Not unlike a stomach-ache,' said Yanit, 'but different from any stomach-ache I'd ever experienced before. At first I thought it was just... you know, ladies' problems... but when I came to realise that it wasn't, I went to the Medjai doctor and told him all about it. He examined me, then he said I had to go to the hospital in Cairo that very minute.'

'Oh my God,' Alex breathed.

'Ardeth and Fadil took me to Cairo and we went to the hospital and I tried my best to explain everything to them,' said Yanit. 'We had to sit in a waiting room for two hours, then I was put onto an examination table and poked and prodded for a while... I didn't like that part.'

'Yanit, it all sounds ghastly!'

'Yes, it was ghastly. Eventually they took some of my blood and told me to wait in the waiting room while they rushed through the results, then after another two hours they came and told me I had a perfectly clean bill of health except that... except that...'

'Except that what?'

'They told me I was going to have a baby, Alex.'

'They did?'

'Yes, they did. Then they all went off to do something else, and I talked through everything with Ardeth and Fadil for about half an hour... then some porters came in and manhandled me onto a trolley without any explanation. They took me to have an x-ray, then they put me in a bed on a ward, and then about an hour after that a doctor I'd never seen before came in and told me that I wasn't going to have a baby after all.'

'You mean they'd made a mistake?'

'Not exactly,' said Yanit. 'This doctor told me that the positive pregnancy test combined with the x-ray showed that they had to perform a procedure on me.'

'What kind of procedure?' said Alex.

'They wouldn't really tell me anything about it,' said Yanit. 'I had to stay the night in the ward, and then the next morning I was taken into an operating theatre and given a local anaesthetic all around my hips. Two surgeons eventually arrived and started doing things to me with scalpels and syringes. A nurse was holding my hand all the time and telling me that everything was going to be okay. One of the surgeons left after a while without saying anything to me, then the other one stitched me up and also left without saying anything to me. The nurse told me I'd done really well and I could go home the next afternoon, then she left too.'

'But... but... what did they actually do to you?'

'They made an incision, here.'

Yanit traced a line from her right hip towards the inside of her right leg. Alex stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes.

'They took something out of me, Alex,' Yanit continued. 'The... the something that was causing the abdominal pain.'

'You mean... you mean the baby, right?' said Alex.

'It wasn't a baby,' said Yanit. 'It was something that could've been a baby, but it didn't end up in the right place to turn into one. That's what Ardeth told me, anyway. Like I said, the hospital staff were very cagey about the whole thing.'

'Jesus...' said Alex.

'So anyway, I came home the next afternoon and I went to bed and I felt like I'd just had my soul ripped out,' said Yanit, 'and I wished to God that you could be there with me and... well, then you were. I honestly don't know what I would've done if you hadn't appeared to me that night, Alex. I think I might well have gone quite, quite mad!'

'Oh my God... Yanit, I'm so sorry that this happened to you, and that I wasn't there for you!'

'But you were there for me, Alex. And I'm fine now... or I will be, now that you're back.'

Yanit pulled herself into an upright position and kissed Alex on the cheek. Alex wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

'Yanit, can I ask you something?' he said.

'Anything, Alex,' she replied.

'After going through that whole horrible sequence of events, do you... do you regret what we did?'

'Oh, no! No, it was wonderful. I guess there just has to be a price to pay sometimes, huh?'

'Oh, Yanit,' said Alex, resting his wet cheek against her shoulder.

'Although I must admit,' Yanit continued, 'it does make me worry slightly.'

'Worry?' said Alex. 'About what?'

'About our future together,' said Yanit. 'Maybe... maybe I'll never be able to give you a child, Alex. Maybe I have defective ovaries!'

'That's nonsense, Yanit.'

'It's not nonsense, Alex! Just think about it for a moment – whatever went wrong couldn't have had anything to do with your... contribution, could it? You're the Supreme Medjai; you have a ton of healing powers! Your... off-shots can't be susceptible to that kind of thing, can they? So it must be my fault!'

'It doesn't work that way, Yanit,' said Alex. 'This kind of thing isn't anybody's fault, okay? It's just... well, it's just the way life is! Obviously this time it wasn't meant to be, but in the future – when we're both ready – we'll have a whole bunch of kids and they'll all be perfect!'

'The nurse did tell me there was no discernible reason that I couldn't have children in the future,' said Yanit, 'but still, I...'

'Is this why you thought you'd let me down?'

'Yes.'

'But you didn't! You can see that now, Yanit, can't you?'

'Yes... yes, I can see that now.'

'I wish you'd been in London with me for this whole thing! I know it wouldn't have changed anything, but at least we could've gone through it together!'

'Plus the London hospitals are probably a little cleaner than the one in Cairo... but still, they did what needed to be done for me and I mustn't complain. But I do wish I'd come with you, Alex, like you wanted me to. I don't ever want us to be separated again.'

'We won't be!' said Alex. 'We'll never be apart again, Yanit – I promise you! Do you want to come home with me for Christmas and stay for six to eight weeks?'

'Oh, yes!' said Yanit. 'Yes, Alex, I do want to do that!'

'It's settled, then,' said Alex.

'By the way, you don't need to worry that I was unsupported through this whole thing – Fadil and Ardeth were both wonderful,' said Yanit. 'They wanted to send for you to come back to Egypt as soon as I was admitted to hospital, but I told them to leave you alone until you'd quite finished spending time with your family. They've both been so good to me, though. Fadil even took me for a night out in Cairo yesterday. I didn't enjoy it much, but it's the thought that counts.'

'God bless Fadil,' said Alex. 'He's a rock.'

'He's met someone, you know,' said Yanit. 'In Cairo, I mean.'

'Is this someone a female someone?'

'Yes, that's right. Her name's Tara. Fadil introduced me to her last night. Apparently they've been to the cinema a few times, and to the street bazaar once. He wants you to meet her as well.'

'I'd love to meet her,' said Alex. 'The four of us can go double dating... when we're all feeling up to it, of course.'

Yanit laughed, then she kissed Alex on the cheek. He kissed her in return, then their lips met and they became lost in the moment. Some time later, Fadil arrived in the doorway. He smiled at the scene on the bed.

'So,' he ventured, 'I guess you guys are all caught up and feeling as okay as possible?'

Alex and Yanit looked over to the doorway. They both smiled at Fadil, and held out an arm to him. He smiled back, ran across the room and entered into a three-way hug with them.

'I told Alex about Tara,' Yanit told Fadil. 'I hope that's okay.'

'Of course it's okay,' said Fadil. 'I'd like to arrange a meeting soon, if that's okay with you, Alex.'

'I'm looking forward to it,' said Alex.

'Good,' said Fadil. 'You'll be very interested to meet Tara, I think. She... well, now isn't really the time to talk about that, I suppose. Your father would like a word with you when you're ready; that's what I really came to tell you. He's in Ardeth's office.'

'Well, he can wait until we've finished this Supreme Council hug!' said Alex.